The Housing Bubble

Principal reduction plan for struggling homeowners could be part of settlement between lenders and states

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011
Posted: 7:43 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011

Florida homeowners facing foreclosure could see their debt reduced by banks under a proposal being negotiated this week by state attorneys general.

In return for cutting loan balances, banks would pay less in penalties for foreclosure and mortgage-related wrongdoing.

The principal reduction plan, which is being discussed as part of a settlement agreement between lenders and states, would accompany a second program that would provide funding to states to pay for their own foreclosure-rescue activity.

The possibility of banks lowering loan amounts was revealed today in the wake of the abrupt resignation of California Attorney General Kamala Harris from the core team of attorneys general negotiating the settlement.

Harris was one of eight attorneys general, including Florida’s Pam Bondi, on the team. She said Friday she was cutting ties with the group because the proposal doesn’t go far enough to help homeowners or punish lenders.

“It became clear to me that California was being asked for a broader release of claims than we can accept and to excuse conduct that has not been adequately investigated,” Harris wrote in a letter to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading the attorneys general group. “In return for this broad release of claims, the relief contemplated would allow too few California homeowners to stay in their homes.”

Despite Harris’ concern about banks being released from claims, Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Miller, said there is no discussion of giving banks immunity from prosecution.

And while details of the proposal are mostly secret, Greenwood did discuss the possibility of the national and state funds.

“Our settlement will provide huge benefits - estimated in the tens of billions of dollars - for borrowers,” Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said today . “The deal we are negotiating will not give banks a get out of jail free card.”

In March, Bondi said she was opposed to principal reductions for homeowners, saying it was unfair to people paying their mortgages and could create a “moral hazard” that would lead others to default.

Meanwhile, Florida homeowner advocates question Bondi’s resolve to hold banks accountable.

“We expect continued disappointment from Florida Attorney General Bondi who continues her allegiance to the banks and their lawyers,” said West Palm Beach resident Lisa Epstein, who founded the blog ForeclosureHamlet.org.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/principal-reduction-plan-for-struggling-homeowners-could-be-1895761.html - -

What can I offer to be first today?

“We expect continued disappointment from Florida Attorney General Bondi who continues her allegiance to the banks and their lawyers,” said West Palm Beach resident Lisa Epstein, who founded the blog ForeclosureHamlet.org.

Lisa Epstein from…

Principal reduction plan for struggling homeowners could be part of settlement between lenders and states Posted: 7:43 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011

“Each month, Epstein draws a small crowd to her Foreclosure Hamlet happy hour at E.R. Bradley’s Saloon.”

Drinks are on me cause I live for free.

‘Deadbeat’ fights back against foreclosure process

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 9:14 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010

WEST PALM BEACH — This deadbeat took on Wall Street, and Wall Street was cowed.

Lisa Epstein, a 45-year-old cancer nurse, mother to a 3-year-old girl, and prolific blogger, has spent the past year growing a grass-roots foreclosure-fighting coalition that is partly credited with forcing the nation’s largest banks to take a step back and review their home repossession machines.

She got tangled in the system herself when she was served with foreclosure papers last year, lost her top credit rating and was slapped with the deadbeat label.

But along with fellow local blogger Michael Redman, 35, Epstein fought the machine. The duo have combed through Palm Beach County court records; posted suspicious foreclosure affidavits online; written to judges, politicians and attorneys; and attracted a rock-star-like following of thousands nationwide.

The mounting evidence found by the group of citizen investigators couldn’t be ignored, and by late September the nation’s colossal financial institutions were on the spot to explain and fix their faulty foreclosure efforts.

“We used to be the wacko fringe; now we’re cutting-edge,” Epstein said. “Finally, my questions are being asked by reporters and attorney generals nationwide.”

Each month, Epstein draws a small crowd to her Foreclosure Hamlet happy hour at E.R. Bradley’s Saloon.

Divorced, sick, laid-off or self-employed in an economy on the rocks, attendees gather for support and to share information, attracted by a feisty nurse in a cute pink scarf who refuses to surrender.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/real-estate/deadbeat-fights-back-against-foreclosure-process-981385.html - 91k -

This “feisty nurse” needs another 4 years of living free!

Type: MTG
Date/Time: 3/2/2007 09:23:19
CFN: 20070104472
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 21468/1835
Pages: 19
Consideration: $313,490.00
Party 1: EPSTEIN LISA B
EPSTEIN ALAN
Party 2: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC
DHI MORTGAGE COMPANY LTD
Legal: TERRACINA L228 L

Type: LP
Date/Time: 2/19/2009 08:54:46
CFN: 20090056608
Book Type: O
Book/Page: 23087/240
Pages: 1
Consideration: $0.00
Party 1: U S BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TRUSTEE
J P MORGAN MORTGAGE TRUST
Party 2: EPSTEIN LISA B
EPSTEIN SPOUSE
EPSTEIN ALAN
TERRACINA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION INC
Legal: TERRACINA JOHNSON PROPERTY PUD L228 L

Bernanke Signals Pressure from Congress Wouldn’t Halt Additional Easing. (Bloomberg) By Scott Lanman - Oct 5, 2011

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled he’ll push forward with further expansion of monetary stimulus if needed, resisting pressure from Republicans concerned that he’s fanning inflation.

Bernanke said yesterday in testimony to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee that the Fed is “prepared to take further action as appropriate” after using unconventional tools to boost growth in August and September. He rejected comments by Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Senator Mike Lee of Utah that record central bank stimulus has spun inflation and the money supply out of control.

Some Republicans are trying to remove the half of the Fed’s congressional mandate to achieve “maximum employment,” focusing it only on keeping inflation low. Representative Mick Mulvaney said the Fed chief could legitimately push ahead with more stimulus so long as he keeps price increases in check.

“Doing so, given his dual mandate, is completely defensible despite our objections,” Mulvaney, a first-term Republican who represents the town of Dillon, South Carolina, where Bernanke grew up, said in an interview after the hearing. “Because how are we supposed to say, ‘Look, inflation is killing us,’ when it’s not, yet?”

The Fed’s preferred price index, the personal consumption expenditures index, excluding food and fuel, rose 1.6 percent in August from a year earlier, up from 1 percent in March. The index including all prices rose 2.9 percent in August, compared with 2 percent in March.

Bernanke, 57, said in his testimony that price increases “have begun to moderate” after a jump in oil costs earlier this year resulted in higher prices for gasoline and food. Faster inflation this year “does not appear to have become ingrained in the economy,” he said, and cited a recent decline in what traders expect for inflation.

A measure of inflation expectations for five to 10 years out, based on a 2008 Fed research paper, declined to 2.16 percent on Sept. 30, the most recent date available, from 2.79 percent at the end of August.

“I’m going to be visiting the family up in Vermont.
Anyone know if the fall colors have peaked yet?”

Slim, unfortunately it’s a crummy year foliage wise in the NE. I’m headed up VT way today for a soccer game I’ll let you know ….

Real estate agent squatted in Laguna Beach home, client alleges
October 4, 2011 | 11:01 am

A Laguna Beach homeowner reported to police that she believed her real estate agent was squatting in her vacant home while the sale closed.

The woman reported on Sept. 25 that she and the Realtor who had helped her sell her Loretta Street home had a “falling out” during escrow, according to Laguna Beach Police Lt. Jason Kravetz.

She could not fire the real estate agent because she was contractually obligated to continue with the sale, Kravetz said.

The woman reported that documents that required her approval had forged signatures on them. After noticing this, she went to her home to retrieve a key from the lockbox, Kravetz said. It was when she arrived that she noticed that cable and gas were set up for the home, indicating someone was staying there.

She reported that she saw her real estate agent’s desk and chairs inside her home, indicating he may have been using her home as an office.

Detectives are investigating, Kravetz told the Coastline Pilot. Charges have not been filed.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/real-estate-agent-squatted-client-home.html - -

I posted this article late yesterday; in case anyone missed it, it’s a bombshell! Just don’t take Michael Lewis at his word whenever he insinuates that nobody who works on Wall Street ever once committed a crime during the buildup to the financial crisis. Whether the extensive prevalence of fraud and deception, not to mention regulatory capture, makes the perpetrators too big to jail is another question entirely.

