Bits Bucket for August 19, 2015
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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gold supply and demand nonsense. a few good posts about how nobody gets it right with gold.. a good read if you have the time.
http://tsi-blog.com/?s=gold+demand&x=0&y=0
I’m getting a little sick of moderating a buncha BS comments, so clean it up and act like adults or get deleted/banned.
Hey Ben, if I was responsible for any of that I apologize. I thought the Bits was a place where a certain amount of snarkiness was encouraged.
Can I ask, because I think it would help toward your goal, what the moderating part entails specifically? Does it mean that for every comment you have to take some step to actuall approve? Because I didn’t think that was how it worked based on seeing some of my posts pop up instantly. I think I’d be a lot less likely to post something questionable if I thought, well here’s something Ben is going to have to process and spend time on.
“I thought the Bits was a place where a certain amount of snarkiness was encouraged.”
Troll alert
It’s certainly the culture here. And I wish I was that good a troll. Maybe I just do it subconsciously. I aspire to Ken M status (famous yahoo troll).
I’ve never understood the need some people have to find every single post by an “enemy” and respond with name calling. It’s a shame.
I’ve never understood the need some people have to find every single post by an “enemy” and respond with name calling. It’s a shame.
Or they get catty and play the “exclusion” game to try to isolate people. Kind of silly to do that online. I’m here to debate ideas, not play little “social” games. I admit I get snarky and sarcastic about ideas but I don’t mean to attack the poster; sorry if anyone took offense.
lol@Lola
We would never exclude you, WPA. But that Oddfellow guy, now that’s a different story.
All you other posters need to mend your ways forthwith….
Who?
Well, me for one. Sigh. I went potty mouth again a couple of days ago and pushed that Eddie Murphy riff a bit too far. And the sorority video really wasn’t necessary now, was it?
No need to ask “who”. I just look at my recent posts and if I think I’m one of the offenders, I probably am.
Ben Jones has the IP addresses
And I sincerely believe there are people getting paid to post here
correct
I do, too. However, it’s one thing for me to call it out, but nagging it over and over with the same riff really is kinda trolling.
If it isn’t interesting or fun I’m going to stop doing it.
Argument Clinic - Monty Python
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y
Palmy, the sorority video was AWESOME (if if a bunch of unattractive Helgas unloaded on them for being unabashedly HOT!)
http://www.businessinsider.com/this-sorority-recruiting-video-is-being-condemned-for-objectifying-women-and-for-only-including-white-women-2015-8
+1
Gimme some more of that Alpha Pi.
“real journalists” are liars
And speaking of real journalists, here the New York Times tries to script the narrative by playing language police:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/the-unwelcome-return-of-illegals.html
Trump seems to have turned a lot of the conventional wisdom handed out by the overlord class on its head. Frank Luntz’s efforts to get Rs to say “illegal immigrant” rather than just illegals was misguided.
Including calling out Luntz himself. I suspect The Teflon Don will get a couple votes from frustrated libs on that alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqeXWhaaEY - 148k - Cached - Similar pages
No challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future generations than?
AIDS. Which is why it is so good to see that GWB a is responsible for saving more than a million lives. Ya gotta take the good with the bad.
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Africa: An Evaluation of Outcomes
http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=744499
“We evaluated the contribution of PEPFAR to the abatement of the epidemic in the focus countries, which has implications for the program’s economic efficiency. By the end of 2007, PEPFAR spent more than $6 billion on HIV care, prevention, and treatment in the 12 focus countries examined in this study. In those countries, a reduction in the death rate of 10.5% implies that about 1.2 million deaths were averted because of PEPFAR’s activities.”
Cocoa powder. It is being used rampantly by chefs in place of baking chocolate, and it is no substitute. No substitute at all.
Hillary’s email server was run out of an old bathroom closet
By David K. Li
August 18, 2015 | 12:08pm
Hillary Clinton’s email servers were maintained by a mom-and-pop outfit — run out of an old bathroom closet in a downtown Denver loft, according to a published report on Tuesday.
The company’s work with Clinton was a secret to many of its employees, who were amazed when they learned of it.
“At the time I worked for them they wouldn’t have been equipped to work for Hillary Clinton because I don’t think they had the resources, they were based out of a loft, so [it was] not very high security, we didn’t even have an alarm,” Tera Dadiotis, a former customer relations consultant between 2007 and 2010, told the website.
“I don’t know how they run their operation now, but we literally had our server racks in the bathroom.”
nypost.com/…/08/18/hillarys-email-server-was-run-out-of-an-old-bathroom-closet/ - 166k -
Not even a smidgen…
—————-
Hillary Clinton Jokes About Wiping Email Server ‘With A Cloth Or Something’
Aug 18, 2015 - RYAN STRUYK and LIZ KREUTZ - ABC News
Hillary Clinton joked to reporters Tuesday in Las Vegas about whether she “wiped” her email server clean before giving it to the FBI.
“What? Like with a cloth or something?” she asked, then laughed. “I don’t know how it works digitally at all.”
Clinton maintained that she has turned over the server to investigators and gave them “every single thing” that was work-related. Federal investigators are looking into the security of the server and whether there was classified information in the emails from the private account she used while serving as secretary of state.
Comment by phony scandals
2015-08-19 04:26:16
Hillary’s email server was run out of an old bathroom closet
nypost.com/2015/08/18/hillarys-email-server-was-run-out-of-an-old-bathroom-closet/
Just on a technical standpoint… isn’t a hot and steamy (or at least damp and unventilated) bathroom the worst place for data storage and packet switching and the like?
I’m sure it was a very secure and well ventilated BR. I don’t see why this is such a big deal, really.
You are being sarcastic, right? If not, pls. ask Ben for my email and I will be happy to explain.
No, I am not being sarcastic. You can explain anything you want right here on the HBB.
CMBC:
“China stocks witnessed wild swings on Wednesday following a 6 percent plunge in the previous session, as experts warned that it wouldn’t be an easy return to good times for the market.
Reuters reported that state-backed buyers came in later in the session on Wednesday to support the market.
Although the buyers, known as the “national team” and comprising state-backed financial institutions and regulators, were able to stop sudden declines in the market, investors told Reuters that the buyers were, in fact, fueling market volatility because long-term investors were sitting on the sidelines while those with a greater risk appetite attempted to time the buyers’ moves.”
Popcorn please.
Tingles Matthews gets it…
And FYI - A new poll out this AM finds Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump by just 6 points, a dramatic tightening since July.
