Bits Bucket for October 8, 2014
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Buying a house is like getting a tapeworm that will never stop being hungry for your time and your money. Realtors never tell you that, because realtors are liars.
yes, buying a overpriced house is the worse thing that can happen bc you are stuck with it for 30 years and if you buy at the peak, you may never gain any equity. Unless you just walk away then you lose the down payment and gain bad credit.
Dump the house for whatever it will fetch and hold onto your dollars. You’re going to need every last penny.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-millennials-want-in-a-home-2014-09-15
What millennials want in a home…but can’t afford…
Sandy!
Ind. woman lives 8 years for free in forgotten house
Jeff Swiatek, The Indianapolis Star 8:46 a.m. EDT September 22, 2014
INDIANAPOLIS — Lisa Hardy has many of the personal items associated with having a home to call your own: wind chimes on the front porch, a vegetable garden out back, children romping about.
What she doesn’t have is a deed, or a mortgage or a rental contract with her name on it.
For the past eight years, the mother of three children has lived for free in a three-bedroom house that has belonged to no one — at least no one who’s claimed it.
No landlord or out-of-state bank has ever shown up to demand rent from Hardy. And the fact that property taxes went unpaid didn’t seem to matter.
Swamped with thousands of homes abandoned by their owners, the city never got around to selling hers at a tax sale. And buying the place was also out of the question. Hardy couldn’t begin to sort out the liens, litigation and past due taxes on her house.
So as the years ticked by, Hardy lived in the 1,490-square-foot house as if her name were on the title. She tended to the small yard, paid for utilities and a security system, and did one other thing.
“I thanked God every single day,” she said. “There’s not one day I haven’t thanked the good Lord for the opportunity to live here without rent.”
http://www.usatoday.com/…/2014/09/22/woman-lives-in-house-eight-years-rent-free/16038393/ - 294k -
Heh, got a buddy who has been doing the same thing for five years. Decided to default, been there ever since. Place is so far underwater, a coral reef has started to form.
He pays the utilities, keeps the place up. Every once in a while some property preservation person rolls by and takes a few pics of the exterior.
Sandy!
Man Willing to Swap Detroit Home for an iPhone 6
Olivia B. Waxman @OBWax
Oct. 7, 2014
Realtor tells local news he may want an iPhone Plus, but that’s negotiable
A Detroit man who is having trouble selling his home is reportedly willing to trade it in for an iPhone 6 or a 32GB iPad, according to his realtor, FOX 2 reports.
“It’s a real listing,” realtor Larry Else tells FOX 2, as the theme to The Price Is Right plays in the background. “It sounds like he wants the premium version [iPhone 6 Plus], but I’m sure that he’s willing to negotiate.”
time.com/3478199/trade-iphone6-for-detroit-house/ - 227k -
Portland, OR Sale Prices Crumble 13% YoY; Sellers Slash Prices
http://www.zillow.com/or-97221/home-values/
Any chance the recent stock market volatility will spill over into real estate? It would warm my heart to see smug come-lately real estate investors lose their shirts in the final capitation stage of the Housing Bubble.
Warm your heart? Haters like you don’t have a heart to warm.
Hookers like you have a part to warm, but it ain’t your heart.
Hooker!
Sandy!
I don’t get the “Sandy!” joke - I assume it isn’t referencing “Grease.”
“I assume it isn’t referencing “Grease.”
No, Region I
We knew this was going to happen:
—————-
(CNN Money) Wal-Mart is eliminating health benefits for about 30,000 employees to control its rising health care costs. The cut applies to part-timers who work fewer than 30 hours a week, Wal-Mart — about 2% of the company’s U.S. workforce…
Employees who lost the Wal-Mart coverage option would now be eligible for government subsidies on Obamacare exchanges. That could work out to a better deal, especially for lower-paid employees.
—————-
Is anybody keeping a running tally of firms that are dumping their health costs on Obamacare?
Employees who lost the Wal-Mart coverage option would now be eligible for government subsidies on Obamacare exchanges.
File under “Subsidies are always reaped by someone other than the stated recipient”
Hey, it’s a business decision.
Walmart didn’t make the rules, they’re just following them.
What a surprise! Rules are set up so Walmart and other can save millions of dollars so Walmart (and others) follow these rules.
Obama is hope and change for Walmart…
He emancipated their indentured servants.
This is the current image above the headline on the Drudge Report, it is the word Ebola with the letter o replaced by the Obama campaign logo:
http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608031553965526461&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0
Folks, here I’m in my mid forties and I think I made a bad decision when I was 25 to join a job that doesn’t offer pension. Now I’m feeling the mistake I did when I see people retiring at 55 and waiting for their pension plans to kick in at 60 or 65. I think I still have time to move to a job that will give pension. Most formulas I’ve seen would give a pension of close to $3500 per month which is substantial when we have no liabilities at that age.
I once thought that screw the pension plans and I’ll buy and rent 3-4 properties that would pay for my pension but that doesn’t look viable in the current RE scenario.
What companies would you all suggest? Shall I look for a job with the Federal Govt? I’m around DC area. Help please before I get old with no money.
Those law enforcement pensions are mostly just windfalls that were not the same when you were entering the workplace or making your decisions more than 20 years ago. In CA they gave away the store to public employees in the late 90s. Before that it was much more reasonable.
Talk to me in 10 years when those pensions have gone bust and benefits have been cut way back.
Dump the house.
A 45 year old white dude looking for a job with a pension??
Like doing what? Not even the government is going to hire you to pull guard duty in Syria…
I’ve a decent job now and it pays close to 140K but I don’t have a pension plan. Moreover, I can retrain myself to get new skills in IT that are in demand and even a GS13 job in Fed would pay close to 100K. Is it worth the move to take paycut but pension would be there (or maybe not in future).
Martin — why not look into Roth’s, traditional IRAs, etc? Sounds like you could do better saving on the side (especially with maxing out tax-deferred options) off $140K than by downsizing your pay by $40K to a GS13 job.
So you are making $140K a year and are worried about a pension? You can’t put away $50K a year on that salary? Give me a break.
O.K., so go take a government job for $45K a year and get a pension.
Bingo
Maybe do like I did. Downsize everything. Live on 20%. Be debt free. Date a beautiful redhead who has her own money.
The downsizing only seems painful or impossible until you actually do it. Live like you were retired now. Millions of people do because they don’t have the income you do. It takes some time to arrange this but In twenty years you will have saved enough to live for another 40 years.
Avoid risk. Buying stocks and houses is not saving. If the wave hits the beach while you are making these preps, you will be ahead of 99% of the rest, especially ahead of those that think they will get their “pension” or cash in their “investments”. For your whole life, the biggest credit expansion in history has been building. When it contracts, the world is going to look very different from anything you’ve ever seen. JMO.
Avoid IT jobs. Life can be fun if you let it.
“So you are making $140K a year and are worried about a pension? You can’t put away $50K a year on that salary? Give me a break.”
My thoughts exactly. Cry me a river.
I’m saving some. But that 4K per month without any worries as pension for lifetime is decent money.
@Blue Skye
I would love to quit IT totally and move into a different profession but I would have to start again at a lower salary. But I might do that as IT has given me high BP and the risk of competing with millennials for the same jobs and H-1Bs etc. I should probably shine my resume and start looking for maybe GS11 jobs with Fed that require Master degree and start again.
That would give me pension plus I can get out of IT nonsense.
A 45 year old white dude looking for a job with a pension??
Gee, I didn’t see Martin mention his color.
If you go to work for the Fed gubmint, beware of layoffs and furloughs and gubmint shutdowns!
Taking a $40K pay cut for 20 years so that you can have a $36K pension for 20 years? I think you’re being sarcastic.
I think you’re being sarcastic.
Or maybe just math-challenged.
I bet he’s thinking more like this
Taking a $40K pay cut for 10 years so that you can have a $36K pension for 30 years.
Cactus, you are right. I’m starting to apply for Federal jobs now. That itself is going to be hard to get as I’ve heard that one should know someone inside to get in unless my skills are really unique. To get a Fed job will be another uphill task but I’ll keep trying.
I don’t think 10yrs of service gets you to that $3K/mo pension… It is normally a percentage times years of service. Those people whose pensions you are admiring probably had 30yrs of service, not 10.
Does a $40K/yr pay cut for 10yrs make sense when traded for a $12K/yr pension for 30yrs?
“To get a Fed job will be another uphill task but I’ll keep trying”
Hint: USAJobs = Grand Coulee Dam. They have a difficult time hiring because there’s not much happening out in the middle of nowhere. But, it’s a foot in the door. Do 3 to 5 years in purgatory, and you can transfer to another fed job back in the real world.
What places would you recommend that people don’t want to go and I would stand a chance. Here in DC area it just seems like impossible to even get an interview.
“What places would you recommend that people don’t want to go and I would stand a chance.”
What skill set do you bring to the table?
Just got a notice in the mail that my HSA coverage insurance is going up $70 PER MONTH starting in Jan!!!! AUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHH!!!!
