The US appears to poised on the very brink of recession. Investors are reacting as news of a contraction within the service sector for the first time in five years, an FBI investigation into predatory lending, and increasing unemployment statistics, has sent shock waves of panic through stock markets worldwide. Who wins out in a crisis of this magnitude? And how can an individual take advantage...
As the sub-prime mortgage scandal continues to play out badly for many US companies, more and more questions have been raised as to whether the impact of a slowdown in one area will translate into a nationwide, or even global, recession. Growth prospects within the US are limited for this year by the unprecedented scale of bad securities that have become investments for many companies around...
Festivals have been steadily gaining popularity all over the world in recent years, and the larger ones have expanded tremendously. However, as a result of the high ticket prices and relatively remote locations, a few oppurtunistic entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the backlash against the inaccesibility of events like Bonaroo, Lollapalooza, and other big-draw, weeklong festivals.
One...
With Halloween just around the corner, it's a good idea to keep track of some of the fun and creepy events coming up in Austin, Texas. The good news is that most of them are inexpensive and fun for the whole family.
The Bats
The bats are a popular Austin attraction from May until October every year, but Halloween is obviously the most appropriate time to go check them out. The underside...
As Election Day approaches, one of the most publicized presidential races of the past several decades has captivated the minds of people around the world and set records for participation in the US democratic primary system. As the first woman to run as a mainstream candidate for president, New York Senator Hillary Clinton has quite a race in front of her by anyone's standards.
Even though...
On January 22nd, the Federal Reserve cut their most important interest rate for the fourth time in the past six months, in an attempt to stem the widespread sentiment that the US is in, or headed for recession. Their cut comes at a strange time, because they were rumored, nay, expected, to deliver the cut at their monthly rate-setting meeting next week. But after stock and commodity markets...
What do you know about Feng Shui? If you're like most people, you probably are not even sure if I spelled it right just now. Maybe you picture an old man doing the world's slowest kung fu at dawn (that's Tai Chi, totally different.) Feng shui is a sorta guidebook about the placement and architecture of a house to allow good flow of energy. And it's not just placement of the bed and couch....
I hear from a lot of people we work with that they initially did not want to deal with Realtors when purchasing a property because they can sometimes be pushy or just a pain to deal with. This can be true, as it would be with any position that is involved in sales transactions, but if you find the right Realtor to represent you, then they can be an invaluable consultant and guide through the...
The first time you are getting a loan, it can be confusing what all is needed and how to start. This outlines the steps to getting a loan from picking a lender to closing.
1) Picking a Lender.
Comparing lenders can be daunting. All the components of a loan including the interest rate, origination fee, points, and other miscellaneous fees are hard to sort through. Fortunately, you can get...
When you decide to buy a house, one of the first tasks is to talk to a couple lenders and choose which lender & loan is best for you. With all the loan variables, it's tough to compare one lender to another. In this article, we'll go through each of the loan variables.
1. Down Payment:
In general, the more you can put down, the better interest rate you can get. There is a point at which...
