Bits Bucket for September 15, 2011
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Tight standards make mortgages tough to get
By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Home buyers such as Bob and Janet Zych have fueled the U.S. housing market for decades.
They have excellent credit with scores that top 800, life-long careers and investment portfolios that have set them up for a comfortable retirement, they say.
But this year, “after faxing a ream of paper” about their finances, they got so fed up applying for a home loan that they simply wrote a check for their new, $85,000 vacation condo in Phoenix.
Trying to get a loan “was just a nightmare,” says Bob Zych, 65, a manager for Mohawk Industries in Omaha.
Following the greatest housing crash since the Great Depression, home lending standards have tightened to their strictest levels in decades, economists say. And people such as the Zychs and others nationwide are paying the price.
Tight home loan credit is affecting everything from home sales to household finances. Many borrowers are struggling to qualify for loans to buy homes. Others can’t take advantage of some of the lowest interest rates in 50 years because they don’t have enough equity in their homes to refinance. Those who can get loans need higher credit scores and bigger down payments than they would have in recent years. They face more demands to prove their incomes, verify assets, show steady employment and explain things such as new credit cards and small bank account deposits.
Even then, they may not qualify for the lowest interest rates.
The National Association of Realtors says lending standards are too tight and are hurting the housing industry’s recovery.
The lending industry counters that standards are where they need to be, given still-falling home prices and the shaky economy.
“It used to be anybody with a pulse could get a home loan. Now you have to be an Olympic athlete,” says Guy Cecala, of Inside Mortgage Finance.
“The pendulum has swung too far.”
“home lending standards have tightened to their strictest levels in decades”
BS…can’t you still get an FHA loan with just 3% down?
He is 65 years old and is trying to buy a “vacation” condo in a non-recourse state. Of course he shouldn’t be able to get a loan for this. Banks show a little bit of responsibility and people get pissed. On the other hand, when banks leave the decision up to the buyers, if anything goes wrong, the buyers claim they were relying on the lender (although we all know that this is either bs or the person has some sort of mental disability). This bank should be commended, not criticized. Again, why is a successful 65 old man trying to get a long term loan on an 85k vacation condo. He paid cash, which is what he should have done first without all the byching.
On the contrary, so long that he P/V ratio is good enough, I see no reason NOT to give him a loan. Just because a loan is paid off at probate doesn’t mean it’s not paid off.
I do not practice Arizona but it looks like if you claimed you lived in the home for 6 months or more it is non-recourse. The estate just hands the keys back. You dont actually get paid off at probate even if the estate is worth a billion dollars. If anyone knows more about the non recourse nature of Arizona loans let us know. Even in states where second or vacations homes are exluded, the bank is unlikely to sue for a deficiency, and the homeower would usually just make a claim they made it their primary residence at some point. Also it is a cheap condo, which probably isnt worth litigation.
Yes, loaning money to old people should be forbidden. Logan’a Run was right.
You are silly. There is a slight difference between refusing to loan money to highly leveraged people with a maturity date beyond their life expectancy for vacation homes and killing them.
Just make the guy put more money down to offset the risk ,
thats all .
or god forbid…charge them a higher interest rate.
the horror.
Natalie,
Giving a long-term loan to a 65 year old is bad business.
However, it is ILLEGAL to “discriminate” on the basis of age.
The Banks MUST give a loan, if the applicant otherwise “qualifies”.
Another example of Federal meddling in what would be considered good business practices.
Is an actuarial accounting of years to death discrimination? A 35Yr old might have an actuarial accounting of 95% prob yrs to death > 25 whereas that might only be 25% for someone age 60… If you use the metric, is it or is it not discrimination?
If actuarial “accounting of years to death” is discrimination, than any insurance company that charges higher term life insurance premiums to a 60-year-old than to a 20-year-old is exposed.
So, in a word, the answer is a definitive “No.”
“The Banks MUST give a loan, if the applicant otherwise “qualifies”. ”
That is not true.
Last night, I received my title list (shows loan balances) to farm for a home. The house we almost bought (pool too big for yard-could not reconcile) was bought from a 3.5%er at list. Must have been young and stupid. Fell through escrow twice, sat for 4 months, and they paid list? Idiots.
Oh, and the Catholic Church owns many homes in the “farm”. No loans outstanding.
Oh, and the Catholic Church owns many homes in the “farm”. No loans outstanding.
”
In simi ? owns them outright?
people I work with still flip homes for a living, well their spouse does. I thought that was all over guess not
this is in Calabasass I think maybe Encino also
By the Church do you mean the local diocese or do you mean a local parish? I have heard of people leaving property to the church in their wills, but when that happens the property is usually sold immediately.
Local diocese in Los Angeles, on Wilshire Blvd no less. They’re going on my mailing list, that’s for sure. Maybe they’ll want to unload one now (as prices continue to fall).
My meanie husband asked if that’s where they let their pervs live.
Catcus
The diocese owns them outright. I was surprised they would own in Simi, too. It’s such a blue collar type of town. I guess it’s their perfect customer.
Awaiting,
It’s easy to overpay when your spending OPM (other people’s money). Those 3.5% FHA loans are the new subprime.
————–
Cactus,
Yes, people are still flipping here, and many of them are making TONS of money. I don’t get it, either. How in the world can appraisers value a house at $200K more than it sold for just 3 months prior when they only put $40K worth of work in it.
Awaiting - where do you get these title lists from? When you say a 3.5%er - do you mean they only have 3.5% equity or something different?
Thanks!
M.
M.
FHA loan- 3.5% down payment, and he financed his closing costs. (I did the math)
I am licensed (Shopping Center Mgmt School grad /1980’s. I wrote a title company a letter.
There has to be more to the Zych story than what they say here.
But this doesn’t bode well for me, if lending standards are this tight.
It must have something to do with location and the type of home being purchased. Here in central S.C. I know for a fact that home mortgage lending has not tighten very much. I have spoken with two mortgage brokers in the last month that tell me getting a home loan is easy for anyone with good credit.
And documentable income.
I’m guessing the 65 year old is living on savings and not much income.
Don’t know about where you are, but where I am, tighter lending standards are driving prices closer to affordable levels by the day.
This is actually what DC was after — affordable housing — wasn’t it?
There’s a bit more to the story.
“When the Zychs went to buy the Phoenix condo, lenders balked, saying they had too many properties, even though their finances were solid.”
It’s a very positive sign if banks are stiff-arming real estate “investors” who have a propensity to walk away from their bad bets.
Very true.
It’s a very positive sign if banks are stiff-arming real estate “investors” who have a propensity to walk away from their bad bets.
Here in my little patch of central Tucson, the nearby houses that have gone into foreclosure were owned by absentee landlords who considered themselves to be in-VEST-ors.
All you had to do was ask them. They wouldn’t lower themselves to the level of landlord, no siree. They were in-VEST-ors. And note the use of “were” in the previous sentence. Methinks that their investing days are very past tense.
I’m not sure where this $85k condo is, but all of the $85k condos I’ve seen in the PHX area are old, crummy apartment conversions where in the next few years it has a strong possibility to be worth less than $85k.
I think the bank has it right, anyone buying a vacation home or investment home should put down 100%, no less.
Thanks…this makes sense to me.
We bought earlier this year. Yes, there was a lot of paperwork, a lot of proving of income, a lot of proving assets/net worth, and answering questions.
Good underwriting in my view. Who woulda thunk it? It actually made me respect the lenders process (a bank–which is not in the news, incidentally).
By the way, the bank had me jump through all the hoops because while they thought an investor would buy my note to securitize, they didn’t know for sure, and so they needed to underwrite assuming they kept the loan on their books. Ultimately, the investor bought my note.
If my loan is consistent with the others in investor’s pool (>=25% down payment, loan amount <3x income, payment <20% income, strong asset base post close, etc.), the 2011 vintage RMBS will generally be non-toxic securities.
I find those whining about lack of mortgage debt availability being completely unrealistic in their expectations about what a lender should be willing to accept in terms of borrower risk.
That’s a lot more stringent than I can afford.
I was fairly conservative in what I borrowed…I found three different non-agency lenders available with 20% down, Payment<35% of income, asset base post close to cover payments for 6 months, etc.
And I didn’t need to look very hard.
I find those whining about lack of mortgage debt availability being completely unrealistic in their expectations about what a lender should be willing to accept in terms of borrower risk.
Precisely right, RW. Thanks for sharing your experience.
—————–
Oxide,
Remember, if these lending standards are too tight for you, then they are too tight for others, which means that housing prices still need to fall farther in order to reach truly “affordable” levels.
It’s not that lending standards are too tight; housing prices are still too high.
Agreed, something seems to be missing. Maybe investment income is protected from attachment in default. Maybe they only wanted to put 3% down or take out a 30 yrs loan (in their 60’s). Maybe they have health issues. Maybe they are underwater on their home, wish to buy condo and send in keys on underwater property. Etc.
i think the key is…it was a “vacation home”.
i think lending standards for a primary residence are a bit easier.
Absolutely. There is no reason for anyone to expect lenders to loan them money for investment or vacation properties. Homes are for living in, period. If you want to become a “real estate tycoon,” you should have to pay for it yourself.
There has to be more to the Zych story than what they say here.
I’ve come to the conclusion that most media stories have more to the story than what’s being reported. The lack of curiosity in the MSM is simply astounding.
Don’t let reality in the way of making the point that your advertisers are paying you to make.
Looks like the bank fully expects their $85k condo to lose value in the months/years ahead.
While banks can count on limitless bailouts from the Republicrats, they don’t seem eager to add to their existing inventory of foreclosures. The lawsuits by burned “investors” who bought toxic-waste MBS bundles means banks can’t automatically foist their iffy loans onto unwary bagholders, so more caution is warranted. It’s about time.
Do you have any evidence for this at all? I don’t believe it. If they weren’t selling the loans the overwhelming majority of banks wouldn’t be lending at all. There are a few community banks that keep their loans (I have a secondary savings account at one), but most do not keep residential loans on their books. The business model has changed entirely.
We’ve been told that the FedGov was stepping in to take the place of those unwary bagholders. Is the FedGov secretly moving towards sanity? Oh, the horror.
$85K for a vacation conco my hind end.
Unless he’s going to be vacationing in it 4-6 months a year, he’d be better off in a hotel.
This smacks of an investment deal. This thing was probably listed at $300K at teh peak, so he’s buying it “at the bottom” all dreamy eyed about making $200K when the market “recovers”.
And, of course, why gamble with your own money if you can gamble with other peoples’ money instead?
65 years old. Out of state buyer. 2nd home. Yeah, they should be VERY cautious in making this loan.
Unless he’s going to be vacationing in it 4-6 months a year, he’d be better off in a hotel.
Yes, but it’s a mere ho-TEL. This guy wants the cachet that comes with mentioning “our condo in Phoenix.”
because he has his own business probably has two sets of income statements?
Why two income statements? My little biz only has one. That’s it. Just one.
And, for some strange reason, Little Slim Biz is suddenly feeling a bit of income statement envy. It wants more income statements, darn it!
One for the government where you may accidentally miss a few cash transactions to lower your tax burden a tad…
Then a second set of books just for you so you can see how much you are actually earning, includind the under the table cash transactions.
You forgot the 3rd set to show your partner/investor.
and the fourth for your wife (and her divorce lawyer…)
Mortgage-Default Filings Jump 33% in U.S. as Bank Foreclosure Logjam Eases. - Bloomberg
Default notices sent to delinquent U.S. homeowners surged 33 percent in August from the previous month, a sign that lenders are speeding up the foreclosure process after almost a year of delays, RealtyTrac Inc. said.
First-time default notices were filed on 78,880 properties, the most in nine months, the Irvine, California-based data seller said today in a report. Total foreclosure filings, which also include auction and home-seizure notices, increased 7 percent from a four-year low in July to 228,098. One in 570 homes received a notice during August.
On a year-over-year basis, foreclosure filings dropped for an 11th straight month after claims of “robo-signing,” or pushing through documents that weren’t verified, spurred an investigation by state attorneys general in October. The jump in default notices from July — the biggest monthly gain in four years — shows that banks’ paperwork delays are easing even as industry talks to settle the probe continue, RealtyTrac said.
“The industry seems to be hitting the reset button and the logjam may finally be breaking up,” Rick Sharga, senior vice president, said in a telephone interview. Foreclosure filings this year have been “artificially low,” he said.
Total filings in August dropped 33 percent from a year earlier. Default notices fell 18 percent, while scheduled auctions slid 43 percent from August 2010 and 1 percent from the previous month.
Home Seizures
Lenders seized 64,813 properties in August, a 4 percent decline from the previous month and a 32 percent slump from a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac. The jump in default notices means repossessions probably will increase in coming months as more foreclosures are processed, Sharga said.
Unless the government tries yet again to stop the housing correction in its tracks, I’m thinking we are in the end game of extend-and-pretend, at least concerning the housing market’s foreclosure glut.
I’m waiting to see what the next attempt at extend-and-pretend will be.
Part of me wondered last winter whether the robo-signing scandal was manufactured intentionally in order to shut down foreclosures for another year. If so, what a great way to extend-and-pretend.
What will they come up with next?
What will they come up with next?
I might have seen it today. Asked my friend to drive me by a place that has been on and off the market for almost 4 years. The price started in the high $300k’s but has been dropped significantly w/o any takers.
Well now I know why. Wood floors bulging from broken pipes and the whole bottom level which looked like it was once a nicely finished room covered w/mold.
We’ve been salivating for this shadow inventory to come back online but we might not be ready for the miserable shape much of it is probably in. This particular property really saddened me. It had been a beauty in its day. What a complete waste!
+1 carrie. This is what I am afraid of too.
CarrieAnn, I agree, and this is really really sad.
But in terms of the REO the banks are holding, letting it deteriorate is a horrible idea financially. Their losses on a house such as the one you describe will be HUGE—esp compared with what they could have gotten for it four years ago when prices were higher and before the damage became so significant.
