Bits Bucket For November 9, 2010
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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
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Housing prices are falling. Everywhere.
And they are taking a lot of money with them.
Just one comment from yesterday, Combo..
if there is a “shortage of money”, then why is the PRICE of money not astronomical?? When there is a shortage of anything, the price increases in the marketplace to let consumers know that it needs to be rationed. It’s the market’s way of allocating resources.
When there was a belief in a “shortage of housing”, prices went spiraling upward. Now that it has been revealed that there is no shortage at all, the prices are dropping.
Interest rates are the PRICE of Money. They are ZERO.
Ergo, there must be an abundance of money.
We will see this soon in the price of food and gas and other commodities.
While the PRICE is artificially set by the FED. It doesn’t change the perception that money should be readily available for speculation.
That is what slimball bankers are doing with the money. They are no longer bankers. they are traders with the FED”s money.
GLASS-steagal was not resurrected under “financial reform”.
So, you are wrong in your assessment.
There is no shortage of money. Banks have plenty of money and can use it to speculate on stocks and commodities, and get an arbitrage play from the FED. Borrow at zero, lend back at interest.
The problem is that no one wants to borrow any money. Businesses can’t see anyway of making the money back to pay the bank for a loan. It is not they can’t get a loan, as much as they don’t dare go into debt.
There is a shortage of honest enterprise and real economic growth. there has been an abundance of “financial engineering”.
The bad debts need to be liquidated at market price to stabilize the economy. The FED is preventing this so their buddies can make a bunch more money trading paper. they have plenty of that, too.
“…why is the PRICE of money not astronomical??”
Ahem…
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EDJI
Today’s bull run is quickly morphing into chicken run.
How’s Eddie’s DJIA = 12K by end-of-year prediction looking, now that we are into the holiday season?
I don’t know, we so close it would only take one good week before any major downturn to do it. I still say we’re below it on January 1st, though…even if we pop over it sometime in between.
I gotta say, this has been frustrating watching the fed just pour money into the system. Quite educational, though. I thought I had a decent sense for how things worked a few years ago, but I had no idea how much power the PTB actually had to bend things their way. Protecting your money has much more to do with figuring out what they will do rather than following the fundamentals, at least over the timeframes I’m used to thinking in.
“Protecting your money has much more to do with figuring out what they will do rather than following the fundamentals, at least over the timeframes I’m used to thinking in.”
It’s been that way at least since I started paying attention (1987), if not before.
“The problem is that no one wants to borrow any money.”
And this creates a shortage of circulating money. If money is not borrowed and spent then fresh money is not put into circulation.
But money is taken out of circulation all the time. Banks receive payments on previous loans but do not make new loans. Instead they keep the money.
People are stuffing money into their mattresses instead of spending it. Also money if flowing out of the country faster than it is flowing in.
Thus there is a shortage of money.
“The problem is that no one wants to borrow any money.”
If I could borrow money @ 1%, I would back up the truck and say; “Filler-Up”…Kind of a no-brainer really…
If I could borrow money @ 1%, I would back up a MegaBankSemi truck and say; “Filler-Up”
And that is precisely what they’re doing in broad daylight,… where’s the law?
Correct interest rates are the price of money. Why is the price not astronomical? Because the Fed will counterfit all the money it will take to keep the price down.
Imagine where rates would be without TARP and QE1 and QE2 abd QExxxxx.
“The problem is that no one wants to borrow any money.”
No. The problem is that those who want and need to borrow money do not qualify, and those who qualify do not need to borrow money.
“Because the Fed will counterfit all the money it will take to keep the price down.”
Clearly this cannot go on forever.
And there are at least 50 million people in this country that don’t have any money.
I think you have it backwards..the price of money IS astronomical if you want to sell anything to acquire that money. your prices have to be so low (crackhead prices)to get someone to give you that money, so the effective price to get that money is very high today.
——-
if there is a “shortage of money”, then why is the PRICE of money not astronomical?
See how “cheaply” you can buy some gold, or silver , or copper, or commodities. i don’t think anyone will take a small portion of dollars for the trade. sorry.
It’s never been a better time to buy a house or some of the silver coins that I just listed on E-bay.
Interest rates are the PRICE of Money.
According to that, money costs nothing when rates are zero.
But you would not give me your money just because rates are zero. $100 is “worth” more than zero even if interest rates are zero.
So, what does the word “worth” mean?
Money has purchasing power. It’s worth whatever someone will trade for it. $100 can purchase some amount of goods or services, and that defines it’s worth.
The amount of goods $100 can buy is the true value of $100.
Interest rates are just the rental payment.. a borrowing fee.. and says nothing about the value of the money.
Nor do rates define the quantity of money in circulation. For instance, if interest was directly connected to the money supply, why is the rate they charge me to borrow far different than the rate you are charged?
For instance, if interest was directly connected to the money supply, why is the rate they charge me to borrow far different than the rate you are charged?
Because the FED has a Monopoly with the Banks. They set the rates and monetary policy. This is not set by the marketplace, a point I was trying to make. The reason for the housing boom was 1% loans. In a real world, marketplace economy, as loans for housing increased astronomically, the cost of the loans should have been rising. They were not.
Why. The FED artificially held down interest rates and back-stopped Fannie and Freddie to provide a mandate of providing cheap money for houses for people with no money to pay for them.
The Federal Reserve System artificially establishes rates in a negative feedback loop. They don’t know what the real price of money should be, but they set the interest rate at whatever they think it should be. There goals is to create “inflation”. Right now they are only winning in commodities, precious metals and food. Everything else is in contraction.
Give it time.
They set the rates and monetary policy. This is not set by the marketplace
There goals is to create “inflation”..
Those statements are somewhat contradictory. The Fed certainly does react to the marketplace. A slow economy directs the Fed to lower rates. An overheated economy tells them to raise rates.
All in all, i agree that we face contraction.
The Fed’s methods have proven to be less than effective at controlling inflation. They won’t fare any better trying to stave off deflation.
And Congress? well.. essentially useless. I doubt they will dare to touch a single one of the “third rails”.
A slow economy directs the Fed to lower rates. An overheated economy tells them to raise rates. ……….really?
When the housing market was overheated, they were driving rates lower…..and HOLDING them down. When the “economy” didn’t respond like they thought it would then rates were pushed to ZERO.
They don’t know what they are doing.
We are now at the ZERO BOUND. What signal is that sending?
Is the economy telling them what to do?
How did we get here?
When the housing market was overheated, they were driving rates lower
not true. Go find a fed rate chart.
Funds rate was about 2% in 2002, 1% in 2004 and sharply rose to almost 6% by 2007.
They gotta evaluate the entire economy and then move rates in anticipation of coming events. Try that sometime.
The housing market was already overheating in 2002, was way overpriced in 2004 and started to crash in 2006.
the FED never sharply did anything. 1/4 point steps….little baby steps. They were behind the curve…………all the way.
they will also be behind the curve when prices start getting out of control due to increases in commodities.
come one.. we were in a recession in 2002.. from a couple big hits. There was the dotcom crash and that other big crash. Ground Zero.
Millions were laid off or out of work temporarily. Huge money was lost.
——
Almost nobody was paying attention to RE. Expansion there was no doubt viewed as a very good thing. The Fed would be inclined to encourage it.
Perhaps we all overestimated the lasting effects of 9-11. People recovered their confidence.
It wasn’t going to be an all out terrorist war with them blowing up bridges and schools..
And in a couple years, something resembling a housing mania became obvious. 2004. The Fed started to jack up rates slowly. They didn’t want to kill the recovery.
Assuming gradual rate increases would quell the mania was a misjudgment It was not fast enough.. bummer.. They miscalculated?
like i said, you try and analyze every aspect of the economy.. the whole society really.. and then predict the speed and direction of the economy. Then do something which may not have any effect.. or it may have too much effect, depending on how the wind blows next week.
I bet it’s not easy.. or simple.
On top of that, all you have to work with is interest rates? Don’t ask me to do it..
Almost nobody was paying attention to RE. (in 2002)
The most certainly were in the Bay Area which was ground zero of the housing bubble IMO. There was even a slight correction then.
100% Agreement with you Dio. The money is
there, nobody wants it. Simple.
The critters in DC are working hard to take up the slack in demand for spendable borrowed cash. The Fed is working overtime to ensure these dupes are enriching the bankers in the process.
Rancher - I have to respectfully disagree. The money is there if you don’t need it. If you are a small business or a start up, good luck getting a credit line. I went to my contact at Bank of America (US Trust Private Banking no less!) for a 20K credit card line for my side business. Despite having many times that amount sitting in the business’ checking account, they would only give me an 18K line if I personally guaranteed it.
Money is cheap and plentiful for Microsoft and IBM.
Should have waited a little bit to post this..Re-post;
“The problem is that no one wants to borrow any money.”
If I could borrow money @ 1%, I would back up the truck and say; “Filler-Up”…Kind of a no-brainer really…
The money is
there, nobody wants it. Simple.
nobody wants it to create business and jobs here in the USA. they ( investment banks ?) borrow it for speculation in commodities and foreign currency causing inflation in fast growing economies
Your comment reminds me of some of Eddie’s posts which tend to come under fire here because he never lifts a lazy finger to back up anything he says with a shard of statistical or journalistic evidence.
journalistic evidence??? you’re joking right?
a propaganda piece from a story-teller is “evidence” of the truth.
Yea, I believe Time Magazine. They said Alan Greenspan was a genius. The Maestro. Worked to make the economy just right.
Statistics? What are all those stories about statistics. Showing what you want to reveal, while covering more revealing information.
The whole point of this blogging exercise is to get a bevy of ideas and opinions from a group of various parties to “discuss” and comment on the particular views of the participants.
One of the “stories” of the government media complex was that increasing home ownership was good for the country because statistically HOMEOWNERS were more financially stable, less involved in crime, created better more stable neighborhoods, etc. etc. That was the “statistic”. Unfortunately, they failed to understand the REASON. It was because the OWNERS had an investment in their houses. They worked hard and saved to buy a house, so they kept a more stable employment history. They took care of the houses they BOUGHT, with their own hard-earned money.
Using the same statistical evidence, the imbeciles in government thought it was a good idea to GIVE everyone a house, so they would be “homeowners”, too. You can see how having no “investment” in housing has worked out.
They had all the “evidence” to support their case, just no brains to understand what would happen to their cause. It’s been a fiasco.
‘The whole point of this blogging exercise is to get a bevy of ideas and opinions from a group of various parties to “discuss” and comment on the particular views of the participants.’
I concur with you. But just saying ‘housing prices are falling everywhere’ doesn’t qualify as an idea in my book. What defines ‘everywhere’? What defines ‘falling’? It’s like saying ‘everyone needs a place to live’ or ‘real estate always goes up’ or ‘all real estate is local’ — all of these are catchy sounding statements which are devoid of definition, scope or content.
Ideas usually work better with facts. Like just about everything else in life.
And if you claim all sources suspect, then why should your ideas have any weight? What’s the old saying? “You can’t use the facts you made up in your head.”
“… with a shard of statistical or journalistic evidence.”
98% of statistics are made up on the spot!!!!
Another reason to insist on reputable sources!
And what is wrong with that? Lower housing means more $$ to spend on keeping you healthy enough to pay pack the mortgage
what lower housing? every government program has caused the price of housing to go up. if the “mania” had not started housing would be affordable. it’s the cheap loan programs that allowed the prices to become unglued.
If people had to pay 10% down and have a stable employment history, the housing market would have remained stable, and plenty cheap enough. You just would be forced to save a few years to be able to buy.
oh I agree dio…I am thankful my LL has paid off this house well over 20 years ago and doesn’t need to increase the rent every year
Can’t say that I have seen any real bargains in my neck of the woods. Things seem pretty much frozen for right now. Nobody is buying, very few new entries into the market. Regular sales are way overpriced while foreclosures might have a tainted title. Buyer beware! I don’t think we will see any significant activity before the entire robo-signing/fraud/buyback disaster stands on more predictable judicial footing.
That’s the true reason behind QE2, to save BoA, Citi and others from bankruptcy in the short term. Of course the long term implications of QE2 are dire (rising commodities -> rising comsumer prices, less profit, higher unemployment and ultimately the loss of reserve currency status). But the FED knows that if they don’t support the banks in the short term they won’t even have a long term to worry about.
There’s no bargains in my neck of the woods either ( San Francisco Bay Area). All that’s happened is that homes in bad neighborhoods and far-flung exurbs fell dramatically- aka- the places nobody really wants to live. On the other hand houses in even halfway decent areas are still out of reach. The absolute cheapest house I’ve seen near me is sitting at $403,000 and it needs major structural work. You’re looking at probably around $500,000 for something a little nicer that just needs a complete remodel- in other words the whole house hasn’t been touched since 1955. Its really frustrating. Not even the biggest recession in decades made much of a dent. Texas, here we come…
Freemont. A friend recently bought a house there. According to him there were some bargains to be had in the summer.
Still good business in sub 150k to 90k here. Price have dropped, but seem to have stabilized at ~12% off highs.
But then, you get a LOT more for your money here in SE Texas than most other places. 150K gets you into a very nice neighborhood.
I’m buying. Prices are down about 40% from their peak, and my rent is up 20% from the same time period. The gap has narrowed. I did the math and can’t find a good reason not to now.
Good going! Just make sure your employment is stable so you don’t have to move…
Where are you that your rent went up 20% Doppler?
Bay area, California. I don’t understand it really. Maybe enough people moved out of their forclosed homes into apartments that rent is going up? Or it could just be a sign of future rampant inflation to come.
I am in a stable job here that is not reliant on California’s faltering economy for success, so I do not worry about it too much.
I’m even putting 20% down and buying MUCH less house than I can theoretically afford.
We’re still paying pretty cheap rent for a 4 bedroom house with a yard. If we were to match what we pay in rent to a mortgage, the house would have to be a $300,000 house of which there’s not really in the Bay Area unless its in a pretty bad neighborhood.
We both have good jobs and have been saving for years. The Bay Area is done and at some point we’re moving out of state probably to TX and will just buy a house for cash and semi-retire.
Thank God. You almost got priced-out forever.
I wasn’t worried about that. I won’t even be surprised if house values continue to fall. It just the rent vs. payment price on a house is so close now, that I’d rather pay that little more to have my own garage and back yard.
Wheat is up to $7.90 and Soybeans up to $6.10. The BLS is BS on 1.5% inflation.Get rid of the Bamster and Bernanke ! Is it time to buy PUTs on the Irish banks ?
New Ways Bankers Are Spying on You ~ WSJ
Big Banker is watching you—more closely than ever.
With lenders still skittish about making new loans, credit bureaus and others are hawking services that help banks probe deeply into your financial closet. The new offerings include ways to look at your rent and utility payments, figure out your income, gauge your home’s value and even rate your banking habits based on details like whether your direct deposits have stopped.
All of this could influence your financial freedom—not to mention the number of junk-mail solicitations you receive.
Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma, a credit-score information website, knew he had a good credit score. But when he recently applied for a new credit card, he was rejected: The lender had flagged him as a higher credit risk because the value of his California home had declined and his mortgage principal wasn’t declining—giving away that he has an interest-only mortgage.
“It’s a lot more than just your credit score today,” he says.
Sounds like the system worked in this case.
Bankruptcy filings jump 14% in 2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from a deep recession, the number of Americans filing for bankruptcy continues to rise dramatically.
In the federal government’s fiscal year 2010, which ended September 30, more than 1.5 million non-business bankruptcy filings were processed, according to data released Monday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That’s up more than 14% from fiscal 2009, when about 1.3 million personal bankruptcies were filed.
“As the economy looks to climb out of the recent recession, businesses and consumers continue to file for bankruptcy to regain their financial footing,” Samuel Gerdano, director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, said in a statement. The ABI is a non-partisan private research group.
“… business and consumers continue to file for bankruptcy to regain their financial footing.”
And whomever is on the wrong end of these bankruptcies lose their financial footing.
Combo, you always remind us about the connection between debts and savings;
So what is your suggestion for “the way out?”
So what is your suggestion for “the way out?”
Spend less than you make.
“So what is your suggestion for “the way out?””
There isn’t a neat and tidy way out. People can hobble themselves by trying to repay excessive debt (that they never should have taken on), or they can hobble their lenders by defaulting (who never should have lent the money). I just wish TPTB would let the lenders and borrowers sort it out amongst themselves.
Guy with lung cancer: “Well Doc, what’s painless way to deal with this?”
Doctor: “Don’t start smoking.”
