The Housing Bubble

Realtors Are Liars®

YouTube of Gabby Giffords voting on debt ceiling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1DhPegbbz0

In other news: Today’s house.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/17089-Briardale-Rd-Rockville-MD-20855/37251922_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-photos}

This is a “nice house” early 90’s vintage — still only a brick front. 4/3.5 center hall colonial with open great room in the back on quarter acre. They played tricks with the photos (like the balcony height), but looks okay. It’s a reno-flip which is chasing the market down, slowly and stupidly.

Dec 1995: sold $280K
Dec 2006: sold $600K
Listed Jan 2010: $650K
Chase market down 6 months to $600K.
New re-al-TOR in March 2011: re-list $600K.
Chase market down again 3 months to $575K.
Idiots.
Days on Zillow 135 <— BS. Been on the market 18 months, not 4 months.

Since it’s already renovated, they won’t get cash flip investors, they need to find a family. IMO they’ll need drop at least another $100K to get any bites. And if the regs go through and you need 20% down to qualify for QRM, they’ll need to drop $150K… if they’re lucky.

Ominous rumblings on the bond markets
Yields on Spanish and Italien debt are at new highs. Yields for 10 year bonds are:
Italy 6.2%
Spain 6.41%
Belgium 4.47%
Portugal 11.23% (already under EU bailout)
Ireland 10.97% (already under EU bailout)
Greece 14.98% (already under 2nd EU bailout)
Germany 2.41% (yields dropping)
France 3.18%
US 2.72%
Switzerland 1.40% (yields dropping)
I am surprised that US and German yields are still that low given recent developments. After the debt drama of recent weeks in DC and the bailout guarantees Germany has given for various PIIGS it should be clear that neither will have a happy ending.
The tide is much higher and rising in Spain and Italy. Both set new all time (EURO time) yield highs. Especially Italy with its 120% debt/GDP ratio is nearing the point of no return. Not looking good…
The Swiss Franc hit an all time high, gold is also up. There’s a lot of money in sovereign bonds and very few places to hide. The Swiss bond market is rather tiny, so is the gold market in relation to bonds. I would expect good, dividend paying stocks to profit from that but maybe I am wrong. Where would you hide your funds?

Section 8 $1,509-a-month Housing Choice Voucher?

Judge says Section 8 funds should pay off HOA dues rather than go to delinquent owner of West Palm Beach home

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 5:05 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1, 2011

A Palm Beach County homeowner renting to Section 8 tenants will lose the federal housing supplement after a court ruled the money should be used to pay his delinquent HOA fees.

“State statute doesn’t specifically address how the (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) should handle this kind of situation,” said attorney Michael Bender, whose Pompano Beach-based firm Kaye & Bender represents the association. “Hopefully this will assist the housing authority in going forward and they will no longer challenge these cases.”

A message left at the housing authority was not returned.

In the Willoughby case, the association filed for foreclosure against the 2,100-square-foot home in May after the homeowner, who lives in New York, amassed late payments and fees of more than $2,900. According to the lawsuit the homeowner stopped making payments in August 2010.

The owner receives $1,509-a-month in Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher money, while the tenant pays $275-a-month.

Bender said the renter was willing to pay her supplement to the association, but that HUD said it would need a court order to do so.

The home also had a foreclosure filed against it by the bank in June. According to the Palm Beach County Appraiser’s office, the home was purchased in 2006 for $392,000. Its total market value last year was $181,313

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/real-estate/judge-says-section-8-funds-should-pay-off-1681096.html - -

What good is a raised debt ceiling if nobody buys the bonds?

(I know Bernanke will buy them. He buys anything.)

My wife and I decided to look at houses this past weekend. Two of three open houses didn’t materialize as the RE’s didn’t show up. When we called they said, “Oh, I didn’t realize that and anyway I’m spending time with the family.” I can’t blame them as foot traffic for some is non-existent.
The other house ($450K) should be torn down but will probably sell without the seller having to remove the illegal add-ons.
The number of viewings for some property is still at bubble stage and some houses are still being grabbed up at crazy pricing while others have been on the market for over a year.
A nice house in Carmel was sold in late 2009 for at least $200K over what I feel it was worth; is now back on the market with the buyer asking $100K over his purchase price. I guess he’s trying to catch a GF.
Out of 10 houses pictured on the internet and driving by the property only one is worth going through. It’s biggest draw back is a gated community (cost?), water costs (1 acre of land), septic tank, distance to town, and maintenance (up keep of 1 acre vegetation).

