August 28, 2015

Bits Bucket for August 28, 2015

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127 Comments »

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 00:35:49

Is it a real rally if the government is buying assets to artificially prop up the prices?

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 01:37:11

Marketwatch dot com
Asia Markets
China stocks surge amid suspected government buying
By Chao Deng
Published: Aug 28, 2015 3:48 a.m. ET
But losses for the week mount
Bloomberg
U.S. GDP fuels gains for Asia stocks

China’s shares surged Friday amid suspected government buying, but the week’s volatile trading still puts the index down nearly 8% in that time.

In one wild week, China became the epicenter of a global selloff, with a five-session crash starting last Thursday triggering steep losses in U.S. and European stocks — only to be followed by surges.

To quiet worries about its slowing growth, Beijing took several easing measures this week to get its economy back in gear, including an interest-rate cut and liquidity injections. The move follows a decision earlier this month to devalue the yuan, which could make exports more competitive, as China struggles to meet its growth target of about 7% for the year.

Beijing’s efforts — and robust U.S. growth data — steadied markets in the region and overseas by the end of the week, and arrested a slide that took Shanghai stocks down as much as 43% from their June peak. But concerns linger about the sustainability of China’s recovery, authorities’ role in the market and the timing of a rise in U.S. interest rates, which could sap funds from the region as investors seek higher-yielding assets elsewhere.

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP, +4.82%) suffered its second-straight week of losses and its third month of declines after a yearlong rally took the index to seven-plus year highs. A recovery took hold by Thursday, when suspected government intervention drove the Shanghai Composite up more than 5%.

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 05:44:36

Isn’t this conceptually the same game companies play when they borrow money to purchase their own stock in order to drive up the share price?

It strikes me as peculiar that it is possible to increase the value of a company or a national stock market index in this manner. Is there some kind of accounting trick involved which eludes the eye? Or a shifting of costs somewhere else?

Am I off base in my lingering suspicion that one cannot borrow their way into prosperity?

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 06:22:12

From the Friday desk clearing post:

“Alberto Gallo, head of credit research at RBS, is more direct: ‘Policymakers responded to the financial crisis with easy monetary policy and low interest rates. The critics — including us — argued against ’solving a debt crisis with more debt.’ Put differently, we said that QE was necessary, but not sufficient for a recovery. We are now coming to the moment of reckoning: central bankers look naked, and markets have nothing else to believe in.’”

Perhaps I am not alone in doubting the efficacy of the hair-of-the-dog hangover cure, particularly when employed by hard-core alcoholics.

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Comment by azdude
2015-08-28 06:33:06

It seems to be fraud to me.

What about all the short sellers in the market the pboc causes to lose money? Do they have legal standing?

A market is suppose to where prices are discovered, not administered.

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 07:08:50

None of the usual laws governing markets apply in moments of panic-driven desperation.

 
 
Comment by Wondering
2015-08-28 07:43:24

I think it is wealth transfer- plain and simple. Corporations can borrow at near zero interest rates and funnel the money back to their shareholders in dividends or capital appreciation (stock buy backs.)

Rising rates would put an end to it- whenever that happens.

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 11:10:32

fastFT
MarketsUS stocks in the red as Friday close looms
17 minutes ago

Will there be a rally into the close of the US stock market? If there is, the S&P 500 will have to soon get out of reverse gear it’s been stuck in on Friday.

With just over 2 hours of trading left, the benchmark US stock index is down 0.5 per cent at 1978.29 having fallen further over the last hour.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, home to just 30, albeit large, companies, was 0.5 per cent weaker at 16575.33.

After a week of tumult that began with a 4 per cent plunge on Monday, the S&P 500 has staged a recovery and is now just in positive territory for the week.

 
Comment by Goon
2015-08-28 12:19:02

Heading off the grid for a while, so buckle up, drive safe, and play nice

http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20150828_131344-YThsqlB5.jpg

Region VIII

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 13:28:45

Don’t worry, be happy, cuz THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT!

‘Death cross’ patterns spread like a bearish virus
Published: Aug 28, 2015 4:10 p.m. ET
S&P 500 index’s chart produces first death cross in 4 years
Reuters
Bearish ‘death cross’ chart patterns spreading through the stock market
By Tomi Kilgore
Reporter

The “death cross” pattern is spreading fast through the stock market like a bearish virus.

On Friday, the S&P 500 index (SPX, +0.06%) became the latest victim. The broad-market barometer’s 50-day moving average fell to 2,074.42, according to FactSet, to cross below the 200-day moving average, which slipped to 2,075.39.

The S&P 500’s last death cross appeared on Aug. 12, 2011, nearly eight months before the S&P 500 bottomed, and over 16 months before the appearance of the opposite bullish crossover, known as a “golden cross.”

