Sales of existing homes rose from January to February in an unexpected boost for the slumping U.S housing market as buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures. ...more

March 23, 2009

From furlough to frugalista, the recession is changing the way we speak. ...more

March 16, 2009

Rocker Courtney Love - who once declared that she wasn't a woman but a force of nature and got little argument - has rented a sprawling Mediterranean in the Hollywood Hills for about $20,000 a month. ...more

March 1, 2009

As we are well into the recession brought on by the burst "housing bubble," I have seen blame apportioned to any number of "malevolent" forces including "predatory" lenders, "greedy" developers, "unprincipled" house flippers, George W. Bush and the wicked Dick Cheney, as well as other evil or indifferent classes of fortune seekers. The theme is played to demonize all who thought to profit in housing while portraying those facing foreclosure as victims, duped by sophisticates playing two or more steps ahead of them. ...more

February 20, 2009

Floridians have requested 187,162 concealed-weapon permit applications over the last six months - an 82 percent increase compared with a year earlier. ...more

February 19, 2009

The local property appraiser didn't think much about the recent data that ranks Hernando County among one of the hardest hit in the housing crisis. ...more

February 12, 2009

Too many people have been stricken by obsessive materialism. ...more

January 9, 2009

brilliant investor (or so almost everyone thought), philanthropist, pillar of the community - was a phony has shocked the world, and understandably so. The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend. ...more

December 21, 2008

Confidence in the wisdom of the custodians of the economy has taken a big hit this year. The people in charge of our investments and our taxes no longer seem so conservative, so diligent or so smart. ...more

December 20, 2008

The Tampa Bay area's falling home prices - and perceived bargains - are slowly luring buyers back into the market. ...more

November 16, 2008