Bits Bucket For July 1, 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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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Sound familiar?
Fed’s Yellen Says Interest Rates May Stay Near Zero for Years…
By Vivien Lou Chen
July 1 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said the prospect that policy makers will leave the benchmark U.S. interest rate near zero for the next several years is “not outside the realm of possibility.”
“We have a very serious recession, we have a 9.4 percent unemployment rate,” and inflation possibly falling over time below the Fed’s preferred level, she told reporters yesterday after a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Given the recession’s severity, “we should want to do more. If we were not at zero, we would be lowering the funds rate.”
Yellen’s comments go beyond those made by other policy makers after a June 23-24 meeting, when they said the federal funds rate will likely stay at “exceptionally low levels” for “an extended period.” They have held the rate, also known as the overnight lending rate between banks, at between zero and 0.25 percent since December.
The Fed “did succeed in averting a full-blown meltdown,” Yellen said in the speech. Nevertheless, the threat of another financial shock, such as one from falling commercial real-estate prices, is “high on my worry list.”
Lending is risky these days, so interest rates should increase. ECON-101.
Typical depression. Money is cheap but you no longer have access. Banks will be contracting credit lines even in the face of zero rates except to the most worthy borrowers, aka those that do not need credit.
Bingo!
Although to be jadded enough to agree to “typical depression” has me concerned.
Ummm… no I haven’t changed my mind. I still think a deep recession has a good chance, but my optimism is fading.
Got Popcorn?
Neil
I wonder if rates are already high, but deflation is countering.
ie, if deflation is -3% and you are getting paid 1% in your money market account, you’re actually doing pretty well. 1% looks awful, but in terms of purchasing power, you’re dollars are doing well.
Also, since the treasury is “risk free”, investors don’t worry about risk. It’s the corporate bonds that should be getting pounded.
Except that these days, people have to borrow just to operate. Businesses are so strapped for cash that they take out continual 30-day loans just to make payroll. (that surprised me)
Maybe they should make interest rates progressive either by time or amount. Small short loans are low interest. Mortage, you pay through the nose.
Most big businesses operate with heavy debt loads. You can expand a lot faster with lots of leverage. That’s what caused the first Great Depression. Major banks were allowed to fail, major companies couldn’t borrow to cover their short term cash flow so they failed, then the smaller companies that serviced the big companies went down the tubes.
That can still happen this time.
“That can still happen this time.”
Can?
Change that to “is”.
I’d rather see companies expand at a much slower pace — or not expand at all — instead of putting us all at risk with their use of leverage.
It’s this obsession with “growth” that has caused all our problems, IMHO.
It is in the national anthem: “…land of the FREE…” -if Francis Scott-Key ever knew…
Most depository institutions right now are suffering due to an inability to lend overnight at a profit. In effect, while companies want to borrow at such a low rate, banks cannot profitably lend at such rates.
doesn’t make sense. why not lend at higher rate? if companies do not want to borrow at a higher rate, they probably do not need to borrow at all. maybe they just want to but not need to.
“We have a very serious recession, we have a 9.4 percent unemployment rate,” and inflation possibly falling over time below the Fed’s preferred level, she told reporters yesterday after a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Given the recession’s severity, “we should want to do more. If we were not at zero, we would be lowering the funds rate.”
Oh, you’ve done enough, already. Recapitalizing “too big to fail” banks who have subsequently started another massive commodities bubble. You’ve done enough damage, please just shut up and don’t do anything.
We had the choice last fall
A)- Let the whole Wall Street manipulating/Government meddling/bubble economy business model fail spectacularly in a gigantic global meltdown. This would have created major pain worldwide in the short run (18-24 months), but had a real chance to clear out all the manipulation and imbalances.
B)- Play Whack-a-Mole, put band aids and patches on all the wounds, while bailing out the people and institutions that created the mess, and handing them new sawed-off shotguns.
We chose (B). Status quo being reinstated, systemic problems being ignored after 6 months of panic. IOW, we’re too fooked to fix.
So true, GSfixer…
(What’s “IOW” ? Looks like “in one word” but “too fooked to fix” is four words. ??)
In other words I think.
Hotel Loan Defaults Double in U.S. as Recession Curbs Travel…
July 1 (Bloomberg) — As many as one in five U.S. hotel loans may default through 2010 as the recession means companies are spending less on travel and perks, according to University of California economist Kenneth Rosen.
The value of hotel properties in default or foreclosure almost doubled to $17.3 billion in the second quarter through June 24 from $9 billion at the end of the first quarter, data compiled by Real Capital Analytics Inc. show. The New York-based research firm, which began tracking distressed commercial property in November, expects hotel defaults to increase by as much as $2 billion next quarter, said analyst Jessica Ruderman.
“Hotels without question will have the highest foreclosure rate of any commercial real estate sector,” said Rosen, who runs a real estate hedge fund with $310 million in assets and is chairman of the University of California’s Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics in Berkeley.
Hotel owners are defaulting as room rates and property values tumble and the securitized mortgage market that fueled an 88 percent gain in U.S. commercial prices from 2001 to late 2008 is dormant. Luxury hotel revenue fell 28 percent in April from a year earlier and has dropped for 12 straight months, according to Smith Travel Research Inc. in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The 29 percent decline in March was the biggest since October 2001.
The travelling thing is ugly, especially if family is in tow. If you’re going for a week’s vacation somewhere, you’re going to pay through the nose for the extra bag fees now, and the rental car costs have skyrocketed. There was an article in the NYT about this over the weekend–they’ve culled the car herd and now feel OK charging 75% more than they were for the same period last year.
The feeder industries aren’t helping the hotels out at all. Nor is the recession.
Steve W,
Wow, is that true? Usually I mooch somebody’s extra set of wheels and if I’m on vacation ( trust me, I’m in NO condition to drive )
Travel, just as a couple, is expensive enough, but I know how they SOAK the dinosaurs that still believe in family togetherness. Sad.
We just went to Hawaii, and the rental car prices were pretty bad, but not 75% more than I remember them being a few years ago.
The baggage fees, however, felt like a shot in the sack. We went for 12 days and had a baby in tow, so we had a TON of bags. We wound up paying a over 200 bucks in baggage fees for the trip.
I found great deals on car rentals because they have an excess supply. Most of my trips are to the local mountains though.
We were thinking of doing a Rocky mountain trip this summer, and at the Denver airport it was something like 600 bucks for an intermediate car for the week. I’ve never seen it like that over there.
James, where are you renting from? If you can avoid the airport rentals (pretty much impossible with all the bags and the family for me) it can be a lot cheaper.
We’re taking a trip to NYC and Delaware at the end of the month. One thing we noticed (as you mention, and is mentioned in the article) is that the rates to pick up a car in Brooklyn were way cheaper than the airport rates. My sister and brother-in-law live in Brooklyn, so we’ll be able to go that route, even with a baby and a mountain of crap in tow.
ent since December.
The Fed “did succeed in averting a full-blown meltdown,” Y
Hotwire has gotten me some great deals on car rentals.
it was something like 600 bucks for an intermediate car for the week
I’ve always had good luck with priceline. No problem getting a car for <= $15/day (+ taxes, of course). But I only have to worry about myself - no family - so if it doesn’t work out for some reason I don’t mind improvising.
Denver always is more expensive in/out of airport in the summer time. I thought it would be winter time during ski season, NOT. Summer.
Check out flying in/out of COS, Colorado Springs?.
Harley rentals are 1/2 off right now at eagle rider
You can rent an electra glide for two whole weekends for less than the price of one payment if you were to buy (suckers cost like 20+ grand).
In other news, chinks are finally appearing in Marin County’s armor but we’re scared to jump in due to the risk of continiued devaluation and the fact no one knows whats going to happen with regard to public services and/or taxes in the face of the huge state deficit.
Kick me when inflation gets here… until then, I’m stacking cash.
Tom
I just reserved a car for next week for $130. Not great, but I plan to drive it 2,000 miles. Cheaper than driving my own.
Cheaper than driving my own.
$188 (estimated, will be higher with the insurance elections) for four days going to CA. this weekend.
FLORIDA, MANATEE — Two U.S. representatives have filed a bill that would suspend a controversial real estate appraisal code that some contend is stifling the housing market’s recovery.
The bill, filed by Reps. Travis Childers, D-Miss., and Gary Miller, R-Calif., would suspend the Home Valuation Code of Conduct for up to 18 months. The code, which took effect May 1, bans real estate agents, lenders and others from directly hiring appraisers to prevent influencing their appraisals and result in more accurate home values.
But homebuilders and Realtors contend it’s led to a spike in abnormally low appraisals that have delayed or derailed sales contracts. Appraisers dispute that, saying their appraisals accurately reflect an unprecedented fall in home values.
http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/1546744.html
Great idea.. Back to “mark to fantasy” appraisals for RE. That ought to fix the whole problem. Get more knifecatchers in there, and get them the loans that they need to catch the knives. Wonderful plan.
Why not require that people be offered (as a constitutional right) 10X income loans. That would fix the problem overnight!
Morons.
Back to “mark to fantasy” appraisals for RE”
Yeah…when the entire country is in a freakin’ recession survival mode and beginning it’s forced into a “flight from fantacy” and back to basics like food, clothing, shelter, jobs and value for a crippled Dollar, these a$$clowns want to roll the RE gang back to their haydays of 2001 -2008.
“Goodnight and good luck” America !
A lot of people made a lot of money under the business model in place between 2001-2007. It was all based on B.S., but nevermind…..
They are just trying to recreate the model that worked for them. Good luck with that.
Might as well pass it since the banks get to keep their property portfolios marked up at bubble values in order to keep them from having to raise capitol to offset risk.
I’d say let them do it as long as it is short term. I would love to see the next round of FB’s cleaned out so that when prices have actually come back to reasonable, I have even fewer people competing with me.
By the way, if they pass the rule, would the banks HAVE to take the number from the appraiser hired by the real estate agent? ‘Cause that is a pretty nasty interference with a bank’s business judgement. Not my first choice of great ideas at a time when banks need help from the taxpayers….
Just because they have to accept the report doesn’t mean they’re obligated to finance a given % of the appraised amount, does it?
Interesting point. The agents and sellers get to influence the valuation, so the banks tell all the buyers that they will have to put 40% down to get a loan. That would gum up the works for a while. Sounds like Fannie and Freddie would be the only lenders left at all.
There’s always the non-bank known as az_lender. I don’t use any appraisals at all except my own, and the drive-bys of completely disinterested parties. (Still got on file the kind offer of Arizona Slim to do a bike-by if a Tucson property comes up.) Lucky for me the mobile home niche isn’t part of Phony&Fraudy purview. My 9% gives you an idea of where home-loan rates would be if F&F were outa business.
The politicians will never understand that until they stop messing with real estate, nobody can know the true value of it. If this passes, for 18 months prices would be falsely propped up. Anyone that buys will be paying too much. Any sane person would wait until month 19. The same with the $8K new house buyer program, and the cash-for-clunkers auto program. The minute the programs end, the value of whatever you bought during the program drops.
They just don’t seem to understand that. And, not only does is jack the prices up, but it does so far in excess of the actual credit. That 8K credit translates into 40-80K in increased price, because people are taking that credit and leveraging it 5-10 to 1. That’s horrible for the market; and, I totally agree with you, until the meddling is over, I don’t know how to wade into this market.
RE is already somewhat difficult to value (mostly because of the detectability of interest).. All these programs make it even more opaque. It’s a real shame for those of us out there, waiting to buy; every program that gets released just pushes the time further and further out.
I continue to be disgusted. We have taxpayer-guaranteed loans (since Fannie and Freddie and now full-fledged government entities), and we have taxpayer-elected officials trying to remove a code of conduct designed to protect the taxpayers. “All of those congresspeople in favor of a code of MISconduct, please say aye”.
We elect them, but the NAR decides who we get to vote for. I work & live across an electoral district boundary. To the south, we have Representative Bill Posey, Republican from Rockledge and a Realtor. To the north we have Representative Susan Kosmas, Democrat from New Smyrna Beach, and a Realtor.
Special interests fund electoral campaigns. They rightfully decide who we get to vote for.
Realtors in congress? or is that the state legislature? How low the standards have sunk. I spent less intellect getting my realtor sales license than I did doing my NCAA basketball brackets.
