Housing?

"Oil wealth has given Kuwait and nearby countries in the Gulf some of the highest per capita incomes in the world. But it has also created lifestyles - overeating, high-sugar diets, cushy jobs and heavy reliance on automobiles for transport - that are leading to an explosion of diabetes in the region, experts say.

Gee...why on Earth does this sound so familiar?

Diabetes: The dark side of the Gulf's economic boom - Yahoo! News

Lurking Lawyer wrote:

Use of the godzilla icon is never not funny.....

It got even funnier when someone pointed out Godzilla is smoking the world's biggest joint.

Rents Now Rising Even Faster Than Home Prices - Housing - The Atlantic Cities

Someone is working.....

It got even funnier when someone pointed out Godzilla is smoking the world's biggest joint.

One wonders how he managed to roll it using those stubby little arms.

Americans squeezed by higher rents, tight credit
| Reuters

"With credit tight, many consumers have no choice but to rent. Others who can afford to buy are also renting, because they view real estate as a lousy investment. With this increased demand, rents in some cities have jumped by double-digit percentage rates.

Funny...

JimPortlandOR wrote:

Perhaps this is as good as it is going to get for a good long while

Well, there's a chance it could get even worse. Let's say for grins, if there's a doubling of the GREEN ENERGY SUBSIDY TAXES on the rest of the contributing segments of the economy, it's possible to cripple growth even further.

There's plenty of harm left Obama could do. to Americans!

Lurking Lawyer wrote:

Someone can't get credit to buy a house.......

And that's a good thing. Housing is NOT an investment.

lawyerliz wrote:

I got a handwritten envelope which offered to buy my condo, when I tore it open

Lurking:

Someone can't get credit to buy a house

Why would anyone want to sign up for 30 years debt obligation when 30 minutes can bring major upheavals to your life?

Even buying a car is now a significant committment, but far easier to escape if the milk sours.

NMI = services sector?

JimPortlandOR wrote:

Why would anyone want to sign up for 30 years debt obligation when 30 minutes can bring major upheavals to your life?

That can happen in less than 30 seconds and it has always been true.

My comment had more to do with noting that increasing rents aren't necessarily born of positive causes as suggested by KP.

Tom Stone wrote:

Very different, the investors are bidding up prices beyond what normal buyers are willing to pay. Many are able, they are not willing.

One would assume investors are bidding up prices to levels that other investors are willing to pay. I think we've seen this movie before.

But, again,

REBear wrote:

We can only hope that it has to do more with awarenes of buying into homes not priced based on economic activity.

Yeah, I'm sure that's it...

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Yeah, I'm sure that's it...

well i said .... 'hope'

There are also buyers who are waiting for the right house at the right price.

There is also the right duration. I had a conversation with a co-worker about his possible interest in a unit, and it eventually became clear that he wanted to rent it out for 5-6 years and then sell it. Under those circumstances, the numbers didn't make sense. If he planned to live there, or if he wanted to hold onto the property for longer, it might have made more sense.

Eric wrote:

It got even funnier when someone pointed out Godzilla is smoking the world's biggest joint.

Yes it did!

Starving Artist wrote:

NMI = services sector?

Ass-wiping sector.

No middle initial.

Darwin Award challenger, infant division.

HomeGnome wrote:

Would you take your infant through Class II rapids wearing nothing but a diaper and pacifier?

Highly doubtful. What was the infant wearing?

Thanks much, Starving.

That is really really interesting.

I wonder if there are many foreclosures there?

Lower interest rates, more QE worldwide, and still glod is down. Interesting. Must be a function of the strengthening USD.

Thinking of writing puts on BCS.

Eric wrote:

BCS is dead starting in 2014. 4 team playoff FTW!

It's an unfortunate ticker symbol. Everyone hates the BCS. Or should.

black dog wrote:

Plus this is the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW where "experts" at the beginning of year saying THIS is the year things get better.

The elephant in the room is still invisible to them, and the economic paradigm that they know in fading in the rear view mirror.

Later. Adorno, give me a call when you can.

Duke of Con Dao wrote:

Breaking Bad...

Iran submarine plan may fuel Western nuclear worries
| Reuters

Eric wrote:

Always fun when the two guys way up in the stupid tree start flinging feces at each other.

Is that why you wear a face mask?

In reading Tom's comments, I am struck by how people are flocking to these properties to shelter their capital, based on models that worked over the last 50 years of post war expansion. What if there is no more post war expansion, but a long period of stagnation that erodes the value of those houses?

