Bits Bucket for September 8, 2015
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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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Did everybody have a good Labor Day? I had the great luck to spend hours moderating the stupidest mudfest ever! Hurrah, hours most people are enjoying and doing something fun, just gone.
I’m telling all posters again and for the last time. Contribute, post something useful, add something, or face deletion and blacklisting.
Apologies if in anyway I contributed to the mudfest.
It wasn’t you frankie, I appreciate your posts.
Sorry about that.Most Comment threads have that problem ,Local and National ones…You aren’t old enough maybe to remember the CBing craze back in the 1970’s ….The really simple and inane people took it over with that Yada Yada Yada back and forth talk and killed it for a anyone else..
Ban TJ and Rio and that would take care of 90% of the nuisance posts.
Ban
TJ and Riothe “LOL@Lola” nonsense and that would take care of 90% of the nuisance posts.how about movoto posts where the $ per sq foot is still possitive
Those are OK. This is not directed at any one poster but the most annoying posts are not the one-liners or the short back-and-forth, they can be entertaining and easy to roll past. It’s the long copy’n'paste of 14 paragraphs of stuff that makes you scroll forever. If i was going to suggest a rule it’d be 3 paragraphs and a link max.
40 miles, 3 days, no phone and no internets:
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20150906_141621.jpg
Region VIII
Beautiful. Reminds me of the lake my sisters and I hiked to a couple of years ago near the Frasier River. Can’t wait to get back there again.
I’m goin’.
This is Wyoming, not Colorado. We went in from Lander, up through Pinto Park (closest direct view of Cirque of the Towers), down through Ice Lakes Basin, up into Stough Creek Basin, and back down and out. C used to live in Jackson, and she informed that the season for backpacking in the Wind River Range without snow or mosquitoes is only 6-8 weeks long.
Region VIII
I knew that lake did not look right.
“I knew that lake did not look right.”
That alpine lake wouldn’t be possible without professional consulting and financing services provided by Goldman Sachs.
‘ Wind River Range without snow or mosquitoes is only 6-8 weeks long.’
The Sierra Nevada, the John Muir Trail in particular, has the same window, August to September +/- . The weather during those weeks is near perfect though. Bucket list combo of hiking the whole Colorado Trail from July into August and finishing up with a thru-hike of the JMT.
“In the end, there is very little “Coexisting” in the land of “Coexist” bumper stickers.”
File this under “No sh#t, Sherlock”.
I don’t know how I managed to get that post here.
But since I’m here anyway, is that one of Cecil’s cubs in the picture?
1/2 pit 1/2 Chesapeake retriever.
Good looking pup.
Listed property investor Green Reit believes that there is a risk that Dublin’s office market will be oversupplied from 2018 as new developments now under way begin to come on stream.
The company on Monday said it had delivered a total return of 24.4 per cent in 2015, sending the stock soaring by 2.7 per cent in early morning trading, although it closed slightly down at €1.47.
Green Reit said its 24 properties were worth €968.3 million at its year end on June 30th, 24.2 per cent more than 12 months earlier. The fund produced a portfolio income yield of 5.2 per cent and investment yield of 5.4 per cent, while the fund’s earnings per share rose by 23.6 per cent to 23.5 cents.
Speaking after the publication of its results on Monday morning, Pat Gunne, chief executive of Green Property Reit Ventures, said that the capital’s office market is facing “ possible oversupply” from 2018 onwards.
He pointed out that five million square feet of new space is under development. “One million is pre-let and we would expect the other four million to be funded over the next 12 months,” Mr Gunne added.
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/green-reit-predicts-office-oversupply-in-dublin-by-2018-1.2343040
I suspect Dublin is not the only city in Europe which will suffer from an over supply of office space.
Post Labor Day musings:
It seems to me the economy consists of two components: the Consumption Market and the Hope Market. Pumping up the Hope Market doesn’t help the Consumption Market.
The Consumption Market is the market for goods and services for consumption. The Hope Market is the market for products that will yield profit in the future - investment items of some sort. I call it the Hope Market because it sells hope for profit in the future.
The problem is that while it is relatively easy to pump up the Hope Market with printed money, debt and financial engineering, it is not possible to goose the Consumption Market in this way. The Consumption Market grows when value is added, either via new technology, or via people who both consume and add value. It grows with the creation and consumption of goods and services.
Money from the Consumption Market can find its way to the Hope Market, but the Hope Market does not seem to boost the Consumption Market. This is due to the nature how profit is achieved in the Hope Market. The Hope Market seems to be Pareto optimal in the intermediate term. i.e Wall Street doesn’t leave money on the table.
The summary is there is little or no financial manipulation that can be done to increase value in the Consumption Market. If such a manipulation existed, it could be applied to say, Haiti, or Greece. But such a thing does not exist. Any value which can be added through effortless manipulations of a balance sheet or the stroke of a pen is at best ephemeral. New technology and people who both consume and add value cannot be created with the stroke of a pen.
“It seems to me the economy consists of two components: the Consumption Market and the Hope Market. Pumping up the Hope Market doesn’t help the Consumption Market.”
“… the Consumption Market and the Hope Market.”
You have nailed it. I’ll add my two cents:
Prices in the Consumption Market are related to intrinsic values and consumers have a sense of what these intrinsic values are and will thus buy more product when prices go down and they will buy less when prices go up - just as it is taught in Econ101.
But there are no intrinsic values in the hope-driven Hope Market thus the only way to establish value in the Hope Market is by price, meaning in such a market the price equals the value.
And price is something that is voted on, voted on by the decisions of the buyers and sellers. If the voters are of sound minds then prices will reflect this soundness. Is the voters are crazy then prices will become crazy.
In the Hope Market - a market whereby price equals value - the price rise, and not the price itself, is what becomes the major attraction: The higher the rise in price the higher the rise in value, the higher the rise in value the higher is the hope that prices will rise further and will thus create even greater value.
The Hope Market feeds on itself: As prices rise, values rise. As values rises, hopes rises. And this will continue to go on until one of two things happen:
1. There is a sudden shift in the perception of value, or
2. The potential buyers who are filled with hope cannot get access to money.
So, stocks, real estate, possibly a college education, etc. are in the category of Hope market?
A house is a hybrid item. Think of set theory, with two overlapping circles. The Consumption Market and the Hope Market do have some overlaps: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/diagrams/fig2.png
A college education would fit into the hope market, if it were done as an effort to improve one’s marketability, resulting in future profit. For the landed gentry who don’t need to worry about the marketability of their education, it would be a consumption item.
Stocks are solely in the Hope Market, as they have little other value than the possibility of selling them for more later.
Stocks are solely in the Hope Market, as they have little other value than the possibility of selling them for more later.
Some of them pay dividends.
Perception and PPT is keeping the market afloat. $600 billion stimulus by China to rescue its deflating stocks.
The origin of the first PPT was from the 1987 U.S. stock market crash. Personally I started investing after the crash, in my late 20s. Unaware until maybe about ten years ago there was anything called “Working Group” or PPT. That is 28 years of mostly success. So I can see why the banksters would have confidence in bringing back the market.
But the debts keep growing. At some point the institutions will refuse to buy bonds. They will be the chain event of loss of confidence, not the small investor. The institutions know that the deficit cannot go on forever and it will have to be paid back. Sure a lot of bag holders are cashing out and buying islands or farmland in several different nations.
That’s the idea. The small investor has to have something to fall back on. 1) Farmland - forget the house, I can live in a trailer on ten acres in Santa Maria and have my own food. 2) Precious metals. 5,000 year history. Despite the snarkiness from the peanut gallery saying it’s a barbarous relic. 3) liquor. A man loves to drink. 4) Tobacco. 5) Spare parts for Honda cars. 6). Ammo and firearms, lots of ammo and several different firearms - ar 15s, 12 gauge, 9mm, 45 caliber. 7) Paper money. Lots of it. You have all this stuff, you have things to trade with. If paper money is no good you can use precious metals. If metals are no good you can barter.
