Bits Bucket And Craigslist Finds For February 15, 2008
Please post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
To donate by mail, or to otherwise contact this blogger, please send emails to: thehousingbubble@gmail.com
PayPal is a secure online payment method which accepts ALL major credit cards.
Links
-
May 2024 M T W T F S S « Sep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Photo Submission: hbbphotos@gmail.com
View the HBB Photo Gallery *updated 4/13/2008
http://www.larouchepub.com/pr/2008/080212foreclosure_pause.html
Paulson Feels Pressure, Suspends Foreclosures - Hillary Claims Credit
“Hillary Claims Credit”
Doesn’t surprise me. I read an interesting article in Vanity Fair a while back about Hillary’s quest for the Senate seat in NY. She had to go and seek Moynihan’s blessing, so went to his home for a meeting with him and his wife. Moynihan mentioned some bill he was sponsoring and Hillary chimed in with “I had a bill…”. Moynihan’s wife was dumfounded, pointing out that since Hillary had never held any sort of public office, she couldn’t possibly have had a bill up for consideration.
Considering that she has never served in higher office and her chances of doing so or dwindling, she seems mighty quick to claim credit for any action that vaguely resembles one of her myriad campaign promises.
The Clintons have been accused many times of lying with great ease, a reputation not undeserved. On the other hand, they certainly wouldn’t be the first politicians to do so and they won’t be the last. Shrub’s not so bad at it, either.
plmetto I checked that zip of the 40K$ house infl you found
just type it in in google and get city-data
looks ok
Maybe she meant to say: “Bill had a bill.”
She’s still got the same Bill.
I propose a five year freeze on Hiltery’s
political foray. It would obviously solve America’s political crisis. I wonder if the DNC will take credit for my plan at their convention this summer?
is Ron Paul offering bail money ?
DNC 90% socialist
RNC 88%
LP no free sht at all
You kidding me? Of course not. Ron Paul knows that bailouts are an offensive slap in the face to taxpayers, and a dangerous intrusion into the “free” market.
is Ron Paul offering bail money ?
Hell no. Ron Paul appeals only to real adults.
Maybe what Hillary actually meant was, “I had a Bill,” to which the only appropriate answer would’ve been, “Yeah - so did Monica, Paula, etc.”
I didn’t know that Bill and Hillary and Osama were DNC Super Delegates. What kind of set up is that?
I just read about $890,000 in cash payments to Super Delegates. Where do I sign up? Why do we bother with primaries? Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s first 13 colonies, gets to vote nearly dead last.
“were” is the key word. If you run for President, you cannot be a Super Delegate.
“I read an interesting article in Vanity Fair”
Gee, if you read it in Vanity Fair, it must be true. I expect a lot more due dilligence in quoting Main Street Media, but when it comes to Hillary, anything goes. This economy and the housing problem are begging for solutions. What’s yours?
Socialism and electing a cold-blooded monster like Hitlary aren’t a solution - that’s for sure.
Specious right-wing slogan-spouting and demonizing candidates you don’t like isn’t much a solution either.
“Socialism and electing a cold-blooded monster like Hitlary aren’t a solution - that’s for sure.”
So, Hillary is not the solution,but McCane wants to spend billions in Iraq for another 100 years and Obama wants me to “hope” he knows what the hell he is going to do.
Give me a break!
And you don’t think He is a monster?
My plan. Hmmm…how about we plant Hillary! in the White House lawn, you know, upside down and head first and we put it on television. Like the St Joseph’s statues. You know, for good luck. Oh, and let’s have a Parade, we need a parade.
It couldn’t hurt and it would prove about as successful as any ideas she’s shared with us, the great unwashed, up to now concerning her “solutions” to save us from the housing “crash”.
In full disclosure…..I don’t read Vanity fair.
Maybe if she did not come across as so much of a macho-woman nutcrusher, then I could contemplate voting for her… Poor Bill.
The only way I’d vote for McCane is if he selects Ron Paul to be his running mate. Otherwise, I’m spending my vote on Hillary. I want those Arab basturds to have to give a woman some respect. Maybe she can even drive their car and drink their whiskey. It seems like the republicans are in trouble. For the Dems, this is their election to lose. What about Bloomberg or Nader? Any more rumors that these guys will enter the race?
The solution is to leave the market the hell alone. DO NOT bail anyone out, DO NOT, subsidize lenders, owners, bankers, investors, DO NOT screw with interest rates in a response to the mess - in short, let the market work it out.
Pain MUST be felt, otherwise we’ll find ourselves in the same situation again very soon, only it’ll be worse next time.
Did the article tell you Moynihan’s wife is hard of hearing?
http://www.larouchepub.com/pr/2008/080212steinbrueck_losses.html
German Minisister Sees $400 Billion in Subprime Writeoffs.
Deutsche Bank is a big property owner (now) in places like D.C. exurbs. I did a study on Prince William County’s December’s foreclosure activity, and they came out on top of all the other lenders with 166 foreclosures and 37 sales.
It seems like every third foreclosure here in Colorado Springs lists Deutche Bank as the bagholder. So much for Teutonic ruthlessness or efficiency when it comes to making loans.
Ein REIC, Ein Debt, Ein Failure
oh jees you took the german right out of my mouth. well done
They might just be the servicer. The bagholder could be any alphabet soup buyer.
You’re absolutely right. Go to this Washington Post website:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/admin/homepricereports
Plug in “Deutsche” as the buyer and seller and watch the results in the different counties. They suddenly own a lot of houses…
They own a lot of houses in the O.C., too, along with Chase, B of A and WaMu
Lifeline:
Wanted, Debtor Alive
How can you come up with these so darn early in the morning, Lad?? I’m still working on my first cuppa mud and you guys are even an hour earlier out there. LOL.
I always wake up funny.
Me too - though I normally attribute it to sleeping on my hands all night.
gold up, dollar down:
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Gold advanced in London on prospects interest-rate cuts in the U.S. will spur demand for the metal as an alternative to the dollar. Platinum rose to a record.
The U.S. currency erased gains for the year yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled the bank may reduce interest rates further.
http://tinyurl.com/ywu2l5
Fahrenheit $911
BEIJING, Feb. 15 — China surpassed the United States as the world’s second-biggest retail gold market after India in 2007 by volume despite rocketing prices of the metal.
Total consumer demand in China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan reached 363.3 tons, up 23.5 percent from a year earlier, the World Gold Council said in a research report.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/15/content_7607376.htm
Platinum looks like the poster child of the precious metals boom!
Biggest non-investment mistake I made was not throwing a few grand at the Kitco Rhodium pool back in 2003. Still kick myself for that one. 20 baggers are pretty rare…..
You and me both, I remember when it was under $500.00. Looks like it will hit $9000.00
The el lay times ran a story earlier in the week about a cadre of jewelers that were refusing to buy “dirty gold”, coming from Alaska.
Trying to equate “blood diamonds” to heavy yellow metal, means that the minions of Wall Street are running scared of it’s honesty, as well they should be.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-fi-jewelry12feb12,0,5753741.story
Metals can be very interesting. Rhodium has been on a skyrocket ride, crashed, regrouped, and then another skyrocket ride. Personally I think silver is largely misunderstood by Americans. Why shouldn’t silver trade at $350 down the road? There’s much less silver than there is gold in the world. There’s a 20-bagger for ya.
Could be a 20 bagger in silver, but I probably wouldn’t catch it with my wimpy take profits too early attitude.
I just know I would have sold Rhodium at $1000 and would have been happy with the move….for about 2 days!
Remember “permanently high plateau?”
There’s much less silver than there is gold in the world
Nonsense. There’s way more silver. Not many people have gold cutlery or tea sets, do they?
Then again, gold cutlery might cut down on the obesity epidemic . . . “I’m really hungry, but my arm’s too tired to lift the fork to my mouth!”
OK, maybe that’s a stretch . . .
There’s much less silver than there is gold in the world
Nonsense. There’s way more silver. Not many people have gold cutlery or tea sets, do they?
Well, yogurt, why don’t you find out the total known present day gold reserves in the world, in either ounces or tonnes, and then do the same for silver. As I said earlier, silver is largely misunderstood by Americans. Most of the gold ever mined or discovered is in vaults above ground. Most of the silver has been consumed, used in ways that its future use is nil.
Do some homework, you might be suprised
I live in an area in SoUtah that was mined for silver in the late 1900 Century. It’s called Silver Reef and it is the only place in the World where silver was found in sandstone.
http://history.utah.gov/mining_heritage_alliance/southernutah.html
Maybe I should start being alittle more observant (what’s that shiny silver stuff over there?) on those morning hikes around the old mine sites.
One thing the Silvernistas never take into account, is just how of it was used to mint Silver Coins in these United States, before 1965.
In just one year 1964, at the Denver & Philadelphia Mints, almost 1.3 Billion Quarters were struck.
That’s around 250 Million Troy Ounces of Pure Silver, for just one denomination, for just one year.
Another thing is film. They used to call the movies “The Silver Screen”, as the grey metal was used rather extensively in production of it.
And then along came a digital spider…
You realize, of course, that one of the largest users of silver used to be the film industry but digital imagery has reduced demand hugely.
Hey Steadykat, don’t forget that there is another shiny silver metal associated with silver - lead.
Two words: Hunt Brothers.
Scarcity’s got nothin’ to do with it. Look at diamonds. Diamonds are more expensive than Tanzanite, but the latter is far more rare.
I own a bunch of silver, but the person claiming that there is more gold than silver is off by nearly an order of magnitude (for 2006).
http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production3.htm
http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/production2.htm
I didn’t integrate, but silver seems to be much, much more abundant. Knowing something about the geology of porphyry copper deposits and at the value of gold itself should tell you something.
MrBubble
“Nonsense. There’s way more silver. Not many people have gold cutlery or tea sets, do they? ”
Better do your research, we have been in a production deficit for 10 years. Silver is used up in production….and the Comex?? if they ever had to deliver on what is traded …..talk about a moon rocket. Anyway ,way more gold than silver.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PAL
PAL and SWC - only North American platinum-group metals producers - up nicely today.
Yes. I’m a PM guy, but I’ve stayed away from Platinum for the most part (so far much to my chagrin). A large part of the demand is driven by automobiles, a sector of the economy that will get slammed in the downturn. Platinum isn’t as desirable as gold for coins, simply because it doesn’t have as unique properties, and also its high price makes it difficult to trade in small denominations. So IMO Platinum is set for a fall at some point in the next few years.
Would be curious to hear other PM folks’ thoughts though.
Platinum has a short history of having value, compared to Gold.
It’s key value is Russians manipulating it’s value, along with Palladium.