—————–
Matthews: ‘Trump is on to something’
http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/matthews–trump-is-on-to-something-508363843807
Trumps positive have gone up and his negatives have gone down drmatically since a month ago. And all this with the media and both sides trying to tank him. People have had enough with PC.
‘Media..trying to tank him’
I sometimes watch CNN Anderson Cooper in the evenings. It has been all Donald for the last couple weeks. If anything, that type exposure helps Trump tremendously. Sure, they always have one member of a group panel who is anti-Donald, but their presence is merely token. It amounts to a 20 - 30 infomercial for the Donald.
They are all anti Donald just some more blatantly. Who specifically have they had that is pro Donald to balance the anti?
Seems like ppl are down with his anti-illegal and inti-offshoring talk. He’s actually growing on me, believe it or not, but I’m pretty sure he’ll implode soon enough.
“Tingles Matthews gets it…
And FYI - A new poll out this AM finds Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump by just 6 points, a dramatic tightening since July.”
If Obama could be elected on “hope & change” and not be challenged by the media and electorate then Trump can easily be elected on his anti-political correctness, pro-American, and Trump being Trump.
What if Trumps plan to invade Iraq and take their oil leads to WWIII?
I dont think Russia, India and China will approve.
What will that cost me? So much for less gov and less spending.
Rallying the base
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/08/18/israel-must-be-obliterated-new-iranian-video-imagines-muslim-invasion-of-jerusalem
Iran poses zero threat to the sovereign territory of the United States
the sovereign territory of the United States
the United States
American taxpayers and voters, you are being played for suckers and fools
The Weakly Standard has a piece titled “Obama’s Nuclear Deal is the Most Likely Path to War”
And when you click on that link, you pull a Shekel out of the United States Treasury and put it in William Kristol’s pocket
Breitbart has a link titled “Russia to Ship Air Defense Missile Batteries to Iran Within Weeks”
If any of you on HBB have some kids or grandkids that you’d like to send over there to put some boots on the ground to fight a two front war with two countries with a combined population of over 200,000,000 and covering over 10% of the landmass of the planet, let me know if they need a ride to the airport today
FoxNewsHate leads with “Beheaded for saving history: ISIS barbarians murder archaeologist”
The United States is over $18,000,000,000,000 in debt
No “lower taxes”
No “less regulations”
No “smaller government”
Just more borrowing, more blood, more death
And now back to your regularly scheduled Drudge Report links
Who cares!? The NFL preseason has started and Timmy the Tebower is playing again (until he gets cut). Peyton Pizzas are also coming back! Woo hoo!
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/18/mike-huckabee-west-bank-israel-comments
Looks like Huckabee is doing his gokkun number.
America should deport the 20+ million criminal invader illegal aliens in this country, and coordinate the relocation of 5+ million Israelis to move here, in addition to enacting a ban on all immigration from muslim countries
It’s a win/win/win
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/19/optimism-on-the-iran-deal-whichever-way-congress-decides/
No more trillion dollar neocon wars please
It’s time to get realistic about this, the real threats to America are Russia and China, not some teenage loosers living in mom’s basement that retweet an ISIS tweet
You heard it here first
Looking forward to football and free pizza myself.
Did they ever bring back the stuffed crust versions?!?!?!
It would be nice if at least one reporter would ask these guys whether or not they plan on starting a war. It seems like a logical question for those who oppose any kind of treaty with Iran.
You might think I like to beat up on progressives, but Christian Zionists are an apocalyptic death cult as far as I’m concerned
The good old days…
Hillary can build on this.
———–
“generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.”
–Obama’s Nomination Victory Speech In St. Paul June 3, 2008.
How absolutely laughable that looks now.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/01/23/do-nothing-congress-no-more-2015-senate-amendments-pass-2014
How does this work?
And millions of stupid, gullible people believed a bon vivant hand-picked to be their puppet by George Soros and Goldman Sachs would bring “Change We Can Believe In.”
Truly, you can’t fix stupid.
or McSame or Romney…. that was the problem.
Want to find out if you’ve been exposed by the Ashley Madison hack?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-19/your-name-ashley-madison-hack-here-one-way-find-out
Lol, Tony Blair.
What fun!
Bill is going to be having a long talk with Hillary tonight…
Do you really think that they are a genuine couple and that she cares?
Ever watch “House of Cards”? In the original Brit version, the wifey fully approves of hubby’s girlfriends. In part because she doesn’t have to service him anymore. I’m sure Hillary and Bill had that arrangement since well before they moved into the White House. She only stuck with him to hang onto his coattails, and so far it’s worked.
It wasn’t the cigar and the knobber that were the problem.
It was that he picked a staryy eyed 21 year old who couldn’t keep her mouth shut. At least when talking to investigators.
I’m guessing this could be categorized as a “Black Swan” event.
40 million people, “producers,” those who run businesses, have a huge distraction they didn’t have yesterday.
I can think of a few names I’d like to check, but I don’t want to bother with their torrent BS. Wish it was just a database with an easy search function that I could access with a browser.
This is an article titled “Jeb Bush: NSA needs broader power to combat ‘evildoers’
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_2016_BUSH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-08-18-14-25-14
No “smaller government” or “lower taxes” happening here, LOLZ
NSA’s going to surveil the Federal Reserve?
Just another day in progressive utopia Washington D.C.
“Those shootings and a third that also turned fatal came amid a surge of violence across the city that began in late spring and has touched every quadrant. The District has recorded 97 homicides this year, up about 30 percent from this time last year and nearing 2014’s total of 105.”
Vote for Obama twice and that’s what you get
This is unpossible.
Washington D.C. has a near total ban of guns.
Just like Chicago - it should be a crime free zone.
At least that is what my democrat/progressive overlords tell me.
When I posted (yes, again) that 70% of black children in America are born out of wedlock, the progressive bedwetters went into a tailspin over that
There is no level of social decay that “progressives” won’t make excuses for
Wall Street Journal reporting: Shootings in Newark Surge, New Jersey’s most populous city sees 45% increase in gun shootings this year
When kids don’t have fathers, and you have every “progressive” poster on the HBB trying to deflect from that reality, this is what you get
Just keep voting Democrat Party if you want more of this
So was there a 45% surge in the number of kids without fathers in Newark this year?
With respect to Ben’s request to moderate the tone around here, you, specifically you, don’t add much to the discussion
You can’t refute a fact (a mother is either married or not married when giving birth) so you make it into a joke, a joke that fails about 99.9% of the time
Also, you never have anything to say when I criticize neocons and “big government” Republicans, which suggests that you are paid operative of the Democrat Party or some other “progressive” organization
Have a nice day
I just pointed out a flaw in your argument. There has probably been a high level of illegitimacy in Newark for decades. It can’t explain a big increase in crime this year.
