Bits Bucket For May 20, 2009
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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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From last night
“Have you considered finding a new LL and giving the old one the finger? I highly recommend it.”
Some history on the subject.
THE ENGLISH VS FRENCH
Giving the Finger - Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as “plucking the yew” (or “pluck yew”). Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, “See, we can still pluck yew! PLUCK YEW!”
great story - and the arrogant French loose as always
French bashing….snooze.
The French are actually very clever. People invade them and they assimilate them. I’m sure France will be around far longer than the USA.
For Sale:
One French army rifle. Excellent condition, never fired, only dropped once.
I bought a bunch of those. Very nice.
Speaking of buying…
Just yesterday, here in the Alt-A Bay Area, I had two French citizens ask me if I wanted to buy their “lovely” house in Normandy for $200,000.
And when I said “no”, I had to refuse their second offer of their place in Paris for $400,000.
They seemed very desperate - perhaps, for like so many others, their California real estate dreams are turning into nightmares!
Are you serious, sf Jack? French people are just sort of wandering around proffering houses to ‘Merikans? Like roving taco vendors?
do you know why the streets of Paris are lined with trees?
so the germans can march in the shade:^)
I’m sure France will be around far longer than the USA.
In what form?
Political system? Nope - U.S. has already outlasted them a few times over (see storming of Bastille, 1848 revolution, etc.)
Monetary system? Nope - already been replaced in France by the Euro and ECB.
Military? Nope - already been demolished and subsequently bailed out by the U.S. twice.
Perhaps the French language will outlast English or something like that. I do sincerely hope that French food at least will outlast American food - at least much of it.
Oui! The language of love.., No!?
Pffftt, whatever. I’m sure someday soon all international airline pilots will be conversing with the tower in French.
I do sincerely hope that French food at least will outlast American food - at least much of it.
You may be thinking in lowest common denominator terms, but our best cuisine, beer, wine, cheeses, etc., rank favorably against any in the world. And some of the low stuff is pretty amazing, too (e.g., some lovely NC BBQ). As a nation of immigrants, we have the advantage of assimilating skills and flavors from dozens of cultures.
The French Metric System has been pretty robust.
Uh, culture would be the answer. That little thing. Although it is hard for us to appreciate, there is more to a country than its military and money.
“……some of the low stuff is pretty amazing, too…..”
Yeah……….Twinkies are awesome. And they will outlast every other food on the planet.
P.S. Carolina barbeque sucks. The sauce has too much vinegar……..and who puts cole slaw on a sandwich??
Kansas City BBQ rules. Get the burnt ends……..and “KC Masterpiece” is a yuppie-ized, suburban version of barbeque.
Texas barbeque is okay, but, like pretty much everything else about Texas, it’s not as good as the locals would have you believe.
JMO……..
American hubris is so tedious . . . .
Turd World here . . . we . . . COME!
X-GSfixer, I think every regional style of American BBQ has something to recommend it, but the NC/Mid-Atlantic style (as it really encompasses several states) is my favorite. That’s what I gew up with, though.
(The cole slaw is essential on a pulled pork sandwich, man. Heck, in most of the south, they’ll put it on anything. I still have a fondness for it on hot dogs …)
The generally sweetish and not-fiery KC sauce has always been the weak point of that style for me — but every BBQ enthusiast knows it’s all about the smoky meat anyway.
“I’m sure France will be around far longer than the USA.
In what form?
Political system? Nope - U.S. has already outlasted them a few times over (see storming of Bastille, 1848 revolution, etc.)
Monetary system? Nope - already been replaced in France by the Euro and ECB.
Military? Nope - already been demolished and subsequently bailed out by the U.S. twice.”
….and from what I hear, the muslim immigrants are out breeding them as well. I’m not sure they will be assimilated. Perhaps the other way around.
P.S. Carolina barbeque sucks. The sauce has too much vinegar……..and who puts cole slaw on a sandwich??
I take issue with that… meet me outside.
Cole slaw on BBQ - yum.
I supposed next you’ll say that cole slaw on a hot dog isn’t good either.
Commie.
The French are actually very clever. People invade them and they assimilate them.
Yeah, that assimilation is working real well right now in the banlieus, eh? Not!
They can assimilate only so much, lol
“….assimilate them…..”
Is that what they call it now?
My uncle that was in the Army called it somethine else. Something to do with installing plumbing……
Landu
“Are you of the body?”
Landru, iirc.
-evil
Assimilate? Sounds like the borg…France…same thing…
It is hard to take bashing of any country by Americans serious. The country has already proven conclusively it is home to millions of morons, criminals and jerks.
The few of us that are left are seriously outnumbered.
Seriously. I’ve traveled widely in Europe and Asia, and the cretin quotient here is far higher than in any place I visited. Bashing the French is pathetic, when we’re sliding deeper into IDIOCRACY every year. Look at our elected officials - the obvious result of allowing a huge mass of drooling imbeciles to vote.
I hear you dude. This country has a very high moron rate. I seriously think Europe threw out their trash 100 years ago and the religious freaks all ended up here. These people were persecuted for a reason. They were crazy. Unfortunately the crazy breed like crazy.
The average European is smarter than the average American by at least 20-30 IQ points, maybe more. It is a startling difference. The USA is a lot closer to Eastern Europeans. But even the Turks seem considerably smarter.
I agree 100% about the idiots voting in morons. Just look at George W. Bush. This idiot couldn’t be anything in any other country but this one. He couldn’t even run a taco stand.
Only in America!
Yes, because when you travel you really meet the real down and dirty and are not treated like the tourists you are.
“French bashing….snooze.”
Exactly. Most of these people have never even been there. And the French have never crashed an entire planet like we just did. And they have never dropped an atomic bomb on civilians.
But please keep blabbing! It is entertaining. Really!
Freedom fries anyone? LOL
Firstly, we Americans hardly… did this all on our own. RE Bubbles were popping up everywhere including much of Europe. With the help of their own financial institutions.
At the time we dropped the big one, they were just being liberated ( by Americans ) and in no position to do anything for anybody.
If it helps, the Viet’s don’t think any more of ‘them’ than they do of ‘us’ and I have no desire to go there anyway. So right, entertaining.
Actually the entire scam started in America. Wall Street to be exact. Others jumped on the bandwagon for sure, but that had a lot to do with our rating agencies guaranteeing all those AAA bonds. Look, the rest of the planet blames us 90% for this mess, and they are 100% right.
The French had a tough time against the Germans, but so did we. In the Battle of the Bulge we faced young kids and totally green troops, and still almost lost. We would have had zero chance against the same machine the French faced.
Zero.
But that is beside the point. We dropped a massive bomb on civilians and we have to live with that. The French did no such thing, and neither did anyone else (including the Russians).
I do not remember the Russians crashing the planet’s economy either, but that is another topic!
You are a salty bannana, I guess you didn`t get your house.
You’re right about one thing… America does have it’s share of idiots.
Maybe he could go and we would be down by one!
The world blames us 100% for every hangnail and toothache. Maybe we would all be better off with far less interaction.
I am a big believer in jobs for American citizens. We have allowed ourselves to be the biggest market for the people who hate us.
We need to focus the U.S. on us and just let all you folks go down your own path with the new Chinese / Russian hegemony emerging.
Quite frankly, our long term interests are with China and Russia any way, so why prolong this agony with Europe?
Just a story, but it`s the one I like.
Why are they so loose?
None of that of course, has any truth to it.
The Medieval Code of Chivalry did allow for the mutilation of prisoners and the “f” word comes from a German word.
Why ruin a good story with facts? Next thing you’re going to do is tell us RE doesn’t always goes up and green shoots can wither.
LOL!
No way, hell is patrolled by Hillsborough County “there’s a way you can get out of this ticket” Sheriff.
You know you’re in Hell if the
a) cooks are British
b) police are German
c) there is no c
d) ……
what is d again?
The way I heard it was:
(a) HEAVEN — French cooks, Italian lovers, German police, British bank clerks
(b) HELL — British cooks, German lovers, Italian police, French bank clerks.
Or like that.
A variation:
Canadians were able to chose from British culture, French cuisine and American technology.
Instead they chose American culture, British cuisine, and French technology.
my version of heaven includes Italian cooks, French impressionist artists and British comedians.
Actually, heaven would include Italian police if one is of the criminal persuasion.
LMAO, you guys are on a roll this morning!
I heard it as:
Heaven is where the food is French, the lovers are Italian, the cars are German, and the police are British.
Hell is where the food is British, the lovers are German, the cars are French, and everything’s run by the Italians.
And I always heard it as:
Heaven: British comedy, French food, and German efficiency.
Hell: British food, French efficiency, and German comedy.
packman,
Thou mocketh Italian management?
I mean, there is a reason that Fiat is the finest built car in the world, no?
They say that DC is a town of Southern efficiency and Northern hospitality.
FIAT
Fix
It
Again
Tony!
That may not be where the “finger” came from, but…
The Battle of Agincourt[a] was an English victory against a much larger French army in the Hundred Years’ War. The battle occurred on Friday 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin’s Day)[3] , in northern France. Henry V’s victory started a new period in the war, in which Henry married the French King’s daughter and his son was made heir to the throne of France, but his achievement was squandered by his heirs.
The take away from that battle was wearing 80 lbs of armor while marching across a muddy field is never a very good idea.
Talked to a neighbor yesterday who has a friend at Solidad Prison (works as correctional guard). Just got his pink slip. Was in the process of buying a new house when he said,”the roof just fell in”.
The alphabet media is still hyping the economy and housing while Joe-six is getting slapped with reality.
Now this am I’m hearing the media cheerleaders saying Dow 11,000, and that the big boys just cannot stand on the sideline as the market goes up.
Time for the gym, reality rules the day!!
Prison layoffs always seem to portend early release programs for prisoners. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.
Hmmm….and that 3 strikes law seemed like such a good idea at the time.
