From the Star Ledger:
N.J. sees 29 percent, year-end jump in residential foreclosure filings
As the real estate market struggles to gain its footing back, the state’s number of residential foreclosure fillings jumped 29 percent at year’s end from 2008, according to data from the state judiciary.
Homeowners saw a record number of foreclosure filings in 2009. The housing crisis as well as the jobless rate — of 10.1 percent, which recently eclipsed the national rate in December — wreaked havoc on New Jerseyans who were forced into loan modifications, short sales, and even foreclosure.
Last year, banks filled 62,775 filings, up from 48, 698 in 2008.That’s a far cry from 2006, when only about 23,000 notices were filled.
The parts of the state with the widest margins of fillings increase were Atlantic and Bergen counties — 55 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
And the counties that saw the smallest jumps were Cumberland and Essex Counties — 11 percent and 12 percent increases, each.
From the Philly Inquirer:
Mortgage foreclosures way up in N.J.
New Jersey’s residential-mortgage foreclosure rate shot up 29 percent from 2008 to 2009, with a South Jersey county among the hardest hit, according to statistics released yesterday.
The number of commercial foreclosures, meanwhile, was up 68 percent, from 875 to 1,471.
The counties with the biggest increases in residential foreclosures were Atlantic, Bergen, and Sussex.
…
The foreclosure crisis will not get better any time soon, said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.The crisis started when lenders sold exotic mortgages to people who neither understood nor could afford them. Now the crisis is rapidly moving through the middle class.
“There were a lot of sharks in the cities getting people to buy existing housing at inflated prices, and people were in over their heads. You had all those scandalous mortgage products,” Hughes said.
And he said there is a “shadow inventory” of foreclosures. At President Obama’s request, many banks have held back on publicly filing foreclosure actions, but that won’t last.
…
Many residents find their mortgages are higher than their home values, putting them under water.“Joining into the aftereffects of predatory lending, you now have middle-class households who have lost their jobs and stretched themselves too thin,” Hughes said.
…
The courts have been feeling the bump since at least 2007, when filings went up from 24,857 to 36,360.Kevin Wolfe, chief of civil practice in the Administrative Office of the Courts, said there was a five- to six-month backlog in reviewing cases.
lisoosh,
you’ve got mail
sl
From the NYT:
Obama to Propose Limits on Risks Taken by Banks
President Obama on Thursday will publicly propose giving bank regulators the power to limit the size of the nation’s largest banks and the scope of their risk-taking activities, an administration official said late Wednesday.
The president, for the first time, will throw his weight behind an approach long championed by Paul A. Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve and an adviser to the Obama administration. The proposal will put limits on bank size and prohibit commercial banks from trading for their own accounts — known as proprietary trading.
The White House intends to work closely with the House and Senate to include these proposals in whatever bill dealing with financial regulation finally emerges from Congress.
Mr. Volcker flew to Washington for the announcement on Thursday. His chief goal has been to prohibit proprietary trading of financial securities, including mortgage-backed securities, by commercial banks using deposits in their commercial banking sectors. Big losses in the trading of those securities precipitated the credit crisis in 2008 and the federal bailout.
Finally listening to Volcker, Obama? You played this one out just like Carter did. Right choice, but you made it too late.
Financial regulation? Too late, the momentum is gone. Glass Steagall? Your cabinet won’t want to swallow the kind of medicine that Paul will dole out, nor will congress. Alienate their biggest donors, never. Hey O, who paid for that fancy inauguration anyway*? What a way to say thanks.
At best, what we’ll see from your administration is a watered down hand slap. At worst we’re going to see a 900,000 page piece of pork filled, loophole ridden legislation that does nothing towards it’s intended goal.
Failure here too, O-man.
*Securities and Investment ranked top industry for donors to the Obama Inauguration, with 120 firms providing $3.7 million.
Roubini Says Stock Rally May End Amid Muted Recovery
O done. Equity markets done. Housing market toast.
Now, everybody knows it.
Oblivion beckons.
Smoke ’em if you got ’em.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSg4xVd.jyAQ&pos=6
SG @ 4 –
This link seems to work.
#3 – Finally listening to Volcker, Obama? You played this one out just like Carter did. Right choice, but you made it too late.
What a shame… so much squandered opportunity to have set things on a better course.
Too little too late
Clot I just quit, nothing like waiting for Godot desperately wanting a smoke
http://baselinescenario.com/2010/01/20/paul-volcker-prevails/
“Paul Volcker Prevails” Simon Johnson
We will have to see what they announce today –
Where is BC Bob? – Bob – Could it be that they will finally listen to Volcker?
Too late. The Titanic has already hit the iceberg.
http://www.businessinsider.com/is-the-new-battle-against-wall-street-why-elizabeth-warren-met-with-david-axelrod-today-2010-1
I wonder if Elizabeth helped – just a little…
Volker? Volker?! Who is he? Summers! Geithner! THESE are NEW thinkers for MODERN times.
We don’t need old school. Times are different, and we have hope. Hope I tell you. Hope and Goldman Sachs.
Oh Clot – Let me enjoy today anyway…until they find loopholes and succumb to lobbyist pressure.
Man, that loss yesterday must have really scared a few regarding their jobs come November.
11 – she was on msnbc this morning slapping maria barto, a little.
Our President is grasping at friggin straws.
David @sswholerod. Political hacks like that clown are 3/4’s of the problem. I love watching these administrations try damage control. It’s all a game to placate the masses while maintaining the status quo.
14 Ruggles – I heart Elizabeth……
Obama on Nightline last night seemed to say that the American people were uninformed, blaming him for bank bailouts. Mentioned that it was done before him. Democrats are going to get crushed in Nov. Fox news is grinning from ear to ear.
O seems to be 1 year too late. Too bad he didn’t do this Jan 2009.
Maybe Timmay will be resigning soon? That would be a great Chinese New Year gift for us all.
I wonder if O just got a good look into the abyss and crapper his pants, promptly begging volker to Dave his ass?
Not that it matters at this point. We already hit the iceberg, the best we can do at this point is to shutoff the engines so we don’t plow the ship nose first to the bottom.
At least the band will get to play a little longer. Oh, and the lifeboats wetefull and shoved of ages ago. Best find some debris that will float, that water is going to be cold.
Ok was out at a cocktail party, the new Capitial Grill downtown good place to hang. Anyhow two people wanted to buy in snooty BC train towns or up by Larchmont or Harrision and keep getting outbid, both said bidding wars are driving them nuts. One girl had a really nice house that was on market for 1.3 million from a relocation company, she put in bid at 1.3 million and told them she has a 500k downpayment sitting in bank cash and has no current property to sell, one hour later was told another offer came in 1.365 cash three day close, she countered at 1.4 and was told too late house sold. This has happened to her three times since November, her price range is one million to 1.5 million.
Damn fat fingers and iPhone keypad don’t go well together :(
the new Capitial Grill downtown good place to hang. Anyhow two people wanted to buy in snooty BC train towns or up by Larchmont or Harrision and keep getting outbid, both said bidding wars are driving them nuts. One girl had a really nice house that was on market for 1.3 million from a relocation company, she put in bid at 1.3 million and told them she has a 500k downpayment sitting in bank cash and has no current property to sell, one hour later was told another offer came in 1.365 cash three day close, she countered at 1.4 and was told too late house sold. This has happened to her three times since November, her price range is one million to 1.5 million.
It may now be hitting B.O. that he has between now and Junish-August, and then Jan. ’11-Oct’11 (call it about 18 months) to get things done. The rest of the time will be given over to the midterm election posturing and the start of the ’12 presidential election. He squandered his political capital overreaching on healthcare and not considering the wishes/apprehensions of the public. Job One in January shoud have been putting a bridal and saddle on the banks, instead, he let them ride him.
Time to fire Tim to signal REAL focus on this issue.
that was pretty funny, bridal on the banks. Kind of Freudian. Like a John.
John, do you know the one girl with 500k in the piggy, or are you saying houses 1.25-1.7 are in a sweet spot.
“Maybe Timmay will be resigning soon?”
Oh, that’s right. B.O. does not believe in firing anyone, not even for frigging up the terrorist aprehension in Detroit. Did anyone catch our top spy chief on the Hill yesterday? He let rip that the Justice Dept bollixed up the situation and never consuulted him.
But we have hope.
Bridle even. LOL. THey could use a good sthuppen, I think, whether they wear a Bridal dress or not is up to them.
One can always tell how a president is doing based on the photos the press print:
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AT432_Health_A_20100120193623.jpg
27 Shore “Photos the press prints….”
Pat – Warning: Eye candy..
From Cosmo’s 1982…
http://peoplemagazinedaily.com/?p=4349
Weekly initial unemployment claims are up. I suppose that’s to be expected post holidays.
Hyde I phone? I thought you were going all Luddite/Kazinski on us?
