a recent survey by the national association of home builders and wells fargo finds home builders confidence sagging. staying flat in january and below the 50% mark after eight consecutive growth of months. there, too, there is cause for optimism. the commerce department reported last week that housing starts surged in december. up 19.1% from the month before and setting the fastest pace seen in 4.5 years. multifamily housing, apartment and condos is boosting the construction surge as younger people finally find employment and take flight from the parent s nests. now from the first time since 2007, 2006, we are starting to see increases in production. rising house prices. that is going to affect household wealth. that is one positive factor that will help us have i hope a better year in 2013. then in 2014. we need to put up 1.5 million homes a year because of population growth.
juan: gee, i wonder who the lawyer could be he is talking about. eric: lawyers. kimberly: all righty then. yes. okay, well, this is a great story. in a way, but the point is that veterans out there, a lot of them may come back. they are desperate circumstances. they don t have enough money when the benefits are running out. you may wonder what they do when they have a wife or children. bill was an unemployed veteran and he posted his army medal on ebay and he told it for $5,200. so, you know, happy he got the money, but it was an act of desperation that drove him to do this to provide for his family. i want to point out he is not alone in his struck to find employment and support families. post-9/11 veteran um employment is 19.1%. hire a veteran. juan: congratulations to the miami heat. they won the n.b.a. championship last night. brom lebron james, twayne
juan: gee, i wonder who the lawyer could be he is talking about. eric: lawyers. kimberly: all righty then. yes. okay, well, this is a great story. in a way, but the point is that veterans out there, a lot of them may come back. they are desperate circumstances. they don t have enough money when the benefits are running out. you may wonder what they do when they have a wife or children. bill was an unemployed veteran and he posted his army medal on ebay and he told it for $5,200. so, you know, happy he got the money, but it was an act of desperation that drove him to do this to provide for his family. i want to point out he is not alone in his struck to find employment and support families. post-9/11 veteran um employment is 19.1%. hire a veteran. juan: congratulations to the miami heat. they won the n.b.a. championship last night. brom lebron james, twayne
heating up. there are lots of indicators saying we re doing better here in the united states, but they re doing better all over the world, and that means an increase in demand for commodities like copper, like gold, like silver, like oil. that pushes the prices up and affects inflation. let me give you a history of interest rates going back about 57 years. in july 1954, effectively the interest rate was 0.8%. take it up to june of 1981, the high point if any of you or your parents were getting mortgages back then, 19.1%. right now, april 2011, we re ba basically at 0.1%. add the fed rate and you ve got prime rate. you may be paying prime or more than that. interest rates are at historic lows right now, near zero, since december of 2008. you don t have to be a genius when you look at that chart to guess where they re headed next. so in this unfamiliar environment for many of you of
57 years. in july, 1954, the interest rate was 0.8%. june 1981, the high point, 19.1%. right now, april 2011, we re basically at 0.1%. these are the fed rates. add another 3% to that and you ve got prime rate. of course, you may be paying prime or more than that. interest rates are at historic lows right now. near zero since december of 2008. you don t have to be a genius when you look at that chart to guess where they re headed next. in this unfamiliar environment for many of you of rising interest rates, the old rules may not apply. doug flynn is a certified financial planner, a good friend of ours. let s talk about investment strategies to capitalize on the inevitable rising interest rates. let s start with people who are low risk. right. so most people are just