Bits Bucket for December 31, 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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some reflections on the year that was:
i have so much money left after ‘throwing money away on rent’ every month that i don’t know where to throw it.
everyone i know who ‘owns’ a house greatly underestimates the true costs of maintentance and repairs and the amount of time required to do it.
and because we need reminded again, realtors are liars.
Would you be better or worse off if you had bought a house where you live 5 years ago?
Financially, maybe if I sold it today or within the next few months, I would come out ‘ahead’ if calculated just on purchase and sale prices.
However, there is nothing that I could buy that is more square footage than I want or need now, so I would be paying higher heat (that is included in my rent now) and electric bills for a larger space.
Regarding the cost of immobility, my last place of employment is over 30 miles from where I work now. When I changed jobs my income went up by over 15 percent. Clown car commuting is for loosers.
Also, I spend 40+ weekends a year in the mountains. That is time better spent than doing yard work and home maintenance and repairs.
As an adherent to the Bill in Los Angeles lifestyle, overall I would be worse off. Any financial gains from cashed out equity would not outweigh the reduced work/life balance of loanownership.
Correction: the only places I could buy are more square footage than I want or need
“Also, I spend 40+ weekends a year in the mountains. That is time better spent than doing yard work and home maintenance and repairs.”
Visited wife’s friend’s family. Basically they have 1.25-incomes and two kids. Talk about borrowing for every fugg’n thing: his and hers school loans, cars, dentist, smart phones, etc., just like the stars in the night sky you can see the light, but they’re already dead. No way these peeps are going to help fund my retirement.
The single renter lifestyle works for many and I enjoyed it to the max. I did all sorts of wild, exciting, fun things before I got married at the age of 30.
Nothing I did when I was single even begins to compare with how much I’ve enjoyed being a husband, father, and grandfather. A big part of this involves owning a mortgage free house for the last 25 years.
At a recent family gathering, a couple of my grand kids told my wife and me that they hoped we would never sell our house because they had so many happy memories there.
“A big part of this involves owning a mortgage free house for the last 25 years.”
+1 I’ve been debt free for three years now, and I can’t imagine ever having another mortgage. If we sell here we’ll buy outright or rent where we end up. I will admit that our current place needs a $20k facelift as everything from the carpeting to the three-tab asphalt shingles is at end-of-life.
Since December 2009, prices went up about 25 percent where I was then. But if I had bought then, I would have sold for a small gain and then maybe bought where I am now at the already elevated price. And I would have lost a huge amount paid in interest and transaction costs. Owning such an albatross might have caused me not to move.
I think if I bought then I would be miserable.
And you can’t buy a house 5 years ago, you can only buy now.
Correction, I checked again. I would have had to sell for a loss of tens of thousands, not including transaction costs.
That’s the case if you bought anytime in the last 15 years.
Once again, where is the sucker at that price?
5 years ago…
Well I worked in 1) L.A. 5 years ago today, then 2) in Tampa from December 2010 to February 2012, then L.A. again 2012 to July 2013 and now in Irvine, 40 miles from my L.A. job.
Had I bought a house in the South Bay region of L.A. 5 years ago I would not have had the Tampa opportunity. Little did I know that even though that was over 2100 miles from L.A. I would not regret the hourly rate I negotiated for in Tampa, even though there was hardly any overtime.
Near the end of 2010 my manager told me I should either switch to a different consulting company (to lower my pay) or leave (I forgot that for a year or two until just now). I told my recruiter (we consultants call them “pimps”) and had a job lined up. It was at a competitor of the company I worked at that time. So I kept it quiet until the manager shook my hand, took my badge, and handed me my signed timesheet. The look on his face was priceless when I told him I went to the competitor!
In fact, that was on a Friday, I left at 1pm so had 6 hours of pay (dang it) for that day. I started my new job two days later in Tampa 2100 miles away from LA. That was a 14 month gig and steady pay with just a normal weekend between job changes
That’s how it’s done, son. Wouldn’t have been willing to do it as a home moaner.
So if I bought a house in 2009 I’d have a good pay rate up to the end of 2010. One year worth. But have to scramble for another job opportunity in the LA area. Or lower my pay.
