Tick.. Tick.. Tick..

From the Record:

First-time homebuyers rush to meet tax credit deadline

First-time buyers are searching for homes with a growing sense of urgency, worried that time is running out on an $8,000 federal tax credit.

North Jersey real estate agents say they’re seeing a surge of first-timers who want to close on a property by Nov. 30, the deadline for the credit. The rush has set off bidding wars and stirred up a normally quiet August market.

“We’re inundated,” said Paula Clark, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Hillsdale.

To meet the Nov. 30 deadline, buyers need to have a contract by around Sept. 30 because inspections, mortgage approvals and other details typically take about two months.

House hunter Stan Salazar of the Bronx, a 34-year-old assistant building superintendent, said that he and his wife, Marianela, were drawn into the real estate market mainly by lower home prices. But they’d like to close in time to get the credit, he added.

“Hey, $8,000 is $8,000,” Salazar said, after touring an expanded Cape Cod in Fair Lawn Thursday afternoon with real estate agent Sheldon Neal of Re/Max in Oradell.

“It has pushed some of the buyers who have been watching the market into action,” said Abby Ceres-Buda, an agent with ERA A.J. Cali Real Estate in Hawthorne.

While $8,000 may not seem like a big deal when you’re talking about a purchase that typically runs $300,000 and up, it’s enough to get some cautious home shoppers off the fence.

“It’s not that much, you would think, but these are young kids starting out, so every little bit helps,” said Annekee Brahver-Keely, an agent with Russo Real Estate in Teaneck.

The tax credit is just one reason. First-time buyers are also attracted by lower home prices — down about 20 percent in the region from the market peak in 2006 — and mortgage rates in the 5.5 percent range. In addition, unlike trade-up buyers, they don’t face the obstacle of having to sell a house before they buy.

Still, the approaching tax credit deadline has heightened interest recently among first-time buyers.

Harry Elias, an agent with Friedberg Properties in Cresskill, said he got a call recently from a young couple eager to start the house hunt, after watching friends buy their first home. They saw that completing the sale could take two to three months, and want to close in time to qualify for the credit, Elias said.

The influx of first-timers has led to multiple offers on houses in good condition. In addition, more properties at the lower end of the market are selling at or near their full asking price, agents say.

Other buyers have been trying to buy for several months, but have lost out as the competition heated up in the starter-home market.

“We’ve had bidding wars on some houses, especially in the $400,000-$450,000 range,” said Jeana Cowie, a Re/Max agent in Oradell.

Now they worry they won’t be able to find a place and close in time.

This entry was posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

384 Responses to Tick.. Tick.. Tick..

  1. grim says:

    Remember folks, the single best sales tactic in real estate is to create a sense of urgency in the buyer.

  2. DL says:

    From previous thread: Buy now or miss the bottom forever.

  3. freedy says:

    bidding wars in oradell, are they crazy

  4. grim says:

    Buy now or miss the bottom forever.

    Who cares about missing the bottom in sales volume. I think more folks here are interested in the bottom in pricing. These things don’t happen at the same time, in fact, during the last bubble/burst, they happened years apart.

    The bottom in sales was hit in the early 90s, but prices declined for years after that.

  5. Cindy says:

    http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/05/real_estate/buy_foreclosures_now/index.htm

    This one literally says:

    “Buy foreclosures now, before it’s too late”

  6. Cindy says:

    Grim – I am taking off this AM and won’t be able to follow up on this but I’m thinking today is the day for Guarantee out of Austin, Texas. At $13 billion – 160 branches, it would be the biggest closing this year. Talk of it all week around here but it’s still open – maybe today, BFF.

  7. Pol Clot says:

    Does that bank get eaten by the FDIC, or does Sheila baby broker another JPM/WAMU-style shotgun wedding?

    13 bn would put quite a dent in the FDIC’s dwindling war chest.

  8. Ellen says:

    From the article: “We’ve had bidding wars on some houses, especially in the $400,000-$450,000 range,” said Jeana Cowie, a Re/Max agent in Oradell.

    Why would a couple, who earn less than 150k a year, buy a house for that much money? The taxes, insurance, and home maintance will kill them without even including the mortgage. Forget about it if they have student loan payments. Are banks still approving these loans or is this lady full of bologna?

  9. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Not sure if this was posted yesterday from Mish but keep this in perspective with today’s jobs numbers:

    Dismal Unemployment Situation In Chart Form

    I have been following a number of unemployment charts showing just how bad the current recession is. Click on any chart to see a sharper image.

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/08/dismal-unemployment-situation-in-chart.html

  10. grim says:

    No, its happening. Add in FHA trash for good measure. Truth is, if you qualify, you probably can’t afford to buy in many parts of NJ.

  11. safeashouses says:

    #8 Ellen

    welcome to the insanity of New Jersey real estate.

  12. BC Bob says:

    “Buy now or miss the bottom forever.”

    Yes, just ask Mrs Wantanabe.

  13. Cindy says:

    http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_33/b4143020536818.htm

    Old Banks, New Lending Tricks

    Wells Fargo doing payday loans – who knew?

    Apparently, we have no shame….

  14. BC Bob says:

    JB,

    #12 in mod. No clue why?

  15. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    I don’t think 8K even cover closing costs in NJ?

  16. BC Bob says:

    Cindy [14],

    Banks don’t care. If it blows up, they know that you are their backstop.

  17. Cindy says:

    http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/03/the-end-draws-nigh-for-guaranty-bank/

    Clot – #7 – I do not know if there are plans for a buy out but this is one to watch – expensive. Texas is saying, oh it is nothing – only the second bank this year for us.

    I have read differing reports $13 – $14.5 billion. That would make it the largest closure this year.

  18. chicagofinance says:

    Cindy: that plane is unbelievable!

  19. BC Bob says:

    “Tick.. Tick.. Tick..”

    No, it’s TIC…TIC…TIC..

  20. chicagofinance says:

    66.safeashouses says:
    August 6, 2009 at 10:09 pm
    I found monmouth mall to be kind of creepy the last time I was there a year or so ago.

    bairen: I don’t why, but that PetsMart that exploded a few years ago always kind of cracks me up.

  21. BC Bob says:

    “Hey, $8,000 is $8,000,”

    F the 8K, give me gap insurance.

  22. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    The liquidity pipes remain clogged
    By Gillian Tett

    Published: August 6 2009 17:10 | Last updated: August 6 2009 17:10

    A decade ago, I was working as a reporter in Tokyo when I was asked to investigate the impact of Japanese-style quantitative easing. Back then, the Bank of Japan was pouring gazillions of yen into the money markets and politicians were angrily exhorting the Japanese banks to lend.

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33dbf8a6-82a3-11de-ab4a-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

  23. BC Bob says:

    Well, guess fast. What’s GS position? If you all bow to the kings, why not hop on? Then again, you may be playing the twist.

    “Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) — A commodity shortage is likely next year as output of metals and agricultural products potentially rises too slowly to match revived demand, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=absQH40CJ7Qc

  24. John says:

    SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – American International Group Inc. on Friday reported it first profit in almost two years and said its business is stabilizing while the troubled insurance giant continues an arduous effort to extricate itself from government ownership.

  25. Cindy says:

    BC – It must be about time for me to return to school. Reading the news in depth during the day is off-putting. But there is one good thing: Everything is such a friggin mess that it has now become a given.

    I can basically go about my daily routine without feeling like the world is coming to an end immediately. It might – but I don’t FEEL constantly like it will.

    I guess you might say, the urgency has
    dissipated. This has been going on, (feeling like the world was coming to an end,) for close to two years now and I’m still here. I think I’ll go party all weekend.I bet we will have the same mess when I return on Monday.

  26. BC Bob says:

    J [25],

    Just a ward of the state.

  27. John says:

    I Love AIG MY AIG bond is trading now at 90!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE OUR PRESIDENT!!!!! FREE CARS AND FREE CASH GIVEAWAYS, he is channeling monte hall!! Godless Commies who leave their cash in the savings acounts at 1% are being punished serverly in this downturn. The President has declared his own little manifest desitiny and he will right tghe ship at the TOO BIG TOO FAIL companies even if it kills us.

  28. BC Bob says:

    “I think I’ll go party all weekend”

    Cindy,

    Enjoy. Send the bill to DC.

  29. Cindy says:

    Chicago #19 – Enough for all of us and the equipment – Everything else provided when we get there. Oh Yeah.

  30. about says:

    hey thanks grim for #1… We are sitting ever so patiently and enjoying the price decline. Although the buzz is that sales are picking up and we should run right out and buy whatever we see first, we feel strongly that this isn’t the pricing bottom. To those who are jumping on the tax credit- imho, i think it will get extended and maybe even increased to the proposed 15K…
    We are first time home buyers, and our outlook on a home has really changed from wanting the biggest home we could afford to wanting a comfortable home that we could pay off in 15 years.

  31. BC Bob says:

    J [28],

    In a twisted way, I agree. I’m there for the ride.

  32. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Anybody else been following the Dems complaining about the protesters at these health plan town halls?

    Only reason I bring it up is that I am a big enthusiast of anybody who disrupts any of these staged “town halls” no matter the topic no matter the party affiliation of the “speaker”. You get a politician in front of a crowd of their supporters answering softball questions with the media present. This staged manipulation deserves to stop. The political equivalent of an infomercial.

  33. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    “Well, guess fast. What’s GS position?”

    They have to dump all the positions they put on during the recent pump.

  34. John says:

    So I am speeding to the train this morning at the ungodly hour of 6:40am I see they put up a sign that says Caution Autistic Child Area, ok, what do I do with that information? Am I supposed to slow down the street is empty, what does that mean to me? Also who cares if the kid is autistic at least it is not like he is playing electric guitar or anything, those autistic guitars aren’t even that noisy.

  35. grim says:

    Off topic. Anyone know how to drop to the bottom of a page in safari on the iPhone. I feel like an idiot trying to scroll down to the bottom of a 300 post thread,

  36. BC Bob says:

    “The political equivalent of an infomercial.”

    he,

    I’d rather watch Billy Mays, and he’s dead.

  37. BC Bob says:

    J [35],

    You should have breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the sign could have read; Caution: Billy Joel driving zone.

  38. about says:

    #35 ooooohhh, jokes about autism, not so PC.

  39. BC Bob says:

    Let’s work with Russia, have them export some inflation.

    LONDON (MarketWatch) — Russia’s central bank on Friday cut its key lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 10.75% effective Monday, its fifth cut since April. The bank said it decided to make “a more cautious cut,” news reports said, after trimming the rate by half a percentage point in each of the four previous moves. Economists at Danske Bank in Copenhagen said the the rate cut was not a big surprise “as the central bank had earlier indicated that it was looking to lower its key refinancing rate further on the back of declining inflationary pressures.” The cut, however, “came a little earlier than we had anticipated as inflation still stood at 12% in July,” they wrote.

  40. John says:

    The problem is what are people doing with their downpayment money. One girl I work with was rolling one year ING CDs and now she is sitting on 1.5% interest return that is taxable to boot. With no increase in her downpayment amount she is sitting on the sidelines hoping homes fall a lot more. I had my whole downpayment money the same way, but after Lehman went down and rates dropped like a brick I stopped rolling CDS and started locking in higher rates in munis, corporates and high yield. Some people I work with threw the towel in on ever buying a home and took their one year cds that matured and went straight into the stock market between November 2008 and August 2009. The problem is housing has stablized and those people who had 200K downpayment in October 2008 now have 300K downpayment. A rising stock market brings the fools out of the woodwork who just got lucky and with free cash they start to go house hunting. Eventually if the stock market keeps going up and if Abby Cohen is right and we have 1,100 S&P by year end, next spring BC train towns might pop. Much to my dismay as this is artifically driven by propping up the banks and wall street.

    about says:
    August 7, 2009 at 8:10 am
    hey thanks grim for #1… We are sitting ever so patiently and enjoying the price decline. Although the buzz is that sales are picking up and we should run right out and buy whatever we see first, we feel strongly that this isn’t the pricing bottom. To those who are jumping on the tax credit- imho, i think it will get extended and maybe even increased to the proposed 15K…
    We are first time home buyers, and our outlook on a home has really changed from wanting the biggest home we could afford to wanting a comfortable home that we could pay off in 15 years.

  41. John says:

    didn’t mean to insult the little bus people, I still don’t know what I am supposed to do when I see the sign, Deaf Child area I get, if their is a kid on street he may be deaf so my horn may be useless. Autistic kid I don’t get, what if I pull over and ask some complicated math questions he may not know the answer, what the heck.

    about says:
    August 7, 2009 at 8:21 am
    #35 ooooohhh, jokes about autism, not so PC.

  42. grim says:

    PMI misses,shares plunge.

  43. BC Bob says:

    “The problem is housing has stablized and those people who had 200K downpayment in October 2008 now have 300K downpayment.”

    J,

    Is this something to cheer?

  44. Frank says:

    Unemployment is down last month. Where’s the recession???

  45. about says:

    #42.. thanks for the am laugh!

  46. grim says:

    247k jobs, unemployment falls to 9.4. Rally on!

  47. about says:

    #41..you are right. We are the fools that aren’t getting a high yield. We did try the stock market, but weren’t very successful to say the least.

