Premier Brian Gallant spells out his priorities as 2018 election looms
FREDERICTON – The premier of New Brunswick says his government will spend more on child care, education and health care in 2018 in the lead-up to a provincial election next fall.In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Brian Gallant said the governing Liberals will make “significant investments” to increase the number of child-care spaces available.“You are going to see some investments to improve the quality of child care in this province, and you are going to see investments to really help families who are struggling to pay for child care,” he said.In many cases, he said, some parents feel they can’t return to the workforce because they can’t find or afford child care, and that needs to be addressed, he said.Gallant’s government is in the final year of its mandate, with voters set to go to the polls on Sept. 24, 2018.He said it’s too early to reveal the theme of his party’s campaign, but it will highlight the differences between the Liberals and the Opposition Progressive Conservatives under leader Blaine Higgs.“I look forward to the opportunity to talk about the differences between our growth agenda and what we believe is an austerity agenda when it comes to Blaine Higgs and the Conservatives,” he said.The legislature is now on its Christmas break. It will resume sitting Jan. 30, when the Liberals are expected to table a budget that will stick to their multi-year spending plan.“We won’t get away from our plan at this point,” he said. “We certainly believe that we still have to strike the right balance between reducing the deficit and investing in things that will help create economic opportunities.”Finance Minister Cathy Rogers has said the government plans to achieve fiscal balance by 2020-21.Gallant said the deficit has been reduced by 67 per cent over the last three years, and to eliminate it sooner would take away from funding being used to help grow the economy.New Brunswick had an unemployment rate of 7.9 per cent in November, well above the national average at 5.9 per cent. Gallant said that’s why his government is spending more than ever on education.“We believe it is the best investment we can possibly make to grow the economy,” Gallant said.He said the government will also work to keep seniors in their homes longer.For the last year, Gallant has been trying to get the federal government to agree to a New Brunswick-based pilot program to promote healthy-living among seniors.“If we are able to figure out some of the challenges of an aging population here in the province before it scales up to the rest of the country, we think that’s really to the benefit of the whole nation,” the premier said.Meanwhile, with recreational cannabis to be legalized across Canada in July, New Brunswick was one of the first provinces to attract cannabis producers and secure a supply for government-run retail stores.Gallant said the retail operations will support education and enforcement requirements, while the province will gain financially as the producers invest in large buildings and maintain their workforce.The government plans to start with 20 retail stores in 15 locations under the name CannabisNB.
Citing sources familiar with the companies’ plans, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has teamed up with Mastercard and Citigroup to create a near-field communication mobile payment system (or NFC) on Android smartphones.We’ve discussed NFC before, as it’s clearly the next big breakthrough in smartphone technologies. NFC allows your smartphone to communicate with kiosks, terminals and other devices through a well encrypted channel just by being put in close proximity to an NFC reader. NFC technology is already prevalent in Japan, where NFC-equipped smartphones are used for things like subway turnstile. Soon, it will hit America, and when it does, it will most likely be used primarily for mobile payments, at least as first.Google’s deal will help cement NFC mobile payments as a landmark feature on Android phones. Here’s how it would work: owners of Citigroup-issued debit and credit cards would download and activate a special Android app, which would allow Android smartphone owners to pay for goods by just waving their phone in front of an NFC reader.What’s Google’s part in this? They would offer retailers willing to install NFC readers in their stores real-world data about their customers, helping them deliver targeted adds and Groupon-style discounted offers to all the Android users physically near their stores. Verifone is also reportedly involved in this deal. According to the Grey Lady, Verifone’s role would be to deliver NFC readers to retailers around the country.If these reports are true, Google, Citigroup and Mastercard hope to go live with their NFC payment system by the end of the year. If so, it’s likely they’ll beat Apple to the draw on NFC: it has been heavily rumored that Apple will not release an NFC-equipped iPhone until 2012.Read more at Wall Street Journal
The highest capacity optical disc on the consumer market today is Blu-ray. In standard form it can hold 25GB of data or 50GB if dual layer. There’s also been the recent roll out of the BDXL format, which increases that capacity to 128GB. But such levels of storage are fast becoming too small, and both Sony and Panasonic have realized this and decided to do something about it.The two companies are teaming up to create the successor to the Blu-ray disc. Their plan being to have the finished, higher capacity optical disc ready for use before the end of 2015. As for how big that new disc will be, the target is to hit a minimum of 300GB capacity.Even though we seem to be moving towards streaming content more than purchasing it on disc, there’s still a need for optical media in order to archive data. Sony points to general data archiving, video production, broadcasting operations, and even cloud data centers as requiring high capacity optical media. Discs are also cheap to produce and remain viable for a very long time.Movies are slowly going to start making the transition to 4K as the TVs become more commonplace and affordable. It seems likely 4K movies on optical discs would be desirable. For example, the first 4K movie you could download is 120GB. Add in extras and multiple versions (theatrical and extended cuts) and you can see why distributing on a 300GB disc may become desirable in a few years.What technology this new optical disc will use is unknown, but Sony has pointed to their own 1.5TB XDCAM format (12 25GB capacity discs in a cartridge) and Panasonic’s 180TB LB-BM9 format (up to 90 magazines each holding 12 100GB discs in a cartridge) alongside RAID technology as key examples of how they are already pushing up capacities. Cartridges and multi-disc formats are unacceptable as a Blu-ray successor, but 300GB is the target, not terabytes.
