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| If Crist relaxes rules, State Farm hints it may stay
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| With a deadline looming on the legislation, a State Farm executive has told Gov. Charlie Crist that the company would "re-examine its options" about pulling out of the Florida property insurance market if Crist endorses a bill that would let companies issue policies largely free from state rate regulation.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Demand for rental help in Leon County, Tallahassee; far exceeds availability
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| A total of 2,500 Leon County families are on a waiting list for the government's Section 8 housing assistance program in Tallahassee, and new applications have not been accepted locally since November 2007.
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| @ Tallahassee Democrat | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Are brokered CDs too good to be true? Look closer
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| Even relatively safe, federally insured certificates of deposit issued by banks and credit unions can pose hazards for investors seeking to squeeze the biggest returns from their portfolios amid a slumping stock market and historically low interest rates.
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| @ Orlando Sentinel | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Collier County, Naples; tourism down in May
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| Last month, Collier County saw a 9.7 percent drop in visitors, compared to a year ago. There were 107,500 of them staying in hotels and other short-term rentals, down from 119,100 in May 2008. Visitors booked 166,100 room nights in May, down 10.6 percent from 185,800 a year ago. Direct expenditures fell 17.7 percent to about $62.5 million.
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| @ Naple Daily News | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0330 EDST
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| "Echo Boom" will bail out housing
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Don't worry about the housing market. Everything will be fine -- once the children of the Baby Boomers grow up and start buying. A new report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies is banking on demographics to bring back the battered housing market.
Editor's Comment: This is a good read.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Coldwell Banker NRT reduces number of Chicago local offices
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| Coldwell Banker NRT has shuttered four local offices since late last year and plans to close a Naperville location by summer’s end, as the Chicago area’s largest residential real estate firm looks to cut costs amid the housing slump. Coldwell Banker NRT predicts it will close on 15,000 Chicago-area homes sales in 2009, down 15% compared with last year, while total volume could drop 10% to $6 billion.
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| @ Crain's Chicago Real Estate Daily | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Are your neighbors in foreclosure? How to tell
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| This is an all too common scenario -- you start eyeing with suspicion a house down the street. Maybe there is a portable storage unit sitting in the driveway, or piles of stuff accumulating at the curb on garbage day. A "for sale" sign appears but the owners won't tell you where they are moving or why. Rumors float down the street. Then one day the neighbors are gone, the "for sale" sign disappears and the house sits vacant for months. Foreclosures are not only stressful for the owners involved, but for the neighbors around them, who worry about reduced property values and blight on the neighborhood.
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| @ Chicago Sun Times | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0415 EDST
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| May best month yet for McLean County, Bloomington, Il; house sales
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| Real estate agents and builders closed on more properties in May in McLean County than any month so far this year, but results still lag behind last year. The Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors showed 238 deals closed, compared to 162 in April. The total value of properties was $41.4 million, compared to $25.7 million in April. The overall average price of a house increased, climbing to $174,031 from $158,841 in April.
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| @ Bloomington, Il Pantagraph | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0419 EDST
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| European Manufacturing, Service Industries Contract at Slower Pace in June
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| Europe’s manufacturing and service industries contracted at a slowest pace in nine months in June, adding to signs the recession is bottoming out. A composite index of both industries for the 16 euro nations rose to 44.4, the highest since September, from 44 in May.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Central Bank: Recovery in Chinese Economy Still Not Secure
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| The Chinese economy is headed in the right direction, but the foundations of the recovery are not yet solid, Su Ning, a vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said on Tuesday. The Chinese economy is headed in the right direction, but the foundations of the recovery are not yet solid, Su Ning, a vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said on Tuesday.
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| @ CNBC | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Economic Crisis Sends Aviation Sector into a Tailspin
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| The economic crisis is rattling the aviation sector and no company has been left unscathed. Airline profits are suffering while orders for new planes are down. There's no telling when the turbulence might end.
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| @ Der Spiegel | Posted: 06/23/09 at 0655 EDST
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