Bits Bucket for November 19, 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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Houses are not investments, houses depreciate
Many investments depreciate. The terms are not mutually exclusive.
All goons are foolish people, but all foolish people are goons!
No investments depreciate Jingle_Fraud. Houses depreciate rapidly. That’s why they’re not investments.
deflation is wealth destruction.
Isn’t it interesting how wealth and price are so connected?
Also, isn’t it interesting how easily price can be manipulated up or manipulated down?
Manipulate prices up and - presto! - you have magically created wealth. Allow prices to fall and - presto! - there goes the wealth.
It’s quite amazing if you care to spend some time to think about it.
Only in debt donkey universe.
Remember….. Nothing accelerates the economy like falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Nothing.
I pride myself in finding value.
Buy low, sell high.
Hows that work when prices are falling?
Lower prices coming. Baltic Dry Freight index lowest in over 20 years~!!
Hurry, sell high…. wait 3 yrs…. buy low…. rinse….repeat.
Baltic Dry Freight index lowest in over 20 years~!!
Just in time for Christmas.
Sell high and hold.
“Manipulate prices up and - presto! - you have magically created wealth. Allow prices to fall and - presto! - there goes the wealth.”
Manipulate prices up, and transfer wealth ftom the pockets of the 99% worker bee class into the pockets of the 1% Ownership Society members (aka George W. and Jeb Bushs’s base).
Falling prices are what America needs to restore a more equitable wealth distribution.
Your attempt at humor will not erase a lifetime of incalculable losses
Everyone loses money when they buy a home, hence the demand.
Exactly. If this were NOT the case then I should be able to just live in my house…not do a thing in the world to it and watch it appreciate.
Since that does not happen my house is a depreciating liability.
Depreciating asset, unless perhaps if you live in Detroit.
When you consider the back taxes that are owed on many homes in Detroit, they actually have a negative value.
Any house has a negative value relative to its’ input cost.
What will the aftermath of Paris result in?
A surveillance police state, elimination of civil liberties, and big government
And you’ll see the narrative scripted by the big government New York Times, big government Washington Post, big government CNN, big government NPR, big government Huffington Post, big government Drudge Report, big government Fox News, big government Breitbart, big government World Net Daily, big government Washington Times, big government Weekly Standard
The New York Times et cetera don’t hide promoting big government, but the latter narrative scripters are neocon hypocrites, when you click those Drudge Report links you’re clicking on big government
A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.
Americans are so f*ing dumb they’ve forgotten how they were emotionally manipulated after 9/11 into bending over for the Patriot Act, NSA spying, Iraq war
No “smaller government” or “less regulations” or “lower taxes” happening here
It’s time to revisit my motto:
1. Dumb ‘em down.
2. Profit.
You’ve succeeded brilliantly, although you must be frustrated at the thinking 5% who refuse to bend over for the Oligopoly by voting for their water carriers.
how they were emotionally manipulated after 9/11 into bending over for the Patriot Act, NSA spying, Iraq war ??
You are either with us or with the terrorists;
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCMQtwIwAWoVChMIiYKm5-qcyQIVDtVjCh1qHAQW&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcpPABLW6F_A&usg=AFQjCNEL7_rV5U3OfqR6n_DleNTnt6ZptA&sig2=EIXtU_I5g4iGjuiS5qWIYg&bvm=bv.107763241,d.cGc
GOP front-runner Trump will change that. This time is different.
97 of the 100 poorest counties are in RED states.
Know your party.
A surveillance police state, elimination of civil liberties, and big government
Excerpts from Trump’s latest interview:
“After Paris, Trump said “security is going to rule” in the United States, in order to take on what he calls “radical Islamic terrorism.”
“We’re going to have to do things that we never did before. And some people are going to be upset about it, but I think that now everybody is feeling that security is going to rule,” Trump said. “And certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy. And so we’re going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago.””
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/donald-trump-has-big-plans-1303117537878070.html
R.I.P Rand Paul’s presidential aspirations
Police state + nationalism + corporate influence = Mussolini Fascism
Who’s scarier: Trump or ISIL?
Trump or ISIL ??
ISIL are religious zealots with money and a country….
Trump is a Cowboy….
And he lives in many empty skulls, rent-free.
What will the aftermath of Paris result in?
Two more results: government will insist on “backdoor” encryption keys in future software, and blaming Edward Snowden (easy scapegoat, and sends a message to future whistleblowers):
“Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell said in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, “I think what we’re going to learn is that these guys are communicating via these encrypted apps, this commercial encryption which is very difficult or nearly impossible for governments to break, and the producers of which don’t produce the keys necessary for law enforcement to read the encrypted messages.”
The use of encrypted communications by ISIS has prompted various former intelligence officials and media analysts to blame NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden…”
Its all the playstations and Xboxes out there
Something like the Patriot Act? Who gave us that?
Obama did. He could have let it expire. He’s Bush II.
purchase of ammo
?whats the best 12 gauge slug?
I bought a 5 pack of slugs in 1982, still have em. Wonder if they still fire? I took them pig hunting with my $59 shotgun.
