RECENT BLOG POSTS
CNBC has published the results of its sixth annual report on The Best States For Business. For the first time, Minnesota has dropped out of the top ten, from seventh place in 2011 to eleventh this year. Although number eleven isn't bad, there are obviously some things that need attention. To g...
07/11/2012
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A client wanted to tour a couple bank owned homes last Tuesday afternoon. The temperature was around 100 and, as you know, air conditioning is not something provided by those too big to fail. The first place was a town house on listing day number one. We met at the home for our scheduled appo...
07/07/2012
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Minnesota Financial Movers -- US Bancorp With a market capitalization in excess of over $60 Billion, and more than sixty thousand employees, US Bank makes a Paul Bunyan-sized footprint in the Minnesota financial landscape. Although it is the fifth largest commercial bank in the country, US Banc...
06/19/2012
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Minnesota Financial Movers -- TCF Financial Corporation TCF Bank A few days ago, we posted a summary of Ameriprise Financial, one of a fairly large number of prominent corporations involved in finance and related industries. Minnesota is also home to TCF Financial Corporation (TCB), the publicl...
06/19/2012
The financial components of America would be lacking considerable girth without its Minnesota components. Have you heard of Wells Fargo? Of course you have, and you may not know that Wells was acquired by Minnesota's Norwest Bank in 1998. Although Norwest was the acquirer, the historical signi...
06/14/2012
Minnesota winters have been responsible for some of our economic development. A previous post featured Arctic Cat, a half-century old company that makes snowmobiles and other off road vehicles, including ATV's. A second competing company, Polaris Industries, is larger in size than Arctic Cat, a...
06/14/2012
If you're not a resident of Minnesota, your image of the state can come in many forms. If you're from either of the coasts, you may think little more of our state than ten minutes of stuff to fly over on your way to the other coast. If you live in another Midwest state, your image may be one of...
06/14/2012
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If you're thinking about selling your home, or perhaps are already listed for sale, Dallas real estate professional Judith Abbott has a few words of wisdom for you. If you feel that your home is an exception to the rule of thumb, I hope you enjoy looking out your window at the for sale sign. It...
05/24/2012
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The most frequent question I hear from consumers who call me about an ad is, "Can you help me buy a home?" Often the answer is that I probably can't, at least not in the near term. The fact that you wanted to buy a home was about all it took in 2004-2006. It was not uncommon for people who coul...
05/19/2012
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First time buyers are sometimes surprised when I tell them that it's not my job to sell them a home. As their buyer's representative, the only selling I do is when I am charged with selling my clients' offer to the current owners. As buyer representative, it's my responsibility to help my clien...
05/18/2012