Baking her way out of foreclosure

From the Record:

Teaneck woman hopes bake sale will help forestall foreclosure

Facing foreclosure on her Teaneck home, Angela Logan is navigating a difficult time like a true PTA mom.

She’s having a bake sale.

The 55-year-old actress, comic and divorced mother of three sons has spread word among her friends and Teaneck’s arts community: Buy one of my famous apple cakes and help save my house.

Since coming up with the idea a week ago, Logan has received orders for 42 “mortgage apple cakes,” at $40 each. That’s nearly halfway toward her goal of selling 100 cakes by July 26, when an initial payment of $2,559.94 is due her lender under a federal program created to help homeowners in financial distress.

After meeting with a credit counselor, she turned to the Making Home Affordable program, established by the Obama administration to help struggling homeowners reduce their mortgage payments.

According to the terms of her modified loan, Logan has to make three payments of $2,559.94 to Bank of America, which took over Countrywide, by Oct. 1. She thinks she’ll be in good shape if she can get past the first payment.

Enter the apple cake.

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

374 Responses to Baking her way out of foreclosure

  1. DL says:

    Reported this with a straight face.

    “New Jersey’s unemployment rate reached its highest level in 32 years in June.
    Most of the job loss was in the private sector.”

    http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/NJ_jobless_rate_at_32-year_high.html

  2. yo'me says:

    China’s Rebound Carries U.S., Asia Toward Recovery

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a8jNygDI7Ih0

  3. yo'me says:

    Obama Stimulus Fails to Reboot Economy as No Multiplier Effect

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aV_ua6MsOc4M

  4. nynj says:

    What happens after 3 payments? How will mortgage suddenly become affordable? Does she plan to pay the entire home by selling apple cakes?

    Not surprised, that myopic folks like her are stuck, and still want to make 3 payments, when she would clearly go bankrupt sooner or later. The best recourse for her is to not make a single payment, and stay in the house free for whatever time foreclosure proceedings take.

  5. grim says:

    Hid the stream on the mortgage until I can confirm that the records I’m looking at are the right person.

  6. What happens after 3 payments?

    I was wondering the same thing. There are another 357 payments to worry about. That’s a lot of cake.

  7. serenity now says:

    Now that the cake lady’s plan is public – in the
    paper- I wonder if the IRS will come looking for their
    piece of cake. Got milk?

  8. leftwing says:

    Re: Old GM

    “Lets all buy and sell a stock that was declared to be worth nothing by a judge!”

    People are so lazy and stupid that they can’t even take the time to make a few clicks or one phone call and find out they are putting their savings into a company everyone, including the management and the courts, say will have no value.

    I surrender to the nanny state. Free government healthcare for everyone, public pensions all around, engineered outcomes to get to equal treatment not equal opportunity. Let any 350lb smoking, CHD patient become a firefighter. I give up.

  9. yikes says:

    wonder if john-boy has any theories about this

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/07172009/news/regionalnews/manhattan/flat_tire_slay_179750.htm

    who ‘goes out’ at 10 pm at night to that area?

    at least that rag of a paper buried the ‘other possibilities’ near the bottom.

  10. nynj says:

    Why cant folks conclude that they scr*wed up? Why waste energy fighting a loser’s battle and sell cakes? The first step in learning is to admit that you made a mistake.

    Actually her plan would be really good, if she plans to milk the “sympathy dollars” – selling her cakes and keep the money to herself. And then plead poverty and ask for more time from the bank. That would maximize her returns, given the current circumstances. But only if she has the brains to carry it out.

  11. PA Bound says:

    From above article [2],

    Government-influenced spending is driving more than four- fifths of China’s expansion, according to the World Bank.

    The Chinese government unveiled its stimulus package in November, four months before Obama’s measures were approved.

  12. Pol Clot says:

    First, the town’s health department will issue a cease-and-desist on commercial baking in her home.

    Then, the IRS and NJ Dept of Finance will swoop in for unpaid taxes.

    Good plan there.

  13. sas says:

    “The 55-year-old actress, comic and divorced mother of three sons”

    ” initial payment of $2,559.94 is due her lender under a federal program created to help homeowners in financial distress.”

    i would buy one of these lady cakes, if she doesn’t put that money to the house payment. This lady should wither just walk and away and move in with one of her sons, or one of her dead beat sons should help her out other than having mom bake cakes to pay the bills.

    but as I read this, i have to wonder. I know some so called actress & stand up comedians. They don’t make alot of money, and its more part time hobby, rather than a full time job that pays the bills. How did this lady hook a house?

    so, sweetheart, if your out there. Put away the apron, and just walk from the house, or just quit maken the payments and keep the change.

    The bank isn’t going to do anything, the local sherif ain’t going to kick you out, they can’t turn off your utilities. Just don’t pay.

    hell, anyone out there whom is sweating, just stop maken payments and keep the jack.

    SAS

  14. PA Bound says:

    From above article [3]

    So far, about $60 billion in spending and $43 billion in tax relief has been dispensed, accounting for 13 percent of the plan’s total.

    Why is everyone so quick to declare failure of the US stimulus package when only 13% of it has been dispensed?

  15. sas says:

    walk away baby…. just walk away….

    I should make a country and western song about walking away from the house payments.

    I bet it would sell. Except, I can’t carry a tune.
    (but, i am good at carrying other things)

    :P
    SAS

  16. sas says:

    “Why is everyone so quick to declare failure of the US stimulus package when only 13% of it has been dispensed?”

    preliminary results.

    besides, if Omama has its name on it. Its an automatic failure.

    SAS

  17. nynj says:

    walk away baby…. just walk away….

    Do whatever u can … but no payments to greedy bank… do garage sale or bake cakes ….

    Walk away baby… just walk away …

    Good times on the horizon … Pour oil in foreclosure fire … Make homes affordable once again …

    Walk away baby… just walk away …

  18. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Re last night’s Chi vs. Mish commercial paper market throwdown,

    Chi is correct CFO’s are very wise chasing yield. After all many of them were invested heavily in the ARS market. We all know how that turned out:) Another Wall Street product that was “as good as cash”;)

  19. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    China is not undergoing a rebound. They are undergoing a government mandated lending spree that is resulting in stock market and real estate bubbles that will inevitably pop.

  20. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    “Top Three Orwellian Comments Of All Times

    •An American major after the destruction of the Vietnamese Village Ben Tre: “It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.”
    •Vice President Joe Biden: “We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt.”
    •President George W. Bush: “I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.”

    This sadly is what has become of our great nation.”

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/07/orwellian-comments-vice-president-biden.html

  21. kettle1 says:

    eveyone see the bombings Indonesian????

    /back to stealth mode

  22. sas says:

    speaking of country and western song …

    I one time went to a David Allen Co concert in Oklahoma back in the i think it was 86. at the time, i was with my third wife, whom was a women of color.

    why we went to this concert, i have no idea.. stupidity..?

    well, we were in the near the back of the fairgrounds, some motorcycle 6-7 MC types (notorious MC club with the black leather jackets) start saying some nasty comments to me and my wife. It made Jackie uncomfortable, almost to a tear. which in turn, upset me.

    i ask those guys if they could refrain from further comments, as its upsetting the wife. he answers me with a silver blade. so, not wanting to be gutted in broad daylight, i left and made a few promises as I walked away.

    Later that night, I happen to learn where this MC club is located.

    lets just say, I always keep my promises.
    :)
    SAS

  23. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    kettle,

    time to kill a celebrity

  24. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Interesting read re our gubmint debt:

    http://sprott.com/Docs/marketsataglance/June_2009.pdf

  25. BC Bob says:

    “walk away baby…. just walk away….”

    SAS,

    Theme song.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUTj4jgj1s0&feature=related

  26. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Looks like gubmints ministry of financial misinformation was caught in the act again:

    “Stocks ignited in the early afternoon when CNBC and other fin media outlets reported that renowned doomster, Prof. Roubini, said the worst of the financial and economic crisis is behind us. After the close Roubini denied that he had changed his forecast. This led astute operators to wonder if someone planted the erroneous story as part of a well-orchestrated option expiration squeeze.”

    http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/07/cnbc-vs-denninger-vs-roubini/

  27. Pol Clot says:

    vodka (19)-

    God bless middle America.

  28. BC Bob says:

    “•Vice President Joe Biden: “We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt.”

    Idiots that never saw it coming, had no idea what it was when it hit and now our hope. I can’t buy gold fast enough. I hope the summer seasonal brings it down to $850-$880.

  29. grim says:

    I thought the theme song was already written.

    No Depression in Heaven, AP Carter (1936)

    For fear the hearts of men are failing,
    For these are latter days we know
    The Great Depression now is spreading,
    God’s word declared it would be so

    I’m going where there’s no depression,
    To the lovely land that’s free from care
    I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble,
    My home’s in Heaven, I’m going there

    In that bright land, there’ll be no hunger,
    No orphan children crying for bread,
    No weeping widows, toil or struggle,
    No shrouds, no coffins, and no death

    This dark hour of midnight nearing
    And tribulation time will come
    The storms will hurl in midnight fear
    And sweep lost millions to their doom

    (As performed by Uncle Tupelo)

  30. annie says:

    $40 a cake (less the cost of materials). She will have to sell a lot of cake. I would rather buy crumb cake from B & W Bakery in Hackensack any day of the week.

  31. Painhrtz says:

    Uggh Cristians, can’t live with them can’t keep lions in the city limits.

    I’m going to have a cupcake sale to raise my DP from 20 to 30 percent anyone want help. We can call it The help a homeowner be releved from their burden bake-a-thon

  32. BC Bob says:

    JB [30],

    He sang it you you at the Asbury Park, gtc;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ps1oRu0Qxg

  33. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    This is a must watch clip from Glen Beck, yes the right wing wack-job who is WRONG on so many things, but he is actually RIGHT for once:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/glenn-beck-explains-goldman-web

  34. BC Bob says:

    That’s; to you.

  35. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Drive By Truckers sum it up:

    THE RIGHTEOUS PATH
    I got a brand new car that drinks a bunch of gas
    I got a house in a neighborhood that’s fading fast
    I got a dog and a cat that don’t fight too much
    I got a few hundred channels to keep me in touch
    I got a beautiful wife and three tow-headed kids
    I got a couple of big secrets I’d kill to keep hid
    I don’t know God but I fear his wrath
    I’m trying to keep focused on the righteous path

    I got a couple of opinions that I hold dear
    A whole lot of debt and a whole lot of fear
    I got an itch that needs scratching but it feels alright
    I got the need to blow it out on Saturday night
    I got a grill in the backyard and a case of beers
    I got a boat that ain’t seen the water in years
    More bills than money, I can do the math
    I’m trying to keep focused on the righteous path

    I’m trying to keep focused as I drive down the road
    On the ditches and the curves and the heavy load
    Ain’t bitching bout things that aren’t in my grasp
    Just trying to hold steady on the righteous path

    There’s this friend of mine I’ve known all my life
    Who can’t get it right no matter how hard he tries
    He’s got kids he don’t see and several ex-wives
    And a list of bad decisions bout eight miles wide
    Trouble with the law and the IRS
    And where he’ll get the money’s anybody’s guess
    He’s a long way off but if you was to ask
    He’d say he’s trying to stay focused on the righteous path

    Trying to keep focused as we drive down the road
    Like we did back in High School before the world turned cold
    Now the brakes are thin and the curves are fast
    We’re trying to hold steady on the righteous path

    We’re hanging out and we’re hanging on
    We’re trying the best we can to keep keeping on
    We got messed up minds for these messed up times
    And it’s a thin thin line separating his from mine

    Trying to hold steady on the righteous path
    80 miles and hour with a worn out map
    No time for self-pity or self-righteous crap
    Trying to stay focused on the righteous path

  36. grim says:

    If she has lived in the home for 20 years, where did the equity go?

    A PITI of $2,600 on a modified loan implies something on the order of a $375,000 loan at 4%, with somewhere around $7,000 property taxes.

    Homes in that area, 20 years back, were somewhere around $150k-$200k. Coincidentally, nearing the peak of the last bubble.

