Putin orders cuts to Europe-bound gas supplies through Ukraine
by Christopher Boian Christopher Boian 16 mins ago
MOSCOW (AFP) Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered gas giant Gazprom to start cutting supplies to Ukraine bound for European consumers in response to Kiev's alleged siphoning from pipelines.
At a meeting in Putin's residence outside Moscow, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said the company would do its best to make up for the shortfall by sending more gas to Europe through Belarus, Poland and Turkey.
"Start reducing it from today," Putin told Miller, referring to a plan outlined by the Gazprom supremo to cut volumes of natural gas shipped through Ukraine by amounts equivalent to those Moscow has accused Ukraine of stealing.
Supplies of Russian gas to southeastern Europe dropped by an average 24.7 percent overnight Sunday-Monday amid the row, a local unit of Gazprom said Monday.
Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey saw a fall of about 16 million cubic metres of gas between Sunday and Monday morning, according to Igor Yelkin, a representative from the Gazprom subsidiary which oversees distribution in the whole region.
Romania saw the biggest drop in supplies, by 33.8 percent, followed by Turkey, by 22 percent, and Greece, by 15.9 percent, Yelkin told Bulgaria's BTA news agency. Yahoo! 404 - Page Not Found
For some reason this makes me think of that Simpson's Treehouse of Horror episode a few years back:
In hell (where Flanders is, of course, the devil) Cerberus has the heads of the three bullies from Bart's school (Jimbo, Otto, and ??). One of the bullies says "Quit licking my junk!" To which the licker replies, "It's my junk too"
I was wearing the mortgage pig sweatshirt to the gym when the hot blonde behind the counter went out of her way to tell me that she liked the sweatshirt...
Genius...cut off natural gas supply to your customer who happens to control the pipeline through which your natural gas goes to other customers.Did Putin think of this all by himself?
P.S. - a Blonde goes out of her way to tell you something? If she IS hot, then she probably ain't going out of her way for nothing. If you single, make it so. If not...hook a brother up.
Not quite so simple. Ukrainian consumes are being given subsidized natural gas, prices higher than even Russians are paying. For reasons of politics and economics, the Russians are no longer willing to play ball. Negotiations for a price increase have failed, so no gas for Ukraine. If the Ukrainians are skimming off of gas destined for the other countries mentioned, I would think they would be more pissed at Ukraine than Russia.
I remember he was about 12 hours ahead of wall street implosions. Never figured out how he did it but he knew something / someone.
(Un)Fortunately I'm taken. When I say hot I'm talking a 10+ ;) I just didnt have the balls to ask her if she knew what it was and risk showing my nerdy streak....
Y'know, I picked up the Consumer Reports annual car guide the other day, and I'm amazed Chrysler's sales are only off this much. Holy suckage!
"Chrysler trails the pack with almost two-thirds of its products rating below average. The 2008 redesign of the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans earned low scores, as did the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger V6 sedans and the Jeep Liberty SUV. The Sebring convertible has the worst predicted reliability score: 283 percent worse than average. The only above average models are the Dodge Caliber hatchback and Jeep Patriot SUV."
Don't ask me what 283% worse than average means... Maybe 2.83 standard deviations? Anyway, with a lineup like that, the only reason to save them is so their parts suppliers' bankruptcies don't drag down GM, if you believe the General's worth saving. Bad redesign in their former core competency of minivans, no good crash ratings from the NHTSA, the list goes on.
Plus two unquantifiables: I think any organization dumb enough to hire Robert "couldn't make money for Home Depot shareholders during history's greatest building boom" Nardelli ought to go down for it. As well, even though neither publicly-traded nor private equity companies are 'public' somehow my Schadenfreude enjoyment center prefers the boots being put to the PE boys.
I had a recent conversation trying to buy a used item. "But at that price I won't make any money." Uhhhh, yeah. Needless to say I didn't buy. I am however negotiating for 90 DVDs for $140. As long as the State of California doesn't confiscate my plasma (don't laugh) I'll be mind numbed for months.
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
I own Jan SRS options, hence, there's about a 150% chance it will stay below my strike price until Monday, Jan 19. At which point it will skyrocket.
I have a leather bound edition of the Art of War. Cheap as a mofo on Amazon.
So does every executive in the Corporate Universe. If everybody's reading it and practicing it, it doesn't work. Net effect zero, or less. - Morocco Bama
It ain't in the reading, tis in the living.
Even if Madoff's scheme worked at first, once the data miners back tested it was guaranteed to become exponentially less effective.
"Genius...cut off natural gas supply to your customer who happens to control the pipeline through which your natural gas goes to other customers.Did Putin think of this all by himself?"
I think you may be missing or misunderstanding some of the factors in the situation.
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
Gavshire Hathaway
Don't know but, evidently the close over $55 is something. Also the 10% difference in the NAV and the price is interesting. More research on that is needed
Just wanted to talk about my car shopping experience in Los Angeles. Went to Carmax in the San Gabriel Valley.
Saw a nice 2004 Prius with the HOV stickers for $17998. I bought it knowing that it was missing one of the four stickers, but I thought getting a replacement wouldn't be very hard. After calling AAA, DMV, and CARB to get a new sticker, I finally gave up and used Carmax's 5 day return policy and returned the car. Didn't want to risk not getting a replacement sticker. After a week, the price of the Prius dropped $1000. There was another Prius with 3 of 4 stickers that dropped from $19K to $16K in the 2 weeks that I was checking it online.
I found the whole car buying process very easy and I didn't get hassled when I returned the car. I've kept in touch w/ the salesguy, and he said that the foot traffic was down, but the people were buying cars - he sold 13 in December.
Anyway, at the low prices asked for relatively new GM and Chrysler vehicles, I might be tempted to buy a weekend car. For example, 2006 Saab 9-7x w/ 16K miles for $18K or 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokees for $14K. Compare to similar vintage Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 at $20K. The $2-3K difference pays for lots of parts, gas, mechanic time, etc.
"I was wearing the mortgage pig sweatshirt to the gym when the hot blonde behind the counter went out of her way to tell me that she liked the sweatshirt...
I didnt have the huevos to inquire any more..."
can get much without asking!
I know a 5'10" blonde in Atlanta who looks like Barbie, loves football (cheesehead), thin, big chested, single..really hot...
"If the Ukrainians are skimming off of gas destined for the other countries mentioned, I would think they would be more pissed at Ukraine than Russia."
"What is your impression of someone who drives a Hummer today?"
Well historically my opinion was given visually:
With the hand held horizontally, place your thumb and index finger about an inch to an inch and a half apart and display said motion to the male driver >; )
Interesting bit on timing here - Gazprom signalling Balkan reductions until Jan. 11 - if for all EU, that could deplete the bulk of EU gas reserves...
Russian Gas Supplies To Romania Still 30% Short - Transgaz
January 05, 2009: 07:04 AM ET
BUCHAREST (AFP)--Deliveries of Russian gas to Romania were still 30% short of the planned volume after Russian gas group OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) said it would reduce supplies, the company handling the flow of gas said on Monday.
"The fall of 30% in gas deliveries is continuing," the director of the gas transit company Transgaz, Ioan Rusu, told AFP.
The reduction, noticed since late Friday, was expected to continue until Jan. 11, he said, on the basis of information provided about the movement of gas to the Balkans by Gazprom. CNNMoney.com: 404 Page Not Found
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
Gavshire Hathaway
Given that SRS is a derivative of IYR and a factor of volatility as well as prices, I would never look at it in a vacuum. It drives me nuts when I see somebody doing technical analysis on any ProShares fund. Any such analysis should at best be done on the underlying index.
Somebody mentioned Madhoff... have this little tidbit from today - the 13F filing of holdings ordered by the court. Hope the table comes out...
Fund\tAllocation
($millions)
New Amer High Income Fund\t2,057,000
Blackrock High Income Shares\t526,475
ING Prime Rate Trust\t478,665
Van Kampen Senior Income\t326,602
Eaton Vance Senior Income\t248,665
Nuveen Floating Rate Income\t198,900
Csam Income Fund\t158,500
Nuveen Senior Income Fund\t124,600
First Trust Four CRNS Sr F 2\t118,500
Nuveen Floating Rate Income\t103,200
Highland Credit Strategies\t102,500
Eaton Vance Sr Floating Rate\t59,900
Blackrock Floating Rate Income\t42,000
Evergreen Inc Advantage Fund \t41,500
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust\t31,821
Blackrock Floating Rate Income\t28,800
Gabelli Global Deal Fund \t25,400
Lots of crappy little levered, illiquid credit card and bank floating rate debt CEFs. Probably so correlated, there's no reason to own more than one.
Funny, if there is so much deflation, every time I sell some silver coins on ebay I have plenty of bids.
And they don't seem to be of the Rob Dawg style beat down. Although I did have one deadbeat bidder last month- it was a deliberate overbid to chill the sale since the price had gotten totally out of hand. I mean, $35 for a $16 item, out of hand. I still neged 'em just out of annoyance- relisted and sold with no problem.
Unique and interesting stuff still sells very well- collectors don't care as long as they get what they want. Oddly enough I had some recent 10 yro Bose equipment, and it went for nice change compared to the yard sale prices on craigslist locally. But we are getting to depressed here. I have to let the guy with the $1400 vinotemp soften up to accept my $400 offer;-}-maybe I should only offer $300 Time does wonders for wine and for stuff that just isn't moving.
As for cars, we have too many cars in this country for the number of drivers, and a glut means that the average price is going to fall- want any kind of used car- you are going to pay less- now if you need financing, well that costs more.
Cash is truly king for the next couple of months, until it becomes apparent there is more and more cash;-}
The last I heard the only category in which Ukraine was world class was corruption. I once heard a conversation in which an adviser was recounting remarks by a now former president of Ukraine. Kind of like Blago in tone.
We accumulated 3 emini gold contracts on Comex for December delivery and we had been given serial numbers and weights last week for the 3 bars we were to receive.
Today we are informed that Comex, which is now a division of NYSE Liffe, is invoking a rule in which they can deny delivery of individual mini bars (roughly 33 ounces) and issue you only a Warehouse Delivery Receipt (WDR) against your mini-contract unless you have 3 WDR's, and then they'll issue you a 100 oz. bar.
Otherwise, if you have only 1 or 2 mini-contracts, you only own a WDR, which you sell by shorting a mini against it. If you own a WDR for a 100 oz., the WDR issuance encourages you to safekeep the gold at the Comex.
