The Housing Bubble

“Comment by Professor Bear
2011-04-18 20:34:38

Whatever. I personally don’t envy wealth, and I don’t resent it, so long as the wealthy don’t have a license to steal from me.”

Trudat. Most teachers have this attitude, that’s why industrialists hate teachers: we don’t need railroad companies, insurance conglomerates, and oil wars to be happy.

I want to make shirts that say, “I was in the TEA party before being miserable was cool!”

~There are a couple thousand banks on the critical list from what I am reading, and the top 10 a not surprising. Not that it matters, but it is being very well hidden from public view, not that the general public cares.

FDIC’s Bair: Banks may need new capital buffers.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said in an interview published Monday that regulators may want to require large financial institutions to have separate capital buffers for their investment banking units.

“I think [for] the very largest ones we will need to see some structural changes. I’d like to get some public comment on the idea that if you have an investment banking affiliate… that [should be] on stand-alone liquidity and capital,” Bair told the Financial Times.

Bair’s comments come as the FDIC released a report saying that had the Dodd-Frank bank reform law been in effect when Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, management there would have sought a deal more urgently, creditors would have gotten substantially more and faster, and systemic instability would have been limited.

The failure of Lehman Brothers and the institution’s cumbersome bankruptcy process shocked the markets and subsequently led regulators to approve a more than $180 billion bailout of troubled insurer American International Group Inc.

from Bloomberg today….

“If you can jump through the hoops to get a mortgage, and there will be hoops, then this is an amazing time to purchase real estate,” said Robert Stein, a senior economist at First Trust Portfolios LP in Wheaton, Illinois, and the former head of the Treasury Department’s Office of Economic Policy. “There are going to be a lot of people kicking themselves a few years from now because they didn’t take advantage of the low prices and the low mortgage rates.”

sure thing Bob, how many people are kicking themselves who bought since 2002???????

SOOooooo,

What happens when the US credit rating gets downgraded?

Realtors Are Liars

Gay teens in liberal areas less likely to try suicide than those in conservative areas

CHICAGO — Suicide attempts by gay teens — and even straight kids — are more common in politically conservative areas where schools don’t have programs supporting gay rights, a study involving nearly 32,000 high school students found.

denverpost (DOT) com/nationworld/ci_17870072?source=rsshomemiss

The talking point du jour is that there’s really not much money to be gained by increasing taxes on the rich. Anybody got any numbers to back that up? Because the very few links provided thus far have been pretty weak.

I’ll provide links that show that taxing the wealthy is the solution to most of our budgetary problems.

April 14, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT
Foreclosure filings up 7% in March: RealtyTrac
Delays in foreclosure processing will hold back housing recovery
By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Foreclosure filings rose 7% in March, compared with February, according to RealtyTrac, as more lenders and servicers began working through a backlog of foreclosures that had been delayed as the industry dealt with problems related to its paperwork processing practices.

Foreclosure filings likely will increase gradually as the procedural issues are worked out, said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s senior vice president. “We’re not expecting to see an explosion as lenders and servicers try to catch up,” he said.

RealtyTrac reported that 239,795 properties received a foreclosure filing of some sort in March; filings include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. Filings were down 35% in March compared with March 2010, when RealtyTrac recorded the highest number of monthly filings since it started the report in January 2005.

Of the total filings, 73,393 were default notices, a 16% increase compared with February and a 37% drop compared with a year ago.

Foreclosure auctions numbered 93,228 in March, a drop of 4% from February and a 41% decrease from March 2010.

Bank repossessions totaled 73,174 in March, up 13% from February and down 20% from a year ago.

“It’s likely that these delays [in foreclosure processing] will push out the housing recovery further than anticipated,” Sharga said.
…

Quantitatively easing by a sufficient amount to avoid a downgrade without precipitating a double-dip recession would also hurt bonds.

US downgrade would help stocks, hurt bonds
(AP) – 14 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — When Standard & Poor’s says it might lower its top AAA rating on U.S. government debt, the stock market fell sharply. Traders were worried that if a downgrade happened, it would send interest rates higher. And, in turn, raise companies’ borrowing costs.

But short-term investors were driving the markets Monday. For individual investors who are in the market for the long haul, a downgrade might not be as devastating as it seemed at first — especially if their biggest investment is in the stock market.

The downside of a lower U.S. credit rating would be another drop in Treasury prices. And they’ve already been falling because interest rates are expected to rise as the economy grows. But some analysts say that stock prices would rise over the long term because they’ll have better returns than bonds and cash.

“For people who bought bond funds and think they won’t lose money — you’re wrong,” says Linda Williams, director of fixed income investments for Minneapolis-based private wealth management firm Lowry Hill. “When rates rise, those bond funds will be worth less than what you paid for them.”
…

April 18, 2011, 4:12 PM ET

Could Debt Worries Accelerate Fannie, Freddie Overhaul?
By Nick Timiraos

Most Washington pundits don’t expect any major political action on mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the 2012 election, but growing jitters over the nation’s debt illustrate one potential catalyst that could keep the current conservatorship of the firms from dragging on indefinitely.

On Monday, Standard & Poor’s placed the U.S. AAA-rating on negative outlook. It cited the potential cost of the U.S. government’s conservatorship of the mortgage-finance giants in tilting the scales in its decision. Here’s what S&P said:

We estimate that it could cost the U.S. government as much as 3.5% of GDP to appropriately capitalize and relaunch Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two financial institutions now under federal control, in addition to the 1% of GDP already invested.

And in a question-and-answer brief:

Do the finances of the U.S. government-supported enterprises (GSEs) affect the U.S. sovereign rating? Yes. We estimate that the government might have to inject up to $280 billion to cover losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; this includes $148 billion already spent. (Both GSEs are already in conservatorship.) Moreover, by our estimates, that $280 billion could swell to $685 billion if the government capitalizes Fannie and Freddie on a commercial basis.

Some analysts may take issue with those loss projections. Others will note that the U.S. will try to attract private, not public, funds to recapitalize any successors to Fannie and Freddie. Margaret Kerins, an analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland, writes in a research note Monday that such an outcome is “highly unlikely.”

The government has so far avoided bringing Fannie and Freddie onto the government’s books because that would boost the federal deficit by tens of billions and it could swell the total debt of the U.S. (Recall that Fannie Mae was privatized in 1968 when the Johnson administration was trying to reduce the country’s debt.)

The Bush administration cited the “temporary nature” of the government’s stewardship of Fannie and Freddie in opting not to incorporate those obligations back onto the government’s books.
…

Interesting first hand look. Coming soon to America.

————————

Greece: A country unraveling
To Vima, Athens | 4/18/2011 | Pantelis Kapsis

With new austerity measures announced against a backdrop of persistent rumours of debt restructuring and national bankruptcy, a Greek columnist worries that the choices being offered to Greece are being accompanied by the degeneration of the state.

For the average citizen, the pullover is unravelling. In Corinth, where 20 drivers, unimpeded, ransacked a police station to burn their fines. In Perama, where trade-unionists overturned a patrol car with personnel inside. In Keratea, where locals opposed to a landfill project have been involved in ongoing battles with police while the state has been unable to assert its authority. At toll booths and in Constitution Square, where the “Can’t pay, won’t pay” movement has unrestricted freedom to intimidate citizens who do not want to break the law. In Patras, where a group of masked individuals attacked an 80-year-old Nobel laureate [James D. Watson who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1962].