The Prez is out of touce, he thought it would be easy to continue Georgey Boys policies re wars and bank bailouts and just sit back and watch his party collect the defense contractor and Wall Street campaign donations; add to it double digit unemployment and the lousy @ss healthcare bill which was really just a giveaway to insurance co’s and public employee unions and you understand why people are pissed.
Now they’ll stick their finger in the wind and go for a bunch of short sighted quick fixes to placate voter anger before the midterms. End of day pissed off voters beat campaign $.
still – thanks. Didn’t get it though.
Grim -could you forward to me s-l’s e-mail?
Back to hideous real estate….
Shore – instead of paying top dollar for island real estate, how about this instead located in beautiful West Orange…
“Poconos style” jacuzzi. Like being on vacation at home!!!
http://imagehost.gsmls.com/pubhigh/90/2734890_8.jpg
This beautiful bi-level can be had for only $510,000. Annual taxes are ONLY $16,345.85!
I’m not sure if someone beat me to it but I’m calling bs on china’s 10.7% growth. Maybe it’s better that it is really that high, now they can properly valuate the yuan.
33.
That is fantastic…the carpeting goes up the side of the bath tup. Hilarious.
Cindy if you are still here -education question.
How much h-work for a 2nd grader? My daughter is getting over 1 hour a night and I’ve just about had it. Math “problems” that take 20-25 minutes and what is supposed to be 25 mins reading but she is the top reader in her class and she is expected to finish a chapter book in that time plus comprehension questions, plus a weekly grammer “packet” and other assorted extras.
It’s at the edge of too much and is so repetitive I don’t see how useful it is. Math should be enough to show they understand the work, not hours of endless drills. It’s seriously cutting into family time and her own down time.
GAtor,
And it is soooooooooo close to the Pru, for when Springsteen goes back on tour sometime.
I have to admit, the caribbean and that house are not even in the same league. It is, in a word, stunning.
Gator -OMG!
lisoosh,
email was from 2008, was a hotmail acct?
sl
Gator(33):
Love the mirror. John should buy it for his bachelor pad so he can have “sexy time” whenever he wants.
Re Strategic Default..
Nearly a year after the Obama administration unveiled its ambitious housing rescue program, foreclosure tallies continue to break records. Foreclosure filings were reported on more than 2.8 million properties in 2009, up 21 percent from the previous year and 120 percent from 2007, according to RealtyTrac. With nearly 10 percent of mortgages now delinquent–which is also a new record–even more homeowners appear headed for foreclosure this year. “A massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a statement. “Many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Strategic-Defaults-and-the-usnews-2190373684.html?x=0&mod=loans
sl
The MLS is 2734890 if you’d like to see the other pics. But none of the rest of them can compare.
Shore – you’re also near the Whole Foods, the K-Mart and the Wendys where everyone in West Orange apparently buys their Heroin. Also in the West Orange Plaza is the Comcast office where the clerks sit behind bullet-proof glass. Not sure if that is just a general neighborhood safety issue or a precaution because everyone here hates Comcast so much.
HE (31)-
No election’s gonna solve anything. Time to go to the mattresses.
Jobless claims were pretty bad this morning. Have no fear though.
“The Labor Department said claims piled up due to short holiday staffing at state processing centers. Market News International is quoting a Labor Department analyst as saying the week’s gain is “not economic, but administrative.”
In other news Goldman Sachs earnings were through the roof. Anyone surprised?
soosh (36)-
How the hell else are they gonna teach your kid to shut up, take orders and go out and buy stuff when prompted?
Your kid is being conditioned, not educated.
Soosh, wait ’til your kid comes home and tells you to vote for the school budget.
Yes, this happened in my home. Once.
“you’re also near the Whole Foods, the K-Mart and the Wendys where everyone in West Orange apparently buys their Heroin.”
Convenient to shopping? Check!
“West Orange Plaza is the Comcast office where the clerks sit behind bullet-proof glass.”
Locl employers care about employee safety and health? Check!
“bi-level”
Built in exercise program? Check!
Man, this place has it all, including blur shag carprt crawling up th tub, just like a caribbean wave.
Gator, that room is breathtaking.
“In other news Goldman Sachs earnings were through the roof. ”
Stu,
Not to worry, the gains were administrative, not economic.
Gotta figure the NJEA’s gonna fight back hard vs CC by stepping up the brainwash on the kids.
All for the kids, don’t you know?
36 Lisoosh
Your district should have a published homework policy. Ours is 15 minutes a night per grade level beginning in first grade.
1st – 15 minutes
2nd – 30 minutes
3rd – 45 minutes
up to an hour and a half by grade 6.
The real problem is that the grade 1 and 2 homework MUST BE DONE with the parent – or you just get a mess.
(The joke in the sixth grade is that the kids are happy to go to junior high because they have less homework.)
In my grade-two room, we have a weekly homework folder with reading, spelling, language, and math homework – folder goes home on a Friday – due every Friday. Students also need to read 500 pages per quarter and do two book reports. When all is said and done, that works out to about 30 minutes a night, 5 days a week.
“breathtaking”
It literally sucks the breath right out off the viewer.
Code – not in a “top tier” school district. They don’t train the kids to ask for money, they send notes.
My daughter flat out refused to do an “optional” project and I’m fine with that.
Worse is when I find out how they waste time at school – her dance (?????, well at least them move) teacher was off so the substitute had them watch a movie. Physical activity/recess at school is already at the minimum -I’d have rather he took them outside and had them run around.
We have a new principal who is actually pretty good and finally settling in, so time to start pushing, I know quite a few parents who are pi$$ed.
s/l — yup, that’s the e-mail. Maybe check the spelling?
I had the misfortune of going to that Comcast office last month. I was the only person there swapping out a broken box, everyone else there was paying there cable bills with cash. The experience was like an abridged version of a trip to DMV or the Social Security office.
So, NOW O’s gonna rein in the banks? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Watch Jamie & Lloyd bitch-slap him to the back of the bus.
The really sad thing is, they’re gonna put Tall Paul right at the front of the infantry line & let him very publicly get gunned down.
Can’t stop cancer with an aspirin.
Oh come on Shore, all you need is a white noise machine set to play soothing oceanic sounds and you’re all set. No need to pay for airfare, risk flying commercial or pay for flood/hurricane insurance. It’s perfect when you think of it. Really!
I got 1-3 hours a night in 2-3 grade in my district, no child left behind baby, those scores better rock.
Cindy says:
January 21, 2010 at 9:20 am
36 Lisoosh
Your district should have a published homework policy. Ours is 15 minutes a night per grade level beginning in first grade.
1st – 15 minutes
2nd – 30 minutes
3rd – 45 minutes
up to an hour and a half by grade 6
Gator
You found it the bathroom out of the porno Hot & H0rny disco Babes.
total awesomeness and with resonable taxes too!
god my spelling is awful this morning.
Safe DMV is actually better than the cable offices
soosh (53)-
That substitute messed up. She should’ve passed around grape sodas and potato chips during the movie.
Clot,
Yesterday when I was waiting to pick up littlesafe the moms were talking about enrolling their kids in the local soccer league. But get this. The kids had to do tests and drills for an evaluation. They are 7 years old. WTF! What ever happened to picking teams based on where you live unless the kid requests to be on the same team as their friend is on or drawing names out of a hat?
Why do I get the feeling someone has peed in that bathtub at some point?
33.NJGator says:
January 21, 2010 at 8:59 am
Shore – instead of paying top dollar for island real estate, how about this instead located in beautiful West Orange…
http://imagehost.gsmls.com/pubhigh/90/2734890_8.jpg
Cindy -that’s what I heard, 15 mins per grade. She handles it fine on her own, my issue is that they are going for quantity over quality.
GS crushes. Time for BO to come out and complain about the banks while the Fed keeps giving them free $$.
His approval rating is in toilet and will be lower than Bush’s by summer. Roaches in Congress will turn on him to save themselves.
It’s party time at Fox News.
It really is amature hour in the B.O. WH. There is no better time to try and deal with “Mid-East” peast than when a president has just had his head handed to him and is percieved as being weak and ineffectual.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/21/mitchell.mideast/
#60 Pain
While I was in line at the cable office I kept looking around wondering how are we the world’s superpower and thinking “no one will be spared”
John (59)-
Right. And they taught you risk management and bond-trading, too. How did you get all that work done and have time left over for tagging subway cars?
“I got 1-3 hours a night in 2-3 grade in my district…”
“Why do I get the feeling someone has peed in that bathtub at some point?”
or been conceived. where’s snooki from?
safe (62)-
No wonder 75% of all kids in the US who play soccer quit by the age of 14.
#61 – Code – she probably did.
61 – Code – okay, belly laugh here.
d2b (65)-
Time for somebody to clue in O as to the meaning of “Et tu, Brute?”.
He doesn’t need to worry about nutjobs gunning for him in public. The Senate will do the job like the pros they are.
safe 62 -sounds like a travel league. Is there a recreational one around somewhere? Ours is pretty casual/for fun. Of course some parents get all antsy, the main reason I never volunteer to coach or be team parent, I just help run the concession stand – free pizza and protected from the rain.