Life must be so much easier for those who have a single bogeyman they can blame for everything from inner-city poverty to the death of their dog.
Conservative: get rid of the welfare FSA
Liberal: corporations get free sh!t too, more than the FSA
Conservative: yes, get rid of both the corporate welfare and the other kind. So we agree, get rid of them both?
Liberal: crickets….
Liberal: Then who will vote for us?
Voila!
One interesting thing is the emotions, the anger. The conservative doesn’t get on the internet early in the morning to rant about corporate welfare. It doesn’t upset him as much as the government feeding poor children.
I think Freud would have something to say about their constant need to focus on the behavior of those they feel are their inferiors. They carry their self esteem issues with them wherever they go.
CC:
I don’t see the RNC rooting to eliminate corporate welfare. I mean really.
And still crickets. Not a one of the Lolas would even say both the corporate and other FSA are bad. There you go.
Neither have any of the 2bronies.
if re prices are flat and taxes go up 3%
fair guess re prices come down 1% ?
unlike mort debt they never go away
Problem is prices are falling.
home depot had another fraudulent quarter.
U.S. housing costs are soaring. Luckily gubmint policy wonks view higher housing costs as an “improvement” in the market rather than evidence of higher inflation. Ordinarily higher inflation would increase the chances of near-term rate hikes, which could lead to lower stock prices.
Economic Report
U.S. housing costs continue to soar, CPI shows
By Jeffry Bartash
Published: Aug 19, 2015 9:11 a.m. ET
Price of shelter posts biggest increase in more than eight years
Reuters
A new home building project is pictured in San Marcos, California.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Higher costs of housing are taking a bigger bite out of American incomes.
The consumer price index, or the cost of living, rose a scant 0.1% in July to mark the smallest increase in three months. Yet the cost of housing, the largest expense for most Americans, continued to rise, threatening bigger advances in consumer inflation in the near future unless prices ease up.
…
And CPI only uses rent (or assumed rent), not home prices…isn’t that correct?
“U.S. housing costs are soaring.”
Chatting with a friend from California last evening… says his daughter’s boyfriend is renting a 1br apartment in downtown San Jose, $3200.00/month. Yep, denominated in dollars!
The Fed doesn’t count money that goes to the banks in their inflation calculations, because funneling money into the banks is why the Fed exists.
That’s because their calculations only includes the prices of things that are purchased by consumers or businesses.
CPI is calculated by the BLS, not the Fed. Also the CPI is not a measure of inflation.
I thought this was interesting, the jump in crime in NYC and the return of the Guardian Angels.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-18/citizen-patrols-return-central-park-after-26-jump-crime-mayor-de-blasio-blamed
It’s easy to blame DiBlasio and he certainly has some culpability, however,
the increase in street crime to me is just a reflection of the financial cartel crime perpetrated by the wealthier inhabitants of NY. Things come from the top down.
Photo gallery of the East Village circa 1980-1982:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-east-village-of-the-1980s-in-black-and-white-1439892000
Wow, those pics are great, thx.
Warriors vs. the Baseball Furies (Warriors, 1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0NBZTXrLSM
Another day, another 100+ point drop in the Dow. Luckily the prospects for Fed liftoff this fall have steadily dwindled as of late.
CNBC headline at about 11 AM: “Dow drops 200 points, S&P falls 1% as China weighs; oil drops 3%.” Still waiting for the Fed minutes.
Crater
There is zero possibility of a Fed “lift-off.” The Fed will maintain ZIRP and QE because that is the most efficient means of plundering the 99%. End of story.
Bush I headed the CIA.
Hillary will be sunk by “classified” emails.
Trump will bow out after sucking all the oxygen away from other Rs.
Only Jeb will be left with the infrastructure and money to pick up the pieces.
Jeb wins in a walk.
Are we all in agreement that this is the scenario in play?
It wouldn’t surprise me if he had Trump murdered
His grandfather did business with Nazi Germany, that’s who the Bush family is
I’m not. I really think Trump will hang in there. I read one piece that was sort of interesting. It was meant to be snarky, but there was a lot of truth in it. Seeing as how the US is effectively bankrupt, what better person than Trump to lead the country through a declaration of bankruptcy? And who knows better how to come out the other side and flourish?
Jeb is toast.
Small data point - Not ONE republican or conservative I know (or people they know) likes him or will even vote for him across several states.
Jeb is the democrat wet dream for a republican candidate.
———————–
Poll: GOP establishment candidates falling
Eric Bradner - CNN - August 17, 2015
A trio of Republican establishment favorites — Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio — are all losing ground in the party’s 2016 presidential field, a new Fox News poll shows.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, continues to dominate the race, earning 25% support nationally, while another outsider, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, is running second at 12%. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, known for locking horns with Republican congressional leaders, is third at 10%.
Bush, the former Florida governor, has dropped to 9% — fourth place, down from 15% and second place in a Fox News poll conducted earlier this month, before the first GOP presidential debate.
Walker, the Wisconsin governor, meanwhile, is tied for fifth, at 6% — down from 9% earlier this month. And Rubio, the senator from Florida, is now at 4% — in ninth place, and down from 5%.
I would NEVER vote for JEB! Hah, allow me to enter another scenario into this, based on your comment above. Hillary gets buried by her email scandal and JEB! switches to Democrat and gets the nom. Goes head to head with Trump.
Stranger things have happened. But it’s true, he is, in fact, the perfect Democrat candidate.
Small data point - Not ONE republican or conservative I know (or people they know) likes him or will even vote for him across several states.
What percentage of GOP voters are “conservative” these days?
So comparing the D’s hate for Hillary to the R’s disdain for Jeb - which one is stronger?
I still think that Jebillary will win . . . same outcome either way.
Trump will be Ross Perot’d if he gets too close (remember the story about Perot’s daughter’s wedding?).
The one INSURMOUNTABLE data point is that 95% of the US electorate are stupid. That fact overshadows all other in this discussion. The Obama Zombies, McCain Mutants, and Romney Retards will still be out there, will still be stupid, and will still be casting votes in 2016, making HillaryJeb a shoo-in.
No, Hillary will win — she’s a Clinton, and they have a track record of warding off scandals. What drives her victory is the built-in persistent electoral college advantage that she enjoys. The Dems have a lock on 232 EV vs 164 EV (assuming FL, OH, VA, NC and WI are all in play). Any Repub candidate, including Trump, starts off in the hole on EV’s and the pressure is on them to deliver nearly all of the swing states.
