June 15, 2016

The Fear That There Is An Oversupply

The Saskatoon Star Phoenix reports from Canada. “It took Dennis Wells almost a year to sell his Forest Grove condominium. When he sealed the deal a few days ago, the two-bedroom unit went for $165,000 — more than $25,000 less than the asking price. ‘The market’s not there now … I mean, you can buy a brand-new one now for $170,000,’ said Wells, who bought the ground-floor apartment for about $56,000 in the early 1980s and spent thousands more renovating it last year.”

“Wells’ experience is likely reflective of the city’s real estate market. ‘Basically, you’ve got a ton of condo conversions that were sold, maybe to speculators, during the boom times, and some of those are being unloaded now,’ said Norm Fisher, a veteran real estate agent and owner-broker at Royal LePage Vidorra. ‘Combine that with maybe an overenthusiastic construction market that has really sort of overbuilt apartment-style condos the last few years, and that adds up to lots of inventory.’”

ABC News in Australia. “NICAD Developments, which builds blocks of up to 20 units, mostly in Brisbane’s inner-north, said concerns about a potential unit glut had scared off some buyers, who were worried their purchases could be worth significantly less in just a few years. ‘There’s definitely fear,’ said Adam Nicolo, who runs the company. ‘In particular, I’ve had two units signed and contracts crashed, based on the fear that there is an oversupply in Brisbane. There’s a lot of stock on the market; we’ve had a boom in construction, and the proof in the pudding so far is how quickly people are buying up or selling their stock.’”

“Brett Evans owns two investment units in close proximity to Brisbane’s CBD, and is unfazed by speculation about a fall in apartment values and rents over the next few years. ‘I bought these units with all the intention that if I have to drop the rent to $200 a week to put someone in it, I’ll do it,’ he said.”

“But Mr Nicolo said owner occupiers were taking a much more cautious approach. ‘Before, when things were hot, they didn’t have much time to think about their purchase,’ he said. ‘Now, we’ve gone back to a more normal market, where there’s a lot of choice and there’s not as much pressure on the potential buyers to buy something straight away. They’ve got time to assess things, come back, and there’s no urgency for them to buy.’”

From Macau Business Daily. “A group of Macau homebuyers in Zhuhai are seeking help from the MSAR government for what they consider to be a fraudulent development plan of a high-end property, called Hills Beyond Sea in Zhuhai. About 200 Macau residents, who bought properties in Hills Beyond Sea, signed a petition letter, complaining about the ‘false promotional plan on the property they bought.’ In addition, the property developer offered the buyers the ‘most expensive price for the property in the district in Zhuhai,’ when it ‘is not worth the high price,’ the group complains. One square meter in the property cost about RMB10,000 (US$1,522), the highest selling price in that district.”

“About 200 units were sold to Macau residents, accounting for about 25 per cent of the total residents at Hills Beyond Sea, including some 120 units that were bought by Macau residents for investment purposes. The entire property contains about 900 units in total. The residents have all reached out to the Zhuhai government and different departments of the government, including the property developer, for help since August last year. However, the property problems continue. ‘Some of the residents even sold their properties in Macau in order to buy a unit in Zhuhai, but they are now facing the uncertainty of not having a home to live in, both in Macau and Zhuhai.’”

The Bangkok Post in Thailand. “The government should help home buyers to get mortgage loans more easily as tough loan approval criteria are obstructing housing demand Anant Asavabhokhin, chairman of developer Land & Houses Plc, said. Peerapong Jaroon-ek, chief executive of SET-listed developer Origin Property Plc said banks should classify home buyers and market segments when applying strict lending rules. ‘Banks should not apply stricter lending rules for all customers, or the whole segment, as not everyone has a problem of financial discipline,’ he said.”

“For SME developers, market surveys and research are a must to survive, said Mr Peerapong. ‘Small-and medium-sized developers should apply a customer-centric approach. They should study demand as land prices today are so high that just any property development is not feasible,’ he added.”

“Kwanchai Yingcharoenthawornchai, managing director of new property developer Alternative Asset Plc, said property investment for individual investors would change this year as the market had changed. He added investment in condos for rent in the inner city was also sluggish as rents were not rising. In some locations where yield had been as high as 8%, it had dropped to only 3-4%. ‘In the past four years, speculation and short-term investment was very good. Many speculators could make a profit from selling a presale condo during a downpayment period. But this year it will be not that good due to the sluggish economy,’ he said.”

The Nation Online on Nigeria. “The real estate sector has been badly hit by current economic realities as several houses have been built without tenants to rent them. Tenants, who were meeting their rental obligations have resorted to either moving out of their apartments or defaulting in payment. Former President of the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Bode Adediji said: ‘Landlords have exotic houses, but with no effective demand from tenants; with the series of retrenchments in the banking, oil and information technology (IT) sectors, which were the toast of landlords as tenants, landlords have become the first casualties with high rental defaults.’”

“Vice Chairman, NIESV Lagos Branch, Mr. Orimalade Olurogba said 80 per cent of all properties under his management now had defaulting tenants who were previously meeting their obligations. He said: ‘What is most worrisome about it is that the sectors, which were termed to be secure, such as the oil and gas industry, are now the jobs that are most insecure. Some are even moving to cheaper accommodation; the ‘ideal and choice tenants’ that most landlords look forward to occupying their properties are currently defaulting because of the uncertainties in the economy.’”

The Manchester Evening News in the UK. “Since splitting from Oasis back in 2009 Noel Gallagher has gone on to forge a successful solo career, but one decision which has proven rather costly was his venture into the property market. The rock n’ roll star, 48, bought this end-of-terrace house in London’s Little Venice in 2010. Situated on the banks of Regent’s Canal, he is now looking for £11.5m for the house. But the singer is struggling to find a buyer for the property since putting it on the market last year and with no sign of a buyer coming in, it looks like he’s gonna have to just roll with it.”

“Some might say it’s surprising to see such a fantastic home stagnate on the market for so long but Henry Pryor, an independent property buyer isn’t shocked at all by Noel’s situation and sees it as being very much the norm in the current climate. He said: ‘Even celebrities aren’t immune to the changing London housing market. The most expensive homes are now 10%-15% lower than they were a year ago as sales volumes have fallen by a half. A blue plague or a celebrity connection may help you to get noticed but it doesn’t seem to add much to the price todays buyers will pay. The biggest worry for high profile sellers is if the market has further to fall and the prospect that some may find that they can’t sell at all.’”




RSS feed

188 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 02:19:16

‘A website set up to help aspiring property owners, First Home Buyers Australia, analysed Australian Bureau of Statistics data and found the amount people were borrowing to buy their first home had increased dramatically. ‘It found the value of loans granted to first-home buyers increased by 50 per cent from $221,100 to $330,600 in the past 10 years.’

‘Labor MP Andrew Leigh noted on Q&A recently that buying a house now costs 15 times the average income of young people. “In the early 1990s, buying a house in a big Australian city cost five times the average young Australian’s income, now it’s up to 15 times,” Mr Leigh said.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z05XKmyfUIQ

‘We’ve heard it all before, property only goes up right? - you normally only hear people talk about good stories never bad ones such is this one - this guy lost $15 million just like that, see how.’

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 02:24:01

‘A housing boom in China’s wannabe “Silicon Valley” of Shenzhen risks undermining the city’s tech boom as young professionals consider moving out to avoid the highest residential prices in the country. A property frenzy, which has driven prices up by 580 percent in the past 10 years, is beginning to weigh on the city’s competitiveness, tech firms, professionals, industry groups and officials say, just as it strives to develop new economic drivers and pull away from old-economy manufacturing.’

‘In the year to April, prices rose almost 63 percent - the biggest rise in China - data shows. Average residential property prices in Shenzhen in May were 40 percent higher than Beijing and 30 percent above Shanghai, according to data provider China Real Estate Index System (CREIS).’

