Boston architect Warren Schwartz designed and built a modern home of glass, steel and concrete in the Berkshires for himself and his wife Sheila, a longtime violinist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The three-bedroom home climbs to more than 30 feet, with views across the wooded hills and a rooftop terrace, where the Schwartzes watch the night sky in the summer.Economy Interest Rates Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes
Source: http://blog.foreclosure.com/2011/01/short-sales-listings-for-sale-now-featured-on-foreclosure-com/
We are making great strides toward operating more energy efficient facilities, using more renewable energy, “greening” our vehicle fleets, and achieving other milestones on the path to creating a sustainable agency. In 2010, we developed and implemented dozens of projects, which will translate to improved care of our Veterans and their families, cost-savings, better operational efficiency, and a healthier environment for all.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/26/greening-department-veteran-affairs-year-review
Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving
Foreclosures Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/0-iAZy5Q0Jw/fha-extends-anti-flipping-waiver
Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes Realty Market
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2010/11/02/plan-before-advertising/
From an overnight memo from his National Security Advisor, to a Presidential Daily Briefing that was 40 minutes in length and focused entirely on Egypt, and on through the day, the President and much of the White House spent the day focused on the unfolding situation in Egypt. This evening the President spoke out after a phone call with President Mubarak:
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody. My administration has been closely monitoring the situation in Egypt, and I know that we will be learning more tomorrow when day breaks. As the situation continues to unfold, our first concern is preventing injury or loss of life. So I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protestors.
The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.
I also call upon the Egyptian government to reverse the actions that they’ve taken to interfere with access to the Internet, to cell phone service and to social networks that do so much to connect people in the 21st century.
At the same time, those protesting in the streets have a responsibility to express themselves peacefully. Violence and destruction will not lead to the reforms that they seek.
Now, going forward, this moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise. The United States has a close partnership with Egypt and we've cooperated on many issues, including working together to advance a more peaceful region. But we've also been clear that there must be reform -- political, social, and economic reforms that meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people.
In the absence of these reforms, grievances have built up over time. When President Mubarak addressed the Egyptian people tonight, he pledged a better democracy and greater economic opportunity. I just spoke to him after his speech and I told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise.
Violence will not address the grievances of the Egyptian people. And suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. What’s needed right now are concrete steps that advance the rights of the Egyptian people: a meaningful dialogue between the government and its citizens, and a path of political change that leads to a future of greater freedom and greater opportunity and justice for the Egyptian people.
Now, ultimately the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. And I believe that the Egyptian people want the same things that we all want -- a better life for ourselves and our children, and a government that is fair and just and responsive. Put simply, the Egyptian people want a future that befits the heirs to a great and ancient civilization.
The United States always will be a partner in pursuit of that future. And we are committed to working with the Egyptian government and the Egyptian people -- all quarters -- to achieve it.
Around the world governments have an obligation to respond to their citizens. That's true here in the United States; that's true in Asia; it is true in Europe; it is true in Africa; and it’s certainly true in the Arab world, where a new generation of citizens has the right to be heard.
When I was in Cairo, shortly after I was elected President, I said that all governments must maintain power through consent, not coercion. That is the single standard by which the people of Egypt will achieve the future they deserve.
Surely there will be difficult days to come. But the United States will continue to stand up for the rights of the Egyptian people and work with their government in pursuit of a future that is more just, more free, and more hopeful.
Thank you very much.
President Barack Obama discusses the situation in Egypt with Vice President Joe Biden and the national security team during the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office, Jan. 28, 2011. Attending the briefing, clockwise from the President are: National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Robert Cardillo, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/aikmans-audible-you-go-this-a-way-i-go-that-a-way/2011/01/28/
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/zillowites-enjoy-an-urban-luau-and-a-day-on-the-slopes/2011/01/27/
Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TruliaBlog/~3/qQisZ1VxtqE/
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TruliaBlog/~3/UZhnJuhQqoU/
Given the images we see on television screens of angry Egyptians defying an authoritarian regime, you might be surprised to know that Egypt was considered a success story. By the macroeconomic numbers, Egypt is doing quite well -- growth over 5%, booming foreign investment -- $10 billion was expected this year. Economic reforms are in place, winning applause from analysts.