34 hours per week is now the average for non-supervisory employees in the US. Something like 17 million more people who do not have full time jobs than when the SHTF.
It’s a depression and it’s just getting started. Don’t borrow.
34 hours per week is now the average for non-supervisory employees in the US. Something like 17 million more people who do not have full time jobs than when the SHTF.
It’s a depression and it’s just getting started. Don’t borrow.
What was the average hours per week the SHTF - 35?
Well Mikey it was 34. I had to look it up. Oops! It was close to 39 about 40 years ago. Still, don’t be in debt!
Still, don’t be in debt!
That’s nearly impossible. For example, every day that I use electricity I accumulate debt to the electric company.
So maybe the s— started hitting the fan around 40 years ago.
Hold onto your dollars and stay out of debt. You’re going to need every penny you can.
“every day that I use electricity I accumulate debt to the electric company…”
That’s not being in debt. You have the money and get a bill. Go pay it. Don’t put it on your credit card.
Looks like more taxpayer subsides fro the biggest welfare queen in the US>
…And the FSA just grew by another 30K.
Speak for yourself, honey.
Oh, and find a gainful profession. Working in real estate will never feel like a real job.
Sour grapes.
The Housing Hooker.
Sandy!!
Bernanke turned down for refi. It’s okay, new HUD Chief Castro has his back
Http://www.dallasnews.com/business/residential-real-estate/20141007-new-hud-chief-castro-is-ready-to-start-pushing-homeownership.ece
That link doesn’t appear to be working try again:
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/residential-real-estate/20141007-new-hud-chief-castro-is-ready-to-start-pushing-homeownership.ece
“The markets learned tough lessons when the housing bubble burst six years ago about loose credit and an overemphasis on turning renters into buyers. But with homeownership in retreat to levels not seen since 1995, Castro, after a couple of months on the job, says the pendulum has swung too far.”
Nobody on the Hill or Wall street gives a chit what Julián Castro says or thinks; newbie “yum yum boi” just takes orders.
Bernanke is a dissembling dishonest liar shill. That never happened or he is leaving a big part out. Probably just a pure Bullshart lie. These guys don’t care whether it is the truth or not as long as it is what they are paid to hawk and what the audience wants to hear. And now it will get repeated as fact over and over like is happening in this article.
He must have checked the box on the application that asked whether he was a Master of the Universe wrong.
yellen will take the fall
smelly yelly
Actually if you look into it, you’ll notice a history of Fed chiefs playing a game of “pass the trash” with their successors. Volcker had the joyless duty of extinguishing raging inflation. Greenspan stepped into a junk bond crash soon to be followed by Black Monday. Bernanke oversaw the first wave of Housing Bubble collapse and the Fall 2008 financial panic.
Time will tell what history has in store for Janet Yellen.
Right, the truth is what they say it is.
The truth is housing prices are cratering once again.
Probably just a pure Bullshart lie ??
Maybe but probably not…I think Ben may have hit the nail on the head…He may be upside down and trying to refinance to a lower rate…Appraisal came in lower than the mortgage so Ben needs to bring cash to the table to get the loan and maybe he is unwilling to do that….
OR
It could be because he is now self employed and does not have the three years of earnings record thats required to qualify for the loan…
My guess is the loan rejection is the truth for one of the two above reasons…
The fact that our central banker was a debt donkey means that we are pretty much FUBAR.
Yep. Is it too early to assume the crash position?
Capitol Report
The IMF’s $3.8 trillion warning to the Fed
Published: Oct 8, 2014 9:00 a.m. ET
By Steve Goldstein
D.C. bureau chief
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A rocky exit from low interest rates by the Federal Reserve risks $3.8 trillion of losses to global bond portfolios, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday in its latest global financial stability report.
The IMF was at pains to emphasize that it’s not forecasting such losses, but it did point out that tightening in the past has been a key trigger for declines in fixed-income markets.
The IMF came up with the $3.8 trillion figure by assuming a rapid adjustment that causes term premiums to go back to historic norms and credit risk premiums to normalize, with moves of 100 basis points each. That would trigger losses by more than 8%, which could “trigger significant disruption in global markets.”
The IMF also pointed to the low volatility term structure for the S&P 500, suggesting equities also may be underpricing the risk of higher volatility in the future.
It’s these concerns that have led the Federal Reserve to increase their communication to the public, through quarterly press conferences as well as interest-rate and economic forecasts.
Observers both inside and outside the Fed expect the first rate hike to occur in the middle of 2015. But there remains considerable debate over the pace of subsequent hikes.
