Bits Bucket for October 21, 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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Are you suffering from China growth anxiety?
Asian share gains fade after China GDP, Europe could be brighter
By Lisa Twaronite
TOKYO Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:28am EDT
A pedestrian uses his mobile phone as he walks past an electronic board showing the stock market indices of various countries outside a brokerage in Tokyo October 20, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
(Reuters) - Asian shares languished after giving up small gains on Tuesday, as modest relief on data showing the Chinese economy grew slightly more than expected was replaced by lingering concerns of weakening momentum in the world’s second-biggest economy.
European shares might fare better at the open, with financial spreadbetters predicting Britain’s FTSE 100 would open up 0.1 percent, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were each seen up 0.2 percent.
“Today’s session in Europe was set to take a fairly strong lead from the U.S., and open significantly higher this morning, but Chinese Q3 GDP data appears to have taken some of the edge off,” Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
China’s gross national product expanded 7.3 percent between July and September from a year earlier, slightly above expectations but slower than the 7.5 percent clocked in the second quarter.
It was also the weakest growth rate in nearly six years, putting at risk Beijing’s official annual growth target for the first time in 15 years and adding to worries that China is becoming a drag on the global economy.
…
China third-quarter housing sales fall almost 11%
Published: Oct 20, 2014 10:31 p.m. ET
By Esther Fung
SHANGHAI–Housing sales in China in the first three quarters this year fell 10.8% to 4.05 trillion yuan ($661 billion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
Sales were 3.43 trillion yuan in the first eight months of the year–down 10.9% from the same period of 2013.
China has been grappling with a downturn in the property market since the start of the year, as home buyers stay on the sidelines in anticipation of further falls in prices as property developers struggle to pare down high inventories. Average housing prices in September fell for the fifth straight month on a month-over-month basis.
Analysts and investors are concerned about the weakening property market–an important determinant of China’s economic growth–and whether it could result in a hard landing for the world’s second-largest economy.
Sales in September were sluggish too, but property developers have said they are hopeful for a mild rebound in October after the central bank announced a loosening of mortgage rules that would allow more home buyers to qualify for cheaper mortgages.
New construction starts in the January-September period measured by area fell 9.3% to 1.31 billion square meters. This compared with a decline of 10.5% to 1.14 billion square meters in the first eight months.
…
Housing sales are off by 10% but that housing based economy is just surging along at 7% growth! Statistics are incredible (as in not believable).
CostCo gas last night was at $3.199/gal — the lowest I’ve paid in years.
Barron’s Take
Oil’s Slump Won’t Last; Which Stocks to Buy Now
Crude oil – and some oil stocks – are now in a bear market. Why this bad patch is a buying opportunity.
By Thomas Streater
Updated Oct. 20, 2014 11:08 p.m. ET
Don’t look now, but oil has hit a very bad patch.
Crude oil prices have skidded for four straight weeks, and closed lower over eight of the past 10 weeks, taking many oil and energy stocks down with it. In fact, last week’s 4.9% drubbing in Brent crude oil prices was the worst week in more than 18 months, and Brent crude oil is down more than 22% so far this year, a very definition of a bear market.
The capitulation, however, is not a reflection of fundamentals. In fact, this recent sharp sell-off provides a buying opportunity for certain Asian oil stocks. Already, that flight from risk - including oil – in the global markets was reduced late last week when the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis president James Bullard hinted at the possibility that the Fed might again come to the markets’ rescue.
…
“…when the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis president James Bullard hinted at the possibility that the Fed might again come to the markets’ rescue.”
Meanwhile, the chasm between rich and poor continues to grow. There is nothing that will stop these vultures. They’re going to throw their buddies cash, humanity be damned.
In this bipolar world lower gas prices are going to be a shock to the economy. Faux “growth” based on rising prices and debt is vaporizing.
Ben, will a 20% reduction in crude oil prices sink Texas? What was the drop in the 80’s?
Of course not J._Fraud. It will wring out the speculation just like what is occurring with housing right now.
Remember….. Falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels is a major boost to the economy.
Falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels …
… won’t happen. Look at American Homes for Rent. They borrowed money, bought houses cash, fixed a few up, sold the profitable properties for appreciation, rented the rest of the properties out, and promptly passed all the risk on to too-big-to-fail Goldman Sachs in the form of rental-backed securities. So much for the ownership society.
ISTM that investors are doing just fine at the prices as they are now. So why would prices crash? And so what if the renters somehow did get evicted? They trash the house while they live there and will will trash it even more on the way out, necessitating another $30K or so of work to be saleable. You think J6P has that kind of time, cash, or energy? It will be investors who buy the trash fix up, rinse and repeat.
