Bits Bucket For June 23, 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.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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RIP, George Carlin. One of ole Palmetto’s faves, seeing as how I’m in the “stuff” business. Just remember folks, your stuff is stiff, everyone else’s stuff is sh*t.
“your stuff is stiff”
Oh man, more COFFEE! I meant to say “your stuff is STUFF”. Sheesh.
I think that slip would have made GC smile. He’ll be missed.
“Now for baseball scores: 6 to 3.. 5 to 8…3 to 2 & 7 to 4″
“Moving on to weather:
Forecast for tonight: Dark
Forecast for tomorrow: Light”
Thanks George!
I saw George Carlin 2 years ago in Vegas . Some people walked out of the show because he was really coming down on fat people . He looked a little ill to me at that show . Anyway , GC would speak out loud about what people think, but don’t dare say.
Oh man! I wish I was at that show. I would laugh aloud at fat people jokes. I was fat from age 5 to 17. I’m 49 now. Only one explanation for fatness: eating more calories than is burned. That’s not an illness or a life sentence. Fatness is curable. Based on principles of physics.
I saw George Carlin earlier this year on one of his usual trips to Vegas.
He was bitter, harsh, sarcastic and abrasive during his show (and not just towards fat people). And I loved every minute of it.
“Everyone please remain seated while we taxi to - the TERMINAL….”
I’m gonna miss him.
I predict that YouTube will crash with the number of people listening to “Baseball and Football…”:-(
Carlin’s punishment for Realtards…
“Cover em’ with brown gravy and lock in a room full of wolverines high on PCP.”
Carlin was my all-time favorite comedian.
DOC
I think of GC every time I get rid of some of my “stuff.”
You know, he was far too young to die, and it sucks for us who won’t get to hear him riff on the upcoming changes to our society, but to die while you are still doing what you love? Not the worst way in the world to go.
What you said, polly!
My husband and I were sad to hear the news.
do you have a reference for the stuff material? I’ve been thinking about it for days. I read it years go but no longer have the book it was in.
Wolfgirl,
Google “Seven word you can’t say on television.”
How ironic that Carlin would be best remembered for his rip-off of Lenny Bruce’s best-remembered riff….
Lenny Bruce was the champion of free speech and paid dearly for it. How many times was he arrested? Seems like his idea of free speech didn’t match the status quo’s idea.
Don’t hear of many people who remember Lenny Bruce either. Maybe I should change my name to “old hippie”.
Maybe I should change my name to “old hippie”.
OLD!!!? Hippies aren’t OLD! We’re, we’re, um, uh… mellowing. Yeah,mellowing.
Technically, Bruce was a Beatnik.
Well, I’m a little too young for the beatnik area. And I refuse to grow old. I’m having too much fun. Of course the kids all think I’m nuts. My husband tells them that I amuse him.
A favorite of ours as well.
George Carlin was a favorite of mine also.
Google Video or You Tube has some of Carlin’s HBO specials, and some interviews of Carlin reflecting on the death of America. NPR has a 3 part interview with him.Carlin was one of my favorites too.
I also like Phyllis Diller, an accomplished Pianist too. She is also very bright, an Ex-Copy Writer. She is on NPR and videos online, too.
“I also like Phyllis Diller…”
I just had a howl reading her book: “Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse”
This one was a hoot!
‘My face has been pulled up more times than Bill Clinton’s pants”
Oh Pooh. Darn. Rats. Heck. Doodie. Crud.
sigh.
His work challenged our public discourse; we are diminished.
Some of GC’s more recent but incredibly insightful work. Watch this one. He’s dead on as usual.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ4SSvVbhLw
“The system doesn’t want a population capable of critical thinking”.
That one’s good. I also like his one on the 10 Commandments. Pretty apt.
Some sad news this morning with the passing of George Carlin:
George Carlin mourned as a counterculture hero
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_en_tv/obit_george_carlin
“Why do they lock gas station bathrooms?” he once mused. “Are they afraid someone will clean them?”
I saw GC in Reno with my wife at the Legacy.
We had excellent seats. It was his “You are all diseased” tour. It’s probably on you tube.
He does a part on religion. I almost fell out of my chair. My wife kept elbowing me because the couple next to her apparently were very religous and weren’t sharing my enthusiasm.
May you rest in peace George.
Mike
Credit Cards Get Personal…Peter Schiff, president of securities-brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital in Darien, Conn., has been downbeat on the economy for months but never thought he was the kind of customer that AmEx would worry about. That changed a few months ago when one of his employees tried to book a block of hotel rooms for a seminar on the firm’s corporate AmEx card. The card was declined, and Mr. Schiff subsequently discovered that AmEx had cut his $40,000 credit line to $4,500.
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105283/Card-Issuers-Get-Personal-to-Check-Credit
WOW..another hit for the “we live for debt” crowd..I can only imagine the shockwaves going through those people who felt “secure” that they still had lines of credit available to them through their credit cards…
Wadddya mean that it’s declined??? It’s PLASTIC! (here, try another one…)
This credit line shrinkage is evidence of the credit crunch, but it does not relate to your “we live for debt” crowd imagery. This scenario involves a person using a corporate card for a single purchase. Do you really think that using a corporate money order or purchasing order would really be that much better a transaction? My guess from experience is that the CPO would be refused even faster because even though it represents cash, the process required for that conversion is surprisingly expensive.
“I can only imagine the shockwaves going through those people who felt “secure” that they still had lines of credit available to them through their credit cards…”
That was my first thought.
Get ready for an uptick on the panic meter. I’m keeping my game face on while driving, dealing w/strangers, errrr…and maybe a few in my inner circle too.
I have a good FICO and one of my few credit cards was routinely trying to bump my available credit limit up about 3 years ago. I called their customer service department and advised them that I neither used or wanted that much credit and I wanted it volunterily reduced to a 5k limit max and held there.
Big song and dance about being a valuable customer, an astronomically high limit was an honor and a privilege and I might need it for some sort of dire emergency.
I told the lady if I was kidnapped and held ransom for a BILL with insufficient funds in a cathouse in Amsterdam, I had her number and she would be the first person that I would call.
She laughed and agreed as she told me how her Lipton Ice tea traversed her nasal cavity
“Peter Schiff, president of securities-brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital in Darien, Conn…… discovered that AmEx had cut his $40,000 credit line to $4,500″
Isn’t that a little bit of overshoot on risk control? Ya’d think being a best selling author (especially in a subject everyone’s waking up to) would earn him more than $4500 in credit.
Or is this purely a CC company vote of no confidence for securites-brokerage firms?
Nah, it’s all computerized. The banker men have no clue and they’re instructing their wunderkind minions to take action - any action. Expect much more humorous and illogical shotgun credit cuts as they really start to sweat.
“Or is this purely a CC company vote of no confidence”
It is preservation of reserves. Banks have to reserve for loan losses on both outstanding loans AND unused lines of credit. By cutting unused lines of credit, they don’t have to reserve as much. Don’t reserve as much for losses and the bank can positively affect it’s earnings.
I think it is an earnings play first, then vote of no confidence, imo.
“It is preservation of reserves.”
I knew CC companies had to contract outstanding credit. I just thought they’d be picking a different income class, at least at this point in the game.
The Corp. card line was cut but I bet his personal card wasn’t….
Here is another credit card story….I have a MC for AM air lines points…I switched to Visa some time ago to build points for SW….I need to use my MC once in awhile to maintain my points….I had a $4.79 (total) Kinko charge that I was 5 days late…They had a $25. late charge on my account…They did not want to waive it until a supervisor came on and I said I was going to cancel…$25. late fee on a $4.79 balance What friggen pirates…
What friggen pirates… At least my CC companies have told me in advance they will do this. Did you not know this would happen, ahead of time?
“What friggen pirates…”
scdave, Better buy a credit report, and look for increased rates from other creditors since you might have triggered the Universal Default Clause.
Don’t buy a credit report, the agencies provide one per year for free via annualcreditreport.com
I’ve heard that the amount of one’s credit limit is actually counted as debt when taking out a loan…i.e. if you have a $40K limit, then it is counted in debt-to-income ratios as “potential debt” even if you haven’t used it.
Depends on the bank… different companies have different methods for assessing risk.
A CC company I used to work for used a formula similar to what you describe when evaluating the risk of a high-risk customer. They would assume that all of the balances on every card the customer owned was potential debt. The idea was that if the customer decided to “screw it”, they would charge up all of the cards and declare bankruptcy.
What is wierd tho is that your FICO goes up if you have more potential debt than actual debt.
That’s kinda of mind boggling. I could see it if they cut it in half but sheesh, $4,500, you got to be kidding. I bet most HBBers have more credit than that.
One thing about CC’s that amazes me is how secretive the companies are & how reluctant they are to communicate with the holder. Few of my CC’s will send me an email advising me of each and every debit & credit to the account, the great majority refuse to do this and offer no options to make this happen. I for one would like each & every action on my accounts to be sent to me as it happens. A cut to my CC’s credit line justifies a phone call to my home ASAP.
“One thing about CC’s that amazes me is how secretive the companies are & how reluctant they are to communicate with the holder.”
Thanks to Senator Dodd, banks can do almost anything to consumers.
The same Peter Schiff who’s on CNBS all the time?
He’s been saying a lot of negative things about the dollar, financials, and the stock market.
He probably stepped on somebody’s toes. Payback time.
New Mexcio couple drops idea of essay contest to give away their home.
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2008/06/22/news/local/doc485e99ded0d8c050106673.txt
Ahousing virgin must have found out about this “contest” and rightly called the owners horrible, horrible people.
Horrors! Now they’re going to have to - GASP - lower the price!
It’s different in Santa Fe, NM, which calls itself “The City Different”
Decline ‘is shaping up to be the worst in a generation’
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080623-9999-1b23harvard.html
“There was almost a kind of steroid quality to lending products,” Retsinas said. “Those products are no longer available and the market is going through withdrawal.”
Looks like a little reality is making the CA real estate news today. I wonder what Jose Canseco has to say about this steroid issue?
News isn’t news until the news media reports it as news, only then does news become news.
Information must be annointed by print or a talking heads before it acquires the title of news.
