MiamiHerald.com: Economy

• A rush on gold in tough times
  Investors who have forsaken shaky financial markets for the safety of gold must feel a little bit like prospectors. As the worst recession in at least a generation spreads, so too does the clamor for gold bars and coins, assets less likely to go up in smoke like so many derivatives and asset-backed securities.
• Need a good job? Become a police officer
  Whether the economy is in high gear or a slow meltdown, the need for law-enforcement officers is always strong -- making it a hot job for the coming year and beyond.
• Post-holiday shopping starts off slow
  Day after Christmas shopping got off to a quiet start in South Florida, even as stores opened extra-early to lure customers with deals.
• Your Money
  Financial experts answer questions about your money
• Radio report
  Florida's first real estate boom, bust<br> <ul class="story_list"> <li><a href="http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=94411890">NPR Planet Money Podcast</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Archive.aspx">This American Life Podcast</a></li> </ul>
• Balancing Act
  Unanswered questions put fear in families
• No-Spend Zone
  Millennials blog on savvy spending
• Frugalista Files
  Get your frugal fix with blogger Natalie McNeal
• 9 occupations are hottest jobs around
  Rodney Alvarez sums up his job search this way: ``Rough -- real rough.'' A single father of three, Alvarez lost his job as a maintenance supervisor at a Hollywood luxury condominium more than a month ago, when the building cut its maintenance staff from seven to four.
• Obama expands jobs target
  Faced with worsening forecasts for the economy, President-elect Barack Obama is expanding his economic recovery plan and will seek to create 3 million jobs in the next two years, up from a goal of 2.5 million jobs set just last month, several advisors said Saturday.
• Oil price drop bears good and bad news
  Plummeting oil prices may be one of the few bright spots for U.S. consumers this winter, but not everyone is happy. Lower oil prices mean declining revenue for oil companies and oil revenue-dependent governments, and they've suffered as oil prices have dropped by 75 percent since July. Worries also have spread among those developing alternative energy sources, who fear that public support and financing for energy innovations will wane as oil prices tumble.
• Unemployment rises
  Nearly 70,000 people have joined South Florida's unemployment rolls in the past 12 months, according to new state figures released Friday.
• Lennar fights back in housing freefall
  The housing market is getting worse, not better, the leader of Miami-based Lennar said Thursday as the homebuilding giant announced its second straight year of billion-dollar losses.
• Ryder cuts hundreds of jobs
  Miami-based trucking giant Ryder System will eliminate 700 U.S. jobs and end its operations in Brazil, Argentina and Chile as part of a plan to adjust to the economic downturn.
• Foreclosure crisis creates unique hardships for apartment renters
  After working a full day and tending to her three children, the last thing Latasha Jones felt like doing was making the rounds in her apartment complex to collect contributions for the building's water bill. But she had no choice -- the landlord, in foreclosure, had abandoned the building and stopped paying for it.
• Motorola to freeze pensions, make more cuts
  (AP) -- Motorola, which has been struggling to revive its business in recent years, is freezing its pension plans and reducing executive pay in another set of cost-cutting measures.
• Refinance rates low; few qualify
  Recent drops in interest rates have homeowners rushing to call local banks and mortgage lenders about refinancing. Loan applications are pouring in.
• Lower home prices behind uptick in South Florida home sales
  South Florida home values have fallen to 2003 levels, as the recession continues to erase price gains racked up in the last housing boom.
• Real estate listings from Michael Y. Cannon
  Location: 3001 Alhambra St. Seller: Birch Apartments, represented by Adam Rose, managing member. Buyer: FLBP Inc., represented by Soneet Kapila, director.
• Keepers of the pines: For three decades, Terry and Barbara Glancy have nurtured one of South Florida's rarest ecosystems
  Not once in 32 years have Terry and Barbara Glancy stopped caring for their 15 acres of endangered pine rockland. They saved it from Brazilian pepper, replanted it after Hurricane Andrew and watched it smolder for three months after a wildfire swept through. And still it gives them delight.
• Aprons make a comeback with sass, attitude
  Rachel Hart remembers her mother always shooing her from the kitchen, making sure she went to college, supporting her work in sales and marketing, applauding her aspiration to be a novelist. Today, Hart earns a living selling aprons that she makes of taffeta and silk, trimmed with rhinestones and tassels.
• 'West Wing' reporter selling his Malibu home
  Timothy Busfield is one of those ensemble-cast actors whose characters stick in the public's consciousness long after the series ends.
• Early intervention in mortgages is now allowed
  Here's some good news for homeowners facing tough financial times: You no longer have to miss two to three months of payments before your mortgage company can modify your unaffordable loan terms.
• Create 'recycled' ornaments with the kids for the holidays
  When artist and environmentalist Harmony Jones sees metal scraps, odd cuts of wood, even plastic bottle caps, she doesn't see trash. She sees a creative opportunity for her and her daughter, Skyler, 9, to fashion found objects into ornaments for their Christmas ``enviro-tree.''
• Stocks up after GMAC lifeline, retail sales dip
  Wall Street put together a moderate advance in light post-Christmas trading Friday after the government threw a lifeline to General Motors' financing arm, but gains were limited by dreary holiday shopping readings that dimmed the chance of a big year-end rally.
• Dow rises 48.99 points in light holiday trading
  Wall Street rose modestly in light holiday trading Wednesday after the government released downbeat, but unsurprising, readings on rising U.S. joblessness and declining consumer spending.
• After the market's unraveling, an arduous recovery
  After a year of devastating losses, the stock market has the makings of a recovery in 2009: Nearly $9 trillion in cash on the sidelines, waiting to be invested.
• Stock futures point to little changed opening
  Wall Street appeared headed for a flat opening Wednesday ahead of data on jobs and consumer spending that are expected to show more weakness.
• Wall Street points to moderately higher open
  Wall Street pointed to a moderately higher open Tuesday as investors awaited reports on the nation's housing industry an