Wed 2 Dec 2009
From the Star Ledger:
N.J. investigations unit reports huge payouts by local government
They receive paid days off for Christmas shopping, donating blood and weddings. And when these public employees retire, they can cash in tens of thousands of dollars worth of unused sick time and vacation days.
Extensive taxpayer-funded benefits for some local government employees are straining the budgets of New Jersey municipalities, according to a report the State Commission of Investigation released today.
Despite a recession that has depleted tax revenue and forced layoffs, the report says, municipalities continue to spend tens of millions of dollars on big payouts to retiring workers.
“The gravy train continues to roll without impediment for select groups of employees on the public payroll,” it reads. “Startling amounts of taxpayer-funded booty continue to be dispensed across New Jersey without regard for the common good.”
The SCI, which examines crime and corruption and reports to the Legislature, said it discovered $39 million in extravagant payouts after reviewing 75 towns, counties and local authorities. State employees can receive a maximum of $15,000 for unused sick time, but such limits aren’t standard at the local level.
…
The SCI report is a black eye for municipalities who have clamored for more state assistance to help cope with the recession. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed outrage over the expensive perks.“It shocks the conscience,” said Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), who pledged legislation to cap severance payments. “The taxpayers have every right to be offended.”
…
Montclair State University Brigid Harrison expects political power struggles if the state cracks down on employee benefits at the local level.“Counties are often political fiefdoms,” she said. “County freeholders or executive boards get to pad the ranks of public employees with political supporters.”
From HousingWire:
Pending Home Sales Up 3.7% in October: NAR
Pending home sales continued a nine-month-long run in October, according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) index.
NAR’s pending home sales index increased 3.7% from September to October and is up 31.8% from its October 2008 level. The nine consecutive month-over-month gains mark the longest run since the index was created in 2001 and the year-over-year increase is the greatest in the index’s history.
…
Regionally, the index increased in the Northeast (19.9%), Midwest (11.6%) and South (5.4%), but fell 11.2% in the West.
From CNBC:
FHA to Toughen Mortgage Rules in Lenders Crackdown
Amid rising foreclosures and falling home prices, the Federal Housing Administration is proposing new rules to crack down on lenders and asking Congress for the authority to raise certain borrower requirements, all in an effort to reduce risk to its $685 billion mortgage portfolio.
According to a recently released actuarial study, FHA’s secondary reserves have fallen below the required two percent level, to 0.53 percent of total insurance-in-force.
While FHA Commissioner David Stevens said in an interview on CNBC following that release that the FHA would not need additional federal funding to meet its loan losses, he added that FHA will be looking for new ways to reduce risk.
Those steps will include raising minimum borrower FICO scores, requiring larger down payments, and reducing the maximum permissible seller concession from six percent currently to three percent.
It could also include raising up-front and/or annual insurance premiums, which would require Congressional authority. This is according to the testimony HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is scheduled to present to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday afternoon, obtained by CNBC.
From the APP:
Strapped state detains $20.6M in town aid
More than $20.6 million in state aid due to municipalities Tuesday was instead withheld by the state, which is holding onto the money and might permanently revoke the payments as it figures out how to rebalance its own budget.
The change affects 465 of the state’s 566 municipalities. While four cities — Newark, Camden, Trenton and Paterson — face the loss of more than $1 million each, the amount withheld is less than $10,000 in 248 towns.
The New Jersey State League of Municipalities might sue, said executive director William Dressel Jr., who said the change comes with little notice in the last month of the budget year for towns on a calendar-year budget cycle.
“The league is exploring a possible legal challenge to this unprecedented state policy surprise,” Dressel said.
From Reuters:
NJ debt climbs to $33.9 bln in FY09-report
New Jersey’s official state debt rose to $33.9 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, from $31.86 billion in the previous year, according to an official report obtained on Tuesday.
The annual Debt Report by the state Treasury shows that when obligations such as pensions and health benefits are included, the state’s total debt load increased to $51.25 billion at the end of fiscal 2009 from $44.5 billion a year earlier.
From the Philly Inquirer:
N.J. probe finds waste, abuse in municipal benefits
New Jersey residents seeking jobs with cushy benefits, such as paid time off for Christmas shopping, payouts for unused sick days, and no-strings-attached departure bonuses, might want to drop off a resume at their local town hall.
A report released yesterday by the state Commission of Investigation, an independent fact-finding agency, found those and many other examples of what it called waste and abuse in a review of 75 municipalities and quasi-independent authorities.
Eighty percent of the employers investigated by the commission provided questionable benefits to police, fire, or civilian personnel, the commission found.
Several pages of the report are devoted to Camden, the state’s poorest city and the recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars of state aid, which allegedly allowed improper retirement payouts and days off.
“Camden continues to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of extravagant, benefit-related cash compensation into the pockets of municipal workers every year,” the report concludes.
From HousingWire:
PA Borrower Sues to Have Toll Brothers Mortgage Voided
A class action lawsuit filed against Toll Brothers in Pennsylvania Tuesday, seeks damages from the builder and its mortgage lending subsidiary for originating mortgages in the state without the proper license.
According to court documents, Toll Brothers’ mortgage business TBI Mortgage, formerly Westminster Mortgage, let its mortgage license expire, but advertised that it was still a licensed lender and continued to originate mortgages for borrowers purchasing homes in the builder’s developments in 2005 and 2006, a violation of the state’s Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Consumer Protection Act.
…
This agreement is the basis for the lawsuit. The lead plaintiff, Joan McClure, claims she purchased a Toll Brothers home in 2006 with first- and second-lien loans TBI Mortgage originated for $624,975. Since the company was not properly licensed, the suit alleges, she is the victim of a third-degree felony.
The suit claims McClure was not informed that Toll Brothers was allegedly engaged in a third-degree felony and was in violation of the state’s Unfair Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection law. The suit seeks to have McClure’s mortgage voided and removed from her title, as well additional punitive damages, known as treble damages, in the amount of three times the value of her mortgage.
From the Home News Tribune:
Old Bridge to layoff nine at end of the month
Nine township employees will lose their jobs New Year’s Eve — and additional layoffs are possible.
The workers were notified Tuesday about the layoffs, township business administrator Michael Jacobs said.
“The cuts effect both full and part time in just about every department,” Jacobs said.
No township police officers are effected, he said.
Jacobs said the terminations are expected to save the township a little more than $400,000.
“This is the last thing that I or anyone else would want to see happen,” Mayor James T. Phillips said.
From the Express Times:
Lehigh Valley unemployment rate rises to 9.8 percent
Lehigh Valley unemployment continued its steady march upward in October as the region shed jobs for the 12th-straight month.
The local jobless clip has reached 9.8 percent, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry. That’s up three-tenths of a point from September and is a full point higher than the Pennsylvania average of 8.8 percent.
From the Record:
In foreclosures, N.J. tenants have rights
New Jersey tenants whose landlords fall into foreclosure have a right to stay in their homes — and lenders must tell them that, under a new rule adopted by the New Jersey Supreme Court.
“Tenants are the invisible victims of the foreclosure crisis,” New Jersey Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen said Tuesday. “It is critical that tenants are notified in these situations because many are unaware that, under New Jersey law, they cannot be evicted solely because of a foreclosure.”
From the Record:
N.J. auto insurance costs highest in country
New Jersey drivers saw their auto insurance bills go down slightly in 2007, though the state was still second only to Washington, D.C., for the highest rates in the nation, according to a national report released Tuesday.
Auto insurance premiums have declined for three straight years, dropping 5.6 percent nationwide and 9.6 percent in New Jersey from highs in 2004, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners annual report.
New Jersey drivers paid an average of $1,103.53 per vehicle, making it one of six states with average bills above $1,000.
4.
Holy Sh#t! 33.9 billion? Those state pensioneers are going to have a rude awakening when it comes time to collect. Time to break out some IOU’s.
Bernanke Has Support of Majority of Senators on Banking Panel
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — Ben S. Bernanke has the backing of a majority of U.S. senators on the Banking Committee for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a2d_ix4s11yM
From the Huffington Post
Good Bye! The Reappointment Of Bernanke Is Too Much To Bear
By Nassim Nicholas Taleb
What I am seeing and hearing on the news — the reappointment of Bernanke — is too hard for me to bear. I cannot believe that we, in the 21st century, can accept living in such a society. I am not blaming Bernanke (he doesn’t even know he doesn’t understand how things work or that the tools he uses are not empirical); it is the Senators appointing him who are totally irresponsible — as if we promoted every doctor who committed malpractice. The world has never, never been as fragile. Economics make homeopath and alternative healers look empirical and scientific.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125963239592170665.html?mod=article-outset-box
Guidelines Aim to Ease Short Sales
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/us/02calif.html?_r=1&ref=us
California to use deflation in assessing property taxes
Good Morning America just teased a piece titled “recession lightning.”
Should be an interesting segment
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/11/30/advice-for-obama-job-summit-create-a-solar-wpa/
Here’s an interesting post: Create a solar WPA
Pension corruption will not stop until the system breaks down.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wells-fargo-closing-122-california-offices-report-2009-12-02
Wells to close 122 CA offices -
Most smaller Wachovia branches near Wells - Still - lost CA jobs.
November estimated job losses 120,000. Recession is over. Cant wait to see the actual numbers.
“Bernanke Has Support of Majority of Senators on Banking Panel”
Fantastic. Lever up.
Why do I just know that Taleb has halitosis like no fcuking tomorrow?
13.grim says:
December 2, 2009 at 6:52 am
From the Huffington Post
Good Bye! The Reappointment Of Bernanke Is Too Much To Bear
By Nassim Nicholas Taleb
ooooooh yeah….
WSJ
BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2, 2009
Not for Joe Six-Pack, But Beer Packs Punch
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
It is banned in 13 states and sure doesn’t come in a six-pack.
The maker of Samuel Adams beer has released an updated version of its biennial beer Utopias, the highest-alcohol-content beer on the market. At 27% alcohol by volume and $150 a bottle, the limited release of the brandy-colored Utopias comes as more brewers take advantage of improvements in science to increase potency and enhance taste.
