December 25, 2015

Bits Bucket for December 25, 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




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104 Comments »

Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 03:33:41

Merry Christmas everyone. Another year is in the books and I continue to be thankful for the HBB and all the contributors. There is really nothing quite like this space when it comes to housing.

May 2016 bring you peace and prosperity!

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 05:33:06

Thx, and good luck going forward with the housing situation around Sac. Could be some rough waters ahead!

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 06:56:35

All the nice old neighborhoods around sacramento are way overpriced, obscene values.

East sac, elmhurst, tahoe park, land park, the pocket, curtis park, riverpark, and parts of arden arcade etc all are where people want to buy. Old neighborhoods that have held up.

The problem is these areas are surrounded by less than desirable areas. People are b@tching about the homeless coming in and lowering property values. Homeless camps all over the american river between 5 and business 80.

The only area with any new building going on is the city limits is north natomas. New stucco shanties for 300k.

West sacramento has some new building but not in the preferred zip codes. Out by the old port is where new homes r being built. I believe it is in yolo county also.

In the county of sacramento , most of the future development will be in the south by elk grove.Old farmland being mowed over.

If you have deep pockets folsom is going to develop some are south of hwy 50. Homes 400k and up.

anything reasonably priced around here is in a less than desirable hood.

Comment by rms
2015-12-25 12:01:17

I see a parallel between Atlanta and Sacramento, i.e., the career employed suburbs are an hour commute away. If you are lucky your suburb also gains a bit of elevation, so you might beat the winter fog that settles around Sacramento when the dew point converges on the air temperature.

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Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 06:59:57

The economy here is pretty solid, population growth is 1%+ annually and new jobs are being created, so the fundamentals are good. The builders are producing about 4,000 homes/year and we really need about 8,000, so supply is low.

The wild cards seem to be outside factors like a meltdown in the BRICs, China in particular. Then there is always a black swan, like a terrorist event. It’s always a risk.

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:06:04

where are all these new jobs?

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Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 09:54:02

azdude….from the Sac Bus Journal last week:

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: state numbers released Friday show the Sacramento region has finally recovered all the jobs it lost during the recession.
Sacramento is California’s last metro area to achieve this benchmark. Unlike its neighboring regional economies, the four-county region has been stifled by slow job growth, particularly from the public sector. In fact, Sacramento still hasn’t regained all the government jobs it lost during the Great Recession.
But last month, the region added 5,400 jobs for a total of 936,900, according to the California Employment Development Department. That’s just over 3,000 jobs above the region’s total pre-recession job peak, which came in June 2007. The state jobs numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
“We should be feeling pretty good about getting back to even, because parts of the country are still reeling under pressure,” said Sanjay Varshney, a finance professor at California State University Sacramento.
Varshney noted that most of Sacramento’s job growth is coming from leisure and hospitality, which has added 11,200 jobs over the past year. Those jobs are relatively low-wage, Varshney said.
“The conversation needs to go critically in job growth on the high end of the wage scale,” said Varshney. “We have not seen any major private-sector job growth like what you are seeing in Reno or North Carolina or other parts of the country.”

 
Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 10:13:30

more mcjobs mostly

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 10:15:27

Are you sure?

LaborForce Participation Rate Plummets To 37 Year Low; Jobless Population At Record High

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000

 
Comment by rms
2015-12-25 12:10:21

“Varshney noted that most of Sacramento’s job growth is coming from leisure and hospitality, which has added 11,200 jobs over the past year. Those jobs are relatively low-wage, Varshney said.”

These workers are just breathing air, no equity gains for them.

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 07:11:29

With 25 million excess empty and defaulted houses in the US, 4.4 million of which are in CA in an environment of collapsing demand and record low population growth, there’s not much urgency in throwing away capital on more of them.

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Comment by redmondjp
2015-12-25 14:57:22

Merry Christmas, Housing Analyst!