10 years ago, they got Palladium up to $1300 an oz…
Platinum is the ONLY catalyst you can use for diesel engines, which are experiencing something of a renaissance - at least 30% of the vehicles being sold in Europe today have diesel engines. China, which didn’t give a damn about pollution in the past, is also requiring better emissions standards on new vehicles, which is another huge source of demand.
With platinum north of $2000 an oz, expect an upsurge in thefts of catalytic converters, especially from SUVs with higher ground clearance (easier to steal catalytic converters).
“China, which didn’t give a damn about pollution in the past, is also requiring better emissions standards on new vehicles, which is another huge source of demand.”
Yeah but my anticipation is that demand will evaporate:
- After the olympics when no one cares again about China’s environment (not saying that’s right - just that it will happen).
- After China’s economy is dragged down by the U.S. economy and the demand for cars in China drops.
The catalytic converter thefts are already well underway here in Maryland. The shamblers in Baltimore have run out of copper wiring to steal from the burnt-out shells of buildings and the street lights (yes, they steal street lights in Baltimorgue!), so they have expanded their business to stealing catalytic converters in the nearby suburbs and throughout the city.
“With platinum north of $2000 an oz, expect an upsurge in thefts of catalytic converters, especially from SUVs with higher ground clearance (easier to steal catalytic converters).
”
This happened to my friend. Someone hacksawed the catcon from under his 4×4. A loud drive home.
“After the olympics when no one cares again about China’s environment (not saying that’s right - just that it will happen).”
As the Chinese residents get more prosperous, they care more about the environment. It’s hard to care about the environment when you don’t have enough to eat. Easier when you are relatively wealthy. Compare the air quality in US cities today vs 1965. Also we don’t have rivers catching on fire anymore.
OT - the laws requiring less pollution are certainly anti-libertarian - after all if I want to pollute why should the government stop me, the Constitution doesn’t specifically cite the Clear Air Act. So if RP and folks like that had been President from 1965, the environmental improvements would not have happened.
SUV’s are the easiest targets because of high clearance?
Justice doesn’t come much more poetically…
Isn’t there a way to Weld or something the catcon so it caN’t easily be taken?
“Isn’t there a way to Weld or something the catcon so it can’t easily be taken?”
I smell a market niche . . . Kevlar CatCo bras??
Tuesday Weld might work
You could weld a heavy metal cage around the thing, which would slow down a thief’s attempt to cut it away quickly. It has to be exposed to the air for cooling efficiency. You could stamp an ID number all over it, combine that with nationwide laws to track catalytic converters when they are re-cycled at scrap metal places, but the auto & scrap industries have always been against things like that. Or you could get a horse. They still hang horse thieves, don’ they?
Would be curious to hear other PM folks’ thoughts though.
I have platinum. I think there is a good place for it in a precious metals portfolio. My own habit is to buy one ounce of platinum for every 8 ounces of gold I buy. I don’t know which way it will end up in the middle of the term of the next socialist president / congress (around 2011). But at least the socialists do not know how much I own nor the price I paid for the stuff. I thumb my nose at McCain, Obama, and the Clintons.
Profits Illegally…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/business/15norris.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&adxnnlx=1203080460-nObgAVDKLp/UdVlGahwSAQ
Bully for Dorozhko! What bunch of goobermint clowns bungling it all up. Isn’t there enough fraud right here for the S.E.C. to worry about?
trouble in auction land:
SOME well-heeled investors got a big jolt from Goldman Sachs this week: Goldman, the most celebrated bank on Wall Street, refused to let them withdraw money from investments that they had considered as safe as cash.
http://tinyurl.com/ywkvof
Substantial penalty for early withdrawal…
Got cash?
From the article: “These types of instruments depend on new investors showing up to own the securities.”
Isn’t this the very definition of a ponzi scheme?
These were actually long-term securities that must be sold in order to get the money back. “Withdrawal” is a misnomer. “Considered safe as cash” was wishful thinking. I did not know of the existence of “auction-rate securities” until this article was published.
Even though they have been in use for many years, they were bombs waiting to go off, and definitely not a low-risk investment except in very stable markets. There are probably many other such economic IEDs and cunningly planned financial scams are waiting to bite back.
There goes your tax exempt money market fund
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2008/3507corptsm_or_fdr.html
Bailouts and Corporativism, or an FDR Approach?
Isn’t LaRouche a convicted felon?
He is, but I learned recently that he has a huge following on college campuses. My sister goes to the University of Houston and is constantly accosted by his minions. His magazine is pretty entertaining.
constantly accosted by his minions.
This sounds weird, slightly cult-like, and probably illegal.
No harassment laws in TX?
I’ve taught at UH, and yes, they are fairly intense and someone is usually having an argument with them, which they just love. We all fight in our different ways to be “right”. How tiresome just to fight and argue just for the sake of arguing. But at least they’re exercising some brain cells, though I disagree with their message for the most part. As an anthro/observer, I can’t wait to see what happens in Cuba over the next 30 years when the sheen is completely worn off the Castro cult and they slide into history. These causes/movements based on one personality are very unstable, even if they hand pick successors.
Yes, but you should still let his views and arguments carry their weight. Sometimes they do not. He comes off as a bit unhinged at times. Other times, as in this one (OK, I just gave it a fast glance) he’s much more reasonable.
LaRouche was railroaded. His Soviet-style show trial at the infamous “Rocket Docket” in Virginia - with a jury made up almost solely of US government employees - was a travesty of justice. But don’t take my word for it - research it yourself.
U.S. Government Attempts to Eliminate LaRouche
LaRouche is the only presidential candidate to have been convicted in a Federal criminal case. As the measure of a man’s virtue is often the numerousness and savagery of his enemies, the fraudulent character of that conviction is, in fact, the most powerful proof of his exceptional qualifications for election to be President.
According to official government documents and other legal evidence presently in the possession of the candidate’s legal representatives, elements of the U.S. Government have made two clear-cut efforts to eliminate him as a political figure. In both attempts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation played a key, but not exclusive role.
The first attempt is the subject of an official FBI document dating from November 1973, which states, that the New York City office of the FBI, acting under the supervision of FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., attempted to persuade the leadership of the Communist Party U.S.A. that it would be to the Communists’ advantage to have LaRouche “eliminated.” There was an aborted attempt against LaRouche, by Communist-linked agents, during December 1973.
Later, in January 1983, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger succeeded in persuading his cronies on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) to issue a recommendation for a covert national-security operation against LaRouche et al., according to the provisions of Executive Order 12333. This recommendation was promptly put into effect by the FBI that same month. This operation, which grew into one of most far-reaching intelligence operations ever directed against a U.S. citizen, resulted in the fraudulent conviction of LaRouche and six of his associates on Dec. 16, 1988, approximately six years after the Kissinger-prompted PFIAB initiative of January 1983. One of the principal features of this continuing, 1983-1995, attempt to eliminate LaRouche by conviction and defamation, is the crucial role played by a concert of rogues under the direction of a New York private banker, John Train, of the Wall Street-linked firm of Smith and Train. During 1983 and 1984, Train maintained a salon which included representatives of the U.S. foreign intelligence community and national mass-media, including the Wall Street Journal, NBC-TV News, and Readers Digest, plus the FBI’s private asset, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and ADL lackey Dennis King. Train’s documented function was to establish the common guidelines for the “black propaganda” lies to be used jointly by the U.S. news media. During 1984-1988, virtually all of the often massive coverage of LaRouche in the U.S. major news media was lies based on the 1983-1984 formulas adopted by the Train salon. Also, many of the witnesses who were used for the grand jury and trial proceedings against LaRouche and his associates were prepared in cooperation with participants in the Train salon.
The evidence now on the record, shows, chiefly from government documents, and testimony of government agents and witnesses, that the prosecution against LaRouche was a politically motivated fraud, from beginning to end. The indictment in the case included two charges of conspiracy, and eleven counts charging acts in furtherance of the conspiracy. The charge was based upon what was later ruled to have been a fraudulent and unlawful bankrupcty and closure of three firms; government documents show that that unlawful bankruptcy was arranged by the prosecution team to create a pretext for the false charges brought against LaRouche and his co-defendants. Approximately $200,000 of the loans which could never be repaid, solely because the government had unlawfully and fraudulent closed down the three firms, were used as the basis for the criminal indictment. Through a complicit Federal judge, who refused to allow the fact that the government had bankrupted the firms to be brought before the jury, a conviction was obtained.
In addition, a massive accumulation of evidence gathered after the trial shows that:
The government lied on every crucial pre-trial issue;
The government suppressed evidence which would have shown the falseness of the charges and other allegations made by the government at trial;
The government suborned perjury, and the prosecutors made witting use of what they knew to have been perjury by witnesses whom the evidence shows to have lied while under oath.
Right before Labor Day 1994, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark testified to an international committee of jurists and public officials investigating prosecutorial wrong-doing in the LaRouche conviction, saying the LaRouche case “represented a broader rang of deliberate cunning and systematic misconduct over a longer period of time utilizing the power of the federal government than any other prosecution by the U.S. Government in my time or to my knowledge.”
So far, although thousands of public figures from around the world, including thousands within the U.S.A. itself, have demanded that the U.S. government exonerate LaRouche of the false charges on which he was convicted, official Washington says, “Yes, I agree: LaRouche was railroaded; but, I can’t do anything. It’s too hot for me to handle.”
I have a friend that was railroaded on a felony charge along with another group of guys simply because the prosecutor was making a name for herself to grease the skids for a political office run(which she ultimately attained).
The underlying charge was a misdemeanor at most and would have been dismissed during trial on the facts, but they charged him with a felony and piled on a bunch of false charges that he was too scared to fight because it would have resulted in many years in the tank if he failed to exonerate himself.
He took a felony plea to something he wasn’t guilty of in order to stay out of jail. His charge was reduced to a misdemeanor after two years of successful probation. Probably because the prosecutor felt some tinge of remorse for trying to ruin his life. It was a travesty of justice and made me a believer in how corrupt our judicial system can be as well as understanding how it is used to intimidate and squash truth-tellers.
Which is why I personally often give the benefit of the doubt to (non-violent) felons who have just the one conviction, especially those who were in the public eye (read: target) before the charges were filed. My family was involved in law and the courts, and we didn’t see that kind of railroading, or at least I was never aware of it despite working in a law office part time. But we also were small town and nowhere near the power struggles in DC.
What’s been amazing me lately is the number of high-profile people going to jail for lying under oath. OMG, from what I saw in legal work, if we jailed everyone who ever lied under oath, we’d hardly have enough people left to run the jails!! It seems to me to be selective justice at best.
