The latest public links posted by sohot. http://myprops.org/usercontent/sohot/?m=4 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:20:01 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ The U.S. unemployment surged to hit its highest level in more than 26 years as employers cut more jobs in October. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 10.2%, a sign the labor market continues to struggle as the economy emerges from its deep recession. The unemployment rate of 10.2% was the highest since April 1983. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-Unemployment-Rate-Hits-26-Year-High-in-October/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:30:01 GMT Poor investment performance of active managers in the recent bear market caused the significant net inflow into index funds. Acceleration of institutional investment moving toward the passive strategy spiked in the second half of 2008, particularly after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings in mid-September. http://myprops.org/content/Track-the-Market-with-Passive-Strategy/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:29:04 GMT Among 95 ETF providers, the trio of iShare, State Street Global Adviser (SSgA) and Vanguard control more than 71% of the worldwide asset under management and 85% of the U.S. assets at the end of August 2009, reports SmartInMoney. http://myprops.org/content/Three-providers-control-ETF-market/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:23:15 GMT The economy shed another 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 9.8% with 15.1 million people unemployed. The unemployment rate edged up from 9.7 percent in August, according to the Labor Department, and continued to inch toward double digits, a level last seen in June 1983. http://myprops.org/content/A-26-Year-High-Unemployment-Undermines-Recovery/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:54:50 GMT After seventeenth months of cruel bear market, stock markets have rallied since the early spring and gained steam over the summer. The markets closed the third quarter with huge gain. http://myprops.org/content/Big-gains-followed-a-brutal-bear-market/ Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:44:54 GMT The unemployment rate rose to its highest level since June 1983, but trend of job losses declined in August. http://myprops.org/content/Unemployment-rate-hits-a-26-year-high/ Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:28:56 GMT Manufacturing data indicated that the industry was pulling out of a slump. A key measure in the economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in August according to the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business released on September 1, 2009. The measure passed the mark at which manufacturing expands (rather than contracts) for the first time in 19 months, helped in part by an uptick in activity from carmakers. http://myprops.org/content/Industry-is-pulling-out-of-a-slump/ Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:28:09 GMT Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) keep flourishing as they recorded their largest month on record in July with US$646-billion in assets, according to Birinyi Associates. Exchange traded funds in their basic form are baskets of securities that are traded, like individual stocks, on an exchange. Funds can track any number of indexes from the large-cap S&P 500, small-cap Russell 2000, or even commodities. Most of ETFs on the market currently are passively managed, tracking a wide variety of ... http://myprops.org/content/ETF-Structure-and-Advantage/ Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:38:21 GMT Equity volatility index (VIX) has slowly subsided and is now down to pre-Lehman levels, a sign that investor confidence is returning. But as volatility has subsided in equities, it has popped up in debts. The implied volatility of interest-rate swap options has shot up in recent months, indicating that investors are uncertain about long-term interest rates. Ten-year Treasury bond yields have swung between just over 2% and almost 4% since December. Although many countries are experiencing mild ... http://myprops.org/content/Equity-volatility-subsided-interest-rate-volatility-shot-up/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:12:30 GMT The U.S. unemployment rate rose for the ninth straight month, climbing to 9.5% from 9.4%, and hitting another 26-year high in June. The battered labor market took a step backwards last month as employers trimmed more jobs from their payrolls in June. There was a net loss of 467,000 jobs in June, compared with a revised loss of 322,000 jobs in May. This was the first time in four months that the number of jobs lost rose from the prior month. http://myprops.org/content/Another-disappointing-month-for-U.S.-job-market/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:10:33 GMT U.S. GDP fell at an annualized rate of 6.1% in the first quarter of this year according to data released on Wednesday April 29th. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-economy-shrank-at-an-alarming-rate/ Sun, 03 May 2009 14:50:41 GMT Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, first appeared last November. The worm is self-replicating and has attacked vulnerability in machines using Microsoft's Windows operating system, the software that runs most computers. http://myprops.org/content/Be-prepared-for-Conficker-worm-attack/ Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:16:33 GMT Investing by dollar cost averaging can facilitate your investment appetite and your worry about the risk. The idea is that you put exactly the same amount of money into mutual funds or stocks every month or certain interval of time. http://myprops.org/content/Investing-in-bear-market-by-dollar-cost-averaging/ Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:51:51 GMT First-time homebuyers who qualify for up to $8,000 in new tax credits under the 2009 economic stimulus plan can claim the credit on their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. They don't have to wait until 2010 to get their money; they can claim the tax credit when filing their 2008 taxes this year, by April 15. http://myprops.org/content/Claiming-First-Time-Home-Buyers-Tax-Credit/ Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:18:53 GMT Compare to the most severe markets in the past, the current bear market look extremely cruel and only can be rivaled by the Great Depression bear maket. http://myprops.org/content/Nastiest-bear-since-great-depression/ Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:46:07 GMT The U.S. central bank would pump $1.2 trillion into economy to combat the worst global slowdown in decades, the Fed announced Wednesday, Mar. 18. The central bank's plans to buy up to $300 billion long-term government bonds and some $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities, which would help revive the U.S. sagging housing market. http://myprops.org/content/The-Fed-pumps-1.2-trillion-to-the-economy/ Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:16:28 GMT Bernie L. Madoff pleaded guilty to all charges against him for running the largest Ponzi scheme at a hearing in Federal District Court on Thursday, Mar. 12. He also said he was deeply sorry and ashamed. http://myprops.org/content/Madoff-goes-to-jail-for-running-Ponzi-scheme/ Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:53:37 GMT U.S. major stock indexes sunk further and ended another unforgiving month of February with a steep loss that left the Dow Jones industrial average at less than half its record high and the S&P 500 at its 12-year low. http://myprops.org/content/Bear-keeps-ruling-U.S.-Stock-at-12-year-low/ Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:57:30 GMT Just a month ago the U.S. economic contraction measured by gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2008 had been estimated at 3.8 percent. Then the Commerce Department revised the GDP contraction to an astonishing 6.2 percent Friday, Feb. 27 on the ground of sharp declines in consumer spending, investment and exports. http://myprops.org/content/Worst-U.S.-economic-contraction-since-1982-in-fourth-quarter/ Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:16:42 GMT American Express is paying to get rid of customers whom the card issuer used to lure them with cash rewards. The company is enticing selected cardholders a $300 Amex prepaid gift card if they pay off their balances and close their accounts. http://myprops.org/content/Amex-entices-cardholders-to-close-their-card/ Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:20:39 GMT Fund managers are judged on whether their return beat benchmarks, which are the industry or the stock market average returns. But beating the average was not enough; it was possible to outperform in the short term, simply by taking a lot of risk. http://myprops.org/content/Low-volatility-caveats/ Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:12:17 GMT The U.S. economy measured by GDP contracted at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Commerce Department. The fourth quarter marks worst performance for U.S. economy in nearly 27 years, since 1982. The U.S. gross domestic product totaled $11.599 trillion in the fourth quarter, the government said. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-economy-at-nearly-27-years-low/ Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:11:01 GMT Stocks, bonds, and real estate are all getting beaten in this bear market and economic recession. Even commodities, which often don't move in tandem with equities, are plummeting along with stocks. That doesn't mean investors should abandon asset allocation. Investors can lower overall risk, especially in this brutal bear market, by mixing different asset classes in a portfolio. http://myprops.org/content/Argument-for-Asset-Allocation/ Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:38:43 GMT A lot of small investors got exposure to Madoff through sub-feeders. The system allowed investors to gain entrée to Madoff with far fewer dollars, thereby expanding his clientele beyond big institutions and billionaires to wealthy individuals of more modest means. Many investors had no idea what they were buying since marketing documents rarely mentioned Madoff by name. http://myprops.org/content/How-small-investors-got-burned-by-Madoff/ Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:37:53 GMT A closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices, the S&P Case-Shiller home-price index, showed accelerating price declines in November. Home values in 20 major U.S. cities fell a record 18.2 percent in the 12 months ending in November. No city experienced year-over-year price gains, the eighth straight month that has happened. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-home-value-plunged-25-percent-from-the-peak/ Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:36:46 GMT Current financial and housing crisis has provided another golden opportunity: a fantastic time to get a mortgage. Not if you have poor credit, to be sure. But you can get a great deal on a 30-year, fixed-rate, conforming loan these days if you have a solid FICO score, a manageable debt burden, and proof positive of a reliable income. http://myprops.org/content/Mortgage-in-2009/ Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:35:52 GMT The Federal Reserve Tuesday, Dec. 16 switched to a range for its key target rate from 1 percent to a historically low range of zero to 0.25 percent, effectively cutting its key rate for overnight lending to banks by between 0.75 percent and 1 percent. http://myprops.org/content/New-chapter-for-ultra-low-Fed-funds-rate/ Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:08:35 GMT the excess reserves in banking system exploded to unprecedented amount. The challenge is that the banking system is still reluctant to lend under the current condition. While the policy didn't work well in Japan from 2001 - 06, it comes with risk of sparking inflation. http://myprops.org/content/Banking-system-is-flooded-with-money/ Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:21:05 GMT Many investors are looking for direction right now, as the U.S economy trouble intensifies and the bear market gets brutal. A question for value investors is whether the stocks have been under priced or not. Price-earnings ratio, or P/E, is one of popular tools for investors to value stocks or stock indices, whether their prices are cheap, expensive, or fairly valued. http://myprops.org/content/PE-Multiples-Reveal-Attractive-Stock-Prices/ Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:37:55 GMT This year has been a disaster for investors as their stock portfolios dive to unimaginable level. Frustrated investors may be discouraged from buying stocks for their retirement. The daunting truth is that they would be better off putting their money under the mattress than saving in equity funds or balance funds in the past ten years. http://myprops.org/content/Under-the-mattress-money-outperforms-equity/ Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:38:17 GMT The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, a committee of economists at the research organization National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said Monday. http://myprops.org/content/Official-call-of-U.S.-recession/ Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:40:44 GMT U.S. government agreed to rescue Citigroup by shouldering hundreds of billions of dollars in possible losses at the stricken bank and to plow a fresh $20 billion into the company. This move was announced late Sunday by the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. http://myprops.org/content/Too-big-to-fail-Government-rescues-Citigroup/ Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:22:32 GMT Oil prices dropped on Tuesday to their lowest level in 20 months on, since March 2007, as one of the worst economic slowdowns in recent months continued to slower consumption around the world. http://myprops.org/content/Oil-Prices-Fell-to-20-Month-Low/ Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:03:05 GMT The U.S. economy shrank during the third quarter as consumers cut back on their spending by the largest amount in 28 years, underscored the terrible toll of the housing, credit and financial crises as well as sent the strongest signal the country has plunged into recession. http://myprops.org/content/Consumers-Cutback-GDP-Contracts-in-Third-Quarter-a-Recession-Call/ Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:34:09 GMT The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its target for overnight federal funds rates by a half point to 1.0 percent in effort to turn around the economy hit by financial crisis. The vote to lower the Fed funds rate was unanimous. The cut marked the second half-point reduction in the funds rate this month, after the last concerted cuts by the Fed and global central banks on October 8. http://myprops.org/content/Fed-Slashed-Rates-to-One-Percent-as-Economy-Deteriorating/ Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:35:33 GMT A closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices, the Case-Shiller Home Price 20-city index, dropped 1percent in August and fell a record 16.6percent from the previous year as the downturn in residential real estate prices continued, Standard & Poor published Tuesday. http://myprops.org/content/Home-Prices-Fall-20.3-Percent-From-June-2006-Peak/ Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:18:54 GMT U.S. consumer