Meanwhile, while the IMF warned about the Fed lifting interest rates, they also note the risks of the Fed and other central banks keeping rates low for so long. The IMF pointed out that asset price appreciation, spread compression and recovery low volatility have occurred simultaneously across broad asset classes and countries.
………………………………………………………..
We Want to Hear from You
24 comments
Rob Smith 1 minute ago
The Fed can manipulate interest rates, but it cannot “control” them. Not in the long term. Markets are based on the idea that buyers and sellers will both operate in their own self-interests. When the Fed attempts to manipulate those interests, the unintended consequences on both sides of the buy/sell line will become more severe as the Fed’s manipulations increase.
J Lee 1 minute ago
DOH. Anyone who purchases bonds already knows the interest rate risk heading into his potential investment. A healthy market cannot exist without risk and loss. Central Banks across the world have dug themselves and world governments into a gaping hole.
Aaron Cohn 20 minutes ago
Why wouldn’t the fed want to exit the bonds bought during QE before raising rates? By doing this in reverse order, seems the fed is taking some of these losses right to its own balance sheet.
Kathy Lee 25 minutes ago
um….who cares if the fed looses money on their bonds. They can easily just print what is lost.
No news here.
beaver dams 16 minutes ago
@Kathy Lee Probably the Fed can’t afford more expensive paper and ink.
The Fed can manipulate interest rates, but it cannot “control” them. Not in the long term. Markets are based on the idea that buyers and sellers will both operate in their own self-interests. When the Fed attempts to manipulate those interests, the unintended consequences on both sides of the buy/sell line will become more severe as the Fed’s manipulations increase.
I wonder how this guy came to this conclusion.
Bernanke claiming he’d been “turned down” when trying to refi is a bullshart lie. He’s clearly got enough cash to bring to the table if necessary and any bank on earth would waive all those two years income requirements.
That’s like me claiming I was turned down when I wanted to buy that new Lexus for 10 grand.
Bernake wants the new Lexus for 5K
Apologies if this has already been posted, but this is a great piece on civil asset forfeiture. Excellent comedy clip on the issue by John Oliver, who I had never heard of until I read the piece and saw the video.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-07/common-people-do-not-carry-much-currency-%E2%80%93-how-police-justify-stealing-american-citi
He was one of Jon Stewart’s apprentices.
Brilliant man.
If every citizen in the USA watched Stewart just once a week, the country would be in better shape.
Word.
Nobody cared about asset forfeiture, as long as the “right” people got their assets forfeited.
Government has seized all of the assets they can easily seize from the “right” people. They are now moving on to the typical working stiff who can’t afford a high priced lawyer.
And he’ll bed over and take it with no lube. Why? Because, like the frog in the gradually boiling pot, he has been acclimated to it.
It started with traffic tickets. Nobody has explained to me yet why getting a $300 ticket for driving 62 in a 55 zone on a four lane road in the middle of nowhere isn’t “cruel and unusual” punishment.
Government is just like every other business in the Big PX. Whole departments dedicated to research. What research?
Figuring out how crappy your service/product can get, charging the maximum amount possible, while keeping it below the “pitchforks” threshold.
It started with traffic tickets. Nobody has explained to me yet why getting a $300 ticket for driving 62 in a 55 zone on a four lane road in the middle of nowhere isn’t “cruel and unusual” punishment.’
they have a feild day with our H1B Chinese drivers around here. Some even try to fight it get smacked down by the judge and think its as bad as China ..
Funny to hear them complain or to think it was different here
Some even try to fight it get smacked down by the judge and think its as bad as China ..
They probably think it is worse than in China, cause in China they could bribe the judge or someone in the prosecutor’s office for $100 to make it go away…
Article for the warmist warmers:
“Daily flooding caused by high tides will occur in the District and Annapolis within three decades as sea levels continue to rise due to global warming, a new study says.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/when-sea-levels-rise-high-tides-will-spill-into-communities-far-more-often-study-says/2014/10/07/57723596-4d8c-11e4-babe-e91da079cb8a_story.html
How high-cost housing conquered D.C. in a single decade
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/07/how-high-cost-housing-has-overtaken-dc-in-a-single-decade/
District of Crater
Another reason to not use Fakebook:
“Facebook Inc will start targeting users with advertisements based on their most recent location, as the social-networking company expands the use of member’s data to generate revenue.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-07/facebook-to-let-advertisers-target-users-by-location.html
FB = Boob Bait for the sheeple.
Why anyone would want to be an unpaid-for asset of Mark Zuckerberg is way beyond me.
Citizens of the world, Mark Zuckerberg and his bank account thank you!
