What a STEAL!!! This 2 Million Dollar home listed for WAY less!!

Beautiful private retreat located inEl Chorro Estates in the heart of Paradise Valley. Privately gated w/circular drive this home sits on 1.45 acres of land! With 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, bonus room & huge formal living room, this home is very spacious. You will find all the expected finishing touches: granite slab, 18'' travertine floors, coffered ceilings, custom cabinetry and built-in fridge w/wood panels. Huge family room with open kitchen, wet bar & built-in entertainment center, of course, there is surround sound & speakers throughout the home. Gourmet kitchen offers gas cooking, vegetable sink, big island and breakfast bar! Outside there is room to roam. Beautiful pebble tech pool & spa are heated for year round use. Lush tropical landscape, in the shadow of Camelback Mountain.

JOBS REPORT IS OUT, DOWN 63,000 FOR FEBRUARY

Not the news I wanted to start the day with, but it is what is. The jobs report was released by the labor department and not only did we loose 63,000 jobs in February but there were downward revisions for the last couple of months. Losses in January were increased from 17,000 to 22,000 and December job gains were cut in half from 82,000 to 41,000. As you can see, the report is very inconsistent. However, this report states there are 109,000 less jobs than we thought were there yesterday.

One of the strengths to our economy is the low unemployment. We are still in a good position, the question is "where are we headed?"

The sinking dollar is also helping our economy. It is making our goods more competitive with the rest of the world. Not the way I prefer to increase our competitiveness, but it still helps the economy.

Read the full report: http://www.cnbc.com/id/23518353

SUPER BOWL BRINGS BUSINESS CONNECTIONS TO THE VALUE

I read this article today in the republic. It is a perfect example of how building the Arizona Cardinals a football stadium, not only brought us the Super Bowl, but brings oportunity for more jobs and business. Today the world will be watching the valley and many will be lured to bring their businesses here and / or do business here from the exposure. Thus creating more jobs and usually bringing better paying jobs that help disversify our economy. It was a great step in creating the future of Arizona!

Of course, the gentlemen from Dubai will be at the Super Bowl today.

Dubai partnership sought
Phoenix wants to start business connections
Casey NewtonThe Arizona RepublicFeb. 3, 2008 12:00 AM
Phoenix is taking some key first steps to establishing a long-term partnership with the Middle Eastern port of Dubai, hoping ties to the wealthy emirate will result in more jobs for the Valley.The Greater Phoenix Economic Council is hosting a delegation of government and business leaders from Dubai this weekend. The delegation includes Mohammed Bin Ali Alabbar, chairman of real-estate giant Emaar Properties, and Richard Rodriguez, who oversees Emaar's developments in the United Arab Emirates.
Read the entire article at: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/0203dubai0203.html

JOBS DROP FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2003

The consumer, due to strong job growth, has kept us from recession. That trump card may have been played out at this time. This was the first job loss for the country in nearly 5 years. The biggest declines were seen in manufacturing, losing 28,000 jobs, and construction, losing 27,000 jobs. Construction has now lost over a 1/4 million jobs since the peak in 2006.

I read this as positive for our future. We need lower interest rates to move the housing market into recovery. If the economy would have been weaker last year, lower interest rates may have pushed off "sub prime II" in August. The strong economy had sent interest rates higher in May of 2007, which pushed home sales down. As home sales declined more homes went into foreclosure. With the increase in foreclosures came "sub prime II," it hit the market like a bomb going off! "Sub prime II" made everything worse. When that bomb went off, most financing options for buyers disappeared. Buyers could not close on homes. As a matter of fact, a home we are working on selling as a "short sale"; was under contract at that time, docs signed and ready to close the day of "sub prime II". The bomb went off, the lender closed shop and the home went back on the market.

Hopefully we don't fall into a major recession, but one that keeps interest rates low long enough to bring DEMAND back in balance with the market. Our economy cannot move forward for the long term until this housing issue is fixed!

U.S. Jobs Fell Unexpectedly By 17,000 During January
Topics:Interest Rates Inflation Employment Federal Reserve Economy (Global) Economy (U.S.)
By Reuters 01 Feb 2008 08:35 AM ET

U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 17,000 non-farm jobs in January, the first time in nearly4-1/2 years that U.S. payrolls shrank as fading construction and manufacturing sectors reflected the economy's waning momentum.
The Labor Department report on Friday came in much weaker than anticipated by analysts surveyed by Reuters, who had forecast 80,000 jobs would be added last month. The department revised December's new-job total up to 82,000 from 18,000 but the hiring trend clearly was fading as 2007 ended.
The last time that jobs were cut was in August 2003 when 42,000 were lost.
Read the full story: http://www.cnbc.com/id/22948805