It’s already happening Donk. Even in the District of Crater.
That’s not logical Oxy. Prices are not determined by how much investors like them.
What? How much somebody “likes” something directly determines demand, which directly determines prices. As long as Goldman Sachs “likes” to buy these RBSs, then an investment company will buy houses in order to provide those RBSs for sale.
HBB still has this idea that end-consumers are the only customers, and that if end-consumers can’t afford to buy, then houses don’t get bought. The past few years showed that this is not true.
Donk,
Demand is at 20 year lows, 25 million excess empty houses and prices are falling.
You’re just guessing and hoping now.
I wish I could agree with you Oxide but I trick does not make a trend or a market.
Correct, if houses are too expensive people will not buy them or rent them. If people will not rent them then the AH4R model dies. With millions of excess houses built It is already baked in the cake.
Maybe the bank regulators will help get those stinky RBSs off of Goldman’s hands eventually.
Are they going to start offering loans for rent payments or something?
Thank you guys for input… I think this is a discussion that should be had. From what I can tell, an investor renting out a home and selling RBS up the food chain is not really that different from originating a loan and selling the MBS up the food chain. Both produce demand for houses and that can produce a bubble.
I agree that if houses are too expensive, people will not rent them. However, the AH4R model does NOT die; it simply goes into stasis until prices fall to where people can afford rents. Houses at 2006 prices? Yeah, not gonna work. But houses bought in 2011 seem to cash flow positive. Therefore, why would house prices fall lower than they were in 2011? And yes this one weird trick does seem to make a market. It only takes one comp to set the prices for the block.
Millions of excess houses are useless if they are not located near jobs. People simply cannot commute from Sarasota to Austin, or from Watkins Glen to Reston, VA. I don’t see telecommuting making a dent.
GR, money is fungible, so they are already effectively making loan payments for rent, in the form of credit cards for food or 7-year loans for cars. That frees up cash for rent.
I wanted to start with something from the above that is true and correct in the long run, but I can not find a single point.
You won’t see telecommuting from where you live, because it works in the other direction.
Both produce demand for houses and that can produce a bubble.
There is no demand. Demand is at 20 year lows and falling.
However, the AH4R model does NOT die
Live or die, the model is flawed. Besides, they’ve already announced they’re exiting.
why would house prices fall lower than they were in 2011?
Because 2011 resale housing prices were still 225% higher than long term trend and 2x construction costs(lot, labor, materials and profit)
It only takes one comp to set the prices for the block.
Test it yourself. Put your house on the market at the inflated price you paid and see if you get a contract. You won’t. You know it and so do we.
Millions of excess houses are useless if they are not located near jobs.
They are near jobs so whats your point?
You need to respond to the very fundamentals you seem to be running from.
Well she can’t. It’s a mental meat hook that cannot be wriggled off of. Prices cannot fall below what she paid because, well they mustn’t. Any rent can be carried if we can put groceries on a credit card?
LOL, you can’t telecommute from Watkins Glen to wherever. She knows I’ve been doing this for years, but “you can’t”.
We are in the biggest bubble in history and a 2011 rollback does not resolve it. Not even close.
I hope you’re right. I’m sure there are many places that rents are more reasonable (and therefore more sensible to rent than buy) than Las Vegas, but these are the cards we have been dealt here.
I passed on buying our rental in 2012. LL wanted what he said he owed, much higher than market. Two years paid rent later, for sale signs have sprouted and greed is in the air. All around me: $185K (sold), $188K (sold), $215K (sold), $225K (sold), $269K (asking), $319K (asking). Each listing and sale spurs higher prices. The price I turned down was $150K (which was certainly, at the time, ridiculous.)
The reasons for my hesitation are many and still the same. However, with Mel going into action, rates remaining low, the places around me selling for slightly less than asking and pretty quickly, family circumstances and mainly my high rent, I wonder if it’s worth waiting anymore.
Having grown up in a NYC neighborhood besieged by illegal aliens and having to move repeatedly, I hear Bill when he talks about not being dopey and chaining yourself to one spot.
Adding to my uncertainty - I get at least five new “Price Drop” notices daily; unfortunately they’re reductions from stupid high wishing prices.
This “market” blows.
I hope you’re right. I’m sure there are many places that rents are more reasonable (and therefore more sensible to rent than buy) than Las Vegas, but these are the cards we have been dealt here.
This was addressed to Housing Analyst.
‘How much somebody “likes” something directly determines demand, which directly determines prices.’
Nope. The price depends on both supply and demand. Check out a freshman econ class when you have a chance to do so…you could learn alot!
