Bits Bucket for January 28, 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.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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real journalists never sleep
Go to bed…..
hope and change
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/28/new-bill-would-grant-war-powers-to-fight-isis/
forward
Time to “rally the base” and whip the Earth-Is-6,000-Years-Old crowd into a frenzy to get everybody on board for the new war
Antitank Missile Hits Israeli Military Vehicle Along Lebanese Border
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/world/middleeast/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-missile-attack.html
If it costs a trillion dollars to fight the war that will make the Rapture happen five minutes sooner, it will all be worth it
Forwars
Headlines at Marketwatch:
“Marco Rubio wins straw poll at Kock brothers event”
[yes, that's MW's mispelling]
“Yahoo unwraps plan to spin off Alibaba stake”
[HBB siad this yesterday. China sites sell fake crap. Better dump now.]
“Obama drops plan to raise taxes on 529 plans”
[should never have been suggested in the first place]
“Obama drops plan to raise taxes on 529 plans”
Must have hit a nerve?
White House fumbled the 529 tax badly. What they should have done is included a means test. Had they come out and said, “We’re going to tax capital gains in 529 but only for those who earn $200k or more,” there would not have been a peep.
yeah, because those people who work hard and have managed to save money deserve to be looted and pillaged!
Unfortunately the hard working make an honest profit wealthy are a shrinking minority. Too many wealthy don’t work hard, they are just good at rent-seeking. Rent-seekers at the top, rent-seekers at the bottom… just playing the system…
Desperate rent seekers
You (might not) see any more wage increases because of the pressure from technology,” he said. Shiller added that Davos had taught him that people are trying to make sure they are in the top 1 percent of global earners. “This is desperation for many people,” he said.’
“An example of rent-seeking in a modern economy is spending money on political lobbying for government benefits or subsidies in order to be given a share of wealth that has already been created, or to impose regulations on competitors, in order to increase market share.
“
“Unfortunately the hard working make an honest profit wealthy are a shrinking minority.”
We are not prosecuting dishonest financial criminals, yet you feel entitled to the money of anyone who has more than you. I suspect that is a pretty large group.
Republicans and some Democrats will protect the ultra rich. Democrats will nickle and dime the middle class.
“Democrats will nickle and dime the middle class.”
soft target
And Republicans will nickle and dime the middle class, too, by ensuring a system which erodes their wealth in alarming fashion.
Except he already tried to minimize the effect by utilizing the tax rate of the STUDENT, not the parent.
Effectively, he suggested what you are saying.
Anyone with half a brain understands that if you want less of something, you should tax it. Want less smoking? Tax it. Want less carbon emissions? Tax emitters of CO2. Want less corporate income domiciled in the US? Have a high tax rate here.
Want less saving for education? Tax it.
The suggested change to the 529 plan was stupid. The fact that Pelosi didn’t like it just tells you how stupid it was.
Taxing withdrawals was precisely why very few people used 529s until 2001 (when the withdrawals for education expenses became tax free).
“Fundamental Transformation” coming soon to King Obama’s America:
Zimbabwe’s white farmers face threats of new evictions
“Most of Zimbabwe’s white farmers were stripped of their land in often violent evictions that started in 2000. Now the remaining white farmers are on edge because of threats of new evictions linked to the country’s long-running political turmoil.
There are fewer than 300 white farmers out of the original total of 4,500, according to the Commercial Farmers Union. The land eviction program that targeted white farmers starting in 2000 was defended by Mugabe as necessary to correct land imbalances dating from the era of white rule, though the upheaval was blamed for mismanagement of Zimbabwe’s once rich agricultural economy.”
http://news.yahoo.com/zimbabwes-white-farmers-face-threats-evictions-133521942.html
Genocide?
Ethnic cleansing?
Nah - just another day in thevworld of multiculturalism. Diversity is our strength.
Blacks are “sun people” and whites are “ice people”
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Jeffries
Zimbabwe’s white farmers face threats of new evictions
They’ve been evicting them by killing them, for at least 10 years now. There’s plenty of articles, ghastly youtubes and images, yet you hear almost nothing about it in the US. And after killing the farmers, the people had no food.
Zimbabwe a disaster, says ANC stalwart - 8/14/2014
“Zimbabwe was a food basket of Africa but is a disaster today”
Racist hatred and intolerance, nothing more.
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon” — President Barack Obama
“Davos economist Robert Johnson, who made headlines this week for revealing that the wealthy are buying secret hideaways as a hedge against global instability, warned in a subsequent interview that the elite are also afraid of more riots in the mould of Ferguson, Missouri.
Johnson’s view that the global elite are afraid of riots arising out of wealth inequality is shared by other economists such as Martin Armstrong, who last year predicted that widespread civil unrest would hit America by 2016 as a result of an economic downturn.
“It looks more and more like a serious political uprising will erupt by 2016 once the economy turns down. That is the magic ingredient. Turn the economy down and you get civil unrest and revolution,” wrote Armstrong.
http://www.infowars.com/davos-economist-elite-are-afraid-of-ferguson-style-riots/
“Johnson’s view that the global elite are afraid of riots arising out of wealth inequality is shared by other economists such as Martin Armstrong, who last year predicted that widespread civil unrest would hit America by 2016 as a result of an economic downturn.”
What’s it going to take to rile enough Americans, the end of SSI?