From yesterday’s discussion of women’s preventive reproductive care not being subject to copays:

Nothing wrong with the concept of co-payments. They are assessed to control expenses that would be frittered away by wanton consumption when a third party is providing coverage. The difficulty is that the poor cannot manage their priorities, so a co-pay becomes a barrier to services. Recall that being poor isn’t about the lack of money.

The real issue is that people are quickly being migrated to HD plans. So its not just a $10 or a $20 copay. They have to pay the OB for the entire visit plus pay for the prescriptions in full until they meet their $1500 dedictible.

Preventive care is exempt from deductibles as well. And not just reproductive care, but also regular annual checkups and immunizations for kids.

BUSINESS
AUGUST 2, 2011

Washington’s Haggling Left Wall Street Dangling
By FRANCESCO GUERRERA

Call it the Revenge of the Pols.

Three years after Wall Street’s penchant for financial engineering, exotic derivatives and too-complicated-to-be-true assumptions brought the world economy to its knees, the U.S. political class crafted, and then partially solved, its very own crisis.

The game of “Deal or No Deal” played by Washington as the deadline to raise the debt ceiling drew perilously near will have long-lasting effects on markets and investors.

As one top Wall Street executive said when the talks dragged on late last week, “This may be a mess completely manufactured by politicians but, boy, they did a hell of a job!”
…

A sacred set of facts:

There appears to be a “real” reality the facts of which are only available ot people of power on a need-to-know basis. An example would be when Obama the candidate became Obama the President there was an immediate change in what he could or could not accomplish as promised (i.e: bringing home the troops: he was told the “real” fact that the war IS the economy and that’s just how it works - in fact he was told he better start a new war pronto. which he did). I have pointed out before that the “real” facts are best protected from the masses because the sheeple would not be controllable were they privy to them. In other words the fewer people let in on how things really work the better for the survival of our current society. With increasing frequency each new “cirsis” requires the inclusion of more people (in the most recent case, Congressmen- they needed the votes) to be told the truth which increases the risk of the masses learning the truth. Every new individual included on this “inside” information increases the risk ten-fold on the possibility of the masses learning the truth. At some point a critical mass will be reached and the real facts will escape and there will be mass panic and all types of mayhem. We are watching the collapse of our society from the inside out. I find it hard to believe there is all that much time left.

08/02/2011
The World from Berlin

A ‘Civil War Atmosphere’ in Washington
President Barack Obama leaves the White House after announcing the debt ceiling deal reached Sunday.
…
A new study by the Pew Research Center in Washington found that 72 percent of American characterized the recent budget negotiations as “ridiculous, disgusting, stupid, and frustrating.” In Germany, where the Tea Party has become a household name, commentators also expressed their frustration with Washington.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“No one can forget the Civil War atmosphere in which this debt fight has taken place. It weighs on America’s international reputation. From the point of view of financial markets, the dysfunctional nature of Washington is a risk factor that must be calculated for in the future.”

“But America is not Greece … The capital market is fruitful, and behind everything is an efficient and productive national economy. Nevertheless, the American and European debt crises are connected. Never before in times of peace have the budgets of industrialized countries been so debt-ridden. That translates into a major weakening of the parts of the world that are still called the ‘West.’”

“The countries that until recently had controlled the destiny of the world, now largely find themselves on an unsustainable financial path. The grotesque behavior in Washington over the past weeks have made that abundantly clear. But the fact that the European debt crisis has noticeably not been solved yet (also) costs Europe influence in the world.”

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

“What is happening in Washington is nothing less than a culture war. On President Obama’s side are supporters of a national concept, like one known in Europe, namely that the state should take care of a certain amount of social equalizing, and if necessary, intervene with regulations. For his opposition, even Obama’s idea of expanding health insurance coverage equals the birth of communist totalitarianism.”

“Anyone who raises taxes or increases the debt ceiling, and therefore unleashes the Leviathan of ‘big government,’ is, according to their logic, threatening the highest ideal that the American revolutionaries fought for: freedom. Those who do it will be pursued by these self-named patriots with virtually pathological hatred, even when the infrastructure or social benefits would profit from their undertakings. Illogical? Patriotism is possibly the only thing that many uncertain American citizens have left. The crisis has not only cost them their jobs; it has also threatened their country’s hegemony. And a solution for none of these problems seems apparent.”

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

“Even though many liberal Democrats and their base perceive it to be true, the charge that President Obama capitulated to the right wing of the Republican party is silly. It is this war-like rhetoric that has so poisoned American politics. What should the president, who also has to think of his own re-election, and the Democratic leaders in Congress, do when the Republicans collectively turn a deaf ear to the issue of tax increases and are resolute in their opposition?”

“Should they accept partial insolvency of the United States and risk great damages to their own and the world’s economies? That would have been irresponsible and would have been equal to the stubborn refusal to compromise exhibited by part of the Republican Party — for whom the agreed-upon cuts don’t go far enough, and who therefore broke with the leadership of their own party. It speaks volumes that among them is a Republican presidential hopeful.”

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

“The world can calm down — with this savings package, the American economy won’t go under. Export nations like Germany don’t need to fear that one of their biggest markets will collapse.”

“The Americans could have made things easier for themselves and the rest of the world. It was extremely dangerous to turn the issue of the debt ceiling — raised seven times under Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush — into a fight over the role of government.”

“Still, the Americans are taking on their debt problems and trying to find a long-term solution. The debt burden per person is, in the end, almost as high as in Greece. Ideally they could have agreed on more than just the deficit reduction. The Democrats have long lobbied for higher taxes on the most wealthy. It is a shame that they couldn’t push that through.”
…

Debt ceiling deal casts a bleak light on the future

The agreement underscores the near paralysis in Washington and offers no solution to a faltering economy.
By Don Lee and Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times
August 2, 2011
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles—

The last-minute deal on the debt ceiling may prevent a government default, but it does little to avert a perfect storm of economic problems that could push the nation toward a new downturn and more financial pain for millions of Americans.

Instead of increasing confidence in the future, the agreement seems to have underscored the near paralysis in Washington — and the fact that no substantial new efforts are likely for dealing with unemployment, lagging consumer spending or a host of other problems that have been dragging the economy down.

“By itself, it doesn’t do anything to solve the problems down the road,” said Roberton Williams, an economist at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, referring to the budget deal that is estimated to cut the federal deficit by about $2.1 trillion over the next decade.

The stock market provided an early indicator Monday that investors and business leaders saw little to cheer about. Stocks initially rallied on the debt-ceiling pact, then tumbled after a report showed that U.S. manufacturing activity slowed sharply in July, reinforcing other weak economic data.
…

If we take away the “Soma”, there could be problems. Is the article suggesting that we let the criminal activity continue just to keep the status-quo? Seems to be the current trend with our leadership…

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2011/08/02/attorney-general-warns-of-pill-crimes.html

Is the Real Estate Market in Bubble Trouble?

Sept 2006 article by Kendra Todd:

http://www.janacaudillteam.com/Blog/Is-the-Real-Estate-Market-in-Bubble-Trouble

Back in the day 2000-2005 this place was super busy , now its a half empty most of the time.

5. The Home Depot
Drop in sales: -16.6%
2005 sales: $81.5 billion
2010 sales: $68.0 billion
5 yr. change in stock price: +1%

The Home Depot is the world’s largest retailer of building materials and home improvement products. The company has over 2,200 stores worldwide. The chain has been badly damaged by the housing crisis, which began in earnest in 2007. From 2007 to 2008, the company’s stock fell from $35 to under $27. Home Depot’s prospects were also hurt by the presence of Robert Nardelli, who operated the chain in the first half of the decade.

Spotlighted on CNN:

A sign of the times:

Seekingarrangement.com: Looking for someone to help you pay off your bills or take a nice vacation?

This site will help you find that sugar daddy/monied cougar that may want to help you out. The only thing you have to do is sleep w/your benefactor. The brainchild behind the website is trying to argue this isn’t prostitution. His argument is he’s making things easier for students and other people in between or w/lower income. Unfortunately one of the CNN “talking heads” is a former US prosecutor who has tried pimps. Yeah, she didn’t give him too much wiggle room. Double barrels.

OK, scientists. Please remind me again why it’s a good thing I’m dropping $150 on my kid’s mandatory graphing calculator when we were expected to be able to know the how to do it all via paper and pencil?

Do you really believe just knowing how to punch in the math statements is equal to understanding the applications completely?

Oh no! My Zillow shares are worth almost half of what I paid for them last week. I guess there is some symbolic correlation with actual house values and Zestimates…

Well we’re back below the Eddie line by both measures, and far below the Eddie line on the S&P 500.

We’ll have to see if the PPT can get the Dow back over 12,000.