They rightfully decide
I’m not sure you mean this how it reads…”Rightfully”? Or do you simply mean “obviously”, as a result of the funding?
we have a lot of realtors in state legislature here, too. The ones I know are already retired from good jobs and pulling a good pension and moved here from somewhere else bringing their equity with them. In their business they have their snouts in a lot of land use planning issues anyway, and can take the time off to go to the capital for a 4 month session every other year.
There’s not a lot of people who really have the time and wherewithal to do that at 100/day per diem or whatever they get in the flyover states. Believe me, they’re more than counterbalanced by govt workers whose agencies give them leave with pay differential to go lobby for them from the floor of the legislature. I know a teacher here who did it and her school paid the diff and of course she kept her job too. Most of us wouldn’t have that privilege.
InMontana,
THERE is the ‘real’ Road To Wealth.
I’m convinced of it. Oh there are those among us that through hard work and perseverance will be able to make something of ourselves but having multiple jobs simultaneously, “now THAT’S the ticket!”
Our local mayor smooched up for a 6 fig. “consulting” job w/ our hospital “raising awareness for their service among local employers” ( meaning jack )
Right up there w/ celebrity board members. On multiple boards of course.
What irritates me is that they are considered to be “experts”, and their “Any Growth is God” attitude has infected all the local legislatures.
I’ve never understood why they give developers incentives to build on “green field” sites, when this town has so much abandoned and unoccupied real estate as it is……..a lot of it only being 10-15 years old.
OTOH, I’m still trying to figure out how someone can put up a “Butler-Building” on a semi-prime corner/intersection, and the only “business” they run out of it is a fireworks stand 2 weeks a year.
you totally missed the point. all those reasons mentioned are irrelevant. they are simply buying time until the situation is more stable and resilient to absorb the shock of bigger shocks.
I believe that’s correct. Have often said so on this board. Keep as many ultimately FB’s paying the mortgage for NOW, as possible.
Are appraisers normally supposed to take rental value into consideration? If so it seems like things are still appraised too high around here.
I’m not certain, but I doubt that appraisers have to take rental value into consideration - even though it would seem to make sense mathematically. There are some areas where rents are always going to be “too low” relative to anything close to a sound investment decision, but people will overpay for the property anyway. Around here (FL), places at the beach are a good example.
It’s things like this that makes you wish all politician’s chairs were electrified and if enough people watching C-span (and by enough, I mean 3) were annoyed by them and pushed a button, they’d get zapped.
The more people annoyed and pushing your button, the more painful the zap.
50% of the country pushes it and it’s lethal.
While at first I like the idea, there’s a reason we’re (the US) set up as a republic, not a democracy.
The politicians deserve the jolt, but the resultant mob-rule is probably not a good idea.
ummmm…. I regret to inform you that the US was set up as a representative democracy. Refer to James Madisons writings.
I regret to inform you that the US was set up as a representative democracy
If that were the case we wouldn’t have the electoral college, would we? There are a lot of protections in place against pure democracy.
As per wikipedia (which we know is the ultimate source of truth ;):
In the United States Founding Fathers like James Madison defined republic in terms of representative democracy as opposed to direct democracy[7],
In common usage, democracy = “direct democracy” as referenced in that quote. I stand by my statement. If ‘democracy’ to you means ‘representative democracy’, then you’re agreeing that we’re a republic, as per Madison’s definition of the term.
Read Madisons writings further and you’ll see he eventually backpedalled from the notion of a traditional republic. And no….a republic isn’t the same as a representative democracy.
why do you guys still argue about this. the founding fathers used to 2 words interchangeably. it’s the politicians who thought about getting cute with their party names.
why do you guys still argue about this
We’re not arguing about parties. But there is a distinct and important difference between a pure democracy and a democratic republic. Imagine if the federal government worked like CA did with all the propositions put up to popular vote?
Really what exeter is arguing is semantics. I imagine he(?) and I agree on the fact the US was not meant to be a pure democracy.
the founding fathers used to 2 words interchangeably
Go back and takes civics. The U.S. constitution specifically spells out a “Republican Form of Government”, and never uses the word “Democracy” or “Democratic”. The founding fathers very much knew the distinction, and specifically avoided a purely democratic form of government.
+1 for packman
a republic isn’t the same as a representative democracy.
Are you calling wikipedia a liar?
Suit yourself and let wikipedia be your source of all knowledge. I can explain it but I can’t think for you.
Great Simpson episode. They continued to zap each, while Springfield was losing its power.
“The bill, filed by Reps. Travis Childers, D-Miss., and Gary Miller, R-Calif…”
Can you spell 2010 ELECTIONS.
“Two U.S. representatives have filed a bill that would suspend a controversial real estate appraisal code that some contend is stifling the housing market’s recovery.”
These retards just don’t get it. The “recovery” is lower prices. The more they meddle, the longer the pain will continue. Prices need to represent what local wages afford. Most of the stuff coming out of these people’s mouths is outrageous. If they want high housing prices, then they should get to work on producing high paying jobs. This country is f***ed with these people at the helm. Vote these imbeciles out.
This is interesting.
Many, many appraisers complained of being under duress. If they didn’t produce the numbers the REAs, banks or mort. companies were looking for, they didn’t get called back.
I rather like this idea. Would you trust a home inspector hired by an REA, et al? Of course not.
Heard from several re types, that they indeed are getting rock bottom appraisals and the appraisals are having lengthy delays.
Gannett laying off 1,000 as ad sales slide:
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Gannett Co. Inc Co, which owns top-selling newspaper USA Today, is laying off more than 1,000 staff to try and combat persistent declines in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The cuts will come from the company’s Community Publishing division, which groups more than 80 local dailies, the newspaper citing a person familiar with the company’s thinking as saying.
The Wall Street Journal added that it was unclear precisely how many jobs will be lost, but cited the source as saying it will be under 2,000.
The U.S. newspaper industry is struggling as the recession prompts advertisers to slash budgets and readers go online for their news.
At USA TODAY, advertising sales plummeted 33.5 percent in the first quarter.
Does this get filed under green shoots?
This recession is cutting deep in Wisconsin.
For those not familar with them , Founderies are a specialized hidden nich business often essential to the base of larger American Industries.
Like cops when you need one, good luck finding a foundry when you need one .
Grede seeks bankruptcy protection
By Rick Romell and Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: June 30, 2009
Wauwatosa-based Grede Foundries Inc. has filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it has an offer for financing until the company could be sold.
Grede’s assets total nearly $144 million and its debts are just more than $148 million, the company says in documents filed Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Madison.
The two largest creditors are the Grede Employee Retirement Plan, which is owed $33.7 million, and the Grede Group Health plan, which is owed $24.7 million. All told, Grede has 2,400 potential creditors.
…”The company employs 1,635 people and operates eight foundries, including a complex on W. State St. in Wauwatosa and a plant in Reedsburg. Other foundries are in Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Kansas and South Carolina.
Beyond the 1,635 employees now working, an additional 770 are on temporary layoff, Grede says in a court filing. Three-quarters of those were laid off just this year.
Grede describes itself as one of the largest cast-iron foundry companies in the country.”
http://tinyurl.com/mncuf8
…and the hits keep coming. “Whodoya know that wants to buy a new house?”
Milwaukee area losing jobs faster than most metro areas in region
By Joel Dresang of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: June 30, 2009
Click to enlargeCompared with the largest metro area in each of the surrounding states, only Detroit is losing jobs at a faster rate than Milwaukee.
http://tinyurl.com/l6wxyz
Another company killed by pensions and the mismanagement thereof.
I don’t know if it is mismanagement of pensions or just having to compete with companies that don’t offer them. I think it is ridiculous that Americans think they should get some kind of retirement and health care funded by their companies. Do the Chinese and Indians? What makes us better than them? And don’t get me started on the 40 hour work week.
Because as a country we are more innovative and creative than them. I don’t really want to work 20 hour days and use the bathroom in a bucket.
Or have my kid forced to mine for coal so we can eat tonite.
But that is what the companies agreed to. Basicly they discoverd that people would work for less today if they were promised benefits that would be paid in the future. Well the future is now and the bill is comin due.
Try asking your employer if you can opt out of their pension or insurance plans, with “their” contributions added to your base salary/ $ per hour.
Can you say “Fat freeking chance??”
Another one of the big dirty secrets…….employers like pension plans, as long as the “contributions” don’t exceed the “payouts”. They can, and do, use that money for their own purposes. A lot of the private-equity sharks are after that money when they do a leveraged buyout.
As an individual, no. But of course if that’s what the union(who is doing said negotiaiton on your behalf)wanted, that’s what they would get… but then they couldn’t ALSO have a chance to skim up a cut of the pension fund with the banksters, so fat chance of THAT happening.
I buy my own health insurance, dental insurance, and disability income insurance. I get no vacation, but do get a matchinf 401k and 6 holidays per year. Benetits are negotiable.
Everything is negotiable. I agree with Jon. It should be a trade between two parties. What my peers make, what benefits they get should have no bearing on what I am paid. They are individuals. I am an indivdual.
Get off the stupid habit of thinking everyone is equal. It’s a unionist way of thinking. That makes performance seek the lowest common denominator and take smoke breaks for 15 minutes every hour.
“benetits” (meant benefits). ok, sorry I used to work a couple of businesses away from a topless joint.
I’m amused that it’s the WSJ reporting on this, not USA Today. If USA Today can’t even get the scoop on this one, I can see why they’re losing business!
Geez, all these reports of an “unexpected” drop in consumer confidence.
Makes me wonder if economists have fallen into the gambler’s trap of saying, “well, it has come up red 17 months in a row, this time it MUST come up black” even though the odds are 50-50?
And the HBB new dad’s band is still looking for a drummer. Any takers?
Speaking of music, Ben, please allow me this one insanely off-topic post.
DJ, this is proper accordion use: youtube.com/watch?v=5fRO9pLwYqs&feature=related
Muggy:
I like the Dropkick Murphys…see i aint so bad…..curative use of instruments, great Irish bar songs.. kiss me I’m sh**faced, always gets them up
They are sounding like a rebirth of the Clash with political songs…we need that badly in America.
So we will have a pint over that….but i tend to be more R&B soul oriented hence the zydeco music. Plus people want to dance and forget their troubles for a few hours, and that’s what this is about they talk about family, good romance, very up beat feel good music…also something we need desperately in America.
Hey chili Dad, Ringo mentioned an interest.
Did Ringo just have a kid and I was oblivious to it? I know I’m clueless…but Ringo?
He’ll never top Anthony Quinn, IMHO.
Ate, you asked me a question about renting a concrete block condo or something like that 1 mile from the beach. I wasn’t ignoring you, just was gone from the computer for most of the day and didn’t see it until I got home and by then it was too late to reply.
I think the answer to your question is around $700 and up, depending upon the amenities, location etc. Sometimes you can whup a better deal. But for the better locations, landlords are still holding out. I known one landlord who is stubbornly holding out for $800, despite the fact that he’s had no takers for almost a year. Still advertising it, too. But he is more than a mile inland.
One bedroom units are a rip-off in Fla. For $100 bucks more you can get a 2 BR.
I’m a new dad AND a drummer! WOO!
“I’m a new dad AND a drummer! WOO!”
Do you rent, or own?
Rent the baby or the drum kit?
Rent the house, own the baby, sadly sold the drums awhile ago.
I picked up a Roland electronic kit off of Craigslist some time ago. What fun!
I picked up a Roland electronic kit off of Craigslist some time ago. What fun!
I want a drum kit so bad I can feel it. But I have sworn not to buy until I’ve gotten rid of enough junk that it would fit in the garage.
That’s why I don’t have one anymore. HUGE things. Man I had fun with it, though. And made PLENTY of noise!
Matt Taibbi hits it out of the park with his Rolling Stone article on Goldman Sachs, the masters of the bubble universe. Caution: a bit of a long, but VERY enlightening read.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16763183/TaibbiGoldmanSachs
I’ll respond to your post palmy, since I brought it up yesterday. It was the blatant manipulation of the oil market, last year, that really got my attention. I remember telling my wife that I thought something funny was going on. GS was calling for $200/bl oil and I was thinking- how can they do that and get away with it?
kirisdad, thanks! I couldn’t remember who brought up the Taibbi article, but it got me hunting for it.
I remember back in 2005 or 06, when Paulson was brought on board. There was a post on the blog quoting Jan (a$$)Hatzius, an eCONomist with GS, about something or other. I answered the post with a “Take Note: Goldman $ach$ will now be dictating US Treasury policy.” Turns out I was righter than I knew.
