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March 16,2010- Bloomberg- U.S. stock rose,with the Standard & Poor\'s 500 Index reaching a 17 month high, as Greece\'s credit rating was affirmed and investors speculated the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates low for an extended period.

The S & P 500 increased 0.4 percent to 1,155.29 at 12:53 p.m. in New York, above its highest close since October 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.97 points, or 0.2 percent to 10,661.12 and is up 2.2 percent in 2010. The Ferderal Open Market Committee\'s statement is schedule for 2:15 p.m.

\"Momentum has been positive,\"said Hank Smith, who helps oversee $6 billion as chief investment officer of Haverford Trust Co. in Radnor, Pennsylvania. \"We don\'t expect any material change in language in the FOMC statement other than maybe confirmation that the recovery is showing more signs of sustainability. In addition to that, Greece\'s rating being affirmed had a psychological effect on the market.\"

Washington, DC, Nov. 12, 2009--Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 in the week ended Nov. 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Initial jobless claims have hovered above 500,000 for 52 straight weeks.

Economists expected initial claims to drop to about 510,000. Continuing state claims declined 139,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.63 million, the lowest since March.

Irvine, CA, Nov. 12, 2009--Foreclosure filings dipped in October, the third straight monthly decline, as foreclosure prevention programs helped more borrowers.

But filings are still up 19 percent from a year ago, RealtyTrac Inc. said, and rising job losses continue to threaten the stabilizing trend.

More than 332,000 households, or one in every 385 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in October, such as a notice of default or trustee\'s sale. That\'s down 3 percent from September.

Banks took back more than 77,000 homes last month, down from nearly 88,000 homes in September.

New state programs have helped stem foreclosure activity, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

Also, anecdotally, lenders are delaying foreclosure as they evaluate which borrowers might qualify for the federal loan modification program, he said.

Bloomberg-Housing starts fell in February as record snowfall in parts of the U.S. hampered construction, while fewer building permits signaled the recovery in real estate will take longer to unfold.

Builders broke ground on 575,000 homes at rate, down 5.9 percent from 611,000 in January, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. February starts reflected declines in the Northeast and South, which experienced winter storms. Prices of goods imported into the U.S. fell more than anticipated in February, another report showed.

\"Some of the numbers reflect the severe snowstorms,but apart from the weather,there\'s no evidence of a pickup in activity,\" Michael Feroli,an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.in New York, said about the real estate market. \"If we see the job market pick up, it\'ll eventually feed through to housing.\"

Washington, DC, March 18, 2010-The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1% in February,marking 11 consecutive gains, following an increase of 0.3% in January. The interest rate spread and real money supply made the largest positive contributions in February, while average weekly manufacturing hours and stock prices made the largest negative contributions.

June 16 Bloomberg- Apple Inc. said it logged more than 600,000 early orders for the iphone 4 yesterday, a record, imposing a strain on computer systems that prompted carrier AT&T Inc. to suspend sales of the device before its June 24 debut.

AT&T the exclusive U.S. carrier for the iphone, said yesterday was the busiest online sales day in its history.The carrier will withhold orders for the phone indefinitely, depending on how soon it can replenish inventory. Apple said many customers abandoned efforts to preorder the device after growing frustrated with the process.

Job market recovery depends where you live. Despite signs that the national economy is getting back on its feet, Americans who lost their jobs to the recession are having a harder time getting back on theirs. Of the 384 metro areas tracked by msnbc.com\'s Adversity Index, only two are in full-blown econonmic expansion,according to the latest figures from Moody\'s Econonmy.com. Until more regions join them,expect local and regional jobs rates to remain stubbornly high.

There have been some hopeful signs of improvement in the latest government jobs data. Though private sector hiring was much slower than expected in May, employers boosted the number of hours worked and temporary workers hired. That is often a precursor to the creation of permanent, full -time jobs.

But the outlook for a pickup in hiring is decidedly mixed- depending on where your job hunt takes you.

In general, jobs markets in the Midwest have fared better than on the coasts. That\'s due partly  to the reliance of those regions on agriculture and energy production,said Andrew Gledhill,an economist at Moody\'s Analytics. They also didn\'t get hit as hard by the housing bust that dragged many regions deep in recession. That helps explain why North and South Dakota have the lowest unemployment rates in the nation-below 5 precent.

Since the financial panic of September 2008 sent bankers scrambling for cover, the leanidng industry has been slowly rebuilding the damage inflicted by historic wave of bad mortgages. But progress remains slow among many regional and community banks.

Tight lending is having the biggest impact on local economies that rely on smaller business. Unlike large corporations that can borrow in the credit markets,smaller companies are reliant on their local banker for funding.

\"A large proportion of them tend to be in construction and retail trade,said Gledhill.\"And neither of these two industries are expected to hire in any siginificant numbers in the near term. Typically,in past recession housing is one of the dirver industries.\"

Electric car backers launch new ads as energy votes loom. A corporate coalition seeking Capitol Hill support for bills that expand the market for electric vehicles is ramping up and ad campaign that promotes the technology as a cure for reliance on oil imports.

The lastest ad from the Electrification Coalition comes ahead of Senate debate on far-reaching energy legislation that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to bring to the floor before the August congressional recess.

The coalition formed last year includes Nissan Motor.Co. - which is rolling out a plug - in car called the Leaf- as well as NRG Energy Inc., PG & E Corp., lithium ion battery company A123 Systems Inc.m FedEx. Corp. and GridPoint Inc., which provides software to enable a \"smart \" power grid.

The Ad lauched Monday opens with images of gasoline lines from the 1970, officials from Middles Eastern nations, and shots of oil fires from the first Gulf War.

\" It dosesn\'t have to be this way. Our economy or our values. Energy or security. Now, arrives a new path,\" the narrotor states as the images shrink to fit in the side-view mirror of a car being charged with an electric cord.

\"The promise of electric vehicles: Job creation, reduced emissions. National Security. The past is behind us. Let\'s move forward, \" the ad continues , ending with the vehicle speeding away.

J.R. Ewing ( Larry Hagman) is a major proponent of alternative energy.Hagman will be at the Intersolar industry conference at San Francisco\'s Moscone Center  pontificating the importance of solar power. The passionate thespian is a guest of Oregon photovaltaics company SolarWorld. He will encourage consumers to go with domestically made solar panels, \"made here by Americans,for Americans.\"

\"It\'s keeping jobs here, \" he said in an earlier interview. \" This can turn things around.\" Not to mention , he said , that using clean power could be a powerful hedge against rising electricity rates and surging oil prices.

John Stumpf, chief executive officer of Wells Fargo & Co. said  customers, not just the bank, will bear the financial burden  for U.S. regulations that cover services ranging from home loans to credit cards.

\" I can\'t guarantee that we won\'t pass on some of those costs,\" Stumpf, 56, said in an interview at his San Francisco office. \" We\'ll try to tighten our belt and absorb some of the costs of compliance, but some costs may change and customers might pay for their financial services in new ways.\"

Wells Fargo, with the biggest U.S. branch network, is already passing on costs by charging for checking accounts and raising interest rates on credit cards and loans, said Richard Bove, a banking analyst at Rochdale Securities LLC. The bank ended free checking last month by adding a $5 monthly fee for customers who don\'t meet certain conditions.

\" This bank does not intend to sit there and get nailed, \" said Bove, who resently upgraded Wells Fargo shares to a \" buy\" \" Wells Fargo has moved wel ahead of the crowed, and everyone will follow.\"

New Rules

President Barack Obama signed into law las week a 2,300 page overhaul of financial regulation that gives the government authority to unwind failing financial firms, imposes new rules on derivatives markets and creates a consumer-protection agency to monitor loans and services. Stumpf said it\'s too early to judge the costs for Wells Fargo, in part because the bank is looking for ways to offset expenses and lost revenue.

Even with the bill\'s shortcomings, Congress got many parts of it right, Stumpf said in the July 22 interview. The creation of a systemic risk regulator will prevent another crisis from being sparked by the collapse of a large financial firm, he said. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a super -regulator, will monitor Wall Street\'s largest firms and other market participants to spot emerging systemic risks.

\" Too -big- to fail has been dealt with, said Stumpf, whose bank holds $1.2 trillion of assets. \" Regulators needed a way to understand risk at the top of the house and opine on that risk. They did it in a way that makes a lot of sense.\"

Not Enough

Some of the new consumer protections don\'t go far enough because they contain too many exemptions, Stumpf said. Auto dealers and banks with less than $10 billion in assets may be exempt from some curbs.

Consistent consumer protection rules are \"good for Americans and it\'s good for us as providers because we know the playing field is level,\" Stumpf said. \" Does it become less level because the consumer-protection agency has direct involvement with certin compaines and not others, and will rely on other regulations to do it? I don\'t know. That\'s where the trickiness comes up.\"

Durbin Amendent

Stumpf singled out new curbs on debit interchange fees for criticism. Under the so-called Durbin amendment, the Federal Reserve gets authority to limit interchange, or \"swipe\" fees, that merchants pay for each debit-card transaction. The measure pushed by Senator Richard Durbin lets retailers refuse credit cards for purchases of les than $10 and offer discounts based on the form of payment.

\" That is a dispute between banks and merchants and it somehow found its way into regulatory reform, \" Stumpf said. He told analysts on July 22, \" I don\'t see how debit card fees between banks and merchants had anything to do with what happened in the last couple of years.\"

Stumpf isn\'t the only financial leader voicing displeasure. Card industry executives say the legislation amounts to price controls, and American Express Co. Vice  Chairman Ed Gilligan said June 15, before the language was finalized, that the Durbin amendment \" provides no benefit to consumers.\" The largest payment networks, Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., also opposed the amendent.

Derivatives

New rules on derivatives will mandate that swaps between banks and major users like hedge funds and asset managers be backed by clearinghouses. Stumpf said moving those trades to clearinghouses would help show the true size of the derivatives market, but doesn\'t address whtat happens when a borrower doesn\'t pay or a member of the clearinghouse collapses, he said.

\" Somebody\'s got to take the credit risk,\" Stumpf said. His concern was echoed by Joel Telpner, a partner with the law firm Jones Day in New York, who spoke in a July 26 interview.

\" Maybe we are creating new entities that are too big to fail and setting up a scenario in the future where we\'re going to be arguing and anguishing about bailing out the clearinghouses, \" Telpner said.

A resolution recognizing the importance and substainability of the United State hardwoods industry and urging that United States hardwoods and the products derived from United States hardwoods be given full consideration in any program to promote construction of environmentally preferable commercial, public, or private buildings.

The Resolution specifically identifies hardwood trees grown in the U.S. as an abundant, sustainable, and legal resources as documented annually by the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the U.S. Forest Service.

The Department of Agriculture analysis shows that inventory fo U.S. hardwood has more than doubled during the past 50 years.

The legislation was supported by the Hardwood Federation, a coalition  of more than 30 associations, including the National Wood Flooring Association.

This resolution has been passed in the Senate, which is the end of the legislative process for simple resolutions. The resolution now takes effect.

Aug. 5, 2010: Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.

www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill

Washington- U.S. companies invested last month in computers, communications equipment and machinery, boosting capital goods orders for the third time in four months.

The 4.1 percent increase to capital goods in August showed a rebound in business spending. Orders fell 5.3 percent in July.

The overall demand for durable goods fell 1.3 percent in August, the Commerce Department said Friday. But that was pulled down by a siginificant drop in orders for aircrafts. When excluding the voliatile transportation sector,orders rose 2 percent - the best showing in five months.

Manufacturing has helped drive economic growth since the recession ended in JUne 2009.

The captial goos category excludes transportation and defense goods. It is seen as a good proxy for business and economists watch it closely.

Business spending on equipment and software has been growing at a 20 percent annual rate over the past three quarters.

Economists had worried that July\'s decline in spending on capital goods was a sign that the sector was losing strength. August\'s figures suggest manufacturing activity is growing, but economists remain concerned about its sustainability.

\" Though downshifting a tad., business capital spending remains one of the few consistent bright spots on the economic landscape,\" said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Orders for machinery rose 3.9 percent in August after tumbling 9.6 percent in July. Demand for computers and related products was up 12 percent. Orders for communications equipment rose 9.2 percent last month. Orders for primary metals rose 2.4 percent.

Durable goods are items expected to last at last three years, such as refrigerations, automoblies and washin machines.

The overrall decline in August was the largest since a 2.6 percent decrease in August 2009 and the third overall decline in four months.

Demand for transportation goods fell 10.3 percent last month, after having been up 11.6 percent in July. The swing reflected a 40.2 percent plunge in orders for commercial airplanes, a volatile category which had surged 69 percent in July. Boeing CO. saw its orders climb to 103 planes in July and then drop to just 7 planes in August.

Orders for  motor vehicles and parts fell 4.4 percent in August after a 4.6 percent increase in July.  MSNBC

Federal Reserve officials are under pressure to avoid creating confusion among investors about new effort to spur the U.S. recovery.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which meets today, trigged a stock selloff with its last statment on Aug. 10 as investors took it as a signal the economy will falter. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 Index tumbled 7.1 percent during the two weeks following the statement after reaching a three-month high on Aug. 9. The MSCI World Index fell 7.3 percent.

 With consumer confidence falling and joblessness persisting at more than 9.5 percent, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke must identify the changes in the economy that would prompt more asset purchases or some other stimulus, said Timothy Duy, a officials may appear to be divided over their next policy move unless they provide such guidance, he said.

\" They have to do a better job of centering expectations of what ultimately the policy intention is and how will they reach that,\" said Duy, an economist at the University of Oregan. \"Given that we are in uncharted waters for policy, the risks of getting it wrong will be magnified.\"

The FOMC started its ne-day meeting around 8a.m. today in Washington and is scheduled to release a policy statement at about 2:15p.m. The meeting takes place one day after the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the longest and deepest U.S. rescessiion since the Great Depression ended in June 2009, lasting 18 months. Bloomberg

Gold is glittering again, But why. Gold prices have come roaing back in the past few weeks and are once again getting close to hitting a new all-time high. Prices were down a bit Friday. But at about $1,230 an ounce, they are still up more than 5% in the past few weeks.

The yellow precious metal rose to an intra -day peak of about $1,265 an ounce back in mid-June--the height of the fears about the sovereign debt crisis facing Europe\'s PIIGS.

So why is gold on the rise again? The mobe is a bit curious since gold is often viewed as a classic hedge against inflation because it\'s a tangible asset, unlike a paper currency. But many market experts and economists seem to be more worried about deflation than inflation.

Still, gold prices aren\'t always tied to inflation expectations. The price of gold often spikes at times of fear. And with more and more concerns about how the economic recovery in the United States is losing steam, investor nervousness appears to be the most likely reason for gold\'s recent move higher.

\"It\'s the mirror image of what\'s going on with stocks. The only thing that we\'re certain of is uncertainty and gold benefits from that,\" said Richard Ross, global technical strategist with Auerbach Grayson, a broker dealer in New York.

Gold is undoubtedly a momentum play. With compelling reasons to avoid stocks, fears that the Treasury market may be a bubble, and concerns about both the state of the dollar and euro, gold could keep climbing.

Brain Hicks, co-manager of the U.S. Global Investors Global Resources fund in San Antonio, said gold could hit $1,300 by the end of the year and $1,500 sometime in 2011.

Hicks said that even though it may seem counterintuitive for gold to do well when people are worried about deflation, he thinks that some longer-term investors are still concerned about the potential for inflation at some point down the road. And that could push gold higher.

\" Gold has been resilient in the face of a lot of discussion about deflation. But people are also discussing what the possible cure for deflation will be,\" Hicks said. \" That could be an expansion of government deflicits and excessive printing of money. That would debase the dollar and fuel eventual fears of inflation.\"

Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services, in Sacramento, CA., agreed. He said gold could spike to between $1,400 and $1,500 next year.

But the recent gold rush may not be all about economic worries.

Ross said the run-up may also have been sparked by the fact that several well-known hedge fund managers, including John Paulson, Eric Mindich of Eton Capital, George Soros and David Einhorn, have disclosed investments in various gold-related assets, such as miners and exchange-traded funds tied to gold bullion.

\"There\'s a dream team of investors that appear to be backing gold,\" Ross said.

But Ross warned that following the lead of the so-called smart money is risky. For one,it\'s tough to know for certain how big a hedge fund\'s positions are in gold since manu funds often make quick moves in and out of investments.

Many hedge funds may also be making bets on both the long and short side of an asset. So it may be a mistake to  look at a fund\'s holdings and conclude that a manager is 100% bullish on gold.

\"Investors are attracted to things that are working. An object in motion tends to stay in motion,\" Ross said.

But investors in internet stocks, real estate  and oil have all learned the hard way that the this is a true for both directions. Springer noted that once the trend reverses, as he believes it inevitably will, gold could crash hard.

\" It\'s going to take a while but once the financial crisis is over, there will be no reason to own gold,\" he said. CNNMoney.com

Barton Biggs, co-founder of Traxis Partners LP, discusses the potential implications of Federal Reserve quantitative easing for stocks and the prospects of a bubble in emerging markets. Biggs, speaking with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop,” also discusses his investment strategy. (Source: Bloomberg)

The U.S. economy expanded at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter and inflation cooled, underscoring the views of Federal Reserve policy makers who say more stimulus will be needed to spur growth.

The increase in gross domestic product matched the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and followed a 1.7 percent second-quarter gain, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Other reports showed business activity increased this month and consumer confidence weakened.

Central bankers meeting next week are concerned growth is too slow to lower an unemployment rate stuck near 10 percent and are seeking ways to prevent a drop in prices that would hurt the recovery. Today’s report showed the inflation gauge watched by the Fed rose the least in almost two years as retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. use discounts to entice consumers into spending.

“We need to do better than this to get a real recovery in the labor market,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. “The report leaves everything in place for more asset purchases by the Fed next week.”

Treasury securities and commodities rose as the data fueled speculation the Fed will begin large-scale asset purchases to revive the world’s largest economy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to prices, fell to 2.62 percent at 12:06 p.m. in New York. Stocks fluctuated between gains and losses.

Chicago Purchasers

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said its business barometer rose to 60.6 this month from 60.4 in September. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment fell to 67.7 from 68.2 last month.

Employment expenses rose less than forecast in the third quarter, reinforcing expectations that inflation will be restrained in coming months, figures from the Labor Department also showed. The 0.4 percent increase in the employment cost index was the smallest gain this year, reflecting a record decline in pay for state and local government workers.

The growth report showed the so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index, which is tied to consumer spending and strips out food and energy costs, climbed at a 0.8 percent pace, down from a 1 percent gain the prior quarter.

GDP projections of the 83 economists surveyed ranged from 0.5 percent to 3.6 percent.

Household purchases, about 70 percent of the economy, rose at a 2.6 percent pace, the best quarter of the recovery that began in June 2009.

Spending Pickup

The gain in consumer spending was the biggest since the end of 2006 and compared with a 2.5 percent median forecast in the Bloomberg survey.

Stock-market gains and reduced debt may be allowing consumers to increase spending, which bodes well for the holiday season. The National Retail Federation has forecast November- December sales will rise 2.3 percent from a year ago, making it the best holiday season in four years.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, Target Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc. are among merchants that will benefit as holiday shoppers seek bargains, according to results of a survey issued this month by Consumer Edge Research in Stamford, Connecticut.

Target, the second-biggest discount retailer, said this month it would lower prices on more than 1,000 toys to attract shoppers. Its larger rival responded with its own discounts, advertising saving on brands such as Barbie and Nerf toys.

‘Steady and Solid’

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world’s second-largest cruise operator, raised its 2010 profit forecast and predicted record earnings next year. Passenger bookings are rebounding since Chief Executive Officer Richard Fain slashed ticket prices and costs last year.

Demand is now “steady and solid,” Fain said in an Oct. 26 statement. “The economy is still tough, but even facing such headwinds, our outlook is remarkably encouraging.”

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on Aug. 27 that the central bank “will do all that it can” to sustain the economic recovery. Investors are anticipating policy makers will announce another round of asset purchases after buying $1.7 trillion in debt from December 2008 to March.

The Fed meets Nov. 2-3. Inflation remains below its longer- term projections which are in a range of 1.7 percent to 2 percent. Growth in the 2.5 percent to 2.8 percent range is consistent with keeping the jobless rate stable, according to policy makers’ latest forecasts.

Voter Discontent

The election next week will determine which party controls Congress. There is no clear consensus on which party deserves more blame for the economy’s problems, or how best to fix them, according to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted Oct. 24-26. It showed Republicans are poised to retake the U.S. House without a mandate from voters to carry out their policies.

In addition to consumer spending, third-quarter growth got a lift from a pickup in inventories and gains in business investment on equipment and software and federal government outlays. The economy may not be able to count on the latter much longer as about 70 percent of President Barack Obama’s estimated $787 billion stimulus has been spent, according to a September White House report.

Automakers were another bright spot last quarter. Vehicle production climbed at a 21 percent annual rate, adding 0.4 percentage point to growth.

pickup in auto demand may keep helping manufacturers. Vehicle sales are running at a 12 million annual rate in October, Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said this month. The rate would be the highest since the government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive boosted demand in August 2009.

“We continue to see good, steady improvement,” Fields said on Oct. 25 at an event in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

A 29 percent plunge in home building, the biggest since the first quarter of 2009, and a widening trade gap hindered growth over the past three months, today’s report showed.

Final sales to domestic purchasers, which excludes trade and inventories and is a measure of underlying demand, the economy would have grown at a 2.5 percent annual rate after expanding at a 4.3 percent pace the previous three months.Bloomberg

The unemployment rate was forecast to hold at 9.6 percent, according to the median prediction of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg.

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Inc., discusses the October U.S. employment report released today and its implications for Federal Reserve monetary policy. Employment rose more than forecast last month, a sign businesses may be starting to look past what the Fed calls the “disappointingly slow” U.S. recovery toward a faster pace of growth. Behravesh talks with Betty Liu, Michael McKee and Peter Cook on Bloomberg Television\'s \"In the Loop.\" (Source: Bloomberg)

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, talks about the October U.S. employment report released today and the outlook for the economy. Payrolls climbed 151,000, exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists and following a revised 41,000 drop the prior month that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed. The jobless rate held at 9.6 percent. Silvia speaks with Margaret Brennan on Bloomberg Television\'s \"InBusiness.\" (Source: Bloomberg)

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis talks about the U.S. employment report for October and the outlook for the economy. Payrolls climbed more than forecast to 151,000, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Solis speaks with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television\'s \"In the Loop.\" (Source: Bloomberg)(Source: Bloomberg).

 Nov. 5-Dean Maki chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital, discusses the October U.S. employment report released today and its implications for Federal Reserve monetary policy. Payrolls rose 151,000 last month, more than forecast, a sign businesses may be starting to look past what the Fed calls the “disappointingly slow” U.S. recovery toward a faster pace of growth. The jobless rate held at 9.6 percent. Maki speaks with Betty Liu, Sheila Dharmarajan and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg Television\'s \"In the Loop.\" (Source: Bloomberg)

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Payrolls rose more than forecast in October, a sign businesses may be starting to look past what the Federal Reserve calls the “disappointingly slow” U.S. recovery toward a faster pace of growth. Payrolls climbed 151,000, exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists and following a revised 41,000 drop the prior month that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Bloomberg\'s Peter Cook reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Payrolls in the U.S. rose more than forecast in October, a sign businesses may be starting to gain confidence in the prospects for a faster pace of growth.

Payrolls climbed 151,000, exceeding all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists and following a revised 41,000 drop the prior month that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Private payrolls also gained more than forecast, while the jobless rate held at 9.6 percent.

The dollar strengthened and Treasuries declined as gains in hours and earnings added to optimism that an improvement in the labor market will boost household spending. Federal Reserve policy makers this week announced a second round of large-scale asset purchases in a bid to boost growth, even as reports showed larger-than-forecast gains in retail sales and manufacturing.

“This is very optimistic news and it comes in the wake of other fairly good news,” Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an interview on Blooomberg Television’s “In the Loop” with Betty Liu. “It looks like the last month or so things have started to move upward again, and the momentum is hopefully building.”

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, rose to 2.51 percent at 9:58 a.m. in New York from 2.49 percent late yesterday. The dollar advanced to $1.4101 per euro from $1.4207. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.2 percent to 1,222.90.

President Barack Obama said today’s employment report is encouraging news that the economy is recovering from the “terrible damage” from the recession that ended in June of last year. Obama said the increase in employment in recent months is “not good enough. The unemployment rate is still unacceptably high.”

The loss of more than 8 million jobs as a result of the worst recession since the 1930s fueled Americans’ discontent with the economy, a central issue in the Nov. 2 elections that helped Republicans capture a majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats lost seats in the Senate while retaining control.

“It’s just going to take a long time to bring the unemployment rate down to more acceptable levels,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, who had the highest estimate for payroll gains at 125,000.

The unemployment rate was forecast to stay at 9.6 percent, according to the median prediction of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Estimates ranged from 9.5 percent to 9.7 percent.

Overall payrolls, which increased for the first time since May, were forecast to climb by 60,000, according to the survey median, with estimates ranging from zero to 125,000. The September figure was revised from an initially reported decline of 95,000.

Employment at service-providers increased 146,000, the first gain since May. Construction companies added 5,000 workers. Manufacturing payrolls unexpectedly decreased by 7,000 last month. Economists had projected a gain of 5,000.

Retailers took on 27,900 workers as they prepared for the holiday shopping season starting this month. Department store chain Kohl’s Corp. plans to hire about 40,000 people for the holiday period, 21 percent more than last year. Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. said it may add about 45,000 employees for the season, including 10,000 at its temporary stores.

Private hiring, which excludes government agencies, rose 159,000 in October, the biggest gain since April. Economists projected an 80,000 gain, the survey showed.

Rockwell Collins Inc., a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based maker of cockpit instruments and radios, on Oct. 29 said it will hire 800 people, boosting staff by 4 percent during the next 12 months. Ford Motor Co.,the second-largest U.S. automaker, plans to add 1,200 jobs in Michigan by 2013 as sales rebound.

Average hourly earnings increased 1.7 percent in October from the same month last year. Earnings rose to $22.73 from $22.68 in the prior month.

The average work week for all workers rose to 34.3 hours, from 34.2 hours the prior month.

Government payrolls decreased by 8,000. State and local governments reduced employment by 7,000, while the federal government trimmed 1,000 jobs.

The underemployment rate -- which includes part-time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and people who want work but have given up looking -- was little changed at 17 percent after 17.1 percent in the prior month.

The report also showed an increase in long-term unemployed Americans. The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more increased as a percentage of all jobless, to 41.8 percent.

The number of temporary workers increased 34,900. Payrolls at temporary-help agencies often slow as companies seeing a steady increase in demand take on permanent staff.

Fed policy makers this week announced a program of $600 billion in Treasury securities purchases through next June in a bid to lower the rate of unemployment. The central bank has already cut interest rates almost to zero and bought $1.7 trillion in securities.

“The pace of recovery in output and employment continues to be slow,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement on Nov. 3. “Employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls,” and “the unemployment rate is elevated.”

Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said the entire program of bond purchases may not be needed if job growth continues at October’s pace.

“Jobs are picking up speed, all we need to is a little uptick in inflation, most likely next spring, and the Fed might need to start the process of normalizing interest rates next year quicker than the market is anticipating,” he said.

Today’s report was the first this year in which changes in temporary government staffing for the decennial census played almost no role. About 6,000 workers remained on the federal payroll as the population count wound down during the September employment survey week, down from a peak of 586,000 in May.

One reason why hiring isn’t gaining speed is the economy’s inability to sustain the recovery’s early pace of growth. Gross domestic product expanded at an average 1.9 percent annual rate in the six months ended in September, compared with 4.4 percent in the previous two quarters.

Growth in the 2.5 percent to 2.8 percent range is consistent with keeping the jobless rate stable, according to the Fed’s long-term forecasts.

Shanghai, China, November 10, 2010--Threat or opportunity? In the near future Asia will not be able to meet its domestic demand for floor covering, says Jim Gould, President, Floor Covering Institute.  Gould said demand in Asia it will consume more timber each year than several countries can harvest, and the balance of supply and demand will shift from the West to the East.

Spotting and acting on emerging trends is how companies take advantage of market opportunities, said Gould.  He said major changes will profoundly reshape the global economy and by extension the floor covering industry in a surprisingly direct manner.  In this two part column we address the converging forces that will impact the world’s economy and affect demand for finished flooring, the raw materials used to make that flooring and even where the flooring will be made.

 Siting research from McKinsey & Company, Gould noted that more than 70 million people are joining the ranks of the middle class each year, virtually all in emerging countries. By the end of the decade the globe’s middle class will have doubled and emerging markets will no longer be suppliers of low-cost goods and services but will have evolved into powerful consuming economies, with huge demand for goods and services - half of the world’s work force and half of the world’s new construction will take place in their emerging markets.

By the end of the decade, Gould said that 54 percent of the world’s urban population will reside in Asia’s cities creating the largest work force ever known. Already Asia’s labor productivity is growing five times faster than in the West. By 2025 nearly 2.5 billion Asians will create an unprecedented shift in supply and demand for raw materials and finished products, not the least of which will be floor covering for the billions of square feet of new construction required to support the urbanization.

Asia’s new infrastructures and construction markets will be massive

If estimates are correct, Asia will add more than 30 billion square feet of new floor space a year to support its migrating populations.  China will account for two thirds of this space; India one third. For comparison, the entire (new plus remodel/replacement) US hard surface floor covering market was 5.66 billion square feet in 2009. Since hard surface represents over 90% of China’s flooring usage, their new construction alone will require 18 billion square feet of hard surface flooring every year; about three times more than the entire US hard surface market last year. That demand for flooring will stress the supply of many raw materials.

 Impact on the world’s timber supply

China is already the world’s largest manufacturer and consumer of wood-based flooring, panels, furniture and doors causing difficulty for the country to meet its current demand for timber. China needs more wood fiber now to feed its huge plywood, OSB, particleboard and MDF industries; its panelboard output in 2009 was more than triple that of North America. According to the International Wood Markets Group, by 2015 the gap between China’s supply and demand for timber will exceed the entire Canadian timber harvest in 2009. Canada has increased its lumber exports to China by almost 800% in the last four years making China the largest importer of North American wood. Domestically, China’s wood flooring usage has increased at the annual rate of 7-8% and some of its flooring manufacturing capacity and raw material supply has already shifted away from export to fill domestic demands.

 Asia’s Urbanization: Threats and Opportunities in Floor Covering

Some say China’s economy is slowing down or just a bubble and dismiss its potential as either a threat or an opportunity but the fact remains that the “slowing” Chinese economy is still growing at 7%; more than twice that of the US. China’s Great Migration continues to create new demand and urban markets like never before. Unlike a democracy where progress requires a negotiated majority, China’s central government is free to create and implement its plan with little challenge.  Consider that only 15 years ago China’s 10th Five-Year Plan set a goal of 7% annual economic growth and in that time it has grown from obscurity to the world’s largest consumer of autos, energy and timber products. While the US debates its energy strategy, China has become the world’s largest producer of wind turbines, hydroelectric power and solar panels with more nuclear power plants under construction than any other country.

November 16, 2010 - Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved slightly in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI rose one notch to 16 from a downwardly revised level of 15 in the previous month.

 \"Though the gains have been incremental, the fact that builder confidence has improved over the past two months is encouraging,\" said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. \"Many builders are reporting that while the quantity of buyer traffic through their model homes has not improved dramatically, the quality of that traffic seems to be getting better – meaning that more people appear to be serious about buying in the near future. Builders remain very concerned, however, about the lack of available financing for new-home construction at a time when inventories of completed new homes are quite thin; after all, you can\'t sell what you can\'t build.\"

 \"The most positive aspect of today\'s report is the future expectations component, which not only held onto the five-point gain it registered in October, but improved by an additional two points to 25 for November,\" said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. \"This is the highest that component of the HMI has been since the home buyer tax credit program spurred sales activity this spring.\" At the same time, he noted, \"The most concerning aspect of the report is that survey participants say they have observed absolutely no improvement in their ability to access credit to build viable new projects. This problem is clearly a roadblock to recovery in many markets.\"

 Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 20 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as \"good,\" \"fair\" or \"poor.\" The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as \"high to very high,\" \"average\" or \"low to very low.\" Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

 Two out of three of the HMI\'s component indexes registered improvement in November, while the third component held steady. The component gauging sales expectations in the next six months rose two points to 25, the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose one point to 12, and the component gauging current sales conditions held unchanged at 16.

 The Northeast was the only region to post a decline in its HMI score in November, with a three-point drop to 13. Meanwhile, the Midwest posted a five-point gain to 18, the West posted a three-point gain to 15 and the South held even at 18.

Washington, DC, November 30, 2010--Commercial real estate markets are flattening out, with modestly improving fundamentals expected in 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors

 Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said commercial real estate sectors appear to be stabilizing. \"The basic fundamental of rising commercial leasing demand, resulting from a steadily improving economy, means overall vacancy rates have already peaked or will soon top out,\" he said. \"The outlook for the office and industrial markets has moderated with modestly declining vacancy rates expected as 2011 progresses, while the retail sector should hold fairly steady. Still, high vacancy rates imply falling rents.\"

 Yun anticipates a rise in household formation from an improving economy, which will increase demand for housing, both ownership and rental. \"Multifamily housing is the one commercial sector that has held on relatively well in the past year, and can expect the best performance in 2011,\" he added.

 \"Apartment rents could rise by 1 to 2 percent in 2011, after having fallen in 2009 and no growth in 2010,\" Yun said. \"This rent rise therefore could start to force up broader consumer prices as well.\" He noted that the housing shelter cost of primary rent, and owner\'s rental equivalence, is the biggest component in the Consumer Price Index, accounting for 32 percent of its total weight.

 The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors®, in its SIOR Commercial Real Estate Index, an attitudinal survey of more than 400 local market experts,1 shows vacancy rates are slowly improving, but rents continue to be soft with elevated levels of subleasing space on the market.

 The SIOR index, measuring the impact of 10 variables, rose 1.6 percentage points to 42.6 in the third quarter, but remains well below a level of 100 that represents a balanced marketplace. This is the fourth straight quarterly improvement following almost three years of decline.

 The last time the commercial market was in equilibrium at the 100 level was in the third quarter of 2007; the index now matches where it was at the beginning of 2009. Fifty-nine percent of respondents expect improvements in the office and industrial sectors in the current quarter.

 Commercial real estate development continues at stagnant levels with little investment activity, but is beginning to pick up in many parts of the country.

 NAR\'s latest COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK2 offers projections for four major commercial sectors and analyzes quarterly data in the office, industrial, retail and multifamily markets. Historic data were provided by CBRE Econometric Advisors.

 Vacancy rates in the office sector, where a large volume of sublease space remains on the market, are forecast to decline from 16.7 percent in the current quarter to 16.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, but with very little change during in the first half of the year.

 The markets with the lowest office vacancy rates currently are New York City and Honolulu, with vacancies around 9 percent. All other monitored markets have double-digit vacancy rates.

 Annual office rent is expected to decline 1.8 percent this year, and then slip another 1.6 percent in 2011. In 57 markets tracked, net absorption of office space, which includes the leasing of new space coming on the market as well as space in existing properties, should be a negative 3.7 million square feet this year and then a positive 16.4 million in 2011.

 Industrial vacancy rates are projected to decline from 13.9 percent currently to 13.2 percent in the closing quarter of 2011.

 At present, the areas with the lowest industrial vacancy rates are Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Kansas City, with vacancies in the 8 to 10 percent range.

Annual industrial rent is likely to fall 4.0 percent this year, and decline another 3.4 percent in 2011. Net absorption of industrial space in 58 markets tracked should be a negative 25.1 million square feet this year and a positive 134.0 million in 2011.

 Retail vacancy rates are expected to change little, declining from 13.1 percent in the fourth quarter of this year to 13.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

 Markets with the lowest retail vacancy rates currently include San Francisco; Orange County, Calif.; and Honolulu, with vacancies in the 7 to 8 percent range.

 Average retail rent is seen to drop 3.4 percent in 2010 but largely stabilize next year, slipping 0.3 percent in 2011. Net absorption of retail space in 53 tracked markets is projected to be a negative 0.5 million square feet this year and then a positive 5.0 million in 2011.

 The apartment rental market - multifamily housing - is expected to get a boost from growth in household formation. Multifamily vacancy rates are forecast to decline from 6.4 percent in the current quarter to 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

 Areas with the lowest multifamily vacancy rates presently are San Jose, Calif.; Miami; Boston; and Portland, Ore., with vacancies in a range around 4 percent.

 Average apartment rent is likely to rise 0.2 percent this year and another 1.4 percent in 2011. Multifamily net absorption should be 85,200 units in 59 tracked metro areas this year, and another 147,000 in 2011.

 The COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK is published by the NAR Research Division for the commercial community. NAR\'s Commercial Division, formed in 1990, provides targeted products and services to meet the needs of the commercial market and constituency within NAR.

 The NAR commercial components include commercial members; commercial committees, subcommittees and forums; commercial real estate boards and structures; and the NAR commercial affiliate organizations - CCIM Institute, Institute of Real Estate Management, Realtors® Land Institute, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors®, and Counselors of Real Estate.

 Approximately 79,000 NAR and institute affiliate members specialize in commercial brokerage services, and an additional 263,000 members offer commercial real estate as a secondary business.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of initial claims in the week ending Dec. 11 fell 3,000 to 420,000. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to inch higher. The four-week average fell 5,250 to 422,750.Claims in the previous week were revised to a decrease of 15,000 to 423,000 compared with the initial estimate of a decline of 17,000 to 421,000. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits held steady rose 22,000 to 4.14 million in the week ending Dec. 4. The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 47,250 to 4.19 million.

Washington, DC, December 22, 2010--Existing-home sales rose 5.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in November from 4.43 million in October, but are 27.9 percent below the cyclical peak of 6.49 million in November 2009, which was the initial deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors.

 Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is hopeful for 2011. “Continuing gains in home sales are encouraging, and the positive impact of steady job creation will more than trump some negative impact from a modest rise in mortgage interest rates, which remain historically favorable,” he said.

 Yun added that home buyers are responding to improved affordability conditions. “The relationship recently between mortgage interest rates, home prices and family income has been the most favorable on record for buying a home since we started measuring in 1970,” he said. “Therefore, the market is recovering and we should trend up to a healthy, sustainable level in 2011.”

 The national median existing-home price2 for all housing types was $170,600 in November, up 0.4 percent from November 2009. Distressed homes3 have been a fairly stable market share, accounting for 33 percent of sales in November; they were 34 percent in October and 33 percent in November 2009.

 Foreclosures, which accounted for two-thirds of the distressed sales share, sold at a median discount of 15 percent in November, while short sales were discounted 10 percent in comparison with traditional home sales.

 Total housing inventory at the end of November fell 4.0 percent to 3.71 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.5-month supply4 at the current sales pace, down from a 10.5-month supply in October.

 NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said good buying opportunities will continue. “Traditionally there are far fewer buyers competing for properties at this time of the year, so serious buyers have a lot of opportunities during the winter months,” he said. “Buyers will enjoy favorable affordability conditions into the new year, although mortgage rates are expected to gradually rise as 2011 progresses.”

 According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.30 percent in November from a record low 4.23 percent in October; the rate was 4.88 percent in November 2009.

 “In the short term, mortgage interest rates should hover just above recent record lows, while home prices have generally stabilized following declines from 2007 through 2009,” Yun said. “Although mortgage interest rates have ticked up in recent weeks, overall conditions remain extremely favorable for buyers who can obtain credit.”

 A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 32 percent of homes in November, the same as in October, but are below a 51 percent share in November 2009 from the surge to beat the initial deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit.

 Investors accounted for 19 percent of transactions in November, also unchanged from October, but are up from 12 percent in November 2009; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales were at 31 percent in November, up from 29 percent in October and 19 percent a year ago. “The elevated level of all-cash transactions continues to reflect tight credit market conditions,” Yun said.

 Single-family home sales rose 6.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million in November from 3.89 million in October, but are 27.3 percent below a surge to a 5.71 million cyclical peak in November 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $171,300 in November, which is 1.2 percent above a year ago.

 Existing condominium and co-op sales declined 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 in November from 540,000 in October, and are 32.2 percent below the 782,000-unit tax credit rush one year ago. The median existing condo price5 was $165,300 in November, down 5.5 percent from November 2009. “At the current stage of the housing cycle, condos are offering better deals for bargain hunters,” Yun said.

 Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 2.7 percent to an annual pace of 770,000 in November but are 33.0 percent below the cyclical peak in November 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $242,500, which is 9.2 percent higher than a year ago.

 Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 6.4 percent in November to a level of 1.00 million but are 35.1 percent below the year-ago surge. The median price in the Midwest was $138,900, down 1.1 percent from November 2009.

 In the South, existing-home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual pace of 1.76 million in November but are 26.1 percent below the tax credit surge in November 2009. The median price in the South was $148,000, down 2.6 percent from a year ago.

 Existing-home sales in the West jumped 11.7 percent to an annual level of 1.15 million in November but are 19.0 percent below the sales peak in November 2009. The median price in the West was $212,500, up 0.4 percent from a year ago.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Chain-store sales for the week ended Dec. 25 rose 4.8% from the year-earlier period, the best performance since April 24, according to a survey released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs. On a week-over-week basis, sales gained 1%. \"Consumers hurried to complete their last minute holiday-gift buying ahead of Christmas Day as many workers had additional shopping time on Christmas Eve, which was a federal holiday for many since Christmas Day fell on a Saturday,\" said Michael Niemira, ICSC\'s chief economist. \"That last-minute holiday spending lift was aided by consumers who had more money as a result of the improving economy, more time as a result of the Friday holiday and more holiday-season excitement than in many years.\" ICSC forecast December same-store sales to rise 3.5% and November-December holiday-season sales to increase 4%, the strongest since at least 2006. Those forecasts were at the top end of its previous ranges.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 in the week ended Dec. 25, hitting the lowest level since July of 2008, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims of 413,000. The four-week average of new claims, which is smoother than the weekly data, fell 12,500 to 414,000, also reaching the lowest level since July of 2008. The level of claims helps observers to analyze the health of the labor market, and economists say claims would have to remain below 400,000 before there\'s a substantial gain in hiring. Analysts also note that claims are difficult to seasonally adjust near the holidays. In the week ended Dec. 18, the number of people who continued to receive benefits under state unemployment programs rose 57,000 to a seasonally adjusted 4.13 million. The four-week average of these continuing claims fell 37,250 to 4.12 million, the lowest level since November of 2008. Altogether, about 8.87 million people received some kind of unemployment-insurance benefit in the week ended of Dec. 11, on an unadjusted basis. That level was down about 35,000 from the prior week.

Washington, DC, December 30, 2010--The Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.5 percent to 92.2 based on contracts signed in November from a downwardly revised 89.1 in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index is 5.0 percent below a reading of 97.0 in November 2009. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

 Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said historically high housing affordability is boosting sales activity. “In addition to exceptional affordability conditions, steady improvements in the economy are helping bring buyers into the market,” he said. “But further gains are needed to reach normal levels of sales activity.”

 The PHSI in the Northeast increased 1.8 percent to 72.6 in November but is 6.2 percent below November 2009. In the Midwest the index declined 4.2 percent in November to 78.3 and is 7.7 percent below a year ago. Pending home sales in the South slipped 1.8 percent to an index of 91.4 and are 7.2 percent below November 2009. In the West the index jumped 18.2 percent to 123.3 and is 0.4 percent above a year ago.

 “If we add 2 million jobs as expected in 2011, and mortgage rates rise only moderately, we should see existing-home sales rise to a higher, sustainable volume,” Yun said. “Credit remains tight, but if lenders return to more normal, safe underwriting standards for creditworthy buyers, there would be a bigger boost to the housing market and spillover benefits for the broader economy.”

 The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is forecast to rise gradually to 5.3 percent around the end of 2011; at the same time, unemployment should drop to 9.2 percent.

 For perspective, Yun said that the U.S. has added 27 million people over the past 10 years. “However, the number of jobs is roughly the same as it was in 2000 when existing-home sales totaled 5.2 million, which appears to be a sustainable figure given the current level of employment,” he explained.

 “All the indicator trends are pointing to a gradual housing recovery,” Yun said. “Home price prospects will vary depending largely upon local job market conditions. The national median home price, however, is expected to remain stable even with a continuing flow of distressed properties coming onto the market, as long as there is a steady demand of financially healthy home buyers.”

 Existing-home sales are projected to rise about 8 percent to 5.2 million in 2011 from 4.8 million in 2010, with an additional gain of 4 percent in 2012. The median existing-home price could rise 0.6 percent to $173,700 in 2011 from $172,700 in 2010, which was essentially unchanged from 2009.

 “As we gradually work off the excess housing inventory, supply levels will eventually come more in-line with historic averages, and could allow home prices to rise modestly in the range of 2 to 3 percent in 2012,” Yun said.

 New-home sales are estimated to rise 24 percent to 392,000 in 2011, but would remain well below historic averages, while housing starts are forecast to rise 21 percent to 716,000.

 Yun sees Gross Domestic Product growing 2.5 percent in 2011, and the Consumer Price Index rising 2.3 percent.

Washington-U.S. wholes prices climbed 1.1% in December, largely owing to a spike in gasoline prices, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Core producer prices, which exlcude the volatile food and energy categories, rose a lesser 0.2%.Both figures are seasonally adjusted. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a 1.1% gain in overall producer prices but  a much smaller 0.2% increase in the core rate. The core number tends to draw the most attention of economists. Wholesale energy costs rose 3.7% in December, while food prices increased 0.8%. Prices for core intermediate goods,viewed as an important indicator of inflation, rose 0.4%.

Mercerville, NJ, Jan. 18, 2011 -- Resilient maker Congoleum said it will increase prices 4–6% on all Congoleum products, effective with shipments on March 1.

“We have been experiencing significant cost increases in key raw materials for the past three months,” said Dennis Jarosz, Sr, vice president of sales and marketing.

“In addition to that, the raw materials used in both our tile and sheet products are projected to continue to escalate for the balance of the first half of 2011.\"

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New claims for unemployment benefits fell by 37,000 last week to 404,000, reversing a sharp increase two weeks ago, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims in the week ended Jan. 15 to fall to a seasonally adjusted 420,000 from a revised 441,000 the week before. Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people already receiving unemployment compensation, dropped 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.86 million in the week ended Jan. 8. About 9.61 million Americans were getting some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended Jan. 1, up 401,237 from the prior week.

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in December to post the sixth straight month of gains as households drew down on their savings to fund purchases, government data showed on Monday.

The Commerce Department said spending increased 0.7 % after rising by 0.3 % in November. Economists polled by Reuters had expected spending, which accounts for about 70 % of U.S. economic activity, to increase 0.5 % last month.

Consumer purchases for all of 2010 rose at the fastest pace in three years as consumers boosted spending 3.5 % That was the best performance since a 5.2 % rise in 2007, before the recession began. Economists expect further gains this year that will give the economy a boost. .

The December spending figures were included in the government\'s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report released on Friday, which showed the economy grew at a 3.2 % pace on the back of robust consumer spending.

Spending in the fourth quarter grew at a brisk 4.4 % pace, the fastest in more than four years. While economists see spending remaining strong this year, they expect the pace of growth to be less brisk than in the last three months of 2010.

Spending in December came as incomes increased 0.4 % and savings dropped to their lowest level since March. Incomes grew 0.4 % in November and the increase last month was in line with economists\' expectations. Savings fell to $614.1 billion from $634.4 billion in November.

The report also showed the Federal Reserve\'s preferred measure of consumer inflation — the personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy — was unchanged in December after edging up 0.1 % in November.

In the 12 months through December, the core PCE index rose 0.7 %, the smallest increase since records began in 1959, after increasing 0.8 % in November.

Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2009--Most states continued to experience rising existing-home sales in the third quarter, with prices moderating in many metro areas, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors.

Total state existing-home sales, including single-family and condo, increased 11.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.30 million units in the third quarter from 4.76 million units in the second quarter, and are now 5.9 percent above the 5.01 million-unit pace in the third quarter of 2008.

Sales increased from the second quarter in 45 states and the District of Columbia; 28 states and D.C. saw double-digit gains. Year-over-year sales were higher in 32 states and D.C.

During the third quarter, 123 out of 153 metropolitan statistical areas reported lower median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the third quarter of 2008, while 30 areas had price gains.

The national median existing single-family price was $177,900, which is 11.2 percent below the third quarter of 2008. Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 30 percent of transactions in the third quarter, which continued to weigh down median home prices because they sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.

Washington, DC,March 18, 2010- Mortgage applications slid last week despite the lowest mortgage rates in more than three months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. The industry group\'s market index,which includes purchase and refinance applications, fell a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent to a three-week low despite improving borrowing costs. Average 30 year mortgage rates dropped 0.10 percentage point to 4.91 percent. The MBA\'s index of refinancing applications dropped 1.7 percent last week and its purchase loan demand index fell 2.3 percent.

When people  talk about green flooring options, they often think about the flooring materials itself wood, stone, vinyl, carpet, etc. but there are other major components used in any flooring installation that impact the environment as well. These can include things like adhesives, stains, sealers, paints and other similar products. These types of products emit gases called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. These VOCs are made up of a variety of organic chemicals that may be dangerours to both humans and our enviroment. Because these gases are potenially hazardous, recent regulations have been implemented that govern their porduction and use.

Products that are affected by VOC regulations are far reaching for the wood flooring industry. They can include, but not limited to,stains, sealers, finished, paints, and adhesives. In the United States, there are a variety of organizations that regulate VOC emissions. In California, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was established to  monitor air quality for the state of California, but in other areas of the U.S. , such as the North East , regulations are governed by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC). Generally speaking, these organizations have implemented regulations to reduce the overall VOC emissions from products in an effort to reduce both environmental impact and human exposure.

As an example, substances classified as varnishes , which includes both oil modified and water based finishes, currently have a U.S. national VOC limit set at 450 grams per liter. OTC states places more stringent standards, establishing a ratio of 350 grams per liter, while CARB standards are even more stringent at 275 grams per liter. Other products used in wood flooring, such as conversion varnishes,tung oil, stain, sealer, and lacquer, have different regulations and different compliance ratios.

The responsibility for compliance generally lands in the lap of the manufacturer of the product. They are required by law to manufacture their products to meet regulations and must clearly label their products to include required compliance information on the container. It is important to note, however, that while the bulk of the reponsibility falls upon the manufacturer, ignorance of the regulations will not excuse a contractor from fines and repecussions, which can be severe.

Although many areas have not yet established VOC compliance legislation, implementaion dates have been established through 2012 for many areas. It is also important to note that there is activity in Washington, D. C., to pass federal legislation for a national VOC regulation. Although this legislation is not yet imminent, it is  likely to impact our industry in the near future.

Bloomberg- U. S. retailers reported August sales that beat analysts\' estimates as back to school discounts and tax holidays lured consumers to malls.

Sales at Limited Brand Inc., owner of the Victoria\'s Secret chain, climbed 10 percent, more than the 7 percent average of analysts\' estimate compiled by Retail Metrics Inc. Sales at Kohl\'s Corp., the department store chain, rose 4.5 percent compared with a 2.3 percent projection. Sales ar Gap Inc. were unchanged, beating estimates for a 0.5 percent drop.

Confidence among U.S. consumers increased more than forecast last month, with the Conference Board\'s index advancing from a five-month low in July. Seventeen tax-free holidays during August probably attracted extra shoppers to the mall, where discounts were deeper than those in the previous month, said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics.

\"The tax-free holidays really gave a boost,\" Perkins said today in an interview. \" Retailers came out ot the gates strong on the promotional front in the last week of July and that carried through for basically the entire month of August.\"

Limited,based in Columbus, Ohio, gained $1.13 to $25.40 at 1:17 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl\'s, the fourth -largest U.S. department -store chain, climbed 62 cents to $49.02 and San Francisco-based Gap, operator of Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, added 29 cents to $17.50.

The figures reported by the companies are so-called same-store sales, a key indicator of a retailer\'s growth because they exclude results from new and closed locations.

Same -store sales ar 30 chains probably rose 3.5 percent last month, Perkins said. The results won\'t be final until Walgreen Co. reports sales tomorrow. Analysts estimated a gain of 2.8percent, according to Retail Metrics, a Swampscott, Massachusetts-based reseach firm. They rose 3 percent in July.

In recent years, many U.S. states have waived sales taxes during the back-to-school period to help Americans buy new gear for their children.

The number of tax-free holidays in August rose from 13 a year earlier, Perkins said. Illinois,Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts added tax-free holidays, he said.

The housing market and high level of unemployment may put pressure on September\'s same-store sales, Perkins said.

Purchases of new homes fell 12 percent in July to an annual pace of 276,000, the weakest since data collection began in 1963, figures from the Commerce Department showed.

U.S. unemployment in August may have risen to 9.6 percent, the first increase since May, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Those figures are scheduled to come out tomorrow.  

After skidding for four straight sessions, stocks staged a comeback yesterday even as economic data continued to paint a dismal picture. Disappointing housing and durable goods numbers sent stocks lower in the first hour of trading, with the Dow average plunging more than 100 points, but some bargain hunting towards the close helper stocks manage modest gains on the day.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed with a gain of 19.61 points, or 0.2% and the broader S&P 500 stock index added 0.3%. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.8% to 2141.54. On the New York Stock Exchange, three stocks advanced in price for every two tht fell.

Improving risk sentiment sent crude prices up 89 cents to $72.52 even as a government report showed a greater-than-expected 4.1 million barrel build in crude oil stockpiles. The market\'s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix, fell 2.8% to 26.70. Treasuries lost some ground. The 10-year note dropped 14/32 in price as its yield jumped to 2.53%, well above Tuesday\'s ninteen-month low of 2.49%. The Treasury auctions $29 billion 7-year notes today.

Although safe-havens lost some sheen, gold price continued their recent advsnce, rising to an eight-week high of $1241.30 Shares in Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX-Analyst Report ) jumped 3.1% and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM-Analyst Report) gained 2.8%.

Homebuilder shares continued higher despite the dismal housing data as a number of brokerages suggested the sector was looking attractive. Home Depot (NYSE:-HD-Analyst Report), a DJIA component, climbed 2% and was on top of the DJIA\'s list of gainers. Shares in Toll Brothers (NYSE:-TOL-Snaphot Report) jumped 5.8% after the firm returned to profitability. DF Horton (  NYSE: DHI - Analyst Report ) gained 4.6%. United Technologies ( NYSE: UTX- Analyst Report ) was the Dow\'s leading decliner.

Shares in Asia and Europe rose today, drawing strength from yesterday\'s advance in U.S. equity markets. Mining companies helped push Chinese shares higher. Meanwhile, a day after S & P downgraded Ireland\'s credit rating to AA-, citing costs associated with bailing out the country\'s financial institutions, a well-bid auction of Irish treasuries surprised many participant and helped send European shares higher today.

New York- Wall Street rallied Friday as traders were encourged that orders for manufactured goods excluding the volatile transportation sector rose sharply last month.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up over 150 points in the early going.

A surprise jump in business confidence in Germany also tempered fresh worriess about Europe\'s economy,driving stocks higher in Europe and the U.S. Stocks fell Thursday, in part , due to the news that business activity slowed in the 16 countries that used the euro. The euro rose sharply against the dollar following the report.

However, some investors remained cautions about the global enconomy and sought perceived safer alternatives to stocks,  Gold rose above $1,300 an ounce for the first time. The weaker dollar also supported gold prices.

Traders received some upbeat news about the U.S. economy as well, a day after a jump in unemployment claims helped drive stocks lower.

The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods excluding transportation orders jumped 2 percent in August double the amount expected by economists polles by Thomson Reuters. It was the biggest jump in orders in five months.

Overall orders including transportation did fall 1.3 percent, but that number often is severely impacted by month- to- month swings in orders for new aircraft.  MSNBC.COM

Payrolls fell in September by 95,000 jobs because of layoffs by the government while the unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.6 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretcg since the 1930\'s. The private sector added 64,000 jobs, the weakest showing since June.

The drop in payrolls disappointed many economists, who expected payrolls would be about even for September compared with the previous month.