Nice to see that you’ve gotten your number down to 25M today.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 17:02:01

Mafia Blocks my friend Mafia Blocks.

Seattle, WA Housing Prices Crater 6% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/seattle-wa-98199/home-values/

 
Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-26 05:29:25

Mafia Blocks? You are denying you are Housing Analyst, HA?

Finally, we agree agree on something…..you are no Housing Analyst! HA!, HA!

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-26 06:12:34

Data Jingle_Fraud data!

Arvada, CO Housing Prices Crater 10% YoY

http://www.movoto.com/arvada-co/market-trends/

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 09:10:56

Are Chinese investors still making all-cash investment purchases around Sac?

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Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 10:03:44

I have very limited experience with that group, but I do know they are buying up commercial real estate in the SF Bay Area at very low multiples (high prices, 4% returns).

I know of one Chinese investor who purchased 27 houses in 2007 & 2008. He left them vacant with dead lawns, looking abandoned for years until the HOAs got all over him. He is probably at a breakeven point, today and has them rented for cash flow. I find him to be an idiot, but he owns $20,000,000 of houses free and clear, so he is doing something right or doing something illegal.

If he starts dumping his inventory, it would have some effect on the market. However, the real damper on the market today is still the remaining 2007 foreclosures finally coming to market.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 10:23:12

Not to mention the all the new defaults racking up.

Remember…. there are foreclosure moratoriums in effect in all 50 states.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 06:27:21

What movie are you going to see today Jingle_Fraud?

Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 09:56:34

I am not going to the movies today. There is too much to do at home with family. If I did go, I would probably see “The Force Awakens” for the THIRD time! It is a great movie worth seeing several times!

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 10:18:10

^lol

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Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 12:58:02

I am going to see The Force Awakens today.

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 15:01:54

May the Force be wth you this holiday season and on into 2016!

PS Check out whether the scavenger woman reminds you of a debt-$trapped Californian trying to earn enough from his low paying job to pay for his monthly housing cost.

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 15:30:32

Merry holidays PB. I will keep an eye out for the scavenger woman.

Me and my sister ate a lot of food yesterday, so today it’s light eating. But of course, since this is e second movie at a theater I am seeing in 2015, I think we will have popcorn during the movie.

Renting is freedom.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Neuromance
2015-12-25 17:34:41

Hear, hear!

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 05:19:18

And Merry Christmas to you too Lola. Here’s one for you.

https://youtu.be/E8gmARGvPlI

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 06:34:51

MCFRAUD

Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 06:45:12

And you too Poet.

May your new year be filled with falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels accelerating the economy like nothing else can.

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:01:48

Gasoline is creeping back up, WTF? Makes no sense. price gouging reving up again?

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 07:08:25

Retail fuel is falling in the US. Its rising in Brazil?

 
Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 10:26:16

price jumped 10 cents / gallon locally. I would fill up all your tanks now!

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 15:32:25

I think it ramped up because of Christmas travel.

 
 
 
 
Comment by aNYCdj
2015-12-25 17:59:04

and for a long time we all thought ridgeley was gay……

Ridgeley lives near Wadebridge, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in a restored 15th century farm property with his partner Keren Woodward,[20] a member of the group Bananarama.

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 05:40:27

Are you planning to buy falling knife commodities after their fifth straight year of losses?

Or would it be prudent to keep your powder dry until the onset of the next U.S. recession?

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 05:44:32

Hellenic Shipping News
After a brutal 2015, what’s on tap for commodities?
in Commodity News 25/12/2015

Commodities are suffering from their worst year since 2008. Industrial commodities, in particular, are seeing outsize losses…

Sentiment in the commodities market has been downbeat for the bulk of 2015, with iron ore, platinum, copper and coal among those seeing the biggest losses.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a broadly diversified commodity-price index, has fallen more than 26% in 2015. It is headed for its fifth straight losing year and its worst yearly drop since 2008. The index stands around its lowest level since 1999.