It would have been a heck of a lot better for both the economy and for the value of houses which are sitting vacant to just let prices fall to levels where buyers could afford them, given current lending standards and income levels. What we have now is a collapsed real estate sector, including building and sales, and qualified buyers sitting on the sidelines waiting for prices to reach levels they can afford to pay, given current income levels and lending standards. This frozen market can continue as long as price support measures do…
But in terms of the REO the banks are holding, letting it deteriorate is a horrible idea financially. Their losses on a house such as the one you describe will be HUGE—esp compared with what they could have gotten for it four years ago when prices were higher and before the damage became so significant.
But try to tell the banksters this. Not to mention Fannie and Freddie. It’s as if they think that a bunch of empty, rotting houses will magically sell for their
askingwishing prices.A bit late because we are in escrow on a house, but here’s a copy of the e-mail I wrote in response to the FHFA’s request for information:
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing in response to your Request for Information to solicit ideas for the disposition of REO assets.
In your request, the stated goals are to: “facilitate the current and future disposition of REO, improve loss recoveries, and help stabilize neighborhoods and home values.” The request goes on to mention bulk sales and what amounts to public-private partnerships between the GSEs/FHA and investors. How soon we forget that one of the main reasons for the “financial crisis” was the home price boom that was fueled by investors (with tremendous amounts of leverage) who had no intention of living in those homes. Once prices reached levels that were not sustainable by local wages, prices began to fall to their natural, and more sustainable, levels. Encouraging more speculation is not at all conducive to promoting stability, nor is it a way to enhance neighborhoods and stabilize values. Let’s not go back down that road, again. There is no glut of inventory, just a glut of *overpriced* inventory. Instead of giving huge discounts to “preferred” partners and investors, we should be selling those homes to families who would benefit from having control over their home and housing costs, and who would have the chance of paying off their homes before retiring. If we don’t allow people to buy their own *affordable* homes that can be paid off before retirement, our social safety nets and Social Security situation will become even more strained than it is already.
If you want to stabilize neighborhoods, then we need prices to go to levels where local workers can afford their own homes without gimmicks like NINJA loans and tax credits. This is the ONLY way to sustainably and responsibly promote affordable housing and stable neighborhoods. Ultimately, we DO want people to own their own homes, but we should only encourage people to own their primary residence; we should not be encouraging people to use leverage to become real estate “investors.”
As for maximizing returns and improving loss recoveries, only an idiot think that eliminating the majority of the buyer pool — excluding the most motivated, end-user buyers who are willing to pay the highest price — would maximize returns. The suggestion that buyers only be limited to those who have $50 million to $1 billion in funds reeks of massive fraud, corruption, and back-room deals. Is this going to be yet another example of privatizing the profits while socializing the losses? Let’s finally rid ourselves of the massive corruption that has colored the way the financial “crisis” has been handled. Taxpayers and consumer advocates are closely watching how this these REOs are being handled.
If you want to do right by US taxpayers, then the only way to handle these REOs is to auction them off on a widely-advertized, fully transparent, PUBLIC auction site, with minimum marketing times for each property. The GSEs can pre-approve bidders who are given a unique bidder number with a maximum bid level. Each bidder number should be hyperlinked so that anyone can click on their number to see their bidding and purchasing history. The price and terms of all transactions should be completely transparent and easily available to anyone who wants to see the transaction history on a particular property or bidder (by bidder number only, not by name). Each bidder should be assigned only ONE bidder number, so their histories can be tracked. This way, we can readily see if the majority of bidders are “investors” or owner-occupiers. The goal should ALWAYS be to sell to an owner-occupier. That’s how we can promote true housing affordability and stable neighborhoods.
We are watching and waiting to see what steps the government will be taking to create stable neighborhoods and affordable housing, all while receiving the maximum possible price for their REO assets. It is now time to rid ourselves of the fraud and corruption that has so enveloped Washington D.C. Taxpayers are watching, and we are expecting the government to do the right thing by taxpayers and citizens.
Sincerely,
[CA renter]
CA, is that the house you mentioned here on the blog not long ago? The one in your current neighborhood where the owner died and the daughter or whoever put it up for sale?
If so, congrats, because I know how much you wanted it.
“CA, is that the house you mentioned here on the blog not long ago? The one in your current neighborhood where the owner died and the daughter or whoever put it up for sale?”
That might have been me. We recently bought a nicely located property. The original owner died last summer, and his sister sold it to us. We’re in the process of tearing down the existing home (which is uninhabitable) and will rebuild.
Congrats, CA Renter!
Kim
Happy to hear the story. You must have gotten a great deal on the property, in order for it to have penciled out.
Happy building experience. You don’t have to bring in the ulitities, that’s great.
Congratulations and good luck!
PB-GS-CIBT
Excellent letter. Thank you for expressing these ideals so well.
CA renter
I am soooo jazzed for you.
So, how did the negotiations go? Any tips for us still looking? Are you done with the inspections?
I am very happy for you and your family. It gives me another dose of hopium.
Ca Rent
Great letter. So well stated. OK, you shamed me. (You’re about actions, not just moaning.) I’ll get one out by tomorrow.
Can you give me the address?
Thank you.
This way, we can readily see if the majority of bidders are “investors” or owner-occupiers. [or REO bankers,... BIL]
Cheers!
There is no glut of inventory, just a glut of *overpriced* inventory. Instead of giving huge discounts to “preferred” partners and investors,
(nix, nix, such “bidne$$” behavior NOT allowed, they’re in a collective National Cult called: “ProFEEsionals”)
I know you must of got a good deal Ca Renter and it’s favorable in terms of interest rate right now .
Outstanding letter by the way .
NIce, nice, nice, CA.
Good for you.
Realtors Are Liars®
America [AA+] Day: #41
Now shouldn’t we be welcoming France to the club too?
IDK, please check with “True$erialEnabler$!™” $&P Inc. or their recently retired CEO.
We who would have thought this was possible
“China is losing its edge as the world’s cheapest place to manufacture goods, a new report suggests.”
“KPMG says that China’s increasing manufacturing costs are more to do with the country’s demographics.
China’s one-child policy has resulted in a “sudden and serious” shortage of the labour that gives workers in both the richer coastal provinces and poorer inland areas the leverage to demand higher wages.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14926728
It struck me today that inflation is the tool being used to redistribute wealth. Inflation in the West is used to devalue the amount of goods our wages can buy (as pay rises are few and far between, and always below inflation; at least for the majority of us) and in the East inflation in wages is increasing the amount they can buy.
“China’s one-child policy has resulted in a “sudden and serious” shortage of the labour that gives workers in both the richer coastal provinces and poorer inland areas the leverage to demand higher wages.”
Hey, c’mon back and manufacture in the US, we’ve got a TON of “new citizens”, courtesy of the illegals.
Yeah, right, like they’re gonna go for those manufacturing jobs at jack squat wages. Their parents might have, but not them, nossir.
Perhaps they can redirect some labour away from building empty cities and malls.
Not to worry. The MNC’s will pack up and move to the next country down, preferably one with lots of kiddies. Like, the Middle East. Just be prepared to shut down the machines 5 times a day.
“China’s one-child policy has resulted in a “sudden and serious” shortage of the labour that gives workers in both the richer coastal provinces and poorer inland areas the leverage to demand higher wages.”
Darn those only children! Not only do they not like to work for peanuts, they don’t expect to!
How can there possibly be a “labor shortage in China”? IIRC, someone here mentioned that the real problem in China is that too many people are staying on the farm, probably to avoid the BladeRunner like horrors of working and living in Foxconn City.
Plus with all the food price inflation going on in China, I could the allure of staying on the farm.
China’s working-age population will peak in 2015 and labor shortages will become more common, posing new difficulties for policy makers, according to today’s report. The country will have 440 million people aged over 60 by 2050, accounting for 31.4 percent of the population, compared with a world average of 21.9 percent, the bank said, citing estimates from the United Nations.
The aging population is particularly challenging for policy makers as the country’s real income level of around $4,000 per capita compares with $16,200 in South Korea and $14,900 in Japan when these countries had the same percentage of elderly, the bank said. A weak social safety net, with most old people depending on family support, exacerbates the situation, it said.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-13/adb-cuts-china-growth-estimate-says-economy-must-rebalance.html
I suppose that’s the draw back of relying on family to support you. You better hope your one kid really really loves you.
That “one kid” just bought a condo in Beijing for 54 times* his income. With no SS or Medicare, in China they are going to be starving and dying in the streets, for real this time.
———
*according to Wiki Chinese Property bubble. It’s 27-1 for two-income family. I wonder how Elizabeth Warren’s two-income-trap book would apply to China?
Just mandate 22 hour work day and the problem is solved.
The older generation in China has many who were relocated to the hinterlands, without any support, to farm or die. Hundreds of millions probably did die. Hard to imagine that the next generation does not retain a clue about self sufficiency. A job in the factory is alluring because of the pay, until one realizes that the pay isn’t enough to make up for all that was self produced on the farm. That plus living in a shoebox. Plus the dehumanization of factory work. These realizations can take many years.
China is a Communist country after all, I am not too sure you can trust them to produce real statistics.
I’m not sure we can trust our “Capitalist” government to produce real statistics.
+1
Yes, but in China iffin’ you don’t do what they demand, you risk your,…neck. In America, you only risk calling your old boss back at Goldenman$ucksInc. and pleading for another
chance“inside” job. (Well that & also your yearly $alary subject to bonu$ distribution$, ouch!)You might want to google food and fuel inflation in china.
My guess is that it is stripping purchasing power from lower end chinese as well.
Hence why staying on the farm might be looking better and better to CJ6P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-15/mortgage-default-filings-jump-33-in-u-s-as-bank-foreclosure-logjam-eases.html
Mortgage default filings surge 33% in US.
Foreclosures ramp up: County’s 13% jump the trickle before the dam breaks, experts warn
By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 12:18 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011
More Palm Beach County homes received first-time foreclosure notices in August than the previous month, and experts warned Wednesday that the 13 percent increase is just a trickle before the flood.
Nationally, initial notices of foreclosure were up 33 percent.
But unlike previous reports that found increases and decreases in foreclosure activity were similar nationwide, there was a marked difference in August between judicial states, where a judge is required to sign off on a home repossession, and non-judicial states.
In the 25 states RealtyTrac considers non-judicial, initial foreclosures leapt 46 percent in August from July, although they were still down 10 percent from August 2010. In judicial states, including Florida, there was only a 21 percent increase in August from July, with a 25 percent drop from last year.
“I’ve been told by a number of banks’ lawyers that they have cases ready to go and are just waiting for approval to file,” said Mike Wasylik, a foreclosure defense attorney with the firm Ricardo, Wasylik & Kaniuk, which has an office in Boca Raton. “I’ve been expecting the dam to break for months now and I think there is still uncertainty about what is going to happen with regulatory actions and pending settlements.”
“As painful an issue as foreclosure is, it has to get back on track, otherwise we’ll slip further and further behind,” Cecala said. “The year 2011 will go down as the year that nothing got done.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/foreclosures-ramp-up-countys-13-jump-the-trickle-1859243.html - -
Uncle Sam now stuck with a quarter of a million homes. Isn’t crony capitalism grand?
http://money.msn.com/home-loans/uncle-sam-stuck-with-248000-homes-bloomberg.aspx
Yeah, speaking of crony capitalism, how about that Solyndra deal? $535 million of taxpayer money, POOF!!!!!!!!!
No sweat, there’s more where that $535 million came from.
Small potatoes compared to the trillions the Federal Reserve - Wall Street looting syndicate has transferred from the bankster’s “bad debts” books to the public account.
That’s about 9 days of A/C’ing military tents in Afghanistan.
“about 9 days of A/C’ing military tents”
A fair point. Because I don’t want my money pissed away on decade long no-win wars that serve no national interest, OR pissed away on some bong-induced fantasy of “green energy”, I have found myself voting third party in every election of the last 25 years.
You are ahead of the curve Riley. Most everybody else is still clinging to the something for nothing theme.
Solyndra has fraud written all over it. There are “green” companies that are profitable. Danish Vestas set up shop her in the Centennial State and last I heard they are doing OK.
If it’s fraud, then the Admin will sue. And it won’t take them 2 years.
Hahahahaha………….
This administration only sues legitimate businesses to try and get some graft out of them, particularly businesses that are not supporting Democrats. We have a THUG in the Whitehouse and his minions are busily chasing down anyone who they might fine or tax out of their money, who is not already a Democrat and Obama supporter.
As for the “deal” that lost 500 Billion dollars, you can be sure alot of his buddies were on the receiving end of the “lost money”.
That’s what’s really going on.
Goons, thugs……….just can’t keep them straight.
Solyndra’s “crime” was filing bankruptcy and embarassing the administration. If they had just asked for another $500 million to tide them over the FBI would never have been involved.
If you are a big donor you can feed at the public trough, but never make the farmer look bad - that’s the rule.
Let this be a le$$on:
“Trillion$ trump$ Million$”
$portingly $tated:
David “I’m $tern!” of the NBA (National Billionaires A$$ociation) $lam-Dunks the competition:
“They’re Billionaire$, you’re a gang of baggy-shorts Millionaires soon to be filling out re$ume’s in a foreign language”
From NPR:
CLARIFICATION: The Pentagon disputes the calculation made by Anderson about air conditioning costs. Defense Department spokesman Dave Lapan says that in fiscal year 2010, the Pentagon spent approximately $15 billion on energy for all military operations around the world. The Pentagon says when it comes to Afghanistan, it spent $1.5 billion from October 2010 to May 2011 on fuel. That fuel was used for heating and air conditioning systems, but also for aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, combat vehicles, computers and electricity inside military structures
CLARIFICATION: The Pentagon disputes
What? Now! Now,.. you believe the Gov’t stats?
You’re a cracker Jim, no doubt.
What? Now! Now,.. you believe the Gov’t stats?
No one other than the government can assimilate this data. All others are massaging government data.
or this bill, which is a little bigger and continuing daily:
$20.2 billion - The military’s annual air-conditioning cost in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Anderson’s calculations
good to see we all go “AC bill,” when pushed.
Palm Beach County School Board approves $2.3 billion budget for this academic year
By Allison Ross Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 8:25 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011
The Palm Beach County School Board this evening gave final approval to the district’s tax rate and $2.3 billion budget for the 2011-2012 school year.
No member of the public spoke either for or against either agenda item.
The board unanimously approved the school tax rate of $8.18 per $1,000 of taxable property value. That’s an increase from $8.15 this past school year, but below the rollback rate of $8.36, which would have kept money raised by property taxes the same as last year.
