Bits Bucket for November 9, 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
To donate by mail, or to otherwise contact this blogger, please send emails to: thehousingbubble@gmail.com
PayPal is a secure online payment method which accepts ALL major credit cards.
Links
-
April 2024 M T W T F S S « Sep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Photo Submission: hbbphotos@gmail.com
View the HBB Photo Gallery *updated 4/13/2008
“Evidence of Another Even More Sweeping Housing Bust is Already Starting to Appear”
http://www.elliottwave.com/affiliates_pr/archives/2014/10/22/Evidence-of-Another-Even-More-Sweeping-Housing-Bust-is-Already-Starting-to-Appear-aa.aspx
More evidence is the occurence of shilling here and their shrill screams down that donkey well of losses. All those geniuses with portfolios of property in California.
Man oh man be thankful you’re not looking down the barrel at those kind of losses.
Region VIII
“I wish I could take all those children home with me,” Pelosi said during a press conference in Brownsville, Texas, after visiting a nearby Border Patrol facility housing illegal immigrants, reported KGBT-TV in Harlingen, Texas.
“We’re all Americans in this hemisphere, North and South America.”
“I wish I could take all those children home with me,” Pelosi said, “We need to reshingle our roof.”
+1
Region VIII, Region X. Good day.
Hey HA, what do you think of the Studpop? Just read about it in This Old House. You can find them in the Peninsula Region (and on Amazon).
Just curious, what are you going to use that for?
Wow fished in by an Internet marketing campaign, just in time for Christmas.
Actually no, I didn’t buy one or plan to use one. I just thought the jokes were cute.
That’s rather insincere.
She has lola in her heart.
“…and that government of the people,
by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
Delivered at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
on November 19, 1863.
Eric Holder On Fast And Furious Critics: ‘Kiss My Ass’
AP | By ERIC TUCKER
Posted: 11/07/2014 7:27 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released emails show Attorney General Eric Holder said that Justice Department prosecutors who were critical of the department’s handling of the fallout of the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal could “kiss my ass.”
Operation Fast and Furious was a botched effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to track firearms across the Southwest border. Revelations about it created a political firestorm, leading to congressional investigations and turnover within the ATF and Justice Department.
The Justice Department selectively provided a batch of emails this week to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Associated Press obtained the emails on Friday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/holder-fast-furious-kiss-my-ass_n_6124638.html - 178k -
Valerie Jarrett Key Player in Fast and Furious Cover-Up After Holder Lied to Congress
OCTOBER 24, 2014
President Obama’s trusted senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett, was a key player in the effort to cover up that Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress about the Fast and Furious scandal, according to public records obtained by Judicial Watch.
The information is part of a Department of Justice (DOJ) “Vaughn index” detailing records about the gun-running operation known as Fast and Furious. JW had to sue the agency for the records after the Obama administration failed to provide them under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A federal court ordered the DOJ to provide the records over the agency’s objections. Yesterday JW reported on the broad information in the records, including that Obama asserted executive privilege for Holder’s wife as part of the administration’s efforts to cover up the scandal.
Practically lost in the 1,000-plus pages of records is an index that shows Jarrett was brought in to manage the fact that Holder lied to Congress after the story about the disastrous gun-running operation broke in the media. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ran the once-secret program that allowed guns from the U.S. to be smuggled into Mexico so they could eventually be traced to drug cartels. Instead, federal law enforcement officers lost track of hundreds of weapons which have been used in an unknown number of crimes, including the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.
The files received by JW include three electronic mails between Holder and Jarrett and one from former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke to Jarrett. The e-mails with Holder are all from October 4, 2011, a significant date because, on the evening of October 3rd, Sheryl Attkisson (then at CBS news) released documents showing that Holder had been sent a briefing paper on Operation Fast and Furious on June 5, 2010. The paper was from the director of the National Drug Intelligence Center, Michael Walther.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/…/ - 28k -
404 not found, for link.
No one cares about lies anymore. It’s all self interest. This is society’s major problem thes days. Truth is irrelevant to self interest.
“No one cares about lies anymore. It’s all self interest. This is society’s major problem thes days. Truth is irrelevant to self interest.”
Yep. It took a while to get schmucks to this point but they’re finally here.
Victory is at hand.
Web Search Results
1 - 10 of about 2,290 for Valerie Jarrett Key Player in Fast and Furious Cover-Up After Holder Lied to Congress
The IRS certainly doesn’t care. And there’s no one to make them care. And if they cared, their self-interests would take a massive hit.
Conversely, the Secret Service most definitely cares. There are people around to make them care. Their self-interests will only be met if they prove they care.
Valerie Jarrett Key Player in Fast and Furious Cover-Up After Holder Lied to Congress
He’s getting uppity!
Race is irrelevant, just another tool for exploitation for the plutocrat masters.
I dream of a day … when we are judged …. not by the color of our skin …. but by our membership in The Club.
All those culture issues are. They’re simply a means to distract and defocus off the money.
Step 1- Follow the money.
Step 1- Follow the money.
Step 2- Refer to Step 1.
UN Declares Arms Trade Treaty to Go Into Effect Dec. 24
by Joe Wolverton, II, J.D. | New American | November 9, 2014
On its official website, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (yes, that’s really a thing and yes, it is housed right here in the United States) announced that the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) “will enter into force on 24 December 2014.”
For those unfamiliar with the text of the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty, here’s a brief sketch of the most noxious provisions:
• Article 2 of the treaty defines the scope of the treaty’s prohibitions. The right to own, buy, sell, trade, or transfer all means of armed resistance, including handguns, is denied to civilians by this section of the Arms Trade Treaty.
• Article 3 places the “ammunition/munitions fired, launched or delivered by the conventional arms covered under Article 2” within the scope of the treaty’s prohibitions, as well.
• Article 4 rounds out the regulations, also placing all “parts and components” of weapons within the scheme.
Full article here
Good luck enforcing that anywhere. I’m sure that ISIS will lay down its arms and its suppliers will stop providing them with weapons because it’s illegal.
Exactly….
capone didn’t quit when illegal income was made taxable
Good luck enforcing that anywhere.
Unless the real goal is to disarm the law-abiding—in that case, it may work just fine.
Hey Prime, did you look into 591/594 measures on our ballot this past week? Any thoughts?
My city council felt the need to issue resolutions in support/opposed to them, so I attended/spoke at the meeting. Very eye-opening.
One city council member basically stated “we’re wasting time/city resources — any resolution is non-binding, so why the heck do we feel the need to get involved as a council. We can all lend our names to any initiative publicly, but as individuals”.
