Bits Bucket for October 1, 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.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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We are the real journalists.
Breaking news:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-york-times-to-cut-100-jobs-from-its-newsroom-2014-10-01
they have 100 still there?
1/2 the wapo contributers are free landcers and I’m thinking 1/2 of them are interns doing it for free……………
Oligarch mouthpieces like the NYT seem to be hemorraging money and subscribers as more and more people see through their corporate propaganda and DNC talking points, and seek their news and truth elsewhere. Like here.
Maybe the fired NYT staffers can commiserate with the former Pravda alumni from the Soviet era.
Upscale Southlake, TX (Dallas) Sale Prices Plunge 10% YoY On Cratering Housing Demand
http://www.zillow.com/southlake-tx/home-values/
The real estate market in Dallas is bleeding from every orriface.
Dallas (greater) is headed for some problems. When I was there last week, new road construction was everywhere. New retail, new houses, especially on the fringe. Then I looked up some house listings; price reductions everywhere. If those developers have overestimated demand, and I think they have, it’ll be like the 80’s again.
The recording and analysis of market
capitulation is fascinating.
I think of it as watching a train wreck happen in real time, though in slow motion.
Debt is a moral failing. There is no ‘good’ debt.
Preach it!
Success lies at the end of a road of corrected failures.
My generation of enthusiastic debtors is passing away. My grandparents had first hand observation of the chaos that debt brings, and the personal and national disaster of failed credit. They went to their graves believing debt to be a great evil. The young today will do the same.
They went to their graves believing debt to be a great evil. The young today will do the same.
I wish that were the case, but I fear the vast economic manipulation has robbed society of this one beneficial outcome of the downturn.
That remains to be seen considering the “downturn” is just beginning.
Credit is the siphoning of your precious earned income by others, simply because those others have been privileged with the legal rights to create paper money out of thin air, and you haven’t.
When the paper money creators were on the hook for that paper money being fully paid back, the creating of said money was taken seriously, and therefore the system functioned. Not without its problems, but it worked more or less. Those days are gone.
The power to destroy the financial cartel is entirely in our own hands, if we only were to wake up and realize. Stop paying tribute to the money creators, and the whole mess collapses in a matter of days or weeks.
Great perspective. Essentially by being debt free you prevent the bankster/thugernment from enslaving you. You really become hungry for more and more freedom once you give yourself some extra freedom. Freedom is a great addiction.
It’s sad to see so many worn out / passive / sheople who just accept the debtitude “because everyone else is in debt.” They are drones.
Debt drones! Ha!
+1
“Essentially by being debt free you prevent the bankster/thugernment from enslaving you.”
+1 Got that right. I told my kids we’re paying cash for college, or you’re not going. Period.
Read an article a few years ago of a family who never borrowed one penny. They rented for years before they bought a house, not an upscale show off California Dream house, but a house in a decent neighborhood all the same - with cash. They bought their cars with cash. They did not have all that a lot of people these days “have” (which does not mean own anyway), like jet skis, boats, campers, ATVs. Truly a family I admire. Not sure where they live but it’s doubtful that it’s California. The upscale is unaffordable and too inflated. The mediocre that is affordable is in the same neighborhood as gang bangers.
I am a tail end boomer. My parents were Depression-era. So debt was a no-no to them. I am one boomer who learned from the Depression-era. My dad was born in the early 20s and my mom in the late 20s. As young people they were used to going “without.” I keep this in mind while buying parts for my Toyota economy car and fixing what I can fix myself….while other boomers have typically $1,000 maintenance charges to fix minor problems on their Infinitis.
No debt is good debt.
It’s a great education to fix things yerself! + You learn an extra trade.
“Debt is dumb!”
Same here. I don’t think I ever saw my parents more overjoyed than the day they “burned the mortgage”.
People forget the “American Dream” wasn’t simply to own a house, it was to pay it off, so you could live inexpensively in retirement. Mortgages were 10-20 years max, and served as a de facto savings plan. And people lived in the same place long enough to pay it off.
No more. Now everyone’s on 30 years, by the time they move next (avg about 7 yrs) they’ve paid in enough principal just to cover the 6 percenters and the other closing costs associated with the buy-sell round trip. In other words, the system is stacked so that no one ever pays anything off at all. And the actual evidence bears this out overwhelmingly.
Great point about the frequent moves. These house buyers of today are delusional, thinking they build up huge sums of retirement by moving every six or seven years. But they really have to pay the points / brokerage fees and any upkeep that needs to be done to make the house salable.
In the older days people generally stayed in the same house until they died. They knew all the neighbors and everyone was kind - no politics or religion at all at neighborhood gatherings. Anyhow they paid their mortgages off early.
Modern times: Section 8 moved in on multiple unit dwellings in the same nabes where empty lots used to be - lowering the values of the houses of the greatest generation so that the boomer children would not get a huge windfall inheritance anyway. The boomers who learned (like myself) decided to rent forever at some point and earn far more annual average gains per year in stocks. But be anti materialist.
I basically reached the point where I no longer have to fly back and forth to thousands of miles away to work because I downsized my job and can now focus on health. I feel rich because I have two alternate fitness pools to choose to swim in - if one of them gets a problem and has to temporarily close, I go to the other. Health is my priority. My neighbors in $500,000 houses don’t do health. They do obesity.
• Reality eventually edges out propaganda.
