From the Record:
New Jersey added 2,600 jobs in April, a slight rebound from the March’s job losses, but unemployment remained high.
The state added 6,300 private sector jobs, and lost 3,700 government jobs, according to the monthly job reports by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The report also revised the March report to a loss of 3,700 – well below the previously reported loss of 8,600 jobs.
The unemployment rate increased from 9 percent to 9.1 percent, well above the national rate of 8.1 percent.
Charles Steindel, the Treasury’s chief economist, said the numbers are “consistent with continuing job growth.”
Although the jobless rate “edged up, it’s due to improvement in the labor market with New Jersey’s labor participation rate climbing to 66 percent,” Steindel said.
From the Star Ledger:
New Jersey jobs grow in April, so does unemployment
The job market in New Jersey inched forward in April, and dire numbers from March were revised upwards as the state continues its long, slow employment comeback.
Even as jobs were added, more people rejoined the workforce, lifting the unemployment rate by a tenth of a percent to 9.1 percent, a point above the national average of 8.1 percent.
“The number of New Jersey residents working is at a three-year high with over 71,000 private sector jobs added since February 2010,” said Charles Steindel, chief economist for the state Department of Treasury in a statement. “These numbers are consistent with continuing job growth…while the rate edged up, it’s due to improvement in the labor market with New Jersey’s labor participation rate climbing to 66 percent.
Around 6,300 private sector jobs were added, which offset 3,700 jobs lost in the public sector.
One piece of good news in the numbers: previous estimates for March that showed 8,600 jobs lost were revised to show a narrower monthly loss of 3,700 jobs.
A positive trend.
“The state added 6,300 private sector jobs, and lost 3,700 government jobs, according to the monthly job reports by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.”
Now it must continue.
Waterboy Timmay
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/timothy-geithner-jamie-dimon_n_1525812.html
Juice 3 Timmay in the role of Gunga Din!
So I’ll meet ‘im later on
At the place where ‘e is gone —
Where it’s always double drill and no canteen;
‘E’ll be squattin’ on the coals
Givin’ drink to poor damned souls,
An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!
Yes, Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
Now if you have seen the BW CLASSIC movie Timmay could pull it off with a tan.
24% off original listing price – if anyone can find the last price/date it traded at, please provide
Orig LP: $1,149,000
Last LP: $899,000
SOLD: $868,500
TAXES: $23,852
ML#: 1123491
Addr: 10 LAUREL AVE
Twn: TENAFLY Zip: 07670
SD: 5/11/2012 UCD: 2/10/2012 DOM: 243
Seif I replied last thread, what say you?
Seif, sorry missed it, I guess we will have to agree to disagree.
Things are looking pretty dicey in Asia, European futures not so good either. Will Facebook save the day!?
Hmmm………
“A better way to look at the demand is to estimate the size of the population of people who are likely home buyers. 75% to 80% of home buyers are in the 30 to 60 age bracket. The remaining 20% to 25% of home buyers are aged less than 30 or more than 60 and are generally buyers of smaller homes. In terms of dollar value, the 30-60 bracket could therefore represent as much as 90%+ of the residential real estate market. This bracket now has about 125 million people but it has stopped growing (excluding new immigration) in 2005 and will not resume its growth until after 2020. If the overall pool of likely home buyers is not growing, then people are just trading homes amongst themselves without any significant net gain in overall demand for new homes. Upsizing by growing families could be largely matched by downsizing from older couples whose children have left home.”
Link: http://seekingalpha.com/article/597611-u-s-demographics-and-the-likelihood-of-a-housing-recovery
Give it a read.
[11] mike
Don’t need to. This sort of demographic stall has long been expected. That’s one reason that immigration policy is considered a panacea for housing. But I disagree with that. In theory, I suppose letting a bunch of them in will create jobs, but in reality, legalizing them will not add many bodies, just legalize those already causing econ. activity.
Nom 13 I am also aware as we have discussed it here, it was however the first time I saw it dissected down to the numbers. As far as immigration I agree with you.
Good Morning New Jersey
Gary (from yesterday): I told DH what happened to you with that interview, he was as livid as you are, perhaps more so. He suggests writing up your experience with that company at glassdoor.com.
From Fitch via MarketWatch:
Fitch: Bottom Inching Closer for U.S. Home Prices
Real U.S. home prices are expected to drop by 7.8%, down from the last quarter’s 9.1% expectation, according to the latest sustainable home price projection from Fitch Ratings.
However, with steady economic growth, and inflation running close to 3% annually, Fitch believes that home prices will bottom by the end of 2013 and begin a slow recovery.
