Bits Bucket for January 31, 2014
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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I have so much money after “throwing money away on rent” every month that I don’t know where to throw it.
Buy a fixed gear bike.
“Even if I fell, I land on a bunch of money” — Jay Z
“Even if I fell, I land on a bunch of money” — Jay Z
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwoM5fLITfk
Invest in the “MyRA” savings plan.
You will be glad you did.
If you don’t maintain some debt you won’t have a very good credit rating.
Credit score = consumerist hamster wheel debt donkey score.
My auto insurance policy cites the lack of a mortgage in my credit report as one reason for their rate.
More like a debt score.
I was in mid 800’s when I had a mortgage and a car payment. Now I am barely 800 without any debt whatsoever.
There you go…how perverse our system is.
Why do you need a credit score if you don’t use credit? If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it …
But as shown above, it is a scam you can’t avoid.
“I was in mid 800’s when I had a mortgage and a car payment. Now I am barely 800 without any debt whatsoever.”
+1 Ditto.
I’ve never ever had a 30-day late in my life, and I could never clear 830, and now with zero debt I hover around 806.
Certainly. I don’t know what my credit score is. Nor do I care. I use credit cards a lot but maintain zero debt. If I wanted to by a depreciating asset such as a house I can do so by cashing my government securities and buy with cash, in north Scottsdale.
I used to be indifferent. Now I laugh when I hear people talk about their credit score!
BTFD bill
You need to get a smart card (I’d recommend https://onlycoin.com/ or https://walla.by/) and a bitcoin wallet if you want to be really aggressive.
I will write a review for my smart card when I get it. I pre-ordered last week, but I don’t think they’re shipping until summer. And yes, it costs $50 but I got it paid for by job as part of my tech allowance. My business cc is going to go on there along with everything else.
“U.S. Senate approves delay in flood insurance rate hikes”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/banking/us-senate-expected-to-vote-today-to-delay-flood-insurance-rate-hikes/2163389
This is probably going to mean the end of my little beach rental. Everyone that is thinking about selling here is going to list, since this flood delay is a four-year reprieve. This also means they’ll sell to a sucker who has no idea any of this is in play.
“This also means they’ll sell to a sucker who has no idea any of this is in play.”
Doesn’t a realtor have to disclose this sort of information? And the lenders used to care when it was their skin too.
Socialism fails when you run out of other people’s money.
Just keep finding “more” of other people’s money…
So why does Detroit keeping voting 95% democrat and has not had a republican mayor in 60 years when things keep getting worse and worse?
————————-
Michigan Taxpayers Have Already Bailed Out Detroit - Again and again and again
Capitol Confidential | 1/27/2014 | Jarrett Skorup
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, House Speaker Jase Bolger and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville submitted a $350 million plan to benefit the City of Detroit. But the state has repeatedly given Motown extra cash and allowed special rules to help get the city out of repeated jams.
As Detroit faced a declining revenue base in 1996, the state rewrote its gambling law to allow for casinos in the city, with wagering taxes going directly into local coffers. This tax now accounts for 15 percent of city revenue. Detroit is the only city in Michigan allowed to levy this tax.
Detroit also is the only city that assesses an excise tax on utility use, authorized by state law in 1990. This is tacked onto the regular utility bills paid for by residents and businesses.
The state has written special laws for Detroit’s income taxes. Every other city can enact a maximum 1 percent income tax on residents and 0.5 percent on nonresident earnings. Detroit taxes at more than twice those rates — 2.4 percent for residents and 1.2 percent for nonresidents.
Michigan also has huge advantages in state revenue sharing. The state shares the revenue from some of its taxes with local governments. Part of this is mandated by the state constitution, to be distributed by population, and part is determined by state statute that legislators can alter as they see fit. Detroit gets the majority of state revenue sharing — 58 percent of the pot, while containing less than 10 percent of the state’s total population.
Yes, Detroit’s revenue decline is a problem. But as a report from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan shows, no matter how you slice it, Detroit gets more revenue than every other municipality in the state, and the city is still a fiscal basket case. In fact, Motown receives twice as much revenue per person as the second-highest municipality in the state.
State legislators have also repeatedly affirmed the special privileges received exclusively by Detroit as the city has lost population by adjusting the population rules on a number of laws. The state constitution prohibits “local acts,” where it gives one government a preference not received by others, without super majority approval in the Michigan Legislature. Legislators avoid this by not naming specific local governments and instead apply rules that only one government meets.
Since Detroit is the largest city, it received these benefits by restricting it to cities with a population greater than 1 million. With falling population, legislators repeatedly reworked the limits. One bill, passed unanimously by the state House, allows the city to tax and borrow for special assessments without a vote of the people. Other laws continuing to allow Detroit to have its special higher income tax and unique extra utility tax were also passed in 2011.
It is heartbreaking that city officials mismanaged resources so badly for so long. But the state needs to correct their error of continually bailing out the city and ignoring the fiscal malpractice being done; not encourage more of it from its municipalities. The state has a long history of bailing out Detroit — policymakers need to learn the lessons about why they didn’t work.
Not sure if you can read, 2Ban.
But just in case, check this out: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-nebraska-so-boring-map-2014-1
That map mostly shows that that there are many Google users who are not too bright. Why is Texas so big? Why is Minnesota so cold?
The whole point is, what are does the average person using google think is descriptive of a given state.
The historical basis for why Texas, in particular, is so large is interesting. Texas has a unique history, including being its own country at one point. I imagine there might be a good reason why MN is colder than, say, Oregon or Washington, despite being at the same general latitude?
My point to 2banana is, the south is still poor and will likely always be relatively poor compared to the north. People who have lost in the education/job game and move to the south to take a min-wagey type job add to your population but don’t change the fact you’re a poor state.
But speaking of Oregon, if you dig into “Why is Oregon good?,” it’s about the Ducks not the state itself. lulz
Yeah, I mentioned it’s the same with Alabama. Alabama football is what produces the “good”, which narrowly beat out search terms “poor”, “racist”, “backwards” and a few others. LOL.
the south is still poor and will likely always be relatively poor compared to the north. People who have lost in the education/job game and move to the south to take a min-wagey type job add to your population but don’t change the fact you’re a poor state.
Who peddles this mindless crap day after day? Most people in north are either poor or just getting by. Most people in south are either poor or just getting by. Both north and south have pockets of areas where a small percentage of people live very comfortably.
HA is genius by comparison.
“I imagine there might be a good reason why MN is colder than, say, Oregon or Washington, despite being at the same general latitude?”
+1 I over-heard a military woman who was stationed in Alaska for more than 10-yrs and then relocated to the Great Lakes region commenting that the weather in Alaska was much better.
“HA is genius by comparison.”
RAL is right. It’s just a question of how right he is; some would say he goes too far with his “buy later for 60% off” or “we buy lots anywhere for $5k and build everywhere for $50/sq ft”. The (dumb) meme out there among the public is that “renting is throwing away money” or otherwise inferior to “owning”. The public largely thinks that a house is a decent investment and that houses go up in value over time (in real terms, not merely nominal). The public largely doesn’t question the existence of realtors or their fee structure. There isn’t a decent poster here at HBB who disagrees with RAL on these big themes being lies.
As for me, a) I don’t peddle this crap everyday, I merely point out that 2Banana’s posts are idiotic memes dreamed up by tea people and b) I am correct just like RAL is. You’re the idiot. You can’t look at household income in MD or NJ and then look at household income in Miss or Louisiana and tell that, even after cost of living adjustments, the median person is doing a lot better in one than the other? You don’t think statistically significant differences in HS graduation %, unemployment %, and literacy % tell you anything whatsoever? Get real. Also, you discount that the population gains made in the south are largely older or downscale people. Yeah, we get it, FL has grown by leaps and bounds since the 60s. It’s overrun by boomers. I get it, even if you don’t.
You, Slithers, and Bananarama should get together and come back with some more anecdotes. I need more material to work with.
That’s why I used the term “most people”, not 2% or 4% more people in north may have a slightly better life in the north. To me that’s still statistical nuisance.. the whole south vs north, dem vs repub, black vs white….con vs lib…obviously you love that….many of your posts cleary sugegst that. Many of us have moved on from it and don’t want to play that mindless game. Good luck peddling this…hopefully MSNBC will call with a job offer.
You, Slithers, and Bananarama should get together and come back with some more anecdotes. I need more material to work with.
I can’t speak for Banana and Smithers, but you get your daily material from MSNBC, so you already have plenty to work every day.
“I can’t speak for Banana and Smithers, but you get your daily material from MSNBC, so you already have plenty to work every day.”
I don’t have cable so I’ve seen maybe 1 hour total of cable news since Labor Day of last year.
