June 28, 2017

What The Lenders Are Thinking Makes No Sense

A report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution in Georgia. “Just as home prices are rising, demand is outpacing supply and experts are starting to wonder if there’s a housing bubble, lenders are looking to make it easier to buy. Lenders say they plan to ease standards to make it easier for buyers to quality for mortgage loans, according to a survey released Tuesday by Fannie Mae. The huge housing boom that led to a collapse in the housing market — nationally in 2006, in Atlanta a year later — was to a large extent fueled by easy money. The system — that is, the lenders and their investors and the financial interests that bet on them — were desperate to keep demand for homes growing.”

“Given what happened a decade ago, it might seem the wrong, or just an unnecessary time to make it easier to borrow. After all, demand now already outpaces supply of homes for sale. The imbalance and the increase in prices is enough to make at least some experts use the ‘B’ word that described the pre-2006 market.”

“‘As home prices continue rising faster than inflation, two questions are being asked: why? And, could this be a bubble?’ says David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, which includes the Case-Shiller housing index. ‘Since demand is exceeding supply and financing is available, there is nothing right now to keep prices from going up.’”

From Dow Jones Newswire on California. “San Francisco, once the hottest housing market in the U.S., is now one of the coolest, in a reversal that could presage a broader slowdown if more buyers decide it isn’t worth chasing rapidly rising prices. San Francisco’s apartment market also is sluggish. Economists said the weakening is being caused by a confluence of factors: slowing job growth, less demand from new buyers put off by high prices and, on the rental side, an increase in new apartment supply as developers try to cash in on a multiyear boom.”

“‘Tech is growing more slowly than the rest of the economy and tech has been the thing that has been driving the economy forward the last decade,’ said Ted Egan, chief economist for the city of San Francisco. ‘We are in the middle of a notable slowdown.’”

The Victoria Advocate in Texas. “Victoria has one of the worst housing markets in the U.S., according to a national study. Insurance company Nationwide’s health of housing market report puts Victoria at the very bottom of 400 metropolitan areas for its metropolitan statistical area rating, which is based on employment, demographics, mortgage market and house prices. Four other Texas areas are in the bottom 10 with Victoria, including Texarkana, Longview, Dallas-Plano-Irving and Sherman-Denison. The majority of the bottom 10 are located in energy-dependent states, including North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.”

“The market for houses priced above $400,000 is soft, and a large number of the homes in the area fall in that range. “What’s selling is below $200,000, which is causing the median price and the average price of existing home sales to decline,’ said Lee Swearingen, Coldwell Banker The Ron Brown Company president.”

The Real Deal on New York. “In hindsight, the unpaid common charges were a red flag. In December, the condo board at One57, the ultra-luxury skyscraper on Billionaires’ Row, slapped the owner of a $50.9 million unit with a $64,331 bill for unpaid building fees. Six months later, the owner, Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko, was under investigation for alleged money laundering. In a rare move for a Manhattan condo, his lender moved to foreclose on the property.”

“Coupled with a series of unprofitable resales, the impending foreclosure — the second at One57 in as many months — has cast a shadow over the onetime poster child of the luxury residential boom. And it raises further questions about the health of Billionaires’ Row at a time when the tower’s developer, Gary Barnett, is planning an even more ambitious undertaking.”

“‘It’s an isolated incident, but symptomatic of a bigger story,’ said Leonard Steinberg, president of Compass. ‘Foreclosures used to be the domain of people who were barely scraping by. This shows it can apply as equally to the very wealthy. On the very high end of the market, where pricing has been knocked up again and again to the extreme, certain people will break.’”

“‘You have a nearby development from the same developer with a similar price point that’s got twice the number of units,’ said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. ‘The first building has a lot of units to sell and Billionaires’ Row is very quiet right now. Maybe that will change. But the scale of this and the fact that it took so long to shore up financing, it’s confusing to me what the lenders are thinking. It makes no sense.’”

“As the market began to soften, One57 became one of its most glaring casualties. Some buyers looking for a quick profit instead took a beating. One investor paid $32 million, or north of $7,000 a foot, for a 32nd-floor pad, and right after closing on the unit relisted it for nearly $10 million more. After numerous price cuts and over a year on the market, it finally sold for $21.4 million, or less than $5,000 a foot.”