This is way more common than the average American could possibly guess, esp. when it comes to drug charges. I have a good friend in Colorado whose daughter was sent to prison for 4 years because she was “caught” with meth. After hiring a high-powered attorney and spending a fortune, he was finally able to get her out, but only because the judge who sentenced her had died. The new judge was appalled, the DA who had brought charges was eventually voted out of office by a recall. The DA and the dead judge had done this to a number of kids, most were social pot smokers, in order to show they were getting rid of the dopers in the area. In the meantime, the real methheads were still hard at it, stealing, robbing, etc. and crime was actually going up in the area. She basically ruined the lives of about 15 kids, most were college students and just partying.
http://www.cashill.com/regional/jay_nixon.htm
But Jay Nixon tells us not a word about his once upon a time role as national and state leader in the war on terror. Yes, the war on terror. As The Kansas City Star reported a decade back, when it came to terror groups, Nixon was keen on “taking the hardest line of any attorney general in the nation.”
Some months passed before Heather learned of Nixon’s ambitions, and she learned the hard way. The state police came to her home late one night, handcuffed her, and hustled her off to jail. The desperate and tearful burger-flipper had no idea what she was being arrested for.
“We range from ages 23 to 78,” defendant and Vietnam vet James Ransdell told the jury in his opening statement. “We are farmers, mechanics, carpenters, truck drivers, equipment operators, a cross section of America. Until this came up none of us had ever been arrested for anything but maybe some speeding tickets.”
I just read that whole thing. That’s horrible.
I guess the only thing to be learned is to take this kind of crap very seriously and hire a badass attourney.
“represented a broader rang of deliberate cunning and systematic misconduct over a longer period of time utilizing the power of the federal government”
But the FED isn’t part of the Gov’t…so “they” must be everywhere, Oh, my!
Man that was a long post!
I’d have a little more sympathy for his claim that he was set up if he didn’t send his followers to harass unsuspecting college students.
Or maybe he can get the folks at the Innocence Project to take up his cause. They’ve been pretty good at exonerating the falsely convicted.
Are the LaRouchies on campus really “harrassing unsuspecting college kids,” or are they trying to wake up the zombies? Typically they set up a literature table and try to engage people in debate - which in this world where so many young people blindly accept half-truths and outright lies, isn’t such a bad thing. If people don’t like what they have to say, just keep walking.
When I was a school we had a whole range of organizators or agitators for one cause or another, from street preachers to “Hands off Nicaraqua” types, and we never considered that “harrassment.” It was more like exercising the right to free speech.
Amen NoVa
IMHO he is going for the group with disposable income that can contribute to his life style. In the 70s he was a Marxist, not as much money as the right wing so he switched sides.
Are the LaRouchies on campus really “harrassing unsuspecting college kids,” or are they trying to wake up the zombies?
Somebody further up posted that their sister was regularly accosted - not my word, his. The word “accost” suggests some kind of unwanted intrusion upon a person’s space.
Why don’t they just set up their booths in elementary school yards, that way they can indoctrinate the kids really young when their brains are truly pliable.
Please. Lyndon LaRouche. Isn’t he the one who thinks the vatican has their own special spaceship?
Hey wake up you zombies, the Pope is really an alien…!!!!!!11 BOOGA BOOGA
“If people don’t like what they have to say, just keep walking.”
Always did…always will.
Please. Lyndon LaRouche. Isn’t he the one who thinks the vatican has their own special spaceship?
That was one of the more clueless LaRouche smears I’ve read. Entertaining, but clueless.
“Who the Gods would destroy, they must first make mad.” Or make them seem mad through bizarre and baseless allegations.
No, I’m not clueless, I’m just part of the conspiracy.
(Didn’t you figure it out?)
How old is this guy any way? He must be pushing 100…
He’s 85, but judging by his think pieces in each week’s EIR, he’s still going strong.
No — haven’t you heard? He is the world’s leading sponsor of economic research.
Guess it’s all about who you know. LaRouche doesn’t have enough friends in high places like these fine folk:
John Poindexter, Convicted of conspiracy, lying to Congress.
Appointed to head DARPA by Bush.
Elliot Abrams, Pleaded guilty in 1991 to withholding information from Congress in the Iran-contra affair.
Appointed as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy by Bush.
Otto Reich, Convicted in 1990 on five felony charges of conspiracy. Appointed by Bush to direct Inter American affairs at the State Department.
John Negroponte, Convicted of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair. Bush appointed him as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Rogelio Pardo-Maurer. Supported Contra forces in Nicaragua.
Appointed by Bush as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Western Hemisphere affairs.
Well said. Even in here people don’t seem to realize that if you speak truth to power or step on the wrong toes, there’s a price to be paid.
I think most of the Bushies are convicts, whether or not they have stood before a judge. I look at Bush’s record and wonder what it takes to get impeached in this country? The Bush/Cheney years have been filled with lies and deceit and acts against the American people. That’s why a republican won’t win the next election — even if Bush successful stirs the pot in the middle east. He’s off to Africa soon to see what natural resources we can lay our hands on, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts sending troops there as well, probably claiming the war on terrorism. Recently there has been 9 cuts to internet cables in the middle east - oh, just as Iran is trying to get their oil bourse going (why isn’t this reported by the MSM?). And now, a fight over FICA. Doesn’t anyone ever put 2 and 2 together? Big duh there as to who is responsible. But Bush is NEVER responsible.
Perhaps some of the convicts that Bush is tangled up with are among the 200 or so convicts that William Jefferson Clinton sprung from the pen on his last day in office?
Why did Clinton spring all those folks anyway? Any theories?
but you can never leave…
NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has barred investors in its CSO Partners hedge fund from withdrawing their money, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday.
Citigroup suspended redemptions in CSO, a fund specialising in corporate debt, after investors tried to withdraw more than 30 percent of the fund’s $500 million in assets, said the story.
http://www.reuters.com/article/fundsFundsNews/idUSN1551782720080215
“CSO had an 11 percent loss last year, forcing Citigroup to inject $100 million to stabilize the fund”
Stabilize? What does that mean, rescue?
This “where’s my money” thing seems to be an epidemic.
Yes, what I find interesting is that it sort of resembles a “run on the banks”, except it is a “run on the hedge funds”. Shows you where the money is.
Show Me My Money!
Alad, You are just tooooo efffin funny. Please, let me breath….once….in….a…..whew…..while…. puuullleasse…I can””””””t sssttoopp laughing.
Dude, where’s my cash?!
They’ll show it to you, you just can’t have it.
Like the father looking at his baby through the window of the hospital room - LOL.
Bill in C, I lost my coffee on your line. My computer screen thanks you not.
Check out this device - you wear it kind of like a bib while reading HBB:
http://www.splatterantimatter.com
“Shows you where the money is.”
Rather, it shows you where the money WAS. Everyday a few more billion dollars disappear into thin air.
“…where the money is.”
You see that retired investment banking CEO out on that thar golf course?
Is it MY money or is it your money?
It could be only one pile of money that is moved around to look different or like your money, when actually it is only my money.
The situation at hand brings to mind a favorite short story…
The Cask of Amontillado
by Edgar Allan Poe
…
“He! he! he! –he! he! he! –yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone.”
“Yes,” I said, “let us be gone.”
“For the love of God, Montresor!”
“Yes,” I said, “for the love of God!”
But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud –
“Fortunato!”
No answer. I called again –
“Fortunato!”
No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!
I’m sure many a FB feels like they’re in the Pit and the Pendulum!
EAP. RIP.
Alan Parsons Project did a great tune based on that, on their first album.
The Alan Greenspan Project would be a good name for a band. Or a blog.
Their first album could be called, “Not my fault”.
Suggested song title:
“I’m Always Blowing Bubbles”
During his FED years his band would have been called the Mumbo-Jumbo Band.
After he left the FED he would have the “I’ll say anything for money tour”.
austin = nirvana?
AUSTIN, Tex. — The real estate market these days is a tale of two Americas, and one of them is not doing too badly.
But in the other America, specifically in small cities like Austin; Grand Forks, N.D.; Yakima, Wash.; and Salem, Mass., the available evidence suggests the real estate market is holding up. Prices there never boomed as crazily as they did in the big cities, and now, even though volume is down almost everywhere, prices in many of these towns are firm or rising.
http://tinyurl.com/2v326f
salem mass my assz
witchcraft?
Interesting thing about Salem,MA, is that the reading and math scores are about 30% below the state average. Similar towns nearby have much higher scores.
“In the markets that are doing better, lots of people are not selling their houses, so you don’t see the prices going down because they are not selling for a lower price,” said Todd Sinai, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “The market is doing a lot worse than what the median prices would show.”
Not covered at all in the article was a comparison of median prices to median incomes in these areas. Though prices may still be rising in these markets, sales have been declining - the precursor to price declines.
“The fly in the ointment for these cities is declining sales volumes, which prompt some experts to argue that median prices are presenting an unduly rosy picture. If fewer houses sell, but the ones that do sell are at the high end of the range, that can skew median prices.”
Exactly the situation in Missoula. Local realtors here say we escaped the bubble. But sales are down 17% from last January, median price up almost 10%. But I saw the runup in price here and it was unmistakable at the time of the big runup, 2000-2006. Now the new 200k-300k vinyl & OSB crapboxes are sitting empty and prices are coming down. The local media is all rah-rah. We’re different here.
There are actually four Americas –
The America with collapsing prices due to a prior housing price bubble.
The America with collapsing prices due to a development bubble.
The America with collapsing prices due to severe economic problems and falling population.
And the other 2 percent.
I think Austin is actually in group 2.
Those with
The fifth America will be Brazil-America.
Didn’t Bush just purchase a large estate in Brazil?
“It’s the water!”
Allegedly 98,932 acres in Paraguay
RE: Salem, Mass.,
LMAO…these feature writer don’t have a clue.
Salem just had to broker an emergency loan of a $$ 1million from the state of Mazz to shore up their school budget.
Infrastructure dates from the 1600’s.
And if the schools are gettin’ their monies for the legions of special ed teachers and their aides you can bet the pot-holes arent’ being filled. So add a set of new tires and rims to your muni tax bill.
-The historically ignorant morons who think the crushing and hanging to death 16 innocents are a reason to turn the town into a party hearty Halloween Fest turn the city into gridlock for the month of Oct.
Dopers and thieves also roam in from adjacent Lynn and cause all sorts of havoc and mayhem.
Beware all ye who enter.
