Bits Bucket for September 24, 2015
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here. Please visit my Youtube channel which you can also find here:
http:tinyurl.com/http-hbb-com
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
To donate by mail, or to otherwise contact this blogger, please send emails to: thehousingbubble@gmail.com
PayPal is a secure online payment method which accepts ALL major credit cards.
Links
-
November 2024 M T W T F S S « Sep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Photo Submission: hbbphotos@gmail.com
View the HBB Photo Gallery *updated 4/13/2008
More good news for commodities.
Platinum, used in catalystic converters to clean up exhaust emissions, slid to its lowest level in more than 6-1/2 years on Wednesday on fears about reduced demand from the auto sector.
It last stood at $944.95 per ounce, having fallen to as low as $924.50.
__________
I remember someone here used to recommend platinum!
I remember someone crying Timber and in his absence I feel I must scream
Timber!!!!!!!!!!
I do. I’m pretty sure SH does too. I’m loading up the truck at these prices. Platinum is 10X more rare than gold and has a much higher industrial usage, yet is currently selling for less than gold, which makes no sense. With QE4 assured, all precious metals are poised to do very well as central banks continue to debase the currency and more and more sheeple start waking up to what a scam our rigged markets and financial instruments are.
which makes no sense.
Platinum is almost the anti-gold. It behaves much more like copper, soaring in value when times are good, crashing when times are bad. It doesn’t have gold’s safe-haven reputation. It’s probably a good contrarian play, if you think things are looking up economically.
Oddfellow, why must I continually school you? Platinum, being 10X more rare and difficult to extract/refine than gold, is the ultimate precious metal. True, the herd creatures don’t recognize it as such, but when gold and silver soar, so will platinum group metals. I DO NOT think things are looking up economically, and with central banks printing more than $54 trillion in funny money since 2008, I’d rather invest in the antidote to counterfeiting.
In addition, platinum is the only metal you can use for diesel catalysts. With WV busted for gaming the emissions test, better catalytic converters will likely require more platinum. To me it seems like a no-brainer.
You should go all in. I didn’t realize how wonderful and different platinum was. I guess it will soar while all else crashes.
You and your fellow lib-tards should avoid these “barbaric relics.” Auntie Janet and the Fed are continuing their wise and benevolent stewardship of our monetary policy and your like-minded liberals in Congress are bestowing ever more largess on the FSA as we spend our way to prosperity. So you should invest in real estate and high-flying tech and financial stocks, since “it’s different now.” Go ahead. It’s safe. Don’t be a p*ssy.
Oh my….
http://www.kitco.com/market/
Oooh, “libtard”. Now I know I’m dealing with a financial genius.
I’m pretty much an all-around genius, truth be told. And chicks dig me.
Why does the DOW do so much better with a lib-tard as POTUS? Fact.
Maybe you drank too much kool aid and still think Reagan was a fiscal conservative.
When do we get, less government and less spending from the genius GOP?
Jeb 2016, This Bush is Different
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-09-24 09:08:28
I’m pretty much an all-around genius, truth be told. And chicks dig me.
If you have to advertise it….
The reason gold has intrinsic value is really just perception. The industrial uses are there, but not near enough to justify the current price compared to how much gold is stockpiled around the world.
Somewhere in the back of most gold buys minds is that if we go full-on mad max at some point, gold will still be tradeable for goods and service. Platinum might be too but since the average nincompoop in a crisis wouldn’t be able to tell whether or not it’s real, gold has the advantage.
It’s harder to fake real gold than it would be platinum and when you’re buying for a safe have in a crisis that makes a difference.
Thus Oddfellow is probably correct. But of course anyone who disagrees with your brand of groupthink on any subject is automatically the “L” word.
Tell us, what did you conserve today?
Platinum is an industrial commodity, like copper or even oil. If we go full-on Mad Max, no one is going to give a hoot about platinum’s value as a catalyst, to pass an emissions test of all things!
And after the Mad Max period is done and we’re back to full on Stone Henge, platinum will have no use whatsoever.
And to think, they laughed at me when I built my own Thunderdome.
My assumptions are not based on a Mad Max scenario, it goes without saying.
Yeah I recommend easing into platinum and gold and silver. And Palladium.
“No intrinsic value,” so what?
Barbarous relic - 5,000 years of beating fiat.
Global slow down - recession. Layoffs coming soon. Interest rates stay low. Hello Japan.
Britain’s steelmakers are urging the government to rescue the industry from a “perfect storm” that has pushed one of the UK’s largest steelworks to the edge of closure. UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said its members were facing their most difficult situation since privatisation 27 years ago after battling cheap imports, which are pushing down prices to unsustainable levels. The threatened closure of the largest steelworks on Teesside has sent shockwaves through the industry, leading unions and employers to call on the government for extra support.
In advance of a meeting in London, the industry body said ministers needed to give steel firms “half a chance” by cutting green taxes and banning cheap imports, “allowing it to compete on a level playing field with other steel-producing nations”.
The plea for government intervention comes as chancellor George Osborne continues to tour China, where figures showed local factory activity shrinking at its fastest pace in six and a half years in September, adding to a sense of gloom over the prospects for the world economy. The news sent Chinese stock markets down and will add to the concerns of global investors already fretting about the spillover effects of China’s slowdown.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/24/uk-steelmakers-appeal-for-help-as-threat-of-closures-looms
BANGKOK — As its economy falters, China’s subsidized steel exports have helped saddle Thailand’s Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) with mounting debts, forcing a halt to steel slab production at its U.K. plant on Sept. 18.
“Slab prices declined significantly and were below our production costs,” Win Viriyaprapakit, Sahaviriya president and chief executive, told reporters in Bangkok this week.
With steel prices sitting at a 12-year low, Win blamed China and Russia for the glut. He said China’s subsidies and the weak Russian ruble have pushed steel exports from the two countries to “historically high levels”.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/Thai-and-Indian-steelworks-go-bust-in-UK
Oh what a tangled web we weave.
Vale reacted to claims steel consumption in China has peaked and, in a view that contrasts with a rising number of global banks, says demand in the top user still has some way to go.
“China’s steel consumption peak is still ahead of us but of course the growth will be much more gradual,” said Claudio Alves, Vale’s global director of ferrous marketing and sales. Vale aimed to boost its market share, he said.
The largest miners are seeking to figure out the implications of slowing growth on China’s demand for everything from iron to copper. While Vale’s view echoes outlooks from Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, ANZ Bank brought forward its peak-steel estimate to 2014 from 2020 and Credit Suisse Group said local consumption will shrink 10 per cent by 2018. Citigroup warned on Tuesday commodities may see further losses amid excess supplies and a sluggish global economy.
