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| Florida |
| Drilling could get a new look
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| Once politically taboo, drilling for oil and gas as close as 3 miles off Florida's beaches could be considered by lawmakers as early as next month. "If the state could find true new dollars, we've got to get that conversation started," he said. "It's literally money flowing out of the ground and into our economy."
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Foreclosed homes provide business to local firms
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| N.A.R. Property Management, the property management company they started two months, is booming with business thanks to the rash of foreclosures in Manatee County. Manatee County had 526 foreclosures in August to bring the year’s total to 4,296.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Florida's high jobless rate may last till 2018, forecast says
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| Florida's jobless rate was 10.7 percent in July, the highest since October 1975. It could peak at about 11 percent some time next year.
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| @ Tampa Tribune | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Tallahassee area the exception in state's population decline
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| The most dramatic sign of Florida's fight against recession came in August with the news that the state's ever-rising population declined in the 12 months ending April 1. Preliminary estimates show a drop of 58,000 in a state where growth has been the economic engine for more than 60 years. The Tallahassee metropolitan statistical area, however, gained population during the same period. Wakulla County's increase of 3.5 percent to 31,791 was the most dramatic
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| @ Tallahassee Democrat | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Midwest |
| Chicago areas Koenig & Strey realty firm sold to Warren Buffett unit HomeServices of America
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| Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate, a longtime Chicago-based real estate brokerage with 21 offices and 900 agents, has been sold to a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0345 EDST
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| We Energies announces $250 million biomass plant near Wausau, WI
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| In a move to meet the state's mandate for more green energy, We Energies on Tuesday said it plans to build a $250 million power plant that burns wood at the Domtar Corp. paper mill. The 50-megawatt power plant would generate enough electricity to supply 40,000 homes and would be built by 2013
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| @ Milwaukee Journal | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Japan vote could yield northeast Indiana area jobs
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| Indiana has forged significant economic ties to Japan. More than 200 Japanese companies employ more than 42,000 Hoosiers.
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| @ Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Iowa's economy 'has yet to turn a corner'
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| An Iowa Business Council survey of Iowa’s largest employers shows members’ confidence about the economy is growing, although the outlook still remains negative. The group’s Overall Economic Outlook Survey Index hit 48.7 in the third quarter, the second straight quarter of improvement. A score below 50 means business sentiment is negative as members look at activity for the next six months.
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| @ DesMoines Register | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0419 EDST
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| National |
| Pending Home Sales on a Record Roll
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| Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 percent to 97.6 from a reading of 94.6 in June, and is 12.0 percent higher than July 2008 when it was 87.1. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it was 100.7.
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| @ National Association of Realtors | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in August, following 18 consecutive months of contraction
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| The overall economy grew for the fourth consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.
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| @ Institute for Supply Management | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Euro-Region Consumer Spending, Exports Help Ease Recession
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| European consumer spending rose for the first time in more than a year in the second quarter and exports fell at a slower pace, helping to ease the worst recession in more than 60 years. Household spending in the euro area increased 0.2 percent after declining 0.5 percent in the first quarter, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. Exports fell 1.1 percent after an 8.8 percent drop in the previous three months. Gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0646 EDST
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| UK output and loans data cast shadow
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| Figures from the Bank of England show that outstanding loans to companies and individuals declined at a record pace in July, in a worrying sign for the prospects of economic recovery. Moreover, private non-financial corporations – which form the backbone of the nation’s economy – paid down £8.4bn of debt during the month. That represented a 1.7 per cent overall drop in their bank credit and the largest decline since records began in 1997.
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| @ Financial Times - UK | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0652 EDST
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| China's economic revival stays on track
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| The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index rose to 54 from July's 53.3. It marked the sixth month of expansion. The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.1 from July's 52.8, its fifth monthly increase.
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| @ Toronto Star | Posted: 09/02/09 at 0655 EDST
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