The rest were largely “we need to do *something*. Yes, there are lots of flaws in this legislation but we’ll worry about that later”.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the initiatives, I found it very discouraging that our politicians feel the need to make a movement — any movement, and don’t necessarily care if they get it “right”.
Hey Prime, did you look into 591/594 measures on our ballot this past week? Any thoughts?
I’m afraid that I went voluntaryist in the recent election—or at least, calling it that makes it sound like a reasonable excuse.
I feel a bit guilty about it, particularly on the initiatives front—but I was sufficiently behind on important things in life that I didn’t feel like I could make an informed decision in the face of the propaganda without spending a fair bit of time that I didn’t have available.
My hat is off to you for going to the meetings, though, drummin!
I’m curious where you came down on the initiatives…
I’m curious where you came down on the initiatives…
Definitely opposed 594 - many shortcomings in that initiative. Putting aside the cries of a state “registry” (even though that may be something I fear, I know that’s a good way to get folks to disengage), there are a lot of issues with it. It would make it a crime for me to give my girlfriend a hands-on lesson in how to safely handle a gun (”transfer”, as defined in the initiative, is not limited to ownership, but simply possession). It allows for transfer for training purposes, but only at specific “approved” locations. Some of the folks speaking against it at the meeting were NRA instructors who taught scouts to shoot at camp — the initiative, as written, would make those instructors criminals. You could loan someone a gun to hunt, but my read of the initiative indicates that it would be illegal for the person borrowing the gun to actually transport it to the approved hunting area, etc….
I voted for 591, but more as a statement that I support gun ownership and am against attempts to encroach upon our rights.
Totally understand not having the time to wade through all the BS on the elected offices. So much mud-slinging and propaganda. At least on the initiatives one needn’t worry about it saying one thing and doing another — at least not like you have to for a politician
You left out important parts that article, the stuff about Christianity.
In Luke 22:35-36, to cite one example, Jesus commanded his followers to purchase a sword in defiance of Roman law. Within the boundaries of the world under the control of the Roman emperor, to carry such a weapon was a crime punishable by death.
Why, then, would Jesus, the Prince of Peace, command his followers to break the law of the world’s most powerful empire – with legions of armed enforcers around every corner — if the benefit of keeping that commandment did not outweigh the potential harm?
Furthermore, if Jesus was the pacifist so many modern gun-rights deniers portray him as, why is there not a single syllable in the scriptures forbidding disciples from keeping and bearing arms?
There’s some more in that vein.
More importantly, the US has not ratified the treaty.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/item/19486-merry-christmas-united-nations-declares-arms-trade-treaty-to-go-into-effect-dec-24
I thought that was what people like you wanted left out.
Once again…
Hook, line and sinker.
Comment by phony scandals
2014-11-09 07:09:13
Merry Christmas: UN Declares Arms Trade Treaty to Go Into Effect Dec. 24
Yesterday from Ella 58: “Of course, the article references equations and fiscal stimulus without getting down to the obvious: incomes. People SPEND income and REINVEST capital gains. Under ZIRP, where asset appreciation is plentiful and income is scarce, the only money made is capital gain. In the interest of wealth preservation, this is not spent but reinvested in other assets, reinforcing the cycle.”
____________________________________________________________
Yep. When you have a society that is interested not in producing wealth, but in preserving it or redistributing it, this is exactly what happens. And unless we change our mindset in favor of wealth production, one would reasonably assume the government will tax the crap out of asset appreciation (resulting in worthless homes, pensions, 401Ks and the like – and even commodities as well). There will be no other choice…unless government voluntarily restructures itself into something much, much smaller.
Cheers, and thanks for bringing the thread forward. There were some good comments I must go back and reread.
As you point out, asset appreciation is a great way to make people poorer and more dependent - it can be taxed away, rehypothecated away, or lost to inflation, and if it is spent instead of reinvested, then it’s gone and no one is any better off. And lacking somewhere to reinvest it for income, the only choice is to protect it.
One thing I’ve found interesting in the last decade is how we have raised certain non-income-producing consumables to the status of stores-of-value semi-assets, specifically luxury goods like cars, designer handbags, art and design. I mean, a $34 million Ferrari? Or a used Mercedes that costs exactly the same today as it did in 2009? Depreciating assets with high carrying costs, like houses, that are somehow supposed to result in a profit?
There has to an explanation beyond hyperinflation. I think you hit the nail on the head that it’s all about our present orientation towards the preservation of wealth (and the prevention of its redistribution), which is self-fulfilling. Traditional “stores of value” now trade at huge premiums because people are desperate for anything that might - might! - preserve that capital gain.
Perhaps this is the difference between trickle-down economics of the 80s and today’s “wealth effect.” Trickle-down relies on depreciation, innovation and the velocity of goods in the marketplace, harnessing inequality to raise everyone’s collective standard of living, while the wealth effect relies on appreciation without added value, stagnation and asset-hoarding, exacerbating inequality while lowering the standard of living for the vast majority.
We were talking about deflation vs. inflation yesterday, but perhaps the real debate should be depreciation vs. appreciation.
perhaps the real debate should be depreciation vs. appreciation.
How about ‘extravagance’ vs. ‘production’?
I don’t believe the two are opposed, at all. In fact, what is initially extravagance can be essential to raising everyone’s standard of living. The refrigerator, for example:
In 1911, GE introduced the first household refrigerator. “Called the Audiffren, it sold for $1000, twice the cost of a car.” The average yearly income in 1911 was $520.
The refrigerator was initially an extravagance - twice the average yearly income! - that only the rich could afford, today it is an essential tool that has improved our lives in innumerable ways, including creating production and manufacturing jobs.
It’s odd how the puritanical streak of American culture sometimes mirrors the austerity of classical Marxism - ‘bourgeoise decadence is morally wrong!’ It’s counterproductive to the goal of raising the standard and quality of life of every individual regardless of wealth or income.
Also, there is no objective way to measure “extravagance.” A steak dinner can look extravagant to someone eating soup. A modest 1 bedroom apartment looks extravagant to someone living in a studio. Value judgments on what is “extravagant” are often just attempts to impose one set of personal preferences onto someone else.
