Mar 19
Major indices were mixed, but leaning towards slightly down, today. Investors were responding to new data from the National Association of Realtors indicating that US home sales fell by 0.9 percent in February, though previous estimates were revised upwards to make the overall picture seem not as bad. Starbucks announced that it will be getting into the energy drink business, and it will create about 150 manufacturing jobs. After spinning off its grocery store unit, Kraft will be rebranding the remaining snacks unit as Mondelez. Read more…
Mar 12
The long-awaited Federal Reserve stress-test results are out. The good news is that the Fed finds that the majority of the U.S. banking system could survive an economic even worse than what we saw in 2008. The bad news is that 4 of the 19 banks failed the test.
The four that failed the tests include Citigroup, SunTrust Bank, Ally Financial and Metlife.
Among the 15 financial institutions that have passed the Fed’s stress test are: JPMorgan Chase, U.S. B
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Mar 06
The Newport Beach Real Estate Housing Inventory of homes has never seen this shortage of homes since 2005 according to several local media outlets reporting on the story. We have been seeing this for several months as the selection of homes for our clients has become slimmer as the weeks go by. There are several factors that come into play for the low inventory of homes in Newport Beach, CA:
1. Buyers are back in the market. Many media sources have reported the bottom of the market has passed and Newport Beach home buyers and jumping back into the market to but while prices are still low. Ne
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Feb 28
Unemployment claims from the U.S. remain roughly the same as last week following the report released this afternoon from the States. While there certainly could have been more positive news, the market is so far not experiencing any dramatic reaction from the announcement. Some analysts, however, are taking the news fairly positively as it does indicate the ongoing recovery of the American economy. Stay tuned for the possibility of more dramatic changes in the unemployment claims in the coming months.
Feb 16
The biggest bank in the United States finally has a presence in the hyperactive world of Twitter. Chase has launched a general purpose handle for news and outreach, while another handle aims to extend Chase’s customer service.
The Twitter handle will share news from the bank, while the handle is going to be used for customer service.
The social customer-service team is comprised of 10 members, who will address customer concerns every day except Sunday. A
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Feb 13
1. How to Find Financial Accord
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share a post I came across reminding us how important it is to communicate with your spouse about finances.
2. 10 Mistakes People Make in Debt
I think a better title would have been “10 Mistakes Made by People Who Are in Debt” – the difference being that people who are in debt are usually in that situation for a reason. My favorites: “Thinking they deserve everything even if they can’t afford it.” and “Continuing with the same behavior and feeling powerless.”
3. How to Protect Your
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