  48. Essex says:

    33. Yes I also noticed Krugman had a piece criticizing the protestors and the NY Times got about 44 comments that backed the protestors right to be heard and the Times closed the comments section.

  49. Essex says:

    45. Douche.

  50. Essex says:

    42. Douche.

  51. Essex says:

    The two guys on this board who makes the least amount of sense are both “financial professionals”. One “works” for the taxpayers.

  52. confused in NJ says:

    Hempstead Town Unveils Long Island’s First ‘Autistic Child Area’ Sign
    Traffic Safety Measure Available to Residents
    Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, Town Clerk Mark Bonilla and Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin recently unveiled Long Island’s first “Autistic Child Area” traffic safety sign in Franklin Square. Joining the town officials at the event were Inga Krevatas, the mother of twin daughters who are autistic; representatives from autism advocacy and resource groups, Empowering Long Island’s Journey through Autism (ELIJA) and Autism Speaks; administrators and educators from the Franklin Square School District; as well as members of the Franklin Square community.

    “Keeping families safe in our neighborhoods is one of the primary obligations of local government,” Supervisor Murray said. “By placing ‘Autistic Child Area’ signs we are raising the alertness of motorists as they travel on roadways that traverse areas where autistic children live and play.”

    The town officials explained that parents or guardians of autistic children could request signs be placed in proximity to their homes on town roadways. The town does not have jurisdiction over village and county roadways.

    “We invite parents to call the town and request these signs be placed along the roadway in front of their home,” the supervisor said.

    Autism is a neurobiological disorder that affects the way in which its victims relate to others and local surroundings. It also influences the ability to communicate and learn. Murray noted that, as a result, some children with autism do not fully appreciate the dangers associated with car and truck traffic along roadways.

    “If a parent or guardian of an autistic child is distracted for a moment, the youngster could easily run into the road,” Supervisor Murray said. “Placing ‘Autistic Child Area’ traffic signs helps to ensure that the inadvertent actions of a young person do not result in tragedy.”

    Town officials believe that the “Autistic Child Area” safety sign is the first on Long Island. Members of various autism advocacy groups have said that the sign might even be the first in New York State.

    “I am happy that the town was responsive and helped to make my neighborhood safer for my daughters,” Krevatas said. “I encourage other parents with autistic children to contact Hempstead Town.”

    “It’s really gratifying when government and neighbors work together to address genuine areas of concern,” the supervisor concluded. “I am proud that Hempstead is an ‘autistic friendly’ township.”

  53. BC Bob says:

    “Where’s the recession???”

    Well, since John brought it up. Frank, the NJRER’s version of Rain Man.

  54. All Hype says:

    247k jobs lost. Just a blatant manipulation of the data. Geeze….

    I guess the sheeple just want to hear good news.

  55. tinkerbell says:

    T bonds getting killed this morning what does that do to the MTG market?

  56. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Frank,

    What time is Judge Wapner?

  57. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Frank,

    Recession over, definately over, definately recession over, definately over

  58. RentinginNJ says:

    Tick…tick…tick

    Nothing to worry about. The $8,000 tax credit will be extended…it’s now become an inalienable right for all first time buying Americans. Buyers have become conditioned to expect it.

    Don’t forget, August is the low point in several years for mortgage rests. We may be closing the chapter on the subprime story, but we are just at the beginning of the Option–ARM and Alt-A resets. NJ was a much bigger Alt-A state than subprime state anyway.

    Any appearance of stabilization is simply the result of the low point in resets combined with the fear of the credit expiring.

  59. DuckVader says:

    grim says:
    August 7, 2009 at 8:15 am
    Off topic. Anyone know how to drop to the bottom of a page in safari on the iPhone. I feel like an idiot trying to scroll down to the bottom of a 300 post thread,

    ——————–

    I’ve tried. I’ve asked a lot of iPhone users around me. Seems to be no way to do so.

  60. BC Bob says:

    AH [55],

    With all the green shoots, it’s disturbing that we are still losing jobs, 20 months into this bust. In a normal recession, we would be adding jobs within 9-12 months. Currently, 20 months, and still shedding.

    I’m sure the 26M unemployed, underemployed are doing cartwheels, after this release.

    How many jobs were added by B/D?

  61. John says:

    You know NJ will have these signs very soon. I am getting my Grumpy Man Area sign very soon.

    confused in NJ says:
    August 7, 2009 at 8:35 am
    Hempstead Town Unveils Long Island’s First ‘Autistic Child Area’ Sign
    Traffic Safety Measure Available to Residents

  62. Sean says:

    Grim page down is tap above the + sign

  63. John says:

    From my own little pool of unemployed friends, all my friends who are single and support themselves or are head of household supporting a family are back to work. 2 or 3 working moms I know are not back at work and are collecting unemployment. All 3 of their husbands are very happy they are home as they got to kill nanny, maid, take out food, drycleaning, their starbucks, expensive lunches and work cloths and they are getting 1,700 amonth unemployment. All three wives are miserable, all three husbands are questioning why do I really need my wife at work, coming home to a clean house and a hot meal is kinda nice.

  64. grim says:

    Not going to be a good day for mortgage rates.

  65. BC Bob says:

    “All three wives are miserable, all three husbands are questioning why do I really need my wife at work, coming home to a clean house and a hot meal is kinda nice.”

    All six are on antidepressants. Race to the top, which couple is a bigger stroke job?

  66. All Hype says:

    From a post on Calculated Risk:

    “The labor force declined by 422,000, which means the jobless rate fell because people dropped out of the work force, not because they got jobs.”

    So if you add the number of people who “dropped out” of the labor force to the number that lost their job you get 689,000.
    ______________________________________________

    Lovely, the UE rate goes down cause people get fed up trying to find a job…..

    Rally on!

  67. Frank says:

    All SRS bag holders better get on that lawsuit wagon quick.
    It’s going below $10 today.

  68. Stu says:

    “Not going to be a good day for mortgage rates.”

    I noticed that they have been creeping up as of late again anyhow. I think the latest rates for the standard 30 year had an APR of 5.5625! When I get my rate email later this afternoon, I’ll post it here.

  69. John says:

    BC, statistically 130K a year for a working mom with a few little kids at home is break even. If my wife can find a job that tops that she is more than welcome to join the workforce. However, as you love to point out the average salary is like 50K. For the most part the working Mom just enjoys working and her career rather than just staying home with the kids, but that ain’t PC for the Grandmas to hear so they say they have to work for financial reasons.

    BC Bob says:
    August 7, 2009 at 9:02 am
    “All three wives are miserable, all three husbands are questioning why do I really need my wife at work, coming home to a clean house and a hot meal is kinda nice.”

    All six are on antidepressants. Race to the top, which couple is a bigger stroke job?

  70. bi says:

    69#, if your average cost was $30 or more, it doesn’t matter whether it goes under $10 or over $13. you have virtually been wiped out. sad story

  71. Njchoo says:

    (60) I don’t think there is a way to easily scroll to the bottom on the iPhone… I’ve been trying to do that as well…

  72. Stu says:

    Scribe,

    I got your casino credit and will be using it tomorrow morning on behalf of Grim. Grim, I planned on gambling it on video poker, but if you want me to plunk it down on the roulette wheel or on a single hand of BJ, let me know. Personally, the lowest variance bet is 9/6 Jacks at the quarter level. If I get it up to $50, I’m stopping.

  73. John says:

    STU I pray to GOD every day Mortgage rates go up. For people who actually have a big downpayment it is a great thing. It gets rid of the deadbeat 5-20% down buyers and helps home prices fall at the top ennd. Also rising mortgage prices is a sign that bank CDs may rise. For those people who kept their downpayment month in the bank it is a double blessing, more interest income from downpayment money while home prices fall.

  74. John says:

    Re – single hand of BJ

    Stu just have her use her lips, who needs the hand.

    Stu says:
    August 7, 2009 at 9:11 am
    Scribe,

    I got your casino credit and will be using it tomorrow morning on behalf of Grim. Grim, I planned on gambling it on video poker, but if you want me to plunk it down on the roulette wheel or on a single hand of BJ, let me know. Personally, the lowest variance bet is 9/6 Jacks at the quarter level. If I get it up to $50, I’m stopping.

  75. Seneca says:

    grim, iphone/ipod touch scroll to bottom bookmarklet

    reading NJRE without it is impossible!

    http://www.firozansari.com/2008/04/03/iphone-scroll-bottom-bookmarklet/

  76. Stu says:

    “Stu just have her use her lips, who needs the hand. ”

    But I don’t think Grim would appreciate a sticky deposit into the tip jar.

  77. BC Bob says:

    “However, as you love to point out the average salary is like 50K.”

    John,

    Not me. Confused?

  78. John says:

    “You must be the short depressed kid we ordered.” Tripper, Meatballs (about Summer Camp)

  79. BC Bob says:

    “STU I pray to GOD every day Mortgage rates go up. For people who actually have a big downpayment it is a great thing”

    J,

    I agree. Higher rates will be the final nail.

  80. NJGator says:

    John/Stu – Is this board going to devolve into a Fantasy Football message board again today?

  81. NJGator says:

    Our favorite town comp for our tax appeal had yet another price drop today. Last sold 12/07 @ $550k. Currently asking $204.9k. By the time we make it to East Orange, I fully expect the ask to be under $200k.

    It will be fun to watch the town use it to defend a $580k assessment while simultaneously claiming that the market is holding up in Montclair.

  82. Seneca says:

    grim, you might prefer this for safari add-ons

    http://ipuhelin.com/en/safariplus/

  83. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [35] john

    classic!

  84. John says:

    http://www.lflus.com

    this is my idea of fantasy football

  85. grim says:

    Seneca,

    Thanks that works well.

  86. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Tax News of the Day:

    “Plunging Revenues Ask Taxing Questions Of Obama

    Just a day after President Obama was forced into a Bush senior-style ‘read my lips’ defence following gaffes by off-message senior administration officials, news that federal tax revenues are plunging at a faster rate than at any time since the Great Depression could not have come at a worse time.

    According to a new analysis by the Associated Press of tax receipt figures dating back to 1913, when the federal income tax was born, revenues from personal income tax in the fiscal year to the end of June are down by 22% compared to a year ago, while corporate tax revenues are down a whopping 57%.

    The government’s fiscal year runs from October through September, but when the figures are extrapolated, the AP concludes that, overall, the federal tax take will be down 18% this year – the largest annual decline since the 1930s.

    When stacked against a federal deficit on target to reach USD1.8 trillion this year – equal to almost 13% of the US economy – the figures will make grim reading for the President (should he choose to read them) as he attempts to force through costly heath reform legislation, which itself is set add more than USD1 trillion in red ink to the government ledger.

    Obama claims that he can deliver ‘deficit neutral’ health care reforms. Indeed, he has pledged to halve the federal deficit by the end of his first term in office while reducing the national debt. And, as he so vocally promised during last year’s election campaign, he plans to do all this without raising taxes for the vast majority of Americans, i.e. those making less than USD250,000 per year. At least, that’s what he thinks . . . .”

  87. Silera says:

    John, whenever you discuss the family unit, and gender roles, you sound like an 80 yr old Thurston Howell.

    Most working moms don’t have a nanny or maid. When my husband was working, he worked nights and I worked days to save on child care. I cooked when I got home and all the chores were done between us both in non employed off hours.

    I’m not knocking you. The world you live in is just different from most people. 100K a year is livable for most families. It’s not country club and bmw money, which too many people forgot, but it’s decent, working class/blue collar living- chock full of walmart and target and backyard bbqs.

  88. ruggles says:

    89 – You should have moved to Chatham. They give you an au pair in a Land Rover when you move in.

  89. Silera says:

    I’m not sure I’m even allowed to drive through Chatham. My ’98 Honda would drive down property values.

  90. NJGator says:

    Silera 91 – Then Stu might be shot on sight with his 95 ‘Civic.

  91. NJGator says:

    We know of people who moved to Millburn from Brooklyn. I think they drove a Toyota. Their new neighbors told them “We thought people like you lived in Maplewood.”

  92. chicagofinance says:

    Are we going to melt up today….we gots all the sheetz in place bichez….

  93. Secondary Market says:

    john didn’t take his meds today. it’s friday so i’m sure there are going to be multiple bronx tales today.

  94. John says:

    On August 3, 2009, the Company announced that it amended the terms of its pending offer for its $1 billion Floating Rate Senior Notes due August 17, 2009. The withdrawal deadline was extended until midnight, New York City time, at the end of Wednesday, August 5, 2009. The withdrawal deadline has passed and eligible bonds tendered, and not withdrawn, met the 58% minimum tender condition. The tender offer will expire at midnight, New York City time, at the end of Friday, August 14, 2009.

  95. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [93] gator

    GTFO. Is that a true story?

    If so, it goes to the very reason I told the wife that I had no intention of looking in Millburn.

    In fact, I would probably buy a beater pick-up truck and leave it out front on purpose.

    (I’d do that now, but my neighbors park their beater pick-up trucks out front, so they already have that covered).

  96. BC Bob says:

    “Are we going to melt up today”

    Chi,

    10 year?