“Both Aluko and the owner of the other unit facing foreclosure, Sheri Izadpanah, had heavily leveraged their purchases. ‘It’s like getting an awful stain on a gorgeous wedding dress,’ Tyler Whitman, an agent at Triplemint, said of the situation with Aluko’s apartment. ‘Foreclosures happen — people fall on hard times and things go south. But for it to happen in a building like this is surprising. It’s become abundantly clear than One57 did not turn out to be the investment everyone wanted it to be.’”

“‘We’re all surprised that there’s so much construction going on when the market has changed,’ said Douglas Elliman’s Richard Steinberg. ‘It’s not a reflection on the developer, but it doesn’t bode well for the Billionaires’ Row marketplace to have foreclosures,’ said Douglas Elliman’s Frances Katzen. ‘It freaks people out and sends a message that there’s a bit less liquidity out there than everyone imagines.’”




RSS feed

66 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-06-28 06:51:03

‘it might seem the wrong, or just an unnecessary time to make it easier to borrow. After all, demand now already outpaces supply of homes for sale’

This has been the case for 3 years now. Yet the supply and demanders have no answer except “we need to build more”, keeping the myth of shortage alive in their minds. Why keep goosing demand with the lending if there’s a shortage?

Comment by 2banana
2017-06-28 07:30:00

Wonder what demand would be if:

Banks were forced to EAT their bad loans instead of pushing them onto the taxpayer

But that would be racist.

Comment by taxpayer
2017-06-28 10:36:20

asking people to work for money is also racist
or pay for HC,EDU etc……………………
we work almost 4x as many hours to pay for HC vs 1950s

 
 
Comment by scdave
2017-06-28 08:04:58

I am in the Marina in San Diego for 5 days…Have not been here in 20+ years….Pretty incredible whats happened down here and what is ongoing…Billions being spent…

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-06-28 18:54:42

A coincidence perhaps, I am in a marina as well. The port engine is missing. I’ll check the spark plugs and timing tomorrow.

I suspect that you are not on a boat though. They might as well call the place the Moon Station.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Comment by Jingle Male
2017-06-30 05:55:02

scdave is talking about all the condo towers in the SD Marina District. I’m watching that market with the idea of buying a condo there in 2020. There seems to be 230 or so condos available for sale today….we will see if the market changes. It seems pretty solid now, except for the rediculously overpriced units. Of course the condo market is the last to go up and the first to drop….

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by Rental Watch
2017-06-28 09:11:37

Why keep goosing demand with the lending if there’s a shortage?

I don’t think they need to, nor should.

However, you have lots of policy-types pointing to studies that have re-emerged about homeownership being “path to financial security”, and making debt more available is a “social good” designed to help the less fortunate get that “financial security”.

All bullsh*t, IMHO.

P.S. Point of fact, the NY Fed does not show significant increases in the amounts of mortgage debt nationally. Mortgage debt has grown from $8.38T at the trough in Q2 2013 to $9.08T in Q1 2017. This is growth of 8.3% over 3.75 years. So, regardless of whether and how much the PTB have been trying to push more housing debt onto the public, it doesn’t appear to have been all that successful.

Comment by Ol'Bubba
2017-06-28 17:56:29

“However, you have lots of policy-types pointing to studies that have re-emerged about homeownership being “path to financial security””

Correlation does not equate to causation.

Back in the olden days, you had to save up for a down payment, keep your consumer debt at a reasonable level, and pay your bills on time in order to qualify for a mortgage and buy a home.

To get there, you needed to know how to budget your money, hold a job, and build habits that are indispensable and fundamental to achieving “financial security”.

Whenever I see statements like this “path to financial security” I think some dumb-ass needs someone to knock some sense into them.

I refuse to buy coffee at Starbucks when I can brew it at home for pennies a cup. But what do I know?