  37. grim says:

    From Bloomberg:

    Manhattan Storefronts Hit Highest Retail Vacancy Rate Since ’01

    When Barnes & Noble Inc. closed two stores on East 86th Street this year and Circuit City Stores Inc. shut another, neighborhood volunteers took the vacancies into their own hands. They sent e-mails to their favorite retailers asking them to rent the spaces.

    Manhattan shopping strips from the Upper East Side to SoHo are flooded with empty storefronts. The borough’s second-quarter vacancy rate rose to 12.4 percent and now stands at the highest since 2001 as rising unemployment and the recession curb spending, according to data compiled by Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the retail leasing and sales division at Manhattan- based Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

    “The consumer just stopped shopping,” Consolo said.

    More than 15 percent of the 185 stores on Madison Avenue between 57th and 72nd streets are vacant or about to lose tenants, according to New York-based broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. In SoHo, 11 percent of the 551 stores are listed as available for lease. About 9 percent of the 265 stores on the Upper West Side are without tenants or soon will be.

    Rents may fall as much as 23 percent by the fourth quarter from a year earlier and may continue dropping through 2010 given the pace of unemployment and consumer demand, according to Sam Chandan, chief economist at research firm Real Estate Econometrics in New York.

  38. Pol Clot says:

    Green shoots:

    (ESPN)- The allure of the league’s highest-paid player may have worn off on the fans — only 23,238 attended Thursday’s match, half the number that took in the match last year and a third of the fans that showed up for Beckham’s debut the year before.

    “I don’t know. The first year was impressive, but we are in a recession, maybe that’s part of it,” Beckham said.

  39. Sean says:

    Sure let’s steal to make the mortgage payments.

    MIDDLETOWN — A former executive director of the Poricy Park Conservancy stole $10,219 from the nonprofit organization’s coffers so she could make mortgage payments on her Bridgewater home, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said.
    Advertisement

    Kathryn Kinney, 42, is charged with third-degree theft and third-degree misapplication of entrusted property, the office said.

    An investigation revealed that Kinney took the money from the organization’s accounts on Sept. 27, 2006, so she could forestall foreclosure proceedings on her home, the office said.

    Kinney’s employment with the conservancy, which helps maintain and preserve the township-owned park, ended in June 2007, the office said.

    http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907100353

  40. House Whine says:

    Joseph A. Bank is advertising a “buy one sportcoat, get TWO free”. Wish the retailers for women’s clothes were that desperate – I would love to buy one dress and get two dresses for free. For now, it’s just the clearance rack at Macy’s for me.

  41. Painhrtz says:

    Sean at least she won’t have to worry about housing

  42. #41 – House Whine – Try gilt.com

  43. Shore Guy says:

    Baking her way out of trouble. lol, one has to give her an A For effort and an F for execution. I suspect she is not using all stainless, has not had the necessary nutritional analysisconducted aand is not labling properly, is likely violating various health, zoning, and tax laws — likely not registered to collect sales taxand not giving it to Trenton. I suspect she is/was not planning on filing a Schedule C and declaring the income and paying her NY, NJ, and both employee’s and employer’s share of the payroll tax. If she is at just 28% tax bracket, once one adds in the state income tax, and the sales tax due, not to mentin the cost of raw materials and production, she is making, well, not much. Add health code fines, etc., and she may well be losing money on each.

    I admire her pluck but, if she had planned to evade taxes, she was not wise calling attention to herself.

  44. Pol Clot says:

    Sean (40)-

    To make it worse, she owns a moderate income unit. Tax assessed at 99K, $1,800 property taxes/yr.

  45. Shore Guy says:

    The baker woman should have had Non set up a 401-c(3) focused on helping struggling homeowners andit could hace raised the $ legally. Of course, thre would have been imputed income, but it avoids some of the other issues.

  46. John says:

    Remember the other day when I talked about 4.0 GPA eggheads who would’nt know what to do if their car broke down in Harlem when they were by themselves, funny huh.

    yikes says:
    July 17, 2009 at 7:16 am
    wonder if john-boy has any theories about this

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/07172009/news/regionalnews/manhattan/flat_tire_slay_179750.htm

    who ‘goes out’ at 10 pm at night to that area?

    at least that rag of a paper buried the ‘other possibilities’ near the bottom.

  47. Shore Guy says:

    501 not 401,. Doh!

  48. grim says:

    From MarketWatch:

    U.S. June housing starts up 3.6% to 582,000

    U.S. June housing starts higher than 531,000 expected

    U.S. June housing starts strongest since Nov.

    U.S. housing starts down 46% year-on-year

  49. BC Bob says:

    he [34],

    A political conglomerate with a hedge fund tied to its hip.

  50. frank says:

    “The 55-year-old actress, comic and divorced mother of three sons”

    Foreclose, foreclose, foreclose.

  51. grim says:

    From MarketWatch:

    U.S. housing starts up 2nd straight month in June

    New construction of U.S. houses expanded for the second straight month in June after hitting a record low in April, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Starts rose 3.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted 582,000 annualized units stronger than the 531,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. This is the highest level of starts since last November. Starts of new single-family homes rose by 14.4% to 470,000 in June, while starts of large apartment units fell 29.4% to 101,000. Building permits, a leading indicator of housing construction, rose 8.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 563,000. This is the highest level of permits since December.

  52. BC Bob says:

    “U.S. June housing starts up 3.6% to 582,000”

    Fantastic. More supply.

  53. grim says:

    Do we really need more houses?

  54. grim says:

    Beat me to it.

  55. John says:

    The 55 year old actress has three sons and an ex husband, maybe brothers and sisters, maybe mom and dad could still be alive, she has aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and friends and neighbors and her temple or church. 20 years ago that is where people turned for help. Why is it now society’s problem?

  56. Sean says:

    re: #47 John – very prescient of you.

    Now tell us where Ron Mexico is going to end up after he gets out of home arrest on Monday.

  57. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    BC,

    And the people in this country could care less. “It’s all too complicated for me to follow. Did you see who got voted off American Idol last night?”

  58. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    ““U.S. June housing starts up 3.6% to 582,000″”

    To paraphrase to old Union adage “Go ahead, keep up that pace, you’re going to work yourself right out of a job.”

    “Go ahead, keep on building, you’re going to build yourself right into a bankruptcy filing”

  59. RentinginNJ says:

    Why is everyone so quick to declare failure of the US stimulus package when only 13% of it has been dispensed?</i?

    No economic stimulus package has ever been proven to work. Politicians cling to the idea of Keynesian economic stimulus because of our experience with WWII. WWII only provided economic stimulus because the industrial capacity of the rest of the world was destroyed.

    The govt can not create prosperity by printing money or forcibly taking money from its citizens to spend it as the nanny state sees fit. At best, it can only provide the short-term illusion of prosperity.

    Economic recoveries following a recession only come when markets are allowed to destroy the excess, correct the misallocation of capital and allow assets to be appropriately re-priced. Economic stimulus packages only delay and confuse this process.

  60. RentinginNJ says:

    off off

  61. frank says:

    June housing starts and permits were both much stronger than expected, and when combined with upward revisions to both April and May housing starts, provide the best evidence that housing has bottomed.

  62. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [19] kettle

    I saw him on CNN this morning while at the gym. He isn’t the best debater, but he left the CNN reporter stammering and groping. It was actually painful to watch her try to snark her way through the interview.

  63. frank says:

    the Northeast (+28.5%) and Midwest (+33.3%)

    If there was no demand they would not build them.
    Where’s the recession??

  64. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [41] whine

    Jos. A. Bank clothing sucks.

    [46] shore

    I presume you meant 501(c)(3). That would not fly as it doesn’t have a public charitable purpose. Believe me, if I could set up a charity to pay college scholarships to my kids, and get deductions for contributions to it, I’d be all over that like burnt on toast.

    IRS EO division lives to sniff out those kind of scams.

  65. Pol Clot says:

    frank (66)-

    Add that post to your top 10 dumbest utterances here.

    Buy a ticket to Miami, Vegas or Phoenix & go count the number of non-recourse money projects where the builder threw ’em up, then walked away. We’ll be dealing with that crap for decades. They’ll probably be dozered or vandalized before a single buyer or tenant can be found.

    Best of all, perhaps some of the garbage was funded with your pension/401k money.

    While you’re in one of those cities, please also go to a mall and report back to us on what you’ve counted.

    Be forewarned: it may take both your hands to count in some of these locations.

  66. Annie says:

    #64 frank: How can housing have bottomed if inventory is still rising?

  67. zieba says:

    Paper, Scissors, Gold.

    As you may have heard recently, the Comex has asserted their right under their rules to deliver the equivalent paper interest in Exchange Traded Funds such as GLD in lieu of the delivery of physical bullion for those standing for delivery under the rules of the commodity exchange.

    http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2009/07/paper-for-gold.html

  68. Pol Clot says:

    Annie (69)-

    Easy. Just take another draw off the hopeium pipe, and chill out.

  69. 3b says:

    #66 frank Where is the demand coming from in our area?

  70. Pol Clot says:

    zieba (70)-

    Make a note to be fully armed and stocked with provisions when the inevitable failure-to-deliver event occurs.

  71. BC Bob says:

    “Add that post to your top 10 dumbest utterances here.”

    Clot,

    To accurately determine the top 10, you need a blackbox to tally all his slop. Then again, he bought at peak. Nothing else required.

  72. BC Bob says:

    [70],

    The next bubble.

  73. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [67] redux

    “Believe me, if I could set up a charity to pay college scholarships to my kids, and get deductions for contributions to it, I’d be all over that like burnt on toast.”

    Actually, I do have some ideas on that subject.

    For example, and hypothetically speaking, one could create a foreign charity that makes grants to uniquely qualified children for, say, study abroad or educational costs. Or for enrolling in a unique major in college that no one else would even consider–can always change it later. Note that there is (generally) no tax deduction for gifts to foreign charities.

    Couple this with the creation of a US private foundation so you get tax deductions. The foundation might make grants to foreign charities. Kinda like the one you just set up in the caribbean.

  74. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [68] pol clot

    I think he could count to 21 if he gets naked.

  75. Shore Guy says:

    Nom,

    Indeed I meant 501, not 401, andcorrected myself to posts later.

    As for whether there was some public benefit, I agree it is a real stretch, and unlikely to be possible. My intention was just to point out how poorly planned her ostensible plan was. She would be better off working at McDonalds.

    I will leave other suggestions to John, who is far more creative than I.

  76. Shore Guy says:

    Nom,

    Indeed I meant 501, not 401, andcorrected myself to posts later.

    As for whether there was some public benefit, I agree it is a real stretch, and unlikely to be possible. My intention was just to point out how poorly planned her ostensible plan was. She would be better off working at McD0n@ld$.
    I will leave other suggestions to John, who is far more creative than I.

  77. John says:

    Pimco’s Crescenzi Says CIT May Fail as Financial System Changes
    By Thomas R. Keene and Dakin Campbell

    July 17 (Bloomberg) — Pacific Investment Management Co. market strategist Tony Crescenzi said the government will likely let CIT Group Inc. fail as part of efforts to reshape the financial system.

    “We will see changes in the financial system and some of them will have to occur without the government getting involved,” Crescenzi said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio from Pimco’s headquarters in Newport Beach, California. “What matters to investors is whether we evolve in a way that gets us to the end game without a large amount of destruction.”

    CIT, the 101-year-old commercial finance company, is running short of cash and may need as much as $6 billion to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, according to CreditSights Inc. New York-based CIT said yesterday it’s in talks with potential lenders after failing to receive federal guarantees for its bonds.

    Pimco, the world’s largest bond fund manager, has forecast a “new normal” in the global economy that will include heightened government regulation, lower consumption and slower growth.

  78. 3b says:

    It’s baaaaack!!! I know, I know you are all tired of seeing it, but it is back again, at even better new improved price of 819K!!! You can be in for the 3 day Labor Day weekend, but you have to hurry hurry.

    http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2931931&id=999999

  79. John says:

    considering the low quality of the gene pool on this site I think you are worrying a little too much about having to pay for your kids ivy league college tuition.