MSNBC has also gotten really pathetic. They are as unbalanced and ridiculous as Fox now. They just have a different viewership and rooting preference.
I don’t consume that much mainstream news, I hunt and peck. I sometimes look at RealClearMarkets (but never RealClearPolitics). You won’t find me linking to that many articles on NYT, WaPO, MSNBC, etc. Almost never. I simply don’t look in that direction, except for NYTimes Dealbook (which is about business, not politics).
The only thing I’ve said in MSNBC’s favor in a while is pointing out that MSNBC beats fox in viewers 25-55, while Fox dominates the total numbers bc of drooling senior citizens who watch all day. But I didn’t find that out from MSNBC, I read the nielson ratings and ocassionally look at TVNewser.com
Hope this helps.
The only thing I’ve said in MSNBC’s favor in a while is pointing out that MSNBC beats fox in viewers 25-55, while Fox dominates the total numbers bc of drooling senior citizens who watch all day. But I didn’t find that out from MSNBC, I read the nielson ratings and ocassionally look at TVNewser.com
Actually, Joe Fox now beats MSNBC in both demographics. Apparently, you have not checked Nielson in quite awhile.
Primetime P2+ (000s) 25-54 (000s) 35-64 (000s)
FOXN 2441 406 871
CNN 827 228 427
MSNBC 873 288 474
CNBC 187 84 101
FBN 57 14 22
HLN 333 141 219
406,000 25-54 for Fox compared to 288,000 to MSNBC but don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Joey, RAL lies by omission, if you agree with him on his “big themes” then you are missing a lot.
Examples:
“The world is 95% empty land”, with the implication that land is plentiful and therefore cheap.
- Omits that a lot of that land is nearly uninhabitable or in unstable countries.
- Omits that the best pieces of land (good soils/close to water) have been in demand since the dawn of civilization, and thus a lot of the most attractive land (places where people want to live) has been settled/purchased.
“You can build anywhere for $50psf”, with the implication that paying anymore than that for a used house is stupid.
- Omits that land is not free
- Omits that permits are not free
- Omits that different levels of finish cost more…and what you live in (and where you live) is a personal choice (you can’t get $50 construction cost on cheap land if you want the extras and live in a great location)
If what he says is true, then houses should be built everywhere on this cheap land for low prices, and it would drive prices right where he says they should be. In light of his other comment that demand is at historic lows, how do you possibly explain all of his comments being true in light of rising home prices?
Said another way, in what economic universe can supply be added cheaply and easily, and yet prices are rising fairly rapidly with weak demand? Something he says (or many things he says) must be wrong.
“All housing depreciates”, with the implication that eventually the home that you spend $x on will be worth $0
- Omits the fact that the land will not deteriorate (unless you live over a sinkhole)
- Omits the fact that proper maintenance can keep the utility of a house pretty high for a LONG time
“Housing is a loss always”
- Omits the fact that housing as a real asset can be an effective hedge against inflation
- Omits the fact that there can be periods of time when housing does NOT lose value
“We are way above the trendline”
- Continues to post nominal data, adding a flat trendline (no adjustment for inflation), Shiller’s data is all inflation adjusted to come to his long-term conclusions.
And then there are the outright lies, my favorite:
There are 4.4 empty and defaulted houses in CA, and the fact that there are reportedly lower and lower delinquency rates is simply evidence that “they” are really good at hiding these empty and defaulted homes.
This is akin to saying that there are 4 elephants in the room. The fact that you can’t see them is just evidence that “they” are really good at hiding them. 4.4 million “excess” homes in a state with +/- 14 million homes would be obvious.
The fact that you like his themes doesn’t make them true. And simply observation and logic would tell you that RAL is not telling the truth.
‘You can build anywhere for $50psf’
I recently discovered a custom house being built in expensive-to-build Flagstaff for $39/sq ft.
‘houses should be built everywhere on this cheap land for low prices’
It was done for centuries. If the government would stop hoarding land, we’d see an endless supply of very inexpensive housing.
‘Omits the fact that housing as a real asset can be an effective hedge against inflation’
Historically, house prices paced inflation. With taxes, insurance and maintenance, that’s a net loss over time.
‘Omits the fact that there can be periods of time when housing does NOT lose value’
Yeah, like during bubbles.
‘in light of rising home prices’
See previous answer. There are times, like when oil is newly discovered, when you may see brief price increase. But supply and demand work it back to equilibrium.
There have always been people that made money on real estate. Seeing that commercial development was moving in a certain direction and bought options on the land in advance. For houses, it was typically distress. There’s always distressed sellers. But this bubble that you’ve become accustomed to is an economic freak event. Once in a thousand years. And if it weren’t for government/central bank meddling, we’d be close to putting this thing behind us.
High house prices just make us poorer. (You should know as you live in the poorest state in the union). They aren’t desirable, economically sustainable, or morally just.
You slugged that out of the ballpark Ben! Admirable!
Rental Watch lies egregiously. Here and elsewhere but we’re fixing to straighten that out too.
So what are we doing differently in America to avoid the same fate?
And what currencies and other items are Americans going to horde?
——————————
Argentines jockey to cope with economic turmoil
Fox News | 1/30/14 | ALMUDENA CALATRAVA and DEBORA REY
Consumer prices are soaring, the treasury is running low on foreign currency and the peso has had its sharpest slide in 12 years. Instead of rioting, though, Argentines are falling back on tried and true survival skills to cope with the turmoil.
Inflation is at about 30 percent and there’s been a 15 percent drop in the peso’s value against the U.S. dollar over a few days. But Argentina has gone through five much more dire economic times since the 1930s.
So some Argentines are hoarding dollars, while others stockpile goods or plow their savings into real estate.
“So what are we doing differently in America to avoid the same fate?”
We are enjoying a flight-to-quality into dollars and Treasury bonds as the emerging markets growth facade gives way to panic.
And a flight into precious metals. US mint has record sales of bullion.
NEWSFLASH:
President obama has just announced the new director of the new “MyRA: savings program.
John Corzine will say a few words about his new position later this morning.
Really? Corzine? You’re joking, right? Please tell me it’s a joke.
You sound like it makes any difference who runs it.
madoff isnt doing anything is he?
Not for all intensive purposes.
Shirley you jest.
….not even for all intents and purposes.
I’m Serious. And don’t call me Shirley.
/obligatory
It’s not a program. There’s nothing to run.
That’s never stopped anyone before.
The fact that you think it might not be a joke says everything you need to say about the big O and also you.
I knew it was a joke….seriously…I did. I promise. I knew the moment I read it…..really.
A month ago we were at extreme greed.
Today we are extreme fear.
——————————–
Fear and Greed Index for markets
CNN | 31 January 2014 |
http://money.cnn.com/data/fear-and-greed/?iid=HP_LN
Interesting stuff, no? I actually just proposed a weekend topic on investor greed and fear before reading your post.
Greed, fear, Anger, blah, blah, blah…
Anything to distract from a meaningful conversation about the fed’s role in all this.
When you give a privately controlled entity a state sanctioned license to counterfeit…..
Obama “has a pen” and he’ll use it to make sure the October enrollment is postponed until after the election. The ACA does not authorize the president to do this but we have stop being a nation of laws for some time now.
——————————
Second wave of health-insurance disruption affects small businesses (25 MILLION cancellations)
Washington Post | 1/11/14 | Ariana Eunjung Cha
When millions of health-insurance plans were canceled last fall, the Obama administration tried to be reassuring, saying the terminations affected only the small minority of Americans who bought individual policies.
But according to industry analysts, insurers and state regulators, the disruption will be far greater, potentially affecting millions of people who receive insurance through small employers by the end of 2014.
While some cancellation notices already have gone out, insurers say the bulk of the letters will be sent in October, shortly before the next open-enrollment period begins. The timing — right before the midterm elections — could be difficult for Democrats who are already fending off Republican attacks about the Affordable Care Act and its troubled rollout.
The October Surprise! And then, what does it really matter at this point.
As a veteran are you on socialist Tricare or VA benefits?
I think socialist programs are programs that give you something just because you are not because of something you have done. Serving the military comes with a certain pay and benefits package and that includes the right to utilize VA benefits. We can certainly argue that the military is too big but we should not blame the people that have served. To me it is like blaming hardworking people that utilize SNAP benefits because globalization including immigration both legal and illegal has driven down their wages so much they cannot support a family.
It looks like Bill below disagrees and considers the VA to be socialist. Ever since the word socialism was introduced into the national discourse around 5½, everyone who uses the word has come up with his or her own definition, making it useless for conversation or debate.
“Ever since the word socialism was introduced into the national discourse”
Really? Privatize the profits, socialize the losses. One of the greatest perversions. of socialism. ever.