• The media is incredibly powerful. This is the marketplace which politicians, writers, photographers, actors all strive to enter. The media owners and gatekeepers are among the most powerful class of people. The media bullhorn which reaches into nearly everyone’s home blares a common message. But it is a message at odds with reality. Eventually, reality wins out.
True. All we gotta do is wait and eat popcorn.
the London olympics for example- everyone hate the NHS and they had a parade-paid for by taxpayers
No, the NHS is quite popular. And most British people think that the American way of paying for health care is a horror to be avoided.
The media is incredibly powerful. This is the marketplace which politicians, writers, photographers, actors all strive to enter.
So opt out. Cancel your subscriptions to all corporate media outlets. When they ask why, tell them. Only support independent media and truth-tellers instead.
There can be no correction of a failure. There is only rework.
Someday, surely, you will contribute something of value to this board. Sadly, today isn’t that day.
Correction of failure happens all the time. People screw up but then are defined by what they do next - especially if they try to learn their lessons, accept accountability, and do what they can to put things right.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2014/10/how-credit-came-to-rule-and-ruin-our-economy/
http://www.mauldineconomics.com/frontlinethoughts/the-end-of-monetary-policy#the
Mauldin talks a great deal about government wasting money particularly on entitlements, but he totally avoids mentioning the Middle East and/or Israel. Our failing infrastructure could have been completely rebuilt with the money exhausted on the latest crusades.
I saw a link where the total bombs dropped in this Syrian war (which recently started) cost the same amount of money as scholarships for over 3,000 students to attend Harvard.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-most-overvalued-undervalued-housing-131550950.html
True dat!
Debt is what allows the banking class to control the government. Sick of it? Stop borrowing, and get two other people to stop borrowing and do the same.
How is the lukewarm fall sales season shaping up?
02:10:15 Until New York Markets Open
Futures: S&P 500 -0.13% DOW -0.09% NASDAQ -0.21
Economic Report
Even the hottest housing markets are starting to cool
Sept 30, 2014 12:04 p.m. ET
By Ruth Mantell
Economics reporter
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Here’s one sign that the cooling off for housing appreciation has become widespread: The hot San Francisco housing market actually saw home prices drop in July, marking the city’s weakest result since early 2012, according to data released Tuesday morning.
Looking at a broader gauge of prices in 20 cities, July saw overall growth of 0.6% in July, slower than the 1% rise in June, according to S&P/Case-Shiller’s 20-city composite index.
After seasonal adjustments, home prices among the 20 cities fell 0.5% in July — the biggest drop since October 2011 — compared with a 0.3% decline in June.
Slower appreciation could encourage more buyers, though prices are still outpacing inflation. A larger number of homes on the market has helped cool down home-price growth. At the same time, demand has been somewhat curbed by increasingly pricey properties and mortgage loans.
Meanwhile, annual growth slowed down, with year-over-year home prices rising 6.7% in July — the slowest pace since late 2012 — compared with annual growth of 8.1% in June. Among the 20 tracked cities, 19 saw slower annual growth in July.
“The geographic breadth of the pullback in prices is noteworthy,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities, wrote in a research note. “Apologies if you are looking to sell your home, but perhaps a bit of relief on the price side will help to bolster housing demand, which has been disappointing lately.”
While slower price growth will push the market closer to normalcy — prices that run too hot for too long would cut out an increasingly large share of the pool of prospective buyers — there can also be negative effects. Rising prices have helped millions of struggling homeowners regain equity in their mortgaged properties. Slower price growth means that it may take longer for the 10.7% of mortgaged properties that are underwater climb back to financial comfort.
Through July home prices were about 16% below a 2006 peak. Looking at cities, home prices in Dallas and Denver hit fresh records. Meanwhile, property in Detroit was worth below its value in January 2000.
…
CS is the oldest data out there. You could have known this months ago looking at the CAR numbers.
“Meanwhile, property in Detroit was worth below its value in January 2000.”
Isn’t that a good thing for buyers? Unfortunately, statistics are skewed by the city. The suburbs are still overpriced, at least until the next correction in prices. BTW, wouldn’t that make a good title for a real estate horror movie; The Next Correction, coming soon to a theater in an overpriced neighborhood near you.
Not necessarily.
Some of the neighborhoods have worse security than in the wild west of days gone by - your own neighbors will rob your house when you leave it. Cops show up a day late if at all (except for murders but by then it is too late). The sound of random gunfire is so common that people tune it out.
And even if you are given a property for ‘free,’ the tax-hungry (and currently bankrupt) city, and county will want to suck you dry for all back taxes owed by the debt-donkeys that were there before you.
That’s why a lot of properties in Detroit and similar post-industrial cities actually have a negative value. Personal and property safety is an intangible but not insignificant cost.
I’m not defending the city of detroit, I’m just pointing out that it isn’t the entire metro area, which, excluding the city itself, is the fourth wealthiest in the country. That’s why prices in the suburbs aren’t as cheap as statistics suggest. And even the city itself has large pockets of relative wealth and stability. But the image of Detroit as some kind of apocalyptic war zone seems to persist in people with an agenda, but what that agenda is, I don’t know.
Dman:
The agenda is to blame the “corrupt democrats” in general, and Barack Obama above all. I love the term “postindustrial”, as if industry were a historical artifact of an evolutionary blunder. Like industry blew through the United States one time, and now it’s gone. I guess it blew to China, and all on it’s own too. Had nothing to do with the Republican-led Business Round Table and their globalist poo.