“Despite the slowdown of the growth speed, China still remains the economic engine of the world,” Mr Alves said before the start of a conference in Qingdao. Further urbanisation and infrastructure projects will underpin demand for iron ore, steel, copper and other base metals, according to Alves.
http://www.afr.com/business/mining/iron-ore/vale-offers-contrarian-view-of-china-steel-output-20150923-gjtl7l
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
― Upton Sinclair,
“The largest miners are seeking to figure out the implications of slowing growth on China’s demand for everything from iron to copper.”
Here’s a five-year chart for copper:
http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=HG&p=w1
Copper appears to be in a long-term down trend. I see no reason that might not continue for years and years to come.
The price in debased currencies could change dramatically for copper and all other tangible goods and commodities.
Yeah, and oil could be up to $80 by the end of the year.
And the sun could rise in the west too.
“Chase Mortgage CEO to CNBC: FHA loans same as “subprime lending””
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35116-chase-mortgage-ceo-to-cnbc-fha-loans-same-as-subprime-lending
Taxpayer subsidization of degenerate gamblers who can’t scratch together a 20% down payment: broke @ss loosers.
It’s all falling apart. Bit by bit, and then bada-BING!
Wish I had some idea when. I actually want to own a house for very practical reasons. I grew up building with my Dad, doing carpentry, electrical, plumbing, roofing, and finish work. I’d elike to put some of that to use while I’m still young enough to do it.
I’m tired of shitty landlords telling me I can’t have my smoker on my patio, or my bike shouldn’t be by the front window, or I’m not allowed to smoke in my own home. I don’t even smoke, but I really resent someone telling me I or my guests can’t if I want to IN MY OWN HOME.
Having it hold a little value would be a nice bonus, but really I just want the independence and freedom to make my own decisions about the place I live in. Won’t ever do a HOA for that reason too.
/just needed to bitch. Tired of paying for houses for people who didn’t earn them.
Biggvs_Richardvs
Owning is terrific. Other than the city or county, we do as we want, and can control when WE want to move. LLs suck.
We use to live under the thumb of HOAs (2 PUDS), and got tired of totalitarian a-holes.
You’ll get an entry point. Go for it, just buy wisely. Use your excel deferred maintenance spreadsheet to bring down the price. Worked like a charm, after we got the deal. (9 offers)
Taxpayer subsidization of degenerate gamblers who can’t scratch together a 20% down payment: broke @ss loosers.
This is what 95% of the electorate voted for. Maybe someday the sheeple will make the connection between their votes for Oligopoly-owned puppets and the severe rectal bleeding they keep experiencing.
Dumbass, they already made that connection.
Liberals –> backing Sanders. Not owned by oligopoly.
Conservatives –> backing Trump. Not owned by oligopoly.
So could you PLEASE STOP with your 95% of the electorate BS???
Conservatives –> backing Trump. Not owned by oligopoly.
Trump is part of the oligarchy. Gotta hand it to him, he’s fooled a lot of people into thinking he’s not.
Dumbass, they already made that connection.
Now now, watch your language. There are ladies present!
Being part of the oligopoly is not the same as being OWNED by the oligopoly.
Hillary Clinton is owned (by Trump, in part).
Trump (so far) is owned only by his own ego.
And really, Trump’s greatest trick is fooling conservatives into thinking he’s a conservative.
What does “conservative” even mean any more? What are you conserving?
Well d’oh…
“FHA requirements are down to a 520 FICO (credit score) and you only have to put 3.5% down; that’s subprime lending, and we’re not in the subprime lending business,” CNBC quotes Watters saying.”
Oh? And just why is that?
“However, this is noteworthy since at the beginning of the month the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a revision to its previously announced proposal to change the FHA loan level and lender certifications that each lender must adhere to.
“The previous proposal eliminated the requirement that lenders approved by the FHA certify on each loan application that they are not, or have not recently been, subject to certain charges or penalties.
“The new proposal from HUD reinstates that stipulation, but made it part of the annual lender certification instead of the loan level certification, as it was prior to the first round of proposed changes.”
Translation: No longer can all the risk can be passed from the banks onto the FHA. Hence …
“JPMorgan isn’t the only major bank to reiterate or change its stance with FHA loans.
“John Shrewsberry, Wells Fargo’s (WFC) CFO, said last Wednesday that the San Francisco bank will not make loans to FHA borrowers with low credit scores because of their higher rates of default.”
The banks wouldn’t care if they didn’t have to keep some of the risks of making stupid loans but now that they do have to keep some of the risks they are all-of-a-sudden beginning to care.
Funny how that is.
“FHA requirements are down to a 520 FICO…”
A 520 FICO is at the “rent to own” depths of the credit world.
geez! I was at 820 last time I looked. I still dont want to buy for a few yrs.
CalifoH20
Bought in 2012. 820 FICOS for both of us as well, and get this, we paid cash and they used our credit scores to confirm we paid our bills. It floored us.
Many people realize you don’t need a credit score to buy a house. You just have to find a company that still does manual underwriting…have had a steady job for a few years and a good size down payment.
By implication, does this mean a bank that makes FHA loans is a subprime lender?
“By implication, does this mean a bank that makes FHA loans is a subprime lender?”
If “subprime” mean “risky” then the risk of these loans hasn’t changed; What has changed is the identity of the entity that gets stuck with these risks.
When FHA standards were lax - meaning they would be willing to take on all the risks - then banks were falling all over themselves in making these risky loans (and collecting fees in the process). But now that the FHA has suddenly gotten religion the banks are now beginning to balk at making these loans, WHICH MEANS less risk money will be directed toward houses, WHICH MEANS less money will be available to support prices.
WHICH MEANS the FHA just might end up with having a lot of political pressure put on it to loosen up its standards once again.
Stay tuned.
By implication, does this mean a bank that makes FHA loans is a subprime lender?
It means you as a taxpayer will be on the hook once again to cover the losses and bad debts of FBs who walk away from their underwater “investments” and banks that once again are making reckless loans. But there is a 95% probability that you voted for this scenario, again, so you have no grounds for complaint.
“Chase Mortgage CEO to CNBC: FHA loans same as “subprime lending””
It’s sour grapes because Chase is not competitive in this market segment. For him an attack on FHA is also an attack on his competitors.