“Roaches in Congress will turn on him to save themselves.”
Look for the Dems who are in heavily-republican/independent and heavily-union districts to peel away first. B.O. has not delivered for the unions (where is EFCA?), and the R’s and I’s who voted for him based on hope, change, or some form of guilt, will not back a member of the House if tht person is not reflecting their needs and wants in congress.
64 – Lisoosh – Quantity over quality? – can’t help you there. I’d call that a teacher issue. We focus on reading.
Allowing Congress to do healthcare on their own is akin to putting a side of beef with a pack of feral dogs and expecting them to create Chateaubriand.
#76 -yeah it’s a teacher issue. I’ll need to speak to them. Daughter already reads at 6th grade level or thereabout so what’s to focus on?
lisoosh,
sent.
sl
My kids do that much homework, I didn’t heck I didn’t even have a bedroom in the bronx, my and my brother slept in living room. Heck in college I average maybe 12-30 minutes a week studying, gradschool maybe two hours a week, I really don’t see the point of studying. Plus, in grad school, between a job, a girlfriend, a girl on the side, Thursdays nights out with the boys, three nights at gym and a hamptons and ski house plus an MBA program, I rather sleep than study. Teachers respect playas, just give them a little respect and some juicy gossip and it goes a long way. Oh yea lots of people dying and sick parents help. I think my friend Ed his Dad died everytime he failed a midterm so he could get a make up exam or extra credit.
The Condition-Code Red says:
January 21, 2010 at 9:28 am
John (59)-
Right. And they taught you risk management and bond-trading, too. How did you get all that work done and have time left over for tagging subway cars?
“I got 1-3 hours a night in 2-3 grade in my district…”
Any chance Issac the bartender is making drinks in the hallway outside that bathroom?
Maybe we could set a pack of feral dogs loose into Congress?
Just downloaded Lil Gator’s Kindergarten registration packet for next year. Stu thinks we should select Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander for Lil Gator to help him get our first choice school. It’s not really a lie. He was conceived in Hawaii. Does that not count?
Our magnet school themes include:
University Magnet – “Everyone Teaches, Everyone Learns”
K-5 Montessori (the only public one in the state of NJ)
Gifted & Talented – “School’s responsibility is to identify and nurture children’s special abilities based on the belief that all have special gifts and talents. (Is this the everyone gets a trophy school?)
Global Studies – This school comes complete with a “Global Studies Specialist”. Each grade studies a continent and the Global Studies Specialist meets with all students.
Environmental Science – “Recognizes the uniqueness and diversity of all families and works to include the philosophy into the development of the whole child. Draws upon the strengths of its families and sees them as partners in and out of the school setting. Families are encouraged to share talents.”
Science and Technology
Lisoosh – I always use writing for advanced readers. Let her create her own character and write a series. It is fun for kids that age.
Charles created “Marshmellow Man” last year – a crack up…
Gotta run – have a great day…
lisoosh, I had the same problem in second grade with the homework. Hours and yelling and frustration.
When she turned 8 and went into third, though, it seemed like a light bulb went off and she could zip through it without all the angst. They moved her ahead again, she had to learn times tables and long division in like 2 weeks, and the homework increased, but I didn’t see a blip this time. Maybe there’s some kind of hurdle each child goes through at a different point.
It helps that she gets up before 7 and knows she has to do her reading in the morning. Then all she does at night is a couple pages of the spelling package, maybe a hundred math problems (they’re doing fraction reduction right now.) and write a paragraph in her journal. Takes an hour.
Personally, I think parents are actually teaching the kids the stuff so the kids can spend all day in line waiting to go to rotation, waiting to go to lunch, waiting to to to recess, waiting to go back, etc….
“After the double dip in new home sales and NAHB confidence, we are starting to see the beginning of the end of the improvement in firings: initial claims in the week ended January 16 came in at 482,000, higher than the estimate which expected a number of 440,000, which was supposed to be an improvement from the prior week’s 446,000. The good news was that the spread between seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate tightened by 20 bps from 110 bps to 90 bps (3.5% SA vs 4.4% NSA). But by far the worst news was EUC, or Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which as even Mr. Liesman acknowledges now is important, which shot up by a stunning 652,364 to 5,654,544. The end-beginning of the year transition sure caught the DOL offguard. The combination of initial, continuing claims and EUC for the most recent period is a record 10,701,794 Seasonally Adjusted or a whopping 12,021,880 Non-Seasonally Adjusted. The double dip is here, and unfortunately for Obama, he is all out of stimulus bullets.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/initial-claims-misses-estimate-42k-emergency-compensation-explodes-652k-over-last-week
I guess Meredith Whitney is just Jim Cramer with saggy(ier) b o o b s.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Meredith-Whitney-Cuts-Goldman-cnbc-3127097753.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=3&asset=&ccode=
Get rid of Ben and Timmy put in paul and someone whom he wants in and I’ll sell shiny and go long USD.
No one puts Tall paul on the back of the bus. NO one.
neither Jamie nor Loyd can shine his shoes.
gator (83)-
Flee, while you still have the chance.
I know enough on risk mangagement to teach a class on it, in fact London, Toyko, Dallas, Germany Chicago and NY I spoke on risk mgt. Heck in Japan I spoke for four hours straight and still don’t know if anyone in room spoke English.
Chifi, is a heck of a lot more book smart than I will ever be. I am more like Mark Sanchez, he has to write the plays on his arm, but hey it works for him.
The Condition-Code Red says:
January 21, 2010 at 9:28 am
John (59)-
Right. And they taught you risk management and bond-trading, too. How did you get all that work done and have time left over for tagging subway cars?
make (89)-
Nobody puts Baby in the corner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vciEDI3dD8I
Gator, from yesterday…
“In Livingston that number is 95.24% for this tax year – which means that the average home last year sold for more than it’s assessment.”
Are these numbers available somewhere, or was this you going through all sales and crunching them yourself?
John (91)-
Was it you who told the Japs it’d be a good idea to run their debt to 2x GDP? Or did you just give them a bunch of juicy junk bond picks?
wow…my child has very little homework. We aren’t in a blue ribbon school district though.
I kind of like it because it gives us more time to do some work that I want her to do like learning to write cursive well and doing word problems in math.
Clot 90 – We’re trying. No inventory at the moment for purchase. We’d also be open to renting if the right opportunity came along.
But I’ve got to go through registration and ranking the schools just in case we get stuck. My hope is that the bandwagon this year will all be for the new $35M school (the Environmental Science school) making it easier for us to get Lil Gator into our first choice of another school. There’s a super secret algorithm that matches kids to schools. After kids with siblings already in the schools got placed (the district guarantees it won’t split up families, unless the family requests it) some schools have a very limited amount of open spots for new students. The district then ensures that each school is racially balanced. If you don’t get your first choice, you are usually doomed to the “Gifted and Talented” school – it’s K-2 and has half the kindegarten slots for the district. It also has the worst start time for working parents – 9:20. We need to avoid that school like the plague because Lil Gator would be sitting in 2 hours of before care before classes even start.
All-time best Mish today:
“Goldman Sachs is best viewed as a hedge fund. It is ridiculous that such an operation can borrow money from the Fed for virtually nothing and not only trade that money, but trade against the advice they are handing out to clients, with leverage!
Thanks to the Fed, Goldman Sachs can do just that. So the first thing I would do would be to remove the bank holding company status of Goldman Sachs.
The second thing I would do would effectively require it to break up.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/01/glass-steagall-be-careful-what-you-wish.html
New Jersey actually has terrible schools. For instance, New Jersey is a state, Long Island is just a small part of the state of New York. For instance the Intel Contest, last week picked the 300 smartest kids science whizzes in the USA. 61 were from Long Island alone.
New Jersey is so bad I mentioned this last week to three people who went to NJ Public Schools and none of them every heard of it. My HS sent kids every year I was there. It is a big deal. Plus NJ has much less top 100 HS than LI, how can that be? The sadder part is BC has higher school taxes than LI, I hate LI school taxes but my HS had Intel winners and is in the top schools list. Certain blue ribbon BC towns have double the school taxes of my town and have neither. It is a complete myth about Jersey schools being good.
Dink 93 – You can go here. Click on your county and it will show you the average ratios for each town.
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/lpt/chapter123.shtml
Gator (96)-
It is truly amazing that a city in the US can model itself after a failed Iron Curtain dictatorship.
..and that there are enough rich, stupid, guilt-addled liberals to populate it.
renter…we live in a school district that really pushes to be number one in the country.
Good for Federal government recruiting, good for NCLB, good for Maryland….bad for kids, especially for kids with working parents. However, the policies are so strictly enforce that the kids with no home support are assigned incredible resources at school to try to get them above par.