“Except for oil, no commodities sector has been beat down as much as the industrial and precious metals,” said Kevin Kerr, president of Kerr Trading International.

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 05:47:24

I’m sure the porcine beauticians will predict higher prices by this time next year, the same as they predicted at the end of each of the previous four years of losses.

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 06:32:50

What is your best ETF for going long commodities?

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Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 06:47:09

DNO

 
Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 06:58:29

u never add any real value my friend.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 07:12:34

Falling prices Poet. Falling prices my friend.

 
Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:34:36

add some value shyster.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 08:52:32

Nothing adds value like falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Nothing.

Novato, CA Housing Prices Crater 15% YoY

http://www.movoto.com/novato-ca/market-trends/

 
 
Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 06:51:25

The trend is your friend!

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 06:03:56

How did your junk bond fund do this year?

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 06:07:49

1:14 pm ET
Dec 23, 2015
Credit
Muni Bonds Winner in 2015; Junk Bonds Big Loser
By Min Zeng
CONNECT
Associated Press

Municipal bonds have been the biggest winner in the U.S. fixed-income universe this year, while junk bonds have been the biggest loser.

The report card captures a balancing act among investors during a year of uncertain global growth, punctuated by a sharp decline in oil and other commodities, concerns about a slowdown in China’s economy and the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase since 2006.

Many investors shed their exposure to corporate bonds sold by lower-rated firms, led by the energy sector that bore the brunt of the bear run in oil.

U.S. municipal bonds have posted a total return–including price gains and interest payments–of 3.19% this year through Tuesday, according to data from Barclays PLC.

MBS has returned 1.38%, while U.S. government debt has returned 1.03%.

On the losing side: junk bonds posted a negative return of 5.28%. Its sibling–investment-grade corporate debt–had a negative 0.68% return.

The S&P 500 stock index has returned 1.1%–including price gains and dividend payments, this year through Tuesday, according to FactSet.

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 06:23:47

All told, 2015 was a relatively dismal investing year, though U.S. housing shined like a beacon in a stormy night.

For how much longer will U.S. housing remain a special asset class, producing outsized gains compared to all others?

Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-25 07:03:36

Until we start producing enough housing to meet demand.

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Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:16:02

that will never happen in CA.

 
 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 07:16:27

Considering demand is in the gutter, why?

US Housing Demand Plummets To 20 Year Low

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qRBemWyulY0/VNGrDCBXzOI/AAAAAAAAiMA/jdA2RQkiNDc/s1600/MBAFeb42014.PNG

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Comment by Ol'Bubba
2015-12-25 11:27:38

Your post prompted me to check. I exited junk bonds on May 1, and in retrospect I’m glad I did.

I agree that 2015 was a relatively dismal investing year. I think we were spoiled by 2012 -2014. For the most part, 2015 was marginally flat with some modest gainers and some losers.

Comment by Jingle Male
2015-12-26 05:37:41

It was an important year, since the plateau helped moderate the bubble risk. It would be a much scarier market if it had gone up 20% in 2015! Imagine a Dow Jones at $21,600!

I prefer $17,500 today.

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Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 06:19:03

Boo hoo!

‘On the 11th of December 2015, JibJab made a Facebook announcement that they will no longer be releasing “Year in Review” videos.’

How can they do this in the year of The Donald?

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:00:07

Have u seen the big short yet? Or is deliverance your type of movie?

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 09:14:05

I was planning to see it two nights ago, but my wife found the R rated stuff objectionable. I’ll either watch it or rent it on my own after the holidays.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 14:57:32

Gonna go tonight with my wife’s wild and crazy BIL’s clan — thank God for family!

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 22:57:18

Now that I have seen the movie, I find myself very curious which, if any, of the main characters portrayed in the screenplay were HBB posters, or at least readers, back in the 2006-08 period during which the movie plays out. The insights of the main characters certainly resembles those which were shared here back when the high and mighty denied the Housing Bubble’s very existence.