You can live in a city and have farmland in a place with plenty of water hundreds of miles away. You take your truck with shell and a mattress and camp out on your farm if you don’t have a trailer. You can lease out your farm to others. I know twin brothers in Iowa who have 160 acres and do just that. They lease out their farmland.
“Despite the snarkiness from the peanut gallery saying it’s a barbarous relic.”
John Maynard Keynes = peanut gallery?
” it’s a barbarous relic.” If it were truly a barbarous relic why would the government(s) be spending so much effort to keep the price down. It is stuck somewhere in limbo. Too high for the jewelry market and too low for the precious metal holders to turn a milestone profit over the last 10+ years to beat the likes of apple or google stocks.
One theory: if the PTB didn’t supress PM prices (at least paper prices), “real” PM prices might spook the public into awakening about how dire our overall financial condition really is.
Plus, in the mean time, those in the know are buying up every bit of physical PM that they can get their hands on while prices are down.
“Gold is money. Everything else is credit.” - J. P. Morgan
“Lots of it”
If there never is a crash to chaos, what would you want to do?
Camping in the back of a pick-up can be a b*tch during weather extremes…
Two other points I wanted to hit on:
1) By Pareto Optimal, I mean the Hope Market in many ways is a zero sum game. It goes up when more money flows into it and goes down when money flows out. Most of the Hope Market are financial markets, and the big players there are extraordinarily keen and ruthless competitors. They don’t leave money on the table.
2) I don’t think anyone ever went bankrupt selling hope.
THE man who predicted the US housing market crash that preceded the global financial crisis has hit out at “manic-depressive” investors panicking over China’s market meltdown.
Nouriel Roubini, co-founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics and professor at New York University, believes markets are being too pessimistic about Chinese growth.
Speaking at the Ambrosetti global economics forum on Italy’s Lake Como last week, Mr Roubini — referred to as ‘Dr Doom’ due to his notoriously pessimistic pronouncements — surprised many with his slightly more upbeat assessment.
He said the markets had swung from extreme optimism a few months ago about China having a “soft landing”, to the view that the country was now in “free-fall” and heading for a “real hard landing”.
“I think the markets are now becoming slightly too pessimistic about Chinese economic growth and the ability of the policy authorities to manage the growth slowdown, the movements of the currency and stock market,” he told Bloomberg News.
http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/markets-too-pessimistic-about-china-argues-economist-nouriel-roubini/story-fnu2pycd-1227517959346
I think I may a slight idea where his money is invested; of cause I could be being overly cynical.
that should have read
I think I may have a slight idea where his money is invested; of cause I could be being overly cynical.
My bad, still I’m being punished I’m off working in Wales for three to four days.
Let me explain what happens today. The Masters of the Universe return from summer vacations in Martha’s Vineyard and get back to “work” spending other people’s money and creating more debt. Up up and away today.
Heard on the Street
WSJ PRO
China Bleeds Foreign Exchange Reserves
By Alex Frangos
Updated Sept. 7, 2015 6:33 p.m. ET
A $100 billion here, a $100 billion there, and pretty soon you are talking about real money.
China’s foreign-exchange reserves fell by just under $94 billion during the market mayhem in August, to $3.56 trillion, the central bank reported Monday. On a percentage basis, it was the biggest one- month drop since May 2012, which was also during a bout of currency depreciation and hard-landing fears.
…
Marketwatch dot com
PBOC intervention behind record FX reserves drop
By MarketWatch
Published: Sept 8, 2015 9:40 a.m. ET
BEIJING–China’s central bank said Tuesday that the record drop of foreign-exchange reserves in August was partly due to its own intervention, as well as increased demand for foreign currency from Chinese companies and individual investors.
In its first public statement since reporting Monday that the reserves fell $93.9 billion, to $3.56 trillion, in August, the People’s Bank of China cited “multiple factors,” including its own market intervention, price fluctuations in reserve assets, and movements of other foreign currencies.
For the reserves, the drop was the largest monthly fall on record. It came as the central bank aggressively bought the yuan and sold dollars to prevent the Chinese currency from slipping further and capital leaving the country following a surprise 2% devaluation.
The central bank statement, which was posted on its website, said its moves provided more foreign-currency liquidity to the market. It also said that increased foreign-exchange holdings by domestic enterprises and individual investors also contributed to the plunge of the official reserves.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the bank said that the reserve requirement it imposed on banks engaged in trading of currency forwards last week doesn’t amount to “capital controls,” but is a way to reduce speculation on the yuan.
Overall, the bank said, the Chinese economy is still growing at a fast pace and the market remains attractive to global investors. As the yuan exchange rate becomes more market-based, the bank said, it will be “normal” to see ups and downs in China’s foreign-exchange reserves.
…
“I think the markets are now becoming slightly too pessimistic about Chinese economic growth and the ability of the policy authorities to manage the growth slowdown, the movements of the currency and stock market,”
I wonder why?
China’s Stocks Sink Most Since 2007 as State Intervention Fails
Bloomberg News
August 23, 2015 — 6:24 PM PDT
Updated on August 24, 2015 — 1:10 AM PDT
China’s Sinking Stocks Plunge Lower
China’s stocks plunged the most since 2007 as government support measures failed to allay investor concern that a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is deepening.
The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 8.5 percent to 3,209.91 at the close to erase its gains for the year. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese stocks in Hong Kong fell 5.8 percent to its lowest level since March 2014. Futures on the CSI 300 Index declined by the 10 percent daily limit.
…
Oh, no — not the Bon Jovi concerts!
I’m with the banned: China blocks Bon Jovi gigs
New Jersey group were due to perform their first Chinese shows next week, but previous use of Dalai Lama image may have prompted officials to intervene
Jon Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi were scheduled to perform in Shanghai next Monday and in Beijing the following Thursday.
Photograph: Andrew Chin/Getty Images
Jennifer Duggan in Shanghai
Tuesday 8 September 2015 08.20 EDT
Last modified on Tuesday 8 September 2015 09.37 EDT
Bon Jovi fans in China have been given a taste of bad medicine after authorities pulled the plug on plans for the group’s first concerts in the country.
The band were scheduled to perform in Shanghai next Monday and in Beijing the following Thursday. Tickets were priced from 480 to 3,880 yuan (£49-£395). The ticketing website Damai.cn posted on its official Weibo account that it had stopped selling tickets for the gigs.
It is believed the concerts were scrapped because the band used an image of the Dalai Lama as a backdrop at a gig in Taiwan in 2010, the Financial Times reported.
The concerts were to have been Bon Jovi’s first in China and had been eagerly promoted by band members. In August Jon Bon Jovi sang in Mandarin on a recording of the Moon Represents My Heart, a popular love song, as a “special gift to Chinese fans” before the dates.
…
how come a group of 8 folks decide whether or not people get interest on their savings?
Because they can and until they cannot they will. Sad but true afraid.
Because 95% of ‘Muricans voted to bend over for them and their bankster accomplices.
Speaking of which, for the dupes voting once again for the Oligopoly-approved Wall Street water carriers, your bumper stickers are ready.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/expd/16629031224/
You thinking of voting for Trump?
If Trump really does run on his own money just so that he can brag that he’s not beholden to bankers/Kochs/etc, that alone is enough to get my vote. To re-jigger an old phrase: Sure, he’ll be a b*st*rd, but he’ll be his OWN b*st*rd.
Hear, hear, oxide. I’m with you. So far, it looks like his own money, although I’ve heard that some people (no clue who they are) are putting together a Super Pac in support of him. I’m not really sure how that works, I thought that was the “soft money” thing where they can’t outright contribute to the campaign, but do their own advertising and public relations with respect to issues related to their candidate’s campaign.
