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THE APP SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY ON-THE-GO Process Server Snapshot! Available for: ProVest recently released Process Server Snapshot!, an application that allows servers to capture, document, store, and share relevant field data seamlessly. The app allows users to store date, time, latitude, and longitude on stamped photos. It works in conjunction with TrustIT, the company's technology that validates the authenticity of data captured and shared from applications. Seesaw Available for: Instead of hemming and hawing over a decision on your own, just tap this helpful app. Seesaw allows users to snap a photo of their choices and share with other users to get their feedback. Users can also send their seesaws to friends in their address book and receive a response without the other users signing up for the service or installing the app. Seesaw allows users to upload their options to all of the major social networks and receive feedback, results, and poll answers instantly. MagicPlan Available for: MagicPlan – This floor plan app allows users to take a picture of a room's corners, fine-tune the room, assemble it with the touch of their fingers, and then export their plans in .JPEG, PDF, DXF, and HTML formats. Users can also upload room dimensions, label rooms for accurate recording, select level of details and layout, include their own disclaimers, display general information, incorporate a watermark, and display the scale of the photo. 10 COMMENTARY: UNCERTAINTY IS THE PARALYSIS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RECOVERY By Peter Muoio, Ph.D., is the chief economist for Auction.com Research With the federal government shutdown center stage in the news, the question repeatedly asked was: What impact will it have on the economy? Of course, the potential economic impact is difficult to gauge because the shutdown stopped the flow of government data releases for a stretch of three weeks. Luckily, in our view, one key indicator remained live, touching on what Auction.com sees as the most important mechanism for assessing how the government shutdown might affect the U.S. economy: uncertainty. While many analysts cite varying reasons for the tepid, start-stop nature of this recovery— which has been the slowest in modern record— we attribute much of the lethargy and seesawing of growth since 2010 to the heightened level of uncertainty that has gripped consumers and businesses over that time. When faced with uncertainty, the natural human reaction is to hold back before deciding to act, and this collective behavior has limited household spending and business investment. Throughout this year we have noted a decline in uncertainty from the elevated level of the past five years to below the high range that had persisted since 2008, and we have viewed it as a potential trigger to unleash the private sector. We do not believe it is coincidence that consumer spending and private investment (including residential investment) have become the primary drivers of re-accelerating gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the first half of this year following last year's economic stall. However, as the possibility of a government shutdown loomed over the summer, we recognized the potential for renewed uncertainty sparked by a budget and debt ceiling fight and its ability to reverse the burgeoning virtuous cycle of lower uncertainty and stronger, more consistent growth by derailing household and business spending. Since the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index is calculated and published by a group of academic economists at Stanford and the University of Chicago, and is available on a daily as well as monthly basis, it provided a clear window into how individuals and businesses were reacting to the government shutdown and therefore how large of an economic impact it could have. Through October 10, the uncertainty index, which uses meta-data techniques to measure uncertainty, showed a nuanced reaction to the shutdown. Initially, there was a very ominous jump in uncertainty to levels not seen since early 2013, peaking on October 1, the first day of the government shutdown. After that, there was some diminishment in uncertainty but to a level that remained well above the more benign readings seen this year prior to the run-up to the shutdown. Other gauges confirm what the uncertainty index signaled. Gallup's Economic Confidence Index collapsed amid the government shutdown, posting its worst three-week plunge since the fall of Lehman Brothers. The VIX index of stock market volatility, which is a traditional gauge of investor worries, also jumped. However, the edging down of uncertainty from its initial spiked readings and a similar easing in VIX volatility suggest movement toward resolving the shutdown was received positively by households, businesses, and investors, which in turn could mean the economic impact of the shutdown will be minimal. However, the stage is being set for another potential late-year economic stall that could be worse than econometric models are currently projecting. Should the fight resume, uncertainty is likely to go higher and inflict greater damage on spending and investing. Peter Muoio, Ph.D., is the chief economist for Auction.com Research and a regular lecturer at the New York University Real Estate Institute.

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