CLEARLY, the Comex has run out of the bars that were being delivered to holders of emini contracts. Our back-office guy told us that he's been doing Comex deliveries for 30 years and he's never seen anything like this, and he's never heard of this NYSE Liffe rule on the mini contract.
Fortunately we have 3 WDR's and we will be getting delivery of a 100 oz. Comex gold bar.
But this whole episode brings into the question the validity of the Comex gold inventory. More importantly, the Comex is now going to issue WDR's, which are paper.
Are they becoming a "fractional" reserve depository, where they can issue several WDR's against the same bar of gold, knowing that some of those people will opt to keep storage on Comex and never require actual physical delivery?
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokees for $14K. Compare to similar vintage Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 at $20K. The $2-3K difference pays for lots of parts, gas, mechanic time, etc. - Anonymous
A 2005 CR-V versus a 2005 Grand Cherokee for a $3k difference? Are you serious? The CR-V unless your cabin is snowbound 4 months of the year at the end of an abandoned fire road.
If the Ukrainians are skimming off of gas destined for the other countries mentioned, I would think they would be more pissed at Ukraine than Russia. I can haz bailouts? | 01.05.09 - 4:01 pm | #
They'll be mad at everyone east of the old iron curtain... about time to build a new one and give it back. That is what a lot of WESTERN Europeans will be thinking & Putin knows this better than anyone.
Rob Dawg - they wont confiscate your plasma buuuuut you might have to pay a new monthly energy tax. - Barley
Plasma? What plasma? I mean it's like you imagined I went to Arizona to purchase oil based interior enamel paint to restore my home or something. That's illegal. I don't want to do illegal. Plasmas are bad. My kids come home from skool and tell me so.
Interesting that California is a leader in forgiving transgressions via fines eh?
A little OT...there have been posted forecasting unemployment to hit 10% and how it will have a big impact on the economy. Are people not aware of unemployment benefits? The economy will not be a disaster, and with the pace that the U.S. is printing money there could be growth in the future.
"They'll be mad at everyone east of the old iron curtain... about time to build a new one and give it back. That is what a lot of WESTERN Europeans will be thinking & Putin knows this better than anyone."
I don't think so. For one thing, Germany has more to lose than gain in such an arrangement. Personal opinion, FWIW.
LOL @ a Cali Plasma Tax. Seems strangely possible.
cd - I have a blonde friend like yours. a total knock out, a tri-athlete with boobs who drives a porche and loves football too. guys stay away from her at bars... its like the twilight zone....
mp, Roubini seems to be growing gloomier as well. I read his article out today and it appears he's improved the chances of an L shaped recovery. Why does Conjure feel Mad Max is now more probable?
Just curious, but does anyone in the U.S. still drive their cars until they die? Why is residual resale value such a factor when it comes to purchasing a new car. If everyone really is trading in for a new car every 3 years, where do the old cars go? For the record, I own a 2006 Sonata that I hope will last me another decade.
I almost bought a Cherokee once until my three friends who were owners and former owners of the beasts talked me out of it. Went with a 4Runner. Glad I did.
cd - I have a blonde friend like yours. a total knock out, a tri-athlete with boobs who drives a porche and loves football too. guys stay away from her at bars... its like the twilight zone....
ades et al. Not to toot my own horn but I've always been considered "hot", I make my living as a bartender in part because of that. I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive, makes a decent living and is even remotely intelligent. It's lonlier than one would expect.
LOL @ a Cali Plasma Tax. Seems strangely possible.
cd - I have a blonde friend like yours. a total knock out, a tri-athlete with boobs who drives a porche and loves football too. guys stay away from her at bars... its like the twilight zone....
nades | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 4:34 pm | #
Throw in a Sweedish au pair and you'll have an American Pie movie.
I gave up trying to figure out why men don't approach..of course their not salesmen with mentality of 100 no's might get me 1 yes...
We used her as model for NADA (auto dealers) shows in Vegas, New Orleans and every dealer principle stopped in based on her throwing footballs across the convention hallways..and being a striking late 30's lady...
Barley writes:
µΨ - Best place to buy a used Boxster is TX."
I would not recommend buying a used car especially Porsche from Texas especially not the Dallas area. Cars do not like extreme heat or traffic. So unless you find a specific vehicle from a single owner, garaged when not driven, never driven in traffic (week-end car) I would avoid them. Best bet IMO Washington State: they do not put salt on roads (at least last time I was there).
In any event, do not forget: ALL the maintenance records, from day 1 with the techs phone numbers is a must and do your DD. There are no bad Porsche but there sure are bad owners
"Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible."
A new sequence is now developing that could make a realization of the scenario possible.
mp
In agreement I thought two years ago we wouldn't get to where we are now unless the government made every wrong decision at every juncture. Surprise, surprise. In the spirit of don't fight the trend the smart money is on the government to make things worse from here.
The Mad Max outcome is possible only after a calamity like general war or a pandemic. Otherwise... more state control rather than less. Looters, bandits and renegades will get short shrift. IMO.
I understand that the situation between Ukraine and Russia re nat gas and transmission of same is complex. The price of nat gas to Europe depends on the producer's price and the supply chain price. This is a hardball business negotiation, pure and simple. Ukraine needs the gas, Russia needs the revenue. Russia's routing of the pipeline through Ukraine presumed that Ukraine would always be the "road apple" that the Kremlin could manipulate as it saw fit. That seems not to be the case.
I boggle at the posters who are defending Russia and Gazprom complaints about siphoning, when it is the Russian kleptocracy that owns and operates Gazprom.
JD Power says otherwise. It takes a selective memory to forget the introduction of the Cayenne dragging Porsche's reputation for quality through the mud. Luckily (if you waited), they'd fixed it by 2006. Unluckily, it's slipping again...
I know a 5'10" blonde in Atlanta who looks like Barbie, loves football (cheesehead), thin, big chested, single..really hot... Cant get a date...guys are afraid of her....
Some of us are still licking our wounds from high school. I wouldn't touch her with a stick...
...Port St. Joe, if you're lookin'. Lots of fish in them Gulf waters. - Comrade V
Please don't bring up the proximate ocean protein collapse at the high end.
Comrade V, thanks but I'm happily married now. I finally gave in at age 40 and decided to try being "domestic"...I've included a link to my wedding album in my homepage space if anyone is interested in putting a face to the name, I've never been shy
Problem with the Buiter article is that most people can't or lack the brain cells to get passed the first two paragraphs. It may as well be discussed out in the open however it will most certainly be interpreted as much different by the time CNBC gets around to actually being able to translate it.
I agree with it 100%......
Reality, as presented on TV, will make sure that post never gets it's proper discussion.
Pavel Chichikov(Excellent) writes: The Mad Max outcome is possible only after a calamity like general war or a pandemic. Otherwise... more state control rather than less. Looters, bandits and renegades will get short shrift. IMO.
You forgot the key calamity -- inability of the state to raise sufficient funds.
"This is a hardball business negotiation, pure and simple. Ukraine needs the gas, Russia needs the revenue."
Not entirely, although the Russians are a bitch to negotiate with, always have been.
"I boggle at the posters who are defending Russia and Gazprom complaints about siphoning, when it is the Russian kleptocracy that owns and operates Gazprom."
A famous Russian temporary ex-pat in late 18th century Western Europe was asked what people in Russia are doing.
"They're stealing," was his famous answer. Plus ca change...
Comrade Kristina,
Then you actively shop for a mate meeting your criteria. My wife literally choose me and had been dating for a while using friends and personals. Ironically we shared a few people in common. While it can be intimidating at first, I suggest that the advice be provided to these ladies lacking company of looking aggressively at your opportunities.
One of the biggest difficulties with the dating scene was the refusal of most women to adequately tell me they are even remotely interested. Some of the most interesting dates I ever had were when I was asked out. That barrier discourages the polite nicer types, while providing encouragement to the morons who keep knocking on closed doors.
Women wanted equality- now they have it- so use it and enjoy. With that equality comes the need to step up and actively search, instead of waiting for prince charming. Otherwise you run the risk of ending up like a pretty friend of mine- she just keeps meeting drunks- but she hangs out in bars. Sort and discard.
CD and Nades, please send your tall blonde amazonians my way. That is my niche as I am 6-9 except when I am in a gay bar.
I guess markets are NOT efficient with these babes still on the market.
Let me know.
Read Willem Buiter's column. He has hit upon something. mp | 01.05.09 - 4:43 pm | #
Ya - but unless he has access to the inner thoughts of PBoC - then he too might be premature... Setser has been saying for what - a year? - that the ONLY support for growth of dollar debt is coming from 'official' sources [private sources continue to go away]... so when does that change? That is the 10 trillion dollar question.
Setser has been saying for what - a year? - that the ONLY support for growth of dollar debt is coming from 'official' sources [private sources continue to go away]... so when does that change? dryfly | 01.05.09 - 4:55 pm | #
Or, when is it insufficient? That's the other possibility.
"You forgot the key calamity -- inability of the state to raise sufficient funds."
"He who cannot give, cannot rule." An observation from a history of the Medieval Church by Southern.
But the state can rule without sufficient funds for all purposes as long as there are no insuperable external challenges, and the indispensable functionaries are paid. That would be a matter of war, no? The Emperor Septimius Severus [early third century] told his two sons: Pay the soldiers. Nothing else matters.
Or internal challenges, such as an extraordinary natural calamity.
However, the subject rapidly becomes hypothetical.
I don't think Papa Bush has gotten it that his family name is MUD or SLIME or perhaps even GARBAGE. I think Americans would commit collective suicide before they would elect another Bush to anything.
"A famous Russian temporary ex-pat in late 18th century Western Europe was asked what people in Russia are doing.
"They're stealing," was his famous answer. Plus ca change..."
Pavel Chichikov | 01.05.09 - 4:53 pm | #
Pavel, that can be said about just about every state and local government in the northeast and midwestI don't include California because it's a special case.
"Pavel, that can be said about just about every state and local government in the northeast and midwestI don't include California because it's a special case."
Every organism in nature carries a load of parasites. This is tolerable until the load becomes too heavy, and then the organism dies.
I'm not saying that it's likely, only that it has entered the realm of possibility.
Big difference. mp | 01.05.09 - 4:59 pm | #
Here ya. Been waiting for that since Gadot was young. Not waiting like 'oh goody'... waiting in dread.
The thing Buiter brings to the discussion in that article is that IT COULD BE SOONER than it looks to us or Washington... all it takes is the CCP to say - Fuck It We ain't playing this game no more - we're going all 'collective' and let the PLA do their thing to keep the lid on... they know what to do - Then China stops buying UST or agency and that would produce the dollar debt collapse WB suggests is possible and it happens FAST.
