Category Archives: Weekly Financial News

January Housing Prices, Mortgages, Surging

The Mortgage Corner CoreLogic reported that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 9.7 percent in January 2013 compared to January 2012. This change represents the biggest increase since April 2006 and the 11th consecutive … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let’s Bring Back American Jobs

Popular Economics Weekly It’s well-known that American job formation isn’t keeping up with economic growth, but not why. It’s mostly because corporations have been retaining more of their profits and sharing less with their employees, so that household incomes have … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Keynesian economics, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

When Is Federal Debt Not a Burden?

Financial FAQs The sequester advocates have gotten their way. The March 1 deadline has passed to reach an agreement to alter the across the board spending cuts and so governments will begin the draconian job cuts that will certainly slow … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mortgage Delinquencies Lowest Since 2008

The Mortgage Corner The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.09 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, the lowest level since 2008, … Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bernanke’s Fed Growing U.S. Economy

Popular Economics Weekly Right now, the Federal Reserve seems to be the only government agency focused on growing the economy. Washington has otherwise been focused on the sequester agreement, or how to further cut government spending. But such austerity measures … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sequester Dilemma—How Much Is Too Much Austerity?

Financial FAQs Come March 1, we will begin to see how much damage the sequester agreement causes. A recent CNBC column by Larry Kudlow illustrates both the misconceptions and reason for the gridlock on avoiding across-the-board spending cuts of some … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Keynesian economics, Macro Economics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Housing Affordability Up, Inventories Still Shrinking

The Mortgage Corner The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported exceptionally low interest rates helped ensure a slight gain in nationwide housing affordability amid relatively stable house prices in the final quarter of 2012, according to the just released … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Double Dip Recession—Why Worry?

Popular Economics Weekly Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius has joined the chorus that says 2013 should be a good year for growth, in spite of the so-called ‘fiscal headwinds’ of a gridlocked Congress and White House. Why? Because both … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Housing, housing market, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

State of the Union—Why So Few New Jobs?

Popular Economics Weekly President Obama’s State of the Union address was all about jobs. So why have so few been created since the Great Recession? Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen gave a recent speech entitled: A Painfully Slow Recovery … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Keynesian economics, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fed Worried About Continued Growth

Popular Economics Weekly Fourth Quarter Gross Domestic Product growth was a bust. What does that say about 2013? Are consumers tapped out, and capital expenditures (capex) shrinking, the two main drivers of economic growth? It doesn’t seem so, as long … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Economy, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment