Bits Bucket for May 22, 2013
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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stocks and homes will take you to the glory land
The Big Lie:
1. This is a normal post-WWII business cycle.
2. The economy is getting ever-closer to a full-fledged recovery.
3. The Fed will take away the punch bowl any day now to ensure that inflation doesn’t spiral out of control.
4. Real estate and stocks are destined to go up forever more from here on out.
How many of y’all are true believers in The Big Lie?
If you do, then I’d like to discuss some Florida swamp land that I have for sale with you.
Spotlight on the economy: Bernanke may duck and weave on bond buys
May 21, 2013, 3:59 PM
Investors at the moment seem like sightseers on a whale-watching boat, running from one side of the boat to the other at the merest hint of fresh developments.
A few weeks ago, investors were convinced that the economy was in another rough patch and the Fed might add to the pace of its $85 billion per month bond-buying program.
More recently, stories in the Wall Street Journal and some comments from Fed officials have led investors down the path toward thinking there will be shortly be a tapering of purchases.
…
interest rates will stay low for years.
interest rates will stay low for years ??
That my friend, is the TRILLON dollar question that everyone is seeking the answer to….
it seems the only way they go up is for the FED to stop buying all the bonds. once the market takes over I’m sure they will go up. The housing recovery is over if rates go up.
Do you think the FED will let the banks take a bunch of losses on homes?
Rates will be low until the banks dump all their inventory.
The rest of the nonsense is plain theatrical n nature.
Do you think the FED will let the banks take a bunch of losses on homes ??
Not massive ones but some losses yes…But what may be the real question is how many homes are on the banks books ?? Seems like the hedge funds have been relieving them of a lot in bulk…So, if & when the banks are out from under the bad loans, is that when the FED stops…??
Beer Guy
Vancouver has two weird areas - and both are as you describe.
The only place in Canada that I roll my windows up, lock my doors, and try to avoid stopping is Main and Hastings.
As Hastings is a main road from cross Canada No 1 highway to the downtown, I often wonder why the City allows such a fester spot to exist.
Yet probably only five blocks away is one of the nicest areas of Vancouver !
“Rates will be low until the banks dump all their inventory.”
+1 I’ll second that.
True believers:
CNBC
WSJ
MarketWatch
HGTV
“News” papers dependant on lying Realtor® advertising revenue
Clueless co-workers eagerly embracing mortgage albatross debt slavery
Filed under: welcome to the recoveryless recovery
“Most Americans believe that the job market has grown more turbulent, with people changing employers ever more often. In reality, the opposite is happening.
This, in turn, largely explains why fewer Americans than ever are moving across state lines. And as intergenerational income mobility also declines, U.S. families may be in for a new era of restricted opportunity.”
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-21/as-job-flow-slows-americans-get-stuck-in-place.html
Welcome to the last 30 years.
Fannie Mae stock is up 600% in the past 2 months.
Looks like people are buying into this recovery. Is it real?
That sounds more like the Fed taking circa-2006 toxic waste off of Fannie’s balance sheet. Slowly, Fannie’s balance sheet will refill with mortgages like mine: money down, high FICO, fully amortized fixed payments. No wonder their stock is up.
Bloomberg News
Fight Over Obama’s Fannie Mae Pick Watt Risks Housing Deal
By Cheyenne Hopkins and Clea Benson
May 22, 2013
As a North Carolina congressman, Mel Watt has tried to arm struggling homeowners with a legal “sledgehammer” against lenders and expand the ranks of people eligible to cut their mortgage principal.
Those positions help explain why President Barack Obama has nominated Watt, a Democrat, to oversee Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies seized by the government in 2008. They also underscore Watt’s uphill climb to gain support from the Senate Republicans he’ll need to win confirmation.
Watt’s record hasn’t always put him at odds with big banks, since his district includes the headquarters of Bank of America (BAC) Corp. as well as thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure. He counts financial firms among his top campaign donors. Still, the nomination is inflaming tensions around housing policy as Republicans and Democrats attempt to jointly redesign the U.S. mortgage system and avoid future taxpayer bailouts.
“The political fight that’s going to be necessary to push this through the committee is going to so sour relationships, that you are just not going to be able to reach across the aisle on a housing finance bill,” said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities LLC’s Washington Research Group.
Partisan wrangling over Watt could “grind everything to a halt,” Seiberg said.
Republicans aren’t in a hurry to see Watt replace Edward J. DeMarco, the current head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the independent regulator with oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. DeMarco has resisted pressure from the Obama administration and consumer advocates to allow the two companies to cut the principal balance on troubled loans, saying that would hurt taxpayers more than it would help homeowners.
…
Everybody and his dog knows that all swans are white.
May 21, 2013, 3:48 p.m. EDT
The next black swan is coming soon
Commentary: Don’t be complacent as markets hit all-time highs
By Cody Willard, MarketWatch
You’ve probably heard of a “black swan event,” which is a term to explain how unforeseen events often destroy economic prosperity and cause market crashes.
The term was coined by Taleb Nassim, some essayist and professor who published a book about it in 2004. He wasn’t even close to getting the timing right about the financial debt crisis that came four full years after he called for it, finally hitting in 2008. Which leads me to the topic of this week’s Revolution Investing Newsletter — How to prepare for the next black swan/market crash/economic crisis.
…
If history repeats itself, we’re in for aniother massive drop in the stock market before we enter a bull market.
True bear markets have historically had three marked crashes. We’ve had two thus far - one starting in 2000 and the other in 2007/2008.
After we clear the third crash (which won’t be as severe as 2008, but could best 2000), we enter a 15-25 year bull cycle.
That is if we survive what appears to be a stealth (and not so stealth) affront on The Constitution.
NOTE:
As I’ve said several times, we’re now in a Government Bubble. This isn’t Housing Bubble Part II.
It is the Government Bubble that will need to pop before we begin to get back on a growth trajectory.
It’s surprising the the government (especially all federal agencies and employees) is dumb enough to ensconce themselves in what traditionally have been capitalist markets (as in generative of capital).
It’s more than an issue of parasites killing the host.
Just what do federal employees (public, private, whatever) expect to happen once the goose is slain and the Government Bubble is no more?
And that bubble is sure to pop either way - because (1) the capital marklets can no longer support it, or (2) via authoritarianism.
If I was a government employee, I’d hope for the first and not the latter. If the latter occurs, not only myself but my family could be pushing up daisies. Because that’s what happens, you know.
It is the Government Bubble that will need to pop before we begin to get back on a growth trajectory.
I had the same thoughts not long ago. The government is propping up housing not only for the benefits of banks but also for the benefits of local governments. Even with a slight dent in property taxes, there will be many more Stockton and Detroits around the corner.
macbeth, keep dreaming. when the baby boomer feds retire, they are replaced by hiring more government contractors. a gs-13, step 10 fed in this locality pay area makes $114,158. when you add in benefits, overhead, and all the other cheese, a contractor at an equivalent level is probably costing uncle sugar close to $200,000.
invisible hand of the free market baby!
Enjoy your freebies while they last, goon.
What is your value, i.e., your ROI for every tax dollar spent on you? And you think your gravy train will last indefinitely?
Better secure that Titanic deck chair, just in case.
“True bear markets have historically had three marked crashes. We’ve had two thus far - one starting in 2000 and the other in 2007/2008.”
What makes you think Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and the other FOMC members are ignorant of the historical evidence and hence doing all in their power to ensure that it really is different this time?
Or do you rather presume such efforts will prove futile at the end of the day in the face of an overwhelming tornadic force of economic destruction?
MacBeth, without getting into too much detail, let’s summarize what I do as being on the opposite side of the negotiating table from joe smith. Although I am technically employed by a contractor, my role is to be a “steward of the taxpayer dollars” by negotiating contracts between the federal government and other contractors, at the lowest possible cost to the government. Some of these negotiated savings amount to thousands of dollars, some amount to much, much more. As such, my ROI is truly incalculable.
@ Whac-
I don’t presume Bernacke et al will fail.
I know they will.
Market forces ultimately generate gains.
Government forces ultimately generate losses.
Unlerss governmnet forces become so large that it bankrupts the market. In that scenario, both the market and the government loses.
@ goon.
So in other words, you produce nothing as well.
Negotiating contracts isn’t production.
Negotiating “savings” isn’t production.
It seems that most, if not all, of what you “negotiate” could be done better in the private sector.
If that weren’t the case, the government wouldn’t need a “negotiator”.
@MacBeth - Sorry, people have to live in the real world. We have an extensive legal practice centered on private contractors dealing with the government precisely because Congress prefers to have contractors do alot [sic] of work rather than hire government people to do it. Yes, I know my ROI is low, but the sick thing is, the pay is very high and the stream of work is continuous. The contractors do not mind paying hundreds of dollars per hour per attorney to squabble, bicker, protest, draft nastygrams, etc. How can they afford this? Because it would apparently be unthinkable for our gov’t to actually run Medicare itself. Or do military vehicle or aircraft maintenance itself. Or provide security to its own convoys, bases, ports, government buildings.
If the government did a lot of this work itself, it would not need nearly as many contractors and it would eliminate a lot of red tape. No business would outsource such a ridiculous % of its work. Our government doesn’t act like a business, it acts like a crony capitalist.
A government that cared about itself would also close tax loopholes that can only be used by the savviest and most aggressive 1%ers, distorting our system to the point where it makes much more sense to have passive income than to earn it. At the same time, the government would also stop undercutting citizens by allowing open borders and flagrant violations of immigration and labor law that result in chronic un- or under-employment among lower class Americans.
Bottom line, our gov’t doesn’t care about America. It’s one of the only true bipartisan trends in D.C. these days. I absolutely love getting on the train each night to return to B’more. DC is a pit and not just because it’s literally built on swampland that Maryland didn’t want.
BTW, MacBeth, in case it isn’t clear, I work on the private sector side of things and my costs and higher and ROI lower than goon. Goon is at least ostensibly talking about actual projects and task orders, etc. I basically use legal procedures to ensure that contractors continue to work and get paid even if the gov’t isn’t happy with the work or the projects go way over budget. We also ensure that if our client loses a contract for which it is an incumbent, the new awardee will have to spend alot [sic] of money to battle it out in GAO (at a minimum) on up through COFC and/or the Fed Circuit.
I’m not going to lie, part of the reason this is done is to get a peak at their classified info and find technical errors on the part of the agency/CO. And in the process this raises the awardee’s costs of bidding on the contract, giving our client another shot at the award.
We recently had a matter where the winning bidder (opponent) built a facility *specifically* to perform a multi-year gov contract. They won the award. Our client protested and tied it up for nearly a year afterwards, driving up the awardee’s costs. It also served to allow our client (the incumbent) to continue working the contract while the appeals were going, which paid for our firm’s billing (in the hundreds of thousands, maybe 7 figures). The icing in the cake is that our client and the opponent bid against each other on big contracts all the time. So forcing them to defend their award means that the opponent had to include their carrying costs for the custom-built facility and legally defending their contract award in all other bidding in order to cover that type of overhead.
It is both hilarious and sad.
a couple of typos (e.g. “peak” should be “peek”) in there. oops. don’t sue me.
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20130430_111318_412-OM5Ic549.jpg
So goon you’re with the GSA? You sure make it hard on us little guys. No one but the bigs can handle all that red tape.
“No one but the bigs can handle all that red tape.”
Bingo. And this is _by design_.
Even in contracts involving preferences for small business, it really requires one of the big contractors to steer the ship. One of our current cases involves an unpopulated joint venture between 2 large contractors who created a “small business” joint venture based in Alaska (to take advantage of native american preferences). The small business venture has only 1 employee total. And that one employee is, curiously enough, a member of the management team at one of the big contractors that own the joint venture. Furthermore, in their technical proposal, they claim they will perform virtually the entire contract themselves… despite only having 1 employee at present.l
Where we’re really nailing them is that their Past Performance Questionnaires (submitted as part of the bidding process to show that a given contractor can do the work) are for the large parent companies, not from the small business joint venture. As if that wasn’t enough, both of the large contractors carefully worded their letters of commitment to say that they will help the small business joint venture but omitted any statement of financial guarantees or manpower. The whole thing is laughable. And this is not a small contract, it’s a contract to do all maintenance and labor work at a decent sized air force base.
An absolutely excellent screed here, Joe. A fine premise for your book, which I’m looking forward to buying after you’ve written it and pimped it on Stewart and Colbert.
The timing chiders always fail to mention that the Fed response was precedence setting. Few people considered the “shock and awe” QE model was possibly on the table. And many of us that were paying attention at that time considered that we must be at a point of severe desperation for the Fed to make this move. The point that the chiders don’t seem to recognize this makes their opinion difficult to consider.
He wasn’t even close to getting the timing right about the financial debt crisis that came four full years after he called for it, finally hitting in 2008.
Um, no. Maybe in our new-age short-term way of thinking 4 years is an eternity, but in the grand scheme of things 4 years is nothing. I’d say he called it as well as anyone.
stocks and homes will take you to the glory land
or the glory hole…
the glory hole
Speaking of which, see New York Times article linked below about bacterial meningitis and Lindsey Graham’s favorite Chelsea hangout Paddles.
dsey Graham’s favorite Chelsea hangout Paddles.
Hope he’s careful. NYC has seen a rise in violence against gays lately. And the idiot mayor is after big gulps. Or, may be the big gulps make people violent towards gays?
High corn fructose withdrawls will make anyone crazy!
Er, high fructose corn syrup.
DOH!
Well. There goes my bachelorette party…..
Sticks and stones may break my bones
But stocks and homes will screw me.