Everything in this article has been reported on and repeatedily discussed in this blog for months and even years. Now this information is finally becoming mainstreamed to the sheeple in the form of “breaking news”.
“Everything in this article has been reported on and repeatedily discussed in this blog for months and even years. Now this information is finally becoming mainstreamed to the sheeple in the form of “breaking news”.
It does make you shake your head, doesn’t it, combotechie? Then a large percentage of those just tuning into the “breaking news” write off the info as the liberal press manipulating ideas about the economy going into an election and still turn a deaf ear. I am astonished at the number of people on local blogs for this info who still cling to the idea that this downturn is going to be a V shaped blip and then all will return to normal. There is absolutely no preparation on their part to gather up their acorns and play it safe.
Yes I’m a R winger but they’re being pretty lame about this. We’re not supposed to talk about it, you see. Then someone who just found out about the economy going south will earnestly explain that it’s not technically a recession, why all the doom and gloom, blah blah. I don’t care whose side it hurts, the truth is the truth.
And the D’s acted so dumb about it for so long, too - here was this issue handed to them on a silver platter and they didn’t wake up until a couple months ago. I think everyone’s first worry was the value of their own properties in Connecicut or the Beltway or the Hamptons…
All along the way, Retsinas has been one of the cheerleaders saying everything was “contained.” Just because he appears to have gotten religion doesn’t make him any more credible.
Retsinas is a discredited slug. He’s just another former market crooner who now begins every quote with “As we expected …” as if to insinuate that he knew all along that the housing market was F’d. The “as we expected” crowd seems to be growing by the day.
‘All along the way, Retsinas has been one of the cheerleaders saying everything was “contained.”’
Luckily, Ben captured his former stance in the blog archives. We used to ridicule his positions, and he has now adopted ours, with nary a mention of how badly his earlier predictions turned out.
Just wait til the guys from George Mason U start saying…”As we predicted…”
Its either that or Hoocodanode.
RE: “all contained”.
Never a more inaccurate phrase that has come back to haunt
those who spoke it.
“In some parts of the country, the market will remain depressed well into the next decade. It is going to be a slog.”
“In the San Diego region, the housing boom led to overbuilding.”
Yet we were told yesterday by a shill than San Diego was on the verge of a housing shortage.
“Yet some markets weathered the storm, the report said. “Mississippi and Wyoming issued more permits in 2007 than 2006.”
Is the Mississippi increase the result of post-Katrina rebuilding?
It amazes me how many new homes Pardee is building in Carmel Valley. They’ve got at least three developments in progress (Carriage Run from the 7s, Bridle Ridge from the high 9s, and Derby Hill from the 1.2s). Fiancee and I were driving around this weekend and we stopped in out of curiosity. Impression: there are either a lot of curious people like us, or the Kool Aid bubble has yet to burst. I’m guessing the latter since their most recent release at Bridle Ridge is all reserved out. It’ll be interesting to see how those buyers feel about closing 5-6 months from now if/when comparable 2-4 year old used homes are going for 20% off what they’re paying.
It’s an appealing location from a commute standpoint since the area is less than 2 miles from my office, but good lord. With MR, HOA, taxes, and insurance, I’d guess that you’re in for a solid $1500/month before you even get to start paying for the actual purchase. We’ve still got quite a ways to go.
“It amazes me how many new homes Pardee is building in Carmel Valley.”
Are you talking about the huge development on the east border of Ft.Ord, which is heading East / South-East from Marina, CA on Military road?
Sorry. Wrong Carmel Valley. This one is at the 5-805-56 confluence about 10 miles north of downtown San Diego.
What does ‘MR’ stand for? What are rents in the area?
Mello Roos. It’s a lovely added fee/tax that developers agree to as a way of passing community improvements like parks and schools on to their buyers. They are supposed to be of limited duration, but usually get extended for the equivalent of eternity.
Asking rents for SFR in the area are generally above $3k/mo. according to my occasional looks on CL. I did recently see a $2k asking price for a 3500 sf, 5 year old house overlooking a canyon, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
Obviously, even the high end wishing rents are not remotely supportive of the current asking prices on homes in the area. 250-300 and up as a rent multiplier is more than a bit silly.
I wonder what Jose Canseco has to say about this steroid issue?
As someone posted the other day, Mr. Canseco is facing foreclosure himself. He seems very matter-of-fact about it.
Maybe he’ll tell us that he saw Mark McGwire take a questionable loan when they both played for the Oakland A’s …
A contract is just a contract. Oakland traded him to the Texas Rangers while he was on deck warming up to bat. Nothing personal its just business.
He knows he never really owned the house, it was just an arrangement from the bank to allow him to live there.
And here on “marketwatch” “The HOUSING market is shaping up to be the Worst in a Generation.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/housing-slump-shaping-up-worst/story.aspx?
We’ve graduated from worst in a month to a season, to YOY, to decade. Now we’re up to “generation.”
So tell me, what comes after “lifetime”? Era? Eon?
“We’ve graduated from worst in a month to a season, to YOY, to decade. Now we’re up to “generation.”
“So tell me, what comes after “lifetime”? Era? Eon?”
You have to go pre-WW II, to the Great Depression, to find meaningful comparisons - four generations or effectively a lifetime. Any earlier than that and it’d be much more difficult to draw any meaningful comparisons due to the country and housing being so different from now. I’m not sure how you’d draw any meaningful pre-industrial comparisons.
The ultimate worst: worst in a geologic epoch
I would have said there’s a “designer drug” quality about these lending products, cooked up in places that worked like meth labs. That’s why I doubt regulations will ever cure this problem or prevent future ones like it from developing.
In his honor, I just yelled the seven dirty words out my window. Since it’s currently 5AM, I assume that my neighbors thought that one of the homeless guys who lives down by the river is angry again.
And possibly also linked to the fact that it’s 5AM, I replied in the wrong place. Durr.
What were the replies? Don’t leave us hanging!
One of my favorite routines by him.
Have far we’ve come since that routine.
No, wait, you still cannot say those words on television.
Hence my post back up there….
The risk of letting market forces sort out a crisis: Other people may say you did not intervene enough.
SEC Chief Under Fire as Fed Seeks Bigger Wall Street Role
By Kara Scannell and Susanne Craig
Word Count: 2,389 | Companies Featured in This Article: Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers Holdings, J.P. Morgan Chase
Nixon’s dirty tricks have come home to roost now.
Jun 24, 2008
The Fed unreserved
By Peter Schiff
Throughout history, governments have always used crises to justify blatant power grabs. Often the crisis subsides, but the expanded government powers remain. In America this week, the tendency came into sharp focus. Congress signaled that it is preparing to perpetuate the George W Bush administration’s domestic wiretapping program, and has even abandoned the pretense that warrantless surveillance be confined to terrorism.
Similarly, even though our financial crisis has yet to reach full flower, Treasury secretary Henry Paulson announced plans to give the Federal Reserve new and explicit powers to oversee and regulate the financial services industry. However, a sober look at his plan reveals that it is tantamount to giving the fox complete autonomy to guard the henhouse.
I think he nailed it with the last paragraph:
“In fact, an unaccountable and unelected Federal Reserve, which nonetheless has lately proven to be as politically craven as any two-bit politician, does not hold the keys to our economic revival. However, with its increased willingness to rescue the big financial firms from their own excesses, perhaps Paulson sees an expanded Fed as the best way to ensure the continued prosperity of his former pals on Wall Street.”
“In fact, an unaccountable and unelected Federal Reserve, which nonetheless has lately proven to be as politically craven as any two-bit politician, does not hold the keys to our economic revival. However, with its increased willingness to rescue the big financial firms from their own excesses, perhaps Paulson sees an expanded Fed as the best way to ensure the continued prosperity of his former pals on Wall Street.”
DING!! DING!! DING!!
We have another winner, folks!!!
Wow, Schiff is dumping on the Powers that Be. Maybe that’s why they cut his credit limit upthread.
Warrantless surveillance finally walked across the finish line last week. Do you recall that Chris Dodd was the champion who blocked immunity for the telephone companies the last time it was up for a vote? I think that the re-vote last week came becauserevelations of Dodd’s dalliance with Countrywide has silenced him.
It seems that the housing bubble interweaves with everything, Bear.
“When it comes to economic performance during the past 150 years, the US is the Big Brown of economies. 1858-1908 was the Kentucky Derby, 1908-1958 was the Preakness, and 1958-2008 was the Belmont Stakes.”
Great analogy.
I saw an article in the LA times that stated something like 5,000+ racing horses have had to be destroyed since 2001 in the US
And the horse race is on:
…rice, corn, houses, oil, credit cards, copper, gasoline, Nike shoes, Oakley sunglasses…Wall Street: “we’ll do anything to find “yield”…anything.
Racing horses is a business. Or a very expensive hobby. These magnificent creatures eat like horses (how clever of me) and require extensive vet bills and training expenses. If they don’t earn their keep by earning money (or bragging rights) for their owners then it’s off to the glue factory with them.
The same is true for greyhounds.
For the animal lovers on the blog, what I just said is an explanation, not a justification. Personally, I think the whole animal racing business sucks.
“Racing horses is a business. Or a very expensive hobby”
There is a $5 Billion Dollar a year subsidy given by Congress for the horse racing industry. I think it’s hidden in the $300 billion dillar farm bill somewhere. I could never figure out how this business stayed a float, it’s because of government backing.
A five Billion dollar subsidy for the horse racing industry.
Buried in a Three-hundred billion dollar farm bill.
How did we get here?
A nag that takes 36 races to break his maiden win, costs the same to feed and board as a triple crown winner…
D. H. Lawrence’s story “The Rocking Horse Winner” is another interesting analogy relevant to the HBB.
One of Big Brown’s owners is a hedge fund scum.
http://tinyurl.com/4fu9oq
Fed, SEC Near Accord To Redraw Wall Street Regulation
By Kara Scannell , Deborah Solomon and Sudeep Reddy
Word Count: 671 | Companies Featured in This Article: Bear Stearns
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission are finalizing a formal agreement that will start the process of redrawing how Wall Street is regulated in the wake of Bear Stearns Cos.’ near collapse.