‘A 90-square meter apartment (970 sq ft) near the city center, or in the tech district of Nanshan, costs around 6 million yuan ($915,000).’

‘The prices rises have been matched by a sharp increase in borrowing. Outstanding mortgages rose 40 percent to 742 billion yuan in 2015 and new mortgages jumped more than 200 percent to 340 billion yuan.’

‘An employee at the Shenzhen Promotion Association for Small & Medium Enterprises, who gave his surname as Huang, had a different take on the impact of the housing rally. Huang said startups required less labor than larger firms so higher apartment prices might “eliminate mediocre labor while keeping talent in Shenzhen.”

Comment by Cynical Cynosure
2016-06-15 06:26:36

Manhattan prices in Shenzen?!?

LOL

(And Manhattan is overvalued.)

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 02:29:05

‘The new President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers NIESV, Bolarinwa Patunola-Ajayi has said that the Federal Capital Territory FCT, is littered with unoccupied buildings, because majority of them are proceeds of corruption.’

‘Patunola-Ajayi, who stated this while addressing property correspondents during the maiden meeting of his council members in Abuja, said Abuja and its environs had enough buildings/houses that could accommodate its population without them running to nearby states to live. However, he noted that thousands of the houses were not occupied due to high cost of rents placed on them by their owners or agents.’

‘He maintained that those buildings were largely proceeds of corruption by powerful people in the society, which they used as a means to tie-down their ill-gotten wealth. According to him, they do not care what happens to those buildings because it is not their hard-earned money, urging the government to impose heavy tax on them to crash high cost of house rent in the FCT.’

‘“The government must be involved in two key areas: social and investment housing that will incorporate everyone. The Nigerian government should take a cue from Singapore; there should be a scheme to produce flats on a continuous basis yearly,” he said.’

‘Speaking on the focus of his administration, NIESV boss vowed to rid the profession of quacks and intensify disciplinary procedures to checkmate fraudulent practices among members. “We must all know that there are quacks in every profession, so estate surveying and valuation is not an exception. But we will leave no stone un-turned to rid the profession of quackery, especially in the estate agency area to restore peoples’ lost confidence thereby boosting general perception about estate management practice in the country,” NIESV Boss vowed.’

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 02:32:08

‘Residential rents in Dubai, where the majority of the population is foreign, declined the most on a monthly basis since the property peak of two years ago, according to Phidar Advisory.’

“Landlords are finding it more difficult to rent homes, especially larger and more expensive ones,” according to Jesse Downs, managing director at Phidar, an advisory firm specializing in real estate. That is mostly due to “recent job losses and a decline in job-growth rates.”

“This is a significant shift in rent trends and is an indicator the housing market is about to get significantly more affordable,” Downs wrote.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 06:26:22

‘Average residential rents in Oman dipped by 5.9 percent during the first quarter, leaving them 12.7 percent below the year-earlier period, according to real estate consultancy Cluttons. Cluttons’ Muscat Spring 2016 Property Market Outlook report forecast a further 5-10 percent decline in rents during the remainder of this year.’

‘According to Cluttons, the decline in rents during Q1 was led by the villa market, leaving average monthly villa rents at just over OR1,004, 14.1 percent lower than Q1 2015.’

‘Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons added: “If the expected bottoming out of the market does not in fact materialise, then demand for rental accommodation will continue to decline over the next six to twelve months, putting further downward pressure on rents, particularly as core sectors such as oil and gas, continue to show signs of shrinking. With this in mind, it is our expectation that rents during 2016 are likely to fall by a further 5-10 percent, on average, across Muscat.”

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 06:33:53

‘Uncertainty, stagnation, softening — they are all words being touted by Abu Dhabi real estate analysts to describe the current market. Prices have barely moved in the past year, and when they have it has been down marginally.’

“Many homeowners who may have previously been looking to sell have turned to renting their property instead as they have not been able to achieve their expected sale prices in the current market conditions,” Cavendish Maxwell research manager Dima Isshak says. “Only sellers who are in need to liquidate their real estate assets are willing to sell their properties at these price levels. Buyers are now facing a wide variety of options in both the secondary as well as the off-plan market.”

‘Real estate consultancy Cluttons has been particularly concerned, emphasising the topic over the past six months. It says an average expat household has to contend with an average annual rent of $55,541 (AED204,000) against an average household income of $54,179.’

 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-06-15 07:22:27

Other than the possibility of collecting an oversized paycheck, why would any westerner want to live in places like Dubai or Qatar? To experience the wonder of living in a Sharia law based society or maybe to enjoy the sweltering heat in the summer?

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 08:08:50

Good question. I guess as a guy, maybe I would enjoy it there for making money. But women are treated like dirt in most of those places. One exception I know is Kuwait. I know because I had a girlfriend from Kuwait who lived with me for several years. She was obviously sinning against her religion, but I did not think of it at the time.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 08:55:08

Other than the possibility of collecting an oversized paycheck, why would any westerner want to live in places like Dubai or Qatar?

That’s got to be the main reason. It’s the same reason that people were flocking to western North Dakota a few years ago. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have also set up their airports as hubs for flights between Europe and Asia. So it’s easy to get a flight out of there when people have vacation time.

 
Comment by dandroidz
2016-06-15 09:40:48

True. I avoided work travel to those places like the plague. Some guys loved going out there to make extra cash but to me it wasn’t worth the risk. I don’t care how fancy Dubai ‘appears’ to be or how westernized they may be, that side of the world does not like Americans.

It’s hard to feel sorry for the idiots who get caught hiking in Iran, photographing Iraq, or walking around Qatar sticking out like a sore thumb. Go visit Yosemite or Yellowstone.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 07:37:16

Who rents or owns in Dubia anyways?

Oil workers? Maids? Construction workers? Prostitutes?

No one is going to move there, settle down and raise a family…

Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 08:37:40

It appeals to guys who want less socialism. I think there are no taxes there and the level of security is high compared to Costa Rica or some other tax havens.

 
Comment by dandroidz
2016-06-15 09:42:08

I think a lot of western ex-pats live and operate businesses there.

 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 03:11:33

Noel Gallagher?

Now that those royalty checks have dried up, the cocaine is all gone, and the party’s over, you will indeed, have to roll with it.

P.S. Blur was such a better band than Oasis ever was.

Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 05:38:40

Gallagher bought in 2010, the height (depth) of the recession. Even at today’s prices, he should easily break even or make a small profit.

I suspect that $11.5M is a wishing price set up by a greedy realtor.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:25:13

You gotta find a buyer at that price. A tall task with housing demand at 20 year lows and falling.

Remember….. I can ask $50k for my 10 year old Chevy pickup but where is the buyer at that price?

So it is with all depreciating assets like houses.

 
 
Comment by goedeck
2016-06-15 06:52:22

Don’t look back in anger Noel.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:13:33

’since putting it on the market last year and with no sign of a buyer coming in’

The media in the UK is all about the referendums’ effect on house prices. But London was in trouble before the date for the vote was set.

Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 07:15:58

UK should brexit and sit pretty like SWZ and NORW
fck the PIGS and stinky FRance

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 08:48:59

Norway and Switzerland have to allow EU residents to settle in their country. They also contribute to the EU budget and follow many directives from Brussels.

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 11:00:50

not members
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_Union
UK should do the same-free trade ,but not pay brussles

 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:15:05

That champagne super nova writing was as bad as anything Elton John ever sang.

Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 07:25:41

Remember also the Gallagher brothers palling around with neocon Tony Blair.

“Cool Britannia” my @ss.

 
 
 
Comment by Jingle Male
2016-06-15 03:46:24

“…..Olurogba said 80 per cent of all properties under his management now had defaulting tenants….”