This is the Enron game on steroids.
Me. Click my moniker for savable PDF.
Near the very end of the article:
Now oil prices are rising again: They shot up 20 percent in the month of May and have nearly doubled so far this year. Once again, the problem is not supply or demand. “The highest supply of oil in the last 20 years is now,” says Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan who serves on the House energy committee. “Demand is at a 10-year low. And yet prices are up.”
Let’s see….Supply at a 20-year high….demand at a 10-year low, yet prices on the rise….hmmmm.
U.S. mortgage applications fall to 7-month low July 1, 2009 8:11 AM ET
All Thomson Reuters news By Julie Haviv
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications plunged to a seven-month low last week as demand for home refinancing loans tumbled 30 percent, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
The drop does not bode well for the hard-hit U.S. housing market, which has been showing some signs of stabilization, with sales rising and home price declines moderating in many regions of the country.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended June 26 decreased 18.9 percent to 444.8, the lowest reading since the week ended November 21, 2008.
jeff saturday,
They still -have- a Mortgage Broker’s Association? I would’ve thought they’d have all migrated toward debt settlement firms or morphed ( as they so easily do ) into something else?
What they really should call themselves is “The Next Big Thing/Easy Money Association”.
They got a bunch of people to jump for that $8,000.00, but I think they stopped jumping.
Drove to Knoxville TN from Norfolk VA last weekend for a little hacker conference. I noticed home / trailer sales lots with huge banners draped over the homes advertising $8000 off.
Hey everybody. Wish us a happy 142 B-Day in the great white. Oh yea. It’s different here. Take off eh.
Its a great time to buy a hoose.
Yes..”Buy Now” before my commission fountain completely drys up and both me and the poor little squirrels all die of hunger and thirst.
Happy Canada Day up there!
Started my cruise. Should hit Ottowa in two weeks.
“Started my cruise. Should hit Ottawa in two weeks.”
J E A L O U S
I have a few recommendations if you’re agreeable:
* Do not go to the casino in Gatineau
* Do check at Byward Market
* Elgin “cultural district” overrated
* Chateau Laurier is worth walking through/around
* Bagel joint on Elgin that serves the most Canadianified food item I have ever tasted is amazing. It was something like maple cream cheese on a moose bagel.
* Don’t let anyone try to impress you with Alanis and Trebek references.
BTW, Blue, once you pass the stadium on the canal, all of those townhouses are part of Ottawa’s version of the “Gold Coast.” Let us know if you see a bunch of “Le Foreclosure!” signs hanging off those million dollar condos!
If the waterways of Oh, Canada are anything like Florida, you’ll be seeing a lot of ‘em.
Is Byward Market the farmers’ market?
I recall visiting a market that sold produce that looked like it was grown in God’s own garden. We rode bikes along a river trail, went to a summer jazz fest…Ottawa was so nice.
Blue Sky should go to the Bluesfest. It isn’t really the blues, anything from Cape Breton fiddlers to KISS. I suggest renting bikes to get around, Bike paths along the rivers and canal are pleasant ways to get around and it is so much easier to find your way in a city when you can stop at any time to look around and get your bearings.
Half of my ancestors grew up on little farms 50 miles from Ottawa. Way cool country and people. Go Rideau Canal. Go Ferriers. Go Lumstens. Go curling. Go Smiths Falls. Go Perth. Go Sam Jakes Inn in Merrickville. Go Gananoque. Go. Seriously
“maple cream cheese on a moose bagel.”
What is a moose bagel?
The Dollar Tree retail chain sells maple cream, leaf shaped sandwich cookies, that are out of this world. I’m hooked.
A moose bagel sounds like a relative of a cow pie.
Trebek is Canadian? Whodanonde.
Have fun, Blue!
Tell us the exciting details, too!
Hosehead!
I’ll have to call my crazy canuck cousins to celebrate.
Madoff got 150 years. AIG got $150 billion. Is there any difference in the crimes committed?
Madoff didn’t make any campaign contributions.
lol
Madoff didn’t make any campaign contributions.
+1 LMAO!
LOL…
There is one big difference, though: corporations never get put in jail.
That’s a problem that needs to be remedied, IMO. Either corporations need to be suspended from doing business for a certain amount of time (equivilent of going to jail), or executives/individuals at the company responsible for the illegal behavior should be personally liable.
No kidding. Corporations get all the rights of an individual but none of the responsibilities. Kill a bunch of people by poisoning a river? A person gets the chair. A corp gets a cease-and-desist letter.
They should throw the entire Board of Directors of offending companies in jail.
That’s a problem that needs to be remedied, IMO. Either corporations need to be suspended from doing business for a certain amount of time (equivilent of going to jail), or executives/individuals at the company responsible for the illegal behavior should be personally liable.
As with many things - there are already laws in the books for these things, they just are enforced.
In this case - it’s called bankruptcy and liquidation. That seems to be a *great* way to suspend a company from doing business.
Something AIG should have gone through about 8 months ago.
Google “piercing the corporate veil”.
In some cases even the shareholders can be held personally liable.
In this case - it’s called bankruptcy and liquidation.
But that only happens as a result of civil action, not criminal. What I’m talking about is criminal action, prosecuted by the state.
“As with many things - there are already laws in the books for these things, they just are enforced.”
I think you’re missing a key word there.
I think you’re missing a key word there.
Doh - yeah meant “aren’t” enforced.
“Corporations get all the rights of an individual but none of the responsibilities.”
A corporation is set up from the beginning to encourage risky and immoral behavior. If it gets away with it, management (and possibly shareholders) win big. If not, too bad for creditors and tort victims.
So who still wants to defend corporate charters and state corporation laws? Polly?
If the US gov is pumping cash to support the banks toxic assets, why do you need AIG to insure them anymore? There must be far more assets than the gov can cover.
I would LOVE to see AIG go down, and they can take their bonuses with them.
I would LOVE to see AIG go down, and they can take their bonuses with them.
Wouldn’t that be “bonii”?
oxide,
I think they just did a 20 for 1 reverse split. THAT will solve all their problems! ?
Surprised no one noted that Dennis Kozlowski is still rotting away in prison for doing 1/1,000th of what these clowns pulled. Like DK said, “I’ll bet they wish they could have their $10,000 shower curtain back?”
Sheila Bair’s excellent plan to wait out the RE market:
“An FDIC spokesman said Ms. Bair decided to remove the listing and wait for the market to improve on the advice of her real-estate agent.”
On the advice of her real-estate agent, no less!! BWAAAHAHAA!! And these shmucks are calling the plays in this game?!?
Maybe she will rent it out as well.
I think that she is…
“The family will continue to lease the house to its tenants. Ms. Bair and her family currently rent a house in Maryland”
Opps, forgot to put in “at a loss”.
Darn, and she seemed fairly sensible to me.
Guess even the head of the FDIC thinks “Its different here”…
According to Massachusettes Land Records, Ms. Bair paid $355,000 for the property in 2002. The full mortgage of $306,000 was discharged in 2003.
I’m wondering if she really saw this coming if she feels the property is now worth $695,000.
Actual interview with Mr Bair below. She is truely ignorant when it comes to housing (and as posted before, she seeks advice from Realtors).
“Bair: There are a lot of unnecessary foreclosures going on that are creating further downward pressure on home prices. So, we really think that preventing unnecessary foreclosures has got to be a top priority.
Moderator: Can you walk me through your plan?
Bair: Basically the idea is to do some loss sharing. . . our proposal would be for the government to share those losses 50-50 with investors.”
Oh, I forgot to add psycho, self interested and dangerous as hell.
There is an article on Sheila Bair in this week’s New Yorker magazine. The Contrarian. It can be read on their website.
She noticed problems in the mortgage market in 2001!
And bought in 2002!
She noticed problems in the mortgage market in 2001!
Yeah supposedly so did the Bush admin in 2003 - yet went right on pushing the “ownership society” initiatives.
Lip service.
Lip service.
Meant to add - “and CYA”.
Politicians/economists/etc. can “discover” and “point out” problems all they want, but unless their either shout out from the rooftops or actually do something about them, it’s usually for CYA purposes.
To be fair ( and I’m not a fan of either ) but only ardent bubble bloggers seemed aware something was amiss in 2001-2002. AFAIK, there wasn’t even such an organized “movement” at the time? Just those among us that suspected homes ’shouldn’t’ be accelerating at these rates.
Obviously she had the resources to pay it off.
As you point out, after 9/11 business shut down and George told us to go shopping. I started a retail side biz in town and ALL biz was slow. Hotels were giving huge reductions and so on.2001-2002 I felt there was a huge change in the shoppers psyche. It was as if we as a nation ignored our grief and shock and covered it up with shopping-personally I cover up with chocolate. The housing situation blew wide open in 03 with GW pushing home ownership and it was BUY BUY BUY BUY ad nauseum.
People who had garage sales were suddenly expecting huge prices for their used stuff/ ‘antikes’ because of the proliferation of our favorite tv shows on hgtv and the Antiques Roadshow.
-personally I cover up with chocolate.
“As you point out, after 9/11 business shut down and George told us to go shopping. ”
Part of that was from cocooning as a reaction to 9/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocooning
connection with 9/11:
http://www.retailwire.com/discussions/Sngl_Discussion.cfm/13439
I remember “cocooning” to escape from terrorism being used as a reason for people to fall in love with their own homes back in 2001. Then they fell in love with homes in general when they realized the cap gains tax breaks from home ownership. Loose Greenspan credit accelerated this into a frenzy, and …”voila!”
Now people are cocooning again because of the recession, but they are leading less happy lives than in 2002 because they are understanding real estate does not always go up!
Amusing article about NAR’s campaign against honest appraisals: “Cheating still beats real work”
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KG02Dj01.html
A great article. Worth reading to the end.
I love these Brit writers, so darn elegant and snarky:
“With real-estate speculation marbled into American life like fat on a chucksteak, you had to know that these guys would be playing the media like a Stradivarius. CNBC, aka Bubble TV, has gone full tilt anti-HVCC. In the Seattle Times, reporter Aubrey Cohen wrote that “Faulty appraisals may be adding to real estate woes”, using the standard template of news-you-can-use breathlessness that shapes American media coverage of local news from the city council to alleged improper weed spraying at the off-leash dog park.
Where is the battle going? Where else, but to the US Congress, America’s glorious 24-hour all-the-morality-and-integrity-you-can-sell buffet. NAR seems to have dropped a quantity of Gucci-shod arm-twisters into Washington in an airborne action not seen in this size since allied paratroopers blanketed Normandy on D-Day. Their goal is an 18-month moratorium on further implementation of HVCC; that will give them time to kill it once and for all.”
Short appraisal and declining values story…
Casino operator bought a five acre property with older 3,000 sq ft home for $1 million in the semi-country but close to town. This was in 2007. Didn’t like it, turned around to sell, after investing tons to modernize the home and build a four-car garage. Anyway, listed at $1 million, dropped periodically by different agents. Recently, it was in the 800,000s. No offers. Don’t know all the details here, but they got a new appraisal. Appraised at $786,000. Many could argue that is still too high, and I believe the owner is about to accept an offer in the 6s. Zoning density is one house per five, and increasing that to boost the value of the parcel would be all but impossible, mostly because it is served by well water. But how a 1970s house on five acres of dry, rolling, unbuildable land could have been appraised at $1 million previously is beyond me. Probably the same old song: It appraised for the purchase price. And i don’t think you could stable horses in the barn, which is filled with ATVs and other noise makers.
I love these Brit writers, so darn elegant and snarky:
That’s a great write-up. Thanks.
Yep, fraud is America’s largest industry!
Sterling Crisis Looms as U.K. Unraveling Points to Budget Cuts
By William Green
June 30 (Bloomberg) — The state of the U.K. economy fills British financial historian Niall Ferguson with foreboding.
“The probability of a real sterling crisis is around one in three, and the probability of major tax hikes and cuts in public spending is roughly one in one,” the Harvard University professor says.
Ferguson’s concern stems from the deterioration in the U.K.’s public finances, which prompted Standard & Poor’s to warn on May 21 that the country could lose its AAA debt rating. The firm estimated the cost of propping up Britain’s banks at 100 billion pounds ($166 billion) to 145 billion pounds and said government debts could double to almost 100 percent of gross domestic product by 2013.