The agreement, which could be announced as soon as this week, aims to fill gaps in regulatory oversight and will increase cooperation and information-sharing between the central bank and SEC.
Just think - if we’d had these regulations 10 years ago none of this would have happened./s
Like all the accounting rules, regulations and “oversight”. None of this means didley without people of honor behind it. Of course it will give the government more power( like we really need that) but it does nothing for the moral abyss we have embraced in this country.
More like Wall Street firms want to be able to go to the discount window also .
June 23, 2008 8:04 A.M.ET
BULLETIN
Bloodied bulls are unbowed
After a rough week, stock futures show some ability to bounce back. As traders downplay Saudi summit, crude contract adds about 1%.
Opening chart looks more like a high-dive than a bull run…. Hope there’s water in the pool.
Citigroup proceeding with jobcuts.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_pEPYu2r2uw&refer=home
Hey, but in New York real estate only goes up.
What bothers me is the city and state and independent agencies such as the MTA not only spent the windfall from the bubble, but borrowed against it’s continuing. And the federal and state governments kept passing one deal after another fiscally detrimental to NYC, assuming that (thanks to one of the highest tax burdens in the country) the city had plenty of money.
Now the funny money is going away, the debts have to be paid (or not, I would argue), and I sincerely doubt all those federal and state deals to NYC’s detriment are going away.
As long as the Delis stay open…
Actually, they are being priced out slowly but surely.
They are being replaced by bank ATM’s and wireless phone shops (who needs more phones?)
It’s really astonishing to see it happen.
We need a real NYCityBoy-style rant here.
Where’s he been lately??
Where’s he been lately??
Having an affair with some guy named Jack?
He stepped away from his computer.
I wish I could.
Actually, they are being priced out slowly but surely. They are being replaced by bank ATM’s and wireless phone shops (who needs more phones?)
A downside of real estate price increases and gentrification that isn’t obvious to most people at first. A neighborhood begins to lose its old-man bars, its delis, its taquerias, its junk shops, its half-assed art galleries — and pretty soon the trickle becomes a flood. Soon after that, banks and multi-national chains occupy most of the storefronts.
And guess what? Now that neighborhood is sterile, safe — and boring as hell.
Slightly tangential, but this documentary about the legendary Shopsin’s restaurant is fascinating both because of the personalities captured and because of the pervasive sense that such places and people are an endangered species in NYC:
I Like Killing Flies
Amen….
Too bad, I’m enjoying my deli lunch though with my home brined pickles and nitrite free corned beef on rye ( the rye is storebought but pertty good). When dive delis are gone in the City, what’s next? The pizza joints????
Congress’s Fingerprint Fine Print
By JOHN BERLAU
June 23, 2008; Page A17
Fingerprints have long been considered to be among the most personal of information. Proposals for creating fingerprint databases are usually controversial and often lead to a spirited public debate. Even when a fingerprint registry will likely help fight terrorism or crime, many still fear it will lead to a surveillance state.
Yet this week a measure creating a federal fingerprint registry totally unrelated to national security or violent crime may clear the Senate with little debate. The legislation would require thousands of individuals not suspected of any wrongdoing to send their prints to the feds.
What issue is so important that it warrants creating a fingerprint database without public debate? Believe it or not, the housing slowdown. The database and fingerprint mandates are contained in the housing bailout bill that will likely come to a vote on Tuesday.
It ain’t workin…
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avMUFx0ktngM&refer=home
IN THE MAIL: Editorial shows board to be naive
David Johnson, Grand Forks Herald
Published Monday, June 23, 2008
VALDERS, Wis. — If the Herald’s editorial board really believes its editorial on the deal between Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Countrywide Financial, then the board members, too, have a case of naivete.
…
Who else calls a CEO of any lending institution to get a loan? Not me, and I would bet my mortgage that no Herald readers do, either.
This is the same Countrywide mortgage company that is looking for a federal bailout from the same folks to whom they gave below-rate mortgages.
David Johnson
“Who else calls a CEO of any lending institution to get a loan? Not me, and I would bet my mortgage that no Herald readers do, either.”
You only call that CEO if you’re seeking favors or if you know him or her personally and are not doing business. It wasn’t as if it were hard getting a loan or difficult getting in touch with someone from a lending institution then. You didn’t need someone high up in a company to cut through the bureaucracy.
Absolutely, SD. There should be an ethics investigation, but Congress gave those up years ago. These guys make me sick.
Has anyone printed a full list of the people on Countrywides VIP program? It would be nice to forward this to everyone we know.
That would be an interesting roster MEaston. I’m sure the entire list is all librulls. lmao.
Louisiana Housing Market Strong Despite National Trends
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/6/prweb1042744.htm
“From a national perspective, there are certainly areas of the country that are experiencing problems with overpricing and foreclosures, but this has to be viewed in perspective,” said Louisiana REALTORS Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Young. “2007 was actually the fifth best year on record and very similar to the home sales and price gains experienced in 2002, when consumers across the country were very confident about the market.”
Research by the National Association of REALTORS shows that prices nationwide are beginning to stabilize, with a modest increase in property values expected in the coming year.
“It’s true that nationally, real estate has taken a hit this year,” said Rodi. “But it is important for people in Louisiana to understand that we have weathered that storm and have actually come out on top.”
“Buying a home in Louisiana now is as good of an investment as ever, and over the past 40 years, no other investment has delivered a more consistent positive return than real estate.”
Housing won’t be affected negatively in LA, just like it won’t be affected in upstate NY, either (it is being affected negatively). According to all NAR clowns, it’s a great time to buy anywhere in the country.
“So solid, in fact, that some of the national media is beginning to take notice. In Money magazine’s recent ranking of the “100 Biggest U.S. Markets,” two Louisiana metro areas are among a handful of major local markets where home values have appreciated. New Orleans and Baton Rouge ranked second and third respectively, behind Birmingham, Alabama in a forecast of the top 25 southern markets. While homes in some parts of the region were projected to lose as much as 25% of their sale value by 2009, homes in the New Orleans area are expected to gain 2.2%, with Baton Rouge at 1.9%.”
Note that supposed performance is actually a forecast. We all know how good some of those forecasts have been in the past few years.
Although it’s kind of funny to watch them brag about a 1 to 2% gain in one part of the country. Shows how far we’ve come.
Keep the hope alive and keep the money flowing.
“Buying a home in Louisiana now is as good of an investment as ever, and over the past 40 years, no other investment has delivered a more consistent positive return than real estate.”
————————————————————-
he left off…..”It’s different here.”
““Buying a home in Louisiana now is as good of an investment as ever, and over the past 40 years, no other investment has delivered a more consistent positive return than real estate.”
How’d that work out in the Lower 9th Ward?
Now that the wheels have come of the entire housing shortbus, NARscum resort to the “every market is different” line of $hit as a means to blow smoke up the ass of uninformed buyers to get them to overpay. Think about your local lyin’ RealTard. “Oh, but Mr. & Mrs. Smith, here in LaLaLand prices haven’t declined like over in Mayberry so you’ll have to pay up if you want to live here because ‘Lalaland is different”. Yet RealtorScum is blowing the same smoke over in Mayberry.
Nice try RealtorScum but it won’t work on the informed.
Narscum is a very nice word. It sounds latin. It rolls off the tongue so well. “You belong to narscum?” sounds like an honor.
Gas up 10 cents a gallon over last 2 weeks.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-gasoline-prices-climb-10/story.aspx?guid=%7B6EA83586%2D010F%2D4503%2D8C6F%2D96B72859D3C5%7D
In San Diego, I bought at $4.89/gallon in RB Friday because I had to, and hadn’t realized RB would be so much more expensive when planning the day.
http://www.sandiegogasprices.com/
This site right now shows a station in Pacific Beach at $4.93 and one in El Cajon at $4.91. And there are other high priced listings as well.
The cheapest is $4.38 in Imperial Beach.
It seems like $5 is right around the corner in San Diego. The whole $4 phenomena was a whirlwind . . . and we’re practically at 5 already.
Wish I knew where I could find a history of the prices on a graph to see how long we were actually at $4.00/gallon. One day? ; )
“…The cheapest is $4.38 in Imperial Beach.”
And the reason for that price difference?
How far is Imperial Beach from Tijuana Mexico?…100 yards
I’m in Mexico right now, and strangely enough it only costs about $33 to fill up my tank, as opposed to more than $46 back in Tucson.
strangely enough it only costs about $33 Nothing strange at all about a government subsidy.
Pemex is the ultimate subsidy machine in Mexico.
-All of it profits are consumed by the Federal government. (well duh! its owned by the government)
-Prices at the pump are fixed and usually subsidized.
-Pemex has 10’s of thousands of people on the payroll who do not do any sort of real work. These “jobs” are sold to cronies who kickback pay anywhere from 30-50% of the wages to those who hire them.
Answers needed regarding Dodd
Staff Reports
Article Launched: 06/23/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT
How regretful that U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd’s plan to rescue homeowners left dangling by unscrupulous lenders has become mired in questions regarding the senator’s relationship with one of the worst of those lenders.
The state of the housing market continues to roil the economy, and experts say we still may not have hit the worst of it. With so much uncertainty, the possibility of relief from the federal government, even in limited form, came as welcome news.
To that end, the Senate last week began debate on a plan to help homeowners caught in the subprime mortgage debacle. Mr. Dodd is chairman of the Senate Housing Committee and was the primary force behind the bill. He reportedly spent months working out a compromise with Republicans on the committee, and won the support of most of them.
But in the time leading up to debate on the Senate floor, it was revealed that Mr. Dodd had financed property with Countrywide Financial Corp., which preyed on countless unwitting borrowers as part of the mortgage crisis. The firm is currently under federal investigation.
Worse, Mr. Dodd participated in a “VIP” program offered by Countrywide, and was a recipient of significant campaign funds from the firm.
BofA aims to close Countrywide deal
Published: Jun 22, 2008 09:16 AM
Modified: Jun 22, 2008 09:15 AM
By RICK ROTHACKER, The Charlotte ObserverComment on this story
CHARLOTTE - When Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis announced his plan in January to buy Countrywide Financial for $4 billion, he was hailed by some as a bargain shopper coming to the mortgage lender’s rescue.
