Monday, March 21, 2011 Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell 9.6% in February, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said today, in a sign that the U.S. housing market is still depressed. The figure was worse than the 3.9% decline anticipated by the economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and questions whether the U.S. housing market is beginning to recover or will continue to fall. We have an uneven, choppy recovery. Hopefully it is a recovery … A combination of foreclosures and short sales, where the mortgage holder sells the house for less than owed on the mortgage, accounted for almost 40% of the sales. Millions of foreclosures…

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Natural Balance Pet Foods has recalled some of its wet and dry food for cats and dogs after several owners said that their pets were becoming sick. The company urges owners to stop feeding their pets the food immediately. The brands recalled include Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food. Last month, Menu Foods recalled all of its 60 million products of dry and wet dog and cat food after pets began to fall ill and in some cases died of kidney failure. “Natural Balance, Pacoima, CA, is issuing a voluntary nationwide recall for all of its Venison…

Thursday, August 13, 2009 In a settlement, hailed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a “historic civil rights settlement,” the county government for Westchester County, New York has agreed to spend US$51.6 million to build 750 affordable housing units that will primarily be offered to non-white minorities. The settlement is the result of a federal lawsuit filed by the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York (ADC) against the county under the False Claims Act, which alleged that the county was negligent in its oversight of federal funds that it received from HUD for community development which stipulated that it “affirmatively further fair housing.” The…