Money

Is Another Housing Crash Imminent?

Real estate prices are predicted to fall between 15%-40% or more in the next 1 to 3 years Mortgage applications have been falling steadily for over a year Typical Pool with Hot Tub in Florida Home During Housing Peak Homebuilders may be optimistic on the housing front, but the rest of us shouldn’t be. It seems they always get ahead of themselves with optimism, and then end up holding the bag, like when the last crash happened. In the few years leading up to 2007, I remember the plethora of new developments going up all around where I live in south Florida, with brightly-colored sales flags and dozens of beautifully decorated model homes in endless developments.

This is why the middle class can’t get ahead

For everybody wondering why the economic recovery feels like a recession, here’s the answer: We’re still at least five years away from regaining everything lost during the 2007-2009 downturn. Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight predicts that real median household income — perhaps the best proxy for middle-class living standards — won’t reach the prior peak from 2007 until 2019.

Here a bubble, there a bubble: Marc Faber

Even after the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at new all-time highs, closely followed contrarian Marc Faber keeps sounding the alarm. “We have a bubble in everything, everywhere,” the publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday. Faber has long argued that the Federal Reserve’s massive asset purchasing programs and near-zero interest rates have inflated stock prices.

News Pelosi: When ‘Obama Won the Election, He Took Us Out of That [Economic] Brink’

At the Americans United rally “Hands Off Social Security & Medicare” at the Capitol on Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blamed Republicans for the economic recession of 2007-09, saying their “lack of regulation and supervision took our country to the brink, and so when President Obama won the election, he took us out of that brink.” “I know you’ve heard from many members of the House and Senate about the importance of the three pillars of security for America’s seniors:

Scam Alert: Hospitals All Over America Are Wildly Inflating Medical Bills

The next time you visit a hospital, it is your wallet that may end up hurting the most. All over the United States, it has become common practice for hospitals to wildly inflate medical bills. For example, it has been reported that some hospitals are charging up to 30 dollars for a single aspirin pill.

World Bank: Economic Impact Of Ebola Outbreak Could Be ‘Catastrophic’

The World Bank released a statement Wednesday warning that the economic impact of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was “already serious” and could be “catastrophic” if the international community does not take serious action soon. This Ebola outbreak is unprecendented in scope, and worsening with alarming speed. There have been 2,453 deaths counted so far, and 4,963 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases — almost half of which have been diagnosed in the past 21 days.

Super-rich rush to buy ‘Italian Job’ style gold bars

The super-rich are looking to protect their wealth through buying record numbers of “Italian job” style gold bars, according to bullion experts. The number of 12.5kg gold bars being bought by wealthy customers has increased 243pc so far this year, when compared to the same period last year, said Rob Halliday-Stein founder of BullionByPost.

The Federal Reserve signals intent to continue low interest rates

The Federal Reserve reassured financial markets Wednesday that a key interest rate will stay near zero for “a considerable time” after its bond purchases end next month, deferring for now a clear signal on how it will begin to shift away from low-rate policies it’s had in place since the 2008 financial crisis. In a statement following a two-day meeting, the Fed said it will continue to wind down monthly bond purchases that have held down long-term interest rates and end the program next month, assuming the labor market continues to improve. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will further explain the Fed’s thinking at a press conference scheduled for 2:

1 in 9 goes hungry worldwide

One out of every nine people in the world does not have enough food to eat. An annual report from the United Nations released Tuesday estimates that 805 million people suffer from “chronic undernourishment.” The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned that “food-insecurity” remains “unacceptably high” in certain developing economies.

Millions of banknotes sent to Scotland in case Yes vote sparks run on ATMs

Britain’s banks have been quietly moving millions of banknotes north of the border to cope with any surge in demand by Scots to withdraw cash in the event of a Yes vote in Thursday’s independence referendum, it has emerged. Sources told The Independent the moves have been taking place over the past week or so in order to make sure ATMs do not run out on Friday in the event of a panic reaction to a “yes” vote. There have been some suggestions that people will want to move their money to English banks in the event of an independence vote.

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