Business
November 2011
California and Bust

The smart money says the U.S. economy will splinter, with some states thriving, some states not, and all eyes are on California as the nightmare scenario. After a hair-raising visit with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who explains why the Golden State has cratered, Michael Lewis goes where the buck literally stops—the local level, where the likes of San Jose mayor Chuck Reed and Vallejo fire chief Paige Meyer are trying to avert even worse catastrophes and rethink what it means to be a society.

By Michael Lewis

Photograph by Art Streiber

ECONOMIC CYCLE Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Santa Monica. To earn money when he first came to America, in 1968, he built brick walls nearby with fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu.
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Today’s houses:

House 1: The walk-out basement

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3700-Kenway-St-Silver-Spring-MD-20906/37299403_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}

1955 4/2 on 0.18 acre Ranch with a walk-out lower level. I really don’t like the sloped ceiling in the living room. Pretty nice kitchen. Plenty of pix of STUFF all over the house, including munchkins. Once all the STUFF is gone, this could be cosmetically fixed into a family house in no time. (oh, but there’s a staircase to the front door.) Very overpriced.

Jun 2002: Zestimated $200K
Jan 2006: Sold $445K
Oct 2011: Listed $299. They’ll probably get $240 for this.

House 2: The Old Four-Square in Takoma Park

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7701-Takoma-Ave-Takoma-Park-MD-20912/37285622_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}

1928 4/3 on 0.4 acre Huge lot for this part of the city. Nicely kept, and great painted (!) woodwork as was common for the time. Obviously the kitchen was never modernized. It’s small, has an unnecessary table, and the the fridge is stuck into an old pantry. I’ve walked by this house a few times. They cleaned a lot of junk out from under the wrap-around deck. Nice jump in price. I think this house could be lowballed and revamped a little back to its original splendor.

Aug 1967: Sold $28K
Jun 2002: Zestimated $559K
Oct 2011: Listed $895K

How The Financial Crisis Created A ‘New Third World’
Fresh Air from WHYY

After adopting the euro, Greece borrowed huge sums of money. The country is now on the brink of a major default. “They’re going to default … it’s now a question of how messy it will be,” says writer Michael Lewis. His new book Boomerang looks at Greece and four other places affected by the financial crisis.

October 4, 2011

Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass had made a fortune betting against the subprime mortgage market when it collapsed in 2008. And now Bass is set to make lots more — from a Greek default.

Bass’ story is chronicled in Michael Lewis’ latest book, Boomerang: The Meltdown Tour, which tells the stories of the fiscal recklessness in both Europe and the U.S. that led to the current debt crisis.
…

Oct. 5, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT
Europe watches the elephants charge
Commentary: Europe’s leaders dither when decisive action is needed
By Jason O’Mahony

DUBLIN (MarketWatch) — History, the saying goes, is just one thing after another, and the same could be applied to Europe’s debt troubles, as the leaders of Europe stumble from one crisis to the next, save for one thing. They can see the crises coming.

It’s kind of like being on a family safari: There’s a herd of elephants charging towards you, but your young kids just love the cute elephants and if you shoot them they’ll never forgive you. Yet if you don’t shoot them, there’s a very good chance the elephants will trample both you and your whole family. Welcome to the choices facing the leaders of the European Union.
…

Oct. 4, 2011, 10:00 a.m. EDT
Bernanke not optimistic about labor market
By Greg Robb

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - A close reading of recent economic data doesn’t show any hint of improvement ahead for the weak U.S. labor market, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. “Recent indictors, including new claims for unemployment insurance and surveys of hiring plans, point to the likelihood of more sluggish job growth in the period ahead,” Bernanke said in testimony prepared for the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
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Just because it’s electronic doesn’t mean it can’t be a beneficiary.

MERS Wins Dismissal of 72 Lawsuits Challenging Mortgage Registry System
By Thom Weidlich - Oct 4, 2011 1:42 PM PT

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. won dismissal of 72 lawsuits questioning the legality of its system for allowing banks to use it to register home loans.

U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg in Phoenix, where the cases have been centralized, dismissed the litigation in an order yesterday. Teilborg rejected the homeowners’ claims that MERS is a “sham beneficiary” and that foreclosures based on MERS documents are invalid. The decision echoed a federal appeals court ruling last month that upheld an earlier holding of his.

“MERS serves as the beneficiary on plaintiffs’ deeds of trust, as the nominee or agent for ‘any valid note holder,’” Teilborg wrote.
…

BofA, mortgage registration firm hit with lawsuit
SPOTLIGHT ON RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
September 23, 2011|Margaret Cronin Fisk and James Sterngold, Bloomberg News

Bank of America Corp. is among a group of lenders that may face a wave of new lawsuits claiming the system they’ve used for more than a decade to register mortgages cheated cash-strapped counties out of millions of dollars.

District Attorney Craig Watkins of Dallas County, Texas, said state attorneys general and county officials across the United States have expressed interest in his lawsuit against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. and Bank of America, filed in Texas state court on Wednesday. Dallas County could be owed as much as $100 million in filing fees, he said.

“This is a big new front,” said Christopher Peterson, associate dean and professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. “This case is scary because if Dallas wins, then there are a lot of other counties around the country that are going to follow.”

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, a unit of Merscorp Inc., says on its website that its aim is to place every mortgage in the country on an electronic, rather than a paper, system that allows members to buy and sell mortgages.

The registration system acts as the lender’s nominee and remains the mortgagee of record as long as the note promising repayment is owned by a system member. Dallas County contends this allows banks to buy and sell loans without properly recording transfers with counties and paying the fee.
…

Law Firms Descend on Florida to Take Over Foreclosure Business

The new law firms are being handed 3,500 to 5,000 transfer files at $1,200 to $1,400 per file, according to a legal headhunter

Julie Kay
Daily Business Review
October 05, 2011

Law firms from throughout the country have opened offices in Florida to capture foreclosure business abandoned by the Law Offices of David J. Stern and Ben-Ezra & Katz in the wake of investigations into possible foreclosure fraud.

The largest of the new firms is Atlanta-based McCalla Raymer, which has four Florida offices, including one in downtown Fort Lauderdale. McCalla Raymer has about 21 attorneys in Florida and is one of a handful of firms under contract to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in Florida.

The new Florida firms have taken over files from Stern and Ben-Ezra Katz, once two of the largest foreclosure firms in Florida. They left tens of thousands of foreclosure files up for grabs after they withdrew from the foreclosure business following allegations of “robo-signing” and other improper or sloppy handling of residential foreclosures and after being terminated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
…

5 October 2011 Last updated at 07:14 ET
Greece hit by new 24-hour general strike over austerity

Some scuffles broke out in Syntagma Square, central Athens

A 24-hour general strike is under way in Greece in protest at the nation’s austerity measures.

Flights and ferry services have been cancelled, schools, government offices and tourist sites closed, and hospitals are working with reduced staff.

At least 16,000 people have joined protests organised by the main unions in central Athens.

The European Commission is discussing ways of propping up banks in Europe to protect them from the Greek crisis.
…

3 October 2011 Last updated at 19:01 ET

Joseph Stiglitz: Austerity not the way to go for Europe
Viewpoint by Joseph Stiglitz Professor at Columbia University
…

Occupy Wall Street protest drawing thousands of dollars in donations as sit-in enters third week
BY Jennifer Cunningham and Christina Boyle
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Wednesday, October 5th 2011, 4:00 AM

Occupy Wall Street protesters wake up and start their day in their encampment in Zucotti Park as people walk to work through the park Tuesday morning.
David Handschuh/News

Occupy Wall Street’s pockets are beginning to bulge.

Cash donations are pouring in from around the globe as the grass-roots campaign for social change enters its third week.

Approximately $35,000 has been sent to the masses, camped in lower Manhattan since the protest started Sept. 17, protesters say.

Another $30,000 was collected by the fund-raising website Kickstarter, which enabled the group to produce 50,000 copies of a newspaper called The Occupied Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

“[The donations] are coming from everywhere,” said Cooper Union student Victoria Sobel, 21, a core member of the finance committee managing the funds.

“I’m sure we’re on the cusp of much larger donations.”
…

Report: Fannie Mae Looked The Other Way On Robo-Signing
Agency may have been warned eight years ago
10/04/2011 | Mark Huffman | ConsumerAffairs.com

PhotoA year ago, when it was revealed that some large mortgage companies were violating the law by employing “robo-signers” to process mortgage documents, it was a huge scandal. The attorneys general of the 50 states are currently trying to reach a settlement with the major players involved in the scheme.