Comment by MightyMike
2017-06-28 18:02:40

“However, you have lots of policy-types pointing to studies that have re-emerged about homeownership being “path to financial security”

When you think about it, so many Americans have believed this for so long that the studies don’t matter. If there were studies that showed the opposite, they would just get ignored.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-06-28 19:01:01

And yet it is double speak. What they mean is that borrowing will make you wealthy. The “home ownership” path is assumed to be highly leveraged, thus pulling the poor up by their bootstraps, effortlessly. If they called things by their right name, fewer would volunteer for modern slavery.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-06-28 19:16:44

I think most Americans think that owning a house is good for nearly everyone. They don’t actually give much thought to the poor specifically.

 
 
Comment by Neuromance
2017-06-28 19:10:37

Ol’Bubba: Whenever I see statements like this “path to financial security” I think some dumb-ass needs someone to knock some sense into them.

A paid off house is very good for the financial security and building net worth. However, getting to that point can lead to financial ruin with high house prices and massive debt.

One cannot buy gas or food with equity. Debt must be paid back with interest. The working classes should be taught to look at cash flows.

Having a paid off house is a Good Thing. However, it should not be a pyrrhic victory, and many fall in the battle to pay it off, which is no kind of victory at all.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:24:23

“One cannot buy gas or food with equity.”

I guess you haven’t heard of mortgage ATM financing?

 
 
 
 
Comment by Neuromance
2017-06-28 19:04:32

The architects know exactly what end they’re trying to achieve - more profit. There’s a very big difference between their words, their meanings and their actions.

There’s all the happy talk versus the ruthless, hard-edged efforts to accrue more wealth, to out-compete the others, to get while the getting’s good. The architects are very good at staying in character. They very, very rarely slip out of character for the public.

The grunt-level economists may believe their data is good, and their models are good. But when the system doesn’t react like they predict, maybe - maybe - it’s time to re-evaluate their approach to the problem. However their approach has been very lucrative for a select group. It provides intellectual cover for thinly-veiled looting of the society, for the “expert redistribution” and the siren songs of central planning. Communism worked out very well for the nomenklatura.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-06-29 05:09:58

“The architects know exactly what end they’re trying to achieve - more profit.”

Check.

“There’s a very big difference between their words, their meanings and their actions.”

Words are but tools. Use what works.

“There’s all the happy talk versus the ruthless, hard-edged efforts to accrue more wealth, to out-compete the others, to get while the getting’s good.”

Happy talk is the correct use of words as tools, tools that work.

“The architects are very good at staying in character. They very, very rarely slip out of character for the public.”

Again, the use of words that work. Some people call these words lies, I like to think of them as tools that work.

“The grunt-level economists may believe their data is good, and their models are good. But when the system doesn’t react like they predict, maybe - maybe - it’s time to re-evaluate their approach to the problem. However their approach has been very lucrative for a select group. It provides intellectual cover for thinly-veiled looting of the society, for the “expert redistribution” and the siren songs of central planning. Communism worked out very well for the nomenklatura.”

The application of tools - lies - that work.

These tools, these words, these lies, would not work if the population was enlightened but they work well - extremely well - when applied to a population that has been totally dumbed-down.

 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2017-06-28 07:45:35

Can out of road…?

+++++

Pending Home Sales Tumble, Unchanged Since June 2013
Zerohedge - Jun 28, 2017

After modest bounces in existing and new home sales (despite weakness in starts and permits and mortgage application declines), pending home sales in May tumbled 0.8% MoM and were revised even lower (-1.7%) in April. This dismal print was below all economists’ expectations, missing by 4 standard deviations.

This is the 3rd straight monthly drop and 2nd straight annual decline in pending home sales.

Comment by taxpayer
2017-06-28 10:30:46

no one buys re in may or april silly

 
Comment by Bellinghouse
2017-06-28 11:32:19

It is because there is no inventory! No one is interested in putting their house up for sale when the prices are setting record highs. Married couples only get a $500,000 capital gains exclusion on their primary residence. If Congress would raise it to $1M, more might be willing to sell.

Comment by Rental Watch
2017-06-28 13:25:06

This is such a silly statement.

Raising the limit to $1MM will only allow more rich people to shelter gains, it won’t do a damn thing for the availability of housing, but it might help RE brokers earn more fees.

If you sell your primary residence, you need to buy another place to live, unless you want to become a renter, or leave town.

So, choosing to sell adds a home to the market, this doesn’t help one bit since there is also an additional person on the market looking to buy a home.