The economy continues to grow with economic indicators on a positive trajectory and pointing to a recovery. But struggles remain. High unemployment, a declining labor force, stagnant wages, and a large delinquent inventory across many parts of the country are slowing the recovery’s momentum.
Regionally, the drastic declines of the last few years seem to be ending in Arizona and Michigan. Arizona posted small quarterly gains for the first time in over two years, and Michigan is stabilizing. In contrast, prices are beginning to fall in the Northeast. For example, with the inventory backlog beginning to liquidate, New Jersey and New York City have dropped 10% and 7% over the past five quarters, with further declines expected.
After pulling the cork out of the bottle so many times, the champagne is also inching closer to the bottom from all these false bottom calls. Evaporation not celebration.
Anybody rebalancing their 401k into the FB rally? I’m thinking about going to 50% cash to have some dry powder when QE3 comes along.
1. I am able to get fries much quicker at Burger King now that they added extra employees.
FB is causing wacky portfolio rebalancings today. For instance around 3pm yesterday afternoon, SB/MS upped client retail allocation from 500 shares to 5,000 shares. The few thousands brokers started working phones to clients telling them they can increase and lots did. That is from 500 shares ($19,000) to 5,000 ($190,000), just like that poop. Now SB does T=#3 like rest of world. So by next Wed you have to settle trade or go to Margin. Unless you have a big hunk of cash sitting there, $190,000. Which since SB/MS pay almost zero people have to sell stuff to pay for FB, what they are selling is anyones guess. Several IT/Technology mutual funds this week have already put selling presure on Apple as they need to raise cash to pay for FB allocation.
The Original NJ ExPat says:
May 18, 2012 at 8:20 am
Anybody rebalancing their 401k into the FB rally? I’m thinking about going to 50% cash to have some dry powder when QE3 comes along
from 14 – Like this
” In contrast, prices are beginning to fall in the Northeast. For example, with the inventory backlog beginning to liquidate, New Jersey and New York City have dropped 10% and 7% over the past five quarters, with further declines expected.”
18
This sounds way off:
“Several IT/Technology mutual funds this week have already put selling presure on Apple as they need to raise cash to pay for FB allocation.”
seif says:
May 18, 2012 at 8:48 am
18
Sad but true. Soft inflows into equity funds this week means that in order to make room to pay for todays purchase they need to sell something. Apple is overweight and has had a huge run up. It is only logical to sell. Apple has had a terrible week. Funds that sold earlier this week could if lucky, sell some of FB at Pop today and get back into Apple Cheap. Personally I think Apple may never again see its high of this year. The Iphone is pretty much dead as a seller. The Samsung Galaxy S II is a better phone and the Samsung Galazy S III comes out in a few weeks. Apple does not even have a single 4gLTI phone for sale. ATT and Verzon is shutting down on unlimited data planes even if you are grandfathered by this summer. Everyone is rushing in to buy now and Apple has no product. Verzon announced today for a 4gLTI phone you can be grandfathered for life if you buy new phones on your own. Verzon no longer wants to pay subsizie to Apple.
This sounds way off:
“Several IT/Technology mutual funds this week have already put selling presure on Apple as they need to raise cash to pay for FB allocation.”
21 – all the fundamentals you list are true, plus the technicals of AAPL were ripe for a drop (that’s why I own the puts)….yet, all of that is independent of FB. I don’t disagree with the things you state but I think “selling their Apple so they have money for FB” is not the case.
I think FB is at or past it’s peak. Everyone who wanted to joined and the postings from everyone seem to be tapering off…except for a few fanatics who have nothing better to do.
Facebook (symbol FB) has priced at $38 per share and is expected to begin trading in the secondary market on Friday, May 18, 2012. Limit orders will be accepted at approximately 7:00 am ET and Market orders will be accepted when Facebook (FB) begins trading at approximately 11:00 am ET, as announced by NASDAQ.
Fidelity has 28,000 clients with a buy order on FB at the open.
JJ – the robots will crush those lemmings, can’t wait to see what the HFT algos will do by the end of today.
I have not bought FB. It is leap of faith investing in a stock with no fundmentals that may fly to moon but will crash.
Juice Box says:
May 18, 2012 at 9:51 am
JJ – the robots will crush those lemmings, can’t wait to see what the HFT algos will do by the end of today.
JJ – how many of those Fidelity lemmings have a market order in for FB? In a few years we will here about some kid who isn’t going to be going to college because daddy took his college savings and invested in some tech that will die off in a few years. The 3 year return on most of these IPOs is negative and the 10 year return is 2% if they don’t go under.
