2013: A year for big issues in the courts

By Jeffrey Toobin, CNN Senior Legal Analyst

December 27, 2012 -- Updated 1445 GMT (2245 HKT)

Chief Justice John Roberts re-administers the oath of office to Barack Obama at the White House on January 21, 2009.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Jeffrey Toobin: 2013 will see pivotal decisions in several key areas of law


• He says Supreme Court could decide fate of same-sex marriage


• Affirmative action for public college admissions is also on Court's agenda


• Toobin: Newtown massacre put gun control debate back in the forefront

Editor's note: Jeffrey Toobin is a senior legal analyst for CNN and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, where he covers legal affairs. He is the author of "The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court."

(CNN) -- What will we see in 2013?

One thing for sure: The year will begin with Chief Justice John Roberts and President Obama getting two chances to recite the oath correctly.

Jeffrey Toobin

After that, here are my guesses.

1. Same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court. There are two cases, and there are a Rubik's Cube-worth of possibilities for their outcomes. On one extreme, the court could say that the federal government (in the Defense of Marriage Act) and the states can ban or allow same-sex marriage as they prefer. On the other end, the Court could rule that gay people have a constitutional right to marry in any state in the union. (Or somewhere in between.)

CNN Opinion contributors weigh in on what to expect in 2013. What do you think the year holds in store? Let us know @CNNOpinion on Twitter and Facebook/CNNOpinion

2. The future of affirmative action. In a case pending before the Supreme Court, the Court could outlaw all affirmative action in admissions at public universities, with major implications for all racial preferences in all school or non-school settings.

3. Gun control returns to the agenda. The Congress (and probably some states) will wrestle with the question of gun control, an issue that had largely fallen off the national agenda before the massacre in Newtown. Expect many invocations (some accurate, some not) of the Second Amendment.

4. The continued decline of the death penalty. Death sentences and executions continue to decline, and this trend will continue. Fear of mistaken executions (largely caused by DNA exonerations) and the huge cost of the death penalty process will both accelerate the shift.

5. Celebrity sex scandal. There will be one. There will be outrage, shock and amusement. (Celebrity to be identified later.)

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeffrey Toobin.

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December 27, 2012 -- Updated 1445 GMT (2245 HKT)

Jeffrey Toobin says key rulings will likely be made regarding same-sex marriage and affirmative action for public college admissions.

December 28, 2012 -- Updated 0041 GMT (0841 HKT)

Frida Ghitis says that after years in which conservative views dominated the nation, there's now majority support for many progressive stances.

December 28, 2012 -- Updated 0316 GMT (1116 HKT)

John MacIntosh says gun manufacturer Freedom Group should be acquired by public-spirited billionaires and turned into a company with ethical goals.

December 27, 2012 -- Updated 0237 GMT (1037 HKT)

Bassam Gergi and Ali Breland says we should mourn for Newtown's victims, but also take steps to stop the slaughter of young people in inner cities

Get the latest opinion and analysis from CNN's columnists and contributors.

December 26, 2012 -- Updated 1445 GMT (2245 HKT)

Tseming Yang says the 25 major carbon emitters should come to an agreement just among themselves about fighting climate change.

December 25, 2012 -- Updated 1252 GMT (2052 HKT)

David Frum says the National Rifle Association's "Death Wish" style vision of America as a land of armed civilians fending off criminals is a fantasy.

December 27, 2012 -- Updated 0207 GMT (1007 HKT)

Lawrence Krauss says the nation must grieve with the families of Newtown after such a tremendous loss, but religion is not the right framework

December 28, 2012 -- Updated 1044 GMT (1844 HKT)

Jonathan Batiste says jazz is a complex, traditional and utterly contemporary art -- the language that we use to state our deepest, truest feelings

December 26, 2012 -- Updated 1540 GMT (2340 HKT)

Dean Obeidallah says "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Promised Land" present hot button issues that fire up people from the left and right.

