Archive for January, 2008
« Previous EntriesDang it! My Car Insurance is Going Up
Thursday, January 31st, 2008Remember last summer wehn I wrote about how my insurance agent set me up with a new auto insurance policy and that by doing so, I was going to save $800 per year? If not, you can read about it here. The only difference that I could tell between the new policy and [...]
Question of the Day: Will the Fed’s Actions Work?
Thursday, January 31st, 2008I’m confused.
I was under the impression that the Fed did not want to lower interest rates due to inflation fears. I guess those fears have taken a back seat to recession fears as the Fed has lowered rates by 1.25% within a week’s time.
QUESTION:
Do you think these interest rates cuts will prevent a recession?
I [...]
2007 Was a Horrible, Horrible Year For Home Builders
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008After posting yesterday’s look at the Dow Jones Home Construction Index, I decided to take a look at the index’s 14 components. Here’s how each component performed in 2007:
Of course I’m not telling you anything that you didn’t already know. We all knew it was bad, I just didn’t know it was that [...]
Could There Be a Link Between Foreclosures and Arson?
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008This MSN article investigates whether or not there’s a link betwen foreclosures and arson. The article doesn’t come to any meaningful conclusions but it does mention some troubling cases:
In Woodland Park, Colo., a homeowner was accused of burning his home just before he was evicted in a foreclosure action.
In Houston, a man was charged [...]
Checkout Dollar Frugal’s Insanely Massive Blogroll
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008I have always wanted to create a blogroll list including links to each blog’s feed but never have gotten around to it. Anyway, now that Dollar Frugal has done it, I don’t need to worry about it. Check out Dollar Frugal’s Insanely Massive Blogroll. There’s probably more blogs there than you care [...]
What’s Better Than A 20% Return?
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008What could possibly be better than a 20% return on your money?? I’ll tell you, and it isn’t a gimmick.
A Look at the Dow Jones Home Construction Index
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008Check this out. It’s the annual returns of the Dow Jones Home Construction Index:
The index is composed of the following 14 homebuilders:
Company
IndexWeight (%)
Beazer Homes USA Inc.
1.34
Centex Corp.
13.49
Champion Enterprises Inc.
2.84
D.R. Horton Inc.
16.83
Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. Cl A
1.52
KB Home
7.73
Lennar Corp. Cl A
9.25
M.D.C. Holdings Inc.
5.86
Meritage Homes Corp.
1.10
NVR Inc.
10.91
Pulte Homes Inc.
11.25
Ryland Group Inc.
5.18
Standard Pacific Corp.
.92
Toll Brothers Inc.
11.80
I never paid [...]
WSJ: Forclosures Up 75% in 2007
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008I saw this ($) in today’s Wall Street Journal:
Foreclosure filings soared 75% in 2007 from a year earlier as credit trouble and falling home values fell on homeowners, a foreclosure-listing service said.
There were 2.2 million foreclosure filings last year. More than 1% of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during the year, [...]
Countrywide’s CEO Will Forfeit His $37.5 Million Severance
Monday, January 28th, 2008I read in the Wall Street Journal today that Angelo Mozillo, the CEO of Countrywide, will forfeit his $37.5 million severance package ($) when he leaves Countrywide after its sale to Bank of America is complete.
Have no fear, Angelo won’t be destitute. He’ll be able to live on his pension and retirement plan that’s [...]
Another Way Responsible Borrowers Could Get Screwed: Property Taxes
Monday, January 28th, 2008I think the handwriting is on the wall for citizens of areas facing lots of foreclosures. If municipalities are left with lots of vacant properties due to foreclosures, they will have to cut expenses, raise property taxes, or a combination of both in order to meet their budgets.
Remember, there are two parts to the [...]