Both parties suck and both are equally culpable in America’s decline. However, corrupt, incompetent urban municipalities are run almost exclusively by Democrats and have been for decades. And the corrupt DNC was an active participant in bringing about the offshoring of our manufacturing base and unfettered crony capitalism.
… incompetent urban municipalities are run almost exclusively by Democrats and have been for decades
Once again, that’s also true of competent urban municipalities.
There aren’t two parties. There are only bank owned politicians with different stickers on them.
Not many come to mind.
Wish that were true in my Bay Area city. A 3/2, very nice, some exterior work needed, in a nice, but heavily trafficked area, priced at 1.1M (the sale price of a nearby home) sold for almost 1.5M … a day or 2 after closing. No “pending”. And that 1.1M home that sold for 150K over ask at the start of the summer? It’s been undergoing major renovation.
A neighborhood that had a couple homes priced under 1M that sold for a bit over early the summer? Ask prices for a few more in the same general area that have come on the market are in the 1.1 to 1.5M range.
And homes in the hills with similar configs that had been priced under 900K? Now, asks are 1.5 to 2.5M.
Oh, and we just saw a “fixer upper” on Redfin with a 1.1M asking price.
We’ve seen a few price reductions … of about $1K, presumably to fit a price range search.
Median sale price in town is now 950K.
Nobody buying these homes will sell them for less when they move in 5-10 years, so long-term outlook for first-time buyers getting worse by the month.
Cratering demand. MBA apps number out today.
Originally published September 30, 2014 at 7:13 AM | Page modified September 30, 2014 at 4:44 PM
Seattle home-price gains slow again
Seattle-area home prices gained ground in July, but the rate of annual appreciation slowed for the fifth consecutive month, S&P/Case-Shiller data show.
By Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Times business reporter
Seattle-area home prices gained ground in July, but the rate of annual appreciation slowed for the fifth consecutive month, suggesting a softening market, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index released Tuesday.
The average price of existing single-family homes sold in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties in July rose 0.6 percent over June, which recorded a 1.1 percent gain over May.
Over the past 12 months, the average home price increased 7.1 percent — much stronger than the average 4.8 percent annual appreciation from 1991 to 2003 — but much weaker than the market’s double-digit gains from March 2013 to April this year.
Nationally, home prices also increased 0.6 percent over the month in July, slower than the 1 percent gain in June. The 20-city index was up 6.7 percent over the year. While all of the cities but San Francisco posted monthly gains, every city saw the pace of price gains decelerate.
Las Vegas, which suffered the worst price declines after the housing bubble burst, posted the biggest annual gain in July, 12.8 percent. Cleveland had the smallest annual gain, 0.9 percent.
“The broad-based deceleration in home prices continued in the most recent data,” said David Blitzer, who oversees the index. “However, home prices continue to rise at two to three times the rate of inflation. The slower pace of home-price appreciation is consistent with most of the other housing data on housing starts and home sales.”
…
Costco here is selling a lot of Xmas stuff to the lower income people. Amazing to watch. Geez, we have gone to gift cards where you don’t pay for expensive wrapping and the kids can purchase what they want after Xmas with things discounted heavily. Poor just stay poor.
“Poor just stay poor.”
+1 A poor person may win the lotto, but they’re still poor.
Are you referring to those crappy little $20 prizes they have sometimes?
I won $200 once, but it didn’t even cover all the money I’ve spent on lottery tickets over the years (two a week, if you’re wondering).
AKA - The Beverly Hillibillies syndrome
http://wolfstreet.com/2014/10/01/is-canadas-truly-magnificent-housing-bubble-next/
Canada’s truly magnificent housing bubble, incomparably more magnificent that the housing bubble in the US that blew up with such spectacular results, is starting to worm its way into all sorts of venues. And on Tuesday, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Agathe Côté had a special place for it in her discussions of “vulnerabilities and risks” to the “stability of the financial system.”
Scary.
Some Canadian government economist once said publicly that Ben Jones is irresponsible for talking about housing bubbles.
Can China turn around its summer 2014 housing swoon?
Heard on the Street
China Not Ready to Bet the House on Housing
Sharp Decline in Residential Real Estate Prices Triggers Piecemeal Central Bank Response
By Aaron Back
Oct. 1, 2014 5:37 a.m. ET
Models of new residential developments for sale at a real estate fair in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province last month. China may be running out of options to handle a housing slump. European Pressphoto Agency
China still has ammo left to combat its housing slump. But even the heavy artillery it is holding in reserve may not be enough.
Earlier this week, the country’s central bank unveiled a basket of piecemeal measures to support housing. These included encouraging banks to issue more mortgage-backed securities, and allowing more people to qualify as first-time buyers, giving them preferential mortgage terms.
China is in the midst of a serious real estate correction. Nationwide property prices have fallen by 3.1% from April through September, according to the China Real Estate Index System, a private data provider. That may not seem dire, but it is equal to the previous price decline, over a longer period, between August 2011 and May 2012.
Sales figures are more alarming, with government data showing total housing sales falling 10.9% from a year earlier in the January-August period.
Previous Chinese property corrections were all due to deliberate government policies to rein in the market, including restrictions on apartment purchases at the local and national level. Prices were quick to rebound once the government lightened up on the reins.
