01 Sep
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
A woman’s decomposing body was found wedged inside the chimney of the house where her boyfriend lives Bakersfield, California and authorities say she died trying to gain access after being locked out.
The body of Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, a doctor who had an “on-again, off-again” relationship with the man, was stuck in the chimney for three days before being discovered by woman who was house-sitting, the Bakersfield Police Department said. Authorities said Kotarac died of asphyxiation.
It isn’t clear what kind of doctor Kotarac was, however, she likely was not an Oakland CA breast augmentation surgeon. Had she worked as an Oakland CA liposuction surgeon, it isn’t for certain.
The woman “smelled an odor and realized it was coming from the fireplace,” Sgt. Mary DeGeare said.
Kotarac had come to the home Wednesday night but the boyfriend wouldn’t let her in. “To avoid a confrontation,” DeGeare said, “he wouldn’t let her in.”
So Kotarac used a shovel and tried unsuccessfully to force her way in through a back door, police said. She then climbed the roof and slid down the chimney. But her boyfriend had already left the house, police said.
Kotarac was found stuck about 2 feet above the interior fireplace opening. In concluding that she died of asphyxiation, the Bakersfield coroner’s office deemed the death an accident.
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MY TAKE: This is the kind of story that grabs the attention of everyone from Phoenix Arizona realtors to the guys running the Texas car accident law firm. Nothing is more shocking than the image of a person stuck in a chimney, dead, for days on end. It’s sad to think she wasn’t heard in time and could have been saved. Phoenix AZ real estate folks might never look at a chimney the same way after reading this story. Ditto for the Texas personal injury attorney and of course the liposuction surgeon. It’s not a pretty sight, but it’s also not all that uncommon for people to get stuck in chimney’s. Burglers are the usual suspects found wedged in the brick and mortar, not women, but this was obviously an unusual case of domestic/romantic drama.
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.OTHER RESOURCES
Legal News for Californians
Redwood City criminal defense lawyer options don’t have to be expensive. San Mateo County criminal attorneys for example will work with you if you are on a fixed or limited income. Also, Californian’s should always apply for legal aid through the State Bar Association and you can check here for a list of resources for pro-bono lawyers.
01 Sep
SOURCE: Associated Press
The economy is slowing, again, home sales appear to be dipping and stocks are on a long slide, and now we are in what is traditionally the worst month in the market: September.
Could stocks be headed for another September swoon?
“If history is any guide, for it’s never gospel, we may be in for another rough ride,” says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor’s.
Mutual fund managers tend to clean house after Labor Day, taking profits on winning stocks and weeding out portfolios before putting out the rosiest possible end-of-quarter reports for their clients.
September swoon
No month has brought worse results in the stock market than September. Here is the average monthly price change, from 1950 through July 2010, for the S&P 500 index. Months are listed from best performance to worst:
- December: 1.6% gain
- November: 1.6% gain
- April: 1.5% gain
- March: 1.2% gain
- January: 1% gain
- July: 1% gain
- October: 0.6% gain
- May: 0.3% gain
- August: 0.1% gain
- June: 0.04% loss
- February: 0.2% loss
- September: 0.6% loss
Source: Stock Trader’s Almanac
Workers coming back from summer breaks are also inclined to sell stocks as they get their financial affairs in order. This includes everyone from the San Diego contracts attorney to the commercial mortgage brokers. Any festering issues with the economy or stocks during the summer, when trading volume is light, tend to get put off until fall.
The result: September is usually a dog of a month for the market. It typically starts with solid market increases, then tails off, says Jeffrey Hirsch, editor-in-chief of the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
“There’s just a general selling bias in the month of September,” he says.
Four times in the past decade alone, the S&P 500 shed at least 5% in September. The average September decline since 1950 is 0.6%, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. February is the next worst, with an average 0.2% loss, and December and November are the best, averaging 1.6 percent gains.
Of course, investors haven’t forgotten that the financial world collapsed in September just two years ago. And the Sept. 11 attacks, which delivered a devastating blow to the stock market, remain a painful memory.
This year, there’s a lot to frown about. The S&P 500 index is down 14% from its high in April, and was down 5% for the month of August.
Stocks have fallen because the economic recovery is faltering. The economy has slowed to anemic growth, home sales the last three months are the worst on record, consumer spending is lackluster and unemployment is stuck near 10%.
The slew of weak economic data sapped the market of what little midsummer momentum it had and further shook the confidence of already wary investors.
“I don’t think it would take a whole lot to get investors to start selling and consumers to start pulling back again,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “The collective psyche is on edge.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that the central bank is ready to take additional steps to boost the economy, including buying more debt or mortgage securities in order to keep interest rates low.
But with the benchmark interest rate already near zero, any Fed action is unlikely to provide the oomph of past measures. Congress doesn’t appear to have an appetite for another stimulus package.
Also hanging over the market is an air of heightened uncertainty because the November elections will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years. The S&P 500 has declined an average 1.7 percent in the September before midterm elections since 1930.
Not that September isn’t bad enough already without all of this year’s baggage. It’s one of only three months, along with February and June, when stock prices typically decline.
The uncertainty is a serious consideration for financial advisers such as Dominick Vetrano of Fountainhead Financial in Chicago. He holds off putting more money into stocks beginning in August, even though he thinks the September market dips are usually psychological.
“There is little to gain by investing right before September and a lot to lose, so why risk it?” he says. “The September effect is well-documented.”
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MY TAKE: Although news reports show a rise in both residential and commercial mortgage loans applications, there are still no real clear signs of a solid recovery for the housing market, yet. I’d be willing to bet that every small business, too, from the small Blackberry repair service provider to the New York tax preparation firm will be cutting more corners, possibly not laying off workers, but definitely not hiring any more of them, and looking for ways to boost business without making any expenditures. If I were a small iPod repair company or a tax preparation firm I imagine I’d be thinking about ways to streamline too, as it looks like we are in for a protracted recession.
Are you being pounded day and night by debt collectors? You may want to contact a firm of collection harassment lawyers. FCRA lawyers are trained to legally help you fight back against unlawful harassment by debt collection companies who step over the bounds in an effort to get you to pay a bill.
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Other Resources
Construction Receivables Factoring and Transactions
Once you’ve been approved for construction receivables factoring, which should allow you to close out accounts and get your company in order, there are a great many types of transactions that you can complete, using your advanced capital. Subcontractors such as ceiling and drywall experts, tile contractors, carpenters, roofing contractors, and plumbing contractors all require payment upon completion of a job, but if that money is held up with a sixty or ninety day invoice, you can use borrowed capital to finalize all your outstanding bills. The money can even be used for bills brought by such entities as security firms, home inspectors, and architects.
Offshore Bank Account and Banking Services
Deciding to employ an offshore bank account carries advantages beyond strong and valuable asset protection. An offshore bank will generally offer all types of financial services that a domestic banking source would such as lines of credit, monetary exchanges, and electronic funds transfers. Offshore banks can also assist with things like investment management or fund management and can play the role of trustee or help with the corporate administration of your offshore incorporation. Although not every offshore bank will provide every type of banking service, there are many offshore banks available offering different levels of asset management.
Tax Time Already?
New York tax planning accountants are already preparing to help you with you 2010 tax returns. Now is the time to start collecting your documents, receipts and other paperwork that you’ll need to get your return in on time. If you’re a small business, you might want to dig out all the receipts for those home-office upgrades, equipment purchases and other items you bought because those can all be added to your operating write-off costs.