Compuserve
Geo Cities
AOL
MySpace
and the list goes on
#26 Juice: I am told by some of the younger people I know that FB is already becoming somewhat passé. Also my MIL who is in her 70’s know what FB is. So there you go.
#29 3B
Market Orders at the open on an IPO are prohibited . The SEC/FINRA forbids it as retail investors could pay more per share than they intened.
Juice Box says:
May 18, 2012 at 9:59 am
JJ – how many of those Fidelity lemmings have a market order in for FB? In a few years we will here about some kid who isn’t going to be going to college because daddy took his college savings and invested in some tech that will die off in a few years. The 3 year return on most of these IPOs is negative and the 10 year return is 2% if they don’t go under.
Compuserve
Geo Cities
AOL
MySpace
and the list goes on
Facebook Pre-Market Order Book Shows $70 Price in Frankfurt
Guess those kids are going to college afterall. Looks like it is opening up at $70 bucks a share.
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JJ – Dumb chick on CNBC was warning people not to put market orders in for FB. I guess you can still put it in but it won’t be accepted.
I guess they don’t want another flash crash? Bloomberg has a story on it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/facebook-poses-biggest-test-of-rule-curbing-market-orders.html
Major DNS outage from AT&T……
Gonna be a strange day if AT&T network is not up.
Can I buy shares in njrereport.com ?
Go to Google and just type in the words “how does” and look what the first suggestion that comes up is. Everbody must be checking it like crazy.
[36] I’ll sell you some of mine, but I have to run out and get printer cartridge first.
Pump and dump. Just in a legal, sophisticated form.
Walker for President in 2016?
“…Walker up five points over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett, 50 percent to 45 percent, had conservatives hoping for a “landslide” and progressives scrambling to understand why the national Democrats hadn’t provided more assistance in the recall effort.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76441.html
Our contract is cancelled but we are already negotiating the next one as we speak. Its time to buy for us. Prices are down 25% on avg and rates at all time lows. Monthly cost to buy saves us $250 per month compared to renting plus tax benefits. As i go through this process Im realize how segmented and localized re has become and how useless the averages are, something grim constantly reiterates. Shifts in aging poulation and technology and transition back to densely populated towns and cities are creating an enormous mix shift not just in the us but globally. For ex we’re in central nj on the ne corridor train line. It goes from dc to boston and will eventually bebuilt out with high speed bullet train using seperate tracks that can get you from princeton to newark penn station in 20 minutes. I see nothing but growth for centtal nj as a result. Also central nj asian population is booming and they are planning one of the largest indian hindu temples in north america so that thousands of indians can worship drawing new immigrants to the surrounding area in a 100 mile radius from nyc to philly. These are localized trends that will dictate home values over the next ten years in my opinion and many of these isolated regional shifts will mitigate or overwhelm the enormous wave of aging baby boomers that will have indeniable effects. The other realization that im coming to is that all of these rotting abandoned foreclisures are never coming onto the market. If youve ever seen what happens to a home after 2 months of abandonment you will likely come to the same conclusion. I think yhey will be bulldozed or bought by the town and turned into parks or community farms.
JJ – FB won’t hit 70 right away. A 10 % move either direction in 5 minutes kicks in the circuit breakers.
41 – “The other realization that im coming to is that all of these rotting abandoned foreclisures are never coming onto the market.”
Is the foreclosure wave just a fallacy? We have been waiting for it for years now.
41 – why did your contract get cancelled?
FB is having trouble opening on the NASDAQ
You are the funniest man alive. Lets time travel to the early 1950s when Long Island Express was planned. Orginally bettween east bond and west bond lane we envisioned four LIRR tracks that would run nonstop from Pen at 80mph. At Riverheard would be a big park and ride or you could switch trains to Northfork or Southfork. Concept was you could lay on the beach at your Hampton home and be at your desk in Manhattan in 60 minutes, Ha Ha as if LIRR, towns, Robert Moses, Nassau County, Suffolk County and Queens could come to an agreement in the few years before work started on LIRR. What about we time travel to old giant stadium and the non-stop train from Penn Station and Jamaica LIRR planned, How about East Side Access to LIRR. How about NJ Transist extension to Manhattan that Christie killed.