Don’t know but this is for certain;
Get out of debt, stay out and have a pile of cash. You’ll thank me later.
Go time?
predicted that widespread civil unrest would hit America by 2016
On the one hand, this sounds unusual. The guy put a date on his doom and gloom prediction. On the other hand “widespread civil unrest” is pretty vague. He’ll probably point to something half as big as the Ferguson protests and claim that he was correct.
I’m fortunate enough to be in an area that’s 35 miles from the nearest inner city which may erupt. That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be some thugs driving way out into the burbs looking for white people to kill.
That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be some thugs driving way out into the burbs looking for white people to kill.
Has this ever happened before in your suburb?
No, but we’ve never had “go time” before. I was just imagining a mobile Reginald Denny scenario. Not likely.
Johnson’s view that the global elite are afraid of riots arising out of wealth inequality is shared by other economists such as Martin Armstrong, who last year predicted that widespread civil unrest would hit America by 2016 as a result of an economic downturn.’
they think its the bottom 10% that cause these riots that’s why they are OK with taking from the 89% to give to the bottom 10%.
Here’s one factor against unrest: technology has allowed a lot of people to live comfortably. They have four walls, warmth, food, and even entertainment via their television.
We can watch with dark amusement the shenanigans of politicians and Wall Street and crony capitalism. However, it takes physical discomfort to force the average person into the street.
Registration, confiscation, extermination. Any questions?
‘NOW IS THE TIME’: Obama, in speech near Newtown, says he’s ‘determined as ever’ to get gun bill passed
In a return to the state where 20 children and six staffers were killed in December, President Obama demanded that Congress pass strong new gun-control laws. “We need a vote,” Obama said forcefully to a supportive crowd.
” Standing inside the University of Hartford sports center, Obama warned that some lawmakers are plotting “political stunts” to prevent a vote on “common-sense” gun control measures after debate begins on Tuesday.
“They’re saying your opinion doesn’t matter — and that’s not right,” the President said, prompting sympathetic boos from the packed gymnasium.
“We need a vote,” Obama added forcefully, as the pumped-up crowd chanted “We want a vote” in the background.
With the fate of his proposed gun restrictions uncertain, Obama invoked the memory of the 26 Newtown victims - and promised their families he was “as determined as ever to do what must be done.”
“We want you to know that we are here with you. We will not walk away from the promise we’ve made,” he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-determined-gun-bill-passed-article-1.1311203
Its funny how Obomba (the Nobel Piece Prize drone-master) uses the term “common sense” and yet still can’t balance a checkbook or a budget. Here are a few more funny things:
1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.
2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. But we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money! What’s interesting is the first group “worked for” their money, but the second didn’t.
3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens?
4. If illegal immigration is such a good thing for both Mexico and the USA, then why doesn’t Mexico reciprocate on their immigration laws?
And we allow these morons to run the country?
The FSA votes and they vote democrat.
That is all you really need to know.
The ultimate objective of gun control: removing the ultimate check on tyranny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVK0yZAhBKM&spfreload=10
This is the top headline on the Drudge Report right now
DEFIANT MICHELLE REFUSES TO WRAP
“Joining President Barack Obama for a condolence visit after the death of the King Abdullah, Mrs. Obama stepped off of Air Force One wearing long pants and a long, brightly colored jacket — but no headscarf.
Under the kingdom’s strict dress code for women, Saudi females are required to wear a headscarf and loose, black robes in public. Most women in Saudi Arabia cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab. But covering one’s head is not required for foreigners, and some Western women choose to forego the headscarf while in Saudi Arabia.
As a delegation of dozens of Saudi officials — all men — greeted the Obamas in Riyadh, some shook hands with Mrs. Obama. Others avoided a handshake but acknowledged the first lady with a nod as they passed by.”
http://news.yahoo.com/michelle-obama-navigates-limits-women-saudi-arabia-192549108.html
Forward
The 9/11 attacks were Saudi perpetrated. We have no friends in the region, not Arabs, Jews or Persians.
But George Bush was kissing the king, telling us everybody was good friends.
Speaking of which, why wasn’t Bush Jr. at Abdullah’s funeral? Isn’t that standard practice, to send former Presidents to stuff like this?
Hope and Change
Jindal Warns of Islamic ‘Colonization,’ ‘Invasion’ of US
“On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Family Research Council’s “Washington Watch,” host Tony Perkins asked guest Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) to revisit remarks he made regarding Muslims and the threat of radical Islam.
“What’s not acceptable is people that want to come and conquer us. That’s not immigration, by the way, that’s colonization. If someone wants to come here and change our fundamental culture and our values. If they want to come here and they want to set up their own culture and values that’s not immigration, that’s really invasion — if you’re honest about it. Of course, the politically correct crowd when you say things like they’ll call you racist — but this is a particular threat we face.”
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/01/27/jindal-warns-of-sharia-islamic-colonization-invasion-of-us/
Forward
Indians, specifically Hindus, HATE Muslims.
‘Merica F* Yeah
Ratings: Fox #1 for 13th Year, MSNBC Collapses By Double Digits
“Ratings for January 2015 show that for the 13th year in a row Fox News beat its left-wing competition at CNN and MSNBC. Fox is the leader in all areas: total viewers and demo viewers. MSNBC had a terrible January, losing -23% of total viewers and -39% of demo viewers in primetime compared to January of last year.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/01/27/ratings-fox-1-for-13th-year-msnbc-collapses-by-double-digits/
There are lots of kids that put out YouTube videos with a larger viewership than MSNBC’s average normal daily of 350K or so.