December 26, 2012 -- Updated 1344 GMT (2144 HKT)

MADD started as a small grass-roots movement that grew and radically changed society's views on drunk driving, says Candace Lightner.

December 22, 2012 -- Updated 1706 GMT (0106 HKT)

David Gergen says the hope for cooperation is gone in the capital as people spar over fiscal cliff, gun control, and nominations

December 19, 2012 -- Updated 2054 GMT (0454 HKT)

William Bennett says having armed and trained people could help protect schools and other vulnerable places from gun violence

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FBI removes many redactions in Marilyn Monroe file

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI has re-issued files it kept on Marilyn Monroe, removing dozens of redactions from entries related to surveillance of the actress for communist ties.

A large section of the files obtained by The Associated Press focuses on Monroe’s 1962 trip to Mexico and her emerging friendship with Frederick Vanderbilt Field, who was disinherited from his wealthy family for leftist views. Field was Monroe’s guide on a trip in which she furniture-shopped for her new home.

The AP appealed the redactions in the file as part of a series of stories on the 50th anniversary of Monroe’s death in 1962, but the bureau previously said it no longer had access to the files. The bureau issued a new version after a request for details on the records’ locations.

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Stock futures drop before last-ditch effort at “cliff” deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures fell on Friday as President Barack Obama and top lawmakers planned to make a last-ditch effort at budget talks to prevent the United States from going over the “fiscal cliff.”

Obama and lawmakers will meet at the White House Friday afternoon for talks before a New Year’s deadline to keep large tax hikes and spending cuts from taking effect and threatening the economy with recession.

Investors showed their skepticism about a deal coming in time as the benchmark S&P 500 index was on track for a fifth straight decline.

“Obviously all eyes will be on Washington and the headlines coming out of Washington will dictate today’s market movement,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

“You do have some economic data coming in, but the market is probably not going to pay much attention to that. The big thing is whether Washington will reach a deal by Monday.”

U.S. stocks fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday but managed to recover most of their earlier losses after the House of Representatives, in the barest sign of progress, said it would return to Washington on Sunday night to work on avoiding the cliff.

Highlighting market sensitivity to cliff headlines, on Thursday stocks fell more than 1 percent earlier after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned a deal was unlikely before the deadline.

With many market participants away for the holiday-shortened week, volume is expected to remain light, which could exacerbate market swings.

S&P 500 futures fell 8.5 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 67 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 12.5 points.

Economic data expected on Friday includes Chicago PMI for December at 9:45 a.m. while the National Association of Realtors issues Pending Home Sales for November at 10 a.m. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a reading of 51 for the main PMI index and a 1 percent rise in pending home sales.

MagicJack Vocaltec Ltd forecast over $ 39 million in GAAP revenue and over 70 cents per share in operating income for the fourth quarter and appointed Gerald Vento president and CEO, effective January 1.

European shares drifted lower in thin trade on Friday, showing little faith among investors that new talks can avert at least some version of a New Year budget crunch in the United States. <.eu></.eu>

The yen fell to its lowest level in more than two years, lifting Japanese stocks to 21-month highs on expectations of drastic monetary easing, while shares in the rest of Asia rose as Washington races to avoid a fiscal crisis.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Mantra Venture Group Achieves Significant Milestones in 2012 and Looks to 2013 for Further Growth

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON–(Marketwire – Dec 28, 2012) – Mantra Venture Group (OTCQB:MVTG)(BERLIN:5MV) looks back on a tremendously successful and productive 2012 while heralding in a number of innovative prospects for 2013.

“We”ve had an exciting and beneficial year,” said Company president and CEO, Larry Kristof. ”We”ve developed strategic partnerships in addition to securing important patents. I”m confident we will continue to expand upon the successful foundations built in 2012.”