And this is not just a matter of violence and anarchy. Unions at the national power corporation DEI have been outraged by the discovery of the donation of millions of euros to one of the company’s subsidiaries. In higher education, professors responded with a threat to close universities to news that an “experts committee” had found that we spend more per student than other European countries.

In health care, where we spend as much as the United States, doctors claiming that there is a shortage of beds and equipment are denying patients access to hospital care. However, in this case, the Health Minister quickly responded by launching disciplinary procedures. In the public sector, where the highest paid workers have embarked on a succession of strikes to the point where it must now be obvious to the members of the IMF-ECB-EU troika that our tax system is worse off than it was before it was overhauled in 2009!

There is no turning back And all of this is taking place in an incredible climate of confusion which has been compounded by the ambiguous behaviour of government ministers. For example, the Minister for Citizen Protection who, in the wake of a few successes that included the arrest of a number of terrorists, has now decided to adopt the same method as his predecessor and is refusing to assume responsibility for his position. Ditto for the Minister for the Environment who, to date, has had nothing to say about the Keratea landfill.

Confusion also prevails in the economy, with members of PASOK [the ruling socialist party] flirting with the idea of debt restructuring, and in so doing demonstrating their ignorance of the difficult realities of our position in Europe and on financial markets. It goes without saying that the troika technocrats are now threatening to withhold payment of the fourth installment of the 110 billion euro loan — and if that happens, there will be no point in talking about restructuring.

This was the dilemma addressed by Prime Minister George Papandreou in his 15 April speech to parliamentary members of his party, in which he announced further austerity measures. In recent days, we have been warned of the scenarios for the near future if we accept restructuring for the good of the people: public services will have no money to pay their staff, and a shortage of doctors and equipment will result in the closure of our hospitals.

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/604611-country-unraveling

FEDERATION FEATURE
APRIL 15, 2011

Ryan Budget Plan Promotes Housing Recovery by Ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
By DAVID C. JOHN

From the Heritage Foundation

While much of the press attention has focused on other parts of the budget plan put forth by Representative Paul Ryan (R–WI), a key provision is its call for an end to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two housing giants that essentially failed and were taken over by their regulator in 2008. In their place, Ryan proposes to “allow private-market secondary lenders to fairly, freely and transparently compete, with the knowledge that they will ultimately bear appropriate risk for the loans they guarantee. Their viability and profitability will be determined by the soundness of their practices and the value of their services.”[1]

Just eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a huge step in the right direction. So far, the two have cost taxpayers about $150 billion to cover their pre-2008 losses on mortgages and related securities. However, not all of those losses have surfaced; the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) estimates that when they do, the total cost will be double that amount. Sadly, these costs are unavoidable, but eliminating the two housing giants and their government guarantee would protect taxpayers from similar losses in the next housing downturn.

How to Eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

To gradually eliminate both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Ryan’s budget proposes “winding down their government guarantee and ending taxpayer subsidies. It supports increasing the guarantee fees Fannie and Freddie charge lenders in order to bring private capital back, shrinking their retained portfolios, and enacting various measures that would bring transparency and accountability to the GSEs. At the same time, it will put in place measures to discourage shifting of taxpayer risk to the Federal Housing Administration and other government-backed entities as Fannie and Freddie are dismantled.”[2] This approach should achieve Ryan’s goal of abolishing Fannie and Freddie without seriously disrupting still fragile housing markets.

Since 2008, privately issued mortgage-backed securities, which were once over half the market, have virtually disappeared. Restoring their presence will take time and should be encouraged with specific steps mentioned below. While ideally, the transition to private financing mechanisms should be as rapid as possible, policymakers should avoid the temptation to put firm deadlines on the complete phase-out of Fannie and Freddie. Instead, specific steps to encourage that transition should be clearly described and scheduled, with the FHFA being given the job of monitoring the situation under close oversight and ending the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as market conditions allow.
…

GOP lawmakers to unveil own plan to wind down Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
By Zachary A. Goldfarb, Monday, March 28, 8:58 PM

A month and a half after the White House announced its plan to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, House Republicans on Tuesday plan to introduce their own.

According to congressional sources familiar with the matter, a series of eight bills by Republicans will call for raising fees charged to borrowers in two years and taking other steps to shrink the companies’ footprint in the housing market.

The bills will call on Fannie and Freddie to begin to sell their massive portfolios of mortgage investments, which keep rates low, and would take away other advantages enjoyed by the companies that banks and private-sector firms don’t have.

They would also end requirements that Fannie and Freddie direct a portion of their business to low- and moderate-income housing and pay the employees of the companies only what counterparts in the federal government earn.

What’s striking about the new GOP plan is that in many ways it mirrors the Obama administration’s approach to shutting down the taxpayer-backed mortgage giants but only on a faster timetable.
…
More on this Story

GOP lawmakers to unveil own plan to wind down Fannie, Freddie
Home prices dropped in January by the most in more than a year
All-cash purchases surge in housing market
More news from Post Business

I’ve been busy lately, and hence am way behind on the rapidly evolving efforts underway to unwind the GSEs.

First set of GOP bills changing Fannie, Freddie advance
By Peter Schroeder - 04/06/11 10:12 AM ET

House Republicans took another step toward reining in and winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday, advancing eight bills that would modify them.

The Capital Markets subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee approved the package of bills after a lengthy and contentious markup, setting the stage for consideration by the full committee in the coming weeks.

Lawmakers approved three of the bills late Tuesday night after a markup that stretched 11 hours. Republicans accused Democrats of using parliamentary tactics to delay debate and bog down the proceedings. They said Democrats would call for a committee quorum, then leave the hearing room to prevent the quorum from being reached.

“Americans have seen Democrats flee certain states, and now we’re seeing Democrats in Congress use the same ploy,” said Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), the chairman of the subcommittee. “The American people want us to end the bailouts, and we hope the Democrats on the committee will start taking this issue — and their responsibilities as legislators — seriously.”

Democrats, meanwhile, criticized the “piecemeal” approach offered by Republicans, arguing it could lead to market uncertainty.

“Undertaking these short-term steps without a vision for what comes next is a risky strategy, given that the entirety of the American housing finance system is at stake,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the subcommittee.
…

Fannie Mae Announces 3.5 Percent Buyer Assistance on HomePath® Properties
Incentive Part of Continuous Effort to Stabilize Neighborhoods

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Fannie Mae announced today that people purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned HomePath property will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance. The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011; and the sale must close on or before June 30, 2011 to be eligible for the incentive. Additionally, buyers must reside in the home as their primary residence (sales to investors are excluded).

“Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing the inventory of vacant homes remains essential to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the market recover,” said Terry Edwards, Executive Vice President of Credit Portfolio Management. “Since interest rates remain low, the incentive will go a long way toward helping even more families buy a new home so this is a great time for Fannie Mae to offer some assistance.”
…

Closing Costs too Much? Fannie Mae Will Pay Some of It!
Article Submitted By: CA Hagy

Is the thought of paying the high closing costs on a home keeping you from making the leap into home ownership? Consider getting a mortgage through Fannie Mae.
Submitted: April 16, 2011

With all of the foreclosures on the books at Fannie Mae, one of the government’s largest securers of mortgage loans, executives decided that something had to be done to reduce that number. That is why Fannie Mae recently announced that it would help home buyers with the closing costs of they purchase a home.

That is really good news when you consider that Fannie Mae’s inventory of foreclosed homes is also eligible for special financing programs for those who are trying to purchase a home for the first time. In addition to that, home buyers can often purchase homes backed by Fannie Mae for as little as 3 percent down. This is an extra incentive that is offered by Fannie Mae to help low income home buyers purchase their first home. As far as the closing costs, Fannie Mae is also offering to pay up to 3.5 percent of those fees if you qualify for the assistance.

In order to take advantage of this newest deal offered by Fannie Mae, you must submit an offer to purchase the home after April 11 and you must close on the home no later than June 30 of this year. You must also use the home as your primary residence rather than a vacation home or rental property in order to qualify for this deal. Investors will not be allowed to take advantage of this offer.

Terry Edwards, a portfolio manager for Fannie Mae’s department of foreclosed homes, said this incentive along with the recently low interest rates should be a good combination to encourage buyers.

Fannie Mae tried a similar program in 2010. During that year, Fannie Mae reclaimed more than 260,000 homes due to non-payment of mortgages. That’s more than a quarter of a million homes and that’s just from one lender! Last year, Fannie Mae also gave $1,500 bonuses to brokers and realtors who found buyers who would purchase a foreclosed home that the lender had on its books.

If you are a first time home buyer, going through Fannie Mae while the lender is providing this offer may be one of the best options to consider. With a low down payment, low prices of foreclosures, low mortgage rates and Fannie Mae taking care of some of the closing costs, you won’t easily find a better deal right now.
…

REVIEW & OUTLOOK
APRIL 1, 2011

Blinking on Fan and Fred
Republicans miss a chance to put the toxic twins out of business.

Democrats like to paint House Republicans as “extreme” ideologues held captive by the Tea Party. But after reviewing the House GOP’s new plan to reform the housing market, we wish the Tea Party had grabbed a few more hostages.

On Tuesday Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee introduced eight bills to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-created mortgage giants at the heart of the financial crisis. These toxic twins have already gobbled up $156 billion of taxpayer money. But not one of the eight bills would shut down Fannie or Freddie—even on a delayed fuse.

You could argue that the House GOP has rolled out a less aggressive reform plan than one of the options recently floated by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Yes, the same Secretary Geithner who quietly gave Fan and Fred an unlimited call on taxpayer cash on Christmas Eve of 2009. Can he really be among the Beltway’s boldest voices for reform only five months after a bailout-weary electorate turned the House over to Republicans?

Those Republicans seem to have decided that fundamental reform isn’t possible with a Democratic Senate. At least that’s the charitable view. Another is that Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus, a longtime friend of the mortgage twins, still can’t liberate himself from the housing lobby that wants Fan and Fred to rise again. Whatever the reasons, taxpayers hoping for a clean break from Washington’s housing folly are being offered merely incremental enhancements.
…

The States Where People Can’t Afford Gas
Posted: April 15, 2011 at 4:06 pm

This analysis shows the extent to which the US economy cannot be viewed as a whole–an undifferentiated collection of 50 states. Some states on this list, like Alabama or West Virginia, could be tipped back into a local recession because of a combination of high gas prices and low wages.

Each of “The States Where People Can’t Afford Gas” has a different set of factors contributing to the effects of high fuel costs. However, most of what is said about Indiana could also be said about Kentucky. Gas prices cause people to postpone vacations and defer daily expenses. Some of the states on this list barely made it out of the recession, if they did at all. Some still have double digit unemployment and high poverty levels. The sharp rise in gas prices becomes more severe each day. This is something that a portion of the population simply cannot afford.

10. Iowa
> Median Income: $50,721 (21st highest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.94 (8th highest)
> Unemployment: 6.1% (6th lowest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 13.07% (16th lowest)

9. Ohio
> Median Income: $45,879 (19th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.83 (17th lowest)
> Unemployment: 9.2% (20th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 19% (16th highest)

8. North Dakota
> Median Income: $50,075 (23rd highest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.97 (7th highest)
> Unemployment: 3.7% (lowest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 12.77% (15th lowest)

7. Florida
> Median Income: $45,631 (15th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.82 (18th lowest)
> Unemployment: 11.5% (2nd highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 18.17% (18th highest)

6. Kentucky
> Median Income: $42,664 (8th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.80 (21st lowest)
> Unemployment: 10.4% (6th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 22.67% (3rd highest)

5. Michigan
> Median Income: $45,994 (20th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.94 (9th highest)
> Unemployment: 10.4% (6th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 19.07% (15th highest)

4. North Carolina
> Median Income: $41,906 (8th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.89 (11th highest)
> Unemployment: 9.7% (12th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 20% (13th highest)

3. West Virginia
> Median Income: $40,490 (5th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $3.88 (12th highest)
> Unemployment: 9.4% (16th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 22.07% (5th highest)

2. Indiana
> Median Income: $44,305 (12th lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $4.04 (4th highest)
> Unemployment: 8.8% (24th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 17.57% (20th highest)

1. Alabama
> Median Income: $39,980 (3rd lowest)
> Regular Gas Price: $4.17 (3rd highest)
> Unemployment: 9.3% (18th highest)
> Population Below Poverty Line: 21.77% (6th highest)

http://247wallst.com/2011/04/15/the-states-where-people-cant-afford-gas/ - 70k -

America has been collectively hoodwinked.

Robert Scheer: The False Debate on Debt
Posted: 04/17/2011 07:02:14 AM PDT

In the ever-so-smug company of the rich and powerful, it is a given that there is never to be any expression of remorse or other acknowledgement of the pain they have inflicted on the lesser mortals they so cavalierly plunder. It’s convenient for them that the media and the politicians, which they happen to own, rarely connect the dots between the scams that made the rich so rich and the alarming rise in the federal debt that is crushing this nation.
…
Lost in this faux debate is the reality that our debt now looms so large because the government had to bail out many of those same corporations, quite a few of which, like General Electric and AIG, pay no taxes and have no problem paying truly obscene amounts to their top executives. GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, whom President Barack Obama named chairman of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, is making as much as he did before the recession hit, a recession that his GE Capital division did much to cause with its reckless loans. AIG, saved with a government infusion of $170 billion, has just lavishly rewarded its top executives but has providing no relief for the homeowners ripped off by its phony credit default swaps.

The AIG deal was engineered by then-President of the New York Fed Timothy Geithner, who was rewarded for his efforts to save the bankers by being named Obama’s treasury secretary. Geithner, an energetic member of the team of Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers that ran Treasury when the Bill Clinton administration cooperated with congressional Republicans in gutting regulation of the financial community, is proud of saving the banks from the wreckage that they and the Clinton policies caused. Last October, he proclaimed the TARP banker bailout program “the most effective government program in recent memory.”

What he is referring to is that in order to escape the federal restrictions on executive compensation, the banks have been eager to pay back the TARP funds. What he and other apologists for the Obama and George W. Bush administrations’ Bankers First program choose to ignore — as Paul Atkins and two other members of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program revealed in a damning Wall Street Journal column titled “TARP Was No Win for the Taxpayers” — is that the banks are not paying back the trillions of dollars in non-TARP governmental assistance that saved them from bankruptcy.