The NASDAQ us about 2,700. Needless to say it didn’t keep doubling and redoubling the way it did in 1999. That would have brought it to 10,240,000. Of course executive pay and public employee pensions have been locked in based on the fact that this would certainly happen.

Where the money is coming from and that corporate America pays a lot less in taxes than one might imagine. According to the Government Accountability Office, 57% of U.S. companies doing business in the U.S. paid no federal income taxes for at least one year from 1998 to 2005. For example, in 2009 GE, Bank of America, Citigroup and Valero did not pay any taxes on income. (See: GE Paid Less in Taxes Than You Last Year, Says The New York Times)

On top of that the authors found it “quite astonishing” to learn that 83 of the largest 100 U.S. companies have overseas tax havens. In 2007, Citigroup had 427 subsidiaries in foreign tax havens, Morgan Stanley had 273, New Corps had 152, Bank of America had 115, and Procter & Gamble 83.

And get this, there is one single address in the Cayman Islands that is home to 19,000 corporations as their home address — tiny P.O. boxes!

Big Payday for CEOs

While corporate profits remain high, the good times continue to roll in for some of the wealthiest people in corporate America.

In the book, the authors also focus on the incredible disparity between workers’ pay and the big paydays awarded to some of the country’s top CEOs.

Check out this comparison! In 2009, the Oracle CEO Larry Ellison received total compensation of $57 billion dollars. The equivalent of the combined salary of 1,772 average workers or 3,767 minimum-wage earners!

finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/corporate-america-pays-lot-less-taxes-think-125020207.html?sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=

Dow below 12000.

Have to hand it to Jithner and the banksters. Jithner threatened the market to crash if not for a raise in debt limit. Now he and the banksters got what they wanted, they are still crashing it. Come on, live up to your end of the deal, even for a few days……

Countrywide –> BAC Home Loan Servicing –> B of A, N.A.

Balance Due (10/2008): $68,400

Balance Due (08/2011): $4,868

Next Payment Due (12/2011).

An illustrative example of identifying the real cause of a phenomenon:

Whenever I’d wear a particular jacket - my heavy winter coat - I noticed that I’d get nasty shocks when getting out of my car. I chalked it up to my coat rubbing on my seats. I talked about it with a friend of mine. She said, no, it’s the dryness in the air. I thought, maybe, but it’s more the jacket.

So, today, it’s really dry here. A rare event. And, I’m getting electric shocks from touching things! It hasn’t happened in a very long time, Mid-Atlantic summers being quite humid.

The Point - the coat and the static shocks went hand-in-hand. I thought it was the coat causing the phenomenon, but I only broke out the coat when it was cold and, thus dry. And it was the dryness causing the phenomenon.

Bringing this back around to finance: I think it is really the underlying debt markets that are causing the rising prices in many markets financed by debt. Real Estate, student loans, cars (also caused by a devalued dollar), etc.

It seems to me that the primary thing that debt does, is to add another middleman to the purchase price. And that just extracts more wealth from the populace and concentrates in the hands of a few. And when the market for debt goes bubbly, it just raises purchase prices even more, concentrating wealth even further.

Getting debt markets under control will create a more heterogeneous, shock-resistant economy by not tying up so much wealth in a few areas, and it will lead to less income inequality, as it is the wealthy who are usually less reliant on using debt to finance purchases, and thus lose less money from debt.

You can count on BB to come through with a nice fat QE-3. Once the “unexpected” realization hits, that we are heading right back into a recession. We’re gonna need a bigger boat.

ITEM: Fed May Weigh More Stimulus on Slow Recovery (Bloomberg)

Federal Reserve policy makers may start weighing additional steps to prop up the recovery after growth fell below 1 percent in the first half of this year and economists began cutting second-half growth forecasts.

“At a minimum, the FOMC will have a serious debate about the policy options — what they should do, and what they expect to get from it,” said Roberto Perli, a former associate director in the Fed’s Division of Monetary Affairs, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee. “Growth in the first half was dangerously close to zero,” said Perli, director of policy research at International Strategy & Investment Group.

The FOMC will meet Aug. 9 in Washington after the government marked down its measure of economic growth to annual rates of 0.4 percent in the first quarter and 1.3 percent in the second, casting doubt on the Fed’s June outlook of 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent growth for this year. A gauge of U.S. manufacturing, a main engine for the expansion, slumped last month to the lowest level in two years.