Middle-class taxpayers and the Fed’s printing press have his back, thank goodness. So he can lend with reckless abandon, just like back in 2007.
Arvada, CO Housing Prices Plunge 17% YoY
http://www.movoto.com/arvada-co/market-trends/
Let’s welcome Ben Jones to Denver with some crater:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/realtors-say-housind-demand-in-denver-is-on-the-decline
Goon - I was in Denver recently - beginning of August -
went down through Parker, North Doug. Co etc and started to look about in these 55+ areas - toll, ryland etc. The only way I can describe this insanity is imagine a very high priced senior ghetto.
The lines going out the sales trailer door was something to behold - almost like the effect you would see in the old days of the Soviet bloc when the bread lines would stretch and panic buying was going on.
Told my realtor - I am outta here- this is insane.
Toll -they have a development down in middle section of Parker called the Highlands - you gotta go down there to see it -
Maybe Ben while he is there can take a look -
Die cut lots - big two and three story slap ‘em up homes (in architecture circles we call it sticks and stucco) starting at 450k - this before finishes are selected. So…figure 500k to start - then there is the lot ‘premium’ then the unfinished basement that you would need to have finished - figure another 100 k for that and voila’ before you know it - your are in at 600k + on a 9,000 s.f. lot in a home where at 55+ you are going up and down stairs to go to bed, to the lou etc.
What the f…. is up with this mind set?
All in all it is the frantic equivalent to what Ben was showing on his youtube of Greer Ranch down in PHX -
Man those are ugly houses. And since when does a 3/2.5 house need 4,000 square feet? You can do that in under 1500 sq feet.
https://www.tollbrothers.com/luxury-homes/Colorado/The-Highlands-at-Parker
Oxide - you have to go there to see this catastrophe - it is beyond measure - the website is pretty and nice compared to the reality of the place - much different in person and by measure much worse - it is literally a high end ghetto.
Ah, THERE she is. Nice to see ya again, Angie. Watcha up to, girl? Viewing some more selfies with virile young “migrant” men, hmm, Angie?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/24/us-europe-migrants-merkel-idUSKCN0RO0PO20150924
U.S., Russia, Mideast need to help stop refugee tide: Merkel
Oh, I see. Well, STFU, because you broke it, lady.
LOL, only one in five (if that) are actually Syrian refugees. The rest are FSA, yearning to live on the dole. From places like Africa, etc.
Merkel encouraged this, as did the silly Italian and Greek navies with their “rescue” missions. This is Europe’s problem.
Fox News headlines with this for all the cultural relativists:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/24/at-least-150-people-killed-in-saudi-arabia-hajj-stampede/
I thought the Who cancelled the rest of their tour because Roger Daltrey is sick?
Heh, stampedes are a thing in some parts of the world. Europe, too, now.
I suggest choosing a religion where you aren’t likely to get trampled to death when visiting holy sites.
the irony!
“I suggest choosing a religion where you aren’t likely to get trampled to death when visiting holy sites.”
Best approach is to not believe in the flying spaghetti monster. It makes your own limited life ever the more valuable and you will treat your body better - as a temple.
We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. (Dawkins 2004)
We have freedom of Sky Wizardry here in the United States, but you don’t see stampedes like that happening here.
All jokes aside, it is a human tragedy, but it doesn’t mean I have to respect their format of Sky Wizardry, or welcome its growth in this country.
Hillary Clonton must be elected, science says so.
“hajj stampede”
Is that like the Calgary Stampede or something?
From Wikipedia
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”,[3] attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world’s largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations exhibitions.
I was nodding off until you said chuckwagon racing. Why does that sound awesome?
Whoops, Angie girl, looks like this VW emissions thingy is now spreading to BMW. Not good economic news for Germany. But not to worry, all those economic “migrants” will make up for this and breathe new life into the German economy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/stocks-tumble-emissions-scandal-spreads-bmw-nok-plunges-unexpected-norway-rate-cut
Double whammy for Germany.
BTW, thousands of vehicles, including VWs, were involved in the Chinese port explosion. Isn’t THAT interesting? Shortly after the Chinese stock market meltdown no less. And shortly after there were predictions about the dismal Chinese market for foreign autos. Oh, dear.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150813/GLOBAL03/150819936/thousands-of-vehicles-burned-in-fatal-blast-at-china-port
Weird thing is the cheating on emissions report was 18 mos old. Why now?
Can you link to this, H20?
Thanks.
no sweat ,lots of immigrants on the way to boost welfare spending-
70% live off taxpayers
Can an illegal immigrant with out a soc sec # even apply for welfare?
Yes, you need a soc sec # to get aid. So…. how can a fake one work?
Sounds like we have a system in place, but morons in charge of it.
or
the people on welfare are Americans.
Beginning of the end of the EU, which was held hostage to the so-called German “economic engine”, which is beginning to look rather fraudulent.
How long until people realize that honest, productive enterprise is the only economy there is?
The Emperor has no clothes!
Globalization is circling the drain, lol.
Wish I could remember the poster on here who told me years ago, with great authority “That ship has sailed. Can’t put that genie back in the bottle.”
Really? lol.
Globalism is far from dead. The Chez was just in Seattle, where they announced that Boeing is building a final assembly plant in China. This is just the beginning. Fast-forward another 30 years and let’s see how many Boeing plants are stateside, vs. over there.
And one of Bill Gates’ companies that is developing advanced nuclear reactor technologies, will also be working with China’s nuclear agency.
Not to mention the “green” technology of pollution reduction (that, let’s face it, they really do need over there) that we’re going to give them.
We’ve still got a few pieces of manufacturing and technology to give away to them yet, so by that metric, globalism still has a ways to go.
And here in the Seattle area, they blocked off complete interstate freeways while The Chez was travelling around in his 100-car motorcade (guess he doesn’t care about greenhouse gases that much). One of the local radio traffic reporters kept saying: “Xi Happens . . .” LOL!
Might be a good window ahead to buy a VW.
Unless TDIs become illegal to drive I don’t see that happening
“Might be a good window ahead to buy a VW.”
I was thinking the same thing. We need a newer car, but at the current prices I’m too Scotch.
rms
My husband is Irish, and he jokes, he’s so parsimonious, he taught the Jews. LOL
Merkel is a stooge of the globalists and banksters. German voters are rivals to their ‘Murican counterparts when it comes to electing “leaders” who are going to impose a neoliberal agenda even if it means screwing over their own countrymen.