She has to get by the CIA and get the nomination first.
She has to get by the CIA and get the nomination first.
Sure. And that’s why Joe Biden and Al Gore are making noises about maybe running. They are the “backup plan” if Team Hillary fails.
“Jeb wins in a walk.”
The coin has already been tossed… the Bush crime family will get their presidential hat trick.
My Republican betters have been whining about King Obama for like seven years now, so why would you be wondering who will be the next President? Shouldn’t it just be the Evil One from here on out?
I just had to laugh when I stumbled across a Bloomberg article titled ” Why 6 million Americans would rather work part time”.
I’m not even going to link the article since it was such a joke, but just to give you a gist, it begins: “With jobs more plentiful these days..”
” Typically young and college-educated, they’re not doing so because personal or economic circumstances forced them to. Rather, many are abandoning the traditional career path their parents took and working just enough hours to pay the bills or pursue a passion: toy making, puppetry, nonprofit advocacy.”
Maybe they have side gigs doing stuff under-the-table?
What types of things does one do under a table to earn a living?
“What types of things does one do under a table to earn a living?”
selling weed, sugar daddies, etc. People get creative when they see they can make $$ in no time.
Cash gigs, selling used stuff at flea markets/swap meets
Had some body work done by my local body shop on my car.
20% discount for cash.
‘Had some body work done by my local body shop on my car.
20% discount for cash.’
I spoke with a carpenter a few weeks ago just making small talk. He told me quoted customer a price of $70,000 dollars to do a bathroom addition in some swanky house. The customer replied “OK, how much would it be in cash? I’ll give you $60,000 cash to get it done”. The carpenter told me it was hard to refuse an offer like that. Maybe he high-balled the customer off the bat, maybe the customer had multiple quotes to base their counter-offer on, who knows? The carpenter basically told me why have something on the books when you get that much in cash coming in on one job. I question the carpenter’s integrity maybe, but he was the one that told me the story and he is just one joethecarpenter type of many.
What is it a public bath house?
Yup. Cash for all kinds of goods and services. Landscaping. Tow truck drivers. Drain unclogging. Auto repairs. Firewood. Cell phone unlocking. Mobile locksmith. Junkyard parts. Computer repair. Haircuts and manicures. You name it. The codeword is: “Do you want a receipt?”
The underground economy is thriving. Our newest residents also seem to be big on this as well, from my personal observations of my neighbors.
I tried that at my ASE Auto fix’d it place and same price wether I used my debit or brought cold hard cash. Tried the same thing buying a used car. No bite on discount with cold hard cash…must be where I live…. Maybe it’s more common with shade tree business’.
The code word is: “Do you want a receipt?”
-or-
Who should I make the check out to?
Eh, make it out to my middle name - “Cash”.
Then they cash the checks at bars, delis, etc.
Puppetry!?!?!? Huh?
Thank you. Perhaps I should have used a /sarcasm tag or “under the table.”
“Maybe they have side gigs doing stuff under-the-table?”
If you walk down the street I’ll tax your feet.
I just had to laugh when I stumbled across a Bloomberg article titled ” Why 6 million Americans would rather work part time”.
Since there is no way to provide them with meaningful, non menial jobs, it’s just easier to say: They don’t want to work.
‘Since there is no way to provide them with meaningful, non menial jobs, it’s just easier to say: They don’t want to work.’
I keep banging my head on the desk about this one. We live in a world with all these marvels of science and technology but we have a poor system of figuring out how people allocate their skills and ambitions early on and pushing them to reach their potential. I am talking about public school. Kids are not taught about money and planning to make money for post high school life. It is an elective subject at best and I doubt many parents push their kids to get with the program, so to speak.
No, it’s true. I met a Millenial last week who doesn’t work. She and her BF live together with one very cheap small car. He has to drive her to appointments. No kids. She simply doesn’t want to work.
Working can be a pain, but it does help avoid the need to live in one’s car.
Why Yellen Doesn’t Need to Worry About Spooking U.S. Consumers
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has a lot to worry about as she gets ready to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. One concern she may be able to put aside: Spooking U.S. shoppers.
Consumers, whose spending accounts for almost 70 percent of the U.S. economy, aren’t as sensitive as they used to be to declines in the value of stocks and bonds that typically follow an increase in interest rates, according to economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Moody’s Analytics Inc.
“Asset prices have been rising over the past few years, and we haven’t seen a big consumption boom, so we’re not expecting a big decline if asset prices go down,” said JP Morgan economist Jesse Edgerton.
Edgerton and a colleague, Michael Feroli, calculated that the so-called wealth effect — the impact of changes in household wealth on spending — is only half as strong as it was before the 2008-2009 recession.
For every extra dollar in wealth since early 2008, consumer spending has risen by 1.7 cents, they estimate. That’s down from 3.9 cents in the period from 1952 until the last expansion ended in December 2007.
Several drivers could be causing the decline, among them reluctance to count on stock market gains after watching prices plummet in the Great Recession. Additionally, growing inequality has left financial assets concentrated in fewer hands.
Regardless, the reduced wealth effect matters as a Fed rate increase approaches: Tightening monetary policy can drive asset prices down, making consumers’ portfolios less valuable.
Diminished Effect
“Usually right around the first rate hike, the stock market doesn’t do very well,” said Ryan Sweet, director of Real-Time Economics at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. This time, with the diminished wealth effect, “a garden-variety correction, I don’t think that would be a significant setback for consumer spending.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is trading around 1.3 percent lower than its record closing high of 2,130.82 on May 21.
A Fed rate increase affects consumer spending in other, conflicting ways. While it makes borrowing to buy a house or a car more expensive, it also increases income from savings accounts. While more interest income can spur spending, higher yields can also encourage more saving.
Putting all of the effects together, JPMorgan forecasts that each 1 percentage point increase in the benchmark federal funds rate will cut consumer spending growth by just 0.1 percent. That compares with a 0.16 percent decrease in consumption growth during the tightening cycles in 1994 and 2004.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-19/why-yellen-doesn-t-need-to-worry-about-spooking-u-s-consumers
Yellen doesn’t work for consumers, she works for banksters. She’s the American counterpart to the Chinese agencies that try to prop up the Chinese stock market, and she will be just as successful.