I don't think Papa Bush has gotten it that his family name is MUD or SLIME or perhaps even GARBAGE. I think Americans would commit collective suicide before they would elect another Bush to anything. Hal | 01.05.09 - 5:01 pm | #
[ I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive]
Not me. But I am horrified when I meet women that believe they're hot. Always more trouble than they're worth. There's a reason the term "trophy wife" was hatched.
Re redheads: Amen, baby! But not for the long haul although YMMV.
For the long haul, the Instapundit guy explained how he became engaged/married years ago to his beautiful wife. It was arranged, southern style, through mutual friends once she announced she was looking.
Actually, the same thing happened in my case 17 years ago, still south of the Mason-Dixon line. And the beauteous redhead was the go-between.
Governor Perry mandated via Executive Order for females entering 6th grade as of Fall 2008. I'm not sure what it's ultimate legal status for females will be, but for boys NFW. Here, take a vaccine that gives one cohort no benefit but all of the risks, most of which won't be apparent for years...
The amazing thing is that Gardasil pushes "vaccine" to its definitional limits. It's as if the same morons that pushed CDO's decided to market vaccines.
cd writes: I know a 5'10" blonde in Atlanta who looks like Barbie, loves football (cheesehead), thin, big chested, single..really hot...
Cant get a date...guys are afraid of her.... cd | 01.05.09 - 4:17 pm | # ----- Funny thing is I wouldn't want to take her out on a date. When times get tough, who is going to be able to afford to make sure she stays thin and looks like barbie?
Apply the same kind of characteristics to a financial vehicle
Personally it may have something to do with a willingness to paint a bullseye on your chest but I could be wrong. Rob Dawg | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 5:09 pm | #
I thought it was because you left a tip in the jar back when it was label "Gas, Grass or ..... "
Not me. But I am horrified when I meet women that believe they're hot. Always more trouble than they're worth. There's a reason the term "trophy wife" was hatched. bearly | 01.05.09 - 5:08 pm | #
A friend of mine dated a really beautiful woman once - a model who did nat'l media work - seriously beautiful. Now this guy was pretty handsome, ex-athlete, making serious money so he had lots of beautiful women... but this gal was a notch or two above the rest.
I ran into him a few days after the date & me the geek wanted to live vicariously (I didn't get dates w/ gals like that EVER)... so I asked him how it went... he said it was torture... said the girl didn't want to do anything that might smear her make up or make her sweat... no joke. Told him right up front. Made me really glad I had married a backpacking cross country skiing girl... one thing I learned early on she didn't mind smearing her make up (if she even wore it) and she liked activities that made her sweat...
Women wanted equality- now they have it- so use it and enjoy. With that equality comes the need to step up and actively search, instead of waiting for prince charming. Otherwise you run the risk of ending up like a pretty friend of mine- she just keeps meeting drunks- but she hangs out in bars. Sort and discard.
Someday this war's gonna end...
Citizen AllenM"
The social context is also worth considering: if you are the type that would feel right at home in San Francisco, Seattle or even NYC or Chicago, but you are stuck in Dallas for a time you may have significantly reduced ops of meeting people you really have a lot in common with... I am just guessing here (humm...)
There just seems to be clusters of affinity in the US
cd writes: \tWe used her as model for NADA (auto dealers) shows in Vegas, New Orleans and every dealer principle stopped in based on her throwing footballs across the convention hallways..and being a striking late 30's lady... cd | 01.05.09 - 4:40 pm | # ----- Maybe it is my family law experience playing out, but if she is hot, single, sexy late 30s lady (Depending on number of marriages/divorces), there is a reason.
Definitely buyer beware. Would want to take her to a shrink, doctor, & accountant...
Most guys have childhood scars about that stuff. Just assume the Barbies are after the the Kens and don't need anymore kicks to the ego. Yeah I should outgrow that stuff especially I grew up to be reasonably attractive but do guys ever really grow up
Comrade Kristina writes:
nades et al. Not to toot my own horn but I've always been considered "hot", I make my living as a bartender in part because of that. I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive, makes a decent living and is even remotely intelligent. It's lonlier than one would expect.
Porsche sales probably didnt suck as bad due to the changeover from the 911/997 to the "997 2.0", which wasnt introduced until late this fall, Therefore, there was some pent-up demand for the new, awesome (yes, I've driven it) version.
my favorite personal joke is: if your loved one-husband is close to retirement age you really want to stay home and spend a few precious moments with him, because he MAY reach the grown up stage soon and it may be just a flash that you do not want to miss in case Alzheimer's disease is around the corner
(personal note: that joke cost me a break up with a friend: it must have been the last drop...)
I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive, makes a decent living and is even remotely intelligent. It's lonlier than one would expect.
you should hang around scientists (especially those with a large ego)they are not remotely intimidated
private sources for sovereign debt drying up.
Deleveraging by all sectors.
large numbers OUT of capital markets for forseeable future; confidence loss
Paying down debt; restricting spending
Can't fund future obligations and stimulus.
Japan's yield curve did go flat and stayed, but its borrowing needs were of a different scale AND the rest of the world was relatively unaffected.
NOW whole world delevering and allocating savings glut to plugging balance sheet holes and stimulus.
Must print, must print. But how to get the blood throughout the dying corpse? Normal capillaries are shut down.
Insufficient funds meets inability to refinance and rollover existing debt. Empty checking, empty HECL, empty LOC.
Guys, I was just giving some personal experience is all. I'm happily married and not looking for anything at all. Just passing on my thoughts. I never personally considered myself to be exceptional and am a tom boy in reality...I'll take football and a good book...
be interested to get more details. I heard from my broker that buying a gold contract and taking delivery was a very expensive proposition. But judging from your comment it wasn't. Are there any other charges other than the settlement cost to take delivery?
Before this one dies, I tried to find a link - George & Barbara Bush were on TV today talking up a presidential bid for Jeb.
See my earlier post about Papa Bush being so out of it; Babs has always lived in another world. Remember her comment about how "scary" it was to have blacks from N. Orleans come to Houston after Katrina? And to think when she was First Lady she was half=way popular.
Maybe it is my family law experience playing out, but if she is hot, single, sexy late 30s lady (Depending on number of marriages/divorces), there is a reason.
Definitely buyer beware. Would want to take her to a shrink, doctor, & accountant...
Believe it or not, she's non pretentious, fun to be around, sweet, hardworker but maybe just a tad to wild....
ha cd, guilty....I found the answer was a younger man Now he wears me out and we have some form of pseudo ying/yang thing going on...The older, stable guy, not so much...Head butting always...
ChefVisar, I'm in Florida and they've been having emergency budget meetings as well. I can't imagine what they'll cut, they do next to nothing now in the way of road upkeep etc...Maybe they'll build more prisons, we apparently always need more of those here.
He said that the dollar had been kept elevated in recent years by what some called "dark matter" or "American alpha" - an assumption that the US could earn more on its overseas investments than foreign investors could make on their American assets.
US citizens control a lot more wealth than they technically own for tax reasons. Almost every US corporation has an Irish or other subsidiary where profits pile up outside the reach of the US tax authorities. And almost every US billionaire has a trust fund tucked in a tax haven as a souped up 401K fund.
Tax gains would explain a lot of the American alpha.
Since so much of the tax games are kept under-the-radar I'm not sure how much stock to put into official trade deficit numbers.
I'm sure they are bad, but I don't know if they are Mad Max bad.
A friend of mine who's been active in Republican party politics for years tells me that (among the party PTB) Jeb's chances were buried by GWB's response to Katrina.
"Much too simple a scenario.
Pavel Chichikov | 01.05.09 - 5:59 pm | #
LOL. It was the American made for TV version of a 1000 page Russian novel."
Years ago, I watched a made for TV movie supposedly about contemporary Russia. The lead characters were, as I recall, English and American actors, but some supporting roles were played by Russians. In one scene a real Russian woman played a servant, who interrupted a lead character played by an American woman, and uttered a phrase that sounds much like 'Excuse me', but actually means: 'Sow!' Enjoyable departure from the script, that. [Not 'izvenite' but 'sveninya'.]
Wife and I have been looking for a used car. All major dealers' lots have more sales staff than folks looking to buy. I counted no more than four "shoppers" at the four lots we visited on a weekend. One dealer didn't even send out a sales person. The used car lot had so few vehicles that they were parking them at angles taking up the empty spaces usually crammed with cars. This was a Ford dealer.
One Honda dealer said they'd take $2K off any '09 on the spot. I told him we were window shopping. He hands us his business card and returned to showroom. They appear defeated and resigned to the grim reality of no sales.
"The biggest un-heralded bubble: medical expenditures.
Merck's sales of Gardasil (cervical cancer "vaccine") down 4%, so what does Merck do?
Merck Seeks FDA Approval for Gardasil in Boys"
For prevention of genital warts and "other lesions" in boys? Hmmm...never had a problem with those. Would not spend the USD 360 either, even if I was getting romantic with "riskier females". Try condoms instead. Prevent other stuff too.
Furst
good god
What does a 3 headed dog do when sales drop 57%?
I'm shocked. How could this happen with a man like Giardelli running the show?
What does a 3 headed dog do when sales drop 57%?
Gets more TARP.
Buh-bye.
Well down 57% still isnt that bad.
Big Er
I am so glad my hard earned tax dollars went toward pushing this dead whale back into the ocean.
Lovely...
Kiss the-company-formerly-listed-as C goodbye.
What do I hear bid for a minivan line? How about a recently redesigned pickup truck and factory?
I am so glad my hard earned tax dollars went toward pushing this dead whale back into the ocean.
Tom Servo | 01.05.09 - 3:43 pm | #
Ha ha. Funniest metaphor of the day.
ruh-roh Raggy...
Putin orders cuts to Europe-bound gas supplies through Ukraine
by Christopher Boian Christopher Boian 16 mins ago
MOSCOW (AFP) Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered gas giant Gazprom to start cutting supplies to Ukraine bound for European consumers in response to Kiev's alleged siphoning from pipelines.
At a meeting in Putin's residence outside Moscow, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said the company would do its best to make up for the shortfall by sending more gas to Europe through Belarus, Poland and Turkey.
"Start reducing it from today," Putin told Miller, referring to a plan outlined by the Gazprom supremo to cut volumes of natural gas shipped through Ukraine by amounts equivalent to those Moscow has accused Ukraine of stealing.
Supplies of Russian gas to southeastern Europe dropped by an average 24.7 percent overnight Sunday-Monday amid the row, a local unit of Gazprom said Monday.
Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey saw a fall of about 16 million cubic metres of gas between Sunday and Monday morning, according to Igor Yelkin, a representative from the Gazprom subsidiary which oversees distribution in the whole region.
Romania saw the biggest drop in supplies, by 33.8 percent, followed by Turkey, by 22 percent, and Greece, by 15.9 percent, Yelkin told Bulgaria's BTA news agency.
Yahoo! 404 - Page Not Found
53%, big deal, that's less than half.
For some reason this makes me think of that Simpson's Treehouse of Horror episode a few years back:
In hell (where Flanders is, of course, the devil) Cerberus has the heads of the three bullies from Bart's school (Jimbo, Otto, and ??). One of the bullies says "Quit licking my junk!" To which the licker replies, "It's my junk too"
Does anyone think it's possible that the credit crisis caused this drop in sales?
I mean really....are there just thousands and thousands of people walking into a showroom, ready to borrow to buy and being turned away empty handed?
Beware any solution that doesn't account for the "problem".
People don't want another car, foreign, domestic...no matter.
Easing credit conditions is simply printing coupons for cigarettes and passing them out to those who've decided to quit.
If there's a drop in demand, is there a drop in prices ?
The milk from the great MEW/HELOC/CC/(Insert name here)_LOC teet has run dry.
Remember when people use to say this "contained".....
Ahhh the memories....
/end snark....
Does this mean I'll have to mow my own lawn and drive a modest car?
On a totally unrelated note:
I was wearing the mortgage pig sweatshirt to the gym when the hot blonde behind the counter went out of her way to tell me that she liked the sweatshirt...
I didnt have the huevos to inquire any more...
Maybe next time
.........
Prices have not come down.
The MSRP's are through the roof(especially Dodge's trucks). They then start waving big rebates around in people's faces trying to mimick a deal.
But you can't change the outcomes....whether or not people think in terms of monthly notes or more importantly final purchase price.
The days of the four square method + terms approaching mortgage length....are over.
Sentiment, sentiment, sentiment...
A new, nicer car used to be worth something. It served a purpose over and above transportation.
It no longer is worth it.
The old vehicle works just fine.
What is your impression of someone who drives a Hummer today....someone who has alot of money, or someone who is stupid with it.
You can't change consumer sentiment with fiscal stimulous, bailouts, or easy credit.
Does this mean I'll have to mow my own lawn and drive a modest car?
\t µÅÆŸΨâ¢
µÅÆŸΨ⢠| 01.05.09 - 3:53 pm | #
ummm thats pretty UnAmerican. I dont think you should be saying things like this... People might get the wrong idea about you....
Genius...cut off natural gas supply to your customer who happens to control the pipeline through which your natural gas goes to other customers.Did Putin think of this all by himself?
What is your impression of someone who drives a Hummer today
They have huevos?
CrVix spike, must be time to buy.
@nades
I remember the days when all of this was...
"Nothingburger"
Big props to Banker....
P.S. - a Blonde goes out of her way to tell you something? If she IS hot, then she probably ain't going out of her way for nothing. If you single, make it so. If not...hook a brother up.
cKFP,
Bit more detail in this WSJ piece...
Putin Cuts EU Gas Deliveries in Escalation of Dispute With Ukraine
Russia Diverts Gas Supplies Bound for EU as Clash With Ukraine Worsens - WSJ.com
So glad we're investing billions of tax dollars in these guys.
The solution to increase auto sales is lend them more TARP money, right?
A bunch of Harvard educated guys can't be wrong...
Russia is not stupid.
Not quite so simple. Ukrainian consumes are being given subsidized natural gas, prices higher than even Russians are paying. For reasons of politics and economics, the Russians are no longer willing to play ball. Negotiations for a price increase have failed, so no gas for Ukraine. If the Ukrainians are skimming off of gas destined for the other countries mentioned, I would think they would be more pissed at Ukraine than Russia.
Nothingburger = LOL!
I remember he was about 12 hours ahead of wall street implosions. Never figured out how he did it but he knew something / someone.
(Un)Fortunately I'm taken. When I say hot I'm talking a 10+ ;) I just didnt have the balls to ask her if she knew what it was and risk showing my nerdy streak....
.......
Let's go to a Haaarvad Bah and beat up some smaut kids
Saab Dec. U.S. vehicle sales off 57.1 pct
TABLE-Saab Dec. U.S. vehicle sales off 57.1 pct
| Markets
| US Markets
| Reuters
Ouch.
Y'know, I picked up the Consumer Reports annual car guide the other day, and I'm amazed Chrysler's sales are only off this much. Holy suckage!
"Chrysler trails the pack with almost two-thirds of its products rating below average. The 2008 redesign of the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans earned low scores, as did the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger V6 sedans and the Jeep Liberty SUV. The Sebring convertible has the worst predicted reliability score: 283 percent worse than average. The only above average models are the Dodge Caliber hatchback and Jeep Patriot SUV."
Don't ask me what 283% worse than average means... Maybe 2.83 standard deviations? Anyway, with a lineup like that, the only reason to save them is so their parts suppliers' bankruptcies don't drag down GM, if you believe the General's worth saving. Bad redesign in their former core competency of minivans, no good crash ratings from the NHTSA, the list goes on.
Plus two unquantifiables: I think any organization dumb enough to hire Robert "couldn't make money for Home Depot shareholders during history's greatest building boom" Nardelli ought to go down for it. As well, even though neither publicly-traded nor private equity companies are 'public' somehow my Schadenfreude enjoyment center prefers the boots being put to the PE boys.
Morocco Bama | 01.05.09 - 4:00 pm | #
This is about CB_R's Sun Tzu quote earlier...
This is about CB_R's Sun Tzu quote earlier...
I know...I was referring to CKFP's genius comment. I know you know better.
I had a recent conversation trying to buy a used item. "But at that price I won't make any money." Uhhhh, yeah. Needless to say I didn't buy. I am however negotiating for 90 DVDs for $140. As long as the State of California doesn't confiscate my plasma (don't laugh) I'll be mind numbed for months.
I have a leather bound edition of the Art of War. Cheap as a mofo on Amazon.
Kia invested several billion in a plant in south Georgia, and they spent a great deal on developing the Borrego SUV. They're hurting.
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
What does a 57% drop in Dec mean?
Taxpayers just threw $4B down a rathole.
Morocco Bama | 01.05.09 - 4:06 pm | #
Just moving a couple of dots closer together for the rest of the commentariat...
The Nothingburger lives!
"What is your impression of someone who drives a Hummer today?"
Same as it always was.
Kia has pretty big knock-on effects with towing services and mechanics as well.
Or so I hear from my mechanic buddies.
I have a leather bound edition of the Art of War. Cheap as a mofo on Amazon.
So does every executive in the Corporate Universe. If everybody's reading it and practicing it, it doesn't work. Net effect zero, or less.
whisper was 57.004
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
I own Jan SRS options, hence, there's about a 150% chance it will stay below my strike price until Monday, Jan 19. At which point it will skyrocket.
But they guarantee $ 2.00 gas. stupid consumers
Morocco Bama | 01.05.09 - 4:11 pm | #
I think it is like the general theory of relativity...everybody has heard of it, might even have it on the shelf...but understand it? NFW.
I have a leather bound edition of the Art of War. Cheap as a mofo on Amazon.
So does every executive in the Corporate Universe. If everybody's reading it and practicing it, it doesn't work. Net effect zero, or less. - Morocco Bama
It ain't in the reading, tis in the living.
Even if Madoff's scheme worked at first, once the data miners back tested it was guaranteed to become exponentially less effective.
the hot blonde behind the counter went out of her way to tell me that she liked the sweatshirt
Just tell her she can wear it if she ever stays over...
"Art of War"
Yes just like the party that everyone is invited to*....no one cares.
Key point that..
Ciao
MS
"Genius...cut off natural gas supply to your customer who happens to control the pipeline through which your natural gas goes to other customers.Did Putin think of this all by himself?"
I think you may be missing or misunderstanding some of the factors in the situation.
I think it is like the general theory of relativity...everybody has heard of it, might even have it on the shelf...but understand it? NFW.
Agree...many wear it for show...kinda like the lapel flag pin.
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
Gavshire Hathaway
Don't know but, evidently the close over $55 is something. Also the 10% difference in the NAV and the price is interesting. More research on that is needed
Long time lurker, first post.
Just wanted to talk about my car shopping experience in Los Angeles. Went to Carmax in the San Gabriel Valley.
Saw a nice 2004 Prius with the HOV stickers for $17998. I bought it knowing that it was missing one of the four stickers, but I thought getting a replacement wouldn't be very hard. After calling AAA, DMV, and CARB to get a new sticker, I finally gave up and used Carmax's 5 day return policy and returned the car. Didn't want to risk not getting a replacement sticker. After a week, the price of the Prius dropped $1000. There was another Prius with 3 of 4 stickers that dropped from $19K to $16K in the 2 weeks that I was checking it online.
I found the whole car buying process very easy and I didn't get hassled when I returned the car. I've kept in touch w/ the salesguy, and he said that the foot traffic was down, but the people were buying cars - he sold 13 in December.
Anyway, at the low prices asked for relatively new GM and Chrysler vehicles, I might be tempted to buy a weekend car. For example, 2006 Saab 9-7x w/ 16K miles for $18K or 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokees for $14K. Compare to similar vintage Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 at $20K. The $2-3K difference pays for lots of parts, gas, mechanic time, etc.
Nades,
"I was wearing the mortgage pig sweatshirt to the gym when the hot blonde behind the counter went out of her way to tell me that she liked the sweatshirt...
I didnt have the huevos to inquire any more..."
can get much without asking!
I know a 5'10" blonde in Atlanta who looks like Barbie, loves football (cheesehead), thin, big chested, single..really hot...
Cant get a date...guys are afraid of her....
"If the Ukrainians are skimming off of gas destined for the other countries mentioned, I would think they would be more pissed at Ukraine than Russia."
Obviously.
"What is your impression of someone who drives a Hummer today?"
Well historically my opinion was given visually:
With the hand held horizontally, place your thumb and index finger about an inch to an inch and a half apart and display said motion to the male driver >; )
Mortgage pig sweatshirt orders surging? Inflating?
How come I can't find a good condition 2002 Boxster for $12K ?
Cant get a date...guys are afraid of her....
Maybe she has trouble digesting complex amino acids.
Having knowledge and being able to effectively apply it are two totally different animals.
I could be given the meaning of life and everything thing else in the universe....if I haven't mental resolution to grasp it. It does me no good.