….and soon, 80% of all OWNERS will be defaulting to the lenders.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 06:37:54

This was the most expensive residential real estate in the world 2 years ago.

 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 04:14:25

Warmist Warming Wednesday:

“May’s temperatures broke global records yet again, as the northern hemisphere finishes its hottest spring on record, statistics released Tuesday by NASA showed.

The Arctic in particular experienced abnormal heat, causing Arctic sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet to start melting unusually early, said NASA.

Alaska recorded its warmest spring on record by a wide margin, and in Finland the average May temperature was between three and five degrees warmer than usual in most regions, according to data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-may-goes-down-as-earths-hottest-on-record-nasa-2016-6

Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 05:13:39

“Beginning Tuesday and running until the end of the Republican National Convention in July, the most widely circulated print newspaper in the United States will run a series of ads calling out its own bias against climate change.

The ads are being paid for by a group calling itself the “Partnership for Responsible Growth“ and will run twice a week on The Wall Street Journal’s Op-Ed page, a place long inhospitable to any sort of science-based climate pieces.

(The Journal’s climate change denial isn’t just limited to the opinion pages, either: A 2015 study conducted by researchers at Rutgers, the University of Michigan and the University of Oslo found WSJ rarely mentions the threats posed by climate change, and, when it does, tends to downplay them.)”

http://new.www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wall-street-journal-climate-change-ads_us_57602f98e4b071ec19ef45d8

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 05:21:04

Did the Palin’s make bank on their homes ?

Smarter than

Comment by scdave
2016-06-15 08:15:33

Did the Palin’s make bank ??

Palin is the female version of trump…Flim-Flam Mam…

Comment by phony scandals
2016-06-15 08:52:51

Didn’t Palin claim to be Cherokee Indian?

Or was that some other Flim-Flam?

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 10:45:30

she has a drop of eskimo blood

 
 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-06-15 08:02:43

“according to data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.”

yksi kaksi kolme nelja

Learn Finnish vol. 23 - SPOKEN FINNISH - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1LLI0nsAgY - 304k

 
 
Comment by Bill DaWahl
2016-06-15 04:37:56

The world’s oldest computer (that we know of).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/06/14/the-worlds-oldest-computer-is-still-revealing-its-secrets/

I love this stuff. Sometimes I think the ancient world was, in its own way, more technologically advanced than we even know and it is interesting to note that war is how so much ancient knowledge gets lost to the mists of time, with cycles of enlightenment followed by dark ages.

In many ways they had better technology. From one of the comments on the article:

“Roman engineers developed a cement product that combined lime and volcanic ash that used less lime and less energy to produce than the Portland cement that we use today. It also emitted far less CO2 than does Portland cement and is much more durable. The average lifespan of structures made with Portland cement in areas where it contacts sea water is 50 years. Harbor structures built by the Romans 2,000 years ago with their ash/lime cement are still standing as strong as when they were built.”

When our current cycle of civilization passes, no one will know about our crappy methods of construction. They’ll be puzzling over mangled balls of plastic, though. Lol, maybe our civilization will be used in future textbooks as an example of how NOT to do things.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 07:35:40

And how the Roman world - their light, their culture, their engineering, their technology, their literature, etc. finally ended.

ISIS are just being good muslims. Exactly like their prophet.

And would do the same in NYC, London or Orlando.

———–

Several thousand of the survivors had taken refuge in the cathedral: nobles, servants, ordinary citizens, their wives and children, priests and nuns. They locked the huge doors, prayed, and waited. {Caliph} Mahomet {II} had given the troops free quarter. They raped, of course, the nuns being the first victims, and slaughtered.

At least four thousand were killed before Mahomet stopped the massacre at noon. He ordered a muezzin {one who issues the call to prayer} to climb into the pulpit of St. Sophia and dedicate the building to Allah. It has remained a mosque ever since.

Fifty thousand of the inhabitants, more than half the population, were rounded up and taken away as slaves. For months afterward, slaves were the cheapest commodity in the markets of Turkey.

Mahomet asked that the body of the dead emperor be brought to him. Some Turkish soldiers found it in a pile of corpses and recognized Constantine {XI} by the golden eagles embroidered on his boots. The sultan ordered his head to be cut off and placed between the horse’s legs under the equestrian bronze statue of the emperor Justinian. The head was later embalmed and sent around the chief cities of the Ottoman empire for the delectation of the citizens.

Next, Mahomet ordered the Grand Duke Notaras, who had survived, be brought before him, asked him for the names and addresses of all the leading nobles, officials, and citizens, which Notaras gave him. He had them all arrested and decapitated. He sadistically bought from their owners {i.e., Muslim commanders} high-ranking prisoners who had been enslaved, for the pleasure of having them beheaded in front of him.

The Fall of Constantinople
June 4, 2015 By Ralph Sidway

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 08:07:41

Interesting you brought this up. Last night I was watching a travel documentary and the guy was in Istanbul. Lottsa talk about a bubble in real estate. Also repression from the generalissimo there. He’s getting inserting more religious extremism every day. Women can’t laugh in public, that kind of thing.

Turkey is in NATO! Turkey like ISIS, all the guys who attacked in France and Belgium walked right through Turkey. Israel likes ISIS too, along with some of Bin Laden’s old friends. Why the US government liked ISIS too, before they went rogue and took a third of Iraq.

‘In Al Jazeera’s latest Head to Head episode, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Michael Flynn confirms to Mehdi Hasan that not only had he studied the DIA memo predicting the West’s backing of an Islamic State in Syria when it came across his desk in 2012, but even asserts that the White House’s sponsoring of radical jihadists (that would emerge as ISIL and Nusra) against the Syrian regime was “a willful decision.”

‘Amazingly, Flynn actually took issue with the way interviewer Mehdi Hasan posed the question—Flynn seemed to want to make it clear that the policies that led to the rise of ISIL were not merely the result of ignorance or looking the other way, but the result of conscious decision making: Hasan: You are basically saying that even in government at the time you knew these groups were around, you saw this analysis, and you were arguing against it, but who wasn’t listening?’

‘Flynn: I think the administration. Hasan: So the administration turned a blind eye to your analysis? Flynn: I don’t know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision. Hasan: A willful decision to support an insurgency that had Salafists, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood?’

‘Flynn: It was a willful decision to do what they’re doing.’

First rule of stopping head choppers: stop giving them money and arms!

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:15:11

Second Rule. Stop importing them into your country if you care about civil rights, safety and freedom.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 08:15:27

Notice that with all the attention to ISIS these days, this entire series of events is completely ignored.

Let’s cut ot the chase:

Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinsk from Le Nouvel Observateur

‘Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention.’

‘Q: And neither do you regret having supported the Islamic fundementalists, having given arms and advice to future terrorists?’

‘B: What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?’

‘Q: Some stirred-up Moslems? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today.’

‘B: Nonsense! It is said that the West had a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid. There isn’t a global Islam. Look at slam in a rational manner and without demagoguery or emotion. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is there in common among Saudi Arabian fundamentalism, moderate Morocco, Pakistan militarism, Egyptian pro-Western or Central Asian secularism? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries.’

So the US has spent decades pitting sect against sect, arming them, funding them. And when it blows up in our face, we act all butt-hurt and innocent.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:21:16

I have always wondered if President Jimmy Carter (D) had:

1. Supported the Shah

2. Ignored Afghanistan

How different the world would be today…

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 08:30:56

‘Supported the Shah’

He was a peach of a guy. Like the decades of brutal dictators we’ve been supporting in Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the list goes on! Head choppers all. Plus they execute gays and treat women like slaves. But we give them billions! Oh, who to support? I’ve got an idea! Let’s get the heck out of that part of the world and not borrow from China to do any of this crap.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:45:31

If your only choice is

brutal dictators who allow women to go to schools, women to have jobs, homosexuals to live, minorities to live and prosper without fear and will tolerate western ideas and are friendly towards western governments.

or

brutal islamic governments under sharia law which force women out of schools, ban women from having a job, throw homosexuals off buildings, ethnically cleans, enslave and murder minorities, and ban all things western.

