Sounds Familiar Moments
A weekend topic starting with Housing Wire. “It’s been more than three years since Freddie Mac rolled out a conventional mortgage that only required a 3% down payment for certain borrowers. The program, which is designed for qualified low-and moderate-income borrowers, saw reasonable progress over the last few years, with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt telling Congress last year that Freddie’s 3% down program (along with a similar one from Fannie Mae) was continuing to grow. But now, Freddie Mac is about to supercharge its 3% down program and launch a widespread expansion of the offering.”
“Freddie Mac announced Thursday that it is rolling out a new conventional 3% down payment option for qualified first-time homebuyers. What makes this program different is that there are no geographic or income restrictions. The new program, which is called HomeOne, puts Freddie Mac in direct competition for mortgage business with the Federal Housing Administration, which also only requires 3% down on some mortgages.”
From the Mercury News in California. “Bay Area home sales go only one direction — up. Forget crypto-currency, AI or blockchain companies in your investment portfolio. Homes are still the hottest commodity in the Bay Area. Median home prices in the region continued an unprecedented six-year run, with resale homes gaining double-digit value in the last year. Prices in the nine-county region bolted up 14 percent from March 2017, led by soaring deals in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, according to CoreLogic.”
“The median resale price for a Bay Area home last month was a record $850,000. ‘It’s a feeding frenzy fueled by a factor of fear,’ said Kevin Cole, Alain Pinel president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors. Buyers are motivated after bidding high and still failing to close a deal, he said. ‘They’re not just disappointed once,’ Cole said. ‘They’re disappointed two, three, four or five times.’”
“The data shows that buyers are still stretching to become homeowners. Jumbo mortgages — loans generally over $680,000 in most of the Bay Area — financed 4 in 10 sales, up from previous months. Higher prices have even led investors to cool on the area. Absentee buyers purchased about 19 percent of homes, down from a peak of 28 percent in February 2013, according to CoreLogic.”
From the Spokesman Review in Washington. “The Spokane-area market is in its seventh year of recovery since the national housing market crash, which sent sales and prices plunging. In 2008, local home sales went into a sharp decline. By the time the market bottomed out in 2011, the number of sales had dropped by more than half from their 2005 peak. ‘It was unprecedented, what happened,’ said Rob Higgins, executive vice president of the Spokane Association of Realtors. But now, ‘we’ve basically gained everything back. Prices are accelerating.’”
“Rising prices are stretching first-time buyers. But sellers are benefiting from the rapid appreciation, and so are homeowners who plan to keep their property for a while. ‘For most middle-income Americans, real estate is where their wealth is generated,’ Higgins said. ‘When you sit back in your rocking chair someday, you can say, ‘Yeah, I’m glad I bought this house.’”
From CBC News in Canada. “Houses in Ottawa’s hottest neighbourhoods are selling at record prices as buyers compete in a market plagued by a shortage of resale homes. That shortage, combined with growing demand and a shift among realtors toward a more aggressive sales strategy, is creating ideal conditions for bidding wars the likes of which the capital has never seen. Realtors who specialize in urban neighbourhoods such as Westboro say they’ve seen sale prices skyrocket by more than 50 per cent.”
“Three families made offers to Joan Anne Thraves, the owner who has lived in the home for 35 years. Two local buyers appealed to the 75-year old owner’s emotions by sending her personal letters and their wedding photos. In the end, Thraves went with the highest bid, which was $35,000 over her asking price. The winning bid was submitted by a Toronto couple with young children, and came with no conditions. They purchased the home without even setting foot in it.”
From Brinkwire on Australia. “Lending institutions have been using a tool to measure expenditure which some lenders say is underestimating their monthly outgoings. It has led to a culture where borrowers were being given loans they never had a hope of repaying. ASHLYNNE MCGHEE, REPORTER: This is Jason Hannagan’s life, running his own delivery business. But despite his long hours, he is stuck in a financial nightmare. His troubles began back in 2012, when the Hannagans took out a $600,000 loan from a lender called Pepper Money. He estimates their monthly income was about $9,500. Their mortgage broker recorded their expenses at just $1,300 a month.”
“JASON HANNAGAN: That’s for five people. It’s an imaginary figure. Our living expenses were, like, $4,000 and then our mortgage was, like, $3,000. So that’s $7,000. The broker just told us to sign the page. And we faxed it back to her and she said she’ll fill out the rest.”
“ASHLYNNE MCGHEE: Jason Hannagan regrets it now. He says they could never afford the loan. Months later, they had to offload their investment property in Sydney and, three years on, they were forced to sell their family home in Brisbane.”
From Toronto Storeys in Canada. “While writing a script for CTV a few years ago, I spent a lot of time reading the numerous newspapers and writings of late 1890s Toronto. The folks of that day seemed very much aware and concerned with the issues we worry about today — jobs, crime, taxes, politics, having a good time … and, yes, even real estate. ‘When the real estate boom was in its zenith, property changed hands at prices that were an unmitigated gratification to those who sold them,’ writes C.S. Clark in his 1898 social study ‘Toronto The Good.’”
“‘Living in the city is very expensive, the poor are obliged to live in the shaky, tumble-down houses of Centre, Elizabeth, South Jarvis and Lombard and Bathurst … while the middle classes and those of only modest means live in the suburbs.’ Ring a few bells? Clark’s very detailed book — which has been reprinted many times over the years — is full of ’sounds familiar’ moments like that.”
“Author Clark at times sounds a lot like a bitter would-be home buyer of 2017, unable to cope with out-of-control housing prices. At one point he suffers Victorian sticker shock while checking out a house on Charles Street. ‘Price $3,000. By the fairest calculation in mathematics, it will be seen that to pay 6%, $180 are required, taxes $48 at least, and then your chances at profit are only contained in the remote contingency of the property increasing in value.’”
“Much like today, turn-of-the-19th-century Toronto was going through some difficult growing pains. A land boom had recently doubled the size of Toronto, but also added to the city’s debts and left many new landowners bankrupt when the real estate bubble burst. ‘A considerable number of people own their own houses, though this circumstance may be of questionable advantage.’”
‘What makes this program different is that there are no geographic or income restrictions.’
A reader sent this in. I did a search on it this morning and no MSM coverage at all came up.
‘The new program, which is called HomeOne, puts Freddie Mac in direct competition for mortgage business with the Federal Housing Administration, which also only requires 3% down on some mortgages’
Probably the most surprising thing to me that came out of the AEI conference a few weeks ago was that the GSE’s were intended to be pro-cyclical and FHA was meant to be counter-cyclical. FHA was intended to provide loans when the market was contracting, but that got turned upside down a few years ago. And what’s the point of government backed lenders competing with each other? They’ve practically got a monopoly. Unless this competition is just a smokescreen for racing lending standards to the bottom.
racingrace-based lending standardsFixed!
