America Ill Prepared For High Energy Prices

Energy prices are continuing to increase as the global demand for fossil fuels increases and our limited refining capacity is regularly disrupted by hurricanes and flooding. A major part of America’s current predicament is that America has not taken energy conservation seriously and has not planned ahead well. For example, part of the problem with high gasoline prices in the US is the lack of refining capacity. It has been over 30 years since a new refinery facility has opened in America.

Alternative fuels will only give a partial answer to our use of energy and to high energy prices. Energy prices are rising fast all over the world and likely will keep on increasing due to strong demand, especially from Asia. Even with such a strong incentive to move towards alternative energy there are important uses for oil that are difficult if not impossible to substitute.

Mortgage Housing Economic Crisis to Get Worse

Those investors who think that the worse of the mortgage, housing, and economic crisis are already behind us should consider the following report.

According to a new report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight the prices of homes sold in the first quarter of 2008 posted a record decline.

Home prices fell 3.1% from the first quarter of 2007, the largest decline in the purchase-only index, which excludes refinancings, since the federal agency began keeping records 17 years ago.

First-quarter prices dropped 1.7% from the fourth quarter, the largest quarterly dip ever.

“It’s not going to be the largest decline on record for long,” said Peter Schiff, president and chief global strategist at Euro Pacific Capital.”Prices are going to keep falling until we get to the equilibrium, which is much, much lower. This is only the beginning.”

April 2008 US Foreclosures Set Record Level

U.S. home foreclosure filings set a new record level high in April, 2008, rising about 65% over the previous year and placing municipalities at risk by cutting into the value of taxed property. The U.S. Foreclosure Market Report was released on May 14,2008 by the RealtyTrac, an online marketplace that tracks foreclosed properties.

There are still many optimists about who seem to think that the worse of the financial crisis is over. Current data suggests otherwise and that foreclosures will continue to increase over the next year to 18 months. It is hard to see the US economy doing well with massive numbers of foreclosures dragging down the value of the entire US housing market.