Landsat Images Show Greenland Glaciers Changing Over 46 YearsClimate Activists Use Drones to Shut Down Heathrow Airport Next Month Stay on target It’s a “plastic” revolution: A boat made entirely from recycled plastic — and 30,000 flip-flops — will set sail next week on an expedition across the Indian Ocean to to raise awareness of the destructive nature of single-use plastics.The Flipflopi, a 30-foot sailing boat, will set out on Jan. 24 from the Kenyan island of Lamu and sail around 310 miles to Stone Town in Zanzibar for its first overseas expedition.Made from more than 10 tons of recycled plastic, the Flipflopi will stop at towns and cities along the route, including Watamu, Kilifi, Mombasa, Diani and Pemba island, to teach local communities how to recycle their own plastics.The entire boat was constructed by from waste plastics, mainly collected from Lamu’s beaches, and built by local craftsmen, led by chief builder Ali Skanda.The keel, ribs and structural elements are all made from recycled plastic including bottles and bags, according to the website for the Flipflopi Expedition. The hull and decking are covered completely by 30,000 re-purposed flip-flops.The main aim is to build on the story of this plastic revolution and to continue to highlight to the world that single-use plastic items are dreadful,” Kenyan project leader Dipesh Pabari told UN Environment. “It’s an opportunity to engage and influence emerging consumer populations in the Indian Ocean region before single-use plastics and a throwaway culture become fully embedded, and to avoid what has happened in developed countries where they are now trying to reverse engineer consumption habits.”Waste plastics, including bottles, bags, and flip-flops, mainly from Lamu’s beaches, were used to construct the entire boat.(Photo Credit: Flipflopi/Facebook)The expedition is backed by UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign, which works to urge governments, businesses, and citizens to eliminate single-use plastics.One of the most important features of the Flipflopi expedition is its African roots. The boat was built on Lamu, the oldest Swahili settlement in East Africa, from planks made locally from recycled plastic, which started out as rubbish along beaches and roads in Lamu, Nairobi, Malindi, and Mombasa. The 30,000 recycled flip flops used for the hull and decking were also produced locally.The boat first launched on September 2018 and has previously only sailed on coastal waters. The Lamu-Zanzibar voyage will be its overseas expedition, and is expected to take between 12 and 14 days. In 2021, the Flipflopi plans to sail on a 3- to 4-month voyage south along the coasts of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and onwards into South Africa.The expedition is encouraging people to recycle plastic waste and spread the word through the hashtag #PlasticRevolution.Plastic pollution has had severe impacts on the environment and on public health. A staggering 8 million tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year, according to the UN. Rivers carry plastic waste from deep inland to the sea, making them major contributors to ocean pollution.Many plastic particles are swallowed by farm animals or fish who mistake them for food, and thus can find their way onto our dinner plates, the UN said. They’ve also been found in a majority of the world’s tap water. By clogging sewers and providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes and pests, plastic waste — especially plastic bags — can increase the transmission of vector-borne diseases like malaria.The Flipflopi expedition is parts of Kenya’s recent efforts to become a global pioneer in tackling plastic pollution. In August 2017, the country introduced the world’s toughest ban on plastic bags with anyone producing, selling, or using a plastic bag risking imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000.More on Geek.com:Texas Coast Has More Ocean Trash Than Any Gulf State, Study SaysAll the Sea Turtles in This Study Had Microplastics in Their GutsBanning Plastics Could Further Damage Earth, Researchers Say
Share – / 5If you think connectivity and green space are paramount elements of the 21st century work and life philosophy, you probably will like the design of the Texas Medical Center’s upcoming new campus, also known as the TMC3.The TMC3’s founding institutions are: Texas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.The project was announced last April at an event with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, then Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, as well as executives from the five founding institutions.The TMC3 will aim to become a world-leading hub for biomedical research, biotechnology and bioscience. The five institutions announced the master plan this week. The three companies that will make the project a reality are the architecture firm Elkus Manfredi, development company Transwestern, and the Vaughn construction firm.A study forecasts the TMC3’s potential impact on Houston’s economy and workforce will drive $5.2 billion into the local economy and create nearly 30,000 jobs, according to the Texas Medical Center.The main, shared building at the center of the campus will be known as the TMC3 Collaborative. With a budget of $250 million, the upper floors will house shared institutional research space and industry partner facilities. The downstairs atrium will host lectures and other events.The campus will cover 37 acres south of the Texas Medical Center, which is located southwest of downtown Houston.Video Playerhttps://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/03123328/William-McKeon-audiogram-1.mp400:0000:0000:20Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.One of the TMC3’s main features will be a DNA chain-shaped promenade with green spaces that will be connected through a street grid. The design allows access for drivers and pedestrians, including visitors. David Manfredi, CEO of Elkus Manfredi Architects, said the design will accomplish two important goals. First, the DNA-shaped strand will be an instantly recognizable and iconic image associated with the Texas Medical Center. In addition, the green spaces could be used for different purposes such as music and art performances, as well as hosting sports like volleyball or basketball.One of the main ideas behind the TMC3 is to combine individual research by its founding institutions and collaboration between them. The new campus will have individual lab buildings and mixed-use space on the ground floor.There will also be leasing, retail and residential space, along with a hotel and conference center, and underground parking.“We want the researchers, we want the industry people and we want the students. This is the place to make those connections,” said Manfredi.Video Playerhttps://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/03123354/William-McKeon-audiogram-2.mp400:0000:0000:21Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Texas Medical Center CEO and President William McKeon has been involved in the project since the beginning and is convinced the dynamic design is crucial to attract top professionals. “Researchers and clinicians today are not looking to be in tall buildings filled with labs. They want to be in an environment that really embraces this “Live, Work, Play” environment,” he told News 88.7.McKeon said the collaboration mindset will also help to get federal funding because the National Institutes of Health now tends to reward multi-institution research with larger grants.Ground breaking for the TMC3 is tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2020 with a projected completion in 2022.