I mean to write, “Ever since the word socialism was introduced into the national discourse around 5½ years ago…”
From what I can recall, the word appeared out of the blue some time around June or July of 2008.
‘the word appeared out of the blue’
All these countries that have single payer health programs have political parties that openly identify themselves as socialists and/or liberals. I don’t see why the socialists in the US hide from the term. It’s just a word.
I’m not sure if a significant number of Americans are hiding from the word socialism. However, if there is no general agreement on what the word even means, it’s useless.
From what I can recall, the word appeared out of the blue some time around June or July of 2008.
USSR = Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
NAZI = National Socialist German Workers’ Party
North Korea - officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea doesn’t use the word “socialism” so you win there.
I was referring to the way that many commentators here in America suddenly starting the using the word in the summer of 2008. I don’t recall it getting used much before it then in this country to refer to our own politicians.
many commentators here in America suddenly starting the using the word
Not only using the word, using it derisively. It’s pretty clear it’s not “just a word,” just a descriptor. And the USSR reference is a red-herring.
I’ve been called a Socialist for my views on public K-12 education and healthcare, which I support (but not the ACA). Never mind (apparently) that I don’t support handouts to illegal immigrants or to home loan owners or to foreign nations via endless war/meddling and want a timed cutoff for welfare, etc, etc.
I’ve disabused many a McCarthyist for calling me a Socialist while they suck on my teat to subsidize their kids and their house. I had one person respond and I quote, “well that’s because they’re for the good of society.” Cognitive dissonance much?
C’mon, Ben and Ban. Surely you know how it’s being used…
‘using it derisively’
That can only be so if the US public views socialism negatively. Why do people in other countries not only shun the word, but have it in the names of their political parties?
This kinda gets to a point I’ve made before; Canada may have socialist health care programs, but most citizens here aren’t socialists. This little game played by some to dance around the nature of their politics isn’t fooling me. And I’d respect proponents of these things a lot more if they would proudly declare their political beliefs.
That can only be so if the US public views socialism negatively.
If I understand your position, you’re saying why do people get offended at being called socialist if they subscribe to socialist solutions? I don’t disagree with that.
What I’m saying is that a vocal portion of the people USING the term view it negatively which is why they use it derisively, even if they don’t know the definition of what they’re saying (which I think is Mike’s original point).
And I’ve had to explain to a portion of that portion that they themselves subscribe to socialist solutions even while they decry it. The question is, why do THEY get so defensive?
I’m repeating myself, but I think that it’s possible that Medicare is the most popular institution in American life. So maybe most Americans are socialists.
‘they themselves subscribe to socialist solutions’
Sure they do. Many people in the US are socialists. Almost everyone in DC is. So why all the fear of the label? When I was in college, I had Marxist and socialist professors that would tell us all about the evils of capitalism.
Like most things political in this country, it just isn’t honest. And the confusion and ducking and dodging do us a disservice when it comes to policy. The complete failure of Obamacare is an example of the people rejecting socialism. Why didn’t Obama figure it out ahead of time? Because he’s playing this game of hiding his true intent.
I am proud to be a capitalist. And a libertarian. I have been for legalizing drugs my entire adult life, and I never was ashamed to say so. I have always been against foreign military adventures. I am proud to be known as a pacifist. I tell you that capitalism has given us almost everything we have in this country. And we have people on this blog that knock capitalism every chance they get. Do you know what capitalism is? It’s you and me getting up and going to work in the morning. Living a life that we determine, for better or worse. And history now has many examples of the failure that is socialism. I suspect that’s why US politicians, and others, want to make the term socialist politically incorrect.
I discovered libertarianism. I realized, this is what I am. I wasn’t converted. Capitalism is what I believed in before I knew the word. If a socialist wants to get elected and make laws, let’s have an honest evaluation of what the beliefs are and let the people decide.
I will tell you a story about Army medical care.
My buddy has a lump on his back. Used the army medical system which means you get to wait in line at 0600, wait some more and get whoever they send you to see. Then you go back and see a different person later in the day after waiting for another few hours. Go back again and again and see someone different every time. Some don’t speak English and some obvious quacks but you have NO say in the matter. You get who you get or you can go home. They all try to do the cheapest and easiest thing to send you on your merry way. Then you wait some more and hope things get better.
But my buddy is not getting better and final goes to see a private doctor by paying out of his own pocket. Without going into details, it was serious and almost too late to treat.
And this is a very typical story.
Now image this same scenario WITHOUT any kind of private medical care to fall back on.
That is what all you socialists have coming for you. Except liberals always seem to think they will be exempt from the socialism they want for everyone else. Kinda like the people whining about obamacare in blue states. Hey – you voted for this - now eat your peas.
No thanks for me.
My dad was a disabled veteran. And that is the same observation he had with the VA.
That socialist system is what the “progressives” will force on all Americans.
My wife trained doctors at a teaching university. The worst students, who should have been flunked out (Chinese nationals), but for the school needing the funds, could only find employment back in China or at our VA.
Anecdotes are of limited value. I could tell a much worse story of something that happened to my uncle with private doctors in a private hospital funded by private insurance.
Of course, private insurance and private health care are massively subsizided by the government, but that’s another matter.
When Walmart is offering guidance on earnings, you know retail is in a deep hole.
Did the Plunge Protection Team suddenly take off the stock market’s training wheels?
Bulletin Wal-Mart shares drop on cut to earnings guidance »
New York Markets Open in: 1:09:22
Pre-Market Indications | Analyst Ratings
Futures: S&P 500 -0.9% DOW -0.9% NASDAQ -0.4%
Stock futures tumble as ‘Jaundiced January’ ends
Jan. 31, 2014, 7:34 a.m. EST
Stock futures slide as ‘jaundiced January’ closes
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures looked set to wipe out the previous session’s gains on Friday, as a rough January comes to a close.
Earnings news weighed on premarket trading for Mattel Inc. and Amazon.com. Chevron Corp. was still due to report. Shares of Zynga Inc. soared after its own results and acquisition news.
Fears of deflation in the euro zone as well as jitters ahead of consumer spending and sentiment reports also hurt sentiment.
Amid disappointing fourth-quarter earnings Amazon says it is considering a more than 50% increase in the U.S. to its popular Prime two-day membership program.
Extending earlier losses, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH4 -0.66%) fell 111 points, or 0.7%, to 15,623, while futures for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index (SPH4 -0.81%) dropped 11.2 points, or 0.6%, to 1,770.90 — strategists have been focusing on the 1,770 level as key support for the main index. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDH4 -0.33%) fell 19 points, or 0.6%, to 3,482.75.
…
Yawn. Wake me when we have some real news like a 20% or more on the downside!
53
If you look at the most recent GDP numbers growth was primarily driven by three factors: (1) consumer spending increases (2) inventory build (3) decreased trade deficit due to increased oil production in the U.S.
GDP growth cannot be sustained due to these factors (1) There is very little income growth, so spending cannot be sustained (2) If spending is not sustained those inventories will have to be reduced to reflect demand (3) Oil production growth is starting to drop off fairly rapidly. (4) due to the strong dollar and this fall off in oil production growth, the trade deficit should start to rise again and be a drag on GDP.
Hence the economy sucks. No more jobs, even for Walmart. Hence housing will drop. And the stock market.
Lines are still long at Applebees so I am not worried…
I went to Applebees and paid way too much money for some really nasty food. No waiting. My Russian waiter even tried to flirt for tips, but I never flirt with waiters. He got his tip because he agreed to illegally place my open bottle in a to-go bag for me. Do really busy waiters usually risk getting fired like that?
Not housing and Stocks. Yellin will take you to a wild “ride”….she’s is freshening up…she will be in your bed no time.
I don’t know about that, pBear. Walmart is about to get 2 big problems. Aldi is aggressively expanding in the U.S. and competes with Super Walmarts for their food customers. And the minimum wage/union issues are bad for Walmart any way you look at it.
If you want an interesting research project, look into how Aldi helped to _completely eliminate_ Walmart from Germany. I think some other grocers in Western Europe got serious about private label items and local sourcing and also booted Walmart out.
Long-term, Walmart is limited in its sales potential most of all bc of it’s target market. They can only go into so many southern/Midwestern towns and kill off local businesses for so long. Eventually they will run out of store openings. And eventually people see them for what they are. Not everyone, but enough people.
One other thing I should’ve added to my list is foot stamps. The poorest region in the country is the south. Walmart does a ridiculous % of all retail transactions in the south. When foodstamps are cut or people’s unemployment checks run out, Walmart earnings will crater. (Insert RAL_soundclip.mp3 here)
WalMart will find itself competing with those stores that sell “expired” goods, which is all the poor will be able to afford when their bennies are cut or eliminated. We have one of those stores here in my little burg, and business there is brisk from what I hear.