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in congressional testimony in July that the Fed may take new action if the economy stalls, including beginning a third round of bond purchases. The central bank could also cut the interest rate it pays banks on excess reserves and pledge to hold its assets at a record high and interest rates at record lows for a longer period, he said.

“When the Divine Dozen are named, it will lead “to the emergence of a pack of superlobbyists who will have access to those members” and who can try to protect clients from the carnage, said Democratic consultant David Di Martino.”

if i was one of the Divine Dozen i would publicly state that any lobbyists that call my office will be cut first…without review.

From Bob Pasini of CNBC:

“With the global outlook for growth coming down, it sure looks like we need more global coordination. The Big Four global powers (China, the EU, the U.S. and Standard and Poor’s — ahem) will all have to get on the same page. What’s that mean?

John Maynard Keynes, phone home: the traditional response is that there is not enough money in the system. It needs to reliquify.

This will argue for more stimulus. We are coming up on the one year anniversary of Jackson Hole, where Mr. Bernanke inaugurated QE2, the second round of quantitative easing. There is the opportunity.”

The problem isn’t that there is not enough money. The problem is that the money that there is, isn’t going to the right places.

We need the rich to pay wages to people that will spend it, so that it can end up back in the hands of the rich, who will pay more wages to people that will spend it…. You know, the old “keep the money moving” school of econmics.

Of course, this was replaced with the, We need the rich to loan money to the poor people, so the poor can spend it, so that it can end up back in the hands of the rich that can find new and innovative ways to loan it to the poor(real estate bubble), who will spend it, so that…

Of course, that went kaput when the poor got maxxed out, and fraud grew to the point of being the norm instead of the exception.

Okay, the rich don’t want to use thier money to pay wages, and they don’t want to keep loaning it to people that can’t/won’t pay it back.

Is it possible, just possible, that we’ve reached the end of Supply Side economics? That just printing making the rich, richer in hopes they will choose to spend it or loan it, just isn’t working? Is it, maybe, just maybe, to get some of that money out of the hands of the rich and get it into the hands of the people that really want jobs, but just can’t find one?

Is it time to stop trying to make us all richer by lowering our wages and benifits? Is it possible that corporate profits should not, in fact, the be-all, end-all goal of all of our economic policies?

Perhaps government should be on the side of labor, at constant war with wealth disparity, instead of on the side of the rich, waging war on the middle class.

Man, I am SOOOOO out of touch.

Gonna need to fire up the bailout pumps again soon.

ITEM: Italy under fire in widening euro debt crisis

ROME (Reuters) - Financial market pressure on Italy intensified on Tuesday, sucking Europe’s second biggest debtor nation deeper into the euro area danger zone and prompting emergency consultations in Rome and among European capitals.

Italian and Spanish bond yields hit their highest levels in 14 years, with five-year Italian yields reaching the same level as Spain’s in a sign Rome is overtaking Madrid as a key focus of investors’ concern about debt sustainability.

Italy’s stock index fell 2.5 percent to its lowest in more than 27 months, dragged down by banks that have heavy exposure to Italian debt. European shares hit a 9-month low amid worries that slowing economic growth will make it even harder to overcome the euro zone’s debt troubles.

“The fear of the market is that the world is going into recession again … and in the euro zone the peripheral markets are the ones that will suffer most,” said Alessandro Giansanti, strategist at ING in Amsterdam.

Commercial-Mortgage Late Payments a Record
(Bloomberg)

Late payments on commercial mortgages bundled and sold as bonds rose the most in more than 12 months, adding to concern that the market is deteriorating three years after the financial crisis choked off funding to borrowers.

Delinquencies on the debt jumped 51 basis points in July to a record 9.88 percent, according to real estate data provider Trepp LLC. The increase follows two months of declines, the New York-based firm said today in a statement. The jump is partly because of how loan servicers report mortgages that are in foreclosure, Trepp said.

“Much of the positive momentum that had been surrounding the CMBS market recently has now all but vanished in the past few weeks,” according to the statement from Trepp.

Borrowers are falling behind on payments as a revival in new debt sales stumbles after investors pushed back on deal terms. Wall Street banks sold $3 billion in commercial mortgage- backed securities last month at the highest yields since issuance resumed in November 2009 and Standard & Poor’s exacerbated market turmoil by withdrawing rankings last week on new deals.

I’m sure most folks don’t know why, or don’t care or are to busy trying to earn a buck to understand why this is happening at an increasingly fast clip.

~ Clipped from The 5Min Forecast.