Guy:”Too late for that.”
Doctor:”Then it’s too late for painless.”
Problems are easy enough to notice; solutions are not.
“there is a difference between knowing whats going to happen…and having the balls to do something about it”. - me (i’m sure someone else somehwere has said something similar).
“there is a difference between knowing whats going to happen…and having the
balls“TrueCourage™” not todo something about it” participate in the Nationwide “TrueBelief™”: “This house is worth: $____,____.00 +!!!!!! (whispering voices:”…Hurry, the slightest hesitation invites competitive bids”Now that’s just funny right there…
“So what is you suggestion for ‘the way out?”
Since a lot of people’s savings is associated with debt and since a lot of this debt is going to disappear and take a lot of savings with it, it is imperative that savers not have their savings connected with debt that is going to disappear.
A lot of money is going to be poofed out of existence before this Great Contraction of done with. Your job is to make sure none of this money belongs to you.
“Great Contraction of done with” = “Great Contraction is done with”
It’s too frackin early to post in coherent English. I’m going back to bed…
Hmm so to summarize, don’t loan money to people who can’t pay you back. What a simple concept.
“What a simple concept.”
It is a simple concept, but there is a lot of pressure to “perform” put on money managers to chase yields for their yield-hungry clients. These guys HAVE to chase yields because their clients will walk out the door (and take their money with them) if they do not live up to the promises they made to their clients in the “Good Old Days” when yields were high.
It may not be PRUDENT to take a lot of risks in this environment but they are going to do it anyway because they feel they have little choice.
And besides, it’s not their money.
Addiction to OPM
If you are a little guy and are planning on playing Chase The Yields then you should remember the guys you are playing against are very well informed, are desperate to win, and are PLAYING WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S MONEY.
there is a lot of pressure to “perform” put on money managers to chase yields for their yield-hungry clients…….
It’s not just money managers. It’s everyone.
Saving is supposed to pay a return. The FED has stopped this to encourage more spending.
The money managers don’t have a choice. All of their retirement models for pension funds are based on 8% annual return on investment to pay all those pension fund obligations.
They haven’t made that in years.
Now the market is on a bull run. They have no choice but to chase the yields, no matter how risky, to get their accounts back in line with the demand on the outflow side.
the problem is, of course, no one sees any risk in an upward moving market. And if they don’t “get in” they will be vilified for having missed the move.
the problem is ZERO interest rates creates and environment where there is no risk-free area to invest.
So, naturally, money is not being circulated. Why bother putting money into a savings account that yields nothing?
You might even loose it if the bank goes under. At least it may not be at your disposal. Better to keep it at home and under your mattress…………..economic stagnation.
“It’s not just money managers. It’s everyone.”
Which should raise a red flag.
It was “everyone” who was in the the RE bubble. “Everyone” was in the dot-com stock boom.
When it is thought that “everyone” is IN something it might be time to think of staying out.
We realized that chasing the yield was not for us two years ago. We looked at our savings rate at the FCU and gulped. We saw
that commodities were going to go through the roof as that was the last place anyone could go to chase the yield, resulting in massive increases in food prices. Yet we
didn’t bet, chickened out. Kept our money
in the bank and in the garden, just bought
more staples and seed.
Your job is to make sure none of this money belongs to you. Well yes. And just because that’s easier said than done, doesn’t mean that it’s not worth trying. The other part is patience. ‘Round these parts, people were talking about the RE bubble back in 2005, and it didn’t break until ~2007.
It was “everyone” who was in the the RE bubble. “Everyone” was in the dot-com stock boom.
When it is thought that “everyone” is IN something it might be time to think of staying out.
whats everyone in now ? the bond market ? stock market?
it looks to me like they are selling bonds and buying stocks but this is very early in this game.
don’t loan money to people who can’t pay you back. What a simple concept.
Ha, that was my simple “belief” when I shipped $73,000 dollars worth of “made-in-the-USA” product to a US subsidiary of a DOW Billion $$$$$$$$$ Dollar Corporation, that action didn’t work out to well,…(at least for Hwy)
“Now the market is on a bull run. They have no choice but to chase the yields, no matter how risky, to get their accounts back in line with the demand on the outflow side.”
And of course the more people that jump in to chase yield, the longer the bull run will last drawing in more people, which keeps the bull run going…… It’s a neat self fulfilling prophecy (positive feedback loop), right until people chicken out and she crashes.
The sooner people realise momentum trading is the devil, the sooner we can have markets worth investing in.
A slow economy directs the Fed to lower rates. An overheated economy tells them to raise rates. ……………………ahem.
When hell freezes over.
The sooner people realise momentum trading is the devil, the sooner we can have markets worth investing in……..
that was what i was waiting for hell to freeze over. sorry.
So what is your suggestion for “the way out?”
To quote SNL….”Don’t buy stuff you can’t afford.”
Went to look at a short sale house last weekend. The “owners” pulled out of the driveway in a BMW. Very nice furnishings - white leather couches, etc. Called the agent to see if they had any offers. She mentioned that the short sale was likely to be approved by the bank because the sellers had declared bankruptcy. Sheesh.
If those Beemers are paid for (HELOC?) then the creditors will get dibs on then (i think the exemption is $10K for any cars, combined.).
If not, then they still have to make the payments on the cars if they want to keep them. The BK will allow them to return the car to the lender without without worrying over recourse issues (same with the mortgages).
In Texas you get to keep a car.
“In Texas you get to keep a car.”
I was under the impression that BK laws were Federal.
I know in Texas you also get to keep your primary residence, no matter how much it’s worth.
While bankruptcy cases are filed in United States Bankruptcy Court (units of the United States District Courts), and federal law governs procedure in bankruptcy cases, state laws are often applied when determining property rights. For example, law governing the validity of liens or rules protecting certain property from creditors (known as exemptions), derive from state law. Because state law plays a major role in many bankruptcy cases, it is often unwise to generalize some bankruptcy issues across state lines.
In NY you get to keep your firewood (for cooking).
“I was under the impression that BK laws were Federal.”
The procedure is, but there are local court rules, and the debtor can choose whether to use state or federal exemptions. Texas has very generous exemptions, I think entire residence is exempt..same in Florida, I think.
“And whomever is on the wrong end of these bankruptcies lose their financial footing.”
I’m sure Citibank, BofA, Wells Fargo and other megaprofitable mega banks will survive. They’ll just charge everyone else 20% inteterest on their CCs.
I wouldn’t be so sure about BofA. Its market cap has declined 41% since mid-April.
Is it any wonder that banks remain reluctant to lend?
QE2 will sit in bank vaults, and have about as much of a lasting economic effect as if it never happened.
That’s pretty much what finance ministers around the world are saying, except for possibly debasing the dollar and making it harder to sell exports to the USA, which is all they really care about.
QE2 will sit in bank vaults, and have about as much of a lasting economic effect as if it never happened.”
QE2 will be invested in the Third world and cause 15% inflation over there.
QE2 will be sit in bank vaults and be used to quitely replace all the money that weet “poof” when the loans went bad to make the banks look solvent again.
“As the economy looks to climb out of the recent recession, businesses and consumers continue to file for bankruptcy to regain their financial footing,”
Does anyone else find this sentence rather silly?
Further proof of our 2 separate economies. One for the rich and one for everybody else.
Robert Reich just made the same point on his blog.
Good find.
Pair of area Lowe’s stores close
Citing inadequate past sales and bleak projections, Lowe’s closed two of its Inland Empire stores Sunday night, leaving 181 people jobless.
The two locations were at 4060 N. Hallmark Parkway in San Bernardino and 15000 Dale Evans Parkway in north Apple Valley, said company spokeswoman Maureen Wallace.
“Initial sales were well below projections and they haven’t improved over time,” Wallace said. “Lowe’s just couldn’t see a scenario that led to a profitability.”
Ninety-one employees at the San Bernardino store and 90 in Apple Valley received notice Sunday night of the closure. Company officials said they were given 60 days pay and benefits.
Wallace said there was no closing sale. Merchandise will be returned to a distribution center or moved to other locations, she said.
..Ninety-one employees at the San Bernardino store and 90 in Apple Valley received notice Sunday night of the closure…
nice..
Even though I’ve been in one maybe twice, I’m boycotting Lowe’s forever.
“I’m boycotting Lowe’s forever”
Why?
Lots of places have shut down without giving their employees 60 days benefits and pay. I do feel bad that folks lost their jobs, but if it had to happen… well, this was probably handled as well as can be expected.
I’d probably pass about four other hardware and home stores to get to my closest Lowes, so I don’t go there often either. But I won’t be avoiding them because of this.
why..
Because I consider it a Lowe blow.
Would Lowe’s appreciate it if 90 people just up and quit without notice?
My take on these home improvement big boxes:
This is a retail sector that got way ahead of itself during the bubble years. Opened way too many stores, and more than a few of those stores were in marginal locations.
I expect to see a lot of contraction in this sector.
Slim..
i Google searched for “Grand Opening” Lowe’s “San Bernardino”, hoping to find out when those two stores opened.
One page mentioned two big shopping centers opening up in the LA area in late 2006, and Lowe’s was an anchor tenant in both.
I think that’s when those 2 stores opened.
So, contraction is the word..
“This is a retail sector that got way ahead of itself during the bubble years”
+1000.
Some years ago Home Depot opened the first big box hw store in our burb. The place always looked dead.
Then a few years later Lowes opened a store down the road. Now both are super dead.
What were they thinking, especially Lowes? Was it “open now or be locked out forever”? Its not like there is an open space shortage in town.
“Would Lowe’s appreciate it if 90 people just up and quit without notice?”
There’s hope for you yet Joey.
Of course HP has laid off thousands of people in northern Colorado, which has had a profound effect on our local economy (HP isn’t the only serial lay off/offshore house in town, but they were the biggest). Median wages in Larimer County dropped 10% since 2000, with the bulk of that happening in the first half of the decade when HP shed nearly half its local work force here.
I had a company close on use back in 1992 I think gave us 60 days notice I think its the law made us work for at least that amount of time then laid us off with 2 weeks severance pay plus a extra week for each year worked at the company. laid us off in dribbles too so at the end hardly anyone was there working.
sort of shaped my outlook on working in Aerospace and electronics or any business for that matter. And it was also then that I noticed State workers in CA were doing quite well compared to the rest of us
Then a few years later Lowes opened a store down the road. Now both are super dead.
What were they thinking,
———————————————————————-
They were thinking about their short term stock bonus.
They were thinking about their short term stock bonus.
B-i-n-g-o was his Name-O!
Contraction? Naaah. They’re just moving up here to Canada.
Thanks a lot Kim. Joey finally gives evidence of compassion for his fellow man and you criticize him for it.
I’m with you on this one, Joey. The company knew two weeks ago that they were going to close. And their employees live paycheck to paycheck. At least they would have had a chance to save a little bit to tide them over or start to look for a job.
I have tremendous compassion for working people. That’s why I support business. Business is jobs.. it’s paychecks.
a few decades ago, some philosopher/religious guy came up with a list of “Ten Cannots”.
One of them says.. i gotta look it up..
“You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.”
wikipedia
If I were getting laid off, I’d take 60 days of pay and benefits after the lay off over 2 weeks notice any time.
I find it odd that they are not having a going out of business sale. Why? Is it really cheaper to have the extra inventory for other stores? Do those sales ususally result in high losses from people stealing items that the employees can’t prevent? Did they just think demand was so low in that area that even discounting stuff wouldn’t make it move out. I’d love to see the justification for the business decision.
I don’t understand. The emplyees received 60 days pay and benefits. You think 2 weeks notice and 45 days pay would be better?
“I have tremendous compassion for working people. That’s why I support business. Business is jobs.. it’s paychecks.”
I fundamentally agree. The problem with our current model is that we are supporting jobs in China when we buy stuff. HD and Lowes aren’t much better than WalMart in that regard.
There are times when I can’t put off a purchase and it makes me sick to my stomach when I see expensive, pricey stuff that’s made in China. I can understand that the cheap throw away crap comes from China.
For instance, I was shopping for hiking boots the other day. Even the $200 stuff is now made in China. WTH! Fortunately there still is domestically made stuff, and that’s what I buy. But you have to look for and ask for it.
d it odd that they are not having a going out of business sale. Why? Is it really cheaper to have the extra inventory for other stores?
The turn over is very high in the big box stores. They probably stopped re-stocking the stores a months ago.
Gap does the same thing.
In Colorado..
Answer me this:
While our system easily allows wages to rise when times are good and the economy grows, why don’t wages fall and adjust in bad times?
Does it seem logical that wages should adjust both ways? And if so, might there be something wrong with our system?
“You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.”
All of our cute little talking point, patriotic slogans might be a little out of date in our great 21st century.
1950: It’s the rich people who create all the new jobs.
2010: It’s the rich people who create all the new jobs in China.
The difference transcends stale rhetoric.
My bad, Cracker. I didn’t see the line where they were giving 60 days’ severance.
lol…too much trouble to read, I guess.
There are no ‘going out of business sales’ anymore, not good ones anyways.
All the inventory is turned over to specialists, who buy it and give minor discounts for what they can to keep traffic up, and sell the rest to other stores/companies for more than they can to the local customers.
I’m not surprised that instead of paying the specialists, Lowes instead chose to load their inventory up on trucks and move it to another store.
minimum wage / easily / upward velocity,…Really?
While our system easily allows wages to rise when times are good and the economy grows…
Reagan = good eCONomy
Cheney-Shrub = good eCONomy
Minimum Wage Policy of the Republican Party:
By Steve Hoenisch
Last updated on July 29, 2004
Copyright 1996-2008 www Criticism Com
Conservative-Moderate Fracture:
“In 1968, the official platform of the Republican Party said it planned to take a “flexible approach to minimum wage laws.” That statement has characterized much of the party’s position since Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, establishing a minimum wage. Since then, Congress has significantly revised and broadened its terms.
But even though minimum wage proposals have often drawn bipartisan support, members of the Republican Party have at times found themselves at odds on the issue.
The most common fracture has been along conservative-moderate lines. Many conservatives favor a policy of letting the free market establish wages, and some maintain there should be no minimum wage at all.
Senator Orrin Hatch, a conservative Republican from Utah and the senior Republican on the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, and Representative Steve Bartlett, a Texas Republican on the House Committee on Education and Labor, have fought against recent attempts to raise the minimum wage, arguing that a higher wage will increase unemployment and inflate prices, actually hurting the people that proponents say would be helped.
House Majority Leader Richard Armey, Republican of Texas, vowed to fight Democratic President Bill Clinton’s proposed increase in the minimum wage with “every fiber” of his body. Moderate Republicans, on the other hand, have not been so adamant. Although some of them reject an increase in the minimum wage as unnecessary, others have tended to argue that workers in entry-level positions deserve pay adequate enough to live on and that raising the minimum wage does not necessarily increase unemployment or inflation. Additional debate among party members has focused not on so much on whether there should be a minimum wage, but what it should be.
Throughout his eight years in the White House, Conservative Republican President Ronald Reagan was content to keep the minimum wage the same,…”
Give them 60 days severance. At $10 an hour, that’s about $2,500.
4 months rent?
I wonder if that was to soothed their guilty conscience when the decision was made in the boardroom.
Suddenly unemployed in California.. No big deal. Jerry was elected and recovery is right around the corner.
——
“Daddy! Can we go Christmas shopping and visit Santa?”
“Uhhh.. Not yet honey. Maybe next week.”
“While our system easily allows wages to rise when times are good and the economy grows, why don’t wages fall and adjust in bad times?
Does it seem logical that wages should adjust both ways? And if so, might there be something wrong with our system?”
FWIW, wages fell in Larimer County (and lots of other places) during the “good times” (2000-2007). The building boyz and other REIC folks did OK, everyone else, not so much.
Wages are simply dollar amounts.
“Real” wages are adjusted for inflation.
Then there’s something called Real Compensation.
Real wages are a useful economic measure, as opposed to nominal wages, which simply show the monetary value of wages in that year. However, real wages does not take into account other compensation like benefits or old age pensions. When including benefits and wages, total compensation in the U.S., for example has risen steadily for the last 40 years.[1]
Check out the charts on the page. The one in red.
Real Compensation- Nonfarm Business Sector.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_wages
——
What matters.. real wages or real compensation?
The problem I have with your example, and I believe many others will is that it presents a “Statistic” that just isn’t true for most people.
Because it shows average compensation rising for the duration of the chart, it implies that everyone is “on average” getting wealthier. They have not been.