Sign my name up for this “hit list” of bloggers please:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/24/asia/bangladesh-bloggers-islamist-hit-list/index.html
This could be an overdue opportunity for Social Justice Warriors™ living in gun ban cities and states to learn that when seconds count, the police are only minutes away, LOLZ.
This is a nice article adding to yesterday’s discussion about scripting a narrative, specifically controlling the narrative:
http://nypost.com/2015/09/19/how-ahmeds-clock-became-a-false-convenient-tale-of-racism/
lol. Here’s the NYPost article’s opening line/dog whistle:
“When is America going to get serious about the problem of white kids getting suspended from school for nothing?”
It gets more ridiculous from there. Maybe there’s an article from the Washington Examiner to pick up where this one leaves off? After all, you gotta script that narrative, even when it’s as ridiculous as this one.
Cultural relativism is living in a perpetual state of apology, as scripted by real journalists.
Says the childless guy who’s bent out of shape about white kids’ school suspensions. They’ve played you like a fiddle, and now you’re out shouting their inane narrative. You’ve been pawned.
New York Post owned by eeevil rich white Republican Rupert Murdoch, better stay in your SafeSpace™ and read some real journalists:
http://www.salon.com/2015/09/24/larry_wilmore_wants_to_know_if_ahmed_mohamed_feels_like_a_badass_doesnt_it_give_you_a_little_street_cred
You act like you’re opposed to us fighting in the Middle East, yet you’re a dupe for the propagandists who want just that, even doing their work for them.
Proudly. It’s called ” sticking it to the libs”, a form of useful idiocy that involves hateful laughter and cognitive dissonance.
You act like you’re opposed to us fighting in the Middle East, yet you’re a dupe for the propagandists who want just that
Yup. When Goon attacks “cultural relativism” he’s repeating the same meme as Michael Savage when he rants about “borders, language, culture.” And Michael Savage is a huge cheerleader for the attack Iran neocons.
And when he attacks progressives he overlooks the fact that his entire lifestyle (mj store manager, tinder bopper, national park camper/hiker) is only possible because of progressives.
The classic spoiled child who lashes out at his enabling parents, not realizing they’ve funded and created his whole lifestyle.
Ahmed’s “innocent victim of Islamophobia” narrative seems to be falling apart.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/23/ahmeds-sister-admits-school-suspension-alleged-bomb-threat-3-years-earlier/
This is an example of “losing control of the narrative.”
Progressives can sweep this one into the memory hole with Cecil the Lion.
Along with Hillary’s wiped emails . . .
Only on dog whistle websites like Breitbart.
Andrew Breitbart was murdered under direct orders from King Obama.
“Forget it, Jake… it’s Chinatown.”
The Righties lost this media skirmish. Their attempts to smear Ahmed are both desperate and late. Like Oddfellow has pointed out, Obama’s team played chess masterfully on this one. To survive in today’s rapid media world you must evaluate events quickly and act decisively. The rapid strike by Obama’s Twitter team was masterful, like a sudden rattlesnake strike.
I still say this commenter from the CT RE blog had the last and best word about the issue:
“This kid is 14 years old and he has access to the internet. The porn playground universe is ONE CLICK AWAY!! He doesn’t need to steal girly mags from the cigar store like we had to. And hope we didn’t get caught. Then RUN AWAY to the nearest woods. NO!! He has it all. Right there. And what does he do? At a time when he is at his tossing off peak? He plays with clocks to make fake bombs!! When he could be pounding his pud until he passes out. THIS KID SHOULD BE IN JAIL FOR STUPIDITY!! He doesn’t know how to use the internet.”
And the people who are riled up about Ahmed are doing exactly what Ahmed (if indeed he was an instigator and not an innocent kid) wanted them to do: Get irate about a Muslim teen’s suspicious science project and allow the media uproar to help poison relations between Muslims and America. They’re being played by Ahmed, if they’re right about him. Played like pawns.
Nice “progressive” tag team on this thread confirms they’re losing control of the narrative. Calling me a neocon today, wow they’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The USA will end up like Spain 1936
. Calling me a neocon today
No, we’re calling you a pawned progressive.
Cool story bro. I voted for Nader in 2000. And voted to reelect Kucinich to Congress as recently as 2008, in the same election cycle that I donated money to and voted in the primary for Ron Paul.
What is the narrative there? Because you can’t script it. You’re stuck on that Democrat Party plantation wearing those old rags and eating those ham bones that Ole Massa’ gave you. And there’s no wall around it, you can run away anytime…
“This is a nice article adding to yesterday’s discussion about scripting a narrative, specifically controlling the narrative:”
“Putting out a newspaper without promotion is like winking at a girl in the dark — well-intentioned, but ineffective.” —William Randolph Hearst
If Xi succeeds in sending home China’s fugitives, what will become of the U.S. real estate they bought with expatriated money?
Wow, you must’ve been reading my mind. I was wondering about that. Also this story has been on my mind, about the Chinese lady from Houston who has been detained in China on spy allegations on her way back from a “trade mission”:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-detains-houston-woman-sandy-phan-gillis-spying-allegations-n431491
Lol, they went through customs on their way to the plane and she didn’t make it out.
That’s why I once posted here that mid level American corporate flunkies might want to think twice about going to China “for the company” at this time. Not a good idea to get caught behind enemy lines, so to speak. And no one will give a rat’s patootie if they rot in a Chinese jail.
CNN Money
China to the U.S.: Return our fugitives
By Sophia Yan
China has a message for its fugitives: You can run, but you can’t hide.
Over the past year, China has launched campaigns dubbed “Operation Foxhunt” and “Operation Skynet,” aimed at returning suspected criminals from abroad to stand trial at home.
It’s all part of a massive anti-corruption crackdown orchestrated by President Xi Jinping that has netted government officials and company executives. But now, the campaign has stretched to the United States.
Cooperation on this issue is likely on Xi’s agenda when he meets President Obama in Washington this week during his first official state visit. While China has been vocal in asking the U.S. for help capturing and returning the fugitives, Washington has largely stayed silent — though it did confirm earlier this year it had received a list of priority targets from China.
…
“Operation Skynet”
Methinks they have been watching too many American movies . . .
If the US does not cooperate, will China just hire hitmen to take them out?
I’m making over $75k a month working part time. I kept hearing other climate scientists tell me how much money they can make falsifying data so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is what I do…
++➤➤➤➤➤➤ www.prosecuteclimateskeptics.com
Leader of 20 scientist effort to prosecute climate skeptics under RICO revealed as ‘Climate Profiteer’! ‘From 2012-2014, the Leader of RICO 20 climate scientists paid himself and his wife $1.5 million from government climate grants for part-time work.
