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Companies that import Chinese pharmaceutical ingredients, including aspirin, are required to test the supplies before using them, and some send private inspectors to China to ensure that suppliers use adequate controls. No pharmaceutical maker wants its name to become synonymous with disaster, and the vast majority of drugs that are consumed in the United States are safe. But some industry executives told me that price sensitivity in the generics industry makes it more difficult to fully vet their low-cost suppliers.
NYTimes today
HEH!
Posts I've Made
In Topic: U.S. Financial Markets
27 October 2008 - 09:19 PM
QUOTE(Rose @ Oct 9 2008, 02:44 PM) 
QUOTE(Rail Paul @ Oct 9 2008, 01:27 PM)
QUOTE(Rose @ Oct 9 2008, 11:59 AM)
I received a letter from Chase yesterday. I have a line of credit on my apartment whose market value is, or was last month,
in the seven figures. The reason I know this for sure is that two weeks ago an apartment in my line on a lower floor closed a sale in that range.
The letter told me that they were closing the HELOC to further use. The reason they gave for this was that they had an appraisal company reappraise the property (without seeing it, of course) and the current appraisal was lower than the maximum amount for the line. The appraisal determined the value to now be $363,000.
in the seven figures. The reason I know this for sure is that two weeks ago an apartment in my line on a lower floor closed a sale in that range.
The letter told me that they were closing the HELOC to further use. The reason they gave for this was that they had an appraisal company reappraise the property (without seeing it, of course) and the current appraisal was lower than the maximum amount for the line. The appraisal determined the value to now be $363,000.
Bulk appraisals are proliferating the banking industry right now, and credit cars / home equity lines of credit (HELOC) are the first target. It sounds like you got bulked. Bulks take down the value of all units in a building, neighborhood, etc by a flat amount, often 20% or 25%. The sale that closed last week might have been executed in July, when prices were higher.
Until recently many banks allowed a first mortgage plus second mortgage plus a % of the HELOC to total up to 95% of the property's appraised value, which they adjusted periodically for a region or an area. The new protocol seems to be that the total won't be more than 75% of their newly reduced appraisal value.
So, if you have a unit with recent, comparable sales at $1.2mn, and you have a $500k first mortgage on the property, they might have allowed you $1,140,000 ($1.2mn x 95%) for your maximum loan to value for all loans. Under their new regime, they may decide that the $1.2mn comparable should be reduced to a million, and the combined amount then adjusted to 75%. That would give you $750,000 max for all loans. So, your first plus all additional loan facilities can't exceed $750,000.
If they are applying new income tests on loan service (I don't know that they are, but it wouldn't surprise me), they may decide that your maximum loan capacity is a lot lower than it was last week.
FYI: No first mortgage exists on my apartment; The other unit closed at $1.7M
Follow-up:
After calling Chase a few times, also calling Miller Samuel (respected appraisal company in NYC) and being quoted an appraisal fee of $750, calling a realtor who is familiar with my building and listening to him do a spit-take when I told him the story, calling Chase again with them agreeing to reimburse me $350 for the appraisal, I called Chase one more time to verify the current rate of interest applicable to the outstanding loan and guess what? They decided to reopen the line at the rate of 4.75%. Do you think they were going to tell me about it? What if I had already had the appraisal done? Jerks.
In Topic: U.S. Financial Markets
10 October 2008 - 03:48 PM
QUOTE(Anthony Bonner @ Oct 10 2008, 11:47 AM)
QUOTE(Rose @ Oct 10 2008, 10:59 AM)
"I don't wish to spread alarm on the line people but the big issue confronting the market is I'm afraid the health and sustainability of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs," Hugh Hendry, Partner and CIO at Eclectica, told CNBC. "It is unimaginable that they can be allowed to go, I suspect that they will be nationalized at some point today or over the weekend," he added. - CNBC.com
Just avoid CNBC. Most of the guests are just bobble heads, and the few guys who actually know what they are talking about are probably talking up their own book of investments.
I hope you're right.
In Topic: U.S. Financial Markets
09 October 2008 - 06:44 PM
QUOTE(Rail Paul @ Oct 9 2008, 01:27 PM)
QUOTE(Rose @ Oct 9 2008, 11:59 AM)
I received a letter from Chase yesterday. I have a line of credit on my apartment whose market value is, or was last month,
in the seven figures. The reason I know this for sure is that two weeks ago an apartment in my line on a lower floor closed a sale in that range.
The letter told me that they were closing the HELOC to further use. The reason they gave for this was that they had an appraisal company reappraise the property (without seeing it, of course) and the current appraisal was lower than the maximum amount for the line. The appraisal determined the value to now be $363,000.
in the seven figures. The reason I know this for sure is that two weeks ago an apartment in my line on a lower floor closed a sale in that range.
The letter told me that they were closing the HELOC to further use. The reason they gave for this was that they had an appraisal company reappraise the property (without seeing it, of course) and the current appraisal was lower than the maximum amount for the line. The appraisal determined the value to now be $363,000.
Bulk appraisals are proliferating the banking industry right now, and credit cars / home equity lines of credit (HELOC) are the first target. It sounds like you got bulked. Bulks take down the value of all units in a building, neighborhood, etc by a flat amount, often 20% or 25%. The sale that closed last week might have been executed in July, when prices were higher.
Until recently many banks allowed a first mortgage plus second mortgage plus a % of the HELOC to total up to 95% of the property's appraised value, which they adjusted periodically for a region or an area. The new protocol seems to be that the total won't be more than 75% of their newly reduced appraisal value.
So, if you have a unit with recent, comparable sales at $1.2mn, and you have a $500k first mortgage on the property, they might have allowed you $1,140,000 ($1.2mn x 95%) for your maximum loan to value for all loans. Under their new regime, they may decide that the $1.2mn comparable should be reduced to a million, and the combined amount then adjusted to 75%. That would give you $750,000 max for all loans. So, your first plus all additional loan facilities can't exceed $750,000.
If they are applying new income tests on loan service (I don't know that they are, but it wouldn't surprise me), they may decide that your maximum loan capacity is a lot lower than it was last week.
FYI: No first mortgage exists on my apartment; The other unit closed at $1.7M