Vice chairwoman Debra Robinson was the lone vote against the budget, saying she can’t support something that gives “one group of employees raises and fire others.”
Robinson also made a last-minute appeal to add $200,000 in supplements to pay to have a teacher at each school act as a contact person for African and African-American curriculum.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/palm-beach-county-school-board-approves-2-3-1858882.html - -
The board unanimously approved the school tax rate of $8.18 per $1,000 of taxable property value.
Wow, that’s more than my entire property tax rate!
It’s not 8%. It’s 0.8%
My total annual property tax bill is less than 0.8%.
And the school district’s portion is just a fraction of that.
When I owned in NM mine was. 0.35% and many people had much lower as their market values where so out of date in NM. It is not unheard for someone to be paying taxes on unimproved land, yet living in a new house. I that is the way they like it in NM. I did too!
“Robinson also made a last-minute appeal to add $200,000 in supplements to pay to have a teacher at each school act as a contact person for African and African-American curriculum.
“The state requires school districts to teach about African and African-American history, but critics say few Palm Beach County students know more than the country’s history with slavery. Having a teacher contact at each school would be a step toward covering these topics, Robinson said.”
Too bad they couldn’t spend an extra $200K to bring the kiddies up to speed on reading, math, and science. African-American history can - relatively quickly and easily - be studied (without having to pay a “contact person”) AFTER they have sufficiently proficient reading skills.
Cut the history teacher’s hours as well. Make him/her skip all the European stuff and let’s start with the Pioneers. Use the savings to pay for more math tutors.
Gotta go to where the jobs are…
ITEM: Asia drawing more Americans seeking career opportunities
By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY
Ryan Lovell took a job in Hong Kong after graduating from Southern Methodist University because he saw more opportunity there.
Lovell was taking business courses while working 30 hours a week for a property developer. He saw funding dry up. Deals being delayed. This first-hand lesson in economics, he says, played a key role in his decision to take a job in Hong Kong last year after graduation.
“The U.S. is not picking up, Europe is having a lot of trouble, and all the opportunity that I’m seeing is here in Asia,” says Lovell, 24, a business analyst here for EC Harris, a real estate consulting firm.
For years, foreigners have come to Asia for adventure and career development as its economies have developed at a breakneck speed. But this trend is accelerating after the recession as booming Asian nations provide jobs and other business opportunities that Americans can’t find in their own country. American companies such as General Electric and Caterpillar are also expanding aggressively in Asia, and transferring U.S. executives to key positions in the region.
Job placement firms are reporting a surge in American worker interest in booming economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, China and, increasingly, India. Hunt Partners, an executive search firm, estimates that it’s getting 50% to 100% more unsolicited résumés from Americans looking for Asia-based positions today than before the recession. Other recruiting firms, including Korn/Ferry International, Robert Walters and Manpower, are also reporting a significant rise in Americans looking for work in Asia.
Job prospects in the Asia-Pacific region are the strongest in the world, particularly in the sales, management and retail industries, according to the latest survey of employers’ hiring intentions by Manpower, a global job agency. And unemployment in many Asian economies is a fraction of that in the U.S., where the jobless rate is 9.1%.
In places such as Singapore, China and Hong Kong, senior executives can usually expect to be paid as much as or more than in the U.S. for a similar position, says Steve Fisher, an executive recruiter at Korn/Ferry. Housing and educational stipends also sweeten the deal.
American companies such as General Electric and Caterpillar are also expanding aggressively in Asia, and transferring U.S. executives to key positions in the region.
“TrueBambooLie™”; Getting novel idea$ for the State Technology Acquisition Team: Chapter 2, page 4
“How to recruit a US Citizen American Technology spy”: 1st offer them a job…and a free computer & smart phone…
I think our bankster class should pack up and take their skills to China, etc.
You know, because we have benefited so much from their talents. It would be selfish of us to keep all that highly paid talent to ourselves.
And they can take all the wanna-be John Galts with them. Let them ply their anti-government business acumen in regions without government, and see how far they get.
Love it, X-GS and oxide!
I wonder how hard it really is to get a work visa in the Asian tigers. I know a few people who went to work in Asia, but they were mostly recruited as short term, low pay English teachers.
And even if you have the right papers to work there (say you get a foreign passport because grandma still has hers) will they really hire an outsider? It’s one thing if you already work for a multinational that transfers you there (I know a few senior managers who did that) but if you send them a resume will they really hire you if you don’t already live there? Or even if you do?
You are useful as long as they think you still know stuff that they don’t.
The trick is to write down as little as possible. And what you do write down, make sure that it’s undecipherable to anyone not intimately familiar with the process.
Which is our competitive advantage They only know the book. The book was written by engineers who never actually had to maintain the end product. then the lawyers added a bunch more steps, as a CYA measure to prevent or limit product liability suits.
We are able to sort out the engineering and legal BS, and work the steps that are actually important.
Unless, of course, you are a technician, and are stupid enough to help your company set up an “Expert System”.
Tribal knowledge, dudes. The wave of the future.
Tribal knowledge, dudes. The wave of the future.
”
thats been around forever in High tech. I could fix the confusing drawing system here were I work make it easier for others to use…. I could shoot myself in the foot too
Computer programers have it too:
Real programmers don’t document. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand.
Computer programers have it too:
Real programmers don’t document. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand.
A few years back, we HBB-ers were regaled with the stories of an IT person who had done contract work for WaMu. This was before WaMu went bye-bye.
According to that individual, WaMu’s computer systems seemed overly complicated. Not to mention its reporting systems.
Our HBB friend surmised that this excessive complication would make it hard for any sort of forensic type of investigation to succeed.
“According to that individual, WaMu’s computer systems seemed overly complicated. Not to mention its reporting systems.
Our HBB friend surmised that this excessive complication would make it hard for any sort of forensic type of investigation to succeed.”
My experience is that computer systems are often a hodge-podge of features requested at different times by different people, implemented by many programmers with individual coding styles, poorly tested, and the documentation is never kept up to date. In organizations where documentation is required for each release, the documentation is as disorganized and unintelligible as the code. The end result is more like a Rube Goldberg machine held together by scotch tape and chewing gum than an engineering project.
My experience is that computer systems are often a hodge-podge of features requested at different times by different people, implemented by many programmers with individual coding styles, poorly tested, and the documentation is never kept up to date. In organizations where documentation is required for each release, the documentation is as disorganized and unintelligible as the code. The end result is more like a Rube Goldberg machine held together by scotch tape and chewing gum than an engineering project.
+1000
I currently work in aerospace and that is pretty much my take on it as well. LOL And for some reason there is never enough money and/or time to do it right, but there always seems to be money and time to redo it badly.
Take a look at American Superconductor news
This will tell you all you need to know about doing business in China.
Butterball to close Longmont facility
Submitted by KDVR Staff September 14th, 2011
LONGMONT, Colo. — Butterball, LLC announced plans on Wednesday to shut down its Longmont facility by the end of the year.The company says the closure, effective December 31, is necessary due to increased grain and other input costs, and to streamline operations.
“The decision to close a facility is one of the most difficult decisions a company can make. After long and careful consideration, amid record high ingredient costs, our company has come to the conclusion that we must take these steps in order to improve our overall effectiveness.” said Rod Brenneman, president and chief executive officer of Butterball, LLC.
“With this country’s current economic situation, it is all the more difficult. However, government ethanol subsidies and record high fuel prices for much of 2010 and 2011 contributed to a major increase in our operating costs and the closure of this facility is necessary to streamline our operations and accommodate current and projected demands.”
Over the past five years, Butterball’s increase in costs related to higher feed ingredient commodity markets (corn, soybean meal, fat, etc.) has averaged nearly $65 million per year, or $325 million total.
According to the Denver business Journal, the Longmont plant employs 350 people.
Butterball says they will work with associates at the Longmont facility to provide career counseling and discuss job opportunities at different locations throughout company operations as well as offer additional support through employee assistance programs.
I drive past this facility every day. They just did some repair work on the structure, so I guess this was a sudden decision. I suppose that laid off can apply for jobs in the meat processing plants in Greeley.
“The company says the closure, effective December 31, is necessary due to increased grain and other input costs, and to streamline operations.”
I’m not saying their cost structure hasn’t become more restrictive during this downturn, but I often wonder if many companies just use that as an excuse to do what they were already planning to do…
Especially when they include that “streamline operations” part, but act like they’re including it only as a side benefit.
What about the turkeys?
They will be laid off. They will probably move back in with Ma and Pa Turkey.
Then, they will go back to college to become a Registered Turkey Nurse. Because Turkey Health Care is the only growth industry.
And buy a house. Because it’s always a good time to buy, and all turkey housing markets are different.
Classic stuff, X-GSfixr!
Yer killin’ me smalls.
They’re closing it by the end of the year, AFTER they turn those turkeys into profit.
Thanksgiving
Christmas……
Or however long it takes them to turn them into turkey sandwiches.
Love to eat turkey
Love to eat turkey
Love to eat turkey
‘Cause it’s good
Love to eat turkey
Like a good boy should
‘Cause it’s turkey to eat
So good
Let’s eat the turkey
In my big brown shoe
Love to eat the turkey
At the table
I once saw a movie
With Betty Grable
Eat that turkey
All night long
Fifty million Elvis fans
Can’t be wrong
Turkey lurkey doo and
Turkey lurkey dap
I eat that turkey
Then I take a nap
Thanksgiving is a special night
Jimmy Walker used to say Dynomite
That’s right
Turkey with gravy and cranberry
Can’t believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry
Turkey for you and
Turkey for me
Can’t believe Tyson
Gave that girl V.D.
White meat, dark meat
You just can’t lose
I fell off my moped
And I got a bruise
Turkey in the oven
And the buns in the toaster
I’ll never take down
My Cheryl Tiegs poster
Wrap the turkey up
In aluminum foil
My brother likes to masturbate
With baby oil
Turkey and sweet potato pie
Sammy Davis Jr.
Only had one eye
Turkey for the girls and
Turkey for the boys
My favorite kind of pants
Are corduroys
Gobble gobble goo and
Gobble gobble gickel
I wish turkey
Only cost a nickel
Oh I love turkey on Thanksgiving
I’ve been working on a busted housing bubble playlist. Here are the songs I have so far:
“We Can’t Make It Hear Anymore” by James McMurtry*
“House for Sale” by Nick Lowe
“No Banker Left Behind” by Ry Cooder
Any requests?
———-
*Yup, that’s Larry McMurtry’s son.
I don’t know if it’s really a bubble song, but Chuck Berry did a cool version of “Cottage For Sale” while just sitting on the couch fooling around in the movie he made with Keith Richards. Pretty sure there’s a youtube of it out there…
Any requests?
Up, up and away! By Goldenman$ucksInc & The Fifth Dimen$ion
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
We could float among the stars together, you and I
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world’s a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
Richard Thompson, “The Money Shuffle” (2010)
I love kittens and little babies
Can’t you see that’s the guy I am
Your money is so safe with me
You never met such an honest man
Glossies on my office wall
The rich and famous, I know them all
Come on and do the Money Shuffle
I’ve got you right there where I want you
Come on and do the Money Shuffle
Can’t find your money if you want to
Stock market going through the roof now
So rich I’ll never add it up now
I’ve got your savings here somewhere
Here at Warbrook and Jones it’s all tradition
We never pimp and we don’t hustle
If you’ll just bend over a little
I think you’ll feel my financial muscle
Spread it wide, wide as you can
To get the full benefit of my plan
Come on and do the Money Shuffle
I’ve got you right there where I want you
Come on and do the Money Shuffle
Can’t find your money if you want to
My God, the market’s in a free fall
I’ll save my arse and skip the country
Wish the hell I knew what I was doing
This year, think I’ll skip Monte
One tires of the same old social scene
With all the problems in the world today
They’ll notice if my bonus is obscene
Spread it wide, wide as you can
To get the full benefit of my plan
O how sublime - it’s sub prime time
One man’s junk’s another man’s triple A
If you need a little refuge for your pension fund
Lucky you, I’ll send some jewels your way
Spread it wide, wide as you can
To get the full benefit of my plan
Come on and do the Money Shuffle
I’ve got you right there where I want you
Come on and do the Money Shuffle
Can’t find your money if you want to
I hear the sound of distant thunder
AIG and Lehmans going under
Will I get my bonus, I wonder?
“The decision to close a facility is one of the most difficult decisions a company can make. After long and careful consideration, amid record high ingredient costs, our company has come to the conclusion that…
Iffin’ just x10 over-paid employees organized and demanded a .25 cent per hour raise, our CorpoorationInc. would be bankrupt in 30 days.
Reporter #1: “So, you’re saying such an action would “devastate” your CorpoorateInc. profit$?”
“no comment”
Reporter #2: “How many
turkey’sworkers are we talking about here?”“no comment”
Reporter #3: “Hey, didn’t I see y’all smilin’ and back-slappin’ at the SC “Bidness” relocation convention?”
“no comment”
Greeks Vow to Rebel Against New ‘Monster Tax’
Spiegel
The Greek government’s new real estate tax, a desperate bid to meet its budget goals and secure fresh foreign aid, will hit the population hard. Greeks have almost their entire wealth invested in property — and are more worried about the tax than about the prospect of a national insolvency or leaving the euro.
Jannis Foteinos … owns two apartments, one 100 square meters in size, the other 130, and he is outraged at the new real estate tax introduced by the embattled Greek government on Sunday.
“We might as well shoot ourselves,” he said. The government aims to collect €2 billion ($2.72 billion) in extra revenue by imposing a tax averaging €4 per square meter for two years in a desperate bid to stave off insolvency by meeting its budget goals and thereby qualifying for the payout of further aid from the euro zone and International Monetary Fund.
For people like Foteinos, the tax entails another financial burden they can ill afford. The former shop owner recently had his monthly pension cut by €200. Now he could face a tax bill of some €1,000 in the coming days. Given that prospect, he doesn’t really care that politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition have started talking openly about the possibility that Greece will go bankrupt or even have to leave the euro zone.
In fact, he wouldn’t mind getting the drachma back.