“Just part of trying to push the envelope,” said Jim Koch, founder and owner of Boston Beer Co., the maker of Sam Adams. “I’m pushing it beyond what the laws of these 13 states ever contemplated when they passed those laws decades ago.”
Since the 1990s, craft brewers like Boston Beer and the Delaware-based Dogfish Head have produced a number of “extreme beers” that challenge old notions of beer and the decades-old laws that have governed them.
Paul Gatza, director of the national Brewers Association, Boulder, Colo., said new yeast research allowed brewers to experiment with the emerging science that pushed the traditional cap of 14% alcohol by volume for beer. “As a result, these new beers, like Utopias, balance sweetness, higher alcohol content and more ingredients,” Mr. Gatza said.
A few states also have moved to adapt their laws to allow for the emerging craft-brew market. For example, Alabama and West Virginia recently passed laws to allow higher-alcohol content in beer.
Lawmakers in Iowa and Mississippi are considering similar legislation. Mr. Gatza said consumers are also pushing for the changes.
That’s what sparked a brew battle between Boston Brewing and Dogfish Head.
In 1993, Mr. Koch set a new bar by creating Triple Bock, a beverage with 17.5% alcohol by volume. In the early 2000s, Dogfish Head responded with beverages of their own that went to 22%.
But the latest Utopias alcohol volume gives Mr. Koch and Boston Beer the clear title of having the strongest beer, said Sam Calagione, president and founder of Dogfish Head.
“I must bow before him for Utopias,” Mr. Calagione said. “I don’t think we’ll be brewing a beer that strong for a while.”
WSJ
DECEMBER 2, 2009
Are World Cup Referees Outgunned?
After France’s Handball Win, Soccer Considers Adding Officials; the Toughest Job in Sports
By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
Cape Town, South Africa
The global soccer establishment, which has gathered here in South Africa ahead of Friday’s World Cup draw, is dealing with an international mess that has been decades in the making.
Last month, in case you missed it, France defeated Ireland on a goal that was allowed to stand even though replays clearly showed that French captain Thierry Henry touched the ball twice with his hand. Ever since, the world has been consumed by whether its most popular sport should continue to allow the outcomes of its most important games to be influenced, even decided, by one person who has to run as much as 12 miles per match with a whistle in his mouth.
In an emergency meeting Wednesday, FIFA’s executive committee will discuss two radical proposals—one that would add two referees for every World Cup game (for a total of three) and another that would allow video replay to review calls. The committee also will consider an extraordinary proposal to include the jilted Irish team in the World Cup, although one FIFA official Tuesday called the idea “impossible.”
At present, FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter favors adding referees but opposes video replay. If the 24-member executive committee votes for either change, soccer’s rule-making International Board will make a final decision in Zurich in March.
“It’s important to make sure what happened will not happen again,” FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke said Tuesday.
No matter how they turn out, FIFA’s deliberations—and last month’s incident—have cast a glaring new light on what is arguably the toughest job in sports. As a referee in the quadrennial World Cup, which is the planet’s most coveted single championship, an official must oversee games in which life and death may be at stake (Colombian player Andrés Escobar was assassinated only weeks after he kicked the ball into his own team’s goal during the 1994 tournament) and where war and peace can hang in the balance (in 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought a Football War that coincided with rioting connected to a qualifying match).
To keep their places at the highest level, World Cup officials must take regular fitness tests. Because of the physical demands of the job, they face mandatory retirement at age 45. But most referees can’t keep up with the world’s fastest players, and no one can keep up with a moving ball.
“The main problem is you can get out of position so quickly,” said Esse Baharmast, who officiated in the 1998 World Cup and is now a referee instructor for FIFA. “Two touches of the ball, and all of a sudden the play is 50 yards away.”
The average soccer pitch is nearly 78,000 square feet, leaving the head referee, two sideline assistants and a fourth official near the field each to watch roughly 20,000 square feet and share oversight of 22 players. By comparison, a boxing referee keeps his eye on two fighters within a 324-square-foot ring. Major tennis tournaments can have 10 officials watching over a 2,100-square-foot singles court, most of them responsible for a single boundary line—and there’s often a computer system backing them up. Even Major League Baseball, which expects only a handful of umpires to cover a wide area—and has had its share of officiating questions—allows instant replay for some calls.
If soccer had golf’s strict honor system, Mr. Henry of the French team and other offenders would have to admit their fouls. In the absence of that, however, officials have little else to rely on when they miss a violation. Giorgio Chinaglia, the former Italian goal-scorer, said ignoring instant video replay on the most important calls seems absurd today. “This isn’t the 19th century anymore. It’s almost 2010,” Mr. Chinaglia says.
The question now is whether FIFA should try to come up with safeguards to improve officiating or whether it should hang on to its traditions of having a single, supreme ruler of the match who can’t consult computer or video analysis to make calls.
“The issue is we played 853 matches to get to this point, that’s the number of qualifying matches, and now all we are talking about is one match,” Mr. Valcke lamented.
FIFA is conducting an experiment in the Europa League, where five officials are used. In addition to the head referee and two sideline officials, two more are on the goal lines at the ends of the field to help the referee settle disputes in the penalty area—such as determining goals. But amid calls for innovation, many within the game’s professional ranks don’t support major changes. Brian Hall, who refereed in the 2002 World Cup, says he worries that additional officials or video reviews would disrupt the flow of the game.
A decade ago, U.S. Soccer, the nation’s governing body, took part in an international experiment to officiate games with two on-field referees, each one responsible for half the field.
Paul Tamberino, a former FIFA referee who oversees referee development for U.S. Soccer, says in most cases the two-man approach led to poor game management. Neither official would take charge or communicate authoritatively with the players, deferring to his on-field colleague instead. Mr. Baharmast, the FIFA referee instructor, says there were several cases where both officials would neglect to call an obvious foul believing that the other one would blow his whistle.
“I’m a purist,” Mr. Tamberino says. “You want to use video for whether a goal is a goal, that’s probably a good thing, but not for fouls or red cards.”
Mr. Baharmast says he doesn’t want video either—even though he knows what it’s like to suffer the world’s wrath.
During a game between Brazil and Norway in the 1998 tournament, he called for a penalty kick in the 89th minute of a tie game after a Brazilian player had tugged on the shirt of a Norwegian striker trying to head the ball into the goal (the main television camera didn’t catch the foul). Following the game Mr. Baharmast was blasted for making such a pivotal call so late in the game with just a minute to play before extra time.
Ironically, his savior was a camera—in this case, one shooting from behind the goal thatcaptured the foul and got Mr. Baharmast off the hook.
Who wants to be a millionaire?
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/financial-literacy/to-act-like-the-rich-be-frugal-1.aspx
As we all know, European football is about one step above harness racing in terms of credibility. In fact, stateside fans are really just a myopic bunch of drunks that are pining away for some idealisitc vision of their old world heritage. Pathetic really, but we tolerate such out of pity more than sympathy or real empathy.
WSJ
EUROPE NEWS
DECEMBER 2, 2009
Prosecutors Blow Whistle on Soccer Betting Scandal
A Global, 200-Person Network Is Suspected of Manipulating Mostly Lower-Level Matches; the Internet Is a Player
By MARCUS WALKER and DAVID CRAWFOR
BERLIN — A widening match-fixing scandal in European soccer is shining a light on shady betting practices in the multibillion-dollar sport.
German prosecutors are leading a Europe-wide investigation into an alleged betting syndicate suspected of manipulating soccer matches in what is now believed to be 17 countries, up from a suspected nine countries last week, according to prosecutors’ documents seen by two lawyers for suspects in the case.
Blerti Hajdari of KF Tirana, in white, vies for position with Stabaek players during a Champions League qualifying soccer match on July 21. Europe’s soccer-organizing body, UEFA, called the match ’suspicious.’
If proved, the affair would be one of the largest betting scandals in European soccer history.
The case shows how a combination of globalization, the Internet and the rising popularity of legal gambling on soccer are increasing opportunities for organized crime, European police and soccer officials say.
The suspects are accused of trying to hide their rigged bets amid the large volume of bets placed on Internet gambling sites from Malta to the Philippines, according to arrest warrants and a 300-page summary of the evidence seen by suspects’ lawyers.
“Bribes are paid in Europe, bets are placed in Asia, and the profits are taken in Berlin,” Jörg Ziercke, head of Germany’s Federal Crimes Office, said in a speech at a police conference last week.
The probe first became public in late November when police in Berlin arrested five suspected ringleaders, mostly from the former Yugoslavia. Since then, details of the alleged syndicate’s scale and methods have emerged almost daily.
German prosecutors described the broad outlines of the suspected betting fraud late last month, but have since declined to comment on details. Much of what is known comes from suspects’ lawyers, who have viewed arrest warrants and have been given partial access to investigators’ case files.
German prosecutors say a network of around 200 people is alleged to have bribed soccer players, referees and club officials to manipulate more than 200 matches, and to have made millions of euros through bets made online and with bookmakers in Europe and Asia.
German prosecutors are investigating possible manipulation attempts including payments from the alleged betting ring to a hotel cook in the former Yugoslavia who was asked to put performance-impairing drugs in a visiting team’s food, said Burkhard Benecken, a lawyer for one of the suspects arrested in Germany.
A senior German police investigator who is involved in the probe said the investigation began early this year after German police wiretapped Mr. Benecken’s client to gather evidence on other suspected criminal activity, and heard him talking about fixing soccer games.
Mr. Benecken would identify his client, a Turkish citizen, only as Deniz C. He says Mr. C is charged with kidnapping a Nuremberg bookkeeper, holding him in his basement for four days, and repeatedly beating him to demand payment of a €100,000 ($150,000) gambling debt. The lawyer says his client denies the allegations.
In all, 17 suspects accused of being connected to the betting ring have been arrested in Germany, Switzerland and Croatia.
One of the alleged leaders arrested in Berlin, a Croatian named Ante Sapina, had recently finished a prison sentence for a 2005 match-fixing scandal, in which he was convicted of bribing a German soccer referee to influence matches. The referee also went to prison. Mr. Sapina’s lawyer described the new allegations against his client as “speculation.”