This time is different. There was no policy trigger for the latest downturn, and prices have kept sliding even after dozens of local governments have lifted restrictions on property purchases. This suggests the correction is the natural result of a buyers strike.
Ordinary Chinese seem to have been shaken out of their conviction that property can only appreciate over time, similar to the psychological turn seen in the U.S. in 2007. A recent central bank survey of households found that only 19% of respondents expect prices to go up over the next three months, down from 36% a year ago.
…
UPDATE 2-China takes boldest step yet to lift housing market, economy
Tue Sep 30, 2014 7:20am EDT
(Adds analysts’ reaction, background)
By Koh Gui Qing and Xiaoyi Shao
(Reuters) - China cut mortgage rates and downpayment levels for some home buyers on Tuesday for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, making one of its biggest moves this year to boost an economy increasingly threatened by a sagging housing market.
The relaxation of lending rules for home buyers was accompanied by steps to increase financing for cash-strapped developers, which may have problems paying their debts if the property downturn persists, as many economists expect.
Yet some analysts cautioned investors against thinking that the housing market and broader economy were poised to stage a stunning recovery. A glut of unsold or unoccupied homes and buyers’ expectations of further price declines could temper any rebound.
“We’re probably talking about some stabilisation at a low level, but it’s probably unlikely to drive a rebound in this market,” said Zhu Haibin, an economist at JPMorgan in Hong Kong.
“House prices are probably going to continue to decline, but at a slower pace.”
The housing downturn has weighed on already soft demand in China, dampening consumer confidence and slashing demand for related products from home appliances to glass, cement and steel. But even if the market only shows signs of bottoming out, it could put a floor under falling global prices for raw materials such as copper and iron ore, helping big commodity producers like Australia.
The news, which came on the eve of the Golden Week holiday, signalled that China’s central authorities were serious about preventing further deterioration in the property market, which accounts for about 15 percent of the world’s second-biggest economy.
…
As usual, the solution to too much debt is more lending. Unfortunately, you cannot get rid of the rotting fish odor by throwing on more dead fish.
The hair-of-the-dog hangover cure has yet to fall out of favor.
I hope this article is current enough for ABQDan’s liking.
China pulls back on property rules
PUBLISHED: 5 hours 35 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 3 hours 26 MINUTES AGO
The People’s Bank of China has eased the rules for property purchases. Photo: Reuters
Chinese policy makers eased property restrictions for the first time since the global financial crisis as a real-estate slump’s threat to economic growth overtakes worries about housing affordability.
People applying for a loan to buy a second home may get lower down payments and mortgage rates that were previously only available to first-time home buyers so long as they have paid off their initial mortgage, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its website. The central bank also eased a ban on mortgages for people buying a third home.
The action marks a reversal in a four-year tightening campaign, as slowing property investment and industrial production raise risks that 2014 economic growth will drift too far below the government’s target of about 7.5 per cent. The relaxation follows easing this year targeted at boosting lending for agriculture and small businesses.
“It clearly shows that there’s a bottom line in tolerating an economic slowdown,” said Shen Jianguang, chief Asia economist at Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong. “The move greatly reduced risks of a hard landing.”
…
J.P. Morgan Chase to face class-action suit over mortgage-backed securities
Published: Oct 1, 2014 6:41 a.m. ET
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Markets reporter
MADRID (MarketWatch) — J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM, -0.15%) will have to face a class-action lawsuit by investors, Reuters reported. The suit will focus on claims the investment bank misled them over the safety of $10 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities they were sold just prior to the crisis, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan rejected several arguments from J.P. Morgan that the case didn’t qualify for class-action status. The ruling comes 10 months after J.P. Morgan reached a $13 billion settlement with various government institutions over the sale of mortgage-backed securities.
…
the most transparent administration in history
‘attorney general eric j. holder jr. said on tuesday that new forms of encryption capable of locking law enforcement officials out of popular electronic devices imperil investigations of kidnappers and sexual predators, putting children at increased risk.’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/09/30/holder-urges-tech-companies-to-leave-device-backdoors-open-for-police/
“kidnappers and sexual predators”
Also political enemies and other non-conformists.
I am sure the Chinese government feels the same way.
It’s always “for the children.”
Yeah, just like goon’s concerns about 14 year-old girls below at 2014-10-01 05:56:29.
wall street journal - u.s. to offer refugee status to some central american children
‘the obama administration is launching a program to offer refugee status to some minors from central america who have family members already living in the u.s., enabling those who qualify to enter the country legally and remain here.’
this sounds like a job for the social justice warriors™
http://online.wsj.com/articles/immigrant-children-in-new-york-city-face-a-shortage-of-attorneys-1412100510
denver business journal - home-price gains in denver continue to cool, says case-shiller report
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/real_deals/2014/09/home-price-gains-in-denver-continue-to-cool-says.html
welcome to craterado, lolz
This is the “fundamental transformation” that you were promised
“An unusual respiratory virus has sickened more than 400 children across the United States, and the emergence of sudden paralysis in some Colorado youths is sparking concern among doctors … experts are struggling to understand why so many young people — ranging in age from one to 18 — have fallen ill from the virus in the past two months.”
http://news.yahoo.com/rare-respiratory-virus-paralysis-spreads-among-us-kids-224617119.html
Forward
This is the “fundamental transformation” you were promised
“American schools are struggling to provide services to the large number of children and teenagers who crossed the border alone in recent months.