I have a good friend trying to sell his condo in Salem. He’s owned it since 2001, so he has some equity built up, but all he’s gotten is serious low-ball offers. He’s a sharp guy and when I explained that those low-ball offers were the market value of the property at that particular time, he understood… of course he then rented the condo out instead of taking the low-ball offer.
Death by a thousand cuts as he is just breaking even on the rental… if he gets a bad tenant and has to sink money in to remodel, I think he’ll realize he should have sold when he had the chance.
This is a good friend, so I hope the situation works out in his favor.
RE: I have a good friend trying to sell his condo in Salem.
Hope he’s in a project with deeded parking. All sorts of development went on during the last 3 years involving condo’s without parking places. WTF? I know the demise of the auto ownership culture is dawning upon us…but the MBTA doesn’t get you to the crosstown local Market Basket.
From what I recall, it was a unit in a mid-sized building with its own parking lot, so I don’t think that’s an issue…
Remember the poster 2 days ago stated :
“Direct from the Faculty meeting, San Diego was laying off teachers. ”
If Salem is getting emergency infusions…what is next?
Ah, you mean…”It’s different here!”
The peak hit later in Austin, and so the declines will, too. Builders are still building like crazy. Condos are waaaaaaaaay overbuilt. Lots of service industry workers here who bought on low incomes with funky loans. It’s coming. Just like everywhere else, it’s hit the coasts first and is slowly worming its way inland.
I think that applies to the entire South, obviously not including FL as being part of the “south”.
The article is talking about Salem,OR not Mass.
Tear Down That Wall…. (Street)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JB16Dj02.html
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/12836
When the Swiss Say Money’s Tight, the Depression has gone Global
After about the 8th Swiss Miss, I knew they were in hot chocolate, financially.
Death by chocolate!!!!!! (insert Homer drool here.)
Oil back over 95 this morning; deflationistas flabbergasted.
In the city of angles, gas is like $2.99 a gallon, the same price it was when oil was $60 a barrel…
How is this possible?
I am assuming that was for regular grade, because I filled up at $3.57 for premium the other day. That was in the San Fernando Valley, but I live in the Conejo Valley.
Same out here in E. Utah, holding steady.
Refiners were printing money last spring. Now, not so much. Heating oil and propane are way up, so they’re still profitable.
“How is this possible?”
Simple, a falling demand for gasoline. Refiners are cutting back on their production in response, but prices are forcasted to fall furthur as demand continues to decline.
WSJ article last Monday (page A3) talks about it.
Why wouldn’t they just sell it for full market value in another country, then?
Why discount it 60%
Any data that documents falling demand? Graphs of actual gasoline sales? I haven’t found any.
with one year’s worth of interest rate cuts it should be above $120 when taking into account dollar index. Once layoffs occur en masse gasoline demand will fall.
Chavez cut off sales to Exxon Mobil. Pump up that alternative energy bubble! Got corn?
You can still buy his crap at Citgo.
I have a sneaking suspicion that he’s realized that all he has to do is bluster and threaten and the price goes up. Eventually he’ll be the “boy who cried wolf,” but until then, where’s the bad? (for him)
And who’ll buy his oil then? Middlemen who then pass it on to Exxon! (Exxon and other North American refiners perhaps being among the few who can refine that asphaltic crap on a large scale.) Well done, Melonhead!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aI_HoK4yXcYc&refer=home
“Home prices will continue to weaken,” the 81-year-old former Fed chief said. “When a bubble breaks, you go to primordial fear.”
“Separately, the former chairman, a Republican, gave a nod toward Republican presidential candidate John McCain, comparing him with ex-President Ronald Reagan.”
Nice set of endorsements this week, W and Greenspan. That should play well in the fall as we descend into the Great Recession.
RE: Nice set of endorsements this week, W and Greenspan. That should play well in the fall as we descend into the Great Recession.
Bloomberg’s comin’ in as an indy with Ron Paul as VP.
Ron Paul has principles. He won’t have anything to do with Bloomberg.
I’m surprised Greenspan still gets big headlines. He’s not saying anything too revolutionary and in my mind he’s been put out to pasture. I don’t care to hear what he has to say. Enjoy retirement.
But what do I know, if having him sells more magazines, then it sells more magazines.
from the article:
No `Stagflation’
Faster inflation, combined with slower growth, is a condition known as stagflation, which throttled the U.S. economy in the 1970s.
“Stagflation is too strong a term for what we are on the edge of,” Greenspan said yesterday. “I trust we have enough sense to come up with policies to avoid that.”
one of the things they are using to avoid it is packaging the food in smaller quantities. i really noticed that yesterday while shopping. they must assume it will go unnoticed by the masses.
“I trust we have enough sense to come up with policies to avoid that.’’
Who’s ‘we”?? You’ve been put out to pasture, old man, and you should be damn glad it ain’t a jail.
Uh oh, the futures are turning very negative. Must be time for an emergency rate cut……
Empire State Manufacturing Index -11.72 in February vs 5.75 expected
15/2/2008 13:35 London Time | story 0886
WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The New York Fed’’s manufacturing survey collapsed into negative territory this month, dropping to its lowest level in almost four years
The February Empire State Manufacturing index fell nearly 21 points to -11.72 from 9.03 in January. That was the lowest level for the index since it hit -16.47 in April 2003, though there was also a one-month negative reading in May 2005.
http://www.euro2day.gr/articlesfna/58724237/
Will today be a good time to buy the dip?
Stock Futures Slip; Banks and Fresh Economic Data in Focus
A Wall Street Journal Online NEWS ROUNDUP
Word Count: 537 | Companies Featured in This Article: Citigroup, Berkshire Hathaway, Kraft Foods, Wells Fargo,, GlaxoSmithKline, Ameriprise Financial, Iron Mountain, Wilsons The Leather Experts, Clear Channel Communications, Abercrombie & Fitch
U.S. stock futures slipped Friday, as a fresh wave of economic data jockeyed with heightened credit concerns as investors prepared for a three-day weekend.
Less than three hours before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 36 points to 12360 and S&P 500 futures declined 3.60 points to 1347.50. However, Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 2.96 points to 1825.96. Changes in futures do not always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120307412149271313.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Never fear, Mr. Magoo to the rescue. Points all blame to everyone except himself.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080215/ap_on_bi_ge/energy_summit_greenspan
hjAlmar Greenspan…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjalmar_Schacht
Let’s summarize here. Theoretically, housing values are going to fall by about $5 trillion. I say theoretically, because 2005 prices weren’t real to begin with.
Some portion of that will merely be a theoretical loss by those who bought before 2003, paid their mortgage down or off, and will continue to live as they have (like most of the homeowners on this blog). Some will be a diminished quality of life by those who stretched to buy a less desirable home at inflated prices in a less desirable neighborhood, but can afford to pay the loan and will continue to do so. Let’s call that group 1.
That leaves investors, those who bought at the peak and can’t pay, those who bought at the peak and won’t pay, and those who HELOCed at the peak and spent money that didn’t really exist. Let’s call that group 2. How much of the $5 trillion is that?
Ben, I agree with you that housing prices will fall and that’s that. But I also agree with your more paranoid posters that there will be great political pressure to shift some of the losses associated with Group 2 to those in Group 1, renters, and future generations.
I think it is important to single out second homes, regardless if people considered themselves investors or not.
Plus the whole idiotic game of buying before you sell is still strong in the mentality of people who really can’t afford that luxury.
If you secure your money up front, isn’t closing just a few days instead of the lengthy 30 days it takes for mortgage?
20% discount for no contingencies as a buyer
You know, through all this, I’ve still yet to see any statistics regarding the number of homes per state and nationwide that represent the second, third, fourth, etc., piece of real estate owned by the same individuals.
Exactly what percentage of foreclosures are owned by *investors* anyway? 25%? 40%? 60%? And how do the figures differ by city, region, state, etc?
My mother e-mailed me to say that when she went to the bank to cash a check from someone with an account at WaMu, her bank told her their new policy was a 7-day hold on any checks from WaMu accounts.
Just found out Citibunk’s new policy ..
$1000 max per business day cash withdrawals.. so that means over a long holiday weekend Fri Sat Sun and holiday Monday count as 1 business day……
How about non-cash withdrawals? eg transfers to pay a credit card.
Doesn’t seem like that would apply, as that couldn’t be considered part of a run, and would be restrictive enough to probably chase away 80% of their customers (I certainly wouldn’t have my money in such a bank).
$1000 weekend?
I want to party with joo
A newly imposed limit of $1000 max per business day cash withdrawal is an excellent reason to close your account. Do you have a link for this?
This is the only thing I could find at Citibank about withdrawal limits. A correspondent of mine called them this afternoon & could not substantiate the claim in the original post. Even the limits in the citation I just posted are ridiculously low, no one in the right mind should accept them.
Is this a cash withdrawl limit or a cash machine withdrawl limit?
Woah. Given that float has been all but eliminated in the last few years by electronic systems (RDC/ACH), this could be more serious than it first seems.
I will be keeping an eye out for other reports similar to this.
Holds on checks act to slow down the velocity of money, it slows down the rate of money circulation. This slowdown has the same effect on the economy as a reduction of the money supply.
Again, cash is king.
I wouldn’t be surprised if your mother banked at BofA and they were trying to make some money on the float. My son is in the service over in Iraq and we took cash to BofA for a deposit and it was three days before it was available in his account for withdrawal. Next week I went into BofA cashed out his CC and paid off everything in cash. When they asked why I was closing out everything I told them where they could put a Joshua tree. I grew up on that bank but having been screwed with accounting errors years back I long ago moved on. If I have a hatred for any financial institution it is BofA.
Actually, I think she goes to SunTrust.
The commercial real estate securitzation markets are still frozen after the deep freeze in September 2007. Many lenders are starting to lay people off. JP Morgan is closing multiple west coast offices. There will be lots of talent on the street until they all get rehired to help process the loan defaults and work outs…
I’m in Cape Town South Africa and there’s a major RE bubble going on down here.
Construction everywhere (Except District 6 which was an area previously cleared out of blacks during Apartheid but now handed back. Trouble is everyone is arguing over who owns it so it is sitting fallow whilst lawsuites get determined !).
CT will hold the 2012 World Cup and everybody thinks “RE” is the the investment to be in. I even heard it on the Red Bus tour (hop on/hop off bus) where tour guides are alluding to fact of buy now of be priced out forever.
You should see Waterfront for stupidity. There’s talk about turning a grain silo into a 5 star Hotel.
It is nice down here but I don’t think I’d not want to live here. There is too much undercurrent of threats of crime for my liking. I’m typing this in my Hotel Bar (http://www.proteahotels.com/protea-hotel-fire-and-ice.html) and I just overhead someone saying his place for robbed at gunpoint.