‘Stranded at Nicaragua border, Cuban migrants’ American dream in peril’
‘But Rivacoba, whose first name was given in honor of Soviet revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, says he would rather perish than return to his family in Cuba because it would mean giving up on their dream of forging a new life in the United States. “It’s get there, or die,” said Rivacoba, a 30-year-old teacher and father of two whose grandmother sold her house for $5,000 to pay for his passage to the United States. “I can’t return. They’re waiting for me to start sending money back.”
‘Under the policy, Cubans who set foot on U.S. soil can stay, while those captured at sea are sent back. Cuba’s Communist government on Tuesday blamed U.S. Cold War-era immigration legislation for the migrant crisis, but U.S. officials have repeatedly said there are no plans to change it. The Colombian section has become notorious, with tales widespread of extortion by both police and coyotes - the smugglers used by migrants to evade authorities.’
‘For all the frustration over Nicaragua, most of the Cubans’ anger is aimed at the Cuban government, which they accuse of cronyism, mismanaging the economy and limiting free speech. Fanning his 10-month-old son with a towel in the stifling heat of a Red Cross border shelter, Yordanis Boza said even if detente between the United States and Cuba helps the economy, it will not happen fast enough for his wife and two children.’
“If you work for a year in the United States it’s like working for 10 years in Cuba, or more,” the 28-year-old said.’
All you sad pandas out there begging for socialism and moar government take note:
Capitalism has given us all we have.
The sad pandas are already getting their socialism, except it’s socialism for the banksters and big biz. Heck, we’ve got that socialism right here in Florida, courtesy of the bubble. In 2011, Tallahassee released the developers from having to provide infrastructure and improvements to service the areas where they are building. The result? Socialism! We have residents begging the local governments to raise taxes to provide these things.
It has been most interesting to see the reactions of our newer residents from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. They have a nice little mantra “We’re all in this together!”
And also note that communist sleaze bag Ortega in Nicaragua is slamming the door on Cuban immigrants trying to get to the US. Where’s the outrage media? Why, he is so cruel!
‘Fanning his 10-month-old son with a towel in the stifling heat of a Red Cross border shelter’
You belong in jail mister.
Ah, yes, the Victor Orban of Central America. Indeed, no one is calling Ortega a far right extremist.
I do wonder who is paying Ortega.
Every time I turn on the radio I hear about some real estate investment “opportunity” in Nicaragua. “It’s going to be the next Costa Rica or Belize.” These Latin Americans will take your money all day gringos. Just don’t ask for it back. (Rio, Bueller?)
These Latin Americans will take your money all day gringos. Just don’t ask for it back
This is true of many countries, which is why we are considered a “Safe Haven” and the money flows here.
A friend of mine was set on retiring in Ecuador, but recently came back a bit disillusioned after exploring the country. Ecuador is currently going through an economic crisis, and “rich gringos” make a ready source of wealth extraction.
Capitalism has given us all we have.
History shows that capitalism and prosperity in the U.S. didn’t really take off until Keynesianism and elements of socialism were injected into the economy post-Depression.
most of the Cubans’ anger is aimed at the Cuban government
Pure socialism aka Cuba, USSR, N Korea = bad
Democratic socialism aka Denmark, Netherlands, etc. = good
One shouldn’t use the former to taint the latter.
‘capitalism and prosperity in the U.S. didn’t really take off until Keynesianism and elements of socialism were injected’
Falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels which raises the standard of living dramatically higher.=BEST
The Scandinavian countries are really “welfare capitalist”, if by “socialism” we mean social ownership of business.
“Socialism” has become the stand-in word for “welfare capitalism”, I’m not sure why. It’s certainly pejorative and misleading, and a cause of much confusion, so maybe that’s why.
‘The U.S.’s biggest health insurer is considering pulling out of Obamacare, a month after saying it would expand its presence in the program.’
‘UnitedHealth Group Inc. is scaling back marketing efforts for plans it’s selling this year under the Affordable Care Act, and may quit the business entirely in 2017 because it has proven to be more costly than expected. It’s an abrupt shift from October, when the health insurer said it was planning to sell coverage in 11 new markets next year, bringing its total to 34. The company also cut its 2015 earnings forecast.’
‘The announcement may indicate that other insurers are struggling, said Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst at Mizuho Securities. “If one of the largest and presumably, by reputation and experience, the most sophisticated of the health plans out there can’t make money on the exchanges, then one has to question whether the exchange as an institution is a viable enterprise,” Skolnick said.’
Sheryl is undercutting the credibility of our institutions. Somebody tell her she’s a closet gay.
Annual health care open enrollment can’t wait to see how much it has gone up this year.
Any yet somehow we manage to spend more than any other nation on earth on health care per person, and still rank what, like 37th for outcomes?
Hooray for the free market. Just don’t get sick or hurt ever.
The recent free trade agreement was interesting. Apparently a big bone of contention was the length of time for drug patent protection. As an example, other countries have no patent protection for “biologics”. This raises all sorts of questions:
Does that mean that those countries are not developing those new drugs?
Does that mean that the US is effectively the only country spending money on developing those new drugs–with these other countries taking the IP for free and then making their own generics that they can sell to their own citizens on the cheap?
The Scandinavian countries are really “welfare capitalist”, if by “socialism” we mean social ownership of business.
Bernie Sanders has had to explain this when he talks about not really being a “socialist” but a “democratic socialist.” That phrase is also used to describe the economic system in Scandinavia.