“It hides the full story of the government’s financial crisis effort, of which TARP is but a minor part,” the op-ed column said of the maneuvering. The major part is the $1.1 trillion in toxic-mortgage-based securities that the Fed purchased, relieving the banks of their obligations, and the $380 billion bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, organizations that backed those securities, along with “other Fed and FDIC programs (that) added another $2 trillion of taxpayer money at risk to the 19 stress-tested banks alone.”

What Geithner celebrates is a shell game of his own construction in which far more costly federal programs, with no serious restrictions on banker greed, were used by the banks to “repay” the TARP funds. Nothing was obtained in return from those banks in the way of mortgage cramdowns to keep people in their homes or any restrictions on the interest rates that banks charge on credit cards: Clearly usurious rates of more than 25 percent are now the norm for those struggling to keep their families above water. No wonder consumer confidence is down, the housing market is expected to decline an additional 10 percent over the next year, and the job market is predicted by most of the experts to stagnate for years to come. Continued tax breaks for the 1 percent of the population that controls 40 percent of the nation’s wealth will do nothing to restore the confidence of the other 99 percent of consumers who are suffering so.

This at least Obama seems to understand, but count on him to betray his own better instincts by once again following the advice of his treasury secretary and the Wall Street crowd that contributed so lavishly to his first presidential campaign and whose support he seeks once again.

Contrary to what most people are led to believe, the rich are not getting richer:

The Rich Aren’t Getting Richer
Actual super-wealthy households saw their income decline.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/264296

http://wwreader.com/img/93552.gif

I was wondering if anyone else noticed what I did in the attached chart, beyond the fact that median asking prices have been cut in half since the bubble top.

Hint, look at the last bit of the median and low line (yellow and pink)

Data Source: Me from Realtor.com

Also, I’ve noted that the number of house rental ads has steadily declined over the course of the bubble deflation. (Also about 2:1, 2006 vs. today)

I can only surmise that the vacant housing is adding to rental demand still and propping up rental rates?

Foreclosure prevention workshop tonight in West Palm Beach

by Kim Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The Neighborhood Community Foundation is holding a free foreclosure prevention workshop tonight at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in West Palm Beach.

It’s the second West Palm Beach visit for the non-profit group, which says it is returning because of an overwhelming response from homeowners when it was here April 5.

“Our call center was swamped with homeowners anxious to gain clarity about the circumstances surrounding their foreclosure,” said Jim Boyer, the organization’s spokesperson.

The program runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Crowne Plaza Hotel is located at 1601 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach.

Topics covered in the workshop include:
• Securitization – Where the problems began
• Loan Review – How to identify errors in your loan papers
• Loan Modifications – Aggressive techniques in working with banks
• Federal Foreclosure Programs – HAMP and HAFA
• Buying More Time in Your Home – Steps to postpone your move
• Protecting Against Foreclosure Predators
• County Agency Resources
• Potential Legal Defenses

For more information go to http://neighborhood-community.org or call 877-306-5299.

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Tags: foreclosure, Foreclosures, real estate

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3 Responses to “Foreclosure prevention workshop tonight in West Palm Beach”

1. Get in the Game Says:
April 19th, 2011 at 8:07 am
“Homeowners anxious to gain clarity…surrounding their foreclosure”

The only correct word in that statement was THEIR.

They do NOT ‘own’ the house. (The Creditor does)

It is a house NOT a ‘home.’ (A RE trader trick to leave your rational side and tie a bunch of emotion to a commodity)

Of course they are anxious. (They want to stay in the house longer for freeeeeeeeeeee or at least stay rent free for another 500+ days)

Typcial, I do not read squat about paying back the money they borrowed.

Only on how to receive MORE free money, MORE entitlements, MORE lawsuits, MORE rent free months, more and more of giving stuff away for freeeeeeeee.

Americans just continuing to be lazy and undisciplined!

Priceless…

2. Governor Skeletor Says:
April 19th, 2011 at 8:36 am
NO HELP FOR THE DEADBEATS!! THROW THEM INTO THE STREETS>>>SELL THE HOME TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!!

3. WPB Esquire Says:
April 19th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Love to keep these folks in THEIR HOME for FREE for as long as possible.

The longer the better…longer rent-FREE time for them; more fees for ME.

Why should these folks pay the loan back ?? America was build, and continues to be build, on a few who have been stealing from the masses for decades.

That’s why now there are approximately 500 BILLIONares, and thousands of MILLIONares in america; all squeezing the last nickel and dime from the masses because “they” never have enough money.

So why not stick it to the bank for a change?

Meet the Flockers.

Florida aid seekers flock to apply

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 6:19 p.m. Monday, April 18, 2011

Florida homeowners pounced on the state’s Hardest Hit foreclosure prevention program Monday morning as the online application process opened on a first come, first served basis.

Local agencies fielding the applications received their first requests for the $1 billion in federal housing aid just 20 minutes after the 9 a.m. start time, surprising some organizers who thought it would take an hour for home­owners to complete the process.

By 1 p.m., 200 applications had made their way to Paul Baltrun, director of homeowner assistance for the Law Office of Paul A. Krasker in West Palm Beach.

Krasker’s firm is among 14 groups in Palm Beach County approved by the Florida Housing Finance Corp. to handle homeowner applications for Hardest Hit money.

“I was expecting a high volume, but not in that short period of time,” Baltrun said. “I think people were logged on to their computers and ready to go.”

Because of how the Florida Housing Finance Corp. application website rolled into operation Monday, homeowners in South and Central Florida got a five-minute head start on the rest of the state, said corporation spokeswoman Ceeka Green.

“It just worked out that those in the hardest hit part of the state got in about five minutes before the top part of the state,” she said.

About 40,000 unemployed and underemployed Floridians are expected to receive Hardest Hit money. The program will pay six months’ worth of mortgage payments up to $12,000, or up to $6,000 to bring late loans current.

The money is meant to keep people in their homes while they seek better-paying jobs or find alternatives to foreclosure. A homeowner cannot be more than 180 days in arrears on mortgage payments to qualify for the program.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/florida-aid-seekers-flock-to-apply-1412735.html - -

I wouldn’t pay $10 much less $76.47 to go to a football game. If I do decide to watch football I much prefer the T.V. in my living room.

NFL ticket prices on the rise.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The average ticket price for professional football games increased 4.5 percent this year to $76.47, even as some teams struggled to fill every seat.

The increase comes largely at the expense of the fans of the New York Jets and New York Giants, who face ticket price increases of 38.1% and 26.0% respectively. Both teams play in a $1.6 billion new stadium in New Jersey.

But prices pushed higher despite 15 NFL teams either keeping rates steady or lowering prices, according to a survey conducted by Team Marketing Report, a group that tracks ticket prices.

In fact, only nine of the NFL’s 32 teams have prices above the league average, with New England Patriots fans forced to fork over the most cash for a ticket: $117.84.

David Carter, executive director of USC’s Sports Business Institute, said the tough economy is certainly playing a role in pricing decisions made by management, and that some teams soften the blow of a price increase by including price breaks on concessions or parking.

