http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/is-the-presidents-economic-plan-just-stimulating-conversation.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/is-the-presidents-economic-plan-just-stimulating-conversation.html Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:59:12 -0500
President Obama announced recently that this summer will see a ramping up of spending from the $787 billion stimulus fund and create or save 600,000 jobs. According to the Associated Press, the President spoke to his cabinet about "modest progress" in the economy. In particular he cited that fewer jobs were lost last month than expected. There have also been some admissions from this administration that their original economic forecasts made at the end of last year were too optimistic.

"At the time, our forecast seemed reasonable," said Vice President Joe Biden's top economic adviser, Jared Bernstein, explaining that the White House underestimated the scope of the recession.

By the White House's earlier estimates the nation's unemployment rate should be about 8 percent, not the 25-year-high 9.4 percent. It seems everything is on the rise these days from the President's un-approval rating for how he is handling the economy to gas prices to the national deficit.

But the Obama administration is trying to make things better. According to Recovery.gov, in the next 100 days the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will save or create jobs in the following areas
* Department of Health and Human Services -- Enable 1,129 health centers in 50 states and eight territories to provide expanded service to approximately 300,000 patients
* Department of the Interior -- Begin work on 107 national parks
* Department of Transportation -- Begin work on rehabilitation and improvement projects at 98 airports and at more than 1,500 highway locations throughout the country
* Department of Education -- Fund 135,000 education jobs, including teachers, principals and support staff
* Department of Veterans Affairs -- Begin improvements at 90 veterans medical centers across 38 states
* Department of Justice -- Hire or keep on the job approximately 5,000 law enforcement officers
* Department of Agriculture -- Start 200 new waste and water systems in rural America

The government will also be flush with money in the weeks ahead as ten banks have been given permission by the Treasury Department to repay money they received from the government bailout of the banking industry. According to the Associated Press, $68 billion of the nearly $200 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program funds will be returned from banks such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and American Express.

There are other signs that the economy is slowly starting to improve. Granted most of the good news is really in the category of less-bad-news, but job losses are down, the economy is sinking at a lower rate and consumer confidence is starting to return. What is nearly impossible to track is if the improvement is a result of government intervention or just a part of the economic cycle.


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Ki bikes Shoal Creek when he is not working. He has focused on real estate since graduating. His website is focused on Austin Texas real estate, where future owners can search for listings in the Austin MLS. His website has a blog devoted to Austin real estate with current market stats and information.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/obama-and-bernanke-weigh-in-on-the-economy.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/obama-and-bernanke-weigh-in-on-the-economy.html Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:42:17 -0500
In a speech to students and faculty at Georgetown University, President Obama said, "we are beginning to see glimmers of hope." According to the Associated Press, Obama stressed that America still has a long way to go on the road to economic recovery. The president credited his bold economic agenda for putting the country on the right path.

Unfortunately, the numbers that came out this week weren't helping Obama make his case. The AP reports that March had a drop in retail sales, as well as sharp declines in both wholesale and energy prices. The specter of both inflation and deflation hang in the shadows.

After a five week rally, the stock market reacted negatively to this news. Analysts don't seem to think this week's dip is a sign of bad things to come. In fact, Goldman Sachs reported far better than expected earnings. The company hopes to raise $5 billion in stock to begin repaying the $10 billion loan from the government last year.

Making Biblical references, Obama took the opportunity to stress the importance of rebuilding the American economy in a new way. "We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand," he said. "We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest, where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad."

The president cited changes in financial regulations and more focus on clean energy and education as some of the initiatives his administration is taking to change America's economic landscape.

In a speech at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Bernanke pointed to recent signs of improvement in home and auto sales, home building and consumer spending. However, he was willing only to call these indicators "tentative signs" of recovery.

Bernanke's main focus seemed to be to stress the importance of stabilizing the financial markets, and in particular the Fed's efforts in that area. Those efforts have called for unprecedented amounts of money to be pumped into the system to lower interest rates and get credit flowing again.

