Personal Finance Daily: Housing data strike disappointing note

Personal Finance Daily FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Tuesday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: U.S. home prices at post-crisis lows Be savvy about mobile banking safety Health coaches can change your playbook Stock valuations now versus last April "In terms of prices, the housing market ended 2011 on a very disappointing note," David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said today. That's after the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite data showed U.S. home prices in December fell to their lowest level since the housing crisis, as an uptick in activity isn't yet being matched by rising values. The pickup in the economy has simply not been strong enough to keep home prices stabilized, Blitzer said, adding: "If anything, it looks like we might have re-entered a period of decline as we begin 2012." And Robert Shiller, the Yale University economist who helped create the index, offered this tempered analysis to reporters on a conference call: "We might be on the verge of a recovery, but we might not." Read more in today's Economic Report on MarketWatch, and see our city-by-city breakdown of the latest housing data. Also today, Kristen Gerencher reports in her Vital Signs column that health coaches can really help us change our playbook. Their main mission, she writes, is to help patients confront challenges such as managing their medications, losing weight and increasing physical activity — all of which can lead to less pain and lower medical costs over time. — Anne Stanley U.S. home prices at post-crisis lows: Case-Shiller U.S. home prices in December fell to their lowest level since the housing crisis, as an uptick in activity isn't yet being matched by rising values, according to a closely followed index released Tuesday. Read more: U.S. home prices at post-crisis lows. City-by-city breakdown of latest housing data The S&P/Case-Shiller monthly home-price survey released Tuesday includes breakdowns of 20 U.S. cities for the full year 2011, and MarketWatch also calculated the drop from the peak. Read more: City-by-city breakdown of latest housing data. Health coaches can change your playbook They don't carry whistles or bench you after a bad night, but health coaches increasingly are helping patients pick up their game in terms of wellness. Read more: Health coaches can change your playbook. Be savvy about mobile banking safety As consumers become more comfortable with mobile payment technology, they also need to become more concerned about the security of their transactions. Read more: Be savvy about mobile banking safety. INVESTING Stock valuations now versus last April Does the stock market's behavior over the last 10 months add up to a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing? It may seem that way on the surface, but Mark Hulbert takes a deeper look. Read more: Stock valuations now versus last April. Trading Deck: Keynes had it right about the markets In his Trading Deck post, Kevin Marder says that operating on Keynes' premise that "it is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong" — i.e., the advantages to being a trend follower outweigh the negatives — it is preferable to let the market tell its own story. This may not contain the drama and emotion sought by some, yet it gets the job done and allows one to never be on the wrong side of the market for very long. Read more: Keynes had it right about the markets. ECONOMY & POLITICS Consumer confidence highest in a year Consumer confidence is the highest in a year, with more optimism about jobs, the Conference Board reports. Read more: Consumer confidence highest in a year. FDIC: Bank profits at 5-yr high, but revenue falls Bank profits rose in 2011 to a five-year high while operating revenue declined for only the second time since 1938, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s quarterly report released Tuesday. Read more: FDIC: Bank profits at 5-yr high, but revenue falls. FHFA chief DeMarco on defensive over refinancing The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency tells lawmakers that in contrast to how it is often portrayed, the agency is already playing a leading role in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. Read more: FHFA chief DeMarco on defensive over refinancing. Romney faces key test as Michigan votes Mitt Romney's drive for the Republican nomination faces a key test on Tuesday as voters go to the polls in his home state of Michigan, and Rick Santorum tries to pull out a victory and bolster his candidacy ahead of Super Tuesday. Primary voters also head to the polls in Arizona. Read more: Romney faces key test as Michigan votes. Gekko recants; now greed is no good A hammy appearance by Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko isn't the gimmick that it may seem. Gekko, more than anyone of the era — Ivan Boesky, Henry Kravis or Michael Milken — set the tone for 20 years of banking. Read more: Gekko recants; now greed is no good. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2012 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111