German prosecutors are looking into how Mr. Sapina may have laundered millions of euros in gambling profits via a network of bank accounts and middlemen in Asia.
The soccer matches under investigation were mostly in minor leagues in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Belgium. The list also includes major-league matches in Turkey and the former Yugoslavia. Europe’s football-organizing body, UEFA, said at least one match in Europe’s elite club tournament, the Champions League, is “suspicious” — Albanian squad KF Tirana’s 4-0 defeat by Stabaek of Norway in July. Repeated calls to Tirana weren’t answered. Stabaek isn’t under suspicion.
Most of the teams whose matches German prosecutors accused the suspected betting ring of manipulating, such as Germany’s SC Verl, aren’t household names. Such teams pay their players a pittance compared with Europe’s more famous clubs, where star players earn millions of euros a year. That may be why the suspected betting ring may have focused on obscure teams, gambling-industry analysts say.
“Matches involving clubs from lower leagues or small countries may be easier to manipulate, because it takes less money to try and influence the outcomes, and such games attract less attention than big matches in the English Premier League,” says David Trunkfield, head of leisure strategy at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London.
At SC Verl, some players are alleged to have taken around €20,000 in bribes from the betting ring to throw games, according to investigation documents seen by Mr. Benecken. SC Verl’s president, Peter Mankartz, said the club has suspended two players and is cooperating with the investigation. He gave no further details.
A suspected member of the gambling ring bet around €41,000 on SC Verl to lose one of those games, and took away €100,000 in winnings when the squad lost on an own goal, Mr. Benecken said.
23 chifi
that beer is selling for $599 a bottle!- it’s more like an after dinner drink
have you tried it?
http://www.internetwines.com/rws28347.html
cecil: will you bring some to the GTG?
27.cooper says:
December 2, 2009 at 8:40 am
23 chifi
that beer is selling for $599 a bottle!- it’s more like an after dinner drink
have you tried it?
#18. Marty totally agree. Nothing gets fixed in NJ until it nobody gets paid. There was a State Commission of Investigations report done in 2006 on the absurd pay school administrators were receiving and to date nothing has changed. Even more amazing, is a lot of the perks counted as compensation for tax purposes but they didn’t claim it on their taxes! Even if you request a copy of the contract through OPRA, it won’t show all the perks allowed such as cashing in vacation/sick time. Since they’re tax payer funded positions, it should be law to have a copy of the contract on file and all perks should be clearly spelled out in the contract. If it’s not written in the contract, you don’t get it.
Al (20)-
I saw that number being estimated at 110k to 160k so by most accounts it’s high. Not good right now but in the spin process.
For me what’s most disappointing is the constant intervention in the markets makes it impossible to know up from down. What do we do with our money for the next 30 years?
I’m buying a hot dog stand to put next to frank’s coffee stand.
I know a school administrator who this year threatened to leave if they didn’t get a substantial raise. They got it.
Unreal.
“Create a solar WPA”
Cindy,
This is essentially what I advocated as soon as Bush started speaking of stimulus spending and what I again advocated when BHO continued down that route.
If we were going to spend ourselves close to BK, we might as well get energy independence for our troubles.
pete-
Friend’s father had so much sick time when he retired as a fire fighter that his town had to wait a year so that they could put his payment in the budget for the following year. Paid him the money+interest accrued from his retirement date.
32 - I hear ya Shore. Maybe they will bring it up at the Jobs Summit. Then again, maybe not…
32. Yeah at least you get a megawatt per x dollars. They could have gone straight Pickens Plan if they wanted. Maybe give a grant for the 40% efficient solar panel.
Too much logic. It isnt about the environment. Its about control out of chaos.
I have no problem with any union effectively bargining to win benefits for its members. It is one of the main reasons members join and pay dues. What is pathetic, and there is no excuse for it, is the poor negotiating skills on behaalfof boards, commissions, etc. I suspect it goes back to the paid board members, commissioners, etc., and their top administrators, getting benefits that piggyback on that of the rank and file.
http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/28/germany-runs-out-of-solar-due-to-generous-feed-in-tariff/
35 - Al
Then there is Germany…
d2b. Nothing will change after this report. Too many with a sense of entitlement along with the attitude of “well, the last person got it so I should also.” I find it ludicrous that the schools and towns claim they need to provide these perks to retain the best and brightest. That is a sham. In this economy, I’m sure I could find a lot of qualified people who would do the job for half the salary!
Don’t know much about it but for years I wondered why we can’t come up with a nifty retro-fit kit for DIY solar. Something that a handy person could put up or pay a firm who does this sort of work (like the contractors that do the satellite TV install). Maybe combined it with more efficient waterless tanks and furances, fuel pumps. Give it a fat tax credit.
ADP announces 169,000 jobs lost for November. For some industries its 34 consecutive months of decline and counting. I think the administration needs to raise taxes and implement yet another stimulus package.
Barb:
Generators use transfer hookups that are designed to run critical circuits in the event of an outage. Home standby units have automatic transfer switches and I’m sure that this could be done for solar.
We replaced out heater two summers ago. We have oil heat with a summer/winter hookup. Our consumption is down 25%. We have better water pressure. It’s quieter and there is no oil smell that comes with a 40 year old boiler.
We should move away from tax credits for paying your mortgage and squeezing out kids. Use the savings to reward charitable giving and green improvements.
PGC,
Better start nailing those doors shut. See penultimate paragraph.
http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/pharma-life-sciences/pharma-2020/pharma-2020-taxing-times-ahead.jhtml
Barb 39
such kits do exist. They just aren’t well known. There are potential speed bumps thought due to having to I tehrate a PV system with older “legacy” electrical system found in a large % of homes
I wonder if the eventual solution to the NJ budget shortfall will be to give municipal/state employees the foreclosures of those who have left, voluntarily or involuntarily…….
Barbara you need a conditioner and converter but appears the most simple of the residential applications. Need a metal rood for it to really work
http://cleantechnica.com/2008/05/24/a-thin-film-solar-panel-installation/
rood = roof
#25 relo
great article. Sad we have evolved into a nation of hyper consumers.
Don’t Buy a House — Yet
When housing prices hit bottom, they will languish near those low levels for years to come. So don’t be in a rush to buy.
Steven Goldberg, Contributing Columnist, Kiplinger.com, Kiplinger Washington Editors
KIPLINGER — 51 MINUTES AGO
Mortgage interest rates are at a 50-year low. Last month, Congress extended a tax credit for home buyers through April. The economy is beginning to crawl out of what by some measures is the deepest recession since the 1930s. One survey already shows house prices beginning to rise.
So isn’t it time to buy a home? Kiplinger’s certainly thinks so. But if I were in the market for a new home, I would wait. Housing prices typically don’t rebound quickly after a bust; instead, they level out and stay near that low base line for years.
I don’t see why this time should be different. True, prices seem as though they can’t drop further, and in some areas they even show signs of an upturn. But if prices won’t be taking off and might well resume their decline, you lose nothing but a little time by waiting to buy.
Of course, if you’re buying out of necessity — because you’re moving to a new area and need to sell your old house and buy a new one, for example — there’s no need to wait. But if you’re planning to buy your first house, if you want to move to a larger home, or especially if you’re buying a house for investment purposes, take your time.
The housing picture is complex — and frightening. House prices have plunged 30%, on average, from their 2006 peak. But from 2000 to 2006, average prices nearly doubled. That means average house prices are still almost 40% higher than they were a decade ago. Forty percent is a healthy increase — even in a robust economy.
And the economy, of course, is anything but robust. A fragile recovery seems to have begun last summer, but unemployment stands at 10.2% and is likely to rise even higher. It may not begin to fall substantially until late next year. Companies were quick to lay off workers, but they are being slow to hire.
As bad as the overall economy is, residential real estate is in much worse shape. About seven million households — or 12.5% of all homeowners — either are behind on their mortgages by 30 days or more or are in foreclosure. It’s hard to make the house payment if you’re unemployed. Millions of houses already stand empty — victims of the subprime loans that sparked the Great Recession. Almost a quarter of homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth.
The history of busts. Nationally, housing prices haven’t declined from one calendar year to the next since accurate record keeping began in 1968. But in 2005, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. identified 21 regional housing busts since 1968. (The FDIC defined a bust as a decline of 15% over five years.)
Busts occurred in Texas when oil prices sank in the mid 1980s, in Southern California in the early 1990s amid defense-industry cutbacks, and in much of the Northeast corridor in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 21 busts happened for varying reasons, and each unfolded differently. But they all shared one common trait: A nasty regional recession triggered each one.
Many (but not all) busts followed booms — just as our national housing crash followed an unprecedented boom.
Most (but not all) of the regional busts tended to be painfully protracted affairs. Why? Because unless you’re forced out, most of us would rather stay in a house, pay the mortgage and hope for an eventual upturn rather than sell and realize our losses quickly. That means home prices don’t go down all at once; they tend to slide agonizingly slowly on infrequent sales.
True, the tax credits and low mortgage rates make buying a house tempting today. But if you buy into a slumping housing market, those incentives won’t add up to much. So while the worst of the real estate decline is surely behind us, the odds are strong that you’ll be able to buy later at the same price — or a lower one.
Steven T. Goldberg is an investment adviser.
A PWC puff piece to sell consulting services.
Pharma is in a tight spot. The US is probably the most profitable market with the best patent protections. If they move R&D offshore, they lose the patent protection, if they move the manufacturing offshore, the open the floodgates to imitations, generics and grey market imports.
Any international company and some domestic already have a fleet of lawyers. How many Hollywood blockbusters are financed out of Germany.
Here’s one to ponder. What is the international equivalent of Delaware.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/business/30delaware.html
PGC They will just dump money into research institutions for patent sharing. In fact it is already happening. Univerisites are realizing it is a great way to attract talent and fill their coffers.
#39 Barbara,
Setting up Solar is fairly easy. The two big skills needed are mounting the panels, without causing roof leaks and tying into the house supply. For systems that sell back into the grid, you will probably need a PE or a licensed electrician to install the new meter and sign off on the installation.