May 22, 2013, 6:50 a.m. EDT
Stock futures edge up ahead of Bernanke, data
Lowe’s down after results, Staples also reports
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U.S. stocks rise after Fed officials’ QE signal
Fed’s Bullard: No tapering with inflation so low
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock market futures were pointing to a slightly firmer start for Wall Street on Wednesday ahead of a key appearance from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, along with minutes of the recent Fed meeting.
On the economic front, a trade group is expected to report a jump in sales of existing homes.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJM3 +0.11%) rose 12 points to 15,367, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index (SPM3 +0.14%) rose 1.5 points to 1,667.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NDM3 +0.17%) gained 3 points to 3,024.50.
The event of the day will be Bernanke’s testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress at 10 a.m. It will be his first testimony since late February. The big question is whether Bernanke will give clues to the future direction of the Fed’s bond-buying program.
Many market observers said prior-day comments from New York Fed President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard suggested the central bank isn’t close to tapering its bond-buying program.
“The S&P and Dow hit new record highs again on Tuesday following comments from FOMC members James Bullard and William Dudley that suggested we will see no monetary tightening in the near future,” said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari U.K., in emailed comments. “If Bernanke makes similar comments today, I see no reason why we won’t see more record highs on Wednesday.”
…
Consumer staples may be getting hammered, but so long as the stock market keeps setting new highs every day, there is nothing to fear.
May 22, 2013, 6:46 a.m. EDT
Staples net falls 9.2% as same-store sales slide
By Melodie Warner
Staples Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 9.2% as the office-supplies retailer’s North American and European same-store sales continued to weaken.
The largest office-supply chain in the U.S. has seen its profit challenged by an increasingly digitized office and greater competition from mass merchants and online sellers. Staples unveiled plans last year to reduce its North American retail square footage 15% by the end of fiscal 2015. The company has also been cutting its headcount in Europe, the center of its international division’s weak performance.
…
I noticed 2 staples stores here have subdivided their stores so they can rent out the excess space..
Also noticed a lot less inventory…so subdividing the store would make it look like its full again.
Could it be that no one short of a moron would continue to support their outrageous retail prices?
How Staples, office Max and Office Depot manage to stay in business is beyond me. I truly don’t understand it.
Does anyone shop at these places? I hear they’re always nearly devoid of customers.
Mac….Its about needing something NOW not in a few days by UPS….
Office max and depot are merging anyway…a big part of their business is selling to business…..would you buy 96 rolls of toilet paper?
http://www.staples.com/Heavenly-Soft-Bath-Tissue-Rolls-2-Ply-96-Rolls-Case/product_796083
I guess it would have to be.
So, it’s to become an online/catalog-only supplier of toilet paper, thumbtacks and folders to businesses.
Glorious.
Lots and lots of empty retail space out there. Question is what to do with all that. Turn them into prisons, maybe?
we have so much empty retail space…and most high rise buildings being built today always have the 1st and maybe 2nd for retail.
Interesting fact ever wonder why NYC has so many 2nd floor and/or 2 story retail businesses?
They made the 2nd floor with 11 feet ceilings…to pass commercial code..
Lots and lots of empty retail space out there. Question is what to do with all that. Turn them into prisons, maybe ??
If, they are in a urban core with some stability in the job market they will get re-positioned through re-development…We are seeing that happen at a brisk pace around here right now…Two main drivers….55 & older senior housing & mixed use retail downstairs and apartments upstairs….Retail portion is quite small compared to the overall development…mainly convenience shops…Subway…Starbucks etc…The bigger part of the developments (housing) are quite dense…50 units per acre or so…
NOW, if your commercial property happens to be outside of the urban core, how can I put this delicately; Your F#@&….Much of that commercial space will ultimately be bulldozed IMO…The headwind forces are clear and growing…They are Dead…
“Could it be that no one short of a moron would continue to support their outrageous retail prices? How Staples, office Max and Office Depot manage to stay in business is beyond me. I truly don’t understand it.”
BINGO!!
I bought a laptop from Costco recently. The exact same laptop at Staples, which is literally across the street from Costco, was $80 more. And Costco gives an extra year warranty on electronics/laptops.
I replaced all 4 tires of my CRV the other day at costco. $120 savings for the smilar tires from other shops.
Staples is the legitimate enterprise that “launders” Romney’s vast offshore holdings, much like your in-law’s take out restaurant. It doesn’t matter if it makes a profit.
Oops. Sorry, wrong Smithers.
“I replaced all 4 tires of my CRV the other day at costco. $120 savings for the smilar tires from other shops.”
Interesting. Tires is the one area I have always found Costco to be lacking in. Les Schwab and Discount Tire are both cheaper than Costco, at least they have been the last 4 or 5 times I’ve bought new tires. Last set of tires was a set of winter tires. $800 at Discount all in, $950 at Costco. Exact same tires.
Dunno…lots of morons are supporting astronomical home prices these days — far more costly than shopping at Staples…
Here in Tucson, the office supply warehouses are ghost towns. Have been for years.
I’ve been tempted to use them as off-site napping venues. They’re THAT quiet.
The Staples near my old apartment was always busy for a week or two right around the start of the school year.
May 22, 2013, 7:48 a.m. EDT
Target profit drops on slow apparel sales
By Ben Eisen
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Target Corp. reported its first-quarter profit fell 29% to $498 million, or 77 cents a share, from $697 million, or $1.04 a share, a year earlier.
…
May 21, 2013, 7:30 a.m. EDT
Best Buy swings to $81 million first-quarter loss
By Saumya Vaishampayan
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY -4.36%) said it swung to a loss of $81 million, or 24 cents a share, in its fiscal 2014 first quarter from a year-ago profit of $158 million, or 46 cents a share. Per-share earnings from continuing operations fell to 29 cents a share from 49 cents a share. Those earnings excluded European operations as Best Buy agreed to sell its 50% stake in Best Buy Europe on April 30. Revenue fell to $9.38 billion, from $10.37 billion a year earlier, the retailer said Tuesday. Analysts had expected earnings of 24 cents a share on revenue of $10.67 billion, according to FactSet.
…
if the housing bubble roars back people will be back shoppn for a new flat screen.
If I get a bigger flat screen, I’ll need to turn my head to see it all. I’m at peak flat screen.
get out before everyone else does.
get out before everyone else does.
Exactly.
“Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be much much less tomorrow for many years to come.”
“Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be much much less tomorrow for many years to come.”
Don’t fight the FED
“Don’t fight the FED”
You mean don’t give into the fed. Hold onto your cash. You’re going to need it.
Consumer staples may be getting hammered, but so long as the stock market keeps setting new highs every day, there is nothing to fear.
That’s what the Citi Group Plutonomy Report says!
In a 75% retail driven economy, who needs customers when your stocks are doing great! Everyone knows that customers just an impediment and extra cost to the money that is rightfully yours in the first place.
May 22, 2013, 12:02 a.m. EDT
Bernanke out by August, QE ends, rates up: Crash
Commentary: Prepare now because easy money will dry up
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — The “Dr. Boom” scenario: America is about to “unleash a spending spree. Years of self-denial give way to pent-up demand,” predicts UBS economist Maury Harris in USA Today’s bold lead story.
His clue? Consumer sentiment: “Harris estimates that in the next five years, catch-up consumption will boost annual consumer spending growth by a half point to above 3% from about 2%.”
Reassuring? No, wishful thinking. Be very skeptical. As Robert Kuttner, author of the new “Debtors’ Prison: The Politics of Austerity Versus Prosperity” once wrote in BusinessWeek, “What do you call an economist with a prediction? Wrong.”
Harris is bucking the headwinds of history. As Jeremy Grantham, chief strategist of the $100 billion GMO money managers, recently told InvestmentNews, the newspaper of record for America’s 90,000 professional investment advisers, “3% annual GDP growth is history.”
Here’s why you better be preparing today for a crash dead ahead. As Pimco’s Bill Gross warned in his recent newsletter: “You’re going to lose money investing … because the central banks say so.” That’s right, this is a Fed-driven rally. Soon the Fed will be forced to stop printing cheap money.
…
“Soon the Fed will be forced to stop printing cheap money.”
This is true. On Oct. 8th. The new $100 bill will replace the current $100 note with advanced anti-counterfeiting features. These new features will make printing the new bills more expensive.
New features that might be included in the new design:
Integrated GPS tracking
DNA sampling w/memory
Timed self destruct feature
Somewhere, I’ve seen a proposal that money self-destruct, as part of a theory that this will force people to spend it.
Most of the money printing is electronic.
May 22, 2013, 10:29 a.m. EDT
Brian Battle: Fed painted into a corner?
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As Fed chief Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill, Brian Battle of Performance Trust Capital Partners joins Jim Asendio for MarketWatch Stock Talk.
There may very well be a pent up demand and spending spree, but it will most likely be for necessities.
Cheap shoes only last so long.
Soon the Fed will be forced to stop printing cheap money.”
Why ?
and then this
“3% annual GDP growth is history.”
Agree so why will the FED raise interest rates if growth stays below 3%
This article talks out two sides but thats because Paul B. Farrell is an idiot
‘why will the FED raise interest rates if growth stays below 3%’
IMO, most are looking at this incorrectly. Why is growth so bad? Nothing was fixed or reformed in the economy, just papered over with money from most all of the central banks. So every day these rates are artificially low and credit standards eased, a few thousand people buy a house they’re gonna lose. Every day corporations are borrowing huge amounts of money with junk bonds that aren’t going to pay it back. Every day states and cities borrow money to keep the lights on, with no way to pay it back if the economy tanks. It’s not the rates that are going to crush these borrowers, it’s the principle.
Part of me wants this all to stop. But it’s so late now, part of me wants to see Bernanke and his pals really run this baby off the cliff. I don’t know if you’ve seen my posts, but the global housing bubble is getting stupid. And when the SHTF, it’s all going to be put on the governments and central banks this time. That will be one small silver lining.
I don’t know if you’ve seen my posts, but the global housing bubble is getting stupid ??
I watch them carefully and its just amazing that it is a world wide phenomenon…Its like a plague that has infected the whole world…Common thread….Central bank intervention…
“…it’s all going to be put on the governments and central banks this time….”
Why do you say this, Ben? We thought it was going to be put on the international banks and insurers last time, and the S&L’s before that, and Treasury before that — but it wasn’t. What’s to prevent IMF et al from simply restructuring the debt, sloughing it off to future taxpayers, and carrying on ad infinitum?
I hate to break it to the gold bugs, but one of these days in the not-too-distant future, the next dip they buy will not be followed by any near-term rebound.
May 21, 2013, 12:05 p.m. EDT
Gold investors lured to trade on charts only
One retail trader tries blocking out news, Twitter for a month
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — The noise around gold these days is about as loud and frantic as you can get.
Investors are bombarded with speculation and news about central-bank policies, along with economic data, investment banks racing to cut gold forecasts, dollar moves, updates on Indian wedding demand, data on ETF outflows, and on and on.
The end result: A roller-coaster ride that has headed mostly down since mid-April. In that month alone, gold futures lost 8%, and the most-active contract has now plummeted 19% so far this year. After a brief respite from selling on Monday, gold for June delivery was down another $20 on Tuesday.
…
You have to admit what’s happening with gold is interesting. Even when the Fed announces they’ll keep up bond purchases, it falls. Something is going on.
It is going up today.
Which “it”? The only thing I see dropping is oil, and even oil is falling up in price.
Bernanke: Early tightening could end growth
Dow 15,517 +125 0.82%
Nasdaq 3,526 +24 0.68%
S&P 500 1,684 +14 0.83%
GlobalDow 2,266 +19 0.84%
Gold 1,409 +31 2.28%
Oil 95.91 -0.30 0.31%
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8:36 a.m.
Oil futures fall as inventories unexpectedly rise
8:33 a.m.
Europe stocks slide ahead of Bernanke comments
Did The Bernanke just blink funny into the camera or something? No sooner did all the headline U.S. stock market indexes rocket up, then they started falling straight back down to earth again…
Well, as soon as BB said Fed is considering withdrawal of QE,
Dow dropped from 151 to like 95 and Gold prices have also receded.
It is all Fed’s money printing game. No real mass to support the inflated RE prices, stock prices, bond market or even Gold.
Bernanke: Early tightening could end growth
What growth is he talking about?
The DOW.
Let it drop. I’m loading up at $1300.
Let it drop. I’m loading up at $1300.
1300 is still high for me. At $1000 I will collect few.
I think perhaps that last major drop opened some eyes as to how this “hard asset” can swing wildly based on manipulation and perception.
Are people seeking other ways to protect against longer term inflation?
Are people seeking other ways to protect against longer term inflation?”
yea they are buying houses
BULLETIN Dow turns lower in wake of Fed minutes; S&P, Nasdaq extend losses
May 22, 2013, 10:43 a.m. EDT
Gold will not make a comeback
Commentary: There may be a bounce, but don’t expect a recovery
Stories You Might Like
Shades of 1999 serve as warning for investors
You don’t think we’re in a bubble?
By Jeff Reeves
Gold has been getting hammered the last week or two, pushing below $1,400 and threatening to retest the low mark of $1,322 set intraday in mid-April.
But since gold bounced big off that low — about 12% in just several trading days — some swing traders are starting to wonder if this could be an opportunity to snag a quick double-digit gain on another rebound off the bottom.
Or if you believe Peter Shiff, a rather modest 260% gain from here.
Don’t believe any of it.
…
One thing is absolutely positively certain: At ever so slightly higher Treasury yields in the current deflationary environment, gold is going to get more severely crushed than a trailer in Moore, Oklahoma. You see, gold has a return of zero in a deflationary environment, unless injections of printing press money are artificially suppressing yields on more attractive alternatives like Treasurys.