Now, some analysts wonder whether he should be headed to the return counter.
At Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide, loan losses and legal woes continue to pile up for a major player in the nation’s subprime mortgage mess. The worry is that Bank of America shareholders will pay the bill for the lender’s excesses during the housing bubble.
For months, speculation has swirled about whether the Charlotte-based financial giant would abandon the deal. But the bank said last week it’s targeting July 1 to close the purchase, pending Countrywide shareholder approval on Wednesday. Some analysts still wonder whether Bank of America will find a way to separate the good parts of the company from the bad, allowing it to ward off potential losses.
I guess we will have to wait and see how the bailout vote and Presidential veto threat play out to answer this question.
Dodd Rocked by Mortgage Scandal
Senator didn’t disclose sweetheart deal as Countrywide ‘VIP’
Business New Haven
06/23/2008
by Liese Klein
U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd is known for his adroit political instincts and vast network of connections in the worlds of business and finance. But one of those connections has come back to bite him and may have cost him a chance at a vice presidential bid.
Connecticut’s senior senator acknowledged on June 17 that he knew he was given special “VIP” treatment when obtaining a mortgage from Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2003.
…
Dodd says he’s never met Mozilo, but the senator’s links to Countrywide - and the $75,000 he potentially could save in mortgage costs with a “friends” rate - have already sparked a Senate Ethics Committee investigation over failure to report the deal as a “gift” under ethics rules.
…
Critics including the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page have also pointed out that Dodd is spearheading a $300 billion mortgage bailout package that would allow lenders like Countrywide to offload bad loans at taxpayer expense. Countrywide is at the center of probes on the lax lending standards that led to the subprime debacle and subsequent collapse in housing prices.
I keep thinking of Parliament sending “shame, shame, shame” to miscreants.
Dodd is a fitting target. But instead his own party is closing ranks, as of course is the other half of his own party, the repubs.
Paul Krugman asks the obvious. What’s so bad about renting?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/opinion/23krugman.html?hp
Dear Paul,
Are you reading here?
JP
The number of UK property sales has fallen by 32% this year, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
There were 504,000 sales in the first five months of 2008 that were worth more than the new stamp duty notification limit of £40,000.
That compares with 743,000 such sales in the same period last year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7468863.stm
I can feel an even bigger black hole in govermint finances developing.
Rotten Monday in works? The Dow futures have been zigzagging for hours. I’m thinking it’s bargain hunting time and it’s going to gain barring any bad news, rumors, or innuendo…
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/rotten-monday-works/story.aspx?guid=%7BBDB9DD83%2D31F7%2D4859%2DA3E1%2D1145703CC84A%7D&dist=MostReadHome
I know that some people here have issues with Krugman. I do too on occasion, but I think that in honor of this column, he deserves an honorary HBB nick:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/opinion/23krugman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
I suggest “editorial boy.” Any others?
Krugman fails to note one advantage of homeownership — stability. Most Americans no longer live in neighborhoods and communities in any real sense, and no longer put down roots even if they do own.
But in older places like Brooklyn neighborhoods and perhaps small towns, a sense of permenance matters, and homeownership re-inforces that link and is correlated with participation in community institutions. The way rent whipsaws in Brooklyn, one might otherwise be “priced out forever.”
On the other hand, if homeownership is beneficial there should be no need to subsidize it. And the same public policy biases in favor of homeownership that Krugman cites are also biases in favor of buying larger and fancier houses relative to one’s needs, rather than spending the money on other things. Lifting the conforming mortgage cap cuts the same way.
“Krugman fails to note one advantage of homeownership — stability.”
The Feds have noted it…the new wiretapping and fingerprint databases will keep suspected “troublemakers” in their sights. There is no suggestion that these intrusive measures are related to “terrorism”…they seem to be purely domestic. And of course, property owners are on the hook for property taxes to fund public pensions and such…sure to be on the rise.
What Krugman doesn’t say…stay under the radar, rent and pay cash.
But in older places like Brooklyn neighborhoods and perhaps small towns, a sense of permenance matters, and homeownership re-inforces that link and is correlated with participation in community institutions. The way rent whipsaws in Brooklyn, one might otherwise be “priced out forever.”
Amen, WT. We are priced out of Brooklyn for the foreseeable future, at least! My wife and I agree we have not felt really part of the neighborhood as renters in Bay Ridge and Carroll Gardens over the past 4 years. We’d like to put down roots again, if only the market would go and work its magic! Next week the gypsy clan heads to Forest Hills. Well, we couldn’t afford to rent in WT!
With twins, we were priced out of Manhattan. Then No. 3 came along, and it’s goodbye, Brooklyn.
Don’t want to be a bitter renter, this kind of progression might happen in normal times, too.
Hang in there. In the late 1980s we thought we’d have to move away. Earn it and save it here, spend it somewhere sane. But the market came back to reality then, and it will now, with a vengence.
You may not be able to afford Windsor Terrace, as there has been a structural shift in value in favor of closer in locations. But when prices finally fell to the point where we could buy, my then-boss was pushing Forest Hills. I’ll bet prices will fall farther there, and in Bay Ridge.
At the time, I said the difference between WT and Forest Hills is here you can walk to (Prospect) Park and the subway, there you’d have to choose between the 1940s rowhouses near the subway and the detached 17 foot houses closer to Metropolitan Avenue and the (Forest Park).
From the perspective of 20 years later, however, a bicycle closes that difference. Heck from Forest Hills one could bike all the way in, as I do.
So, WT, you think your nabe has reached a permanently high plateau? Some folks were trying out that idea a couple of years ago elsewhere, right? Oh well … it’s probably true that the close-in areas will remain relatively expensive, as in European cities. So long as crime and terror stay out of the picture, anyway.
As far as FH goes, we’re about halfway between the subway and Forest Park, I suppose … commute’s at least as good, even though we’re a couple of miles farther out, as the pigeon flies. New perch for watching and waiting …
“So, WT, you think your nabe has reached a permanently high plateau?”
Nope — to the extent that WT had become relatively more desirable, that is over-priced in. We’re going down with everyone else.
a sense of permenance matters ??
I agree WT…
There’s also the benefit of paying off your mortgage eventually and then never having another house OR rent payment ever again.
Asia not looking good.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/inflation-fears-sideline-investors-weigh/story.aspx?guid=%7B8F34FC76%2DBFFE%2D4034%2D8B09%2DD73F9775BEFE%7D&dist=MostReadHome
Hoz / Tim / Anyone Else
MBIA and AMBAC had insured various CDO/ structured products backed by residential mortgages. Are there monoline insurers that insure CDO backed by commercial mortgages?
How do you short CMBX index?
Are there any CDO backed by credit card debts and auto loans. Is there any index for cc and auto CDO? Is there any way to short these CDO/indicies?
I think that next shoe to fall would next commercial backed mortgages, CC and auto.
What would be a good starting point to educate your self on derivatives?
These are excellent questions. I too have been very interested in securitization derivatives from a bearish perspective. This info seems very, very hard to come by as most of these products are traded OTC and are limited to hedge funds, banks and the other big players.
Essentially what is going on is as the markets for theses products are failing the banks are being forced to take back all these loser loans. The next year should be fascinating.
Oh and in answer to your question about CDO’s backed by auto loans and CCs, they do exist (in fact CC debt was one of the first forms of debt to be securitized). But I have no idea where to get pricing info on these products. There are some excellent textbooks on Derivatives. Hull has a highly rated one that you can get for semi-cheap on Ebay. Just a warning. These books are highly mathmatical in nature and the pricing equations for this stuff is fundamentally statistical hocus-pocus.
If anyone else has any other links or sources of derivatives knowledge please feel free to share. These are the products that have enabled the insanity of the past 10 years.
Shaky job market threatens any housing recovery.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/housing-slump-shaping-up-worst/story.aspx?guid=%7B2932BBD7%2D4139%2D4A56%2D9155%2DDA6941690F44%7D
“When smart money gets stupid”
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Morningstar/WhenTheSmartMoneyGetsStupid.aspx
Good article.
I discovered thirty years ago that I had to do my own thinking if I were to make it in the investment world.
It was then that I came across a stodgy company that made valves that was taken over by a gee whiz kid who began cooking the books to juice up earnings. I had to laugh at how obvious his tactics were, of how only a fool would buy into the company.
A few weeks later I reviewed the holdings of a mutual fund I had invested money in and, … lo and behold …here was that same company I laughed at a few weeks previous.
The fool that bought into the company was ultimately myself.
So I cashed out of the mutual fund and did my own stock picking.
Other than buying an index fund for those who don’t care that much for doing their own research, I think that is the only way to go.
Lessons from the Great Depression.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/LessonsFromTheGreatDepression.aspx
“What we need is an emotional understanding of how it felt to live with uncertainty and still get on with life, and still trust that hard work had a point and still believe that the future will be a time worth living in.”
“Amen”
Amen again….
Jwhite…For crying out loud..Please Stop !! I going to spend my entire day reading this stuff…:)…Good info…
Doh!!! Sorry, I take breaks in between my writing to dig up this sundry stuff…
Whatcha writing, Jwhite? Tell us. Does it have mummies in it? How about tractors? Does it have mummies who steal a tractor and try to escape from the farm? Or, does it have leprechauns? It’s GOT to have leprechauns–all the greatest works do.
Right this minute I am ignoring what I’m supposed to be doing and writing a story about teacups who are trying to reach Heaven by dint of a delicately constructed Tower of Babel sort of mound of stolen kitchen utensils and things. The sad part of the story is; the beautiful, warm, glowing golden light they THINK is Heaven is actually just a ceiling light fixture from Walmart. That’s why it goes away sometimes.
I don’t know what will happen once the little striving teacups reach ‘Heaven’. It’s a mystery to me, too. Meanwhile, I’m trying not to cry while thinking about the poignant efforts of the brave little cups, the poor little climbing cups.
ROTFLMAO!!! That’s why it goes away sometimes…hilariousness.
Unfortunately - no. I’m doing vignettes for a physical geography class we’re developing.
E.G.