Although, some value judgments are clearer than others –
‘Man Buys Row of SEVEN Regent’s Park Houses to Turn into a Mega-Mansion for Himself’
“Marcus Cooper Group put up the 50,000 sq ft Regency terrace up for sale in June after winning permission to convert the row of seven office buildings into a vast 15-bedroom stuccoed mansion. It will have 35 bathrooms alone and could be worth £200m once converted.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2744849/The-house-WON-T-Candy-crush-Man-Britain-s-expensive-development-buys-row-SEVEN-grade-I-listed-building-turn-mega-mansion-himself.html
That’s just grotesque. But maybe it’s not so much the extravagance as the spectacular misallocation of resources that makes it so offensive… Well ok, it’s both. Ick.
Tresho: Sorry, I just realized, did you mean “extravagance” as in living extremely beyond your means, rather than my interpretation of spending a disproportionate-but-affordable-to-you amount on an unnecessary luxury? If so, please disregard the above.
If you meant extravagance as in a minimum wage worker taking out an unrepayable loan to buy a $1mil house, then you’re right, that is a bad thing that won’t permanently improve anyone’s standard of living!
Yesterday from Bring Back the WPA:
“The US has at least a trillion worth of deferred infrastructure to rebuild and replace (bridges, water treatment, sewage treatment, dams, decrepit school buildings…). That’s not “make work.” This is part of what Keynes would want, build public infrastructure to stimulate demand in the private sector. Which is why we need to… Bring Back the WPA”
__________________________________________________________
Nope. This is the “redistribution” side of the equation. In a climate of decreasing incomes, government can only “afford” to build infrastructure by increasing taxes. Raising taxes is anti-growth as it takes from the productive and gives to the non-productive (government).
One solution is to create incentive for companies to pay their employees a higher wage. As it stands, most companies have strong DIS-incentive to raise pay. Fewer and fewer jobs require “talent”…so why hire for it? Further, there’s less profit to be made in the USA as more product/services are sold overseas, where the cost of labor is considerably less.
Government could help by cutting the federal tax rate for companies that increase employee wages by X%. Companies that do so win by paying less to the non-productive (i.e., the government) in favor of the productive, who are more efficient and knowledgeable spenders of money, especially locally.
Companies not needing “talent” but RELIABLE workers will benefit via lower attrition rates. Other companies who need “talent” will have new-found ability to attract that talent…and at no cost to them.
Workers across the board would win as they make a greater income and increased freedom/mobility.
The government wins by seeing increased tax revenue without raising the tax rate.
The trend toward increasing the minimum wage is a bad one. A huge DIS-incentive for employers as there’s no benefit in it for them. Increase the minimum wage enough, and they’ll be incentivized to close shop or replace workers with additional automation. Then what do you have? Even greater wealth disparity.
“Government could help by cutting the federal tax rate for companies that increase employee wages by X%”
Interesting idea but how would it be implemented? Would a company have to give every worker a raise to qualify for the tax reduction? Because surely this couldn’t be worked out on an individual worker basis.
And how would the raises determine the tax break? Would a raise of one cent a year for everyone qualify for a tax break?
It’s simple.
The tax breaks are done on a percentage basis, not monetarily. And it’s across-the-board break; to get the break, companies rise salaries of all their workers (the domestic employees).
The set-up is simple. The greater the percentage of raise, the greater the corporate tax reduction. (Rate reduction caps in place, of course, to reduce risk to economy). All companies in all industries have the same opportunities/limits to participate.
And the rewards to corporate USA could be tweaked to adapt to economic cycles.
Perhaps when times are bad, the tax relief for corporations is 2% when they increase wages by 1% across the board. In good times, perhaps the relief if more of a 1.5% to 1% scenario.
In some ways, it might be akin to a company-match for 401Ks, but in this case, the match is set up not to boost assets, but incentive wealth production.
And it’d all be voluntary. No unions and no minimum wage increases. Companies don’t have to raise wages…but look what happens if they don’t.
I have no idea whether something like this would be practical enough to be feasible.
My point really is to stress that we need to incentivize a move toward wealth production rather than preservation or redistribution.
Right now, our economy is a giant and still growing poker game wherein nothing is being added to the pot.
Here are a few problems I can think of:
Such a tax break would lower initial wages, since granting later raises would create tax reductions. People could end up making the same amount, it would just be structured in a way ( starting off with a lower wage, with the understanding a raise was soon coming) to give the company a tax benefit.
Since giving raises is expensive, companies would be encouraged to have as few employees as possible, so it might increase unemployment.
Long term employees with their high salaries would be very expensive to keep around, but new employees would offer tax benefits. So there would be an inducement to fire the old employees.
Companies that have a lot of highly paid long-term employees would be faced with a much higher cost to get the tax breaks compared to companies with less, cheaper, or more replaceable labor.
I’ve thought of a way it could work! We could let the corporations deduct any raises from their taxable revenue. Oh wait, we already do.
we could let the corporations deduct any raises from their taxable revenue.
Alternatively, we could let them deduct MORE than what is paid out as compensation—e.g. 1.5X or 2X the amount. That could work.
Or more sensibly, we could do away with corporate taxes entirely; corporations should instead distribute all earnings and deductions as a pass-through, the same way that S-corps and LLCs do.
That way the uber-wealthy pay at their bracket, and granny pays at her bracket. The current scheme treats the earnings of two as in the same bracket at the corporate level.
‘This is the “redistribution” side of the equation. In a climate of decreasing incomes, government can only “afford” to build infrastructure by increasing taxes.’
Wouldn’t QE4 be a possible way to fund infrastructure construction without raising taxes?
“QE4…infrastructure”
The Canadians built their QE-W during the last Great Depression.
Sure. Public works bonds could be issued and Yellen could buy them with bank reserves. I’m not advocating that, just saying it could be done. Maybe a better place to start is looking at how Congress allocates funds in the budget — infrastructure is underallocated in my view. Personally I think we spend too much on foreign wars (destroying someone else’s infrastructure) — some of those funds could be spent on American soil rebuilding our own infrastructure instead.
“Public works bonds could be issued and Yellen could buy them with bank reserves. I’m not advocating that, just saying it could be done.”
Which makes me wonder, why do some people insist that taxation is the only way to fund public projects?
Just look at the $4 trillion sitting on the Fed’s balance sheet if you want another counter example. Did that money come from taxation?
Is theft a form of taxation?
“Personally I think we spend too much on foreign wars (destroying someone else’s infrastructure)…”
Broken window economic stimulus
you can build all the fancy new schools you want but you can’t fix stupid. see, LAUSD
you can build all the fancy new schools you want but you can’t fix stupid. see, LAUSD ??