Many Greeks did the same as Thanopolous. Because the drachma wasn’t a hard currency, they invested their savings in property. Some 85 percent of the people’s wealth is invested in houses and apartments. That explains the outraged response to the surprise tax.
The country’s well-oiled protest machine has already been fired up.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,785993,00.html
“Greeks Vow to Rebel Against New ‘Monster Tax’
As well they should!
“Monster Tax”
So now they are taxing energy drinks?
Go ahead, knock yourselves out……..
Of course they should rebel.
The Germans can continue to make Mercedes, BMW, Food, Appliances, and material goods. The Greeks can get their ‘government check’ and buy up all the things the Germans made, while the Greeks sit in Cafe’s and drink their Retzina and relax.
It’s alot like the USA and other places where some folks do all the work for a paycheck and others get a paycheck for producing nothing. The government economists look at “national wealth”, so it’s all socialized anyway.
In the Euro zone I am hearing more and more about how well off the group of nations are, as a whole, when you let the French and Germans and Austrians and Swiss do all the work, while the Countries on the Mediterranean lounge on the beach and wait for their early retirement paychecks.
The Euro zone was a bad idea and the Germans realize they are getting the shaft. Unfortunately, there, like here, Government bureaucrats want to keep the game going. It give them a reason to collect their own government cheeze.
In the Euro zone I am hearing more and more about how well off the group of nations are, as a whole, when you let the French and Germans and Austrians and Swiss do all the work, while the Countries on the Mediterranean lounge on the beach and wait for their early retirement paychecks.
I once had a client who was born and raised in Venezuela. He’s been in the United States for many years, but frequently travels abroad on business. (He’s a consultant.)
Any-hoo, he has relatives in Spain, and he finds their attitude to be infuriating. To put it mildly, Jose the client (not his real name) is a real go-getter. And he’s driven nuts by the “Toda Pasa” laid-back attitude that’s prevalent in Spain.
i think i’ve posted this here before…when my wife was in Italy for a few months on business…the Italians called her a slave driver for trying to get 40 hours a week out of them.
she was routinely annoyed with their 2 and half our lunches.
she did some work in Germany as well and described them as being completely opposite.
lol…our = hour
When I used to work in the video biz in South Florida, we had Hispanic clients (from various countries) who would schedule video editing appointments and show up anywhere from an hour to three hours late and not understand why it was a problem. We had to explain that the equipment and room was scheduled by the hour and we would have to charge them for the time whether they were there or not, and that since we operated on a schedule, other clients might be working in the room by the time they showed up. Eventually they understood and were able to work it out.
Frickin’ white people and their obsessions with clocks…
Relative advantages and disadvantages of the property tax.
Advantage — hard to evade.
Disadvantage — regressive, and hits those with lower incomes harder.
Or is that an advantage, depending on one’s point of view?
“The former shop owner recently had his monthly pension cut by €200. Now he could face a tax bill of some €1,000 in the coming days.”
I wonder if he paid taxes on all his sales when he was working? That would evidently make him very rare in his culture.
How much was the old tax? I’m guessing it wasn’t much. They’re talking about raising the tax €4 per square meter. So those 100 m2 apartments woud go up €400 per year. While any tax increase is unpleasant I would harldy call that a “monster” tax increase, especially when comparing itto property tax rates on the east coast of the US. If they think that a €400 increase is a monster increase, then I’m guessing that they were paying very little to begin with.
“Instead of a maximum of 10 euros per square metre, the limit was placed at 16 euros and electricity will be cut off for owners who refuse to pay.”
So possibly €1600 for a 100m2 apartment.
Interesting that they tax by the meter and not by value. I guess that simplyfies it and keeps people from challenging their assessments.
Ah, the sting of the “ownership society”.
Government brainwashing. They love property owners. Just big, dumb, sitting targets for property tax increases.
Edgy, it doesn’t matter if you own or rent. You still pay property taxes one way or another.
The best i can see to minimize property taxes is to live in a dwelling with a very low tax assessment. ie. oil city plan. Example:
Today’s Oil-City-Plan house:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3808-Kenny-Ln-Springboro-OH-45066/35608363_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}
1957 tiny 2/1 on 0.9 acres. Almost no bubble in this area — same prices as 2002.
Jul 2002: zestimate $84K
Sep 2011: listed $54K
Taxes 2009: $956
This isn’t the best example because it’s not far from Dayton OH. But if you got out to true podunk, taxes go down.
True……but if your landlord raises your rent 200 bucks a month to pay a property tax bill, it’s a lot easier to move if you are renting.
2002 prices? A $30k drop may seem like nothing compared to west coast or DC pricing but, unless my eyes deceive me, that is a 36% sale OFF 2002 prices.
Gotta reply to this….
This house is about 7 miles due north from my house. I’ve driven back by that area before and the area is a total dump. It’s located right behind an industrial complex (complex just south of SR 73.) While it’s technically in Springboro, it’s really an extension of the city of Franklin, which is a small city that fell on hard times many decades ago and never recovered.
The value of the house depends on if it’s in Franklin school district (poor) or Springboro school district (MUCH wealthier).
Oh, and as to that 36% drop in price….
The main company in that industrial complex is Pionerr where they make car radios. However, they have been in shut-down mode for 5 year, soon to be completed. Franklin does not have any real employers, so there goes the income of the immediate area.
Adjoining Springboro is a place that built lots of $200-300k houses in the pst 10 years (think dual-income workers at Teradata, etc). There is still enough land to build on that no one has to buy something they don’t want just to get into the ‘heighborhood’ (ie schools). And enough of those houses for sale that one can buy what they want at a reasonable price, so they can skip the dumpy properties like this one. So no one would want this house except to rent to a struggling young couple.
I wasn’t saying it was worth it at that price, just that it’s 36% lower than the quoted 2002 price.
More gyrations to pretend that trade imbalances can persist long-term.
Don’t front-run the front-runners.
UBS trader arrested over ‘rogue deals’
BBC
Police in London have arrested a 31-year-old man in connection with allegations of unauthorised trading which has cost Swiss banking group UBS an estimated $2bn (£1.3bn).
Kweku Adoboli, believed to work in the European equities division, was detained in the early hours of Thursday and remains in custody.
The Financial Times newspaper reported that Mr Adoboli worked as a director of Exchange Traded Funds in the equities department.
UBS declined to say in which department, or country, the rogue trader operated. However, there is already speculation that the losses may have occurred in foreign exchange trades.
Earlier this month, the Swiss Central Bank shocked the markets by capping the franc against the euro at 1.20 francs. The move sent the franc-euro exchange rate up 10%, and it is rumoured that some traders lost money.
The UBS announcement came on the day that the lower house of the Swiss parliament was due to discuss the country’s banking laws to reduce the risks from firms that are considered “too big to fail”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8764363/City-rogue-trader-arrested-over-2bn-UBS-loss.html
They’re only a “rogue trader” when they lose money for the firm.
was thinking the same thing.
me too.
Why would you waste time and money on auditing the transactions that make a profit? Because it is a good business practice and will prevent losses in the future? But it would eat into profits now! We can’t have that, can we?
Got that right.
At least they arrested someone and accused him of a crime.
Here in the States, all the crooks at Golman Suchs, JPM, Bank of Amerika, Wells Farco, et. al, are still trading daily and got a big hand-out from the US Taxpayer for all the stealing and misdeeds they have done.
Not a single arrest, not even an investigation. Instead, a government/treasury/fed coverup and free-for-all involved.
There is NO justice here.
Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners, said today the alleged rogue trade is believed to involve a Swiss franc transaction that went wrong after the Swiss National Bank intervened to lower the value of its currency. Ms Cooper said the arrest will call UBS’s risk management into question and an unexpected trading loss could do ’significant reputational damage’ to the bank. She said: ‘Rich people tend not to want to do business with a bank where there are questions over risk control
http://news.peacefmonline.com/social/201109/69055.php
So Union Bank of Switzerland got burnt by the Swiss National Bank; made me smile, not as clever as they think are they.
Associated Press
Southern California home prices fall in August
By JACOB ADELMAN , 09.14.11, 06:32 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES — Southern California home prices declined in August from their year-ago levels for a sixth consecutive month as sales of low-priced properties continued to dominate the market, a tracking firm said Wednesday.
San Diego-based DataQuick said the median home price of $279,000 for the six-county region fell 3.1 percent from $288,000 in August 2010 and dropped 1.4 percent from $283,000 in July.
DataQuick said 19,654 homes sold last month, an increase of 6 percent from 18,541 in August 2010 and 8.6 percent from 18,090 in July.
…
“Scratch beneath the surface and there’s not a lot to cheer about this month,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in a news release. “Many would-be buyers can’t find financing, and others who want to make a move now are stuck because they owe more than their homes are worth.”
…
On the contrary, the return of sanity to housing prices offers much to cheer about, for those who patiently waited on the sidelines.
Very true, Sammy.
DataQuick says one thing, and sellers are listing at almost bubblicious prices and homes are pending around east ventura county. (So Ca)
Some homes are selling $50K over what I think they should be, and way above their zestimates. (And don’t forget Zillow changed their algorithms to be more realistic.)
No inventory has lead to an almost mini bubble. It sucks.
I’m bummed tonight. I hope this title company mailing, doesn’t pump these a-hole want to be sellers, but I want to be pro-active.
If nothing else, the loan balances (and who’s paid off their mortgage) are a good data source, should I not do it.
A lot of folks seem to have their homes in a family trust. Looks like a lawyer did a mass mailing to the area.
Don’t be bummed, Awaiting. I know how hard it can be because we’ve been waiting for the exact same thing as you.
Hopefully, we’ve found it. It’s not a “bargain” by any stretch of the imagination, but it is probably about 20%-30% below peak values. For us, it’s a matter of finding the right house, almost as much as it’s about finding the right price. We are paying less than $100K more than what we were going to pay in 2004…but this house is in a FAR better neighborhood, superior street (cul-de-sac), better layout, larger yard, and only 5-10 minutes to work!
You will find your “just right” home, too!
IMHO, we are buying too early. If you have to wait until late 2012, I think you’ll be very happy about the outcome.
Best of luck!
This hope and change is killing us…
Jobless claims post surprise increase last week to 428,000 highest since June.
Reuters | September 15, 2011
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday.
Applications for unemployment benefits climbed to 428,000 in the week ending September10 from an upwardly revised 417,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.
It was the second straight week in which claims rose. Wall Street analysts had been looking for a dip to 410,000.
Excluding one week in early August, claims have held above 400,000 since early April. A Labor Department official said there was no discernible effect from Hurricane Irene or other storms in the national reading.
The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out volatility, rose to 419,500 from 415,500 the prior week.
Continuing claims eased to 3.726 million in the week ending September 3 from 3.738 million the previous week. The number of total recipients on benefit rolls was 7.144 million.
U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in August, with zero net job creation raising fears of a new recession and putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy further at its meeting later this month.
“This hope and change is killing us…”
Welfare Queen celebrating Obama’s election
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6×5wCxxUX7M
Well, YouTube is blocked at work. I assume the welfare queen you refer to is a Goldman Sachs executive?
The corporatist welfare queens on Wall Street are the ones who really hooted it up when Obama was elected. As they would have for his clone, McCain.
Heads they win, tails we lose. When’s the Iowa causcus this year - Jan. 2 or some such ridiculous date? Oh, these sweet halcyon weeks of autumn!
This hope and change is killing us…
Here’s a 100,000+ US serviceman being effected by lil’ Opie’s (Non-Hawaiian) policy POV:
Pentagon to drastically cut spending on Afghan forces:
Under pressure from the White House for steep reductions, the Pentagon agrees to a no-frills approach for Afghanistan’s army and police. Expenditures will be cut by more than half by 2014.
By David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times / September 12, 2011
The push to cut expenses is the latest point of tension between the White House and some in the military over Afghan policy. The split emerged this year when President Obama ordered the withdrawal of 100,000 troops at a faster rate than commanders had recommended.
By all accounts, Obama appears more comfortable with a military strategy that relies heavily on drone aircraft strikes in neighboring Pakistan and nightly raids by special operations forces against Afghan militants, while trimming the American military presence and budget to politically acceptable levels.
“more comfortable with a military strategy that relies heavily on drone aircraft strikes in neighboring Pakistan”
True, because killing them immediately precludes all that whiny handwringing about whether or not to give them a trial. One of the few Obama policies with which I can agree.
Drones are not flown by soldiers.
How can that be a military strategy???
Drones are, in fact, flown by “soldiers”. They are flown by remote control out of Colorado, by Airforce personnel playing video games that result in real people dying.
They just don’t face the prospect of getting shot down and being captured by the people they are bombing.
It’s no wonder they hate us.
Imagine if another country had aircraft flying over your neighborhood and lobbing bombs on “suspect” targets in next door.
It’s a nice way to wage a war without committing to war, except by way of payment for supplies. No bodies coming home.
Just a nice, clean, destruction of suspects and their property.
Ron Paul tried to tell the tea baggers why “they” hate us, the tea baggers booo’d at the truth. Tea Baggers want to believe it is because we are free and have playboy magazine.
Tea Baggers want to believe it is because we are free and have playboy magazine.
True story: A few years ago, there was a very popular TV show in Iran. Most popular show in the country.
It was a foreign TV show, and it wasn’t exactly approved by the Iranian government. So, you had to have your satellite dish adjusted ju-u-u-ust right. And only invite your most trustworthy friends over to watch with you.
The name of the show? “Baywatch.”
An Open Secret: Drone Warfare In Pakistan
Published: September 06, 2011
by Rachel Martin
Drone warfare is now one of the most fundamental features of the U.S. battle against its enemies. Just don’t ask anyone in the government to talk about it.
Since 2004, the United States military has fired about 270 missiles into Pakistan, killing thousands of militants, according to the U.S. government. Dozens of so-called high-value targets have been eliminated, like al-Qaida’s No. 2, who was killed in an attack last month.
But since the CIA runs these attacks, they are secret. As a result, no one in the government is supposed to admit they’re happening.
Forgot the link:
http://m.npr.org/story/140216985?url=/2011/09/06/140216985/an-open-secret-drone-warfare-in-pakistan
Since 2004, the United States military has fired about 270 missiles into Pakistan, killing thousands of militants…
——————
Just call all the people you kill “militants” and that makes it okay.
