Given this fact it's hard to blame things on the cold winter.
Pretty pathetic when we call a rise of less than 1 percent a bright spot.
Talked with a friend this morning who has worked for one of the major banks in the residential loan market for 12 years. Her employer is laying off over 80 percent of the employees in that department. She is “one of the lucky ones” who gets to stay but is being transferred to the department that handles auto loan delinquency. At least she will get to keep her health insurance for the time being. And this is in Houston - one of the few areas in the country that is booming. Lots and lots of apartment buildings going up though.