Neanderthal Economist says:
May 18, 2012 at 11:07 am
Our contract is cancelled but we are already negotiating the next one as we speak. Its time to buy for us. Prices are down 25% on avg and rates at all time lows. Monthly cost to buy saves us $250 per month compared to renting plus tax benefits. As i go through this process Im realize how segmented and localized re has become and how useless the averages are, something grim constantly reiterates. Shifts in aging poulation and technology and transition back to densely populated towns and cities are creating an enormous mix shift not just in the us but globally. For ex we’re in central nj on the ne corridor train line. It goes from dc to boston and will eventually bebuilt out with high speed bullet train using seperate tracks that can get you from princeton to newark penn station in 20 minutes. I see nothing but growth for centtal nj as a result. Also central nj asian population is booming and they are planning one of the largest indian hindu temples in north america so that thousands of indians can worship drawing new immigrants to the surrounding area in a 100 mile radius from nyc to philly. These are localized trends that will dictate home values over the next ten years in my opinion and many of these isolated regional shifts will mitigate or overwhelm the enormous wave of aging baby boomers that will have indeniable effects. The other realization that im coming to is that all of these rotting abandoned foreclisures are never coming onto the market. If youve ever seen what happens to a home after 2 months of abandonment you will likely come to the same conclusion. I think yhey will be bulldozed or bought by the town and turned into parks or community farms.
Seems the robots broke the FB IPO.
44 – contract cancelled due to bowing foundation walls and large shifting foundation issues as determined by structural engineer, leaky roof with possible mold issues, 9.5+ radon reading in basement, and roof, deck and driveway in need of immediate replacement. All of this mixed with absentee homeowner with attitude that she isnt giving home away after having it listed for over two years.
The softer side of (sears…er, kmart) JJ:
JJ is this you, you old softy?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/rankin-paynter-greatest-person_n_1523818.html?ref=mostpopular
Captain Sunshine must be smiling from ear to ear.
46 jj low oil prices and strong auto/pil lobbies killed train infrastructure for decades but its all changing over the next 30 years in my opinion. The census is revealing huge shifts of populations to walkable train access cities where people are ditching cars and buying bikes. This trend is just beginning. The high speed rail project is way passed initial planning phase. Hate to break it to you but its not 1950 anymore. The historical comparisons and past failed projects mean nothing.
32
JJ you are really tapped in!!!
JJ says:
May 18, 2012 at 10:23 am
Facebook Pre-Market Order Book Shows $70 Price in Frankfurt
Guess those kids are going to college afterall. Looks like it is opening up at $70 bucks a share.
Jill [13],
Tell your husband to keep hammering, we share the same misery. And again, thank you for the shoulder to lean on! ;)
However, with steady economic growth, and inflation running close to 3% annually, Fitch believes that home prices will bottom by the end of 2013 and begin a slow recovery.
Bullsh1t. Home prices bottomed two years ago. Lawrence Yun and Jeff Otteau told me so personally. :o
In contrast, prices are beginning to fall in the Northeast. For example, with the inventory backlog beginning to liquidate, New Jersey and New York City have dropped 10% and 7% over the past five quarters, with further declines expected.
We’ve just entered the top of the sixth inning, folks.
Tick… tick… tick… tick…
Facebook shares: Hype of epic proportions. Leave it to the bookies to always… always make money off the muppets.
I think the NASDAQ and what not threw it into a loop. But at the close in Frankfurt premarket indicators had the open at 70, then the premarket indicators kept dropping like a brick after 11am. Lady on CNN told people to go in and cancel limit buy orders around 11:10am as this may get ugly. By the time it opened, this thing was a train wreck. Did NASAQ hire folks from BATS to work on this IPO?
I did not buy as I did not know one single person on street buying it. Just Facebook users who dont know much about stock. Those folks panic easy. Would not be supprised it this stock closed down.
seif says:
May 18, 2012 at 11:43 am
32
JJ you are really tapped in!!!
JJ says:
May 18, 2012 at 10:23 am
Facebook Pre-Market Order Book Shows $70 Price in Frankfurt
Guess those kids are going to college afterall. Looks like it is opening up at $70 bucks a share.
Brian [36];
Can I buy shares in njrereport.com ?
Don’t know… You can always just use Grim to buy a house.
Facebook fail. At least on day 1.
There might be an old white bearded man in the sky that has finally had enough.
$40 per share for a f*cking electronic postit that produces nothing more than aimless spittle.
Next stop, relegation:
LONDON (ESPN) — Manchester United revealed the financial impact on Thursday of its early exit from the Champions League, with earnings dropping and cash reserves being halved in the first three months of the year.
United was deposed as Premier League champions by Manchester City on Sunday and eliminated from the lucrative Champions League at the group stage in December.
The quarterly accounts show that earnings for the club owned by the American Glazer family dipped by almost 10 percent year-on-year to $32.3 million and revenue dipped by six percent to $112.1 million.
