It's not hard to focus on negativity in a down economy - in fact, it's downright easy. Sales volume is down. Revenue is down. Jobs are down. Spending is down. But focusing on negativity doesn't help you get anywhere. In fact, when times are tough, the people that maintain a positive attitude will
...
12/17/2010
Consumer credit saw its largest increase in more than two years during October, according to the Federal Reserve's latest report released last week. October's consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 1.75 percent for the month, marking the second straight monthly increase. Non-revolving cr
...
12/15/2010
Labor productivity for the third quarter jumped by a 2.3 percent annual rate over the last period, nearly keeping pace with analyst predictions of a 2.4 percent gain. Productivity is measured as output compared to hours worked, and according to last week's report from the Bureau of Labor Statist
...
12/15/2010
Better-than-expected retail sales data led the week's financial headlines, with advance estimates for October's retail and food services sales hitting $373.1 billion, a respectable 1.2 percent jump from September and a 7.3 percent increase over October 2009. On their own, retail trade sales were
...
12/15/2010
The Rancho Bernardo, CA 92128 real estate market is reasonable to strong for detached homes. It is a strong seller's market for 62% of the detached homes and reasonable for most of the rest. The market behavior is mixed for attached homes (e.g., condos / townhomes). For homes under $350,000 (a
...
12/10/2010
I went to a 2+ day seminar a couple of weeks ago, put on by a company called The Career Compass. I just needed to take a moment and give them credit for an excellent and energetic presentation. I heartily recommend them for anyone in California who needs their CE. And for that matter, for anyo
...
12/09/2010
The yield on the 10-year Treasury Bill (T-Bill) is usually a good indicator of what is likely to happen with 30-year mortgage rates. The chart below shows what has happened since late spring and the beating the yield has taken in the past few days. Today we saw three rate hikes. I can only hop
...
11/15/2010
Foreign trade topped last week's headlines, with the foreign trade deficit for September dropping while the G-20 struggled to avert a trade war fueled by currency disputes. The nation's international trade deficit in goods and services decreased to $44 billion in September from August's revised
...
11/15/2010
After an encouraging increase in August, personal income figures fell below market expectations for September, according to figures released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis last week. Personal income decreased $16.8 billion, or 0.1 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) decreased $20.3
...
11/08/2010
Rates Best in 40 Years - Consider a RefinanceIf your interest rate is above 5.125% and you think you will stay in your home 3+ years, then refinance now to save hundreds of dollars every month. Interest rates are hovering around their lowest in 40 years - about 4.375% for < $417,000 and 4.75% u
...
10/31/2010