Unaccompanied minors who made up the summer spike at the border have moved to communities of all sizes, in nearly every state, Federal data indicates, to live with a relative and await immigration decisions.”
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IMMIGRATION_OVERLOAD_SCHOOLS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
And if you don’t want your 14 year old daughter dating a 21 year old freshman student MS-13 gang member, you are a racist
Amy Hoax’s latest piece of NAR fluffing asks are millennial home buyers making a comeback:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/are-millennial-home-buyers-making-a-comeback-2014-09-30
Another article we posted recently notes that millennials account for 40% of the unemployed. Outstanding student loan debt is $1.2 trillion and rising. Median household incomes remain well below the pre-recession high.
Making a comeback? What a joke. There is no “pent-up demand” for $500,000 starter homes. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
EVER.
Happy Wednesday, you are all going to die
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-self-destructive-reasons-americans-ignore-climate-change-2014-09-30
The warmists and the coolists can fight it out with their Tom Steyer and Koch brothers action figures, but it’s not going to change anything
“I just wanna get my kicks before the whole sh*thouse goes up in flames” — Jim Morrison
Must be election season.
My carbon footprint is bigger than your carbon footprint.
sung to the milkshake song
The Enviro-Nuts sure are pouring the gasoline on the fire these days.
From Clinton and his followers to the revisionists at the Weather Channel: hysteria is where it’s at.
BTW, whatever happened to noise pollution? Anyone know?
I’m still waiting for an explanation of how infinite growth is possible in a finite ecosystem.
Most of the HBB posters will probably be dead before climate change starts to significantly affect human life anyway.
See above Jim Morrison quote.
California is toast this winter. Bank on it. Triple R is back.
Global warming is reality. Denial will do you no good.
A lot of people seem to have carbon envy these days.
Some people care and have kids. Some dont.
I wonder when the Ebola freakout is going to begin in earnest.
The housing recovery won’t be over for years?
http://www.businessinsider.com/housing-recovery-wont-be-over-for-years-2014-9
There is no “recovery”, there are no economic fundamentals to support today’s bubble prices. There is no “pent-up demand” for $500,000 starter homes. Are median household incomes going to increase 150% to support bubble prices? No, bubble prices are going to drop 75% to where median incomes can afford them.
i can’t agree more, just wait for interest rates to creep up and it will be really interesting
‘Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunged in early trading after investors including Bruce Berkowitz’s Fairholme Capital Management LLC lost a legal bid yesterday to force the bailed-out companies to share profits with private shareholders.’
‘Fannie Mae fell 57 percent to $1.16 at 8:45 a.m. in New York. Freddie Mac dropped 60 percent. ‘
How are the shares worth even a penny?
My thoughts were much the same. How can they share profits when in reality (all government backstopping removed) there aren’t any?
Shareholders should have been wiped out as part of the bailout; it was effectively a huge bankruptcy, as they were deeply insolvent.
Shareholders should be wiped out in BK, and a new IPO should have been issued for the post-bailout company.
Whoa…some unhappy bagholders out there.
Have you rolled around on your thick layer of green cash and grabbed two fists full of $100s today yet?
Debt is for dimwitted donkeys.
Cash is king.
And the donkeys hate you because of it.
jeez, what happened to the ebola post? I know my toilet seat comment was in poor taste, but I didn’t think it was that bad.
housing
i posted an ebola article written by real journalists at the new york times and it hasn’t posted yet.
Public Health Agency of Canada deletes important information on their Ebola page.
the original statement:
MODE OF TRANSMISSION: In an outbreak, it is hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected as a result of contact with an infected animal (15). Person-to-person transmission occurs via close personal contact with an infected individual or their body fluids during the late stages of infection or after death (1, 2, 15, 27). Nosocomial infections can occur through contact with infected body fluids due to the reuse of unsterilized syringes, needles, or other medical equipment contaminated with these fluids (1, 2). Humans may be infected by handling sick or dead non-human primates and are also at risk when handling the bodies of deceased humans in preparation for funerals, suggesting possible transmission through aerosol droplets (2, 6, 28). In the laboratory, infection through small-particle aerosols has been demonstrated in primates, and airborne spread among humans is strongly suspected, although it has not yet been conclusively demonstrated (1, 6, 13). The importance of this route of transmission is not clear. Poor hygienic conditions can aid the spread of the virus
The new statement:
MODE OF TRANSMISSION: In an outbreak, it is hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected as a result of contact with an infected animal Footnote 22. Person-to-person transmission occurs via close personal contact with an infected individual or their body fluids during the late stages of infection or after death Footnote 1 Footnote 2 Footnote 22 Footnote 42. Nosocomial infections can occur through contact with infected body fluids for example due to the reuse of unsterilized syringes, needles, or other medical equipment contaminated with these fluids Footnote 1 Footnote 2. Humans may be infected by handling sick or dead non-human primates and are also at risk when handling the bodies of deceased humans in preparation for funerals Footnote 2 Footnote 10 Footnote 43.