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 21:15:52

Counting my lucky stars tonight as I fill up at Costco for $2.99/gal. Prices are set to go up this weekend, as price fixing agencies spiked the oil price the past couple of days.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 05:28:14

“Investors” dumping stocks again at rate unseen since the last Ponzi market implosion.

http://www.businessinsider.com/baml-flow-show-largest-equity-fund-outflows-since-2007-2015-8

 
Comment by clark
2015-08-28 05:42:59

Earlier in the week someone stated in the Bits Bucket thread that All libertarians wanted open borders. I just wanted to point out that not All libertarians are in favor of open borders. In order to gain a better understanding of the subject please take a look at this article, ‘Dances With Elephants’, by bionic mosquito. ‘in this debate, perhaps the most capable, knowledgeable, well-read and thoughtful libertarian theorists sit on opposite sides.’

http://bionicmosquito.blogspot.com/2015/08/dances-with-elephants.html

Comment by CountryClubberLang
2015-08-28 06:35:11

TLDR= too long didn’t read. No offense, but sure there could be some libertarians who are against open borders, there could be some liberals against abortion also.

Comment by WPA
2015-08-28 08:53:23

there could be some liberals against abortion also.

I’ve never heard of any liberal _for_ abortions. Pro-Choice means having a legal avenue to have an abortion as a last choice, not the first. “Rare but legal” is preferred. 97% of Planned Parenthood services are something other than abortion.

Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 10:48:05

Worth repeating!

97% of Planned Parenthood services are something other than abortion.

AKA: Birth control and STD counseling, we need it bad!

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Comment by Steadykat
2015-08-28 11:43:46

Planned Parenthood does 40% of all abortions in the United States.

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/index.htm#Abortion

Contrary to the very public announcements of both Obama and the President of PP they don’t do mammograms.

“We only do surgical procedures”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq0kBkUZbvQ

Considering the number of abortions done each year in this Country PP isn’t doing a very good job in relation to birth control, are they?

But, why would they want to? The real bucks comes from the “surgical procedures” and the ever growing secondary market for barely used, low mileage body parts.

 
Comment by WPA
2015-08-28 12:15:07

Considering the number of abortions done each year in this Country PP isn’t doing a very good job in relation to birth control, are they?

Yes they are. We’ll say it again: PP = 3% abortions, 97% other services. The national abortion rate has been declining steadily since 1980.

 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 12:32:24

Lets increase our orphanages??
These numbers show why Planned Parenthood® is one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality,
affordable health care for women, men and young people, and the nation’s largest provider of sex education

• Estimated number of unintended pregnancies averted by Planned Parenthood
contraceptive services each year: 516,000

• Estimated number of abortions averted by Planned Parenthood contraceptive services each year:
217,000

Percentage of Planned Parenthood annual expenses ($1,176,300,000) spent on
client services, education, and research: 81%

 
Comment by Steadykat
2015-08-28 13:38:15

How on earth does one calculate something that doesn’t occur like “unintended pregnancies averted” and where does this nebulous “estimated number of abortions averted by PP” come from?

Ever hear of Margaret Sanger?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/26/black-pastors-pro-life-advocates-rally-against-mus/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 17:57:55

“97% of Planned Parenthood services are something other than abortion.”

I’m guessing the Retardican extremists who lobby on this issue neglect to ever mention that.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 15:21:57

I’m all for aborting liberals. Is there a pre-natal test for them?

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Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 16:18:59

Because you want less spending and smaller gov–right?

What Republican has ever given you that?

B Clinton???

 
 
 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2015-08-28 11:16:29

The ones I find most perplexing are Christian libertarians.

Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 12:33:24

or molester-priests

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Comment by palmetto
2015-08-28 06:42:39

Now, right THERE is an excellent example of a philosophical debate, governed by rules of Logic, by some smart, thoughtful and literate people. yes, it gets tedious at times, such is the nature of these kinds of debates. However, I think people miss the fact that philosophy is the discipline that forwards ideas into reality, provided those ideas have been proven out by the rules of Logic. Or not, lol. The “or not” part is what messes things up.

This is why it pains me to see Philosophy considered a “dead” subject, because whether people realize it or not, it is from Philosophy that politics and the law flow, and in our society, these are the things that govern men.

That’s why I cringe when I hear these televised political candidate parades being called “debates”. They aren’t even remotely “debates” and I have no clue how they even got that name.

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-08-28 07:20:22

real libertarians (voluntaryists) don’t recognize governments, therefore we don’t recognize borders.

Comment by CountryClubberLang
2015-08-28 07:33:56

Oof! That’s really the question, not are there some Libertarians who want illegal immigration stopped, but how many.

On the Internet you can almost always find support for the extremely improbable. With 330 million plus Americans even 1 in a million shots produce many lottery winners and those lottery winners are often publicized.

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-08-28 08:22:46

“How many?”

Based on my explanation above, zero.

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Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 10:02:42

So it’s a discussion about the meaning of a word, which is pretty dull.