Those hackers need to leak the Taylor Swift nudes already
Don’t forget that Red Lipstick!
She has a weird looking body.
Hope and Change
Secret planting of up to 75,000 Syrian Muslims begins in U.S.
“Up to 10,000 Syrian refugees, most of them Muslims, will be resettled in cities throughout the U.S. in 2015, with that figure expected to surge to near 75,000 over the next five years.
While some of the planned destinations for these refugees are starting to leak out, the big question is: where will they be going?
The U.S. State Department does not announce where it plans to send foreign refugees for resettlement within the United States, although the locations do eventually show up in a government database some weeks after they arrive in their host cities. Word of their anticipated arrivals will sometimes surface earlier in local media reports.”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/secret-planting-of-up-to-75000-syrian-muslims-begins-in-u-s/
Forward
The annexation of David’s borders are coming soon to a wallet near you.
NANJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — A rural cooperative posing as a bank cheated 200 million yuan (32 mln U.S. dollars) from unwitting depositors in an eastern Chinese city, local police said.
The fake bank ensnared more than 200 customers over the past year with promise of higher interest rates.
The scheme was unraveled only after a customer was denied withdraw of his money and reported it to the police, according to police in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.
Police say the cooperative has decorated itself exactly the same as a bank, with LED screens, a queuing machine and uniformed clerks. It also faked documents to prove itself as an authorized financial institute.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2015-01/23/c_133942476.htm
Hope and Change
In India, Obama fires back at claims he’s Muslim
“President Obama on Tuesday made a forceful case for gender and religious equality in India and used examples from his own life — including claims that he’s secretly a Muslim — to make his point.
“There were moments in my life where I’ve been treated differently because of the color of my skin,” he said. “There have been times where my faith has at times been questioned by people who don’t know me, or they’ve said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/27/india-obama-fires-back-claims-hes-muslim/
Forward
Hope and Change
The Constitution Doesn’t Let President Close Congress’s Doors to Israel
“Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to Congress, at Congress’s invitation, is drawing significant criticism — that much is no great surprise. What does surprise, however, is one particular criticism: that the event will be not just bad policy, but even unconstitutional.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/constitution-doesnt-let-president-close-congresss-doors-israel_824707.html#
Forward
I got a phone and a pen!
If it costs another trillion dollars to fight the war that will make the Rapture happen five minutes sooner, it will all be worth it
And now back to your regularly scheduled Drudge Report links
obamo has added $8 trillion to the debt. More than every other administration combined and accounting for inflation.
Do muslims believe in rapture?
The Bush depression hangover has been very expensive.
Go a bit further back there Bear - maybe to Woody Wilson?
Is the Euro set to crash through dollar parity soon?
Hopefully in time for my summer vacation.
1 percenter?
The opposite, I’ve got to shop for bargains. Europe’s already cheaper than the equivalent trip in the US, in the travel packages on travel sites. Throw in a cheaper euro, and maybe cheaper plane tickets because of cheaper oil, and it could be an even better bargain.
R u missing the rally in long-term Treasurys?
wsj dot com
Credit Markets
U.S. Government Bonds Rise After Fed Statement
Fed Sticks to ‘Patient’ Tack; 10-Year Bond Yield Falls to 20-Month Low
The Federal Reserve voted unanimously to keep interest rates intact until at least the summer. WSJ’s John Hilsenrath has analysis. Photo: Getty.
By Min Zeng
Updated Jan. 28, 2015 3:32 p.m. ET
Investors piled into U.S. government bonds Wednesday, sending the benchmark 10-year yield to a fresh 20-month low, after the Federal Reserve continued to signal patience in raising borrowing costs for the broader economy.
Growing market turmoil in Greece added to the haven allure of U.S. Treasury bonds. The yield on the 30-year bond closed at a record low.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 1.723% from 1.825% on Tuesday. It marks the lowest closing level since May 2013. The yield has tumbled from 2.173% at the end of 2014. Bond prices rise as their yields fall.
The 30-year yield settled at 2.294%, breaking the previous record closing low of 2.391% made on Jan. 23.
Robust demand for U.S. bonds underscored concerns about the uncertain global growth outlook and deflation risks in Europe. As a nod to global uncertainty, the Fed said in a statement Wednesday that it will remain patient in raising interest rates. The Fed said the U.S. economy was expanding at a solid pace, but it signaled that short-term interest rates were likely to remain near zero at least until midyear.
…
Treasuries rally as Fed notes international risks to economy
By Susanne Walker and Daniel Kruger, Bloomberg News
January 28, 2015, 9:20PM
NEW YORK — Treasuries rallied after the Federal Reserve maintained its pledge to be “patient” on raising interest rates as it cited international risks to the economy while boosting its assessment of U.S. growth.
U.S. 30-year bond yields reached a record low as policy makers said inflation will be pushed lower by weak oil prices before gradually rising. Greek stocks and bonds slumped on concern the nation’s newly elected government will seek to overturn austerity measures, adding to signs the global economic slowdown is catching up with the U.S. Even with the rally, U.S. 10-year notes yields are higher than comparable-maturity debt of 18 development nations, fueling relative-value demand.