If you look at a staffing diagram at our elementary school, there are about 380 kids, 16 regular class teachers, 4 art/music teachers, and get this: 12 special ed teachers…like reading specialists, etc. That’s almost one extra teacher for each class to bring the lower kids up.
I think I spoke on Integrating SOX, FDICIA, Basel II,Jap FSA and internal Op, mkt, business and Credit risk silos into a holistic view of risk to capture thematic and systemic risk that may otherwise go undetected. Plus more efficient and can leverage synergies while allow risk to bubble up more quickly to the C-level.
The Condition-Code Red says:
January 21, 2010 at 10:03 am
John (91)-
Was it you who told the Japs it’d be a good idea to run their debt to 2x GDP? Or did you just give them a bunch of juicy junk bond picks?
Yeah, but did you get laid at any of these conferences?
More Mish:
“Expecting trading divisions to not talk to investment advice divisions within a single company is like expecting unsupervised teenagers in a room with a keg of beer to not drink. It won’t happen.
I believe it is unethical if not outright fraudulent to front run trades or to trade against advice given to clients. Units that offer advice must be physically separated, not logically separated from units that trade their own accounts. The only sure-fire way to make that happen is to physically breakup the companies.
All of this dark-pool stuff of sniffing out orders and front-running trades has to go as well.”
Clot:
If the senior center passes, I will do my best to shame the town council and mayor through the initiation of a recall process. I don’t really even care if it fails as the purpose is to send a wake up call to the non-stop spending and bonding. This particular mayor is by far the most clueless politician I have ever witnessed in my life. Look for the articles in the Times in the near future. Man is Montclair going to be embarrassed.
seems that we have a problemin AC.
penn slots pass NJ for the first time.
my oh my
John, did the Japanese get the whole thing about the crap on the lawn when you used it as an example for holistics, or were they like WTF?
Stu (106)-
Go for the jugular!
Clot 101 – You can’t imagine the half of it. And the referendum to switch to an elected school board was actually defeated in large part because of the support for the magnet school system. The pro-appointed people scared the community into believing that the elected board supporters wanted to dismantle the magnet system.
The school assignment process is a huge target for a lawsuit and the school district knows it. They should have gotten their act together already. The Supreme Court struck down race based school assignment plans in Seattle and Louisville in 2007. They should have already switched to a more neutral residential zone/eligibility for free/reduced price lunch status for making the assignments. This would give them more legal cover. But of course the district is slow and lazy to respond.
Pat (108)-
I think I now know why Japan isn’t famed for its wide array of onion dishes.
John,
When was the last time a Long Island school district was ranked #1 in the country and when was the last time a Jersey school was ranked #1?
Cherry-picking a science contest which not every school signs up for doesn’t seem that big a deal.
It wasn’t like I went to college thinking “Oh, those kids are from Long Island, I can’t compete with them!” unless I was looking to beat them to a drug dealer. Then I’d lose.
Safe one thing about the cable offices, like you I’m there for box replacement and the one thing that got me was this. If your paying your late bill with cash, you probably have other priorities that require that cash more. Drop the cable, it is a luxury item not a necessity! Hell if I didn’t have a hockey and history addiction I would have dropped it ages ago.
We are all doomed
still – I appreciate the effort, something not working though, unless you are ebay, costco or selling pharm. from Canada.
I’ll email via grim.
Safe – re Livingston previous thread – Looking at the listings that popped in my inbox over the previous few days, I’d say ASI did the same chop job they did here. In general non-updated homes were assessed higher (compared to their actual value) than updated ones – sometimes these homes were assessed above actual market value at the time of the assessment. And of course in the market correction that has followed since the assessment, the updated homes have not dropped as much in value.
Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples when you are comparing assessment ratios.
106 Stu: You are now opposed to out of control government spending? You evil racist tea-bagger! you are just like those clueless people in TX and MA.
#70 Clot
Stories like skill testing 7 year olds really turn me off to the whole concept of team sports for my kids. I’d rather have them take swimming lessons and martial arts instead if they want to.
My friends and I never played cap and little league baseball. We just played for hours after school or had hitting contests where if you struck out, flied out, or hit 3 grounders in a row you were out. By 8th grade I could outhit every kid who wound up playing Freshman baseball. The coach kept asking me to play, I just didn’t want to practice 3 hours a day and thought a lot of the kids on the teams were jerks so I did track instead.
My HS was number 1 when I graduated. They did it by agressively pushing non-performing kids into BOCES or catholic schools while aggresively forcing kids over 16 or 17 out the door with poor grades so they did not have to count them in graduation stats, teachers did pay for tuturing for their own tests and we hire the current writer of the current SAT to teach prep course with live questiosn from upcoming exam, that and guidance counselor forced you into better colleges. Put down Oswego on a form and counselor forced me to not to apply there. On top of that they started a large student aid fund to pay in cash not reported to financial aid for kids who wanted to go to better colleges but could not afford it. I got a check to go to a better school. Bought a convertible with it. That is how a player gets to be number one. We had more intel scientists than intel. We sent tons to Harvard and banged out perfect sat scores like no bodies business. I was not allowed to be stupid. They forced me to take SAT reveiw classes during school hours and SOBs jammed me into summer school twice on top of bribing me to go to a better college. Does your school do any of this. That is how to be number 1. Take the metrics they use and concentrate on that and nothing else.
John – you’re right about the NJ school myth (not that LI is anything great). It’s what people keep telling themselves to heal the sting of high prices, high taxes, killer stress and car busting commutes.
renter – I’m not IN a “blue ribbon” district. That’s the funny thing.
Don’t know but I added stories in London and they were shocked. I got an “you americans” think just cause you are american you can say things that we would never say.
Pat says:
January 21, 2010 at 10:22 am
John, did the Japanese get the whole thing about the crap on the lawn when you used it as an example for holistics, or were they like WTF?
#113 Pain
Don’t be so hard on TV. It’s what raising our nation’s children. :)
So much easier then parenting too! /off sarcasm
Jamil,
Keep on believing!
#115 Gator,
It just drives me nuts. It seems like anything in good shape and good location sells pretty quickly around a 2004 price, everything else just sits.
I expect this one to go pretty quickly near ask.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Livingston-Twp_NJ_07039_1115399299
Safe,
Can you believe what is in the listing?
Washer – 2004
Attic fan – 2002
Roof installed – 2000
Kitchen cabinets and dishwasher – 1995 Hot water heater – 1992
Furnace and air conditioner – 1989
Are these supposed to help sell the place or make potential buyers run from it?
Hot water heater 1992? That sucker should be leaking by now. A 15-year old dishwasher? Come on.
I might just stop in to visit this realtor just to see if she is Jamil’s secret identity.
safe (117)-
There are good soccer clubs out there that will not start the East German thing on your kid at 7 y/o. You may also want to look into getting him into a community program until he’s around 9 or so.
John (118)-
This is what my prep school did to me, and I hope you are not as fckued-up as I am (although I suspect you are).
119
What would you like to see in terms of homework? I don’t know how much value it has in elementary school.
safe (123)-
Who died in that dump?
The mighty dollar is back but the Russians havent caught on.
“Russia’s central bank announced on Wednesday that it had started buying Canadian dollars and securities in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange reserves. Analysts said the move could be a sign of increased diversification of emerging market central bank assets away from the dollar and into investments denominated in other commodity-linked currencies, such as the Australian dollar.
Adam Cole at RBC Capital Markets said if taken in isolation, Russia’s announcement that it was buying Canadian dollars was not significant, but if it was part of a broader trend, then it was an important step. “If it is a barometer for the activity of other central banks, then its is structurally positive for the currencies of countries like Canada and Australia that have a commodity bias in their economies,” he said.”
#124 Stu,
People will just see the house looks nice, and is on a side street about 3 blocks from the high school. I think most people don’t pay attention to the infrastructure until they have the keys to the place and see how much work needs to be done.
How about an upgraded split on a side street within walking distance of an elementary school, high school, supermarket, restaurants, and the library.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Livingston-Twp_NJ_07039_1113158104
Safe, reread that listing. The realtor really ought to be authoring a novel. I’ve seen a lot of polished turds in these property descriptions, but she has somehow turned this wallpapered bowel movement into a some sort of modern gem.
Best line in the description:
“A door opens to the yard, creating an easy transition from indoor to outdoor living…”
#18 – Is he still trying to blame Bush? Does he think we have short memories? Bush has some blame here but only last January President-elect Barack Obama lobbied the Senate for Obama’s incoming administration to spend the second $350 billion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Obama also telephoned several senators before the vote. He offered up his personal assurances that the money would be used for its intended purposes of addressing the foreclosure crisis.
Remember that program was legislated to buy up bad mortgage securities, that never happened ofcourse.
Sorry Barry you F-ed up, we all know it too thanks to the internet.
#128 Clot
Similar, smaller houses in horrible shape in less desirable sections went for 600k at the peak. A house like that listing is probably around 30% or more off the peak.
I drove past that house and it has curb appeal and that whole section of Livingston is pretty nice.