 
 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2015-08-28 11:03:25

or have free sht to give intruders
so no real problem
if you show up and dont work you starve

 
 
Comment by nhtransplant
2015-08-28 09:32:19

That was me. Thanks for the link. I will read it when I have the time.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 05:44:01

How long before Yellen unleashes a new counterfeiting binge as liquidity flees our Ponzi market and asset bubbles?

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/08/28/beginning-of-a-liquidity-crisis-in-startup-boom-ipo/

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2015-08-28 05:44:58

has anyone noticed lot more stores limiting cash back on debit cards to $25?

just went to key food they changed the policy yesterday

Comment by Overbanked
2015-08-28 06:32:02

I know at grocery stores in Los Angeles, Safeway, Kroger, Albertsons they’ve had little handwritten signs on the swiping machines limiting cash back to $20, for several years now. I don’t know if that is all the time, I never take out cash at those places.

Comment by aNYCdj
2015-08-28 06:44:58

yeah it went for $50 to $25 but here in nyc, lots of banks dont have a free parking lot, so its much easier to get a little cash from the grocery store which does.

 
Comment by peter a
2015-08-28 07:11:16

Stater bros give up to $200 back

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 06:05:07

A song for Wall Street - Jump You F*#kers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yge311sFhC8

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 06:07:42

The Oligopoly wants total visibility over all your sources of wealth and income so they can tax and steal your wealth with ever-greater efficiency and impunity. It’s for the children….

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-28/financial-times-demands-end-cash-calls-it-barbarous-relic

Comment by nhtransplant
2015-08-28 09:21:11

Now Junior’s allowance will be taxable income! But how will people pay their illegal alien gardeners? Perhaps a cashless society would be racist.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 06:09:38

No Riots in Roanoke - for SECOND Consecutive Night

No bottles. No looting. No “burn this bitch.” No police line. No tear gas. No visit from race card reverends. Nothing. This is the SECOND night of rest in the city where two white people were gunned down by a black gay man to start a race war.

Comment by aNYCdj
2015-08-28 06:51:24

my prediction will come true ohbewanna legacy is the death of political correctness……so when a white cop shoots a black thug who is wanted for a felony nothing will happen……then we can heal

Comment by scdave
2015-08-28 07:23:02

ohbewanna legacy is the death of political correctness ??

It died the day he was elected to the shock of the right wing neocons and the likes of people like Trump…No other President in my lifetime has taken the personal attacks like he has for no other reason then the color of his skin…

Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 08:55:51

No other President in my lifetime has taken the personal attacks like he has for no other reason then the color of his skin…

Liberal hear what they want to hear.

It affirms their victimhood and allows them to have the ends justify the means.

And ignore everything that is wrong with their party and politicians.

——————–

The Right Stuff
Peter Kirsanow - July 26, 2004

President Bush’s speech last Friday before the National Urban League was the best speech given before a predominately black audience by either a president or major presidential candidate in at least 40 years. It was the best not because of any soaring rhetorical flourishes, timeless lines, or stirring delivery (although the president–despite a sometimes hurried cadence–was clearly and passionately on his game) but because it was unabashedly conservative and refreshingly devoid of the peculiar mix of paternalism, supplication, and pandering found in almost all speeches by politicians to black crowds.

This was an audience that had been told repeatedly that George W. Bush is the worst president in U.S. history. They’ve been told that he was somehow responsible for the dragging death of James Byrd. They’ve been assured that the Republican party is intrinsically racist. They’ve heard the radio ads claiming that a vote for a Republican is a vote for another black church being burned; for another black man getting lynched. They’ve been instructed that Bush is going to let the Voting Rights Act expire, preventing blacks from voting. And they’ve been told these kinds of things not by fringe political players but by high-profile officials in prominent organizations. For example, NAACP president Kweisi Mfume has declared, “We have a president that’s prepared to take us back to the days of Jim Crow segregation and dominance.”

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond contended that “[President Bush] has appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing. And has chosen Cabinet officials [Powell, Paige, Jackson?] whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection…their idea of reparations is to give the war criminal Jefferson Davis a pardon. Their idea of equal rights is the American flag and Confederate swastika flying side by side.” It’s not surprising, then, that a recent poll shows that 85 percent of blacks believe George Bush “stole” the 2000 election.

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Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 11:14:16

By Sept. 18, when Mr. Bush and his team had their fateful meeting in the Roosevelt Room after the failure of Lehman Brothers and the emergency rescue of A.I.G., Mr. Paulson was warning of an economic calamity greater than the Great Depression. Suddenly, historic government intervention seemed the only option. When Mr. Paulson spelled out what would become a $700 billion plan to rescue the nation’s banking system, the president did not hesitate.

“Is that enough?” Mr. Bush asked.

“It’s a lot,” the Treasury secretary recalled replying. “It will make a difference.” And in any event, he told Mr. Bush, “I don’t think we can get more.”