But fans that buy tickets as part of season ticket packages should consider themselves lucky. The increase in the average face value of tickets is dwarfed by resold tickets in the secondary market.

“[Price inflation] is caused solely by printing more money. For this the government’s monetary policies are entirely responsible.”

~Henry Hazlitt

Americans Shun Cheapest Homes in 40 Years as Owning Loses Appeal
(Bloomberg)

The most affordable real estate in a generation is failing to lure buyers as Americans sour on the idea of home ownership.

Victoria Pauli signed a one-year lease last week to stay in her rental home in Fair Oaks, California. She had considered buying in the area, where property prices have slumped 57 percent since a 2005 peak.

In the end, she decided it wasn’t worth it.

“I know people who have watched their home values get cut in half, and I know people who are losing their homes,” said Pauli, 31, who works as a property manager for a real estate company. “It’s part of the American dream to want to own your own home, and I used to feel that way, but now I tell myself: Be careful what you wish for.”

The most affordable real estate in a generation is failing to lure buyers as Americans like Pauli sour on the idea of home ownership. At the end of 2010, the fourth year of the housing collapse, the share of people who said a home was a safe investment dropped to 64 percent from 70 percent in the first quarter. The December figure was the lowest in a survey that goes back to 2003, when it was 83 percent.

“The magnitude of the housing crash caused permanent changes in the way some people view home ownership,” said Michael Lea, a finance professor at San Diego State University. “Even as the economy improves, there are some who will never buy a home because their confidence in real estate is gone.”
Worse Than Depression

Historically, homes have been a safer investment than equities. During 2008, the worst year of the housing crisis, the median U.S. home price declined 15 percent, compared with a more than 38 percent plunge in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Americans stay in their homes for a median of eight years, according to the National Association of Realtors in Chicago. Someone who bought a home in 2002 and sold in 2010 saw a 4.8 percent increase in value, based on the annualized median price measured by the group. The average annual gain in the past 20 years was 4.2 percent.

Housing Starts in U.S. Increased 7.2% in March to 549,000 Pace

April 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. housing starts gained in March, as work began on 549,000 houses at an annual pace, up 7.2 percent from the prior month, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, rose 11 percent to a 594,000 pace.

A gain in March housing starts failed to make up for ground lost the prior month, as U.S. home builders continue to struggle almost two years into the economic recovery.

Work began on 549,000 houses at an annual pace, up 7.2 percent from the prior month and exceeding the 520,000 median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Starts fell 19 percent in February to the lowest level in almost two years.

Housing, which pushed the economy into the recession, remains the weak link in the recovery and continues to weigh on consumer spending as home prices fall. The prospect of more foreclosures and joblessness forecast to average 8.7 percent this year means any recovery in housing may take time to develop.

“We remain at very low levels,” said Richard DeKaser, an economist at Parthenon Group in Boston, who correctly forecast last month’s increase. “The best description is bumping along the bottom. The underlying trend is one of stability or modest improvement since we hit our low point a couple of years ago.”

Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad
Work Forces Shrink at Home, Sharpening Debate on Economic Impact of Globalization. ~ WSJ

U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers, have been hiring abroad while cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization’s effect on the U.S. economy.

The companies cut their work forces in the U.S. by 2.9 million during the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million, new data from the U.S. Commerce Department show. That’s a big switch from the 1990s, when they added jobs everywhere: 4.4 million in the U.S. and 2.7 million abroad.

Great News…The starter Home i bought in the San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood Calif for $ 230 K in 1992 and sold for for 635k in 3/04 is now on the market for a wishful 475k…This made me feel so good,as i have remained a happy renter all these years…

Politicians are hooked on borrowing and spending.

And so is the public.

I don’t think the debt issue will be addressed in any serious way until the majority of the voting public is directly impacted by it. Or until the majority is immediately threatened in the near future.

Until then, the attitude is, “It’s still running, it’s not clear yet that there will be any real problem (see Michael Moore and his “America isn’t broke” comments).”

I have a suspicion though that this borrow/spend horse we’re on will be run until it collapses.

The other day, I noted that I thought that the Keynesian concept of government spending more in bad times, but paying down the debt in good times was fatally flawed, as the government could not bring itself to wean itself from deficit spending in good times.

Alpha-sloth said that this was wrong - that the debt was being paid down by every president till Reagan.

I looked into the issue and found a chart on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms

The debt continues to increase every year. It is true that at Reagan, it began to increase at a very high rate, and has remained so. But, no president ever reduced the debt after WWII.

So my point stands.

Government will keep running the debt horse till it collapses I think.

Well how ’bout that. “First offshore wind farm construction to start soon” in Nantucket Sound.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-wind-idUSTRE73H58E20110419

Fed unveils most brilliant plan ever:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fed-unveils-proposal-on-rb-3706242456.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

If only they could have thought of this sooner. Dammitt!!

Two real-a-tors in our area ( central S.C.) are starting a new home building company. Listened to an ad they put out, went along the lines of…

“With over 5 decades of real estate experience we are in a unique position to understand the wants and desires of today’s home-buyer. Our team of experienced professionals we guide you through the process from start to finish. Isn’t it time to build the home of your dreams? With today’s low rates and easy financing there has never been a better time to build on your tomorrows. Go ahead you will not regret building the home you deserve. Call on us, and lets get started”.

Beaufort Board: hike property tax or close schools

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The Beaufort County Board of Education says it will consider closing schools if the county council won’t approve a property tax increase.

The education board has voted to begin to take steps to close at least one or more schools starting in the 2012 school year.

Board member Wayne Carbiener says the board faces cutting major programs, increasing class size and laying off teachers because they have squeezed all the money out of the budget they can.

The board says it still needs the county council to raise taxes by 3 percent on vacation homes and commercial and personal property. State law exempts primary residences from property taxes to fund school operations.

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy appears to be running dangerously close to stall speed, and the rest of the world may not have enough oomph to compensate.

At the start of 2011, growth looked solid. The U.S. unemployment rate was finally dropping, consumers were in a spending mood, and economists were busily upgrading first-quarter growth projections to the range of 4 percent.

Those forecasts are falling fast. Many economists now think the U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.5 percent to 2 percent pace over the first three months of the year, and one forecaster even raised the possibility of a negative reading.

Whether this is a short-lived blip or a more worrisome dip depends largely on which way oil prices move, and how consumers and businesses around the world respond.

Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton said downside risk was “unfortunately a phrase we have been using a lot lately.”

A quiet week for economic data probably won’t bring much, if any, good news. The highlights include a clutch of U.S. housing reports, which will serve as yet another reminder that the real estate slump persists.

Emerging markets have been the strongest global growth engine, giving advanced economies an export boost. But rising inflation pressures mean many countries will be clamping down on credit conditions, which would curb growth. Barclays Capital called inflation the “predominant risk” facing China.

GLASS HALF FULL

As for the United States, Barclays cut its first-quarter growth forecast to a rate of 2 percent from 3.5 percent, not quite as gloomy a forecast as some other Wall Street banks have published.

But Barclays economist Michael Gapen said the forces holding back first-quarter growth would likely prove “temporary” and the firm raised its second-quarter growth forecast — a rarity these days.

Gapen said economic measures such as industrial production and employment “have all been moving in a way that is consistent with strong, not weak, economic growth.”

