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| Florida |
| Owners believe homes worth more
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| The third-quarter survey of Florida real estate agents, released last week by HomeGain, found that the vast majority of sellers -- some 70 percent -- continued to believe their homes were worth more than even their own Realtors were telling them. The percentage of buyers who believed that home prices were "fairly valued" increased in the third quarter, to 24 percent. That was up from 18 percent in the second quarter, and 15 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Mortgage modifers must be licensed under new Florida law
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| State regulators cracking down, with 83 active investigations. Unlike mortgage brokers or real-estate agents, mortgage modifiers are not required to have any special training or even a license something many consumers don't know.
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| @ Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Waterfront property now a good bargain in Lee County
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| Real estate agents agree: Buyers in the market for waterfront property should dive right in. According to the Multiple Listing Service, there are 105 active listings situated on freshwater canals in Cape Coral. They range from $55,000 to more than $2 million. Of those 105 listings, 10 of them are foreclosures, 36 are short sales and 52 of the homes are priced between $90,000 and $200,000.
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| @ Ft. Myers News Press | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Trade drop affects all South Floridians
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| It's obvious that South Florida with its balmy climate, sandy beaches and swaying palm trees is all about tourism. But what sets the region apart from nearly all resort areas is that it is also all about international business, which creates some 850,000 jobs in the state and pumps in billions of revenue. So when we see the South Florida region's imports and exports are down by 14.7 percent -- or $6.4 billion -- for the first five months of the year, we should all be concerned.
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| @ Miami Herald | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Midwest |
| Real estate auctions: Top bid no guarantee of a sale
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| The use of auctions as a sales technique has been growing all year, and auction companies expect the late summer and fall to yield a bumper crop of events since foreclosure moratoriums have expired and home builders have grown more desperate to shrink their inventory.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Harness the wind: Turbines grow in popularity
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| Nationwide, the number of small wind generators installed for home or commercial use grew 78 percent in 2008 over the previous year, and residential sales in early 2009 were 15 to 20 percent higher than a year ago, according to a study by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in Washington, D.C.
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| @ Wisconsin State Journal | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Minnesota state unemployment fund hits bottom
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| The dollar figures aren't modest. With some 175,000 people drawing weekly benefits in a recession that has been longer and deeper than most expected, the benefits pool is close to running dry as payouts exceed revenue from taxes on businesses. This year, the state expects to take in just shy of $1 billion in revenue to pay for benefits; payouts to recipients are expected to reach $1.8 billion. In two years, the difference between revenue and payouts is expected to double to about $1.6 billion annually as the state taps federal loans and incurs the interest that comes with them to bridge the gap.
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| @ St. Paul Pioneer Press | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Big swings in soybean, corn prices unsettle ag sector
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| In the past 14 months, Iowa farmers have seen corn shoot to $7.99 per bushel and then fall to $3.15. Soybean prices that reached $16 per bushel in mid-2008 swooned to $8 per bushel by the end of last year. Price drops from late June to mid-August translated to a loss, at least on paper, of $3.8 billion in Iowa. That's about the same as the combined total budgets of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.
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| @ DesMoines Register | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0419 EDST
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| National |
| Consumer spending up, but morale at 4-month low
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| The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said on Friday its final index of confidence for August fell to 65.7, the lowest since April, from 66.0 in July. However, sentiment improved from early this month.
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| @ Reuters | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Personal income increased $3.8 billion, or less than 0.1 percent July over June
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| Disposable personal income (DPI) decreased $4.6 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, in July, according to the Bureau of Economic
Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $25.0 billion, or 0.2 percent. In June, personal income decreased $133.4 billion, or 1.1 percent, DPI decreased $119.9 billion, or 1.1 percent, and PCE increased $60.9 billion, or 0.6 percent, based on revised estimates.
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| @ Bureau of Economic Analysis | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Japan Election Brings 'Bloodless Revolution'
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| The Democratic Party of Japan swept to power for the first time as voters expressed dissatisfaction with a half century of single-party government. Led by 62-year-old Yukio Hatoyama, the DPJ will need to revive an economy emerging from its deepest recession since World War II.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Japan jobless rate hits new high
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| Japan's jobless rate hit a record 5.7% in July and consumer prices fell at a record pace.
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| @ BBC | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Despite Progress, Former East Germany Still Lags Behind -20th Anniversery of the Berlin Wall
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Billions have been pumped into the former East Germany, but 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, its economy has not caught up with the West. A new report praises the progress so far but warns that the region needs well-educated young people and an influx of immigrants if it is to thrive.
Editor's Comment: Excellent read:
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| @ Der Spiegel | Posted: 08/31/09 at 0655 EDST
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