It was a real crash:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oil_price_1950-2010_(real,_nominal).png
Ben, will a 20% reduction in crude oil prices sink Texas?
I’m thinking more of North Dakota and other frakked fields that are only viable with high oil prices.
Some here have speculated that OPEC is trying to derail the frakking train by flooding the global market with cheap oil. But how long can they do that?
Some here have speculated that OPEC is trying to derail the frakking train by flooding the global market with cheap oil. But how long can they do that?’
yea or punish Russia ? We have seen this before the boom bust.
Looks like another deflation scare is ahead.
“Looks like another deflation scare is ahead.”
Who’s scared? I’m not scared.
I was forwarded a research report from a big bank just recently on this topic. They noted that the “Break Even” price for Eagle Ford was under $50. Bakken was under $70.
There was an article out the other day where they were describing the finances of Saudi Arabia–it becomes very painful if oil prices go too low for too long. I think Saudi Arabia’s “Break Even” for oil prices is higher than the Eagle Ford or Bakken.
Other OPEC countries are even worse off (even more reliant on high oil prices).
In other words, the problem that Saudi Arabia has with playing the monopolist right now is that they shoot the OPEC members in the face fiscally.
Yes, they stop some fracking, but at major cost…and if oil prices go back up (like they want), guess what? The fracking starts right back up again.
I wonder if we might see the breakup of OPEC due to the flood of oil globally.
I think Saudi Arabia’s “Break Even” for oil prices is higher than the Eagle Ford or Bakken.
Interesting … they used to be able to make a profit at $20 a barrel. Perhaps, like Pemex, they have too many freeloaders on the payroll now.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, they probably still make a profit at $20 per barrel (it costs less than $20 to produce a barrel).
Their problem is that the difference between the market price and $20 per barrel is used on government programs for the people, etc.
At $100 per barrel, their government runs a surplus.
At $50 per barrel, their government runs a huge deficit.
Their “break even” (oil revenue/government spending) is $86 according to the IMF.
And oil revenue represents 90% of government spending.
CostCo gas last night was at $3.199/gal — the lowest I’ve paid in years.
I blame Obama
Bush gets credit for this price drop. It’s complicated.
Region VIII
Hope and Change
“The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking to stockpile a year’s worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to prepare for an expected disruption to the supply chain due to an “emergency” event.
A solicitation posted on FedBizOpps entitled Emergency Disaster Event Preparation For Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) details how the federal government is looking to secure face masks, medical gloves, shoe covers, lab coats and coveralls to last one full year with an option for four extra years.
“During emergency/disaster events, the normal supply and distribution channels will most likely be unavailable/or protracted due to the impact of the emergency and the rush of immediate orders,” states the solicitation.
http://www.infowars.com/feds-stockpile-protective-gear-in-expectation-of-emergency-event/
Would you like a SAARS sandwich and an Ebola cocktail and a side of Avian asparagus? A tall glass of West Nile water?
Eat up!
How about a tall glass of Lola’s Ebola Cola. It’s brimming with Lola’s special ingredients and imported from the slums of Washington DC.
Lola’s?
May the odds be ever in your favor Region VIII.
crater
Looks like preparations to import millions more Democrat-on-Arrival (DOA) voters for Comrade Pelosi’s DNC permanent supermajority are proceeding apace. God only knows what “immigration reform” Executive Orders Obama is going to be announcing after the November elections, especially if the Dems get hammered.
http://rt.com/usa/197680-immigration-blank-cards-obama/
Los Angeles Times - Partisans segregate themselves in separate news universes, study finds
Stats about real journalists and non-real journalists, article highlights:
“Nearly half of consistent conservatives (47%) named Fox News as their main source of information about government and politics, and 84% said they got news from the cable channel in the week they were surveyed.
CNN, MSNBC, NPR and the New York Times each were cited by 10% or more of consistent liberals as their chief sources of political and government news.
Consistent liberals overwhelmingly said they distrust Fox, and only 3% of consistent conservatives said they trusted the New York Times or NPR.
Among consistent liberals, about one-quarter said they had stopped talking to or being friends with because of politics. About 1 in 6 of consistent conservatives said the same.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-polarized-media-20141020-story.html
Forward
Who gets their news from Al Jazeera?
ISIS?
Wall Street Journal - Americans’ Gloom Marches Into Second Decade
“When 1,000 potential voters were asked whether they think the nation is on the right or wrong track, 65% of them said the country had taken a wrong turn, and only 25% said the U.S. was on the right path.
