Bits Bucket for August 16, 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
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China seemed to largely avoid the downdraft of the 2008 US housing bust. Will the US be able to skirt China’s 2015 bust?
Not places, like California, where Chinese investors were among the primary drivers of the Echo Bubble…
It’s hard to find any articles by real journalists who grasp the significance of China’s recent stock market crash and yuan devaluation to future California real estate investing activity. Many use flawed logic to suggest stock market weakness at home will lead to more real estate investment abroad.
However, investors who must sell assets to raise cash for covering margin calls tend to not invest much in foreign real estate. And the devaluation means the price tag of CA housing just went up for any Chinese nationals still in the market, further weakening demand.
How in the heck do you have so much time to worry about china?
I wish you would get focused on the US again.
You’re obviously missing the connection.
You are way over complicating this. Its kind of listening to bs stories about how greece is gonna bury us for the past 5 years. It is all a distraction.
Worry about what you can control. these 20-30 doom and gloom china stories a day are getting boring.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-15/chinas-debt-load-hit-250-gdp-5-years-imf-says
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-chemical-explosion-in-china-killed-more-than-100-people-and-the-devastation-is-unreal-2015-8
‘these 20-30 doom and gloom china stories a day are getting boring’
Just a year and a half ago it was confidently reported that no Chinese city would ever see house prices go down. It’s interesting that recently an analyst said everything here would be OK unless “China happens”, equating the existence of the country with systemic financial problems.
“You have weakness in the energy market…. The one positive out of today’s market is the Dow Transports,” said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. “It’s August, it’s summer, so there’s sort of no reason to do any buying or selling, but if any kind of news like China happens or momentum to the downside, then there’s less support for the market.”
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/03/us-markets-data.html
There is this map floating around on reddit or somewhere that shows each country’s size relative to its GDP? It amazed me how small China was on this map. For all the talk of China here, and believing China does matter, it is far more important what is happening in the US economy (or Europe) than vice versa. At least according to that chart.
China is the rotten keystone in the biggest global credit expansion of all time. It’s cascading defaults that will upset the world, not a recession in a very poor country like China, per se. China is the epicenter for these cascading defaults because they have the most outrageous credit bubble.
There is a real potential for social unrest if Chinese bagholders, who were led to believe they had the equivilant of the Bernanke Put, end up financially wiped out and take out their rage against the ruling party. In that scenario the PRC CCP leadership will almost certainly resort to military adventurism to Rally the Base, and the potential for a major regional conflict or US-China showdown would suddenly be very real.
Contagion crosses borders and oceans.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-16/yuan-devaluation-sparks-biggest-crash-us-corporate-bonds-lehman
yeah I saw this. I checked various links about the Bank of America / Merrill Lynch corporate bond index to substantiate what he’s been saying. It’s an interesting data point, particularly that it also showed this type of thing happened the ten days before the big Lehman implosion in 2008.
Chinese economy
The Observer
Eight reasons why China’s currency crisis matters to us all
The Chinese leadership’s devaluation of the yuan delivered a temporary shock to financial markets, but its longer-term effects may be felt around the globe
The Chinese government devalued the yuan twice last week, in a move which may signal that the economy is not as strong as hoped.
Photograph: Tao Zhang/ Tao Zhang/Demotix/Corbis
Heather Stewart, Observer economics editor
Saturday 15 August 2015 19.05 EDT
Last modified on Sunday 16 August 2015 18.59 EDT
After China unexpectedly devalued its currency last week, one City economist shrugged despairingly and said: “It’s August.” While it’s meant to be a time for heading for the beach or kicking back in the sunshine with the kids, August has often witnessed the first cracks that presaged what later became profound shifts in the tectonic plates of the global economy — from the Russian debt default in 1998, to what Northern Rock boss Adam Applegarth called “the day the world changed,” when the first ripples of the credit crunch were felt in 2007; to August 2011, when ratings agency Standard and Poor’s sent shockwaves through financial markets by stripping America of its triple-AAA credit rating.
Taking the long view, last week’s devaluation by China, which left the yuan about 3% weaker against the dollar, was relatively modest — sterling had lost 16% of its value in 1967 when Harold Wilson sought to reassure the British public about the “pound in your pocket”.
But China’s decision represented the largest yuan depreciation for 20 years; and the ripples may yet be felt thousands of miles away. So what difference will it make to the rest of the world?
…
Yes PB, brother from another, I agree with your assertion.it is a matter of time. I don’t expect to see any rent decrease in California until next year though. Momentum of he Chinese locusts from before their stock market crash.
It is a one-two punch. First the stock market and then the yuan devaluation relative to the dollar. The first thing that we will see (and it should be happening now) is a significant drop in new real estate purchases in the U.S. by Chinese. Houses are more expensive to them.
So we will expect reports of a decline in sales for this period. The pundits will report it in January and blame El Niño. Prices should start dropping among the anxious sellers. More rentals will go on the market and the rent increases will stall.
“The pundits will report it in January and blame El Niño.”
LMFAO!
First the stock market and then the yuan devaluation ??
You have it reversed…The big boys knew the devaluation was coming…Thats why the market sold off…They always know before the masses unless its a act of god…
This is how I see it…When the market sells off a lot I know there is some news coming soon thats negative…When it goes up a lot, its the reverse…
The stock market game is rigged…If I were to invest in the market (which I never have) I would just buy something that every big fund manager has in their portfolio…
I don’t think much of the connection is being lost.
I think that most people aren’t affected by China’s involvement in the U.S. housing market.
I realize that the typical Californian believes the country begins and ends at California, but it simply is not true. Sorry.
The same can be said about the typical New Yorker, who believes the rest of the country is enamored with them.
That also simply is not true.
I realize that the typical Californian believes the country begins and ends at California, but it simply is not true.
You have it wrong. The typical Californian knows our state is different from the Midwest and the East Coast, and we like that we have our own culture. What irks me is that some members of the media push an anti-California narrative, or they make broad generalizations about the state from a distance that are wrong, like you just did.
I just have nostalgia for the California of the 1960s, and last time I checked, the rural areas look pretty much like they did in the 1960s (in the Sierra Nevada). Good enough for me.