Which do you think a rational president of the United States should choose?

And which do you think Carter and Obama chose?

 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 08:51:45

Choose falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels…. accelerating the economy and creating jobs like nothing else can.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 09:00:45

If your only choice is

You missed Ben’s point. There’s another choice. Don’t support any of them.

 
Comment by Bill DaWahl
2016-06-15 09:03:18

“brutal dictators who allow women to go to schools, women to have jobs, homosexuals to live, minorities to live and prosper without fear and will tolerate western ideas and are friendly towards western governments.”

Some of this describes Assad. Remind me again why we’ve been badgering this guy and giving the Saudis a free pass?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 09:06:02

‘Which do you think a rational president of the United States should choose’

None of the above. Look at you today, man are you butt-hurt. A gay Muslim shoots a bunch of gay people and I can just hear Michael Savage having a conniption. You nor Savage rarely go a day without trash talking gays, but man are you both butt-hurt.

Here’s the most important thing about blow-back; I remember when this thing went down in Afghanistan. When Reagan came in he boosted it. Pretty much everyone on the TV thought it was genius. We made movies about how great and heroic it was. These guys went to the white house and had their picture taken. Then comes September 11th, and man what a load of butt-hurt that was.

You can’t separate it. It took 30 years (and invasions with US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia - Bin Laden’s biggest beef) for what looked like genius to blow-back as September 11th. The lesson is, every little thing you do has consequences. And the US doesn’t do little things abroad anymore. We regime change at the drop of a hat. We’ve bombed at least 7 countries under the current president. We rectal feed, assassinate by drone, blowing up anyone nearby. Heck we’ll send in a second missile just in case the ambulance driver might be a bad guy.

Do or say what you want. But don’t act all butt-hurt and innocent when it blows up on you or all of us. Because the US government isn’t innocent.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 10:05:13

Ben,

Oh please with the “we meddled in the ‘mulsim’ world so that gives them a pass/excuse to rape, enslave and kill anyone” and blame America argument.

Cause guess what - islam has been raping, enslaving and killing infidels since its founding. Because that is the essence of their religion. That is how their founder and “perfect muslim” behaved before he took his eternal dirt nap.

How do you explain muslims attacking and taking American slaves before America has one military base or soldier on “sacred” mulsim soil (go google the Marine Hymn)? How do you explain that in EVERY mulsim country since there have been mulsims have non-muslim living in fear and have no rights. How do you explain that of all the religions of the world, wherever islam goes there is terror and misery?

Of course America isn’t innocent. There is NO country in history or on the face of the world today that is innocent.

What we can expect is a president is that he puts American national interests first and not his party’s power first.

What we can expect is a president that wants to protect and defend Americans from harm an not import harm just to increase his party’s power.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 10:08:19

Some of this describes Assad. Remind me again why we’ve been badgering this guy and giving the Saudis a free pass?

I have no idea. Go ask obama and the democrats.

And why is the current administration supporting and arming “moderate” muslim groups in Syria that in every way act like ISIS but have a different flag?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 10:31:05

‘that gives them a pass/excuse to rape, enslave and kill anyone” and blame America argument’

I didn’t say it did. But did the US support ISIS or not? Would there even be an ISIS if the US hadn’t invaded Iraq? It’s a much more complicated picture than we’re being told.

I watched a documentary recently called Graveyard of Empires (IIRC) about Afghanistan. After the Russians left, and then their proxies, it fell into years of really bad times with warlords fighting it out. The Taliban emerged and most people were glad. Yes, they were repressive but they restored order. Order that the US had not bothered to consider. Who brought Bin Laden into Afghanistan? The CIA. I remember watching the 60 Minutes show glorifying it. Taliban takes power in the vacuum, Bin Laden is running his gang. Bam. That little formula of ’stirred up Muslims’ sure turned into quite a mess.

There’s this concept; the day after. Sure you can kill Saddam, what about the day after? You can kill Qaddafi. What about the day after? We are progressively making things worse. Through our actions, we’ve created and expanded this jihadist playground. It won’t stop getting worse until we acknowledge how we got here.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 10:50:15

Ben - I agree.

1. Stop toppling brutal dictators in the middle east. The islamic sharia governments that are sure to flow will be orders of magnitude worse for their own citizens, the region and the world.

2. Stop importing muslim “refugees.” Only let let in vetted mulsims immigrants that pose no threat to the citizens of the United States.

Make you wonder why obama and the democrats oppose both of these common sense measures.

 
Comment by Neuromance
2016-06-15 17:14:53

Ben Jones: You can’t separate it. It took 30 years (and invasions with US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia - Bin Laden’s biggest beef) for what looked like genius to blow-back as September 11th.

Just want to make a point about Bin Laden: It wasn’t Bin Laden’s call where we could or couldn’t go. The local government determines that. And regarding the Iraq sanctions, I don’t think he, a Sunni extremist, cared a whit about the Shia Iraqis, any more than Zarqawi did.

The US government isn’t innocent, obviously. Mossadegh, the vast slaughter in Vietnam, etc. And blowback is always a concern. But we helped those people, the mujahideen, repulse the Soviets, and quite the thanks we got for it. Cultivate vipers and you might get bitten.

And Bin Laden was Saudi, I’m guessing he wanted to overthrow that government, and what better way than to attack its primary patron.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 17:26:26

‘The most famous Sunni extremist faction is the Wahhabi sect, of which Osama bin Laden is possibly a member. It is characterized by radical fundamentalism: The Koran is not to be interpreted but rather taken literally. There are to be no prayers or other appeals to prophets, saints, or any entity other than God.’

US troops on their land was considered no-go. (Iraq was all about the neocon’s anyway). I’m sure he wanted the royal family to pay for it as well. We didn’t help those people repulse the Soviets because we cared about them. Look at the French article; it was cold war stuff and when we were done we left the people to the warlords. Anyway, the Soviets would have eventually been beaten just like the Greeks, Romans and British. And the US.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-06-15 09:10:07

The two things in Italy that always amaze me:

1. The Pantheon, with it’s walls 20 feet thick at the base, was largely made of concrete…built with a single application.

2. The part of the Colosseum that is still standing exists today because of the “foundation” that exists from when they filled Nero’s artificial lake in with concrete and built the structure on top of the former lake location.

 
 
Comment by Palm Beach County
2016-06-15 04:49:24

Wall Street Examiner ‏@Lee_Adler 3h3 hours ago
Warning: New Stock Market Crash Indicators Flashing in China http://wallstreetexaminer.com/2016/06/warnin

 
Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2016-06-15 04:51:01

‘bought the ground-floor apartment for about $56,000 in the early 1980s and spent thousands more renovating it last year’

Eventually it will come down to people realizing walking away with anything over purchase price, even in inflated dollars, from a sale is better than nothing. I am trying to wrap my head around how a condo in Sakatoon in the early 1980’s was going for $56,000. Is that Canadian dollars?

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 06:40:18

Note that he was undercut by new construction prices.

‘the two-bedroom unit went for $165,000 — more than $25,000 less than the asking price. ‘The market’s not there now … I mean, you can buy a brand-new one now for $170,000′

In a few months it’ll be 150k.

Comment by rms
2016-06-15 07:06:56

“In a few months it’ll be 150k.”

And the builder-developer will still clear a profit.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:21:25

“And the builder-developer will still clear a profit.”

A fat one at that. Lots of room to move on the downside.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:24:05

I think I’d pay the extra 5 grand for a 30 year newer shack.