How many innocent people have been killed? That’s what I want to know.
War sucks!!!!
400K per week has been the new normal for about 3 years now I believe and would have arrived a lot earlier had it not been for the housing and debt bubbles.
Speaking of the housing bubble I know a few people who after getting pushed out of Corporate America during the bubble jumped on the housing bandwagon.
Remove the housing bubble and we’ve been in this jobless econonly for over 10 years running.
he corporatist welfare queens on Wall Street are the ones who really hooted it up when Obama was elected. As they would have for his clone, McCain.
That is the sad truth. People like banana boy like to think there is a difference between R’s and D’s.
I think that the only real difference Obama made was that a lot of underemployed 20 somethings can now stay on their parents health insurance until they’re 26. Other than that he’s been a corporate/bankster shill like any R would have been.
Tweedle Dee vs. Tweedle Dum.
Well said, Colorado.
Insane housing prices and even more insane taxes (to pay for out of control public unions) forces young smart people to leave for a better life????
Who would have thunk it?
——————-
Is There a ‘Brain Drain’ on Long Island
National Public Radio | 9/13/11 | Charles Lane
Is there a “brain drain” on Long Island? For years planners and policy advocates have argued that young people are fleeing Suffolk County because of the cost of living. This has implications for schools, housing density, and even where to invest in parks and recreation. Well, a research paper presented Tuesday questions what many thought was common knowledge.
“young people are fleeing Suffolk County because of the cost of living.”
That’s one reason, yes. Suffolk County is also extremely congested and has a HUGE population of folks that require taxpayer assistance. I think people just get tired of watching the deterioration of their neighborhoods and being forced to subsidize it.
BTW, recent events in Texas are forcing people there to think about relocation, if inquiries on the Western North Carolina City Data forum are any indication. It’s not like there’s a ton of inquiries, but just enough to show that there’s probably many others on various City Data forums looking at opportunities in other parts of the country. Given that jobs are a concern and Wester North Carolina doesn’t have them, but parts of South Carolina do, I would say South Carolina is in for a population boom.
Our former governor complained that our unemployment rate in SC was high because so many people moved here looking for jobs.
He may have had a point. I don’t know but the investment here is growing rapidly. Boeing, Michelin, BMW, et al.
They may confuse us with a third world country but labor is cheaper here and no unions. The government is also right wing and not really functioning anymore.
“and no unions”
Are you sure? My brother used to work for Goodyear. Their plants in next door North Carolina are unionized.
“Their plants in next door North Carolina are unionized.”
Yup. Which is why South Carolina has jobs and North Carolina, not so much.
I am not opposed to unions, per se. Just the irrationalities attached to some of them.
Take a look at this link:
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
It shows that unemployment rate in is 10.9% in SC and 10.1% in NC. So they’re both suffering badly, with SC doing worse. I thought that that whole research triangle area in North Carolina would have been a major asset, but it must be a fairly small part of the state economy.
My guess is that both states have had rapidly growing populations during the past couple of decades, so that the REIC was a major source of employment.
It was also my understanding that UE was higher in SC than NC. And it is.
There was a chart the other day in cnn dot money that showcased poverty state by state. All “right t work” states have higher pverty rates (and higher UE rates too).
But I’m sure it’s because everyone wants to live in those states.
Again, I listen to what actual people are saying on the local blogs. If they can get a job or not, and where. Can’t get one in Western NC. Can get one in the Greenville area.
Gee, I just don’t know how those statistics contradict them. They must be the exceptions to the rule or something.
They must be the exceptions to the rule or something.
Given SC’s above average UE rate (10.9%) , a median HH income that is a paltry $42,580 and that 17% of all South Carolinan’s live below the poverty rate, that would be a safe assumption (of course that’s the problem with anecdotal “I know some people” assumptions).
Just for comparison, here in the Centennial State those numbers are 8.5%, $55,735 and 12.9%. South Carolina seems pretty darn weak by comparison.
(Source census bureau and US Bureau of Labaor stats.)
Just noodling around on the ‘net, it seems the only two (obvious) places in the US where a person might have half a chance at getting a job are North Dakota (Bakken formation related) and South Carolina. Problem with North Dakota is the weather and lack of housing stock (LOL, can you believe a Mickey D’s job in North Dakota pays $17.00 an hour? That’s what I read, anyway). They’re bringing in portables and trailers as fast as they can. South Carolina has better weather and more housing stock. So where do you think most people are gonna go?
If you’re in the Greenville area, get ready, because I think it’s gonna get slammed, if it isn’t already. There are many who would rather opt for the Asheville area of NC, but I read one lady’s saga. She’s a biologist and lost her gig and tried to hang on in the Asheville area for two years. Couldn’t even get a $10.00/hour receptionist gig. So she started looking at Greenville and within a couple of months, had a well paying gig there. And her fiance got one as well. So that’s where they went.
Where is BoA headquartered?
Charlotte, North Carolina. ’nuff said.
So where do you think most people are gonna go?
America needs to do to SC, what China is doing to Tibet.
(LOL, can you believe a Mickey D’s job in North Dakota pays $17.00 an hour? That’s what I read, anyway).
I have my doubts about that. If that was true the state would be overrun with illegals.
You court ‘em, you get ‘em.
(How much (percentage wise) does a $3.00 $alary raise work out to after 30-40 years of loyalty to the CSA & their in$titutionalized “Right to
$tarveSlavework ” policies?) Peaches & Peace!BMW layoffs exemplify the evisceration of the middle class
Every working American should be dismayed by — and afraid of — what BMW is doing.
July 03, 2011|Michael Hiltzik / LA Times
By all accounts, BMW’s parts distribution warehouse in Ontario was one of the jewels of the company’s system.
Supplying dealer service departments throughout Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, it received gold medals from BMW for its efficiency and employed several of the top-ranked workers in the country. In the roughly 40 years its workers had been represented by the Teamsters union, there had never been a labor stoppage.
The average seniority of employees at Ontario is about 20 years; five have spent 30 years or more at Ontario or its predecessor warehouse in Carson. Of the employees to be laid off (according to a notice BMW sent the union), 27 are age 50 or older. The word that came most often to the lips of workers and their families I’ve talked to is “devastated.”
“The hardest thing I ever had to do in my life was to look my family in the eyes and tell them that after 32 years I’m out of a job,” says Tim Kitchen, who at 53 is the longest-serving employee at the warehouse. The esprit de corps that once prevailed in the warehouse is gone, he says. “You walk in there now, it’s like a morgue.” Early retirement isn’t an option; Kitchen still has two kids’ college educations to pay for.
The harvest will be weighed in foreclosed homes, college educations deferred or abandoned, new cars left in the dealers’ lots (BMWs not excepted) and consumer goods on the shelf, one more little cascade of blows to the U.S. economy.
Miguel Carpinteyro, 42, had 14 years with BMW and every expectation of retiring there. In the backyard of their home in the San Bernardino County community of Highland, he and his wife, Jerri, just finished building a pool, which is good therapy for their two autistic sons. A daughter has a heart condition requiring frequent medical visits.
Nobody has a bigger bullseye on their backs than highly paid (whether union or not) warehouse workers.
Highly paid = Over $12/hour.
Any well paid individual contributor has a bullseye on his back.
has a HUGE population of folks that require taxpayer assistance
You must have it confused with some other county. Wikipedia says that the median household income for the county is $84,000 and the poverty rate is 6%, much less than the national rate. (Of course, those statistics were probably collected before the recession.)
The problem faced by young people is the outrageous house prices and high proprty taxes. Fortunately, the deflation of the bubble is taking care of the first problem. If the age profile of the county now includes a lot of seniors, that deflation should be helped by the fact that the large numbers of people will be moving to Florida or dying each year for quite some time.
“Wikipedia says that the median household income for the county is $84,000 and the poverty rate is 6%, much less than the national rate.”
Although there is much good information to be had at Wikipedia, I really don’t trust their statistics, especially if they come from some government functionary.
I do admit, I’m getting much of this info anecdotally. I like anecdotal. Suffolk has had quite an influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal. Increases in crime, etc.
However, Mike, it does depend on which half of Suffolk you’re talking about. The western half, closer to Nassau and NYC, is really what I’m talking about. The eastern half, which includes the Hamptons and Sag Harbor, is a different story. People have been being priced out of there for decades by all the big money moving in. Many locals don’t stand a chance.
I do admit, I’m getting much of this info anecdotally. I like anecdotal.
The problem with anecdotal information is that it’s not a reliable way to understand what’s going on with the economy of entire county.
There has been a lot immigration in recent years. However, property taxes have been very high there for at least 30 years, so the immigration is not an important factor.
They’re shocked because twenty and thirty somethings don’t want to pay $11,000 a year in property taxes on a $279,000 home? Yeah, those kids nowadays refuse to chip in and help!
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Property tax rates on the east coast are mind boggling. Even California is cheap by comparison.
Thank goodness for TABOR.
Cheaper than Texas.
NM is about .33% (1/3 of 1%) and half their roads are still dirt
Ca - Property Taxes are fair in comparison to many states. That’s why we’re staying. Our monthly prop tax nut will be $409/mo to start with on a $380K home. We will be mortgage free.
Yeah, but its all worth it because a school board member told me yesterday that no one in the country has schools that set a high a bar as central NYs.
Other schools just have a sprinkling of success stories but don’t know how to take care of the full spectrum.
(The self centered arrogance never ceases to amaze me.)
CA has so many problems and is out of money. I would not count on anything stay the same. Either they raise taxes or eliminate a lot of services. They always seem to start with teachers and fireman in CA never the bureaucrats sitting in an office playing angry birds.
AVO
I agree, Ca is now a BROKE 3rd world cesspool, but where to move to?
With property values coming down, we assume even if they pierce Prop 13, we’ll still be able to deal with our bill.
The east coast is prettier, and the people are great, IMHO. I like it there. It’s the damn cold. I’m getting older.
Carrie Ann,
Having had a kid in Fulton schools, and seen lots of friend’s kids in FM, JD, Liverpool, Camilus, B-ville, etc, I can say that there is an element of trueth to what that school board member told you. However, it’s not due to what the Schools are doing, but more attributable to other factors, from what I saw. Mainly, the school districts there are tiny comparred to the rest of the country. And there are not a lot of poor people in the area. If you can’t afford to keep a very good roof over your head, you leave the area. The only kids in those small schools are the children of the gainfully employed.
Wouldn’t it be wiser to let either mom and dad or, if you are so lucky as to have a job, your landlord pay the property tax?
Wow, that insane. That’s highway robbery. We’re bitching about 1.0753 for the area were targeting in So Ca.
Today’s houses:
House 1 Standard issue overpriced
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/13407-Dauphine-St-Silver-Spring-MD-20906/37308438_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-bubble-address}
Quick little 1956 4/2 with bedrooms in the finished basement. 0.14 acre. Probably well kept.
Nov 2000: sold $186K
Apr 2002: Zestimate $220K
Jul 2008: sold $335K
May 2011: listed $239 <—- short sale.
Even the short sale price is about $20K over what it should be. I expect this house to sit empty for a long time.
House 2: The contempo
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9834-La-Duke-Dr-Kensington-MD-20895/37292600_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-bubble-address}
1973 4/2 contemporary on a .28 acre close to the Beltway. The green and black bathroom might be cool but I would get sick of it pretty fast. But for edgy contempo, it’s pretty dull, especially the kitchen.
Mar 2002: Zestimate $470K
Sep 2011: Listed $599K
If I were of a certain age, the contempo stairs would scare the dickens out of me. Especially during the winter months.
Its a very retro contempo.
The first one’s size is 1,019-sqft for $239k? Wow!
No wonder settlers ventured west fighting-off grizzly bear, Indians and thieves.
HOUSING: Defaults hit high for 2011 in August
By ERIC WOLFF
ewolff@nctimes.com | Posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 7:00
August 2011 foreclosures, defaults in north San Diego and southwest Riverside counties
More people started the foreclosure process in August in North San Diego and Southwest Riverside counties than in any month of 2011, according to a North County Times analysis of data from ForeclosureRadar.
Analysts said a one-month change may just be a blip, and not a long-term trend —- defaults and foreclosures had been ebbing for more than a year after peaking in 2009. Nonetheless, the increase in August defaults, which start the foreclosure process, may signal a move by lenders to take legal action against borrowers who are months behind on their payments, analysts said. Also, as house prices fall, some borrowers may give up on hope of seeing value recover and choose to walk away.
“We can expect more foreclosures as values go down, leaving more people underwater,” said Mark Goldman, a mortgage broker and instructor at San Diego State University.
…
I only figured out how to link NC Times images after posting this one. Cool, huh?
The NC Times kicks the San Diego Union Tribune’s patootie when it comes to covering the real local real estate market story.
August 2011 foreclosures, defaults in north San Diego and southwest Riverside counties
And that right there shows how big the shadow inventory could be. Notice how foreclosures quickly followed defaults until mid-2008 when they started with the “foreclosure moratoriums” and govt/Fed manipulations.
That first peak in defaults AND FORECLOSURES shows the “subprime” foreclosures. The second peak shows the Alt-A and Prime defaults…but no foreclosures follow the defaults.
There you go…
HOUSING: Slowest July for house sales since 1984
By ERIC WOLFF ewolff@nctimes.com | Posted: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 5:00 am
House sales in North San Diego County in the month of July for the years 1978-2011
Buyers acquired fewer houses in July in North San Diego County than in any July since the first Reagan administration, according to data from the San Diego County Assessor.
Prospective homebuyers in July worried about national and international economic problems, from a potential U.S. government default to European debt to high unemployment, real estate agents said. Buyers who did enter the market bid low on houses attempting to score deals.
Meanwhile, some sellers decided to wait it out for better prices. Yet others decided to rent their houses instead of selling. But it all added up to a historically slow July.
“It was rough,” said Fred Bradley, a Rancho Penasquitos broker. “July isn’t supposed to be rough, but it was.”
…
“supposed to be”
Someone’s got an attack of the “sposeduh’s”
The late-80’s bubble and the longer duration more recent one, not to mention their aftermaths, both show up very well on the linked graph.
Sales at ‘84 levels - check
Prices at ‘84 levels - ?????