Take away oil and gas revenue, and how to Denmark’s and the Netherland’s economies look?
1921-29
see EU for results of Keynesian bs
“Pure socialism”
Unlikely we can find an example of that “pure” thing. What “socialism” means is pushy insecure brutes telling everybody else what they can and cannot do, what they can or cannot have, where and when, and even if they can live, and to enrich themselves through the process.
Pineapples beat their drums, not to give us something, but to take what isn’t theirs.
“I can’t return. They’re waiting for me to start sending money back.”
Silly me, I thought you were coming to escape persecution from an oppressive government. But no, you’re just in it for the money.
That’s the crux of the problem. With these refugees, I don’t think people are really afraid of the T word. They are afraid of refugees taking jobs and overwhelming the social services with their half-dozen kids, and so people are using the T word as cover.
“Silly me, I thought you were coming to escape persecution from an oppressive government. But no, you’re just in it for the money.”
^This. I thought I was reading something from the early 90s.
On the other hand, if you want to see what lack of environmental regulations looks like, go there. 50s era cars with 50s era exhaust systems = raging sore throat within a few days.
Cant wait until we have real capitalism in the USA.
Cant wait until we have real capitalism in the USA.
We did. See 1920’s. Did not end well. Imagine that, a massive speculative bubble that was not inflated by a central bank, just good old fashioned greed.
http://www.macroresilience.com/2010/12/15/the-different-shades-of-crony-capitalism/
Wow, so the banking cartel had nothing to do with credit expansion. Up the Fed!
Wrong. 1860s to 1920. Greatest period of growth in US History. 1920-21 crash. Came roaring back after a year because the Fed did NOTHING. Read a history book, ffs.
Looks like India isn’t stepping up to be the next engine of global growth.
“New Delhi: India’s merchandise exports contracted for the eleventh consecutive month in October, as shipments of petroleum products continued to decline on lower crude oil prices, and external demand remained weak amid tepid global economic recovery.
“Exports contracted 17.5% from a year ago to $21.3 billion while imports shrank 21.2% to $31.1 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $9.8 billion”
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/RNxLF9ZRCR0ykHSYri5GTK/Exports-contract-175-to-213-billion-in-October.html
Here we go, another country going to wipe out ISIS:
‘China vowed on Thursday to bring to justice those responsible for killing one of its citizens after Islamic State said it had executed a Chinese captive, the only known Chinese hostage to have been held by the group.’
‘While Chinese workers in Africa and Pakistan have been held hostage before, a diplomatic source familiar with the case said it was unclear what exactly Fan was doing in the Middle East, but it appeared he had a “wanderlust”. “It seems he wanted to see unusual places and this is probably why he ended up there,” the source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.’
‘Influential state-run tabloid the Global Times cited an interview Fan gave to Chinese state television in 2001 in which he said he had a sense of adventure - and danger. “I sedulously seek out a feeling of ‘un-safety’, because it gives me a kind of pleasant sensation once the danger is past,” Fan said.’
Goodbye head, Mr Fan. Extra points for using sedulously. Mission accomplished.
I don’t want to risk the lives of our soldiers going on rescue missions for dipsh*ts who wandered into a war zone for no good reason and then got themselves kidnapped. Sorry, but if you’re stupid enough to put yourself into that kind of danger, that’s on you.
“I don’t want to risk the lives of our soldiers going on rescue missions for dipsh*ts who wandered into a war zone for no good reason and then got themselves kidnapped.”
Don’t limit your thinking. This dipsh*t who wandered into a war zone for no good reason just my be offering you a good reason, a good excuse, for you to get involved and to make some money.
Did he ask to be rescued? Did anybody try?
Your approach to life is that of a shivering chihuahua barking through the screen door. No wonder you’re bitter.
Did he ask to be rescued?
You’re right, he probably is looking forward to having his head cut off.
You know nothing about this guy… Stick to the reported facts.
LoLa,
Normally I’d tell you that you’ve got some set of balls for running your mouth at the blogs owner but I realized who I was talking to.
I don’t mind. It is possible. Fan could be tied up somewhere, hood over his head, thinking to himself; “This Syria vacation was the best idea ever! The guys back home will be so jealous - I have to write them. I wonder if they have stationary? Oh! ISIS stationary, how cool would that be!”
We all have our kinks.
Risk means something. It means there’s a possibility of failure. That possibility adds spice, excitement, and when the risk is not realized, it can produce exultation.
The problem is, sometimes it is realized. The risk for a westerner wandering the badlands of the Middle East - or any badlands for example, perhaps the back alleys of Baltimore - is that sometimes the risk is realized. Failure occurs.
The media and Hollywood and Wall Street sell a lot of “product” only highlighting the benefits of risk. Selling reality-checks is not nearly as lucrative.
Anyone else notice that AmazingRuss & the rest of the Pineapples seem to get bitchier around the same time of the month?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/health/quarter-of-men-believe-they-have-man-periods/
Guess he’s never heard of Everest?
Bonus credit for using ‘un-safety’.
The rise of China may portend the demise of English.