@ Selfish: While I defend California I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool booster or a fanboy. There are serious problems here and the state has seriously gone downhill in some ways while doing better in others. I guess the amazing thing is the state’s resiliency. When the chips are down the state finds a way to rebound in some unexpected way. I mean we shoulda gone the way of the Rust Belt when we lost the aerospace industry or after the first tech bubble collapse. Somehow we keep tickin’ along as the No. 1 GDP state in the country…
Yep…Great weather, higher education and a diverse culture have something to do with it also…
CA real estate is important to the rest of the US because there simply aren’t that many areas that have as many high paying jobs and as many people wanting to live there. Out of the entire US, there are a few locales that really drive the bus for the rest of the economy. There also are a few industries in which the US is still dominant and they basically choose to locate themselves in CA or in the Northeast. Entertainment/media/movies, high finance/hedge funds/vc’s, biotech, robotics/machine learning, and of course web design/software/apps. Even if they do production elsewhere, the $$$ flows to HQs and so do the high paying jobs. NYC/New England, SF/SV, DC area are small landmasses that outproduce entire large flyover country states. Facts are facts.
Housing and tech bubbles don’t count. The true state of CA’s economy won’t be known until all the bubbles are popped. The rust belt might soon be calling CA the tin coast.
“I realize that the typical Californian believes the country begins and ends at California, but it simply is not true.”
It’s really all about Coastal California. Probably 95% of California’s land mass and population are indistinguishable from flyover red states.
Then there is this: http://carlsbaddesal.com/
This is an example WPA brought up about California. Just when it looks like California becomes doomed, it seems to recover.
Desalination is in the works. An end to the water shortage is at hand.
“Anti California narrative”?
Seriously? Ground zero in the US for poverty, sexual crimes, a haven for fraud and sexual predators and a cesspool overrun by illegals….. Californica speaks by itself, for itself.
California Most Impoverish State In The US
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_poverty_rate
Re: “Real journalists” (meaning Oligopoly stenographers) supposedly not understanding the broader implications of China’s downturn, recall the words of Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.’”
I thought the Chinese all cash buyers were doing so in order to have a place to run to when tshtf back home. They targeted high end markets, NY, SF, Vancouver, LA, etc. They have a put if they need the cash, or a roof over their head if they need a safe haven. They weren’t buying for investment as much as security.
There isn’t much security for fugitive foreign nationals in the US wanted on fraud charges in their home country.
Remember….. These people stole or borrowed piles of money.
The US doesn’t even go after its own criminals, why would they go after Chinas?
Who said the US was?
They weren’t buying for investment as much as security ??
Thats how I see it also…And, its not just Chinese…At lease here, they are coming from all parts of the world…I have never seen anything like it before…
You’ll need to explain why housing demand is at 20 year lows.
Go!
Not places, like California, where Chinese investors were among the primary drivers of the Echo Bubble…
That’s just anti-California Breitbart propaganda. I saw that link this morning. Yes, there are Chinese real estate investors in California, but they have also been investing heavily in Texas. Also in other metropolitan markets like Florida and NYC.
+1 WPA….
“That’s just anti-California Breitbart propaganda. I saw that link this morning.”
I never in my life have read Breitbart.
It’s not anti-California anything.
You’re just mad because the chickens are coming home to roost. I don’t hear many Texans or New Yorkers bitching about incoming Chinese.
The do bitch (especially Texans) about equity locusts from California. Just like Carolinians do about New Yorkers.
That Chinese are ruining the economics of California? First in the massive run up, then into the abyss?
I don’t have much sympathy. Perhaps if the typical Californian equity locust behaved differently, maybe I’d care.
So much wrong with your statement I am reluctant to respond but I will
I don’t hear many Texans or New Yorkers bitching about incoming Chinese ??
Who’s bitching ?? Saying that they are here buying is not bitching…Its a statement of fact….
The do bitch (especially Texans) about equity locusts from California ??
But they recruit companies from California and boast about it all the friggen time…Thats a hypocritical statement Macbeth..
That Chinese are ruining the economics of California ?
The chinese are a small minority in the state and particularly in Silicon valley…Wether they come and go will have little impact on our state GDP…
California will still be the poorest state in the Union.
Syracuse University has a lot of Chinese students; they live in luxury apartments and mostly drive high end European cars. So this down turn can affect even a small city like Syracuse. The students seem to be back this year. Next year will be telling.
Jingle_Fraud….
If you mean a 45% collapse in GDP is avoiding it, I suppose.
http://blogs.r.ftdata.co.uk/ftdata/files/2013/07/China-GDP2.jpg
“avoid the downdraft…”
It only looked that way through donkey lenses.
Decades ago I was out of work for a few months. I maintained my standard of living by borrowing. Then I found a new job at lower pay and had to face reality. My spending was drastically reduced for the next few years. I calculate that I hadn’t actually “avoided the downdraft”.
China will take a while to recover from its massive accumulation of debt.
Neither devaluation nor another stock market bubble can promote China’s economic health
Andy Xie says China’s misguided stock market bailout is only delaying the inevitable: critical reforms
PUBLISHED : Friday, 14 August, 2015, 4:45pm
UPDATED : Friday, 14 August, 2015, 4:45pm
A new bubble like that in the stock market can never be a proper tool to handle the consequences of an old one.
Has Beijing’s stock market rescue been a success? The market hasn’t fallen below the pre-bailout lows and some may call this a success. But it hasn’t revived speculative fervour. Every attempt to ramp up the market has been punctured by a mini crash.
The 70 per cent reduction in trading volume indicates that most investors are waiting for the government to push up the market to the said target of 4,500 and then cash out. When so many think like this, the market will never get there.
The bailout is mostly a confidence game. There is no transparency about how much money the government has actually poured in. Some measures may make a little difference to the supply- demand balance. For example, stockbrokers have been banned from selling their inventories before the market hits 4,500. But is that a large amount? State-owned enterprises have been asked to buy back shares. Again, the tidbits on the buybacks indicate tiny amounts relative to the market size.