I’m 55 and have a full head of brown hair (with a touch of white hair at my ears). I would have a full head of white hair if I had to worry about how to support my mortgage.
The job market is finally improving to where it should be to keep me working for years, but unless I had a net worth of $3 million or more, I will continue to rent in California. Things are still too volatile for me, being new to commercial software work and dealing with open source software. It was probably four years too early for me to make the career change when I did it in 2013. But I’m hanging on. It keeps me scrambling and thirsty for knowledge to keep me in the market in the Irvine area. It would be a plus to become a Con-1099 in commercial work, but I’m far away from that at this point.
+1
Buying in 2009 would have worked OK, w/ 20% down mortgage would have been about $200K, about $1000/mo. vs. the $1500/mo. I pay for rent.
Am well aware of the pitfalls of buying but did own a place for 10 years and enjoyed it, even most of the repair and improvement projects, miss using my tools, making sawdust, etc…but am renting more or less happily in the meantime. (did try to buy in 2011/2012 but it was dang near impossible thanks to the flippers, specuvestors, etc.)
You saved yourself tens of thousands of dollars. Thank the suckers.
“everyone i know who ‘owns’ a house greatly underestimates the true costs of maintentance and repairs and the amount of time required to do it.”
Because it crushes the ‘renting is throwing money away’ lie. You can ignore $2-$3/sqft per year depreciation but it will always be there.
drip… drip… drip.
+1 Especially an older home. If you cant fix it your self your doomed!!
207k miles on it.
If you cant fix it your self your [sic] doomed!!
+1 10-4. Actually been good for my son to learn a few things.
Someone took me to task yesterday, because all I needed to do was get 45 minutes of exercise every day.
Yeah, sure.
-fixr’s typical day (including Saturday and Sunday)
9 to 5-6-7ish - Working the “full time” job
3-4 nights a week = 30 min to 1 hour in transit, the work on one of my “contract” deals for 2-4 hours. Then grab dinner somewhere, and make it to the house around 8:30-9:00pm.
The good news is that I’m getting calls from people needing help on getting their airplane’s maintenance managed by someone who knows what they are doing. Since I can’t do it all, I’m setting up deals with some of my local mech buddies who are looking for some “on the side” extra income.
Also good news……….experienced contract guys are getting some significant (for us) rate increases. Essentially guys are saying “If you want to take me away from my nights /weekends to work airplane stuff, this is what it’s going to take”. And getting it.
The reason: Guys who know how to fix these airplanes (especially older ones) are getting tough to find. All the guys that know how to fix this stuff are being culled/bought out/early retired. A lot of these guys have these things called “defined benefit retirement packages/pensions” So when they are shoved out the door, a lot of them are getting into more lucrative businesses. Like Sports Bars. And motorcycle/classic car/farm tractor restorations.
This is creating other issues. Because of the way business has been done in the USA for the past 20 years, the 35-40 year old airplane mechanic with 15-20 years experience doesn’t exist anymore. If he does, nowadays he’s pulling down six figures at one of the big shops, with job security, and has no interest in working out in BFE, while taking a pay cut to do it.
Even the big shops are running into problems. Back in the 80s, I had eight years in before I got promoted to “crew chief”. Now, I’m seeing guys get this position with less than five years. Not because they have the experience (which they don’t). They are getting them because the position has to be filled by someone.
That doesn’t mean that management has got the word yet……
I was approached about a full time position that sounded right up my alley, with a significant, but not ridiculous, pay increase. Subsequently found out that the actual deal wasn’t nearly as good as advertised; they didn’t want to pay their current (contract) guy what he was asking, and was using the “filling the position” process as leverage to lowball him.
“-fixr’s typical day (including Saturday and Sunday)
9 to 5-6-7ish - Working the “full time” job
3-4 nights a week = 30 min to 1 hour in transit, the work on one of my “contract” deals for 2-4 hours. Then grab dinner somewhere, and make it to the house around 8:30-9:00pm.”
Modern slavery.
Misery. Plain and simple.