 
 
 
 
Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 06:51:11

My understanding is that housing doesn’t really go up in real dollars. All the appreciation is mainly from inflation at 2-3%/year. Anything else is a bubble or some fundamental change in the location.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 06:58:06

It was that way for 600 years.

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 07:18:13

I figure the structure depreciates at 1/2 the inflation rate and the land moves up or down.
The proffers and reg cost always go up.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:23:16

Depreciation rate is 2-$3/sqft/yr.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:20:06

Only when and if wages rose 2-3%/yr and the depreciation was offset by throwing more money at it. Otherwise, housing prices fall historically.

 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 05:18:09

“Undocumented immigrants cannot access health insurance coverage on the Obamacare exchanges, even if they can pay for it entirely with their own money. They can purchase directly through an insurance carrier, but with the advent of Obamacare those options have dried up and become more expensive. There aren’t many forms of discrimination left against particular classes of people for purchasing goods and services. You can’t stop someone from eating at a lunch counter or drinking from a water fountain. But you can stop someone from buying health insurance coverage to afford medical care, simply because of where they were born.

Outside of a few exceptions, under federal law an undocumented individual can only get affordable health care at a qualified community health center, or more likely the emergency room. This causes a host of market distortions in areas with high concentrations of immigrants. It turns the ER into primary care centers and makes it harder to treat true emergencies in the community. It makes the people who cook our food, build our houses and care for our children sicker, because they are less able to access preventive care. It stresses the patchwork “health care safety net” of community health centers and public hospitals, which must cater to millions of additional patients and which often cannot find the resources to care for them. And it increases costs in our health care system, with expensive ER care delivered to patients who might otherwise benefit from a cheaper option.”

http://www.salon.com/2016/06/15/a_crisis_we_can_solve_denying_health_care_to_undocumented_immigrants_is_immoral_unjust_and_un_american/

Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 06:17:53

they’re getting for free at hospitals- go look and where a green hat-gets you to the front of the line as they scatter

 
Comment by The Central Scrutinizer
2016-06-15 07:26:24

“Undocumented” = hasn’t had their deportation papers filled out.

Comment by phony scandals
2016-06-15 08:09:34

yksi kaksi kolme nelja

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 07:48:41

Remember when this was called an outrage? So disrespectful.

Lying to the American people? Ignoring laws already on the books? Making up laws you wished you had? Sending the IRS after your political enemies? Droning American citizens with due process?

Nah - no big deal.

—–

Congressman Yells ‘You Lie’ at Obama During Speech

In an extraordinary breach of congressional decorum, a Republican lawmaker shouted “You lie” at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday.

The incident came directly after Obama said, “There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

“You lie!” Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted from his seat on the Republican side of the chamber.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/10/congressman-yells-lie-obama-speech.html

Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-06-15 08:09:23

The article is complaining about illegal immigrants being denied Obamacare. Apparently it wasn’t a lie.

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:24:03

Hmmm….

——

California lawmakers try to extend ObamaCare to illegal immigrants
KID News | June 6, 2016

California is on the brink of becoming the first state in the nation to offer illegal immigrants the chance to buy insurance on an ObamaCare exchange — testing what’s being described as a “loophole” in the law.

The Affordable Care Act technically bars illegal immigrants from the insurance exchanges.

But the California bill, which last week passed the state legislature and was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, would allow the state to apply for a federal waiver to open its exchange — Covered California — to undocumented residents.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-06-15 08:31:58

…and it still wasn’t a lie. California trying to make an end run around the law does not retroactively make that a lie. Senator lardass was blowing smoke, you you know it.

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 10:50:06

visit your nearest emergency room
illegals are there in droves getting everything for free

 
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-06-15 13:48:09

visit your nearest emergency room
illegals are there in droves getting everything for free

yep.

 
 
 
Comment by scdave
2016-06-15 08:44:41

Congressman Yells ‘You Lie’ at Obama During Speech ??

Well it seems like “your” presidential candidate did the same thing;

As the latest Republican presidential debate opened Saturday, Donald Trump, in a heated exchange with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, bluntly accused George W. Bush of lying about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to fool Americans into supporting the war in Iraq

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:57:02

I like Trump.

He tells it like it is.

That the war in Iraq was a huge mistake. Biggest of the GWB administration.

Hillary and Biden both VOTED for and SUPPORTED the Iraq War.

Now go vote in November.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2016-06-15 05:33:46

“During the Next Crisis, Entire Countries Will Go Bust”

” by Phoenix Capital… - Jun 15, 2016 7:38 AM

“For seven years, the world has operated under a complete delusion that Central Banks somehow fixed the 2008 Crisis.

“All of the arguments claiming this defied common sense. A 5th grader would tell you that you cannot solve a debt problem by issuing more debt. Similarly, anyone with a functioning brain could tell you that a bunch of academics with no real-world experience, none of whom have ever started a business or created a single job can’t “save” the economy.

“However, there is an AWFUL lot of money at stake in believing these lies. So the media and the banks and the politicians were happy to promote them. Indeed, one could very easily argue that nearly all of the wealth and power held by those at the top of the economy stem from this fiction.

“So it’s little surprise that no one would admit the facts: that the Fed and other Central Banks not only don’t have a clue how to fix the problem, but that they actually have almost no incentive to do so.”

There’s more to read on the following link …

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 07:41:36

“During the Next Crisis, Entire Countries Will Go Bust”

Unsustainable debt will be followed by entire countries going bust followed by wars.

Thank you obama. Thank you Yellen.

It will take at least a generation to sort out.

Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
2016-06-15 08:14:11

Same as it ever was.

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:16:34

Hope and change

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by The Central Scrutinizer
2016-06-15 09:25:17

Make America great again

 
 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-06-15 14:52:39

Unsustainable debt will be followed by entire countries going bust followed by wars.

Don’t you need money to equip and pay an army?

 
 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 06:18:55

so which markets are still positive
Portland and Seattle ?

Comment by rms
2016-06-15 07:20:27

“Portland and Seattle ?”

Both of these “Cascadia subduction zone” metros are way over-priced.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:27:57

With a long way to fall.

 
 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2016-06-15 06:35:23

IMO here’s further evidence that the economy is slowly rolling over (note the chart in the article) …

“Why this Economy Feels Even Crummier than the Data”

http://wolfstreet.com/2016/06/15/economy-feels-crummier-total-u-s-business-sales-revisions/

Comment by Cynical Cynosure
2016-06-15 06:40:07

Just look at the 10-year yield.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:02:43

Interest rates at a 5,000 year low. Might mean something.

Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 08:12:09

If we go to NIRP, will I get mortgage refinance offers which pay me interest back? Or is that reserved for the Davos crowd?

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 08:40:29

Alot of ‘if’s’ there Donk.

 
Comment by Cynical Cynosure
2016-06-15 08:57:45

ARM mortgages in the US have a “rate floor” clause. The interest can’t go below a certain level.

You’ll never get paid. Never.

Did you even read your legal papers?

 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-06-15 14:48:54

Or is that reserved for the Davos crowd?

Do you even have to ask that question?

 
 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 07:43:27

“Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.”
– obama, SOTU, 2016

Comment by redmondjp
2016-06-15 21:53:04

“This sucker could go down.”

George W. Bush

 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:04:40

‘the property developer offered the buyers the ‘most expensive price for the property in the district in Zhuhai,’ when it ‘is not worth the high price,’ the group complains. One square meter in the property cost about RMB10,000 (US$1,522), the highest selling price in that district’

Note to self: when a developer is offering the highest price as a selling point, run for the hills.