Ben Jones: And what’s the point of government backed lenders competing with each other?
My general heuristic: When in doubt, follow the money.
I believe the goal is to continue to increase the indebtedness of the majority of people as much as possible. This is how the monied elite have controlled whole countries and also their governments for as long as history records.
A nation of DebtDonkeys is a weak nation.
I believe the goal is to continue to increase the indebtedness of the majority of people as much as possible.
I would also add that the elite seek to control not only their money via economic slavery but also their time and their attention. Though these overlap somewhat, they are distinct in certain regards.
Why are they called the cabal, and what is the origin of the word?
Who practices it - past and present ?
Note the famous (vapid) devotees. It should come as no surprise.
Let’s be clear on one thing: the sheeple are embracing their debt serfdom with gusto.
1. Dumb ‘em down.
2. Profit.
‘His troubles began back in 2012, when the Hannagans took out a $600,000 loan from a lender called Pepper Money. He estimates their monthly income was about $9,500. Their mortgage broker recorded their expenses at just $1,300 a month’
There’s more FB’s at this link. We don’t find out about this sort of thing until the sweet equity stops flowing.
‘It was unprecedented, what happened,’ said Rob Higgins, executive vice president of the Spokane Association of Realtors. But now, ‘we’ve basically gained everything back. Prices are accelerating.’
This is important, because higher prices should cause sales to decrease. It works that way for tomatoes, cars. That’s supply and demand. But when this happens with shacks the REIC/media seizes on it like a never ending river of money has been found and the public laps it up.
‘The median resale price for a Bay Area home last month was a record $850,000. ‘It’s a feeding frenzy fueled by a factor of fear’
All right bay aryans. Enjoy your little party, you’ve learned nothing.
Realtors are liars.
This is important, because higher prices should cause sales to decrease. It works that way for tomatoes, cars. That’s supply and demand. But when this happens with shacks the REIC/media seizes on it like a never ending river of money has been found and the public laps it up.
Can one take out an equity loan on tomatoes or cars, and spend it on other things?
It’s obvious why people are thrilled when their house appreciates: they think they’re getting something for nothing.
Its really like a housing lotto. Timing is critical. It seems the poorest people are being sucked in at the tail end to be bagholders again. Then there will be a pity party and they will get bailout checks to stay in their homes.
Then there will be a pity party and they will get bailout checks to stay in their homes.
Will they?
It seems to me that the only one who got any bailouts was Mr. Banker.
Even though many here were claiming that “Cram downs are coming”, that didn’t actually happen. Some got refi’d into a lower interest rate, and we remember that many of them still defaulted.
they have been running tv advertising for free money for years if you are underwater on your home. They dont want bankers to take a haircut.
You mean TARP? IIRC, it was just a refi at a lower rate even though borrowers were underwater. I don’t recall any free money/debt forgiveness offers. The only debt forgiveness I recall were short sales and I knew of more than a few people who were turned down for those.
I rarely watch TV, but when I do the mortgage ads seem to be very conventional. No mention of free money that I recall.
“It seems to me that the only one who got any bailouts was Mr. Banker.”
Really!?
None of these California politicians who slapping each other on the back for the foreclosure bailouts they enacted seem to recognize any connection of these policies to the chronic housing shortage and affordability crisis that continues to rage in California.
California Forum
How two smart California laws kept the 2008 mortgage crisis from being far worse
By Stuart A. Gabriel And Chandler Lutz
Special to The Sacramento Bee
March 13, 2018 05:00 AM
Updated March 13, 2018 01:05 PM
A decade after the mortgage crisis swept California, home prices are rising, far fewer borrowers are under water, and the state’s economy and government’s finances are strong. Two little-discussed anti-foreclosure laws deserve much credit for slowing the initial devastation and for helping to stabilize the housing market and the economy.
The rapid response of Sacramento lawmakers to the mortgage crisis merits national consideration, too. The state’s policy was more effective than federal housing-relief programs enacted nationally.
California foreclosure prevention laws reduced foreclosures by 16 percent, keeping an additional 124,000 foreclosures from occurring, and preserving some $310 billion in state-wide housing wealth.
…
California is all about PPP which either means public private partnership, or propping people’s pensions.
If these folks can manage to keep property values up and encourage further demand due to density, demographics, or speculators they believe they have got a win. Extra money for pensions and extra money for special programs and never any accountability.
All they think they have to do is also toss a $15 minimum wage and affordable housing programs to the poorer population and get enough of the millenials locked in to their game before the tide goes out. The boomers are behind all of that “for fairness” which is easy when they pay far lower taxes and see rapidly rising value. No need to think about the down sides.
And with many millenials getting houses from parents or transfers of low tax rates from parents, and the rest being too young to see the games at play, they may succeed. I particularly like the federal student loan forgiveness programs that helped coax youth into pension programs. And that you have people, i mean marks, moving to california, as the friendly progressives accelerated and gutted middle america, only to find they also get to pay more taxes than those that already live there and compete with foreign investment on rent.
With the rapidly declining population in CA, that isn’t going to work.
transfers of low tax rates from parents
How does this work?
“…only to find they also get to pay more taxes than those that already live there…”
That sucks, and is one reason I wouldn’t touch California home ownership with a tenfoot pole unless there was a massive crash with deep price discounts underway.
As I’ve said before, blue states are Weimar machines - fraud backed money/”wealth” production that destroys the culture in order to maintain the marxist/commie/criminals’ political power. In turn that phony money/wealth migrates to other states and destroys them.
It remains to be seen if their criminal schemes will get shut down.
Thomas Sowell talking about affordable housing (among other things), @ minute 29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ivf9jrXGAY
I think I gave away my copy to a former research assistant. I’m looking forward to the post-Housing Bubble 2.0 revision when it comes out.
The Housing Boom and Bust: Revised Edition Paperback
– February 23, 2010
by Thomas Sowell
Scary headlines and scarier statistics tell the story of a financial crisis on a scale not seen in decades—certainly not within the lifetime of most Americans. Moreover, this is a worldwide financial crisis. Financial institutions on both sides of the Atlantic have either collapsed or have been saved from collapse by government bailouts, as a result of buying securities based on American housing values that eroded or evaporated.
Now completely revised in paperback, The Housing Boom and Bust is designed to unravel the tangled threads of that story. It also attempts to determine whether what is being done to deal with the problem is more likely to make things better or worse.