 
 
Comment by nhtransplant
2015-08-28 09:26:10

“No other President in my lifetime has taken the personal attacks like he has for no other reason then the color of his skin…”

That’s a lazy argument. Keeps you from having to answer any criticisms against him. Also absolves you of the hypocrisy that rears its ugly head when you bring up the left’s treatment of Bush when he was in office. Both presidents deserve the criticism they have gotten. Letting Obama hide behind his natural tan is condescending.

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Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 09:54:58

That’s a lazy argument. Keeps you from having to answer any criticisms against him. Also absolves you of the hypocrisy that rears its ugly head when you bring up the left’s treatment of Bush when he was in office.

That’s not true. To point out the fact that large number of Americans who became unhinged at the idea of a black president doesn’t absolve the president of his mistakes in office.

Jackie Robinson faced a lot of racist abuse when he joined the major leagues. To state that fact is not to say that he was a perfect player. He probably struck out many times in his career.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 06:13:44

To democrats: If you think selling baby parts for profit is wrong - you are a terrorist.

To democrats: If you think a black, gay and democrat man killing white people to start a race is just the fault of needing more gun control.

——————–

Hillary: Planned Parenthood Defunders are Like ISIS
National Review Online | 8-27-2015 | DAVID FRENCH

In Hillary’s world, if you’re a person who wants to stop Planned Parenthood from dismembering babies — from slicing open their faces to sell their brains — then you’re like ISIS.

“Now, extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups, we expect that from people who don’t want to live in the modern world, but it’s a little hard to take from Republicans who want to be President of the United States, yet espouse out of date, out of touch policies. They are dead wrong for 21st century for America. We are going forward. We are not going back.”

Comment by aNYCdj
2015-08-28 07:00:55

hey 2…maybe we should get people to talk about the incredible research going on targeting birth defects, my cousin who is a doctor and was working for Novartis and was a research fellow at Harvard medical said where else can they get and use the fetal tissue? you just cant use rats monkeys dogs cats….its just not the same……

Comment by Wondering
2015-08-28 07:47:04

Dr. Ben Carson did research on fetal tissue that came from exactly where?

I think the comparison of the Republican party to the Taliban (not ISIS) is most appropriate. They want to force others to live by their religious code.

Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 08:59:17

To democrats:

Republican party = Taliban

And we wonder why the left is so unhinged.

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 06:19:27

As long a the Biden family gets paid.

All is good.

And it is for the children.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 06:21:53

No barbed wire on the borders of Saudi Arabia or Egypt or the UAE.

Why don’t these muslim refugees go there?

And why do they insist in instituting sharia law when they finally do make it to Europe after fleeing the islamic sharia hellhole of their homeland?

Comment by Anonymous
2015-08-28 18:14:37

Very, very good questions.

 
 
Comment by frankie
2015-08-28 06:50:40

Hungarian police have arrested the driver of a lorry found on an Austrian motorway with the decomposing bodies of 71 people, including a baby girl, inside.

Three Bulgarians and an Afghan man have been detained, police said. Detectives have also questioned almost 20 people and searched homes, they added. Earlier Austrian police said the lorry owner was a Bulgarian citizen of Lebanese origin.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/28/more-than-70-dead-austria-migrant-truck-tragedy

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 06:25:26

How HFT front-runs the market, while the SEC turns a blind eye.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFQJNeQDDHA

Comment by aNYCdj
2015-08-28 08:35:26

all they have to do is make all bids and asked valid for ONE second….thats it

no new agency or regulatory powers just one freakin second….and maybe add a tax of 1/10 of one cent on all transaction to SEC use to stop fraud

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 15:25:06

The SEC has no desire or intention of stopping Wall Street fraud. They were captured by the banksters years ago.

 
 
 
Comment by CountryClubberLang
2015-08-28 06:27:33

Ben, I can’t see the Queen Creek video on the YouTube channel, was it taken down? Only see one from Glendale or new inventory for NW?

Looking forward to watching it.

Thanks.

 
Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 06:27:56

How other countries deal with immigrants (both legal and illegal).

——————–

Mexico’s Ideal Immigration Law—Let’s try it here at home
Center for Security Policy | April 13, 2006 | J. Michael Waller

Mexico has a radical idea for a rational immigration policy that most Americans would love. However, Mexican officials haven’t been sharing that idea with us as they press for our Congress to adopt the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill.

That’s too bad, because Mexico, which annually deports more illegal aliens than the United States does, has much to teach us about how it handles the immigration issue. At a time when the Supreme Court and many politicians seek to bring American law in line with foreign legal norms, it’s noteworthy that nobody has argued that the US look at
how Mexico deals with immigration and what it might teach us about how best to solve our illegal immigration problem.

Mexico has a single, streamlined law that ensures that foreign visitors and immigrants are: in the country legally; have the means to sustain themselves economically; not destined to be burdens on society; of economic and social benefit to society; of good character and have no criminal records; and contributors to the general well-being of the nation.

