December 2013

Pending home sales rose less than forecast last November, in a further indication that rising interest rates are taking the wind out of the housing recovery. The National Association of Realtors(NAR) said today that pending home sales increased a mere 0.2 percent last month, after dropping 1.2 percent in October. Economists had expected pending sales to rise by at least 1.0 percent.

Over 1.3 million Americans are scheduled to lose their unemployment benefits this weekend, as federal emergency funding for the program expires. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are under pressure to extend the jobless benefits program when the House and Senate reconvene in the new year.

“From a human level, cutting 1.3 million Americans off their lifeline doesn’t make any sense and it’s not anything we should be doing,” said Jack Reed, a Democratic Senator from Rhode Island.

A Christmas Eve report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales falling 2.1 percent last month, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units. While the number came in slightly softer than expected, sales are still near five-year highs, suggesting the housing recovery is on solid ground as 2013 comes to a close.

Sales fell in the South and Midwest, but rose in the West and Northeast. Sales climbed a whopping 31.1 percent in the West, one of the biggest monthly increases in the region in more than two years.

Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system continues to generate scams and schemes in every corner of the state.

The latest fraud case comes from Fort Myers, where Harold John Pompey, a licensed chiropractor, was arrested on charges of submitting fraudulent insurance claims.

Between October 2011 and December 2012, Pompey was listed as the designated chiropractor on more than 300 insurance claims submitted by the Gate Parkway Diagnostics Center. Just how many of those claims were legitimate is open to doubt, according to officials with knowledge of the matter.