Personal Finance Daily: U.S. housing market faces big risks

	Personal Finance Daily JUNE 14, 2012 Thursday's Personal Finance Stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Housing market rebounding, but slowly Foreclosure filings rise in May 5 ETFs for an income-efficient portfolio The U.S. housing market is showing some signs of stabilizing, but still faces some serious challenges, according to Harvard's annual State of the Nation's Housing report, released today. MarketWatch's Amy Hoak says the report shows there are signals we'll see stronger sales and more single-family home construction the rest of this year. However, Dan McCue, research manager for Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, said: "Never before has a downturn been so strong and a recovery so weak." Also on MarketWatch today, Robert Powell writes in his Your Portfolio column that investors who are looking for income these days might consider dumping the classic 60% stocks and 40% bonds portfolio in favor of one that produces what researchers at Morningstar call an efficient-income portfolio. Take a look at five—or more—exchange-traded funds that fit an efficient-income strategy. — Anne Stanley , Managing Editor, Personal Finance Housing market rebounding, but slowly Promising statistics signal a housing market on the rebound, but there are headwinds keeping markets from bouncing back quickly, according to Harvard University's annual State of the Nation's Housing report, released on Thursday. Read more: Housing market rebounding, but slowly. Foreclosure filings rise in May: RealtyTrac Foreclosure filings rose 9% in May, compared with April, according to the latest RealtyTrac report, released on Thursday. But filings were down 4% compared with May 2011. Read more: Foreclosure filings rise in May. 5 ETFs for an efficient-income portfolio If you're looking for income these days it might be time to dump your classic 60% stocks and 40% bonds portfolio in favor of one that produces what researchers at Morningstar call an efficient-income portfolio. Read more: 5 ETFs for an efficient-income portfolio. INVESTING High-yield investment programs are hype Investors have a lot of ways to step up risk to increase yields. High-yield investment programs are not one of them, because they're not even on the risk scale, they're way off the deep end. Read more: High-yield investment programs are hype. Dow appears to be carving a bottom Recent stock volatility has been alarming to some. Following the market's sharp declines in May, however, stocks largely have stayed within a fairly narrow range—and that could be a platform to launch an upside reversal. Read more: Dow appears to be carving a bottom. ECONOMY AND POLITICS U.S. weekly jobless claims climb to 386,000 The number of people applying for jobless benefits rises again, another sign that the U.S. labor market has cooled off. Read more: U.S. weekly jobless claims climb to 386,000. U.S. consumer inflation falls sharply in May The cost of living fell sharply in May as American consumers benefited from lower gasoline prices, the government reported Thursday. Read more: U.S. consumer inflation falls sharply in May. U.S. current account deficit hits 3-year high Data show the U.S. current account deficit widening to $137.3 billion in the first quarter, of 3.6% of gross domestic product. It's the largest deficit since the fourth quarter of 2008. Read more: U.S. current account deficit hits 3-year high. Hong Kong won't ditch dollar peg soon The chances of Hong Kong's dropping its currency peg to the U.S. dollar remain remote despite a high-profile push to review it. Read more: Hong Kong won't ditch dollar peg soon. Switzerland should join the euro Will all the talk of countries leaving the euro, Switzerland is a country that should join, writes Steve Goldstein. Read more: Switzerland should join the euro. 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