Category Archives: Home

Housing ends year on strong note, but prices still falling

By doris | Published: January 21, 2012

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com The housing market ended the year on a positive note with strong sales in December, but a glut of unsold homes will likely push prices lower through much of this year, forecasters said Friday. Sales of existing homes hit an 11-month high last month and the number of properties on the [...]

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We are the median: Four kids on $50,000 ‘isn’t that difficult’

By doris | Published: December 11, 2011

Full Story at LifeInc.today.msnbc.msn.com Devin Datus, 39, and his wife, Michelle, 36, are raising four kids, ages 9 to 18, in Utah on his military salary. His wife is a full-time student and stay-at-home mom. TODAY.com’s Life Inc. blog asked the couple about their financial situation as part of a series of stories looking at [...]

Also posted in America, Children, Debt, Family, Financial, Money, Spending | Leave a comment

Home prices fall to 8-year lows

By doris | Published: November 29, 2011

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices continued to sink in the third quarter, falling to levels not seen since early 2003. Home prices dropped 3.9% year-over-year during the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index. On a quarterly basis, prices were slightly higher, squeezing out a [...]

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Americans spent more in Sept., but saved less

By doris | Published: October 29, 2011

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com WASHINGTON — Americans spent in September at three times the pace of the previous month, even though their incomes barely budged. They financed their spending binges by saving at the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. [...]

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Bill Clinton: How to fix the economy

By doris | Published: October 7, 2011

Full Story atFortune’s cnn.com First, Congress and President Obama can adopt strategies designed to unleash the massive amount of capital that is accumulated but not being invested. There’s some $2.2 trillion in cash in American banks that is not committed to loans. A couple hundred billion has to be held back for bad mortgages, but [...]

Also posted in America, Banking, Bill, Budget, Computer, Economy, Financial, Government, Market, Money, President | Leave a comment

Parts of Obama jobs package coming into focus

By doris | Published: August 27, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com NEW YORK — Hurricane Irene sent east coast shoppers into stores to stock up on essentials this week, instead of the clothes, notebooks and other supplies that retailers were counting on selling as parents prepare to send their children back to school. Chains such as Home Depot Inc and Wal-Mart Stores [...]

Also posted in environment, Hurricand, Jobs, Weather | Leave a comment

The soaring cost of back-to-school basics

By doris | Published: July 24, 2011

Full Story at TODAY.msnbc.msn.com NEW YORK — Paper and pens are just the beginning of back-to-school expenses for a growing number of families. State and local governments are cutting back, leading more public school districts to charge kids to compete in sports or play in the band. Such fees, commonly known as “pay-to-participate” or “pay-to-play” [...]

Also posted in Budget, Business, Children, Economy, Financial, Money | Leave a comment

The housing slump is far worse than you think

By doris | Published: July 14, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com You might be tempted to believe that after four years of brutal declines in home prices, the worst of the crisis is over. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index of prices has fallen back to where it was in 2003. Housing prices in Phoenix are at 2000 levels, and Las Vegas [...]

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Customer tries to cash bank check, ends up in jail

By doris | Published: July 9, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com For 28-year-old Ikenna Njoku, what should have been the simple act of cashing a check turned into four days in jail and the loss of his car and job. A year ago Njoku, a construction worker, had just purchased his first home and qualified for a federal rebate for first-time home [...]

Also posted in Banking, Business, Financial, Money | Leave a comment

Consumer pain adds to weak job growth

By doris | Published: June 6, 2011

Full Story a tmoney.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A dismal jobs report defied Wall Street’s expectations Friday. But considering the beating consumers have taken recently, why was anyone surprised? The American consumer is now feeling the cost of $4 gas and higher food prices, seeing their wages rise very little and still being held back [...]

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For 25% of retirees, savings are all gone

By doris | Published: May 24, 2011

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — After record job losses, falling home prices and devalued investment portfolios, the recession has taken a toll on many Americans’ financial well being. But retirees and those close to retirement, with little time left to rebuild their savings, face particular hardship. One in four Americans age 50 [...]

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Foreclosure flood may not have crested yet

By doris | Published: May 22, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com If the national foreclosure crisis were a baseball game, we would be in about the top of the sixth. And we may have to go to extra innings. Since the housing market peaked in 2006, some 6.5 million homes have been lost to foreclosure. There are likely another 4.3 million more [...]

Also posted in Banking, Economy, Financial, Foreclosure, Loans, Market, Money | Leave a comment

Crowded coupon industry competes for users

By doris | Published: May 10, 2011

Full Story at TODAY.msnbc.msn.com Call it group coupon overload These days it is nearly impossible to browse Facebook, accept an Evite or read a local news website without being tempted to get a massage for 70 percent off, a dozen cupcakes at half price or a skydiving lesson for one-third the usual cost. The culprit? [...]

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Builders of new homes see no signs of recovery

By doris | Published: April 23, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com RICHMOND, Ill. — In this distant Chicago suburb, a builder has finally found a way to persuade people to buy a new house: he throws in a car.                                                                      Kim Meier’s spring promotion, which includes a $17,000 credit at a nearby General Motors dealer, has produced seven sales since the beginning [...]

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