Houses were dogs until the great demographic postwar boom made them into "investments".

Back to dogs they go. Further, I begin to suspect that gold has most likely peaked, barring some last wave of fear out of Europe as they stumble into economic collapse.

Look at the long bond- it will most likely not rise above 6 percent for decades. Consider a low growth, low interest rate environment, one that nobody seems to believe can persist with huge deficits.

Consider that during the Great Depression, fears about inflation ran rampant, including after WW2, and yet interest rates were paltry right up until the end of the 1960s.

Everyone over 40 should be terrified if what I predict comes to pass, because it means they will have to make abrupt changes in the way they do business, and they are not prepared for it.

Someday this war's gonna end...

Citizen AllenM wrote:

What if there is no more post war expansion, but a long period of stagnation that erodes the value of those houses?

Markets are lazy but wily - they seek to take the most capital they can get from the most people in that market through the least effort possible.

Citizen AllenM wrote:

What if there is no more post war expansion, but a long period of stagnation that erodes the value of those houses?

Houses were dogs until the great demographic postwar boom made them into "investments".

Back to dogs they go.

That is a given, for anyone paying attention.

JimPortlandOR wrote:

Even buying a car is now a significant committment, but far easier to escape if the milk sours.

YouTube - MARTHA REEVES & THE VANDELLAS - Nowhere To Run (Shindig 1965

There is no escape...

I admit I did that when buying the cheap Tampa condo. It's THERE. It's paid off.

I expect to get some cash-flow. It's small. It's cute. It's cozy.

And I think you-all are not taking the house rotting thing seriously enough.

lawyerliz wrote:

I would at least try to believe an "expert" who said that "This sucker is going down" at least once in the last 5 or 6 years.

I always thought that would be "Interview question #1" if I was ever in the market for an investment advisor.

"Have you ever recommended being short the market".

If they say no, interview over.

KarmaPolice wrote:

I am not talking about commercial real estate, multi-family buildings, etc. I am referring to the notion that residential housing should be considered a personal investment.

What Are We Expecting From Housing? - Tim Duy's Fed Watch

Yes, but think about what it means for the working folks- they will be able to afford to purchase houses, because their wages will have risen, while everything else starts to fall in value. A world turned upside down to our petty rentier class- for they have been used to those huge returns generated from speculation and growth of the economy from demographic pressure.

The really rich don't count in the equation- $50 million and up have enough to spend for a lifetime. But the rest- what happens when you can easily buy something, but can't rent it out to cover the costs of purchase?

Look at commercial real estate- I saw tons of empty storefronts up in Prescott, AZ, during the summer high season! Why would any of it be empty now? Pop-up shops alone should be doing business to try and capture some of the money walking by- but nooooo, empty storefronts. Landlords have gotten greedy and complacent, and now the new reality of online everything should be causing them to be more reasonable to their tenants who survive...over the long run.

Reality is still arriving in these new days, and it will make over more than we can predict.

Someday this war's gonna end...

With the end of world priced into the market, why try to short? Admitting you were right to a group of people considering you for dinner; doesn't instill much pride.

Wrote BCS August $10 puts.

look at that frog fly.

glorious.

Govt. Cheese wrote:

With the end of world priced into the market

End of the world stocks - investments?

sum luk wrote:

What Are We Expecting From Housing? - Tim Duy's Fed Watch

From the article:

"I would expect overall growth to remain subdued, despite a rebound in residential construction. "

But of course. It's a mature economy.

Furthermore, 8 percent unemployment is baked into the cake. It is right where it should be because if people want to see REAL inflation, printing money pales in comparison to wage pressure.

don't quite agree; if things get as bad as you say, some smart cookie government is going to go whole-hog into competitive devaluation.

They haven't begun issuing cash with an expiration date yet. If they get really desperate to spur consumer spending they will.

I have a good pyramid to sell you!!! Immortality plus values!

Seriously, my eyeballs were spinning with a little less than 5 years ago, and everyone thought I was crazy! Now, I think we are going to go up and everyone (here) thinks I'm crazy.

I guess this is good, but it sure gets lonesome.

(I have no opinion of the stock mkt, won't compete against hst) Also, I have no opinion on Kali, because I think it is perpetually crazy there.

And I think you-all are not taking the house rotting thing seriously enough.