  80. Secondary Market says:

    look what a little creativity will do…. 500% profit

    http://tinyurl.com/create.php

  81. ricky_nu says:

    re #80 –

    nice box!

  82. dolphinbeater says:

    It is precisely this gene pool, and similarly deficient gene pools across the country, that Obama seeks to perpetuate through universal health care.

    The irony is that this site leans Republican, when it is the Republicans who are wise enough to know that most of the schmucks on this site are better off sick and/or dead.

  83. John says:

    BREAKING
    NEWSU.S. says June unemployment topped 10% in 16 states. Michigan becomes the first state in 25 years to exceed 15%.

  84. John says:

    Years ago we rounded the sick up and placed them on islands to die.

    dolphinbeater says:
    July 17, 2009 at 10:15 am
    It is precisely this gene pool, and similarly deficient gene pools across the country, that Obama seeks to perpetuate through universal health care.

    The irony is that this site leans Republican, when it is the Republicans who are wise enough to know that most of the schmucks on this site are better off sick and/or dead.

  85. dolphinbeater says:

    New Jersey isn’t far behind. A few more months. By end of 2010, we’ll have the old new york back again. No yuppies, nothing but hoodrats.

  86. Painhrtz says:

    Jeez has this turned into the john and dolphin bater eugenics report.

  87. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    Re: Kathryn Kinney’s Legal Problems

    I just googled her and I find out she’s a serial offender. Where do we come up with these hacks…….

    “This isn’t the first time Kinney was had her run-ins with Johnny Law (and quite possibly Johnny Walker, too). She got arrested for some alleged drunken insubordination down in Bridgewater, as well:

    “The township’s treasurer and chief financial officer was fired Wednesday, three days after she was arrested in South Bound Brook on disorderly persons and obstructing justice charges. Mayor Patricia Flannery said Thursday that Kathryn Kinney was dismissed for “conduct unbecoming a public official,” as outlined by township ordinance. Kinney, 38, repeatedly screamed profanities and attempted to hit a police officer during the incident, which occurred shortly after midnight Sunday, South Bound Brook police Chief Robert Verry said.”

  88. dolphinbeater says:

    John 86. Indeed. And today we give them profiles on Facebook to rant and rave about health care reform so they can continue their short miserable little lives.

  89. morpheus says:

    John at 81:
    thems fighting words. And I just bought my truck with my AK at #19

    In the immortal words of Ice-Cube “I guess it was a good day, I didn’t have use my AK”

    NJcoast and Shore Guy: Thanks. Trying to hold up.

  90. x-underwriter says:

    SAS (23)
    SAS,
    Are you Hemlock from the Eiger Sanction?

    Love reading your posts

  91. morpheus says:

    #86

    why do I feel the sudden need for dolphin sushi? Clot-any recipes for dolphin?

  92. relo says:

    44: Self-dealing?

  93. Sean says:

    re #86 – John you are forgetting that you already live on an island and a very strange one at that.

  94. Julia says:

    [80] 3b

    I wouldn’t buy a house in River Edge, NJ even if they had given it for free. 3 years ago, when I first came to NJ, we were exploring the new constructions (mcmansions) in that area. Ohhh Goddd!!!! Yes, they are new constructions, but they are in situated on the worst locations. Majority of River Edge is flood zone as far as I know. So much mildew, humidity. Bad, bad, bad location! In my native language, we have expression for beatiful things located in inappropriate places: Butterfly on a horse’s cock!

  95. SS says:

    Does anyone have the formula used for the term “seasonally adjusted”? I know what it means, but I just don’t know the algorithm they use to produce a result.

  96. John says:

    Same as it every was. When they connected NJ to SI and Brooklyn it just created guido and white trash scope creep.

    dolphinbeater says:
    July 17, 2009 at 10:22 am
    New Jersey isn’t far behind. A few more months. By end of 2010, we’ll have the old new york back again. No yuppies, nothing but hoodrats.

  97. safeashouses says:

    I saw part of Dylan Ratigan’s show on MSNBC yesterday. He was saying something like he’s been interviewing peple for 15 years and everyone always claims things will get better in 6 months. He then said something along the lines of when are we going to give up this false hope and admit we have no idea when things will get better.

    So refreshing from the clueless cheerleaders and propagandists dominating MSM.

    Also saw Joe Scarborough say “America meet your future. California”

  98. dolphinbeater says:

    safe 98.

    The future is Texas. Small government, low taxes, gun freaks everywhere. Like something out of mad max.

  99. movedtovermont says:

    Paul Krugman:

    “Over the past generation — ever since the banking deregulation of the Reagan years — the U.S. economy has been “financialized.” The business of moving money around, of slicing, dicing and repackaging financial claims, has soared in importance compared with the actual production of useful stuff. The sector officially labeled “securities, commodity contracts and investments” has grown especially fast, from only 0.3 percent of G.D.P. in the late 1970s to 1.7 percent of G.D.P. in 2007.

    Such growth would be fine if financialization really delivered on its promises — if financial firms made money by directing capital to its most productive uses, by developing innovative ways to spread and reduce risk. But can anyone, at this point, make those claims with a straight face? Financial firms, we now know, directed vast quantities of capital into the construction of unsellable houses and empty shopping malls. They increased risk rather than reducing it, and concentrated risk rather than spreading it. In effect, the industry was selling dangerous patent medicine to gullible consumers.

    Goldman’s role in the financialization of America was similar to that of other players, except for one thing: Goldman didn’t believe its own hype. Other banks invested heavily in the same toxic waste they were selling to the public at large. Goldman, famously, made a lot of money selling securities backed by subprime mortgages — then made a lot more money by selling mortgage-backed securities short, just before their value crashed. All of this was perfectly legal, but the net effect was that Goldman made profits by playing the rest of us for suckers.

    And Wall Streeters have every incentive to keep playing that kind of game.”

    Doesn’t seem like the market will be turning down anytime soon.

  100. relo says:

    Today’s contra-indicator:

    By Jim Cramer

    Housing starts? Up. Median price? Stabilizing. Building permits? Highest level of the year. Construction? Just starting to ramp. I guess foreclosures are killing things. I point out that irony because you know at some point the consensus will be that housing did bottom at the end of June and the foreclosures are running through the pipe totally seamlessly. Last week, Ron Insana said in his “Market Movers” newsletter that it was time to buy the homebuilders. I still think it is early because homebuilder profitability is the big issue and the foreclosures are keeping pricing low. In fact, foreclosures are still driving sales. But foreclosures are finite. And once you start building new homes, you have to be pretty confident that delinquencies have peaked.

    Lot of “if’s” there, eh? Foeclosures running seamlessly? What alternate reality is this? I suppose foreclosures are finite, but with unemployment, that’s quite a moving target to hit. Homebuilders trying to make this self-fulfilling? Maybe it’s build or go belly-up either way?

  101. Secondary Market says:

    has the board heard of zip realty? they claim to pay back the buyer 20% of their commission. would love to read the fine print on that.
    at a quick glance it looks like a realtor.com/zillow/trulia hybrid.

    http://www.ziprealty.com

  102. Qwerty says:

    RE: An American major after the destruction of the Vietnamese Village Ben Tre: “It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.”

    That quote is false:

    http://tinyurl.com/PeterArnettLied

  103. John says:

    July 17 (Bloomberg) — U.S. regulators are poised to seize Corus Bankshares Inc., the Chicago lender crippled by loans for condominium construction, and are preparing to auction the entire company or its assets, people briefed on the matter said.

  104. NJGator says:

    Am watching CNBC while getting ready to start my day. Teaser for next segment asks if the housing sector will raise the economy out of the crapper. Uncontrollable laughter.

  105. Rafsanjani says:

    Can someone help me with an address lookup? MLS 2687319 – rental in New Vernon. Thanks.

  106. yikes says:

    seattle is going to the dogs

    http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrybrewer/2009485940_brewer17.html

    purse snatching in the day. read further down … kid had a stereo stolen out of his truck TWICE in a couple months.

    got sig?

  107. Sean says:

    re #109 – Stereo thiefs can be really quick. Back during the 1992 recession, some thief popped the stereo, radar detector, Kicker box and Amp out of my car in less than the time it took for me to run into 7-11 and get my free refill and a pack of reds, I was glad I did not leave the car running.

    Times are gonna be tough, might as well toughen up, perhaps watch Rocky III a few times and hit the Golds Gym for some squats. Crime is on the rise gonna need to be able to make that 100 yard dash in a respectable time when your car gets a flat in a bad neighborhood.

  108. BC Bob says:

    “seattle is going to the dogs”

    Yikes,

    The pound?

    http://www.strangesports.com/content/item/145926.html

  109. Julius Shulman has passed away. For those who don’t know he was a photographer who is best known for his work with mid century modernist architecture. The link above goes to a gallery of some of his stuff.
    There was a brief discussion two weeks ago about the regrettable lack of Mid-Mod designs in Jersey. The gallery really makes me wish there were more around.

  110. Clotpoll says:

    morph (93)-

    I only have recipes for dolphins that have been caught by emptying the contents of a Mossberg 500 between their eyes.

    Doing it that way renders Flipper way more juicy & tender.

    “Clot-any recipes for dolphin?”

  111. Jim says:

    Clot,
    Dolphin actually tastes pretty good. I avoid buying tuna advertised as dolphin safe. That would be like buying a package of hotdogs that are guaranted to continue no beef.

  112. Jim says:

    continue = contain

  113. Clotpoll says:

    Dunno. I just like going fishing with a high-powered shotgun.

  114. Ben says:

    “Why cant folks conclude that they scr*wed up? Why waste energy fighting a loser’s battle and sell cakes? The first step in learning is to admit that you made a mistake.”

    I would give her a break. At least she’s not begging the government for money to save her. She’s actually trying to work her way out of it.

    If her neighbors want to shell out money to buy cakes from her to save her house, that’s phenomenal, and a huge step in the right direction of the way this country should be operating.

  115. morpheus says:

    clot at #115:

    Yes, i forgot. . . dolphin is such a tough old bird. Possibly even “rock ribbed”. It would need to be tenderized. Preferably with a large sledge. Yummy!

    Note to homeland security: nothing actionable here. please move along.

  116. PA Bound says:

    [62],

    “No economic stimulus package has ever been proven to work.”

    Just because the Cato Institute says something doesn’t make it true. It seems to be working in China. I don’t think its ever a bad idea to improve our infrastructure, assuming its a necessary improvement. Perhaps in your head you imagine people being hired to dig holes in the middle of nowhere only to have the next shift of workers come and fill them back up.

  117. Clotpoll says:

    Nobody should be killing mammal dolphins. The only kind that’s good to eat is the fish dolphin, aka mahi-mahi.

  118. meter says:

    “Re: Kathryn Kinney’s Legal Problems

    I just googled her and I find out she’s a serial offender. Where do we come up with these hacks…….”

    Yeah, but is she hot? Isn’t that what matters (i.e. the Palin effect).

  119. Clotpoll says:

    bound (121)-

    That’s a real knee-slapper, bound. Wait ’til the wheels come off that shambles of a scam.

    “It seems to be working in China.”

  120. Clotpoll says:

    meter (123)-

    You ever see Playboy run a “Girls of the Civil Service” feature?

    She is probably a 280-lb human bacon rind.

  121. Clotpoll says:

    Hey John, a question for you (or anyone else here):

    After how many butt-reamings does Bill Gross go vigilante?

  122. HEHEHE says:

    CIT soars on report of financing talks with banks

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cit-soars-on-report-of-financing-talks-with-banks-20097171249230

    How badly do you think this stock is being manipulated? And for who’s benefit?

  123. Ben says:

    “Just because the Cato Institute says something doesn’t make it true. It seems to be working in China. I don’t think its ever a bad idea to improve our infrastructure, assuming its a necessary improvement. Perhaps in your head you imagine people being hired to dig holes in the middle of nowhere only to have the next shift of workers come and fill them back up.”

    Yeah, but you conveniently ignore the fact that China has accumulated trillions of dollars that have been sitting in vaults for over a decade waiting to be spent. In short, they have the money to provide the stimulus. We don’t.

