Saturday, March 15, 2014
New Home Sales Rose 3 3 in April
Similarly to existing home sales, gains in new home sales were widespread geographically, with only the south reporting a decline in sales in April. Sales in the Midwest and West were both strong.
Supply of new homes on the market remains extremely tight at 5.1 months. This measure has remained below the six month mark for the past six months, indicating an extremely tight supply. This is a result of an extremely low level of new construction.
Although the median home price fell in April, to $230,000, there are signs of firming prices. The median home price is a volatile measure month to month, but in April, the median price is 4.9% above one year ago.
Read Census report.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
3 Non BBB Accredited Unsecured Personal Loan Lenders That You Can Consider When Your Credit Is Bad
Many who are in need of financial assistance have experienced the same obstacle - which is their own bad credit history, and this is the main reason most lenders reject their personal loan application. Besides that, the success rate of getting such loans is much lower when those applicants do not put up collateral to their loan application. Although non-bank lenders would consider granting loans for applicants with low credit scores, applications from those who have critically low credit scores are likely to be rejected as lenders are not willing to bear the risks of having clients who seem to be incapable of repaying the loan as agreed.
In that case, you need to start considering non-BBB (or non-Better Business Bureau) accredited unsecured loan lenders because:
繚 They would grant loan to applicants who do not put up collateral in their application
繚 They would consider applicants who have extremely bad credit scores
繚 They claimed they are offering fast loan approval
繚 They received satisfactory BBB ratings (although they are not BBB accredited)
繚 They need a co-signer to support your application if your low salary earnings
繚 They would not charge any upfront fees for their loan lending service
Here are the non-BBB accredited unsecured loan lenders as follows:
1. MoneyNowUSA.com (BBB rating: A): They claimed that they provide fast application processing time, which is approximately 90 seconds, and approving unsecured loans to successful applicants within less than an hour. Most important thing is those who are applying for a larger loan amount - i.e. more than $1,000; they would probably need to apply more than once. Please take note that their loan lending service is not applicable for applicants from Arizona, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia.
2. DrCredit.com (BBB rating: A-): The most attractive point of their loan lending service that their applicants would be given four loan offers within 24 hours. In addition, successful applicants would receive a free membership to their "CreditCounselor Financial Network".
3. CreditLoan.com (BB rating: B-): They are actually a loan company which represents a group of legitimate non-bank lenders, and offering unsecured loan amount with the range $250-$2,500 for applicants with bad credit history. The total loan amount is determined based on the loan term and their applicants creditworthiness.
Bear in mind that the total cost loan (including high interest rate) would be high if you have bad credit history. You are advised to request free quotes from these lenders above before you start applying. Make sure that you are able to choice the right unsecured loan deal according to your current financial situation.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Recession at 3 5 in Q2 the greater situation right now
Initially, when the government published its budget in year-end 2009, it had forecasts for around the same GDP. Then it revised it to -2% and then to -4% with the IMF+EU memorandum. It may go higher than that still.
Ordinary people are struggling with their daily expenses, taxes, reduced business etc. A lot of cars are left parked while people dont have money for gasoline. Big taxes have hit a rate of diminished returns and government income projection is failing due to over-taxation and recession. People simply cant give what they dont have.
Expenses are higher, taxes are higher, consumption is lowered and many small businesses are forced to shut down. It is anticipated that over 100.000 small businesses will shut down in 2010 (!).
In the absence of large-scale industry, the backbone of Greek businesses has traditionally been small-scale businesses, usually family owned. It seems theres something like a greater plan of extinction where all autonomous businessmen will have to become beggars of jobs, instead of job-givers. In a sense, the whole market is shaping its parameters in such a way that, given enough time on the same course, people will all gradually turn employees of big multinational companies - which will own all and everything. It may sound like an exaggeration but at this point most products on grocery shops for example, are currently produced by ex-Greek companies that have been bought by foreign capital. Greek shipping lines are partly owned by foreign capital. Telecommunications, transport etc, foreign capital too. Even banks are being encouraged to do mergers with foreign banks so as to shift their ownership.
The long term implication is that by sending all profit from commercial transactions abroad, the country will be engaged in an ever increasing downward spiral of povertization.
In the meanwhile the media heavily under-report the rate of economic suicides that has taken the form of a "plague". A 32 year old man committed suicide the other day for not having 120 euros to pay his mortgage (!). What is happening is really tragic, in this regard.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Retail Sales Increased 0 3 in November
Non-store retailers saw strong gains in November rising 3% over the previous month, about three times their recent average. The strong growth contributed 0.3% to overall growth. Electronics and appliances stores also saw strong growth, rising 2.5%. Rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy likely contributed to the strong 1.6% growth in sales at building materials stores.
Sales fell the most sharply at Gasoline stations, falling 4.0% over the month. The decline in gasoline sales was likely a direct result of lower gasoline prices. Sales also fell unusually sharply at general stores, which were down 0.9%.