For its part, South Korea — the world’s seventh-largest holder of U.S. dollars reserves — reacted to the “agreement” by announcing the Bank of Korea has tripled gold holdings over the past two months.

The $1.25 billion purchase is the first addition to Korean gold holdings since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

Thailand also made an announcement today. They added $900 million to their gold stash in June.

“The trend,” says the Financial Times, “means central banks, sovereign wealth funds and other so-called ‘official sector’ buyers are on track to record their largest collective purchase of gold since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, which pegged the value of the dollar to gold, in 1971.”

Cool another “program” moochers and gubmint worshipers can fall in love with.

Free cell phones are now a civil right
Abby W. Schachter - http://www.nypost.com

Pennsylvanians on public assistance now have a new ‘civil right’ — free cell phones. Meanwhile, the rest of us get to pay higher cell bills as a result.

Recently, a federal government program called the Universal Service Fund came to the Keystone State and some residents are thrilled because it means they can enjoy 250 minutes a month and a handset for free, just because they don’t have the money to pay for it. Through Assurance Wireless and SafeLink from Tracfone Wireless these folks get to reach out and touch someone while the cost of their service is paid for by everyone else. You see, the telecommunications companies are funding the Universal Service Fund to the tune of $4 billion a year because the feds said they have to and in order to recoup their money, the companies turn around and hike their fees to paying customers. But those of use paying for the free service for the poor, should be happy about this infuriating situation, says Gary Carter, manager of national partnerships for Assurance, because “the program is about peace of mind.” Free cell service means “one less bill that someone has to pay, so they can pay their rent or for day care…it is a right to have peace of mind,” Cater explained.

Grad students will pay more for loans under debt deal

By DOUGLAS HANKS and MICHAEL VASQUEZ
The Miami Herald

Posted: 10:07 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011

Graduate students wound up on the “Loser” list from Washington’s debt deal.

Tucked into the bill that would enact the $2.4 trillion debt-reduction plan is a provision that would force graduate students to pay interest on student loans while they’re still in school. Currently, Washington picks up the interest payments for graduate students while they attend school.

The cut is part of a surprise compromise that preserves tuition payments for low-income college students under the Pell grant program. While Pell grants were expected to take big spending hits next year, they emerged almost fully funded in the debt deal, said Terry Hartle, spokesman for the American Council on Education, which lobbies for colleges and universities.

“It was an outcome that was unimaginable just a couple of weeks ago,” Hartle said. “For Miami Dade College, the budget agreement is good news. It’s not as good of a deal for students, say, at the University of Miami.’’

By forcing graduate students to pay interest while attending school, the federal government should save about $18 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Council’s estimates. The Pell grants will cost about $35 billion next year under the debt deal, down slightly from the current $37 billion funding level.

The changes in graduate-school loans, including those for law school and medical school, would take effect July 1, 2012, so loans taken out before then will remain interest-free during the student’s enrollment, Hartle said.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/grad-students-will-pay-more-for-loans-under-1683998.html?cxtype=rss_news - -

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/29SNAPcurrPP.htm

Food stamp usage up 100% in a single month in Alabama, and hitting all-time records nationwide. Luv dat hope ‘n change!

Did we, or are we, in a recovery? NO

Corporate profits are up. Until recently WS was almost “normal”.

But the capacity utilization rate for Utilities is down about 10% from “normal”.

Here is the disconnect - the rate for mfg is down only 4% ! While head count is dramatically down fueling 9.2% unemployment.

Of course we are still in a Recession but possibly climbing out of it unless the data is being incorrectly disclosed.

From the above rates it seems like mfg is reporting their cap rates based on “Resales plus domestic mfg”. The methodology of calculating cap rates should disclose this if it is as I think it is.

Funny, when you think that all the offshoring to average down costs is now history - it’s all offshored !

Tariffs around North America, forced repatriation of profits at full tax rates, trade on equal terms, - we need to protect the largest market in the world - we have the market that others want.

Why are we giving it away?

Some guys on a motocycle racing forum (I race bikes with this organization ) started a thread about being upside-down on their houses. I thought hbb readers might find it interesting to eavesdrop on candid thoughts about the coutry by guys who seem to be innocent victims of the housing bubble:

http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=289606

Super Congress? The disregard for the constitution is not subtle. Are these “Presidential” clowns required to read the constitution before swearing an oath to uphold it? Congress Critters? We live in an occupied country, is the feeling I have lately.