But the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued a report saying the abuses began a lot earlier than previously thought and that Fannie Mae knew about it but didn’t act.

In February, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) requested the Inspector General to examine “widespread allegations of abuse by … law firms hired to process foreclosures as part of” the RAN, and Fannie Mae’s and FHFA’s efforts “to investigate these allegations and implement corrective action.”
…

Double dip or one super dip?

Heavy cutbacks in the military.

2012 is going to be a landslide…

———————————

September Layoffs Highest in Two Years
Fox News| October 5th, 2011

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms in September jumped to its highest in more than two years due to heavy cutbacks by the military and Bank of America, a private report Wednesday showed.

Employers announced 115,730 planned job cuts last month, more than double August’s total of 51,114, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Published: Oct. 4, 2011 Updated: 9:50 p.m.
Calif. prosecutor: Lenders won’t get off easy
By JEFF COLLINS / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A proposed $20 billion settlement to compensate homeowners for the foreclosure robo-signing scandal was “nowhere near” adequate, California Attorney General Kamala Harris told reporters Tuesday.

And Harris said that there’s also a possibility that banking officials could face prosecution if an ongoing investigation uncovers criminal activity.

Harris held a conference call to explain her reasons for pulling out last week from multi-state settlement talks with the nation’s leading mortgage servicers.

“We decided to walk an independent path,” Harris said. “Generally speaking the terms being discussed and offered did not provide a fair deal for California.”

Attorneys general from all 50 states had been in talks for the past year with five major banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial. A deal had been considered imminent for several months.

But a growing rebellion by a number of state prosecutors, most notably New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, have thrown the multi-state settlement talks into turmoil and raised the specter of their collapse.
…

Diane Keaton’s former home drops $1.5M
October 4th, 2011, 1:50 pm
posted by KELLI HART KEHLER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

An oceanfront home for sale in North Laguna Beach that formerly belonged to actress Diane Keaton has seen a price reduction, according to the Southern California MLS.

The home perched above Shaws Cove is now listed for $8.499 million – which is a $489,000 reduction from its previous list price and a $1.499 million drop from its initial list price.

Located at 989 Cliff Drive, the mission-style beach residence features 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 4,041 square feet of living space on a 12,500-square-foot lot and ocean views. It was built in 1928, so it definitely has character.

Here’s the listing description:

Early California Mission Style Villa defines the ambiance of Cliff Drive – http://www. 989CliffDriveLaguna. com – contours the oceanfront bluffs with an architecturally rich sense of history. Commanding a unique seaside location overlooking picturesque ‘Shaws Cove’ this significant home has private steps to the sand. The magnificent estate is comprised of various wings that provide a dynamic quality. Previously celebrity owned and offering tastefully appointed interior spaces and an elegant ‘Hollywood’ appeal. The floor plan is perfect for entertaining with multiple dining areas and a graceful indoor-outdoor flow. Well appointed kitchen overlooks lush gardens, beamed ceilings, hardwood floors, and oceanfront terraces. Private sand-side boat storage.

Jennifer Lopez tones down her va-va-voom to play a frumpy real estate agent in new film
By Amelia Proud
Last updated at 12:14 PM on 23rd September 2011

She’s easily one of the most consistently glamorous and sexy celebrities of the last decade.

But Jennifer Lopez looked prissy in unappetising ecru on the set of her new movie Parker in Palm Beach, Florida today.

The 42-year-old actress, who plays an estate agent in the movie, looked almost frumpy in the unflattering blouse and slightly kinder pencil skirt, teamed with tame kitten heels.
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RAL?

Beware of real estate agents’ latest trick

The Daily Telegraph
October 04, 2011 10:00AM

* Virtual furniture added to home ads
* Practice not illegal
* “Not something potential buyers appreciate”

Can you spot it? This home has been “virtually furnished”. Picture: Top Snap Property Photography Professionals

IT has long been known in real estate circles that when it comes to house sales, selling the dream is as important as price and location.

And with that in mind, many estate agents believe adding a few fine furnishings can be just enough to get a wavering buyer over the line.

But with prices flat - or even going backward in some areas - many owners can’t afford to buy or hire furniture to spruce up their homes.

So agents are turning to computer trickery to try to get buyers interested - by adding “virtual furniture”.
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Walter Williams runs the numbers and finds today’s young people won’t be so lucky in the S.S. dept:

“The very first Social Security check went to Ida May Fuller in 1940. She paid just $24.75 in Social Security taxes but collected a total of $22,888.92 in benefits, getting back all she put into Social Security in a month. According to a Congressional Research Service report titled “Social Security Reform” (October 2002), by Geoffrey Kollmann and Dawn Nuschler, workers who retired in 1980 at age 65 got back all they put into Social Security, plus interest, in 2.8 years. Workers who retired at age 65 in 2002 will have to wait a total of 16.9 years to break even. For those retiring in 2020, it will take 20.9 years. Workers entering the labor force today won’t live long enough to get back even half of what they will put into Social Security. Social Security faces Ponzi’s problem, not enough new ‘investors.’ In 1940, there were 160 workers paying into Social Security per retiree; today there are only 2.9 and falling.”

Rich and famous are mere mortals in soft real estate market
By Gary Strauss, USA TODAY
Updated 4d 16h ago

Like many homeowners selling in a stubbornly depressed market, Candy Spelling didn’t get her asking price.

Candy and Aaron Spelling’s mansion was on the market for 28 months.
File photo by Mark J. Terrill, AP

Her 14-bedroom, 57,000-square-foot mansion in the Holmby Hills section of west Los Angeles was on the market for 28 months — at $150 million, the priciest private home ever listed in the United States. Spelling eventually accepted $85 million from Petra Ecclestone, the 22-year-old daughter of British billionaire Bernie Ecclestone.

If Spelling is feeling seller’s remorse unloading The Manor, she is hiding it well. “At the time it was listed, $130 million was the bottom line. If market conditions had been better, maybe I would have gotten more,” says Spelling, who pocketed another $6 million from Ecclestone on artwork and furnishings after closing the sale this summer.
…

ECONOMY
OCTOBER 5, 2011

Housing’s Job Engine Falters
Employment Lost in Property Crash Weighs on the Economy’s Chance of Recovery
By S. MITRA KALITA

HAGERSTOWN, Md.—Joshua Bradley says it was the easiest job he ever had: power-washing windows of new suburban houses. Then, about three years ago, business dried up and he found himself out of work.

“People don’t want to get anything done to their houses anymore,” says Mr. Bradley, 28 years old. “They do it themselves to save money.”

His experience wasn’t unusual.

Over the past decade, the housing market has been a powerful engine: It helped the U.S. economy out of a recession and created jobs as construction firms took on workers and new homeowners hired contractors to decorate rooms and maintain the lawns, or purchased new furniture for indoors and outdoors.

But today, as the sector endures a prolonged slump, many of the jobs it created are gone, and housing has now become part of what many economists see as a vicious circle that has left the wider economy struggling to gain altitude. Americans aren’t spending because their home values are declining and employment prospects are dimming, and housing and employment is struggling because Americans won’t spend.

“People are losing their jobs and never getting equivalent jobs,” says Yale University economist Robert Shiller. “That fear is spooking everyone, so people aren’t in a mood to expand.”
…

Reasons to be glad you’re a renter, #1643:

My fridge woke me up this morning making some kinda loud whirring noise that it’s never made before. Whatever it is, it can’t be good.

Whatever the problem is, glad I get to just call the landlord to fix it.

Still working for now - but for how long? I don’t want to lose all this food.

Oct. 5, 2011, 12:00 a.m. EDT
Don’t clamor for a euro rescue; demand a breakup
Commentary: Sure it would be expensive, but it would work
By Matthew Lynn

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Every week brings a fresh twist to the euro crisis. One day the Greeks are frantically negotiating more loans so the government can meet its wage bill at the end of the month. The next, the Spanish bond market is on the edge of collapse. The week after, Italian debt yields soar as Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gets himself caught up in yet another excruciating sex scandal. This saga has more episodes than an afternoon soap opera — and plot lines that are often about as plausible.
…

Transforming Vacant & Foreclosed Homes
Oct. 4, 2011
Non-profit Builders of Hope is transforming vacant and foreclosed homes into affordable and environmentally conscious dwellings. Founder Nancy Welsh discusses on Lunch Break.