“They introduced international developments potentially having an impact on policy,” said Christopher Sullivan, who oversees $2.4 billion as chief investment officer at United Nations Federal Credit Union in New York. “The Fed repeated the most likely risks to the economy, but still suggested economic growth was expanding favorably.”
The benchmark Treasury 10-year yield fell 10 basis points, or 0.10 percentage point, to 1.72 percent, according Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 2.25 percent securities maturing in November 2024 added 30/32, or $9.38 per $1,000 face amount, to 104 23/32.
Thirty-year bond yields dropped 11 basis points to 2.29 percent, reaching an all-time low of 2.27 percent.
The Fed “acknowledged that inflation could go a little lower,” said James Sarni, a managing principal at investment manager Payden & Rygel, with $85 billion in assets under management. “That’s got the market a little bit excited.”
…
now that you’ve had your drudge report links, it’s time for some real journalism
warmist warming wednesday
global warming could make blizzards worse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/01/26/global-warming-could-make-blizzards-worse/
Does liquid water cause worse snow storms than the frozen form?
Who cares
One third of Louisiana Republicans blame Obama for the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina
Time to rally that base with some Koch cash and elect more candidates who are not scientists
Lake Effect for everyone!
more real journalism about ebola in freetown, sierra leone
this is a good preview of what obama has planned for the ‘fundamental transformation’ of america
http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/150127-ebola-virus-outbreak-epidemic-sierra-leone-freetown-photos-pictures/?sf7137022=1
forward
Didn’t see any Starbucks franchises.
Buy stocks, not bitcoin.
Jeff Reeves’s Strength in Numbers
Opinion: Bitcoin has no place in any portfolio
By Jeff Reeves
Published: Jan 28, 2015 6:30 a.m. ET
The vast majority of investors should not give bitcoin the time of day.
Bloomberg
Bitcoin, the digital currency that took the world by storm about a year ago, is back in the news in a big way lately.
First, there is a San Francisco startup called Coinbase backed with over $100 million that has opened the first “real” marketplace for bitcoin. Coinbase has backers including the New York Stock Exchange and Andreessen Horowitz, and aims to provide real-time pricing and a true market for bitcoin.
At the same time, Internet entrepreneurs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are making the rounds talking up the potential of bitcoin, claiming the potential market could be in the “trillions.” Of course, they are talking their own book as they wait for regulators to sign off on the first exchange-traded fund that will hold bitcoins … but considering there is just $3.5 billion or so held in bitcoins at present value, that’s a big-time prediction.
So what’s the score? Should investors see the decline in bitcoin prices over the last year and the recent buzz about the digital currency as a sign of hope?
No way.
The sad reality is that while there may be a select few that are going to make money on bitcoins, the vast majority of investors should not give bitcoin the time of day.
Here’s why the cryptocurrency is little more than a technological quirk, and has no place in your portfolio:
No True Value: Proponents like to talk about how bitcoin has no central bank or authority behind it as a net positive, but that fact also means a lack of true value. A bitcoin, then, is simply worth whatever a random person is willing to pay — derisively known as the “greater fool” theory, because profits rely on your ability to find someone more foolish than yourself who is willing to buy higher.
…
Bitcoin? Back up the truck.
http://goo.gl/FfnJdz
I was surprised they got away with this. E-trade commercial:
He’s Got Money Coming Out the Wazoo
Wait until the S&P 500 index is at 3000 before you buy stocks. Wait til Bitcoin is at 1500 before buying bitcoin. Wait until gold is at $2000 before buyiing gold.
What other rules are good?
Don’t buy housing until it hits the long term trend or 65% lower than current prices.
“A bitcoin, then, is simply worth whatever a random person is willing to pay ”
If your goal is to quote complete morons who do zero research into what they are actually talking about, then you’ve succeeded.
Bitcoin is based on something called block chain technology. The idea is that certain algorithms take a minimum cost to run to compute a result. The product you get out after running this algorithm is a digital verification. This verification can be used to do things like confirm a transfer of ownership, or signature of a document. The “true value” of bitcoin is the verification work people running bitcoin mining software are putting into doing the mining.
Similar to how with gold you can make jewelry, electronics, or easily divisible and transferrable currency, with the bitcoin network, you can create document verifications, asset transfer records, and other forms of digital signatures that are replicated across a globally distributed network… There are whole new realms of things that people are working on right now that you can create with bitcoin block chain technology…
So again, to say bitcoin is just worthless junk is like saying the county recorders office is worthless junk, notaries are worthless junk, and banks are worthless junk. (Ok maybe banks ARE worthless junk). Point being, before quoting morons, you should understand what their quotes are even saying…
I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.
I’m reminded of when the Segway first came out, and I heard someone say that the real technological advance was in the self-balancing mechanism. They said it was like inventing a new metal, and then making a spoon out of it. The value was not in the spoon, but in the metal, and finding new applications for it.
I see bitcoin the same way. Like you, I think the value is the process behind bitcoin. There is a lot of money working to figure out how to use this technology to reduce friction in the digital economy.
What this means though it the value of one bitcoin as digital currency is highly speculative. But lots of interesting ideas can be borne of the technology.
To extend my prior analogy, I’d definitely go long on applications that could use the newly invented metal. I don’t know if I’d buy the spoons hoping they go up in value.
