May 9, 2014

Bits Bucket for May 9, 2014

Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.




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158 Comments »

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 02:57:47

Housing represents massive losses at current grossly inflated asking prices.

 
Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 06:04:30

Oilfield Production Report - Areas Where Housing “Isn’t Cratering”

Drilling Productivity Report. The releases, which began last October, provide up-to-date and short-term forecasts of drilling output in the country’s six major shale oil and gas production plays.

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/drilling/&ei=DM9sU7yhCYTbkwLG54DYDA&wsc=pb

If you go to this link, towards the bottom of the web page you’ll find a map that shows the 6 major geographical areas where the local economies are booming.

If you need a job, go to one of these areas.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 06:38:41

And when the work dries up, you’re stuck with a cratering rapidly depreciating asset at a massively inflated price.

Rent it for half the monthly cost.

Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 07:16:36

Dude, I didn’t say anything about buying a house. Oilfield folks need to be mobile because the work moves around quite a bit.

Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 07:36:16

Oilfield Production Report - Areas Where Housing “Isn’t Cratering”

Go for a job, stay for the appreciation!

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Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 07:41:10

Backpedal some more Blackawk.

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Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 13:41:08

Backpedal?

HA, look up the status of houses in Hobbs, NM; Lubbock, Texas; and anywhere in South Dakota. See if you can find what the inventory and values are doing there.

Then tell me where you can buy a brand new house built by HA that goes for $55 per sf.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 14:04:49

Backpedal faster.

 
Comment by Bubblemania
2014-05-09 15:36:47

I think Housing Analyst was picked on in high school a lot. Most people who cant take criticism of any kind are. Am I wrong HA…”proceed”
hahaha

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 16:22:50

Why hide behind the username coward?

 
 
 
 
Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 06:38:42

Is the economy really booming in West Virginia and Western PA? Really?

Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 06:57:32

I can only attest to the areas out west, but the areas out east should be experiencing an uptick. The money spent by oilfield industry reaches all areas of a local economy.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 08:01:14

The Marcellus Shale geography is just as depressed as it always way.

Where are the fundamentals? Optimism isn’t founded on fantasy. It’s a result of fundamentals.

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Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 11:33:35

Where are those $55 per sq ft houses that you build?

 
Comment by dwkunkel
2014-05-09 16:56:53

HA’s $55 per square foot number is what we in Engineering call an RDE - “Rectal Data Extraction” just like most of his other numbers.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 17:04:55

And we we’re profitable anywhere in the country at that price.

You’re no engineer but I’ll give you an opportunity to develop an estimate for any discipline of your choice.

Go.

 
 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 11:53:47

Is the economy really booming in West Virginia and Western PA?

The Pittsburgh area isn’t exactly booming, but it’s unemployment rate is almost 1% less than the national rate. It’s unemployment rate has been less than the national rate every month for 88 months now.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BKdPudDn_Q/UztaGStYwzI/AAAAAAAAE0s/c4e4spbZ3VI/s1600/RelUnempApril012014.JPG

 
 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 07:38:51

What was that definition of “to shill” that you gave us yesterday, Blackhawk?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 07:47:56

“to shill” means paid posts by Igor for the benefit of Obama/Pelosi and Soros.

Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 08:27:05

thank you, uh, Blackheart.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:39:08

Not Blackhawk but wanted to protect him from having to respond to you.

 
 
Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 09:34:26

Thanks ADan, sometimes I have to work.

Igor,
Then in your definition, I should call y’all shills too. Why not rationally discuss things using logic?

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Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 09:36:37

^ lmao.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 09:41:55

I know I was not even able to check the site yesterday never mind respond. I do not check posts from the previous day since I consider the discussion over and it would only frustrate me that I was not able to respond.

As far as Igor discussing things with logic, it is like asking a dog to climb a tree.

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 12:09:49

I never gave a definition of a shill, Blackheart. I was asking you to repeat yours from yesterday. You never did though. Unless Dan’s pitiful attempt to divert attention counts. Does he speak for you? He seems to.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 12:13:20

Unless Dan’s pitiful attempt to divert attention counts.

Igor, how about posting the Democratic talking points for the day? We count on you to post the comics.

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 12:54:54

I never post Democratic talking points, Dannyboy. But we all recognize your GOP talking points, when you aren’t shilling for Putin, red China, or the Koch Bros. What do they have in common again?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 13:14:47

Never post Democratic talking points? Now, that is the comedy I am talking about. Red China? They do not even have a safety net in some aspects they are far more capitalistic than the U.S. Also they are much more logical, while Obama talks about an all of the above energy strategy, he is killing coal and doing nothing for nuclear. China while promoting wind and solar knows that solar is not ready for prime time hence the .5% share solar has in the U.S. despite the hype and all the government subsidies Obama has lavished on it. Meanwhile, China is building new nuclear plants:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-05/china-starts-19th-nuclear-power-reactor-amid-construction-push.html

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 14:02:45

Classic. You show you don’t shill for Red China by…shilling for Red China! Yes, those dictators are awfully logical, what with their ghost cities and rivers full of dead pigs. Of course, it’s a lot easier to govern if your citizens have no civil liberties. Are we closing in on the common interest of your various bosses?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 14:08:38

