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The number of homes under contract fell again last month as high mortgage rates and home prices weakened buyer demand. Pending home sales, a forward-looking market indicator, declined for the fifth consecutive month in October, falling by 4.6 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index. The number of pending transactions decreased year-over-year by 37 percent. “October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced 20-year-high mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “The West region, in particular, suffered from the combination of high interest rates and expensive home...

The pending sales index of existing U.S. homes fell 1.2% to 88.6 in August...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- An index of pending home sales fell 1.3% in July, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Pending home sales climbed 8.2% in May, bouncing back after a dismal April and another signal of stabilization in a difficult housing market. The climb in pending home sales, which represent contracts signed on existing homes, comes after an 11.3% downturn in April, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The NAR had initially reported that April’s pending home sales declined 11.3%. The 13.4% gain from May 2010 levels marks the first time in 13 months that contract activity was above year-ago levels.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal appeals court put same-sex weddings in California on hold indefinitely Monday while it considers the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban. The decision, issued by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, trumps a lower court judge's order that would have allowed county clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Wednesday. Lawyers for the two gay couples that challenged the ban said Monday they would not appeal the panel's decision on the stay to the Supreme Court.

Senators Jim Talent (R., Mo.) and George Allen (R., Va.) are holding a press conference tomorrow announcing that they are going to introduce a constitutional amendment to create a line-item veto.

Capitol Resource Institute Monday Morning Update – Early Edition Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Action is needed on the following bills: The following bills have been passed by the Legislature and are now sitting on Governor Gray Davis' desk awaiting his signature or veto. Action is expected to be taken on these bills within the next several days. The deadline for Governor Davis to sign or veto the bills is October 12. If the bills are not signed or vetoed at that time, they will automatically become law. AB 17 - Kehoe: Special Rights for Homosexuals - AB 17 would prohibit...

I'm a bit worried: 1.We intercepted 2 people at Seattle/Tacoma Airport quite recently,who had phony driver's licenses, and were trying to buy 1 way air passage to NYC-with cash. 2.The 2 Middle-Eastern men had been smuggled across the border from Canada. 3.Last week, Canadian authorities rounded up 19 Pakistani men, one of whom was taking multi-engine pilot training. 4.The 19 men were, in turn, linked to a larger group in Canada-51 men-who have been detained on various charges. The 51 are believed to be al-Qaida,or LET (terrorist) linked. 5. FBI agents, investigating the Saudi Arabia bombings by al-Qaeda, came across...

<p>We are still waiting for some Democrat to answer the sensible question repeatedly asked by President Bush: "If they agree that tax relief creates jobs, then why are they for a little bitty tax-relief package?"</p> <p>If the opponents can stop shouting "tax cuts for the rich" long enough, perhaps they will get around to answering the question.</p>