Deadlines Loom

The home foreclosure scene is not getting worse but it’s not getting much better either. The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority says the number of foreclosures in September was about the same as the month before – about 290. The agency predicts that by the end of the year, the total will be a hair under what it was at the end of 2008.

The real estate industry estimates that a quarter of all sales are due to the 8 thousand dollar first time buyer tax credit. That expires at the end of November. Washington seems interested in keeping some form of tax credits alive.

Another set of stimulus benefits are about to run out. The health insurance subsidy under the COBRA program is a big one. Extended unemployment is another. Tara Reardon, Employment Security Commissioner, says benefits will end for 1600 people this month.

REARDON: That means no more money. No more rent. No more grocery payments. And we’re really worried about what that means, not only for the peole that we’ve come to know very well, but the local welfare offices which we suspect are going to see them next.”

As with the home buyer tax credits, Washington seems inclined to extend unemployment one more time.

October jobless figures will come next week. They’re expected to go up which raises the question – why hasn’t the stimulus produced more jobs? US Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood said two things. First, most of the money hasn’t been spent yet by contractors.

LAHOOD: Many of the projects that have been started will get started again next year and continue probably right up to a year from now.

But when pressed on the lack luster job reports, LaHood seemed a bit defensive when he said the job predictions when the stimulus was passed were just estimates.

Some local businesses are finding greener pastures overseas. The Nashua Telegraph reports that Skelley Medical in Hollis is finding more of its sales coming from foreign buyers. And one noteworthy turnaround, a South Korean solar components company plans to set up shop in Hudson.

With this round up of the week’s economic news, I’m Jon Greenberg.