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| Most Floridians will pay new fees
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| Virtually every Floridian, from drivers to users of state parks to smokers -- will pay more next year to raise Florida's revenue by more than $2.2 billion. To Crist and other Republicans the increases are in "fees" or "surcharges" and distinct from tax increases.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Tampa Bay housing prices down 40.6 percent from peak and still dropping
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| Since cresting in the summer of 2006, Tampa Bay area home prices have tumbled 40.6 percent and now approximate what they were in August 2003.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Anatomy of two failed Bradenton banks
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| Two Bradenton banks that made national headlines last year when they were closed by regulators each owe their demise to poor oversight by management and overly aggressive pursuit of commercial real estate loans. First Priority was shut down by regulators in August. At the time, First Priority had $43 million in nonperforming loans and only had $1.5 million in total equity capital. On Oct. 31, Freedom Bank also was shut down for its loan losses and poor capital position. Freedom had lost $18 million for the year and was saddled with $35 million in nonperforming loans.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Refinancing your home requires more scrutiny
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| Even as Southwest Florida's economy falls apart and home prices flat-line, you may still be able to refinance your house and save big bucks. But it's a longer, more arduous process as skittish lenders check you out to make sure they're not throwing good money after bad.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press
| Posted: 06/01/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Chicago racked by room glut
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| Hotel market hit by declining demand, falling rates as new properties open and compete for dwindling tourism dollars
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Illinois Gov. Quinn keeps pushing for tax hike
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| Gov. Pat Quinn continued pushing for higher income taxes to reduce the state budget deficit Friday, despite new warnings from lawmakers that a tax increase would not pass and a temporary budget was more likely. Quinn's fellow Democrats, even some who personally support higher taxes, said they lack the votes to pass an increase. They said it was increasingly possible that lawmakers would simply approve what money is available and then adjourn, leaving state agencies to limp along without a complete budget. Quinn rejected the idea of passing a budget that covers only part of the state's annual expenses. But he indicated he was open to major changes in his original proposal to permanently raise the personal income tax rate to 4.5 percent, from 3 percent.
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| @ Crain's Chicago Real Estate Daily
| Posted: 06/01/09 at 0400 EDST
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| U.S. Economy: Consumer Sentiment Rose to 8-Month High
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| Confidence among U.S. consumers rose this month to the highest level since September, while business activity shrank at a faster pace than forecast as the auto slump rippled through the economy. The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment increased to 68.7, higher than anticipated, from 65.1 in April.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Gross Domestic Product, 1st quarter 2009 (preliminary) Corporate Profits, 1st quarter 2009 (preliminary)
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| Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009, (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP decreased 6.3 percent.
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| @ Bureau of Economic Analysis | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0419 EDST
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| U.K. House Prices Stopped Falling in May
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| U.K. house prices stopped falling in May for the first time in 20 months, adding to evidence the property market slump is abating, a survey of real-estate agents by Hometrack Ltd. showed. Average prices in England and Wales held at 155,600 pounds ($251,000) after they declined 0.3 percent in April, the London- based property researcher said in an e-mailed statement today. On the year, values dropped 9.6 percent.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0646 EDST
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| UK homebuyers face higher mortgage rates
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| Analysts warn that the sharp rise in government bond yields, which have an inverse relationship with prices, will lead to higher mortgage rates on the high street. Government bond yields on five-year gilts rose to 2.61 per cent on Thursday – the highest level since February 26. Yields have risen from lows of 2.0 per cent since the start of March.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Canadian recession likely to be confirmed Monday
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| Statistics Canada will be reporting gross domestic product for this year's first quarter. It's expected to show the second consecutive annualized decline in GDP, meeting widely accepted criteria for a recession. Not only is another economic contraction thought to have happened during this year's first three months, it's believed to have been a doozy. Analysts polled by Reuters had a median estimate of a 6.6 per cent decline in 2009's first quarter, which would be the biggest drop since record keeping began in 1961.
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| @ Financial Post - CA | Posted: 06/01/09 at 0655 EDST
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