Dillon O.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

The housing industry is down but the cost of homes is up

Great news for the United States real estate market is few and far between. However, there is a scant glimmer of hope amid the doom and gloom. The last few consecutive months, home values have actually risen. The Case Shiller Price Index monitors home prices across 20 United States of America cities. Homes sold from the end of May to the end of June 2010 had a gain in rates, and the two months before did too. There aren’t lots of optimistic assumptions that are being made about real estate these days, so it is a welcome change to hear good news.

Small gain in house prices

Real estate activity is tracked by lots of different organizations. However, Standard and Poor’s Case Shiller price index is one of the best authorities for home values across 20 cities. According to the New York Times, the second quarter posted a 4.4 percent gain in home prices. The first quarter of this fiscal year saw a fall in home prices of 2.8 percent. Home prices are also up 3.6 percent since the end of second quarter 2009. Costs rose 1 percent during July.

There is a catch

Along with the rise in home prices, sales are trending downward. The homebuyer tax credit helped to spur home sales, however once the credit expired sales began to drop off. It’s likely that home prices will fall again. That said, one of the economists for whom the Case Shiller Price Index is named, Karl Case, thinks that you will find a lot of positives in the new data, according to Bloomberg. Case thinks that the market hasn’t stabilized completely yet. He predicts at least one more year before the real estate market levels out.

Not really the most detrimental media ever

The tax credit was a stall at best; sales were stimulated and so were prices, however once it wore off the market started trending downward again. True activity in real estate can’t resume until there is not anything keeping activity up or down. That said, there is some consolation. Things are better than last year.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Consumer confidence bump a ray of hope in bleak economic outlook

The Conference Board’s monthly report on its consumer confidence index showed the metric utilized to gauge monetary view really bumped up a handful of points in August. This is the reason the stock exchange went up Tuesday.

Consumer confidence better than before

August reports show consumer confidence levels increasing. This was not expected. Bloomberg reports that the increase in the consumer confidence report to 53.5 from a five-month low of 51 in July could possibly be a sign the biggest part of the economy may stay away from a further slide that could effectively end a stalled economical recovery. But even with the increase, an economist told Bloomberg the August consumer confidence figure is at a “stunningly low level.”. Consumer spending is 70 percent of the United States of America overall economy and may recover with the small bit of hope from the higher confidence. Corporations should start hiring more soon. Yet according to the Labor Department, businesses created an average of 51,000 jobs from May through July — down from 200,000 the previous two months.

Details about the consumer confidence report

There were other details given by the Conference Board besides the consumer confidence index. Consumers know the economy is bad right now but hope the future is much better, says MarketWatch. There was a drop in the Conference Board’s present-situation index from 26.4 in July to 24.9 in August, which shows the opportunities and business climate and people’s attitudes toward it. The report also shows what the expectations for a better business climate and more jobs creation are, which is called the expectation index. It actually went up from July to August from 67.5 to 72.5. 1.9 percent to 2 percent was how the consumers preparing to buy a home moved. People preparing to buy a car rose to 5 percent from 4.7 percent. And economist talked to MarketWatch. He explained that even though there may are an increase in the consumer confidence levels, it is still at “incredibly depressed levels.”.

Increase in index doesn’t mean consumer spending will automatically happen

The Associated Press explains that a healthy economy usually runs under a consumer confidence index over 90. Tuesday morning, there was still a change within the stock exchange due to the August bump. About two stocks rose for each and every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Like all recent market rallies, this one is expected to be short-lived. The economy is growing slowly, shows most economical reports. There may not be consumer spending just because consumer confidence has gone up. Personal finance shows that it is great that unemployment is moving more individuals to save and reduce debt. But until the job market recovers and people open their wallets, the late-summer slump could continue for the rest of the year and drag the United States overall economy into a double-dip recession.

Additional reading

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-31/consumer-confidence-in-u-s-rose-more-than-economists-forecast-in-august.html

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com/story/august-consumer-confidence-rises-to-535-2010-08-31-102600

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmT59dgLTTziX4p9X9MRBRpWZGdQD9HUH2I80

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Facebook trade marking "face"

{Facebook wants to trademark the term face|Facebook trade marking

Facebook is facing off with U.S. courts once more, reports TechCrunch. PlaceBook and TeachBook have no part in it this time. The business isn’t really in trouble for using the word “book” in its name. The U.K. business called CIS Internet Limited left off with this in 2008, where now Facebook is trying to get “face” to be a trademark name. {Facebook has purchased CIS’s trademark application and is moving forward|Facebook wants to move forward with the CIS’s trademark application it bought|Facebook bought an application that was trademarked by CIS and now wants to move on|Facebook hopes to move forward with things. It already bought CIS’s trademark application. Source for this article – The move Facebook is making with Trademark

Facebook wants to trademark “face.” It is not news to many. Trademarks are important to corporate branding, but occasionally it is too much. A man once attempted to trademark “ganja” in court. ”NSFW” was what Fark.com tried to trademark once. Snookie from “The Jersey Shore” also tried to trademark her nickname. There is a good chance Facebook won’t get the “face” trademark it wants.