  97. chicagofinance says:

    WSJ’s version of this story

    By DAISY MAXEY

    A lawsuit seeking class-action status claims that ProShare Advisors and others violated a securities act by failing to disclose risks inherent in its ProShares UltraShort Real Estate fund, an inverse leveraged exchange-traded fund, including the risk of a “spectacular tracking error.”

    The complaint, filed Wednesday by New York-based law firm Labaton Sucharow LLP in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the fund’s registration statements, prospectus and statements of additional information were “false and misleading.” It alleges that ProShares Trust; ProShare Advisors; ProFunds Group Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Sapir; its president, Louis Mayberg; and other defendants sell Ultra and UltraShort ETFs as “simple” directional plays.

    ProShares UltraShort Real Estate fund (trading symbol: SRS) seeks daily results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to twice the opposite of the daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index, the company says on its Web site.

    Yet, according to the lawsuit, when the index fell about 39% from Jan. 2, 2008, to Dec. 17, 2008, the SRS fund fell about 48% — “the antithesis of a directional play.”

    ProShare Advisors said in a statement: “The allegations reported in the complaint are wholly without merit. We plan to defend against this suit vigorously.”

    The suit comes as investors’ appetite for leveraged and inverse ETFs appears to have diminished in July in the wake of some concerns about their suitability as long-term investments.

    The funds experienced net outflows, or selling, of $1.85 billion in July, according to investment-research firm Morningstar. This comes after the funds took in a net $11.4 billion through the first half of the year and accounted for almost 30% of the total ETF inflows in some months, according to Morningstar.

    During the past few months, these complex instruments have been under scrutiny, however. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in June issued a notice, reminding brokers and advisers that the instruments are complex and typically unsuitable for individual investors who plan to hold them longer than one trading session. Some brokers placed constraints on sales of these ETFs or stopped them outright in the wake of that notice.

  98. NJGator says:

    Nom 97 – True story…friends of friends. Not sure the car is the reason for the comment, but the comment was definitely made. Welcome to the neighborhood!

  99. Clotpoll says:

    Cindy (26)-

    That’s just a sign you’ve almost turned completely Japanese.

    That feeling you have should dissipate in about twenty years.

    I like to think of it as a sort of anxious torpor.

  100. NJGator says:

    OT comment – My friend’s daughter, Baby G is coming home next week. She’s now up to 5lbs 2oz (born in May at 1lb 6oz),taking all of her food by bottle and she got booted out of the NICU into the Special Needs Nursery last week. No serious long term health issues diagnosed so far. She will be coming home with oxygen support, but the doctors expect her to be weaned off of it in the next few months.

  101. Clotpoll says:

    about (31)-

    Wait long enough, and the gubmint may eventually give you a house.

    It just may take a teensy bit longer for them to figure out a way to take that house away from its present owner.

  102. ruggles says:

    100 – Is this neighborhood higher or lower elevation than Millburn Middle school. Unless its in Short Hills proper, they’re all trash.

  103. John says:

    Siera why do people love to say that people who are middle class are “working people”. I guess poor and rich people don’t work.

    Actually there are these things called books and higher education. I used these tools to make more money. A few women in my neighborhood work for around 40-50k a year cause they need the money. Their husbands could easily snag a promotion or two by working late or going back to school or grow their investment income by becoming more knowledgable or by cutting costs. Instead they lay on the couch everynight while their wives pick up the slack.

    I don’t know how to help these people, one lady actually point blank asked me what to do last November. Timing is everything so she actually listened for once while the market was in complete meltdown and I make her a few quick thousand. I followed up with her a few months later on what to do next and she said she enrolled hers kid in day camp 5 days a week instead of three and is going to disney world with the extra cash she made and has no more money to invest.

    No wonder she has no money.

    An old itailian man once told me he got rich by seeking out succesful people and listening to their advice. That is what I do. Trouble is I find it hard to pass advice on as most people think they know it all. I know it all about nothing and I know a lot.

    I like to think of myself as Mr. Magoo more than Thurston Howell as least in Mr. Magoo he was the star.

    Silera says:
    August 7, 2009 at 9:39 am
    John, whenever you discuss the family unit, and gender roles, you sound like an 80 yr old Thurston Howell.

    Most working moms don’t have a nanny or maid. When my husband was working, he worked nights and I worked days to save on child care. I cooked when I got home and all the chores were done between us both in non employed off hours.

    I’m not knocking you. The world you live in is just different from most people. 100K a year is livable for most families. It’s not country club and bmw money, which too many people forgot, but it’s decent, working class/blue collar living- chock full of walmart and target and backyard bbqs.

  104. HEHEHE says:

    Re 68,

    You can see the people out of the workforce showing up in other areas such as the uptick in food stamp recipients etc

  105. NJGator says:

    Ruggles 104 – White trash South Mountain.

  106. ruggles says:

    107 – Also known as Irvington West Adjacent

  107. Clotpoll says:

    sx (52)-

    To me, this is pretty much all anybody needs to know in order to understand how royally fcuked we are.

    “The two guys on this board who makes the least amount of sense are both “financial professionals”. One “works” for the taxpayers.”

  108. Clotpoll says:

    tinker (56)-

    I suspect the mortgage crew in my office will be drinking before noon.

  109. John says:

    I don’t know if I am the financial professional on this site, but you do know I have been the most consistently correct regarding picks. Even though they all sounded stupid at the time. Isn’t that what the financial profession does, that is what Warrne Buffet does.

  110. NJGator says:

    108 Ruggles – But the city peoples will still pay crazy amounts of money for their 50×100 plot of suburban paradise there.

    A 2000SF home we could have bought privately in 2007 went for $689k that year. It just went under contract in less than a week with a LP of $737k. The house is on a 50×100 let 4 houses away from the Midtown Direct tracks.

  111. Silera says:

    John- i just used working class/blue collar as the common term for middle America. I’m sure you work and I know that many people that earn less than I do work harder than me for less pay.

    Your notions about where women and men belong both in and out of the workplace are outdated and insular at best. It’s convenient to imagine that everyone could but for their own lack of interest, earn over 150K and have a stay at home wife and kids. It’s simply not the case. I don’t begrudge anyone that luxury. Matter of fact, many Americans make that lifestyle on half of 150K.

    You’re quips and dismissive tone towards family choces are funny if you’re just trying to make a quick joke, but (I may be wrong) I think you actually believe this alternate reality.

  112. All Hype says:

    John (111):

    I give you credit, you do have a knack for picking bonds. If you got your point across in a little more cohesive manner, people would take you a little more seriously.

  113. Clotpoll says:

    Zen-like in its simple, yet deep message:

    “I like to think of myself as Mr. Magoo more than Thurston Howell as least in Mr. Magoo he was the star.”

  114. Clotpoll says:

    GS laying the groundwork for the dump phase of the cycle? Check the report referenced in this article:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/goldman-sachs-state-market

  115. Silera says:

    John- you know that Mr. Magoo was a blind old bat right?

    Gator- glad to hear about the lil’ one =).

  116. Sean says:

    Re: #113 Silera Allot of husbands fantasize that their wife will eventually stay home and take care of them just like their mommy did, house clean, bed made, laundy done and dinner on the table at 6PM.

  117. Clotpoll says:

    I think John fantasizes that his wife will buy an entire wardrobe of jackboots and PVC f@tish gear.

  118. Painhrtz says:

    Clot wife wants me to get rid of my beat up old Pick up. Can’t part the old clunker, it is like an old friend.

    Don’t worry about it when the government gives your the house they don’t get rid of the previous owner your just get to live with them to see the stimulus in action.

    Ahh just like communist Russia

  119. Sean says:

    Re: #115 Clot is they are trotting out Abby it is the Chump part of the cycle.

  120. ruggles says:

    112 – well, do you think it was worth 689 in 07 on the open market or would it have possibly fetched more?

    makes sense that millburn would stay relatively hot. Its the first truly safe, perfect town in the long stretch of fabulousness from Short hills to Tewksbury. (Maplewood, although charming, is a buffer not a fabulous town).

    It doesn’t touch anything bad (I’m being facetious) except a little bit of union (and maybe springfield) but there’s a whole foods there so can be tolerated.

    Forget the Bloomfield Ave Corridor
    or Westfield, there are too many poor people lurking around the fringes. Upper Bergen is prob the only other alternative but it seems you need a lobotomy to endure it.

  121. #118 – Sean – I want to argue against that, but I think you are correct. There is a huge percentage of the male population who took Home Improvement or King of Queens or any of the ‘dumb guy’ sitcoms as a viable model for how an adult male acts.

    This is extremely annoying if you don’t want to be a ‘dumb guy’ because women are now just assuming (consciously or not) that you are.

  122. John says:

    I actually do believe it, let me run down the working women in my family.

    Sister 1, husband had a history major in college, nuff said
    Sister 2, husband likes a 9-5 job walking distance from Penn, nuff said
    Cousin 1, husband has some phobias about working in city, working late and flying, with a business degree that elminates nearly all jobs,
    Cousin 2, husband has a ivy league MBA, wife is demanding and pushy and wants him home on time and not to leave early to help her with kids and pushes 90% of child rearing one him. Instead of working for GS or MS he works for a BS firm near home.
    Brother in law is a cheapskate, he is an engineer but he rolls in his money like mr crabbie and won’t let his wife quit work even though she wants too. Drives a car with 300K miles and lives in a little tiny no basement ranch that does not even have a dining room. Just non eat in kitchen, LR, 3 tiny bedroms and one bath that he bought for a song on an estate sale, so cheap won’t even send a BDay card to his mom.
    Father in law, HS degree only, thinks all management is crooks, refused promotions to supervisor and like to only work within 15 minutes of home so had his wife work in horrible job for 20 years so he could do this.
    Brother in law 2, same old same old, works in surburbs, never went back to grad school and doesn’t want to be management as he has an union mentality.
    My mother, dad did not have life insurance or savings and when he dropped dead forced Mom into workplace.

    Only the pushy cousin wants to be a working Mom, everyone else is forced into work to make up for husbands lack of income.

    Silera says:
    August 7, 2009 at 10:27 am
    John- i just used working class/blue collar as the common term for middle America. I’m sure you work and I know that many people that earn less than I do work harder than me for less pay.

    Your notions about where women and men belong both in and out of the workplace are outdated and insular at best. It’s convenient to imagine that everyone could but for their own lack of interest, earn over 150K and have a stay at home wife and kids. It’s simply not the case. I don’t begrudge anyone that luxury. Matter of fact, many Americans make that lifestyle on half of 150K.

    You’re quips and dismissive tone towards family choces are funny if you’re just trying to make a quick joke, but (I may be wrong) I think you actually believe this alternate reality.

  123. chicagofinance says:

    fcuker….it’s happening!

  124. NJGator says:

    Ruggles 124 – It sold on the open market for $689k. We could have bought it for less.

    As for Millburn not touching anything bad, does it not share a border with Slummit? :)

  125. BC Bob says:

    chi [127],

    Yes. TBT, larger gains than S&P.

  126. Danzud says:

    Gator,

    When a friend of mine moved a couple of years ago to Short Hills, I made a point of driving over to Shop Rite and bought several of those pink flamingos to stick in his front lawn.

    Every so often, I would drive over and stick them in the front yard. The third time I did it, he was on vacation and two of his neighbors were pissed as they saw me walking into the house to feed the cats and then dropping in the flamingo stakes on the lawn.

  127. John says:

    AIG up 100% in last three days!!!!! IF we bought calls on 8/4 we could sell today and retire. I hate this. Watching everyone get rich.

  128. stan says:

    John-
    Can I visit for thanksgiving.

    Seems like your family would be a good time.

  129. Danzud says:

    Only 250k people extra unemployed this month.

    Quick, buy every financial stock you can and run to the realtors to buy those houses since the competition is only 250,000 lighter than it was the month before!!!!!!!!!

  130. veto that says:

    Well i held srs for 20 hours and was stop lossed out by 9:31 am.
    This is why i dont daytrade anymore.
    Its only $100 loss but it was a useless effort to try and pick a bottom and get a lucky little pop.

  131. NJGator says:

    Danzud 130 – I hope you also brought them a lot of ShopRite branded merchandise so that their neighbors could see that they shopped there instead of the more fabulous Kings or Whole Foods.

  132. scribe says:

    Stu,

    Good luck!

    I didn’t play at all. I remember the old one-armed bandits, but the computerized machines looked complex, and what’s the fun of having a machine spit out a piece of paper?

    PS, my aunt who’s 97 1/2 feels the same way about the new machines that don’t give you the thrill of having coins spill out in a loud, noisy rush!

  133. NJGator says:

    And here’s a sign that all is well with the world…

    Preseason coaches’ poll released
    Posted by John Taylor on August 7, 2009 6:54 AM
    While not a unanimous pick — shades of Tebowgate? — Florida was the overwhelming choice as the top team in the country according to the coaches’ poll, USA Today announced today.

    The defending national champs received 53 of the 59 first-place votes, finishing well ahead of # 2 Texas and their four first-place votes.

    Oklahoma and Southern Cal also received one first-place vote apiece, finishing third and fourth in the poll, respectively. Alabama rounded out the top five.