If you look up this same data, broken down in quartiles, or by income group, you will find that the very top earners…..top 5% have gotten very much richer, while the middle-class have declined. It has been a steady transfer of income distribution for about 15 to 20 years with no gains in “compensation” for the middle income earners.
It doesn’t matter to millions of people what the “average” has done when they have lost ground and are watching Goldman-Sachs employees ladling themselves additional servings of “taxpayer” money.
A simple example: 5 groups. 10-20k, 20-50k, 50-100k, 100-200k, and the top 5%.
group 1 goes up 3%, group 2 up 1%, group 3 down 1 %, group 4 down 2 %, group 5 up 400%. What do you think will happen to the average “compensation”. Well, gee, it went up.
So much for statistical support of the facts.
Here, I have a chart for you. You can compare the distributions.
According to government figures for after-tax income,
from 1979 to 2007, the increase in income by quintiles is as follows:
Bottom is up 15.6%
Second is up 22.5%
Middle is up 25.3%
Fourth is up 34.7%
Top is up 95%, so as a percentage, the bottom of the groups is loosing out.
The top 10% is up 225%, the top 5% is up 260%, and the top 1% is up 380%.
So on average, even after you take all the inflation and loss of purchasing power away over the 28 year period. The top groups are doing just fine. Do you think a 25% increase will cover the loss of purchasing power for most of the other groups?? I don’t think so. Remember housing going up 20% or more in a year? I do. That is why I knew the whole game was a fraud. The incomes were never there to support massive price increases in housing.
Sorry I don’t have the figures to 2009, but you get the point.
http://www.cbo.gov/publications/collections/tax/2010/average_after-tax_income.pdf
“Reagan = good eCONomy”
Raygun got us started down the path of a debt spiral funded by printing press money. Once the debt started building uncontrollably, it was inevitable the financial system eventually would blow up real good.
Diogenes..
Are there good reasons higher incomes grow faster than lower incomes?
If a company grows, who among all the people who make it run, will naturally benefit the most?
At the top is the owner. He is gonna take the biggest cut. I mean, it’s his company. He started with one pickup truck and a hammer decades ago. It all belongs to him. It wouldn’t exist were it not for him.
Then there are higher up who might get big raises and bonuses. Those people have been there for a long time, and have made a career out of this company. They make decisions and take responsibility. They are dedicated to growing the company.
—
And there are the laborers. Do they have company commitment? Not really. It’s just a job.
They have no responsibility towards company growth, and make no decisions which help it grow. All they want is to collect a paycheck. The company doesn’t grow thanks to their work. They have no special knowledge, and can be easily replaced.
They contributed nothing special to company growth and deserve nothing special.. nothing beyond a mediocre raise, perhaps..
I’m just being blunt about it.. Those nearest the top are the ones who guide a company towards success and are naturally the ones who should benefit the most.
———
When that plane landed in the water and nobody died, did the passengers deserve praise? If so, they didn’t get any.
It was the pilot and crew who deserved it. Praise was unequally distributed towards the top 1%.
..but don’t passengers deserve equal praise? After all, that plane wouldn’t even be in the air if it weren’t for passenger buying tickets!
No point in doing D.I.Y. projects on houses you are underwater on.
I’d guess people are buying things for needed repair/maintenance (hard to ignore a leaking toilet) but a lot less on “upgrades/discretionary” stuff.
I would imagine poorly done amateur home repairs will be something to watch out for when home browsing.
Meanwhile, the local Home Despot here in South Hillsborough (Tampa Bay area) is booming. Go figure.
the FB’s want the house to be ready when prices bounce back next year
after the superbowl.
I suspect since Lowes is a national chain, the goods get returned to their warehouse, to be redistributed to the Lowes stores that are still producing decent revenue. Makes sense to me anyway.
Cali is the state that gets hit first . I’d leave the state if I lived there , unless I got one of those sugar-daddy pensions , that other people pay for.
Does Lowes OWN their stores or is the lease about to run out, and they abruptly closed?
Both Lowes and HD have a policy of owning the
land.
thanks that’s scary just up and close
We were in Home Despot the other day, and they were still pushing the high-end kitchen make-overs with the granite countertops. I wonder how many of those things they actually sell these days. You would think that at some point they would cut back in that department and put something else in that space that they might have a chance at selling. But I suppose it only takes a few suckers every month to keep the whole thing going.
Maybe they can instead sell custom blinds that you can install in your car.
There’s still a lot of flipping going on here in Sacramento. Buy a house for $120,000, paint/granite, back on the market for $180,000. Risky business.
I would reckon that there are quite a few folks in America that would sign-up for $912.03 monthly: “shelter-the-family-from-year-after-year-constant-landlord-does-not-believe-the-rents-to damn-high! type of “long-term” financial programs that come complete with a Federal Gov’t tax subsidy
With those numbers, I would gander that “bidness” would be quite “brisk”
Qualified Buyer/Flipper/Corporation/LLC/REIT/Trust person:
$120,000 =
$608.02 Monthly Payment
$218,888.05 Monthly principal & interest / Total of 360payments
Payoff date: Dec, 2039
Newly painted/faux-granite-toilet Buyer:
$180,000 =
$912.03 Monthly Payment
$328,332.08 Monthly principal & interest / Total of 360 payments Payoff date: Dec, 2039
‘custom blinds that you can install in your car.’
I’d love something like that for my van. But I never was interested in granite because I drop stuff a lot and those things are wineglass-busters for sure. Then I found out about the radioactivity.
“Then I found out about the radioactivity.”
Then you don’t want to travel by air any more Montana. One round trip (two doses from those new whole body scan machines) are more ionizing radiation than you’d get from a lifetime of sleeping on a slab of granite. You’re basically getting a CAT scan every time you go through security.
My brother recently told me about his pregnant daughter (first trimester) canceling a trip, on the recommendation of her OB, that would have required an airline flight.
It’s my understanding that the option to be groped (patted down) instead of going through the scanners will soon be eliminated.
A few years ago, the company I was working for wanted to lease some space on the Old McClelland AFB in Sacramento, which had been turned into a very large business park.
As you can imagine in a lease arrangement with Sacramemento County the AF, and a Nationl RE agency the paperwork was horrendous.
As I was reading through approximately 30 lbs of paperwork, I noticed a document, nicely buried in the mass of paperwork entitled something like “Radiation Hazard Hold Harmless and Indemnification”. That caught my attention. It turns out that radioactive material had been buried somewhere on the old AFB, but nobody could quite remember where.
Well, we needed the space, and workabees are expendible so I went ahead and signed the document. I did notice on my trips to the facility there were crews in hasmat suits working at various sites around the complex. At the time I left the company, none of the workabees glowed in the dark, so I guess they are ok.
The article I read stated that TSA was planning to keep the grope option, but they were going to make the option so invasive that people would gladly choose the x-ray instead. Yet another example of automation, like the automated checkout at the grocery store.
Yet another example of automation, like the automated checkout at the grocery store.
I have no problem with auto-checkouts at stores. They’re just there to take my money. Nothing more, nothing less.
As for being groped and X-rayed at the airport, I think that this is going to drive even more people away from air travel.
Not that the railways don’t have security. I encountered it firsthand when I was in DC last December. Was pulled out of line for a bag search by two very beefy Amtrak cops.
I absolutely, totally loathe automated check-outs.
No matter how much I try, the machine always ends up telling me there is an unexpected item in the bagging area! Please wait for assistance!
Then I feel like everyone in the store is looking at me.
The last time, I fled without the items I was trying to purchase. And I haven’t used the automated checkout since.
It amazes me that people will still fly short hops, like DAL-HOU or SEA to GEG and I am sure there are many others. You can drive either of these two trips in about four hours which is within a half hour what it takes to fly if you get to the airport an hour ahead of the flight, figure the time to get a rental car etc. For a half hour I won’t put up with the hassle of the TSA.
Per abc.com the dose is 200,000 times less than a CAT scan. So much for Tea Party Tinfoil Hat Confusion!!
Pair of area Lowe’s stores close ??
Interesting because they just opened two more near me within the past year…
“Company officials said they were given 60 days pay and benefits.”
I seriously doubt this. This is NOT SOP for retail closings. But if they did, good for them.
Home Depot and Lowes were engaged in an expansion arms race. When I first learned of ongoing and planned expansion numbers for both of these retailers, I knew it couldn’t last and that closings were in the future.
Their over-expansion reminds me of the era when there was a gas station on every corner. During the energy crisis years of the 1970s, a lot of those stations went bye-bye.
I remember that. I also remember shortly after they became self-serve and hard to find.
We’ve heard this “mass exodus” scare tactic again and again. Is it just a banking lobbyist talking point, or does the idea hold water that instilling a rule of law in your own nation’s banking system which does not apply to other nations’ banks will somehow make all the clients want to bank in other countries? What kind of clients are we worrying about here — traditional banking clients, or New Age casino gamblers with too-big-to-fail insurance backing up their losses?
Key GOP rep warns of banking ‘mass exodus’
Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala, speaks during a news conference in September 2009.
By Charles Riley, staff reporter
November 5, 2010: 8:46 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney dot com) — The congressman likely to supplant Rep. Barney Frank as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is asking regulators to carefully consider the implications of a new rule designed to limit risky trading.
Rep. Spencer Bachus, a Republican from Alabama, warns in a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the Financial Stability Oversight Council that an overly-strict implementation of the Volcker Rule will spark a “mass exodus” of clients from U.S. banks to their competitors abroad.
The aim of the “Volcker Rule” is to stop big banks from making trades on their own accounts, especially since commercial banks have access to funds back-stopped by the government. The measure was included in the massive financial reform legislation signed into law by President Obama earlier this year.
In the letter, Bachus argues that if the language of the rule is rigidly implemented, U.S. banks will be at a disadvantage.
“If the Volcker Rule’s prohibitions are expansively interpreted and rigidly implemented against U.S. institutions while other nations refuse to adopt them, the damage to U.S. competitiveness and job creation could be substantial,” Bachus writes in the letter.
…
Give me a break.
The A-hole probably voted against the bailouts too, knowing others would vote for them to prevent the economy from imploding. Bought and paid for.
The Banksters have been on the march since the election, making all kinds of demands.
Feh. Let them go overseas then. Maybe some of the Irish banks will want to pick up this business.
I was hoping some of our banksters might defect to Iraq or Afghanistan, in order to screw up their banking systems as badly as they have screwed up ours.
Already happening.
Karzai urges Afghans not to panic as bank withdrawals accelerate
www dot washingtonpost dot com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090202266.html
Karzai urges Afghans not to panic as bank withdrawals accelerate
(Hwy wonders how much of the collected and “re-deposited-elsewhere” “Shazam!-Islam-is-now-democracy” US taxpayer deposited millions $$$$$$$$$$$$ Mr. Karzai is going to personally spend in his “local community”, …which someday may just happen to be outside Afghanistan)
Banking is very very complicated in Islamic countries. They have to structure loans so that they are considered equity investments under Sharia law. Not impossible, but complicated. Our guys probably don’t have the skills.
All they have to do to have the risky functionality operate in the US is spin off those functions into a separate financial entity that isn’t supported by government guarantees. That part of the business is more than welcome to risk going out of business like any other hedge fund. And do it without any government guarantees. Oh, and if they are actually large enough they can deal with the regulations that go with being one of the new systemically important entities.
On November 4, 1999, Bachus voted in favor of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act,[3] which some economists, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, believe helped create the 2007 financial crisis.[4][5
In 2007, Bachus made trades with a number of short term stock options, betting that stocks would rise or fall for a quick profit or loss. Bachus made up to $160,000, including a bet in March that the stock market would drop that earned him between $15,000 and $50,000. Most members of Congress hold some stocks or mutual funds, but Bachus' rapid-fire trades are unusual for a leading member of Congress, particularly one with the key role of ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services
In 2005, Bill Maher commented about the Army missing its recruiting goal by 42 percent in April, saying, "More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." Bachus responded to Maher's comments, saying "I think it borders on treason. In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country
Class act
Meet the new boss literally the same as the old boss from 2 years ago.
Whoops looks like I just commited treason. I need a safe house quick.
“In 2005, Bill Maher commented about the Army missing its recruiting goal by 42 percent in April”
The bubble pop took care of that. Instead of wielding nail guns, today’s high school graduates will be wielding real guns while serving overseas.
Pardon me while I throw up.
“These f@!king “TrueDeceiver’s™” Guys!,” Eric Hoffer jr.
Rep. Spencer Bachus, a Republican from Alabama, warns in a letter…
Fear! Fear! Fear!
(cleverly disguised as “TrueBeliever’s™ / “TrueDeceiver’s™” “TrueHypocrite™” / “TruePurity™” propaganda aka: “re-elect-us-we-know-what-to-always-do-for-you-lil-people-trust-us-…again & again & again-we-really-me-it-this-time!-really!”
““If the Volcker Rule’s prohibitions are expansively interpreted and rigidly implemented against U.S. institutions while other nations refuse to adopt them, the damage to U.S. competitiveness and job creation could be substantial,”
Compared to what?
I savor the prospect of seeing the historical record set straight on Barney Frank’s role in bringing about the present dismal state of the U.S. financial system. It should be particularly interesting to learn why Fannie and Freddie were not addressed in the Dodd-Frank banking reform legislation.
Republicans to put Barney Frank, bailouts under microscope
By Dave Wedge
Friday, November 5, 2010
Boston Herald Chief Enterprise Reporter
Barney Frank — a fading Capitol Hill power broker — will return to Washington stripped of his committee clout and wearing a target on his back as top Republicans vow to probe mortgage giants bailed out by taxpayers on the Newton Democrat’s watch.
“I think there’s a responsibility to get down to the errors in judgment which helped create the current financial crisis,” said U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican set to become a leader on the powerful Financial Services Committee chaired by Frank. “The fact that Congress was repeatedly warned by the regulators . . . requires vigorous congressional oversight and investigation, lest we repeat the mistakes of the past.”
As Republicans seize control of the House — and Alabama Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus moves to take over Frank’s coveted banking post — new House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he’ll drill deep into the fiscal fiasco that led to the collapse of government-backed lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“Everyone agrees there’s a lot to look at to try to address what happened, (such as) the Dodd-Frank legislation not addressing Fannie and Freddie at all,” Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella said. “There’s certainly going to be a lot of interest collectively to look at the things that got us here.”
…
We should invite this guy to a future HBB gathering. I would be willing to make the trip anywhere up the coast to chat with him.
Nov. 8, 2010, 11:01 p.m. EST
How hackers can help us defeat Wall Street
Commentary: They’ll be the heroes of the Second American Revolution
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — “American capitalism is broken,” warns economist Peter Morici. Worse, American government is broken with “two bankrupt political parties bankrupting the country,” warns Stanford political scientist Larry Diamond. Why? Because Wall Street is broken: Our engine of capitalism is broken.
Morici warns that Wall Street’s insatiable gluttony is strangling America’s 8,000 regional banks: “About 3,000 regional banks face extinction, and ordinary Americans can only borrow money at government run Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or at extortionist rates on big-bank-controlled credit cards.” Time to counterattack, or the clock runs out.
The plan? Hackers are America’s “Hail Mary pass” against Wall Street’s power play to rule America. In fact, hackers may be the only solution left, our last line of defense in this economic class war to save America. Hackers can operate like secret CIA special ops commandos to help take America back from the Wall Street Conspiracy of super-rich.
Yes, only solution. Why? Two bankrupt political parties. Forget gridlock, it’s worse. The GOP will restore Reaganomics for the rich. The Dems are proven gutless fighters. And an activist Supreme Court unleashed the floodgates for billionaires, foreign corporations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobby to gain absolute control of Washington.
So it’s now or never. America is no longer a democracy. Voting is a cruel joke. America is now an anarchy being divided up by and for the rich. Today’s world reminds me of British oppression that triggered the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
Yes, America’s problem is very simple: Wall Street. Capitalism is broken. Wall Street broke it. Beyond repair. And it has no intention of ever changing its gluttonous ways.
That’s been obvious since 2008 when a Goldman insider in the Treasury conned a clueless Congress into bailing out a broken Wall Street. So now Wall Street runs America and our bankrupt political parties will fix nothing without a catastrophic meltdown, class war, revolution.
Two hacker strategies to save America from Wall Street
Listen closely: Once it became obvious 300 million average Americans are handicapped in their asymmetrical economic class warfare against Wall Street and its co-conspirators … obvious that American capitalism is broken … obvious America is an anarchy run by “two bankrupt political parties bankrupting the country” … then it also became obvious that average Americans need extraordinary solutions to level the playing field.