I have a buddy in prison, I hope he can get an early release.
You’re not in the Supermax, are you?
A LOT of people in prison are non-violent pot smokers.
Must be pretty disillusioning. My ex-neighbors smoked pot and both were attorneys. One was a public defender.
3 strikes was just another “Sell The Fear” scam on weak minded California voters..
DA’s office, police, prison guards, construction industry etc., all prospered handsomely from the passage of that law…
You’re spot-on.
Three strikes sure helped lock up a lot of non-violent offenders for longer than needed — while beefing up the bottom line for the prison-industrial complex.
3 strikes as well as mandatory sentencing was actually lobbied for by the private prison industry. It was “sold” with what were somewhat reasonable guidleines at the time, but have since become more draconian to support the private prison industry.
It’s ultimate purpose and reason was strictly profit.
C’mon - seriously? You mean people who couldn’t restrain themselves from committing not just one felony; not just two felonies; but THREE felonies - should be part of society? Chronic serious offenders should be removed from society.
Maybe it does enrich the prison system. But that’s just a coincidental win-win situation.
Yeah, I hear you.
Still though, there should be some discretion left to the Court.
Is it coincidental that crime rates are way down since three strikes?
Is this guard working for the government, or prison industries?
That’s rough but it’s better to have the roof fall in before you buy the house than after.
samk,
LOL! So true, reminds of Rodney Dangerfield’s “2 story house”
“Yeah, when they’re trying to sell it to ya’, that’s one story”
“After you BUY it? Well that’s a whole ‘other’ story!”
LMAO! I gotta remember that one- so true!!!
In the mind of Rodney, this was -always- true. It was just his way of saying, what would you rather be doing, Partying… or repairing gutters?
More “green shoots”: HP announced today that they are going to lay off another 6400 employees, most because of declining PC and printer sales.
When will our captains of industry accept that the the unemployed don’t “consume” and that impoverished 3rd worlders won’t pick up the slack?
I’d guess that PC sales could get worse over the summer because a lot of the buyers left in the market want to wait either for System 7 to come out or for the manufacturers to offer the free upgrade like they did right before Vista came out.
But will the unemployed have more disposable income in the short-run? Sure, their income will drop as they start to receive unemployment checks, but will they stop paying their mortgage and CC bills? In that case, they could end up with more disposable income in the short-run as the government continues to pump money into the system thru this channel.
True, but most likely they will hoard the cash to pay future rent (once they are foreclosed) and to eat. They won’t be buying any cars, computers, mongo TVs or houses.
It doesn’t matter.
In Post-Bailout American, you steal all the money, fire all the workers, and then apply for a Bailout. Eventually, this system breaks down when the currency becomes worthless, but until then, party one with green shoots!
“Now this am I’m hearing the media cheerleaders saying Dow 11,000, and that the big boys just cannot stand on the sideline as the market goes up.”
I see oil is rocketing up the am, as well. Nothing is surprising anymore. The greatest ever transfer of wealth seems to be going quite smoothly for the 1%ers. Perhaps it is possible to have the stock market return to it’s lofty heights, with abject poverty for masses.
Detroit area builder chick renovates some houses, builds one of her own, decides to build multi million dollar mansion.
Or, “How To Ruin Your Financial Future After Selling Out At The Top Of The Auto Industry With Millions Of Dollars, In One Easy Lesson.”
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090520/OPINION03/905200377/Dream-home-spirals-into-big-bust
“3 1/3 manicured and terraced acres”
LMFAO!
Doesnt look like its worth $1.5m much less $15m. I only saw a few pics, but the bathroom needs to be totally redone. It is filled with gaudy, cutesy crap. The kitchen is probably an equal mess. Fake columns, fake distressed look, machine crafted ornate details . . .
Ugh. We have some giant McMansions near my office (also near a concrete factory) that have those giant fake columns. They halted construction of a few of them and left those giant hollow monstrosities laying out on the lawn for all to see. Juxtaposed against the remaining 1960s 2 bedroom / 1 bath houses next door it always made me want to vomit.
Found the link to some other photos, as thought, horrible proportions and layout, fake cheesy look, etc. I love historic homes, and this is a mockery of what makes them so great.
Even so, Russell remains determinedly upbeat. “In denial,” she laughs.
She has the audacity to laugh about her financial ruin well before it is even done working through the system? She has no idea how bad of a situation she’s in, yet she acts like it isn’t something a 79 cent bottle of white out can’t fix.
And as a structural engineer, nothing is worse than fake columns. Except for fake columns in a bad location.
“a mockery of what makes them so great”
Tim, don’t forget the history of the home. Whatever there ‘was’, she couldn’t wait to demolish and recreate in her own vision.
Her husband was -extremely- fortunate indeed to have survived where so many other auto suppliers failed. You’d think he’d have had better sense than give this gal a blank check to “pursue her dreams”.
I doubt he had a choice.
post link please?
Under the photos pictured on the original link there is a RELATED CONTENT section which has a link to additional photos.
Well I’ll give her credit for at least trying to re-create the Howard’s End feel, where the square footage is used for useful luxuries like butlers’ pantries and secret rooms, or decorative carving. Better than Toll Brothers who, just blows the square footage on large empty rooms.
That master bath, however… I’m of the opinion that if you spend so much time in the bathroom that you feel the need to spend that much $$$ on it, then you need to check your diet.
That one, and her husband, were truely dumber than the typical Candle Shop Princess Scenario. What they did took a lot of hard work , massive Ego’s and Sheer Monumental Stupidity.
Congratulations Dummies!
And a horrible aesthetic sense and taste.
Wow. Family room, living room, upper living room, rec room AND, game room.
Oh, nice…Master bedroom on the ground floor when all the other bedrooms are on the upper level. Why not swap its place with the upper living room? Also…the hell is a “computer hall”?
Master on the ground floor is great for when you become older.
i like a bedroom on the ground floor in a house…for my parents…if they ever have to move in.
So odd, I always planned to put all of the pinball machines in the dining room.
I was wondering where you were the last couple of weeks, Blano. Welcome back.
Thanks cougar. The Chrysler BK is keeping me fairly busy these days.
i stopped reading at…
“…who wore shorts, work boots and diamond earrings in the home’s hotel-sized kitchen”
I love the kitchen island counter that you have to climb onto to reach/clean the center of. She really put an ISLAND in there.
To bad she got voted off it.
To bad she got voted off it.
HahahahaHAAHAH! Choice! You been coming up with some extra good gems lately, I notice.
I try to occasionally be amusing as this blog is my primary source of amusement throughout the workday. Cause I don’t have frogs, you see?
This article is more proof that money can buy neither taste nor intelligence.
“Are there happy endings anymore?”
(Continued from last night)
———
No. FPSS is right — evaluate your options, as follows:
1) Find out what other places where you are willing to live cost to rent.
2) Figure out the difference in annual cost for the least expensive of these versus where you live.
3) If your cost of moving (including aggravation costs) is less than the savings in renting a cheaper place plus whatever nonmarket value you place on the joy of telling your landlord to stuff it, then tell your landlord he has to reduce your rent to the rent on comparable places or else you are moving.
———
#3 is the problem. Aggravation costs are huge right now. I have a toddler, a baby on the way, in the middle of the home stretch of my grad program, and would like to be outta here be the end of the calendar year.
If they’re willing to go month-to-month, I’ll pay the same. They are the best LLs I’ve ever had, and have been amazing — so no middle finger.
“if your costing of moving is less than the savings in renting a cheaper place” — hm, how to compare one-time cost vs ongoing cost — at today’s 0% interest rate, I guess you can just ask if you’re going to be in the new place long enough to defray the moving cost. That’s assuming you don’t put move cost on a CC.
I have a toddler, a baby on the way …
Numero Dos is in the shoot? Congratulations!
Thanks!
Twenty-five percent of American homeowners have no savings to cover living expenses if they lose their job, according to a recent survey.
The survey discovered that to cut costs, homeowners are taking extreme actions; 34 percent say they have had family or friends move in with them in the past year.
The Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) quarterly survey indicated that 42 percent are spending less on their children in the glum economy.
Of those who have debt other than a mortgage, 43 percent think about their debt every day and another 24 percent think about their debt at least once a week. Because of their debt, 36 percent say they’re cutting back on smaller expenditures, such as dining out, buying clothes and gifts for friends.
Since Wells Fargo’s previous survey, taken in fourth-quarter 2008, the percentage of those who have anxiety over job security has risen to 29 percent, from 21 percent.
Wells Fargo said the latest survey was conducted by Ipsos Marketing and polled 1,565 homeowners from March 23-31.
Aren’t the benefits of home ownership these days simply awesome? Wonder if the UHS can spin this into a compelling positive for mass distribution?
“Twenty-five percent of American homeowners have no savings to cover living expenses if they lose their job, according to a recent survey.”
Still another case that shows cash is king.
How does that show cash is king? As long as they don’t lose their job they are golden.
Grampa used to say “Money won’t make you happy, but lacking it will make you miserable as hell.”
Dang Blue,
Sounded like my grandpa.
“How does that show cash is king? As long as they don’t lose their job they are golden.”
And the moment they do lose their jobs they are screwed.
Does that mean jobs are king?
Eh, don’t pay the mortgage, nothing happens. You get to live free.
“Does that mean jobs are king?”
You betcha. Ask anyone who just got laid off.
As long as they don’t lose their job they are golden.
Survey sez…XXX!!!
They ain’t golden if they bought on an I/O-negam-ARM mortgage — or refi’ed their old colonial into same. Even if they keep the job, they won’t be able to make the payment once it resets.
They ain’t golden if they bought on an I/O-negam-ARM mortgage — or refi’ed their old colonial into same. Even if they keep the job, they won’t be able to make the payment once it resets.
Survey sez… XXX
Many ARM resets now are getting the same or even lower rates than the “teaser” rates, due to the now-ever-more-insane ZIRP.