The only time the public has felt worse was in October 2008, during the first, deep spasms of the recession. Then, 78% said the nation was on the right track, and only 12% felt good about the country’s direction.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/10/20/americans-gloom-marches-into-second-decade/
Forward
“Americans’ Gloom Marches Into Second Decade”
Finally beginning to doubt Jesus’ return?
Man, they thought they put the messia into the oval office in January 2009. Fools.
And then they elected obama. Obamanism ain’t working out that great!
Kind of an Obama Nation, actually…
“Good morning, Eeyore,” said Pooh.
“Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning, which I doubt,” said he.
Eeyore had it good. Since then the Hundred Acre Wood has been bulldozed and developed into a neighborhood of underwater and foreclosed McMansions.
(May the odds be ever in your favor)
#Ebola Czar Called Overpopulation Top Leadership Issue
October 20, 2014 by Charles C. Johnson
Ebola’s ebola czar called overpopulation the top leadership concern of the world, Gotnews.com has learned.
Democratic operative Ron Klain and his wife, Monica Medina, spoke with a Georgetown interviewer in 2008.
“I think the top leadership challenge issue in our world today is how to deal with the continuing, growing population in the world and all the resource demands it places on the world and burgeoning populations in Africa and Asia that lack the resources to have a healthy, happy life,” Klain said.
“We’ve got to find a way to make the world work for everyone,” Klain said. “Climate change is an issue that impacts [sic] that greatly by making it harder for people to live where they live, by causing disruptions, and lack of resources.”
Klain also cautioned America to stay engaged in the world, a view that might color how he deals with America’s ebola response. “I think that the days when Americans could just be focused on America and not really be engaged in the world are past us. Our economies too dependent on events overseas, our political system is dependent on events overseas.”
gotnews.com/ebola-czar-called-overpopulation-top-leadership-issue/ - 82k -
Yep - Klain desire to be God - that is sadly the issue with libs - they desire utopia here on an earth that had fallen from grace at the beginning of time. Talk about frustration and madness!
Do you really think Africa can support the 4 billion people that are projected to live there before the end of the century?
I agree with him. Overpopulation is at the root of a lot of our problems.
And who there pre tel do you all want to eliminate from the arithmetic of this argument? You?
Soylent green for everyone!!!
I’d start with you, for one.
Strawman. No one is talking about eliminating excess population. That will take care of itself in our graying world, so long as we stop breeding like rabbits.
I would say stupid people overbreeding and voting is the root of our problems.
Please define overpopulation. Overpopulation implies there is an excess. Who are the “excess”. What are the criteria for defining which persons count as “excess”. Who gets to be in charge of that definition? Clearly you think you have some insight in being able to qualify that a portion of our population is “excess”. What is your justification?
You may try to bypass my question and claim that you are talking about the “aggregate”. Fine. If that is the case, and you wish to ignore the human cost of defining human beings as some less than human “thing” called “aggregate” please indicate to me what qualifies turning a human being into an “aggregate”.
Once you can do that, please indicate to me what resource we seem to be running short on. Please use specific numbers, i.e. we have 240 million tons of wheat and we can only produce 300 million tons, and at 9 billion people we will be out.. Something of that nature. Because every stinking lie about overpopulation is based on this generalization garbage intended to turn humans into less than human things that can just be “population managed”.
And as I repeatedly mention to goon, let anyone who thinks its a good policy be the first to step up and free their own space or that of their kids.
Go visit Madagascar. The average family has about six children, down from the sixties when it was about ten children. There is only about 10% of the forest cover left, with the rest being used for farmland now. Fishermen are trying to catch birds because the fish populations have been decimated. It’s an agrarian society with little hope to be competitive in other industries, leading to very low wages and almost no fat people. I’d be very surprised if it lasted another twenty years without a civil war.
This is an article from Breitbart dot com linked from the Drudge Report that was not written by Dianne Feinstein approved real journalists
“analysis suggests that a 10-percent immigrant-induced increase in the supply of a particular skill group reduced the black wage by 4.0 percent, lowered the employment rate of black men by 3.5 percentage points, and increased the incarceration rate of blacks by almost a full percentage point.”
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/10/20/Exclusive-Jeff-Sessions-Democrats-And-Obama-s-Immigration-Policies-Hammer-Black-Workers
Forward
And they thought Obama was going to pay their mortgages and gas for their cars.
Hope and Change
“Obama is President Pariah in these final weeks of the 2014 midterms. Vulnerable Democratic candidates don’t want to be seen with him. Three Democratic senators have run ads distancing themselves from him, and Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democratic Senate candidate in Kentucky, has refused — absurdly — to say whether she voted for Obama. Obama’s support is 40 percent nationally and lower in the Republican states where many of this year’s competitive races are taking place.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-barack-obama-the-pariah-president/2014/10/20/05ffb86e-5890-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html
Forward
Circus barking.