    The highest-rated non-BcS team is Boise State at #16, although they are followed in succession by fellow outsiders TCU and Utah. BYU is also in the Top 25, coming in at #23.

    Others in the Top Ten are, from sixth to tenth, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, LSU and Ole Miss.

    http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/08/07/preseason-coaches-poll-released/

  134. ruggles says:

    The only people who can rightfully call it Slummit are property owners in Short Hills. Everyone else is jealous and ignorant.

  135. NJdroppingtheball says:

    So does anybody believe that the 8K tax credit will get bumped to 15K for next year?

  136. scribe says:

    Re the autistic child signs.

    Years ago, the Township put a sign at the far corner of my mother’s property: “Blind Child in Area.”

    When my mother was sick, the home health care person said something about driving carefully up the hill because of the blind child.

    So, I finally asked my brother. The blind child had long since grown up and moved away, but no one ever got around to removing the sign. Everyone figured it would make people more cautious, so why not leave it? :)

  137. Stu says:

    Bagholders rejoice:

    Minyanville:
    REITs Living on a Wing and a Prayer

    http://www.minyanville.com/articles/SRS-spg-IYR-BXP-VNO/index/a/23927/from/yahoo

    “But the REIT does not have to mark-to-market its equity position, and since technically the lender has not foreclosed, the REIT keeps carrying the value of its equity at book, on a hope and a prayer that something unfathomable will restore equity value before the property is liquidated.”

  138. veto that says:

    I think the 15k homebuying incentive will go through.

  139. NJGator says:

    For Firstborns, Secondhand Fits the Bill

    MICAH HILDENBRAND and her husband, Eric, are corporate lawyers who live in an affluent neighborhood in Washington and drive a Lexus SUV. But when their son, Chase, was born in January, they trawled friends’ garages rather than shop at places like Buy Buy Baby, the megastore that caters to new parents.

    Nearly all of Chase’s belongings are hand-me-downs or were bought secondhand, from the onesies to the fully tricked-out Bugaboo Cameleon — the top of the line Dutch stroller that the Hildenbrands bought on a listserv for a fraction of its $900 price tag. Mrs. Hildenbrand said that a good salary wasn’t reason enough to spend money that might not always be there.

    “We want to hedge in case something does happen,” she said.

    Observers of baby consumerism say such caution is not unusual these days. It is mirrored in the declining fortunes of the $343-million “play and discover” market — toys and goods marketed to parents of children under a year old — which has fallen by more than a third over the last year and a half. The recession, it seems, has catalyzed a moment of reflection among the formerly free-spending new-parent set: used is good; free is best. New purchases have become more considered, less spontaneous.

    Experts say the children’s market is just playing catch-up to a radical consumer shift taking place across all luxury sectors. But some say the new attitude reflects a broader change in perspective when it comes to conspicuous consumption for young children. No longer is it necessary to buy a thousand-dollar changing table in order to prove your parental savvy and breadth of love; if anything, the opposite is true.

    THIS new frugality is celebrated by anti-consumerism groups, dreaded by retailers, and mused over by social scientists who say we might be on the cusp of raising a new generation of depression-era babies. Not only are children named after their grandparents these days, but all those Rubys, Sadies and Harrys at the playgrounds may end up thinking like them as well.

    “The recession has liberated us from a lot of the consumer expectations so that we can have a big enough space to feel really comfortable just giving our kids a pot and a spoon,” said Robbie Blinkoff, a cultural anthropologist at Context-Based Research Group, an ethnographic marketing research firm in Baltimore.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/fashion/09baby.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=style

  140. grim says:

    Given the bulk of REO on the balance sheets, I wonder how many financials should be reclassified as REITs.

  141. BC Bob says:

    veto [142],

    Slam dunk.

  142. ruggles says:

    I’m surprised there aren’t ‘Gifted Child’ signs out on the streets. Although demand would be very high, some towns could save money by placing them at the borders.

  143. Clotpoll says:

    John (126)-

    Please tell me this isn’t a Sponge Bob reference:

    “…he is an engineer but he rolls in his money like mr crabbie”

  144. jcer says:

    John, your views are totally out of whack about the dual income thing. Many people in NNJ do it to live the “Good Life”, my sister does it to afford the mercedes, house in Basking Ridge, fancy clothes, and vacations. I’m sorry a 100k income is enough to make it worth it, at 50k financially it may not make tremendous financial sense depending on your financial position it still maybe necessary. Additionally successful intelligent women when stuck at home will be bored out of their minds. John it is not 1950 anymore. You kind of remind me of my father in this regard only with less money, he lives in a delusional world where nobody of any worth makes a penny less than 250k and his peer group is 1mm+ annual income, 5-10 million net worth. Routinely tells me to get a “Real Job” because I am paid “peanuts”. Tells my sister her job is no good and her husband needs to provide better and that they spend too much money. It’s interesting he is crazy and intense maybe not as much as john though.

  145. Clotpoll says:

    veto (134)-

    Keep that powder dry. Can’t spray the 24DT until the shoots grow a little higher.

  146. John says:

    Yes, and happy 10th birthday Sponge Bob!!

    Clotpoll says:
    August 7, 2009 at 11:32 am
    John (126)-

    Please tell me this isn’t a Sponge Bob reference:

    “…he is an engineer but he rolls in his money like mr crabbie”

  147. Stu says:

    Clot: (147)

    Indeed I think it was a SpongeBob Squarepants reference. He kind of botched it though. Isn’t it Mr. Krabs?

  148. renter says:

    “fully tricked-out Bugaboo Cameleon — the top of the line Dutch stroller that the Hildenbrands bought on a listserv for a fraction of its $900 price tag”

    Anyone who has Bugaboo Cameleon strollers on their radar is still very much a part of the consumerism culture. A brand new stroller can cost $50 at K-Mart. I don’t know of a baby who can tell the difference. Everyone ends up using the free umbrella stroller from Toys-R-Us the most anyway.

  149. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [90] ruggles

    “You should have moved to Chatham. They give you an au pair in a Land Rover when you move in.”

    Damn. Now you tell me. I coulda saved enough to have justified buying in Chatham.

  150. veto that says:

    i also think the 15K will become retroactive to anyone who bought a year earlier.
    This whole give away will create bidding wars to keep homes selling at full price while banks continue to hoard foreclosures and manipulate the market.

    The only risk left will be interest rates. If guvy can’t keep treas rates low, a mortgage rate spike will slam prices by an immediate 20-30% but this wont help those of us on the sidelines that much since the rate increases will offset the downward price corrections.

    But things never happen this clean, it will likely be some messy verison of this scenario while prices continue to creep down steadily.

  151. John says:

    jcer I agree 100% women should work in great jobs, I am a mentor and supporter of the Network of Women and Women on Wall Street. However, women who want to stay at home should be afforded the same luxury and not forced to take horrible junky jobs while their kids sit in day care with the pedophiles cause their husbands are lazy. The same goes for men, if my wife has a fantastic job why should I be forced to work for peanuts in a dead end job, maybe I want to be home with the kids.

  152. Clotpoll says:

    “I am a mentor and supporter of the Network of Women and Women on Wall Street.”

    Wrong, on so many levels…

  153. jcer says:

    My views on this are kids don’t need all of this junk, given some legos, puzzles, tinker toys, blocks etc, the old stuff none of this newfangled crap and they will entertain themselves for hours. Why spend an arm and a leg on this crap, all of this showy nouveau riche crap just shows that you don’t have money. In fact the richest person I have ever met inherited 200 million dollars, he looks like your average blue collar guy, until you see him step out of a rolls royce, in jeans and sneakers no less.

  154. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [152] renter

    I felt sooo out of place in Short Hills Mall last week with my Graco, while all of the Bugaboos and BOBs wheeled past.

    I did devote a nanosecond or two to comtemplate my lower social status. Then I got over it.

  155. Clotpoll says:

    John is also a mentor and supporter of Women on John.

  156. veto that says:

    Ha. bc, im on a credit suisse economic state of the markets call and someone just asked the chief economist if he is concerned about an imminent dollar collapse.

  157. BC Bob says:

    veto [160],

    Imminent collapse? No. Just a slow grind down until the SHTF.

  158. safeashouses says:

    #155 john

    Being home with 2 little kids is harder work then a 9 to 5 job paying 50 to 60k a year. Maybe that’s why some people would rather work.

    Also the second income can act as a hedge against job loss for the hire earning spouse. high income spouse loses his/her job take the kiddies out of daycare, quit eating out and buying non essentials and I bet lot of families could squeak by on unemployment plus lower earning spouse’s salary.

  159. hughesrep says:

    When I lock down a mortgage rate do I get any documentation on the locked down rate?

    I told my mortgage guy to lack it down last week, but I never got anything in writing, nor have they dinged my account for the refundable half a point.

    I’m finding that mortgage people make used car salespeople appear credible by comparison.

  160. hughesrep says:

    162

    I agree. My wife just had our second a month ago. I was home with a 15 month old and a newborn for a week while she recoup’ed.

    I couldn’t wait to get back to work and relax a bit.

  161. DuckVader says:

    hughesrep says:
    August 7, 2009 at 11:51 am
    When I lock down a mortgage rate do I get any documentation on the locked down rate?

    I told my mortgage guy to lack it down last week, but I never got anything in writing, nor have they dinged my account for the refundable half a point.

    I’m finding that mortgage people make used car salespeople appear credible by comparison.

    ————-

    From personal experience, unless it is documented by the entity you are getting the loan from (and not just the broker, if ever), don’t consider it safe and sealed.

  162. #163 – hugh – Call and ask for the revised docs reflecting the locked rate.

  163. Also, we had a rate lock agreement form. But that was between the mortgage co. & the representative acting on behalf of the clients…. That didn’t get sent to the client though, unless they specifically asked for it (they never did).

  164. DuckVader says:

    Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    August 7, 2009 at 11:40 am
    [152] renter

    I felt sooo out of place in Short Hills Mall last week with my Graco, while all of the Bugaboos and BOBs wheeled past.

    I did devote a nanosecond or two to comtemplate my lower social status. Then I got over it.

    ————–

    I once used a Bugaboo while watching over a friend’s kid. The thing was unwieldy and big. I have no idea why it costs that much — titanium or kevlar lined? To be honest, I also found the Gracos a bit clunky (although no one ever worries about dings or scratches on the Graco). My compromise was Combi — the seat was a bit of a pain at the start on the car base; but it’s light, manueverable and good for travel.

  165. hughesrep says:

    165 & 166

    Duck and tosh-

    Thanks.

  166. Shore Guy says:

    “We have hit bottom and everything is looking up from here.”

    White Star Line

  167. NJGator says:

    I’d say there are 2 high end baby purchases that we made for Lil Gator that were totally worth it.

    1 Bugaboo – We got a brand new Frog when the more fabulous Cameleon came out. We got it for about $600 complete including shipping and tax. Surprisingly this was Captain Cheapo’s stroller choice after he did his research. It handled fantastically (especially on our uneven sidewalks), and was a terrific beach stroller. After holding it for 4 years, we still managed to unload it on Craigslist for $500. We would have spent over $100 easily on a Graco or a Peg Perego and considered it money well spent.

    The other purchase was a Medela “Pum N Style” Advanced. Without it Lil Gator would surely have been formula fed. Although I could have done without Captain Cheapo’s analysis of how many months I’d have to keep at it in order to “break even”.

  168. Shore Guy says:

    Gator:

    1) Good news about the baby. The parents must be on cloud nine.

    2) They play football in Florida?

  169. Shore Guy says:

    Is anyone up for a mini GTG near the sand on Sunday? Perhaps someplace on the Boards in Asbury or over mineature golf in Bradley?

  170. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [168] duck

    Gets even better. The Graco (which I do actually like for its utility and handling) was a HAND ME DOWN (gasp). I had a McLaren Global before and I like the Graco better.

    I never liked the bugaboos because of the high centers of gravity. To me, they always looked prone to tipping over. And doesn’t it defeat the purpose of a stroller to have Ellery crack her skull on the polished italian marble????

    FWIW, I notice a lot more Gracos in Brigadoon than its tony neighbors. Maybe by advertising this fact, we can keep the Bugaboo crowd from driving in our town center. That would be great.

  171. chicagofinance says:

    A bugaboo is a city stroller. If you own a bugaboo in the suburbs, then you are a poser. While a bugaboo is expensive, if it effectively becomes the “family minivan” while tooling around NYC, I could defend it. You can get into places to eat and drink and it folds up nicely, so you can actually go out with your baby.

    We have a Valco, because living in Hoboken, we needed stuff that was good city and suburb.

  172. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [171] gator

    Since when is a Medela “high end”? I think we paid $99 through some ebay site. I already had to break it down and reassemble the pump because the cheap plastic housing was coming apart. I was shocked at how poorly constructed the Medela actually is.

  173. chicagofinance says:

    NJGator says:
    August 7, 2009 at 12:03 pm
    The other purchase was a Medela “Pum N Style” Advanced. Without it Lil Gator would surely have been formula fed.

    Gates: JJ told me that if you soak the interior with Astroglide, it does a decent bl-wjob…..

