BUSINESS BRIEFS

Published: Oct 5, 2007

TAMPA BAY AREA

Housing Rebound Forecast

Home sales are still declining but inventory has stabilized, and the slumping Tampa Bay area housing market should turn around by the end of spring, Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors' top economist, said Thursday.

Speaking in Clearwater to about 200 members of the Pinellas Realtor Organization, Yun also said home prices that have been flat or slightly down could start to rise again by late next year.

Yun based his assessment on the Bay area's strong job market, baby boomers buying second homes, property tax and insurance reform and pent-up demand among those now renting.

Tourism Gets A New Name

Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater is the new brand announced Thursday by Pinellas County tourism officials, mirroring Visit Florida, the name of the statewide tourism promotions group. The new Pinellas name replaces St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Hillsborough County's visitors bureau last week changed its brand to Tampa Bay and Company from the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Checker's Rolls Into Vegas

Expansion of Tampa-based Checker's Drive-In Restaurants has reached Nevada, where a new franchisee plans to open up to 20 locations in Las Vegas.

NATION

August Factory Orders Fall

August factory orders fell by the largest amount in seven months. The Commerce Department said orders dropped by 3.3 percent in August, even worse than the expected 2.8 percent decline. It was the biggest setback since orders fell 4.2 percent in January.

Demand for commercial aircraft fell 39.9 percent, leading the decline. Orders for durable goods - items expected to last at least three years - fell 4.9 percent.

Business demand for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft - considered a good gauge for investment plans - dropped 0.5 percent in August. This decline was blamed partly on greater caution among businesses in the face of the credit crunch, which caused the stock market's turbulence in the late summer.

Web Ads Keep Growing

U.S. Internet advertising revenues grew 26 percent to about $10 billion in the first six months of the year, said a Pricewater- houseCoopers study released Thursday. Keyword ads - such as those displayed alongside search results at Google Inc. and other search engines - account for about 40 percent of online revenues.

A staff and wire report

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