For a fun project to get started
Buy a Prius and use it as a backup generator for your house.
http://priups.com/
Actually I invented solar panels that attach to jersey shore guidos for use at the tanning salon, a single solar powered modified guinna T-shirt can power my house for a year.
49 PGC “Pharma is in a tight spot. The US is probably the most profitable market with the best patent protections. If they move R&D offshore, they lose the patent protection, if they move the manufacturing offshore, the open the floodgates to imitations, generics and grey market imports.”
This does not make any sense. (Hardly a surprise if it comes from NYT). Having R&D or manufacturing offshore or in the US has nothing to do with patent protection nor profitability (except offshore costs are smaller, of course). This just show the ignorance of NYT (my apologies to NYT if this was purely PGC’s contribution).
US market is the most profitable, but only because we don’t have nationalized HC and its limitations/disincentives on new treatment/drug/equipment. Once we do have nationalized HC, profits (and pharma R&D) will go down. No more new cancer drugs.
Big pharma profits in the US vs in Europe have nothing to do with IP protection (which is identical for all practical matters).
Mery Christmas John, a headline just the way you like ‘em:
http://topstories.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17224&content=27345601
Mery Christmas John, a headline just the way you like ‘em:
http://topstories.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17224&content=27345601
“To act like the rich, be frugal”
Relo, millionaire next store was a very good book but cheap people are not tolerable.
now here is a tax amendment I could support. Just pass the Rangel amendment too.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/12/gop-introduces-.html
“Geithner Penalty Waiver Act, requiring that the IRS assess the same penalty against U.S. taxpayers that came forward in the UBS tax fraud investigation as paid by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for failing to pay taxes on his IMF income — zero.
This bill is not to reward tax evaders, but to defend the Rule of Law itself. If we as a nation choose not to enforce the law against the politically privileged, then we cannot enforce the law against others without undermining respect for the law itself.””
No doubt Holder’s DOJ backs 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution mandating equal penalties for similar offenses. /sarc
“European football is about one step above harness racing in terms of credibility.”
Everyone knows soccer is the greatest sport on earth.
Got Shiny?
Shore,
If you want “energy independence”, then solar is one of the least economically feasable ways to get there. Coal is pretty much 100% domestic. Ok, you worry about acid rain or CO2 or something, then nuclear is your best bet. Nuclear cost is primarily capital costs and regulatory costs. In the US, regulatory hassles are by far the highest cost, so all it would take is political change to cut costs. Operating costs are naturally lower then other large scale sources of power. Glamour green sources of energy like solar, wind, ethanol are much to real estate intensive and inefficient to supply a serious country with serious energy. Instead they are a way for people to demonstrate a “commitment” to the green religion and also a way for entrepreneurs to get subsidies from government for “a good cause”.
The only economic case I can see for wind or solar is for small scale applications, particularly in remote places without access to the electric grid.
Ultimately, the “greenest” energy and transport system would be nuclear power plants coupled with electric cars. All you’d hear is tires and birds chirping.
China, despite all of its talk about windmills and solar, knows that the only way to replace and expand its coal power plant on a large scale is via nuclear. Within 25 years, Chinese power companies will be the world leaders in nuclear power technology, while the US will be distracted by fiddling around with hippie-friendly and politically correct but sub-scale and expensive technologies subsidized by Al Gore’s friends.
#53 Jamil
Wow, you’re like the gift that just keeps giving.
Try reading this article, and see if it can bring you any closer to the reality of the discussion.
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSL439099920080804
So the point is, how can we ensure that companies that make profits here, keep the profits here and pay taxes on them here.
Shanghai, Mumbai,
Dubaior Goodbye.“Everyone knows soccer is the greatest sport on earth”
Veto,
Not a fan but I agree. My niece was on the women’s U-17 National team last year. They lost to Korea DPR in the finals, 2-1.
re: #12 Bernake reappoinment - Will our Congress dispense with the formality of debating Bank friendly legislation and simply allow the banks lawyers to draft legislation for them directly?
If there is any kind of change coming to Washington DC it will need a successful 3rd party movement, and it won’t originate from the drum beaters of Libertarianism like Ron Paul. It’ll come from the Democrats and Republicans who fully understand how corrupting the money in the political system has become, and who realize how desperate the situation for main street situation really is.
Are there Politcians who are willing to lose their jobs in an effort to save a democracy? Do they actually exist?
Who am I kidding? It’s didn’t happen in the 1930s and it isn’t going to happen now.
We are so screw*ed!
Household solar is more than an additional power source it will breathe new life into a power grid that is functionally obsolete, same goes for onsite wind mills. It all goes back to a stimulus plan with really and truly no provision for infrastructure and public works. We need all of this and nukes of course. I am still not sold on the electric car idea or fuel cells, I think it’s an avenue worth exploring but I think cellulosic ethanol might be more realistic and easier to retrofit into our existing infrastructure, if they can ever perfect in on an industrial scale. Same goes for biodiesel.
61 PGC “Wow, you’re like the gift that just keeps giving.”
PGC, please don’t embarrass yourself anymore.
You wrote “If they move R&D offshore, they lose the patent protection, if they move the manufacturing offshore, the open the floodgates to imitations, generics and grey market imports.”
This is absolute total garbage. Having R&D abroad has nothing to do with patent protection. Nada. Zilch. Zero.
They can have their R&D in (say) Vietnam and file all the required IP in the US (and any other country for that matter).
vito: to be clear, i was ragging on clot
Veto That says:
December 2, 2009 at 10:25 am
“European football is about one step above harness racing in terms of credibility.”
Everyone knows soccer is the greatest sport on earth.
What exactly is this R&D stuff? Sounds rather silly, why not just borrow money at near zero and lend it out at 5% risk free?
68 John: Don’t worry. Once we have passed ObamaCare, you don’t have R&D in pharma to worry about anymore.
chi, clearly.
i was being trying my hardest to be redicuolous. at the same time - i really meant it. ha.
funny. If a liberal nutcase loses Jon Stewart, he is pretty much finished. This is the show that young(ish) people with no indepedent IQ capacity are watching and taking their clues.
Jon Stewart on ClimateGate: ‘Poor Al Gore - Global Warming Debunked Via Internet You Invented’
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/12/02/jon-stewart-climategate-poor-al-gore-global-warming-debunked-internet
“My niece was on the women’s U-17 National team last year. They lost to Korea DPR in the finals, 2-1.”
BC, this must have been awesome.
at 16 i was on the the nj state odp team. We played japan in a friendly since they were here for some tourny. Their thighs were as thick as our bodies and none of them were above 4 foot. was lots of fun trying to knock them off the ball.
chi (24)-
NJ high schools use a two-man system like the one described in the article. It is a disaster.
Sorry to continue to beat the home rule drum but I have now gone from inquisitive, to informed, to pi$$ed off in the span of 72 hours of looking at this subject.
“Several pages of the report are devoted to Camden, the state’s poorest city and the recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars of state aid, which allegedly allowed improper retirement payouts and days off.”
Trenton: Keep your grimy hands off of my nearly all volunteer town until you close the ‘public servant’ (yeah), pension, and school funding debacles in this state. You have no right nor credibility to change the character of my town by forcing a few hundred thousand dollars of ’savings’ on me while hundreds of millions of MY MONEY are blown under your nose and with your consent.
Fix your house first before coming into mine.
A$$holes.
chi (26)-
Note that the team in question in the article is Albanian.
What did they bribe the players with? Chickens?
Jamil, you don’t understand ObamaCare, all he is trying to do is to raise the cost of health care while lowering the overall cost.
jamil says:
December 2, 2009 at 11:03 am
68 John: Don’t worry. Once we have passed ObamaCare, you don’t have R&D in pharma to worry about anymore.
Re 75/Leftwinger
Earlier on, in another post there was talk of consolidation issues. This post makes clear one issue but the other but the impact it has in promoting better & progressive government services.
I’m somewhat an expert on EMS. NJ is well known for having a lousy emergency ambulance system. Its main cause is the multiple layers of governemnt & municipalities.
Take a look at caems.com look at its members. All of them are regional in nature and hail from fiscal conservative parts of the country. They all work on the principle of EMS as a public utility service.
The closest you got in NJ is monoc.org and it has gotten to where it is now because of good leadership, but the odds - politically and financially are stacked against it.
In conclusion just remember there is more fire trucks in Bergen County’s 70 little towns that FDNY has for the 5 boros. A FDNY truck is in the 300K area. A suburban NJ volunteer fire truck with Xmas lights & whistles 600K+ & still takes them 10 minutes to show up.
Mad about soccer, man cracks crying infant’s skullComments:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RSS PORT CHESTER, N.Y. — A Westchester County man is charged with fracturing a baby’s skull because she cried while he was watching a soccer game on TV.
Police say a babysitter left the 3-month-old girl alone with her boyfriend on Saturday in Port Chester.
They said he picked up the baby seat and slammed it to the floor. The baby’s head struck the hard plastic.
Her mother noticed the injury later and took her to a hospital, which called police.
The suspect was charged with reckless assault of a child, a felony.
Police said the sitter, who is related to the baby, was not charged.
John (78)-
Must be an Arsenal fan.
Reggie Middleton, drawing down on Macerich:
“In looking at the data that I am about to display, I want readers to think of MAC as an investment entity that you, yourself, would run as a real estate investor. Think of your ability to make money over time, and the viability of your entity if you would actually lose money. As a property investor, I view MAC’s properties in terms of being underwater or being profitable on a capital appreciation and NOI basis. As of 11/09, many of MAC’s properties are significantly underwater, the ramifications of which depend on the financing utilized, since the use of debt has literally wiped out all of the equity in some, has made others require an equity infusion to roll over the mortgage, and has simply destroyed shareholder capital in other cases.
