Bits Bucket for January 21, 2015
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Reallocating stocks to 25% cash. Probably go to 50% by mid to late 2015. Seems logical. I might get completely out of stocks and into cash in 2016. The housing investments are producing nicely. I should probably sell a couple, but the cash flow is really why I bought them in the first place.
You’ve shown your numbers here and your cash rake amounts to 1% per year. You bought the properties for appreciation, it was made clear.
He’s delusional at best.
You guys don’t get it.
He’s got cash flow.
All you have is the specter of higher rental rates for the rest of your lives.
He can rent his residence and move anywhere anytime.
We get that his cash flow is miniscule relative to the leveraged money committed. We get it that a downturn in market prices will wipe our buddy out. We get it that he has to have these investments located on his drive to work so he can worry over them.
So no, he can’t just rent out and move away.
Why would I move anywhere? I have a wonderful home and great job. That stability contributes to why I also like owning rental houses.
The humorous part is that you do not understand cash on cash returns. You take the dollars invested (ie 25% down payment or $65,000 for example) and then you calculate the net rental income after vacancy, taxes, insurance, maintenance and debt service, (I don’t charge myself management, which is partly why the plan works so well).
I typically net out about $250/mon or $3,000/year. That is a 4.61% return on my cash. Additionally, my debt service payment includes principal reduction of about $200/mon or $2,400/year, or another 3.7%. Some years, I get to use the depreciation, but often, I reach the phase out level, so you may assume the tax benefits remain unused.
4.61% + 3.7% = 8.31% return on the investment
The fact all the houses have appreciated over 30% since I bought them is just a side benefit until I choose to sell some. However, the LTV on all the properties is now a combined 52%, so if the market craters, it probably won’t affect me much. I plan to be free and clear in another 14 years anyway and just have fun in retirement. Real estate can be a great investment. It has been for me.
Congrats on your success JM! You’re right — even if the market craters a la 2008, at 52% LTV you won’t go underwater.
You have a boatload of debt on a bunch of depreciating rotting houses Jingle_Fraud.
“The humorous part is that you do not understand cash on cash returns. You take the dollars invested (ie 25% down payment or $65,000 for example) and then you calculate the net rental income…”
That is pretty humorous. I’ll bet anyone with accounting training would laugh their ass off.
Your ROI is 1%, less depreciation.
Rental real estate only works if you pay cash and have DEEEEEEEEEEP pockets. Otherwise keep yer cash.
“He’s got cash flow.”
Sure, if you believe his lies. Are you interested in some swampland on Mars?
“I don’t charge myself management, which is partly why the plan works so well.”
= I value my time and labor at $0. Very smart accounting. Not.
All that work to net $250 a month? All that work and worry and hours that go in to managing those places is worth $250 a month?
You can’t pick up a side gig for a few hours a month that pays $250 that doesn’t involve a rotting, depreciation asset with dubious value that is about to crater?
SMH.
His model was always based on ever rising valuations.
That’s what I recall as well, Blue.
A couple people I work with decided to sell their CA rentals or not turn their house into a rental because after the appreciation of the last few years the rent versus the equity didn’t make sense to them.
You have 580K house you bought for less than 300K and make 30K a year rent ~5%
I don’t know how they will handle the capital gains though ? One was owner occupied so its all tax free the other I don’t know ?
“make 30K a year rent ~5%”
This is wrong it depends on equity. And you need to decide what else you would do with it.
The one guy put it all in the stock market I know that
The operative question is: Where is the buyer at any price given the fact that housing demand is at 20 year lows.
“I should probably sell a couple..”
As if this is somehow news. You’re a two-bit speculator, nothing more.
So you’re predicting a broad sell off. By what percent the S&P? The Dow?
What do you see happening to bonds? PMs?
Thinking of selling a few properties too…realizing profit there too?
Cash is nice but then what?
CDs? Stacks under the mattress?
Vegas, baby?
Watching deflation make your cash piles grow?
I am not predicting anything. I just see some curious factors effecting the market and believe it is wise to not buy more stocks, and sell some instead, I am adjusting my portfolio is 25% cash. I’ll take another look in 6 months.
When have so many countries in the world been in a housing bubble at the same time? Can the U.S. maintain a solid recovery with Europe in recession and others heading that way? The real wild card is China. Curious times call for a move to 25% cash.
It’s a funny world. I’m buying dividend paying stocks now.
With most of the world diving into the toilet, I’m expecting the U.S. to be safe haven number 1. I’m buying Euros and Gold too. Bonds are expensive but I’m putting cash there too. What can I say, it’s burning a hole in my pocket.
“What can I say, it’s burning a hole in my pocket.”
Well there’s also active sports such as bicycling (mtb,road), hang gliding, scuba diving, skiing, skydiving, etc., that might boost your physical health and keep your brain sharp a little longer.
I’m an ex pro sports person! It was a short lived but fun “job”.
I’ve seen people retire to a couch and booze after 30-yrs of cubicle slavery, and they don’t last long, and neither does their money. Meanwhile the “at-risk” peeps have their entire lives free to pursue friendships or gang activities.
This existence isn’t a rehearsal.
Even now all I do is sports. I’m constantly being told to “Get a Job!”
With the dollar at a multiyear high compared to other currencies, it makes sense to diversify into non-dollar denominated assets.
Swiss francs like PB pointed out, probably the strongest of the European currencies.
FXF
1. I’m buying Euros and Gold too. Bonds are expensive but I’m putting cash there too. What can I say, it’s burning a hole in my pocket.”
If the 1% own all the money you want to buy what they are buying.
They like stocks that give them ownership of the tools that put the 99% under the yoke.
They like Real estate but if the 99% can’t pay rent what good is it ?
“They like Real estate but if the 99% can’t pay rent what good is it ?”
Generally not. I know and work with a good number of truly wealthy people, self made, and not a single one of them own a SFR. Not one.
I like to rent to your friends. They can pay me and it sounds like they have great credit. Win-win.
Your tragic circumstances don’t change no matter what Jingle_Fraud.
“…and not a single one of them own a SFR. Not one.”
That is amazing!
Clockwork Wednesday morning shilling by JFraud.
I am adjusting my portfolio is 25% cash
Jingle, I did the same thing right before new year’s in 2014. Longest bull market in history was 1921-1929, about 8 years. The current bull is in its 7th year. I’m also thinking of averaging into cash to about 35%-40% by year end 2015 if the market keeps climbing in 2015, and keep going into higher % of cash during 2016 until the bull finally collapses; then need to keep whatever is left invested for possibly 10-20+ years after the eventual crash. I think they will try QE4 of course, but one of the days, QE won’t work anymore to elevate the S&P500 and the piper will finally have to be paid.