The Fed/banks are doing all they can to lock people into their homes. They don’t given a rats patootie about future inflation.
IMO the ARM reset factor is way, way overrated as a contributor to the bubble popping, for this reason.
Now price drops - that’s another story. There’s no escaping that.
Unless we have…. massive inflation.
Living expenses are one thing, “lifestyle” expenses are another.
Whole lotta “boutiques” are going to be shutting down.
34% say family or friends have moved in with them during the past year? I call BS on that. I know two homeowners who have (newly) taken in renters during the past year, and a hundred who did not. Or maybe the survey was just in Riverside County?
34% say family or friends have moved in with them during the past year? I call BS on that.
Actually, that figure makes perfect sense given the number of homeowners who have children and the latest trend of children moving back home in the 20’s because of debt/lack of job/job loss/etc.
34% of homeowners have kids in their 20’s moving back in? I only know of one family like this.
Sorry, I need an acronym check. UHS = ?
Used House Salespeople
Thank you.
I am in day three of fourteen of the rolling furloughs at our plant here in CA. They went thru and actually laid off alot of people last Friday so I am luckier than those people but still it would stink if I didn’t have any savings or we had a house payment to make. My wife is still working and we can live on her salary alone so we will be fine as far as that goes but alot of the mechanics I know are hurting because they have huge debt loads from car loans or big house payments.
This is the first time in twenty five years of working that I have applied for unemployment! After last nights resounding NO vote on the new taxes, I wonder if I’ll even see a check? Oh well- I’m going to enjoy the time off and get some stuff done that I’ve been putting off- and I know my wife likes having a house husband to cook her dinner for her for a change!!
socal,
I wish you and your family all the best.
Ditto. I hope it all works out well for you.
“…hurting because they have huge debt loads from car loans or big house payments.”
I frequently browse craigslist for used vehicles, boats, and motorcycles, and the number of people trying to get out of their payments is staggering. And that’s just the people who own up to it in the listing. Yesterday I saw an ad for a $47,000 used truck. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! Good luck with that!
My former shop (1974, 200 plus mechs and avionics guys) is currently laying off people for the first time since they opened in 1974. All the salaried exempts are being bumped back one step on the payscale.
Good luck on finding new work……I’ve been circulating my resume since January, have received one call for a job in Boise, paying about 40% of my previous salary.
Everybody is looking for a 25 year old guy with 30 years of training/experience.
X-GSfixer,
Too funny! Uh… you wouldn’t know any guys like that would’ya’? Btw I spoke w/ one of the guys that just pulled his annual tour up there and he was telling me about this that and the other thing and I said; “Dude, cut to the chase, WTF was the -weather- like!?”
“Iffy and windy” was the response. I said “That’s all I need to know”. I can safely check ‘that’ off my list. I’m slated for Sept. so we’ll see how that end of summer goes?
Any place I’d even consider for a 2nd home -has- to have a killer May and October. In OR we’re (usually) assured of a nice June, July & Aug. but after that? Iffy. I can stay right where I’m at for… “iffy”.
…who can be paid like an 18yo.
You got that right X-GSfixer.
Gooood morning all,
I am so ready for another day of nut bar theories, irrationality, absurdities and all the rest. I’m also ready for the HBBers interpretation of it all.
I live in Florida; I am day trading; I am currently listening to new age classical on Pandora.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Also known as the trifecta of pain.
Hahahahaah! Oh, thanks, Bink.
Hey Olygal, I had a steak with mushrooms last night. God told me to say “Hi”.
God told me to say “Hi”.
Hahahah!
Although I’d believe you more if He’d also told you to imbibe a gallon of beer along with your steak and mushrooms. ‘Cause that’s what He always tells ME to do.
Yeah…he’ll only do a 2nd rate trick of using the Miracle of Visa magic to create cheap wine out of grapes for me !
“I am day trading.”
I suggest you go for a long walk to think things over.
“I suggest you go for a long walk to think things over.”
I started with X. I am currently at X + .05 realized gains. That is my new floor. I will stop when I am not making money.
I don’t like it, it’s not fun, it’s stupid, but I’ll go until it doesn’t make sense.
“I don’t like it, it’s not fun, it’s stupid, but I’ll go until it doesn’t make sense.”
Apparently you have arrived.
“Apparently you have arrived.”
Just as a crack addict arrives.
Lol, Combo!
Have faith. I am not as dumb as I post.
muggy…I’m “calling due” that spare million I loaned you !
It’s official. My last FAS play stopped out. I’m done. Leaving with more than I started with.
That’s wasn’t as much fun as I’d thought it would be. Back to boring saving!
Just greeting the morning with my first cup of a
great brew. As a member of the city’s budget
committee, we spent four hours last night trying
to make sense of the topsy turvy world of city
accounting principles as the various city managers
all tried to confuse and confound all of us.
It didn’t work.
Isn’t fund accounting nuts? No wonder cities are in such financial trouble. How can you have oversight when even some accountants can’t figure out how to interpret the financial statements? Good for you for wading through it.
The gubbermint is swamped by debts.
The states are swamped by debts.
The banks are swamped by debts.
The consumers are swamped by debts.
The taxpayers are swamped by debts.
The nation is going to turn it’s lonely eyes to the ONE fixed and immobile rock of safety in this Perfect Financial Storm and say in one way or another…
“Property Taxes”
Did anyone actually think they were pushing ownership because they actually care about anyone? The “neighborhood activist” types talk a good game, but the reality on the street is quite different.
Besides, property taxes are a lot easier to avoid than income taxes.
I have filed a challenge to my latest assesment. Should have the response by June 30th. It will be interesting. They assessed my house at amost 100K more than a bigger, nicer house across the street that sold two months ago (that also has a golf course view). Armed with that and a few other neigborhood comps I requested they reduce the assesment by about 150K.
immobile rock of safety in this Perfect Financial Storm and say in one way or another…“Property Taxes” ??
Here in California they are blocked by Prop#13…It would take a state wide vote to overturn it and it would have “zero” chance of passage….Now, what if the “Feds” decided to tap it ?? Interesting thought ..Some progressive type of tax based on assessed values ?? Size of house ?? A more punitive type of tax on commercial ??
A Federal property tax? And why not? Seems like Uncle Sam is going to have a stake in a lot of houses anyway. Besides, they could use it as a social engineering tool too.
The nation is going to turn it’s lonely eyes to…
…YOU!!!
Woo, woo, woo.
Another day in Paradise.
“Another day in Paradise”
Give us time..we’ll be on the 5 o’clock news and 2 levels below the devil in no time flat.
Although no one’s mentioned it, I wonder if everyone isn’t in such a good mood b/c CA’s Tax Measures went down in flames?
In spite of everything.., “I” actually am in better spirits today. Don’t get me wrong, things are as bleak as ever, I just, can’t explain it?
Acceptance?
Jesus mushrooms?
“Acceptance?”
You could say that Sam. I’ve never really had any doubt this sucker wouldn’t crash and crash hard. What I -didn’t- count on having to deal with was “Revenge of the REIC’sters”.
Ever since forming a smoking hole, everyone from NAHB to MBA to NRA and even our local failed bank have expressed regret only in that they’re no longer rolling in borrowed money. Not a lick of remorse whatsoever.
On Monday while walking home I passed the Founder of our now defunct bank and he looked like he would have loved nothing more than to take a roundhouse swing at me! Sure, against small town tradition, I’ve been very vocal about their mismanagement. Especially since they’ve taken the rest of the town with them? But -anger-? Against ME!? Look in a mirror pal.
Hey DinOR, most people would much rather blame somebody else than examine their own role in a debacle. Look at the entire line-up of Wall Street CEOs. The fat cats don’t take criticism well. Sometimes it’s tough being the voice of truth and reason.
BTW, glad you enjoyed my break-up letter to $h!tt!bank yesterday.
I passed the Founder of our now defunct bank and he looked like he would have loved nothing more than to take a roundhouse swing at me!
You didn’t like it? Why not? Stuff like that is like…like delightful confetti! Sprinkles of fun! You shoulda said greeted him heartily and asked how business was going and then covered your mouth sheepishly as you realized your faux pas…
HAHAHAH!
At a recent hearing I testified against some utter as*shattery proposal and there was a row of developer/builder types sitting right behind me and glaring heatedly at my pink-shirted back and it was great. I had forgot my jacket in the car and was a bit cold, so see, all that directed spite warmed me right up and prevented me from taking a chill.
Why, thank you, developer pals!
HAHAHAHAHA!
Elanor,
The “maybe it’s you, maybe it’s me” part just busted me up! I liked the way you kept it classy and left the bit about “leaving all your stoopid albums over at MY place” out of it!
Olympiagal,
Normally it would be. I gave him my father’s patented “Cicero, IL ‘you’re killing me man’ eye roll” complete w/ dislocated (can you believe… this sh!t) jaw… look”?
I mean you could just -sense- the bile, the venom. I know for a fact had it not been for his atty’s insistence he’d have been confronting me right then and there. Hey, “I” don’t give a rat’s @$$ and I’m not the one running around town trying to sell people on the lone-gunman/rogue broker theory?
Elanor, that was an utterly brilliant letter yesterday.
Two thoughts regarding yesterday’s discussion on when it will finally be a good time to buy real estate. The statement was made that a good indicator will be when a TIME magazine cover comes out indicating RE is the worst possible investment.
I’d be careful with that for two reasons:
A. There’s a good chance we’re going to have a false bottom, starting right about now.
B. Bottoms tend to be way longer in length than peaks. So such a magazine cover may come out when we’re actually reaching a bottom - but prices may not actually start back up (especially in inflation-adjusted terms) for about 5-10 years after that.
“A. There’s a good chance we’re going to have a false bottom, starting right about now.”
Yes, this is the sucker rally shown in Charles Hugh Smith’s chart, IMO.
I agree with both your points.
Which chart is that? I see one on his website, but it doesn’t indicate a bounce.