Even those properties that are 100% equity financed represent a material loss to shareholders where they are underwater. As you will read below, this has occurred in many instances. Very few publicly disseminated REIT analyses seem to take into consideration the ramifications of REITs actually losing money on investments that don’t have large loans against them. They should, though. A loss, is a loss, is a loss. Leverage simply amplifies the loss. That being said, if I paid $30 million in cash for a property that is currently worth $20 million, I lost $10 million (less the real income derived from that property since acquisition) - no matter which way you look at it. At least with a cash purchase, I may have the option of riding it out to hope that the market returns. If I bought the property with a 70% LTV, $21 million loan), not only have I taken a 110%+ loss, but I would probably be forced to write the property off come time to refinance the loan. The leverage significantly reduces my flexibility. This is what happened to GGP.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/granular-look-6-billion-reit-next-ggp
OT - But I guess Urban Meyer took too muck flak for being too lenient on the whole eye-gouging thing.
Gators DE Carlos Dunlap to miss SEC Championship after DUI arrest
In the biggest week of the year, the Florida Gators must deal with the distraction of star defensive end Carlos Dunlap’s decision to get behind a wheel while allegedly intoxicated. Florida will miss Dunlap’s NFL-sized talent on the field.
GAINESVILLE – The early Tuesday DUI arrest of star defensive end Carlos Dunlap has left Florida dealing with a major distraction during the most important week of the season.
The Gators are moving on without him.
Dunlap will not play in Saturday’s Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Alabama, coach Urban Meyer said after Tuesday night’s practice.
Dunlap is suspended indefinitely after police found the talented junior intoxicated and asleep at the wheel of a halted 2000 Chrysler sitting through multiple traffic-light cycles at a Gainesville intersection, according to a police report.
Meyer said after Tuesday’s practice the incident is “stunning” because Dunlap has never been a problem child.
“Carlos obviously made a very, very poor decision,” Meyer said. “He’s not going to play.”
Dunlap, a first-round NFL draft talent with seven sacks on the season, had the clutch of the car in gear when police turned off the ignition and awoke a “very groggy” Dunlap at the 200 block of Southwest 34th Street at around 3:30 a.m., according to the police report.
Dunlap showed obvious signs of impairment, the police report states, including bloodshot eyes, difficulty conveying basic information and the smell of alcohol on his breath. He was booked at 5:52 a.m. after refusing to submit a breath test, failing to keep his balance during sobriety tests and remaining “very compliant” with officers, according to Gainesville Police spokesman Keith Kameg.
Dunlap’s father, Carlos Sr., told the Sentinel he asked Meyer early Tuesday if his son could play against Alabama despite the arrest. Meyer told his dad he didn’t think it was possible.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/gators/os-uf-dunlap-1202-20091201,0,7356042.story
#66 Jamil
“please don’t embarrass yourself anymore.” Have you read your own posts.
So when Chinese company swipes the Vietnamese research and copies it back home, I’m sure the Vietnamese courts will hold that Chinese company to the same standards that the US court would. And I forgot that China is leading the world in IP protection.
/sarc
US law has already settled cases and set precedents in case law that define the protections and differences between onshore and offshore patent development.
Make: I call Gjakmarrja on clot. Round up the posse……
Clotpoll says:
December 2, 2009 at 11:22 am
chi (26)- Note that the team in question in the article is Albanian. What did they bribe the players with? Chickens?
“So the point is, how can we ensure that companies that make profits here, keep the profits here and pay taxes on them here.”
“Thats how you fix the exodus to Ireland, block the doors.”
The difference between fiscal conservatives, lower case liberalism, the WSJ and Liberals, the NYT:
The former group believes in establishing an environment in which persons and corporations thrive and therefore not only remain here but seek to come here from other areas, thereby increasing the size of the pie for all and everyone’s well being.
The latter group believes in taking “fair share” (as defined by them) from persons and corporations (determined by them) and blocking and tackling those trying to escape their clutches. Generally, the size of the pie becomes smaller but it doesn’t matter since they ensure they have the serving utensils.
Thank goodness for people like nom, certain states, and countries like Bermuda, Luxembourg, Ireland and (formerly) Switzerland otherwise we would all be living in the tyranny of fairness as determined by Liberals.
Note to those running anything, including government: If you need to lock the doors - be it of a restaurant or a country - to prevent people from leaving you’re doing something very wrong….
82 PGC.
“US law has already settled cases and set precedents in case law that define the protections and differences between onshore and offshore patent development.”
Hardly I have seen this level of hogwash. Besides, what the heck is patent development? Invention can be carried out anywhere and first filing can be done in any country, and later filing likewise in other countries based on PCT or Paris Convention.
There is absolute no difference in the scope and level of IP protection (in the US or elsewhere) wrt the country of origin the filing or invention was made. Nada.
82 PGC “So when Chinese company swipes the Vietnamese research and copies it back home,”
Again, this has nothing to do with the location of R&D. Chinese company can similarly steal the output of R&D done in the US (rather than Vietnam). Btw, Chinese courts and SINO have become much more aggressive in IP protection.
In anycase, since the pharma profits are largely made in the US (at least until Nationalized HC is passed), this has absolute nothing to do with the offshore location of R&D or manufacturing.
Courts in the US protect the infringement in the US (including sale of the drugs) so the location of R&D is absolute meaningless.
#79
We are more stoic. Our season is defined by getting to the day when it is mathematically guaranteed that we finish the season above Spurs.
Consumerist has some of the phone scripts reportedly used by a subprime lender.
#84 leftwing
“No pie for You!”
I would describe the first group as allowing the company to eat their pie and then run off without paying their bill.
“A Westchester County man is charged with fracturing a baby’s skull because she cried while he was watching a soccer game on TV.”
john, this scum needs to bypass trial and go right to the electric chair.
similarly, I was coming back late on the train last night, where an infant was crying out loud and the mother was telling her to ’shut up’.
what the hell is wrong with some people?
81
I heard that he was only drinking water until Tebow touched the bottle.
In his defense as a UF football player he’s not used to taking tests.
chi (83)-
Yeah, grab the Hoxhas and get your gats. You know where to find me. :)
“Make: I call Gjakmarrja on clot. Round up the posse…”
Gjakmarrja = Parcheesi
Clot,
Just checked re shorting MAC shares, broker said they are too hard to borrow. The game is frigging rigged!
PGC (87)-
Might not happen this year.
HE (93)-
Buy puts.
I’ll look into it
[49] county,
Much as I enjoy seeing you get into it with Jamil, I do wish to respond for myself.
“A PWC puff piece to sell consulting services.”
And if they sell those consulting services, then what?
“Pharma is in a tight spot. The US is probably the most profitable market with the best patent protections. If they move R&D offshore, they lose the patent protection, if they move the manufacturing offshore, the open the floodgates to imitations, generics and grey market imports.”
Not sure I agree with all of that, but will consult the resident Pharma lawyer tonight.
“Here’s one to ponder. What is the international equivalent of Delaware.”
Well, there are many, including, if you can believe it, the U.S. Ultimately, it comes down to what we call “tax profile” which is saying that each taxpayer is unique so there is no way to suggest a one-size-fits-all shelter or tax haven.
In point of fact, the imbroglia over Delaware is overdone. States feel that they should be able to tax more based on a presence test, rather than an incorporation test, but if they go in that direction, they risk driving off business (see, e.g., New Jersey). TJN also took issue with Delaware because there is no requirement under DE law to identify shareholders to the government. In fact, I am not aware of any US state (caveat–I don’t practice corporate) that requires a corporation to disclose its owners to the state.
The argument for havens is that they promote tax competition, which is healthier for business. I suspect that you, like the CBPP or other such groups, want to end tax competition. Well, I have said before on this board that for liberal policies to succeed, you need protectionism. Otherwise, multinationals go offshore and sell their products through subs here. True, they are taxed and pay tax, but in a closed market, they are assured of no other competitive disadvantages, so they merely price accordingly. After all, they won’t sell it here if they can’t make any money here. ATEOTD, you drive a sizeable chunk of capital offshore (or across our borders to Canada or Mexico, which will change their laws to accomodate capital and investment) and guarantee rampant inflation, IMHO. But you are free to argue why that won’t happen.
I could go on, but let’s get to the simple issue of whether the electorate is ready for the transition from a global economy to a closed one, because the unintended consequences that go along with that may be quite painful.
We can discuss more on Friday night.
No the game is not rigged! ….I know how this stuff works…I helped to build this thing ten years ago….
http://www.equilend.com/about.html
HEHEHE says:
December 2, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Clot, Just checked re shorting MAC shares, broker said they are too hard to borrow. The game is frigging rigged!
Chi,
game rigged if you are not an institution.
Hmm…
“When I hear folks like New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini talk about asset bubbles and “money chasing commodities,” I want to ask, what money? Where is all the money chasing stocks, commodities, high-yield bonds and emerging- market stocks coming from if it’s sitting in banks’ accounts at Federal Reserve banks?
Paul Kasriel, chief economist at the Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago, thinks he has the answer: portfolio shifts.
“Investors, rather than borrowing dollars, are selling U.S. Treasury securities they own, ultimately to capital- concerned/constrained banks, and are then investing the proceeds in higher-yielding foreign government securities,” not to mention lesser-quality stocks and bonds, Kasriel writes in his Nov. 13 Economic and Interest Rate Outlook.
Worry Now, Later
That would explain both the weak dollar and the lack of new credit creation as banks pare their loans faster than they are acquiring Treasuries.
What about credit created outside the banking system? If a non-bank wants to make a loan to an investor, it has to sell another asset. The quantity of credit stays the same.
Kasriel says worries about a new credit bubble from a dollar-carry trade are “much ado about nothing.”
I’d like to rephrase that. It’s much ado about nothing now and some ado about something in the future. There is no disagreement about the risks of holding the nominal federal funds rate at zero for “an extended period,” as the Fed likes to say. If cash is trash, investors are encouraged to move out the maturity spectrum and the risk curve.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=avARgMioihVQ
Chi,
Moreoverm it’s the instutions that ran that MAC turd to an all-time high in the first place.
HEHEHE says:
December 2, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Chi, game rigged if you are not an institution.
HE: I would describe it more along the lines of repeat customer that generates a lot of revenue. Ultimately, the fault lies in one of two places…..first the size of your account and second, where it is located….trying to borrow using a Scott Trade account? You get what you pay for……
Bet it’s not hard to borrow SPG shares.