Comment by Bellinghouse
2017-06-28 13:48:26

I don’t think it is all that silly. There are plenty of elderly folks in California that would love to downsize, but selling their home for $2,000,000 would trigger a huge tax bill. So they just age in place, and pass the home to their children who get a stepped up basis to the value at the time of their death. Prop 13 doesn’t come into play so much because you can transfer the property tax amount to a cheaper property in many of the coastal CA counties.

So yes, there are a ton of old ranch homes in SoCal and the Bay Area that might be on the market if the approx 40% capital gains tax wasn’t such a killer (23.8% federal and 13.3% state). The turnover rate of homes in Coastal CA is among the lowest in the USA.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Rental Watch
2017-06-28 14:00:54

And this kind of thinking is precisely why the tax code is so long and housing policy is so f’d up–enacting housing policy through tax code changes, rather than solving the real problem.

The reason there is so much profit in coastal CA homes in the first place is due to development restrictions.

The solution is to reform CEQA, not give freebies to rich folks that MIGHT result in someone downsizing, but would not result in a single additional housing unit to be built. And at the same time would absolutely reduce federal tax revenues, requiring even more to come from income taxes.

 
Comment by Bellinghouse
2017-06-28 14:22:04

I am not advocating raising the cap gains exclusion — just pointing out that it is a larger factor than people think. Prop 13 also impacts turnover. I know a major reason I kept my home in San Francisco for 30 years is that I only paid $3,000 a year in property tax. If I moved to a house I liked better, my property tax might have been $15,000 a year. That factor weighed heavier in my mind than the 5% realtor commission!

So when pending sales go down, and very few homes are listed for sale — there are some very unique reasons that impact each market.

I don’t hold out much hope for CEQA reform. Everyone I know fights development using CEQA to preserve “quality of life.” The development almost always gets approved, so I am not sure we would have more housing built even without CEQA. The process just adds a few years to the timeline — which means the developer needs pretty deep pockets to put a shovel in the ground.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2017-06-28 16:26:44

“The development almost always gets approved, so I am not sure we would have more housing built even without CEQA.”

Bullsh*t

How many developers don’t even try given the cost/timing/hurdles to get approvals?

How many pieces of land have simply become infeasible to start the process because of the known cost of past CEQA challenges in the area?

I am aware of more than one builder who has quit entitling land in CA because the process is too onerous.

The process just adds a few years to the timeline

It’s a pretty big problem if people’s perception is that “just a few years” isn’t a big deal.

Here’s the issue: The list of reports that you need to complete for any given project gets longer with each iteration of CEQA, and each of those reports gets “stale”–ie. they need to be redone with delays.

And they are expensive.

And notice periods to the public need to be redone.

And elections happen that require meeting with new councilmembers, etc.

“Just a few years” can sometimes be 5-10 years…AND cost millions of dollars (if you need to purchase the land before obtaining the entitlement), and sometimes kill the deal altogether (if the landowner decides to NOT extend the PSA).

“Just a few years” is also a killer in terms of missing a market. Most investors want to see a way to exit a project within 5 years. So if it takes you 5 years to get approvals…that’s a problem.

I find it absolutely amazing that you think “just a few years” isn’t a problem.

I have an idea. How about implement a rule where the loser of CEQA lawsuits pays for the costs of the winner?

Meritless CEQA lawsuits that are filed only to try to preserve the “quality of life” of the current residents would dry up.

 
Comment by SW
2017-06-28 20:54:54

Kudos Rental Watch!

 
Comment by Bellinghouse
2017-06-29 08:05:27

I am on board with everything you noted, Rental Watch. I’m a retired San Francisco planner, so I know all too well that CEQA causes many developers to stay out of CA. And yes it raises the cost of space for everyone.

In 2015, the Florida Legislature gutted its state land use law. Developments of Regional Impact (those exceeding a certain threshold) will no longer be subject to review and approval by regional planning councils. Often they required very costly mitigation measures, and like CA, the process took years. Now local government will be in the driver’s seat.

I started my career in Miami at a regional planning council. It will be interesting to see if the fast tracking of large scale projects better protects that state’s fragile environment while increasing profits for the developers / investors.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2017-06-29 09:04:58

BTW, I’m not talking about gutting CEQA.