“…one of the days, QE won’t work anymore to elevate the S&P500…”
Why would it work now but not later?
Yes, there is much more risk to the downside, than opportunity to the upside in this economy. So many variables at play….more than ever before in the history of the world I believe. It is not so much a “local market” anymore.
Interesting stuff …
Wiki-up “real estate bubble” and you’ll get this:
“Bubbles in housing markets are more critical than stock market bubbles. Historically, equity price busts occur on average every 13 years, lasts for 2.5 years, and result in about 4 percent loss in GDP. Housing price busts are less frequent, but last nearly twice as long and lead to output losses that are twice as large (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2003). A recent laboratory experimental study[3] also shows that, compared to financial markets, real estate markets involve longer boom and bust periods.”
bubbles are a great excuse for money printing.
What is the catalyst that finally makes an investor look at the stocks they own and really care about valuations?Seems as long as prices are going up people look the other way.
One way to look at is if they company were liquidated today would I get paid out of the equity?
But that scenario takes a long time to play out with extend and pretend accounting.
Companies can pretend they are solvent for a considerable time.
Nice post Combo. I see much of the description you posted as reality in the past.
The last equities price bust was 2008, bottoming in 2009?. Thirteen years forward puts us at 2021. That seems like a long way from here, but so did the recovery in 2009! Maybe we have another 5 year run. That is why I am only going to 25% cash today. It’s a hedge position.
I wonder if China will melt down or work out. They do seem to be a productive people.
Why on earth would anyone look at historical data from the past 10-15 years and project that out? Simple insanity.
Well, Shallow, you might consider that if you don’t know your history, you are bound to repeat it!
Here is an interesting stock market fact:
Bust, 2001. Bust, 2008.
That was only 7 years apart, not 13.
2009 + 7 = 2016. Get ready to rumble!
Debt+depreciation=loss. Get ready to mumble like a degenerate gambler hitting bottom Jingle_Fraud.
Sept/Oct 2008 + 7 = 2015.
Is it good or bad for stocks if dividends exceed long-term Treasury yields?
It happens so rarely that there aren’t enough data to make a valid inference.
..much less a valid conclusion. If Ts are so low, dividends are nice, but it becomes similar to an inverted yield curve, forecasting trouble on the economic horizon.
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.
The Japanese stock market example from 1989-recent doesn’t augur well for the theory that ultra-low long-term rates portend bull markets.
Stock dividend yields are above Treasury yields — and that’s bullish
Published: Jan 20, 2015 1:45 p.m. ET
This rare occurrence suggests 2015 could be a great year for stocks
By Tomi Kilgore
Reporter
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Long-term investors are getting a rare signal suggesting that now might be a great time to buy stocks — that is, if they are willing to risk a potential rough patch in the near term.
For just the fourth time in over 50 years, the S&P 500’s dividend yield moved last week above the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note. If history is any guide, this means 2015 could be a very good year for the stock market.
Referencing data provided by Bespoke Investment Group, Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, said these yield crossovers are very rare over the long term. It took the Great Recession in 2008, followed closely by a downgrade of the U.S.’s credit rating in 2011, to snap a 46-year streak where 10-year Treasury yields were above the S&P 500 dividend yield.
Saut said this leads him to believe the stock market is working its way into a good buy spot. Unfortunately, the ‘buy spot’ probably doesn’t arrive until February or March.
Treasury yields, which fall as Treasury prices rise, have been dropping as the sharp selloff in crude oil prices, concerns over growth in Europe and China and a stronger U.S. dollar have fueled fears of global deflation. Saut said expectations that the European Central Bank will announce plans to start buying government bonds in an effort to kickstart a flagging economy are also spurring a “flight-to-quality” move into U.S. Treasurys.
And as the Wall Street saying goes, the time to be greedy is when others are fearful.
…
271 comments
1539 people listening
Carlos Maco just now
Bears got big blundering here. That is what Bears are about these days.
John Samuel just now
US is not an island … an increasing count of countries are struggling … even it’s closest geographical partner Canada … it is just a matter of time (short ?) before this global weakness catches up with us. Don’t be fooled on what markets are doing by going up constantly and doing V shape recoveries after every dip … it is all a mirage … markets have been way-off course for the last 6-12 months… this oil crisis will be a disaster for the world economies …
Be warned … take cover ..
Grim Reaper 2 minutes ago
john d = poster child for the word “sheople”, markets only go up!
lol
john Dusenbury 9 minutes ago
Love all the buying! My screen is going green BIGTIME! Where are all the bears that we are supposed to be seeing? LOL!
Carlos Maco 9 minutes ago
ECB bond purchase level is a bit low, but hey, it is better than nothing. Oil jumping big today is the indication.
Aurum Minerali 12 minutes ago
I think this is just more abuse of statistics by the technical traders.
“Every day this week I saw a robin flying east at dawn, therefore robins fly east every time the sun rises.”
There is a not a cause-effect relationship between all events and these guys are always making these connections. Maybe they are right and maybe not. I would be careful and base your investment decisions on fundamentals before moving funds. Just my opinion.
Carlos Maco 10 minutes ago
@Aurum Minerali Know nothing comment.
Aurum Minerali 7 minutes ago
@Carlos Maco @Aurum Minerali Wow. I suppose you have made millions off of technical trading and that’s why you are spending your time commenting on MW this morning.
John McCallan 5 minutes ago
@Aurum Minerali Engaging in a free market is abuse? I take that’s the way the Fed thinks too.
Aurum Minerali 2 minutes ago
@John McCallan @Aurum Minerali Not what I said. Statistics have their place and can be one of several means to help you make a decision, but ya better be careful, especially in this day and age of central bank intervention and computer driven, nanosecond trades.
For just the fourth time in over 50 years, the S&P 500’s dividend yield moved last week above the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note. If history is any guide, this means 2015 could be a very good year for the stock market.”
This isn’t new its been happening for a few years now and one reason I switched to stocks from bonds back in ~ 2010
started switching back last year from stocks to bonds
Keep them very short duration cactus. The bond market is the biggest bubble in the history of the world.
Bonds are so sexy. I hear nothing but bond talk at the coffee shop. It’s just like real estate!