Aldi does it via private label items (they don’t need a ton of floor space, they won’t give floor space for free to expensive brands). As far as I know, they don’t sell anything past “best by ____” dates.
We have some stores near us that sell things that are past “best by” dates. I’ve gone sometimes, but I don’t buy enough food to where it would make a big difference. And if you want good food, you really can’t find that at Walmart. Maybe Costco. (Note: Costco is run by shitlibs and pays living wages.)
“those stores that sell “expired” goods”
I buy broccoli and cauliflower at the 99.99C Only Store. It’s the same brand the Ralphs by our home sells. I know Mon.Wed.Fri. are their produce delivery
days. Buying these items by the lb. is insane. You cut away so much inedible material. 70% of our diet is veggies.
If amnesty is granted, Walmart will do fine. It will have more workers willing to work for slave wages and more customers. If it is does not happen, Walmart is in big trouble, its pool of workers is restricted to low productivity workers many with criminal records and its present customers are moving down stream. Costco’s workers are much more productive than Walmarts. Paying more can be a good strategy. However, just paying more for the same existing workers does not make the workers much better, the TSA is an example of that. Converting the minimum wage type workers to higher paid workers did not make them smarter or better workers.
Why Wal-Mart will always win in the end.
———–
Payroll Made Simple
Finance and Freedom | January 13, 2014
Eight different taxes. That’s what I had to compute every time I wrote a paycheck back when I was running a small business on the side. Eight taxes: •Federal income tax •State income tax •Federal unemployment tax •State unemployment tax •Medicare – employer’s portion •Medicare – employee’s portion •FICA – employer’s portion •FICA – employee’s portion
At least I “only” had to send the payments to four different government agencies.
…
Yes, the governments provided some nice hefty books. The IRS provided a 67 page two column guide. My state’s employer guide was only 59 pages. Keep in mind that these were just for the purpose of computing and delivering withholding taxes. The (sole proprietorship) business itself had its own tax guides – for income, FICA, Medicare, and sales taxes.
I think I spent more time dealing with government paperwork/payments than my part time employee spent working for the business. I definitely would have better off doing the work myself, save that I wanted to do the experiment. Jobless people take note.
For full time business owners with full time employees, this overhead is a smaller fraction of doing business, but it is still a significant headache. A big corporation like Wal-Mart can hire specialists to handle payroll headaches. The really big ones can optimize the process and even have their own specialized software designed. For a Mom and Pop business, or a small startup, these headaches occupy the owner(s). Keep this in mind all ye anti-Wal-Mart/buy local lefties. All this government-imposed overhead gives the big corporations an advantage over locally owned businesses.
While your points are true, the real reason Main St. can’t compete with WalMart is economies of scale. WalMart can purchase what they sell for far less than any shop on Main St.
As for managing the taxes, Quicken sells software that highly automates the process.
There are a bunch of auto-correct errors in my above post
its/it’s… foot stamps… etc.
Maybe I revealed myself to be behind the 2Banana screen name?
Long-term, Walmart is limited in its sales potential most of all bc of it’s target market. They can only go into so many southern/Midwestern towns and kill off local businesses for so long. Eventually they will run out of store openings
A simpler way of saying this is Walmart is probably in every county in the country at this point, or at least every county with a sufficient population. So growing by opening stores is no longer an option. Of course, there is still the rest of the world to be conquered.
When in doubt about deflation, cut rates!
Jan. 31, 2014, 5:40 a.m. EST
How to invest if Europe flirts with deflation
Hunt for value if inflation data force the ECB to act
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Deflation fears have taken a firm grip on Europe. Here’s how you can invest your money, now that fresh data has signaled inflation is on track to getting dangerously cool in the euro zone.
Inflation data for the currency union released Friday showed an unexpected fall in January to 0.7%. As analysts had forecast no change at 0.8% or slight increase to 0.9%, the disappointing data could push the European Central Bank to try further easing measures in the next six months.
After all, just like the Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke, the ECB’s Mario Draghi and his fellow policy makers are mindful of how damaging Japan’s long period of deflation was to its economy and employment. As Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said earlier in January: “If inflation is the genie, then deflation is the ogre that must be fought decisively.”
For stock investors, deflation or falling inflation (disinflation) is generally not a great scenario for higher returns. But more easing could lead to new investment opportunities in certain sectors — autos and beaten-down local banks could be the way to go, and even the euro, too. In other words, investments that would benefit from the expected increased stimulus from the ECB.
“I prefer those firms that are exposed to growth in the euro zone, which are some of the auto companies and local banks. UniCredit (IT:UCG -1.44%) in Italy, Bankinter (ES:BKT -0.72%) in Spain and Commerzbank (DE:CBK -3.98%) in Germany will respond well to more stimulus. The markets have been overly concerned about those,” said Colin McLean, managing director at SVM Asset Management.
Finding value in European stocks has gotten trickier over the past year. Even as deflation worries bubble in the background, the main indexes have been on a tear. The Germany DAX 30 index (DX:DAX -1.52%) earlier in January climbed to an all-time high, while the Stoxx Europe 600 index (XX:SXXP -1.14%) surged to a six-year high.
With both the December and January data showing surprise declines in inflation, deflation fears are growing more prominent. Since the ECB has an inflation target of just below 2%, economists expect it may be forced to act to start reheating prices.
The euro has risen steadily over the past year and could continue to be a good investment, if the euro zone slips into deflation.
Barclays last week said it now expects another cut to the main refinancing rate in February or March, by 15 basis points, which would push the key lending rate to a record low of 0.1%. The bank also forecasts a 10 basis-point cut to the deposit rate, which would push it into negative territory for the first time in euro-zone history.
“We see this likely rate cut as the next logical policy step for the ECB, before it would consider engaging in other, politically more controversial, nonstandard measures, possibly during the spring,” the analysts at Barclays said.
…
So Zuck made like another billion bucks yesterday, so he can fund more of his scamnasty putsch.
Everyone with a FB page is one of his unpaid assets.
Facebook. A peepshow for cretins.
“Facebook. A peepshow for cretins.”
You have to hand it to a guy who can make billions and billions of buckaroos peddling this claptrap.
Job Interview(s) this week. (….)= thoughts
“What social networks are you on?”
“None”
“Why?”
“Because a. no time to spend all that idle time. 2. I don’t want my life documented on a worthless media. I prefer my privacy” (I’ll “puff” myself in person. Thank you very much.)
“Interesting. It must be your generation.” (Screw you, you self anointed a-hole.)
And don’t get me started on that psychological question dribble.
Good post. I feel exactly the same way. Beware of any company that wants you to fill out a psych test online. I actually turned down a job once by refusing their psych test. Said I’d be happy to pee in a cup, submit to background checks, provide any references they needed. They actually pleaded with me to do the psych test, it was almost hysterical, because they wanted to hire me, but couldn’t do so without the test. “It’s just a formality, everyone does it”, blah-blah.
Eff them. I could have used the money, too. But screw ‘em.
I dunno what generation they were referring to, though.
Now that everyone’s mom & dad (may of them actually hire) are on FB, you may just need a FB account to get a job. Otherwise, you might just be that weirdo…..
I hate interviewers who think that they can judge your personality. Those are the most political people to work with (and a pain too).
Just did a 30 minute online anal-ysis questionnaire. I took a class on how to answer the damn questions, and so could a serial nutcase. Some Psychology or HR firm took the handshake out of the process. I hate the modern applicant process. I miss the local want ads.
Man, this is a tough job market. CL has been more fruitful than Indeed. For one, less applicants.
I hate the modern applicant process.
In the 90s we had both the handshake AND the personality test. Man, have I fooled a lot (ALOT) of people!
You have to hand it to a guy who can make billions and billions of buckaroos peddling this claptrap.
I respond with this any time someone complains of Limbaugh, Maddow, O’Reilly, etc. Millions, not billions but still…freaking geniuses.
Why I’m the only idiot selling Facebook now
January 30, 2014, 1:25 PM
Commentary
By Cody Willard
Hate to say I told ya so, but remember when I was the “only idiot buying Facebook?” (Cody Willard: Why I’m the Idiot Buying Facebook) back when it was below $20 a share?
I do. I remember all that displaced hate and anger (Bring on the Facebook hate).
In fact, I made a steak dinner bet with the best value investor I know, Robert Marcin, back when Facebook FB -0.85% was at $18 a share or so, that FB would hit $100 before it hit single digits. It was a rather outrageous bet at the time, but I had my money where my mouth was anyway as I made the stock the largest position in the my portfolio and even loaded up on long-dated call options while it was down at those levels.