If you are one of the many Xbox 360 owners that has yet to find a compelling reason to upgrade to the Xbox One, there’s a good chance the next time you power on your console you will see Microsoft try to sweeten the deal a little.Microsoft has been targeting console upgrades for a little while now, but the company has focused on PS3 owners. While Microsoft isn’t willing to buy back the Xbox 360 they sold you, there’s a $75 account credit in it if you agree to upgrade to the Xbox One.The screenshot above showed up on an Xbox 360 recently along with an offer explaining that if you order an Xbox One at full price from any retailer before July 31, your account will receive this little thank you gift. It’s not clear how many Xbox 360 owners Microsoft has included in their list of “very best customers” but you can find out if you are part of that group fairly easily.All you need to do is power on your 360 and make sure it is connected to the Internet and logged in to Xbox Live. The offer should appear, as long as you are in the US, and you’ll be able to make your decision from there.The Xbox One has improved quite a bit since it was first launched, but you can’t play your Xbox 360 games on it you’d so need to keep both consoles connected if you are still enjoying last-gen titles. This doesn’t usually work out for most people, but Microsoft is hoping that by offering you a credit to apply to a new next gen game or two, you’ll have the motivation/excuse you need to embrace the new machine.
Kolkata: In order to meet the demands of the people, Indian Railways is going to introduce a new train between Kolkata and Silghat. Accordingly, 03182 Silghat–Kolkata Express will start its maiden journey from Silghat on January 1, 2019. Regular run of 13181/13182 Kolkata–Silghat–Kolkata Weekly Express will be introduced on January 7 from Kolkata and January 8 from Silghat. The train will have AC, sleeper class and 2nd class accommodations.
Technology | Enterprise Imaging | July 05, 2019 Hyland Healthcare Adds ImageNext Imaging Workflow Optimizer to Enterprise Imaging Suite Hyland Healthcare is launching ImageNext, a vendor-neutral imaging workflow optimizer that combines intelligent imaging… read more News | PACS | June 26, 2019 Mini-PACS Solution for Image Management and Workflow Optimization ImageGrid Mini is a feature-rich, reliable and cost-effective image management and workflow optimization solution, pr read more Related Content News | PACS | August 08, 2019 NetDirector Launches Cloud-based PDF to DICOM Conversion Service NetDirector, a cloud-based data exchange and integration platform, has diversified their radiology automation options… read more News | Cardiovascular Ultrasound | July 02, 2019 Konica Minolta Healthcare Partners With DiA Imaging Analysis for AI-based Cardiac Ultrasound Analysis DiA Imaging Analysis has partnered with Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas Inc. to expand analysis capabilities of… read more Feature | Information Technology | June 27, 2019 | By Greg Freiherr Smart Algorithm Extracts Data from Radiology Reports Radiology reports may contain information essential to figuring out a patient’s condition. read more News | Enterprise Imaging | June 27, 2019 Ambra Health Announces Integration With Box Ambra Health announced an integration with Box to enable the sharing of medical imaging directly from within Box’s… read more News | February 02, 2009 Health System Uses Agfa Solution for PACS, EMR Technology | Cybersecurity | August 07, 2019 ScImage Introduces PICOM ModalityGuard for Cybersecurity ScImage Inc. is bridging the gap between security and functionality with the introduction of the PICOM ModalityGuard…. read more February 3, 2009 – Ochsner Health System of New Orleans has deployed the IMPAX Data Center by Agfa HealthCare to manage diagnostic image access and distribution across the enterprise, providing a complete view of patient imaging data for seven hospitals and 35 health clinics in New Orleans.The health system will use image management and storage for large, multisite and multifacility healthcare domains. Ochsner selected IMPAX Data Center in 2008 to consolidate data from disparate multi-vendor Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) and clinical systems from its seven hospitals and 35 health clinics onto a single point of storage. The solution supports all types of DICOM 3.0 medical images and diagnostic results including DICOM-encapsulated images, reports, waveforms and .pdfs. IMPAX Data Center is designed to store and make accessible clinical data, consolidating information from multiple clinical departments and PACS vendors. Named one of Health and Hospital Network Magazine’s 100 Most Wired Hospitals in 2008 for the fifth year in a row, Ochsner is committed to a longitudinal, patient-centric electronic medical record. The hospital hopes that IMPAX Data Center enterprise storage capabilities will help it reach its goal of a personal medical record that makes the patient’s health information available whenever and wherever the patients are present for care.For more information: www.agfa.com/healthcare FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrint分享 News | PACS | July 02, 2019 Laurel Bridge and 3M M*Modal Partner to Improve DICOM Structured Reporting July 2, 2019 — Laurel Bridge Software announced an expanded relationship with 3M M*Modal, a provider of clinical docu read more News | Enterprise Imaging | July 29, 2019 Philips Announces 10-year Enterprise Informatics Agreement With Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy Philips and Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire (CHRU) de Nancy, a leading academic hospital in the Grand Est… read more News | PACS | August 09, 2019 Lake Medical Imaging Selects Infinitt for Multi-site RIS/PACS Infinitt North America will be implementing Infinitt RIS (radiology information system)/PACS (picture archiving and… read more 