United’s cash reserves also dropped from $80 million at the end of 2011 to $41 million by March 31. The figure had stood at $238 million at the end of 2010.
Die, Facebook…die!!!!
Facebook topped 200 million shares traded in its first 20 minutes. Here’s how it compares: Visa: 177 million, Google: 22.4 million, Linkedin: 30.2 million, and GM traded 458 million on its first day of trading.
Apologies to Mick and Keith:
Oh a bank is threatening
To take my house today
Why, if I don’t pay for this shelter
Do I have to move away?
Ooooh, baby
Don’t take my house away
Don’t take my house away.
And now a break for a message from real talent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBva-z1AsGk&feature=related
juice (62)-
Feh. The whole thing is still headed off a cliff at 140 mph. Can’t base an economy on selling each other hamburgers and fraudulent financial instruments, while spending your leisure time making online posts about where you took your last dump.
Unless, that is, you announce it at njrer.
Poop!
We went from putting a man on the moon with nothing more than a slide rule and a pencil to placing our economy in the hands of a chat site. Any questions?
? seif: I heard the same thing from multiple sources; you may not appreciate the style of JJ, but his real value is that he speaks the unvarnished truth….
seif says:
May 18, 2012 at 9:07 am
21 – all the fundamentals you list are true, plus the technicals of AAPL were ripe for a drop (that’s why I own the puts)….yet, all of that is independent of FB. I don’t disagree with the things you state but I think “selling their Apple so they have money for FB” is not the case.
kind of brings back memories of the dot com bubble
#62 Juice: My 19 year old says FB is old now, apparently Twitter is the new tool.
Gary (67):
I was watching the Blowhorn (CNBC) this morning and they were all fired up about the Facebook IPO. I sat there and thought this was the saddest thing I have seen on that channel. When the future our our country depends on 16 year old girls posting their favorite pet of the day or announcing that Graydon and Ellory are her new BFFs then we are truly screwed. All the good old USA has right now is an ability to add electronic zeros to a balance sheet and sell useless debt to other muppet gubbmints.
[50] N E – I think you are right about the shift into the cities and away from the suburbs, bullet trains I’m not so sure we’ll see, but it would be nice. I think the best thing a financially struggling family can do is move close enough to the city that you can give up a car, and this especially applies to single young people. Between cost, financing, repairs, insurance, excise taxes (in some states, and gas a car costs about $1100/month to the average owner, and this is after tax money. A family that can move to smaller living quarters in town (to keep housing costs constant) and gives up two car gets the equivalent financial boost of a $30K bump in income. A poor family earning $60K will feel like they got a raise to $90K if they give up two cars. Many companies, including ours, pays 100% of public transportation costs if an employee chooses to commute that way.
All Hype [71],
But… but… I think it’s really cute how the millennials hold their little electronic devices like puppies pawing at a biscuit. ;) Yup, it’s the end of times. Did I mention I went through a fast food drive through recently and handed the kid a few half dollars I had sitting in the console in the car? His response, “I don’t think we take these.” First it was Athens… then it was Rome… and now it’s our turn.
Many companies, including ours, pays 100% of public transportation costs if an employee chooses to commute that way.
LOL!! Sorry… didn’t mean to laugh. Do companies still actually hire people full time? Is that the private sector? If so, did they miss the memo?
Here’s the case against bullet trains: Once we push all the poor out to the suburbs, we don’t want to give them an easy way to come back and visit.
I just asked a buddy of mine at FB if any women took their tops off. Seems no
and no alcohol. Those nerds really don’t know how to even party.
Congrats to all the lemmings that had to do questionable things to get a piece of FB at $38. You could have at least preserved some dignity and bought at the open.
I now give you the governor of the great state of California.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/california-grown-gov-jerry-brown-mistakenly-touts-golden-state-as-facebooks-birthplace/2012/05/18/gIQAugnoYU_story.html
Shares traded is not always a positive metric. If everyone who got in on IPO thought it was really the next Google or Apple there would be less shares traded. It means a lot of people are selling. Travelers and Visa IPOS people bought and planned to keep long term. Less opening day volume
Juice Box says:
May 18, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Facebook topped 200 million shares traded in its first 20 minutes. Here’s how it compares: Visa: 177 million, Google: 22.4 million, Linkedin: 30.2 million, and GM traded 458 million on its first day of trading.