Highlights of 2012 include:

• Substantial capital injection in the First Quarter that ensured the implementation of the Company”s Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide (ERC) technology;
   


• Expansion of the management team in the Second Quarter with the addition of Tom Unger as Vice President of Corporate Finance. Mr. Unger is a successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist;
   


• Securing the patent for the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide technology;
   


• Technology Development Agreement with Powertech, a proven leader in designing and testing clean technology solutions. Powertech will provide testing at its facility of the ERC technology and offer its expertise to advance the technology behind the process. Powertech has developed a CO2 concentration technology which will increase the CO2 content of the Lafarge stack gases from 20% to 80%, making it much easier for the CO2 conversion process. Powertech will begin the scaleup of the concentrator in January to match the requirements for the Lafarge pilot unit;
   


• A Technology Development Agreement with Tekion (Canada) Inc to accelerate the field trials for the ERC process. Tekion has developed some very novel electrode designs and is currently working on materials screening prior to scale up. These new designs will provide some significant patent opportunities and provide additional flexibility in the design of the Lafarge trial unit;
   


• Securing a patent for the mixed reactant fuel cell (MRFC) technology;
   


• Completing the construction of a fully integrated ERC and MRFC demonstration unit.

“We are continuing to further develop our ERC and MRFC technology,” said Company president and CEO, Larry Kristof. ”2013 will see the Company forging more strategic partnerships as we continue to develop and refine the technology.”

Highlights for 2013 include:

• Identifying an engineering partner and additional strategic partners;


• Construct and install the ERC demonstration plant at the Lafarge cement plant in Richmond, BC ;


• Further expansion of the management team;


• Receiving additional ERC and MRFC technology patents;


• Applying for new technology patents;


• Continuing to highlight the ERC and MRFC technology to investors and industry leaders at international trade shows.

Mantra Venture Group wishes you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. As you appreciate the final days of 2012 and prepare to ring in the New Year, enjoy our latest video demonstrating the innovative ERC and MRFC technology that converts CO2 into renewable energy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ORK48MquI. 

About ERC:

The ERC process, defined as the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon dioxide, combines captured carbon dioxide with water to produce high value materials, such as formic acid and formate salts, which are conventionally obtained from the thermo chemical processing of fossil fuels. However, ERC has an advantage over the established thermo chemical methods for converting carbon dioxide to liquid fuels.

While thermo chemical reactions must be driven at relatively high temperatures that are normally obtained by burning fossil fuels, ERC operates at near ambient conditions and is driven by electric energy that can be taken from an electric power grid supplied by hydro, wind, solar or nuclear energy.

About Mantra Energy Alternatives:

Mantra Energy Alternatives Ltd. is a subsidiary of Mantra Venture Group Ltd. Its mission is to become the world leader in production of high value, carbon negative chemicals and fuels. Mantra”s ERC system will reduce the problem greenhouse gas CO2 and convert it into a series of valuable chemicals, a form of carbon capture and recycling (CCR). There are currently 27 billion metric tons of CO2 emitted annually from fossil fuel combustion, providing an inexhaustible supply of feedstock. The first product is formic acid (HCOOH), which commands a market of approximately USD $ 1 billion.

Mantra is a public company quoted on the OTC QB under the symbol MVTG and on the Berlin Stock Exchange under the symbol 5MV.

Stay up to date with Mantra on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mantraenergy

For more information go to: http://www.mantraventuregroup.com

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See Mantra Venture Group”s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

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Wall Street opens down before talks on "cliff" deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell at the open on Friday as President Barack Obama and top lawmakers planned to make a last-ditch attempt at a budget deal to prevent the United States from going over the "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 76.30 points, or 0.58 percent, to 13,020.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 8.93 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,409.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> dropped 19.94 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,965.97.

(Reporting By Edward Krudy; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Wade suspended game for action against Sessions

NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Thursday for flailing his leg and making contact with the groin of Charlotte Bobcats' Ramon Sessions.

The incident happened with 8:12 left in the fourth quarter of the Heat's 105-92 victory over the Bobcats on Wednesday night. Sessions was called for a foul on the play. Wade will serve the suspension Friday night when the Heat visit the Detroit Pistons, and return Saturday night in Milwaukee.

