Bits Bucket for December 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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Just because you think you got lucky timing the market buying Sacramento rental properties in the dip before the dead cat bounce that is the alleged recovery, does not negate the fact that realtors lied to millions and millions of used house buyers in 2000 to 2007, and are continuing the same pattern of lies today. You’ve been lied to. By realtors.
realtors are just the middlemen trying to make a living. most realtors are broke cause they cant sell enough to make a living.
I can remember that people used to criticize Stealtors for knowing things about a house and not disclosing them to the buyer. They’ve always been dishonest because their profession is sales.
But A Stealtor used to not matter much.
“most realtors are broke cause they cant sell enough to make a living.”
You might be on to something. I was filling my daughter’s car, and the guy on the other side of the pump stopped at $10; he also had one of those magnetic realty signs. But it’s also bitter cold up here with winter, so likely few home buyers.
Alas, apparently your daughter is in the same straits. Or so it would seem.
“Alas, apparently your daughter is in the same straits. Or so it would seem.”
She’s 16-yrs/old, in high school. Sorry!
“… realtors lied to millions and millions of used house buyers in 2000 to 2007, and are continuing the same pattern of lies today.”
And I thank them for that because each of these lies ended up generating an immediate fee for a lender and also each of these lies ended up generating numerous subsequent monthly payments extracted from the accounts of the home house buyers and deposited into the accounts of the lender. And this monthly miracle of money madness was destined to go on and on and on for the duration of the loan. And this, the duration of the loan, was something that could be extended even furthur as the result of even more lies told to house buyers by realtors convincing house buyers to cash out any house equity that happend to magically appear in reports generated by entities such as Zillow.
Realtors: Tools of lenders.
Realtors do all the work and extract a one-time fee. Lenders sit back and wait for the realtor to bring to him a house buyer - a mark - and from this house buyer, from this mark, he also gets to extract a one-time fee just as the reator does, BUT in addition to this one time fee the lender gets to extract numerous monthly payments.
And as for the work of the lender? What is it that the lender has to do? Essentially all the lender has to do is to present several sheets of paper containing a bunch of printed words that has a dotted line at the bottom. The work of the lender boils down to handing the house buyer a ball-point pen and directing the house buyer to WILLINGLY commit himself to paying the lender an immediate one-time fee PLUS numerous monthly payments for an extended period of time that may approach forever it it can be arranged. And he does this by simply pointing to the dotted line and saying to the house buyer the words “sign here”.
And sign he does and the deal is done and the ownership of the house is transfered from the previous owner to … to whom? To whom is the ownership of the house transferred to after the house buyer commits himself to buying the house by signing on a dotted line that the lender presented to him? Is it the house buyer? NO! It is not the house buyer, it is THE LENDER! The lender is the one who obtains and retains ownership of the house and he will retain ownership of the house until the house is entirely paid for, and if the house is never entirely paid for then the lender will remain the owner of the house.
Does it get any better than this for the lender? Why yes, yes it does. It gets better for the lender - much better for the lender - because the lender is most likely using somebody else’s money in order to make all of this happen.
The joke of the day: The term “homeowner”.
House buyers believe themselves to be homeowners, and this belief is carried close to their hearts all the way up to the point in time when the bewildered house buyers are tossed out into the street.
OMG, I can’t believe I left out the best part of all this, which is:
Whatever discomfort fate delivers to me - me the lender, me the banker - I, myself, will not have to suffer the pain of enduring it. No, the pain and suffering will end up being endured by somebody else - probably a lot of somebody else’s - AKA taxpayers.
And then there is the Federal Reserve, the Lender Of Last Resort, who will come to my aid NO MATTER WHAT!
An example: Right now the Federal Reserve is buying up a lot of junk mortgages that happen to be held in my bank’s accounts.
As I stated before: Somebody else’s money.
See also pending link below about the history of the Fed.
OPM its makes bubblenomics “work” until you run out of it.
New mortgage laws effective in 2014 will hold you, Mr Banker, responsible for every mortgage that fails.
Will you continue to do mortgage deals?
Show me a mark and I will send him a cab.
“Buying a house is an adventure in depreciation discovery and slavery.”
It’s a very painful adventure. Just asked the millions of joe 6 paks who throw good money after bad on a rapidly depreciating house, month after month after month.
“throw good money after bad”
After “throwing money away on rent” every month I have so much money left over I don’t know where to throw it.
Grass-fed beef and pastured eggs, squad.
Grass-fed beef and pastured eggs, squad.
How much pot do you need to feed a cow to get stoned from a hamburger? Unless you are talking about omega 3s again.
“Somebody else’s money.”
Quantitative easing = nobody’s money.
Yep….
Quantitative easing = your money.
Thanks to this site, I followed the trend and became a house buyer/renter, I guess right in time at 2010 (even got $8000 gov. credit)… now I pay $ 1007.00 mortgage/rent for 4/3 , 2348sft, 7480sft yard house in a nice neighborhood , have $180000 equity and rental rate is $2000.00. My next door neighbor in construction business , just lost their house, because of too many refinancing to… buy toys. I think there were to much human sufferings because of peoples financial illiteracy that has been used by “smart” realtors and lenders…
for 4/3 , 2348sft, 7480sft yard house in a nice neighborhood ??
92592
Now you can home-cheapo it with materials that don’t meet spec at twice the cost of supply houses.
And don’t forget to pay the 50% premium to the goobers pretending to be contractors. :clapping:
“92592″
R U a skydiver?
Yes but only on weekends…
R U a skydiver?
Just a zip-code can be a give-away???