The law also ensures that: immigration authorities have a record of each foreign visitor foreign visitors do not violate their visa status; foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics; foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported; foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported; those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison.

Who could disagree with such a law? It makes perfect sense.

The Mexican constitution strictly defines the rights of citizens – and the denial of many fundamental rights to non-citizens, illegal and illegal. Under the constitution, the Ley General de Población, or General Law on Population, spells out specifically the country’s immigration policy.

I

Comment by CountryClubberLang
2015-08-28 07:41:53

Isn’t Mexico’s southern border about 1/3 or 1/4 the size of their northern border with the U.S.? Much easier to deal with becuase no one is really sneaking in south from the US.

But yes it does seem like a double standard.

 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 09:35:26

You dont get it. Big biz runs this country and the GOP and they love cheap illegal labor. They make us taxpayers subsidize it all.

 
Comment by rj chicago
2015-08-28 10:17:06

+ 1 there 2 B - I just looked up this study a couple of days ago about the Law of General Population - have not had time to read it in depth but this is an interesting take on this issue.
Just had dinner last night with my good buddy - an older guy - who lives in Guadalajara MX - his wife is Mexican - both now have dual citizenship MX and USA. His views given where he lives are almost directly opposite that of many in the US / Trumpeters. Though I tend to agree that immigration has to be dealt with and controlled in some orderly manner - my buddy says the dialogue up here is nothing short of trash talking. Aggravated he was when I brought up the Trump idea of a wall with a big golden door in the center of it - buddy says it is impractical - so I asked what is MX doing about folks who migrate - overstay their visas etc. He didn’t know and that is when - wait for it ….I asked are you aware of MX’s law called the General Law of population - the look was priceless!!!

Report is below - don’t have a linky - sorry.

Understanding Mexico’s Changing
Immigration Laws
Laura V. González-Murphy
University at Albany
State University of New York
Albany, NY
And
Rey Koslowski
University at Albany
State University of New York
Albany, NY
March 2011
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/mexico

 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 13:32:48

I always wondered why the GOP congress and Bush did nothing about immigration when they had full control for 67 years? Could it be they just talk, and dont walk?

Comment by Hi-Z
2015-08-28 18:26:18

full control for 67 years?

 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 06:34:18

A Trump/Cruz ticket would be America’s best hope.

They are not perfect - but they would crush anything on the current democrat side.

The damage caused by obama/Biden/Hillary to this country has been immense over the last 8 years.

Hopefully, they will have a supermajority in the House and a filibuster proof senate too. I know we would get better things than obamacare with that opportunity.

—————————————-

‘Dream ticket’ Trump, Cruz to announce ‘something very big over the next two weeks in Washington’
BIZPAC Review ^ | 08/28/15 | Michael Dorstewitz

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have united to fight the Iran nuclear agreement.

On Thursday, the Texas senator invited the real estate mogul to join him in rallying against the deal on the Capitol grounds, and Trump accepted.

The two Republican presidential candidates said they would do “something very big over the next two weeks in Washington.”

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-08-28 07:21:45

A Trump/Cruz ticket is a statist’s best hope. There, fixed it for you.

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-08-28 07:22:51

A Trump/Cruz ticket is a war monger statist’s best hope. There, fixed it for you.

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-08-28 07:24:24

Had to throw in the other fix.

 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 10:56:16

A Trump/Cruz ticket is a big gov, big spenders best hope. That wall alone will cost bazillions! Then the invasion of Iraq to steal the oil - yikes!!! The deficit will quadruple and Russia, China, India and Brazil will all become best friends.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 15:26:20

Cruz is a stalking horse for Goldman Sachs. You don’t want him anywhere near the Oval Office.

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Comment by scdave
2015-08-28 07:27:55

‘Dream ticket’ Trump, Cruz to announce ??

Dream ?? Yeah…Its the democrats dream come true maybe…It would actually top the circus of MaCain/Palin…

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 07:42:05

My MIL, who never once voted Democrat in her entire life, suspects The Donald is secretly working for the Democrats.

Comment by CountryClubberLang
2015-08-28 07:46:01

Is your MIL an establishment Republican?

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 08:31:38

Not sure what that means

 
 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 12:37:01

Does she have Fox News on all day?

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 07:38:40

Would Cruz help The Donald with his anti-Hispanic perception?

Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 07:52:46

He probably wouldn’t. The VP nominee usually gets a lot of attention when he or she is announced at the convention. Then he or she fades into the background and the focus goes back to the top of the ticket. There are exceptions, like Sarah Palin and Dan Quayle, but those exceptions are bad news for the presidential nominee.

 
Comment by palmetto
2015-08-28 08:01:42

No. Pablo Cruz, maybe. But not Ted Cruz.

Go, Don!

