Building Too Much, Too Fast?
Insider Louisville reports from Kentucky. “Government have been closely watching as Metro Council members grapple with how to best use a popular local tax incentive called a TIF, according to council president David Yates. Councilman Bill Hollander, who at one time didn’t support TIFs for either the Mercy or Phoenix Hill project, concurred that Louisville trails other U.S. cities when it comes to using TIFs to spur development. ‘There are a lot of apartment buildings being built with TIFs. In fact, we are a little bit behind the curve on this,’ he said.”
‘My opposition here is that we are talking about luxury apartments, luxury apartments in an area that is not blighted,’ said Councilman Brent Ackerson. ‘To throw government money at luxury apartments, I think, is a misuse of what a TIF is for, and I think this body should think twice about it.’”
The Star Tribune in Minnesota. “A $36 million plan by Sherman Associates to redevelop a vacant lot in the Mill District of Minneapolis won approval from city staff, even though another proposal had garnered neighborhood support. Sherman’s plan is to turn a sliver of city-owned land into a mixed-use project with a 115-unit, six-story apartment and townhouses building. Neighborhood leaders leaned a different way. The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (DMNA) wrote a letter last month in support of Grand Real Estate.”
“‘I can’t believe they are going against the clear majority wishes of the Mill District residents,’ said Joe Tamburino, vice chairman of the association. The DMNA surveyed around 300 residents and found most supported owner-occupied housing, which is perceived as more stable for the neighborhood, Tamburino said. ‘There’s a glut of apartments,’ he added.”
From Utah Business. “Multi-family apartment buildings are being constructed alarmingly fast all along the Wasatch Front. Mark Jensen, senior vice president of investment sales at Newmark Grubb ACRES (NGA), says multi-family housing in Utah is extremely robust right now due to factors such as interest from out-of-state investors, the state’s capital preservation market and booming population growth. Although these trends seem to show a need for more multi-family housing developments, is there a chance that developers are building too much, too fast?”
“Dan Lofgren, CEO of Salt Lake City-based multi-family housing developer Cowboy Partners, says while some may believe the Wasatch Front is in the middle of a multi-family housing bubble, he’s not inclined to employ that term. ‘The term bubble means the market is growing fast only to burst,’ he says. ‘Instead, I say that we are just always somewhere on the [market] cycle. Are we closer to a downturn today than we were a year ago? Absolutely, because that’s how cycles work. Does that mean we’re immediately in peril? No.’”
“Greg Ratliff, vice president of the apartment properties group at NGA, says all Salt Lake County submarkets are experiencing record development that far surpasses that average. Sandy leads all submarkets with approximately 2,023 units under construction—of which 79 percent are Class-A properties largely located along the State Street Corridor and City Center—while downtown Salt Lake City presently has a total of 1,851 units under construction at nine locations, with the vast majority (1,509 units) being Class-A.”
“One of the most interesting phenomena occurring in multi-family construction now is a call for both basic and unique amenities. ‘Today’s renter prefers flexibility, convenience and the higher-end lifestyle that renting can allow,’ Ratliff says. ‘The decision to rent is no longer made by necessity; it’s a conscious choice.’”
The Houston Chronicle in Texas. “Houston topped a list of metro areas with the biggest declines in rent, a new study shows. The average rent in Houston fell by 14 percent to $1,306 for a one-bedroom apartment in July, down from $1,521 in July, apartment listing firm Abodo reported. The drop likely reflects a slowing of job growth at the same time the supply of apartments has increased, the company said. Developers will have added about 35,000 units in the area from January 2015 through December 2016.”
Bloomberg on New York. “An apartment-construction boom in Brooklyn is putting a cap on rents in the New York borough as a surge of new units erodes landlords’ pricing power. The median monthly rent declined last month for the first time this year, dropping 0.8 percent from last July to $2,826, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The number of apartment listings jumped 30 percent to 2,424, the most units available for any month in records dating back to November 2008.”
“‘The inventory has been rising pretty steadily, but I think it’s now getting to the point where the overall rent numbers are softening,’ said Jonathan Miller, president of New York-based Miller Samuel. ‘It’s a tremendous amount of new product entering the market, and it’s skewed to the high end.’”