Read more: http://www.climatedepot.com/2015/09/20/update-leader-of-effort-to-prosecute-skeptics-under-rico-paid-himself-his-wife-1-5-million-from-govt-climate-grants-for-part-time-work/#ixzz3mexxNs6s
This message (whose key link is behind a paywall, so we’ll just take their word for it) brought to you by Exxon-Mobil (behind a blind trust).
Have faith in anything a scientist says becuase today’s science will be proved incorrect by tomorrow’s science which will just prove tomorrow’s science is better.
So we should never trust science?
Are you asking whether you should have faith in science?
Everyday I post something in the morning and come back in the evening to see the moronic on the dole crowd has jumped in to disparage religion. I’m not religious or southern. I am all in favor of science. The anti skeptical it’s all settled view is not science. It’s faith.
How do you determine the true science from the fake science?
Well you better ditch all of that manufacturd stuff around you, it was built based on scientific principles. Stay away from the doctor too, his office is full of sciency things. Safest bet is to stay in your mud hut and plead with Jesus to fix your hypertension.
It is indeed amusing when something anti-science is posted by someone using a computer with a CPU made with 22 nanometer precision, made possible by applied scientists using extremely advanced techniques.
I’m sure he has a “gut feeling” about what science he can and can’t trust. That’s the determinant.
He doesn’t realize his gut feeling has been crafted for him by others, but the pawns generally don’t. That’s why they’re pawns.
WPA
You been out kickin’ it drinking gin and juice wit da Homies in yo hood?
If yes, were you wearing your colors and flashing your signs?
Comment by WPA
2015-09-22 09:13:17
“LOL, this is California. My zip code’s got a veritable United Nations here with Hispanics, blacks, Russians, Indians, Vietnamese, Hmong, Muslims, Sikhs, etc etc. The local school district here has to deal with kids who speak 54 different languages. California’s diversity > Colorado’s diversity.”
Here’s phony coming in for the deflection.
“Here’s phony coming in for the deflection.”
Are you saying there is no climate change in the hood?
Don’t doubt your communist masters, everything they say is based on science. Science which says America is bad and which results in money in their crooked pockets. They have a 5 and 10 year plan for doubling and tripling the number of Lolas in their ranks.
Wheee! Here we go! Israel military coordinating with Russia in Syria:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-military-coordinating-russia-syria-33999396
There’s a geopolitical tectonic plate shift for ya. Israel to Washington: drop dead. We’ve got a new b*tch.
I can just hear the neocons pleading like jilted lovers: Oh,oh,baby please don’t go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlKaVFqxERk
Israel to neocons: We’re just not that into you.
Rapture denied?
We lost our strongest ally in the region.
What did we gain?
Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Iraq, Yemen and Egypt all destabilized.
Millions of refugees and migrants.
Turkey becoming a repressive islamic state and going back to civil war.
Mass genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Iran will get the bomb.
Israel is not, and has never been, an “ally” of the United States.
shhhhhh….. the defense industry is listening.
Funny that people think the world will let Iran build a bomb. I guess these same people believe the world is 6000 yrs old. And fossils where put her by god to test us.
People are the worst.
Good riddance. I hope Putin knows what he’s in for, getting involved in a Middle East religious war while fighting another war in Crimea. All while his oil-based economy goes down the crapper.
Russian boots on the ground is better than American boots on the ground in this quagmire.
http://www.debka.com/article/24902/Russian-marines-join-Hizballah-in-first-Syrian-battle-–-a-danger-signal-for-US-Israel
Yeah I prefer Russian boots on the ground. I guess it’s their turn to have a rerun of their Afghanistan. Like our Iraq/Afghanistan/Yemen is our rerun of our Vietnam.
Our politicians and defense companies and banks love it.
The gullible war monging armchair U.S. citizens don’t know their rear end holes are lubed and in ever present use by the defense companies, banks, and politicians.
No worries about Putin, mate! China’s going in along with Russia and Israel:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/chinese-military-personnel-aerial-assets-allegedly-en-route-syria
Lol, Russia, China and Israel. This would be the Axis of WTF?
Israel to neocons: We’re just not that into you.
They are the neocons. Or at least the original and most influential neocons.
The neo-cons are the Likud Party’s US policy branch.
It gets even better! Wheeeeee! China’s going in:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/chinese-military-personnel-aerial-assets-allegedly-en-route-syria
AND:
Obama’s ISIS “czar” steps down as “the mission” falls apart:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/obamas-isis-czar-steps-down-mission-falls-apart
Time for another youtube musical break, Elton John singing “Burn Down the Mission”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdEQkRq_xrw
Wheee! Everyone can go back to Syria soon. Open up those Golan Heights, baybeeeeeee!
[James Bond voice] You’re quite mad, you know.
It makes perfect sense for Israel to coordinate with Russia in Syria to avoid an inadvertent confrontation between their two forces.
Netanyahu was hoping to be allowed to keep bombing Hezbollah weapons shipments. Word is Pooty-poot said “nyet”. So the neocons will ratchet up the war drums here.
Is China preparing to put boots on the ground in Syria?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/chinese-military-personnel-aerial-assets-allegedly-en-route-syria
They’ve discovered their next export industry, one the US has monopolized for the past 15 years: disposable boots on the ground.
Maybe if we could have read the bill before it passed by democrats?
———————–
Health Premiums Have Climbed $4,865 Since Obama Promised to Cut Them $2,500
Investor’s Business Daily | 9/23/2015 | John Merline
Employer-based health insurance premiums climbed 4.2% this year for family plans, according to an annual Kaiser Family Foundation report. That’s up from 3% the year before. Since 2008, average family premiums have climbed a total of $4,865.
Interesting, mine haven’t gone up at all. I suspect that’s because my mega employer is “self insured”, and just has UHC manage the claims.
That said, it seems that it’s business as usual for everyone else. Big premium increases before Obamacare, big increases after Obamacare. Nothing will be done to resolve this until the system is ready to collapse.
+1. Health Insurance cos keep winning. Romneycare could not stop them either.
2 b -
My employer is shopping cost now - forget ‘value’ it is now simply a line item on the annual balance sheet of operating expenses.
UHC notified my employer recently sayin that the cost was going to double which set everyone atwitter - DOUBLE - you gotta be kidding is the howl from the cube farm.