I just want the White House to have gold bidets.
No bubbles here…
—————
The $1 million parking spot is here
Ryan Daly - August 20, 2015 - Fortune
The Wall Street Journal might have the answer. In cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Boston, parking prices have reached an all-time high, according to the Journal, with at least two new developments in Manhattan asking $1 million for a single parking spot.
“Condominium developers are touting parking spaces with glossy brochures and promotional videos, marketing the small patches of concrete as luxury amenities,” the Journal said.
Stories of a $1 million parking spot graced the Internet last year when the new development at 42 Crosby Street in Manhattan set that record, high-bar price.
With parking prices in major metropolitan areas on the rise—a parking spot in San Francisco sold, for example, at $82,000 last year—the amount of asphalt for us to share is dwindling, and building owners are cashing in.
You’ve go to park somewhere!
You should see the tight spots Brits squeeze their cars into. And the self driving google car here? Fugedaboutit! They won’t even drive cars with automatic transmissions, even though they are stuck in gridlock more often than not. They see rowing through a gearbox as a basic human right.
Where NOT to buy a house.
————————
Murder, murder, everywhere,
FrontPage Magazine | September 7, 2015 | Matthew Vadum
Murder rates are skyrocketing in large U.S. cities, but President Obama’s progressive pro-crime policies and endless racial provocations have nothing to do with it, the New York Times predictably declared in a recent article.
Nowadays Americans are being killed and maimed explicitly because of their race. Execution-style cop killings are becoming distressingly common. Killings and vicious assaults based on the skin color of the civilian victim are also becoming common.
The “most plausible explanation of the current surge in lawlessness is the intense agitation against American police departments over the past nine months,” wrote Mac Donald in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
The report highlights these troubled cities: Milwaukee (murders up 76 percent); St. Louis (up 60 percent); Baltimore (up 56 percent); Washington, D.C. (up 44 percent); New Orleans (up 22 percent); Chicago (up 20 percent); Kansas City, Mo. (up 20 percent); Dallas (up 17 percent); New York (up 9 percent); and Philadelphia (up 4 percent).
Law enforcement experts blame “disparate factors” though “no one is claiming to know for sure why murder rates are climbing,” Davey and Smith write. Recycling boilerplate from old news articles, they write that rivalries between “organized street gangs,” “the availability of guns,” and “a growing willingness among disenchanted young men in poor neighborhoods to use violence to settle ordinary disputes” are major factors.
St. Louis, Mo., police chief Sam Dotson has been credited with coining the term the “Ferguson effect.” He was referring to the Left’s never-ending drumbeat against the police which is causing some cops to refrain from using force when it is appropriate. Recently in Birmingham, Alabama, a plainclothes police officer was beaten senseless by an angry black driver. The cop admits he hesitated in defending himself because he was afraid he might be called racist.
Execution-style cop killings and assaults on police are becoming more commonplace ever since two New York City police officers were gunned down in their squad car last December.
This summer oft-deported illegal alien Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez became the poster child for so-called sanctuary cities across America which harbor illegals and frustrate federal immigration enforcement efforts. He murdered Kate Steinle in cold blood at a San Francisco tourist destination for no apparent reason.
Much of the rest of it has been inspired by the community organizer in the White House and his minion, the former Attorney General Eric Holder. The mainstream media has been playing a supporting role, turning every police shooting of a person of color into a cause célèbre, regardless of the circumstances leading to the shooting.
“It’s open season on killing white people and cops. It’s unavoidable, unescapable.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Democrat Party) was right.
And any time you point out the fact that 70% of black children in this country are born out of wedlock, the “progressives” trip over themselves making excuse after excuse trying to pin it all on whitey, on Republicans, on guns, etc.
Obama owns this. The Democrat Party owns this.
It doesn’t have to be racial. 70% of any community, whether the poor in Appalachia or anywhere. I don’t even care so much about the wedlock as that this so readily translates into growing up without a dad around.
True dat. But the progressives who all live in lily white rich neighborhoods can’t breathe without exhaling the word “racist.” I doubt that any of the progressives who post on HBB have spoken to a black person anytime in the past week, or month perhaps.
I doubt that any of the progressives who post on HBB have spoken to a black person anytime in the past week, or month perhaps.
Well I know all about that in America, however I spoke to two people of color today, and I live in a “lily white rich neighborhood“. (If there is such a thing in Rio)
Actually that’s a big difference living in a major city in Brazil as opposed to most of America. Brazil is half “people of color“. There is much more contact every day between everyone.
Does that make Brazil a better example of race relations than America? Not at all. But it’s a lot different.
You live in a 3rd world ghetto my friend.
That Moynihan report was 50 years ago. The white illegitimacy rate is currently higher than the back rate was back then. Someone needs to write something up on the effect of that on white America.
I went looking for the uptick in murders in U.S. cities. Here’s what I found.
By Max Ehrenfreund September 4
Crime appears to be on the rise in some cities, and that has cops and ordinary people concerned. Police chiefs from around the country met last month to talk about the situation. In Washington last week, there’s concern about a spike in murders. The alarming headline “Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many Cities” appeared on the front page of the New York Times on Tuesday morning.
Overall, though, things haven’t changed much from the past several years, at least judging by the number of homicides committed in major cities. While the number of homicides has increased in many big cities, the increases are moderate, not more than they were a few years ago. Meanwhile, crime has declined in other cities.
Overall, most cities are still far safer than they were two decades ago, and virtually all of that improvement has remained. That’s when the rate of violent crime began a long, steep decline nationally. Although violent crime has been decreasing overall, the general trend hasn’t been uniform. The data on crime so far this year does not show clearly that the trend toward safer streets is ending or reversing.
The total number of homicides in 2013 and 2014 in the 10 largest cities was 1,871 and 1,889 respectively. If current trends continue, there will be 2,178 homicides in those cities this year. That number would be less than the total for 2012 (2,224) and for any previous year since at least 1985 in those 10 cities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/09/04/the-crime-wave-in-u-s-cities-doesnt-show-up-in-the-data/
Then the year after that? And 2 more years? The reality is that the data isn’t yet in and it will take about 5 years to show this trend to the satisfaction of the naysayers.
Then the year after that? And 2 more years?
You’ll have to wait. No one knows what will happen next year.
How’s The Left’s War on Policing affecting big city crime rates? Are criminals now able to run amok with no fear of retribution?
Personally, I think it is Global Warming meets “we need more gun control.”
————
8 Killed, 46 Wounded In Labor Day Weekend Shootings
CBS Chicago | September 8, 2015
Eight people were killed and at least 46 others wounded in shootings across Chicago over Labor Day weekend, police said.
Young black males without fathers killing young black males without fathers.
Just another weekend in Obama’s America.
Forward.
“…without fathers…”
That’s racis’
“Obama is to blame for everything”
Unsuccessful Joe
“…without fathers…”
Even the “immaculate conception” required a father.
Which “immaculate conception?”
Horus?
this is a fun read: The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors: Christianity Before Christ by Kersey Graves
Chicago update……
http://www.theburningplatform.com/2015/09/08/labor-day-weekend-in-chicago-they-should-have-ducked/
“… and vicious assaults based on the skin color of the civilian victim are also becoming common.”
aka Polar Bear hunting.
It’s a given that Yellen is going to unleash a new counterfeiting bing, i.e. more QE4/helicopter money. The only thing that can stop her is if investors, belatedly recognizing the Fed is going to print away all government debts and liabilities (as well as the gambling losses of its TBTF bank patrons) stop dumping US Treasuries - forcing yields sharply higher, and forcing the US to divert billions in additional interest income on its ballooning debt. Couldn’t happen, could it?
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/Bond/TMUBMUSD10Y?countrycode=BX
Happy Labor Day!
