Daily Financial News - Mortgage | Real Estate | Stock Market

Day Recap: Stocks are slipping, the dollar is down, and gold is at new highs - The Dow and S&P 500 closed at 12-month peaks on Monday but trading was skittish today as investors’ long-term concerns didn’t match with the recent rally. Most sectors in all three markets were down after six days of broad gains.

The US dollar continues to weaken against a broad array of currencies; the US dollar index was down 0.2%. Gold reached new peaks this morning, up more than $7 to $1,064.70 per ounce. WTI oil futures were up 31 cents to $73.57 a barrel.

House Passes Legislation Extending FTHB Tax Credit for Active Military - The House of Representatives has passed a bill that extends the first-time homebuyers tax credit for one year for military families and certain other federal employees subject to frequent overseas deployment.

 
HR 3590 will allow eligible military personnel and foreign service and intelligence officers to apply for the $8,000 tax credit for one year beyond its current November 30 deadline. Those meeting the underlying requirements for the credit must also be serving overseas or have spent at least 90 days deployed outside of the country during the current calendar year. It is expected that about 350,000 military personnel and an unknown number of federal employees may be affected by the new law.

There is currently a battle being waged over extending the popular credit for all eligible persons and possibly even removing the requirement that the home be a qualified first-time purchase. Many credit the current tax break for a recent surge in the housing market after months of rising inventories and falling prices. Such an extension is strongly supported by the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Homebuilders, and other major players in the housing industry, however, many argue against it on the basis of cost.