I just filled out my mail in ballot. Where possible, I voted for the libertarian candidate. When no suitable choices were available, I left it blank.
Good Rockstar, Good
Someday I wanna be a rockstar CEO like Czarly Fiorina was!
I go LP when there’s a green to counter
Here the gop = dnc
spender uber allies
New York Times - Steyer Passes Adelson as No. 1 ‘Super PAC’ Donor
“Tom Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund founder who has pledged to spend $50 million of his own money to defeat Republican candidates in Senate and governor’s races this campaign cycle, exceeded that mark in September.
That makes Mr. Steyer the largest super PAC donor, putting him ahead of the casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson, who gave $49.8 million to super PACs during the 2012 campaign.”
And this is why I do not watch TeeVee
And where did Steyer (the hypocrite) make all his money - liberalism is a mental disease!!
Partisanship is the disease, and you are terminal.
Oligarchs have completely captured the Republicrat duopoly.
Percent change in the number of college graduates aged 25 to 34, from 2000 to 2012:
Houston 50%
Nashville 48%
Denver 47%
Austin 44%
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/upshot/where-young-college-graduates-are-choosing-to-live.html
City of Denver or metro Denver?
The article doesn’t say
We need a $1,000 vehicle registration fee for every vehicle brought here from out of state in 2010 or later, too many people here and too many cars on the road
Regards,
Single occupant, two vehicle household who moved here in 2009
I could believe it for the city of Denver, since all the young and pretty things, degreed or not, want to live in or near downtown. Go someplace like Brighton or Superior and you don’t see so many college grads there.
Libel or free speech? Woman posts sign ‘outing’ neighbor for owning a gun
Some anti-gun activists are worried about the safety of everyone but gun owners
by Carmine Sabia | Bizpac Review | October 21, 2014
Some anti-gun activists are worried about the safety of everyone but gun owners.
Just ask Matthew Halleck.
Halleck, of Olmsted County, Minn., takes his two daughters to and from Harriet Bishop Elementary in Rochester every day, reported ABC News 6. Their safety, he says, is his No 1 concern.
As part of keeping them safe, Halleck carries a concealed firearm with a legal permit.
“I’m going to protect my children any way I can,” Halleck told News 6. This quote doesn’t make much sense by itself. I know what he means, or think I know what he means, but it’s not crystal clear. It doesn’t have to be there.
Unfortunately for Halleck, one nosy neighbor, Kimberly Edson, decided it was her duty to un-conceal the weapon by placing a sign with Matthew’s picture on it across the street from the school. It reads: “This man carries a loaded gun around your children every day.”
“Since we don’t have a way to stop him, we felt it was important to notify the neighborhood and the parents that there is an armed man in their presence,” she told News 6. “The first couple days of school he had it very visible, we saw it and were quite concerned.”
Edson notified the police of Halleck’s weapon and was informed he is within his legal rights to carry it as long as he’s not on school property.
Halleck also called the police concerning Edson’s sign, which was briefly removed before being allowed back.
“He has a Second Amendment right to carry the gun, I have my First Amendment right to say that I don’t like it,” she said.
While both contend they are acting in the best interest of the kids and community the fight is far from over. Edson told News 6 she is planning on posting more signs to express her anti-gun sentiment and Halleck said he is considering a libel lawsuit against Edson.
242 comments
Mike Oxsmelz • 8 minutes ago
Find out what Medications she is on, post a sign saying “this woman drives a 3 thousand pound vehicle while under the influence of Xanex, through school zones.
Libel or free speech?
A statement has to be false to be libel. Put Bizpac Review on the list of websites to avoid.
Where’s Liberace?
“the list of websites to avoid”
Maybe you should ask Ben Jones to appoint you as the HBB Czar Of Websites To Avoid?
He’d have to provide me assistants. There appear to be hundreds of these sites with new ones popping up every week.
Is it really true? Lots of people have a permit but rarely carry…
Now imagine this situation in a reverse of left wing tyranny.
Public signs of women who have killed their babies, homosexuals, etc.
The outrage…
Is it really true? Lots of people have a permit but rarely carry…
The text above from Mr. Phony says that he carries a concealed firearm. If that’s not true, that would be a different reason to disregard the website.