I’ve seen rip off of the Segway that has three wheels. It turns out that that self-balancing thing is not really very valuable.
That’s the point.
They developed a cool new technology (self-balancing mechanism), and put it into a not very cool application (the Segway).
The iBot was amazing.
iBot Robotic Wheelchair Commercial Not available anymore.
http://youtu.be/k6p1Ck0ab80
Agreed. But clearly Mr. Reeves is talking about investing in bitcoin per se, not the technology. Some of our more technically astute posters seem sufficiently enamored of the block chain technology to be willing to ignore this important distinction.
No clearly he is not. He is not saying the value is not supported by the current price, he is saying it is *valueless*.
“No True value: (…) A bitcoin, then, is simply worth whatever a random person is willing to pay — derisively known as the “greater fool” theory, ”
See. He’s just a carnie trying to shout his message of stupidty louder than anyone else…
It sounds as though we have entered a New Era, where block chain technology will make us all RICH!!!!!!
I think of it as solving a Superman III type of problem.
A huge amount of resources (with a small fee each time) go toward confirming the legitimacy of various transactions. Effectively each transaction has a small amount skimmed off of it, making some corporations rich, at our expense, a small amount at a time.
Block chain technology could make us all slightly wealthier, at the expense of the corporations who are currently doing the skimming.
“A bitcoin, then, is simply worth whatever a random person is willing to pay”
Isn’t it more like ‘the maximum amount a random person is willing to pay’? I have to wonder whether Jeff Reeves’ stat professor covered the order statistic concept.
At least Rubio is puzzled by the laughter. I guess he’s still learning who he’s dealing with.
At Koch brothers event, Rubio, Cruz, Paul show GOP’s split on foreign policy
Three senators, including Florida’s Marco Rubio, gave a preview Sunday of the coming Republican presidential primary debate exposing differences on foreign policy while holding the party line on taxes…
Rubio talked about shoring up Social Security and Medicare and noted how people are living longer and willingly working into their 70s or longer. That brought laughter from the crowd. “What’s the chuckles for?” Rubio said with an awkward laugh.
Tampa Bay Times
“Rubio talked about shoring up Social Security and Medicare and noted how people are living longer and willingly working into their 70s or longer.
“That brought laughter from the crowd. ‘What’s the chuckles for?’ Rubio said with an awkward laugh.”
His use of the term “willingly”?
ding!ding!ding!
link to article
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/at-koch-brothers-event-rubio-cruz-paul-show-gops-split-on-foreign-policy/2215144
What’s up with the redesigned Bloomberg website? They made it into even more of a cartoon than that joke MarketWatch
They followed the model for financial media outlets. Report the truth and develop a name and following for a period of time, then gradually become a mouthpiece for the rotting misinformation machine.
Could you describe it? It’s not showing up at my end. Did they switch to the touch-me pix box format so popular with padlets?
Yes, and it’s freakin hideous.
It looks like Bloomberg disabled the comment feature, too. Too much free speech challenging the approved memes?
“While it is hard to imagine any lending institution will give them loans again, some have been forgiven,”
Neither do I condemn thee: go, and cash-out refi no more
Over 7 Million People Who Suffered Foreclosures Could Return to Housing Market
By Douglas A. McIntyre January 27, 2015 6:33 am EST
About 7.3 million people who owned a home that went through foreclosure in the housing market collapses could potentially be back in the real estate market within eight years. (These people are known as “boomerang buyers.”) The emphasis should be on “potential,” because there is no guarantee they will return at all.
The first wave of 7.3 million homeowners who lost their home to foreclosure or short sale during the foreclosure crisis in 2015 are now past the seven-year window they conservatively need to repair their credit and qualify to buy a home. More waves of these potential boomerang buyers will be moving past that seven-year window over the next eight years corresponding to the eight years of above historically normal foreclosure activity from 2007 to 2014.
While it is hard to imagine any lending institution will give them loans again, some have been forgiven, at least financially. This group is relatively old by home ownership standards:
Read more: 7.3 Million Boomerang Buyers to Return to Housing Market, Says RealtyTrac - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/housing/2015/01/27/over-7-million-people-who-suffered-foreclosures-could-return-to-housing-market/#ixzz3Q4zlvE00
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook
Greek banks and markets cratering. The first domino?
http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-bank-shares-are-getting-smashed-2015-1
“Greek banks and markets cratering.”
The giant sucking sound?
crater
Opinion: Too late: We’re already in a bear market
By Mark D. Cook
Published: Jan 28, 2015 6:01 a.m. ET
Investor sentiment hasn’t been so bad since the last time stocks lost big.
The recent bubble that burst in the oil market has been the talk around the world. What would people say if the stock market fell 40% in 2015?
The U.S. market’s foundation is crumbling, according to my calculations — just as it did in 2000 and in 2008.
…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDm1xD_Kwyc - 448k -
Billy Paul’s version was better
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ - 117k -
Billy Paul’s version of anything is better. He turned “Your Song” from a maudlin funeral dirge into a bright, upbeat romantic ditty with some soul.