Even when I was walking out a few afternoons ago, I was agresively asked for “some help” by two ‘gentlemen of the road’. I struggled to understand them apart from him continually calling me “Bossy” and asking for a ‘little something’. He got 5 Rand and seemed pleased with that. That was on a busy road and I shudder to think what would have happened when it comes dark. CT downtown is a ghostown after 6:00 and not safe. You are recommended to take Taxi’s even short distances. Many houses have electric or razor wires fences around them.
A large number of ‘investors’ down here are British. Knowing UK market, where goes UK goes SA.
Another problem down here is Power. Apparently, they’ve run out of supply and are many places are having frequent power cuts. It turns out the Govt has not acted on reports that more power stations are required and demand will cause problems starting 2008. Well 2008, is here and ANC are looking for people to blame other that themselves..
Finally, as footnote to commodities, the RAND has not increased in value like Aus $ or Loony. Many taxi drivers have complained how bad inflation is.
I run a blog on the RE bubble in Cape Town.. check it out: http://capetownbubble.blogspot.com
Man, the currency is taking a beating.
Bloomberg Rips Government Over Failing Economy
“Mayor Michael Bloomberg has unleashed another flurry of jabs on Washington, ridiculing the federal government’s rebate checks as being “like giving a drink to an alcoholic” on Thursday, and said the presidential candidates are looking for easy solutions to complex economic problems.”
“The billionaire and potential independent presidential candidate also said the nation “has a balance sheet that’s starting to look more and more like a third-world country.”
http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/bloomberg.federal.government.2.654315.html
He’s probably getting an earful from his constituents. Someone making $87K in NYC is certainly not living large, pays a ton in taxes, yet will get no rebate. But when it comes time to pay back the money the government is handing out, it will have to come out of that person’s taxes, because many of the people getting checks don’t pay any.
“like giving a drink to an alcoholic”
The term I coined was ‘hair-of-the-dog’ economic policy…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_of_the_dog
Brief “On The Ground” eyewitness update:
Was in LV for Superbowl weekend and the ASF conference (I’m in the MBS business). Stayed at The Venetian. Trust me, LV was very slow. I expected the whole Strip to be heaving, but it was very easy to get around. Late restaurant reservations were easy to get, as were tee times at The Wynn golf course (2 birdies and five pars for a pleasing 81, since you ask!!).
I’ve seen busier weekends in LV during the summer, frankly. Time to short the gaming stocks?
As an aside, before I left for LV on Feb. 1 I went to GS Mall in Paramus (never usually go, hate malls and shopping in general, but desperately needed to buy a piece of luggage). The whole mall area was totally dead. I went to Macy’s and the number of store assistants outnumbered the shoppers, and I’m truly not exaggerating!!
Oh, I’m so looking forward to Bergen County getting it square in the eye, what with all their IB hubbys and plastic enhanced women and kids totally out of control everywhere you go, and the Hummers and Expeditions making it so difficult to get around.
Blow the whole thing up already!
On the day of the Super Bowl my wife and I rented a car and headed out to the burbs to watch the game at a friends place (he has an extremely large HDTV). Decided that while we were heading out there, might as well stop at the outlet mall and do a little shopping. The mall was the emptiest I’ve ever seen, but the parking lot was nearly full. We noticed a new store - Burberry had a shop set up. I asked one of the employees and was told it was a temporary store set up for a couple months. They were liquidating stock and the employee said that as of now they are liquidating stuff from New Jersey. My wife picked up a pair of italian-made boots that looked exactly like the boots that a lot of women were wearing in Paris over Christmas. $79. Cheapest we could find them in Paris was 480 Euro. Mens trench coats were $300, I would have bought one but couldn’t find any in my size. Are people in New Jersey really short by any chance?
Not that I have noticed, but they are under a tremendous weight of unpayable debt!!
For many years now I have noticed shopping malls & restaurants have very little business on Super Bowl Sunday, I don’t think that has much to do with the economy.
RE: Oh, I’m so looking forward to Bergen County getting it square in the eye, what with all their IB hubbys and plastic enhanced women and kids totally out of control everywhere you go, and the Hummers and Expeditions making it so difficult to get around.
Blow the whole thing up already!
LMAO…Roger One on that, Good Buddy!
“whole Strip to be heaving”
Yup, Vegas does that to me, too…
Lake Mead will be out of water soon, so don’t worry. That place will look as though someone dropped a neutron bomb.
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_8258632
The only thing that may work, conservation, won’t ever be adopted. Actually, that goes for oil, energy and the environment as a whole. In less than 100 years, we’ve managed collectively to “sh1t where we eat”.
MrBubble
I’m not so sure drying up Lake Mead and Lake Powell are bad things. There’s a huge radioactive sludge pile up river in Moab, a soon-to-be-opened nuclear waste dump just 30 miles away from downtown LV smack dab on top of the San Andreas fault, and invasive mussels coupled with endangered species of fish (because the water is too cold from underneath the damn dam). Water can be had from desalinization of the Pacific Ocean and the ecology of the desert can be spared from gross water mismanagement. What happens when you put a big puddle of water in the middle of the desert? Well, what’d you expect would happen? Water storage by reservoir in the desert was never a good idea to begin with.
Oh, you just missed the Bushies. The prez and 1st lady were there on the 2nd.
This is out of place - in response Englishman: regarding the Bushies being at the Venetian for some private talks to grease some republican wheels. They were in LV Feb 2 through the 5th and stayed at the Venetian, too.
Blano
WTF
Metro home sales up by 15%
Detroit leads gains with almost double amount of closings over same period last year.
Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
Sales of residential and condominium units in Detroit nearly doubled in January, compared with the same month a year ago, and the region overall got a nearly 15 percent bump, according to real estate data firm Realcomp.
The city of Detroit led the gainers, posting a 45.5 percent increase in the month, with 736 closings.
Seven Realtors who deal primarily in downtown Detroit area property said they have enjoyed some of their recent best sale months in December and January. Sales of houses and condominiums in Detroit jumped by a 33.9 percent in December 2007, compared to December 2006. No other market in the Metro Detroit area came close to that kind of increase last year, according to Realcomp. …”
http://tinyurl.com/26btrg
Detroit News
at a $1 each ?
Probably all bought by the banks holding the mortgages.
Hoz,
Don’t know what to say about that yet. Heard this briefly on the radio this morning and just figured I was too sleepy to get it right. I’d sure like to know why.
Just kidding you! It appears to be white noise.
Lol, or maybe just the mayor planting a story to deflect attention from his text messaging scandal.
How i’ve managed to get through my life so far, with never having received or sent a text message, i’ll just never know.
On Monday I saw a teenager shambling along, iPod earbuds firmly in place, so busy texting with his head down that he walked smack into a lamp pole. Best laugh I’ve had all week.
Could it have to do with what could be considered extremely small numbers of closings, perhaps??
You have 736 closings in a city of around 800-900,000…….is that really saying much?? And to be up 45 percent means you had about 400 closings in January ‘07, which again seems like a really small number in relation to 800-900,000.
I’d be curious too as to how many of those were foreclosed properties.
Do foreclosures being repurchased by the bank count as a closing?
Article later said “Realtors credit tumbling prices, low interest rates and sales of foreclosed properties or properties hoping to avoid foreclosures.” This news is worthless without a list of sales by month going back several years.
New Trouble in Auction-Rate Securities
By JENNY ANDERSON and VIKAS BAJAJ
Published: February 15, 2008
SOME well-heeled investors got a big jolt from Goldman Sachs this week: Goldman, the most celebrated bank on Wall Street, refused to let them withdraw money from investments that they had considered as safe as cash.
The investments at issue are so-called auction-rate securities, instruments at the center of the latest squeeze in the credit markets.
Goldman, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and other banks have been telling investors the market for these securities is frozen — and so is their cash.
The banks typically pitch these securities to corporations and wealthy individuals as safe alternatives to cash, investors said. The bonds are, in fact, long-term securities. But the banks hold weekly or monthly auctions to set the interest rates and give holders the option of selling the securities. …
New York Times
http://tinyurl.com/2d693q
Warnings over auction-rate securities
By Michael Mackenzie in New York
Published: February 14 2008 20:23 | Last updated: February 14 2008 20:23
The auction-rate securities market, a $330bn slice of the municipal bond sector, could disappear if the credit squeeze remains entrenched, analysts warn.
“The auction-rate securities market is unwinding and most of the market will enter a failed state,” said Alex Roever, fixed-income strategist at JPMorgan. “The lack of confidence is the contributing factor and there is a risk this type of structure will go away.” …
http://tinyurl.com/2zb6z4
Financial Times
A nice editorial int is ams WSJ
The Moody’s Blues
February 15, 2008; Page A14
“…S&P recently downgraded or threatened to downgrade almost half the subprime mortgage bonds the firm rated in 2006 and the first half of 2007. Last year, S&P had to lower its ratings on more than $100 billion in home mortgage bonds and $100 billion in CDOs. Fitch has also botched estimates on tens of billions of dollars of securities. The problem is not new. Enron’s debt was downgraded a mere four days before its bankruptcy filing.
Are the ratings agencies always the last to know, or just the last to acknowledge a problem? The agencies point out that they rely on facts presented by issuers, and that they are not responsible for conducting due diligence. In other words, if S&P and Moody’s are asked to rate a pool of mortgage loans, they don’t actually examine any of the individual mortgages within the pool. An S&P spokesperson tells us, “We are not auditors; we are not accounting firms.” So if all the information about the assets underlying these bonds comes from the person selling them, and the credit rating agency never verifies any of it, investors might ask, what exactly does the rating agency provide?
An opinion. Sometimes called “the world’s shortest editorials,” credit ratings enjoy First Amendment protection and thank goodness are not subject to underwriters’ liability. Just like other members of the media, credit raters have lately issued lots of opinions that turned out to be wrong. Of course, given the size of ratings fees, investors might have expected more than average journalism. Good reporting requires skepticism, even without a due diligence requirement. Moreover, a good journalist would have questioned whether historical mortgage repayment rates were any guide to a market that was changing so radically….”
http://tinyurl.com/2yv5g4
Time’s running out, Spitzer warns. New York’s governor warns that insurers have a matter of days to act to raise capital or else put their AAA ratings at dire risk.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120303419189870081.html?mod=mktw
A whole new batch of walk aways
Banks advised to walk away from big deals
By Henny Sender in New York
Published: February 14 2008 22:03 | Last updated: February 14 2008 22:03
Leading banks are being advised that it would be cheaper to walk away from big buy-out deals than incur further losses on their funding commitments, increasing the chances that more high-profile private equity transactions will collapse.