Safe, 130 is twice the value of that wallpapered literary masterpiece you posted earlier. Appearance wise, you could just change out those shutters and it would actually look half way decent.
Safe 130 – That sure is one p*mped up split. I hate those bowl sinks. They look ridiculous. And all that money for viking and granite and no one bothered to replace those butt ugly shutters?
62: A (much) younger me would say that they’re probably trying to distribute the skill levels (yes, at 7) evenly among the teams. Having been through it as a coach and parent, someone’s going to load up on the ringers to the extent they exist.
China worse than NJ?
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/china/article/753651–show-about-runaway-house-prices-irks-china-leadership
The people were frauded again.
Scott Brown 24-Hours Later! Health Care For Everyone!
‘We’re past campaign mode. I think it’s important for everyone to get some form of health care. So, to offer a basic plan for everybody, I think is important.”
http://c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/01/20/HP/R/28644/Republican%20Scott%20Brown%20wins%20MA%20Senate%20Seat.aspx
RE: “That is fantastic… the carpeting goes up the side of the bath tub”
The kitchen has granite counters!
http://imagehost.gsmls.com/pubhigh/90/2734890_1.jpg
Bars on the windows, a great value for buyers…
http://imagehost.gsmls.com/pubhigh/90/2734890_6.jpg
Stu and Gator,
Those shutters are now gone. I drove past it and didn’t spot the house at first (was looking for those shutters).
My wife wants a place with a basement. I’d rather grab something like that split and sell/donate/toss everything we have stored in the basement.
This is my “perfect house” except that I could buy it for $200,000 less.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Pennington_NJ_08534_1109459195
Safe – If you do buy it, file a tax appeal (will cost you $25), reduce your assessment by 10% and funnel the savings into replacing that god awful sink!
John,
Yes, but did they teach you sex ed? :)
lisoosh,
Forwarded to grim to send to you.
Off to work shortly
Good day all!
sl
qwerty, #140
Those look like child safety bars to me.
“Why do I get the feeling someone has peed in that bathtub at some point?”
Chi, It’s ashame. Your comment didnt get nearly as much credit as it deserved.
I have never been to this house, but somehow i can pretty much guarantee that the mirrors continue up the wall and throughout the ceiling.
http://imagehost.gsmls.com/pubhigh/90/2734890_8.jpg
I thought he pee comment was quite clever as well!
Because the real line was,
“Why do I get the feeling the carpet smells like pee – especially on the sides of the tub?”
Lishoosh,
My daughter just turned 8 and is in second grade. School is way too easy for her. They do weekly spelling tests that they send home every week. My kid hasn’t gotten a spelling word wrong yet this year, probably using words too easy, though my kid told me others are making mistakes. No other kid in her class can read at her level, so her reading group is boring – at least last year a Korean boy was able to keep up.
My girl finishes her work usually in about 5 minutes, though I think it’s supposed to take 15. I suspect your school is mandating math drills via homework. In my school, the teacher basically said, we don’t do drills, if you want your kids to learn their addition and subtraction, go buy flash cards and spend time with them. I spent an hour doing flash cards with her one weekend, after that she passed the lone boy who could out-math her. Now she sets up her own math and Brain-quest card competitions among her stuffed animals, so I don’t have to do it myself.
Teacher requires a reading log, but she already reads a lot, it’s a matter of remembering to write it down. She’s moved past Magic Tree house level, which is grade 2/3, and wants to tackle some longer books – The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables are on her next list. But she likes to read Humphrey hamster books for fun.
We’re moving to Bridgewater in a couple months, fortunately her Teacher has a sister teaching in that town and says she’ll help try to get her into the “advanced class” as Bridgewater apparently starts grouping kids by ability beginning in 3rd grade, something I greatly favor. Then kids hopefully won’t have to waste their time drilling the easy stuff they already know.
Renter – If you like classic foursquares, how about this one in Glen Ridge. Only $799k. Taxes are $22k.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/281-Forest-Ave_Glen-Ridge_NJ_07028_1111394604
Renter,
Why do you think that will go for 200k less?
Get your sexy on in this bathroom.
http://theworldfrommywindow.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/sexy-strange-bathroom-sink-designs.jpg
Our prez really is a $5 trick.
Pathetic.
safe,
A basement is one of the most important features of a house.
A house with no basement doesn’t feel right. And they sell for less, and are much harder to sell.
But once you’re in the house, you’ll come to appreciate a good-sized basement, or resent a house with a too-small basement.
Pat says:
January 21, 2010 at 11:33 am
Because the real line was, “Why do I get the feeling the carpet smells like pee – especially on the sides of the tub?”
Pat: You are all Jersey…why did you forsake us?
I grew up playing soccer in the UK, played college soccer in the US, and have coached a bunch.
Most, if not all, children under the age of 13 cannot understand the game tactically. Up until that age, I’d focus on technique. Get that down well enough so that they don’t have to think about technique and concentrate on the tactical aspects when they hit 13.
Is anyone interested in an IPO in the utility sector? I can get a prospectus sent to you. To be clear, I would not be party or involved in any way, nor would I receive any form of compensation explicit or derived…very interesting story…
Also, anyone professionally involved in Smart Grid?
152
I don’t think it will go for less, I just was wishing for a price I could afford.
Chi FI I may be get my email through Grim
Justin (157)-
Spot on.
Painhrtz says:
January 21, 2010 at 11:50 am
Chi FI I may be get my email through Grim
Well I would hope so!
Justin, Clot: Same rules apply to hockey as well. Clusterpuck is unfortunately the name of the game in the early years as a result. Practices must be all about developing puck skills, skating skills. Around 6th grade is when a child hockey player can start focusing on simple strategies such as organized break outs or triangle cycling, etc.
thanks Chi just realized how stupid I sound, but yes I could possibly be interested. please send the prosepectus.
155
The tax bill is amazing.
http://www.chhistory.org/HeritageTour.php?TourIndex=TourYear&YearDate=TRUE&View=2008&Street=Derbyshire_Road&NoAdd=2582&No
I know people love to make fun of Cleveland but Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights have the most beautiful houses.
Tefillin Terrorist scare on US Airways flight from NYC to Louisville today.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34973665/ns/travel-news/
157 – Justin,
I agree. Pushing organized tactics onto u-9 destroys creativity at a time when it is most crucial to build it.
Using that method however, will succeed at building a legion of upright, robotic stick figures who’s knees and hips dont fully bend and who play with the same consistent dispassion whether its the finals or friendly. Not different than the English national team.
And dont take that as a total slam. I’m a USA fan – if thats even possible.
screw grim…just e-mail me at chicagofinance at yahoo dot com
Painhrtz says:
January 21, 2010 at 12:12 pm
thanks Chi just realized how stupid I sound, but yes I could possibly be interested. please send the prosepectus.
Chifi, for once I am putting an A rated investment grade bond as my bond of the day. Just to make you happy.
COMERICA BANK SUB NT 8.37500% 07/15/2024
Basic Analytics
Price (Ask)
103.000
Yield to Worst (Ask)
7.570%
Yield to Maturity
8.020340%
Third Party Price
102.123
Coupon
8.375
COMERICA BANK SUB NT 8.37500% 07/15/2024
Call Defeased NO
Continuously Callable YES
Callable After 07/15/2014
Call Date Call Price Call Type
07/15/2014 100.000 Par Call
Moody’s Rating
A2
S&P Rating
A-
It’s official the US Gov is now a subsidiary of the Corporations.
Supreme Court eases restrictions on corporate campaign spending
The Supreme Court has given big business, unions and nonprofits more power to spend freely in federal elections, a major turnaround that threatens a century of government efforts to regulate the power of corporations to bankroll American politics.
A 5-4 conservative majority crafted a narrow overhaul of federal campaign spending Thursday that could have an immediate effect on this year’s congressional midterm elections.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/campaign.finance.ruling/index.html?hpt=T1
un pedazo de mierda
J?
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2122444920100121
What is the current call strike?
He posted that with a straight face, too.
grim #170 in Mod.
Here is the article
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/campaign.finance.ruling/index.html?hpt=T1
grim #170 in Mod.
JJ: I love those ciggy bonds…..really evil…
Man those bank stocks are getting anuses ripped to shreds right now….
Question: Does this place not scream, “Please buy me. I have huge roach nests inside every wall in the house.” ??
What could possibly be creepier
than a home so disheveled and rotten that the inside is completely un-photograghable?
Yet at the same time, asking 150% of going market price is totally appropriate.
But hey, the schools are good so its probably worth living in shack glued together with vomit.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/95-Robbinsville-Allentown-Rd_Robbinsville_NJ_08691_1115095554
117 – For crying out loud sellers, if your sliding glass door opens up to the front yard driveway, could you please put some clean sheets up on the curtain rods?
Jeez.
117 – oops i meant 177.