Like this morning, these two 30 something moms were all, “I’m going deep into long bonds. I cannot believe the gains. It’s like I’ve already made .02% this month!” “I know, I know! It’s like free money!”
Fascinating and frightening…
Opinion: As central banks surprise, Fed may have to throw in the towel
Published: Jan 21, 2015 11:24 a.m. ET
Bloomberg
The message from the likes of Mario Draghi to Janet Yellen may be for the Fed to stand pat.
By Steve Goldstein
D.C. bureau chief
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The surprises coming out of the Swiss National Bank, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada spell tectonic shifts occurring in the global economy that inevitably will hit these shores.
The Swiss of course unearthed the biggest surprise last week, by ending their policy of buying up euros, but on Wednesday there were at least three further surprises as well.
The surprises started as Bank of England minutes revealed that two hawks no longer supported rate hikes. That’s particularly newsworthy as the U.K. economy, along with the U.S., has been one of the strongest performers of industrialized nations.
Then came news leaks on the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing plans. That the ECB is about to start buying bonds is not a surprise, but the reports that they’ll do so each month is. While some in the market may be disappointed the headline size of 50 billion euros per month is not blockbuster, an open-ended campaign makes it easier for the ECB to continue the purchases and ramp them up.
The Bank of Canada then shocked the market with a quarter-point rate cut, to 0.75%. The Bank of Canada is concerned that the sharp drop in oil prices will not just mute inflation but dampen growth in the export-intensive economy. The central bank even reported concerns that the oil-price collapse will have on foreign demand, exports, investment and jobs growth.
With this backdrop, it seems almost ludicrous that the Fed will just stick to the plan it had in the fall, to start a rate-hike campaign in the middle of 2015.
In order for the Fed to do so, the U.S. economy will not only have to be resilient to some of the overseas pain, and its own domestic energy sector, but the inflows into government bonds and the dollar will have to slow.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard says the reason yields on U.S. Treasurys are so low is due to overseas investment and not fears over weak domestic growth. But even if right, that’s almost irrelevant. If the Fed starts hiking in this turbulent global environment, it will only accelerate overseas investment here — further dampening already-muted inflationary pressure and making life difficult for exporters, and possibly furthering risky behavior that some on the Fed want to clamp.
…
That depends on if you think those long term Treasury yields are here to stay. If they are, stocks though unattractive may be the least unattractive asset.
I see this as a war of attrition. At some point somebody is going to have to pay savers something, and at that point stock and bond prices are going down. But when?
You cave in and lock in a yield that may lose to inflation and taxes. Or lose even more to inflation in cash, waiting for a better deal.
Is now a good time to worry about U.S. deflation and QE4?
The time to start worrying about U.S. deflation may be now
Published: Jan 21, 2015 7:46 a.m. ET
The correlation between ‘feeling optimistic’ and ‘spending’ isn’t pitch perfect
Inflation persistently below Fed’s 2% target and trending lower
By Anora Mahmudova
Reporter
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The risk of deflation in the U.S. is becoming all too real.
The last time the U.S. economy seriously faced deflation was in March 2009, when the core consumer-price index fell below zero. The Federal Reserve under chairman Ben Bernanke acted with a most unconventional tool: quantitative easing.
So, a sharp drop in headline CPI is ringing some alarm bells. It is largely due to a plunge in energy costs and it may very well turn out to be “transitory,” as the Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen termed the effect of the precipitous drop in crude oil prices since last June during a December news conference.
But for the effect of cheap oil to be transitory we need to see signs that the U.S. economy can continue improving despite deflationary pressures in Europe and slowing growth in China. Conventional wisdom holds that lower gasoline prices, courtesy of lower crude, would be a boon for U.S. consumers.
On Tuesday, crude-oil futures for delivery in February (CLG5, -5.26%) settled down $2.30, or nearly 5%, at $46.39 a barrel, while March Brent crude (LCOH5, +1.60%) fell 85 cents, or about 2%, to settle at $47.99 a barrel.
Oil was recovering somewhat in Wednesday trade but worries about supply gut persist.
While lower prices have indeed lifted consumers spirits — as evidenced by a jump in consumer sentiment data to the highest level in 11 years last week — correlation between ‘feeling optimistic’ and ‘spending’ wasn’t pitch perfect.
Case in point, retail sales in December were terribly disappointing and didn’t reflect the so-called tax cut declining oil prices promised for consumers.
Deflation poses an economic problem for the Fed because a sustained price slide could result in consumers delaying purchases — buying habits that could weaken the economy.
Another issue with deflation is that, if it persists, it could erode corporate profits and may very well derail this six-year, bull run in stocks.
If and when profits get hit, the Fed might be forced to reopen its stimulus playbook. By that point, however, the Fed may be unable to manufacture demand if fears of deflation in the U.S. and abroad overcomes greed.
…
50 comments
253 people listening
Dean Moriarty just now
The problems in the economy aren’t due to monetary policy. It’s not inflation or deflation. It’s technology destroying jobs. All the economies of the industrialized nations are built around one common belief- there will always be more and better paying jobs in the future. Now technology has changed that. Now there will be fewer and lower paying jobs.
Dave Gorman 21 minutes ago
There are two forms of INFLATION, ie cost push and demand pull. Deflation is the exact opposite, driven by reduced demand. Prices come down as producers FIGHT for shrinking sales. It is NOT the consumer waiting for lower price as much as it is the PRODUCER cutting costs (labor) to maintain margins, sustain operations. Obviously, in a contracting economy, as we see in Japan, Europe and China there are EVER FEWER consumers to sustain DEMAND!!
I would contend, in an economy with HIGH EXPECTATIONS for ever increasing sales, margins, EPS, ROA and ROI the manifestations of DEFLATION will be exacerbated by those drivers!!
james eckler 40 minutes ago
I think this is very pre-mature. Government has to have price stability, since Government cannot afford interest rates going back up to “normal”. If you look at 2013, the inflation rate was 1.7%, and in 2014 it was 1.6%. This INCLUDES the drops (all due to oil) in November and December. There could have been rounding errors. Anyone who thinks rental housing (a big chuck of the inflation rate) is going to drop anytime soon is mistaken. Even after this HUGE drop in oil prices, there is a downside limit to how far these prices can drop.
Paul Aumuller 46 minutes ago
I would like to try deflation but I am certain TBTFbanks and their CB masters will not allow this to happen. Decades of inflation has not made the middle class richer and the last decade has been legalized rape of this important segment of society. Perhaps a new approach is necessary…deflation would be a welcomed experiment. Although, food prices, energy prices, taxes, etc have all increased… the little drop in gasoline prices at the pump will not cure the current ills here or abroad.