  174. veto that says:

    Japan’s Future: “It’s Going to Be Scary”

    After two decades of economic doldrums the Japanese economy is ready to hit the wall. And, the impact will likely be felt around the world. John Maudlin, president of Millennium Wave Investments, and George Friedman, CEO of STRATFOR of global-intelligence firm Stratfor, tell Tech Ticker, “be afraid, be very afraid.”

    The two, however, disagree on what will spark the crisis. Mauldin believes the economy will collapse under the weight of debt. Friedman says rising unemployment will fan the flames.

    Why should we care?

    Either scenario has the potential to unleash a crisis we can’t imagine.

    Friedman asserts: “The Japan we know now and how it behaves in the world is not going to be the Japan we know in 10 years… and it’s going to be scary.”

    http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/297420/Japan's-Future-%22It's-Going-to-Be-Scary%22?tickers=ewj,%5Ejpn,sne,tm,jpy=x&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=

  175. Stu says:

    “Gates: JJ told me that if you soak the interior with Astroglide, it does a decent bl-wjob…..”

    I’ll let you test it first big guy!

  176. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [171] gator

    In the stroller dept., I think we have Capt. Cheapo beat. Our original Mclaren developed some issues so I wrote the company and they sent us a new stroller. Never wanted the old one back. So I repaired the old one and sold both on Craigslist.

    Years later, we need strollers again. My brother gives us his old Graco (which matches the car seat perfectly), and we get a very good condition Peg Perego Pliko at a yard sale for really short money (less than we got for one of the McLarens, that much I know).

    So we have now bought/acquired 5 strollers, sold three, and when all is said and done (meaning sold), we will have probably been out of pocket less than $150. Unless we buy another jog stroller.

    Okay, I am getting off this topic before Grim changes the name of the blog.

  177. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [177] Chifi

    Great. Thanks a lot. All I need is that visual. Ewww.

  178. NJGator says:

    Nom 176 – We bought ours brand new back in 05. It was the best non-hospital grade pump you could purchase. Not only was ours well-made with no problems, but I even handed it down to a friend who used it for a year afterwards.

    Well, actually Stu bought it. We tried to buy ours at a discount before Lil Gator was born and the shady place kept saying it was “backordered” and pushing back the ship date. Stu’s first order of business when we got home was to run out by himself to buy it when we couldn’t wait any longer.

    And a friendly warning to any new parents out there. Don’t ever talk to the La Leche League Ladies….EVER. Crazy. All of them.

  179. John says:

    anyone want a double gracco stroller that needs new wheels soon, I tried to give it away and got snub by even the landscpapers.

  180. #169 – Hugh – Now that I think about it (it’s been 10 years since I’ve done this stuff) you should definitely be getting a revised commitment letter reflecting the locked rate.

  181. NJGator says:

    Chifi 175 – Bugaboo came in handy on the crappily maintained sidewalks in Montclair. Stu is no poser.

  182. hughesrep says:

    184

    tosh

    I put a call into the bank asking for it. It’s only been a week since I told them to lock it, and they seem to do everything via snail mail.

  183. Secondary Market says:

    my arm and leg went to the orbit stroller. living in the city we had to justify the purchase w/ it being super durable, easily collapsible and the fact the base spins 360 degrees for convenient accessibility no matter the position of stroller. we were lucky enough to get 10% off on the otherwise rigid price tag.

  184. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    If you’re buying when they are selling a cardboard box will be your dwelling

    Last Week’s Insiders Transactions: 5 Buys For $13.4 Million, 145 Sells For Over $1 Billion
    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/las-weeks-insiders-transactions-5-buys-134-million-145-sells-1-billion

  185. daddyo says:

    “im on a credit suisse economic state of the markets call ”

    I was on that call too, although I almost gagged a few times.

  186. chicagofinance says:

    NJGator says:
    August 7, 2009 at 12:19 pm
    And a friendly warning to any new parents out there. Don’t ever talk to the La Leche League Ladies….EVER. Crazy. All of them.

    Gates: Did I ever mention that story about the LLL gathering where one of the mom’s brought a cake she baked herself using her own breastmilk? :-P

  187. relo says:

    182: La Leche – Those nuts had my wife (who is prone to worry about everything) in tears. Having had problems feeding with our first (2nd & 3rd too). Finally common sense prevailed and we went to the bottle. He’s now 15, 6′ 1″ 175 lbs. and while he doesn’t play soccer, he acquits himself quite well on the gridiron and diamond. The feeding thing seems to have worked out okay.

    I guess this isn’t devolving into fantasy football after all.

  188. renter says:

    182
    La Leche helped me. Everyone I know said they were ‘breastfeeding nazis’ but they helped me.

  189. John says:

    I love it!!!! When is the next meeting?

    chicagofinance says:
    August 7, 2009 at 12:40 pm
    NJGator says:
    August 7, 2009 at 12:19 pm
    And a friendly warning to any new parents out there. Don’t ever talk to the La Leche League Ladies….EVER. Crazy. All of them.

    Gates: Did I ever mention that story about the LLL gathering where one of the mom’s brought a cake she baked herself using her own breastmilk? :-P

  190. veto that says:

    “He’s now 15, 6′ 1″ 175 lbs. and while he doesn’t play soccer, he acquits himself quite well on the gridiron and diamond.”

    i thought the breast milk is supposed to help with brain development and immune defenses. I never heard that it makes your child bigger or stronger.

  191. NJGator says:

    relo/chifi. The crazy LLL ladies actually suggested that I feed my son through a fingertube or medicine dropper when he had trouble nursing at first. Anything but give him a bottle. I cried for 5 minutes and then hormones and all realized they were crazy.

  192. relo says:

    192: I believe they were trying to be helpful. On the other hand, the kid needed to eat.

  193. relo says:

    194. Point taken. I was trying to illustrate that the LLL would have you believe it was otherwise as well. FWIW, the kids are not shy in either of those respects.

  194. veto that says:

    relo, i dont know anything about that stuff.
    just what i read in the hospital pamphlets.

  195. John says:

    But is he a good student, actually pomegranite or blueberry juice drinking while you are pregant works too.

    veto that says:
    August 7, 2009 at 12:49 pm
    “He’s now 15, 6′ 1″ 175 lbs. and while he doesn’t play soccer, he acquits himself quite well on the gridiron and diamond.”

    i thought the breast milk is supposed to help with brain development and immune defenses. I never heard that it makes your child bigger or stronger.

  196. John says:

    Dow Jones U.S. Financials Total Stock Market Index is up 24% since July 13, outpacing the broader market. It’s up 96% since March 9, when major stock indexes hit their lows for the current cycle.

  197. Richie says:

    RE: Strollers

    We got the Graco for the first one; when he got older one of those $20 quick fold strollers works fine.

    When the second one came; wife wanted a double-stroller. We were gonna do a peg perego or something, but found poor reviews. She mostly wanted it to take the kids to the park (5-10 minute walk) so I was looking around for a jogger; not because she jogs; but because the bigger wheels make it a heck of a lot easier to use on grass as well as roll around.

    Ended up getting a Mountain Buggy Urban-Double for $60 off of a government auction website. Cleaned up the stroller a bit; and it’s as good as new. Strollers sell for $500+ brand new; so we definitely got a deal; and can easily sell it and make a profit when we’re done with it.

  198. HEHEHE says:

    John,

    Somebody should sue Dow Jones because it’s index isn’t matching the market.

  199. Sean says:

    GS Report – State of the Markets. 99 pages.

    http://tulpenwoede.tornflag.com/statemar.pdf

  200. AlexNyc says:

    Dont know if this was linked already but it is a good perspective on whats going on
    http://piggington.com/ramsey_su_has_real_estate_bottomed

  201. relo says:

    200: J.
    They manage.

    relo says:
    August 7, 2009 at 12:55 pm
    FWIW, the kids are not shy in either of those respects.

    John says:
    August 7, 2009 at 1:06 pm
    But is he a good student, actually pomegranite or blueberry juice drinking while you are pregant works too.

    veto that says:

    i thought the breast milk is supposed to help with brain development and immune defenses.

  202. Secondary Market says:

    since we’re on baby talk today @195
    we’re have the opposite problem. my daughter won’t take a bottle, pacifier or anything out side of my wife’s breast. she’s 2 months old and we’re running out of time since my wife plans to head back to work after labor day. we’ve bought just about every bottle/nipple on the market – nothing works..

  203. bi says:

    IYR up 6%. XLF up 4%. another bloody day!

  204. Sean says:

    Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Implements New Sales Policy for Leveraged, Inverse and Leveraged Inverse ETFs

    NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In response to concerns raised by regulators about these securities, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced today that it has placed certain restrictions on the sale of leveraged, inverse, and leveraged inverse exchange traded funds (ETFs).

    Specifically, as of August 7, 2009, solicited purchases of these products will not be permitted in traditional brokerage accounts. Unsolicited purchases in these accounts will be permitted only subject to enhanced oversight and review. In addition, no purchases of these securities will be permitted in advisory accounts managed by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Financial Advisors.

    Financial Advisors have been encouraged to review existing positions in these securities with clients to emphasize their unique characteristics and risks.

    Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a global leader in wealth management, provides access to a wide range of products and services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including brokerage and investment advisory services, financial and wealth planning, credit and lending, cash management, annuities and insurance, retirement and trust services.

    Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 37 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit http://www.morganstanley.com.

    Investments and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, member SIPC.

    © 2009 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

  205. Ben says:

    “So does anybody believe that the 8K tax credit will get bumped to 15K for next year?”

    Absolutely, the congress and the executive branch are increasingly in support of demand side policies. The cash for clunkers, despite its moral hazard and fake demand driven stimulus, is incredibly popular. It’s only a matter of time before they believe the true solution to the housing crisis is a 15k tax credit.

  206. Shore Guy says:

    Strollers:

    Before I am a grendfather, I would like for the stroller manufacturers to realize that not everyone pushing one is 4’9″ tall. A little extra handle length would help.

  207. Shore Guy says:

    How about a $400,000 RE credit for people who have shown that they know how to pay off a mortgage?

  208. BC Bob says:

    Sean [203],

    Thanks for the link. From the report;

    “If you believe in this thesis, consider going long a basket of AUD, CAD, NOK and BRL against the USD”

    Thank you GS. I always thought you were the best.

  209. gryffindor says:

    Good to see important topics of NJ living still being discussed. I didn’t know a new stroller can cost $600. Still going to be a few years before I purchase one of those seeing as I just boomeranged back home to mom & dad’s rental in NJ to wait it out until I get married next year and move to the city.

    There is a 2BR/2.5BA/1 garage townhome for sale in their complex for $364K. Dad has declared that this is still overpriced and continues to pay the rent while mom continues to complain about the appliances from the late 80s. I think he’ll cave when he can buy something suitable that has a price tag starting with a 2, not a 3.

    Moving to NJ from TN has been shock to my driving abilities. I got so used to flying on the highways at 80 mph and getting places fast. Never once paid a toll in my 3 years living there and come here to find that EZ pass is a necessity not a luxury. With all slow local road driving and having to learn the insider townie shortcuts, my GPS is a massive fail. My post-college-in-the-midwest brother has declared NJ sucks and is moving to Chicago. I think I will stay and just get used to it.

  210. wood is good says:

    Enjoy this sick breastfeeding story.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxv6R9fUO74

  211. SG says:

    Bailouts, Stimulus or Do Nothing?

    The first thing to note about the financial crisis is that the federal government never had any business intervening in the personal decision of whether you want to own a home. There is no rational economic argument, or any argument I know of, that says the market of buying and selling homes is imperfect in some way, requiring government action. Construction firms have plenty of incentive to build homes and sell them. People who have the wherewithal have plenty of incentive to buy homes if they so choose. For the government to intrude into homeownership was an off-budget, nontransparent, backdoor attempt at redistributing income. And when the policy became a way of transferring income to people who couldn’t afford those homes, it was doomed to failure.

  212. Shore Guy says:

    Gryf,

    I have an office in NJ and one out of state and travel between them regularly. It is like living in two different worlds. One like yours in TN where traffic NEVER comes into play for day-to-day activities and one where traffic considerations cannot be overlooked.

    Every once in awhile I forget and schedule something down here not taking traffic into account and get slapped back to reality with my first sight of 18 (or insert any other major road name).

  213. Shore Guy says:

    “Enjoy this sick breastfeeding story.”

    THAT is a setup I one does not hear every day.

  214. Stu says:

    Wells Mortgage 30 fixed still 5.571 APR

  215. gryffindor says:

    Stats say 1:160 are being diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. That’s going to be a lot of yellow caution signs all over the place. I just pray that my kids will be born healthy and I’ll pay the $600 for a stroller.

  216. veto that says:

    srs driven down into the 10s.
    After it goes to zero they’ll use that capital do the same thing to gld.

  217. scribe says:

    hehe,#106

    Lots on Bloomberg radio today about the number of people on food stamps.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ayktYHR6ic0U

  218. veto that says:

    5 More Bubbles Ready to Burst

    China
    Emerging Markets
    Inflation Bonds
    Commodities/GLD
    US Stock Market

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-More-Bubbles-Ready-to-etfguide-3812330157.html?x=0&.v=1

  219. John says:

    Best way to prevent it is to breed with someone with a proven track record of healthy good looking babies.

    gryffindor says:
    August 7, 2009 at 2:18 pm
    Stats say 1:160 are being diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. That’s going to be a lot of yellow caution signs all over the place. I just pray that my kids will be born healthy and I’ll pay the $600 for a stroller.