This advice from lawyers contrasts with the conventional wisdom that banks would risk serious damage to their reputations if they were to drop out of deals.
But legal advisers argue that the break-up fees banks would owe in such cases would be far lower than the write-downs they would have to make on their loans, given the current cataclysmic conditions in the capital markets….”
FT
http://tinyurl.com/34q52j
Hedge funds are now worried about bank solvency
Hedge funds call banks to account
By James Mackintosh
Published: February 15 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 15 2008 02:00
Call it the final indignity for banks: their hedge fund customers, generally regarded as the most hazardous financial operators, are questioning the creditworthiness of their prime brokers.
Some of the world’s biggest hedge funds have reviewed agreements with their bankers, assessing whether assets and cash left with the prime brokers are safe.
Hedge funds, bankers and advisers say this has seen a shift in assets away from those banks regarded as riskiest following multi-billion dollar write-offs - bad news for the banks given the high profitability of prime broking.
“It is quite paradoxical,” said Angelos Metaxa, a director of CM Advisors, a $3bn (£1.52bn) Geneva-based fund of hedge funds. “In August, everyone was worried about a hedge fund blowing up, but now they are worried about a bank blowing up and taking a few hedge funds with it.”….”
FINANCIAL TIMES
http://tinyurl.com/25848x
“…everyone was worried about a hedge fund blowing up, but now they are worried about a bank blowing up and taking a few hedge funds with it.”
Somewhere… “they” are building a clone army… all this death & destruction…they should make all paper money smell like the muster gas scent of air around the trenches of WWI
Sub-prime is totally contained.
Going 3rd World…
Best be paying attention to where you want to park your azz in the coming years.
Some areas will fare better than others.
Instant mobility-the new paradigm.
http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/bloomberg.federal.government.2.654315.html
Interesting that Bloomberg can see that we need jobs for this ailing economy ,not short term stimulus packages .
“…Ferris, Baker Watts, a Washington investment bank whose roots date back more than a century, will be acquired by Royal Bank of Canada, giving Canada’s biggest bank a foothold in the mid-Atlantic.
Ferris, Baker Watts is a private company with more than 900 employees, $18.5 billion in assets and 42 offices in 10 states and the District. The firm is highly regarded in the regional financial landscape, helping companies sell stocks and bonds and advising on corporate takeovers. …
Canadian laws prohibit banks there from buying one another, so the companies are looking elsewhere to expand. Royal Bank of Canada bought J.B. Hanauer & Co. of Parsippany, N.J., in May and American Guaranty & Trust of Wilmington, Del., in October 2006.
“The Canadian dollar is now even with the U.S. dollar, so stuff is cheap for them down here,” said Peter G. Fitzgerald, a former U.S. senator and the chairman of Chain Bridge Bank in McLean. “You are going to be hearing the name Royal Bank of Canada a lot more in future years. It has none of the subprime exposure that U.S. banks have, and it has a big war chest. This is their first entree into the mid-Atlantic region. You are going to see them come down here and possibly put together a nationwide network of banking operations and broker-dealer operations.”
Washington Post
http://tinyurl.com/2c2bfh
Its Ok for Canadian firms to buy us, but not OK for Asian firms. Where is GM going to get the 6.1B needed to get Delphi out of BK?
In case you are tuning in today, good morning Brad. You are fond of accusing those who post here of speaking of nothing but doom and gloom. Check out what top U.S. economic policymakers are saying these days…
Double dose of pessimism
Fed chairman, treasury secretary roll back previous rosy economic outlooks
By Edmund L. Andrews
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080215/29.html
Despite the overt pessimism on Capitol Hill, the market still finds considerable cause for optimism. Otherwise, why would the stock market be having such a good day, relative to yesterday’s barrage of pessimistic Congressional testimony, an ugly Empire State mfg. survey result, etc, etc, etc?
http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/marketsummary/
The ultimate housing bubble indicator: Best Buy
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN1554782720080215
I agree - electronics have held strong even when other reatail categories were softening. If electronics are having trouble - we know that there is a recession.
Sung to the tune of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
“The adverts go on ’bout a shop outside town
With “Computers at internet prices”
You can buy their PCs, printers and DVDs
And their “experts” can give you advices
But first time I spoke to their expert..ish bloke
Some Neanderthal just out of stasis
And he so loved the jargon it gave him a hard-on
But he used it in all the wrong places
[I] think his social skills would increase were he killed
What he mumbled, well I barely caught it
Forté, seemed to me: talking (ess aitch) IT
But it seems that his managers bought it
Can’t believe that this whelp - he was offering help
And I’d pay now for aid in the future
But I don’t believe he could fix a cup of tea
Let alone an old Linux computer
But though I took the piss, and this guy took the bis-
Cuit, with an act that was dog-in-the-manger
Had to stifle a groan - this guy was not alone
For his colleagues were.. shit! even stranger
The girl that he called was less than four feet tall
And was two slices short of a sandwich
I could not help but curse as they both would converse
In an unintelligibabble language
She was kind of weird with her moustache and beard
But she must have had some rare ability
With disks floppy or hard, or plug-in PC cards
Which she handled with awesome dextirity
Yet I nearly dropped dead when I heard what she said
And I thought her behaviour insidious
For it seems she took risks scanning customer disks
And “backing up” all of their videous
Then she’d think it was fine then to post ‘em on-line
Well, at least the ones she thought were sexier
A youtube wife’s disgrace: hubby red in the face
Underneath some lass with anorexia
Oh, yes, they got their kicks from a-publishing pix
That they’d copied from drives they were mending
Yes, you see all the time lots of porno on-line
…She got bail, but the court case is pending
Yet it turns out that she in some kind of a plea
Told the cops of some movies, illegal
They had found while they trawled… they were oh, so appalled
I mean, who could do *THAT* to a seagull?
And many a cust-omer has found their trust
Being betrayed to these nassty young techies
For they don’t care at all they made governments fall
When they got hold of Thabo Mbeki’s
These technical souls, talking, looking like trolls
Cause such increase in internet traffic
For the way that they work, yes they think it’s a perk
Searching hard drives for pix, pornographic
The ads that you’ve seen on your big plasma screen
Make ‘em sound like the best in the free world
But, consider the risk before you take your disk
To the Techies of P-bloody-C World”
Beautifully done, Hoz.
Not my writing! Do not know author - emailed to me a few weeks ago.
If I could write that well, I would go into permanent retirement.
Why not credit it if you didn’t write it?
Credit to myself? Nope! I put it in quotes. I probably should have said author unknown. Sorry
So Hoz, Should we be worried about the deadline on the mono line insurers, or not? Frankly, I`m a little worried about this whole mess.
BUSINESS BRIEFING
Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5-week high
February 15, 2008
Rates on 30-year mortgages rose to the highest level in five weeks but still remained below the 6 percent level. Freddie Mac said in its nationwide survey that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.72 percent this week from 5.67 percent last week.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080215/news_1b15bizbrfs.html
I’m in “The Great Pumpkin Patch with Linus” waiting for: 14+ %
Lucy: You’re a BLOCKHEAD Linus,… you and that stupid Beagle!
Snoopy (to Lucy): *$**#&#*$&#**#&$&*@&%(@)@()#(@$&!
” SAO PAULO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian mining giant Vale (RIO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) said Friday its iron ore output reached a record 296 million tonnes in 2007, up from 2006’s 264 million tonnes.
Most of Vale’s iron ore output comes from three mining systems — the southeastern system, the southern system and Carajas — all producing around 90 million to 110 million tonnes a year.
Output from Vale’s three mines in the southeast system grew 18 percent in 2007 to 113.8 million tonnes, while output from the Carajas mine grew 12 percent this year to 91.7 million tonnes. Iron ore production from the two southern system mines were up 6 percent at 89.3 million tonnes.
Vale is in iron ore price setting negotiations with its main clients in China. Some analysts say it is seeking a 30 percent to 60 percent increase in prices for the season but Chinese steel producers are reluctant to accept a big rise….”
http://tinyurl.com/2etufy
Reuters
Vale (sym: RIO) is such a large player in the iron ore market that if they receive the 30% increase, the effects on the US are enormous. Brazil is China’s backyard.
Why are economists’ predictions consistently rosy when economic conditions are deteriorating? Do they get paid according to the amount of positive bias in their predictions?
ECONOMIC REPORT
Consumer sentiment drops in February
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
Last update: 10:14 a.m. EST Feb. 15, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. consumer sentiment dropped in February, according to a survey released Friday by University of Michigan and Reuters, following last month’s results that had already prompted concerns about recessionary risks.
The index tumbled to 69.6 in mid-February from 78.4 in January. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a February reading of 74.0.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/economic-report-survey-shows-us/story.aspx?guid=%7B30B28BEB%2D78D0%2D4A17%2D91A8%2DEFD919026E2E%7D&dist=hplatest
That is extremely depressing.
Got Doom?
From Ron Insana on CNBC…
I am going to go way out on a limb here Maria. I think this credit crisis is viral and it’s spreading quickly in all corners of the credit markets.
We talked earlier this week about auction rates on municipal bonds where we are having some failures on auctions taking place with banks unwilling to take the overflow when investors don’t buy. We are going to have another crisis in munis beyond the bond auction issue.
I think ultimately when it’s all said and done, the Fed is going to have to be the bank of Japan and go to zero interest rate policy to reflate our way out of this thing.
This is far bigger, far more misunderstood, than anybody knows. This is a real crisis of historic proportions and still no one is paying full attention. In the immortal words of Casey Stengel “Don’t nobody here know how to play this game?”
All of a sudden ,CNBC in general is starting to discuss the economic
issues in the ways we use to discuss this potential for meltdown years ago on this blog .When Paulson told the Senators yesterday words to the effect ,”I didn’t create this mess “, he told the world that in fact the credit markets were a “Mess “,and certainly not contained .
I enjoyed watching the body language yesterday while viewing the hearings . BB acted like a scared little boy who even got lectured by one of the Senators about not acting timely . Paulson took the floor a lot of times and was very defensive ,but strong and loud in his responses . I got the impression that the letters that Bloggers have been writing to Politicians seeped through in the hearings when a few hard-ball questions got in ,(in spite of them not being really answered by Paulson ,Cox ,or the Fed Chairman ).
Bottom line IMHO is that these hearings were a set up for the next round of of bail-out plans ,which include GSE’s taking on a bad paper .
IMHO ,you cannot make a bad loan good in most cases ,so now the Powers seems to be discovering that fact .
BB acted like a scared little boy who even got lectured by one of the Senators about not acting timely .