America needs hackers.
….
they can’t control the criminals, once they’re in the door.
What exactly will the hackers do?
Shut down the banks with denial of service attacks?
Steal money from the banks and give it to the poor?
Either way, it sounds like a good way to end up wearing cement shoes on the bottom of the Hudson river.
“What exactly will the hackers do?”
I have a feeling this piece was meant as a humorous rant, more than a serious proposal on how to repair our broken down financial system.
Most whimsical.
Hackers… meh. Snipers is what America needs.
Ok I don’t know if I lost a post I was working on that I pressed the key wrong ,but let me try again .
It is becoming increasing clear to me that America was hijacked by
Corporate America , price-fixing monopolies ,Wall Street Money
Changers with all their traitorous destructive “Free Trade Policies ” that
was just a cover for the Greed Machine to have their cake and eat it to at the expense of the American worker .
All it took was to talk Politicians into making policies and laws and repealing laws that would stack the deck so much in favor of these rigged decks ,that your normal American capitalism would be over-taken
by these faulty systems that would cream Main Street .
I have been observing the unfolding of the these Power Brokers battling
to keep their power and policies verses Main Street and the Majority
of Americans .No question that the American people are confused .
We talk so much about the need for separation of state from Religion and now more talk is needed about the need for separation of state
from Business power groups that can take over . Eisenhower warned
about the need to keep close watch on a potential for Industrial/Military take over of the secular State.
This absurd notion that whats good for Wall Street is good for America
has not proven out to be the truth . Whats good for Corporate American these days isn’t necessary what is good for America because they aren’t loyal to America anymore . Tax these bastards for any outsourced jobs ,for any out-manufactured products ,as if they were a foreign entity .
These bastards have destroyed the tax based that was derived by employed Americans putting us in a position of being prone to needing more taxes to compensate for the raping of America .
There isn’t any noble idealism going on here ,it’s pure greed and power
with out any destination other than ill-gotten gains and distribution of
the wealth and power to these Power Brokers. No doubt this is threatening our National security and long held Constitution .If the bail-out of the Wall Street culprits didn’t prove to you that business is in bed
with our government ,I don’t know what will .
I have denied what I’m saying now in my own mind for months because the truth of it is mind-blowing and not a truth that I wanted to see .
When business comes above the rule of law ,or the Constitution ,we have serious problems here . Come on ,a Goldman Sachs Kingpin (Hank Paulson ) becomes the Treasury Sec at the exact moment in history where bail-outs to these thieves would cover-up their crimes and personal liability .No reasonable reform of the financial systems came about from the Politicians .
The Fed Chairman has more power than the President and the Fed Chairman seems to be nothing but ” Wall Streets Bitch “.
The needed corrections can not take place if this continues . I’m just
wondering if they have gotten to the Judicial department of Government yet . Surprising the Judicial check and balance of Government seems to be out of the loop in this drama .
I’m just
wondering if they have gotten to the Judicial department of Government yet
They have it now 5 to 4.
And an activist Supreme Court unleashed the floodgates for billionaires, foreign corporations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobby to gain absolute control of Washington
All that?,… and not x1 mention of the “men-behind-the-curtain”: “Rosebud!” (aka: Sir Federal Reserve)
The Supreme Court throw-in was cute!
Good thing that those infallible blind & deaf non-partisan wizards hardly ever make catastrophic social ramification type errors!
Dred Scott V. Sanford: We all know how this story/decision ended.
Human / Food genetic tinkering = US Patent allowed! (Diamond v. Chakrabarty)
(”DNA, in particular the ordering of its nucleotides, therefore serves as the physical embodiment of laws of nature…”)
Private Corporation’s = “Living Person” status:
“…The entire issue comes down to the corporation as a person. Is the corporation entitled to all the same rights as a natural person? The very fact that the Supreme Court in 1819 designated corporations as artificial persons rather than natural ones indicates that they are not. Keep in mind that the spirit of corporate law is largely centered on limited liability, not enabling the corporation to wield disproportionate power in the political process (which arguably was already happening anyway). Take our largest corporations, with billions of dollars in quarterly profits.
They are generally controlled by a Board of Directors and major shareholders; the number of which is comparable to those in attendance at a typical Little League baseball game. It is naïve to think that the American people can muster as much financial influence in Washington as even one large company, let alone all of them. The bottom line here is that a corporation is a creation of man and is not entitled to all of the same rights that are imbued in us by God. The framers of the Constitution, following along this line of reasoning, focused the founding documents on individual liberties rather than commercial ones.
Detractors of this line of thinking will accuse me of being hypocritical because on one hand I urge government to get out of the affairs of business, yet on this issue I encourage it to do the opposite. To reconcile these two disparate positions, one must understand the intended purpose of government. Our government was designed to protect the rights of the individual and to prevent people from running roughshod over each other. With that in mind, it would stand to reason that government shouldn’t be telling firms the maximum amount they can pay employees. It shouldn’t be bailing those companies out when they fail either. But it certainly should be preventing companies from stampeding the American people by making the electoral and legislative processes available to the highest bidder.
In conclusion, it is my opinion that what happened yesterday was misconstrued as being a First Amendment issue when it really is an issue of equal protection.” (By: Andy Sutton)
HWY …forgot about the decision by the big guys to allow
Corporation funding of campaigns as if they were a human . Sorry ,guess they already got to the Courts .
“So now Wall Street runs America and our bankrupt political parties will fix nothing without a catastrophic meltdown, class war, revolution.”
You have problem with Corporate Communist Capitalism©®™, comrade?
Marsh on Monday
Nov. 7, 2010, 11:01 p.m. EST
President Obama, the new Nixon
Commentary: Once again, the dollar is Europe’s problem
By David Marsh, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — “We are not amused.” The frosty words forever on the pursed lips of Queen Victoria 150 years ago seem to match the mood of German Chancellor Angela “Ironsides” Merkel as she contemplates renewed U.S. monetary adventurism after last week’s much-heralded QE2 announcement.
The last time that the Federal Reserve waded into the market with massive purchases of Treasurys, Merkel made harshly clear where she stood. In a much-noted speech in Berlin in June 2009, she took the Fed, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank to task, saying she looked at the new bond-purchasing powers of the Fed “with great skepticism,” adding primly that the ECB was coming under “international pressure to bend” its principles.” No doubt with an irritated snap of the wrist, she urged: “We must go back again to an independent central banking policy and return to the path of reason.“
The latest reaction from Berlin to the renewed opening of the monetary floodgates looks equally critical.
…
Everybody’s worried about protecting their exports to the US. Gotta keep those Benz/Beemer/Audi/VW sales going.
I could see Airbus being hurt by this somewhat.
I think Germany deserves to be worried. After all, they have behaved quite sensibly these past decade. Yet they will suffer along with everyone else.
Isn’t there a risk that China’s getting tough with today’s hot money would lead to a crash in the price of Chinese investments backed by yesterday’s hot money?
Emerging Markets Report
Nov. 9, 2010, 2:28 a.m. EST
China cracks down on inflows, slams QE
Forex regulator vows to get tough with China-bound hot money
By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — China announced new measures Tuesday to curb inflows of foreign speculative capital, as senior government officials stepped up criticism of excessively loose monetary policies abroad, such as those of the Federal Reserve.
…
Sooner or later, we will be back to the same kind of climate that prevailed in 1971, the year President Richard Nixon closed the gold window and effectively brought down the curtain on the Bretton Woods system — an occasion that will spark all kinds of 40th anniversary commemorations next year. …
As we prepare to commemorate the 40-year anniversary of the Nixon gold move, the immortal words of his Treasury Secretary John Connally — “the dollar is our currency but your problem”— will be ringing in Europeans’ ears. Not many people thought two years ago that Barack Obama might be the spiritual successor to Richard M. Nixon.
Connally came back from his wounding at the hands of LHO to talk trash to the Europeans?
Hadn’t really been much of a gold window since FDR, since only Saudi Oil sheiks and the like were allowed to use it. IMHO if I’m forbidden from owning gold, it’s a gold standard in name only.
“virtuous circle” or Death Spiral
No, $600 Billion of Quantative Easing Won’t Make Your Home Price Go UP
By Greg Fielding
Housing bulls frequently point to looming inflation as a reason to own hard assets like houses. The Fed creating another $600 Billion out of thin air is just the type of thing that these housing inflationists excited.
However, that’s just not how quantitative easing works.
In Bernanke’s own words:
This approach eased financial conditions in the past and, so far, looks to be effective again. Stock prices rose and long-term interest rates fell when investors began to anticipate the most recent action. Easier financial conditions will promote economic growth. For example, lower mortgage rates will make housing more affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance. Lower corporate bond rates will encourage investment. And higher stock prices will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can also spur spending. Increased spending will lead to higher incomes and profits that, in a virtuous circle, will further support economic expansion.
On other words, interest rates for various loans could move fractions of a percent lower in the near term. That should give the average American about enough stimulus to try out Taco Bell’s new XXL Chalupa.
Given the trillions of dollars being destroyed by bankruptcies and foreclosures worldwide, we are stuck in a deflationary spiral. We’re going to need a heap of inflation just to maintain the status quo.
http://bayarearealestatetrends.com/2010/11/no-600-billion-of-quantative-easing-wont-make-your-home-price-go-up/ - 90k
“Given the trillions of dollars being destroyed by bankruptcies and foreclosures worldwide, we are stuck in a deflationary spiral. We’re going to need a heap of inflation just to maintain the status quo.”
There it is.
Well there it is. If the Fed succeeds, inflation. If it does not, deflation.
Goldilocks is dead.
Heck, I wonder what percentage of household balance sheets are really prepared for a prolonged bout of stagflation? No HELOC relief valve to insulate against rising fuel and food prices. What does comes in will go out even faster - hardly a recipe for prosperity.
hardly a recipe for inflation.
I think the only inflation that occurs will be localized to Manhattan.
Heck, I wonder what percentage of household balance sheets are really prepared for a prolonged bout of stagflation ?
I am with you Ejohn…I think thats where we are at and where we will remain for some time to come…I just hope that the Barley & Hops commodity prices don’t go up too much…
I just hope that the Barley & Hops commodity prices don’t go up too much…
You could always dilute it,…then quickly follow with a stiff shot!
“On other words, interest rates for various loans could move fractions of a percent lower in the near term. That should give the average American about enough stimulus to try out Taco Bell’s new XXL Chalupa.”
Except that the Chalupa, unlike houses, will probably go up in price.
You can bank on it.
The Queen of Alaska is taking on the Fed chairman — whoa boy…
News Hub: Palin Takes on Bernanke on QE2
Nov. 8, 2010
Sarah Palin says she’s deeply concerned about the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion of U.S. bonds to boost the economy. Alan Murray, Jerry Seib and Jon Hilsenrath discuss why the Federal Reserve has been drawn into the political fray.
will be interesting to see what her “handlers” are telling her to say.
taxing or printing, they are the same damn thing. we could balance the budget but print $1.3T/ year and we would be in the same place.
of course printing isn’t progressive, the poor get hit at the same rate as the rich.
palin has a simple common sense message, your “handlers” comment speaks more about you then her.
Palin’s a disaster. She needs to exit, stage left. For good.
Give her time. I can see a Gary Hart-like exit in her future.
HUH? you mean lovely Sarah will get caught in a compromising sitch-U-ation with a cute young pool-boi?
a short few months ago i saw an interview with palin and she sounded like a complete idiot/bafoon when discussing the economy.
i admit…she sounds better now than she did before. maybe she found some time to study up on macro economic monetary policy while she was filming her reality tv show.
Lol! I didn’t any books in her house.
Even W thinks she is dumb.
No, she’s being coached. She must have special ed classes every day.
“Even W thinks she is dumb.”
A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind man.
of course printing isn’t progressive, the poor get hit at the same rate as the rich
Not so
The poor can’t hedge their salary against inflation
The rich can.
Charlie, good comment.
Palin says she’s deeply concerned about the Federal Reserve’s ??
Now she’s a economist…My goodness…What a sad state of affairs for our country that this nit wit can get as much air time as she does…
….. just keep talking sister sara. eh heh.
scdave,she’s smart enough to get air time.
No, she’s pretty enough that whoever is behind her is getting her air time. You think she would be on TV if her looks were even average?
So is Snooki…
The good thing about Palin is that, as a female with an MSM megaphone, she has a high probability of eventually becoming a leading Republican candidate for the WH. Unlike Meg Whitman, who is smart and well qualified for the California governorship which eluded her grasp, Palin’s qualifications to lead the country are dubious at best. That should make it pretty easy for her to lose a future election for the Republicans, which should be good for the country, as the nation tends to often fight wars when Republicans are in office (recall that Nixon, Bush I, Bush II were all “wartime presidents,” while Raygun pounded Grenada just to remind the world how tough we are).
as the nation tends to often fight wars when Republicans are in office
It’s a darn good thing for Iran & North Korea that America is still promoting “Shazam!-Islam-is-now-democracy! whilst the “New I’m-the-Decider-in-chief!” lil’Opie is hog-tied by:
“TrueDoNothing™ / “TrueObstructionists™ / TrueGridLokers™” +
Now!,…Now, we’re full of “TrueAnger™” PeeParty tea toadlers +
Cheney-Shrub Legacy Effect #3: “We left y’all with the worst POS economy in 80 years…see ya!”
Otherwise, they might not be so damn “radiant” &”cocky”!
This political commercial comment by:
HBB Radio voice: (I’m Hwy50, I’m stickin’ with this POV)
The scary thing to me is that she is no less qualified than the current or the past two presidents. I fear that politics have gotten so rancorous that the best of the best are too put off to participate.
Have been since the late 1970s.
As a conservative, not to be confused with a Republican, I’m so mad that John McCain gave this woman a soap box. She’s no conservative and she makes little sense when not controlled by the powers that be.
I can’t quite figure out some people on this board.
A politician calls QEII “dangerous” and will hurt consumers
And further calls on Bernanke to cease and desist.
And most people on this board complain or bad mouth?? Because it is Sarah Palin?
If it was Bush or Obama or xxxx most people here would be screaming for joy.
I will take allies where I can find them.
she ran as a vice presidential nominee for a guy who wanted the federal government to pay people’s mortgages. a guy who said that was good because foreclosures will decrease housing prices for those who do/can pay their mortgages.
now she is pretty much head of the republican/tea parties preaching against QE2?
pardon my skepticism.
A different set of handlers=a different ideology. She may thrive if she were to forumulate a single coherent thought of her own but don’t hold your breath.
Enjoy her Celebration of Stupidity tour in the mean time.
Hi, hon.
Sarah Palin says she’s deeply concerned about…
Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$$$
Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$$$
Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$$$
Has her “TrueGoal™” changed course?
MUrDoch’s “TrueProvoker ™” Faux News salary Money 1st…
Political wink/”gotcha” travel circuit 2nd…
“spending time with growing family/moose hunting” slides a lil’ further on down her priority list,..one more day at a time.
Once you get used to the 5th Ave clothes, life takes on new meaning.
* MARKETS
* NOVEMBER 8, 2010
Fed Global Backlash Grows
China and Russia Join Germany in Scolding; Obama Defends Move as Pro-Growth
By JONATHAN WEISMAN
NEW DELHI—Global controversy mounted over the Federal Reserve’s decision to pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, with President Barack Obama defending the move as China, Russia and the euro zone added to a chorus of criticism.
Mr. Obama returned fire in the growing confrontation over trade and currencies Monday in a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, taking the unusual step of publicly backing the Fed’s decision to buy $600 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds—a move that has come under withering international criticism for weakening the U.S. dollar.
The Fed is independent, and the White House by longstanding tradition has strained to avoid any appearance of collusion or conflict. Mr. Obama said the administration doesn’t comment on particular actions of the U.S. central bank, before adding: “I will say that the Fed’s mandate, my mandate, is to grow our economy. And that’s not just good for the United States, that’s good for the world as a whole.”
…
They should all be pissed at the US, really pissed, for openly doing what they do in secret. They make noise now, but if we balanced our budget, they would be crushed.
40% of Palm Beach County homeowners in foreclosure skip mediation
By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 10:50 a.m. Monday, Nov. 8, 2010
WEST PALM BEACH -
About 40 percent of Palm Beach County homeowners eligible for foreclosure mediation are unreachable, unresponsive, or choose not to participate in the new program.