~ In my fair state not only do the pensioners want current state workers to pay more. The greedy self-centered SOB’s want every taxpayer to pay more.

S.C. pension fund
Retirees: Put burden on workers, taxpayers
Plan would have both groups pay more to address deficit.
By ADAM BEAM - abeam@thestate.com

State retirees want taxpayers and current state employees to pay more to fix the S.C. retirement system according to a plan presented to House lawmakers.

That’s according to a plan the retirees presented Tuesday to House lawmakers.

The state retirement system owes about $42 billion in pension benefits to its 458,000 current and retired employees and their beneficiaries, but only has about $25 billion to pay them – a debt so large and growing that accountants project the state never will be able to pay it off unless changes are made.

Accounting rules require pensions to be able to pay off their debts in 30 years or less. Anything larger – and it would take South Carolina between 35 years and 64 years to pay off the pension debts, according to two projections – could affect the state’s credit rating, costing taxpayers millions of dollars more if the state has to borrow in the future.

House and Senate lawmakers have been meeting for weeks to figure out how to fix the pension problem.

Amy Hoak’s Home Economics Archives
Oct. 5, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT
Mortgage rates plunge beyond expectations
Plus, why low rates don’t translate into a spike in home sales

Oct. 4, 2011, 4:55 p.m. EDT
Auer: Greek default could set off a rally

Despite a late-day rally driven by news from Europe, the region’s debt problems aren’t going away anytime soon, says Bob Auer, portfolio manager of the Auer Growth Fund. He tells MarketWatch Radio’s Larry Kofsky “there’s going to be a lot more haggling and probably a lot more pain and you’ll probably actually have to see Greece default because no one is really willing to take the hard medicine.” But, if Greece does default, “very soon, if not actually as they are defaulting, I could see the market rally.”

Realtors Are Liars®

For ArizonaSlim

Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-04 18:10:32
AZ…. as a conneisseur of NY pizza(the only pizza), Mrs and I have made a hobby out of chasing the elusive NY pizza taste, texture and flavah. It took us 10 years of experimentation and observation to perfect it.

Here’s the deal….

Dough- Save yourself the grief and get dough at your favorite pizza joint, $3. You’ll never make a dough like a good pizza shop can. Someone stated it’s all in the dough and they’re right. Any pan will work but we make our best pizza on a well seasoned clay plate…. Important- *use cornmeal!* before you lay the dough into the pan. It actually pops during cooking and gives the crust a crisper texture and helps to brown. Obviously it must be thin. Don’t use a roller or it will be thick, doughy and won’t come out right. You have to pull the dough. Watch a guy make a pizza if you don’t know what I mean.

Sauce- This is a tough one as it is entirely personal preference but generally, sauce on a NY pizza is a slightly sweetened marinara. That’s it. You don’t add extra stuff. Straight marinara slightly sweetened with maybe a half teaspoon of sugar. It will taste too tart without the tiny bit of sugar.Too much sugar and it will taste like catsup.

Mozzarell- If you can find Grande, use it. Most NY pizza joints use it. Otherwise, get a low skim, low moisture cheese. About 8 oz for a full sized pie. Too much and you’ll ruin it.

Romano- This cheese is important. It’s a full flavor dry cheese that’s simply used for flavor in this case. Too much and it will overpower. Grind it fine and spread sparingly after the sauce but before the mozzarell. Once you develop a taste for romano, you’ll be mixing it in your coffee. j/k. Locatelli is a good romano. Avoid that sawdust $hit in a shaker can at all costs!!!

That’s it.. no more ingredients. Why everyone loads pizza with junk I don’t know but stuff like oregano doesn’t belong on pizza. You want the oven burners on full bore, bottom burner only. Get the pizza no more than say 4 in. away from burner. The trick is to get the dough to rise and then to brown. Keep oven door open an inch or so or the ambient temp will brown the cheese and it will taste burnt. Baking should take no more than say 15 minutes max. Every 3 minutes or so, brush the crust with olive oil and shake on garlic salt. Monitor bottom of crust with flashlight. Pull it out once it turns begins to turn golden brown.

Voila…. NY pizza. Takes time and practice but it’s alot of fun getting there if you like to make good food. Once you master it, it will take longer to cool off than it will to put it together.

‘Depression’ Makes Return to Mainstream Lexicon
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44782492

Services data stir euro recession worry
By Mark Felsenthal and Jonathan Cable
WASHINGTON/LONDON | Wed Oct 5, 2011 11:09am EDT

(Reuters) - The euro zone’s services sector shrank for the first time in two years last month as new orders dried up, stoking fears that the region’s economy could be heading back into recession, surveys showed on Wednesday.

A downturn that began in smaller members of the 17-nation bloc has hit the core, and survey compiler Markit said the latest figures suggest the region’s economy will contract in the fourth quarter unless business and consumer confidence rallies.

“We can’t rule out the possibility of recession in the coming quarters. Combined with the global slowdown you have the main growth engine of the euro zone economy, Germany, stuttering,” said Jeavon Lolay, head of global research at Lloyds Banking Group.
…

October 5, 2011 7:41 AM

Reinforcements to bolster Wall St. protests

Occupy Wall Street protesters join Verizon employees who are picketing in front of a Verizon office in New York, Oct. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK - The protests on Wall Street, the fabled center of American commerce, are expected to swell with reinforcements as more groups head toward lower Manhattan Wednesday.

Among those planning to join the clamor are the liberal group MoveOn.org and community organizations like the Working Families Party and United NY. The growing crowd will also include members of the Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union, signaling that the protest is showing no signs of losing steam. Meanwhile, organizers have called for students at college campuses across the nation to walk out of class in protest at 2 p.m.

“I think they’re capturing a feel of disempowerment, feeling like nobody is listening to them,” said Camille Rivera, executive director of United NY. “What do you do when no one is listening to you? You speak up, you take action.”
…

I posted this late last night, so I’m not sure how many read it, but it was in response to this article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-03/housing-market-failing-to-clear-the-ticker.html

_________________

I like how these guys take three numbers from a dense 27-page powerpoint and 30 minute commentary to write an article.

As a hint, the real story isn’t the 611 days, or the 38% of loans over 2-years delinquent. It’s an interesting report, I studied it last night and listened to the commentary…if I wanted to sum it up in two sentences (not two numbers):

States with a judicial foreclosure process are screwed.

States with a non-judical foreclosure process have been efficiently moving through their inventory and will be the first to emerge from the foreclosure mess.

THIS IS THE STORY THAT NO ONE IS WRITING ABOUT.

Look through the presentation, and listen to the 30-minute commentary if you want to get the flavor.

http://www.lpsvcs.com/LPSCorporateInformation/ResourceCenter/PressResources/Pages/MortgageMonitor.aspx

Page 3 - Most of the inventory is snarled up in the 90+ and foreclosure inventories; 30-day and 60 day inventories are below January 2008 levels, and have been on a downtrend since January 2009.

Page 6 - Non-judicial states have been improving their non-current% faster than judicial. As an example, CA was in the top ten worst not long ago (18 months ago +/-), now CA has 26 states worse than them.

Page 19 - Judicial states inventory is 6 months more aged than non-judical states. As long as judicial states are slow and non-judicial states are not, this will continue to widen.

Page 22/23 - Note the difference in non-judicial vs. judicial…the worst non-judicial state (92 months of inventory) is still better than the average of the judicial states. The 10th worst non-judicial state is at 35 months…CA, NV, and AZ are not in the top-ten of non-judicial states (meaning even lower than 35)–how much lower? You’ll need to pay $1,000 per month for a minimum of 12 months to get that data…they won’t tell you in the free PowerPoint.

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

– Pogo

‘Occupy Wall Street’: What Should a Populist Movement Ask of Washington?
By Derek Thompson

Oct 4 2011, 5:57 PM ET 129

The middle class has a thousand reasons to be mad as hell, and a thousand people to blame. In a weird way, that makes it all the harder to pinpoint a culprit.
…

AZ Slim, in response to a post you made yesterday:

You might find it interesting to know that Google is allowing you to support Antigone Books via purchase of eBooks through the Antigone Books website…

They do the same thing for Kepler’s (a local bookstore here).

Get your eBooks and support your local bookstore at the same time…Go Google.

