Americans Feel Optimistic About Growth And Prosperity By Carl Hampton

The effects of higher interest rates and energy prices, combined with decreased home price availability have reflected a cooling-off period of the housing market.

Housing construction is suffering as well. An increased inventory of properties already saturating a depressed market means an excess supply of housing. New construction of homes and apartments, the purchase of building products and employment in construction-related fields will all be on the decline as the market softens.

Real estate is vital to the continued growth of consumer spending, and to the economy’s growth.

Throughout 2006, the Federal Reserve has been tightening credit in an effort to keep inflation under control by increasing interest rates.

In order for there to be a positive growth of the economy an effort to reduce inflation must be achieved without inviting the risk of recession.

Crude-oil prices continue to escalate; the war in Iraq drags on with no sign of abating; the market is imperiled by gas prices that have anxious consumers wondering when there will be an end to the global energy problem.

A higher household expenditure on gas adversely affects the purchasing power of households, and their attitudes on spending.

Why should rising energy costs directly depress property sales? A surfacing trend seems to indicate that when gas prices rise home sales decline. When the prices drop, sales increase.

With rising rates and mounting energy costs the fall-out on the economy could be wide-ranging.

Despite the economic slowdown, the N.A.B.E. (National Association for Business Economics) has predicted that America’s economy (as measured by the Gross Domestic Product/GDP) will expand in 2007. And, that although a 2.8% increase in core inflation is forecast, food and energy will be excluded from the rise.

The Federal Reserve will not feel inclined to raise interest rates further if there is a fall in inflation pressures (however, high gas prices, and other commodities have the potential to sustain inflation pressures).

Therefore, 2007, according to Commerce Secretary, Carlos M. Gutierrez, should be a year when Americans feel optimistic about growth and prosperity.

Happy New Year!

Have an opinion or a question you would like me to answer, then write me!

“Your” Money Matters
By Carl Hampton
Author of “From Credit Despair To Credit Millionaire”

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=115766&ca=Finances

How to Boost Your Credit Score By Radu Antohi

Bad credit scores are common problems and these scores offer a number of challenges to the person- from difficulty in getting the loans approved and even the chances of not landing that job. These scores can be used by lenders to ascertain the credit-worthiness of the person, and landlords too can check the scores to see if an applicant is worth taking in. For these reasons, these scores are supposed to be taken seriously.

And when scores tend to hover near the low 300s, then it is a recommended approach to initiate strategies that can boost these scores and in the end get you back on the right financial track. The first thing to do to get back on the right track is to make sure that data and information on these credit reports are true and correct. So it is always a suggested move to request for your free copy of these reports every year.

What you can do is to check if there are some errors or inconsistencies on these reports and if these documents are clean then that is the right time that you start your work in cleaning up your act and in boosting your scores. Low scores tend to discourage a lot of people, but you should not follow their lead. There are a lot of steps that can be done that can stabilize these scores and boost them in the end.

Here we list five simple suggestions on how you can boost credit scores:

• Bills should be paid on time. The scores put a lot of weight on late payments and bankruptcies. Remember that payments- early payments or late payments- represent almost 35 percent of the total score that you can get from these agencies. If payments are up to date, then you can bet that scores will be boosted as well. And it follows that late payments and non-payments can hurt your chances of getting better scores.

• Manage your debts by paying off some of them and by reducing the use of credit cards. With less debts, then the higher the chance that you get higher scores the next time these credit reports are released.

• Don’t be tempted to close old accounts. Experts say that this move will not do you any favors. Having an old-standing account means that you give the agencies a longer history that they can check and see if you are credit-worthy.

• Go for credit counseling. Counseling is suggested for those who are facing a piling-up of high interest debts. Counseling agencies that can be tapped can help you maneuver out of the bind and help you get lower interest rates.

• And of course, it is important that you stay out of bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is something you don’t want to happen to you. It’s a sore eye on you and a big load you don’t want to carry.

As you can see, it’s never too easy to get out of that hole called low and poor credit scores. It takes a lot of hard work and of course dedication to get out of that slump and get back on course.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=377981&ca=Finances