I've posted before about how, if the nation were serious about solving its housing problem, it would have a government-run WPA-like organization that would perform triage on distressed homes. The most severe group, the Elvis Group, are those homes that are not economical for occupation. They should be torn down, and the people living in them should move to homes that are more economical. These homes will, among other things, consume less power and reduce living expenses. This will provide a long-term benefit that goes beyond pulling demand forawrd, just as improved mileage was an ancillary benefit of Cash for Clunkers.

lawyerliz wrote:

Now, I think we are going to go up and everyone (here) thinks I'm crazy.

http://www.theoildrum.com/files/us-petroeum-consumption-jan-to-april.png

Mike in Long Island wrote:

They haven't begun issuing cash with an expiration date yet. If they get really desperate to spur consumer spending they will.

Are there historical examples of that, other than hyperinflation?

lawyerliz wrote:

Also, I have no opinion on Kali, because I think it is perpetually crazy there.

Forget gas prices. Wait until you see your supermarket bill!

11:19 AM It's always a good idea to check the grains after July 4, and they're soaring again as no relief is in sight from the heat and drought. Adding fuel is the Ukraine, which lowered its corn crop estimate by 8% due to its own weather issues. A couple of headlines for the contrarians: "Corn is shining like gold," and "New dust bowl days on the horizon." CORN +2.5%, JJG +2.7%. [Commodities, On the Move] Comment!

Mike in Long Island wrote:

They haven't begun issuing cash with an expiration date yet. If they get really desperate to spur consumer spending they will.

"They" don't appear to be interested in consumer spending at all. As long as there are sufficiently large flows of capital they can feed from, the form they take really doesn't matter except in terms of cost. And right now, the cheapest route appears to be government transfers.

Yes, but what everyone seems to forget these days is gold is freely priced, unlike the old days, and has risen like a rocket since 1999.

I have been around too long in the markets, and prices like these are simply unsustainable without more fear driving them. Collector stuff will be good in the end, but a lot of junk is simply junk.

The long term low rate environment is really a worst of all cases scenario for the petty rentier, because it will provide liquidation of their wealth. Zirp is a death sentence to paper wealth.

So, in the end, just like in the Great Depression, those with jobs are the biggest winners, even if they feel like losers, because the rich just don't understand how they can get poorer through a low interest rate low return environment.

Meanwhile, deleveraging provides even more capital flowing into markets. What does Jamie D do with the money I send him every month paying down that good until paid off at 2% money? Invest it in t-bonds?

Consider the folks who are getting those tail end returns on bonds paying 6 or 7 percent, and sweating a bond call. Bam- you get called- now you look at 3% returns for five years in good corporate. Or you could take a flyer on Spanish Government 10 year debt

Screwed to the max.

Someday this war's gonna end...

Rickkk wrote:

Why we're selling our house first and buying later - The Globe and Mail

You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless. -- Philip J. Fry

Ok with me.

Just finished touring the LA area; spent three days driving around the west side. Going to be looking for work down here; hopefully the law scene will be a little more promising than in the woefully depressed Sacramento region. I expect I'll be a scumbag lawyer for a while doing scumbag law; I'll take what I can get, if I can even find that.

pavel.chichikov wrote:

Are there historical examples of that, other than hyperinflation?

Not really, Pavel. The "Cash Expiration Date" idea is the modern monetary alchemist rendition of an age old idea. It is an attempt to dress up inflationary printing with the veneer of a scientific approach, "well thought out" approach. It is a fraud.

"You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless. -- Philip J. Fry"

"But after a lot of ‘best-’ and ‘worst-case’ number-crunching, numerous tense conversations and even a few sleepless nights, something changed. As the offer date drew closer and the reality of living in reno-purgatory for the next three years grew increasingly likely, we bowed out. We didn’t even throw in a lowball offer. It was over. The house in question ended up selling for more than $200,000 over the asking price, which reinforced our sense that we had made the right decision."

Why we're selling our house first and buying later - The Globe and Mail

Mike in Long Island wrote:

Denmark Cuts Rates to Record Lows as Zero Threshold Breached - Bloomberg

Negative deposit rates are virtually the same as placing an expiration date on a dollar bill.

This is for other banks, or individuals?

Hoopajoops LTD wrote:

I expect I'll be a scumbag lawyer for a while doing scumbag law; I'll take what I can get, if I can even find that.

