Arizona Real Estate Notebook

WSJ.com

Q: Is there any other good news out there?

A: Yes. The recent collapse of energy and commodity prices will make it easier for consumers to fill up their gas tanks and heat their homes. It also will reduce pressures on many companies.

At the same time, inflation fears are subsiding, as the consumer price index fell 0.1% in August, the first monthly fall in almost two years. That all makes it virtually certain that the Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates any time soon, and might even cut them.

Moreover, hard as it is, investors should work to see the bright side of low stock prices. “Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise,” famed investor Warren Buffett noted in 1997. “Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices.”

The good news;

• Gas down
• Inflation down
• Interest rates likely won’t increase
• Stocks cheap