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Category: Economy
Friday, November 20, 2009
The foreclosure crisis isn’t over. It’s expected to persist into next year, as high unemployment will probably translate into more people losing their homes. And the crisis has now spread to homeowners with relatively manageable fixed-interest rates. Across the United States, 14 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on payments or in foreclosure as of the end of September, according to The Associated Press.
In Colorado, there were 12,468 foreclosure filings in the third quarter, setting an all-time quarterly record, reports the Denver Business Journal. That’s the fourth consecutive quarter in which foreclosures in Colorado have increased; foreclosure filings in the state for the period ending September 30 were up 18 percent from the same period last year.
“At the pace we’re going for this year, we’ll almost certainly have more than 40,000 for the year, probably up [to] more than 42,000, 43,000,” Ryan McMacken of the Colorado Division of Housing tells 9News. “So, there’s plenty of new people entering the foreclosure process right now.”
Patrick Dolan, a Re/Max of Boulder Inc. Realtor, tells the Boulder County Business Report that on the other side of the coin, homebuyers who were once happy with a 13 percent interest rate now complain if they get only five percent, expecting lower.
Posted at 11:00 am by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama, Real Estate :: Permalink :: Comments
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Compared to nearby states, Colorado is falling behind when it comes to winning new jobs that increase earnings, according to a new report, “Toward a More Competitive Colorado,” by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. The report isn’t all doom and gloom, however. It’s meant to nudge forward a state that aspires to have it all.
Consider: Colorado is the leanest state in the nation (an indicator of health), high school students rank number one in SAT/ACT scores, and just one other state boasts more college degrees. But investments made in the late 1980s have run their course, and Colorado could enter an era of complacency if officials aren’t careful, notes The Denver Post. Among the challenges are low funding levels for higher education (Colorado is 47th nationally) and sagging high school graduation rates (Colorado is 29th).
Moreover, personal income is showing signs of slipping, falling from eighth in the nation to 13th in recent years.
“There is a soft underbelly in the Colorado economy,” Metro Denver EDC Vice President Tom Clark tells the Denver Business Journal. “After five years, over 60 percent of our measures have either not changed or gone in the wrong direction.” (more…)
Posted at 1:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Education, Panorama, Politics :: Permalink :: Comments
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
 To the likely delight of libertarian-minded people everywhere, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has decided the state will collect sales tax on medical marijuana. Late yesterday, Suthers released a legal opinion that mandates the proliferating dispensaries must seek a retail sales license from the state in order to operate, reports The Denver Post.
Advocates at the Colorado Wellness Association believe most dispensary owners will appreciate the move “if it will help prove the legitimacy of their efforts.”
Indeed, credibility is enough of a concern in Pueblo County that a commissioner recently bailed on a dispensary tour when he learned a reporter was on the way, according to the Chieftain. Commissioner Anthony Nuñez was ostensibly visiting the dispensary to better understand the case of its owner, who’s been lobbying the commissioners there to refrain from enacting a temporary ban on dispensary licensing.
The county will vote this morning on whether to follow the city’s lead on a moratorium, an issue taken up in various municipalities across Colorado of late.
The community of Lyons is also looking at a temporary ban, notes the Longmont Times-Call, and Grand Junction voted yesterday to place a one-year moratorium on dispensaries there, writes the Daily Sentinel. Aurora has also voted in favor of a short-term ban, reports the Post, which runs down a list of towns that have considered bans of differing lengths and points out that elected officials in Fort Collins and Loveland also plan to vote on the issue tonight.
Posted at 10:02 am by Vanessa Martinez
Business, Economy, Panorama, Politics, Rights :: Permalink :: Comments
Friday, November 13, 2009
Colorado ranks number 11 in terms of the highest foreclosure activity among U.S. states as of October, which is good news—it’s the first time since March that the state wasn’t in the top 10, according to the Northern Colorado Business Report. Foreclosures may be down, but that doesn’t mean the housing carnage is over. Even the poshest residences can fall, as is the case with the condos at the Ritz-Carlton downtown.