BUT - after query with the insurance broker - and assuming a 55 /45 split on premium payment my monthly cost with UHC would be up at $40.00 or near 500 bucks a year. Deal is it is still up - and since the pin head in the WH and his minions in Congress passed this piece of crap using parlamentary procedure ( not the normal course of committee - in other words Harry Reid took an existing bill that had NOTHING to do with health care - stripped it clean and cut and pasted this thing into it to shove it down Murica’s throat) my costs are now double what they were 4 years ago regardless of carrier.
We are now because of cost looking seriously at a company that is in essence funded by the Feds here in ILLANNOY and the skepticism is high. Not sure how these guys run their actuarials, their costs, their payouts etc. because they were just formed two years ago - so far the BBB posts all say - and granted there are only 11 - but the consensus is avoid at all costs.
I have spoken with several folks involved in health in my apt. building and the general consensus from them is the same - avoid and pay a bit more for better value.
We’ll see how this ends.
See what Colorado wrote above. Premiums were have been rising rapidly for decades. Parliamentary procedure didn’t change anything.
Just accelerated the decline Mike.
Worthless housing…. worthless worthless housing. Housing is worth less and less with each passing day.
HBB banner ad promoting tourism to Buena Vista and Salida (Chaffee County):
http://www.colorfulcolorado.com/?gclid=CPSm_9zgj8gCFUdffgodwr8P3Q
This is where I’m moving when I leave Denver, and will build Goon Ranch there. Denver is overpriced, overcrowded, polluted, and the quality of life is steadily deteriorating every day as more people move here. It was a nice ride, but it’s over.
We might be neighbors. I’m looking at that area as well. Also around Westcliffe and Ouray.
Westcliffe is nice, but it’s a bit sleepy. They do have a decent grocery store there.
Ouray is smaller, you have to drive to Durango or Montrose if you want fresh produce.
I would also put Gunnison on my list, but the winters there are frigid compared to the Arkansas River Valley just 60 miles east of there. Crested Butte is the best skiing in the state.
Next to Frostbite Falls, Gunnison can be one of the coldest places on the friggin planet.
Keeps the riff-raff out.
There is a small supermarket in Ridgeway (near Ouray), but yeah, you’d probably have to Montrose to find something like a King Soopers.
Most importantly, Ridgway (there’s no E) has this:
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20150829_193452.jpg
Ouray is nice because it’s near one of the greatest places on the planet…Telluride
I’ll reiterate my “dumb question of the day” from yesterday, which I posted late:
Is the U.S. economy sliding into a recession?
If true, this would go a long way to explain the Fed’s decision to postpone liftoff, not to mention the recent stock market swoon.
I further note that GWB’s last full year in office waa during the unannounced onset of the Great Recession.
Marketwatch dot com
Market Snapshot
Dow futures drop triple-digits as Caterpillar talks job cuts
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Published: Sept 24, 2015 9:24 a.m. ET
Caterpillar says it will cut 10,000 jobs by the end of 2018
Getty Images
What will Janet Yellen say?
U.S. stock futures point to a downbeat open for the main indexes Thursday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.
Losses accelerated after Dow component Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, -7.30%) said it is cutting some 10,000 jobs by the end of 2018.
…
TechFlash
What you should know about the Qualcomm layoffs in Mass.
Sep 21, 2015, 11:46am EDT
Sara Castellanos Technology Editor Boston Business Journal
Xiaomi Corp. Mi 4i smartphones are displayed on a screen during a news conference in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. The Mi 4i, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, features a five-inch screen, a Qualcomm Inc. Snapdragon processor and longer battery life that lasts one-and-a-half days through normal use.
Lam Yik Fei/Bloomberg
Qualcomm Inc., a California-based wireless technology firm, is undergoing major downsizing that will impact dozens of employees at an office in Andover, Massachusetts.
The company (NASDAQ: QCOM), in a recent notice filed with the state, said that it plans to lay off 65 employees at its office at 100 Burtt Road in Andover beginning Nov. 20 as part of a major restructuring. It’s unclear how many employees that office has currently.
…
FuelFix
Halliburton plans more layoffs, now targeting management
Posted on September 23, 2015 | By Rhiannon Meyers
Oil field services giant Halliburton is planning more cuts to its workforce, including management positions in North America where the crude slump has been particularly brutal, on top of thousands of layoffs already announced this year.
In an internal memo from the company that was posted on the website of an Austin-based consultant, Halliburton laid out a plan to “flatten” its North American business by eliminating multiple layers of management — a decision that will undoubtedly affect Houston-area employees where the company is headquartered. Halliburton also said it will pursue additional cuts to its headcount as oil patch activity continues to falter.
“These actions are the result of significant deliberations and I realize how difficult these measures are for all of us whether they affect you directly or indirectly,” the memo stated. “While it doesn’t make it any easier, the company is not alone in taking these actions as similar actions are being taken throughout the entire oil and gas industry — service providers and operators alike.”
The planned layoffs add to a growing list of energy job losses that have started to fan out from the oil field to corporate offices around the globe. Worldwide, nearly 179,000 workers have lost their jobs in the downturn, according to data collected by energy recruiter Swift Worldwide Resources.
Halliburton, which has already slashed 14,000 jobs or 16 percent of its workforce, did not say in the memo how many additional jobs are on the chopping block. The company declined to reveal additional details about its layoff plans.
…
Marketwatch dot com
S&P 500
1,914 -24.93 -1.29%
Bulletin
U.S. new-home sales rise to highest level since 2008
Need to Know
Why this market is stuck in a ‘nervous zone’
By Victor Reklaitis
Published: Sept 24, 2015 8:43 a.m. ET
Critical intelligence before the U.S. market opens
Everett Collection
The scaredy-cats say the bear market has started, while the Pollyannas emphasize we’re not nearing recession, so stocks soon will scamper higher.
Or the middle ground between these two extremes might best describe this market.
It’s neither crash time nor rally time, according to S&P Capital IQ’s Sam Stovall. At his shop, they “aren’t looking for a bear market, just a deeper correction,” he said in a note late Wednesday.
…
Bummer, Obama could not fix all of the Bush mistakes in only 6 yrs.
Timber!!!….. I mean Tinder (much more fun)!!
“I further note that GWB’s last full year in office waa during the unannounced onset of the Great Recession.”
IIRC, Dubya sent checks to everyone so a recession, technically, didn’t happen during his watch. I used my check as early principal payment toward my mortgage rather than going shopping.
