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| Debating the merits of reverse mortgages
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| The dramatic decline in housing values, as well as the value of other investments, has made meeting household budgets particularly vexing for retiree homeowners. For those who are cash-poor but still house rich -- that is, they owe little or nothing on mortgages -- reverse mortgages can be the answer. Instead of paying monthly on a "forward" mortgage that gradually reduces the amount owed, they receive monthly payments, with the principal and interest accruing until the senior sells the house or dies.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Lennar built 400 homes in Florida with Chinese drywall
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| The Miami-based builder also said in a securities filing last week that it has set aside $39.8 million toward remediating those homes, which Lennar said accounted for just 2 percent of those built in Florida in the 2006 and 2007 fiscal years.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0315 EDST
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| North Carolina blames its economic woes on its ties to Florida
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| Is the Sunshine State now the Kick Me State?. That's the drift in North Carolina, it seems. A Charlotte Observer front page story Monday headlined "Financial Chill? Try Blaming Florida" suggests North Carolina businesses that expanded to Florida in good times now blame Florida's economic distress for much of their own woes.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Military is attractive option in bad economy
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| During this recession, more recruits are citing the ailing economy as a reason to enlist in the Air Force or other military branches, with recruiters like Scott hearing more stories of people affected by the stagnant economy in recent months.
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| @ Panama City News Herald | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0330 EDST
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| 4 Chicago suburbs top 'best places to live'
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| Among the top 100 "best places to live" are Batavia at No. 56 and Buffalo Grove at No. 65, selected for "great schools, affordable homes, low crime" and family appeal, according to Money Magazine's description. Batavia also is noteworthy because "nearly 200 manufacturing, research and warehousing firms, as well as the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory"
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| @ Chicago Sun Times | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Peoria home sales decline
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| Second-quarter home sales for the Peoria metropolitan area were down 23 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the Peoria Area Association of Realtors. The number of homes sold in central Illinois for the first six months of the year is 1,892, compared with 2,541 through the first half of 2008.
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| @ Peoria Journal Star | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0400 EDST
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| A Recession in Dog Years
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| The United States is experiencing what Japan did in the 1990s, but seven times faster.
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| @ Slate | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0415 EDST
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| How LendingTree Plans to Rebrand in Tough Environment for Financial Cos.
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| Next week, LendingTree will launch a $40 million broad-based, multimedia marketing and advertising campaign that includes a tagline change, from the familiar "When Banks Compete, You Win" to "You to the Rescue." The new work, from longtime ad agency Mullen, also comes as LendingTree diversifies its offering portfolio from just mortgage and real-estate products to other categories such as insurance and education.
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| @ Advertising Age | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Nitol: Russia's Emerging Solar Power Star
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| Nitol has not only a techie-sounding name but also a dynamic business to match. Now called Nitol Solar, the company is Russia's largest producer of polysilicon, the basic raw material used to make solar panels that turn sunlight into electricity. Nitol stands out as an all-too-rare commodity in Russia: a technologically savvy company that has grown in the space of a few years from tiny startup to billion-dollar success story. It's a model that Russia's leaders say they are eager to promote as the country casts around for new ways to achieve economic competitiveness in the 21st century.
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| @ Business Week
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| German Investor Confidence Unexpectedly Decreased in July
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| The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months ahead, decreased to 39.5 from 44.8 in June. The government says gross domestic product will plunge 6 percent this year, the most since World War II, even as the economy shows signs of stabilizing after its first-half freefall.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0652 EDST
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| German Economics Ministry Says Recession Is Over
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| The recession is over in Germany. That at least is the conclusion of the Economy Ministry in Berlin. In their internal report on economic growth in the second quarter, seen by SPIEGEL, the ministry's experts have come to the conclusion that growth was exactly 0 percent for the three-month period in question.
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| @ Der Spiegel | Posted: 07/14/09 at 0655 EDST
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