A redevelopment team led by Charlie Biederman oversaw the $75 million upgrade and grand opening of the luxury condos last year, but only one of the 25 units on the 15th to 19th floors of the hotel at 1881 Curtis St. sold—and that includes in the three years of pre-sales, reports The Denver Post, which notes the property’s Forza Fitness & Performance gym is also in foreclosure. Biederman declines to comment, as the lender, Goldman Sachs, takes the property in an attempt to reposition the condominiums.
Meanwhile, the general contractor and 26 subcontractors who are owed more than $2.3 million for work on the bankrupt Landmark and Meridian condo towers in Greenwood Village are fighting to be paid in court, according to INDenverTimes. And in another ritzy development scandal, Westword reports on the felony charges facing the developer of One Lincoln Place.
It seems downsizing is the trend in housing now—goodbye 4,700-square-feet of living space, private theaters, and super-size foyers, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Posted at 1:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Business, Economy, Panorama, Real Estate :: Permalink :: Comments
Monday, November 9, 2009
Last week I noted that the national unemployment rate had hit 10.2 percent, a 26-year high. But a report in The New York Times indicates the job market is much worse—closer to 17.5 percent. To get that figure, you have to add the underemployed to the ranks of the unemployed. Millions of workers now hold on to part-time jobs but would rather have full-time employment.
And, as The Denver Post points out, the youngest workers—aged 16 to 24—are finding it toughest to find work. The unemployment rate for that demographic is more than 22 percent.
Moreover, workers in their 20s are becoming very pessimistic about their lives ahead. Even though they have 40 years to save, more than one-third of workers in their 20s say they expect to work past the age of 70 or never retire.
Posted at 3:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama :: Permalink :: Comments
Monday, November 9, 2009
Foreclosure filings in the Denver area fell about 1.6 percent in the third quarter of this year, but there are still quite a few of them. More than 9,200 properties—or one in every 113 households—in the Denver-Aurora area are in some stage of the process, according to the Denver Business Journal. The foreclosures are a sad commentary on how some families have been hit hard by the recession. But they can also be seen as an opportunity—if you can find the cash.
And plenty of buyers are finding great deals once they discover how to navigate the hidden costs of auctions. Andy Schultheiss tells CBS4 he purchased a four-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot house in Boulder—once worth $880,000—for just $440,000 (plus $22,000 in fees) through the auction process.
“It’s pretty crazy. I was a little confused while we were going through the numbers. In fact, I out-bid myself once because I didn’t know who had won the bid. But by the end I was the one left standing,” Schultheiss says.
The home isn’t his yet; the bank has the final word on the sale and can refuse.
Posted at 12:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama, Real Estate :: Permalink :: Comments
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
 The state budget might be in a rough place, but Governor Bill Ritter has found a way to pay for new National Guard armories in Windsor, Grand Junction, and Alamosa, as well as for road projects.
Ritter wants to use $6.4 million from the Colorado Veterans Trust Fund and Real Estate Proceeds Fund to draw $1.3 million in federal matching funds, while also seeking an additional $10 million in federal funds, for the armories, according to the Northern Colorado Business Report.
The armories will help house a new 800-soldier infantry battalion that was assigned to Colorado via the Army’s “Grow the Force” initiative. Major General H. Michael Edwards, the Adjutant General for Colorado, says the armories will bring millions of dollars and jobs to the state.
Ritter has also proposed a $1.03 billion transportation budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which represents a six percent increase over 2009. Deteriorating roads and bridges will be repaired through fees, according to the Denver Business Journal.
Posted at 12:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Military, Panorama, People, Politics, Transit :: Permalink :: Comments
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
 About 20 percent of the $5.7 billion Colorado is expected to receive via the federal economic stimulus has been spent, helping to save or create almost 4,500 jobs—many in colleges, prisons, and highway construction, according to The Denver Post.
More than 50,000 needy college students shelled out less of their own cash after receiving additional grant money, about 6,200 first-time homebuyers took advantage of an $8,000 tax credit, and many of the unemployed received more benefits.