[89] georges,
“I would describe the first group as allowing the company to eat their pie and then run off without paying their bill.”
That depends on what the “bill” is? Are you suggesting that they are tax cheats, or that they did not pay their “fair share”?
I suspect it’s the latter. That begs the next question.
HEHEHE says:
December 2, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Chi, Moreoverm it’s the instutions that ran that MAC turd to an all-time high in the first place.
HE: Avoiding the naked short discussion, you have to compensate holders of the security to borrow it. There is only so much float, especially in a thinly traded stock issue. You need to appropriately compensate someone for the transaction risk and the ability to access. Those parties with custody may also hold out hoping for higher returns on the borrow…..to the extent that you can set your own loan parameters, yes, you are in better negotiating position. If you come through an institutional platform, you are forced to use their boilerplate.
Made my first stock trade in months to finally short AMZN. 142? Please…..
danzud says:
December 2, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Made my first stock trade in months to finally short AMZN. 142? Please…..
All that matters is that you have stop……
“Bet it’s not hard to borrow SPG shares.”
BOOYAAA.
“All that matters is that you have stop……”
Chi,
Maybe a better route, additional sell limit orders. Especially, after the occupational hazard trade is finished.
Sending my shorts to the dry cleaners, getting ready for the 1st quarter. Hopefully, the truly talented will be aggressively window dressing, from now until year end.
“WASHINGTON –The head of the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday the agency will study whether government should aid struggling news organizations,”
gee, I wonder which news organizations will receive the money and which don’t /sarc
80 Percent Chance of Market Crash Next Year, Says John Hussman
Posted Dec 02, 2009 12:10pm EST by Henry Blodget in Investing, Newsmakers, Recession, Banking
Related: ^dji, ^gspc, ^ixic, dia, spy, xlf
The DOW hit a new 2009 high yesterday, continuing to defy those who have been predicting collapse since the lows in March.
The market’s charge has brought the asset management business back to life–many hedge funds and mutual funds will make a killing again this year–but it has also created a major headache for fund managers.
Why?
Because in the fund management business, you get fired for missing rallies just as fast as you get fired for losing clients’ money.
This “career risk” is causing fund managers to pile into the market even as valuations and history suggest a major correction may be looming.
Earlier this week, John Hussman of the Hussman Funds said he sees an 80% chance of a major market crash over the next year–a startling prediction for a fund manager who normally goes to great lengths to hedge his bets.
Morgan Stanley is arguing that the fun is over and that the next few years will see the market move sideways at best. SocGen, meanwhile, continues to predict global economic collapse.
In other words, the market is still climbing the “wall of worry.” For the sake of investors who are just beginning to get their confidence back after getting clobbered for two years, let’s hope it continues to do so.
funny. If a liberal nutcase loses Jon Stewart, he is pretty much finished. This is the show that young(ish) people with no indepedent IQ capacity are watching and taking their clues.
Jamil, are you an alt for one of the regular posters? I find it hard to believe a person could be so ignorant, so I’m holding out hope that it’s work.
“A more recent survey, released by the Pew Research Center on April 15, 2007, indicates that regular viewers of The Daily Show tend to be more knowledgeable about news than audiences of other news sources. “
LONDON – A breast-feeding mother accidentally smothered her four-week old child aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Kuwait, a British tabloid reported Tuesday.
Be interesting to see what new Law is passed to prevent this.
schabadoo: the daily show people are the ones believing O can move the seas, Global-Warming Believers and no doubt believing all that garbage is considered valid sign of knowledge in Pew studies.
Schabadoo,
People who read the New York Times are probably more knowledgable about news than audiences of other sources.
I’d add that they’re also more likely to be left leaning and have certain biases that I dislike.
Anyway, I stopped watching The Daily Show when more than half the jokes required a leftist disposition to see the humor in it.
Confused [111],
I’m confused.
In other words, fund managers would step in and buy as an occupational safety net despite their neutral/bearish stance? Don’t try to be a hero, if you suck you’re OK, as long as the benchmark sucks? Therefore, my fund manager is is not acting in a fiduciary capacity rather a self serving interest? Sounds like a bum deal for the investor.
People who read the New York Times are probably more knowledgable about news than audiences of other sources.
I would think most people would agre with that. Except our tea-bagging persona that posts here.
nom:
sorry–don’t remember the case you cited. It has been some time since I attended law school. After all, I did not go to a “real law school” (after all, could’t be that good since they let me attend!)
BTW: GTG at brass rail at hoboken–what time?
115: Yep. Unless, of course, NYT was having “staff vacations” and major news emerged during the week. Curiously, these staff vacations happen only when a major scandal is involving somebody linked to WH.
ClimateGate, ACORN scandals, Van Jones are only 3 examples of which NYT or State Media consumurs have little or no information. For actual news, people would have to follow “non news organisations” or blogs.
Ok financial guys,
What would the outcome be if this scenario happens? All banks that have received TARP funds have been informed by the Federal Reserve that they must further restrict any commercial lending. Loans have to be 75% collateralized, 50% of which has to be in cash, which is a compensating balance.
I will tolerate Jamil as long as he does not “practice law” on this blog.
Again, I see Jamil did not get the talking points about the remake of “V”.
Please say something, I so. . . need to be entertained today.
i have no intension of getting disbarred
AG [120],
Since there is no commercial lending, presently, there will be no effect. Money will continue to flow to stocks, commodities and foreign currencies.
Jamil: touche!
but seriously, can’t you conservatives generate enough buzz about the show? Seems like it questions Obama and the media in general. I thought you guys like that.
Generate enough buzz and the show may survive the first season.
God, i need a life!
Daily News/Colbert
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.
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.
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Fox News Channel
So media largely ignoring the unemployment numbers which were greater than expected.
Geithner says, “Geithner also said legislation to bring transparency to the global, unregulated $600 trillion derivatives market was needed soon to restore confidence in the U.S. financial system.”
I was wondering what happened to those AAA rated toxic assets. Didnt Bernanke say he wanted to resell the garbage that has an unknown value back to the people he bought it from?
I’m baaack.
Unfortunately, so is Jamil.
So I picked up some fish at that minimall near my place of employment in Union. Two more vacancies to report. The northern most wing of the mall now contains only a Chinese take-out and a Nail salon. The Athlete’s Foot, the party store and the 99 cent store have now all vacated. Another large vacancy has appeared on the Western wing. I think it was formerly a national liquidators or some other type of oddjob shop. If it were not for Shop-Rite and Best Buy, I doubt even the other few remaining tiny mom and pops would still be there. I really hope my little Chinese food take out survives. It’s one of those places who will actually make any dish you can think of. Today it is steamed fish with garlic sauce.
Nice to be back.
What Recession:
Construction and Real Estate
Commercial real estate markets in the District were again steady to softer since the last report. Manhattan’s office vacancy rate climbed again in October, while asking rents continued to fall and are running 25 percent below comparable 2008 levels; effective rents are reported to have fallen even more steeply–especially when concessions are factored in. Northern New Jersey’s market has been particularly slack, though office markets in Long Island and the northern suburbs appear to be somewhat firmer: in all these markets around New York City, vacancy rates have been relatively steady, while asking rents are running 4-5 percent lower than a year earlier. Office rental markets in upstate New York are mixed: vacancy and rent data suggest that metropolitan Rochester’s market has softened somewhat, while Buffalo’s market has been steady to slightly stronger. On the other hand, a commercial real estate firm in western New York State maintains that demand for both office and retail space is weak and that there is virtually no new development activity.
Housing markets have been mixed but, on balance, a bit softer since the last report. Home sales and prices have reportedly weakened moderately in the Buffalo area, in part due to the impending expiration of the [now extended] homebuyer tax credit. Contacts in northern New Jersey report that resale transactions remain low but have picked up a bit, and that selling prices appear to have stabilized at low levels. However, builders have reportedly stepped back on new development as they remain skittish about having excess inventory. New York City’s housing market has continued to weaken: while sales activity for existing apartments has rebounded from depressed levels, sales of new units remain very sluggish. Selling prices for existing units are reported to be down roughly 25 percent from a year earlier, with even steeper declines at the high end of the market; weakness at the high end is also evident in northern New Jersey. Developers looking to unload large inventories have begun to auction off condo units with steep discounts–primarily in Brooklyn, but also in the Bronx. New York City’s rental market also continues to weaken, with contract rents in Manhattan falling roughly 10 percent over the past 12 months; moreover, when concessions are factored in, the decline in effective rents has been a good deal steeper. On the supply side, one industry expert estimates that nearly 3,000 new rental units have been completed in Manhattan thus far in 2009–roughly double the figure for all of 2008.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2009/20091202/2.htm
#128 - Developers looking to unload large inventories have begun to auction off condo units with steep discounts–primarily in Brooklyn, but also in the Bronx.
In Manhattan as well. I’ve benn seeing a number of First month’s rent free as well.
125 hey how about quoting directly huffpo study?
Ok I give up. If NYT, DailyShow and State Media followers are so smart how could they get smuckered so easily into “there is a consensus global warming by Man is a fact” and Obambi can move the seas? No need to answer
125 hey how about quoting directly huffpo study?
And now the Pew Research Study are commies.
That’s good to know.
/facts
//we need to be scared of them
Might be a good time to fill the compound, sub grade gas resevoirs. 250 gallon polyethylene. F the environmental fascists bring me the gasoline.
Gold prices surged to a new high of $1,218.40 an ounce, while oil prices fell $1.79 to $76.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
I am getting hungry, this talk of a gravy train is making me want to hit the diner for gravy fries.
I believe all of these actions indicate that China is repositioning itself as a power center in the world economy, and is hedging its wealth in preparation for an announcement that they will drop the U.S. dollar. I also believe that this announcement could come as soon as next year.
If China dumps its remaining U.S. treasuries and stops using the dollar as a reserve currency, our economy as we know it will end. It is as simple as this. Numerous nations will follow China’s lead into SDRs and the Greenback will plummet even further into the abyss, most likely resulting in hyperinflation and the insolvency of our massive national debt. Without question, all eyes should remain on China in the next year.
Very interesting. Let the currency wars continue.
