TAX CUTS EXTENDED Late last night, the US House of Representatives voted 248 -117 to approve the tax extension deal negotiated by President Obama with Republican leadership. The bill extends the Bush-era tax cuts for 2 years, until December 31, 2012, and is scheduled to be signed by the President today. The bill continues the […]
The Great Recession’s Next Wave
THE GREAT RECESSION’S NEXT WAVE Alarmingly, money a growing number of older Americans are counting on to finance retirement won’t be there. According to the Pew Center for States, public pension and health insurance funds were under-funded by more than $1 TRILLION in 2008. That’s before the Wall Street and Real Estate collapse – and […]
Life Expectancy Dramatically Increases
LIFE EXPECTANCY DRAMATICALLY INCREASES According to A. Barry Ran, CEO — AARP, life expectancy during the second half of the twentieth century grew by nearly thirty years. Consider the following chart: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, life expectancy since 1940 has increased dramatically. Year Age 1940 63 1960 70 1980 74 2000 77 2020 […]
Save Our Future – Stop the Deficit Spending
Save our Future – Stop the Deficit Spending Recent election results confirmed voter concern with unprecedented deficit spending. Consider the following: The US is presently $13.7 trillion in debt. The deficit will add another $1.3 trillion to the debt. In 2011, the government will spend $30,000 per household while collecting only $20,000. President Obama appointed […]
The Housing Bubble
The Housing Bubble A ‘bubble’ was created when people decided to go into debt and bid up housing prices because they expected to sell and make money. As Fed Chairman from 2001-2005, Allen Greenspan helped create the housing bubble by cutting interest rates and expanding credit. This created a false market and ultimately led to […]
Buyer’s Costs Increase By Thousands
BUYER’S COSTS INCREASE BY THOUSANDS Interest rates have increased nearly ½ a percentage point in the past month from 4.17% to 4.61% on average. Prospective buyers should examine the attached chart carefully and keep in mind that a 2% interest rate increase will cost them an additional $129 every month per $100,000 financed. No one […]
Bank Liability for Sub-Prime Lending
BANK LIABILITY FOR SUB-PRIME LENDING Was the mortgage mess a result of an unanticipated collapse of home prices nationwide? Or, did the banks misrepresent the securities that they sold thus causing the financial meltdown? Banks may face yet another major setback in the next few years. When banks packaged and sold mortgage securities from 2005 […]
Beware the Moral Hazard
Beware the Moral Hazard Last year the government bailed out the banking systems and investors by buying more than one trillion dollars in troubled assets. This action caused a lot of concern among economists and regulators who feared that doing so would only encourage investors to make more bad decisions because there were no consequences […]
The China Effect
The China Effect How will China’s Investment Policy dramatically impact the United States, economic recovery, and the real estate market? China’s Investment Policy has dramatically changed. According to Joe Quinlan, chief strategist at U.S. Trust, China will reduce its purchases of U.S. Treasuries from over $100 Billion last year, to about $55 Billion this year. […]
Construction Costs Prove It’s Time to Buy
CONSTRUCTION COSTS PROVE IT’S TIME TO BUY Purchasing an existing home today may be one of the best investments available based on replacement costs. With the abundance of houses available for sale, most people overlook the fact that at some point we’ll have to build new houses to keep pace with demand. When that happens, […]