Not to mention he’s one of the creeps behind the scamnasty push.
I have never joined Facebook, and I never will, nor will I ever have a Google+ account, or any “public profile.” I will give up the computer before I do something so stupid.
Agree. Sooner or later will come the black swan that affects these account holders/profilers in a really negative way and then the mass whining will start.
A generation of degreed but broke @ss loosers, article highlights:
“The share of families headed by people younger than the age of 40 with school debt grew to almost 39 percent last year from about 22 percent in 2001, according to the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances.
For about one in four college graduates, the economic benefits of attending school hardly outweigh its costs, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found in an analysis last month.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-08/millennials-become-most-educated-u-s-age-group-due-to-recession.html
No “pent-up demand” for $500,000 starter homes here
My own guess has been one in three, so one in four sounds reasonable. One thing to keep in mind is that large majority of Americans who get bachelors degrees get them from state universities. Anyone who’s concerned about their taxes getting wasted should realize that a good quarter of the amount that the states spend on their universities is a waste.
If you ever suspected the NAR is a cult, you are correct
Growing numbers of real-estate agents are hiring coaches, some of whom attain a guru-like status and garner followings in the thousands:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/top-coaches-for-real-estate-agents-1412265709
Too stupid to understand why they have empty pockets. Dummies.
Rajnealtor.
Although Realtors possess a sort of an animal cunning when it comes to wringing commissions out of their marks they really aren’t very bright.
They can fall prey to other sociopaths slightly smarter then them, like these “coaches”.
Fat People Earn Less Than Thin Ones
http://www.businessinsider.com/obesity-affects-salary-and-job-choices-2014-10
“Fat People Earn Less Than Thin Ones”
Okay, just tax the thinnies to level the field, and apply the proceeds toward SNAP cards.
Thought I’d chime in here with a little rant about the home improvement industry. Yes, I’m a homeowner, no I’m not underwater, and yes I believe in the housing bubble. So lets’ not debate the obvious….
The whole “home renovation” industry is a scam. I’ve hired so many different contractors to do little things and only two things are in common: 1) they never show up when they say they will, and 2) I often wonder how these people survive.
Case-in-point, hired a contractor to do some yard work. Had a few trees removed and needed the wood hauled away. Paid him $400 for that work, should have take 3 people 30 minutes to move it, along with a couple other things. He spends $350 renting a skid steer to move the wood. I asked him how he intended to make money making decisions like that. He just said he needed to save “time”.
Another local “lumber store” set me up with a contractor to install laminate hardwood floors. Guy talked a big game, would be over 2 PM Thursday. Texted me about 1 saying he was on his way. He never showed up so I hope he’s still not lost. Never heard from him again. For grins, I had a contractor affiliated with Home Depot come give me a quote. They wanted $3500 roughly including materials. Local buddy recommended one of his contractor buddies who knows floor to come over and do it. Guy said he normally works for $300/day, but with floors he would do the work for $3500 and I’d buy all the materials. So he way overpriced home depot, and priced himself out of a job. I ended up taking a day off work and doing it all myself in 12 hours, spent about $1200 on materials. It was easier than painting walls.
more to come….
“The whole “home renovation” industry is a scam. I’ve hired so many different contractors to do little things and only two things are in common: 1) they never show up when they say they will, and 2) I often wonder how these people survive.”
Heh. I can relate. Are you in Florida?
My faves are the older guys with the strawberry noses, red eyes and slight tremors.
Never give any of these guys money up front “for materials”. Go with them yourself and pay for the materials, then let ‘em have at it. Some of them do know what they’re doing, between benders. But you have to keep them on a short leash. And yank it every once in a while.
Yep, FL.
I learned that the hard way. Paid $2800 up front for some materials and labor, thankfully on a credit card. Laborer absconded without delivering - thankfully I was able to initiate a chargeback that “big bank” stood behind even when the laborer disputed my dispute. Never again..
And can’t hardly buy new either. The workmanship around here is just piss-poor, there is no pride in doing a good job. That’s why I bought an older home with solid bones.
Best way to hire any contractor is through a referral from friends or family…
“Paid him $400 for that work…He spends $350 renting a skid steer…”
I have a hard time believing this, but if true I almost feel sorry for the guy. Perhaps you assumed the skid steer was $350.
I asked him how much it cost to rent it. Specifically because he drove over my sprinklers and destroyed 3 of them, so I was inquiring as to why he was using a skid steer at all. Then I asked him “why” and he said he was tight on time.