“This money has been a significant lifeline for Colorado,” says Myung Oak Kim, spokeswoman for the State Economic Recovery Accountability Board, in a statement that’s left state Representative Kent Lambert, a Colorado Springs Republican, bristling.
“It’s propping up state government at the expense of the private sector,” Lambert (pictured) says. (more…)
Posted at 9:30 am by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama, Politics :: Permalink :: Comments
Monday, October 26, 2009
Perhaps you want to take this next bit of information with a grain of salt because it comes from a survey commissioned by Princess Cruises. Or perhaps you’ll be inspired to book a trip to some paradise far away from your hectic life in Denver just as Princess would like you to do. The survey ranks Denver as America’s sixth “most stressed-out” city, just behind Chicago, Houston, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Diego (via the Denver Business Journal).
The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, focuses on “life balance” issues, such as finances, workload, fitness, technology, family life, and vacation plans, finding that financial stress and the glum economic picture are causing imbalance at a time when people crave better pay, want to be more organized, seek better health and fitness, and should take more breaks and vacations.
Yet, just one in four Americans will use all of their vacation days this year, many citing work-related reasons as to why they’re cutting back.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan State College of Denver professor Harvey Milkman writes in Psychology Today that some people actually seek stress—including doing dangerous stuff like breaking all the rules to join the Mile High Club—for the rush of hormones and exciting neurotransmission in their bodies and brains. For some, stress can be better than dope, he writes.
Posted at 3:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Health and Environment, Panorama :: Permalink :: Comments
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The unemployment rate in Colorado has fallen two months in a row, standing at seven percent as of September, leading Donald Mares, the state’s executive director of labor and employment, to proclaim, “The worst is behind us.”
The Denver Business Journal cites a report noting the jobless rate is at its lowest since January and is 2.8 points below the nation’s rate of 9.8 percent for September. Mares adds, “the trend of fewer job losses should continue in coming months.”
Not everyone is as optimistic, however, including economist (and perennial pessimist) Tucker Hart Adams, who tells The Associated Press fewer people have jobs, adding that many are either giving up on finding work, returning to school, or settling on one or more part-time jobs. “I don’t think it’s a healthy labor economy,” she says.
Overall, unemployment is a spotty picture in Colorado. While there is improvement in northern Colorado, for instance, the rate for the Greeley metro area is 7.5 percent, while the rate for the Fort Collins-Loveland area is a mere 5.6 percent, according to the Northern Colorado Business Report.
Posted at 10:00 am by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama :: Permalink :: Comments (3)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Three-thousand Sun Microsystems Incorporated employees—about 10 percent of the company’s workforce—will soon lose their jobs. That’s according to several news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, which does not report whether any of hardware and software maker’s 2,900 employees in Broomfield will face the ax to pave the way for a takeover by Oracle Corporation.
It’s better, probably, if Oracle doesn’t have to play the bad guy, even if CEO Larry Ellison recently seemed to rub in Sun’s demise by noting the company was losing about $100 million a month. The workforce reductions will help “better align the company’s resources with its strategic business objectives,” Sun officials say, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (via Boulder’s Daily Camera). Layoffs are expected to occur during the next year.
Heather Bellini, an analyst at ISI Group, notes that Sun’s business has become weaker since the Oracle purchase, adding that Oracle is likely to cut more jobs after the purchase is finalized.
“We think it will be a lot higher than 10 percent,” Bellini, who advises investors to buy Oracle’s shares and doesn’t rate Sun, tells Bloomberg.
Posted at 12:30 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Business, Economy, Panorama, Science and Technology :: Permalink :: Comments
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Associated Press today leads with the question: “What is $1.42 trillion?” The AP’s answer: It is more than the total national debt for the first 200 years of the United States, more than the entire economy of India, and more than $4,700 for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
The 2009 federal deficit is the highest since the end of World War II, and investors are essentially financing the debt, including China, among other foreign interests, which are eager to see signs that the government will eventually rein in budgets at a time when Americans are split over how to handle the situation (via The New York Times).