Read the Census report.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Housing Starts Jumped 9 3 in November
The more volatile multi-family starts lead growth, jumping 25.3% to an annualized rate of 238,000 units. Single-family starts grew less rapidly at 2.3%, but still account for the majority of starts at an annual pace of 447,000 units.
Permit issuance trends suggest that gains will continue in December as permit issuance grew by 5.7% to an annualized level of 681,000 permits. The issuances suggest that multi-family starts are likely to continue driving growth, as multi-family permits grew by 13.9%. Single-family permits rose by 1.6%.
Although the growth in housing starts is encouraging, it is growing from a low base. Historically housing starts are near 1.5 million units per year. Although we have seen some recovery, we are a long way off from those levels.
Read the report.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Existing Home Sales Rose 3 4 In April
April’s increase in sales was broad based, with all regions reporting improved sales. The gains ranged from 5.1% in the Northeast, to 1.0% in the Midwest.
The supply of existing homes on the market increased 9.5% to 6.6 months, its highest level since November. A surge in homes listed for sale drove the inventory up despite the faster pace. April’s growth in listings is the strongest one month gain since 2006, indicating that homeowners are beginning to gain confidence in the market.
House prices rose notably in April, with median home price rising 10.1% to $177,400. Home price appreciation is being driven by a declining share of distressed homes sold. According to the NAR, the share of distressed sales fell from 37% one year ago to 28% in April.
Read the report.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Electronic Payments Provide 0 3 Boost to GDP
The study looked at 56 countries, together representing 93% of global GDP and found that payment cards added $983 billion to global GDP over the same five-year window. The average global growth for the five years was 1.8% per year, which would have fallen to 1.6% without card usage.
Moody’s noted that “Card usage makes the economy more efficient, yielding a meaningful boost to economic growth, year after year, through a multitude of factors including transaction efficiencies, consumer access to credit and consumer confidence in the payment system overall."
Card usage contributes to economic activity by reducing transaction costs and improving efficiency in the flow of goods and services. Cards allow consumers immediate secure access to all of their funds and credit lines allowing them to optimize consumption decisions. The cards also aid merchants by reducing cash and check handling and the risks associated with holding cash.
Read the full white paper and fact sheet.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Top 3 Best Debt Consolidation Methods
In essence, best debt consolidation refers to taking out a loan with the specific purpose of paying off the other debts you are currently struggling with. It is important to note that considering one of the methods to consolidate your debt is done for two primary reasons: to lower the monthly payments that you cannot afford any more and to benefit from reduced interest rates on the long-term payments. While reducing the interest rate on your payments is one of the best things that could ever happen to a person in financial distress, taking a debt consolidation loan to reduce the monthly payments is an overall good idea. You may pay a little more in the long run, as your payments will be stretched but you will not have the debt companies calling you and your payments will be much smaller so your quality of life will increase instantly.
Most Popular & Best Debt Consolidation Method
One of the most popular and best debt consolidation methods so far is taking out a personal loan. The advantage of this practice is that you have a fixed interest rate that will not be modified regardless of the financial circumstances. In addition, the interest rate of the personal loan cannot expire or be modified if the loan is part of a special promotional period.
Another method that is among the top three best debt consolidation practices is using the credit card balance transfers. Even though credit cards are commonly associated with high interest rates, you will be glad to find out that during transfer balances, companies offer lower interest rate fees or no fees at all for six months to one year. However, some credit card companies might also apply a fee that is associated with the transfer and that is usually three percent of the amount you need to transfer. While this method is excellent to consolidate a smaller amount of debt, it is not very convenient for larger debts, as you will pay interest rate after the promotional period is over.
So we have added it to the best debt consolidation list but this is mainly for smaller debts.
More of the Best Debt Consolidation Techniques
A third practice that financial experts place among the best debt consolidation methods is taking out a second mortgage or applying for a home equity loan. The benefits of this technique are obvious when your debts become overwhelming and your other option is to declare bankruptcy. Even though a second mortgage and an equity loan are big loans, the good news is that you will have sufficient cash to get the creditors off your back. A further advantage is that you will only have to concern yourself with reimbursing one loan, after you got rid of your other debts.
However, taking out a large loan presents a few major risks that you should be aware of when using the best debt consolidation techniques. For starters, if you have no way of repaying the monthly premiums of the mortgage, your house will very soon be put up for sale. In addition, if the price the creditor has received on your property is not enough, then you might not only lose the roof over your head, but still owe money as well. Given these facts, it is advisable that you take the risks only if your other option is filing for bankruptcy. Nonetheless, there are other options that can prove useful in your case, for the best debt consolidation secrets so visit us for more information on the subject.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Documentation and e Learning Part 3 Learning Nuggets An Idea Whose Time has Come
Increased use of portable information devices with tiny screens.
Impatience with large quantities of un-engaging text.
