Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. unexpectedly rose from a record low, propelled by the biggest slump in prices since the Great Depression as foreclosures surged.
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The index of leading economic indicators unexpectedly increased in December as the money supply expanded, a report from the Conference Board, a New York-based research group, showed today. The 0.3 percent increase was the first gain in six months and masked signs of a worsening recession.
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The number of previously owned unsold homes on the market at the end of December represented 9.3 months’ worth at the current sales pace, down from 11.2 months’ at the end of the prior month.
There are three basic views of bubbles that are held by economists. The dominant view among modern mainstream economists, including the Chicago school and proponents of Supply-Side economics, is to deny the existence of bubbles and to declare that what is thought to be “bubbles” is really the result of “real” factors....
Banks and credit card companies in England are exploiting a legal loophole to seize homes of customers who cannot pay their credit card bills, experts say.
esales dropped 2.6 percent to a lower-than-forecast 4.86 million annual rate from a 4.99 million pace the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median home price dropped 6.1 percent from June 2007.
Add in the federal debt ceiling, and it’s a reminder of how deep in the red the government already is. The current debt limit of about $9.815 trillion will be exhausted this fall, and the Democrats’ new 2009 budget plan calls for raising the ceiling to $10.615 trillion — an $800 billion increase.
Home prices surged in 2003 through 2006, climbing by a cumulative 52%, according to Case-Shiller. Since then, however, the housing and credit bubbles have burst and homeowners have given up half of their gains from earlier in the decade
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