Green shoots all over the globe.
Japan, Germany, Hong Kong…
CA is starting to get real interesting…
After Heli-Ben gets done with Uncle Buck there’s gonna be lots of ‘Green Sh*ts’ all over the globe.
Those aren’t “Green Shoots”.
It’s just more Atro Turf planted by the gov’t, FIRE and the MSM.
“Green shoots”? Is that a phrase for projectile vomiting or something?
Deficit surges at agency that insures pensions
By DEB RIECHMANN – 13 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ominous setback, the government agency that insures the pensions of 44 million Americans has amassed a record $33.5 billion deficit — triple what it was just six months ago.
The bleak financial snapshot, in a report obtained by The Associated Press, raises new fears that a federal bailout eventually will be needed for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The beleaguered agency is being saddled with the underfunded pension plans of companies going bankrupt in the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5inFZr1O1zSxPpgH9glULCEo5ldrwD989KG6G1
LOL - well maybe if they hadn’t shifted the bulk of the fund into stocks right before the market collapsed they wouldn’t be in such a hole.
More bailouts - here we come. Pension fund bailouts are up next - federal, state, municipal, private - you name it.
Then Social Security.
When are we going to admit the pensions and SS aren’t getting paid back?
You mean investing SS in stocks as well wasn’t a good idea?
Nice Schiff article on The Street.
LOL. Yep.
Too bad wages won’t inflate enough to matter. Now comes the real sting of globalization.
A few years ago I was explaining the situation (offshoring) to my elderly mother. “So what’s going to happen?” she asked. My response: “We are all going to be poor”.
Exactly.
This is why I believe long-term, housing may never be affordable again. They will drag out the price decline forever while raising taxes and cutting jobs and salaries. In the end, housing will be terribly expensive as we all work a lot more for a lot less. But the crooks win, so all is well in the world, I guess.
I fear globalization as well, but let’s be honest. In America’s history people feared computerization. They feared robotics. They feared Japan. None of those have really made us all poor. Granted, computerized Japanese robots are cool.
I would say that the crushing levels of debt that have been taken on over the past 30 years are proof that we are poor. Some of the events you mentioned did create jobs in the US. Offshoring hasn’t. Its only result is rising unemployment, debt and falling wages.
As I have said in weeks past, there is a reason why so many people jumped on bubble bandwagon.
I agree. Also he said near the end of his article that he thinks with the inflation ahead of us, stocks and commodities gains will outpace any appreciation in real estate (if that occurs), and continue to make real estate a very poor investment in inflationary times.
Stocks, TIPS, commodities, and gold are the best mix for the times ahead. But you should have lots of money in cash (T-bills) to fall back on in turbulent times in the job market.
inflation ahead of us ??
Yes but in what ?? I thought OCbear put it quite nicely yesterday and I agree…
The Super Stagflation Party
Need: *Shelter, Food and Energy
Want: *House, Cars, Electronics, etc..
And shelter does not Necessarily mean the purchase of a home…
I was always a fan of Schiff’s thinking. Enough to almost pull the trigger and follow his investment advice (foreign stocks) I’m mighty glad I didn’t, as they got clobbered at the end of last year.
I’m wondering if now would be the time to hop on those stocks and funds. In other words, Would following Schiff’s advice after being out of the market for a year work? Or has his thinking changed?
I agree with Schiff. It if doesn’t happen, it is because the Fed was unsuccessful.
Letter from a Dodge dealer
May 19, 2009
letter to the editor
My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.
We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed over 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.
I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.
On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as “new,” nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.
Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler’s insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.
HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY
This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.
This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.
Sincerely,
George C. Joseph
President & Owner
Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu
Now that the heat’s turned up on the most notorious of debt pushers - UHS and car dealers, boy do we hear the squeals.
But where were the squeals when tons of other (real) jobs in manfacturing, textiles, transportation, etc. were offshored or eliminated?
Sorry folks, but the good ol’ U.S.A. can thrive without UHS and car dealers (middlemen) - believe it!
edge,
That’s what I’ve wondered ever since the advent of online purchases? I would have assumed it would have been more effective simply to order your car online and then have it delivered or picked up at a depot.
Additionally, the dealerships have been taking a giant cr@p all over the smaller non-affiliated shops for years. They farm out the stuff they’d prefer *not do and pay them when they get around to it. I did a search of GM Dealers in N. IL actually and came up w/ dlrs. no more than 8 miles apart.
Cars are commodities, pure and simple. TVs used to be a big deal, so did cell phones. Why people allow autos to retain some sort of mystic value puzzles me.
Those of you who know how stuff works can probably relate many humorous stories about salespeople trying to fudge product knowledge.
What’s that you say? You don’t know how your car works? Well then, maybe trade schools/vocational schools shouldn’t be mocked in our popular culture. Maybe it should be the MBA programs and liberal arts colleges should be joked about instead?
Why people allow autos to retain some sort of mystic value puzzles me. Only some people do. They are the ones who read & write auto reviews all over the place. My vehicles are as mystical to me as my wheelbarrow.
The answer is simple State franchising laws. It would take an act of god to allow auto companies to do direct sales
Hey…
Every so often I have the Need for Speed. I am well dressed, great credit score and look like I have money. l show up, chat for a while, let them copy my license and then take my victim for a 45 minute-1 hour spin up the freeway. You’d be surprised at some of these nice late model fast cars that they’ll let you take for a joy-ride by yourself.
My latest victim wasn’t top of the line but a sharp baby bimmer 2006 BMWi 325i with 34,000 miles. It’s run-flat tires will never be the same. I return it still smoking , say thanks it’s a real nice car but the seat’s a little hard on my back… sorry.
Hi…my name is mikey and I have a fast car addiction…but I DON’T buy !
“salespeople trying to fudge product knowledge”
Reminds me of my sad bachelor years selling cars. One day out of sheer boredom I approached a guy staring at all the showroom models (he was killing time while his car was in the service dept.) After making small talk with the guy, it became obvious that he was several bricks shy of a full load. As he oo’d and ahh’d I pointed out all the nifty new features under the hood like the dual-diagonal flamshooters, the fully functional scrapple valves, and the sequential array of digital go-fasters . He was v-e-r-y impressed.
While my fellow salesmen at their desks were holding their sides, I showed the customer the extra round spare tire, the two-way see-through glass, and the high-decibel warning device on the steering wheel. He shook his head sadly and said, “I sure wish I could buy one. It’s got EVERYTHING I need!” He shuffled back downstairs to the service waiting area.
But I wouldn’t call it “fudging” presactly . . . .
That’s what I’ve wondered ever since the advent of online purchases? I would have assumed it would have been more effective simply to order your car online and then have it delivered or picked up at a depot.
It is illegal in Texas to purchase a car directly from the manufacturer.
Another good reason to keep Texas on the bottom of the US.
max4me & Skip, could either of you elaborate? I’ve never understood why anyone who wants to buy a new car is forced to go through that faccacta dealership experience.
Hunkydory,
If I may have a chance in getting in the conversation…
Decades ago, when car manufacturers first started the making their vehicles it was too expensive to have company owned stores (too much capital to build showrooms, staff them, etc.) They found it much easier and less costly to offer franchise dealerships. One problem, they could only get people to sign up and build those showrooms if they contractually were prohibited in ever selling vehicles directly to the public.
Thus we are stuck going through the “faccata dealership expience.”
Sigh
Thanks nj, I never knew about that.
I bought a new car once and it was like a dinner theater production of Glengarry Glen Ross. I had to go to more than a few dealerships to find one that would accept a price that I knew was a small profit for them. It felt like I was negotiating ransom.
I think it put me off from ever buying a brand new car again. That, and the instant depreciation, ebaymotors&craigslist, availability of ‘new car smell’ air fresheners, etc…
Basically the manufacturer sells the right to sell their cars to the dealers, they also have deals with financing and warranty work. The sunshine fellow lost his right to those things. He can still sell cars but not new ones or do warranty work.
If the manufacturer tried to sell directly they would be competing with the dealers, and the dealers would not let that happen.
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
It can’t.
It can happen. Its what capitalism is all about.
Years ago, a friend’s father was a veterinarian doing business with commercial hog farms. A grain deal with Canada and the USSR was signed, and the price of hog feed shot up over night. So the hogs were slaughtered, and the veterinarian business was finished. Sell the home at a loss, and move to another area. Ten productive years lost — twenty-five more years to get it right.
Sell as many cars as you can and pocket the cash. Tell your employees to pick whatever thay want as severance pay. Get out of Dodge. Let Sun Trust Bank sift through the wreckage. That’s about all you can do in that situation.
“Get out of Dodge.”
Nice…
FWIW I haven’t seen any great deals on Chryslers or Dodges. The local dealers here that are getting the axe have been offering mediocre deals at best. I recall seeing much better deals last year in the paper. One dealer had new PT Cruisers for 12K. Today the best I’m seeing is 15K.
Maybe as June 9 approaches they will sweeten the deals.
I have been wondering the same thing. Why would Chrysler and GM even want to close dealerships? As a manufacturer I would want as many places as possible selling my products- not fewer. The market will sort out who remains and who fails. This reeks of price fixing and colusion- and I am sure it will end badly for both companies. The cars GM plans to sell as “American” will all be built south of the border in Mexico or South America. I hope the UAW sticks it to them and forces them into bankruptcy (no fan of unions here, but even less a fan of corporate America right now). Funny that the European and Japanese mfg’s can make cars here at a profit but not the “Americans”.
That is the beauty of it. Our tax dollars are bailing out companies who plan to “save” themselves by getting rid of all the American jobs and outsourcing everything. It is all about raking in more loot faster, so at this point they may as well be destroyed since either way there won’t be any American jobs left in those businesses in a few years.
Toyota, Honda, BMW….in fact all of the overseas manufacturers have been “price-fixing” and “colluding”/cherry picking for years, in that they have limited the number of dealers to specific, high-profit geographical areas.