The most significant move has probably been the suspending of margin calls. As margin loans may have accounted for a third of the floating shares at the peak, a total ban could be a big deal. But it’s unclear as to who still falls under the restrictions. Stockbrokers have been cutting their margin loans. For the numerous outside players who provide top-up margin loans, there is no transparency about who is still restricted. Chances are, most margin loan suppliers are selling. They are holding back in many cases because they are under water; they are waiting for the government to push the market above their cost to liquidate.
The government rescue efforts have manufactured hope for speculators and lenders that they could be made whole again. The hope game can’t last forever. At some point, they will liquidate to cut their losses. When this tipping point is reached, no government efforts could stop the collapse. In 2008, when the market dropped by half, similar government efforts kept the market range-bound for several months. The final collapse cut the market index by another half. This time could be quite similar.
When the market began to surge in the middle of last year, the index was near 2,000 for a long time. After a 150 per cent surge in 12 months, the economic fundamentals deteriorated sharply, and the market was saddled with mountains of debt. This combination suggests the market will eventually fall below where it came from.
As the government stakes so much on propping up the stock market, it begs the question: why? The stock market has not raised that much money relative to the investment size. It has surged and collapsed many times before with no big impact on the economy either way. The difference this time is that a stock market boom was sold as the panacea to solve all economic ills: distressed companies could raise money to stay afloat; youths would be motivated to start businesses to cash out in the market; and retail investors would feel rich and spend more. The market collapse puts an end to such fantasy economics. And there is no plan B.
…
Barack Obama and the Democrat Party.
Got a phone call yesterday from one of the major, more respected pollsters. From the nature of the questions, my guess is that it was commissioned by a Republican group to assess the attitudes of Florida voters. And again, from the nature of the questions, it seemed as if they were trying to determine the chances of JEB!, Marco and Carly Fiorina, even Kasich a little. And how screwed they’d be if Trump went third party.
“And how screwed they’d be if Trump went third party.”
Hillary!
(Why did this make me think of Hillary?)
“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” - Vince Lombardi
(Again, this made me think of Hillary.)
Hillary is no threat. From the questions, they’re possibly expecting a Biden candidacy, although Hillary was brought up.
Why go 3rd party when you are leading in all polls?
Even Hillary’s favorite leg-humpers at CNN are starting to acknowledge the seriousness of the security violations she committed by sending classified e-mails over her irregular private e-mail set-up.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/15/cnn-national-security-analyst-unloads-on-hillary-over-email-scandal-i-wonder-whether-she-is-capable-of-being-president-video/
“And how screwed they’d be if Trump went third party ??
Won’t happen IMO…This Trump thing right now is just a live reality show…He will not spend any of his own money on a National scale and he won’t be able to raise the money either…Enjoy the reality show for a few months…He will disappear after he has pretty much insulted pretty much everyone in one way or another…
Third party….If you want to bet on a horse there I would say Kasich….Jeb is getting the Repub nomination…Its already baked-In the cake…
I would love to get a call from a pollster since I quit voting after 2012. Though I know the person on the other end of the line would just be some drone.
Where was this picture taken?
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20150816_093152.jpg
Region VIII
Do you have 4G LTE access up there?
Yes, I did this morning. Your clue is: South Park
Remember - when democrats are in power.
There are no differences in the parties. Both sides would have done the same. The system is so stacked that it makes no difference. They are all the same anyways. Better to go with the devil you know. Etc.
————-
Trump vows to deport all undocumented immigrants and rescind any protections put in place by Obama
The Dailymail | 16 August 2015 | Wills Robinson
Donald Trump has vowed to deport every single one of the country’s illegal immigrants and rescind any executive orders Barack Obama put in place to protect them.
‘We’re going to keep the families together, but they have to go,’ Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview that is set to air on Sunday morning.
Asked by host Chuck Todd about illegal immigrants who might have nowhere else to go, Trump said: ‘We will work with them.
‘They have to go … we either have a country, or we don’t have a country,’ he added.
Trump, 69, also said in the interview he would need to rescind Obama’s executive orders on immigration, including one that protects from deportation the children of parents who came to the country illegally.
Except Trump is the only “Republican” who is even remotely addressing the issue.
If the NSA can assemble a massive spy complex to intrude on all American citizens, then it is entirely possible to rid the country of most, if not all, illegal immigrants. And their children. Come back when you’re 18 kiddies. That is, if the USA still exists. And if it does, assuming they’d even want to.
Ike shut down the mex border w 1/10 the number of bureaucrats
Same border
Use guns ,folks respect that
2Brony only supports corporate bootlicker candidates. He’s especially hoping for Scott Walker or Rubio in ‘16.
(Tip: Scott Walker and Marco Rubio are done here, you can mark that down right now. And it looks like Rick Perry is already out of money, LOL.)
Scott Walker took money from Wisconsin’s colleges and gave it to some billionaires to pay for an arena for them. Wisconsin is now officially a plantation state. When the billionaires call, Walker says yowza to the massuhs and does exactly what he’s told to do.
Don’t let facts get in your way.
Public unions are by far the all time money contributors in the history of US politics.
And Scott Walker allowed people the choice the join public unions and not have the government collect public union due before they get their paychecks.
The inhumanity of it.
And that, my friend, is why the hard core leftist hate Walker.
And it has nothing to do with a stadium.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WBupia9oidU
Heh, one of my fave songs from the ’80s. Thanks!
You may not be full-blown gay, Palmy, but you’re definitely peering over the fence with that admission.
Ray K, you’d have to understand the 1980s music scene, especially the Brit part of it. From your comments about boomers, I realize you’re probably not that familiar with it, but I can assure you the appeal was universal across sexes and preferences. And although I’m not a Brit myself, I can say that the hetero Brit male of that era had far fewer issues and insecurities than their American counterparts, and was not afraid to pose or dress up. The movement was called “The New Romantics”.
Big difference between Boy George and Bryan Ferry.
Dude, I’m totally yanking your chain. I lived in the UK and spent a lot of time in Europe when I was younger and got into a lot of the ’80s music. Roxy Music’s “Avalon” is still one of my all-time favorite albums, as it brings back lots of GREAT memories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZTymGhkZpg
LOL, my apologies, sir, I see you are a kindred spirit then and probably understand way more about it than I do.
God save Bryan Ferry.