Interestingly, the Bank of Canada dropped their rates by 25 basis points today…my small gold holdings are up regardless of today’s fluctuations. Big difference as to which currency one is using.
So negative rates are quite possible. Bank stocks may do well. Having one’s money in a bank not so good and not advisable. Better assets out there to keep $$$ safe from the vultures that continue to circle around the middle class.
Is now a good time to worry about U.S. deflation and QE4?’
are higher taxes counted as inflation ?
WP “THE PRICE of crude oil dipped below $50 a barrel on Monday. National gasoline prices average a little over $2 a gallon. On principle and on politics, now is the best time Washington has seen in years to raise the federal gas tax.”
“…are higher taxes counted as inflation?”
Dunno, but they certainly are deflating our family budget.
Everyone Must Check In
We Cloward-Pivened some folks.
I picked up Glenn Beck’s new “novel” about a future America post-Agenda 21 from the library yesterday
Glenn Beck = blowhard
He’s made a very good living out of riling up the goom-bahs, while playing fast and loose with his facts.
Region V - ground zero for President Zero aka Obamao!!!
What a shill - I chose not to have my intelligence insulted last night by obamao and watched Netflix re-runs of Mission Impossible from way back in the day.
Mission Impossible
That would be Obama actually be willing to cut a reasonable deal with the opposing party like Reagan use to do all the time. If he cannot get 100% of what he wants he gets angry and walks away from the table. This country would be far better off if something like Simpson/Bowles had passed and the Republicans actually offered him something which had less program cuts and more tax increases than that proposal and he rejected it.
” If he cannot get 100% of what he wants he gets angry and walks away from the table.”
Otherwise known as “A High Chair Tyrant”. Now go eat yore peas!!!
Obama say: Everything is Awesome!
NOBAMA
Actually he is trying to say: Obama is awesome.
The most amazing thing is when he is trying to claim credit for the shale oil boom. The free enterprise system prevailed despite the obstacles he put up. His refusal to approve the XL pipeline slowed down the growth and continues to make it more costly for the producers. Due to his economic war on Russia, he is actually destroying the industry but he treats it as one of his achievements. He is truly the narcissist in Chief.
“claim credit for the shale oil boom…”
Yet he caused the crash by pushing a button in his office.
Things do not have to connect for you.
Just look at the dollar chart vs. oil that is no accident.
How does the appearance of a chart prove Obama is responsible for the movements? Makes no sense whatever.
Motive and opportunity.
Weak circumstantial evidence that fails the Occam’s Razor test makes for an unconvincing “proof.”
You are like the OJ jury, you had your mind made up before any of the evidence was presented.
P.S. Of course you had no power to believe that Bush lied. As far as the oil crash show me one time in the history of the oil market that a 1% surplus in production led to a 50%+ drop in price.
power=problem. I would like the people that reject my evidence and think that Bush lied to the American people about Iraq to present their evidence that he actually lied. I would just like the same standard to be applied to the degree of evidence needed to hold a belief.
The long term cost to short term manipulation, link will post soon:
Italian oil group Eni has warned oil could shoot up to $200 a barrel if the Opec cartel fails to cut supplies.
Eni’s chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, said the oil industry would cut capital spending by 10-13% this year because of slumping prices.
He said that would create longer-term shortages and sharp price rises in four to five years’ time.
Mr Descalzi was speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.
He said: “Opec is like the central bank for oil which must give stability to the oil prices to be able to invest in a regular way
” like the OJ jury”
No. The OJ trial started with evidence of a crime. Yours starts with the assumption of a crime. A likely bogus assumption.
Show me one time in the history of the oil market that over production of one percent led to a 50% plus decline in the price of oil.
“He said that would create longer-term shortages and sharp price rises in four to five years’ time.”
Didn’t that happen to housing a few years ago ?
We have no idea what % overcapacity there is and neither do you. It’s pretty irrelevant to the price of oil though, what yesterday’s capacity was and what yesterday’s consumption was supposed to be based on some earlier prediction.
What matters to oil futures prices is what tomorrow’s supply and demand are projected to be. Clearly, those buying oil futures see a drop in demand, which they extrapolate out to infinity. The Saudis already explained this.
Clearly, those buying oil futures see a drop in demand, which they extrapolate out to infinity
What?
We have no idea what % overcapacity there is and neither do you.
Try going to the IEA site.
Nobody this stupid could pass the bar.
She was wrong before…
There has been a shock. The rear view mirror analysts do not know how much demand will crater. Oil consumption in emerging countries may go down drastically if their debt expansion party is ending. Oil consumption in oil producing countries may go down drastically. Some of them are going to be so poor that they can’t afford their own cheap oil, because they have to service their debts. The green energy mania was a huge suck on oil demand and that may have the lid on it now. Where they stop making “green” they will reduce oil consumption drastically. It is a very strange world right now and no you don’t know what the demand for oil is going forward. It would be impossible to know after such huge distortions have been in the works for so long.
I passed on first attempt in California. Kathleen Sullivan who was on Clinton’s short list for the U.S. Supreme Court and I believe was the dean of Stanford Law School cannot even claim that, she failed her first time.
From the WSJ:
The State Bar of California has released a list of all applicants who have passed the February 2006 California Bar Examination. Showing up on the list: SULLIVAN, KATHLEEN MARIE.
The Wall Street Journal caused a splash last December when it reported on the former Stanford Law dean’s failing the test. Others that have made the Fail Team: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (four times), former California governor Pete Wilson (three times) and former California governor Jerry Brown (once).
Back in February on the day of the exam, the Los Angeles Times ran a feature on its state’s dreaded bar, the most difficult in the nation. Of the 5,260 people expected to take the state’s bar examination beginning today, writes the LAT, more than half are likely to fail. Sullivan told the LAT, I am eating, drinking and sleeping the bar, said the scholar, who is frequently cited as a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee.
According to the LAT, only 44% of the 12,448 who took the California bar exam passed in 2004; in New York, by comparison, 62% of the 12,806 who took the test passed, according to statistics published by the national bar examiners.
Sullivan is of counsel at litigation specialists Quinn Emanuel Urguhart Oliver & Hedges. She remains a member of the Stanford Law School faculty and is the author, with the late Gerald Gunther, of one of the nation’s leading casebooks in Constitutional Law.
Full of self.
Stop encouraging Dan.