Now that they are Chapter 11, GM and Chrysler can throw their dealers under the bus, and copy their MO.
Between this, and the new EPA regs announced yesterday, owning an automobile is going to get A LOT more expensive.
Sign on the showroom window of a CLOSED Rank and Son GMC Buick Dealership in Milwaukee…
“Thank you for 92 Great YEARS”
…sign of the times.
mikey,
Right, and using the dealership’s logic for their existence, Drive-In movie theaters should still be in every town and packed every Saturday night.
I miss drive-ins…
So do I. The ones around here used to run kiddie shows on weekends, and charged by the car load, instead of per person. You and the neighbor could stuff lawn chairs, sleeping bags, and a cooler into the wagon or back of the pickup truck, and entertain the kids all night for twenty bucks.
All the ones around here were casualties of uncontrolled real estate speculation years ago. Victims of the “we’re taxing your property as if it were packed with SFH” scam.
Right, the one here ( or rather -used- to be here ) in Woodburn, OR opened up shortly after WWII and had been in operation until the late 90’s.
Then the owner’s threw in the towel and and said e’f it and sold out to Safeway Grocers. Well… there was an ‘existing’ and very profitable Safeway right kiddie corner from it for years!
God only knows we can’t live without -another- grocery-anchored mini-mall! I sure miss having the owner have to tell me, “You don’t have to pour out your beer and I’m not gonna’ call the cops, but, you can’t “walk around” with it, o.k?”
“I miss drive-ins…”
So does Mr. Wiggle!
Hey DinOR,
Those old Drive-in movie nights were just green shoots in the happy days of my teenage corruption !
Hey, I’d love nothing more for my “retirement”!
Given we’ll be “Stuck in the 70’s” for the next several decades..? I realize the 50’s were actually their hey day but what “I” remember is from HS in the 70’s.
Every week you’d go and there’d be fewer cars. The advent of the VCR I suppose. But now VCR’s etc. aren’t exactly “new” either? The 99E Drive-In in Newberg, OR still packs them in and has Hot Rod events during the day.
Nice post Muggy…
Thanks Dave, I do occasionally contribute to the blog
Sounds like a good family business. Too bad they picked a crappy car company to partner with. Dodge/Chrysler vehicles are total crap.
The world doesn’t need another crappy car company.
Also, I read a lot of posts slamming the French, Germans, Italians, Brits, etc. I know these were jokes, but should Americans REALLY be making fun of anyone else at this stage?
Seriously?
Ever heard of the first ammendment to the constitution?
BTW, there are some very very nice Dodges out there. Pension guarantees killed Chrysler. Heaven forbid a $30/hr. worker should save for his/her retirement.
Oh, also, don’t worry about the whole France thing. We are being assimilated; 20% unemployment, riots in the streets, etc.
I guess you could say that Chrysler management bit that Dodge-Isuzu outfit were the Sun Don’T Shine !
“HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?”
It’s called “bankruptcy” moron.
“THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY”
Right, Chrysler is a private business that is bankrupt.
“This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.”
BS! You made a business decision to base your income on a failing company with failing products. THIS IS YOUR FAULT. Why didn’t you buy a Honda or Toyota franchise?
“This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.”
Now your against capitalism?
“HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?”
In a free market, bad companies fail. Maybe you don’t understand what “free market” means?
Buy the way, I’m sitting in Melbourne, FL as we speak.
+1
Anecdotes everywhere…
This weekend I went to a high school graduation. The guy giving the speech said he was going to offer 3 pieces of advice. The first one was “Just because you get preapproved for a credit card, doesn’t mean you have to apply for it.”
The whole place literally erupted in applause and cheers. I feel fairly certain that if that had occurred, say, 4 years ago there would have been some laughs, but not quite such a reaction.
A few people here lately have posted about being robbed and such if memory serves. Some of you may know that the wife and I moved out of the country and into the city a couple weeks ago. Well it didn’t take long. Last night someone got into my (unlocked) truck. Stole my ipod and a pistol. I guess I really need to start locking the doors.
I forgot the best one.
My uncle had his identity stolen. So far the perp has rang up 50 grand worth of stuff on the new credit card(s) (I’m not sure if its one or multiple). My aunt in short order was able to find quite a lot of information, including a name and address in Georgia for which they are using the cc to pay rent and a place where they bought a car. Popos “can’t” do anything about it. Even with his name and address handed to them.
Living with other people is fantastic.
Call the IRS, they are pretty good about going after people who do not report income.
They won’t even take your name unless it will result in over 1 million in income for the IRS, iirc.
From my dealings, there were more interested in going after a little guy who could not afford a high priced lawyer or if you had paper work that would guarantee them a conviction.
That info is coming from a class I took on tax procedure. I don’t remember the threshold exactly but it was very high. Basically, you aren’t going to turn in your neighbor for the 5 grand he made mowing lawns but didn’t report. They aren’t going to talk to you.
And they don’t need a “conviction”, most of that stuff is civil. You owe them money. If you don’t pay they take you to tax court (a civil thing). Criminal tax evasion is difficult to prove (for them) and not the general case by a long shot.
My dealings were with a small company I worked for that due to a mistake in mailing I found out had been keeping my 401k money rather than sending it to the company managing the plan.
You are right, they were not convicted. The IRS did get them to make me whole and they had to pay some sort of fine.
Nobody was interested in perusing a criminal case and they are still in business today(under a different name).
“So far the perp has rang up 50 grand worth of stuff on the new credit card(s)”
In the last month I have heard multiple stories about people having their credit cards stolen. This, IMO, is what happens when a society is handed a blank check to spend on whatever it wishes and when the money is taken away, they look for other means to support the habit. Just like a drug addict does. Very sad indeed!
Sorry to hear about your misfortune bluprint. My dad use to say “Keep one eye open and one foot on the floor”.
Last night I thought I heard something…but I’m usually paranoid so kind of dismissed it as “city noise”. I got up and looked around but didn’t see anything. Reminded me that since we moved my shotgun is packed away. The street sweeper is going back under the bed tonight. I’m studying for a cpa exam this week, but after that all my brain cycles will be involved in catching a thief. Any thief. I don’t care if it’s the same one. Just some unfortunate soul on whom I can take out my frustrations and feel ok about it.
As for the identity theft, I am convinced that id theft as well as general electronic theft will be on a severe rise in the next few years. The thing is we have created this great system for thieves. But times have been good, so a lot of those potential thieves are doing honest work. As times get tough crimes go up, we all know this. But never before have potential criminals had the kind of access they have now. Before, they at least had to get past the dog, shotgun or even a locked door. Not anymore.
“The street sweeper is going back under the bed tonight”
Lol! I love it! I keep mine handy as well!
Good luck catching the thief.
One thing about $h!tt!bank, they have a top-notch fraud detection system. They called us a couple months ago after two online transactions that didn’t match our ‘profile’. Turns out both were fraudulent. Someone had hacked into a database and gotten our card number among others. The card was cancelled immediately and we got new cards in a week.
I live in fear of identity theft, but it does make me feel a little safer knowing my primary credit card has good fraud protection.
“I live in fear of identity theft”
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Both my wife and I have been victims of it and we never had to pay a dime. The costly part of it was the time I lost trying to fix our credit.
Mine was minor (around $2000 dollars), but my wife was victimized by an estranged sibling who rang up a bill of just over a million. We filed a police report and fended off debt collectors for around 2 years before it finally went away. Police investigator Rose (from Santa Ana PD) did nothing other than shuffle paper around. Meanwhile, my wife’s sister never spent a day in jail or paid any of that money back.
More than anything it was a hassle. Of all the organizations that I dealt with during this, BofA was the toughest cookie. They were the reason it took 2 years.
I think maybe we bank at the same $h!tt!bank!
For me, their fraud protection is a pain in the a*$. I’m not on the hook for fraudulent purchases; they are. It only saves them money, and it inconveniences me when they decline a charge because they suspect it’s fraudulent and I’m, say, in the middle of Mexico trying to pay for my rental car and catch my flight (actual example) and have to take the time and expense to call them up and tell them to do their job and process the charge already. And this is after calling them up before the trip and telling them that I will be traveling to multiple places out of the country for a while.
OMG. Over a million dollars in fraudulent charges, and the estranged sib got out of any payback or jail time?
That’s some family your wife has. My condolences.
City Dweller to bluprint: “You ain’t from around here, are you boy?”
I had 2 HS reunions cancel on me one for this sat and one next month $1000 POOF……..Here it usually $99 a ticket
they will combine classes next year but man i am really hurtin this month
That’s a bummer - sorry to hear that. I hope you get to keep their deposits.
I knew a guy once who kept his car doors unlocked all the time - but didn’t keep anything of value in his car. His rationale was that at least this way, he didn’t have to go get a broken window fixed or anything. I always thought that was pretty good thinking.
I keep nothing of true value in my car. Nothing.
I had the front seat taken out of my car once in Newark NJ.
That’s what I do. Fixing the car after a break in is more expensive than anything I carry in my car.
“I knew a guy once who kept his car doors unlocked all the time”
I actually do this as well.
In the summertime, I leave the front windows rolled down as well, so that some methhead doesn’t smash a window before realizing that the doors are unlocked.
Worst case, they rummage through my glove-box before realizing there is nothing of value in the car.
It’s way way less trouble than getting a window replaced…
I’m sorry to hear about your ipod and pistol, blu. That’s too bad.
Ben, it just occurred to me that you may really like the Band “Friends of Dean Martinez.”
For a guy from Texas, who likes Dick Dale, who is driving around abandoned Arizona, I can’t imagine a better soundtrack.
http://www.last.fm/music/Friends+of+Dean+Martinez
Friends of Dean Martinez have done some really nice soundtrack work. I’m thinking of the movie Fast Food Nation specifically, but music as cinematic as theirs has prob’ly been in many other films as well. Good tip, Muggy.