Also the ones some macho types complain about today are Pet Shop Boys, A-ha, Hall and Oates, Dead or Alive (”You Spin me round”), Adam Ant, Depeche Mode, Modern English, Fine Young Cannibals, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, etc (and I got down to band names with the letter F!) - all great bands.
And one of my all time faves, ABC. The Lexicon of Love was one incredible album. And there you have the teaming of Martin Frye (hetero New Romantic) with Mark White (gay bon vivant and lead guitarist).
I like to watch Live from Daryl’s House from time to time. I really enjoyed watching him and Rundgren jam. I wouldn’t really consider Hall and Oates one of the New Romantics 80s bands, more like a classic American duo that spanned the 70s and 80s. The only reason Hall would threaten the macho types is because he could sure get the girls. Like Don Johnson, represented a breed of iconic American men in entertainment that died out in the beginning of the 90s, giving way to what I like to call “The Wimpsters” (combo of wimpy hipsters).
None of which has anything to do with housing or the economy.
Then again, I’m a huge fan of Def Leppard and Journey, so I dunno what that says about me. If I had to vote for who had the best pipes in rock music, I’d have to say Steve Perry.
Your all being really gay today.
Best 80s band ever (no contest here) is the Smiths.
Frankie say “Relax!”
I prefer Liberace and Barry Manilow.
Best 80s band ever (no contest here) is the Smiths.
The Smiths? Seriously, Goon? Did the other patrons at the gay bar put you up to posting this? The best band honor goes, hands down, to Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits.
Hands down, flat out best band. Keyrank it to 11.
https://youtu.be/3ZlDZPYzfm4
Best 80s band ever (no contest here) is “X.”
I once watched an immigrant family group, a mother, father and daughter who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old, shopping at one of the local home improvement stores. From the looks of them, they were probably pure indio and my guess is the parents didn’t even speak Spanish, more likely one of the indio languages. They looked very bewildered. Not so the daughter. Very assertive and fluent in English. Marched right up to one of the floor workers and said very loudly “my parents need help” and then interpreted between her parents and the store worker. They got what they wanted and she shepherded her parents over to the cash register.
It was actually quite impressive to see. No doubt in my mind who was in charge of that family.
2Ban is finally seeing the light and not drinking the GOP koolaid.
Wish,m.youtube.com/watch?v=7_n4P2_essay.dream hope, keep hope alive there…
Wje3 you at.nkfga?
I am a firm believer that jail time for small amounts of drugs is a waste of resources.
However - Legalizing drugs is NOT a cure all. Not even close.
—————
In the Wake of Proposition 47, California Sees a Crime Wave
Townhall.com | August 16, 2015 | Debra J. Saunders
“The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” isn’t living up to its promise. Also known as Proposition 47, the California ballot initiative, which was approved in November 2014 with 60 percent of the vote, downgraded drug possession and many property crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor. Proponents argued that lesser punishment for low-level offenders would enhance public safety. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon was the rare prosecutor who pushed for its approval. He told the San Francisco Chronicle, “What we have been doing hasn’t worked, frankly.”
Gascon spokesman Alex Bastian told me, “The voters indicated that possessing small amounts of narcotics” should not constitute a felony. Californians don’t want three-year sentences for drug possession. I don’t, either, but on the ground, the legal fix is not living up to its hype. Prop 47 has made it easier for drug offenders to avoid mandated treatment programs. The measure reduced penalties for the theft of goods worth less than $950. Habitual offenders know that, critics say, and they’ve changed their habits to avoid hard time. The measure’s approval also prompted the state to free some 3,700 inmates.
In San Francisco, theft from cars is up 47 percent this year over the same period in 2014. Auto theft is up by 17 percent. Robberies are up 23 percent. And aggravated assaults are up 2 percent, according to San Francisco police spokesman Carlos Manfredi. Burglaries are down 5 percent.
The City of Angels saw a 12.7 percent increase in overall crime this year, according to the Los Angeles Times; violent offenses rose 20.6 percent, while property crime rose by 11 percent. Mayor Eric Garcetti says Prop 47 may explain Los Angeles’ change in course from crime reduction to crime increases.
When I went out on patrol of homeless encampments with San Francisco police officers earlier this month, more than one officer suggested voters repeal Prop 47 if they want fewer squatters in the city.
Of course this is what will happen right away when thugs who have no skills because they were jailed for victimless crimes are suddenly set out on the street. your solution is to continue to inhumanely lock up people because they were locked up all their adult life no matter that they had no victims. Conservative logic.
Did you even read my comment before posting?
No. Sorry. My bad.
violent offenses rose 20.6 percent
Victimless crimes?
who have no skills because they were jailed for victimless crimes ??
Yep…And there is your solution…Instead of sending them to Prison, send them to school in a lock down environment then release them when completed…If they have a skill to get a job and a paycheck for the most part things will likely change for the better in their lives…It gives them the opportunity to get smart and get sober…
I got no problem with that for truly nonviolent drug users or low level criminal types. Make it also contingent on good behavior. In practice they would never get out.
Proponents argued that lesser punishment for low-level offenders would enhance public safety.
I didn’t vote for Prop 47 because I thought it would reduce crime, I voted for it because the state was spending way too much money on prisons. Due to prison overcrowding the Feds were threatening to force California to spend even more. Fastest way to reduce prison overpopulation is let out the small time non violent offenders.
Apparently the costs are just being delayed and transferred. And you live in CA, low level criminals spend like 1 day for every 30 of their sentence in jail.
It has been proven many times that police statistics are a complete fabrication. They classify crimes to fit their agenda and to keep politicians they want in office and those they don’t out of office. It has more to do with who will give them more benefits and less to do with what the actual crime level is.
This board as a whole beleives a couple of big liberal lies.
One is that the prisons are full of low level drug possessors.
Another is that people on SSI disability have shown themselves to be disabled.
Anybody want to list any others?
One is that the prisons are full of low level drug possessors.
Another is that people on SSI disability have shown themselves to be disabled.
You’ve already revealed your bias with your straw man argument. No one said the prisons are “full” of low level thugs — there’s a percentage, yes, but not “full.” Same with SSI: the majority have legitimate disabilities while no doubt there are some cheaters.
Don’t be a Lola.
Biased to people floating the lies that any significant amount of prisoners are low level drug possesors, yes.