For those who want to work - the worst in 38 years…
————
Labor Day 2015: 93.7 million American adults aren’t working & aren’t trying
Sharylattkisson.com | September 7, 2015 | Sharyl Attkisson
According to the U.S. government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor participation rate has hit 62.6 percent. That’s the worst in 38 years, since the dog days of 1977. The “labor participation rate” measures the percentage of people age 16 or older who are working or actively looking for a job.
That’s because of a statistical decision the government made in 1994. It decided that people who aren’t working and haven’t been interested in looking for a job for a long time shouldn’t be counted as unemployed. They are simply removed from the calculation, as if they don’t exist.
Using this statistical method, the Bureau of Labor Statistics removed 640,000 Americans from unemployment statistics in June. They joined almost 94 million others who aren’t working and aren’t looking.
“For those who want to work …” That’s the core problem. Some people think everyone wants to work, there just aren’t enouh jobs. Others believe there are able bodied adults who do not want to work, especially if they are being otherwise provided for, regardless of thejob situation.
What is the truth?
Tampa Bay couple forced to sell their condo at a loss (to them) so it can be converted by infestors to apartment. There’s a weird irony to this, because at the top of the bubble, renters were being tossed out of apartments that were being converted to condos.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/tampa-bay-couple-in-awful-situation-as-condo-converted-to-apartment/2244543
Never buy a condo in Florida, ever, for any reason.
Scammers getting scammed….???
———–
The rental income and a loan modification saved them from foreclosure; many other owners in Bay Isle Key were not so fortunate.
Before then, major repairs or termination of a condo association required the approval of 100 percent of the unit owners. But as foreclosures and two busy hurricane seasons left many units damaged and vacant, the Florida Legislature in 2007 lowered the threshold to 80 percent.
1) Never enter a land war in Asia.
2) Never go against a Sicilian, when death is on the line.
3) Never buy a Florida condo.
Never assume a Lola is going to defend the sanctity of work.
It’s sad. This also happened to a lady in Winter Springs, FL.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-condo-termination-20150224-story.html
All Floridians should call their local State House Representative new legislation in Tallahassee changes the law. It’s sad when Florida Citizens are getting fleeced coming and going, and the only ones making out are Investment Bankers and Developers.
There is a moral in this story somewhere…
————–
50 Cent posts video of house in Africa amid bankruptcy
7 September 2015 - BBC News
US rapper 50 Cent has posted a film on Instagram showing his new house in Africa even though he has filed for bankruptcy in the US.
He said on the post: “My crib is almost finished in AFRICA. I’m gonna have the craziest House warming party ever.”
In July he filed for bankruptcy days after a jury ruled he had to pay $5m (£3.2m) to a woman suing him over a leaked sex tape.
Forbes estimated in May that 50 Cent’s net worth was $155m.
The video shows people working outside the house but gives few clues to its location.
Reaction across the media and Twitter has been that of surprise given he had filed for bankruptcy.
The entertainer, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, said at the time that filing for bankruptcy was a “strategic business move”.
“strategic business move” A.K.A. making it someone else’s problem.
Excellent article.
The Rosa Parks of our day.
———–
The Rule Of Law Only Matters When The Left Says It Does
Daily Caller | 9/7/15 | Scott Greer
Make no doubt about it: officials will go to jail if they refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Oddly enough, the anti-Davis faction includes plenty of folks from the right as well as the unified consensus of the left. However, the Kentucky clerk’s conservative critics — which includes the judge who sentenced her to jail — don’t view her as a demonic bigot like her liberal foes. They simply see her act as a grave legal offense.
Fair enough. Unfortunately though, we live in a society where its rules are regularly disregarded by those in power and by those on the left. Interestingly enough, those are the same folks who are the most enthusiastic supporters for throwing the Kentucky clerk in jail.
The same liberals who cheer on illegal immigrants, felons and rioters have suddenly found their inner appreciation for the law and demand the state punish Kim Davis to the fullest extent. The unbridled glee that accompanied Davis’s arrest revealed the left loves enforcing the law — when it punishes their ideological opponents.
However, when the rule of law goes against sanctuary cities and other “noble” causes, the left occupies the high moral ground and says they are practicing civil disobedience in refusing to enforce the unjust laws of the federal government.
Nobody has died because Kim Davis told a gay couple she won’t give them a marriage license. People die because sanctuary cities refuse to abide by federal law. Taxpayers also have to foot the bill for the services and benefits illegally obtained by those sheltered in these disobedient cities. The only real cost to taxpayers in l’affaire Davis is her prison stay.
The left also doesn’t seem too concerned with Hillary Clinton’s clear violation of federal law concerning emails — even though that “oversight” could have jeopardized national security. But don’t expect Hillary to face the same consequences as the lowly rural Kentucky clerk.
It’s abundantly clear that the left has no concern for the rule of law. They want to see Davis in jail to send a message to those last hold outs in the culture war: “We control the state, and we will use it against you.”
The whole ordeal was engineered to prove this point. The denied couple came to make an example out of the Rowan County clerk, knowing full-well they’d get the enthusiastic support of the legal system and national media.
Conservatives should understand then that the Davis saga is not about upholding the rule of law. It’s a mop-up operation against those resisting America’s cultural transformation.
When our ruling class feels no need to respect the rule of law when it suits their interests, we shouldn’t be shocked when a minor official does the same thing.
Some may say the true act of civil disobedience for Davis would’ve been to resign. That would’ve only been a gift to same-sex marriage supporters and would constitute grudging acceptance for the new law of the land. By not resigning, she has forced the issue out in the public square which would’ve never happened if she quit her job quietly.
I could add much more to this list.
——————–
10 Great Moments In Government: The Obama Years Edition
Townhall.com | September 8, 2015 | John Hawkins
When future generations of Americans look back at the Obama years and try to figure out why government was so dysfunctional…
1) They Bring Illegal Aliens Into The United States: One of the most fundamental jobs of the U.S. government is securing our borders in order to keep foreigners from entering our nation at will. Not only has the Obama Administration completely and utterly failed at that task, it has created “family reunification programs” that fly illegal aliens INTO America so they can be with their relatives who have already broken the law to be here.
2) Guam Might Tip Over: During a House Armed Services Committee meeting in 2010, Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson had a somber, serious, dry conversation with an admiral about the danger of Guam becoming overpopulated and CAPSIZING.
3) Trust, But Don’t Verify With Iran
4) Choose A Tax Cheat For Treasury Secretary: In a nation of 318 million people, the one person Obama wanted to be in charge of our tax code was tax cheat Timothy Geithner. When even the man who’s ultimately in charge of the IRS cheats on his taxes, what message does that send to the rest of the country?
5) EPA Facilitates Mine Spill: While examining a gold mine in Colorado, the EPA managed to accidentally dump a million gallons of toxic sludge into the Animas River in Colorado.
6) Pass It To Find Out What’s In It: Nancy Pelosi told the American people that, “We have to pass the (Obamacare) bill so that you can find out what is in it,” and bizarrely, that turned out to be true because almost every promise that was made about the Affordable Care Act was a lie.
9) The JV Team Defeats Obama And Takes Over Part Of Iraq: Despite the fact that we’ve had troops in nations like Japan and Germany for 70 years, after Bush’s surge pacified Iraq, Obama engineered a complete pull-out of American troops. As a result, ISIS, which he had previously referred to as the “JV Team” has now taken control of a significant chunk of Iraq and Syria.
10) Who Needs To Read The Bills? During the debate over Obamacare, Americans learned Democrats aren’t even reading the bills they’re supporting anymore when John Conyers said,
“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill.’ What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”
When the same people who tell you that giving more power to government is the solution to every problem admit they aren’t even reading legislation that impacts the lives of every American before they support it, it tells you a lot about why America has become so dysfunctional.