‘One of the most interesting phenomena occurring in multi-family construction now is a call for both basic and unique amenities. ‘Today’s renter prefers flexibility, convenience and the higher-end lifestyle that renting can allow,’ Ratliff says. ‘The decision to rent is no longer made by necessity; it’s a conscious choice.’
The Utah article is interesting because it goes into detail as these guys go to great lengths to explain the new paradigm required to justify this. It includes the now common “amenities arms race.” This is revealing. It’s not enough to have 11 foot ceilings and granite counter tops. All sorts of services and facilities have been invented for this New Renter, who is rich! and demands bocci ball courts complete with craft beer stations within walking distance of every unit.
OK, so why. Because they paid so much for the land (hint: here’s the bubble) that the rents only pencil out if they are WAY above what a mere fancy apartment would bring.
’says multi-family housing in Utah is extremely robust right now due to factors such as interest from out-of-state investors, the state’s capital preservation market and booming population growth’
Notice the population growth is an after thought. And are we to assume the new population are rich bocci ball playin’, craft beer swillin’ millennials? The truth is lenders hungry for yield are driving this. The developers are coming up with more and more stories to sell to them. And there’s the governments role in backing or subsidizing the whole boondoggle. If this were going on here and there, no biggie. But it’s happening all over the country and on a massive scale.
What an embarrassment to humanity.
There’s an new apartment in Houston that has a glass bottomed pool hanging out over the street, something like 20 stories up. How I ever lived without that, I don’t know.
What about racquetball courts? And slow-shared-community WiFi with basic encryption protections?
It’s not enough to have 11 foot ceilings
you have to have 11′ ceilings on the ground floor to get a commercial co in nyc, and years ago lots of buidings also made the 2nd floor with 11′ ceiling so it could be rented out, lots of restaurants have a small ground floor footprint and eating is up stairs.
I will enjoy the burst of the luxury apartment bubble when it hits Irvine. Lots of luxury rental projects around my office area.
Boy, I could use a move up that will be discounted greatly. I could use craft beer stations within staggering distance to my place!
Yes. Or when the bubble hits loanowners across the US and they cant gouge that guesthouse apartment or “in law suite”. Market forces baby. Yelle and her cronies cant fight gravity forever
They control very little. Take housing for instance. Housing demand has collapsed a 20-year lows despite their efforts.
My building was built in the 1970s. And my greatest “amenity” is living on the top floor with no shared neighbor walls. Silence is bliss
I had that situation in Florida, though a much more modern place. Top floor. I had a next door neighbor but my A/C was on 24/7 nine months out of the year and I did not hear them. I had a downstairs neighbor who I had to kindly ask to turn down her music. She was a good looking gal so I was very polite.
“….craft beer stations within staggering distance to my place!”
“….no shared neighbor walls. Silence is bliss :)”
We all have our priorities!
I live in the 3rd FL of a multi-family, no shared walls. My landlords are very nice people too. It’s not a bad situation.
Gotta love these narratives. The only folks that are “rich” are cashed out-equity Boomers who rode the inflation wave, and financially smart/hard workers. Basic Govt stats rule out the “rich renters looking for flexibility”. More like the majority of people simply cant afford our ridiculous bubblicious American Dream without 0 down, 0% loans. But of course, we here at the HBB know this through and through.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/spain-risk-premium-evaporating-political-060000483.html
Anyone want to lend spain money
How can a country w a 20% unemployment rate have a 1% ten yr
I remember the shock when it went to 3%.
Meanwhile, Yellvis has left the building! Where is she these days? Off talking to herself about rate hikes and jobs? Nobody even cares what the Fed has to say. The press is excited about the latest central bank rate cut, QE experiment or stock market record to pay attention to things like, how are these Spaniards every going to pay that money back?
No one expects the Spanish Disposession!
‘Councilman Bill Hollander, who at one time didn’t support TIFs for either the Mercy or Phoenix Hill project, concurred that Louisville trails other U.S. cities when it comes to using TIFs to spur development. ‘There are a lot of apartment buildings being built with TIFs. In fact, we are a little bit behind the curve on this,’ he said’
The way I understood it, there’s a federal component to these TIFs. What Bill here is saying is there’s some gravy to be had, and he wants to soak it up.