Not even the same percentage as medical mj card holders with real illnesses, which is miniscule also.
More money for schools actually will go to helping kids learn instead of towards fattening public union goon pensions.
I like #12 the best.
We all know this obama economy is fake, papered over and unsustainable.
And we all know it will end very badly.
———————-
12 Signs That An Imminent Global Financial Crash Has Become Even More Likely
Economic Collapse | 11 Aug 15 | Michael Snyder
The following are 12 signs that indicate that a global financial crash has become even more likely after the events of the past few days…
#1 The devaluation of the yuan on Tuesday took virtually the entire planet by surprise (and not in a good way).
#2 One of the big reasons why China devalued the yuan was to try to boost exports. China’s exports declined 8.3 percent in July, and global trade overall is falling at a pace that we haven’t seen since the last recession.
#3 Now that the Chinese have devalued their currency, other nations that rely on exports are indicating that they might do the same thing. If you scan the big financial news sites, it seems like the term “currency war” is now being bandied about…
#4 This is the very first time that the 50 day moving average for the Dow has moved below the 200 day moving average in the last four years.
#5 The price of oil just closed at a brand new six year low.
#6 This week we learned that OPEC has been pumping more oil than we thought, and it is being projected that this could cause the price of oil to plunge into the 30s…
#7 Commodity prices that we are witnessing right now are eerily similar to what we witnessed just before the stock market crash of 2008.
#8 The South American debt crisis of 2015 continues to intensify.
#9 Just before the financial crisis of 2008, a surging U.S. dollar put an extraordinary amount of stress on emerging markets. Now that is happening again.
#10 The ratio of wholesale inventories to sales in the United States just hit the highest level since the last recession. What that means is that there is a whole lot of stuff sitting in warehouses out there that is waiting to be sold in an economy that is rapidly slowing down.
#11 The growth of consumer spending in the United States has just plummeted to multi-year lows.
#12 Deep inside, most of us can feel what is coming. According to Gallup, the number of Americans that believe that the economy is getting worse is almost 50 percent higher than the number of Americans that believe that the economy is getting better.
And we all know it will end very badly ??
As badly as September 2008 under your buddy Bush ??
We need higher asset prices so people have money to consume products.
People need access to credit and leverage to devote more of their future income to today.
What is the difference between printing money and artificially inflating asset prices?
The rich under Bush were still the rich under Obama and will still be the rich under whoever is next. Get rich or die tryin.
Here, let me fix that for you:
We need higher
asset priceswages so people have money to consume products.Here, let me fix that for you:
We need higherwe’re getting falling asset prices wages so peoplehave moneycan afford to consume products without committing financial suicide.Capiche?
Deflation is failure and a disappointment. It’s the economic equivalent to losing an erection.
+1 again WPA…On a roll today…
If Viagra induced probably better for long term health to deflate.
You also talk about wages as if they are something Big Daddy Govt sets from DC.
Nonsense.
Remember….. Nothing accelerates the economy like falling prices. Nothing.
2008 are now the good old days
That is how bad the obama economy is…
2008 are now the good old days ??
LOL…September 2008….You must have been a adolescent at the time then to not recognize or understand the state of affairs on that date so you can be forgiven for your lack of understanding due to age at the time…
He’s right Dave. There is no reason to be angry about it.
Fundamentally transforming America…
And Philadelphia and the Philadelphia School district are beyond bankrupt.
It is all OK - they will all vote democrat.
————–
Philly school district registers 800 students speaking 40 languages from 70 countries
phillytrib.com | August 15, 2015 | Damon C. Williams
The School District of Philadelphia’s special registration for immigrant students who speak a language other than English closes on Aug. 28, giving families of such students roughly two weeks to register their child for the upcoming school year.
Last year, the center registered more than 800 students from more than 70 countries. Collectively, those students spoke more than 40 different native languages.
The district also noted families shouldn’t be concerned about registering their child based on their immigration status. The district referred to Plyler v. DOE, a U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that it is unconstitutional to deny free public education to children who are not legally admitted into the United States.
City immigrant populations have been on the rise since Mayor Michael Nutter’s signage of a a pair of executive orders, starting in 2009.
“All city services, including but not limited to the following listed services, shall be made available to all city of Philadelphia residents, consistent with applicable law, regardless of the person’s citizenship or legal immigration status,” read a portion of one order. “[Those services include] police and fire services; medical services, such as emergency medical services, general medical care at community health centers and immunization; testing and treatment with respect to communicable diseases; mental health services; children protective services and access to city facilities, such as libraries and recreation centers.”
Schools are welfare and propaganda istribution points
Word
Word is right. Public school system is headed for extinction, IMO. It’s really just another money funnel for entities like Big Pharma, etc.
Except big pharma won’t take your house with a goon with a gun if you miss a property tax payment
Schools and teachers are going the way of the dodo and the waiter/waitress. You can mostly educate kids via MOOC. Once Oculus comes along strong there will be no need for physical buildings. Kids can all “attend” class from home and one teacher can provide instruction to a million kids simultaneously, at least for the older kids.
Education is really about babysitting and keeping kids out of the workforce competing with union members.
Good point. In fact I just recently saw an online service for K-12 Florida students advertised on one of the local TeeVee stations.
This will be a relief for many parents who want their kids to graduate in one piece and be safe from the pervs that permeate the system.
Sunday political cartoons from TBP. Enjoy!
http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/08/16/sunday-funnies-75/
#CuttheCheck
I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a protest today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs1kLkxOmqY - 159k -
Ferguson protesters disagree over who should receive donations
By Stephen Deere
June 04, 2015 12:45 am
http://www.stltoday.com/…/article_c51ff000-7579-5db4-95f2-27f5f3c2e19d.html - 702k -
Just one of the many strings ending in George Soros’ hands.
ending in George Soros’ hands ??
Well send lawrence lessig 20 bucks then and maybe we can all change that…
http://www.lessigforpresident.com/
Rand Paul has turned out to be a major disappointment, especially the indictment of two of his top aides on campaign-finance irregularities of the sort that may be “business as usual” for the Republicrats, but I expect better from a pro-liberty candidate.
http://www.businessinsider.com/polls-rand-paul-debate-iowa-new-hampshire-2015-8
I wouldn’t blame Rand for the actions of his top aides. Maybe I should, but all these guys have characters like this working for them at one time or another.