#9: It wouldn’t matter how long we stayed or how many troops we kept there, Iraq would be a mess. Granted we have a REAL mess now with ISIS or whatever they’re called now. But there wouldn’t have been ANY mess if Bush and his neo-con buddies hadn’t gone in there.
My goodness, you can actually tell the future after a change.
In my opinion Saddam would have taken Kuwait and then proceed to take over all of the middle east , because there was no one to stop him and his Army.
And that would have been good for Iraq, but not for the rest of the middle ease, but I am not sure it would be bad for them!
saddam was like Hitler, take what you can until someone stops you!
But, you may believe otherwise!
And lets not forget that Obama followed Bush’s timetable almost to the day for pulling out of Iraq.
If you think the differences between D&R are more than just for show and you vote on them, then YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.
With precious few exceptions, they’re all owned by the same money donors who donate to BOTH candidates in any given race to hedge their bets and secure their rackets. If you believe anytyhing else really matters then you are a fool.
Yet another black swan joins the circling flock.
http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-syria-russia-assad-obama-2015-9
Looks like the ultra-easy credit is drying up. Yellen’s print finger must be twitching mightily right about now.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/junk-bond-market-danger-ahead-2015-09-08
More hopium!
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-open-sharply-higher-on-hopes-of-fresh-china-stimulus-2015-09-08?link=MW_latest_news
Marketwatch dot com
Need to Know
In the market fog, a buy-the-dip moment for the brave
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Published: Sept 8, 2015 9:21 a.m. ET
Critical information ahead of the market’s open
MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
Feel that chill? A dark mist is creeping across this market faster than you can say Adrienne Barbeau. It’s September, and the odds are stacked against stocks turning in anything but a crappy performance this month. Then, of course, there’s the possibility of a Fed interest-rate hike.
BTIG’s chief strategist Dan Greenhaus says when August is “particularly poor, September ends up being horrible.” Here’s a stat to make your the hairs on your neck stand up: When the S&P 500 closes out August with a loss of 5% or more, September is negative 75% of the time, with a median loss of 5.25%. Last month’s loss was 6.3%, the steepest monthly loss since May 2012.
…
“he worries that South Florida is drifting back into bubble territory,”
As near as I can tell, at least in decent hoods in Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens, South Florida was only out of “bubble territory” from about mid 2009 to late 2010 and not too far out then.
Florida could be headed for another housing slide
By Jim Tankersley August 18
McCabe is, by many accounts in the Florida real estate community, a go-to expert on the sprawling market that includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. He predicted the state’s housing crash a decade ago and the Great Recession that followed it.
And increasingly, he worries that South Florida is drifting back into bubble territory, in danger of another collapse that could hurt homeowners and investors alike.
“We have short memories here in Florida, as I think they do in most places,” McCabe said in a recent interview. “And we’re back at it. Every project is getting approved again. Particularly in the luxury condo sector, there’s going to be a crash in prices in the next few years.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/18/florida-could-be-headed-for-another-housing-slide/
Posting this as an example of what the Facebook/Twitter slacktivists like to get all excited about. I thought perhaps they’d moved on to the court clerk in Kentucky refusing gay marriage licenses, but apparently Cecil the Lion isn’t over yet:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/08/us-zimbabwe-wildlife-lion-idUSKCN0R81FF20150908
Remember #Kony2012? #BringBackOurGirls? #IceBucketChallenge?
One day they will realize that they can’t change the world from their couch and a twitter account…
These are the people with the spacer/disk ear piercings and full sleeve tattoos who will turn 30 wondering why they’re still working at Starbucks. Changing the world, one latte at a time.
Agree on the permanent self-mutilations. Whatever happened to self-expression via crazy clothes, crazy makeup, crazy hair dye, and simple piercings in *ahem* visible places — all temporary?
Amazing how fast democrats will threaten and throw you in jail for ignoring EOs and judicial rulings.
Amazing how fast democrats ignore actual laws passed by a congress/senate and signed by a previous president and feel they are doing God’s work. And are lauded by the press.
BTW - what is “wage theft” except a made up issue?
Your banana republic at work…
——————
Hillary: ‘I Am Going To Make Some Employers Go to Jail
National Review | 09/08/2015 | Tom S. Elliott
Speaking at a Labor Day rally in Hampton, Ill., today Hillary Clinton threatened to imprison employers for “wage theft.”
“We’re going to go back to enforcing labor laws,” Clinton said. “I’m going to make sure that some employers go to jail for wage theft and all the other abuses that they engage in.”
“And we are going to make it harder and harder to stop what should be the right of every American: to join a union and bargain collectively through that union,” she continued. “But, I’ll tell you, we’ve got a fight on our hands.”
The presumed 2016 Democratic candidate also endorsed President Obama’s executive order mandating government contractors provide employees “paid leave.”
Hitlary is so big on laws except those that protect national security.
Laws and taxes are for the little people.
Please donate generously to the Clinton Foundation and Charities.
You will be doing God’s work.
Plus avoiding an IRS Audit.
Might want to head back and look at the Blood Scandal articles back in the 90’s for some reference to BillHill and their appreciation of simple human life. BillHill are scum - that is all.
Click bait tidbit:
“After 9 years of marriage, Patricia Kluge divorced husband John Kluge, founder of Metromedia, and received a 200-acre estate and $1 million a year in a divorce settlement, according to Forbes. About 20 years later, in 2011, she was bankrupt from pouring all her money into a vineyard that she’d purchased near her home, taking on too much debt in order to expand, and subsequently suffering through the real estate crash. After her property was foreclosed upon, real estate tycoon Donald Trump bought the vineyard for $6.2 million, according to Fox News.”
RE only goes up?
It sounds like there is a whole lot more to that story…
Most of the formerly rich who crashed cited excessive debt.
Here’s a shot from a news story in Mississippi… the most obese state.
http://picpaste.com/mississippi_girth.jpg
You’re just jealous you don’t have a Bojangles where you live
http://www.bojangles.com/
Ah, Bojangles…the sponsor of the weekend’s NASCAR Cup race…
I’ll be jealous when I see goon snacking on one at 10,000-ft.
No Bojangles in the Centennial State
Friend shared this on Facebook, article titled “The Harsh Truth About Progressive Cities”
http://madison365.com/index.php/2015/09/03/what-no-one-wants-to-talk-about-race-and-progressive-cities
Article notes prevalence of COEXIST stickers in all white neighborhoods, because progressives are racist hypocrites.
Here’s a helping of right wing institutional racism for you Goon. This will help you stay grounded in reality instead of getting all obsessed with false memes about “progressive racism”:
http://goo.gl/pk2n8u
There’s a fat Soros payoff for that chief that must make his pension look like chump change.
Population 1745. What is NYC’s population again?
WPA = white people apologizing.
And on another topic, I’m on the treadmill now watching the FoxNewsHate, and the upcoming segment will feature John Bolton warning us about scary scary ISIS.
And bloging at the same time???
John Bolton wants to draft you for the Next War. All that mountain hiking would make you a great candidate for the infantry.
Put them in the FEMA camps.
Cities and towns need to commit to doing somethings differently, Wise says, that will take away the option for white folks to continue to ignore racial issues. “We need to implement policies that limit the ability of white people to opt out of this work,” says Wise, who was recently part of a panel on “Undoing Racism in the Nation’s Cities” for the National League of Cities at the Washington D.C. Newseum.
Was this writer born last night?
“In the end, there is very little “Coexisting” in the land of “Coexist” bumper stickers.”
File this under “No sh#t, Sherlock”.
Once again, go take a look at one of those bumper stickers. The message has to do with people of different religions, not races, coexisting.
That’s a good thing cause those white liberals aren’t doing a very good job of coexisting with other races.
So a new bumper sticker must be the answer.
