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| Florida |
| Sarasota County tax notices require do-over
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| A snafu over school tax rates means that tax bills will have to be recomputed and mailed again to all 268,000 parcels in Sarasota County. The do-over will only amount to $2 more in taxes on a $150,000 home, but will cost the school district an estimated $125,000 to correct the mistake.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Visitation to Florida falls 9.4 percent in second quarter
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| An estimated 20.1 million people visited Florida during the second quarter of 2009. That's a decline of 9.4 percent from the same period in 2008
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| @ Orlando Sentinel | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0315 EDST
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| House: Let foreclosed homeowners rent
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| When homeowners lose their houses to foreclosure, should they be able to stay in the property, leasing it back at fair market rent from the lender? Before leaving for their August break, Democrats and Republicans in the House took a rare, unanimous stand on both questions by passing the Neighborhood Preservation Act
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Manatee, Bradenton; population grows, but Sarasota’s drops
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| An estimated 318,404 people lived in Manatee as of April 1, a gain of 705 people from the same day a year ago. Sarasota County’s population shrunk by 4,288 people, the state’s eighth-largest decline. It was driven by population losses in the city of Sarasota and the county’s unincorporated section.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Midwest |
| Arguments for a sharp correction in stocks keep building
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| Many analysts believe stock rally is overblown, expect pullback by as much as 20%
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Wisconsin's bonds awarded S&P's second-highest rating
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| S&P said the AA ratings are a result of, in part, "the state's proven ability to make budget corrections in midyear in order to maintain fiscal balance with low-but-adequate general fund reserves." An issuer of AA-rated bonds is defined by S&P as having a very strong capacity to meets its financial commitments. A higher bond rating helps a government borrow money at less-expensive terms.
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| @ Milwaukee Journal | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Home value trends in the Des Moines metro area
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| Editor's Comment: The is worth a look as to how the data is presented. It is very unique and powerful
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| @ DesMoines Register | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Health care costs up, wages down
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| Indiana ranks second in a new national comparison of health insurance premium increases and wage increases. Only Michigan residents have had it worse in the past decade.
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| @ Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0419 EDST
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| National |
| The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.9 percent in July
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| The downturn in finished goods prices was broad based. The index for energy goods fell 2.4 percent in July after climbing 6.6 percent a month earlier, prices for consumer foods decreased 1.5 percent following a 1.1-percent advance in the previous month, and the index for goods other than foods and energy edged down 0.1 percent compared with a 0.5-percent rise in June.
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| @ Bureau of Labor Statistics | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Countrywide Loses Ruling in Loan Suit
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| A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected an argument by Countrywide Financial seeking certain protections from investor lawsuits under new legislation intended to encourage modifications of home loans.
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| @ New York Times | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0419 EDST
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| U.K. Budget Deficit Soars to Record $13.2 Billion as Recession Hits Taxes
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| Britain had an 8 billion-pound ($13.2 billion) budget deficit in July, the largest for the month since records began in 1993, as the recession ravaged tax revenue and the cost of unemployment benefits surged.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Will Germany Beat the US to Recovery?
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| The race to economic health is pitting export-driven economies with strong social-assistance programs against those that count on consumer spending. Germany and Europe are looking good this quarter, but doubts persist about whether the recovery can be sustained.
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| @ Der Spiegel | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Financial woes of major Irish developer could flood the market with cheap properties
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| The beleaguered Irish property market could be flooded with cheap apartments and half built office blocks after the country's Supreme Court ruled that companies belonging to Dublin's biggest real estate developer, Liam Carroll, should be placed in liquidation. Carroll is reputed to have built more apartments in Dublin than any other developer and is also a major investor in the Irish stock market. If his business goes under it would be one of the biggest corporate failures in Irish history.
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| @ Global Edge | Posted: 08/20/09 at 0655 EDST
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