Yellen is the monkey, Goldman Sachs is the organ grinder.
declines in the value of stocks and bonds that typically follow an increase in interest rates
Taper tantrum II. A lot of hand-wringing about going from 0.1 to 0.35 percent on the fed funds rate. Interesting these articles never say that such a small rate increase is still very, very accommodative. It’s like going from having the gas pedal on the floor to just lifting it slightly, still nowhere near hitting the brake pedal.
An article where a tree-hugger (inadvertantly) makes the case for open and/or concealed carry
http://tinyurl.com/npd5t3
Just substitute “urban thug” for “bear”. And “gun” for ‘pepper spray”.
His point seems to be that if you travel “unprepared” in the bear’s habitat, nobody should complain if you get killed. And punishing the bear “won’t bring the hiker back”.
On my recent trip to Mammoth, we had a good sized black bear 40′ from our tent on night one. Saw another one driving home through Yosemite at 4pm. ($30 to drive through Yos!)
Wow, did you snap a pic of that bear that was driving home through Yosemite at 4 PM?
Black Swans Matter®
ALL SWANS MATTER!
Oil at $40 this AM. Ouch, shale junk bonds are taking it in the shorts!
Yet gasoline is taking its sweet time to get down to that $2/gallon milestone.
Yeah, I’ve been wondering when (if?) gas would come down. Shouldn’t it start going down anyway this time of year?
Gas is $3.39 at local Costco, over $4 at Chevron.
Cheaper in Hawaii than coastal CA.
Refinery maintenance = high profits for CEO salaries!
Chevrons here on the west side of Vegas seem to all be at 3.33 for 87 octane. Lots of other places at 3.17 though.
On the other hand, at the Rebel station @ Charleston & Jones, you can buy 100 octane racing fuel for 7.99, lol.
The price of gas at the very self-same stations has not been decreasing in line with the specuprice of oil.
Zillow supposedly updates on 15th
I see no changes in their market predictions
lazy zillow
The Opinion Pages | Contributing Op-Ed Writer
Blind Faith in China’s Stock Market
AUG. 19, 2015
Yu Hua
BEIJING — In late June, as the Chinese stock market was in a tailspin, a joke began making the rounds.
“We played the market when we thought stocks had hit rock bottom,” one investor says to another, “only to find there was a basement below. We played the market when prices were in the basement, only to find there was a cellar underneath that, and when we kept playing in the cellar, we found that below that there was hell. Then we took our lives in our hands and kept playing when stocks were in hell — only to discover it’s true what they say: There are 18 levels of hell!”
For the officials of China’s Securities Regulatory Commission, July 4 must have seemed like hell on earth: They were as frantic as ants on a hot wok. That morning, the heads of 21 top brokerages met with the regulatory commission, and, according to media reports, agreed to supply some 120 billion renminbi, or $19.4 billion, to a market rescue fund.
The plan was in clear violation of the Securities Law. Brokers need approval from their shareholders to give up so much money. But with the regulatory agency desperate for a cash infusion, the brokers were in no mood to follow the law. We Chinese are used to this kind of thing: In China, law and the rule of law are a world apart.
Many people think the stock market plunge, which continued this week, had its origin in the government clampdown on margin trading, the use of borrowed money to buy stocks, which had led to a feverish expansion of broker financing and to the stock market bubble. Brokers are required to back trades with the equivalent amount of cash from a client, but competition and a thriving stock market had led too many to flout the rules. Every day investors complained to brokers that the financial threshold for trading was too high. The brokerages felt they had no choice but to ease the cash requirements for making trades.
As the market boomed, more and more ordinary people invested their savings and funneled borrowed money into stocks. The virtual economy of the markets detached itself from economic fundamentals, and stock prices of listed companies became disconnected from their real value. It was as though investors were spending 100 yuan to buy a 1 yuan pair of chopsticks.
…
I think what he says would work a little better for some folks if it ended “Only to find it’s cellars all the way down”.
Spot on!
Crater. I’m hungry.
So a China pumper appears on NPR this morning and tells me that the Chinese recession won’t hurt China, but it will hurt the United States. How does that make any sense?
“Crater. I’m hungry.”
Help yourself to some of Donk’s CraterTaters®
AlbqDan moved on to new territory?
Imagine a Clinton/ Warren ticket. Is this the best we can do?
We all know Trump’s ideas are insane, like having Mexico pay for the wall.
Why is it always the lesser of two evils ?
The smartest/logical brains stick with business??
to the people who want to cut welfare:
what do you want to do with the poor folks? let them get hungry and commit crimes, then lock em up at $50k a yr?
I like food stamps at $155 a mo. Money stays local, keep the peace as hungry people commit crimes.
If not, what is your plan,? These toothless, lazy zombies have no skills, no one will ever hire them!
Yes, we should stop the scammers who abuse the system, this is obvious.
How about - you work for your benefits?
Even if it is picking up trash on the side of the road.
No work - no benefits. People will figure it out pretty quick.
And if they don’t like it - they will find a better way.
“I am for doing good to the poor, but…I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed…that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Have you seen these people? Have you ever driven through the south? They are a waste of bones.
I would not take on the liability of hiring any of them and sending them out to work for me. Are you saying you want the Gov to hire them? More gov? More attorneys? More lawsuits?
Inherently, I don’t have a problem contributing to a system that is intended to help those in need or down on their luck as long as it is doing just that. HELPING, not enabling.
Unfortunately, the scammers, con artists, and the just plain lazy have figured out how to game the system and it seems there are more takers than givers.
It’s been said many times already: mandatory drug testing for those on assistance.
I like food stamps at $155 a mo.
I like food. They get food. No money, no stamps. They get the right number of calories of beans, rice and milk plus a vitamin per person. Or some equivalent menu. That’s it. Why give them money? Most people don’t know what to do with money, that’s why they don’t have it.
The get an EBT-type card, not cash. You can only use the EBT card at certain places and it has some restrictions on what you can buy. It should have more, like no soda, but big biz is against it. Google it for details.
Ever seen anybody sell their EBT card for cold, hard cash? Google it for details.
What do you get for a $155 EBT card? $100?? WOW! Call the cops! We are being hosed!
or
2014 “A new study by Citizens for Tax Justice, which looked at the most profitable U.S. corporations, found that many of them paid little or no federal income tax from 2008 to 2012. Out of 288 companies, 111 paid nothing in federal income tax in at least one of the five years measured. Meanwhile, the tax code has not been seriously overhauled in 27 years.”
The benefits are waaaaaaay more than $155 a month. Over 20 grand. Google it. But you won’t. You don’t really care whether anyone is committing fraud whether for $100 or $1000 or $100000, unless it is a Republican.