There is a whole list here:

http://www.indiebound.org/google-ebooks

Look where several decades of reverse gender discrimination have brought us:

Why men are in trouble
By William J. Bennett, CNN Contributor
updated 10:27 AM EST, Tue October 4, 2011

(CNN) — For the first time in history, women are better educated, more ambitious and arguably more successful than men.

Now, society has rightly celebrated the ascension of one sex. We said, “You go girl,” and they went. We celebrate the ascension of women but what will we do about what appears to be the very real decline of the other sex?

The data does not bode well for men. In 1970, men earned 60% of all college degrees. In 1980, the figure fell to 50%, by 2006 it was 43%. Women now surpass men in college degrees by almost three to two. Women’s earnings grew 44% in real dollars from 1970 to 2007, compared with 6% growth for men.
…

WRAPUP 1-U.S. factory orders dip 0.2 percent in August
Tue Oct 4, 2011 10:42am EDT

* U.S. new factory orders drop 0.2 percent in August

* Factory orders ex-transport post first fall in 6 months
(Adds market movements and background)

WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - New orders for U.S. factory
goods fell for the second time in three months in August,
putting into question strength in the manufacturing sector
which had led the economic recovery.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday orders for
manufactured goods decreased 0.2 percent, failing to meet
economists’ expectations of a flat reading.

Concerns that the United States might slip back into
recession had eased slightly on Monday after the Institute for
Supply Management said national manufacturing activity rose in
September.

But economic growth, which slowed sharply in the first half
of the year, still looks vulnerable to an escalation of the
European debt crisis.
…

AZ Slim–

You might find it interesting to know that Google is allowing you to support Antigone Books via purchase of eBooks through the Antigone Books website…

They do the same thing for Kepler’s (a local bookstore here).

Get your eBooks and support your local bookstore at the same time…Go Google.

There is a whole list here:

http://www.indiebound.org/google-ebooks

Planned layoffs at US firms highest in more than two years, report shows
By Roland Jones

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. companies leapt to their highest level in more than two years amid large cutbacks in the military and Bank of America, a private report shows.

Employers announced plans to shed 115,730 workers from their payrolls in September, according to the latest numbers from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

September’s job cut amount was 126 percent higher than the level announced for August and they were 212 percent higher than one year ago in September 2010, the report said. The September surge brought the number of job cuts announced in the third quarter to 233,258 — the highest quarterly toll since the third quarter of 2009.
…

U.S. Corporations Sitting on $2 Trillion
Oct. 5, 2011

CFO Journal Senior Editor Vipal discusses the strategy behind U.S. corporation amassing roughly $2 trillion in cash. He says in many cases, recessions catch companies off guard. This time, they’re ready. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak/Files

Right-to-work drive gains steam in Michigan

DETROIT — In this historic stronghold of the American labor movement, the phrase “right to work” is seen by many as fighting words.

But with a new GOP-controlled state Legislature and a Republican governor in place in Lansing, a move is afoot to make Michigan the 23rd state in the nation to adopt legislation that would prohibit unions and employers from regulating collection of union dues or requiring employees to join a union if their workplace is organized.

“We’ve got growing and substantial support in the Legislature for pursuing Michigan becoming a right-to-work state, but this is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s all about making sure we are removing all obstacles to jobs,” said state Rep. Mike Shirkey, Clarklake Republican.

“Everyone acknowledges that overcoming the 75-plus-year history of legacy unions here is not something you do overnight. But some of the polls statewide indicate the public is moving toward a direction of supporting workers having the choice,” he said. “I’m not anti-union. I call it labor freedom, where unions are as free to make their case as workers are to make their choice.”

A right-to-work bill fell short in 2008, the last time the question was put before Michigan lawmakers. But the balance of power in the state was different: Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm was in charge and Democrats held a stronger edge in the Legislature.

Those who support right-to-work laws say it is unfair to force those who don’t wish to join a union to do so, making them pay dues against their will in order to keep their jobs. Union proponents say it is essential to their ability to organize and negotiate on behalf of workers that the law prevent “free riders” — workers who benefit from the union’s work but don’t join or contribute dues.

Currently, 22 states have passed right-to-work legislation nationwide, including most of the Old South and the Rocky Mountain West.

How Suburban Sprawl Works Like a Ponzi Scheme

Charles Marohn and his colleagues at the Minnesota-based nonprofit Strong Towns have made a very compelling case that suburban sprawl is basically a Ponzi scheme, in which municipalities expand infrastructure hoping to attract new taxpayers that can pay off the mounting costs associated with the last infrastructure expansion, over and over.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2011/10/suburban-sprawl-ponzi-scheme/242/

With the flood of investors into cash, it’s hard to grasp why the stock market is not landing even harder.

MARKETS
OCTOBER 5, 2011

Tired of Ups and Downs, Investors Say, ‘Let Me Out!’
By KELLY GREENE, JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and JOE LIGHT

Leonard Gerber, a 65-year-old financial planner, has seen plenty of volatile markets during his career. But this one feels different.

Last month, the Syracuse, N.Y., resident cashed in his stock funds—and he has no intention of diving back in anytime soon. “I feel like a deer in headlights,” he says.

Across the country, investors are fleeing the stock market for the safety of cash. On Tuesday the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost as much as 2.2% before a late-day rally sent the index up 2.3% for the session. In the 46 trading days since the beginning of August, the S&P 500 has seen 29 swings of 1% or more.

Tuesday is a “perfect example” of why Mr. Gerber has bailed out. “The market is manic,” he says. “There’s no consistency … and there’s a worrisome amount of volatility.”

The wild action is keeping brokerage firms busy. At Scottrade Inc., trading volume increased 36% on Tuesday afternoon from the day before, which was 30% higher than last week’s average. Principal Financial Group saw call-center volume from investors in work-based retirement plans climb 27% between Friday and Monday.
…

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
OCTOBER 5, 2011

Investors Check Out of Real-Estate Stocks
Global Economic Concerns Weaken Demand for Commercial Space, With Hotels Faring Worst; ‘It’s Pretty Dismal’
BY A.D. PRUITT

For much of the past two years, real-estate stocks outperformed the broader stock market. But that trend ended during the fall as investors grew increasingly fretful that a weak global economy would sap demand for commercial space.

The Dow Jones All Equity REIT Index, which tracks the stock of 130 companies, posted a negative 15% total return during the third quarter, an about-face from the second quarter when the REIT index registered a 2.9% gain.

The third-quarter return was the largest drop since the first quarter of 2009, when the index posted a negative return of 31%,…

Yup, it’s mighty pricey to live here.

“According to a formula called the Self-Sufficiency Standard, a family of four (with two adults, one preschooler and one school-age child) in the nine-county Bay Area now needs $74,341 a year to get by, compared with $62,517 three years ago.

At the state level, the cost of basic needs for a family of four rose 15.9 percent, to $63,579 from $54,853, between 2008 and 2011.

The report analyzed the cost of basic needs in the Bay Area - rent, food, health care, child care, transportation and taxes, which soared 18.9 percent in three years. The study, conducted by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development in Oakland, found that unemployment rose and wages were stagnant over the period.

“The income and expense gap families experience is becoming even more exacerbated and pushing more families into a place of economic insecurity,” said Jenny Chung Mejia, a program manager and attorney at the Insight Center. “Families need to bring in an extra $10,000 to $15,000 each year just to cover a basic basket of goods.”

The most dramatic increases were for health care, child care and taxes. In the region, health care costs rose 35 percent in three years; child care rose 21 percent.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/04/MNB11LD969.DTL#ixzz1ZvR5V6Cd

Electric Bills About To Spike
The Daily Beast ~ Oct 5, 2011

Utilities across the country need more money for grid updates and pollution controls, and are passing the huge bill on to consumers.

Already weary of high gas prices and 9.1 percent unemployment, many Americans are about to get another kick in the wallet thanks to large increases in their electricity bills.

From Alaska to Georgia and Wyoming to Florida, utilities are seeking permission to pass on hundreds of millions of dollars in new charges to customers to help upgrade aging infrastructure and build new or retrofitted power plants that comply with tougher environmental regulations, a Daily Beast review of regulatory filings has found.
The influx of requests, many still pending before state regulators, has left energy experts convinced that electricity prices will be on the rise for the foreseeable future as the industry struggles to modernize its aging infrastructure.

“They desperately need to upgrade,” says Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor and Clinton-era energy secretary who once famously called America a superpower with a Third World power grid. “You’re seeing rate hikes everywhere because this is a widespread, national problem.”