I am not on FB and I kinda hate the idea of it (the narcissism, the phony birthday wishes, etc.) but I think you guys realize that you are simplifying it a little too much; 900M captive eyeballs to peddle specified wares based on all that friggin’ data they have about people is something that can be monetized. How many people watch the top rated TV shows? A couple million (I have no idea)? TV advertising obviously pays off or the rates wouldn’t be so high…and highly specified targeted advertising will likely pay off for FB…besides that fact they are a big employer and have spawned jobs. They have been good for the economy, no?
As far as a man on the moon, etc….that’s government spending at work.
[74] gary – Strange as it might sound, we actually still are hiring people full time with benefits, probably adding about 10 a month in headcount, all of them real jobs. I think the only consultant in the whole place was me from 2007-10. We also manufacture a tangible product right here, so we actually hire CNC Machinists, CadCam designers, Laboratory Techs, etc. We were acquired for ~$2 billion last year so our new overlords are trying to squeeze us but they’re finding out that if you buy a company that requires intelligent people to run it there’s not too much they can do but pay us. for now.
Gary (14),
I call BS on FITCH. The banking dominoes around the world are about to trip and they thinking that this asset class is bottoming?!? Credit will tighten and prices will drop like a stone. Banks may have to be force-merged (a la 2008-09) and banking solvency requirements relaxed (yet again) as we go into the next round of the waterfall of down pricing.
Gary (73),
Not so fast. This isn’t a tourist nation. And isn’t this all about which fiat will be the global currency? Patience and enjoy the implosion-fest.
Seif (43),
It’s not a fallacy. It’ll come as we get into the next wave of financial chaos. If they get dozed, then one could think that the municipal representatives get impeached. Where ever would those (formerly) elected representatives get liability insurance?
-Carry
Gary #67: Best. Post. Ever…and so true.
3b #70: And here I thought it was tumblr and Pinterest….
Chif, If we get a big sell off at close I got low balls in on TZK, JPMPRJ, BPOPP, NYB, STD, KKR and HIG. I am yield hungry and a nice little flash crash with NAS all wacky might make my limit orders hit. What a bad week, Greece, system issues, recession on the way again.
(72)
Expat,
I do not doubt you, but I’ve never heard of companies paying for public transportation. Would you mind naming a few (not necessarily yours)?
Thanks
Actually a lot of caffine and cigarettes too.
gary says:
May 18, 2012 at 1:22 pm
We went from putting a man on the moon with nothing more than a slide rule and a pencil to placing our economy in the hands of a chat site. Any questions?
My company does. I know companies that pay for the gym, smartphone, lunch, xmas party, etc. Why not, happy employees are good employees.
joyce says:
May 18, 2012 at 2:04 pm
(72)
Expat,
I do not doubt you, but I’ve never heard of companies paying for public transportation. Would you mind naming a few (not necessarily yours)?
Thanks
3b: I know you are opposed to Westwood, but this is a cute house in a great setting right across from a big park-like grass island, short walk to train and town. Low taxes for Westwood, too. You’d need to add a bath, but I think this has been on the market a while so you could probably knock some off the price.
GAH….sorry…here’s the link: http://www.trulia.com/property/1044544464-71-6th-Ave-Westwood-NJ-07675
The markets are down again today. Doesn’t the smart money realize Facebook is going to bring 20 million new jobs and we will pay off all the bad EU & USA debt with all the new taxes to be collected?
Too bad for Man. United…couldn’t happen to a nicer group.
We switched over to Bloomberg TV on our trading desk a few weeks ago, and the FB coverage, while not perfect, has been fairly even handed. Definitely a lot of institutional guys on the tube saying they wanted no part in it.
[84] An employer may provide transportation benefits to their employees that are tax free up to a certain limit. Under the US Internal Revenue Code section 132(a), the qualified transportation benefits is one of the eight types of statutory employee benefits (also known as fringe benefits) that are excluded from gross income. The two types of qualified transportation benefits are (1) transit passes and van pooling (up to $125/mo) and (2) parking (up to $240/mo). Bike commuters can also be reimbursed for certain expenses (up to $20/mo)
Dammit, I took some money from a damn equity line and bet on this stupid Facebook IPO and got my ass handed to me. I don’t give a shlt as I’m gonna buy and hold till hell freezes over. This is had better be good because I need to retire. Hell, I had to take out a bunch of damn loans for the kids to go to college after real estate got upended, so I need to hit a damn home run somewhere and this is my best damn hope.
Hey Chi,
I was perusing your old posts as I am looking to open a 529 plan. Is below still the relevant document I should use to help make my decision? Anything new to note? Thanks.
chicagofinance says:
December 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
If you wish to use CollegeAmerica, then please consider using me for that service.
http://corporate.morningstar.com/us/pr/529_PaperUpdate.pdf
They don’t pay for our public transportation but there’s a free shuttle to and from the train. Being in NJ there really isn’t any public transportation to and from the station.