So how to square that with the anger boiling over in Tahrir Square? Inflation. The poor simply can't keep up with food costs rising at double digit rates. They are falling behind while cronies of the regime build gated communities and skim off the cream of Egypt's economic growth.
I'm told the recently sacked Prime Minister dryly noted in an interview not too long ago that "people can't eat macroeconomic indicators."
Sound familiar? Around the world, economic growth is splitting in two. Not just between the slow-growing West and the fast-growing emerging markets. But also within economies between those riding a global wave of technological advances and those who are left behind.
Many of Egypt's problems are, of course, unique to Egypt, but some are all too universal.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/egypt_and_the_two_speed_world_1.html
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01192011_mortgage_servicing.asp
Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties
Source: http://blog.foreclosure.com/2011/01/foreclosed-home-in-washington-state-filled-with-31-dead-pets/
After a tough year for China stocks and even as Beijing cools its domestic property bubble, portfolio manager Patrick Brophy at Janus Capital is looking to expand his exposure to commercial Chinese real estate. Laura Mandaro reports.
Source: http://blog.foreclosure.com/2011/01/short-sales-listings-for-sale-now-featured-on-foreclosure-com/
Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages
Today, President Obama and senior officials from around the Administration will be answering your questions about the State of the Union Address and the President’s vision to win the future. You can watch all the live question-and-answer sessions today on WhiteHouse.gov/live.
Here’s the lineup for today on WhiteHouse.gov/live:
11:30 a.m. EST: Economy Roundtable with Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
1:00 p.m. EST: Foreign Policy Roundtable with Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor
2:30 p.m. EST: Live YouTube interview with President Barack Obama
3:15 p.m. EST: Education Roundtable with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
4:30 p.m. EST: Health Care Roundtable with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
If you haven’t already, be sure to watch the President’s State of the Union Address.
Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties
Melody Barnes was a moving force behind the Obama administration's health care reform. Now she will play a role in the President's plans to boost American competitiveness. I spoke to her about the State of the Union and the President's plans to boost jobs.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/gersh_-_state_of_the_union.html
Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor, sat down yesterday with Military.com, The Economist, and ForeignPolicy.com to talk about the President's goals for American foreign policy as we move into a new future. Watch the full video, or use the links below to jump to particular questions and topics.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/28/what-you-missed-state-union-and-foreign-policy
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Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01252011_gse_reform_mbs.asp
Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving
You know those letters they send out when you are late on a bill -- the letters that come in an official-looking envelope and read like they were written by the Supreme Court. They include dire warnings about credit ratings that will never recover. They hint your kids will end up wearing sack cloth. Your good name forever smudged!
That's the kind of letter the Treasury sent to Congress today.
The issue is the nation's debt limit. It's not really that different than a credit card limit, except this is kind of like the world's credit card limit. Everyone who has invested in the United States expects this credit limit to be lifted. If that doesn't happen, the Treasury warns, the financial world as we know it will come to an end.
A couple key points. First, because the deficit is so large, the accounting games the Treasury used to play to keep writing checks and avoid default in the face of a debt limit restriction -- those games only buy a few more weeks, eight at the most.
Second, the debt limit is not a government shut down. Congress can close down Yellowstone Park and reopen it a week later. No one loses except those families planning their vacation.
Third, a default, even on just a few debt payments, would signal the world that the U.S. is in worse shape than anyone thought. Our borrowing rates would jump, costing us untold billions. The Treasury wants to make sure new members of Congress understand the debt limit is not the same thing as a government shut down. The latter is theater, the former is financial Armageddon.
Finally, the Treasury letter -- you can find it here -- makes it clear that it is not a good idea to wait. When the bills come due, it is best to pay them early and save yourself the pain of late fees and annoying calls.