***NARCISSIST ALERT***
“Obama is awesome”
U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ - 117k -
Expansion of the child care tax credit and a $60 billion program to make community college free, increase paid leave for workers and a lower a mortgage insurance rate that could help attract first-time homebuyers for only $320 billion in new taxes.
That is “awesome”.
By JULIE PACE AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON — Jan 20, 2015, 7:35 PM ET
Much of the $320 billion in new taxes and fees would be used for measures aimed at helping the middle class, including a $500 tax credit for some families with two spouses working, expansion of the child care tax credit and a $60 billion program to make community college free.
Obama also is asking lawmakers to increase paid leave for workers. And he’s moved unilaterally to lower a mortgage insurance rate that could help attract first-time homebuyers.
abcnews.go.com/…/wireStory/state-union-obama-aims-influence-2016-debate-28340083 -
Comment by phony scandals
2015-01-21 09:11:26
Obama in State of the Union: America Is Turning the Page
abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/state-union-obama-aims-influence-2016-debate-28340083
The most compelling reason to save for college in a 529 plan is the tax savings.
Awesome is as awesome does
“President Obama is proposing to roll back the second part of that equation.
Savings would still grow tax-deferred, but withdrawals would be taxed as income to the beneficiary, typically the child in school. That means the money would be taxed at a lesser rate than if it were taxed as the parent’s income.
Still, why remove a tax break meant to help pay for school?
The White House said the goal was to better target federal assistance to those who need it. The thinking is that those who save in 529s are families who can better afford college than everyone else.”
Maybe they can get rid of the 401K next? After all if you can save for retirement you don’t really need to.. right ?
What BS. Changing the rules mid-stream on long-term government programs is akin to fraud.
When did America become about equality of outcome instead of equality of opportunity?
Not to mention that regardless of who pays the tax, it simply means parents need to save even MORE in their 529 to pay for college.
Thank God for a Republican House and Senate.
Middle class kids get to pay taxes on their Section 529 plans.
Lower income kids get to go to Community College for free.
Doesn’t sound quite fair, does it?
“Obama is awesome”
The Savior
Obama: Community college should be ‘as free and universal in America as high school’
BY Kyla Calvert January 20, 2015 at 9:36 PM EST
If I were a private school, I’d be nervous. Under Obama’s plan, every kid go to Podunk CC for free and transfer credits into the private school as a junior, saving a hundred large in the process. I don’t think a private college could survive that.
I’d be nervous too, but not for that reason alone. Many of us with kids refuse to pay private college price and choose state schools instead WITHOUT DEBT.
Podunk CC is already much cheaper the private colleges, even if it’s not free. The private colleges could refuse to accept the credits from community colleges.
But….but….but - um…..but….what’s that Moochelle? Oh, you didn’t build that!!! USA! USA! USA!!! Ya - that right - what’s that Al - oh we have to make everything fair?
You seem unconvinced by the “crisis has passed” narrative. Report for your mandatory re-education.
Contained in this article is a great chart of the dollar vs. oil prices. What I think she missed in the article is the way the dollar was traded not like a professional would trade but the way a manipulator would increase the value. I spoke of this spiking action in previous posts so I will not repeat. Additional she ignores what was going on just when the dollar started to take off, it started to move up just when Russia was accused of invading the Ukraine and Putin refused to back down to Obama and made a fool of him. Obama gets increasing angry when he is losing and more confrontation. Just like the election made him more confrontational, Putin has made him more confrontational. He will destroy the U.S. economy to try to win over Putin:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2015/01/20/real-reason-oil-prices-plunged/?intcmp=perspectives-horizontal
Win against Putin, he is not trying to get him into a Chicago bathhouse yet.
http://news.yahoo.com/russia-hits-back-obama-over-state-union-speech-090541406.html
Simplistic article not worthy of word “analysis.” Of course oil is down and the dollar is up — when EU, China, and the emerging economies are sputtering, the non-US currencies and demand for oil both go down together relative to the US. Rising dollar and falling oil are symptoms, not causes.
It was posted for the chart not the analysis. However, I do agree with the basic point that it was the dollar and not supply/demand that caused the plunge. BTW, oil is up more today than it dropped yesterday and the dollar is down.
“oil is up more today…”
Why do you suppose Obama did that?
Manipulation ends when it becomes too costly. IBM is showing that forcing the dollar higher and higher is too costly for the U.S. economy. Due to the impacts of the higher dollar and the lost of oil field jobs, the U.S. economy will decelerate rapidly, Obama may just find that too high a price to pay. If he does not then oil production will decrease too much in this country and oil prices will increase despite the manipulation. He will not be able to stop it without throwing the country into a recession. If manipulation, printing money and deficit spending could create prosperity Zimbabwe would be Switzerland.
Oil down = Obama did it
Oil up = Mr Market fightin’ back
I think I’m beginning to catch on.
You just do not want to believe that Obama does anything wrong. I bet you still do not believe he had any role in the IRS scandals, am I right?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/opec-chief-oil-remain-low-162510883.html
The long term cost of short term manipulation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30913321#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
The irony dan is that you start with an assumption, something you “just know”, and then build a cathedral upon it. When challenged you point to the complexity of the cathedral and will not question the foundation.
It’s the same way Global Warming is argued. Get why we think it’s bogus?
When I first started to claim that AGW was bogus, I was very much in the minority and people made the same arguments you are making. Get that?
Yes I get it. That’s why I am calling Captain Irony on you.
You’re still in the minority.
With demand cratering faster than ever I don’t know if anything else matters. Except for cratering crude oil prices.
You’re still in the minority.
A much larger minority. For you to admit I am right glaciers will have to be moving over New York. By next week it feel like they are.
From CNBC:
Brent crude for delivery in March was up $1 a barrel to about $49, having fallen 85 cents in the previous session. Prices hit a near six-year low of $45.19 a barrel on Jan. 13.
Brent has fallen by more than 50 percent since June amid oversupply and OPEC’s decision not to curb output despite a fast-growing U.S. shale industry. But there are growing signs lower prices could soon curb production.
The heads of both France’s and Italy’s largest energy producers, Total and ENI Spa, said Wednesday they were cutting capital expenditure next year, including U.S. shale investments.
AGW Deniers are the majority among anonymous internet commenters.
97% of scientists say AGW is real and is happening now.
I think I trust the 2nd group more than the first one.
97% of scientists say AGW is real and is happening now.