Thomas Sowell on the Housing Boom and Bust
111,404 views
HooverInstitution
Published on Jul 2, 2009
Thomas Sowell discusses how we got into the current economic disaster that developed out of the economics and politics of the housing boom and bust.
I’m a huge admirer of Sowell. He’s a Milton Friedman disciple living smack in the middle of one of America’s most communistic enclaves. And he speaks the unvarnished truth without a moment’s hesitation…totally convincing!
And that you have people, i mean marks, moving to california, as the friendly progressives accelerated and gutted middle america, only to find they also get to pay more taxes than those that already live there and compete with foreign investment on rent.
This is what is so crazy to me about anyone moving to CA right now. I mean, you have all these people who have locked in low property taxes because of prop 13, and if you move there as an up-and-coming professional, you are essentially voluntarily deciding to pay more taxes arbitrarily indefinitely. No thank you. Incidentally, I may actually work in CA at some point, but I won’t make my permanent residency there.
“… if you move there as an up-and-coming professional, you are essentially voluntarily deciding to pay more taxes arbitrarily indefinitely. No thank you. Incidentally, I may actually work in CA at some point, but I won’t make my permanent residency there.”
We inadvertently timed our arrival at the trough of a crash and came out fine. Except I still feel like I just got robbed every time I pay my California income taxes.
“Thomas Sowell on the Housing Boom and Bust”
I just made a podcast mp3 from that video. Sowell nails it!
From everything I’ve seen around the west coast, things are actually much worse this time around insofar as affordability goes. Housing has, once again, turned into nothing more than a speculator’s game, with a few panic buyers thrown in for good measure.
You’re right, nothing was learned from the past bust. As I’ve been traveling around, I’ve noticed that small businesses are really struggling. There aren’t a lot of shoppers, etc, granted this isn’t exactly a busy time of year, but still.
It’s what I saw during my vacation in San Diego. We have some friends who own a really beat up shack in north county. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would take to fix it. The kitchen and bathrooms are completely shot. The roof is 50 years old. The exterior needs work. The place is a wreck. Yet they get cold calls from realtors who say they can get them 500K for the shack.
I find it real interesting how we went from bust to boom so fast. Its like the housing bust never happened. There is absolutely no fear of losing money on a home.
There is absolutely no fear of losing money on a home.
I think there is recognition now that houses can go down. But there is no fear that they won’t go right back up plus some more. That’s the precedent. Which is even more dangerous. As people lose their shirts they will have more than hope this time. They will be 100% sure that all they have to do is hang on a little longer.
“I find it real interesting how we went from bust to boom so fast.”
You can thank Ben Bernanke’s QE3, which was targeted at propping up the housing market through MBS purchases.
Too bad, so sad, that the Trump Fed appears fully intent on finally withdrawing the extraordinary accommodation measures that drove housing from bust to boom so fast.
California fixer-upper
I picked up a friend at her place last night en route to a social event. Similar story: her landlord keeps the rent low by letting the shack crumble on its occupants. I’m sure the hard choice between affordability and regular maintenance is widespread in San Diego.
Not just San Diego, everywhere. There’s a reason that rental houses are so easily identifiable.
In my hood rentals r real easy to spot
White van land indicates multi family homes
“Not just San Diego, everywhere.”
Slumlordship has been around for a while, to be sure.
“There’s a reason that rental houses are so easily identifiable.”
Not in our hood. Thanks, HOA, for staying on top of those CC&RS!
I’ve noticed that small businesses are really struggling.
As part of the vacay we stopped by Seaport Village. Lots of people people walking around, not so many buying stuff in the shops as many were empty when wepeered inside them. We actually bought something.
The highlight of that afternoon was watching a black woman go berserk in a snack shop because the shopkeeper didn’t put her change in her hand. Very entertaining. Very current year. I was half expecting Antifa to show up an beat the shopkeeper senseless.
One thing I do miss from San Diego is Roberto’s and the clones (Rigoberto’s, Aliberto’s, etc.). There isn’t anything quite like it out here on the Front Range. Sure, there are taquerias, but the food is different. Nothing like a Roberto’s carne asada burrito.
The traffic in America’s Finest City seemed worse than ever. I-15 would come to a standstill at rush hour, even with 6 lanes. I am told that it’s still better than LA, but sheesh. Apt 401 thinks Denver is bad, it’s nothing compared to SoCal traffic. Waze would send us on odd detours to avoid traffic.
“The traffic in America’s Finest City seemed worse than ever.”
It is.
But LA, the OC and the Bay Area are all far worse, based on my recent driving experiences in all four of those locales this spring.
This is a sign of an economic peak and incipient crash. It may take a year or a few, but it’s coming soon.
Junkies Take Over Corridors Of San Francisco Civic Center BART Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gT5NULvRSk
This is a sign of an economic peak and incipient crash.
Agreed, you can almost smell it in the air.
I have to say, all of the fancy cars and general spending in the Escondido/San Marcos area really surprised me. It wasn’t like that when I lived there.
Nothing like a Roberto’s carne asada burrito.
In our neck of the woods it’s “Gual Bertos”, “Rancheritos”, “Betos”, and “Alvaros”.
They didn’t take over. This has gotten worse in the past year, but has been going on for several years at a similar level. And decades in general as that’s how long the open enclosures / exits have been under consideration for a fix (parts of the stations are accessible even when closed, thus broken and poop covered stairs and escalators). This is just the viral video. Blood, needles, constantly broken escalators, detritus on stairs and escalators, peeing on the train platform, the lawsuit about pee in the elevators and the impact on people using wheelchairs (disgusting!).
Bart is a regionally elected board that is completely unaccountable because the population is too revolving or lazy to address.
Here’s an inside-out Oreo, Kerry Hamill of BART:
Policy of Withholding Crime Surveillance Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDv444M8eDI
“KPIX 5 got a different explanation on Thursday about why the agency doesn’t routinely issue press releases or surveillance video when crimes happen. Earlier, Kerry Hamill, director of external communications, had written a memo and e-mail saying a reason the agency withholds some crime reports is because they don’t want to unfairly characterize riders of color. Melissa Caen has the follow-up report. (7-13-17)”
“… a reason the agency withholds some crime reports is because they don’t want to unfairly characterize riders of color.”
In the interest of fairness, how about if they only release crime reports for white perpetrators?
That BART video is beyond excellent. This is the “fundamental transformation” you were promised, and that some of you voted for. LMFAO
Kerry’s neck muscles pop out when she’s a lion.