American consumers have kept up spending on durable goods, including buying autos which should be sensitive to rising oil prices, and that bodes well for growth, Gapen said.

The flip side of that argument is that consumer confidence faded as oil and gasoline prices spiked, and if that translates into slower consumption the economy will suffer. Consumer spending accounts for some 70 percent of the U.S. economy.

“The extra cost of about 70 cents per gallon, relative to prices at the end of 2010, is siphoning off household income at a run rate equivalent to $100 billion per year — income that otherwise could have been spent on other goods and services,” Goldman’s Tilton said.

His firm is still forecasting that consumer spending will pick up in the second quarter, but he said that “will require a fortuitous combination of circumstances.”

States see biggest revenue drop in 60 years
http://www.politico.com

In a sign of the sluggish economy’s devastating impact, state government revenue across the country dropped by nearly one third in 2009 - the sharpest decline in 60 years, the Census Bureau said in a new report.

States saw record-breaking losses to their pension funds and in their tax revenues, as the recession wreaked havoc on payrolls and investments,

Revenues plummeted by 30.8 percent, from $1.6 trillion in 2008 to $1.1 trillion in 2009, according to the report.

It was the most dramatic drop the Census Bureau has seen since it began collecting state revenue data in 1951.

States reported a total $477 billion drop in “insurance trust revenue” - mostly money from pension funds, while tax collections fell by $66 billion.

And the worst may still be to come.

Fiscal 2012 “will actually be the most difficult budget year for states ever,” said Nicholas Johnson, director of the state fiscal project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in an interview with The Washington Post.

The center reported last month that states will see budget shortfalls totaling more than $140 billion next year as they continue to wrestle with depressed revenue levels while federal stimulus dollars and reserves run out.

Tide slowly turning…in MICHIGAN!

——————

House Votes to End Taxpayer-Financed Union Negotiators
Michigan Capitol Confidential | 4/18/2011 | Tom Gantert

In the Troy Public School District, a teacher whose total compensation tops $139,000 is paid by the district to do union business. There are 39 other school districts that have similar arrangements and these cost taxpayers $2.7 million.

House Bill 4059 would end that practice. It passed the state House of Representatives on a vote of 59-47 this week. All Democrats and three Republicans voted against the bill.

The Republicans voting with Democrats against the bill were Reps. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan; Paul Muxlow, R-Brown City; and Dale Zorn, R-Ida.

The bill still needs to be passed by the state Senate and the signed by the governor to become law. It is sponsored by Rep. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy.

“Paying someone with taxpayers’ dollars to negotiate against the taxpayer – it makes no sense,” said Rep. Dave Agema, R-Grandville. “It’s an abuse of taxpayers’ dollars by one of the wealthiest unions in the states.”

Doug Pratt, spokesman for the Michigan Education Association, didn’t return an email seeking comment.

Some of the agreements are in union contracts. The bill wouldn’t impact those arrangements until they expired. But the union officials couldn’t be paid by taxpayer dollars in future agreements.

Job center blasted for giving capes to unemployed

ORLANDO, Fla.(AP) – Florida officials are investigating an unemployment agency that spent public money to give 6,000 superhero capes to the jobless.

Workforce Central Florida spent more than $14,000 on the red capes as part of its “Cape-A-Bility Challenge” public relations campaign. The campaign featured a cartoon character, “Dr. Evil Unemployment,” who needs to be vanquished.

Florida’s unemployment agency director asked Monday for an investigation of the regional operation’s spending after the Orlando Sentinel published a story about the program. State director Cynthia Lorenzo said the spending appeared to be “insensitive and wasteful.”

Workforce Central Florida Director Gary J. Earl defends the program, saying it is part of a greater effort to connect with the community. The agency says it served 210,000 people during its last fiscal year, placing nearly 59,000 in jobs.

Mortgage denied: Sometimes, for no good reason
April 19, 2011

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Getting a mortgage just keeps getting tougher, and many home buyers are getting rejected for loans they could easily afford.

The issue: Tighter standards from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government entities that back mortgages made by banks.

Banks are reluctant to make loans without the Fannie and Freddie guarantee, and loans backed by them account for just about every mortgage written these days.

In 2009, the agencies lifted the minimum credit score that borrowers must have from 580 to 620. That’s probably for the best.

But they’ve pushed through a host of other requirements as well, and that means real estate deals don’t get done, even for some relatively low-risk borrowers.

“You can have one Fannie/Freddie guideline you violate and that gets you rejected,” said Alan Rosenbaum of GuardHill Financial.

A quarter of all mortgage loan applicants get denied for loans, according to the Federal Reserve. Many other potential home buyers never even try to get loans, said Jerry Howard, president of the National Association of Home Builders.

“The pendulum has swung too far in the other direction,” Howard said. “This overreaction is retarding the housing market recovery.”

Are you a Bobo?

Hey have you guys heard the news?

Gas Prices Nearing Point Where Americans Cut Back
Tuesday, 19 Apr 2011 Christian Science Monitor

With about six weeks to go until the summer driving season begins, the price of a gallon of gasoline is just 18 cents away from the record price of $4.11, which was set in the summer of 2008.

The prices at the pump hit a national average of $3.83 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA. That’s close to the point where consumers say they will have to start cut back to pay their fuel expenses. This could adversely affect restaurants, malls, and entertainment venues that count on people driving to get there. Some analysts say it’s one reason the stock market has been struggling recently, including on Monday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140.24 points to close at 12,201.59.

“I am sure the rising cost of energy is bothering the market,” says Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Ore. “I do think the uptick in gasoline prices will have an impact on consumer spending in the next few quarters.”

Perhaps, because gas prices have been rising for months, most Americans are not surprised. In a survey last month, the Gallup Organization found the average American expected the price of gasoline to peak this summer at $4.36 a gallon. Some 20 percent of respondents thought the price could go as high as $5 a gallon.

Nearly every spring, the price starts to climb as refiners shift over to their summer blends, which are more expensive to produce. On top of that, this spring has seen disruptions in the oil market because of the turmoil in Libya.

On Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of oil fell $2.31 a barrel to $107.35, in part reflecting a move by China to try to slow its soaring economy.

According to Gallup’s chief economist, Dennis Jacobe, the “psychological point” where people start to change their driving habits is $4 a gallon for gasoline – up from $3.50 a gallon in the past.

“At $4 a gallon, you get people who might have money to spend otherwise, but with the amount gasoline costs, they start to cut back in response to the price,” Mr. Jacobe says. “At $4 a gallon, they park the extra vehicle if they have two cars and use the most efficient one, and they make fewer trips. It really does have a subtle effect.”

Gold is bumping into $1500.00 Silver is over $44.00

Has to be a bubble.

Obama motors has failed.

$50 billion (MORE than all the recent arguments to cut the 2011 budget) wasted in the obama payback to save unsustainable unions jobs, benefits and pensions.

Add to the obama pile of wasted billions to save unsustainable banks, wall street firms, cities and states.

Hope and Change. We got it!

4 MORE YEARS!

————

U.S. Hurries to Sell GM Stake
Wall Street Journal | 4/19/2011 | SHARON TERLEP

The U.S. government plans to sell a significant share of its remaining stake in General Motors Co. this summer despite the disappointing performance of the auto maker’s stock, people familiar with the matter said.

