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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ramsey Su who wrote (3020)	12/9/2003 10:03:17 AM
From: russwinter	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

I realize this market is an Orwellian freak show right now, but still I don't understand why anyone should be surprised these mortgage originators are now coming up short. The mortgage app index is there for all to see. Don't the analysts follow this stuff? mbaa.org I suppose the next big "surprise" will be that huge winter heat bills will take a big chunk out of consumers pockets. Duh!

To: Ramsey Su who wrote (3020)	12/9/2003 3:44:26 PM
From: Mannie	Respond to of 110194

Tuesday, December 9, 2003 Wamu plans pilot project to outsource IT work By BILL VIRGIN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Washington Mutual Inc. said yesterday that it plans to expand a pilot project in which it has been outsourcing some information-technology work to contractors in India. The Seattle-based bank and mortgage lender said the outsourcing won't involve customer-service jobs, and won't mean the loss of jobs from domestic operations. "This is work we wouldn't likely have Wamu employees on anyway," spokeswoman Libby Hutchinson said. Wamu has had about 30 people working for contractors Covansys and Syntel as part of the pilot project, Hutchinson said. After the first of the year, it will evaluate expanding the number of people and companies involved (additional candidates include WiPro and InfoSys), although the number of workers hasn't been determined. The work includes programming support for older or "legacy" computer systems that are destined to be retired, as well as testing programming done in this country. Hutchinson said it's work Wamu can't get to because of a backlog of projects. "We have a great deal of backlogged work currently in our technology pipeline, and we need some fast, efficient ways of getting that work done," she said. Hutchinson said Wamu does all of its customer-support work domestically and has no plans to send that work overseas. Foreign outsourcing and the exportation of jobs to countries such as India have been increasing and become an increasingly controversial political and business issue. U.S. companies say they have to move work abroad to cut costs and remain competitive, and because there aren't enough trained people available in this country. Critics say foreign outsourcing and job exportation not only result in layoffs in the United States but raise long-term questions about data security, loss of control of technology that provides the basis for future innovation and the economic effect of lost income and jobs. Although much of the attention in the outsourcing and job-exportation debate has been focused on the technology sector, the financial services business also has been part of the trend. One American investment bank is using employees in India to do financial analysis of stocks. Bank of America announced plans to open a new information-technology center in India next year, although the company said it would not affect employment in the United States. The bank had previously cut jobs in the United States as it moved software programming to India. seattlepi.nwsource.com