“So a new bumper sticker must be the answer.”
If you say so, they’re your people.
Madison, Minneapolis, Austin, Portland, San Francisco.
These are America’s most progressive, forward-thinking, open-minded, and social-justice-focused cities. They also have the worst racial disparities in the nation and some of the worst racial segregation.
It just doesn’t make sense on paper. It’s not supposed to be this way. But the statistics don’t lie. Rampant black and brown poverty within blocks of white affluence. Eye-popping racial disparity numbers in employment, education, health, housing, and more. Black and brown people of all socioeconomic backgrounds feeling uncomfortable and unwanted in progressive cities that are often segregated as bad as Jim Crow Deep South. In the end, there is very little “Coexisting” in the land of “Coexist” bumper stickers.
Err…these are all first tier cities (OK - Portland - second tier at worst). You actually have to have first tier qualifications and capability to live the first tier life.
Here in Metro DC, there are a plethora of illiterates who go about with out-thrust lower lips, demanding their “rights”. Belligerent and resentful, they are innumerate and (as already stated) illiterate, and cannot be trusted to send out a corporate memo without review.
Which of course makes them even more belligerent and resentful. At some point, one would think that the lower lip extensions, and the weight of the chips on their shoulders, would throw them off balance.
I cannot wait for an end to SJW “initiatives”.
Friend shared this on Facebook, article titled “The Harsh Truth About Progressive Cities”
But aren’t those progressive cities full of those promiscuous millenials you order like a pizza on Tinder?
Interesting take on intermodal infrastructure…..
http://www.nationaljournal.com/sponsor-content/aar/freight-rails-winning-formula
Glad to see freight getting off the overburdened highway system and back onto trains where it belongs. Too bad we got rid of so many tracks and their associated RR rights-of-way. (Research “rails to trails” if you don’t know what I’m referring to)
Yes . . . sadly, this has happened all over the greater Seattle area. We had at-grade rail lines that could be, right now, used for commuter light rail, but instead the local municipalities and regional transit agencies have ripped up these tracks as fast as they can, because it doesn’t fit in with their ‘vision’ of elevated billions-of-dollars-per-mile light rail.
I think they should keep these former rail trails and put elevated two-track monorail on them - keeping the trail open below. But that will never happen.
One thing that’s useful about the Kim Davis debacle is that it reveals which presidential candidates are not fit for the office. Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee both say ” #IStandWithKimDavis “. There’s a problem with this position.
On Inauguration Day the new president takes an oath, sworn to God, that he or she will uphold the Constitution. This is in direct conflict with supporting Kim Davis’ criminal lawlessness: it shows that Cruz and Huckabee are willing to not uphold the Constitution if they arbitrarily determine, on their own, that something in the scriptures supersedes the Constitution. Doing so represents an unlawful usurpation of power from the judicial branch into the executive branch.
Kim Davis has nothing to do with “religious liberty.” Processing the marriage licences only means the paperwork is correct. Signing off does not mean she approves or condones the SSM. Instead, Kim Davis is anti-liberty: she is trying to use her position in public office to force her religion on others.
Now we now where Cruz and Huckabee stand: against the Constitution and for using the power of the state to deny freedom and happiness among certain people.
It is funny to hear progressives whine about elected officials not following the law (or, in this case, judicial tyranny).
Obama ignoring real laws on immigration - not a peep.
Obama using the IRS to go after political enemies - not a peep.
Obama ignoring a real law on the Defense of Marriage Act - not a peep.
Mayors ignoring real laws of enforcing immigration for sanctuary cities - not a peep.
Now - these are real laws passed by elected officials in the house/senate and signed by a president.
But now we have an elected official ignoring judicial tyranny of five liberal judges while upholding her oath to Kentucky Laws (which have not been changed)…
CRUCIFY HER. JAIL HER. DESTROY HER. AND ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS HER.
Progressive are funny - they never think the what they have done to others will EVER be used against them.
It is coming lefty. It is coming.
no fear
too busy enjoying life
they’re not progressive
try collectivist
socialist
statist
nannyist
maybe fascist?
Small children use the same defense. “Yes, I stole a cookie but but Bobby and Amy do too! And more often than me!”
Kim Davis has nothing to do with “religious liberty.”
This is a valid point.
Processing the marriage licences only means the paperwork is correct. Signing off does not mean she approves or condones the SSM.
This, however, is not. A civil marriage is a bunch of paperwork. If she were to process that paperwork, she would making marriages between two people of the same gender happen.
I haven’t followed the details of what Cruz and Huckabee are have said, but if they’ve just issued statements of support for her decision to go to jail, that doesn’t disqualify them from the presidency.
If she were to process that paperwork, she would making marriages between two people of the same gender happen.
Not at all. Her role is purely clerical and administrative. She has no judicial or executive power, and she has no grounds to accept or reject a marriage application based on circumstances or facts. She’s just a neutral party pushing paper. No violation of her internal beliefs.
TeeVee commercial on the FoxNewsHate right now with lots of fiery graphics and scary warnings about Iran, promoted by this organization the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews:
http://www.ifjc.org
The national debt is now over $18,000,000,000,000, imagine how much a ground invasion of a country with 80+ million population is gonna cost.
And a reminder, if any of you have some children or grandchildren that would like to put their boots on the ground in Iran, I can give them a ride to the airport today.
Are you trying to say that if we don’t agree to this very bad Iran deal we will have to invade Iran?
How about we just keep sanctions in place until a better deal comes around?
See - that was easy. And no rides to the airport are needed.
Since these neocon @ssholes love to crow on TeeVee about how Israel is our best friend and ally and the only democracy in the Middle East, I propose that Iran be subject to the exact same sanctions and nuclear inspections that Israel has.
Iran poses zero threat to the sovereign territory of the United States.
Israel is not the 51st state.
And there is nothing “Christian” about Christian Zionism. Christian = Jesus. Christian Zionism = bloodlust apocalyptic death cult. Know the difference.
” I propose that Iran be subject to the exact same sanctions and nuclear inspections that Israel has.”
LOL, good one!
What do you want in your idea of a better deal?
Then what when we get that, we say, “lets wait for a better deal?”
Then what when we get that, we say, “lets wait for a better deal?”
Then what when we get that, we say, “lets wait for a better deal?”
The supposed big bang that was supposed to happen this month may just end up being a quiet wimper. The way people were out shopping this weekend it felt like 2005 again.
And speaking of neocon wars, article written by real journalists at the New York Times notes there are over 3 million internally displaced people in Iraq, how many have Dick Cheney, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz taken into their homes?
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/world/middleeast/iraq-migrants-refugees-europe.html
“This sucker could go down” — George W. Bush
i love me some Agenda 21
A Los Angeles Plan to Reshape the Streetscape Sets Off Fears of Gridlock
By IAN LOVETTSEPT. 7, 2015
The City Council has approved a far-reaching transportation plan that would reshape the streetscape over the next 20 years, adding hundreds of miles of bicycle lanes, bus-only lanes and pedestrian safety features as part of an effort to nudge drivers out from behind the wheel.
For Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Mobility Plan 2035, as the new program is being called, is part of a larger push to get people out of their cars and onto sidewalks that began with the expansion of the mass transit system championed by his immediate predecessor, Antonio R. Villaraigosa.
The salad days of driving here — when, so the saying went, it took 20 minutes to get anywhere in this city of 500 square miles — are gone, Mr. Garcetti said, and he has encouraged residents to instead stay local and shop at nearby businesses.
“The old model of a car-centric, different-neighborhood-for-every-task city is in many ways slipping through our fingers whether we like it or not,” Mr. Garcetti said. “We have to have neighborhoods that are more self-contained. People want to be able to walk or bike or take transit to a movie.”
http://www.nytimes.com/…s-plan-to-reshape-the-streetscape-sets-off-fears-of-gridlock.html -
salad days of driving
It took us exactly 5 hours to drive 350+ miles from Lander back to my high walkscore neighborhood (87, thank you) in Denver, I was breaking 100mph passing trucks and RVs on 287 between Lander and Rawlins.