  220. NJGator says:

    Shore 173 – Timing is off. We are doing Monmouth County tonight. Downtown in Red Bank. All of our bag holder friends will be there.

  221. HEHEHE says:

    John maybe you should post that info on the sign.

  222. chicagofinance says:

    Shore Guy says:
    August 7, 2009 at 1:46 pm
    Strollers: Before I am a grendfather, I would like for the stroller manufacturers to realize that not everyone pushing one is 4′9″ tall. A little extra handle length would help.

    Use the third leg…

  223. chicagofinance says:

    NJGator says:
    August 7, 2009 at 2:38 pm
    Shore 173 – Timing is off. We are doing Monmouth County tonight. Downtown in Red Bank. All of our bag holder friends will be there.

    Gates: was just going to post on this…I did my afternoon stroll to get coffee. Red Bank is dead??!!??? I’m sure it will be crowded later, but normally an August Friday with decent weather means tons of eye candy and people eating on sidewalk tables…zippo….I don’t mean lighten than expected…I mean actual zippo!???

  224. chicagofinance says:

    lighten = lighter

  225. chicagofinance says:

    I don’t mean a zippo lighter either :-P

  226. chicagofinance says:

    gryffindor says:
    August 7, 2009 at 2:18 pm
    Stats say 1:160 are being diagnosed on the Autism spectrum. That’s going to be a lot of yellow caution signs all over the place. I just pray that my kids will be born healthy and I’ll pay the $600 for a stroller.

    g: my cousin’s son just moved in with HIS FIRST COUSIN….YES IN A RELATIONSHIP..doh!…comments?

  227. John says:

    I should and it beats a rubber glove, cold piece of metal and test tube approach.

    HEHEHE says:
    August 7, 2009 at 2:55 pm
    John maybe you should post that info on the sign.

  228. chicagofinance says:

    gryffindor says:
    August 7, 2009 at 1:50 pm
    My post-college-in-the-midwest brother has declared NJ sucks and is moving to Chicago. I think I will stay and just get used to it.

    g: your bro’ is ignorant of the facts…..there are several places where traffic sucks big time….DC/NVA, Atlanta, LA, SeaTac and CHICAGO…and Chicagoland is so much worse than you could ever imagine…..think GSP on the shore in the summer type stuff. And since it is CST, it starts at 6AM.

  229. NJGator says:

    Recession baby bust: Births drop 2 percent
    2008 saw first U.S. decline since beginning of the decade, officials say

    ATLANTA – America’s baby boomlet is showing signs of tapering off.

    U.S. births in 2008 dropped nearly 2 percent from 2007 — the first annual decline in births since the beginning of the decade, according to new federal data.

    It’s not clear what caused the decline, but the U.S. economic downturn may have had something to do with it.

    Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost almost 7 million jobs. Housing foreclosures worsened in 2007 too, and fell into a state of crisis in 2008.

    The largest decline in births in 2008 were in California and Florida, two states hit hardest by the housing crisis.

    But the downturn’s effect on the public psychology — and families’ willingness to have babies — may not have really hit until the fall of 2008, said Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, the agency that put out the report.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32331620/ns/health-pregnancy/

  230. chicagofinance says:

    Oh…did I mention that it is cold like a bitch out there?

  231. NJGator says:

    Chifi 229 – The last guy I dated before I met Stu was a child of divorce. When he was 8, his mom kicked his dad out one day and the next day her boyfriend moved in. The boyfriend was her first cousin and he left his wife and two kids to be with her. They had to travel to some southern state (I don’t recall which one) in order to marry. My ex and his brother not surprisingly had a lot of relationship issues.

  232. John says:

    You always regret the one that got away.

    NJGator says:
    August 7, 2009 at 3:20 pm
    Chifi 229 – The last guy I dated before I met Stu was a child of divorce. When he was 8, his mom kicked his dad out one day and the next day her boyfriend moved in. The boyfriend was her first cousin and he left his wife and two kids to be with her. They had to travel to some southern state (I don’t recall which one) in order to marry. My ex and his brother not surprisingly had a lot of relationship issues.

  233. NJGator says:

    Not really, John. But I did go to an Indigo Girls concert with said ex after we broke up and pointed out all of the women in the audience and told him unfortunately he couldn’t have any of them.

  234. I did go to an Indigo Girls concert with said ex

    Wait a minute… There are guys who would voluntarily go and see the Indigo Girls?

  235. John says:

    was it cause the ladies were gay or was it they were not related to him?

    NJGator says:
    August 7, 2009 at 3:30 pm
    Not really, John. But I did go to an Indigo Girls concert with said ex after we broke up and pointed out all of the women in the audience and told him unfortunately he couldn’t have any of them.

  236. JS says:

    Housing Rebound May Stall on Climate Law, GE, U.S. Builders Say

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=agFVRbmJAUGk

    ” Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) — Legislation requiring new U.S. homes to be more energy-efficient threatens to smother a rebound in the housing market, homebuilders say.

    Under a measure approved by the House and being considered by the Senate, new homes would be required to have more insulation, more-efficient doors and windows, and heating and cooling systems that consume less energy. The changes would cost $4,000 to $10,000 a home, and price more than 1 million people out of the market, Bill Killmer, a vice president of the National Association of Home Builders, estimated.

    President Barack Obama’s goals of reviving the economy and saving energy clash in the new standards, according to appliance-maker General Electric Co. and the homebuilders association, whose members include Pulte Homes Inc. and KB Home.

    Congress would raise builders’ costs “at the absolute bottom of the worst housing market since World War II,” Joe Robson, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, homebuilder, said in an interview.

    Housing starts climbed 3.6 percent in June from May to an annual rate of 582,000, a seven-month high, the Commerce Department said on July 17. Starts remained 74 percent below their 36-year high of 2.27 million in January 2006. “

  237. chicagofinance says:

    toshiro_mifune says:
    August 7, 2009 at 3:37 pm
    I did go to an Indigo Girls concert with said ex Wait a minute… There are guys who would voluntarily go and see the Indigo Girls?

    tosh: I had to go to a Sarah MacLachlan concert…..I never got so many GTF-out-of-here-you-useless-man looks from all hordes of butchies there….it was worse out-of-place feeling than walking into a bar in Irvington at 2AM to use a pay phone (pre-cell days) after my car broke down on the GSP.

  238. relo says:

    241: Had to? Were you in the band?

  239. John says:

    Good thing you ladies back then kept a dime in your panty’s in case you broke down.

    chicagofinance says:
    August 7, 2009 at 3:52 pm
    toshiro_mifune says:
    August 7, 2009 at 3:37 pm
    I did go to an Indigo Girls concert with said ex Wait a minute… There are guys who would voluntarily go and see the Indigo Girls?

    tosh: I had to go to a Sarah MacLachlan concert…..I never got so many GTF-out-of-here-you-useless-man looks from all hordes of butchies there….it was worse out-of-place feeling than walking into a bar in Irvington at 2AM to use a pay phone (pre-cell days) after my car broke down on the GSP.

  240. JS says:

    /Rally Off ?

    GM, Chrysler’s Return Gave Jobs Data a Lift, Economists Say

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=amnbrV1Qovf4

    By Shobhana Chandra

    Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC’s emergence from bankruptcy helped stem U.S. job losses in July and may have exaggerated the improvement in the labor market, economists said.

    The reopening of the plants helped boost July auto payrolls by the most since 1998, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. The industry’s workweek also lengthened by the most in almost six years.

    “Autos were artificially making things look worse earlier and are now making them look artificially better,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. “Excluding autos, we still had an improvement, just not as much.”

  241. BC Bob says:

    What’s Tudor smoking?

    “Tudor said the 47 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of the largest U.S. companies since March 9, when it fell to a 12-year low, is a “bear-market rally.” The index topped 1,000 for the first time in nine months this week after companies reported better-than-expected profits.”

    “Impressive counter-trend rallies are a feature, not an oddity, of secular bear markets,” Tudor said. “We are not inclined to aggressively chase the market here. Many doubts remain about the sustainability of this recovery, most prominently the weakness of household income growth.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aXsz8TNju_Zg

  242. NJCoast says:

    Friday Afternoon Beach Report

    78 degrees-Low tide- 1 ft waves-wind from the west.

    Painkiller time.

  243. BC Bob says:

    NJC [246],

    “cause down the shore everything’s all right”

  244. John says:

    Median household income in the U.S. came to $50,233 back in good ol’ 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. And that’s the figure for the entire annual income for the whole household

    Don’t worry on 50K a year we all can be buying caddies and trade up homes and still have money for disney trips!!

  245. HEHEHE says:

    File under it would be funny if it wasn’t so sad:

    Senate Ethics Panel Clears Dodd on Countrywide Loans

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124966517496114909.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

    “Once you became aware that your loans were in fact being handled through a program with the name ‘V.I.P.’ that should have raised red flags for you,” the panel said in a letter to Mr. Dodd dated Friday.”

    Criminals monitoring criminals

  246. Sean says:

    Gotta love the headlines “White House expects jobless rates to hit 10% this year.”

    Sure ya do the Stimulus bill was supposed to keep it around 8% right?

  247. yo'me says:

    Travel time from exit 131 to 36 3 hours 15 min.I will wait tonight to go to 2nd home.

  248. BC Bob says:

    “I will wait tonight to go to 2nd home.”

    Thanks for the update. Our concerns have abated. We can all relax now.

  249. HEHEHE says:

    Sean,

    Doesn’t 10% exceed the levels for Timmay’s stress tests? Doh!

  250. yo'me says:

    “I will wait tonight to go to 2nd home.”

    Thanks for the update. Our concerns have abated. We can all relax now

    247.BC Bob says:
    August 7, 2009 at 4:20 pm
    NJC [246],

    “cause down the shore everything’s all right”

    You can smoke your cigar now.everything will be alright.

  251. Frank says:

    Where’s the housing recession??

    Freddie Mac reports $768 million quarterly profit

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/freddie-mac-reports-768-million-quarterly-profit-2009-08-07

  252. JS says:

    Frank (255) Maybe read more then the headline?

    “After a $1.1 billion dividend payment on its senior preferred stock owned by the Treasury Deparment, Freddie reported a net loss of 11 cents per common share.”

  253. Pol Clot says:

    It may take me all weekend to purge the mental image of John at a La Leche meeting.

  254. Pol Clot says:

    I’m going to have a John/La Leche nightmare tonight.

    I already know it will end with John shouting out, “somebody has to clean up dafunk now”…

  255. yo'me says:

    Autopsy finds cocaine in Billy Mays’ body

  256. NJGator says:

    Clot – the folks sitting near me on the train are wondering why I am laughing.

    And even the NJCL train seems to be sitting in traffic.

  257. yo'me says:

    ELKHART, Ind.— President Barack Obama has barely left town, and already city leaders are trumpeting what they call the first real impact of the economic stimulus plan — 10 inches of ordinary-looking concrete that they say will translate into millions of dollars of new business and long-term economic development.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32332456/ns/us_news-the_elkhart_project/

  258. HEHEHE says:

    “Autopsy finds cocaine in Billy Mays’ body”

    I’m sure it’s a mistake. Just like that lady driving the wrong way on the highway. He probably had a bump on his leg or diabetes

  259. yo'me says:

    Autopsy uncovers cocaine in Billy Mays’ body
    50-year-old TV personality died of a heart attack in his sleep

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32334881/ns/us_news-life/

  260. Uh oh, Pininfarina family may sell majority stake to TaTa motors. They’ve been acquiring a bunch of properties lately; Land Rover, Jaguar, tie ups with Volvo and Ford.

  261. yo'me says:

    Factors influencing the gold price
    Today, like all investments and commodities, the price of gold is ultimately driven by supply and demand. Unlike most other commodities, the hoarding and disposal plays a much bigger role in affecting the price, because most of the gold ever mined still exists and is potentially able to come on to the market for the right price.[8][9] At the end of 2006, it was estimated that all the gold ever mined totaled 158,000 tonnes.[10] This can be represented by a cube with an edge length of just 20.2 meters.

    Given the huge quantity of stored gold, compared to the annual production, the price of gold is mainly affected by changes in sentiment, rather than changes in annual production.[11] According to the World Gold Council, annual mine production of gold over the last few years has been close to 2,500 tonnes.[12] About 2,000 tonnes goes into jewelry or industrial/dental production, and around 500 tonnes goes to retail investors and exchange traded gold funds.[12] This translates to an annual demand for gold to be 1000 tonnes in excess over mine production which has come from central bank sales and other disposal

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_as_an_investment

  262. gryffindor says:

    chicagofinance: yeah I’m sure the traffic is bad, I’ve seen it in all the cities you mentioned. Add San Jose/SF to the list. I couldn’t believe the pile of cars on the 6 lane highway out there during a morning commute.