Marcin brought up our bet today, though he noted it’s still a long way to $100 for Facebook — “$FB knocks cover off with 63% revenue growth! Thats the number investors are paying for. Kudos to cody for his call on the stock! A long way to go til they reach his $100 target in our wager, but its a great qtr for the $FB. I still believe stock is very expensive, with a mkt cap around $160 billion and sales around $11 billion annual run rate.”
Marcin is right about how impressive $FB’s topline growth was once again. And he’s also right that $FB ain’t cheap any more, like I’d argued it had been at $20.
Yesterday, I answered a Marketwatch reader question about what to expect in Facebook’s earnings this way, “Remember that I own FB for the next few years, not for this quarter. Feet to fire, I’d guess the company beats top and bottom line and that usage and revenue per user is up above estimates too. Not sure what will be the catalyst for tomorrow’s FB action though — remember that time it was sold off after a good quarterly report because of teen usage concerns? Anyway, I’m holding my FB steady.”
…
“(Bring on the Facebook hate).”
I’ve heard about ‘liking’ stuff on Facebook, but is ‘hating’ on Facebook an option?
I never heard a whole lot of Facebook hate, only heavy breathing about how great it is. But I wonder what people really get out of it other than a good hosing, by which I mean they’ve got their crap plastered all over the internet while they make zuck a very, very wealthy individual.
I am not now nor have I ever been a user. What’s been interesting to me are the tales of personal pain or annoyance generated by FB. For example, a relative had a horrible squabble with a long time friend that went public on FB. Day after day the telephone rang with the latest outrage. I did my best to be a sympathetic listener. These aren’t teens, these are grown people in their 50s.
Then there’s a fellow I occasionally do some work for who called to tell me that someone had cancelled a business meeting with him due to “illness”, and he watched as they posted stuff to FB during the appointed time.
These are just a couple of anecdotes, but it makes me wonder how many of these kinds of stories are out there.
BTW, this emerging stock markets turmoil is merely a warmup act for the big event, which will be Tech Stock Meltdown 2.0.
Wait for it.
Ya think?
And don’t forget the really big picture, which is that we have just completed a five year plan of unprecedented levels of market intervention in U.S. stocks, bonds and housing. It will take a massive correction over the course of the next several decades to unravel this.
Five years ago?
What else happened five years ago?
What else happened five years ago?
What is America finally came to its senses and categorically rejected Republican frauds and their cronies and installed Democratic frauds and their cronies, Alex?
But Lola said it was Reagan’s fault.
You saying these P/Es are bad???
Amazon: 1,460
Facebook: 101
LinkedIn: 956
+1. I strolled over to AMZN’s finance page yesterday specifically to see what their P/E was, after reading some earnings report on them. Had no idea it was that high!
And I thought Google’s was on the high end at 30x trailing year EPS!
Everyone with a FB page is one of his unpaid assets.
I am proud to say that I cancelled mine a year ago.
Good for you. It wouldn’t surprise me if FB way overstates the number of active users it has.
People should know that they have enabled zuck to pour big bucks to the politicians to pass scamnasty. Globalist collaborator.
Income may be shrinking, but it’s all good, because his unpaid smacked assets have a Facebook page! Hooray! I AM somebody!
i only use facebook to hook up with women i know from high school and college who want to cheat on their husbands.
it’s alot cheaper than an ashley madison subscription.
“it’s alot cheaper than an ashley madison subscription”
Here’s how out of the loop I am: until recently, I thought Ashley Madison was some sort of fashion website and I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. LMAO!
You may be out of loop but there are thousands of unsatisfied married women who are not :):):)
Coo coo coo choo, Mrs. Robinson
From the New York Post (Drudge Link):
“Any hooker that can walk will be in Manhattan’’ during the Super Bowl, a police source told The Post. To meet the challenge, the NYPD has ramped up enforcement, arresting 298 people on prostitution-related charges from the beginning of the year through Jan. 26 — a 30 percent spike from the 229 busts made in the same period last year, a police spokesman said. Cops generally concentrate on catching johns and pimps, treating hookers as victims.
On Thursday morning, nine madams and two drug dealers accused of operating a high-priced Asian prostitution ring were arrested in Manhattan by officials from the office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. They were charged with conspiracy, sale of narcotics, promoting prostitution and money laundering.
But do high-profile arrests put a dent in the sex trade? Even some anti-sex trafficking activists dispute that the Super Bowl really increases paid sex, concluding that it’s a lot of hype.
I think the EEOC needs to investigate. We may have an ADA violation. What about disabled hookers? Has NYC done enough to ensure disabled hookers can ply their trades?
The war on women continues…
Throwball is so boring, you need a little distraction on the side. You ruined it for me now.
Thanks, NFL.
Isn’t this a racist foreclosure?
Or is it racist that no one comes to the center?
Or just the vibes from white owned businesses is racist?
——————
Pittsburgh Center Honoring Playwright Finds Itself Short on Visitors and Donors
NY Times | 11/23/13 | Trip Gabriel
The bank has sued to foreclose. The city’s philanthropic groups, with names like Mellon and Heinz, have withdrawn support. The $42 million August Wilson Center for African American Culture, a bow-front building inspired by a Swahili sailing ship, is high and dry.
Named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who found a street-savvy poetry in the lives of poor Pittsburgh blacks, the culture center’s plight has been especially painful for those who had hoped it would enshrine the music, art and literature of the urban world he knew.
Instead, it appears to be a victim of mismanagement by its senior staff and board of directors, who borrowed to build a grand palace of culture, but failed to find a wide enough audience and donor base in the hometown of Wilson, whose plays are mostly set in the Hill District just blocks away.
… a state judge handed control of the cultural center to a conservator, usurping its board in a final effort to avoid liquidation. The bank that holds the mortgage, which has gone unpaid for months, is advancing $25,000 to pay the conservator. The culture center is flat broke.
Mark Clayton Southers, a former director of its theater program, said the Wilson center struggled to find an audience among the people Wilson portrayed: working-class blacks, many of whom feel unwelcome downtown with its skyscrapers and largely white-owned businesses, he added.
“You can’t build it and they will come,” Mr. Southers said. “Not when you’re trying to work with a community that is not traditional theatergoers or cultural consumers.”
Hope and change
Yes we can!
Yet they will somehow have “extra” money to put into MyRA.
——————–
Nearly Half of America Lives Paycheck-to-Paycheck
Time | 1-30-2014 | Christopher Matthews
The economic picture is looking brighter these days. The federal government announced Thursday that economic growth had picked up to its fastest pace in two years, while employment growth over the past five months has averaged a healthy 185,000 new jobs. But as evidenced by a report out Thursday from the Corporation for Enterprise Development, nearly half of Americans are living in a state of “persistent economic security,” that makes it “difficult to look beyond immediate needs and plan for a more secure future.”
In other words, too many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. The CFED calls these folks “liquid asset poor,” and its report finds that 44% of Americans are living with less than $5,887 in savings for a family of four. The plight of these folks is compounded by the fact that the recession ravaged many Americans’ credit scores to the point that now 56% percent of us have subprime credit. That means that if emergencies arise, many Americans are forced to resort to high-interest debt from credit cards or payday loans.
“You work three jobs? How uniquely American” — George W. Bush
Back in the day when at least one of these jobs could have been for more than 29 hours a week…
Obama works 1/3 of a job, the rest of the time he is on vacation or golfing. Given his agenda, it is a good thing.
“The economic picture is looking brighter these days…”
Our neighbors to the north lost 73,000 jobs in Nov/Dec. That is the equivalent of losing 700,000 jobs in the US. Ouch!
Send him to the South Pole to wait for the ice to melt.
By Michelle Nichols
Related Stories
UN climate chief urges investors to bolster global warming fight Reuters
UN warns against delayed action on global warming Associated Press
Why climate change is inevitable The Week (RSS)
Obama touts ‘responsible’ energy development measures, climate goals Reuters
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been tapped to be U.N. special envoy for cities and climate change, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday.
Barring any last minute changes, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - who is seeking to re-energize the global climate change debate and boost the United Nations’ role - could make the announcement as early as Friday, the sources said on the condition of anonymity.
Bloomberg, a billionaire philanthropist who left office last month, made combating climate change a key focus during his 12 years leading the United States most populous city. He also advocated for national climate change legislation
Paid for by Koch and promoted by Drudge
“Conservative groups may have spent up to $1bn a year on the effort to deny science and oppose action on climate change, according to the first extensive study into the anatomy of the anti-climate effort.
The anti-climate effort has been largely underwritten by conservative billionaires, often working through secretive funding networks. They have displaced corporations as the prime supporters of 91 think tanks, advocacy groups and industry associations which have worked to block action on climate change. Such financial support has hardened conservative opposition to climate policy, ultimately dooming any chances of action from Congress to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, the study found.
