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| Survey: Jobs abound in Bradnton, but in areas where workers are scarce
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| Engineers, nurses and skilled/manual trades head up the Top 10 list, not a surprise to employment experts who say there is a skill gap as well as a time gap involved.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0201 EDST
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| For condominiums, April brings signs of life in Sarasota area
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| Condominium prices in the Sarasota-Bradenton market showed a rebound similar to that of single-family homes in April, with pricing rising 15.5 percent month over month. The median sales price in the market during April was $149,100, up $20,000 from the previous month's mark of $129,000. But sales also followed the single-family home track -- down -- dropping 17 percent at 223 units compared with 268 in April of the previous year.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Florida foreclosures draw family of investors from Down Under
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| "In Australia we're used to paying $400,000 for the average ordinary home," Jason McNally said. Tough Australian credit laws ensure that people can't walk away from their homes and mortgages with near impunity as they do in the United States. Since lending there is "full recourse," banks can go after every last penny and asset to clear the mortgage debt. Needless to say, few Aussies take out such loans lightly.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Crist signs sweeping property insurance measure
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| Most of Citizens Property Insurance Corp.'s 1 million policyholders statewide will see their premiums increase by up to 10 percent as early as Jan. 1, as a result of legislation signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist.
And policyholders with other insurers are also likely to see increases in 2010.
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| @ Orlando Sentinel | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Illinois has 15 undercapitalized banks
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| Illinois has 15 undercapitalized banks and is in a two-way tie with Georgia for the states with the most banks that have failed to set aside the amount of money required by regulators. Nationally, 89 U.S. banks and thrifts lack sufficient capital, according to preliminary March 31 numbers.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Sam Zell: Speeding up foreclosures would help housing market
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the billionaire investor repeated his prediction that the housing market would bottom out, this time by the end of summer, and then bounce along for six to eight months. “Well, the inventory is going down,” Mr. Zell said, according to a transcript. “The affordability is going up. The government is making serious efforts to provide financing. And I think it’s slowly working. And the best thing that could happen is if we could accelerate all the foreclosures. Because I think they represent a drag on the market.”
Editor's Comment: This is a good read
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| @ Crain's Chicago Real Estate Daily | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Sales of new one-family houses in April 2009 were 352,000. This is 0.3 percent above the revised March rate of 351,000.
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| This is 34.0 percent below the April 2008 estimate of 533,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2009 was $209,700; the average sales price was $254,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 297,000. This represents a supply of 10.1 months at the current sales rate.
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| @ U.S. Census Bureau | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Is a commercial real estate bust inevitable?
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| The government hopes to restore lending via cheap financing. Skeptics say programs aimed at restarting the market haven't worked yet.
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| @ Fortune Magazine | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Banks find results in lending less for more
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| Canada's major banks offset slow loan growth by making more on each loan
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| @ Globe and Mail - CA | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Bid to kill 'buy U.S.' hinges on provinces
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| The federal government is looking to cut a deal with Washington that would persuade U.S. legislators to repeal controversial Buy American measures that Canadian firms say are costing them sales and forcing them to shed jobs.
The key element of such a pact, however, is getting the provinces and territories to open up their procurement markets to U.S. suppliers. At present, provinces and municipalities are not bound by global trade law and are free to discriminate against U.S. companies in favour of local suppliers.
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| @ Financial Post - CA | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Why Britain May Fare Better Than Expected
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| Britain's finances are indeed a mess, but the economy is no worse than the rest of Europe and the United States -- and housing is even picking up speed
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| @ Der Spiegel | Posted: 05/29/09 at 0655 EDST
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