Just a zip-code can be a give-away???
Two nice para-centers within 15-minutes!
Dear rms, I had read several hundred of your comments for past maybe seven years I assume, I wrote this comment not for the sake of just… . I don’t care that much of material staff, my hero is George Harrison and I follow the philosophical views of many of his followers… I just wanted to thank you all (particularly from poly, god bless her) for helping me to get the financial education I got from all discussions in this site…
You’re gonna get the education of your life over the coming months and years.
Thank you!
“Dear rms, I had read several hundred of your comments for past maybe seven years I assume, I wrote this comment not for the sake of just… .”
Hi galyen, I’m currently freezing in 20-degree weather, but I have a paid-off house and zero debt. However, if were in your area with the year round great weather and two turbine drop zones close by…well I’d be busy jumping. Glad to hear someone can make it balance out down there. Enjoy!
Are you happy with your losses so far?
Yes, thank you, I lost 24 pounds last 2 years and now I’m 174 pounds, and I’m 5′9…
That’s sounds about right. There are 490 bills in one pound of currency thus;
(24lb loss)(490 bills)($20 bill)=$235,200 loss.
The irony is that the burden of loss must weigh heavy on you. No?
Yes, thank you, but I was paying $1500.00 for 2 bedroom apartment… which was 1/3 of my net income…
Uh huh. And I’m Alan Greenspan.
I had no doubt, but to be honest I hate you Greenspan, for causing so much human tragedies with your stupid governance…
So your figures are bs. Thanks.
Enjoy your coffee.
OK< we get mister banker, you won. Now, turn those machines back on !
don’t get ripped off by a realtor.
realtors are liars
“realtors are liars”
Current number of google search results for:
Realtor charged with - 3,110,000
Realtor arrested - 2,140,000
Realtor sentenced - 506,000
Realtor lied - 387,000
Realtor indicted - 239,000
Has it always been “realtor” with an “or”? I thought it used to be spelled realter.
The REALTORⓇ Building on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago:
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20130622_130733_362-RQBQRA3L.jpg
Corn:
The last “r” in the word has to be capitalized. They threatened to sue Ben for allowing the word to be written without a capital r, but they never specified which r, so it’s natural to assume that they meant to capitalize the LAST one, since that’s the one that people will remember.
Got insurance? LMAO!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/who-had-the-worst-week-in-washington-pajama-boy/2013/12/20/4aa7f45e-68f9-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html
OK, so THIS is how the WH thinks is the way to attract young folks to sign up for the ACA? You can’t make this stuff up. BTW, I understand this and the other miserable ads are the brainchild of John Podesta, the “special advisor” that the O-man brought in to handle his public relations debacle. ROTFLMAO! Yep, that’ll do it.
The really funny thing is, Pajama Boy looks like a young version of Podesta. LOL! Got narcissists?
They are going to have to hand out medical pot to get young people to sign-up to be hosed. They should let them smoke it first and maybe then they will be willing to pay high premiums, for insurance with high deductibles, poor networks with doctors who will only be able to see you for a few minutes since the reimbursements for them are so low. This is the next shoe to fall, people are going to be very upset to see the low level of care they are going to receive under the ACA. It is Medicaid for everyone.
That Sibelius chick sure looks like a deer caught in the headlights, lol.
Pajama boy is one of their key interest groups and at this point they need to keep everyone they’ve got.
Young, still living with their parent and very liberal. They haven’t made enough money to figure out that high taxation sucks!!!
“Young, still living with their parent and very liberal”
Yeah, but one look at the guy and no wonder birth rates are in decline. A guy in a onesie. Sheesh. What self-respecting young lady would wanna bag that? That’s just plain creepy. The Duck Dynasty guys make far better breeding material, that’s for sure, even if they are a tad hirsute. At least they could kill a meal and put it on the table. Pajama Boy looks like he’s waiting for his bottle feeding and desperately wants to suck his thumb.
Back in the day we used to call them sissies. Mama’s boys. More recently, girlie men. I once worked with a guy like that, he didn’t last long on the job. All skinny and pasty with red hair cut like a monk’s tonsure. Allergies out the wazoo and always in the bathroom throwing up from a nervous stomach. Constantly complaining about work conditions and how everyone was a racist, especially this one crusty older guy who knew how to git ‘er done while Mr. Monkhead picked at his zits.
LOL Palmy…
Good God…for some reason, I envision a young Harry Reid!
And I was having such a good day, too…
You owe me big time, jose canusi.
“Good God…for some reason, I envision a young Harry Reid!”
Heh, spot ON! Mr. Monkhead wore the EXACT same “I smell sh*t” expression on his phis from punch-in to punch-out.
‘hirsute’
Had to look that one up. Figured it was more pejorative than it is, for some reason.
A fascinating site of digression:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hirsute
“What self-respecting young lady would wanna bag that? ”
Uhm I don’t think Pajama Boy is into ladies.
Happy 100th birthday to the criminal cartel Federal Reserve:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/21/the-federal-reserve-was-created-100-years-ago-this-is-how-it-happened/?tid=hpModule_79c38dfc-8691-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394
Along with that was the income tax. Whether or not there were legally 35 states that ratified it is beyond the point. This tax was forced on American citizens. By contract law, those citizens and their descendants have no obligation to pay. Where is the contract I supposedly signed to fork over money to any band of thugs in Washington or Sacramento or my state residence, Phoenix?
Without those taxes your government contracting jobs wouldn’t exist.
“your government contracting jobs:”
I don’t own any government contracting jobs. Do you know anyone who does?