In laboratory settings, non-human primates exposed to aerosolized ebolavirus from pigs have become infected, however, airborne transmission has not been demonstrated between non-human primates Footnote 1 Footnote 10 Footnote 15 Footnote 44 Footnote 45. Viral shedding has been observed in nasopharyngeal secretions and rectal swabs of pigs following experimental inoculation
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message2654018/pg1 -
‘The Nevada Supreme Court upheld a law that allows homeowners associations (HOAs) to foreclose on homes ahead of first mortgage providers, solidifying “super lien” priority for HOA claims in Nevada. The decision is expected to reinforce similar laws in other states that have super lien laws designed to protect HOAs at the expense of first lien holders. So are first liens still secure when an HOA is involved?’
‘The court ruled that an HOA super-priority lien is a “true super-priority lien,” and that a properly conducted foreclosure on the HOA lien extinguishes first deeds of trust. The case in question involved a $6,000 lien that was foreclosed upon by SFR Investments, wiping out an $880,000 first lien held by U.S. Bank. Analysts quickly pointed out that super lien states (about 20) pose a great risk to lenders, servicers and investors in many parts of the country, with some estimates running as high as 350,000 HOAs covering over 25 million households.’
‘Much of this is new construction, and it has been a growing issue in many retirement states like Florida. If, in theory only, one had a greedy condo association, we could anticipate varying levels of mismanagement, fraud or vindictiveness. The CFPB and FHFA have gone to great lengths to inform the consumers about the mortgage indebtedness, but critics believe this allows for an unregulated group to seize a property with little effort.’
‘The case involved a condo HOA in Las Vegas filing liens on property for non-payment of HOA dues. Some entity bought those lien rights, and foreclosed. In the past the HOA could not actually foreclose, as they were behind the deed of trust: they could file notice but not actually foreclose. Only government agencies that are in front of deed of trust could actually foreclose. The NSC ruled in favor of the HOA, meaning the HOA can foreclose and is in front of the 1st deed of trust - in this case held by US Bank.’
‘In general lenders believe that the court is “misguided.” The HOA is not a government agency, and historically, that is the only entity than can be in front of a 1st deed of trust. So will lenders stop lending whenever an HOA is involved since the possibility has increased that their loan will be wiped out? Possibly - evidently the ruling does not specify the type of HOA or any limitation, so some subdivision that has an HOA to maintain a front entrance brick wall and some flowers and collects $20.00 a month dues has lien rights over a 1st deed of trust. Why would any lender make a loan knowing this? This could be catastrophic for housing with HOAs in Nevada and several other states.’
So, could the bank have their loan extinguished if the homeowner paints their door the wrong color?
It’s a crazy decision. What are the lender margins, after they give up some to whoever they sell it to? Interest rates being what they are.
Miller Samuel Price Pimps puked more pablum on Bloomberg this morning…. and Bloomberg gladly broadcasts it without challenge.
Is all media bought and paid for?
You really don’t understand real journalism.
Is all media bought and paid for?
Yes.
Advertising pays for virtually all media. So, it’s an unwise prospect to undermine the person who’s paying you.
So, yes, they are bought and paid for.
Good day to be long bonds and light on stocks.
Treasurys surge alongside European bonds
Published: Oct 1, 2014 9:32 a.m. ET
10-year yield slices through 50-day moving average
By BenEisen
Reporter
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. Treasury prices followed European bonds higher on Wednesday as investors kicked off the first day of the new quarter.
The 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR, -2.65%) yield, which rises as prices fall, was down 5.5 basis points on the day at 2.454%, on track to close at its lowest level since the beginning of September. The benchmark yield broke through its 50-day moving average, helping extend the push lower.
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Is THIS a good time for dips to buy?
Dr. Doom is back (heh heh heh…)
Nouriel Roubini — a.k.a. Dr. Doom — warns of rising risks around the world
October 1, 2014, 12:17 PM ET
While geopolitical risks have multiplied, global markets have “remained buoyant, if not downright bubbly,” said economist Nouriel Roubini in a column published Tuesday.
There appear to be good reasons why markets so far have reacted benignly, but that could change, he adds.
Roubini — who’s often called “Dr. Doom,” yet has said he prefers “Dr. Realist” – points to three potential shifts that could shake investors out of their complacency.
1. Terror attack in U.S. or Europe: Mideast turmoil hasn’t rattled investors that much, but it could “if one or more terrorist attack were to occur in Europe or the US – a plausible development, given that several hundred Islamic State jihadists are reported to have European or US passports,” Roubini writes.
2. Russia-Ukraine or Syria conflicts could spread: Markets “could be incorrect in their assessment that conflicts like that between Russia and Ukraine, or Syria’s civil war, will not escalate or spread,” Roubini said. “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy may become more aggressive in response to challenges to his power at home, while Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey are all being destabilized by Syria’s ongoing meltdown.”
3. Hong Kong protests and more: He says geopolitical tensions “are more likely to trigger global contagion when a systemic factor shaping the global economy comes into play.” Hong Kong, the U.S. or Europe could provide that factor.
“Today (or soon), the situation in Hong Kong, together with the news of further weakening in the Chinese economy, could trigger global financial havoc,” Roubini says. He also warns that the Federal Reserve could “spark financial contagion by exiting zero rates sooner and faster than markets expect,” or the eurozone “could relapse into recession and crisis.”
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Market Snapshot Get email alerts
U.S. stocks skid; Russell 2000 in correction territory
Published: Oct 1, 2014 4:34 p.m. ET
By Anora Mahmudova Reporter & Barbara Kollmeyer Markets reporter
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock investors turned away from stocks on Wednesday and piled into safe havens such as Treasurys, sending the main benchmarks sharply lower.