“I call it the climate-change counter movement,” said the author of the study, Drexel University sociologist Robert Brulle. “It is not just a couple of rogue individuals doing this. This is a large-scale political effort.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/20/conservative-groups-1bn-against-climate-change
Koch Industries is a big client of my current (new) law firm. I don’t do work for them, I work in the area of FIFRA and FFDCA. Typical clients Arkion, Bayer, Avon, Cheminova, Croplife, FMC, Pioneer, and Syngenta. No Monsanto. Mostly cases about genetically modifying seeds but also on a couple neonicatanoid (pesticide) matters. A lot of it is about data compensation. There’s a split in the 9th circuit now between recent decisions in NDCa and WDWa so I may get to spend some time this spring on the left coast.
There’s a big conflicts wall here between people who work on Dupont or Koch Industries matters and those who work on Pioneer stuff. Has to do with a longstanding beef between Dupont & Koch combined with the fact that Dupont owns various parts of Pioneer.
In other words, I’ll never have the pleasure of Koch fluffing since I’m on #TeamPioneer and my mentor and I work directly with Pioneer’s in house people.
‘koch fluffing’
speaking of fluffing, i heard the only way the koch brothers can get it up is by watching crush films of kittens and baby birds
There’s a split in the 9th circuit now between recent decisions in NDCa and WDWa so I may get to spend some time this spring on the left coast.
Be sure to say hello to Nancy when you are in SF but be careful her office is not in the type of area you like to hang.
neonicatanoid (pesticide) = Imidocloprid
works pretty good on root mealy bugs. does it really kill bees ?
Wait there’s more
“Neonicotinoids are a relatively new class of insecticides that share a common mode of action that affect the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. They include imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, nithiazine, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam. ”
1. Imidacloprid
Used in agriculture as foliar and seed treatments, for indoor and outdoor insect control, home gardening and pet products, imidacloprid is the most popular neonicotinoid, first registered in 1994 under the trade names Merit®, Admire®, AdvantageTM. It is moderately toxic and is linked to neurotoxic, reproductive and mutagenic effects. It has been found to be highly toxic to bees and other beneficial insects. It is also toxic to upland game birds, is generally persistent in soils and can leach to groundwater.Studies show that imidacloprid, like other chemicals in its class, produces sublethal effects in honeybees, which include disruptions in mobility, navigation, and feeding behavior. Decreased foraging activity, along with olfactory learning performance and decreased hive activity have also been observed.
Imidacloprid has been scheduled for registration review, to be completed in 2016. According to EPA, the agency does not have adequate data to understand the potential exposure of imidacloprid to terrestrial invertebrates that may be exposed to imidacloprid through reliance on plant flower parts for habitat or diet. The agency is currently requesting field residue test data for imidacloprid residues in leaves, nectar and pollen.
“The anti-climate effort…”
Oh, so if you are not PC you are an enemy of the climate.
Meanwhile in Europe they are backing off on the whole tax to cool the planet theme.
paid for by koch and promoted by drudge
This type of garbage reporting is why the Guardian is going out of business. I explained the false numbers numerous times. BTW:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/29/why-did-met-office-try-to-cover-up-pause-two-years-ago/
the uk guardian’s print circulation is less than 200,000, but per wikipedia its online edition is the third most widely read in the world.
now back to your regularly scheduled drudge links.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/22/guardians-catatrophism-leads-circulation-to-plummet/
Boulder Daily Camera - Jed Udall, son of Sen. Mark Udall, arrested on heroin, vehicular-trespassing charges
“Jed Udall, the 26-year-old son of Sen. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, was arrested Wednesday after Boulder County sheriff’s deputies say he broke into three cars and was found with heroin in his pocket.
Residents in the 4700 block of Eldorado Springs Drive called police around noon Wednesday to report they saw Jed Udall breaking into cars, according to Sheriff Joe Pelle.
City of Boulder rangers and Boulder County deputies responded to the scene and found Udall had broken into three cars, Pelle said. Deputies found heroin, a used syringe and a spoon on Udall, who also reportedly admitted to using heroin 48 hours prior to the incident, according to sheriff’s officials.
“Maggie and I are deeply distressed to learn of our son’s arrest,” Sen. Mark Udall said in a statement to the Daily Camera. “We love our son and stand with him in his commitment to getting the treatment he needs. We appreciate the private space to deal with this as a family.”
Udalls are an interesting tribe. When I wuz a pup, we had a Udall family in my little shining NY suburb on the hill, they were part of that tribe. Great folks, but with a streak of melancholy that ran in the family.
Not surprising. A GOP congressman was busted for cocaine in DC within the last week as well. I point out that he is GOP because it seems like they’re the ones who generally support the War on Drugs.
support the war on drugs = locking up black people
‘african-americans represent 14 percent of drug users (and of the population as a whole), yet accounted for 34 percent of all drug arrests and 53 percent of those sent to prison for a drug offense.’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/if-youre-white-that-joint-probably-wont-lead-to-jail-time/2014/01/10/caa94154-77f8-11e3-af7f-13bf0e9965f6_story.html
War on Drugs = lots of money for police departments. Lots of free training in military tactics. More money for prosecution so more cases are pursued and more pressure on defendant to avoid a trial (with no matching money to step of public defenders). More money for drug courts and parole officers but very little for job training or addiction counseling (which costs society a lot less).
Listened to Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star last evening; added to my playlist. She’s a keeper.
Thanks for giving it a listen. You may recall their hit from the 90’s “Fade Into You.”
Probably in my all-time top five.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKY6TZEyrI
About the GOOG deal with Motorola purchase & sale… the real story is pretty much like I expected.
Also, it looks like GOOG used it as part of a tax-avoidance strategy. Partly to do with the patents being registered in Bermuda (no tax on the royalties collected from others) and partly because GOOG could offset some of it’s own huge profits with (paper) losses from Motorola. It’s brilliant. LOL!
Here’s a Bloomberg article on it:
—————————-
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-30/google-s-intellectual-gain-from-motorola.html
Still, Page does not think Google made a mistake in acquiring Motorola Mobility. The reason can be found in the part of the company that Google has retained — a portfolio of thousands of patents. Such intellectual property creates value in three ways: It helps develop new products, protects against patent lawsuits from competitors, and generates licencing fees from other companies that use the ideas.
Speaking to investors in August 2011, Sanjay Jha, then chief executive officer of Motorola Mobility, boasted that the company’s 17,000 issued patents and 7,500 patent applications worldwide represent “tremendous strength.” Many are for tiny individual features. A typical description goes like this: “The ‘983 Patent generally relates to managing content between devices in various domains and, more particularly, to a system and method for pausing content in one device and resuming playback of the content in another device that may be in a different domain.”
@ In Colorado - -
——————–
“There is some evidence, however, that Google knew exactly what it was doing. Of the $12.5 billion it paid for Motorola Mobility, Google has recouped $5.3 billion from the sale of set-top box and handset operations, and it has kept $3 billion in cash and $1 billion in tax credits. Subtract the $2 billion that the company lost while Google owned it, and the remainder comes to $5.2 billion. That’s effectively what Google has paid for a portfolio of patents that, in filings, it has valued at $5.5 billion.”
——————–
So yeah, the consultants and legal people who evaluated and valued the patents they they’re worth $5.5 B. And GOOG might make mistakes in some areas but I doubt they did here. They were already paying royalties to use these patents. Now that goes from an expense to an asset. An asset that is registered offshore and can collect royalties tax-free for them.
Too bad we can’t “register” offshore and pay no income tax.
And of course if they need to sue over patent infringement, they will do so in the U.S.
The crazy thing is that Google is doing nothing in a way that is hidden. My understanding is that they put together their tax plan, and presented it to the IRS to confirm that it was all OK, and the IRS gave the green light.
Corporate tax avoidance schemes are firmly in the laps of the legislature to fix…everyone knows about them.
Just did our taxes yesterday… when looking at the interest statements from our savings account (emergency fund–6 months worth of expenses) I was struck by how little interest was paid. The rate might as well be 0% and obviously it is negative with inflation.
I remember ~10 years ago when I had an ING Direct Savings account in college and it paid something like a 5% interest rate. This was an online-only account so the rate was higher than a brick and mortar bank at that time. I put money from summer jobs in there and even with a small balance (a few thousand) I would get a kick out of seeing the monthly interest when it was posted.
I’ve got six years emergency money in a mason jar that is earning about the same interest. Now, if I could just remember where I put it…
Just did our taxes yesterday… when looking at the interest statements from our savings account (emergency fund–6 months worth of expenses) I was struck by how little interest was paid. The rate might as well be 0% and obviously it is negative with inflation.