  124. PA Bound says:

    John says:
    July 17, 2009 at 10:21 am
    Years ago we rounded the sick up and placed them on islands to die.

    dolphinbeater says:
    July 17, 2009 at 10:15 am
    It is precisely this gene pool, and similarly deficient gene pools across the country, that Obama seeks to perpetuate through universal health care.

    The irony is that this site leans Republican, when it is the Republicans who are wise enough to know that most of the schmucks on this site are better off sick and/or dead.

    That’s genius! Not only does it solve the healthcare crisis, but also Social Security and Medicare. Everyone just go off and die! When will some bold Republican in Congress propose this plan?

  125. HEHEHE says:

    Re 98,

    And people wonder why Ratigan was booted by CNBC? I am surprised they haven’t run out Santelli too. Macke likely told like it is a bit too much for their taste’s too.

  126. BC Bob says:

    “No economic stimulus package has ever been proven to work.”

    That is correct. No government in the history of mankind has been able to reverse a business cycle. This will certainly not be the first. Yes, they can redistribute resources, rob the producers to pay the dead wood. Unfortunately, nothing is created. Out of one pocket into another. Sure they can delay, manipulate, hope and freeze. However, Mr Market always wins in the end.

    Currently, there are 25 million unemployed or underemployed, average hourly work week is declining, average hourly earnings are flat. How does a $700B package solve this problem, especially when the recipient’s include bow and arrow makers, nascar and rum distillers?

    We got into this mess as a result of too much stimulus. The fed moved off the gold standard, printed, kept rates at 0% for too long, actually below the inflation rate. The result? Worlwide implosion; corporations, consumers, states and municipalities buried in debt.

    You can’t stop a raging fire with a garden hose. You can’t print debt to repay debt. Losing proposition. The only answer; bring it down to its kness and build back thru savings and production. Otherwise, you’re pissing in the wind. Great theatre, though.

  127. HEHEHE says:

    “Michigan becomes the first state in 25 years to exceed 15%.”

    My brother in Detroit. had two weeks off this month. One a forced week of paid vacation. The other an unpaid furlough week.

  128. PA Bound says:

    128,

    The question is not whether or not we have the money for it. The question is whether or not it works. I don’t know if it works or not. I just know we should upgrade this country’s infrastructure, which had been long neglected.

  129. HEHEHE says:

    “Yes, they can redistribute resources, rob the producers to pay the dead wood.”

    Where did the first 13% of the stimulus go? To prop up state/municipal budgets to prevent the laying off of state employees that played a large role in electing the current administration. Where will the rest go? The same sewer.

  130. Jim says:

    Wait a minute, I think this women is on to something. Maybe Trenton could come up with some type of giant bake sale to balance the budget. How much debt does NJ have?

  131. HEHEHE says:

    CIT will not be bailed out directly by the government. They’ll be bailed out indirectly via JPM and GS.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/article/cit-be-bailed-out-goldman-and-jp-morgan

    At some point the plate juggling is going to come to an end.

  132. PA Bound says:

    We don’t have the money? So what? I once heard Dick Cheney say “Reagan taught us that deficits don’t matter.” Is Dick Cheney ever wrong? Or Ronald Reagan?

  133. BC Bob says:

    “We don’t have the money? So what?”

    War chant in 2003-2004. Present day, bust. Great theatre, though.

  134. Ben says:

    “The question is not whether or not we have the money for it. The question is whether or not it works. I don’t know if it works or not. I just know we should upgrade this country’s infrastructure, which had been long neglected.”

    Yes it is. Because the answer is, it can’t work because you don’t have the money in the first place. If we want to upgrade the country’s infrastructure, then we should stop wasting money on foreign policy and stupid government agencies that specialize in wasting money. A small fraction of the stimulus package is geared towards infrastructure. I’m not arguing against infrastructure investments. What I am arguing against is the other $700 billion in that bill which is clearly a path to waste. Trust me on this one. I already had minor involvement in obtaining stimulus money directly from this bill. There’s no accountability, oversight, or reporting on how it’s going to be spent. A big check is already on it’s way, and someone is going to be acting like Santa Claus.

  135. Ben says:

    “We don’t have the money? So what? I once heard Dick Cheney say “Reagan taught us that deficits don’t matter.” Is Dick Cheney ever wrong? Or Ronald Reagan?”

    Dick Cheney was wrong about everything. Ronald Reagan is the biggest fraud in this nation’s history. Mr. “Government is the Problem” increased the size of government more than all presidents prior to him.

  136. NJLifer says:

    Grim #37

    “If she has lived in the home for 20 years, where did the equity go?”

    She must have refinanced for all those acting/comic lessons.

  137. Shore Guy says:

    Deficits may or may not matter. That said, debt does matter and if one has a huge debtload anything that adds to that load matters.

  138. Shore Guy says:

    “Wait a minute, I think this women is on to something. Maybe Trenton could come up with some type of giant bake sale to balance the budget. How much debt does NJ have?”

    about 6.02 x 10^23 cupcakes worth

  139. Shore Guy says:

    So, people are all excited about housing starts?

    Let me get this straight. We are told the economic problems are caused by problems in RE and that one of the biggest RE problems in RE now is oversupply and the other is lack of financing for home buyers. Now, putting aside the fact that housing starts do not equal housing completions, in an environment of over supply and decreasing ability to clear the existing supply, how is adding new supply — when clearing supply is the requisite step to economic recovery — supposed to be good news?

    Perhaps one has to have taken a long drag (dropped a few tabs?) of hopium in order to understand.

  140. Shore Guy says:

    Semi-improved land, no nearby neighbors, and crystal-clear evening skies:

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10289551-239.html

  141. Clotpoll says:

    PAbound-

    Is this part of the Chinese thingy you’re talking about?

    Seems like it might not be going the way you think it is:

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=alhrMKhcuVFQ

  142. #145 – Sooooo photoshopped.

  143. Clotpoll says:

    I will grant you this: the average Chinese investor is such a dupe that he’s already abandoning debt for equity…a recipe for complete disaster once the music stops playing.

  144. Wiikankka says:

    Отличная статья.Респект автору.

  145. Clotpoll says:

    What does a Chinese bond vigilante look like?

  146. Clotpoll says:

    God bless Direxion. This is funner than a bag full of snakes:

    http://www.google.com/finance?q=drv

  147. Clotpoll says:

    Disclaimer: I am huffing computer screen cleaner and chasing it with Knob Creek.

  148. Clotpoll says:

    Toggle debt for CIT?

    (Yahoo)- However, another source familiar with the negotiations who also declined to be identified told Reuters that many bondholders were pursuing a “debt for new debt” exchange, and that a debt for equity exchange was not a real consideration.

  149. Ben says:

    Deficits didn’t matter in the 1800s when America used it’s borrowing to industrialize itself and become a world leader in technology. We paid back our long term trade deficits this way.

    The America of today has done the complete opposites. We’ve expanded trade deficits to levels never seen before in the history of the world to deindustrialize America and have used whatever money that was loaned to us to blow on consumption.

    The national deficit is not the biggest issue. It’s the trade deficit that is the major issue. The problem with the national deficit, which Obama is running up like a kid in the candy store, is that it is completely funded through an expansion of the trade deficit.

    Why the hell would you want to stimulate an economy that has perpetually functioned to run up the trade deficit? Why would you want to stimulate an economy largely based on US Consumption of foreign goods and US Government Spending? Debt to GDP ratios are meaningless. You cannot have a Gross Domestic Product for a country that produces no products.

    America has shown no ability to reverse the trade deficit, curtail government spending, or create real productive jobs domestically. Our dollar has fallen pretty far against commodities and foreign currencies the past 10 years. Every fundamental reason that caused the currency to fall and Americans to lose productive jobs in still in place today. The unwinding of these disastrous conditions are being prevented by a government that is hellbent on maintaining employment. The reality is, people need to lose jobs in order to find new ones. Stimulus won’t work because it temporarily prevents that from happening.

    We may escape this recession, much like we did in 2003. In doing so, we were left with a bigger dose of unemployment and a bigger dose of inflation than we originally saw. If we do manage to escape recession without a major unwinding of the service economy, be very afraid. If that happens, the real bust will be 2 or 3 years down the road, with a bigger dose of unemployment and a bigger dose of inflation.

  150. Secondary Market says:

    here’s a low ball opportunity for you giants fans: pay back brian dawkins for laying out eli.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/Buy_Brian_Dawkins_house.html

  151. Ben says:

    ““Wait a minute, I think this women is on to something. Maybe Trenton could come up with some type of giant bake sale to balance the budget. How much debt does NJ have?”

    about 6.02 x 10^23 cupcakes worth”

    If this were 1998, we’d have an IPO offering for bakesale.com and this lady’s net worth would have been propelled to 50 million already.

  152. Clotpoll says:

    She could do much better if she baked hash into those cakes.

  153. Clotpoll says:

    Do NFL teams still put bounties on players?

    I liked that.

  154. Secondary Market says:

    perhaps clot. buddy ryan’s son is coaching the jets this year.

  155. gary says:

    The Olama stimulus plan isn’t working, you say? The hell* it isn’t, I just got yet another extension of full unemployment benefits. I’m doing my part to produce something for my country by writing a check to pay my mortgage every month with my never ending, non-stop stimulus payments. What’s that? You want me to get a job? This is my job, to transfer money from one electronic bucket to another. Hey, I’m entitled you know.

  156. Rafsanjani says:

    Anyone?

    Can someone help me with an address lookup? MLS 2687319 – rental in New Vernon. Thanks.

  157. gary says:

    And besides, why would I want to go back to a job where I actually had to get up in the morning? Yeah, right! BWAAHHAA!!

  158. Harley profits plunge 91%. A knock on of the fall on housing values. No more cash-outs = no more soft-tails.
    FTFA;

    The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker said it earned $19.8 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with $222.8 million, or 95 cents a share, a year ago. The most recent quarter included $101.1 million in write-downs and charges.

    Ouch. How many quarters do we give them? 4, 6?

  159. yikes says:

    tiger is on the verge of missing the cut.

    things i WONT do this weekend: watch Golf.

  160. x-underwriter says:

    Harley is never going under. There’s too many morons in this country who will spend $35 on a tee-shirt that have never even sat on a running motorcycle

  161. BC Bob says:

    Slow Friday afternoon;

    Take at least 25% off 2005 peak prices for houses says:

    December 29, 2006 at 2:58 pm

    Beginning 2008 is going to be the depths of M-I-S-E-R-Y

    Vultures picking the carcasses of grubbing re experts. Not many will be boasting about Residential RE just like 1992-1994.

    hehehehehhehehehe

    BOOOOOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAAA

    Bob

  162. Clotpoll says:

    We are not worthy.

  163. Harley is never going under.
    IDK, the merch is certainly profitable but almost their entire market is baby boomers.

  164. BC Bob says:

    Shore;

    Can you hear me, Can you hear me;

    Additional tickets have been released for all 5 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows at Giants Stadium on
    September 30, October 2-3, 8-9.

  165. confused in NJ says:

    CISCO Layoffs started today in earnest in CA & TX.

  166. x-underwriter says:

    toshiro_mifune says:
    almost their entire market is baby boomers.

    It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the entire motorcycle industry over the next 10 years. The V-twin fad will probably fade as the baby boomers do. The whole OCC chopper and tattoo thing will be gone as well too. Good riddance. Those bikes are for poseurs. You wouldn’t want to ride on one of those for more than 1/2 hour.

  167. Zack says:

    #161
    For how many months have you been collecting unemployment checks?

  168. #172 The whole OCC chopper and tattoo thing will be gone as well too. Good riddance.
    Agreed. They can’t go away fast enough.

    There was a time when ridding a Harley did mean something and made a statement about the rider. That ended in the late 80’s.

    It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the entire motorcycle industry over the next 10 years.

    The rise of Motoguzzi? The return of Triumph?