I am surely no fan of the current school system but my daughter, a school teacher has shared many stories with me…Bottom line, many, many kids are not prepared to learn at the grade level they are in..We need to completely revamp the way we educate…You don’t move to the next level until you have mastered, to some degree, the level you are at no matter your age…Advancing kids without the skills to learn sets them up for failure in the classroom and likely outside of it also…
You don’t move to the next level until you have mastered, to some degree, the level you are at no matter your age
+1. Advancing based on age is not productive.
And for those who can’t or won’t learn the material, it would make a lot of sense to begin teaching trades and giving incentives to learn useful skills that don’t require too much “book learning”.
We need to completely revamp the way we educate
For starters, no college degrees to be awarded to any American who doesn’t have basic fluency in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese. (I assume basic fluency in English years before that.) THAT will separate the wheat from the chaff. I’ve studied calculus, physics, chemistry, medicine — Chinese is by far the hardest subject I’ve ever encountered.
@Macbeth: “This is the “redistribution” side of the equation. In a climate of decreasing incomes, government can only “afford” to build infrastructure by increasing taxes. Raising taxes is anti-growth as it takes from the productive and gives to the non-productive (government). “
History does not support the cliche that all of government is non-productive. Consider the Grand Coulee dam in Oregon/Washington. Funded by FDR in 1933 as a federal project, the dam provides hydropower and water for irrigation. One of the largest customers for power is Boeing. This is an example of a massively huge positive ROI of public works when it enables the private sector to flourish.
Public works is not redistribution. Redistribution is a transfer of money from one party to another with nothing in return. With public works, the taxpayer gets a tangible asset in return for their money — whether it’s an airport, freeway, dam, etc.
Right now the economy is being held back by a shortage of demand caused by surplus labor and low wages. Additional supply side will not work as it is just pushing on a string. A large public works program would lower unemployment, increase demand, stop deflation and provide a foundation for the private sector to grow.
“a shortage of demand caused by surplus labor and low wages”
There is no such shortage of demand. There was a monstrous excess of consumption fueled by excess credit. Now that it is showing signs of exhaustion, you say it is a shortage and we need more debt to fix it. How about a more sustainable approach?
One might argue that without government R&D funding, the research which led to the development of modern computing, travel to the moon (NASA), and the internet (ARPANET, not Al Gore) would never have occurred. Lots of jobs in Silicon Valley exist because of all this government spending a generation ago.
Standard bean counting techniques will have a hard time measuring the value of such long-term, forward-looking investment projects.
Do you really believe wages are going to double or triple to meet the grossly inflated prices of all items?
Of course not. Prices will continue falling until they meet wages. That’s deflation. And falling prices is your wallets best friend.
Preach it, HA!
Jane
I hope HA does preach it because a lot of what he said makes sense.
Do you really think the 1% will allow greater incomes willingly, or part with anything to encourage more employment?
Only those employees critical to 1% success will receive adequate compensation. The majority will receive less in real terms.
And it is the majority that determine the success or failure of the economy.
Because the 1% involvement in the economy is financial gambling protected by the majority, not in production.
Yes, RAL repeats his mantra often. But sometimes he hits a real home run.
The 1% and their serfs will be swept away mostly in the deleveraging. Don’t be swept away with them. Stay out of debt.
No, of course not. Full employment and higher wages might get us a healthy 4% inflation rate at best. That’s not going to make inflated SoCal housing prices suddenly affordable, they need to fall regardless. Full employment, higher wages and 4% inflation would be far better than this ZIRP stagnation we have now.
So my husband was visiting with his sister & BIL yesterday. They are spenders. They want to refinance. Again. BIL was upset because his house, which was refinanced just 2 years ago, can only be refinanced at 100% of value, so no luck. Not sure how many times they’ve refinanced, but I know at least twice. He’s 70 and she wants to retire in 2 years at 65.
The topic changed to their newly married (1 yr ago) daughter and the fact she had to return to work 6 weeks after birth of baby. Daughter and SIL just bought a 380K+, new wood frame, 7 BR house. My husband asked why they would buy such a big house and not have the funds for the daughter to stay home with the baby (she wants to). To which my Sis-n-law replys “oh, they don’t have any debt, but daughter has to work for medical”. So I looked it up. 304k mortgage. How is that no debt? It’s very frustrating because it’s my husband’s sister, so I just bite my tongue.
I thought about the fact that I wouldn’t want them to see this post, but there’s absolutely zero chance. There’s only one book they read and I’m pretty sure they’re skipping parts of that one too.
So they put 80k down? That’s pretty good. Where are they and what do they do for a living that he has no medical?
Not really sure what he does, but he comes off as a go-getter. I’m pretty sure he’s self employed. The down payment came from a paid off house they just sold (his alone, from before the marriage). I just chalk up the big house purchase, to him marrying someone who comes from a high consumption household and so of course you go from a paid off house to the max you can feasibly borrow.
But something tells me they’re gonna need one of those bedrooms (in a few years) for the bankrupt parents.
He’s probably a contractor or self employed.
“Not sure how many times they’ve refinanced, but I know at least twice. He’s 70 and she wants to retire in 2 years at 65.”
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I hear this same thing all the time. I’m truly fascinated what it is that goes on in the minds of these people. Or is nothing going on?
You figure it out because I’m done trying.
“I hear this same thing all the time. I’m truly fascinated what it is that goes on in the minds of these people. Or is nothing going on?”
It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it?
It’s not their fault. They were shown a dotted line.
They were also handed a pen.
When you have a dotted line and a pen, you need nothing else.
Except maybe, a phone.
And a kill-list.
“I’m truly fascinated what it is that goes on in the minds of these people.”
Maybe it’s something along these lines….”You know, we can always get someone else to pay for it. Besides, we deserve it.”
In the words of Tosh.0 “for that we thank you”
Mortgage debt doesn’t count, as it eventually pays itself off because real estate always goes up.
Dave Ramsey let’s you do the “debt free” scream, even if you have mortgage debt, so it must be true.
Th reasoning is that mortgage debt doesn’t count because you would be paying rent anyway.
Figures something so insane makes perfect sense to you.
“you would be paying rent anyway….”
Kind of like saying you should buy a luxury car (on credit) because you would be renting a Limo anyway. For this to resonate, you have to be a single gal with three bedrooms and two baths, mortgaged to the eyeballs, betting on credit expansion for decades to come.
San Diego, CA Sale Prices Plunge 5% YoY; Declines Accelerate As Prices Fall 9% MoM
http://www.zillow.com/san-diego-ca-92130/home-values/
I like the exit
Senior Citizen Wins Shootout with Crooks - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhbarunzTtc - 352k -
Heartwarming.. go gramps
Hopefully the old fellow wasn’t a police officer, as a white police officer using a gun on criminals committing a crime could be construed as racis’.