The Treasury says the government will probably run out of borrowing room by March 31, mid-May at the latest. It might be able to stretch those dates by several weeks. That's it. The letter has been delivered. No one can say Congress hasn't been warned.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/sobering_warning_from_treasury.html
Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2010/10/29/buying-a-haunted-house/
Ed. Note: January is National Mentoring Month. Visit Serve.gov to learn more about how you can get involved.
On Tuesday afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered the keynote address at the National Mentoring Summit joined by guests including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. On the importance of mentors, The First Lady stated, "Kids don’t need you to be Superman. They just need you to be there. They need you to be someone they can count on."
First Lady Michelle Obama greets Wim Kooyker, chairman of MENTOR, and Deneen Borner, a mentee at Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program, during a National Mentoring Summit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Another party, this time from the progressive side of the debate, has chimed in with its prescription for reforming the nation's housing finance system. The Center for American Progress, a liberal research institution with close ties to the Obama Administration, today released their proposal, A Responsible Market for Housing Finance.
The report details the heavy reliance of housing markets on the federal government since the collapse of those markets. We have the knowledge and tools, it says, to create an American housing finance system that, while relying on private capital, will be stable over the ups and down of the economy, equitably serve its stakeholders and promote residential integration, eliminate housing discrimination, and provide safe, decent and affordable housing in all locations. The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was the first stop towards this end.
According to the report, the next step is to move away from what is now an almost totally nationalized system toward one that again relies on private sector capital. The goals must be to preserve the availability of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, rebalance U.S. housing policy so that private markets are the primary source of decent and affordable rental housing, and ensure that a broad array of small and large lenders have access to secondary market financing for both single and multi-family agencies. The resulting system must be governed by five "overarching" principles; liquidity, stability, transparency and standardization, affordability, and consumer protection.'s recommendations.
...(read more)
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01272011_proposal_for_gse_reform.asp
Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving House Plans
David Cote, Honeywell's plain-spoken CEO, recently participated in his first presidential commission. And, for a first-time experience, he picked a good one: The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. I spoke to Cote recently to ask him about the economy, the deficit, and the outlook for America's future.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/honeywell_david_cote_jobs.html
Another party, this time from the progressive side of the debate, has chimed in with its prescription for reforming the nation's housing finance system. The Center for American Progress, a liberal research institution with close ties to the Obama Administration, today released their proposal, A Responsible Market for Housing Finance.
The report details the heavy reliance of housing markets on the federal government since the collapse of those markets. We have the knowledge and tools, it says, to create an American housing finance system that, while relying on private capital, will be stable over the ups and down of the economy, equitably serve its stakeholders and promote residential integration, eliminate housing discrimination, and provide safe, decent and affordable housing in all locations. The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was the first stop towards this end.
According to the report, the next step is to move away from what is now an almost totally nationalized system toward one that again relies on private sector capital. The goals must be to preserve the availability of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, rebalance U.S. housing policy so that private markets are the primary source of decent and affordable rental housing, and ensure that a broad array of small and large lenders have access to secondary market financing for both single and multi-family agencies. The resulting system must be governed by five "overarching" principles; liquidity, stability, transparency and standardization, affordability, and consumer protection.'s recommendations.
...(read more)Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01272011_proposal_for_gse_reform.asp
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealEstateBookBlog/~3/KXAaFUFTAcc/
Foreclosures Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama
Melody Barnes was a moving force behind the Obama administration's health care reform. Now she will play a role in the President's plans to boost American competitiveness. I spoke to her about the State of the Union and the President's plans to boost jobs.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/gersh_-_state_of_the_union.html
Commercial & Investment Homes Foreclosures Home Sales Outlook
Source: http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=27225933
Today, President Obama and senior officials from around the Administration will be answering your questions about the State of the Union Address and the President’s vision to win the future. You can watch all the live question-and-answer sessions today on WhiteHouse.gov/live.
Here’s the lineup for today on WhiteHouse.gov/live:
11:30 a.m. EST: Economy Roundtable with Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
1:00 p.m. EST: Foreign Policy Roundtable with Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor
2:30 p.m. EST: Live YouTube interview with President Barack Obama
3:15 p.m. EST: Education Roundtable with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
4:30 p.m. EST: Health Care Roundtable with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
If you haven’t already, be sure to watch the President’s State of the Union Address.