Local governments cut 76,000 jobs last month, most of them in education. That\'s the largest cut by local government in 28 years. And, 77,000 temporary census jobs ended in September.

Nearly 14.8 million people were unemployed last month. That\'s almost 100,000 fewer than in August.

The report is the last before midterm elections that could change the makeup of Congress.

\"We\'ve had high unemployment rates for quite a long time, [but] when the number is as it is right now it\'s not good for any incumbent,\" said Dennis Jacobe, chief economist at Gallup, the data and polling research company.

A Gallup poll measured unempolyment for September, without seasonal adjustment, and saw unemployment spike from 9.3 percent in August to 10.1 percent in September.

\"Our unemployment numbers suggest consumers are going to continue to pull back,so we think two things will happen,\" said Jacobe. \"One, retailers are going to be discounting heavily and, two, sales are not going to be much better than next year.\"

Ahead of Friday\'s Department of Labor figures the government reported a decline of 11,000 unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 2. Based on seasonally-adjusted rates, unemployment claims took a dip from 456,000 to 445,000.

In the states with a decrease of more than 1,000, New York, Georgia  and New Jersey saw fewer layoffs in both the construction and service industries.

But the picture is not very sunny. \" Overall, the job creation picture is still bleak. Weak sales and uncertainty about the future continue to hold back any commitments to growth, hiring or capital spending,\" said a statement from the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

For the mont of September, a national employment report released by the payroll processing company ADP saw jobs shrink by 39,000.

\"The decline in private employment in September confirms a pause in the economic recovery,\" says Joel Prakken in the report. ABC News

WASHINGTON — New claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, but not enough to suggest much improvement in the distressed labor market.

Other data on Thursday showing a modest rise in a key gauge of future U.S. economic activity last month and small growth in factory activity in the country\'s Mid-Atlantic region also hardened views of more monetary policy easing next month.

\"Both reports are in line with a sluggish recovery in the U.S. economy. For the Federal Reserve, the lack of meaningful improvements leave expectations for additional stimulus intact,\" said Cathy Lien, a director of currency research at GFT in New York.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 452,000, the Labor Department said, but remaining perched above levels usually associated with a strong job market recovery.

The drop unwound most a jump in the prior week that took claims to a revised 475,000. Economists had expected claims to fall to 455,000 from a previously report 462,000.

Separately, the independent Conference Board\'s Leading Economic Index rose 0.3 percent last month after a 0.1 percent gain in August. The rise was in line with market expectations.

A third report showed the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank\'s business activity index rose to 1.0 in October from minus 0.7 in September. That was less than economists\' expectations for a gain to 2.0. A reading above zero indicates expansion in the region\'s manufacturing.

Stocks on Wall Street were higher on upbeat corporate earnings, including Caterpillar Inc. which lifted investors\' spirits. Prices for U.S. government debt hovered at lower levels, while expectations of further monetary stimulus weighed on the dollar.

The Fed is widely expected to announce a second round of asset purchases, also known as quantitative easing, at its November 2-3 meeting to keep interest rates low in an effort to combat high unemployment and boost demand.

The U.S. central bank, which cut its overnight interest rate to near zero in December 2008, has already bought $1.7 trillion worth of Treasury and mortgage-related debt.

Last week\'s claims data covered the survey period for the government\'s October non-farm payrolls report.

\"The gyrations in jobless claims have not been reliable predictors of nonfarm payrolls in recent months,\" said Julia Coronado, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

\"The strongest conclusion we would draw from this report is that there do not appear to be significant changes in either direction in labor market conditions of late.\"

The labor market has stumbled as the economy\'s recovery from the most painful recession 70 years fizzled, leaving the jobless rate at an uncomfortably high 9.6 percent.

Anxiety over high unemployment is expected to cost the Democratic Party control of the U.S. House of Representative in November 2 congressional elections, with rival Republicans also predicted to make big gains in Senate.

The mid-term election is seen as a referendum on President Barack Obama\'s performance on the economy.

Last week, the four-week average of new jobless claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market trends, fell 4,250 to 458,000.

Claims for jobless benefits have moved sideways for much of this year and continue to hold below a nine-month high touched in mid-August.

The number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid dropped 9,000 to 4.44 million in the week ended October 9, the lowest level since the week ending June 26, from an upwardly revised 4.45 million the prior week.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast so-called continuing claims edging up to 4.41 million from a previously reported 4.40 million.

The number of people on emergency benefits increased 152,112 to 4.04 million in the week ended October 2.

A 50-state task force investigating U.S. foreclosure practices may meet with lenders as early as this week, less than a month after JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. suspended some home seizures.

“We’ve had several conference calls with major lenders,” Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in an interview, declining to specify which ones. “The banks want to sit down with the attorneys general. These meetings are being set up,” said Suthers, whose office is a member of the executive committee of the task force.

All 50 states on Oct. 13 announced a coordinated inquiry into whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. The probe came after JPMorgan and Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC mortgage unit said they would stop repossessions in 23 states where courts supervise home seizures and Bank of America froze foreclosures nationwide.

At least 17 states, including Colorado, are conducting separate investigations to determine whether state laws were broken. Some began investigations months before the coordinated nationwide probe was announced. States have asked lenders to halt foreclosures, requested documents and sought better home- loan modification procedures. Ohio’s attorney general has sued.

“An attorney general will always have a responsibility to deal with their own state laws and statutes that they think might be violated,” said James E. Tierney, director of Columbia Law School’s National State Attorneys General Program in New York. “If the target of the investigation may have done the same thing in several states, then it becomes cost effective and more efficient to work with colleagues in several states.”

State Laws

Each state has its own foreclosure laws, and the lender’s behavior may have differed from state to state or even county to county, which makes reaching a global settlement difficult, Tierney said.

“Our ability to act on behalf of consumers depends in part on the intricacies of state law,” said Janet Mills, Maine’s attorney general. “It is important for the AGs to share what they find out with each other, to monitor what is happening in other states, including the responses from financial entities,” she wrote in an e-mail yesterday.

Colorado’s Suthers said it’s too early to speculate how the probes will end.

“We are cooperating with the attorneys general on their inquiries,” Gina Proia, a spokeswoman for Detroit-based Ally, said in a phone interview yesterday. She declined to comment on any specifics or any possible meetings with attorneys general.

Meeting Today

Members of the attorneys general executive committee have met by phone and “have begun the process of communicating with servicers,” Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

“There is a meeting scheduled for Thursday,” Greenwood said. “It would not be appropriate to disclose the meeting participants, the mechanics of the meeting, or the nature of the planned discussions.”

Bank of America was scheduled to meet with state officials today to discuss the foreclosure process, the Associated Press reported yesterday, citing a person briefed on the matter whom it didn’t name.

“We have been cooperating with the attorneys general and continue to have dialogue and share information with these important stakeholders,” Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, said in an e-mailed statement. She declined to comment on the timing of any meetings

Tom Kelly, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan, declined to comment.

Corrections Needed

“The 50-state investigation is not seeking a nationwide moratorium on all foreclosures,” said Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is also on the task force’s executive committee. “At the same time, foreclosures done improperly have to be corrected. It’s not permissible to violate state law to expedite a foreclosure.”

The states may push for better loan-modification procedures to address consumer complaints, McKenna said. Some homeowners who sought modifications weren’t offered revised payments, ended with the same or higher payments, or were foreclosed on during the process, according to these complaints.

“Loan modifications may be a significant part of the solution,” McKenna said. “If you keep homes out of foreclosure, they don’t depress real estate values.”

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray sued Ally Oct. 6, claiming its GMAC mortgage unit violated state consumer law and committed fraud by filing false affidavits in foreclosure proceedings. Cordray yesterday filed a friend-of-the-court brief in another case arguing that an Ohio court can vacate a foreclosure because of affidavit irregularities.

GMAC Lawsuit

Maine’s Mills said she may join a class action filed against GMAC on behalf of homeowners in that state alleging abuse of process and fraud.

“We’re contemplating joining the suit or we could bring our own,” she said. Her office began investigating foreclosure practices this summer, she said.

McKenna of Washington said he doesn’t anticipate filing any lawsuits. His office began an investigation in May after receiving consumer complaints about faulty foreclosure documentation, including instances in which “the same name seemed to be signed by several different people,” he said.

“We’d prefer to settle rather than litigate,” he said. McKenna was one of the leaders in the multistate settlement with Bank of America over the mortgage practices at its Countrywide Financial unit. He said that resolution, in which homeowners received loan modifications, is a possible guide.

Texas Subpoenas

Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general, has subpoenaed information and documents from nine banks or loan servicers including Bank of America, Ally and JPMorgan.

Abbott’s office sent letters on Oct. 4 to 30 loan servicers, asking them to halt foreclosures in the state, pending a review of their practices. Abbott also asked banks to identify employees who filed faulty affidavits or other documents in the state and to identify foreclosures that used such documents.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office will investigate some individual complaints, he said in an interview yesterday.

“What we’re seeing nationally didn’t happen here,” Jackley said. “We just don’t see the volume” of foreclosures, compared with other states, he said.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum asked on Oct. 12 to meet with a group of banks, including Bank of America and JPMorgan, about their foreclosure practices. He said in an interview on Oct. 15 that he had met with JPMorgan and had a telephone conference with Bank of America. He said the two were “well on their way” to correcting problems in their foreclosure procedures.

Goldman, PNC

McCollum, who sits on the executive committee of the 50- state task force, also has asked to meet with Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Litton Loan Servicing LP, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and GMAC.

“We are in the process of setting up the remaining meetings,” said Shannon Knowles, who works in McCollum’s communications office. “No subpoenas have gone out to date to any of the banks,” she said yesterday in an e-mail.

“Litton Loan Servicing has been and continues to be responsive to the requests by the state attorneys general,” Donna Marie Jendritza, spokeswoman for the Houston-based company, said in an e-mail. Fred Solomon, of Pittsburgh-based PNC, declined to comment.

“The ball is now in the lenders’ court,” said Columbia’s Tierney. “The AGs have said, ‘We’re here, we’re looking.’ Some people are forthcoming and some people are not. And each lender may decide differently. Bloomberg

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University is offering a bachelor of science degree program in renewable materials to meet a growing demand for professionals in the manufacture, marketing and use of sustainable, natural resources-derived materials such as wood, bamboo, straw and other plant-based goods.

“In many sustainable industries today there are more jobs than graduates to fill them, even during the recession,” said Thomas McLain, renewable materials professor and department head at OSU.

“Companies in green, natural materials-based businesses are demanding a different type of person for employment today,” McLain said. “Our new curriculum is designed to train the next generation of sustainability professionals.”

The new degree will emphasize not only core science and technology, but also business and communications, officials said. Graduates will be able to expand the use of green, renewable materials and products to enhance local, regional and global sustainability.

Students can choose from two different options. One will be a management and marketing focus, to manage organizations and/or devise new marketing strategies to compete in this industry. Students on this track also earn a business and entrepreneurship minor. The other option will be a science and engineering focus, with coursework tailored to specific interests, problem solving, and other skills.

McLain said jobs in renewable materials fields are diverse in both workplace and locale, with most entry level positions on the West Coast. Some jobs might involve international travel, and nearly all renewable materials and products careers will command higher-than-average salaries and potential for advancement. A diverse student body is being sought for the program, and majors are eligible for a large number of scholarships.

“Organizations in this industry are located in places as urban as San Francisco and as rural as Dillard, Ore.,” he said. “There will be positions in offices, manufacturing plants and the corporate boardroom, around the globe.”

About the OSU College of Forestry: For a century, the College of Forestry has been a world class center of teaching, learning and research. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in sustaining ecosystems, managing forests and manufacturing wood products; conducts basic and applied research on the nature and use of forests; and operates 14,000 acres of college forests.

New York, NY, November 3, 2010--According to the ADP Report, employment in the service-providing sector rose by 77,000 in October, the ninth consecutive monthly gain. This increase was not enough to offset an employment decline in the goods-producing sector of 34,000. Construction employment dropped by 23,000 during October and manufacturing employment declined 12,000.

 \"Today\'s ADP National Employment Report shows that U.S. private sector employment remains frustratingly stagnant,\" said Gary C. Butler, President and Chief Executive Officer of ADP. The new Congress has a great opportunity to make job creation priority one by taking actions that both reduce uncertainty across the economy and incentivize businesses to invest and expand.\"

 According to Joel Prakken, Chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, \"Since employment began rising in February, the monthly gain has averaged 34,000 with a range of -2,000 to +65,000 during the period. October\'s figure is within this recent range and is consistent with the deceleration of economic growth that occurred in the spring. Employment gains of this magnitude are not sufficient to lower the unemployment rate. Given modest GDP growth in the second and thirds quarters, and the usual lag of employment behind GDP, it would not be surprising to see several more months of lethargic employment gains, even if the economic recovery gathers momentum.\"

 \"Large businesses, defined as those with 500 or more workers, decreased by 2,000 while employment among medium-size businesses, defined as those with between 50 and 499 workers, increased by 24,000. Employment among small-size businesses, defined as those with fewer than 50 workers, increased by 21,000,\" said Prakken.

 The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Employment Report was derived from ADP data which, during the twelve-month period through June 2010, averaged over 340,000 U.S. business clients and represented over 21 million U.S. employees. This approximately represents the size of the matched sample used this month.

 Due to the important contribution small businesses make to economic growth, employment data that is specific to businesses with fewer than 50 employees will be reported in the ADP Small Business Report® each month. The ADP Small Business Report is a subset of the ADP National Employment Report.*

Total small business employment + 21,000

Goods-producing sector: -16,000 small business jobs

Service-providing sector: +37,000 small business jobs

*All size data included in the ADP National Employment Report is based on size of payroll. In some cases, small and medium-size payrolls belong to businesses employing more workers than indicated by the size grouping.

Private employment among small businesses increased by 21,000 in October, according to the ADP Small Business Report released today. Additional information about small business employment, including charts on monthly job growth and employment levels, along with historical data, is available at http://www.smallbusinessreport.adp.com.

 \"Small businesses, defined as those with fewer than 50 workers, saw employment increase by 21,000 during October. Small business employment has now increased for eight consecutive months, driven by gains in the service-providing sector,\" said Joel Prakken.

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Companies in the U.S. boosted payrolls more than forecast in November, propelled by increased hiring at small businesses, data from a private report showed today. Employment increased by 93,000, the most since November 2007, after a revised 82,000 rise in October that was almost double the initial estimate, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. Bloomberg\'s Michael McKee reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Companies in the U.S. boosted payrolls more than forecast in November, propelled by increased hiring at small businesses, data from a private report showed today.

Employment increased by 93,000, the most since November 2007, after a revised 82,000 rise in October that was almost double the initial estimate, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. The median projection of 40 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 70,000 gain last month. Small firms added more workers than at any time since the recession began in December 2007.

A pickup in job growth would help generate more incomes and spur consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. A Labor Department report in two days will show companies added 155,000 workers last month and the unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent, according to the survey median.

“The report says the economy is expanding,” said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, New York, who projected a gain of 100,000. “You have to really anticipate that it’s going to be small businesses that will be the primary source of hiring.”

Stock-index futures maintained gains and Treasuries fell after the report. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring this month rose 1.4 percent to 1,196.20 at 9:02 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, rose to 2.91 percent from 2.80 percent late yesterday.

Over the previous six reports, ADP’s initial figures were closest to the Labor Department’s first estimate of private payrolls in May, when it overstated the gain in jobs by 14,000. The estimate was least accurate in October, when it underestimated the employment gain by 116,000.

ADP’s initial October estimate showed a 43,000 gain in private employment compared with the government’s estimate of a 159,000 increase. Projections for November ranged from gains of 40,000 to 125,000.

Today’s ADP report showed an increase of 14,000 workers in goods-producing industries, including manufacturers and construction companies. Service providers added 79,000 workers, the 10th straight gain.

Employment in construction fell by 3,000, the smallest drop since June 2007, while factories added 16,000 jobs, ADP said.

Companies employing more than 499 workers expanded their workforces by 2,000 jobs. Medium-sized businesses, with 50 to 499 employees, created 37,000 jobs and small companies increased payrolls by 54,000, ADP said.

“There’s just a feeling that maybe we’ve turned a corner” in the labor market, Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, which produces the figures with ADP, said in a conference call with reporters. “It looks to me as if hiring is beginning to pick up. I do expect these employment numbers to get firmer” in 2011, he said.

While companies are adding workers, another report today showed government payrolls are shrinking. Employers in the U.S. announced plans in November to cut 48,711 jobs, the most in eight months, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Government and non-profit agencies led the announced reductions with 10,761.

Overall payrolls probably rose by 145,000 in November, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed before the Labor Department’s Dec. 3 report. The difference from the projection for private employment reflects the inclusion of jobs in the overall nonfarm payrolls figure.

Federal Reserve policy makers last month began buying Treasury securities as part of a plan to pump as much as $600 billion more into the financial system in a bid to keep interest rates low, accelerate growth and aid in job creation.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has been among those saying the recovery has been too slow, keeping unemployment too high and leading to a deceleration in inflation that raises the risk of deflation, or sustained and damaging price decreases.

Some companies are boosting payrolls. Citigroup Inc., which claims 2,500 of the world’s 3,000 largest corporations as clients, said last month that it plans to hire about 200 bankers by the end of 2011 to court businesses with less than $20 million of annual sales.

The ADP report is based on data from about 340,000 businesses employing more than 21 million workers.

America\'s labor market got more good news as initial jobless claims unexpectedly plunged 24,000 to 435,000 for the latest reporting week. A Bloomberg survey had expected claims to total 450,000. The previous week\'s total was revised 2,000 higher to 459,000.

In perhaps better news, the four-week moving average sank another 10,000 to 446,500. Economists emphasize this more-telling measure because it smooths out anomalies due to holidays, strikes and weather-related layoffs.

Continuing claims also fell, by an additional 86,000 to 4.30 million. Some of the decline in continuing claims reflects Americans whose benefits have been exhausted, but it also reflects Americans who have found work. A year ago, initial claims totaled 507,000, the four-week moving average was at 523,000 and continuing claims totaled 5.68 million.

One Notable Setback

States also reported 3.82 million people claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending Oct. 23, the latest week for which data are available, a decrease of 162,460 from the prior week. A year ago, 3.52 million people claimed EUC benefits.

The latest report did show one setback: The pattern of \"lower highs\" for states posting weekly increases in jobless claims continued to slow last week. Four states reported large increases, up from three last week: California, 6,387; Kentucky, 2,901; Wisconsin, 2,644; and Oregon, 2,296.

The highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending Oct. 23, the latest week for which data are available, were in Puerto Rico, 6.1%; Alaska, 5.2%: California, 4.1%; Oregon, 4.1%: Pennsylvania, 4%; and Nevada, 3.9%.

It\'s unlikely that initial claims will keep declining at a 20,000-plus pace per week, but steady drops of 4,000 to 7,000 would represent another sign of subsiding layoffs and a U.S. economy that\'s starting to demand more employees. Not until jobless claims regularly slide below 400,000 will economists and investors have confidence that commercial activity is increasing at a healthy job-creating pace.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker indicated on Sunday he opposed the central bank\'s new round of monetary easing, saying he believed the policy was potentially dangerous The Fed announced earlier this month it was pumping an additional $600 billion into the economy via purchases of long-term government bonds.

\"The decision has been made. I was one who thought the risks exceeded the benefits,\" Lacker told reporters after a speech at the regional central bank\'s headquarters

Lacker, a vocal inflation hawk, said in a speech to economics teachers at the regional central bank\'s headquarters that monetary policy can lower joblessness only temporarily.

\"Trying to keep unemployment permanently lower than it otherwise would be  is a recipe for continually accelerated inflation,\" he said, pointing to the inflation experience of the 1960s and 1970s as a cautionary tale.

With the jobless rate currently stuck at 9.6 percent and inflation running below the Fed\'s implicit target of 2 percent or a bit below, the Fed felt compelled to act, delivering another dose of monetary accommodation.

During the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the central bank had already lowered interest rates to effectively zero and bought some $1.7 trillion in government and mortgage-related securities.
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The Fed\'s latest round of bond-buying is an attempt to lower borrowing costs even further and spur ending, which officials hope will also boost hiring.

Lacker said the notion, proclaimed loudly by many economic leaders overseas since the Fed\'s early November decision, that the Fed is easing in order to actively weaken the U.S. dollar and boost exports is misguided.

\"To say that this is aimed at reducing the dollar is unfair,\" he said. \"To call it manipulation is grossly unfair.\"

However Lacker, who is not a voter this year on the Fed\'s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, remained suspicious of trying to address the economy\'s current problems through even lower borrowing costs.

\"At some point in the not-too-distant future, we are likely to face an economy growing in a self-sustaining way while the unemployment rate is still relatively high by historical standards,\" Lacker said. \"The decisions we make at that time will be the true test of whether we\'ve learned our lessons.\"

The Fed\'s bloated balance sheet, a direct product of its policy of asset purchases, has raised concerns about the Fed\'s ability to orchestrate a smooth exit.

Lacker added that the Fed has the tools it needs to withdraw monetary stimulus when the time is right.

WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales, helped by strong demand for autos, increased in October by the largest amount in seven months.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that retail sales rose 1.2 percent last month. That was nearly double the gain that had been expected and the largest increase since March. Much of the strength came from a big rise in auto sales. Excluding autos, retail sales rose a more modest 0.4 percent.

October represented the fourth straight increase in retail sales after sales had fallen in May and June. Those declines had raised worries about the economic recovery.

A separate report Monday showed major credit-card lenders are reporting lower delinquency rates, as fewer Americans fall behind on payments — another sign that the economic recovery is gaining momentum.

Bank of America Corp , Discover Financial Services and Capital One Financial Corp all said the rate of late payments on their credit cards fell to the lowest levels this year in October.

Delinquencies are the first sign that consumers have stopped paying their bills, and are indicators of future losses. They have fallen to the lowest rates this year at the top U.S. credit-card lenders, signaling that American consumers have recovered from the worst of the severe financial crisis.

While fears of a double-dip recession have eased, economists do not believe consumers will be able to spend at a fast enough pace to lift growth above the lackluster rates seen over the past six months.

The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, grew at tepid rates of 2 percent in the July-September quarter and 1.7 percent in the spring. Those rates are less than half the pace normally registered after a recession.

The problem is that consumers are still struggling with a host of problems including painfully high unemployment, which remains stuck at 9.6 percent even though the recession ended more than a year ago.

For October, sales at auto dealerships increased 5 percent. That gain had been expected given reports from automakers that total October sales rose to an annual rate of 12.3 million units, the best monthly showing since the government\'s Cash for Clunkers program had sent sales surging in August 2009.

Excluding autos, sales advanced at a more moderate 0.4 percent in October following a 0.5 percent rise in sales excluding autos in September.

Outside of autos, sales at general merchandise stores, a category that department stores as well as big retail chains such as Wal-Mart, rose 0.2 percent in September after a slight 0.1 percent rise in September. Sales at specialty clothing stores did better, rising 0.7 percent after having fallen 0.4 percent in September.

Big U.S. retailers had reported lackluster sales in October, with analysts blaming some of the weakness on an unusually warm October which lured shoppers to other activities and away from the malls.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said its index of sales turned in its poorest showing in October since last April.

Sales at hardware stores were up a solid 1.9 percent in October while sales at gasoline stations rose 0.8 percent, an increase that partly reflected higher prices at the pump.

Sales at furniture stores and electronics stores both posted 0.7 percent drops.

Shoppers spent a total of $45 billion over the Black Friday weekend, with the average shopper increasing spending by 6.4%.

A total of 212 million shoppers visited stores and websites over the weekend, compared with 195 million last year, the National Retail Federation said .The average shopper spent $365.34, compared with $343.31 a year earlier.

The figures are a positive signal for the holiday shopping season.

\"While Black Friday weekend is not always an indicator of holiday season performance, retailers should be encouraged that a focus on value and discretionary gifts has shoppers in the spirit to spend,\" said Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation.

The number of shoppers who visited discount retailers fell to 40.3% from 43.2%, a sign that consumers are more interested in big-ticket purchases. The number of shoppers buying jewelry rose to 14.3% from 11.7% last year.

Online buying is off to the races this holiday shopping season, but on Wall Street, the figures that count aren\'t absolute numbers. Investors are more interested in how those numbers compare to what was expected. If sales numbers beat expectations, stocks will rise as those who bet against companies achieving expectations scramble to cover their short positions. Stronger sales would also lure others who were on the sidelines to jump in and buy based on the good news.

That point is worth keeping in mind as one scrutinizes this year\'s Black Friday online sales results, which were great. Research company Coremetrics reports that online sales for the holiday were 16% higher than last year, according to the Associated Press. The average order rose 12% to $190.80.

Overall, post-Thanksgiving online spending was up 33% in 2010 compared to a 30.2% rise in 2009. But in the past, online sales accounted for only a small fraction of total holiday spending -- between 8% and 10%. According to the National Retail Federation, about 33.6% of shoppers during the four-day Black Friday weekend shopped online in 2010.

So how did the results compare to expectations? Measured against industry forecasts, sales were better than expected, although it\'s way too early to draw definitive conclusions about the season as a whole. On Nov. 17, eMarketer predicted that U.S. online holiday season sales, defined as all online sales in November and December, would rise 14.3% over 2009. This would bring holiday retail e-commerce sales to $38.5 billion, compared to 2009\'s $33.7 billion. If the 16% rise that was seen on Black Friday persists for the rest of the year, online sales could be $570 million higher than eMarketer predicted.

Amazon Vs. Walmart: Bytes Outpaced Bricks

Behind consumers\' move online is a hunger for bargains. According to eMarketer, consumers will \"remain extremely price-focused. Online consumers have become savvy at finding coupons, comparing prices, locating cheaper product alternatives, and exchanging shopping tactics and information about bargains with peers through social media.\"

Of all the companies likely to enjoy a stock pop Monday as a result of this news, the one that comes to mind first is Amazon (AMZN). This company has put in an amazing performance over the last decade as its competitors have struggled. Consider by contrast Walmart (WMT), which is a competitor online and the biggest player in the bricks-and-mortar world.

While Walmart is bigger, its stock has gone nowhere, and its growth and profits have not kept pace with Amazon. In the last decade, Amazon\'s stock has risen 617.7%. Between 2000 and 2009, its sales climbed 775% to $24.5 billion, and its net income skyrocketed from a $1.4 billion loss to $902 million profit. During the same time frames, Walmart stock rose a mere 3.3%, while its sales rose 112% to $405 billion, and its net income climbed 129% to $14.4 billion.

What effect will the good online sales news have on the stock prices of these two competitors? The answer depends in part on their value, and based on that, the benefits for both are likely to be small, since they\'re both relatively expensive. On the basis of its price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio, Walmart is a bit pricey at 1.3, with a P/E of 13.4 on earnings forecast to grow 10% the fiscal year ending January 2012. Amazon is even pricier: It trades at a PEG of 1.8, with a P/E of 71.6 on earnings expected to rise 40.3% in 2011.

Nevertheless, it\'s remarkable how well Amazon has adapted to changing technology and competitive threats. How has it done this? Amazon\'s success can be linked to four business strategies:

• Strong core business. As Forbes pointed out, in the third quarter, Amazon\'s revenues climbed 39%, and it raised expectations to 40% growth for the fourth quarter. Its performance has been bolstered by Amazon Prime -- which guarantees delivery of products within two days for an annual fee of $79, and boosts revenue per customer dramatically.


• Lower sales taxes, prices. Amazon does not base its operations in many states with sales taxes, and according to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling,it doesn\'t have to collect out-of-state sales taxes in those states. Amazon thus pays significantly lower sales taxes, a savings that it passes on to consumers as lower prices. As a source with over 20 years of online retailing experience pointed out in a Nov. 28 email to me: \"It is a 5% to 12% government granted price advantage. Amazon achieves this by putting its warehouses in shell companies and other methods, circumventing tax laws. The net effect is that for most consumers, a $100 item at Amazon is $105 to $112 everywhere else.\"


• Consumer innovation. Amazon\'s innovations include its easy-to-use mobile storefront app and its popular Kindle e-reader. In the second quarter of 2010, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com sold, consumers bought 143 Kindle books. According to Forbes, \"Amazon was the first to create advanced personalization algorithms when it introduced book suggestions years ago. Now that technology combined with the breadth of retail offerings by Amazon and one-click purchasing (both online and mobile) establishes Amazon\'s market leadership and sustainability.\"


• Dominance of the cloud. Amazon\'s EC2 cloud \"back office\" support for online and mobile storefronts accounts for 80% of the Internet-based retailing infrastructure and support market, according to Forbes.

Given Amazon\'s ability to come up with popular innovations, as well as the potential of online retailing to offer upside surprises, it won\'t be a shock if Amazon\'s stock responds positively to the news of better-than-expected online sales.

Builder confidence improved slightly in November, according to data released by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved slightly, rising 1 point to 16 from a downwardly revised level of 15 in the previous month. The seasonally adjusted index shows a reading over 50 when more builders view conditions as good than poor—something that hasn’t been the case since April 2006.

\"Though the gains have been incremental, the fact that builder confidence has improved over the past two months is encouraging,\" said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones in a statement. The HMI is composed of three component indices.

The component gauging sales expectations over the next six months rose 2 points to 25; the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose 1 point to 12; and the component gauging current sales conditions held unchanged at 16.

Wahsington- The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits fell slightly last week to 420,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists poller by MarketWatch had expected initial claims in the week of Dec. 18 to total about 421,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The prior week\'s number was revised up by 3,000 to 423,000. The four-weel average of new claims rose 2,500 to 426,000. The moving average is considered a more accurate barometer of employment trends because it smoothens out quirks in the weekly data. In the week of Dec. 11, meeanwhile, the number of people who continued to receive benefits under state unemployment programs dropped 103,000 to a seasonally adjusted 4.06 million. Althogether,8.8 million people received some kind of state of federal benefits in the week of Dec.4, on an unadjusted basis. That was down 308,338 from the prior week.

Wall Street’s biggest banks, rebounding after a government bailout, are set to complete their best two years in investment banking and trading, buoyed by 2010 results likely to be the second-highest ever.

The five largest U.S. firms by investment-banking and trading revenue -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley -- will likely have a better fourth quarter than the previous two periods, driven by equity underwriting and higher volume in stock and bond trading, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Even if this quarter only matches the third, the banks’ revenue will top that of any year except 2009.

The surge has come after the five banks took a combined $135 billion from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program and borrowed billions more from the Federal Reserve’s emergency-lending facilities in late 2008 and early 2009 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Since then, the firms have benefited from low interest rates and the Fed’s purchases of fixed-income securities.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of these banks, and I think they’ve recognized it as that,” said Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, who has written about Wall Street’s history. “The profits they’re making now will allow them to replenish their capital and take care of the other things they need to do.”

That may include beginning to return more of their profits to shareholders. The Fed issued guidelines last month on how it will decide whether large U.S. banks may increase dividends and buy back shares.

New rules that will force banks to hold more capital and move derivatives trading to clearinghouses may make it difficult for the firms to continue bouncing back from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Revenue growth may also be threatened by narrower spreads than those that spurred fixed- income trading over the last two years and less client trading, analysts said.

“The strength of 2010 was really front-loaded,” said Roger Freeman, a banking analyst at Barclays Capital in New York. “The best quarter of the year was by far the first quarter, which had some carry-over from the 2009 environment. The other quarters have actually highlighted the challenges in their world right now.”

Those challenges may lead banks to cut bonuses as they seek to reduce costs and boost profitability amid lagging stock prices. Overall pay for investment-banking and trading employees at Wall Street firms will be down 22 percent to 28 percent from 2009, according to Options Group, a New York-based executive search and compensation consultant firm.

Goldman Sachs’s compensation expenses in the first nine months were 21 percent less than a year earlier, while the pay pools at JPMorgan’s and Morgan Stanley’s investment banks were down 10 percent and 8 percent. Morgan Stanley has told some employees to expect investment-banking bonuses to decline 10 percent to 30 percent, according to two people briefed on the matter. All three firms are based in New York.

The five banks generated $93.7 billion in the first nine months from advisory, debt and equity underwriting, and from trading stocks and bonds, about 10 percent less than the same period in 2009, when revenue for the year was $127.8 billion.

The banks don’t all report profit from investment banking and trading, so the only way to compare those businesses is to look at revenue. Spokesmen for the five banks declined to comment on fourth-quarter performance.

Trading and investment banking account for 33 percent of the five firms’ total revenue, ranging from 79 percent at Goldman Sachs to 21 percent at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, according to company filings.

Including Bear Stearns Cos., purchased by JPMorgan in 2008, and Merrill Lynch, which Bank of America bought last year, the seven Wall Street firms posted a then-record $119.4 billion in 2006. That doesn’t include revenue at Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2008 and was acquired, in part, by London-based Barclays Plc.

Business this year has centered largely on trading bonds, credit derivatives, interest-rate swaps, currencies and commodities. The firms’ fixed-income trading divisions accounted for 61 percent of total investment-banking and trading revenue in the first nine months of the year, compared with 50 percent in 2006 and 51 percent in 2005, according to company filings.

Goldman Sachs made $7.39 billion from fixed-income trading in the first quarter of 2010, more than it made in that division in all of 2004.

We’ll go back toward normal investment banking one of these days, but until then, this is going to be mostly concentrated in fixed income,” said Geisst. “The low-interest- rate environment is creating arbitrage opportunities and positive carry opportunities.”

The banks have benefited from rising bond prices as well as the Fed’s purchase of fixed-income securities, known as quantitative easing, said James Ellman, president of San Francisco-based hedge fund Seacliff Capital LLC. The Fed purchased $1.7 trillion of assets in the first round of buying and last month announced it will purchase an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June.

“The Fed is a much greater influence in the fixed-income markets than it has been in the past,” Ellman said. “They are moving very large dollar amounts around, and they are indicating in advance what they are going to be doing.”

The banks are set to post higher revenue in the last three months of the year than in the previous two quarters, each of which was down 34 percent from the first quarter. Equity underwriting may be double that of the third quarter and stock and bond-trading volumes are higher.

Global equity offerings have already topped those of any quarter since 1999, when Bloomberg records begin. Companies have raised $205.2 billion through share sales so far this quarter, and initial public offerings are more than double those of the full year-earlier period, Bloomberg data show.

“Overall equity-issuance volumes have been disappointing for most of the year but have rebounded quite smartly since Labor Day, and we have done our best to take advantage of that,” said Paul J. Taubman, 49, co-president of institutional securities at Morgan Stanley, which is the top equity underwriter so far this year.

Companies worldwide completed $270.2 billion of mergers and acquisitions in the first two months of the quarter, Bloomberg data show. That’s down from the first two months of the third quarter, when they completed $275.4 billion of deals before ending the quarter with $372.9 billion.

The average daily dollar amount of U.S. Treasuries traded so far this quarter is up 29 percent from last quarter, according to data from ICAP Plc, the world’s largest inter- dealer broker. The average trading volume in high-yield corporate bonds is 9.7 percent higher than last quarter, while investment-grade trading is up 1.2 percent, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Equity investors have traded a daily average of 7.8 billion shares on major U.S. exchanges so far in the fourth quarter, according to Bloomberg data. That’s up 2.8 percent from the third quarter, when the five banks posted their lowest trading revenue this year.

“Wall Street likes a little bit of volatility around a steady trend,” Ellman said. “That’s the best situation for them, and right now we’ve got that.”

While trading volumes are an indicator of performance, they may not correlate directly with firms’ revenue because banks make money on changes in the value of the securities they hold and transaction fees that may not be related to volume.

Banks’ fourth-quarter performance may be more dependent on principal gains or losses in their trading businesses than last quarter because of increased volatility, Barclays’ Freeman said.

“When you get volatility, the principal positioning becomes more of a wild card,” he said. “When you’ve got credit spreads moving quickly, that could be good or bad, depending on how you’re positioned.”

Banks may have trouble sustaining the rebound in fourth- quarter revenue in 2011 as new regulations are put in place. While trading could benefit from investors moving into higher- yielding assets next year, banks will begin to feel pressure from new rules on derivatives and a ban on most proprietary trading, analysts said.

Those rules, signed into law by President Barack Obama in July, will reduce pretax margins in fixed-income trading to 23 percent from 24.9 percent and in the equities business to 10 percent from 13.8 percent, according to estimates from Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York

Investment-banking revenue, less than one-fourth of the banks’ trading revenue, may increase in 2011 because of higher numbers of mergers and acquisitions, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. analysts led by Frederick Cannon.

Revenue increases over the last two years haven’t translated into record profits for many of the banks, as they have faced higher costs and credit losses.

Bank of America shares have dropped 15 percent this year through Dec. 10, while Morgan Stanley has fallen 9 percent, JPMorgan 0.6 percent and Goldman Sachs 0.2 percent. Shares of New York-based Citigroup, which have plunged 92 percent from their 2006 high, have climbed 44 percent in 2010. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 11 percent this year.

The banks’ record performance in 2009 might be a “high- water mark” for a while, said Kenneth Crawford, a senior portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management LLC in St. Louis, which oversees more than $1 billion.

“The advent, one hopes, of a growing world economy and the demand that implies means that you might have more volume at a lower margin, and at some point we’ll eclipse 2009 levels,” Crawford said.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Construction of new U.S. homes rose 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 555,000 in November, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The November rate matched forecasts from analysts polled by MarketWatch. Housing starts for October were revised higher to a rate of 534,000 from a prior estimate of 519,000. Permits for new construction fell 4% to an annualized rate of 530,000 in November, reaching the lowest level since April of 2009. With persistent weakness in the housing market, homebuilders have been cautious.

WASHINGTON — The economy gave off signs that it was continuing to heal, although slowly and in fits and starts, as one of its roughest years ever was drawing to a close.

Consumer spending, one of the economy\'s main engines, rose moderately in November, boding well for the crucial holiday season. People\'s incomes grew too, although the gains came from rising stock prices rather than increases in wages and salaries.

And consumer sentiment rose in December to its highest level since June.

\"The data releases today support our estimate that GDP growth probably accelerated to between 3.5 percent and 4.0 percent annualized in the fourth quarter,\" said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

But none of it is quite enough to make a large dent in the 9.8 percent employment rate. Slightly fewer people applied for jobless benefits last week, the second decline in three weeks, showing the labor market still struggling to make solid progress.

The Commerce Department said spending rose 0.4 percent after increasing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in October. Economists polled by Reuters had expected spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, to rise 0.5 percent last month after a previously reported 0.4 percent gain in October.

The report also showed the Federal Reserve\'s preferred measure of consumer inflation -- the personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy -- rose 0.1 percent after being flat for four straight months.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the number of people seeking jobless benefits edged down by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 420,000 in the week that ended Dec. 18.

Weekly unemployment applications at around 425,000 signal modest job growth. But economists say applications would need to dip consistently to 375,000 or below to indicate a significant decline in unemployment. Weekly applications peaked during the recession at 651,000 in March 2009.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose slightly to 426,000. The average had fallen for six straight weeks to the lowest level in more than two years.

Factory orders
At factories, orders for long-lasting manufactured goods outside of the volatile transportation category rose by the largest amount in eight months in November. Factories saw demand increase for computers, appliances and heavy machinery.

The Commerce Department said total orders for durable goods dropped 1.3 percent, a decline that reflected sagging demand for aircraft and autos. But excluding transportation, orders rose 2.4 percent, the best showing since last March.

\"Durable goods orders were reassuring in that we saw a manufacturing plateau over the summer and while the number released today was not strong, at least it showed some resilience in terms of capital goods orders apart from aircraft,\" said Pierre Ellis, a senior economist at Decision Economics in New York.

The gains in personal spending were the latest to suggest an acceleration in the growth pace this quarter after output increased at a 2.6 percent annualized rate in the July-September period.

Consumers\' incomes grew 0.3 percent last month, lifted by gains from fatter stock portfolios.  Wages and salaries, however, barely budged. Hiring slowed to a crawl in November and paychecks got thinner. By contrast, incomes increased 0.4 percent in October, reflecting stronger wage gains from a better hiring climate that month. Income growth is the fuel for future spending.

Nevertheless, consumers seem to be more upbeat. They hit malls and stores in droves over the final shopping weekend before Christmas.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan\'s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 74.5, up from 71.6 in November.

It was slightly below the median forecast of 74.7 among economists polled by Reuters.

\"The overall tenor of news about recent economic developments was on balance more favorable than at any time during the past six years,\" wrote Richard Curtin, the survey\'s director.

Twenty-seven percent of consumers spontaneously reported upbeat news about employment gains, the highest proportion since 1983, he wrote.

The survey\'s barometer of current economic conditions was 85.3 in December, up from 82.1 percent in November but below a forecast of 86.

The survey\'s gauge of consumer expectations, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, rose to 67.5, also the highest level since June. That was above November\'s 64.8 percent, and in line with expectations.

A price gauge tied to Thursday\'s consumer spending report showed that prices — excluding food and energy — rose just 0.8 percent for the second straight month. That is the smallest gain on records stretching back to 1960.

Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of economic activity. A rise in consumer spending is a key reason why analysts believe the economy picked up in the final three months of this year.

\"Rising stock prices, diminishing debts, and returning jobs have American consumers unleashing two-year\'s worth of pent-up demand accumulated during the Great Recession,\" said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.

\"The momentum should carry into the New Year given the reduction in employee payroll taxes starting in January.\"

Analysts project the economy is growing at an annualized rate of at least 3.5 percent in the October-December quarter, up from a 2.6 percent pace in the July-September period.

For the final three months of this year, analysts predict consumer spending rose at an annual rate of up to 4 percent. Still, consumers would have to double that pace to match the spending rate recorded in the spring of 1983, after the 1981-1982 recession. That pace helped the economy grow at a rate of 9.3 percent and lead the country to a recovery.

Thursday\'s report also showed that consumers saved 5.3 percent of their disposable income in November. That was down slightly from a 5.4 percent savings rate in October.

Analysts predict the savings rate will hover around that high range in the coming months. Americans saved 5.9 percent of their disposable income in 2009, the most since 1992. Before the recession, they were saving just over 1 percent.

 (AP)  HONOLULU - Among the first announcements President Barack Obama will make upon returning from his Hawaiian vacation is his choice for top economic adviser, a decision that could signal a new direction for the administration as it struggles to jumpstart the economy and wrestle down unemployment.

It\'s far more than a personnel move. The replacement for the outgoing director of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers, will have a guiding hand in nearly every economic decision the Obama administration makes, and the president\'s choice is being closely watched for signs of where he wants to take his economic agenda in the second half of his term.

Will he tap the business world with a figure such as Roger Altman, an investment banker and Clinton administration alumnus who might carry too much baggage from his association with Wall Street? Will he turn to academia instead, calling on a scholar such Yale President Richard Levin? Or will he go with deeply experienced insiders such as deficit hawk Gene Sperling at the Treasury Department or Jason Furman, the council\'s deputy director?

With the unemployment rate at 9.8 percent, the private sector struggling to maintain steady growth and the public ranking the economy as the top concern, Obama\'s handling of the issue over the coming months is certain to play a central role in his reelection bid.

The selection process for the council post has dragged on for months. Summers announced his resignation in September, and many in the administration knew well before then that he planned to return to Harvard University after serving two years at the White House.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said he expects Obama to make an announcement in early January, and blamed any delay on the frenzied legislative session that consumed the White House through the end of the year.

The administration\'s thinking on how to fill the job has evolved since Summers announced his resignation. The initial view - both inside and outside the White House - was that Obama should name a business leader to the post, in an attempt to give the private sector a greater voice in the administration and ease the perception that the president is anti-business.

But the administration now believes the relationship between Obama and the business community has started to thaw. For example, both sides praised each other following Obama\'s meeting with CEOs earlier this month. The White House has grown more willing to find another prominent job for a private sector appointee while leaving the council post to an economic heavyweight who can coordinate the advice Obama is receiving from throughout the administration.

\"To get a business person in there, it seems like an odd place,\" said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. \"And if he does need someone from business, I don\'t think he would want someone from Wall Street.\"

It\'s that Wall Street connection that\'s been a knock against one of the leading candidates for the job, Altman, founder of Evercore Partners. Altman does have government experience, though, having served as deputy treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton.

Sperling, another top contender, has also dabbled in Wall Street, advising Goldman Sachs and other financial firms, although he\'s most well-known for his work in the Clinton and Obama administrations, including his current post as counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Sperling helped craft the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act, and his appointment could show Obama is serious about his pledge to address the mounting debt and deficit next year.

Levin, who as president of Yale shares Summers\' academic pedigree, is likely to favor stepped up Wall Street regulation. Furman is also said to be in the running for a promotion from the deputy\'s job.

Both Sperling and Furman would bring an insider\'s knowledge of the Obama White House and the president\'s economic policies to the job, attributes that may not necessarily be to their benefit. Critics have accused Obama\'s economic advisers of not fully grasping the depths of the crisis, and the team\'s prediction that the president\'s massive stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8 percent has caused headaches within the administration.

Selecting an outsider to fill the top economic job would help Obama counter the notion that he\'s too insular and unwilling to accept advice from outside the administration. He filled two other high-profile vacancies on his economic team this year from within the administration, replacing Budget Director Peter Orszag with State Department official Jacob Lew, and Council of Economic Advisers chair Christina Romer with Austan Goolsbee, who was serving as a member of the council.

\"They should be looking to take things in a new direction,\" Baker said. \"I don\'t think more of the same is the answer.\"

Beyond the economic qualifications of the candidates he\'s considering, the president is also believed to be looking for a council director who can serve as both a good manager and a team player. For all of Summers\' intellectual heft, he brought along a healthy ego and an often prickly temperament. Rumors swirled of conflict among Summers, Orszag and Romer, a rarity in a White House run by a president with little patience for drama.

Actually, many American companies are — just maybe not in your town. They\'re hiring overseas, where sales are surging and the pipeline of orders is fat.

More than half of the 15,000 people that Caterpillar Inc. has hired this year were outside the U.S. UPS is also hiring at a faster clip overseas. For both companies, sales in international markets are growing at least twice as fast as domestically.

The trend helps explain why unemployment remains high in the United States, edging up to 9.8 percent last month, even though companies are performing well: All but 4 percent of the top 500 U.S. corporations reported profits this year, and the stock market is close to its highest point since the 2008 financial meltdown.

But the jobs are going elsewhere. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute\'s senior international economist.

\"There\'s a huge difference between what is good for American companies versus what is good for the American economy,\" says Scott.

American jobs have been moving overseas for more than two decades. In recent years, though, those jobs have become more sophisticated — think semiconductors and software, not toys and clothes.

And now many of the products being made overseas aren\'t coming back to the United States. Demand has grown dramatically this year in emerging markets like India, China and Brazil.

Meanwhile, consumer demand in the U.S. has been subdued. Despite a strong holiday shopping season, Americans are still spending 3 percent less than before the recession on essential items like clothing and more than 10 percent less on jewelry, furniture, electronics, and big appliances, according to MasterCard\'s SpendingPulse.

\"Companies will go where there are fast-growing markets and big profits,\" says Jeffrey Sachs, globalization expert and economist at Columbia University. \"What\'s changed is that companies today are getting top talent in emerging economies, and the U.S. has to really watch out.\"

With the future looking brighter overseas, companies are building there, too. Caterpillar, maker of the signature yellow bulldozers and tractors, has invested in three new plants in China in just the last two months to design and manufacture equipment. The decision is based on demand: Asia-Pacific sales soared 38 percent in the first nine months of the year, compared with 16 percent in the U.S. Caterpillar stock is up 65 percent this year.

\"There is a shift in economic power that\'s going on and will continue. China just became the world\'s second-largest economy,\" says David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor\'s, who notes that half of the revenue for companies in the S&P 500 in the last couple of years has come from outside the U.S.

Take the example of DuPont, which wowed the world in 1938 with nylon stockings. Known as one of the most innovative American companies of the 20th century, DuPont now sells less than a third of its products in the U.S. In the first nine months of this year, sales to the Asia-Pacific region grew 50 percent, triple the U.S. rate. Its stock is up 47 percent this year.

DuPont\'s work force reflects the shift in its growth: In a presentation on emerging markets, the company said its number of employees in the U.S. shrank by 9 percent between January 2005 and October 2009. In the same period, its work force grew 54 percent in the Asia-Pacific countries.

\"We are a global player out to succeed in any geography where we participate in,\" says Thomas M. Connelly, chief innovation officer at DuPont. \"We want our resources close to where our customers are, to tailor products to their needs.\"

While most of DuPont\'s research labs are still stateside, Connelly says he\'s impressed with the company\'s overseas talent. The company opened a large research facility in Hyderabad, India, in 2008.

Rising middle class
A key factor behind this runaway international growth is the rise of the middle class in these emerging countries. By 2015, for the first time, the number of consumers in Asia\'s middle class will equal those in Europe and North America combined.

\"All of the growth over the next 10 years is happening in Asia,\" says Homi Kharas, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and formerly the World Bank\'s chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific.

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent often points out that a billion consumers will enter the middle class during the coming decade, mostly in Africa, China and India. He is aggressively targeting those markets. Of Coke\'s 93,000 global employees, less than 13 percent were in the U.S. in 2009, down from 19 percent five years ago.

The company would not say how many new U.S. hires it has made in 2010. But its latest new investments are overseas, including $240 million for three bottling plants in Inner Mongolia as part of a three-year, $2 billion investment in China. The three plants will create 2,000 new jobs in the area. In September, Coca-Cola pledged $1 billion to the Philippines over five years.

The strategy isn\'t restricted to just the largest American companies. Entrepreneurs, whether in technology, retail or in manufacturing, today hire globally from the start.

Consider Vast.com, which powers the search engines of sites like Yahoo Travel and Aol Autos. The company was founded in 2005 with employees based in San Francisco and Serbia.

Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria worries that the trend could be dangerous. In an article in the November issue of the Harvard Business Review, he says that if U.S. businesses keep prospering while Americans are struggling, business leaders will lose legitimacy in society. He exhorted business leaders to find a way to link growth with job creation at home.

\"We are not fulfilling the educational needs of our young people,\" says Sachs. \"In a globalized world, there are serious consequences to that.

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday as investors remained bullish about the prospects for equities in 2011, keeping a December rally intact.

The S&P 500 has risen 6.7 percent this month, pushing the benchmark index above levels reached on September 12, 2008, the last trading day before Lehman Brothers collapsed, as improving economic data and a changed political landscape have encouraged risk-taking.

\"There is certainly a lot more optimism out there, either founded or not, in terms of stock prices,\" said Kevin Kruszenski, head of listed trading at KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland.

\"At the end of the day, most companies have prepared their balance sheets, and they are looking to grow either organically or through acquisitions. The U.S. market is probably seen as a place to find high quality companies right now.\"

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 40.83 points, or 0.35 percent, to 11,616.37. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 Index rose 2.66 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,261.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 4.81 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,667.69.

The December rally has been fueled in large part by gains in financial shares, indicating investor confidence in economic prospects, with the KBW Bank index up 17.3 percent for the month.

\"Performance of the financials is allowing investors to look ahead with greater confidence than has not been seen in quite awhile. Compared to its global peers, the U.S. market is gaining fans,\" said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York.

BJ\'s Wholesale Club jumped 6.1 percent to $47.20 after the New York Post reported U.S. buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners remained keen to acquire the warehouse club operator and may launch a hostile bid if an auction is not initiated in the coming weeks, citing sources.

A judge has ruled that SAP AG must pay Oracle Corp prejudgment interest on a recent $1.3 billion copyright infringement verdict, but not using Oracle\'s formula.

Shares of rare earths companies soared Wednesday after China cut export quotas, threatening to reduce already tight global supplies and risking action from the United States at the World Trade Organization. Molycorp Inc which owns a rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, rose 4.5 percent to $48.25 in premarket trade.

Private equity company Blackstone Group LP has joined the bidding for Australian shopping-center owner Centro Properties Group\'s asset portfolio, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Starbucks Corp denied claims that Kraft Foods Inc performed \"exceptionally well\" under an agreement to sell Starbucks\' packaged coffee, court documents showed. . Kraft shares slipped 0.6 percent to $31.66 in premarket.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. manufacturing sector continued to grow in December, marking the 17th straight month of expansion, according to a closely followed index. The Institute for Supply Management on Monday said its index of factory activity rose to 57.0% in December from 56.6% in November. Readings over 50% indicate that more firms are growing than contracting. The ISM, however, was expected to climb to 57.5%, according to economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

CNN) -- New laws going into effect in the new year could have a major effect on your pocketbook and your health. Here are some highlights:

Your pocketbook

In December, President Obama worked out a deal with Republicans to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for two years. But to also help goose the economy, the package brings a bit of payroll tax relief in the form of a new Social Security tax break.

Employees will pay 4.2% of the first $106,800 of their wages into Social Security instead of 6.2%, which, according to CNNMoney\'s Rich Barbieri, means \"workers will have a little more cash in their pockets.\"

Unlike in tax rebate times, when stimulus checks were sent to most working Americans in lump sums of hundreds of dollars, the payroll tax reduction is designed to go almost unnoticed.

\"Less money will be withheld from their paychecks,\" Barbieri notes.

The feeling is that most people won\'t put that tiny cushion aside and, instead, will just pass it right into the economy with regular spending.

Tax cut deal: What to expect in your paycheck

Individually, the overall amount of increased take-home pay depends on income.

\"For people at the higher end, it\'s about $2,000 a year extra in sort of \'walking around\' money,\" Barbieri says.

Tax breaks may boost paychecks by $40 a week

The payroll tax holiday is expected to cost about $112 billion. The current plan gives workers a break on only their half of the Social Security tax. Employers pay the other half.

But when former President Clinton was pressed into service by Obama to help sell the tax deal, he said that \"payroll tax relief is, according to all the economic analyses, the single most effective tax cut you can do to support economic activity. This will actually create a fair number of jobs.\"

Given how late in the year the law came about, it may take employers a couple of pay periods to get everything working as it should.

The measure means more take-home pay for many workers, although not for all. The payroll tax break will not be as generous for many low- and middle-income households as the tax cut it is replacing.

Tax cut deal: 51 million will take home less

The tax package Obama signed also includes provisions to expand the child tax credit, college tuition tax credits, relief from the \"marriage penalty,\" an extension of investment tax rates and an extension of jobless benefits.

Your health

It\'s been nine months since Obama signed the health care reform law, and parts of the sweeping measure take effect this year.

If you\'re a senior citizen, for example, and high prescription drug costs put you in the \"doughnut hole\" -- the coverage gap that develops when Medicare stops paying for drug coverage and patients can\'t afford to pay for drugs out of pocket -- you could see relief soon.

Up to now, seniors hit the doughnut hole once they and their insurers purchased $2,800 worth of medications. The next chunk -- up to a $4,550 out-of-pocket maximum -- was not reimbursed by insurance.

2011: Incredible shrinking doughnut hole (and more)

At a suburban Baltimore retirement community, Phyllis Lansing said she senses \"a quiet concern\" among her elderly neighbors that \"resources are running thin; their health care needs are increasing, and they\'re getting caught in a squeeze.\" That\'s especially true toward the end of the year.

The 76-year-old has schooled herself on the doughnut hole but notes that many seniors are \"part of an age group that will not advertise (to loved ones) how anxious they may be feeling\" about paying thousands of dollars out of pocket.

But starting in 2011, seniors like Lansing can get a 50% discount on covered brand-name drugs if they are in the doughnut hole. Additional discounts on brand-name and generic drugs will be phased in to completely close the hole by 2020.

Also in 2011, Medicare will cover certain preventive services without charging you Medicare Part B (coverage for doctors\' services, outpatient care, home health services) coinsurance or deductible.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that as many as 25 percent of those on Medicare may be going without prescriptions, at some point, because of the doughnut hole\'s sudden out-of-pocket costs.

Big changes to your health insurance

The health care law requires insurers to direct 80% to 85% of premiums toward medical care, an effort to cut down on bureaucratic costs and exorbitant salaries.

One change that could have a negative impact on your wallet will hit you at the local drug store, where you will no longer be reimbursed by flexible spending accounts or Health Savings Accounts for over-the-counter medications unless you have a prescription from the doctor.