Run by the Palm Beach County Bar Association and free to homeowners, the arbitration program began in July with the intent to help avoid foreclosure through other options such as a loan modification, an agreement for a short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
About 3,200 homeowners who received an initial foreclosure notice have been sent information about the mediation, which puts them face to face with their lender. Of those, 1,300 have been listed as not participating.
Michael Napoleone, president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, said it has been so difficult to reach some people that an initial deadline that gave organizers 30 days to contact homeowners was extended last week to 60 days.
gee, almost like they were absentee speculators or something.
They probably were. We have a lot of the same thing happening here in AZ.
The news outlets will be the last to know.
“…skip mediation…”
Did the writer mean to say ‘medication’?
Hitler gets the bad news.
Blames Tea party
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlnd4zW1NCU&feature=player_embedded
i like it when is xbox live account gets banned.
Fed’s Fisher Attacks Central Bank Policy: QE2 A Waste Of Money
Posted: November 8, 2010 at 2:44 pm
The head of the Dallas Fed and a regular opponent of the central bank’s plans, Richard Fisher, took issue with a number of the Federal Reserve’s recent decisions.
He did concede a few points to his fellow governors, the most important of which is that inflation is tame.
“The underlying trend in inflation appears, for the time being, to be holding steady, albeit at the rate we were accustomed to in the 1950s rather than the rate we have become accustomed to since then.”
Fisher’s most sobering comments pertained to the fact that low interest rates, even those produced by QE2, will not be enough for American companies to add workers or increase investment in US plants and equipment. The returns from moving business overseas are simply too great.
“Far too few of the large companies I talk to report interest in hiring American workers or committing to large-scale CAPEX (capital expenditures) in the United States; they believe their potential for return on investment (ROI) is greater elsewhere.”
If Fisher’s observation is true, QE2 is largely a waste of time.
…
There it is from the post above me …………”Far to few of the large companies I talk to report interest in hiring American workers or
committing to large scale CAPEX (capital expenditures ) in the United States :they believe their potential for return on investment (ROI) is greater elsewhere .”
Wow ,emerging markets are where it’s at ,who cares about those
American workers ,we already fleeced that population ,they aren’t good consumers anymore ,to much in debt ……from the thoughts of a Wall
Street planner ,
Why no mention of this in the MSM? Too true to be “news?”
For the same reason you didn’t see the Repubs voting against ending tax breaks for offshoring jobs back in Sept. But Reuters has it. And they haven’t attempted any revisionism on the story either.
QE2 is largely a waste of time.
Federal Reserve Inc. (person) = “TrueWizardCorporation™”
Bungee-cord Theory = 1
Rope-around-the-Throat = 0
That’s just the way it’s gonna be
Mr. Bear/Cantankerous-Bomb-Thrower/ withered Green Shoots…M.E.R.S. has attacked Diogenes!!
Yes, I am a victim.
Freddie Mac notified my Broker yesterday that they are canceling my contract for the purchase of the foreclosure I have been waiting to close.
Why? The former “owner” found a lawyer who has filed suit to say that they didn’t have a right to foreclose on him/her because of all the paperwork jiggling of the past couple of years.
My contract with Freddie says in the event they can’t close the deal, my only recourse is to get my deposit back. The Realtor gets screwed, too.
What this meas, of course, is that this pending lawsuit clouds the title.
Naturally, the Title Company won’t issue a title policy if someone is suing and claiming they are the “real owner”. It’s a total disaster.
I had a valid contract for sale. An offer, acceptance, a deposit and have been waiting for closing by the end of the month. I have even purchased some furniture that it in an enclosed trailer waiting to be delivered.
I am now back to looking for properties, if i dare. What if I find another? Will that title be valid?
What I don’t understand, of course, is that if the Court allowed the foreclosure to go through, then how is it possible to get a “do-over”??
The time to contest the foreclosure was during the foreclosure process.
Unfortunately, now that everyone has heard of the problems with MERS, everyone thinks they can get a “free house”.
This perception is reinforced by the fact that Millions of deadbeat mortgage holders have been living in houses for “free” for years, with the foreclosure process backed up everywhere, and banks not wanting to possess and liquidate the properties at “market price”.
Price discovering is destroying their balance sheets and their booked assets are revealed to be something less than they bargained for.
Naturally, I am very distressed. I have shopped for a LONG time to find a property in the area, at the price and in the condition I was willing to pay. I have a valid contract. I negotiated with the current owner (Freddie Mac) and they agreed to sell. I left a deposit. Their title is now clouded by the actions of a NON-paying mortgage holder. If he wanted to Stop the foreclosure, all he needed to do was make a payment. He did not want that. He wants a do-over. He overpaid, and wants the bank to take the loss on his bad investment decision.
He wants to tell his broker to buy $100,000 of IBM and when it falls to $50,000, he wants to tell the broker to absorb the loss. He won’t pay for the deal. Free trade doesn’t work that way.
The guy lost his house for non-payment. The Bank repo’d it. Yet, it can’t be sold because some lawyer is looking for a loophole. MERS may have given it to them.
In the end, I don’t think the “buyers” will get a free house. But look what this does to the marketplace. My broker told me there were 3 other “takebacks” pending in his office. Mine was just one of them.
Is it “safe” to buy a foreclosure? Can you get title insurance? I don’t know. What about the ones that already closed? Will the new owners get thrown out? It’s a mess.
Diogenes is distressed. There is no justice. Deadbeats are in charge.
“It’s a mess. Diogenes is distressed. There is no justice.”
I’ve been posting a bevy of articles here since the Burger King boy fiasco story broke a couple of months back. You sound as though you just now noticed something was amiss with the foreclosure processing system.
Foreclosure buyers buy at your own risk.
Since my MERS posting was poo-pooed as a tempest in a teapot, and numerous other stories emerged about banks continuing forward, I came to believe that once the foreclosure was processed, then the deal was done. I was under the impression that the MERS could cause unlimited delays in foreclosure, but, in the end, when the gavel went down, it was over. Title transfer would continue.
I am unaware of your story, as my time online over the past couple of months was limited to job -shopping, house-shopping and other matters. Most of it was a waste of time. Now, I’m back to blogging.
I have a mission of annoying others at least as much as they annoy me.
The good news in Tampa is the same as the good news here in Palm Beach County. There is so much supply just waiting to go to market that missing out on these homes won’t hurt you long term.
“I am unaware of your story,…”
I am quite sure I have posted over 100 links to articles on robosigners, MERS, foreclosure fiasco, Burger King boys, etc etc etc since the story broke. But you aren’t alone; I am always amazed by the number of reasonable people who don’t have a clue yet about this.
Case in point: I volunteer at a local grade school for a ‘Bank Days’ sponsored by a local credit union, which encourages grade school kids to develop good savings habits. I always enjoy quizzing the credit union employees about their knowledge of the never-ending march of unfolding scandals at high echelons of the U.S. banking system. Generally speaking, only the branch manager ever has a clue about these stories; the subordinates apparently are too busy taking deposits to read the newspaper or listen to the news.
a ‘Bank Days’ sponsored by a local credit union, which encourages grade school kids to develop good
savings“critical thinking” habitsGive them a “real-life” example:
Take $100.00, using daily compound interest of .0015%, how much will your balance be after you age 5 years (1,825 days) from today?
The “critical-thinking” part might include things like:
1. Who determines .0015%?
2. What other “legal” things can you do with your money?
3. How are the words “goals” & “money” possibly related?
4. Is spending money on a “Payday” candy bar the same as spending it on a coin to place in your coin collection?
5. Is feeding your pet gold fish equal to feeding a St. Bernard puppy?
6.
The Realtor gets screwed, too.
Overall, it sounds like the story had a happy ending.
Fie, Bear, you are nasty today. Diogenes is having a rough year and you shouldn’t hit him when he’s down.
Sorry if it seems like I am venting, but I am having a rough day…
but I seriously would not venture into buying a foreclosure home at this point. There is an unprecedented used home inventory flood that has yet to be released, which will put downward pressure on prices no matter what the Fed, the Treasury, the President, or the Man on the Moon, for that matter, do to prop it up. Where’s the rush?
Dio,
Thank your lucky stars you got forced out. I think things are going to get a lot worse in the next
24 months and buying a home and locking yourself
in right now is the #1 thing you DON’T want to do.
A month from now you’re going to be breathing
a lot easier and a lot free’er.
I agree that we are in the early stages of a bloody mess. It is absolutely the wrong time to become a participant when those on the field are getting hacked to pieces.
‘Buy when there’s blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own.’
Most people only want winners in their portfolios, but as Warren Buffett warned, “You pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus.”
http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/23/contrarian-markets-boeing-personal-finance_investopedia.html
You only buy straw hats during the winter…I guess that is why I stated earlier in this thread that if I could borrow money @ 1% I would borrow a bunch of it…There are always opportunities when there is crisis…Although I own no stock, just look at the money that has been made in the stock market since the Volatility Index spiked back in 08…
I might add that where I see the real danger is what we don’t see coming…North Korea…Iran..etc..
North Korea…Iran..etc..
Those are pretty much known knowns(to quote Rummy).
It’s been a while since Spain had a good revolution.
Those are pretty much known knowns ??
No they are not…You might call it remote speculation with the conclusion that it can’t happen so everyone goes on there merry way…The economic environmental would change so dramatically within 24 hours of a big event that it would make what we went through the last 2 1/2 years look like a Superbowl BBQ…NOBODY, has a Israel strike on Iran or worse a Iran strike on Israel built into there models…Game changer “big time” if it happens…
It’s been a while since Spain had a good revolution.
I was in Spain during the summer of 1977. That was the year after Franco died.
While there was quite a bit of protesting, spraying of graffiti, and general carrying on that one might expect after the death of an oppressive dictator, I didn’t see any signs of revolution. If anything, the Spaniards were kicking up their heels and enjoying their new, post-Franco lives.
You only buy umbrellas when the sun is shining outside. And don’t loan any of them to bankers at the height of financial hurricanes, either.
I ment 1939 on Spain when it was a precursor to WWII.
Besides we are merely at a truce in the war in Korea. Peace has never been established. Nobody surrendered. Troops on both sides are ready to commence the war at any time.
Troops on both sides are ready to commence the war at any time.
Not only that, there’s a lot of day-to-day belligerence that we don’t often hear about in this country.
Actually, no.
I have specific requirements for my house. I need a yard large enough to fit a number of trailers in the back. I want a 2 car garage in the back of the house, not the front. So if no garage, then room to build.
I want a specific area of the county where I approve of the neighborhood, the terrain and the demographics. I don’t want a 1950’s frame house that needs new wiring, plumbing, interior renovations and other work, along with window replacements.
I don’t want a flood zone property. I don’t want a sinkhole house.
I don’t want a LARGE house with high taxes.
While it is true, there are LOTS and LOTS of houses on the market, MOST of them are not for me. Shopping for the right house has taken me a LONG, Long time. I found it. I bought it. I did not hesitate. I knew exactly what I wanted. There is a lot of crap out there. I’ve seen all of them, too. Many of them are cheap. Only an idiot or a “flipper” or slumb-lord would want them.
It will probably take me a long, long time to find another one like that one I was willing to buy. I don’t want to waste my time looking at lots of other houses. I have lists streaming to my computer everyday. Most are passed on from the data sheets.
Still, I must spend my time going through the information, just sorting out potential properties, then drive over if there is some potential. I’ve seen dozens of them. I am not happy about this and know I won’t find a better deal. It was a perfect place for me.
what kind of trailers? horse, car,motorcycle…. redneck single wides????
I need a yard large enough to fit a number of trailers in the back.
I have a yard full of trailers - don’t do it. They breed.
I have a yard full of trailers - don’t do it. They breed.
Now, stop that, pressboardbox! You almost made me choke on my lunch — I was laughing that hard.
Hopefully they’ll get this all settled out and you’ll be able to go back in with the same contract.
..I have shopped for a LONG time to find a property in the area..
not me.. i haven’t even given it serious thought.. with so many properties coming online, it’s gonna be a year or more before i bother with it.
Ya know.. if you really, really want that house, maybe you can do a deal with the hopeful “owner”, perhaps through his attorney.
A contract states that IF he wins the suit, and ends up with a valid interest in the house, he and you agree that for xx dollars, the house is yours. You are first in line to buy it.
Just like me, I do believe the former owner wants to have the house to live in. That’s what houses typically are for. It’s only recently that they became investment vehicles. you know….financial innovation.
He simply did not want to keep it at the price he contracted.
If it’s free. Or if he gets it at the price I contracted, he will probably move in and live there, as I had intended.
How could he get it for free? If he “won” wouldn’t he just get the chance to redeem his defaulted loan, along with all back payments, interest and penalties?
The stories about MERS is that the people trading mortgages cannot prove that they hold a valid claim. In other words, since you can’t prove you have a mortgage on “my house”, I am not going to pay you. You must produce the original documents I signed. My lawyer is going to stop you from foreclosing until you can PROVE that I owe you this money.
Get it.
The “owner” stays in. The lender gets screwed. We are essentially invalidating any claims of the banks or lenders who have provided the origin funds to buy the house.
Here in Florida, the DEED transfers to the owner. The mortgage is held as a lien. If the mortgage is invalidated by the courts, then there is no claim on the property and the DEED-holder now has the property “FREE and CLEAR” of all incumbrances……………..a Free house.
That is what this is all about.
In the past, all mortgage transfers were recorded at the local Courthouse and documentary stamps placed on the documents, then filed with the Clerk of the Court. Recorded evidence of a lien on the property, available for anyone to discover when the time to sell came.
That’s what Title Clerks did. They checked for recorded evidence of liens. With MERS, we don’t know who has the “title” or “lien” documents. They didn’t get recorded when the loan changed hands. Who is the rightful owner?
The burden is on the claimant.
So, even if the claims are somewhat nebulous and cloud the title, do you think they have enough weight to have court-ordered removal of the occupants? you make the call.
“How could he get it for free?”
That is what I am waiting to see, as I have posted recently we know someone who had not paid the mortgage in 3 years, house sold at auction and 1 week before they had to move out they were saved. According to them, winning bidder is getting their money back and they are waiting to hear from their lawyer to see what if anything they have to pay.
In Florida it’s ownership of the note. If the bank can’t prove they own the note and the homeowner has a good lawyer, the homeowner could in theory get the home free and clear. The bank will usually prove to have more resources to throw at the legal fight and it’s almost always a losing proposition for the homeowner.
What it could buy you is YEARS of rent free living for the cost of legal fees.
It depends on how badly you want that place.
Contracts are only limited by people’s imagination (within the law).
You could move in right now, and pay him rent, and no matter the outcome of the law suit you stay there.
Find out what he wants.. it’s probably money.. and trade him for whatever it is you want.
how about this.. Keep it simple.
You offer him $$$ to just drop his law suit.
Actually, you are making no sense. i have a contract with the legal owner. the court transferred title to Freddie mac. the previous owner is clouding the title with a lawsuit and stopping the transfer of title to me.
I should move in, take title from Freddie and SUE the prior owner for interference with the transfer of title from the new rightful owner.
By your reasoning, I should pay Freddie for the house, then go pay the prior owner to leave me alone. Or else i should move in and pay the prior owner rent for his “claim” which may or may not prove valid. Doing so would only strengthen his claim.
From my position, regardless of MERS, once the title has been transferred by Court order, the prior owner’s claims are FORECLOSED. That’s what it means. He doesn’t get a do-over. He had his day in Court. Unless FRAUD can be proven by him, then he has no claim. The problem is that there is a lot of suspicion of fraud, whether founded or not.
this simply creates too much doubt about who has legal standing in their claim to title.
Bandos. We need more Bandos. That’s the answer.
“Unless FRAUD can be proven by him, then he has no claim…”
And fraud isn’t difficult to prove. No one actually owns these mortgages and banks have been creative in “making” documents work for court.
Count your blessings that you can get out of this deal. This is coming from a man with experience on the other side of things.
I’ve got one thing to say.;……
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Anyways…. let go of the dump. The selection is only going to get better for you. I’m in much the same position. I have an *executed* contract with the deeded owner. Yet the owners debts were discharge via bankruptcy judge. But he is still the owner. If it doesn’t go through for us then so be it.
..I should move in, take title from Freddie and SUE the prior owner for interference
fine.. do it the hard way. Do it the “right” way.
I don’t think it’s the smart way. If i really wanted that house, i’d just pay the guy off and forget about it.
Maybe it’d be fun negotiating with him. Get a private investigator to find out everything about the guy… discover all his weaknesses, past and present.