  169. x-underwriter says:

    toshiro_mifune says:
    There was a time when riding a Harley did mean something

    I agree. There just weren’t that many on the road back then. You looked twice when you saw them…and usually kept your distance. Now every blue-collar dolt has one alongside the minivan in the driveway.

  170. x-underwriter says:

    now that I have a kid on the way, fantasies about my next bike have to remain that way. Ducati maybe? Whatever happened to decent looking bikes that were also comfortable to ride as well. Sportbikes don’t look comfortable either

  171. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [174] tosh

    I’m holding out for Indian!

    ***********

    For me, I saw the start of the Harley bubble was in the 90’s, when guys going to Bike Weekend in Laconia or Loudon were pulling their hogs up the highway in or behind trucks instead of riding them.

  172. x-underwriter says:

    When Indian did resurface 10 years ago, i thought they were pretty cool. I actually like some of those retro full fendered bikes

  173. yikes says:

    my wife and i (and surely some folks in pharma) would like to formally thank the swine flu for wrecking havoc in the spring and hooking us up with a great bonus.

    here’s to another burst of swine flu activity in the fall!!

  174. Ben says:

    “my wife and i (and surely some folks in pharma) would like to formally thank the swine flu for wrecking havoc in the spring and hooking us up with a great bonus.

    here’s to another burst of swine flu activity in the fall!!”

    Thank the Government and the Media. They were the ones who blew the swine flu hysteria out of proportion. The Swine Flu hasn’t managed to take a fraction of the lives the real Flu takes out each year.

  175. Jim says:

    What happened to Tiger?! Hopefully there will be some interesting comments on this site since I won’t be watching TV.

  176. House Whine says:

    Speaking of unemployment- a friend just also got another extension and he will be collecting unemployment for a year and 1/2, fully funded by us taxpayers. He doesn’t have a lot of motivation to take just any job because his gov’t checks are enough combined w/his wife’s salary to live just fine. Yes, this certainly does bother me because I decided to take another job instead of sitting back and collecting unemployment, which I could have done.

  177. yo'me says:

    At blustery Turnberry, the 33-year-old Woods is going home, removed from the storyline of golf’s oldest major championship after missing the cut for the first time since the 2006 United States Open at Winged Foot. After opening his championship with a one-over 71 in calm conditions on Thursday, Woods followed in Friday’s windy weather with an unsightly four-over 74.

    His five-over 145 through 36 holes left him one shot on the wrong side of the cut line. He will have to wait until next month’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine to resume his chase of a 15th major title, and he is still four short of his boyhood idol, Jack Nicklaus, who won 18.

    “It was just problem after problem,” Woods said of his play after his round. “I kept compounding my problems out there.”

    Left in Woods’s wake is a fascinating leader board, topped by a five-time British Open winner in Watson and a first-time British Open participant in Steve Marino. They stand at five-under 135, one man widely considered the greatest links golfer ever born, the other man playing links golf for the first time.

    Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open champ, stands one shot back, and several other big names, including Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Miguel Angel Jimenez, are two back.

  178. Shore Guy says:

    BC,

    Thanks for thinking about me. I just saw your post, called, and they said they were sold out. Unless they are being offered via the boxoffice?

  179. BC Bob says:

    Shore,

    They drop a little at a time. Something like IB writedowns.

  180. Shore Guy says:

    BC,

    I am looking into trying to get some seats for one of the Aug shows in MA. NowM if the innlaws cooperate, we will be 1/2 way there.

    I really hate the fact that tickets have become some form of futurs market. I wish one had to present the credit card used to purchase the tickets in order for the ticket to be valid.

  181. chicagofinance says:

    18.Dissident HEHEHE says:
    July 17, 2009 at 7:41 am
    Re last night’s Chi vs. Mish commercial paper market throwdown,
    Chi is correct CFO’s are very wise chasing yield. After all many of them were invested heavily in the ARS market. We all know how that turned out:) Another Wall Street product that was “as good as cash”;)

    HEHEHE: you got it backwards….this was a discussion of issuance, not investing…

  182. Shore Guy says:

    Do you have any Oct show tickets yet?

  183. chicagofinance says:

    Baby came this morning at 5:19AM.

  184. Shore Guy says:

    OR, make the really good seats restricted to identical ID, and let the upper-ring seats go to whomever.

    Gail Lowey, are you listening? Tell your boss.

  185. Shore Guy says:

    Chi,

    Mozeltov! First?

  186. gary says:

    House Whine [182],

    I’m willing to listen to any and all potential employment opportunities including those that would reduce my previous salary substantially. I repeatedly told recruiters, HR Managers and anyone that had a pulse that I am that flexible. Nobody seems to get it so I will continue to stay home, work out, go to the beach and have the taxpayers pay for my house. Fine with me. As long as they keep giving me extensions, I’ll keep taking them. If this pisses* anybody off, then get my email from Grim and tell what you got to offer as for as job opportunities are concerned.

  187. John says:

    toggle debt would be cool, if you are a short dated owner and refuse to toggle yet they hit the right number your bond goes to par. I hit that one 10K of Unysis a few weeks ago. Trouble is the toggled less secure debt comes with mighty high interest payments that will really burden CIT down the road.

  188. BC Bob says:

    Chi,

    Congrats! Shortstop?

  189. John says:

    gary the old limp wristed buys in FI are always looking for fresh meet, nothing illegal just a pool boy or cabana boy.

  190. BC Bob says:

    Shore [188],

    Presently, just the last night at Giants Stadium.

  191. HEHEHE says:

    Goldman Sachs’ Financial Boom: A Political Mess for Obama?

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090717/us_time/08599191105600

  192. chicagofinance says:

    shore/bost: I have a 2 1/2 boy and now a girl.

    Thanks….I need sleep…

  193. HEHEHE says:

    Chi,

    Congrats

  194. grim says:

    Centex Pulte merger?

  195. grim says:

    Congrats Chi!

  196. gary says:

    John [195],

    I’m not familiar with how this works, perhaps you can explain in detail as I’m sure you have much experience as a pool/cabana boy.

  197. John says:

    check baby check baby, 123

    Gary Unmarried just shake your money money maker, as long as you pass the quarter test you are good to go.

  198. Pol Clot says:

    chi (189)-

    Check the scalp for numbers. :)

    Congrats!

  199. John says:

    chi congrats, you da man!!

  200. Pol Clot says:

    Chi can tell his kid he was born a bitter renter.

  201. BC Bob says:

    Chi,

    Today is my sister’s b-day. BOOYAAA.

  202. Pol Clot says:

    John (193)-

    The three biggest words in that post were the three last: “down the road”.

    This is now the strategy of every business in Merika.

  203. Pol Clot says:

    (203)-

    This, from a man who has stretch marks around his mouth.

  204. Victorian says:

    Chi –

    Congratulations!

  205. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [189] chifi

    Congrats. 2 kids, and one is a girl. Nice.

    Welcome to the big leagues. I don’t have to tell you about sleep.

  206. Shore Guy says:

    One of each. Perfect. Rearing girls is a load of fun. Enjoy the hour and a half until they are both teenagers (sometimes it seems like that short a time).

  207. morpheus says:

    Chi:

    congrats on your little tax deduction.

    I will drink a homebrewed belgian wit in honor of your child. Oh. . . . I always have a homebrew on Friday no matter what. What a boring life I lead.

    Anyway, congrats

  208. NJGator says:

    Chifi – Congrats from Las Vegas. Will now have to go play 7 and 17 on the roulette table.

    I hope Mom and Baby are both doing well.

  209. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    ChiFi-

    Congrats !! Riverview or MMC ??

    Did ya get the Social Security number yet ?? Never too early to start saving…..

  210. House Whine says:

    192-Gary
    Sorry if I implied that your situation is the same as my friends- obviously you are giving it your all and that is really all you can do. Believe me I know how crummy the job market is! What my friend is doing is not anything close to your efforts. Really, I do wish you the best and if I could help I would.

  211. Pat says:

    CF, I hope Mom and the little one are great.

    So what did you name her?

  212. Danzud says:

    CF,

    Congrats!!!!!

    Any chance you chose Ponzia?

  213. grim says:

    Too bad these guys were bankers, and not bakers..

    On Friday, July 17, 2009, BankFirst, Sioux Falls, SD was closed by the South Dakota Division of Banking, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

    On Friday, July 17, 2009, First Piedmont Bank, Winder, GA was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

  214. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    In light of all that is going in DC, I found this tax article amusing for its symmetry with our situation.

    And the fact that it concerns Russia.

    “Russian Parliament Votes to Scrap Unified Social Tax

    Posted July 17, 2009, 5:15 P.M. ET

    MOSCOW—The Russian parliament July 17 voted to replace the Unified Social Tax (UST) with insurance payments.

    The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, adopted in a third and final reading Bill No. 195768-5, On Insurance Payments to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation and the Obligatory Medical Insurance Funds, and Bill No 195774-5 on amendments following the adoption of the insurance payments bill, the parliament’s news service said in a statement.

    The replacement is due to become effective Jan. 1, 2010—hence the UST will be annulled in 2010, according to the statement. The new levies would amount to 26 percent of salary in 2010, including 20 percent payments to the pension fund, 2.9 percent to the social insurance fund, and 3.1 percent to the medical insurance funds, it said.”

    So our system is going to resemble that of the former USSR?

  215. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [212] Shore

    “Rearing girls is a load of fun

    Are you cracked???

  216. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [213] morpheus

    “I will drink a homebrewed belgian wit”

    Recipe?

  217. NJCoast says:

    Congrats Chifi-

    Is mom and baby home yet? If not get a good night sleep- it will be your last for a while!

    Best wishes to you all!

  218. Cindy says:

    #189 – Baby cam this morning at 5:19AM.”

    Congratulations Chicago, Linda and Hunter.

    #217 Pat – “So what did you name her?”

    Chi, when you get around to it, let us know….

  219. Cindy says:

    Oh great, quite the quote… the baby probably didn’t “cam.” But, you get the idea….

  220. Painhrtz says:

    Congrats Chi I’m grateful to all of you smart folks who continue to reproduce. As sadly my wife and I prefer to be with canine instead.

  221. Outofstater says:

    Chi – Congratulations!!

  222. Cindy says:

    http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2035565.html

    Schwarzeneggar orders state car sale

    Governor Arnold Swarzeneggar today ordered that 15 percent of California’s motor vehicle fleet be sold in a massive “garage sale”……

    Oh yeah Arnold. That is going to save a bunch of money….that should do it. I’m sure things will be fine now.

  223. Dissident HEHEHE says:

    Walter Cronkite dead

  224. GerryAdams says:

    Chi (189)-

    Congrats, Nard-dog! That’s two legacies now.

  225. Essex says:

    Cigars for ChiFi.

  226. Pol Clot says:

    Cindy (228)-

    Does this mean that Arn will be tooling around Sac in a Zipcar now?

  227. morpheus says:

    nom at 222:
    6 lbs Pilsner malt
    3 lbs of malted white wheat
    3 lbs of unmalted wheat
    1 lbs of flaxed oats

    mash above at 125 deg F for 30 minutes. Raise temp to 148 and hold for 60 minutes.

    drain wort and start boil

    add the following:
    1 oz tettnanger hops at 60 min mark
    0.5 oz corriander at 60 min mark
    0.5 oz dried orange peel at 60 min mark
    0.25 oz corriander at 30 min mark
    0.25 oz orange zest added at 30 min mark
    0.50 oz orange zest added at 20 min mark
    0.75 oz tettnanger hops at 20 min

    cool down and add Wyeast 3068 yeast.

    warning: beer is carbonated but does not have a lasting head. Have requested help on line with brewers I know to figure out what went wrong.

    However, very tasty and comes out of the keg “very fizzy”

    This concludes today’s segement of “cooking with the alcoholic”

  228. Pat says:

    Coon with Oysters (best served with above beer recipe)

    Raccoon should be fresh, not aged. If frozen, thaw like turkey.

    Skin and clean meat, rinsing body cavity. If all of neck is not removed, clean to two inches. Remove legs below ankles. Body cavity should be filled with a stuffing such as Grandma’s traditional sausage stuffing. Stuffing should be savory to spicy.