China engagement would be ISIS worst possible nightmare…
And speaking of big government, this from Region VIII:
“Each of four Republicans perceived as the party’s leaders in the race for president outpoll Democrat Hillary Clinton among Colorado voters, according to Quinnipiac University survey results”
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2015/11/18/election-2016-republicans-lead-clinton-in-colorado.html?s=print
Frighteningly, Ben Carson polls the best. Here’s further evidence of my theory that he is an idiot savant:
Ben Carson: Unable to process foreign policy?
Anthony Zurcher
BBC News
One of Ben Carson’s foreign policy advisers is claiming that the retired-neurosurgeon-turned-presidential-candidate has been unable to process “one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East”.
According to a New York Times report, Duane R Clarridge - a retired Central Intelligence Agency official who has been coaching Dr Carson on international affairs for several years - has been frustrated with his inability to comprehend the intricacies of national security despite regular briefings from experts.
New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait quips that Dr Carson’s “advisers now appear genuinely terrified that he might be elected president and are doing everything in their power to stop it.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34851495
When I attended my precinct’s Republican party caucus in February 2012, I was one of the youngest people in the room, and Santorum came in second
Young people might be tuning out both parties, since they’ve become indistinguishable in their slavish adherence to crony capitalism and the corporate state.
The difference is that one party is constantly throwing tantrums and telling young people how horrible they are.
How do you think that’s gonna go when there is only one other choice?
Dr Carson’s “advisers now appear genuinely terrified ??
Dr. Carson only has One(1) advisor that he listens to…How did it work out last time we had this…
No worries there in CO - the pot head FSA will awake from their slumber for a brief few days and then fall back to sleep again.
And one of the states accepting refugees. Mind blown.
50.shades.of.rage. CRATER RAGE!!!
http://goo.gl/j4c0y2
Germans are getting the globalism they voted for.
http://news.yahoo.com/refugees-put-merkel-test-she-marks-10-years-103359877.html
The caliber of our Democrat big-city mayors just gets better and better.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/11/08/when-report-hit-that-mayor-of-major-u-s-city-flashed-a-gang-sign-in-photo-public-backlash-was-swift-but-not-against-the-mayor/
“Total Failure”: Pentagon Spends $41 Million Training “Four Or Five” Syrian Fighters
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/16/2015
So the only thing that the DoD’s estimate of the actual number of fighters currently on the ground has in common with the Pentagon’s original goal of recruiting 5,400 by the end of the year, is that both figures have a “4″ and a “5″ in them.
And how much taxpayer money was spent to train and arm this anti-ISIS “force”, you ask?
Around $41 million.
We’ll leave you with following assessment from Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.):
“Let’s not kid ourselves, that’s a joke. This is just a total failure.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/…entagon-spends-41-million-training-four-or-five-syrian-fighters - 168k -
———————————————————————————
NBC: Paris Attacks Cost No More Than $10,000
By Greg Richter | Wednesday, 18 Nov 2015 06:51 PM
The Paris terror attacks that killed 129 and injured more than 350 didn’t cost much to carry out, NBC News reports.
In fact, the terrorists likely spent no more than $10,000 on weapons, explosives, housing and transportation.
“I would note that although the attacks were coordinated, the actual method was basic bombs and guns,” a senior counterterrorism official told NBC.
The AK-47s the group would have had to buy on the black market would have been their biggest expense, another expert said.
The price tag isn’t out of the ordinary. NBC noted that the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole likely didn’t cost more than $10,000 either.
Most other terror attacks have been relatively inexpesive as well. Even the $500,000 spent on the 9/11 attacks wasn’t a huge setback to al-Qaida, which had a $35 million budget in 2001.
“Terrorism is not an expensive sport,” a former senior Treasury Department official told NBC.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/terrorist-attacks-cost-inexpensive/2015/11/18/id/702757/#ixzz3rwdr6myY
Urgent: Rate Obama on His Job Performance. Vote Here Now!
Complete withdrawal from the region. Now.
I said this yesterday. It won’t help to cut off the money, because these fine folks would simply abandon the expensive land grabbing and use the cash reserves to resort to cheaper urban tactics.
It’s more effective for Anonymous to hack their communications. Maybe Obama can make a deal: Employ Anonymous in the anti T fight, in exchange for full pardon for Ed.
Spend and cheat, like no one is watching.
As a fiscal conservative, I am anti neo-con.
Meanwhile, down on the border…the flood of votes-for-entitlements Democrats-on-Arrival is surging.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/border-patrol-texas-migrant-children-refugees-6640770.php
which fed member or central bank will talk up the market today?
No laughing matter: Hillary Clinton campaign ‘demands comedy club takes down video mocking her marriage, Monica Lewinsky and pantsuits
By Ollie Gillman For Dailymail.com
Published: 02:09 EST, 19 November 2015 |
Mr Masada told Judicial Watch that a Clinton aide phoned him up and asked for the names and phone numbers of all the comedians in the clip. It is not clear why they would ask for the comedians’ names as they are included in the video.
‘They threatened me,’ Mr Masada said. ‘I have received complains before but never a call like this, threatening to put me out of business if I don’t cut the video.
‘He said the video was disgusting and asked who put me up to this.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3324857/Not-laughing-matter-Hillary-Clinton-campaign-demands-comedy-club-takes-video-mocking-owner-claims.html#ixzz3rwsEYgND
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Sounds a little unlikely.
