September 2009

Existing-home sales in August gave back some of their strong gain in July but remain above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – declined 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.10 million units in August from a pace of 5.24 million in July, but remain 3.4 percent above the 4.93 million-unit level in August 2008. In the previous four months, sales had risen a total of 15.2 percent.

An NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 30 percent of homes in August, and that distressed homes accounted for 31 percent of transactions; both were unchanged from July. Read the rest of this entry »

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Chairman Frank, Ranking Member Bachus, members of the House Financial Services Committee, I am pleased to be back before you today as our Administration and this Congress work toward comprehensive reform of our financial regulatory system.

The Chairman has set an ambitious schedule of hearings that will lead to your markup of legislation and facilitate enactment this year. We have now provided more than 600 pages of legislative language, and I am aware and appreciative of the long hours you have spent working through the critical details of reform. My staff has been in constant contact with members of this committee and with your staff, and will continue to be as we work through key issues. 

As you prepare to put this legislation together and we prepare to help, it might be useful to remind ourselves why we have a financial system in the first place and why we have reached this moment of decision.

Stripped of its complexities, the purpose of a financial system is to let those who want to save–whether for vacation, retirement or a rainy day–save. It is to let those who want to borrow–whether to buy a house or build a business–borrow. And it is to use our banks and other financial institutions to bring savers’ funds and borrowers’ needs together and carefully manage the risks involved in transfers between them. Read the rest of this entry »

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Employers took 2,690 mass layoff actions in August that resulted in the separation of 259,307 workers,seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month,the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in August increased by 533 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 52,516.

Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 803, and associated initial claims increased by 70,356. Year-to-date mass layoff events (21,184) and initial claims (2,162,202) both recorded program highs through August.

In August, 900 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 93,892 initial claims. Over the month, the number of manufacturing events increased by 279, and associated initial claims increased by 21,626.

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“All politics is local,” Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, the longtime Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress.

How well is a company served in public relations when an account manager is not local and perhaps thousands of miles or more away? Rarely do non-local public relations firms have the knowledge of, or relationships with decision makers in a company’s local media and constituencies.

Free Advertising?

The announcement of a new client by a public relations firm can have an adverse impact on the client and its goals: For a company in crisis, with layoffs or salary reductions in the wind, what’s the impact on employees of such a proud announcement; on shareholders or investors if a company’s stock is on the decline. Beyond this, clients compensate public relations firms for services; and ostensibly to effect their campaigns transparently. Stern And Company’s advice, if your new agency wants to issue a news release on its conquest, ask for a fee accommodation for the privilege. 

Beware the phrase: “We have personal relationships with the media.”

PR professionals are paid to be nice to journalists, and members of the media have no reason to discourage a friendly relationship. They hope to benefit by being given an early look at a press release, getting a little more information than is contained in the release, or obtaining quick cooperation when they call on deadline.

But professional journalists respond to a PR “pitch” based solely on how they think their readers and their editors will view the story. If they happen to know the PR person well but don’t like the story, the only difference will be a somewhat more cordial rejection.

We believe that the only significant determinant of the success of media relations activity is a firm’s ability to identify a story that a journalist will recognize as newsworthy, and to present it in a way that editors find compelling.

Who’s handling the account?

Ensure that whoever led the “pitch” team is hands on; and that the firm’s “senior staff” is experienced.

Many firms sell well but lack in execution because of a lack of experience. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a senior level marketer on your account, if your campaign is marketing.

However, it’s not alright to have a professional who lacks news experience on your account if straight media relations is what you’re seeking. And beware the firm that presents its principal, who then is not “hands on” for the tactical side of your account.

 Other thoughts:

 Long media lists in proposed campaigns are generally a given that the agency is going for “ink” in a shotgun fashion, rather than using the highly sophisticated tools available to virtually all public relations firm that allow them to create highly targeted client-specific lists.

• 24/7 availability. How long does it take you to reach your account executive on the weekend, especially in a crisis mode? The dog ate my cell phone is not an excuse.
• If your firm schedules speaking engagements for you, are they before “decision makers?” If not, why bother?

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High U.S. unemployment keeps pushing up the rate of mortgage delinquencies, which could in turn drive personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures, according to Equifax Inc, the credit reporting company.

Among U.S. homeowners with mortgages, a record 7.58 percent were at least 30 days late on payments in August, up from 7.32 percent in July, according to the data obtained exclusively by Reuters.

August marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase in delinquencies, and the report showed an accelerating pace. By comparison, 4.89 percent of mortgages were 30 days past due in August 2008, while in August 2007, the rate was 3.44 percent, Equifax data showed. Read the rest of this entry »

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