... lotsa folks start out that way - I did. Good luck

Mike in Long Island wrote:

Absolutely - most people are too stupid t

That's a bit unfair. What is the practical alternative for low income full time working people?

Lurking Lawyer wrote:

I will humbly suggest that the destruction from WWII more than demographics drove European expansion post WWII.

There really must be more to it than just the destruction. East Germany saw as at least as much destruction as West Germany.

lawyerliz wrote:

And I think you-all are not taking the house rotting thing seriously enough.

Hey, I brought this up in a thread about the bulk buying of houses by "investors". Got a quick response that the houses being bought were 80% occupied. Really? Anyway, last summer looked at a few houses in the warmer areas of the Bay Area that were vacant, and they all had a distinct moldy smell. The agent remarked: They all smell that way. One that had an obvious roof leak was a real mess with mold and of course water damage. This is where the summers are dry, but I suspect a closed up house "sweats" inside when the daytime temps range from the 80's to the occasional stretch in the low hundreds.

This is for other banks, or individuals?

From the article

Denmark’s central bank cut its main borrowing costs to record lows and brought the rate it offers on certificates of deposit below zero, as policy makers test uncharted territory to fight a capital influx.

lawyerliz wrote:

Hoopsie, welcome back!!!

Good to be back. I had a lot of fun goofing around, being a bohemian, protesting, and going through the "wild youth" phase I never got to have, and now I'm ready to be a boring person!

umop apisdn wrote:

. East Germany saw as at least as much destruction as West Germany.

The inefficiency of a command economy is of truly astonishing proportions. It would exhaust the resources of any satire.

I never thought you were boring.

Holy smokes it's Hoopajoops.

How do you define "scumbag law?"

Scum bag law?
that kind of law practiced by the character Saul in Breaking Bad.

Citizen AllenM wrote:

"So when oil crashes, the tar sands go to breakeven, and the spice don't flow like it used to, Canada will be a happy place with eternally rising house prices?"

You bring up an interesting point. The great White North is trying to prevent their housing bubble from bursting. A housing crash is still an abstract concept for most Plebeians here.

The star of quality, zvezda katchestvo - supposedly representing goods of exceptional quality for the domestic soviet market. The symbol was a five pointed star, two points on the bottom, said by wags to represent a man with his legs and arms spread out, saying plaintively: Comrades, I'm sorry, I couldn't do it any better!

sum luk wrote:

lotsa folks start out that way - I did.

Why is HCN so lousy with lawyers and techies? Folks with time and money?

I don't think I'm boring either.

Yancey Ward quoted:

"Update: 6.80%.... This Time Wasn't Different After All: Spain at 6.66% | ZeroHedge"

2nd UPDATE: Spanish Bonds Slump Despite ECB Rate Cut - WSJ.com

"At 1410 GMT, Spanish 10-year yields were up 44 basis points at 6.79%, while the equivalent Italian yield was 28 basis points higher at 6.02%, according to Tradeweb."

KarmaPolice wrote:

I am referring to the notion that residential housing should be considered a personal investment.

A sucker is born every minute. My BIL thinks he can handle owning a rental house since he knows
how to fix stuff. Typical salary guy with some extra cash jiggling in his pocket. My wife told me that
he was going to buy a house and rent it. Since he didn't ask me for anyone advice, I just
said, "He better like living in a van and eating Vienna sausages from a can." Of course, that didn't
go too well with the Missus.

An old Jewish guy who has been in business for like 50 years told me something about money,
"Most people can't handle having money in their bank. They feel like that they NEED to do something
with it. Anything. That's why they almost always lose it. The smart guy (mensch?) saves his money
and WAITS for the right opportunity. Either way, he will always have his money ready."

Time to go fix that roof.

Sigh, at least he's not buying at peak.

ciao.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

We lost nova, permanently.

Considering its supposed to be heaven, the afterlife still has pretty crappy internet service.

