Dallas Will Be One of Country's Most Stable Home Markets

The Dallas area is getting high marks from another national housing forecast firm. Dallas ranks among the top metro areas based on expected home price performance this year, according to Local Market Monitor, a North Carolina housing sector consultant. Fort Worth, Houston, McAllen and San Antonio were also on the list of markets with "the best expected performance in home price," according to the report. More

Small Business Administration Changing Rules for Expansion Loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced changes Wednesday to a loan program that will help companies that want to expand. Small-business owners will be able to refinance any existing loan to buy real estate or equipment or build under the SBA's 504 loan program. SBA Administrator Karen Mills said the new rules will be permanent even though they're part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February. More

Economy Dips at Slightly Lower Pace

The economy tumbled at a 5.5 percent pace in the first quarter, but appears to be doing better now. The revised reading on gross domestic product, released Thursday by the Commerce Department, showed the economy from January through March didn't fall as deeply as the 5.7 percent annualized decline reported a month ago. More

Tom Schieffer Formally Launches Campaign for Texas Governor

Decades ago, Tom Schieffer was a little boy who walked into Luella Merrett Elementary, holding his mother’s hand, to begin school for the first time. On Wednesday, Schieffer, now 61, stood in front of that same school to announce that he is officially running for Texas governor. More

Governor's Race: Poll

A new poll shows Perry ahead of Hutchison among Republicans, but within a margin of error. Many voters in both parties are uncommitted in the 2012 gubernatorial fray. More

When is a Typo Like a Veto? When It Thwarts a Vote

Ridiculously, thousands of Texans might have been denied voter registration cards because of typos by government clerks. So a Houston legislator won approval this year of a proposal directing the Texas secretary of state's office to police such glitches. But that moment, which the agency deems no more than a passing gesture, took place before Gov. Rick Perry vetoed House Bill 1457, saying the change might promote fraud. The veto leaves an untold number of Texans at risk of not landing a registration card because a clerk handling an application mistypes a name, driver's license number or other information. More

President Points to a Benefit for Texas

Texas stands to gain far more than it loses if Congress approves his energy and climate-change proposals, President Barack Obama said Wednesday. In an interview with the Hearst Washington Bureau and five other news outlets, the president said the Lone Star State stood to gain from development of alternative energy sources - particularly wind energy. "Texas has one of the strongest renewable energy standards in the country," Obama said. "And its wind energy has just taken off and been a huge economic boon to the state." More

Texas Home Buyers Can Get Tax Credit Advance

The much-touted $8,000 federal tax credit, or at least a good chunk of it, for first-time home buyers is now available to Texans who want to use the money for a down payment or closing costs. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs this week started a short-term loan program that allows people to get a slice of the $8,000 upfront, then pay it back to the state when their federal tax credit money rolls in. More

Insurance Hike Forecast Along Coast

Premiums could jump 10 percent next year for thousands of coastal residents and businesses insured by the state windstorm association. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association's board voted this week to seek state approval for a 10 percent rate increase that would go into effect in February, said Jim Oliver, the association's executive director. More

High Speed Rail Funds May Speed Right Past Texas

The federal government is about to dump a lot of money on states to develop a handful of high-speed passenger rail corridors, and the good news for us is that Texas is home to two of the 11 routes highlighted for special focus. The bad news? Texas is so poorly positioned to build its rail lines, it's all but certain to be shut out of the big money. More