Landscapes Middle East
The physical landscape of the Middle East is one of great space and great diversity. It encompasses a vast area from the shores of the Mediterranean, to the Red Sea, the Negev desert of Israel, the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley of Iraq, and the vast sand dunes of the Arabian Peninsula. The region is most associated with dry and arid areas by most of us. However, it possesses many unexpected features. For example, the western highlands of Yemen and the Asir Mountains of Saudi Arabia are the highest points in the Middle East. They also receive the most rain in the region and the combination has resulted in a spectacular and remote ecosystem.
Most of the Yemeni highlands have been farmed for thousands of years and have evolved into a system of terraced mountainsides that in conjunction with wood gathering have denuded most of this area of its original forests and little remains of it. The Saudi Asirs do retain much of their dense forests that are the last preserve of much of the large indigenous Arabian wildlife such as the Arabian leopard, the Hamadryas baboon, and the Arabian wolf as well as 245 bird species. The area is punctuated by rain fed mountain streams that support seven amphibian species. These streams reach down into Yemeni lowlands where they evaporate in the high heat before reaching the sea.
In the higher elevations above 2000m, there exist large cloud forests where bearded lichens hang from the juniper, evergreen, and dwarf trees. Below 2000m deciduous shrubs and scrubland dominate. The ecosystem however, faces significant challenges from erosion, hunting, and deforestation as the population in this area continues to grow. The Saudi government has established protected areas and national parks in the region; however, much remains to be done if this unique habitat is to survive.
Point to ponder
Terracing has been a means of turning steep mountain sides into productive agricultural areas for thousands of years. Similar systems exist in areas as wide flung as Nepal, Indonesia, China, and Yemen. Do you think that these cultures developed these nearly identical systems separately, or, do you think that there may have been a cross-cultural transfer of ideas somewhere in the far off past?
Unedited content
Oh man, JW, I always wanted to go visit those landscapes, esp. the Rib al Khali, I mean Rub al Khali. My dream when I was a kid was to be a Bedouin, of course, I just associated it with beautiful horses and open spaces and the occasional oasis.
Hmm, sounds kinda like where I live now, but here I’m allowed to drive (women can’t drive in S. Arabia, last I heard).
Nope, and they still can’t go out without a male of their own family. The Islamic police will get em…
Lost, I don’t think you’d ever be happy in The Kingdom.
Nope, I’d have to start taking whatever, testosterone?? and grow a beard.
I actually had an Arab friend invite me to Riyadah for his wedding. This was when I went to school at the Univ. of Colorado and actually knew someone who wasn’t a WASM (white Anglo-Saxon Mormon).
I still have two horses, BTW, can’t decide if they’re A-rabs or Z-rabs.
State, city layoffs: 45,000 and counting
A squeeze on tax revenues could force local leaders to cut tens of thousands of more jobs. That could add to the nation’s economic woes.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The latest hit to the economy could come from state houses and city halls across the nation, which are in their worst budget crisis in years.
With falling revenue from sales and income taxes, and property-tax declines looming, states, cities and towns have already laid off tens of thousands of government employees. Many expect more job cuts ahead as public officials struggle to balance their budgets.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a public employees union, says about 45,000 government layoffs have been announced this year.
http://money.cnn.com:80/2008/06/23/news/economy/local_government_layoffs/index.htm?postversion=2008062304
Here is where even those who practiced prudence and thrift are nailed by being a minority in a country that does the opposite.
State and local governments should have banked the bubble revenues against harder times. In NY, NJ and CA they borrowed like crazy instead. “Something for nothing!” Makes politicians real popular in the short run, and papers over the fact that some are getting a better end of the deal than others.
It’s a self serving scam WT all under the guise of “People want/need these services”…..
Even Fred is shocked. Been too busy to catch up on March/April but saw yesterday’s HBB post on Phoenix and couldn’t believe it. Also saw an article that Mortgages Ltd. may be forced into bankruptcy. The CEO apparently committed suicide a month ago.
Maricopa County (Phoenix Metro) Notice of Trustee’s Sales
May 06 764
Jun 06 797
Jul 06 851
Aug 06 1019
Sep 06 1114
Oct 06 1238
Nov 06 1493
Dec 06 1407
Jan 07 1624
Feb 07 1577
Mar 07 1720
Apr 07 1709
May 07 2007
Jun 07 2325
Jul 07 2501
Aug 07 3248
Sep 07 2834
Oct 07 3458
Nov 07 3544
Dec 07 3875
Jan 08 5334
Feb 08 5015
Mar 08
Apr 08
May 08 6415
Thanks for the update. I’m hoping those numbers level off one of these days.
Looking to get long this a.m. for the intermediate term (probably most of the summer)
So you disagree with the recent RBS study that sees a credit collapse in the near future? (if true, I would assume one would want to be short.)
No, I don’t disagree, just don’t think it’s going to happen until the late summer or fall.
I am with you. Moreover, I think the Fed’s recent inflation rattling will prove to be a head fake, followed by a no-go on higher interest rates. Wall Street’s bull herd will revel in the realization that a stimulative negative real FFR is here for the near term.
BB does not have the nuts to raise into these headwinds on multi fronts….Now, if it was PV, he would do it in heartbeat and then smile and light a cigar…
“inflation saber rattling”
At some point, that noise won’t be a saber rattling, but rather a death rattle.
Any reasoning for the timing? TIA
The election, maybe?
Yikes. I wouldn’t be looking for higher prices with all those black swans circling out there in the fog. One never knows when one will come ashore.
I’m more risk averse than Tx. Not willing to hold long overnight for exactly the reason you note. That said, NDX 1950 July calls were a fun play today. In at 36. Out at 43.9. Not a bad day’s work before lunch time.
Nice going.
Yeah, I closed my SPX puts on the first post open dip. Still holding a few NDX puts. Those will go soon as well. Very tempted to short SKF for a quick day-trade scalp. That seems a bit like playing with fire, however. Every time I get to the order confirm screen, I hear this loud ticking noise…
Got hit with a malware attack from hell. Had to call in orders. I think I’m back up now.
Got hit with a malware attack from hell. You mean, you don’t have a duplicate setup ready to switch over on a moment’s notice? I’m shocked.
yes, I do but my computers are all networked and this one installed a keylogger so I shut down until I could remove it from all of them.
Calling in orders? Oh the humanity. Glad to hear you’re back amongst the digitized again.
And I talked myself out of the SKF short. Just couldn’t pull the trigger, even at 140. No great loss so far, particularly in light of NDX being beddy beddy good to me. Somebody in some boiler room somewhere is pulling some serious G’s on the tech joystick today.
RE: The National Mood
$57 trillion in Federal entitlement guarantees says it’ll get worse before it gets better.
And as the saying goes, people get the government they deserve.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/ap_on_re_us/out_of_control
“…Maybe. And maybe this is what the 21st century will be about — a great unraveling of some things long taken for granted.”
Hey Oly, thanks to your recent “book” donation….some homeless person is now walking around town muttering things like this:
“Maybe”:
Once upon a time a farmer sent his son
With a horse to graze upon the mountainside
He fell asleep and when he woke the horse was gone
He came back without it and the neighbors said:
Oh what bad luck!
The farmer said:
“Maybe”
The very next day the farmer sent his son
Back to the mountain to seek his runaway
He found the horse and seven other wild ones
Took them all home and the neighbors said:
Oh what good luck!
The farmer said:
“Maybe”
The very next day the farmer sent his son
To the wild horses that needed to be tamed
The first one he climbed on threw him down on the ground
It broke his arm and the neighbors said:
Oh what bad luck!
The farmer said:
“Maybe”
The very next day war was declared
And the army men came through the countryside
Looking for soldiers but they couldn’t take anyone
With a broken arm and the neighbors said:
Oh what good luck!
The farmer said:
“Maybe”
I like that story . . . i remember it from awhile back. Thanks for sharing it.
HBB friends, it’s with great sadness I leave my beloved Utah to return to the United States. I’m accepting the museum job in my home state of Colorado, thus ending my career as a squatter (though I prefer “asset manager”). I will miss Utah but hope to return occasionally for projects affiliated with the museum.
If I weren’t “renting,” I would be stuck and couldn’t take this opportunity. I guess I’ll have to change my handle to something like Found in Colorado. I’ve found a rental already and start next Monday.
Wish me luck and thanks for all the “asset management” advice.
(But I won’t miss those &^%$$ gnats.)
Congratulations on your new life of “respectability” in the US! : )
(as opposed to your “outlaw” adventures)
Probably just different types of stories you can share with us.
The museum job sounds cool . . . Enjoy.
Thanks, Peaceful. Working with other anarchyologists and dino people, I’m sure the stories will be lots more interesting.
You know, every time I cross the border back into the US, I can feel a subtle difference - the Zion Curtain is lifted. No offense to Mormons, it’s just part of living in a place with a dominant religion of which you’re not part.
Utah is indeed a strange place, though I only drive through it down I-15 on my way to Cali. Even the mountains look different there, just like the Canadian Rockies look different. The Utah peaks all seem to have this head-and-shoulders shape, and I imagine them to be ancient stern Morman ancestors turned to stone. Or something.
I do appreciate the fact that the C-stores always carry caffeine-free pop. I usually I wire to the gills with the hard stuff and then back off later in the drive.
Hmmmm….road trip!!
‘Congratulations on your new life of “respectability” in the US! : )’
I think you’re assuming a lot, there, peaceful. This IS losty, after all. I suspect all sorts of fascinating and inexplicable events and occurences will start popping up at this museum shortly after Monday. (’Why is there a mummy in a gauzy tutu standing in the pioneer exhibit? And why is it holding a Barbie doll?’ ‘Hmmm. I don’t know.’)
My only concern is that we get fewer postings from losty. Say you will keep it up, losty! Reassure us!
And loads of good wishes from me. I read about your ponderings on the subject the other night.
I sometimes have to catch up on the daily threads way late at night, and there’s no point in posting responses, as everyone’s asleep, but I was wild with excitement to know what you’d do.
Oly, you know what I’ll miss most about Utarr??
The redrock? Of course, but not most.
The missile in my front yard, ditto.
Having to say “flippin’”? No.
THE FRY SAUCE!!!!