    Breast down in baking pan, truss legs, rub skin with butter, then combo of 1/3 garam masala, 1/3 tandoori masala and 1/3 montreal. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to pan.

    Cover loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes at 350. Remove foil, bake another hour, basting with chicken broth every 15 minutes.

    Throw in garbage, get out the oysters, suck em up and enjoy the beer.

  229. yo'me says:

    20 mil haircut

    Trump Park Avenue Penthouse Duplex Falls From $51 M. to $31 M.

    http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/trump-park-avenue-penthouse-duplex-falls-51-m-31-m

  230. yo'me says:

    Freddie Mac, the mortgage financing company, launched a similar program in March, allowing homeowners the choice to stay in their homes after foreclosures as renters. But the program has not attracted many participants, said Brad German, the company’s spokesman. Most former owners instead choose to accept money to voluntarily vacate under a program known as cash-for-keys, he said.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071600699.html?wprss=rss_business

    CASH FOR KEYS?GET PAID TO HAND YOUR KEYS!!

  231. sas says:

    “As Goldman Sachs Posts Record Profits, Matt Taibbi Probes Role of Investment Giant in US Financial Meltdown”

    http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/15/goldman_sachs_posts_record_profits

  232. sas says:

    what shytown?

    don’t you learn from your mistakes?
    ha ha. just kidding.

    congrats (while tipping my cognac).

    SAS

  233. Shore Guy says:

    ““Rearing girls is a load of fun
    Are you cracked??”

    Mrs Shore assures me that I am. That said, it is.

  234. sas says:

    Bank failure (aka. bank take down) Friday.

    how many total branches does this make?
    market share consolidation, by whom

    -Temecula Valley Bank Temecula CA
    -Vineyard Bank Rancho Cucamonga CA
    -BankFirst Sioux Falls SD First
    -First Piedmont Bank Winder GA

    SAS

  235. yo'me says:

    ChiFi
    CONGRATULATIONS BRO!!

  236. Shore Guy says:

    Chi,

    If you have any pets, give consideration to wrapping the wee one in a blanket for a few hours and then bringing it home for the furry ones to sniff. It helps them with the transition and anything that promotes peace and quiet in a home with a toddler and a newborn is a good thing.

    With the first, when the baby is asleep, everyone can sleep. With an existing child, when the baby sleeps, someone else demands attention.

    Welcome to the world of “we drink more wine than we used to.”

  237. sas says:

    The township terminated the jobs of six firefighters and implemented other cost-cutting measures Wednesday, which led to a total of $4.85 million in savings — as part of the first steps to rectify a looming $8.4 million budget deficit.

    http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090716/NEWS/90716024

  238. grim says:

    Bank failure (aka. bank take down) Friday.

    how many total branches does this make?

    Branches? Not sure that matters.

    The FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund paid out $1.1 billion tonight.

    That’s a lot of change for a handful of podunk banks. FDIC seems to be waiting much longer to take banks into receivership compared to what happened during the S&L crisis. Sure, we’ve got fewer banks going under, but the payouts are enormous in comparison.

  239. Firestormik says:

    SAS,
    That’s one of the reasons why taxes in Edison is still quite low.

  240. sas says:

    “Branches? Not sure that matters”

    marketshare consolidation.

    one may hear 1 bank failed, big deal.
    but if it has 30 branches with a region.

    yikes, different POV.
    (for some anyways)

    SAS

  241. Shore Guy says:

    Edison has, what, something like 100,000 residents? I was surprised to hear they have 26 firefighters on duty each shift — about 1 for every 4,000 residents.

  242. Shore Guy says:

    “The FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund paid out $1.1 billion tonight.
    That’s a lot of change ”

    What a 2007 attitude. When since September of 2008 has a billion dollars been a big deal? Heck Big Ben probably has thay much taxpayer cash stuck in his couch.

  243. sas says:

    speaking of firefighter…

    don’t get me wrong, i run out of burning buildings (and I take the elevator while its a flame), while those brave saps run in.

    A needed position for a municipality.

    but, most firemen I know are Irish jarhead micks with devil tats, lift weights all day, play video games, and make nice dinners while on duty.

    thats alot of jack for the city.

    most collect alot of OT.

    I could be wrong, but thats what I see.
    SAS

  244. dolphinbeater says:

    Edison = immigrunt ghetto. No self-respecting, God fearing Amurkin should be caught dead there.

  245. sas says:

    “Edison = immigrunt ghetto. No self-respecting, God fearing Amurkin should be caught dead there”

    hugh? maybe its the cognac, i can’t tell if you are being silly or serious.

    SAS

  246. sas says:

    what say you dolphinbeater?

    SAS

  247. Shore Guy says:

    SAS,

    The idea or runing an attack line into a burning structure, or climbing onto the roof of a burning building to wack it with an ax to ventilate it goes against what most of find to be the normal response. My hat is off to those who do the job.

  248. Shore Guy says:

    Hey Gator,

    How did 7 and 17 work out? Is it Southwest or NetJets for the return trip?

  249. sas says:

    “wack it with an ax to ventilate it goes against what most of find to be the normal response”

    i guess that my problem.

    i was trained by your loving military to burn it to the ground by any means, and stop anyone cold who tries to stop you.

    My bad, i am the one a fry short of the happy meal.

    SAS

  250. dolphinbeater says:

    sas – silly. I love Edison, always will.

  251. Shore Guy says:

    SAS,

    Perhaps you know a guy I used to know Col David Hackworth.

  252. Shore Guy says:

    Or knew, anyway, before he died.

  253. yikes says:

    the internet is a sick, sick place – espn sportscaster erin andrews was filmed naked through a hole drilled in a hotel room

    http://thebiglead.com/?p=15767

  254. cobbler says:

    Chifi – congratulations. Guaranteed happiness in the family for at least 11 years.

  255. cobbler says:

    It is sort of upsetting when 2 banks in places named Cucamonga and Temecula could run a cool 1B in losses.

  256. Cindy says:

    232 – Pol Clot

    I don’t think Arnie drives around, uh… shows his face out in public much these days…He is not a well-liked man.

    234 – Pat

    “Throw in garbage….” excellent!

  257. Firestormik says:

    Still,
    Am I eligible to ask Grim to release your email? He doesn’t reply, but might worth asking :)
    I got some results from the lab for our little one. You might be interested.
    Kettle, as far as I remember you’ve asked about speech delay at your friend’s family a while ago. Get my email from Grim

  258. NJGator says:

    Shore – Stu has won a few small jackpots, but nothing that would cover charter fees :)

    The temps have been 110+ and even at 11PM when you go outside, it feels like you are walking in an oven.

    Tonight we saw a Vegasfied version of Phantom of the Opera which though visually stunning has left me a bit perplexed. Earlier today we had breakfast at Payard Patisserie in Caesars. The man is a genius. And we found a great 1/2 price mojito happy hour at the Encore too.

    As I am writing this, Stu sent me a video message of his second royal flush of the day, so maybe there is still hope for NetJets after all.

  259. Essex says:

    259….People who need peepholes are the luckiest people in the world.

  260. safeashouses says:

    Not exactly a bulldozer.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31975215/ns/us_news-weird_news/

    Wienermobile crashes into a house.

  261. cooper says:

    Safe

    “Police said the driver was trying to turn the Wienermobile around in the driveway and thought she was moving in reverse”

    maybe they should have checked her for prescription drugs. That mobile always brings me back to the east end of LI with the big duck and the windmill.

  262. Sllavvitta says:

    Подойдя к второму обзацу необходимо будет побороть в себе желание его пропустить

  263. kareninca says:

    chifi – congrats!

    morpheus – I hope you’re doing okay.

    does no-one else miss Tuno (a vegan product put out by Worthington Foods until fairly recently), which was correctly labeled as being safe for dolphins AND tuna? actually, I only miss it because my husband loved it; even after 15 years of veganity I think it’s gross stuff.

  264. gary says:

    Dear Sellers,

    Since the peak of the housing market in mid-2006, more than $4 trillion worth of housing wealth — or over $50,000 per family — has evaporated. Real home prices are still dropping at a rate of about 2%, or $350 billion, per month. Let me translate this for you: you’re losing $3,000 per week on your over-priced house because A) you’ve been mislead B) you haven’t educated yourself and C) you’re in denial.

  265. gary says:

    Dear Sellers,

    Don’t take my word for it:

    Bought a home for 901k in 2007. Put 100k down, 10%. Lost job and have 6 months mortgage in bank. Immediately listed bldg willing to write off the 100k assuming house would appraise at 800k.

    House now appraises for 710k, which means that I have put up another 90k to sell it and pay closing costs and pay a realtor 35k. My net loss if it sold today would be well over 200k.

    I don’t have 100k to pay someone to buy my house.

    I saved for 5 years to have the 100k to put down and don’t have another 5 years to save 100k to pay someone to buy the house.

    Now, should I walk away?

    jlvngstn

  266. yo'me says:

    More than 1.5 million properties received a default or auction notice or were seized by banks in the six months through June, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said today in a statement. That’s a 15 percent increase from the year earlier. One in 84 U.S. households received a filing.

    I don’t have 100k to pay someone to buy my house.

    I saved for 5 years to have the 100k to put down and don’t have another 5 years to save 100k to pay someone to buy the house.

    NOW SHOULD I WALK AWAY?

    I don’t see the homeowner as the bagholder.

  267. yo'me says:

    Always minimize your risk.

    No down payment.
    Leverage on the way up.
    Walk away on the way down.

    Most former owners instead choose to accept money to voluntarily vacate under a program known as cash-for-keys, he said.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071600699.html?wprss=rss_business

    CASH FOR KEYS?GET PAID TO HAND YOUR KEYS!!

    AND GET PAID TO HAND YOUR KEYS!!

    THE TAXPAYERS BAG IS GETTING HEAVY.

  268. gary says:

    Joshua Shapiro at MFR, Inc.: “We continue to believe that it is unlikely that we are near a bottom in nationwide home prices.”

    Sellers, perhaps this will assist you: https://njrereport.com/index.php/2009/06/

  269. Morpheus says:

    #269:
    doing better. The homebrew did help: it was tasty.

  270. BC Bob says:

    “No down payment.
    Leverage on the way up.
    Walk away on the way down.”

    Classic. Wonder why this industry/country is going down the tubes? You’re describing the housing bust.

    How about something revolutionary; buy what you can afford, pay your bills on time, save 20% of your take home pay, be prudent and responsible. Look at your damn self in the mirror and stop being a parasite.

    Good night Grandma, Good night John-Boy.

  271. gary says:

    Sellers, let me explain a bit further:

    In June of 2006, you could’ve sold your 4bd/2.5bth home on your 100′ X 150′ property for $625,000. Since that time, your home has dropped 17.39% which calculates to a sale price of $516,000 today. Your losing $3,000 per week for every week that you “insist” on getting “your” price for your house.

  272. Shore Guy says:

    Stu,

    Two royal flushes? Wow. That next cruise should about be paid for before you leave Vegas.

  273. Bystander says:

    Daily Show’s take on Goldman profits:

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-16-2009/pyramid-economy

    “Protect the eye”..good stuff

  274. gary says:

    Dear Seller’s,

    Why would you think you’re any different?

    http://tinyurl.com/nmazgw

  275. Shore Guy says:

    Gator,

    The heat in Vegas in summer is amazing. I have been out there in summer and the sun feels like little needles on the skin. Of course, some say it is dry heat so no big deal; on the otherhand, summer is the rainy season so HUGE thunderstorms can roll in and dump massive amounts of water on the place — dropping the temp from 115 all the way down to 110 and spiking thr humidity to 100%.

    Have you had any storms on this trip?

  276. Shore Guy says:

    Gary,

    When the ultimate bottom is reached one wonders how the currently-delusional sellers will reflect back uppn their unwillingness to sell at reasonable prices today.

  277. Cindy says:

    276 – BC

    “How about something revolutionary; buy what you can afford, pay your bills on time, save 20% of your take home pay, be prudent and responsible.”

    Please (for those who are not of this mindset) and thank you (for those who are)….