A.West says:
January 21, 2010 at 11:34 am
A.West….would you be interested in looking at a prospectus for a utility company? One of the CEO’s is a classmate from B-school. I know you are in AM…..I am not party and also receive not direct or implied comp. I also do not have personal holdings. I am clean on this….
not = no
Chi, are the ciggy bonds rated?
Chifi, I already own that bond, bought December 2008 at 73. The trader kicked my bid for another 20K at 102 so screw him I ain’t buying more.
scribe:
‘A basement is one of the most important features of a house.’
This is depressingly true, regardless of the fact that basement space is expensive, almost always sub-par for a number of reasons, and a completely unnecessary holdover from root-cellar days.
BBB – but they ain’t Tobacco bonds….I directed the comment at JJ…anyone else is on their own..you must do your own research….
#178 veto
A sliding glass door opening to the driveway is something you don’t see everyday. I thought the ladder leaning against the house was a nice, quick way to landscape.
Chi, Not at all, No advice taken. lol.
Was just going to throw in my 2 cents. BBB is institution buyer base.
Do you not think that play is already priced in? OR are you really interested in holding for the income?
Safe. See listing description.
“Ladder, washer, dryer and dirty sheets on windows not included.”
Chifi, when are we teaching a bond trading seminar, you could play dr. doom and I could play Jim Cramer.
re #178 – Market certainly believes Obama is serious this time.
VIX is up +17.18%
Hoboken market on fire this week, 8 UC.
http://hudson.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=7ff2f5cd-fb2d-48c3-88ae-c45840713f9f&Report=Yes
Actually Frank, the people are falling out of buildings in Hoboken this week and it wasn’t because of a fire.
Is it because they are regretting their Omama votes? so they are choosing to jump instead?
renter -nice taste.
Can someone please explain to the local hot dog vendor that sales don’t always equate to a rebound?
Here is an example that might work for you Frank.
In your typical workday you sell 5 hot dogs a day for a $1 each. You the cleverly decide to lower the price of a hot dog to a nickel and manage to sell 100 hot dogs in one day. I suppose you could then say that your business is on fire, right?
Holy sh1t, Frank is right!!!
http://tinyurl.com/Hoboken-RE-On-Fire
on fire = burning to the ground?
Chifi,
No thanks. Not in one of the industries I cover, and I avoid buying individual stocks pa.
We are talkin about hot dogs with a guy named Frank?
Mr. O is a one term president. I am already sick of him. Bring back a pro-business guy.
chi you got mail
WSJ
January 21, 2010, 1:17 PM ET
Mean Street: Obama is Killing America by Killing Wall Street. What has become of America?
Today, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein announced record annual profits of $13.4 billion for his bank.
He has repaid the U.S. taxpayer $11.42 billion for taking TARP money he didn’t want.
He will contribute another $6.4 billion in taxes to the general public.
And within weeks, if President Obama gets his way, Blankfein has a good shot at becoming the most hated man in our nation.
Apparently, this is now how we treat success in America. We damn it, and then we punish it by enacting loopy, politically expedient measures such as caps on Wall Street trading and principal investments.
Why is our country so self-destructive?
We need people to come together, but we engage in populist divisiveness. We need millions of jobs, but we kill the incentives and destroy the capital that will create them.
Please don’t accuse me of not “getting it.” I do “get it.” I “get” that Main Street is suffering. I “get” that Wall Street is full of selfish, greedy people. I ” get” that Wall Street engages in reckless trading. I “get” that no bank should be too big to fail.
But does anyone actually believe the new White House war on Wall Street will remedy any of that? I know I don’t.
This war is about politics. It’s about a big election loss in Massachusetts. It’s about pushing the blame for the nation’s misery from Washington onto Wall Street.
Is President Obama talking to Tora Bora terrorists or Park Avenue bankers when he says: “So if these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have.”
Unfortunately, it’s a fight that at least on the PR front Washington is already winning. Just read today’s subdued Goldman Sachs earnings release.
Total profits were a “record” at the bank, even if earnings per share weren’t. But you wouldn’t know that from the Goldman press release. Instead, the big PR highlight is “Compensation and Benefits Down By $4 billion or 20% From 2007. Lowest Annual Compensation.”
How perverse. Job creation in our economy comes from profits and growing incomes. But here is America’s best-run company almost ashamed of its profits and bragging about how much less it’s paying its people.
Make no mistake this war will damage the nation’s psyche. Just look at today’s stock market. In fact, the war’s unforeseen consequences are just now beginning to appear .
It’s bound to get very, very messy because in fact, contrary to the President’s assertion, the 2008 collapse had little to do with the dissolution of Glass-Steagall or proprietary trading by banks.
Sure, Wall Street was way too vulnerable because it was way too leveraged.
But AIG wasn’t a bank. Neither Lehman Brothers nor Bear Stearns took consumer deposits. And the hundreds of billions in losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the destruction of Wachovia, Washington Mutual and Countrywide had nothing to do with prop trading.
That was caused by banks lending money to millions of Americans to buy houses they couldn’t afford. You won’t hear much of that coming from Washington. After all, “It’s Actually Your Fault, America” is not a good slogan for a re-election campaign.
Veto That – ‘The Operation’ says:
January 21, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Chi, Not at all, No advice taken. lol.
Was just going to throw in my 2 cents. BBB is institution buyer base.
Do you not think that play is already priced in? OR are you really interested in holding for the income?
Vito: there is no play; it is what it is…..most people in non-taxable wouldn’t touch anything below AAA. However, a good amount of stuff had been knocked below that level and further much of the insurance for purposes of a defeasance can never be drawn.
“It’s Actually Your Fault, America” – Amazing how the smartest and arguably most powerful people in the world are always the victims. Hard to believe they can find their way out of bed in the mornings to get to work.
“Mr. O is a one term president. ”
Unless he wiggs out like Palen and defers to Biden for the last year to give him a sporting chance of heading off Hillary (who must be champing at the bit to challenge B.O.).
Chfi, are you talking about buying any old higher yielding B rated tobacco muni? That stuff I was buying in December 2008 to March 2009. Do you still think the yield is worth doing it?
Chi, Dont know anything about those bonds. But id buy most nj BBB bonds without sweating too much.
No matter what the ratings agencies say, over time, they will adjust to a global scale more accurately reflecting historical default rates. and that means the chances of muni upgrades or corp downgrades goes higher than ever before, even though public sector is facing sh!t storm of century.
Plus, when BABs legislation gets extended, there will be more supply issues with TE paper.
About that house in Robbinsville. For the same price I can get a 2 BR 2 Bath place, on stilts and protected from storm surge, with a heated pool (not huge but nice, a roof deck with a hottub overlooking a clear-blue-water and white-sand beach, which is 200 feet away.
Of course, I would pick Robbinsville, it has proximity to Manhattan. Trenton too.
“It’s Actually Your Fault, America”
Ruggles, That article reads like the big bad wolf telling a story how he was minding his own business and these three pigs jumped out of nowhere and beat him senseless. It was self defense i tell ya. Self defense.
Tim Ryan, CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, said the group supports “strengthened regulatory oversight, and flexibility like that originally proposed by the administration.”
Obama anticipated that reaction in his remarks.
“If these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have,” he said.
The ring leader was this tough chick. It was all HER fault. Eve, I think her name was; goes by Red.
“For the same price I can get…”
Shore, but the question is…
Do you those other homes offer the roach nests that this home offers?
If not, you should fix your comparisons. People are paying a high premium for huge black cockroaches these days.
Even rat infestations are still in high demand for the first time buyers and with the tax credit set to expire you dont have much time before this opportunity passes.
You and your wife should at least sleep on it and then let me know by tomorrow if you would like to make an offer.
She clipped her grandmother, and I saw it, so she got the pigs to try and of me. Well, I got the jump on two of them, but they overpowered me. Where did they go after that? I dunno but I keep smelling bacon curing over by Red’s place.
“For the same price I can get…”
Shore,
The question is: Do those other homes offer the same roach nests? If not, i suggest you re-jigger your comparison.
Big huge black cockroaches are still commanding a premium, even in this market. Rat infestations are also popular, particularly with the first time buyers and that tax credit expires in a few months so you really dont have much time before this opportunity passes.
Why don’t you and your wife sleep on it and then let me know in the morning if you want to make an offer.
Bob Prechter: The Bear Market Is Back
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108637/bob-prechter-the-bear-market-is-back
“For the same price I can get…”
Shore, yes but can you get big huge black cocroaches with those other homes?
Those and rat infestations are still going for a premium, even in this market.
You and your wife should sleep on it and consider making an offer.
Hey #165, truth be told, Cleveland has some of the nicest suburbs in the country at a price of 1/3 or less of N Jersey. But what Cleveland does not have is the sex appeal.
Question for all the ‘financial experts’ on the board.
I dont know much about investing but I just checked my ira account online and everywhere i look there are red numbers. Red numbers flashing with little percentage signs next to them smeared over the screen. Looks like a picasso painting using different shades of red.
Is that good or bad?
