Editor's Note: On February 22, the Metropolitan Policy Program is hosting a forum on exploring the type of manufacturing the nation is most likely to retain and build, as well as a policy framework for strengthening high-wage, export-intensive production in America. You may join the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #usmfg.
Manufacturing matters to the United States because it provides high-wage jobs, commercial innovation (the nation’s largest source), a key to trade deficit reduction, and a disproportionately large contribution to environmental sustainability. The manufacturing industries and firms that make the greatest contribution to these four objectives are also those that have the greatest potential to maintain or expand employment in the United States. Computers and electronics, chemicals (including pharmaceuticals), transportation equipment (including aerospace and motor vehicles and parts), and machinery are especially important.
Productivity and wages vary greatly within as well as between industries. In any industry,
manufacturers that are not already at the top have room to improve their performance by adopting
“high-road” production, in which skilled workers make innovative products that provide value
for consumers and profits for owners.
American manufacturing will not realize its potential automatically. While U.S. manufacturing performs well compared to the rest of the U.S. economy, it performs poorly compared to manufacturing in other high-wage countries. American manufacturing needs strengthening in four key areas:
Research and development
Lifelong training of workers at all levels
Improved access to finance
An increased role for workers and communities in creating and sharing in the gains from
innovative manufacturing
These problems can be solved with the help of public policies that do the following:
Promote high-road production
Include a mix of policies that operate at the level of the entire economy, individual industries, and individual manufacturers
Encourage workers, employers, unions, and government to share responsibility for improving
the nation’s manufacturing base and to share in the gains from such improvements
New data from Lender Processing Services (LPS) shows that as of the end of January, there were 6,082,000 mortgages in the U.S. going unpaid. That tally includes loans that are 30 or more days delinquent and loans in foreclosure. The national delinquency rate as of January month-end was 7.97 percent. Delinquencies registered a decline, both for the month and the year. The industry's foreclosure inventory, however, rose to 4.15 percent, as newly initiated foreclosures spiked.
Moderate Growth Projected for the Year
Overall, growth is expected to continue for the year, but at a modest rate, according to the Fannie Mae February 2012 Economic Outlook report.
Economic growth is projected to be at 2.3 percent for 2012, an increase compared to 1.6 percent last year, according to the report. For the first time in seven years, the housing market is projected to contribute to gross domestic product (GDP, but by a very modest amount.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a three-part goal Tuesday to phase out the dominant role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and allow for more private investors into the mortgage industry. The first part of the goal involves building a new infrastructure to enable the private sector to participate in the secondary market. The second goal would be to contract the GSEs' operations to the private sector, gradually moving mortgage credit risk from the GSEs to private investors, according to the letter.The last goal is to continue with initiatives to prevent foreclosures and ensure mortgage credit is available.
With more than 100,000 vacant properties in the state, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine designated part of Ohio’s $335 million from the national settlement with the nation’s largest servicers for property demolition. However, not everyone agrees with the decision. "We would have much rather spent that money helping families and creating homes rather than knocking houses down that we believe are owned by some very well-resourced banks," said Chris Warren, Cleveland's chief of regional development, according to the Huffington Post.
Operation Homefront, a non-profit which assists military members, partnered with Chase to place at least 100 Wounded Warriors, military, and veteran families into permanent residences this year through the Homes on the Homefront program.
Chase is providing the homes, and Operation Homefront will provide ongoing transitional services to the families until properties are deeded to the recipients.
a la mode announced February 16 that its DataCourier service reached a milestone of one million appraisal reports delivered since September 1, 2011, the time new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) requirements went into effect. DataCourier is a free electronic packaging and delivery service that bundles files and checks for compliance errors.
Pretty much everything has changed in U.S.-China relations since Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai signed the Shanghai Communiqué 40 years ago on February 21, 1972.
Nixon's goals were purely geostrategic. By cultivating China, he sought most of all to put pressure on North Vietnam to come to terms to achieve his promised "peace with honor" there, hopefully before the November election. He also sought, through China, to pressure Moscow to embrace détente and thus put America in the catbird seat in relations with the two communist behemoths.
China had different priorities -- most of all, Beijing wanted to stiffen President Nixon's spine to oppose Soviet aggression and therefore to reduce Moscow's threat to China.
Treasury is heading to the coastal cities of Miami and Tampa, Florida, this week in order to offer assistance to homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments. Treasury will host a "Help for Homeowners" outreach event in each of the hard-hit Florida cities where homeowners can meet one-on-one with their servicers. Before the homeowners arrive, though, Treasury has blocked off time for real estate professionals to meet with the servicers on behalf of their clients and to participate in short sale workshops led by the servicers themselves.
A recently released Supplemental Directive from Treasury increases incentives for second lien investors when loans receive principal reductions. The increased incentives apply to permanent HAMP modifications with principal reductions through the government's Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA) that have trial period plans starting March 1 or later. Increased incentives are also available when second liens are completely or partially eliminated through the Second Lien Modification Program (2MP) on loans modified starting June 1.