News | Radiation Therapy | August 16, 2019 Drug Accelerates Blood System’s Recovery After Radiation, Chemotherapy A drug developed by UCLA physician-scientists and chemists speeds up the regeneration of mouse and human blood stem… read more Catalyst PT image courtesy of C-RAD News | Pediatric Imaging | August 14, 2019 Ultrasound Guidance Improves First-attempt Success in IV Access in Children August 14, 2019 – Children’s veins read more Image courtesy of Imago Systems News | Proton Therapy | August 08, 2019 MD Anderson to Expand Proton Therapy Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center unveiled plans to expand its Proton Therapy Center during a… read more Following radiation, the bone marrow shows nearly complete loss of blood cells in mice (left). Mice treated with the PTP-sigma inhibitor displayed rapid recovery of blood cells (purple, right). Credit: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center/Nature Communications News | Artificial Intelligence | August 13, 2019 Artificial Intelligence Could Yield More Accurate Breast Cancer Diagnoses University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that… read more News | Radiation Therapy | August 15, 2019 First Patient Enrolled in World’s Largest Brain Cancer Clinical Trial Henry Ford Cancer Institute is first-in-the-world to enroll a glioblastoma patient in the GBM AGILE Trial (Adaptive… read more News | Neuro Imaging | August 16, 2019 ADHD Medication May Affect Brain Development in Children A drug used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appears to affect development of the brain’s… read more News | Patient Positioning Radiation Therapy | August 07, 2019 Qfix kVue One Proton Couch Top Validated by Mevion Medical Systems Qfix and Mevion Medical Systems announced that a special version of the kVue One Proton couch top is now both validated… read more
News | Brachytherapy Systems | August 14, 2019 Efficacy of Isoray’s Cesium Blu Showcased in Recent Studies August 14, 2019 — Isoray announced a trio of studies recently reported at scientific meetings and published in medica read more News | Radiation Therapy | September 29, 2016 Intervention Closes Racial Gap, Improves Treatment Rates for Early-stage Lung Cancer Multi-modality NCI-supported project eliminated disparity in treatment rates for African Americans and improved completion of curative care across all patients September 29, 2016 — New research suggests enhanced, culturally-competent communication with early-stage lung cancer patients can narrow racial gaps in curative treatment completion and increase treatment rates for all races. The study, part of a project supported by the National Cancer Institute, found that multiple, coordinated modalities of patient support essentially eliminated the inequity in curative treatment and improved completion of care for all patients.The research was presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 25-28 in Boston.Due to major breakthroughs in lung cancer screening and treatment, many patients with early-stage lung cancer can now be cured with minimal side effects, but disparities negatively impact these potentially high survival rates for vulnerable populations. Many studies have shown, for example, that curative treatment rates for early-stage lung cancer are lower for African American patients than for White patients, which contributes to higher death rates for African Americans.The Accountability for Cancer Care through Undoing Racism and Equity (ACCURE) trial is an NIH-sponsored multi-institutional project designed to reduce racial disparities and increase treatment utilization for early-stage lung and breast cancer, especially among African Americans. The ACCURE intervention consists of multiple layers of patient support, including an electronic health record system that signals whenever a patient misses an appointment or anticipated milestone in care; nurse navigators specially trained in race-related barriers to care; presentation of race-specific treatment feedback to care teams; and quarterly health equity training sessions for staff drawing on evidence from community-based participatory research.Findings are based on data from 100 patients with stage I or II lung cancer enrolled into the prospective randomized trial between 2013 and 2015; of these patients, 25 percent were black, compared to a local population rate of 13 percent. Primary outcomes included rates of receiving two potentially curative lung cancer treatments, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and surgical resection (R). Rates among study participants were measured against other patient records at the cancer centers involved in the trial. Records for all patients treated between 2007 and 2011 (n = 2,044) served as baseline data, and records for all patients treated between 2014 and 2015 (n = 393) served as a control group. Researchers conducted multivariate analyses to control for Charlson comorbidity score, prognosis (i.e., disease stage I or II) and patient age.Treatment rates for both surgical resection and SBRT increased for all patients who received the intervention. Among patients in the intervention, 96 percent received resection or SBRT for early-stage lung cancer, compared to rates of 64 to 76 percent for the baseline group and 85 to 87 percent for the control group.The intervention also eliminated the racial disparity in treatment rates for this cohort. Rates of receiving potentially curative treatment were 96 percent for both African American and White patients in the intervention, compared to a gap in baseline rates of 12 percent (i.e., 64 percent for African American vs. 76 percent for White patients).