I’m talking about taking steps to dramatically reduce meritless lawsuits that people file simply to slow down the process for a project that is otherwise following all of the rules and has the support of the City.

 
 
 
Comment by Neuromance
2017-06-28 19:25:23

Here’s another factor gumming up the market: Every time a house is purchased for a high price, that means it must be sold for that price or higher to avoid losses. To avoid losses they must hold on and hope for yet higher prices.

The higher the prices get relative to incomes means fewer people want to, or can, relocate, if they purchased for a high price. Or the house goes into foreclosure, taking it out of the retail market for years.

And seeing house prices surging again incites people to stretch even further financially, leading to the above feedback loop.

Fewer houses sold for even higher prices leads to more locked-in buyers, leading to yet fewer houses available.

It could be a new normal in the market, the result of the price supports at all levels of government and central banking. As long as the lending faucets are maxed out, and the government is backing it all, even mass defaults shouldn’t create shockwaves in the wider financial markets.

It could just be the lower level of inventory is normal with this lending plus price environment.

Perhaps another unintended consequence of economic policy.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-06-29 05:27:13

“And seeing house prices surging again incites people to stretch even further financially, leading to the above feedback loop.”

“… seeing housed prices surging again …”

This is the key factor. Take away this key factor and everything goes into reverse.

It’s a Gotcha!

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 
Comment by 5andO
2017-06-28 07:48:19

SF RE going down is also a sign that the social media bubble is OVER. Its going to be awesome watching all these fake companies crumble, as well as the phony media that sold them to the foolish.

I guess its the millenials’ turn to play the role of the gimp from the movie pulp fiction. They’ll regret the day they accidentally found themselves in Yellen’s little house of horrors.

Comment by scdave
2017-06-28 08:08:21

all these fake ?? as well as the phony ??

Spoken like a loyal parrot of the Trumpster…

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-06-28 19:06:24

Apparently, when you are an hammer, everything is a nail. Or some mixed metaphor version of that.

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:26:18

True. For instance, in Trumpland, everything is fake or phony except for Trump’s hair and his defunct university.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-06-28 10:09:48

Those social media companies make their money selling advertising just like Google does, as well as older media outlets, like newspapers and TV and radio stations.

If the millennials own little real estate, they may suffer less than other generations from the coming crash.

At some point, a new term for young people should be used other than millennial. By one definition, the oldest millennials are now in their middle 30s.

Comment by Sean
2017-06-28 11:56:00

I read a funny joke the other day:

“They should create a new version of Monopoly for Millenials, where you don’t buy anything - you just go around to board paying rent!”

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-06-28 13:25:42

Joke? You think it was a joke?

Bahahahahahahahahaha.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-06-28 08:16:49

I just got this in an email:

‘According to realtor.com Senior Economist Joseph Kirchner, Ph.D.:

‘Today’s reported decline in contract signings is the third monthly slip in a row. This could be evidence of a downward trend – but there’s no reason to panic yet.’

Comment by Sean
2017-06-28 08:24:04

Hahaha - Trust me Doctor, I’m not panicking!

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-06-28 08:35:45

Isn’t that a strange thing to put out in a press release?

‘The system — that is, the lenders and their investors and the financial interests that bet on them — were desperate to keep demand for homes growing’

It can’t slow down can it? If prices don’t keep moving up, the logic breaks down, like we are seeing in Toronto. Everybody knows it can’t go on forever, but that illusion must be maintained. And when “the system” is driving it:

‘As home prices continue rising faster than inflation, two questions are being asked: why? And, could this be a bubble?’ says David Blitzer. ‘Since demand is exceeding supply and financing is available, there is nothing right now to keep prices from going up.’

Nothing indeed. Certainly not appraisers or regulators or central bankers.

I was thinking this morning: there was a time not that long ago when central bankers insisted, adamantly, that they had no control over long term interest rates.

Comment by Sean
2017-06-28 11:19:35

“Isn’t that a strange thing to put out in a press release?”