Comment by rms
2015-12-26 02:49:05

“The insights of the main characters certainly resembles those which were shared here back when the high and mighty denied the Housing Bubble’s very existence.”

Anyone (everyone?) worth their own salt knew it was too good to be true, but real estate was the prettiest girl on the dance floor, the music was loud and the punch bowl was being refilled before it was necessary to angle the ladle.

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Comment by Goon
2015-12-25 06:40:10

I am grateful today for my awesome apartment and cheap rent

Buy overpriced housing today and you’ll feel like you’re living in a coffin

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:17:22

Dont u get depressed or have FOMO cause your not building any equity?

Comment by Goon
2015-12-25 07:53:04

building any equity

Building a fat stack of paper that’s not tied up in an illiquid asset

And a lifetime of experiences of which loanowners can only dream…

 
 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 15:37:48

I want to get a two bedroom apartment but it is $500 more per month. Still, rent is cheap in my one bedroom. Realistically I am expecting grinch in 2016 from my company, then a paltry 4% raise in 2017.

 
 
Comment by Goon
2015-12-25 06:50:04

John Lennon once sang “and so this is Christmas, war is over”

But this link to Reuters piece tells us that’s not happening where Jesus came from:

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/567c7fabe4b06fa688801694

Coffee, sunrise, rooftop deck, Region VIII

 
 
Comment by Red Pill
2015-12-25 06:50:50

A rough night with the fam…after everyone went to bed I watched Amy Schumer HBO special…pretty funny. Then I cranked up the movie “Swingers” with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, love that movie. It reminds me of my time hitting the clubs in Santa Barbara when you could still light up a cig and listen to a good band…and maybe take a “beautiful baby” home for the night.

Things weren’t so PC, and life was simple…let’s get back to those times.

Anyway, happy holidays to all of you and have a great new year!!!!!!

 
Comment by Goon
2015-12-25 07:05:50

Holiday or no holiday, warmists gonna warm:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/12/24/records-smashed-on-east-coasts-warmest-christmas-eve/

Florida was really nice, specifically Captiva Island 8)

Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 08:24:44

Every time a climate scientist cashes a fat check from a government climate grant an angel gets his wings.

Scientist leading effort to prosecute climate skeptics under RICO ‘paid himself & his wife $1.5 million from govt climate grants for part-time work’

By: Marc Morano -
September 20, 2015 11:42 PM

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.

George Mason University Professor Jagadish Shukla ( jshukla@gmu.edu) a Lead Author with the UN IPCC, reportedly made lavish profits off the global warming industry while accusing climate skeptics of deceiving the public. Shukla is leader of 20 scientists who are demanding RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges be used against skeptics for disagreeing with their view on climate change.

Shukla reportedly moved his government grants through a ‘non-profit’. The group “pays Shukla and wife Anne $500,000 per year for part-time work,” Prof. Roger Pielke Jr. revealed.

“The $350,000-$400,000 per year paid leader of the RICO20 from his ‘non-profit’ was presumably on top of his $250,000 per year academic salary,” Pielke wrote. “That totals to $750,000 per year to the leader of the RICO20 from public money for climate work and going after skeptics. Good work if you can get it,” Pielke Jr. added.

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/#ixzz3vLWvkKvx

Comment by Oddfellow
2015-12-25 09:28:42

And half the country is celebrating Christmas in their shorts.

Same as it never was!

Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 18:10:16

“Same as it never was!”

Unless you count 1932

But I understand your science. Throw out the previous high temp, delete the last 4 years and round off to the lowest government climate grant.

By Jacob Pucci | jpucci@syracuse.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on December 24, 2015 at 7:22 AM,

Update: The official high in Syracuse today was 68 degrees, blowing away the old Christmas Eve record of 58.