So when oil crashes, the tar sands go to breakeven,

Not very likely. The developing world is probably going to continue to develop no matter what happens in the EU, US and Japan. They are going to use every drop of oil they can afford -- much more than folks think. My expectation is that petroleum and a few other commodities will continue to demand premium prices, as will downtown housing in a few select neighborhoods, some genrtrifying inner 'burbs and some more or less unpredictable selection of retirement meccas.

see ya later...
off to my tent in Red Hook...
to see if the grand experiment is
working...

kratovil1 wrote:

scumbag law though wtf is that

Creditor stuff at $15/hr, basically just working uncollectable debts through the judicial system, and writing threatening letters to small businesses for having their countertop .25 inches too short, trying to extort money under various disability accommodation statutes that disagree and thus are impossible to comply with. The collections stuff is pretty weird; you stand up announce that you've made your unopposed "appearance," and sit down. If the debtor actually shows up you ask for a continuance. Over and over and over again.

well come to think of it some of that ada stuff probably does qualify

Laywers are boring. There's exceptions of course (I am one), but they are few, and those who are the exception tend to be ones trying to ditch the practice of law.

I believe that this guy is going to go free:

Florida judge sets bond at $1 million for George Zimmerman - U.S. News

There is some truth to this. The most interesting lawyers I know want to leave the profession, and the least interesting ones want to stick with it. Also, I've been told many times that I would make a good lawyer.

Well then scumbag law paid off my student loans.

I suppose I shouldn't have gone to law school, and I should've stuck with tech or accounting, but there's no turning back the clock.

Yep, I am mostly talking Florida, since that's what I know.

But I read the Case Shiller index.

Imagine all the people, screwing each other ethically.

Whiskey wrote:

Imagine all the people, screwing each other ethically.

"Atlas Shagged"

Elmer, it was retribution in kind.

Agronox wrote:

Well then scumbag law paid off my student loans.

What variety of scumbag law would that be?

That's me.

My revenge for all the nasty things the banks did to the borrowers in the closings.

Actually, there's clients that go 3 to 4 to 5 years without paying.

I'm cheaper than rent.

I'm really happy when the lender is B of A.

What is this about?

Retailers post worst June sales in 3 years

As economic uncertainty led to a decline in both consumer confidence and sentiment in June, American shoppers also exercised caution with their wallets and delivered mainly disappointing sales for U.S. retailers.

Now this is the kind of thing that sounds recessionary to me.

Lurking Lawyer wrote:

Disagree in that society still measures one's worth by what that person makes.

Clearly then, Fortune 50 CEOs, banksters and hedge fund managers are paragons of social value. Call me a radical, but I think a lot of the grunts are getting hip to the idea that might be a lie.

They are generally viewed as such by society at large. And that is not changing in any measurable degree IMHO....

ac wrote:

Now this is the kind of thing that sounds recessionary to me.

I guess that's why Kohl's is up 7 and Macy's is up 4 and most of the others are green.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Increasingly we are defined by how we spend our leisure time.

Since I get paid for my "leisure time", I'm kinda okay with being defined by it. These 3 LCDs won't use themselves, yo!

Hoopajoops LTD wrote:

What variety of scumbag law would that be?

For about three years I ran on the e-discovery hamster wheel. Tried to keep other projects going but they all fell to the wayside. It was hard to compete with the kind of cash the firms were handing out... but as I understand the glory days (such as they were) for that kind of work is over, unless you're fluent in one of the languages that is hot for litigation right now.

I guess that's why Kohl's is up 7 and Macy's is up 4 and most of the others are green.

I picture a scene from a mental hospital where Hussman and CR are alternatively put on and taken off of suicide watch as the data comes in.

I don't think you can.

This was what I wuz hoping to do to drag foreclosures out. Thought law would change to cram down resi real property loans long ago--still hasn't happened.

ac wrote:

I picture a scene from a mental hospital where Hussman and CR are alternatively put on and taken off of suicide watch as the data comes in.

There is a reason for chemical restraints such as Thorazine.

Entrepreneur wants to raise the undead with zombie theme park - The Globe and Mail

"Mr. Siwak is an entrepreneur in Detroit with, well, a crazy-sounding idea. His company, Z World Detroit LLC. – a “broad-based effort composed of like-minded, creative professionals” – is raising funds to transform one of Detroit’s many abandoned neighbourhoods into a zombie theme park, emulating the doomsday scenarios depicted in various video games and movies on a massive, real-life scale.

Z World Detroit -- Indiegogo

Hey why not.

Dream Park (Niven) has a super "ride" that takes you into a future drowned LA.

You sure you're not a boomer after all?

Maybe he's an echo boomer.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

You sure you're not a boomer after all?

Sadly, no, I am not, but I'm thinking about getting a sports car. I figured nothing sez "State-employed rentier with benefits and job stability" like a new (or slightly "pre-owed") sports car. Now I can understand why Boomers loved stocks and houses for 30+ years...
.
I'm thinking about using my "free tuition" for the P.E. courses I didn't get to enjoy the first time through undergrad. What sez "I got mine, bez!" like long lunches where I can swim for an hour?