Broad-based declines on Wall Street were led by tech and small-cap stocks. The Russell 2000 index (RUT, -1.48%) lost 1.5% and is now in correction territory, defined as a drop of more than 10% from a recent peak, in this case on March 4.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA, -1.40%) fell 238.19 points, or 1.4%, to 16,804.71 and undercut its 50-day moving average. The blue-chip index moved by triple-digits in six out of past eight sessions. The index is down 2.75% from its record close set Sept. 19.
Wednesday’s skittishness appeared to have stemmed from upbeat employment and manufacturing data for September, which although points to positive momentum for the U.S. economy, continued to fuel worries that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than later.
Private employers added 213,000 new jobs in September, and many view the report as a proxy for the non-farm payrolls data due on Friday. Manufacturing in the U.S. is still expanding, albeit slightly slower. Both PMI and ISM indexes ticked down, however indicated growth.
The upbeat economic data should be a positive, but ironically, have investors fretting they may need to retool their holdings.
The S&P 500 (SPX, -1.32%) fell 26.13 points, or 1.3%, to 1,946.16, with materials and industrials leading the losses. Only the utilities sector stayed in positive territory. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP, -1.59%) shed 71.30 points, or 1.6%, to 4,422.09.
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MILFORD, Mich. â General Motors pledged on Wednesday to increase its profit margins, cut costs and expand operations in China as part of a broader strategy that emphasizes growth and better financial results.”
Investors must love Chinese labor
I’ve pledged to increase my margins too- tx for showing us that.
Meanwhile back in ILLANNOY - property taxes are……indeed leaving us speechless. And the local pols wonder why the hell folks are leaving in droves!! You can’t make this stuff up!!!
http://www.wirepoints.com/economic-suicide-new-study-of-chicago-area-effective-property-tax-rates-should-leave-you-speechless-wp-original/
I for one am indignant at the selfishness of the productive, who chafe at seeing an exorbidant share of their hard-earned money going to prop up the corrupt Democrat political machine in Chicago and pay out patronage and graft to the public unions and free $hit army.
http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/toronto2014election/2014/10/01/campaign_notebook_real_estate_board_president_blasts_journalist_over_commissions_question.html
http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/toronto2014election/2014/10/01/campaign_notebook_real_estate_board_president_blasts_journalist_over_commissions_question.html
Heaven forbid that agents commissions should be mentioned.
Hmmm…. If I could buy a waterfront home in CA with a 500 yr loan at $1000 a month, do you think I would care about “debt?” Happiness matters.
Guess again.
What’s the single most important issue to this government full of college indoctrinated progressive yuppies?
You guessed it…Saying the word “Redskins”
God help us.
#We’reDoomed
FACT: The problem is, congress is full of attorneys who spend all day hating O and fundraising for their reelection. Attorneys destroyed America.
My restaurant cant even give excess food to the shelter for liability reasons.
Reach out to Lola. I’m sure he can arrange a system to get that gruel to his street family.
The logo is respectful. It’s not comical or absurd like the Cleveland Indians logo. The fight song is respectful (”Hail to the Redskins, Hail Victory, Braves on the warpath, fight for all DC”). NFL football team logos are supposed to be strong and powerful images carried into “battle” : http://www.nfl.com/teams (I’m not exactly sure what happened with the Cardinals).
The term itself is a reference to the color of the early Native American’s skin.
I haven’t heard a compelling explanation of how exactly any of this is disrespectful. My suspicion is that some Native American group is annoyed that big money is being made off of Native American imagery by someone they don’t like.
Ask a native if they like the term “Redskin”. That’s all you really need to do.
College GameDay War Chant: Marching Chiefs & Crowd - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cl9RWs2mc0 - 267k - Cached - Similar pages
Sep 19, 2011 … The Florida State University Marching Chiefs start the War Chant with the crowd of Seminole fans attending ESPN’s College GameDay in …
Fighting Irish and Boston Celtics: Too Racist for 2013?
An Angry Irishman
9/21/13 8:05p
Fighting Irish and Boston Celtics: Too Racist for 2013?Expand
As the controversy over the name and logos of the Washington Redskins broils on, I want to bring attention to two more sadly overlooked naming controversies: The Boston Celtics and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
These two teams mascots and names clearly degrade those of Irish heritage, portraying them out to be drunkards, brawlers, and/or leprechauns. These names aren’t being used in any way to honor the Irish, merely to capitalize on stereotypes, such as shamrocks or leprechauns, in much the same manner as the Redskins name is clearly deriding Native Americans, or how the Cleveland Indians mascot, Chief Wahoo is nothing more than a racist caricature.
Fighting Irish and Boston Celtics: Too Racist for 2013?
I simply don’t understand how these teams are allowed to keep their nationalist caricatures which are clearly demeaning of Irishmen, while still maintaining less controversy than other teams named after Native Americans like the Atlanta Braves or Kansas City Chiefs.
So to close, I’d like to call on some of the sportswriters in the industry. If we’re going to call out some teams for having demeaning names or slogans, much like the NCAA forced the clearly offensive Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota to abandon their name or face sanctions, then we need to do it to other teams with offensive names as well, even if they aren’t towards Native Americans.
chiefs18.kinja.com/…ghting-irish-and-boston-celtics-too-racist-for-2013-1363843442 - 290k -
Here ya go…HomeStimulus.com
Region VIII checking in.