I have breaking news for ignorant people like yourself Skroodle. There are lots of commercial contracting jobs. My sister is doing commercial contracting for the Intel corporation as a web developer manager. Another sister sometimes contracts in her medical field. And no the government has not owned health care during that sister’s 36 years of career.
Indeed Bill.
Walk into any Fortune 500 IT office and ask 10 people at random, are you 1099 or W2. Chances are at least 3 will say 1099.
Easy money followed by the Great Depression, Easy money , followed by Great Recession, Easy money followed by ? The concentration of money is a natural result of the easy money. As I have said many times, the Fed policy in terms of making the system more stable is like excessive fire suppression in the West. Instead of having small beneficial fires which just burn off the underbrush and debris making the forest more healthy, you have crown fires which destroy the forest. The Fed is only beneficial for the .01% that use the economic collapses (crown fires) to their advantage buying distressed assets on the cheap by having access to cheap money first due to their political connections.
Good post.
And as I’ve said numerous times, always watch for the geographic distribution of wealth.
Not the RE-distribution of wealth, but where it amasses. It’s plain as day what is happening.
We’ve also had at least a decade (and perhaps as many as two) of monied interests interested in the preservation of existing wealth, not increased wealth. No one seems interested in increased national wealth at present. Why is that?
The people in control are already wealthy, and got lots more wealthy through the real-life economics version of The Hunger Games that has played out in recent years.
So why should they worry about increasing overall national wealth?
to their advantage buying distressed assets on the cheap by having access to cheap money first ??
+1 and Spot on….And not only “first” but cheap money “at all”…
The ZIRP has arguably saved our society from a horrible meltdown of which none of us would have been spared but it has enriched the upper end of our society beyond belief….Their balance sheets have exploded with assets while the 99+% are are either DOA or just now seeing their wounds heal…
As those wounds heal and more of mere “well-off” try and get in the game you will hear the screams from the elite to stop ZIRP….They have devoured themselves on a smorgasbord of cheap money and built or bought everything they can of value….
Now that it appears that J-6 is in line and ready to come into the feeding frenzy I suspect thats an indication that the party is over..
The ZIRP has arguably saved our society from a horrible meltdown of which none of us would have been spared but it has enriched the upper end of our society beyond belief…
Again spreading propaganda. I would have tuned into CNBS if I wanted to hear this kind of utter horse$hit.
Interesting link I found obviously posted in 2009 before the current stock boom. It compares 2000-2009 with 1929-1940.
It’s Elliot Wave gobbledigook but the facts are in the charts
http://newsusa.myfeedportal.com/showitem.php?itemid=415
The stock performance from 2000-2009 was not as bad and never as deep as from 1929 to 1940.
That is sobering.
Could the 2009-2013 stock boom be the parallel of 1924 to 1929?
Yes.
In fact, I have had the same thought, perhaps because the wealth concentration which has played out from 2009-2013 closely parallels that which occurred over the 1924-1929 period.
And don’t look now, but China’s banking system is on the verge of blowing up to smithereens.
We might have one more year of stock gains. Or not. But as a student of cycles, unless 2014 is a year where stocks go up less than five percent, I cannot see a reason why there will be no correction before Spring 2015.
“The Fed is only beneficial for the .01% that use the economic collapses (crown fires) to their advantage buying distressed assets on the cheap by having access to cheap money first due to their political connections.”
“Where there is blood on the streets, buy property” –Baron de Rothschild
Financial market crown fire = bailout payday for Megabank, Inc.
Ben, work in Ireland for you:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/world/europe/legacy-of-a-crash-ghost-estates-haunt-ireland.html?ref=world
Top article now on New York Times online:
RIO DE JANEIRO — Gun battles still boom through the streets. Drug dealers still ply their trade in the labyrinth of alleyways. Residents of the Rocinha neighborhood still fume over the brutal tactics of the police, who were recently charged with torturing and killing an impoverished bricklayer.
But with hotel rooms in perilously short supply and even modest hostels in Rio de Janeiro charging as much as $450 for a bed during the World Cup in Brazil next year, the residents of Rocinha and other favelas, or slums, are making the most of the city’s acute shortage of lodging for the event: They are renting out their homes to fans from around the globe.
Maria Clara dos Santos, 49, is preparing to take as many as 10 World Cup visitors into her three-bedroom home in Rocinha (pronounced ho-SEEN-ya), which commands a stunning view of Ipanema’s sun-kissed beaches in the distance. True, Ms. dos Santos notes, untreated sewage reeks on her street and steel bars on her windows are needed to deter break-ins, so she is offering guests a comparative bargain — about $50 a night to stay with her during the tournament.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/world/americas/now-taking-world-cup-bookings-rios-slums.html?pagewanted=all
Risk your life for a hotel bargain to attend a sports event?
Risk your life for a hotel bargain to attend a sports event?
IIRC, attendance at WC 2010 in South Africa was less than stellar, due in large part to safety concerns. A lot of people decided that it wasn’t worth the risk to travel there.
It will be interesting to see how many will attend Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
In other other news;
RIO DE JANEIRO — American expatriate arrested for prostitution. He was also observed wearing an overcoat and hat exposing himself to security cameras and the public.
Don’t forget he was wearing leopard skin high heels.
Wow… Click on Goons link. No wonder Rio would post a photo of his ocean view. I was right. Shantytown slums.
“Gun battles still boom through the streets.”
But how can this be? Brazil has some of the world’s strictest gun laws. And yet there are gun battles on the streets? That is unpossible!!