I lost respect for him when I saw the video clip of him weaseling out of a confrontation with some Nightmare Kidz (Dreamers) and leaving Steve King to deal with it. That was his own action, not one of his aides.
agreed. +1
Crime rates ?
W newly castrated police forces you have to check
The minerority shopping access etc
City-data.com is old but good
The Fed, since its 1913 inception, has served as the Oligopoly’s chief instrument of plunder against the 99%. Yet by design this private banking cartel operates in secrecy and its links to its TBTF “primary dealers” (partners in crime) are vitually unknown as the Oligopoly’s presstitutes maintain a journalistic omertà on the subject and the sheeple continue to vote overwhelmingly for Wall Street water carriers who give the Fed free rein to bilk the middle and working classes through ZIRP and QE. We will not have a true economic recovery until the Fed’s malign role is addressed.
http://markstcyr.com/2015/08/16/its-not-the-economy-stupid-its-the-fed/
Aaron Russo - From Freedom to Fascism. For the initiated, it’s all about the Fed and the absence of a law requiring any American to pay income tax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwPZzBF80X4
+1
NBC: Bernie Sanders draws huge crowd at Iowa state fair “soap box,” says Hillary skips the soap box to avoid “crowd comparison” photos. Zing!
https://twitter.com/kasie/status/632654113973506048
‘Thursday, July 21, 2011′
‘The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Street reform law passed one year ago this week directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct the study. “As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world,” said Sanders. “This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else.”
‘Among the investigation’s key findings is that the Fed unilaterally provided trillions of dollars in financial assistance to foreign banks and corporations from South Korea to Scotland, according to the GAO report. “No agency of the United States government should be allowed to bailout a foreign bank or corporation without the direct approval of Congress and the president,” Sanders said.’
‘The non-partisan, investigative arm of Congress also determined that the Fed lacks a comprehensive system to deal with conflicts of interest, despite the serious potential for abuse. In fact, according to the report, the Fed provided conflict of interest waivers to employees and private contractors so they could keep investments in the same financial institutions and corporations that were given emergency loans.’
‘For example, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase served on the New York Fed’s board of directors at the same time that his bank received more than $390 billion in financial assistance from the Fed. Moreover, JP Morgan Chase served as one of the clearing banks for the Fed’s emergency lending programs.’
‘In another disturbing finding, the GAO said that on Sept. 19, 2008, William Dudley, who is now the New York Fed president, was granted a waiver to let him keep investments in AIG and General Electric at the same time AIG and GE were given bailout funds. One reason the Fed did not make Dudley sell his holdings, according to the audit, was that it might have created the appearance of a conflict of interest.’
‘To Sanders, the conclusion is simple. “No one who works for a firm receiving direct financial assistance from the Fed should be allowed to sit on the Fed’s board of directors or be employed by the Fed,” he said.’
‘The investigation also revealed that the Fed outsourced most of its emergency lending programs to private contractors, many of which also were recipients of extremely low-interest and then-secret loans.’
‘The Fed outsourced virtually all of the operations of their emergency lending programs to private contractors like JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. The same firms also received trillions of dollars in Fed loans at near-zero interest rates. Altogether some two-thirds of the contracts that the Fed awarded to manage its emergency lending programs were no-bid contracts. Morgan Stanley was given the largest no-bid contract worth $108.4 million to help manage the Fed bailout of AIG.’
‘A more detailed GAO investigation into potential conflicts of interest at the Fed is due on Oct. 18, but Sanders said one thing already is abundantly clear. “The Federal Reserve must be reformed to serve the needs of working families, not just CEOs on Wall Street.”
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/the-fed-audit
A Sanders-led Fed audit is 180 degrees from what the Repub Congressional leaders called for. Sanders wants to root out influence and profiteering. The Congressional “audit” would be used to try to make Obama and Yellen look bad while preserving the influence and profiteering. That’s how the oligarchy rolls…
Ben lays it out for you in plain English using puppets. And I doubt most Americans even get it. I have to wonder if they know what 16 trillion dollars means. Take a breath read it again slowly and think to yourself about these massive flows of money, who is controlling them and who is receiving them. Your government is run by crooks.
Testify, SFBA. Most ‘Muricans are too intellectually lazy to even attempt to grasp their civic responsibilities. They’d rather play the “lesser of two evils” game by pulling the R or D lever, while refusing to acknowledge Rs and Ds have been co-opted by the same corrupt and venal Oligopoly. Ron Paul had the thinking five percent in his corner when he spoke truth to power, but we were always hopelessly outnumbered by the zombies.
Bernie Sanders cuts right to the truth, he’s the only zero B.S. candidate running:
“We must break up too-big-to-fail financial institutions. These institutions have acquired too much economic and political power, endangering our economy and our political process. These same six banks control 95 percent of all derivatives and hold more than 40 percent of all bank deposits in the United States. The six largest financial institutions issue more than two-thirds of all credit cards and over 35 percent of all mortgages.”
“When you go to the hospital, you should not come out in bankruptcy. That should not happen in the United States of America.”
“It is unacceptable that Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.”
“Freedom of speech does not mean the freedom to buy the United States government.”
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who openly advocates taking on the oligarchy.
Bottom line: How do you think Sanders will enforce his significantly increased redistribution of wealth.
A: Belief in candy crapping unicorns
B: Belief people with more money will be glad to give up some of their earned productivity to strangers who sit on their hands
C: Use Police and SWAT teams for those who do not comply.
Which do you choose WPA?
Please God run a Socialist as the nominee!
what if we return to the 50’s-60’s tax rates and invest in people and the usa? those where some prosperous times.
I call BS
http://almostclassical.blogspot.com/2011/03/90-tax-rate-myth.html
The 90% tax rate was a myth. During the 40s the top rate of 94% kicked in at $200,000, which is equivalent to $2.5 million income today. And then there were far more deductions than now to bring down your income.
I remember when you could deduct interest paid to credit cards.