Have you gone all-in to stocks now that the correction fears are behind us?
GOLDMAN: The Risk Of A Stock Market Crash Is Low
Elena Holodny
Nov. 4, 2014, 10:15 AM
Stocks have surged to all-time highs. And this has plenty of people worried that a crash may be looming.
Goldman Sachs’ Jan Hatzius doesn’t see a crash coming.
Using a proprietary model that includes the historical price data from 20 advanced economies, Hatzius found that the likelihood of a crash is “average” only.
“[O]ur broader view is that the risk of an asset market bust — especially of the recessionary variety — remains relatively low,” Hatzius wrote.
…
Using a proprietary model that includes the historical price data from 20 advanced economies
Except historical data is pretty meaningless these days, given the environment is so different.
When, in history, have global central banks been so involved in asset purchases - treasury debt, private bonds, stock futures, etc?
When, in history, have government debts/deficits been so high as a percentage of GDP (a measure which includes government spending, of course).
More than ever, I’d argue that past performance does not guarantee future results
“When, in history, have global central banks been so involved in asset purchases - treasury debt, private bonds, stock futures, etc?
When, in history, have government debts/deficits been so high as a percentage of GDP (a measure which includes government spending, of course).”
Perhaps it really is different this time?
Goldman Shows “Equity Bust” Risk Highest Since 2008
November 5th, 2014
Tyler Durden
With the equity market back to near-historical highs, Goldman Sachs’ Jan Hatzius revisits his analysis of the predictability of asset price busts. The main predictors of busts are past asset price appreciation and past credit growth, followed by a rising investment/GDP ratio. Hatzius warns that their model says that the further US equity price gains of 2014 have pushed the risk of an equity bust back up - as the chart below shows to levels not seen since 2008/9.
Goldman’s “equity bust” model is back at levels last seen in 2008/9 - though obviously well off the peak levels, as the main factor holding down the risk of another bust, especially in the housing market, is the weakness of credit growth since the crisis.
…
Multiple personalities?
Whatever happens, Goldman’s prediction is sure to pan out.
I am still selling individual stocks. I like the lift I get when I sell for a 1400% gain on my shares I bought at the low of 2009.
Extra cash for my second mattress.
I went heavily in on ACHN a few months back.
Tomorrow should be interesting.
Pharmaceutical company. I do have an interest from afar, but too risky for me these days. Have my buy orders for LUV, HES, and WFM, of course at much lower limit prices than now.
Markets 11/07/2014 @ 7:02PM
The Week Ahead: Three Reasons Not to Jump into Stocks Now
The stock market’s powerful rally from the October lows has definitely impressed most professional analysts and the financial media. Some commentators that were recommending the short side of the market in October, are now back in the bullish camp.
Others, when asked if they have changed their view, point to their macro view of why the liquidity-driven economy and the stock market can’t continue to stay strong for much longer. Of course, these macro views may be right at some point but those hedge funds that follow a macro strategy have had a dismal year. One $15 billion fund was down 11% by the middle of October and many have lost money so far in 2014.
As I mentioned in July’s One Bubble Starting to Burst, I felt that decision by Calpers (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) to change its hedge fund strategy was the start of the hedge fund bubble bursting. Their announcement—on September 15—that they were terminating their $4.5 billion hedge portfolio provided confirmation. Don’t get me wrong, as many are run by very smart guys and some are doing quite well, but still, their exponential growth couldn’t last.
The exit polls after the big Republican win suggested that the general public was pretty pessimistic on the economy and the surging stock market was not helping them become more hopeful or optimistic about the future.
The public participation in the stock market is still at very low levels as the crash of 2008 and the financial scandals have kept them away. Even the strong jobs report last Friday is unlikely to encourage new investments by those who are worried about their jobs and haven’t gotten a raise.
The recent volatility also has probably discouraged other new investors. Meanwhile, those that are investing have become much more bullish. Last Thursday’s poll of individual investors from AAII revealed that only 15.05% are now bearish. Looking back, I believe that is the lowest reading since July 2005. The bullish percentage rose further to 52.69%, which is the highest reading since December 26, 2013.
Though this is far from a perfect indicator, the very low bullish readings in 2010 and 2011 helped confirm good buying opportunities. Even though the extremes in sentiment often lead prices by several weeks, this is the first reason why I think a new investor should not jump into the market right now. In contrast, at the February 2014 panic lows, over 36% were bearish.
…
Wealth Advisor More: Peak Prosperity
The Stock Market Is Overvalued By 100%
Adam Taggart, Peak Prosperity
Nov. 9, 2014, 1:11 PM
John Hussman
John Hussman is highly respected for his prodigious use of data and adherence to what it tells him about the state of the financial markets.
His regular weekly market commentary is widely regarded as one of the best-researched, best-articulated publications available to money managers.
John’s public appearances are rare, so we’re especially grateful he made time to speak with us yesterday about the precarious state in which he sees global markets.
Based on historical norms and averages, he calculates that the ZIRP and QE policies of the Fed and other world central banks have led to an overvaluation in the stock market where prices are 2 times higher than they should be:
John Hussman: What’s interesting here is that if you think about equities, they’re not a claim on next year’s prediction of earnings by Wall Street analysts. A stock, in fact any security, is a claim on any long-term stream of cash flows that investors can expect to be delivered to them over a very long period of time.
When you look at equities you can calculate something called duration. It’s essentially the effective life of a security over which you are collecting cash flows in return for the amount you pay. For the S&P 500 the duration is about 50 years. In other words it is a very, very long-term asset. The only reason you would want to price that asset based on your estimate of next year’s earnings is if you were convinced that next year’s earnings are actually representative of the very, very long-term stream — and I’m talking 50 years or so of earnings that you’re likely to get — that those earnings are in a sense accurately proportional to the whole long-term stream.
What’s amazing about that is that is it has never been true. It has never been true historically. If you look at corporate profits and especially corporate profit margins, they’re one of the most cyclical and mean-reverting series in economics. Right now, we have corporate profits that are close to about 11% of GDP, but if you look at that series you will find that corporate profits as a share of GDP have always dropped back to about 5.5% or below in every single economic cycle including recent decades, including not only the financial crisis but 2002 and every other economic cycle we have been in.
Right now stocks as a multiple of last year’s expected earnings may look only modestly over valued or modestly richly valued. Really if you look at the measures of valuation that are most correlated to the returns that stocks deliver over time say over seven years or over the next 10 years the S&P 500 in our estimation is about double the level of valuation that would give investors a normal rate of return.