Buying gold now is a bet on QE3-to-infinity FOREVER.
May 22, 2013, 11:39 a.m. EDT
Gold turns lower after Bernanke’s mixed QE signals
Stories You Might Like
Bernanke out by August, QE ends, rates up: Crash
Gold in key test
Shades of 1999 serve as warning for investors
By Myra P. Saefong and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures turned lower Wednesday immediately following U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress as investors considered the likelihood that the central bank will soon begin to tighten monetary policy.
At first, gold prices added to gains as Bernanke’s comments implied that premature tightening of Fed policy could end growth, then prices fell after he said the central bank could slow asset purchases in the next few meetings.
The Fed’s easy monetary policy has helped support the precious metal as quantitative easing tends to pressure the dollar and can lead to inflation. Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation.
Gold futures for delivery in June (GCM3 -1.27%) fell $5.50, or 0.4%, to $1,372.10 an ounce Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold had climbed above $1,400 shortly after Bernanke’s testimony.
The yellow metal shed $6.50 in Tuesday’s regular session.
“This week’s volatility as well as a failure to push below the $1,320 levels earlier this week suggest some schizophrenia about the future intentions of the Federal Reserve with respect to their asset purchase program,” said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, in emailed remarks.
“A premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but would also carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery and causing inflation to fall further,” Bernanke said in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
…
There it is.
Bulletin Dow’s down more than 100 points in final half-hour of session
May 22, 2013, 3:38 p.m. EDT · CORRECTED
Treasurys fall on Bernanke; 10-year hits 2%
By Ben Eisen, MarketWatch
An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Garth Friesen, co-chief investment officer at III Associates. The story has been corrected.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasurys swiftly reacted to comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about the time frame for discussing changes to monetary policy, sending yields to their first day above 2% since mid-March.
The 10-year note 10_YEAR +5.08% yield, which moves inversely to prices, rose to 2.034%, 10 basis points higher on the day.
The 30-year bond 30_YEAR +2.59% yield rose 8 basis points to 3.217% and the 5-year note 5_YEAR +9.37% yield rose 7 basis points to 0.897%.
…
30-yr Treasury yields
May 2, 2013 2.82%
May 22, 2013 3.217%
Q. Suppose you paid $1000 for a Treasury bond on May 2, 2013. What is it worth today?
A. $924 (a 7.6% loss)
By Susan Stonewall and Seeyoo Later
WASHINGTON | Wed May 22, 2013 4:07am EST
WASHINGTON (Zeuters) An instructional video has been issued by the Obama administration. Included in the video are talking points for those asked to testify in the Benghazi, IRS and AP wiretapping scandals. The video also appears to contain actions to be taken when being presented with e-mails and other evidence concerning their participation, who they received their orders from and or knowledge of how events unfolded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PibDMGxiyJw - 125k
Obama: I Certainly Did Not Know Anything About IG Report Before It …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbo7YxYX2hg - 197k - Cached - Similar pages
5 days ago …
So Greece is large amounts of itself to China — just like the U.S. is?
is selling (needs Joe!)
Greek PM invites China to ‘join Greece’s success story’
Greece is rolling out the red carpet for Chinese investors as a means of stabilizing its shaky economy.
By Nikolia Apostolou, Correspondent / May 21, 2013
China’s Premier Li Keqiang (r.) and Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras talk during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last week. Mr. Samaras is hoping to convince the Chinese to invest in Greece, which could help ease the country’s debt crisis.
Officials in Brussels and Washington may view China’s global shopping spree with alarm, as the Asian power house continues to buy up companies, sovereign debt, ports, and bridges around the world. But the Greeks are already dusting off the red carpet.
On a five-day visit to Beijing that ended Monday, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras eagerly invited the Chinese to “join Greece’s success story,” hoping to lure the country’s ravenous investors to Greece and pump new life into the country’s devastated economy.
…
When the Greeks default the Chinese will dismantle the Acropolis and move it to still being built Shanghai Disneyland.
“Housing prices falling to dramatically lower and more affordable levels is bullish optimism and a boost to the economy.”
Bigger and bigger government is the answer to all problems.
Only an all powerful and huge government can make America a better place.
———————————–
Mike unleashes a ‘hail’ storm
The New York Post | May 22, 2013 | Emily Smith
Mayor Bloomberg went on a spitting-mad rant against a city cab-fleet boss who won a court victory over Hizzoner’s planned “Taxi of Tomorrow” — vowing to “destroy your f–king industry” when he leaves office, The Post has learned.
Bloomberg’s tirade included the warning that, “After January, I am going to destroy all you f–king guys.”
“Mayor Bloomberg…”
Doesn’t this “spitting-mad rant” guy have enough money already?
It is not about money. It is about power.
2 you’re right the Union is taking the stand that 95% of new yorkers need bad taxi rides because the 5% who might be handicapped cant use them.
Of course they still have the EXPENSIVE access a ride….
But the choice of the NV200 inspired the ire of advocates for the environment and proponents of accessibility. The vehicle is not wheelchair-accessible, but it can be retrofitted to become so. In December, John C. Liu, the city comptroller, rejected the Nissan contract, though it was unclear what practical effect the action would have.
NEW YORK (WABC) — A judge has ruled against the city’s plan for a “Taxi of Tomorrow,” saying the cab violates a law that lets drivers use hybrid vehicles.
The Nissan NV-200 will not be offered as a hybrid, at first.
go watch the videos that charles hugh smith linked in the article i posted yesterday.
sociopath.
Most NYC aristocrats are.
I think doucheberg would be happier as the mayor of San Angeles (the fictional conglomeration featured in movies like Demolition Man).
“Why pay these grossly inflated asking prices for resale housing when you can rent the same thing for half the monthly cost?”
weren’t you and joe smith hanging out at Paddles last weekend?
‘a new, casually transmittable infection - a unique strain of bacterial meningitis - has cast a pall over the gay night life and dating scene, with men wondering this is AIDS, circa 1981, all over again.’
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/health/for-gay-men-a-fear-that-feels-familiar.html
Paddles…. lmao
Well Dr Koop was right 30 years ago, what would stop aids was Monogamy and the gay community rejected that idea pretty quickly.
Racist.
Ahhh the OLD HBB is back & quit raggin on OX and SF for buying their houses
When the lyin stops. Not a second sooner.
Dr. Koop was, and still is, indeed, right.
Now they will push for circumscision of every male all over the world.
Comment by sfhomowner
2013-01-09 12:44:17
I propose that all males be sterilized at age 14.
Of course she would.
What do you call it when officials of the MOST powerful agency in any administration pleads the Fifth in order not to self incriminate himself/herself?
For targeting political enemies of the administration?
Hope and change?
Forward?
The most transparent administration ever?
And why do government employees that plead the Fifth not immediately FIRED?
————————–
Lois Lerner To Plead The Fifth Amendment Before Congress
Political Realities | 05/22/13 | LD Jackson
Now that Congress is getting into the act of asking the IRS to account for its actions, they are holding hearings on the issue. Several IRS officials have been asked to testify and they have done so. Lois Lerner is scheduled to testify to Congress today, but her lawyer has informed Darrell Issa that she will be pleading the Fifth Amendment and will answer no questions. For an individual and organization that is still claiming they have done nothing wrong, pleading the Fifth Amendment seems like a strange move. That’s on the surface. Underneath, there is an entire host of reasons why she wouldn’t want to be faced with giving truthful answers to the questions Darrell Issa and his committee may be throwing in her direction. When I say this woman has a history, that’s the understatement of the year.
If anyone is guilty of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt, it is Lois Lerner. Considering she is now the head of the IRS division charged with implementing Obamacare, the plot gets even thicker. You’ll have to excuse me if I am not exactly enamored with the idea of Lois Lerner implementing Obamacare. That’s more than a little scary.
Yes, but let’s not forget the person who made the implementation of Obamacare possible: Chief Justice John Roberts, darling of the (neo)conservatives.
Bad cess to ya, Johnny-boy.
I see - obamacare the IRS targeting people for their political views are all the fault of republicans.
And people wonder how a Stalin, Mao or Hitler comes to power.
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” — Barack Hussein Obama, 4th Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021
An ACTUAL real quote from obama:
“My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”
I really despise that quote. Sickening.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need (or needs) is a slogan popularised by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program.[1] In German, “Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!”. In the Marxist view, such an arrangement will be made possible by the abundance of goods and services that a developed communist society will produce; the idea is that, with the full development of scientific socialism and unfettered productive forces, there will be enough to satisfy everyone’s needs.[2]
‘We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.’
How many here know Obama has used the espionage act to go after more whistle blowers than all previous administrations combined? Now we hear of press wiretaps, etc. What do you suppose anyone is going to tell a reporter off the record? This is Soviet Union stuff, IMO.
And to think that the federal government is recording every phone call, email, text, blog comment and storing it for future use. Don’t you dare complain; what do you have to hide? This is to keep you safe; it’s the price of freedom!
Good thing we didn’t elect that Mormon guy with Cayman bank accounts, huh guys?
The only difference if we’d elected him would be that the knee jerk conservatives would be defending him for the same lies Obama tells us.
There would be other differences. If there weren’t, the point one percenters would not favor the Republicans. Those point one percenters really don’t care about this IRS scandal. What affect does it have on their fortunes or their control of the economy? If fact, as a group, they care little about things like Benghazi, gun control, Obama’s birth certificate, drones, gay marriage, the AP scandal, abortion, etc. These issues are played up to distract the masses from the real issues. The .1% are quite happy for the 99% can waste their time getting hot and bothered about such issues. That leaves the elites undisturbed so they can run the economy without interference.
Oh, PUH-LEEEEEZE. I merely posted that to illustrate how the suppression and cowing of the sheeple is an equal opportunity effort, by one team with two branches. The two opposite sides of the same lousy coin are there only to keep the sheeple fiddling with themselves and fighting with each other.
Obama’s not the first pres of either party to use the IRS to target persons and groups. There’s Nixon and god knows who all.
LIEberal~
Jeebus, you just insulted me. Wow, you haven’t been paying attention. I’m closest to a paleocon, really. Maybe. I really despise the lib-con, dem-rep, prog-whatever memes.
And I’m a proud renter since 2005!
I’m just so hurt, HA. Sob…
Nevermind
“Obama’s not the first pres of either party to use the IRS to target persons and groups. There’s Nixon and god knows who all.”
This is the Obama defense. No matter what he does it’s OK because someone else did it before. Well OK, fine. So how about Obama step down like Nixon did?
So how about Obama step down like Nixon did?
How dare you? Don’t you know Nixon resigend for all past/present/future presidents’ sins?
So how about Obama step down like Nixon did?
Why? Did he authorize B&E into the GOP HQ?
This IRS “scandal” is another Karl Rove distortion which uses a poorly-written directive to exploit a semantic loophole — namely a dubious definition over a dubious timeframe I.E.; what constitutes “mostly” educational, charitable, or civic, and over what time frame? If granted, the so-called “Super Pac” allows for non-disclosure of (unlimited) funding sources.
Nothing whatsoever to do with audits, it was an attempt by the Cincinnati office of the IRS to streamline the 501(c)4 application process when a rash of new entities seeking to use that anonymity to hide its (ahemKochBrothersummm) backers sprang up after the Citizens United ruling in advance of the 2012 elections.
In fact, as Stephen Colbert’s intrepid tax attorney, Trevor Potter has pointed out, it’s not even necessary to file for a 501 (c)4. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/426445/may-20-2013/mazda-scandal-booth—the-irs—trevor-potter — a fact Mr. Rove’s attorneys almost certainly were aware of, suggesting a manufactured crisis just in time to distract from pressing domestic issues in advance of the 2014 elections….
While I agree that the questions asked were unduly intrusive, they’re certainly nothing unusual. I encountered a similar (risible) level of scrutiny when I applied for tax-exempt status for an ongoing community fund drive to build a children’s playground at our local mountain school several years ago.
Why? Did he authorize B&E into the GOP HQ?
When you maintain a kill list, don’t you think we past the small b&e?
This IRS “scandal” is another Karl Rove distortion which uses a poorly-written directive to exploit a semantic
I thought Karl Rove hated the tea billy types. Get your story straight.
So this is all Karl Rove’s fault? I see. I bet the evil Koch Brothers are in on it too. Obama as usual is innocent. The Kool Aid is strong with this one.
“While I agree that the questions asked were unduly intrusive, they’re certainly nothing unusual. I encountered a similar (risible) level of scrutiny when I applied for tax-exempt status for an ongoing community fund drive to build a children’s playground at our local mountain school several years ago.”
Were you also asked about your prayers? Were you asked for your facebook account? Were you asked for a resume of everyone working with you? Were you asked to provide web sites you visit regularly? Were you asked for a list of everyone that has donated money to your cause?
It worked for Bush, didn’t it?
Good for the goose, good for the gander.
“…I thought Karl Rove hated the tea billy types….”
I’d wager the Republican Party leadership hates tele-evangs and illegal aliens, too, (just as the Dem elite cringe at meet-and-greets at the donut shoppe and consoling trailer park disaster victims) but they still readily co-opt them for votes.
TeaParty and OWS initially had similar aims. David Koch is a heavy contributor to Corporation for Public Broadcast. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and Kool-aid has nothing to do with it. Wake up, you’re being played.
(Figuring out by whom is the trick….)
It’s Karl Rove’s world and they are just living in it.
they = democrats, obama, tea billies, IRS agents/mgmt
“…the questions asked were unduly intrusive…” -ahansen
Were you also asked about your prayers?
