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Silicon Valley office market shows vacancy improvement after weak stretch
SAN JOSE, Calif — Vacancy levels improved and rental rates rose during the first three months of 2025, a welcome improvement in the battered South Bay office market after months of weaker conditions, a new report shows.
“The Silicon Valley office market showed resilience in the first quarter,” Colliers stated in its first-quarter report ...Read more

Trump's 90-day tariff 'pause' leads to wild reversal in markets -- should investors stay on guard?
U.S. President Donald Trump threw markets for another loop on the roller coaster saga of tariffs, announcing that he was pausing the implementation of his “Liberation Day” global tariffs for 90 days on non-retaliating countries. Stocks soared on the day of the news, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing up 9.5% and 12.2%, respectively, as ...Read more

California's former insurance commissioner sees grim future, more wildfires
Former California insurance commissioner David Jones described the L.A. area firestorms in January as a “canary in the coal mine” warning for climate change that will bring more catastrophic fires all-year and push the property and casualty insurance industry to the brink of a financial crisis.
“Climate change is the canary in the coal ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Feeling Rich and Living It Up
Dear Mary: My husband and I have been out of debt for approximately five years. It's great. The problem is we now seem to spend a lot of money needlessly just because we can. We have so much money over and above our living expenses that it is easy to be reckless.
We keep just enough in savings ($2,000 or so) for emergencies but never get beyond...Read more

Google, with potential breakup looming over its search monopoly, backs down from muzzling workers
Google, with key hearings starting this month in a blockbuster anti-monopoly court case that could lead to its breakup, agreed to lift a gag order banning its employees from talking about the lawsuit, a union representing workers said.
In August, Google’s global-affairs chief Kent Walker in a company-wide email ordered workers to “refrain ...Read more

Will Congress give Californians tax breaks for disaster-proofing their homes?
Upgrading a roof, air filtration or other items that will help protect your home against fires, storms and other disasters? Republicans and Democrats are proposing a tax break for the projects.
The Firewall Act, sponsored by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-California, and Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, is aimed at encouraging preventive measures against disasters...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Simple Strategies to Improve Your Credit Score
A credit score is a three-digit number between 300 and 850 generated by a mathematical algorithm (a mostly secret formula) based on information in your credit report, compared to information on tens of millions of other people. Like it or not, the resulting number is said to be a highly accurate prediction of how likely you are to pay your bills...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: How Much and What Kind of Life Insurance Is Best?
Dear Mary: My question is about life insurance. My wife believes that I need life insurance because I am the sole breadwinner in the family and we have a baby daughter.
I am not sure it is important right now, as we just bought our first house. Our financial situation is very tight, and we will be having a lot of minor improvements on the house...Read more
What is market capitulation?
Market capitulation is a term used by investors and traders during times of market decline. It refers to an extreme point of panic selling, where investors are willing to sell their assets at any price, resulting in a rapid decline in prices. Dictionaries define capitulation as the act of surrendering, which is a good way of thinking about how ...Read more
5 top mistakes to avoid during a market sell-off
Stocks sold off in early April as investors grappled with how tariffs would impact inflation and the outlook for economic growth. Some investors even grew concerned about a possible recession. Some of the biggest tech companies saw their shares tumble 20% or more, with Tesla falling around 50% from its recent high. The Federal Reserve faces the ...Read more

You'll want to be friends with this couple after seeing their quirky, fun apartment
LOS ANGELES -- A sense of fun permeates the rooms of Cecilia and Abraham Beltran's colorful one-bedroom apartment in Long Beach.
The adventurous couple enjoys crisscrossing Los Angeles to explore its treasures, from the peaceful gardens of the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens where they are members, to the delicious dim sum ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Protect Yourself From Tax ID Theft and Keep Scammers Out of Your Refund
Ah, tax season. That magical time of year when we all attempt to decipher the mystical language of IRS forms while hoping the government gives us back some of our own money. Before you start planning what to do with your refund, let's talk about tax identity theft.
Tax ID theft happens when a fraudster files a fake return in your name to steal ...Read more
'Perfect storm.' Hundreds of South Florida condos now on secret mortgage blacklist
A secretive quasi-governmental condo blacklist is growing exponentially, making it difficult for owners in scores of troubled buildings in Miami and South Florida to sell or get loans for repairs even as their associations face a fiscal and time crunch to meet stringent new state safety regulations.
The number of local condos on the list, which...Read more

Trump's tax plans: Here's what to expect for your taxes in 2025 and beyond
From extending the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 to ending taxes on tips, overtime pay, Social Security benefits and more, President Donald Trump has never made a secret of his goal to make sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code.
During his first stint in office, Trump massively overhauled tax law by passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or ...Read more

LA sends masses of tourists to Vegas -- and owns real estate nearby
Los Angeles has long funneled masses of tourists to Las Vegas, providing much of the fuel for the casino-heavy economy here.
But L.A. also has a more permanent foothold in Southern Nevada.
The city of Los Angeles owns a portfolio of real estate within about 30 miles of the Las Vegas Strip, property records show, underscoring decades-old ties ...Read more

New York hedge fund is the largest homeowner in Nevada's most populous county
New York-based hedge fund Pretium Partners is most likely the single largest homeowner in Clark County, according to an investigation of property records.
Pretium-owned Progress Residential, a homes-for-rent management company, owns at least 3,190 homes in the county as of the end of February, according to property record data confirmed by ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: What can I do about much louder new lobby doors?
Q: I live on the first floor of a condo building. Recently, the board replaced the lobby entrance doors, which now create a loud noise when someone enters or exits, startling my neighbor and me. The installers have attempted multiple fixes but say the doors are better suited for a commercial building. What can we do if they can’t adjust or ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Stop Paying for Things You Don't Need
A big coordinated garage sale in my neighborhood gave me a surprising wake-up call. It's one thing to see a family's stuff spread out in the front yard, but quite another to see a whole neighborhood's castoffs at one time. All I could think as I walked from one yard to the next was all the money wasters that led to this colossal display of stuff...Read more

RealPage sues Berkeley over its ban on algorithmic rent pricing software
The real estate software company RealPage announced on Wednesday that it is suing Berkeley, California, over the city’s recently passed ban on rental price-setting software, which tenant advocates say allows landlords to collude to raise rents.
The move comes as the company faces numerous anti-competition lawsuits brought by renters and bans ...Read more

Illinois homeowners insurance premiums up 50% over three years, according to new report
While homeowners insurance premiums have been rising sharply in the post-pandemic landscape across the U.S. — from wildfire-ravaged California to hurricane-flooded North Carolina — rates are increasing faster in Illinois than all but one other state.
A new report by the Consumer Federation of America showed homeowners premiums increased ...Read more
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