What’s in his contract with his lawyer? How much is that gonna cost him?
Knowing how flaky and unfounded these robo-suits are likely to be, his attorney would probably be anxious to settle with you..
I hate to break it to you all ,but when a person buys a foreclosure in a lot of States the owner that lost the house has a one to two year redemption period to reclaim the house .
wiz..
foreclosure or tax lien?
i know that’s true of tax liens..
True with some mortgages and it depends on the State . It depends on if it was a Judicial foreclosure or not .In Idaho I think they have
three months after the foreclosure sale to get the property . Of course in order to get the property they have to pay all that is
owing .
Their title is now clouded by the actions of a NON-paying mortgage holder.
It sounds to me like the title is clouded by the actions of the banking industry (legal documents and procedures not up to legal standards) and the “actions of a NON-paying mortgage holder” simply brought the banking industry’s clouding actions to light.
Given Dio’s example of foreclosure being reversed, I wonder how far back this could go? Could someone who’s been out of a house for a few years challenge a finalised foreclosure?
Only the well connected get the special deals. Everybody else pays until their $ss bleeds.
I hate to break it to you all ,but when a person buys a foreclosure in a lot of States the owner that lost the house has a one to two year
redemption period to reclaim the house .
I think you don’t know what you are talking about. When taxes are back-due, the owner has 2 years to bring them current before a tax deed can be executed.
Foreclosure is the legal process of ELIMINATING all claims of the former owner and transferring them by Court order to a new party. Usually, when non-payment of mortgage is involved the Bank has a claim that needs to be settled and will bid the amount so as to take title when the property is offered at public sale.
The original owner has until the time a sale is pending to make all backpayments and settle the account to stop the foreclosure.
There are no “do-overs”.
In Idaho for instance you have three months after the foreclosure
sale to redeem the property if you were the owner that lost it
in foreclosure . I’m just saying all the different States have different rules . Some States allow it on a Judicial foreclosure and
some don’t . The different States have different periods in which
the redemption period takes place ,some States are during the
foreclosure process itself . So,it doesn’t just apply to tax sales .
It’s worth a research of Florida Laws to make sure this defaulting
ex-owner has any rights . Redemption usually requires that they pay all that is owing .
While I feel for ya D, we’ve only posted about the foreclosure title limbo problem since, oh, last year? And heavily within the last couple of months.
It also pays to have a reputable 3rd party do your title search.
Right now I wouldn’t buy anything involved in foreclosure without a LOT of due diligence. A LOT.
Here’s a story from the Tribune recently giving some insight into the trials and tribulations of the condo crowd here in Chicago. In the local context I strongly maintain that condo story is a huge one that will have profound effects on shaping this city going forward.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-schmich-1107-20101107,0,3488231.column
She had especially looked forward to painting her walls. She was so tired of “rental white.”
There it is again..
HAHA! I am in a rental with a wall of windows. View of miles of water, hills and sky.
No paint required.
The thing is…. what’s wrong with white? The way I feel about paint is that if you choose some crazy color its going to be outdated soon anyway. White never goes out of style. That and its usually the cheapest color available. Oh- and we rent and my wife painted a few of the walls in the kitchen. Landlord doesn’t care. In fact, he liked the results.
I’ve repainted apartments. A couple of times even scored free paint from the maintenance man. Mgmt never even noticed.
I’ve heard of leases that permit painting a “color”, but charge and additional repainting fee from the deposit money when you move out if it’s a color that requires multiple coats to cover with a neutral color.
I understand wanting something other than “landlord white”, but people just don’t think about how much cheaper it would be to repaint when you move out than to buy an albatross so you can paint it like a peacock.
My house has white walls and it is bright. I have colorful furniture, rugs and paintings.
jetson_boy, you need to go watch more HGTV…
I think you guys are missing the gem. The HOA is … to do repairs
So on Thursday night they’ll hold a fundraiser at the Neo-Futurist theater. A $15 ticket gets you a seat at a show that sold out over the summer, “My Little Pony — Live!” There will also be a free silent auction. Friends have donated massages, dance lessons, restaurant certificates, jewelry, weekend cabin rentals.
ha ha ha … forget the local school. Help out the HOAs
Yeah, if it works for them it will only be because they were the first to try it around here. This will get tiring very quickly if more HOAs try the fundraising route.
I like to think of condos as poetic justice.
Freddie Mac cancelled Diogenes housing contract.
I wrote a lengthy post, but it apparently has been held up.
Basically the former “owner” wants a do-over. This clouds the title.
I will try and post my longer version again, later.
Sorry. I fear for the country. CNBC just openly stated what I feared many months ago, almost a year ago on this board. The FED is going to drive up nominal wages so people can afford their previous mortgages. This will be done by creating inflation. Even I, a bull on palladium, am shocked by its rapid price rise. How discouraging people from actually saving by keeping interest rates low and then rewarding people that were totally irresponsible is good policy is beyond me. However, I guess their vote is as good as mine.
‘The FED is going to drive up nominal wages’
I appreciate the attempt at humor so early in the morning.
Good luck with that.They are going to need a lot more than 600 billion.They might as well start sending people checks.
It may come to that. I can already see how pissed Angela Merkel will get.
Woohoo!!! I’m getting a check!
Did somebody mention a check?
I suppose average wages may go up, but it will mostly be emerging economies and CEOs that will pull up the average.
‘The FED is going to drive up nominal wages’
———————————————————————-
This is why the prez is in India at this moment.
“I appreciate the attempt at humor so early in the morning.”
Right? Wages? Go up? HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Stagflation wasn’t invented yesterday. I lived through it in the 1970s when the term was coined. While “official” inflation was ~12%, REAL inflation was more like 50%.
“The FED is going to drive up nominal wages…”
And they are going to do this … how?
By printing money? The Fed can print all the money they want but they can’t control where it goes.
They’ll drive up wages alright, but these wages will be in some other country.
The Zimbabwe fed drove up wages with inflation. It is bad policy but wages will increase if inflation is high enough. However real wages will fall.
..people gotta stop comparing the USA with Zimbabwe.
The downward spiral of the economy has been attributed mainly to mismanagement and corruption of the Mugabe regime and the eviction of more than 4,000 white farmers in the controversial land redistribution of 2000.[89][90][91][92] was previously an exporter of maize but has become a net importer…
Among all their other problems, the people were starving.. Those who produced food and wealth were driven out, their land and wealth stolen from them. Nobody knew how to farm..
Tourism, a major industry, died because it became a very scary place..
Their money disappeared. The newly printed money was immediately accepted into the economy.
——-
the central bank introduced a new 100 billion dollar note.[95] As of November 2008, unofficial figures put Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate at 516 quintillion per cent, with prices doubling every 1.3 days.
In January, 2009, Zimbabwe introduced a new Z$100 trillion banknote
You get that? A Hundred Trillion dollar bill…
——–
Nothing of the kind is happening in the USA. We (from banks to businesses to investors to regular people) have plenty of money. We just don’t want to lend it or spend it.
The new Fed money is getting dusty sitting in institutional lenders’ vaults.
Regular people have “plenty of money”? Not in my neck of the woods.
i’m not saying everyone has money to burn..
ya know.. two things were on the news yesterday. The release of a new killer video game and a new Harry Potter movie.
Income estimates on the video game were some 10s of millions within a week. The potter movie was billions.
someone’s got money.
The Zimbabwe fed drove up wages with inflation. It is bad policy but wages will increase if inflation is high enough. However real wages will fall.
yes but debt will stay the same easier to pay off just like the 1970’s well acually the 1970’s through 2005
just about my whole life buy a house or get priced out.
inflate or die
Hmmm. I didn’t see comparing Zimbabwe to the US as a good idea either, until I read your post Joey.
“Among all their other problems, the people were starving.. ”
How long until the food stamp program can’t keep up?
“Those who produced food and wealth were driven out,”
Manufacturing anyone?
“Tourism, a major industry, died because it became a very scary place..”
Not a fait accompli, but certainly a work in progress.
The US is not Zimbabwe, but there certainly is a concerted effort to get there. Zimbabwe was a policy disaster; the US is only a policy mess.
“Income estimates on the video game were some 10s of millions within a week. The potter movie was billions.
someone’s got money.”
Well, if you can’t afford to take the family on vacation, buy a new car or maybe just maved back in with your parents then maybe a trip to the multiplex follwed by a trip to GameStop might be considered a consolation prize?
What I do read in the media is that:
Chain restaurant spending nationwide is down.
That buying used video games. DVDs and books is on the rise (with many video game makers crying foul)
Car sales are nowhere close to historic levels (never mind bubble levels)
House sales … lets not even go there.
Unemployment remains stubbornly high.
People have money to spend, of that I have no doubt.
They just have a lot less to spend than they used to.
While video games and movies are certainly non-essentials, they are cheap thrills.
A couple years ago, someone wrote that cheap thrills would prove to be recession proof. Maybe so..
And yet they are still lined up 10 deep at the Starbucks.
Computer games are extremely cheap. Pick up a Diablo Battle Chest for $40 and it could keep you entertained for upwards of a year. And that’s if you don’t play online.
“And yet they are still lined up 10 deep at the Starbucks.”
Depends on which one. The ones here in my burg don’t get quite that busy, and they closed two of them recently.
There is one on my commute route with a drive thru. Pretty busy in the morning, but not later in the day. Mostly $$$ cars in the drive thru as well.
General Electric Co. plans to invest more than $2 billion in China in technology and financial service ventures and research, adding 1,000 jobs in a country Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt is targeting for growth.
Looks like some of that freshly printed money has found a home on the other side of the globe.
I wonder if MSNBC will unleash a hard-hitting investigative report on this investment.
measton..
Recently, Germany has enjoyed growth and prosperity. How did they manage that when the world in general is in recession?
Their customers, primarily the EU countries, are in bad shape and can’t afford much. So, in order to sell products, German banks have lent the EU money.. so much money they are hopelessly in debt to Germany.
Is that sustainable? No. Those “customers” will be lucky to recover.
As things stand, Germany has sucked the EU dry thanks to it’s selfish, shortsighted business methods… and Germany will suffer for it sooner or later.
—–
Contrast that with a hypothetical situation:
Instead of lending them money, Germany offshores part of it’s industry to the rest of the EU.
Now, Italians or Irish or Greeks have real jobs. Those workers as well as local businesses are making money, their economies grow, and they can afford German products without borrowing from Germany.
Growing your industry beyond your borders may not show immediate returns, but given time you will create a new customer base.
FWIW German companies have set up shop all over the EU.
Germany also has VERY strong exports to China. Where do think China learned to build maglevs?
I heard them say that a guy who makes 4k a month with a mortgage, needs 6k to maintain lifestyle,so inflation will help him. it was sickening.
Duh, you thought helicopter Ben was a joke?
maybe bernanke is in cahoots with all the other foreign central banks…knowing they will all institute capital controls…keeping the money out of their country…thereby forcing it back in the u.s.?
‘Don’t expect the Massachusetts housing market to make a broad recovery anytime soon…Home sales have plunged since June, when most of the purchases driven by tax credits closed. ‘Appraisals don’t come in right, mortgage commitments go awry,’’ said Vincent Valvo, group publisher at Warren Group. “Barring some miracle — and it has to be a jobs miracle — the housing market is going to be down.’
‘Barry Bluestone, dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, said the housing market and economy appear to be stuck in a chicken-and-egg-type paradox. Housing can’t recover until the economy gets stronger, but the economy won’t get stronger until housing recovers. “It has to do with confidence,’’ Bluestone said. “Until we regain confidence in the job market and confidence in the housing market, we’re going to bounce along where we are.’
“Stewart Broder recently bought a vacation home in Sandwich’s historic district after negotiating a 20 percent price discount and getting a sub-4 percent rate on a 15-year mortgage. “It was a positive perfect storm: lower prices and low interest rates,’’ said Broder, who lives in Foxborough. “It was good to be a buyer.’’
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/11/09/uneasy_future_for_mass_housing_market/?page=full
Barry Bluestone, dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, said the housing market and economy appear to be stuck in a chicken-and-egg-type paradox. Housing can’t recover until the economy gets stronger, but the economy won’t get stronger until housing recovers. “It has to do with confidence,’’ Bluestone said. “Until we regain confidence in the job market and confidence in the housing market, we’re going to bounce along where we are.’
Time wasn’t too long ago when housing was reactive to what else was happening in the economy. It was especially reactive to things like income growth, job growth, and trends in household formation. And it wasn’t an economic driver.
“And it wasn’t an economic driver.”
Great American Housing Bubble (1945-2006), RIP.
“Record low mortgage rates” is not my idea of the perfect storm.
The perfect storm is brewing. Wait until interest rates go up. Stocks plunge and housing will find it’s bottom. Adding an extra 10% liquidity, 22% true unemployment, unfair competition, our gutless politicians (US or Canada) -
Will those miracle workers (Wall Street and Bankers) who have had their cake handed to them with these cheap interest rates give the cake back?
Let them ship our intellectual properties to Asia, our money, plant equipment. In about 200 years of these free transfers Asia’s economy will allow it’s citizens to buy an extra big mac each.
Can you personally benefit from that. North America if it engaged in protectionism would be much better off.
I’m buying in the Boston area in the next 1-10 years and I find their opinions overly optimistic. I have ZipRealty set-up to scan 3 zipcodes within walking distance to the green line. It seems to me that only the good properties are selling now and only near assessed prices. The days of selling a 3BR 2Bath abutting 128 or the MassPike for 150K above assessment are over. People still list them that way, but then I get to watch the slow gradual price drops until they hit that magic price.
My wife thought I was crazy when I said that we would not pay over 350K for 3BRs in our area. Whenever a place she was interested in came on the market, I would tell her to offer 350K. She scoffed at me for the last 3 years. Now she’s considering it. In the meantime we rent for 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of owning.
Since about 50% of those living in MA seem to have plans to move to NC I would think this too would have an impact on their housing market.
“Housing can’t recover until the economy gets stronger, but the economy won’t get stronger until housing recovers.”
If highly-credentialed morons say this often enough, perhaps it will morph from fiction into reality.
bbbbbbbbbbbbut….
“We didn’t have a bubble in new england……errr…. oops. I meant to say upstate..”
Lets see if this works;
“Boston was the first market to decline and has since stabilized….” SO HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE ARTICLE ABOVE?
Let’s try this one;
“Boston housing prices will never fall because of universities and life science biz…” AGAIN….. Why are prices and sales falling?
hmmm….. maybe this?
“We’re not Florida…. things are fine here”. ah-em…. the article???
I love Boston and it’s the coolest city on the east coast but its not different there irrespective of what the lying, corrupt realtors and deluded LoanOwners would have you believe.
“Stewart Broder recently bought a vacation home in Sandwich’s historic district after negotiating a 20 percent price discount and getting a sub-4 percent rate on a 15-year mortgage. “It was a positive perfect storm: lower prices and low interest rates,’’ said Broder, who lives in Foxborough. “It was good to be a buyer.’’
Gheesh, Stewart, when I was there this past summer it seemed like a good 10% of Route 6A homes were for sale. Do you really believe 20% is going to be the bottom? As a former Cape year round resident, I can tell you the Cape is the land of 2nd homes and gets walloped in every downturn. Stewart, you’re way early.
If the backbone of their economy is housing, they are doomed.
Houston learned this lesson the hard way back in the early 1980s when the price of oil went through the floor. Houston’s economy was oil, oil, and oil and then RE speculation. They spent the last 30 year diversifying as much as possible.
Houston is still all about oil and RE speculation, but it has become far more diversified.
I was just thinking about what gets made in the U.S., compared rather than imported.
Education, made locally, government funded.
Health care, made locally, 75 percent government funded or subsidized (via the tax break).
Military, made locally, government funded.
Infrastructure, made locally, government funded.
Fuel, privately purchased, mostly imported.
Stuff, privately purchased, mostly imported.
Housing and food is stuff bought locally, but we’re already buying too much of each.
We make quite a bit actually. You just have to look a little closer than we used to. For starters- avoid the big box stores since all they care about is how cheap they can sell something.
In my house I own the following NEW items made in the US:
1: A pair of New Balance running shoes ( yes- shoes are still made in the US)
2: A set of all-clad pans. They’re expensive but they’ll last a lifetime. Made in (believe it or not) Pottstown, PA.
3: A set of Lodge cast iron cookware. Made in Pittsburgh TN
4: A set of bathroom scales
5: An MTD lawn mower with a US-built Briggs and stratton engine.
