There is blessed stuff of a White Christmas on the ground in Show Low and even fire ravaged California has finally gotten some rains along with the cessation of Santa Anna winds. Wildland Fire Season 07 is virtually over. Even though this was an unusually mild fire season in Arizona, it was another record breaker in the West and Southeast. Nationwide, there were almost 80,000 fires that burned nine million acres at a cost of 1.5 billion dollars. Thousands of homes and many lives were lost. Contrast that with the last mild fire season prior to this extended drought (1995) which only burned 1.84 million acres with approximately 82,000 fires. This years damage is five times the acreage with approximately the same number of fires. What is going on, we ask? Can we blame it all on global warming? Hardly! We know that fires are burning hotter and are much harder to stop than ever before.

JPMorgan Institutional Trust Services Expands Latin American Presence ...

(CSRwire) JPMorgan Institutional Trust Services today announced the appointment of Marcela Pino as its Client Services Manager in the JPMorgan Chase Mexico City office. Ms. Pino's appointment expands Institutional Trust Services' global network, extending the division's Latin American presence and re-asserting its commitment to this market. Ms. Pino will have responsibility for Institutional Trust Services in its role as fiduciary, paying agent, and collateral agent. She will also be charged with developing or expanding relationships with both issuers of debt and intermediaries throughout the region. An economist trained in Brazil, Ms. Pino previously served as a controller and chief financial officer for JPMorgan Mexico, supervising accounting and risk management in Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

Product Recalls

More than a quarter-million shop lights are under a voluntary recall because of an electrical shock hazard.

Consumers should stop using the recalled visual presenters immediately and contact Elmo USA at (877) 275-3566 for all models except Epson.

Talk of the bay: Auto dealers' ads can take you for a ride

This just in: Some auto-dealership ads may be misleading. The less-than-surprising warning issued Thursday by the Florida Attorney General's Office says car buyers should steer clear of dealer offers to pay off their existing car loan or lease. The loan or lease obligation does not disappear in such cases; instead, the buyer ends up owing the dealer, and because of penalties the loan balance often increases. A dealer may try to hide the extra debt burden by lengthening the repayment period. In an unrelated settlement reached in November, Bill Heard Chevrolet of Plant City and Orlando agreed to pay the state $400,000 and not run misleading radio or print ads.

The Spanish government will receive detailed information about a shipwreck site where Tampa's Odyssey Marine Exploration found $500-million worth of coins and artifacts last year, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Why was it left to Prince Charles to honour returning veterans of Iraq ...

Conservative MSP Bill Aitken said: "My own view is that the Scottish public in particular are immensely appreciative of the contribution which our armed forces make, and Prince Charles is to be commended on recognising this. "It is a pity, but unfortunately true, that the army doesn't feel appreciated and, bearing in mind the sacrifices made in Iraq and Afghanistan, governments both in Scotland and Westminster have to recognise soldiers more effectively." Clive Fairweather, a former SAS colonel, said he was "delighted" Prince Charles had taken such a "positive position" and said it showed the prince was in tune with the concerns of serving and former soldiers. He said: "He has spent a lot of time in the services and he meets a lot of soldiers and ex-soldiers. What I think would surprise most people is just how up to date and clued up the Royal Family are.

Zargon Energy Trust Announces 2007 Third Quarter Results

Zargon Energy Trust is pleased to report its financial results for the third quarter of 2007. Funds flow from operations was $17.38 million ($0.88 per diluted trust unit) in the 2007 third quarter compared with $20.56 million ($1.05 per diluted trust unit) in the 2007 second quarter and $19.87 million ($1.02 per diluted trust unit) in the 2006 third quarter.

Highlights from the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 are noted below:

- Third quarter 2007 production averaged 8,501 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up slightly from the preceding quarter and an increase of four percent from the corresponding quarter of 2006. Third quarter production volumes remained stable compared to the prior quarter as new natural gas production in the West Central Alberta and Alberta Plains core areas were offset by natural oil production declines in the Williston Basin core area.

The down-payment-poor are about to get squeezed

Call it the credit risk hangover following the housing boom binge: Homebuyers and refinancers who can't come up with sizable down payments, and whose FICO credit scores are below 680, are about to get squeezed in the mortgage market.

Giant investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are imposing significant increases in fees for a broad range of borrowers who have lower than 30 percent down payments and formerly were treated as "prime" credit applicants.