The war on savers is a war on the middle class. The middle class is paying for the bailout by having their interest rate taken from them. The banks then have profits to pay back the government loans but it is really with the money stolen from the middle class. It is good to be a banker.
I think it is more of a war on the lower income class. The money centers are hoarding the essentials of living with this Fed funding, which is mostly what the lower income class spends their money on. When food is 25% of your budget and it doubles while your hours at work are cut…. And food has doubled in this little adventure, along with fuel.
you crazy to keep money in the bank
‘The middle class is paying for the bailout by having their interest rate taken from them.”
You always have the option to put your life’s savings a roll of craps away from getting flushed down the toilet in the Wall Street gambling casino!
That Utah school cafeteria admin who took lunches away from kids whose parents were behind on payments? He was placed on leave. I give it a week before he’s formally fired.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57472249-78/district-lunch-lunches-students.html.csp
stories like that get the mouth-breathers to click on drudge links.
meanwhile, goodies like this get swept under the rug:
‘the navy suspended inchcape from winning any federal work in november, saying that the company — which had received almost $300 million in navy contracts — had displayed ‘conduct indicating questionable business integrity.’
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/us/navy-contractor.html
questionable business integrity
LOL. Doesn’t all America run on that?
All depends if it is racist or anti-gay to fire him…
NYC has dozens of teacher sexual predators they cannot fire…
Dozens in a city of 9 million?
Front page news, I tell ya.
NYC has 9 million teachers?
purposefully obtuse much?
(apologies to polly for stealing that terminology)
Joe, so you do not have a problem with paying sexual predators and not being able to fire them? I think having dozens on the payroll should be front page news.
class warfare from the washington post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-the-1-percent-as-victims-thats-rich/2014/01/30/1c8c5ea8-89fa-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html
‘those occupiers need to occupy a shower and get a job!’ — unknown online article commenter, circa autumn 2011
It’s back.
Back from the dead: The return of securitisation
A much-maligned financial innovation is in the early stages of a comeback
Jan 11th 2014
The Economist
IF YOU asked regulators in 2008 which financial instrument they most wished had never been invented, odds were that they angrily splurted a three-letter acronym linked to securitisation.
Find the same regulator today and he is probably devising a ploy to resuscitate the very financial vehicle he was bemoaning five years ago. Enthusiasm for the once-reviled practice of transforming a future income stream into a lump sum today—the essence of securitisation—is palpable. In Britain Andy Haldane, a cerebral official at the Bank of England, recently described it as “a financing vehicle for all seasons” that should no longer be thought of as a “bogeyman”. The European Central Bank (ECB) is a fan, as are global banking regulators who last month watered down rules that threatened to stifle securitisation.
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21593424-much-maligned-financial-innovation-early-stages-comeback-back
Oh yes. Bring back and reinforce the perverse incentives. The taxpayer has regained some wind, so we can now bleed him some more. He should be able to absorb the inevitable future losses from instituting perverse incentives - namely allowing lenders to shed repayment risk and make fees for selling and servicing that debt.
Brilliant.
Well, actually, it is for the FIRE sector, not so much for the citizens that have to keep subsidizing it.
Have these people learned nothing? Or perhaps they have, which is why they love the “privatize profits, socialize losses” business model so much. It makes some people very, very wealthy.
Where’s our RealtorPukes today?
Living in your head rent free, darling
That is sooooooo 1990s.
Now it is “living in your head without paying the mortgage for three years because I am a victim and banks all got bailouts so where is my bailout and I need more help from the government to save my house” free…
Times were simpler back then…
RealtorDonkeys
No big surprise… “Nearly Half of Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck”.
People never learn:
—————————–
http://business.time.com/2014/01/30/nearly-half-of-america-lives-paycheck-to-paycheck/
“As evidenced by a report out Thursday from the Corporation for Enterprise Development, nearly half of Americans are living in a state of “persistent economic insecurity,” that makes it “difficult to look beyond immediate needs and plan for a more secure future.”
In other words, too many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. The CFED calls these folks “liquid asset poor,” and its report finds that 44% of Americans are living with less than $5,887 in savings for a family of four. The plight of these folks is compounded by the fact that the recession ravaged many Americans’ credit scores to the point that now 56% percent of us have subprime credit. That means that if emergencies arise, many Americans are forced to resort to high-interest debt from credit cards or payday loans.”
That means that if emergencies arise, many Americans are forced to resort to high-interest debt from credit cards or payday loans.
Why do you hate capitalism and “free” markets?
“…44% of Americans are living with less than $5,887 in savings for a family of four.”
I tormented my lovely wife by asking her to guess this number. Her guess: 45% (smart woman!).
My question is what qualifies as ’savings.’ If it has to be liquid (non-deferred comp), then I guess we live ‘paycheck-to-paycheck,’ in the sense that we normally have less than $5,887 sitting in our checking account, which bears zero return (negative if you factor inflation into the calculation).
In the unfortunate event that I ever again am out of work, we have plenty of 401(k)-ish deferred comp sitting around, but I take the impression this does not qualify as ’savings,’ in which case I suggest the 44% figure is highly suspect.
Another question: What assets qualify as ‘liquid’? For instance, I believe I could sell my viola (worth X $10Ks) in a couple of days by pricing ‘low’ relative to recent comps, or never sell if I asked a price that was too high relative to what perspective buyers could pay elsewhere for an instrument of comparable quality. Is a viola a ‘liquid’ asset, given that I can sell it quickly at the right price?
If you answered ‘yes,’ you should feel compelled to agree that houses are also liquid assets, as if they are priced appropriately to current market conditions, they sell in a week. I know, because we did this both times we sold back during our years as homeowners.
Why Do The Uninsured Hate ObamaCare?
Investor’s Business Daily | 01/30/2014 | IBD Staff
Health Care: A new survey shows that ObamaCare is less popular with the uninsured than with the public. How is this even possible?
The January Kaiser Family Foundation health tracking poll shows that just 24% of the uninsured approve of ObamaCare. That’s down from 40% the month before the reform officially launched in October, and it’s a full 10 points below the public’s overall favorable rating.
Incredibly, more than twice as many uninsured say they’re worse off because of ObamaCare than say it’s helped. What’s more, just 7% of the uninsured say they tried to get coverage through an ObamaCare exchange. Nearly 60% say they hadn’t done anything to get coverage over the previous six months.
Given that Democrats claimed to have specifically tailored it to help the uninsured, these results make absolutely no sense.
…
But admitting that the real uninsured problem is narrow would have undermined the Democrats’ goal of “comprehensive” health reform. So they routinely withheld such facts — as did the mainstream press, which is equally as enthusiastic about nationalized health care.
it isn’t enough that health care is 17 percent of usa gdp. it should be at least 25 percent. that’ll show those euro socialists who’s number one.
And we will get there with one payer system.
‘And we will get there with one payer system.’
Yes, but first we must crush Stalingrad, mein Fuhrer!
“…17 percent of usa gdp…”
Robbery. And something tells me it’s an underestimate (maybe it’s my BIL, the doc who makes more money than he knows how to spend…).
Why do they hate it?
If their reason for not getting insurance was that they were young, and the cost wasn’t worth it for the benefit, then of course they would hate it.
The cost is higher than before for a young healthy person than their actuarial risk (because the ACA limits what the unhealthy pay to a max of 3x the healthy), and if they don’t sign up for this more expensive insurance, they pay a penalty…what’s to like?
The uninsured who DO like it are folks who had pre-existing conditions and are the beneficiaries of the 3x limitation. They can now get coverage at a price far less than before, because their insurance cost is now LOWER than their actuarial risk.
And enter the negative feedback loop…we are going to get a lesson in there being no free lunch.
In short, this is another government mandated transfer payment program, akin to social security.
“Why Do The Uninsured Hate ObamaCare?”
That’s a no-brainer: The uninsured are often young people with low or nonexistent medical costs, and no concept of insurable risk. For them, the notion of being forced to pay into the system in order to subsidize geezers and indigents is extortionate.
Wal-Mart: Food Stamp Cuts Hurt Our Profits
Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
January 31, 2014
Wal-Mart announced today that cuts in a federal food stamp program as well as record cold temperatures hurt its fourth quarter profits.
Previously reporting “relatively flat” sales for the quarter, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. now says that sales for its namesake store and its Sam’s Club locations would be “slightly negative” for the November-January quarter, according to Agence France-Presse.
Wal-Mart’s Chief Financial Officer, Charles Holley, blamed the revised forecast on deeper-than-expected cuts to the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the extreme cold weather occurring in the past month.
On Nov. 1, the federal government cut $5 billion from the SNAP program due to a planned stimulus withdrawal, which resulted in an average loss of $36 a month for each of the almost 50 million Americans on the program, including many of Wal-Mart’s own employees.