From Wiki:
Because of gun politics in Brazil, all firearms are required to be registered with the state; the minimum age for ownership is 25[1] and although it is legal to carry a gun outside a residence, extremely severe restrictions were made by the federal government since 2002 making it virtually impossible to obtain a carry permit.[2] To legally own a gun, the owner must pay a tax every three years to register the gun, currently at BRL R85[3] and registration can be done via the Internet or in person with the Federal Police.
Ask a submariner about the various types of ships that sail the seas and he will tell you there are only two types: Submarines and targets.
Ask a lender about the numerous types of people that inhabit planet earth and he will tell you (if he is being honest) that there are but two types: Lenders and minions.
Go to Wiki and look up “minion” and you will learn that “a minion is a follower devoted to serve his/her master/mistress relentlessly”.
And there you have it.
this is true.
i used to work for tarp bank but escaped without drinking the poisoned koolaid.
The magic is in the middle. Diddle in the middle and you will grow rich!
The goal of every lender should be to somehow stick himself in the middle of every financial transaction, whether huge house loans or simple purchases of lattes.
Every financial transaction needs to be middled. Every financial transaction needs a cut taken from it - a cut taken from both ends of the transaction if at all possible.
A financial transaction that has not been middled is a sure sign that money has been left on the table.
“a minion is a follower devoted to serve his/her master/mistress relentlessly”.
Rio.
Rio seems as blindlessly devoted as did Patty Hearst.
“When is housing massively overpriced? It’s quite simple. When the price of the house is in excess of the cost to build (lot, materials, labor and profit), less depreciation for a used house.”
Exactly. No need to confuse it. Our cost to build a SFR is right around $55/sq ft, with profit.
Was it Jet-Fixr’s go time?
People come and go all the time on this blog so I am not prepared to call that one yet. I know I have left for six months at a time. It would be interesting to get his take on what happened there. Speaking of people leaving the blog what ever happened to A. Hansen?
My secret hope is that ahansen is coming to terms with Obama and what he represents. Obama=NeoCon=Progressive is not an easy pill to swallow. Not for most people, regardless of political persuasion. Not if they’re honest.
While I don’t agree with ahansen much of the time politically, I do appreciate her past contributions. I hope she returns.
So do I.
what ever happened to A. Hansen ??
I have wondered many times myself…Hwy also…I am glad I had the opportunity to meet both personally but concerned about their fate…
Geez, I hope not. Maybe he just got disgusted with some of the posts here. I know he didn’t appreciate being put down for working his fingers to the bone raising a family.
I don’t think anyone ever criticized him for working. Nor did they criticize his wife for working. He got criticized a lot for always trying to say that girls/women are basically worthless, and that his ex-wife (who worked more than him to support/bear/raise the family) was worthless, and that he was training his daughters to believe that they should expect infidelity from their boyfriends, and to say that their mother was worthless.
Yeah, fixr had a lot of comments that would tend to lead to controversy. Maybe he’s happier alone.
Hopefully, he’s not in solitary.
He’s in the same location as Darryl.
“Remember… a house is a depreciating asset and loss, ALWAYS.”
Exactly.
When you see a house, it represents debt and loss.
The Democrats are dismantling the ACA bit by bit.
http://m.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamacare-falling-apart-our-eyes_771566.html
How long before they throw in the towel and repeal it?
I think about 4 months before the next election in 2014, July 3rd, 2014.
Around four score and seven days ago, they thought they had the solution for people with no insurance and in intensive care. Now, the Democratic party is in the ICU. I am going with July 4, 2014.
You know while there is no accountability in the Obama administration, there is in the private sector. I have to assume that people in the insurance companies that decided that their companies should participate in the exchanges, will be shown the door pretty soon. Everything Obama is doing means the companies are going to lose more money. The Republicans have to be firm no money to bail those companies out, they go bankrupt.
AlbqDan.
It’s already in the ACA. If you think about it the insurance companies had to go along, especially when the ACA provided bailout assistance if they loose money.
They just aren’t prepared (or can’t) shift policy wording as fast Obama wants them to. Insurance is a long thought out process that involves actuarial (math) review before a policy contract is formally written
The Prez must be driving the insurance companies nuts.
I’m no fan of insurance companies, although I will say, when I got tossed out of my apartment due to a fire caused by one of the other residents in the building, State Farm did come through for me. Renter’s insurance was a lifesaver.
With that said, I don’t really recall a whole lot of protest from the insurance industry over the ACA, and it is my understanding industry leaders “helped” write the bill and in fact were drooling over the mandate. Looks to me as if they’re being ratfarked when they’d hoped to administer a bit of ratfarking themselves. I don’t think it’s going down quite the way they envisioned.
The industry is effectively being nationalized, IMO.
“If you like your marks, I mean, er, uh, your customers, you can keep your customers and we’ll help you squeeze more out of them.”
Oopsie, fooled ya!
“It’s already in the ACA. If you think about it the insurance companies had to go along, especially when the ACA provided bailout assistance if they loose money.”
Had not heard that but it is easy to hide in thousands of pages of law and even more regulations. Amazing to me how many insurance companies did not participate in the exchange given that fact.
Still think people will lose their jobs over this since unless you are a non-profit, you expect to make a profit and so do your shareholders.
State Farm is a non-profit.
So are a number of Internet companies but their shareholders just don’t know it.
How long before they throw in the towel and repeal it?
More likely they’ll modify it.
I am sure they would like to modify its name and call it Romney care. However, Obamacare is not open to modification, you pull on a thread and the whole thing unravels. The design was so complex and interdependent that it all comes apart with any changes.