Clinton cozying up to Social Justice Warrior™ and millennial sex goddess Lena Dunham:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/09/24/months-after-recanting-phony-rape-charge-lena-dunham-lands-hillary-clinton-interview/
The Fed, in it’s craven quest to enrich its .1% masters in the financial sector, is creating unintended consequences all over the globe.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/currency-carnage-global-fx-heatmap-bloodbath
Got to see a coworker’s “million dollar” silicon valley house the other day. 2000 square feet on a postage stamp sized lot and just a block away from from really shady looking apartment complex.
And they think this is “normal”.
It’s worse than the last rodeo.
I looked the house up on zillow. He purchased it two years ago for 800K. It is allegedly “worth” 1.2M now. Needless to say he is feeling rather smug about his 400K in “equity”
He should SELL NOW. Smug could turn to despair in a mere year.
+1 Yup!
The one question that matters the most:
Does that house “work” for he and his family for the next 10+ years?
If not, taking some chips off the table now and finding a place to rent until the next downturn isn’t a bad strategy.
However, if he intends to live in the house for the next 10+ years, he shouldn’t even count the equity, and just live his life–because that equity doesn’t actually exist until you sell.
I know for me, selling isn’t even a thought–why bother? I just need to find another place to live, and what I would be looking for would be very similar to where I am now…and even in the same school district. I have at least 10 years before there is a possibility that school district doesn’t matter, and so until at least then, we’re planted.
Interesting how people that are up $400k think that equity will just sit there forever and whenever they’re ready they can cash in. At the same time, people that are down $400k think their house will never go back to where they bought it and they’re stuck forever unless they short sell or foreclose. In fact, the one that is up is more likely to go down and the one that’s down is more likely to go up. Go figure.
Tell him to cash in now. then you can play the “i told ya so ” card in 12 mos.
Stroll around Burlingame. Lovely tree lined streets, middle America Leave it To Beaver feel. Prior to all that Google-yness it was a place where a firefighter could raise a family. Houses bought for 40K in the 40s selling for a million plus easy now.
My parents grew up in Burlingame and moved away in the 60’s when they went to a local mall and realized it was simply too crowded.
When they see the prices that homes in their old stomping grounds sell for, they just shake their heads.
On that “head shaking” note, my partner just e-mailed me about the home that the new Google CFO bought in Palo Alto…0.8 acres, old house, $30MM. My great aunt’s house (the one she bought for $26k in 1946) is about 3 blocks away…not on 0.8 acres, but a quarter acre. I shudder to think what that would sell for today.
Crazy.
Forty thousand bucks was a lot of money for a house in the 1940s. Maybe that town has been expensive for the last hundred years.
The Peninsula was considered expensive relative to SF in the 40’s (according to my great aunt).
Maybe so, but firefighters and school teachers could afford to live there as recently as 30 years ago. No longer.
Went to a get together the other day in NoVA. $1.7mil house. It was sooo nice. Trees, driveway, huge basement full of arcades and a movie theater. Very nice place.
… and not a buyer in sight at a small fraction of that price.
Remember….
US Housing Demand Plummets To 20-Year Low
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yX5B5Hn95bQ/VYC3Wr6ihBI/AAAAAAAAj7I/alOslZa-cK8/s1600/MBAJune172015.PNG
“Went to a get together the other day in NoVA. $1.7mil house. It was sooo nice. Trees, driveway, huge basement full of arcades and a movie theater. Very nice place.”
You buy a place like that with winnings, not wages.
Here is an article for XGS fix……
Supports what you say about KS.
http://econbrowser.com/archives/2015/09/kansas-the-collapse-continues
Precious metals surging as markets tank and it becomes obvious the Fed is about to embark on another funny money printing spree.
http://www.kitco.com/market/
Somewhat off topic, but certainly of interest to HBB readers:
A new movie about banks, bad loans and the housing market circa 2008.
“Big short”
Trailer looks interesting:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/22/media/big-short-movie-trailer/index.html?sr=fbmoney092215bigshort1100story
Have to wonder if any of the shorters were readers or contributors here in 2008. This blog certainly supported their thinking.
It’s a great book for those who haven’t read it. Hope they did a good job with the movie.
Another neo-con success story.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2015/09/syria-the-end-of-the-vetted-rebels-scam.html
The chimera of our Obama-Fed-Goldman Sachs jobless “recovery” is falling apart by the day. More QE4/helicopter money drops to be announced any day now by the Fed. Gotta prop up the Ponzi….
http://www.businessinsider.com/caterpillar-restructuring-and-job-cuts-2015-9
Your tax dollars at work training Syrian “freedom fighters.” Thank you, John McCain and the neo-cons!
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.677217
The Dow is setting up a classic re-test of the August lows:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24INDU&p=D&b=4&g=0&id=p84403790577
We’ll see if the bulls can hold 15,700. If not, the chart doesn’t have any obvious support levels until 13,500.
While a lot of analysts say that basic technical analysis of charts is unproven hogwash, once you learn it you see the same pattern occurring over and over again. IMHO I think these patterns occur because the algorithmic players have coded these tech analysis principles into their programs, making T/A a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Already the shillin for as B. Ritholz calls it: “Shopmas” has begun…..
Sheesh - let’s at least get to All Hallows Eve first!!!
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/22/dont-count-on-a-very-merry-christmas.html
Anybody got an over / under on a gubmit shutdown?
Less than 5% chance of shutdown, IMHO.
A government shutdown will give strength to the non-establishment candidates for president, and those in the House/Senate don’t want that.
Is inflation - long masked by gimmicks like less weight in the same size package - making its long-overdue appearance? What will this mean for interest rates?
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/09/23/retail-prices-in-canada-jump-the-most-in-over-10-years/
Another epic fail from the hope ‘n change administration.
http://theantimedia.org/obamas-isis-czar-steps-down-as-mission-falls-apart/
Comment by inchbyinch
2015-09-23 20:20:52
CalifoH20
What city do you reside in?
I had a great career opportunity in Irvine, but the traffic in OC and the attitude thing, made me think good and hard, and I declined it. Money isn’t everything. Health and happiness is.
–
I am on the central coast. No traffic, no a##holes, no good paying jobs. I know the OC very well. Yes, lots of jerks there, I think the traffic and competitive parking puts everyone in a dog-eat-dog mood.
Don’t be a Liberace.
yea you’re right about OC and central coast
Central coast is were retired state workers go to die
“…no good paying jobs.”
True. —Los Osos expat.
More of the inflation the Fed professes not to see.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/inflation-watch-butter-prices-hit-all-time-record-high
Love this show!!!