The pending rate hikes are bad news for poor and elderly Americans on tight budgets, as Congress and the White House begin making cuts to programs that help people cope with their utility bills. One program in particular, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, was slashed during the budget negotiations earlier this year, and is slated for even deeper reductions this fall.

During the budget battle, Congress cut $500 million from the program to bring this year’s total to $4.7 billion, down from a high of $5.1 billion in 2010. For next year, the Obama administration requested only $2.6 billion, leaving states with roughly half the assistance they’ve had in the past. The White House rationale relies on the assumption that energy prices will decline, but regulatory filings have indicated the opposite trend is in store.

We should start with OccupySupremeCourt in Washington DC. The Supreme Court’s incredibly stupid interpretation of the First Amendment that tries to claim that campaign contributions are just as precious as public square critics of government is killing this country. The ability of the rich corporations and billionaires to use campaign contributions to remove important financial system protections in place since the Depression show what a corrupting influence the failure to read campaign contributions out of the First Amendment.

Maybe we start with the Amendment of the US constitution to exclude campaign contributions from First Amendment “protection”. It may require civil disobedience in front of the US Supreme Court

NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America still isn’t explaining why online banking may be slow for some of its customers for a sixth day in a row.

A message on the bank’s home page Wednesday said most of the site was working normally, but that customers may experience “occasional delays.”

A spokeswoman for Bank of America Corp., Tara Burke, says the company doesn’t disclose the causes for website problems and noted that online banking was now available.

She declined to say how many customers may still be experiencing slowness signing in.

“Given the last few days, we are rigorously monitoring our online banking system and chose to continue deploying an alternate home page to ensure that customers get to the right destination quickly,” Burke said.

The website delays mean customers who normally bank online may have had to head to a branch or ATM to access their accounts in recent days.

Employers Picking Up the Tab for Loans to States

WASHINGTON (AP) – States that borrowed billions from the federal government to keep unemployment benefits flowing through the recession now have to start paying those loans back, and they’re hitting businesses with new assessments and higher taxes to make that happen.

In all, 27 states owe the federal government nearly $38 billion. The first interest payments on those loans were due Friday and totaled about $1.1 billion.

Most states charged employers a one-time assessment to cover the charge. But those charges are only part of the story.

Businesses pay two types of unemployment insurance taxes. A federal tax primarily covers the administrative cost of the program, and a state tax pays for the basic benefits that laid-off workers receive. In most of the states that borrowed from the feds, the federal tax will increase by $21 per worker next year. Similar increases will take place in subsequent years until the loans are paid in full. Meanwhile, the state taxes have soared in just about every state to deal with the strain caused by the high numbers of people applying for unemployment benefits.

Joe Olivo, owner of Perfect Printing in Moorestown, N.J., with 45 employees just outside Philadelphia, estimates that he’ll pay an additional $24,000 this year in unemployment insurance taxes. He’s also dealing with higher expenses elsewhere, mainly for his employees’ health care.

The federal government delayed interest payments on the federal loans for two years, a byproduct of the 2009 economic stimulus bill. Congress declined to pass legislation that would delay interest payments any further.

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2011/oct/4/employers-picking-up-the-tab-for-loans-to-states//print - 15k -

Bigger black swan predicted.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-05/-black-swan-author-taleb-says-world-faces-bigger-problem-now-than-in-2008.html

“Definitely, we face a bigger problem now and we will pay a higher price,” Taleb, who is also a professor at New York University, said today at a news conference in Kiev, referring to the turmoil during the last global financial crisis. “The structure of the problem has still not been understood. We haven’t done anything constructive in three and a half years. Nobody wants to do anything drastic now.”

“Taleb urged countries to keep their budgets balanced, criticizing President Barack Obama of “loading the U.S. with debt that our children will have to pay” and said that growth fuelled by government debt isn’t really growth. “Someone made a mistake lending and someone made a mistake borrowing,” said Taleb. “It is a mistake to transform private problems into public debt.”

Who says the Democrats aren’t pro-business? They have gone along with wrecking of the government to save the better off in the private sector.

‘Anyone’ Can See Economy’s Improving, DNC Chair Insists
‘We’ve Begun To Turn The Corner,’ Democrat Says.
By Craig Bannister -CNSNEWSOctober 5, 2011

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz insisted to CNSNews.com yesterday that “anyone’ can see that the economy is improving and sought to interpret what Pres. Obama really meant when he admitted Monday that Americans were not better off today than four years ago.

“Well, what President Obama said was that certainly since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, that Americans are not better off,” Wasserman Schultz told CNSNews.com. “That was specifically the president’s comment. I thought. And I think anyone who looks at the economy knows we have come a long way.

“We are certainly no longer dropping like a rock like we were in the months leading up to President Obama taking office,” Wasserman Schultz continued. “And now we’ve begun to turn the corner.”

“Anyone” can see that we’ve turned the corner? Really?

Even the 115,730 people who lost their jobs last month (the most in more than two years), or the American Airlines workers faced with the danger that their employer is going to have to file for bankruptcy?

And, how about the person at the pump fretting over the cost of filling his gas tank, or the young couple trying to sell their home?

I guess these aren’t the “anyones” the DNC chair was referring to.

Eldorado Stone closing Pueblo plant
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 By DENNIS DARROW

Eldorado Stone is closing its Pueblo plant, according to its parent company, Headwaters Inc.

The closure process already is under way, the company says.

The plant’s workforce in recent weeks was down to about 40 employees from its regular staffing level of about 70, said Sharon Madden, vice president of investor relations for Calif.-based Headwaters Inc.

The plant employed more than 200 workers during peak building periods.

San Marcos, Calif.-based Eldorado Stone, formerly known as StoneCraft Industries, makes artificial stone used in residential and commercial construction.

Its Pueblo plant operates at the Airport Industrial Park.

The plant began operation in 1999.

Dan Centa, president of PEDCo, said an Eldorado Stone executive told him the closure is the result of rising shipping costs and the construction slowdown due to the recession.

“As with any company that is involved in the building market, they have been hit tremendously hard because of the downturn in construction,” Centa said.

The downturn caused a sharp reversal in fortune for a plant that in 2006 employed more than 200 workers and appeared on track to expand, Centa said.

“It was just four or five years ago they were out of room. They were looking at acquiring a lot adjacent to them and using it for storage. There were some major plans,” Centa said.

Instead, the plant’s finances worsened along with the construction downturn, Centa said.

Benson’s Economic & Market Trends
The Fed Pays a King’s Ransom to China
Richard Benson - Posted Oct 5, 2011

America’s economy is in shambles. Fiscal policy is totally gridlocked between Democrats who want to see some long term tax increases, and Republicans who only want spending cuts. Worse yet, the Republicans view economic failure in America as a good thing as they believe it will enhance their chances of recapturing the White House. Because compromise on the budget seems to be off the table right now, that leaves only the Federal Reserve policy to stimulate the economy. So, judging from what’s been reported in the financial press and on TV lately, the Fed’s policy is ringing loud and clear: Keep interest rates at record lows, and devalue the currency.

Keeping long term interest rates low is desired because the Obama Administration is praying that loan and mortgage refinancing will put more money into the pockets of corporations and individuals, giving them money to spend. A lower dollar is also desired to help boost exports. Selling more abroad is, for now, the only way to create more jobs. In other words, fiscal policy is frozen like a deer in the headlights and easy money is the only policy our government’s got. There is just one big problem with a policy of low interest rates and a weak currency.

Foreign central banks, led by China, currently hold $3.5 trillion dollars invested in US treasuries. China created goods that they sold to America for dollars but now we want to pay them nothing in interest and devalue their savings held in dollars. Indeed, it must be galling to the Chinese that we are treating them this way. (It’s ironic but we’re treating our retired savers in our own country this same way). Needless to say, China understands what’s going on and it has them more than a little pissed off. At some point, they could cut their losses and swap their horrible investment in paper dollars for tangible assets such as gold and other resources they need to employ, feed, clothe, and house their 1.3 billion citizens.