Obama also defended the government's expensive efforts to help the banking industry. "The truth is that a dollar of capital in a bank can actually result in eight or ten dollars of loans to families and businesses, a multiplier effect that can ultimately lead to a faster pace of economic growth," Obama said.

The road to recovery still looks bumpy, but Obama and Bernanke say the view on the horizon is going to be better in many ways. And Texas may be on the forefront of that changing economic landscape, as sectors such as construction and retail shrink but energy and education continue to grow.


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insidehoustonrealestate covers the Houston real estate market. Their site has a search of the Houston MLS and a Houston Texas real estate blog

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/not-so-fast-is-the-american-economy-really-on-its-way-to-a-recovery.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/not-so-fast-is-the-american-economy-really-on-its-way-to-a-recovery.html Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:50:07 -0500
According to a recent report at Yahoo Finance, the stock market's rally in recent months is a bit of a mixed blessing. The hope that the economy is on the rebound "has lifted the Standard & Poor's 500 index, a benchmark for many investments like mutual funds, an enormous 39 percent from a 12-year low on March 9. Those kinds of gains might normally take four years to materialize."

Both being too quick to call it a recovery and not cautious enough in investing could cause this budding economic upturn to wither on the vine. The numbers remain mixed, with the number of job losses in the month of May are down, but unemployment is up. While the government's report of 345,000 jobs lost is the lowest since September, the actual unemployment rate is 9.4 percent. This indicates that although less people are being laid off, it is still very tough to find a job out there. In fact, the overall number of job seekers rose as college graduates flood the job markets.

Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said, even once the economy begins to recover, jobs will be the last sector to rebound. But there are still other troubling signs out there. Recent Commerce Department data shows that May retail sales were mixed, but in general analysts were surprised that more shoppers hadn't returned to stores. Wall Street may be throwing caution to wind, but Main Street seems to be holding onto their cash, with the savings rate up again last month.

One of the biggest downfalls of overzealous investing is that investors are helping push interest rates higher. According to Yahoo, investors have been selling off Treasury bills because they feel they are no longer in need of the safety of government debt. This causes mortgage rates and other kinds of loans for consumers to rise. Interest rates are still historically low, but they have been creeping up in the last few weeks. As the interest rates goes up, borrowing is falling off. The Federal Reserve reported last week that consumer borrowing in April fell by twice as much as analysts had been expecting.

The latest results of the AP's Economic Stress Index, which tracks the economic strains in 3100 counties across the country, show that many areas of the country are struggling more than they were a year ago.
"The AP calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on each county's rate of unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy, with lower numbers indicating less economic pain. The average Stress score dipped to 9.7 in April, from 10.3 in March. In April 2008, the national average was 5.9."

So while most indications show improvement in the economy in the first part of 2009, a slow, steady recovery is more likely to help this nation that has been stressed in so many ways over the last year and a half. After all, exuberant investing is what got us into this mess in the first place.


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Ki lives and works in Austin and has worked in the Austin real estate market for 10 years. He maintains a search of Austin MLS on his website. It also has general information on Austin real estate and current mortgage rates

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/new-legislation-to-regulate-credit-card-companies.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/new-legislation-to-regulate-credit-card-companies.html Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:15:46 -0500
President Obama is expected to sign into law a bill passed by Congress that overhauls the credit card industry. According to the Associated Press, the bill will do the following:

-Credit card companies cannot charge retroactive rate increases unless the cardholder is at least 60 days behind in paying the bill.

-If a rate increase is enacted because a cardholder has fallen behind on payments, lenders must restore the lower rate after six months if the cardholder has paid monthly bills on time.

-Credit card companies must post credit card agreements on the Internet.

-Potential cardholders under 21 to prove to the credit card companies that they can repay the money before being given a card, or have a parent or guardian promise to pay off their debt if they default.

-Cardholders cannot be charged over-the-limit fees unless they elect to be allowed to go over a limit.

-Credit card companies must say how much time it would take and how much money in interest would be paid if only the minimum monthly payments are made.

-Gift cards must be valid for five years.