Comment by palmetto
2015-08-28 08:06:23

Actually, that should have been Pablo Cruise, lol.

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Comment by palmetto
2015-08-28 08:40:54

On a more serious note, if this is true, it’s very interesting. Because it would mean a deal had been struck with the Republican Party. “OK, Don, you win. We’ll give you the nom, and we’ll hold our collective noses and support you. But the deal is, you gotta take Cruz for Veep.”

Huddle behind closed doors as Don goes to the airport: “Who is the best sniper we’ve got? Anyone? Anyone?”

 
Comment by WPA
2015-08-28 09:03:47

Pablo Cruise

Pablo Cruise? Damn Palmie you must be old.

 
Comment by palmetto
2015-08-28 09:16:57

Gettin’ there, that’s for sure.

 
 
 
 
Comment by ibbots
2015-08-28 11:04:00

Trump is too seasoned to have a rookie like Cruz on his ticket. Trump also knows to win the presidency he has to win the center. Cruz has alienated too many to be an asset, he’d be a liability. Way too early to think about running mates.

Trump’s current biggest obstacle is the GOP establishment who will live and die by Jeb during this election cycle apparently.

 
 
Comment by frankie
2015-08-28 06:34:44

The number of homes being sold in England and Wales has fallen significantly, according to figures from the Land Registry.

In May this year, there were 65,619 transactions in total, a 15% fall on the same month in 2014.

However, prices in some property hotspots are still rising by up to 13% a year, due to lack of supply.

The number of homes being sold for more than a million pounds dropped dramatically - down by 21%.

The Land Registry figures include cash sales, as well as properties bought with mortgages.

Some experts have welcomed what they see as a cooling of the market.

“Normality has returned to the market, with the panic that has driven it in the past no longer present,” said Guy Meacock, head of the London office of buying agency Prime Purchase.

“It is more level and sensible, which is good news for buyers.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34085149

Tis always good news for buyers, no matter what the news is.

Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 07:10:21

More interesting data would include if housing inventory is rising/falling and how people are paying for their new homes (NINJA, no doc, no downpayments, etc.)

Comment by frankie
2015-08-28 07:32:22

Russians and Chineses don’t have mortgages 2banna they just have cold hard cash, sometimes they haven’t even had time to wash the blood of it. Of cause that is just the high end London market ;)

 
 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 06:41:14

Is the two-day dead cat bounce over?

Comment by palmetto
2015-08-28 06:48:38

Too early to tell. But probably, lol.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 07:47:51

Marketwatch dot com
Market Pulse
The Dow Jones Industrial Average did something it’s never done before
By Mark DeCambre
Published: Aug 27, 2015 4:55 p.m. ET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average just made history, highlighting the new level of turbulence stock investors face in whipsawing trading sessions. On Thursday, the blue-chip index ended with a gain or loss of at least 200 points for a sixth consecutive session–something the Dow has never done, according to Dow Jones data. The Dow (DJIA, -0.36%) ended Thursday’s bumpy session up 369.26, or 2.3%, at 16,654.77–it’s second day of gains since snapping a six-day losing streak Wednesday. Meanwhile, The S&P 500 (SPX, -0.16%) finished up 47.15 points, or 2.4% to 1,987.66, and the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP, -0.18%) climbed 115.17 points, or 2.5%, to 4,812.71

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 06:41:39

Is the herd starting to stampede out of the Fed’s asset bubbles and Ponzi markets?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-28/total-capitulation-biggest-weekly-equity-outflow-record

Comment by azdude
2015-08-28 07:14:14

can wall street ever be the bagholder? Usually they get a rally going and then the fear of missing out or greed forces people in. It works every time. Then they sell and run it back down again. Then its called an investment, lmao.

Comment by rms
2015-08-28 07:44:12

“Usually they get a rally going and then the fear of missing out or greed forces people in. It works every time. Then they sell and run it back down again.”

That’s what public pension funds are for. :)

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-08-28 07:44:43

Or after all the Muppets dump at a loss in a moment of panic, Uncle Fed steps in with liquidity injections to buoy shares.

 
 
 
Comment by CountryClubberLang
2015-08-28 07:50:18

There is an irony to the Left’s criticism of conservatives as anti-science. The Left’s political correctness is all about avoiding certain answers as unacceptably damaging to certain groups or philosophies. Science accepts all answers then tests to see which is correct. Political correctness puts certain answers off the table right from the beginning no matter the evidence.

It’s the same thing they criticize the bible thumpers for.

Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 10:01:31

What are you talking about? What is it that political correctness “puts off the table”?

Comment by Hi-Z
2015-08-28 18:24:02

Expressing any negative opinion regarding:
1. LGBT recognition and submission.
2. Effect of welfare state.
3. Saying any words deemed remotely offensive by the left.
4. Distortion of free market business by minority accommodation requirements.
5. Effect of fatherless homes for children.
6. Disproportionate black contribution to crime.
7. Bad result of taking God out of our system (caveat:I am an agnostic but still)
8. Idiocy for some black leaders to decry police action while ignoring black on black crime.
9, Using actual data instead of victimization feelings.

Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 20:18:11

None of that has anything to do with science.

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Comment by rj chicago
2015-08-28 08:47:00

“I have the Queen Creek video up:”

Ben - interesting takes. Esp the vid on the NW side of PHX. Visited a Standard Pacific development off Bell and Thompson Pkwy back in Feb. when I was in Scottsdale visiting my closest and oldest buddy. Similar stuff going on - intense earth moving on the PHX side of Thompson and then vast open space - some protected on the McDowell Mntn side of Thompson. The homes getting built - the 55+ stuff seems to be getting snapped up but other stuff sits.

The Taylor Morrison sign you show in the vid is a reflection of a couple of developments that company has going on in Castle Pines and Littleton CO - When you are there go esp. to the one in Littleton off Bowles at Platte Canyon. Went there in late March - die cut lots at 8k sq. ft. 600k starting price - reach out and touch your neighbor. Looked at it with a buddy of mine looking to downsize and we both just walked away thinking man this is gonna take time to sell. Very expensive - no views on skinny lots. Yikes. Market there is just out of control.
You might also want to head down toward Parker area and take a look at Toll development called the Hills at Parker. Again die cut lots - homes starting at 450k without land premium or built out basement - reach out and touch your nabe. Yikes.

Also head up toward Arvada near the old Rocky Flats site - there are homes being built all over the place by TM. Lennar and others - equally if not more scary given the history of that area. Homes might glow in the dark eventually :)

This stuff is going up all over Denver area and having visited many of these developments in the last couple of years in my forays there - you just have to see it to believe it. Yet salaries are no where near to allowing the young to purchase while the 55+ crowd are climbing over each other to snap something up - a huge disconnect.

By the way Home builder stocks are not holding up - debt and inventory carry relative to assets are looking spooooooky.

TM Linky here:
http://www.taylormorrison.com/new-homes/colorado/denver/columbine-valley/willowcroft-manor-at-columbine-valley-community

Toll Linky here:
https://www.tollbrothers.com/CO/The_Hills_at_Parker#siteplan

 
Comment by salinasron
2015-08-28 09:21:57

From Infowars.com

The Financial Times has published an anonymous article which calls for the abolition of cash in order to give central banks and governments more power.

““The existence of cash — a bearer instrument with a zero interest rate — limits central banks’ ability to stimulate a depressed economy. The worry is that people will change their deposits for cash if a central bank moves rates into negative territory,” states the article.”

Comment by drumminj
2015-08-28 09:24:48

The worry is that people will change their deposits for cash if a central bank moves rates into negative territory,” states the article.”

Well yeah. Why would you willingly allow someone to confiscate your wealth?

Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 09:33:41

But the banks are doing God’s work.

And it is for the children.

FREE JOHN CORZINE!!!

Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 11:10:54

A: Who is Henry Paulson?

“We can put light where there’s darkness, and hope where there’s despondency in this country. And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home.” — President Bush, Oct. 15, 2002

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Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 11:22:22

HENRY PAULSON: Well, I’m a former Treasury secretary, and every Treasury secretary hates the fact that we need to go back to Congress and ask them to raise the debt ceiling, so we can meet the obligations that they have already approved. So we all hate that.

That’s a flaw in the system, number one. Number two, the point I continually make is that we won’t default on our dealt. There will be brinksmanship. There will be politicking. But at the end of the day, Congress should raise the debt ceiling and Congress will raise the debt ceiling. They always do.

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Comment by nhtransplant
2015-08-28 09:58:26

When we eventually become a cashless society it will be a decision that is made without the benefit of public debate or the opportunity for people to vote on it. We will not have one party arguing for it while the other argues against it. It will just happen one day. It’ll probably be a rider on a bill or executive order that contains much more “newsworthy” content to it so that the act itself will get little mention. Friday afternoon right before a holiday. The will be a mass shooting the next day to grab all the headlines.

Comment by 2banana
2015-08-28 10:11:21

And it will be a left wing kook democrat president who does it.

Because be won’t let an obstructionist do nothing congress stop the will of the American people

 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 10:52:51

Sounds like the Patriot Act

 
Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 11:04:50

When we eventually become a cashless society it will be a decision that is made without the benefit of public debate or the opportunity for people to vote on it. We will not have one party arguing for it while the other argues against it. It will just happen one day. It’ll probably be a rider on a bill or executive order that contains much more “newsworthy” content to it so that the act itself will get little mention. Friday afternoon right before a holiday. The will be a mass shooting the next day to grab all the headlines.

That sounds highly unlikely. A very large number of Americans would take an interest if there was a proposal to stop producing coins and notes.