Countries holding US treasuries face a two pronged dilemma: First, if they dump longer term treasury securities, they would suffer massive price declines because selling long term notes and bonds pushes their prices down. Second, foreign countries would suffer currency depreciation losses because selling dollars pushes the dollar down. If China and other central banks all sold their longer dated treasury notes and bonds, US treasuries would decline in price, causing long term interest rates in America to soar. At this time in American history when our economy is so fragile and weak, rising long term interest rates could spell disaster for our economy. This is the Obama Administration’s greatest fear especially as we approach an election year, so they had to come up with a plan so foreigners dumping their longer term US treasuries wouldn’t hurt us. Since monetary policy is all we’ve got, the Fed was called in to fix the problem.

So what else could the Fed possibly do to keep our economy moving in the right direction? Why not go to the Chinese and promise to pay them a big fat premium on their current long term treasuries (that were purchased at much higher interest rates) and let them swap them into short term treasury bills and notes. Indeed, looking at the prices of US Treasury notes and bonds, most are trading at premiums of 10 to 15 percent for recent issues, and 50 percent or more for those issued just a few years ago. By allowing other countries to get out of longer term treasuries at a time of record low interest rates, it will give them an extraordinarily large gift and potentially enormous profits that can be used in several ways: China would likely use the profits to offset currency losses when the Fed goes back to printing money in QE3 to fund our deficit; and, in Europe, the profits could be used to help recapitalize their banks which are loaded up with Greek, Irish, Italian, and Spanish debt.

When foreign countries have fewer treasury notes and bonds left in their arsenal to sell, when they do get around to selling their dollar holdings it’ll push the dollar down without pushing interest rates up. (Note: Short term treasuries will not go down in price if sold. Indeed, they can only go down if the Fed raises rates, and even then they quickly adjust back to a par price of 100.) At that point, America can dare China to sell the dollar, because pushing the dollar down is our policy.

So basically now you know what the Fed’s recent “Operation Twist” is all about (a more appropriate name might be “Operation Payoff”). We are paying a King’s Ransom to pave the way to devalue the dollar in the next QE3 and beyond. Just remember the downside of a falling dollar will be higher import prices and higher inflation.

If you would like to participate in Operation Payoff, do what the Central Banks will be doing: Sell your long term treasuries to the Fed and then brace for the next round of dollar devaluation and inflation which will soon be on the way.

Interestingly enough, I have recently felt as though I am nearly past the anger phase of the housing bubble stages of grief. I take the impression that much of America is just entering it, though.

The 2012 election season has the potential to get much more interesting if these protests persist.

5 October 2011 Last updated at 13:28 ET

Banks protests planned across US

Demonstrators dress as “corporate zombies” near Wall Street in New York, on 3 October 2011

The demonstrations began in New York and show no sign of losing steam

Protesters are preparing for a mass march on New York’s financial district, with rallies also planned in several other US cities.

Occupy Wall Street organisers hope to attract thousands of people to the rally in lower Manhattan, having won the backing of powerful unions.

The demonstrations are now in their third week and show no sign of fading.

They have been venting grievances over the 2008 corporate bailouts, high US unemployment and home repossessions.

‘Revolution’

Protests have also been held recently in Las Vegas, Chicago, Ohio and Florida, where a rally last weekend drew a crowd carrying signs that read, “End Corporate Welfare” and “It is Time for a Revolution”.

Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested last weekend on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Students at colleges across the US have been urged to walk out of class in solidarity with the activists at lunchtime on Wednesday.

Rallies are planned in the cities of Boston, Washington DC and Los Angeles.

But the biggest event is set to be in New York, where organisers expect dozens of unions and community organisations to join a march on Wall Street at 16:30 EDT (20:30 GMT).

Among the groups planning to attend are the Transport Workers Union, which offered its financial support last week.

The AFL-CIO federation of unions, the Communication Workers of America and the United Federation of Teachers have also said they would take part.

Union chiefs said the decision to back the protests came from shared grievances.

“These young people on Wall Street are giving voice to many of the problems that working people in America have been confronting over the last several years,” Larry Hanley, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, told CNN.
…

19 September 2011 Last updated at 21:00 ET

Could world social unrest hit America’s streets?
By Daniel Nasaw BBC News Magazine, Washington

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has suggested the unrest that rocked the streets of Cairo and Madrid this year could spread to the US. Is he right?

It was a long, hot spring and summer on the streets of Greece, England and Madrid, as protesters and rioters vented their fury at high unemployment, painful austerity measures and following a fatal police shooting in London.

The US, meanwhile, has been virtually free of rioting and even of widespread peaceful political protest.

This is despite some of the highest unemployment in decades, growing income inequality, dissatisfaction with the nation’s direction, frustration with its dysfunctional government and the threat of drastic cuts to social programmes.
…

Austerity for the Simpsons? Say it ain’t so!

5 October 2011 Last updated at 07:30 ET
The Simpsons cannot continue without cuts, says Fox

The Simpsons The Simpsons is the longest-running comedy series on US TV and is currently in its 23rd series

US TV network Fox has said it can no longer afford to produce long-running animated comedy The Simpsons without a pay cut for its cast.

In a statement, it said although the series “can and should continue”, it could not produce future seasons “under its current financial model”.

Fox made the comment after reports it threatened to end the series unless its voice actors took a 45% pay cut.
…

Looks like the DOW will get back to 11,000 tomorrow. Lot’s of good news on the jobless front. Plenty of players counting on QE-111 which they will get. So the w.street gang should be pleased, more bonuses on the way for da banksters, just in time for the holidays.

The serfs will have to enjoy a lump of coal in their stocking for X-Mas.
If they can afford a stocking or a place to hang it, that is.

Unions give Wall Street protesters some oomph

Posted: Oct 05, 2011 3:34 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 05, 2011 4:28 PM EDT

By DEEPTI HAJELA and VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - A diverse group of powerful unions joined demonstrations near Wall Street on Wednesday, lending focus, credibility and potentially hundreds of participants to a group that started out with a few college students camping out in lower Manhattan.

Among those planning to join the clamor were members of the Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union, the liberal group MoveOn.org and community organizations such as the Working Families Party and United NY. At several colleges across the nation, students participated from afar by heeding organizers’ calls to walk out of classes.

In New York, protesters were gathering at Foley Square, an area encircled by courthouses and named for “Big Tom” Foley, a former blacksmith’s helper who became a prominent state Democratic leader. From there they were to march to Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters where protesters have been camped out in sleeping bags.

It’s unclear how many people will be joining the march on Wednesday, but some organizers said thousands could show up. About 1,000 people were in Foley Square shortly before the march was to begin.

Some union members were driving in from other states. Roxanne Pauline, a coordinator for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation, said some of her union’s members plan to stay in Zuccotti Park over the weekend.

Hundreds of college students at New York’s sprawling public university system walked out of classes Wednesday afternoon, some in a show of solidarity for the Wall Street movement but many more concerned with worries closer to home. Protests were scheduled at State University of New York campuses including Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, New Paltz and Purchase.

Danielle Kingsbury, a 21-year-old senior from New Paltz, said she walked out of an American literature class to show support for some of her professors who she said have had their workloads increased because of budget cuts.

“The state of education in our country is ridiculous,” said Kingsbury, who plans to teach. “The state doesn’t care about it and we need to fight back about that.”

MoveOn.org is planning a “virtual march” on its website by encouraging people to post photos of themselves with the caption: “I’m the 99 percent.” The group’s executive director, Justin Ruben, called the protesters “brave young people” who have successfully inspired others to join them.

“From our perspective, we’re protesting kind of the greed that led to the collapse of our economy,” Ruben said. “The fact that these banks aren’t paying their fair share.”

http://www.abc27.com/story/15619283/wall-street-protest-expected-to-widen -

OLATHE, Colo. — How can there be a labor shortage when nearly one out of every 11 people in the nation are unemployed?

That’s the question John Harold asked himself last winter when he was trying to figure out how much help he would need to harvest the corn and onions on his 1,000-acre farm here in western Colorado.

The simple-sounding plan that resulted — hire more local people and fewer foreign workers — left Mr. Harold and others who took a similar path adrift in a predicament worthy of Kafka.

Mr. Harold, a 71-year-old Vietnam War veteran who drifted here in the late ’60s, has participated for about a decade in a federal program called H-2A that allows seasonal foreign workers into the country to make up the gap where willing and able American workers are few in number. He typically has brought in about 90 people from Mexico each year from July through October.

This year, though, with tough times lingering and a big jump in the minimum wage under the program, to nearly $10.50 an hour, Mr. Harold brought in only two-thirds of his usual contingent. The other positions, he figured, would be snapped up by jobless local residents wanting some extra summer cash.