-Yes, church and community affiliations were requested, as were any local offices held, the names and addresses of the school board members, school site committee members, business addresses of the contractors, and a detailed demographic breakdown (including school lunch program) of the students.
Were you asked for your facebook account?
-Few up here had internet access in 2008, let alone FB. I was asked for my email address and website.
Were you asked for a resume of everyone working with you?
-Yes. (But I was working alone at the time of application) Also asked for title position and job duties of those on various school sub-committees along with their contact information.
Were you asked to provide web sites you visit regularly?
-ibid
Were you asked for a list of everyone that has donated money to your cause
-Yes. Also those who had donated or offered labor or materials.
So you see…. And this was not for a SuperPac, merely tax-exempt foundation status. it should also be noted that similar information is required for grant proposals from private entities.
Anyone who thinks our bureaucracies, public services and schools are not ripe with mini-revolutionaries should have their head examined.
David Koch is a heavy contributor to Corporation for Public Broadcast. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and Kool-aid has nothing to do with it.
He may be contributing to PBS to influence its programming. Here’s an article that came out just this week.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/05/27/130527fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
Neocons = progressives
Progressives = neocons
It’s been true at least since Bush the Elder became vice president in 1980 (and perhaps for 2-3 decades before that). Consider that he and Reagan did not get along.
Precisely. That’s why today’s progressive movement supports the IMF, Israeli apartheid, and pushes for wars of aggression in the Middle East. Are you daft, or simply stuck in 1917 ?
‘Mar 27, 2010
The war on WikiLeaks and why it matters
The U.S. government escalates its campaign to harass and destroy a key whistle-blowing site
‘A newly leaked CIA report prepared earlier this month (.pdf) analyzes how the U.S. Government can best manipulate public opinion in Germany and France — in order to ensure that those countries continue to fight in Afghanistan. The Report celebrates the fact that the governments of those two nations continue to fight the war in defiance of overwhelming public opinion which opposes it — so much for all the recent veneration of “consent of the governed” — and it notes that this is possible due to lack of interest among their citizenry: “Public Apathy Enables Leaders to Ignore Voters,” proclaims the title of one section.’
‘But the Report also cites the “fall of the Dutch Government over its troop commitment to Afghanistan” and worries that — particularly if the “bloody summer in Afghanistan” that many predict takes place — what happened to the Dutch will spread as a result of the “fragility of European support” for the war. As the truly creepy Report title puts it, the CIA’s concern is: “Why Counting on Apathy May Not Be Enough”:’
‘The Report seeks to provide a back-up plan for “counting on apathy,” and provides ways that the U.S. Government can manipulate public opinion in these foreign countries. It explains that French sympathy for Afghan refugees means that exploiting Afghan women as pro-war messengers would be effective, while Germans would be more vulnerable to a fear-mongering campaign (failure in Afghanistan means the Terrorists will get you). The Report highlights the unique ability of Barack Obama to sell war to European populations.’
‘Last month, I was on a panel at the New School’s Conference on how information is controlled in a democracy, and also on the panel were Daniel Ellsberg, who risked his liberty to leak the Pentagon Papers, and The New York Times‘ David Barstow, who won the Pulitzer Prize for exposing the Pentagon’s propaganda program. Ellsberg described how massive is the apparatus of secrecy in the National Security State, and Barstow made the vital point — which I summarized in the clip below when speaking later that day at NYU Law School — that the public and private means for manipulating public opinion are rapidly increasing at exactly the same time that checks on secrecy (such as investigative journalism) are vanishing’
http://www.salon.com/2010/03/27/wikileaks/
Glenn Greenwald is as important a voice of American Constitutional conscience as Ben Jones is of the housing bubble. That after three years Bradley Manning still awaits court martial tells us all we need to know about how “progressive” this administration might be.
http://www.mrconservative.com/2013/03/6557-watch-sarah-palin-takes-sip-from-big-gulp-soda-at-cpac-speech/
+1 Need to replace that straw with a piece of 3/4″ heater hose.
LOL…..
2Banana - You are being had for a fool. It’s so easy to stir up anger against a boogie man like the IRS when it was congress that set up the rules in the first place.
You should have a look at Steven Colbert’s show on May 20th. and a segment that features the former McCain legal adviser, Trevor Potter.
“Stephen Colbert emerged from a glass case of scandal journalism on Monday to find out there was a perfectly good reason his own super PAC had been “slow-walked” by the Internal Revenue Service.
“Why has my application for tax-exempt status never been granted?” he asked his lawyer, Trevor Potter.
“Because we never filed it,” Potter replied, to Colbert’s surprise, since his 501 (c)(4) group was doing business and had handled at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, in Potter’s estimation.
“How is that possible, that I didn’t apply?” Colbert asked. “Am I breaking the law?”
Potter took that opportunity to remind the Colbert Report host that he was not legally obligated to apply for tax-exempt status in the first place.
“So wait a second,” Colbert said, stifling a laugh. “So you can form a 501 (c) (4) without asking to form one.” When Potter confirmed that, Colbert got a little giddier.
“So these tea party, anti-big government organizations didn’t have to ask big government for permission, but they did anyway?” Colbert asked as a follow-up.
“Right,” Potter answered.
“What a bunch of pussies,” Colbert responded. ”
Assured by Potter he could use another name for the application, Colbert went with “Making America A Better Tea Party Patriot 9-12 Place To Constitution America Tea Party Nominally Social Welfare Conservative Political Action Tea Party Secret Money Liberty I Dare You To Deny This Application Of America Tea Party.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/21/colbert-concludes-tea-partiers-are-a-bunch-of-pussies-after-consulting-his-lawyer/
What’s your point? I see a deflection coming out of you.
Were tea partiers treated differently from progressive groups or not?
Has it occured to you that there were probably very, very, very few progressive groups formed to take advantage of the 501(c)(4) “don’t have to disclose the names of your donors” benefit? The Occupy people couldn’t figure out how to keep vagrants from eating all the donated food, never mind agree on how to fill out a government application.
Lots of little groups with bad or no legal representation = lots of applications that are going to take a while to get through the system. There is a reason people pay Joe and his co-workers a lot of money.
I am flabbergasted. The IRS is the one that leaked this information to the public. The IRS itself knew it was doing something wrong. The defense of IRS practices from the likes of you (of course not surprising) is a moot point, isn’t it?
‘The Occupy people couldn’t figure out how to keep vagrants from eating all the donated food’
Vagrants aren’t part of the 99%? What if they had a cardboard sign that said, “will protest for food”?
People who are just there for the free food are a problem when you are trying to govern your “group” by unanimous consent which is what a lot of them were doing. The New York group was the most organized of all of them as near as I could tell and they barely managed to have a march one day, which, admittedly requires some doing in New York City. I’m just not under the impression that many/any of the Occupy groups ever went beyond camping out until they got kicked out (or weathered out) of their parks. I’ve certainly not heard about any “Occupy” candidates running for office or a sub-group of “Occupy” members of Congress.
Problems with applications for government stuff reflect the number of applications that are submitted and, most often, the number of applications that are submitted by people who don’t have someone advising them. If the progressives who wanted to get involved with a c4 just glommed on to Move On (pretty sure Move On is a c4, and it has been around for a while) then there is no reason for there to have been a lot of new applications for progressive c4s.
“Were tea partiers treated differently from progressive groups or not?”
Could be. But the point to be made is why did they file when they didn’t have to? Are all the right wing & libertarian dumb or stupid or were they just taunting the IRS by filing in the first place just so they could claim they are being singled out.
Here’s a tip. Next time you want to collect millions of dollars from un-named donors just put the word Progressive, Socialist or Egalitarian in the name of your organization.
This is the equivalent of “she deserved to be raped” coming from the left.
The IRS has admitted what they did was wrong. The IG said what the IRS did was wrong. Obama has said what the IRS did was wrong, in fact he said it was “outrageous”. Several Democrats have said it was wrong.
And yet the kool aid drinking liberals here and other blogs are blaming the victims. It’s surreal.
“Victims”? AYFKM?
This was a set-up, start to finish, and I’m gratified that so many different ideologies on this board see right through it. Wise up Smithers and follow.
LMAO.
^ This.
From the get go.
Just like Benghazi. GOP cuts funding for embassy security the previous year, then blames the President for security FAIL.
I’d also bet good money they also found and promoted the guy who made the film that “provoked” the attacks AND made damn sure the local were made aware of it.
It’s their MO.
“This was a set-up, start to finish, and I’m gratified that so many different ideologies on this board see right through it. Wise up Smithers and follow.”
I love the liberal spin. First it was “there is no scandal here”. Then it was “there’s a scandal but it was low level employees”. Now it’s back to there’s no scandal with the added bonus of “they deserved it”.
Or in other words, the rape victim totally deserved it because she wore a short skirt.
“Just like Benghazi. GOP cuts funding for embassy security the previous year, then blames the President for security FAIL.”
They could have sent enough military forces necessary to stop the attack in Benghazi twice for the cost of one weekend Obama spent playing golf with Tiger Woods.
“State Department officials repeatedly told Congress that a lack of funds was not an issue. Instead, security was hampered because of bureaucratic issues and management failures. In other words, given the internal failures, no amount of money for the State Department likely would have made a difference in this tragedy.”
The Pinocchio Test
Boxer would have been on firmer ground if she had echoed the broad point made by the Accountability Review Board that both Republicans and Democrats in Congress repeatedly have failed to provide the State Department with the requested resources. Instead she narrowly tailored her critique to the two-year period when Republicans were in control of the House, failing to mention that Democrats have also “cut” the president’s budget request. Thus her remarks lacked significant context.
Indeed, it is almost as if Boxer is living in a time warp, repeating talking points from six months ago that barely acknowledge the fact that extensive investigations have found little evidence of her claim that “there was not enough security because the budget was cut.”
State Department officials repeatedly told Congress that a lack of funds was not an issue. Instead, security was hampered because of bureaucratic issues and management failures. In other words, given the internal failures, no amount of money for the State Department likely would have made a difference in this tragedy.
Three Pinocchios
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/barbara-boxers-claim-that-gop-budgets-hampered-benghazi-security/2013/05/15/d1e295cc-bdb0-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_blog.html - -
Washington Post fact checker Glen Kessler on Tuesday examined the controversy over Benghazi emails the White House released last week, dishing out “three pinocchios” to the administration’s claim that Capitol Hill Republicans “doctored” quotes to “smear the president.”
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/wapo-fact-checker-3-pinocchios-for-claim-of - 35k
They could have sent enough military forces necessary to stop the attack in Benghazi twice for the cost of one weekend Obama spent playing golf with Tiger Woods.
Even the closest force couldn’t get there in time.
But that’s not the point. The point is the embassy security was gutted from lack of funding, thus making it vulnerable in the first place.
Does anyone not get this?!
Dear god, you REALLY can’t fix our kind of stupid.
“Even the closest force couldn’t get there in time.”
So I guess you were there?
By Sharyl Attkisson /
CBS News/ May 6, 2013, 12:00 PM
Diplomat: U.S. Special Forces told “you can’t go” to Benghazi during attacks
The deputy of slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens has told congressional investigators that a team of Special Forces prepared to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi during the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks was forbidden from doing so by U.S. Special Operations Command Africa.
The account from Gregory Hicks is in stark contrast to assertions from the Obama administration, which insisted that nobody was ever told to stand down and that all available resources were utilized. Hicks gave private testimony to congressional investigators last month in advance of his upcoming appearance at a congressional hearing Wednesday.
According to excerpts released Monday, Hicks told investigators that SOCAFRICA commander Lt. Col. Gibson and his team were on their way to board a C-130 from Tripoli for Benghazi prior to an attack on a second U.S. compound “when [Col. Gibson] got a phone call from SOCAFRICA which said, ‘you can’t go now, you don’t have the authority to go now.’ And so they missed the flight … They were told not to board the flight, so they missed it.”
No assistance arrived from the U.S. military outside of Libya during the hours that Americans were under attack or trapped inside compounds by hostile forces armed with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and AK-47 rifles.
Hicks told congressional investigators that if the U.S. had quickly sent a military aircraft over Benghazi, it might have saved American lives. The U.S. Souda Bay Naval Base is an hour’s flight from Libya.
“I believe if we had been able to scramble a fighter or aircraft or two over Benghazi as quickly as possible after the attack commenced, I believe there would not have been a mortar attack on the annex in the morning because I believe the Libyans would have split. They would have been scared to death that we would have gotten a laser on them and killed them,” Hicks testified. Two Americans died in the morning mortar attack.
Obama administration officials have insisted that no military resources could have made it in time. A White House official told CBS News that, at the start of the attack, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta “looked at available options, and the ones we exercised had our military forces arrive in less than 24 hours, well ahead of timelines laid out in established policies.”
Hicks is expected to be the first ground-level eyewitness to speak publicly in the nearly eight months since the terrorist attacks that killed Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans. When Stevens went missing, Hicks became the Chief of Mission for the U.S. in Libya.
Ambassador Susan Rice and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton initially indicated the attacks were not planned acts of terror, but an outgrowth of a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islamic YouTube video. Unidentified government officials removed references to terrorism and al Qaeda from so-called “talking points” released to the public shortly after the attacks.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57583014/diplomat-u.s-special-forces-told-you-cant-go-to-benghazi-during-attacks/ - 125k
Dear god, you REALLY can’t fix our kind of crooked.
As wrong as this was, I can see a motivation that does not involve political suppression. When somebody is ranting about taxes and second amendment solutions and revolution, it’s just possible that they may be cheating on their taxes.
We’ll never know the truth, unfortunately.
it’s just possible that they may be cheating on their taxes.
Like Tim Geithner…
the opposite can also be true…people who talk about how they wish they were paying more taxes should be scrutinzed more to make sure they are.
buffet for example.