Of course you aren’t going to have time to exercise working full time and then a second job of 2-4 hours a night. But I would very much encourage you to try a little something if you can. An hour of weights on each weekend day and then 1/2 hour exercise bike will do wonders combined with a little calorie restriction.
Stay positive and get a little blood flowing when you can! Your kids and grandkids will thank you.
Even if the weight loss is minimal (due to irregular exercise schedule) just doing some exercise will go a long way to preventing cardiac issues later in life.
And mental health outlook/feeling great. Just so I was clear above, I meant 1/2 hour of bike/cardio 4 days during the week, if possible.
I know at least 4 people who lost 35-50 pounds over the last year just doing that and also cutting back on carbs/calories, avoiding the breads, pastas, starches and slop, but still eating pretty well.
+1 on the mental/psychological benefit of exercise, at least as great as the physical IME. I’m fortunate in that I’ve found forms of exercise I truly enjoy (bicycling and weight training) NO WAY I’d have the discipline to stick with an exercise regimen if it was a disagreeable chore.
Diet is everything. You are what you eat. I’ve never seen fat people who eat small salads and lean proteins every meal.
Or a happy person either!
hey fixer….Ice pilots NWT all about buffalo airlines flying old ww2 aircraft ..in the yukon daily…..amazing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdfsQNwGtIc
I did not mean to take anyone to task. I just think exercise is left out of the conversation on obesity and aging.
If you can find the time to watch a tv program or drink a cup of coffee, you can find the time to do four or five sets of pushups and body weight squats or lunges…maybe even throw in some resistance bands for your shoulders and arms. Drop down and do some bicycle situps or some seated twists…break a sweat.
I’m telling you that it will retard the aging process down to the mitochondrial DNA level and you will look younger and be able to eat without guilt (portion control is still a plus).
Starting is the hardest part, not just in general but each and every day.
I wish you the best of luck.
#MoveItOrLoseIt
Fixer begs us not to be lectured about exercise… only to be doubly lectured about exercise. IIRC, Fixer is somewhat overweight and likely gets plenty of movement crawling around aircraft. Fixer, my only advice is that you cut your carbs to paleo amounts. For you, that means no wheat, no corn, no rice, and no potatoes. Especially wheat. Meat Veggies Tea.
Hard core paleo people like to eat clean with no preservatives etc, but that involves cooking all their own food which takes insane amounts of time and effort that you don’t have. I don’t know your money situation, but if you can, you may do better to live out of the grocery store deli. Eat hard boiled eggs at home for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, fill up on the ham and chicken and cold veggies at the salad bar. If you can , take home a rotisserie chicken. But watch your salt.
“Meat Veggies Tea”
Cavemen drank tea?
That’s not really the point. I just said “tea” because it’s something cheap and less boring than water.
Sour cream and onion potato chips are cheap and less boring than raw broccoli. Does that make them part of the paleo diet?
Do Paleo people care if their cholesterol is 500?
Rather than pay through the nose filling up on sodium laden deli meats and cheeses, buy whole chickens for $.79 per pound and cook them on Sundays, and you have your meat for the week.
Yes, that’s an option. From what Fixer says, his schedule is too stressful to haul out the kitchen pots on Sunday. Even if there is time, there may not be the mental energy. That’s why I’m suggesting the extra convenient route.
Simply changing to a meat and veg diet — with no convenience carbs — is adjustment enough. As someone who has her own full-time job and cooks her own chicken, I know that it takes more energy to do than to lecture about. I don’t want to pile on.
Prediction for 2014: CR8ER
It’s already started: 201
45stocks are cheap bear pit! Buy the DIP !
“Stocks are cheap.”
Are you drunk?
Drudge Report link article for the badge lickers
Military hardware still flowing to local police after Ferguson
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/30/military-hardware-still-flowing-to-local-police-af/
And another article for the uniform fetishists
Gun owners fear Maryland cops target them for traffic stops
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/30/gun-owners-fear-maryland-cops-target-them-for-traf/
“F*** tha police” — N.W.A.
Okay, I’ll bite. Cops can’t search your car even during a legal traffic stop without probable cause. Here, the cop said he smelled marijuana.