Kinda like giving me an Indy car. A hell of nice gift, but useless in my hands!
Interesting bit on timing here - Gazprom signalling Balkan reductions until Jan. 11 - if for all EU, that could deplete the bulk of EU gas reserves...
Russian Gas Supplies To Romania Still 30% Short - Transgaz
January 05, 2009: 07:04 AM ET
BUCHAREST (AFP)--Deliveries of Russian gas to Romania were still 30% short of the planned volume after Russian gas group OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) said it would reduce supplies, the company handling the flow of gas said on Monday.
"The fall of 30% in gas deliveries is continuing," the director of the gas transit company Transgaz, Ioan Rusu, told AFP.
The reduction, noticed since late Friday, was expected to continue until Jan. 11, he said, on the basis of information provided about the movement of gas to the Balkans by Gazprom.
CNNMoney.com: 404 Page Not Found
Anybody want to make a prognosis on SRS at the time of the January options expiration? I'm thinking the action over the last couple days was quite encouraging. Has SRS put in a bottom?
Gavshire Hathaway
Given that SRS is a derivative of IYR and a factor of volatility as well as prices, I would never look at it in a vacuum. It drives me nuts when I see somebody doing technical analysis on any ProShares fund. Any such analysis should at best be done on the underlying index.
Reserve gas storage, not in ground reservs, sorry.
Does Chrysler still make that great little Gremlin car?
Gavshire Hathaway writes:
"Has SRS put in a bottom?"
Bought in today @ $52.50.
BTW, can't say I'm disappointed to see long bonds crushed and oil prices up today.
Somebody mentioned Madhoff... have this little tidbit from today - the 13F filing of holdings ordered by the court. Hope the table comes out...
Fund\tAllocation
($millions)
New Amer High Income Fund\t2,057,000
Blackrock High Income Shares\t526,475
ING Prime Rate Trust\t478,665
Van Kampen Senior Income\t326,602
Eaton Vance Senior Income\t248,665
Nuveen Floating Rate Income\t198,900
Csam Income Fund\t158,500
Nuveen Senior Income Fund\t124,600
First Trust Four CRNS Sr F 2\t118,500
Nuveen Floating Rate Income\t103,200
Highland Credit Strategies\t102,500
Eaton Vance Sr Floating Rate\t59,900
Blackrock Floating Rate Income\t42,000
Evergreen Inc Advantage Fund \t41,500
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust\t31,821
Blackrock Floating Rate Income\t28,800
Gabelli Global Deal Fund \t25,400
Lots of crappy little levered, illiquid credit card and bank floating rate debt CEFs. Probably so correlated, there's no reason to own more than one.
Rob Dawg - they wont confiscate your plasma buuuuut you might have to pay a new monthly energy tax.
Hummer ?? Pffft. Real men drive buffalos : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buffalo_mine-protected_vehicle.jpg
Given that SRS is a derivative of IYR
Not the DJUSRE?
µΨ - Best place to buy a used Boxster is TX.
Funny, if there is so much deflation, every time I sell some silver coins on ebay I have plenty of bids.
And they don't seem to be of the Rob Dawg style beat down. Although I did have one deadbeat bidder last month- it was a deliberate overbid to chill the sale since the price had gotten totally out of hand. I mean, $35 for a $16 item, out of hand. I still neged 'em just out of annoyance- relisted and sold with no problem.
Unique and interesting stuff still sells very well- collectors don't care as long as they get what they want. Oddly enough I had some recent 10 yro Bose equipment, and it went for nice change compared to the yard sale prices on craigslist locally. But we are getting to depressed here. I have to let the guy with the $1400 vinotemp soften up to accept my $400 offer;-}-maybe I should only offer $300 Time does wonders for wine and for stuff that just isn't moving.
As for cars, we have too many cars in this country for the number of drivers, and a glut means that the average price is going to fall- want any kind of used car- you are going to pay less- now if you need financing, well that costs more.
Cash is truly king for the next couple of months, until it becomes apparent there is more and more cash;-}
Someday this war's gonna end...
Putin orders cuts to Europe-bound gas supplies through Ukraine
citizen energyecon | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 3:45 pm | #
Which is better - to be respected or feared? Putin knows which side of the fence he's on.
Russia is not stupid.
Morocco Bama | 01.05.09 - 4:00 pm | #
Ukraine is asking for it . . . and hmmm, a lot of US-financed chicanery in their domestic politics.
Hey, the two might even be related.
The last I heard the only category in which Ukraine was world class was corruption. I once heard a conversation in which an adviser was recounting remarks by a now former president of Ukraine. Kind of like Blago in tone.
Morocco Bama(Excellent) writes:
If everybody's reading it and practicing it, it doesn't work.
Hold his nose with fire and kick his ass with movement never gets arbed out.
After a major review, Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible.
Gold shortage? From Jessie
We accumulated 3 emini gold contracts on Comex for December delivery and we had been given serial numbers and weights last week for the 3 bars we were to receive.
Today we are informed that Comex, which is now a division of NYSE Liffe, is invoking a rule in which they can deny delivery of individual mini bars (roughly 33 ounces) and issue you only a Warehouse Delivery Receipt (WDR) against your mini-contract unless you have 3 WDR's, and then they'll issue you a 100 oz. bar.
Otherwise, if you have only 1 or 2 mini-contracts, you only own a WDR, which you sell by shorting a mini against it. If you own a WDR for a 100 oz., the WDR issuance encourages you to safekeep the gold at the Comex.
CLEARLY, the Comex has run out of the bars that were being delivered to holders of emini contracts. Our back-office guy told us that he's been doing Comex deliveries for 30 years and he's never seen anything like this, and he's never heard of this NYSE Liffe rule on the mini contract.
Fortunately we have 3 WDR's and we will be getting delivery of a 100 oz. Comex gold bar.
But this whole episode brings into the question the validity of the Comex gold inventory. More importantly, the Comex is now going to issue WDR's, which are paper.
Are they becoming a "fractional" reserve depository, where they can issue several WDR's against the same bar of gold, knowing that some of those people will opt to keep storage on Comex and never require actual physical delivery?
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokees for $14K. Compare to similar vintage Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 at $20K. The $2-3K difference pays for lots of parts, gas, mechanic time, etc. - Anonymous
A 2005 CR-V versus a 2005 Grand Cherokee for a $3k difference? Are you serious? The CR-V unless your cabin is snowbound 4 months of the year at the end of an abandoned fire road.
mp - some color would be nice, please. Why is Mad Max outcome more likely now?
About time for a new rear end in that Grand Cherokee.
If the Ukrainians are skimming off of gas destined for the other countries mentioned, I would think they would be more pissed at Ukraine than Russia.
I can haz bailouts? | 01.05.09 - 4:01 pm | #
They'll be mad at everyone east of the old iron curtain... about time to build a new one and give it back. That is what a lot of WESTERN Europeans will be thinking & Putin knows this better than anyone.
Rob Dawg - they wont confiscate your plasma buuuuut you might have to pay a new monthly energy tax. - Barley
Plasma? What plasma? I mean it's like you imagined I went to Arizona to purchase oil based interior enamel paint to restore my home or something. That's illegal. I don't want to do illegal. Plasmas are bad. My kids come home from skool and tell me so.
Interesting that California is a leader in forgiving transgressions via fines eh?
Given that SRS is a derivative of IYR
Not the DJUSRE?
Anonymous
I think you may have beaten me at my own game...
It smells like the tempo of retail gold interest has surprised the system.
The $2-3K difference pays for lots of parts, gas, mechanic time, etc.
Doesn't leave much left over for the extra depreciation, does it? Or were you going to drive it to end-of-life?
A little OT...there have been posted forecasting unemployment to hit 10% and how it will have a big impact on the economy. Are people not aware of unemployment benefits? The economy will not be a disaster, and with the pace that the U.S. is printing money there could be growth in the future.
Am I wrong to assume this?
mp - any other info you could give that your major review concluded would be much appreicated.
"They'll be mad at everyone east of the old iron curtain... about time to build a new one and give it back. That is what a lot of WESTERN Europeans will be thinking & Putin knows this better than anyone."
I don't think so. For one thing, Germany has more to lose than gain in such an arrangement. Personal opinion, FWIW.
20 - 14 = 6....last I heard.
On road...stay with the japs.
Offroad...I would look for a 4 door wrangler. Unless you are towing a lot then I would buy a used 4x4 Tundra...5.7v8.
"Why is Mad Max outcome more likely now?"
Willem Buiter. He's right.
It's just a matter of the details.
The $2-3K difference pays for lots of parts, gas, mechanic time, etc.
Doesn't leave much left over for the extra depreciation, does it? Or were you going to drive it to end-of-life? - Ralph Cramdown
2005 CR-V versus 2005 Grand Cherokee end of life is likely 2020 versus 2015 in that calculation.
Morocco,
nope she is a believer in doses of protein...if she lived in cali...I would be married....
After a major review, Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible.
mp | 01.05.09 - 4:24 pm | #
Faaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkkkk........
How come the people that buy big SUVs don't come to work on snow days?
ope she is a believer in doses of protein...if she lived in cali...I would be married....
cd
I'm in Atlanta. Want me to post a pic sporting my leather britches? You could forward.
MP- mad max vehicle in Iraq-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buffalo_IED.jpg
It somehow still stopped moving.
Moral of the story- stay far away from Mad Max scenarios.
I am not currently concerned with a Mad Max scenario- russian professors aside;-}
After all, we spent a lot of ink on wishful thinking about the FSU- and reality was far more shocking.
We will go neosocialist first, to the immense heartburn of many republicants.
Sound money died with Watergate, everything else has been waiting around for the rest of the world to pull out the rug.
Not yet, apparently, though.
Not yet.
Someday this war's gonna end...
Ukraine needs Germany to be its sugar daddy and kick it some more transmission funding.
In as much as Ukraine ought to benefit from a rise in food prices, don't be surprised if he West doesn't kick in some cash.
As for Putin: he's trying to stay alive.
At today's prices, he could come down with a severe headache at any time.
"We will go neosocialist first, to the immense heartburn of many republicants"
They are not one in the same??
LOL @ a Cali Plasma Tax. Seems strangely possible.
cd - I have a blonde friend like yours. a total knock out, a tri-athlete with boobs who drives a porche and loves football too. guys stay away from her at bars... its like the twilight zone....
Agreed.
Lots of big players made bets on higher prices of fossils.
We could see some people make moves to try and force prices back up.