I think large swaths of Detroit should be sold to the Army for urban warfare training or turned into one mega-paintball battlefield.

Agronox wrote:

For about three years I ran on the e-discovery hamster wheel.

I know I characterized it as such, but discovery mills aren't really scumbag law. It's a way of converting hours of your life into dough, without any sort of advancement in career, so that after you're done, you walk away a few months older with no convertible experience and a little more dough.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Yep.

Aren't you a Big Ed employee up in the oil lands of OMGWTF-ITSCOLD N.D.?

I guess that's why Kohl's is up 7

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 5, 2012-- Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) reported today that for the five-week month ended June 30, 2012 total sales decreased 2.6 percent and comparable store sales decreased 4.2 percent from the five-week month ended July 2, 2011.

...

OK, you've won me over ...

Good morning!

: My ad informs me gold might go to 10k an ounce. Yeah, when the dow hits 36,000

I know I characterized it as such, but discovery mills aren't really scumbag law.

It's sweatshop law. Everyone I know who did it would work 12-13 hour days for two weeks, followed by nothing.

ac wrote:

What is this about?

Retailers post worst June sales in 3 years

But that's good news. It helps ensure that the next QE will arrive on time. It won't help the retailers, but that's another issue.

You mean they weren't called back in, or they refused to do it any more?

Edit the chart to show year-over-year growth and it still isn't recessionary.

if i've told you once i've ...

retail sales are measured by a survey of mid to large chains. Mom and Pop are not counted. Sales tax collection growth has been running about half of "reported" growth. Ma and Pa are getting wiped out and "surviving" customers are going to big boxes.

End_of_Story

Those people mocked you because they were afraid of sinking.

A common trait amongst lawyers.......

Employment activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in June at a faster rate, as ISM's Non-Manufacturing Employment Index registered 52.3 percent. This reflects an increase of 1.5 percentage points when compared to the 50.8 percent registered in May. Thirteen industries reported increased employment, three industries reported decreased employment, and two industries reported unchanged employment compared to May. Comments from respondents include: "Expectations of new work next month" and "Adding personnel to keep up with growth."

Moronic macroeconomic data without wages.

ISM - ISM Report - November 2009 Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® 

I used to supervise a supervisor who supervised a crew of sweatshop lawyers. I was mocked openly in my firm for suggesting I go down and visit them to thank them for working on our project, like they were sub humans or something below my recognition. A bunch of them were really cool people who did art, painting, writing, or whatever else as their passion and just financed it working part time and earning the generous wages of the discovery mill.

It depends on the situation. I met a friend because he supervised someone I knew doing doc review. He's a decent, interesting fellow. Most firms take a dim view, though. Many of the reviewers will probe for openings in the firms, even though the firm has no regard for them whatsoever.

Obama Opens Car Front In Chinese Trade War | ZeroHedge

Cognitive Dissonance
Vote up!
8
Vote down!
0
Obama translation - "We need a good (trade) war to distract the plebs from their (coming) misery."

km4 wrote:

The synergy of Obama's Harvard Intellect and the legendary UAW work ethic will be tough for the Chinese to overcome.

You mean they weren't called back in, or they refused to do it any more?

Billable hours and deadlines. When the firm needs to do doc review, they need to do it RIGHT YOGI NOW! That means they grab as many temps as they need and work them non-stop until it's done. Once it's over, and they don't need you, you go back to the temp pool. Big-time law firms have no regard for the humanity of non-partner lawyers.

10yr yield today

spain +36 bps
italy +21

i thought crisis over last week (for the nth time)?

Just one Fred graph to make my point about liquidation of the rentier- look at this flatline:

Total Revolving Credit Owned and Securitized, Outstanding (REVOLSL) - FRED - St. Louis Fed

So, credit cards are back? Waaay back.

So, selling this stuff to pension funds is gonna be hella profitable, riiiiiiggghhhhtt?

Ennui, total boring times, waiting for the failure of the Euro, with the latest feel good "fix" flowing through the markets like a shot of heroin. The markets have turned into stimulus junkies, with no real hope.

Someday this war's gonna end...

Yancey Ward wrote:

black dog looking behind the curtain again.

ACK! Some fat old German lady!!

No decoupling.

As expected.