In posting my own “blame” list yesterday (kind of late), a couple of responses came up the piqued my interest, that I wanted to follow up on.
james - you mentioned something about changes in reserve requirements on the banks - even on demand accounts (checking etc.). Got any details/links? I hadn’t heard about that.
Housing Wizard - you mentioned about pension funds being underfunded, contributing to pumping up of stock values. I’m not sure if this would have actually contributed to the housing bubble, instead moreso to the stock market bubble that preceded the housing market bubble (stock market bubble really started in the late 80’s). But I’m up for discussion. Also I’m wondering if you have any specifics on pension underfunding - we’re seeing all kinds of articles about it now, but that’s driven by the very bad performance of the pension assets, not necessarily by specific underfunding.
packman, see my post for the link to the Goldman-Sachs article. We could just as well take all the blame items and roll them into one.
After reading Taibbi’s article (it wasn’t easy), I felt nothing but cold fury, realizing that every time I fill my tank during a gas price run up, I’m profiting the wastes of flesh at Goldman Sachs.
Yah, people were stupid. But seeing how much manipulation and finacial engineering this firm has done over the decades, and the misery it has wrought, makes me realize it can’t be allowed to survive. GS makes Madoff look like a piker.
Yeah I saved that the other day - haven’t had a chance to read it yet. GS appears to be the prime culprit in many aspects, but to a certain extent I think that they’re taking the heat for other entities. They’re more overt than a lot of other companies that seem to be profiting from this mess - JPM, Blackrock, etc. I’m wondering if that’s an intentional red herring. Maybe not - it just seems odd. With all this media coverage Goldman Sachs quite possibly will end up with the legacy of “the company that took down the American empire” - and I’m thinking if so it’ll be somewhat misplaced.
I felt the same way you did. Until I read the article. Indeed, other firms seem to be profiting, but there’s sort of an interlocking web of relationships.
Firms such as Goldman are nothing new on the planet. “Merchant Bankers” have been at it for centuries, driving countries into war and lending to both sides and taking their profits on the backs of the working citizens of those countries.
“I felt the same way you did. Until I read the article.”
Funny, I felt the same way—even after reading the article.
I have no doubt that Goldman is responsible for manipulation of markets; what I doubt, though, is that the rest of wall street is any less guilty. My guess is that all the large investment banks are complicit in it.
palmy, what made you think they were uniquely culpable?
Henry Paulson, Neal Kashkari, John Corzine, Larry Summers, Robert Rubin, etc., etc.
Goldman Sachs IS Wall Street anymore. Paulson played Caeser, with the “thumbs up, thumbs down” bailout show. Taibbi connects the dots and has done a masterful job. Good Lawd amighty, can you say “Ken Lewis and Merrill Lynch”?
One of the author’s main points was the Goldman/Government nexus.
However, it’s an awful lot of evil to confront in that article, and people cannot do anything about anything until they can confront it. Which is why we have the problems and wrong answers we do as regards the economy. I haven’t confronted it fully myself yet.
Exactly. They are uniquely culpable due to the fact that it’s THEIR alumni that is now running this country.
Also I’m wondering if you have any specifics on pension underfunding - we’re seeing all kinds of articles about it now, but that’s driven by the very bad performance of the pension assets, not necessarily by specific underfunding.
Hi, Packman. Obviously, I’m not Housing Wizard, but I’ll butt in…
You’re an accounting type, right? So I’ll focus on the acct. You’re familiar with the convoluted GAAP for pension accounting. FAS 87 was just absolutely ridiculous. It is the best example ever that the FASB is not truly independent and is as susceptible to lobbying as any government entity. Complete travesty. FAS 158 fixes some, not all, of the problems, but was much, much too late. For years, companies have gotten away with ridiculous return assumptions and not having to record a true-up of any magnitude (thanks to “smoothing”). So bringing the unfunded obligation on B/S is one part of the pain… Fixing the crazy assumptions underlying the calculation of the unfunded obligation is another. Most assumed returns north of 8%. Nuts. Just insane. Especially when we are likely to be the new Japan, with super low returns for a very long time to come, thanks to the Fed. I’m a very strong believer in the importance of accounting principles. The way we keep score has implications beyond what most people realize. These aren’t just technicalities. Why did companies agree to outrageous pensions and other PBOs? Because it was painless. It was free. (At least according to someone just looking at the financials.)
Well when the bubbles are blowing, everybody wants to mark to market, and when they’re bursting, every want smoothing.
Actually I’m not an accountant person at all - I’m an engineer, collecting this on the side for my own information/analysis (seriously - I’m a masochist that way). I like to see the big picture - at least try to see as much of it as I can. In reality I friggin’ hate accounting.
I get the gist of what you’re saying - basically they’re underfunded due to bad/optimistic assumptions about returns. Thanks for some of the specifics - I’ll cache it and perhaps look deeper later.
Back to my one point though - I’m wondering about how this might actually contribute to the housing bubble. Perhaps this?: since people thought they had more saved than they really did, they went ahead and spent more free cash now (e.g. on housing) instead of socking it away for retirement in other investments - IRAs etc. Is that what maybe you or Housing Wizard were thinking?
I’m wondering about how this might actually contribute to the housing bubble.
Well, I think it was a factor because the pension funds were chasing yield. So, they were an enabler, buying up “risk-free” assets with high returns. Turns out they weren’t risk-free in any way shape or form (this is where rating agencies come into play, I suppose).
I don’t think it makes them complicit. Just a factor.
My question is why a pension fund should be relying on any return at all? MHO is that pensions should be fully-funded. Any return should simply be to preserve the purchasing power of the payouts relative to inflation. That would imply that pensions should be indexed to inflation like SS is (yes, I know that CPI is BS and under reported).
Hmm - well that’s true - I forgot that many (all?) pensions invested a lot in MBS, and therefore perhaps drove up yields faster than than they should have been. But hasn’t this always been the case? And why wouldn’t this same behavior apply to other classes?
Or maybe it does apply to other classes - e.g. equities, commodities, etc. The implication there though is that the pension fund managers are stupid - that they’re generally behind the game and buy things only *after* they’ve provided high yields.
This may actually be true - and stepping back - is true for probably most other funds and even retail investors. This to me is a big downside to “indirect investing” (a term I just now came up with - no idea if it’s a valid term). As investing becomes more complex, and people start investing more in “funds” as opposed to individual stocks, they start getting “behind the curve” because they just don’t have as much visibility into the inner workings of their investments.
For instance years ago someone would invest directly in company A, and if they saw the stock price go up 30% in one year but earnings not so much, they’d get skittish and sell. But now no one invests directly in company A - they investing in companies A-Z in some mutual fund, or pension fund, or index fund, or whatever. Then if the fund itself goes up 30% they figure it must just be a great fund - it’s not as easy to look into the details to see if it’s really overvalued or not. So they hold onto it longer than they should. Meanwhile other investors swarm into this fund after seeing it performing really well - also based only on past performance not actually on fundamental value.
This causes more of a whip-saw effect - where larger bubbles are created than would otherwise be.
FWIW - I’m beginning to really really hate mutual funds and index funds, and 401k’s, in large part for this reason. I moved my last 401k into an IRA and am doing direct brokerage trading of individual stocks mostly.
The implication there though is that the pension fund managers are stupid - that they’re generally behind the game and buy things only *after* they’ve provided high yields.
it’s not that the fund managers are..it’s that those invested in the funds are.
Fund managers (pensions, endowments, etc) get a % of the money they’re managing, usually, as I understand it. If the market tanks and the fund is down 30%, they already got theirs..they’re not personally on the hook for the losses. And, I doubt there’s a high risk of them losing their jobs for swirling the toilet bowl with the average investor (anecdotal proof: went on a date with a girl who works for a non-profit. She went on and on about how good the person managing the endowment was, even though they were down 30% for the year).
Getting a % of the “winnings” is icing on the cake for these guys. Like CEOs, they get their money regardless.
It’s the people investing in mutual funds based on past performance, and endowments/pension funds apparently not caring about the performance of their managers (hey, the taxpayer’ll just pick up the tab!) that are the stupid ones.
Oh, and the employees of said companies who accept their pension “benefits” at face value (based on the promise), rather than evaluating whether the company can really pay it out, and instead asking to be compensated in other, more realistic ways (kinda like taking stock options instead of cash/salary..it’s a gamble…future value isn’t guaranteed).
Not to butt in, but most of us accountants are butts.
AC is right about the lack of a true accounting allowed for years for pension obligations that were underfunded. The true cost of pension obligations were never reflected in p&l only in notes.
The underfunding of pension obligation was the employers part of the retirement cost (normally defined benefit plans), so it probably did not have an effect on wealth/house purchasing. Ultimately, the companies have to fund the plans or file BR. GM is poster child for underfunded pensions and underfunded post-employment benefit obligations (ex. health insurance for retirees).
” so it probably did not have an effect on wealth/house purchasing.”
Well, yes and no. If the guys currenly in their late 40’s to early 50’s had any idea how likely the companies were to go under with failed pension funds, they might have saved a bit more. Maybe not. It is hard to get out of the “the company took care of my dad, it’ll take care of me too” mind set, but there is a chance.
how likely the companies were to go under with failed pension funds
These days why do they have to worry? The taxpayer has their back with the pension guarantee corp, no? (isn’t that what it’s called?)
Yes the PBGC - that would be the entity that announced they’re $33.5 Billion in the hole a few weeks ago, because they shifted most of their assets to stocks right before the market collapsed. Doh.
And yeah - more on the taxpayer’s back.
“……how this might contribute to the housing bubble.”
-Pensions chasing MBSs, CDSs, anything with inflated/unsustainable returns. This allowed them to underfund pensions (why put up actual cast, when we are getting such great ROI?).
-Like Polly said, if you knew your pension was going poof! tomorrow, you might save a little more (assuming that your income was keeping pace) and buy a little less house. OTOH, you could also say the crappy pensions made a house look like a better investment for the future.
-All this great “management” by the suits was paid for with inflated incomes and bonuses, a lot of which was spent chasing/bidding on high end real estate. Check out NYC for an example.
I’m sure I can think of other reasons……
Defined-benefit pensions really don’t “fail”. If a person is vested, they are guaranteed 80% of their pension up to a certain, rather high limit, according to a little booklet from the feds I used to have. The Pension Guarantee Corp. probably won’t be allowed to fail, just like Social Security probably won’t be allowed to fail. If they can bail out AIG’s sorry ass, they can bail out two federal agencies, I’m sure.
how this might actually contribute to the housing bubble.
Because it becomes politically impossible to let asset bubbles deflate. It is necessary to support them at all cost. Without asset bubbles, pensioners will never see what they were promised. And taxpayers are the biggest employer and pension provider. So they would be screwed. This is why AARP lobbyists get involved in all of this nonsense (TARP et al.). They conveniently forget about the effect on the next generation of retirees. But it’s not really the fault of older people, even though they have benefited on the backs of younger people. Pretty much everyone now things that assets should magically appreciate. Asset price increases should only be relative (i.e., relative to the price of another asset whose price is going down, or relative to a nominal amount of the currency, due to inflation). If asset prices as a whole rise beyond this, it is inter-generational theft. It is the rare person who sees through all the “8% average return over the long-run” nonsense and figures this out. Most people on this blog have figured it out, at least with respect to housing. But the sheep will never vote for someone who supports letting it all come down to reasonable and sustainable levels. They are brainwashed to think people deserve to get rich simply from holding onto assets. And please note that I am not saying this makes investors obsolete. I do not think it is immoral to short over-valued assets or buy undervalued assets and then make money off of that if/when the market comes to its senses. That money is earned. But it should be a zero-sum game. If index funds are going up faster than inflation, Houston, there is a problem. So why do most people think that is normal?
Anyway, that’s my rant for today.
My other post hasn’t shown up yet, but I’m sure it will. P.S. to that post: Sorry that I assumed you were an accountant-type. Someone on this blog was studying for the CPA exam, and I thought I remembered it being you.
MBA Purchase Applications report for this morning:
Mortgage applications are not among the indicators signaling improvement for the housing sector. MBA’s mortgage applications index fell a steep 4.5 percent in the June 26 week to 267.7. The refinancing index, after spiking during the spring on record low mortgage rates, is back at a year-and-a-half low at 1,482.2, down 30 percent in the week. Mortgage rates are coming back down after jumping in early June with 30-year fixed loans averaging 5.34 percent for a 10 basis point decline in the week. Further declines in mortgage rates would help boost home buying and refinancing. This report won’t move the markets though it is troubling. Watch for both pending home sales and construction spending at 10:00 ET today.