6: About 12 pairs of socks
7: Approximately 7 work shirts
8: A set of socket wrenches
9: A set of Pyrex oven-proof glass casserole pans and a set of glass measuring cups
Can’t think of the other stuff. But its out there.
You have to look for it, as in most cases the imported competition is bigger.
Just bought (month ago) package of frying pans made in USA.
You do have to watch closely as somethings from the same company are made in US or China.
Its also getting harder to determine where something is actually made. I’ve noticed a lot of products will have the company’s name and address but where its actually made is sometimes written in a hard to see area. One of the biggest reasons I look is because I actually used to work retail back in the 90’s- back when probably 70% of the products we sold were made in the US.
To me where US manufacturing came into trouble was that our system of manufacturing was developed all around creating products at the lowest price. We did so with mass-manufacturing and assembly lines. As such this mentality is still out there to this day even though we cannot possibly compete against cheaper labor overseas. If we’re going to stand a chance at succeeding, perhaps we should go the route of Germany an focus on upper end products that can get the higher prices they demand via higher expectations from consumers. For example- the All-clad pans I own are pricey. They’re $100 each. Yet these are what professional chefs use. I’m no cook but the pans are clearly much better than the crappy stamped stuff I used to own that tended to warp and burn the food easily. Since they have the reputation people pay more because the company makes a high quality product that in the long run will probably cost less since they will last forever.
If we’re going to stand a chance at succeeding, perhaps we should go the route of Germany an focus on upper end products that can get the higher prices they demand via higher expectations from consumers.
I agree. And ISTR that there are plenty of US-based companies that are doing this already.
A long time ago, when Japan was exporting cheap crap to us, some Japanese factory town changed its name to Usa. Their products came labeled “MADE IN USA” in relatively large letters, with “Japan” in much smaller letters underneath.
I’ve noticed PRC stamped instead of China. Taking advantage of poor geography skills I imagine.
I think PRC is an older name for China.
Catalogs don’t have to say China. They only say “imported.” Sometimes by choice they do list a country, especially if it’s Made in Canada, or Made by artisans in Peru.
No, China is an older name for PRC.
Peoples Republic of China.
Brought you by Chairman Mao and the PLA.
I have a few (very few) dollar bills in my wallet. I heard they are making those things in the USA like crazy these days. Will they make them in China soon like everything else?
I mentioned that a while back…and then when we owe them money we can just have them print off a few extra for themselves.
I was just thinking about what gets made in the U.S.,
Used to be mostly debt. Now it’s mainly U.S. dollars.
Solar. One of our biggest exports.
Crazy, huh?
Job openings fall in September as employers remain cautious about taking on new workers
On Tuesday November 9, 2010, 10:39 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Job openings dropped sharply in September, a sign that hiring is likely to remain weak over the next several months.
The Labor Department says employers advertised 2.9 million jobs at the end of September, a drop of 163,000, or 5.3 percent, from the previous month.
The figures come after the department issued a modestly positive employment report on Friday. That report found that employers added a net total of 151,000 jobs in October, more than most economists expected.
August’s total openings were revised downward to just below 3.1 million. Available jobs have now fallen for two straight months.
Layoffs in the private sector, meanwhile, fell for the second straight month to their lowest level in four years.
Remember David Stockman? He was Director of the federal Office of Management and Budget from 1981 through 1985. He turns 64 tomorrow. This baby boomer looks at the economy, including the increasingly frail Social Security system.
“The fact is, the Social Security trust fund has $3 trillion of paper IOUs issued by the Treasury Department over the last 70 years, but not one dime of real money. Over that time span, we collected a modest excess of payroll taxes over current-year benefit payments, and spent the excess cash on cotton subsidies, student loans, and aircraft carriers. It’s all long gone.
“The truth is, the Social Security program is a $700 billion per year inter-generational transfer payment program in which lifetime taxes paid by current recipients bear only a faint and arbitrary relationship to benefits now being received. So when the retirement “insurance” and trust-fund fictions are cut away, the underlying program cries out to be means-tested. To be sure, that would amount to a default on the implicit social compact that has under-girded the program since its inception. But in the context of the massive fiscal retrenchment which is now unavoidable, there’s no rational alternative.”
~ Failed Economy
Ie. Stockman announces that his side won through stealth. And he’s right. The only difference is, he’s done with stealth.
“He turns 64 tomorrow. So when the retirement ‘insurance’ and trust-fund fictions are cut away, the underlying program cries out to be means-tested.”
Does he mean that right now? Or only for those age 55 and younger, which is what most Republicans propose? Right now, and I’d almost say it was fair.
And by the way, what would means testing Social Security do for the incentive to save for retirement?
Unless the test is based on how much you earned during your life, not how much you have left. Spent it all? Tough. I wonder how that would go over.
If my mom didn’t have Social Security, she’d probably be living with me, instead of her own place.
It’s not like it isn’t of some benefit to me… :). If you don’t believe it, try living with your parents again for six months.
” means testing” depends on if they like you like getting section 8 housing or some similair government cheese
Woman Holds Hunger Strike To Stop Foreclosure
Baltimore Resident Wants Audience With Governor
BALTIMORE — A Baltimore woman fighting to keep her home has set up a mini-residence outside the state capital and is on a hunger strike in hopes of bringing more attention to the effects that foreclosure has on people.
Lauren Rymer, of Baltimore, said she’s watched how the economy and other issues have forced people out of their homes.
She started a hunger strike against foreclosure and said she’s prepared to remain at the corner of Maryland Avenue and State Circle — right across the street from the state house in Annapolis — for as long as needed.
“I feel like I’m really representing a lot of people out here,” she said.
Foreclosure, Mortgage Resources
Rymer works for a nonprofit agency. She said she bought her two-bedroom southeast Baltimore home with an interest-only loan and still owes more than $200,000 on the mortgage.
“and still owes more than $200,000 on the mortgage.”
Why doesn`t she take all the money she is saving on food and pay off the damn mortgage.
“Rymer works for a nonprofit agency”.
Why do reporters always add this ‘nonprofit’ crap? Who the hell cares where she works.
What’s bugging me here is the nonprofit agency employment. When I was working for such places, there was NO WAY that I could afford to buy a house. Not even a dog house.
No kidding! That linked story I posted earlier about condo owners’ troubles also centers around someone who works for a “nonprofit” and thought a condo priced over $200k was a good idea.
This whole nonprofit thing needs greater scrutiny by the press, especially if they are citing it in such a manner as to try to cultivate some sympathy for people who paid too much for their housing.
Describing it as a “Non profit Agency” pretty much describes the US-Non-bankster economy.
Because people who work for “non-profit” agencies must be really good people who deserve better than the rest of us greedy, low-life profiteering business operators.
It’s just part of the viewpoint of people in the press. Government workers, “public servants”, teachers, firemen, and the holy host of other workers have a higher “value” to these folks than a clerk, or a mechanic, or a plumber. It’s social bigotry.
People who live on government support, or work for some kind of caring, humanist, anti-business support network or even a “community organizer” have much more worth than the rest of us.
Well, the flip side is my staunchly right, anti-tax, “charitable donations should only come privately, not forced out of taxpayers hands” friend.
I happen to agree with him on that point, however, the job he just accepted is at a non-profit that got $30M+ in stimu-bucks this year that are quoted as being responsible for saving or creating 100s of jobs there…Can’t wait to ask him how he rectifies that with himself…
He can’t and won’t.
It’s a head-scratcher, feco. He’ll somehow spin it into one of his new definitions of the free-market. He always does.
Sorry, she doesn’t own the home. She rents it from a bank.
I doubt she makes it past a week.
Colorado jury awards $15M to trucker who slipped
GREELEY, Colo.(AP) – A Colorado jury has awarded $15 million to a truck driver who said she slipped and fell on ice and grease while making a delivery to a Walmart in Greeley.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. tells the Greeley Tribune that it’s considering appealing the award for 41-year-old Holly Averyt of Cheyenne, Wyo., which a jury ordered Friday.
Her lawyer, Gregory Gold, says it could be one of the highest such verdicts in the country.
Gold presented city documents showing that some grease from the store’s deli didn’t get trapped in a device designed to keep it from getting into the sewer. He said Averyt had to undergo three spine surgeries, was unable to return to work and lost her truck.
A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company respectfully disagrees with the verdict.
He said Averyt had to undergo three spine surgeries, was unable to return to work and lost her truck.
Well. I’d rather have my truck, my job, no pain and a good spine than the money.
ice and grease - and a $15 million payout!
I did not know it was slippery…
And remember - trial lawyers are one of the largest money contributors to the democrat party.
She’ll be lucky to see even
halfa quarter of that after appeals and legal fees.She’ll be lucky to see even
halfa quarter128th of that after medical-Industry SOP x3 oops-sorry-really-we-did? erroneous BILLING, Wal-Tart incompetent low-cost lawyer appeals and small unseen-unbilled “misc.” legal fees.You’ve seen that movie, haven’t you?
Job openings drop for second straight month
WASHINGTON – Job openings dropped sharply in September, a sign that hiring is likely to remain weak over the next several months.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that employers advertised 2.9 million jobs at the end of September. That’s a drop of 163,000, or 5.3 percent, from the previous month.
The figures come after the department issued a modestly positive employment report on Friday. That report found that employers added a net total of 151,000 jobs in October, more than most economists expected.
But Tuesday’s report, known as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, or JOLTS, signals that employers still aren’t willing to hire in large numbers. The economy needs to add at least 100,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth. The unemployment rate was unchanged in October, at 9.6 percent.
Hiring drops yet again but UE remains the same.
Suuuure.
The United States has lost its double-A credit rating with Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., Ltd., the first domestic rating agency in China, due to its new round of quantitative easing policy.
Dagong Global on Tuesday downgraded the local and foreign currency long-term sovereign credit rating of the U.S. by one level to A+ from previous AA with “negative” outlook.
The Chinese rating agency said the downgrade reflected the U.S.’s deteriorating debt repayment capability and drastic decline of the U.S. government’s intention of debt repayment.
“The serious defects in the U.S. economy will lead to long-term recession and fundamentally lower the national solvency,” Dagong said in a report.
The Chinese rating agency said the Federal Reserve’s new round of quantitative easing would further depreciate the U.S. dollar and was entirely counter to the interest of the creditors.
The Federal Reserve last week decided to buy 600 billion U.S. dollars of U.S. Treasury securities and other assets held by banks in a bid to inject fresh funds into the economy and bring down long-term interest rates.
“The credit crisis is far from over in the United States and the U.S. economy will be in a long-term recession,” Dagong Global warned in the report, adding a weakening greenback will cripple U.S. capability to attract dollar capital reflow.
The United States has lost its double-A credit rating with Dagong Global Credit Rating Co.,
Breaking news:
USA gets the gong from Dagong.
+1
GOOOAAALLL!!!!
USA gets the Dagong dong.
attract dollar capital reflow…..
Get in line behind the US banks Dawgone. We’ll get around to pissing in your soup eventually.
High-Frequency Traders Lobby, Donate to Head Off U.S. Rules
The high-frequency trading industry is stepping out of the shadows in Washington.
Closely held companies with undisclosed profits and obscure names like Getco LLC, Hard Eight Futures LLC and Quantlab Financial LLC, are beginning to act more like Wall Street banks, cutting checks to politicians, forming trade groups and hiring lobbyists and ex-regulators. They’re looking to fend off tighter rules and appease lawmakers who say the firms disadvantage small investors and contribute to wild swings in stock prices.
While the companies, which use high-powered computers to execute thousands of trades in milliseconds, aren’t approaching the big banks in Washington spending, they have more than quadrupled their political giving over the last four years, a Bloomberg News analysis shows. The top recipients include Eric Cantor, set to become House majority leader, and several incoming senators who won in last week’s Republican rout.
As I’ve said before, easy solution.
New super-short-term cap gains tax. 80% on assets held less than 24 hours.
who won in last week’s Republican rout.
Who proof reads this stuff?
proofreads
What’s wrong with it?
proofreads
What’s wrong with it?
who won in last week’s Republican
routrut.Maybe, idk
Rooted out in the rout they were.
I’d rather see a Republican rout than a Republican rut.
A republican rut? OMG, now I have to put my mind’s eye out.
High-frequency traders are people too. They must have representation - if you want representation, try paying for it like they do.
The country could not function without high-frequency traders. Their existence is vital to life itself. Save the HF-Traders!
High-frequency traders are people too.
You lie! They are not. They are robotic, machine programs.
They seem to have a life of their own, but it is an illusion.
They should be terminated. Terminated, I say.
Kill the machine.
All hail goldman-sachs.
WASHINGTON—Citing a desire to gain influence in Washington, the American people confirmed Friday that they have hired high-powered D.C. lobbyist Jack Weldon of the firm Patton Boggs to help advance their agenda in Congress.
Known among Beltway insiders for his ability to sway public policy on behalf of massive corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, and AT&T, Weldon, 53, is expected to use his vast network of political connections to give his new client a voice in the legislative process.
Weldon is reportedly charging the American people $795 an hour.
Weldon said that after successfully advocating on behalf of Goldman Sachs and BP, he is relishing the opportunity to lobby for the American people, calling it the “challenge of a lifetime.” The veteran D.C. power player admitted that his new client is at a disadvantage because it lacks the money and power of other groups.
“The goal is to make it seem politically advantageous for legislators to keep the American people in mind when making laws,” Weldon said. “Lawmakers are going to ask me, ‘Why should I care about the American people? What’s in it for me?’ And it will be up to me and my team to find some reason why they should consider putting poverty and medical care for children on the legislative docket.”
Laugh of the day.
Possibly the most important event of the vice president’s day Tuesday is to meet at 2:15 with Earl Devaney. Everyone knows him as chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — the top guy monitoring the gazillion-dollar stimulus and the overdue economic recovery, and ensuring that the taxpayers financing same know all about it.
However, no one outside the room will know what goes on in that Biden-Devaney meeting. That’s because the government meeting on government transparency has been closed.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/11/joe-biden-transparency.html
We had to destroy the village to save it.
United States debt downgrade: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2010/11/09/chinese-credit-rater-downgrades-us/
Are Chinese bond raters more credible than their U.S. counterparts? I’m curious what kind of torture would await any Chinese bond rater who failed to recite what their leaders required them to say?
MarketBeat
WSJ.com’s inside look at the markets
* Sell Buffett’s Berkshire: Stifel Sticks With Call
* Hey Gold Bugs, Don’t Forget About These Charts
* November 9, 2010, 10:47 AM ET
Chinese Credit Rater Downgrades U.S.
By Matt Phillips
Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., the Chinese rating company that was recently rejected in its bid to be an officially recognized bond rater in the U.S., just downgraded the entire U.S.
…
Hey, perhaps China was doing a fly by with one of their hypo-dong missiles, or what ever the heck they are called.
Mystery Missile Launch Seen off Calif. Coast
Military Mum on Nature of “Big Missile” Rising Out of Pacific - a Possible Show of U.S. Military Might
(CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS’s cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.
CBS station KFMB put in calls to the Navy and Air Force Monday night about the striking launch off the coast of Los Angeles, which was easily visible from the coast, but the military has said nothing about the launch.
KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts.
Scroll down for KFMB video showing the launch.
“It’s spectacular… It takes people’s breath away,” said Ellsworth, calling the projectile, “a big missile”.
Magnificent images were captured by the KCBS news helicopter in L.A. around sunset Monday evening. The location of the missile was about 35 miles out to sea, west of L.A. and north of Catalina Island.
A Navy spokesperson told KFMB it wasn’t their missile. He said there was no Navy activity reported in the area Monday evening.
A how of force to whom? Jerry Brown?
Balance your state’s budget or else, Jer! If that’s the case another missile out to be breaking the surface of Lake Michigan any minute now.
Watch the video. I think they need to frisk some more turbans.
Jet contrail seen at just the right angle
how funny
Gore’s Cap and Trade scheme is dead. The carbon credits exchange is deep sixed. As an aside, was surprised to learn that our dear Barrack was one of the founding conspirators of that scam.
This should kill the big Government Cheese project that I’ve spent months working on, thanks to the recent election. lol.
Our local papers recently reported more layoffs in conjunction with this. It seems over at the CME they staffed up a little climate exchange and started playing around so they’d be ready to make the big bucks - instead they’re getting pink slips.
Hardly a loss, it wasn’t like they were productive jobs or anything. Just another F.I.R.E. gimmick.
My former company was looking deeply into “assisting” companies in implementing cap&trade policies. And on the effects of carbon capture, storage and transport. They even tried to break into nuclear bwa ha ha ha! I guess they have to rethink their business model.