“Good tip, Muggy.”
Let me tell you about some hot stocks, too!!
Muggy,
Thanks for sharing that. Too cool. I’m like Dick Dale’s biggest fan, last of the purists and it’s good to hear he’s doing better.
He’ll be in Corvallis, OR on the 25th of June and Portland on the 26th if anyone wants to catch the act. His kid Jimmy is pretty talented too. Friends of Dean Martinez would be perfect openers for his show!
I saw Dick Dale in ‘94 after his resurgence due to Pulp Fiction. Man that was a great show! His son Jimmy had to be about 3 years old and he was really something on the drums. Luv’s me some surf music! Nothing like firing up the grill, lighting the tiki torches, drinking some ice cold beers while the surf music is playing. Might need to find my D.D. CD for this weekend.
Tin foil hat time….who out there has 13 billion dollars to buy junk BOA shares?
A: The federal reserve!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-jump-in-early-going-as-apf-15302966.html?sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=
Where did you see that the Fed bought those shares? I only gave the article a cursory read, but didn’t spot that. It might just be stupid private investors buying in. Or the managers of our 401k plans.
Ahhh…you must be new to the HBB. Read the subtext.
New, not really. A near-year respite due to work. Enough to lose my read-between-the-lines ability, which was never that great to begin with. You want me to “get” something, hit me in the head with it! (My wife takes that to heart, sometimes too much.)
Sorry Darth, I couldn’t see it either and my BS detector is highly attuned. The run up in bank stocks is all about insiders handing crap to the plebes.
I am at once amazed and impressed! Californians defeated all tax increase referendums in the vote yesterday.
Yes but will Sacramento get the message? I’m not so sure. I think the real test will be at re-election time….
And amazingly, most of those proposals lost in EVERY SINGLE COUNTY, even the ones that usually love voting for taxes. People getting fed up? Hmmmm… Backlash a-brewin’?
Backlash a-brewin’?
Yep…Big Time !!
With a 2-1 vote against all of the propositions that failed, this is a total repudiation of the legislature and governor.
I’ve voted for my assembly member and state senator multiple times for different offices. I’ve written each of them three times each since January with my concerns on the budget and have not gotten a response from either. I wonder if they’ll be more responsive now. I don’t know who I will be voting for in the next election, but I know who won’t be getting my vote.
2-1 vote
17% of the registered voters, 2/3 against. By my count that is a whopping 12ish percent of those registered. This was an election by the informed against the crooks, whilst not diluted by the Obama loving American Idol watching boobs.
“I am at once amazed and impressed! Californians defeated all tax increase referendums in the vote yesterday.”
Ouch !! But the state is still broke now how can they pay? I see tax free Cali bonds going down the crapper
But the state is still broke now how can they pay?
“They” will not be paying. “We” will be paying.
Bingo!
The voters know the Fed will step in and save them. How can they give AIG 200 billion and deny California a measly $40 billion?
Moral Harzard raises its ugly head.
I agree.
The social engineers in charge won’t let the nanny-state poster child go under.
Skip,
I couldn’t agree more. And this was the path they’ve been heading down for years any…way, so why not come right out and say it?
They’ve never met a handout they didn’t like, they’re in completely over their heads and they want to be bailed out ( again! )
The frustrating part is, it should be the other way around? Has anyone ever been able to calculate just how much LESS painful this whole meltdown would’ve been without Cali in tow? Again, this is a State or even “local” problem.
“How can they give AIG 200 billion and deny California a measly $40 billion?”
Easy! They weren’t actually giving it to AIG, the company that everyone hates—they were really giving it to the Goldman, the company that everyone loves!
See, don’t you feel totally different about it now?
“But the state is still broke now how can they pay?”
Maybe they’ll just issue more IOUs? [And throw in a "Free Backrub Certificate".]
“we will be paying”
How many senators does California have?
California has never ever gotten more from the feds than we send to them, and we never will.
Please tell me what is sooo impressive about that? It is the same old cr@p. Californians vote for all these stupid propositions then get all pissy about about paying for them.
Agree Wicked.
It’s a mentality of we want it all, but don’t want to pay for it.
You don’t have to pay for it. You can just put it on your Visa card! Duh!
Californians did not vote for propositions to spend $13B per year on illegals and their spawn nor to increase employee pension benefits by 50 percent, nor to greatly increase the number of state employees.
That wall on the border is looking cheaper and cheaper every day….
A mine field would be cheaper than a wall - and more effective.
Yeah…And that message is going to be heard at the county and municipality level also…
Why amazed? It’s entirely consistent with Californians’ “we want everything and we don’t want to pay for it” mentality.
As a California resident since 1980 I think I have a good feel for what the problems are in this state.
In no special order…
1. Too many damn illegals sucking the life out of the state
2. Prop 13
3. Outrageous pay for retired state workers
4. Allowing an actor to run the place - again
Any one of these issues would have hurt the state, but combined even the great state of California had no chance. And everyone of them is self-inflicted.
Holy cow! I just agreed with BR on 3 out of 4!
Cali is 2BTF
LA Times
U.S. backs off threat to withhold California stimulus money
Obama administration tells Gov. Schwarzenegger that the state did not violate the stimulus law by cutting pay for home healthcare workers. It is eligible for $8 billion more for its Medicaid program.
By Peter Nicholas
8:30 AM PDT, May 20, 2009
Reporting from Washington — The Obama administration has backed off its threat to withhold billions of dollars in stimulus money from California, telling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger the state did not violate federal law in cutting pay for home healthcare workers in a bid to help balance the budget.
In a letter that was given to the governor this morning, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the state remains eligible to receive another $8 billion in stimulus money for its Medicaid program, a ruling that may offer some solace for state officials coping with the resounding voter defeat Tuesday of five ballot measures aimed at closing California’s huge budget shortfall.
“We are committed to helping California in these difficult economic times,” an Obama administration official said today. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, added that stimulus money “will continue to help provide health care to Californians in need.”
California budget nightmare
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state officials face tough fiscal choices now that voters have defeated a series of budget proposals.
By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney dot com senior writer
May 20, 2009: 4:13 PM ET
Story of 2 downturns
Who’s getting the bank bailout money
See how the Great Depression and the ‘Great Recession’ measure up against one another.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney dot com) — Note to Californians: Get ready for larger class sizes, fewer police patrolling the streets and more public offices shuttered on weekdays.
State officials are now scrambling to close a $21.3 billion fiscal shortfall, a gap that grew by $6 billion overnight after residents voted down five budget propositions Tuesday.
The state must make “severe cuts now,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday. He and state legislative leaders will have to hammer out a budget deal before the fiscal year ends on June 30.
“There will be around $5.3 billion in additional cuts in education, there will be severe cuts in health care, which is another area where you know we spend a lot of money, and then of course you have to go and look in other areas like prisons,” said the governor, who was in Washington, D.C., meeting with the Obama administration.
While most states are facing cash crunches as the economy weakens, California’s problems are larger than most. Only three months ago, state officials agreed on a budget deal that closed a $40 billion gap by cutting $15.8 billion in spending, temporarily raising the state sales tax by a penny, borrowing $5.4 billion and using nearly $8 billion in federal stimulus funds.
“I’ll be back–with my budgetcutinator”
Now I know why those casino’s are hurting in Nevada, the big boys are skipping out on the bill! HaHa!
Omaha philanthropist says Vegas casinos kept him drunk, drugged while he ran up $14.7M debt
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A prominent Nebraska philanthropist accused of failing to repay $14.75 million to Las Vegas casinos is claiming he was plied with drinks and drugs while he ran up big gambling debts.
A lawyer for Terrance “Terry” Watanabe said in a letter to a Nevada grand jury that hosts at Caesars Palace and Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino kept the 52-year-old former businessman “significantly and visibly intoxicated” while he played table games at the two hotels in late 2007.
Chesnoff calls Watanabe “a great customer at Las Vegas casinos,” and said in the letter to the grand jury that a witness can testify that Watanabe has in the past repaid “in excess of $70 million” worth of casino debts to the Rio and Caesars Palace.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Omaha-man-blames-casino-apf-15298612.html?.v=3
“significantly and visibly intoxicated
Cool…There you go Muggy, you can use this same defense for your day trading.
Or for buying a house in Rochester.
Oh and when has anyone -ever- seen a trust fund baby ‘totally’ sober to begin with? I can see if the guy was completely alien to the environment but they don’t let just anyone “sign markers”. Usually just the regulars. Pay up b!tch!
this has to be an onion article.
A question, please……
Is anyone here in Paris, France or going there anytime soon?? If so, would you mind emailing me?? blano8102 at yahoo dot com
Thanks.
How soon?
My friend’s daughter will be working in France starting September, I’m planning to visit her.
Sounds good enough. Could you shoot me an email??
Thanks.
Hey, what’s this? You and p’gal are going to Paris and not inviting me?
I’m so jealous of you renters who have lives …
The WSJ:
Flippers are speculators are the ones buying foreclosures, to rent them out and then sell them at double the price later.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278553249537721.html
The article is firewalled, but I read it on paper at home. It appears they are hoping to make money on appreciation. Good luck with that in nominal dollars, and forget it in real dollars, IMHO.
Some excerpts:
Though not every cash sale involves an investor, the investors often use cash because they can close quicker and get a better return. In the Phoenix area, for example, about 38% of April sales of single-family homes were all-cash deals. In Punta Gorda, Fla., the figure was 67%, and in the Las Vegas area, total cash sales were 39%.
It isn’t the easiest way to earn money. Managing a far-flung collection of houses can be time-intensive and fraught with hidden costs.
Hidden costs? You betcha. Ask Casey.
I would hope that most investors are sticking with their own local collections of houses and not buying them all over God’s green earth. That’s a recipe for landlord misery.