Other changes coming in 2011 that could effect you include:

• Medicare will provide free annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plans. New plans will be required to cover preventive services with no co-pay.

• Additional tax for health savings account withdrawals before age 65 for nonqualified medical expenses will increase from 10% to 20%. Additional tax for Archer medical savings account withdrawals not used for qualified medical expenses will increase from 15% to 20%.

• A plan to provide a vehicle for small businesses to offer tax-free benefits will be created. This would ease the small employer\'s administrative burden of sponsoring a cafeteria plan.

• The Medicare payroll tax will increase from 1.45% to 2.35% for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples filing jointly above $250,000.

U.S. lumber prices to spike,breaking through the US$500/Mbf barrier,as a tight U.S. Supply/demand balance starts to emerge.

The North American lumber market is poised to take-off due to recovering U.S. housing starts, improving repair and remodelling activity, and surging demand in China. While the timing is probably the only question, increased price volatility is already a reality where prices are expected to touch the US$500/Mbf level in the next two to three years ? this compares to the average annual price of US$180/Mbf (for Western spruce-pine-fir 2x4 dimension) in 2009 at the bottom of the market cycle.

This forecast, along with detailed industry and market analysis, was released in mid-December in WOOD MARKETS 2011 ? The North America Solid Wood Products Outlook: 2011-2015 by International WOOD MARKETS Group ? the company?s annual forecast report.

After enduring some of the worst market conditions in 75 years between 2008 and 2009, the lumber industry has already seen improvements in the U.S. housing market from the low point of 554,000 units in 2009 to almost 600,000 units in 2010 (+8%). A return to normal U.S. housing levels of 1.6 million units could take 6-8 years to achieve, but the direction will be ?up? all the way with gains expected to accelerate in each year of the forecast.

?Total North American lumber demand bottomed in 2009 at 40.6 billion bf and is forecast to rebound steadily to 61.0 billion bf in 2015 ? a 50% increase from 2009,? said Russell Taylor, President of WOOD MARKETS. ?However, this is still well below the peak of 76 billion bf in 2005, so there is a lot more upside after 2015 before the market finally stabilizes. It appears that the next five years will be quite a ride for lumber!?

With an improving (but conservative) housing market forecast and US economic outlook, WOOD MARKETS 2011 forecasts a return to more volatile lumber market conditions that will create more price spikes starting as early as 2012, but this will really show up in 2013 and 2014. ?The prospects look very interesting for domestic producers as price levels have already moved higher in late 2010 and this should boil over starting in 2013 when prices are forecast to break out, creating price spikes later in 2013 and especially in 2014 when cyclical highs are forecast,? explained Gerry Van Leeuwen, Vice President. ?W-SPF lumber prices should spike to as high as US$500/Mbf in 2014 - and earlier if housing starts increase faster than forecast - creating huge gains for lumber producers and distributors.?

A key driver to improved lumber prices is not only improving U.S. housing starts, but also the rapidly rising demand in China for both logs and lumber. Although U.S. housing starts will increase by only 8% in 2010, it is important to note that lumber prices (W-SPF 2? x 4? #2 & Better) have increased by 40% in 2010 to average of US$255/Mbf as compared to the average price achieved in 2009. Much of the gains are attributed to the huge demand in China that has allowed west coast mills to benefit despite slow demand in the U.S. market. WOOD MARKETS? outlook for lumber demand in China is summarized in its report, The China Book ? Outlook to 2015, where an explosive growth in softwood lumber imports is forecast to meet soaring demand.

Canadian export duties to the U.S. are tied to lumber market prices and can range up to 15% when prices are low. ?These duties will linger in 2011 and 2012, but seasonal peaks will allow for reduced duties with no duties in peak months,? said Russell Taylor. ?In the 2013-15 period, however, it is forecast that price levels should stay well above the lowest tax threshold level (US$315/Mbf), with prices in many months surpassing the highest threshold (US$360/Mbf) where no duties are payable.? This will lead to some dynamic supply/demand responses as the duties become less of a  drag on Canadian mills.

The continued growth of Chinese demand for North American lumber will increasingly remove the singular U.S. market focus that has been the norm for B.C. Interior (and U.S. west coast) sawmills. In 2010, approximately 20%?25% of B.C. Interior SPF lumber production will be exported offshore, along with 50+% from B.C. Coast mills. The same trend is occurring in the U.S. west coast, although the volumes are smaller (so far).

The mountain pine beetle infestation is expected to start to reduce the economically feasible timber supply and total B.C. Interior lumber production sometime around 2014; this could be earlier if demand and prices do not increase as forecast, or later if prices remain very high. This will reduce the supply of North American lumber at a time when demand is expected to be very strong.

Reduced Canadian lumber production capacity is tied to timber supply constraints, i.e., cutbacks on public lands in Quebec and Ontario and the mountain pine beetle epidemic in B.C. This will result in a drop in the U.S. market share of Canadian lumber over the forecast period to well below 30% (vs. an historical 32-34%) and especially by 2020 (below 25%).

U.S. lumber supply will need to expand to meet rising U.S. demand, as Canadian imports will not be able to fill the gap. The U.S. South is expected to see the greatest volume growth in North America while the U.S. West will also expand, but timber supply availability and log prices could limit the upside. A tighter supply/demand balance will allow for the return of European lumber imports ? they are expected to increase six-fold by 2015.

Sales in many vacation communities across the U.S. soared last year to levels not seen since boom times, driven by deep discounts, cash purchases and buyers\' rising stock portfolios.

On Mercer Island, Wash., waterfront sales nearly tripled in 2010, compared with a year earlier, reaching par with 2006 volume there. Sales on Hilton Head Island, S.C., rose 14% for the year. Palm Beach, Fla., experienced a 40% annual increase and a 54% increase in homes under contract, indicating an especially strong fourth quarter. Palm Beach sales volume now is comparable to its 2007 peak. These figures were gleaned by brokers in each locale.

\"The proverbial train has left the station,\" said Ned Monell, an agent with Sotheby\'s International Realty in Palm Beach. \"We haven\'t felt energy like this in a long time. Buyers sense that they\'ve been on the sidelines long enough.\"

The question now is whether the momentum will last. The strength of second-home sales paints a stark contrast to the overall housing market, which is expected to worsen in 2011.

Existing-home sales in November rose 5.6% on an annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors, a trade and lobbying group. Last month, the Case-Shiller housing index of 20 cities showed prices across the U.S. fell in October, and most analysts predict another 5% to 10% slide in the coming year.

Data for the nationwide vacation-home market aren\'t tracked regularly. The National Association of Realtors conducts an annual survey of home buyers, but results for 2010 won\'t be out till March.

Yet the market for vacation homes, based on local sales data, appears to be booming. The comeback, NAR economist Lawrence Yun said, has been helped by gains in the stock market and an improving economy, which have made wealthier Americans more upbeat about the future. \"It also implies that prices in some markets have come down so much that people are fighting for those properties,\" said Mr. Yun, noting that demand is strongest in areas close to stable labor markets.

According to the NAR, one in 10 real-estate transactions in 2009 was for the purchase of a vacation home. And though a small fraction of the overall market, it is significant because vacation homes are often big-ticket properties and attract discretionary buyers. Just four houses sold last year on Madeline Island, Wis., for example, but the island\'s average dwelling sells at two to three times the price of the county average, said Eric Kodner, a realty broker on the island.

Sales of second homes are showing an uptick even in more-affordable communities. In some locations, prices are even inching upward. Cape Cod sales climbed nearly 9% in 2010 from 2009, while prices rose 7%. Monroe County, Pa., in the heart of the Pocono Mountains, saw a 3% decline in transactions, but its Lake Naomi resort community was up nearly 15%. A one-acre plot off Lake Naomi recently fetched $1.1 million, a record deal for the area.

Still, in most markets where demand has improved, prices haven\'t. For Realtor Andy Twisdale in Hilton Head, S.C., it is too soon to rejoice; prices are down almost a third over the past five years. \"People are buying at the very low end of the product,\" he said. \"The financing is very difficult. Banks are requiring 25% down and crystal clean credit.\"

Buyers who qualify or can pay cash say this is the time to take the plunge. On New Year\'s Day, the Makarewicz family arrived in Pocono Pines, Pa., to look for a vacation home. They already own their primary residence in northern New Jersey and own a property in Damascus, a northeastern Pennsylvania town along the Delaware River. But the family says the latter doesn\'t offer enough things to do: Not enough shopping. Not enough activities for kids. Not even enough fish.

\"How\'s the bass here?\" Joe Makarewicz, a vice president for sales at a financial-services firm, asked Re/Max Realtor Rob Baxter as the two looked at floor plans.

The family plans to sell the Damascus house, which would allow them to pay cash for one near Lake Naomi. The resort community at Lake Naomi boasts pools, tennis courts, a recreation center and a golf course—and is equidistant from New York and Philadelphia.

Some second homes had been stuck on the market because sellers wouldn\'t budge on price; unlike owners of primary homes, they often aren\'t in a hurry to move.

\"Sellers have become aware that they have to price their homes accordingly,\" said Harald Grant, a senior vice president at Sotheby\'s in New York\'s ritzy Hamptons region. \"There\'s a perk in the market because a lot of prices have come down to where they should be.\"

This shift became clear to K. David Hirschey, who runs a consulting business in Minneapolis, as he hunted for a home on Madeline Island.

After competing in a summer swimming competition on the island, Mr. Hirschey decided to buy a home there, perhaps to rent it a few years and maybe retire there eventually. The first offer he made was rejected, he recalled, because the seller said, \"We don\'t negotiate on properties here.\" The same thing happened with his bid on the next house.

Then he found a third property—four bedrooms, three baths—that began as a sale by owner, was taken off the market, then relisted under one broker, then another. It had been initially priced at $1.25 million, and remained on sale for two years.

\"When I saw it, it was listed at $687,000,\" said Mr. Hirschey, a father of four children. He offered $530,000, furnishings included. \"They wanted to negotiate and I said no,\" he said.

The tactic—an all-cash offer—worked, and Mr. Hirschey closed on the house in November, just in time for his family to spend the holidays there.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in December for a sixth consecutive month, capping the biggest one- year gain in more than a decade. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Sales at U.S. retailers rose in December for a sixth consecutive month, capping the biggest one- year gain in more than a decade.

Purchases increased 0.6 % after climbing 0.8 % in November, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 0.8 % rise. Sales advanced 6.7 % in 2010, the most since an 8.2 % jump in 1999.

Analysts this month boosted 2011 forecasts for household spending, which accounts for 70 % of the economy, as tax cuts and an improving job market put more money in Americans’ pockets. Ford Motor Co. and Dollar General Corp. are among companies planning to increase payrolls this year, pointing to gains in employment that may accelerate the recovery.

Consumers are “feeling that the worst is definitely behind them,” said David Semmens, a U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York who accurately forecast the gain in sales. “The first quarter should definitely receive a boost in consumer spending from the fiscal stimulus and the improvement in hiring.”

The cost of living climbed 0.5 % in December, led by higher fuel and food prices, figures from the Labor Department showed today. For all of 2010 it rose 1.5 %, almost half the 2.7 % increase the prior year.

The so-called core rate of inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel costs, rose 0.1 % for a second month. That held last year’s increase to 0.8 %, the smallest annual gain since records began in 1958.

Stock-index futures held earlier losses after the reports, with the March contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropping 0.3 % to 1,277.4 at 8:53 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities were little changed.

The projected increase in retail sales was based on the median of 83 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Economists’ forecasts ranged from a decline of 0.1 % to a gain of 1.3 %.

Eight of 13 major categories showed increases last month, led by a 2.6 jump at non-store retailers, which include Internet sales,  the biggest advance in more than two years. Demand at auto dealers climbed 1.1 %.

The gain last month was restrained by a 1.9 percent drop at department stores that was the biggest decline since December 2008. That followed a 2.8 % jump in November, also the biggest in two years, indicating the government may have had trouble adjusting the data for swings in holiday shopping.

Excluding autos, gasoline and building materials, which are the figures used to calculate gross domestic product, sales climbed 0.2 % after jumping 0.8 % in November.

President Barack Obama signed into law an $858 billion bill on Dec. 17 extending Bush-era tax cuts for two years. The measure also renewed emergency jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and cut 2011 payroll taxes by two percentage points. Economists such as John Herrmann at State Street Global Markets LLC in Boston said the tax package will boost consumer spending in early 2011.

Household spending this year will climb 3 percent, the most since 2005, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed this month. That’s up from a 2.6 % median estimate in the December, before the legislation was signed.

Consumer spending picked up in the second half of 2010. Holiday purchases rose 5.5 p% , the best performance since 2005, said MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, which measures retail sales by all payment forms. That compared with a 4.1 % again a year earlier. The numbers include Internet sales and exclude automobile purchases.

Auto sales in December reached a 12.53 million annual pace, the highest since the government’s so-called cash-for-clunkers incentive program in August 2009, according to industry data.

Ford said Jan. 10 it plans to hire more than 7,000 workers in the next two years, including engineers with expertise in battery-powered cars. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company will hire 4,000 factory workers and 750 engineers this year and add 2,500 hourly workers next year, Mark Truby, a company spokesman, said in an interview in Detroit.

Some retailers are raising their profit forecasts. Shares of Tiffany & Co., the New York-based jeweler, climbed this week after announcing profit forecasts that exceed analysts’ expectations.

“We are very pleased with this worldwide sales growth, and with the increases we saw in every region in both months of the holiday period,” Michael J. Kowalski, chief executive officer of Tiffany’s, said Jan. 11 in a statement.

Other companies are boosting their payrolls. Dollar General, the biggest of the U.S. dollar discount stores, said Jan. 3 it plans to add 6,000 jobs as it opens 625 more stores in fiscal 2011.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week reiterated the central bank will buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June in an effort to trim joblessness and avert deflation, or an extended drop in prices.

Shakopee, MN, January 20, 2011-The Building Systems business of BASF today announced the release of a Flooring Installation Solution Application for use with BlackBerry® smartphones. The application is designed to bring immediate, accurate answers to flooring installers on the jobsite, where computer access and reference materials may not be readily available.

The tool allows users to find product information, locate a BASF distributor, calculate flooring needs, and utilize the Flooring Wizard to select the appropriate product.“With this tool, we are providing answers to our customers in their pocket on the jobsite, not back at the office,” stated Joe Hostler, Flooring Surfaces National Sales Manager for BASF. “We are helping flooring contractors to do their job faster and better by providing all the information they need on a mobile device.”

 The “Get Product Info” function provides customers with instant access to Product Data Sheets, MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Design) Product Information letters. When a state is selected in “Find a Distributor”, the program provides a list of local BASF distributors along with contact information. Users can call or email the distributor directly from the application. The Flooring Calculator allows for square foot, square yard, pitch and metric measurements to calculate product needs instantly.

The Flooring Wizard recommends a BASF product solution based on a short series of questions. The Wizard will ask questions regarding the substrate and product needs and make a recommendation based on the user’s answers. From the product page users can obtain product literature.

WASHINGTON — The White House will announce an effort on Monday to encourage job-creating start-up businesses in hopes of reducing the country\'s stubbornly high unemployment rate.

Senior officials are to launch a national campaign called \"Startup America,\" which will encourage private sector investment in startups and small firms, accelerate research and address barriers to success for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Officials are to announce that President Barack Obama will propose making permanent the elimination of capital gains taxes on key investments in small businesses, a White House official said.

That provision was passed in September as part of a temporary measure. Obama\'s fiscal 2012 budget proposal to be released in two weeks will propose making the provision permanent.

Officials will also announce that the Small Business Administration will direct $2 billion over the next 5 years to match private sector investment funding for startups. The money is already in the budget.

June 16- Flooring News- Mohawk Raises Prices 6 Percent. Mohawk Industires ( Dallas) will increase prices by an average of 6 percent on select hardwood flooring and accessories with shipments and orders made July 5 or after. Mohawk has attributed the move to increases in lumber and transportation costs brought on by reduced supply, according to a release.

BR-111- Will sell direct. BR- 111 Imports & Exports Inc. ( Medley, Fla) has altered its sales model to includee dealer-direct and online consumer-direct sales, according to a press release. The move were attributed to a glut of products on the market, increasing costs and consumer demand for more affordable prices. BR-111 says it has developed a sales program that \"provides retailers with hot sales leads, aggressive marketing exposure and much higher margins.\" For the first time, the company is also giving its products an MSRP to \"legitimize dealer pricing and enhance overall credibility\" in the marketplace, according to the release.

Q.E.P. Co. Inc.-( Boca Raton, Fla.) owner of the Harris Wood Floors brand, along with Capitol -branded products, recently donated more than $300.000 of new products to Habitat for Humanity and other non-profit organizations, schools and churches throughout the United States.

Offical Autumn Begins September 23. Experts predict this fall will be warmer than normal as a strong La Niña weather pattern brings in warm air, although an extreme winter is also expected.

As autumn begins, many people are wondering why leaves change colors. As the amount of sunlight diminishes, trees produce less green chlorophyll. Other pigments then become evident, resulting in radiant orange, yellow and red leaves.

You\'ll have an extra hour of sunlight to admire colorful leaves as clocks don\'t fall back until relatively late this year. Daylight Saving Time ends November 7.

September\'s sales figures were strong enough to give many hope that retailing may start climbing our of its two-year funk this holiday season. But some companies will have a tougher climb than others.

Many merchants adjusted quickly to the \"new normal\" of penny pinching shoppers and were rewarded with rising sales in the middle of the downturn--or at least a quicker return to growth. But many others are still losing out in the competition for shrinking consumer budgets or by headwinds they were already fighting before the bottom fell out in 2008. Here\'s a look at the two groups that are going in two different directions.

The Leaders: Aeropostale -This teen apparel retailer stole Abercrombie & Fitch\'s lunch because it reacted faster to the recession. It cut prices and stocked up on low-ticket items like graphic T-shirts. As a result, it kept posting rising sales, even as the rest of retail lingered.

Best Buy:- Nothing beats a monopoly, and since the demise of rival Circuit City two years ago, Best Buy has owned the electronics big-box store market. Its only real brick-and-mortar competition is from the other big box, Wal-Mart Stores.

Kohl\'s:- In a good example of not letting a crisis go to waste, retail experts seem to agree that Kohl\'s has been doing all the right things lately. It has taken opportunities, such as the demise of the Mervyn\'s chain in West, to expand its footprint, and it hasn\'t taken its eye off the ball. It\'s giving its closest rival, J.C. Penney, a run for its money in the midprice department store segment at a time when that low-to-middle- income shopper they both target is under pressure.

Macy\'s: - The holiday season will be decisive, but the parent of Bloomingdale\'s seems to be climbing out of a fallow period. After several years of struggling to absorb acquisitions following the merger of Macy\'s and Federated Department Stores, it hit upon the My Macy\'s strategy that put stores under more local control, so the merchandise and marketing are a better fit with local shoppers.

Nordstrom:- Department stores took a beating early in the recession, but Nordstrom reacted faster and better than most to adjust its prices and products for the newly thrifty shopper.

The Laggards:-Borders- The ugly proxy fight at rival Barnes & Nobles took some of the focus from this bookstore chain\'s troubles.

Dillard\'s-The recession hasn\'t been a good time for traditional department stores, but especially for the mushy middle that\'s neither aspirational luxury nor low price.

J.C.Penney-Like Macy\'s, Penney\'s has looked to exclusive brands and a corporate restructuring to come out of a downturn. It\'s banking on technology (it recently dropped its catalog business to focus on online sales), and new exclusives with Liz Claiborne and Spain\'s Mango fast fashion chain.

Kmart/Sears-As many retail analysts like to point our, its no fun being third in a retail segment. Kmart is up against Target and Wal-Mart among discounters, but it doesn\'t have Wal-Mart\'s mass or Target\'s class.

 Gap-Many customers are simply trading down to cheaper Old Navy basics as an alternative. Daily Finance.

NEW YORK — Stocks fluctuated in a tight range Friday as traders poured through another batch of earnings looking for clues about the health of the economy.

Friday\'s moves also appear to be held in check as investors turn some of their attention to a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20. The group is meeting as tensions grow over a brewing currencybattle that could affect global trade.

Traders received another batch of earnings that beat analysts\' forecasts, led by Dow Jones components Verizon Communications Inc. and American Express Co. But results were not strong enough to give investors the confidence to drive shares sharply higher. The Dow fell about 5 points in late morning trading, but broader indexes were positive and rising stocks outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Verizon shares dipped after it added its fewest number of overall subscribers in a decade and its profit fell. Manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. reported a profit that beat estimates, but it raised its earnings outlook to a level that still fell short of expectations.

Amazon.com Inc. shares bounced in and out of positive territory. The online retailer also beat forecasts with its report Thursday after the market closed, but investors were nervous because margins narrowed as Amazon increased its spending.

Oil services company Schlumberger Ltd. and regional bank KeyCorp were among the biggest beneficiaries of strong earnings. Schlumberger\'s results got a big lift from increased land-based drilling activities in the U.S. and Canada. KeyCorp\'s profits were helped by a drop in losses from customers defaulting on loans.

The Dow was lately down 5.57, or 0.1 percent, at 11,141.00.

The Dow is trying to extend a two-day winning streak that has been built on upbeat earnings and corporate outlooks. It ended Thursday at its highest closing level since May 3 and was on the brink of closing at its highest level in more than two years before shares pared their gains in afternoon trading.

The Standard & Poor\'s 500 index rose 2.24, or 0.2 percent, to 1,182.50, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 13.17, or 0.5 percent, to 2,472.84.

The G-20 meeting is adding some caution to the market, which has been volatile throughout the week. Shares dropped early in the week because of global economic concerns before recovering in recent days following the string of earnings reports.

Finance ministers and central bank governors are meeting to discuss a growing trend of countries trying to devalue their currency to gain an advantage in the international marketplace.

\"Everyone is trying to get out of the economic doldrums by exporting,\" said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank. \"And everyone is trying to do it at one time.\"

There are worries that some countries, like China, are holding their currencies at artificially low levels. That gives them an advantage in exporting goods as the global economy slowly recovers from a deep recession.

The dollar fell slightly against other major currencies, but still remains near a 15-year low against Japan\'s yen. It\'s also near its lowest level of the year against the euro.

Since the end of August, the ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against six other currencies, has dropped nearly 7 percent.

Verizon shares fell 43 cents to $32.09, while American Express dropped 74 cents to $39.53. Honeywell fell 4 cents to $46.63. Amazon rose $2.86 to $167.83.

Schlumberger jumped $2.91, or 4.5 percent, to $67.21. KeyCorp rose 2 cents to $8.36.

December 6, 2010--The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a unanimous affirmative determination in its preliminary investigation into allegations of dumping of engineered flooring by Chinese manufacturers. The commission, an independent federal agency, determined that there is “a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of multilayered wood flooring from China that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.”

As a result of the vote, the U.S. Department of Commerce will conduct a detailed investigation into the pricing practices of Chinese engineered wood flooring manufacturers and exporters, as well as subsidies provided to those companies. Its preliminary countervailing duty determination is due on or about Jan. 14, 2011, and its preliminary antidumping duty determination is due on or about March 30, 2011.

“The fact that today’s vote was unanimous, we believe, is a reflection of the weight of the extensive evidence reviewed by the commission, and the seriousness with which the agency viewed the concerns detailed by the domestic industry,” said Jeff Levin, counsel for the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity, which filed a petition for the investigation in late October. The coalition consists of Anderson Hardwood Floors LLC, Award Hardwood Floors, Baker\'s Creek Wood Floors Inc., From the Forest, Howell Hardwood Flooring, Mannington Mills Inc., Nydree Flooring, Forest, and Shaw Industries Group Inc.

The National Federation of Independent Business‘ index of small business optimism increased in November to its highest level since December 2007, but still remains at a historically weak level.

The NFIB’s index rose 1.5 points to 93.2 in November. It was the fourth consecutive monthly gain in the index.

Despite the improvement, the NFIB is still at a “recessionish reading.” Seven of the 10 components posted increases.

Owners expect an improvement in demand, with the expected sales index up 5 percentage points to 6%. The subindex of expected business conditions in six months jumped 8 points to 16%. But the subindex on earnings trends fell 4 points to -30%.

Hiring made gains. The November employment subindex increased 3 points to 4%. For those firms that are hiring, the subindex covering job openings that are hard to fill fell 1 point to 9%.

As has been the case for a while, inflationary pressures remain muted among small-business owners. Seasonally adjusted, the net percentage of owners raising prices stood at -4% in November, a 1-point increase from October. Last month was the 24th consecutive month in which more owners reported cutting average selling prices than raising them.

Get ready for pain at the pump, and a possible economic curve ball.

Experts are predicting gas prices will go as high as $3.75 per gallon this spring, USA Today reported Monday. Gas prices were at $3.06 at the end of 2010, according to USA Today.

Another jump in gas prices could crimp consumer budgets and potentially slow the nation’s already languid economic recovery.

In 2008, Americans responded to rising gas prices by cutting back on everything from the cable bill to restaurant visits, and some even traded in the family SUV.

Average gas prices hit a high of more than $4 a gallon in the summer of 2008 before falling sharply amid the nation’s deep financial crisis that fall.

This round of pain may also only be temporary. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, told USA Today he expects gas prices to fall again, just as they did back in 2008.

\"We learned in 2008 that when things become a little untethered, what comes up often comes down,\" Kloza told USA Today.

Buyers are returning to the housing market after a government tax credit expired in the middle of 2010, indicating the drop in prices and cheap lending rates are making homes more affordable. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle/Bloomberg

Sales of U.S. previously owned homes jumped more than forecast in December as buyers tried to lock in low mortgage rates before the economic recovery pushed borrowing up further.

Purchases of existing houses, which are tabulated when a contract closes, increased 12 % to a 5.28 million annual rate, the most since May and exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median price dropped 1 percent from a year earlier, and the share of sales represented by foreclosures climbed.

Buyers are returning to the housing market after a government tax credit expired in the middle of 2010, indicating the drop in prices and cheap lending rates are making homes more affordable. At the same time, unemployment in excess of 9 % and record foreclosures are among concerns that have prompted Federal Reserve policy makers to follow through with a second round of quantitative easing.

“Home sales are improving slowly, but surely,” said Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “We really need to see job creation pick up to ensure housing continues to recover. Housing clearly is still a weak spot in the economy.”

For all of last year, purchases decreased to 4.91 million, the fewest since 1997.

Other reports showed a drop in the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits, a bigger-than-projected increase in the index of leading indicators and continued factory expansion in the area covered by the Fed Bank of Philadelphia.

Applications for jobless benefits decreased 37,000 in the week ended Jan. 15, the biggest decline since February 2010, to 404,000, Labor Department figures showed.

The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months rose 1.0 percent after a 1.1 percent gain in November, the New York-based group said. The December reading, the sixth consecutive monthly increase, exceeded the 0.6 % gain in the median forecast of economists surveyed.

The Fed Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index fell to 19.3 from 20.8 last month. Readings greater than zero signal expansion in the area covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.

Stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropping a second day, as concern China will raise interest rates weighed on commodity producers, overshadowing better-than-estimated jobless-claims and home-sale reports. The 500 Index fell 0.5 % to 1,275.8 at 10:30 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities fell, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note up to 3.40 % from 3.34 percent late yesterday.

Existing home sales were forecast to rise to a 4.87 million rate in December, according to the median of 73 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Economists’ estimates ranged from 4.5 million to 5.07 million after November’s 4.68 million pace.

The median price decreased to $168,800 from $170,500 in December 2009.

The number of previously owned homes on the market dropped 4.2 % to 3.56 million. At the current sales pace, it would take 8.1 months to sell those houses compared with 9.5 months at the end of the prior month.

Month’s supply in the eight months to nine months range is consistent with stable home prices, the group has said.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.74 % this week, according to figures from Freddie Mac. The rate reached 4.17 % in early November, the lowest since records began in 1972.

The jump in rates “provided some urgency” to buyers, Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ group’s chief economist said in a press conference. The initial increase in borrowing costs “generally induces people to make the decision earlier,” said Yun, although a sustained increase may eventually hurt demand.

The share of sales that reflected distressed properties rose to 36% in December from 33 % in prior months, said Yun. Increasing demand for foreclosed properties accounted for the bulk of the gain, he said, which also included more short sales.

The housing industry is trying to stabilize after demand see-sawed due to a buyer tax incentive of as much as $8,000, which required contracts to be signed by April 30 of 2010 and closed by the end of September. Existing-home sales slumped to a 3.84 million rate in July 2010, the weakest in a decade’s worth of record keeping, reflecting the expiration of the credit.

Earlier, purchases had surged to an almost three-year high 6.49 million pace in November 2009, the month the tax credit was originally due to end. It was subsequently extended.

A lack of sales and an overhang of unsold houses are discouraging builders from taking on projects. Housing starts fell in December to a 529,000 annual rate, the lowest level since October 2009, Commerce Department figures showed yesterday.

Lennar Corp., the third-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, is among companies bracing for a slow rebound. The Miami-based builder on Jan. 11 reported fourth-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates on cost cuts and earnings from its distressed-investing unit.

“The housing recovery will traverse a long and bumpy road,” Stuart Miller, chief executive officer, said in a conference call that day. Still, “we’ve seen some early signs of gradual stabilization in the market.”

An unemployment rate of at least 9.4 percent since May 2009 is fueling a supply of distressed properties. The number of homes receiving a foreclosure filing will climb about 20 percent in 2011, reaching a peak for the housing crisis, according to RealtyTrac Inc. an Irvine, California-based data seller.

“Activity in residential real estate and new home construction remained slow across all Districts,” the Fed said Jan. 12 in its Beige Book report, based on anecdotal information that central bankers will use to determine policy at their meeting next week.

The U.S. economy will produce stronger GDP growth than had been expected in 2011 as it bounces back from the Great Recession, analysts from Deutsche Bank (DB) said Tuesday. According to DB Managing Director and Chief Economist Peter Hooper, positive trends developing in consumer spending, employment and the stock market will likely offset negative pressures from the foreclosure crisis, declining home values, the sovereign debt crisis and the effects of escalating oil and commodity prices on consumers. The resulting will be growth higher than the 3% most analysts had previously predicted.

During a press briefing in New York on Tuesday, Hooper said the bank is predicting moderate GDP growth in the 3.5% range for 2011, but he also said growth could rise closer to 6% under the right circumstances. The change from a low-growth to a more moderate-growth recovery is likelier now that consumers have slashed personal debt and adjusted their household spending, which is expected to have a positive affect on corporate balance sheets and the economy overall.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for U.S.-made durable goods sank in December, falling 2.5% on weaker demand for airplanes, vehicles, and computers, machinery, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.5%. The decrease was unexpected. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a 1.0% rise in durables. This is the fourth drop in durables in the last five months. Transportation orders had the largest decline, falling 12.8%. Shipments rose 1.4% in December. Orders for core capital goods rose 1.4% in the month.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) --- Consumer spending increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in December, above expectation and a sign the economy entered the first quarter with momentum, the Commerce Department estimated Monday. Income rose 0.4% in December for the second straight month. Consumer spending has risen in six straight months. Wall Street economists had expected a 0.4% increase in income and a 0.6% gain in spending. With spending outpacing income, the savings rate fell to 5.3% in December from 5.5% in November. This is the lowest level since last March.

HICKSVILLE, N.Y.—Cheap knockoffs are a problem that affects numerous companies, from household names like Nike and Louis Vitton to flooring companies like Pregis. No matter the size, these companies spend considerable time and money to protect their intellectual property against counterfeiters because trademarks and patents are often their lifeblood.

In the case of Pregis, its patented Absolute E-Z seam brand is gaining momentum in the flooring market as an underlayment option and, and as the product grows in importance for distributors, retailers and installers, the company wants to protect it against those who want to fool the market with imitations.

Last year Pregis began to print its tape release liner so customers can recognize the “Absolute” branding on the product as a way of educating everyone they have the real thing. “It also helps us quickly identify the knock-off products in the market,” said Tom Wetsch, vice president of global product marketing. “We have been running campaigns to educate the market as much as we can in an attempt to stop the infringers. In general, if the patents were not of substance we would not be pursuing the infringers, which is why we invest in protecting the novel ideas in the first place.”

Much of the infringing product is coming from Asia. According to Pregis, it starts out typically top loaded in a container of laminate flooring, essentially riding for free. “The laminate material is shipped as the primary item of purchase in the container but due to the weight of the laminate floor load in the container there is typically dead space above it to fill,” Wetsch said.

“Typically, this space is filled with the lightweight underlayment foam materials using substandard materials that are direct copies of what we produce. Most of this direction and orders are placed by the U.S. retail distributors that either do not have knowledge of the patents, or they do and feel they can ethically ignore them. This tends to build to where they are bringing in containers of just underlayment. We feel most of the larger retailers are aware of this because we have made an effort to educate them personally.”

Wetsch said many of the smaller retailers and distributors are either ignoring the patents or feel they are small enough that Pregis will not pursue them. “Our biggest challenge are these distributors and retailers that support this approach, and what they essentially are doing is driving up product costs for everyone. We end up investing time and money to pursue them, which essentially ends up in the product cost.”

The Absolute E-Z seam brand continues to flourish for many reasons. Installers like the process, which speeds installations by reducing the customer’s labor cost. Alternative options require using tape and other methods to affix it to the floor. “We continue to build retail presence and pursue brand building along with ways to educate the end buyer around the performance attributes of the product,” Wetsch said. “We also are looking for ways to promote and educate retailers around the product and how to sell it at the retail level.”

Some new innovations Pregis is working on but not yet public are solutions such as how it packages the product, including roll lengths, dispenser convenience, the configuration of the material in the package and ways to drive down product costs. “We’re also pursuing improved barrier performance materials to comply with some of the standards in the industry,” Wetsch said.

As much education and awareness that Pregis is trying to convey to distributors and retailers about its patented E-Z product, it cannot rid the entire industry from unethical practices. While it will be aggressive in enforcing its intellectual property, the company is asking customers to notify it about the issue so Pregis can deal with it directly. “[Our customers] can also put pressure on infringers to stop. You have to make a conscious decision to not support and/or buy a knock-off,” Wetsch said. “I am sure all of them would go to the same extent to protect their own brands. I also believe they would be extremely frustrated if a product did not meet their expectations only to find it was a substandard knock-off.\"

Fears that winter weather would result in disappointing retail sales were overblown, as several retailers not only reported better-than-expected monthly sales reports, they also raised fourth-quarter earnings estimates.

On average, the retail sector reported same-store sales growth of 4.2 %, according to Thomson Reuters. That far outpaced the average estimate of 2.7 %, the group said.

Among the notable surprises were Limited, Zumiez [ZUMZ  24.74    1.10  (+4.65% ], Wet Seal [WTSLA  3.61    0.16  (+4.64%)  ] and Gap [GAP  Unavailable ], which all reported sales at stores open at least 12 months were higher than analysts\' estimates. Some of these companies also raised their forecasts for the latest fiscal quarter.

Limited [LTD  30.87    1.74  (+5.97%)  ], the parent of Victoria\'s Secret and Bath & Body Works, reported January sales surged 24 %, adding to its recent streak of strong results. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expected same-store sales to rise 6.7 %.

Warehouse clubstore Costco Wholesale [COST  73.05    2.20  (+3.11%)  ]also outpaced analysts\' estimates, saying same-store sales rose 9 %, ahead of the 6.1 % average analyst estimate.

Stock are enjoying their biggest rally in nearly three weeks today, thanks to Ferderal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke;s promise in a Wyoming speech to do whatever it takes to support the econonmic recovery.

The Fed, he pledged, is prepared to keep credit flowing into the economy, even with \"unconventional measures\" if necessary. While dropping interest rares isn\'t an option-now, the Fed can buy more Treasury securities, thus adding cash to the economy.

It can be clearer on how long it will keep rates low. The fed now uses the phrase \"for an extended period\". There\'s a big debate within the Fed on whether the continued use of the phrase might inflame inflationary pressures.

The Fed could also reduce the interest it pays on reserves that banks deposit at the 12 Federal Reserve banks.

These concepts have been bandied about for weeks. So Bernake didin\'t say much that was new. But just saying it made investors happier than they\'ve been all week.

Plus,the government said econonmic growth and a report showing the economic slowdown may not be as bad as thought.

The rally is a big relief to  many investors dismayed by the market\'s declines this month. But the relief may be short-lived because next week offers the potential for more bad economic news on the economy,especially the Sept. 3 jobs report.

The gains are the best for the indexes since Aug.2, when the Dow jumped 208 points, but the rally won\'t be enough to save the week from being  a loser. The Dow is looking at a 0.7% loss, with the S & P off 0.8% and the Nasdaq down 1.3%.

In a fragile economy,every country wants to expand its exports,and low currency values can help make products cheaper to international buyers. Could countries\' efforts to stay competitive be sparking a currency war?

Some signs of conflict have already popped up. For example, the U.S. is pusing China to allow the yuan to rise, with Congress scheduled to consider a measure that could lead to retaliation this week. Earlier this month, the Japanese government sold yen to lower that currency\'s value, drawing some international criticism.

Brazil, which has intervened heavilly throughout September to stem the growing value of its currency, warned on Sept. 20 that it\'s considering even stronger action. And Mexico also has been buying foreign currency as its peso has appreciated, although it cited a desire to boost its reverves--not depreciate its currency--as its motivation.

With many currencies heading downward, the price of gold hit a record of more than $1,300 an ounce Friday, a sign that investors are seeking safe haven.

\" We\'re in an export economy, therefore, the incentive is to have the lowest currency possible to boost your exports,\" says Brian Kelly, president of Darien, Conn-based investment adviser Kanundrum Capital. \" So when times are tough like you\'re seeing in Japan, their incentive is to devalue their currency. THe problem is not everyone can do it all at once.\"

Much of the latest maneuvering has involved Japan and China, which is Tokyo\'s largest trade partner. Because China\'s currency is closely linked to the dollar, when the dollar goes down against the yen, so does the Chinese yuan. China bought Japanese bonds, which helped force up the yen, Kelly says. Now that the Japanese have sold yen to buy dollars, the Chinese are selling dollars and diversifiying into other currencies, he says.

But all that doesn\'t necessarily amount to the opending salvos of a full-blown war, says Mark Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers, Harriman in New York. \"Economic warfare may be a little strong, but economics and politics are at an intersection here more than at any other time,\" he says. While a number of countries are competing in the currency  markets in their national interests, \" I don\'t think there is a beggar-thy-neighbor policy for exports,\" he adds.

After all, the Japanese are trying to stem the rise of the yen, not cause it to fall, says Chandler, who notes that the currency has climbed 25% aganist the dollar in the last two years. Chandler cites market rumors that Malaysia and Thailand, also big exporters, are intervening in the currency markets to slow the upward drift in their currencies. The Malaysian ringgit is the fastest growing Asian currency this year, up 10.66%, while the Thai baht has risen 8.73%.

One of the main causes of the rise of Asian currencies is that investors have been fleeing the U.S. stock market and heading for emerging markets like Taiwan, South Korea and India.

President Obama last week urged China to do more to allow the yuan to rise. The Chinese currency is up only2.06% since Beijing pledged in June to allow it to float slowlu upward U.S. economists believe the yuan is undervalued by about 40%.

The U.S. is \"disappointed that there had not been  much movement\" since China\'s promise, says Jeff Bader, Obama\'s Asia adviser. \" This had consequences for the global economy and for the U.S. economy, and we look to see more rapid and a significant revaluation in the months to come.\"

On Sept.24, the House Ways and Means Committer approved a bill that would allow China\'s currency advantage to be used in calculating a so-called\"countervailing\" duty on Chinese imports. The bill goes to the full Senate floor on Sept. 29.

The impact of currency value on trade flows is also hotly debated. As Chandler points out, the Chinese allowed their currency to appreciate  25% against the dollar between 2005 and 2008, and still their trade surplus was even bigger at the end than at the beginning. The cheap labor, more than the price of currency kept Chinese exports attractive.

Says Chandler. \" Boosting exports and having a weaker currency are not the same thing.\" Daily Finance

Richmond, VA. -Ferderal environmental and agriculture officals on Thursday announced $150 million in funding to help farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed do their part to restore the estuary.

The money would be used to assit cattlemen and growers use cover crops to reduce nutrient runoff,wetlands protection, fencing to keep livestock from fouling streams that flow into the bay and technical assistance.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said a clean bay and a healthy farm economy can coexist.

\"Our goal is both to improve water quality in the bay but also to ensure that our farmers stay viable and continue to be able to farm their land in the bay as well,\" Robert Bonnie of the USDA said during a teleconference to announce $491million in fiscal 2011 restoration funding.

Chuck Fox,the EPA\'s senior bay adviser, said the agency is working closely with the USDA to balance clean water goals with the concerns of farmers.

\"There are very cost-effective practices that can be implemented that can have very significant improvements in water quality,\"he said.

Led by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, the state\'s largest farm lobby, the state\'s $70 billion farm and forestry industry has been especially critical of plans by the EPA tp direct the six-state effort to restore the bay.

A group of farmers delivered 18,000 letters opposed to the cleanup plan to Washington last week. They are lobbying for passage of an alternative approach, sponsored by Reps. Tim Holden, D-Pa., and Bob Goodlatter, R-Va.

In May President Barack Obama directed the EPA to lead efforts to restore the environmentally hobbled bay, which has been fouled by runoff from farm fields, urban sprawl and inadequate water treatment plants.

Pollution and subsequent habitat loss have created oxygen-depleted\"dead zones\" in the vast estuary,taking its toll on oysters and crab populations and stressing other marine life and grasses. Harvest limits have helped restore the bay\'s blue crab population over the past two years. Associated Press.

The Treasury Department announced a $1.5 billion lending package to boost small businesses at the state level.

The money will be available to states that can demonstrate that they will generate $10 in new private lending for every dollar of federal funds they receive, Reuters said. This could create a package worth a total of $15 billion.

California will receive $168.62 million, with Florida receiving $97.66 million. New York and Ohio will each get slightly more than $55 million.

The states can use the funds to provide collateral support for small businesses or guarantee small business loans. Daily Finance

W. Conshohocken, Pa. - Non destructive moisture meters are now widely used in determining moisture levels in concrete, gypsum and other types of floor slabs. A new ASTM International standard qualifies the type of meter suitable for this purpose and provides guidelines for how, where and when such moisture meters are used and what limitations exist.

The new standard, ASTM F2659, Guide for Preliminary Evaluation of Comparative Moisture Condition of Concrete and Other Floor Slabs and Screeds Using a Non- Destructive Electronic Moisture Meter, was developed by Subcommitte F06.40 on Practices, part of ASTM International Committee F06 on Resilient Floor Coverings.

\"ASTM F2659 is very useful as a fast and easy preliminary standard because the user can take multiple tests, getting instant readings across the slab in a short time,\" says Sean Fallon, an F06.40 member. Fallon notes that the new standard can be used by anyone who needs to be concerned with the moisture condition of a floor slab, including flooring installer, consultants and inspectors, and material manufacturers and suppliers.

The index of U.S. leading indicators rose in September for the third straight month, signaling the recovery will extend into 2011.

The 0.3 percent increase in the New York-based Conference  Board\'s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months matched the median forecast of 57 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report showed the number of claims for jobless benfits fell last week to a level consistent with little improvement in the labor market.

Gains in consumer spending, business investment and exports may keep the world\'s largest economy afloat even as housing remains depressed. At the same time, growth will probably not be strong enough to reduce unemployment, underscoring why some Federal Reserve policy makers have said additional stimulus may be needed.

\"We\'re clearly on an expansion path,\" Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. \"But we\'re still short of a normal recovery. The economy is not growing fast enough to put all those millions of unemployed people back to work.\"

Manufacturing in the Philadelphia Fed region expanded this month for the first time since July as factory payrolls grew, a report from the branch of the central bank also showed today. The general economic index rose to1 from minus 0.7in September. Figures greater than zero signal growth.

Claims for unemployment insurance benefits declined by 23,000 to 452,000 in the week ended Oct. 15, Labor Department figures showed today. The prior week\'s figures were revised up by 13,000, to the highest level since late August.

The pace of firing has been little changed since the start of the year, indicating unemployment will be slow to recede. A Fed report yesterday showed the economy is growing at a \"modest pace\" with compaines still hesitant to hire, a reason central bankers may ease monetary policy.

Stocks held earlier gains after the reports. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to 1,183.6 at 10:04 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities fell, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note up to 2.51 percent from 2.48 percent late yesterday.

Estimates for the leading index in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of 01. percent to 0.6 percent. The Conference Board revised the gain in August down to 0.1 percent from its 0.3 percent previous estimate.

 Five of the 10 indicators in the leading index contributed to the increase, led by the interest-rate spread between the overnight federal funds rate and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

Equity gains also propelled the gauge and continue to signal sustained growth. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 index has climbed 3.2 percent in the first 20 days of this month on growing speculation the Fed will pump more cash into the economy to spur the recovery, a tactic known as quantitive easing.

\"There would appear--all else being equal -- to be a case for further action,\" Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in an Oct. 15 speech. The recovery is  likely to be \"fairly modest in the  near term,\" and \"the preconditions for a pickup in growth next year remain in place,\" he said.

Three of the index components retreated, led by a measure of supplier deliveries that signaled orders cooled.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer expectations which fell to 60.9, the lowest since March 2009, subtracted 0.06 points from the gauge. Building permits dropped in September to the lowest level in more than a year.

The Conference Board\'s index of coincident indicators, a gauge of current economic activity, was unchanged in September for a second month. The gauge tracks payrolls, incomes,sales and production--the measures used by the National Bureau of Economic Research to determine the beginning and end of U.S. recessions.

The gauge of lagging indicators increased 0.4 percent last month. The index measures business lending,lenght of unemployment, service prices and ratios of labor costs, inventories and consumer credit.

Seven ot the 10 indicators that make up the leading indes are known aheas of time:stock prices, jobless claims, building permits, consumer expectations, the yield curve, factory hours and supplier delivery times.

The Conference Board estimates new orders for consumer goods, booking for captial goods and the money supply adjusted for inflation.

CSX Corp., the second -largest publicly traded U.S. railroad, last week said third-quarter profit increased 43 percent, topping analysts\' estimates, as rising automotive shipments boosted rail volumes.

Except for housing, \"we\'re seeing things continue their gradual recovery,\" Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward said in a interview on Oct. 13.

The economy isn\'t creating enough jobs to cut umemployment, which is hovering near 10 percent.

President Barack Obama and the Democrates are confronted with voter anger over the state of the economy less than two weeks before the congressional election. An Oct. 7-10 Bloomber National Poll shows almost two-thirds of voters believe the country is on teh wrong track and unemployment is the top concern for about half the electorate. Bloomberb.

NEW YORK—U.S. stocks climbed on a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. retail sales in November and U.S. business sales for October that outpaced gains in inventories.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points, or 0.6%, to 11494. Its top performers were broad, as Cisco Systems climbed 1.2%, Boeing added 1.1% and Travelers advanced 1.1%.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 2636, and the Standard & Poor\'s 500 index added 0.4% to 1245.

Health-care stocks led the S&P as questions continued to arise over the constitutionality of the federal health-care overhaul. Within a fortnight of each other, two federal judges in Virginia, relying on identical precedents and hearing carbon-copy arguments, issued diametrically opposed decisions on the matter. In both lawsuits, the plaintiffs contend the mandate exceeds Congress\'s constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce.

Consumer stocks were also strong, with Hasbro rising 2.1%, Abercrombie & Fitch advancing 1% and TJX Cos. up 0.9%. The Commerce Department reported a 0.8% increase in retail sales for November, topping economists\' expectations for a 0.5% rise. Excluding autos, retail sales in November rose 1.2%, topping expectations for a gain of 0.7%.

But Best Buy tumbled 15% after the company issued a dour report for the quarter ended Nov. 27, which included Black Friday. Best Buy\'s same-store sales fell 3.3% in the quarter, including a 5% drop in the U.S. Its earnings came in well below analysts\' estimates as revenue unexpectedly fell. The consumer electronics retailer also cut its earnings view for the year.

In another bit of encouragement to the broader market, inventories at U.S. businesses rose less than expected in October as auto dealers and other retailers sold goods faster than they replenished stockrooms. Inventories increased 0.7% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $1.418 trillion, the highest level since February 2009, while U.S. business sales rose 1.4% to $1.119 trillion. October\'s sales figure was the highest since September 2008.

The data reflect \"a continuation of a positive trend,\" said Adrian Cronje, partner and chief investment officer at Balentine. \"Generally speaking, over the last couple of months the economic data here in the United States has surprised to the upside.\"

Separate data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected last month, pushed higher by rising energy and food costs, while underlying wholesale inflation remained tame.

Tuesday\'s activity comes as investors await the Federal Open Market Committee\'s latest policy statement, due at 2:15 p.m. EST. The market isn\'t expecting any changes in the FOMC\'s policy direction, but will keep a close eye on the language it uses to assess the economy and how its $600 billion stimulus package is faring so far.

In the euro zone, data showed German economic expectations improved for the second consecutive month in December, allaying immediate concerns about a deepening debt crisis in the euro zone\'s periphery.

But the biggest concern for investors is \"what\'s happening with regard to a systematic approach to the debt crisis in Europe,\" Mr. Cronje said, noting investors want to see something more unified and less piecemeal than they\'ve seen so far. \"There\'s been no specific news flow today to move that debate in one way or another,\" he added.

The recession has made 55+ buyers more practical when selecting a new home, according to a recent joint study by the 50+ Housing Council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the MetLife Mature Market Institute.

According to the report, \"Housing Trends Update for the 55+ Market,\" this population segment is less concerned with design considerations as financial concerns have become more prominent.

\"By the year 2020, as baby boomers move into this age bracket, almost 45 percent of all U.S. households will include someone at least 55 years old,\" said David Crowe, NAHB\'s chief economist in a release. \"The number of those households seeking housing better suited to their changing needs will therefore rise dramatically.\"

According to Crowe, about 54,000 housing starts are projected in 55+ communities this year, a 30 percent rise from estimated 2010 levels, but still relatively modest production. Starts in 55+ communities are projected to increase another 46 percent to roughly 79,000 housing units in 2012.

\"Housing Trends Update for the 55+ Market\" can be downloaded from online. It can also be ordered through \"Contact Us\" on the MetLife Mature Market Institute Web site, or by writing to MetLife Mature Market Institute.

Even your enemies on Facebook might prove to be your friends. Fr. Pete Montallana, a forest watchdog and frequent critic of Philippines\' Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), posted photos of an illegal logging operation on Facebook recently and informed a DENR regional director. The photos showed logs floating on a river that is often used to transport illegally cut logs; he also said the logs were headed for a nearby town renowned as a transshipment point of illegal lumber. After receiving the tip, DENR dispatched men to recover the illegal lumber, at least 15,000 board feet, with more still needing to be measured.

It is notable that the DENR received the illegal logging tip via Fr. Montallana, who is chairman of a church-based forest watchdog organization, because he believes the DENR is not doing a good job of protecting forests in Philippines, and that the group is corrupt. \"We thanked Fr. Pete Montallana for the information. He was instrumental in the bust,\" a DENR member told The Inquirer.

Washington, DC, Nov. 6, 2009--The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved an extension of jobless benefits and a tax credit for home buyers, sending the measure to President Barack Obama for signature.

The bill, approved unanimously by the Senate late Wednesday, extends unemployment benefits for up to 20 weeks.

It also keeps a first-time home buyer tax credit alive until next spring, and expands it to include some people who already own a house.

The bill extends jobless benefits in all states for 14 weeks, and for up to 20 weeks in states where the unemployment rate is above 8.5%.

An $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers now set to expire this month is extended through April 30 under the bill.

The bill also allows people who have lived in a home for at least five years to claim a $6,500 credit if they purchase a new home.

The bill also includes a tax provision allowing small businesses to write off losses they incurred during the recession.

Washington, DC, Nov. 11, 2009--The multifamily sector of the housing market showed signs of improvement in the third quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

NAHB’s Multifamily Market Rental Indices for the third quarter showed increases compared to a year earlier. The index for current starts of low-rent apartments rose from 22.2 to 30.4, while the index for low-rent starts in the next six months rose from 20.3 to 41.3.  The index for current starts of market-rent apartments also rose from 15.7 to 19.4, and from 19.1 to 32.7 for future starts.

The current condo index rose to 24 from 8.1 a year earlier. The future index for condo starts gained more than 20 points to reach 30.4. The index measuring traffic of prospective condo buyers rose to 41.3 from 13.8 a year ago.

Numbers below 50 indicates more multifamily builders reported that market conditions were weaker since the previous quarter. All the multifamily supply indexes have been running below 50 since the third quarter of 2007.
 

New York, NY Dec. 29,2009- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, rose again in December. The index now stands at 52.9, up from 50.6 in November. The Expectations Index increased to 75.6 from 70.3 last month. The Present Situation Index,however declined to 18.8 from 21.2 in November. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said, \"Consumer Confidence posted yet another moderate gain in December as expectations for the short-term future increased to the highest level in two years.

Washington, DC, March 18-2010- Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency called on French shipping company Delmas to cancel a shipment of hundreds of tons of rosewood from a port of Vohemer, in northeastern Madagascar. The Delmas-operated vessal Kiara arrived in Vohemar on March 11 and is currently being loaded with containers filled with rosewood. The groups accuse the company, a division of shipping group CMA-CGM, of facilitating the destruction of Madagascar\'s last remaining forests. Since June of 2009, Global Witness,EIA, and other organizations have repeatedly advised Delmas of the situation and urged the company not to ship illegal wood from Madagascar. Political turmoil in early 2009 trigged an invasion of Madagascar\'s national parks by thousands of illegal loggers. A report by Global Witness and EIA in November 2009 estimated that the trade in illegal rosewood and ebony was worth up to $460,000 per day. Most of the wood that is exported comes from Masoala National Park, a World Heritage Site, and other protected areas in the northeast. Although almost all harvest and export of precious woods has been bannded in Madagascar since 2006, local and national officials have been known to issue illegitimate export permits. Madagascar\'s cash-strapperd transitional government lacks both the political will and the resources to effectively control the trade in illegal wood. Timber shipped by Delmas usually ends up in China, the largest market for the illegal Malagasy wood, but U.S. and European consumers have also been known to purchase it. 

July 13 - Bloomberg U.S. and European stocks climbed for a 6th day, commodities rallied and Treasuries declined as Alcoa Inc.\'s  ( the largest U.S. aluminum producer ) forecast of growing global demand and Greece\'s sale of debt bolstered optimism in the economic outlook.

All 10 industries in the S & P 500 advanced as Alcoa\'s earnings topped estimates and the company forecast global aluminum consumption will grow 12 percent this year, higher than a previous estimate of 10 precent. Equities also rallied as Greece sold 26 - week Treasury bills at an interest rate below the 5 precent charged in the European Union\'s rescue, signaling growing confidence.

\" We\'re kicking off earnings season with Alcoa out with numbers that beat--there were a lot of folks who felt Alcoa was going to lose money.,\" said Hayes Miller, the Boston based head of asset allocation in North America at Baring Asset Management, which manages $43.8 billion. \" Greece being able to sell Treasury billls below the ECB rate suggets a bit of relief about what\'s going in sovereign debt markets.\"

After a year of modest stabilization, the housing market is looking shaky again. For  homebuyers and investors alike, there\'s concern about a double dip. That\'s bad for the real estate sector and the economy as a whole. Nevertheless, in some markets around America, prices have been stable over the past year.

Real estate website Zillow.com sorted through the data to see which markets have been the most stable over the past 12 months. Comparing the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI)-a median value for homes currently on the market-month -by - month reveals which real estate markets have experienced the least price volatility.

The data covers the July 2009- June 2010 period - the most recent data available- with metropolitan areas ranked by absoulte change in home values from one month to the next. Absolute values are used to show the cities that experience the lowest average price swings in either direction.

Here are the most stable real estate markets in America right now.  Denver, Colorado - York,Pennsylvania - Yakima, Washington - Washington D.C. - Pueblo, Colorado - Canton, Ohio - Columbia, South Carolina - Lincoln, Nebraska - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Grand Rapids, Michigan.  by Paul Toscano

Toy\'s \'R\' Us Inc., the world\'s biggest toy retailer, plans to hire about 45,000 employees to cope with demand during the holiday season.