"I'm far from being a dirty player, (plus) my intent was never 2 kick Ramon Sessions. I just reacted to the contact that I got from him," Wade tweeted Thursday night. "More than anything, I think of my boys watchin me be4 retaliating 2ward any player."

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A gunmaker ripe for an ethical takeover

Several .223 caliber rounds near a Bushmaster XM-15; the manufacturer's owner is putting its gun companies up for sale.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The owner of America's largest gunmaker is putting firm up for sale


• John MacIntosh says billionaires should lead effort to acquire the gun manufacturer


• He says they should change corporate practices to discourage violence


• MacIntosh: One leading company could push gun industry in a more ethical direction

Editor's note: John MacIntosh was a partner at Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm, where he worked from 1994 to 2006 in New York, Tokyo and London. He now runs a nonprofit in New York.

(CNN) -- In the 1970s and '80s, when corporate America was plagued with inefficiency, a new class of financially motivated takeover investor emerged to prey on the fattest in the corporate herd and scare the rest into line.

Today, as pockets of corporate America are plagued with immorality, we need a new class of socially motivated takeover investor to prey on the sociopaths in the corporate herd, turn them around and perhaps scare (or shame) others into line.

John MacIntosh

The upcoming sale by Cerberus Capital of the Freedom Group, the largest gun manufacturer in the United States, is a perfect opportunity to usher in this new era of muscular, socially responsible capitalism:

First, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, David Geffen and the like should establish a nonprofit SPAC (Special-Purpose-Acquisition-Company) called BidForFreedom.org (BFF) with a mission to reduce needless deaths through gun violence in the United States and encourage the passage of sensible gun control regulations.

They should appoint George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon to the fundraising committee and recruit a loud-mouthed, poison-penned, but good-hearted activist hedge fund titan as chief investment officer (Bill Ackman? Dan Loeb?).

Opinion: Forgotten victims of gun violence

To be credible, BFF will probably need to start with at least $250 million in cash and commitments (no problem given the billionaire status of the sponsors) with additional firepower raised as needed from well-heeled individuals, foundations and through a broad-based Internet solicitation to an outraged-by-Newtown public.

Second, BFF should lobby all public pension funds that are part owners of the Freedom Group (by virtue of their investment in Cerberus) to roll their investment into BFF to reduce the need for outside funding, naming and shaming any unwilling public investors.

Newtown shooter's guns

Third, BFF should pay "whatever it takes" to acquire control of the Freedom Group in the upcoming auction by Cerberus (which has a fiduciary obligation to sell to the highest bidder) and then immediately implement a "moral turnaround" plan under which the Freedom Group:

(i) Appoints a high-profile CEO with impeccable credentials as a hunter and/or marksman who is nevertheless in favor of gun-control.

Opinion: Guns endanger more than they protect

(ii) Elects a new board of directors including representatives from the families of victims killed in Newtown (and/or other massacres perpetrated with Freedom Group weapons), military veterans and trauma surgeons with real experience of human-on-human gunfire, and law enforcement and mental health professionals.

(iii) Operates the business as if sensible gun laws were in place (this may turn out to be a wise investment in future-proofing the company): discontinuing sales of the most egregious assault weapons and modifying others as necessary so they cannot take huge-volume clips; offering to buy back all Freedom Group assault weapons in circulation; micro-stamping weapons for easy tracking; and providing price discounts for buyers willing to go through a background check and register in a database available to law enforcement.

(iv) Voluntarily waives its rights to support the NRA and other lobbying groups.

(v) Creates a fund to compensate those who, despite its best efforts, are killed or wounded by its weapons.

(vi) Agrees that if the effort to provide moral leadership in the weapons industry doesn't succeed within a year, BFF should consider corporate euthanasia, even though it entails a risk of allowing more retrograde manufacturers to fill the void in the market left by the then-deceased company.