Not really, because the NAR does a great job manipulating the media. I’m not one of these “Fake Newz!!!!” guys, but it’s strange how as quickly the Pending Homes Sales came out …..and then disappeared, replaced with clickbait asking “Where are the top 10 best cities to buy a house? Number six will shock you!” It was a timed and target email.

People today couldn’t tell you about interest rates, can’t amortize a loan and couldn’t tell you who Yellen is. Most Realtors get their contacts from friends or friends of friends, and they are experts who always say “Now is the time to buy”. Most people like myself have just given up, and that email was design to say “Hey Ben, don’t give up! Don’t panic! Nothing to see here!” Behind the scenes I’ll bet you a beer they are in full panic mode.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by scdave
2017-06-28 08:30:36

Inventory is up a bit in my area…Prices are still incredibly high particularly for what you get…I spoke with a good friend last week…He is a Field super for a subcontracting firm…He has been with this company for 20+ years…He said he typically would have150-250 men in the field at any given time…He said he currently has over 700…That gives you some sense of how much work is going on around here…

Comment by SW
2017-06-28 14:29:06

Where at Dave?

 
 
 
Comment by Patrick
2017-06-28 08:56:37

I talked with a Toronto area realtor and he said the salesmen are having a rougher time because of lack of inventory to sell. Whenever something came up it was sold too fast to even put a bid on it. He hadn’t sold anything for a couple of months.

 
Comment by oxide
2017-06-28 09:06:55

What a weird housing market we’re having. Bubble in Seattle, SF, SD… luxe rent drops in NYC.

Meanwhile, one of the houses on my block listed and went pending at list price within 4 days. I knew it would — list was a bit lower than Zestimate. Appreciation was ~3.5%/year. Not sure that’s a bubble… maybe a small bubble. I think they could have priced higher.

Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-06-28 09:22:04

I don’t see anything weird about it, it’s the same as the last bubble (if they’re even different bubbles). Some areas are quicker to rise, some quicker to fall. As Florida was melting down last time, Seattle was rapidly increasing.

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:33:56

Same bubble, different tsunami wave.

 
 
Comment by taxpayer
2017-06-28 10:33:09

is it too late to go all in on UBER ?

 
Comment by taxpayer
2017-06-28 10:34:38

dc area shows +2 prediction when you search a hood and -3% when you click on the value link

por que es?

Comment by taxpayer
2017-06-28 10:37:20

whoops, on Zillow

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:32:55

When we visited relatives in Bethesda, MD, in Spring 2016, I was duly impressed with the large number of teardowns undergoing renovation on the block where we stayed. I assume the goal was to build a bigger structure at a cost below the premium the rehabber expected to capture by selling a “new home” instead of an older one.

I’ve personally always been quite skeptical of the logic that one can fully recover the costs of a rehab, relative to what one could get by selling the existing structure without the additional construction costs, especially after you figure in the taxes paid on the labor costs, building materials, etc.

Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-06-28 23:15:58

In sane housing markets, rehabbers can earn an honest living. I’m talking the small potatoes types who like to do a quality job, sell it, and move on to the next house.

In these bubble markets, the entry price is much too high for that. It’s nothing but a greater fool situation where they have to pray that some sucker will pay more than they did.

 
 
 
Comment by palmetto
2017-06-28 12:54:50

This was sort of interesting. I’ve often wondered what would happen if the multinationals took the place of countries and started laying down the law to their “citizens”, sort of as an exercise in science fiction. But, this is not science fiction. Walmart vs Amazon. Are you are Walmartian or an Amazonite?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-28/it-begins-walmart-warns-truckers-it-will-no-longer-work-them-if-they-move-goods-amaz

I can understand not wanting to do business with tech services that put Walmart’s info in Amazon’s “cloud”, but I don’t think the trucking thing is legal, yet, how do they fight it? Much as I dislike Amazon, my money’s on them in this fight.

Comment by Mr. Banker
2017-06-28 13:47:00

Hey, just merge the two; Problem solved.

Allow the magical forces of syngery to do it’s work.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-06-28 19:13:30

Maybe a sign of a failing business model, which I would not regret.

Comment by In Colorado
2017-06-28 20:00:34

WalMart is so much bigger than Sears or KMart ever were. When it falls. it’s gonna be spectacular.

 
 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 14:24:19

‘We are in the middle of a notable slowdown.’

