Economist: Expect More Corporate Moves to DFW as Economy Recovers

A top local economist is telling commercial property execs to expect an increase in corporate transfers to North Texas as the U.S. economy recovers. “Now is the time to be selling Texas,” Bernard Weinstein, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas, told members of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties at a Wednesday breakfast. “More and more companies are going to be looking for a Sunbelt location. This is where you want to be when the economy turns.” More

Michael Bloomberg's Open Letter to the President Elect

The stock market has plummeted. The credit markets are frozen. Unemployment is rising. Housing foreclosures are skyrocketing. Consumer spending is weakening. Manufacturers are cutting production. A global recession is in the offing. Welcome to the White House, 44. You're sure you wanted the job, right? More

Stocks Surge as Investors Bargain Hunt

Wall Street had another astounding advance Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrials soaring nearly 900 points in their second-largest point gain ever as late-day bargain hunters stormed into the market. The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index were up nearly 11 percent. There didn't appear to be any one catalyst for the surge that saw the Dow nearly double its gain in the last hour of trading. Many analysts said investors were grabbing up stocks in the belief that the market had fallen too far in recent sessions; the Dow had dropped 500 points in two days. Some said buying early in the day came from anticipation of an interest rate cut Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, and the market just followed its recent pattern of building on its gains or losses in the last minutes of the session. More

Centex CEO Sees Housing Woes Deepening

Centex's chief executive said Wednesday that Congress should pass another aid package to help relieve the nation's housing woes, which he expects will probably worsen as the U.S. financial crisis unfolds and unemployment rises. “Virtually all elements of a bottom for the housing cycle are in place, but it's not at all possible to predict when we will reach bottom, or how long we'll likely bounce along there," Timothy Eller said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts on the company's latest financial results. He added: "And, frankly, conditions will probably get worse before they get better, especially in light of the continuing financial and credit turmoil and increasing job losses.” Eller said a new housing stimulus package should include aid to help prevent more homeowners from going into foreclosure. More

Feds Subpoena Harris County Records on Land Developers

Harris County received a federal grand jury subpoena asking for 10 years of records relating to two politically connected local developers who were indicted this year on federal conspiracy charges relating to city contracts. The county was asked for documents relating to Andrew Schatte, a longtime developer, and Michael Surface, a former county department head, a county official said Tuesday. The two were involved in a series of controversial lease-purchase deals with the county. Both have said they are innocent and one of their lawyers on Tuesday described the subpoena as a desperation move on the part of prosecutors. More

Dallas Love Field Has Nation's Cheapest Airfares

Dallas Love Field had the cheapest airline fares in the nation during the second quarter, according to a new government report, but ticket prices nationwide spiked to the highest level in 13 years. The average one-way domestic fare was $352 during the second quarter, according to the Department of Transportation. Local travelers found some relief from the high fares if they flew from Love Field, where the average fare was $221. More

Fed Cuts Rates by Half Point

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by another half percent Wednesday, and indicated further cuts might be necessary as policymakers try to avert a protracted economic recession. The Fed cut the fed funds rate to 1 percent and the discount rate by a half percent to 1.25 percent. It is the lowest the fed funds rate has been since 2003, where it remained for a year. Before 2003, the fed funds rate has not been as low as 1 percent since 1958. More

FEMA Criticized for Trailer Delays

Two days before the scheduled start of a rental housing program for families displaced by Hurricane Ike, only about 500 families out of more than 6,000 who qualify have been referred to local agencies to enroll, federal officials said Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, stopped paying Tuesday for more than half of the roughly 7,000 families remaining in its hotel program after determining those households didn't qualify, FEMA officials said. Eligible families may remain in hotels through Nov. 30. More