I hope so… the alternative is they will keep trying to hold it together with twine and bubblegum until the revolution.
How are you faring under the Fed’s babysteps taper?
babysteps
Shah Gilani, Contributor
I write about what really moves markets - the stuff behind the curtain
Investing
12/20/2013 @ 1:17PM
The Fed Taper: Dances With Wolves
With his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, looking on, Chairman Ben Bernanke addresses President George W. Bush and others after being sworn in to the Federal Reserve post. Also on stage with the President are Mrs. Anna Bernanke and Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In case it wasn’t obvious, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had to initiate “the taper.”
Why? Not just because Uncle Ben initiated the QE game to get us out of the economic maze Alan the Alchemist (turning low interest rates into financial Armageddon) got us lost in. Not because Ben the Benevolent also wanted to be the one to lead us out of the extended maze he traipsed us through.
The taper had to begin with King Ben’s last last breath because Lady in Waiting Janet Yellen is supposed to be a lamb. And markets would have freaked if any time early in her reign Janyell proved to be a wolf in lamb’s clothing.
It doesn’t matter that the Fed knew the latest GDP numbers had been pumped up into the plus four range where everyone would see and say, “ahhh liftoff speed at last.” It doesn’t matter that the headline unemployment numbers are getting down to where the Fed said their dual mandate (manipulating a steep yield curve for bank profitability and manipulating unemployment data as cover for stuffing banks with even more money) would be reason for them to begin tapering. None of that manipulation mattered.
The taper was coming at Ben’s goodbye party because markets were only a twerp or two away from record highs and enough shorts had gathered and lathered themselves up to shave year-end profits down to make a short squeeze rally a good possibility.
And that’s where the Dances With Wolves thing comes in.
…
Taper seen as positive for economy, bad omen for bonds
Wednesday, 18 Dec 2013 | 2:54 PM ET
Patti Domm | CNBC Executive News Editor
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013.
The surprise decision by the Federal Reserve to slow down its bond buying program was greeted by markets as a sign the economy is improving, a longer term bearish omen for bonds but a positive for stocks for now.
“I think there’s a general consensus that … what the Fed is finally signaling is that the economy is doing better,” said Bob Doll, Nuveen Asset Management chief equity strategist. “In 2014, the economy will be a bit stronger and a bit better.”
The Fed’s move to “taper” its bond buying by $10 billion was expected by some market participants, but many had expected the Fed to wait for more data, in January or March.
Stocks initially sold off but recovered, with the Dow logging a triple digit gain. The 10-year yield initially rose to 2.92 percent but fell back to its earlier level of 2.84 percent. It then moved higher, to the 2.88 percent area.
“This is a bit of a relief trade,” said CRT chief Treasury strategist David Ader. “I think it’s incredibly significant that it came when we had tapering. The curve is doing very little on this.”
…
how can u really taper when there is a trillion dollar deficit? who are you going to sell the bonds to? How are you going to pay the bills with no cash? I think other countries are waking up and buying something else. Isn’t china hoarding gold now?
Isn’t china hoarding gold now ??
From everything I have read their hoarding everything thats not in China…
December 18, 2013
Bernanke Takes Away the M&Ms, but Leaves the Snickers Bars
Posted by John Cassidy
If you’re a bit confused about what the Federal Reserve did on Wednesday, don’t feel too bad about it—so are some of the experts. During a CNBC segment just after Chairman Ben Bernanke’s press conference (his last before handing the reins of the central bank to Janet Yellen), one panelist described the Fed’s decision to begin “tapering” as “hawkish,” while another said that it was “very dovish.” The two terms are ordinarily polar opposites: the former refers to policymakers whose primary worry is inflation, and who tend toward higher interest rates; the latter is applied to those who care primarily about unemployment, and who tend to support lower rates.
So which of the panelists was right? Why did Wall Street celebrate the Fed’s announcement by bidding the stock market up to another record close? And what the heck is “tapering” anyway?
…
Taper is not tighten. Nothing at all hawkish. Give me a break!
Manipulation Musical chairs. Will you have a chair when the music ends?
As an individual, your chances of having a chair go up considerably if you never set foot on the Titanic in the first place.
Most elitists and statists went aboard ship without giving a second thought to the availability of chairs.
Big Government is the next Titanic. It was obvious this time last year. Like the Titanic, it too will go down. It’s much too late for them to prevent the outcome.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the next incarnation of OWS arises, which it will.
The NeoCon-Progressive Party members will learn they are powerless to stop what it coming.
Liberty for individuals in evitable. The citizens of the United States will never accept anything less.
“Liberty for individuals is evitable. The citizens of the United States will never accept anything less.”
I call B.S. on this statement. Citizens of the United States willingly offer up their liberties to people like me each and every day.
Dumb ‘em down far enough and you will end up owning their souls.
Here’s an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFLPn30dvQ
Notice how the abused WILLINGLY agreed to become abused? Nobody forced them sign up for this, this a decision they made on their own.
Just how dumb can you get?
ObamaCare now is abusing tens of millions of people, too, Mistah Banker.
The pool of willing dupes is shrinking quite quickly these days. Just lookit what ObamaCare is doing to Millennials!
Lookit! Lookit! Lookit!
Think their new-found wariness isn’t going to manifest itself onto your dreams as well? Better hold tight to your panties.
The cool thing I found recently about the libertarian web sites is most have added the anarcho capitalist colors, yellow and black. I would expect to see the yellow and black decals on car windows starting to increase.