“The history of racial inequality in healthcare has been long standing. Health disparity has been defined, studied and accepted for decades, yet these chasms continue to harm large groups of patients,” said Matthew A. Manning, M.D., radiation oncologist at Cone Health Cancer Center in Greensboro, North Carolina and lead author of the study. “Our findings show that an evidence-based, strategic intervention can essentially eliminate a racial disparity while improving rates of treatment completion for all races.”Treatment rates compared to baseline also increased for the control group of all patients at the cancer center (i.e., including those not enrolled in the trial). Researchers attributed this finding to a likely spillover effect, where even patients who were not enrolled in the trial may have benefitted from staff training and other structural or cultural changes at the center.Age and disease stage significantly impacted treatment rates, but comorbidity affected rates of surgical resection only. Patients younger than age 70 were more likely to receive treatment with SBRT or resection (Odds Ratio (OR), 1.9; p < 0.05), as were those with earlier stage disease (OR, 3.0; p < 0.05). Patients with higher comorbidity scores were less likely to receive resection (OR, 0.66; p < 0.05) but not SBRT.“As we move into an era of population health, the responsibility for incomplete courses of cancer treatment will shift from the individual patient to the healthcare delivery system,” said Manning. “The ACCURE trial represents one of the first studies to demonstrate an intervention to prospectively eliminate racial disparity in cancer treatment. The results suggest that treatment inequity can be closed, not just for African Americans with early-stage lung cancer, but for other underserved populations and other types of cancer.”For more information: www.astro.org FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrint分享 News | Mammography | August 14, 2019 Imago Systems Announces Collaboration With Mayo Clinic for Breast Imaging Image visualization company Imago Systems announced it has signed a know-how license with Mayo Clinic. The multi-year... read more The MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center expansion is expected to be completed in 2023. Rendering courtesy of Stantec. Related Content Images of regions of interest (colored lines) in the white matter skeleton representation. Data from left and right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) were averaged. Image courtesy of C. Bouziane et al. News | Patient Positioning Radiation Therapy | August 15, 2019 Mevion and C-RAD Release Integration for Improved Proton Therapy Treatment Quality Mevion Medical Systems and C-RAD announced the integration between the C-RAD Catalyst PT and the Mevion S250i proton... read more 
Borrowers Closing Lenders TRID 2016-03-23 Scott_Morgan Deciphering TRID Through Communication Share March 23, 2016 798 Views 
in Daily Dose, Featured, News Here’s something that sounds counterintuitive: When it comes to closings, borrowers over the past six months have experienced longer timeframes and witnessed higher post-closing costs than they saw before TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) was fully implemented in October. And yet, they are highly satisfied with the entire, tangled, frustrating closing process.The reason, according to Georgia-based strategic advisory and consulting firm STRATMOR Group, is so old-fashioned it almost comes with its own horse and carriage driver: lenders are talking more to borrowers.STRATMOR Wednesday released its latest MortgageSAT survey on the impact of TRID on borrower and lender satisfaction. What it found was that TRID is being well-received by borrowers but not so well by lenders.For borrowers, there is a significant level of satisfaction‒‒around 90 percent‒‒among those who have been contacted by their lenders about what the closing process will entail.Dr. Matthew Lind, senior partner and founder of STRATMOR, said in a phone interview Tuesday that customer satisfaction has risen among borrowers from 87 to 91 percent, the highest since the firm launched MortgageSAT in 2013. This satisfaction rating coincides extremely closely to the rise in the number of borrowers who reported they’d been contacted (as per TRID guidelines) by their lenders before closing.Lind said that the simple act of a lender, say, telling clients up front how many forms will be involved (rather than piecemeal sending them a form here and there) or giving borrowers the address and time of the closing has dramatically raised customer satisfaction. In fact, he said, the difference between happy customers and unhappy ones is a major gulf. Among 13,000-plus borrowers who said they were contacted by the lender prior to closing, 94 percent were satisfied; among the 1,022 who weren’t, only 60 percent were satisfied, he said. “That’s abysmal.”Lind also said that in the rush to find better ways to serve customers, a lot of lenders overlook the simple and free solutions like texting, emailing, or simply calling once or twice to fill clients in on what’s happening.