I’m guessing that this morning’s big jump in treasury yields isn’t going to help much with that “decline in mortgage rates” thing. June’s home sales report I’m thinking is going to be baaaaadddd, with things not looking so hot for July either.
So mortgage applications are down yet
WASHINGTON (AP) — A private group says pending home sales rose in May for the fourth straight month, fresh evidence that the housing sector may be recovering.
The National Association of Realtors says that its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales increased by 0.1 percent to 90.7. Analysts expected no change, according to Thomson Reuters.
The NAR attributes the increase to lower home prices and the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit that was included in the Obama administration’s stimulus package.
The pending home sales index, which tracks signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes, is now 6.7 percent higher than in May 2008, when it was 85.
I guess all those pending home sales will be made with cash???
Mortgage interest rates were down at their lowest rates ever in April and May.
Now that rates are back up, at least some - let’s see how June’s (bad) and July’s (worse) sales numbers go.
historical reference
Borrowing from future sales.
Haven’t they been borrowing from future sales for about 8 years now? And they wonder why no one’s buying. News flash: The only money left is smart money. And smart money ain’t buying, because it’s smart.
Good question. I’ve wondered myself (e.g. see the very first post in today’s bits bucket) - is it actually feasible for interest rates to stay low forever? Or perhaps to slowly trickle up over the period of say 30-50 years? What would be the penalty of this?
Normally the penalty of extremely low rates is inflation - but that’s not triggered by the low rates themselves, it’s triggered by the transition from high to low, and it happens in a relatively normal economy that can afford to add on some new debt.
Being that we’re truly at a different place now - with rates that have been very low for a long time (see chart), and with a debt load that’s just overwhelming - keeping interest rates very low won’t trigger nearly has much new debt as it otherwise would, and thus won’t cause inflation as it otherwise would.
Thus, as long as rates stay low - we’re constantly borrowing from the future when rates finally go up - but that future may never actually get here!
(P.S. I realize that I’m actually making an argument for continued deflation. The wildcard here though is the Federal government, which can borrow from the Fed Res no problem until the cows come home, with newly-created money. Their borrowing isn’t triggered at all by the incentive of low interest rates, but by the desires of the politicians pandering to stupid voters.)
What would be the penalty of this?
Instability of the economy. People will end up chasing yield, making riskier bets.
OR
lowered velocity of money.
If you have 100k in liquid savings, what are you going to do with it when the feds fund rate is 0.5%? Take your ~1% interest and like it? Pull the money out of the bank because there’s no benefit? Or invest in something more risky to try to preserve real purchasing power relative to *real* inflation?
Personally, I’m close to pulling all my cash out of the bank. If I’m getting ~0%, I’d rather just have the money sitting in gold bars or some other physical commodity.
The best investment right now is to spend your money on things that will decrease your demand in the future. I have 10 year supply of clothes shoes coats ect, all the tools I will ever need, a pile of bikes, an electric car, and when I buy a house you’ll be able to heat it with a candle. We have many areas deflating. I got my car for 60% off as they needed cash. I will buy my house for half of what I would have paid a couple of years ago. The price of solar power is coming down and I’ll likely install panels that may not make financial sense now but when inflation and taxation rise the guaranteed tax free return will be exellent.
spend your money on things that will decrease your demand in the future
Good thinking. Unfortunately, in a one bedroom apartment, I don’t have all that much room to store 10 years worth of food, clothes, shoes, tp, etc.
“The NAR attributes”
If you want to find a misleading statement.., just start there.
No kidding. You hear that the San Diego house sale rates have to be revised because of a “glitch”. It is in the WSJ.
“The California Realtors have reported that San Diego sales in April were up about 63% from a year earlier. Mr. Kleinhenz said that is expected to be revised downward to a gain of about 20%.
For May, the group reported an 89% increase in sales in San Diego; that will be slashed to about 6.5%, the economist said.”
LOL. Here’s the link.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124638992043975185.html
Roidy
This is one reason that even if price of a house falls to very cheap levels, one should be careful about buying any pad built during the boom crazy years:
WSJ
Cracked Houses: What the Boom Built
Robert and Kay Lynn lay in bed shortly after closing on their new home in the Blue Oaks subdivision in Rancho Murieta, Calif., abutting an 18-hole golf course. They were listening to the “pop, pop, pop” of what they thought were acorns falling onto the roof.
The Lynns soon realized those were not acorns dropping on the roof.
“Little did we know it was the house cracking,” says Mrs. Lynn, 67 years old. Mr. Lynn, 68, says they bought the property in 2002 for $357,000 as a weekend home and an investment. The stucco house was moving and shifting, with part of it subtly pitching toward the golf course, resulting in cracks and fissures in the walls, ceiling and floors, the couple says.
………………
At the height of the boom in 2005, more than two million houses were built in the U.S., according to the National Association of Home Builders, a trade group. Criterium Engineers, a national building-inspection firm, estimates that 17% of newly constructed houses built in 2006 had at least two significant defects, up from 15% in 2003.
Our former (sold the pos) garage mahal was built in 1998 and it was delivered in dreadful shape too. It took 18 months post move in for the builder to fix all the issues. If we got a windy rain, the water came through the walls, not to mention a host of other equaly challenging issues. The inspectors were paid off pre bubble era, imo.
equally- typing fast
awaiting wipeout,
( And might want to think about changing your screen name? )
That’s surprising. My general rule-of-thumb was to not even bother looking at anything built, bought or re-financed from 2000 on! Now even 1998 const. isn’t clear of rampant defects? Must feel like an auto mfr. realizing the “recall” is broader than they suspected? Oops.
DinOR-
The builders were using lots of illegals with little or no experience back in 1996 going forward. Our first McMansion was built in 1984 and was delivered with 1 week of minor repairs, and 14 years later, the house sold in great shape. Our second newly built garage mahal (twice the size, hse and garage) was a nightmare. We almost had to have the builder replace our conservatory grand piano. Luckily, we found a good restorer.What a freakin nightmare.
bloodbath is finally starting in vienna, va. an area my wife and i are planning on buying a home.
most the 50s style ramblers are being bought and torn down to build new homes. i see a couple of homes on the market for below 300k…which is about 2000-2001 prices. they were 550 to 600k at the height of the market.
wife and i are signing a new year lease. i figure by next summer we may be ready to go.
If people can afford to pay 300K just for the lot and can afford to tear down the existing house and build a new one, there is hardly “a bloodbath” going on. Here’s the operative question — would you want to live in one of those sub-300K tear-downs?
I’m struck by how few “For Sale” signs I’m seeing around Fairfax/Vienna. I believe some folks are trying to hold on until the market turns around. We’ll see how that works out.
vienna is very close to tyson’s corner. the ramblers were selling for a little below 300k in 2000/2001.
pretty good drop in prices if you ask me. i am sure they will be less next summer though.
A “tear-down” is a matter of perspective. Often, they are well built, with real plaster walls and built-in cabinetry, and if lucky, nice tilework. Sure, they might need some updating, but oh my, there’s no granite or 3,000 square feet or vast entry atrium. I’d buy one of these older homes in a heart beat if the sellers didn’t price them so dearly.
Walking around my neighborhood in San Jose, it breaks my heart to see all the cookie cutter housing (many McMansions that are so out of place as to be ridiculous) built amid all the single story homes full of character and charm.
Builders had to have been paying off someone in the local government, because evidently building 2 story homes that look directly into someone else’s garden seems to be Ok for San Jose.
Testify! Frowny frowny face!
Well I remember when those houses around Cottage Street and environs were selling for $20K but that was the early 1970s. But there are some now for ~$300K. Yep down from $500K - $600K during the absolute height. But for you nolstalgic types there still are some for sale for $500K - $600K. What are these people smoking ? But that’s the case in one of my target markets 20008 in NW DC. Very nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment condos. $600K. No parking. And NO THANKS.
Ok, I am panicking.
I just ID’d and killed a brown widow by my front door. Floridians, biologists, anybody, please advise!
I am going to burn this house to the ground, and I don’t even hold the mortgage, and it’s not upside down.
AND the freaking wolf spider is still lurking about my couch.
Muggy 0
Freaky Arachnids 2
Seriously, when I move, I am going to stuff a upack container full of my families’ chit, bug bomb it, irradiate it, microwave it, hypersonic blast it, then set it on fire, then kill it, then ship it.
Seriously, when I move, I am going to stuff a upack container full of my families’ chit, bug bomb it, irradiate it, microwave it, hypersonic blast it, then set it on fire, then kill it, then ship it.
That methodology may zap the arachnids, but it won’t get the Florida cockroaches.
“That methodology may zap the arachnids, but it won’t get the Florida cockroaches.”
Bay News 9 story for a year from now:
Pinellas County Deputies question family of four seen running up highway 275 nude. Father claims, “he’s had enough of Florida” and cited spiders and roaches as the reason for, “abandoning his families’ possessions,” including garments.
The father then mentioned something about Evergreen State College and letting it, “all hang out” before being tased.
Then family reportedly has rented since 2005, and will be o.k.
“That methodology may zap the arachnids, but it won’t get the Florida cockroaches.”
I think the black widow is the state bird of (southern) Nevada
The father then mentioned something about Evergreen State College and letting it, “all hang out” before being tased.
I just did a google image search of “wolf spider”, OMG that is one nasty beast.
My friend’s neighbor has an AK-47, would you like to borrow?
I think you’d get better coverage with a flamethrower. While an AK-47 may be able to fire many rounds, you still have to be accurate.
With a flamethrower, accuracy is less vital
Ooooohhhh - my favorites!
AK’s; Flamers!!
Aaaah -
Best ever - the laser flame throwing amber heat seaking wisps of the - oops.
Must. Be. Nice.
Har!
Leigh
Cmon guys,
Wolf spiders are running around here like ants….
Ever see a wolf spider fight a scorpion? The scorpion always loses..
Here a good slide show about black widows and brown recluses.
http://www.medicinenet.com/black_widow_brown_recluse_pictures_slideshow/article.htm
As a kid at Ohio summer camps, we were always counseled about black widows and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Do you have any cats? You need to get a better ecosystem going in your house….
Good idea.
Flies from dairies 10 miles away find their way into our house. The cat, at 5 not a spry kitty, nevertheless nails about all of the invaders.
Can’t you just squash the wolf spider? I get big azz spiders in my house. I either bugzooka them (seriously - look it up - I love that product) or, if too big for bugzooka, they get squashed. Sorry, but they should know not to enter my house if they really want to live.
“I just ID’d and killed a brown widow”
I’m reporting you for a hate crime.
be glad it wasn’t Orange, or you could have been arrested for killing an insect on the endangered species list….LOL
On a more serious note, I’ve never heard of “brown widow” spiders. There’s Black Widows and Brown Recluse spiders, both pretty vicious. We had an infestation of black widows in our detached garage in Ruskin during 2004. We sprayed the nests (the eggs have distinct characteristics, spiky exteriors) and disposed of them. Same with Mama, we got ‘er.
I didn’t know wolf spiders were a threat, though. We’ve had them from time to time. I thought they were fairly benign, just ugly.
HOLY CRAP. I just killed another adult and smashed three sacs around my front door frame! I only know there are brown widows because I researched widows after I found a bunch of spiders that looked like green widows by my grill. Turns out those are harmless Orchard spiders, but the brown ones are the real deal. Who knows how long they’ve been here.
ACK, and I have only inspected my front porch area!!!
I dont mean to scare you but when a kid a big Wolf spider was on my bed. I started screaming and my dad hit it with a newpaper. What appeared to be 1000s of tiny spiders then engulfed my bed. Apparently the kids ride on mom’s back, and they have a hell of a lot of kids. I now have a serious phobia.
Apparently the kids ride on mom’s back, and they have a hell of a lot of kids
Sounds like something you should go after with an aerosol can and a lighter. Yuck!
For sheets and the like - a few hours in a freezer will kill any critters and their eggs. I do it with yarn I buy,just in case.
Helps with fleas too.
I knew it.
The only way outta this mess is day trading triple-leveraged inverse ETFs and arson.
Wow Muggy!…that would make the fuzzy fur on my arms stand on end when I tried to sleep at night.
Yikesss…what was THAT !?!