And how would the Maryland cops know he owned a gun? Maybe Florida shares records of gun sales with other states, but there isn’t a national gun registry or database. And you can buy a gun in a private party sale anyways so it seems virtually impossible to tell if someone owns a gun from some database. More paranoia, read the article comments, lots of people saying you can own plenty of guns in Maryland. (But I do agree that their concealed carry sheme, like CA’s, seems to violate the 2nd amendment).
And you can buy a gun in a private party sale anyways so it seems virtually impossible to tell if someone owns a gun from some database.
Not the case in WA — all “transfers” must go through an FFL and be accompanied by a background check.
I don’t know what other states have similar laws.
Thats why i can’t believe the NRA would oppose a mandatory 5 year jail sentence with no bail for anyone on public property carrying and illegal unregistered gun…and 10 years if the serial numbers are filed off
Yeah, I’m sure there are variations but if there are places where you can do it, like Az, private party without an FFL, then it makes the whole thing of tracking gun owners a joke, especially if there are a substantial number of states that allow it.
And even if it goes thru an FFL, how do the Maryland cops know about the purchase? There isn’t a database, unless there is some NSA type stuff going on (and if that is the assumption, then there’s no point in discussing it).
There isn’t a database, unless there is some NSA type stuff going on (and if that is the assumption, then there’s no point in discussing it).
There is a database of CCW holders in each state, and in some (all?) states it’s public record. Recall the issue that came up post Sandy-hook where some media outlet published that info/on a map.
Given all the NSA revelations, you really can be so dismissive of the notion that the federal government is compiling this data and sharing it with states/law enforcement?
A database of CCW holders is far from a database of gun owners. Maybe 10 percent have CCW?
And I am dismissive of the NSA idea because there’d have to be many many cops in on it and many many cops are 2nd amendment supporters and would blow the whistle to the NRA in a heartbeat.
” Cops can’t search your car even during a legal traffic stop without probable cause. Here, the cop said he smelled marijuana.
In other words, they can search your car anytime they want to, just by saying they think they smell mj.
Cmon, that never washes. Yeah, they are gonna search Joe Model citizen’s car claiming smelling MJ, a guy who never had any brush with the law and drives a minivan? And no evidence whatsoever of any MJ residue anywhere? And these days there is more and more video/audio evidence every day. You know you can sue the cops for violating your rights. It happens all the time.
” Yeah, they are gonna search Joe Model citizen’s car claiming smelling MJ”
Isn’t that exactly what happened in the article cited?
“It happens all the time.”
+1 Youtube has a few mini-van dads being tazer’d for not being obedient.
You never get the full story. Every time I read one of those get people hyped on the Internet stories there are clearly things left out, like the story here at first made it seem like his car was searched without any reason at all. Then it comes out that there was a claim of smelling mj. Is this guy Joe model citizen? If so, he should sue.
“Gun owners fear Maryland cops target them for traffic stops”
That goes back to the whole “progressives need cops to enforce their draconian liberty stealing laws” thing.
#ThinkBeforeYouVote
Following the NYC cops’ execution, massive work slowdown:
Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.
Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300.
Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.
Drug arrests by cops assigned to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau — which are part of the overall number — dropped by 84 percent, from 382 to 63.
Warmist Warming Wednesday
Monarch Butterfly May Join Endangered Species List
http://news.discovery.com/animals/monarch-butterfly-may-join-endangered-species-list-141231.htm
Only bigger and bigger government, more and more regulations, and higher and higher taxes can solve this
And the only people who care about this anyway are all gay socialists
When those butterflies get too close to my truck I roll some coal on them
I planted lots of milkweed plants so as to help save the Monarch butterfly and these plants attracted lots of Monarchs which laid lots of eggs which hatched into lots of caterpillars which ate the milkweed plants down to the stem.
Now the caterpillars that have managed to survived this are facing starvation.
“survived” = “survive”
My original plan was to harvest milkweed seeds to as to plant lots and lots of milkweed plants but the milkweeds can’t make it to the seed generating phase of their lives because the caterpillars won’t let them get that far.