McKinley and a partner are in contract to buy four homes in Pittsburg, a small city east of Oakland. The firm is buying one house, which was valued at $412,000 near the peak in 2005, for $84,000. McKinley plans to rent out the homes for as much as $1,200 a month. After paying to manage the property and other expenses, it expects 5% to 7% returns on its investment from the rental income and, hopefully, a big payoff from a resale when the market improves.
The firm is paying cash up front, but has a commitment from One California Bank, an Oakland-based community bank, to finance 50% of the purchases after they close. They hope that will free up cash to buy more homes.
The firm believes homeowners losing their houses in foreclosure actions need places to rent.
And indeed they will, most of them anyway, but will they pay what the owner is asking? Perhaps so. $1200 rent from $84,000 purchase is actually not a bad setup, assuming the renovation costs are minimal.
The competition for the houses is intensifying as the supply of foreclosed homes in some places has fallen in recent months.
But the inventory is likely to rise later this year as banks end their moratoriums on new foreclosures and begin dumping additional houses on the markets.
Some excerpts from the WSJ article (earlier post got lost):
Though not every cash sale involves an investor, the investors often use cash because they can close quicker and get a better return. In the Phoenix area, for example, about 38% of April sales of single-family homes were all-cash deals. In Punta Gorda, Fla., the figure was 67%, and in the Las Vegas area, total cash sales were 39%.
It isn’t the easiest way to earn money. Managing a far-flung collection of houses can be time-intensive and fraught with hidden costs.
Hidden costs? You betcha. Ask Casey.
I would hope that most investors are sticking with their own local collections of houses and not buying them all over God’s green earth. That’s a recipe for landlord misery.
McKinley and a partner are in contract to buy four homes in Pittsburg, a small city east of Oakland. The firm is buying one house, which was valued at $412,000 near the peak in 2005, for $84,000. McKinley plans to rent out the homes for as much as $1,200 a month. After paying to manage the property and other expenses, it expects 5% to 7% returns on its investment from the rental income and, hopefully, a big payoff from a resale when the market improves.
The firm is paying cash up front, but has a commitment from One California Bank, an Oakland-based community bank, to finance 50% of the purchases after they close. They hope that will free up cash to buy more homes.
The firm believes homeowners losing their houses in foreclosure actions need places to rent.
And indeed they will, most of them anyway, but will they pay what the owner is asking? Perhaps so. $1200 rent from $84,000 purchase is actually not a bad setup, assuming the renovation costs are minimal.
The competition for the houses is intensifying as the supply of foreclosed homes in some places has fallen in recent months.
But the inventory is likely to rise later this year as banks end their moratoriums on new foreclosures and begin dumping additional houses on the markets.
Dang, I tried posting some excerpts, but nothing makes it through.
“…then sell them at double the price later.”
The Fed has apparently convinced the smartest guys in the room with the deepest pockets that future home price inflation is in the bag. I cannot overemphasize how strongly I hope the Fed’s hints prove misleading and these newfangled flipulators get burned.
Well just so you know, today, May 20 2009,
The London Stock Exchange declares Madoff Securities International to be in “default”.
It’s “hammer time”:
1.
Stock Exchange Notice N45/08, issued on 22 December 2008, informed member firms that the London Stock Exchange (“the Exchange”) had suspended the membership of Madoff Securities International Limited (“Madoff Securities”).
2.
Since then, the Exchange has been monitoring the continuing settlement of outstanding trades. Whilst significant progress has been made, it appears to the Exchange, in the light of the information now available, that Madoff Securities will be unable to fulfil its obligations in respect of the remaining unsettled Stock Exchange market contracts. Accordingly, under paragraph D100 of the Rules of the London Stock Exchange (“the rules”), Madoff Securities has been declared a Defaulter on the Exchange at 16:00 hours on 20 May 2009.
3.
The member ID for Madoff Securities is MADLGB2LBIC
The CREST code is FGKAV
4.
All unsettled, non-central counterparty trades undertaken on Exchange will be included in the Exchange’s default procedures. According to the information available to the Exchange at this time, this is likely to be a small number of trades.
5.
In accordance with Rules D130 to D133, the Exchange will calculate hammer prices for any securities in which Madoff Securities has unsettled relevant principal contracts. Any unsettled relevant agency contracts to which Madoff Securities is party will be subject to the procedures set out in Rules D150 to D155.
More failing, failures looking for a taxpayer hand out…
Business & Lobbying
Democrats seek financial rescue of minority-owned broadcasters
By Silla Brush
Posted: 05/19/09 06:13 PM [ET]
High-ranking House Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to prop up minority-owned broadcasters suffering from a lack of capital and lost advertising revenue amid the economic slump.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is leading an effort to convince Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to take “decisive action” by extending credit to this sector of the broadcasting industry.
Clyburn and other senior members, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), argue that minority-owned broadcasters are sound businesses, but that the recession could undermine the government’s efforts to diversify the airwaves.
A number of members from the Congressional Black Caucus signed the letter, too.
“While many jobs are at stake, a more important principle — the government’s fundamental interest in promoting a diversity of voices, including service to underserved communities — is severely threatened,” the members write in a draft of a letter that was scheduled to be sent Tuesday.
The letter comes as some of the biggest recipients of government bailout money, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, jockey to repay government bailout money. As banks seek a way out from the government’s restrictions, other industries struggle and seek government support. Some firms seeking to repay the government argue that the government’s restrictions have burdened their businesses.
The congressmen suggest the Treasury Department could provide access to capital to minority-owned broadcasters, which they say represent less than 7 percent of full-power radio stations and a “negligible” ownership of television stations.
“They are looking for continued access to capital to continue their otherwise fundamentally sound operations,” the members write.
Hello, post eater?
Give it time. Maybe a couple of hours for some posts. Apologies to all for my double post somewhere above.
Get ready for the Boomer sell-off! Ready, set, simplify!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124268209889631903.html
This is one sick country. No morals whatsoever.
Banks are using a little-known tactic to help pay bonuses, deferred pay and pensions they owe executives: They’re holding life-insurance policies on hundreds of thousands of their workers, with themselves as the beneficiaries.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124277653430137033.html
Ah yes, COLI (Corporate-Owned Life Insurance). At my last job, I spent several years of my life in a department devoted to this ridiculous scam.
The basic story is this: some time back in the ’70’s, some people in our wise and benevolent government decided that life insurance was a “social good”, so they assigned it various tax advantages (tax-deferred cash value growth, tax-free death benefits, etc.) These provisions were thought to help families plan for financial security in the event of the death of a wage-earner. No one ever dreamed that they would be used by corporations, insuring employees as a pretext for sheltering investment income from taxes. By the time the bureaucracy woke up, COLI had become a huge business with a lobbying force capable of persuading state legislatures to overturn century-old safeguards of “insurable interest” in order to multiply these schemes.
What I can’t fathom is, what do these people plan on telling their grandkids that they were doing back in the 2000’s? The honest answer: Insuring people against their wishes (and sometimes without their knowledge), in order to generate executive bonuses and tax breaks for banks. How inspiring.
As I noted in yesterday’s bits bucket, COLI sets up perverse incentives for top managers to induce their employees to work themselves to death. Small wonder 60+ hour work weeks are the norm in much of corporate America! The more employees drop off like flies, the better a job COLI does in funding management bonuses.
Is this a great country or what?!
Oh yeah. The COLI incentives remind me of another perverse incentive scheme facing banking executives: The more money they throw into the sea, the larger the future bailouts for which they will qualify.
Honestly, every time I see a guy drive by in a Ferrari or top of the line BMW/Mercedes, I think…there goes another thieving asshole.
Just do what I do. Look all innocent and sincere whenever you see them park. Say, “Wow that’s a real nice car, those rims and tires look sharp too. How are those little tires(RFT) working out for you ?” Then SMILE !
Now, it’s very important to to stand WELL back at this point as they may be armed and dangerous, especially if they were dumb enough to have bought the newer low-end “Faking you’re Making It” BMW’s.
They’ve probably have invested more in expensive multiple tire replacements than the damned car is worth.
Good luck and remember to duck.
Is residential housing considered to be a commodity? I guess it might fit that description in the case of cookie-cutter McMansion tract home developments.
Financial Times
Geithner’s healing comments hit dollar
By Peter Garnham
Published: May 20 2009 10:55 | Last updated: May 20 2009 16:53
The dollar plunged to a four-month low against the euro on Wednesday after Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, said the financial system was “starting to heal” after a period of severe trauma.
The comments boosted confidence that the worst of the economic slowdown had passed and tempered haven demand for the US currency.
“Unless Tim Geithner reiterates the strong dollar being in the US interest, which could work temporarily, or equities come under severe pressure, a turnround for the greenback is unlikely to emerge, to the benefit of commodities and equities,” said Ashraf Laidi at CMC Markets.
Guess what I got in the mail today. Something addressed to my landlord which looks a lot like a final notice from the mortgage company.
I need to rush out to take my wife to the airport, but I will drop by later tonight with a little more info.
“Wash. pension board sues over Lehman Bros. losses”
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Seattle P.I.)
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state’s pension investment board is suing to recover more than $100 million in losses from investments with Lehman Brothers, which went into bankruptcy protection last year.
The Washington State Investment Board says the defendants are former Lehman officials, the firm’s outside auditor, and underwriters for the investment offerings.
The suit was filed Wednesday in Thurston County Superior Court. The state alleges that Lehman didn’t disclose negative returns on troubled mortgages or the actual value of mortgage-related assets.
Guess we’re joining the party.
The oil market appears to be ignoring the new 35 mpg fuel standards in the works for the US. Our oil demand will apparently drop off by a large amount if this actually is implemented. And other countries might follow suit if it works. Perhaps the prospects for “higher than expected” future inflation are outweighing the outlook for lower future US oil demand?
Oil Prices Close Above $60, a Six-Month High
By JAD MOUAWAD
Published: May 20, 2009
Oil prices rose to their highest level in six months on Wednesday as some optimism swept into the market amid signs that the economy might be improving.