What do you call it when officials of the MOST powerful agency in any administration pleads the Fifth in order not to self incriminate himself/herself?
Bush appointees.
Was this a trick question?
Shulman was appointed by President George W. Bush even though he was a donor to the Democratic National Committee in the month prior to the re-election of President Bush in 2004. [4]
And why do government employees that plead the Fifth not immediately FIRED?”
Because they are still, you know, people with rights.
I know that sounds crazy to people who are for guns rights and telling women what to do with their bodies and health and jobs and families, but there it is.
Government employees should be “at will” employees like those in the private sector. Wonder what Lerner is hiding? Innocent people like to tell their side of the story.
The Massive Housing Price Decline Ahead Of Us
http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/7812/caseshiller.jpg
Yeah, but what to do until then?
By the time prices return to the trendline, I’ll be shopping for a coffin.
Actually, I wish to be cremated, but you get the point.
Rent for a small fraction of the cost of buying.
Where I live, rent on an apt is, at best, half of renting a house.
If wanted to live way out in the suburbs, I can buy a house for the price of renting. But I have to live way, way out and in an older neighborhood for those prices. (by way out, I mean at least an hour commute into the city)
In my city, houses are still at stupid prices within city limits.
if you’re going to be cremated, why would you buy a coffin when you can rent for 1/2 the price?
Adjust for inflation and redo the math.
There is no inflation.
Try again.
Are you saying that there has been no inflation from 1987 until today (the timeframe of the graph you posted)?
You’ve said some crazy things, but that’s a doozy.
And you saying that CPI is inflation?
Figures.
CPI is commonly used to come to a determination of “real” movements in prices/asset values as opposed to nominal movements. It is commonly used as a proxy for inflation.
Let me say it another way:
It is unreasonable to believe that the price of pretty much everything has gone up from 1987 until today (including apartment rents)–as measured by CPI, but that home prices should be flat during that same timeframe.
And Professor Shiller adjusts his own index using the CPI to determine where prices are relative to long-term averages…why don’t you?
What is unreasonable is your continued exaggeration and misrepresentation of housing in spite of the fact you have a stake in the direction of prices.
What did you pay for the house you bought last year?
“There is no spoon…”
Quick - let’s ban something and raise taxes.
——————
Sen. Whitehouse Blames GOP For Okla. Tornado
NewsBusters - May 22, 2013
In remarks which will more than likely be ignored by the establishment press, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse in essence blamed yesterday’s deadly tornado which struck Moore, Oklahoma on Republicans who have “run off the climate cliff like a bunch of proverbial lemmings.”
Careful Banana….. You’re going to throw the LIEberals into a frenzy.
Only the best from the liberals/progressives.
————————–
Anthony Weiner declares he’s running for NYC mayor
USA TODAY | May 22, 2013 | Catalina Camia
Former congressman Anthony Weiner officially jumped into the race for New York City mayor, ending weeks of speculation by declaring his political comeback bid in a YouTube video posted late Tuesday.
“I am running for mayor because I have been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life, and I hope I get a second chance to work for you,” Weiner said.
And the Weiner is officially IN!!
“And the Weiner is officially IN!!”
-1 Dead on arrival, IMHO.
Wasn’t Weiner’s wife taking money from lobbiests while still working for Hilary? That would have disqualified republicans from running for an office (or at least would have good amount of discussions) , but he’s a democrat I guess. Hope he wins.
See also: Mark Sanford (adulterer)
“Mark Sanford wins special election for Congress
USA TODAY- WASHINGTON — Disgraced ex-South Carolina governor Mark Sanford won his bid for redemption on May 8th.
This is America where you always get a second chance.
All the same you will see the Daily Show and Colbert Report rip this guy to pieces - If you’ve lost Stewart you’ve lost the libs.
In remarks which will more than likely be ignored by the establishment press
If they ignore it it’s because a Democrat said it. If a Republican had said something like that the press would most likely lambaste him. Kind of like how the press was all over Dan Quayle’s “potato” incident (which incidentally was supposedly misspelled on the card he held), but failed to mention Obama’s “corpse”-man incident…Who knew the commander in chief had corpse-men in his military?
Win bets with your most liberal friends: bet them that Sarah Palin never said “I can see Alaska from my window”. Easy money.
hello realtard.
Who ya scammin’ now?
Don’t feed the troll. Either this guy’s too uninformed/stupid to realize that lib vs. cons is(at this point) a false dichotomy designed to distract the unwashed masses, or he’s an outright troll. Either way, don’t feed.
LOL. Classic ad hominem to refute what somebody says. Ever and always the same.
Mr. McAnus,
Why is it you continue to hide your occupation from the rest of the reader here?
A typical response from today’s average elected official.
As government continues to expand, it grows increasingly corrupt. Those in government not only have to tell bigger lies more often, they also begin to eat their own.
I think a lot of Democrats truly think there were no hurricanes or tornadoes before the SUV was invented. They’re been that brainwashed into the global warming religion. Which is super duper ironic given that these same people laugh at religious people and call them gullible.
this liberal chick i work with actually goes to a “church” where global warming is the theme.
she actually begins sentences with “while at church this past weekeend….”
http://m.guardiannews.com/environment/2013/may/16/climate-research-nearly-unanimous-humans-causes
And in the 1970s it was unanimous that global cooling was happening. Whatever happened to that?
it was unanimous
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PeerReviewedPapersComparingGlobalWarmingAndCoolingIn1970s.jpg
And in the 1970s it was unanimous that global cooling was happening. Whatever happened to that?
Since the 70’s, science, science education, the understanding of science, the methods of science research and the tools of science have tremendously improved.
(But only for liberals)
“Over the past 15 years air temperatures at the Earth’s surface have been flat while greenhouse-gas emissions have continued to soar”
- The Economist, March 30, 2013
But it’s unanimous. Let’s ban SUVs while we can still save the world (and make Al Gore a few hundred more million).
And since 1998 those well educated liberals have been lying through their teeth.
“On Thursday 9 May, a measurement of the daily average atmospheric carbon dioxide exceeded 400 parts per million. Last time CO2 was this high was three to five million years ago, when it was so hot that crocodiles roamed the Arctic.
Scientists thought that this rise would have an impact on climate change and temperatures would be driven steadily upwards by rising CO2, but figures show that they been at a standstill since 1998. The BBC’s environment analyst Roger Harrabin hears from climate sceptics who are saying they were right to question the science behind global warming.”
But it’s unanimous. Let’s ban SUVs while we can still save the world (and make Al Gore a few hundred more million).
Man made climate change is not real because you don’t like Al Gore and because of strawman arguments about SUVs.
if it was absolute…and unanimous…al gore’s lies would be rebuked by the scientific community.
there are no wild eyed maniac snake oil salesmen running around making millions claiming gravity is real…because it’s fracking real.
there are tons of wild eyed maniac snake oil salesmen running around making millions from religion however.
The Earth is getting warmer, study finds
The Earth’s surface is getting warmer, a study partly funded by climate change sceptics has concluded.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8840702/Global-warming-the-Earth-is-getting-warmer-study-finds.html
The most comprehensive independent review of historical weather records to date showed that temperatures have risen since the 19th century.
The Berkeley Earth project compiled more than a billion temperature readings from weather stations around the world and found that the average global land temperature has risen by around 1C since the mid-1950s.
The research was commissioned in the wake of the climategate scandal, to resolve the dispute over the validity of scientists’ previous findings of global warming.
However, the results are likely to come as a disappointment to groups which helped fund the project, which also support organisations lobbying against action on climate change.
The study produced a similar conclusion to research by major groups including Nasa and the Met Office, together with the University of East Anglia, which was criticised during the climategate scandal.
“Man made climate change is not real because you don’t like Al Gore and because of strawman arguments about SUVs.”
Man made global warming is not real because the earth has stayed the same temp since 1998 while people like you have been screaming about the burning oceans.
“there are tons of wild eyed maniac snake oil salesmen running around making millions from religion however.”
Al Gore is worth $300M. Peddling global warming paranoid is quite profitable.
“…Peddling global warming paranoid is quite profitable…”
So is peddling fear of bacteriological hand contamination, but that doesn’t negate its veracity.
Back in the 70’s most of the climate scientist were all into planetary physics and the Milankovitch cycles thing. In fact according to Milankovitch theory we should be cooling off not warming up since then.
the earth has stayed the same temp since 1998 while people like you have been screaming about the burning oceans.
You are twice wrong. The earth is getting warmer and I “scream” about nothing. IMO, there’s nothing much we can do at this point, but I have a scientific background and science is divorced from my politics and my emotions. I see that as my intelligence overriding my emotion - capabilities and traits I don’t detect in you. You just spout trite banalities. You are predictable. Do you have an agenda? Are you brainwashed to where politics override science or are you really a dullard?
Another study:
Earth HOTTEST in 11,300 years, and it’s getting hotter
Last updated on: March 8, 2013
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-earth-hottest-since-11-300-years-and-it-s-getting-hotter/20130308.htm
The earth’s temperature is higher than it has been in the last 11,300 years, and is rising faster than ever, scientists have found. Using data from 73 sites around the world, scientists reconstructed earth’s temperature history back to the end of the last Ice Age, revealing that the planet today is warmer than it has been during 70 to 80 per cent of the time over the last 11,300 years.
Projections of global temperature for the year 2100, using climate models evaluated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that temperatures will exceed the warmest temperatures during that 11,300-year period known as the Holocene — under all plausible greenhouse gas emission scenarios.
Again guys, please don’t feed the troll. anybody who thinks there’s nothing unusual going on with our atmosphere is simply ignorant - willfully or otherwise. I worked on an oceanographic research ship and saw the evidence for myself. Many of the scientists I worked with were very politically conservative and would have loved a chance to disprove anthropogenic climate change. But the evidence just isn’t there - climate change is real.
Smithers: You’re dead wrong about surface temps. Here’s what NASA has on it: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs_v3/
Of course if they don’t support your position, I’m sure you’ll label NASA as an ultra-liberal organization too….
Full disclosure: My parents met at a Young Republicans convention. NOT a liberal. NOT a conservative either. I think for myself thank you, and if you think being one or the other is the way to go for everything, you have a pretty small mind.
The predictions from the 80s and 90s said Florida would be under water by now. How’s that working out?
Who cares about someone’s predictions. I’m talking about measured, observed fact. Putting your fingers in your ears and goind “LaLALalalala…” isn’t helping.
The predictions from the 80s and 90s said Florida would be under water by now…..
The way you argue science and politics is moronic.
Sweet Rio…you have a scientific background…what are your thoughts then on the rebuttals to 11,300 year study?
http://www.energytribune.com/9995/ninety-seven-percent-is-not-what-you-think#sthash.q3OmMK3P.xExA17q2.dpbs
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2013/02/13/peer-reviewed-survey-finds-majority-of-scientists-skeptical-of-global-warming-crisis/
FUD
the earth has stayed the same temp since 1998
Uh huh….
With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000.
CREDIT: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
My mother says the global warming stuff is a pseudo religion. There are some people way out on the fringe that’s for sure.
Uh, so where’s the money quote?
I’ve seen everything BUT, the money quote.
Here’s your money quote:
http://oss.sagepub.com/content/33/11/1477.full
Scroll down to “empirical design and method” and we find that the 1067 meterorlogists and engineers they surveyed are either employed by or affiliated with Alberta’s Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) – the quasi-judicial government agency that regulates petroleum development in Alberta’s tar sands, and agency akin the the American Petroleum Institute.
Thanks A, but I referring to the quote by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse supposedly blaming the GOP for the tornados.
Climate skeptics? Let them buy beach property!
“Sen. Whitehouse Blames GOP For Okla. Tornado”
Commie talk! Everbody knows it was librals what caused that tornader:
“…Popular conspiracy theorist Alex Jones says the government wields a “weather weapon” that can “create and steer” tornadoes….”
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/21/alex_jones_admits_government_may_not_have_caused_tornadoes/
Does anyone else think this guy might be a CIA/NSA/?.gov plant? Anything he touches is automatically rendered absurd, which means if you want to hide a REAL story, all you have to do is get him to pick it up and suddenly it’s firmly in the realm of “crazy conspiracy theories” and untouchable.
I’m no conspiracy nut, but I really WOULD like someone to explain to me why 2 planes hit 2 buildings, but THREE buildings fell down.
They were only connected by underground structures and some distance apart, so I don’t get how the third one comes down like a perfect demolition.
Not trying to be a nutter - I’m really interested to know if anyone here has come across a really good(and verifiable) explanation for that.
To clarify - by “this guy” I meant Alex Jones, not Ahansen…
It’s fascinating to study the philosophy of human history. History is the means by which we construct our current reality. History is never a fixed set of facts, dates or places because it has to be interpreted from the point of view of the present and will always be subject to new revelations and reanalysis.
The final story on 9/11 has not been told.
I put some of the blood on the hands of Billary. For two years rather than slink off under some rock Billary ignore the affairs (pun not intended) of state. Maybe 9/11 would not have happened if there had been a full time president rather than a full time defendant. Who knows what other business was neglected?
But the legacy lives on. Billary set the standard making it easier for people like Sanford and Weiner to grace public office.
Maybe if the Supreme Court hadn’t pick our president for us a lot of stuff would have turned out different.
“…anyone here has come across a really good(and verifiable) explanation for that….”
Nope. And they won’t, because Larry Silverstein was recorded telling NYFD and WTC officials to “pull it” shortly before it was demolished, and various firefighters have testified that several hours before the demolition they were told to move away from building 7 because “they’re going to bring it down”. It’s interesting to note that Building 7’s main tenants were the SEC and IRS, both of whose records and archives were destroyed in the blast.