So the irony is this: I want to help save the Monarch but in order to do so I will have to kill off a lot of Monarch caterpillars, and this is tough to do because I LIKE monarch butterflys and caterpillars is where these butterflys come from.
Lots of milkweed volunteers grew last summer just over my back fence. No caterpillars touched them.
This is a Drudge Report link
Obama Adviser Jonathan Gruber in 2009: Obamacare Will NOT Be Affordable
http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/30/obama-adviser-jonathan-gruber-in-2009-obamacare-will-not-be-affordable/
“If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” — President Barack Hussein Obama
That actually seems pretty reasonable to me.
That actually seems pretty reasonable to me.
Except that before I can buy my “upgraded” coverage, I first have to pay for the coverage of one other person…
So I have to pay for my basic coverage, then someone else’s basic coverage (assuming that roughly 50% of folks don’t pay federal income tax), and THEN I can pay to cover myself better…
Weren’t we paying for other people who lacked coverage anyway? I didn’t see people dying outside of emergency rooms for lack of insurance.
Millions are people dying everyday because they lack heath insurance - Heard some one say that in 2010.
Weren’t we paying for other people who lacked coverage anyway?
For certain things, sure. For all that “basic” insurance will cover? No.
Denver Post - Colorado’s cannabis experiment puts it into a global spotlight
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27174837/colorados-cannabis-experiment-puts-it-into-global-spotlight
And to the teabaggers in Nebraska and Oklahoma suing the state of Colorado over legal weed, just think how much more money you’d have to buy Creationism textbooks if you weren’t spending $50,000 a year of taxpayer money to incarcerate inmates for marijuana possession
How much is the Centennial State saving on incarceration? Or is it too soon to tell?
I wonder how all the kidz sleeping on the 16th Street Mall downtown liked the weather here the past few nights (it is 5F outside now as of 8am).
If the first few months of legalization was Monterey Pop and the Summer of Love, this winter is gonna be Altamont.
Time to catch a Greyhound back to the West Coast, loosers
” the teabaggers in Nebraska and Oklahoma suing the state of Colorado over legal weed”
Hypocrites. They want the federal government off their backs so they can direct it onto the backs of others.
Here’s one from the “No sh#t Sherlock” column.
Gruber in 2009: Obamacare Not Affordable
Tuesday, 30 Dec 2014 02:11 PM
By Melanie Batley
The embattled former Obamacare architect, Jonathan Gruber, has said that the federal healthcare program had no cost controls in it and would not be affordable, The Daily Caller reported.
“The problem is it starts to go hand in hand with the mandate; you can’t mandate insurance that’s not affordable. This is going to be a major issue,” Gruber said in a 2009 policy brief.
“So what’s different this time? Why are we closer than we’ve ever been before? Because there are no cost controls in these proposals. Because this bill’s about coverage. Which is good! Why should we hold 48 million uninsured people hostage to the fact that we don’t yet know how to control costs in a politically acceptable way? Let’s get the people covered and then let’s do cost control.”
“There’s no reason the American health care system can’t be, ‘You can have whatever you want, you just have to pay for it.’ That’s what we do in other walks of life. We don’t say everyone has to have a large screen TV. If you want a large screen TV, you have to pay for it. Basically the notion would be to move to a level where everyone has a solid basic insurance level of coverage. Above that people pay on their own, without tax-subsidized dollars, to buy a higher level of coverage.”
Gruber also said that President Barack Obama was aware that the healthcare bill was unlikely to control costs, despite the president’s claims to the contrary, according to the Caller.
“I wish that President Obama could have stood up and said, ‘You know, I don’t know if this bill is going to control costs. It might, it might not. We’re doing our best. But let me tell you what it’s going to do,” Gruber said on a 2012 podcast, according to the Caller.
“If he could make that speech? Instead, he says ‘I’m going to pass a bill that will lower your health care costs.’ That sells. Now, I wish the world was different. I wish people cared about the 50 million uninsured in America…But, you know, they don’t. And I think, once again, I’m amazed politically that we got this bill through.”
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.Newsmax.com/Newsfront/Jonathan-Gruber-Obamacare-healthcare/2014/12/30/id/615642/#ixzz3NU7tqQ3z
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
Where’s Lolacado when you need him?