“…all of the fancy cars and general spending in the Escondido/San Marcos area really surprised me.”
Financing luxury automobiles through subprime loans or leasing is very popular out here.
Thank God America’s Constitution includes Freedom of Speech in the First Amendment.
PS FYI Coliseum is a station in Oakland. I was always nervous going through there, as it is a pretty rough area.
BART Crimes
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Crime Reports for
April 29, 2018
…
1,656 total incidents logged at Coliseum
This seems pretty typical of the sh!t going down at underpoliced BART stations.
BART Crimes
Theft from Person
Coliseum - 1711-1225
Two victims reported that their cell phones were snatched from their hands by a group of juveniles, who fled on foot. Responding officers detained a group in the parking lot and located one of the stolen phones. One victim identified one of the detainees as having stolen their phone. The suspect was a male, aged 14. That suspect was arrested for theft from a person and was cited to his parent. The other detainees were released after being identified.
I’ve been to Seaport Village once. From what I remember, it was an obvious tourist trap with made-in-China cheap souvenirs. The days of trinket shops might be nearing an end. Boomers liked to collect trinkets to put on a shelf, but I’m not sure about Millenials. They’re supposed to like experiences instead of things. Hmmm, if Millenials like tiny houses, then are they really going to buy the bubble-era McMansions?
Seaport Village is a tourist trap, but it’s right on the bay and makes for a nice walk, which is what most people were doing.
It would be headline news (or an article in the Onion) if an actual San Diego local bought something at Seaport Village. They go there to throw the frisbee, walk the dog, etc. Buy a cheap kite made in China? Lol.
“Waze would send us on odd detours to avoid traffic.”
I’ve been routed along at least four distinct commute paths, depending on the conditions. Taking the same route home every day would get boring, anyway.
One thing I do miss from San Diego is Roberto’s and the clones (Rigoberto’s, Aliberto’s, etc.). There isn’t anything quite like it out here on the Front Range.
Hmmm. Haven’t seen anything like that in Sacramento or San Jose. I found one ok hole in the wall Mexican place in San Jose. But nothing like Santiagos or Deliciosos on the front range. So it appears I have neither.
Yeah, Mexican food tastes different on the Front Range. Not better or worse (except for 3 Margaritas, simply bland), just different.
It’s the Santa Fe style (I think that’s where it came from) green chile over everything. I can’t find that anywhere here.
Yup, never seen anything like that on the coast. They’ve never heard of Hatch chiles either.
Green Hatch chile is definitely a New Mexicans thing.
San Francisco, CA 94110 Housing Prices Crater 8% YOY As Homeowners Walk Away From Oversized Mortgage Payments
https://www.zillow.com/san-francisco-ca-94110/home-values/
https://snag.gy/m5EzRB.jpg
how does new money created get its value?
Because it is indistinguishable from the money that is already in your pocket. So it will become an inflation tax on those who don’t already own assets, for example through higher home prices and rents. It also serves to redistribute assets into the hands of whoever has the primary claim on the newly created money (the central bank and megabanks in its inner circle) before it is loaned out.
All sounds good but in a simpler form the new money steals its value from the old money.
I thought I said that in my post, but nothing is wrong with saying it more directly.
Money printing amounts to a dillution of the currency, unless exactly matched by economic growth.
Money printing in the middle of a deep recession is an example of what happens when growth is negative and monetary expansion is positive. Interest rates that would already be low due to the natural decrease in demand for loanable funds during a recession get pounded into the ground, possibly to never recover. Asset bubbles out the wazoo are a natural consequence.
For “art imitates life” examples in film, check out this scene from There Will be Blood:
I Drink Your Milkshake!
Also check out this movie:
The Counterfeiters
Every dollar is (((borrowed))) into existence.
I don’t get this. If a new batch of money is printed into existence, it creates a dillution of the value of money already in existence, akin to a company issuing new stock shares.
Explain the “borrowing” part of money printing, please.
Reading between the lines, but my interpretation is that SV guy is references cash out refis. Rapid home appreciation is wealth that doesn’t exist, but homeowners cashes in and that is borrowing money into existence.
I thought he was talking about the Fed’s money creation by announcement plus electronic book entry on a computer. It’s like Bitcoin mining but perhaps with less electricity wastage. Where borrowing is involved is what I am missing. Maybe the stage where Treasurys are purchased to put the money into banks’s balance sheets.
Every dollar is (((borrowed))) into existence…
And we’ll always owe more than was borrowed.
Signed your name on the dotted line? Then you are no victim. You are culpable in your own fleecing.
There is that little issue of the debt the folks we send to Washington have accumulated.
Well, at least it isn’t only our own government that’s doing it.
Global Debt at Record Level
It’s grown more than 40 percent in 10 years and nevertheless is a smaller part of the economy
By Alexandre Tanzi
April 10, 2018, 7:24 AM PDT
Global debt rose to a record $237 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017, more than $70 trillion higher than a decade earlier, according to an analysis by the Institute of International Finance. At the same time, the ratio of debt-to-gross domestic product fell for the fifth consecutive quarter as the world’s economic growth accelerated. The ratio is now around 317.8 percent of GDP, or 4 percentage points below the high in the third quarter of 2016, according to the IIF.
…
I think a useful way to think about this is that money represents “purchasing power”, and the PTB have found ways to manipulate the purchasing power of money. They can then redistribute that purchasing power to their pet sectors/groups.
“redistribute that purchasing power to their pet sectors/groups.”
Great way of looking at it, thx. And the operative word is “power,” because in a debt-based consumer economy spenders have huge power to reshape society. The more people spending borrowed vs. earned money, the more distorted and, frankly, unfair, the economy and society at large become.
It’s a shame that race-based criteria are used to redistribute wealth on a discriminatory basis.
I was absolutely NOT talking about anything to do with race. The transfer of purchasing power from savers to borrowers is a universal social problem that adversely affects responsible Americans of all backgrounds.
“But despite his long hours, he is stuck in a financial nightmare.”
(snort)
“His troubles began back in 2012, when the Hannagans took out a $600,000 loan from a lender called Pepper Money. He estimates their monthly income was about $9,500. Their mortgage broker recorded their expenses at just $1,300 a month.”
😁
“That’s for five people. It’s an imaginary figure. Our living expenses were, like, $4,000 and then our mortgage was, like, $3,000. So that’s $7,000. The broker just told us to sign the page.”
And because they had some good, solid common sense they told their broker to go pound sand. Oh ,wait …
“And we faxed it back to her and she said she’ll fill out the rest.”
Bahahahaha … what a dummy.