confidence plunged in October to its all-time low as consumers badly hurt by the financial crisis, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-Consumer-Confidence-At-Lowest-Level-Ever/ Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:17:18 GMT Card networks Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc and Discover Financial Services Inc, the fourth-biggest U.S. credit card company http://myprops.org/content/Visa-and-MasterCard-settled-antitrust-lawsuit-by-Discover/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:17:06 GMT U.S. stocks stumbled again Thursday with the major indexes down for seventh consecutive days as credit worries continued to roil. The sell-off was exaggerated by a news that a major credit ratings agency was considering cutting its rating on General Motors Corp. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-stocks-continued-sinking-Dow-dived-under-9000/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:20:18 GMT Wall Street and stock markets worldwide tumbled Monday as financial crisis worries spread around the globe, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its biggest loss ever during a trading day before recovering to with a loss of 370 points or 3.58 percent. The Dow finished at 9,955.50, its first close below 10,000 since 2004. The Dow threshold of 10,000 was first set in 1999. http://myprops.org/content/Global-stock-markets-tumbled-Dow-fell-below-10000-for-first-time-since-2004/ Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:58:10 GMT The rescue bill that Congress finally passed will limit panic in the financial markets, since it gives the government vast new authority to remove toxic securities http://myprops.org/content/Congress-approved-700-billion-bailout-of-financial-industry/ Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:05:01 GMT Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities tumbled at a faster pace in July, sending home values down a record 16.3percent from the year-ago period http://myprops.org/content/Home-prices-tumbling-at-record-annual-rate-in-July/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:45:50 GMT Stocks plunge and Dow falls more than 777 at lows as financial bailout plan fails in House vote. The Dow index passed by far its previous record for a one-day drop http://myprops.org/content/Stocks-free-fall-as-House-knocks-down-bailout-plan/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:47:51 GMT Citigroup Inc. will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp. in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. http://myprops.org/content/Citigroup-will-acquire-Wachovias-operations/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:45:37 GMT The Bush administration is asking Congress to let the government buy $700 billion in toxic mortgages in the largest financial bailout since the Great Depression http://myprops.org/content/Rescue-plan-seeks-700B-to-buy-bad-mortgages/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:13:00 GMT In the past week Wall Street's landscape was transformed and the U.S. government made an unprecedented intervention to bolster chaotic financial markets. The following is a chronology of key events in probably Wall Street's most tumultuous week in U.S. financial history since the Great Depression. http://myprops.org/content/The-Darkest-Week-of-Wall-Street/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:11:34 GMT "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets." Baron Nathan Rothschild issued that famous dictum in the early 19th century, but it holds equally true today. http://myprops.org/content/Time-to-Buy-Stocks-Not-Sell/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:50:39 GMT The U.S. government late Tuesday agreed to rescue insurer American International Group (AIG) with an $85 billion loan from the New York Federal Reserve in exchange for a nearly 79.9 percent stake in the nation's largest insurer. The rescue came just two days after the government refused to save Wall Street icon Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday, and is the latest in a series of government and private sector steps that have remade the U.S. financial system. http://myprops.org/content/Remarkable-rescue-of-U.S.-largest-insurer-AIG/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:48:14 GMT Shocking Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy news sent financial earthquake around globe and pulled down financial stocks around the world. Stock markets tumbled in Europe and Asia Monday on the blow from Lehman's bankruptcy news. http://myprops.org/content/Lehmans-bankruptcy-sent-financial-earthquake-around-globe/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:46:06 GMT Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Sunday unveiled an extraordinary takeover of twin mortgage buyers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants and the $5 trillion in home loans they back. http://myprops.org/content/Historic-U.S.