‘My opposition here is that we are talking about luxury apartments, luxury apartments in an area that is not blighted,’ said Councilman Brent Ackerson. ‘To throw government money at luxury apartments, I think, is a misuse of what a TIF is for’
The idea is getting the gravy Brent. It doesn’t even matter if the luxury apartments are needed or are what locals can afford.
‘A new report shows that Manhattan renters are benefitting from the highest July vacancy rate on record, leading to decreased rents across the board when compared to June and an increased level of landlord concessions.’
“The fact we are trending toward a 2 percent vacancy rate despite the busy summer season shows we are in a very price-sensitive market,” stated Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. “The use of concessions and slight rent adjustments by owners has failed to significantly move the needle.”
“…slight rent adjustments by owners has failed to significantly move the needle.”
Looks like “slight” just ain’t gonna cut it. Time for “massive.”
Some of the big buildings in Seattle are offering sweeteners too, and there is a LOT for rent.
The syndicates and property management margins are so tight that they can’t lower the rent much. Investors… assume the position.
Irvine, CA Affordability Skyrockets As Housing Prices Tank 16% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/irvine-ca-92620/home-values/
‘is there a chance that developers are building too much, too fast?’
And the wrong types of buildings, Strike one, two, three.
‘The DMNA surveyed around 300 residents and found most supported owner-occupied housing, which is perceived as more stable for the neighborhood, Tamburino said. ‘There’s a glut of apartments,’ he added.’
This is significant because downtown Minneapolis is one of the biggest luxury apartment boom-towns. Even Portland OR has started to run into oversupply issues. Why any city thinks this will never end is puzzling.
‘Dan Lofgren, CEO of Salt Lake City-based multi-family housing developer Cowboy Partners, says while some may believe the Wasatch Front is in the middle of a multi-family housing bubble, he’s not inclined to employ that term.’
‘Are we closer to a downturn today than we were a year ago? Absolutely, because that’s how cycles work. Does that mean we’re immediately in peril? No.’
Wasatch for that tree, Dan.
Is there any limit to how much cash central banks can create to buy risk assets?
Please explain what will keep them from printing trillions more to buy stocks and treasuries.
Who oversees them or regulates them?
I posted an article with one guy saying suggesting they might go $100 trillion into QE.
“As a renowned teacher of English in China, Liu Jiabing planned well for his daughter’s education. He chose a good university in Australia, and bought an apartment in Melbourne that is due to settle next month. But now the apartment near Monash University that he bought off the plan for $600,000 is keeping him up at night. ‘At the very first, I was told I only had to pay 20 per cent downpayment,’ Mr Liu, who works at a prestige foreign language school in Nanjing, in China’s east, told The Australian. ‘Then they told me I had to pay 30 per cent, and later 40 per cent, as the banks won’t lend and we have to borrow from small financial organisations. Last night I was told I have to pay 55 per cent for down-payment. But how am I supposed to find so much in cash in such a short time? I still have to pay my daughter’s university fees.’”
“Mr Liu is just one of those Chinese parents who buy homes, usually new apartments, before sending their children to Australian universities. However, these buyers are now struggling to settle their purchases after all the big banks shut down lending to overseas buyers. They may have to pay in cash, resell at a loss or simply lose the 10 per cent deposit.”
“AC Property, a Melboune-based property portal, has four or five calls every day from buyers who seek to resell their off-the-plan apartments after finding it hard to settle. ‘We have been referring our clients to mortgage brokers to see if they can get alternative finance, but we haven’t seen a single case of success so far,’ said AC Property director Esther Yong.”
“Mr Li, who declined to give his first name, is one of those resellers after the Melbourne CBD apartment his parents bought two years ago failed to settle. ‘Everything looked fine when my parents bought it two years ago, and we were told they could get bank finance as overseas buyers,’ said Mr Li, a sales representative in the telco industry. ‘But now they could not get finance and could not settle.’”
