Category Archives: Uncategorized

LOS ANGELES — PennyMac, AmeriHome Mortgage and Stearns Lending have several things in common.

All are among the nation’s largest mortgage lenders — and none are banks. They’re part of a growing class of alternative lenders that now extend more than 4 in 10 home loans.

Although oil markets are bankrupting producers and draining government coffers from Moscow to Riyadh, plummeting costs are filling the pockets of ordinary consumers this year, right?

Um, wrong, at least in California, where state government helps the refining industry keep gasoline prices aloft for months at a time.

On Monday, at $2.55 a gallon, the average cost of gasoline was 11 cents higher than it was a year ago in the Golden State, the federal Energy Information Administration reports.

So why does gas cost so much more in California? I’ve been covering energy markets for 16 years, and this is easily the top question I get from readers. No. 2 is, who’s to blame?

Here’s the short answer to both questions, from industry analyst David Hackett of Stillwater Associates: “Arguably, the government is keeping consumers from buying cheap gas.”

I know what you’re thinking: It’s an election year, and here we have just another business guy blaming government for industry predation of consumers.

read more at: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/feb/03/why-california-has-higher-gasoline-prices/

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

A unique property on the market in Wales is offering prospective buyers a sea-change and a new line of work at the same time.

The 4.9 hectare property, located in the sleepy coastal village of Borth, is on the market for £600,000 ($1.2 million) but the future owners will also have to share their place with 300 unlikely companions.

The property is in fact a family-run zoo home to a variety of animals including monkeys, kangaroos, lemurs and lions.

read more/pictures: http://www.domain.com.au/news/unique-opportunity-to-buy-and-live-at-seaside-zoo-in-welsh-village-for-12-million-20160126-gme7o7/