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(Best Syndication News) Although a recent report found that housing prices are higher is some areas of southern California, there is still a concern about foreclosures. Case-Shiller reports that housing prices may have stabilized.

The National Association of Realtors report that 16.7 percent fewer existing homes sold in December 2009 from the month earlier. These homes include: single-family residences, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops. For all of 2009 the number of existing homes sales is higher compared to 2008.

The NAR also says that home prices were up 1.5 percent in December compared to the previous year. “The median price rose because of an increased number of mid- to upper-priced homes in the sales mix,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said. The inventory fell by 3.29 million units (6.6 percent) in December 2009.

[BestSyndication NewsThe Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Review Board announced that they will be permanently withdrawing three mortgage lenders and suspending a fourth effective immediately from their program.

The lenders that got withdrawn were Strategic Mortgage Corporation (Strategic), ProMortgage Inc., and Americare Investment Group Inc. (doing business as Premier Capital Lending).

The one lender which is being suspended from the FHA program is Home Mortgage, Inc. (HMI) of Burr Ridge, Illinois. This suspension will last for a minimum of six months or until a federal court rules in a issue relating to this suspension.

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[Best Syndication News] The Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed a lawsuit against Capital One Bank (USA) N.A. along with four other companies because of tactics of debt collection that was deceptive as well as conducting unlawful practices. The legal filing was in the Circuit Court of Mason County, West Virgina.

The other companies named in the lawsuit are Capital One Services, LLC, Capital One Services II, LLC, Capital One Services III, LLC, and COSI Receivables Management which are corporations that provide debt collection services for credit cards that were issued by Capital One Bank.

In the complaint filed there were numerous violations of the West Virginia consumer protection laws. According to the lawsuit, they are claiming that Capital One would solicit customers with the disguise of new credit, when it really was a debt repayment plan. The new credit offered was $1.00 extra than the outstanding debt that they were required to transfer the entire account balance to a new credit card. In order to see an increase in the amount of credit line they would have to pay off the existing balance first.

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[Best Syndication News] High school seniors across the nation are beginning the application process for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This year the process has been made easier and can be completed at school computers or online at home with live online chat to help you through the process.

This simplified process for the FAFSA is to help achieve President Obama's challenge to see the United States having the highest percentage of college graduates by the year 2020. In order to ensure financial support for the 2010-11 academic year, students need to apply for the FAFSA beginning January 1st, 2010.

The "free FAFSA on the Web" is accessible through the Internet and removes the need to fill out paperwork and will speed up the results of the application. If you have questions along the way, you can use their live online chat to get help with a customer service representative.

LEI - see larger graph below

(Best Syndication News) Economists believe that the eight straight months of positive Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) will lead to a rebound for the next 6 months to a year. Although the unemployment rate is still bouncing around 10 percent, home sales have seen some improvement along with sale prices in some areas.

The Conference Board, a non-government organization charged with forecasting future economic activity, reported on Thursday that they expect an “uptrend” for the next six months. Today’s peak is slightly higher than the peak calculated in July of 2007.

There are signs of improvement in the unemployment rate too. The rate in New York dropped to 8.6 percent in November from 9 percent in October. Economic indicators include the unemployment rate, quits rate, housing starts, the Consumer Price Index (CPI or inflation) among other things.