[Laugh Factory boss] Mr Masada said the aide who phoned was a ‘prominent’ individual but refused to name them.
Mr Masada told Judicial Watch that a Clinton aide phoned him up and asked for the names and phone numbers of all the comedians in the clip. It is not clear why they would ask for the comedians’ names as they are included in the video.
‘They threatened me,’ Mr Masada said. ‘I have received complains before but never a call like this, threatening to put me out of business if I don’t cut the video.
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
She’s already trying to kill Freedom of Speech before taking over the White House.
She’s going to outlaw penises. I think I will enjoy being an outlaw again.
“She’s going to outlaw penises.”
At first glance I thought you said she was going to outlaw panties.
Along those lines, will her adult undergarments have the presidential seal stamped on them?
Even if they do, they won’t be as cool as Romney’s magic underwear.
If my mother had hooked up with a white privileged man who was a great athlete he would have been my brother and he would have looked like Aaron Rodgers.
Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer
How does President Obama see himself on the job? Like Aaron Rodgers in the pocket with defenders trying to knock him down.
In an interview with GQ Magazine, Obama compared himself to the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
“In the sense of you can’t be distracted by what’s around you, you’ve got to be looking downfield,” Obama told interviewer Bill Simmons. “And I think that’s a quality that I have — not getting flustered in what’s around me. So there was never a point, even early on — even in the first six months, where we weren’t sure whether we were going to dip into another Great Depression, we weren’t sure whether the steps we were taking on rescuing the auto industry or stabilizing the financial system were going to work –there weren’t moments where I thought, ‘Sheesh, feels like we’re in over our head.’”
To be sure, the interview was conducted on Oct. 5 — well before the Packers and Rodgers lost three straight games.
espn.go.com/…/president-barack-obama-compares-green-bay-packers-qb-aaron-rodgers - 118k -
“How does President Obama see himself on the job? Like Aaron Rodgers in the pocket with defenders trying to knock him down.”
Aaron Rodgers throws tablet after missing open receiver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIXQy8V-9po - 417k - Cached - Similar pages
Nov 9, 2015 ..
Comments
Angel Rodriguez 1 week ago
What a fuck#n nancy.
· 1
jerry a 1 week ago
is the tablet ok?
·
Patrick Diggins 1 week ago
Boo hoo rodgers
·
Can you blame him? It was a Microsoft tablet.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/11/18/pittsburgh-housing-market-one-of-nations-hottest/
“PPG accountant Erin McGroarty is a first-time home buyer who believes that in addition to be a nice a place to live, her townhouse in Adams Ridge will be a solid investment.
‘The sun sets every night over the back corner. It’s great to watch. You sit out here, it’s really peaceful,’ McGroarty said.”
Um, yeah. The sun sets every night, everywhere. Also, Adams Ridge is in Adams Township, about 25 miles North of Pittsburgh.
“No neighborhood is hotter than Lawrenceville.
In fact, according the real estate research group RealSTATs, the average sale price of a house in Lawrenceville jumped from $34,124 in the year 2000 to $160,013 last year — an increase of 369 percent.”
http://www.areavibes.com/pittsburgh-pa/lower+lawrenceville/livability/
People are smart.
Renters can’t see the sun set.
Typical price inflated 360% from 2000-2015 and nobody can explain why. Yet prices anytime before 2000 fell.
Someones got a dilemma.
In caae AlbqDan is lurking, are we still on track for $80 / bbl oil by December, given that Thanksgiving is next week?
Marketwatch dot com
Goldman Sachs: Don’t buy commodities even after their selloff
By Victor Reklaitis
Published: Nov 19, 2015 7:22 a.m. ET
Bank still sees long-term case for holding commodities
It’s a glum time in the commodities business.
Commodities have struggled in 2015, hurt by China’s slowdown, but Goldman Sachs says it’s still not time to go bargain hunting.
“[W]e don’t believe that current prices present an appealing entry point to position for higher commodity returns, despite the perceived asymmetric risk-reward at low spot prices and post such weak returns,” analysts at the bank said in a note dated Wednesday.
The analysts said they “continue to believe that the downside risks to our forecasts are non-negligible, in particular in the oil market in the near term as storage utilization continues to climb.”
Goldman’s target this year for West Texas Intermediate crude (CLZ5, -1.35%) is $45 a barrel, and it expects $50 a barrel for Brent crude (LCOF6, -0.02% WTI) was trading at about $41 early Thursday, while Brent wavered below $45.
…
Commodities have struggled in 2015, hurt by China’s slowdown ??
Blackstone Vice Chairman Studzinski said this morning that China is likely growing at something more like 4-5%….
Translation: Don’t buy oil until we buy oil first. After that we’ll recommend that you buy oil and we’ll sell you our oil at a higher price.
“All of your entry points are belongs to us.”
Gobble gobble.
Does crow work well as a Thanksgiving entree?
Global Warming & Climate Change: The Tax Agenda
Posted on October 5, 2015 by Martin Armstrong
In September, authorities banned cars from the streets of Paris in preparation for the 2015 Climate Change conference. Governments are behind the climate change propaganda because they want to introduce a per mile driven tax. A core group of academics is on board because the government pays them to put out studies to justify the need for more taxes.
