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Pending Home Sales Index Rises 7.4% In August: NAR
October 8th, 2008 2:47 PM
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Despite the credit crunch gripping the U.S.
economy, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that an
index of sales contracts on previously owned homes rose 7.4% in August from
the prior month.

The index, considered a leading indicator of existing-home sales, was up
8.8% from August 2007. It's unclear to what extent contract activity will be
affected by the credit disruptions on Wall Street, said Lawrence Yun, NAR's
chief economist, in a statement.

Pending home sales for August rose in all four of the regions tracked by the
NAR.

Gains amounted to 18.4% in the West, 8.4% in the Northeast, 3.6% in the
Midwest and 2.3% in the South.

July's pending home sales index was revised to a decline of 2.7% from a
prior estimate of a 3.2% decrease.

NAR says pending home-sales activity rose because of buyers taking advantage
of low prices and affordable interest rates. August's results show an
"unleashing of pent-up demand" before the credit crisis worsened in
September, Yun said.

"Home buyers in July were hampered by overly stringent lending criteria in
the months before the government takeover" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
Yun said.

Also Wednesday, the world's major central banks moved in concert to slash
key interest rates, easing monetary policy in an ongoing struggle to head
off financial turmoil that has threatened to flatten the international
economy. See
<http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/fed-major-central-banks-slash/story.a
spx?guid=%7BF140FF84%2D29B7%2D470B%2DB8E9%2D0B0BD73FBC7C%7D>  full story.

The coordinated rate moves saw the Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate
by half a percentage point, to 1.5%.

In addition, the European Central Bank trimmed its key refi rate to 3.75%
from 4.25%, while the Bank of England cut its key rate to 4.5% from 5%. The
Bank of Canada, the Swiss National Bank and the Swedish Riksbank cut rates
as well.

Ruth Mantell is a MarketWatch reporter based in Washington.

 


Posted by Christina Block on October 8th, 2008 2:47 PMPost a Comment (0)

Keeping a Positive Attitude During Stressful Times
October 13th, 2008 3:27 PM

Positive Emotions Are the Key to Life
By: Brian Tracy

 

Positive emotional energy is the key to health, happiness and wellbeing. The
more positive you are, the better your life will be in every area. 

Your Main Energy Source
Here's the important point. Positive emotions give you energy, while
negative emotions deplete your energy. When you are excited and happy and
are interacting with people you love and enjoy, you sparkle with energy and
enthusiasm. When you are angry or depressed, or negative for any reason, you feel tired and frustrated and, eventually, burned out. 

You Burn A Lot of Energy
It takes 1,000 units of physical energy to operate your body and you do not
do physical labor, that physical energy can be refined in your body to
produce 100 units of emotional energy. 

Emotional energy is a far more refined form of energy, and it is absolutely
essential to healthy emotional functioning. 

Creating Mental Energy
If you do not consume all your energy units in the expression of negative
emotions, such as fear, doubt, anger, and resentment, your emotional
energies are conserved. If your energy is conserved at one level, your body
continues to refine it into higher and better energy. 100 units of emotional
energy thus conserved will be refined by your body into 10 units of mental
energy. 

Anger Is A Killer
You've probably heard someone described as "shaking with anger." When a
person is shaking with anger, it is an indication that he has burned up the
glucose or sugar-based energy in his system, and he is actually weak from
his angry outburst. 

The Benefits of Pausing
All successful people are very productive. They work longer hours and they
work better hours. They get a lot more done than the average person. They
get paid more and promoted faster. They are highly respected and esteemed by everyone around them. They become leaders and role models. Inevitably, they rise to the top of their fields and to the top of their income ranges, and
so can you.

Don't Take Things Personally
They stand back and refuse to take things personally. They do not allow
themselves to get drawn into arguments or other people's problems. They
save their energy for more productive purposes. 

The whole purpose of physical relaxation is to allow yourself to recharge
your emotional and mental batteries. You don't engage in
physical relaxation so much to relax your physical body because it's
likely you don't work that hard with your body. The aim of rest and
relaxation is more to build up your mental and emotional energies and
thereby improve the overall quality of your life. 

Keep Yourself Calm
Another characteristic of very successful people is that they keep
themselves calm much longer than the average person does. They are more
relaxed, more genial, and more in control of their emotions. They are very
aware that expressions of negative emotion deprive them of the energy they
need to be effective in the more important things they do. They don't
allow themselves to become upset or angry over little things, or even over
large things. They remain objective and detached. 

Action Exercises
Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:


First, keep your thoughts on your dreams and goals, and keep them off of the
things and people that cause you stress and negative emotions. This is not
easy, but it's very important. 

Second, preserve your emotional energy by staying calm and positive in
difficult situations rather than allowing yourself to be upset or angry. 

Third, take ample time to rest completely so you can recharge your physical
and emotional batteries. The better rested you are, the more effective you
will be. 

Hope these tips help you throughout the week. Things are going to get better!

Christina

 


Posted by Christina Block on October 13th, 2008 3:27 PMPost a Comment (0)

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