Also they have free catered lunch everyday. When the HR lady told me that in the interview it was all I could remember about my benefits. Delicious!
86.JJ says:
May 18, 2012 at 2:06 pm
My company does. I know companies that pay for the gym, smartphone, lunch, xmas party, etc. Why not, happy employees are good employees.
joyce says:
May 18, 2012 at 2:04 pm
(72)
Expat,
I do not doubt you, but I’ve never heard of companies paying for public transportation. Would you mind naming a few (not necessarily yours)?
Thanks
Read this statement and tell me the author’s name isn’t Sybil:
The economy continues to grow with economic indicators on a positive trajectory and pointing to a recovery. But struggles remain. High unemployment, a declining labor force, stagnant wages, and a large delinquent inventory across many parts of the country are slowing the recovery’s momentum.
Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
[84] Google “Commuter Choice Program” and you will find lots of links to companies providing public transportation benefits, including:
Apple, Bayer, Best Buy, CALIBRE, The Calvert Group, Chevron, Google, IBM, Integrated Science Solutions, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Nike, : Smithfield Foods, Yahoo.
[84] Final word on Commuter Choice Programs, On this site you can look up all the participating companies in any state:
http://www.commuterchoice.com/
Brian,
Also they have free catered lunch everyday. When the HR lady told me that in the interview it was all I could remember about my benefits. Delicious!
As a temp worker, they don’t even spit to give you a drink.
73 Gary,
Reminds me of when I paid at Dunkin Donuts with Sacajawea dollars once. The cashier took them in the back to the manager to see if it was OK. Like I was trying to pay in Greek Drachmas or something.
72 expat. Brilliant to consider the annual costs of car to avg family. Those are very large numbers for a car. Bullet trains connect large cities and improve economies, sometimes taking place of airplanes. Plus well need cheap labor to live far out on those train lines, similar to paris model.
Hartford Financial is way down in last few weeks, crazy. Not even any news other than Paulson banged his fist like a baby a few weeks ago and did not get what he wanted. Still it is mainly long bonds in its portfolio so the spankin seems strange. I guess I will find out soon. JPM is getting spanked again today, but I understand the spanking, Jaimie Dimon is greek so he is used to getting wacked in butt,
96-97
thank you
We were amazed that in 2008 and 2009 that the lunch benefit survived. As great as it is to have lunch, I think I would have prefered to keep my bonus……krap!
98.gary says:
May 18, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Brian,
Also they have free catered lunch everyday. When the HR lady told me that in the interview it was all I could remember about my benefits. Delicious!
As a temp worker, they don’t even spit to give you a drink.
Collateral call on Spanish banks? Now there’s a spicy chorizo.
Should be a fun weekend over there.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/lch-hikes-margin-requirements-spanish-bonds
FB just passed 458 m shares and beat out GM for #1 volume of an IPO. The Robots are really cramming it to the retail investors.
“Like I was trying to pay in Greek Drachmas or something.”
It reminds me of times when the bill comes to something like $1.97 and I give the clerk $2.02 (so as to avoid the pennies in the change) and the clerk at the window looks at it with mouth agape wondering why — “uh, you gave me too much, mister — and then seems amazed when I say why I and the register verifies the math. I call it the Doug Henning moment – with the customer as magician.
#104. Nothing to see here. Please move along.
#105. Will Failbook close below its IPO price? Jittery hands who did not get the “expected” pop may not want to hold it over the weekend.
xmonger – it may not even though it is $38.09 right now the underwriters put a floor of $38 on it and will buy buy buy to keep it there.
Moving to the cities? Just a bunch of baloney on this forum. rebuttal: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/house-hunters-favor-burbs-over-155923589.html
I think many of the writers here realize they can’t make the move out here and try to substantiate it by propagandizing the ‘new’ norm. As someone, maybe Grim, mentioned years ago on this forum, most here will never buy a house in their lifetime. Lots of talk. No balls. And another writer here who professes great wealth and mind can’t even make the jump to a better house in a better neighborhood.
Buying real estate takes research and a risk-taking mindset. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Everyone here says you lose. When that happens, it’s time to buy.
massive bidding to keep FB @ 38…
#111. It’s like watching a castle seige.
xmponger over 100 m shares @ 38 from the underwriters to keep it there so far.