“Mr Li’s parents, based in Guangzhou, in China’s south, have already missed the settlement deadline of July 18 for the apartment they bought for $440,000. The developer is now charging them about $150 a day as penalty, which is pushing Mr Li to resell as soon as possible. ‘It’s OK if we can just get back 5 per cent, but we haven’t got any buyer yet,’ he said. ‘If we walk away, the worst thing is that we lose the 10 per cent deposit. But if we find ways to settle it, I am not sure what we can make out of this, as the market is not looking pretty.’”
“Boxing Overseas, a Nanjing-based agent specialising in Australian properties, only sold two properties last month, compared with about 30 in previous months. ‘The market is really bad now, particularly after July,’ said managing director Jim Huang. ‘I have heard some agent having over 40 properties at default, which means the buyers just give up the 10 per cent deposit.’”
The Courier Mail. “Queensland’s two biggest financial bosses on Thursday renewed their concern about the wave of inner-city apartments arriving in Australia. Their comments follow uncertainty about whether a rush of building in recent years will result in a glut. Bank of Queensland CEO Jon Sutton, appearing at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia conference, warned of rising defaults in the inner-city apartment market. He said too much apartment building was occurring across Australia.”
“‘There are two apartment buildings outside my office where there are no lights on at night,’ Mr Sutton said. ‘My understanding is there has been rising defaults by buyers of those apartments, particularly foreign investors.’”
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=9727
“High plateau — it’s a phrase starting to pop up a lot more in descriptions of metro Denver’s housing market. But the leveling off could require an adjustment in thinking and strategy in a market accustomed to sharp increases in home prices. And someone who buys in 2017 might find themselves sitting on zero appreciation come 2021. ‘If we get anything under 5 percent in appreciation, sellers will lose their mind and think the market is collapsing,’ said Anthony Rael, chairman of the Denver Real Estate Market Trends Committee at the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.”
“June saw a huge 24.4 percent jump in the inventory of homes for sale versus May, an increase about six times the historical average between the two months. And while the overall inventory was still a historically low 6,769, agents note that a change is in the air, even if it hasn’t yet shown up in rates of appreciation, which are still running in the double-digits. Redfin broker Michelle Ackerman said the big jump in inventory should have translated into more showings this month, but that isn’t happening. Sellers are getting fewer offers than just a few months ago and fewer buyers are touring homes.”
“In something she hasn’t seen in two decades, Ackerman said bank underwriters are getting much more cautious, asking for more time to review appraisals and in some cases challenging them. ‘That has triggered conservativeness on the part of buyers,’ she said. ‘Do the underwriters know something that we don’t?’”
“One group will have a disproportionate influence on the housing market in the years ahead: retirees who are rich in home equity but short on savings. If they perceive the market is about to roll over, they may put their properties up for sale sooner rather than later. ‘Sales are being fueled by ‘move-down’ buyers,’ said Mark Boud, chief economist at Real Estate Economics. ‘That is the only way they can take advantage of their equity.’”
“But the bottom won’t drop out as long as developers and builders continue to put out too little supply. With land and labor constrained, builders have focused on the highest profit margin opportunities — luxury apartments and higher-end homes. That leaves those segments of the market more vulnerable to any softening.”
“Metro Denver’s average apartment rent reached a record high of $1,371 in the second quarter, according to a quarterly survey from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, Colorado Economic and Management Associates, and the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. Newer units, which demand higher rent, pulled the average above the median of $1,324 DU associate professor of real estate Ron Throupe said.”
“Vacancies rose last year as developers put a large number of apartments on the market. They continue to build, adding 2,442 new units in the second quarter, but renters absorbed 4,189 units, causing the vacancy rate to fall. As the market has tightened, prices have gone up: Throupe found rents increased by $56 in the second quarter. The first-quarter figure of $1,315 had been a high at the time.”
“Rents are also rising because developers have focused on adding ‘luxury’ apartments in places like downtown Denver and central Boulder. As those become a larger part of the mix, they push up the average rent. But landlords, in an effort to lure new tenants, are also offering more concessions. The ‘economic vacancy’ rate, which accounts for discounts like a month or two of free rent, is at 14.3 percent, up from 13 percent in the first quarter.”