Better yet, post a picture of her and her flabby arms with a note that says “Danger this woman is carrying around flabby arms that may cause an upset stomach, nausea or vomiting if viewed in broad daylight”
Businessweek - Obamacare Insured Millions, but That Doesn’t Mean They Like It
“You can give the people health insurance, but you can’t make ‘em like it. Favorable views of the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. haven’t really budged in the last year, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. That’s despite the fact that roughly 10 million adults under 65 gained coverage, according to an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine.”
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-21/obamacare-insured-millions-but-that-doesnt-mean-they-like-it
Forward
Well duh, they thought it was gonna be free.
well if you hide your income and play poor….i guess it will be freeeeeee
Are meetings between government officials and secret industry constituent invitees legal?
David Weidner’s Writing on the Wall
Opinion: Why you weren’t invited to the Fed’s ‘ethics’ talk with Wall Street
Published: Oct 21, 2014 6:00 a.m. ET
The New York Fed, as usual, is controlling information from the meeting
By David Weidner
Columnist
Bloomberg
William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, supposedly had an open and frank meeting with Wall Street banks, but the U.S. public will never really know.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — It was probably the most important public policy discussion since the financial crisis. Too bad the most important participant, you, weren’t invited.
That’s right. After U.S. taxpayers bailed out Wall Street, the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Monday hosted a series of panel discussions on culture and ethics. Yes, you had to wait nearly seven years, but hey, better late than never. Those summoned include some of the most important figures on Wall Street, but we don’t really know for sure who they are.
Maybe James Gorman, the chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley was there. Perhaps Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was invited. Or maybe not.
The New York Fed won’t release the list of who was invited or who attended.
…
“What difference – at this point, what difference does it make?”
“Are meetings between government officials and secret industry constituent invitees legal?”
This question will be addressed at next years Bilderberg meeting.
Bilderberg Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, Bilderberg meetings or Bilderberg Club is an annual private conference of approximately 120–150 political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia and the media.[1][2] About two-thirds of the participants come from Europe and the rest from North America; one third from politics and government and the rest from other fields.[1][3]
Participants
Main article: List of Bilderberg participants
Historically, attendee lists have been weighted towards bankers, politicians, and directors of large businesses.[16]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group - 150k -
“Are meetings between government officials and secret industry constituent invitees legal?”
“Legal” is only an issue for the little people.
Man who picks bottoms has smelly finger.
Hangover from market selloff could last months
Published: Oct 20, 2014 11:32 a.m. ET
Debate underway on whether S&P 500 has found a bottom
Source: S&P Capital IQ
It’s taken 4 months on average to recover from a stock-market slide of 10% to 20%.
By Victor Reklaitis
Markets writer
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — If the slumping S&P 500 already has found a bottom, the benchmark probably will need several months to clamber back to its prior high.
That’s according to a review of the index’s past performance by S&P Capital IQ’s Sam Stovall, who always cautions that history just provides a guide, not a guarantee.
As shown in the accompanying chart from Stovall, the index on average has taken two months to recover from a pullback of 5% to 10%, and it’s needed four months on average to bounce back from a correction of 10% to 20%.
The S&P 500’s current slump has been as deep as 9.8%, if you go by its drop from its Sept. 19 intraday high at 2,019 to last Wednesday’s intraday low just above 1,820.
No one really knows, of course, whether U.S. stocks have bottomed, or if they’ll slide further.
Wednesday’s low “may very well stand,” but “the game has changed sufficiently enough that the V-shaped rebound we have become accustomed to over the last two years is unlikely to occur this time around,” wrote Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at MKM Partners, in a note on Sunday. He adds that “any bottoming process is likely to take a few weeks as opposed to a few days.”
…
If the stocks are pushed up by borrowing money to buy back shares then what happens after the peak of buy back is over? How do stocks defy gravity without any real economic growth?
Safe to say Cash Is king
It’s all green from here on out, Mr. Bear. A guy at the FR said that QE3 might need to be extended, so shuddup already about overpricedness.
You do realize, don’t you, that the consequences of failing to follow the Fed’s economic plan would result in extinction of life as we know it on earth, plus instantaneous heat death of the sun, don’t you?
Denver Business Journal - Solar power prices are dropping fast, NREL says
“The price of solar power panels dropped as much as 19 percent nationwide in 2013 and are expected to drop by as much as 12 percent in 2014, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.”
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2014/10/solar-power-prices-aredropping-fast-nrel-says.html
Which is why Yours Truly has held off on this purchase.
EVERYONE MUST CHECK IN
Food and refreshments will be made available for the convenience of all exercise participants. Restroom facilities will be located on site.
Infrared temperature check?
Please define “checking in”.