Vote for TARP
“Neel Kashkari, the former Treasury Department official who headed up the federal bailout program known as TARP, has lined up a campaign manager for his likely run for governor of California, Republicans familiar with Kashkari’s plans told POLITICO.
Kashkari has hired Pat Melton, a veteran of multiple successful congressional campaigns, as an adviser as he prepares a possible run for office. Melton managed Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr’s winning 2012 race and helped steer Louisiana Rep. Vance McAllister to an upset win in a special election last month.
Two Republicans said that Melton is expected to manage Kashkari’s gubernatorial bid. Kashkari adviser Aaron McLear confirmed only that Melton is working with Kashkari at a senior level.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/neel-kashkari-california-101432.html?hp=r8
Mike Whitney’s latest:
“According to a new Washington Post-ABC poll, Barack Obama now ranks among the least popular presidents in the last century. In fact, his approval rating is lower than Bush’s was in his fifth year in office. Obama’s overall approval rating stands at a dismal 43 percent, with a full 55 percent of the public “disapproving of the way he is handling the economy”. The same percentage of people “disapprove of the way he is handling his job as president”. Thus, on the two main issues, leadership and the economy, Obama gets failing grades.
An even higher percentage of people are upset at the way the president is implementing his signature health care system dubbed “Obamacare”. When asked “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling “implementation of the new health care law?” A full 62% said they disapprove, although I suspect that the anger has less to do with the plan’s “implementation” than it does with the fact that Obamacare is widely seen as a profit-delivery system for the voracious insurance industry. Notwithstanding the administration’s impressive public relations campaign, a clear majority of people have seen through Obama’s health care ruse and given the program a big thumb’s down.
Of course, Obamacare is just the straw that broke the camel’s back. The list of policy disasters that preceded this latest fiasco is nearly endless, including everything from blanket pardons for the Wall Street big-wigs who took down the global financial system, to re-upping the Bush tax cuts, to appointing a commission of deficit hawks to slash Social Security and Medicare (Bowles-Simpson), to breaking his word on Gitmo, to reneging on his promise to pass Card Check, to expanding to wars in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, to droning 4-times as many civilians as the homicidal maniac he replaced as president in 2008.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/12/20/the-incredible-shrinking-presidency-of-barack-obama/
Quite the legacy for our cuddly community organizer!
Whitney even is trying to provide cover for the guy he voted for:
“although I suspect that the anger has less to do with the plan’s “implementation” than it does with the fact that Obamacare is widely seen as a profit-delivery system for the voracious insurance industry.”..
-And-
“Notwithstanding the administration’s impressive public relations campaign…
In Whitney’s NeoCon-Progressive wet dreams….
Most important statistic buried in today’s AZ Republic business section:
October 2012 - 7400 construction jobs created,
October 2013 - 500 construction jobs created.
It’s going down boys, hold on to something sturdy.
Linky ??
Read it in paper edition. Page D3. Doesn’t seem to be a web reference. Title is “Pace of overall job growth slows from October 12″
Yes…hold onto something sturdy.
Like the Titanic!! Our federal government is nothing if not sturdy!
Just look at all that sturdiness.
Lookit! Lookit! Lookit!
I’ll have the Neocon-Progressive goose, cooked well done, please. With a side of Cabinet Goldman-Sachs a flambé. Better bring a lot. I’m ravenous!
Better drink a lot of merlot with that it sounds like it is loaded with fat.
Mars: Curiosity’s “Seven Minutes of Terror”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_Af_o9Q9s
Is that an accurate description of what happened? Or is that just what we are being told?
Questions:
1. If the Mars surface atmospheric pressure is the equivalent of Earths at 100,000 feet, what is Mars atmospheric pressure at 20,000 feet?
5000 feet?
does a parachute work? will it even deploy in such a thin atmosphere?
2. If the lunar module didn’t need to be lowered on ropes to avoid damage, why did Curiosity?
3. If the descent stage which lowered Curiosity with ropes, flew off and crashed, why not send Curiosity to investigate its crash site to determine if it produced a crater? A fresh crater far deeper than than Curiosity could drill using its little dremel tool?
A fresh crater which could reveal the presence of water or microscopic organic fossils?
Diatoms, plankton…?
Am I the only person interested in seeing the crashed descent stage?
***********************************************
The atmosphere is generally considered to exist up to 100,000 feet (above this altitude the atmosphere is virtually a vacuum until reaching outer space). One-half of the atmosphere is contained from 18,000 feet to the earth’s surface (the other 50 percent is from 18,000 feet to 100,000 feet). At sea level, the pressure of the atmosphere is 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi). At 18,000 feet the pressure is 7.34 psi. By 34,000 feet, the pressure is reduced to one-half the value at the 18,000 foot level (3.62 psi).
My thinking is that there were two shooters on the Mars knoll that took down the descent vehicle. They took it down because it contained Barack Obama’s real birth certificate which was being sent to safe storage after being removed from the Twin Towers shortly before Bush had the seals demolish them.
No, it didn’t contain his real birth certificate. It was a replica of the original. The whole thing was a wiley ruse to trick Barack into thinking that it was gone. But somewhere, someone STILL HAS the original. It will surface as soon as the danger is gone. You just wait.
“does a parchute work? will it even deploy in such a thin atmosphere?
If the lunar module didn’t need to be lowered down on ropes why did Curiosity?”
They used a parachute on Mars because a parachute would work on Mars. They didn’t use a parachute on the moon because a parachute wouldn’t work on the moon.
They will use what will work and they won’t use what won’t work. It really is as simple as that.
Question: Why do skydivers on earth use a parachute, why not use rockets?