Gotta admit it, I was surprised by the number of yes votes on the President's deficit commission. It got a solid majority -- 11 in favor.
That is an accomplishment. This commission laid out the very tough choices facing the country and some serious folks voted to back it.
That said, it is important to look at the votes that matter most: What did people with power do?
There the record is more mixed. Looking at the elected officials on the commission, the plan got a split decision 6 yeas, 6 nays. That's pretty good. There are a lot of toxic political chunks in this soup -- higher taxes, increased Social Security retirement age, more taxes, tough spending cuts.
But to see the trend, you have to look deeper. Two yes votes come from members of Congress who are retiring. Sen. Judd Gregg (R) of New Hampshire and Rep John Spratt (D) of North Carolina. Spratt lost his re-election bid and joked, "As I read through [the report] I thought frequently, 'Thank God I'm not running again.'"
Taking out retiring members, the elected vote was 6 nays, 4 yeas.
Still, that is quite an accomplishment. Especially surprising was the yes vote by Sen. Dick Durbin, who is Assistant Majority Leader in the Senate, the Democrats number two man there. Durbin, however, was quick to point out his yes vote was only a vote to get the process going and to claim a seat at the table in future talks. He added the caveat, "I wouldn't vote for this commission report on final passage."
Durbin left that last part out of his op-ed in the Chicago Tribune.
What about the other no votes? Every re-elected member of the House voted no. The man in charge of writing tax law in the Senate, Max Baucus, voted no.
The deficit commission made more progress than I thought it would, but it still hasn't changed the political calculus on deficit reduction. I might add one other thought on the votes for deficit reduction. The votes that count the most right now are taking place on plans to extend the Bush tax cuts. That's where the real political action is.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2010/12/parsing_the_deficit_commission.html
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2010/11/02/getting-familiar-with%e2%80%a6apple-ipad/
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Editor's Note: This was originally posted on the Department of Transportation's blog.
Yesterday, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and I toured the Greenville, South Carolina, bus manufacturing plant of Proterra, Inc. And I don't think you could find a better demonstration of the American innovation President Obama invoked in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
When the President said that America's small businesses need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build their competition, he must have had Proterra in mind.
Employees at Proterra, Inc., in Greenville, South Carolina.
In 2009, Proterra did not have the financial resources or customer orders to commercialize its fast charge battery bus and charging station. Although FTA grants had helped support the company's fuel-cell research, they were unable to grow from a research and development company into an assembly line manufacturer of high technology vehicles.
But with help from Department of Transportation grants to transit agencies across the country, Proterra has been able to make that leap.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/28/winning-future-proterra-style
Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes Realty Market
In 1983, economist Ed Yardeni, coined the phrase "bond market vigilantes," perfectly pairing the swagger of the trading floor with the power of markets to punish wayward fiscal policy. In the 1980s, the market moved interest rates higher in the face of a weak economy. Why? They feared inflation more than economic weakness.
In the 90s, President Clinton, told that the markets would cast a key vote on the credibility of his economic policies, said, "You mean the success of the program and my reelection hinges on the Federal Reserve and a bunch of f---ing bond traders?"
Yes.
No questions markets are powerful. But the term "bond market vigilante" gets the nature of that power wrong.
Vigilantes act affirmatively (OK, illegally) to hunt down bad guys and do justice when others don't want to get their hands dirty. Vigilantes have an agenda.
But the bond market is less like a Clint Eastwood character and more like the town folk in the movie "High Noon." In "High Noon," when the locals find out the bad guys are coming and the Sheriff is outgunned, they don't strap on vigilante masks, they flee.
Gary Cooper is left to fight the bad guys alone.
So it is with markets. When bond traders don't like a government policy, they don't fix the problem, they run to other, better or safer investments. And that drives interest rates higher on government bonds. Markets serve their policing function by leaving bad investments. This forces governments to react.