Stupid senate grandstanding. Adding more drink to the punchbowl in a timely manner is NOT what we need.
We need Paulsen or BB to stand up and tell these guys that we have an economy of excess and time for some belt tightening and diet.
These are NOT hard times, this is just the end of excess times. Hard times will come if we don’t pace our dealing with it and stop acting like ALL DOWN IS BAD. Some down is healthy, especially if you have been on a binge.
AMEN.
’bout time the fed, senate/congress etc etc stopped the excess. None of us mind our personal economies the way they are getting away with increasing speed for the last 30yrs.
Stop eating steak fellas/ladies when spaghetti is just fine. At home.
Bernanke is a tool - a disposable one.
He knows it, everyone knows it. He’s probably secretly started cleaning out his desk.
I noticed Kudlow’s middle finger is bandaged. Gerbil bite?
Bwahahahaha!
Naw, one of the three bears decided it was time to show Goldilocks who is the boss.
I hope you all bought the dip this morning. This is a fantastic bull market–the best I’ve ever seen. USA! USA!
America! F*** Yeah!
This is pretty funny. From all I could make out, this video seems to sum up the housing situation pretty well… squirrels included.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2928-Zero-Punctuation-Sim-City-Societies
In central LA I was discussing the high price of living with my car mechanic. He said he has several customers with big Mercedes/BMWs that routinely pay for $85 oil change/lube jobs with 3 credit cards. Never judge a person’s wealth by the car they drive - these people are more lubed than most!
RE: Never judge a person’s wealth by the car they drive
These ostentatious Kraut-Mobiles are all leased.
Nothin’ more than bein’ a tenant surrounded by pig iron instead of vinyl and glue.
You are what you don’t survive.
Advice or input sought
IF you were thinking of buying a replacement vehicle, aside from the venerable CR Consumer Reports input, if it had to be a truck or something like that, what would you choose? Reasons?
Would you run, not walk to an auto auction?
Qualify your question by how you intend to use it, can’t give advice on so general a topic.
I’d choose another Toyota Matrix All Wheel Drive. 31 MPG (reasonable), not a hybrid, has a hatchback, and reasonable power for an economy car. I own a 2003 Matrix. It’s a humble car and it advertises my frugality everytime I drive it. Of course, gold digging women turn their heads toward the guy in the Hummer or Lexus instead of to me. My Toyota is paid for.
CNZ Wood Pellets
Sheridan, WY
CNZ Wood Pellets said it was laying off four of its six employees. The news is the same for sawmills around the country. Another 18 sawmills in the Pacific Northwest have shut down recently. Last month, the U.S Department of Commerce reported that sales of new homes dropped by some 26 percent in 2007 to 774,000. That marked the worst sales year on record, surpassing the old mark of a 23.1 percent plunge in 1980.
The Associated Press State & Local Wire - February 10, 2008
Just a thought?
We all know how Buffet has or is somewhat forcing the hands of the Insurers.
(Be prepared Tin-Foil hat time)
Can the Banks be preparing to force the Fed to buy MBS Crud. We have a moratorium on Foreclosures that the Banks and anyone stuck with bad paper has pushed for. We have an acceleration in Foreclosures. Will the Banks go to DC and the Fed just before the 30 days is up and say you have to buy this Crud or we will go belly up?
The Insurer’s are imploding the Ratings are going down and more paper is being exposed all the time.
Mark to Malfeasance?
Buffett is sitting at the dinner table all alone… slowly, slowly, slicing the Butt end piece of prime rib…slowly, slowly, chewing…thinking: “I’m in my 70’s, and life is soooooooooooo sweet, and I can have peace of mind because Bill & Melinda have to go to all those Benefit & Charity dinners.
lol
Yep,yep and yep . “Economic Blackmail “I think you could call it . FHA to become subprime bail-out lender of choice IMHO . Already saw a commercial on TV were they were already talking about easy underwriting for poor underwater borrowers ,encouraging the borrowers to just call .
This is really great ,the powers are begging fraudulent borrowers, for most part , to call to get a easy money loan re-write . What is this World coming to ? Oh well, horse is out of the barn ,and now it’s just a question of how to contain this baby .
horse is out of the barn
Looks like there will be a plethora of Glue available the next couple years.
“Can the Banks be preparing to force the Fed to buy MBS Crud.”
I was interpreting gloomy remarks yesterday by HP and BB to the Senate Banking Committee as preparing Uncle Sam to buy MBS Crud.
I was tuned into CNBC this morning because MSNBC has another “full time” circus going with the university shootings. The other day it was Clemens HGH deal, like anyone gives a rat’s ass about any of this but they have to show SOMETHING to get the sheeple distracted from the financial world collapsing around them, but I digress.
Caught Shaq on the program pimping some shoes he has his name on when he was asked about his RE investments in Florida. Doing just swell apparently because “2 towers are sold out” and the other is coming along nicely (I can’t state the exact quote about the 3rd tower because I was laughing too loud to catch it).
I would love to be a fly on the wall (but not physically in the room) when he gets told the facts about his “investments”! Bwahahahahaha!
Forget credit and oil - the next crisis will be over food
By Gillian Tett
Published: February 15 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 15 2008 02:00
I used to think that the fastest way to become worried about markets was to stare into the bowels of a monoline. No longer. A few days ago, I happened to hear Goldman Sachs discuss the state of the global financial system with European clients.
And what struck me most forcefully from this analysis - aside from the usual, horrific litany of bank woes - was just how much trouble is quietly brewing in corners of the commodities world.
Never mind that oil prices are high; that problem is already well known and reams of ink have been spilt debating that, along with the pressures in metals and mineral spheres.
Instead, what is really catching the attention of Goldman Sachs now is the outlook for agricultural prices. Or as Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at the US bank, says with disarming cheer: “We think we could go into crisis mode in many commodities sectors in the next 12 to 18 months . . . and I would argue that agriculture is key here.”…
FT
http://tinyurl.com/387gyo
If you aren’t aware of it by now, the world is awash in dollars and they are buying food. If you do not have money, you are SOL
Children’s economics lesson for Bernanke & Paulson this morning:
Thomas the train to Mighty & Mac (a push-me /pull-me train engine)
“It’s simple to find your way:
Look at the place you want to go…then follow the track that will take you there.”
Wheat hit $11.53 last Sunday night, then fell a bit. A couple years ago $3 was the normal price. The next US crop is expected to be bigger, but Australia, India & China are all having water problems.
“India & China are all having water problems”
Which reminds me…Trader Joe’s kicked out their “made in China” food products… giving support to: “made in China” as a warning label.
Have you ever noticed that the canned mandarin oranges in almost all supermarkets, and every brand label that I found so far…have “made in China” well, except at traders Joe’s their’s say: “product of Spain”
Now they packet those little pieces of fruit in: water…so the question is: what to you think is the “quality” of the water that fruit is packed in?
I took back dried pears and apples bought at Costco that were “Product of China” no thanks.
With corn becoming an alternate fuel, we may have to decide if we want to feed our car or people. This might cause massive starvation in third world countries.
I keep my pantry tidily full of canned goods, flour, stuff like that, and then a few barrels of water in the garage. I just rotate through it, replacing as I go, so it doesn’t get old or outdated and thereby wasted, in any case. Except for the water, which is sealed and sterile. It’s for ‘just in case’…
A lot of my ancestors were pioneers and insisted on following ol’ Joe Smith the Profit across the freakin’ wastelands to Utar, where they could starve and get shot full of arrows and be REALLY THIRSTY all the time. Maybe that sort of deprivation gets hammered right down into the genes, because I don’t feel easy in my mind unless I have backup food and water, and plenty of it.
And, since you ask, I also have a few cases of vodka and the ingredients for a few batches of beer, since I don’t want to be sober during Armageddon. Priorities, man.
I’m with you Olympiagal! 6 months food, 75 gallons of water, three ceramic water purifiers, iodine tablets, bags of salt, 25 guns with 100+ rounds ammo each, reloading equipment, black powder, 1000 oz silver, generator, gasoline… and plenty of tin-foil.
MrBubble
I’m thinking of hopping on the tin foil hat crazy train just so I can go out and buy myself a big sexy gun and have something other than the bubble to worry about, (somebody getting shot with my new big sexy gun).
I approve of your plan, wittbelle. You show wisdom. And remember, shooting people who deserve it is not only for special events like Armageddon, it can also become a rewarding hobby even in the good times, is what I hear.
I should buy some gold, too, while I’m at it. Otherwise, why do I need the gun, right? Or will I need the gun to protect my bags of flour and water? I mean, how bad is it gonna get? Maybe I should just get a big guard dog to guard my flour. Oh, but then I have to share my water with him… Hmmm…. I guess if things get bad enough, I could shoot him with the gun and eat him… Or, wait. I didn’t buy a gun. Shoot. How am I gonna get rid of this water-hogging dog? Better just get a gun.
Look, calm down. You’re over-thinking here. My advice is, just go get a gun, a ‘big sexy gun’ like you were thinking, and call it good. And then drink some beer, because it’s Friday.
25 guns?! Are they all the same kind?
I only have the two, the starter gun, a Raven.25, which is actually my preferred one, since it doesn’t tire my little girly arms out when I choose to wave it around, like out the bathroom window when I hear Bigfoot making a sound, and when I watch a show on t.v. that angers me, and so forth.
I don’t have reloading equipment, or black powder, but I can see I need to get going there.
Oh, wait–I have three. I forgot about the rifle. It’s in the hall closet, next to a silver full-body jumpsuit I got at a vintage clothing store last year. Jeeze, I can’t believe I forgot it. I better go fondle it, make sure it doesn’t feel neglected. It’s best to keep your guns happy, as we all know.
Nuttin wrong with giving the gun a fondle now and then!
Ah yes, a Far Side Cartoon is beginning to surface. It shows a nerd coming out of his bombshelter in year + 7. He made $50 per month selling internet widgets from his hidey hole in Podumkin, South Dakota while his contemporaries in large cities were thriving and earning $200,000 per year, enjoyed the bustle of the city with all the culture and conveniences, saved more income in IRAs and 401Ks and other savings plans, etc.
Survivalism: It’s so 1970s. It was being popularized on talk shows in the 1970s and people moved to the boondocks while their city contemporaries lived great lives in the 80s.
that sort of deprivation gets hammered right down into the genes, because I don’t feel easy in my mind unless I have backup food and water, and plenty of it.
You might want to include a gun, maybe some body armor, and a large dog or two… if food and water become a hard to find commodity you’re going to need the above items to keep what you have.
Even under martial law, with bread and soup lines and such, the desperate will do desperate things to survive.