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=9698
“Man’s long determined history of dabbling in the building of touted towers, surely not for his self-gratification, but rather to bring him closer to God, has rarely been met with benevolence. Consider, if you will, the first known example of such an attempt. Having heeded Noah’s warnings, a postdiluvian band of survivors just couldn’t resist taking a stab at the celestials, raising the Tower of Babel they were sure would be gloriously received.”
“The idea of vengeance being associated with sky-piercing structures seems to have stuck, especially among financial market historians. Analysts at the British bank Barclays originally voiced the idea that if you build it, it will come, as in a financial crisis. That is, every time an erected edifice unseated its predecessor to become the newest world’s tallest building, economically upsetting times tended to follow.”
“It took 80 years after the opening of the Chrysler Building to build the next 49 supertall skyscrapers, defined as 300 meters (984 feet) or more. How on earth, or in the heavens, to put it more aptly, has the hundredth supertall just opened on Park Avenue? It might have something to do with the fact that in the short five years through 2015, a subsequent 50 supertall skyscrapers have been erected.”
“All we can do is sit back and wonder what’s to come. Transaction volumes in the trillions and heights exceeding a kilometer – how do tomorrow’s architects top that? Is man’s vanity so great he will risk an even sharper blow to the glass in that celestial ceiling? If he does, what vengeance might follow? The best we can do is hope future history books don’t include records that give new meaning to that old warning, ‘Look out below!’”
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=9602
Denver is a dump. It’s been a nice ride, but I’ll be moving on in a few years.
Mr Liu, who works at a prestige foreign language school in Nanjing, in China’s east
So some dude who teaches Chinese executives English is buying 600K houses overseas? If that isn’t a shoeshine boy moment, I don’t know what it.
The US media didn’t pick up on these reports of Chinese buyers defaulting on these pre-construction condos deals, nor any other media I suppose. There was this from the prior post:
‘Realtor Steve Taylor of MacDonald Realty in West Vancouver recently sold a house for a retired couple in Ambleside to buyers from mainland China for about $2.5 million. But the deal is now subject to the new tax, adding a significant cost, which the buyers say they don’t have the money for.’
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=9737
The Australia condos had loans. These weren’t all cash buyers. They just got hit with a bigger down payment requirement. Like the one guy, ‘It’s OK if we can just get back 5 per cent, but we haven’t got any buyer yet,’ he said. ‘If we walk away, the worst thing is that we lose the 10 per cent deposit. But if we find ways to settle it, I am not sure what we can make out of this, as the market is not looking pretty.’
Stated another way: If we decide to honor our commitment, I’m not sure what’s in it for us.
And he probably wonders why the lenders are bailing on him.
purchases after all the big banks shut down lending to overseas buyers
Hmmm….So it was never all cash, was it? Another lie gets exposed again.
‘The Bank of Japan’s controversial march to the top of shareholder rankings in the world’s third-largest equity market is picking up pace.’
‘Already a top-five owner of 81 companies in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, the BOJ is on course to become the No. 1 shareholder in 55 of those firms by the end of next year, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg from the central bank’s exchange-traded fund holdings. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda almost doubled his annual ETF buying target last month, adding to an unprecedented campaign to revitalize Japan’s stagnant economy.’
‘While bulls have cheered the tailwind from BOJ purchases, opponents say the central bank is artificially inflating equity valuations and undercutting efforts to make public companies more efficient. Traders worry that the monetary authority’s outsized presence will make some shares harder to buy and sell, a phenomenon that led to convulsions in Japan’s government bond market this year.’
“Only in Japan does the central bank show its face in the stock market this much,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co., which oversees about 12 trillion yen ($118 billion). “Investors are asking whether this is really right.”
‘While the BOJ doesn’t buy individual shares directly, it’s the ultimate owner of stakes purchased through ETFs.’
‘While the BOJ has pushed unconventional monetary easing further than peers, its market intervention is hardly unique. The Bank of England unveiled a $13 billion plan to purchase corporate debt on Aug. 4, less than two months after the start of a similar program at the European Central Bank. During the Asian financial crisis in 1998, Hong Kong bought local shares to defend its currency peg, helping to fuel a rally that allowed it to dispose of the stake within five years.’
Nationalization of companies…where did we hear that before?
Capitalists will sell you the rope with which you can hang them?