Now I am getting hungry for Chinese food, lets get back to real estate.
Sure you don’t what a 3am special eclair John?
What recession!
“24 States Borrow Money To Pay Unemployment Benefits
15 states have collectively borrowed more than $15 billion and another 9 states are in the red over unemployment benefits. Please consider Jobless claims put state in debt.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/12/24-states-borrow-money-to-pay.html
John (134)-
Don’t forget to ask for your free cruller.
Stu (137)-
Boston Cream Pie. Diner classic.
Does it strike anyone else as dire that 24 states have to borrow money to support the jobless?
Isn’t that sort of the ultimate negative feedback loop?
141.
A climactic economic event is on the horizon, and the train is already in motion. We may not be able stop the event from taking shape, but together we can determine its outcome. All those who value truth, liberty, and an honorable society, should be ready not only to save themselves, but to save each other, and to save their country. The time for readiness grows short.
Clot,
Did you coach Artest?
“Artest: ‘I used to drink Hennessy at halftime”
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10463220/Artest:-I-used-to-drink-Hennessy-at-halftime?GT1=39002
A climactic economic event is on the horizon, and the train is already in motion.
I liked this story better when it was about the Japanese buying up US real estate…
From the prior thread, thanks for the replies on gold.
After perusing some of these sites I can’t help but come to the conclusion that there is massive fraud waiting to happen. It reminds me too much of this:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/spai-j27.shtml
It may be a personal failing that I’m just not easily trusting of others - I used to fall on the other side of the spectrum until I was slapped hard in the face with reality.
I would have to do the physical delivery route, but the minimum amount for delivery - at least for that one dealer - is a 400 oz gold bar with a cost of half a mill plus delivery. I don’t think I would sleep well at night with that in the home safe, or even in a bank’s safety deposit box.
Maybe I should just buy land somewhere (abroad). Someone told me once they’re not making any more of that either. ;)
Best line Ive heard,
“Better get Amish…. Real Fast!”
BC (143)-
Can’t a bro kick back and relax a little?
meter (145)-
Don’t put gold in a safe deposit box. When the Gold Confisc@tion Act is resurrected, yours will be the first taken by the gubmint.
What’s so unusual about guzzling Cognac then playing half an NBA game?
RE: schabadoo / Daily News/Colbert / Fox News
According to that survey, the audience of know-nothing moron Bill O’Reilly are better informed than the audience of both CNN and NPR.
These news games are silly. Watch them all, learn to identify and spot bias, and become better informed while hearing all sides.
I am thinking of going back to school if Corzine signs that new law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/education/29marijuana.html
145. If you want physical delivery Goldline is reliable but you will pay a premium. American Eagles are gone though. Should have more this month hopefully. BC Bob, is more versed in the metals market than myself. Im wiring in another purchase tomorrow.
I wouldnt want a gold bar even if I could afford it. Some of the bars shipped by COMEX to Hong Kong were found to be gold plated tungsten.
151 Sean
There’s a school in CA that’s running program like this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/25/health/main3874664.shtml
According to that survey, the audience of know-nothing moron Bill O’Reilly are better informed than the audience of both CNN and NPR.
I don’t see how that back’s TeaBagger’s point. If Stewart’s viewers are ill-informed, then Fox’s are catatonic. Ready the Maryland study, or the Pew study, or any of the others.
Pride in Ignorance. Waiting to see it on bumper stickers at Palin rallies.
Something I don’t understand is whether states borrowed against their unemployment funds which they had before the recession came. Did they dip into them to pay for other programs? Is this another case of not saving for a rainy day,which surely would come around one day?
Excuse me I would like to get up and use the lavatory, without the airplane going into a nosedive.
(see pic below)
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/BusinessTraveler/obese-passengers-fat-fat-fly-us-airline/story?id=9227535
File under the ‘it’s ugly out there’ folder….
Just received from my FA.
Child of another client, graduate of a four year small liberal arts college, is seeking a position as an administrative assistant.
Graduated cum laude.
Marketing herself for this position as someone ‘who takes direction well’.
Ouch.
Maybe if she cum lotta a little less in college and studied she would have a job.
leftwing says:
December 2, 2009 at 3:36 pm
File under the ‘it’s ugly out there’ folder….
Just received from my FA.
Child of another client, graduate of a four year small liberal arts college, is seeking a position as an administrative assistant.
Graduated cum laude.
Marketing herself for this position as someone ‘who takes direction well’.
Ouch.
157-Maybe I am missing something but what is so bad about an entry level position (if that is what the admin job is) for someone right out of college? I know young people who recently graduated from colleges with excellent reputations who are happy to get a part time gig not even in their field. I also know young people who are working as unpaid interns just to get their resume in shape.
Wow… I feel great!
The recession must be over (frank said so.)
I can’t wait to start pouring money into the stock market.
…or should I?
sl
“Anyway, I stopped watching The Daily Show when more than half the jokes required a leftist disposition to see the humor in it.”
Sheer brilliance! Please tell us how long it took you to put the pieces together.
Off-topic (like we are ever on-topic anymore)
Anyone going skiing over the Christmas/New Years week?
attended the jp morgan fixed income outlook conference yesterday and let me tell you it was all green shoots. Even the HY and MBS guys were going on about another epic year to come.
They were so optimistic that i was becoming more and more bullish as the day went on.
I should note that not even those kool aid drinkers are expecting another 10% drop in home prices.
the empty store fronts are becoming an epidemic in nyc. Even in tribeca, there are empty stores next to empty stores next to empty corner space. Yet, today SRS setting new 52 week lows.
@ 141 Schumpeter:
“Does it strike anyone else as dire that 24 states have to borrow money to support the jobless?”
No doubt, but that has to get in line behind about 10,000 other things going on in the world and in this country I would classify as dire.
Good times. Good times.
134.John says:
December 2, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I am getting hungry, this talk of a gravy train is making me want to hit the diner for gravy fries.
Do stateside Tim Horton’s serve Poutine?
I have no position in SRS - never have, never will - but the daily SRS reports are tiresome.
Anyone who takes joy in pointing out someone else’s paper losses is an utter loser in life.
If you’re hell-bent on continuing this behavior, at least be man enough to post your own positions: securities owned and at what purchase price so we can all track your superior stock tradin’ skillz.
163 VETO-
“I should note that not even those kool aid drinkers are expecting another 10% drop in home prices.”
did you mean, “even those koolaid drinkers ARE expecting another 10% drop…” ???????
the way you say it makes no sense…
if it all comes falling apart and the stock market crashes again, then turn the lights out on the USA. so betting that the stock market and bonds will have another great year is the “Anti-Apocalypse” trade and assumes the Fed will be able to keep the juggling act going until at least 2011.
we’ll all have hell to pay if they start dropping balls… but at least we might get the chance to burn it all down and start over.
#156 sean
That guy in the airplane picture is one fat motherlover.
in other words, go long stocks/bonds and hope for the best.
if the market tanks, you’ll lose a ton of money… but the whole system will come apart at the seams anyway and money won’t be able to buy you sh!t.
that’s the unspoken thesis of the wall street peddler vermin
schabadoo says:
December 2, 2009 at 1:49 pm
People who read the New York Times are probably more knowledgable about news than audiences of other sources.
I would think most people would agre with that. Except our tea-bagging persona that posts here.
schab: Honestly, I think the NYT is toilet paper. I am not joking. Stand at the foot of the building across from the Port Authority and you will get a better sense why……
Off the the top of my head right now? No impact.
Al Gore says:
December 2, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Ok financial guys,
What would the outcome be if this scenario happens? All banks that have received TARP funds have been informed by the Federal Reserve that they must further restrict any commercial lending. Loans have to be 75% collateralized, 50% of which has to be in cash, which is a compensating balance.
“Anyone who takes joy in pointing out someone else’s paper losses is an utter loser in life.”
Hey everyone. I call new rule. From now on, we are only allowed to mention stocks that go up or else it will trigger memories of my traumatic trades… Please. Go cry to your gf buddy.
this is a real estate blog and srs is one of the few things discussed here directly related to real estate in case you forgot.
Besides, the purpose of my post was to highlight the disconnect from that etf to the real economy. but you obviously missed the whole point.
Yips?
John says:
December 2, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Now I am getting hungry for Chinese food, lets get back to real estate.
BC Bob,
Interesting that you said lever up now that helicopter Ben is a lock for reappointment.
Perhaps thats why Buffet bought the only remaining transport company in the US. Leverage it up, pay off the debt with useless dollars.
So what should stop me from taking out a home equity line of credit. And doing the same with say gold?
“even those koolaid drinkers are expecting another 10% drop…”
RandyJ, i mean that they are very optimistic. But they still predict unemployment and home prices will stagnate or continue to worsen.
So it tells me that things are really bad for future prices when even those wearing rose colored glasses cant say that prices will stabilize.
“So what should stop me from taking out a home equity line of credit. And doing the same with say gold?”
Your credit rating and the fact you don’t have Warren’s connections
Not unusual for such a graduate to never have held a job in any shape or form ever. Who wants a 22 year old that has never worked a day in their life, but spent over $200,000?
House Whine says:
December 2, 2009 at 3:42 pm
157-Maybe I am missing something but what is so bad about an entry level position (if that is what the admin job is) for someone right out of college? I know young people who recently graduated from colleges with excellent reputations who are happy to get a part time gig not even in their field. I also know young people who are working as unpaid interns just to get their resume in shape.
This passes for humor in my circles……
CFA: Led Zeppelin, Beatles, The Who Offer Investment Advice
By Howard J. Stock, Bank Investment Consultant
December 2, 2009
If you think there’s nothing rock’n’roll about investing, you obviously don’t work for the CFA Institute, where Thomas Collimore, director of investor education has compiled a list of 10 baby-boomer-era rock songs and what they mean to their now retirement-age fan base.
10. Hotel California – The Eagles
“We are programmed to receive/You can check out any time you like/But you can never leave.” These lyrics are a clear warning that liquidity is an issue if a fund manager has the power to decline a request for redemption, a possibility in a difficult market.