Christmas Day will be warm, but it’s unlikely to break any records. The forecast is 50, well short of the 66 degrees recorded in 1932.

http://www.syracuse.com/…icial_today_is_the_warmest_christmas_eve_ever_in_central_ny.html - 213k - Cached - Similar pages
1 day ago .

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Comment by Oddfellow
2015-12-25 18:48:29

The warmest Christmas Eve the East Coast has ever seen is shattering records

The world’s hottest year is ending in the most fitting manner possible: with one of the most significant heat waves on record for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

As of Thursday afternoon, at least one all-time December high temperature record had been broken, with a high of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (so far) in Burlington, Vermont. In addition, at least two dozen daily record high temperatures had already been broken, including in New York City, which hit 71 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures on Thursday and Friday will make a run at numerous all-time December high temperature records, along with record-warm overnight low temperatures.

http://mashable.com/2015/12/24/record-warm-christmas-temp-tracker/#zTajgTjzQuqw

 
Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 19:34:18

Make a run at 1932?

 
Comment by Oddfellow
2015-12-25 19:52:43

Can you believe that even the Russian scientists believe in man-made climate change now, phony? How did they get dragged into the conspiracy?

Even Putin is no match for the Greenpeace brigade?

 
Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 19:58:29

Mashable?

Andrew Freedman?

LMAO

Nice paid for propaganda.

Kerry at Climate Talks: ‘Members of the Flat Earth Society Are on The Wrong Side of History’
By Patrick Goodenough | December 8, 2015 | 4:15 AM EST

Secretary of State John Kerry and Mashable science editor Andrew Freedman take part in a public event on the sidelines of the U.N. climate conference in Paris, France, on Monday, December 7, 2015.

Mashable science editor Andrew Freedman asked Kerry why U.S. negotiators were opposing language in the draft agreement that says parties “shall implement policies to meet Paris targets.”

“Is their view that the State Department is just concerned about triggering a Senate ratification requirement?” Freedman asked.

“Well, the frank and simple answer is that certain legal – certain terms have legal impact and certain legal impacts have political impact, and certain political impact can kill the agreement,” Kerry replied.

 
Comment by Oddfellow
2015-12-25 20:30:47

Okay, how about Accuweather? Or 100 other media sites reporting the same thing?

Warmest Christmas Eve on record to unfold across eastern US

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist
December 24, 2015; 9:55 AM ET

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines, “On Christmas Eve, parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England could be just as warm as they were on the Fourth of July.”
Record high temperatures, including some record warm minimum temperatures, are likely to be set from Florida to Maine.
New York City already racked their Christmas Eve record at 1:00 a.m., surpassing the old record of 63 degrees at a balmy 67. Temperatures for the afternoon will reach the middle 70s.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/christmas-eve-record-warmth-ny/54313801

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 21:11:27

And everybodys lovin’ it.

 
 
 
Comment by Measton
2015-12-25 14:46:51

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-warming-2-5-times-quicker-global-average-112218465.html

Oh no looks like the Russians who make bank on oil also see global warming? Must be Al Gore?

Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 16:56:19

Comments from this story

Bob 3 hours ago

Climate definition: a : the average course or condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation b : the prevailing set of conditions (as of temperature and humidity) indoors
I feel the need to tell the idiots who write these scare stories what climate really means. They seem to have no clue.
Man made Climate change chicken littles like to use anecdotal information. Where only one or a few anecdotes are presented, there is a larger chance that they may be unreliable due to cherry-picked or otherwise non-representative samples of typical cases. Anecdotal evidence is considered dubious support of a generalized claim that they have selectively chosen. In this cherry picking the Chicken Little set chose to ignore any anecdotal evidence that contradicts their politically motivated propaganda.
Thus we get these “THE SKY IS FALLING!” Garbage, as in this story. And, though they can’t prove it, its alleged that it’s all your fault for being selfish and living the kind of life you wanted. You are suppose to give up your rights and freedoms for Government solutions that, in fact, won’t change a thing.
Expand Replies (1) Reply

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Comment by Oddfellow
2015-12-25 17:46:17

Nothing to worry about. Some commenter says all the scientists in Russia are just as dumb as ours.