A possible answer: Because they can. If they couldn’t use parachutes then they would probably have to resort to using rockets.
Because they can. If they couldn’t use parachutes then they would probably have to resort to using rockets.
That’s not the only reason—it’s also far more efficient. Fuel is heavy; a parachute packs a lot of deceleration into a much much lighter package.
Miley Cyrus soon in Phoenix to do her twerking and stick out her tongue “Bangerz” tour - There’s one for AZDude to go to and get a laugh at her disgusting herself.
http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/20131218winter-concert-guide-phoenix-tempe.html
http://gma.yahoo.com/justine-sacco-fired-tweet-aids-africa-issues-apology-133847425–abc-news-topstories.html
She is in public relations? She is about as good as it as Jane on the science fiction series Firefly. But at least on the series that was just a joke by the Captain.
To clarify:
I used to have health insurance because I was an employee. I chose the high-deductible plan because it meant that I would pay no employee premium, and the plan covered 100% of my bills after I paid the deductible.
Now I’m a contractor, so I have to buy my own insurance. I want to buy a plan with a $10,000 deductible, which pays 90%+ of the bills after the deductible. This should cost about $150/month.
Unfortunately, Big Brother and Sister have now made these plans illegal. You can only have such a plan if you are under 30, or if you previously had an individual catastrophic policy that was canceled. I had a group policy that was canceled because I don’t work there anymore.
How in the WORLD is it legal for the US Congress to tell me that I can’t buy a high-deductible plan with low copays? The “Affordable Care Act” has it to where the CHEAPEST policy is $250/month for a $6k deductible and a 40% copay. How is this not just obvious corruption? Like the insurance companies just walked into Congress and bought themselves a new law.
And our representatives act like they are “saving” people from going uninsured. Yeah, they are going to “save” me by forcing me, against my will, to purchase a thing that makes no financial sense, and is very expensive. A lot more than the going rate was on the private market two months ago.
And that $95 penalty in the first year for people who don’t comply with the rule? It isn’t really $95. It’s 95% or 1% of your annual income, whichever is higher. If your income is low enough to qualify for the mere $95 fee, then you qualify for free insurance anyway.
95 DOLLARS or 1 percent. Sorry, typo.
Tsk tsk. Washington and its merry band of lawyers, actuaries and politicians know infinitely more than you. And they should. They went to the nest schools and dine among the cream of the crop.
That they consciously and willingly break the law every day is beside the point.
Funny that….that they continue to maintain the notion that laws still actually matter(!), and that ethics and morals are subservient to law.
The typical Washingtonian will continue to be both deluded and corrupt until they get taken out. Only when they have lost much and much future prospect will they begin to whine about a lack of ethics and morals in Washington. And whine they will!
(And until that time comes, they will whine about having to pay considerably more under ObamaCare, the lack of “convenient” culture to consume, etc.).
I would just go without insurance and just pay for what I need out of pocket.
Racis.
But Bill, that’s ILLEGAL now. If I can’t get the low-premium, high-deductible, low-copay plan, then I will get nothing at all. It just makes me so mad that I am considered a criminal for actually making discerning choices regarding my finances. All hail Big Brother and Big Sister. Never question the wisdom of OTHER PEOPLE who make direct decisions about what you should purchase and how much you should pay with money that you are expected to earn.
It might be different if I were paying taxes to support a health-care system that gave me free access, but that’s not it. No way. ‘Cause see, that would be much more efficient than the “ACA”, but it wouldn’t give any extra profits to those who have already paid their bribes.
You know what you problem is? You’re UnAmerican!
You’re only American if:
1. You believe in socialized medicine.
2. You believe yourself superior to fat people, and believe that once we have socialized medicine, the “fat people” problem will disappear, along with the costs.
3. You believe in big government.
4. You favor environmental extremism rather than religious extremism.
5. You believe yourself superior because you makes lots of money off taxpayers.
Those five items are what comprise the new American Exceptionalism. If you don’t like it, it means you’re stupid.
Become Amish, then you will be exempt from ACA.
My question is how does government know if you are not insured? By process of elimination - by checking all their Obysmal care data bases if you are on any of them - then okay but if you are not on any of them you must not have not complied?
I will return to consulting in a few years. I have always found my own health insurance and it worked well across state lines in several states. I paid sometimes $110 per month, sometimes $350 per month.
For now the company that employs me includes health insurance paid for as a benefit.
But you are telling me that when I go independent again I will forced to go to a Obysmal Fascist web site to choose my health care? Excuse me! I’m going to have a lot of fun down the road finding ways to undercut the system of those thugs. I have plenty of money resources and time (will be 32 years into my career at that point) to do a lot off the grid. It’s part of in vonu voluntaryism.
I mean vonu voluntaryism.
I suppose that insurance companies and/or employers could report who is currently covered via SS numbers. Medicare, Medicaid and the VA should be able to do the same.
Two things on the agenda. First, how is Goldman Sachs doing with their year-end bonus boasts? Second, I want to get a new credit card for 2014 and limit the use of my current one. It has a rebate feature that kept me using it, but rather see if there are better deals out there. So far, bankrate.com is the place I use to keep an eye on stuff like that, but since I get a new card once per a decade roughly, I have not be too savvy to what is out there.
There is no such thing as “consent of the governed” no contract was signed. There is nothing binding about “implied consent.” it is the same as nothing binding that I cannot stop monthly donations to prostate cancer research. It is the same as nothing binding that I cannot switch airlines or rental car companies. What is common is that under contract law, any transaction or association done without a signed and witnessed contract need not be maintained, need not be repeated, and can be stopped.