“Jason Hannagan regrets it now. He says they could never afford the loan.”
Big surprise!
“Months later, they had to offload their investment property in Sydney and, three years on, they were forced to sell their family home in Brisbane.”
Bahahahahahahaha …may I help the next person in line?
“Pepper Money”
Eeeyeah…
He already had an “investment” property and his mom’s old house on the side. He was a greedy speculator is all, and he lost the gamble.
I sense social engineering. The echo housing bubble has occurred in predominately white and Asian enclaves. The black and Hispanic areas have had nowhere near the recovery. This has widen the wealth gap between the groups. Now, the social activists are at it again. Tragically, this is the worse time to encourage low income minorities to buy houses. The housing bubble came to its end last time after minority areas were surging in value due to the low credit standards. The crash was worse in those areas and many of the areas remain with housing values far below the peak and government is doing it again. It is the definition of insanity.
there is some truth to that. It really seems this economy has become infatuated with rising stock and home prices for wealth generation.
The poor working smuck just sees his paycheck buy less.
The nuts and bolts economy never recovered.
I thought Compton prices were up too.
Compton prices are through the roof, higher than last peak. That’s why Dan’s post is incorrect.
Compton may be an outlier due to its proximately to the bubble areas but the policy is laid out for anyone that wants to search for it:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/
This is directly on point, maybe not to Compton but the bigger picture:
https://www.inman.com/2017/09/26/black-neighborhoods-fall-behind-in-housing-market-recovery-study-shows/
I think the bigger question here is not necessarily inequality between racial groups, but between age cohorts. Young people buying today are essentially cashing out the fantasy appreciation and allowing boomers to retire well while they themselves are consigned to become indentured servants who carry relative housing prices far in excess of what earlier generations had in terms of price to wage ratios.
Maybe if many stopped getting the PC degrees and actually decided to work for a living they could both lower the cost of housing and earn a better living.
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/04/25/605092520/high-paying-trade-jobs-sit-empty-while-high-school-grads-line-up-for-university
Santa Ana, CA is almost 80% Hispanic, and its prices have doubled since 2010.
Methinks it has to do more with location than race. I’m sure there are lily white places in flyover which the appreciation fairy never visited.
No such thing as lily white anymore. Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, Idaho all have significant hispanic populations. Try finding an English speaking employee at a McDonalds in Central Washington or Eastern Oregon.
The idea of white flyover country is about 20 years out of date.
According to census numbers:
Iowa: 5% Hispanic
Nebraska: 8.7%
Idaho: 11%
Utah: 13%
And I’ll bet the lion’s share of those Hispanics live in bigger cities. I’ve been in places like Cheyenne or Sydney
And when compared with Santa Ana, CA, all of those places are white bread city. When California or Texas friends visit us in Loveland the first thing they invariably say is “Wow, everybody here’s white.” Of course, the % is really only 92%, but when you come from a place where whites are now the minority, 92% feels like “everyone”
We actually have two types of “Hispanics” out here. One group has been here for generations and is very “Spanish”, meaning they look white and and no connections or relatives in Mexico. The other group are mestizo immigrants. From what I have observed, the two groups do not mingle and the locals don’t care for the immigrants
Try finding an English speaking employee at a McDonalds in Central Washington or Eastern Oregon.
I don’t consider those places to be flyover. FWIW, the employees at any fast food joint in my town speak English, and almost all of them are white teens.
Bend and Yakima are flyover, sorry. I think the best indicator of “flyover” is, surprise, the size and proximity of the nearest airport. ex: Chicago is in the interior of the country, but there are airports that people fly INTO. Ditto for most larger cities: Denver, DFW, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Phoenix etc.
If you have to drive a rental car an hour (or 25+ miles) to get to your destination, you’re in flyover.
Census. You mean the census that still says there are only 11M illegals in the country? Amazing how that number hasnt budged for 25 years, huh. I wouldn’t trust the census to tell me how many people live in my own houae let alone the breakdown of my state.
Not big cities. Like Oxide said Yakima type cities all over. Dalton, GA about an hour north of Atlanta is another good example. Or is that not flyover enough either? Reading,PA is 65% Hispanic and as flyover as they come. Nebraska went from virtually 0% Hispanic in the 90s and is predicted to be 25% by 2040.
You peeps in big cities really have no clue about the world arouns you.
I think the best indicator of “flyover” is, surprise, the size and proximity of the nearest airport.
I like your definition, but coastal people definitely think of anything between the Sierras and Appalachians as flyover whether it has a major airport or not. The only possible exception being Chicago.
“The nuts and bolts economy never recovered.”
Oh it recovered, but the recovery happened somewhere else; It happend to where ever it was the nuts and bolts jobs were shipped off to.
“Wealth is more concentrated than income”
That’s kind of a truism. Income may be unequal to begin with, but wealth requires saving money that is not currently spent. This is easier to do for folks at higher income levels whose basic human needs are easily met, leaving a large amount of discretionary income (unless you pay taxes in California, that is!).
“I sense social engineering.”
So do I. 😁
“The echo housing bubble has occurred in predominately white and Asian enclaves. The black and Hispanic areas have had nowhere near the recovery. This has widen the wealth gap between the groups.”
It’s time to EQUALIZE! 😁
“Now, the social activists are at it again.”
My heros.
“Tragically, this is the worse time to encourage low income minorities to buy houses.”
Gratefully this is the best time to encourage low income minorities to buy houses.
“The housing bubble came to its end last time after minority areas were surging in value due to the low credit standards. The crash was worse in those areas and many of the areas remain with housing values far below the peak and government is doing it again.”
It’s a miracle!
“It is the definition of insanity.”
It makes for an easy living.
Totally agree. And the irony is those minorities and low income groups the gang who can’t shoot straight is trying to help are due to lose the most in the next downturn again.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
If housing is so competitive, inventory shortages, and no end in sight why roll out a 3% down mortgage? Why would you need to provide even more stimulus on the lending market?
Why? To keep it that way, especially in markets where FHA limits are much lower than the median price. But at some point they’ll run out of ammo and not even 0% down loans will move the houses.
I wonder if global banks and governments around the world are serious about deflating the bubble. Sure, some have taken steps, but I seem to recall that was done 10 years ago, and it was short lived and the money spigots were eventually reopened. Mortgage interest rates tumbled and lending was loosened.
To keep qualifying more subprime buyers when you have run out of those who qualify under current standards. It’s a race to the bottom and a symptom of an incipient housing crash.
SHP posted a link to 105 LTV loans yesterday.
I wonder if we’re getting close to the “borrowers who never even make their first payment” type standards.