There’s a lot of people in this country who:
- Haven’t/can’t/won’t go to college or technical training
- Can’t pass a drug/alcohol screen
- Aren’t here legally, and/or
- Have a criminal record
They all gotta go somewhere.
I’ve hired so many different contractors…: 1) they never show up
I don’t hire anyone until they show up.
City broke, state broke, nation broke, world broke - all upside down there folks - all upside down.
look on the bright side, at least the gun ban in chicago is keeping your city safe
3 dead and another 30+ wounded last weekend.
And sadly it doesn’t even make the front page of the pathetic Tribune anymore.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
I remember press reports stating he was such a badass, how he’d crush anyone who’d cross him, etc, etc. But it seems like he’s really a whimpering political simp, paralyzed by the maelstrom swirling around him.
Giuliani fixed an even bigger cesspool city in epic fashion. He was the first and he proved it could be done. The template is there, but Emanuel, for his reputed badassery, is unable to get it done.
Giuliani didn’t fix shyeat.
Giuliani’s brilliance in cleaning up New York was in getting the citizenry involved in something small, something they could actually do, which was getting the shakedown windshield sprayers who accosted stopped motorists off the streets.
And he went up from there.
I’m not here to debate the good or the bad of Giuliani. Just that instead of overwhelming people with “We’re gonna clean up City Hall”, he focused on the small stuff that was within people’s grasp. And then worked as a team with them to accomplish this one thing, and once accomplished, got them to take a look at what else they could do.
This is the problem right now with the banksters. TOO BIG TO FAIL! TOO BIG TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT! The media is complicit in this of course, because it serves them to drive people into apathy.
But, you know, people can cancel their Facebook accounts.
Come to NYC and live and work inside for 6 months then tell me how wonderful it is.
I was just referring to the murder rate: http://www.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/2hw8kj/chart_showing_murder_rate_in_new_york_city_since/
3 dead and another 30+ wounded last weekend.
And sadly it doesn’t even make the front page of the pathetic Tribune anymore ??
What do you think it would be like if we had another great depression with 30% unemployment ??
What do you think it would be like if we had another great depression with 30% unemployment ??
Check your facts; 75% of able-bodied were employed during GD-I.
In other words, just about the same rate that is employed right now.
Check your facts; 75% of able-bodied were employed during GD-I
Do you mean 75% of able-bodied men?
Is it too early to buy the dip on the QE3 unwind?
My guess is that the period of extraordinary volatility is just beginning, but I am horrible at these market timing exercises.
Did you buy the dead cat bounce?
My guess is that the period of extraordinary volatility is just beginning ??
I would agree with hat but not because of us…Because of world events…World economies are starting to teeter…Add to the mix terror, Ebola, waring and what you get is fear…
Well, gold is going up at least…
Gold = fear play (likewise for Treasurys…)
It would be outrageously funny if not true. Ready for another round of Chicago Politics hoverin’ over our nation - you pick two - hillary or Lucky Luis. How low can we go here folks?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/7/immigration-activists-court-luis-gutierrez-for-pre/
IMO Chicago political critter futures are crashing.
If you look at the way the Prez has ruled the last 6 years, it’s strangely similar to the Chicago machine political moves.
POTUS did a fine job with what he was handed. congress failed by spending 6 yrs running for reelection.
RIP, Paul Revere Dick (that’s actually his real name). Thanks for the tunes, bro’.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/raiders-leader-paul-revere-dead-at-76-20141005
12 shot on Tues alone….
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/10/08/12-wounded-in-city-shootings-on-tuesday/?utm_medium=VPH&utm_source=topvph_news&utm_campaign=592410
The Texas ebola patient has died.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-08/americas-first-ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan-has-died
In other news, subprime is contained.
thomas eric duncan died from ebola this morning
forward
Now they can start decontaminating the entire hospital . . .
You mean burn it to the ground?
depressing article previews what is coming to usa soon:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/world/life-death-and-careful-routine-fill-the-day-at-a-liberian-ebola-clinic.html
$1,000. per hour for his care and without insurance…
Third world poverty - Check
Third world marxism - Check
Third world disease - Check
Brought to you by the college indoctrinated progressive yuppies running our nation. All according to plan and the dream of every Alinsky disciple to pass through our systems of higher education for the last 60 years.
#FundamentalTransformationOfAmerica
I see attorneys running our country and we started the great decline in 2000. Funny, how a 13 yr war at $8 million a day, has long standing consequences. We tried to warn ya.
“Funny, how a 13 yr war at $8 million a day, has long standing consequences. We tried to warn ya.”
Yeah, I guess fundamentally transforming the united states into a third world marxist system makes it all better. Thanks.