Gonna burn alot of gasoline going to Taos and Moab too, but unlike the progressive hypocrites and liars posting on HBB, I’m not in denial about my carbon footprint.
I’m sorry but once the plan is fully implemented your self-contained neighborhood will have a bike path to the micro theater where you will be able to see places like Taos and Moab on the big screen. OK, small screen.
The salad days of driving to Utah and New Mexico will soon be over.
If you have a problem with that you will be able to contact your UN representative on the playlist of your government tracking device.
I and my Jeep will also be enlarging our carbon footprint, once the weather cools down and I can go back to hiking/fourwheeling/exploring in the desert.
Need to rename Goon, “Bigfoot”.
LA is a pit, traffic 24/7. I hate using LAX. Might as well give them alternative transportation like other huge cities. Ever been to Paris? Competition is good.
Comment by phony scandals
2015-09-08 10:22:13
A Los Angeles Plan to Reshape the Streetscape Sets Off Fears of Gridlock
nytimes.com/2015/09/08/us/a-los-angeles-plan-to-reshape-the-streetscape-sets-off-fears-of-gridlock.html
So much LOLZ happening in this article. Progressives (rich white people in segregated all white neighborhoods) in Northwest Washington get to learn how when seconds count, the police are only minutes away:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/street-robbery-attempted-robbery-in-upper-northwest-stir-fresh-concern/2015/09/07/e61d7f34-5575-11e5-abe9-27d53f250b11_story.html
“The robbers made off with a white iPhone 6, cash, a debit card and a Swatch timepiece.” Noooo, not the Swatch timepiece!!
That was a good read, thanks. Ah, the joys of living in the big city.
OK “Amigos”. Now I get to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. It might sound easy for me in a 7 year bubble where my house has “tripled in value” to talk about the benefits of owning outright but that’s too easy right? Well now here it is. Brazil is in the beginning of a major recession and my house is “cratering” in value.
Big deal. Because you know what? I live in my house. It’s paid for . Am I bummed? Sure a little but not much. I knew it was coming someday. I’m here for at least 5-10 years more and I need a nice place to live. IMO the big advantage in owning outright is when prices are going lower, not higher. Because it really doesn’t matter then. It’s paid for. So…..Bring it on! Life is life.
Brazil Real Estate News: Poor Economy In August Puts House Prices Lower
http://www.realtytoday.com/articles/32508/20150904/brazil-real-estate-news-poor-economy-august-puts-house-prices.htm
Brazil’s Real Estate is not in good shape as house prices have gone lower in August. This condition is directly affected by its poor economy.
Any country, be it in American, European, or Asian continent, the poor economic activities would certainly affect the lives of its people in all areas like jobs, house prices, and basic commodities. In the recent report of NASDAQ, Brazil is currently facing multiple concerns like inflation, high interest rate and poor economic activities.
How is the crime? Do you carry a “fake wallet” in case you get mugged?
Or a cheap cell phone to hand over to the thugs?
How is the dating scene?
Brazil sounds like a fun place to tour.
How is the crime?
Crime is getting worse with the economy. It’s a big city. Luckily I can fit in most the time. No fake wallet, they can have any money I carry. I’ve hidden larger amounts of cash outside my wallet on a occasion. I only own a cheap cell phone. They can have it.
How is the dating scene?
I’m married, however, from what I’ve seen, if you don’t speak Portuguese your options are limited in Rio. But there are a few regular bars where regular English speaking Brazilian girls are looking for gringos because they don’t like Brazilian men’s vibe. But most middle-class girls from Rio are not enthralled with gringos because they’ve seen tourists all their lives and we’re not that “special”. Smaller Brazilian cities are very different in this regard. (I’ve heard.)
Brazil sounds like a fun place to tour.
It is a great place to visit. Now living here is a whole different animal.
“they can have any money I carry”
“I’ve hidden larger amounts of cash outside my wallet”
“I only own a cheap cell phone”
“They can have it”
Good god. You’re a prisoner in the deceptive open air, just waiting for the beating to get harder; you hope it won’t, but you know it will. Americans don’t have to live in that sort of fear and resignation… we have the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/07/irs-stonewalls-as-agent-charged-with-sexual-battery-of-woman-during-audit-refuses-breitbart-interview/
There is an interesting article in the WSJ today titled:
“An Obscure Hedge Fund Is Buying Tens of Billions of Dollars of U.S. Treasurys”
It talks of a math whiz running a hedge fund, which is buying a lot of treasuries at auction.
The hedge fund is called “Element Capital Management”.
What raised my eyebrow was the following:
“Element’s activity has raised questions because the cumulative purchases far exceed the hedge fund’s $6 billion in assets under management.”
And:
“In the 1990s, hedge fund Long Term Capital Management used leverage to profit from small discrepancies in the Treasury market before a market reversal swamped the firm. LTCM used much more leverage than Element does.”
And:
“Mr. Talpins graduated in 1997 from Yale, where he was a research assistant for Robert Shiller, the Yale economist who later won a Nobel prize in economics. In a 1996 letter, Mr. Shiller wrote that in terms of overall performance, he “put Jeffrey first out of the 52 Yale undergraduates” who attended his course Economics 252, Finance, Theory and Application.
“I thought he was particularly bright,” recalls Prof. Shiller.”
Hmmm…history doesn’t often repeat, but it does rhyme.
Is this math whiz picking up nickels in front of a steamroller? Is activity like his fund’s keeping Treasuries higher than they should be for longer than they should be (in light of China selling, and the Fed about to raise rates)? Is this akin to the last gasp of investors buying homes in the summer of 2006? The blow-off-the top peak of Treasury prices?
Rental Prices in Brazil Decline by 1.30 Percent Despite Inflation -
http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/rental-prices-in-brazil-continue-to-decline/#sthash.8nj8Qt6g.dpuf
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The effects of an ailing economy and slowly rising unemployment rates have led average prices of residential real estate rentals in Brazil to decline by 1.30 percent over the past twelve months, according to the FipeZap index for July. This drop is happening despite a steady increase in inflation, which is forecasted to reach over nine percent by Brazil’s Central Bank.
….The largest annual rental declines were seen in Rio de Janeiro, down by 6.40 percent and Curitiba, down by 2.81 percent. In a monthly comparison the nine cities registered a negative variation of 0.67 percent, while inflation during the same period rose by 0.62 percent.
The forecast for the inflation in Brazil for 2015 was increased again after data for June and July was registered by the IBGE (Brazilian Statistics Bureau). While the Central Bank’s forecast had reached 9.15 percent for the year on Monday
Use these convenient print-and-go checklists for your back-to-school shopping, broken down by grade:
Glue stick
Crayons
Washable markers
No. 2 pencils
Pencil sharpener
Erasers
Bullet proof vest
Three Illegals Charged in Death of Virginia High School Student
Teen gunned down at bus stop in possible gang-related attack
by Adan Salazar | Infowars.com | September 8, 2015
A Virginia teen’s death last Friday is being blamed on three young immigrants who entered the country illegally.
Police say 17-year-old Danny Centeno-Miranda, who came to the US from El Salvador in 2013 to live with relatives, was the victim of a possible gang related attack while waiting for the school bus Friday.
Centeno-Miranda, who was attending Park View High School in Sterling, was shot twice in the back about 50 yards from the bus stop and later died at the hospital.
Three people were arrested and charged Saturday in connection with his death, including one 17-year-old charged with second-degree murder who was not named due to his age.
Two others, Henry Dominguez Vasquez, 20, and Juan Aguirre Zelaya, 18, were also charged with being accessories and possession of a firearm while in the country illegally, according to Fox News.