Info Devices and Tiny Screens
Did you know that 33% of the Earths population uses cell phones, but only 17% uses computers of any kind? What does this mean for the e-Learning industry? Think about the following:
1. Today, more people use mobile information devices like cell phones than traditional PCs.
2. These mobile devices have squinty little screens.
3. Screen text can shrink only so much before it becomes unreadable (especially for an aging population).
4. Having to scroll displays around to read things irritates users.
5. Therefore, tiny screens on portable devices will probably force ALL of us to write more concise materials, with less text and reduced on-screen scrolling.
Too Much Text!
Also, todays students seek much of their information through Google, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Web blogs, and Wikis. These are engaging, lively, and (often) very concise delivery channels. For example, Twitter messages can be no longer than 140 characters. If youve never tweeted, heres what 140 characters looks like (including spaces, but excluding quotes): A big shout-out to my many fans of ME!! Im at the mall & wanted to ask everyone what you think I should buy my girlfriend for her birthday?
A whole new generation of information consumers is learning to communicate and exchange information using these miniscule chunks. Similarly, millions of YouTube visitors every month view video clips that are normally no longer than 150 seconds.
As I saidextremely concise delivery channels!
And if they arent already our customers, todays students will become tomorrows users of our products and services. After graduation, theyll continue to expect concise content to be delivered over engaging media. These future audiences wont permit themselves to be bored by e-Learning materials that drone on or dont grab and keep their interest.
Im already seeing the results of this. As SyberWorks STC software grows increasingly full-featured, my manuals become fatter and fatter. When I arrived here a few years ago, the STC User Manual was only 300 pages long. Today, its 1,200 pages and rising. I could hold or reduce these counts by providing less detail, but thats not a popular approach. So page counts grow, and customers willingness to open their manuals drops. Today, theyre more likely to just call Customer Support with questions because the manuals contain too much paper.
As a result, the documentation field has been moving toward smaller modular content chunks, which can be left standalone or combined with each other and delivered to different users and information devices. The concept is actually quite similar to SCORM.
The Rise of Learning Nuggets
Similarly, Learning Nuggets are tiny e-Learning chunks that can be standalone or strung like beads in e-Learning necklaces. These tiny lessons tend to focus on single concepts or tasks. They can be developed using existing technologies (HTML, XHTMS, CSS, JavaScript, SyberWorks Web Author), and usually include Flash animations, audio, video, demonstrations, educational puzzles, and quizzes.
For example, Ive seen a nugget that shows people how to determine their effective annual salary, based on their annual wage and the number of hours that they REALLY work. This nugget also shows how to compute what their salary WOULD BE, if they were paid for every one of these hours. I could see this nugget being just one standalone unit in a string of personal finance activities.
Nuggets arent defined by any specific authoring technologies, either. The key things that differentiate them from traditional course lessons are that nuggets are short, can stand alone, can also be sequenced with other nuggets to meet individual training needs, and can be delivered over a variety of media.
Googling learning nuggets will give you much more information about the work thats being done with them. When I did, I discovered that:
Londons The Learning Nuggets Company is creating low-cost nuggets for students in urban and rural sub-Sahara Africa. Subjects include vocations, principles of management, computing technologies, and even the rules for driving in Europe.
Developers have also discovered that nuggets lend themselves to open source sharing, where nuggets developed by one company are exchanged with other developers around the globe. Some tradeshows have even begun to collect pertinent nuggets from their exhibitors to sell or give away to attendees!
If you also research nuggets, youll discover many approaches to creating and delivering them. But they all target flexible, low-cost content libraries that can be delivered to as many kinds of devices as possibleincluding wireless gizmos carried in the worlds pockets.
But Things Could Get TOO Condensed
Recently, the British Qualifications and Curriculum Authority found that too many U.K. students (especially those in their mid teens) were being taught using extracts and short stories, as opposed to what they called a sufficiently demanding reading diet (e.g., novels and textbooks). This condensed instruction, they added, is already producing students without reading stamina.
Thats an interesting concept. And one must askCould breaking user documentation into ever smaller chunks and learning materials into tiny standalone nuggets similarly erode the learning stamina of my documentation readers and your online learners? We must stay on the alert to see!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Fourth Quarter GDP Revised Up to 3
Fourth quarter growth acceleration was led primarily by a large shift in inventories, which changed from dragging 1.35% on growth, to aiding growth by 1.88%. This amounted to about two thirds of growth over the quarter.
The revision from the initial estimate was led primarily by faster growth in fixed investment and lower imports. Consumer and government spending both saw minor upward revisions as well. Exports and inventory accumulation saw revisions that dragged on growth slightly.
Looking forward, the accumulation of inventories at the end of 2011 does not bode well for growth in early 2012. Furthermore, trade had begun to drag on growth in the fourth quarter and is likely to continue to do so as headwinds from Europe persist.
Read the report.