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Top 10 places to buy a foreclosed home

Here are the Top 10 metropolitan areas to buy a foreclosed home, according to RealtyTrac:

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Housing alert: Flippers are back

As housing prices rise, 'flippers' who buy homes below market value, fix them up and sell them at a profit are returning to the real estate scene. Flippers could play a key role in the housing recovery.
Do you need inflation protection?

Investors have an unprecedented array of inflation-protection tools to safeguard their portfolios: from gold and inflation-protected bonds to commodity mutual funds. Choosing how to hedge against inflation depends on your situation and outlook.
John Galardi dies, leaves Wienerschnitzel hot dog chain legacy

John Galardi dies: Founder of the Wienerschnitzel hot dog chain, John Galardi built a chain of some 350 restaurants selling more than 120 million hot dogs annually in 10 states.
Americans pile into silver, gold coins

Sales of silver and gold coins have surged this year. With silver and gold prices near two-year lows, is it time to buy?
Zombie foreclosures: 300,000 'undead' properties stalk ex-owners

Zombie foreclosure: (noun) A home whose owner has abandoned the property but which the bank never finished foreclosing upon, leaving the owner legally and financially responsible for the decaying building.
Is it time to invest in foreclosures?

Firms are buying up foreclosed homes and renting them out, hoping to profit from the appreciation. Individuals can do better, if they can buy a foreclosure that justifies itself in rent alone.
Top 10 places to buy a foreclosed home

Here are the Top 10 metropolitan areas to buy a foreclosed home, according to RealtyTrac:
Americans now love 15-year fixed mortgages

Rates on a 15-year fixed mortgage are so low that many homeowners can afford the higher payment, which allows them to pay off their mortgage in 15 years instead of the standard 30.
Seven battleground states: Does economy help Obama or Romney?

Seven states have emerged as battlegrounds that may well determine the 2012 presidential election. Here's a look at seven battleground states and how their economic situation is shaping the presidential election:
Hurricane Sandy surge could flood New York runways and subways

Hurricane Sandy brings strong winds and rain, but for the New York area, the biggest concern may be the storm surge, which could come ashore in some places as a 13-foot wall of water.
Foreclosures dipped to a 5-year low in September (+video)

Foreclosures in the US fell 7 percent last month, and 16 percent from the same time a year ago. But the drop in foreclosures is still sharply divided along state lines.
Housing prices: Agents make houses sell for a lot less. On purpose.

Housing prices are manipulated by shady real estate agents who practice 'flopping.' Instead of making homes look good to raise housing prices, tey make them look bad so banks will sell them for a loss.
Foreclosed homes: Now, they're hot properties

Growing buyer interest is clearing out more than 1.5 million foreclosed homes, clearing out a huge backlog. Interest in foreclosed homes is highest in states hit hardest by housing crisis.
Opinion Seventeen magazine's vow to celebrate all body types: It's about time.

Seventeen magazine vows to never change the shape of girls' faces or bodies in photos. If we don’t reconfigure the way girls see themselves on TV, in movies, and in magazines, even smart teens will believe the media lie that their worth is in fastidious attention to the superficial.
Report: Hackers could access US weapons systems through vulnerable chip

A pair of cybersecurity researchers say an encrypted chip used by the military and nuclear power plants has a secret 'backdoor' that can be hacked. It could be a wakeup call for the industry.
The New Economy Foreclosures down, short sales up. Are banks getting smart?

Foreclosures are down to their lowest levels in nearly five years. One reason: Lenders are increasingly using short sales, instead.
Will $26 billion settlement from big banks repair US housing market? (+video)

In the short term, the deal between 49 states and five big banks may actually boost foreclosures, some say. In the longer term, it should clear the inventory of homes that depresses prices and help the middle class.
Culture Cafe Looking for a better drum teacher?

Rock guru Neil Peart reveals all in his instructional DVD.
08/02/2011 01:01 pm
Culture Cafe Review: 'Rush' in concert, pleasing three generations of fans

Classic rock band 'Rush' makes a stop in Chula Vista, CA as a part of their Time Machine Tour. The performance is fun for all rock fans.
06/24/2011 12:37 pm
Opinion 'Atlas Shrugged': With America on the brink, should you 'go Galt' and strike?

In the face of onslaught, the heroes of Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' (now in theaters) decided to stop working, retreat to a valley, and try to rebuild only when the country had collapsed. What we really need to reject, Rand advised, are the flawed moral ideals that cause our economic troubles.
04/29/2011 09:54 am
Taco Bell lawsuit dropped after dismissal by plaintiff

Taco Bell lawsuit: The lawsuit over Taco Bell beef has been dismissed only after an expensive campaign by Taco Bell to combat negative publicity over their beef-to-filling ratio.
04/20/2011 12:41 am
North Korea set to indict US Christian accused of proselytizing

Jun Young-su, a member of a Christian church in California, was arrested in November, the latest in a series of Americans to be held by North Korea. Christian worship is banned in the North.
04/14/2011 05:43 pm
Opinion Muslim Americans: The dangers of lumping our friends in with our enemies

Sen. Dick Durbin is holding Senate hearings on anti-Muslim bigotry today – an important move in the wake of Peter King's hearings on Muslim-American radicalization. Casting suspicion on all Muslim Americans violates American ideals and weakens a first line of defense against extremism.
03/29/2011 12:16 pm
Eight ways $100 oil may affect you

In recent weeks, the price of a barrel of oil has stayed at about $100 a barrel, and gasoline prices have been edging closer to $4 a gallon. The costs are apparently due to events half a world away, in the Middle East. Even though plenty of oil is around, there is fear of further disruptions, and consumers, business people, and politicians have all been making adjustments. Here are eight ways that higher energy prices are starting to affect America.
03/21/2011 06:16 pm
Oil reaches $100 a barrel: Five winners, five losers

With the price of energy soaring – oil passed $100 per barrel on Tuesday – long-haul truckers are hurting, but hybrid manufacturers are smiling. Californians feel the pinch at the pump while Midwesterners, closer to large fuel inventories, wonder what all the fuss is about. With gasoline now at $3.37 per gallon – 20 cents higher than last week, and rising daily – who is profiting from higher prices and who is not?
03/01/2011 06:47 pm