Silverstein is also on record for insuring his re-acquisition of The World Trade Center for twice as much as its appraised value less than three months before it was hit on 9/11. Then, fighting with the insurer, AIG, for double the payout, arguing that the two planes constituted two separate attacks. The case was finally settled shortly before the AIG bailout in 2008.
Defaults are necessary. Promises to pay continue to be reworked and backstopped. Of course we know the resynthesis of a smelly turd creates a smellier turd.
The implosion is going to be spectacular.
Man shot dead by FBI agent knew Boston bombing suspect, friend says
Posted: May 22, 2013 6:02 AM EDT
By Melissa Mahadeo, Reporter
ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A man who was shot dead by an FBI agent late Tuesday night in Orlando knew one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, a man identified as friend of the shooting victim said Wednesday.
The agent encountered the man while conducting official duties, agent Dave Couvertier said in a statement.
A man at the scene on Peregrine Avenue near Kirkman and Vineland roads who identified himself as a friend of the shooting victim said the man shot dead knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the April 15 bombings that killed three and injured more than 260.
Khusen Taramov said he and his friend had no connection with the Boston bombings, but the FBI had been questioning them since then.
“He used to talk on the phone with him [Tsarnaev],” Taramov said of the shooting victim. “They talked last time a month ago. After the bombing, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
“The FBI kept asking, ‘What’s the connection?’ But there is no connection… no connection.”
Taramov said the shooting victim had planned to return to Chechnya but canceled his tickets.
“Me and him and my friends, we knew this was going to happen. That’s why he wanted to leave the country,” Taramov said. “But he canceled the tickets. The FBI’s been pushing him, ‘Don’t leave, don’t leave.’ So he decided to stay,” he said.
Taramov said the FBI had questioned him earlier Tuesday, but he was allowed to leave. When he returned, Taramov said he found out his friend had been shot dead, he said.
“The FBI knows what happened,” Taramov said.
This is a breaking-news story. Check back for more.
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22382085/fbi-agent-shoots-man-dead-in-orlando - -
Boston Bombers Uncle On Feds Payroll, Tied To CIA
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:55
An investigative report from Daniel Hopsicker reveals murky dealings that indicate a connection between Boston Bomber’s Uncle Ruslan Tsanir and the CIA.
The report reveals that the bomber’s Uncle, made famous for his outspoken condemnation of his nephew’s which aired repeatedly on international news networks, is a well-connected oil executive who at one point worked for a Halliburton shell company used as a front to obtain oil contracts from the Kazakh State which is not involved in an investigation for laundering $6 billion.
Tsanir’s company was well known as being on the CIA’s payroll for reporting intelligence out of the country and further raising eyebrows is the fact the Tsanir was also receiving money directly from USAID, a U.S. taxpayer foreign aid fund notoriously known for funding global CIA black operations which operate under the flag of various humanitarian and pro-democracy operations.
Tsanir’s connections became international news during a Swiss investigation in 2011 when his name popped up as one of several executives in a ring of offshore oil companies involved in money laundering for “international corruption”.
Read Entire Article: Boston Bombers Uncle On Feds Payroll, Tied To CIA
http://beforeitsnews.com/scandals/2013/04/bombshell-fbi-whistleblower-reveals-cia-ran-the-boston-bombers-2431212.html - 102k -
WTF?!
Thank you for this link. This one is too good to be true. (But unfortunately it is.) Wow, didn’t make that association. Puts the bombings in a whole new light.
Jonesy…. were you replacing gravity or pressure pipe yesterday?
It was the water line. I had bid to fix the main line in and then determine if there were any other leaks. Turns out, every connection and fixture in the house is probably ruined.
Here’s something about all this; these houses used to be sold as is. Almost nothing was spent on repairs. Now they fix them up and add the cost and more to the sales price. I guess they are getting it back as they keep ordering more. What does that do to the median price for the area? And who is ultimately paying for it?
Filed under: our differences only make us stronger
“The riots in one of Europe’s richest capitals have shocked a country that prides itself on a reputation for social justice, and fuelled a debate about how Sweden is coping with both youth unemployment and an influx of immigrants.”
http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2013/may/22/sweden-riots-husby-stockholm
I thought Sweden served as proof of socialist utopia.
Why all the riots? Could it be that the young don’t appreciate having their futures stolen from them?
Nah. Couldn’t be. Sweden is virtuous.
The riots appear to have been sparked by the police killing of a 69-year-old man wielding a machete in the suburb of Husby this month, which prompted accusations of police brutality. “Everyone must pitch in to restore calm – parents, adults,” Reinfeldt told reporters on Tuesday.
This smells like ethnic violence to me. I’m guessing the rioters are Muslim immigrants.
Racis!
“This smells like ethnic violence to me. I’m guessing the rioters are Muslim immigrants.”
If the race/religion of the criminal is not mentioned in the MSM story there is a 99.99% chance the criminal is non-Christian and non-White. Same goes with party affiliation. If the MSM story doesn’t mention the party affiliation of a corrupt politician there is a 99.99% chance he/she is a Democrat.
The bedwetter media’s preferred terms are “youths” or “students” when describing incidents of rioting, looting, et cetera.
Here is hint.
Multiculturalism.
From people who think raping infidels is a religious duty.
We really need to celebrate “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.” Too bad we missed it by a couple of Days…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_Draw_Mohammed_Day
One thing though, it’s good to live on a period when you can see all talking points (left’s on Europe and right’s on USA) evaporate right in front of your eyes.
This bubble collapse….. inflated bonds, housing and stocks….. will dwarf 2008 and 2000 stock market corrections.
It’s going to be a doozy.
When?
Imminent.
Thanks To QE Bernanke Has Injected Foreign Banks With Over $1 Trillion In Cash For First Time Ever
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-21/thanks-qe-bernanke-has-injected-foreign-banks-over-1-trillion-cash-first-time-ever
Per The Boss, from Yesterday,
Pendude: ‘Renting costs will remain higher than owning costs’
Ben: Not the house I rent.
‘This context-free debate is so much fun’
I don’t know who you are, but don’t waste bandwidth hitting the comment key more than one time for each comment. And if you don’t like the “debate”, go away.
Actually, I adore debate, particularly reasoned debate.
I particularly enjoy pointing out that banal talking points (”owning costs less than renting”, “renting costs more than buying”) reflect poorly on the profferers (sic?) of said banalities and bromides.
Who I am is a fellow who has been following (with both bemusement and amusement) the housing bubble since 2005. I saved a few family members from being sucked in. Sold a house in a relatively low-bubble area for a nice profit in 2002 after a 1997 purchase, though not for reasons of “bubble” (rather, for a move).
In many places the monthly cost of “ownership” indeed is well greater than the cost of renting. But, not everywhere. I have posted examples before, and can again, if facts, rather than bromides are what is sought.
But, a discussion site is ill served by those who merely want to spout platitudes.
I am here (on occasion, when I have the time, what with after all having a real life when not playing here), to poke holes in those whose approach to multifaceted economic issues is to say “losses will be incalculable”, when, after all, I’m pretty good at calculatin’…
And so forth.
The easiest way to poke a gaping hole in “the l0sses will be incalculable” is to point out that a primary residence should be considered an expense, not an investment. (But also remember, expense includes transaction costs, so even if down payment and monthlies are low, if you only live in the house 5 yrs and then sell, transaction costs will get you even if you do sell for a higher price.)
A good corollary to this is, waste is the enemy. If you have a 5000 sq ft house, there’s a lot of waste involved. If you have a 2000 sq ft house, there is most likely not a lot of waste. You could expand this to include transportation costs, and possibly property taxes.
These being said, I still think most Americans should not own houses and that most new construction in America is very wasteful (far flung suburbs with 30-50 mile commutes to jobs, large houses with 3+ bathrooms, etc.).
“new construction in America is very wasteful (far flung suburbs with 30-50 mile commutes to jobs, large houses with 3+ bathrooms, etc.).”
When there are 4 or 5 people in the house, 3 bathrooms comes in very handy. As for 30-50 mile commutes, that’s not really as common as people make it out to be. People assume if you live 30 miles from downtown, your commute is 30 miles. In case you haven’t noticed most new office buildings are in the suburbs now. People live and work in the suburbs.
The national average time for commuting is 25 minutes.
Even in LA the average time is 25-35 depending on zip code. The guy driving 2 hours each way to work is largely a myth.
http://zipatlas.com/us/ca/los-angeles/zip-code-comparison/average-commute-time.htm
In case you haven’t noticed most new office buildings are in the suburbs now.
Very underrated fact.
And don’t forget the WFH crowd which is growing every year.
The guy driving 2 hours each way to work is largely a myth.
Not where I live. 1 hour commutes are the norm and there are thousands who do the 2 hour commute.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22725245/average-commute-l-county-residents-29-4-minutes
“Nearly 12 percent of workers in Los Angeles County had a commute of an hour or more in 2011, while 72.3 percent drove to work alone, according to statistics released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the bureau, 11.9 percent of county commuters had a drive of 60 minutes or more, compared with 8.1 percent nationally.”
Put another way, 92% of the country commutes less than an hour to work.
I know. I’ve seen this study almost every year for decades.
It tends to fluctuate, but not by much.
I used to do the hour commute. Never again unless it’s for stupid crazy money. And even then, not for long.
Life’s too damn short to be sitting in a damn car going nowhere.
Exactly. So the 30-50 mile commute posted above is a myth for the most part. Yet that is always thrown around as a reason to not buy a house in the suburbs around here and the reason why houses in the ‘burbs will all be bulldozed some day since nobody wants to drive so far to work.
Truth is people who live in the ‘burbs also work in the ‘burbs. Nobody drives 50 miles to work. And as shocking as it might be to some here, some people actually like living in the suburbs. I know, I know, it’s shocking that people want a little land, quiet streets and schools where kids don’t have to go through metal detectors to get to class. Bunch of crazies!!
However, as a national avg, this is correct, but my point was that were I live, 50 miles commutes by car are done by literally thousands if not 10s of thousands, although they are still not the majority.
(sorry, I can’t tell you where that is. I like to keep my privacy around here)
Sure there are some people who do it. There are some people who like to jump out of planes for fun as well. You’ll find thousands of people doing all sorts of crazy s**t. But they are a very small minority of the greater population.
My point is the 50 mile commute is thrown around here as if 90% of people who live in suburbs/exurbs drive this distance to work every day. And this is the justification for many here as to why suburban house prices will eventually be $0. It’s a false argument.
I second eco’s comment. My 21 mile commute home takes 1 hour and 15 minutes (barring any accidents, flashing signals and/or flooded streets, depending on the weather).
” My 21 mile commute home takes 1 hour and 15 minutes (barring any accidents, flashing signals and/or flooded streets, depending on the weather).”
Congrats. You are part of the 8%.
My point is the 50 mile commute is thrown around here as if 90% of people who live in suburbs/exurbs drive this distance to work every day. And this is the justification for many here as to why suburban house prices will eventually be $0. It’s a false argument.
Believe it or not, I’m agreeing with you.
“I’m pretty good at calculatin’…”
Apparently not considering your liars math leads you to the fallacy that rental rates are greater than carrying costs at current massively inflated asking prices of resale housing.
Select another halogen because your bromide fails with every preparation my dear chemist.
‘a discussion site is ill served by those who merely want to spout platitudes’
I did nothing wrong. I take the fifth. At this point, what difference does it make?
Hilar
yiousSo taking people’s money to bail out the banks didn’t help?
————————–
Cyprus central bank sees ’substantial’ risks to economy
ekathimerini.com | May 22, 2013
Cyprus faces substantial risks to its economic outlook and a forecast recession could be deeper than forecast, its central bank governor said in a prepared speech on Wednesday.
The island state, which narrowly averted financial meltdown in March, faces «unusually high» macroeconomic and banking sector risks, according to the speech, which was delivered to a Nicosia conference by a senior manager of the central bank.
Central bank chief Panicos Demetriades warned about the potential impact of a resolution process for two large banks and losses forced on big depositors under the island’s bailout deal, which has also entailed the imposition of capital controls.
Cyprus secured a 10 billion euro EU/IMF bailout in March, the fifth eurozone country to require aid. Its 17.5 billion euro economy is expected to shrink by 8.7 percent his year.
Of course it helped!
…the banks.
“So taking people’s money to bail out the banks didn’t help?”
There’s executive overhead expenses, which are deducted first.
Was with a colleague last night whose brother is a London investment banker. Turns out the brother “saw it coming” before the 2007 housing crash and still “sees it coming” despite the myriad attempts by central banks to prop it up.
This ain’t over by a long stretch, folks…fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride!
I have the feeling that we will get hurt the most and we didn’t even play the game.
Ya think?
May 22, 2013, 10:14 a.m. EDT
Existing-home sales highest since 2009
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U.K. stocks extend gains to 12-year high
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Existing-home sales rose in April to hit the highest rate since November 2009, pointing to an ongoing recovery supported by low interest rates and pent-up demand, according to data released Wednesday.
Existing-home sales rose 0.6% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
…
Recall that November 2009 was during the first-time homebuyer tax credit frenzy. Which died off pretty quickly in early 2010.
The Bernanke testimony rally is ending before he even stops talking. What did he say that changed Mr Market’s mind so quickly?
isnt it funny that the prospects of the economy hinge on money printing? Shouldn’t that be seen as a negative?
Wouldn’t a strong economy be based on strong tax revenues and good business?
what are the signs we are nearing an end to the market rally?
“Good business” requires intelligent people, not inbred aristocracy.