Opinion: The case for gun rights is stronger than you think

In the face of horrors like Newtown, BFF would recognize that it's time to take a stand by acknowledging the impossibility of reaching closure after such a monstrous act while an unreconstructed Freedom Group continues to sell a huge volume of guns and ammunition rounds each year even if it is operating under new owners.

Like any Trojan Horse strategy, this is a long shot, but it must be tried. History suggests that only after the first company "turns" will an industry gradually return to the realm of the human (think of big tobacco). And without the tacit agreement, if not the outright support, of at least one important insider, policymakers seem utterly unable to pass tough regulations in the face of the predictable, but withering, assault by industry lackeys shrieking that any such regulation would be "impossible, impractical or too expensive."

In the face of a recalcitrant industry, we have to acknowledge that it is only the market for corporate control -- the real possibility that an outsider will take over one of the companies -- that puts limits on the behavior of board members and executives who, while perhaps decent enough in their family lives, display a limitless tolerance for the "banality of evil" at the office.

Opinion: Not man enough? Buy a gun

We must accept that the conventional, kid-gloves approach to socially responsible investing -- divesting shares in "bad" companies that nevertheless continue to exist -- is too weak an instrument to force change and its well-meaning practitioners too soft to enter the fray when emotionally and politically charged battles need to be fought.

And regardless of the viability of socially motivated takeovers in general, the Freedom Group looks like a great target. Cerberus is a motivated seller, the political macros look favorable, and it's a bite-sized company compared with many of the larger sociopaths in the corporate herd.

I'm even cautiously optimistic that the current impasse over gun regulation is a bad-equilibrium that few consumers actually want, and that a reconstructed Freedom Group, fighting for sensible change as a fifth column from within the industry, might well find that many people -- even a significant portion of the NRA's members -- would buy from a truly responsible (and high quality) gun maker if given the chance.

All in all, it's a pretty exciting deal, so if Mike and George are up for it, count me in.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John MacIntosh.

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Marvel’s Peter Parker in perilous predicament

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After 50 years of spinning webs and catching a who’s who of criminals, Peter Parker is out of the hero game.

But Spider-Man is still slinging from building to building — reborn, refreshed and revived with a new sense of the old maxim that Ben Parker taught his then-fledgling nephew that “with great power, comes great responsibility.”

Writer Dan Slott, who’s been penning Spidey adventures for the better part of the last 100 issues for Marvel Entertainment, said the culmination of the story is a new, dramatically different direction for the Steve Ditko and Stan Lee-created hero.

“This is an epic turn,” Slott said. “I’ve been writing Spider-Man for 70-plus issues. Every now and then, you have to shake it up. … The reason Spider-Man is one of the longest running characters is they always find a way to keep it fresh. Something to shake up the mix.”

And in the pages of issue 700, out Wednesday, it’s not just shaken up, it’s turned head over heels, spun in circles, kicked sky high and cracked wide open.

Parker’s mind is trapped in the withered, decaying dying body of his nemesis, Doctor Octopus aka Otto Octavius. Where’s Doc Ock? Inside Parker’s super-powered shell, learning what life is like for the brilliant researcher who happens to count the Avengers and Fantastic Four as friends and family.

The two clash mightily in the pages of issue 700, illustrated by Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba. But it’s Octavius who wins out and Parker is, at least for now, gone for good, but not before one more act of heroism.

Slott said that it’s Parker, whose memories envelop Octavius, who shows the villain what it means to be a hero.

“Gone are his days of villainy, but since it’s Doc Ock and he has that ego, he’s not going to try and just be Spider-man, he’s going to try to be the best Spider-Man ever,” said Slott.

Editor Stephen Wacker said that while Parker is gone, his permanence remains and his life casts a long shadow.

“His life is still important to the book because it affects everything that Doctor Octopus does as Spider-Man. Seeing a supervillain go through this life is the point — trying to be better than the hero he opposed,” Wacker said.