It would be nice to see these people giving up their cars and trying to ride their bikes in 1 meter of snow. But they believe in government as if those people ever tell the truth.
How the planet works or the cyclical nature of weather caused by the sun is a vast area that remains undisclosed because it does not justify more taxes. Buy a car and they want the odometer reading because behind the curtain everyone is preparing to tax you on each mile you drive, even if you have a fully electric car.
There has been a serious announcement issued by the German government’s Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research. It reads:
Atmospheric chemists from France and Germany, however, can now show that isoprene can also be formed without biological sources in the surface film of the oceans by sunlight and so explain the large discrepancy between field measurements and models. The new identified photochemical reaction is therefore important to improve the climate models.
In other words, they have discovered a natural counter-balance within our ecosystem that cools the planet. The predictions that stated that the ice caps should have been gone by now were dead wrong. Then there are people claiming the rising water in the Pacific Ocean will cause islands to sink. Yet many parts of land today were once below the oceans. Limestone is found mostly in regions that were formally below the sea, and marble is formed from limestone under a lot of pressure. Areas where marble exists today were generally once under the sea. This took place long before man invented the combustion engine.
Sandy, the name of the major hurricane that struck the U.S. a few years ago, altered the ocean floor so much so that Long Beach Island, New Jersey now routinely floods. Is it sea levels rising or a change in ocean floor? Nearly 20% of the southern portion of New Jersey is known as the Pine Lands. Why? It’s all sand and use to be under water.
Things change naturally; they are not all caused by human activity. But blame people and you justify government taxation. That is the thinking behind this movement. They do not profit by telling the truth. Just follow the money. If politicians lie about everything else, why should we believe them on this issue either?
This entry was posted in Taxes and tagged Climate Change Conference, Leibniz Institute, Paris, Tax Per Mile by Martin Armstrong.
If politicians lie about everything else, why should we believe them on this issue either?
Exactly. Climate change denying politicians are lying to us.
Climate change denying politicians are lying to us.
Not just lying, but a well-funded well-oiled propaganda campaign. Goes to show if you funnel enough dark money to congresspersons, they will say anything and take any position. Got RICO?
WPA = Warmist Propaganda Agent
P.S. we’re all doomed anyway
“In the long run we are all dead.” — Keynes
Update: Crude Oil Plummets 49% YoY
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/crude%20oil%20-%20electronic
Nothing raises the standard of living like falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Nothing.
(CNSNews.com) – Despite an increase in revenue of $1.1 billion, the U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $5.1 billion for Fiscal Year 2015, which ended on September 30th.
“The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $5.1 billion for fiscal year 2015 (October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2015),” the Postal Service said in an news release.
It was the ninth year in a row that USPS ended its fiscal year in the red.
Ask any postal service employee and they’ll tell you that when you keep tapping its revenue and reserves for war and other expenses, ending up in the red is the inevitable result.
Congress owns this. There is no excuse for USPS to be in the red. The postage rates for business junk mail is way too low, and so is postage to mail a letter. Multiple times USPS has asked for rate increases and they get voted down.
The postage rates for business junk mail is way too low ??
And how much of it goes round file…99% ?? Any solicitation mail I get goes round file instantly and I get a lot of it…
Another hidden GOP subsidy for big business: run USPS in a deficit to keep direct mass advertisement rates artificially low.
Then bitch to the press about how thw USPS always operates in the red…
Don’t forget that Congress required USPS to massively overfund the pension system for the sole purpose of running USPS in the red.
If you think you’re mad now, wait til you find out they stole your social security money and that obamacare doesn’t work.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-19/unitedhealth-may-pull-out-of-obamacare-marketplace-stock-slides
When you artificially lower what high risk patients need to pay, and try to make that work by artificially increasing what low risk patients pay, you find out that people are rational beings–and insurance companies end up with numbers that no longer work.
This is really fascinating. Somehow, people can look at something like the post office and see the virtue of having an operation pay its way (make a profit! oh I said it, evil capitalist me). And if running a money losing monopoly that pretty much can charge whatever it wants makes you mad, imagine how you’ll feel when the house you bought through a government controlled monopoly is worth much less than you paid?
It’s like everything the government touches turns to sh*t.
And let’s not forget how the USPS is subsidizing Amazon dot com by giving them below-market rates for delivery service (including Sundays & holidays).
Or is it Amazon that is helping to keep the USPS afloat?
Well whatever, let’s just call it a mutually-beneficial arrangement, one in which the U.S. taxpayer continues to keep those postal workers’ pensions fully funded!
Ain’t capitalism grand?
I’ve mentioned this before; we’ve got Amazon beat in the money losing thing. We should take the postal service public and the wall street will shower us with riches. Work on Sunday, you blue-wool wearing dogs!
It’s like everything the
governmentpeople touchesturns to sh*t.No Lib…. He’s right. Govt power is corrosive.
Agreed. Name one President who has given us less spending and less gov? And what party uses this as their platform? Sheeple, wake up!
Big government is based on the idea that the really smart people can direct the regular folks better than they can direct themselves. As a result, only followers and morons are allowed.
A: what is email?