Recognizing logic is not shilling. China has increasing civil liberties both economic and religious while we have decreasing liberties. As the recent crackdown on churches show China still has far to go but they are moving in the right direction and we are moving in the wrong direction.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-09/a-nuclear-option-for-energy

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 14:28:23

While China considers religion a threat to its rule and religious freedom lags all other freedoms, it still has allowed a rapid growth in Christianity and has expanded civil rights significantly since 1979. It is moving in the right direction while we are moving in the wrong direction with civil rights particularly on property rights.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 14:44:16

China controls Hong Kong which is has the most economic freedom in the world and is becoming more free. There is at least the hope that is the direction China is moving and there is evidence it is moving in that direction. The United States continues to slip in terms of economic freedom and it is hurting our competitiveness:

http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 14:58:23

Is there free speech in Red China? Can you have a blog that criticizes the government there?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 15:02:17

Can you openly criticize Obama without an IRS audit?

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 15:18:48

Probably not, the Dems are about as evil as your prescious GOP. But that doesn’t make the Chinese gov not dictators. And Pooty-poot not a dictator. And the Koch Bros not oligarchs, who apparently want similar dictators here, judging by your shill bosses.

 
 
 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 07:58:32

If you need a job, go to one of these areas.

But don’t buy a house, because when the next bust rolls in, you won’t be able to give it away.

Comment by oxide
2014-05-09 08:50:54

Which is true. But if you’ve been carrying a $3000 credit card balance for years and don’t have a job because your skillz are so outdated that you can’t seem to submit a resume online, it sounds like a good way to make bucks for a few years.

 
 
Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 14:48:47

Listening to Hannity on the radio and he’s invited some contractors from North Dakota to come on the radio and advertise their job openings. There are thousands of openings in this area. And they’re building a lot of apt buildings to provide space for living for all the new workers.

Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 15:02:00

Whoop-dee-doo: There are around 10 million unemployed people in America.

Comment by oxide
2014-05-09 18:00:18

And many of them are physcially unable to do any of that work.

Hey Ms. Lola, why don’t we get some of your self-driving tanker trucks? That would fill those job openings real quick.

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Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 06:12:27

Got brown cloud?

“Scientists have found that Colorado’s Front Range oil and gas boom has been emitting three times more methane than previously believed — 19.3 tons an hour — a climate-change problem that state officials hope new rules will address.

The scientists also measured industry emissions of cancer-causing benzene and smog-forming volatile organic compounds at levels up to seven times higher than government agencies have estimated.

Their study — done at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and partly supported by the Environmental Defense Fund — is based on data gathered in 2012 from aircraft flying over the drilling zones north of Denver.

Industry representatives at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association declined to comment, saying they have not had a chance to review the study.”

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_25719742/scientists-flying-over-colorado-oil-boom-find-worse

Comment by Hi-Z
2014-05-09 09:17:03

Can any studies on the environment be trusted as not having a politically driven slant?

 
 
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 06:18:35

Because Lucky Ducky can’t afford new wheels

“Americans are keeping their vehicles longer despite an uptick in the average family income, according to federal data.

The share of newer vehicles, or those less than 5 years old, dropped from 22 percent to 15 percent during that timeframe, while the proportion of older autos, or those manufactured at least 11 years ago, jumped from 34 percent to 42 percent.

The numbers, which come from the agency’s Consumer Expenditure Survey, suggest that Americans started holding onto vehicles longer after the start of the recession but have not reversed that trend since their incomes started to rebound.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/05/09/federal-data-americans-keeping-vehicles-longer-since-start-of-recession/

Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 06:45:53

Why? Because the economy still sucks. There was no recovery. There are no new jobs. Wages are flat. We have messed with the primal forces of nature in trying to massage the idea that what you borrow for today, you owe tomorrow.

Millions did not owe. They got to walk away to buy another day. Now they want it to happen again. Shills here will say we aren’t back to peak prices. Well some places yes and some places not yet. It shouldn’t be anywhere because it was ALL BASED ON FRAUD.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:02:49

Wages might be slightly up, but families need that money to pay for other things. As long as the old car still runs they won’t be buying, and when they do buy, they’ll be buying something small, relatively cheap and fuel efficient.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:09:27

I wish that were true and I think it is true for sensible people. However, it you look at the Barron’s data we are as a nation buying big again. Many people, if you give them credit will buy big and expensive and the fact that they really cannot afford it does not matter. As we lower credit standards to sell vehicles the vehicles are selling, it is a few years from now when the person “owning” a vehicle with a seven year loan has a major repair bill that the fun will start.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:45:46
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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:49:14

Link will post soon, people are smart and the demographic group(s) that supported Obama’s election are the smartest:

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — New light-vehicle retail sales are expected to reach their highest levels for the month of April since 2005, according to a monthly sales forecast developed jointly by J.D. Power and LMC Automotive.