Eyes admire you’re A$tute ob$ervation$ sir edgeH20John!
When workers are making 1984 dollars, they should pay 1984 prices.
If I can get a little raise for cost of living, I’ll pay more.
I saw a chart online that wages are reflecting 1990. Regardless, housing is still way out of line with incomes. $400K for a 1970’s tract pos with a pool. That’s just insane. We paid that in 1998 for a 4,000 sq ft view home that was stunning. Incomes were booming back then, not like today.
Fast forward to 2011… whole different reality for us and everyone we know.
Exactly what I was telling Mr. CAR tonight. When we bubble-heads were saying that prices had to go back to pre-2001 levels, everyone thought we were crazy. The truth is, our economy is WORSE now than it was in 1998. IMHO, prices should be at multi-decade lows if they are going to reflect economic reality. We are nowhere near there at this point. There is much more downside to be seen going forward.
HOUSING: Amid rising vacancy rates, prices languish
By ERIC WOLFF ewolff@nctimes.com | Posted: Saturday, August 13, 2011 9:00 pm
The overgrown backyard of a house for sale Tuesday at 811 La Salina Place in Oceanside. BILL WECHTER | bwechter@nctimes.com
More houses sat empty in 2010 in North San Diego County than ever before, according to census data, but economists said the supply of houses is still tight and prices will rise if buyers jump into the market.
Not so for Southwest Riverside County, where soaring vacancy rates could leave homeowners feeling a hangover for years to come from the 2000s housing boom, bust and foreclosure crisis.
The decade encompassed by the census covered a period of high drama in the housing market in both regions. By 2000, North County had completed the bulk of its construction boom, so buyers exploiting easy loans had to bid up existing stock.
As prices skyrocketed in North County, buyers looked to Southwest Riverside County for cheaper homes within commuting distance. Builders constructed houses in places such as Wildomar, Murrieta and Hemet as fast as they could to meet demand.
But in 2006, the music stopped: Home prices ceased rising, and homeowners found themselves trying to pay off mortgages they couldn’t afford. A foreclosure crisis blossomed, and homeowners abandoned their properties, pushing up the number of empty houses.
“This is the first time we’ve had such a heavy inventory of foreclosures since 1929 or so,” said Norm Miller, a professor at the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego. “You actually have people who abandoned their homes. It creates a contagion effect on their neighborhoods.”
…
As prices skyrocketed in North County, buyers looked to Southwest Riverside County for cheaper homes within commuting distance [Ha, eyes think NOT!]. Builders constructed houses in places such as Wildomar, Murrieta and Hemet as fast as they could to meet demand.
Hwy’s lil Bro:
2004: Hemet $420,000 Homemoaner
2011: Hemet renter (substituted above-ground pool & must get deposit-permission to paint interior walls to personal satisfaction glee)
(There’s a HBB “cornucopia” story in between those 7 years)
HOUSING: FHA loans to be available to fewer buyers
By ERIC WOLFF ewolff@nctimes.com | Posted: Saturday, August 6, 2011 4:00 am
Percentage of homebuyers who would not have had access to FHA loans under lower limits in effect Oct. 1, 2011
Potential buyers of relatively expensive homes may find themselves unable to tap government loan guarantees beginning Oct. 1, a move hotly contested by Realtors and mortgage bankers.
Loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration allow homebuyers to make purchases with down payments as low as 3.5 percent and get mortgages for up to $697,500 in San Diego County and up to $500,000 in Riverside County.
In addition, those are the largest mortgages that government lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy from lenders, holding down the cost of those loans. The government raised limits to these levels in March 2008 to replace a missing-in-action jumbo loan market after lenders stopped making such mortgages in the wake of a foreclosure crisis.
Now the government wants to make room for private lenders, and the limits will drop in October to $546,250 in San Diego County and $355,350 in Riverside County.
…
and the limits will drop in October to $546,250 in San Diego County ”
That think of all the owners who won’t be able to retire in AZ if they can’t get at least 600K for their home.
inhumane
OTOH, we in AZ will be spared another influx of aging 1960s types who come here because the universe will provide for them. Or other New Age claptrap.
Never did understand why Sedona was supposed to be some kinda heaven. My version of new-age nirvana generally involves a little more rainfall.
why Sedona was supposed to be some kinda heaven.
I think Mr. Ben’s AZ term of endearment goes something like this:
“A vastly over-$old debacle”
Oh, brother. Sedona. You would have to bring *that* place up.
I haven’t been through that burg in many years, but what a pretentious, overrated place it is. Made all the more so by the people who pronounce it “Sed-ohhhhhhh-na.” Like it’s some sort of mediation chant.
For the record, I have the same opinion of New Hope, Pennsylvania, New Paltz, New York, Point Reyes, California, and Santa (Snobby) Fe, New Mexico.
Have a different view of Sedona after seeing the plastic garbage bag sweat lodge that killed people. The guru was from Carlsbad–what a piece of work, he’d do Elmer Gantry proud.
You putting these articles here for me, PB?
Yeah, I get it, and totally agree with your thoughts and observations. We still have a long way to go before prices bottom.
Have a story about the appraisal which I’ll share in tomorrow’s Bits Bucket.
“Ich bin ein Berliner”
Get the facts. Fight the smears. — AttackWatch.com
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President Obama’s opponents are still making false claims against him and his [Birth] record in an attempt to become: “We’re American women’s reproductive decision Decider’s!”
dnc troll
RNC copy cat and straw man caricaturist
Our beloved likudnik right here> http://tinyurl.com/642lwfb
Now that’s funny, exeter!
Billy Joel singing: “I didn’t start the
fire!post!I thought the oath was: “1st, do no harm”?
CHORUS
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
“Wheel of Fortune”, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can’t take it anymore
CHORUS
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on…
Narcissistic Personality Disorder alert!
Britain’s New Homes Are ‘Shameful Shoeboxes’
New houses in Britain fail to give families the space they need - and they’re getting smaller, architecture industry body RIBA warns.
This is leaving the UK with “shameful shoebox homes” that are the smallest in western Europe.
RIBA looked at 80 sites across the country and found the most common new three-bedroom home was 74 sq metres.
That is only 77% of the minimum size recommended by the Greater London Authority’s space standards, meaning it is missing 22 sq metres - the equivalent of two double bedrooms and all their contents.
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/Britain-New-Homes-Are-skynews-35519293.html?x=0
74 sq m is about 781 sq ft. That’s a comfortable two-bedroom home.
Those have to be tiny bedrooms if they are squeezing in 3.
That’s a comfortable 1 bedroom APARTMENT.
2 bedrooms? House? Are you kidding?
That is a miniscule two bedroom home.
A smart design could give you a very liveable 2 bdr home. SMART! I have seen some huge 1,000 sq ft designs, window seats, high ceilings, attics, covered porches all help the spaciousness feel. Just gotta be able to think out side the box.
I prefer my 1000 square foot one bed. Very comfortable. Excellent lay out for one person or two people who honestly like each other’s company. I do understand that if it were a house I would be able to put some items in a basement that right now I have to keep in my living space, but 3 bedrooms in that space would be tight and 4 people’s worth of stuff, tighter.
I went from a 2400 sq ft house on 1.5 acres to a 640 sq ft place with a 200 sq ft deck on a seasonal creek. You think you need it, you dont. Sell the junk, buy quality and less stuff. If you havent used it in 2 years, get rid of it.
It would be miniscule, yes, but it would be comfortable. Most of Levittown was made of houses like this. You just have to give up the dining room.
Examples:
1. Katrina cottage fits 2 bedrooms in 675 sq ft.
http://cusatocottages.com/selectaplan.php#
2. THIS is a stunning example. I would build this house in a heartbeat. [however, I would take out the laundry and hw heater and put in stairs to a basement.]
http://details.coolhouseplans.com/details.html?pid=chp-2993&ArchStyle=Tudor&FoundID=8&sid=chp23&ordercode=C101
963 squares works fine in the OC for a chidless couple.
ITEM: Jobless Claims Post Surprise Increase - Reuters
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week in a sign concerns about a weak economy were sapping an already beleaguered labor market, data showed on Thursday.
~The DOW will be loving this! The jobless recovery rules! Party on!!!
Its a sure sign that more liquidity is on the way to buoy the stock market…
Another “unexpectedly” bad jobs number.
What America needs is some “Preacher” Perry “TrueEvangelical’$™” Medicated Job$ elixir$: “Let us pray…Job$!, Job$!, Job$!”
* $edative and hypnotic elixirs: $edatives induce drowsiness and hypnotics induce sleep: pediatric chloral hydrate elixirs.!
And for the average Joe:
Average weekly earnings, nonsupervisory workers on non-farm payrolls from 1964-2009 Table B-2 using the Department of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator to bring average weekly earnings to 2009 US dollars:
1972 $744.79
2009 $616.93
This is called a declining standard of living, when wages are going down but prices are going up.
Thus,… the North Dakota, Alaska & Texas non-oil related Job$ “Miracle”!
Sept. 15, 2011, 9:25 a.m. EDT
U.S. stock futures rally on ECB action
By Kate Gibson
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures pointed to strong opening gains Thursday after the European Central Bank said it was coordinating with the Federal Reserve and other central banks to ease U.S. dollar funding stress in the European banking system. “This event is an attempt to prevent a run on some European banks in terms of funding, especially dollar based funding. It is a liquidity move for European banks and separate from the fiscal debt issues facing Greece and others,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.
…
Sept. 14, 2011, 8:47 a.m. EDT
End game approaches for Greek crisis
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Financial markets indicate Greece’s chaotic sovereign-debt saga is moving inevitably toward default, economists said, leaving European leaders and policy makers scrambling to avert a potentially disastrous domino effect that could wreck the euro and send the global economy into a tailspin.
…
Sept. 15, 2011, 8:43 a.m. EDT
U.S. jobless claims jump to highest since June
First-time filings for unemployment compensation rise to 428,000
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in nearly two months, government data showed Thursday, providing more evidence of the difficulty jobless Americans face in finding work.
New requests for compensation climbed 11,000 to 428,000 in the week ended Sept. 10, the Labor Department said. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 417,000 from an original reading of 414,000.
…
Will Europe Debt Crisis Spill Over to U.S.?
Treasury Sec. Geithner publicly played down concerns that the euro zone’s debt crisis could spill over and harm U.S. markets and the economy. But there are many ways the U.S. is exposed to Europe as WSJ’s Justin Lahart explains on The News Hub.
“Treasury Sec. Geithner publicly played down concerns that the euro zone’s debt crisis could spill over and harm U.S. markets and the economy.”
then why were you there timmy?
Obama picking Geitner was the equivalent of President Buchanon choosing to support the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas. Both Presidencies just unwound into disaster after those decisions.
Geitner is the greatest symbol of the banks and their bailout and Obama picked him. Such a sad day when it happened.
It shows that we basically have two parties, the low tax, low regulation, high corruption party versus the high tax, high regulation, high corruption party. I can well understand why election turnout is often low…..
“then why were you there timmy”?
~ Because we are “in” up to our eyeballs! Far more than we can imagine. But of course it’s none of the serfs business.
If official denial of a crisis had been a perfect indicator of impending trouble, people might actually be concerned. Oh, wait…
LOL!
This seems like a new development: It says right on the Marketwatch dot com front page that the stock market rally is due to central banks pumping in liquidity.
Central banks stoke stocks
U.S. stocks open significantly higher, extending gains into a fourth day, after ECB says it’s coordinating with U.S. and other central banks.
Eyes reckon that “Mega-Trillion$Inc.™” financial “bungi cord$” did not exist just post 1929?
(These “evolutionary” eCONomic history questions are tricky today Prof. Bear.)
Consumers paid more for gas, food, rent and other items in August, raising inflation pressures
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers paid more for a range of goods and services last month, pushing up inflation and squeezing Americans’ purchasing power.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in August after jumping 0.5 percent in July. The core index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent.
For the 12 months that ended in August, the core index surged 2 percent, the biggest year-over-year increase in nearly three years. That’s at the high end of the Federal Reserve’s informal inflation target. It could limit the central bank’s ability to take further steps to try to revive the economy.
The Labor Department said food prices rose 0.5 percent, the biggest increase since March. That was due to higher prices for cereals and dairy products. Energy prices increased 1.2 percent.
Among the factors driving up the core index were rental costs. They rose 0.4 percent, the most in nearly three years. Many Americans have been renting rather than buying homes, pushing up rents.
Clothing costs rose 1.1 percent, extending a string of increases that stem partly from steep rises in cotton prices earlier this year. Airline fares rose 1.1 percent, the most since March.
Sharp price increases for gas and food have pushed up most measures of inflation this year. That has reduced consumers’ purchasing power, cut into their ability to spend on other items and weakened the economy. But the prices of many commodities have retreated since the summer. And many economists forecast that inflation will peak in the next few months.
Since August, gas prices have ticked up. The average nationwide price of gas was $3.63 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA. That was about 4 cents higher than a month ago.
Some inflation can be healthy for the economy. That’s because it encourages people to spend and invest rather than sitting on their cash. More spending drives corporate growth, which makes businesses more likely to hire.
More spending drives corporate growth, which makes businesses more likely to hire.
“That’s not $pending, that’s personal debt $timulus!” Ra$H Limpbaughs
Poor GE Inc., Pfizer Inc., BMW Inc.,…et.al.,… they’re $uffering $o. Cinder$ & Ashe$, Agonie$ & Pain$… Help ‘em!
“…if you tax them less, they can hire more people.”
“…sitting on their cash.” ?
Who posted that 92.4% Americans would find it difficult to pay for a $2,000
car-repair/child’s broken arm/x3 Jr. College text books5% FHA down payment?More spending drives corporate growth, which makes businesses more likely to hire.
No
Higher spending on food rent energy and medicine means much less for manufactured goods and services this creates higher unemployment.
Prime-is-Contained: Of course if you want to go wtih further the quantum mechanics analogy to RE, you can point out the the price and the contract conditions are complimentary: You can have a fair degree of certainty on the price if you are flexible about concessions. Or, you can be certain of the contract terms if you’re willing to accept whatever price a seller will offer. This was important to note at the inflection point when prices were stagnant, but more and more concessions were offered by sellers to move the house.