How else do you move 25 million excess, empty and defaulted housing units?
More Subprime.
Ben…I read this yesterday…It just reminded me of all your post long ago about what you were seeing on the court house steps and having to clean out all those foreclosed houses…By the end of it, I thought that it could easily be something you could have penned…You may have even came across the locksmith at some point..
“In Phoenix, homes lost 56 percent of their value during the bust, plunging hundreds of thousands of homeowners underwater on their mortgages. The market may have rebounded, but many scars remain”..
https://apple.news/A6NLn28FbSvSOv_aNLNr2Pg
“Events like short sales can stay on a credit report for seven years. Because of that, many Americans who missed payments, sold short or went into foreclosure during the recession are now returning to the housing market with healthy credit. They are called “boomerang buyers.”
Seems these people buy high and then loose their @ss over and over.
“After seven years of renting, the Heges bought again for the first time last year.”
Nothing like buying at the top twice. Lemmings…
I seem to recall reading here that “boomerangs” were able to get new mortgages in as little as 2 years after a short sale, foreclosure or BK.
yeah I think it was 3 years or something like that. great incentive to walk from home. Save 100,000.00 for waiting a few years to get another loan?
There is so much intervention in the housing market going on to keep prices up. Bankers need the interest money and local govts need the tax revenue.It is a cash cow.
I’m glad they increased the duration enough so that Housing Bubble 1.0’s greatest fools can enjoy a repeat performance in the Housing Bubble 2.0 collapse.
“I felt like a sucker. Like, here I am, paying my bills, and everyone else — I don’t know,” he says. “Are they in a situation where they lost their jobs and they just had no choice? Or are they like some people that I know who just decided, ‘Well, this is a bad situation. I don’t want to be underwater for 10 years; I’m just going to walk’?”
Do whats best for business!
And yet you actively contribute to all of that through your behavior.
Perhaps “business” needs to be held accountable.
“But now, Freddie Mac is about to supercharge its 3% down program and launch a widespread expansion of the offering.”
Jeff?
Trying to make loans in all the wrong places
Offering loans to my favorite races
…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FAyDmJvjxbg
“looking for loans in all the wrong places.”
They are desperate for new interest revenue.
First National Bank of Montgomery v. Daly
“Daly based his defense on the argument that the bank had not actually loaned him any money but had simply created credit on its books.”
lawful consideration? Elements of a contract?
“…but had simply created credit on its books.”
LMFAO! I suppose the legal defense team might go on to point out that the money used to fund the home purchase was printed out of thin air.
looks like the smart thing to do in the last bubble was to let the house go and then come back and buy at a lower price with a govt loan?
FYI Spokane is in WA. I normally get up there for a few days each year. Other than Gonzaga University, I’m not sure what drives the local economy. On my last visit, I had an interesting conversation with a young lady who grew up there. Her primary aspiration in life was to move somewhere else.
Young people think that the sidewalks in the big cities are covered in gold. When they arrive, they learn it’s #2 and not gold that’s on the sidewalk.
Went on a mircrobrew tour in SD a week ago. Our last stop was a micro in the gas lamp quarter downtown. Our guide warned us that there were homeless in the area and that we should watch where we step.
Our guide warned us that there were homeless in the area and that we should watch where we step ??
Interesting, maybe I missed it but I spent a lot of time in the Gas Lamp several months ago and I saw none of that…It was during the day and not at night so maybe that changes things…
I didn’t see any #2 on the sidewalks, and wasn’t really expecting to see any. And the tour was Sunday afternoon, it was a bachelor send off.
Spokane was a beautiful place at one time, esp west Spokane.
Deer Park is nice too.
But a long winter season with drifting snow and frequent sub-zero temperatures lowers the quality of living, IMHO.
Still beautiful, but somewhat of an economic backwater to my eye…
Tukwila, WA Housing Prices Crater 7% YOY As King County/Seattle Housing Correction Advances
https://www.movoto.com/tukwila-wa/market-trends/
Naples, FL Housing Prices Crater 6% YOY As Boomers Liquidate Vacation Properties
https://www.zillow.com/naples-fl/home-values/
*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart
Dogs climbing mountains:
https://imgur.com/a/Ht9ccuu
‘Two local buyers appealed to the 75-year old owner’s emotions by sending her personal letters and their wedding photos. In the end, Thraves went with the highest bid’
Surprise, surprise!
‘The winning bid was submitted by a Toronto couple with young children, and came with no conditions. They purchased the home without even setting foot in it’
I found this curious cuz not far away there are Canadian FB’s crying in their beer, and here the CBC finds a way to celebrate this “winning” bid. What’s that? You didn’t know the kitchen hadn’t been updated in 60 years? Well, just hang a photo of your wedding on the wall and deal with it.
‘What makes this program different is that there are no geographic or income restrictions’
I think I hear Oxide firing up the grill for some crow.
Why? Low-down mortgages aren’t new. These mortgages still have a fixed rate fully amortized monthly nut. But it is worrying that they don’t seem to care about FICO. I wonder what the interest rate is for these things.
‘no geographic or income restrictions’
Basically a NINJA loan.
NINJA or not, and no matter what they put down, those people with no income are going to have to pony up that PITI every month — no making minimum pick-a-pays in the hopes of “refinancing later.” The same mass foreclosures are already baked into the cake like they were last time. Only this time they’ll foreclose much quicker because there’s no I/O grace period.
I have to wonder if Mel Watt is doing this because he knows he’s going to be thrown out on his ear in 9 months.
Donk,
No income or fat income is a distinction without a difference considering neither circumstance is affordable. Now stack on losses to depreciation at $3/sq ft every single year, insurance and taxes and it becomes subprime x10.
Only this time they’ll foreclose much quicker because there’s no I/O grace period.
The reason for slow foreclosures the last time around was NOT an “I/O grace period”. A sibling’s house still hasn’t completed foreclosure, after not making a payment in 8-9yrs now. You think that was a “grace period”??
No, the real reasons were foreclosure moratoriums, sloppy legal transfers, and sloppy paperwork. Do we really believe that the industry has its t’s crossed and its i’s dotted this time around?
IMO, the one thing that they learned was to pass all of the risk to the taxpayer immediately, rather than holding big batches of cr@ptastic loans while securitizing themselves.
How Blackstone Became China’s Real Estate Connection
• Dealmakers such as HNA are under pressure to sell, and that could be a boon for the firm.