Aaron Greenspan objects

Aaron Greenspan doesn’t think Facebook should be trying to trademark “face.” Aaron Greenspan claims to have made facebook with Mark Zuckerberg. Greenspan would end up having to pay Facebook if Facebook gets its “face” trademark because of the mobile payment app called FaceCash that Greenspan’s company, Think Computer, created. So would Apple, whose Facetime video calling app appears on the iPhone 4. Products use the word “face” in them all the time. Greenberg, and others, hope to be able to use this name still without paying.

Facebook needs to get over it and move on

When thinking about how aggressive Facebook has been in the past, it seems unlikely that “face” can be too big to it. Facebook has bigger fish to fry. Zuckerberg could be on the case of everyone using “face.” Even those who just are innocently creating a fun game, but do not want to make money, will need to be careful. Kobo Abe who wrote “Face of Another” may have to be careful. Also, even John Travolta and Nicholas Cage within the movies “Face/Off” will have to watch their backs. There is a big dispute. Is all this over faces? There wouldn’t even be mercy for the Tleilaxu face dancer from the “Dune” books.

Find more info on this subject

FACE

tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial and amp;entry=78980756

TechCrunch

techcrunch.com/2010/08/26/trademark-face/

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Small increase pertaining to stock exchanges as decreased amount of unemployed cases tend to be submitted

It has been a when since the number of new jobless claims dropped. The common theme of employment has been of becalmed waters, though a slight reprieve was because of the census and seasonal hires for the holiday retail season. Much less unemployed claims is welcome good news, even if real estate is set to be read the last rites. That said, it’s not cause to celebrate as unemployment is as bad as it has ever been, having held since November of 2009. The news made Wall Street happy, as markets climbed ever so slightly when the news broke.

Small decrease for new unemployed cases

A drop was recorded within the quantity of new claims for unemployment benefits by the Department of Labor. The number of jobless claims still sits, adjusted seasonally, at 473,000, but that number dropped by 31,000 over the last week. A drop in new unemployment claims is encouraging, but the average of the last four weeks is still 486,750, the highest levels since November 2009, according to Forbes. That said, winter jobless claims have to be taken with a grain of salt, as holiday seasonal employment provides a slight spike for the busiest part of the retail year. There was also some temporary other employment. The Census was taken this year.

Unemployed claims encourage stock market rise

The news of lower jobless claims led to an uptick within the stock market, as outlined by the Wall Street Journal. The largest increase was .3 percent for Standard and Poor’s, a barely mentionable gain. Nasdaq climbed a staggering .2 percent. The Dow Jones needs to put Prozac in the drinking fountains, as the Dow only climbed .1 percent. However, the big news is less the fall in unemployment claims, but the activity concerning 3Par and Dell, as Dell has acquired the data storage company. There’s a large bidding war going on, and it is even bigger news than the Potash saga. Hewlett Packard and Dell are fighting it out for 3Par, and it is causing a huge firestorm of coverage.

Very little progress

The data released just means a small decrease in unemployment claims. There aren’t that numerous employers hiring. To make matters worse, it is estimated that 10 percent of homeowners may face foreclosure. The real estate market is totally within the tank.

Katrina birthday noticeable while Hurricane Earl gets stronger

Hurricane Katrina anniversary goes by while Hurricane Earl still is growing

The fifth anniversary of Katrina hitting New Orleans was just lately observed, but on that most auspicious occasion, another tropical storm is presently building off the Gulf Shore. Tropical storm Earl was re-dubbed Hurricane Earl, as it has graduated to a hurricane force storm system. It is already affecting the Caribbean. The storm is a Category 3 hurricane and growing. It is thought that North Carolina could be the most likely place for the storm to land, should it hit the United States.

Puerto Rico closed in by Hurricane Earl

First within the Earl projected path is Puerto Rico. According to ABC, the islands of Vieques and Culebra have been issued storm warnings. The storm caused flooding in several of the Leeward Islands. This involves some damage on the island of Antigua. The Leeward Islands are part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago. The Lesser Antilles comprises a broad swath of territory, which includes islands east of Puerto Rico and north of South America. The Leeward Islands contain the U.S. Virgin Islands, which have experienced flooding due to Hurricane Earl. Hurricane warnings are in effect for the rest of the Leewards as well. There may be Hurricane Earl damage that occurs later, but the damage in Puerto Rico so far has not been catastrophic.