Comment by TheCentralScrutinizer
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:10:40

‘I bought these units with all the intention that if I have to drop the rent to $200 a week to put someone in it, I’ll do it’

Admit it Brett. You were counting on the rents always go up stuff. You know, shortage? Urgency? Here’s the thing; I don’t know where rents will settle out. What I do know is there will be thousands vacant at any price. And when your fellow speculators stop paying their mortgage and the commons go to hell and the elevator breaks, then we’ll see how your investments work out.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 07:28:54

‘Small-and medium-sized developers should apply a customer-centric approach. They should study demand as land prices today are so high that just any property development is not feasible’

‘Banks should not apply stricter lending rules for all customers, or the whole segment, as not everyone has a problem of financial discipline’

Maybe not everyone, but most seem to have a problem. So you long for the days when a profit could be made flipping a condo that hadn’t been finished? They feel the same way in Florida.

All these experts on supply and demand. Yet almost no knowledge of the role price plays in it.

 
Comment by Cynical Cynosure
2016-06-15 07:43:55

One of my friends emailed me (and I paraphrase):

We’ve been looking at apartments. They are down 8% in the last couple of months. We can put down 15-20%. What do you think?

This is in DC.

The answer is right there in the question. Anything that causes you to lose half your money in a “few months” is a bad idea.

** facepalm **

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:49:03

I’d say its a pretty grim forecast for anyone clinging to a depreciating asset like a house. If there is any sense of urgency, it is reserved exclusively for them.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 07:50:04

Why do you need to put down 20% to rent an apartment?

Comment by Cynical Cynosure
2016-06-15 08:54:55

Buy not rent. (I guess that wasn’t clear.)

 
 
Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 11:53:24

They shouldn’t buy a condo.
They may be able to pencil out an SFH.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 11:58:56

Or rent either for half the monthly cost.

Remember….. Current prices of resale housing are 300% higher than long term trend and double construction cost.

 
 
 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 07:54:32

There is no crisis in falling housing prices.

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:09:34

Unless you are a bank leveraged 40:1

Unless you are a bankruptcy democrat city that needs every dollar of property taxes to pay for insane public union pensions

Unless you are a homeowner living well beyond his/her means using the equity/debt of your house to maintain a standard of living

Unless you are a university that has raised prices much faster than inflation and expect parents to re-mortgage their houses to pay for their children’s education

Unless you are a government that has guaranteed nearly every mortgage on the market for “fairness” and to buy votes

Unless you are a country with the highest corporate taxes in the world and is highly unfriendly to business…

etc.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 08:39:04

The poor banks, universities, bankrupt cities and DebtDonkeys will be ok. This you can count on.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-06-15 14:47:25

Unless you are a country with the highest corporate taxes in the world and is highly unfriendly to business…

It’s obvious you’ve never been outside the US, as you have no idea what business unfriendly is. Did you know that Airbus is building airliners in the USA? Boeing certainly isn’t building any in Europe.

 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:00:53

Corruption without end.

Corruption to the bone of their soul.

———

Clinton University Scandal Netted Bill $16.5 Million
Fox Business | 6/15/2016 | Henry Fernandez

For all the attention the Trump University scandal has garnered throughout the 2016 election season, another education controversy has yet to receive as much outrage.

The Clintons are adding another check to their list of questionable practices as their connection with the Laureate International Universities allegedly paid Bill Clinton $16.5 million. The payments were over 2010-2014 to the presumptive first gentleman to serve as “honorary chancellor” of the for-profit universities and college.

The Laureate Education received a sizable amount of money from the U.S. State Department, while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:49:24

Corruption to the bone.

——

Orlando Killer’s Father Had Meeting In Obama White House & Hillary’s State Department
http://www.downstreampolitics.com | 06/15/2016 | Chris Buskirk

Seddique Mateen, father of the Orlando killer and outspoken supporter of the Taliban, has also been a guest at Obama’s White House and Hillary’s State Department. I wonder what they were talking about? The senior Mateen has described Omar as a “good son.” Of course he also describes the Taliban as a good government so that should give you a frame of reference for what he considers good…

Comment by rms
2016-06-15 20:18:11

The senior Mateen has described Omar as a “good son.”

Losers rarely accept responsibility. I recall a California mom saying the same thing about her younger son who had stabbed a young woman (Elyse Pahler) to death; the older son was already in prison for a shooting death during a drug deal gone bad. A mom herself… a beached whale on lifelong welfare.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 08:52:34

2banana’s Rule.

Long term democrat rule + insane public unions + huge Free Sh*t Army = bankruptcy, ruin and misery

Lord help you if you own a house or run a business there.

And corrupt elected leaders could care less about “laws” on the books.

Even with its tax increases, Illinois has not had a balanced budget since 2001, though one is required under its Constitution.

———–

Illinois On The Fiscal Brink
Defining Ideas (Hoover Institution) | June 13, 2016 | Richard A. Epstein

Illinois—a state that has long embraced progressive fiscal policies—has moved one step closer to the financial abyss. Last week, Moody’s Investors Service issued the jarring announcement that it was downgrading Illinois’s general obligations bonds to Baa2 from Baa1, which is just two levels above junk bond status. The next day, Standard & Poor’s followed suit by lowering its rating to BBB+, or three levels above junk bond status. In one important sense, this is really not news at all, since Illinois had thirteen bond downgrades under its previous governor, Patrick Quinn, even though it passed a temporary tax increase that collected an additional $31 billion in revenues between 2011 and 2015, 90 percent of which was funneled into pension payments for public employees.

The reason Illinois’s credit ratings have declined is that the state has been unable to live within its means. Even with its tax increases, Illinois has not had a balanced budget since 2001, though one is required under its Constitution. The latest credit downgrade stemmed from the inability of key players in the state to agree on any budget at all for the coming year. It is therefore no surprise that Moody’s observes: “The rating downgrade reflects continuing budget imbalance due to political gridlock that for more than a year has kept Illinois from addressing revenue lost due to income tax cuts that took effect in January 2015.” This remark reflects the bias of rating agencies to worry more about the condition of government balance sheets than the overall health of the state economy. Reduced expenditures are another, superior way to bring a budget into balance, which is necessary, for—as Moody’s ruefully notes—Illinois is running a structural budget gap of about 15 percent of its general fund expenditures.

 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2016-06-15 08:57:40

Windermere, FL Affordability Surges As Housing Prices Crater 13% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/windermere-fl/home-values/

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 09:13:21

No single market access for UK after Brexit, Wolfgang Schäuble says

Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, has slammed the door on Britain retaining access to the single market if it votes to the leave the European Union.

In an interview in a Brexit-themed issue of German weekly Der Spiegel, the influential veteran politician ruled out the possibility of the UK following a Swiss or Norwegian model that would allow it to enjoy the benefits of the single market without being an EU member.

“That won’t work,” Schäuble told Der Spiegel. “It would require the country to abide by the rules of a club from which it currently wants to withdraw. If the majority in Britain opts for Brexit, that would be a decision against the single market. In is in. Out is out. One has to respect the sovereignty of the British people.”

he German conservative’s intervention seems to rule out the “reverse Maastricht” option floated privately by some British MPs and government sources, whereby pro-remain MPs in Westminster could use their parliamentary majority to retain access to the single market after a British exit from the EU.

Their first target is likely to be to try to ensure that despite a Brexit the UK could remain in the single market by joining the European economic area, of which the non-EU countries Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland are currently members.

The single market – to which Switzerland also has access despite not being a member of either the EU or the EEA – guarantees the free movement of people, goods and services inside the bloc.

Supporters of the British leave campaign argue that it is in Germany’s economic interest to maintain barrier-free trade relations with the United Kingdom. Britain is the third-largest export market for German car manufacturers and the destination of around 7% of total German exports.

In a debate on the BBC, Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, went even further than the official leave campaign and suggested getting rid of tariffs on goods traded with all countries.

This was condemned by the remain campaign, who said it was a “reckless” plan that would “decimate our domestic industries”.

