Gauge of US economy’s health rises 0.7 per cent in September, showing strength before shutdown + MORE Nov 6th

I’ve written a few times about my desire to start generating some of my future passive income through real estate. I’ve looked into:
-Rental property through Airbnb
-Am I willing to become a landlord?
-A few real estate related questions
I also looked into the idea of buying real estate like a condo for example and then renting it out through short term rentals thanks to sites like AirBnB. One of my biggest fears was the time that would be involved, especially needing to meet those renting to give them the keys, etc. Since then, I’ve continued to do my own research and did stumble into a few different things:
-Lockitron: I’m not associated with this business but think it’s brilliant. Basically, it’s a way to open a door through a smartphone. This would be very helpful because I could own a condo in another city and not have to manage the key part. Basically, the renter could simply call me (or anyone else I decided) to have us open the door remotely. Once that’s done, the person could simply get the key inside the condo, stay there for a few days and then leave the key inside (I could lock the condo remotely as well)…

Company plans to focus on fewer fields centred on Cardium field in Alberta

WASHINGTON – A gauge of the U.S. economy’s future health rose solidly in September, suggesting the economy was making gains before the government shut down for 16 days.
The Conference Board said Wednesday its index of leading indicators rose 0.7 per cent in September to a reading of 97.1. That follows a similar gain in August and marked the fifth increase in six months.
The index is designed to signal economic conditions over the next three to six months. It is composed of 10 indicators, most of which have already been released individually.
In September, the index rose largely because unemployment benefits fell, credit conditions improved, manufacturing orders rose and the gap between short- and long-term interest rates widened sharply.
Some economists cautioned that the index has been a poor predictor of the economy’s health in recent months. They note that stock prices have risen sharply this year, yet unemployment remains high, wages have barely keeping pace with inflation and growth has been weak…

‘Chimerica’ has become addicted to ultra-loose financial conditions.

(Photo: Stuart Mackenzie/Getty)
In 2008 Brian Shields made a disturbing discovery. The security adviser to Nortel Networks, which would soon file for bankruptcy, had been investigating just how badly the company’s internal systems had been infiltrated by hackers. It couldn’t have been much worse—the hackers had even accessed the files of the company’s CEO, Mike Zafirovski. A group based in China, according to Shields, had been rifling through Nortel’s confidential material for about a decade, making off with proprietary information. His attempts to warn his superiors about the extent of the problem, he’s said, were mostly brushed aside. Shields went public about the extent of hacking at Nortel last year, speaking with the Wall Street Journal and then others, and has since given many talks at security conferences about the ordeal. He’s not shy about blaming the widespread hacking plot for contributing to the company’s demise, pointing out that China’s Huawei Technologies arose as a serious competitor soon afterward…