    I once told my fiance to take the shuttle from the Nashville airport to my apartment because I didn’t want to retrieve him in rush-hour traffic. When he got to my place, he said “what traffic?” I asked if he saw all the cars driving slowly on the highway. He explained that when he leaves NJ to return to the city each night, his bus often stands still trying get into the Lincoln tunnel. Therefore cars that actually move on the highway, even slow moving cars, don’t count as traffic.

    And then last Sunday night, I experienced the stand still trying to get into the Lincoln myself and have vowed to never drive that unless it is a documented off-peak hour.

  263. yo'me says:

    In times of national crisis, people fear that their assets may be seized and that the currency may become worthless. They see gold as a solid asset which will always buy food or transportation. Thus in times of great uncertainty, particularly when war is feared, the demand for gold rises

  264. yo'me says:

    Gold versus stocks
    Dow/Gold Ratio 1968-2008The performance of gold bullion is often compared to stocks. They are fundamentally different asset classes. Gold is regarded by some as a store of value (without growth) whereas stocks are regarded as a return on value (i.e. growth due to anticipated real price increase plus dividends). Stocks and bonds perform best in a stable political climate with strong property rights and little turmoil. The attached graph shows the value of Dow Jones Industrial Average divided by the price of an ounce of gold. Since 1800, stocks have consistently gained value in comparison to gold due in part to the stability of the American political system.[27] This appreciation has been cyclical with long periods of stock outperformance followed by long periods of gold outperformance. The Dow Industrials bottomed out a ratio of 1:1 with gold during 1980 (the end of the 1970s bear market) and proceeded to post gains throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The peak of 1980 also coincided with the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and the threat of the global expansion of communism. The ratio peaked on January 14, 2000 a value of 41.3 and has fallen sharply since.

  265. Pol Clot says:

    yo (259)-

    He was partying with the Shamwow guy.

  266. yo'me says:

    Bulls versus bears
    Since April 2001 the gold price has more than tripled in value against the US dollar, prompting speculation that the long secular bear market (or the Great Commodities Depression) has ended and a bull market has returned[32]. A World Gold Council report released on February 18, 2009 showed physical gold demand rose sharply in the second half of 2008. Identifiable investment demand for gold, which includes ETFs (exchange-traded funds), bars, and coins, was up 64 percent in 2008 over the year before.[33]

    In the last century, major economic crises (such as the Great Depression, World War II, the first and second oil crisis) lowered the Dow/Gold ratio, an indicator of how bad a recession is and whether the outlook is deteriorating or improving, to a value well below 4. The ratio fell on February 18, 2009 to below 8. [34] During these difficult times, investors tried to preserve their assets by investing in precious metals, most notably gold and silver

  267. yo'me says:

    Clot he was sniffing with the Shamwow guy and then he said Kaboom!!

  268. lostinny says:

    273 yo’me

    I’ve never seen so many useless zeros. Oh wait…

  269. yo'me says:

    #265 tosh,tata will be the biggest luxury brand company in the world.

  270. #275 – They certainly seem to be pushing the company that way.
    I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Generally, at least in my experience, Indian management is known for it’s ‘frugality’ and not the indulgence capricious whims.

  271. yo'me says:

    tosh going from $2,000 mass produce cars to luxury brands.

  272. grim says:

    Anyone up for a GTG tomorrow night?

  273. lostinny says:

    Grim

    Why always when I have plans?

  274. lostinny says:

    Grim
    If you want to venture to SI, you can come to a reunion of an old skool punk/ rock club out here. :)

  275. yo'me says:

    Credit-related expenses, consisting of provision for credit losses and real estate owned (REO) operations expense, were $5.2 billion for the second quarter of 2009, compared to $9.1 billion for the first quarter of 2009.

    Provision for credit losses was $5.2 billion for the second quarter of 2009, compared to $8.8 billion for the first quarter of 2009. The decrease was driven by a reduced rate of growth in the company’s loan loss reserve due to the recent modest national home price improvements, which the company believes to be largely seasonal. Also driving the decrease was the impact of enhancements made to the company’s estimation methodology, which resulted in an approximate $1.4 billion decline in the company’s estimate of loan loss reserves and consequently its provision for credit losses in the second quarter. Freddie Mac expects its provision for credit losses will likely remain high during the remainder of 2009 and to increase above the level recognized in the second quarter.

    REO operations expense was $9 million for the second quarter of 2009, down from $306 million for the first quarter of 2009. The decrease was driven by a reduction in market-based write-downs due to a slowdown in the deterioration of REO fair values.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Freddie-Mac-Releases-Second-prnews-3236330427.html?x=0&.v=1

  276. scribe says:

    grim,

    where, when?

    Sunday I have plans for the afternoon and evening.

    But I think a GTG down the shore with Shore before the summer is over would be good, too. We just have to get a good beach day!

  277. Shore Guy says:

    Painkillers rule!

  278. scribe says:

    2 FLA banks today, but apparently, the bank Cindy was talking about wasn’t seized.

    From the WSJ:

    By DAN FITZPATRICK

    Regulators seized two small Florida banks Friday, increasing the number of 2009 U.S. bank failures to 71 as the recession continues to batter the financial services sector.

    Stearns Bank of St. Cloud, Minn. agreed to take deposits and assets from both institutions, Community National Bank of Sarasota County in Venice, Fla. and First State Bank in Sarasota, Fla.

  279. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    Clot,

    Am currently on the road, but have a heart warming CRE tale for you. Next to my hotel is a mall about the size of bridgewater commons. This mall is under construction and about 90% complete. local news says that they only have commitments for 20% of the retail space…

    it gets better. Across the street (literally) is another mall of about the same size that has been around for a few years already.

    I think we know how this ends.

  280. yikes says:

    Clotpoll says:
    August 6, 2009 at 5:40 pm

    bi (210)-

    The only kind of bag I want discussed here is the plastic one you should be putting over your head.

    LMAO

    Clotpoll says:
    August 6, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    …or the body bag they put you in before the meatwagon hauls your sorry ass away.

    seconded.

  281. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    Scribe, NJCoast,

    If the painkiller isnt from here:

    http://www.upperbaysailing.com/Pages/SoggyDollar.jpg

    its not a painkiller.

  282. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    Opps,

    was meant for Shore and NJCoast:

    If the painkiller isnt from here:

    http://www.upperbaysailing.com/Pages/SoggyDollar.jpg

    its not a painkiller.

  283. yikes says:

    if only a cop would do this to bi

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xW_-bSxTyI

    (that video will be all over the place this weekend – old lady slammed to the ground BY A COP in a parking lot)

  284. Essex says:

    Good take down. What’s the problem Yikes? Ya wimp.

  285. safeashouses says:

    #290 yikes,

    She had a knife. didn’t you see what yoda could do, and was like 900 or something.

  286. Outofstater says:

    #261 Elkhart – Recently returned from there. Lots and lots of houses for sale and for rent. A lot of the Mexicans who moved there for the jobs in the RV industry went back home. Saw several large fields with dozens of semi trailers in storage, lined up in rows. Also saw two places where the big rigs that should have been hauling the trailers were stored. Eerie. Funny thing though – the local restaurants were full, not jammed, but reasonably full. Also can’t figure out why anyone would want to use the Elkhart Airport to go to Notre Dame when the South Bend airport is so much closer and is practically deserted much of the time. Haven’t seen it on a football weekend though.

  287. NJCoast says:

    Black-
    Yup got the recipe from the Soggy Dollar Bar, I’ve been stopping there since I lived in the islands in the 60’s. Spent some great nights at Ivan’s Stress Free Campgrounds down the beach, and of course Foxy’s.

  288. Richie says:

    I got Grim to play 9 holes with us this afternoon; woohoo!

    He needs a couple of more outings to brush up his swing, but overall a good day of golf.

    -Richie

  289. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    “if only a cop would do this to bi”

    How do we know it wasn’t bi?

  290. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    safe 292

    your right, its the old ones you have to watchout for, how do you know she wasnt packing a lightsaber

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRd9PGmAQUE

  291. safeashouses says:

    That must have been some sandwich in Bridgewater.

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/shotgun_drawn_after_fight_over.html

    Never heard of a shotgun sandwich before.

  292. safeashouses says:

    #297 Black,

    Exactly. They have the experience, and can be real mean too. ever go to a nursing home for halloween/ Rest my case.

  293. dolphinbeater says:

    Sarah Palin sounds off on Obamacare:

    The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

    Sarah’s right. We are seeing the end of the Republic. But it’s not too late. Good people can still resist the Kevorkian evil of Obamacare.

  294. NJGator says:

    Grim – GTG where?

    BTW – Downtown in red Bank DEAD tonight. Almost as many empty tables as empty commercial space in town.

  295. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    Oh $hit Chicago, quick tell us how superior you are!!!!

    America’s Best College
    How West Point beats the Ivy League.
    http://shine.yahoo.com/event/backtoschool/americas-best-college-497708/

  296. BlackIronCookingInstrument says:

    dolphinbeater

    We would all be better off if Big daddy O just decided to fire up the old Soilent Green machine. There is certainly enough lard to go around. Maybe then we can start to weed out the the fatties and the idiots. Fortunately that would include most of the politicians.

    And you dont need no stinking medical board, just a knife and a chain link cage. All cases in front of the board go into the cage, the knife is tossed in and only 1 person is allowed to walk out.

  297. brewcrew says:

    Not that it means anything to anyone on this site, but today I can stand up and yell out “Vindication is mine!”

    http://www.mlsfinder.com/nj_trend/kwprinceton/index.cfm?action=listing_detail&property_id=5515967&searchkey=f818949c-c6fd-de67-3f74-9e40ff94c658&npp=10&sr=1

    When this slice of heaven hit the market over 2 years ago, the seller was asking $565,000 (FSBO) and got many looks. I commented he’d be lucky to get $375,000 and was laughed at.

    It has been a long, slow grind but he hit $375,000 today. On his 3rd realtor.

    House was originally bought for $70,000 by the same owner back in 1970.

  298. ricky_nu says:

    one of the funniest things I have seen in a while

    http://ballhype.com/video/george_brett_auto_tuned/

  299. ricky_nu says:

    one of the funniest thing I have seen in a while:

    http://ballhype.com/video/george_brett_auto_tuned/

  300. SysAdmin says:

    I ran a numbers test with my limited math capability – dividends paid by my
    401k money market fund and my bank’s cd and this was my finding and
    I followed it through by moving funds betwen my 401k Money Market fund to
    my banks CD account :

    1) For moving about $35000 from my MMF in 401k to CD, in absolute dollar terms, I would make about $1.18 a month overall. (After considering the fact that the interest paid is post-tax).
    2) The interest I pay to my 401k account is about 1200% of the dividend I would have got, had I not moved the funds.

    Some factors(benefits), I could not quantify :
    1) The benefit of FDIC insurance for the funds in CD account, where none exists for the 401k.
    2) Each month, my 401k MM fund is coming more closer to breaking the buck
    3) The post-tax dollars that I pay as interest would continue to grow tax-free, in the upcoming hyper-inflation phase.
    4) My bank(discover)’s 12 month CD can be closed prematurely without penalty,
    if I loose my job(401k outstanding loan becomes due in 90 days after job
    termination)

  301. stan says:

    Brewcrew- savor it. Its a good feeling

  302. stan says:

    West point and annapolis have been known to have just as if not better academics than the Ivies for 200 years. Thanks for the news flash.

  303. grim says:

    Jeff Otteau being quoted as an “economist” on labor matters by the AP? This isn’t a slam on Jeff, he is a great guy and a fantastic appraiser, but wouldn’t necessarily be the first “go-to” guy if I needed a labor quote. Were Hughes and Seneca unavailable?

    I look forward to the day when I can have the title as well. Hell, if Ben Stein is an economist, why can’t I be?

    From the AP:

    Newark jobless rate surged to 14.3 percent in June

    Job losses are undermining turnaround efforts in New Jersey’s largest city, where the unemployment rate reached a 15-year high in June.

    Newark’s unemployment rate surged to 14.3 percent, the highest level since July 1994, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That compares with 13.4 percent in May and 9.5 percent for June 2008.

    “That’s dangerous,” economist Jeffrey G. Otteau said of the Newark jobless rate. “That rate is right on the bubble in terms of the point at which people begin to give up hope. At 16 percent things start to look hopeless.”

    Otteau said he does not expect to see sustained improvement in the U.S. labor market until next year, despite a national report released Friday that showed an unexpected drop in the jobless rate.

  304. grim says:

    Ha ha ha, he said “bubble”.

  305. SG says:

    Off to Six Flags today. Have great day everyone.

  306. grim says:

    Off to Six Flags today

    Last weekend for the Sussex County Fair.

    I prefer to hang with the rednecks. Turkey calling contest today, as is the tractor pull.

  307. SG says:

    Not a big 6 flags fan, but had free tickets. So got to use them someday.

  308. Essex says:

    315. Sussex is red neck lite. Want real red necks you should cross the Mason Dixon Line.

  309. ruggles says:

    318 – Want real red necks you should cross the Mason Dixon Line.

    No, just the Delaware River.

  310. willwork4beer says:

    Plenty of rednecks right here in Jersey. Ever talk to Piney?