Well, it is Florida and you do have the sunshine in the morning…IF you make it that far.
lol
Hmm, sounds pretty normal to me. Try living in Louisiana for interesting critters.
Roidy
Although the bite of a widow spider is much feared, the widow spiders are generally non-aggressive and will retreat when disturbed. Bites usually occur when a spider becomes accidentally pressed against the skin of a person when putting on clothes or sticking their hands in recessed areas or dark corners. According to Dr. G.B. Edwards, an arachnologist with the Florida State Collection of Arthropods in Gainesville, the brown widow venom is twice as potent as black widow venom. However, they do not inject as much venom as a black widow, are very timid, and do not defend their web. The brown widow is also slightly smaller than the black widow.
Here in Yucaipa CA. we have Millions of Black Widow spiders I just kill them when they get in the house. Just so you know there are about 2million spiders of different species per acre. The bug factor goes up exponentially somewhere in the neighborhood of 10s of billions per acre. You living in Florida does not help.
In Denver I see about one spider per year. While here, I haven’t seen a roach or been bitten by a bug in 4 years.
Well, Muggy, if it makes you feel any better, according to Native American folklore, spiders represent protection from storms (and hurricane season in FL is coming soon!).
One wives tale says that if a bride-to-be finds a spider on her wedding dress, she and her future husband will be wealthy. I cheated on this one - I sewed a silver spider charm onto my gown. And look… now we’re happy renters!
I cheated on this one - I sewed a silver spider charm onto my gown. And look… now we’re happy renters!
Oooh, cool, Kim.
I’m going to remember that, I love folk traditions and customs. I hope it continues to work for you.
I like spiders a lot, myself. Which is lucky because in the late summer here all of a sudden it seems like a zillion pale-orange spiders emerge and spin pretty little round webs EVERYWHERE. I mean, everywhere, festooned between every single freakin’ tree in the entire freakin’ forest, with an especial concentration of them at the exact height of my forest-trotting face. They come in varying sizes, from tiny to some with bodies the size of marbles. They never bite, though, no matter what size. They just hastily drop and run away. I was up at the mail-box last year when three middle-school kids got off the bus and headed for home and we were chatting and introducing ourselves to each other when I spotted a great big orange one in the middle of the asphalt, and it looked kinda parched and dispirited so I picked it up and tossed it lightly into a nice cool shrub, still chatting, and the girl went ape-p00p. I mean, seriously ape-p00p, started screaming and ran away down the road toward where I guess her house was, shedding notebooks and cell-phones and everything. The boys and I just stared after her with our mouths open. It was pretty amazing.
)
(Much like what our dear giant Muggy plans on doing, except she had her clothes on.
So you know, though, I of course would not pick up a black or brown widow, as I’m not an idjit.
Was she trying to get you to join her cult or something? That seems like a pretty strong reaction!
Bugs are pretty much the #1 reason why I would never live in Florida.
Termites, fleas and cockroaches seem to be pretty rare in Montana.
The widow should be Black with a red shape on its tummy like a hour glass.
Good luck.
Found a Crab Spider on my ceiling as I was turning out the lights..
Research shows crab spiders feed in your a/c ducts on the bugs, but since we are now using the A/c, the critter came out.YIKES>
Good luck Mugster.
PS. you are not alone in your fear. I just saw a grown man whimper. I like spiders, just not snakes.Hmmm
Palm Beach County paid more than $23 million in 2008 overtime - $65,796 to one fire captain
By ANDY REID, BRIAN HAAS and DANA WILLIAMS
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A worsening Palm Beach County budget squeeze leaves a political showdown looming for county commissioners and the sheriff over how to rein in overtime and other personnel expenses.
Palm Beach County taxpayers paid more than $23 million in overtime to employees in county departments, fire-rescue and the Sheriff’s Office in 2008 - with almost half going to the Sheriff’s Office alone.
But with tax revenues dropping due to a struggling economy, county officials will have to decide whether to boost property tax rates to cover expenses, cut services or change the way they do business.
“The sheriff’s overall compensation costs are a huge part of the county budget,” County Administrator Bob Weisman said. “It’s something that has to be dealt with or you can’t control costs.”
The employees in the parks department, zoning office and other branches of county government directly controlled by the commission averaged about $915 each in overtime.
By comparison, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office averaged about $2,933 in overtime per employee. Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue’s per-employee overtime costs were the highest in the county, averaging about $4,459.
Palm Beach County is now contemplating a more than 15 percent increase in the property tax rate to balance next year’s budget.
The highest overall grossing employee was Deputy Brian Brown, who made $57,427 in overtime on top of a $72,372 salary.
“We’re short handed in communications so some of our deputies will get trained and get worked there,” Barbera said.
The Sheriff’s Office may be the county agency with the most total overtime, but the biggest individual overtime earners came from Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.
But it wasn’t rank-and-file firefighters who ran up the biggest overtime tabs. It was supervisors.
Six captains in the department’s Battalion 9 accounted for not only the highest overtime earners in fire-rescue, but also the entire county. Combined, they earned an extra $282,995 on top of salaries that range from just over $116,000 to about $146,000. The top overtime earner was Capt. Houston Park IV, who earned $65,796 in overtime with a base salary of $118,548.
“Palm Beach County is now contemplating a more than 15 percent increase in the property tax rate to balance next year’s budget.”
Sigh. This is happening all over, both in private and public sectors, when they can get away with it. Things not going well? Heaven forbid we should decrease taxes and cut expenses. Do more with less? Heavens, NO!
The Post Office is rate-raising itself into oblivion. Vicious circle. Customers not shipping as much stuff, we’re not making enough money, hey, LET’S RAISE RATES! More customers stop doing business, we’re losing money, LET’S RAISE RATES! Wash, rinse, repeat.
I cut their excuses out of the article. Every time I am in Publix I see 2 or 3 fireman doing their shopping for the station and they get there in a fire truck.
Aren’t the firemen supposed to be in their trucks?
What if there was an alarm while they were shopping, they would have to drop everything and go?
Or not? That is what I always figured.
“Aren’t the firemen supposed to be in their trucks?
What if there was an alarm while they were shopping,”
1 They work 3 days on 2 days off, I would think that could shop on their own time.
2 They shop 2 or 3 men at a time, my wife shops all by herself.
3 If it were only one man, he could take one of the brand new pick up trucks that EVERY station has and meet them at the fire.
Sheesh, at a time when people are losing jobs like crazy, being forced to work harder for less, getting cut back and cut out, costs are being jacked up.
Sorry, something’s gotta give. I’m seeing this in the “stuff” business. Crap at the thrift stores and charity outlets being sold at peak of ebay-era prices. One idiot charity store manager told me “We have to charge more, we’re helping more people these days.”. LOL. And then they wonder why their crappy used furniture and jewelry sits like a lead turd, day after day. Better to mark it down and move it out, if that’s even possible.
I saw a cheesy collectible item that I MIGHT have paid five bucks for a few years back, only because, despite its cheesiness, people do or did collect it and I could make a buck on it along with some other stuff. The charity store had it proudly priced at $25.00, LMAO. Dang! Gotta feed those anchor babies, I guess.
I agree palmy.
I treasure hunt at thrift stores and the prices are whacky!
LOL, no offense guys but you’re slamming the store for making a profit when your goal is to buy from them (a charity or thrift store, no less) and sell for a profit?
“slamming the store for making a profit”
If it was a for-profit store, I wouldn’t mind. I troll the antique and junk shops for “finds” all the time. But there’s something a little weird about a St. Vincent’s store that smells like feet from donated shoes pricing like a for-profit antique shop. Many of these “chain” charity stores have changed their business model and retain a non-profit or not-for-profit status and that’s wrong. The Goodwills now sell imported crap from China by the buttload and from talking to the clerks, Goodwill is just another rabid corporation.
The legal meaning of “not-for-profit” isn’t that they can’t make money. It is that they can’t distribute the money they make to owners/shareholders.
Before the economy tanked, everyone was buying their junk new, so demand at these stores was low and they had to lower their prices. Now that people are thinking about saving and want to buy stuff second hand, demand at their stores has increased and they can charge more. The lower prices that you saw at Goodwill before were another part of the bubble.
Good point, polly.
The top overtime earner was Capt. Houston Park IV, who earned $65,796 in overtime with a base salary of $118,548.
I bet he is getting close to retirement and working on improving his pension.
At that rate of overtime, shouldn’t they be hiring another employee? It sickens me that these individuals have no issue enriching themselves at the cost of the neighbors, friends, and family (aka taxpayers).
Skip,
Right and as many east coast posters have pointed out, this “over time” is often done at the expense of those that are younger and lower on the totem pole.
Talk about a Ponzi?
And over at the NY Times is an article on GM & retirees.
I guess we are supposed to feel sorry for this guy because he couldn’t add:
“What we’re getting isn’t enough to live on,” said Dwayne Humphries, a 54-year-old G.M. retiree in Arlington, Tex., who completed his 30 years last year, retired, and is now getting the standard $3,150 a month, or $37,500 a year. Roughly half of the total, $19,000 a year, is the basic benefit. The rest duplicates Social Security.
“It’s tight,” said Mr. Humphries, who was earning $50,000 to $60,000 a year before his retirement. “It takes a different way of living than what you were used to.”
To make ends meet, he helps out with his son’s small business, cleaning swimming pools.
“The top overtime earner was Capt. Houston Park IV, who earned $65,796 in overtime with a base salary of $118,548.”
Now get really pissed off!!! Here in CA the 9th circus court of appeals in the Ventura decision that law/fire retirement should be based on all overtime, uniform allowances, etc; so in this case he would get 80-90% of $118,548 and not of $65,796 which was originally intended. After the decision salaries just continued to rise and so did their retirement. I think that the law has changed since the 80’s but at that time most law/fire were going out on a disability claim which meant that all of their retirement income was tax free.
Safety retirement is the biggest tax ripoff to all CA citizens.
his pension is probably a percentage of his three best years including overtime. If he’s done this for a few years, and is due to earn 70% or more w/his pension, then his annual salary as a retiree will be more than his base pay when he was working.
I wonder if cities with underfunded pension funds are considering capping overtime %’s, or even eliminating it entirely for their highest paid workers?
It really makes me ill how police and firemen have taken advantage of the public’s good will. yes, they save lives and put themselves in harms way, but that’s not excuse for them to line their pockets. When 5 squad cars have to respond to even minor incidents, it’s no wonder OT is an issue.
“It really makes me ill how police and firemen have taken advantage of the public’s good will.”
In Palm Beach County they are all union.
It really makes me ill how police and firemen have taken advantage of the public’s good will. yes, they save lives and put themselves in harms way, but that’s not excuse for them to line their pockets.
Arson becomes an issue when firemen are issued pink slips.
Day laborers who sent money to family abroad now receiving funds
By SAMANTHA HENRY
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
FAIRVIEW, N.J. — For five years, immigrant day laborer Leo Chamale wired money twice a month from New Jersey to his family in Guatemala. Recently, he stepped up to the money transfer window for a different purpose - to ask that his family send some of his savings back to him.
“I hadn’t worked for five months, and I was two months behind on rent, so I had them send $1,500,” the 21-year-old Chamale said in Spanish. “My mother said, ‘That’s a lot of money!
With the U.S. economy in a ditch, money transfer agencies have been reporting a decline in the wages immigrants are sending back to their home countries. Now, it appears some immigrants are going a step further - asking their relatives to wire them money back.
“We’ve never seen this before,” said Marlen Miranda, manager of Peerless Travel in Fairview, which runs a money transfer service. “I mean, one or two people might receive money for a special reason, but not this quantity of people.”
Miranda said she has seen her customer base dwindle from 200 people to 75 who regularly use her money transfer services each month. Of those 75, Miranda said, about 20 now come in to receive money instead of sending it home.
Further evidence that these parasites aren’t leaving.
Don’t worry. It can’t last.
oyster ready
$4M stimulus grant to restore oyster beds, create jobs in Martin County
July 1st, 2009 by TCPalm.com
MARTIN COUNTY — A $4 million federal grant announced Tuesday should mean restored oyster beds, cleaner water and about 100 jobs in Martin County.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has allocated $4,024,969 to the Martin County Commission. At their meeting Tuesday, commissioners are scheduled to award a contract to build about 200 acres of oyster bed reefs in the St. Lucie River between the Roosevelt and Evans Crary bridges and in the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River near Tequesta.