“Ever seen anybody sell their EBT card for cold, hard cash?”
Or maybe a warm tickle?
Food stamps average $155 a mo. Google it.
any other solutions for the zombies to keep them peaceful?
“I like food stamps at $155 a mo.”
I drop that every three or four days buying incidentals at the grocery store while my other half does the $450 Costco trip every two weeks. Then there is a restaurant meal at least once a month. That $155 might buy our dog’s meals and the oatmeal flea shampoo.
And you guys/gals think we are in a BUBBLE now.
You have seen nothing yet…
—————————
Low-Income Housing Goals Set for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
NY Times | 8-19-2015 | DIONNE SEARCEY
The federal agency that regulates the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday set final goals for low-income housing for the next two years. The action establishes targets for homes and rental apartments and, for the first time, seeks specific numbers of rental units in small apartment complexes that poor families can afford.
The housing market is improving, but still lags the boom years before the collapse of the market. Many potential buyers still complain that they have trouble getting mortgages, that inventory of homes on the market is low and that rents are soaring.
The goals include a target of 24 percent of mortgages bought by Freddie or Fannie for homes for low-income borrowers, or those with incomes no greater than 80 percent of an area’s median income. They also include a goal of 6 percent of mortgages for borrowers considered very low income, with incomes no greater than 50 percent of the median income of the area.
CRA 2 - boogalo
Smelly Mel watts
it’s all coming back to 2005 standards
$80/bbl here we come…NOT.
Futures Movers
Oil ends at lowest level since March 2009 as U.S. supplies climb
Published: Aug 19, 2015 3:18 p.m. ET
Analyst: a drop below $40 is ‘certainly in the cards’
…
Markets Commodities Oil Markets
Oil Prices Drop to Fresh Six-Year Lows
U.S. weekly crude inventories unexpectedly rise
By Timothy Puko
Updated Aug. 19, 2015 3:16 p.m. ET
The U.S. oil price tumbled to a fresh six-year low on Wednesday on the latest sign of a glut in crude supplies.
The amount of crude held in the nation’s commercial stockpiles unexpectedly rose last week, according to data released on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Brokers and analysts attributed the surprise increase to a rise in imports. That underscores belief that the world’s largest crude exporter, Saudi Arabia, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will continue pumping even as prices decline.
The benchmark crude-oil price in the U.S. slid 4.3% to $40.80 a barrel, the lowest settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange since March 2009. Brent, the global benchmark, lost $1.65, or 3.4%, to $47.16 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the lowest settlement since Jan. 13.
“Clearly OPEC has produced a lot more than what people expected they would,” said David Meaney, portfolio manager at BP Capital LP. “U.S. producers have been amazing in their resilience.”
…
The frackers are fracking fracked at these prices.
It’s amazing how much oil is getting pumped at these prices! Makes you wonder how much farther down is down.
I guess the wealthy like the mountains: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-richest-small-towns-america-100003857.html
And you’ll never be one of them.
Already there.
You, of all people need a lot of happiness:
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Happiest-City-in-America-San-Luis-Obispo-Video
But pick yourself up off the floor and cheer up. Falling prices are your best friend.
OK, serious question, with a hope to get a serious answer from someone who knows–and not just someone spouting off what they think to be true.
This is my understanding of the suspension of MTM accounting:
The suspension of “mark to market” accounting was to keep banks from being required to mark their thinly-traded, hard-to-value securities to whatever distressed transaction recently occurred. So, if someone sells part of a CDO-squared for pennies on the dollar because they desperately needed the cash, that wouldn’t filter through the entire system. Rather than use that distressed sale, financial institutions could use their financial model of the complex security and discounted cash flow analysis to justify a price other than the actual market sale price.
However, for assets that are more easily valued (like real property), traditional appraisals are used to value the assets on the balance sheets of financial institutions–they don’t get to make up a number based on some theoretical financial model.
Is my understanding correct? Or does the suspension of MTM accounting also allow banks to make up numbers for OREO on their books as well as complex securities?
The reason I have my understanding is that we have had loans with banks where they required frequent property appraisals for their internal purposes…if they could just make up numbers, why did they go through the hassle of getting appraisals?
I think I found my answer from the Wikipedia page on Mark-to-Market accounting:
“On April 9, 2009, FASB issued an official update to FAS 157 that eases the mark-to-market rules when the market is unsteady or inactive. Early adopters were allowed to apply the ruling as of March 15, 2009, and the rest as of June 15, 2009. It was anticipated that these changes could significantly increase banks’ statements of earnings and allow them to defer reporting losses. The changes, however, affected accounting standards applicable to a broad range of derivatives, not just banks holding mortgage-backed securities.”
So, this wasn’t a suspension of MTM in all cases, just some cases (inactive or volatile markets).
If you hold an obscure CDO-squared, that trades infrequently with high volatility, you can “mark-to-model”, and ignore the infrequent trades.
HOWEVER, if you hold a single-family residence on your books, where there are lots of transactions, you need to adhere to mark-to-market policies.
Even if banks tried to argue that the market for homes was unsteady or inactive in 2009-2010, they would have a really hard time making that argument today.
This should explain why there are 25 million excess, empty and defaulted houses and housing demand at 20 year lows Rental_Fraud.
And here is a link to one of the sources…again with references to inactive markets and/or distressed transactions. If a market is active with lots of non-distressed transactions, you can’t suspend marking to market:
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2009/apr/20091601.html
Everybody in Vegas knows they’ve got tens of thousands of vacant foreclosures and it’s been crawling with speculators for years driving up prices. I took a casual drive around Glendale AZ and I photographed foreclosures everywhere without for sale signs or activity. Stickers on the windows dated 2013, etc.
My point is that whoever owns those homes (however many exist) can’t hide behind the suspension of mark to market accounting when determining what to do with the property.
If they are holding them, they are doing so despite holding them on their books at a value consistent with market comps.
Most of the 25 million excess empty and defaulted houses are hung up in foreclosure moratoriums.
Got deficits?
Apple
You gotta hand it to Apple. The company figured out how to dodge corporate income tax on tens of billions in overseas profits by setting up an Irish subsidiary that didn’t owe Irish taxes because it was managed and controlled from the U.S., but didn’t owe U.S. taxes because it was incorporated overseas. Neat trick!
Last year, Senator Carl Levin called the scheme the “holy grail of tax avoidance.”