  311. willwork4beer says:

    Or a piney…

  312. Shore Guy says:

    I once worked at Great Adventure and have not been back since.

    Grim, if you have a report from your trip, please share. We are trying to figure out whether to take the kids there, as they have grown bored with forays to the boardwalk.

  313. Shore Guy says:

    Anyone heading over to the Pretenders in Asbury Sunday?

  314. Shore Guy says:

    Stu/Gator,

    Have your Red Bank friends refinanced in the past week? They are about due, no?

  315. yo'me says:

    South of the Driscoll bridge,Dixie chicks?

  316. Shore Guy says:

    More Dixie Chicken.

  317. Shore Guy says:

    This from the NY Times. I guess all is well again:

    Job Losses Slow, Signaling Momentum for a Recovery
    By LOUIS UCHITELLE and JACK HEALY
    The most heartening employment report since last summer suggested on Friday that a recovery is under way despite the reluctance of the nation’s businesses to resume hiring or even stop shedding jobs.

  318. Shore Guy says:

    Avon beckons.

  319. Shore Guy says:

    Kettle,

    Public pensions (social security, I assume woukd be the US lingo) from the BBC::

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_8191000/8191011.stm?

  320. yo'me says:

    If liquidity from the banks trickles and the only real lender now is fannie and freddie,fannie is dying,will there be enough liquidity to support a housing recovery?
    Lets bring the Gotti’s to kick some banks.

  321. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [278] grim

    so, no GTG news?

  322. grim says:

    Anyone have any suggestions?

    Gold Coast? JC? Hoboken? Too crowded? Haughtyville or Brigadoon perhaps?

  323. yo'me says:

    Former Jack Daniel’s master distiller dies at 69.
    What good is jack now.

  324. yo'me says:

    U.S. and Britain again target Afghan poppies
    Officials hope to provide alternatives before planting season begins in Oct.

    Poor track record
    But many previous U.S.-funded crop-substitution programs have failed as well, from Asia to Latin America. A similar plan in Colombia, begun in the late 1990s, has barely made a dent in the level of cocaine production, although the country began to stabilize in recent years as its U.S.-trained military adopted new strategies against armed insurgents and civil institutions were strengthened.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32339723/ns/world_news-washington_post/

  325. NJGator says:

    Shore 324 – Not yet. I don’t think they have any equity left. But they did just redo a bathroom. I think it’s all on the credit cards from this point forward.

  326. still_looking says:

    …working tonight.. no GTG for me :(

    sl

  327. lostinny says:

    Nom
    Did you get the email I sent you a while back? Never heard back from you.

  328. Kettle1 says:

    Shore

    Pushing people into Automatic enrollment for pensions will not have a net positive effect unless the pension travels with the worker.

    Too many programs are incompatible with the increasingly mobile worker who will change jobs many times in his career and is likely to change careers as well.

    If pension plans are not mobile with the worker then you are essentially instituting a new tax. Although the investment groups handlig said pension plans will enjoy the cash

  329. yo'me says:

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – The son of actor Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas could face life in prison for selling large amounts of an illegal drug over a three-year period before his arrest late last month, court records show.

    What a waste of life.

  330. JS says:

    Frank you going?

    North Bergen condo auction

    http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6953931

    NORTH BERGEN (WABC) — It’s a sign of the times. A developer of a condo project in New Jersey is about to auction of his half million dollar apartments. Twenty units will go on the block on Sunday at the Meadowland and the starting bid is what was once the down payment–less than $100,000.

    And they have all the amenities from granite counter tops, exotic hardwood floors, jacuzzi’s to walk-in closets. The condominiums at Carlson’s Court in North Bergen are now being auctioned in a builder’s close-out.

    There are 20 condos, 16-two bedrooms, four-one bedrooms in six models. But in a troubled housing market, even with units coming with covered parking on Kennedy Blvd. in North Bergen, the auction becomes necessary, and auction companies say business is up 50%.

    In addition to the winning bid, you can expect to pay a buyer’s premium of 10% closing costs–roughly two to three percent and common charges ranging from 78 to 102 dollars a month.

  331. Shore Guy says:

    Kettle,

    Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

    The B.O gang does NOT need anymore ideas for new taxes.

  332. Shore Guy says:

    From the BBC re Hoboken:

    Helicopter and a light aircraft are reported to have collided over the Hudson River near the US city of New York.
    US media reports say that both aircraft crashed into the river after the impact.
    Witnesses say the accident happened near Hoboken, New Jersey.
    There was no immediate information on casualties and the cause of the incident was not known.

  333. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    I just saw that crash with my own eyes. Was up at Pier A park shooting the sh*t with some friends, heard a big boom, turn around see the plane go one way into the Hudson and the helicopter hover for a second before nose diving into the river. Seriously doubt there was any survivors. Scary stuff. They have way to much sh*t flying around the Hudson.

  334. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    HAHAHA just saw an add for Segway tours. The first picture is a bunch of fat suburbanite tourists in a gaggle on Segways!!! Coke and Doritos should be all over this sponsorship opportunity!

    All hail the United States of Fat! Now we don’t even have to walk to be obnoxious tourists!

  335. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    Barbara,

    Hot Damn woman, I best grab my Nikon, Its time to go a hunting.

    FUPA hunting, who knew!!!!

  336. JS says:

    Bonus points if you get them to chase you.

  337. BlackironCookingInstrument says:

    Since this a real estate blog. Had an aspiring FUPA neighbor explain ow we have hit bottom and in 2 or 3 years he will be able to sell his house for about 700,000. He paid 500,000 in 2007 with a NINJA.

    …Foreclosed FUPA?

  338. Barbara says:

    349.
    Foreclosed FUPA family? Is there a schwaggle living under that roof?

  339. Barbara says:

    348 I mean

  340. Shore Guy says:

    Hehe,

    Get my e-mail from Grim, I know some folls at FAA who may want to have you speak with NTSB.

  341. Shore Guy says:

    folks, even

  342. Shore Guy says:

    Actual greenish shoots:

    The boardwalk in Asbury was quite active today. Lunch at Langosta was quite good, but they CANNOT make a Painkiller.

  343. lostinny says:

    353 Shore
    What’s in a painkiller?

  344. Shore Guy says:

    Lost,

    It is a concoction involving orange juice, grapefruite juice, creme de coconut, and rum that originated in a bar in the BVI and is my new favorite summertime mixed drink.

    NJC can give the complete scoop on them. Suffice it to say they are QUITE good.

  345. lostinny says:

    Shore
    That sounds good. Too bad I don’t have anything but orange juice here. :)

  346. NJGator says:

    I can use a pain killer. Day with the parents. Long car ride and forced to listen to Fox News Channel. Oy.

  347. Kettle1 says:

    Shore

    you will end blasted laying out on the deck of a catamaran wondering why all the stars are spinning in the sky, if moderation is not observed…. And wait, how did I end upon a boat????

  348. Kettle1 says:

    Shore

    how did I end up on this boat, and who is this “foxy” guy we are going to see

  349. chicagofinance says:

    hoboken411
    August 8th 2009 – 13:08:42 |
    I have to include this comment to show everyone HOW STUPID some people can be.

    My eyewitness from Pier A, had been there since the beginning, and as people started to gather here are some quotes from others.

    1. One guy asked what happened, the witness explained – the man then responds “did this happen today?”

    2. Same thing, an old guy asked what happened, was told two aircraft collided and disintegrated, crashed – then asks “was anyone hurt?”

  350. yo'me says:

    Geithner asks Congress for higher U.S. debt limit

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner formally requested that Congress raise the $12.1 trillion statutory debt limit on Friday, saying that it could be breached as early as mid-October.

    “It is critically important that Congress act before the limit is reached so that citizens and investors here and around the world can remain confident that the United States will always meet its obligations,” Geithner said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that was obtained by Reuters

    http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE57706N20090808

  351. Sean says:

    FOX NEWS is airing pics of the collision mid air and the splash into the Hudson.

  352. yo'me says:

    CBO: U.S. Debt At Danger Level

    Monday, July 20, 2009 9:38 AM

    By: Julie Crawshaw Article Font Size

    A new report from the Congressional Budget Office said the government simply can’t continue going on the way it has been — at least not under current law.

    Federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run, and rising costs for health care for an aging population only will make matters worse.

    “Unless revenues increase just as rapidly, the rise in spending will produce growing budget deficits,” according to the report, which will result in more borrowing overseas, less domestic investment and further harm to the U.S. economy.

    In other words, the government either has to spend a lot less or tax a lot more.

    Almost all of the projected growth in federal spending other than interest payments on the debt stems from the three largest entitlement programs — Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

    According to the CBO, if current laws do not change federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid combined will grow from roughly 5 percent of GDP to almost 10 percent by 2035.

    By 2080, the government would be spending almost as much, as a share of the economy, on its two major health care entitlement programs as it has spent on all of its programs and services in recent years.

    The unfunded entitlement debt for the Social Security and Medicare programs has reached $59 trillion.

    “That is $500,000 for every one of the 150 million households in America,”

  353. Sean says:

    getting heated down in Miami.

    TAMPA, Fla. — A town hall meeting to discuss President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan turned into a heated confrontation after more than a thousand people showed up in Tampa to voice their opinion.

    Opponents shouted “Read the bill!” and held up signs as U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor attempted to address the crowd Thursday. There were reports of shoving and one man had his shirt ripped as a volunteer attempted to close a meeting room door. No one was arrested.

    The Tampa chapter of the activist 9-12 Project says it encouraged members to show up and ask questions. The group was developed by Fox News Channel commentator Glenn Beck.

    Police say an estimated 1,500 attended. Many had to stand in the hallway or outside the room.

    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1175951.html

  354. Barbara says:

    its cute when regular folks unknowingly shill for corporations because they are dumb enough to believe that there will be death panels and other such hyperbole.

  355. NJCoast says:

    Shore Guy-

    NO GRAPEFRUIT JUICE!

    Orange juice
    Pinapple juice
    Creme of Coco
    Fresh grated nutmeg

  356. NJCoast says:

    ooops and Mango Rum

  357. bi says:

    chinese market got a bit juicy recently. if this down trend continues on monday, it would be good time for masturbation if your average cost of fxp is over $30.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=%5EHSCE#chart9:symbol=^hsce;range=6m;indicator=volume;charttype=candlestick;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

  358. Firestormik says:

    Saturday night Myrtle Beach report:
    Pretty packed, but my resort still have a lot of empties even with 20% off on already lowered price.
    Funniest thing! We had some time to spent since they didn’t have our suite ready at 8 am in the morning (check in time is 4pm). So to kill time, we desided to go to a mall. Quick search on TomTom gave me Myrtle Beach Square Mall. When we arrived there we found a huge empty parking lot. Yes :) Quick search on google relieved this
    http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/inlet_square_mall.html
    Driving around the neighborhood saw a lot of empty boarded retail fronts.

  359. Shore Guy says:

    PINEAPPLE!!!!! Doh! That explains some things.

    Thanks for setting my middle-aged mind right.

  360. Shore Guy says:

    Finally, I have a compelling use for all the nutmeg we bring back from Grenada.

  361. Shore Guy says:

    Toms River was a mess tonight. Some SWAT action, or so it has been reported, closed the bridge to Seaside (Mathis Bridge for those who keep track of such things) and they closed 37 and had people turning around on the bridge itself and heading back to the mainland. What a mess.

  362. Shore Guy says:

    “how did I end up on this boat, and who is this “foxy” guy we are going to see”

    Ket,

    I am not judgemental, if he is nice and you two hit it off, enjoy….

  363. Shore Guy says:

    “oops and Mango Rum”

    NJC,

    Mrs. Shore and I will be out looking for some tomorrow. A Painkiller seems like the perfect libation before strolling up to the Stone Pony for the Pretenders. Even better without grapefruit juice.

  364. Shore Guy says:

    About the plane crash today, if you saw it, the NTSB will want to hear from you. If you want, feel free to get my e-mail from Grim and I will pass on yours to one of the people I know at FAA and they can get you to the accident investigators.

  365. Shore Guy says:

    It is rather disconcerting to learn that an old friend is in hospice and not expected to survive the night, even when one has not seen the person in some years. It helps remind one of how short life is.

  366. RayC says:

    Shore – so sorry to hear that. You are right, every once in a while you get a reminder about how lucky you are, well, just to be alive.

  367. Shore Guy says:

    Ray,

    You are so right. One can get caught up in the minutia of daily living and lose the appreciation for the simple fact OF living.

    As SL might say, get a checkup.

    At least in Wating for Gadot, Gadot never showed. Death, in contrast is not so obliging.

  368. RayC says:

    Shore,

    Right now my 14 month old son is up and down all night. He is fine, just not tired. So in the spirit of life’s too short, I am enjoying the company. He just watched a little bit of “Office Space” with me. He handed me the remote. What could I do?

  369. Shore Guy says:

    Ray,

    Time well spent.

  370. yo'me says:

    Wessel drives this key point well: enormous power has been give to a small number of people who were not chosen by the citizens.

    We are fortunate they have mostly used that power wisely, he says, but do we want to bet our future prosperity on their actions when we come to the next “Great Panic”?

    http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5764HI20090807

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