Complete BS, anyone that believes that co2 has any impact on the climate at all is counted. Even I believe that, however only a small minority believe that the AGW models are even close to being correct.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/15624-cooking-climate-consensus-data-97-of-scientists-affirm-agw-debunked
Print the money and print the houses.
From an article at 3ders (dot) org:
“On March 29, 2014, ten 3D printed houses, each measuring 200 square meters, appeared in Shanghai, China. The buildings were created entirely out of concrete using a gigantic 3D printer, and each costs only 30,000 RMB ($4,800).”
A picture of one of the houses if you are interested:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-01/20/content_19357516.htm
How does one spell doom for architects, builders, craftsmen and on and on - 3D printing baby - 3D printing.
Homeowners billed for houses lost in foreclosure
By Jenifer McKim and Jess AloeNew England Center for Investigative Reporting January 18, 2015
When Guillermo Galindo lost his two-family Revere home to foreclosure in 2009, the soft-spoken Colombian thought he had finally freed himself from the flood of threatening collection letters from his lender and a ballooning, untenable debt.
All of his savings, scraped together over years delivering medicine for local pharmacies, were gone, along with the home he bought in 2005 for $410,000. Devastated, the 54-year-old immigrant, along with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, packed their belongings and moved into a small apartment, hoping to rebuild.
But that hope evaporated in a matter of months, when Galindo received a letter from a lawyer saying he owed $136,547 on the family home he’d left behind.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/…/wSJHCbr2AQriwk2LRUHmiI/story.html -
At least ding him for the income tax on the charge-off amount.
Having kids at age 51?????
“Having kids at age 51?????”
Ever heard of Anthony Quinn?
Comment by phony scandals
2015-01-21 08:00:40
Homeowners billed for houses lost in foreclosure
bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/17/insult-injury-home-owners-get-big-bills-for-houses-already-taken-foreclosure/wSJHCbr2AQriwk2LRUHmiI/story.html#comments
On the bright side, maybe they’ll go after all the HELOC abusers who took their money and ran at the first sign of trouble.
From China Daily would you job hop for a 25% pay raise?
The continued interest of multinational companies in the Chinese market, combined with the rapid expansion of Chinese domestic firms, will inject much vitality in the country’s job market and propel growth of employees’ salaries.
According to the latest global salary report released by the recruitment specialist Robert Walters, Chinese employees who will change jobs in 2015 can expect their salary to go up by 15 to 25 percent, while those who choose to stay can also see a 6 to 8 percent increase.
Employees in Beijing working in such industries as accounting and finance, human resources, and marketing can expect their salaries to go up by 20 percent if they opt to change jobs. Those working in the sales and engineering research and development sector are likely to see their salaries increase by up to 30 percent.
For employees in Shanghai, they can also expect a salary increase of around 20 percent if they look for new opportunities in such industries as finance and accounting, banking, human resources, information technology and sales. Walters expects pharmaceutical and chemical industries to have strong demand in 2015, and those working in the operation and manufacturing sectors can see their salaries go up by 30 percent if they change jobs.
But it should be noted thatsales professionals in the luxury industry will see very limited salary increase due to the stagnantindustry. Only 5 to 15 percent increase will be seen for those who change jobs in this sector in 2015.
Oil demand and imports in China have increased significantly as private passenger vehicle sales and use have increased. Sales of private passenger vehicles have grown by 29% annually over the past 13 years, which has increased gasoline consumption in China. China is currently the world’s second-largest oil consumer, behind the United States. Increased sales have mainly been focused in China’s wealthier, eastern provinces, where some provinces have now instituted policies to limit vehicle ownership. In other parts of the nation, the central government has encouraged policies to increase incomes, which will likely lead to increased vehicle use and energy consumption.
The distribution of China’s current vehicle market generally reflects the regional differences in household and disposable incomes across the country. As of 2012, per capita disposable income in eastern provinces was more than 40% higher than it was in central, western, and northeastern provinces. Within that disposable income, per capita expenditures on transportation and communication in eastern provinces were more than 60% higher than those in central, western, and northeastern provinces (see graph below).
The eastern provinces have higher rates of vehicle ownership than the central, western, and northeastern provinces, and this trend is intensified in China’s large cities. In eastern China, Beijing had 183 vehicles per 1,000 people (as of 2011), while Chongqing in the west had only 28 vehicles per 1,000 people, the lowest among China’s major cities. Even in Beijing, vehicle adoption rates remain below those of the United States (more than 800 vehicles per 1,000 people) and Europe (around 600 vehicles per 1,000 people).
The Chinese government has several longstanding programs aimed at addressing the income disparity between eastern coastal provinces and other parts of the country. These programs have focused on expanding the economies of the western inland provinces by investing in transportation, telecommunications, and other infrastructure projects and taking advantage of lower labor costs by promoting reallocation of labor-intensive manufacturing industries to these provinces. Since the implementation of these initiatives, the western provinces have been among the fastest growing in China.
China’s economic development and transportation policies continue to broaden and evolve, and these policies will have regionally different effects on future motorization. Recent national policy focuses on curbing vehicle-related emissions and promoting growth in fuel-efficient and alternative vehicles, while regional policies attempt to stimulate economic development by supporting local vehicle manufacturing and other related industries. In the long term, growing urbanization, more efficient transportation, and labor migration likely mean that income disparity between provinces will continue to decline, and motorization growth is expected to continue shifting toward western parts of the country.
When you see the ghost cities, they are virtually all in the areas that this article talks about as places where the government is moving industry.
Ergo the centrally planned economy run by high-IQ planners cannot fail to deliver 7.5% growth forevermore into the future.
Of course not. It is the law of large numbers. 7.5% growth now is like 15% growth around seven years ago due to China’s rapid expansion. There are only so many people to employ and a finite amount of natural resources to exploit. However, they are maintaining around 7% growth for 2014 and 2015, you were wrong, no collapse deal with it.
They will continue to grow @ 7.50000 % no matter how much they shrink. There are no limits. Overcapacity and malinvestment mean nothing.
“When you see the ghost cities, they are virtually all in the areas that this article talks about as places where the government is moving industry.”
The fact that you think China can just ship whole industries to ghost cities is hilarious.
The fact that you think China can just ship whole industries to ghost cities is hilarious
The fact you think they cannot is hilarious. They have done it many times.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41420632#.
The ghost cities would be full at an affordable rent. But that would mean admitting that those who backed their construction suffered huge losses.
