Category Archives: Consumers

It’s Not About Obamacare!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs We know the federal government’s shutdown isn’t really about Obamacare. We know this because Tea Party Republicans have been trying to shut down government since the 2010 election, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and others have pointed out. The … Continue reading →

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Mortgage Delinquencies Continue Decline

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate declined in August to 2.64 percent from 2.70 percent in July.   This has in large part to do with lower interest rates, which have declined again because the … Continue reading →

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Debt Ceiling, Obamacare Debates Will Boost Government’s Role

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly Tea Party Republicans apparently aren’t aware of the damage they inflict on their own party and constituents in attempting to shut down the federal government, if Obamacare isn’t delayed or repealed. For a shutdown will prove once … Continue reading →

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Are Excessive Corporate Profits Hurting Growth?

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly The third estimate for real GDP growth for the second quarter was left unchanged at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent compared to the second estimate and compared to a first quarter rise of  1.1 percent. But … Continue reading →

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Case-Shiller Home Prices Take Off

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The July S&P Case-Shiller home price index shows home prices are in full recovery mode. Over the last 12 months, prices rose 12.3 percent and 12.4 percent as measured by the 10- and 20-City Composites in the … Continue reading →

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Existing Home Sales Take Off

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Existing-home sales have finally taken off, a sign that real estate might now be leading the economic recovery. Real estate has historically led past recoveries, by employing so many construction workers and professional services, but not this … Continue reading →

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What is a Real Minimum Wage?

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs The debate on how to boost this economic recovery has now shifted to the federal minimum wage standard, now at $7.25 percent per hour. This is in part because the latest Census Bureau report shows 46.5 million Americans … Continue reading →

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Mortgage Delinquencies Down, Equity Higher

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs According to the second quarter Zillow Negative Equity Report, the national negative equity rate continued to fall in the second quarter, dropping to 23.8 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage from 25.4 percent in the first quarter … Continue reading →

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Labor’s Day Remembered

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly As we celebrate another Labor Day, a national holiday, how do we remember it? I would like to remember it as some other developed countries celebrate it. France, for instance, has enshrined the one-hour lunch, whereas a … Continue reading →

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Case-Shiller Home Prices, Consumer Confidence Continue Rise

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Housing prices continue to climb, but not as fast in the hardest hit areas of Las Vegas and some Florida cities. This is probably because mortgage rates have already risen 1 percent. But rates are no longer … Continue reading →

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