Retail Light-Vehicle Sales

Retail light-vehicle sales in April 2014 are expected to come in at 1.1 million units, 5 percent higher than in April 2013. The seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate (SAAR) is expected to be 13.3 million units, more than 700,000 units higher than a year ago.

J.D. Power estimates that consumers will spend $33.5 billion purchasing new vehicles this month, a historic record level for the month of April. The previous April high was $30.5 billion in 2005.

“The April 2014 consumer spending reflects a combination of record average transaction prices—which, at nearly $29,800, surpasses the previous April high of $28,754 in 2013—and strong retail sales volume,” said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power.

J.D. Power data shows changes in who is buying new vehicles and how they are paying for them. Buyers 35 years of age and younger are expected to account for 25 percent of new-vehicle retail sales in April, marking a rebound to pre-recession levels. Additionally, nearly one-third of new vehicles sold in April will be financed with a loan of 72 months or longer, with younger buyers in particular using the longer term loans to manage their monthly payments.

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Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:08:14

The share of newer vehicles, or those less than 5 years old, dropped from 22 percent to 15 percent during that timeframe, while the proportion of older autos, or those manufactured at least 11 years ago, jumped from 34 percent to 42 percent.

Actually, that number is for cars 11-20 years old. All cars 11 and older is over 50%. Guess who drives those cars? (Quack!)

30% of all cars are 6-10 years old.

Small wonder used cars prices are still fairly high by historical standards. The days when a used car lost half its value 2-3 after being purchased new are long gone.

Comment by Salinasron
2014-05-09 09:48:04

My 2003 dodge Dakota has been trouble free for 186000 miles. A month ago it threw a rocker arm on the number 2 cylinder. Since I want to keep at least another 10+ years and take long out of state trips I pulled the engine and put in a new Jasper engine guaranteed 3 yr/100,000 mi. Long block with accessory kit ($3400) and 10 hours of labor. Right now it is running sweet and 5 yrs from now I’ll know if my decision was sound.

 
Comment by (Still) Waiting for the Fall
2014-05-09 11:30:32

Don’t forget the Cash For Clunkers Program artificially removed a large number of otherwise sound transportation, skewing the reults. IMHO it was a veiled attempt to raise the new car numbers sold to get them off the dealers’ lots and onto the roads. It will take some time for those figures to bleed out of the stats.

Comment by Bubblemania
2014-05-09 15:40:05

on the bright side, it got a lot of “Obama” bumper-stickers off the road

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Comment by j-j-j-joe
2014-05-09 06:22:52

AAPL is looking to buy Beatz, the acoustics company started by Dr. Dre.

I love stories like this.

http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/apple-close-to-buying-beats-electronics-for-3-2-billion-1201175871/

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 06:41:47

Liberace!

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 06:46:56

Story would have been more informative if it would have told us how much it sold for in 2012 when it was bought back by the original founders. I think Apple has real problems if it cannot find something better to do with its money than an acquisition like this.

Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 08:10:19

They have so much money lying around that they don’t know what to do with it. Most people wish to have such problems.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 08:18:49

If that’s the case, they rent.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:50:00

It does not say much about their growth potential if they do not have a better place than that acquisition. BTW, it is more like they had so much money they did not know what to do with it, between stock buybacks, dividend increases and acquiring companies they are burning rapidly through their cash.

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Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 09:41:31

You can probably look up somewhere how much cash they’ll have lying around after this acquisition. It will probably still be an enormous amount.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 09:57:17

It is but Apple has gone from accumulating cash to burning through cash, it is a sea change.

 
 
 
 
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 06:47:03

Eazy E > Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a studio gangsta

Comment by Housing CEO
2014-05-09 07:23:24

But Dr. Dre cured many diseases.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:11:30

But Dr. Dre cured many diseases

But listening to Dr Dre caused many to catch many social diseases.

There fixed it.

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Comment by Housing CEO
2014-05-09 08:20:42

Speaking from your own experience?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:40:38

Fortunately not. Lean more to Americana Robert Earl Keene etc. but can listen to some country and like old rock.

 
 
 
Comment by j-j-j-joe
2014-05-09 09:29:39

Easy E died of the AIDS, brother.

Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 09:43:45

dr. dre is like the monkees to eazy e being the beatles

studio gangsta

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Comment by j-j-j-joe
2014-05-09 10:03:52

… and yet Eazy E was literally “got” by the same thing that got Liberace

 
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 10:22:48

Eazy E went out on top and died a gangsta.

His artistic legacy stands. He didn’t hang around twenty years past his sell-by date like Dr. Dre and become a sellout.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 10:31:25

How old was he when he passed? Apparently, the standard age in rock is 27.

Interestingly, Pete Townshend, who wrote “hope I day before I get old” must be in his 70s now.

 
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 10:52:15
 
Comment by oxide
2014-05-09 10:59:03

Easy E was 31.
Tupac Shakur was 25.

 
Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2014-05-09 11:25:36

“She kept on comin’ because of addiction
Legs on fire because of friction”

Eazy E got much play in our college dorm room.

