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Here is a recap of all the stories we published this week — in case you need to get caught up.

Friday:

3. Uncertainty Is Hurting Job Growth: Costly portions of pending legislations, like the health care reform, leave small business owners uncertain about the future.

2. UPDATE6: Obama Signs New Homebuyer Tax Credit: It’s a done deal. Mixed in with a bill that extends unemployment benefits, no lawmaker could vote against it.

In our post this morning on the October job numbers, we wrote that the third quarter’s increased productivity was a sign that employers have been successful in meeting their demand with fewer employees. Doing more (or about the same) with less is just one factor that’s holding back job growth.

Another factor holding back job growth is uncertainty. With the latest version of the health care bill circulating through Washington, small business owners are beginning to get a taste of what their future costs may include if the legislation is passed. Until employers get a concrete sense of what their wallets are up against,  hiring is likely to remain languid to say the least:

UPDATE6: It’s a done deal. President Obama signed the “Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009″ which institutes an extension and an expansion of the homebuyer tax credit.

The tax credit, which was due to expire on December 1, 2009, will allow first-time buyers to claim 10% of their home’s cost, up to $8,000. Buyers must sign their contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 to qualify:

The unemployment rate has surpassed the 10% mark for the first time since 1983, two months earlier than many had widely predicted. The jobless rate increased to 10.2% in October from 9.8% the month prior.

The Number Are Grim

The reckoning is finally on the horizon
-Richard Green

Commercial real estate (CRE) experts know that their market will be in shambles for months (if not years) to come. However, a recent survey reveals that many industry professionals believe that the market will hit bottom in 2010:

Real estate industry leaders who are meeting at the Urban Land Institute’s annual gathering in San Francisco are more optimistic than they were at this time last year because they can see the reckoning finally on the horizon, said Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.

Fannie Mae is expected to release the details of a program today that will turn struggling homeowners into renters. The “Deed for Lease Program” (DLP) allows delinquent homeowners to rent their home for up to a year instead of being foreclosed upon.

Wisely, Fannie hasn’t yet said how many borrowers are expected to take advantage of the program, but the goal is to delay the sale of foreclosed homes in order to capitalize on rising home prices:

For months now, the hype surrounding the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) two-day meetings has been far less about a possible change to the Federal funds rates, than it has been about the short statement that follows.

Today’s conclusion certainly continues that trend. While we weren’t expecting much of a change in the FOMC’s statement from their September release, we were in fact keeping our eyes peeled for any subtle changes to how the Fed addressed economic conditions. Their stance that the current climate is “likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period” remained unchanged, and the target for the Fed funds rate remains between 0 and 1/4 percent.

Wells Fargo is betting that improving home prices and an increase in consumer income will make their new loan modification strategy a success. The nation’s fourth-largest bank (in terms of assets) has introduced a new, and frankly quite interesting, strategy to modify their large portion of Payment Option adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).

If you recall the latest mortgage metrics report, Payment Option ARMs are failing at a rate of three times more than the other products in the marketplace, causing trouble to lender and borrower alike.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued a Consumer Advisory titled “Reverse Mortgages: Are They for You?” The advisory is designed to educate older homeowners on the ins and outs of reverse mortgages and their possible alternatives.

The advisory offers basic facts borrowers should know, the costs and benefits associated with the loan product, as well as some important rules to consider when opting for a reverse mortgage:

Personal finance blog “FiveCentNickel” asks their readers to imagine a world where cash is king in a recent post titled “Is It Possible to Live Without Credit Cards?”

The notion may seem unrealistic to some, especially in this uncertain economic environment where thousands of Americans are unemployed or under-employed and rely on their plastic to get them through each month.