Apple also plays sneaky games with its intellectual property, maneuvering to avoid California and U.S. tax on such property by holding it in low-tax Irish affiliates. And just who is responsible for the wondrous technology in Apple’s iPhones? That would be the California workers who made and marketed the products, and the U.S. taxpayers who funded everything from touch-screen technology to GPS to the creation of the Internet. Apple thanks them by paying workers crap wages and screwing taxpayers.
In the last three years, Apple’s profits held offshore have more than quadrupled. Data show that the company currently has $54.4 billion parked overseas to avoid taxes.
And all of this stuff is done completely out in the open in accordance with current laws. Apple (and other companies) telegraph to the government precisely what they are doing, and how they are doing it…and have for years.
And our government is so inept, they can’t reform the corporate tax code? All they can do is complain about what Apple (and others) is doing?
For goodness sake, Google got approval from the IRS before setting up their structure!
Senator Carl Levin is part of the problem. Apple is able to continue with their tax avoidance because the laws of the US allow Apple to continue with their tax avoidance. It’s just that simple.
“Ukraine Cannot Pay Off Debts, Risks to Turn Into Another Greece”
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150815/1025786030.html
Another SJW fraud called out.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/19/shaun-king-threatened-to-sue-former-classmate-for-slander-after-posting-article/
the Grateful Dead - Tennessee Jed, live in Europe ‘72
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo5je559pnY
crushing.housing.losses.
how is your tuff shed holding up? what is the depreciation / day? what is the lifespan?
I emailed Ben Jones when he said he’d be here for the Great American Beer Festival in September, you should join us here for it, and anybody brave enough to show up at the Falling Rock TapHouse on Blake Street next to Coors Field, I’ll buy you a beer…
http://www.picpaste.com/2015-08-17_08.28.10.jpeg
rapidly.depreciating.houses.
“Deez Nuts” presidential candidate surging in the polls. LMAO. The ultimate protest vote.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-19/presidential-candidate-deez-nuts-surges-polls#comments
I saw that. Nice!
I prefer voting for Nobody.
Nobody will stop endless wars.
Nobody will reverse the police / surveillance state to where it becomes like Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith show.
Nobody will eliminate taxes.
Nobody will restore honesty in Washington.
Nobody will cut government waste.
Nobody will keep campaign promises.
Dees Nuts can’t compete against Nobody.
Ben Jones, this is an article published today from the New York Times:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/the-unwelcome-return-of-illegals.html
Banksters are cheaters, too? Inconceivable!
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-bankers-used-their-work-emails-on-ashley-madison-2015-08-19?link=MW_latest_news
Do yuan to buy some rubles?
The Wall Street Journal
Russia News
WSJ PRO
Russians Seek to Soften Impact of Ruble Depreciation
Businesses look for new ways to hedge against further currency declines
A currency-exchange office in Moscow. The ruble’s current depreciation appears to be of strong political importance for the Russian government.
Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By Andrey Ostroukh
Updated Aug. 18, 2015 7:42 p.m. ET
MOSCOW—When the Russian currency began hitting record lows late last year, 35-year-old entrepreneur Sergei from Moscow began fixing the price for the imported Venetian blinds he sells in U.S. dollars.
“We had to rewrite and resend price lists two or three times a week,” said Sergei. “Switching to dollars solved the problem.”
Sergei asked that his last name not be used, as the practice is illegal: Russia banned setting prices in currencies other than rubles in 2006. But as the currency continues to depreciate, Russian businesses are looking for other ways to hedge against further ruble volatility.
Under Russian President Vladimir Putin, currency volatility once seemed consigned to the past. Before Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year, the ruble had kept an average range of between 25 and 35 to the dollar for several years. Now the exchange rate hovers around 66 to the dollar.
On Tuesday, shortly after emerging from a submarine on a visit to Crimea, Mr. Putin was quick to address yet another question about the recent wave of ruble weakness. “I know that the government devotes utmost attention and importance to it… We are working on it every day,” Mr. Putin said, referring to the ruble exchange rate.
Recently, the Kremlin has been trying to calm the market, which suggests the ruble’s current depreciation is of strong political importance for Moscow. Mr. Putin had already stepped in personally to calm fears earlier this month, saying the Russian central bank had the situation in hand.
“The central bank is doing a lot to make the national currency stronger, at least, to make it steady as our financial system in general,” Mr. Putin said.
…
The Wall Street Journal
Foreign Exchange
IMF Signals Yuan Won’t Become Reserve Currency for at Least a Year
Fund’s executive board confirms earlier proposal for delay in five-year reshuffling of currency basket
Photo: Bloomberg News
By William Mauldin
Updated Aug. 19, 2015 3:00 p.m. ET
The International Monetary Fund signaled that China’s yuan won’t be added to the IMF’s influential basket of reserve currencies for at least a year.
The fund’s executive board approved an extension of the current basket of reserve currencies included in its special drawing rights, or SDRs, to Sept. 30, 2016. The action confirms an earlier proposal for a delay in the five-year reshuffling of the basket, which doesn’t include the yuan. The board said a decision on the future basket is expected by the end of the year.
China’s embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beijing devalued the yuan in a surprise move last week, causing its biggest one-day loss in two decades and triggering a wave of criticism from U.S. lawmakers and American industries that must compete with cheaper Chinese exports. Officials in Beijing said the move was part of a plan to allow the market a greater role in exchange rates.
…
If you find yourself losing your shirt after paying insanely overvalued prices for assets purchased at the height of a historic mania, short sellers must be to blame. Your losses couldn’t possibly be the mirror image of your own stupidity.
Loosers!
Glencore Blames ‘Aggressive’ Short Selling for the Slump in Copper Prices
Joe Deaux
August 19, 2015 — 11:43 AM PDT
Glencore Plc says “bear-fund raids” punished copper prices in the first half of the year. The latest data indicates those assaults are continuing.
Speculative wagers on a decline in copper prices rose to a record 66,965 futures and options contracts last week, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Glencore said on Wednesday that tight Chinese credit for importers helped spawn “aggressive and synchronized large-scale short selling,” even as fundamentals are stronger than the prices would suggest.
Copper futures on the Comex in New York have fallen about 20 percent in 2015 to a six-year low as the Chinese economy expands at the slowest pace since 1990. Glencore shares slumped to an all-time low on Wednesday, after first-half profit slid and Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg said China was “a lot weaker than anyone expected.”
Macquarie Group Ltd. estimates that about a fifth of mines are now losing money following copper’s tumble in July. The metal isn’t the only raw material to fall out of favor with investors, as ample supplies in markets ranging from aluminum to wheat push the Bloomberg Commodity Index to a 13-year low.