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 15:03:08

The Chronic? Like the monkeys? You better check yourself before Snoop Dog busts a dope rhyme on your head.

 
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 16:11:57

from the album ‘it’s on 187um killa’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nhcv6Ho3ic

 
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 16:37:24

N.W.A. - “Straight Outta Compton”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw0HKRG18OI

 
Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 17:48:15
 
Comment by Muggy
2014-05-09 18:50:37

EFIL4ZATNER

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 06:34:23

I particularly enjoyed the discussion yesterday when someone was grousing “why am I still having to answer my front door”? It never occurred to me that it would be such a sore spot for someone. Only on the HBB!

Now to topical. The known shills here continue to throw out an idea that there is not enough (or any) development going on and that this is the reason for tight inventory. Is there development going on in your area? Because in mine it is going like crazy and has been for about a year. There can’t possibly be enough buyers for these new shacks, which are bigger and higher priced models for the most part. There also is no tight inventory now even without considering the new houses (which are in various stages of coming on line).

Knowing that the inventory is tight rationale is BS, If a silly shill shills still, is he still a silly shill? (A tongue twister for Lola).

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 06:40:46

It goes to reason that the massive housing supply in metro areas is a reality considering how grossly inflated prices are. Remember…. rental rates are falling in metro areas.

“Manhattan Apartment Rents Fall as Vacancies Hit 7-Year High”

http://employment.tinyknowledge.com/9208799/?class=Careers+Employment&title=Manhattan+Apartment+Rents+Fall+as+Vacancies+Hit+7Year+High

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 06:41:32

My area has a lot of building too and most of them are selling but no sign that prices are moving up.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 06:42:51

What area?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 06:49:23

Guess, there is a clue in my name.

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Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 07:39:03

Ooh, ooh, me first. My guess is …. San Diego. Everyone wants to live in San Diego, so you must live there.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 07:39:39

Doubtful. Why would housing demand be going up in ABQ when it’s falling everywhere else?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 07:54:02

HA, I am only reporting what I am seeing in my neighborhood. I am not even making a claim for the entire city of ABQ. Apparently, people like the new homes being built in the area.

BTW, San Diego is one of my favorite areas to visit but I would never pay their housing prices and since it is in CA, I would have to pay their high taxes and other high costs of living. BTW, I found the Costco gas prices in San Diego to be 90 cents a gallon higher than the gas prices in ABQ.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 07:57:42

HA part of the reason maybe in the neighborhood is that the previous developer spent a lot of money putting in infrastructure putting in roads, sidewalks, electric etc. and now has turned it over to another developer who apparently bought all infrastructure at a song and is passing on some of the savings to the new buyers. The HOA is even talking about turning the area into a gated community.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 07:58:09

Doubtful.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:19:30

Sorry HA but this is exactly what is happening in my hood which I do not think has larger implications for the U.S. market. It has been interesting, you should have heard people scream at the HOA meetings when the developers first started to build at much lower prices than they paid and even lower prices than I paid. Personally, I was happy since it meant that empty lots which were creating blowing tumbleweeds and sand were going to be developed. The developer has been raising the prices and the houses are not selling as quickly as three months ago but the price point is between what I paid and the original buyers in the neighborhood paid.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 08:21:27

Then post a link.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:43:13

I do not know anyone that covers the development of a small neighborhood in the ABQ area. It is hardly news worthy and if someone did I would not reveal it since it would identify exactly where I lived and given some of the exchanges I have had on the blog, I would not want that.

 
 
 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:23:32

Building rates in my little burg are nowhere near what they were during the previous bubble.

 
Comment by cactus
2014-05-09 08:35:00

I particularly enjoyed the discussion yesterday when someone was grousing “why am I still having to answer my front door”? It never occurred to me that it would be such a sore spot for someone. Only on the HBB!”

he or she was trying to point out technology still has many niches that it can fill, you know like the jetsons or Brazil

take your pick

I don’t think they gave a sh%t about answering the front door.

Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 17:28:33

No, they did at least a couple. So funny.

Why am I answering my door? Why is all this not automated?

I’ve already done that. I’ve stopped answering my door altogether, unless I’ve recently made an appointment using some electronic device & network and am expecting a caller.

 
 
Comment by oxide
2014-05-09 08:57:32

Depends on what you mean by inventory. It’s easy to find inventory — shiny new inventory — all over the DC area, if you want it. However, your choice will be between a small McMansion or row house with an hour’s drive, OR a condo in a high-rise near a Metro station. Both cost about the same. However, if you want a modest house with, say, a 25-minute drive, the inventory is VERY tight. You’re stuck with either a fixer-upper or a bidding war.

 
 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 06:38:53

An article in iafricac.com which shows the power of the globalists in America, only the Tea Party objected to loan guarantees in Africa when plenty of Americans cannot afford their electric bills or in the case of the Southwest, particularly on the Reservations, do not even have access to power:

The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a plan to bring power to 50 million Africans to boost the continent’s development and growth, clearing a key political hurdle.

The Electrify Africa Act - which accompanies a major initiative for Africa unveiled last year by President Barack Obama - aims to install 20 000 megawatts of electricity by 2020 in the continent where power shortages have impeded education, health and economic growth.