“Doc has sort of inspired by Peter’s life. That’s what I mean when he talks about the shadow he casts,” he said.

The sentiment echoes what Uncle Ben said in the pages of “Amazing Fantasy” No. 15, Slott said.

Editor Stephen Wacker called it a fitting end to the old series, which sets the stage for a new one — “The Superior Spider-Man” early next year — because it brings Peter Parker full circle, from the start of his crime-fighting career to the end.

“In his very first story, his uncle died because of something he did so the book has always been aimed at making Peter’s life as difficult as possible,” Wacker said. “The book has always worked best when it’s about Peter Parker’s life, not Spider-Man’s.”

And with Octavius influenced by Parker’s life — from Aunt May to Gwen Stacy to Mary Jane — it will make him a better person, too.

“Because Doctor Octopus knows all of those things and will make decisions on what he saw Peter going through,” Wacker said. “In a way, he gets the ultimate victory as he becomes a better hero.”

___

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___

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Stock futures little changed with “cliff” talks to resume

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday with legislators due to return to Washington to restart negotiations over the “fiscal cliff“.

President Barack Obama will attempt to make another push to resume talks on the cliff, a series of tax hikes and spending cuts set to begin on January 1 which may tip the economy into a recession, on Thursday after returning from a shortened Christmas holiday in Hawaii.

In a sign that there may be a way through deadlock in Congress, Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner urged the Democrat-controlled Senate to act to pull back from the cliff and offered to at least consider any bill the upper chamber produced.

The Treasury Department, led by Secretary Timothy Geithner, announced steps essentially designed to buy time to allow Congress to resolve its differences and raise the debt ceiling.

Economic data expected on Thursday includes weekly initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 360,000 new filings, compared with 361,000 filings in the previous week.

Also due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) is the Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index for November.

Later in the session at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), investors will eye December consumer confidence and November new home sales data. The Conference Board’s main consumer confidence index is expected to show a reading of 70 versus the 73.7 reported in November while new home sales are expected to show a total of 378,000 annualized units.

The benchmark S&P 500 index has fallen 1.7 percent over the past three sessions as negotiations over the budget crisis have stalled, its longest losing streak since mid-November.

But the S&P has recouped nearly all of its declines suffered in the wake of the U.S. elections and is up 12.9 percent for the year, putting it on track for its best year since 2009.

S&P 500 futures rose 3.2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 4 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.5 point.

Marvell Technology Group fell 5.4 percent to $ 7.00 in premarket trading, extending its decline in the prior session after a federal jury found the company infringed two patents held by Carnegie Mellon University, and ordered the chipmaker to pay $ 1.17 billion in damages.

European shares steadied early in their first trading session following the Christmas break, with investors focusing on Washington’s last-ditch efforts to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. <.eu></.eu>

Asian shares rose amid caution ahead of the U.S. fiscal negotiations, while the yen hit a 21-month low against the dollar on the prospect of drastic monetary easing and massive state spending.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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Home Prices Hit a Milestone

Home prices are on track to notch their first yearly gain since 2006, the strongest performance since the housing bust and a development that could accelerate the real-estate rebound even as the broader economy stutters.

The housing market’s revival has had several false dawns in recent years, but a recovery that began in the spring has strengthened throughout the summer and fall. The latest confirmation came on Wednesday, when the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index showed that prices rose by 4.3% from a year ago in October. Since January, prices are up 6.9% so far this year, the largest year-to-date gain since 2005. A separate index released Wednesday by Lender Processing Services Inc. showed that national home prices were up by 5.2% this year through October.

“The tide has changed,” said Ivy Zelman, chief executive of research firm Zelman & Associates. “People feel it’s OK to go back into residential real estate—it’s no longer taboo—and that change in sentiment could have a very powerful effect.”

Prices have risen this year amid stronger demand and sharp declines in the number of homes for sale. Banks slowed down foreclosures after abuses in processing paperwork surfaced two years ago. Since then, banks have become more aggressive at modifying loans or approving short sales, where the home is sold for less than the amount owed. The decline in new foreclosures has reduced the number of homes on the market that sell for large discounts.