“In 1944, you could deduct business meals, all business travel, all forms of interest payments, and much more. You could even deduct spousal travel expenses on a business trip! (Why travel alone?) Companies could also “loan” or “provide” almost anything to an employee, from an apartment to standard benefits. It was possible to shelter tens of thousands of dollars from taxable income. Three-martini lunches and expense accounts were important realities, skewing tax calculations.
As a result of deductions and exclusions, even the theoretical maximum Real Rate of taxation at 60% in 1944 overstates taxation dramatically. The reality? On earned income, the richest U.S. taxpayers paid close to 40 percent of their earned incomes in taxes in 1944. We simply didn’t count much of the compensation as taxable income.”
Yep, and the CEO’s did not make $84 million a year while their average worker made $32k. Trouble started in the early 80’s, when trickle down went into effect and did not trickle.
Median wages of production workers, who comprise 80 percent of the workforce, haven’t risen in 30 years, adjusted for inflation.
The candidates backed by the crooks who run the banks want to loot the government. The candidates backed by the crooks running the unions want to loot the government. So tell me why one is better than the other. They are both representing crooks.
Whoa dude,he’s a socialist
Ron Paul may be less taxing
hes too old for the people
I like Bernie, but not so much his $15 min wage. I know we would be fine with a $15 min wage, but some of my favorite small burrito shops would close.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SensualSlavs
Finally found a pic of Oxide
Wrong link…
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aWlN1r70nbg/UvAUn5K1j4I/AAAAAAAAA08/kvv18w6KbPQ/s1600/scubadivingdonkey.png
Spicy bowl of goulash.
“What is revealed when you look under the hood of this economic recovery is that it is a complete and utter fraud. The recovery is nothing but smoke and mirrors, buoyed by subprime auto debt, really subprime student loan debt, corporate stock buybacks, and Fed financed bubbles in stocks, real estate, and bonds. The four retailers listed above are nothing but zombies, kept alive by the Fed’s ZIRP and QE, as they stumble towards their ultimate deaths. The coming recession will be the knife through their skulls, putting them out of their misery.”
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/implosion-in-the-malls-main-street-is-dropping-not-shopping/
We still shop at J.C. Penney in Wenatchee, WA, but the atmosphere does have that “on-life-support” feeling, e.g., no floor employees milling about, bland styles, etc., but I’m a dedicated on-line shopper.
The department stores are on life support. Sears is a joke. The equity is slowly being bled off from the company. Now sears sold it real estate to a newly created company and will lease stores back. If there is no real estate value in sears what really is there? I’m surprised the stock didnt crash on that news.They got a bunch of cash from the sale but with a high burn rate and debt up the whazoo it will be gone soon. Bankruptcy is on the way.
The stock market has become a major way for executives to loot the company assets for themselves.
Look at shareholder equity in home depot in past 5 years. Totally looted for the execs.
I only buy clothes when I need them. I have bought Levi’s jeans for a span of five decades now. I shop at the Levi’s store if there is one nearby or a department store selling Levi’s. And button-down short sleeve shirts and shoes. Buy when needed. Last time I checked nudity is outlawed in USSA. So it’s a fixed guarantee that people will buy from clothing stores.
I can guess that the Malls are doing crappy because of the drop in sales of stuff people do not need. Maybe there will be a trend to build malls that have stores for what people need. Not necessarily high end. Clothes, drug stores, grocery stores, gas station on the corner. Oh hey, in Phoenix it’s Fry’s Market. They do that. They have their own gas stations. They sell food, even clothes, drugs/personal care items, gas, etc.
Maybe the Malls’ losses are the gains of Costco / Fry’s, Sams, BJ’s (on the east coast), etc.
If the malls’ management gave it a moment’s thought, they’d kick the kiosks and their rude and aggressive salespeople out. Not being harassed every six feet would be more like the “excellent customer experience” they’re always saying they aim to provide. These guys/gals, often from some indeterminate country, come at you like sharks. A plain, strident “no” sometimes doesn’t even slow them down.
“I’m lookin’ like a boss though… in head to toe Costco.
Trump immigration policy would eliminate HB-1 visas. He realizes the point of these is to keep wages for US workers down by ensuring an indian or bangladeshi will do the work for 50% less.
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform
I love that Rubio and Walker are going to have to explain why they keep pushing the “lack of US tech workers” line to support the Chamber of Commerce’s inane policies.
Just now read that, and have been reading the cuckservative reaction. They’re going nutz.
Thanks for posting.
Jennifer Rubin has blood coming out of her…whatever.
(With apologies to Auntie Fed, whom I respect greatly. I just couldn’t resist.)
And screw Jeff Bezos and his WaPo megaphone. I’m boycotting Amazon. Not that it matters, I think I’ve only ever made one purchase there and I returned it.
“I’m boycotting Amazon.”
+1 Phuc their sweatshop business ethics.
BTW, I’ve learned a lot from a buddy who sells both on Amazon and ebay. These days, you can often find the same thing on ebay sometimes at 1/2 to 1/3 the price listed on Amazon.
There are also people on EBay who have viable businesses selling stuff from Amazon at a little mark up. It would not seem to make sense, but it’s definitely out there. Someone “buys” on eBay and gets it delivered through the middle man from Amazon.
They use FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). They store the stuff in the Amazon warehouse, but Amazon will still deliver it if it sells on ebay. Amazon gets a delivery and storage fee and gets to promote to an ebay buyer via the Amazon packaging.
This only works for certain products, though. Like electronics, media, newer stuff, etc. Most of the vintage, antique and collectible stuff is still an ebay market.
LOL, Rubio, Mark Zuckerberg’s personal senator.
Will Zuckerberg cancel The Don’s faceschnook account? Betcha he does.
Liberace!
http://www.mybudget360.com/cost-of-living-2014-inflation-1950-vs-2014-data-housing-cars-college/
The 50s 2′2 income to home price ratio
Add big gov and now
4x
fixt 4u
Add
big govlayers of fraud and now4x
Good stuff: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2215151/ on Netflix for FREEEE
In his Wealth and Poverty class at U.C.- Berkeley, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich discusses the grave economic and social consequences that may result if the gulf between rich and poor continues to widen.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Billionaire Stanley Drucknemiller loads up on paper gold
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-16/billionaire-stanley-drucknemiller-loads-gold-makes-it-his-largest-position-first-tim
sucker!