By Gillian Tanand Sarah Mulholland
Bloomberg Businessweek
In February 2017, Stephen Schwarzman toasted Wang Jian, co-chairman of HNA Group, at a charity event at Manhattan’s Park Avenue Armory. Wang lauded the billionaire Schwarzman as a “god of fortune” and a man with the “key to opening up the chest of treasures.” Fourteen months later, Wang has had an unexpected change in fortune—and Schwarzman and his Blackstone Group LP may be uniquely placed to unlock some of HNA’s real estate treasures.
Chinese authorities have moved to curb and unwind overseas investments by homegrown dealmakers including HNA, Anbang Insurance Group, and Dalian Wanda Group. At least one common thread in those companies’ deals has emerged: Each company found itself sitting across from Blackstone at the negotiating table, often more than once, as it executed its global spending spree.
Although it may be more commonly thought of as a private equity firm, Blackstone has $120 billion in real estate assets under management. Jon Gray, Schwarzman’s second in command and designated successor, rose within the company by building up that business. As a seller, Blackstone spent much of the past few years feeding a hunger from Chinese buyers that proved insatiable—until now.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-27/how-blackstone-became-china-s-real-estate-connection
‘Wang lauded the billionaire Schwarzman as a “god of fortune” and a man with the “key to opening up the chest of treasures.”
‘Chinese Developer Defaults on $364M in Debt One Year After $449M Blackstone Deal’
‘Less than one year after its offshore affiliate paid $449 million to buy a stake in Seaworld from Blackstone, and just nine months after that same unit failed in its $4 billion bid to buy out US senior living operator Brookdale, listed developer Zhonghong Holdings has announced to the Shenzhen exchange that it has defaulted on more than RMB 1.1 billion ($174 million) in debts in the last month.’
‘Zhonghong Holdings announced Monday that it now has a total of RMB 2.3 billion in overdue debts including this latest RMB 1.1 billion batch of overdue liabilities. The past due obligations amount to 23 percent of the listed developer’s net assets, according to a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Zhonghong Holdings has a market capitalisation of RMB 12.5 billion.’
‘The Beijing-based unit’s credit crisis comes just a few months after Zhonghong Holdings’ founder and controlling shareholder Wang Yonghong became a target of Chinese prosecutors due to defaults by various units of his Zhonghong Group.’
‘Wang’s default spree comes just short of 12 months after his Zhonghong Zhouye bought a 21 percent stake in Orlando-based theme park group SeaWorld Entertainment from Blackstone for $449 million in May last year — more than triple the price that the US investment giant had paid for the shares just seven years earlier.’
Wang got schlonged.
Is the correct term Schlongwanger or Wangschlonger?
I mentioned this a few weeks ago I think. I’m curious about how difficult it would be for owners of American property who are willing to take rmb/yuan in China for the property to just sell them to Chinese people over there for local money and then record the sale here as a very low amount?
Frisco, TX Housing Prices Crater 7% YOY As Oil Recession Slams Dallas Area
https://www.movoto.com/frisco-tx/market-trends/
This is from an advance email about an AEI conference I’ll be listening in on tomorrow:
‘National and State Mortgage Risk Indices Update:
Data for January 2018 purchase originations showed flat Agency purchase volume from a year ago, but an increase of 31% since January 2013. Given the strengthening seller’s market, which has now reached historic proportions, further credit easing is easily capitalized into higher home prices. However, flattening purchase volumes may indicate that tight supply is limiting growth in home sales.’
‘The National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI) measures how government-guaranteed loans with an origination in a given month would perform if subjected to the same stress as in the financial crisis that began in 2007. This is similar to stress tests routinely performed to ascertain an automobile’s crashworthiness or a building’s ability to withstand severe hurricane force winds. An NMRI value of 10%, for example, for a given set of loans indicates that 10% of those loans would be expected to default in a severe stress event, based on the actual performance of loans with the same risk characteristics after the financial crisis. The NMRI is published monthly utilizing a nearly complete census of loan-level data for loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, and Rural Housing. These same Agency data are also used to track loan volume and other characteristics.’
‘Mortgage risk jumped in January for Agency purchase loans with many individual agency indices setting new series’ highs. The composite Purchase NMRI series set a new high, up 0.4 ppt. and 1.6 ppts. from January 2017 and 2013 respectively, while FHA, GSE, and VA purchase indices all set new series’ highs. The Refi NMRI also set a series high in January, primarily driven by a leap in the Cash-out index.’
‘The four main drivers towards greater risk and leverage:
• First-time buyers (FTBs) continue to have increasing MRIs that are now almost twice as high as Repeat Buyer MRI and rapidly rising. This is driven looser lending, particularly by FHA, which is being used to chase burgeoning home prices.
• Continued credit easing from nonbanks; while the share of nonbanks has stabilized at around 60%, all of the year-over-year increase in risk is attributable to nonbanks as banks have maintained their more moderate levels of risk.
• A massive shift towards higher DTIs after Fannie and Freddie increased their DTI limit to 50 percent without compensating factors.
• Data indicate a distinct reorientation of Fannie Mae’s risk appetite, as its purchase business has shifted away from lower risk towards higher risk loans over the past 6 months.
“It is stunning that the median dollars of down payment for FHA purchase loans has declined from $4,000 in January 2013 to $3,900 in January 2018, while the median sales price has increased by 24% over the same period,” noted Edward Pinto, codirector of the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI’s) Center on Housing Markets and Finance.“Increasing equity leverage, combined with burgeoning debt ratios are fueling Housing Boom 2.0,” Pinto added.’
“A $7 Trillion Debt Pile Looms Large Over Chinese Households”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-24/the-7-trillion-debt-pile-looming-large-over-chinese-households
One can appear to be whatever he wants with a pile of borrowed money.
Thankfully, Yellen has assured us there will be no new financial crisis in “our” time.
‘…in “our” time.’
She’s gone, so bring it on.
I listened to this The Indicator podcast the other day (spin off from Planet Money) and one of the professors interviewed classified homeowners as a cartel, which was a very curious way of thinking about American home ownership. This is the excerpt that I most enjoyed:
“I think there are a lot of reasons why people oppose new housing near them, but one of the main ones that’s been out there in the literature for a long time is thinking thinking about single family home owners as a kind of cartel where they get together and collude to prevent new supply in order that their assets increase in value.”
“That is a problem with the way we think about housing in the United States. So we want housing to be affordable on the one hand, but if we own a house we might be happy when that house increases in value, so I think people often in their own minds don’t realize what is happening.”
*********************************************************
California’s Housing Conundrum
April 26, 2018
NPR
Cardiff Garcia & Stacey Vanek Smith
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/04/26/606151956/california-s-housing-conundrum
This subject has been talked about here before - some time ago.