“We try to look at all the factors that improve satisfaction. Some of them could be costly, but most of them cost nothing. None of them involve rocket science.”Dr. Matthew Lind, STRATMOR GroupIn fact, Lind cited a famous 1989 article in the New England Journal of Medicine that identified home repairs‒‒not death, divorce, or financial ruin‒‒as the No. 1 cause of stress among Americans. The reason: because contractors never told homeowners anything and the guesswork and frustrations make things much worse than they need to be.The longer closing times‒‒an average of 48 days‒‒borrowers face seems to be of little concern, as long as they are in the know about what’s going on with their mortgage deals, Lind said. If it costs more and takes a longer time, but people feel they it’s all worth it, “we think that’s a fair trade,” he said.Among lenders, satisfaction with the TRID process is a different story, STRATMOR found. According to the survey, independent lenders were generally ahead of banks in TRID implementation. This implementation was fully accomplished at 72 percent of small and 80 percent of mid-sized independents, the survey found. Conversely those numbers were 33 and 44 percent, respectively, for small and mid-sized banks.In fact, the report found, banks seemed to have a harder time with implementation all around, with 31 percent characterizing their experience under TRID as either “difficult” or “terrible,” versus only 16 percent of independents reporting similar results.One of the issues lenders are facing is that closing costs are up by an average of $209 per loan since October, and that lenders, Lind said, are primarily eating the costs. Those costs, he said, are expected to dip back to somewhere between $160 and $180 per loan.“Implementing TRID has obviously not been easy for lenders,” Lind said. Along with eating those increased closing costs, he added, “lenders are estimating that only about 17 percent of those costs can be recovered through additional charges.”Lind said that one additional frustration among lenders that typically affects larger institutions more than independents is that in non-independent lenders (such as larger banks), the loan officers are not in control of the technology; it’s more of an extension of the IT department, whereas smaller independent lenders tend to have systems everyone can work and use effectively.The bottom line as Lind sees it, though, is, that lenders will in the long run do well with repeat clients if they take simple steps towards customer satisfaction, such as training representatives how to stay in contact and simply inform borrowers during the closing period.“We try to look at all the factors that improve satisfaction,” he said. “Some of them could be costly, but most of them cost nothing. None of them involve rocket science.”
LenderLive 2017-08-16 Brianna Gilpin in Government, Headlines, News Share August 16, 2017 571 Views 
LenderLive Document Services, a LenderLive Services LLC company, recently announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have certified their Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) XML file as meeting all UCD requirements months ahead of the September 25 deadline for meeting all UCD certification and delivery requirements.After undergoing detailed, extensive testing protocol to make sure the UCD XML file met all GSE requirements to deliver data and documents in a GSE acceptable format, the LenderLive UCD XML file is now able to embed and deliver closing disclosures (CD) as associated data to the borrower. They will also prepare the UCD with seller data as part of the 2018 requirement.“Having our UCD XML file certified by the GSEs ensures that our clients will experience zero transition issues, complying with the upcoming requirements,” said Jonathan Kunkle, General Manager of LenderLive Document Services. “We have fully embraced the need and the ongoing benefits of the UCD initiative to provide standardization, transparency and consistency for the lending community.”The UCD is a part of the Uniform mortgage Data Program, which is an ongoing initiative by the GSEs at the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to create a common industry dataset to support the Closing Disclosure requirements set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Lenders selling loans to the GSEs with a note date on or after September 25, 2017 will be required to submit the UCD XML file, including a PDF copy of the CD, this fall, prior to delivery of the final loan package to the GSE. The GSEs will initially only require borrower CD and associated data, but will include lenders providing seller CDs and associated data in the UCD file as well after one year. LenderLive Document Services Gets GSE Green Light
Credit: Ron LiBrandi These pod-like holiday homes were constructed on Taiwan’s northern coast in the late 1970s. The plan was to create a luxurious and family-friendly resort near to New Taipei city. But while they might not look like your average haunted houses, there’s something incredibly eerie about this derelict site. The project was abandoned in the 1980s due to lack of investment and a number of mysterious incidents, including several accidents which took place during construction. Some locals believed that construction workers brought bad luck on themselves when they demolished a Chinese dragon sculpture in order to widen the resort’s main entrance road. The world’s top 5 creepy abandoned attractions Credit: Chao-Wei Juan This sprawling, rural resort was once one of America’s most popular hotels for honeymooners, who came here to relax in the spa and to soak in the famous heart-shaped bathtubs. It started life as a bar but quickly expanded, and when its last guest checked out in 2009 there were over 100 rooms. It was – and still is – wonderfully kitsch. Rooms have floor-to-ceiling carpeting and round beds, and the swimming pool – now filled with algae – is shaped like a wedding bell. So what went wrong? The resort’s owner, Frances Paolillo, died in 2009, and it soon became obvious that there were major financial problems. The resort closed less than two months after Paolillo’s death, and workers claim they never received their final paychecks. The resort quickly fell into disrepair this year, it was finally sold, although what will happen to the site isn’t yet known. Sadly, it’s not possible to stay at these creepy hotels, but if you do fancy spending the night with some ghost and ghouls, check-in to one of the UK’s most haunted hotels. North of Kobe in Japan, halfway up Mount Maya, stands the Art Deco Maya Hotel, only accessible by cable car or via a steep hiking path. Built in 1929, the hotel has suffered untold calamities throughout its