The move is \" essentially doubling \" the domestic workforce, Wayne New Jersey based Toys\"r\" Us said today in a statement. About 10,000 of the positions will be available at the company\'s 600 or so Toys \'R\'Us Express temporary stores.

Chief Excecutive Officer Gerald Storch said this month that he\'s building more inventories than last year for the holidays, typically the biggest shopping season for retailers. Consumers have reduced spending as the U.S. economic recovery slows, increasing competition among retailers.

Parents probably will seek lower -priced electronic toys for the holidays as they strive to save money, according to Toy Insider, the consumer-shopping guide released yesterday. Toymakers are putting out fewer $200 to $300 toys, with most costing one-fouth of that or less, according to Jonathan Samet, the Toy Insider\'s publisher.

U.S. toy sales amounted to $7.8 billion in the first half, little changed from a year earlier, according to Port Washington, New York-based researcher NPD Group Inc. 2009, toy sales fell by less than 1 percent to $21.5 billion, NPD said. Bloomberg

Recently, several  banks have confessed that they submitted thousands of falsely sworn documents to courts as part of their efforts to foreclose on people\'s homes. Bank employees, nicknamed \"robo-signers,\" signed documents after documents,swearing that they checked their contents and that the documents were ture. Sadly, many of the employees did not check much of anything, and the documents frequently contain substaintial errors.

Some homeowners is danger of losing their houses are hoping that the exposure to the deeply flawed foreclosure process could help them keep their homes. But even though these documents amount to committing fraud upon the court, and even though some banks have suspended foreclosures in the 23 states where judges have to sign off on foreclosures, homeowners should know that the fraudulent docouments won\'t likely save them.

NO one\'s going to get a free house just because the bank\'s papers are bad. The homeowner still owes someone a lot of money, and eventually the paperwork will get sorted out. But that doesn\'t mean that scam artists won\'t try to take advantage of the situstion. It\'s only a matter of time before someone starts telling delinquent borrowers: \"Hey, I can check your papers for you and if I can find a bogus bank doc, I can get the judge to invalidate your mortage and get you your house free-- all you have to do is pay my fee right now so I can get started.\"

There\'s already a scam that comes close, called the \"forensic mortage loan audit scam,\" which the Federal Trade Commission warned about back in March. In that scam, auditors and the attorneys who back them up demand at least several hundred dollars up front, and then comb throught the mortage documents looking for any violations of state or federal fair lending law. If any are found, these professionals say, the homeowner can sue and -- here\'s where the fraud kicks in-- through the suite, cancel the foreclosue, speed load modification, reduce the loan principal or even cancel the loan.

However, unless the loan is very new, many of the lending law claims will be blocked by the statute of limitations. They remedy with the longest timeframe to sue is \" recission\", which would allow the homeowner can cancel the loan. But canceling the load only helps if the homeowner can repay the money; he doesn\'t get to cancel and keep the cash. And if he could repay the money, he wouldn\'t be foreclosure. In most instances, these lending claims are only good against the original lender, and in the post -bubble real estate era, many of those lenders have gone out of business.

While some types of legitimate fraud claims may exist and may provide help if used, these audit firms aren\'t looking for them, says Florida consumer attorney Robet W. Murphy. Indeed, Washington consumer attorney Melissa Huelsman argues that audits, even if they did indentify a valid claim, are unnecessary, because any good attorney can do the analysis quickly withour charging an added fee. So how do you find a good attorney? Huelsman suggests looking for a consumer attorney with a lot of experience; Murphy notes that the National Association of Consumer Advocates has a good referral service.

If you\'re a homeowner in trouble--particulary if you live in one of the high foreclosure fraud states like Florida, New York, Californiam, Michigan, Arizona, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, Illinois and Virginia -- you will be approached by fraudsters. In the south Florida context, Murphy warned, within a few short days of the foreclosure\'s filing, before the homeowner is even served notice of it, the typcial homeowner will get 20 to 40 letter solicitations--of which 10-15 will be from scammers, and the rest from attorneys, including bankruptcy attorneys, seeking clients. Additionally, the homeowner will receive a dozen or more phone calls from persons offering \"services.\" All. or almost all, of the calls will be from scammers. In certain instances, birddogs-- persons who are paid a fee for \"referral\" -- appear at the home offering the owner these services. Again, most or all of these people represent scammers.

Murphy counsels that as a general matter, if you are being approached by a non-lawyer firm offering to stop your foreclosure, modify your loan, or otherwise save the day and asks for up to $8000 up front, watch out.

American Airlines is recalling about 800 furloughed employees, about 1 percent of its work force, as it adds flights on  international routes.

CEO Gerard Arpey announced the jobs as American launched a new trans-Atlantic business with British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia. American is working on a similar alliance with Japan Airlines across the Pacific.

\"This is exactly the kind of growth we\'re looking for, and my hope is that trends like this will continue,\" Arpey said at a news conference in London.

Arpey said that a recent rebound in business traffic and growing signs that the United States would avoid a double-dip recession were encouraging to the airline industry,\"but I would have to describe the recovery as fragile.\"

American will recall 250 pilots starting in November and 545 flight attendants starting this month. The airline last recalled pilots in 2009 and flight attendants in 2008.

American Airlines President Thomas Horton said the recalls were partly the result of increased international flying, especially out of New York\'s Kennedy Airport.

Traffic on American Airlines rose 5.6 percemt last month compared with September 2009. The biggest increase were on international routes.

The news on jobs came as American, BA and Iberia announced four new routes as part of their joint business venture. They said trans-Atlantic flying would bring in $7 billion to $8 billion in annual revenue between the three.

American, BA and Iberia have placed code-shares on more than 2,600 additional flights, meaning travelers will be able to buy tickets for all three airlines on any of the carrier\'s websites. The airlines say this will give passengers the ability to shop for cheaper fares and more flights.

Shares of American parent AMR Corp. rose 8 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $6.19 in late morning. AP

Bangalore- As many as 40 state attorneys general in the United States are expected to announce an investigation into the mortgage servicing industry on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal said.

The investigation may help pressure financial institutions to rewrite large numbers of troubled loans, according to the report.

It comes amid recent allegations that mortgage servicers submitted fraudulent documents in thousands of foreclosure proceedings nationwide.

Companies are scrambling to defend, and where needed, improve their foreclosure procedures in the face of anger among homeowners and regulators.

The issue came to the forefront last month when GMAC Mortgage revealed that officials had signed thousands of affidavits supporting such proceedings without knowing their contents. MSNBC

Lenders seized more U.S. homes this summer than in any three month stretch since the housing market began to bust in 2006. But many of the foreclosures may be challenged in court later because of allegations that banks evicted people without reading the documents.

A total of 288,345 properties were lost to foreclosure in the July-September quarter, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service. That\'s up from nearly 270,000 in the second quarter, the previous high point in the firm\'s records dating back to 2005.

Banks have seized more than 816,000 homes through the first nine months of the year and had been on pace to seize 1.2  million by the end of 2010. But fewer are expected now that several major lenders have suspended foreclosures and sales of repossessed homes until they can sort out the foreclosure-documents mess.

On Wednesday, officials in 50 states and the District of Columbia launched a joint investigation into the matter.

And on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that government -owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are examining the work of a Florida law firm they recommended to process foreclosures. The Journal said that last Friday Freddie told mortgage servicers to cease forwarding cases to the Law Offices of David J. Stern, of Plantation, Fla. Fannie did the same on Monday.

The Joural said Jeffrey Tew, a lawyer representing the Stern firm, declined to comment about the move by Fannie and Freddie. The Florida attorney general\'s office recently relased a deposition of a former Stern employee who alleged the firm routinely forged notarized documents, the Journal reported. Tew told the Journal that the firm believes the employee\'s allegations \" are incorrect and not true.\"

Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac,noted that legal challenges to foreclosures are likely. But he doubts many will be successful in overturning foreclosures. He said he expects foreclosures to resume and predicts about 1 million homes will be taken back this year.

\"The bottom line is not that those properties won\'t be repossessed,\" Sharga said. \"They simply won\'t be repossessed as quickly. We\'re simply delaying the inevitable.\"

Experts say if lenders resume foreclosures in a coupld of months or so, the delay will amount to a temporary lull followed by a spike in home repossessions early next year.

But if the crisis drags on for months and more lenders stop seizing homes, the foreclosure delays could last well into next year. That could have a servere effect on home sales and prices.

A freeze in foreclosure sales between now an December by a majority of lenders could amount to removing 30 percent of all homes sales for that period, Sharga suggests.

\"You would virtually guarantee that tens of thousands of properties would miss going to market in time for the spring, which is the peak buying season for real estate,\" Sharga said.

Nearly 600,000 bank-owned homes are not yet on the market, according to RealtyTrac.

The states most affected by the foreclosure freeze accounted for 40 percent of all foreclosure activity in the third quarter and 36 percent of homes taken back by lenders, the firm estimates. Sales of homes by lenders made up 18 percent of all U.S. home sales in September, the firm said.

Other experts say delays from the foreclosure documents problem won\'t end up having a huge impact on home sales or housing values.

Foreclosured homes that would have been sold by lenders now will be sold seven or eight months from now, and prices will start going declining about 3 percent to 4 percent nationally, on average, when those sales take place, said Andres Carbacho-Burgos, an economist at Moody\'s Economy.com.

That\'s good news if you\'re a homeowner looking to sell in the near term, because there won\'t be as much competition from deeply discounted foreclosued properties, Carbacho-Burgos said.

\"But if you were looking to sell further down the line, that\'s not so good news,\"he said.

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, continue to be the main catalysts for foreclouses this year.

While bank repossessions rose in the third quarter, new defaults continued to decline.

Some 269,647 properties received default notices,the first step in foreclosure process, down 1 percent from the second quarter and down 21 percent from the same period last year, according to RealtyTrac,which tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions.

In all, 930,437 homeowners received a foreclosure-related warning between July and September, up nearly 4 percent from the second quarter but down 1 percent from the same period last year, RealtyTrac said. The latest tally translates to one in 139 U.S. homes. The AP

Banks will be the limelight this week as several household names report earnings and investors worry a forced halt to foreclosure proceedings could hit the sector and end the recent rally.

Bank shares fell sharply on Friday on very high volume, continuing a slide from the previous day. Although recovering some of their losses, Bank of America shares hit their lowest in more than a year, while the KBW bank index fell 2.4 percent.

Shares of Bank of American, th nations\'s largest mortgage lender,fell 9 percent during the week. More than 595.9 million of its shares traded on Friday, the most since April 2009 and over four times the 50-day moving average.

Investors worry banks did not follow proper due diligence when foreclosing on homes whose owners were not making mortgage payments, which could result in costly litigation,fines and additional mortgage repurchases.

Kevin Caron, market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jeresy, said that situation could also weigh on the housing market if the uncertainty discouraged buyers from entering into contracts on properties under foreclosure.

\"That speculative investor on the margin may choose to not to engage in that activity, which means there\'s the potential that you could have some weakness in demand, particularly in the lower-end speculative range of the housing market,\" he said.

Investors will pepper bank executives with questions when those compaines present earnings reports this week. Banks reporting results include Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup Inc, three of the largest mortgage lenders in teh nation.

David Giroux, who runs T.Rowe Price\'s $9.4 billion Captial Appreciation Fund, said expectations that deflation would weigh on bank earnings in the near term was pressuring the sector. He said banks were now attractively valued and the sector is the fund\'s largest, making up nearly 15 percent of assests.

\" Most of the large banks are asset sensitive, which means that as rates rise, their profits should rise,\"he said. \"So if you\'re a big believer in deflation, which the market has become a big believer in...financials do poorly.\"

Giroux said a second round of stimulus from the Federal Reserve was unnecessary as inflation was already present in the system. Hopes the Fed will pump billions into the economy have helped drive stocks higher recently.

The Fed will release its Beige Book during the week and that will provide another insight into the central bank\'s thinking on the economy. On Friday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted more monetry stimulus was on the way.

A number of other big U.S. compaines from a range of industries will also present their scorecards this week, giving investors more clues about the economy\'s health. They include Apple Inc, Caterpillar Inc and Johnson & Johnson.

Early indications from this earnings season have been mixed. Google Inc blew past analysts\' expectations on Friday, driving its stock up 11.2 percent, while lower-than-expected revenue at General Electric, often seen as a proxy for the economy, pushed its shares down 5.1percent.

Signs in the options market suggest more volatility this week as the recent trend of a continuous slide in the volatility index seems to be coming to an end.

Elsewhere on the economic front, the Philly Fed index is among early indicators of October regional business activity leading up to the national surveys on manufacturing and services from the Institute for Supply Management at the end of the month. Reuters

Washington -Nearly half of U.S. states reported drops in their unemployment rates last  month, the best showing since June. But job creation was weak in most areas of the country.

Unemployment fell in 23 states and Washington, D.C., rose in 11 states and was unchanged in 16 during September, the Labor Department said Friday. The declines were nearly double the number reported by states in the previous month.

Still, little hiring took place last month. A survey of employers found that payrolls decreased in 34 states and increased in only 16 states and Washington, D.C.

The unemployment rate can fall even as job creation is slow if workers stop searching for jobs and drop out of the labor force. If they aren\'t looking for work, they aren\'t counted as unemployed.

Nationwide,the unemployment rate was unchanged last month at 9.6 percent. It\'s declined only slightly in the past year, from 9.8 percent in September 2009.

But some areas have done worse than others in that time. Unemployment in the Mountain West region, an eight -state region that stretches from New Mexico to Montana,has jumped to 9.3 percent from 8.7 percent a year earlier.

That was the largest increase among the nime census regions and only two other regions saw unemployment rise in that time.

Meanwhile, the deep south and Midwest regions saw sharp declines. Unemployment in the four-state East South Central region,which includes Alabama, Kentucky, Mississppi and Tennessee, dropped to 9.5 percent from 10.7 percent in the past year.

A delayed housing bust and decline in manufacturing and tourism have hurt the Mountain states.

Its lagging pace represents a sharp turnaround for a region that was growing at a healthy clip before the recession. Montana, Idaho and Utah boasted some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country before the downturn. The AP

Folks in Transylvania County, N.C., will be celebrating Halloween in style on Saturday with a festival that includes the 28th Annual \"Flight of the Vampire\" 5K Run & Competitive Race Walk. Yes, many participants will be in costume. The celebrations won\'t stop there.

Halloween spending is expected to grow 3.9% in 2010 to $6.2 billion, a rebound from disappointing results in 2009, according to market researchers IBISWorld. Spending on costumes is likely to rise 4.2% to $2.3 billion, while candy outlays should sweeten by 7.4% to $1.9 billion. The market researcher even predicts that sales of fresh pumpkins will jump 13%.

People may be in a more celebratory mood for many reasons. First, the holiday falls on a weekend this year, encouraging more participation. Also, people face plenty of real-life terrors nowadays, so laughing at the ghouls and goblins of Halloween is a good way to blow off steam. \"People want to break out of the monotony of worrying about the recession,\" says Nikoleta Panteva, retail industry analyst at IBISWorld. \"It does show a little more resilience than the general economy.\"

Celebrating Halloween also won\'t break many people\'s budgets. The National Retail Federation estimates that the average person will spend $66 on Halloween this year, little changed from 2008. That\'s not surprising since prices were probably cut on many items to encourage sales. Pets are also a big business. An NRF survey found that 11.5% of respondents planned to dress up their four-legged friends.

\"Very Optimistic\"

Hershey (HSY) recently reported disappointing fiscal third-quarter results but boosted its 2010 outlook. Spokespersons from Hershey could not be reached for comment about projections for Halloween. (Many candy companies associated with the holiday are closely held and don\'t divulge details about their business.) NDP Group figures about 5% of all candy consumption during the year occurs on Halloween and the following week. The National Confectioners Association, the candy industry\'s main lobby group, expects Halloween sales to be up slightly this year.

\"We are coming into the largest confectionery holiday very optimistic,\" says NCA spokesperson Susan Whiteside, adding that sales have continued to rise during the economic slowdown. \"We have not suffered the fates of many other industries.\"

Sales at Rubie\'s Costume, headquartered in Richmond Hill, N.Y., have continued to climb for the past several years and are up this Halloween as well, according to Howard Beige, a company vice president. He added that big sellers this year include Lady Gaga and the cast of Jersey Shore. Demand also remains high for classics such as Darth Vader.

No Witches, Please

Costumes are more accessible to consumers because of the growth of \"pop-up stores\" -- temporary shops set up in otherwise vacant retail locations -- which IBISWorld estimates grew by 15% this year. Costume prices average about $54, about 3.5% higher than last year. About 28% of consumers will likely make their own costumes this year.

As for Transylvania County, Halloween is a touchy subject even though it shares its name with the fictional home of Count Dracula. That\'s because it\'s located in the Bible Belt, where some people think the holiday\'s traditions conflict with their religious values, says Madrid Zimmerman, executive director of the Heart of Brevard, a local nonprofit. Nestled in North Carolina\'s Blue Ridge Mountains, Transylvania has a population of about 30,000.

\"It\'s a rather sensitive issue in this county,\" she says, adding that the festivities are purposely held on Saturdays to avoid conflicts with religious obligations . \"We don\'t emphasize things like witches and black cats.\"

Still, some people are warming up to the promotional possibilities. Count Dracula is paying a visit to the blood bank as part of the county\'s Halloweenfest 2010, a celebration that\'s expected to attract a crowd of between 6,000 and 8,000.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has opened the ballot for its Forest Certification Benchmark, a standard against which all forest certification systems will be evaluated to determine whether they can earn points in the LEED green building certification system. The contentious benchmark has drawn opposition from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and 14 prominent environmental groups.

Currently, only wood products certified by the FSC can garner points in LEED, the most visible green building standard in the world. In a press release, the FSC called the proposed benchmark \"a big step backward.\" Specifically, FSC believes the new standard is not as rigorous as FSC criteria regarding balanced governance, member-elected boards, deforestation, plantations and rare, threatened and endangered species protections. \"Standards set by FSC should represent the floor, not the ceiling,\" said Corey Brinkema, president of the FSC in the U.S.

Environmental groups—including the Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, ForestEthics, Rainforest Action Network, and National Resources Defense Council—also oppose the benchmark. In an open letter, these groups said the benchmark \"represents a significant retreat from the level of performance in the current reference standard, that of the Forest Stewardship Council.\"

SFI, which has lobbied extensively to have its own standard accepted under LEED, also opposes the new standards. In a New York Times blog, Kathy Abusow, president of SFI, said the group was \"far from pleased\" with the new standard and that \"There’s just way too many hoops to jump through for just one credit.\"

NWFA Executive Director/CEO Ed Korczak said, \"NWFA supports the expansion of certified forestry and supports maintaining the high forest recognition standards set by the USGBC.\"

Washington, DC, November 3, 2010--Local and state building code officials last week approved a package of revisions to the commercial section of the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that represent the largest single-step efficiency increase in the history of the national, model energy code. The changes mean that new and renovated buildings constructed in jurisdictions that follow the 2012 IECC will use 30 percent less energy than those built to current standards.

Attendees voted nearly unanimously on a series of proposals to effect the change at the International Code Council’s (ICC) final action hearings held in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 27-31, 2010. The improvements were part of a major comprehensive proposal submitted jointly by New Buildings Institute (NBI), The American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that addresses measures such as cooling, lighting, quality assurance and renewable energy standards. Several other key proposals that contribute to the savings were approved independently.

The comprehensive proposal is largely based on NBI’s Core Performance protocol, a direct approach to achieving energy savings in commercial buildings. Utilities and public benefits administrators in six states and two Canadian provinces have adopted Core Performance as part of their voluntary efficiency program offerings.

“Increasing the efficiency of commercial building energy codes provides the best opportunity to bring about significant savings and helps move us along the path toward low-energy commercial buildings,” said Dave Hewitt, NBI executive director.

“The often contentious process of developing codes was largely avoided in this case because of the extensive outreach and collaboration that was undertaken to gain industry support for the proposals. As a result, we were able to successfully resolve differences prior to the hearings and put forward our best option for consideration,” Hewitt said.

“The overwhelming support we saw during the votes tells us the marketplace is ready for these practical, feasible and affordable improvements,” said Jessyca Henderson, AIA, director of sustainability advocacy at the AIA. “The nation’s code officials are to be commended and congratulated for seizing this historic opportunity to move the country toward more efficient buildings and help us build an economy that is less reliant on fossil fuels—now and into the future,” she said.

Computer modeling of the 2012 IECC shows more than 30 percent better energy efficiency on average than the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 model code, and payback periods on the new code measures are estimated at less than seven years depending on climate and building type. The energy savings in the 2012 IECC meet national calls from Congress, the Secretary of Energy and industry leaders to improve the efficiency of commercial buildings by 30 percent. In addition, the 2012 IECC will serve as the baseline standard for the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) currently under development.

The 2012 IECC contains many important, first-ever technical features including a new section on commissioning, pathways to use daylighting, and options for the use of on-site renewable energy. It will be published in April 2011 for adoption by state and local agencies.

Businesses in the U.S. expanded at a faster pace than forecast in November, signaling the world’s largest economy was speeding up heading into 2011.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its business barometer rose to 62.5 this month, the highest since April, from 60.6 in October. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion. The median forecast of 63 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected the gauge would fall to 59.9.

Manufacturing may keep accelerating as exports grow and companies invest in new equipment, sustaining the recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s. Gains in factory production will probably help offset continued weakness in housing, which is a shrinking part of the world’s largest economy.

“Manufacturers still have orders coming in and they have to be filled,” Thomas Simons, an economist at Jefferies Group Inc. in New York, said before the report. “There is a lot of foreign demand and a lot of business demand.”

Others reports today showed consumer confidence improved more than forecast and home prices cooled.

The Conference Board’s confidence index increased to 54.1, a five-month high, from a revised 49.9 in October, figures from the New York-based research group showed. Measures of employment and income expectations improved

Home prices in 20 cities rose in September at the slowest pace in eight months, showing the latest slump in sales is destabilizing housing. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values climbed 0.6 percent from September 2009, the smallest gain since January, the last time prices declined year over year. The increase was smaller than the 1 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

Stocks trimmed earlier losses following the reports. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.7 percent to 1,179.78 at 10:06 a.m. in New York on concern the European debt crisis will worsen. Treasury securities rose, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down to 2.77 percent from 2.82 percent late yesterday.

The world’s largest economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual pace from July through September, the Commerce Department said last week. Investment on equipment and software rose at a 17 percent pace while consumer spending rose at a 2.8 percent rate.

The Chicago group’s production gauge climbed to 71.3, the highest level since February 2005, from 69.8 in October. The gauge of new orders climbed to 67.2, the highest since May 2007, from 65. The employment measure rose to 56.3 from 54.6 the prior month.

The average shopper in the U.S. spent $365.34, or 6.4 percent more, over Thanksgiving weekend than last year as more people picked up jewelry and toys, the National Retail Federation said Nov. 28. Retailers lured people into stores with promotions like Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s $5 Barbie and J.C. Penney Co.’s $10 diamond-accented earrings.

Automakers are seeing sales and profits pick up. Car sales in October rose to a 12.25 million unit annual pace, the highest since August 2009, from 11.7 million in September, industry data showed this month.

Sales at Ford in October increased 15 percent from a year earlier to 157,935, the Dearborn-Michigan based company said in a statement. Sales at General Motors Co.climbed 3.5 percent to 183,759, the Detroit-based automaker said this month.

GM, the automaker 33 percent owned by the U.S. Treasury, will invest $163.2 million at two plants in Michigan and one in Ohio to expand production of small engines, the Detroit-based company said last week in a statement.

The investment will preserve 184 jobs in Flint and Bay City, Michigan, and Defiance, Ohio, the automaker said.

Economists watch the Chicago index and other regional manufacturing reports for an early reading on the outlook nationally. The Chicago group says its membership includes both manufacturers and service providers, making the gauge of measure of overall growth. Its members have operations across the U.S. and abroad.

Other measures of manufacturing so far showed a divergence this month. One regional survey showed New York-region factories contracted in November for the first time in more than a year while another Fed survey showed those in the Philadelphia area expanded at the fastest pace this year.

The ISM’s monthly national factory index, due tomorrow, may drop to 56.5 in November from 56.9 in October, which was the highest in five months. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

Foreign sales are a bright spot for factories as exports in September rose to the highest level in two years, according to Commerce Department data released Nov. 10. Some businesses are responding to greater demand from the U.S. and abroad by replacing aging equipment and bringing more parts of their plants online.

Rockwell Automation Inc., the Milwaukee-based maker of factory software, said it sees interest rising in large-scale plant projects for full-production lines in developed markets, a sign that those economies may be picking up steam.

Spending on home improvement is projected to increase at an inflation-adjusted 3.5 % average annual rate over the next few years, according to a new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

While the projected increase on home remodeling expenditures is below the pace that was recorded during the housing boom, it represents a sharp recovery from the recent downturn, the center\'s report said.

One of the center\'s initiatives is the Remodeling Futures Program. This is the sixth remodeling report issued by the program.

The center\'s press release included a statement from Kermit Baker, director of the center\'s Remodeling Futures Program.

\"Lower household mobility following the housing market crash means that in the coming years homeowners will increasingly focus on improvements with longer paybacks, particularly energy-efficient retrofits,” Baker said. “Also, a slowing of migration to traditionally fast-growing Sunbelt metro areas means that, at least temporarily, more remodeling spending will remain in older, slower-growing areas in the Rustbelt and in California.\"

The last thing Alana McClendon expected to find when she opened her door Friday morning was a bunch of well-meaning strangers handing her money.

So when the businessmen and women who go around the city each year playing \"Secret Santa\" pressed a crisp $100 bill into her palm and wished her a Merry Christmas, she hardly knew how to respond.

\"It is such a blessing,\" she said, beaming at them. \"Such a blessing.\"

Similar scenes unfolded wherever the Santas went Friday. The participants, who insist on anonymity, take thousands of dollars from their own bank accounts and give bills to strangers around the city.

Their inspiration is the late Larry Stewart, a Kansas City, Mo., businessman who handed out $100 bills each holiday season. People in other cities now do it, too, hoping to spread the Christmas spirit and inspire everyone to random acts of kindness.

\"It\'s about the pure joy you\'re able to give people,\" one Charlotte businessman said.

This year, the fourth time they\'ve done this in Charlotte, the Santas were accompanied by about a half-dozen volunteers from the Charlotte police and fire departments. Even Police Chief Rodney Monroe tagged along.

Armed with newspaper clippings about needy people, they crisscrossed the city, shepherded by police cruisers and motorcycles. Sometimes, the police officers told them about good-hearted people they could help. They appeared on McClendon\'s doorstep, for instance, when Monroe asked them to stop by the YWCA\'s transitional housing complex for homeless families.

But they also reveled in chance encounters with needy people. They\'d stop driving and hop out of their van when they spotted an elderly woman walking slowly along, or a disabled man walking with a cane.

At the Goodwill Outlet store on Freedom Drive, they found Felicia Adams putting out items for customers. She\'d gone to work heavy-hearted because doctors in New York said her cancer-stricken father was dying.

She needed to get up there fast, but she had no money for travel.

When the Secret Santas gave her a $100 bill, she figured she might get to see her father after all. She broke down, sobbing so hard her words came out a hoarse whisper. \"I am so happy.\"

As the convoy passed the Brookhill Village apartment complex in south Charlotte, the Santas spotted Dynasty Taylor holding his 2-year-old son Elijah\'s hand.

The Santas made a U-turn and gave Taylor $100. \"He\'s a good-looking boy,\" one told him. \"Buy something nice for him.\"

\"This is a blessing, man,\" Taylor said. \"I\'m shocked.\"

At Thomasboro Elementary School, the Santas gave bills to hard-working teachers, custodians and secretaries.

\"I can\'t work no more today,\" one custodian said, laughing as she wiped away tears. \"They done messed me up.\"

At the Community Thrift Store on Freedom Drive, they found foster parent Donna Green searching the racks for bargains. She\'d been laid off in October from her job at a day care center.

She, too, broke down crying. \"God bless you,\" she said, hugging one of the Santas.

They moved through the store, passing out more bills. A cashier burst into tears. An elderly woman who said she had no heat hugged another who said she was on the verge of losing her house.

Green moved past them, heading for the door. She was too emotional to continue shopping. \"God is so good,\" she said. \"He sends people in your path to bless you.\"

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg\'s Michael McKee reports on U.S. economic data released today. Orders for U.S. capital equipment like computers and communications gear climbed 2.6 percent in November after a 3.6 percent decline in October that was smaller than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today. Consumer spending increased 0.4 percent last month after a 0.7 percent increase the previous month. Initial filings for unemployment insurance declined by 3,000 to 420,000 for the week ended Dec. 18, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, Labor Department figures showed. (Source: Bloomberg)

Spending by U.S. consumers increased in November for a fifth month, showing the biggest part of the economy is strengthening heading into 2011.

Household purchases rose 0.4 percent after a 0.7 percent increase in October that was almost twice as large as previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Incomes climbed 0.3 percent and the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation held at a record low.

Fewer firings and rising incomes are boosting consumer confidence, making it more likely spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, will keep improving. At the same time, a drop in unemployment is needed for spending to accelerate next year and support faster economic growth.

“Improvement in the job market, rising consumer confidence and easing credit conditions gave a lift to spending heading into the holiday season,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York, who accurately forecast the gain in purchases. “But we’ll need to see better income growth to sustain this pace of spending.”

Economists forecast spending would rise 0.5 percent, according to the median of 75 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from increases of 0.1 percent to 0.8 percent.

The revisions made October’s gain in spending the biggest since August 2009.

Personal income was forecast to climb 0.2 percent, according to the survey median.

Another Commerce Department report today showed orders for capital equipment rebounded in November, signaling a slowdown in business investment may be less pronounced than some economists projected.

Bookings for goods like computers and communications gear climbed 2.6 percent after a 3.6 percent decline in October that was smaller than previously estimated. Total orders dropped 1.3 percent, depressed by volatile demand for aircraft.

Also today, a report from the Labor Department showed fewer Americans filed applications for jobless benefits last week, reinforcing evidence the labor market is improving. Initial filings for unemployment insurance payments declined by 3,000 to 420,000 in the week ended Dec. 18.

Stock-index futures held earlier losses after the reports. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in March fell 0.2 percent to 1,252.3 at 8:43 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities were also lower, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note up to 3.36 percent from 3.35 percent late yesterday.

Wages and salaries advanced 0.1 percent, today’s income and spending report showed, after a 0.5 percent gain in October. Disposable incomes, or the money left over after taxes, rose 0.2 percent after adjusting for inflation and were up 2.4 percent from a year earlier.

The savings rate decreased to 5.3 percent from 5.4 percent in October.

Inflation remained below the Fed’s comfort zone. The central bank’s preferred price measure, which excludes food and fuel, rose 0.1 percent from the prior month and was up 0.8 percent from a year earlier, matching October’s 12-month gain as the smallest on record.

Spending figures adjusted for inflation, which are the figures used to calculate gross domestic product, increased 0.3 percent after a 0.5 percent rise the prior month.

The economy grew at a 2.6 percent annual pace in the third quarter, less than forecast, the government reported yesterday. Consumer spending rose at a 2.4 percent pace, the fastest since the first three months of 2007, while less than the 2.8 percent estimated last month. The revision in purchases reflected less spending on health-care and financial services.

Growth hasn’t been fast enough to bring down the unemployment rate, which rose last month to 9.8 percent. Fed policy makers last week maintained the central bank’s program to buy up to an additional $600 billion in Treasury securities through June to try to bolster the economy and support prices.

Even so, improving household balance sheets may be helping boost demand during the Christmas holiday period. The International Council of Shopping Centers on Dec. 14 revised its November-December sales forecast up by 0.5 percentage point to a range of 3.5 percent to 4 percent.

“We’re clearly seeing an improved environment, especially as the markets have held strong,” Stephen Sadove, chief executive officer of Saks Inc., said in a Dec. 20 interview on Bloomberg Television.

Auto dealers also are among retailers seeing improved demand. Car sales in November rose to a 12.26 million unit pace, the highest since the government’s cash-for-clunkers program in August 2009, industry data showed this month. Demand over the past three months is the strongest in two years.

U.S. retailers’ 2010 holiday sales jumped 5.5 percent for the best performance in five years as shoppers snapped up clothing and jewelry at Macy’s Inc., Tiffany & Co.and other stores.

Retail sales, excluding autos, rose to $584 billion from Nov. 5 through Dec. 24, said MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse,  which measures retail sales by all payment forms. That compared with a 4.1 percent gain a year earlier. The numbers include sales made over the Web.

Consumers bought coats at chains such as Bloomingdale’s as their confidence improved alongside the U.S. job market. Their spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the American economy, is a positive sign heading into next year, Michael McNamara, a vice president at Purchase, New York-based SpendingPulse, said yesterday.

“Increasing confidence has freed up more money from savings,” McNamara said. “We pretty much put a bow on what has been a positive season across a number of retail areas. We are seeing this momentum building and being sustained.”

A Northeast storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in areas from North Carolina to Massachusetts on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27 probably did little more than hamper store visits and won’t dent the overall season’s sales, McNamara predicted.

Last-minute Christmas shoppers pushed sales at stores open at least a year up 4.8 percent in the week ended Dec. 25, the strongest year-over-year gain since April, the International Council of Shopping Centers said today in a statement. The numbers are based on the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. today.

The New York-based trade group, which tracks more than 30 chains, said sales for the November-December period will rise 4 percent or more. That compares with a previous forecast of 3.5 percent to 4 percent.

Apparel sales grew the fastest in the 50 days before Christmas, with an 11 percent gain, more than 10 times the pace of last year. Sales of jewelry accelerated 8.4 percent, SpendingPulse said.

Luxury sales rose 6.7 percent, compared with 0.9 percent a year ago. Consumer electronics sales increased 1.2 percent after falling 4.6 percent a year earlier. Furniture climbed 3.8 percent after a 2.2 percent drop last year.

Tiffany, the world’s second-largest luxury jewelry retailer, forecast a 10 percent increase in sales in the Americas this year after an 11 percent decline in the previous 12 months. Macy’s, the second-largest U.S. department store chain, on Dec. 2 boosted its fourth-quarter forecast for sales at stores open at least a year to as much as 4.5 percent from a previous maximum of 4 percent.

Buying increased after consumer confidence climbed in December to the highest level in six months. Initial U.S. jobless claims fell in the week ended Dec. 18 and the number of people on unemployment benefit rolls dropped to a two-year low, adding to evidence the labor market is improving.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may be about to get help in his attempt to boost the economy, from an industry at rock-bottom: housing.

Job growth, even with unemployment at 9.4 percent or higher since May 2009, and an increasing U.S. population mean home construction probably will improve in 2011 from its near-record low, said Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer at Advisors Capital Management LLC in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Mortgage rates are less than 5 percent, further supporting affordability.

A rise in homebuilding would increase jobs for construction workers and also for people in industries supplying the stoves and sinks that go into new homes. As housing shrank to the smallest share of the economy on record, 2.23 percent, job growth slowed. The economy added 39,000 jobs in November; 5,000 construction jobs were lost.

“The housing market is going to shock people,” said Lieberman, former head of monetary analysis at the Fed Bank of New York. “Once we get the ball rolling, it becomes easy to roll. The most critical thing the Fed can do, which is not easy, is to promote job growth. If we see job growth we are going to see a very strong housing market.”

Jobs will rise by an average of 200,000 a month next year, pushing the unemployment rate, 9.8 percent in November, down by almost one percentage point, he said.

At the Fed’s meeting to discuss monetary policy on Dec. 14, Bernanke and other members of the Federal Open Market Committee reviewed their $600 billion bond-purchase program. One hope for 2011 is that the Fed’s near-zero interest rates will finally be able to start reversing a half-decade slump in housing.

Residential investment’s share of the economy fell to 2.23 percent in the third quarter of 2010, the lowest since records began in 1946, from 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, the highest in 55 years. That plunge has driven job losses in the construction industry: They fell to 5.6 million this year from 7.7 million in 2006.

Housing starts probably will reach a three-year high of 739,000 in 2011, creating enough jobs to shave half a percentage point off the unemployment Rate, said David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders in Washington.

“This is an ugly economic cycle,” he said in a telephone interview. “We need job creation to get people comfortable with buying a home. If they do that, we’ll create jobs that will reinforce that home buying and fuel additional job growth.” More building in 2011 will add almost 500,000 jobs, he said. The homebuilders’ association expects an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent by the end of 2011.

A bottom in the housing market would improve the prospects of companies in the Standard and Poor’s Midcap Homebuilding Index, which has declined 68 percent since its peak in July 2005. Douglas Yearley, the chief of index-member Toll Brothers Inc., said in a Dec. 8 interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters that the worst is over for housing.

“The recovery is here to stay,” said Yearley, whose company, based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, is the largest U.S. luxury-home builder. “I think 2011 will be an improving year, but I think 2012 will be a big year for us.”

The number of signed contracts to purchase Toll Brothers homes rose 6.3 percent in the 12 months ended in October, compared with a year earlier, the first gain since 2005, the company said in a Dec. 2 report.

The average price rose 6.1 percent to $565,079, the first increase since 2006. The builder’s shares are up 8 percent this month, compared with a 6.5 percent gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

The S&P Homebuilders Exchange-Traded Fund, which includes Los Angeles-based KB Home and Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton Inc., has risen 13.3 percent since November 18, compared with 4.8 percent for the S&P 500 ETF.

Builders in the U.S. began work on 555,000 housing units in November at an annual rate, compared with the 477,000 units in April 2009 that was the lowest in census records dating to 1959.

Meanwhile, the U.S. population has continued to grow. Data from the 2010 census, released last week in Washington, show the population climbed to 308.7 million from 281.4 million in 2000, an average increase of 2.7 million a year.

The number of U.S. households, an indicator of real estate demand, probably will rise 0.7 percent to 118.7 million in 2011, the biggest annual gain since the beginning of the mortgage crisis in 2007, according to Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The lack of new housing starts has been “holding back the recovery, but arguably that drag is fading now that the financial system is recovering,” said James O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global Ltd. in New York. He expects a 12 percent increase in residential investment in 2011, along with job growth of 200,000 a month by June, as much as 225,000 a month by the second half and an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent by the fourth quarter.

Housing starts will probably improve from their current lows while remaining well below their long-term trend, he said. A key to that forecast is support from low interest rates, which boosted home-buying capacity to record levels in October.

Housing affordability, measured by the ease with which a family with median income can afford a median-priced home, reached a record of 184.2 in October, the highest index reading in more than two decades of data, according to the National Association of Realtors in Washington.

Mortgage rates have shaken off the initial damping effect of the Fed’s purchase program, known as QE2 for the second round of quantitative easing. The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.81 percent during the week ended Dec. 23 from an all-time low of 4.17 percent in mid-November, according to Freddie Mac, the McLean, Virginia, mortgage buyer.

Pending sales of U.S. existing houses unexpectedly jumped by a record 10 percent in October, the Realtor group said earlier this month, indicating the industry may be stabilizing. Completed transactions in November rose 5.6 percent to 4.68 million at an annual pace, NAR said last week. Purchases of new houses rose 5.5 percent to a 290,000 annual rate in November, the Commerce Department said Dec. 23, less than the 300,000 median forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Robert Niblock, chairman and chief executive officer of Lowe’s Cos., the second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, and Ian McCarthy, CEO of Beazer Homes USA Inc., expressed qualified optimism for the housing outlook. Niblock said in a Nov. 15 earnings teleconference that “even in a difficult environment, we are seeing gradual improvement in the fundamentals of the housing market.”

Atlanta-based Beazer, a builder of entry homes, expects national single-family housing starts to increase in 2011, “likely in low double-digit percentages,” McCarthy said in a Nov. 5 earnings call.

The diminished share of the economy for building new homes means that improvement from record lows won’t boost growth as much as in the past, said Paul Dales,  U.S. economist for Capital Economics Ltd. in Toronto. He agreed that residential investment is poised to be a modest boost to gross domestic product.

“Previously if you had a 10 percent increase it boosted GDP by 0.6 percentage points,” Dales said. “Now, if it climbs 10 percent that’s a 0.2 percent boost. Housing starts are really at rock bottom. They’re not going to be a drag on growth.”

In October, 1.4 million construction workers were unemployed with only 46,000 job openings, a ratio of 31 workers for every available job, according to Labor Department data.

The Fed has completed $155.7 billion of its intended $600 billion in purchases. The central bank is also reinvesting proceeds from its holdings of maturing housing debt.

Its decision to begin a second round of asset purchases sparked a political backlash in Washington, with Republican lawmakers criticizing the move as likely to be inflationary. Indiana Representative Mike Pence and Tennessee Senator Bob Corker have proposed eliminating the Fed’s dual mandate for full employment and price stability, and have the central bank focus only on stable prices.

Bernanke appeared on CBS Television’s “60 Minutes” on Dec. 5 to address critics, saying he was “one hundred percent” confident the central bank could control inflation.

Asked about his outlook for the economy, Bernanke said a return to recession wasn’t likely, adding “that’s because, among other things, some of the most cyclical parts of the economy, like housing, for example, are already very weak. And they can’t get much weaker.”

Fed policy makers weren’t optimistic about the housing outlook at their Nov. 2-3 meeting, citing the elevated supply due to foreclosures. Some “saw disputes over mortgage and foreclosure documents as likely to delay the eventual recovery in housing markets,” according to the minutes of that meeting.

“Residential investment has failed to make a positive contribution to growth in this recovery,” said Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker in a Dec. 6 speech in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“This contrasts with the two other severe recessions of the past 60 years, in which residential investment increased an average of 40 percent in the first year of the recovery,” he said. “Given the significant legacy of overbuilding, unique to this recession, I do not expect housing to contribute significantly to growth over the next two years.”

An elevated rate of foreclosure may not derail a rebound in housing, said Lieberman of Advisors Capital. The firm managed $55.7 million of U.S. stocks as of Sept. 30, including real estate investment trusts Sun Communities Inc. and Colonial Properties Trust, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Foreclosures are “half the story,” said Lieberman, because people who lose their homes must find residences elsewhere. “They neither disappear nor move to Mars. They take another rental off the market.\"

Construction spending in the U.S. rose in November for a third straight month, boosted by funding for homebuilding and federal government projects.

The 0.4 percent increase exceeded the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and followed a 0.7 percent gain the previous month, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate called for a 0.2 percent rise.

Stimulus funding spurred government spending on schools, office buildings and water supply plants in November, while tight credit and high vacancy rates restrained private investment in factories and communications facilities. Outlays on home improvements and construction, backed by low lending rates and pent-up demand, is also sustaining the industry.

“Public spending will increase as the stimulus funds are put to use,” Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research in New York, said before the report. “Residential will grow next year but only marginally, while commercial construction will continue to be a drag.”

The median forecast was based on 44 projections in a Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from a drop of 0.8 percent to a 0.7 percent increase.

Construction spending decreased 6 percent in the 12 months ended in November.

Private construction spending climbed 0.3 percent from the previous month. Homebuilding outlays increased 0.7 percent, while private non-residential projects dropped 0.1 percent.

Spending on public construction increased 0.7 percent from the prior month. Federal spending rose 8.2 percent, to reach a record-high $35.3 billion. Outlays by state and local governments dropped 0.1 percent, a second consecutive decline.

Average home prices as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller indexes have begun dropping again after rising when a government tax incentive was in effect. The group’s 20-city index fell 0.8 percent in October from a year earlier, the biggest year-on-year decline since December 2009. It fell 1 percent from the prior month, and was down 30 percent from its July 2006 peak.

Builders are pulling back. Reports last month showed the housing market is stuck near recession levels. Housing permits fell in November to the third-lowest level on record, while new- home starts rose for the first time in three months, the Commerce Department reported Dec. 16.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the largest homebuilder in New Jersey, on Dec. 22 reported a fourth-quarter loss bigger than analysts expected as revenue fell 19 percent.

“Consumers are clearly waiting to see signs of an economic recovery and job growth before they make their decision to purchase a home,” Chief Executive Officer Ara Hovnanian said on a conference call.

The dollar advanced against the yen for the first time in 11 days as manufacturing in the U.S. expanded in December at the fastest pace in seven months.

The Canadian dollar rose to the highest level against the greenback since May 2008 as crude oil and stocks advanced. Brazil’s real touched the strongest in more than two years as investors bet a new central bank president will raise rates this month. The U.S. currency ended its longest stretch of decreases against the yen since 2004 on signs of economic recovery. The euro bloc added Estonia as its 17th member nation on Jan. 1.

“Data confirms considerable manufacturing momentum going into the new year,” said Alan Ruskin, global head of Group of 10 foreign-exchange strategy at Deutsche Bank AG in New York. “There was nothing to defer the positive risk-appetite trade, with commodity currencies seen leading the way.”

The dollar advanced 0.5 percent to 81.56 yen at 1:41 p.m. in New York, from 81.12 on Dec. 31. Its decline from Dec. 20 to the end of 2010 was the longest losing streak in six years. The dollar traded at $1.3387 against the euro, compared with $1.3384. The euro rose 0.7 percent to 109.17 yen, from 108.47.

The U.S. currency was supported by concern the yen’s recent gains may be hard to sustain. The 14-day relative strength of the dollar versus the yen fell on Dec. 31 below 30, a level that indicates the greenback may be poised for a rebound.

Canada’s currency advanced for a ninth straight day, appreciating 0.8 to 99.02 Canadian cents per U.S. dollar, after reaching 98.89 cents, the strongest level since May 2008. Financial markets in Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Japan were closed today for public holidays.

Crude oil for February delivery rose to $92.58 a barrel, the highest since October 2008. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1.4 percent.

“The trend that will stay from 2010 will be risk-on, and we do like the commodity currencies in 2011,” said Steven Englander, head of Group of 10 currency strategy at Citigroup Inc. in New York. “We’re long-standing Canada bulls. The smaller G-10 currencies are going to continue to outperform.”

Brazil’s real rose against most its major counterparts as traders bet that policy makers led by Alexandre Tombini, who became central bank president today, will raise borrowing costs. Yields on Brazil’s interbank rate futures indicate that the benchmark Selic rate of 10.75 percent will increase by 0.50 percentage point at the Jan. 18-19 meeting, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The real appreciated as much as 1 percent to 1.6435 per U.S. dollar, the strongest level since September 2008. Brazil’s currency climbed as much as 1.5 percent to 49.61 yen.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, used to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, was little changed at 79.044 after touching 78.775 on Dec. 31, the lowest level since Nov. 23.

The Tempe, Arizona-based Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose in December to 57, the highest level since May, from 56.6 in the previous month. The gain matched the median forecast of 63 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Readings greater than 50 signal growth.

The euro tumbled 6.5 percent versus the dollar in 2010 as the European sovereign-debt crisis prompted concern the currency union might fracture.

“It’s definitely risky holding on to the euro, and I would prefer to be a seller of euros because of the ongoing debt concerns,” said Eric Viloria, senior currency strategist for Gain Capital Group LLC in New York. “This is something that hasn’t gone away and is still in focus.”

The likelihood that the euro area will exist in its current structure in a decade is 20 percent as governments fail to take sufficient measures to tackle economic imbalances, the Centre for Economics and Business Research in London said last week.

The currency region will have another debt crisis within several months, when Spain and Italy have to refinance more than 400 billion euros ($534 billion) of bonds, CEBR Chief Executive Officer Douglas McWilliams said in an e-mailed note on Dec. 31.

The European currency will decrease to $1.30 by the end of March, according to the median prediction of 37 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.

The region’s manufacturing industry grew in December more than initially estimated, powered by Germany’s export-led expansion. A gauge of manufacturing rose to 57.1, from 55.3 in the previous month, a higher figure than earlier reported, London-based Markit Economics said. A reading of more than 50 indicates expansion.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell against the U.S. currency as China’s manufacturing growth slowed in December partly because of higher interest rates.

A purchasing managers’ index fell to 53.9 last month from 55.2 in November, China’s logistics federation and the statistics bureau said Jan. 1.

Australia’s currency weakened 0.3 percent to $1.0205, and the New Zealand dollar, nicknamed the kiwi, fell 0.6 percent to 77.56 U.S. cents.

Though the nation\'s job market improved a bit last year, many Americans remain out of work, and the numbers of long-term unemployed continue to grow. So it\'s not surprising that more than 40% of job-seekers during a recent job-search advice call-in said they had been out of work for more than a year, according to job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

What is surprising is that those looking for work are more upbeat than they were a year ago even though the nation\'s unemployment rate remains stuck at around 10%. Despite prolonged unemployment, callers in a survey taken last week were slightly more optimistic than a year ago, Challenger said Monday. About 18% believed they would find a job in the next one to three months, while 21% said their searches would probably take three to six months.

Contrast the recent findings with those from a year ago, when just 12% of job-seekers expected to find a job within three months, while another 12% thought it would take three to six months to secure new employment.

Similar Numbers Were Out of Work a Year Ago

In a random sampling of 400 of the 1,500 people who called in last week to take advantage of job-search advice, a bit more than 80% were unemployed, Challenger said. Of those, 47.5% have been seeking employment for at least 12 months, with the next largest group of jobless callers (19%) out of work for one to three months. Eighteen percent said they had been looking for four to six months.

The percentage of callers without work was about equal to that of 2009, Challenger said, noting that In 2008, 76% of callers into the help line were unemployed, while in 2007, only 55% were out of work.

Though those polled were slightly more upbeat compared to a year ago, many said their futures remain uncertain. Nearly half (48%) said they didn\'t know how much longer their searches for jobs would take -- about the same as in 2009.

Among those out of work for more than a year, the uncertainty was even more widespread, Challenger said, with nearly 60% saying they weren\'t sure how long it would take to find employment.

Reason for Hope in the Near Future

A sense of frustration was evident in callers\' voices, said Challenger Chief Executive John Challenger in a press release. \"Not only were most of them out of work, many have been out of work for so long that they are losing confidence and hope.\" Still, he said, underlying the frustration was a sense of optimism, with many job-seekers expressing belief that 2011 would be a stronger year for the job market.

That confidence may not be misplaced, Challenger said. Planned job cuts have slowed to levels the firm hasn\'t seen since 2000, and private-sector employment has shown 11 consecutive months of net growth. Also, companies are sitting on mountains of cash saved through two years of dramatic cost-cutting.

Still, Challenger warned that even as his firm expects hiring by private employers to rise in 2011, the uptick may not make searching for a job any easier. In fact, it may make the job market more competitive.

As employment prospects improve, not only will those who had abandoned their job searches out of frustration reenter the labor pool, but people who are currently employed will begin looking for better jobs. Competition will be further increased by the legions of public-sector employees who have recently been cut from government payrolls across the nation.

Despite such challenges, Challenger said job-seekers shouldn\'t despair, noting that employers hired an average 4.3 million workers each month between May October. \"There are a lot of things people can do to improve their chances of being among those 4 million new hires,\" he said.

Challenger advises that job-hunters not to rely on want ads, whether posted online or in newspapers, which represent only a fraction of job openings. The vast majority of available jobs -- 80% -- \"can only be accessed through aggressive networking, cold-calling and persistence,\" Challenger said.

Several areas of construction will grow in 2011 despite the overall industry shrinking, according to forecasts from business intelligence unit Glenigan.

The office and industrial sectors are predicted to see the most growth, but private housing, retail and infrastructure are also forecast to provide more work than last year.

Glenigan forecasts an overall shrinkage of 2 per cent across the industry in 2011, the same level predicted by the Construction Products Association in December.

But while the public sector will continue to suffer in the wake of the spending cuts outlined at the Comprehensive Spending Review, the private sector will begin to recover in earnest, according to Glenigan.

The forecast said: “While access to finance capital remains a constraint upon activity in both the private housing and the commercial property markets, the flow of projects in the pre-construction pipeline has improved.

“The coming year is forecast to see a turnaround in new office and industrial projects and a modest rise in private housing activity.

“The civil engineering sector is also forecast to remain firm. Having weathered the economic downturn, the flow of underlying project starts is forecast to be sustained during the coming year by an increase in rail and energy projects.

“The sector will receive a further boost as a number of major projects, such as Crossrail, gather momentum.”

The office sector is set to grow by 41 per cent this year, having shrunk by an estimated 10 per cent in 2010. The office sector was decimated by the recession, so any recovery comes from a low base.

However, it is this lack of activity over the past two years that could rescue the office sector, at least in central London. Such a small amount of new floorspace has become available now that the general economy is beginning to slowly improve, demand is outstripping supply.

This year is set to see the start of high-profile towers in central London such as British Land’s Cheesegrater and the Land Securities/Canary Wharf Group Walkie Talkie.

The industrial sector is forecast by Glenigan to grow by 29 per cent this year, building on an increase of roughly half that magnitude in 2010. Improved business confidence and lending conditions are expected to promote industrial growth, particularly during the second half of 2011.

Civil engineering is expected to bounce back from a tough 2010 to grow by 17 per cent in 2011. This will be driven by investment in rail infrastructure with major London projects such as Crossrail and the Thameslink upgrade programme gathering pace alongside a multitude of smaller schemes.

Private sector infrastructure investment is also forecast to stay strong, with airports operator BAA pressing on with Heathrow upgrade plans.

Within the huge civils sector, however, there will be losers as well as winners. Roads starts are forecast to fall as the Highway’s Agency’s capital programme is scaled back dramatically over the next couple of years.

The value of private housing starts on site is forecast to grow by 11 per cent this year as consumer confidence begins to return. Glenigan believes this will overcome ongoing constraints on mortgage availability as the year progresses.

Retail is set to remain fairly flat in 2011, growing by 4 per cent according to the Glenigan forecasts. Supermarkets will remain a hot spot during 2011, while refurbishment of existing shops across the UK will increase as competition ramps up for consumer spending.

Public sector construction, unsurprisingly, is set for a torrid year as the new spending review period kicks in. Social housing is forecast to fall by 34 per cent, education by 27 per cent, health by 19 per cent, and community and amenity by 26 per cent.

The only private sector forecast to lose value in 2011 is hotel and leisure. This is largely due to the expected completion of the 2012 Olympics project halfway through the year. Work on the stadiums and surrounding hotels has propped up the sector through the last couple of years but this is now coming to an end leaving something of a void.

Fourth-quarter earnings season unofficially kicks off after Monday\'s closing bell with a report from aluminum giant Alcoa (AA). Once again, the profit reports are expected to be a tale of strong profit growth, thanks more to cost cuts than revenue gains.

Analysts, on average, expect the S&P 500 ($INX) to post a 32% gain in fourth-quarter earnings on just a 6% rise in sales, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Financials will once again lead all sectors with year-over-year profit growth of...wait for it...1,383%. (Easy comparisons are the reason why.) Take financials out of the equation, and that 32% S&P 500 earnings growth rate would drop to 11%, according to Thomson Reuters.

Earnings estimates for financials in the final quarter of 2010 are by no means abnormally high, wrote Thomson Reuters analyst Christine Short in note to clients Friday. Rather, it\'s just that last year\'s fourth-quarter numbers were so low.

\"Thus, the current earnings estimate for [fourth-quarter] 2010 creates a much higher-than-normal growth rate because of the contrast to weaker than usual earnings in [fourth quarter] 2009,\" Short wrote.

Primed for a Pullback?

After financials, the materials, energy and technology sectors are expected to have the highest year-over-year growth rates, at 28%, 26% and 13%, respectively, according to Thomson Reuters data. Of the 10 major sectors of the S&P 500, only utilities is seen posting an earnings decline. Analysts see the sector\'s profits declining 3% in the aggregate, hurt by softer earnings from electric utilities.

But don\'t be surprised if the market takes a breather even if results come in better than Wall Street expects. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) is up nearly 17% since early September, and the S&P 500 has rallied more than 20%.