  278. 3b says:

    #280 gary: Which begs the question how could there be an increase in housing starts and building permits yesterday?

  279. Shore Guy says:

    The housing start data is meaningless as a sign of “recovery.” Just because someone starts building doesn’t mean they will have financing to complete construction or that anyone will purchase the completes structure at a price high enough to provide profit.

    Builders are building because that is what they do, not because demand exists for additional housing units.

  280. Shore Guy says:

    “How about something revolutionary; buy what you can afford, pay your bills on time, save 20% of your take home pay, be prudent and responsible”

    Bingo! If everyone did this we would all be better off.

  281. BC Bob says:

    “In June of 2006, you could’ve sold your 4bd/2.5bth home on your 100′ X 150′ property for $625,000.”

    Gary,

    I did. However, in 9/05. Never would have imagined that someone would pay that for my pos.

    Thank you carnival barkers, nar, goldilocks, no contagion, realtors, appraisers, rating agencies, AG, WS talent and most of all the overnight Donald Trump’s. I owe you all a drink.

  282. BC Bob says:

    “In June of 2006, you could’ve sold your 4bd/2.5bth home on your 100′ X 150′ property for $625,000.”

    Gary,

    I did. However, in 9/05. Never would have imagined that someone would pay that for my pos.

    Thank you carnival barkers, nar, goldilocks, no contagion, realtors, appraisers, rating agencies, AG, WS talent and most of all the overnight D Trump’s. I owe you all a drink.

  283. yo'me says:

    #276 How about something revolutionary; buy what you can afford, pay your bills on time, save 20% of your take home pay, be prudent and responsible. Look at your damn self in the mirror and stop being a parasite.

    eXACTLY.That is not what Wall street and the banks sold us.My kids kids will be paying for this mess.

    Banks are still hoding on to foreclosed houses.Why?It’s a tax write off.The gubmint and the banks are preventing a catastrophic drop in home prices.They are willing to bet your kids kids future.Dam’ they do have trillions of dollars to do that.

    David vs Goliath?

  284. BC Bob says:

    D#nald puts you in mod? Hangover from D#ck?

  285. BC Bob says:

    Banks are not holding onto foreclosed homes for a tax writeoff. They are holding so that their #ss in not written off.

  286. yo'me says:

    I did. However, in 9/05. Never would have imagined that someone would pay that for my pos.

    I have to admit this bubble gave me a brand new home all paid for in cash.

    Thank you my kids kids.You will be living in the gutter while grandpa yo’me lived a good life.

  287. NJGator says:

    Shore – No storms this trip. 112 is still hot, even without humidity. IMHO, the difference betwwen a dry 112 and a humid one is simply the difference between an oven and a sauna.

    Still having a great time though and Lil Gator is having so much fun with Grandma and his cousins that he doesn’t even miss us.

  288. yo'me says:

    Builders are building because that is what they do, not because demand exists for additional housing units.

    Shore I disagree.They are building because somebody put a downpayment on it and they are doing in house financing.

  289. gary says:

    BC Bob,

    Hey, what were you going to say, that’s too much for my house? Of course not! It’s a matter of timing and the masses can’t accept the fact that it’s a different environment. I, as a current homeowner realize this and will sell my house for what someone’s willing to purchase it for, not what I think it’s worth.

  290. Shore Guy says:

    Gator,

    You are correct about the heat. And, although it is Vegas and nearly anything goes, unlike a sauna, they still get p!$$ed if on strips down and sits on a bench to take a schvitz.

  291. yo'me says:

    I, as a current homeowner realize this and will sell my house for what someone’s willing to purchase it for, not what I think it’s worth.

    Gary,If circumstances don’t require you to sell your home,will you sell it right now?
    If you bought before 2003,i’m pretty sure you still have equity in that house.

    If you are selling,I will pay you 100G’s cash, without even looking or inspection on the house.

  292. Shore Guy says:

    The whole cash for keys thing makes all the sense in the world. How many times have we seen photos of houses trashed by former owners who shredded the insides of homes before being tossed out?

  293. Shore Guy says:

    “Shore I disagree.They are building because somebody put a downpayment on it and they are doing in house financing”

    It does not cost much to use existing heavy equipment to prepare a lot and to dig a hole for a foundation. Whether there is sufficient cash or available credit to purchase lumber, hire subs, etc, is another matter. Also, whether their own capital will last to allow completion is also a question, as is the buyer’s ability to get a mortgage.

    It seems like many builders are taking a hit op hopium then breaking out their tools.

  294. Shore Guy says:

    op=of

  295. Shore Guy says:

    BC,

    Did you manage to snag some tickets yesterday? I was shut out.

  296. yo'me says:

    On my second home,the developments are building like crazy.On mine Ryan homes finished and closed 10 houses in 3 months.They have 4 development going at the same time in Atlantic county alone.

  297. yo'me says:

    This is while Atlantic county had 50% increase in foreclosure from June.

  298. yo'me says:

    “How about something revolutionary; buy what you can afford, pay your bills on time, save 20% of your take home pay, be prudent and responsible”

    They call them “VICTIM”

  299. yo'me says:

    Pennsylvania withholds July pay
    State freezes workers’ pay for July as budget impasse continues. Two other states have yet to approve budgets, while California closes in on deal to close $26 billion deficit.

    http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/17/news/economy/State_budget_woes/index.htm?postversion=2009071723

  300. yo'me says:

    304 Who will pay for their mortgages and bills?

  301. frank says:

    Can anyone confirm this?

    “Cheaper Mortgages Spark Lower FICO Scores for Payers”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6kuLOY.MRMc

  302. Cindy says:

    303 Yo’me

    “They call them VICTIM”

    That attitude is exactly what is wrong today. If people do not begin to take responsibility for their own actions, we may as well shut the place down.

    People are being forced to live within their means. I hope it is not too late.

  303. safeashouses says:

    Congrats Chifi.

  304. safeashouses says:

    #303 yo’me

    I’d call people like that suckers. we acted prudently, yet the bubble meisters drove up the costs of living tremendously. Now the government bailouts are rewarding Wall St for its ineptitude and giving false hope to bagholders while we will see hire taxes and lower services for this.

  305. Shore Guy says:

    Who ARE these people complaining about their credit score taking a hit after getting into financial trouble and needing a workout to keep their heads above water?

    Gimme a break! If they were worthy of the higher score, they would not have needed help through a special program. Since they did, and were unable to pay their debt without it, they were NOT worthy of the higher score.

    Sometimes I feel like the only sane person on the stage ofa French farce. Just WHO ARE these ingrates?

  306. Shore Guy says:

    Is PA running afoul of the FLSA for hourly workers? It may be that the payments for June got employees above the federal minimum wage but, if they require people to report during “furlough” and do not at least pay them minimum wage, the state would be subject to fines, no? Make the people stay home, that seems okay, but to make the work and not pay them? Something IS rotten in the state or Penn.

  307. Sean says:

    Congrats ChicagoFinance on the arrival of your Jersey Girl!

  308. yo'me says:

    #307 #309 I agree with you 100% from the moral side of it.I am the most el cheapo 2nd to Stu or more I paid my bills on time never borrowed money to renovate my house I saved over 20% of family income,but the dance is playing a different song.If you did not dance the tune you are the geek of the prom.

    I will blame the greed that was all over the media.Shows on how to make money on realstate.Even Donald had his own show.
    I will blame people not educating themselves.But hey gubmint say they are the victim.
    I will blame the policies of the gov’t.

    Most of us saw this opportunity and made some money.

    I agree with the moral side but still searching for opportunities from the Gurus.

    John throws some once in awhile with comedy along with it.

  309. yo'me says:

    #307 #309
    I agree.Unfortunately the dance is playing a different tune.
    Most of us here are probably just looking for opportunities from the Gurus on what tune to dance to.

  310. yo'me says:

    I am just calling what i see.Correct me if you see it differently.Who really is the bagholder?

  311. yo'me says:

    Who ARE these people complaining about their credit score taking a hit after getting into financial trouble and needing a workout to keep their heads above water.

    I am sure the gubmint will take care of that too.

  312. House Whine says:

    Took a drive around my town and the neighboring one this morning and noticed there are almost no homes up for sale. We are talking at least 300 houses, with maybe 3 up for sale. Everyone must be sitting tight, not wanting to sell for so much less than they could have 2 years ago.

  313. Bystander says:

    Whine,

    They’ll be sitting for a long, long time if waiting for bubble prices to return. I would say 15 – 20 years. When interest inevitably move higher these people will be shocked at quickly their equity is gone.

  314. yo'me says:

    The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 — also known as “Cash for Clunkers” — will offer vouchers of up to $4,500 for car owners who trade in their old fuel-slurping cars for new models that can really stretch a tank of gas.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071703868.html?wprss=rss_business

    WHY SPEND MY TAX PAYER MONEY ON THIS?
    Charge them gas guzzler tax to the nooze .See if they don’y get rid of this clunker.

  315. yo'me says:

    #317
    Who really is the motivated seller?
    People that bought before 2003 and below that still has remaining equity or even on a sale.But are their homes for sale in this environment?Only the ones that needs to move,getting divorce or retiring moving to another place.This people have the luxury to cut down the price.But most of this homeowners are not selling except for the ones that took cash out equity.The underwater homeowners are the sellers but this sellers most don’t have the luxury to cut down the price.Their choices is huge.They can live in the house stop paying the mortgage,make a deal with the bank for a short sale or go to foreclosure.The bank foreclose but don’t put the house on the market(shadow inventory).If there is only 10 for every 100 homes in the US are underwater 60 or 50 per 100 don’t have a mortgage and the foreclosed ones are being held by the bank.There is no indication you can make a really good deal if you are a buyer.

    Who really is the bagholder?It is obvious it’s not the homeowner.The bank and the tax payer is the real bagholder.

  316. kettle1 says:

    Chifi

    CONGRATS!!!!!! best wishes to you and yours!

  317. Yikes says:

    We’ve crossed spring lake off the potential beach house list; eliminated lbi as well.

    Looks like we’ll have to settle for being 1:10 from spring lake, and pony up for the backyard pool.

    Shore, eager to talk to u at a gtg about a lake house, tho. Seems financially like the safer move (and not in nj – taxes).

  318. Seneca says:

    ChiFi

    Mazel Tov! I hope she learns to sleep a 5-hour stretch by 2 months. Also, I hope her early birth hour doesn’t set her internal clock to wake at that time once she is finally sleeping through the night. Best wishes!

  319. kettle1 says:

    Now for a shocking statement.

    I agree with CHifi, Regarding Goldman, JPM and the other robber barons.

    As Chifi has said a number of times, “So What”. I initially vehemently disagreed with him, but when you look at the big picture, what GS and the other robber barons are doing are what they are designed to do and arguably legally required to do. As “for profit corporations” they are meant to maximize profit.

    The blatantly illegal and unethical actions continuously taken by the robber barons are only possible due to the unwillingness of the government (both state and local) to enforce the social contract in the form of upholding existing laws and regulations.

    The failure of the government to keep these companies in check and enforce the relevant laws is a reflection of the people who allow the government to behave in such a fashion.

    The situation is no different then all of those people who had no problem with flipping homes for a 100K profit after adding 20K in home depot, toxic chinese veneer. Everyone was fine with this as long as they believed they might be able to get a piece of the pie.

    The root cause of this mess is institutionalized social greed and the fault lies at all of our feet as individuals, for a government is usually a reflection of the people is serves.

    A great nation requires a great people who are willing to make the hard choices and live for the future, not for instant gratification.

    the only way we see a return to the traditional American ideal would be a revolution, preferably peaceful, but a revolution all the same. otherwise we are well down the path to a decline very similar in many aspects to the decline of the USSR.

    Excuse, me i hear some helicopters outside

  320. Laurie says:

    I heard a radio interview this morning with the Teaneck baking lady…she is saying that the cake thing has taken off nationally and she has a ton of orders and she is going to be able to make her mortgage payments…she is thinking about staying with the cake baking thing…what a bunch of suckers…$40 for a frickin apple cake??