So right now, we’ve got stocks valued at a point where we estimate the 10 year prospective return on the S&P 500 will be about 1.6 to 1.7% annualized — talking right now with the S&P 500 at 2032 as of today’s close.
…
BofA: When The Stock Market Peaks, Gold Will Be The ‘Tell’
Myles Udland
Nov. 9, 2014, 11:24 AM
Something has changed in the stock market.
In early October, bond yields fell, stocks dropped, and people began throwing out comparisons to the violent stock market crash of 1987.
But since the October 15 bottom, stocks have rallied back to new record highs, but the reasons why make Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategist Michael Hartnett think that market psychology has shifted “from fear to greed, from the wall of worry to the beginning of hubris.”
And as the market begins to get more confidence, to display more hubris, the “tell” that we might be at a top will be found in the price of gold.
“[T]he big hubristic ‘tell’ will be gold,” Hartnett wrote in a note to clients on Friday. “A sudden gap lower in the gold price to below $1,000/oz should coincide with the final thrust higher in stocks, both indicating capitulation of the ’stubborn bears,’ the end of the ‘melt-up’ and the next opportunity to get tactically bearish. We increasingly fear next year’s high in stocks come early.”
In his note, Hartnett wrote that stocks have not rallied to highs because of strong growth from US companies or the US labor market, but because of central bank deflation “panic.”
Late last month, the Bank of Japan announced additional stimulus.
And just last week, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the ECB would look to increase the size of its balance sheet and that ECB members were unanimous in pushing for more stimulus if needed.
“Confidence is broadening that US growth & QE can and will solve all,” Hartnett wrote, “and that any 2015 normalization of QE will be devoid of negative consequences. It won’t, despite the triumphant tone of the ‘newbie bulls.’ 1,000 on the S&P 500 was a much better entry point into the liquidity trade than 2,000.”
…
Now that the Federal Reserve has ended its bond buying stimulus program, will interest rates rise anytime soon?
UT-San Diego Economist Panel Votes:
Yes: 2
No: 13
N.A.: 1
It is almost impossible to meaningfully raise interest rates. Decreasing incomes and $20T in national debt practically ensures nothing much will happen.
Decreasing incomes and $20T in national debt practically ensures nothing much will happen ??
And, puts a dagger in the heart of many other countries….Important countries both from a economic perspective and a security one…You think there is a flight to quality going on now…Raise rates now and watch what happens…I think the FED is pinned in a corner…
Lucy is trying to coax Charlie Brown to make just one more attempt to kick the football!
The Fed
Yellen, Dudley prepare markets for rate hikes ahead
Published: Nov 7, 2014 11:40 a.m. ET
By Steve Goldstein
D.C. bureau chief
Reuters
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen (right) and IMF President Christine Lagarde (left) attend a conference of central bankers hosted by the Bank of France in Paris.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and her colleagues were preparing the markets for their first rate hike in over six years.
But the big question of when is still left unanswered.
In speeches in Paris on Friday, Yellen and New York Fed President William Dudley both said rates are set to go up, and Dudley said that will likely happen next year.
“I continue to anticipate that the headwinds associated with the financial crisis will wane. As employment, economic activity, and inflation rates return to normal, monetary policy will eventually need to normalize too, although the speed and timing of this normalization will likely differ across countries based on differences in the pace of recovery in domestic conditions,” Yellen said, in a speech discussing the monetary and fiscal policies after the recession.
Dudley started his speech by saying rates are likely to go higher.
“If all goes according to our forecast and the U.S. economy continues to make progress towards the Fed’s dual mandate goals of maximum sustainable employment and 2% inflation, the Federal Reserve will likely begin to raise its federal funds rate target off the zero lower bound sometime next year,” he told the same conference.
Another Fed official, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, told CNBC she also anticipates rate hikes to come.
…
the Fed’s dual mandate goals of maximum sustainable employment and 2% inflation
Note the subtle substitution of “2% inflation” for their statute-mandated “price stability” goal. If they say that often enough, everyone believes them.
Clever, no?
Meanwhile, never mind how the prices of housing and gasoline (a huge chunk of typical family budgets) have gone up by 4X in a few years…somehow that is not part of the 2% annual inflation.
No KIDDING! I think it’s absolutely criminal that they don’t include the things that actually inflate the most from core infaltion calculations. They’re stealing purchasing power directly from fixed income folks like seniors etc and to conveniently leave that out of the equation ostensibly because they are “volatile” (read: they’re what actually inflates) is absolutely insulting. As if they don’t have the resources to make the calculations or something.
“It would be just too gosh darn much work to figure out actual inflation because food/fuel/housing is so darn volitile, so lets just pretend they don’t inflate. I’m sure it’ll all work out just the same for everyone. Hey look at the price of computers and flatscreens everyone!”
As if.
Sounds as if the matter has been settled by the science of economics. I mean, they ran lots of models to figure this out, didn’t they?
‘Buying a house on most islands in the Florida Keys is getting more expensive. And that’s a good thing if you are a seller or real estate agent. The average list price of a home between Duck Key and Key Largo, excluding the Ocean Reef Club, was up 21 percent in the third quarter compared to last year, according to numbers provided by Freewheeler Realty’s Alexa Wheeler.’
‘At quarter’s closing, the average list price rose from about $831,000 to $1.03 million. The average closing price was about $558,000. Wheeler said she is seeing an increase in high-end home purchases by out-of-towners for weekend getaways as well as by snowbirds for winter homes.’
“Buyers down here are going to have to be more aggressive,” she added. “People are not going to be able to steal things like they could in the past, but that doesn’t mean owners shouldn’t be realistic.”
‘From January through September, 848 homes were sold, which is three more than the same period last year. The duration a property sits on the market has fallen to 213 days, down from 252 days in 2013. The Lower Keys, however, experienced a drop in average sales price, a decline not experienced elsewhere in the islands. The average price slipped to $335,000, which is 10 percent lower than last year.’
Yeah, what a complete joke. Buying houses on islands in South Florida truly defines “underwater” real estate, because the sea is starting to reclaim some of the shoreline. This is already a problem in Miami Beach.
I’m not one of those who believes in “global warming”, but I do know that shorelines shift and erode in some areas and build up in others. And it’s happening in South Florida now.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article2564166.html
They call it “sea level rise”, but in fact it’s just the natural process of erosion in one area, and buildup in another. Which is why natives of Florida built their homes west of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The ancients called this building castles on sand.