The House approved the act by 297-117, with 17 lawmakers not voting. Half of the Republican Party, which is the majority, voted against the act with conservatives saying that Africa should not be a priority amid economic concerns at home.

Supporters including the House Republican leadership countered that the plan would not cost US taxpayers and would benefit US exporters. Funding for energy projects would come from the private sector, with US-backed finance institutions including the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) offering credit guarantees.

“With today’s passage of the Electrify Africa Act, millions in Africa are closer to having access to electricity in their homes, businesses and hospitals,” said Representative Ed Royce, a Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“With this bill we help African people and businesses reach their full potential at no additional cost to the US.”

The bill still needs approval from the Senate, which is under the control of Obama’s Democratic Party. Only one Democrat in the House voted against.

The Electrify Africa Act had been held up for months as industry groups sought to loosen US restrictions that force OPIC to avoid investment in projects with intense greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.

General Electric, a top US company, said that it supported renewable energy but that it was unrealistic to shun gas and other fossil fuels in Africa.

The move brought vehement objections from environmentalists, who said that the act offered a chance for a new direction and that Africa was especially vulnerable to climate change. In a compromise, the final bill does not address the issue.

Justin Guay of the Sierra Club environmental group voiced concern that industry groups would try again in the Senate version but said he was hopeful over the final outcome.

With some 550 million Africans lacking reliable power, Obama has identified electricity as the latest big US initiative for the continent after former president George W. Bush’s efforts to tackle diseases including HIV/AIDS.

Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 07:13:51

I’m sick of this kind of stuff. We don’t have the money, we don’t get any respect for the help that we offer and IT’S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!!!

I think the only way to stop this kind of nonsense is to tie the Congress’s retirement to a balanced budget. IF they don’t have a balanced budget then they don’t get a retirement payoff the next year.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 07:26:31

It is worse than that, the globalists are creating infrastructure in Africa to move even more production from the U.S. to Africa. American workers are paying to lose their jobs. As far as not costing Americans money as it claims, really? The loan rates are not subsidized by the U.S. and the money not borrowed with interest? Do you really believe that the African countries will not find themselves unable to pay back the loans and we will not write them off?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 07:32:37

the money not borrowed with interest by the treasury?

This is what CAGW is really about getting American tax payers to fund the costs of creating infrastructure in third world countries so multinationals can take advantage of cheap labor. Since more and more people are seeing the scam of AGW, they have had to do the same thing through loans to African countries which will never be paid back, instead of giving them the money paid for by carbon taxes to combat AGW which is really just normal climatic warming during an interglacial period.

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Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 09:50:36

It is worse than that, the globalists are creating infrastructure in Africa to move even more production from the U.S. to Africa

This has been going on for a long time. The federal government played a big role in developing containerized shipping, which made it cheaper to move manufacturing to Asia. Then, of course, the government also developed the Internet, which made it easier outsource many kinds of white collar work.

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Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 07:43:18

Worse, haven’t we tried Aid to Africa time and time again and found that while it sometimes ameliorates suffering in some small part in areas where the Aid gets through to the people it is intended for, more often than not it ends up in a warlord or dictator pocket?

And don’t we have a third world country on our border directly to the south where people are poor and suffering also? Much closer to home.

Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:25:50

And don’t we have a third world country on our border directly to the south where people are poor and suffering also? Much closer to home.

Compared to most of Africa, Mexico is a first world country.

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Comment by Igor
2014-05-09 16:36:36

You know who’s all over Africa, building infrstructure and the like? Those globalist Red Chinese.

 
 
Comment by Oxide
2014-05-09 06:42:30

Got a co-worker looking to buy right now. He said that he doesn’t really have sticker shock, but he’s surprised and frustrated that the houses he has seen are not in great shape. Yes well, you have to expect that. The Commutable burbs were built out 50 years ago, and there are ALOT of houses that haven’t been updated in decades. Updating such houses are a real hassle, so houses that have been updated have the price tag to match. Maybe he’ll buy new?

Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 06:49:43

Amy Hoax’s most recent MarketWatch article recommends buying new :)

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 07:42:26

it’s snack time again. Hoaxide?

 
 
Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 07:08:48

Tell him to shop carefully. New homes are more energy efficient but they also have a homeowners association fee.

My mom once told me “don’t buy unless you think you could live there a really long time.”

 
Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 07:47:39

The Commutable burbs…

When cars drive themselves, commute time will be vastly reduced because of the ability of computer AI to coordinate traffic more efficiently. Places where it takes an hour now will only take 1/2 hour then. This will greatly expand what is a commutable area. Maybe not now, but in 20 years.

Driverless cars are the public transportation of the future. No need for these huge infrastructure light rail projects or fleets of buses.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 09:31:36

He said that he doesn’t really have sticker shock, but he’s surprised and frustrated that the houses he has seen are not in great shape.

What’s his definition of “not in great shape”? Is it leaking pipes or peeling wallpaper, or is it just things that haven’t been “updated”?