Story from the Arizona Slim file: Former childhood neighbors’ father started a family business. The dad had three kids, and let’s just say that the daughter was much smarter than the sons.
She became a teacher. The guys went into the family business.
Fortunately, Susie the Teacher married a sharp guy and he joined the family business. Good thing he did, because Susie’s two brothers could have killed the company.
The son of one of the two dumb brothers is now in the business. I seem to recall that he was a lot swifter than his dad. And one of Teacher Susie’s offspring is also in it. If he’s anything like Mom, the company will be just fine.
The Free Sh*t Army says give me more free stuff or you don’t get my vote.
Work hard? Pay taxes? That is for loosers</i
—————–
Wouldn’t a strong economy be based on strong tax revenues and good business?
Wall St. says give me more free stuff or you don’t get my vote.
Fixed.
Split six big banks into 20 smaller ones, community bankers say
May 22, 2013, 10:36 AM
If the six largest banks are pressed to split into 20 smaller financial institutions the result will be more lending, more jobs and greater economic growth.
So says a new report released Wednesday by the Independent Community Bankers of America. The report suggests that policy makers could force the biggest banks to break up into 20 smaller businesses through tougher capital rules and that lending “may well” be redistributed among these banks but not reduced overall. They say that the result will be increased competition and innovation, all of which will lead to more lending, more jobs and greater economic growth.
The big six banks are: Bank of America Corp. (BAC +0.74%), J.P. Morgan Chasejpm (JPM +2.60%), Citigroup (C +1.26%), Wells Fargo (WFC +0.34%), Goldman Sachs (GS +1.03%) and Morgan Stanley (MS +0.68%).
…
The wealth and therefore power concentration still lies w/the same circle of people either way.
Exactly.
We are formally in the obama housing bubble v2.0
It is a seller’s market. Again.
Get ready to write notes on how you will take care of the squirrels.
———–
Existing Home Sales Rise 0.6%, Missing Expectations
REUTERS - Kevin Lamarque - 5/22/2013
Existing home sales rose 0.6% to a rate of 4.97 million units in April. This is the highest pace since November 2009.
This was slightly below expectations for a 1.4% month-over-month (MoM) rise to a rate of 4.99 million units.
March’s numbers were revised higher to show a 0.2% fall to 4.94 million units.
A regional breakdown shows that existing home sales rose the most in the South, up 2.0%. In the Midwest they fell 3.4%, in the Northeast they were up 1.6%, and in the West they were up 1.7%.
Housing inventory increased 11.9% to 2.16 million which represents a 5.2 month supply at current sales pace, up from 4.7 months supply in March. The national median existing home price climbed 11% on the year to $192,800. This increased for the 14th straight month.
First time buyers accounted for a smaller share of sales at 29% in April, down from 30% the previous month, and 35% a year ago. All cash sales however accounted for a larger part of existing home sales.
“The robust housing market recovery is occurring in spite of tight access to credit and limited inventory. Without these frictions, existing-home sales easily would be well above the 5-million unit pace,” said Lawrence Yun NAR chief economist in a press release.
“Buyer traffic is 31 percent stronger than a year ago, but sales are running only about 10 percent higher. It’s become quite clear that the only way to tame price growth to a manageable, healthy pace is higher levels of new home construction.”
Existing home sales account for a larger share of the market than new homes, and have outpaced new home sales. And with housing supply staying tight, a rise in existing sales should support home prices
‘It’s become quite clear that the only way to tame price growth to a manageable, healthy pace is higher levels of new home construction.’
Translation; it’s a bubble and somebody please stop it.
only after the banks unload all their homes.
They got a whole lot of unloading to do considering they’re holding onto 25 MILLION of them.
We are formally in the obama housing bubble v2.0
It is a seller’s market. Again.
Get ready to write notes on how you will take care of the squirrels.”
Who could have seen it comming …”
If you can find a buyer.
Remember….. Demand is at 17 year lows and falling. And for good reason.
Remember….. Demand is at 17 year lows and falling. And for good reason.”
Because they have ruined their credit walking away from the last purchase.
now they rent from Blackstone maybe even ‘ rent to own’ ?
You seem to come up with silly excuses yet none of them are founded in reality.
Why is that?
Update on the 2005 Kelo decision, in which SCOTUS ruled
it was constitutional for local governments to seize private property to be turned over to other private, profit-making entities.
“…On deck to take the land for free, and then not pay taxes on it, is a father-and-son development team from Fairfield County and New York City, Irwin and Robert Stillman.
In return for the free land, the Stillmans, according to the development agreement they signed 2½ years ago, are supposed to prove they are going to build a big apartment complex and have the financing to finish it…
That proof was lacking, so officials axed Monday’s planned groundbreaking….”
From the video:
“…Eighty million tax dollars later, a barren field is all that stands of the once-vibrant neighborhood, strewn with heavy equipment and construction rubble with no new construction whatsoever….”
http://reason.com/blog/2013/05/18/eminent-domain-for-no-ones-gain-new-lond
And some people predicted this at that time.
Never was and still is not, constitutional.
No more than corporations are people with rights. They are not.
But hey! Look over there! Queers and gun grabbers! Get ‘em boys!
Democrat mayor runs on abolishing the committee that allowed this to happen…
And then just changes his mind (but renames the committee).
But bigger and bigger government and higher and higher taxes will make America great again…
————————-
The mayor, who vigorously campaigned on the promise that he would abolish the much-hated NLDC, which famously destroyed a city neighborhood after taking the homes by eminent domain, simply changed the name instead last year and said Joplin would go as president.
The lawyers are getting ready in case some you need to file bankruptcy.
‘Prepare for the Next Real Estate Bubble’
http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202600641392&thepage=1
Do you have anything to say?
Yes, your honor; it was cheaper than renting.
Do you have any assets?
Yes, the inventory from the Pirate Shoppe, my partners candle shop closed, so we have a lot of wax and strings. I am still on the hook for 5 rental houses that were yielding 2% a year. I’d like to get out from under those if at all possible.
“Candle shop”.
Remember that happy talk? Holy suffering $hit…. When I overhead two debt-junkies say they were “going to Fiji on vacation and ‘build’ a beachfront hotel” back in 2005, I knew we were in deep deep trouble.
Instead of the candle shop, they should have done a bed and breakfast because everyone knows how profitable they are. EVERYBODY wants to stay in a bed and breakfast.
Everyone but the Fed leadership now admits we are in another bubble.
The only question from here on out is how long until it implodes.
They will never admit it until after the bubble pops. Oops, we didn’t see it coming. Bernanke hopes he will be out of the Fed before that happens.
‘Following the release of minimum federal standards for how servicers should handle cases of foreclosures, some distressed sales have been halted, according to news reports.’
‘Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. servicer, has halted some foreclosure sales, and Citigroup is evaluating the April guidelines from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to the American Banker and other outlets. The Federal Reserve has also issued standards on imminent scheduled foreclosure sales.’
‘The report quoted Foreclosure Radar as saying Wells Fargo’s foreclosure sales in five Western states — California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington — dropped from as many as 349 a day in April to fewer than 10 a day across the entire region.’
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/05/20/some-foreclosures-halted-by-wells-citi-after-new-federal-standards/
‘Investors are favoring a buy-and-hold strategy over flipping their home purchases, according to a survey by the California Association of Realtors (CAR). Two-thirds of real estate investors are following a long-term investment strategy while 26 percent of investors flipped the property, according to a CAR investor survey.’
‘Twenty-seven percent of investors were foreign, with China, India and Mexico being the top countries of origin. Three-fourths of buyers intend to keep the property for less than six years.’
http://www.sddt.com/News/article.cfm?SourceCode=20130521czc&_t=Investors+prefer+holding+over+flipping
Less than 6 years is a long-term investment strategy?
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine Association of Realtors says sales of existing single-family homes in Maine jumped 14 percent in April compared to a year earlier, and the median sales price increased 4 percent. The association says real estate agents last month sold 939 homes at a median price of about $175,000. That’s up from 824 home sales at a median price of $168,000 in April 2012.”
Median HH income for Maine is $47,898.
Quoting realtors? LOL
This has as much credibility as your Idaho condo marketing web page you were caught foisting as credible.
Remember that one Slithers?
In the meantime Housing Demand in the State of Maine Collapsed a Whopping 80% YoY…. and falling.
Enjoy
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/ME-home-value/r_28?disambig=12517_397575&pri=28#metric=mt%3D30%26dt%3D1%26tp%3D5%26rt%3D14%26r%3D28%252C394997%252C394359%252C394353%26el%3D0
That ended quickly.
If there was a shard of doubt whether QE3 is propping up all asset prices, today’s abrupt reversal obliterated it.
Bulletin ‘A number’ of Fed officials willing to taper QE as soon as June: meeting minutes
Fed minutes
Fed officials were willing to taper QE as soon as June
• Fed’s Bernanke hints at tapering, says exit won’t be easy
• Commentary: How Bernanke blew it | When the punch bowl goes
Fed’s Bernanke hints at tapering, says exit won’t be easy”
no probably not
Nonetheless, they have already started exiting.
Well here is something you haven’t seen in awhile…
Stocks - down
Oil - down
Bonds - down
Gold - down
No where to run?
Time to go to cash…
… and stay there…
Did they outlaw shorting?
When you’re at the top maybe there is no where to go but down.
I would point out that the stock market is just a coincidental indicator of how well off rich people are doing since they own close to 90% of it. The bond market is a coincidental indicator of how happy bankers are. Each segment of the world economic system has it’s own bell weather index.
Time to go to cash…”
may I suggest the Japanese yen
Gold is anomaly but I thought either they all go up or all go down. Also true with forreign markets. If Nikki is up so is Europe and Dow and vice versa. Water water everywhere not a drop to drink.
Down? DOWN?!
The DOW is still WELL over 15,000!! And you’re worried?
Why? Don’t they allow stop loss where you trade?
Lookie-lookie! Housing is going to become even more affordable in Tucson! Wow!
Story link: The 14 Best Housing Markets For The Next Five Years
Key quote: Annualized expected growth from Q4 2012 - Q4 2017:
7.3%
Tucson’s home prices have plunged 38.6% since their Q1 2006 peak. The metro has a median home price of $172,000.
It has a population of 989,569, a median family income of $58,100, and an unemployment rate of 6.8%.
BTW, I call BS on the median family income figure. Within the Tucson city limits, the median income is in the mid-30s. If you’re making over $40k a year, you’re doing VERY well.
BTW, I call BS on the median family income figure. Within the Tucson city limits, the median income is in the mid-30s. If you’re making over $40k a year, you’re doing VERY well.
————————————————————–
Much like Slithers fantasy $50k/yr head of household income in Maine. I have news for ya….. nobody is earning remotely close to $50k. Try $20k.
So ya know, Maine is an economic dead zone. Still in post industrial decline and depopulation. There are no “bright spots” in Maine.
There are very few bright spots anywhere in this country.
There are very few bright spots anywhere in this country.”
Santa Clara CA
Collapsing housing demand as a result of massively inflated housing prices isn’t a “bright spot”.
You have strange notions of reality don’t you?
Post industrial decline? The state is basically a giant forest w/a coast w/a few people sprinkled in.
Tourism, the paper industry, federal defense (shipbuilding), and infrastructure support including utilities were basically all ME ever had except paper.
ME has always been about old money on the coast and teeny little struggling towns everywhere else. Portland was the most hipster place ME ever had.
Portland was the most hipster place ME ever had……except Ogunquit in the summer.
There are no “bright spots” in Maine.”
Stephen King ? I bet he’s rich
Every data point that doesn’t confirm your bias is BS.
Census income data….that’s BS.
What some obscure blogger says on ZeroHedge….that’s 100% truth!!
If you live in this kind of bubble, I suppose housing is crashing, stocks will fall 70% and the world will indeed blow up.
Census data also says that 72 million people out of a 156 million person workforce, only makes $500 a week or less.
The gap is so big between the 1% and everyone else it even skews the median.
And that’s bad. Very bad.
How does that work? I would expect as the gap widens, the mean would become increasingly larger than the median.
Perhaps Maine’s household median income is skewed by larger households with more income earners. It would be interesting to compare individual median incomes with household median incomes.
Falling housing prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels results in the world blowing up?
Don’t be foolish Silly Slithers…….. Falling housing prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels is bullish optimism and good for the economy.
Pick yourself up off the floor and cheer up Slithers.
‘Connecticut may have slowed foreclosures early on through mandatory mediation and other methods, but they are now starting to work their way through the system.’
‘Connecticut saw a 46 percent rise in filings during April compared with the previous month. Foreclosure starts are now at a three-year high in Connecticut.’
http://www.theday.com/article/20130515/BIZ02/305159970/-1/BIZ
Listen up Californians:
‘may have slowed foreclosures early on through mandatory mediation and other methods’
‘A first quarter analysis by the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University shows that home construction fell by just over four percent compared to the final quarter of 2012. Home sales stalled and foreclosures are on the rise again.’
http://www.wmot.org/post/tenn-new-home-construction-cools-first-quarter
The FED and their money machine
“But for Fed watcher Chris Whalen, a managing director at Carrington Investment Services, the world would be well served if Bernanke came clean on the short-comings of his global inflation strategy.
“The big lie among all the central bankers is that they can do something to help grow jobs and get the economy back to where it was,” Whalen says in the attached video. “Despite everything they’ve done for the past five years, the pool of credit is shrinking,” he says, and in many markets, is actually deflating.
To be fair, Whalen says it’s not just Bernanke who is blowing new asset bubbles, he thinks it’s a global condition. And nowhere is it more conspicuous than in Japan where he likens the country’s new inflation-creation policy by way of a weaker Yen to a ”deliberate act of economic war.”