“The actual physical flows, the inventory levels are not justifying the prices where they are today,” Glasenberg said on a conference call. “It’s hedge funds, it’s Chinese hedge funds, it’s U.S hedge funds. They’re all just hitting the commodities at the moment.”
…
fastFT
Markets
Short sellers target European luxury stocks
19 hours ago
Europe’s luxury goods retailers have been under heavy pressure from short sellers this year, an onslaught that has intensified since China’s surprise move to devalue its currency last week.
Concerns about stagnating growth in China had already been weighing on companies such as Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group and Italian fashion group Prada, making them the targets of short sellers, writes Joel Lewin.
But bearish bets on these stocks have surged even higher since last week’s move raised fears that a weaker renminbi could hurt demand for their goods.
Shares in Swatch Group have fallen 10 per cent since the renminbi move last Tuesday, and have fallen 20 per cent in the last 12 months.
Short-selling of the company’s shares - measured by the percentage of shares out on loan - has jumped 90 per cent in the last six months alone to 18 per cent of the total shares. The consumer goods average is 2.8 per cent.
There’s been a 12.5 per cent jump in the last week alone, according to data group Markit.
Relte Schutte at Markit writes:
Short sellers target companies whose shares they expect to fall, but a surge in short selling can be a self-fulfilling prophesy in a way, as the selling puts downwards pressure on the share price. Short sellers borrow a company’s stock, sell it, then buy it back and return it when the price falls to book a profit.
Prada, whose shares are down 35 per cent in the last 12 months, has seen its short interest surge by over a third in the last three months, according to Markit, and now 88 per cent of the shares available for borrowing are out on loan.
Deutsche Bank analysts have estimated that a 5 per cent depreciation of the renminbi would slice 7 per cent off Swatch’s profits, and 4 per cent off the profits of European luxury goods retailers broadly. The heavy share price falls have outstripped this - European luxury goods retailers have lost 7 per cent since the devaluation, which could be ominous.
…
Is it racist if police shoot someone who points a gun at them, if that someone happens to be black?
No, it’s racis. Black swans matter, whether they have papers or not.
That’s racis’
St. Louis police shoot, kill 18-year-old after home search
Associated Press
By JIM SALTER
17 minutes ago
Associated Press Videos
Raw: Protesters Gather After St. Louis Shooting
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A black 18-year-old fleeing from officers serving a search warrant at a home in a crime-troubled section of St. Louis was shot and killed Wednesday by police after he pointed a gun at them, the city’s police chief said.
The shooting drew protests throughout the day, with many of the roughly 150 people who gathered at the scene Wednesday afternoon questioning the use of deadly force. Some chanted “Black Lives Matter,” a mantra used a year ago after the police shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.
Later Wednesday, police made nine arrests and used tear gas to clear a street after protesters ignored commands and threw glass bottles and rocks at officers, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said, adding that officers were also responding to reports of burglaries in the area.
At a press conference earlier in the day, Dotson said two suspects fled from the home about noon Wednesday on the city’s north side before the 18-year-old turned and pointed a handgun at the officers, who shot him. That suspect, identified later in a statement by police as Mansur Ball-Bey of St. Louis, died at the scene. Police are searching for the second suspect, who they said is believed to be in his mid- to late teens.
Both officers, who are white, were unharmed, according to a police report.
Dotson said four guns, including the handgun wielded by the dead suspect, and crack cocaine were recovered at or near the home, which last year yielded illegal guns during a police search.
A man and woman who were also inside the home were arrested, Dotson said.
Police obtained the search warrant because they believed the home harbored suspects in other crimes, Dotson said.
Dotson didn’t specify which crimes, but he noted that a killing happened on the same street Monday and a nearby market just was riddled by bullets.
That area also is near where a 93-year-old veteran who was part of the Tuskegee Airmen — black World War II pilots — was the victim of crimes twice within a few minutes Sunday, being robbed and then having his car stolen. The veteran was unhurt, and his car was found Tuesday blocks from where it was taken.
Many of those who gathered Wednesday afternoon voiced anger at police. As police removed their yellow tape that cordoned off the scene, dozens of people converged on the home’s front yard, many chanting insults and gesturing obscenely at officers. Several onlookers surrounded individual officers, yelling at them.
“Another youth down by the hands of police,” Dex Dockett, 42, who lives nearby, told a reporter. “What could have been done different to de-escalate rather than escalate? They (police) come in with an us-against-them mentality. You’ve got to have the right kind of cops to engage in these types of neighborhoods.”
…
Is there at least some chance that commodities will drop a lot further once denial about the crash underway gives way to anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance?
The Wichita Eagle
Agriculture
August 19, 2015
Worldwide commodities crash damages some Kansas businesses, rescues others
Wheat stands ready for harvest in a field near Anthony, Kan., Sunday, June 21, 2015.
Orlin Wagner File photo
By Dan Voorhis
The great commodities price crash is more than a year old – and while it has plunged some key Kansas business sectors off a cliff, others are riding pretty.
Commodities are the valuable goods pulled out of the Earth, the basic building blocks of the rest of the economy. Kansas is, to some extent, a commodity-heavy state, producing billions of dollars’ worth of wheat, corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, cattle, dairy, hogs, oil, natural gas and more.
Last year 7.1 percent of the Kansas gross domestic product, or $10.5 billion, came from agriculture and mining, the sector containing the oil and gas industry. That makes Kansas the 15th-most affected state by the commodity bust, less afflicted than almost all Great Plains, Mountain and eastern Gulf Coast states.
Wyoming, with 36 percent of its GDP coming from commodities, is the country’s most affected state.
The robust oil and farm sectors have buoyed the Kansas recovery, as weak as it has been, since 2009. Well, not this year.
Oil prices in Kansas have fallen more than 60 percent since August 2014 and are now approaching $30 per barrel. There have been layoffs and deep spending cuts throughout the industry as producers hunker down to wait for better times.
Crop farmers are enduring a less precipitous plunge, but soybean prices are down 40 percent and corn prices are down about 25 percent from 18 months ago. For farmers, the question of whether they will make a profit is once again very real.
As the corn harvest nears, Marion farmer Terry Vinduska said he is keeping a close eye on the market price.
“Obviously, it’s huge,” Vinduska said. “Our cost of production is set … All of those dollars have been spent, and the one thing we cannot control is yield and price.”
…
The commodities investments I made earlier this year are collectively underwater. My historical pattern with crashes has been to get in too early, before true capitulation. I’m trying to train myself to be more patient!
nearly 700 billion dollars of fossil fuel subsidies per year.