Homeowners who normally would sell their properties have been holding them off the market, leaving inventories of previously owned homes at an 11-year low.

[Click here to check home loan rates in your area.]

Weak home construction in past years also is a factor and has left inventories of new homes for sale near the lowest levels in at least 50 years.

Demand, meanwhile, has picked up, first as investors scooped up perceived discounts on properties that can be rented out or resold quickly for a profit. Traditional buyers—those planning to live in the property and not flip it—also returned to the market, drawn by record-low mortgage rates, rising rents, and steady job gains that are increasing household formation.

“People got tired of living in mom and dad’s basement, and rents have gotten much higher than your mortgage payment,” said Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin, a real-estate brokerage.

To be sure, housing markets are still fragile and face stiff headwinds. Mortgage lending standards are still strict, as lenders scrutinize appraisals and borrowers’ income history to make bulletproof mortgages. Millions of borrowers owe more than their homes are worth or don’t have enough equity to sell their home and make a down payment on a comparable property.

Still, sales of existing homes in November were up 14.5% from a year earlier, putting them on pace to reach their highest level since 2007. On Thursday, the Census Bureau is set to report new-home sales for November.

The upshot is that more buyers have been chasing fewer homes for sale, putting upward pressure on prices. “We’ve been seeing just crazy competition. Supply and demand has tipped in the seller’s favor,” said Nani Luculescu, a real-estate agent in Anaheim, Calif.

Last month, she represented a buyer who made the winning bid—among 52 offers—for a $ 320,000 four-bedroom home in Garden Grove, Calif., last month that sold for 10% more than the asking price.

Frustrated by a lack of inventory, others are instead purchasing new homes. Sonal Basu, a real-estate agent in San Francisco’s East Bay, said in August she noticed that prospective buyers began camping out in tents at the new-home development where she lives in San Ramon, Calif. Some of the “campers,” she says, are being paid $ 250 a day by buyers to wait in line for them.

Since August, every area new-home development has also had campers waiting in line to buy homes, she said. “A year and a half ago, nobody wanted to move out here because they felt it was the boonies,” Ms. Basu said. “Now, they’re not hesitating with this commute.”

Prices are rising in part because the share of “distressed” homes—those selling out of foreclosure or in short sales—has dropped. While 18 of 20 cities posted year-over-year price gains in October, the largest increases have taken hold in some cities hit hard by the bust. In Phoenix, for example, prices have jumped by 21.7% over the past year. Prices gained by 10% in Detroit and 8.5% in Miami.

Economists say many such gains aren’t sustainable and instead reflect prices rebounding from very low levels. “They’re not going to continue at that pace,” said Thomas Lawler, an independent housing economist in Leesburg, Va. He said he expected prices to go up next year, but at a slower pace than this year.

Also, some states where banks have struggled to follow court-administered foreclosure processes have large overhangs of mortgages where borrowers haven’t made any payments in at least a year. Those homes could eventually hit the market, putting pressure on prices if demand isn’t strong. Prices in New York and Chicago, which both have large overhangs, saw prices decline by 1.2% and 1.3% in October from one year ago.

A more immediate concern is how consumer confidence might fare if lawmakers don’t reach a solution to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” a raft of automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to take place in early 2013.

For now, low inventories of distressed properties are finally boosting the fortunes of the nation’s home builders that have long been sidelined by competition from cheap bank-owned properties.

The stock prices of U.S. home builders, as measured by the Dow Jones home construction index, were up more than 75% year-to-date as investors are betting that the housing recovery could be sustainable. Others are plowing money into startups that invest in single-family homes as rentals. That, in turn, is ramping up construction hiring and spending on everything from lumber to cement to air-conditioning units.

Yahoo! Finance – Personal Finance | Loans

Title Post: Home Prices Hit a Milestone
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