The more one reads the various commentaries and opinions of some of the nation’s economists the more one discerns a sense of confusion and perplexity as they try to explain the current U.S. economic crisis brought about by the fall out in the home-mortgage market, and its creeping effect on the global capitalist economy. It is astounding that as the standard of living of millions of Americans is threatened with a rising crisis, top economists seem at a lost. While not claiming to be in the league of the nation’s learned economist, to us the reason for the current economic problems seem rather clear.

Simply put, economics is a cause and effect system, a system led by the economic law of supply and demand. In Economics 101 we see that as the demand for a product rises, so does its price. Where that demand is inelastic, like the demand for bread, then regardless of how much the price for that product rises, the demand will remain constant. However, where the demand for the product is elastic, or fluctuates easily, when demand falls, prices also fall, or alternately if prices rise too high demand will fall.

What happened with the U.S. housing market, a fact that seems to being ignored by most economists, is that artificial means were created to spike the demand for houses. This artificial demand was based on the creation of easy and unrealistic credit. One didn’t need even a high school diploma in economics to realize that this artificial situation would not hold. Sound economics cannot be based on the artificial incentives which result in millions of borrowers, who under real circumstances could not get mortgages, receiving loans on easy, unreal terms. This resulted in an equally unreal demand for houses, pushing up their prices, and setting off a housing construction boom, especially here in South Florida. Naturally, when the real repayment rates for these mortgages matured, reality also set in. Large percentage of these borrowers defaulted, resulting in a classic economic domino effect: foreclosures, a glut of unsold houses, falling house prices, constricting of credit; less disposable income, job losses, and now the possibility of a recession.

Ten Ways to Improve Your FICO Score

When you apply for credit, your credit score helps lenders decide how likely it is that they'll get paid back on time. The most widely used credit bureau scores are developed by Fair, Isaac and Company. These are known as FICO scores. With a higher score you'll be able to qualify for better interest rates, higher credit limits, and more types of credit than you would with a low score. (See Your Credit Risk Score for more information.) There are no tricks or quick fixes to getting a good credit score, but you can raise your score over time by demonstrating that you consistently manage your credit responsibly. Here are 10 tips that can help you raise your score:

1. Pay your bills on time.

Proving that you can pay your bills on time is the best thing you can do to improve your score. And it's never too late to start. Even if you've had serious delinquencies in the past, these will count less over time.

2. Keep credit card balances low.

High outstanding debt can pull down your score.

3. Check your credit report for accuracy.

There may be inaccurate information on your credit report that can be easily cleared up. Always contact the original creditor and all three credit bureaus whenever you clear up an error, so that the inaccurate information won't reappear later. Requesting a copy of your credit report won't affect your score if you order it directly from the credit reporting agency or an authorized organization.

In the shaky climate of automobile sales, Maroone Toyota had one of the best months in July and Conrad Bariffe, Internet Sales Manager at Maroone Toyota 4050 Weston Road, Davie, was top producer in July. But this is not new to Bariffe, who has been in the outstanding consultants’ category several times.

The 42 year-old sales manager, who is known by customers as Conrad ‘No Problem’ Bariffe, told CNWeekly News, “Since I’ve been a child, I’ve been in the sales business, from candy in the classrooms to vegetables for farmers.” He added that he was even in the sports goods retail with Western Sports in his native Jamaica.

“This store, one of Maroone’s largest, is taking things to a different level… now offering lifetime warrantees, total customer satisfaction – which is very important to us here,” Bariffe said of the Maroone Toyota which is now under the management of general manager, David Labella.

His experience in sales has taught Bariffe that sales representatives have to be “customer service oriented and be able to communicate with people.” He added that being bi-lingual or multi-lingual is an incentive and he speaks enough Spanish to complete transactions.

He also holds that patience and honesty have to be integral in whatever you do citing that “You want to maintain full disclosure.” One of the mistakes he said some sales reps make is stereotyping customers. “You don’t want to stereotype… you should take each prospect seriously.” His words to live by are “Failure is not an option” and he believes you can achieve with “persistence and consistency”.

Bariffe started Esserman Nissan 1996 then joined Maroone Toyota in 1997 and in 1998 went to Potamkim Toyota for about five years – and returned to Maroone in October of 2004. The company attracted him back with their compensation plan and he was impressed with their growth.

Born in St. Andrew, Jamaica and raised in Kingston Gardens Bariffe migrated to the US in 1988 and worked in the hospitality field. “I personally take pride in my reputation. I am the Conrad “No Problem” Barriffe that has been on the airwaves, I’ve maintained a good reputation over the years.”