Ron Paul slams Rand’s ‘politically motivated’ Ebola travel ban: It has no ‘medical purpose’
David Edwards
20 Oct 2014 at 15:07 ET
hen it comes to dealing with Ebola in the United States, former Congressman Ron Paul (R) and his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), don’t see eye to eye.
In an interview with Fox News radio host John Gibson last week, Rand Paul argued that a ban on people traveling from west African “ought to be considered.”
“It’s not like AIDS,” he explained. “AIDS is difficult to transmit. You’re not going to go into a cocktail party and have someone cough and get AIDS. If you are in a cocktail party with someone with Ebola and they cough, you are at risk for getting Ebola.”
The Kentucky senator said that a “temporary hiatus on flights” was “only reasonable.”
But as BuzzFeed pointed out on Monday, Ron Paul urged people to put the situation in “perspective.”
“For a government to just ban all travel, I’m not much interested in that,” the former Republican presidential candidate told Newsmax. “You’ve got to put it in perspective. What if you wanted to save 15,000 deaths from AIDS this year. Why don’t you ban certain practices that spreads AIDS? So, we’re talking about one person that’s died [of Ebola in the U.S.] and we want to close down the world travel system.”
Ron Paul, who is a medical doctor, pointed out that an estimated 3,000 to 49,000 people died every year from influenza, but no one was considering a travel ban to stop the flu from spreading.
“So right now, I would say a travel ban is politically motivated more than something done for medical purposes,” he concluded.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/ron-paul-slams-rands-politically-motivated-ebola-travel-ban-it-has-no-medical-purpose/
Romney’s got 2016 in the bag, you heard it here first.
I don’t suppose the damage could get any worse, could it?
Romney, Jed, or Hillary: there’s no difference.
No medical purpose. Is that a fact, you old tease?
Is it go time?
http://www.daytonohio.gov/departments/cs/purchasing/Documents/IFB%2014066K%20Glock%20Handguns%20and%20Related%20Items.pdf
From the Dead Zone: $3M bid placed on bundle of 6,350 foreclosed properties
Detroit — Someone has placed a bid of more than $3 million for 6,350 foreclosed Detroit properties that have been bundled together by the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office.
Mayor Mike Duggan and Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz put the mostly dilapidated and vacant properties into a package deal earlier this month in an effort to ward off speculators who can often turn into tax deadbeats. Some time late last week, someone submitted a bid of $3,183,500 for them.
Having an outside interest come in and purchase those properties could be a win for the city. Detroit was expected to pay $24 million to demolish them over the next six months. Having someone else come along and take over that responsibility would allow the city to direct the money elsewhere.
Among the 6,350 properties are roughly 1,000 that are considered valuable.
They approved the final QRM rule today. Of course, it’s significantly laxer than the originally proposed rule with 36% DTI and a 20% down payment (this one has 43% DTI and no downpayment requirement). It enhances the core feature of government backing of private debt.
Here’s an observation: The government and central bank and the FIRE sector are doing all they can to push debt. But debt is deflationary, and creates a drag on spending, especially since we’re already at peak debt. It has to be paid back else it’s just money printing.
So, the PTB response is to socialize losses. Which is a reverse Robin Hood policy. What about encouraging more inflation? It’s a stealth tax, and when the consumer has his purchasing power reduced, he doesn’t spend more.
These debt-pushing policies, backed by the taxpayer, are stagnation-driving policies. But it’s been so lucrative to the PTB for so long, and none of the architects of the financial crisis have lost power, so it will continue till there is real political change, driven by popular discomfort.
No Surprise: Final QRM Rule Closely Follows QM
by: Jann Swanson
Mortgage News Daily
Oct 21 2014, 2:49PM
The rule issued today defines QRM as follows. It is a “covered transaction” that meets the general definition of a QM which provides that the loan must have:
• Regular periodic payments that are substantially equal;
• No negative amortization, interest only or balloon features;
• A maximum loan term of 30 years;
• Total points and fees that do not exceed 3 percent of the total loan amount, or the applicable amounts specified for small loans up to $100,000;
• Payments underwritten using the maximum interest rate that may apply during the first five years after the date on which the first regular periodic payment is due;
• Consideration and verification of the consumer’s income and assets, including employment status if relied upon, and current debt obligations, mortgage-related obligations, alimony and child support; and
• Total DTI ratio that does not exceed 43 percent
The agencies believe that a QRM definition aligned with the definition of QM meets the statutory goals and directive of the legislation to limit credit risk and promote sound underwriting.