Small office called this morning; computer is beeping, so they turned it off. This is a remote place, lacking talent, but they have water.
Way back I told them they need at least one real workstation, hw raid mirroring, and a sine-wave ups. It’s tough to push for $3k when $600 pc’s are everywhere. Their board members grumbled, but they coughed-up the money. The raid card alert was active alright. Dropped in a new drive, and let it rebuild. Then replaced the other old drive, rebuilt quickly. Nothing lost but a few hours.
Also ran my “folder compare and duplicate file finder” thumb drive software; cleaned-up one heck of a mess. The manager was happy as a clam, even paid for lunch.
Not the Onion:
http://thesmokinggun.com/documents/octogenarian-assaulted-at-Applebees-687543
Got Treasurys?
Fear is good — if you own Treasurys.
Credit Markets
U.S. Government Bonds Rally on Global Growth Worries
Biggest One-Day Rally in 10 Months Pushes Down Yield to 2.405%
By Min Zeng
Updated Oct. 1, 2014 4:10 p.m. ET
Fresh concerns about the global economy Wednesday sparked the biggest one-day rally in Treasury bonds in 10 months.
In late-afternoon trading, the benchmark 10-year note was 29/32 higher, yielding 2.405%.
The yield fell by 0.10 percentage points, the most on a daily basis since Jan. 10. It marks the lowest closing level for the yield since Aug. 29. Yields fall as prices rise.
Traders and analysts said there are several reasons investors are dialing back on risk at the start of the fourth quarter: weak manufacturing data out of the U.S. and Europe; political unrest in Hong Kong; and concerns about Ebola after the U.S. reported the first case on Tuesday.
“All these things are lining up to drive investors into haven bonds,” said Jason Evans, co-founder of hedge fund NineAlpha Capital LP in New York.
U.S. and European stocks sold off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index was down by more than 1%.
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Treasuries gain most in 8 months amid signs of slowing growth
By Daniel Kruger and Cordell Eddings, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg
October 1, 2014 11:20pm
NEW YORK — Treasuries gained Wednesday the most in more than eight months as yields higher relative to most Group of Seven nations increased demand from investors worldwide concerned global growth is stalling.
Benchmark 10-year notes yielded almost the most versus their German counterparts since 1999 after the dollar touched a two-year high versus the euro Tuesday. The European Central Bank may detail its plan to buy asset-backed securities Thursday amid slowdowns in Germany in France.
“We have this quest for growth and central banks are unable to produce it,” said Richard Gilhooly, an interest-rate strategist in New York at TD Securities, one of 22 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. “We have a global deflationary situation developing.”
The U.S. 10-year yield fell 10 basis points, or 0.10 percentage point, to 2.39 percent, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader data. It’s the biggest drop since Jan. 23. The 2.375 percent security rose 29/32, or $9.06 per $1,000 face amount, to 99 29/32.
U.S. 10-year notes yielded 1.54 percentage points more than their German counterparts after reaching 1.57 on Sept. 17, the most since June 1999. They were 1.88 percentage points higher than those of Japanese peers, up from 0.63 percentage point in May 2012.
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The Pimco Total Return Fund, managed by Bill Gross until last week, suffered an estimated $23.5 billion of withdrawals last month, its worst month ever. Pacific Investment Management Co. provided the estimate in an emailed statement.
Gross’s departure from Pimco sparked selloffs in some of his biggest wagers, such as inflation-protected U.S. government bonds, and some less-traded ones are still feeling the effects amid speculation the company may need to sell to raise cash to cover potential investor redemptions.
“There’s a real lack of liquidity on the corporate bond side, and that’s driving people into Treasuries,” said Mary Kane, a money manager at Gannett Welsh & Kotler in Boston. “It will persist a little while.”
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Treasuries Advance Most in 8 Months on Yield Appeal
By Daniel Kruger and Cordell Eddings Oct 1, 2014 2:31 PM PT
Treasuries gained the most in more than eight months as yields higher relative to most Group of Seven nations increased demand from investors worldwide concerned global growth is stalling.
Benchmark 10-year notes yielded almost the most versus their German counterparts since 1999 after the dollar touched a two-year high versus the euro yesterday. The European Central Bank may detail its plan to buy asset-backed securities tomorrow amid slowdowns in Germany in France. Stocks tumbled, pushing the Russell 2000 Index into a correction, and bolstering the haven appeal of U.S. government securities.
“We have this quest for growth and central banks are unable to produce it,” said Richard Gilhooly, an interest-rate strategist in New York at TD Securities Inc., one of 22 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. “We have a global deflationary situation developing.”
The U.S. 10-year yield fell 10 basis points, or 0.10 percentage point, to 2.39 percent as of 5 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader data. It’s the biggest drop since Jan. 23. The 2.375 percent security rose 29/32, or $9.06 per $1,000 face amount, to 99 28/32.
U.S. 10-year notes yielded 1.48 percentage points more than their German counterparts after reaching 1.57 on Sept. 17, the most since June 1999. They were 1.85 percentage points higher than those of Japanese peers, up from 0.63 percentage point in May 2012.
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I’ve tiptoed back into stocks. Too soon for safety’s sake?