“People would be able to sell in to the UK market for free, but our exporters would face tariffs selling in to Europe,” a spokesman said.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/10/no-single-market-access-for-uk-after-brexit-wolfgang-schauble-says

Comment by alphonso bedoya
2016-06-15 10:04:46

“…would ‘decimate our domestic industries’.”

Which domestic INDUSTRIES?
Clothing and textiles are in Asia
Jaguar is owned by India (Tata Motors.)
Are antiques an industry ?

A financial center for whom?

The EU is RIP whether England stays or leaves.

Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 13:43:11

Bentley is also owned by Volkswagen. It doesn’t matter. If fewer UK-made products are sold to the continent, British workers would lose their jobs.

On the other hand, if those EU tariffs are pretty small and the UK enacts small tariffs on EU products, the net effect could turn out to be very small. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly what will happen.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 10:11:14

“Tanks in the street.”

We must have that bailout.

We may not leave the EU.

 
 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 09:17:55

“I dumped that shack and never looked back”

Smartest thing you ever did.

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 09:38:54

shops who are missing me: Total Wine, Office Depot Expedia, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Thrifty Car Rental Marriot, VMWare (I get email from all of these regularly about “deals” and “sales.”… Maybe Spectrum dining misses me too, from whom I spent $17 per lunch including tip and delivery charge and now my lunch is about $3 per lunch. Maybe Starbucks misses me, where I spent $5 or $6 per breakfast and now about $1.50 making my own java and oatmeal.

Sorry, but the higher medical costs (thanks Obama) and high taxes and higher rents are making me fit and trim, financial wise.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 09:48:17

What does VWWare do?

Comment by alphonso bedoya
2016-06-15 10:12:40

VMware

Cloud software. A must.:)

All part of the “over-capacity” landscape.

We have spent the past thirty years choosing the lesser of evils only to find out there is no lesser.

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 10:14:37

But what does it do?

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 10:17:25

VM. I speculate it means vaporizing money.

More Yellenbucks look for a place to die.

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 10:57:05

“Vaporizing money” - good one.

It allows you to run a different OS on your computer.

VM means Virtual Machine. At my office I have a Macbook Pro with 16GB memory. I have two Linux Fedoras running right now in the background. I can fire up one of my Windows 7 VMs. I have a Window 8 VM. I have Centos and Ubuntu Linux VMs I use from time to time. Mostly work related.

At home I have a Windows 7 machine and I run a Ubuntu VM.

You can also simulate dedicated systems - some people at work simulate our server software in a VM. Because we have a limited amount of our servers, which are being primed for production and sale to our automotive and medical customers.

We also use AWS. I have a Amazon Web Server account which is also a virtual machine. I run a server simulation on it just about daily.

 
Comment by tangouniform
2016-06-15 11:01:25

Fusion for Mac, for one. You know, for those hipsters that just have to have a Macbook but need to run Windows software. The Apple cultists love to spend money…

 
Comment by thortx
2016-06-15 11:09:29

Ben -

VMWare is a virtualization software product. It allows you to build a computer (referred to as bare-metal, this is the actual physical device you build), install a product called “ESX” and then run multiple “virtual” computers inside of it (these are referred to as “VM’s” or “instances”). They can be Windows, Linux, Mac, Unix…VMWare doesn’t care, it supports just about everything.

This allows the computer to maximize the resources built into the physical device, i.e. the CPU, RAM, Hard Drives, etc. Most of the time these devices run at 1-5% capacity. By sharing the load among several VM’s, you reduce overall footprint in your Data Center (or home, if you like), while also reducing power consumption, need for cooling, etc.

You can also install VMWare directly into Windows or MacOS, which allows you to run any Operating System you want inside of that host operating system. physical deta

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-06-15 11:19:10

OK makes sense, thanks. Seems handy, but I don’t know about the price tag I’ve read associated with the company.

 
Comment by The Central Scrutinizer
2016-06-15 11:34:07

They make something very useful, that works very well. Compared to most sillyassed tech companies, they are solid gold.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-06-15 11:36:49

Fusion for Mac, for one. You know, for those hipsters that just have to have a Macbook but need to run Windows software. The Apple cultists love to spend money…

Years ago, we converted from Dell machines to Mac Machines at the office running Windows (but running natively via Bootcamp, not a Virtual Machine)

The combination of crappy parts in Dell boxes, with the cost of our time as a small business dealing with setting up new machine after new machine, made buying more expensive hardware, and keeping it longer, a no-brainer. My machine is now 4 years old…and I’m having no issues what-so-ever.

That said, we recently needed to replace a machine, and I had a discussion with our third party IT consultant specifically regarding the quality of Dell hardware. The feedback we got is that Dell is now much better…so, our last machine was a Dell box…so far, so good (fingers crossed).

We may very well transition back to Dell machines if we find their hardware quality has improved. They certainly are cheaper.

 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 11:54:38

VMware is good for south amercian proxies too?

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 12:13:31

Fusion for Mac, for one. You know, for those hipsters that just have to have a Macbook but need to run Windows software. The Apple cultists love to spend money…

Yup, tangouniform this 57 year old hipster was ASSIGNED a Macbook pro. The CEO loves Apple products. I was an Apple guy in the 80s to early 90s and then switched to PC.

But ya know, it makes no fuggin’ difference anymore. anything YOU don’t like is hipster or SJW or “progressive”

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 12:53:32

“VMware is good for south amercian proxies too?”

nothing to do with proxies. It’s a simulated operating system and does not need internet to use on a daily basis.

For home I have VmWare Workstation - because I have a Windows 7 host PC.

For work I have VmWare Fusion - because my office computer is a Macbook Pro.

 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 13:34:15

Turn on your satire radar .

 
Comment by The Central Scrutinizer
2016-06-15 13:53:37

You need to know what you’re satirizing to make satire.

 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 14:00:15

You need to know what you’re satirizing to make satire.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-06-15 14:39:16

You can also simulate dedicated systems - some people at work simulate our server software in a VM.

The reason many do that is that it’s very easy to migrate a VM to another physical box. In other words, when you replace the real hardware you just move the VM’s to the new machine with a single command. Nothing to reinstall. The apps running on the VM are agnostic to having been moved.

 
Comment by The Selfish Hoarder
2016-06-15 17:06:13

+ 1

 
Comment by Neuromance
2016-06-15 17:22:11

Ben Jones: But what does it do?

VMWare is completely brilliant. It allows you to run a complete virtual computer, indistinguishable from a physical computer, on your physical computer.

You can connect to that computer with a web browser (if a web site is on it), connect to it just as one would to any remote computer.

It’s just amazing.

 
Comment by rms
2016-06-15 20:36:33

I do all of my deployment testing on a virtual machine. Before testing, a “snapshot” is taken, which allows a complete rollback to the original computer image in seconds; you can break it and fix it… endlessly.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 10:04:00

“Visualizing The Over-Education Bubble - Student Loan Delinquencies Are Soaring”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-14/visualizing-over-education-bubble-student-loan-delinquencies-are-soaring

Comment by Puggs
2016-06-15 10:50:42

Visualize no payments - now imagine immeasurable freedom.

Debt IS a trap.

Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 14:11:28

So, renters have no payments?

Fixed rate debt isn’t a trap. Insolvency is the actual trap.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 15:03:56

Donk,

Insolvency is the end result of paying massively inflated prices on rapidly depreciating assets and then doubling down on those losses by financing.

Rent it for half the monthly cost. Then buy later after prices crater for 65% less.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 12:50:42

gender studies is being over educated?

gov gets involved and it turns to sht

edu
housing
HC
families-
blacks now 73% born out of wed lock- check that Bama may have raised it to 75%

 
 
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-06-15 10:33:44

Even Fox’s Bill O wants more gun control.