If you’ve never had Utah fry sauce, you are missing out. A wonderful blend of Mayo and ketchup.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me…
I once was Lost, but now am Found,
was blind, but now I see.
Good luck, Found!
WAHOOO!!! Thanks, Stucco, although now I have that song stuck in my head, but that’s OK, cause I LOVE that song…I’ll never forget the sound of a gazillion bagpipes playing that in unison (sort of) at the Edinborough Tattoo.
Congratulations Lost and best of luck.
I’m so jealous. You got to see the Tattoo. I was in Edinburgh a few years ago. Just missed the Tattoo.
Will you now become Lost in Colorado?
After reading your posts for months, 2 new nicks come to mind: “Amazing Grace” or “AmazingGrace” and “SweetHomeColorado”
Thanks, tresh. we named a rescued golden eagle Amazing Grace, call her Gracie.
“I LOVE that song…”
Harry Truman said it was his favorite song.
If you ever want to make people cry, put that song and a bagpipe together, works every time. Some cry because of the song, some cry because of the pipes, some just cry because.
Type “Amazing Grace” into Wikipedia and you’ll get to enjoy an interesting writeup of its history.
‘Type “Amazing Grace” into Wikipedia… history.’
Or see the movie…
“Amazing Grace”–my mom’s [Irish] final send off–bagpipes and all.
Congratulations and Good luck.
Hope you still find time to entertain your fellow bloggers w/reports from your new home.
Hope the doggy roommates are happy in their new place too.
CarrieAnn, instead of an HBB rafting party, now I’m going to start planning an HBB dino ghostbusting party. Imagine camping out in a huge museum full of mastodons and T-Rex skeletons…
I think my dogs will love their new digs, as it has an acre, all fenced, with big trees and a small stream.
Colorado’s where I grew up, I sorta miss my tribe over there, although Utah has some really fine people, too. Actually, I plan on retiring in Utah someday, if I ever retire.
“Imagine camping out in a huge museum full of mastodons and T-Rex skeletons…”
Hey Losty,
Just got done watching “Night at the Museum” with Mr. Cole, in fact, I was watching it when I was trying to buy you a “Squatters” beer @ Ray’s…
All the Best!… to you & yours
Hey, did you buy me one? I didn’t get back in there, maybe I should go this evening. Thanks for the thought, if you didn’t. If you did, well, thanks for the thought!
But I dunno about trusting Raul with your CC…
That dino party sounds fun too. Dino ghostbusting, huh? Do the spirits walk? I hear horse spirits are to be found on civil war sites. I suppose a dino or two might have avoided walking into the light too. 8>P
Maybe we should have the white water rafting over on the Maine Rivers. Didn’t hd74man say he was a guide? Although I think at this point in the year, those rivers are getting pretty mellow.
Maybe if we got Oly to promise some bum wiggling on the trip we could talk him into hosting the shindig.
Congratulations, Lost No More,
(Well, kinda congratulations. Colorado is not the worst place you could be right now….)
Were you able to get your stomach collection permission to reside with you?
Stomach collection? Are you talking about my collection of dropped pretzels under my chair? LOL - not sure what you mean, but all my critters are going, they at a lot.
at = eat (flippin keyborad -arrrgh - maybe I’ll get a new keyboard outtta the deal)
Stomach collection =those who must be fed at sundown. IE: Dogs, cats, horses, catfish, chickens, wolverines et al.
I hope you found a good place for your animal buddies.
Congratulations!!! Colorado is a great place. Best of luck in your new job.
Congrats!!! Try not to scare the city types too bad…
Thanks, Kim and JWhite - the worst part of the job is having to look acceptable, whatever that means. I guess I’ll have to ditch the bluejeans and hiking boots for khakis and hiking boots.
And they probably want me to start wearing a pith helmet. Darn ciVILEization…and combing my hair once in awhile. I’ll miss my “therapod therapy” (wandering in the Morrison Formation, which is where therapods are found - you know, Utahraptor/Jurassic Park stuff).
Lost, you didn’t say where in CO you’re headed. I assume front range? I can’t imagine any museum job on the western side, even director, that wouldn’t be volunteer-level pay scale. Unless of course you were talking about a dino-fuel museum
Whatever the case, sounds like a good move to me. Green River Utah is just no place to be. I’m really surprised that you’ve remained lucid all this time and not lapsed into insanity. I’m not being hyperbolic here, I’m dead serious. You’re a much stronger human being than I to have made it there as long as you have.
Not that where we’re at is much better overall, maybe a little - we’re working on future moves as well and may have some reports to share before too long.
“I’m really surprised that you’ve remained lucid all this time and not lapsed into insanity.”
I didn’t, Shoe, and I did.
Hey Shoe, Green River has actually been an awesome place for me, I loved it! But then, I didn’t have to depend on the locals for employment and I pretty much kept a low profile. But I love the Reef and Swell and all those big empty desert spaces. But it’s time to move on, think of the only town over 3,000 in W Colo SE Utah - ha. Nice museum, the dino branch.
Keep us posted on any move, also your house, I think T. would be an awesome place for a summer home.
I know as well as anyone how wonderful the redrock desert is and the incredible spaces open and quiet are. And socially I keep to myself more than most, but at some point the desire for more meaningful human interaction, and a sense of community, starts to kick in.
You’re able to stay in W.CO - cool! I’ll have to stop in on some future trip over that way.
Absolutely do stop, would be cool to say I know the dude who did the solar at Cleveland-Lloyd, might get me a raise.
Lost,
I am sure it will be the best for you, since it was your decision, after considering all the factors in your current situation. Good luck!!
Good night Gracie
(Burns and Allen TV Show-1950s)
lol
“Say good night Gracie… ” “Good night Gracie”…
Aw, geezluoise, you guys are great, but where were you all last night? I sat in Ray’s Tavern until they closed waiting for you all to show up for a Squatters Beer on Hwy’s tab???
Oh yeah, great, NOW you tell me.
And I had to drink all those beers all by myself…dang me, dang me, they outta take a rope and hang me…
Miller beer commercial: If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer.
Blano: If you’ve got the beer, I’ve got the time.
Do you have a beer detector like Hwy has?
findbeeranywhere dot com
so whats going to happen now Lost? new squatters move in next week once they see you move?
Good luck on the new job.
Great idea, DJ!! I’m on my way to the store to get spray paint and will make a series of squatter’s signs for whoever wants it. You know, the circle with the jagged arrow through the center pointing to the digs.
Actually, I had a great idea after all those beers last night (thanks, HWY). The house is next to the Mormon Church and they have a full-time resident guy who takes care of their landscaping. I’m going to propose to the church that they have him come over, it really would impact their property to have a dead lawn, trees, etc. next door. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to talk to the city about doing it.
Hey, congratulations on the new job, I told my daughter about what you do and I think you are her hero-ess.
I bet you’re now wishing you’d followed my advice of foam-in-place for the FBs appliances. Think of the shock and awe.
Yeah, I was wishing that I’d done that, but it would’ve meant a 100 mile one-way drive to get the foam. I’m a simple soul, and it gives me an excuse to eat out every day.
But hey, tell your daughter to go check out www dot dinosaurjourney dot org
You might want to come out for a dino dig, great fun!
That would be fun. I’ll see about finding time to do it.
Someone posted further up the page about how Krugman’s article failed to recognize the benefit of “stability” that housing offers. Hahaha. Care to say how the “stability” of owning a home in Utah would have allowed you to react to this opportunity?
Yet again, renting wins out
Hey, Patient, you know, I did own a home in Utah (Moab) and while I was there, I had several great opportunities I had to pass on, as I couldn’t move and didn’t want to rent it. I started to feel very uncomfortable about the situation and sold, not a moment’s regret.
I just watched G. Carlin’s routine on “stuff” on youtube and man does he have that right. It owns us. As do houses. The only thing I don’t like about renting is that I end up in crappy places cause I have pets. I’m an immaculate person and hate that, I want someplace not grungy. My house was very nice, so I do miss that. But all in all, love the freedom.
Anyone got a list of banks likely to survive this whole mess?
I’d like to know where I can stash my tiny supply of money besides offshore accounts/gold/vault.
Thanks
USAA. Although you have to be a member. You can find out about eligibility on their web site http://www.usaa.com.
This bank will always support you.
Stick some in U.S savings bonds.
Dow futures up 54 pre-walk, down 8 points post-walk… I am the Market DESTRUCTOR!!! (yes I am… :))
Be careful, if this becomes public knowledge, you may have certain people looking for you…
Just as long as they’re the RIGHT people…
Why on earth would I get an email from IRS asking me for my SS#?
Don’t they have it? Just send me my crumbs.
Yeah… Can you say “phishing”???? It’s a scam.
For example:
IRS Warns of Rebate Check Scam
http://www.kcbs.com/pages/2032741.php?
You wouldn’t, and you never will. Already got one of those myself.
Ouro, it’s a scam.
Here’s one a friend got and nearly suckered on:
You get a letter from some company telling you they’ve been hired by your bank to recover lost records, of which yours were part. Seems somebody lost a box while the bank was moving (yes. they actually say that, a box). There is of course no charge to you for this, they just need to recreate your info, would you comply and send your ss#, bank accounts, etc.
This friend is not computer literate, is 71, and thinks the world actually works like it did in the 50s. She told me it’s on real letterhead from the bank, etc.
Ute girl:
My mom had that happen and called in the mounted police.
It turned out fifth third really did need the info.
I inherited panic from dear old mom!
Thanks mom.
What everybody else said. It’s a scam. Ignore it, or go to irs.gov and figure out if there is a way to report it. Search for “phishing” on the homepage of the site.
By the way, the IRS uses your SS# as a unique identifyer. They have to. There are a heck of a lot of David Jones out there, including a few that have the same names. And official correspondence from them will always be hard copy. Always. If that policy were to change, it would be big news, but don’t hold your breath waiting. I think it is because it is a crime to read another person’s official correspondence and because it is actually meaningful to return such an item to the sender unopened. Remember when it was so funny that people would say to “fax this back” if it had reached the wrong fax machine?
Duh. Same birthdays.
Look at where the link ends up in those emails - totally different URL.