Grubered again.
I might change that to Goobered again - as in Goober Pyle.
Gruber has to be a spawn of Goober!!
Article for Downlow Joe
“My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to Christian therapists, so I never got the therapy I needed to cure my depression. I only got more Christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/31/transgender-teen-who-died-of-an-apparent-suicide-fix-society-please/
How does a youthful teenager become transgender? Does the parent’s employer’s healthcare policy pick-up the tab? There’s more to this story, IMHO. He’d be popular in jail with those full lips.
Wall Street Journal subscriber paywall article preview
The Hidden Student-Debt Bomb
Under the radar, maneuvers to avoid paying off loans are surging. ‘Forbearance’ has hit the $125 billion mark.
“It is time to re-evaluate how we measure the performance of student-loan programs — particularly whether borrowers are or are not meeting their obligations. The traditional measures of nonrepayment — delinquencies and defaults — might be fine for most types of loans, but not for outstanding student loans, nearly all of which are held or backed by the federal government. Lawmakers have provided students with options that let them punt on repayment without triggering delinquency or default…”
No ‘pent-up demand’ for $500,000 starter homes here
“The Hidden Student-Debt Bomb”
I can’t believe anyone actually completes the FAFSA form. If that database was ever breached you’d be finished.
Prisoners: crony capitalism’s perfect workers.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_prison_state_of_america_20141228
Prisons employ and exploit the ideal worker. Prisoners do not receive benefits or pensions. They are not paid overtime. They are forbidden to organize and strike. They must show up on time. They are not paid for sick days or granted vacations. They cannot formally complain about working conditions or safety hazards. If they are disobedient, or attempt to protest their pitiful wages, they lose their jobs and can be sent to isolation cells. The roughly 1 million prisoners who work for corporations and government industries in the American prison system are models for what the corporate state expects us all to become. And corporations have no intention of permitting prison reforms that would reduce the size of their bonded workforce. In fact, they are seeking to replicate these conditions throughout the society.
This is a graphic from an article in the American Conservative magazine about incarceration in America
Number of people incarcerated per 100,000 population
Louisiana - 1,341
Texas - 1,063
Former Soviet Union - 823
Virginia - 815
U.S.A. - 716
http://www.picpaste.com/tmp_IMG_20141226_154939_642-734668957-W1zi6EpH.jpg
Note that when teabaggers talk about “shrinking the size of government to where you can drown it in the bathtub” there is ALWAYS an exception to spend taxpayer dollars locking up black and brown people.
And there are zillions of cops who are all eager to find an excuse to arrest you.
Here is a link on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_incarceration_rate
Of interest that red states have, in general, higher incarceration rates.
The Centennial State has the 18th highest rate in the country. So much for us being a bunch of liberals.
Far too low, at least 5 percent of the population should be locked up. We can’t afford that though.
And the “many in prison for marijuana possession” idea is a total myth.
‘a total myth’
white people don’t go to prison for marijuana but lots of blacks and browns do
Sales or priors or parole/probation terms violation.
Ummm does standing on a street corner selling illegal stuff in front of the cops increase you chances of getting arrested?…
Eric gardner didn’t think so
I wonder how much those numbers would drop if you decriminalized drug possession for personal use and backed off prosecuting jonny-beer-after-work lighting up a salem at the corner pub.
#ConcentrateOnRealCrime
They wouldn’t drop at all.
Existing home sales revised lower (again); Midwest home sales slump for sixth consecutive month.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-31/existing-home-sales-revised-lower-again-midwest-slumps-6th-month-row
Here’s one of the comments that get to the crux of the biscuit;
“IN Oct 2011 NAR agjusted down the previous 5 years of sales…..Suddenly for the first time since the crash, in Nov 2012 a week before the election,, housing beets… Liars one and all of them”
O’Trauma pimps best doesn’t he?
