The bankrupt hotel in Montreal we stayed at was reasonably full (at 1/3rd the list rate) but our Boston location (Medford Hyatt) was every other room on every other floor, floors 8 thru 4. Not a sustainable number.
Well, here in Hawaii all you see is how Japanese tourist will start coming back because the swine flu is not a big deal. (The state stopped tracking it today, so no news, no problem right?)
Also, how the first Luau at the White House will just start bringing everyone from the mainland to Hawaii even if they have to take out a third mortgage.
I can't turn around without people saying how much better everything will be in a few weeks like the sun is rising and everything is sunny now.
On remember back in September when they instituted the short selling ban. Many people misunderstood this to be a ban on sales thinking only purchases were allowed. No one I talked to seemed to have a problem with this.
Sarasota Waldorf-Astoria is stopped, probably for good. The land purchase in foreclosure and developer attempting to use a force majeur defense. Claims no one foresaw economic difficulties, etc.
Well, that's 225 guestrooms which won't be competing here.
Like mortgages, we take the existence of hotels for granted.
But a couple of years from now in the New Wiemar Republic of America notions such as "discretionary income" may be things of the past replaced by things like "perisubsistence income" and "sub-subsistence income". Vacant hotels will become "cultural reassignment" centers, convents, asylums and ObamaCare facilities.
GM may be BK, but the 2010 Camaro production can't keep up with the orders. Green shoot!
Bloomberg quote about "design still sells" was funny to me - especially in light of the fact that the article also said this hot-selling model is built in the good 'ole - Canada? Ruh Roh!
The camaro is beyond hideous and will not age well. Can hardly wait to see how resale value on that plummets. And that will be before they finally pull the plug on GM.
Tabbi's article is ok...not exactly earth-shattering news. Some of the names I was not aware of....but if it raises the collective awareness about what most of us (here) know than it can only be a good thing.
I'd like to think it will...however it's going to be too difficult for most people to comprehend the cap & trade bubble because it leaves off quite a bit of the other forces needed to achieve it.
How many of the non TV viewers here routinely get the gas face of incomprehension when you utilize reason. How many of us here get labeled as loony when they mention the implications of undeniable facts.
Happens in Japan periodically....we just has one earlier in the week...both Toyota and Sony opened up on (it's) Tuesday morning this way- and it also happened in May with Cannon and the aforementioned. Now that's fine when it's in some little piss-ant stocks (like the OTC) but not in big blue chips.
Just outlaw selling like they did in Pakistan last year.
dawg [Does anyone see the repudiation of markets in Obama's assertions? Carbon taxes will induce economic growth]
Obama is a total retard. He simply doesn't grasp even the most elementary concepts of business. What's left of the shell of our economy will be completely crushed if we get carbon taxed. He points to success europe only conveniently forgets that those economies are totally socialized and that distances are short there and the population lives in small dwellings/highly urbanized.
Then competing in a global economy with turd worlders has been tough with 1 hand tied behind out backs (environmental controls) and now with carbon taxes we get to fight with both hands tied. Ridiculous, unless we restrict free trade to nations that also use the same environmental and carbon controls...
@GDD - what interests me is that GM (and C) are saying that their future is oging to be built on small, fuel-efficient cars, yet the model with biggest demand to production is a V-8, 400+ hp guzzler.
If small can sell so well, then why isn't the GM firefly the number one selling car in North America (or the world)? Oh yeah, because it was a gutless, 3cyl. POS.
yet the model with biggest demand to production is a V-8, 400+ hp guzzler.
Is there any decent American car that is a good value that gets good mileage?
Everyone I have seen is a POS, or way over priced as a half breed hybrid.
I need a new car and I'm starting to think I have to buy non-US companies just to not be overpaying for a POS.
MS, I confess I don't get it. Why doesn't somebody put in a low-ball bid (say, 1 penny or yen), which then causes the other side to work upwards?
Just like housing right?
BH -
That was why I defined it as a non-US company, many are assembled in the US. But I agree, the Honda Accord is a nice car, it's also the most broken into and the most stolen here.
"I need a new car and I'm starting to think I have to buy..."
Let's parse this:
1) "I need", see right away you place yourself in a position of submission. Says who you need? For what? To what net positive benefit?
2) 'a new car" - why new? why not repair refit the one you have? recycle, reuse, and so on.
3) "I'm starting to think" - well, no not quite yet, maybe after some sober reflection you might be able to rouse yourself from stupor imposed by a commercialized upbringing
4) "I have to buy" - stop, look both ways, take a deep breath, smoke a joint, have a beer, but for chrissakes don't make any decision based on what you have typed.
Just installed a Sanyo inverter air conditioning system. The technology is fabulous. Demand-throttled compressor, remote controlled units. Almost plug and play. You can't hear the compressor running unless you're standing right next to it.
American air conditioning technology has been outdone in a quantum leap.
Ruud and the rest may as well turn off the lights and go home. They're not taking care of business.
@Kauai - I guess your choice on car depends on what you want to spend and what you like. I'm not really a big fan of buying new, preferring to let someone else eat the first big depreciation, though I have bought new old model in the past when dealers get desperate.
The dealers for most companies are getting desperate, but I still think there will be better deals ahead, so it might be in your interest to wait until this fall, or even next year, as the demand being pulled forward now, and with the upcoming clunker spike, make things worse for auto in 2010/11.
Used cars are prob. getting seriously devalued too, as leases are defaulted, so you might want to keep an eye out for that too.
volker the viking -
Believe me, the more it cost me, the longer I tear it apart.