More interesting info on Zero Hedge:
They don’t even attempt to hide the fact they stream anti-U.S. economy articles from Eastern Europe. Their IP registration:
Registrant Name: Georgi Hristozov
Registrant Organization: ABC Media Ltd
Registrant Street: P.O. Box 3
Registrant City: Sofia
Registrant Country: Bulgaria
Curious letters, ABC, in ABC Media. ABC is a political party in Bulgaria, formed by ex-President Georgi Parvanov, a strongly pro-Russian former member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. A recent Bulgarian investigation found “close ties to the KGB” and Parvanov’s KGB code name was “Gotse.”
One might say, well, all that KGB stuff was decades ago. But the old KGB-Bulgaria ties are still there post-Iron Curtain:
“One in six Bulgarian officials since 1990 had ties to the secret police during communism, concluded a parliamentary study… The old ties have come into the limelight this week for another reason: Russian arms trader Victor Bout, who supposedly had excellent contacts to the Soviet and later to the Russian secret service, had delivered a load of weapons worth several hundred million dollars to Bulgaria just before he was arrested on March 6 (2008).” (link)
Better stick with allegedly American corporate media that is controlled by Israel.
New York Times, Fox News, doesn’t matter. All Israel, all the time.
Outing Zero Hedge is not an endorsement of crappy US media…
Reading Zero Hedge is not an endorsement of its entire editorial line or ulterior agendas.
“This Isn’t Going To End Well” - Junk Bonds Under Pressure
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-19/isnt-going-end-well-junk-bonds-under-pressure
Mortgage paper=junk bonds
It’s going to end well for someone.
Of course. We all benefit from falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels.
This is actually a reasonable financial analysis. This is what ZH does, they have articles that are just credible enough so they don’t get laughed out of the room, then they sprinkle in the Russian propaganda from time to time, like this one:
Russia Explains To Clueless US Public Why Obama Can’t Defeat ISIS
The fact Obama is helpless is a mystery only to you.
The ‘clueless’ is important. It makes the reader feel special, but only if he agrees.
Hammer to Fall!!!!
“US Industrial Production Growth Slumps To Weakest Since January 2010″
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-17/us-industrial-production-growth-slumps-weakest-january-2010
That could also lead to lower prices.
Yes. Falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels is always a good thing.
Yes. Falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels is always a good thing.
for the unemployed, not for the people who do stuff and create.
Everyone benefits from falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Everyone.
Not Realtors . . .
Sure they do. With housing demand at 20 year lows at current grossly inflated asking prices of resale housing, imagine the volume of business that results as housing price declines accelerate.
Poor Donald Trump, he just lost a major talking point:
More Mexicans Leaving US Than Coming In
So now what Donald? Do you still want that wall to keep the unwashed masses in? Will the GOP endorse open borders to allow Mexicans to go back home? LOL, this is muy deliciosa.
Well the ones coming in are much larger, so the volume of Mexicans in the country is still increasing.
Trump will have to widen that special door he was talking about.
Park some electric carts out front..
The “wall” will make it hard to leave….for everyone.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/average-down-payments-rise-as-housing-demand-and-buyer-competition-increase-300181410.html
Interesting data (if true). If I remember correctly, down payments were not rising during 2004-2007, but people were buying higher and higher priced homes with less and less money down.
And what about Phoney and Fraudie 3.5% down mortgages which are most of the market?
that is what they call a green shoot my friend.
crater
Maybe the global savings glut is being put to work here? Buying houses at the top of a bubble with large down payments pulled from savings is one way to shrink the savings glut.
Lola,
There is no “savings”. Everyone is up to their eyeballs in debt.
i really think u are right on that on daniel son.
Everyone is up to their eyeballs in debt.
At least some of that debt will get paid back.
With the rising default rates and bankruptcy declarations, it’s doubtful.
There is no “savings”. Everyone is up to their eyeballs in debt.
Speak for yourself. Charging $55 per sq ft would make one poor for sure. You are what you are worth.
I’m speaking for all you underwater donkeys Lib.
Household debt approaching its historic peak again: https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html
Another summary: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/19/new-york-fed-household-debt-at-highest-level-since-2010.html
Housing debt is still 15% off the peak…the increase seems to be mainly in student and auto loans…auto loans?!?!
Autos…talk about a depreciating asset…
Autos… houses. They all end up back in the ground right where they came from.
The Quarterly NY Fed report on debt, linked off of that page: https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2015Q3.pdf
Regarding auto loans, someone’s figured out a way to unload the risk of auto loans onto the taxpayer. The auto loans to the bottom tier borrowers are booming, back to where they were in 05 and 06 (p.8).
Trump: At a rally Monday night in Knoxville, Tenn., he earned big cheers when he insisted, regarding ISIS that, “I’m going to bomb the s— out of them.”
Buy stock in Boeing.
I’m seeing John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) with Public Image Limited live tomorrow night
Loanowners never get to see live music
reminds me of seeing X at the Mercury Cafe many moons ago - wild crowd - wild night and alot of drinking very strong drink.
I’ve seen X, 4 times. Even as old timers they still rock.
Lets start the draft and invade Syria, keep it all to ourselves. Let the oil pay us back (this time is different). Anyone who doesn’t like it can fight us. full on wars are good for the economy and population control and make for good TV. Don’t we have a bunch of tanks just sitting unused in the UT desert?
….and alot of Caterpillar® tractors that could be retrofitted and shipped.