Some housing markets ARE in fact cartels. Ponder Boulder, for example. That city has set up numerous obstacles to housing construction. The locals have theirs…and they want to keep outsiders out.
One of the more common strategies is to enact onerous environmental regulations. “Preserving the Environment” is the common refrain.
Additionally, there are gated communities all over the country.
Country club communities.
None of this is new.
So we want housing to be affordable
Actually we don’t. We would just like to solve certain problems that are more solvable if the right people could live near us (but not too near) cheaply. But everybody else needs to ante up.
From Tresho yesterday:
People change. Marriages change.
They say marriage has 3 important stages…sex, children, and companionship. And each transition point is dangerous to the marriage if one partner moves forward and the other won’t or can’t.
Six surprising ways to postpone the menopause
http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/health/wellness/6-surprising-ways-to-postpone-the-menopause-11363955029552
What if one partner (say the male) wants to sustain sexuality while the other only desires companionship?
What if one partner (say the male) wants to sustain sexuality while the other only desires companionship?
I don’t think that really works, actually.
It’s true that people change, but unless they are changing in the same direction, then there is going to be friction and possible separation and/or divorce.
I know of at least one one example.
What if one partner (say the male) wants to sustain sexuality while the other only desires companionship?
Having had a crash course in that in my previous marriage (she was 3 years older than me) I have concluded that even though younger man/older woman works well at a younger age, it’s better to do things more traditionally for the long haul if you only want to be married once. I’m thinking if the guy is 55-60 and the woman is starting to lose interest that’s going to be a lot easier to deal with than at 40 or so. At least it seems that way from my current perspective…
I hedged by marrying seven years younger, but struggling nonetheless…
Should have followed Grandpa’s lead…he married twelve years younger. Don’t know if it would have been legal by today’s standards. In their old age, my grandparents seemed similarly old.
“I hedged by marrying seven years younger…”
Me too.
I saw SalinasRon posted just once yesterday. I believe he beat the lot of us with his youthful wife, but he and his sweetheart have been fighting the ultimate fight. I hope she responds to the latest therapy.
I think you can muddle through a sexless marriage, but it will be lonely, frustrating, and incredibly unsatisfying. I think this therapist nails it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVgzOyHVcj4
The major US real estate markets are 20-30% higher than the previous bubble and yet incomes have not risen much from 2006.
Consumers have more unsecured debt today than in 2006.
US income increases have not kept up with real inflation since 2006.
The final bellwether to watch - we are near the peak of the economic cycle. In fact, we are experiencing one of the longest growth cycles on record - it’s very long in the tooth.
These 4 signals should scare anyone off from the RE market for the next 2-4 years.
Except that the “economy” has not expanded at all in the last decade. What looks like increase in the Department of Truth data is merely the spending of borrowed money. Why should wages go up under these circumstances? The only growth cycle we’ve seen is the growth of debt.
Like if your neighbor buys a nice new car and you figure he must have got a promotion to be doing so well. He got a promotional interest rate is all. He’s worse off, not better.
debt = money
us treasuries are debt instruments that the FED has bought with legal tender or money.
At interest. Only the Treasury can legally mint money. The Fed creates I Owe You Nothings and loans them out with interest.
minting money is one thing but having the rights to issue it is another.
Alameda, CA Housing Prices Crater 9% YOY As Bay Area Tech Wreck Accelerates
https://www.zillow.com/alameda-ca/home-values/
*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart
President Donald Trump rally in Washington Township, Michigan, April 28, 2018, without commercials or commentary:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?444641-1/president-trump-remarks-michigan-rally
Trumpist
A person who has a delicate ego, spreads lies, hates facts, hypocritical, narcissistic, unethical, a White Nationalist and generally gross.
Love, hate or tune him out, nobody can deny the fascinating spectacle of Trump’s cultural imprint.
Oxford dictionary considers including wave of Trumpian neologisms
Trumpertantrum, trumpkin and trumponomics are among a fresh crop of pejorative terms that may find a place in the OED, say lexicographers
Danuta Kean
Mon 30 Jan 2017 08.36 EST
Last modified on Fri 9 Feb 2018 13.52 EST
This article is over 1 year old
A trumpkin seen on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Mud-slinging by Donald Trump, as well as his supporters and critics, has not only affected political debate, it has created a vocabulary of insults that lexicographers are struggling to keep up with, as each side becomes more linguistically creative in their bid to knock 10 bells out of social media opponents.
Trumponomics (the president’s economic policy), trumpertantrum (angry early-morning tweeting laced with innuendo and falsehood) and trumpkin (a pumpkin carved to resemble the former TV host) are among neologisms added to a watchlist of words that may be fast-tracked into the Oxford English Dictionary.
…
Are the bulls reading this looking forward to more submissive backdoor action? Enjoy yourselves!
Why investors should dread the month of May—especially this year
By Ryan Vlastelica
Published: Apr 29, 2018 12:45 p.m. ET
Mays during midterm years tend to be worse, historically speaking
…
Virtually no investor on the planet is prepared to navigate the historically unprecedented investing negative real interest rate landscape that Bernanke and Yellen left in their wake.
It’s the change in bond yields, not the level, that should worry stock-market investors
By Sunny Oh
Published: Apr 29, 2018 12:49 p.m. ET
…
His heart is in the right place, but his math is erroneous. A 200 basis point rise off of 0% is simply not comparable to 200 bps off 8%.
His error amounts to ignoring convexity.
Oh dear…
Banks
China investment banks struggle as trading weakens
2 hours ago
…
Generation Rent, brought to you by the central bankers.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-29/uks-generation-rent-faces-ever-more-unaffordable-homes
“Intergenerational fairness” is becoming the new buzzword for Millennials screwed over by the Boomers and their own poor judgement in voting for globalist-captured parties and candidates who have enabled the systematic looting of the 99%.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/apr/28/proportion-home-owners-halves-millennials
FORD-short?
as they quit cars gas prices are going up
remember how quick SUVs when out of style when gas got to 3.50
2. pickup truck sales & white vans die when the bubble dies
I was also scratching my head when I read that headline. All they’re going to sell in the USA are the Focus and the Mustang. Ford must be very confident that gas prices won’t be going up. Chrysler has also dropped some sedan model, and the ones they still have are very old designs. I guess they think that as long as they keep bumping the hp in the Hellcat trim level that they’ll be relevant.
It costs basically the same to build a pickup vs. a full size sedan, but as we know here, people are willing to pay $50K or more for a pickup or an SUV, but not for a Ford Taurus.
rampant.mortgage.fraud.