Oil futures in New York settled at $62 a barrel, up $1.90, a level not seen since November, after a weekly report from the Energy Department showing a drop in commercial oil stocks suggested a pickup in consumption. A pair of refinery fires in the United States and concerns about fresh violence in Nigeria helped push prices higher.
Some analysts say they believe that the worst of the economic slowdown may be over, even if a recovery could take a long time. The Energy Department said recently that oil prices had risen after suggestions the economy might have “reached a turning point in the current recession.”
“Oil prices have improved markedly in recent weeks, largely on ostensible signs that the global economy has begun its long-awaited recovery,” according to a report by PFC Energy, a consulting firm based in Washington. “But while evidence is mounting that the worst of the contraction is behind us, a broad economic recovery is still some time away.”
“Oil prices have improved markedly in recent weeks…” call me old fashion but prices going up on something you have to have isn’t an “improvement”.
But then again, I wouldn’t take a life insurance policy out on my employees and name myself as the beneficiary, either.
And this … deflation?!
Production destruction following on the heels of demand destruction. Watch this really take off when Chindia gets rolling again. It will drive a stake through the feebly beating heart of our economy.
For those who missed it yesterday.
Some outstanding reference sources.
“It’d be great to have a website that lists these people, then mines their personal data.”
VaBeyatch in Virginia Beach, you mean like this?
http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/
And this?
http://www.gao.gov
Just a couple of my favorite websites.
Good news for everyone except a few banksters and a couple insane republicans that just don’t get stuff.
“Over the past three years as I have labored on this bill, the need to stop credit
card abuses has become ever more apparent with every passing billing cycle,” said the bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., on Tuesday.
The bill marks a major loss for the banking industry.
Financial services representatives have decried the bill, saying it would exacerbate the credit crisis and force banks to drop some risky credit card holders. The American Bankers Association said the legislation would prompt banks to reinstate annual fees and higher interest rates for all card holders, an outcome that would penalize those with good credit who pay their bills on time.
Some House members voiced those concerns Wednesday.
“At a time when Americans are struggling to pay their mortgages, groceries and health care costs, why would we want to make credit more expensive and less available?” said [b]Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.[/b]
Who elected this jackass? Anyhow, if it does contract credit, and let us not forget that credit is money, prices will follow. So, that is entirely neutral effect.
The credit card abuses and games have just been beyond belief. I got burned because I paid too early and they only give you a ~1 week window.
Did you take Econ 101? What happens when you regulate something?
Wifey, papoose and I headed to Rehoboth Beach, DE for the long weekend. She wants to check out some REO so I printed up a few we’ve had on our watch list and we’ll pay a visit to about 7 empty shacks in Sussex County. Neither of us are really ready to write a check but it will be interesting nonetheless. All of these shacks are priced between 135-250k, less than 10 years old and have been sitting on REO lists >9 months. If we happen to really like something I may play Harrass A RealTurd and offer 40%. Relations will be heavy handed, punchlists made and remedial costs documented…. at the retail level of course.
I’ll post anything interesting and notable.
Yeah, keep us posted. I thought that area had some really cool places. Bethany Beach is like right outta a Norman Rockwell painting.
Shoulda seen it in the 1960s. It was a paradise for young children.
When God saw that the world was so over proud,
He sent a dearth on earth, and made it full hard.
A bushel of wheat was at four shillings or more,
Of which men might have had a quarter before….
And then they turned pale who had laughed so loud,
And they became all docile who before were so proud.
A man’s heart might bleed for to hear the cry
Of poor men who called out, “Alas! For hunger I die …!”
—Poem on the Evil Times of Edward II, c. 1321.
Same shat, different century…
From the 1st assassin’s letter– Apocalyse Now 1979
SELL THE HOUSE
SELL THE CAR
SELL THE KIDS
FIND SOMEONE ELSE
FORGET IT
I’M NEVER COMING BACK
FORGET IT
…also hand painted sign on boarded up door–Detroit 2009
Colby?
Oh, he’s out there. He’s reeeeally out there.
Yep…still alive and kicking
Hidden at the bottom of page D7 of the WSJ is this gem:
Lump-Sum Distributions Become Harder to Get
The option of a lump sum on retirement is likely to disappear for a lot more workers this fall.
…
The 100 largest pension plans ended 2008 with $217 billion in liabilities, compared to an $86 billion surplus at the end of 2007. The funding status dropped from about 106% at the end of 2007 to less than 80% at the end of 2008.
The Pension Protection Act begins to restrict lump-sum payouts when a plan is less than 80% funded, says Judith F. Mazo, senior vice president, director of research at the Segal Co., a consulting firm. At that point, workers can receive only half of the amount in a lump sum, with the other half as an annuity. Plans that are less than 60% funded are forced to freeze and provide only an annuity.
…
Interestingly - Wikipedia makes no mention of this provision in the Pension Protection Act. Slipped in “under the radar” I guess.
More tentacles….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/19/AR2009051903061.html
U.S. May Add New Financial Watchdog
The Obama administration is actively discussing the creation of a regulatory commission that would have broad authority to protect consumers who use financial products as varied as mortgages, credit cards and mutual funds, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
…
How is that decoupling theory holding up anymore these days?
Wall Street Journal
* MAY 21, 2009
World Economies Plummet
Fall in GDP Quickens in Mexico and Japan; Global Outlook Brighter This Quarter
By BOB DAVIS
Steep declines in the economies of three of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners — Mexico, Japan and Germany — underscored the severity of the global recession and put pressure on major industrialized nations to revive moribund global trade talks.
On Wednesday, Mexico became the latest country to report a plunge in output. The country’s gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 21.5% in the first quarter, the worst performance since the 1995 peso crisis led to an International Monetary Fund and U.S. Treasury financial rescue. This time, Mexico has insulated itself somewhat by arranging a $47 billion IMF credit line in advance.
Mexico’s decline followed by a day Japan’s report that its economy contracted in the first quarter at a 15.2% clip, its worst performance since 1955. Last week, Germany said its first quarter decline in GDP, an annualized 14.4%, was the worst since 1970.
(Tourists enjoy at the nearly empty pool of the Hotel Gran Caribe Real in Cancun.)
All three countries depend on exports to the U.S. But they have nose-dived as U.S. consumers cut back purchases of autos, electronics and other goods mass produced abroad. For the first three months of 2009, U.S. merchandise imports declined about 30% to $352.5 billion compared with the same period a year earlier. Mexico’s ties to the U.S. are particularly strong because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Mexican auto production in the first quarter fell 41% from the year before.
Most forecasters and governments see signs that the current quarter will be better than the first, and the rise in global stock markets suggests investors believe the worst is past. Still, the decline in output overseas reduces the market for U.S. exports and opportunities for investment.
The U.S. economy contracted at a 6.3% annual rate in the first quarter. Federal Reserve officials said Wednesday that they anticipate only “a gradual recovery,” beginning in the second half of this year. They foresee unemployment, now at 8.9%, will rise above 9% and stay there through 2010.
Any of you guys interested in buying not only an auto manufacturer, but also their finance arm? Like it or not, you are about to become part owner in both…
Wall Street Journal
* BUSINESS
* MAY 21, 2009
GM Finance Arm to Get a Fresh Bailout
By NEIL KING JR. and DEBORAH SOLOMON
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department is poised to inject more than $7 billion into GMAC LLC, the first installment of a new government aid package that could reach $14 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
As a result of the move, the government within months could end up owning both GMAC and General Motors Corp. The GM plan being devised by President Barack Obama’s auto task force calls for the government to emerge with a majority stake. And the increasing infusion of taxpayer money into GMAC could turn the U.S. government into a majority shareholder there.
The GMAC injection is designed to firm up the auto-financing company’s battered balance sheet and allow it to continue making loans for car purchases at GM and Chrysler LLC. The Treasury already put $5 billion into GMAC in December.
The GMAC funding is an illustration of how rapidly the government effort to rescue the U.S. auto industry is escalating in cost and scope. What began as an emergency batch of loans to GM, Chrysler and GMAC in December — totaling just over $20 billion — now looks likely to balloon well beyond $50 billion and could approach $100 billion by the end of the year.
What the hay, it’s just monopoly money right?
The good news: The US apparently has enough money to guarantee anything and everything it wants to guarantee.
The bad news: The long-term economic impacts of this blanket bailout policy with unlimited guarantees are unknown and undiscussed, but could be dire due to the moral hazard of rational expectations for future bailouts without limits.
Wall Street Journal
* MAY 21, 2009
U.S. Rescue Aid Entrenches Itself
Beyond TARP, Federal Lifelines Look Lasting; ‘This Is Going to Take Time’
By DAMIAN PALETTA, DAVID ENRICH and DEBORAH SOLOMON
Within a few weeks, some of the nation’s biggest banks will start disentangling themselves from the government’s grip by repaying billions in federal bailout dollars.
But the moment, a symbolic bookend to a turbulent period, will likely be overshadowed by a parallel phenomenon: Many of the other emergency measures created to prop up the financial system are developing an air of permanence.
As such, the move to repay funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program might represent not the beginning of the end, but rather the end of the beginning.
“There will be a time when we will be able to come to you and say ‘This is how the unwinding process will work,’ ” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a Senate hearing Wednesday. “But it is too early to do that now.”
On Wednesday, President Obama signed a law extending higher deposit-insurance limits through 2013. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Treasury are developing public-private partnerships to help banks purge bad assets and the Fed on Tuesday agreed to expand a liquidity facility to accept high-quality commercial-mortgage backed securities.
Government officials remain concerned about the fragility of the financial sector. Their hesitance to fold these programs, and the financial industry’s willingness to keep using them, has made it harder for regulators to re-establish a sense of market discipline, government officials say.
“The longer they exist, the more markets will depend on them,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.) said at the hearing. “As a result, it is very likely that the greatest challenge posed by this financial crisis still lies ahead.”