Comment by oxide
2014-05-09 10:48:54

I don’t know what he saw; the conversation didn’t go that far. He was looking in further-out neighborhoods which are a mix of 1960’s-1970’s SFH and 1995- townhome complexes. My guess is he’s looking at the SFH. Almost all the older SFH have non-white bath fixtures and old kitchens and paneling somewhere.

Mrs. Lola, driverless cars are not going to solve commute times. The problem is not inefficient drivers. It’s that there are simply too many cars on roads with too many intersections. When you have too many cars accumulating on a side street to go straight or make left turns onto a major artery, they have to adjust the green lights to accomodate the cars on the side roads. That makes the green light on the major road too short to clear the cars that accumulate there. Hence cars back up for several lights. You could fill the road with professionally efficient drivers and the end result is the same.

Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 11:10:10

He was looking in further-out neighborhoods which are a mix of 1960’s-1970’s SFH and 1995- townhome complexes. My guess is he’s looking at the SFH. Almost all the older SFH have non-white bath fixtures and old kitchens and paneling somewhere.

I think that he may be a victim of bubble thinking. Not that long ago, maybe 15 years ago, people were probably buying and selling those house without any concern that the bathrooms and kitchens were 30 years old.

We’ll only know that bubble has truly burst when most people realize that they can’t afford to be concerned about the idea that the type of countertops, doorknobs or faucets that are in style changes every few years.

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Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 17:15:12

Wow you are so wrong about that. Driverless cars will half commute times. Your flaw is the professional drivers mistake. You still assume multiple independent entities. Driverless cars will be able to communicate with each other and the grid thereby efficiently solving many of the traffic problems related to independent drivers. An AI will run and coordinate the whole thing for maximum efficiency. This will open up vast possibilities.

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Comment by oxide
2014-05-09 17:57:40

Well that’s a nice post worth of BS.

Why don’t you tell me what this AI is gonna do when you have too many cars trying to go through stoplighted intersections which are too close together. With specific language please, not some vague claptrap like “coordinate the whole thing.”

And if you think people don’t like government intrusion NOW, just wait until AI tries to dictate how they drive.

 
Comment by tj
2014-05-09 18:27:31

Why don’t you tell me what this AI is gonna do when you have too many cars trying to go through stoplighted intersections which are too close together.

it will never get to that point. there will be no more stoplights at all. you won’t want to look when you go sailing non stop through intersections.

no more highway patrol either. it will be against the law for humans to drive, and its era will be looked back on with disbelief that people were ever allowed to drive. accidents will approach zero through computer controlled cars.

humans will control the destination, stops for the bathroom or scenery. but the computer will do all the driving. you can sleep or read a book on your way to your destination.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 18:49:01

Don’t worry Hoaxide… There will still be goat paths and donkey trails.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by goon squad
Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 08:15:27

He said that he doesn’t really have sticker shock, but he’s surprised and frustrated that the houses he has seen are not in great shape.

What’s his definition of “not in great shape”? Is it leaking pipes or peeling wallpaper, or is it just things that haven’t been “updated”?

Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 09:28:44

I meant to post this Oxide’s post above.

 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2014-05-09 10:00:06

That’s another great infowar.com article, goon. I clicked on the link hoping to read three or sentences of what Obama actually said. The guy didn’t even have one full sentence. It makes me wonder if he had the text of Obama’s remarks, or if he just heard Rush talking about it for a few minutes.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:19:41

It is a great post Goon. Any post with a link to “They live” would be great. No need to repeat three sentences of Obama’s propaganda. “They Live” is the best just the fight seen over the sunglasses would make the movie worth watching.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:38:16

seen=scene

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Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 17:18:55

One of the best fight scenes in any movie ever!

A movie crying out for a sequel.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 07:20:57

Diversity is our strength, Dannyboy. The 2014 Souper Bowl Coke commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443Vy3I0gJs

 
Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:27:32

Wouldn’t that be doing the jobs Mexicans won’t do? (MS-13 are Salvadorans)

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:45:57

I know they are thus the reason I did not say Mexicans are doing work that Americans will not do.

 
 
 
Comment by Bill, just South of Irvine, CA
2014-05-09 07:31:54

The time to build up cash is now. Cash, physical precious metals, liquor, and ammo.

Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 07:52:22

I don’t necessarily think that “Go Time” will be a TEOTWAWKI scenario like in Matt Bracken’s fiction writing, but I expect that it could be one or a series of interruptions to the “just in time” logistics/delivery model of modern capitalism that will make life in urban America very unpredictable and/or unpleasant.

In addition to multiple ammo caches (located with map and compass, not with GPS) up in them thar hills, I keep a bugout bag at home and in both vehicles. Even in the event of roadblocks, I could be well above elevation 8,000′ deep in the Pike National Forest by bicycle or on foot within a few hours.

Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:22:12

but I expect that it could be one or a series of interruptions to the “just in time” logistics/delivery model of modern capitalism that will make life in urban America very unpredictable and/or unpleasant.

