Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

21 Sep 2010 10:09

tags

Biz: Housing starts get boost in August after some crappy months

  • 10.5% boost in housing starts in August source
  • » Why this is really good: Because housing starts just went through a couple of very crappy months. In the aftermath of the end of the homebuyer tax credit, housing starts plunged in May and June at record rates. While early, this suggests that housing is starting to recover on its own. That said, both single-family and multifamily housing starts are near 50-year lows.

20 Jul 2010 11:02

tags

Biz: Crappy housing numbers remain pretty crappy, guys

  • 5% decline in housing starts in June, an 8-month low source
  • » Silver lining: On the plus side, there was a very modest 2.1 percent increase in new permits, an early indicator of how the housing market is going. After the rough month or two the housing market has faced, at least that’s something.

02 Jul 2010 10:30

tags

Tech: One way to stimulate the economy: Broadband infrastructure build-out

  • $800 million in loans and grants for broadband jobs source

18 May 2010 10:39

tags

Biz: Bounceback: New homes getting built at decent clip, but will it last?

  • 5.8% the month-to-month increase; housing starts are at their highest level since late 2008
  • 40.9% the year-over-year increase; that’s the highest increase since March 1994
  • -11.5% the decrease in new building permits, which suggests housing starts will go down source

16 Mar 2010 10:58

tags

Biz: Blame the snow: New home-building way the frack down

  • 5.9% dip in new housing starts (stupid snow) source

16 Dec 2009 10:23

tags

Biz: Construction numbers: Can they fix it? Yes they can!

  • +8.9% from October’s depressing six-month low number
  • -12.4% from a year ago; at least they’re building source

12 Nov 2009 21:18

tags

U.S., World: Whatever the “Alavi Foundation” is, Iran, the U.S. doesn’t like it

  • For two decades, the Alavi Foundation’s affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws.
  • U.S. attorney Preet Bharara • On the ownership of mosques, skyscrapers and other buildings by the Alavi Foundation. The U.S. siezed these buildings, claiming they were a front for the Iranian government. The tenets and occupants of the properties are safe, and they’re not getting kicked out; it’s the owner who is screwed. This ought to make that whole nuclear deal easier to pull off. • source
 

15 Sep 2009 09:48

tags

U.S.: It wasn’t random: The suspect likely knew the slayed Yale student

  • It happened in a building with very tight security. The discovery of Annie Le’s body in a Yale medical research building narrows down who it could have been. The building required access, meaning that the possible number of people it could have been was very narrow. “Only Yalies had access to that basement, and that seems to point to someone in our community being involved in this,” said Thomas Kaplan, editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News. “That’s what is so frightening.” source

21 Jun 2009 23:46

tags

U.S.: That sucks: An apartment complex in Brooklyn fell. Everyone heard it.

Four were injured when the building fell, and nearby buildings had to be evacuated. Worst part? The owners knew it had structural problems. source

16 Jun 2009 10:31

tags

Biz: Lots of new houses were being built in May. A FREAKING TON.

  • +17.2% increase in housing starts in May; that’s a massive leap source