(SOURCE: KIPLINGER.COM- Oct. 23, 2008) 

"Gloomy" is the word most often used these days by Americans when polled about their future.  According to Kiplinger.com newsletter quoting a most recent ABC News poll "a record 90% of registered voters say the country is seriously off on the wrong track."

TAKE HEART AMONGST ALL THE BAD NEWS. Kiplingers has come up with 10 things going right these days and I thought I'd share....

1) Oil loses its swagger.  Oil prices have dropped 50% in just 3 months from  $147 a barrel in July to the $70 range.  Remember $80-$100 fillups at the pump? Now the national average for a gallon of gas hovers around or below the $3 range.  Heating oil and natural gas is headed lower too.

2) Innovation in the auto industry.  After years of just hype and talk, the major auto makers are now "furiously developing hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles that could lessen our dependence on foreign oil sources."  There are also unheard of incentives for the gas-fired models as well. That SUV or truck you've always wanted has never been more affordable off the lot!

3) Interest rates are low and predicted to go lower.  While I cannot vouch for that statement definitively, the folks at Kiplingers Finance and Kiplingers forecasting note that the prime rate is currently 4.5%.   Rates for the 30 year fixed mortgage has been averaging 6.5% but trending lower not far from the hisoric low of 5.8% reached in 2003-05 and 1963-65.  Credit card companies, while reining in personal spending limits, are also dropping rates.  Check out LowCards.com which tracks 1,260 credit cards.

4) Homes are more affordable - Real Estate, which was overpriced during the housing bubble and the period of "irrational exhuberance"  has returned to Earth.  THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS!!!    While we are approaching Halloween where scary stories abound, the scariest story for the lending industry portends of credit drying up, the reality is more a return to traditional lending standards.  THIS MEANS YOU NEED A DOWN PAYMENT (STILL JUST 3% IN SOME CASES AS WITH FHA), SUFFICIENT ANNUAL INCOME, GOOD CREDIT AND A TOLERABLE LOAD OF DEBT.  WHAT A CONCEPT!!!!

5) Your bank savings have NEVER BEEN SAFER.  The recent rescue plan more than doubled the amount of federal deposit insurance on individual bank accounts to $250,000 from $100,000.  Additionally, on October 14th our good ol' Uncle Sam has provided for unlimited FDIC insurance on non - interest bearing accounts.  That will provide more coverage for the nation's small businesses which use these accounts.

6) Stocks are on sale and many bonds offer Terrific Yields. -  I am not hawking any stocks or recommending that anyone begin buying stocks at all. But Kiplingers does make a good point that "the current bear market is approaching the 1973-74 and 2000-2002 downturns. The two worst retreats since WWII."  That's the bad news.  But the good news is that some blue chips are great buys. Triple-A rated tax-free bonds, an extraordinary safe investment, are paying 5% plus for 10 years and 6% for 20 years.  "That's better than the Treasury right now."  Again, I am quote Kiplingers.

7) Technological Innovation continues....PC's, Laptops, home theatre systems of top quality are now priced to sell.  Giant leaps in hand held devices are revolutionizing the way people communicate, interact. Have you seen the new I-Phone from Apple?  It's cool and affordable.

8) Prosperity in the Heartland - The fall harvest is shaping up to be one of the best ever - despite the destructive weather,storms and floods since last Spring. While food prices jumped sharply this year, the weak economy is now expected to at least "slow further price increases".

9) New Direction in Washington - Regardless of who wins the upcoming election, most certainly a new chief executive for the first 100 days will provide a new direction and sense of purpose for the country and hopefully "galvanize certainty for markets."

10) Shoppers can expect great gift buys this holiday season - Retailers look to the end of the year for robust sales to turn a profit. However for 2008, the National Federation of Retailers forecast holiday spending will increase only 2.2% up from last year. That won't even beat inflation.  According to the prognosticators at DealNews.com (where every day is black Friday), there are deals to be had -especially in the computer arena - specifically on black Friday.   Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and there will be deals on such things as PC's, cameras, laptops and more. Check out the site for their predictions on how low they think prices will go.