This is an important difference between a vigilante and a trader. A vigilante wants to save his town. A bond trader might want to see government policy succeed, but that's the sheriff's job. The trader's job is to leave town before the bad guys get there.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2010/12/high_noon_and_the_bond_market.html
In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out his vision for winning our future. Part of accomplishing this important goal means fixing our nation’s broken immigration system. The President again reiterated his deep commitment to addressing this issue because it’s critical to strengthening our global competitiveness and boosting our economy. Last July, the President outlined his vision for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform grounded in the principles of responsibility and accountability:
Over the last two years, the President has taken his responsibility to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders very seriously. This Administration dedicated unprecedented resources to secure our borders, implemented smarter, more strategic interior and worksite enforcement policies, and improved our legal immigration system.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/27/immigration-winning-future
Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2010/10/29/buying-a-haunted-house/
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/U13OMP-6rns/forrentcom-partners-with-rentwikicom
Household Moving House Plans Home Warranties Commercial & Investment
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/zillowites-enjoy-an-urban-luau-and-a-day-on-the-slopes/2011/01/27/
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving House Plans
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealEstateBookBlog/~3/FaLad7PybgE/
I'm going a little wonky on you, but bear with me. You've probably heard a lot about how China manipulates its currency to stay competitive with the dollar. Well, what is China's point of view? In a way, the Chinese are frustrated that they don't have an alternative. So they are trying to create one. You can read about some of those efforts here.
Another way to create an alternative is to use the International Monetary Fund. Economist Eswar Prasad explains how that would work:
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/gersh_-_china_yuan_trading_imf_eswar_prasad.html
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/still-out-there-manilows-malibu-house-down-to-7991938/2011/01/26/
The President discusses his visit to a company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and how it exemplified his agenda for America to “win the future” spelled out in the State of the Union Address.
Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving House Plans
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01192011_hud_homelessness.asp
Last night, President Obama set a goal of making the United States the first country in the world to put one million advanced technology vehicles on the road. This goal is part of the President’s plan to rebuild our economy by investing in innovation to create the jobs and industries of the future.
Vice President Joe Biden tours the Ener1 Inc. battery factory with Director of Manufacturing David Hahn and worker Wendy Howard in Greenfield, Indiana, Jan. 26, 2011. (Official White House photo by David Lienemann)
Today, Vice President Biden visited Ener1, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced batteries for electric vehicles, in Greenfield, Indiana to announce our plan to reach this one million vehicle goal by 2015. The facility that the Vice President visited would not exist if not for a $118.5 million grant from the Department of Energy, which was part of a $2.4 billion Recovery Act investment in electric vehicles . Ener1 added 120 jobs across the company in 2010 and the future looks bright. They expect to expand the manufacturing and assembly operation in Greenfield from 80 workers today to over a thousand by the start of 2013.
The Vice President got a first-hand look at Ener1’s assembly line and had a chance to chat with several workers. The Vice President was introduced by Wendy Howard, a mother of three, who joined Ener1 after being laid off from her previous job. Wendy proudly said that she now makes "hi-tech batteries for electric cars that don’t disturb the environment and don’t drink up oil that we don’t have."
Vice President Joe Biden tours the Ener1 Inc. battery factory with CEO Charles Gassenheimer and COO Richard Stanley and is shown a THINK City, an electric car that uses Ener1 batteries, in Greenfield, Indiana, Jan. 26, 2011. (Official White House photo by David Lienemann)
Wendy and her co-workers at Ener1 will surely benefit from the three-part plan that Vice President Biden announced today, which will support electric vehicle manufacturing and adoption in the United States through generous new consumer rebates, investments in research and development, and a new competitive program to encourage communities to knock down regulatory barriers and invest in electric vehicle infrastructure, like public charging stations. You can learn more about the plan here.
As the Vice President said today, Ener1 and other companies like it are "building a brighter, cleaner, and more prosperous American future."
Brian Levine is Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President
Economy Interest Rates Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes
Source: http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=27234038
Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama Hope for home owners
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/home-shopping-on-zillow-bigger-faster-easier/2011/01/27/
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealEstateBookBlog/~3/RqbE9tGcRZ0/
Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01242011_housing_finance_reform.asp
I'm beyond stunned. I've spent all this time worrying about the deficit and our economy, thinking it was the critical issue facing the nation.