I experienced that sort of thing in Mexico City in the 70’s, though it wasn’t “just in time” driven. When you went to the supermarket you never knew what they would have in stock, so you often snapped up stuff simply because they had it. Milk was always in short supply, and the dairy case would be stripped bare an hour after being stocked. Cooking oil, sugar and other staples could be hard to find. The meat case variety fluctuated. It seems that pork was often in short supply, probably because it was cheaper than beef (there were price controls for many things). The government made sure that ultra cheap and fortified tortillas were always available.

It was an interesting

 
 
 
Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 07:33:41

Back when I was a kid, I used to go to this pizza shop on the weekends sometimes, to play video games and eat pizza. Just a regular east coastish Italian pizza place, far from fancy. New York style regular pizza. It was good. Very good. It needed no improvement, except extra cheese flirted with heaven. To this day if I can get that same type pizza, that is what I will chose. Not because of childhood nostalgia, but because it actually is the best. Good old regular pizza, fine, needing no bells and whistles.

Not brick oven, gourmet, deep dish, wood fired or whatever. Everything today is geared to sell you all those extra bells and whistles. When regular pizza, is and always has been, just fine.

Get off my lawn!

Comment by goon squad
2014-05-09 08:01:49

I miss leaded gasoline, Coke in glass bottles, and when blacks and women knew their place in society.

America needs a real leader who will take America back and restore our future.

Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:09:24

You can buy Mexican Coca Cola (made with cane sugar) in glass bottles at most grocery stores.

Comment by LiberaceLOL
2014-05-09 08:14:19

That $hit is priced like liquid gold anywhere in the mid atlantic and new england. If you’re idea of lunch is a Bronx slice and a coke, it’s heavenly.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 08:22:50

It is amazing how much better cane sugar tastes than corn. I try not to buy much of it but every once in a while I do and it does remind me of how coke tasted when I was a child.

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Comment by Lionel
2014-05-09 10:27:25

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/09/the-food-lab-drinks-edition-is-mexican-coke-better-than-regular-coke-coke-taste-test-coke-vs-mexican-coke.html

The spread of results I got from this initial testing was surprising to say the least, and answered one thing for sure: There is a perceivable difference in the flavor between Mexican and American Coke, despite the best efforts of the Coca-Cola company to convince us otherwise.

The first analysis I made was to tally up the scores between every test in which tasters had a choice between Mexican and American Coke (that is, tests 1 through 6). From within this set of tests, there was an overwhelming preference for American Coke over Mexican Coke. The average taster picked regular coke two to one over Mexican coke!

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:37:16

I one of the ones, my taste buds like the cane sugar.

 
 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:35:48

In NM you can also buy it at most Home Depots which also says something.

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Comment by MrsLolaSoros
2014-05-09 17:25:46

Why bring race up? And when I was a kid wasn’t so long ago that black people were any differently treated than today. I never went to a school that didn’t have plenty of black kids. Ya gotta be pretty old to remember those times you are talking about, especially up north where I was.

 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2014-05-09 08:13:33

Back when I was a kid, I used to go to this pizza shop on the weekends sometimes, to play video games and eat pizza. Just a regular east coastish Italian pizza place

Bear in mind that those places pretty much don’t exist out west. It’s either chain pizza or the trendy wood fired stuff. And when you do find a mom n pop place, its usually not run by Italians and their stuff is no better than the chains.

 
Comment by Arizona Slim
2014-05-09 09:25:08

I’m learning how to make my own pizza. It’s a project!

Comment by LiberaceLOL
2014-05-09 09:34:36

It’s a long learning process…. and a pizza peel and heat sink(steel or clay tile) is a must to start. If you’re making your own dough, prepare for repeated failures. Must have ingredients; course semolina flour to get the pie off the peel, Grande cheese if you’re attempting to make a NYC(neopolitan or street pizza), bromated flour(street pizza style crust), Caputo 00 flour for a more refined neopolitan style crust. Presumably you’ve already developed your sauce.

Comment by Arizona Slim
2014-05-09 10:11:30

Repeated failures? You’ve put it VERY mildly.

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Comment by LiberaceLOL
2014-05-09 10:38:14
 
 
 
 
Comment by Bill, just south of Irvine
2014-05-09 10:43:00

A few years ago in Phoenix (unsure if still there), was a Ray’s Pizza. It was advertised as New York style. It’s staff all from New York. Whatever the style it really is we had a pizza stacked with pepperoni. So maybe it is medium crust thickness, great cheeses and piled high. Whatever, it was the best pizza I ever ate.

We moved out of that part of Phoenix to the area just south of South Mountain and that was the last time we went to Ray’s.

Comment by Bill, just south of Irvine
2014-05-09 10:45:36

It’s still there. I just Googled it. High rating on Yelp.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 11:58:10

The Pie Pizzeria in SLC has similar pizza.

 
 
 
Comment by Bill, just South of Irvine, CA
2014-05-09 07:39:14

I posted about VGSIX yesterday. In response Combo wrote yesterday


Comment by Combotechie
2014-05-08 20:37:15

I took a peek at some of the largest holdings and found some interesting stuff:

The biggest gainer of its largest holdings is Health Care REIT, Inc (HCN). So far, since the beginning of the year, the stock price has advanced 19.55%. Which means …

HCN is full of magic!