history: it suffered heavy bomb damage in the Second World War and six years after reopening in 1961, it was heavily damaged by a typhoon and mudslides, forcing it to shut its doors once more. It eventually opened again in 1974, this time as a student centre. Rarely used, it was closed for good in 1995 after suffering further damage during the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Despite being battered by the elements, it’s still possible to see the building’s faded beauty and admire the Art Deco architecture. Credit: ©Ballantyne108, CC BY-SA 3.0 Want to see more of the world’s creepiest places? Check these out: 9 creepiest ghost towns in the world 6. Kolmanskop, Namibia Hachijo-jima is a semi-tropical island located nearly 300 kilometres south of Tokyo in Japan. After the Second World War, the island gained popularity as a tourist destination – the Japanese government promoted it as the “Hawaii of Japan”. But gradually tourism began to decline as Japan’s wealth increased and tourists began seeking out the real Hawaii or heading further south to the tropical islands of Okinawa.The ten-storey Hachijo Royal Hotel opened in 1963, and at the time it was one of the biggest hotels in Japan. After various changes of ownership and several attempts at rebranding, it eventually closed over a decade ago. Since then it’s rapidly decayed in the tropical, humid climate. Twisting, Triffid-like vegetation has quickly pushed its way through the cracked concrete, and the rusting hulks of abandoned cars remain parked outside. Weary locals avoid the site, describing it as one of Japan’s most haunted hotels. 7. Penn Hills Resort, Pennsylvania, US ReturnOne wayMulti-cityFromAdd nearby airports ToAdd nearby airportsDepart14/08/2019Return21/08/2019Cabin Class & Travellers1 adult, EconomyDirect flights onlySearch flights Map Skyscanner is the world’s travel search engine, helping your money go further on flights, hotels and car hire. The UK’s most haunted hotels Do you dare explore the world’s scariest ghost towns? Come with us on a spooky historical tour. 3. Bokor Hill Station, Cambodia 5. Varosha, CyprusIn the 1960s and early 1970s, Varosha in Cyprus was a booming seaside resort. Celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot and Richard Burton booked its luxurious rooms months in advance, eager to soak up the views of the bustling seafront. This all changed in July 1974, the Turkish army invaded. Varosha’s 45,000 fled, leaving behind a ghost town. But the advance stopped just outside the town and an uneasy truce was reached. Today Varosha is a no mans’ land wedged between Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus and the Greek armies to the south. Residents hoped to be able to return to their homes as soon as the deadlock was resolved. More than 40 years later, they’re still waiting. If you love to scare yourself silly on holiday, why not check out the world’s nine creepiest ghost towns? This Namibian town was founded by German settlers in the 1900s. They came here in search of diamonds, and many made their fortunes here after finding the precious stones beneath Namibia’s shifting sands. The first residents made good use of their new-found wealth, building a casino, tram line, ballroom, school and hospital. By the time WWI had ended, the supply of diamonds was running low and and Kolmanskop was finally abandoned in 1954. Today, it’s one of Namibia’s most popular tourist spots. Every year thousands of visitors arrive by jeep to walk through the knee-deep sands and peer into the deserted houses. It’s also been used as a setting for countless films and photo shoots. In 2011, Agyness Deyn came here to shoot a fashion spread for Vogue. Some of Kolmanskop’s buildings have now been almost entirely swallowed by sand. Visitors need a permit to enter the town, and there are daily guided tours. 1. Sanzhi UFO houses, Taiwan 2. Maya Hotel, Kobe, Japan Today, Bokor Hill Station is a derelict cluster of abandoned buildings, but when it was built in the early 1920s, the plan was for it to be a luxurious resort catering to wealthy French colonials. It’s remote location and Cambodia’s hot, muggy climate caused problems from the outset, and 900 people died during construction. It opened in 1925 but was abandoned 15 years later during the Indochina war. in 1962 more buildings were added, including a casino. But in 1972 the Khmer Rouge took over the area and the resort was abandoned once again.There are now plans to turn the resort into a luxury holiday resort once more, and the Cambodian government has recently finished construction on a new highway which will make the site much more accessible. But today, the only building still in use is a small temple. From eerily silent theme parks to hotels that never opened their doors: check out these tourist attractions that have been left to rot. 4. Hachijo Royal Hotel, Japan Believe in ghosts? No? Are you sure? We reckon you might have a rethink after a stay at one of these haunted hotels where fright night is every night. Credit: ©JP Haikyo, CC BY 2.0 Related7 of the world’s creepiest abandoned holiday resortsAvoid long queues at the reception desk or fighting over the last sausage at the breakfast buffet – guests are few and far between at the following abandoned, and strangely beautiful, resorts.Sleeping with the fishes: the world’s best underwater hotelsFan of unusual hotels? Well, staying in a room with an under-the-sea view is no longer a sci-fi dream; get your snorkel gear on and take a peek at these crazy underwater hotels, from Dubai to the Maldives.Ghost towns: 10 eerie abandoned places around the worldAbandoned houses, roofless and wind-whipped. Rusting railway lines, stretching off to nowhere. Empty streets, punctuated with just one set of footsteps. From Australia to the UK, check out these eerie ghost towns and villages around the world.