Actually, it is perfectly fine, there is no money lost, mathematically, your -10% red entry is offset by a +10 black entry at Goldman Sachs.
Veto That says:
January 21, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Question for all the ‘financial experts’ on the board.
I dont know much about investing but I just checked my ira account online and everywhere i look there are red numbers. Red numbers flashing with little percentage signs next to them smeared over the screen. Looks like a picasso painting using different shades of red.
Is that good or bad?
Veto (167)-
You should see some of the U-12 teams we play. Complete automatons…and their coaches never shut up. These kids couldn’t make a decision on their own if they tried.
Their parents woof and gloat, because these teams rarely lose. However, virtually all these players will be washed up within two years.
215
I agree. I’ve always been partial to the homes around Lake Rd. in Bay Village.
Not much sex appeal, but they do have Great Lakes Brewery.
O is pretty dumb, but even the dumbest politician knows Carter’s “Malaise” speech by heart. O has no choice but to go after the banks and give the sheeple a good show.
It will be fun watching him- plus Congress- completely plunge us into a massive, generational depression.
War with Iran should be coming soon.
Clot, when a coach discourages a nine year old from ball hogging in the offensive half, he mine as well just cut his legs off and make him do homework.
The end is nigh
New Jersey bowling alley manager allegedly burns down rival alley.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34974317/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
by the way, at 10 yrs old its still not too late to teach your kid to pull jerseys and throw elbows discretely.
if they dont learn to execute properly by then, they will get called for it everytime all through the rest of their careers.
and no player wants a red card liability on their team, so you can pretty much forget about him making any ‘soccer’ friends… ever.
One has to wonder if people are fed up enough to go the libertarian route this time in November.
I think all Barry will really wants to do by answering the populist call to punish the bankers is to head off the formation of an angry progressive third party and it is questionable if he will be able to do it before the mid-term.
To me the populist attitude of blaming bankers less than government seems rather like suing you doctor for failing to stitch you up properly while testifying in favor of paroling the mugger who actually stabbed you.
Barney, Dodd, Pelosi were all around in the late 90s for the dismantling of regulations and Barry is left holding the bag of change on this one.
Gonna be an interesting year for sure.
U.S. says wind could power 20 percent of eastern grid
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60J37V20100121?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true
the last bit of hope just dribbled out of my ass. Now I have to change.
sean (224)-
Wake me up when I can shoot somebody.
soccer is so gay
Re: Elliott Wave —
I remember one evening of Wall Street Week, when Lou Ruykeyser had particular sport with Bob Prechter. Oh how the host and the guests laughed at his expense.
In the short time that followed that show, Prechter nailed two great calls…..and Uncle Lou wasn’t chucklin’ anymore.
Education bubble go poof:
“While education is a good thing, the cost of education certainly is not. Kids are graduating college hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, with no job and no way to pay it back. Moreover, student debt is a never ending albatross in that student debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.
I do not advise students going hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to get an education. Most will be trapped for decades attempting to pay that back.
The cost of education is too high, and it starts with student loan programs and ends with bloated salaries and pension benefits of professors.
Those salaries and benefits are balanced on the backs of students who unfairly bear the brunt of piss poor economic decisions supposedly designed to help students, but do nothing but saddle students with with massive debt for the benefit of banks and overpaid professors.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/01/recent-graduates-teens-hit-hard-in.html
“U.S. says wind could power 20 percent of eastern grid”
Too bad we used the “stimulus” to fill potholes and bankers’ wallets. Wholesale investment in solar and wind would have actually benefited the nation.
John (228)-
So is banging onions.
Is it arson ora market-share adjustment? You decide.
230.
I need to start seeing this kind of talk in the MSM, right down to Suze Orman. Even back in 1990 I had professors earning 150k, full benefits etc – show up for one class on Friday for two hours. But they were “famous” published, whatever. The other middle class rebellion, stop paying your student loans.
Sorry I hit a nerve, were you on the wrong side of the glory hole?
Schumpeter says:
January 21, 2010 at 4:19 pm
John (228)-
So is banging onions.
230- I totally agree with this excerpt from the article. And some of these highly paid professors are not even good teachers- they may know their subject inside and out but can’t relate to their students. There is no “teacher” training for professors. None of it makes any sense. And don’t even get me started on how highly paid the university administrations are paid. I don’t know how we got to this point in higher education and I don’t know how we get out of it.
“huge black cocroaches with those other homes?
Those and rat infestations are still going for a premium, even in this market”
True enough. I went to college in the midwest and HAVE always thought that doing some part-time farming or ranching would be interesting.
John face it. even the ugliest kid on your hs soccer team was snagging hotter chicks than you.
John (235)-
You should have John Terry plowing into your shins, studs up.
Then tell us how gay soccer is.
Vicious fouls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMG08TMqdu4
re:#240 – by the time I graduated high school I worked my way through the cheerleading squads of the surrounding three towns of New Hyde Park, Hempstead and Mineola. Rest assured I did not letter in skinning my knees, and slide tackling younger boys so I could roll on top of them.
“You should have John Terry plowing into your shins, studs up.”
I know nothing about soccer, but this does sound pretty gay.
If you equate gay with extreme pain, I guess it is.
Vicious Fowl
Sid and Nancy’s poultry shop
“plowing into your shins, studs up”
Clot,
Isn’t there a club for that somewhere Downtown?
“The other middle class rebellion, stop paying your student loans”
That just hurts us. The key would be for everyone to not apply to anyplace with a cost structure of X. It will never happen, though because kids would see the lack of applic3ions as a chance to get a leg up. If the feds outlawed loans to schoolswhere certain factors relative to undergrad education fail to meet certain objective measures, that could force both change and hope.
“plowing into your shins, studs up”
Its only gay if Gareth Thomas does it. but I’ll bet he makes it fun.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Kl7yL_h95qc/SZSTNrn1SwI/AAAAAAAAM3I/W6whv9ai0ac/s1600-h/soccer+is+so+gay.jpg
wow john terry you go girl
oh thats rugby even more manly…
I thought this article is very timely, given the discussion today:
Best Values in Public Colleges 2009-10
Despite widespread budget cuts, these schools still deliver strong academics at affordable prices.
More at:
http://customsites.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/finance/article-108629-3902-0-best-values-in-public-colleges-2009-10?ywaad=ad0035
John, 248 – that looks like the qb assuming the hike position.
Didn’t you say thats your fav part of the game?
That picture is soooo funny!
Veto That says:
January 21, 2010 at 4:51 pm
John, 248 – that looks like the qb assuming the hike position.
Didn’t you say thats your fav part of the game?
Question, if soccer players wore extremely tight tights, like football players, would that make it less gay?
John says:
January 21, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Sorry I hit a nerve, were you on the wrong side of the glory hole?
NEWSFLASH – There is no “right” side to a glory hole.
Here is all the proof you need, that soccer is fully of nancy boys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3otCUBh0bs0
John, Only men truly confident in their heterosexuality could french kiss another man like that after scoring a goal.
As for that dancing soccer ref, i cannot comment.
The school my children attend have a rule that anyone in a physical altercation gets in trouble even if you are defending yourself. My son had to write three rules he has to follow for his first grade social studies class.
The assignment said “Write a rule you have at school.” My son wrote ” I am not allowed to defend myself.” I feel very proud right now.
renter, I have a first grader, there’s no self defense at that age just angry revenge and it only escalates.
254 is funny.
John is having a moment of introspection.
When playing center in football, the first time a quarterback takes a snap from you is an interesting experience.
“The assignment said Write a rule you have at school. My son wrote I am not allowed to defend myself.
When my kid was at school and bozo was picking on him, I told him to withdraw if possible, notify a teacher, and, if necessary, after the other kid hits first, to put a hurting on him the likes of which he had never imagined was possible — no proportinate response; he hits you, you go and make sure neither he nor anyone else ever makes that mistake.
So, it happens and I get a call from the office. The principal tells me that Little Shore will need to stay in during recess for days. I ask who started it? The other kid he says. Did Little Shore back away at all? Yes he did and he notified the playground monitor that the kid ws bothering and threatening him, and thrn he moved to the other side of the playground? Ind then the other kid came after him anyway? Yes he did, he says.
So I say,”Well, I have no problem with what he did and will instruct him to do the exact same thing next time. I understand if you are constrained by rules and need to punish him. but it strikes me as wrong and I will not encourage him to become an easy mark for anyone.”
The principal says, ” I am required to keep him in but I would tell him the same thing if he were my kid.”
I would’ve told the principal he’s next.
The only time my son ever got picked on, I told him to settle it off campus. and not to stop until there was plenty of blood.
Other kid’s parents tried to get me to pay the bill for his stitches. Great good fun it was responding to that one!
“but I would tell him the same thing if he were my kid.”
This is the truncated story but, by tis he meant that he agreed that Little Shore should have gone back at the other kid.
Back tp the politics part of the RE, Politics, Economics tag of the blog:
Methinks the president’s political capital has been devalued overnight. He may have as much in his pocket but it no longer buys as much, and political inflation is picking up.