I can't wait to see Boone Pickens new series of commercials. Funny how those fell of the air once oil prices crashed.
mp, Roubini seems to be growing gloomier as well. I read his article out today and it appears he's improved the chances of an L shaped recovery. Why does Conjure feel Mad Max is now more probable?
Just curious, but does anyone in the U.S. still drive their cars until they die? Why is residual resale value such a factor when it comes to purchasing a new car. If everyone really is trading in for a new car every 3 years, where do the old cars go? For the record, I own a 2006 Sonata that I hope will last me another decade.
I almost bought a Cherokee once until my three friends who were owners and former owners of the beasts talked me out of it. Went with a 4Runner. Glad I did.
cd - I have a blonde friend like yours. a total knock out, a tri-athlete with boobs who drives a porche and loves football too. guys stay away from her at bars... its like the twilight zone....
Sign me up!!
ades et al. Not to toot my own horn but I've always been considered "hot", I make my living as a bartender in part because of that. I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive, makes a decent living and is even remotely intelligent. It's lonlier than one would expect.
LOL @ a Cali Plasma Tax. Seems strangely possible.
cd - I have a blonde friend like yours. a total knock out, a tri-athlete with boobs who drives a porche and loves football too. guys stay away from her at bars... its like the twilight zone....
nades | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 4:34 pm | #
Throw in a Sweedish au pair and you'll have an American Pie movie.
Cars used to junk out after two years : "drive new every two" was once sage advice.
"American" (made in Mexico) cars junk out at 60K or so.
"Japanese" (made in Ohio or Alabama) cars lose it at about 120K miles or so.
OK, this thread would be much enhanced by pictures.
Mine is on my little blog. I haven't written in a while.
Nades,
I gave up trying to figure out why men don't approach..of course their not salesmen with mentality of 100 no's might get me 1 yes...
We used her as model for NADA (auto dealers) shows in Vegas, New Orleans and every dealer principle stopped in based on her throwing footballs across the convention hallways..and being a striking late 30's lady...
she was best lead generator ever....
"Why does Conjure feel Mad Max is now more probable?"
You must not read anything into what I wrote. I wrote:
"Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible."
A new sequence is now developing that could make a realization of the scenario possible.
Barley writes:
µΨ - Best place to buy a used Boxster is TX."
I would not recommend buying a used car especially Porsche from Texas especially not the Dallas area. Cars do not like extreme heat or traffic. So unless you find a specific vehicle from a single owner, garaged when not driven, never driven in traffic (week-end car) I would avoid them. Best bet IMO Washington State: they do not put salt on roads (at least last time I was there).
In any event, do not forget: ALL the maintenance records, from day 1 with the techs phone numbers is a must and do your DD. There are no bad Porsche but there sure are bad owners
"In as much as Ukraine ought to benefit from a rise in food prices, don't be surprised if he West doesn't kick in some cash."
Wheat? It won't be enough.
Ugh mp, I just hate "new sequences"...More beans and ammo...and whiskey...
Can we let Chrysler just die already?
Could they change their name to make things interesting?
Read Willem Buiter's column. He has hit upon something.
Hot women almost never have to toot their own horns. That's kind of the point, as I understood it.
just sayin
In as much as the Dodge Brothers were the co-founders of Ford Motor...
40 percent owners...
folding Chrysler back in to Ford would be karmic closure of a sorts.
Buiter's piece is brilliant. I have seen no credible refutation of it.
Ford owns Cummins which is the only reason Dodge pick-ups hold their own.
Chrysler is symbolic, of a much larger problem.
It's gonna take time.
"Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible."
A new sequence is now developing that could make a realization of the scenario possible.
mp
In agreement I thought two years ago we wouldn't get to where we are now unless the government made every wrong decision at every juncture. Surprise, surprise. In the spirit of don't fight the trend the smart money is on the government to make things worse from here.
"It's gonna take time."
There's only one problem: time's up.
Pelosi at it again...
Pelosi Erases Gingrich's Long-Standing Fairness Rules
Pelosi Reverses House Fairness Rules - HUMAN EVENTS
The Mad Max outcome is possible only after a calamity like general war or a pandemic. Otherwise... more state control rather than less. Looters, bandits and renegades will get short shrift. IMO.
Re: Willem Buiter piece.
He put into words exactly what we have been discussing the last 6+ months.
The fallacy of Keynesian economics.
Brilliant. It's about time the mainstream is discussing it openly.
mp, are we referring to this?
FT.com | Willem Buiter's Maverecon |
We'll, in any case, yes, mad max is queing up--real horrorshow
OT - citimortgage tells me I can't get 1098 until after Jan 31. What is the motivation here? Anybody else hearing this?
@blackhat
Yes.
Pelosi at it again...
Pelosi Erases Gingrich's Long-Standing Fairness Rules
FastCGI Error? id=30143 - cd
I got smoked earlier this morning for saying exactly the same thing. I wish you better treatment.
Chavez suspends low-income household heating oil program 'until further notice.
I understand that the situation between Ukraine and Russia re nat gas and transmission of same is complex. The price of nat gas to Europe depends on the producer's price and the supply chain price. This is a hardball business negotiation, pure and simple. Ukraine needs the gas, Russia needs the revenue. Russia's routing of the pipeline through Ukraine presumed that Ukraine would always be the "road apple" that the Kremlin could manipulate as it saw fit. That seems not to be the case.
I boggle at the posters who are defending Russia and Gazprom complaints about siphoning, when it is the Russian kleptocracy that owns and operates Gazprom.
Comrade Kristina writes:
"It's lonlier than one would expect."
Awwww. I know an architect, mid 40s, recently unattached in Port St. Joe, if you're lookin'. Lots of fish in them Gulf waters.
@mp
"Times up" ?
Is this a formal call in regard to conjures bond or market crash clock?
There are no bad Porsche
JD Power says otherwise. It takes a selective memory to forget the introduction of the Cayenne dragging Porsche's reputation for quality through the mud. Luckily (if you waited), they'd fixed it by 2006. Unluckily, it's slipping again...
Pavel,
not so. Russia went mad-max or clockwork orange given some of the snappy-dressed young painted/masked thugs.
But, yes, state stepped in (or on throat of liberty...).
Nice manerly snappy-dressed young siloviki thugs...
After a major review, Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible.
mp | 01.05.09 - 4:24 pm | #
We won't tolerate Mad Max - if we go movie theme we'll go all 'Triumph of the Will' or 'Battleship Potemkin' before we let MM happen.
IMHO.
I know a 5'10" blonde in Atlanta who looks like Barbie, loves football (cheesehead), thin, big chested, single..really hot... Cant get a date...guys are afraid of her....
Some of us are still licking our wounds from high school. I wouldn't touch her with a stick...
Lehman Bros made this a Great Depression.
The philosophy of Bush/Qbama figures to jerk us from credit contraction to super-inflation and perhaps hyper-inflation.
In a world of fiat money, and every currency racing to the bottom, keep a weather eye on consumable commodities for price pressure.
The biggest un-heralded bubble: medical expenditures.
...Port St. Joe, if you're lookin'. Lots of fish in them Gulf waters. - Comrade V
Please don't bring up the proximate ocean protein collapse at the high end.
Ford owns Cummins which is the only reason Dodge pick-ups hold their own.
Put down the bong before you post. Cummins Inc. - Google Finance
Comrade V, thanks but I'm happily married now. I finally gave in at age 40 and decided to try being "domestic"...I've included a link to my wedding album in my homepage space if anyone is interested in putting a face to the name, I've never been shy
Problem with the Buiter article is that most people can't or lack the brain cells to get passed the first two paragraphs. It may as well be discussed out in the open however it will most certainly be interpreted as much different by the time CNBC gets around to actually being able to translate it.
I agree with it 100%......
Reality, as presented on TV, will make sure that post never gets it's proper discussion.
Ciao
MS
Pavel Chichikov(Excellent) writes:
The Mad Max outcome is possible only after a calamity like general war or a pandemic. Otherwise... more state control rather than less. Looters, bandits and renegades will get short shrift. IMO.
You forgot the key calamity -- inability of the state to raise sufficient funds.
"This is a hardball business negotiation, pure and simple. Ukraine needs the gas, Russia needs the revenue."
Not entirely, although the Russians are a bitch to negotiate with, always have been.
"I boggle at the posters who are defending Russia and Gazprom complaints about siphoning, when it is the Russian kleptocracy that owns and operates Gazprom."
A famous Russian temporary ex-pat in late 18th century Western Europe was asked what people in Russia are doing.
"They're stealing," was his famous answer. Plus ca change...
"Is this a formal call in regard to conjures bond or market crash clock?"
It isn't global depression or bond crash time. Yet.
Conjure will be updating his clocks within the next few days.
blert writes:
In as much as the Dodge Brothers were the co-founders of Ford Motor...
40 percent owners...
folding Chrysler back in to Ford would be karmic closure of a sorts.
blert | 01.05.09 - 4:43 pm | #
More memory lane trips: I worked in Niles Michigan some time ago, where the Dodge Brothers started. My landlady had known them. Ring Lardner, too.
If you haven't read, "You Know Me, Al" you should to lighten up the New Year. A classic.
Comrade Kristina,
Then you actively shop for a mate meeting your criteria. My wife literally choose me and had been dating for a while using friends and personals. Ironically we shared a few people in common. While it can be intimidating at first, I suggest that the advice be provided to these ladies lacking company of looking aggressively at your opportunities.
One of the biggest difficulties with the dating scene was the refusal of most women to adequately tell me they are even remotely interested. Some of the most interesting dates I ever had were when I was asked out. That barrier discourages the polite nicer types, while providing encouragement to the morons who keep knocking on closed doors.
Women wanted equality- now they have it- so use it and enjoy. With that equality comes the need to step up and actively search, instead of waiting for prince charming. Otherwise you run the risk of ending up like a pretty friend of mine- she just keeps meeting drunks- but she hangs out in bars. Sort and discard.
Someday this war's gonna end...
CD and Nades, please send your tall blonde amazonians my way. That is my niche as I am 6-9 except when I am in a gay bar.
I guess markets are NOT efficient with these babes still on the market.
Let me know.
Read Willem Buiter's column. He has hit upon something.
mp | 01.05.09 - 4:43 pm | #
Ya - but unless he has access to the inner thoughts of PBoC - then he too might be premature... Setser has been saying for what - a year? - that the ONLY support for growth of dollar debt is coming from 'official' sources [private sources continue to go away]... so when does that change? That is the 10 trillion dollar question.
Re Bonds: I think Nemo sent me this link before. I thought I'd reshare Page Not Found
Some good (and frequently updated) bond comentary....