-government-takeover-of-Fannie-and-Freddie/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:44:16 GMT Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has named five sectors with the highest risks for further drops in this economy downturn. There is not big surprise to find the sectors/sub-sectors on the top list. They are exposed directly to the beast credit crunch, skyrocketing energy cost, housing downturn, or slowing consumer spending. http://myprops.org/content/Five-Riskiest-Sectors-in-Current-Sluggish-Economy/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:12:39 GMT What is the next episode after the remarkable rescue of Fannie and Freddie? There were the defenestration at Citigroup and Merrill Lynch late last year; then, in March, the Bear Stearns fiasco and the humbling of UBS; and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takeover by the Treasury Department on September 7th. http://myprops.org/content/New-episode-of-banking-drama-FDIC-needs-bailout-itself/ Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:20:05 GMT U.S employment report delivered bad news about the economic outlook on Friday, renewing fears of a recession. The shocking news came in the form of the unemployment rate for August, which soared to 6.1% from 5.7% in July. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-unemployment-rate-the-highest-in-nearly-five-years/ Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:25:58 GMT Sooner or later the market will turn from the current tumultuous bear-market as shown by recent small-cap rally. Since the end of the second quarter the Russel 2000 has gained 6.92 percent in the first two months, while the S&P 500 didn't go anywhere. http://myprops.org/content/Small-Cap-Stocks-Poise-to-Lead-in-Market-Recovery/ Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:34:22 GMT Second quarter GDP swelled 3.3 percent at an annual rate, revised up from the 1.9 percent in previous reports, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. U.S. stocks posted solid gains Thursday, with the major indexes surged more than 1 percent led a rally in financial, retailers, and oil refiners shares. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-solid-economic-growth-subdues-recession-alarm/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:25:45 GMT The index of U.S. leading economic indicators fell 0.7 percent in July, pointing to "slow growth the rest of the year, and possibly an economy grinding to a halt," the Conference Board reported Thursday. The index decline has been the sharpest since the credit crunch began at the end of last summer, August 2007. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-Leading-Economic-Indicators-Plunged-In-July/ Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:26:32 GMT Inflation is running at the fastest pace in 17 years. U.S. consumer prices are up 5.6 percent over the past year, the largest year-over-year increase since the period ending in January 1991. http://myprops.org/content/Inflation-Hit-a-17-Year-High/ Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:25:27 GMT Eight out of ten Americans think their country is heading in the wrong direction. American house prices are falling faster than during the Depression, petrol is more expensive than in the 1970s, banks are collapsing, the euro is kicking sand in the dollar's face, credit is scarce, recession and inflation both threaten the economy, and consumer confidence is an oxymoron. http://myprops.org/content/httppowerofspeech.wordpress.com20080810sad-liberty/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:42:56 GMT The unemployment jumped to 5.7 percent in July, up from 5.5 percent reading in June 2008. It's the highest unemployment rate in four years since March 2004. The non-farm jobs vanished by 51,000 in the month, which were the heaviest in industries hard hit by the slow housing market, the clampdown on credit and the shaky financial sector. http://myprops.org/content/Seven-Straight-Month-Job-Bleeding/ Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:49:58 GMT The real growth in the U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter as the real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 1.9 percent annual rate, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at the Commerce Department, reported on Thursday, July 31, 2008. http://myprops.org/content/Economy-Grew-In-Second-Quarter-Amid-Looming-Recession/ Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:57:54 GMT Majority (75 percent) of U.S. individual investors are currently investing in domestic equities and 60percent in international equities. Stock (called equity) is an instrument that signifies an ownership position in a corporation. http://myprops.org/content/Equities-Investment-for-Long-Term-Focus/ Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:07:18 GMT Deflationary effect of harsh economic will push investors to take shelter in the relative safety of the bond market, Merrill Lynch said in a research report released on Friday, July 25, 2008. Investors should seek out safe yield in bonds as much as possible, whether in the Treasury market, the muni market or other high-quality fixed-income vehicles. http://myprops.org/content/Bond-Market-Provides-Shelter-During-Grim-Economy-Period/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:57:12 GMT Investors will take shelter in the bond market during a painful economic