  321. Laurie says:

    Who read the lead story in the NY Times Real Estate section today?? I’m waiting for the comments about the couple who bought a 5 bedroom house before they sold their NYC condo and are expecting their first baby “any day”…good grief..a 5 bedroom house and you don’t even have one kid yet?? The husband says they are losing about “$1000 to $1500 a month”…on a 1 million dollar condo that is sitting empty?? I hope he’s not an accountant…I think he’s a few zeros off…

  322. yo'me says:

    The root cause of this mess is institutionalized social greed and the fault lies at all of our feet as individuals, for a government is usually a reflection of the people is serve.

    Well said.

    Is that not what Capitalism is all about?
    It’s all about bitting YoY numbers.

  323. House Whine says:

    324, Laurie,
    Whenever I bake something from scratch people seem surprised, and impressed. But nothing I have ever baked is worth 40.00. I think baking is a foreign concept to many busy people. If they can’t make a cake from a box mix, etc. they will buy one instead.

  324. Hellggaa says:

    Спасибо за Ваш труд!!

  325. kettle1 says:

    326 yome

    Is that not what Capitalism is all about?

    Yes and no. It depends on the school of economic philosophy you lean towards.

    In the US we have historically taken the greed route with a side of social ethics/morals. That combined with the fact that we lived in a land of plenty, with massive oil deposits, plentiful minerals, and abundant agricultural resources prevent the uglier side of capitalism for rearing it head to often.

    As our population grows and the demand for resources grows even as the availability and quality of available resources deteriorates, the buffer of “plenty” that obscured the uglier side of capitalism has rapidly thinned even as we have abandoned many of our traditional ideals.

    I am not trying to romanticize american history, and say that we lived in the garden of eden with nothing but love for our brothers. We have plenty of our own historical faults. In the last 25 years however we have put many of our traditional ideals aside in the mad rush for profits.

    Now we see what comes after capitalism….

  326. kettle1 says:

    sas

    here is some good foder for you

    India to issue all 1.2 billion citizens with biometric ID cards
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6710764.ece

  327. kettle1 says:

    Nom CLot,

    looks like the iphone could be an integral part of the Nompound…

    Military grade ballistics computer App for the iphone

    http://www.knightarmco.com/bulletflight/index.htm

  328. movedtovermont says:

    329
    The problem seems to me the culture of consumerism and out of a need to live now and get it while you can. Its hard living in a neighborhood where neighbors are buying Porsches, in-ground pools, patios, lavish vacations and then not thinking you’re either doing something wrong or missing out somehow. Its for the kids. Little did we know the other guy was simply borrowing against his home equity or other cheap credit. This urgency for the latest and greatest thing is hard to undo – the majority of people in debt or underwater are now looking for a new financial mechanism to get them back to their life in 2006 and thinks this will happen again somehow. There is no way back!

  329. Frank says:

    #330,
    Will this replace the dots on their heads??

  330. Ben says:

    Hello Bond Guru’s

    What do you think of the tax exempt(Both federal, State and AMT) Closed End Fund EMJ? The yield is 6.6% which isn’t band for the risk it carries. Mostly the underlying bonds are insured and AAA or AA rated.

  331. Ben says:

    BTW, EMJ is NJ Muni bond fund which means if you live in NJ, the distribution is NJ tax exempt.

  332. sas says:

    “The failure of the government to keep these companies in check and enforce the relevant laws is a reflection of the people who allow the government to behave in such a fashion”

    what? not us.

    now give me my entertainment, cause anything else gives me a headache.

    I love my Prozac and the ball game.
    SAS

  333. sas says:

    someone once said (i think on this boards).

    is americans have become children.

    for the most part I agree.

    give my french fries, and fantasy….
    cause what I say is true, no matter how deep I have to bury my head in the sand.

    next time I go through the EZpass, i close my eyes, and say…that doesn’t exist.

    ok, i gotta run.

    I just got some good carrots from the local farmers market.
    and i love raw carrots.

    SAS

  334. Shore Guy says:

    SAS,

    Did you see my post to you from late last night?

  335. Pol Clot says:

    True dat. When the recession hits hard, Arsenal & the Professor will be sitting pretty. Tons of cash, and manageable debt. Sounds like a winning combo to me.

    BARNET, England (AP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger issued a warning Saturday that the global economic recession will affect football before the coming season is over.

    “It looks like football has not been hit by recession but due only to exceptional circumstances ,” Wenger said after a preseason friendly against Barnet ended in a 2-2 draw.

    “I still think that globally we will have to become more reasonable in the game even if you have some exceptional situations like Man City, like Chelsea, Real Madrid. But I still believe in the next eight to 10 months football with suffer, much more than people think.”

    Wenger, who holds an economics degree, was speaking shortly before losing striker Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City for a reported 25 million pounds ($41 million).

    Wenger said he can spend money from selling Adebayor, but will only if “we find the right players and we feel it is needed.”

    “At the moment, we’re not very close to bringing anybody else in. We are not on the verge of signing anybody,” Wenger said.

    Wenger played down Adebayor’s departure, saying he had a number of attacking options to choose from and making special mention of Tomas Rosicky.

  336. Pol Clot says:

    vodka (331)-

    I want one of them there I-phones.

  337. Pol Clot says:

    frank (334)-

    I wish somebody would put a dot on your forehead.

    Full Metal Jacket-style.

  338. NJGator says:

    Stu and I took a little side trip out to Mt. Charleston today for the views and the cool and refreshing 90 degree temps. I am not exaggerating by much when I say EVERY house was for sale near the mountain. And open lot too.

    On the way back to downtown, we saw a billboard on the highway proclaiming that over 150 bank owned homes would be auctioned off today. I think Stu may have already won enough money to buy one.

  339. Shore Guy says:

    “refreshing 90 degree temps”

    I hope you brought a jacket.

  340. yo'me says:

    California’s hottest product: marijuana
    Some say the weed that the federal government puts in the same category as heroin and cocaine could save the state

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31981559/ns/us_news-life/

    IS THIS HOW LOW WE GOT!!

  341. Hubba says:

    Don’t know if it was mentioned before, but I think in some ares, housing starts can be up since builders are more flexible on price than idiot sellers of existing homes. They can build cheaper than morons want to sell for.

  342. Pol Clot says:

    yo’me-

    C’mon, dude. Smoke a wiki and chill.

    Anyone who wants to smoke dope should be allowed to smoke as much as possible (as long as the weed is heavily-taxed).

    Honestly, what is the difference between a pothead and millions of zombies watching Idol, Dancing, etc? In fact, you can’t tax the TV addicts.

  343. NJGator says:

    Shore – Jackpot three just won. This one was mine. Only one gambling day left to arn our NetJets fare.

    In Stu’s good samaritan turn for the day, he convinced a local woman that it was not a bright play to continue playing $5/hand blackjack for at least an hour in order to earn a free $7 prime rib dinner.

    I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

  344. NJGator says:

    Clot 347 – I’m pretty sure the Uk charges a television registration fee. There must be a way to financially tap into the reality tv addicted masses.

  345. sas says:

    “Hackworth”

    i met him once before, a long time ago.
    thats about as far as it went.
    if its the one I am thinking of…

    SAS

  346. sas says:

    isn’t television & cable already taxed?

    SAS

  347. sas says:

    ” There must be a way to financially tap into the reality tv addicted masses”

    yes, its a good way to keep them stupid and entertained rather than informed & educated. and its a great avenue to create needs for needless crap (advertisement).

    ok, i gotta catch the new Harry Potter.
    Everyone is talking about it.

    SAS

  348. sas says:

    “Paulson reveals US concerns of breakdown in law and order”
    http://tinyurl.com/l9u7rb

  349. cobbler says:

    ben [335,336]
    Right now, EMJ trades above NAV – since there is a bunch of similar products (from Eaton Vance – the parent of EMJ, Nuveen, John Hancock, etc.) that trade below NAV you need some very specific reasons to go for EMJ. Generally, all levered CEF are more volatile than non-levered ones; most feasible capital appreciation has already happened since the lows of last November, so you only go for the tax-free income. If you think that NJ will go bust reasonably soon, or that inflation gets out of control obviously you don’t want to buy something fairly illiquid that earns 6.7%. OTOH, if we are in for an extended period of deflation, and even if NJ does go bust it will still pay the bonds interest (the most vulnerable ones are, I guess, Sports Authority and some hospital ones) CEFs are a good buy. I own a decent chunk of MJI, but bought in winter a good 25% below the current price.

  350. bi says:

    243#, some are related to local politics. jun choi is considered a new star in nj democratic party but he lost primary to a 75 year councilwoman this year. he is facing uphill battle this november. why he lost? among many factors, one big blow is that the firefighter union distributed flier attacking choi just a couple of days before the election.

  351. cobbler says:

    Your comment is awaiting moderation. (I guess, one of the first leaders’ of the Republic name did it…)

    July 18, 2009 at 10:05 pm
    ben [335,336]
    Right now, EMJ trades above NAV – since there is a bunch of similar products (from Eaton Vance – the parent of EMJ, Nuveen, John Hanc-ock, etc.) that trade below NAV you need some very specific reasons to go for EMJ. Generally, all levered CEF are more volatile than non-levered ones; most feasible capital appreciation has already happened since the lows of last November, so you only go for the tax-free income. If you think that NJ will go bust reasonably soon, or that inflation gets out of control obviously you don’t want to buy something fairly illiquid that earns 6.7%. OTOH, if we are in for an extended period of deflation, and even if NJ does go bust it will still pay the bonds interest (the most vulnerable ones are, I guess, Sports Authority and some hospital ones) CEFs are a good buy. I own a decent chunk of MJI, but bought in winter a good 25% below the current price.

  352. bi says:

    335#, ben,
    here is not a bond guru but a high school janitor’s opinion. 6.7% interest free return seems a good deal. but i wouldn’t buy it now for 2 reasons: 1) it is traded 2% premium while average CEF is about 12% discount; 2) only 1K traded each day, can you get it out without paying high trading cost when you want to get it out?

  353. yikes says:

    Frank says:
    July 18, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    #330,
    Will this replace the dots on their heads??

    nothing like racist, unfunny frank to kill a saturday.

    grim, what does this guy have to do to get banned? he brings noting to the table except racist bile.

  354. Shore Guy says:

    SAS,

    “Hack” was one of a kind and a good guy. In SEA he protrcted his men when the powers that be made it difficult to do so.

    If you had a chance to get to know him, I suspect you would have liked him.

  355. Shore Guy says:

    SAS,

    “Hack” was one of a kind and a good guy. In SEA he protrcted his men when the powers that be made it difficult to do so.

    If you had a chance to get to know him, I suspect you would have liked him.

  356. Shore Guy says:

    “Stu’s good samaritan turn for the day, he convinced a local woman that it was not a bright play to continue playing $5/hand blackjack for at least an hour in order to earn a free $7 prime rib dinner”

    What are the odds she is underwater on her house?

  357. BC Bob says:

    “I am just calling what i see.Correct me if you see it differently.Who really is the bagholder?”

    The answer is in the mirror. What color is the paper in your wallet?

  358. BC Bob says:

    Yikes [358],

    Give him a break. He’s lost, has no idea who he is/where he is.

    Unfortunately, for us, he somehow found this site.

  359. Firestormik says:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIwC1ei-6mE
    Ehh. Cannot believe I am that old. Listening to some stuff I used to in youth

  360. Firestormik says:

    And this is return of classic
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsXOcK9_Cw

  361. safeashouses says:

    Here’s 1 in Livingston sold at 610k in 8/06 for 610k, now listed at 359k.

    http://www.trulia.com/property/1045413787-57-Burnet-St-Livingston-NJ-07039

    The list is 41% off the previous sale.

  362. Dissident HEHEHE says:
  363. Jamey says:

    131: That’s genius! Not only does it solve the healthcare crisis, but also Social Security and Medicare. Everyone just go off and die! When will some bold Republican in Congress propose this plan?

    Actually, I’m waiting for a Republican to propose a plan other than this. And I’ve been waiting for more than 20 years…

Comments are closed.