The money for the project comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, part President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. More than 800 applications for grants were made and 50 approved. Of the four projects funded in Florida, Martin County’s was the largest.
To qualify for the stimulus money, said Kathy FitzPatrick, a Martin County coastal engineer, the project had to be “shovel-ready.”
I’d like to get a law passed that levies fines against any publisher who publishes straw man economist predictions without listing names and employers.
measton,
I’ll say.., not entirely -opposed- to the idea?
Over the last several years the likes of Chuck Jaffee and Paul B. Farrell ( oft quoted here ) have based their entire position based on FEES!
They eagerly shared their views on owning Index Funds over practically ‘any’ other investment vehicle but when it’s all said and done, a lot of widows were ( and ‘could’ have been ) a LOT better off in one of those high-priced annuities.
I’ve never been ins. lic. but it’s been explained to me that a lot of policy holders were able to lock-in their returns based on market ‘highs’. So… would you rather live off a 5% return based on acct. value of 500k ( or 250k ? ) Of course for all those that willingly followed Paul & Chuck, there will BE no recourse. ( After all, they’re just columnists! )
Tamarac woman who chose suicide over eviction told Facebook friends: ‘Heather Newnam needs to catch a break …’
By RAFAEL A. OLMEDA
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
TAMARAC — One of the last messages Heather Newnam sent to her friends was on her Facebook page Sunday morning.
“Heather Newnam needs to catch a break even if I don’t deserve it,” she wrote as her status update, a way the social networking site’s users let their friends know what’s on their minds. The next morning, she sent a “retro heart” greeting to four Facebook friends. “Brighten up your day,” she wrote.
Then on Monday afternoon, with a real estate agent, a locksmith and movers at her door in Tamarac to evict her for nonpayment of rent, Newnam, 28, fatally shot herself.
On the surface, Newnam’s suicide appeared to be a tale of desperation during hard economic times. But experts on suicide cautioned against such simplistic explanations.
“Clearly, stresses can precede a suicide, but the actual causes are usually much more complicated,” said Robert Gebbia, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “People are getting foreclosed on and evicted across the country. Most are not turning to suicide as an answer.”
Economy-driven tragedies have made some recent headlines.
In an apparent murder-suicide in Central Florida last month, John Dillon Wood, 41, and his wife, Cynthia Wood, 40, along with their two children, were found dead inside their home near Orlando. The family had been in bankruptcy proceedings since 2004.
In April, Patrick Dellisanti, 58, of Pompano beach, was killed by Broward sheriff’s deputies after they say he entered a condo property office on South Cypress Bend Drive and held two women hostage. He left behind a suicide note detailing financial pressure he was feeling and the names of people he blamed.
According to her Facebook page, Newnam had a fiance, a daughter and a teenager she referred to as her stepson. On her MySpace page, she wrote about wanting to get out of a rut and pursue a law degree.
Her final post on Twitter last Wednesday read: “Rich get richer, poor get poorer, families on the street, govt doesn’t care. God bless the usa, but can He save it?”
She sure spent a lot of time social networking.
Maybe she was trying to quit smoking. Can we get some drugs that don’t cause suicide and other problems?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/health/02drug.html?ref=health
“Rich get richer, poor get poorer, families on the street, govt doesn’t care.
That all I needed to hear about this woman. Whining gets you nowhere. Talk gets you nowhere. Poor is a state of mind I truly believe….
Poor is a state of mind I truly believe….
+1 Being poor isn’t about a lack of money.
Why bother?…economists have less credibility today than most of your house flipping IHOP waitresses.
Man had boss killed to save job.
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police have arrested a man whom they suspect hired a contract killer to murder his boss in a desperate bid to avoid being laid off, newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday.
The head of audiovisual services at the Barcelona International Convention Center contracted a Colombian man who shot and killed the director of the convention center on Feb 9, according to police.
The director had planned to lay off the arrested man as part of a restructuring project, police said.
In fear of losing his job, the head of services, through his sister, contracted a team of six Colombians who planned and carried out the killing, El Pais reported.
Police have also detained the sister and six Colombians.
The shooting marks one of the most extreme actions by Spaniards who fear losing jobs, homes and businesses during a recession in which unemployment is rising faster than in any other developed country.
Other cases include an indebted Spanish builder who kidnapped his bank manager at gunpoint and the head of a construction firm who threatened to set himself on fire unless debts he was owed were paid.
…and the head of a construction firm who threatened to set himself on fire unless debts he was owed were paid.
That’s just funny. So, were they then paid? Or did everyone hanging around listening do what IIII would have done, which is go get a pack of hotdogs and a nice roasting stick?
TEE HEE OLY GAL!! And quite a frank comment too, I might add.
I can see the reverse. Methinks the ceo would love to ‘get rid’ of us.
The ceo of my corp is in the middle of the big D, and is taking it out on labor. Sounds far fetched? well I thought so too, he is quoted with some really uncaring quotes, meanwhile he and mgmnt is getting bonuses y/o/y. Even this last spring.
So, the new phrase is ‘hiking in the Appalachians’.
Hope it gets ya in the end.
Crabtree & Evelyn files for Chapter 11 protection, the latest retailer to fall in recession… On Wednesday July 1, 2009, 11:36 am EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Soap and lotion seller Crabtree & Evelyn Ltd. says it filed for Chapter 11 protection on Wednesday, a victim of the recession and management missteps.
The pressure of repaying debt forced the company to file for bankruptcy, Acting President Stephen Bestwick said in a court filing. He said management changes had resulted in several shifts in strategy, hurting its wholesale business.
The company plans to use the court’s protection to renegotiate leases with reluctant landlords in its effort to restructure and emerge from bankruptcy. The filing does not include operations outside the U.S.
The Woodstock, Conn.-based company reported in a court filing that it owed $46.2 million in debt and had $31.7 million in assets as of March 31. The privately held company runs 126 retail stores that sell bathroom products and gift basket items at Copley Place in Boston, Watertower Place in Chicago, The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and Century City Mall in Los Angeles, among others.
It also sells Vera Bradley bags and wallets as well as LaSource, India Hicks Island Living and Naturals products.
The company first sold products under the Crabtree & Evelyn name in 1972 and its first retail store was opened in 1977. The store’s name is derived from a short form of Crabapple Tree and the last name of John Evelyn, a Brit who wrote about conservation.
Here’s my current list of well-known retail casualties. I’m probably missing some:
Several small airlines (ATA, Aloha, Frontier, etc.)
KB Toys
Mervyns
Sharper Image
Uno Chicago Grill
Linens & Things
Bennigans
Shoe Pavilion
Boscov’s
Lillian Vernon
Bombay Company
Tropicana
Steve & Barry’s
Goody’s
Circuit City
Mrs. Fields
Mattress Discounters
DHL (U.S. division)
Ritz camera
Extended Stay Hotels
Six Flags
Red Roof Inns
Crabtree & Evelyn
skro
Frontier is still flying and was just purchased by Republic.
Six Flags is still open in Texas.
Yeah - a lot have gone bankrupt but not actually closed, just restructured. e.g. Tropicana.
a few more:
Eddie Bauer
Gottschalks
Tweeter
Levitz
Gottschalks was a dump. adios.
Got my first sofa, in college at Levitz on pay plan. First time improving my credit. Ugly brown plaid sofa. Ahhh remember it well.Thanks Levitz.
Yep, just the sort of retailers this country doesn’t need. Overpriced bars of soap and scents for bathing. Yee gods. How did they ever stay in business so long? I strolled through the Stanford Shopping Center C&E store a few years ago and saw nothing of real value in it.
Gov’t won’t fund GM after July 10, official says
Auto task force member says US gov’t to cut off aid to GM if sale isn’t approved by July 10.
July 1, 2009
NEW YORK (AP) — A senior member of President Barack Obama’s auto task force testified Wednesday that the U.S. government will not continue to fund General Motors Corp.’s operations if the automaker doesn’t get approval to sell its assets to a new company within the next 10 days.
“We have no intention to further fund this company if the sale order is not entered by July 10,” Harry Wilson, one of the Treasury Department officials overseeing GM’s restructuring, said while being cross-examined by an attorney for a group of GM bondholders opposing the sale.
The No. 1 U.S. automaker’s government-backed plan for a quick exit from bankruptcy hinges on the sale plan, which would allow it to leave behind many of the costs and liabilities that have made the company unprofitable in the past.
The Detroit-based automaker, whose June 1 filing for bankruptcy protection was the fourth-largest in U.S. history, is hoping to avoid a lengthy court battle over the sale. Last month, objections from bondholders and other groups dragged out rival Chrysler LLC’s hearing on its sale for three days. This is day two of the GM hearing.
After Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler’s sale was approved by the bankruptcy court, the bondholder and consumer groups appealed the decision all the way up to the Supreme Court before it ultimately went through and Chrysler subsequently emerged from Chapter 11 as a new company.
ROTFLMAO
This is for one of two reasons:
1. Make sure a political ‘contributor’ gets their piece ofo the pie.
2. Try to create a sense of urgency.
I betcha on July 11th GM will still be receiving Federal aid…
Got Popcorn?
Neil
Obama’s team is now allowing you to be in the refinance program if your mortgage is 125% of your home’s value. The previous cut off was 5%.
Don’t worry, FBs! HELP IS ON THE WAY!
Here’s the link detailing how Freddie and Fannie will make everything all better.
“Obama’s team is now allowing you to be in the refinance program if your mortgage is 125% of your home’s value. The previous cut off was 5%.”
But how many FB’s will WANT to stay in theses homes and continue to make payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.? Can you imagine applying for the program, and finding out in black & white that you are $50K, $100K, $150K, etc. underwater? When the main reason these homes were purchased was for the proverbial pot of gold after a few years of “ownership”?
They will only want to stay a few more years until the value rebounds and they can sell for a huge profit!
Unfortunately there are too many Joe Howmuchamonths out there. They’ll look at the paper that says they’re $100K underwater, but the only math a lot of them are going to do is adding how much more money they’ll be free to spend every month now that their monthly nut went from $2,500 to $2,300.
In fact, the government is COUNTING on them spending the extra $200. A hidden “stimulus” if you will.
Many literally can’t apply. They know damn well they lied on all their documents to get the house in the first place.
+1 Exactly. These folks should be facing fraud charges, IMHO.
People in Germany must be reading this blog!
Austrian coin trick confounds German border control
Published: 1 Jul 09 11:30 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20090701-20315.html
German investors have found a cunning way to get large amounts of money across the border from Austria, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. It’s all down to a silver collector’s coin.
OK - if you’re going to do that, why not just use 1-euro gold philharmonics, worth about $930 each?
(scratches head)
This is odd. I thought the whole purpose of the EU was to eliminate cross-border tarrifs.
Of course, the border between Austria and Germany can be walked across at many rural places without any inspections at all. One trick would be to go skiing at the Untersberg outside Saltzburg. The base of the lift is in Austria as is the top of the mountain, but you ski downhill into Germany. Once there a shuttle bus takes you back - perhaps after handing a pocket full of money to a confederate.
Still not seeing much capitulation when it comes to small acreage in western WA. Some chintzy cuts, but land remains priced at peak bubble prices for the most part. In north Kitsap, for instance, certain 5 acre parcels were priced at $35,000 in 2001. They climbed to $350k and beyond. Still can’t touch 5 acres for $200k.
Why would you want to?
You mean touch 5 acres for $200,000? I don’t want to. I’m just reporting what I’m seeing.
I wouldn’t touch it at a tenth of that phoney number.
Strangely enough, my RE believing brother finally conceded the RE collapse. He has 125 essentially worthless wooded acres and he acknowledged to me tonite that he couldn’t get $1000/acre today after speaking with his buddy realturd.
Russia bans all gambling and shuts casinos…
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia closed down its casinos overnight as gambling was banned nationwide, a move the industry says could throw a third of a million people out of work.
The July 1 ban shut gaming halls, from gaudy casinos crowned by extravagant neon structures to dingy dwellings containing a handful of slot machines.
“I feel terrible. We just let 1,000 people go,” said Yuri Boyev, general director at Metelitsa, an upmarket casino where billionaires rolled the dice and Russia’s gas giant Gazprom held a lavish Christmas party.
Vladimir Putin, now prime minister, came up with the idea in 2006 when he was president after the Interior Ministry linked several gaming operations in Moscow to Georgian organized crime.
