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| Expanded FDIC coverage for accounts is extended by Congress through 2013
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| Congress has extended for another four years the increased federal insurance coverage at the nation's banks, thrifts and credit unions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage was increased to $250,000 from $100,000 per depositor last October, a move to bolster customer confidence in the safety of their money. That temporary increase was set to expire on Dec. 31. But in mid-May Congress extended that $250,000 coverage through Dec. 31, 2013. Certain types of retirement accounts, such as IRA deposits, will retain their $250,000 protection after 2013.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Bradenton foreclosure boom shows no sign of end
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| 517 foreclosure suits that lenders filed in May, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Court’s office. While below March’s record 608 filings and the 526 filed in April, it was the fifth straight month that lenders have initiated 500-plus foreclosure proceedings. In all, lenders have filed 2,694 foreclosure suits so far this year — 23 percent ahead of last year’s record pace.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Lee County, Ft. Myers; foreclosures fall, permits up
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| The number of foreclosures filed in Lee County in May was lower than it was a year earlier for the second month in a row. In May, 1,896 foreclosures were filed compared to 1,954 in April and 2,450 in May 2008. Meanwhile, he said, the backlog of foreclosure cases clogging the court system hasn't increased recently. "The last three months it's been hovering at about 24,000 active cases," 65 percent of which are residential properties.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Bankruptcy filings in the Tampa-Fort Myers district on pace to set a record
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| On Thursday, court clerks logged in the 11,000th case filed since Jan. 1 — a Palm Harbor cleaner who makes $378 a month and has $228,000 in debts, mostly on credit cards. If filings continue at the same rate, the total for 2009 will exceed 27,000, more than at any time except in an unusual year when debtors rushed to file ahead of a new law that made it harder to declare bankruptcy.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Chicago suburban apartment market falls as job losses mount
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| The suburban occupancy rate fell to 91.3% in the first quarter, down from 92.1% in the fourth and 93.3% in first-quarter 2008. The median net effective rent, which includes concessions like free rent, dropped to $1.07 a square foot, down 2.7% from $1.10 in the fourth quarter, the report says. The median rent fell 6.1% from first-quarter 2008, when rents peaked.
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| @ Crain's Chicago Real Estate Daily | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Rockford, Il; drop in foreclosure cases doesn’t mean end of crisis
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| The number of foreclosure cases filed in Winnebago County tumbled from a monthly record of 233 in March to just 57 in April — but the numbers aren’t as positive as they would seem. In April, a new law took effect that required mortgage holders to send a “grace period notice” to people who had fallen more than 30 days behind on their payments. No foreclosures could be filed once the law went into effect unless the notice had been previously sent. The letter tells borrowers they have a 30-day grace period from the receipt of the letter and would receive an additional 30 days if they received counseling from an approved housing counseling agency.
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| @ Rockford Register Star | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0400 EDST
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| New Orders Growing, Production, Employment and Inventories Contracting, Prices Falling, Supplier Deliveries Faster
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| Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in May for the 16th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the first time following seven months of decline. May is the first month of growth in the New Orders Index since November 2007, with nine of 18 industries reporting growth. New orders are considered a leading indicator, and the index has risen rapidly after bottoming at 23.1 percent in December 2008. Also, the Customers' Inventories Index remained below 50 percent for the second consecutive month, offering encouragement that supply chains are starting to free themselves of excess inventories as nine industries report their customers' inventories as 'too low'.
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| @ Institute of Supply Management | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Construction spending during April 2009
was $968.7 billion, 0.8 percent above March $961.3 billion.
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| The April figure is 10.7 percent below the April 2008 estimate of $1,085.2 billion. During the first 4 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $286.3 billion, 11.3 percent below the
$322.8 billion for the same period in 2008.
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| @ U. S. Census Bureau | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Bahamas second market due for lift
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| Albany Managing Director Christopher Anand asserts will pan out in time. Anand argues that phenomenon could see people outright moving from developed countries like the U.S., Canada, and those in Europe to more tax-friendly jurisdictions like The Bahamas. They're apt to be expatriates ranging from businessmen and women to empty nesters or families, Anand believes. He points to recent tax cut cancellations in the UK as a prime example of the global environment making this country more attractive to foreigners.
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| @ Nassau Guardian | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0646 EDST
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| It's official: Canada's in a recession
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| Economy shrinks 5.4% but some economists suggesting a recovery may arrive late this year
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| @ Toronto Star | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Next Crisis Looms for German Economy
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| In the end, Berlin managed to find a solution for ailing Opel. But the carmaker isn't the only German company listing toward bankruptcy. Indeed, the next crisis, that of department store chain Karstadt, has already become an issue in Germany's developing election campaign.
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| @ Der Spiegel | Posted: 06/02/09 at 0655 EDST
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