Housing Market Gets Off to Solid Spring Start
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The report brought several new signs that the housing market is well on its way to recovery from the housing bust. Homes sold in April were on
Housing market continues to gain strength, latest figures show
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If the housing market is really on the mend, that is undeniably a good sign for the broader economy and the stock market. Guess what?
eCreditDaily.com
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S. Fla. home prices climb by more than 20 percent
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As Housing Markets Recover, Wall Street Beats Families To Homes
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N.Z. Home Prices Pressure Central Bank to Tighten, English Says
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Cleveland: Ground zero for the housing bubble
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Darling Says UK Housing Plan Risks Stoking Property Bubble
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Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said a government plan to help people buy homes risks stoking a housing bubble unless …
Irish Times
UK Risks New Housing Bubble
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“There’s not enough housing in the U.K. and new plans are in danger of creating another house price boom very quickly,” said Campbell Robb, …
Home Capital CEO Soloway Says Sees No Housing Bubble in …
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“Despite a softening housing market in Canada, we do not believe there is a bubble,” Gerald Soloway, chief executive officer of Home Capital,
What Does the Next Housing Bubble Look Like?
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With home prices rising nationally as quickly as they did during the peak bubble years of 2005-2006, the next housing bubble might be around …
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Bloomberg Reports on Rise of Possible Housing Bubble
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The Second US Housing Bubble Continues to Inflate
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After we had first announced that a new housing bubble had taken root in the U.S. economy beginning in July 2012, we soon followed up with …
When The Canadian Housing Bubble Pops
iStockAnalyst (press release)-May 16, 2013
Nevertheless, we maintain our opinion that the housing bubble will not significantly deflate until the Bank of Canada raises rates.
ETF Daily News
1 Ominous Sign of a New Housing Bubble
DailyFinance-by Dan Caplinger-May 6, 2013
One major cause of the housing bubble came from lenders that offered loan terms that proved to be too good to be true. Yet even after the .
Housing demand is collapsing. That’s what happens when prices inflate 200%.
1 Ominous Sign of a New Housing Bubble
by Dan Caplinger and Lauren Kuczala, The Motley Fool May 5th 2013
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/05/05/1-ominous-sign-of-a-new-housing-bubble/
One major cause of the housing bubble came from lenders that offered loan terms that proved to be too good to be true. Yet even after the difficult lessons of the financial crisis, at least one financial institution has come out with similarly attractive terms that have some worries about the potential ramifications on the recovering housing market.
The Second U.S. Housing Bubble Continues to Inflate
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2013/05/06/the-second-us-housing-bubble-continues-to-inflate-n1587830
After we had first announced that a new housing bubble had taken root in the U.S. economy beginning in July 2012, we soon followed up with additional analysis that suggested that it had perhaps begun to decelerate to a more sustainable level after December 2012. Recently revised data from the U.S. Census Bureau for the median sale prices of new homes in the United States through March 2013 now confirms that there has been no slowdown in the rapid inflation of new home sale prices observed since July 2012.
Since 1967, there is only one period of rapid price escalation that even comes close to matching the current trend for median new home prices in the United States: the initial inflation phase of the first U.S. housing bubble, which ran from November 2001 through September 2005 - approximately the time at which the Federal Funds Rate began to converge with the level that would apply if the Federal Reserve had been following the Taylor Rule.
From Brooklyn to California, Housing Bubble Threat Grows
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/brooklyn-to-california-bubble-threat-grows-in-housing.html
Just a year since the U.S. housing market hit bottom after the biggest plunge in eight decades, signs of excess are re-emerging.
….The U.S. spring homebuying season has been marked by a frenzy of demand fueled by the Federal Reserve’s drive to push down borrowing costs, a scarcity of listings and Wall Street’s new appetite for foreclosed homes. While values remain well below their peak, economists including Stan Humphries of Zillow Inc. (Z) and Mark Vitner of Wells Fargo & Co. assert prices in some areas are rising at an unsustainable pace — a dramatic shift from early 2012…
….“If prices keep going up at this rate for another six months, we will have a bubble, and people will get hurt,” he said in a telephone interview.
…U.S. buyers spent three times their annual incomes on homes at the end of last year, and those properties were 15 percent pricier relative to incomes than before the housing bubble of the mid-2000s, according to data from Seattle-based Zillow (Z). Markets such as Silicon Valley, Southern California, Boston and New York will look expensive relative to incomes when mortgage rates rise, Humphries said.
ft dot com
From WORLD 7:07pm
Bernanke says bond buying could slow
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke Testifies On US Economic Outlook
FOMC members express willingness to taper purchases
Bernanke hints on money flow
US existing home sales tick up
Markets Insight Fed QE exit must avoid collateral damage
Fed member hints at summer slowing of QE3
you should buy a house.
First waiting for interest rates to revert to historic norms…
ft dot com
Markets Insight
May 22, 2013 10:22 am
Markets Insight: Fed’s QE exit must avoid collateral damage
By Manmohan Singh
With a quantitative easing exit now being eyed, many are beginning to worry about the possibility that the Federal Reserve will struggle to unwind its huge balance sheet in a controlled way. In reality, however, there is no reason to fear runaway rates provided authorities keep collateral market rates in mind during the exit process.
Among the unconventional tools the Fed introduced during the peak of the crisis was a “floor” mechanism known as “interest on excess reserves”. Less high profile than other unconventional policies such as asset purchases, IOER’s role in controlling rates has been under-appreciated by the market. Indeed, it is because of IOER that liquidity has been reabsorbed into the central bank system so efficiently. Above all, IOER has played an important role in ensuring that short-term rates did not fall too far below the critical floor of 0.25 basis points, despite all the additional liquidity that was pumped into the system.
Contrary to popular understanding, the Fed has in this sense been propping up the short-term rate market, not suppressing it. IOER’s power to steer rates could now be used to help manage money-market rates during the exit process. But IOER’s ability to influence money market rates for depository institutions has come at a cost. The short-term rates market is increasingly bifurcated, as it is only depository institutions that can really benefit from these freely distributed positive rates.
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More
On this story
Bernanke to address QE timeline
QE debate risky for US Treasury market
Markets Insight Central banks will keep equities afloat
FT Alphaville The end of QE
FT Alphaville Fed can keep buying for a while, if it wants to
On this topic
Dollar rises on Fed bond-buying comments
Bernanke says bond buying could slow
The Short View Market is under the spell of the Fed
Bernanke hints on money flow
Markets Insight
Central bankers turn deaf ear to warnings
Listen to what gold is telling us
Market cultures clash in Istanbul
US investors should think local
Angry Republicans Blast IRS Official’s Surprise Statement Before Taking the Fifth
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 01:59 PM
Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS tax-exempt unit, angered lawmakers by reading a statement before refusing to testify, but she was dismissed from the hearing with a warning that she could be called back for another appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
“I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations, and I have not provided false information to this or any congressional committee,” Lerner told the panel.
“Because I am asserting my right not to testify, I know that some people will assume that I have done something wrong. I have not,” she said.
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/lois-lerner-fifth-statement/2013/05/22/id/505865 -
A bushel of Pinocchios for IRS’s Lois Lerner
Posted by Glenn Kessler at 06:00 AM ET, 05/20/2013 TheWashingtonPost
The Pinocchio Test
In some ways, this is just scratching the surface of Lerner’s misstatements and weasely wording when the revelations about the IRS’s activities first came to light on May 10. But, taken together, it’s certainly enough to earn her four Pinocchios.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/a-bushel-of-pinocchios-for-irss-lois-lerner/2013/05/19/771687d2-bfdd-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_blog.html - -
Beep Beep Beep
That is the sound of a truck full of Pinocchios backing up to the loading dock.
Former IRS head “absolutely sure” he did not inform WH of targeting probe
5 hours ago
Despite visitor logs saying he visited the White House 118 times in 2010 and 2011, former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman says he was “absolutely sure” he did not speak with any White House officials about the probe into the IRS’s singling out of conservative groups for additional scrutiny.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147431n - -
Say you’re out minding your own business in London and two radical islamists attack you with butcher knives and meat cleavers, what will you do? Probably die….Unless you have a concealed firearm…Oh wait.
Add kitchen utensils to the Ban List right behind pressure cookers.
Say you’re a Muslim guy just making a trip to the local bazaar to pick up some medicine for your sick kid and Ka-Pow, a hellfire missile blows you away. You know what might happen next? Some hot blooded patriot decides justice = vengeance and the circle goes round and round. It’s called blow back. It’s not civilized but then again it’s not meant to be. We ‘liberated’ millions of brown skinned people at the point of a gun and killed a few hundred thousand of them in the process. Some of them are not going to forget it, ever.
Recordar El Álamo hombre.
Dude, you need to come to grips with the truth about those who wish all westerners dead. You also need to be vigilant in the defense of a persons right to defend themselves with a firearm. Moral equivalency arguments are the tools of the ignorant. You neither serve yourself or others by protecting killers under the guise of tolerance.
Welcome to the world of the real.
- Nickpapageorgio
“Say you’re out minding your own business in London and two radical islamists attack you with butcher knives and meat cleavers, what will you do?”
Assuming my SOG is also on the Ban List in the UK, I am guessing my only other option would be to go ahead and die.
SOG SEAL Team Elite Knife w/ Nylon Sheath SE37 - SOG Knives
http://www.sog-knives.net/sog-knife.php?prodnum=SE37-N - 14k -
Need a little career advice since it’s transfer season in my world: I ascended quickly to a position with a lot of power and authority blah blah blah. The problem? It’s running my life.
My dad was very upset at the thought of voluntarily demoting myself to something more in-line with my family priorities. I could still be a school leader, but I wouldn’t necessarily be a district leader.
My littl’uns will only be this way once, and I’d like to take some epic summer vacations with them.
I’ve got all my money bases covered, so that’s not an issue.
And yes, it is very helpful that I don’t have a house influencing my decision.
“It’s running my life.”
Running or ruining?
Not ruining… running. In other words, I work a lot, like, ALOT.
“I work a lot, like, ALOT.”
I want everyone to coexist.
so nice to hear that you value the time with your kids. they will be grown before you know it. taking a demotion to better suit your family is the way i’d go. when my husband and i got married, he was the one to quit his job to be a stay-a-home dad to our 5 kids (2nd marraige, 2 kids mine, 3 his). less stress creates “room” to be more productive in so many ways, including family time. even though i worked, i have always felt like a “kept woman”. just be prepared to deal with ALOT of questions and comments from people who won’t understand your decision. for the record, it was the best decision for us and we have no regrets. have fun with your munchkins!
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1572557/000119312513229551/d486994ds11.htm
Waypoint filed to go public.
Lots of stuff in here, but take a look at page 159…it discloses the level of leverage used so far. Approximately 55%. Lots of equity.
“The Housing Market Recovery Is ‘A Complete Hoax’”
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_housing_shell_game_20130503/
Afterall, a “housing recovery” is dramatically lower prices by definition.
Alexander Reed Kelly
2010 graduate of Western Washington University, with a BA in Humanities and Liberal Studies (Per LinkedIn).
He was a freshman in college in 2005.
The article includes misreading/misinterpreting of other’s work (Mark Lieberman’s 7MM homes held off market are the total held off market in the US per the Census, not by banks, but by EVERYONE, including vacation homes) and a complete misunderstanding of the Private Equity industry (commenting that the PE industry has access to cheap capital, when in fact, the “Equity” in the “Private Equity” industry expects to see returns in the high-teens to low 20%’s).
Can’t you find someone better to support your view?
“View”?
25 MILLION excess empty houses isn’t a view or opinion. It’s the truth.
Bulletin Japan stocks crash on volatile bonds, weak China data; Nikkei ends down 7.3%
Asia Markets | Currencies | US Market Snapshot
Japan stocks dive, as Asia falls on China data
• China manufacturing contracts | Japan bonds plunge; BOJ acts
• China mulls new property curbs: report
Also taking big losses, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI -2.31%) tumbled 2.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO -2.06%) skidded 1.7%, after preliminary results of HSBC’s China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May dropped to a seven-month low of 49.6.
“The cooling manufacturing activities in May reflected slower domestic demand and ongoing external headwinds. A sequential slowdown is likely in the middle of [the second quarter], casting downside risk to China’s fragile growth recovery,” said HSBC chief China economist Hongbin Qu.
Taiwan’s Taiex (KR:SEU -1.24%) lost 1.7%, and South Korea’s Kospi (KR:SEU -1.24%) fell 0.7% as the China PMI reading — which was below the 50-point threshold that separates improvement from deterioration in factory conditions, and also lower than the expected result of 50.4 — added to fears about growth momentum in the world’s second-largest economy.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SG:STI -1.31%) lost 0.5%, even though the local economy unexpectedly expanded 1.8% on an annualized basis in the first quarter from the preceding three months.
The Shanghai Composite Index (CN:000001 -0.50%) was itself off only 0.2%, recovering from losses posted before and immediately after the HSBC PMI release.
Kim Eng Securities head of sales trading Andrew Sullivan said he doubted the data would lead any significant downgrades to estimates on Chinese economic growth, as a number of brokerages had already cut their outlook.
“But people will be watching for any government announcements of stimulus spending, which would be taken as positive,” he said.
Fears that the Chinese economy was losing momentum also hurt U.S. stock futures, as well as risk currencies and commodities.
U.S. equity index futures gave up their gains to retreat, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA -0.52%) futures falling 54 points to 15,266.
The Australian dollar (AUDUSD -0.79%) fell to 96.46 U.S. cents from 96.62 cents before the HSBC PMI release.
Copper, gold and oil futures also extended their declines.
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