‘You might want to include a gun,’
Well, of COURSE. Goes without saying. I have found body armor to be too heavy, and also it’s not cute.
And as for a large dog, large dogs need to eat large amounts, and if times get all Mad Maxlike what will I feed it, once we’re out of fresh would-be looters and/or the neighbors? It’d likely eat ME. I’d rather just set up a bunch of mines around the perimeter. Heck, I was going to do that one of these weekends anyway, just for fun. Like a party game.
rather just set up a bunch of mines around the perimeter. Heck, I was going to do that one of these weekends anyway, just for fun. Like a party game.
Now that is funny…
Go for a medium-sized dog of any of the Bulldog/Bull Terrier persuasion.
I remember a story in our local rag in London, where an English Bull Terrier’s jaws ‘locked’ on the leg of a very heavy Victorian mahogany dresser it found outside a local ‘antique’ dealer’s shop - which it then promptly dragged a mile home to its owner’s front garden.
They might eat a bit more, but at least the home furnishings come for free (if slightly covered in dog-spit).
Don’t know about the guns - but the husband and I are enrolling in our local archery range for classes.
Crossbows were the AK-47’s during the Battle of Agincourt…
I wear body armor every day with a 9mm and 3 extra magazines strapped to my chest. I also carry an M-4 combat assault rifle with an ammo can full of loaded magazines-just in case. In my vehicle of choice I have a 20 mm 3 barel cannon with 650 rds of HEI (High Explosive Incendiary) rounds. I also carry 7 unguided rockets with a couple pounds of explosive chrges. For real firepower I carry an assortment of missiles (TOW and Hellfire) capable of penetrating over 3 feet of solid steel-just in case they are ‘hunkered down’. You can never be too careful you know; I don’t want to show up to a gun fight with only a knife. My neighborhood is probably worse than ours though ‘being in Iraq an all’. Wit I take that back It has been pretty quite here the last several months so I am definately safer here than in the States
‘I don’t want to show up to a gun fight with only a knife.’
My GAWD. You clearly know how to party! You sound like my brothers, Little Dave and Big Al, except you probably have more fingers. They have good hearts, but are kind of careless boys.
I approve of your style, and I bet you could really make a land-use plan seem compelling to county planners. Do they have trees in Iraq? It seems to me they do not, when I see the news. I hope you didn’t shoot any trees. Don’t EVER shoot trees! Trees are good, and just go ahead and trust me on this.
However, you seem rather tense, is what I think right now. Full body armor is too much for the USA, even if you live in California, even if you live in unsavory parts of the city and run a gang. You need to relax. How about you simply drink some beer and become less tense? It’s Friday. Rent a movie. Eat popcorn.
And try to stay out of the news, unless it’s like a charity event, selling tickets or candy-bars kind of thing.
I mean it, shakes. You will do no one any good if you get spectacular.
All you Hbb’ers will probably be rounded up and put in those compounds Halliburton & Co are now building (one is near Ben just outside of Flagstaff). They even have special trains with shackles for you special folks and even mind-control devices. I’d say things COULD get pretty hairy. When has our govt ever built something and not used it?
http://www.dailyscare.com/3012/detention-camps-at-undisclosed-locations-in-the-us-rule-by-fear-or-rule-by-law
(sorry couldn’t get the tiny url to work.)
I’m just chuckling at this point!
My prediction - farmland will be the next bubble. Having a family that lost their backside (and farm) in the late 80’s, I have a hard time jumping back in now that prices are up. I just know that as soon as I get in, wheat prices will be back down to $3 a bushel for wheat. Farmers in Montana are already getting excited that the price of their farmland has gone up. Looking at the housing bubble, the farmers that are looking to get out should get their farms on the market immediately.
I read an article in the Great Falls Tribune that talked about the rising grain prices. One person talked about the increase in price being good, but only if you had wheat in the bin. Otherwise, the price of fuel and fertilizer put a bit of a damper on the higher prices.
I suspect you might be right. Prices for farmland in many Midwestern areas have quadrupled during the past three years - all the Ethanol buzz. When the typical dumbass American realizes what a joke Ethanol is (it takes more energy to produce Ethanol than it is capable of producing in situ), the property values will tank. This realization may, of course, take 20 years to gel in the minds of the typical dumbass American.
A reminder…
The Million Foreclosure March, is next month.
Tech - ticker interview with Jim Rogers
Catch the purchase price on his townhouse in New York and his selling price.
http://tinyurl.com/35tsz8
Yahoo tech ticker
What is a middle class income?
CNBC is having a debate between a Republican and Democrat flapping heads.
Republican guy says the reason tax relief isn’t hitting the middle class is because the middle class pays virtually no income tax… Take the middle American family of 4 with an income of $80K. They pay virtually no income tax.
The host and the Democrat both jump in saying they don’t think $80K household income is middle class. More like $100K to be middle class?
WHAT?
The medain household income is said (by the IRS) to be $50K. Yes, thatis a lot of young households and old households onthe low end. But still, there can’t be that many college kids and nursing home people in the stats to move the median down that much? Can there.
Isn’t $100K above 85% of households??? How is that middle class?
Anyway, back to the $80K pays no income tax. Should be no more than 30% on housing, so $24K a year. Call it $20K in interest and property tax ($300K house… 3-4x income?). Another $5K in state and other taxes, other deductions. $25K in itimized deductions. $13.5k in exemptions.
$80K - $25K - $13.5K = $41.5K taxable. $5.5K in tax - $2000 child tax credit = $3.5K
3.5/80 = 4% effective rate.
If they are putting anything out of the $80K to 401(k), then even less.
AND, there we have the problem, don’t we. 75% of household pay virtually no income tax. Why? Because they really can’t afford to pay income tax without the economy grinding to a halt. Wages are too low, for the lifestyle that is too high, and inflation has been running too hot for wage increases… How? By allowing them to pay virtually no income tax and borrow all the money they need to live above their need.
We have had an economy based on debt. Lifestyle too high, because we don’t need wages when we have room on our credit cards. Wages too low, not keeping up with inflation, because we don’t need wages when wehave access to debt. Few pay muchincome tax, because no wages to tax.
It really seems to me, that since 1980, we have had an economy based on more and more debt at lower and lower rates, with looser and looser lending standards… In short, a completely unsustainable economy for the long-term.
One by one, we removed the protections created after the 1929 crash thatwere intended to not let there be too much debt. One by one, we took away the barriers that were in the way of getting ourselves into trouble. Small chip. Small chip. Small chip. Tear down the wall that stood between ourselves and doom.
“Republican guy says the reason tax relief isn’t hitting the middle class is because the middle class pays virtually no income tax… Take the middle American family of 4 with an income of $80K. They pay virtually no income tax.”
Well thats me so I’m not middle class anymore how sad I’m poor now? Just a poor renter
good thing I sold my overpriced POS CA townhome back in CA 2006. As they say “just because you don’t make enough money to be middle class doesn’t mean you have to be a dumbass”
A CNBC Democrat, eh? I’ll buy that for a dollar.
“The McCartneys are on their third real estate agent, and Stanko won’t distort the reality: They likely will drop their asking price below $120,000 before they attract a buyer.”
“‘I don’t think we’re ever going to see housing prices like this for the rest of my lifetime,’ he said.”
What’s Mr. Stanko got planned? A sudden departure?
How does “velocity” & “exit stage right” relate to this article:
Will Contractors Lose Iraq Immunity?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080215/us_time/willcontractorsloseiraqimmunity
I bought a house a 1 ago in Nashville for 150k. An asking price of 210k would probably sell it in a reasonable amount of time. As far as taxes, I would have to pay capital gains on the profit, because I will have owned it for less than 2 years, if I sell this summer. Do you think it would be worth it to wait till 2 years to save on taxes or would I just be gambling that values will fall?
I paid 150 because the house was neglected. The owner didn’t live in it and didn’t want to do any repairs. 150k is unheard of in my neighborhood for comparable homes. It was appraised for 165k when I got the loan.
I gutted the main bath and put in a mid range bath, added a second full bath and converted the garage. Garage conversions are a plus in the neighborhood for small houses and there is room to park two cars behind the house, so you never see cars from the street. The remodeling cost me around 10k because I didn’t hire anyone for most of it.
So sell or wait?
If you can move beyond 50 miles (or whatever the IRS states) for job related move, you wouldn’t have the tax bill. Some exceptions to the tax on the sale of the house exist. I would review them to see if you can use any of them. I wouldn’t be in OR, but had to move to save on the taxes on the sale of my McMansion in AZ.
I am self employed..so that might be tricky. I’m in the jewelry manufacturing biz and want to move to Los Angeles. LA is the second largest jewelry center in the US behind NY. It will be difficult for me to expand in TN as there is almost zero people in the industry. I wouldn’t be able to walk into a stone setter or find someone to contract work out to for general jewelry fabrication. Would those circumstances fit the criteria? I might be a lawyer, but for the amount that I might save, it might not be worth it. But I’d rather give a lawyer money over the federal gov.
You can write off the expenses of your move as you are self-employed and doing it for business purposes. You cannot avoid paying the capital gains on your house if you live it in for less than two years unless you have some type of hardship - these are very limited and making the decision to move your business is not included. (Although losing your job in a layoff and having to move for a new job might work.) Please see a tax professional before making any tax decisions.
Personally however, I would rather pay tax on the cash in hand then lose all my profit. If you own it one year and one day it will only be 15% Fed plus state, although that is a little misleading as it might push your earned income up into a higher bracket. I’ve seen a lot of people lose all their gains because they were loath to pay tax on the gain. Watch out for this type of decision making.
If you like the house, keep it. You have to live somewhere, & $150,000 isn’t bubblenutty.
If there’s someplace you’d rather be, taxes will only be 15% of 210-170, or $6000 (improvements & commissions add to basis). & if you have a good reason to move, you can even avoid that.
Sell. Time is money.
You will have to pay the 15% capital gains minus improvements (check on that for your situation, but in most cases, that’s correct).
The wild card in waiting is not you. It’s the Federal government and what it might choose to do in 2009. IF corporate taxes are raised, jobs will be lost, making it harder for you to sell then versus now.
I’m expecting the Jimmy Carter Years Part II to start in 2009 and am making decisions accordingly.
Hey, guess what, Kudlow shays there’s no recession.
http://cosprings.craigslist.org/car/573391904.html
FB jettisoning the toys as his ARM resets.
Ok, who here created the very funny PowerPoint presentation titled “The Subprime Primer?” A great way to explain the mess to non-financial people. (Warning, some very foul but funny language.)
If anyone wants a copy e-mail me at sd.re.b at hotmail dot com
Have a great holiday weekend!