The Turkish Cypriot side is merely using the hydrocarbons issue as an excuse not to return to the negotiating table, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Wednesday.In comments to public broadcaster Cybc following the departure late on Monday of the drillship Saipem 12000 belonging to Italian giant ENI, which was under a Turkish blockade for two weeks, Christodoulides said the Turkish side was simply not ready to resume talks.He said that although the UNSG’s Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar had met Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Tuesday and the Greek Cypriot side had been briefed, “we have not heard anything new from what we have heard through public statements recently”.“What everyone understands, including the international component, is that the Turkish side is invoking the issue of energy because they are not ready to resume talks,” Christodoulides said. This was clear because the issue of natural resources had been resolved at the negotiating table a long time ago, he added. Also, he said, there did not seem to be any willingness on the part of the Turkish side to end the provocations within the island’s EEZ.“The Turkish Cypriots must decide what future they want, with Turkey or with a reunited Cyprus as an EU member state. We need to be very careful not to create the impression that the issue of gas is the reason why the talks do not resume.”Christodoulides also responded to recent tough stances taken by the north’s ‘foreign minister’ Kudret Ozersay and ‘energy minister’ Ozdil Nami putting forward ultimatums that either the Turkish Cypriots co-manage the gas plans or they should be frozen pending a solution. Nami also threatened that Turkey would prevent drilling plans in all of Cyprus’ EEZ blocks, while Ozersay suggested that the Turkish side “should continue acting in a deterrent manner”. He also said that “if necessary” a bilateral “delimitation agreement” with Greek Cypriots for separate EEZs “might come onto the agenda”.Christodoulides dismissed the comments of both, saying they were acting with an eye on the Turkish Cypriot elections in 2020. But President Nicos Anastasiades responded to Ozersay’s comment later on Wednesday saying he wished to handle the situation “in a calm manner, with patience and tolerance”. Actions were being taken through diplomacy, he added.Meanwhile Turkish media reported on Wednesday that Ankara had sent a “mini fleet’ to the east of the ‘TRNC’ to keep an eye on the situation in the Aegean Sea and the hydrocarbons’ exploration of the Greek Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey had sent two frigates, one corvette, two assault boats and one oil carrier, media said, celebrating the fact that the ENI drillship had left Cyprus’ EEZ.Also in Cyprus on Wednesday was Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. During his visit he is to meet peacekeepers, members of the diplomatic community and the Committee on Missing Persons.The aim of the visit is to monitor the implementation of the strategic review of Unficyp. Reports said he would also meet the leaders of the two communities and that it was almost certain Lacroix would convey to UNSG Antonio Guterres the views of the two leaders on the negotiations. You May LikeDr. Marty ProPower Plus Supplement3 Dangerous Foods People Feed Their Dogs (Without Realizing It)Dr. Marty ProPower Plus SupplementUndoPopularEverythingColorado Mom Adopted Two Children, Months Later She Learned Who They Really ArePopularEverythingUndoSecurity SaversWindows Users Advised To Do This TodaySecurity SaversUndo Turkish Cypriot actions in Varosha ‘a clear violation’ of UN resolutions, Nicosia saysUndoConcern over falling tourism numbersUndoPensioner dies after crash on Paphos-Polis roadUndoby Taboolaby Taboola
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rejected lawsuits filed by depositors at Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular bank for impairments suffered in 2013.“The Court concludes that the individuals and companies which initiated the actions have not succeeded in demonstrating an infringement of the right to property, of the principle of protection of legitimate expectations, or of the principle of equal treatment,” the CJEU said on its website on Friday. “Since the first condition for establishing the non-contractual liability of the European Union –namely unlawful conduct alleged against an EU institution– has not been satisfied, the court rejects the claims for compensation”.The court ruled on lawsuits filed against the Council of the European Union by two groups of plaintiffs, individuals and companies, which were at the time depositors, bondholders or shareholders of the two banks and included the Nicosia-based Kypros Chrysostomides & Co. law firm. As a result of measures taken to stabilise the financial sector in Cyprus, depositors at Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki, lost all their deposits in excess of €100,000 while those at Bank of Cyprus saw almost half of their uninsured savings converted into equity. Depositors lost €8bn and bondholders €1.5bn.“In order for the European Union to incur non-contractual liability, a number of conditions must be satisfied,” the CJEU said. These conditions include the unlawfulness of the conduct complained of the EU institution, the reality of the damage and the existence of a causal link between the conduct of the institution and the harm invoked.The court ruled that the property rights of affected depositors, bondholders and shareholders had not been violated as the result of the measures applied in accordance to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Cyprus with its international creditors. Apart from losses for depositors, it also included the sale of the operations of Cypriot banks in Greece, the conversion of contingent convertible bonds into equity and a temporary freeze of deposits.All the above measures “did not constitute an infringement of the right to property,” the CJEU said and added that the individuals and companies could not derive a legitimate expectation from of the acts and conduct invoked in their actions.You May LikeKayak.comFind Great Hotel Rates – Save 25% or More with KAYAKKayak.comUndoTheHealthyLifeTips.comUse these Health Tips Every Day to Change Your LifestyleTheHealthyLifeTips.comUndogamersrack.comHave You Ever Heard Of Highland Cattle Cows? Check These 20 Adorable Baby Here!gamersrack.comUndo Fresh case of Blue Nile virus in northUndoTwo of serial killer’s victims buried in PhilippinesUndoState Legal Service condemns attack on attorney-generalUndoby Taboolaby Taboola