On one hand, we want all the help we can get, as the jobs market continues to look shaky. On the other hand, we’re wary of how much we’ll have to pay the government for new programs, such as health-care reform. The concerns are highlighted as 10 U.S. senators, including Colorado’s Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, want the government to form an independent commission that will find ways to control the federal debt.
The senators signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking that a debt commission be part of legislation that would allow the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to raise the national debt limit for the eighth time since 2001, according to the Denver Business Journal. It remains to be seen if Udall and Bennet, both Democrats, will vote to raise the debt limit.
Posted at 2:00 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama, People, Politics :: Permalink :: Comments
Monday, October 19, 2009
Governor Bill Ritter says the state is going to struggle in the months ahead as lawmakers seek out another $241 million for a projected budget shortfall.
“All indications are the cuts we’ve had to made in state spending aren’t going away,” Ritter tells The Pueblo Chieftain. “We expect the economy to rebound but at a much slower pace in the future.”
That’s bad news for those in the unenviable position of relying on the government to meet some of their needs, such as the jobless people who qualify for public health care. And the news doesn’t bode well for the growing number of children living in poverty. The poverty rate among kids increased 73 percent from 2000 to 2006, the nation’s highest rate of growth, according to The Denver Post.
While stingy public policies are a contributing factor to the downward spiral, other forces, including bad financial choices by families, are also to blame. The consequences are profound for kids, who are more likely to grow up in poor health, be involved in crime, and never earn enough to climb out of poverty.
Posted at 11:00 am by Michael de Yoanna
Economy, Panorama, Politics :: Permalink :: Comments
Friday, October 16, 2009
 Back in 1982, Benny Joe Rael was convicted of a sex assault against a child, although he went to prison for something else–a nonviolent theft.
He was recently released from prison early—by just 16 days—and though Colorado Parole Board chairman David Michaud, a former Denver police chief, wasn’t aware of Rael’s conviction for a sex assault, he says an evaluation determined Rael was a low risk.
Rael was among the first batch of convicts released early to help our cash-strapped state save $19 million, according to 7News.
And because Governor Bill Ritter promised that sex offenders—or killers or kidnappers—would not be released early, state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry and former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis, both of whom seek to challenge Ritter in next year’s election, say the program should be shut down (via The Associated Press).
“This policy is madness and it should be stopped immediately,” Penry (pictured) says, claiming that one or more of the prisoners released early is likely to re-offend, based on their pasts, and that prosecuting the cases would eliminate any savings to taxpayers.
To make room for early releases, about 2,600 former inmates currently on parole will no longer be supervised, reports News Channel 13 in Colorado Springs.
Posted at 11:30 am by Michael de Yoanna
Crime, Economy, Panorama, People, Politics :: Permalink :: Comments
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Offices everywhere are stretched thin. The same amount of work is being undertaken by fewer employees, raises—if existent—aren’t what they used to be, and fears of the layoff ax are rampant. It doesn’t help that some bosses perpetuate the nightmare by bullying their employees. And the worst offenders, it turns out, are bosses who feel inadequate.
According to new research from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Southern California, there is a “direct link” between “self-perceived incompetence and aggression” by supervisors, writes the Denver Business Journal.
“Incompetence alone doesn’t lead to aggression,” says Serena Chen, a UC-Berkeley psychology professor and one of the study’s authors. “It’s the combination of having a high-power role and fearing that one is not up to the task that causes power holders to lash out.”
The survey also identified resentment among the minions: 57 percent of workers “believe employers are exploiting the recession to drive longer hours and lower pay from their workforces” (via The Boston Globe). The survey suggests some employees will try to find new jobs as soon as the economic recovery really takes hold. (more…)
Posted at 3:15 pm by Michael de Yoanna
Business, Economy, Education, Panorama :: Permalink :: Comments (5)
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The city and county of Denver had hoped New York-based 
Governor Bill Ritter highlighted a detailed plan yesterday to cut another $286 million from Colorado’s cash-strapped budget, including reductions to higher education and Medicaid providers, coming in the wake of the $1.8 billion budget shortfall the state has faced in the past year.