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| Success story: Business brokers in Ft. Myers beat recession, competition
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| Corporate Investment Business Brokers serves both sellers and buyers in brokering the sale of businesses, primarily within Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. The company has logged gross revenues of slightly less than $16 million in 2006, $21.8 million in 2007 and just over $13 million in 2008, according to Peter Mazzagatti, one of CIBB's four co-owners.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Tight Mortgage Rules Exclude Even Good Risks From Sales
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| Self employed usually rejected. Fannie Mae's rules are setting the new strict standards for traditional sales.
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| @ Lakeland Ledger | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Foreclosure filings fall in South Florida
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| Despite rising unemployment, the number of new foreclosure filings in South Florida fell by half from May to June, though it remained unclear whether the numbers indicated recovery or an aberration in the local real estate market.
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| @ Miami Herald | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Reverse mortgages have appeal for seniors
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| A reverse mortgage simply allows the owner of an existing home that has equity (value above what is owed on any existing mortgage) to borrow against that value. This is not an equity line of credit. That product is in short supply these days, down some 70 percent from last year. In a reverse mortgage, the lender takes “effective” ownership of the home so that when the owner dies or sells the house the loan is automatically repaid from the proceeds of the sale. For this, the owner gets cash up front or a line of credit.
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| @ Naple Daily News | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Rate of Tampa Bay foreclosures begins to ebb
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| With the subtlety of a cement sack loosed from a bank skyscraper, another 7,200 foreclosure cases dropped into our courtrooms last month. That's 7,200 houses — the residential stock of a typical small town — plunged into mortgage default in a single month in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties. June could be the month when foreclosures began beating a retreat.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Jobless claims decline sharply, but
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| The Labor Department said new applications for unemployment benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 47,000, to 522,000, the lowest level since early January. A department analyst said the drop in new claims didn't point to improvements in economic conditions: The decline reflected problems adjusting layoffs for temporary shutdowns at General Motors and Chrysler plants to retool for new models. Weekly claims remain far above the roughly 325,000 that analysts say is consistent with a healthy economy.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0400 EDST
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| On The Road to Economic Demoralization by Lawrence Kudlow
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What’s particularly galling about Obamanomics is that we may well be losing our competitive edge with Europe. While Europe is ever so slightly moving toward Reagan and Thatcher, the U.S. is shifting toward an overtaxed and overregulated model that smacks of François Mitterrand. That’s something no one should want to tolerate. Heavy government controls at home, along with an income-leveling social policy couched in economic-recovery terms, is no way to run a railroad. At the simple stroke of a computer key, world investment flows to its most hospitable destination. That includes a reliable currency. But in President Bush’s last year and President Obama’s first, the U.S. has become a less-hospitable destination for global capital. That should worry everybody.
Editor's Comment: This is an excellent read
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| @ National Review | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0415 EDST
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| When to mark to market?
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| Accountants draw up new rules for financial firms.
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| @ The Economist | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Credit Card Debt High; Consumers Take Action in Costa Rica
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| Easy access to credit cards is an established tradition in Costa Rica. In June, the Economy Ministry (MEIC) reported that 401 different types of credit cards are available to consumers – up from 350 in February – provided by 26 different financial institutions in the country. Citibank and Credomatic make up almost half of the existing credit cards in Costa Rica. Citibank has 95 different cards in circulation, while Credomatic has 85.
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| @ Tico Times Costa Rica | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Mexico's Next Big Tourist Destination
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| While investors have been very successful with real estate investments in destinations like Cancun, Los Cabos, and Puerto Vallarta, opportunities tend to decrease as the markets mature and become increasingly crowded. Fortunately, the Mexican government is currently investing in developing new destinations to attract tourism and new investment. Just north of Puerto Vallarta, along a stunning stretch of coast know as The Riviera Nayarit, the Mexican government is investing $1.5 billion to improve accessibility and develop tourism infrastructure.
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| @ Bandaras News Puerto Vallarta, MX | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Turning cold water into cold cash in the Caribbean
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"It does not make sense to import expensive, dirty oil from thousands of miles away when the ocean surrounding us can give us our energy needs," declared LeLaulu, president of SOS Caribe, a company pioneering the use of cold water technologies.
Editor's Comment: This is a good read.
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| @ Jamaica Observer | Posted: 07/17/09 at 0655 EDST
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