How come scientists are so dumb?

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Goon
2015-12-25 07:15:41

New York Times leads with this to provide the following narrative:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/us/thriving-in-texas-amid-appeals-to-reject-syrian-refugees.html?_r=0

Cool story. But scroll a bit further down their website and get this narrative:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/opinion/the-republican-fear-of-facts-on-guns.html

It’s the New York Times. It’s a narrative. Globalists are grabbers, because they can’t globe unless they grab first. Everything is connected…

http://www.discoverthenetworks.com/

 
Comment by Goon
2015-12-25 07:24:55

Salon dot com wets the bed and narrates a narrative:

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/25/we_live_in_the_golden_age_of_awful_news_why_every_year_seems_so_horrible_in_retrospect/

“awful news” = the realization that they’ve lost control of the narrative

It’s like that scene in the Jacksons movie where Diana Ross tells a young Michael Jackson to never relinquish control of the microphone…

 
Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 07:30:11

“The problem arises because the Fed, like other major central banks, has now become a creature of financial markets rather than a steward of the real economy. This transformation has been under way since the late 1980s, when monetary discipline broke the back of inflation and the Fed was faced with new challenges.

The challenges of the post-inflation era came to a head during Alan Greenspan’s 18-and-a-half-year tenure as Fed Chair. The stock-market crash of October 19, 1987 – occurring only 69 days after Greenspan had been sworn in – provided a hint of what was to come. In response to a one-day 23% plunge in US equity prices, the Fed moved aggressively to support the brokerage system and purchase government securities.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-24/fed-has-created-monster-and-just-made-dangerous-mistake-stephen-roach-warns

Time for more QE soon?

Comment by Professor Bear
2015-12-25 09:17:32

Next Fed experiment: NIRP. (And I guess PimpCo is already positioning themselves based on Ben Bernanke’s comments in the MSM.)

Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 10:19:52

So you have to pay the bank to store your money? That is really laughable at this point.

We went from the goldsmiths loaning out more money than there was gold to basically saying they had gold that wasn’t even there and writing notes on it.

Monetary tinkering will never fix this economy. Trump even knows that.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-12-25 08:11:11

WWI left 16 million dead across Europe and the Middle East, but like all wars, enriched the bankers and industrialists. The Christmas Truce was a rare spontaneous outbreak of human decency amidst the carnage. Peace on earth, goodwill towards men.

http://www.businessinsider.com/enemies-in-world-war-i-stopped-the-fight-to-celebrate-christmas-together-2014-12

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 15:33:56

Move out of the USD and you will help move the U.S. out of imperialism.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 08:14:21

Let this be a lesson to all of you.

Never ask a 400 pound bearded woman for a cigarette.

PS

How is it possible that the SDPD needs help finding a 400 pound bearded woman?

Police Seek 400-Pound, Bearded Woman in Stabbing
By Andie Adams

Published at 9:31 PM PST on Dec 23, 2015

A heavyset woman with facial hair stabbed a man when he approached a group in East Village Wednesday evening, police said.

The 39-year-old victim walked up to the group standing at 300 Park Boulevard and asked them for a cigarette at about 7:40 p.m., San Diego Police said.

According to police, as he was talking to them, a woman approached the man and told him to get away from her things.

The woman then stabbed the man in the left side of his neck, police say. She was last seen running south on Park Boulevard.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned woman weighing around 400 pounds “with a beard.” She was wearing a white shirt and jeans at the time of the attack, according to the SDPD.

If you know anything about this incident, call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Police-Seek-400-Pound-Bearded-Woman-in-Stabbing-363442981.html#ixzz3vLTjdcYE
Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook

Comment by oxide
2015-12-25 10:07:19

“She was last seen running south on Park Boulevard.”