A sale within the next several months would almost certainly mean U.S. taxpayers will take a loss on their $50 billion rescue of the Detroit auto maker in 2009.

To break even, the U.S. Treasury would need to sell its remaining stake—about 500 million shares—at $53 apiece. GM closed off 27 cents a share at $29.97 in 4 p.m. trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting a new low since its $33-a-share November initial public offering.

Great. The amnesty idea just won’t die:

Obama meets with what the White House describes as “senior administration officials and stakeholders” to discuss plans for tighter border security border as well as a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the U.S.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/04/obama-talks-immigration-with-officials—-but-no-members-of-congress/1

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=184512

Yep. They were pumping that $8,000 “credit” for buying a house, remember? How’d it work out?

The median price of homes sold in March was $123,000, down from $136,000 in March 2010. Association president Bill Malkasian says buyers were “highly motivated” last year because of the federal homebuyer tax rebates.

Malkasian tells the Journal Sentinel that mortgage interest rates and income levels have remained about the same as last year.

Yeah, they were “highly motivated” all right, and the Realtors were jumping up and down there (and here) about how “it’s a great time to buy with the nice tax credit!”

There’s one problem, of course - they didn’t mention that prices were going to fall another $13,000, which means your $8,000 credit in fact cost you $5,000.

Oops.

Now to be fair, they obviously didn’t know that in advance. But it wasn’t hard to figure out that the bottom hadn’t actually been hit in many if not most of these areas. That didn’t stop the pumping - around here we had the local Realtors saying “it’s time to get in the game” (while holding a football on a local field.)

Locally, Zillow says our median was $202k was last year. This year? $187,000, so your $8,000 tax credit in fact cost you $7,000. Oh, and let’s not forget that this fine Realtor (and his cronies in the deal) who had “your” best interest at heart and was absolutely certain that it was time to “get in the game” pocketed $12,000 in commissions (at 6%) suckering you into overpaying by that same 15 large, which netted you a very nice $8,000 loss (of course he’s not responsible for his puffery and you should trust him in the future, right? Exactly how many times do you like getting kicked in the nuts?)

You got gamed all right….

Incidentally, for not much more than that loss, net-net, you could have rented the same house and owed nothing (same 2010 average rental for the same “median” house was $850, or $10,200 - and you didn’t have to pay property taxes or hazard insurance on the house either.)

Given taxes and insurance rates around here you were way ahead to rent rather than buy.

ReaItors Are Liars

There is no mention of anyone wearing red capes.

Hookers, pimps and gang members arrested in Polk prostitution sting

By Bianca Prieto
Orlando Sentinel

Posted: 7:54 a.m. Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Polk County deputies arrested 60 people, including a Disney worker, during a week-long operation targeting on-line prostitution.

Deputies arrested 36 women and 24 men, including many Central Florida residents and several from out-of-state.

“Some arrived alone. Some car-pooled; and some arrived in taxis, bringing along their children, condoms, and STDs,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.

“Detectives targeted online escort services who promote prostitution…Detectives saw a 15-year-old run-away who brought her infant child along, a pregnant woman, a school bus driver, gang members, and pimps.”

Among those arrested was Travis Hill of Davenport, who said he worked for Disney as an audio technician. Hill was charged with one count of solicitation.

Also arrested is Hector Febus-Ojeda, an Orlando man with breast implants.

Febus-Ojeda was charged with one count of soliciting prostitution. Deputies say he posted an ad on backpage.com in an area with the escort services specializing in transsexual escorts, Polk authorities said.

Officials and an undercover detective negotiated a sex act for $300. “Upon arrival Ojeda revealed his breast implants to the undercover detective,” Polk officials said in a report.

Jorge Marcado, 41, of Orlando, was charged with deriving proceeds from prostitution. Deputies identified Febus-Ojeda and Marcado as Mears taxi drivers — however, a company spokesman said Febus-Ojeda never worked for the company.

Spokesman Roger Chapin said Marcado’s name is similar to that of a driver, but not exactly the same. He couldn’t confirm if Marcado is a Mears employee or not.

Others arrested included a 15-year-old runaway from Chicago who arrived at the undercover location with her pimp and 2-month-old child. The alleged pimp, Jonathan Padilla, and the baby stayed in the car while the girl went to meet the undercover officers.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/hookers-pimps-and-gang-members-arrested-in-polk-1414385.html - -

Public Retirees Surge as States Cut Benefits to Shrink Deficits
~ Bloomberg

Teri Essex retired a year earlier than planned when she was offered $56,000 to leave her elementary-school teaching job in Elk Grove, California.

Instead of accepting a salary cut, larger classes and less money for supplies from spending reductions made last year by California lawmakers closing a $19 billion budget deficit, Essex, 60, took the money over nine years to retire in 2010 after 21 years of teaching.

“The financial buyout was a no-brainer,” said Essex, whose school was 15 miles (24 kilometers) outside Sacramento. Even though she’ll give up about $300 monthly by quitting early, she said, “Once you start thinking about retiring, it was like, ‘Oh yeah, I want to do this.’”

California, Florida and Texas are seeing more retirements as rising benefit costs, pay cuts and looming furloughs prompt workers to leave. Inducements to quit early also boosted departures in New York as U.S. states tackled budget gaps totaling more than $540 billion since fiscal 2009, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In New Jersey, Wisconsin and Ohio, added motivation came from attacks on unions over costs that strained budgets.

“These are people electing to retire because they’re worried,” Jeffrey Keefe, who teaches labor and employment relations at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said in a telephone interview. “They are demoralized by the current public-employee condemnations.”
Potential Brain Drain

One-third of state and local workers with special skills, such as teachers, nurses, legal staff, engineers and managers, will be eligible to retire within five years, said Elizabeth Kellar, president of the Washington-based Center for State and Local Government Excellence, a nonprofit research organization. Retirements delayed by the recession and an increase in eligible workers contributed to the recent increases.

That may exacerbate a brain drain at states and municipalities, where employment has fallen by 2.5 percent since its peak in August 2008, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Since 1995, the number of state employees outside education is little changed.

May God strike down Lying Realtors aka House Pimps with a plague of monumental proportions.

Check out the link in my name

This depiction of a beached middle-aged white male and the article that accompanies it are too depressing to offer comment; except perhaps that now is not the time to buy a home.

Sorry, He’s Toast

An exclusive NEWSWEEK Poll proves what every wife intuitively knows: unemployed middle-aged men are sad, tired, and defeated.But here’s the rub: they’re also in denial.

Ex-CEO of mortgage giant convicted of $3B fraud
By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Apr 19, 2011

The former CEO of what used to be one of the largest mortgage companies was convicted today of a $3 billion fraud, the Associated Press reports.

[...]

Farkas, 58, took the stand during the two-week trial and proclaimed his innocence.

“I didn’t believe at the time I committed any crimes, and I don’t believe now that I committed any crimes,” Farkas said.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/04/ex-ceo-convicted-of-3b-mortgage-fraud/1

What does housing-starts data have to do with copper? Is it a matter of barely-increased demand for copper wiring? Or do the Wall Street analysts expect new home construction to soon return to 2005 levels?

Good luck with that plan.

