Dow Has Best Month Since 2002

More good news. This time it involves the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or Dow.

Dow Has Best Month since 2002
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is an average of 30 large stocks, had its best performing month ever since 2002, and it was the first positive monthly increase in almost a year!

Overall Tuesday Results
Overall Tuesday, the Dow rose 86.9 points, or 1.2%, to 7608.92, driven by gains in banking stocks and software maker Microsoft. For the month, the Dow rose 7.7%, its biggest monthly gain since October 2002, which turned out to be the start of the last bull market. Tuesday, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index increased by 1.31% or 10.34, or 1.31%, to 797.87.
We still have a ways to go, but I believe that we have bottomed out and have already started our very slow crawl out of this hole.

Good Economic News for the Real Estate Industry

New durable goods orders increased in February of 2009 and new home sales in the U.S. rebounded by 22.2%. This economic data indicates that the economic downturn is easing. The US Department of Commerce said that durable goods orders rose 3.40% (up $165.6 billion) in February of 2009. This rise in durable goods orders represents the largest increase in durable goods orders since December of 2007. So, there you have it. The sky is no longer falling! We have made it past the worst part of the economic cycle. We certainly have a long way to go, but it is not as bad as the media has been reporting.

President Obama Claims Early Progress in Economic Battle

President Barack Obama claimed early progress in his aggressive campaign to lead the nation out of economic chaos and declared that despite obstacles ahead, "we're moving in the right direction."

New 1031 Exchange Investment Firm Launched: Savage Bryan Investments

Another positive indication that our California real estate market is transforming itself faster than the real estate analysts believe. Lewis Savage and Adam Bryan announced last week the launch of their new 1031 exchange investment services company under the name of: Savage Bryan Investments.

Lew and Adam were both former executives at SCI Real Estate Investments and bring an incredible wealth of commercial real estate investment experience to the market place.

Trademarks/Trade Names Can Qualify for 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange

Great news from the IRS. How many times do you hear that one?

IRS Reverses Its Position
Anyway, the IRS reversed its position on the 1031 tax deferred exchange of trademarks and trade names as to whether or not trademarks and tradenames would qualify for a 1031 tax deferred exchange.

IRS Previously Says No
Previously, the IRS had said no by taking a position in its Technical Advice Memorandum 200602034 (TAM 200602034) that Goodwill in fact DID NOT qualify for 1031 tax deferred exchange treatment. Generally, the IRS had previously taken the position that trademarks and trade names were included in the definition of Goodwill and therefore were excluded from 1031 tax deferred exchange treatment.

IRS Now Says Yes
The Internal Revenue Service just released its Technical Advice Memorandum 200911006 (TAM 200911006) that changes course and takes the position that trademarks and trade names will be considered separate and apart from Goodwill and will now qualify for 1031 tax deferred exchange treatment.

Terrific news, especially for those investors that are selling businesses with trademarks and trade names.

Housing Starts Up in February

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. housing starts and permits rebounded in February from record lows, rising for the first time in 10 months, according to data on Tuesday that gave a glimmer of hope for the recession-hit economy.

Analysts said while the data did not mark a change in trend for the depressed housing market, it hinted at some stability that could ease pressure on the economy going forward.

The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped 22.2 percent to an annual rate of 583,000 units last month from 477,000 units in January. It was the biggest percentage rise since January 1990 and the first gain since April.

More Signs that Economy is Getting Ready to Recover

We have started seeing slight indications that the downward spiral of our economy is easing and may in fact be ready to turn the corner. While we do not expect any major recovery this year, it is refreshing to see that the downward momentum is easing.

I thought I would share a post on another blog that provides some economic glimmers of hope from Goldman Sachs & Co. Retain sales were revised upward for January and are slightly positive for February.

California Lifts Freeze on Income Tax Refunds

Refunds Previously Frozen
The California Franchise Tax Board previously placed a 30 day freeze on all income tax refunds with the possibility of the hold being extended if certain financial objectives were not reached.

Hold on Income Tax Refunds Lifted
The State of California lifted the hold on income tax refunds on March 6, 2009, and the California FTB is working with the California Controller's Office to issue income tax refunds to taxpayers as quickly as possible.

Check Your Refund Status
Taxpayers in California can check the progress of their income tax refund from the FTB on the California Franchise Tax Board's website at: http://www.ftb.ca.gov/online/refund/index.asp.

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Date and Time
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
10:55 AM Login
11:00 AM — 12:00 Noon Webinar

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