-Credit card companies cannot charge fees when cardholders pay the bill by phone or on the Internet.

-Credit card companies cannot eliminate the interest-free period for cardholders who move from paying the full balance monthly to carrying a balance.

-Credit card companies must give cardholders a reasonable time to pay the bill before it is considered late.

-Credit card companies must give cardholders 45 days notice before raising interest rates on new purchases, even if the customer is late or delinquent in paying the account.

"Those who manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems," Edward L. Yingling, CEO of the American Bankers Association, told the New York Times. In other words, banks will recoup losses from higher interest rates and late fees by reviving annual fees, putting restrictions on reward programs and eliminating the grace period for charging interest on purchases.

It is the fine print on the credit card bill that has gotten many Americans into trouble with their credit. Research shows that the majority of credit card companies stipulate that rates can increase to any amount for any period of time if the cardholder is deemed a credit risk at any point.

"This is America and we don't begrudge a company's success when that success is based on honest dealings with consumers," President Obama said recently. "We need reform to restore some sense of balance." In this time of job loss and financial uncertainty, it is the credit card balances that may trump finding a true balance of fairness in the credit card business.


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Ki graduated from UT with a CS degree. Now he works with buyers interested in Austin real estate. His website allows buyers to search Austin MLS listings. It also provides information on mortgage interest rates.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/getting-back-to-boring-banking.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/getting-back-to-boring-banking.html Wed, 20 May 2009 22:46:56 -0500
Well, unfortunately we all have a stake these days in how the banking industry is faring, and not just because our tax dollars have funded billion dollar bailouts. The health of the banking industry is a direct reflection on the health of the economy, and we all pay the price or reap the benefits to a degree.

The stress test given to 19 of the country's biggest banks was conducted by the Federal Reserve to indicate the solvency and future viability of the various banks. Overall, the results were more positive than negative. Bank of America was told that it would need an additional $33.9 billion in capital to weather any future economic storms. Banks are likely to raise the needed capital through asset sales, future earnings, as well as raising capital from private investors.

In fact, the Associated Press reported that "10 of the nation's 19 largest banks need a total of about $75 billion in new capital to withstand losses if the recession worsened. The Federal Reserve's findings show the financial system, like the overall economy, is healing but not yet healed."

While it wasn't great news, it wasn't exactly bad news. In the days since the test results were announced, and even as early news leaked about the government findings, the stock market has continued to slowly climb. Investors seem to be tentatively sticking their heads up from the foxholes as some smoke clears from the battlefields of this recession.

But in many ways it also means the battle rages on for the average American. Banks in need of raising money will likely find ways to get some of those funds out of the little guy through higher fees on bank accounts and credit cards, as well as interest rate hikes. In theory, the stress test results are supposed to reassure everyone and thus get credit flowing. The banks that "passed" the test, like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express Co., will hopefully be more willing to extend credit than they have in the past year.

Or as Justin Fox put it recently in his "The Curious Capitalist" column for Time magazine, it's time for banks to get back to "boring" banking. He contends that the current financial mess was caused by so called shadow banks that got away from well established banking practices and instead engaged in "bad mortgage loans, collateralized debt obligations and all manner of other lunkheaded lending decisions."

What's left of the banking industry now are the stalwart, FDIC insured banks that have earned money the boring way for decades. Fox contends that the rise of other financial institutions, like investment banks, hedge funds and banks focused solely on mortgage loans, took business away from the banks. Eventually banks like Citigroup and many others began to get into shadow banking to compete with companies like Goldman Sachs. The rest is painful history. It may take some time, and we will all certainly continue to pay the price for all that shadowy prosperity of the past, but banks are hopefully on the road to a boring recovery. Boring is good news for the little guy.