She must have been running on Dunkin’.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-12-25 08:15:02
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-12-25 08:19:12

Americans gunning up as 2016 brings new uncertainties, and the Oligopoly and its political puppets step up efforts to disarm them.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/24/guns-topping-christmas-wish-lists-around-country/

 
Comment by phony scandals
2015-12-25 09:42:12

Trump

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
Comment by azdude
2015-12-25 10:24:41

buy some commodities while u can still afford them!

I can already see it play out.

You will wait for 20 and it doesn’t happen, then goes to 100 and we have to listen to you complain about the high price for 10 years.

Buy now. If it goes to 20 buy double what you originally bought.

You will be a winner!

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-12-25 11:20:15

Commodities are a short on the dollar. I’m looking at Rio Tinto and Broken Hill Proprietary. My bet on FCX is already paying off nicely, and PALDF looks promising as well.

Merry Christmas, everyone. And for those of other faiths, may you enjoy a blessed 2016.

 
Comment by Mafia Blocks
2015-12-25 11:22:44

Why buy it now when you can buy later for 60% less?

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2015-12-25 11:17:56

The Oligopoly is terrified as the sheeple are starting to wake up and resist the “fundamental transformation” imposed on sovereign peoples and nations by George Soros and his minions like Merkel.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/629022/EU-migration-crisis-far-right-parties-Europe-Germany-Sweden-France

 
Comment by rentor
2015-12-25 11:37:31

Is the Chinese real estate likely to implode? Without that the American housing bubble will remain intact.

Welcome to the age of global bubbles

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 11:43:44

Merry Christmas (from an atheist who celebrates solstice).

I am up in Beaverton, Oregon visiting a sister. Highlight today will be Star Wars in 3D.

Life is simpler up here and weather is comfortably cool. We are in a quiet neighborhood of $350k homes. This is an apartment complex. Nice two bedroom place at $1300 per month.

Comment by Oddfellow
2015-12-25 17:54:54

from an atheist who celebrates solstice

You seem more the Festivus type to me.

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 22:11:35

Danke schoen

 
 
 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
 
Comment by BigSky
2015-12-25 22:58:12

Owners.com, a national real estate brokerage and marketplace for for-sale-by-owner properties, recently released its ranking of top markets across the country for home price growth.

The survey, which compared data from August-September 2014 to data from August-September 2015, found that the Washington region had the fourth-highest price increase.

Owners.com compared the change in median price on a three-bedroom single-family house, which rose by 10.1 percent. The three metro areas with higher price increases are Denver (11.9 percent), Orlando (11.6 percent) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach (11.0 percent).

Some larger markets experienced price drops during the same period, such as the New York metropolitan area (which extends into New Jersey and Pennsylvania), where the median price of a three-bedroom single-family home dropped by 6.7 percent.

 
Comment by Little Al
2015-12-25 23:02:39

I just watched the movie “The Big Short”
It reminded me of so many events in my recent life.
How many times was I the bummer of the party when I announced with great conviction that housing prices were going to go down.
I remember the fellow that always said “got popcorn” on this blog
who showed the chart of the Ninja loans coming due, and we all wondered if we were insane watching an implosion that nobody seemed to see.
The movie made me sad also because even though the truth is out there, no one is in any position to react or care. We just can’t stop watching this terrible slow-motion trainwreck coming.

Merry Christmas to all
Good Night.

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 23:08:36

That “Got popcorn” guy was Neil. Wonder where he is?

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2015-12-25 23:13:37

I watched more movies this weekend than I did in a year. I recommend “Hugo.” A surreal movie about 1930s and with a good ending. Also “Guardians of the a galaxy, (I am Groot is my new phrase). And of course The Force Awakens.

My sister and my first 3D movie we watched. We were remarking that after watching “Hugo” then seeing 3D for the first time, it was fitting.

 
 
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