\"People are going to be looking at these earnings to see if this move we\'ve had over the last quarter is really justified,\" says Kenny Polcari, managing director at interdealer broker ICAP Corporates. \"I think we\'re going to see a lot of better-than-expected earnings, but quite honestly I think that\'s already baked into the market.\"

Some profit-taking, however, would ultimately be healthy for stocks, if only to set the stage for more sustainable gains farther out, the veteran NYSE trader says. \"Having some profit-taking wouldn\'t be the worst thing in the world,\" says Polcari. \"I\'m kind of hoping we do have some profit-taking on this news because I think the market is kind of ahead of itself.\"

The world’s largest economy will expand in 2011 at the fastest pace in six years as American consumers boost spending, said John Herrmann, a senior fixed- income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC.

Herrmann, whose forecasts for gross domestic product were the most accurate over the past year according to data compiled by Bloomberg News, estimates the amount of all goods and services produced will grow 3 % this year, the most since 2005. He said household purchases will also climb 3 % after rising 1.8 % in 2010, the first gain in three years.

Herrmann is among the economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month who raised growth and spending estimates after President Barack Obama signed into law an $858 billion bill on Dec. 17 extending Bush-era tax cuts for two years. The measure also renewed emergency jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and cut 2011 payroll taxes by two percentage points.

“The tax-relief program is going to be a big support for growth,” Herrmann, who last month projected the economy would grow 2.9 % this year, said in an interview. “A lot of the recovery has been driven by policy support,” he said, including efforts by the Federal Reserve to keep borrowing costs low.

Herrmann’s peers made even bigger adjustments to growth and spending forecasts this month on the heels of the tax compromise cobbled together by Obama and congressional Republicans. The economy will grow 3.1 % in 2011, up from December’s estimate of 2.6 %, according to the median of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg from Jan. 3 to Jan. 11.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 % of the economy, will grow 3 % this year, according to the median estimate of 63 economists surveyed, up from last months’ projected 2.6 %.

“The consumer is responsible for a bigger share of the recovery than before,” said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, who boosted his forecast for household purchases in 2011 to 3.1 % from 2.9 %.

The tax cuts combined with gains in employment will spur shoppers, said Maki. “Consumer spending is picking up in response to better income growth.”

Retailer stocks are climbing as spending improves. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Retailing Index has gained about 31 % since June 30, 2010, compared with a 25 % advance for the broader S&P 500.

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp., the largest U.S. department-store chain, and Tiffany & Co., the New York-based jeweler, both climbed this week after announcing profit forecasts that exceed analysts’ expectations.

An increase in holiday sales and growing auto demand showed consumer spending picked up late last year, indicating the economy was strengthening even before the new legislation kicked in. Vehicle purchases climbed last month to the highest level in two years.

Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, is among companies planning to boost employment as demand improves. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company this week said it plans to hire more than 7,000 workers in the next two years, including engineers with expertise in battery-powered cars.

“There are literally 10 more jobs for every Ford job throughout the U.S.” because the industry is so integrated, Alan Mulally, Ford’s chief executive officer, said in a Jan. 10 Bloomberg Television in interview. “Based on the strength of our products and the fact that the economy is recovering, it is very positive for all of us.”

Ford isn’t the only American company hiring thousands of new workers. Dollar General Corp., the biggest of the U.S. dollar discount stores, said Jan. 3 it plans to add 6,000 jobs as it opens 625 more stores in fiscal 2011.

Consumer spending climbed at a 3.9 % annual rate from October through December, the most in four years, according to this month’s survey median. The gain helped GDP rise at a 3.2 % pace, economists said.

Bigger job gains may be needed to maintain consumer spending, which has increased for five months through November. A Labor Department report last week showed payrolls rose by 103,000 workers in December, less than the 150,000 gain projected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

An unemployment rate that’s exceeded 9 % for 20 straight months, the most since monthly records began in 1948, remains a concern of Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his fellow policy makers.

Economists project the jobless rate will end 2011 at 9 % and average 8.6 % the following year.

“We’re going to get enough job growth where unemployment starts to come down, but pretty gradually,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Unemployment at 9 % by the end of the year is nothing to write home about. We really need to see it falling much more sharply, but I don’t think that growth will be strong enough to support that.”

At the pace of economic expansion projected by central-bank officials, “it could take four to five more years for the job market to normalize fully,” Bernanke said Jan. 7 in testimony to the Senate Budget Committee.

Bernanke last week also reiterated that the central bank will proceed with a plan to buy $600 billion of Treasuries through June in an effort to trim joblessness and avert deflation, or an extended drop in prices.

Challenging times
Without question, this emerging consensus comes in a wide range of degrees. Exceptions have also emerged.

Here in Illinois, a state that has wrestled with some of the most dire financial circumstances in the country, including some $8 billion in unpaid bills to social services agencies and others and a desperately underfinanced pension system, Gov. Patrick J. Quinn, a Democrat, pledged after renewing his oath of office simply to “stabilize our budget.” Three days later, on Thursday, he did the reverse of what so many governors are urging, and signed a 66 percent increase in the state’s income tax rate.

And in Minnesota, where Gov. Mark Dayton, another Democrat, faces a $6.2 billion deficit and a Legislature controlled by Republicans, he has advocated for a tax increase on the wealthy.

After being sworn in this month, Mr. Dayton told the crowd, “To those who sincerely believe the state budget can be balanced with no tax increase — including no forced property tax increase — I say, if you can do so without destroying our schools, hospitals and public safety, please send me your bill, so I can sign it immediately.” Otherwise, Mr. Dayton said, he hoped his colleagues would work with him on “this challenging, complicated and essential” budget process.

Though public remarks in the moments after being sworn into office may be the first signal of a governor’s true intentions, actual policies can be another matter entirely. Those can depend, not least of all, on the decisions of legislatures. And governors of all political stripes have a tendency to talk tough in their early days.

The difference now, experts say, is that the financial circumstances leave little room to do nothing, and governors will soon be tested on their words — as early as in the next few weeks, when many of them must propose budgets for next year.

Some states seem better off (North Dakota) and others worse (California), but the shared, essential problem in many states is simple: not enough money coming in to pay for all that is going out.

While state revenues — shrunken as a result of the recession — are finally starting to improve somewhat, federal stimulus money that had propped up state budgets is vanishing and costs are rising, all of which has left state leaders bracing for what is next. For now, states have budget gaps of $26 billion, by some estimates, and foresee shortfalls of at least $82 billion as they look to next year’s budgets.

This class of governors arrives in a wave of Republican victories in the 2010 elections for state legislatures and governorships, a trend that may be affecting everyone’s approach. Even in states where the fiscal struggles have been less pronounced, new governors are sounding warnings and talking, again and again, of waste, frugality, simplicity, shared sacrifice and painful choices.

“Some of our sister states and some cities within them face the very real possibility of bankruptcy because of their mountains of deficits and debt,” said Dennis Daugaard, the newly inaugurated Republican governor of South Dakota, who has asked departments in his state to cut spending by 10 percent and has announced that he would cut his own annual salary to $98,000 from the $115,331 his predecessor collected.

“They have promised their citizens something for nothing,” Mr. Daugaard said of other states during his inauguration in Pierre this month, “and created a society where everyone wants to be carried and no one wants to pull their own weight.

Emboldened by favorable demographic trends, improving supply/demand metrics and lower construction costs, apartment developers are eager to start replenishing their development pipelines.

The 22,536 units forecast by CoStar to be added to the nation\'s apartment supply in 2011 is expected to spike up to 94,588 units in 2012 and just over 109,000 units in 2013 -- increases of 320% and 384%, respectively -- over the current year. By 2015, CoStar expects that development will ramp up to its 10-year historical average.

Well-capitalized investors, including REITs, have taken notice and are aiming to become first-movers in the trend before competition drives up the supply again. AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential started nearly 1,550 apartments between them through late 2010. AvalonBay has a pipeline of nearly 7,000 units of multifamily commercial properties in various stages of construction and planning. Other savvy investors, such as USAA Real Estate, Hines, Gables Residential and Wood Partners, have announced joint ventures or stepped-up development plays and acquisition of apartment buildings for sale in recent weeks.

A look at permits pulled by single-family and multifamily builders helps illustrate the growing demand for apartment projects. Demand for housing units has tilted toward the multifamily segment of the market as Echo Boomers enter the market as renters and renter households grow due to the falling homeownership rate, according to a recent analysis by CoStar Senior Real Estate Economist Katie Pelczar.

Builders have historically pulled about twice as many single-family permits as multifamily permits. However, the ratio of multifamily to single-family has shifted in most regions of the country, and it wouldn\'t be surprising to see more apartment development than single-family development going forward, particularly in the major U.S. markets along the east and west coasts, according to Pelczar.

\"As we’re already seeing, I would expect permitting to ramp up going forward,\" said Pelczar\'s colleague, CoStar Real Estate Economist Dan Egan. \"A much improved vacancy/rent picture will lead to developers breaking ground on new projects in 2011. With ground-up construction in many metros taking 12-plus months, don’t expect to see new deliveries hit the market until 2012.\"

A number of positive trends are improving the national outlook for apartment developers. For the last few years, returns on new projects have been less attractive to investors than acquisitions of existing buildings. In recent months, however, those tables have turned. Improving occupancies and strong expected rent growth across the nation\'s 54 largest markets tracked by CoStar, coupled with lower construction costs, have boosted the \"return on cost\" expected by investors for new apartment development.

The run up in the prices of newer, high-quality apartment properties, the variety coveted by institutional investors, also factors into the case for new construction. On average, properties less than 10 years old are trading at near-2006 prices, while older properties have yet to see prices rebound. As bidding wars between investors have driven up the cost of newer high-quality assets, yields have become less attractive. With cap rates tightening on high-quality assets in metros like Seattle and San Jose, developers may be able to build at an attractive spread over acquisition yields, CoStar analysts said.

Overall, projects by \"first movers\" that break ground in the next year should benefit from increasing demand and a low cost basis, translating into strong returns. However, indivudual markets do matter -- and some metros make better development targets than others, Pelczar and Egan noted in \"The Case For Apartment Development,\" a recent white paper published by CoStar subsidiary Property & Portfolio Research (PPR). In fact, in many typically strong markets, return-on-cost expectations are still simply too low to justify new projects.

Like all real estate types, markets and submarkets have a significant impact on whether new construction makes sense, said Chris Macke, CoStar senior real estate strategist.

\"It makes sense that we are seeing new apartment development, given the combination of rising apartment values, reduced land costs and reduced construction costs. These have all combined to make new construction advantageous in certain markets.\"

High-barrier-to-entry metros such as Boston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and New York may see slower delivery of new projects, keeping vacancies tight in many cases and helping landlords push though solid rent increases, Egan said.

New supply may come from other quarters as well. Housing-bust markets with a lot of failed condo construction and conversion projects could see a number of projects return to life as rentals. It\'s already happening in some markets like Phoenix. Egan said he wouldn’t be surprised to see it spread to Las Vegas and South Florida in 2011.

OPENING THE PIPELINES

Meanwhile, both REITs and private companies are positioning to capitalize on the emerging demand for new apartments, including two significant joint ventures formed in recent weeks.

For apartment REITs, development starts will be the key driver of external growth over the next couple of years. The upcoming year-end earnings season will provide guidance for analysts on the 2011-12 development plans of public companies, providing a window into not only how aggressively apartment REITs will grow, but how they view the long-term rebound in fundamentals, Citigroup analyst Eric Wolfe said in a research note. The market will likely look favorably on companies with larger-than-expected development agendas.

Atlanta-based private real estate company Wood Partners emerged as a leading multifamily developer in 2010, capped by a late-December joint venture with a co-investment fund sponsored by global real estate investment management firm CB Richard Ellis Investors (CBREI). Through the JV, Wood Partners will use $155 million of equity to develop and build $400 million in Class A apartment communities across the country. The venture allocated $300 million to deals that started in 2010, with the balance to be allocated in the first quarter of 2011.

Wood Partners CEO Ryan Dearborn called the pairing a \"strategically significant, programmatic equity joint venture at this critical early stage of the emerging real estate cycle,\" for construction of a geographically diverse and economically compelling set of development projects.

The company said it began more than 2,000 units and $400 million in development in 2010, making it a national leader in multifamily starts. Projects are now under construction in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, the District of Columbia, Oakland and San Diego.

Dearborn said Wood\'s long-standing relationships with a number of institutional investors will enable it to double its productivity in 2011 by starting at least 4,000 additional units. Wood Partners, which launched an acquisition platform in 2010, also purchased more than 3,200 units last year for a total of more than $400 million, including assets in Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Oakland and San Antonio.

In another joint venture, an affiliate of USAA Real Estate Co. last week teamed up with Gables Residential to develop Class A multifamily properties at select urban infill sites, as well as purchase an interest in several of Gables’ stabilized properties. Development is under way on commercial properties in Dallas, Houston and Rockville, MD.

The development and acquisitions amount to over $400 million of Class-A multifamily assets. San Antonio-based USAA and Atlanta-based Gables have closed on the acquisition of the first of three stabilized properties in the venture.

Gables Residential, a privately held REIT, owns, develops and manages multifamily and mixed-use developments in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, South Florida, Southern California and metropolitan Washington, D.C. The company has a shadow pipeline of raw land with the potential for another 4,000 apartment units.

\"The multi-family markets are experiencing a strong recovery and fundamentals continue to improve,\" noted David Fitch, president and CEO of Gables Residential, adding that the partnership with USAA will allow Gables to develop well located communities in its core markets.

Hines Interests LP isn\'t staying put, aiming to expand its multifamily development activity throughout the U.S. by bringing in Alan Patton as a senior vice president in the firm’s corporate office in Houston to lead the effort. In addition to site location, design and development, Patton will be involved in capital raising and financing.

\"We think Hines can become a very successful player in multifamily,\" said Hines President and CEO Jeff Hines. \"The multifamily sector is poised for near-term growth, and we are seeing strong interest among our investors.\"

Atlanta, GA, January 26, 2011--The year’s first and largest market of its kind set wholesale buying and selling in motion for 2011 with surging attendance gains approaching the double-digit mark, record-setting business volume for permanent and temporary exhibitors alike and buyer-base growth across all categories—resounding advances throughout The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and Atlanta International Area Rug Market’s robust eight-day run.

 At the Market’s closing bell on Wednesday, January 19, reviews were strong and getting stronger as exhibitors tallied sales and retailers departed with large orders placed and optimism running high for 2011, despite the challenges of inclement weather occurring early in the show.            

“Throughout the entire span of this Market, we continued to hear from both retailers and exhibitors how great the show was and how the energy, excitement and traffic were high,” says Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., AmericasMart president and chief operating officer. “The exhibitors and retailers who chose to do business here literally jump-started 2011.  With robust attendance growth and record order-writing, we set a new bar in performance,” Portman added.            

Those high-water marks are echoed in flash post-Market independent research results showing top customer satisfaction scores among buyers and exhibitors.  AmericasMart was the destination of choice for retailers from across the globe seeking the largest collection of product in one complete centralized location—represented by the world’s most dynamic leaders in home, gift and area rug product.  Every U.S. state was represented at Market with a surge in attendees from the Midwest. Further reinforcing its position as a global Market, AmericasMart drew retailers from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America with a dramatic increase from Canada and the Caribbean. The international retailer presence created a diverse and board audience for the more than 4,500 exhibiting companies.

 According to exhibitor George Kacic, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for Ganz, the buying was robust and the retailer attendance was strong. “This is one the best Markets we’ve had in the last four to five years. Retailers are excited and they are spending a lot of money,” says Kacic.

 A leader in Market innovations, AmericasMart enhanced the retailer experience with the launch of several key categories and events to create excitement and support the more than 31 already established product centers. HD Home, Birding & Backyard Nature, Global Designs and design-drive HOME presentations were among the top drivers at Market.

For eight days, retailers discovered AmericasMart as the powerhouse for product, resources, innovation and education.  As revealed at the January Market, retailers continue to choose AmericasMart as their buying destination. “This (AmericasMart) is my first choice place always to go twice a year to do all my buying,” says Susan Taylor of Black-Eyed Susan, Holicong, PA.

The economic downturn has claimed its share of floor covering retailers. The good news is we are in the midst of a recovery, although many have yet to feel it because it is not being driven by the consumer or housing. The bad news is a number of experts believe more retailers shut their doors on the way up than on the way down because they can’t fund the recovery.

One of the least understood aspects of retail is why small businesses fail. In many cases, the customers have a better understanding than the owners of what wasn’t working. Here are some specific reasons why retailers close up shop, culled from a few articles I recently read.

1. Not enough demand for the product at a price that will produce a profit. This, for example, would include operating a retail business and trying to compete against Home Depot or Lumber Liquidators on price alone.

2. Owners who cannot get out of their own way. They may be stubborn, risk adverse or conflict adverse. They may be greedy, self- righteous, paranoid or insecure. Sometimes, these owners will recognize a problem but continue to make the same mistakes over and over.

3. Out-of-control growth. Some successful businesses are ruined by over-expansion. We have seen this numerous times, particularly with geographic expansion. This would also include moving into markets that are not as profitable or borrowing too much money in an attempt to keep growth at a particular rate.

4. Poor accounting. You cannot be in control of a business if you don’t know what is going on. With bad numbers, or no numbers, a company is flying blind. It’s why so many retailers have embraced systems like RFMS, QFloors, etc.

5. Lack of a cash cushion. If we have learned anything from this recession, it’s that business is cyclical and downturns will happen over time. This could be due to the economy, a new competitor or lawsuit. If a company is already out of cash (and borrowing potential), it may not be able to recover.

6. Operational mediocrity. If you’re not doing the things that made you successful in good times, like marketing, advertising and regularly contacting existing customers, you’re not maximizing potential sales. Repeat and referral business is critical for most businesses.

7. Operational inefficiencies. This would include paying too much for rent, labor and product. Now more than ever, the fat must be cut; lean companies are at an advantage.

8. Dysfunctional management. I hate to say it, but many store owners would be best served leaving the day-to-day operations to someone more qualified. Many owners lack focus, vision, planning, standards and everything else that goes into good management.

9. Lack of a succession plan. Some reasons family businesses never make it to the next generation are power struggles between family members and significant people being replaced by others in over their heads.

10. A declining market. Competition from huge companies with more buying power and advertising dollars, such as the home centers, Empire and Lumber Liquidators. It forces small retailers to always play at a high level.

There are many more reasons, but if any retailer falls victim to any of the above, it’s time to make some changes, especially as the economic landscape slowly improves. Steven Feldman.

Purchases of new houses in the U.S. rose more than forecast in December as the industry struggled to stabilize following its worst year on record.

Sales climbed 18 percent to a 329,000 annual pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a rise to 300,000. The percentage jump was the biggest since 1992, and was led by a record 72 percent surge in the West.

The gain follows data on existing home purchases for December that showed buyers are returning to the market after a mid-2010 slump to take advantage of low mortgage rates and reduced prices. Even so, mounting foreclosures and unemployment above 9 percent help explain why Federal Reserve policy makers today are expected to press ahead with a $600 billion stimulus.

“This is consistent with a gradual path of recovery,” said Drew Matus, an economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “Housing is going to remain a weak spot for some time. The stabilization in the economy has to be encouraging for the Fed, but it’s still not a rip-roaring economy, so they are not going to alter” policy today, he said.

Stocks rose after the report. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.4 percent to 1,296.42 at 10:17 a.m. in New York. The S&P Supercomposite Homebuilder Index jumped 2.6 percent.

Estimates of the 79 economists surveyed ranged from 270,000 to 315,000, after a previously reported rate of 290,000 for November. Last month’s sales pace was the highest since April.

For all of 2010, sales fell 14 percent from the prior year to 321,000, the lowest level in data going back to 1963.

Purchases climbed in three of four U.S. regions last month. The Northeast showed a 5 percent decrease last month.

The median sales price increased 8.5 percent in December from the same month in 2009, to $241,500, today’s report showed. The increase in values probably reflects the change in the mix of sales toward the West where prices are generally higher.

The supply of homes at the current sales rate fell to 6.9 month’s worth, the lowest since April, from 8.4 months in November. There were 190,000 new houses on the market at the end of December, the fewest since January 1968.

Previously-owned home purchases jumped more than forecast in December as buyers tried to lock in low mortgage rates before the economic recovery pushed borrowing costs up even more, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed last week. Existing house purchases are calculated when a contract closes.

New-home sales are considered a more timely barometer than purchases of previously owned homes, which account for about 90 percent of the housing market.

Housing demand gyrated last year, reflecting a boost from a home buyer tax incentive of as much as $8,000 that gave way to a plunge in sales by mid-2010 after the credit ended.

With sales yet to show sustained strength, builders have cut back on the new-home supply. Housing starts fell in December to a 529,000 annual rate, the lowest level since October 2009, Commerce Department figures showed last week.

An unemployment rate that is slated to average more than 9 percent again this year signals some homeowners will keep having trouble meeting mortgage payments, leading to an increase in distressed properties. The number of homes getting a foreclosure filing will rise about 20 percent this year, reaching a peak for the housing crisis, said RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California- based data seller.

Prices remain under pressure, hurting homeowner equity while at the same time improving affordability. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home values in 20 cities fell 1.6 percent in November from the prior year, the biggest 12-month decrease since December 2009, a report from the group showed yesterday.

Horsham, Pennsylvania-based Toll brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, is among companies concerned about foreclosures in markets like Las Vegas and Phoenix, even as it is “optimistic” about the upcoming spring selling season, according to Martin Connor, chief financial officer.

“I don’t think it’s quite turned the corner yet,” Connor said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Jan. 5, referring to the housing industry. Still, general positive economic news including an increase in retail sales “bodes well for the housing market,” he said.

While signs such as improving consumer confidence indicate the world’s largest economy is gaining speed, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his fellow policy makers will likely complete the second round of quantitative easing to keep borrowing costs low and spur growth. Their statement is due at around 2:15 p.m. Washington time.

New York, NY, Dec. 30, 2009—Twenty percent of employers plan to increase the number of full-time, permanent employees in 2010,up from 14% in 2009, according to CareerBuilder\\\'s 2010 Job Forecast.\\\"There have been many signs over the past few months that point to the healing of the U.S. economy, especially the continued decrease in the number of jobs lost per month,\\\" Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, said in a press release. Only 9% of the employers surveyed said they plan to decrease headcount in 2010, down from 16% last year, while 61% do not plan to change staff levels and 10% are unsure. Hiring is expected to increase in information technology, manufacturing, financial services, professional and business services and sales in the coming year, CareerBuilder said.

New York, NY Dec. 28, 2009 - A prominent economist believes the U.S. economy will expand 3.5% in 2010. Dean Maki of Barclays Capital Inc. told Bloomberg News that rising stocks and rising incomes will spur consumers to spend more money and lift the economy. If his predicitions comes true, it would be the best economic performance since 2004. He said the recovery would be similar to past recoveries. Bloomberg noted that Maki had the most accurate predictions for GDP for the first three quarters in its survey. It also said that Maki\'s projection was one of the higest in its survey.

Washington, DC - March 17, 2010- Lower energy cost pushed the U.S. producer price index to a drop of 0.6% in February, the Labor Department said. Core producer prices,excluding volatile food and energy,rose 0.1%. Economists had been anticipating a decline of 0.1%. February\'s decline in the headline PPI was the largest since a fall of 1.2% last July. In January,the PPI rate had jumped 1.4% while the core rate had risen 0.3%. Tame inflation could allow the Fed to be patient in exiting its policy of keepng the benchmark U.S. interest rate near zero. The Fed reiterated in its statement that it believes rates can remain extremely low \"for an extended period. Energy prices fell 2.9% at the wholesale level in February, the Labor Department\'s data showed. It marked the first drop in four months and the biggest since last July. Gasoline prices fell 7.4% on the month.

Jean Chatzky- June 16- Social Security and Government payments go all-electronic. Today the Treasury Department will announce that all payments from the U.S. government will be made electronically to consumers. So people receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income,Veterans, Railroad Retirement and U.S. government benefit recipents will receive benefits either through direct deposit into a bank account or through Treasury\'s Direct Express debit card.

\" Today\'s announcement is a win-win for the American public because it makes government more convenient and cost-effective while generating significant savings for the country,\" says OMB Director Peter Orszag about the program that is estimated to save the government $303 million in the first five years-including $48 million annually on postage.\" This is precisely the type of smart, steamlined improvement that this Administration is committed to making across government to boost efficiency and modernize how we do business.\"

Some experts wonder, however, how easy adapting will be, particularly for those seniors who haven\'t gravitated to direct deposit or debit on their own.

June 16- 2010 - NWFA introduces website for finiding wood flooring installers. The National Wood Flooring Association (NWF) has developed a new web site to help consumers find professional wood flooring installers in their area. The new site,woodflooringinstallers.com,allows consumers to search for professional installers using a variety of options.

The benefit of using this site is that consumers can be assured that the individuals and companies listed are members of a professional trade association dedicated to educating installers about proper installation techniques. Individuals or companies that are NWFA certified installers and /or sand and finishers are identified as well.

Credit card debt fell sharply in the second quarter as more consumers paid down their balances.

Average credit card debt fell 13.4% to $4,951 in the second quarter, the lowest since 2002, analysis company TransUnion said in a statement.The state with the higest average credit card debt was Alaska, with $7,148. The lowest was in Iowa, with $3,792.

It appears that consumers have come to realize that material improvement in unemployment is unlikely in the short-term, and now is the time to balance saving versus spending,\"said Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy in TransUnion\'s financial services business unit.\" It  remains to be seen whether this dynamic will be short term or  a new paradigm for consumer behavior.\"

Delinquencies also fell sharply in the second quarter.

Delinquency, defined as the ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on at least one credit card, fell 21% in the second quarter from a year earlier. Nationwide, the ratio was 0.92%.

Nevada had the highest delinquency rate with 1.5%, while North Dakota had the lowest, with 0.54% of bankcard borrowers behind on payments.

The longest recessiion the country has endured since World War II ended in June 2009, according to a group that dates the beginning and end of recessions.

 President Obama said Monday that even though the recession has been officially declared over, for the millions of people who are out of work or otherwise struggling\"it\'s sill very real for us.\"

The National Bureau of Economic Research, panel of academic economists based in Cambridge, Mass., said the recession lasted 18 months. It started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. Previously the longest postwar downturns were those in 1973-1975 and 1981-1982. Both of those lasted 16  months.

The decision makes official what many economists have believed for some time, that the recession ended in the summer of 2009. The economy started growing again in the July-to-September quarter of 2009, after a record four straight quarters of declines. Thus, the April-to-June quarter of 2009 marked the last quarter when the economy was shrinking. At that time,it contracted just 0.7 percent, after suffering through much deeper declines. That factored into the NBER\'s decision to pinpoint the end of the recession in June.

\"In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity,\" the NBER said. \" Rather, the committee determined only that the recession ended and a recovery began in that month.\"

Any future downturn in the economy would now mark the start of a new recession, not the continuation of the December 2007 recession, NBER said. That\'s important because if the economy starts shrinking again, it could mark the onset of a \" double dip\" recession. For many economists, the last time that happened was in 1981-82.

The NBER normally takes its time in declaring a recession has starated or ended.

For instance, the NBER announced in December 2008 thta the recession had actually started one year earlier, December 2007. Similarly, it declared in July 2003 that the 2001 recession was over. It actually ended 20 months earlier, in November 2001.

Washington - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday inched closer to fresh steps to bolster a sluggish U.S. recovery, saying it stood ready to provide more support for the economy and expressing concerns about low inflation.

The U.S. central bank\'s policy-setting panel made no shift in monetary policy at the end of one-day meeting, keeping overnight interest rates near zero, but it opened the door wider to pumping more money into the economy.

\" The committee will continue to  monitor the economic outlook and finacial developments and is prepard to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with its mandate,\" it said in a statment.

After its meeting on August 10, the Fed had simply said it would \" employ its policy tools as necessary.\"

The Fed underscored its concerns over slowing inflation in its statement Tuesday, saying the underlying rate of inflation was below levels consistent with its mandate for price stability and full employment.

\" With substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to remain subdued for some time,\" it said.

U.S. stock prices rose after the statement, while prices for U.S. government debt fell, likely reflect some disappointment the Fed did not move more decisibely. The dollar extended earlier declines against the euro.

\" The Federal Reserve has taken another step, albeit a half step, in recognizing the unusually sluggish economic and employment outlook and related need for additional policy measures,\" said Mohamed El-Erian, co chief investment officer at bond fund PIMCO.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoeing dissented for a sixth consecutive time, reiterating his view that the central bank could allow its balance sheet to shrink and that a vow-repeated Tuesday --to keep borrowing costs exceptionally low for an extended period was no longer warranted.

After cutting the overnight federal funds rate to near zero in December 2008, the Fed launched an asset buying program in a further effort to lower borrowing costs and help the economy.

In the end it brought $1.7 trillion in longer-term U.S. government debt and mortgage -related bonds.

The Fed\'s easy money policies and the prospect of further easing have driven up the value of currencies in other countries, including Japan and Brazil, as investors moved out of the dollar in search of higher returns.

Japan intervened last week to weaken the yen, which had surged to a 15 year high against the dollar, and emerging markets are seeking ways to control huge capital inflows.

The painful U.S. recession ended in June 2009, but the recovery has lost momentum this year with growth tapering to an anemic 1.6 percent annualized rate in the second quarter.

Whether it\'s ghosts or goblins or candy and costumes, Americans are ready to spend far mor on Halloween this year than last, an estimated $5.8 billion, and they aren\'t leaving their pets out of the fun.

A survey by National Retail Federation showed the singel largest expense will be on costumes for children, adults and pets.

\"This year, people are expected to embrace Halloween with even more enthusiasm,\" Matt Shay, the federation\'s chief executive, said in a statement, nothing that the holiday has given Americans a welcome mental break from the stress of the economic doldrums.

Two out of five Americans plan to wear a costume this year, up from one-third last year, and about 11.5 percent of consumers will dress up their pets.

Americans will spend an average of $66.28 on Halloween, including $23.37 a custume, $20.29 on candy and $18.66 on decorations.

The total represents a 17.7 percent increase from last year and will be roughly on par with 2008 levels, according to the poll of 9,291 people.

\" The early indications is that people are going to spend again, \" said Tony Detzi, vice president of operations of Spirit Halloween, which operates about 850 seasonal pop-up stores in North America.

\"Costumes do allow you to have escapism-for one night you are able to be whoever you want to be,\" Detzi said.

Although spending on Halloween is samll compard to the Christmas holidays and back-to-school, it will give a boost to U.S. retailers, who are still struggling with sluggis consumer spending.

The survey showed that many people are still spooled by the state of the economy. About 30 percent said economic concerns are affecting their spending plans, with cuts most likely in candy but not costumes.

\"Americans are excited about Halloween but are still being frugal,\" said BI Gresearch executive vice president Phil Rist.

But even if Halloween spending recovers to 2009 levels it would still only be on par with when the economy and consumer spending went into a tailspin following the financial crisis. New York  MSNBC

Ferderal Reserve Bank of New York President  William Dudley said the outlook for U.S. job growth and inflation is \" unacceptable\" and that more monetary easing is probably needed to spur growth and avert deflation.

\" We have tools that can provide additional stimulus at costs that do not appear to be prohibitive,\" Dudely, who serves as vice chairman of the Fed\'s policy-setting Open Market Committee, said today in a speech to business journalists in New York. \" Further action is likely to be warranted unless the economic outlook evoles in a way that makes me more confident that we will see better outcomes for both employment and  inflation before too long.\"

Dudley\'s remarks are one of the clearest signs that policy makers will start a second round of unconventional monetary easing as soon as the FOMC\'s next meeting Nov.2-3. While other Fed officials voiced a range of views in speeches this week, Chairman Ben S.Bernake said yesterday that the central bank has a duty to aid the U.S. economy as  the jobless rate holds near 10 percent.

Lowering long-term interest rates by restarting purchases of Treasuries or mortgage debt would have a \"significant \" effect on the economy by supporting the value of homes and stocks, making housing and refinancing mortgages more affordable and reducing the cost of capital for business, Dudley, 57, said to a Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference.

\" Both the current levels of unemployment and inflation and the timeframe over which they are likley to return to levels consistent with our mandate are unacceptable,\" Dudley said. \" The longer this situation prevails and the U.S. economy is stuck with the current level of slack and disinflationary pressure, the greater the likelihood that a further shock could push us still further from our dual mandate objectives and closer to outright deflation.\"

Responding to questions afterward, Dudley said he\'s not concerned the U.S. will relapse into recession and that he\'s expecting the current 2 percent growth to \" gradually accelerate.\"

\"What I\'m less confident about is how fast we\'re going to get back to our objectives\" of price stability and full employment, he said.

Treasuries declined after reports showed U.S. consumer spending rose more than forecast in August and manufacturing in China expanded at the fastest pace in four months in September. The yield on 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.56 percent at 9:28 a.m. in New York from 2.51 percent yesterday.

The risk that inflation expectations rise because of asset purchases can be counted by a \"credible \" plan from the Fed to exit the unprecedented stimulus with tools such as term deposit accounts, Dudley said. Also, \"there is nothing to worry about\" on expanding Fed exposure to higher-short-term rates, he said.

Dudley said that $500 billion of purchases, for examples, would add as much stimulus as reducing the Fed\'s benchmark rate 0.5 percentage poing to 0.75 percentage point, depending on how long investors expect the Fed to hold the assets.

\"The clearer and more credible the framework governing purchases, the greater the likelihood that market participants would act in a manner that helped the Fed achieve its objectives,\" Dudley said. Investor confidence in the Fed\'s ability to exit \"when the time is right\" will make purchases more effective in stimulating the economy, he said.

Dudley said in response to questions that the ability \" for us to exit on time\" and without leading to a longer-term inflation problem is \"critical.\"

Another option is for the Fed to announce an explicit inflation goal and then, if price increases are too slow, potentially aim to overshoot the goal in future years. One risk is that investors may \"mistakenly\" conclude that the Fed was \"tinkering with its long-run inflation objective,\" undermining the change in policy.

Dudley\'s comments differ from the FOMC\'s Sept. 21 statement that it\'s prepared to ease policy \"if needed\" to spur growth and achieve its mandate of stable prices and full employment.

The jobless rate has been above 9 percent since the worst recession since the Great Depression ended in June 2009. Inflation measures are \"somewhat below\" levels the FOMC judges consistent with its mandate, the Fed panel said in its statement last month.

Dudley declined to comment on what he\'ll advocate at the next meeting or to predict its outcome. Some policy makers may not be on board: Philadephia Fed President Charles Plosser said Sept. 29 that he doesn\'t see how additional asset purchases will help employment in the near term, while Dennis Lockhart of the Atlanta Fed said Sept. 28 that  he hadn\'t made up his mind yet on easing policy.

Figures from the Commerce Department in Washington showed yesterday that the U.S. economy grew at a 1.7percent annual rate in the second quarter , marking the start of the slowdown in growth that\'s concerned the central bank. The world\'s largest economy grew 3.7 percent in the first three months of the year and 5 percent at the end of 2009.

Economists surveyed last month projected little pickup in growth for the rest of the year as joblessness hobbles consumer spending and housing languishes around record lows. Bloomberg

The surge in Arizona foreclosures allowed Chris Escobedo, a 31 year-old college counselor with a wife and two children, to buy his first home--one larger than the house he had been leasing.

\"We realized what kind of house we could get for the same amount we were paying to rent,\" Escobedo said in an interview. Monthly costs including taxes and insurance for his new home, a foreclosed property near Phoenix, total$1,014--just $14 more than the rent on his old place, he said.

Cities in Texas, California, Florida and Arizona offered the best deals for renters looking to buy in September as an increase in foreclosures, a decline in home values and an unemployment rate near a 26-year high kept prices down, San Francisco-based real estate data company Trulia Inc. said today.

Arlington, Texas, topped the list of the cities in which buying was a better value than renting,followed by Fresno, Ca; Miami;Mesa, Arizona; and Phoenix. Trulia compared the average rent on two-bedroom apartments and other rentals in its database with total homeownership costs, including mortgages payments, taxes and insurance, in the 50 largest U.S. cities.

\"If you\'re looking to rent for $1,000 a month, for example, there are about 2,500 properties available right now,\" Wilkerson said(a broker with ZipRealty Inc. ). \"If you\'re looking at buying, there are more than 27,000 homes available with similar mortgage payments.\" Bloomberg

It\'s a question as old as investing itself:will good performance last?

The Dow Jones industrial average and teh Standard & Poor\'s 500 index are both up more than 5 percent this year, and barring something dramatic will finish in the black. Much of the gains can be attributed to two sectors:companies that make equipment used in big construction projects, and hotels,restaurants and ritzy clothing stores. Each is up more than 15 percent for the year.

Some stocks in the group are up much more. Anyone who invested in engine-maker Cummins Inc. in early January watched the investment grow by 100 percent. Priceline.com Inc. has jumper about 60 percent.

Normally,performance like that would be a red flag. Chasing after past performance is an investing sin that,  like dunking your potato chip twice in dip, everyone is guilty of occasionally. But some money managers say that this could be one time when it pays to keep investing in stocks that are outperforming the market.

The reasons: Much of the world is on a building binge. And consumers with good jobs are starting to spend money again.

Industrial companies are profiting from massive infrastructure spending in emerging markets such as China, Brazil and India. As each country builds roads, tunnels, schools and malls to cater to a growing middle class, they often turn to American corporations for machines, trucks and airplanes.

\"The performance of the industrial sector is really a vote of confidence in our ability to export quality products around the world,\" said Nick Calamos, president of investments at Calamos Asset Management Inc.

Cummins, for example, saw sales of construction equipment more than double in the second quarter, mainly because of building projects in China. Catarpillar has expanded its operations in Brazil and China this year in anticipation of continuing growth.

The weakening dollar coudl add additional fuel. While a falling dollar may make it more expensive for Americans to travel abroad, it\'s a benefit for companies that sell products to international clients whose euros and yens can buy more dollars.\" With a falling dollar, a lot of these products that these companies make are going to be cheaper for buyers overseas,\" said Brain Washkowiak of Talon Asset Management.

There may be an opportunity, however slight, for increasing revenues in the United States, too. President Obama recenetly proposed a bill that would call for $50 billion to be spent over six years to rebuild roads, rails and airport runways in the United States, which could translate into additional dollars for the likes of Union Pacific Corp. and Deere & Co.

It was that argument that in the first half of 2009 pushed down so-called consumer discretionary companies which, unlike retailers such as Wal-Mart, profit from people splurging. This year, however, many if these compaines have perfromed well as consumers made purchases they delayed during the darkest days of the recession. Comsumers are expected to spend about $465 billion this holiday season, or about 3 percent more than last year, said Eileen Hoffman, an analyst at Janus Captial Management. That would bring spending back to about the same level as the 2006 holiday season.

The recession also forced many luxury boutiques and samll businesses to close, which has translated into greater market share and higher profits for the companies that were able to survive.

\"What a lot of people are missing is that they shouldn\'t be looking at the overall consumer spending numbers but the strong companies that have made it through,\" Hoffman said. \"Even if the overall spending numbers are flat, you\'re going to get massive market share gains for the ones that are still here.\"

It is true that industrials and discretionary consumer stocks tend to be the first ones that show growth after a recession, which means that their strong performance this year could be seen as something as unnoteworthy as October following September. So an argument can be made that their rallies are following a historical pattern and will peak soon.  TheAP

Citigroup Inc., the bank 12 percent-owned by U.S. taxpayers, said profit surged, beating analysts\' estimates as the company reduced loan-loss reserves by $1.99 billion.

Third-quarter net income was $2.17 billion, or 7 cents a share, compard with profit of $101 million, or a loss of 27 cents after preferred dividends, in the same period a year earlier, the New York-based bank said today. Ten analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated per-share earnings of 5 cents at the bank, the third biggest in the U.S. by assets.

The results bring Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, 53, one quarter closer to achieving his first annual profit after losses in 2008 and 2009 that totaled $29.3 billion. The  reserve reduction showed how Cititgroup benefited as fewet consumers fell behind on loan payments. Losses from bad loans declined to $7.66 billion from $11 billion.

\"This is primarily a credit improvement story, virtually across the board, as well as the ongoing disposition of non-core businesses,\" said Gary Townsend, CEO of Hill-Townsend Capital LLC in Chevy Chase, Maryland. \"We\'ve seen both of those continue through the third quarter and we expect it to continue through the fourth.\" Bloomberg

NEW YORK — The stock market is rebounding a day after a big-sell off brought on by concerns over a slowdown in China.

Stocks rose in afternoon trading Wednesday, regaining much of the ground lost the day before, as traders saw overnight gains in China as an encouraging sign that the country\'s surprise interest rate hike will not dampen the global economy.

A batch of positive corporate earnings reports from companies like Delta Air Lines Inc. and Boeing Co. also helped send the stock market broadly higher.

The Shanghai Composite Index, China\'s main stock market benchmark, rose slightly in overnight trading. Those gains \"helped create a more constructive tone for the trade this morning,\" said Nick Kalivas, an equity analyst for MF Global.

The fact that China raised interest without leading to a drop in stock prices \"was a sign of strength,\" said Sandy Mehta, a portfolio manger in Value Investment Principals who is based in Hong Kong. \"Raising rates show that they have confidence in their economy and it continues to grow strongly.\"

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 146.94, or 1.2 percent, to 11,125.56. The broader Standard and Poor\'s 500 index was up 14.3, or 1.2 percent, to 1,180.16, and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index was up 25.7, or 1.1 percent, to 2,462.67.

Delta rose 11.1 percent after the company announced a profit driven by a 19 percent jump in passenger revenue. That helped push shares of competitors like Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines up more than 4 percent.

Boeing rose 2.2 percent after the aircraft manufacturer raised its profit forecast for the year and said that it expects to sell more commercial airplanes. Boeing was the top performer among the 30 companies in the Dow.

Every component of the Standard and Poor\'s 500 showed gains. Financials were the weakest as investors continue to question what the impact will be over reports that the New York Federal Reserve will join institutional bond holders in an effort to force Bank of America Corp. to repurchase billions of dollars in mortgage bonds issued by Countrywide Financial, which BofA purchased in 2008. The North Carolina bank was down 18 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $11.63.

Before the market opened, San Francisco bank Wells Fargo & Co. announced that it beat profit forecasts but missed slightly on revenues, while Morgan Stanley reported a loss of 7 cents per share on special charges. Shares of Morgan Stanley fell 17 cents to $25.23.

Shares of Wells Fargo were up $1.20, or 4.8 percent, at $25.74. Earlier in the day, the stock had traded as low as $23.50.

The jump could reflect that \"people are taking advantage of an opportunity to buy on dips,\" said Bruce Simon, the chief investment officer at Ballentine Partners.

Late in the afternoon, the Federal Reserve announced that 7 of the bank\'s 12 regions reported moderate improvements in business activity. Economic growth was slowing in the Dallas and Atlanta regions.

West Coast Internet companies eBay Inc. and Netflix Inc. will report results after the market closes.

Hong Kong\'s Hang Seng index fell 0.9 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of blue-chip companies in Europe rose 0.2 percent. The dollar fell a little more than 1 percent against a broad basket of currenices.

Bond prices traded in a tight range. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.46 percent from 2.48 percent late Tuesday.

Shares of Delta were up $1.31 to $13.02, while shares of Boeing were up $2.68 to $71.73. Jet Blue was up 67 cents to $7.18, and Southwest was up 57 cents to $13.26.

Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. has developed an exclusive line called Journey Girls, which, like American Girl, stand about 18 inches. Source: Toys \'R\' Us Inc. via Bloomberg

American Girl, the Mattel Inc. doll that has dominated the big (18 inches, or 46 centimeters, tall) and expensive ($95) part of the market for 24 years, may have to watch her back this holiday season.

Toys ‘R’ Us Inc., Walt Disney Co. and MGA Entertainment Inc. are all out to get her. Toys ‘R’ Us, the world’s biggest toy retailer, has introduced a line of ethnic dolls called Journey Girls for $29.99. Disney’s $49.99 Princess & Me doll has made “most wanted” lists from Toy Insider and TimetoPlayMag.com. MGA’s Best Friends Club features a $32.99 doll that promotes friendship through a storytelling website.

The trio of new big dolls may be the biggest threat to American Girl sales since a Wisconsin educator created the history-themed characters in 1986. With U.S. unemployment hovering at 9.6 percent, the cheaper entrants may be appealing to gift buyers seeking to economize.

“The angle most people seem to be pursuing is to price well below American Girl,” said Edward Woo, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. in Los Angeles. “That’s an opportunity to break into this market.”

Toys ‘R’ Us decided to enter the market after observing the continuing popularity of big dolls, Lisa Harnisch, a vice president of the Wayne, New Jersey-based retailer, said in an interview. About a year ago, she and her colleagues met with manufacturers and concluded 18-inch dolls -- more than six inches taller than Mattel’s Barbie line -- would sell well during the 2010 holiday season; Journey Girl was born.

Each doll comes with a back story describing its travel experiences and hobbies. Taryn is a musician who dreams of playing at the New Orleans Jazz Festival; Meredith is a skier who hopes to visit the Alps.   

“Kids can really relate to these larger dolls,” Harnisch said. “They’re like friends to the girls who play with them.”

The Disney Princess & Me line, Disney’s first foray into 18-inch dolls, features six popular movie characters including Cinderella, Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” and Aurora from “Sleeping Beauty.” Among other accessories, girls can get the same outfits as their dolls.

“The popularity and success of American Girl has opened the market to other brands and opportunities,” Jennifer Caveza, a marketing vice president at JAKKS Pacific Inc., which makes the Disney Princess dolls, said in an e-mail.

Nathalie Crausse, a flight attendant from Montpellier, France, was at the flagship Toys ‘R’ Us store in Times Square on Oct. 8, checking out Disney Princess & Me outfits for her 6- year-old daughter, Tara. Crausse is a regular in the store during her bimonthly stopovers in New York and says she has bought eight Disney Princess dresses in the past 18 months.

“If I can’t get something for my daughter,” said Crausse, “I always buy something for the doll.”

MGA’s Best Friends Club line aren’t the only dolls the company makes that competes with Mattel products. MGA’s Bratz line has gone head to head with Barbie. The two companies have tussled in court over the ownership rights to Bratz. In July, an appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that had awarded the rights to Mattel.

Pushing American Girl aside won’t be easy, says New York- based toy industry analyst Sean McGowan of Needham & Co.

“American Girl is not purchased instead of any other doll,” said McGowan, explaining that the dolls appeal to customers who aren’t easily swayed by price. “It’s just a different kind of purchase.” McGowan expects this year’s sales to surpass the record $463 million in both 2008 and 2009.

American Girl first appeared in 1986 after Pleasant T. Rowland, an educator and writer based in Madison, Wisconsin, was looking for dolls for her nieces. Rowland couldn’t find any that represented girls aged nine to 12.

She decided to create a line of dolls and books representing periods of American history, from Felicity Merriman, a colonial girl from 1774, to Molly McIntire, a World War Two-era girl from 1944. The dolls’ popularity attracted the interest of Mattel, which bought Rowland’s company for $700 million in 1998.

The El Segundo, California-based toymaker kept the craze going by opening stores, which now number nine, and backing a series of movies. Mattel added contemporary dolls in 1995, with varying combinations of skin tone, eye color and hair style.

Sales surged 15 percent in 2005 following the release of the first of five films, “Samantha: An American Girl Holiday.” While the growth has since slowed, sales rose during the recession, climbing 7.3 percent between 2007 and 2009.

Mattel climbed 40 cents to $22.73 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have climbed 14 percent this year, compared with a 5.8 percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Valerie Fallon is an American Girl buyer of long standing. Over the past nine years, the mother of three from Newtown, Connecticut, has purchased a salon chair, hair brushes, a horse and an equestrian set for her three girls, as well as a matching soccer kit for doll and child. Bloomberg

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the front-runner in the race for govenor, is campaigning on a promise to \"stop the train.\" Mr. Walker, a Republican, has a website, NoTrain.com, dedicated to the issue. \"This symbolizes for many people runaway government spending, \" he said in an interview.

The Obama administration announced in January that $8 billion 13 high-speed passenger-rail networks across the U.S. This week, the federal government awarded an additional $2.5 billion for high-speed rail project nationwide.

Wisconsin received $810 million for a line that would begin operating in 2013 between Madison and Milwaukee, initially at speeds up to 70 miles per hour. Proponents of the Madison- to- Milwaukee line exepect it to become part of the larger network linking cities such as St. Louis, Chicago and Minneapolis.

\"The status quo is not going to work if we\'re going to grow as a community,\" said Susan Schmitz, who heads an advocacy group of Madison business leaders, going over plans for a new high-speed-rail station that would allow visitors to walk or bike to the state captiol or to the huge University of Wisconsin campus nearby.

Mr. Walker said he opposed the line because it would cost Wisconsin $7.4 million a year to subsidize it, and possibly more. That is a tiny portion of the state\'s $3.1 billion transportation buget, but he said the money could be better used to repair roads and bridges.

Mr. Walker said if he became governor, he would ask Congress to allow the state to redirect the train funding toward highway projects. Currently, if WIsconsin cancels the project,it would have to repay the stimulus money it has already spent and forgo the rest of the rail-line funding entirely.

Observers of the Madison rail project say state and city officials are working quickly to get contracts signed, in part to make it more difficult for Mr. Walker to rescind the program if he takes office in Janurary. The state expects to have about $300 million of work on the rail line under contract by the end of the year.

\"They want to get as many bids out and spend as much money as they can right now,\" said Noel Radomski, a Democratic former alderman and potential candidate in February\'s mayoral primary in Madison. Mr. Radomski has been advocating an alternate site for the Madison station.

In Florida, Republican candidate Rick Scott said Tuesday that he would want to see a feasibility study before proceeding with a rail line planned between Tampa and Orlando. California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whiteman wants to delay a high-speed line linking San Francisco and Los Angeles until the economy improves.

Wisconsin and other states in the region have been cooperating on plans for upgraded rail lines for more than a decade, said Laura Kliewer, executive director of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission, which brings together officials from 11 states to coordinate porjects.

\"I think it\'s unfortunate passenger rail has become a political issue,\" said Ms. Kliewer, whose group is bipartisan. \"It never has been before. Wall Street Journal

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- David Blanchflower, an economics professor at Dartmouth College and a former Bank of England policy maker, discusses Federal Reserve monetary policy and the outlook for inflation. Blanchflower said the Fed’s plan to buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June was the correct policy. He speaks with Scarlet Fu and Dominic Chu on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness With Margaret Brennan.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Pond, co-head of interest rate strategy at Barclays Plc in New York, discusses the bond market\'s reaction to the Federal Reserve\'s announcement that it will buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June to stimulate growth. Pond speaks with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television\'s \"In the Loop.\" (Source: Bloomberg)

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Milligan, the head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments, talks about his investment strategy after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it will expand record measures to boost the world’s largest economy. Milligan speaks from Edinburgh with Maryam Nemazee on Bloomberg Television\'s \"Countdown.\" (Source: Bloomberg)

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- David Winters, chief executive officer of Wintergreen Advisers LLC, discusses investment strategy and Warren Buffett’s selection of Todd Combs to help manage Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio. Winters talks with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Stocks surged, sending the MSCI World Index to a two-year high, and commodities rallied after the Federal Reserve announced plans for more bond purchases and earnings beat analyst estimates. The dollar sank and two- and five-year Treasury yields touched record lows.

The MSCI World Index gained 2.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. Preliminary closing data showed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.9 percent to 1,220.92, which would be the highest level since September 2008, as banks rallied on bets they will be allowed to raise dividends. The Dollar Index fell 0.8 percent to an 11-month low. The S&P GSCI commodities index added 2.3 percent as gold jumped to a record high. Irish 10-year notes slid for an eighth day, the longest drop in 23 months.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s $600 billion bond-buying program reinforced optimism the world economy won’t deteriorate and corporate profits will improve. The Bank of England said it kept a 200 billion-pound ($324 billion) asset-purchase plan and the European Central Bank left rates at a record low today. BNP Paribas SA, the world’s biggest bank by assets, reported a 46 percent jump in third-quarter profit, and Qualcomm Inc., the largest maker of mobile-phone chips, forecast higher earnings.

“It’s called the Bernanke put,” said Stephen Wood, the New York-based chief market strategist for Russell Investments, which manages $140 billion. “The Fed wants to put a floor under the employment market and asset prices. You’re seeing that being reflected in both stock and commodities markets. Risk assets are attractive globally.”

A sharper focus at Armstrong World Industries means deeper cuts. Saying it must concentrate on its core business, the company on Thursday said it will eliminate two peripheral operations. The moves, erasing 62 jobs are:

*Closing Armstrong Manor on Lititz Pike by the end of the year, idling 18 workers.

*Outsourcing the facilities management department at its Columbia Avenue headquaters by March 1, idling 44 workers.

\"The economy and competition for sales remain very challenging,\"said Armstrong spokeswoman Beth Riley.

\"We are taking a hard look at all of our business processes and activities to identify opportunities to eliminate,standardize, simplify and outsourc.\"

Riley said that for Armstrong to be competitive, it must be\"very focused\"on its core business of making and selling floors,ceilings and cabinets.

Armstrong Manor and the facilities department are beyone that scope.\" Neither of these are core to being a building products manufacturer,\" Riley said.

The pair of moves combined will save Armstrong more than $2 million annually, she said.

The Manor provides lodging for visiting employees, customers and vendors, and meeting space.

Located in Manheim Township opposite Overlook golf course, the property also hosts occasional community functions. Armstrong Manor, opened in 1920 in what was a wealthy farmer\'s house at 2025 Lititz Pike, is the second-oldest company facility in Lancaster County. The Manor dates to 1865- 1867, when it was built by David P. Locher, a prosperous local tanner, banker and farmer.

It was the centerpiece of his 120 acre Bloomingdale Farm, according to the Historic Preservation Trust.

The company intends to sell the property, Riley said, though an asking price has not been set.

U.S. mortgage applications rose last week, driven by higher demand for both home purchase and refinance loans, as interest rates remained near record lows, an industry group reported on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes purchase and refinance loans, increased 5.8 percent for the week ended Nov. 5.

It was only the third time in eight weeks that activity rose.The four-week moving average, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was down 1.9 percent.

\"The increases in purchase applications we have seen over the past couple of weeks align with the better-than-expected news from October\'s employment report and other data indicating some improvement in the economy\'s growth prospects,\" Michael Fratantoni, the MBA\'s vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

\"Refinance applications increased as rates continued to hover near record lows,\" he said.

The MBA\'s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications increased 6.0 percent. The seasonally adjusted purchase index, a tentative early indicator of home sales, rose 5.5 percent.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 4.28 percent, unchanged from the previous week.
Interest rates were also below their year-ago level of 4.90 percent. In the week ended Oct. 8, the rate reached 4.21 percent, the lowest level in the survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990.

Cameron Findlay, chief economist at LendingTree.com in Charlotte, North Carolina, said loan demand has been constrained, even though many homeowners with mortgages that originated in 2009 or before have an incentive to refinance.

\"Lending standards are extremely tight, which is preventing many homeowners from taking advantage of low interest rates,\" he said in an interview before the release of the MBA data.

\"Consumers are also in a de-leveraging mode and they would rather pay down their debt than buy a new home, keeping demand for home purchase loans muted,\" he said.

The housing market has been struggling since the expiry of popular home buyer tax credits earlier this year.

Findlay said \"underwater\" mortgages - where the amount owed on the mortgage exceeds the home\'s value - are one of the biggest banes of the homeowners who want to refinance.

This negative equity makes many homeowners unqualified for refinancing and prevents some from selling.

The MBA said fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 3.64 percent, unchanged from the previous week. A record low of 3.62 percent was set four weeks earlier.

The rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARMs, decreased to 7.08 percent from 7.18 percent a week ago, the MBA said.

Lowe’s Cos., the second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, said third-quarter profit increased 17 percent as it controlled labor expenses in the housing slump to counter slower-than-forecast sales growth.

Net income rose to $404 million, or 29 cents a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 29, from $344 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based company said today in a statement. Excluding a writedown in the value of some stores, earnings were 31 cents. Analysts projected 30 cents, the average of 21 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

Lowe’s, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Niblock, has curbed staff costs by hiring more part-time, seasonal workers and using employees instead of outside contractors to clean and do plumbing and electrical repairs in stores. The gross profit margin widened amid restrained spending on kitchen remodeling and other major projects.

