Jerry Brown faced one reality yesterday: The votes aren’t there for extension of the temporary tax increases passed two years ago. However, he and Democratic leaders of the California legislature will be passing a budget today that will on paper close a $10 billion deficit. Thee are $4 billion of spending cuts (some will be [...]

• U.S. Dollar Index closed out the week at 74.83 • A break lower on Nikkei and Dax required to see sustained Dollar strength on global risk aversion • QE2 set to expire end of this month • PPI and retail sales reports due Tuesday, CPI on Wednesday • Support at 73.50, resistance 76.00 • [...]

Remodeling your home can be a very lucrative option. It can add value to the selling price of your house in the future. You can add enjoyment to the house and improve some basic functionality. The best thing s you can do it at somebody else’s expense if the costs can add value to the [...]

Last week, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an enforcement action charging Juvenal Eduardo Machado and his company, Invers Forex LLC with defrauding at least 28 investors out of $786,000. The CFTC will file hundreds of such actions this year. Two factors earn this relatively small case a mention on this blog: (1) [...]

A bad economy is bad news for everyone. Home owners are left wondering how low their property’s value will go. One major problem faced by home owners is an underwater mortgage. An underwater mortgage is one in which the value of the home is less than the mortgage amount. Other financial setbacks like medical emergencies [...]