........
"Conjure and I now consider some realization of the "Mad Max Scenario" to be possible."
A new sequence is now developing that could make a realization of the scenario possible.
mp | 01.05.09 - 4:40 pm | #
Hmmm...teotwawki or Jeb Bush in 2012. So hard to choose...
Ralph Cramdown
RE Porsche Cayenne
I was only thinking about the cars
(Actually I have never driven any of their SUVs)
The biggest un-heralded bubble: medical expenditures.
Merck's sales of Gardasil (cervical cancer "vaccine") down 4%, so what does Merck do?
Merck Seeks FDA Approval for Gardasil in Boys
porsche sales down 25.5%...uh, is this better because it is less worse????
You guys can have the blonds. The dark haired girls are much more fun.
OMFG you said Jeb Bush 2012.
What will we do? Just drive the old buggy longer, or go to Carmax and get a cheap second hand? You tell me.
@dryfly
I'm not saying that it's likely, only that it has entered the realm of possibility.
Big difference.
Setser has been saying for what - a year? - that the ONLY support for growth of dollar debt is coming from 'official' sources [private sources continue to go away]... so when does that change?
dryfly | 01.05.09 - 4:55 pm | #
Or, when is it insufficient? That's the other possibility.
Isn't it mandatory in Texas, Basel Too?
OMFG you said Jeb Bush 2012.
Darth Paulson | 01.05.09 - 4:59 pm | #
2012 not soon enough for ya?
"You forgot the key calamity -- inability of the state to raise sufficient funds."
"He who cannot give, cannot rule." An observation from a history of the Medieval Church by Southern.
But the state can rule without sufficient funds for all purposes as long as there are no insuperable external challenges, and the indispensable functionaries are paid. That would be a matter of war, no? The Emperor Septimius Severus [early third century] told his two sons: Pay the soldiers. Nothing else matters.
Or internal challenges, such as an extraordinary natural calamity.
However, the subject rapidly becomes hypothetical.
For those of you who are interested, the flip side of reduced spending is increased savings. You may find this of interest:
Saving Us with US Savings
I don't think Papa Bush has gotten it that his family name is MUD or SLIME or perhaps even GARBAGE. I think Americans would commit collective suicide before they would elect another Bush to anything.
ades - bad link
"A famous Russian temporary ex-pat in late 18th century Western Europe was asked what people in Russia are doing.
"They're stealing," was his famous answer. Plus ca change..."
Pavel Chichikov | 01.05.09 - 4:53 pm | #
Pavel, that can be said about just about every state and local government in the northeast and midwestI don't include California because it's a special case.
Anonymous writes:
Kiss the-company-formerly-listed-as C goodbye.
And the company currently listed as C as well.
I usually don't discriminate against hair color. I mean nowadays with chicks changing hair color like most people change undies....what's the point.
The only ones I actively treat extra special is natural redheads.
Guys who have known more than one know why!
Drove a Dodge Caliber over two ugly mountain passes on the way to Steamboat last year. It did fine, not a horrible car.
As for you, Gavashire, I just bought SRS today, and I'm a contrary indicator. (i.e. sell).
dr munch writes:
Drove a Dodge Caliber over two ugly mountain passes on the way to Steamboat last year
..brings back white knuckle memories!!
http://acrossthecurve.com/
Still getting use to Kens contraption.
I like it but i cant figure out how to get Rob Dawg's rating! LOL!
"Pavel, that can be said about just about every state and local government in the northeast and midwestI don't include California because it's a special case."
Every organism in nature carries a load of parasites. This is tolerable until the load becomes too heavy, and then the organism dies.
I like it but i cant figure out how to get Rob Dawg's rating! LOL!
nades | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 5:03 pm | #
If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
I'm not saying that it's likely, only that it has entered the realm of possibility.
Big difference.
mp | 01.05.09 - 4:59 pm | #
Here ya. Been waiting for that since Gadot was young. Not waiting like 'oh goody'... waiting in dread.
The thing Buiter brings to the discussion in that article is that IT COULD BE SOONER than it looks to us or Washington... all it takes is the CCP to say - Fuck It We ain't playing this game no more - we're going all 'collective' and let the PLA do their thing to keep the lid on... they know what to do - Then China stops buying UST or agency and that would produce the dollar debt collapse WB suggests is possible and it happens FAST.
If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
Eric | 01.05.09 - 5:05 pm | #
LOL!
I don't think Papa Bush has gotten it that his family name is MUD or SLIME or perhaps even GARBAGE. I think Americans would commit collective suicide before they would elect another Bush to anything.
Hal | 01.05.09 - 5:01 pm | #
Who is asking Pappy?
[ I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive]
Not me. But I am horrified when I meet women that believe they're hot. Always more trouble than they're worth. There's a reason the term "trophy wife" was hatched.
Market emotion can change on a dime.
Look at September 2008.
When the break comes, you'll believe in black striped swans.
Re redheads: Amen, baby! But not for the long haul although YMMV.
For the long haul, the Instapundit guy explained how he became engaged/married years ago to his beautiful wife. It was arranged, southern style, through mutual friends once she announced she was looking.
Actually, the same thing happened in my case 17 years ago, still south of the Mason-Dixon line. And the beauteous redhead was the go-between.
Don't burn bridges.
Cigna cuts 1100 jobs.
Isn't it mandatory in Texas, Basel Too?
Governor Perry mandated via Executive Order for females entering 6th grade as of Fall 2008. I'm not sure what it's ultimate legal status for females will be, but for boys NFW. Here, take a vaccine that gives one cohort no benefit but all of the risks, most of which won't be apparent for years...
The amazing thing is that Gardasil pushes "vaccine" to its definitional limits. It's as if the same morons that pushed CDO's decided to market vaccines.
Simultaneous Peak Stupidity.
The next "President" will be the person who creates the biggest threat to the people and then "solves" it.
That assumes that TPTB haven't overshot on their little free-for-all raping of the U.S.'s own Scrooge McDuck money bin.
I personally think we will have a little bit of "trouble at home" first.
People are getting desperate around here for sure, and they are not even REALLY hungry yet.
If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
Eric
LOL. Personally it may have something to do with a willingness to paint a bullseye on your chest but I could be wrong.
cd writes:
I know a 5'10" blonde in Atlanta who looks like Barbie, loves football (cheesehead), thin, big chested, single..really hot...
Cant get a date...guys are afraid of her....
cd | 01.05.09 - 4:17 pm | #
-----
Funny thing is I wouldn't want to take her out on a date. When times get tough, who is going to be able to afford to make sure she stays thin and looks like barbie?
Apply the same kind of characteristics to a financial vehicle
Comrade Kristina writes:
"It's lonlier than one would expect."
I have a very studly friend too. Modest yet rich. Better looking than my Wright model.
May be you two were meant to be together.
[Darth Paulson writes:
I usually don't discriminate against hair color.]
I prefer it when the carpet matches the drapes. Other than that, no preference.
Personally it may have something to do with a willingness to paint a bullseye on your chest but I could be wrong.
Rob Dawg | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 5:09 pm | #
I thought it was because you left a tip in the jar back when it was label "Gas, Grass or ..... "
This is the link nades was trying to post
[hat tip]
There's a reason the term "trophy wife" was hatched.
I have a solution that never fails. After a few dates, just let her know that you are planning on being her "trophy husband."
Never fails to bring all the entitlement expectations to halt.
December yoy change, sales:
Acura\t-39.3%\t10680
Audi \t-9.3%\t7712
BMW \t-40.2%\t18060
Buick \t-38.1%\t8909
Cadillac \t-38.3%\t13235
Chevrolet \t-25.8%\t137691
Chrysler \t-59.8%\t19453
Dodge \t-51.9%\t47269
Exotics\tn/a\tn/a
Ford \t-33.1%\t116188
GMC \t-34.5%\t29783
Honda \t-34.0%\t75405
HUMMER \t-59.3%\t2170
Hyundai \tn/a\tn/a
Infiniti \t-34.6%\t8273
Land Rover\tn/a\tn/a
Jeep \t-48.5%\t23091
Kia \t-39.2%\t14644
Jaguar\tn/a\tn/a
Lexus \t-32.4%\t23362
Lincoln \t-10.1%\t9053
Mazda \t-27.9%\t17965
Mercedes-Benz \t-32.1%\t18507
Mercury \t-29.8%\t8873
MINI \t0.1%\t3566
Mitsubishi \t-22.6%\t4570
Nissan \t-30.0%\t53829
Pontiac \t-45.5%\t16466
Porsche \t-25.5%\t2154
Saab \t-57.1%\t1179
Saturn \t-30.9%\t12570
Subaru \t-7.7%\t17287
Suzuki \tn/a\tn/a
Toyota \t-37.5%\t118587
Volkswagen \t-14.4%\t17577
Volvo \t-47.0%\t4953
Not me. But I am horrified when I meet women that believe they're hot. Always more trouble than they're worth. There's a reason the term "trophy wife" was hatched.
bearly | 01.05.09 - 5:08 pm | #
A friend of mine dated a really beautiful woman once - a model who did nat'l media work - seriously beautiful. Now this guy was pretty handsome, ex-athlete, making serious money so he had lots of beautiful women... but this gal was a notch or two above the rest.
I ran into him a few days after the date & me the geek wanted to live vicariously (I didn't get dates w/ gals like that EVER)... so I asked him how it went... he said it was torture... said the girl didn't want to do anything that might smear her make up or make her sweat... no joke. Told him right up front. Made me really glad I had married a backpacking cross country skiing girl... one thing I learned early on she didn't mind smearing her make up (if she even wore it) and she liked activities that made her sweat...
New thread.
Before this one dies, I tried to find a link - George & Barbara Bush were on TV today talking up a presidential bid for Jeb.
The horror. The horror.
Top Pickup line fo 2009:
Hey baby, I am bank holding company.
Women wanted equality- now they have it- so use it and enjoy. With that equality comes the need to step up and actively search, instead of waiting for prince charming. Otherwise you run the risk of ending up like a pretty friend of mine- she just keeps meeting drunks- but she hangs out in bars. Sort and discard.
Someday this war's gonna end...
Citizen AllenM"
The social context is also worth considering: if you are the type that would feel right at home in San Francisco, Seattle or even NYC or Chicago, but you are stuck in Dallas for a time you may have significantly reduced ops of meeting people you really have a lot in common with... I am just guessing here (humm...)