Metals Stocks
April 19, 2011, 3:56 p.m. EDT
Gold hits key level of $1,500 an ounce
Gold rises, settling at another record
Gold futures move higher; silver gains
By Claudia Assis and Sue Chang, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures closed at a record Tuesday after bouncing off $1,500 an ounce, getting a lift from a weaker dollar and longer-running worries about debt-strapped developed markets.

Copper and other metals, which started the day on firmer ground, held their gains after getting a boost from housing-starts data.
…

Can’t wait for the Republiscum to catch the blame for crashing the economy, due to saber rattling over the debt ceiling, which led to the S&P debt ratings downgrade threat.

Freshman Republican’s bind: Vote convictions or help economy by rising debt limit?
By Philip Rucker, Tuesday, April 19, 9:47 PM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On his 104th day in office, Rep. David Schweikert stepped before about 60 of his constituents here and, like an economics professor, flipped through one scary chart after another to hammer home his point: America faces a tidal wave of debt.

Then he asked for a show of hands: If you were a freshman congressman like him, would you vote to raise the government’s debt limit?

Two hands went in the air.

He got the same reaction at another town hall meeting, and he expects it again at a tea party forum later this week.

Schweikert, a Republican, isn’t sure if he’d raise his hand, either.

This is his dilemma: He knows Congress has little choice but to raise the amount of money the government can borrow to prevent the economic havoc sure to follow if the United States defaults on its loans. He also knows doing so is deeply unpopular — not only among his conservative base, but among some moderates and liberals, too.

“I desperately want to vote ‘no,’ ” Schweikert said at the town hall. “I also desperately don’t want [the economy] to crash.”
…

Here is one way to afford the cost of living in pricey San Diego County:

Others still to be arraigned
OCEANSIDE: 15 plead not guilty to prostitution ring
By TERI FIGUEROA
Posted: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 7:49 pm

More than a dozen accused pimps and others allegedly involved with a large, multi-gang prostitution ring based in Oceanside pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges in a federal courtroom Tuesday.

Most of the defendants, many of them said to be members of subgroups of the Crips gang, traded their blue gang colors for the white jumpsuits of federal inmates.

The arraignment for 15 defendants in a San Diego federal courtroom came a day after federal authorities announced they had indicted 38 people and had broken up a major “slavery” ring in which Oceanside gang members conspired with owners of a hotel and used the Internet to prostitute underage girls.

Other defendants, some of whom are being shipped to San Diego from prisons around the state or country, are to be arraigned in the coming days.

Players in the alleged enterprise went by street names such as Craze, Lunatic and Easy Money. The women worked out of hotel rooms and advertised online, prosecutors alleged. One of the alleged pimps gave a fellow alleged pimp a prostitute for his birthday, according to the indictment.

This case may be related to a similar but much smaller 2009 bust in Oceanside, during which —- according to court documents —- police said at the time that they suspected the Oceanside Travelodge was knowingly used as a brothel.

A hotel’s owner and his son are named as defendants in this case, and federal prosecutors are asking to seize the property.

In court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessandra Serano asked that the members of the gang be held without bail, arguing that they were dangerous to the community and at risk of fleeing prosecution.

The hearing to determine bail for most of the 15 defendants is set for Friday afternoon.

Two of those arraigned Tuesday were women accused of being what are known as “bottoms,” which are senior or trusted prostitutes who help recruit and train other prostitutes.

Also in court were the Oceanside Travelodge owner, Vinod Patel, and son Hitesh Patel. Prosecutors said the Patels allowed the prostitution, tipping off the gang members if police came around. They are also accused of charging the pimps and prostitutes higher amounts to use the rooms.

“We are asking people to please keep an open mind. He’s a very good man, very well respected man in the community,” defense attorney Michael Pancer said of his client, the elder Patel.
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If this bloviating blow hard makes his way into the White House, I am leaving the country. That will be the last straw for me.

Especially if Sarah Palin is his running mate.

POLITICS
APRIL 20, 2011

Trump Candidacy for White House Gaining Ground
By NEIL KING JR.

Dismissed just days ago as an exercise in self-promotion, Donald Trump’s flirtation with a White House run appears to be picking up steam as the real-estate magnate moves toward establishing the rudiments of a campaign.

In an interview with WSJ reporter Kelly Evans, Donald Trump revealed that should he not receive the GOP presidential nomination, he may run as an independent candidate.

The real-estate developer and reality-television star is reaching out to Republican Party activists, both in Washington and in early states such as Iowa, and is talking to an array of potential handlers, pollsters and operatives.

In an interview, Mr. Trump said people are finally realizing he is serious. “Originally they said, ‘Oh, Trump is just having a good time,’ ” he said. “Then they were saying, ‘Well, this is getting interesting.’ Then, as of today they are really taking it seriously. I’m not playing games. I am totally serious.”
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I propose shutting down Wall Street firms that pose future bailout risk to deal with the debt problem. We recently learned that trillions of American tax dollars can be put at risk by too-big-to-fail firms. Why not shut them down, or at least break them up into non-systemically risky pieces, before they rape, rob and steal from the American people yet again?

Poll shows Americans oppose entitlement cuts to deal with debt problem
By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz, Wednesday, April 20, 12:01 AM

Despite growing concerns about the country’s long-term fiscal problems and an intensifying debate in Washington about how to deal with them, Americans strongly oppose some of the major remedies under consideration, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey finds that Americans prefer to keep Medicare just the way it is. Most also oppose cuts in Medicaid and the defense budget. More than half say they are against small, across-the-board tax increases combined with modest reductions in Medicare and Social Security benefits. Only President Obama’s call to raise tax rates on the wealthiest Americans enjoys solid support.
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I suppose the Yahoos don’t get why a 15 percent drop in home prices might be worse at a household level than a 38 percent drop in equities. The reason in a nutshell: LEVERAGE.

Conclusion: REAL ESTATE TRULY IS THE WORST INVESTMENT.

Home Ownership Declining Despite Cheapest Prices in 40 Years
By Kathleen M. Howley, Bloomberg Businessweek
Apr 19, 2011

Victoria Pauli signed a one-year lease last week to stay in her rental home in Fair Oaks, California. She had considered buying in the area, where property prices have slumped 57 percent since a 2005 peak.

In the end, she decided it wasn’t worth it.

“I know people who have watched their home values get cut in half, and I know people who are losing their homes,” said Pauli, 31, who works as a property manager for a real estate company. “It’s part of the American dream to want to own your own home, and I used to feel that way, but now I tell myself: Be careful what you wish for.”

The most affordable real estate in a generation is failing to lure buyers as Americans like Pauli sour on the idea of home ownership. At the end of 2010, the fourth year of the housing collapse, the share of people who said a home was a safe investment dropped to 64 percent from 70 percent in the first quarter. The December figure was the lowest in a survey that goes back to 2003, when it was 83 percent.

“The magnitude of the housing crash caused permanent changes in the way some people view home ownership,” said Michael Lea, a finance professor at San Diego State University. “Even as the economy improves, there are some who will never buy a home because their confidence in real estate is gone.”

Worse Than Depression

Historically, homes have been a safer investment than equities. During 2008, the worst year of the housing crisis, the median U.S. home price declined 15 percent, compared with a more than 38 percent plunge in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
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