“The company is doing a good job managing through the current downturn,” David Strasser, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets in New York, wrote today in a note to clients. He rates Lowe’s as “neutral” and said the economic environment will limit share gains as “sales are prone to disappointment.”

Lowe’s fell 23 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $21.46 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have dropped 8.3 percent this year.

The retailer cut its full-year profit forecast to a range of $1.37 a share to $1.40 a share, compared with $1.21 last year. In August, it projected earnings of $1.38 to $1.45 for the year ending Jan. 28. It now sees full-year sales rising 3 percent to 4 percent, compared with an earlier prediction of about 4 percent.

Revenue rose 1.9 percent to $11.6 billion in the third quarter, trailing the retailer’s earlier prediction of a gain of 3 percent to 5 percent.

A third-quarter survey of consumers by Lowe’s indicated that half of projects planned by homeowners in the next six months are “discretionary in nature,” Niblock told analysts on a conference call today. Most of that spending will cover projects costing less than $500, he said.

“Consumers are not yet willing to consistently take on larger, discretionary home-improvement projects,” Niblock said. In many cases, homeowners are delaying or scaling back spending until they’re more confident about their personal finances, home values and the economy, he said.

The gross profit margin, the portion of sales remaining after subtracting the cost of goods sold, increased to 35.05 percent from 34.20 percent a year earlier.

Stores assigned employees to spend more time with customers, cutting back-office tasks and helping reduce manpower by almost 400 hours a week per store, Chief Financial Officer Robert Hull said. The retailer paid less in bonuses than it had planned after sales missed its projection and earnings were at the lower end of its guidance, he said.

Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, plans to report third-quarter results tomorrow.

SAP AG co-chief executive officer Bill McDermott said Germany-based SAP’s small- and medium-size enterprise business “performed quite well in the third quarter.” Photographer: Craig Ruttle

Ultimate Golf Seating in Elkhart, Indiana, has hired five workers to expand its staff to 10 as orders increase for its custom-made golf-cart seats, which start at $745.

“Demand is starting to improve,” co-owner David Vahala said. “We’re definitely making a turn this year.”

Small businesses are bouncing back as access to lending eases and consumers ramp up purchases. This would be welcome news for policy makers struggling to spur the world’s largest economy and bring down unemployment stalled near a 26-year high, because small companies account for 60 percent of job creation, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. The Fed said Nov. 3 it plans to buy another $600 billion of Treasuries, citing “disappointingly slow” progress in the recovery.

“The winds are changing in favor of small businesses,” said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “It is a gradual improvement, but they’re definitely more active than they were a few months ago. As these businesses re-engage, it’ll put the recovery on a more solid footing.”

The Russell 2000 Index, which tracks the small-cap segment of U.S. equity markets, has risen 19.6 percent since August 31, compared with a 14.4 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The outperformance signals investors’ rising confidence in smaller companies and those that cater to the sector, including Administaff Inc., which provides human-resource services to small and mid-size businesses.

The Kingwood, Texas-based company’s stock jumped .2 percent to $27.90 on Nov. 2 after Roth Capital analyst Jeff Martin n Newport Beach, California, upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and set a price target of $34 a share following third-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates.

The shift is echoed in announcements by larger companies ranging from SAP AG, the world’s largest maker of business- management software, to Dell Inc., the world’s third-biggest personal-computer manufacturer. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, last month said it plans to hire 1,000 employees in the next year to focus on companies with sales of $3 million or less.

Small-business sentiment also is healing, according to the optimism index of the National Federation of Independent Business in Nashville, Tennessee, which jumped in October to a five-month high.

“This looks to us like the start of a serious improvement,” Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. in Valhalla, New York, said in a note to clients after the NFIB report on Nov. 9. “We have long argued that a proper recovery in the broad economy requires a sustained improvement in the small-firm sector, which employs half the workforce.”

A month earlier, Shepherdson had written that September NFIB data indicated “progress is slow and small firms remain deeply depressed.”

John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros f RDQ Economics LLC in New York also were encouraged by the NFIB’s October report, which showed rising expectations for sales, better business conditions six months from now and improvement in hiring plans.

“Perhaps, at last, the small-business sector has a pulse, albeit a faint one,” the economists wrote in a Nov. 9 note to clients. “We expect small-business conditions to improve over the coming months.”

Walldorf, Germany-based SAP’s small- and medium-size enterprise business “performed quite well in the third quarter,” Bill McDermott, co-chief executive officer, said on an Oct. 27 conference call with analysts. Dell, in Round Rock, Texas, said Aug. 19 that sales to these customers grew 25 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, after a 19 percent gain the prior three months.

One source of relief for small companies is the thaw in lending, reinforced by the Fed’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers, released Nov. 8. Fed officials have held more than 40 meetings this year to try to reverse the drop in credit, and Bernanke said in an Oct. 15 speech that regulators have “seen some positive signs.”

Citigroup Inc. which claims 2,500 of the world’s 3,000 largest corporations as clients, says it also is targeting U.S. companies with less than $20 million of annual sales, and plans to hire about 200 bankers by the end of 2011 to court them. That would bring the number of small-business bankers to about 500, or one for every two North American branches.

The revival in stock portfolios also helps by giving consumers the wherewithal to spend, said Ultimate Golf Seating’s Vahala, who is setting his sights on southern California, Arizona, Texas and the Carolinas after his first year of selling luxury seats in retirement communities such as The Villages in Florida.

“More retired customers are saying, ‘Now I can buy this seat; it’s been on my wish list for some time,’” said Vahala, 52. He sees the possibility of adding “one or two people through the end of this year and some more next year as the sales come in.”

He and his brother, Dan, also run Vahala Foam Inc., 20- year-old company whose products go into car seats, recreational vehicles, boats and furniture. Their business, which cut staff to 65 in 2009 from about 120 before the recession, has 80 workers now and spent about $100,000 on new equipment this year. Hiring and investment would have been higher in normal years, Vahala said.

Business is “coming back nicely,” he said, adding that workers have resumed 40-hour weeks after reduced shifts in 2009. “I’m still a little gun-shy. I wonder what’s going to happen this winter, but I feel we’ll come through it. Next year will be better.”

A pickup at small companies “could be pretty dramatic for stocks,” said Joseph Kremer, director of mid-, small- and micro-cap value strategies in Cleveland for Fifth Third Asset Management, which oversees about $20 billion.

“A renaissance in small, private businesses would ripple through the economy,” he said. Companies that sell to U.S. customers “would suddenly be seeing more growth,” while so far in the recovery, “most of what the market’s been hanging its hat on is industrial demand, a lot of it fed by foreign sales.”

Kremer said a general-merchandise discount retailer such as Dublin, Georgia-based Fred’s Inc. may do well because some consumer spending “would be ginned up at the lower end.” Companies like Consolidated Graphics Inc., a commercial printer in Houston, also might benefit from an increase in small- business demand for products such as mailers, business cards and catalogs, he said.

Data on employment show the turnaround has begun. Small companies have added jobs in every month since March, including a 21,000 gain in October, according to ADP Employer Services in Roseland, New Jersey, and St. Louis-based Macroeconomic Advisers LLC. Medium-sized businesses employing 50 to 499 people expanded by 24,000, and large companies with more than 499 workers cut staff by 2,000.

“The momentum in business activity is up again, and that probably reflects the improvement in small business as well,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global Ltd. in New York. “It increases the likelihood that a true, self-sustaining recovery is under way.”

The lack of an industrywide measure makes it hard to gauge progress at small, privately held companies. The Small Business Administration defines small companies as those with fewer than 500 employees. Another description, used by Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based SFN Group Inc., qualifies small customers as having annualized revenue of less than $5 million. The staffing and recruitment services provider, which changed its name from Spherion Corp. in February, said such clients are becoming more active.

“We did see some more engagement by the small accounts,” Roy Krause, chief executive officer, said Oct. 28 on SFN’s third-quarter earnings call. “That’s an issue everybody’s been talking about in the industry.”

Paychex Inc., which manages payrolls accounting for companies that employ fewer than 100 workers, said checks per client rose 1.2 percent from a year ago in the quarter ended Aug. 31, after a 1.1 percent gain in the previous quarter that broke a more than three-year-long string of declines.

“Small businesses are doing some hiring and have reduced their layoffs,” John Morphy, chief financial officer of the Rochester, New York-based company, said in a Nov. 11 interview. “Of the clients that have weathered the storm, the majority are doing well. We’re seeing stability in our sales.”

Sweet at Moody’s says small businesses, which he defines as those with fewer than 50 workers, still have a lot of ground to recover. He estimates these companies accounted for 37 percent of job losses during the 18-month recession that ended June 2009, compared with 16 percent during the 2001 slump.

Demand is still uneven, credit isn’t widely available and home equity, often a source of funds for small companies, has plunged. While the government has provided assistance, it will take time to deliver results.

President Barack Obama signed small-business legislation in September that included $56 billion worth of tax cuts over the next 12 months and a $30 billion program to boost lending. That’s in addition to support from his stimulus plan, such as funding to increase limits on loan guarantees offered by the Small Business Administration.

Small companies still have “a lot of problems to work through, so their contribution will be more visible next year and even more noticeable in 2012,” Sweet said. “But they’re making progress, which at this stage of the recovery is very welcome because it keeps us moving in the right direction.\"

St Louis, MO, November 16, 2010--The United States Senate has passed a resolution supporting hardwood by recognizing it as an environmentally preferable building material.

 Resolution S. Res. 411 recognizes United States hardwoods as an abundant, sustainable, and legal resource.  The Senate also mandates that United States hardwoods and products derived from these hardwoods be given full consideration in any program that promotes the construction of environmentally preferable commercial, public, or private buildings.

 The Resolution specifically identifies United States hardwoods as an abundant, sustainable, and legal resource as documented annually by the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.  The USDA analysis shows that the hardwood inventory in the United States has more than doubled during the past 50 years, and that annual hardwood growth currently exceeds annual hardwood removals by a margin of 1.9 to 1, meaning that for every tree harvested in the United States, nearly two are planted in its place.  The study further shows that annual growth of United States hardwoods has exceeded annual removals every year since 1952.

 The legislation was supported by the Hardwood Federation, a coalition of more than 30 associations, including the National Wood Flooring Association, representing the interests of the United States hardwood industry.  The United States hardwood industry employs millions of families throughout the country, representing thousands of jobs in nearly every state and hundreds of Congressional districts.

 The National Wood Flooring Association is a non-profit trade organization, with more than 3,300 members world-wide, dedicated to educating consumers, architects, designers, specifiers and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring.  NWFA members receive the best in educational training, benefits, technical resources and networking, to advance their professionalism and success.

Successful flooring retailers not only tend to be at the top when it comes to professionalism, they understand the advantages of differentiating themselves with products no one else in the local market carries. This creates a unique selling proposition, one that cannot be shopped around.

These dealers still carry many of the big name,branded products consumers know of, but they also mix in floors from a number of smaller suppliers knowing this will give them something their competition lacks. In this sense, few flooring categories offer more choices of product and supplier than wood.

From U.S. based suppliers to those with extensive distribution facilities and networks, the category is speckled with small to medium suppliers. While many have built successful businesses servicing niche markets, others have gained favor by developing national programs that still give exclusivity to local dealers.

Retailers who display smaller compaines products in their selection may face less competition, smaller compaines work with fewer retailers giving them a bit more of an exclusive option to offer to the consumers.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 17,000 last week to 421,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims in the week of Dec. 4 to fall to a seasonally adjusted 425,000. Last week\'s number was revised up by 2,000 to 438,000. Continuing claims, which reflect people already receiving unemployment checks, declined 191,000 to a seasonally adjusted 4.1 million. Some 8.3 million people received a form of state or federal benefits in the week of Nov. 20, down 611,944 on an unadjusted basis.

Triangulo (Curitiba, Brazil) has petitioned the U.S. District Court in Miami to enforce an arbitration tribunal\'s award ordering BR-111 (Medley, Fla.) to pay Triangulo nearly $1.6 million and to cease using the \"Triangulo Engineered\" trademark. The money owed Triangulo is for unpaid invoices, interest on those invoices and attorney\'s fees, according to the petition submitted to the court. Within three to four months, a judge will make a ruling on the petition.

On June 22 both Triangulo and BR-111 agreed to engage in arbitration to settle disputes over the unpaid invoices and use of the disputed trademark. The arbitration tribunal concluded that BR-111 should pay Triangulo for the unpaid invoices and that it had no right to use the \"Triangulo Engineered\" trademark after the two companies severed ties in October 2008; until then, Triangulo was a private label wood flooring supplier to BR-111. According to the petition, BR-111 has \"failed to adhere to the terms\" of the tribunal\'s decision.

BR-111 President Ricardo Moraes declined to comment on the matter.

According to Doug Leigh, Triangulo\'s director of operations in North America, BR-111 continued to attach the \"Triangulo Engineered\" trademark to products from suppliers other than Triangulo after the two companies cut ties more than two years ago.

Quinn Smith, an attorney for Triangulo, said it\'s \"an exception to the rule\" when a party involved in arbitration does not follow the terms set by the tribunal.

Stocks enter a holiday-shortened trading week with respectable returns for 2010 and the major indexes sitting at multiyear highs. Wall Street\'s average forecast calls for similar returns on the S&P 500 next year, but improving economic conditions at home and abroad, strong corporate profits and the Federal Reserve\'s easy-money policies have Joe Greco, managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners, even more bullish on equities in 2011.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average is up a bit more than 10% for the year-to-date and, at nearly 11,500, is trading at a level last seen in early September 2008.

The broader S&P 500 ($INX) has gained 11.6% in 2010 and also stands at a 29-month high. Most impressive, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) is up a robust 16.5% so far in 2010 to put it just shy of a three-year high. After a quiet December, Greco expects the rally to take off again in earnest.

For the first quarter in particular, we\'re looking for the market to rally a couple or more percentage points, perhaps in January right out of the gate,\" Greco says. The V-shaped recovery in corporate profits looks solid well into the third quarter of 2011, and companies are already running so lean that \"an uptick in [corporate] revenue growth or any need for greater inventories could spur management to do some hiring,\" he says.

Naturally, more money in people\'s pockets is good for the economy, corporations and ultimately stocks. Furthermore, companies are staring to deploy their cash hoards on mergers and acquisitions, dividends and share buybacks, all of which are good for stocks, says Greco. And lest we forget, the Fed is determined to keep pumping liquidity into the financial system.

For most sectors, 2010 was a comeback year, as companies finally began adjusting to an economic environment that constantly seemed at risk of double-dipping back into recession. Now that those fears have transformed into mild concerns over slower-than-expected growth, 2011 will present an opportunity for many industries to rejuvenate themselves -- and several are on track to do just that.

Independent researcher IBISWorld ranked 711 U.S.-based industries on their ability to increase revenue, industry gross products, employment, productivity improvements and profitability to make its predictions of the 10 top performing industries for 2011. Here\'s the list it came up with:

1. Iron Ore Mining: This industry will build on the success that the iron and steel manufacturing sector experienced in 2010. IBISworld reports that the sector expanded by 22% in 2010, which is expected to fuel demand for iron ore next year as infrastructure projects and building pick up. Growing demand will mean higher revenues and profitability for companies in this industry.

As an added benefit, \"The industry is expected to undergo the greatest employment growth among all 711 industries, which is a positive sign for the U.S. economy,\" notes IBISworld senior industry analyst Toon van Beeck, who authored its Industry of the Year report.

2. Investment Banking and Securities Dealing: These segments of the financial services industry are due for a revival as better conditions for trading and dealmaking develop next year. Look for investment banks to boost revenue and profitability through increased IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and proprietary trading. Increased regulations could be the one stumbling block for the industry.

3. Multifamily Homebuilding: After revenue tumbled from $40 billion in 2006 to just $19 billion in 2010, this industry is projected to finally see growth again in 2011. Rental income will be the key to the industry\'s revival as an economic recovery is expected to increase demand for properties that have rentable apartments. \"The cyclical recovery of the real estate market, including improvements in property values, rental rates and transaction volumes, will support this industry,\" says van Beeck.

4. Molybdenum and Other Metal Ore Mining: As the global economy begins to improve, demand for molybdenum and other metal ores is increasing. Molybdenum is used in many high-strength steel alloys and in other high-temperature and high-pressure applications. Rising demand for metals used in all types of manufacturing is expected to push up prices in 2011, significantly boosting the industry\'s revenue and profitability.

5. Environmental Consulting: This is one of the \"green\" industries that\'s showing promise. Demand for services such as soil-, water- and air-quality management, sustainability studies and consulting, noise pollution, compliance and auditing is rising as companies worldwide focus on environmental sustainability. Additionally, governmental efforts to slow climate change and reduce carbon emissions will have businesses across all industries seeking help to stay ahead of regulators in 2011.

6. Aluminum Manufacturing: Increased economic activity will lead to increased demand for aluminum, which is used in a multitude of products. IBISWorld says many aluminum manufacturers are expected to increase their smelter capacity next year after significant shutdowns in 2008 and 2009. Although production and output won\'t reach prerecession levels, added revenue growth for companies like Alcoa, Novelis and Century Aluminum will be welcome.

7. Car and Automobile Manufacturing – The restoration of General Motors to health and the renaissance of Ford have this industry in position to take off in 2011. The four largest U.S. auto retailers just reported their best quarterly revenues in two years, which bodes well for the manufacturing and retailing automotive sectors.  

8. New-Car Dealers: This industry will build off its October auto sales numbers, which grew at the fastest pace in 14 months. As the economy improves, consumers should return to the market, and they\'ll be able to afford new vehicles without the help of \"cash for clunkers\" type promotions.

9. Domestic Airlines: Improving consumer and business confidence should lead to growth in the airline industry. Higher levels of tourism encouraged by a weak U.S. dollar, increasing airfares and greater passenger traffic as the economy picks up will all lead to higher revenues for air carriers.

10. Financial Planning and Advice. After a surviving a recession, then dealing with a recovery in which stock markets are more volatile than ever, investors are turning back to financial experts for advice. IBIS expects revenues in this field to grow nicely in 2011.

It may be the happiest season of the year, but higher oil prices that have translated into gasoline prices topping $3 a gallon have many motorists frowning.

According to the latest survey by the AAA motor club, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel surpassed $3 a gallon Thursday, its highest level in more than two years.

Thursday\'s average rang in at $3.01 a gallon, compared to $2.98 a week ago, according to AAA\'s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Prices were highest in states known for high fuel costs, including New York, California, Alaska and Hawaii, where prices ranged from $3.27 a gallon in New York to $3.64 a gallon in Hawaii. Prices were lowest in Colorado, where they averaged $2.76 a gallon.

The average price of fuel has climbed steadily since reaching a low of $1.62 a gallon in December 2008, CNNMoney.com noted. Still, that\'s well below the $4.11 a gallon recorded earlier that year in July.

A Christmas First

\"We\'ve never had Christmas Day with gasoline at $3 or higher,\" says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service, an energy trade publication based in Wall, N.J.

What\'s causing the rise in oil prices? Many analysts blame the weak U.S. dollar, although expectations of a more robust economic recovery in the coming year have also helped push oil to over $90 a barrel in trading on commodity markets. In early trading Thursday, oil prices were up fractionally to $90.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude futures rose above $90 a barrel on Wednesday, after the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, reported U.S. oil stockpiles fell by 5.8 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 17. The decline was much larger than analysts had expected.

In a report later Wednesday, the Department of Energy confirmed crude supplies ad dropped by more than 5 million barrels, which analysts attributed to year-end inventory adjustments rather than higher demand or shortage of imports.

Still, AAA doesn\'t expect that higher fuel prices will keep Americans from hitting the nation\'s highways this holiday season. The organization predicts 85.7 million people will travel by car to their holiday destinations, a 3.2% increase above last year, CNNMoney.com reported.

The rise in gas prices also isn\'t expected to put a damper on economic growth in the New Year. Economist Zach Pandl of Nomura Securities told the Marketplace Morning Report rdaio rogram there are good reasons and bad reasons for oil price increases. The recent rise is good because it\'s being caused by a gradual increase in demand, he said.

\"The kind of increase we\'re seeing today, although it\'s uncomfortable, it probably doesn\'t have a very large impact for the economy as a whole,\" Pandl said.

A Grinchy Turn of Events

Higher prices for crude also translate into greater costs for home-heating fuel, a dominant source of heat for homes in the Northeast. Futures contracts on heating oil for January delivery rose 1.2 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.53 a gallon on Wednesday, the highest settlement price since Oct. 3, 2008, Bloomberg News reported.

That means even consumers in New England and states such as New York and Pennsylvania who plan to stay put for the holiday season will still see their wallets thinned by the run-up in oil prices. That\'s a very Grinchy turn of events indeed.

Several areas of construction will grow in 2011 despite the overall industry shrinking, according to forecasts from business intelligence unit Glenigan.

The office and industrial sectors are predicted to see the most growth, but private housing, retail and infrastructure are also forecast to provide more work than last year.

Glenigan forecasts an overall shrinkage of 2 per cent across the industry in 2011, the same level predicted by the Construction Products Association in December.

But while the public sector will continue to suffer in the wake of the spending cuts outlined at the Comprehensive Spending Review, the private sector will begin to recover in earnest, according to Glenigan.

The forecast said: “While access to finance capital remains a constraint upon activity in both the private housing and the commercial property markets, the flow of projects in the pre-construction pipeline has improved.

“The coming year is forecast to see a turnaround in new office and industrial projects and a modest rise in private housing activity.

“The civil engineering sector is also forecast to remain firm. Having weathered the economic downturn, the flow of underlying project starts is forecast to be sustained during the coming year by an increase in rail and energy projects.

“The sector will receive a further boost as a number of major projects, such as Crossrail, gather momentum.”

The office sector is set to grow by 41 per cent this year, having shrunk by an estimated 10 per cent in 2010. The office sector was decimated by the recession, so any recovery comes from a low base.

However, it is this lack of activity over the past two years that could rescue the office sector, at least in central London. Such a small amount of new floorspace has become available now that the general economy is beginning to slowly improve, demand is outstripping supply.

This year is set to see the start of high-profile towers in central London such as British Land’s Cheesegrater and the Land Securities/Canary Wharf Group Walkie Talkie.

The industrial sector is forecast by Glenigan to grow by 29 per cent this year, building on an increase of roughly half that magnitude in 2010. Improved business confidence and lending conditions are expected to promote industrial growth, particularly during the second half of 2011.

Civil engineering is expected to bounce back from a tough 2010 to grow by 17 per cent in 2011. This will be driven by investment in rail infrastructure with major London projects such as Crossrail and the Thameslink upgrade programme gathering pace alongside a multitude of smaller schemes.

Private sector infrastructure investment is also forecast to stay strong, with airports operator BAA pressing on with Heathrow upgrade plans.

Within the huge civils sector, however, there will be losers as well as winners. Roads starts are forecast to fall as the Highway’s Agency’s capital programme is scaled back dramatically over the next couple of years.

The value of private housing starts on site is forecast to grow by 11 per cent this year as consumer confidence begins to return. Glenigan believes this will overcome ongoing constraints on mortgage availability as the year progresses.

Retail is set to remain fairly flat in 2011, growing by 4 per cent according to the Glenigan forecasts. Supermarkets will remain a hot spot during 2011, while refurbishment of existing shops across the UK will increase as competition ramps up for consumer spending.

Public sector construction, unsurprisingly, is set for a torrid year as the new spending review period kicks in. Social housing is forecast to fall by 34 per cent, education by 27 per cent, health by 19 per cent, and community and amenity by 26 per cent.

The only private sector forecast to lose value in 2011 is hotel and leisure. This is largely due to the expected completion of the 2012 Olympics project halfway through the year. Work on the stadiums and surrounding hotels has propped up the sector through the last couple of years but this is now coming to an end leaving something of a void.

St Louis, MO, January 12, 2011--The floor covering industry will get a look at advances in floor covering products and technology in what is shaping up to be the largest gathering of flooring manufacturers and buyers the Asia Pacific Region has ever hosted. Over 40,000 visitors are expected at DOMOTEX asia CHINAFLOOR 2011 March 22-24, 2011 in Shanghai while the international Wood Flooring Forum, set for the day before, will address “Forces of Change” affecting the wood flooring industry.

 “The disruption in the supply chain due to the ITC investigation of engineered wood flooring coming out of China right now makes this show more important than ever for those who want to source new product and suppliers from the greater Asia area,” said Jim Gould, president of the Floor Covering Institute and Strategic Director of the Wood Flooring Forum. “The Asia’s Domotex show is an important gathering place for buyers looking for new products and for manufacturers looking for distribution.”

The massive show will encompass more than nine exhibition halls within the Shanghai New International Expo Center, and according to Jerome Lizambard, international sales and marketing director for VNU Exhibitions, the wood and laminate flooring section will cover roughly 22,000 square meters and include up to 250 exhibitors.  In total more than 1,000 exhibits are expected at Domotex Asia this year.

  One day before Domotex Asia opens the international Wood Flooring Forum (WFF) under the theme Forces of Change will present an overview of opportunities and obstacles in the wood flooring industry, addressing legal and environmental issues, market trends and the ITC investigation. The United Nations’ International Year of Forests 2011 will be introduced to the flooring industry. The forum is geared towards industry executives and buyers around the world.

 “This year’s general session is shorter and we added intimate panel discussions to give our attendees access to experts on global market issues,” says Gould. The sessions will be presented in two tracks one with an Eastern market focus and the other concentrating on Western markets.

 Panelists include representatives from buying and retail groups such as CCA Global Partners (USA) and PowerDekor and Elegant Living (China) to discuss marketing through their retail channels; the World Wildlife Fund, Global Forest Trade Network and the US Dept of International Trade will address unique laws and regulations, certifications and customs in major markets. Experts will address the growing LEED and sustainable building markets; market data and trends for major wood markets will be presented. An update on the current ITC investigation in the USA on antidumping charges against China will be included.

Commercial real estate investment momentum has been building through the year,culminating in December in the strongest monthly sales activity since 2007. Apart from firming pricing, investors have been supported in recent months by a sharp improvement in credit availability and indications of more stalbe property fundamentals. There are still real challenges ahead of us, such as the management of legacy distress and risks from rising interest rates, but the tailwinds are clearly pushing investment forward on the path to normalization.

Also today on CNBC\'s Street Signs, Erin Burnett interviewed Quintin Primo, Chairman of Capri Capital, who says there is a great play in investing in distressed commercial real estate assets. He says returns should be 5-8% as long as you stay in the primary markets where \"prices have firmed.\"

He is also quite bullish on the apartment sector, citing 3 million new renters since 2004 and growig. \" The stigma about renting has changed dramatically in this country,\" Primo notes, adding that the home ownership rate has dropped from 69% to 67%. He thinks even with a housing recovery, which will be slow, the rental market will remain strong.

Tuscaloosa, AL, January 16, 2011--The User Conference is attended by flooring professionals from all parts of the U.S. and Canada. The day-long event is designed to allow users of the RFMS Business Management System to further their education and knowledge of the leading software system that is designed for their flooring businesses.

 Experienced and knowledgeable instructors lead a variety of workshops that are detailed and informative. A total of 12 different sessions are on the agenda, giving the RFMS users a large variety from which to choose. Many companies bring two or more staff to be sure they cover each topic.

 RFMS conducts the Las Vegas User Conference annually to coincide with SURFACES, the flooring industry tradeshow produced by Hanley Wood. “By offering our program the day before the SURFACES show begins, our users can take advantage of arriving one day earlier and extending the value of their travel dollars,” says Maria Cauchon, Media Director for RFMS. “The RFMS User Conference is also a terrific way for our dealers to have an opportunity to network or chat about their own businesses amongst themselves and get a sense of what is happening in the industry at large.” Over 150 RFMS users are expected to attend, representing 20 states and 4 Canadian Provinces.

Businesses in the U.S. expanded in January at the fastest pace since July 1988, indicating the world’s largest economy has momentum at the start of the year.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its business barometer rose this month to 68.8 from 66.8 in December. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion, and economists projected the gauge would slip to 64.5, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Orders, production and employment increased as manufacturers such as Caterpillar Inc. benefited from a pickup in consumer purchases and stronger export markets in emerging economies such as China. Consumer purchases in the final three months of 2010 were the strongest in more than four years, figures last week showed.

“This fortifies the stability of the recovery,” said Maxwell Clarke, chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal in New York. “You definitely see traction from manufacturing going forward.”

Estimates from 41 economists for the Chicago purchasers’ index ranged from 60 to 71.3, according to the Bloomberg survey.

Data today from the Commerce Department showed Americans’ spending rose more than forecast in December. Household purchases increased 0.7 %, while incomes gained 0.4 % for a second month, the figures showed.

Stocks held gains after the reports and Treasuries fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 % to 1,282.74 at 11:07 a.m. in New York. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note increased to 3.35 % from 3.32 % late on Jan. 28.

The Chicago group’s production gauge rose to 73.7 from December’s reading of 72.2. The gauge of new orders increased to 75.7, the highest since December 1983, from 71.3. The employment measure rose to 64.1, the strongest since May 1984, from 58.4 the prior month.

Economists watch the Chicago index and other regional manufacturing reports for an early reading on the outlook nationally. The Chicago group says its membership includes both manufacturers and service providers, making the gauge of measure of overall growth. Its members have operations across the U.S. and abroad.

Other measures of regional manufacturing have shown strength in January. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Jan. 18 said manufacturing expanded in that region this month, and the Philadelphia Fed said two days later that factories grew for a fourth month.

Automakers are seeing sales pick up. Car purchases in December rose to a 12.53 million unit annual pace, the highest since August 2009, from 12.3 million in November, industry data showed this month.

The ISM’s monthly national factory index, due tomorrow, was probably little changed at 58 in January after 58.5 the prior month. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

A pickup in consumer demand, which accounts for about 70 % of the U.S. economy, could add to gains in manufacturing. The Commerce Department reported last week that household purchases rose at a 4.4%pace in the fourth quarter, the fastest in more than four years, while the economy grew at a 3.2 % rate.

Consumers may further ramp up spending as they benefit from an $858 billion bill extending all Bush-era tax cuts for two years. The legislation also extended the window for expanded unemployment insurance benefits through 2011, trimmed payrolls taxes and included accelerated tax depreciation for equipment purchases.

The manufacturing industry, which accounts for about 11 % of the economy, has been at the forefront of the economic recovery that began in 2009.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, posted fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as sales advanced in China, Australia and Latin America. Revenue climbed 62 %to $12.8 billion from $7.9 billion a year earlier, the company said last week.

In 2011, sales will exceed $50 billion, compared with $42.59 billion in 2010, according to the company.

“There’s quite a bit of pent-up demand there yet to come,” in North America, Ed Rapp, chief financial officer of the Peoria, Illinois-based company, said last week during a conference call. “The tailwinds come as we get more robust growth.\"

Emeryville, CA, Nov. 6, 2009--More than four of every 10 homes listed for sale in 27 major U.S. housing markets reduced their listing prices in October, according to a report of homes listed on Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in the markets surveyed by ZipRealty, a national real estate brokerage.

The number, 43.5 percent, is down slightly from September.

According to the survey, MLS-listed properties with reduced prices have had their prices cut an average of twice, but sellers are not knocking quite as much off as they did earlier this year.

Home owners slashed listing prices by an average of $24,718 in October, just slightly less than the average reduction of $24,960 in September.

The median list price across all 27 markets decreased slightly to $281,416, down 2.02 percent compared to September.

Horsham, PA, Nov. 11, 2009--Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers, Inc. said its fourth-quarter net signed contracts of approximately 765 units and $430.8 million rose 42% in units and 62% in dollars compared to 2008\'s fourth-quarter totals.

Toll said the total also exceeded 2007\'s fourth-quarter net signed contracts by 17% in units and 18% in dollars.

The increases were achieved despite having fewer selling communities, Toll said.

However, Toll said its fourth-quarter home building deliveries and revenues of approximately 860 units and $486.6 million declined 20% in units and 30% in dollars, and its fourth-quarter-end backlog of approximately 1,531 units and $874.8 million declined 25% in units and 34% in dollars, compared to last year.

Toll said that home buyers began to emerge in late March and the market continued to gain momentum up to Labor Day. Since then, he said, demand has been volatile, which he said is likely due to concerns about unemployment and the overall economy.

New York,Ny, Dec. 30, 2009- Mortgage delinquencies are still on the rise,which could put a damper on a rebounding housing market. Although investors appeared to take a report on the flat U.S. home prices in stride Tuesday, rising mortgage delinquencies signal more foreclosures are ahead. More strapped borrowers are falling behind on their monthly payments during the recession as unemployment hovers around 10%. Late Monday Fannie Mae said serious delinquency rates in its conventional single-family home mortgage portfolio rose to 4.98% in October from 4.72% the previous month. A year ago, the rate stood at 1.89%. Home values have rebounded somewhat in recent months, with some economists attributing the bounce to the expiration of the $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers. The credit has been expanded and extended to spring. Recent evidence suggets housing is rebounding, but many mortgage holders who face finicial problems because of the recession have a tough climb to modfiy their loans and keep their homes out of foreclosure.

While the world stands to attention for the FIFA World Cup, Brazil and the City of Rio are preparing for the 8th Homeless World Cup. From 19-26 of September 2010, 64 national teams of homeless players-including 16 women\'s teams will be united on Copacabana Beach, Brazil for the week long, annual football tournment aimed at beating homelessness globally.

Over 300,00 homeless players around the world are aiming for the chance to stand pround and represent their country on the global stage in Rio. A street soccer stadium with 3 pitches holding a crowd of 5,000 will be built on Copacabana Beach with the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corovado Mountain as the remarkable, iconic backdrop.

Mel Young, president,Homeless World Cup said, \" Brazil and the City of Rio have the courage to take positive steps to address proverty and serious social issues with football, a sport in which they lead the world.\" The Homeless World Cup is an opportunity for homeless people to move from the invisble margins to the center of Rio, stand proud on a global stage, true ambassadors for their country, and change their lives. A ball can change the world.\"

Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva , \"it is with great satisfaction that the Brazilian Ministry of Sports supports the Rio 21010 Homeless World Cup. I\'m convinced that gathering people from the whole world in a great sports movement for peace and social change will creat a strong impact and contribution.\"

The first Homelss World Cup took place in Graz 2003 uniting 18 national teams, 5 years on and the tournament had grown siginificantly to unite  56 nations at Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup, which included the first Women\'s Cup and a $3 million legacy of 30 street soccer programes to address homeless across Australia. 

Christina Manca Designer and founder of Drawing Board Design. Gives you tips and reviews to help you select the wood flooring that\'s right for you.

There\'s something really special about a hardwood floor and there are more possibilities than ever before from exotic woods to floors that look like wood but aren\'t wood at all. With so many options it can be difficult to choose so Christina Manca reviews tips on how to select the wood flooring that\'s right for you:

Wood flooring is loved fro several reasons, It\'s one of the oldest flooring products so there\'s a level of comfort with it and it\'s very durable. It\'s also so verstile that it offers an infinite number of possibilities from different species to adding borders and inserts.

A soild strip hardwood floor uses strips of wood about 3/4\" thick , 2-1/4\" wide and anywhere from 12 to 84 inches long. North American hardwoods like red oak, maple and walnut are taditional favorites, but there\'s a trend toward using more exotic woods today.

Solid hardwood floors come either unfinished or pre-finished. The latter is nice because if avoids the dust and fumes that come with refinishing/finishing a floor.

Believe it or not, you can get the look of hardwood without solid wood. Engineered wood flooring is a veneer of hardwood in the species of you choice on top of three to five thin sheets of wood. Whereas solid wood will expand or contract with heat and moisture, engineered wood flooring doesn\'t do that as much so there won\'t be as many cracks between the strips, which makes it particulary good for kitchens and basements where moisture is a factor. Solid wood flooring will last until somone removes it and engineered wood flooring will last anywhere from 10 to 20 years, depending on the level of traffic.

Plastic laminate flooring is not a wood product at all, but it looks like wood. The plastic layer on top is attached to plastic boards and it last about 10 to 15 years.

The three things to consider when choosing a new wood floor are budget, the application (how much traffic is going to be on the floor ane where it will go ) and the lifecycle of the floor (how long you want it to last).

St. Louis, MO - The National Wood Flooring Association has started a voluntary Accepted Product Program for its members to help market their products.

The program establishes criteria by which all companies can manufacture their products for optimal performance.

For customers, the program offers the assurance that the products meets or exceeds industry performance standards.

Once approved, the manufacturer will be able to display a product seal on its approved products.

The wood flooring categories to be evaluated include abrasives, engineered wood flooring, fasteners, finished, and underlayment.

In another sign that the city\'s tourism industry is improving, Las Vagas in July saw its largest year-over-year visitation increase since December 2005, according to numbers released today.

The number of visitors during July increased by 4.7 percent from fewer than 3.2 million in July 2009 to more than 3.3 million this year, according to a report by the Las Vagas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The LVCVA said July tourism numbers benefited from an extra Saturday in the month, record drive-in traffic and an increase in convention attendance.

Citywide hotel occupancy held steady at about 84 percent as the number of rooms increased by about 7,000 since last July, primarily due to the addition of CityCenter.

The average daily room rate increased 4.8 percent from $86.23 in July 2009 to $90.38 this past July, the LVCVA said. Room rates are still down significantly from pre-recession levels.

Overall gaming revenue fell 5 percent from $729.90 milllion in July 2009 to $693.4 million in July of this year, but with stronger baccarat numbers, the Strip matched last July\'s gaming revenue.

Convention attendance increased by more than 28 percent in July, primarily because of a new large convention,DeafNation, which brought about 23,400 visitors to Las Vegas.

Passenger traffic at McCarren International Airport was down 1.1percent, but vehicle traffic on Interstate 15 at the Nevada/California state line was up 4.7 percent.

Visitor volume to Laughlin dropped 0.6 percent from July 2009 to July 2010, while the number of visitors fell 5 percent in Mesquite.

Washington- Industrial production rose modestly in August and the manufacturing sector grew for the 12th time in 13 months.

The Federal Reserve reports that output at the nation\'s factories, mines and utilities edged up 0.2 percent last month. It rose 0.6 percent in July.

Production at factories, the largest singel element of industrial production, slowed to 0.2 percent after gaining 0.7 percent in July. Much of softness came from a decline in auto production, which spiked in July. Excluding autos manufacturing rose 0.5 percent.

Output rose for basic consumer goods such as food, clothing and paper by more than 1.0 percent.

Manufacturing has helped drive economic growth over the past year.

Ferderal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said additional monetary stimulus may be warranted because inflation is too low and unemployment is too high.

\"There would appear -- all else being equal-- to be a case for further action,\" Bernanke said today in the text of remarks given at a Boston Fed conference. He said the central bank could expand asset purchases ro change the language in its statement, while saying \"nonconventional policies have cost and limitations that must be taken into account in judging whether and how aggressively they should be used.\"

He didn\'t offer new details on how the Fed would undertake those strategies or give assurances the central bank will act at its Nov. 2-3 meeting.

Bernanke and his central bank colleagues are considering ways they can stimulate the economy as the unemployment rate holds near 10 percent and inflation falls short of their goals. After lowering interest rates almost to zero and purchasing $1.7 trillion of securities, policy makers are discussing expanding the Fed\'s balance sheet by purchasing Treasuries and strategies for raising inflation expectations, according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee\'s Sept. 21 meeting.

\"At current rates of inflation, the constraint imposed by the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates is too tight\" and the risk of deflation is higher than desirable,\" Bernanke said. \"High unemployment is currently forecast to persist for some time.\"

Fed officials, concerned that expectations of lower inflation will become self-fulfilling, are debating whether to encourage Americans to believe that prices will start rising at a faster pace so that they would spend more of their money now, the minutes from last month\'s meeting showed. That would reduce inflation -adjusted interest rates and stimulate the economy.

\"Central bank communication provides additional means of increasing the degree of policy accommodation,\" Bernanke said. \" A step the Committee could consider, if conditions called for it, would be to modify the language of the statement in some way that indicates that the Committee expects to keep the target for the federal funds rate low for longer than markets expect.\"

Still, it \"may be difficult to convey the Committee\'s policy intentions with sufficient precision and conditionality,\" he said.

The central bank could also expand its securities holding, which has in the past been \"successful\" at lowering interest rates, Bernanke said. The Fed doesn\'t have much experience with that tool, which makes it difficult to decide the \"appropriate quantity and pace of purchases and to communicate this policy response to the public,\" he said.

Bernanke said that \"despite these challenges, the Federal Reserve remains committed to pursuing policies that promote our dual objectives of maximum employment and price stability.\"

The Fed\'s September statement was the first in almost two years of near-zero interest rates to say that too-low inflation would merit looser monetary policy. Prices excluding food and energy rose at a 1 percent annual pace in the three months through August, below Fed officials\' long-term preferred range of about 1.7 percent to 2 percent.

\"Overall economic growth has been proceeding at a pace that is less vigorous than we would like,\" Bernanke said. \" Consumer spending has been inhibited by the painfully slow recovery in the labor market\" and \" with long-run inflation expertations stable and with substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures, it seems likely that inflation trends will remain subdued for some time.\" Bloomberg

Amid all the whining about residental and commercial real estate markets, exchange -traded funds (EFTs) comprising real estate investment trusts (REITs) have quietly been kicking butt.

\"REIT ETFs are leading the S&P by a healthy margin, outperforming the S&P over the last 12 months, \"says Timothy Strauts, an ETF analyst  for Morningstar, who covers  REIT ETFs.

The category, U.S. ETF Real Estate was up 22% year -to-date through Sept. 21, compared to 3.71% for the S&P 500 stock index, according to Morningstar. Last week, Vanguard  REIT ETF (VNQ) traded near a new 52-week high of $54.85.

\"REIT ETFs and REIT mutual funds have put together a remarkable track record on both a year-to-date and one-year basis,\" says Mark Ward, chairman of the Investment Policy Committee at Lucien, Stirling & Gray Advisory Group.

Wondering what is  REIT is? It\'s a security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estare directly, either through properites or mortgages. REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate.

Among other things, REITs invest in shopping malls, office buildings, apartments, warehouses and hotels. Some REITs will invest specifically in one area of real estate--shopping malls, for example--or in one specific region, state or country. Investing in REITs is a liquid, dividend--paying means of participating in the real estate market.

Why are they attractive? \" Tax efficiency,liquidity, compound interest. If you don\'t have $140,00 to buy that condo and start renting it out, you can find a REIT ETF starting probably at $50, \" says Ty Young, president of wealth management firm Ty J. Young. They also provide a \"short\" option for investors. And their requirement to spend 95% of revenue as a dividend, is another attraction. \" With lot of cash on hand, they represent a strong investment vehicle,\"Young adds.\" Sheryl Nance-Nash  Daily Finance

Mannington  has announced it will implement a 5% price increase on all \"better\" and \"best\" collection rersidential sheet products, effective on shipments starting Nov.29.

\"We continue to experience rising raw material costs, especially as they relate to plasticizers and resins,\" said Kim Holm, president, Residential Business. \" Due to reduced capacities, there has been a shortage of plasticizers, which has driven prices up dramatically. We are hopeful that those costs have peaked, but it will be some time before additional capacity comes on stream,\"

The increase will effect products in both U.S. and Canada. Floor covering news

President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act on Sept. 27, which the Hardwood Federation says will lend $30 billion to community banks with the goal of lending money to small businesses. The new law included $12 billion in tax breaks aimed at small businesses. \"it would exclude from taxes all captial gains on sales of small-business stock, and accelerate tax write-offs for purchases of equipment and other property. Specifically, to motivate compaines to spend money on equipment, the provision of the 2009 Recovery Act which allowed businesses to write off up to $250,000 of equipment is extended throught 2011 and increased to a maximum of $500,000.\" the Hardwood Federation said. The group also points out that hardwood suppliers might target restaurant owners and retailers, who could receive tax breaks for remodeling their stores or building new ones. NWFA

ADP\'s private payroll report for September did  little to ease concerns about U.S. employment woes. ADP announced today that the private sector cut 39,000 jobs last month -- the biggest loss since January. A Bloomberg survey had expected private employers to add 20,000 jobs in September.

The lone bright spot in ADP\'s report: August\'s private employment total was revised to a gain of 10,000 jobs, rather than the previously estimated loss of 10,000. Private employers added 32,000 jobs in July and 26,000 jobs in June.

September\'s job decline \"confirms a pause in the economic recovey already evident in other data,\" ADP said. A deceleration of employment occurred in all major sectors, ADP added.

Separately, private placement firm Challenger, Gary & Christmas said planned layoff announcements by U.S. employers rose 7% to 37,151 in September from 34,768 in August, Reuters reported Wednesday. However, this September\'sjobs cuts were down 44% compared to September 2009\'s 66,404. Year-to-date, jobs cuts are down 64% compared to the first nine months of 2009. So far in 2010, employers have announced 411,272 layoffs, down from 1.13 million in the same period of 2009.

ADP reports\'s shows that job were cut across the board. By business size (large,medium, small) losses were 11,000, 14,000 and 14,000, respectively.

In September, construction employment declined 28,000, bringin the total number lost since the January 2007 peak to 2.3 million. Financial services lost 13,000jobs. The goods -producing sector lost 45,000 jobs. And manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs--the latter being the sector\'s third straight monthly decline. On the positive side, services added 6,000 jobs-- that sector\'s eighth straight monthly gain.

September\'s private sector employment report is a clear disappointment, and it shows that the second-quarter slowdown in U.S. GDP growth has likely continued in the third quarter.

Given the labor market\'s poor progress, policymakers will likley remain focused on job creation. The U.S. economy needs to create 100,000 to 125,000 jobs to keep the U.S. unemployment rate, currently a very high 9.6%, from rising again.

Investors should also keep in mind that the more-telling job statistic, containing both private and public sector job data, is the U.S. Labor Department\'s monthly nonfarm payrool report, and the September data will be released Friday, Oct. 8 at 8:30 a.m. ET. That report is now expected to show essentially no overall change in jobs last month. However, a Bloomberg survey of ecnonomists expects the Labor Department report to show a gain of 77,000 private sector jobs, after a loss of 54,000 jobs overall and a gain of 67,000 private sector jobs in August. Daily Finance

Gold prices retreated Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened and investors awaited the minutes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Gold for December delivery was losing $6.30 to $1,348.10 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold has traded as high as $1,356.30 and as low as $1,341.40 today.

The U.S. dollar index was adding o.1% to $77.51, while the euro was slipping slightly to $1.39 against the dollar. The spot gold price was down more than $8, according to Kitco\'s gold index.

Gold prices were getting hit by a mixture of a stronger U.S. dollarm money tightening in China and worries that the Federal Reserve\'s quantitative easing progam might not be as huge as previously thought.MSN

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose in October to the highest level in four months, a sign residential construction is stablilizing at depressed levels.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index increased to 16, exceeding the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, from 13 the prior month, data from the Washington-based group showed today. The gauge was projecte to rise to 14, according to the median estimate in the Bloomberg survey.

Housing construction will be slow to recover after the end of a home buyers\' tax credit and as foreclosures floor the market with cheaper homes. Unemployment near a 26 year high of 10.1 percent is making it difficult for Americans to take advantage of the lowest mortage rates on record.

\"It is encouraging to see a little more optimism on the housing side, which might mean the sector is starting to stabilized,\" said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Enconomics LLC in New York.

Index readings lowr than 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor. Estimates in the Bloomberg survey of 47 economists ranged from 12 to 15. The measure reached a record low of 8 in January of last year and averaged 54 in the five years before the recession began in December 2007.

Stock and Treasury securities maintained gains after the report. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 1,179.17 at 10:31 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.52 percent from 2.56 percent on Oct. 15. The S & P Supercomposite Homebuilders Index declined 0.3 percent.

The builders group\'s index of current single -family home sales increased in October to 16 from 13, and the measure of sales expectations for the next six months rose to 23 from 18. The gauge of buyer traffic increased to 11 from 9.

The measure of builder confidence rose in all four U.S. regions.

\"Builders are starting to see some flickers of interest among potential buyers, and are hopeful that this interest will translate to more sales in the coming months,\" NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a homebuilder from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, said in a statement.

With foreclosures reaching a record in September, U.S. regulators last week said they were investigating whether employees of lenders including Ally Financial Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. had falsified documents used in foreclosure proceedings.

Ally Financial and Bank of America are among banks that have suspended some foreclosures or evictions to review paperwork, which may further delay a recovery in housing as it takes longer to clear inventory.

Work began on 580,000 homes at an annual pace in September, down from 598,000 in August, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed before a Commerce Department report tomorrow.

Housing starts plunged to a record-low 477,000 pace in April 2009 after reaching a three-decade high of 2.27 million in January 2006. They rose to a 685,000 level in April this year, thanks to the $8,000 tax credit that expired that month.

Miami-based Lennar Corp. is among companies finding other ways to boost earnings as sales languish. The fourth-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue bought about $740 million of distressed loans and real estate from three financial institutions to boost earnings, the Miami-based company said Oct. 1 in  a statement.

The newly purchased loans and properties represent \"an excellent investment opportunity for our shareholders,\" Lennar Chief Executive Officer Stuart Miller said in the statement. The package includes about 397 loans and 306 properties in 17 states, primarily in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Bloomberg.

WASHINGTON —The foreclosure-document crisis just keeps on growing.

A federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the agency is in the initial stages of trying to determine whether the financial industry may have broken criminal laws in the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

The official said the question is whether some in the industry were acting with criminal intent or were simply overwhelmed by events in the wake of the housing market\'s collapse. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is just getting under way.

Big lenders are trying to move past the foreclosure-document crisis, saying they are now confident their paperwork is accurate. But they are facing so much organized resistance that they can\'t just snap up their briefcases, declare the crisis over and move on.

Consider the opposition:

• Attorneys general in all 50 states are jointly investigating whether lenders violated state laws.


• Lawyers for evicted homeowners are preparing lawsuits against major lenders.


• State judges have signaled they will review the banks\' foreclosure documents with skepticism.


• Lawmakers on Capitol Hill plan to hold hearings.

The document crisis, in other words, appears far from over. Statements on Monday by Bank of America Corp. and GMAC Mortgage that they are resuming foreclosures in the 23 states that require a judge\'s approval brought a wave of denunciations from public officials Tuesday. Attorneys general and other officials said bank officials could face civil — and potentially criminal — charges for flouting court procedures in handling foreclosure documents.

Hundreds of judges around the country have the authority to penalize bank officials who violate their procedural rules. They could also force thousands of foreclosure cases to go to full trials rather than issue a quick ruling.

Judges won\'t take well to banks that filed erroneous documents with their courts, said Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller.

\"There could be some serious consequences,\" including criminal charges, Zoeller said.

Even if there aren\'t, lawsuits are likely to continue for years, said Guy Cecala, publisher of the trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance.

\"Some of these plaintiffs\' attorneys clearly smell blood in the water,\" Cecala said.

New York courts will become the first in the United States to require lawyers handling foreclosures for banks and servicers to take steps to ensure the procedure is done properly, the state\'s top judge said on Wednesday.

Effective immediately, lawyers representing the plaintiffs in residential foreclosure actions must file signed affirmations that they took reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of documents.

New York is one of 23 states where court approval is needed to foreclose.Jonathan Lippman, the chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, said the rule is in response to disclosures by several mortgage lenders of problems in the foreclosure process, including in the notarization and so-called \"robosigning\" of documents.

\"We cannot allow the courts in New York State to stand by idly and be party to what we now know is a deeply flawed process, especially when that process involves basic human needs — such as a family home — during this period of economic crisis,\" Lippman said.

Meanwhile, Bank of America and GMAC said they are not finding major mistakes in the documents they\'ve reviewed so far and are able to fix any problems quickly.

The banks\' decisions came several weeks after they began halting some foreclosures. They froze those cases amid allegations that their employees signed but didn\'t read documents that may have contained errors.

State officials argue that the systems the banks used to process foreclosures were inherently flawed and likely remain so. They are vowing to push ahead in their investigations.

\"While they are telling us that they have fixed those problems, we can\'t just take their word for it,\" said Patrick Madigan, an assistant attorney general in Iowa who is spearheading the 50-state investigation. \"We intend to independently verify whether the problems have been fixed.\"

Some judges say the document problems are persisting.

In New York City, Justice Arthur Schack of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, who\'s gained national attention for throwing out flawed foreclosure cases, said he\'s still finding errors. In a stack of foreclosure cases sitting on his desk, he said he found flaws in most of them after a 10-minute once-over.

\"It\'s nice of Bank of America to issue a press release,\" Schack said. \"But they\'d better file all their paperwork and make sure it\'s done correctly, because they\'re asking me to take someone\'s house away.\"

Florida has been the state most affected by the document mess. Officials there say they\'re skeptical that banks have managed to resolve their paperwork problems so fast.

Chief Judge J. Thomas McGrady of Florida\'s 6th Judicial Circuit on Florida\'s Gulf coast, said judges in his circuit will scrutinize foreclosure documents, case by case.

Peter Ticktin, a Florida plaintiffs\' attorney, said, \"Pragmatically, it is impossible\" for the bank to fix documents so quickly.

Bank of America says it will begin next week to re-file documents for more than 100,000 foreclosure cases. CEO Brian Moynihan said on a conference call Tuesday that employee who have reviewed the bank\'s documents have found no inaccurate information that\"would affect the plain facts of the foreclosure.\"

The federal government is also starting to get involved. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other officials plan to meet on the issue Wednesday, but no announcements are planned.

Officials from the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency  that guarantees home loans, have found clear disparities in how five major lenders have been responding to distressed homeowners after a four-month review of their practices, according to an administration official who declined to be named because the probe was not complete.

The review was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. The official declined to name the lenders in question. The government has the power to fine lenders not complying with FHA guidelines.

The White House has said federal agencies are investigating the allegations of flawed foreclosure documents. But the Obama administration has rebuffed calls for a national halt to foreclosures. It says doing so could hurt the housing market by making it harder for buyers of foreclosed homes to complete their transactions.

Attention will shift next month to Capitol Hill, where House and Senate lawmakers have scheduled hearings.

Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, said Tuesday that she was \"disappointed by Bank of America\'s rush to resume foreclosures after such a short review.\" Waters has introduced legislation that would bar lenders from foreclosing without offering homeowners any assistance.

Consumer advocates and some lawmakers, meanwhile, argue that banks need to do far more than re-file and re-sign piles of flawed documents. They say the banks must correct the way they handle foreclosures and requests for aid from distressed homeowners. Those efforts have been widely criticized as inadequate.

AT&T Earnings on Target as Subscribers Snap Up iPhone 4s

AT&T ( T) posted strong third-quarter sales on the back of iPhone 4 transactions, exceeding Wall Street\'s revenue expectations and hitting its mark for earnings, according to the quarterly report it released today.

The telecom giant reported revenues of $31.6 billion, a 2.8% increase over a year ago, as it posted a record third-quarter net gain in the number of wireless subscribers. Wall Street was expecting AT&T to generate revenues of $31.23 billion in the quarter.

AT&T\'s net income reached $12.3 billion for the three month period, or $2.08 a share. But when excluding a one-time gain from the sale of Sterling Commerce, AT&T\'s net income was 55 cents a share, in line with analysts’ expectations and 1 cent more than the same time last year.

UPS Earnings Beat Street Estimates, Boosts Outlook

United Parcel Service (UPS) reported an 80% jump in third-quarter net income on higher revenue and margins. The world\'s largest package delivery company easily exceeded Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year earnings outlook.

UPS said third-quarter profit rose to $991 million, or 99 cents a share, from $549 million, or 55 cents, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, UPS earnings came to 93 cents a share, which beat analysts\' average estimate by a nickel, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

McDonald\'s Earnings Up 10% on Strong Global Growth

McDonald\'s (MCD) pleased Wall Street Thursday after it said that its third-quarter earnings rose 10%, beating analyst estimates.

The world\'s largest fast food chain reported earnings per share of $1.29 in the quarter ending Sept. 30. That was nearly a nickel higher than the $1.25 estimate from Thomson Reuters analysts.