“Authorities have learned that the suspects are undocumented immigrants based on information given to them by the suspects, Kraig Troxell, a spokesman for the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, told The Washington Post,” reports Fox News.
Police say the attack was coordinated and possibly motivated by gang affiliations.
We can only pray that someday the GOP does what they promise to do with the illegal immigration problem. Someone has to save us.
Today, Black Knight put out their Mortgage Monitor for July.
There are lots of pretty charts and graphs, but the ones that I think are most interesting are the charts related to HELOC delinquencies by vintage on pages 12 and 13.
It shows what we all assumed to be the case…that there is financial stress for borrowers when a HELOC resets.
It shows that for each vintage HELOC, there is a spike in delinquency rates and non-current rates about 10-years after the HELOC was made.
The 2004 vintage HELOC delinquency rate peaked at about 4.5% and is now on the decline. The 2005 vintage is tracking a bit higher than the 2004 vintage (it will likely peak at something higher than 4.5%)–I’m guessing the 2006 vintage will be higher still.
It also shows that of the 2005 vintage HELOCs are refinancing faster than the 2004 vintage HELOCs, 23% scheduled to reset in the first 6 months of 2015 have been paid off or are no longer active.
This is the first place I have seen this kind of granular data on the HELOCs and delinquency/repayment rates by vintage…I thought it was interesting.
http://www.bkfs.com/Data/DataReports/BKFS_MM_Jul2015_Report.pdf
With foreclosure moratoriums in effect in every state, did you expect something else?
I can’t imagine paying on interest for over 10 years and getting nowhere! Talk about a rat on a wheel!!!!
Here in Santa Rosa, Ca, the city council is trying to get rent control on some of the properties as rents are about the average income of a family of low income.
the problem is that the Ca Costitution says you have to allow landlords a fair return on their rental propertieis and with the increasing cost of housing the rents have to be allowed to go up.
If you put a control on a home that has been paid off, the owner can refinance , raise his expenses, and then claim he needs a higher rent to pay of the loan.
Appears unsolveable to this writer.
then persist in allowing higher priced homes to be built and do not consider the necessity, perhaps, of demanding that lower cost homes be included in developments.
More tax money is always better than housing for low income buyers.
“Stated differently, the Fed has extinguished any and all market prices for money, and indeed any price at all; and in the process has caused the falsification of debt and equity prices throughout the capital markets. So Wall Street and its equivalents around the world have become little more than casinos where the gamblers trade against the croupiers domiciled in the major central banks.”
Ordinary people everywhere on the planet are in grave danger because governments and their central banking branches have put the gamblers in charge of the economic show.”
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/68047/
Turkey, Japan and Poland.
Who has read the book?
Are you talking about “The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century” by George Friedman? I read it. It changed my thinking quite a bit on a few things, not that I believe all the crap he wrote.
looks like the buybacks desks were busy today. might be nice to rig your own stock so you can enrich yourself.
“In the nearby land of red capitalism the statist fix gets more preposterous by the day. Having sent out brinks trucks loaded with $300 billion to buy unwanted stocks and a fleet of paddy wagons to arrest anyone even a tad too eager to sell, China’s chief money printer told the G-20 on Saturday that China’s $5 trillion stock market meltdown was over.
But when the Shanghai market opened nearly 2% down last night, the “national team” went berserk hitting the “offers” in a desperate effort to prove him right. On a dime, the red casino suddenly ripped to 3% higher by the market’s close.”
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/68047/
you just cant make this bs up. It is truly comedy at this point.
The Chinese authorities are performing an intricate, delicate dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x84GKqcpY4E
Another neo-con “mission accomplished.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/08/everyone-wants-to-leave-death-of-hope-drives-young-syrians-to-europe
Freedom!
Thanks! Dark stories like this rarely make it to the U.S. media outlets.
crushing.housing.losses.
…And then to have financed those loseses?!!?!? Ouch!!!
Futures markets? Who needs ‘em, anyway?
Breaking News
5:05 PM
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Rises 7.7% for Biggest Gain Since October 2008
China Just Killed the World’s Biggest Stock-Index Futures Market
Kyoungwha Kim
September 8, 2015 — 8:17 AM PDT
Updated on September 8, 2015 — 8:31 PM PDT
Loss of liquidity may hamper efforts to lure institutions
Hedge funds among biggest losers from new trading curbs
Add the world’s biggest stock-index futures market to the list of casualties from China’s interventionist campaign to stop a $5 trillion equity rout.
Volumes in the country’s CSI 300 Index and CSI 500 Index futures sank to record lows on Tuesday after falling 99 percent from their June highs. Ranked by the World Federation of Exchanges as the most active market for index futures as recently as July, liquidity in China has dried up as authorities raised margin requirements, tightened position limits and started a police probe into bearish wagers.
While trading in Chinese equities has also slumped amid curbs on short sales and an investigation into computer-driven orders, the tumble in futures volumes may cause even greater damage because of their central role in the investment strategies of domestic hedge funds and other institutional money managers. A failure to revive the market would undercut the government’s own efforts to attract professional investors to local stock exchanges, where individuals still account for more than 80 percent of trades.
“It is further evidence that the Chinese authorities are not yet ready to commit to freely trading markets,” said Tony Hann, a London-based money manager at Blackfriars Asset Management, which oversees about $350 million. “Fully functioning developed financial markets in China will take many years.”
Popular Tool
Chinese policy makers, intent on ending a selloff that has eroded confidence in their management of the economy, are targeting the futures market because selling the contracts is one of the easiest ways for investors to make large wagers against stocks. It’s also a favored product for short-term speculators because the exchange allows participants to buy and sell the same contract in a single day. In the cash equities market, there’s a ban on same-day trading.
Yet futures are also a popular tool among sophisticated investors with longer-term horizons. For hedge funds, they provide an easy way to adjust exposure to market swings. And large institutions use them to make cost-effective asset-allocation changes. As an example, selling index futures might be cheaper than unloading a large block of shares — an order that could put downward pressure on prices.
A sustained slump in liquidity may spur some institutional investors to “give up hedging in futures, unwind futures positions and reduce their stock positions,” said Dai Shenshen, a trader at SWS Futures Co. in Shanghai.
…
Is it safe to assume that a $5 trillion rout in Chinese stocks is really no big deal in the big scheme of globalization?
BloombergBusiness
China’s Stock-Rescue Tab Surges to $236 Billion, Goldman Says
Kana Nishizawa
September 7, 2015 — 8:51 PM PDT
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Are Some Concerns Over China Overdone?
Total spending is equivalent to 9.2 percent of free float
Investor concern about state paring buying is overdone
China’s government has spent 1.5 trillion yuan ($236 billion) trying to shore up its stock market since a rout began three months ago, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The “national team” expended about 600 billion yuan in August alone, with the total now equivalent in value to 9.2 percent of China’s freely-traded shares, strategists including Kinger Lau wrote in a report dated Monday. Investor concern about what will happen when the government starts to pare these holdings is overdone, they wrote, citing past experiences in Hong Kong and in the U.S.
The Shanghai Composite Index has tumbled 41 percent since its June high to erase $5 trillion in value from mainland bourses as leveraged investors fled amid signs of deepening weakness in the economy. To stop the plunge, officials armed a state agency with more than $400 billion to purchase stocks, banned selling by major shareholders and told state-owned companies to buy equities. The rout, coupled with a shock devaluation of the yuan, has roiled global markets.
The gauge slumped the most in two weeks on Monday on speculation government-backed funds halted intervention following the conclusion of a military parade last week. China Securities Finance Corp., the agency tasked with supporting share prices, would no longer add to holdings unless there’s unusual volatility and systemic risk, although it would remain in the stock market for years to come, the regulator said on Aug. 14.
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