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Ki's spent several years working in the Austin real estate market as an investor, now it is his business as an Austin realtor. His website has information and stats on Austin real estate as well as a search of Austin homes for sale for buyers interested in the market. He also provides free html mortgage calculator code on his site.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/hope-is-great-real-proof-is-better.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/hope-is-great-real-proof-is-better.html Wed, 20 May 2009 22:35:33 -0500
The most recent sign that the economy may be a little less dismal these days was the latest report of the services sector index, which seems to indicate that the pace of the decline was slowing some in April. With over half the country working in service sector jobs like hotels, retail, education and health care, this is an important indicator for the health of the economy. According to the AP, at 43.7 in April the services index is still far below the healthy reading of 50, but better than the 40.8 reading in March.

However, not everyone agrees with Bernanke's positive prediction. "The most you can say is that there are scattered signs that things are getting worse more slowly -- that the economy isn't plunging quite as fast as it was," says financial columnist Paul Krugman. In a recent New York Times column, he listed four reasons not to jump for joy quite yet when it comes to the economy.

First, Krugman notes that industrial production is down to a ten year low and the housing sector remains very weak as foreclosures continue to mount. Next, he is highly suspicious of the banking industries recent "profitable" first quarter. Krugman believes that the banks are just rearranging furniture in the same rundown houses and few real improvements in the financial sector have been made. He also doubts the government's soon-to-be-announced stress test results are going to make things any clearer.

Krugman's last two caveats are that the bottom is impossible to predict and the ride up is a bumpy one. He pointed to the fact that during the Great Depression there were unexpected twists and turns on the way to the bottom and believing in a recovery too soon may actually lengthen the duration of this recession. Even once the economy does recover jobs will be the last thing to bounce back.

That is the one point where Krugman and Bernanke agree. The fed chairman agreed with many economists' predictions that the April unemployment rate will be higher than March's twenty-five year high of 8.5 percent. In the last eighteen months the recession has gobbled up 5.1 million jobs, according to the AP. The national unemployment rate "could remain high for a time, even after economic growth resumes," Bernanke said.

Krugman and other economic analysts hope that the Obama administration will not drop the ball on its economic recovery efforts. Just believing in a recovery is not enough to bring one about, unfortunately. The sentiment seems to be that optimism is great, but well crafted policy is better.

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Ki organized a website focusing on Austin real estate. His site allows future owners to search listings from the Austin MLS he also provides information on mortgage rates trends.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/what-exactly-is-the-mayors-job.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/what-exactly-is-the-mayors-job.html Fri, 08 May 2009 20:06:15 -0500
So, just how important is the mayor in a city that also has a city manager? The easiest way to explain the difference between the two is that the mayor is a political office and the city manager is a municipal employee, albeit an important one. According to a report by the Texas City Management Association, "The mayor and city council provide policy and political leadership for the city. However, the city manager will be responsible for implementing policy."

It is the job of the city manager to supervise department heads, prepare the budget, and coordinate departments. What then is the mayor's job?
According to the City of Austin website, the capital city practices a Council-Management form of government, as do most large cities across the country. This makes the position of the mayor largely a ceremonial one, along with being the presiding officer over the city council.
The elected mayor and the six-member city council are responsible for establishing policy through passing local ordinances, voting appropriations and creating an overall vision for the city. Will Wynn has served two terms as the 50th mayor of Austin with a vision of a strong downtown.

What are the visions of Austin held by the mayoral candidates vying to take Wynn's place? With a wide range of backgrounds and ages, the five candidates each have a unique take on the issues facing our growing city. According to Community Impact newspapers, native Austinite Lee Leffingwell would bring his military and airline pilot experience to "maintain the unique things about Austin through historic preservation." Leffingwell is also a supporter of small local businesses as a means of economic growth.

Former Austin Mayor (1977-1983) Carole Keeton Strayhorn seems focused on fiscal responsibility and transportation issues. Current council member Brewster McCracken would like to move over to the position of mayor with a vision of Austin's future as a clean energy city. He emphasizes economic growth and neighborhood improvements.

The two political newcomers to the mayoral race are David Buttross, a local businessman, and Josiah Ingalls, who works at Hilton Austin as a housekeeper. Both candidates would like to see the city reign in spending, while Buttross also has an emphasis on better support and training for municipal services like fire and police. Ingalls would like to see Austin held accountable for how it spends every penny of the budget. Also, four of the six city council places are up for election.