“It didn’t take me six hours to realize I’d made a heck of a mistake,” Mr. Harold said, standing in his onion field on a recent afternoon as a crew of workers from Mexico cut the tops off yellow onions and bagged them.

Six hours was enough, between the 6 a.m. start time and noon lunch break, for the first wave of local workers to quit. Some simply never came back and gave no reason. Twenty-five of them said specifically, according to farm records, that the work was too hard. On the Harold farm, pickers walk the rows alongside a huge harvest vehicle called a mule train, plucking ears of corn and handing them up to workers on the mule who box them and lift the crates, each weighing 45 to 50 pounds.

“It is not an easy job,” said Kerry Mattics, 49, another H-2A farmer here in Olathe, who brought in only a third of his usual Mexican crew of 12 workers for his 50-acre fruit and vegetable farm, then struggled to make it through the season. “It’s outside, so if it’s wet, you’re wet, and if it’s hot you’re hot,” he said.

Still, Mr. Mattics said, he can’t help feeling that people have gotten soft.

Economic View
The Beauty Contest That’s Shaking Wall St.
By ROBERT J. SHILLER
Published: September 3, 2011
…
The best strategy, Keynes noted, isn’t to pick the faces that are your personal favorites. It is to select those that you think others will think prettiest. Better yet, he said, move to the “third degree” and pick the faces you think that others think that still others think are prettiest. Similarly in speculative markets, he said, you win not by picking the soundest investment, but by picking the investment that others, who are playing the same game, will soon bid up higher. Keynes didn’t say where and when he saw this beauty contest. The New York Times ran one very much like it in 1913. It was called the “Girl of To-Day Contest,” and readers were asked to submit a photograph of a young woman that they deemed “most typical of the American girl.” A panel of artists was asked to select a winner from these pictures.

The Times reported the “dismay” of the panel at the difficulty of its job. Snippets of the conversation were recorded: “We are not here to select the prettiest girl of the lot,” one judge said. “Here’s a face women would like,” said another. “They would not consider her dangerous.”

We see such dismay among stock market investors today. People are trying to guess whether other investors are thinking that yet others are thinking that the stock market is “dangerous,” or whether it is instead a great time to invest. And investors are making that decision with little more information than the “Girl of To-Day” judges had.

When you hear a conversation among professional investors — including those who manage money for big institutions like university endowments and pension funds — it often sounds as if they are engaged in just this kind of guesswork. You wonder how many people are actually basing their decisions on what is taught in business school: calculating an optimal portfolio based on a rational statistical analysis of fundamental economic data. If you believe in efficient markets, you have to conclude that some other investors are doing those calculations today, because they don’t seem the main activity of the people I’m hearing.

In fact, the best explanation for the market’s back-and-forth swings is that each day we are conducting a Keynesian beauty contest, and reassessing what others think that still others are thinking. On days without much news, the market is simply reacting to itself. And because anxiety is running high, investors make quick, sometimes impulsive, responses to relatively minor events.

Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman, typified the concerns about other investors on “Meet the Press” on Aug. 7, the Sunday before the market’s big drop of almost 7 percent. “What I think the S.& P. thing did was to hit a nerve that there’s something basically bad going on, and it’s hit the self-esteem of the United States, the psyche,” he said. “And it’s having a much profounder effect than I conceived could happen.” He was talking about what other investors were thinking, not about the substance of the S.& P. downgrade.

Over that weekend, there was widespread speculation that the downgrade would push interest rates way up. But on Aug. 8, even before the Fed issued its statement, 10-year Treasury yields began to drop, not rise, and many people started to reassess what other people were thinking — and what other people were thinking about other people, and so on.

This process creates uncertainty not only for the stock market, but also for the overall economy. The only thing to fear is fear itself, Franklin D. Roosevelt said of the Great Depression, and he was right. We are constantly trying to reassess the fear of others, and others’ fear that others are also afraid.

This may sound like a crazy game, but if others are playing it, we must, too. The outlook for the economy depends on how this convoluted beauty contest plays out.

Steve Jobs died.

To exeter/Realtors are liars,

I hate your politics, but I love your pizza recipe. I made it for my family tonight, and my wife is a bit chagrined because it came out better than her recipe. (she said it, not me, I’m not that dumb). I didn’t get it perfect, but I look forward to perfecting it in the future. That recipe has the potential to be the best homemade pizza I have ever had.

The kiddos are doing well, and growing so fast! My son asked today who lives next door. Lol… it’s a long story, little guy.

http://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab205/muggyflo/IMG_6990.jpg

Anonymous threatens NYSE:

“On Oct. 10, NYSE will be erased from the internet. On Oct. 10, expect a day that will never, ever be forgot.”

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/10/05/occupy-wall-street-march-college-walk-out-planned-as-%E2%80%98anonymous%E2%80%99-releases-threat-against-nyse/

Bloomberg
Anti-Wall Street Protests Spread From New York to San Francisco
October 05, 2011, 11:51 PM EDT
By Esme E. Deprez and Alison Vekshin

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Demonstrators from New York City to San Francisco took to the streets yesterday to protest what they call a growing wealth disparity between large U.S. corporations and average citizens in the wake of the financial crisis.

Picketers marched as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began three weeks ago in Lower Manhattan and has spread across the U.S. The New York crowd was estimated at 10,000, according to Patrick Bruner, a spokesman for the effort.

“There’s power in numbers, and we outnumber the people we’re trying to hold accountable,” said Henry Liedtka, a 27- year-old pharmacy worker from New Jersey who said he’s protested since Oct. 2. “We should be bailing out the American public — not corporations — by raising the minimum wage, bringing jobs back from overseas and improving labor conditions.”

Protesters criticized the government for propping up hobbled financial giants, including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., with a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout in 2008, while leaving Americans to struggle with unemployment, depressed wages, soaring foreclosure rates and slashed retirement savings.

“We bailed them out and they are not lending the money,” JoAnn Herr, 60, a retired sheet-metal worker from Oakland, California, said in an interview yesterday outside the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, where a march through downtown formed. “They are just holding onto it, giving themselves bigger bonuses and not paying their fair share of taxes.”
…

Gross Trails Vanguard Index Fund as Top Bond Managers Blindsided by Rally
By Charles Stein - Oct 5, 2011 9:00 PM PT

Bill Gross’s Pimco Total Return Fund, the world’s biggest mutual fund, is trailing a low-cost Vanguard index fund this year as some of the top bond investors were blindsided by the rally in Treasuries.

Gross’ fund returned 1.5 percent this year through Oct. 4, compared with 8.9 percent for the $10.4 billion Vanguard Intermediate Term Bond Fund, which outperformed 99 percent of intermediate bond funds tracked by Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. The Vanguard fund, which tracks an index rather than trying to beat it, topped managers including Loomis Sayles & Co.’s Dan Fuss and TCW Group Inc.’s Tad Rivelle.

“At the beginning of the year I don’t think many managers would have said Treasuries are the place to be or that the yield on the 10-year would go to 2 percent,” Douglas Swanson, manager of the $21 billion JPMorgan Core Bond Fund (WOBDX), said in a telephone interview from Columbus, Ohio. His fund gained 6.5 percent this year.

The Vanguard fund, which beat 95 percent of funds over the past five years, won because it held bonds with longer maturities than rivals and three times as many Treasuries. While that allocation may hurt returns when interest rates start to rise, the fund’s performance highlights the growing challenge to fixed-income managers from the passive strategies that have already grabbed a fifth of U.S. stock fund assets.
…

Funds earmarked for loans to the next generation’s Steve Jobs’ startup have been diverted to repay TARP.

BUSINESS
OCTOBER 5, 2011, 10:41 P.M. ET

Tale of Two Loan Programs
U.S. Funds Targeted for Small Business Instead Used by Banks to Repay TARP
BY EMILY MALTBY AND ANGUS LOTEN

More than half of $4 billion in federal funds disbursed this year to spur small-business lending by community banks was used to repay bailout funds that the banks received under the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Small Business Lending Fund was meant to raise capital at smaller banks, which tend to lend more heavily to small businesses, in the hopes of jump-starting growth and employment. But instead of directly lending to small businesses, many of the banks used the money to rid themselves of higher-cost TARP debt and tougher restrictions.

“It was basically a bailout for 100-plus banks,”…