A study released last year found that nearly $1 million in public assistance a year went to 300 employees at just one Wal-Mart Supercenter in Wisconsin.
In total, the majority of Wal-Mart’s hourly workers make less than $25,000 a year.
More on this story as it develops.
This article was posted: Friday, January 31, 2014 at 1:14 pm
yeah right people are broke and shopping at the dollar stores.
Much like wall street is in the crapper, without further ado… So, I got real sick a couple months back. Kind of sick where you’re throwing up, and every fart feels like a coin flip. So, anyhow, I manage to down an orange gatorade (If Gatorades were the Miami Heat, Orange is the Mario Chalmers of Gatorades in that it sucks but it’s never going away) and finally drift off to sleep in the guest bedroom. A while later I awake and something doesn’t feel right. There’s something wet and squishy under the sheets. I slowly pull the covers back in a Godfather-horse’s-head-scene kind of way and reveal that I’ve crapped myself in my sleep. Now, I’d crapped myself as an adult before, but that was when I was awake. And when you crap yourself when you’re awake, your butt alerts your brain almost as it’s happening, as if to say “I’m really sorry about this, here’s a heads up so you can get started on problem solving.” But when you wake up to having crap yourself, it’s like a big f- you from your intestines and you have to run through all the stages of grief before you get to the “how do I clean this up?” Since I’m sick, it’s the consistency of one of those Odwalla smoothies. In an effort to not have the mess drip on to the floor, I rip off the sheets and I shove them around my waist, much like you might do if you were trying to stop a leak on a boat. So now I’m totally naked, with a sheet wrapped around me and hanging down on to the floor, like I’m wearing the bottom half of a horrific wedding gown. And as I waddle towards the bathroom I hear the bedroom door open and turn my head just in time to see my wife staring at me, mouth agape. Real litmus test for the relationship, that one.
You know, I’m trying to eat here.
Whoops forgot a disclaimer. My bad.
and why is this important to us?
He’s trying to evoke the experience of having listened to Slithers’ advice and parked a 70% wealth allocation into a low-expense S&P500 mutual fund just before Mr Market’s butt alerted his brain of a SHTF investing moment.
Tell us about the smell
Nah, I’ve read this guy’s stuff before on another site, many years ago. Takes him a while to work up to it. Wait until he tells one of his bad curry stories. And starts mixing other weird stuff in with the scatological tales of derring-doo-doo.
Usually he likes to post in the middle of discussions on politically oriented sites, but I guess Raw Story isn’t an option anymore.
It starts off fairly mild and witty like the floating turd tale. Escalates from there.
Why does he do this? Is it supposed to be funny? It he trying to make a point?
I dunno. It’s a hobby, I guess. He’s never confided in me.
DrewMagary’s poop stories on Deadspin.com are better.
For me, nothing tops Mad Magazine’s decades old piece about the dog doo jungle of New York City.
My post hasn’t shown up yet, but you’ll be reading descriptives about odors soon enuf. It’s escalating. Dunno how he found us.
I thought you were gonna say……
So now I’m totally naked, with a sheet wrapped around me and hanging down on to the floor, like I’m wearing the bottom half of a horrific wedding gown. And as I waddle towards the bathroom I hear the bedroom door open and turn my head just in time to see my Realtor staring at me asking if she could show the master bedroom.
Dodge Ram Van Man you would be a big hit on IBS self help sites
Or banned right away ..
In the January 6th Bits, I chose 10 homes that were “Pre-Market” in the City of Stockton, in order to track how these homes move through the system to eventually come onto the market. 5 of the homes were “Pre-Foreclosure”, and 5 were “Foreclosed”.
2 of 10 appear to now be resolved (ie. in the hands of someone new…presumably not in default).
2414 Otto Drive: Pre-Foreclosure as of 1/6/14, NOD served 4/3/13, Notice of Sale with auction scheduled 12/12/13 (OneWest Bank FSB is lender) - SOLD 12/30/13 FOR $166,500 at Foreclosure auction
NOD filed by OneWest Bank FSB on 4/3/13
Notice of Sale was originally for 12/12/13
Home was sold at foreclosure auction 12/30/13
From NOD to resolution: 271 days.
6141 Lorraine Avenue: Pre-Foreclosure as of 1/6/14, NOD served 11/13/13 (Wells Fargo is Lender)
4515 Burnham Circle: Pre-Foreclosure as of 1/6/14, NOD served 12/19/13 (JPM Chase is the lender)
1430 N Lincoln: Pre-Foreclosure as of 1/6/14, NOD served 8/24/11, Notice of Sale scheduled 12/17/13 (Aurora Loan Services, Inc. was Lender)
814 Lever Blvd, Pre-Foreclosure as of 1/6/14, NOD served 1/3/14 (Loan issued by Blanca Mendoza–seems like private loan?)
629 El Camino Ave, Foreclosed as of 1/6/14, NOD served 3/5/12, Home was Foreclosed 8/28/13, taken back by bank (Aurora Bank made loan, Aurora Bank took property back)
4301 Maddie Circle, Foreclosed as of 1/6/14, NOD served 4/30/12, Home was Foreclosed and taken back by the bank on 9/5/12 (BofA made loan, BofA took property back). Sold by bank on 1/15/14 for $252,000. Based on prior listings, looks like it was a private auction by Auction.com (i.e. the property was never listed for sale on MLS).
Home was taken back by lender on 9/5/12
First “listed for sale” by auction.com on 12/5/13 for $30k
Price changed on 12/8/13 to $90k (is that the starting bid)?
Sold 1/15/14 for $252k
From Foreclosure to resale: 497 days.
4459 La Cresta Way, Foreclosed as of 1/6/14, Home was taken back by bank on 12/12/13 (No bank noted as lender, loan was only $25k)
1754 S Lincoln, Foreclosed as of 1/6/14, NOD on 4/20/13, home was taken back bay bank on 12/6/13 (Ocwen Loan Servicing made loan and took property back)
3122 Cortona, Foreclosed as of 1/6/14, NOD served 2/6/08, lender (no bank or servicer named) took back property on 6/19/08 (Lender name either not given, or called “Not Given”)
10 down and another 4,399,990 to process in California
Of course he knew. Hillary knes, Holder knew and Obama knew too!
If you like your lane closures you can keep them.
Was it because of lane closures or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they’d they go put up some Road Closed signs? What difference at this point does it make?
Christie knew about bridge lane closures, ex-official says: report
49 minutes ago 2014
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former New Jersey official at the center of a political retribution scandal dogging Governor Chris Christie said on Friday the governor knew about a traffic jam orchestrated by his top aides, the New York Times reported.
Christie, a leading Republican candidate for the White House in 2016, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of a plan to snarl traffic near the busy George Washington Bridge and severed ties with several top aides over their role in the incident.
Is not a video on YouTube that no one ever watched to be blamed?
All Christie has to do is switch bridge lane closure for IRS and he can use Lois Lerner’s lie.
I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any bridge lane closure rules or regulations and have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee. While I would very much like to answer the committee’s questions today, I’ve been advised by my counsel to assert my constitutional right not to testify or answer questions related to the subject matter of this hearing. After very careful consideration, I’ve decided to follow my counsel’s advice and not testify or answer any of the questions today. Because I’m asserting my right not to testify, I know some people will assume I’ve done something wrong. I have not. One of the basic functions of the Fifth Amendment is to protect innocent individuals and that is the protection I’m invoking today. Thank you.
Or he could say the field-initiated bridge lane closures began under the previous administration.
President Obama Falsely Claims Fast and Furious Program “Begun Under the Previous Administration”
By Jake Tapper
Sep 21, 2012 11:39am
Asked about the Fast and Furious program at the Univision forum on Thursday, President Obama falsely claimed that the program began under President George W. Bush.
“I think it’s important for us to understand that the Fast and Furious program was a field-initiated program begun under the previous administration,” the president said. “When Eric Holder found out about it, he discontinued it. We assigned a inspector general to do a thorough report that was just issued, confirming that in fact Eric Holder did not know about this, that he took prompt action and the people who did initiate this were held accountable.”
Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com
In actuality, the Fast and Furious program was started in October 2009, nine months into the Obama presidency.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/president-obama-falsely-claims-fast-and-furious-program-begun-under-the-previous-administration/ - -
If only Christie had the power to stop the Fast and Furious investigation with executive order, maybe Eric Holder could have gotten him out of this mess.
Eric Holder Dodging Ap Wiretapping Questions, First Amendment …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1su4EJpav9o - 118k -
I highly recommend watching John Stewart a few times a week. He flashes a bright light on the hypocrisy in DC.