period. Bonds are debt investments in which an investor loans money for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. Interest on bonds is usually paid every six months. http://myprops.org/content/Fixed-Income-Safety-Investment-For-Rough-Economy/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:50:14 GMT When official bear market strikes, investors usually begin to dump stocks and seek refuge to saver investment in money market instruments. The instruments are short-term, have a low-risk, low-return profile, and are highly liquid http://myprops.org/content/Money-Market-Saver-Investment-Alternative-In-Bear-Market/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:57:17 GMT The Conference Board, a private research group, said Monday its index of leading economic indicators pointed to a further slide in activity in June 2008, extending an unexpected decline the previous month. The index, designed to predict the economy's performance over the next three to six months, fell by 0.1% in June to a reading of 101.7. http://myprops.org/content/Leading-Economic-Indicators-Continue-Dropping/ Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:27:50 GMT The dollar plunged to a new low against the euro, which peaked at $1.6038 in New York trading Tuesday, before recovering throughout the day in New York, as the Euro retreated to $1.5878. The euro's (15-nation currency) new all-time high against the dollar surpassed its previous record of $1.6018 set on April 22. http://myprops.org/content/Dollar-Slides-To-Test-All-Time-Low-Against-Euro/ Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:23:50 GMT Bear Market Officially Arrived As Oil Prices Hit New Record High. The stock market headed into the second half of the year with disappointed news as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 166 points today and closed at 11,215.51. The Dow officially entered the bear market territories as it plunged more than 20% from the October 9, 2007 high, when the Dow hit its all-time record high close of 14,164.53. http://myprops.org/content/Bear-Hug-Welcomes-the-Second-Half/ Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:34:56 GMT Benchmark stock indexes around the world just finished their worst first half in six years or even more. That has left much of the world's equity markets, especially the U.S. markets, near a bear market for the first time since the dot-com bubble burst at the beginning of the decade. http://myprops.org/content/Bear-Threat-Ended-the-Dismal-First-Half/ Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:28:37 GMT The Conference Board, a private business-backed research group, announced on June 24 that its index of consumer confidence for the month sank to a 16-year low. The drop in the U.S. consumer confidence index to 50.4 in June leaves the index only just above prior cycle-lows of 47.3 in February, 1992, and 50.1 in May, 1980. http://myprops.org/content/U.S.-Consumer-Confidence-Plunged-to-16-Year-Low/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:30:18 GMT The U.S. overall consumer prices rose an unadjusted 4.2% in the year ended in May 2008. As expected, the largest contributor is increase in energy prices and food prices, which increased by 17.4% and 5.1% respectively from a year ago. http://myprops.org/content/Stagflation-Threat-Inflation-Accelerates-While-U.S.-Economy-Is-Slowing-Down/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:00:16 GMT People can learn from others' mistake to be able to make wise choice when they have to choose a tour package for vacation. A six-day west cost tour operated by American Business Connection (A.B.C. Inc), located in San Gabriel, CA. is suppose a bilingual Chinese-English tour, but it was turned out that part of tour was conducted only in Chinese. http://myprops.org/content/Dont-Let-Your-Vacation-Be-Ruined-By-Cheap-Tour/ Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:16:07 GMT It's never too late to start saving for your future. You should begin set aside your cash for retirement as early as possible. You can't rationally anticipate retiring in comfort unless you save. http://myprops.org/content/Time-To-Start-Investing-For-Your-Golden-Age-810494/ Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:14:02 GMT Republican John McCain said Tuesday that Democrat Barack Obama is bad for business as the presidential rivals appealed to voters worried about lost jobs, rising gas prices and other economic woes. http://myprops.org/content/McCain-Obama-trade-jabs-on-economy-taxes/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:25:58 GMT A photographic history of mobile telecommunications (Tarko Sudiarno / AFP / Getty) http://myprops.org/content/Photoessay-The-Long-Odyssey-of-the-Cell-Phone-649562/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:20:28 GMT Sunshine may be nature's disease fighter http://myprops.org/content/Sunshine-may-be-natures-disease-fighter-786967/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:18:13 GMT Poll shows that more drivers are afraid of rationing and long lines at the station than of high prices. http://myprops.org/content/Americans-fear-gas-shortages/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:16:47 GMT