The home mortgage crisis and subsequent recession have had a devastating effect on many homeowners. According to a report by First American CoreLogic, 23 percent of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgage than the home is worth. In other words, their home value is underwater and they have negative equity in their home.

Once again, Pittsburgh as a metropolitan region is ranked as a top rated city by an outside national source. Fortune Small Business Magazine listed the area as the second best city to launch a small business. Oklahoma City is rated the number one ranked city with Raleigh, N.C., Houston, Texas and Hartford, Conn., following Pittsburgh.

HOWARD SLAUGHTER JR.

Agreeing that Pittsburgh should be highly ranked as a good place to launch a business, Ruth Byrd-Smith said, “Pittsburgh is a city where there is a strong generational work ethic. The climate is seasonal without being harsh. The people are friendly and it is a very economical place to live.” Byrd-Smith, a former entrepreneur is the director of the Allegheny County Minority/Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise.

Open house

DEC. 10—The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Chatham University will host an Open House for the Mentoring for Women Business Owners Program from 5-7 p.m. at Chatham University, Woodland Rd., Oakland. This is event is for interested mentors and mentees to learn more about the program, to clarify the roles and expectations and to network. The event is free, but registration is required. Visit www.chatham.edu/events/mentor.cfm.

by Charlene Crowell

(NNPA)—As Wall Street financiers attempt to defend multi-million dollar bonuses after receiving taxpayer-funded billion dollar bailouts, families throughout the country continue to struggle to keep their piece of the American dream. Every 13 seconds another foreclosure occurs. And African-Americans continue to suffer disproportionately.

A recent analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending, an independent nonprofit research and policy organization, studied first-lien, owner-occupied mortgage loans made to African-Americans. Of the 50 states, Florida had the largest number of African-American foreclosures, with 58,474 foreclosures projected for 2009, followed by California with 32,297.