There just seems to be clusters of affinity in the US
cd writes:
\tWe used her as model for NADA (auto dealers) shows in Vegas, New Orleans and every dealer principle stopped in based on her throwing footballs across the convention hallways..and being a striking late 30's lady...
cd | 01.05.09 - 4:40 pm | #
-----
Maybe it is my family law experience playing out, but if she is hot, single, sexy late 30s lady (Depending on number of marriages/divorces), there is a reason.
Definitely buyer beware. Would want to take her to a shrink, doctor, & accountant...
I got smoked earlier this morning for saying exactly the same thing. I wish you better treatment.
Rob Dawg | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 4:48 pm | #
Anybody posting a link to Human Events should be prepared for a line of testicle-kickers stretching around the corner.
Puh-leeze.
We need a carfax for women.
Darth Paulson writes:
We need a carfax for women"
and do not forget, the crucial factor is not really the mileage, it is the amount of stop and go
OMFG you said Jeb Bush 2012.
Darth Paulson | 01.05.09 - 4:59 pm | #
2012 not soon enough for ya?
dryfly | 01.05.09 - 5:00 pm | #
2102 would be too soon for that
Great. Calculated Risk has become a Pick Up Artist blog.
MoM data is positive. Don't know if that is typical.
December mom change, sales, November sales
Acura\t35.4%\t10680\t7888
Audi \t13.6%\t7712\t6788
BMW \t18.7%\t18060\t15217
Buick \t18.5%\t8909\t7516
Cadillac \t50.1%\t13235\t8815
Chevrolet \t43.8%\t137691\t95756
Chrysler \t-2.8%\t19453\t20017
Dodge \t5.2%\t47269\t44941
Exotics\tn/a\tn/a\tn/a
Ford \t12.7%\t116188\t103055
GMC \t47.3%\t29783\t20214
Honda \t10.3%\t75405\t68345
HUMMER \t49.2%\t2170\t1454
Hyundai \tn/a\tn/a\t19221
Infiniti \t8.4%\t8273\t7631
Jaguar\tn/a\tn/a\t867
Jeep \t13.7%\t23091\t20302
Kia \t-3.5%\t14644\t15182
Land Rover\tn/a\tn/a\t1888
Lexus \t44.0%\t23362\t16223
Lincoln \t12.9%\t9053\t8019
Mazda \t27.1%\t17965\t14134
Mercedes-Benz \t31.2%\t18507\t14102
Mercury \t14.6%\t8873\t7744
MINI \t-21.5%\t3566\t4545
Mitsubishi \t-10.3%\t4570\t5096
Nissan \t38.1%\t53829\t38974
Pontiac \t35.6%\t16466\t12140
Porsche \t56.3%\t2154\t1378
Saab \t38.4%\t1179\t852
Saturn \t54.6%\t12570\t8130
Subaru \t26.1%\t17287\t13706
Suzuki \tn/a\tn/a\t3216
Toyota \t3.9%\t118587\t114084
Volkswagen \t23.0%\t17577\t14295
Volvo \t12.5%\t4953\t4404
US Sales Total\t15.7%\t863061\t746139
Most guys have childhood scars about that stuff. Just assume the Barbies are after the the Kens and don't need anymore kicks to the ego. Yeah I should outgrow that stuff especially I grew up to be reasonably attractive but do guys ever really grow up
Comrade Kristina writes:
nades et al. Not to toot my own horn but I've always been considered "hot", I make my living as a bartender in part because of that. I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive, makes a decent living and is even remotely intelligent. It's lonlier than one would expect.
MoM data is positive. Don't know if that is typical.
Christmas shopping and end-of-year business purchases. The interesting number is Mini's abysmal MoM number.
Porsche sales probably didnt suck as bad due to the changeover from the 911/997 to the "997 2.0", which wasnt introduced until late this fall, Therefore, there was some pent-up demand for the new, awesome (yes, I've driven it) version.
The EEM fail at 26.50ish is as intersting as SRS
so Ukraine is skimming gas and Putin is determined to punish them, if gas prices skyrocket as well then that is just a side benefit?
do guys ever really grow up
my favorite personal joke is: if your loved one-husband is close to retirement age you really want to stay home and spend a few precious moments with him, because he MAY reach the grown up stage soon and it may be just a flash that you do not want to miss in case Alzheimer's disease is around the corner
(personal note: that joke cost me a break up with a friend: it must have been the last drop...)
I've always had a hard time finding "decent" dates, most of the good guys are terrified of a woman that is attractive, makes a decent living and is even remotely intelligent. It's lonlier than one would expect.
you should hang around scientists (especially those with a large ego)they are not remotely intimidated
private sources for sovereign debt drying up.
Deleveraging by all sectors.
large numbers OUT of capital markets for forseeable future; confidence loss
Paying down debt; restricting spending
Can't fund future obligations and stimulus.
Japan's yield curve did go flat and stayed, but its borrowing needs were of a different scale AND the rest of the world was relatively unaffected.
NOW whole world delevering and allocating savings glut to plugging balance sheet holes and stimulus.
Must print, must print. But how to get the blood throughout the dying corpse? Normal capillaries are shut down.
Insufficient funds meets inability to refinance and rollover existing debt. Empty checking, empty HECL, empty LOC.
Spare a dime?
Guys, I was just giving some personal experience is all. I'm happily married and not looking for anything at all. Just passing on my thoughts. I never personally considered myself to be exceptional and am a tom boy in reality...I'll take football and a good book...
What is your impression of someone who drives a Hummer today....someone who has alot of money, or someone who is stupid with it.
Average Joe | Homepage | 01.05.09 - 3:55 pm | #
Same as it was five years ago...
You can't make this stuff up. George and Barbara job-hunting for Jeb:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/04/bush-jeb-bush-president/
"so Ukraine is skimming gas and Putin is determined to punish them, if gas prices skyrocket as well then that is just a side benefit?"
Much too simple a scenario.
I got lucky and married "Mrs. Right".
(Of course her first name is "Always".
Much too simple a scenario.
Pavel Chichikov | 01.05.09 - 5:59 pm | #
LOL. It was the American made for TV version of a 1000 page Russian novel.
Anonymous writes:
Gold shortage? From Jessie
be interested to get more details. I heard from my broker that buying a gold contract and taking delivery was a very expensive proposition. But judging from your comment it wasn't. Are there any other charges other than the settlement cost to take delivery?
"But I am horrified when I meet women that believe they're hot."
It is like meeting a real estate agent who believe they understand investing.
Not hot women who think they are hot and won't leave you alone and like real estate agents at an open house.
Hot women who believe that I am desirable and who are very giving are my favorites.
I'm not a mery gud proof reeder.
@ Comrade Kristina
thanks for the insight into your world. Very Nice. If I ever get to to your part of the continent, I'll drop by.
But, if W. Buiter is anywhere near the mark vis. the near future, it could be a while.... and...
Rumor here is the Arnold is readying for a 1st & 3rd Friday Furlough for all state workers (of which I am one....)
Before this one dies, I tried to find a link - George & Barbara Bush were on TV today talking up a presidential bid for Jeb.
See my earlier post about Papa Bush being so out of it; Babs has always lived in another world. Remember her comment about how "scary" it was to have blacks from N. Orleans come to Houston after Katrina? And to think when she was First Lady she was half=way popular.
this thread was the last straw. i'm done reading this blog. i really miss what it used to be.
yag...
Maybe it is my family law experience playing out, but if she is hot, single, sexy late 30s lady (Depending on number of marriages/divorces), there is a reason.
Definitely buyer beware. Would want to take her to a shrink, doctor, & accountant...
Believe it or not, she's non pretentious, fun to be around, sweet, hardworker but maybe just a tad to wild....
which is good thing...
ha cd, guilty....I found the answer was a younger man
Now he wears me out and we have some form of pseudo ying/yang thing going on...The older, stable guy, not so much...Head butting always...
ChefVisar, I'm in Florida and they've been having emergency budget meetings as well. I can't imagine what they'll cut, they do next to nothing now in the way of road upkeep etc...Maybe they'll build more prisons, we apparently always need more of those here.
...so Ukraine is skimming gas and Putin is determined to punish them, if gas prices skyrocket as well then that is just a side benefit?
Even simpler - Ukraine trying to get Europe to pay for its gas. You know, it being a toll gate on the the NatGas highway and all.
He said that the dollar had been kept elevated in recent years by what some called "dark matter" or "American alpha" - an assumption that the US could earn more on its overseas investments than foreign investors could make on their American assets.
US citizens control a lot more wealth than they technically own for tax reasons. Almost every US corporation has an Irish or other subsidiary where profits pile up outside the reach of the US tax authorities. And almost every US billionaire has a trust fund tucked in a tax haven as a souped up 401K fund.
Tax gains would explain a lot of the American alpha.
Since so much of the tax games are kept under-the-radar I'm not sure how much stock to put into official trade deficit numbers.
I'm sure they are bad, but I don't know if they are Mad Max bad.
A friend of mine who's been active in Republican party politics for years tells me that (among the party PTB) Jeb's chances were buried by GWB's response to Katrina.
Since when does Chrysler = The Dating Game?
I agree with Gilmore
"Much too simple a scenario.
Pavel Chichikov | 01.05.09 - 5:59 pm | #
LOL. It was the American made for TV version of a 1000 page Russian novel."
Years ago, I watched a made for TV movie supposedly about contemporary Russia. The lead characters were, as I recall, English and American actors, but some supporting roles were played by Russians. In one scene a real Russian woman played a servant, who interrupted a lead character played by an American woman, and uttered a phrase that sounds much like 'Excuse me', but actually means: 'Sow!' Enjoyable departure from the script, that. [Not 'izvenite' but 'sveninya'.]
Actually: 'svinya.
Wife and I have been looking for a used car. All major dealers' lots have more sales staff than folks looking to buy. I counted no more than four "shoppers" at the four lots we visited on a weekend. One dealer didn't even send out a sales person. The used car lot had so few vehicles that they were parking them at angles taking up the empty spaces usually crammed with cars. This was a Ford dealer.
One Honda dealer said they'd take $2K off any '09 on the spot. I told him we were window shopping. He hands us his business card and returned to showroom. They appear defeated and resigned to the grim reality of no sales.
That's a big drop, ouch! We need more cars like we need more new houses.
"The biggest un-heralded bubble: medical expenditures.
Merck's sales of Gardasil (cervical cancer "vaccine") down 4%, so what does Merck do?
Merck Seeks FDA Approval for Gardasil in Boys"
For prevention of genital warts and "other lesions" in boys? Hmmm...never had a problem with those. Would not spend the USD 360 either, even if I was getting romantic with "riskier females". Try condoms instead. Prevent other stuff too.