Yes the number of homes for sale fell a lot. This is like hanging out on the back rail of the Titanic waiting for it to make it`s final plunge. “What`s happening Jack?” “I don`t know, I don`t know.”
Florida had the highest listing price increases in nation in August, analysts say recovery in process
by Kim Miller
Increases in the median listing prices for home sales in four Florida areas topped the nation in August, with Miami seeing a 24.5 percent increase in list price from 2010.
Fort Myers-Cape Coral saw the highest year-over-year increase in list price with a 33 percent hike to $213,000. Miami was second with a median list price of $249,000. Naples came in third with a 20 percent increase to $359,900, and Punta Gorda was fourth with a 13 percent increase to $169,900.
Palm Beach County saw a more humble increase of 2.6 percent, settling on a median listing price of $199,973, according to data released Wednesday by Realtor.com.
Analysts there made the bold prediction that in Florida, “while median list prices remain below peaks at the height of the housing bubble, these data suggest many parts of Florida have begun the recovery process.”
Realtor.com also found that the number of homes for sale fell in every Florida market with declines ranging from a low of 18 percent in Tallahassee to a high of 48 percent in Miami. Palm Beach County’s listings fell 25 percent last month from August 2010.
How much the foreclosure shadow inventory will impact Florida’s standing remains to be seen, but the backlog in the courts as well as distressed homes not yet listed will undoubtedly add inventory and could lower list prices in the future.
As of July 1, there were 260,815 foreclosures in Florida’s court system, while thousands of more home loans are delinquent and headed to foreclosure.
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 8:31 am and is filed under Florida economy, Foreclosures, Housing affordability, Housing boom, Mortgage fraud, Real estate bust. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “Florida had the highest listing price increases in nation in August, analysts say recovery in process”
Jon King Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Ha, what a crock of garbage. Just because house worth $200,000 went to $600,000 and are now $400,000 does not make them good buys. Florida real estate in most areas and most price ranges are still vastly overpriced.
Help area realtor Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 9:33 am
We need an “area realtor”! Someone with expertise to help us make sense of this.
30 yr @ 4.09%
Almost there, almost there…
~ So TTT flew over and offered up some fresh, plump American taxpayer boodie’$, and the banksters are loving it! Pound, baby pound! & Print baby, print!
ITEM: Wall St climbs 1 percent on central banks plan
September 15, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended gains on Thursday after a plan was offered by global central banks to reintroduce dollar liquidity into the strained European banking system, overshadowing soft U.S. economic data.
Day # 398, Update: Timmay is still collecting a well compensated Gov’t $alary & your’re still postin’ your pain.
Thanks for the update. Made me laugh a bit and then cry a bit.
I friggin’ busted a gut.
“Day # 398, Update: Timmay is still collecting a well compensated Gov’t $alary & your’re still postin’ your pain.”
+++++1!.
And this changes the fundamentals……how, again?
This doubles as the reason I call BS on the “Quit the spending NOW!” crowd.
They’d be crying in their Cheerios if the whole kit n kaboodle went kerflooie. They don’t realize how much their 401ks depend on stimulose (sic) like this.
And if the kaboodle went kerflooie along with the kit as a result of no more stimulose, they’d somehow justify blaming the PTB for “killing the economy.” Sigh.
+1. yep! how do you cut spending AND lower the unemployment rate?? The GOP is ignorant or full of it.
To be fair and clear, I’m part of the “Quit the spending” crowd (with some exceptions).
The difference is, I feel I’m as prepared as possible for the killed economy part. Most of the people that I know in the crowd are not and don’t realize how dependent they ultimately are on continued borrowing.
Also, if Ron Paul somehow got elected, the economy would die tomorrow and the lefties would carp about the killed economy and he’d be seen as a failure.
The solution is a “killed” economy, IMO, instead of can-kicking. Dow 4000. $50k national median housing price. Bring it.
The solution is a “killed” economy, IMO, instead of can-kicking. Dow 4000. $50k national median housing price. Bring it.
Well, here ya go…
Cheers!
Massive default is best way to fix the economy
Commentary: Clearing away the debt is the only way forward
Portfolio Insights by Brett Arends Archives / Sept. 12, 2011
By Brett Arends, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — You want to fix this economic crisis? You want to put people back to work? You want to light a fire under the economy?
There’s a way to do it. Fast. And relatively simple.
But you’re not going to like it. You’re not going to like it at all.
Default. A national Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The fastest way to fix this mess is to see tens of millions of homeowners default on their mortgages and other debts, and millions more file for bankruptcy.
Fears of recession, tough trading conditions, an ocean of unresolved litigation and the worsening euro-zone mess have delivered a real pounding to bank stocks this summer. Former Goldman Sachs partner Roy Smith joins Mean Street to offer a solution: Break up the banks.
I told you that you wouldn’t like it.
I don’t like it much either. It sticks in the craw that people got to borrow all that money and won’t have to pay it back.
But you know what? The time to stop that was five or 10 years ago, when the money was being lent.
It’s gone.
And mass Chapter 11 is, by far, the least obnoxious solution to our problems.
That’s because the real cause of our economic slump isn’t too much government or too little government. It isn’t red tape, high taxes, low taxes, the growing divide between the rich and the poor, too much government debt, too little government debt, corporations, poor people, “greed,” “socialism,” China, Greece, or the legalization of gay marriage. It isn’t, in short, any of the things all the various nitwits say it is.
It’s the debt, stupid.
Former Goldenman$ucks partner Roy Smith joins Mean Street to offer a solution: Break up the banks.
$nakes in the plane! $nakes in the plane! $nakes in the plane!
Interesting article about smoking and salt consumption in China and their effect on the incidence of chronic disease and cancer.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Chinas-unhealthy-habits-drive-apf-38762494.html?x=0&.v=1&.pf=insurance&mod=pf-insurance
“Heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease have replaced hepatitis, diarrhea and malaria as desk work replaces farming, cars replace bicycles, and smoking remains stubbornly popular.
Chronic diseases account for more than 80 percent of deaths, in China, or nearly 8 million in 2008, according to the World Health Organization. The epidemic comes as the United Nations’ General Assembly holds a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases in New York next week.
Compared to the United States, China has three times the death rate from respiratory diseases like emphysema. By another measure, Chinese are healthier, with only a quarter of the population overweight, compared to two-thirds of Americans.”
It morphs into talking about health care and health insurance
“China’s breakneck economic development over the past 30 years has pulled hundreds of millions out of poverty and moved many people into cities. But a broken health care system and inadequate state insurance mean getting treated for serious diseases can impoverish many families.”
“Others are not so lucky. After decades of underfunding the health care system, China recently poured $124 billion into building hospitals and expanding state insurance coverage, but there are still many for whom a serious chronic illness — like cancer — can wipe out a family’s life savings.
After only one round of chemotherapy, 25-year-old Wang Yuanjin fears he won’t have enough money to continue the treatment that is keeping his leukemia at bay. Wang was working a summer job before starting postgraduate studies at a university when he was diagnosed several weeks ago with the disease.
Already the disease has cost his family 110,000 yuan ($17,200). That has forced his parents, soybean and wheat farmers from Henan who make about 10,500 yuan ($1,600) a year, to borrow from relatives and friends. Only about a third of the total so far will likely be reimbursed by state health insurance, Wang estimates.
The cost of treating leukemia is so high that some of those diagnosed simply give up on treatment. Wang has moved into a tiny room near the hospital and is writing a blog seeking donations for a bone marrow transplant. The cost: 600,000 yuan, or $94,000.
“My father is going to go home and sell whatever he can sell,” he said.”
Some have argued that going into debt to fund life saving treatment is acceptable. If it also impoverishes your family and friends, is it still acceptable? Who will the second family member that gets sick tap to pay for treatment?
In this country, emergency care will not be denied due to lack of insurance. But necessary, non-emergency care can be. Pharmacies require payment for insulin or cancer drugs up front - no money, no drugs. Physical therapists will not treat you without payment. Residential nursing care facilities can easily run 6 figures per year, outstripping the ability of most families to pay for it. Without insurance, if you have no ability to borrow and cannot pay, you get no treatment.
Without insurance, if you have no ability to borrow and cannot pay, you get no treatment.
US National Highway System: “Can do!”
US National Preventative/Catastrophic citizen medical treatments: Beyond America’s Gov’t intelligence to provide + it $uffers from “that’s just evil” “TrueAngry’$™” syndrome.
“bone marrow transplant. The cost: 600,000 yuan, or $94,000.”
How can health-care costs be so high in China? Don’t their doctors work for local wages, and only have to pay local cost-of-living?
Complex medical care requires a lot of inputs in addition to the time of the docs and nurses. If you want new needles and functioning equipment and undiluted drugs, someone has to pay for it. Even assuming the companies that make all this stuff are located in China (many are not), why would they sell to the local market for less than they can get by selling in other countries?
The Chinese philosophy towards medicine is to charge as much as they possibly can. Care of the sick is a secondary aim. Medicines are certainly made locally, and some very good ones too, but they are very expensive. Foreign producers are highly restricted as are imports.
China is a fantastic place if you are young & healthy, own a house (or your parents do), and have a well paying job. If you fail on any of those counts, life can be challenging.
It is not possible for a person to own a house in China. The government owns everything.
A little more of that “useless” history education might help.
You own the house, you lease the land for 90 years or so.
Even this form of property ownership is a very new concept, but it’s amazing how much of an attraction owning property is in China. Often, men can’t hope to get married unless they own a house.
“China… men can’t hope to get married unless they own a house.”
Just wait until they find out you have to have a shiny, 2 bedroom, high-rise condo with stainless steel appliances to have great sex!
Yensoy:
Someone recently posted an article on this blog about how the wealthy Chinese are all really happy about their money. They’re hoping to use it to find a way out of China. This one Chinese guy was saying that you buy a house, and then the government owns it 25 years later. How long do those Chinese mortgages go for again?
Anyone remember the 4 “H’s” desired/required for a Japanese woman to marry?
So much for realizing the benefits of Socialism.
“Care of the sick is a secondary aim. ”
What would be a primary aim?
Making money
The Chinese philosophy towards medicine is to charge as much as they possibly can. Care of the sick is a secondary aim. Medicines are certainly made locally, and some very good ones too, but they are very expensive.
Wait, who are we talking about again?
From one of Tucson’s leading teevee news outfits:
Material prices down, but contractors still squeezed
I can think of a few local contractors I’d like to squeeze. And I’m not tellin’ you where.
Is it the colour balance of the camera, or does
this lady banker share the same orange glow of our buddy Mozillo?
Either a Tanning bed or a healthy dose of carotenoids.
Or, both.
“healthy dose of carotenoids.”
That reminds me of when my mom turned orange; turns out she was doing a lot of juicing, and using too many carrots.
I had a college friend who just LOVED carrots. To the point where her skin turned orange.
That’s not a lady banker. That’s Mr. Burns!
Funny story. All my life, my Austrian mom and her friends were big on “sunning.” Never really noticed anything odd about it because so many people around me were doing it.
Years later, after being married for awhile, my husband asked why every German he meets is unusually tan. I had not noticed that it was a “German” (or Austrian) thing until he mentioned it, but he was right.
I think they are so into tanning because they have so little sun over there. You can spend an entire winter in Austria and only see a few days of full sun. Whenever there is sun, everyone runs out to the parks and public swimming pools to sunbathe — topless, of course.
Summer in Austria is like winter in California. It’s a beautiful country, but the weather leaves a lot to be desired.
Oh, Lordie, here we go again. Not throwing stones or anything, but can you imagine the stress. Graduating from a no-name school in ‘08 with a degree in Interior Design. Preggers in ‘11, likely no job. Dad headed for the hills at undisclosed time.
ONE newborn, even with being able to offload to a mate, is enough to make you bonkers. Imagine two, nobody to hand off to on second shift, no money, the Great Metrosexual gone with the wind as soon as he found out you were preggers, student loans, car repossessed…
The stress, as I said, would be enough to make anybody go over the edge.
In view of a scenario like this, it’s not unreasonable to hope for a return to old timey values. Like abstinence. Most people are stupid. Since the sixties, most people are amoral. The Metrosexual set finds it quite acceptable to …ahem… privatize the gains and publicize the losses. Given that you can’t lock people up, and Big Gov has no dough to cater to baby mommas except in the Northeast, Cali and Chicago, I see nothing wrong with a return to peer pressure. Even though having values is not considered cool among the progressive set.
Think how it plays out. Lots of propaganda that men are dispensible, because Big Gov will take care of you. Until it doesn’t.
People are stoopid. I will hold my tongue about people who go to no-name schools for Interior Design in the midst of a recession.
Young Tenn. mother charged with murder in death of newborn twins found in home
09-15-2011 12:07 PM EDT |By TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press
Enlarge This Image This undated booking photo provided by the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office in Gallatin, Tenn. shows 25-year-old Lindsey Lowe. Police say Lowe has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her newborn twin boys found in her home just north of Nashville. (AP Photo/Sumner County Sheriff’s Office)
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (Associated Press) —
A young Tennessee mother has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of her newborn twin boys found in her home just north of Nashville, police said Thursday.
Hendersonville police were called to the home of 25-year-old Lindsey Lowe on Wednesday to investigate the death of a newborn. They discovered the second boy was also dead.
Police have not released the cause of death for the twins, whose bodies were taken to state medical examiner’s office in Nashville for autopsies. Police said Lowe is being held without bond and undergoing a medical evaluation.
Police were trying to find the babies’ father.
Lowe graduated from Western Kentucky University with a degree in interior design in 2008, according to a university spokesman.
There was no answer at Lowe’s two-story brick home in an upscale cul-de-sac in Hendersonville in Middle Tennessee.
.
Birth control - how the fark does that work?
Lowe graduated from Western Kentucky University with a degree in interior design in 2008, according to a university spokesman.
Here in Tucson, you can get the same training at Pima Community College. It’s a two-year program, and I’ve heard that it’s pretty good.
IMHO, interior design is one of those things that needs to stay out of universities. It’s not a field that requires four years of undergraduate work.
Heck, you could even learn the basics by apprenticing with an experienced pro.
Heck, you could even learn the basics by apprenticing with an experienced pro.
That’s true for almost everything, including high end tech.