I was wrong. The most critical issue is education. Just look at the latest round of international testing in science, math, and reading. The Programme for International Student Assessment tested 15-year-old students around the world.
You probably know that students in Shanghai crushed the rest of the world, outscoring everyone in all categories by a wide margin. What you may not have heard is that kids in 28 nations outscored American kids in math. We're behind 15 nations in reading and 20 nations in science.
We're not just broke, we're undereducated too!
How did we let this happen? How long can we let this go on?
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2010/12/forget_taxes_and_the_deficit_w.html
Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama Hope for home owners
In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – the White House would routinely release visitor records. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in October 2010. Today’s release also includes several visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public during December 2010 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. This release brings the grand total of records that this White House has released to over 1,000,000 records. You can view them all in our Disclosures section.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/28/over-1-million-white-house-visitor-records-online
Source: http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=27236158
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/tAs-oMBXFLM/make-your-real-estate-resolutions-stick
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Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This week, the President delivered his State of the Union Address, focused on jobs and the economy, and he took those ideas on the road traveling to Upstate New York and Wisconsin.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/28/west-wing-week-build-stuff-and-invent-stuff
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In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – the White House would routinely release visitor records. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in October 2010. Today’s release also includes several visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public during December 2010 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. This release brings the grand total of records that this White House has released to over 1,000,000 records. You can view them all in our Disclosures section.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/28/over-1-million-white-house-visitor-records-online
Loans and Mortgages Household Moving House Plans Home Warranties
Do you have questions about any of the topics President Obama discussed in his State of the Union Address last night? Over the next few days we will do our best to answer as many of them as possible. We’ve lined up plenty of ways you can get involved and ask your questions answered about the topics you care about the most.
Check out the line-up below, find a way to ask your question, and be sure to tune in for the answers.
TODAY, WEDNESDAY
TOMORROW, THURSDAY
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/01/26/got-questions-about-state-union
The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee sees more lending in 2011.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/bank_lending_american_bankers.html
Another party, this time from the progressive side of the debate, has chimed in with its prescription for reforming the nation's housing finance system. The Center for American Progress, a liberal research institution with close ties to the Obama Administration, today released their proposal, A Responsible Market for Housing Finance.
The report details the heavy reliance of housing markets on the federal government since the collapse of those markets. We have the knowledge and tools, it says, to create an American housing finance system that, while relying on private capital, will be stable over the ups and down of the economy, equitably serve its stakeholders and promote residential integration, eliminate housing discrimination, and provide safe, decent and affordable housing in all locations. The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was the first stop towards this end.
According to the report, the next step is to move away from what is now an almost totally nationalized system toward one that again relies on private sector capital. The goals must be to preserve the availability of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, rebalance U.S. housing policy so that private markets are the primary source of decent and affordable rental housing, and ensure that a broad array of small and large lenders have access to secondary market financing for both single and multi-family agencies. The resulting system must be governed by five "overarching" principles; liquidity, stability, transparency and standardization, affordability, and consumer protection.'s recommendations.
...(read more)Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01272011_proposal_for_gse_reform.asp
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The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee sees more lending in 2011.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/01/bank_lending_american_bankers.html
Homes selling for more than $2 million spiked in 2010 in the Bay Area, with the most pricey home sold in San Francisco for $15.5 million. Pui-Wing Tam talks with Stacey Delo.Foreclosures Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01192011_hud_homelessness.asp
Ed. Note: January is National Mentoring Month. Visit Serve.gov to learn more about how you can get involved.
On Tuesday afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama delivered the keynote address at the National Mentoring Summit joined by guests including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. On the importance of mentors, The First Lady stated, "Kids don’t need you to be Superman. They just need you to be there. They need you to be someone they can count on."
First Lady Michelle Obama greets Wim Kooyker, chairman of MENTOR, and Deneen Borner, a mentee at Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program, during a National Mentoring Summit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
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