 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2015-08-28 10:23:04

stay armed my friend
won’t work in VA -

 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2015-08-28 10:18:35

Jim Rickards on Bloomberg
way cool
fed scks

 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 11:05:38

P. Noonan today in WSJ:

The people hate the elites, which is not new, and very American. The elites have no faith in the people, which, actually, is new. Everything is stasis. Then Donald Trump comes, like a rock thrown through a showroom window, and the molecules start to move

Comment by drumminj
2015-08-28 11:58:41

Is it just me, or is this talk of ‘elites’ more and more prevalent lately?

Who exactly are the ‘elite’? Why are they considered as such by the media? And does everyone else consider them so? Or is it just proclaimed by the media and accepted by the populace?

Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 12:40:35

their definition, the “elites” are the 1%’rs who are the only ones who benefited om the “recovery.”

Comment by drumminj
2015-08-28 13:18:47

wouldn’t that be the 0.1%’ers?

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-08-28 17:44:23

The larger issue is that 95% of the electorate are stupid, and hence are easily manipulated and bamboozled by the elites. For example, a bon vivant from the most corrupt political machine in the nation, backed by predatory speculator George Soros and the Vampire Squid itself, Goldman Sachs, promised “hope and change we can believe in,” and millions of retards bought it - twice. Or voted for the even more appalling GOP “alternatives.” So this growing divide between the 99% and the .1% that is robbing them blind isn’t that big a deal, since the Oligopoly can easily con the sheeple - 95% of the 99% - into doing their bidding. Like voting for their annointed stooges, i.e. HillaryJeb.

Comment by Hi-Z
2015-08-28 17:55:36

You live in an alternate universe where your views actually address the real world. Everybody is stupid, except you.

 
 
 
Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 11:54:13

So much for the “liberal ” media.

Bernie has bigger crowds, Trump get all the press.

Comment by Ben Jones
2015-08-28 12:08:02

A neocon rag had this:

‘With her popularity rapidly vanishing, Hillary is moving to her Führerbunker’

That’s pretty funny. I was a wondering all along how the Iron Maiden could be a dead cert when nobody liked her. Her husband treats her like an old car he can’t bear to part with but spends his time with floozies. Her biggest election victory had been beating the Mayor of Yonkers.

So what about that clown car? We got a bunch of guys and a gal who want to bomb everything (like the Iron Maiden). And we got Mr Foot-in-Mouth the VP, and Sanders who can’t be trusted because he might actually enforce laws on wall street. It looks sorta like the public might vote in just about anybody from this fine field. Almost makes one wish we had more than two vaudeville acts to choose from.

Comment by MightyMike
2015-08-28 14:13:08

Hillary is moving to her Führerbunker

I wonder what they mean by that. I saw that she gave a speech in Cleveland yesterday. And wouldn’t she have to get elected first to have bunker to go into?

 
 
Comment by Lola
2015-08-28 12:27:37

lol@Lola

Comment by WPA
2015-08-28 13:03:22

Just for you “Lola”: http://goo.gl/eX1dlR

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-08-28 18:31:00

Lola, Lola, Lola…..

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Comment by Califoh20
2015-08-28 12:24:40

Hey GOP - You know the Constitution has no mention of God.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2015-08-28 14:46:13

It’s always nice to see objectivity…even when it comes to RE professionals. This comes from a John Burns e-mail that I got today:

“In most areas of the country, homeownership costs more than renting. Many economists with calculators claim the opposite, but the calculations and conclusions are often highly misleading. As is often the case, the devil is in the details.
We recently reviewed one highly publicized calculation that owning was cheaper than renting in almost all markets. That calculation had a number of outdated assumptions, including:
• Outdated assumption #1: Buyers put down 20%.
o In reality, own versus rent is a first-time buyer decision, and the vast majority of first-time buyers today make down payments of 10% or less.
• Outdated assumption #2: Buyers are in a 25% tax bracket and thus save 25% of their interest payment in taxes.
o Today, half of all home buyers obtain a mortgage less than the median resale price of $236K, and 100% of the annual interest on that mortgage is less than the standard itemized deduction of $12K per couple, so many entry-level buyers actually save ZERO dollars in taxes. Those that itemize likely only save a small percentage of the interest payment in taxes.
• Outdated assumption #3: Future home price appreciation should be included in the own-versus-rent decision.
o Most indices show that home prices have historically appreciated 1%–2% faster than incomes, but over a 30-year period of falling mortgage rates. Assuming you believe rates will rise or at least stay flat, price appreciation might be an aggressive assumption.

Don’t get me wrong. We believe homeownership is a great long-term investment for those with stable employment. It is just not less expensive than renting.”

I wonder if the author burst into flames for being objective…

 
Comment by azdude
2015-08-28 15:33:04

How many plunges will it take to get QE4? Rate hikes r off the table now with plunge #1.

Do we need to scare the muppets sh@Tless with another plunge next week?

 
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