Personal Finance Daily: Where home prices are skyrocketing

	Personal Finance Daily JULY 30, 2012 Monday's Personal Finance stories By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: They can't build homes fast enough here Payday loans could spur costly debt cycle KKR funds enter through the front gate 5 lessons Bernanke has learned on the job Berkshire and the start of Libor lawsuits Most U.S. homeowners these days are eagerly watching home-price data to see when the value of their own investment might regain its former heights. Not so in North Dakota. As Amy Hoak writes in her Home Economics column today, 10 years ago an 1,800-square-foot home in Williston, N.D., cost about $80,000. Today, a comparable 2,000-square-foot home built in 1978 is listed for $327,000. Read Amy's story to find out more about the booming real-estate market in North Dakota. Plus, don't miss Jennifer Waters's Consumer Confidential column today on how payday loans perpetuate a cycle of debt. —Andrea Coombes , Personal Finance editor Payday loans could spur costly debt cycle Payday loans are meant as a stopgap for the fiscally pinched. But in many cases, these short-term loans, mired in hefty interest costs, perpetuate a costly cycle of escalating debt. Payday loans could spur costly debt cycle. They can't build homes fast enough here People in most housing markets are elated about trends showing that home prices are on the way up and a housing recovery could be under way. But If you're living in parts of North Dakota you've lived with rising home prices for a while now. They can't build homes fast enough here. Walk to the Games—it's good for your health Fans going to the 2012 Olympics should think of the games not only as major sports and entertainment events but a chance to step up their health and reduce the carbon imprint on the planet. Walk to the Games—it's good for your health. NBC's Olympics: Big ratings, big criticisms NBC is attracting record numbers of viewers — and lots of flak — for the way it is showing the London Games back home in the U.S. NBC's Olympics: Big ratings, big criticisms. INVESTING KKR funds enter through the front gate To see KKR and other private-equity firms aggressively promoting hedging- and alternative-investment strategies to Main Street investors should make astute individuals hide their wallets KKR funds enter through the front gate. Fantasy Earnings Trader results — week 2 Sometimes it's the allocation that makes the difference to a trader's winning portfolio — in a short-term play anyway, and that's what the Fantasy Earnings Trader is all about. Fantasy Earnings Trader results — week 2. How to make money on your way to work In 2009, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made its biggest investment ever: $34 billion to buy rail operator Burlington Northern. Now, over in the faster growing Asia region, other investors can hop aboard this asset class, at a fraction of the valuation Buffett paid, Ben Weiss says in Eye on Asia. How to make money on your way to work. Berkshire and the start of Libor lawsuits Legal analysts have likened the potential claims and litigation stemming from the interest-rate fixing scandal with those in the asbestos industry. From a monetary standpoint, that could be an understatement. Berkshire and the start of Libor lawsuits. Is gold getting ready for takeoff? It wasn't really very much — gold ended the week up just over 2% — but it's really got people excited, reports Peter Brimelow. Is gold getting ready for takeoff? ECONOMY & POLITICS Euro worries could boost Obama David Marsh explores what's really going on in the European fiscal crisis, and whether an intensification of that crisis might be good for the U.S. president's re-election prospects. Euro worries could boost Obama. 5 lessons Bernanke has learned on the job A decade after Ben Bernanke said he was sure the Fed could prevent a depression, he's learned a few lessons about his own limitations, writes Rex Nutting. 5 lessons Bernanke has learned on the job. 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