In other words, paying taxes is not an act of consent. It is an act that can be revoked. Most of us will not revoke, as long as we want to avoid being imprisoned by the thugs who insist we owe them taxes.
Indeed. Consent is anathema to big government.
Getting most individuals to consent to anything is a tough row to hoe, especially in the United States. So why bother with consent? Force it down their throats at gunpoint instead.
Domestic Imperialism at its finest.
Domestic Imperialism at its finest.
bigtime.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/congressman-121-others-lose-money-in-virginians-stock-loan-scam/2013/12/20/e5e21760-635e-11e3-91b3-f2bb96304e34_story.html
“Money for nothing and your chicks for free.” –Dire Straits
HA,
DODFX dividend should have been payable December 20. Your account will show it Monday or Tuesday. 0.695 per share. Not too bad. For me at this point it’s good $ and it’s always reinvested. I figure its effective yield is 1.6%.
DODFX may have very few stocks and may be actively managed, but it beats the pants off of comparable Vanguard international funds. One I’m watching is the Vanguard Tax managed international fund. But DODFX currently beats that one too.
Vanguard is weak in its international funds. Exception is that I like its emerging markets admiral fund over T Rowe Price’s New Asia, which I have held for over 15 years.
Vanguard’s 500 index fund dividends should be reported Monday or Tuesday as well. They yield above 1.8% (1.96% for Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral). That is an awesome fund I have for one of my Roth IRAs. Non-taxable dividends
.69 is a nice yield.. MSFT yields are a small fraction of that and I’ve earned good coin on dividend alone on a large position I built 2001-2003.
LOLZ
http://www.azcentral.com/news/free/20131222suit-real-estate-agents-used-nj-home-sex.html
“WAYNE, N.J. — A northern New Jersey couple claim their real estate agent kept potential buyers away from their vacant home so he could use it for “sexual escapades” with a female colleague.
The Record (http://bit.ly/1dw2P0u) reports that the couple sued the real estate agents and their firm alleging breach of trust and fiduciary duties after the trysts were captured on security cameras in the house.
The suit claims the male agent made a duplicate key to the house and intentionally listed it above market value to deter others from visiting the home.
The suit seeks compensatory damages for invasion of privacy, infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, trespass of land and other civil counts.
The two real estate agents named in the suit could not be reached for comment.”
My current rental is beyond ideal. Top floor, no shared neighbor walls (building is shaped like an L and kitchen backs up to elevator shaft), and my downstairs neighbor is gone for weeks at a time in the oil fields in North Dakota.
It is so quiet here, I can kick my feet up and read books all weekend, only interrupted by the sound of people getting on and off the elevator. When you find a quality rental like this, it is gold and worth hanging onto, and this is not a luxury rental by any means.
Living like a grad student, 5 years after grad school, and saving 50% plus of my income. Bill in Los Angeles has been the most positively influential poster on this blog, thanks for saving me 1000’s of dollars and putting me on the trajectory to financial independence.
“Bill in Los Angeles has been the most positively influential poster on this blog, thanks for saving me 1000’s of dollars and putting me on the trajectory to financial independence.
No question.
Don’t let the DODFX saga fool you….. I’m still up 11% on it. His fund picks (Vanguard) and advice to rent back in 2006 has resulted in roughly $300k in capital gains alone. Had I ignored him and gone the other direction and dump money in a house? I’d have lost everything in savings and owed a few hundreds thousand dollars on a depreciating asset. Thanks but no thanks. And a big thank you to you Bill.
My savings rate is accelerating exponentially. The piles of cash are stacking up so high I’m afraid to go to sleep and wake up buried under an avalanche of cash.
You are doing awesome G.S!
Keep piling cash. I’m doing some big realized gains in 2014 (got stung a week ago by common sense) on that one stock that has been doing insane. It’s cyclical and I’m a student of market cycles.
The only way to do well in individual stocks is to get lucky on timing. And I do not like luck. This is why it’s been very scary for five years of its runup for me. I look forward to having an unprecedented (on my part) huge amount of cash-equivalent T-bills that will cover five more years of living expenses (in addition to the six or seven already via my savings bonds and municipal bonds.
And I will continue to dollar cost average into stock mutual funds outside tax deferral, my IRAs, my Roth 401k, and buy a few thousand worth of bullion per year. And best of all I can enjoy my red bordeaux.
Thanks for your nice comments.
Also thanks to Oxide for a few days of honesty back a month ago for that NYT Buy versus rent calculator. It shows renting is always better than buying if you want an upscale house.
Stick to your plan. Fundamentals are not going to change for a few years although stock market might correct.
“stock market might correct.”
I don’t see enough new dumb money…. yet.
I don’t see enough new dumb money…. yet.
“enough” is a key word. At least on the Yahoo finance blogs I see more and more praise of stocks and more insults to precious metals. It is a sign we are very close to the top. It could be a year away though. I won’t mind cashing out my biggest gainer on the stock / mutual fund side a year before the big abyss.
Thanks HA and please thank Ben Jones primarily! His hundreds of posts and URLs showing the insanity in real estate for the last 8 years or so has inspired us all.
Living like a grad student,
That is my approach at 54. My total rent payments are less than PITI and maintenance. And I am very good on finding decent places to rent.
My dividends and and government securities income outside my tax deferred plans more than pay half of my total rent! But I have been reinvesting the dividends and income for more than eight years so that dividends and income have been going up faster than my rent!
My goal is to exceed my rent payment with my dividends and government securities income. I think I can do it.