July 4th picnic takeaways were a bit slim this year. General contractor from Penn says he is losing business because he can't keep up with all the remodeling work, already booked through February 2013. Industrial equipment lease guy says things have started to slack off but not a big drop, hopes to raise prices. Big Ed people remain in their own little world with few worries...

black dog said: "if i've told you once i've ...
retail sales are measured by a survey of mid to large chains. Mom and Pop are not counted. Sales tax collection growth has been running about half of "reported" growth. Ma and Pa are getting wiped out and "surviving" customers are going to big boxes."

I'm absolutely willing to be convinced and open to new information. If you can provide me a link (or whatever source you're using) that shows sales tax collection growth has been running at half of reported growth, I'm happy to consider it.

Sebastian

Why Hairdressers Are Secure: Their Jobs Can't Be Exported - WSJ.com

I see it here- Costco packed, small retail going out of business or vacant.

Gotta have cheaper rent and overhead, or buh-bye.

Retail race to the bottom has started in earnest.

Someday this war's gonna end...

This is bullish for strip mall owners, right?

Sure. For all n>0, as n->(infinity), will this function converge?

Disagree in that society still measures one's worth by what that person makes.

I don't entirely disagree, Lurking Lawyer, but it strikes me as being a tad reductive. It's a safe strategy to protect oneself from the vagaries of the way society really works - reducing it to simple formula, but I think it is much too simple. Through no fault of my own, I know a billionaire whose children are all billionaires thanks to his business success. Frankly, I think they're all twits. My judgment of them lies in the fact that I think they use their money in frivolous, sometimes harmful ways (he funded the Swift Boats campaign), and the fact that they're so stinking unhappy and mean-spirited. We judge people in all sorts of ways, which makes life interesting I think.

Gack.

This is the time to borrow?

Sorry, don't wanna do it.

Outsider wrote:

At some point, there has to be a variable thrown in that results in END.
Can this entire fiasco story be told in programming script?

You need a bailout value just like a banker!

Maybe after lunch...

This is the time to borrow responsibly. IOW, few loans will be originated.

"Sure. For all n>0, as n->(infinity), will this function converge?

At some point, there has to be a variable thrown in that results in END."

Just run it under Windoze. It'll end.

When you are speaking of society, generalizations and over-simplifications are required.

Wanna bet in 50 years they are all living in trailers?

Wherever you go, there you are.

Someday this war's gonna end...

The guys who cut my hair back in LA supplemented his income selling pot and scoring porn movies. (I still miss the weirdness of LA.)

Porn producers eyeing Google's Project Glass for POV films | Android Central

A spokesperson for MiKandi, which provides a sort of porn portal in the form of an Android app, told industry pub XBIZ "we're already dreaming up ways to use the glasses to get shots (sex-related and otherwise) that just aren't feasible using a traditional camera setup."

black dog, re: sales tax collections

Never mind, I found the data.

Quarterly Summary of State & Local Taxes - Business & Industry - US Census Bureau

Looks like year-over-year, sales tax collections are up. (Seems to be a seasonal component, which would make sense.)

Sebastian

Look at the struggle the Credit Unions are having in moving their money out to profitable uses:

Total Consumer Loans Owned by Credit Unions, Outstanding (TOTALTCU) - FRED - St. Louis Fed

Guess I just won't be borrowing with my eyepopping 651 credit score!

Someday this war's gonna end...

lawyerliz wrote:

I want my kitchen widget store in the mall back. And the pet store. And. . . .

I have thought I'd lile this or that exotic kitchen widget, but I don't feel like treking through department stores.

So you want HELOCs aplenty as well.

No I want people to be able to buy kitchen widgets out of their current salary.

A fellow real estate atty told me about a successful real estate client he had:

The guy borrowed to buy an investment house. Then after some years, he paid it off. Then he bought another house on credit. Then he paid it off. And so on. Dull, perhaps, but the guy didn't lose his shirt.

The only paces to get kitchen widgets around here are the hardware stores, the grocery stores, walmart or the flea market. Guess which one has reasonable prices (and it isn't walmart).

I step into Walmart only when the hub drags me.

Which reminds me where did NotAreal go to?

The definition of society is not a precise one, but I think it's fair to simply go with a collection of persons sharing commonalities. I think the values of a society can be gleened from its institutions. And most institutions, in my view, look favorably upon the wealth of a person in terms of the benefits that person will derive from those institutions.