Tuesday's Afternoon Pulse

| 3/30/2010

Lapse in National Flood Insurance Program Leaves Some Floridians Hanging

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Trying to close on a home? You may have trouble if your lender requires flood insurance. Banks require flood insurance for many Florida homes. And the National Flood Insurance Program expired on Sunday. The earliest lawmakers could consider renewing it is on April 12 when they return from recess. The lapse affects homeowners that applied for new policies in the past few days or those who are up for renewal now. Standard homeowners insurance policies don't cover flood damage; it is essentially only available through the federal government. [Source: Sun Sentinel]

Also:

• Do insurers funnel Florida funds to parent companies while claiming need to raise rates? [SP Times]

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Florida’s High Jobless Rate Causes Another Drop in Consumer Confidence

Florida’s consumer confidence fell in March by three points to 70 as the state’s bleak unemployment rate cast doubts about the long-term health of the economy and people’s ability to make major household purchases, according to a new University of Florida survey. “The decline in optimism is almost certainly related to persistent elevated levels of unemployment in Florida and the perception that jobs are neither secure nor widely available,” said Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. [Source: Univ. of Florida]

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Tampa Bay, Miami Home Prices Fall Among Nation's Worst, Index Shows

Tampa Bay home prices put in one of the worst performances on the S&P Case Shiller home price index (see PDF), falling 7.4% between January 2009 and January 2010. Tampa's housing devaluation was the second steepest on the 20-city index that tracks repeat sales of individual homes. Only Las Vegas put in a worse performance. Tampa tied for second with Detroit. Miami prices fell 6.7% in a year's time. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]

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Report: iPhone Coming to Verizon

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple may be working on an iPhone designed for Verizon Wireless. Currently AT&T Inc. is the only U.S. phone company that carries the iPhone. Citing unnamed sources, The Journal said Monday that Apple Inc. is planning to debut a new iPhone this summer, and on top of that appears to be working on a model for Verizon. The report says it is unclear when the Verizon model would be available. [Source: AP]

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Juno Beach Bank Ordered to Shore Up Capital, Earnings

Anchor Commercial Bank must shore up capital, boost earnings and otherwise bolster its operations, according to an agreement this month between the bank, the Federal Reserve and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. In the 13-page document (see PDF), Anchor Commercial Bank agreed to strengthen board oversight, credit risk management and lending and credit administration practices. The bank has $166 million in assets and lost $7.1 million in 2009. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Also:

• FDIC warns Clermont bank to raise capital or find buyer [Sentinel]
• Bank of Miami to strengthen finances [Herald]