Is fiat a means of facilitating a transaction or a storage of wealth?
How can wealth be truly created by creating pieces of paper or keystrokes on a computer?
Who is getting duped here?
Look in the mirror
Ain’t ya got any gold?
How is gold any better as a medium of exchange than high tech paper? It’s not like anyone uses gold as a utility. Sure, it conducts electricity better than copper, but no one uses it for that.
Does gold provide shelter? Does it offer nourishment?
The only argument I can see for it is its relative scarcity. But is that a good thing? It actually prevents a central bank from stimulating or contracting as necessary. I hate this endless QE and ZIRP as much as the next guy here, but when applied correctly, Keynesian economics can provide a great deal of growth and stability.
Perception and belief. If the US Govt issued a new piece of paper and said “This is legit currency”, people would buy into it. And others would store gold/silver/bullets/food…
Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Housing Prices Plunge 12% YoY On Billowing Housing Inventory
http://www.zillow.com/brooklyn-heights-new-york-ny/home-values/
The median home value in Brooklyn Heights is $972,400. Brooklyn Heights home values have gone up 3.9% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.5% within the next year.
And the median home *price* in Brooklyn tanked 12% YoY.
Remember….. Nothing accelerates the economy and creates jobs like falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Nothing.
San Diego, CA Housing Prices Crater 10% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/san-diego-ca-92109/home-values/
They are waiting for the moment to send this market into freefall and buy it back for 50% on the dollar.
It must be nice to manipulate markets and enrich your friends and yourself.
How are WALL STREET outsiders supposed to hear the dog whistle that gives the “sell everything!” signal?
they wont will be too late. they will be fleeced again.
Seems like the market will stay up until they can get retail to hold the bag again. They seem to be reluctant to buy so central banks have to buy.
Hillary and the DNC’s Comrades of Proven Worth will not abide an idealistic young progressive and data director who was reportedly upset at their blatant election-rigging.
https://soapboxie.com/us-politics/Slain-DNC-Data-Director-Oversaw-Software-Which-Could-Have-Been-Used-for-Voter-Disenfranchisement
But…but…gun control makes us safer! That clever man on TV said so!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-14/chicago-records-deadliest-day-13-years-city-spirals-out-control
Step on the Gas (L.A. Riots) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omcMKJEb6LI - 284k -
How sheltered were you from reality growing up in the suburbs?
The Notorious B.I.G - Everyday Struggle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rogvlB2SP4k
so what? music used to uplift and wanting you to do better, this type of rap music kept you stupid, illiterate, in jail and in the ghetto. the difference i saw was for white people it was a fad, for blacks it became a lifestyle, with pretty severe consequences….all self inflicted.
+1
mass.mortgage.defaults.
Millennials distrust banks, yet voted for Obama. The stupid, it burns.
http://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-distrust-banks-new-startups
Millenials cover 1987-2000 (ish), so only half of the range was voter eligible in both elections…
Boomers and Gen Xers have a fantastic record of voting in the current system of warfare, exceptionalism, and financial glutton
Londoners cutting home prices to offload their insanely overpriced RE unto unwary bagholders-to-be.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-14/londoners-cut-house-prices-to-lure-buyers-in-slowing-market
Wot? Everybody wants to live there, no?
But…but…I thought the sky would fall if the British people voted for BREXIT. All of the Oligopoly mouthpieces said so.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecb-assessed-no-brexit-hit-to-eurozone-bundesbank-2016-08-15?link=MW_latest_news
Urban unrest is not bullish for housing. Home prices in Ferguson have dropped by 50% since the riots there.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/national-guard-deployed-milwaukee-cleans-after-police-shooting-protests-n630451
Apparently demand to live near BLM riot zones is muted.
A preview of coming attractions when Comrade Hillary’s collectivist kleptocracy needs to step up its looting and asset-stripping of the middle and working classes to “redistribute the wealth” to its billionaire donors and FSA dependency voters. Forward!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-15/wealth-tax-looms-greeks-forced-declare-all-assets-tax-authority
Meanwhile, bread and circus here in the US until stuff starts hitting the fan.