I forgot a couple more:
Third world class division - Check
Third word chaos - Check
#FundamentalTransformationOfAmerica
Chicago can’t even burn down itself!! Sheesh - another 350 k shot down the proverbial crap hole. Just laughable!!!
http://www.chicagonow.com/dewonked/2014/10/350k-in-tax-dollars-cant-light-commemorative-chicago-fire/
Another entry from the Charles Hughes Smith “the country sucks because everybody else in the country that isn’t me sucks” file…….
http://tinyurl.com/me5jjqh
For every clueless Republican, there is an equally clueless liberal.
Linky no workie
The Center for Disease Control doesn’t understand why the suicide rate for male 50-somethings is double the rate of 2000.
http://tinyurl.com/c3xw6fr
Maybe they should read the “Comments” section to help figure it out.
X-GS, Hope you are doing well in Ks. I used to live in Hutchinson and am considering moving back given the lower cost of living and less insane housing market. Given your skills, you should check with the Siemens wind turbine factory for employment. They are hiring again and are in need of people in various disciplines. Your experience with jet engines should translate well over to this technology. Just an fyi in case you are looking to branch out from your core skill.
Hmm…… you think the dopers in CO have an affect on this?
Goon, Mikey, InColorado? What do you think?
This from Investment Research Dynamics…
Census Bureau Worker Blows The Whistle On The Employment Report
October 8, 2014Financial Markets
When I spoke with this whistleblower earlier this year as part of my investigation of Census, she told me that hundreds of interviews that go into the Labor Department’s unemployment rate and inflation surveys would miraculously be completed just hours before deadline. John Crudele, NY Post – LINK
It’s pretty much been accepted for many years now that the economic data being reported by the Government is unreliable and fraudulently manipulated. Toxicity + toxicity does not equal purification. Not only does the Government manipulate the data to suit its needs – like reporting a sub-6% unemployment rate a month before mid-term national elections – but the data itself is one big fraud.
A whitleblower from the Denver Census Bureau office has opened up to the NY Post’s John Crudele. I’m sure she took the story first to the Denver Post. But the Denver Post is nothing more than a megaphone for whatever news the powers that be want the hoi polloi to ingest. For instance, the Denver Post did not even report the story on the Goldman Sachs/Fed tapes.
At any rate, I encourage everyone to read the article linked at the top. In a testament to the complete criminality that has engulfed our political and economic system, I’m sure this story will be swept under the rug and this whistleblower will be silenced.
The oldest icon in American department/catalogue retail shopping, Sears, is on its way to bankruptcy. And the Fed continues to prop up the stock market while corporate insiders unload their shareholdings in record numbers. There is a collapse coming – it’s just a matter of time. But have fun and don’t worry about what you can’t prevent. And get ready accept the implementation of a totalitarian regime that rivals that of the Third Reich.
Seriously, you cannot be shocked about unemployment numbers being BS.
I think that you should just disregard this guy entirely. He thinks that the decline of Sears is going to lead to something resembling the Third Reich. He’s just a clown.
Huh. There’s that AIG trial going on right now. Not getting front-page coverage but it’s interesting stuff. There does actually seem to be a Fed “Doomsday Book” - and top Wall Street insiders have to know what’s in it, given the Revolving Door:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/10/07/feds-doomsday-book-has-day-in-court/
Well the Fed just made “dovish” statements and gold is up about 1% “because of it.”
Gold prices suffered on the 20 year dovishness by the Fed from 1980 to 2000. So there is a lot of short memories. With this “dovishness” the institutions will hold onto their bonds and their dividend stocks and NOT want any alternative assets.
Gold prices suffered from 2011 to current, based on the low / no interest rates.
This is a lesson I’m trying to teach - but it’s all in the form of graphs. Ten year note and federal funds from 1970 to now versus the PoG.
I expect gold to drop below $1100 in the months ahead with continued “dovishness”
You can expect a lot more than that when cascading defaults start leaking out of the Chinese “miracle”.
Fasten your seat belt!
Music to my ears:
http://www.reit.com/news/articles/reits-lose-ground-september-continue-lead-broader-market
Buying ETF’s that are Reverse REIT’s are going to be the key to me purchasing a home in a few years.
Hope the real estate market starts to burn to the ground over the next 12 months.
“Hope the real estate market starts to burn to the ground over the next 12 months.”
This.
There is bubble porn unlimited now available at the Financial Times of London, for the price of a subscription.
