TAKE NOTE
CONVENTION BUISINESS STILL FAVORS CHICAGO
If you’re traveling on business or heading to a convention, chances
are you’re headed to Chicago, IL. According to research by the
Travel Industry Association of America, the National Business Travel
Association and the Institute of Business Travel Management, Chicago
still leads the United States as a business and convention destination.
In 2003, the last full year reported, Chicago outpaced Sun Belt and
leisure destinations for the most visits for conventions, conferences
and seminars and in most general business visits. The report did not
provide specific numbers.
Conventions/conferences/seminars:
1. Chicago, IL
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Washington, DC
4. Orlando, FL
5. Atlanta, GA.
General business visits:
1. Chicago, IL
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Washington, DC
4. New York, NY
5. Atlanta, GA
MORTGAGE MYSTERY
The presidential election is over, the economy is growing and the
Federal Reserve has increased the short-term leading rate at least
five times since June 2004. So why are home mortgage rates still so
low?
It’s baffling most experts. But one, Raphael Bostic, director
of the University of Southern California’s Casden Real Estate
Economics Forecast, says the 10-year bond market is a better indicator
of mortgage rates and it has trended downward.
Most experts expect higher mortgage rates in 2005, but not much higher
than 6.5 percent.
SPAM—A LOT?
It’s a situation that’s perhaps worthy of a Monty Python
spoof: Since the Can Spam Act went into effect January 2004, unsolicited
junk e-mail on the Internet has come to total perhaps 80 percent or
more of all e-mail sent, according to most industry measures. That
is up from 50 to 60 percent of all e-mail before the law went into
effect, reports The New York Times.
Still, some battles have been won. Two high-volume spam distributors
were convicted under a Virginia anti-spam law in November and a $1
billion judgment was issued in an Iowa federal court against three
spam marketers in December 2004.
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