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| The Pending Home Sales Index, rose 2.1 percent to 82.1 from a reading of 80.4 in January,
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| It is 1.4 percent below February 2008 when it was 83.3. The index in the South rose 4.4 percent to 85.8 in February but is 0.1 percent below a year ago.
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| @ National Association of Realtors | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0201 EDST
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| New Orders, Production, Employment and Inventories Contracting Prices Falling. PMI at 36.3% up from 35.8 in February
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| Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in March for the 14th consecutive month, and the overall economy contracted for the sixth consecutive month. None of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in March.
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| @ Institute for Supply Management | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Nonfarm private employment decreased 742,000 from February to March 2009
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| Employment in the goods-producing sector declined 327,000, the twenty-seventh consecutive monthly decline. Employment in the manufacturing sector declined 206,000, its thirty-seventh consecutive decline.
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| @ ADP National Employment Report | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0315 EDST
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| March proved to be another dismal month for U.S. automakers as low consumer confidence kept buyers away.
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| General Motors Corp. led the slide, with a 45 percent drop in sales compared with March 2008. Ford Motor Co. reported a 41 percent decline, and Chrysler LLC said sales plunged 39 percent.
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| @ Wall Street Journal | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Total construction spending during February 2009 was at adjusted annual rate of $967.5 billion, 0.9 percent below the January
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| Residential construction was at an anual rate of $275.1 billion in February, 4.3 percent below the revised January estimate of $287.4 billion.
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| @ U. S. Census Bureau | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Lending market lifted as mortgage rates fall
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| Mortgage interest rates on a 30-year fixed loan with a 20 percent down payment and no points fell to 4.875 percent, one of the lowest rates in years for this region. At that rate, a borrower with decent credit and 20 percent down can get a typical $150,000, three-bedroom, three-bath home with a two-car garage for a monthly principal-and-interest payment of $635.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Florida's Everglades deal gets refined
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| A struggling economy has prompted Gov. Charlie Crist to scale back an ambitious Everglades restoration plan to 72,500 acres of sugar cane and citrus fields. Crist rolled out the economy-sized plan Wednesday, saying the $533 million deal with U.S. Sugar reflects the realities of hard times. The proposal is the third version of a plan that began at $1.7 billion and 180,000 acres last summer.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Uproar over Chinese drywall; Floridians say it's making them ill and hurting home values
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| Homeowners in Florida and other states are mounting a charge against defective Chinese drywall, saying it's making them sick and damaging their homes built during the housing boom. As many as 36,000 homes in Florida and 100,000 nationwide may contain the imported wallboard, which can give off a sulfurous "rotten egg" odor, tarnish metals and ruin appliances and electronics by corroding pipes and wires.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0419 EDST
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| UK house prices showed a surprise bounce in March, as the Nationwide house price index on Thursday registered its first rise since October 2007.
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| The index rose by 0.9 per cent in March, bringing the year-on-year decline to 15.7 per cent from the 17.6 per cent annual drop in February. The price of the average house moved back above £150,000 to hit £150,946 in March. Over the first quarter, which takes account of falls in the first two months of the year, house prices showed an average drop of 16.5 per cent, up from a 14.7 per cent fall in the fourth quarter of 2008.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Decline in UK manufacturing slows in March
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| The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to its highest level since last October and has now risen for three out of the last four months. But the reading of 39.1, up from 34.9 in February, is still close to the lowest levels that the index has recorded since collection of the data began in 1992. Any figure below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Some US states are the worst tax havens of all, study finds
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Financial regulator Bermuda Monetary Authority said: "Our vetting processes are rigorous, reflecting Bermuda's well-established Know Your Customer policies that have been in place for over 50 years, long before formal anti-money laundering controls were adopted globally.
Editor's Comment: This is a good read
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| @ Royal Gazette Bermuda | Posted: /04/02/09 at 0655 EDST
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