Just don’t use the R word to.describe it, and all will be fine.

Comment by rms
2017-06-28 18:28:40

Haha… true!

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 19:58:31

“San Francisco, once the hottest housing market in the U.S., is now one of the coolest, in a reversal that could presage a broader slowdown if more buyers decide it isn’t worth chasing rapidly rising prices.”

It’s great that the Dow Jones Newswire folks openly acknowledge that the only reason people were until recently buying in San Francisco was to capture equity gains fueled by rapidly rising prices. Given that there is no demand for housing as shelter at current price levels, I wonder what will happen now that prices have plateaued?

Comment by Rental Watch
2017-06-29 09:07:42

SF prices went up by 5% over last year…that’s now considered “cold”? Still seems too high by a couple percent to me.

 
 
 
Comment by alphonso bedoya
2017-06-28 15:28:04

Odds ‘n Ends

Nigerian energy magnate…owner of the penthouse at One57 — the biggest residential foreclosure in city history.

Kolawole Aluko rented his yacht to Jay-Z and Beyoncé in 2015 for $900,000 a week.

 
Comment by freelanceinsp
2017-06-28 15:47:06

I perform inspections and the volume has dropped off the cliff. My business began slowing last summer and now my phone doesn’t ring at all. Since last winter 5 of the dozen or so agents I’ve work with over the years have hung it up and moved on. Business went from lukewarm to ice cold.

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-06-28 15:50:20

If you don’t mind saying, what area is this?

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:36:40

Suppose there was another recession and nobody told the academic egghead economists who are tasked with dating the onset of recessions. Could a recession and recovery play out without anyone in the economics profession ever noticing?

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:43:11

Great recession fears as bankers warn next global crash could arrive ‘with a vengeance’
Next major recession could be brewing in countries like China, a new report warns
Caroline Mortimer
@cjmortimer
Monday 26 June 2017 09:06 BST
The Independent Online
Central bankers have voiced fears about the Chinese economy as corporate debt rises faster than GDP

A new financial crisis is brewing in the emerging economies and it could hit “with a vengeance”, an influential group of central bankers has warned.

Emerging markets such as China are showing the same signs that their economies are overheating as the US and the UK demonstrated before the financial crisis of 2007-08, according to the annual report of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Claudio Borio, the head of the BIS monetary and economic department, said a new recession could come “with a vengeance” and “the end may come to resemble more closely a financial boom gone wrong”.

The BIS, which is sometimes known as the central bank for central banks and counts Bank of England Governor Mark Carney among its members, warned of trouble ahead for the world economy.

It predicted that central banks would be forced to raise interest rates after years of record lows in order to combat inflation which will “smother” growth.

The group also warned about the threat poised by rising debt in countries like China and the rise in protectionism such as in the US under Donald Trump, City AM reported.

 
Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-06-28 23:22:54

With a little help from their media toadies, sure.

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-06-28 22:38:40

Is it too late to go all-in on ethereum?

What delivered the best return of 2017’s first half? Bitcoin and ethereum
Published: June 28, 2017 5:30 p.m. ET
Despite recent weakness, cryptocurrencies remain sharply higher on the year
Courtesy Everett Collection
By Ryan Vlastelica
Markets reporter

Say what you will about the cryprocurrency market in the first half of the year, but give it this: it wasn’t boring.

In contrast to the U.S. equity market, where a popular measure of volatility has been hovering near a multidecade low since May, there was nothing but volatility in the realm of digital currencies, underscored by jaw-dropping gains on the year and a gut-wrenching drop this month.

Digital currencies hit a number of key milestones in 2017, including breaking into the 12-digit club, as the combined market value of all cryptocurrencies—led especially by bitcoin and ethereum—surpassed $100 billion for the first time ever, and currently stands near $104 billion.

Cryptocurrencies have become so prominent that major semiconductor stocks have started to move based on how readily their chips are used by “miners,” who use high-powered computers in a race to solve complex puzzles. Those who solve these problems are rewarded with the digital gold of bitcoin and other digital currencies.

 
Comment by Brynn
2017-06-29 18:04:57

This is a bubble. Again. Only question is who will get hurt the most.

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

Trackback responses to this post