Global comparable sales increased 6.0%, boosted by strong growth from around the world. U.S. comp sales rose 5.3%, compared to 4.1% in Europe and 8.1% in Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

\"For the third quarter, we grew comparable sales and customer visits around the world and delivered increased profitability,\" CEO Jim Skinner said in a statement. \"As we continue to invest in our business and extend the McDonald\'s brand, I am confident that we will create even more ways to satisfy consumers looking for high quality, great tasting food that\'s convenient and affordable.\"

Investors were lovin\' the news from McDonald\'s. Shares rose nearly 2% in premarket trading. See full article @ Daily Finance

America\'s bedraggled labor market got a boost today with the latest weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly plunging 21,000 to 434,000 -- their lowest level since July. A Bloomberg survey had expected the report to show a total of 455,000 new claims. Last week\'s total was revised 3,000 higher to 455,000.

Perhaps even better, the four-week moving average declined 5,500 to 453,250. Economists emphasize this measure because it smooths out anomalies due to holidays, strikes, weather-related layoffs and other temporary factors.

Continuing claims also plummeted, by 122,000 to 4.36 million. Some of that decline reflects Americans whose benefits have been exhausted, but some of it also those who have found work.

Going in the Right Direction

Initial claims need to drop below 400,000 during the next two quarters to give economists and investors confidence that commercial activity is increasing at a pace that prompts most companies to curtail layoffs and resume hiring. A year ago, new claims totaled 528,000, the four-week moving average was 528,750 and continuing claims totaled 5.80 million.

States also reported 3.78 million people claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending Oct. 9, the latest week for which data are available, a decrease of 258,102 from the prior week. A year ago, 3.41 million people claimed EUC benefits.

Also, the pattern of states reporting \"lower highs\" for weekly increases in jobless claims resumed last week, after a one-week pause. Only one state reported a large increase, down from five last week, and even that one was minor: Puerto Rico had an increase of just 1,115 claims.

The highest insured unemployment rates for the week ending Oct. 9, the latest week for which data are available, were in Puerto Rico, 6.9%; Alaska, 4.9%: Oregon, 4.1%; Pennsylvania, 4.1%; Nevada, 4%; and California, 3.9%.

This week\'s jobless claims represent unqualified good news. Of course, the 21,000 claims drop only one week\'s data, hence investors shouldn\'t read too much into it. But if claims decline in the weeks ahead at anywhere near this pace, it would be a sign that layoffs are finally subsiding in a big way. That would be the best news on the labor front in 2010.

The next place for eco-friendly innovation is two feet from your toilet. Household product giant Kimberly-Clark is about to roll out the first-ever tubeless toilet paper rolls.

Scott Naturals Tube-Free, which use a special winding technique to fit on your existing toilet-paper holder without the usual cardboard backing, will go on sale Monday in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores across the Northeast.

If customers like them -- and who wouldn’t like a roll whose last square is as intact as the first, rather than being irrevocably glued to the tube when it’s needed most -- they could become the new standard in the $9 billion toilet-paper market.

While such a development might leave a lot of arts-and-crafts teachers and hamsters in the lurch, it would certainly save space in landfills. According to Kimberly-Clark, Americans go through 17 billion TP tubes annually, adding up to 160 million pounds of cardboard trash, most of which isn\'t recycled.

Construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in September, led by increases in homebuilding and public projects.

The 0.5 percent gain brought spending to $801.7 billion after a revised 0.2 percent drop in August that was previously reported as a 0.4 percent gain, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.

Homebuilders are recovering from a slump in demand following the expiration of a government tax break and still face the challenge of mounting foreclosures that are adding to the housing inventory. While rising profits may help corporate spending on structures grow next year, government construction outlays may slow as federal stimulus funds fade and state and local municipalities cut budgets.

“Construction is still a very low- to no-growth scenario for the next nine months at least,” Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, said before the report. “There’s still a lot of capacity out there to be absorbed. We’ve already been seeing some hit to infrastructure spending from budget cuts on the state and local governments especially as the federal stimulus eases.”

Economists forecast construction spending would decrease 0.5 percent, according to the median projection in a Bloomberg News survey. The 50 estimates ranged from a drop of 1.2 percent to a 0.5 percent increase.

Other figures from the Commerce Department today showed consumer spending rose less than forecast in September as incomes dropped for the first time in more than a year, a sign Americans may keep rebuilding savings and paring debt as the economy is slow to recover.

Purchases advanced 0.2 percent, the smallest gain of the third quarter. Incomes fell 0.1 percent, the first drop since July 2009, and the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation stagnated, capping the smallest 12-month increase in nine years.

Construction spending was down 10 percent in the year ended in September, today’s report showed.

Private construction spending was unchanged. A 1.8 percent increase in homebuilding was offset by a 1.6 percent drop in commercial projects as fewer factories were put up. Non- residential construction decreased to the lowest level since January 2005.

Public construction climbed 1.3 percent following a 2.2 percent gain in August. Federal construction outlays increased 6.1 percent, while state and local government spending rose 0.8 percent. New transportation grids and schools accounted for most of the gains.

The Obama administration has been boosting U.S. investment in rail projects. High-speed rail projects in 23 U.S. states will share $2.4 billion in federal aid, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Oct. 28. That is in addition to $8 billion in stimulus money already awarded for passenger train service.

State and local spending may continue to be restrained as municipalities cut projects to balance budgets when tax revenue remains limited.

Newark, New Jersey’s city council Oct. 28 passed a $605 million budget that closed an $83 million deficit by raising property taxes 16 percent and cutting as many as 866 jobs.

“Every city is doing terrible and Draconian things to balance their budgets this year,” Councilman Ronald Rice said in a telephone interview.

Home sales are stabilizing at low levels after a plunge in demand following the end of the homebuyers tax credit, which required contracts be signed by April 30 and closed by Sept. 30. Purchases of new homes increased to a 307,000 pace in September, the Commerce Department said last week.

Housing starts unexpectedly increased in September though building permits were the lowest in more than year and less than starts, figures from the Commerce Department showed last month. That is a signal residential building will remain near record lows in coming months.

“It is difficult to predict when buyer confidence will return and the market will strengthen, but we are optimistic that we’ll see some improvement in 2011,” Meritage Homes Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steven Hilton said in a statement Oct. 27.

The Scottsdale, Arizona-based homebuilder took orders for 706 homes in the third quarter, down 36 percent from a year earlier. The company attributed some of the decline to having closed some communities over the last year.

The economy is a central issue in tomorrow’s mid-term Congressional elections. There is no clear consensus on which party deserves more blame for the economy’s problems, or how best to fix them, according to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted Oct. 24-26. It showed Republicans are poised to retake the U.S. House without a mandate from voters to carry out their policies. Bloomberg

Central European laminate flooring producers are now stepping up their efforts to raise their sales prices in reaction to the renewed upturn in raw material costs and the ensuing tightening of their margins. Several businesses announced mark-ups averaging 4-6% to take effect from the start of 2011 during the fourth quarter. Even larger increases are in the pipeline for low-priced products and larger orders.

The Australian government announced today that it has introduced legislation restricting the importation and sale of illegally logged timber. “Under the legislation, importers will now need to meet a due diligence test to ensure the timber they are sourcing has not been illegally logged,” said Australia’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Joe Ludwig. Ludwig said the legislation, which will be introduced into Parliament next year, will protect Australian timber jobs and help ease consumers’ concerns over the legality of products they buy. Ludwig added that the legislation is part of a global effort including the United States and the European Union, both of which already have illegal timber bans in place. The press release from the Australian government can be read here, and further information from the Australian government on illegal logging can be found here.

Washington, DC, December 9, 2010 - Serving as leading indicators for the sector, two composite multifamily indices produced from NAHB\'s survey of multifamily builders and property managers showed improvement in the third quarter of 2010. The NAHB Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased to a value of 35.6, up from the 26.6 level reported for the second quarter. This is the highest the MPI has been since 2007.

The NAHB Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI), meanwhile, registered a decline (fewer vacant apartments) for the fifth quarter in a row—down to 39.2. The MVI has been declining steadily since reaching a peak of 70.2 in the second quarter of 2009.

The MPI is a weighted average of three seasonally-adjusted components based on respondents\' ratings of starts currently vs. the previous quarter. All three MPI components increased in the third quarter: Lower rent apartments, rose to 45.7 from 32.8; Market-rate apartments rose to 38.6 from 34.4; and For-Sale units (condos and co-ops) rose to 23.5 from 14.5.

Similarly, the MVI is a weighted average of three seasonally-adjusted components based on respondents\' ratings of vacancies currently vs. the previous quarter. MVI components for Class B and Class C apartments showed improvement (a reduction, indicating fewer vacant apartments) in the third quarter, while the MVI component for Class A apartments increased slightly.

Previously, NAHB had reported multifamily index components individually. Beginning with this quarter, the components are being combined into summary indices based on the ability of the series to predict US Census Bureau data one to three quarters ahead. For example, the Census Bureau\'s multifamily starts rate, after an extended decline, has been increasing since the fourth quarter of 2009. NAHB\'s MPI surged one quarter earlier. The Census Bureau\'s rental vacancy rate in buildings with five or more apartments has been generally declining since reaching a peak of 13.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009, a quarter after NAHB\'s MVI reached its peak.

\"Since 1985, NAHB has been producing the Housing Market Index, which gives an indication of what the coming months will bring in the single-family market,\" said David Crowe, NAHB\'s Chief Economist. \"We are confident that the MPI and MVI will provide equally useful information for the multifamily sector.\"

\"It is important to remember that, although both the MPI and the Census Bureau\'s measures of multifamily production are increasing, they are rising from historically very low levels,\" Crowe added, \"with multifamily starts remaining well below a rate that would be sustainable under more normal market conditions. Further improvement in multifamily production depends upon resolving the formidable problems that currently exist in accessing credit to develop and build economically viable multifamily projects.\"

The U.S. economy received a double-dose of good news in the latest wholesale inventories report: Inventories unexpectedly rose 1.9% in October to $427.1 billion – a gain that provides more evidence that suppliers and businesses expect a decent holiday sales season. And, September\'s inventory gain was revised higher, to a 2.1% rise from the initially estimated 1.5% increase.

A Bloomberg survey had expected October wholesale inventories to rise 0.9%. Inventories rose 1.2% in August.

Inventories are now up 9.9% compared to a year ago in October 2009, and higher than the 8.5% year-over-year increase recorded in September.

Wholesale sales in October rose 2.2% to $362.1 billion and are now up 13.4% compared to a year ago in October 2009, and higher than the 12% year-over-year rise recorded in September. However, economists are careful to point out that current year-over-year increases stem from a low base as a result of the recession, hence large gains are easier to achieve.

Meanwhile, the inventory-to-sales ratio was flat at 1.18 in October, which means companies had a 1.18-month supply of goods in stock at the October sales pace. The ratio, an indicator of demand, was at 1.22 a year ago in October 2009. It hit a record low of 1.13 months in April.

Broad-Based Durable Goods Inventory Gain

Wholesale inventories of durable goods -- products whose service life is several years -- increased 0.9%, and non-durable goods inventories rose 2.2%

Among durable goods inventories, metals rose 2.2%, computer equipment increased 1.9%, electrical equipment rose 1.5%, miscellaneous durable goods rose 1.5%, furniture increased 1.0%, machinery increased 0.9%, professional equipment climbed 0.8%, and hardware rose 0.6%. Meanwhile, lumber inventories fell 0.6% and auto inventories dipped 0.1%.

In the non-durable goods, inventories for farm products surged 20.5%, petroleum products rose 3.5%, paper products increased 2.7%, and apparel rose 0.6%. Meanwhile, drug inventories declined 1.0% and chemical inventories fell 2.3%.

Wholesale inventories comprise about 40% of the U.S. business stockpiles, factory inventories about 38%, and retail inventories about 22%.

In general, economists prefer to see wholesale inventories rise during an expansion, as it has historically indicated that suppliers and businesses are confident increased demand will take the products off their shelves. Moreover, inventory building and replenishing also leads to job creation, as suppliers increase production.

October\'s wholesale inventory report was certainly good news. With sales rising at an adequate pace and at a seven-month high, more suppliers and businesses were confident about taking possession of inventory this autumn. The report suggests a stronger retail sales season than last year, improved U.S. GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, and increased hiring on production increases to meet that inventory replenishment.

The prosperity of the hardwood industry is contingent on the Hardwood Federation Political Action Committee (HFPAC), powerful grassroots efforts, and a trusted presence in Washington, D.C., said Deb Hawkinson, executive director of the lobbying group Hardwood Federation, at the Hardwood Leaders Forum, held Dec. 7 in Charlotte, N.C.

Also discussed during the event was the importance of hardwood industry leaders\' educating \"issue elites\" on matters important to the industry. Elites can include policymakers, lawmakers, and environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) like the World Wildlife Fund. These groups, because of their status, reputation, or the jobs they control, have great influence on our industry, Hawkinson said. ENGOs establish laws and regulations that can help or hurt the industry, and they help drive public opinion, she said.

Hawkinson reminded attendees that supporting the industry\'s political action committees (PAC), which funnels donations to members of Congress, gives the industry a way to thank lawmakers for their support of hardwood industry issues. \"We are letting them know we want them to stay in Congress and sending an effective thank you to them for working with us on our key policy priorities,\" Hawkins said.

A lot of us have already packed up what remains of 2010--in our minds, at least -- as we look ahead to 2011. But while the New Year is traditionally associated with cautions optimism, this year\'s holiday season is showing some palpable signs of economic recovery.

Serveral recent surveys indicate the number of holiday and end-of the year parties has been increasing this seson, especially compared to the past several years. A CareerBuilder poll says 52% of employers, compared to 49% last yer. ANd while 8% of employers said they had no such plans,that\'s down from 11% in 2009.

Holiday celebrations may not appear to be the most realistic economic indicator, but some people in the hospitality industry would beg to differ. David Corson, director of the University of Denver\'s Knoebel School of Hospitality Management, has some firsthand experience with the current uptick in holiday events. His school has its own event company, managed by a team of five professionals and staffed by students. And the number of holiday parties it catered this December was double that of last year.

\"We\'re seeing the same thing [throughout] the industry, seeing the return of corporate holiday parties,\" he says.\" And not just the return of the parties, but a  little bit higher end. For about thte last two weeks, any time I\'ve been talking with anyone in the industry they say, \"this is a very good sign, this is a leading indicator.\"

Bonnie Fedchock,executive director for the National Association of Catering Executives, says parties and events taking place during the last six to eight weeks of the year generate 15% to 20% of her industry\'s annual revenue. ANd in terms of this season, \" everyon I\'ve talked to across the country says it\'s definitely better-- because last year corporate spending was negligilbe,\"she says. : The dollar spending is still down from \"07 and \'08 -- and last year most people canceled or really scaled back their events. In \'09 it was almost taboo to do lavist corporate events because it would be considered bad form.\"

But individuals also seem to be feeling a bit  more prosperous ahead of the New Year. \" The majority of our [sales revenue] happens in the fourth quarter,\" says Lorena Ascencios,head wube buyer for Astor Wine and Spirits, one of the largest of its kind in New York City. And this year, she says, \"we\'re definitely more comfortable.\"

One trend she\'s noticing this holiday season is the sale of a lot more champagne -- that is, actual champagne from France and not the less -expensive sparkling wine.\" People are buying [champagne] right now\", \"she says,\"for Christmas dinner, for the holidays--not just for New Year\'s.\" And a bottle of good champagne can cost three to five times as much as a similar bottle of sparkling wine.

Food and drink are essentials -- and a willingness to spend a bit more on the basics, says Corsun, \"comes from the psychological security of those who are employed, who can afford champagne--who says\'we\'re on the way up,we\'re not flat.\"

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- After three years of economic pain, a growing number of economists think 2011 will finally bring what everyone\'s been hoping for: More jobs and a self-sustaining recovery.

\"We\'re looking at some leading indicators on employment, and they\'re all flashing green lights,\" said Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group, a Princeton, N.J. research firm.

 Bottom of FormThough most economists still expect a painfully high unemployment rate of about 9% at the end of this year, some think that stat masks more important signs of strength.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney are forecasting an average of 2.5 million jobs added to the U.S. economy this year, which would be the best one-year gain in hiring since the white-hot labor market of 1999.

Of the dozen economists who responded, several of the more bullish are predicting more than 3 million jobs added -- about 250,000 jobs a month. Even the most pessimistic of those surveyed, David Wyss of Standard & Poor\'s, expects 1.8 million jobs to be added this year, roughly double the pace of hiring in 2010.

That wouldn\'t be enough to climb out of the 8-million job crater created by the Great Recession and won\'t bring down the unemployment rate by a significant amount. An improved job market could even bring a short-term rise in the jobless rate, as those discouraged from job hunting resume looking for work and are once again counted as unemployed.

But the forecasted hiring boom could get the economy back into gear and provide real relief for many Americans.

Those projecting better hiring in 2011 point to a number of factors. Among them, job openings by employers rose 17% from June to October of this year, the most recent reading available from the Labor Department, and are up by about a third compared to a year earlier.

And there has been a downward trend in newly laid-off workers filing for initial jobless claims, which fell below 400,000 in the most recent reading for the first time since the summer of 2008. That might have been distorted by the holiday season and bad weather, but the four-week average is also at a two-plus year low.

On the business front, capital expenditures -- typically followed by expansion and hiring -- have been on the rise.

\"Forecasters generally underestimate the strength of a recovery once it is underway,\" said Bill Cheney, chief economist for Manulife Asset Management. He\'s forecasting 2.5 million to 3 million new jobs this year.

\"Once things get moving, they feed on themselves,\" he said. \"There is so much pent-up demand. People have been frugal for three years. There will be a lot of new cars, a lot of new furniture, a lot of people moving out of their parents\' basement.\"

A rebound in the creation of new jobs has the potential to help both the still struggling housing market and the economy as a whole. Many recent college grads or those who lost their homes or jobs have been stuck living with friends or family members. As they find work and move back out on their own, they\'ll have to spend.

About 3 million fewer jobs were added over the course of the past three years compared to the annual average of first eight years of the last decade.

\"Jobs feed income and income feeds more consumer spending. Consumer spending hasn\'t come back in a meaningful way compared to other recoveries,\" said Brett Ryan, economist with Deutsche Bank. His firm forecasts consumer spending will finish 2010 up between 1.4% to 1.7% when the final numbers are in, but that will jump to more than 3% growth next year.

Baumohl says another non-traditional employment indicator, the number of day-care workers, has been edging up for four months and is now about 2% higher than a year ago. \"People need more day care when they\'ve got jobs to go to,\" he said.

Washington, DC, January 16, 2011--The North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA), the voice of laminate flooring in North America™, is proud to announce the nominees for the coveted 2010 LAMMY Awards. LAMMY Award nominations are given to those companies and individuals based on their exceptional contributions to the laminate flooring industry over the previous year.

 “We created the LAMMY Awards to recognize excellence within this continuously changing and growing segment,” says Bill Dearing, president of NALFA. “The LAMMY Awards are a great way for NALFA to formally recognize companies and individuals for their efforts within the industry and to encourage others to do the same.\"

New York, Ny- Leading economists are growing more optimistic, the Associated Press said regarding its own Economy Survey.

However,AP said that unemployment will still be around 9% by year\'s end, and that it will be 2016 or later before unemployment drops to a histrorically normal rate of around 5%.

AP said that economists have become more confident, partly because lower Social Security taxes and higher stock prices will prompt Americans to spend more.

The gains this year will be enough to withstand the threats still clouding the economy, the AP survey found. A majority of the economists doubt, for example, that falling home prices and higher mortgage rates will pose a major risk to the economy in this year.

Lexington, MA, Sept. 23, 2009--U.S. construction spending is likely to fall 12 percent this year and 4 percent next year, according to IHS Global Insight Third Quarter Construction Briefing.

However, the firm predicts double-digit growth on an annual basis in 2011 and 2012.

“The mixed outlook for the construction market mirrors the mixed outlook for the broad economy,” IHS Global Insight noted in its report.

“While the outlook for nonresidential construction is weak for this year and next, residential construction – driven by a single-family market verging on recovery – is expected to expand in the second half of 2009, climbing 2.1 percent, quarter-on-quarter, in the third quarter and 4.8 percent in the fourth.\\\\\\\"

Commercial construction is expected to fall 27.9 percent this year, while occupancy rates in commercial properties – such as office buildings, hotels and retail stores – are falling and rents continue to drop.

Total spending on hospitals and other health care buildings continues to increase steadily, driven particularly by rapid expansion in public health care construction.

Washington, DC, Sept. 23, 2009--Mortgage application volume rose 12.8% last week from the the week before, boosted by greater activity in refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.

The survey also showed that the average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped below 5% for the first time since the middle of May in the week ended Sept. 18.

The seasonally adjusted 12.8% increase last week was a reversal from the 8.6% drop seen in overall filings for the week ended Sept. 11.

In the latest week, applications filed to refinance home loans increased 17.4% from the week before, as applications for mortgages to purchase homes were up a seasonally adjusted 5.6%, driven mainly by an increase in filings for government-insured loans, including those backed the Federal Housing Administration.

Government-insured mortgages made up 45.7% of all purchase applications last week -- the highest proportion since November 1990.

Refinance applications accounted for 63.8% of all applications, up from 61% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 6.7% from 6.0%.

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages carried an average rate of 4.97% last week, down from 5.08% the previous week. The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages stood at 4.41%.

President Obama today will head to a Tastee sub shop in New Jersey to sell his jobs agenda to small business owners, but a bill specifically for that purpose has been stymied in the Senate for the last month.

With the country\'s unemployment rate hovering near 10 percent and its economic recovery \"unusually uncertain\" as Federal Reserve charirman Ben Bernanke put it, one of the most obvious moves to boost job creation would be to help the small businesses that account for around two - thirds of new job growth.

But for the past month the Senate has yet to pass the bill that emerged in June from the House of Representatives, setting it aside time and time again.

\" I hope that in the coming days we\'ll once again find common ground and get this legislation passed,\" President Obama said Tuesday at the White House.\"We shouldn\'t let America\'s small businesses be held hostage to partisan politics-and certainly not at this critical time.\"

This afternoon in New Jersey, the President will again urge the Senate to act. Back in Washington, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he hopes the Senate can finish work on the bill by late today.

The bill would establish a $30 billion small business lending facility run by the Treasury Department and provide another $12 billion in tax relief. Smaller banks - those with under $10 billion in assets-would use the Treasury fund to extend loans to small businesses, helping get them back on their feet and hiring new workers.

However, the small business measure has gotten stuck in the Senate, stymied by partisan gridlock and a focus on more high-profile legislation such as Wall Street reform.

Republicans have denounced the small business lending facility as a \"mini-TARP,\" referring to the government\'s $700 billion financial -system bailout program. Democrats have elected to work on other bills, including the financial regulatory overhaul, unemployment benefits, and campaign finance reform.

In typical Beltway politics, both parties have blamed one another for the lack of action on the small business front.

Fewer U.S. mortgages are now classified as underwater-- where the home is worth less than the amount owed on the loan--driven by a greater number of foreclosures, a new report shows.

The percentage of single- family homes with negative equity mortgages fell to 21.5% in the second quarter, from 23.3% in the first quarter, according to the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.

\" While some of the downward pressure on negative equity is coming from stabilization in home value trends, the larger factor is the enormous volume of foreclosures occurring within the stock of homes in negative equity, \" Humphries said.

Home values fell 3.2% in the second quarter from a year earlier. It was the 14th quarter in a row to post an annual decline in prices, Reuters said. Home values fell in 99 of the 144 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by Zillow.

Hardwood suppliers see more price hikes on horizon-For the second time this year, hardwood flooring suppliers have raised prices, and with limited lumber supply, rising raw materials costs and cash-flow constraints for sawmills, another round of hikes are likely.

In May, Armstrong and Mohawk announced 6% increases that took effect in July. This followed similar raises in March by many manufacturers. And \"we may not be done,\" according to Daniel Call, vice president, wood product management, Armstrong. Since the company\'s last price increase, lumber and energy prices have continued to rise dramatically.\"Appalachian and southern oak in typical flooring grades are up 10% to 15%. Kiln-dried lumber prices are up 20% to 30% on the open market.\"

The government of Indonesia earlier this month began implementing a ban on illegally harvested wood product exports, according to The Jakarta Post. The move comes on the heels of a July decision by the European Union ( EU) to ban the import of illegally harvested timber products; about 33 percent of Indonesia\'s timber exports are sent to market in the EU each year. The government made it mandatory for forestry companies to obtain official certificates to show that timber has been legally sourced withour damaging forests. The policy has been deemed necessary since, according to official statistics, illegal logging activities have been destroying more than 1 million hectares of forests each year. The exact date of the full implemention of  Indonesis\'s ban was not given, however, it will most likley coincide with the EU\'s plan to fully implement its import ban by 2013. Indonesis\'s ban was closely coordinated with EU input; the EU is currently negotiating similar agreements with \"a number of other countries, including Malaysia.\"

Money alone isn\'t the cure for America\'s ailing school system, President Obama says.

Speaking to TODAY\'s Matt Lauer in the Green Room of the White House for nearly 30 minutes, Obama said that additional funding tied to significant reforms-including a longer school year and lifting teaching as a profession -is a much -needed fix.

\" We can\'t spend our way out of it. I think that when you look at the statistics, the fact is that our-pupil spending has gone up during the last couple of decades even as results have gone down,\" explained Obama, invited to appear by NBC as the network launched its weeklong \"Education Nation\" initiative.

\"Obviously,in some schools money plays a big factor...,\" Obama said,pointing out that schools in the poorest areas often don\'t have up-to-date textbooks. \" On the other hand, money without reform will not fix the problem.\"

Obama said his administration\'s reform agenda\" includes increasing standards,finiding and encouraging the best teachers, decreasing bureaucracy and deploying financial resources effectively. Teachers who fail to live up to expectations need to be given a chance to improve, he said, while those who do not should move on.

Obama repeated his support for a longer school year. He did not specify how long that school year should be, however he noted that U.S. students attend classes, on average, about a month less than children in most other advanced countries.

\"That month makes a difference. It means students are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer...The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense,\" Obama said. \"Now , that\'s going to cost some money...,but I think that would be  money will spent.\"   TODAY

Suffering from overcapacity, reduced demand. While the new home construction standstill has affected every flooring category, hardwood flooring has inarguably been the most negatively impacted along with cermic tile. While these two segments enjoyed meteoric rises throughout the last decade, the recession has played havoc with sales in terms of both dollars and volume. Housing has hovered at 50-year lows with new homes building, commercial demand and consumer spending on home improvements all in decline.

According to FCNews\' research,hardwood flooring sales in 2009 clocked in at $1.617 billion, down 23% from $2.101 billion in 2008. Sales in terms of volume were not quite as bad, relatively speaking, with a drop of 20% to 683 million square feet from 2008\'s 854 million square feet. That suggests either the mix product may have shifted to less expensive goods or manufacturers were selling the same goods for lower prices. One thing that cannot be debated is the impact  Chinese imports are having on the market.

San Francisco - The father of Twitter has hatched a start-up that he hopes does for financial transactions what Twitter did for communication.

Square, the venture from CEO Jack Dorsey, devised a tiny-plug-in that turns digital devices into a credit card reader. Square opens its virtual doors for business Friday.

The Square, a free plastic device slightly smaller than a quarter, plugs into iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches and Androids. With a free download application, it lets small business and consumers process credit card transactions. Merchants are charged 2.75% of the purchases price,plus 15 cents to wipe a credit card; no contract,set-up fee of monthly charge.

\"In America,people do not leave their homes without keys,their cellphone and their wallet,but they rarely carry cash. And credit cards can\'t be used everywhere,\" Dorsey says.

About 50,000 devices were shipped to small businesses and consumers nationwide-ranging from coffee shops and pizza deliverers to doctors and piano teachers-while the service was tested.

Dorsey,33 who co-founded Square with Jim McKelvey, a local glass artist, expects his company to hit $1 billion in transactions by June 2011.

The year old-firm, whose motto is \"zero to $60 in 10 seconds,\" gets its name from the expression \" all squared\" and is backed by venture-capital firm Khosla Ventures and angel investors.

Square\'s foray is a new wrinkle in an estimated $120 million mobile-payment market. Several tech companies are taking a mass-market approach to democratizing payments via smartphones-including PayPal and GoPayment, an application by software maker Intuit.

But there are plenty of opportunities for start-ups and established commpanies, analysts say. \" The market is so nascent and fragmented, new technologies that pop up in it are expanding the reach of the market,\" says Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Frisch.

Doug Povich, co-owner of Red Hook Lobster Pound DC, a food truck in Washington, D.C., said a point-of-sales system would have cost him up to $10,00. Instead, he bought an iPad and loaded it with Squar. \"Its extremely simple to use.\" USA Today.

The dollar strengthened against the euro after a report showed U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly expanded in October as measures of production and orders placed with factories rose to five-month highs.

The greenback also gained versus the yen as the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose. The dollar remained down versus half of its 16 most-traded counterparts amid speculation the Federal Reserve will announce this week it plans to increase bond purchases. The Swiss franc slid after a Chinese manufacturing index rose in October, damping haven demand.

“The ISM data was a bit stronger than expectations and took the wind out of the dollar bears going into all the events we have coming up this week,” said Greg Michalowski, chief currency analyst at FXDD, an online foreign exchange broker, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The dollar appreciated 0.4 percent to $1.3897 per euro at 1:42 p.m. in New York, from $1.3947 on Oct. 29. It earlier depreciated to $1.4011, the weakest level since Oct. 25. The yen rose less than 0.1 percent to 112.06 per euro, from 112.12, after gaining 1.3 percent last week. The yen fell 0.3 percent to 80.65 per dollar, from 80.40. It earlier touched 80.22, the strongest level since April 1995.

The ISM factory index rose to 56.9 in October from 54.4 a month earlier, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. Readings greater than 50 signal growth. Economists forecast the gauge would decline to 54, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

The euro fell against all of its major counterparts except Brazil’s real and the franc as Fed prepared to meet.

“There was a conscious decision to pare back on long euro positions and wait to see what happens,” said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist in New York at Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world’s largest custodial bank, with more than $20 trillion in assets under administration. “The market, as a precaution to this week’s data and events in the U.S., would prefer to wait and see.” A long position is a bet a currency will rise.

Fed policy makers are expected at the end of their Nov. 2-3 policy meeting to announce another round of government bond purchases in a strategy called quantitative easing. Estimates for the ultimate size of the asset-buying program include $1 trillion by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and $2 trillion by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The central bank bought $1.7 trillion in debt from December 2008 to March to boost the economy.

The dollar may have weakened too far and could get a boost from lower-than-forecast purchases, HSBC Holdings Plc said.

‘A Little Overcooked’

“While we have been pushing a broadly dollar-negative view for some time, we find ourselves thinking the fall is a little overcooked,” HSBC analysts led by London-based David Bloom wrote in a note to investors today. “The questions for markets are how much QE and how often? If it is smaller than the market may be hoping for, this would trigger a risk-off move and push the dollar higher.”

The franc tumbled as much as 1 percent to 1.3834 per euro, the weakest level since Aug. 10, and slid as much as 1.5 percent to 99.72 centimes versus the dollar, the weakest since Sept. 22.

Stocks rose after China’s purchasing managers’ index increased to 54.7 last month from 53.8 in September. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.4 percent, and crude oil for December delivery reached a two-week high, jumping as much as 3 percent to $83.86 a barrel in New York.

The U.S. congressional election tomorrow may see the Republican Party gain control of the House of Representatives, reducing the Democratic Party’s power to enact fiscal policy.

“Expectations will be that the more gridlock there is, the more responsibility for stimulus will fall on the Fed,” said Ron Leven, executive director and currency strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York.

This will continue to weigh on the dollar, he said.

The Fed will release its policy decision on Nov. 3 at about 2:15 p.m. in Washington. About 18 hours later, the Bank of England will announce its move. The ECB will go public with its decision 45 minutes after that in Frankfurt, and the Bank of Japan concludes its talks on Nov. 5.

The pound approached the highest level in nine months against the dollar on speculation the Bank of England will refrain from joining the Fed in renewed asset purchases. Sterling rose as much as 0.3 percent to $1.6090, approaching Oct. 15’s peak of $1.6107, the highest since Jan. 29. The pound gained 0.3 percent to 86.65 pence per euro.

Australia’s dollar rose for a third day against the greenback on speculation the South Pacific nation will maintain its interest-rate premium with the U.S. The Reserve Bank of Australia meets tomorrow. The Aussie gained 0.3 percent to 98.64 U.S. cents, from 98.35 cents on Oct. 29.

Investors should buy the Australian currency against the greenback on speculation the Fed will step up Treasury purchases after its meeting, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“We expect the dollar’s decline to resume should the Fed remove uncertainty and deliver a $500 billion slug of asset purchases next week,” Paul Meggyesi, a managing director of currency strategy at JPMorgan wrote in a research report dated Oct. 29 and sent to journalists today. Bloomberg.

Armstrong World Industries (Lancaster, Pa.) has told investors that it could be subject to \"material\" import duties—significant costs that could affect its stock price—if an adverse ruling is reached by federal investigators in a probe of unfair trade allegations directed at engineered flooring manufacturers in China.

Armstrong owns an engineered flooring manufacturing plant in China, and it also imports engineered flooring to the U.S. from suppliers in China. The company disclosed the risk in its latest 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Armstrong tells its investors that under U.S. law, \"a U.S. importer may be responsible for the payment of any antidumping and countervailing duties.\" The Coalition for American Hardwood Parity (CAHP), a group of U.S. manufacturers of engineered wood flooring, filed petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) on Oct. 21 seeking the duties.

\"The Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission have only just commenced their investigations,\" according to the filing, \"and the outcome of the cases are uncertain. As a result, at this time we cannot say whether an adverse ruling is probable or estimable.\"

Wood flooring manufacturers in CAHP include: Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C), Award Hardwood Floors LLP (Wausau, Wis.), Baker\'s Creek (Jackson, Miss.), From the Forest LLC (Weston, Wis.), Howell Hardwood Flooring (Dothan, Ala.), Mannington Wood Floors (Salem, N.J.), Nydree Flooring (Forest, Va.) and Shaw Industries Inc. (Dalton, Ga.).

The Forest Certitication Benchmark, which would have established a standard against which all forest certification systems would be evaluated to determine whether they can earn points in the LEED green building certification system, has failed. The proposed standard was put up for a vote by the U.S. Green Building Council membership in Nov. and did not pass; the status quo, in which only Forest Stweardship Council-certified wood can earn LEED points, will remain in place. The proposed standard faced opposition from a spectrum of organiztions, from the FSC to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, whose certification scheme currently cannot earn LEED points.

Here\'s another creative use of a wood manufacturing byproduct: According to The New York Times, the city of Kristianstad, Sweden, is taking scraps from wood flooring manufacturing plants and incinerating them to power its district heating grid, a system whereby heat is distributed to multiple buildings. The flooring manufacturing remnants are mixed with paper mill waste and municipal park tree trimmings and then burned. Also, many homes that are off the district heating grid have replaced their oil-burning furnaces with government-subsidized furnaces that burn wood pellets, another byproduct-derived heating source; burning pellets, The Times says, is actually more efficient and produces less carbon dioxide than burning logs does. The city\'s efforts are part of a comprehensive plan to wean itself off of fossil fuels by 2020.

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Donald Ratajczak, an economic consultant at Morgan Keegan & Co., talks about the decision by Federal Reserve policy makers to maintain plans to buy $600 billion of Treasuries through June and the outlook for monetary policy. The central bank left its benchmark interest rate in a range of zero to 0.25 %, where it’s been since December 2008, and retained a pledge in place since March 2009 to keep it “exceptionally low” for an “extended period.” Ratajczak speaks with Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg Television\'s \"Bottom Line.\" (Source: Bloomberg)

 Bookings for goods like computers and communications gear climbed 1.4 percent, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Orders for U.S. capital equipment climbed in December for a second month, a sign companies continue to invest as demand recovers from the worst recession in seven decades.

Bookings for goods like computers and communications gear excluding aircraft climbed 1.4 % after a 3.1 % gain in November that was larger than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Total orders fell 2.5 %, depressed by volatile demand for aircraft, which plunged 99 %.

Manufacturers from General Motors Co. to General Electric Co. are benefiting from increasing demand as the global recovery strengthens. Even so, the Federal Reserve yesterday said the U.S. economy wasn’t growing fast enough to spur bigger job gains and pledged to stick to a plan to buy $600 billion in assets by June.

“This is consistent with equipment spending remaining solid in the foreseeable future,” said Brian Jones, an economist at Societe Generale in New York. “It goes hand in hand with increasing demand. The economy is on a sure footing.”

The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 1.5 % increase in total orders. Estimates ranged from a drop of 3 % to a 3.9 % increase.

Excluding Transportation

Excluding transportation, bookings increased 0.5 % after a 4.5 %  jump in November. They were forecast to rise 0.8 %, according to the Bloomberg survey.

A report from the Labor Department showed more Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, indicating it will take time for the labor market to mend. Applications for jobless benefits increased by 51,000 to 454,000 in the week ended Jan. 22. Economists forecast 405,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

Stock-index futures fell after the reports. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in March fell 0.1 percent to 1,292.4 at 9:25 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities were little changed.

The durable goods report showed last month’s plunge in bookings for commercial aircraft followed a 60 % drop in November.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a proxy for future business investment, rose at a 9 % annual rate in the three months ended in December compared with a 10 % September three-month gain, indicating businesses continue to plan on updating their equipment.

Machinery, Communications

The gain last month was led by an 11 % gain in demand for machinery and a 3.6 % increase in bookings for communications gear. Orders for computers fell 11 % after a 7.3 % increase in November.

Shipments of non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, used in calculating gross domestic product, increased 6.4 % at an annual rate over the past three months compared with a 10% increase in the three months September. The data indicate investment slowed last quarter.

The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 % annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from a 2.6 % rate in the previous three months, economists forecast the Commerce Department will report tomorrow. The acceleration was led by gains in consumer spending.

Tax Break

The business spending that helped lead the economy out of recession may gain a second wind from a new tax provision that allows companies to depreciate 100 % of investments in capital equipment this year, according to Joe LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York.

General Electric this week posted its third straight quarter of profit growth, beating analysts’ estimates, driven by a rebound in its finance unit, health-care and transportation divisions.

“The environment continues to improve,” Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said on a Jan. 21 conference call. “The economy can get a little bit stronger every day.”

Some manufacturers are hiring as orders increase. General Motors, the largest U.S. automaker, will add a third shift and about 750 jobs to its assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, to meet rising demand for pickups, Detroit-based GM said this week.

Auto sales in December rose to a 12.53 million annual pace, the highest since August 2009, according to researcher Autodata Corp. The rate over the last three months is the highest since July through September 2008.

President Barack Obama on Jan. 25 embraced much of the business community’s agenda, calling in his State of the Union address for progress on stalled trade pacts, investments in roads and education, reworking the corporate tax code, and freezing discretionary spending to cut the deficit.

Washington, DC, January 28, 2011--January 27, 2011 - The latest National Association of Home Builders\' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) edged up to 41.5 in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to 40.8 in the third quarter. An RMI below 50 indicates that more remodelers say market activity is lower compared to the prior quarter than report it is higher. The RMI has been running below 50 since the final quarter of 2005.

The overall RMI combines ratings of current remodeling activity with indicators of future activity like calls for bids. In the fourth quarter, the RMI component measuring current market conditions stayed flat at 43.3 from 43.4 in the previous quarter. The RMI component measuring future indicators of remodeling business increased, to 39.7 from 38.1 in the previous quarter.

\"Remodelers are starting to see an uptick in interest from consumers who are considering future remodeling projects,\" said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Bob Peterson, CGR, CAPS, CGP, a remodeler from Ft. Collins, Colo. \"Home owners are also showing more willingness to undertake larger remodeling projects.\"

All but one index for future market conditions improved during the fourth quarter. Calls for bids jumped to 47.2 (from 42.9), along with backlog of remodeling jobs at 42.6 (from 37.2), and appointments for proposals at 43.1 (from 41.9). The amount of work committed for the next three months shrank to 25.9 (from 30.3).

\"Remodeling activity has been rising slowly since the first quarter of 2010. Expected improvements in the job market and the overall economy are beginning to increase homeowners\' confidence and remodelers are seeing indications that business will pick up,\" said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. \"More remodeling jobs will unfold as consumers in more secure financial positions enter the remodeling market. A more robust recovery in residential remodeling will depend upon future improvements in labor and credit markets.\"

Washington, DC, January 28, 2011--Pending home sales improved further in December, marking the fifth gain in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, increased 2.0 percent to 93.7 based on contracts signed in December from a downwardly revised 91.9 in November. The index is 4.2 percent below the 97.8 mark in December 2009. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, credits good affordability conditions and economic improvement. “Modest gains in the labor market and the improving economy are creating a more favorable backdrop for buyers, allowing them to take advantage of excellent housing affordability conditions. Mortgage rates should rise only modestly in the months ahead, so we’ll continue to see a favorable environment for buyers with good credit,” he said.

“In the past two years, home buyers have been very successful, with super-low loan default rates, partly because of stable home prices during that time. That trend is likely to continue in 2011 as long as there is sufficient demand to absorb inventory,” Yun said. “The latest pending sales gain suggests activity is very close to a sustainable, healthy volume of a mid-5 million total annual home sales. However, sales above 6 million, as occurred during the bubble years, is highly unlikely this year.”

The PHSI in the Northeast increased 1.8 % to 73.9 in December but is 5.3 % below December 2009. In the Midwest the index rose 8.0% in December to 84.6 but is 5.1 % below a year ago. Pending home sales in the South jumped 11.5 % to an index of 101.9 and are 1.7 % above December 2009. In the West the index fell 13.2 %  to 105.8 and is 10.7 % below a year ago.

Baar, Switzerland, January 2, 2011--Instead of salary and bonus payments for the employment period between May 1, 2013 and April 30, 2016, the Delegate of the Board of Directors, This E. Schneider, will receive a cash payment that will be used to settle his employee contributions to insurances in addition to the current insurance benefits paid by the employer; in compensation for all other cash payments and other remunerations (including bonuses, options, etc.), he will receive Forbo Holding shares on an annual basis. These will be transferred at their value at the date of the allocation and will have a vesting period of three years. The allocation for the year 2013 will be made on a pro rata temporis base, for the first time in spring 2013.

This compensation model is again geared to the company’s long-term, sustainable development and is therefore very much in the interests of Forbo and its shareholders.

“After Forbo’s success in recent years under the management of its Delegate, the Board of Directors is very pleased that This E. Schneider has accepted our proposal for a share-based remuneration and that he has extended his employment contract ahead of time. With this remuneration model, This E. Schneider emphasizes once more that he is prepared to take on a full share of the business risk, reflecting his ongoing commitment to steering the company through a challenging economic period in the interest of its shareholders,\" said the Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Albert Gnaegi, explaining the compensation model defined by the Board of Directors.

Washington, DC - U.S. construction spending unexpectedly rose in April as the housing slump eased and more commercial projects got underway. The 0.8 percent gain was the biggest since August and followed a revised 0.4 percent increase the prior month.

New York - As September\'s surge fades into a found memory, the questions for the U.S. stock market is: Now what?

The market shook off the summer dolddrums last month, breaking out of a stubborn trading range and giving investors the second-best September on record with a gain of 8.8 percent on the S & P 500. It also racked up its best  quarter in a year.

The strength of that momentum will be tested this week by a round of economic data, including the much -watched nonfarm payrolls reports, as well as the start of third-quarter earnings season. The S&P has also been bumping up against a technical resistance level that could spark further gains if the index breaks through it.

Trading has been in a tight range the past week as the quarter wound down and the muted action could continue in the lead up to the employment report on Friday.

\"People are still exhibiting a lot of fear in their investments decisionsm with so much money flowing into bond funds and Treasuries, that any uptick in enconomic data could catch investors off guard,\" said Michael O\'Rourke, chief marker strategist at BTIG LLC in New York.

\"That should help fuel a nice-fourth quarter rally in equities.\"

September nonfarm payrolls, due Friday, are forecast to remain unchanged after a loss of 54,000 jobs in August, according to a Reuters poll of economists. However, the forcast range is wide,with a gain of 106,000 jobs oon the upside and a los of 75,000 jobs on the downside.

As the bulls and bears keep fighting over the stock market\'s direction, technical indicators have become more widelyl scrutinized. The S & P 500 has been bouncing between the 1,140 and 1,150 levels, but has fallen back from the top end of that range in the past six sessions.

While analysts have attributed some of September\'s move to \"performance chasing,\" where gains beget more gains. O\'Rourke thinks the real action might not happen until the forth quarter.

\"I view it more as a lot of people were sitting our the volatility, waiting for a trend to emerge, \"O\'Rourke said. \"If you get that breakout above 1.150 and it  looks like it\'s a real breakout, that will give people confidence that  a real trend has emerged to the upside.\"

History is on the market\'s side. A strong September usually portends a positive October and fourth quarter, according to Birinyi Associates Inc.

When September rises 5 percent or more, October is up , on average , 1 percent, according to data from Birinyi. Only in ome occurrence following that type of September gain did the fourth quarter deliver a negative result, which happened in 1939.

Analysts will be parsing comments from CEOs and other corporate talking heads as their companies release quarterly results to gauge how executives see the recovery unfolding. Investors have become more optimistic over the strength of recovery in the last month as worries of a return to recession have faded.

\"I\'m looking for compaines to say things are not falling off a cliff. They\'re not rapidly improving, but we\'re starting to see this moderate, sustainable growth,\" said Kurt Brunner, a portfolio manager at Swarthmore Group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MSNBC.Com Stocks & economy

Wood flooring legend Birger Juell has died at the age of 93. The bodies of Juell and his wife Anne, 77, were found floating in Whitewater Lake in southern Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon; an investigation into the cause of death is ongoing. A Norwegian immigrant, Juell learned the wood flooring trade and built a business, Chicago- based Birger Juell Ltd., that became a fixture in the wood flooring industry know for its high-end, custom hand-scraperd floors and high-profile clientele.\"I don\'t do all this laser cutting and crazy things like that. I do \'simple classic\'- that\'s what i call it. It\'s just a way of making the whole room come together. You don\'t want to see just wood floors. If your floor sticks out, it not a good job,\" Juell told Hardwood Floor in 2001 after winning one of the company\'s 10 Wood Floor of the Year awards. Juell\'s signature floor was handscraped following the grain in the way that Juell likened to the way water flows over rocks. \" It\'s amazing how the industry has fallen in line with his aesthetic Birger has certainly been a leader in promoting that old-world, hand -hewn look,\" Birger Juell Ltd. President Chuck Crispin told Hardwood Floors in 2005. Juell was also knwon for his gregarious enthusiasm. \"It\'s a funn business, it really is,\" he told the magazine in 2000. \" We find some wonderful people who like what they see and are willing to pay for it. You have to find out what you\'re worth and not be afraid to ask for money.\"  NWFA

Chagrin Falls, OH, Jan. 17, 2011 -- Tarkett said it will increase prices approximately 5% in residential and commercial flooring across the Tarkett, Johnsonite and Azrock brands.

“While there has been a slow awakening of the flooring category over the past year, there has also been significant cost developments in the chemical and polymer industries coupled with oil and energy cost increases,” said Tarkett North America CEO Jeff Buttitta.

“Efficiency improvements have helped to offset some of these costs, yet the increases have been too large to overcome without adjusting prices.”

The increase will take effect later in the first quarter.

The home improvement industry is emerging from one of its worst downturns since the government began tracking such data in the early \'60s, according to the report \"A New Decade of Growth for Remodeling,\" which was released recently by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. \"Homeowners who deferred maintenance and improvements during the recession may soon start to spend more freely,\" according to the report. Real spending on homeowner improvements is expected to grow at a 3.5 % average annual pace as the industry begins to benefit from spending on the rehabilitation of foreclosed properties. And since dwelling mobility is low, most homeowners will concentrate on improvements that add value to their home, like energy-related retrofits, instead of funding discretionary projects like kitchen and bathroom remodels.

Still, challenges remain: A quarter of homeowners remain underwater, owing more on their mortgages than their home is worth; this makes it difficult for them to borrow against their home to fund an improvement. Also, homeowners who are underwater cannot move unless they default on their mortgage or can cover the difference between the sale price and the amount owed. In turn, this is dampening remodeling activity by reducing home sales and the additional spending that home turnover triggers.

The report offers a retrospective analysis, as well. It tells of how the remodeling industry peaked in 2007, well after the housing bubble burst but before the collapse of the U.S. financial industry. Through the ensuing recession, the overall remodeling market fell 12 % (2007-2009). The peak-to-trough drop in homeowner spending on maintenance and improvements was more than 20 %.

Washington, DC - Consumer confidence jumped in May by the most in six years, fueling speculation the economy will recover later this year. The Conference Board\'s sentiment index surged to 54.9, higher than forecast, according to figures from the research group. A report from S&P/Case-Shiller showed home prices continued to plunge. The 28-point jump in confidence over April and May is the biggest two-month rally since records began in 1967. The measure reached its lowest point ever in February, with a reading of 25.3. Consumer confidence was projected to rise to 42.6, according to economists. The Conference Board revised the April reading to 40.8, from an originally reported 39.2.

Washington, DC, Nov. 6, 2009--The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 10.2% in October, topping the 10% mark for the first time in 26 years, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 190,000 in October, bringing to total number of jobs lost in the recession to 7.3 million.

Economists were forecasting a rise in the unemployment rate to 10%, with 150,000 lost payroll jobs. The unemployment rate was the highest since April 1983. An alternative gauge of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those forced to work part-time, rose to 17.5%, the highest on record dating to 1995.

Record Lula Bank Loans overwhelm pust to weaken real as rates surpass 10% - By Tal Barak Harif and Andre Soliani. A five week rally in the Brazilian real is limiting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva\'s efforts to make the country\'s exports more competitive in international markets. Lula himself is partly to blame, according to Harvard University Professor Ricardo Hausmann.

Record lending by the state development bank, known as BNDES, is contributing to the fastest economic growth in 15 years, prompting the central bank to raise the benckmark overnight rate 1.5 percentage points this year to 10.25 percent, Hausmann said. The higher rates are luring capital to Brazil\'s fixed -income assets and fueling gains in the real that Lula,64,sought to curb by implementing a 2 precent tax on foreigners\' investments in stocks and bonds in October.

\"BNDES should be ordered to slow credit growth,\" Hausmann, the director of Harvard\'s Center for International Development in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a June 23 telephone interview. \"While the central bank is trying to responsibly control inflation, BNDES is expanding lending. That means the central bank will have to raise rates that much more.\"

The real is the second -biggest gainer in emerging markerts since May 20, climbing 4.7 percent to 1.7984 per dollar. Fitch Ratings said yesterday that the growth in BNDES lending is also slowing Brazil\'s reduction of debt as a percent of gross domestic product, creating a concern as it considers raising the government\'s rating from BBB-,the lowest investment -grade ranking.

Fitch shifted the rating outlook to positive from stable, citing the country\'s \"growth dynamics\" and \"resilience\" during last year\'s global recession.

\'Additional Burden\'

\"These are the positives that we noted, however we do believe that Brazil needs to exercise some fiscal restraint,\" Shelly Shetty, a Fitch analyst in New York, said in a telephone interview. \"BNDES activities are placing additional burden on monetary policy to curb excessive domestic demand.\"

Bethesda, MD- Population 56,763 Median family income (per year ) $172,541 Median home price  $725,000. There\'s a party for every season in this commuter town: Enjoy concerts and ice sculpting in the winter and Taste of Bethesda in October; schmooze with Pulitzer Prize winning authors at April\'s literary festival; and enjoy the strains of delta blues, soul and swing in the summer.

Year-round a dozen art galleries and hundreds of diverse restaurants woo suburbanites away from cul-de-sac comforts for days and nights downtown. An abundance of home fashion stores and gradutes degrees (one in tow residents has one) sets a swanky tone for this small community with big city style.

Greenwich, CT- Population 60,089 Median family income (per year) $153,615 Median home price $1,180,000. Palo Alto is awah in high tech prosperity. Stanford professors, Facebook engineers and venture capitalists are neighbors in this Silicon Valley town. It\'s home to the historically preserved garage where David Packard and Bill Hewlett launched the HP empire in 1938, as well as eight -figure Tuscan-inspired manors with pinot noir and chardonnay grapes out back.

Natural beauty is another of its keystones. Named for its tall trees, Palo Alto boasts spectacular nature trails, preserves and gardens, many of which offer it well-heeled residents Peninsula views and bird watching.

This tony town is the epitome of coastal chic, with beaches and yacht clubs lining roughly 30 miles of shore. Wealthy residents enjoy lavish penthouse condos and multi-acre estates overlooking the Long Island Sound. Home prices soar into the millions of dollars.

But luxurious nests are only part of Greenwich\'s appeal. A well endowed arts scene includes the Greenwich Library, Bruce Museum, and two symphonies.

Temple, Texas Wilsonart International announced that it will discountinue its Wilsonart Flooring product line and close both the Wilsonart Flooring and cast sinks manufacturing operations in here.

 \"Despite focused resources and programming toward building preference for High Pressure Laminate flooring and changes in processes, procedures, people, and product, we have not been able to sustain any turn-around in our business. This convinces us that we will be unable to uphold these business for future growth or investements,\" said Bill DiGaetano, president of Wilsonart in North America.

Wilsonart Flooring manufacturing will be discountinued on October 29, 2010 and the business will cease operations on December 3, 2010. Manufacturing operations for sinks will stop on December 3, 2010. During this phase down period, the company expects approximately 50 full -time empolyees around the country to be impacted by the shutdown due to job eliminations.

DiGaetano emphasized that Wilsonart will continue to stand behind the flooring and sink products sold prior to and through the shut-down period. All warranties will be honored through their designated timeframe. The company will post warranty.

September is usually a lousy time for stocks, but a steady albeit shallow stream of encouraging economic news has equities on a four-week winning streak--one that\'s sure to be tested by a slew of data in the days ahead.

The Dow surged nearly 200 points on Friday, leaving it just 3% off its 52-week peak hit last Apri. The blue-chip index has gained 8.4% this month, while the broader S&P 500 ( $INX) is up 9.5%. The more volatile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) has surged  12.6% this month so far.

Whether this rally can last or is merely the latest upswing in a months-long pattern of sideways trading depends on what the economic news tell us about unemployment,says Doreen Mogavero, chief executive, co-founder and head of floor trading at Mogavero, Lee & Co.

\"As always, jobs are the primary focus, and I think it\'s what we all feel is going to be the catalyst for a real sustainable rally,\" Mogavero says. With consumer confidence, personal consumption and GDP just three of the items on this weeks\'s calendar, stocks have some hurdles ahead of them. \" It\'s a pretty packes week of economic data and all of it very relevant to the job market,\" says Mogavero. Daily Finance Dan Burrows.

End-matched, non-coniferous wood flooring imports to the U.S. are down about 1.9 percent, according to a free report from Zepol Corporation, a Minnesota-based market research firm. Imports from August 2009 to July 2010 totaled $34.7 million, slightly down from imports totaling $35.3 million during August 2008 to July 2009. (These figures do not include bamboo flooring.) Specifically, end-matched Brazillian Cherry (jatoba) imports dropped 15.1 percent; during August 2008 to July 2009, roughly $32.8 million worth of Brazilian Cherry was imported to the U.S., while from August 2009 to July 2010, $27.9 million was imported. The report contains similar figures on ipe, santos mahogany and cumaru,among others. NWFA

The price of a first-class stamp will remain 44 cents-- at least for now-- after the U.S. Postal Service\'s bid to raise it to 46 cents was rejected.

Washington--The independent panel that overseas the U.S. Postal Service voted Thursday to deny the agency\'s request to increase the cost of mailing a letter by 2 cents, keeping first-class stamps at 44 cents.

Ruth Goldway, chairwoman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, suggested at a news conference that the problem with the proposal was more in the packaging than the plea.