Global warming or not, I think climate change is not factored into the house prices. Certainly compared to my Phoenix neighborhood the same quality neighborhood in my Orange County area is 150% higher priced. Yet that is due to long time climate. Average temps in Maricopa County in a few decades are expected to be 5 degrees higher. It means in the summer Phoenix will be hotter and feel hotter than Yuma. Why obligate yourself to a depreciating asset that enslaves you to geography?
Actually, the sea level is rising for most of the world. The only exception is where there is a lot of ice. This nifty site explains it all. It’s based on “science”.
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.shtml
That data looks like garbage. Check out Port Townsend and Port Angeles, both in the Puget Sound (near the Straits).
Sea-level can’t be both rising and falling in two spots that are less than 100miles apart. I call BS.
Single family houses built in 2005 (about 18 houses on 1 street)
Middle class hood in Jupiter FL. Region IV
Probably 10 original owners remain, of the rest some have been sold-foreclosed and sold, some refied-foreclosed and sold.
Pretty close numbers by the years.
2005 $200K
2006 $350K
2009 $160K
2011 $190K
2014 $270K
I love how the simple act of buying a place to live has only two outcomes: massive profit or financial ruin, all over the span of 1-3 years, all on the same street. That is a totally normal and desirable state of affairs. Way to go, world.
Real journalists report on the Denver Post’s pot critic Jake Browne
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/fashion/the-life-of-a-pot-critic-denver-post-clean-with-citrus-notes.html?_r=0
Real journalists report on legal weed in D.C.
“Now that toking up is permitted in the 202, one can only imagine how pathetic a D.C. pot scene will be, bolstered by D.C.’s Type-A dorkiness. I’m talking about Capitol Hill wonks revved up after a subcommittee meeting, kicking it at the Palm, taking a toke. Or nonprofiteers giggling over a screening of Redman and Method Man’s “How High” at the E Street Cinema.
Washingtonians are nerdy enough. When they let loose, unleashed by the power of an ancient drug some say is condoned by the Bible, it won’t be pretty. It will be like Anthony Michael Hall in “The Breakfast Club.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marijuana-is-no-longer-illegal-in-dc–but-its-still-lame-everywhere/2014/11/06/8ef69ef0-6568-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html
Peyton lost to Brady last week and he is going to Oakland today to play the Raiders.
Here are your highlights before they happen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnrrbKFWL3Q - 316k -
Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders no longer has showdown status
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_26899389/denver-broncos-vs-oakland-raiders-no-longer-has-showdown-status
And you know what I’ll be eating (at 50% off regular menu price) tomorrow
Peyton’s 5 TD passes lead Broncos in rout of Raiders | Highlights
This is where I live
Pot shops propose rebranding Denver’s South Broadway as The Green Mile
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_26885657/pot-shops-propose-rebranding-denvers-south-broadway-green?source=infinite
Lol, that is really edifying.
So academic criticism (art, theater, dance, opera, music, literature) is totally dead in the mainstream, mostly because everyone thinks their uneducated opinion is equally valid (it’s not). But criticism of corporeal, experiential pursuits (food, drugs, coffee, wine) is a thriving, expanding field.
What kind of expertise do you need to be qualified to asses pot? An MA in 20th c. American Literature might help - has this guy read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test? Perhaps a historian who can provide the political context of various drug cultures? Or an anthropologist, who will elaborate on the communalism and tribalism inherent in drug rituals?
Oh. The Denver Post pot critic is “a comedian, a producer and a founder of a mail-order subscription box for hemp products.”
‘Coldwell Banker’s Michelle Amos said Realtors are seeing the market for larger homes improve after the 2008 recession. Although larger homes are moving in Lowndes and Clay counties, the average price for space in Oktibbeha County homes sold this year is much higher than its neighbors : $101.63 per square foot. Prices are increasing in the tri-county area, but Oktibbeha’s 6 percent uptick brought it above the $100 mark for the first time in history.’
“During the recession, an upper-end home over $350,000 didn’t sell. It just sat there for the longest time,” she said. “In the last two years, we’ve seen many of those homes move again. It doesn’t take too many $500,000 home sales to impact the numbers. Even when times are tough, real estate here is a stable and good investment given the advantages of having a major university,” Amos added.’
‘The university, specifically excitement among alumni about ever growing athletic achievement, is also providing a boon for condominium development. While recent projects, like the Tabor Development-backed Lofts at Central Station, took a while to sell in the past two years, condo properties are now finding interest as soon as they hit the market, Amos said.’
‘Tabor’s website lists Gallery 106, its Lafayette Street development, as two three-bedroom, three-bathroom luxury loft condominiums averaging about 2,300 square feet. The price tag for a unit starts at $474,900.’
“Hotels are tight, restaurants are full and we have a quality of life unlike any other city in this area - people recognize what Starkville has to offer,” Amos said. “What we find is that people come to Mississippi expecting to find a heck of a deal (on property), but our prices are competitive with larger cities. It’s not that we don’t have lower-priced homes, it’s just that they don’t stay on the market long at all.”
One has to ask; Does it really make a difference considering housing demand is at 20 year lows and falling?
PB, thanks for the great advice the other day on steering internet advertising. It is working wonderfully. If not for your posting, I would have no idea right now that Victoria’s Secret is having a PANTY PARTY!!!!
I would have no idea right now that Victoria’s Secret is having a PANTY PARTY!!!!
Hah! I fear that’d be one way for me to get in trouble when my girlfriend looks over my shoulder and wonders why such ads are being shown to me!
I told my girlfriend about the breakfast sandwich ad horror and the Victoria’s Secret idea and she thought it was brilliant!
and wonders why such ads are being shown to me!
Couldn’t there be a really simple explanation, such as that you were shopping for something for her?
Wait what?
This is a Drudge Report link that discusses colder than average weather forecast for next week
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/polar-vortex-42-states/37049255
Your narrative has been scripted
This article was not written by real journalists
Ferguson Insider: Jury Decision Expected to Bring “Riots Worse than the LA Riots”
http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/11/ferguson-jury-decision-expected-to-bring-riots-worse-than-the-la-riots/
It’s a setup.
Yawn.
Detroit bankruptcy resolution not a U.S. roadmap
Detroit’s record-setting Chapter 9 bankruptcy and $7 billion debt-cutting restructuring isn’t likely to unleash a wave of municipal bankruptcies across the county, and doesn’t offer a simple roadmap for other troubled municipalities to follow, experts say.
The national impact of the Motor City’s bankruptcy was blunted by the fact that the state and private foundations agreed to backstop retiree losses to the tune of $800 million Nothing else was in the article to explain the nature of this ‘backstop’
The settlements prevented a full-fledged court fight that could have dragged on for years and, even though they didn’t set legal precedents still established important benchmarks that could factor in future Chapter 9 cases.
