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| Florida |
| Before You Buy
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| Skirrow, who has been in the home inspection business for six years, uses the NACHI home inspection standards because there are no state standards. Private home inspectors -- other than government code and building inspectors -- are not certified or licensed by the state and inspection companies are not registered, for now. In 2007, the Legislature passed a law requiring home inspectors get licensed through a program of required education, tests, insurance, recurring training and experience to be in place by July 1, 2010. Florida is one of 20 states without a home inspection-license program.
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| @ Daytona Beach News Journal | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Crist comes out against FPL rate hike
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| Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday came out foursquare against Florida Power and Light's proposed $1.3 billion rate hike, calling it "excessive." The governor issued a prepared statement from Tallahassee, where the state Public Service Commission is considering what would be the largest proposed power-rate increase in Florida history.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Consumer confidence among Floridians increased three points from July to August to an overall index of
70.
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| Three of the five components in the index rose, one fell and one stayed the same. Perceptions of personal finances now compared to a year ago was unchanged at 43, still only four points above its all time low of 39. Perceptions of personal finances a year from now rose five points to 84. Perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next year rose ten points to 73, while perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next five years rose eight points to 80. The only component to fall was perceptions as to whether it is a good time to buy big ticket items which fell five points to 72.
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| @ UF Bureau of Economic and Business Research | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Tax facts after home is sold
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| In general, you are eligible to exclude from your income all or part of any gain from the sale of your main home if you have owned and used it as your main home for at least two years out of the five years prior to its sale.
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| @ Miami Herald | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Midwest |
| Mortgages: Economy drowning in underwater homeowners
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| Chicago matches the national average in that roughly one in three home mortgages are upside down. Walk down a street in Las Vegas, and nine in 10 homes are upside down. In Phoenix, it's eight in 10. In Miami the figure is seven in 10.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Tax credit lifts home sales, but experts worry that will end with Dec. 1 deadline
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| Real estate professionals and industry analysts say there is no doubt the tax credit has had an impact nationally and locally. In the metropolitan Milwaukee market, for example, it has helped boost sales for two consecutive summer months as buyers are hurrying to find a house and close before the Dec. 1 deadline for the credit.
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| @ Milwaukee Journal | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Bankers modify loans as feds' repair plan lags
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| President Barack Obama's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is expected to modify 500,000 loans by Nov. 1. But this is a drop in the bucket, with 1.2 million new foreclosures started so far this year, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report released last week.
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| @ DesMoines Register | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Minnesota's soybean and corn farmers race against coming frost
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| When temperatures fell to 33 degrees Sunday in Embarrass, Minn., it gave grain traders one more reason to be anxious about the potential for an early frost. Cooler-than-usual temperatures have been the rule this summer, and that is forecast to continue over the next two weeks, the National Weather Service said. That outlook is making the grain markets jumpy, especially for heat-and-light sensitive soybeans. In Chicago, November soybean futures rose 34.5 cents a bushel Monday to close above the $10 mark. Corn futures rose 9.25 cents a bushel, closing at $3.355 a bushel.
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| @ St. Paul Pioneer Press | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0419 EDST
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| National |
| Case Schiller index suggests hope on housing
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| From May to June, prices in Tampa rose 0.4 percent while prices in Miami rose 0.5 percent. The national index released Tuesday rose nearly 3 percent, though that reading is still down almost 15 percent from the second quarter last year.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0419 EDST
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| The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index ® Bounces Back
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| The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index ®, which had retreated in July, rebounded in August. The Index now stands at 54.1 (1985=100), up from 47.4 in July. The Present Situation Index increased slightly to 24.9 from 23.3 last month. The Expectations Index improved to 73.5 from 63.4 in July.
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| @ Conference Board
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| German Business Confidence Rises More Than Forecast
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| German business confidence rose for a fifth month in August, suggesting Europe’s largest economy will gather strength after shaking off its worst recession since World War II.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Germany emerges from recession in second quarter
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| Germany has escaped the clutches of its worst recession in over 60 years, official data showed on Tuesday, as consumption helped Europe's biggest economy grow by 0.3 percent in the second quarter. Skip related content
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| @ Yahoo News | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0652 EDST
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| 'Further cuts to UK public sector pensions could be appropriate'
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| Public sector pensions have been reformed as well. Many new entrants have seen the age at which they can draw a full pension increased from 60 to 65. The reforms are estimated by the Treasury to have saved £13 billion, but this is not as big a number as it sounds. It represents a 2.8 per cent reduction in the outstanding liabilities of unfunded pensions. In today’s terms the Treasury expects to spend £8billion a year more on the pensions of public sector workers in 30 years’ time.
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| @ London Times | Posted: 08/26/09 at 0655 EDST
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