Free Republic

A New York court ruled yesterday that a bond insurer claiming Bank of America’s Countrywide unit fraudulently induced it to insure $21 billion of mortgage-backed securities can use statistical sampling to prove its case. Judge Eileen Bransten granted a motion to allow the insurer, MBIA, to use statistical sampling, turning down the objections by Bank of America. Bank of America [BAC 13.06 -0.32 (-2.39%) ] had told investors that it intended to fight repurchase requests—also known as put-backs—on a “loan-by-loan basis.” That process would have required MBIA and others seeking to force Bank of America to buy back loans it...

After a tense night of vote-counting yielded no clear result, Australia was heading for a hung parliament with independents Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter, who hail from regional areas, becoming the unlikely kingmakers. Independents (L-R) Bob Katter, Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor While they all have links to the National Party, the minor party in Tony Abbott’s conservative coalition, the independents have said that past allegiances will not influence their negotiations. The most unpredictable member of the trio is Mr Katter, the MP for the vast seat of Kennedy in northern Queensland which covers more than 340,000sq miles. A...

He's swept up in what local officials say is a rise in Hispanic gang activity in Dane County. And he's too scared to quit. "My cousin, he was involved in a gang, and I was with him all of the time, and he involved me in gangs," the teenager said in a recent interview. The boy and his cousin moved from Mexico to Madison, where their gang is now among at least seven Hispanic gangs competing for youths' loyalties and for territory - sometimes imperiling lives and defacing property to uphold their power. Five years ago, just two Hispanic gangs...

Cuba loses support of South American amigos May 03 2004 at 06:45AM By Alistair Bell Mexico City - Mexico pulled its ambassador from Havana on Sunday and accused Cuba of interfering in its internal affairs as bitterness over Mexico's close relations with the United States came to a head. The dispute began with Mexico's support in April for a censure of Cuba at a United Nations rights body. Peru, which also criticised the Communist island's rights record, withdrew its envoy on Sunday after harsh criticism from President Fidel Castro at a May Day speech in Havana on Saturday. "Mexico does...