Market Bubbles
FT series
Bubble Alert
Speculative mania, fraud, or merely overpriced assets: this series examines the nature of bubbles, and delves into some of the more frothy areas of the market
Oct 7, 2014 GLOBAL ECONOMY
Irish central bank to impose mortgage cap
Pedestrians walk across the road and past a sightseeing bus and automobiles in Dublin
©Bloomberg
Dublin residential property prices have risen 25% in a year
Sep 9, 2014 The Short View from MARKETS
Bubbles burst regardless of sentiment
Investors should be wary of taking comfort from the wrong sources
Toy house balancing on top of tower made of wooden bricks
©Digital Vision/Getty
Aug 29, 2014 PERSONAL FINANCE
Six ways to cool the housing market
Policy prescriptions to bring UK house prices back to earth
©Bloomberg
Aug 27, 2014 MARKETS
Central bankers face ‘confidence bubble’
Quest for sustainable growth must avoid fresh market disruption
The Conch Bay development stands across the river from the Manhattan-inspired Yujiapu financial district in the Tianjin Binhai New Area CBD of Tianjin, China, on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. A replica of Manhattan, complete with Twin Towers, Lincoln Center and what passes for the Hudson River, is under construction 100 miles (161 kilometers) from Beijing. And like New York City in the 1970s, it may need a bailout. Photographer: Sim Chi Yin/Bloomberg
©Bloomberg
Aug 25, 2014 MARKETS
Property bubble is ‘major risk to China’
If this is a turning point, developers have yet to heed it
Aug 22, 2014 MARKETS
Tech race fuels Bitcoin mining bubble
Prices for the latest computer hardware have been chased higher
Alex Wilhelm, a bitcoin miner, is silhouetted as he uses his computer that is set up to mine the crypto-currency at his home in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, March 29, 2014. Wilhelm, one of thousands who use computers to solve complex math problems and get their hands on the digital currency, has 30 remote-controlled servers mining virtual gold in an old brick building in the Austrian countryside. Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Alex Wilhem
©Bloomberg
Selling pressure sends Bitcoin reeling
FT Alphaville A Bitcoin flash crash
Aug 18, 2014 MARKETS
Borrowing costs close to the edge in Europe
Questions over debt valuations as fears of bubble rise
Aug 14, 2014 MARKETS
Coco sell-off unveils high-yield bargains
Average rise of 70 basis points since June
To Let and For Sale signs stand outside properties in Kennington
©Getty
Aug 13, 2014 MARKETS
London house price rally spreads down
Rises are driven by fundamentals rather than speculative fever
A trader walks past a phone hanging off the hook on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange September 27, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2RX83
©Reuters
Aug 11, 2014 COMMENT
Finance: The FICC and the dead
Banks’ once-mighty trading businesses are humbled. Will a return of volatility to the markets revive them?
Aug 11, 2014 The Short View from MARKETS
BuzzFeed inspires listicle of caution
Aug 7, 2014 GLOBAL ECONOMY
Rajan sounds alarm on asset bubbles
RBI chief says world at risk of new crisis
Aug 7, 2014 WORLD
Dublin in urgent need of more housing
‘Ghost estates’ not in areas where people want to live
Aug 4, 2014 MARKETS
Investors blow froth off junk bond market
Is it a blip or a turn in the corporate credit cycle?
Aug 3, 2014 The Last Word from MARKETS
Doomsayers distrust ‘sexy part of market’
Corporate mergers and acquisitions are back with a vengeance
Aug 1, 2014 View from the US from MARKETS
Cocos: return of toxic bubble-era stuff
Jul 30, 2014 MARKETS
Top-rated government bonds defy gravity
Jul 29, 2014 COMMENT
Fear of bubbles hides stagnation danger
A gloomy outlook is that interest rates are low for good reason
Jul 28, 2014 MARKETS
Investors more wary over tech stock run
Jul 25, 2014 MARKETS
Market mania: a guide to hot assets
From spotting the signs to timing your exit, profiting is tricky
Aug 11, 2014 Smart Money from MARKETS
Markets enter ‘Great Frustration’ phase
Economic optimism remains, but valuations are too high
Aug 11, 2014 MARKETS
Ivory Coast helps open up the frontiers
Aug 6, 2014 MARKETS
A critical autumn nears for EM currencies
Carry trade boost will weaken when Fed announces rate moves
Aug 1, 2014 MARKETS
Investors’ junk bond exodus gathers pace
Worst monthly performance in more than a year
Jul 25, 2014 John Authers from MARKETS
Bubbles are forming in the credit market
Auto loans heat up, with emerging market corporate debt also expanding fast
Liberace, Lola and Darrell are the definition of feckless.