The price went up in spite of it sporting a P/E of 714.56, having cash per share on hand of only $0.55 yet paying out a dividend of $3.18.

But not to worry, it should more than make up for any cash shortfall because it’s ROE is an astounding 1.30%.

(snort)”

Wait for a minute. It was late last night so I did not get a chance to check the OTHER 9 in the top 10. You pick only one REIT and from your post it implies the other 9 are doing lousy YTD:

Hardly.

HCN is 3.09% of the VGSIX Up 19.55% YTD
Simon Property Group is 9.15% of VGSIX, UP 14.94% YTD

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=VGSIX+Holdings

Company Symbol % Assets YTD Return %
Simon Property Group, Inc. Comm SPG 9.15 14.94
Public Storage Common Stock PSA 4.43 17.98
ProLogis, Inc. Common Stock PLD 3.66 11.69
Equity Residential Common Share EQR 3.57 15.85
Ventas, Inc. Common Stock VTR 3.20 17.61
HCP, Inc. Common Stock HCP 3.18 17.63
Boston Properties, Inc. Common BXP 3.15 18.44
Health Care REIT, Inc. Common S HCN 3.09 19.55
Vornado Realty Trust Common Sto VNO 2.98 17.01
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Com AVB 2.90 16.32

Comment by Bill, just South of Irvine, CA
2014-05-09 07:49:35

…(snort)

 
 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 10:10:54

Xinhua)
Updated: 2014-05-09 08:30
Counter:35
Authorities across China should shut down production capacity in polluting industries, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Thursday in a statement on its website.

In its tasks assigned to local authorities, the MIIT ordered the shutdown of 28.7 million tons in steelmaking production capacity, a figure that exceeds the total steel output of Italy last year.

As part of the government’s efforts to restructure the economy and clean up the environment, another 19 million tons of ironmaking production capacity must also be eliminated this year, the MIIT said.

Overcapacity has long been a problem plaguing China’s policymakers. Steelmakers, for example, have not only been blamed for polluting China’s air, rivers and soil, but for impeding the country’s economic restructuring.

Chinese steel companies posted combined losses of 2.33 billion yuan (380 million US dollars) in the first quarter, compared with profits of 8 billion yuan a year ago, according to data by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

However, crude steel output continued to expand in the first quarter by 2.4 percent to 203 million tons, according to CISA.

Along with a reduction of 50.5 million tons of cement production capacity, the MIIT also required excess capacity to be shut down for other metal smelters, glassmaking and paper manufacturing plants.

 
Comment by ethan in northern va
2014-05-09 10:13:12

Greetings from Northern VA! Working on getting a rental townhouse at around $2050/mo. There are lots of townhouses and mcmansions but really not that many for rent.

First time experiencing the coworkers talking housing. One had neighbor that just sold $80k over year ago comp, one at $100k. Another just sold his place for $600k and is moving farther out.

My rental is zestimated at $420k. Last bought 2002 for $290k. Its nothing special.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2014-05-09 11:32:35

More proof that renting is half the cost of buying.

Well done.

 
 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 11:54:58

So is he still friends with Rodman?

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — After bombarding South Korea’s female president with sexist invectives, North Korea’s state news agency has fired off racist insults against President Barack Obama that U.S. officials condemn as “disgusting.”
North Korea is notorious for inflammatory, warlike rhetoric against its rivals South Korea and the U.S. but had rarely used racial slurs in its verbal attacks. Pyongyang’s tone has grown angrier in recent weeks as it threatens to conduct a fourth nuclear test.

In a lengthy May 2 dispatch released only in Korean, Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency published comments from a factory worker who said Obama has the “shape of a monkey” and made many other crude insults.

“It would be better for him to live with other monkeys at a wild animal park in Africa … and licking bread crumbs thrown by onlookers,” worker Kang Hyok at Chollima Steel Complex was quoted as saying.

Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, said Thursday that the North Korean dispatch was “offensive and ridiculous and absurd.”

“I don’t know how many words I can use up here to describe the rhetoric … It’s disgusting,” she told reporters at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
Comment by Blackhawk
2014-05-09 14:34:21

Now how in the world did that happen?

Pretty soon it’ll be global cooling. Just a few more volcanos and we’ll have another ice age. Then I can enjoy my summers in Phoenix.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2014-05-09 15:01:14

You do not need any more volcanoes only the drop off in solar activity that is already happening:
http://nextgrandminimum.wordpress.com/

 
 
 
Comment by Muggy
2014-05-09 18:24:57

“Local schools are the best sites for summer feeding efforts. School leaders can find local feeding sites by calling 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE”

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/commissioner-stewart-to-superintendents-feed-the-children-this-summer/2179041Local schools are the best sites for summer feeding efforts.

Maybe in the future, parents will just sign their kids over to the state, and visit on the weekends.

 
Comment by Bill, just South of Irvine, CA
 
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