Fresh on the heels of the high-voter turnout of the November presidential election, most Austinites know exactly where to go to vote and may still have their voter registration card handy. It only takes a few minutes to vote, as the lines aren't likely to be long in Saturday's municipal elections. The city manager may bear the responsibility of the city's day-to-day operations, however it is the mayor and city council who craft the policies of Austin's future. And it's the voter who bears the responsibility for deciding just exactly who that mayor and council will be.


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Ki's works in the Austin real estate market. His website has a search of Austin homes. It also has information on Austin real estate and Cedar Park.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/banks-still-going-bust.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/banks-still-going-bust.html Sat, 02 May 2009 18:23:04 -0500
Those booming bottom lines from banks are being questioned though. The New York Times financial columnist Paul Krugman warned Americans to stay skeptical as banks maneuvered their numbers. "The biggest positive news in recent days has come from banks, which have been announcing surprisingly good earnings. But some of those earnings reports look a little...funny." For example, Krugman noted that Goldman Sachs changed its definition of "quarter."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner revealed recently that of the $700 billion in government bailout money dedicated to rescuing the U.S. financial markets, only $109.6 billion remains. While the Treasury Department said they expect the fund to receive about $25 billion in the next year as companies repay their loans, Congress seemed a little confused on the return taxpayers were getting on this massive investment. The numbers breakdown as follows, according to the Associated Press:

$355.4 billion - committed under the Bush administration to help bolster AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, GM, and Chrysler among other companies.

$30 billion - additional funds given to AIG under the Obama administration.

$5 billion - additional funds to automakers under the Obama administration.

$200 billion - disbursed to more than $500 banks.

With all that money flowing to the banks, the Federal Reserve's "stress test" results of 19 major banks should be stellar, right? The results will not be publicly revealed until May 4, but early indications don't look promising.

According to the AP, "Federal Reserve officials told reporters Friday that all 19 banks that underwent stress tests will be required to keep an extra buffer of capital reserves beyond what is required now in case losses continue to mount. That would mean some banks will likely have to raise additional cash."

One way the government proposes that banks could raise more capital would be for the Fed to convert its stake in the banks from preferred shares to common shares, which have voting rights. Many analysts say this smacks of the dreaded nationalizing of banks. However, Congress seems very reluctant to loosen the purse strings any further for the financial industry, especially amid the American public's anger over bonuses and other bank excesses.

The next couple of weeks will be critical for the banking industry as they scramble to improve scores ahead of the Fed's public announcement of the stress tests results. For all the bailout money banks have received credit remains tight for American consumers and businesses and lending is still way down.

In other financial news, despite better than expected numbers for consumer confidence in April, the economy is shrinking at an alarming rate. According to a recent AP report, the economy shrank 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year as companies continue to cut spending and shed workers.


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Ki has worked in the Austin real estate for the last 5 years. His website has a searchable directory of homes in the Austin MLS along with general information on the Austin real estate market. He also has statistics on Round Rock Austin.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/obamas-making-home-affordable-initiative.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/obamas-making-home-affordable-initiative.html Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:20:48 -0500
A statement released by the Treasury Department said, "The present crisis is real, but temporary. As home prices fall, demand for housing will increase, and conditions will ultimately find a new balance. Yet in the absence of decisive action, we risk an intensifying spiral in which lenders foreclose, pushing area home prices still lower, reducing the value of household savings, and making it harder for all families to refinance."