Standard & Poors rating agency said Friday the approval of Detroit’s plan of adjustment won’t affect municipal credit ratings.
“In the end, despite months of headlines and court battles, ultimately the outcome of the Detroit bankruptcy will not have an impact on our ratings,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Jane Ridley on Friday. “This view is based on our feeling that there was no precedent set that is widely applicable.”
The December ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Rhodes that the state constitution’s guaranteed protection for pensions was trumped by the ability to invalidate contracts under federal bankruptcy law is also unlikely to get a review by the appeals courts.
No city has filed for bankruptcy since Detroit sought court protection in July 2013. Many cities across the country still face huge looming bills for pensions and other financial problems.
The settlements prevented a full-fledged court fight that could have dragged on for years and, even though they didn’t set legal precedents still established important benchmarks that could factor in future Chapter 9 cases.
Reading between the lines: it was worth ALOT (sic) of money to someone to avoid having legal clarity on who loses in a municipal bankruptcy such as this…
Hmmm…
legal clarity is one thing, but just where the money to pay for impossible levels of public employee pensions (the basic issue for Detroit etc) will come from is a question of reality. The fork in the road will come when a bankrupt city must either default on worthless pension promises or a court orders taxation to make up the difference. Can’t get blood from a beet, no matter how red it is.
region viii 27
region x 10
Region VIII 34
Region X 10
Shall I continue?
Region VIII 41
Region X 10
Thats like picking on the kids on the shortbus.
FINAL
Region VIII 41
Region X 17
Did you guys catch the Penis Von Lesbian story?
Welcome to Region VIII
Is that a yes or a no?
Region VIII = the top of the continent
P*ss runs downhill from here
Both ways…
I will take that as a no.
Description: Email joke / Satire
Circulating since: 2000 / earlier
Status: False
Email example contributed by Toma R., 10 Oct 2000:
A strikingly handsome young man walked into the office of a Hollywood agent with his resume and portfolio in hand. The agent reviewed the young man’s slim resume and small portfolio with the care that was deserving of this fine young specimen.
“You have the very obvious good looks and excellent demeanor of an actor. Tell me, have you had any roles that I might be aware of.”
“Other than the requisite high school and college plays, no sir,” said the handsome young man.
“I dare say I know the reason why, with a name like yours,” said the agent.
“Sir?”
“Your name. Penus Van Lesbian. That’s not a name that will go far in Hollywood. I’d love to represent you, but you’ll have to change your name.”
“Sir,” the handsome young man protested. “The Van Lesbian name was my father’s, my grandfather’s and his father’s name. We have carried this name for generations and I will not change it for Hollywood or any other reason.”
“If you won’t change your name, I cannot represent you young man.”
“Then I bid you farewell - my name will not change.” With that, Penus Van Lesbian left the agents office never to return.
Five Years Later…
The Hollywood agent returned to his office after lunch with some producers and shuffled through his mail. Mostly junk mail, trade journals and the like. There was one letter. He opened the envelope and removed the letter. As he unfolded the fine linen paper, a check dropped from the folds and onto his desk. He looked at the check. It was for 50,000 dollars!
He read the letter:
Dear Sir:
Several years ago, I entered your office determined to become an actor. You refused to represent me unless I changed my name. I objected, saying the Penus Van Lesbian name had been carried for generations and left your office. However, upon leaving, I chanced to reconsider my hastiness and after considerable reflection, I decided to heed your advice and endeavored to change my name. Now I am a famous actor with many roles and known to millions worldwide. Having achieved this fame and fortune, it is often that I think back to my meeting with you and your insistence that I change my name. I owe you a debt of gratitude, so please accept this check with my humble thanks, for it was your idea which has brought me to such wealth and fame.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Dick Van Dyke
Sunday funnies.
http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/11/09/sunday-funnies-36/
http://www.picpaste.com/www.nytimes.jpg
Bank of England Governor supposedly preparing to tell banks that they aren’t too big to fail, i.e. that no more bailouts with be forthcoming. We’ll see about that.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11219920/Bail-outs-are-over-Carney-to-tell-banks.html
Catalans, fed up with subsidizing crony capitalism and Spain’s version of the Free Sh!t Army, vote to secede. While the referendum is symbolic, it will add momentum for the breakaway region’s drive to free itself from domination from a corrupt and venal central government that has long ignored the aspirations and grievances of Catalans. The EU and ECB will not be pleased.
http://www.businessinsider.com/81-of-catalans-vote-to-secede-from-spain-in-symbolic-referendum-2014-11
The Elliot-Wave chart from the most respected
chartist in the industry confirms my opinion.
The housing market bottomed in 2012, and we are
at the very beginning of a slowly ascending cycle.
We are in a bump downward now, but the 5 year
trend will be up - guaranteed.
Silver and gold are great investments right now.
I just picked up a map of Oxford from 1792 at an
estate sale for 1 dollar in Santa Barbara. I love SB
cuz there’s old money all around there. The map is
at least worth 100. My best ascquisition was a first edition
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from Monrovia, CA for 1 buck.
Sold it for 404 on Ebay, but this map is so cool, I may not sell it.
My oil is still in a downward trend, but a bottom may be forming
now.
Meanwhile prices are falling.
West Hollywood, CA Sale Prices Crater 8% YoY; Plunge 12% QoQ As Housing Demand Plummets Statewide
http://www.zillow.com/los-angeles-ca-90046/home-values/
http://www.kitco.com/news/2014-11-09/Why-Many-Aren-t-Celebrating-Low-US-Unemployment.html
“The picture looks bleaker still for workers at auto plants, steel mills, and similar factories. If you go back to October 2009 and adjust for inflation, these workers are now earning on average $1 less an hour, according to the Labor Department.
People in the professional services sector — everyone from managers to temporary workers — now earn on average 80 cents less an hour over the same period. An average construction worker makes 59 cents less an hour. Retail employees earn a penny less.”
Stop right there!!! I thought I was the only one losing over 20% of my annual compensation since 2009.
So if our compensation is 20% lower than 2009, what year before 2009 was the compensation (adjusted for inflation) 20% below 2009? Probably many years before.
Again, when house prices fall to meet wages so that a starter house is 2 and a half times the annual salary of a typical person in that community, the houses will be priced appropriate.
House prices are still highly inflated.
DO NOT DRINK THE KOOL-AID. RENT and save your cash.
phony scandals