Why on earth would I get an email from IRS asking me for my SS#? It ain’t from the IRS.
Credit collapse is imminent.
Recovery in 2012, perhaps.
Batten down the hatches.
Katie, bar the door.
This won’t be pretty, but it’ll get the job done.
And raise plenty of cash, and keep it handy.
A freshly printed $100.00 Banknote costs around 50 Cents to manufacture…
Where does the other $99.50 worth of added value come from?
I thought it only cost $0.04 to manufacture any FRN. At least that is what I heard on the Discovery Channel.
It’s too easy nowadays to counterfeit U.S. Currency, so there are a bunch of anti-counterfeiting measures on every banknote from the $5 to $100, that have raised the cost of making them substantially.
“Where does the other $99.50 worth of added value come from.”
The value of the $100 banknote is derived from what it can be exchanged for, which is exactly one-hundred dollars worth of goods and services.
Cash is always backed by faith in the government that issues it…
Why would you have such strong faith in our government, with all the claptrap we read on a daily basis on here, about the shenangians going on, especially on the FED side, bailing out every too big to fail financial concern?
My faith in the dollar resides within the faith others have in the dollar. As long as others will accept dollars in exchange for goods and services then I will strive to collect as many dollars as I can.
So far people seem to have great faith in the dollar; Many are exchanging their worldly goods for those dollar things. I expect people will continue to do so. In fact I expect people will accelerate their quest for dollars as these dollars continue to disapper from circulation.
As long as you are cool with blind faith economics, that’s all that matters.
Everyone I deal with is cool with this “blind faith economics”; Everyone eagarly accepts my dollars for the payment of my debts.
What do you use to pay off your debts?
Apparently the cat has his tongue.
I don’t feel bad for zeez peoples…
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/marketwatch-first-take-wall-street/story.aspx?guid=%7BDE7078ED%2DAF30%2D4C5F%2DB328%2D04A2DC5C0C24%7D&dist=hplatest
No capitulation yet…
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/towel-hasnt-been-thrown-yet/story.aspx?guid=%7BAF4600C4%2DD354%2D4A9F%2DBA58%2D9CB21630E33B%7D
Big bond insurer FSA gets $5 billion LOC from its parent.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dexia-extends-5-billion-credit/story.aspx?guid=%7B9D202F2A%2D1F08%2D41D1%2DB444%2D626B239E0906%7D
Monday, June 23, 2008
Federal funds to fight foreclosure
Sign outside of a house under foreclosure
U.S. mayors are working to resolve the housing crisis by using federal money. Rampant foreclosures are especially hurting cities by choking off property tax revenues that fund city services. Jill Barshay reports.
MARKETWATCH FIRST TAKE
Job losses reflect slowdown
Commentary: Cuts at Citigroup, Goldman signal bleak forecasts
By MarketWatch
Last update: 10:38 a.m. EDT June 23, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Forget the looming write-downs coming from your favorite banks, those institutions have a bigger problem: no business.
That’s what my wife told me would kill them in the end.
But we aren’t to the end yet!
“If the people behind Wall Street’s most successful brokerage expect a slowdown, you can bet it’s going to be tough for everyone else too.”
Cash, go to cash.
2500 line up for food vouchers in Milwaukee and it gets unruly
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=6/23/2008&id=42044
(Sorry if double post)
Well, let’s create some chaos…”Would a DJ in Southern Cal announce that their radio station: kiou ….is giving away promotional $10.00 “gasoline” vouchers at a local Chevron, tell them all they have to do is bring in a completed loan application from: Countrywide Mortgage
Hmm.. I wasn’t expecting the food riots to start this early.
“We’re still trying to figure out why so many people showed up.”
That about says it all.
I tried to post this this morning, but it didn’t get through.
I’ll try again without the link.
From Barry Ritholtz’ The Big Pictture blog (must reading IMHO)
About the crappy Dodd Banking Bailout Bill.
I don’t understand why a realistic bill can’t be hammered together. It should reflect the following realities:
Home prices remain elevated;
Artificially propping up home prices is counter-productive;
Those Homeowers who are in houses they cannot and never could afford are going to have to give up those homes and move;
The banks that made these bad loans to unqualified borrowers are going to have to take the writedowns;
It is not the taxpayers responsibility to bailout borrowers who are in over their heads, or lenders that made bad loans.
How hard can that be? (Do I really have to do everything myself?)
Great stuff as always from BR.
Back from a too much fun backcountry party in the High Sierra…
If you really want to hurt yourself, walk 15 miles in one day and get drunk that night, and spend most of the next day holed up within the bowels of a Gaint Sequoia tree (hollowed out from fire damage) wishing you hadn’t drank so much tequilla, wondering when will that little meskin’ with the ball-peen hammer just inside your forehead, stop doing his thing?
I already liked you, lad, you won my heart months ago when you kept quoting HAL the killer computer to such good effect, but now? Now I freakin’ love you. Not because you’re drunk in a tree, although I truly approve of that, but because you have style and evidently also a lot of energy.
Out of curiosity, did you cut your hair when you drank tequila? Tequila makes me want to cut my hair, as some sort of bizarre side-effect, is why I ask. I wonder if others are so afflicted.
Tequila also makes me fall off roofs. There was this one time, in Puerto Vallarta, I managed to fall off two roofs at once. Luckily, I fell on some soft things*, mostly. But the falling off roofs result is nothing as bad as the cutting hair thing, in my opinion. Bones can heal, but do you want to look silly while you’re in a cast? No way!
*People. Angry brown people.
People. Angry brown people
ROTFL!!
Hey Lad and Oly, you know, you both really might want to consider these frequent absences from your duties here on HBB, the blog definitely takes on a more rarefied air and, you know, you might wanna take your obligations and all here a bit more seriously.
“Little angry brown people” Hey! Sounds like me!!!
Lessee now… I’m angry because my CERVEZA is empty - quick - run to the wine fridge (keep it at 48 F) grab another… *POP* OK, now I’m a HAPPY Little Brown Person again…
Losty, I appreciate your concern for preserving the rarefied and elegant tone of the HBB. We don’t want to be a bunch of louche, snarky, smarty-pantsy, high-FICO-scoring, weltschmerzy, know-it-all grumps. We want to be better than that; more elegant and stuff.
But I’d like to point out that I AM taking my obligations here seriously. I just told you all to be careful of tequila, didn’t I? And I illustrated my cautionary tale with personal anecdote. Here’s another caution: don’t taste ants. Not even clean-looking ants. I don’t CARE if they eat ants in other, silly, foreign lands.
I just learned that today. I might have learned it another time, but I forgot.
JW, you know we don’t condone drinking beer on this blog.
Judge: What was the offense, officer?
Officer: Drinking while blogging, yer honor.
“Little angry brown people”
Are you really? But your name is ‘white’. Hahaha!
Maybe that’s an irony thingie? What’s the ‘J’ mean, then? Anyhow, I didn’t say ‘little’.
Perhaps I even partly squished you long ago in Puerto Vallarta. Could this be? Imagine, the synchronicity involved here! Jung would be twirling in his grave, like a candy whistle from the DollarTree. I don’t recall the exact date of the Falling Off Roofs Night, but it was where the stars were like small regular fires, and the night smelled like fresh bread and flowers and the wind off the sea.
If I did fall on you, I bet I didn’t really squish you too bad, weight-wise. I’m kind of bony. But I could have punctured you with my many elbows and knees, clambering off. And let that be a lesson to you, to not hang out under crumbling hotel balconies.
I always enjoyed the smell of the plumerias in Hawaii. They’re everywhere, even in god foresaken Waikiki which DOES have some great bars if you know where to look…
I did have one my guys in Germany do a dive into my fishpond during a party from the top of the old carriage house once. The goldfish were singularly unimpressed, but then I couldn’t blame him because he was under the influence of my homemade raspberry schnapps…
Top 10 personal hangovers:
1)tequilla
2)tequilla
3)tequilla
4)slivovice
5)tequilla
6)tequilla
7)ouzo
8)tequilla
9)moonshine
10)tequilla
ha ha
So, what’s up with #s 4, 7, and 9???
There’s a story or two there, I suspect.
Yeah, I want to hear about ‘9′, most. Real moonshine is hard to come by. I was going to set up a still once, as I had an excess of fruit handy and a grandpa who is an organic chemist. Therefore he’d ought to have all the retorts and flasks and burny thingies you’d need for a working still, right? Sure. But the grandpa is also a Mormon and he became suspicious. I tried to lie, but he did not believe one girl would need 15 gallons of 100 proof ‘perfume base’.
A sad ending to a grand plan.
Oly, you should’ve mentioned to him that the Pratt Party (and I think they meant it in the meaning of exploration party) took a large quantity of wine with them on their journeys into SW Utah to found the settlements of what are now Parowan, Paragonah, St. George, etc. It’s an open fact, even included in their lade of billing (whatever that is).
And the picture of your grandpa wearing his pith helmet as he walked the campus is what inspired me to do the same, to go into education. Tell him I admire that sort of character. I am currently ordering a wardrobe of pith helmets for my own future as an educator in various designer colors, having trouble finding one in magenta rhinestones, but maybe I can get one special made.
And not far from where I am at this very moment are some large sandstone potholes called Moonshine Tanks. Maybe Lad knows something about them…
I was at a pig pickin’ in South Carolina minding my own business when a few mason jars full of ’shine appeared out of nowhere…
I’ll never forget the smell, or the hangover.
Grape wine in a Mason jar
Homemade and brought to school
By a friend of mine ‘n’ after class
Me and him and this other fool decide that we’ll drink up what’s left
Chug-a-lug, so we helped ourself
First time for everything
Mm, my ears still ring
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
Make you want to holler hi-de-ho
Burns your tummy, don’tcha know
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
(Roger Miller, who else?)
and how ’bout:
But I can’t stop thinkin’
about the time
You were a wife of mine
You aimed to please me
Cooked black eyed peas-me
Made Elderberry wine
Drunk all the time
Feeling fine
on Elderberry Wine
Those were the days
We’d lay in the haze
Forget Depressin’ times
How can I ever
Get it together
Without a wife in line
To dig the crop
and get me hot
on Elderberry wine.