To avoid intensifying the current downward spiral of the housing market, the Obama administration has a two-part plan. The first part addresses the need to modify the loans of up to four million struggling homeowners, while the second part helps five million borrowers refinance loans through government controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The $75 billion plan includes the following five features (as stated in the Treasury Department document):

* A Home Affordable Modification Program to Reach Up to 3 to 4 Million At-Risk Homeowners

* Clear and Consistent Guidelines for Loan Modifications

* Requiring That Financial Stability Plan Recipients Use Treasury Guidelines for Loan Modifications

* Allowing Judicial Modifications of Home Mortgages During Bankruptcy When A Borrower Has No Other Options

* Requiring Strong Oversight, Reporting and Quarterly Meetings with Treasury, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve and HUD to Monitor Performance

* Strengthening FHA Programs and Providing Support for Local Communities

The clear and consistent guidelines state that borrowers will have to provide their most recent tax return and two pay stubs, as well as an "affidavit of financial hardship" to qualify for the loan modification program. The Making Home Affordable plan "will not provide money to speculators, and it will target support to the working homeowners who have made every possible effort to stay current on their mortgage payments."

This plan is particularly aimed at homeowner with upside down mortgages, where the value of the home has declined and a borrower owes more than the home is worth. In order to refinance banks usually require at least 20% home equity, but under the Treasury plan the government backed loans will help homeowners take advantage of the current low interest rates.

Other highlights of the plan include helping borrowers with high total debt (including car loans and credit cards) by requiring them to enter HUD-certified consumer debt counseling. However, mortgages over 729,750 will not be eligible. The target affordability rate is to make loans no more than 31% of a borrower's income. The plan, which will run through 2010, only includes loans which originated before January 1, 2009.

This plan brings together lenders, investors, servicers, borrowers, and the government in the hopes of making significant strides in stabilizing the housing market and thus bringing the economy out of the worst recession in decades. Perhaps as homeowners feel less vulnerable, spending will increase in other sectors of the economy.


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Inside San Antonio real estate is a site that cover the San Antonio market. They have information on San Antonio school ratings and a blog on San Antonio real estate market.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/signs-of-a-better-economy.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/signs-of-a-better-economy.html Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:14:46 -0500
However, the current stock rally started with good banking news last month and that trend seems to be continuing. Wells Fargo & Co. said last week that it expects to post a record profit for the first quarter of 2009. This week will bring reports from other major banks like Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Wells Fargo received $25 billion in government bailout funds, which is less than the other big banks. The bank credits its strong quarter to a roaring mortgage business. The Associated Press reported that "Wells Fargo received about $190 billion in mortgage applications, a 64 percent jump from the previous quarter. More than 40 percent of that volume came in March."

So this looks to be good news for both the banking and housing industry. Though most of the applications were for refinancing, 25 percent is reported to be from customers wanting to purchase new homes. Wells Fargo's CFO, Howard Atkins, told the AP that the government's efforts to lower interest rates and other programs aimed at the beleaguered housing industry has helped. Yet he was reluctant to sound too optimistic. "It's premature to conclude the economy has turned," said Atkins. "All I can tell you is we're seeing a lot of business."

There was mixed news in the job sector last week, with jobless claims falling more than expected, but there are still a record number of people receiving unemployment benefits. According to the AP, both economic analysts and the Federal Reserve expect this trend to continue into year as companies adjust to the changing economy.

Retail sales, on the other hand, showed some signs of stabilizing.
According to the AP, discount retailers, like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., continue to show a modest increase in profits. Although sales have fallen for other retailers, the decrease has been less than expected.
So is the bottom of the bitter drink in sight? "In hard economic times, Americans turn to numbers to see whether things are getting better. Gauging the mood of the republic is not as quantifiable," said AP National Writer Ted Anthony recently.

It's even harder to quantify when the numbers give different stories and no one seems to want to stick his neck out and be the one to announce the end of the recession. While Anthony conceded there are subtle signs that things are getting better, he was only willing to say things could be getting "less worse."

According to Anthony, "Numbers from Gallup's Consumer Mood Index were up 6 points for the week ending April 5, the fourth consecutive week they rose. The index is now as high as it's been in over a year -- buoyed, perhaps, by the upward-creeping stock market. And an AP-GfK poll showed the number of Americans who think the country is heading in the right direction more than doubled between October and February -- to 40 percent. Not that it's all good, mind you. Just, well, less worse."


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Ki developed a clearinghouse website of Austin MLS listings. On his site buyers are able to do customizable searches for Austin real estate. His site also has up to date information on mortgage rates.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>