Hurricane Earl may hit United States of America coastline

Currently, a Hurricane Earl projected path is unclear. The storm might very well become a Category Four before long. The chance of the United States being ran into by hurricane earl isn’t known, according to CNN. By Labor Day Weekend, there will be some minor fallout from the storm that will hit the shore of North Carolina. There will be some rough waters. Some ocean currents could be impacted also. However, Hurricane Earl 2010 might dissipate within days, or get worse and hit the Atlantic coast hard.

Hurricane Danielle is gone

Another developing hurricane, Danielle, after being upgraded from Tropical Storm Danielle, has begun to wither away. There will likely be little more effect from that storm system than some wind and rain. The 2010 hurricane season though, is far from over.

Citations

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11514501

CNN

cnn.com/2010/US/08/30/tropical.weather/?hpt=Sbin

BP advertising spending budget exceeds $ 1 million per week

America wants revenge on BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill occurred. Every person wants to make sure the oil giant is fixing the tourism, jobs and ecological balance issues. According to the London Telegraph, nevertheless, BP is spending more than $ 1 million per week in corporate TV marketing alone. BP’s image to the world is much better with this. Unfortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce committee expects more of BP. Source of article – BP advertising spending budget exceeds $ 1 million per week by Personal Money Store.

More than one million every single month for last four months in a row

BP said it would cooperate with House committee demands. There hasn’t been an answer yet. There has been more spending on netweork TV, cable and radio marketing for BP. That’s money that could possibly be spent cleaning animals and finding underwater oil plumes. Some marketing is necessary, but $ 1 million-plus per week may be the “top kill” of overkill. President Obama put it bluntly: “What I don’t want to hear is, when they’re spending that kind of money on their shareholders and on TV advertising, that they’re nickel-and-diming fishermen or small businesses here in the Gulf who are having a hard time.”

More marketing within the Gulf Coast region

The Gulf Coast region, or the cities hurt by the oil spill, are getting the most marketing. This is shown by Media Monitor. The oil spill cleanup was advertised in five cities in Florida. Miami and Fort Myers are two of these cities that all were within the top 10 cities for BP to advertise at. You will find some congress members that think it is fine for BP to market. One of these is Rep. Kathy Castor. Although BP is advertising to help with its image, it is more likely to bring tourism back to Florida and also the other gulf states.

Controlling where details is flowing to

BP is trying to reassure America with its marketing. It appears it wants America to know it will make its commitments. It is assumed that those commitments are to service claims and keep up with the cleaning effort. BP seems to be keeping an eye on the bottom line right now though. How a brand is perceived is vitally important to that line, so don’t expect BP to stop spending millions on self-serving advertisements unless Congress manages to shoehorn the disgraced giant into a confining set of orthopedic shoes with economically correct arches.

The world supply of helium is almost depleted

If you think all helium is good for is taking hits and sounding like a high-pitched munchkin, then you don’t know helium. MRI machines, solar telescopes and even nuclear reactors are significant places where helium is used for proper function and maintenance. Unfortunately, the average person only knows that their children want helium-filled balloons on their birthday. The Independent reports that helium probably will not be around for much longer, however. The birthday balloons might fall to earth in our lifetime.

A helium shortage may cause much more problems than many recognize

In 1996, Congress voted in favor of the Helium Privatization Act – and America’s supply has dwindled at a high rate of speed ever since. Because it’s so cheap to obtain helium, supplies have depleted at an alarming rate. By 2015, the law will even require the U.S. National Helium Reserve outside Amarillo, Texas, to be sold off. It is sure to be a fire sale. Similar circumstances exist worldwide for helium, making it seem as though humanity wants to cut off its nose to spite its face.

Why did this have occurred?

Cooling MRI machines with liquid helium have been customary in hospitals for some time. Homeland security also uses helium in their infrared devices aimed at detection and deterrence of terror suspects. If that’s not significant enough, nuclear facilities need helium-3 isotopes for safe operation. Wind tunnels require garden variety helium. NASA even uses helium for safely removing rocket fuel. The risk of explosion is lessened considerably. All of this, plus festive birthday balloons, could be gone in 25 to 30 years, according to experts surveyed by The Independent.

According to Nobel laureate and Cornell University physics professor Robert Richardson, “Once helium is released into the atmosphere in the form of party balloons or boiling helium, it is lost to the Earth forever”.

Do you know where helium arises from?

The Sun produces helium via the process of nuclear fusion. Helium also comes from the very slow process of radioactive decay observed in terrestrial rock. Earth gets its helium supply from the radioactive decay of rocks. It can be created by no other means, according to scientists. Since it’s taken 4.7 billion years for natural decay to produce the Earth’s current helium supply, waiting around for the planet to make more is not an option.

Imagining a $ 100 balloon

Raising the price of helium considerably is Prof. Richardson’s solution. If helium becomes 20 to 50 times more costly than the current rate (15 cubic feet of helium cost about $40 in 2009), motivation to recycle the gas would greatly increase. Consider what it will be like when a birthday balloon could cost as much as $ 100. Bet you miss helium even more now.