The ups and downs of consumer spending...Black Friday, is your holiday shopping done? U.S. retail sales rose 1.3% in November, the Commerce Department reported, nearly double the 0.7% increase Wall Street had predicted. October sales were revised down to a 1.1% increase from a previously estimated 1.4% increase.

Car purchases and rising gasoline prices played a part in the November increase. Spending by consumers during the traditionally busy shopping day after Thanksgiving, meanwhile, was a little higher this year than in 2008.

Excluding sales of gasoline and cars, other retailers' sales increased 0.6% last month. Read more

Could we truly be on the road to economic recovery or is it too soon to tell? For the first time since May 2006, Sacramento County median home sales prices - for resale homes - have climbed above the same time a year earlier, property researcher MDA DataQuick reported Thursday. To find out for yourself click here.

Drastic times call for drastic measures; question is what should you do? A growing number of people in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, where home prices have plunged, are considering what is known as a "strategic default," walking away from their mortgages not out of necessity but because they believe it is in their best financial interests. Walking away isn't risk-free…read why

If you or someone you care about is facing a mortgage crisis and needs help visit http://northerncaliforniashortsales.com

Hey! Who you calling stupid... well Mr. Roth isn't really calling anyone stupid but it got your attention didn't it? Read his article posted in Business Week called "If you Don’t Buy a House Now, You’re Stupid or Broke" By Marc Roth

Interest rates are at historic lows but cyclical trends suggest they will soon rise. Home buyers may never see such a chance again, writes Marc Roth

"Well, you may not be stupid or broke. Maybe you already have a house and you don't want to move. Or maybe you're a Trappist monk and have forsworn all earthly possessions. Or whatever. But if you want to buy a house, now is the time, and if you don't act soon, you will regret it. Here's why: historically low interest rates." Read more