Controversial South Park episode shows Donald Trump being raped and murdered: Show attacks tycoon’s run for President, his immigration policies and then kills him off in shocking final scene
Rape is funny? Really?
Imagine the outrage if it was Hillary or the POTUS instead.
Hypocrites. You can’t refute the message, so you attack the person. Classic liberal response. And I’ll be accused of not having a sense of humor (the “Al Franken” comeback).
southpark already did hilery w the steel cuoz
South Park is FUNNY!!!! Not for the thin skinned and the weak.
Trump message:
deport 11,000 illegals a day with magic money
build wall on border with magic money
invade IraQ secure the oil with magic money
do you see a theme? More gov, more spending….
I am a fiscal conservative.
golly, what GOP candidate…. can’t refute the message, so you [HE] attack[s} the person?
got Hypocrites?
Duh! Ask anyone over age 40 if the town they grew up in is better now then when they where a kid.
–
Most Agree With Trump on America’s Lost Greatness, Bloomberg Poll Finds
A national survey finds that 72 percent of Americans say their country isn’t as great as it once was —a central theme of front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign.
too bad he has no plans or policies
huge wall
Peter Schiff:
Recent turmoil in global equities is just the latest reason for the “data dependent” Fed to hold off on its first hike in nearly a decade. But for Schiff, this isn’t anything new, as he has been calling the Fed’s bluff long before the latest bout in volatility.
“This economy is rapidly decelerating and the Fed just doesn’t want to acknowledge that its monetary medicine didn’t work and the patient is now sicker than ever,” said Schiff. “So the Fed just wants to maintain the pretense that they are going to raise rates but in the end they don’t actually want to do it,” he added. “[Yellen] is going to pretend they can raise rates and pretend it’s right around the corner but will keep coming up with one excuse after another to why they aren’t doing it.”
According to Schiff, if the Fed continues to kick the can down the road eventually “foreign exchange markets are going to get wise to the Fed’s con,” and “there’s going to be a currency crisis.” For him, the air is already being let out of the dollar (Exchange: .DXY), and once the rally reverses, the bond market will collapse along with it. “There’s a bubble in the dollar,” and “people get trapped in this bubble and they can’t see it.”
Peter Schiff
I’ve read his books, and he’s been beating the same old drum for a long time. He’s right about many things, but his execution on his client’s $, hasn’t been good, if I recall correctly. He’s what we call “doom porn”.
I really thought Ahmed would win for taking apart an old digital alarm clock and putting it in a briefcase sized pencil box with lots of wires and bringing it to school.
#istandwithradioshack
Greenwich school board to honor GHS’ Google Science Fair winner
By Paul Schott Updated 12:22 pm, Thursday, September 24, 2015
Greenwich High School junior Olivia Hallisey, the Grand Prize winner of this year’s Google Science Fair, is set to make a triumphant homecoming when she appears at the Board of Education meeting 7 p.m. tonight at Julian Curtiss School.
Hallisey earned the top prize in the Google competition for developing a $25 ebola test that can be done in 30 minutes, without any need for refrigeration. She presented her research during a trip this week to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
massive.appraiser.fraud.
I am certain y’all on the HBB have already heard of CAT chuckin another 10k jobs this day-
The thing is for those of us still here in ILLANNOY - I have yet to read anywhere the fall out in regards to the ever growing deep debt hole this state finds itself in- just another self inflicted wound in the state that is bleeding by a thousand cuts. Yikes - look out below.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-24/caterpillar-shocker-industrial-bellweather-fire-10000-slashes-revenue-outlook
Are the CAT layoffs a sign of:
a) commodity price collapse reducing the need for heavy equipment globally;
b) increasing competition from cheaper competitors; or
c) a and b
I think the answer is “c”.
Collapsing demand Rental_Fraud….. collapsing demand.
Finally the press picks up on the hypocrisy:
VATICAN HAS STRICTEST IMMIGRATION POLICY IN WORLD…
Women allowed only if married to Swiss Guard or other legal citizen…
CalifoH20
When we were drunk on the GOP, we didn’t like Bill Maher, but now we do. Maher called the pope a famous catholic celebrity. What chutzpah the pope has. And don’t get me started on that orchestrated 5 year old girl letter pity party fiasco.
Thanks for that post, CalifoH20. I’ve been to the Vatican.
“Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be less tomorrow for many years to come.”
You better believe it.
unload that shack why u still have some liquidity. depreciation will cannibalize your investment.
u better believe it mister.
This may interest someone here.
IRS Agent Charged After Demanding Cash from Marijuana Shop Owner
Undercover sting busts agent who took $20,000
by Mikael Thalen | Infowars.com | September 24, 2015
A Seattle IRS agent is facing federal charges after soliciting a bribe from a marijuana dispensary owner.
According to court documents, Paul G. Hurley was charged Monday in U.S. District Court with soliciting and agreeing to receive a bribe by a public official and two counts of receiving a bribe by a public official.
The incident began when Hurley, who was tasked with performing an audit on the dispensary, approached the shop owner and demanded $20,000 in exchange for leniency.
After the encounter, the business owner immediately contacted federal authorities who later oversaw multiple meetings and exchanges of cash between the pair.
During one of the final meetings, Hurley reportedly told the pot shop owner “off the record” that he had saved him more than $1 million despite no tax deductions existing for marijuana dispensaries.
During a meeting at a Starbucks, which was video and audio recorded by federal agents, Hurley attempted to reassure the business owner that he would not be caught for supplying him cash.
“You’re not in trouble. I brought this up to you,” Hurley allegedly said. “I’m the one that is going to get in trouble.”
Following the meeting, special agents apprehended Hurley and were able to recover $15,000 that was originally provided to the business owner by investigators.
If convicted, Hurley could face up to 15 years in prison and receive a $250,000 fine.
Album for the SJWs, I saw Jeff Mangum perform in 2012 post Neutral Milk Hotel at one of the smaller venues on East Colfax, and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen:
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD423FD1C1FB77E7E
Because debt is slavery:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/23/waiting-for-collapse-usa-debt-bombs-bursting
Ignorant political questions of the day:
1) Is Trump rich enough to buy the election?
2) Do the Democrats have a comparable plan to trump Trump’s card, as it were?
3) How would the American public be able to detect a stolen election, given our collective slide into banana republicdom?
Professor Bear, QCOM happens to be where I work. I know first-hand what is going on with the company, and although I wasn’t affected by the most recent round of layoffs, it affects my attitude and thoughts toward real estate. I am a bear on both San Diego real estate and the stock market.