The Obama Recovery
Gains From Economic Recovery Still Limited to Top 1 Percent
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/upshot/gains-from-economic-recovery-still-limited-to-top-one-percent.html
LOLZ to all the minority poors that voted for Obama twice and got nothing but crumbs
Same useful idiots will all be voting for Empress Hillary
Permanent Democrat Supermajority
‘Experts Unmask ‘Regin’ Trojan as NSA Tool’
‘Last fall, Kaspersky and the US security company Symantec both reported for the first time the discovery of a cyber-weapon system which they christened “Regin”. According to Kaspersky, the malware had already been in circulation for 10 years and had been deployed against targets in at least 14 countries, including Germany, Belgium and Brazil but also India and Indonesia.’
‘Symantec spoke of a “highly complex” threat. Many of the targets were in the telecommunications sector, but others included energy companies and airlines. Both Symantec and Kaspersky did not shy away from superlatives when describing the malware program, calling it a “top-tier espionage tool” and the most dangerous cyber-weapon since Stuxnet, the notorious malware program used to attack the Iranian nuclear program.’
‘The new analysis provides clear proof that Regin is in fact the cyber-attack platform belonging to the Five Eyes alliance, which includes the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Neither Kaspersky nor Symantec commented directly on the likely creator of Regin. But there can be little room left for doubt regarding the malware’s origin.’
‘The source code excerpt published by SPIEGEL comes straight from the Snowden archive.’
‘In the last several years, Regin has been exposed as the cyber-weapon behind a number of digital attacks:’
‘The attack on the partially state-owned company Belgacom, as mentioned above.’
‘A serious cyber-attack on the European Commission in 2011. The deputy head of Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security, Andreas Könen, told SPIEGEL at the end of last December that, “we have reconstructed that; there are clear congruencies.”
‘The Austrian newspaper Der Standard, citing anonymous sources, reported last November that malware code from the Regin family had been found in the network of the International Atomic Energy Agency, based in Vienna.’
‘Germany’s Bild newspaper also reported a Regin infection in the computer of a member of the department for European affairs in Angela Merkel’s Chancellery. According to the paper, the malware was found on the woman’s private computer. The Federal Office for Information Security says that Regin has not yet been found on official German government computers.’
‘It seems likely that more Regin discoveries will be made. Kaspersky alone, says Raiu, has found the malware in computers belonging to 27 international companies, governments and private persons.’
But it was an international incident when North Korea supposedly kept me from watching a crappy movie.
“But it was an international incident when North Korea supposedly kept me from watching a crappy movie.”
There is the proof that we are governed by psychopaths.
CBO Now Says 10 Mil Will Lose Employer Health Plans Under ObamaCare
Read More At Investor’s Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/012715-736559-cbo-says-obamacare-will-push-10-million-of-employer-plans.htm#ixzz3Q7pMclg7
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
Unexpected!
If you like your health insurance - you can keep your health insurance!
This is so complicated and full of loopholes wouldn’t have been easier just to create a healthcare tax where everyone pays a little so everyone gets covered?
All I see happening is the worker paying more so the poor can get free coverage.
How has this fixed anything? The real problem with healthcare is the cost. Its just like autos and homes, they are so expensive that you have to finance them.
What happened to the days of actually going to a doctor and paying cash for your services?
All this has done is to keep bloated prices high.
Bigger an bigger government with more and more regulations and higher and higher taxes will fix this.
Just like affordable housing.
Just like affordable college.
Just like affordable transportation.
“Comment by azdude”
Back in your HELOC King costume?
Complete control.
Of course it would have been easier. But then the health insurance companies would have had to fire their lobbyists, and we can’t be having any of that.
HAHAHAAHAHA… yes.. the ONLY thing negative about socialism is that we lose health care lobbyists…!!!! There is no actual work to run and administer a system with cost controls and efficient delivery of services…nope… JUST USE A PEN TO WRITE A LAW AND MAGIC HAPPENS…
And when you put all your eggs in one magic government basket, you will finally be happy, because centralization of power NEVER IN HISTORY led to corruption or nepotism or despotic leadership… NOPE
And of course we should do it at the federal level, because it’s always easier to get to the person in charge when they are 3000 miles away, and all 300 million of your fellow citizens are vying for the 1 person’s attention.. FOR SURE!!!
Skyrocketing healthcare costs started going up before long before Obamacare got started. Two reasons healthcare is expensive
1. Insurance middlemen. Huge HMO and PPO insurance companies act a 3rd party middleman. They are huge bureaucracies that require the providers to fill out reams of paperwork. HMO/PPO are for-profit. Their markups are passed on to the consumer.
2. Reagan’s indigent care law. Reagan passed a law that says hospitals shall not refuse ER care to anyone, even if they can’t pay. To make up for the freeriders hospitals have to mark up costs, leading to the infamous $100 aspirin.
Obamacare makes #1 worse by feeding the middlemen. In theory #2 should get better to the extent the poor accept their Obamacare subsidies.
#3. Insurance companies exhibit oligopolist (and monopolist) practices with respect to their negotiations with the healthcare providers. IF it was illegal for healthcare providers to differentially charge payers (ie. a guy off the street pays the same as Blue Cross), you would find massive competition in the insurance industry erupt, driving down considerably the effects you note in point #1.
To think that government would more efficient (with it’s employees who only care about not getting fired, and losing their pensions, NOT making their company a success) is laughable.
And before you trot out the very predictable “Medicare is WAY more efficient than private insurance” BS, let me pre-empt by noting that the “efficiencies” are measured by comparing the dollars used for healthcare compared to administration.