224.
Put me down as 100% fully in the libertarian camp for 2010 and beyond. I dont care if Ron Paul is in a wheel chair and drooling on himself he must get in. Sarah Palin is a fing joke as is pervert Brown from Mass. Forget about the Marxist too.
God help us.
I guess what gives me pause is the lack of proportion now. Its no longer about flying fists, its about baseball bats and box cutters.
Barbara, the school girls are way more violent than the boys, the more popular videos can be googled simply “girl fight”.
here’s the thing, us, our kids was watched over and over again people in movies taking huge blows to the head, shake it off and go after the bad guy/monster/whatever. Reality is, one major blow to the head can be game over, kids (and parents) don’t understand this.
your kid may have much to lose, but the other kid? Not so much, might as well go for the gusto.
The counties with the biggest increases in residential foreclosures were Atlantic, Bergen, and Sussex.
…
The foreclosure crisis will not get better any time soon, said James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Add the id1otic tax credit expiration on 4/1/10 plus a 10.1% unemployment rate plus a f*cking tidal wave of option ARM’s coming due in the next 12 to 18 months. Geezus… what a f*cking horror show we are going to witness.
correction on 270 was =have
#272 gary,
How can there be foreclosures in Bergen? It’s so close to Manhattan.
safe [274],
And, Bergen is just bleeding wealth… because Graydon and Ellery live there… and blond-haired women pull their pony tails through the back of their Yankee hats… while pushing bugaboo strollers with puggle in tow… but the really edgy and trendy ones are wearing Red Sox hats.
Gary for president.
When I bought my current house in 2008 my mother said to me, “Its too small, theres no storage.” I told her in the future storage wouldnt matter, location would. Prophetic on my part if I do say so myself. I often imagine the starving hordes storming into Maplewood looking for a meal.
The downside to my savings on property taxes is the lack of a large lawn to rip up and grow crops. Therefore I will be forced to make do and farm the ocean for food until it runs out.
Water: fresh water within half mile. Water table high but high iron content. Berky water filter.
Food: Stored. Seafood available if gas stores can be maintained. Atlantic Menhaden doesnt taste good but it will keep you alive and can be caught by the hundreds of pounds. It also can be chopped up and used as fertilizer.
Shelter: Basement as bunker
Defense: No immediate threats. Neighbors friendly and patriotic. Good prospects for community cooperation.
Energy: Firewood check. 10 acres of forest across the street. Working on solar and wind backup. Seriously considering 250 gallon subgrade polyethylene fuel tank with fuel stablilizer. F the EPA.
#275 Gary,
looks like Ellery may have to leave the sorority and start dancing on the pole if she wants to make next semester’s tuition.
SCOTUS do anything important today? just checking…
ruggles,
the SCOTUS only reinforced that since money = speech and corporations are people, they will always have a louder voice then you or me
#279 ruggles
SCOTUS ruling shows how F’ed up this countries politics is. The likes of GS can take their 5.4Bn and deploy it straight into the media markets to drown out disenting candidates.
NPR ran some good pieces on this. One midwest house member sid that 5 milion would be all that it would take to buy up all airtime in his local reigon.
Looks like Madison Avenue stocks will turn to screaming buys.
Al
Those plans sound good until you realize that in such a SHTF scenario you and 500 people will be eying up that 10 acres of wood.
Bunker? if you need a bunker, a stick-built home basement sucks. 1 or to molotov’s will send you whole house up with you stuck in the basement.
sounds like a good start though
http://www.scotusblog.com/
I found your blog because I wanted more information. The content you have on your blog needs to be discovered so I have added you to my Google News Reader. I really look forward to reading more posts from you.
#283 relo
” [the]second argument by Justice Sonia Sotomayor that the Court may have been wrong for a century about awarding “personhood” to corporations.”
Bingo, Santa Clara County v Southern Pacific was a screwed up ruling that has had massive consequences.
anyone know the site where you can check your credit score for free? i think you can do it once a year, right?
much appreciated.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
yikes – it should be annualcreditreport.com but look for it thro someone elses site like suze orman or whatever cuz there are a lot of close looking URLs. yes, its free but I think its just your credit reports not the scores. you gotta pay for those.
re: scotus–how long before emigrating to china or haiti looks like a step up?
Freecreditreport.com
As soon as you get the report, just call up their number to cancel the subscription. This is how I checked the credit of all of my potential tenants.
They make their money off of idiot consumers who forget to call to cancel their subscription.
thanks as usual, people
282.
I pity the fool that throws a molotav at my castle. The contingencies for that scenario, although remote, have been prepared for.
Regarding the bunker. Not much else I can do but move to the country. I decided to be right in the thick of the action but women and children will be shipped off to the Pine Barrens.
Defaults on sovereign debt are likely to proliferate in the next crisis, Marc Faber wrote in his latest “Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.”
The US will likely try to inflate its way out of its fiscal deficits, but many other countries do not have this option as their external debts are denominated in foreign currencies, Faber, who will guest host “Squawk Box Europe” Friday, wrote.
At some point, market participants will have second thoughts about the ability of governments to pay their debt and will shun sovereign credit, which in turn will take yields higher, accentuating the problem, according to the report.
“Investors who rushed into government-guaranteed debts in 2008-2009 in the belief that AAA-rated governments would always pay the interest on their debts and repay the creditor in full upon maturity could be in for a rude awakening sometime in the next 5 to 10 years,” Faber wrote.
Good buying opportunity for the wealthy to get into tangibles. Dont get knocked out by the clown shoe. You were warned.
ruggles,
the combination of SCOTUS rulings, speech=money and corporate personhood have been the undoing of the american political system
Al, moving to the country sucks.
It’s like one long Groundhog Day vacation for me. Think of a female version of Bill Murray.
Clean, buy the food, cook. Drive like forever to get anywhere. Repeat.
I literally try like hell not to get hurt or need the ER. Daily. And it’s tough.
The only good part is that I was one of those lucky people born with an internal Garmin, so I never get lost and I get to practice my single skill all the time.
It’s a talent that really impresses the locals. Gets them past my other personality faults,I guess. I can be dumped on a trail and I’m back to McDonald’s before them.
They keep trying.
Today Mike Bloomberg renamed Manhattan Island…Revis Island…
Scotus -why move to China? Now China can just set up a couple of US corporations, fund a few elections and China can come to us.
Thank you to all the morons who pushed for Roberts, Scalia, Thomas et al primarily based on “capitalism” “the Constitution”(yeah right, like any of the above give a rats a$$) or that big fat red herring “Roe vs Wade”.
Very much doubt that Congress have the b@lls to fix this, especially with the rest of the mess.
Congratulations to the right -you wanted to scr@w around with Obama, you’ve just managed to take the country with you.
296.
Lol. Its all going to crumble to the ground. Your plans to have people like me carry your mentally ill ass through life are ruined.
You will have to take your childish, spoiled ass into the fields and feed yourself for once in your life without leeching off the hard work of others.
Now goto your room before I have to spank your bottom.
Excuse me fu*kwit. Take yourself and your paranoid, delusional and grandiose fantasies back to the armchair you just crawled out of.
When GS, Citi, Pfizer and the rest of them are r@ping you from behind with the d!ldo you just handed them while Drudge, Rush and Michelle Bachman cheer on from the sidelines don’t come crying to me. Sane Republicans are starting to realize the hole that the crazies are digging, too bad they handed the reins over.
And based on your banal, m@stabatory postings, I’m in far better shape to take care of myself in any eventuality than you are.
298.
Some how I doubt that… child.
“The United States is being recognized internationally as a rogue nation moving headlong toward communism, run by powerful syndicates, whose most prominent foreign policy is explained by military hardware.”
You forgot to call me racist, tea bagging, violent against women, and every other slander that children use. The problem is your slanders that worked for so long are failing.
Thermostat can take his faux condescending comments and slobbering rantings (fooling nobody by the way) and shove them straight up his anus. Sideways.
Stupid people shouldn’t be allowed to own keyboards. What is this world coming to.
You are awesome! I have been searching for these all day. You helped me make up my mind. Also I experienced some problems trying to leave a comment
If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.
You’ve got some great stuff here folks, I”ve signed up for your RSS feed so I’ll know when you update the site…Thanks…
Well, all i have to say is, this phil and teds stroller is heaven. I use it on intermediate of twice a day to walk my dog. It takes a bit of solution and campaign to get it through an unshoveled sidewalk, but it goes, and my daughter seems to even get enjoyment from the rough ride– laughing and smiling as we go in the phil and teds stroller. I was hesitant when it comes to spending the money on a phil and teds stroller, particularly since i was going to employ it as my single stroller for more than one years before having my second child. it is having seen rain, ice, and, most recently, tons of snow. !.
Come on dude, these facts* and proof* i mean who is posting* lol :P
I dont usually reply to posts but I will in this case. WoW