Should load up on real gold.
If the oligarchs have their way, every workplace for the 99% will look like this.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/amazon-devastating-expose-accuses-internet-retailer-of-oppressive-and-callous-attitude-to-staff-10458159.html
Cypress Hill - The Funky Cypress Hill Shit (1991) for reals right here:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7_n4P2_eVSA
Top News
Sun Aug 16, 2015 | 11:37 PM EDT
Asia dragged down by sagging China stocks, dollar holds gains
A man walks past a display showing stock prices in Tokyo August 12, 2015.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian equities were mostly lower on Monday, dragged down by faltering Chinese stocks, while the dollar held modest gains against the euro after upbeat U.S. economic data, with a further dollar rise seen as the yuan showed signs of stabilizing for now.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7 percent.
The index added to last week’s loss of 2.6 percent suffered after Beijing devalued the yuan, buffeting global financial markets and fanning concerns about China’s economy.
The yuan fell more than 4 percent at one point, pulling down riskier assets such as emerging currencies globally amid fears the devaluation would spark a global currency war, but financial markets began stabilizing towards the end of last week as China slowed the pace of the currency’s depreciation.
In a tell-tale sign that some of the relief felt towards the end of last week from a slowing in the yuan’s slide could be fading already, Shanghai shares lost 0.9 percent after gaining nearly six percent the previous week.
Futures trading also reflected underlying investor pessimism towards an equity market Beijing has tried desperately to prop up, with the China CSI300 futures down 2.1 percent.
Oil prices down near six-year lows also bit into the markets of the region’s export-reliant economies. Malaysian stocks suffered a 1.5 percent fall and the ringgit was stuck near a 17-year low.
…
Wonkblog
The world has a bigger problem than China’s currency devaluation
By Ana Swanson
August 14, 2015
Pedestrians cross an intersection in front of a Marks & Spencer Group Plc. store in the central business district of Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, July 9, 2015.
Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
The value of the Chinese currency dropped by 4.4 percent this week, the biggest devaluation in decades. The move spooked global markets and sparked an angry reaction on Capitol Hill, with politicians on both the left and right accusing China of returning to its old currency-manipulating ways in order to boost its flagging exports and economy.
The Chinese devaluation effectively makes China’s exports cheaper, and it has put pressure on the U.S. dollar to rise. The threat to the U.S. is that a stronger dollar could dampen American exports and potentially disrupt a nascent economic recovery.
But the challenge that China’s devaluation poses to the American economy is just one part of a much bigger global problem. And that problem is weak economies — some long-running like in Europe and Japan, others more recent like in China and Brazil — that are pushing governments to take new steps to speed up growth.
Those steps have the effect of making those countries’ currencies and their exports cheaper, and the U.S. dollar and American exports more expensive. It is one of the most important dynamics in the world economy right now.
Since hitting a low point in mid-2011, the U.S. dollar has risen by about a third against a basket of global currencies; in just the last year, it is up 20 percent. Patrick Chovanec, chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management, says the dollar’s strength already shaved around two percentage points off U.S. economic growth in the first quarter of this year.
And the signs suggest this trend will continue. Chovanec said he expects China’s currency devaluation to have more of the same dampening effect on U.S. growth this year.
The dollar has risen so much in the last year in part due to massive stimulus programs in Europe and Japan aimed at stimulating their sluggish economies. After being embroiled in a debt crisis for years, the European Union has been left with unemployment over 10 percent, an embattled corporate sector and a shaky banking system. Japan, meanwhile, has recorded years of slow growth, has alarming public debt levels and is perpetually on the brink of deflation.
Given these difficulties, central banks in both Europe and Japan have embarked on massive bond-buying programs, known as quantitative easing, to stimulate growth. This program helped the Japanese economy soar 3.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared with 3 percent in the U.S. The countries that use the Euro grew by 1.2 percent in the second quarter, according to figures released Friday.
Due partly to these quantitative easing programs, the value of the yen and the Euro have fallen by more than 20 percent against the dollar in the past year. Although these programs target domestic interest rates in an effort to boost investment and the economy, they have a secondary effect on a country’s currency and exports. By printing money to stimulate their own economies, Europe and Japan have also made their currencies cheaper, boosting their exports and putting more competitive pressure on U.S. exporters.
…
Market Extra
Why U.S. rig counts are rising even as oil plunges to new lows
Published: Aug 14, 2015 2:14 p.m. ET
U.S. oil production slowing, but not as fast as anticipated
Getty Images
U.S. oil production is slowing.
By William Watts
Deputy markets editor
Is OPEC winning its price war with U.S. shale-oil producers? U.S. production has started to slow, but the number of rigs drilling for crude oil has ticked up in recent weeks, ending months of steep declines, just as oil futures took another hit.
What gives?
“The recent increase in rig counts is due to prices two months ago. There’s always a lag between price changes and drilling activity,” explained James Williams, economist at WTRG Economics in London, Ark. “With the recent drop in prices, we’ll probably see some pressure on rig counts to slack off again.”
On Friday, oil-services firm Baker Hughes said the number of U.S. oil rigs rose for a fourth straight week. There were a total of 672 rigs as of Friday, up two from a week ago. The number of rigs bottomed at 628 in late June, ending months of steep declines. Still, the number of rigs is down 917 from this time last year.
Oil began a plunge in mid-2014, driving the price of West Texas Intermediate futures on Nymex to less than $44 a barrel by March of this year from a high in June 2014 of around $107 a barrel.
Oil then saw a spring rebound, notching a 2015 high at $61.43 on June 10 before coming under renewed pressure that saw crude CLU5, -1.22% take out the March lows Thursday.
The global supply glut that triggered the selloff last year hasn’t gone away. That glut is in part a product of a massive rise in U.S. shale-oil production over the last half-decade. And while U.S. production has fallen, it hasn’t declined as quickly as many had anticipated. That is partly because technological improvements allow frackers to get more oil out of fewer wells with less expense.
“Costs are down, rig efficiency is up, and they’re drilling in places where they get more wells,” Williams said. “Plus, their completion efficiencies are increasing. It seems every month somebody has a new and better way to frack a well.”
…