9. Taxman – The Beatles
With the Internal Revenue Service coming after you, Collimore cautions investors to draw from after-tax accounts before tapping tax-deferred investments.
8. Lady Madonna – The Beatles
Lady Madonna’s money woes highlight the need for a financial plan that can provide income even if investments underperfom in the future.
7. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Rather than assuming all that glitters is gold, investors must make sure they understand how an investment product works before they buy it.
6. Takin’ Care of Business – Bachman Turner Overdrive
If becoming a rock star was as easy as fishing, everyone would be one. The same goes for getting rich from the markets, which is why investors need expert help from advisors.
5. Sympathy for the Devil – The Rolling Stones
You may feel sorry for him, but that’s no reason to invest with a blacklisted advisor. Check advisors’ records at the websites of the Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA before parting with your cash.
4. When I’m Sixty-Four – The Beatles
Don’t rely on long-term projections because many factors change over time. Investors should revisit their financial plans regularly to make sure everything’s still on track.
3. My Generation – The Who
For those who get old before they die, longevity is a significant risk. A girl born in 2005 can expect to live until 89 years of age on average.
2. Dream On – Aerosmith
Everybody’s got their dues to pay in life, and that includes investors, so watch expenses and shop around for the lowest fees.
1. Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
“You who are on the road/Must have a code that you can live by.” So consider finding an advisor, who follows the fiduciary standard, which puts the investor’s interest first.
veto (163)-
Don’t believe your lying eyes.
I don’t know whether this has been posted yet, no time to check earlier posts:
Q: What do an arctic seal pup and Tiger Woods have in common….?
A: They have both been beaten with a club by a Norwegian
180 shore: Who is the Norwegian? At least his wife is certainly not Norwegian..
Shore - Elin found out he’s not a Tiger, he’s a Cheetah.
“Don’t believe your lying eyes.”
Schumpt, How much do you think the 6% dividend have to do with keeping that etf down?
The one legitimate takeaway that stuck out from the mbs speaker was that lots of realty mgmnt companies are working with tenants and not letting them leave so easily - which i know to be true since our office just signed a new lease and they sweetened the deal tremendously.
they showed a chart with office occupancy not dipping nearly as much as office employment to prove this point.
The funnies part was when he was talking about the cash flow and possible problems refinancing which was referred to as “pretend and extend”
Veto That says:
December 2, 2009 at 5:16 pm
which was referred to as “pretend and extend”
Sounds like using a peni$ enlarger on a blow-up doll……
I meant “with” not “on”
The other thing about srs is that iyr went from 70 to 20, thats a 70% crash!
so even with all the bankruptcies and empty store fronts it seems that iyr took most of the hit up front and even maybe overcorrected. So even though its up 50% from the crisis low, its still a good 45% down from pre crisis which is a beating by any measure.
And then you have the whole leveraged etf time decay problem. Put all of this together and you get an etf that only goes down even though commercial real estate is in really bad shape.
[117] schabadoo
“People who read the New York Times are probably more knowledgable about news than audiences of other sources.”
Of course they are. Ask them, they’ll tell you.
I’m so looking forward to seeing you on Friday. You and PGC can tag-team.
Honestly, I think the NYT is toilet paper
Sure, but compare thier readers to the people that don’t read a newspaper. The Springer types, the American Idol types.
You know, most of the country.
[115] a.west
“Anyway, I stopped watching The Daily Show when more than half the jokes required a leftist disposition to see the humor in it.”
I never started. Too busy doing ignorant things, like studying law or doing home projects, when I could be reading the NYT or watching Jon Stewart insult anyone that doesn’t agree with his writers.
It must simply amaze some folks, when they learn I don’t subscribe to their outlets, that I can walk and chew gum at the same time Of course, some of them watch Jon Stewart to be informed. ‘Nuff said.
I’m so looking forward to seeing you on Friday
I wish I had your free time.
Alas, a capitalist like me has to grind. Wall Street needs my tax money.
veto (183)-
I don’t think the divvy has a thing to do with it. SRS is simply lined up against an index of garbage that’s been shot to the moon.
Consider these:
1. Rampant epidemic of commercial LTVs over 100%.
2. Commercial refi parameters that dictate no more than 50% LTV.
3. REITs selling good-performing properties to recapitalize losers.
4. Exploding cap rates. Somehow or another, NOI takes current hits…no matter how sophisticated the “pretend and extend” scheme is.
Pith the fool who joins bi and his nitrous-huffing crew in being bullish IYR. The piper must be paid; and when he is, everything is going up in flames.
Burn, mf-er. Burn!
You’re better off ignorant than reading NYT.
That includes the world-class moron, Krugman.
He and O pretty much took what shred of cred the Nobel had and flushed it down the crapper.
With the way BHO keeps eying me for additional taxes, I am beginning to feel like the character in Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part I who has to being a bucket to the king. In this case Wall Street demands and BHO shouts, “Oh, p!ss boy!.”
Hussein is being run by the politburo. There are larger strategic initiatives in south Asia.
Looks like the perfect place for a regional war to start. MMM MMM MMMM Barack Hussein Obama MMM MMM MMM.
Glad Im too old for a draft.
BAC to pay back TARP
AG [174],
I sold 4 walls and a roof and added to my position, back in 2005. The only question, currently, is timing. IMO, there’s an equal chance of a $200 move up/down, from this level. If volatility will make you squirm be careful. There’s a boatload of late longs getting ready to be schooled. Don’t know from what level. However, it’s coming. That said, long term, it’s going to the moon. The next 5 years it will be gold.com.
197. Im not worried about 200 bucks an ounce.
Mega Depression: Howard Davidowitz says USA broke like Japan & Zimbabwe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BOHhK3CHE
I love Davidowitz. Every six weeks, he delivers a world-class rant. He’s also usually 100% right.
“Im not worried about 200 bucks an ounce.”
AG,
Music to my ears.
“Pith the fool who joins bi and his nitrous-huffing crew in being bullish IYR”
Schumpt, honestly, i dont have a prediction where its going and even if i did i dont think i would cheer a stock up or down just to irritate someone else like he does. I was just trying to reason why it keeps going lower while at the same time com re seems to be driving towards a cliff.
Are you buying at these levels?
Are you expecting it to shoot upwards over 20-30-50 at some point again?
GM (Government Motors) is coming out with a new alternative fuel vehicle, “The Obamamobile”, that runs on “Hot Air”.
(190) Schab?
Capitalist???? You?
Okay,I can dig that there is a vast continuum between laissez-faire and Trotsky. Even the DSA doesn’t want to abolish the corporate form entirely (though I would not call them capitalists).
Just never thought of you as a defender of american corporatism, given your political bent.
Maybe more of a Michael Moore capitalist, or a “steady-state” econ adherent?
For the person who asked way up in the thread:
GTG on Friday starts at 6
I agree with Clot in that it’s better to be unread than to be a NYT reader.
115 - “Anyway, I stopped watching The Daily Show when more than half the jokes required a leftist disposition to see the humor in it.”
I stopped watching because its not that funny. And I’m a pinko, leftist, commie. I’ll watch the clips when they bubble up in the blogs if they sound amusing otherwise, I’ll pass. oh and he once made fun of me for working at morgan stanley. so F him.
I get everything I need to know from the NYT from this blog.
veto (201)-
I trade in and out of SRS within trading sessions. I’ve come to think of it as my own version of video poker.
I wouldn’t hold SRS overnight, much less a weekend. Bergabe, Eraserhead and all the forces of evil are lined up against SRS and will pull every trick in the book to keep their REIT and bankster cronies living large.
Corporatist? Heavens no. Isn’t that where these problems have come from, having energy policies written by corporate types, or having them lobby Gramm to repeal annoying safeguards?
City vs Man U in Carling Cup semis. This should accelerate the hatred.
I highly Sam Smith ales is you are able to find them in your local store. Delicious. Just had an Oatmeal Stout, Raspberry Ale and Nut Brown. Followed up with some Broklyn Chocolate Sout (10%)… delicious!
oops.. thats recommend Sam Smith ales…
Gotta admit, I feel like a fool.
All I read about is how our govt is letting banks cook their books and how the TBTF are being protected at all cost.
Nothing happens. Life carries on as usual and the lies are simply accepted.
I guess everything is just fine. Right?
sl
Grammys
Category 22
Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
•Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
David Byrne & Brian Eno
[Yep Roc Records]
•The Open Door
Death Cab For Cutie
[Atlantic]
•Sounds Of The Universe
Depeche Mode
[Capitol]
•Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix
[Loyaute/Glassnote Records]
•It’s Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
[DGC Records/Interscope]
Best Short Form Music Video
(For an individual track or single promotional clip. Award to the Artist and to the Video Director/Producer.)
•Mr. Hurricane
Beast
Ben Steiger Levine, video director; Sach Baylin-Stern, video producer
[Verve Forecast]
•Boom Boom Pow
The Black Eyed Peas
Mat Cullen & Mark Kudsi, video directors; Anna Joseph & Patrick Nugent, video producers
[Interscope Records]
•Life In Technicolor II
Coldplay
Dougal Wilson, video director; Matthew Fone, video producer
[Capitol]
•Wrong
Depeche Mode
Patrick Daughters, video director; Jonathan Lia, video producer
[Capitol]
•Her Morning Elegance
Oren Lavie
[A Quarter Past Wonderful/Adrenaline]
Very nice….
Jesper Parnevik, the man who set up Tiger Woods with future wife Elin Nordegren, himself came out swinging at the superstar who admits to cheating on the former nanny.
“Maybe not just do it, like Nike says,” Parnevik told Fanhouse.com “I would be especially sad about it since I’m kind of — I feel really sorry for Elin — since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him,” Parnevik said. “We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron.”
Robert Welch, Founder of The John Birch Society, speaks at the JBS Council Dinner on March 9 1974 where he talks of plans in place by the secret handful of elitists to systematically disassemble US…
Sound familiar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE7E5oFmH9c
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aeA_OpmS.zpQ
Hey! new solution~ make people work until they are 62~ “No retirement for you!”
I wonder if this is gonna become a trend?
sl
Al G, 217
Watched it. wow is that freaky!
sl
Happy Birthday Victorian.