In July, the Postal Service proposed raising first-class postage 44cents to 46cents as part of a strategy for dealing with a worsening financia crisis. The request required the commission\'s approval, because the margin of increase was higher than the existing rate of inflation. But the five-member panel unanimously said no.

In light of the decision, the Postal Service has a number of options, including a legal apperal, filling a new special rate-increase request to the commission, or requesting a smaller rate hike that would be automatically approved for rising within the rate of inflation.

\"We will need to take a much closer look at the ruling from the PRC in order to make an informed decision about what options we have and what may be the best course of action for our customers, our employees, our stakeholders and the American public,\" Postmaster General  John Potter said in a statement.

The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion last year, and agency officials were seeking other rate increases as well the basic stamp hike, including higher fees for periodicals, post cards and parcels.

Goldway said the requested rate adjustment was not due to the recent recession, as indicated by Postal Service officials, but rather was an attempt to address long-term structural problems.

\"The PRC today has helped countless businesses stay competitive and saved tens of thousands of jobs,\" said Tony Conway, a spokesman for the alliance.\"The commissioners recongnized that imposing an additional tax on Postal Service customers is not the way to address its financial troubles. Our members look forward to working with the Postal Dervice on the long-term restructuring needed to restore the Postal Service to competitiveness.\" Associated Press

Dalton, GA, -California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed the Carpet Stewartship Bill, which the industry hopes could become a nationwide model for carpet recycling.

The bill incentivizes carpet recycling by rewarding those entrepreneurs and inventors who produce maeketable products made from post-consumer carpet.

The bill generates revenue through an initial assessment of 5 cents per square yard of carpet sold in California. Further, manufacturers will be required to establish a stewardship plan with the state for implementing carpet recycling. Stewardship plans will encompass consumer education efforts, the assessment of fees, and progress measurement and reporting.

Manufacturers will work with California regulatory agencies with the help of the Carpet America Recovery Effort, or CARE.

CARE said it will begin working immediately with CalRecycle to develop a stewardship plan that will increase carpet recycling through the funding mechanism that is established in the bill. The Carpet Stewardhip Bill differs from others legislation in that it provides monetary incentives for entrepreneurs and investors that create marketable products from old California carpets. Flooring Daily

Washington- Bank of America, the nation\'s largest bank by assets, is placing a moratorium on all foreclosure proceedings and sales across the United States, according CNBC and a report on The Wall Street Journal\'s Web site. The postponement takes effect Saturday.

Separately, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. is halting most foreclosures and evictions in 23 states for a month so it can review whether documents it submitted to courts complied with state laws.

An official at the Pittsburgh-based bank confirmed the PNC decision, which was reported earlier by the New York Times. The official requested anonymity because the decision hasn\'t been publicly announced.

The moves come amid mounting political pressure on big U.S. banks to examine foreclosure-documentation problems. Bank of America is the first financial institution to stop all foreclosue actions amid revelations that the banking industry had used \"robo-signers,\" people who sign hundreds of documents a day withour reviewing their contents, when foreclosing on homes, the Journal said.

PNC becomes the fourth major U.S. lender to halt some foreclosures amid evidence that mortgage company employees or their lawyers signed documents in foreclosure cases without verifying the information in them.

PNC become the fourth major U.S. lender to halt some foreclosures amid evidence that mortgage company employees or their lawyers signed documents in foreclosure cases without verifying the information in them. AP

In an effort to curtail illegal logging, the government of Brazil will auction logging concessions for \"large swaths\" of the Amazon rainforest, the world\'s largest, to private timber companies and cooperatives, according to Reuters. Within the next five to six years, Brazil will grant logging concessions for nearly 30 million acres of rainforest; existing concessions total about 370,000 acres. Antonio Carlos Hummel, head of Brazil\'s National Forestry Service, said the future of the Amazon is dependent on strengthening forest management.  According to Reuters, the private logging companies will only harvest as many trees as the rainforest can regenerate,unlike illegal loggers that have already destroyed nearly 20 percent of the rainforest. Hummel said earlier concessions helped establish state control in certain lawless regions of the rainforest. To lessen abuse of the auctions, upcoming concessions will be overseen by non-government organizations. NWFA.

The Bovespa stock index rose for a third day as homebuilders and banks rallied and investors speculated economic growth is accelerating in China, Brazil\'s biggest trade partner.

Vale SA, the world\'s largest iron-ore producer,climbed after China\'s imports of the mineral rebounded to five-month high. PDG Realty SA Empreendimentos & Participacoes reached a record, leading a rally in homebuilders after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended adding to holdings of the stock. Banco Santander Brasil SA also reached a record, leading gains in financial stocks.

The Bovespa gained 0.7 percent to 71,465.03 at 9:32 a.m. New York time. Three stocks rose on the index for each that fell. The real strengthened 0.6 percent to 1.6596 per dollar.

Brazil\'s benchmark equity gauge rose Oct. 11 on speculation the Federal Reserve will take further measures to stimulate U.S. economic growth, overshadowing higher domestic inflation forecasts. The Fed said in minutes published yesterday, when the Brazilian market was closed for a holiday, that it was prepared to ease monetary policy\"before long.\"

China\'s foreign -exchange reserves increased by a record to $2.65 trillion at the end of September, while a 25 percent jump in exports lifted its trade surplus to $16.9 billion, reinforcing optimism the country will continue to lead the global recovery.

Iron-ore imports by China, the largest buyer of the steelmaking ingredient,rebounded 18 percent in September, indicating government measures to curb steel production haven\'t damped ore demand. Imports rose to 52.6 million metric tons,the highest level since April, from 44.6 million tons in August, according to figures provided by China\'s  General Administration of Customs. That\'s 19 percent lower than the 64.6 million tons a year earlier, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Brazilian miners, banks, homebuilders and transportation companies will likely eclipse gains for retailers, which have led this year\'s advance in Latin America\'s largest market, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.

Vale SA rose 0.7 percent to 47.74 reais. PDG Realty, the Brazilian homebuilder that agreed to buy Agre Empreendimentos Imobiliarios SA,jumped 4.4 percent to 22.27 reais. Banco Santander Brasil, the Brazilian unit of Spain\'s biggest bank, advanced 1.9 percent to 25.09 reais.

Goldman\'s Prediction-\"Commodity stocks we think will especially shine, as developed-market central banks provide a continued flow of liquidity,\" wrote strategist Stephen Graham, who is \"bearish\" on Brazilian steelmakers. \"Defensive utilities and telcos may not perform in the strong market we expect.\"

Goldman expects the Bovespa to rise to a record 78,000 by yearend. The  Bovespa index trades at 10.6 times analysts\' 2011 earnings estimates, compared with 11 times for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index of 21 developing nations\' stocks and 14.3 times for Mexico\'s IPC index, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg. The Bovespa trades at 15.3 times the reported profits of its companies. Bloomberg.

If you are like most Americans, you\'ll spend about $20 on Halloween candy this year. That is, unless you\'re like Jennifer Boyd-Mullineaux.

When trick-or-treaters come knocking on her door in Westport, Conn., the 40-year-old mother will drop something different into their bags this year — boxed organic raisins, agave sticks, seashells and herb-seed packets. She doesn\'t mind spending slightly more on them than she would on candy.

\"I just feel like candy is unnecessary,\" says Boyd-Mullineaux, a physician\'s assistant who has two children, ages 7 and 9. \"You see the incredible volumes of candy collected — knowing that no one should eat that much — and it just goes into the trash. It just doesn\'t seem responsible to us.\"

Boyd-Mullineaux\'s house may not be that unusual. She\'s among a small but growing legion of parents across the country who are going green this Halloween — handing out alternative treats, carrying reusable trick-or-treat bags, making their own face paint and decorations and swapping used costumes.

Organic businesses leap on bandwagon
The shift has opened a big door for makers of organic products that for years sat on the sidelines while mainstream companies reaped the rewards of the $5.8 billion Halloween market.

\"A lot of moms are frustrated,\" says Corey Colwell-Lipson, founder of the nonprofit Green Halloween, which offers online tips and helps organize green events around the holiday.

\"We try to save money. We try to have a small footprint, eat healthy food,\" she says. \"Here is this holiday. It costs a lot of money. It creates a lot of waste. It\'s food that I don\'t want my kids to touch with a 10-foot pole.\"

Joining those moms are 50 zoos and aquariums across the country that will hand out mini organic granola bars and fruit leathers — instead of traditional chocolate — to the millions of kids who visit their annual Halloween celebrations. In the past, a large zoo might have given away 150,000 pieces of candy.

Organic food makers have seized the opportunity. Just this year, Annie\'s Homegrown launched a new line of trick-or-treat-sized organic fruit snacks. Then there\'s salty-snack purveyor Snyder\'s of Hanover, which this year came out with Halloween treat bags for its pretzels; Nature\'s Path, which introduced bite-sized organic crispy rice bars; and LaraBar, which started making mini granola bars — all for Halloween buyers.

Whole Foods, too, dove into the Halloween season with unusual zest after years of letting mass merchandise retailers collect those sales. The chain beefed up Halloween signage at its 270 stores and even partnered with some companies to develop new products.

\"Whole Foods went crazy for Halloween in a way they never have,\" says Maria Emmer-Aanes, director of marketing at Nature\'s Path Foods. \"I think that people are dying for alternatives.\"

Nature\'s Path has already sold out of its gluten-free Halloween bite-sized bars. Now the Canadian company is talking about making a Halloween variety pack for next year.

That demand for healthier alternatives extends to candy as well. Halloween sales have doubled this year for organic lollipops made by Yummy Earth, a Ridgewood, N.J., candy maker. Four years after founder Rob Wunder created the suckers for his organic-fed toddler, they are sold in 40,000 retail stores, including mainstream outlets like Publix Super Markets and Babies R Us. The lollipops don\'t use high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives or color dyes.

\"We sell over a hundred million lollipops a year,\" says Wunder, who declined to give sale figures for his 60-employee company. \"People are sick of yucky stuff that they can\'t pronounce in their treats.\"

The growth shouldn\'t be surprising. Organic foods and the green movement are both flourishing, despite the economic downturn. One-third of consumers now buy organic products monthly, driving a $24.9 billion organic food and beverage market.

Offering more than organic treats
The green Halloween sales extend beyond treats. San Diego-based EnviroSax recently launched a line of reusable trick-or-treat bags, following success by competitor ChicoBag, which has been making Halloween bags for five years.

ChicoBag holds annual children\'s art contests and puts the winning designs on its Halloween bags. The Chico, Calif., company sold out of its $6 bags this year and expects to sell 80,000 of them next year. \"Interest keeps multiplying,\" says Wes McMahon, ChicoBag marketing director.

And while Americans are still expected to spend some $2 billion this year on new costumes, about 40 percent of consumers will simply reuse last year\'s costume or make their own, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. Some like Boyd-Mullineaux are organizing free costume swaps, in which people bring a costume and trade it out for another one.

\"People are inspired by the idea,\" says Green Halloween\'s Colwell-Lipson. \"You\'re saving money and getting something new to you. And it\'s green, which is icing on the cake.\"

Inmates ranging from 18 to 21 years old are doing hardwood flooring work as part of a rehabilitation program offered by the Monterey Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility of Beaver Dams, N.Y, according to the Star-Gazette. The inmates, who range in age from 18 to 21 years old, began their work at the mansion about two weeks ago, sorting and scraping hardwood flooring; they\'ve also torn up tile in preparation for installing hardwood flooring. The six-month, military-style program aims to re-educate inmates in work skills. Elmira\'s Community Arts group is rehabilitating the mansion to house art education studio spac.

Gorgeous,untamed landscapes;sexy,festive carnivals, sizzling food and people. We got the memo. Brazil is hot! This rich South American nation is famous for attracting flocks of adventure seekers but another thing Brazil excels at is in producing some of the world\'s most beautiful exotic wood. Species like Ipe (Brazilian Walnut ), Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry), Cumaru (Brazilian Teak ), Muiracatiara (Brazilian Tigerwoood ) and Sucupira (Brazilian Chestnut ) are ideal in creating exquisite looking and long-lasting hardwood floors people covet and no one knows this better than Brazfloor. The Brazilian - owned and operated company boasts the most extensive collection of Brazilian wood products available, and their friendly attitude and ability to anticipate your needs will make you feel just like you were on holiday in Rio.

The Environmetal Protection Agency (EPA) will delay enforcement of the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule's firm certification requirement until Oct. 1. In addition, the agency will not enforce against individual renovation workers for violation of the rule's renovation worker certification requirement if the person has applied to enroll in, or has enrolled in, a certified renovator class by no later than Sept.30; the training must be completed by Dec. 31. For mor information on the rule, visit www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm. According to an agency statement, "EPA is simply giving firms more time to file the apporpriate paperwork demostrating they are following the lead-safe work pratices. Moreover, EPA is also giving individual contractors more time to enroll in and take the required training courses." Industry groups has lobbied to extend the deadline for compliance due to the lack of training opportunites for certification. The rule applies to all contractors - including wood flooring contractors -disturbing more than 6 square feet of coating in homes built prior to 1978.

MSNBC- 40 Billionaires pledge to give away half of wealth. A little over a uear after Bill Gates and Warren Buffett began hatching a plan over dinner to persuade America\'s wealthliest people to give most of their fortunes to charity, more than three -dozen individuals and families have agreed to take part, campaign organizers announced Wednesday.

In addition ro Buffett and Gates- America\'s two wealthiest individuals, with a combined net worth of $90 billion, according to Forbes-38 others billionaires have signed  The Giving Pledge. They include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entertainment executive Barry Diller, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, media mogul Ted Turner, David Rockefeller, film director George Lucas and investor Ronald Perelman.

\" We\'re off to a terrific start,\" Buffett, co-founder and chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said in a conference call also attended by Bloomberg and San Francisco hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor, founder of One California Bank.

Buffett said he and Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, and Gates\' wife Melinda made calls to fellow billionaires on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans- in many cases, people they had never met- to try to persuade them to join the giving pledge.

\"We contacted between 70 and 80 people to get the 40. A few were unavailable. We don\'t give up on them. Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. We\'ll keep on working,\" Buffett said.

Bloomberg, who made the bulk of his estimated $17.5 billion fortune from financial news and information services company Bloomberg L.P. said it didn\'t make sense to leave everything to his children and have them go through life as members of \" the lucky sperm club.\"

\" You don\'t want to leave them so much money that it ruins their lives,\" Bloomberg said.  \" You want kids who can look back and say, \"Yeah my family helped me but I did something on my own.\"

Added Steyer: \" We need to support each other. I look at this as replanting your garden so that future generations wil have a full bounty of crops.\"

The United States has roughly 400 billionaires-about 40 percent of the world\'s total- with a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, according to Forbes. If they all took the pledge, that would amount to at least $600 billion for charity.

The 40 names that have pledged to date have a combined net worth surpassing $230 billion, according to Forbes. Several of them have said they plan to give away much more than 50 percent of their wealth. Buffett has promised to donate more than 99 percent of his wealth.

The pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting one cause or organization. It\'s up to each person who signs the pledge how to divvy up their wealth.

\"I\'m particulary thankful for my father\'s advice to set goals so high that they can\'t possibly be achieved during a lifetime and to give help where help is needed most.\" CNN founder Ted Turner said. \" That inspiration keeps me energized and eager to keep working hard every day on giving back and making the world a better place for generations to come.\"

In letters on the givingpledge.org website, the 40 billionaires explain what motivated them to follow in the footsteps of Gates and Buffett.

Washington - Home construction surged 10.5 percent in August from a mont earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That\'s the highest level since April.

Application for building permits also grw. The gains were driven mainly by apartment and condominium construction, not the much larger single -family homes sector.

Pulling the figures up was a 32 percent monthly increase in the condominium and apartment market, a small portion of the market. Single-family homes, which represented about 73 percent of the market in August, grew more than 4 percent.

Housing starts are us 25 percent from their bottom in Aprile 2009. But they remain 74 percent below their peak in January 2006. Single-family housing starts are up 11 percent from their low point in January 2009, but down 78 percent from their peak in January 2006.

Builders are struggling with weak demand for new homes caused by high unemployment and a glut of forclosed homes on the market. They benefited in the spring from Federal Tax credit, but those expired in April.

Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, said the high number of vacant homes, mounting expectations of renewed price falls and economic constraints on households will continue to weigh on the industry.

\"Homebuild activity remains at an astoundingly weak level,\" Dales said, adding that construction has to be more than double current levels for the market to be considered healthy.

Building permit applications, a sign of future activity, grew by nearly 2 percent to an annual rate of 569,000.

Lennar Corp., a major builder based in Miami, said Monday the number of buyers signing agreements to purchase its homes fell 15 percent from a year ago in three months ended August 31.

\"it\'s been a tough summer,\" said Stuart Miller, Lennar\'s cheif executive. on a conference call with investors Monday. \" As we\'ve gone into September, we\'ve seeing a little bit of pickup in our traffic, but that shouldn\'t be cause to have a sigh of relief at this point.\"

Construction activity rose 34 percent in the West and was up 22 percent in Midwest and 7 percent in the South. However, construction fell by 24 percent in the Northeast.

On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders said its monthly index of builders\' sentiment was unchanged in September at 13. The index has now been at the lowest level since March 2009 for two straight months.  Alan Zibel AP

Boeing Co. will today begin poring over plans from Rolls-Royce GroupPlc. aimed at avoiding further delays to the 787 Dreamliner following the blowout of an engine in testing last month, the head of its jetliner divison said.

A team from London -based Rolls -Royce will deliver a briefling today and tomorrow in Seattle, where the 787 is built, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh said in an interview yesterday. The proposed steps should allow the aircraft to enter service as planned early next year, he said.

\"Rools is stepping up, and we\'ll take a hard look at the recovery plan, and based on what they told us, I think we\'ll be OK,\" Albaugh said. \" They knew that they had the potential for what happened, and they have the fixes in to address that.\"

Boeing delayed the 787\'s first delivery for the sixth time on Aug. 27, saying Rolls- Royce couldn\'t supply an engine to finish flight testing, 31/2 weeks after a $17 million Trent 1000 blew up. The \"biggest risk\" to the jet\'s development probably now comes from the turbines being supplied by Rolls, JPMorgan Securities analyst Joseph Nadol said on Sept. 20. Bloomberg

U.S. median household income fell 3 percent in 2009 to $50,221, the second straight annual drop, the Census Bureau said.

Maryland had the highest income for a fourth consecutive year, at $69,272, even as its median dropped from $70,545, in 2008, the bureau said in its 2009 American Community Survey. Mississippi had the lowest for at least the fifth straight year, at $36,646.

The American Community Survey data are used to help determine the annual distribution of more than $400 billion in federal and state funds, the bureau said.  Bloomberg

Washington- Pending sales of previously  owned homes rose to a four-month high in August, implying the housing market was regaining some stability after recent steep declines following the end of a home -buyer tax credit.

Another report on Monday showed new orders received by domestic factories fell 0.5 percent in August as demand for transportation equipment fell sharply. Analysts had forecast a drop of 0.4 percent in August.

However, excluding the transportation segment, factory orders rose 0.9 percent .

The data offered few fresh clues on whether the Federal Reserve would embark on a new round of monetary policy easing next month,as widely anticipated by financial markets.

\" Sales have stabilized at very, very low levels after the expiratin of the federal tax credits. At these low levels, you could see some good percentage increases in sales, but it doesn\'t show any susutainable uptrend  in housing conditions,\" said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities in New York.

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in August, increased 4.3 percent to 82.3 from July.

Econonmists polled by Reuters forecast the index, which leads exisitng home sales by a  month or two, rising 3 percent in August from July. Compared to the August last year, pending home sales were down 20.1 percent.

Major U.S. stock indexes were trading flat to marginally lower as a ratings downgrade weighed on Microsoft Corp. and new Swiss banking rules raised fears of smaller bank profits. Prices for U.S. government debt were mostly up, while the dollar rose against the euro.

\"It\'s fair to say the market is  mainly trading on expectations of what the Fed will do regarding easing ,\"said Michael  Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York.

The U.S. central bank last month signaled it was ready to inject more money into the economy to shore up a sluggish recovery from the worst downturn since 1930\'s and prevent a damaging phase to deflation.

The Fed, which has already injected $1.7 trillion into the economy by purchasing mortgage -relatd and government bonds, next meets on November2-3.

Home sales and building activity are stabilizing after a downward spiral following the end of April of popular tax credit for home buyers. But high unemployment and a glut of homes on the  market imply recovery will be very weak.

\" Households are simply unable to or do not want to, buy a home,\" said Paul Dales, a U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

\" The problem is not the level of borrowing costs, meaning that more quantitative easing by the Fed is unlikely to make much difference. The upshot is that housing activity will remain weak for a number of years yet.\"

Total factory orders for July were upwardly revised to a 0.5 percent increase.

A 10.2 percent decline in the volatile transportation equipment segment,with the motor vehicle-related orders off 3.6 percent and nondefense aircraft down 40.2 percent, weighed down factory orders in August.

Orders for machinery rose 5.2percent in August, while orders for computers and electronic products rose 3.7 percent. Yahoo Finance.

General Electric Co. brought  retailer finance loans from Citigroup Inc. , adding a $1.6 billion in U.S. based assets in GE Capital\'s first consumer purchase since the financial crisis took hold in 2008.

The loan portfolio, part of the Citi Holdings group tagged for sale, provides consumer credit in three dozen retail chains for 18,000 locations, GE said in a statement today. Financial terms weren\'t disclosed. The acquisition will add to earnings immediatelly, said Mark Begor, who oversees GE\'s consumer finance divisions in the Americas.

GE, the biggest issuer of store-brand credit cards, is expanding a finance business started more the 70 years ago to provide loans for buyers of its refrigerators and ovens. GE Capital\'s improved market position and lending expertise, as well as signs that consumers spending is coming of its bottom,made the purchase attractive, Begor said.

\" We have pretty good visibility on the consumer , how they\'re operating,\" he said in a telephone interview.\" And the similarity of this business to ours gives us confidence in making the acquisition.\"

The unit of New York based Citigroup has been a smaller competitor, and buying the loans adds about 13 percent to GE\'s $12.5 billion in assets in its retail finance unit, he said. Begor didn\'t provide a figure on the acquisition\'s expected addition to earnings.

The North American consumer retail business of Fairfield, Connecticut -based GE, including the credit card unit, has about $41 billion in assets, Begor said.

The purchase shows GE\'s ability to manage in a \"brutal economic environment,\" he said. Retail delinquencies at GE Capital fell 87 basis points to 6.29 percent in the second quarter and continued to improve in the thired quarter, Begor said. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

The Citigroup unit provides credit to retail outlets including home furnishings, flooring, consumer electronics, and heating and cooling.

\"We\'ve actually seen some life in the consumer base in the last 90 days,\" he said. \"We\'re starting to see in our business some good high-single digit increases over last year.\"

The increase is coming off a low base, Begor said. Consumers still \"will be careful about what they buy. And we think that\'s going to continue for a while.\"

\"That\'s where we have real scale, in the U.S. \" he said. \" We like that position. If we could find another transaction like this with the same returns and same strategic positioning for us, we\'d do it quickly.\"

The retail finance unit has been adding customers in recent months, sigining partnerships with manufacturers and retailers such as lawn-mower maker Toro Co.in February and motocycle maker Kawasaki Motors Corp. last month. For more go to Bloomberg

Wood flooring exports to the Middle East increased 119 percent from January through September, according to AMEinfo.com. The rise is part of a larger trend of rising American hardwood exports—also including logs, lumber and veneer—to the region. Overall, American hardwood exports to the Middle East rose 54 percent, from $49 million to $76 million, during the period.

Roderick Wiles, AHEC director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, told AMEinfo.com the construction sector there is slowly picking up again. \"During the first nine months of 2010 we witnessed strong growth in export activity across the MENA region, which highlights the demand for quality American hardwood products in today\'s ongoing world class construction development projects,\" he said.

The National Wood Flooring Association will hold discussion forums for wood flooring manufacturers, distributors and contractors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 29 at the San Diego Convention Center. The forums will be held on the final day of the 2011 NWFA Annual Wood Flooring Convention and Expo, which begins April 26. All of the sessions will include discussions of the association\'s Responsible Procurement Program (RPP) and green issues.

In addition, the manufacturer forum will address updates to and enforcement of the Lacey Act, and ramifications of California\'s Proposition 65; the distributor forum will include discussions on the new economics of distribution, the future of distributorships and ways distributors can partner with manufacturers; and the dealer/contractor forum will feature speaker Jon Trivers\' presentation on rethinking retail in the era of mindful spending.

The American consumer\'s addiction to cheap labor and products is to blame for the influx of illegal immigrants who undercut building contractors in the U.S., according to a story from The Orange County Register. Scott Powelson, a high school graduate who was a professional flooring installer for 30 years in Southern California, told the newspaper that for most of his career—spanning intermittent economic booms—there was always enough work to go around even though the number of flooring dealers using illegal immigrants was rising. However, during the latest economic bust, he threw in the towel and got out of the flooring business because he wouldn\'t work for the reduced wages he says the illegal workers subject themselves to; he even likens the low wages for which illegal immigrants work to slavery. These days Powelson spends his time working with an immigration reform coalition.

After a nearly five-month investigation and two raids, authorities in Thailand have confiscated about $4 million in teak wood that they believe was illegally smuggled into Thailand from neighboring Myanmar (Burma). The wood—nearly 3,000 teak logs valued at about $1.6 million, and 78,000 teak planks worth about $2.4 million—was confiscated from Suksawad Plywood Co. in Nonthaburi, near the port city Bangkok in southern Thailand; the company is a lumber wholesaler and wood flooring manufacturer. Allegedly, Suskawad Plywood Co.\'s parent company, Suskawad Group Co., received the wood from supplier Anton Co. Thailand\'s Department of Special Investigations, which is handling the investigation, believes Anton Co. smuggled the teak by falsifying customs documents. Executives from Suskawad Plywood Co. have said they believed the wood was purchased from legal sources.

This year\'s International Wood Flooring Forum will take place March 21 in Shanghai, right before the start of Domotex Asia/Chinafloor, the largest floor covering show in Asia. The event is organized by the Floor Covering Institute (FCI), VNU exhibitors and the China National Forest Products Industry Association (CNFPIA). Jim Gould, president of FCI, is strategic director of the event, which attracted more than 50 speakers and 500 attendees in 2010. According to an FCI release, this year\'s general session will be shortened to allow for educational breakout sessions with more intimate discussions. “The disruption in the supply chain due to the ITC investigation of engineered wood flooring coming out of China right now makes this show more important than ever for those who want to source new product and suppliers from the greater Asia area,” Gould said.

Washington D.C.\'s five -cent tax on plastic shopping bags has cut their use by more than half, the WSJ reports this morning.

Last year, D.C. shoppers used about 270 million disposable bags. Since the tax went into effect this year, stores are giving our about 60 percent fewer bags, surveys suggest.

Whether you\'re pro- or anti-bag tax, this is a pretty striking example of how a small incentive (a nickel, in this case ) can have a big influence on behavior.

Environmentalists argue that disposable plastic shopping bags are a global scourge, though there\'s some debate on the issue. They\'ve been banned in a few countries; a few U.S. cities, including San Francisco and Oakland,have banned their use in certain stores.

Backers of bag bans and taxes argue in part, that the bags create what economists call a negative externality- a cost (in the case, an environmental cost) that isn\'t borne by people who sell the bags or use the bags.

But broader bans haven\'t taken off in the U.S.

California lawmakers recently voted down a proposal to ban the bags statewide. The American Chemistry Council, which represents some big plastic-bag manufacturers, fought the bill, arguing in part that it would create bureaucratic expenses and hurt jobs. By Jacob Goldstein Planet Money.

Tuesday saw the Dollar edging up, which is in the middle of reports that the Federal Reserve might consider a simpler form of quantitative easing, in order to boost the economy of the United States.

Anticipation from the Fed is that it would initiate bond-buying program prior to the concluding parts of the year triggered by a stern fall in the currency in the preceding week,which pushed it lower than five month\'s figure against the Euro.

Even though, the Dollar regained some poise, but at the same time,after a report recommending further quantitative easing by the Fed,yet officers carried on monitoring the monetary data.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ\'s Derek Halpenny said it was quite clear to see from the sorry performance  of the Dollar over the past week that a few market volunteers were expecting a repetition of the Dollar being vended out accompanying the initial wave of quantitative easing.

\"We doubt the Fed will be anything close to being as bold as in March 2009,when the world was in an entirely different place\", he said.

The Dollar hiked up by 0.2% to $1.3417 against the Euro, with on sole currency gaining a level back in the midst of worries relating the health of economy of Ireland. TOPNEWS

Google Inc. said it will invest in a $5 billion underwater transmission network that can harvest electricity from wind farms off the Mid-Atlantic coast and power 1.9 million homes across Virginia, New York and New Jersey.

Google will buy a 37.5 percent stake in the development stage of the Atlantic Wind Connection projec, said Rick Needham, director of green business operations at the Mountain View, California based Internet company. The new transmission line would form the \"backbone\" of a Mid-Atlantic offshore wind industry that could add 6,000 megawatts of capacity to the grid, Needham said.

The large-scale development of wind farms off the U.S. East Coast may create as many as 212,000 jobs, the project\'s developers, including Google, Trans-Elect Development Co., Good Energies Inc. and Tokyo based  Marubeni Corp., said in a statement.

The project, called the \"Atlantic Wind Connection,\" is needed to lower the cost of sending electricity from offshore wind turbines to the powr grid, Bob Mithcell, chief executive officer of Trans-Elect, told reporters.

\"There will be no offshore wind industry in this country if we as a team are not successful,\" Mitchell said of the project.

The transmission line is to extend from New Jersey to Virginia, Mitchell said in a telephone interview.

Google is \"only committing to provide equity for the critical early development stage of the project\" in \"the tens of millions\" of dollars, with the larger project costs being shouldered though a separate financing which is expected to take place in 2013, Jamie Yood, a spokesman for Google,said in an e-mail.

\"The North American wind industry hasn\'t had any players involved with the motivation and financial heft to really move this market forward,\" Hodges said.\"Google could play that role.\"

Globally, wind power is expected to account for 22 percent of the world\'s electricity generation within two decades, the Global Wind Energy Council said today.

Google,based in Mountain View, CA, rose $5.02 to $543.86 at 1:21pm New York Time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Before today, the shares had dropped 13 percent this year. Bloomberg

Retail sales in the U.S. climbed more than forecast in September, easing concern that unemployment stuck near a 26 year high will bring the recovery to a halt.

Purchases rose 0.6 percent following a 0.7 percent gain in August that was larger than perviously estimated, according to Commerce Department data issued today in Washington. Other reports showed inflation cooled and manufacturing in the New York region accelerated.

An unexpected decline in consurmer confidence was a reminder that a jobless rate forecast to exceed 9 percent throught next year will curb the spending that accounts for 70 percent of the economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke today said the recovery may need additional monetary stimulus because inflation is too low and too many Americans are still out of work.

\"Today\'s reports are all consistent with Bernanke\'s message,\" said John Herrmann, senior fixed -income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC in Boston. \" The consumer and the economy are still in need of support, as private job creation is insufficient to cause a material improvement in the unemployment rate and in consumer confidence.\"  Bloomberg

BR-111 (Medley, Fla.) is fighting back in its arbitration dispute with Triangulo (Curitiba, Brazil). At stake is nearly $1.6 million dollars an arbitration tribunal has ordered BR-111 to pay Triangulo for unpaid invoices, interest on those invoices and attorney\'s fees. Most recently, on Dec. 9, BR-111 asked the U.S. District Court in Miami to vacate, or waive, the tribunal\'s award.

BR-111 said it asked the court to vacate the tribunal\'s award because the flooring it received from Triangulo—while the two companies were still business partners—was deficient, resulting in BR-111 paying out about $1.6 million in warranty claims. The warranty claims BR-111 paid on behalf of Triangulo have not been rectified, BR-111 said, and so BR-11 has withheld invoice payments from Triangulo.

The dispute started in October 2008. Until then, Triangulo was a private label supplier of engineered wood flooring for BR-111. In a Dec. 15 press release, BR-111 said that after the two companies severed ties, BR-111 ceased distributing any product under the Triangulo trademark. However, Doug Leigh, Triangulo\'s director of operations in North America, has said that even after the two companies split, BR-111 \"continued branding product as Triangulo and sourcing it from other manufacturers.\"

The two companies agreed to engage in arbitration to resolve the dispute, and on Sept. 27 the tribunal found BR-111 owed the disputed amounts. Since then, however, BR-11 has not acted on the tribunal\'s decision, and on Nov. 15 Triangulo asked the U.S. District Court in Miami to enforce the tribunal\'s award, which BR-111 has now asked the court to vacate. Leigh said this product was the one for which customers were submitting warranty claims.

\"We are saddened by the fact that what was once a flourishing relationship for both parties has come to this and are eager to work with Triangulo to rectify this matter in a timely manner,\" said Ricardo Moraes, president of BR-111.

Last year brought \"encouraging news\" on both ends of the supply chain in the battle against illegal logging, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI) (Washington, D.C.),an evironmental think tank. To make its point, the group pointed out a July 2010 report from the Chatham House that said illegal logging fell by 50-75 percent during the past decade in Indonesia, Cameroon, and Brazils Amazon region;the group attributed this feat to better law enforcement,improved forest monitoring and increased media attention. WRI also noted that efforts in wood-consuming countries are serving to curtail illegal loggin; in 2008 U.S. lawmakers amended the Lacey Act in order to fight illegal logging abroad, and European Union (EU) lawmakers approved a similar measure in 2010.

The International Trade Commission’s (ITC) investigation into engineered wood flooring originating from China has already begun to disrupt buying patterns and pricing, according to those most affected by the investigation.

“I have to stop buying stock from my facilities in China because I don’t know what my potential liabilities are,” said Jonathan Train, import product manager at Texas-based Swiff-Train. “I’m hopeful I have enough to carry me forward, but we’ll be out of stock in spring and early summer.”

The disruption in the supply chain comes after the initial hearing held last month by the ITC and Department of Commerce that determined there was reasonable indication that U.S. manufacturers are suffering material injury due to Chinese imports of engineered wood product. (See FCW Dec. 20/27, 2010.)

Dave Reichwein, CEO and president of GTP International, which imports a full assortment of products from global-based partners, said the investigation negatively impacts the American economy. “I have concerned distributors who want to know dates and specifics,” he said. “Jonathan [Train] is going to stop buying. I’m going to stop buying except for a couple key partners – thousands [in the U.S.] are going to lose jobs.”

Train and Reichwein participated in a Dec. 20 teleconference with concerned importers and their legal representative to discuss a strategy to combat what they claim is a direct attack, not on China, but on competitive private labelers.

Houston-based T&L Distributing obtains product from Anderson, Mannington and Shaw -- three of the most prominent petitioners for the ITC investigation -- as well as private label material from Chinese partners, according to Bob Eady, senior vice president. He said that the situation is unclear but has the potential to leave a large impact.

“I do not have one Chinese supplier that will quote me a landed cost past March 2011,” he said. “Pricing for new programs or a project past March is almost impossible at this time. Some import suppliers are playing Russian roulette by saying they can guarantee a cost. The ethical Chinese supplier knows that it is not possible until the outcome is clearer on tariffs. Contrary to some beliefs, I don’t believe the sky is falling. When the smoke clears the good Chinese suppliers will still be doing business but just not based on price.”

Some said that they have already developed trade lines to neighboring Asian nations or have developed alternative products that fall outside of the investigation’s scope. Jerome Lizambard, international sales and marketing director for VNU Exhibitions, said Domotex Asia/ChinaFloor is hosting a special wood forum to address alternatives for Americans.

“Exhibitors from other parts of Asia have decided to expand their booth, and some who usually do not join the show are considering doing so – all potential suppliers for foreign visitors,” Lizambard said. “Possible difficulties for some could mean new opportunities for others it seems.”

An executive from a leading west coast distributor said he informed investigating officials that at least one of his rotary-peeled products is only available from China.

“Ironically we sell more of the Chinese product at a higher relative pricing than all the others combined and we still get few claims,” he said. “As for the future? At least one of my vendors is relocating to another country to produce. In the end, prices will go up. Factories will move to other areas around the Pacific Rim and those areas will benefit.”

Mohawk Industires was downgraded today by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus and the stock is now at $57.85, down $0.52 on volume of 469,023 shares traded. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy. Over the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from a low of $41.33 in last January to a high of $66.93 in April. Mohawk Industries stock has been showing support around $45.35 and reistance in the $59.41 range. Technical indicators for the stock are bearish and S & P gives MHK a negative 2 STARS(out of 5) sell ranking. If you are looking for a hedged play on MHK the stock seems like it could be a candidate for a Ferbruary out to the money bul-put credit spread below the 50 range.

KNOXVILLE -- Armstrong Hardwood Flooring Co. is eliminating 18 jobs in Scott County as it closes a distribution center there.

Effective today, the company is closing its Helenwood Distribution center, which employed 10 people, said Jennifer Johnson, Armstrong Hardwood Flooring spokeswoman. The company is also eliminating eight other positions in its Scott county operations, four of which are eligible for recall, she said.

This action comes after Armstrong Hardwood Flooring Co. laid off 260 employees in Scott County last year as it idled its strip mill, finish line and yard operations at its plant in Oneida. The company continues its parquet, floor care, chemical plant and other operations, and Johnson said it now employs 54 people at its Oneida facility. Ongoing weak demand in the markets the company serves has led to the scale-backs in its Scott County operations, she said.

Though not as extensive as earlier layoffs, the latest round of job cuts comes at a time that Scott County’s already high unemployment rate has risen a few more points. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development figures for December — the latest available — show Scott county with a 20.4 % unemployment rate, which was 2.5 % higher than the 17.9 % unemployment rate from the December before that.

Also today, the Labor and Workforce Development reported that 67 people were laid off from Dec. 31 to Jan. 7 as part of the previously announced closing of Regas restaurant in downtown Knoxville.

Bloomber- Barack Ohama may appoint Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who scolded U.S. banks while overseeing their bailout, as the interim head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as early as this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

An interim appointment could allow Obama to bypass a confirmation battle over Warren in the Senate, where Republicans have raised objections to her possible nomination.

The selection may be made tomorrow or the following day, said the person, who requested anonymity. The final decision on temporarliy installing Warren hasn\'t yet been made,said another person familiar with the matter.

\" I am concerned about all Senate nominations these day\'s, \" Obama said at a White House news conference on Sept. 10, when asked if he is concerned about confirmation hurdles for Warren. \"It\'s very hard when you\'ve got a determined minority in the Senate the insists on a 60-vote filibuster on every single person that we\'re trying to confirm.\"

The consumer bureau is one of the biggest regulatory consequences of a Wall Street overhaul Obama signed into law in July. It will have a $400 million budget and the power to impose federal rules on mortgages, credit cards, layaway plans and other consumer credit products.

Warren\'s possible interim appointment was reported yesterday by the American Banker.

Consumer Activists

Warren is chairman of the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Her criticism of Wall Street firms such as Citigroup Inc. and American International Group Inc. won her celebrity status among consumer activists, prompting business lobbyists and Republican lawmakers to question whether she can be a unbiased leader of an agency with such broad authority over the financial industry.

Obama said at last week\'s news conference that he would soon name a leader for the consumer protection agency and said that he had spoken with Warren about the post. The president declined to say whether he was leaning toward naming Warren, who he called \" a dear friend of mine.\"

White House spokewoman Amy Brundage said last night the Warren \" has been a stalwart voice for American consumers and families and she was the architect of the idea that became the Consumer Financial Protection Bureay.\" Obama \" will have more to say about the agency and its mission soon,.\" she said.

Republican Critic

Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, the senior Republican on the banking committer, said the leader of the agency should go throught the confirmation process.

\"Someone that\'s appointed to that job should be vetted, examined, investigated and have his or her qualification for that job weighed by the Senate,\" Shelby told reporters yesterday when asked about the possibillity of an interim appointment.

Shelby said he \"would like to see a more objective person in the job. Elizabeth Warren,obvisously, is not objective person when it comes to the consumer issues.\"

Agency Proposal

Obama proposed the new consumer bureau after lawmakers including Dodd and Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said existing regulators failed to protect borrowers against risky lending faulted for fueling the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The agency, created under the financial regulation law named for Dodd and Frank, will oversee banks,mortgage brokers, retailers, credit -card compaines, debt collectors and credit-scoring firms.

The consumers bureau will be housed at the Federal Reserve and funded with 10 percent of the central bank\'s operating budget in its first year, rising to 12 percent by 2013, and could ultimately employ thousands of people. The-Fed, which won\'t have any direct authority over the bureay, has an existing consumer-affairs division with about 114 employees and a $26 million budget.

Obama, who met with Warren last week at the White House, said at his news conference that the idea for the agency was hers.

All 33 miners have been rescued and seem to be in good health. The best to all the  miners and a very strong heart felt thank you to all that helped in the rescue efforts.

Retailers are expected to add between 550,000 and 650,000 jobs this holiday season-- a welcome relief for many looking for temporary work. And now is the time to apply.

Retailers currently looking for holiday help: Macy\'s 65,000 • UPS- 50,000 • Toys R Us 45,000• Kohls 40,000 • Best Buy 29,000. As for pay from $7.25 to $11 per hour for those with little experience, to $25 to $40 an hour for experienced sales leaders at high-end stores.

Rebecca Jarvis CBS News Business and Economics Correspondent explained, \" These are significant jobs. When you think about it, 14.9 million people in this country are counted as unemployed. Millions of those people have been unemployed for more than six months. So, this is an opportunity for those individuals, in particular, to get back on that horse, to start working again. That 650,000 number is above where we are last year. Last year, the economy added about 501,000 temporary jobs this time of year. Because, in part, of that,but alos they were adding temporary jobs. Of course, it tends to be the time where retailers hire, because it tends to be the time retailers make money.\"

Javis continued, \" I soke to someone at UPS (one of the companies listed above) he\'s been with UPS 32 years. He worked one Christmas when he was 17, and two weeks after the holidays, they called him in for full-time employment.\" CBS News.com

Cambridge, MA, October 22, 2010--Substantive growth in remodeling spending, coming off a three year decline, seems likely in 2011, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Even though spending is still below its 2007 peak, the LIRA indicates that homeowner improvement spending is expected to be up at a double-digit pace at an annual rate through the first half of 2011.

 “The downturn in home improvement activity has pushed spending below its long-term trend,” says Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. “A recovering economy should stabilize house prices and consumer confidence levels, encouraging homeowners to reinvest in their homes and undertake deferred repairs and replacements.”

“Remodeling contractors are feeling much more positive about the outlook for home improvement projects,” says Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies. “Low financing costs and a wave of previously foreclosed homes coming back on the market and in need of renovation are expected to generate healthy growth over the next several quarters.”

The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) is designed to estimate national homeowner spending on improvements for the current quarter and subsequent three quarters. The indicator, measured as an annual rate-of-change of its components, provides a short-term outlook of homeowner remodeling activity and is intended to help identify future turning points in the business cycle of the home improvement industry. The development of the LIRA is detailed in “Developing a Leading Indicator for the Remodeling Industry” (JCHS Research Note N07-1). In July 2008, the LIRA was re-benchmarked due to changes in the underlying reference series. These changes are explained in “Addendum to Research Note N07-1: Re-Benchmarking the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity” (JCHS Research Note N08-1). The LIRA is released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University in the third week after each quarter’s closing. The next LIRA release date is January 13, 2011.

The Remodeling Futures Program, initiated by the Joint Center for Housing Studies in 1995, is a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the growth and changing characteristics of housing renovation and repair activity in the United States. The Program seeks to produce a better understanding of the home improvement industry and its relationship to the broader residential construction industry.

 The Joint Center for Housing Studies is Harvard University’s center for information and research on housing in the United States. Established in 1959, it is a collaborative unit affiliated with the Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Kennedy School. The Joint Center analyzes the dynamic relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends, providing leaders in government, business, and the non-profit sector with the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and strategies.

Thursday Dec.2- First Day of Hanukkah

Tuesday Dec.7-Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Tuesday- Dec.21-Winter Begins

Friday-Dec.24- Christmas Eve

Saturday- Dec.25- Christmas Day

Sunday-Dec.26- Kwanzaa Begins

Friday-Dec. 30- New Year\'s Eve

Saturday-Jan. 1-New Years Day 2011

Apple, this is your wake-up call.

With the switchover to standard time hitting the United States in less than a week, Apple gives you another reason to keep a standalone alarm clock: a bug that doesn\'t recognize the time changes to/from Daylight Saving Time for recurring alarms.

In Europe this morning, iPhone owners received a rude awakening when they realized their alarms did not recognize the beginning of standard time today due to a bug that affected the iOS.

What do you think they\'ll use as an excuse when they show up late to work, or to their appointments? \"Sorry boss, the iPhone DST bug zapped my alarm!\"

Citing slumping demand and mounting losses, Armstrong World Industries said it will exit the residential flooring business in Europe As part of that decision, Armstrong said it will shut its only European residential flooring plant, in Teesside, England, by early 2011. Explaining the decision, Armstrong said the business had an operating loss of $4 million on sales of $19 million in the first half of this year. Complicating matters, Armstrong said, were the small scale and high costs of the Teesside plant, which opened in 1977.  In addition, Teesside no longer needs to produce its cushion-vinyl flooring for the U.S. market.  That role now is being filled by Armstrong’s Dillerville Road plant, thanks to a $25 million overhaul completed earlier this year. The production of the fiberglass-backed residential sheet product replaces decades of production of felt-backed flooring here. While the overhaul was part of the rationale behind closing Teesside, the far larger factors were the red ink and lower sales in Europe, said spokeswoman Beth Riley. Exiting the residential flooring business in Europe also will free the firm to focus on its larger commercial flooring business there, she said. Armstrong has two commercial flooring plants in Germany and one in Sweden.

The announcement comes two years after the company said it needed to overhaul its European resilient flooring business. It also is the latest of many cutbacks unveiled by Armstrong in recent months as it strives to reduce costs to cope with weak sales.

Bloomfield Hills, MI, Aug. 4, 2009-Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp., which plan to combine to form the country\\\'s largest homebuilder, both reported that orders increased during the first half of the year.

Industry-wide, new home sales are up almost 17 percent from January, and construction of homes and apartments is almost 20 percent higher, according to Commerce Department reports. Still, builders continue to face headwinds from foreclosed homes, high inventory levels, tight homebuyer credit, low consumer confidence and job losses.

Michigan-based Pulte lost $189.5 million, or 74 cents a share, in the three months ended June 30. That compares with a loss of $158.4 million, or 63 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.
Total revenue dropped by 58 percent to $679 million.

Pulte\\\'s completed home sales dropped by more than half from a year ago to 2,500 homes. The average selling price of its homes fell by 9 percent to $261,000.

New home orders dropped by 34 percent from a year ago to 3,367, but jumped 11 percent since the first quarter.

Dallas-based Centex, meanwhile, posted a profit in its fiscal first quarter of $85 million, or 68 cents a share, thanks to a hefty $407 million tax gain. Excluding the one-time tax gain, the builder lost $322.2 million, or $2.63 a share. In the year-ago period, Centex lost $150 million, or $1.21 a share. Revenue declined by nearly half from a year earlier to $573.9 million.

New home orders slipped 32 percent from a year earlier to 2,871, but improved slightly over the 2,843 orders in the three months ended in May. Completed home sales fell by 42 percent to 2,297 homes, while the average price of a Centex home slipped 10 percent to $237,085.

Shortages of ocean containers will linger on into the second half of 2011. Chinese manufacturers, which control the lion\'s share of the box market, will take until then to ramp their production back up to its prerecession rate.

They all but shut down in 2009, when the recession scuttled ocean shipping. Plus cargo lines that stretched delivery times between the U.S., Europe and Asia to save fuel and cash still face thin profit margins and tough emissions rules.

Delays are hammering firms that rely on precision import deliveries of machinery,electronic components,semifinished metals  and parts plus textiles. They\'ll have to beef up warehouseing to guard against supply shortfalls.

Hardest hit: Exporters based 100 miles or more inland from ports. Midwestern firms, notably makers of high -end machinery, will take it on the chin. Ocean carriers aren\'t keen to restore costly services that routinely used railroads to ship empty containers cross-country. Companies may need to enlist brokers to find boxes or to truck products to ports where containers are more readily available.

 A new billing trend in truck hauling puts the bite on manufacturers. Count on more haulers to ditch the use of base rates with flat annual increases and discounts only for big customers that ship millions of pounds of goods each year. The New model: Individual pricing based on specific costs and profitability of shipping different weights and volumes of cargo. Software now allows haulers to factor in distance, time of week, likely road congestion and more in setting costs.

Firms that rely heavily on just -in-time deliveries and pickups will lose most: Auto and auto parts makers, chemical and other hazardous material manufacturers. Also companies that buy and sell consumer electronics or other high-end merchandise for which security is key. Exceptions include retailers and consumer product makers.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed every year in October. Today is the first day of this observation and it is a good time to recall people who are effected by this.

There are many events being organized throughout the U.S., where you can learn about the disease and how to take preventive measures against it.

So wear you pink to show support for the Cure

One of the things that makes the 3-D experience work so well in the movie theater is the communal geekiness of wearing 3D glasses with hundreds of other people. They\'ve made them lool cooler, to be sure, but most of us, I think, are still relieved when we chuck them into those recycling bins outside every theater.

So the idea of wearing them at home, with 3-DTV\'s has never really appealed to me.Probably a lot of you, too.

Now Toshiba is hosting a kine of Holy Grail of new wave TV: a hi-def 3-DTV that doesn\'t require viewers to wear 3-D glasses.

BBC News reports on the technology that allows viewers to see 3-D on these sets: a special lenticular sheet that creates nine overlapping images. This causes the viewer to see different images with each eye and creates the illusion of a 3-D picture.

BBC elaborates on why glasses are used by other 3-D manufacturers (Sony, Samsung and Panasonic):These rely on images for each eye being broadcast one after the other in rapid succesion. Filters in the glasses flash on and off in sync with the picture, filtering the correct image to each eye. The brain recombines the image into a 3-D picture.

It\'s being compard to the Nintendo 3-DS handheld console\'s system.

But it definitely will cost more than the 3DS, which will probably run about $249-$299 in the U.S.:$1400 for the 12 inch set and $2800 fro the 20 inch version.

Also, if wathcing 3-D movies on 3-D televisions also figures into a consumer\'s interest in the sets, there are still many limitations in that area.

The Associated Press reports Toshiba is staying with the smaller sizes because the technology, for now, only seems to work on these size screens.

In addition, you\'ll have to sit a certain distance to get the optimal effect. So take out your measuring tape. For the 12 inch model:25.6 inches from the screen, and for the 20 inch model: 35.4 inches. Once you\'ver got that set, you also need to triangulate a 40 degree \"sweet spot\" in front of the set. So basically, you need to be MacGyver to really get the full 3-D effect.

You also need to be in Japan, since there\'s no release scheduled for the U.S. yet. The sets are scheduled for distribution in Japan beginning of December. MNBC.com

 December 6, 2010--The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a unanimous affirmative determination in its preliminary investigation into allegations of dumping of engineered flooring by Chinese manufacturers. The commission, an independent federal agency, determined that there is “a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of multilayered wood flooring from China that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.”

As a result of the vote, the U.S. Department of Commerce will conduct a detailed investigation into the pricing practices of Chinese engineered wood flooring manufacturers and exporters, as well as subsidies provided to those companies. Its preliminary countervailing duty determination is due on or about Jan. 14, 2011, and its preliminary antidumping duty determination is due on or about March 30, 2011.

“The fact that today’s vote was unanimous, we believe, is a reflection of the weight of the extensive evidence reviewed by the commission, and the seriousness with which the agency viewed the concerns detailed by the domestic industry,” said Jeff Levin, counsel for the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity, which filed a petition for the investigation in late October. The coalition consists of Anderson Hardwood Floors LLC, Award Hardwood Floors, Baker\'s Creek Wood Floors Inc., From the Forest, Howell Hardwood Flooring, Mannington Mills Inc., Nydree Flooring, Forest, and Shaw Industries Group Inc.

Underlying the difficulties anti-illegal logging efforts face in some regions of the world, 1,000 board feet of illegally sawn lumber and a sawmill were found on the front lawn of a Philippine mayor whose house is under construction, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. On Wednesday evening personnel in the country\'s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) tailed a dump truck containing the lumber to a home owned by Bagac Mayor Ramil del Rosario. The driver of the dump truck escaped, and the mayor says his workers were just trying to show the fruits of what was actually a provincial anti-illegal-logging operation. The overwhelming evidence, however, points to a dirty politician.

The National Wood Flooring Association has announced that two US wood flooring manufacturers have begun the audit process to become certified under the NWFA\'s Responsible Procurement Program for Hardwood (RPPH).
Anderson Hardwood Floors in Clinton, S.C. and Mullican Flooring in Johnson City, Tenn., currently are participating in pilot programs to test the audit phase of the RPPH.

The audits are being conducted by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a leading third-party provider of certification, auditing and testing services. SCS is an accredited certifier with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is recognized in the US as setting the highest standard of environmental and social performance in the forest products industry.

SCS will work with both Anderson and Mullican to design, develop and test the audit process for the NWFA RPPH.

The program is supported by the Forest Stewardship Council-US and the FSC Family Forests Alliance, which recognize the NWFA RPP as a valid incremental approach toward socially and environmentally responsible forestry.

London, England - World stock markets rose strongly Monday after closely-watched manufacturing surveys reinforced hopes that the global economy may start to recover by the second half of the year. The bright start to the week was sparked by surveys in Europe and Asia showing that the manufacturing sector was on the mend if not quite in full recovery mode. A similar survey later from the U.S. is also expected to echo findings elsewhere. In China, brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said its monthly purchasing managers index -- a broad gauge of activity -- rose to 51.2 in May from April\'s 50.1. Anything above 50 indicates an expansion. The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its own PMI eased slightly to 53.1 from April\'s 53.5 but still showed activity expanding. Meanwhile, data provider Markit found that its manufacturing purchasing managers\' index for 16 countries that use the euro was revised up to a seven month high of 40.7 in May from the previous estimate of 40.5, while the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said its purchasing managers index for Britain rose for the third month running to 45.4 in May from 43.1 in April. Economic news could well be the main driver this week, culminating in Friday\'s closely-watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report for May where investors will be looking to see if the recent better than expected U.S. economic data is being translated into more modest job losses.

New York, NY - Analysts at Fitch Ratings say home improvement spending is down for the second straight year. And it\'s expected to decline again this year. In 2008, sales of home improvement products market were $290.5 billion, down 4.5 percent from the previous year. The figures are from the Home Improvement Research Institute. Residential home repair and alterations continue to decline along with home equity. The average existing home price in March 2009 was $217,300, a 12.1 percent decrease from the previous March, says the Fitch report.

Despite the negative housing trends, the Fitch report said contractors are getting more calls for estimates. Homeowners are looking for affordable, eco-friendly repairs, such as replacing windows and siding. Homes bought in foreclosure may also present a silver lining.

St. Louis, MO - The National Wood Flooring Association announced its 2009 Golden Mallet award recipients during its convention in Long Beach, Calif. April 28 - May 1. NWFA Golden Mallet awards are presented to individuals who recruit four or more members during a given year. Once a member has achieved Golden Mallet status, additional awards are presented for each year in which two additional members are recruited. During the past year, three NWFA members achieved Golden Mallet status. They include Dan Blake with Hardwood Flooring Institute in Hoschton, Georgia, Drew Kern with Flooring Works in Milton, Ontario, Canada, and Charles Peterson with CP Wood Floors in Gales Ferry, Connecticut. Currently, the NWFA has more than 3,700 member companies in all 50 states, as well as 55 countries throughout the world.

Conditions for the nation\'s manufacturers continued to improve in July, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday. The ISM index rose to 48.9% in July from 44.8% in June. The July index is the strongest since September. The consensus forecast of estimates was for the index to rise to 46.2%. Readings below 50 indicate contraction. Below the headline, the report was strong. The data is showing that the manufacturing downturn is coming to an end. Both production and new orders rose above 50%. The ISM index has been improving slowly since hitting a low of 32.9% in December. The index was last above 50% in January 2008.