The Kremlin plans to restrict gambling to Las Vegas-style gaming zones in four rarely visited regions deemed to need investment, including one near the North Korea border, but nothing has been built and critics say the zones will fail.
Though gaming establishments knew the shutdown date for at least a year, few thought the government would go through with it, but officials moved in overnight to close them down.
Shoot! It will be driven back into the black market. I figure the corrupt officials think they can make more money in the kickbacks and illegality of gambling than if it was legal.
Could this be the demise of golf courses? The new amenity for upscale residential developments: organic farms!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/business/energy-environment/01farm.html?_r=1
I read that article expecting it to be about plowing under unsold lots in existing subdivisions. That would have been a much more enjoyable story.
But instead it’s not about a “community garden” at all - they hire a “professional farmer” to work the land and the homeowners just sit around and watch him.
Plant now before you’re priced out.
I just looked at the US auto sales numbers, and I have to say that it’s kind of nice to see Ford doing a bit less bad than the rest of the auto companies. I wouldn’t have thought about owning a Ford after the last twenty years of garbage they’ve been putting out, but there’s something to be said about how they’ve increased the quality recently and managed to stay unowned by Uncle Sam.
The only problem is that my Corolla probably isn’t going to be junked for at least 5-7 more years. So I guess I’m not helping matters much.
The only problem is that my Corolla probably isn’t going to be junked for at least 5-7 more years. So I guess I’m not helping matters much.
Agreed. My next car is going to be a bicycle.
Yester-years ‘green shoots’…
“The spring…marks the end of a period of grave concern…American business is steadily coming back to a normal level of prosperity,”
Julius Barnes, Head of Hoover’s National Business Survey, March 16, 1930.
“We are now near the end of the declining phase of the depression,” the Harvard Economic Review, November 15, 1930
“American business is steadily coming back to a normal level of prosperity,”
That says alot. Just as they thought the twenties were “normal” so do so many think our boom was “normal”.
Perhaps we should over a few of our experts to show how it’s done! LOL!
China’s banks are an accident waiting to happen to every one of us
Fitch Ratings has been warning for some time that China’s lenders are wading into dangerous water…
China’s banks are veering out of control. The half-reformed economy of the People’s Republic cannot absorb the $1,000bn (£600bn) blitz of new lending issued since December.
Money is leaking instead into Shanghai’s stock casino, or being used to keep bankrupt builders on life support. It is doing very little to help lift the world economy out of slump.
Fitch Ratings has been warning for some time that China’s lenders are wading into dangerous waters, but its latest report is even grimmer than bears had suspected.
“With much of the world immersed in crisis, China appears to be one of the few countries where the financial system continues to function largely without a glitch, but Fitch is growing increasingly wary,” it said.
“Future losses on stimulus could turn out to be larger than expected, and it is unclear what share the central and/or local governments ultimately will be willing or able to bear.”
Some of you may recall my squatter’s saga about this time last year when the house I was renting in SE Utah became a victim of BK and the LL came and stole all the appliances. The house was on the market at that time for $150k.
It’s finally gone through all the channels and is back on the mkt as is for $61,900.
And probably overpriced at that, since the basement flooded (landlady took the sump pump) and ruined the heating system. Pipes may be frozen. What a disaster.
RIP Squatter’s B&B, the cot was given to the local thrift store and the beautiful yard is dead. I tried to get the Mormon Bishop to take it over, since it’s next to their church. But it was a fun little town, if you like trains, Ray’s Tavern, and desert canyons. Maybe I’ll buy it…
I remember, now that you mention it being next to the LDS church. Thanks for the update!
Sleaze-ball homes makes a deal…
Beazer reaches $50 million settlement in criminal probe
By Kirsten Valle | E-mail | 4:18PM
Federal investigators have charged Beazer Homes USA with criminal mortgage and accounting fraud – and the homebuilder has admitted to its wrongdoing, agreeing to pay a $50 million settlement, court documents filed today show.
See, why aren’t the company assets seized, the fine paid, and then the rest of it liquidated? They have already demonstrated they are the corporate equivalent of a mugger or thief. Why let them stay in business at all?
You know, Ward, I’m getting a little worried about the Beazer…
“OXFORD, Fla. — A two-year-old girl was strangled by a python at her family’s home in Oxford. The snake was a 12-foot long albino Burmese python and was a family pet.”
http://tinyurl.com/mgpqot
This is so sad.
I saw that the pythons were going to make the crocs?or was it ‘gators extinct. Seems they are two preditors in the same pond of same size and ferocity. ick.
With so many foreclosures, I see more wild pets let into the wild.
I don’t know for sure, but my intuition is crocs. The pythons primarily exist in the wild in the glades and S. Florida. The gators are everywhere and much larger.
Florida crocs do not compare in size to aussie/nile crocs; they’re smaller.
And I agree with you about pets. There have been a TON of pet neglect stories in the past few months.
One lady here was ordered by a judge to close her puppy mill, but she kept going because it was her only income stream. The pictures of her house were horrendous.
K, this is really stretching..how you gonna relate this one to the housing bubble, Muggy?!
D’oh, already been done (shoulda refreshed). Pets being dumped due to economic struggle.
Accordions, pythons, Ottawa… it all comes together.
A year or so ago I posted that it seemed Chicago’s population was growing and I postulated that it was due to people from throughout the region flocking here in search of work. A few of the other Chicago posters disputed that the population was growing at all in the city.
But look at this bit from the U.S. Census/ Chicago Public Radio:
Chicago’s population is once again on the rise - thanks to the recent housing crisis.
That’s one expert’s analysis of new numbers released Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data show the city’s population increased by more than 20-thousand people in 2008.
Dr. Ken Johnson, a senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute, says fewer people are fleeing the city for the suburbs.
JOHNSON: The main reason is because they can’t sell their houses. And so they’re essentially frozen in place. So that means that fewer people leave, while the number of people coming into the city continues to be about the same.
In 2008, Chicago’s population grew for the second year in a row, following five years of decline.
It is now the eighth fastest-growing city in America.
The eighth fastest growing city? That’s saying a lot! There are huge migrations of people taking place right now. These events are profondly reshaping many places.
The data show the city’s population increased by more than 20-thousand people in 2008.
In 2008, Chicago’s population grew for the second year in a row, following five years of decline.
It is now the eighth fastest-growing city in America.
Heard this on the radio today, too.
Chicagoland: stuck in our overpriced houses.
Citi raises rates on millions of credit cards…
(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc has increased interest rates on up to 15 million U.S. credit card accounts just months before curbs on such rises come into effect, the Financial Times reported citing people close to the situation.
Citigroup had upped rates on 13 million to 15 million credit cards it co-brands with retailers such as Sears, the paper said.
In a statement, Citigroup said “We have adjusted pricing and card terms for some customers as part of our regular account reviews. This is an ongoing process to ensure we offer terms, interest rates, credit lines and products based on individual needs and risk profiles.”
“These changes also reflect the dramatically higher cost of doing business in our industry as we work to preserve the broad availability of credit,” Citigroup told the paper.
Citigroup could not be immediately reached for a comment by Reuters.
They did this to me w/ a card - $0 balance 800 credit score and have never missed a payment on anything EVER in my life. Explain your greed to me again SH*TI? Like someone posted earlier: The only people being extended credit don’t want or need it. And even those people are/would be bent over with a lubeless love fest.
Take your credit card and SHOVE IT.
Another reason I pray for NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST every day… (R.I.P. - Bill Hicks)
Boy did this piss off the debtors on LA talk radio this morning. Little (to nothing) on the state budget mess, but oh boy if you raise credit card fees/rates.
“We have adjusted pricing and card terms for some customers as part of our regular account reviews.
ROTFL
Were the other 2 million just cut off?
Actually, the card companies have to increase revenue to survive. Let them raise rates. But mandate faster payback periods. e.g., Chase had it right with a 5% per month payback rate.
Got Popcorn?
Neil
They sent us two handy-dandy Sears cards three years ago and they still sit on my dresser in the original packaging. You can send ‘em, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be used. Probably expired now anyway.
“The Future Of Food” -HULU - 1.5 hour Documentary. Monsanto- genetically modified seeds, patent shenanigans, Monsanto/EPA revolving door, suing small farmers for something they have no controll over, etc… Worth the watch.
Charges filed against Beazer; Settlement reachedJuly 1, 2009 6:08 PM ET
All Associated Press news ATLANTA (AP) - Federal prosecutors in North Carolina filed criminal fraud conspiracy charges against Beazer Homes USA on Wednesday, but they agreed to dismiss the case if the company complies with an agreement accepting responsibility for certain wrongdoing and pays millions to victims.
In the deferred prosecution agreement, the company accepted responsibility for fraudulent mortgage originations and accounting practices and agreed to pay $10 million immediately toward restitution to victims. Beazer also agreed to pay up to $50 million as the company, which has been battered by the housing downturn, recovers financially, according to prosecutors and court records.
The deferred prosecution agreement is in effect for five years. A spokeswoman for prosecutors, Suellen Pierce, said that the charges against the company will be dismissed if it complies with the agreement.
Beazer said Wednesday that it also reached a settlement agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the civil division of the Department of Justice. The company also said several of its subsidiaries have entered into a settlement agreement with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.
Citi sure is hurting for good credit business. Received a letter in the mail today, stating:
“In today’s economy, it’s easier to look forward toward a brighter future when you have a partner to lean on today. We’d like to thank you for standing with us and want you to know that we’re here for you. You’ve done everything right. You pay your bill on time every month, don’t exceed your limit and pay more than the minimum due whenever possible. That deserves a special offer, and we have some waiting for you. Please call us to learn about the offers for which you qualify.” Call x-xxx-xxx-xxxx between 8a.m. and midnight EST by July 25th, 2009.”
I feel like asking, do you have a 0% offer? Since my balance is a big fat ZERO, that is the only rate I am interested in, cause that what I am paying with cash, 0%. Leeches. Guess I have more paper for lighting the charcoal chimney starter. Bring on the junk mail! I have things to cook! Happy fourth everyone!
WOW — we are a looooonnnggg way from the bottom. I’m'a have a crazy busy day tomorrow. Can someone repost this? I’m speechless.
“DADE CITY, FL — Thomas Davis secured a $150,000 home equity line of credit on his elderly mother’s home last year, authorities said.
Within seven months, he had spent it all — on drugs, a hydroponic garden for growing marijuana, even on a $40,000 party that Davis, 47, threw for himself, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said.”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1014966.ece
A friend’s elderly mom put her paid-off home in her daughter’s name on the advice of an accountant so mom could qualify for more state benefits. A couple of years ago the daughter leveraged the place with a 125% LTV mortgage product, and spent every last cent on self indulgence.
Interesting news from the WSJ:
“The California Association of Realtors expects to make sharp downward revisions in its recent monthly reports of soaring home sales in the San Diego area, Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist of the trade group, said in an interview.
Those revisions will mean modest downward revisions in statewide sales, he added.
The revisions are likely to be announced in late July, when the Realtor group reports home sales for June.
The problem resulted from a glitch in data from a multiple-listing service in San Diego, Mr. Kleinhenz said.
He said a change in computer systems used there resulted in incorrect data being sent to the Realtor association over the past year or so.
Thomas Lawler, an independent economist in Leesburg, Va., who tracks home sales nationwide, raised questions about the San Diego data in a report last week.
Mr. Lawler noted that the numbers reported by the Realtors vastly exceeded those from MDA DataQuick, a research firm in La Jolla, Calif., and other sources.
The California Realtors have reported that San Diego sales in April were up about 63% from a year earlier. Mr. Kleinhenz said that is expected to be revised downward to a gain of about 20%.”
I think I finally found a church I can relate to:
www DOT revbilly DOT com
Some pretty good videos, inspirational and will confirm you’re gonna go to Heaven if you can just stay out of the Big Boxes.
Ive been to Rev Billy and man is it FUN…..
GLOBAL WARMING ALERT!!!! — Irish potato blight threatens Ohio tomatoes & potatoes due to cool wet summer. It has been found in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia and was confirmed in Ohio in a tomato sample June 25. Late blight thrives when temperatures are in the 50s at night and the 70s during the day, accompanied by rain, fog or heavy dew. Left unmanaged, the disease could wipe out backyard and commercial crops. Some infected plants were found at a Lowe’s store in New York, and it’s possible plants from the same supplier were distributed elsewhere.
And my tomatoes were looking so good.