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Nationally home prices fell again - but not in
Bottom line: Real-Estate is local right? Of course and that's so important right now. Nationally the average home price did decline by just under 1% on average. In the twenty largest metros the average decline was 3.5% and 16 of 20 metros declined. So it's all more of the same (well not actually).
Since January I've been aggressively talking up
Looking forward Zillow is predicting the
Debt as a percentage of income is the lowest since 1994:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-04-24/economic-recovery-outlook/54515894/1
Bottom line: At the end of the worst days in the fall of 2008 I voiced the opinion that our society had learned its lesson about debt. Driven by the housing boom personal debt had risen to unsustainable levels and left us with the debt crisis that came crashing down (as we're all well aware). I'm happy to report that we have indeed learned our lesson - at least for now.
Debt to income levels have dropped to their lowest levels since 1994. This has important implications. Think about where we were as a country in 1994. The internet had a lot to do with it but we were set up for an economic boom from that point in time straight through the rest of the decade.
An economy built upon debt has to slow down and retract at some point because clearly it isn't sustainable. Economic growth built upon cash spending is sustainable. Our economic growth is weak currently but importantly it's sustainable and as we make additional progress it will also be sustainable. I'd much rather have slow steady improvement than a quick rebound based upon artificial factors that will have to correct again. Now if we could only make this happened with our Federal Government...-
Consumer confidence dips a bit again:
http://www.conference-board.org/press/pressdetail.cfm?pressid=4463
Bottom line: Consumer confidence is one of the worst overall indicators of the
When we feel less secure in our jobs we certainly aren't confident in engaging the economy in a big way. With tepid growth economically any pull back in consumer spending would be noticeable.
Entrepreneur.com on a successful business:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223390
Bottom line: If you're starting a business click the link above to Enrepreneuer.com. They have good advice on what successful startups do from the start. Let me add my own thoughts having started a successful company and an unsuccessful one.
Don't rely on your start-up for your primary income. This may be difficult but it's needed in my experience. You need to build your business based upon business decision alone. If you rely on your new company to fund your everyday life the line can too easily become blurred. The biggest issue can be in the toughest early days. If you are desperate for income you can alter business needs to try to continue to keep yourself afloat. Compromises that could imperil your company long term. The most successful business owners are the ones who pay themselves last.
Additionally and this is covered by Entrepreneur.com is the written plan. Whether you are required to put together a business plan or not - you should. You should also refer back to it frequently. It's so easy to drift and make changes on the fly. It's important to ensure you're staying on track and monitoring what works and what doesn't so you can adjust the plan as needed.
This can apply to other aspects of life as well. I keep my motto "Passion + Talent is unstoppable" written and in my office to remind me every day.
Audi creates an electric version of the A6:
Bottom Line: The Audi A 6 plug-in. My question is why? The car which debuted in
Windows 8 will be here in June:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/04/windows-8-release-preview-coming-in-early-june/
Bottom Line: Through Windows 7 the focus has still been on the traditional desktop computer setup. Windows 8 is a system that is a tablet first type approach complete with touch screen adaptation. It appears to be a winner and worth waiting for if you're looking to buy a new computer (non-Mac anyway). I'd wait until June to get a Windows 8 machine powered computer.
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