Report: U.S. now a steal as a place to do business

NEW YORK (AP) – March 28, 2008 – Thanks to the weakened dollar, the U.S. has leapfrogged France, Britain and other European countries as a cheaper place to do business.

A new study released Thursday by the auditing and consulting firm KPMG shows that the U.S. moved up on the list of places around the world that are the most cost-efficient. Researchers compared 136 cities in 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, but did not include fast-growing China.

Mark MacDonald, the global director of KPMG Competitive Alternatives, said the survey authors found the U.S. to be more cost competitive than they’d ever seen because of the plunging dollar.

Pending sales is lone bright spot in struggling market

Jerry W. Jackson Sentinel Staff Writer

March 31, 2008

Looking for any positive signs they can find in this historic housing downturn, local Realtors are focusing right now on the growth in pending sales -- one bright spot.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported that new pending contracts rose from 1,239 in January to 1,537 in February.

Dusty Sutton, broker-owner of Sutton and Sutton Realty in Orlando, said the March numbers "will be up again, I can promise you, based on what we are seeing. They are up all over the state."