How can the US “invest in infrastructure” while simultaneously lavishing trillions in “stimulus” funny money on Wall Street?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/something-clinton-and-trump-agree-on-time-to-invest-in-infrastructure-2016-08-15?link=MW_latest_news
I wish overbuilding was a problem up here in Massachusetts and up the “Seacoast”… I’ve seen some huge complexes coming up, but people seem to be moving to work near Boston. The university system here seems to keep a huge migration going (Harvard, MIT, BU, BC, Umass).
With a falling population it doesn’t need to.
But…but…The Narrative says this was Trump’s fault.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/members-queens-mosque-demand-justice-shooting-imam-article-1.2750872
How long can they keep this rigged stock market levitating? Main street seems to have learned how the game is rigged. They need to hand this cr@p off to someone to realize gains.
Grossly inflated prices and not a buyer in sight. Just like housing.
should the central banks become landlords?
I think they already are.
stocks are up again b@thcez. I guess it makes clinton look great. Trickle down works!
Now go get a JOB from the rich!
Nobody cares the stealth nationalization that’s in full speed with the Fed buying everything.
What will the Fed do with all the stuff it is buying? Buy-and-hold forever?
I’m wondering if central bank intervention in private markets is unprecedented this cycle?
Citing Clinton, sailor seeks leniency in submarine photos case
By Josh Gerstein
08/15/16 06:26 AM EDT
A Navy sailor facing the possibility of years in prison for taking a handful of classified photos inside a nuclear submarine is making a bid for leniency by citing the decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over classified information authorities say was found in her private email account.
Petty Officer First Class Kristian Saucier, 29, is set to be sentenced Friday on a single felony charge of retaining national defense information without permission. In May, Saucier pleaded guilty in federal court in Bridgeport, Conn., admitting that while working on the U.S.S. Alexandria in 2009 he took and kept six photos showing parts of the sub’s propulsion system he knew to be classified.
The defense and prosecutors agree that sentencing guidelines in the case call for a prison term of 63 to 78 months, but defense attorney Derrick Hogan cited the treatment of Clinton as he argued in a filing last week that Saucier should get probation instead.
“Democratic Presidential Candidate and former Secretary of State Hilary [sic] Clinton…has come under scrutiny for engaging in acts similar to Mr. Saucier,” Hogan wrote. He noted that FBI Director James Comey said 110 emails in 52 email chains in Clinton’s account contained information deemed classified at the time, including eight chains with “top secret” information and 36 with “secret” information.
“In our case, Mr. Saucier possessed six (6) photographs classified as ‘confidential/restricted,’ far less than Clinton’s 110 emails,” Hogan wrote. “It will be unjust and unfair for Mr. Saucier to receive any sentence other than probation for a crime those more powerful than him will likely avoid.”
There are distinctions between the cases. Saucier admitted as part of a plea bargain that he “knew from his training and his specialized work upon the submarine” that the photos contained classified information and he wasn’t authorized to take them. He also admitted that after being confronted by law enforcement in 2012 he destroyed a laptop, camera and memory card.
Clinton has said she didn’t know any information on her server was classified, although Comey has said anyone in Clinton’s position “should have known that an unclassified system was no place” for some of the subjects being discussed. While Clinton had tens of thousands of emails erased from her system in 2014, she did so with the advice of lawyers and before the FBI investigation was underway.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/08/sailor-seeks-leniency-in-submarine-photos-case-by-citing-clinton-226995#ixzz4HPFawKXZ
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‘Saucier pleaded guilty in federal court in Bridgeport, Conn., admitting that while working on the U.S.S. Alexandria in 2009 he took and kept six photos showing parts of the sub’s propulsion system he knew to be classified.’
How did they find out he had photos? Did he mention it or did someone see him take the photos?
crushing.housing.losses.
Demographics, my child, said the sage. There are more potential sellers (65+) than potential buyers (25 - 64). This sucker will go down.
came across this for new lead holding sub sub penny stock
http://splash247.com/newlead-ship-auction-to-close-another-ugly-chapter-of-crew-neglect/
Man can’t withdraw guilty plea in real estate scheme
http://www.wildabouttrial.com/one_off/man-cant-withdraw-guilty-plea-in-real-estate-scheme/