Nice beaches. We can build a Club Med or two when finished. http://www.visit-syria.com/encote.htm
Caesar would do it.
Krugman would be giddy at the sight of all those broken windows.
Fractional reserve banking is making everyone debt serfs.
But 95% of voters embrace their serfdom.
Nike is shoveling a bunch of money back to shareholders.
In an announcement on Thursday after the market close, Nike announced it would repurchase $12 billion worth of stock, raise its dividend, and execute a 2-for-1 stock split.
Following the announcement, shares of the retailer were up as much as 4% in after-hours trade.
where did they get the money to buyback the shares? seems like they are gambling in their own stock.
SEC needs to crackdown on this scam.
As of the quarter ended 8/31, Nike had on their balance sheet:
$21B of assets ($15B current assets)
$8B of liabilities ($1B long-term debt, $5B current liabilities, $2B deferred income tax)
They have operating income of about $1B per quarter.
From their press release, they are finishing an $8B share repurchase–and the $12B will follow that, starting in 2016.
If they’ve repurchased $8B (or close to it) without raising significant debt, perhaps the $12B will be over time, from cash flow as well.
Book value per share has been on the rise–share count falling, total book equity rising, long-term debt generally flat.
Estimated at:
$11.33 per share at 5/12
$12.39 per share at 5/13
$12.44 per share at 5/14
$14.83 per share at 5/15
A good flavor of repurchase, IMHO.
Nothing like taking out a loan and depositing it into your savings.
Gotta admit, didn’t know what to make of Trump at first, don’t watch tv and don’t really care, but this is hitting it out of the park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-fbQ0FOTic
He’s better than the sleepy doctor or the rest of the clown car occupants, possibly excempting Rand Paul if he’d rediscover his father’s principles and stop trying to join the Big Club that We Ain’t In.
Despite Hillary’s mighty efforts to conceal her totalitarian tendencies and contempt for the rights of others, at least until the Permanent Democrat Supermajority allows her and the rest of the DNC to take off their masks, her inner tyrant still bursts forth on occasion.
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/11/19/hillary-clinton-needs-a-safe-space-aides-demand-comedy-club-remove-video-making-fun-of-her/
“Let this be clear to everyone, this is just the beginning, these actions are going to continue,”
French police raid dozens of homes in search of suspected jihadists
Text by NEWS WIRES
Latest update : 2015-11-16
Police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across France overnight following the Paris attacks, and a source close to the investigation said a Belgian national in Syria was suspected of orchestrating Friday’s mayhem.
Prosecutors said one of the killers had been stopped and fingerprinted in Greece last month, fuelling speculation the Islamic State had taken advantage of the recent influx of refugees fleeing the Middle East to slip militants into Europe.
The Paris carnage, which killed 129 people, has led to calls for the European Union to close its borders to asylum seekers.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned France could be hit by new violence but said the Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks in retaliation for French airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, would never win.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told journalists on Monday police arrested 23 people and seized arms including rocket launchers in 168 raids overnight. Another 104 people were put under house arrest, he said.
“Let this be clear to everyone, this is just the beginning, these actions are going to continue,” Cazeneuve said.
http://www.france24.com/…rance-police-raid-homes-paris-attacks-cazeneuve-interior-arrests - 300k -
Comment by phony scandals
2015-11-19 17:50:00
French police raid dozens of homes in search of suspected jihadists
france24.com/en/20151116-france-police-raid-homes-paris-attacks-cazeneuve-interior-arrests
Is the prospect of a hard landing in China keeping you up at night?
China hard landing means world growth would ’slow sharply’
Were China to sneeze, the world may well catch a cold.
By Malcolm Scott
China’s slowdown is already playing out across the world, dragging down commodity prices and weighing on trade partners.
And that’s while the economy is still growing at about 7 per cent. So imagine what happens in a hard-landing scenario.
The crew at Oxford Economics have done just that in a new report that makes stark reading for anyone with a stake in the global economy.
China’s economic boom of the past 30 years means it now accounts for 11 per cent of world GDP and around 10 per cent of world trade. For resources, it’s an even bigger player, accounting for 11 per cent of world oil demand and 40 to 70 per cent of demand for other key commodities, according to the Oxford Economics research. Its financial system is massive, with its broad money supply now larger than the US’s and amounting to over 20 per cent of the world’s.
So were China to sneeze, the world may well catch a cold.
First to trade. The volume of goods imported into China have already fallen by around 4 per cent in the first three quarters of the year, after rising an average 11 per cent per year from 2004-14. That means China has cut around 0.4 percentage point from world goods trade growth in the nine months to the end of September, after having added an average 1 percentage point a year in the previous decade.
The biggest losers are those with the closest trade links and those whose economies are most open.
For most advanced economies, their reliance on trade with China is lower, with Germany among the more dependent:
…
Then there’s the indirect effects as the drag on GDP of China’s trading partners works through the global economy. For instance, Japan would not only suffer from weaker exports to China but also to Korea and other Asian trading partners affected by China’s slowdown, the Oxford Economics research shows.
Another transmission is via commodity prices, with any further slowdown in Chinese growth leading to additional price falls, especially as supply has expanded significantly in recent years. That would be bad news for the likes of Australia and Brazil.
…