Most Chinese will not rent them. There is demand but a unit loses too much value if it loses its “virginity” by being rented.
scripting a narrative
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/21/israeli-police-say-palestinian-stabs-at-least-nine-people-on-tel-aviv-bus/
the only solution to this religious violence is more violence
scripting a narrative
america needs another trillion dollar war
scripting a narrative
Scripting a narrative
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-21/boehner-invites-netanyahu-to-address-congress-weighing-iran-bill
Scripting a narrative
“Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran”
Scripting a narrative
When did Israel become America’s 51st state?
Scripting a narrative
How many of William Kristol’s children fought and died in the last war?
Scripting a narrative
How many poor black and browns and Tea Children will die in the next war?
Scripting a narrative
Is borrowing money to pay for wars that hasten the Rapture somehow exempt from the goal of shrinking the size of government to where you can drown it in the bathtub?
Scripting a narrative
“america needs another trillion dollar war” — Jeb Bush is ready, willing and able to continue the family tradition in that regard. If Bush wins, buy stock in Lockheed, Raytheon, Northrup, BAE, Koch, etc.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/01/21/2014-among-the-3-percent-coldest-years-in-10000-years/
So this house has been on market since september and it has not sold yet!
In oceanside ca 92054
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1308-Knoll-Dr-Oceanside-CA-92054/16614439_zpid/
Last sold: Jul 2014 for $475,000
For Sale
$599,500
Price cut: -$15,400 (12/11)
Flipper greed in action…
Property taxes went up 62.5% in 2012???????
Property taxes! Another fleece and another reason why you can NEVER completely pay off your house.
The surrounding hills look pretty bare. Is that the drought, or was it a fire?
The back yard needs a hot tub — looks like there was a place for one.
Article for Amy
Average metro Denver apartment rents up 12%; vacancies down in most areas
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/real_deals/2015/01/average-metro-denver-apartment-rents-up-12.html
Your daily ILLANNOY update:
Illinois’ budget deficit twice as bad as you think
January 19, 2015
With Illinois facing deepening deficits, Bruce Rauner in his Jan. 12 inaugural address suggested that sacrifices will be required, but offered no specifics.
AP
Illinois’ fiscal woes are significantly deeper and more serious than generally realized, with the state facing a $9 billion operating deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
That’s the horrific bottom line of a report released late today by researchers at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, a study that may raise the eyebrows even of Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has been warning of huge financial problems ahead.
The conclusion: The actual deficit is about twice what is commonly reported, with the hole in the current fiscal 2015 budget not $2 billion to $3 billion but $6 billion, and rising to a projected $9 billion in fiscal 2016 and hitting $14 billion by fiscal 2026, assuming no changes in law or spending practices. (Read the report below.)
The report says the fiscal hole is so big that even fully reversing the income tax cut that took effect Jan. 1 would close “only about half” the gap projected for the next several years. Starting this year, the individual income tax rate went from 5 percent to 3.75 percent, and the corporate levy from 9.5 percent to 7.75 percent.
‘MASSIVE IMBALANCE’
The hole is so big that even growing the state’s economy an extra 0.5 percent a year for a decade would have “only a modest” impact, the report warns. And, significantly, so large that trying to eliminate the shortfall by cuts alone would result in a 20 percent reduction in spending on public education, Medicaid, public safety and more.
“Years of pay-later budgeting has resulted in a massive imbalance between sustainable revenue and spending,” said Richard Dye, co-director of the institute’s Fiscal Future Project, which produced the report. “Like a person in deep credit-card debt, the state has been spending more than it can afford, and is covering the gap by issuing IOUs.”
Top Springfield players are not yet commenting on the report, which is gently titled “Apocalypse Now.” But I expect an awful lot of chatter now that it’s been formally issued.
The minute the stock market stops rising there are going to be so many municipal bankruptcies due to public employee pensions, we will not be able to count them.
You just nailed it right there, one of the main reasons this whole charade just goes on and on and on. However, if I might make a correction: it’s not the public employee pensions that are bankrupting things, it’s the mismanagement of funds in the first place, with the funds going poof and then the pensions getting the blame, because they still have to be paid.
Now, once the pensioners no longer get theirs, then the real fun starts, because that is when the true state of affairs begins to come to light.
I am no fan of government workers, but I do know some decent ones who carried a lot of dead weight on their backs. I hate to see these people get screwed. Some of the double and triple dippin’ jerks, yah, it’d be fun to see them eating cat food.
Pensions used to invest quite a bit fixed income assets.
But when you get 0.01% in these instruments after ZIRP - what choice do the have but the stock market game?
Yep… and poster boy for pension mismanagement is NJ gov Chris Christie for refusing to pay any funds into his state pension funds. Skipping payments only makes the pension fund more unfunded. NJ is one of the worst in the county at only 50% funded. It’s as if he’s trying to underfund the pension fund on purpose so it will default. Either that or he’s guilty of gross budgetary malpractice. The dude should be recalled from office.
No fan of Christie but compared to Illinois, New Jersey appears to be like Warren Buffet in managing money.
For HA:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/realtor-caught-camera-stealing-homeowners-144037052.html
Why Obama ignored housing in State of the Union
Published: Jan 21, 2015 11:49 a.m. ET
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, 2014.
By Quentin Fottrell
Personal finance reporter
During his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama mentioned the word “housing” just once and “mortgage” twice. In fact, the country’s drawn-out housing recovery hardly got a look in.
“Things like lower mortgage premiums and a higher minimum wage — these ideas will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of families,” the president said. And he briefly mentioned the Federal Housing Administration’s decision earlier this month to lower the rate of the annual mortgage insurance premium paid on agency-backed loans to 0.85% of the balance from 1.35%: “But you know, things like child care and sick leave and equal pay; things like lower mortgage premiums and a higher minimum wage — these ideas will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of families.”
“Housing policy has taken a back seat on the national agenda,” says Jed Kolko, chief economist at real estate website Trulia. “Remember the battles over principal reduction, replacing Fannie and Freddie, capping itemized deductions and the qualified mortgage rules? No housing policy proposals on that scale are part of the public debate now.” (Housing-related tax deductions account for nearly half of all itemized deductions, while qualified mortgage rules are guidelines requiring lenders to ensure that borrowers can repay their loan, potentially safeguarding them from lawsuits.)
The omission is partly due to the fact that housing is not as much of a political flashpoint compared with tax hikes for the wealthy, the minimum wage and immigration. “In the good news economy, housing is the laggard,” says Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “Housing and the rebuilding of the broken housing finance system is the unfinished business with no easy answer, not even a prescription that Democrats can get together on. This is why housing, despite its importance to the economy, did not feature in the SOTU address.”