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 10:43:48

Then move to Chicago…

Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 10:52:30

Bahhhhhhhhhhh

avoid Switzerland for sure

BTW in most restaurants/clubs in VA there will be armed patrons

Comment by CalifoH20
2016-06-15 13:51:20

Can I shoot you if you draw on me or even reach for it? what will the law be? Cause I am fast as shet! What if I miss and hit a kid in a wheelchair?

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-06-15 13:49:43

Chicago is awful!

Muslims on the terrorist watch list should not be able to buy assault rifles, nor BB guns.

Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 14:04:00

No, it’s actually very nice. Don’t believe everything that you hear.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-06-15 14:51:00

1 month of the year it is nice to be outside. Otherwise you are inside all the time. And the winter winds…yikes.

 
Comment by Puggs
2016-06-15 15:32:12

There are a couple days in June when it’s nice in Chicago.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-06-15 11:43:49

And Scalia even gave the roadmap to congress as to how they could do so without touching the second amendment.

He noted specifically historical precedent where certain kinds of weapons were considered too dangerous for the public to own, and so the public was barred from owning them.

Effectively, the implication is that if it was OK for the founding fathers (or people of that era) to ban certain weapons despite the existence of the 2nd amendment, it is OK for us to ban certain weapons.

It’s just that we have gutless politicians (on both sides of the aisle) who are unwilling to stand up to the NRA.

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 12:18:01

What “weapons” did the founding fathers ban?

The typical hunting musket on the frontier that the average family owned was more accurate and easier to use than the standard British army rifle…

Citizens can and did own cannons…

Citizens can and did own fully outfitted “battleships” and became privateers.

The first “banning” or gun control in America was to keep the newly freed blacks from defending themselves from the democrat founded and manned community organization of the KKK…

Comment by Rental Watch
2016-06-15 13:53:54

Actually the original “banning” of weapons was with slaves, freed blacks, and white men who didn’t pledge allegiance to the revolution.

My point wasn’t that Thomas Jefferson wanted to restrict the types of weapons, but that such restrictions existed around that time, without second amendment uproar. Scalia’s point was that if a contemporaneous interpretation of the 2nd amendment allowed the banning of certain types of weapons, then it must NOT have been inconsistent with the 2nd amendment.

The quote I recall was from a Charlie Rose interview, but clearly Scalia believed that there was an established tradition of prohibiting certain weapons that was consistent with the 2nd Amendment.

This is from one of Scalia’s opinions (a decision that struck down a ban on handguns in DC):

“We also recognize another important limitation on the right to keep and carry arms. ‘Miller’ said, as we have explained, that the sorts of weapons protected were those ‘in common use at the time.’ 307 U.S., at 179, 59 S.Ct. 816. We think that limitation is fairly supported by the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of ‘dangerous and unusual weapons.’”

And if you take offense to my word “ban”, fine. The idea is that various restrictions on certain types of weapons has been around for well over a hundred years in this country.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
Comment by Neuromance
2016-06-15 17:32:34

The Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

It is primarily concerned with the security of the free state, and in support of that, wanted the population from which the militia would be drawn to have arms with which they could fight.

There’s nothing about home defense, self defense, rape prevention, etc in the 2nd Amendment. Of course, there was the relatively recent SCOTUS (2008 - Heller) ruling stating that firearms ownership could exist without membership in a militia.

However, a really good way to get background checks on everyone with a firearm would be induct everyone into the state militia where they could then get that invasive background check. Service in the militia in defense of the state is what the 2nd Amendment is actually about, after all.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 13:33:00

I thought heard an interview with Scalia in which he emphasized the word “bear” in the right to keep and bear arms. So artillery can be banned because it’s too big for someone to pick up and carry around.

Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 13:56:06

How many people were killed by artillery in Orlando?

Here is a hint.

It is not about guns.

It is about power.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 15:11:21

I can’t see how your remark relates to what Scalia said. I wasn’t actually endorsing his remarks. I though that they sounded pretty goofy when I heard them.

 
 
Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 14:16:30

Well that would please Rambo anyway.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 10:56:15

someone had a snappy answer to why people buy a tiny house vs a travel trailer

can I get that posted again ?

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 11:04:09

crater

 
Comment by Puggs
2016-06-15 11:17:19

“It ain’t home ’till dem wheels come off.”

 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 11:23:02

Property taxes?

 
 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 12:03:42

“The Subprime Mortgage Is Back: It’s 2008 All Over Again!”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-15/subprime-mortgage-back-its-2008-all-over-again

Not really news considering subprime never left but worthy of noting anyways.

Comment by Puggs
2016-06-15 13:49:07

“Wells Fargo will make the profit, but the taxpayer will assume the risk.”

 
Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 14:29:11

Just another gimmick for 3% down or 0% down or low FICO. Plenty of those hanging around already. But I still not seen ANY loan where the monthly payment is less than fixed-rate fully amortized PITI starting on Day 1.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 16:38:18

A distinction without a difference in light of the fact they(and you) are underwater from day 1.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2016-06-15 17:08:20

And despite all the talk of subprime loans, very few loan dollars are going to people with credit scores less than 660.

At peak madness, about 30% of all loan dollars were going to this cohort.

Today it’s less than 10%.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 17:15:40

By virtue of the fact 90%+ of all mortgages written are 3.5% down payment with down payment assistance, clearly the majority of all mortgages are subprime.

Remember….. 3.5% down payment mortgages are subprime by definition.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by Puggs
2016-06-15 14:33:28

There’s only one thing more painful than learning from experience, and that is not learning from that experience.

 
 
Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 12:28:02
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 12:47:01

car loans pop
another thing absolutely no one saw coming or commented on here at HBB
the 84 month loan seemed like a great idea to everyone

Comment by Puggs
2016-06-15 13:29:22

Losses are multiplied whenever you finance a depreciating asset!

 
Comment by CalifoH20
2016-06-15 13:52:42

as long as you get an 84 month warranty, b to b.

 
Comment by oxide
2016-06-15 14:22:42

I’m still counting down to October 1, when buyers will have to pony up 10% up front, or else the auto financial will have to keep 5% of the loan.

The responsible folk will be able to buy an Accord no problem, but sales of tricked-out monster trucks will tank.

 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-06-15 13:11:35

if Brexit brings the FTSE down I’m buying. SWZ and NORW are doing fine selling their wares to the 300,000,000 + tax slaves (collectivists) The bills for the PIGS and eastern block parasites are only starting to kick in.

Comment by Captain Lou Albano
2016-06-15 13:30:42

That’s a big 10-4 good buddy!

 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-06-15 13:37:03

Taxes in those two countries are probably around the EU average.

Comment by In Colorado
2016-06-15 15:08:36

One thing about personal income taxes in other countries is that they usually don’t have the tax deductions/credits that are available in the USA, so if you have say 100 people making X Euros a year, they will all pretty much pay the same income tax. Filing a Tax Return is pretty much unheard of in other countries if you have a job and aren’t self employed.

Then they pay the VAT (Value Added Tax), which is their sales tax. It’s typically around 20%. Since it is a national tax, everyone pays the same sales tax and it’s built into the labelled price of an item. And yes, it’s 20%; which is why duty free shops at airports are so popular over there.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2016-06-15 13:37:38

Tanks in the streets

There could be tanks in the street…

 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 15:12:08

Blur — Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=360gboVLjQQ

Comment by Apartment 401
2016-06-15 15:57:24

Radiohead — Airbag (1997):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QGO-fXh_w4

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2016-06-15 16:08:59

Flower Mound, TX Affordability Surges As Housing Prices Crater 15% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/flower-mound-tx/home-values/

 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-06-15 17:12:00

palmetto

You OK?

 
Comment by phony scandals
2016-06-15 18:59:13

Epic Trump Debate - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAeB_yl2E90 - 249k - Cached - Similar pages
10 hours ago

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

Trackback responses to this post