| Wire feed: Google co-founders' fortunes take massive hits; Dockers turnaround leader becomes Mervyns CEO
Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page each took home their customary $1 annual salary again in 2007, while a steep decline in the company's stock price chopped more than $8.5 billion from each of their massive holdings of Google shares, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. Brin, 34, the company's president of technology, and Page, 35, president of products, took the hits to their multibillion-dollar fortunes as shares of the Internet search leader plunged over the past five months on disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and fears the company can't sustain its torrid growth. CEO Eric Schmidt also received his customary $1 salary in 2007, the Mountain View-based company said in its proxy statement filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Schmidt also received $480,561 in 2007, including $478,662 in expenses incurred by Google mostly for Schmidt's personal security.
Private mortgage insurers doing business as usual
Montgomery mortgage lenders are still able to make loans that require private mortgage insurance, despite a national report that says the rules are changing for mortgage lenders. Private mortgage insurance is coverage that is purchased by the homebuyer to protect the lender in case of default and is required on most conventional mortgages when the buyer doesn't have a 20 percent down payment. The PMI company has the greatest risk if a home goes to foreclosure. So if a market is in decline and home prices are dropping significantly, it increases the PMI company's risk because a home likely won't bring as much at foreclosure. That means PMI sellers generally require larger down payments in areas with falling home prices. The Radian Group announced last week that it considers much of the Montgomery area to be among 9,600 ZIP codes that are in declining markets, which is requiring lenders to change the way they do business.
Former WCW wrestler Tatum found dead in Atlanta home
A former wrestler was found dead in his home after suffering an apparent accidental drug overdose, his father said. Chase Tatum, 34, was found dead around 4 p.m. Sunday in his home in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood, his father, Roy Tatum, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Chase Tatum used to wrestle for the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling organization. More recently, he appeared in the comedy "Who's Your Caddy?" alongside rapper Big Boi of Outkast. Chase Tatum had been recovering from back surgery to repair a degenerative disc. His father said the former wrestler had been fighting a dependence to painkillers for years but had been planning to enter a rehabilitation center. "He was in the process of getting his life back together," Roy Tatum said Monday.
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