Another reason housing got the short-shrift: The biggest housing challenges are local — not national, Kolko says. Foreclosures still plague states like Florida and New Jersey where foreclosures must go through the court system. Housing affordability is also a local issue: The median house price in San Francisco is nearly $1 million, but just $212,000 in Minneapolis. And falling unemployment – particularly youth unemployment – is also directly linked to the debate on the slow housing market recovery. The unemployment rate for 25- to 34-year-olds fell to 5.9% in December from 6.1% in November.
Indeed, home sales, home prices and delinquencies and foreclosures are all at least three-quarters of the way back to normal from the worst of the recession, according to Trulia. The excesses of the housing bubble have been corrected, with no signs today of loose lending or overbuilding, Kolko says. Obama mentioned Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis who married seven years ago. “Basic child care for [their two children] costs more than their mortgage, and almost as much as a year at the University of Minnesota,” Obama said. But Kolko adds, “That’s hardly a call to arms about housing affordability.”
But housing is still unaffordable for many Americans. Home buyers earning a median income can only afford a median-priced home in 10 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to a recent survey by personal finance site Interest.com. That’s only slightly lower than in 2012 when 14 of those 25 areas were affordable for people on a median income in those regions. And while buying a house is twice as affordable as renting (excluding taxes and insurance), according to housing website Zillow, that’s mainly because of soaring rents — and the average American now spends nearly 30% of income on rent.
…
Nearly 30% of income on rent? Not here. I am expecting another rent hike this summer but I am just far enough outside the zone of hipsters and millennial twits that I don’t expect it to be that substantial.
Bilderberg 2015 Location Confirmed: Austria
By Global Research News
August 25, 2014
The location for the 2015 annual conference of the Bilderberg Group has been confirmed. The yearly transatlantic summit, which is attended by senior politicians, bank bosses and the heads of some of the world’s largest companies, will be held at the Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol, a luxury hotel and conference centre in Austria.
The Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol is a “five-star hotel conference centre” tucked away in the mountain forests a few kilometres west of the Seefeld ski resort, and conveniently close to Innsbruck airport. The hotel is part of the privately-owned Liebherr Group, a giant Switzerland-based manufacturing conglomeration, owned by the billionaire German Liebherr family.
According to the hotel’s Meetings & Events brochure, “the hotel lies at an altitude of 1,300 metres in an exclusive setting in the Tirolean Alps and offers panoramic views of magnificent mountain peaks.” The isolated, Eagle’s Nest style venue has a 400-capacity conference centre with “a magnificent Alpine backdrop” and state-of-the-art conference facilities.
The location of the 2015 conference has now been confirmed by Austrian police. It will be the third time the Bilderberg summit has been held in Austria, and 27 years since the previous occasion. The 1988 conference was also held at the Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol; the 1979 conference was held in Baden, just south of Vienna.
It’s thought that the 2015 conference will be held in early June, although the exact date has yet to be confirmed. The hotel is fully booked on the first two weekends of June (4th-7th and 11th-14th).
Participants at the 2014 conference in Copenhagen included: Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP; Paul Achleitner, the Chairman of Deutsche Bank; Stephen Poloz, the Governor of the Bank of Governor; Robert Dudley, the Group Chief Executive of BP; Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google; Douglas Flint, the Group Chairman of HSBC; Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF; and Peter Sutherland, the Chairman Goldman Sachs International.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/bilderberg-2015-location-confirmed-austria/5397602 -
Where Hitler was born, it is a fitting place to hold the Bilderberg conference.
They are all f…..ing charlatans and philistines!!!!
What’s up with this?
http://freebeacon.com/politics/woman-showcased-by-obama-in-sotu-is-a-former-democratic-campaign-staffer/
Cray-turd.
I think the 23 year old intern put in an offer in the $350,000 range last weekend
Evidently there is a stable of suckers still biting.
How much does this intern make?
And does she have an “side jobs” if you catch my drift?
Education is one of the suggestions that gets discussed the most. “If you could have all these folks in Davos have a conversation about people getting educated at the very beginning of their lives, then maybe that moves the ball,” said O’Leary.”
Educate them young enough and they will learn to love the 1% .
If that doesn’t work try wars and pharmaceuticals.
You, sir, appear to have defiant oppositional personality disorder. Please surrender your firearms and report for mandatory medication and counseling.
I’ll take the medication, thanks
While the 1% has enjoyed being the beneficiaries of trillions in free gambling money, courtesy of the Fed, even their sector of the housing market has started to turn.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-21/americas-ultra-luxury-housing-bubble-has-burst-deals-have-slowed-trickle
Liked this article too:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-21/what-heck-happening-us-manufacturing
Is the strong dollar we created to make economic warfare on Russia, coming back to bite us in the aZZ?
Lower than five years ago, but starting to tick up.
Experian: More Americans miss monthly mortgage payment
Default rate posts largest increase since September 2013
January 20, 2015
Good news, Obama Zombies, McCain Mutants, and Romney Retards! You may be stupid, but the “experts” agree, you’re sane. Now go forth and find joy in being docile little tools of TPTB.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-21/if-you-question-authority-you-are-mentally-ill-report-finds
I am hoping Romney runs again and divides Jeb Bush’s base, tired of conservative republicans allowing a “moderate” to win by all running and dividing their voters. Thanks to Obama the Republicans do not have much pressure from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to propose amnesty. Obama has given big businesses abundant workers who will never be able to vote for a minimum wage hike and can be sent home with a pen and a phone if they start demanding wage increases. Had a Republican proposed such a plan, the Democrats and the MSM would have burned him or her at the stake. Why should the Chamber mess with success, they have the “perfect” labor force?
BTW, praise to the paper for using the correct term:
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-headline-illegals-20150120-story.html
I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
Thanks to cratering oil prices, we are spending only half as much a week on gas as we did only a few months ago.
something I found more or less by chance, literally a Joshua Tree flip, very close to Joshua Tree National Park…the flipper picked it up for $40K but somehow it is not selling at $124K…a sure sign of the RE apocalypse
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Twentynine-Palms/4751-Meriwether-Rd-92277/home/3854457
Dec 18, 2014 (Active) $124,000
Jul 1, 2014
Sold (Public Records)
This home was sold at a
foreclosure $41,000
I did some military training out there in 29-palms and saw the biggest rattle snakes I’ve ever seen. Tasted great too!