I put on a warm jacket, grabbed my flashlight and opened the back door of the Housing Bubble Blog. I walked out into the cold dark night and started calling his name. Eddie, Eddie…… WHERE ARE YOU……. I am afraid he is lying there bleeding, hurt and scared on the side of the blogosphere highway. Eddie…..Eddie…..WHERE ARE YOU…
Did you check in the foyer of Chili’s?
Oh, press, there you go again. Making me laugh while I’m eating my lunch.
Good luck!
Auditors want $3.2 million from ACORN
WASHINGTON(AP) – A government audit says the advocacy group ACORN should reimburse the government $3.2 million for failing to adequately show that lead removal work was performed at a reasonable cost.
The auditors also say some grant money was spent inappropriately, including for political campaigns and fundraising.
Congress already has cut off ACORN’s federal funding after allegations of voter registration fraud and embezzlement.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general looked at spending designed to eliminate lead poisoning.
About $2 million was questioned because the group didn’t document open competition by contractors. Another $1.2 million was found to have been spent on ineligible activities.
Another $1.2 million was found to have been spent on ineligible activities……. block parties? trips to caribbean islands? shopping trips to fine clothing boutiques in NYC, with air expenses fully paid?
That kind of thing? It’s a damn shame. Any money squandered is helpful for the economy. they should be commended.
I’m going with the GAO on this one.
But a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that reviewed ACORN’s federal funding at the behest of Congress, found little grist for the mill for politicians or right-wing bloggers looking to bash the now-defunct advocacy group for the poor.
The 38-page report surveyed over 31 federal agencies, probing how ACORN used federal funds and whether adequate controls on spending existed.
The report found no evidence of fraud, lax oversight or misuse of federal funds.
LOL!
What else do fish do in water?
Goldfish the latest weapon to protect world leaders at summit
~ AFP
In addition to thousands of heavily-armed police and troops, six goldfish will put their lives on the line to safeguard world leaders at this week’s G-20 summit in the South Korean capital, officials said Tuesday.
The Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul, which is hosting the event, will use the fish to check the purity of the water supply to restrooms.
“The fish also symbolize an eco-friendly water policy, which recycles used water for the restrooms,” Oh Su-Young, PR manager at the center, told AFP, adding that they were just part of the inspection process.
The center, which shares its water supply with a neighboring shopping mall and trade center, recycles more than 37 million gallons (142,000 cubic meters) a year at an annual saving of 360 million won (US$322,436).
Indian Minister Asks Obama To End Turban Frisking
NEW DELHI (AP) ― An Indian lawmaker from Punjab said Tuesday she had asked President Barack Obama to put a stop to the U.S. border practice of frisking Sikh turbans.
Sikhs worldwide have long protested the American security measure as discriminatory and unnecessary in a world with machines for body scanning and metal detection.
New U.S. guidelines put into effect two weeks ago no longer require air passengers to remove turbans if doing so makes them uncomfortable, the U.S. Transport Security Administration said.
But they may still have their turbans patted down — something Sikhs say is happening increasingly amid global terror alerts. And in some cases women are asked to unpin their hair. Religious groups say it is a form of racial profiling.
Nothing pisses me off like someone frisking my turban.
Same here, I just hope they don’t get into the habit of it!
How is the flooring coming out and the knees holding up?
One bed room and hall left to go, had to go out and make some money for a change, will get back on my knees soon!
Oh, am I glad that I’m not eating or drinking anything at the moment. Because you guys are making me laugh. Again.
Thousands of Florida elderly, disabled lose benefits in legal and political snarl
By John Lantigua Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 9:49 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, 2010
WEST PALM BEACH — Ofelia Pimentel, 77, doesn’t have words to express how worrisome the past four months have been - at least not in English.
Pimentel, a Cuban refugee, lost her $674 federal Supplemental Security Income check this summer basically because she doesn’t speak English.
She is one of hundreds of elderly or disabled refugees in Florida to lose their benefits recently.
“I would love to speak the language and I have taken classes and tried to learn,” she said in Spanish. “I lament not having come here earlier. I would love to communicate more and share more with Americans. But after the age of 60, it is difficult to learn a new language.”
Pimentel came from Cuba in 2000. The federal benefit she received covers people who are elderly or disabled, who fled political persecution and violence in other countries and are poor. The aid lasts only several years, after which the recipients must become citizens to continue receiving aid.
Editorial comment…
Pimentel, a Cuban refugee, lost her $674 federal Supplemental Security Income check this summer basically because she doesn’t speak English.
The actual truth….
The aid lasts only several years, after which the recipients must become citizens to continue receiving aid.
She needs to become a citizen to continue to receive aid. What’s so hard to understand about that? She’s been here 10 years with an automatic green card due to refugee status.
What amazes me about this story is that she’s Cuban. To a man and woman, every Cuban I’ve met has been a go-getter. As in, they’ll work two or three jobs and go to school on top of that. Or, if they just have one job, look out. They’ll outwork you.
I know just one exception to this rule, and that was my high school classmate, Eloy. He had a knack for sleeping through just about all of his classes, yet he still managed to graduate.
After graduation, he joined the Army. And, a while after that, an Army fellow came around to the high school to interview my mother. She’d been one of his teachers, and the purpose of the interview was to see if Mom would recommend him for a military intelligence assignment.
Mom recommended him.
I was amazed that she would do such a thing, but maybe she knew something about Eloy that the rest of us didn’t.
you obviously don’t understand the refugee problem. this woman has spent almost her entire adult life supported by the “state”.
that is what communism is about. she has moved here not to escape any persecution, but like so many others, because life is better here. that means that the welfare checks are richer.
$700 per month in free money for 10 years is a lot more than she would ever get in Cuba. Citizenship was never the plan. The plan was better government support. and she has gotten it. now she may lose it, but i doubt it. some politician will come to the rescue with our money. She’s too old to work now, and can’t speak english. do you think she could support herself? No.
I wonder how many of the foreclosures that were halted due to the Robo signing controversy were on mortgages that the FB originally lied about their income to receive in the first place.
Gotta love this.
Pentagon can’t explain ‘missile’ off California
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Tuesday it was trying to determine if a missile was launched Monday off the coast of Southern California and, if so, who might have fired it.
Spokesmen for the Navy, Air Force, and other military organizations said they were looking into a video posted on the CBS News website that shows an object shooting across the sky and leaving a large contrail, or vapor trail, over the Pacific Ocean.
The video was shot by a KCBS helicopter, the station said Tuesday.
“Nobody within the Department of Defense that we’ve reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is, where it came from,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said.
Lapan said that “all indications” are that the Department of Defense was not involved within the mystery object, and that the contrail might have been created by something flown by a private company.
Normally any missile test would require notification so that mariners and pilots could be warned or air space closed, but that may not have been done in this case, Lapan said.
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20101109/US.Pentagon.Mystery.Missile/ - -
Nancy Pelosi’s broom had a malfunction?
Where did the projectile end up? Was there a big “boom” explosion sound reported? Things are getting stranger……
‘With lenders still skittish about making new loans, credit bureaus and others are hawking services that help banks probe deeply into your financial closet. The new offerings include ways to look at your rent and utility payments, figure out your income, gauge your home’s value and even rate your banking habits based on details like whether your direct deposits have stopped.’
‘Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma, a credit-score information website, knew he had a good credit score. But when he recently applied for a new credit card, he was rejected: The lender had flagged him as a higher credit risk because the value of his California home had declined and his mortgage principal wasn’t declining—giving away that he has an interest-only mortgage.’
“It’s a lot more than just your credit score today,” he says.’
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/111250/new-ways-bankers-are-spying-on-you
I’ll probably be listed as an enemy of the state one day, tending to pay in cash, make cash deposits and cash withdrawals at the bank. The direct deposit thing they have me on, but where it goes not so much. So much overall for “privacy in one’s papers”.
The article ignores the very best indicator: A person’s character.
A person with good character will make every effort to repay no matter what. He might be broke.. might not have a job.. but he’ll never feel good until his debts are paid.
A person with bad character might be as rich as anyone can be, but will not pay what he owes you unless you sue him.
* U.S. NEWS
* NOVEMBER 10, 2010
Cuts Reach Campus Oasis
Government Austerity Threatens Northwest Area Anchored by Two Big Universities
By JOEL MILLMAN
MOSCOW, Idaho—Two neighboring public universities have kept unemployment and home foreclosures at bay in the region here that connects the Idaho panhandle to eastern Washington’s prairie. But government cuts may finally be catching up.
“We’re definitely entering a new frontier,” said Elson S. Floyd, president of the area’s largest employer, Washington State University, which is eight miles from the region’s second-largest employer, the University of Idaho.
Nowhere else in the U.S. do two such large land-grant universities abut each other in neighboring states. The schools’ students and employees account for nearly 38,000 of the 78,000 inhabitants of the two neighboring counties—Latah, in Idaho, and Whitman, in Washington—and generate two-thirds of all economic activity, according to local consultants, EMSI, Economics Modeling Specialists Inc.
Public-sector jobs account for 36% of all employment and 42% of salaries in the region, known as the Palouse, according to EMSI. This is a bigger government footprint, proportionally, than in Virginia’s Fairfax and Arlington counties, long considered ground zero for Washington, D.C., bureaucracy, the consultants say.
Belt-tightening has finally hit, with budgets at both campuses shaved around 20% this academic year. For the first time in its 120-year history, WSU received more money from student tuition than from state appropriations.
…
Now that Sarah Palin has finally jumped on the anti-Fed bandwagon, I guess she finally has gravitas. I still think of her as more of a hockey mom than a likely future U.S. president.
* POLITICS
* NOVEMBER 9, 2010, 11:57 A.M. ET
Sarah Palin Takes Aim at Fed
By SUDEEP REDDY
Sarah Palin, delving into a major policy issue a week after the mid-term elections, took aim Monday at the Federal Reserve and called on Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to “cease and desist” with a bond-buying program designed to boost the economy.
Speaking at a trade association conference in Phoenix, the potential 2012 presidential candidate and tea-party favorite said she’s “deeply concerned” about the central bank creating new money to buy government bonds. Ms. Palin said “it’s far from certain this will even work” and suggested the move would create an inflation problem.
Sarah Palin says she’s deeply concerned about the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion of U.S. bonds to boost the economy. Alan Murray, Jerry Seib and Jon Hilsenrath discuss why the Federal Reserve has been drawn into the political fray.
Monday’s remarks, in which Ms. Palin staked out a firm stance on a complex topic, follow criticism from GOP strategist Karl Rove, who questioned her “gravitas” based on her appearance in a cable-television reality show about the Alaskan wilderness.
…
” called on Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to “cease and desist” with a bond-buying program designed to boost the economy”
Easy Sarah, Bernanke can do this after I get my 1% mortgage on my falling knife.
Once the state of California finishes burning to the ground, will any housing market opportunities be left in the ashes?
* OPINION
* NOVEMBER 8, 2010
California: The Lindsay Lohan of States
Sacramento is headed for trouble again, and it shouldn’t expect a bailout.
By ALLYSIA FINLEY
Listen up, California. The other 48 states—your cousin New York excluded—are sick of your bratty arrogance. You’re the Lindsay Lohan of states: a prima donna who once showed some talent but is now too wasted to do anything with it.
After enjoying ephemeral highs and spending binges, you suffer crashes that culminate in brief, unsuccessful stints in rehab. This cycle repeats itself every five to 10 years, as the rest of the country looks on with a mixture of horror and amusement. We’d feel sorry for you if you didn’t constantly flip us the bird.
Instead, we’re making bets on how long it will be before your next meltdown. Oh, wait—you’re already melting down.
…
This story sure makes me thirsty for an ice cold Guiness on tap!
* HOMES
* NOVEMBER 9, 2010
Ireland’s Next Blow Could Be Home Loans
Residential Mortgages Show Signs of Causing Problems
By DAVID ENRICH And CHARLES FORELLE
Ireland’s commercial-property bust has knocked the country’s banks to their knees. Now the lenders are bracing for another blow: losses on home loans.
Charles Forelle discusses the renewal of sovereign debt fears in Ireland and Portugal and what it means to recent efforts to stabilize the financial system.
So far, residential mortgages haven’t been nearly as big a problem for Irish banks as their portfolios of loans to finance real-estate development and construction projects. Those ill-fated property loans have saddled the banks with tens of billions of euros in losses, forcing the government to mount a series of costly bailouts that have pushed Ireland to the brink of insolvency.
But problems in the residential-mortgage arena are starting to crop up, fueling fears that a second wave of losses could hit even Ireland’s healthiest banks. Those fears are one reason why jittery investors punished shares of Irish banks. An index of Irish financial stocks fell 5.3%, and shares in Bank of Ireland, one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders, tumbled 5.6% in Dublin.
A rising tide of Irish households has been falling behind on their mortgage payments. More than 36,000 borrowers, representing 4.6% of Irish mortgage loans, were at least 90 days behind on their loans as of June 30, according to Ireland’s financial regulator. That compares with 26,000, or 3.3%, nine months earlier. Data for September, due next month, is expected to show another rise but remain below the U.S. rate, which was above 9% in June.
…
* MARKETS
* NOVEMBER 10, 2010
Mortgage Lenders Set Back in Courts
By RUTH SIMON, ROBIN SIDEL And NICK TIMIRAOS
The push by mortgage companies to accelerate the snarled foreclosure process is running into resistance from judges who are cracking down on sloppy paperwork.
In Florida, a state-court judge has begun forcing lawyers to defend fees charged to borrowers by law firms. Maryland’s state appeals court told judges that they can hire experts to scrutinize paperwork filed in foreclosure proceedings—and make lawyers swear that the documents are accurate.
Since last month, New York has threatened to use “penalties of perjury” against lawyers caught filing bad documents, even if they didn’t know about the problems when the foreclosure process began.
The moves by dozens of state courts across the U.S. could add to the delays brought about by foreclosure-document crisis. Sales of foreclosed homes have slowed, and mortgage servicers face new expenses as they scramble to shore up their operations.
Over the long run, borrowers are likely to pay hundreds of dollars in additional fees or slightly higher interest rates, as toughened quality control ripples through the market for new and refinanced mortgages, many experts predict.
“The cost of servicing has gone through the roof, and the legal risks are almost unknowable,” said Dan Cutaia, president of capital markets at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. in Sun Prairie, Wis. As a consequence of rising servicing costs for lenders, “there will be higher pricing for the consumer.”
…
Top 5 Things To Know About Robo-Signers
Tara Struyk
Monday, November 8, 2010
According to recent news reports, robots are taking over U.S. banks. In fact, they just act like robots, but as the media headlines continue to blast this issue, it may be hard to know what to think. Here we separate fact from hype and cover a few important facts to know about this hot new term in the financial world.
1. They Aren’t Actually Robots…
2. Robo-Signed Mortgages Are Not All Invalid or Unwarranted…
3. They Were Just Doing Their Jobs…
4. It’s Nothing New…
5. It (Probably) Wasn’t (Orchestrated) Fraud…
The Bottom Line
The details about robo-signing practices are only beginning to emerge. While it’s clear that this practice holds real risk for homeowners battling to keep their homes, the fact that some lenders abused this system does not necessarily mean that homeowners who did lose their homes would have been able to keep them, had the documents been reviewed more carefully.
South Florida’s economic albatross: Home values and losses not getting any better
By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 12:14 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010
About 42 percent of South Florida homes with mortgages were underwater during the third quarter of the year, nearly double the national average and a “millstone around the neck” of real estate that could keep the market down indefinitely.
Analysts at the Seattle-based Zillow released housing data today that showed a 17th consecutive quarter of home value declines nationwide, including in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, where values fell 15 percent compared with 2009.
In the same tri-county area, 46 percent of homes that sold in September did so at a loss, according to Zillow’s report. Statewide, 48 percent of homes sold for a loss.
“The length and depth of the current housing recession is rivaling the Great Depression’s real estate downturn, and, with encouraging signs fading, will easily eclipse it in the coming months,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries, who made the millstone comment. “The high percentage of homeowners in negative equity continues to be troubling, in that it represents a huge number of people who are not only more vulnerable to foreclosure, but who are essentially trapped in their current homes.”
Nationwide, about 23 percent of homes with mortgages in the third quarter were in negative equity, or underwater, meaning more is owed on the loan than the property is worth. In the Treasure Coast, 52 percent of homes with mortgages were underwater, while 45 percent of home sales in September were for less than the previous transaction.