Next up;
NAR Overstates Home Sales The Past 4 Years
http://ieawealth.blogspot.com/2011/12/nar-overstates-home-sales-past-4-years.html
How quickly NAR nearly escaped that faux pas that forever cemented their notoriety. Alas… we’re all here to remind everyone. Their MoM and YoY is a downright fabrication. Organic housing demand measured by mortgage apps is at multi-decade lows and sinking.
why is crude cratering again?
For the same reason housing is cratering again.
Hey there Region VIII - here ya go - and y’all wonder why it is I want out of here!!!
Prospero Anno Nuovo!!
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/12/30/pension-crisis-pushes-illinois-towards-default/
Not normally a fan of the oligarchy’s flagship propaganda outlet, the NYT, but on the issue of the NYPD’s petulent unprofessionalism and insubordination against the Mayor, they nailed it. Our descent into a banana-republic Idiocracy can only be hastened by public-union goons who refuse to do their jobs in a competent and professional manner.
http://www.businessinsider.com/nyt-tells-the-nypd-to-do-their-jobs-2014-12
I do not agree with Oliver Stone on much but he has this right:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oliver-stone-ukraine-protests-truth-760755
Why do Asian women follow me around the internet?
When I took programming back in high school, a common exasperated complaint from students was “What the heck is this computer doing?” The answer, of course, is that the computer was doing exactly what we told it to do.
Asian women are following you around the internet because that’s exactly what you asked for. Meanwhile I am still occasionally followed around by a $500 light fixture, because that’s what I asked for.
Hand picked CraterTaters® will always appear in your feed bag Donk.
…. and down through the floor goes a craterin’ crude. Oil that is.
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/crude%20oil%20-%20electronic
Not a good sign.
Dow Finishes Last Day Of Year 160 Points In the Red
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/DJIA
I’m happy with the 11.4% gain on the S&P 500 for this year. Didn’t expect this. Its biggest drop for the year was 9.8% from mid-September to mid-October. That could have turned into a crash but maybe the banksters saved the day.
Eventually the banksters won’t be able prevent the crash. Just like the oil companies were not able to prevent the drop in oil prices.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-futures-tick-strong-2014-123722972.html
Yeah, but the last day was in the red. LOL!!
H NYE!
Get drunk and dance like no one (hot) is watching.
“As the exuberant talking-heads proclaim, day after day, that “this is the moment of clarity for retail to come storming back off the sidelines”, the question arises who exactly would retail be buying from?
The answer: the same institutions whose proximity to the Fed has allowed them to lever up at near zero cost of debt rates, and who have bid up risk to unprecedented levels, pushing the S&P over 2000 in recent weeks. Of course, those are all paper gains, as institutions know all too well. Which is why the time to monetize paper profits is now, and why with every day that retail refuses to come back and buy what institutions are increasingly desperate to sell, is one day more in which the day of “paper profits into very real losses” reckoning approaches.”
There waiting for you.
“As the S&P 500 levitates ever higher on the back of what even JPM and Citigroup now both admit is nothing but a global central-bank reflated bubble which, hardly a spoiler alert here, will burst sooner or later leaving those who are holding the bag with unprecedented losses, one thing is clear: the retail investor is not coming back. Whether it is a complete lack of trust in a market that has been revealed to be more rigged than any casino, or because every risk asset is artificially propped up by a few Princeton economists, or simply because the “retail” investor does not have the disposable income to come back, is irrelevant: retail is done.”
“It is also why every media outlet, newspaper, ant TV channel has a simple message for you, dear retail investor: please come back already, and buy, buy, buy… what every bank, prop desk, hedge fund, mutual fund, pension fund, and central bank, is so desperate to sell.”
Will you get hosed again?
Remember, every bull market has three phases:
The Accumulation Phase: This is the period at the end of a downtrend when informed investors — hedge funds, money managers, politicians, etc. — start snatching up shares on the cheap.
The Public Participation Phase: As the market bottoms and begins its rebound, public fear and apprehension towards investing subsides, and retail investors retest the waters.
The Excess Phase: Finally, momentum picks up and exuberance takes over. When that happens, a bear market is born, as the informed investors from Phase 1 bail out and leave retail investors holding the bag.
But a house only has one phase: Depreciation.
Hold onto your cash.
100 phony scandals