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| Research finds local housing market still struggling, but starting to stabilize in Sarasota-Bradenton
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| Home prices in the two-county region are showing stability and the supply of vacant new homes dropped 32 percent for the 12 months ending in June. During the 12-month period, there were 558 homes that had never been lived in that were occupied. Finished "vacant inventory" dropped from 1,476 homes to 1,001 homes.
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| @ | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Some Florida legislators, business owners oppose drilling
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| Legislation was introduced this week by senators from two oil-producing states that would bring oil drilling to within 45 miles of the coast. Sponsoring Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mary Landrieu, D-La., say their proposal would benefit states such as Florida by giving them a 37.5 percent cut of revenues from offshore oil and natural gas production.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0315 EDST
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| FPL Group posts $370 million second-quarter profit
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| FPL Group Inc.'s profit jumped 77 percent during the second quarter, despite the tough economic environment. But the growth came almost entirely from its alternative energy business, offsetting a drop in profits and demand at its electric utility.
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| @ Palm Beach Post | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0320 EDST
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| 40% of 2009's worst foreclosure areas in Fla.
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| Still, filings were down nearly 3 percent from the previous six-month period.
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| @ Tampa Tribune | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Sam Zell on Tribune Co.: 'I suspect that, sometime between now and maybe as early as the end of the year, it will exit from bankruptcy'
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| A bankruptcy filing this week showed Tribune Co. earned a net income of $43.9 million on revenue of $289.7 million for the month of June. The company also continued to build up its cash coffers, generating $34.8 million to end the month with $740.5 million.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Illinois’ credit rating downgraded
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| Illinois’ recently passed budget relies on borrowing to meet some expenses, and it’s now going to cost the state more to borrow that money. Fitch Ratings lowered Illinois state government’s credit rating by two notches Wednesday, saying the state did not address all of its spending needs and structural deficit in the just-passed budget.
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| @ Springfield Journal Register | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts suggest that economic activity continued to be weak going into the summer
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| Most Districts indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level.
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| @ Federal Reserve's Beige Book | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Where Unemployment Has Hit Hardest
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| The 10 cities with the biggest increases in joblessness share one thing in common: disappearing manufacturing jobs.
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| @ Forbes | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Washington learns to treat China with care
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| The economic crisis has shifted the balance of power, so the U.S. has stopped lecturing its biggest lender.
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| @ Fortune Magazine | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Japan industrial output up 2.4 percent in June
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| Japanese manufacturers increased production in June for the fourth straight month, a sign that the country's economy is gradually improving
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| @ Business Week | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0652 EDST
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| U.K. House Prices Increased in July
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| U.K. house prices increased for a third month in July as a shortage of supply helped shield the property market from the economic slump.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 07/30/09 at 0655 EDST
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