The final definition of QRM does not incorporate either an LTV ratio requirement or standards related to a borrower’s credit history, such as previously proposed.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10212014_qrm_rule_qm.asp
When Wall Street, backed by government, puts itself in the middle of yet another transaction, it makes the product more expensive as it takes its cut. And yet it adds no value to the consumer.
everyone must check in
Region IV checked in and looking for the food and refreshments that are supposed to be made available for the convenience of all exercise participants.
I’m thinking about booking a quarantine on Carnival cruise lines.
Not a bad idea, at least die somewhere with some scenery
Well if you had hired better actors maybe you coulda got it done.
Holder: Failure to Pass Gun Control Is My Biggest Failure
Breitbart ^ | Oct. 20, 2014 | Breitbart TV
Posted on 10/20/2014, 7:57:57 PM by PROCON
Attorney General Eric Holder said that his biggest failure during his time as head of the Justice Department was failing to pass expanded gun control laws and criticized former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his negative characterizations of the president during an interview aired on Monday’s broadcast of “The Lead” on CNN.
“I think the inability to pass reasonable gun safety laws after the Newtown massacre is, for me, something that I take personally as a failure, and something that I think we as a society should take as a failure” he stated when asked what he considered his greatest failure.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com …
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3217609/posts - 48k -
On the other hand, turning a blind eye to Wall Street criminality and fraud is Holder’s crowning achievement. Three guesses who his future employers will be.
“On the other hand, turning a blind eye to Wall Street criminality and fraud is Holder’s crowning achievement.”
+1 Eric Holder is American traitor who deserves society’s disdain.
“I think the inability to pass reasonable gun safety laws after the Newtown massacre is, for me, something that I take personally as a failure, and something that I think we as a society should take as a failure” he stated when asked what he considered his greatest failure.
umm…the Attorney General’s job isn’t to pass legislation..it’s to enforce it, no? So why the heck does he think that’s something he should be doing?
Town sells mother’s home over $95 unpaid tax bill
CNBC.com staff | @CNBC
5 Hours AgoCNBC.com
Got any $95 unpaid tax bills? If so, your house could be foreclosed on and sold at an auction.
That’s exactly what happened to a mother from Norcross, Georgia.
Xui Lui is pleading with council officials to be allowed to keep her home after it was foreclosed on and sold at an auction. The worst part is that the house was sold all because of an unpaid tax bill of $94.85.
Lui says she was never made aware of the unpaid bill. Also, she stated that she never received any communication from authorities telling her that her house was up for sale in the first place.
Despite her pleadings, council officials are preparing to evict her by Thanksgiving.
Read More Parking lots: The future of urban housing?
Lui provided records that proved her taxes were paid every year except the year she moved in. However the demands for payment never reached her due to a clerical error—the address on the envelope was incomplete.
“No street, no name. How can I receive the letter?” asked Lui to WSBT, a local news station in Atlanta.
However the only letter that did make it to her house was the one explaining that her Condo had been sold at an auction.
“Where are we to go? I have nowhere. This is my house. Why do I need to move out?” said Lui.
City officials in Norcross are going through their records to attempt to understand where any mistake could have occurred. However since the property has already been legally sold, its not clear what Lui’s living situation will be like, come December.
Xui Lui paid for the condo with cash in 2011. She lives there with her four-year-old daughter.
For the full story visit The Daily Mail.
Parking lots: The future of urban housing?
Ansuya Harjani | @Ansuya_H
Tuesday, 14 Oct 2014 | 6:28 PM ET
A 135-square foot, eco-friendly micro house that’s designed to fit into a single parking space: is this the future of urban housing?
Dubbed the SCADPad, the 16 X 8 foot dwelling designed for a single occupant fitted with a bed, kitchenette and bathroom, is the brainchild of students and faculty at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
SCADpad evolved from a project to find a solution to the growing need for “suitable, sustainable and efficient” housing in large urban centers. But, why a parking garage of all places?
“Research showed that in the United States there is an abundance of parking garages - five parking spaces for every car on the road, so we decided to tackle that as a problem,” Paula Wallace, president at SCAD told CNBC on a recent visit to Singapore.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102084527 - 124k -
Boogie Down Productions - South Bronx
“I wanna tell you a little something about us
We’re the Boogie Down Production crew
And due to the fact
That no one else out there knew what time it was
We have to tell you a little story about where we come from”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsrOy32nJdI
Eazy E - Eazy Duz It
“Because I’m a gangster having fun
Never leave the pad without packing a gun
Hitting hard as f* I’ll make you ask what was it
Boy you should have known by now, Eazy does it”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDUVkE_hGE0
Is it fair to say a primary purpose of quantitative easing was to enrich the banksters while throwing the rest of America under the bus?
If not, how come it achieved this objective so successfully?
phony scandals