(Elton John from Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player)
# 4 was in Prague @ a country-western bar. (the melodies were familiar, the lyrics not so much)
# 7 was in Greece, and one should never try to outdrink a Greek alcoholic on his home turf.
First time I had moonshine was in South Carolina in 80′, it was some good and smooth stuff. I ended up floating face down in the pond behind the house in suspended animation. Good thing, I was probably in there for 10 minutes before they hauled me out and threw me in a pile of dirty laundry to recover… It was my “Prop Blast” party - ie: the first time I had made a parachute jump with my operational team… Never forgot it, never will…
Good stuff though!
The one problem I have with that list aladinsane is that each incident involves a single form of alcohol.
Really now? How is that any fun?
Hey, Lad, I do that every day (substitute rock for tree).
Just kidding. I knew you were up to something good, hope you’re all better. You missed the big HBB party at Ray’s Tavern in Green River, Utah, but sounds like you did OK where you were.
(In case you think you missed much, it was a party of one, nobody but me showed up. But it was great, cause we drank exactly what I wanted and the loud helling I mean yelling was pretty subdued.)
It was a trail crew party and a good time was had by all, but I knew things were careening out of control when the ‘teat’ (a 5 liter Peter Vela merlot plastic bag, sans box) started making the rounds, and everyone was giving it a smack before indulging. It done busted on us with a few liters left in it, which was probably a good thing…
I like to sleep within Giant Sequoias, this weekend’s place of slumber was around 9 feet long and 15 foot high at the base of the tree, a 1,000 year old 15 foot wide model.
I’ve slept in a few dozen different trees over the years…
I hope you guys were taking trails out, not fixing them up.
When things “go wrong” in China / India / Pakistan…the “people” will be like those ants in Indiana Jones IV
Pele robbed by armed gang in Brazil
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080623/en_afp/brazilcrimepelefblpeople
I just have one question: have you ever ever been in any one of these countries? Even if you have, do you think your statement sounds informed?
To answer your question: No
I misspoke…”not informed…bad generalization” …bad connecting of the dots…should have worded it more more like: Since the current consensus seems to be that the US of A is economically headed in to a social & debt black hole… “new emerging” Nations that have a long history of social safety nets and have over the ages been “net” sellers of agricultural products will have “unique” challenges ahead if both fuel & food crops become scarce due to costs or shortages or both? What possible citizen behavior can one anticipate towards homeland “governments”… should these “circumstances” permeate into the general population? Is the US of A really such a poor place to retain one’s wealth, notwithstanding the I.R.S.?
Thanks. I understand now.
what, you been watching George Carlin’s thing about language?
Anyone make it to the San Diego foreclosure auction at the convention center yesterday? I am excited to hear any news from the event!
Asia Biggest Bear on Treasuries as Yields Boost Bunds (Update2)
By Wes Goodman and Kyoungwha Kim
June 23 (Bloomberg) — Asian investors, who own 28 percent of U.S. government debt, are becoming bigger bears on the bond market now that inflation shows no signs of decelerating and the Federal Reserve isn’t prepared to raise interest rates.
South Korea’s pension service said U.S. yields are “too low” after accounting for inflation. Mizuho Asset Management Co., part of Japan’s second-biggest bank, favors euro-denominated debt and plans to purchase more. Kokusai Asset Management Co., which runs the world’s second-largest managed bond fund, owns a record amount of European fixed-income securities.
“Europe has held out quite well, avoiding rate cuts, while the U.S. was bold in slashing borrowing costs,” said Kwag Dae Hwan, head of global investments at the National Pension Service in Seoul, which holds about $14 billion of Treasuries. “That puts Europe in a better position to cope with inflation now.”
If the Asians don’t want our T-Bills, why in the world are so many dunderhead Americans scooping them up, thinking that they are safe?
Methinks your question includes its own answer.
Oh they’re safe all right. The problem is that they are denominated in a worthless currency.
Lad, if I hate the stock market, and I am not sure about gold, why can’t I leave cash in t-bills until I find a financial person. when will the government start to confiscate or is it already happening?
Think of the eCONomy as a 666 car long train going about 3 mph, plenty of time to jump off @ your choosing…
But up ahead, the bridge over a large chasm is out and the conductor has fallen asleep.
Once the locomotive lurches into the void, the other 665 cars are obligated to follow.
Anything Dollar denominated is gonna get whacked…
What if the fed diddles with the dollar tomorrow?
God, I wish I could just pick daisies.
666 - is this the Train of the Beast?
I heard there is a video of Obama pledging the flag with his hand on his crotch.
Has anybody seen it yet?
With all the video technology available I would remain extremely skeptical of believing whatever I am seeing.
Think about it: Obama would be a fool to display himself in such a manner.
So, we’ve seen:
1. Housing bubble burst, leading to;
2. Credit contracting/home demand drying up and inventories rising, leading to;
3. Consumers under pressure both in reality and psychologically, leading to;
4. Low home sales volume amid continued falling prices, and;
5. The auto industry having fewer and fewer sales.
What’s the next domino to fall to the point of threatening BK for a number of industry players?
My vote is for consumer electronics (Circuit City comes to mind).
Then what? Higher end clothing retailers? Higher end restaurant chains?
Don’t forget the airlines.
I think what’s next is anything/everything that costs money and isn’t necessary. JMHO.
I guess I’ll just have to “Deduce” from the FedEx & UPS numbers…that Sir Greenspents “Box Index” is going to be a tad lower…looking forward.
Don’t you just love those 4PM EST releases?
UPS lowers second-quarter earnings expectations, citing slowing US economy, record fuel costs
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080623/ups_outlook.html
rollin back stock prices.
rollin back house prices.
rollin back labor prices.
rollin back debt…uhhg
anything we aint rollin back on price? ahhh, it must be good to live in the Kingdoms. The happiest people in the world are citizens of a kingdom.
“They are my people, I am their Sovereign.”
Pull
been tellin myself, as skf went from 89 to 140….that 140 was my number to buy the xlf…
In need a bit more friday bank closure shadenfreud though. now its 19 on the xlf…set a new high on skf…..149 or so.
this story aint over by a longshot. just yet. last march up the mountain I was also hollerin deep in the money calls on UBS at 40, its low 20’s. Dollar rally as ECB starts to talk cutting? Gold and oil Lower? Rates coming down? GM offering 6 years no interest, 15k in incentives?
if we only had a brain. that plugged into the wall-socket and drove us to work, and the market, and built my new deck, after changing the oil in my truck.
Show me $150 dollar a barrell, and Ill show you a pilot sipping martinis in Dubai after the prince he flys for sleeps off a big hooka night with the harem.
.92 cents GE December 1969.
GM 34.56 same month. 1 split March 29 1989, 2 for 1. GE same month 4.03.
Now, how many splits has GE had?
June 8, 1971, 2 for 1 (GM $39)
June 2, 1983, 2 for 1
May 26, 1987, 2 for 1
May 16 1994, 2 for 1
May 12 1997, 2 for 1 (GM $57)
Three for one May 8, 2000…price of GE stock 52.63
today:
GM closed at 12.91
GE closed at 27.40
you tell me what is so.
Black Swan Alert…
Charlie Black, McCain’s right hand man, announced in an interview in Fortune magazine that another terrorist attack on US soil would “be advantageous” for McCain’s election chances. Black is a lobbyist who has represented dictators Marcos of the Philippines and Savimbi of Angola.
If McCain’s poll numbers don’t pick up by October, find a bunker.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9d80f892-4177-11dd-9661-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
I would think another terrorist attack would play well into W’s reelection chances as well.
another terrorist attack on US soil would “be advantageous” for McCain’s election chances Only if McCain survives it.
Did Bank of America Write The Bailout Bill?
Posted by John Carney, Jun 23, 2008, 2:08pm
It turns out that the housing bailout bill really is “exactly what Bank of America and Countrywide wanted.” A memorandum dated March 11, 2008 has surfaced, and it seems to support the idea that BofA essentially wrote the bailout section of the bill. “Almost all of BofA’s preferences are mirrored in the Dodd-Shelby legislation,” Stephen Spruiell writes.
The BofA document even offers tips on how to manipulate the public’s reaction to the bill: “We believe that any intervention by the federal government will be acceptable only if it is not perceived as a bail-out of the bond market.”
This news should hurt the bill’s chances. It has already been tainted by news that its most prominent supporter, senate banking committee chairman Chris Dodd, received massive campaign donations from Bank of America executives and sweetheart loans from Countrywide. The president has to veto the bill on the grounds that it would “unfairly benefit lenders who made bad loans.”
BMI’s Menefee:
Countrywide Story ‘Has Everything,’ but Networks Ignore It
By Nathan Burchfiel | June 23, 2008 - 15:11 ET
The network news outlets - ABC, CBS and NBC - have missed a great opportunity to cover actual political news in the last week by failing to report on the loan scandal surrounding two Democratic senators, Business & Media Institute Managing Editor Amy Menefee told “Fox & Friends Weekend” June 21.
“This story has everything,” Menefee said. “It has a former presidential candidate, Chris Dodd. It has two senators who are getting, like you said, sweetheart loans. It has Kent Conrad, another senator, who called the CEO of the lender to get his loan, which is not what we normally do, and then said, ‘Oh, I didn’t get any preferential treatment and I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m going to give a charitable donation to remedy the fact that I didn’t do anything wrong.’”
Menefee said it was “very sad” that the networks failed to report the scandal - not just because they refused to go after two Democrats, but because they missed an opportunity to expose the bailout plan Dodd has been defending.
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U.S.-Backed Mortgage Program Fuels Risks
FHA Struggles To Eliminate Loans For Zero Down
By NICK TIMIRAOS
June 24, 2008
Mortgages that allow consumers to put little if any money down when buying a home have largely disappeared as a financing option available from private lenders. But they are still available — and growing more popular — through a government-backed program.
That’s raising concerns among critics who blame no-money-down mortgages for many of today’s housing market woes. And while federal housing officials are moving to end the practice, for now home builders are promoting the programs to move unsold inventory.
“I just smell a massive taxpayer burden coming,” says Sen. Christopher Bond (R., Mo.), who calls the programs “too good to be true.”