Facebook is officially a public company as of Friday morning shortly after 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and what better way to celebrate the milestone than with a fresh privacy lawsuit? Led by Stewarts Law and Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny, a class action lawsuit has been filed in San Jose, California alleging that Facebook unlawfully continued to track users’ Web browsing after they logged out of the service. The suit seeks more than $15 billion in damages. “This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking digital privacy rights case that could have wide and significant legal and business implications,” said Stewarts Law partner David Straite. The firm’s press release follows below.
[77] xmonger
FB was born in Cambridge Ma. Just like me.
And about as useful, apparently.
massive bidding to keep FB @ 38…
Saw that, crazy, what’s with the $380m bid?
Facebook IPO – Wall Street’s version of the movie, Battlefield Earth.
Meat, we still on for tonight?
grim – underwriters defending their valuation. I wonder how much they had to buy back. We had two dips and what looks like a hundred million of shares traded around 38.
How much did they buy back $500 million or perhaps over $1 Billion?
[109] xolepa: Here’s what the genius looks like who wrote your aforementioned rebuttal:
http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1809946358/4794_610385111381_20005686_35729398_7452865_n.jpg
Yep, that’s really her:
http://twitter.com/#!/mmhandley
There was a two billion limit buy order in at $38 that is why it kept popping up from there.
Monday should be fun.
Juice Box says:
May 18, 2012 at 4:10 pm
grim – underwriters defending their valuation. I wonder how much they had to buy back. We had two dips and what looks like a hundred million of shares traded around 38.
How much did they buy back $500 million or perhaps over $1 Billion?
Pete: although it is the most current document and for the most part accurate, it is still 5 months ago based on data that is even older; for whatever reason there has been an en masse dumping of Vanguard as a plan administrator by several states…..I would still us that document, but why don’t you peruse this website to augment your information with any last minute updates….as an example, JPMAM just took over all the NY plans…
http://www.savingforcollege.com/
Pete says:
May 18, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Hey Chi, I was perusing your old posts as I am looking to open a 529 plan. Is below still the relevant document I should use to help make my decision? Anything new to note? Thanks.
chicagofinance says:
December 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
(119)
Thanks for the link. Not a bad one, at that. Geniuses are apparently hard to come by in the virtual world. Unlike RE, I don’t research the writers. Too much information passes thru my head each day and I have learned not to be bothered by it, except if it affects me personally and significantly. It’s the trend that is important. Just like today’s FB debut, I just keep shaking my head and wonder why so many people in this world consider this an important event. A few people have become rich beyond their wildest imaginations. Many, many more will have their financial position languish and eventually dissipate.
It will be like cell reproduction: How many times can it be done until the last chromosome is knocked off.
122 – haploid or diploid?
I should be paid for all my info then.
xolepa says:
May 18, 2012 at 4:26 pm
(119)
Thanks for the link. Not a bad one, at that. Geniuses are apparently hard to come by in the virtual world.
(123)
I’ll pass that question to my sons who are sort of experts in that area. Oldest graduated Suma Cam Laude in Bio. Younger graduating in a week Magna Cam Laude in Chem. Both were Ivies.
It’s beautiful outside today. Let’s all go home. Oops, I am home already.
Time to drink a good beer.
I Cum Lotta in college a lot too, and I can honestly say I learned a lot about Chemistry and Bio while at school.
Sadly most people have idea what Suma Cam Laude or Magna Cam Laude is. I know it is a high GPA or something, that is about it. I assume it is a good thing.
(123)
I’ll pass that question to my sons who are sort of experts in that area. Oldest graduated Suma Cam Laude in Bio. Younger graduating in a week Magna Cam Laude in Chem. Both were Ivies.
125 – That’s disappointing. I would expect nothing less than egregia cum laude (while secretly hoping for maxima cum laude) and only from Harvard, of course. I never heard of Cam Laude. Is that something the Baby Ivies made up right after they made up “Baby Ivy”?
Beer time for me too;-)
[125] xolepa,
I’m sure your kids are bright but, depending on the school, cum laude doesn’t much impress. Harvard gives nearly everyone honors. I got my best grades at Harvard; my worst grades were at UMass.
BTW, its summa cum laude and magna cum laude. Or come loud if you’re JJ.
Dammit. I meant Little Ivy. I hate when I pretend to be condescending and don’t pull it off. Guess I’m not cut out for the job.
Nom – don’t know if this will make you homesick or not – Must be some big theme party going on somewhere around here. BC girls were buying at the liquor store tonight, nothing unusual there, but wearing skin tight almost shear mini skirts and F* me pumps, hailing cabs after buying their booze at around 6PM. Just too outrageous to be just going out. Graduation is Monday, guess they have to do something to top their normal school year behavior.
[131] expat
Yeah, a little.
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