As we learned from 9/11 “no-take-off” / “no-landing”… just learn to steer the bomb Saudi terrorist gang members. :-/
My point being that we’re using college as a filter rather than something necessary to actually do the job in most cases. It helps make sure that we only hire the “right” people without getting into any legal trouble.
A 4 yr degree is a lot more work than just your major, especially at a competitive college.
Graduating from
no-name school[Western Kentucky University] in ‘08 with a degree in Interior DesignWell now, if she started in ‘04 and saw IVY-League school “ProFEE$ionals” drinking $parkling Kool-Aide by the Trillion$,… might be she thought their “brilliance & intelligence” would be just like their house investment$, no where to go but, up!, up! up! But, ala$ her career choice degree is now $uffering from their “come-uppence”. So much for riding the coat-tails of the qua$i-rich & infamous. :-/
Huh? Can you please explain your rant? I really don’t get how this story is a “Progressive” problem or how you know that the father is part of the “Metrosexual” set.
Not throwing stones? No, not at all…
Here’s my proposal for teenage preggers, basically a means test. They have 4 options:
1. They have the baby, parents/grandparents take financial responsibility.
2. They have the baby, they give it up for adoption.
3. They have the baby, they or the baby daddy are trust funders so are living la vida loca. marriage optional.
4. They don’t have the baby.
There, that’s easy.
4. They don’t have the baby.
RU 4 86in’ dividing cells is a Pharmaceutical design product. Republican’s don’t accept financial donation$ from drug companie$ due to their “TruePurity™”
orientationconvictions. :-/Example$: Preacher Perry & Michelle Balkmann
“I see nothing wrong with a return to peer pressure. Even though having values is not considered cool among the progressive set.”
Funny but here in Brooklyn, among the progressive set, there are virtually no divorces or single parents among those I know. Virtually none. And New York has just about the lowest divorce rate I can think of.
All these problems are much worse in the Red States, which kind of makes me understand the harsh morality there. You have some really good people, some really screwed up people, and some scumbags, and it’s all so extreme.
But peer pressure is not considered cool among the progressive set. Do as you please, not as I do but won’t say!
As as for the less progressive POV in the Northeast, suffice it to say that the Catholic Church has lost a little moral authority lately.
Funny but here in Brooklyn, among the progressive set, there are virtually no divorces or single parents among those I know. Virtually none. And New York has just about the lowest divorce rate I can think of.
ISTR reading that oh-so-blue Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country. And, in general, the blue states have lower divorce rates than their red counterparts.
wow…even starburst are smaller.
(just got a pack out of the vending machine)
RU Still employed at Goldenman$ucks Inc.?
And to think, only 5 years ago McDonald’s was Supersizing their meals, to the point where Morgan Spurlock mocked McDonald’s and Tom Naughton mocked Morgan Spurlock. (in the movie Fat Head, the whole thing is free on hulu.)
This is a commodities bubble because commodites are a need, the law of supply and demand is rather skewed, and so needs are the only good place for guaranteed money.
The answer is to regulate needs industries, like utilities. But it seems we “need” more and more stuff these days. Like those cancer drugs which are in “short supply.” How much should gov regulate?
Good post, oxide.
Artist’s burning-bank paintings are hot commodities
Alex Schaefer, whose images of banks on fire drew the attention of L.A. police, sells a 22-by-28-inch canvas to a German collector for $25,000. A 6-by-8 work later fetches $3,600 from a collector in Britain.
By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
September 13, 2011
An oil painting of a burning bank that sparked a pair of Los Angeles police investigations also ignited an international auction frenzy.
Artist Alex Schaefer has sold the 22-by-28-inch canvas depicting a Chase Bank branch in Van Nuys going up in flames to a German collector for $25,200.
The Internet sale on EBay attracted 70 bids. Surprised by the selling price, Schaefer quickly put a 6-by-8-inch painting of a burning Bank of America branch up for sale and sold it for $3,600 to a collector in Britain.
Schaefer’s choice of subjects first drew police attention on July 30, when he set up his easel in front of the Chase branch at Van Nuys Boulevard and Sylvan Street.
“They told me that somebody had called and said they felt threatened by my painting,” said Schaefer, 41, of Eagle Rock.
“They said they had to find out my intention. They asked if I was a terrorist and was I going to follow through and do what I was painting.”
Schaefer said he explained that the artwork was intended to be a visual metaphor for the havoc that banking practices have caused to the economy. The two officers filled out a field report and departed.
“I figured that when they left, they probably decided the episode was stupid and they’d just wad up the form and throw it away,” Schaefer said.
But on Aug. 23, two plainclothes detectives showed up at his house with more questions. “One of them asked me, ‘Do you hate banks? Do you plan to do that to the bank?’” Schaefer once more explained what the painting symbolized.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bankburn-painting-20110913,0,6866438.story
Recall that during the protest years of the late sixties and early 1970s, a Bank of America branch was torched in Isla Vista, California.
I think Europe’s already seen some bank lobby protesting where people seem to get that it’s the banks more than the governments that are responsible for the austerity programs. Perhaps one or two incidents here usually related to foreclosures more than outrage over the big picture.
The fact that the detectives showed up sure shows how twitchy someone’s feeling.
Those are awesome. A few of those with Kunstler’s paintings of highways and McDonald’s and you’d have a great collection.
Meanwhile back at the Wyoming ranch, “Dicky Boy” Cheney can get away with stating publicly to millions of American’s: “Heads are going to explode in Washington D.C.!”
Oh, dang that dealt with selling book$,… not painting$. My bad.
I thought the way law enforcement leaned on him for simply making a painting of what you know a lot of people fantasize about was pretty creepy.
You can have a sex offender hanging out by your kids and they won’t even go talk to him until the damage is done but someone scares the bankers and the detectives are all over him like a cheap suit. Can’t help but think it’s foreshadowing of where we’re going.
We know who the PTB really are, don’t we?
“Kunstler’s paintings”
Jim (James) is a talented artist, among his other talents. I like his paintings, I just can’t afford them. I’ve always thought he was a good writer. Love his books, commentaries, and his podcasts.
I have downloaded some of his podcasts and listened to them while jogging or walking the beach. I didn’t understand the point of podcasts until I listened to his.
Are their any other good ones like that? Maybe some of the TED stuff?
Some good news from Tucson:
AG asks for contractor to be banned from working in Arizona
Excerpt: The lawsuit cites an internal ARS manual that shows salespeople how to scare and pressure customers into buying expensive systems they can’t afford. It also cites ARS’ use of official-looking postcards that suggest a resident’s water heater must be inspected annually.
To which I say:
I’ve been getting those postcards. And count me as one of the biggest water heater ignore-ers in the business. Thing’s in a locked shed on the outside of the house, and it just sits there, heating water.
I guess I can breathe easy now that the ARS inspectors won’t be coming around.
So my wife is going to start grad school (don’t worry, it’s a degree that leads to certification and an increase in pay) this spring, and it’ll probably take her about 2.5 years. If I figure in the cost of her degree, daycare, and incidentals, we’ll won’t be saving much for the next three years, and thus will not be buying a house.
If prices haven’t bottomed by 2014, it may never pencil out to buy.
Any Floridian want to take a shot at predicting the future of Florida? Is Rick Scott going to have us paying $15,000/yr. for insurance (flood not included).
I’m still not ruling out trying to return to upstate NY in a few years. We’ll see what happens…
My suggestion: Invest your dough in something else until when-and-if RE makes sense to buy again. Worst case scenario: You will be a relatively wealthier person with money saved up for a down payment when-and-if RE ever makes sense to buy again.
FYI — I did this the first time I bought a home. I only had to wait from 1987-1992 for the right time to buy.
Glad to hear your wife is pursuing something that will benefit her and your family in the future. Hopefully, she’ll enjoy her time in grad school.
Sorry about it further pushing out your plans to buy. Like GS said, I don’t think you’ll be too unhappy about it when the time comes.
From Zero Hedge: In the latest installment of what is rapidly becoming Obama’s Keynesian Solargate, we learn that the Treasury Department’s Inspector General has opened an investigation of the now defunct $528 million government loan to Solyndra which has no chance of getting repaid, following what will be a pennies on the dollar liquidation of the company, especially since it is primed by a $75 million term loan to George Kaiser, a documented Obama “bundler” as was documented previously. Per the AP, “A spokesman said Thursday that the inspector general is reviewing the role and actions of the Federal Financing Bank, a government corporation supervised by the Treasury Department. The bank provided the low-interest loan to the Fremont, Calif.-based company.” The “concern” is that Obama has pushed levers to get the investment in a venture controlled by a “friend” on a fasttrack, with the White House Office Of Management Supervision urging the DOE to release the funds without proper diligence. “The House energy committee released documents Wednesday that appeared to show senior staff at the White House Office of Management and Budget chafing about having to conduct “rushed approvals” of a loan guarantee for Solyndra. Republican members of the committee said the emails raised questions about whether the loan was rushed to accommodate a Solyndra groundbreaking ceremony in September 2009 that featured Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.” And while there is more, we will spare the Treasury IG some time (assuming he is at least a little less corrupt than everyone else in the administration and actually plan on conducting a legitimate investigation) and advise him to simply look at campaign and other contributions by Solyndra’s equity backers which features the George Kaiser Family Foundation, U.S. Venture Partners, CMEA Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Virgin Green Fund, Madrone Capital Partners, RockPort Capital Partners, Argonaut Private Equity, Masdar and Artis Capital Management. When in doubt, always follow the buck… especially when it is looking for a very fast turnaround courtesy of taxpayer capital IRR padding.
That story makes me sick.
BTW, I know you guys would have called this, but about 1.5 years ago we got my wife a new car, so what did we do with our little beater Contour? We gave it to her brother, who “has had some tough breaks and needed some help.”
He’s totally treated it like chit and it smells like a dumpster. The other day it was raining and he left the windows down.
Never again.
Müggy
Congrats to your wife. By the time she’s done with grad school, the housing market will be further along to the bottom. Good use of time and money. Best of luck.
If your bil hasn’t appreciate the helping hand, you’re smart to end the charity. He needs some hard core life lessons. They stick!
Just because somone is a relative, doen’t mean your compatible.
Sept. 15, 2011, 12:49 p.m. EDT
Mortgage rates drop to new record lows
Rate on 30-year fixed loan drops to 4.09%, from 4.37% a year ago
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Worries about the European debt markets pushed U.S. Treasury bond yields lower — and that helped drive interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages to new record lows this week, according to a weekly survey of conforming loan rates released Thursday by Freddie Mac.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.09% in the week ending Thursday — the lowest in the 40 years Freddie Mac has tracked that figure — down from 4.12% a week ago and from 4.37% a year ago. On a 15-year loan, the average rate dipped to 3.30%, down from 3.33% a week ago and 3.82% a year ago.
A separate weekly survey by HSH.com, a mortgage-data research firm, found that the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 8 basis points — the biggest dip in about five weeks — to 4.21%, with an average of 0.27 points paid. (Freddie Mac’s rates require 0.6 to 0.7 points paid. Generally, a lender will offer a lower interest rate if a borrower pays higher points.)
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And these ultra-low rates are being met with some of the most dismal sales rates around here. This does not bode well for the future.
Why is it again that Obiwan clings to Turbo Tax Timmy? I guarantee that I will consider which rival candidate plans to choose an I.R.S. chief who didn’t cheat on his taxes when I vote next November.
Book: Treasury Secretary ignored Obama directive
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY,
AP Entertainment Writer – 7 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — A new book offering an insider’s account of the White House’s response to the financial crisis says that U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner ignored an order from President Barack Obama calling for reconstruction of major banks.
According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind, the incident is just one of several in which Obama struggled with a divided group of advisers, some of whom he didn’t initially consider for their high-profile roles.
Suskind interviewed more than 200 people, including Obama, Geithner and other top officials for “Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and The Education of A President,” which will be released Sept. 20. The Associated Press purchased a copy on Thursday.
The book states Geithner and the Treasury Department ignored a March 2009 order to consider dissolving banking giant Citigroup while continuing stress tests on banks, which were burdened with toxic mortgage assets.
In the book, Obama does not deny Suskind’s account, but does not reveal what he told Geithner when he found out. “Agitated may be too strong a word,” Suskind quotes Obama as saying. Obama says later in the book that he was trying to be decisive but “the speed with which the bureaucracy could exercise my decision was slower than I wanted.”
Geithner says in the book that he did not recall that Obama was mad at him about the Citigroup decision and rejected allegations contained in White House documents that his department had been slow to enact the president’s plans.
“I don’t slow walk the president on anything,” Geithner told Suskind.
“The Citbank incident, and others like it, reflected a more pernicious and personal dilemma emerging from inside the administration: that the young president’s authority was being systematically undermined or hedged by his seasoned advisers,” Suskind writes.
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Sounds as though helicopter drops of dollars are raining down on debt-burdened EU nations. The Fed’s cargo cult lives!!!!! Buy stocks now or get priced out forever!!!!!!
Central Banks Pour Dollars Into Europe
The world’s leading central banks joined forces to offer Europe’s beleaguered banks easy access to dollars.
Home prices flat or down in 61 of 92 San Diego County zip codes…
Hint to U-T staff: Don’t bother guessing why home sales are up, as your explanation is unlikely to make a lick of sense.
August home prices fell across San Diego
Sales rose, likely because of end-of-the season buying, ‘bottom-feeding’
August home prices in San Diego County fell and sales jumped, a likely result of end-of season buying and “continued robust bottom-feeding” of inventory, according to Wednesday’s DataQuick report.
Last month’s median price for all home types was $320,000, down 1.5 percent from July and down 5 percent from a year ago. August marked the 27th straight month the county’s median price, the midpoint, ranged $300,000 to $340,000. San Diego’s peak was $517,500 in Nov. 2005.
As prices fell, sales went up in August, a trend that aligns with the rest of Southern California. The county recorded 3,249 transactions, up 6.8 percent from July and up 4.4 percent from the same time last year.
It was the first time since November 2009 all six Southern California counties in DataQuick’s monthly report posted year-over-year sales increases.
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Also see: Home prices up in 31 of 92 ZIP codes
As prices fell, sales went up in August, a trend that aligns with the rest of Southern California.
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Gee, imagine that!