In other words, you are the most efficient, if you spend the most relative to overhead.
So, if you have 1 government employee writing and average of $10,000 annually for each of the 100 patients he tracks, that is considered more efficient than 5 private employees who may work hard to reduce the outlay to $20,000 per patient.
Of course, Medicare also spends a lot per patient in any event (due to the age of the insured), which helps make it a very efficient way of spending taxpayer money.
I missed a 0, should have been $100,000 vs. $20,000…
I wonder how much it costs these days to buy a voter?
A cell phone and part time job for the school district.
So fugg’n true it hurts!
One DMZ license
Lights, Camera, Action!
‘obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest’ — kim jong un
Obamao = Curious George.
Big Brother knows best. The proles are being conditioned to blindly obey.
http://kingworldnews.com/closing-new-york-dress-rehearsal-total-control-peoples-lives/
Invest in milk, egg and bread futures
“Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order [referring to the 1991 LA Riot]. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the World Government.”
Dr. Henry Kissinger, Bilderberger Conference, Evians, France, 1991
FXCM forgives clients whose wrong-way leveraged bets on the Swiss Franc gave them negative balances (because those debts were uncollectable). Let’s hear it for leveraged gambling with money you don’t have!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-28/another-bailout-fxcm-forgive-90-its-mostly-foreign-negative-balance-customers
how jeb bush’s wife could help win him the white house
‘the mexican-born immigrant has steeped jeb in hispanic culture. they speak spanish at home, and bush allies credit her with helping shape jeb’s ‘act of love’ message on immigration reform.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/230950-jeb-bushs-secret-weapon
got 34 million?
Can Bush blame obama for seven years of failure, double the debt and start 3 or 4 new wars when he is elected?
Will the obama goons here even see the irony?
Us, us, us……and Them, them, them, them….And after all we’re only ordinary men…..
Me, me, me….and You, you, you, you……God only knows it not what we would choose….to do……
Guys - it is all madness!!!!! Bushies, Obamao, Clintons, BIS, Fed, banksters, Realtwhores, you name it - it is all Madness I tell you.!!!
Now back to your regularly scheduled program……
“It takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush” — Hillary, 2008
When was the last time that Obama blamed Bush?
Veiled blaming all over the place in that thing called The State of the Onion!!
Latina women still know how to be wives, lovers, and mothers, unlike many of their neurotic, self-absorbed gringa counterparts.
Ay, ay, ay.
Well, THAT is quite a generalization.
As a scientist, I like numbers and facts. I have been keeping count since the 80s.
I note that amongst the male population sample spewing this stereotype, you will find that a bunch of them are married to bleached blonds with disproportionate b**bs, who tend to be dumb as a box of rocks, with a nasty edge.
Now, let me ask you: the male sample views itself as well above normal in every aspect except intelligence, in which it views itself as exceptional.
I refrain from noting that these behaviors and characteristics are of long standing. Since the days of yout’, even. The male paragons of excellence could not observe the data and draw the right conclusions?
Men who think with other than their brains tend to make less-than-well-informed life choices. I’d venture to say that they are more likely to resort to stereotyping instead of analysis.
One follow-on question:
Would these Latina women of which you speak belong to the demographic that pops out puppies at a rapid pace and consequently finds itself rolling in welfare receipts, section 8 housing, free medical care, SNAP, and the opportunity to establish itself in an enclave of like-minded illegal aliens? Whose 16 year old daughters, hoping to gain independent households, repeat the pattern?
If we’re going to do stereotypes, let’s do it with precision. Can’t be done - differentiation makes the discussion really, really unwieldy, lol!
Oil is down 2.5%. Oh the humanity!
Now off by over 4% on the day…I will try to delay my next gasoline purchase until this oil price reduction trickles down to the pump.
Meanwhile back in ILLANNOY!!!…….
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150127/EMPLOYMENT/150129816/sears-slashes-100-jobs-at-headquarters
and this….
Former Illinois town official to pay steep penalties in SEC case
Reuters 1/28/2015 11:46 AM ET
Print Article
WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A federal judge ordered the former comptroller and financial adviser to Harvey, Illinois, to pay more than $200,000 as part of a judgment over the misuse of municipal bond proceeds.
Federal District Judge Amy St. Eve ordered Joseph Letke to pay disgorgement, interest and penalties totaling $217,115 and barred him from participating in any municipal bond deals, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a release posted late Tuesday.
Letke was not available for comment.
The SEC is tightening oversight of the municipal bond market, which had long escaped regulatory scrutiny, and also of individuals involved in bond deals. In November it charged a Michigan city and two of its former leaders with fraud over a municipal bond offering. One of the officials had to pay a much smaller fine of $10,000.
In court in September, Letke, an accountant, said he had health issues and was “virtually destitute” because of the case.
“The federal government came into my offices - an accountant - over a year ago and asked me to participate or cooperate, and I said no,” he told the judge. “And they said, ‘We will run you over with a train and you will not be able to get a job at McDonald’s when we are finished with you.’”
Harvey has already settled with federal regulators. The case took an unusual turn this summer when the SEC obtained a restraining order against a bond sale that Harvey had prepared.
Starting in 2008, the city sold $14 million in bonds for the construction of a Holiday Inn that would be repaid from dedicated hotel-motel and sales tax revenues. It then diverted at least $1.7 million to fund its daily operations and also made $269,000 in undisclosed payments to Letke, the SEC alleged.
In June, when it learned that Harvey would return to the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market, the SEC asked a federal court in Illinois to block the sale. By law, municipal bond issuers do not have to involve federal regulators in planned debt sales.
The human race has deep underlying fears about technology and the lives their children will lead and this can be seen - in all places — in the negative yields in bond markets, Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller told CNBC.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/everyone-scared-nobel-prize-winner-093614163.html
Crater
Nationwide Ban On Personal Body Armor Proposed In Congress: “10 Years Imprisonment” For Possession
by Mac Slavo | SHTFPlan.com | January 28, 2015
In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting politicians from coast-to-coast attempted to push through legislation that would ban a host of guns, magazines and accessories. Though their efforts failed for the most part, those who would take away our ability to defend ourselves always have another tyrannical card up their sleeves.
The latest efforts to attack personal defense as a natural birthright comes from distinguished Congressional representatives Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Danny Davis (D-IL) and takes aim not at your ability to possess a firearm, but rather, to protect yourself from criminals who own them.
HR 378, dubbed the Responsible Body Armor Possession Act, would make it illegal for civilians to own “enhanced body armor” such as helmets, shields or armor plates that meet or exceed Type III protection. The bill would exempt law enforcement officers and other government officials.
The co-sponsors of the bill believe body armor in the hands of private citizens to be so dangerous that they intend to impose a 10 year federal prison sentence on those found to be in possession of the contraband.
The new law would still allow Americans to own Type I and Type II protection, which are designed to stop calibers ranging from .22 caliber to .357 Magnum respectively. Type III body armor is designed to stop higher velocity hand gun rounds like a high-velocity 9mm or .44 magnum and rifle rounds like the AK-47′s 7.62×39mm. Type IV, often reserved for special law enforcement response teams, is capable of stopping even armor piercing rounds from rifles.
Should such a law be passed, Americans would no longer have the ability to determine for themselves which type of body armor is best suited for their needs. Instead, we would be limited to protection from only a handful of calibers. And, as we well know, as soon as criminals with ill intent get wind that their victims probably won’t own body armor that’s able to stop a .44 or high velocity 9mm round, they’ll quickly switch to new weapons capable of ripping through “legal” protection.
The bill would exempt law enforcement officers and other government officials.
Of course, those who would write the laws to limit the rights of the populace are exempted from the laws..
Oxide, I can’t recall if it was you that gave me the advice to stick with what sets you apart. I am still doing the education thing, but now that the kids are a little more autonomous, I am going to make another run in the music business.
Thanks.
No joke: I thought about getting a realtor license and focusing on families relocating from the NE.
Somebody slap me. HARD.
No, it wasn’t me, but go for it with the music.
Region VIII
“We are all Americans — north and south in this hemisphere”
“This is a community, with a border going through it.”
Nancy Pelosi
Govt tells agents to ID which immigrants not to deport
Jan 28, 3:15 AM (ET)
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has ordered immigration agents to ask immigrants they encounter living in the country illegally whether they might qualify under President Barack Obama’s plans to avoid deporting them, according to internal training materials obtained by The Associated Press.
Agents also have been told to review government files to identify any jailed immigrants they might be able to release under the program.
The directives from the Homeland Security Department mark an unusual change for U.S. immigration enforcement, placing the obligation on the government for identifying immigrants who might qualify for lenient treatment. Previously, it was the responsibility of immigrants or their lawyers to assert that they might qualify under rules that could keep them out of jail and inside the United States.
It’s akin to the Internal Revenue Service calling taxpayers to recommend they should have used certain exemptions or deductions.
The training materials apply to agents for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They instruct agents “to immediately begin identifying persons in their custody, as well as newly encountered persons” who may be eligible for protection from deportation.
One training document includes scenarios describing encounters between agents and immigrants with guidance about how agents should proceed, with a checklist of questions to determine whether immigrants might qualify under the president’s plans. ICE officials earlier began releasing immigrants who qualified for leniency from federal immigration jails.
http://www.richmond.com/…/ap/article_061b696d-32e3-593a-bdc7-7b0190d25843.html -
“California’s Kern County Declares Fiscal Emergency Due To Plunging Oil Price”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-28/crude-contagion-californias-kern-county-declares-fiscal-emergency-due-plunging-oil-p
Another wall street victim of rampant speculation gone bad.
ZIRP is gonna bankrupt some folks!
There it is!
But this isn’t Texas or North Dakota. Someone on here scoffed a month ago at my suggestion that California was neck deep in it.
Housing factors in Leelanau County Michigan up for discussion
TRAVERSE CITY 26 Jan 2015— Households with children under 18 in Leelanau County declined by 16 percent from 2000 to 2010, a change that’s had ripple effects across the county, ranging from school populations to employee availability.
“They’ve moved out, mainly because of housing issues,” said Trudy Galla, Leelanau County Planning and Community Development director.
Affordable housing is especially needed in Leelanau County, where homes tend to be more expensive than most workers can afford.
“We’re not necessarily talking about low-income affordable housing in the conventional form. These aren’t necessarily families that need vouchers or subsidized housing. They could have pretty decent jobs, but they still can’t afford to live in Leelanau County,” said Sharon Woods, a target market analysis consultant who worked with Networks Northwest to come up with housing market studies for the region.
phony scandals