I need a new car because my current POS is starting to cost more to maintain than buying a new car. And I really need reliable transportation. I work crazy shifts and public transportation does not work for me, and I live too far away from work to ride a bike.
I'm always open to buying a used car, but the prices here is stupid high for the expected value of the car. I have been stalking cragslist, etc and am ready to jump if I see a good deal, but once again it just is not happening.
For all the talk about great deals right now, I am not seeing them here. Or maybe I just have a different view on value.
It's refreshing to see that the P.O.S. terminology is widely accepted here. I had nicknamed a pontiac grand prix that very three letter acronym way back when....and in all the years of driving GM product here and there, it never changed. P.O.S. then, P.O.S. now. There are a couple of cars they can churn out that aren't P.s O. S., but the price on them means they will never be mass production. There business model is so incredibly broken, as to be laughable. We'd have to get back to at least a 14 mil sales pace to make that company have a chance, and even then, my money would be on Failure.
Rattletraps, sofas on wheels, broken down junkers...they excel in making all sorts of different types of truly awful cars. ANd even at a price point thousands of dollars below (and double digit + % below) the Japanese brands they cant compete. And now with Kia/Hyundai picking up in quality, the price comp is going. And the demographics of the buyers is totally against them.
And then there's China...
Chrysler shoudl have been sacrificed at the altar of GM/Ford. But Chrysler had political connections.
And GM has economy connections/linkages.
And Ford just goes back to the teat... I mean, why not?
Car prices are insane on the islands. There must be some good deals on a new car now.
Right now I'm seeing around 1K under MSP, it might get better as the year ends and the older models are still stockpiled. I'm just not sure my current car will last that long. And the gamble is getting larger and larger.
My current car is 12 years old, going on 13 and I think I got my value out of it, and it will make a great second car for getting muddy.
I think I'm still amazed that there are no good deals out there on US cars that I like. The real problem is there are few cars I like.
Trying to tie this lack of good deals back into the main topic.
I am trying to go home next month for a get together, and the prices for rooms and rental cars is still stupid high, but:
MP -
I can't even change the oil on my car in my condo parking lot.
Access to facilities and tools would be great, but as a contractor I can't use the military shops. (Man do I miss those).
"How much, and how many tons (or equivalent) of cooling capability?"
Cinco, I don't remember the numbers, but they're available from Sanyo's website.
I can tell you that I bought two inverters, which talk to each other via computer, six remote units (meaning six cooling zones), and all of the necessary materials to hook it up for less than $7,000.
So, for under $7,000 and our own labor, we have a six zone central air system.
Nice link, shill. Interesting information...there's a number of different scenarios that could account for this person's experience. Not necessarily a grand unified conspiracy. Thanks,
Since the thread is dead . . . Don't know if my experience will be useful, but worth a moment's read?
Located a 2006 BMW offered on EBay by a dealership. An off-lease car with 5,850 mi. on it and warranty good through Sept. 2010. Your market may be different, but here there's a glut of cars coming off lease. Some of them, like this one, are awfully nice cars. The buy-it-now price was excellent, so I just bought it. Ran the usual checks first of course, and still had some qualms about hidden faults not covered by factory warranty, so a bit of a gamble.
The car's actually perfect. Price was about 35% discount from Black Book at the time (January '09).
Talk about the Heartbreak Hotel.
YouTube - Jolly Holiday Sing Along
The bankrupt hotel in Montreal we stayed at was reasonably full (at 1/3rd the list rate) but our Boston location (Medford Hyatt) was every other room on every other floor, floors 8 thru 4. Not a sustainable number.
"We'll leave the keys in the mailbox." RRI
OT but funny as well here in Sacramento considering the state of the state
http://www.kbhome.com/PDFs/18.pdf
Apply for a Public Employee Advantage price break...
MS
Thanks for the response. The exchanges may be a causality in ask only.
is it that far to go from here to the kitchen and back?
who has a fork ready?
Well, here in Hawaii all you see is how Japanese tourist will start coming back because the swine flu is not a big deal. (The state stopped tracking it today, so no news, no problem right?)
Also, how the first Luau at the White House will just start bringing everyone from the mainland to Hawaii even if they have to take out a third mortgage.
I can't turn around without people saying how much better everything will be in a few weeks like the sun is rising and everything is sunny now.
People are smart
spork ready...do share volker..
Ciao
MS
I have a plastic fork ready (at work ya know)
just don't let it be about swine flu....
Ciao
MS
okay, it's just you and just me ms
holding the spork firmly in one hand, lean forward in your chair until your rump is raised slightly off the seat
now reach around and stick it into the fleshy part of your glutes
there, you're done, as are we all
" volker the viking (profile) wrote on Thu, 6/25/2009 - 11:15 am
otis: other than the fact that you're a certifiable nut bar, you make some good points"
Wow, thanks Volker. Coming from you that is a high compliment.
I know I don't think like others and I know that others label those who think differently as lunatics. It is a defense mechanism. I like being crazy.
Sure beats normal.
Moody's downgrades MBIA to 'Ba3' from 'Ba1'
Right, like Candide, just eat one cheek.
Surely this is the beast of all possible worlds.
otis: I meant that in the best of all possible ways 8)
My spork broke.
But the pain is just like every other day of reading the "news." Only this time, I didnt have to bend over.
As Thom Yorke would say, "you do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts."
all that buildup for something I can see each and every day...
Sporks break easily too.
I'm disappointed now....
Ciao
MS
what a pain in the ass
ms: some can be seen from the Space Shuttle without a telescope
On Bank Holiday
On remember back in September when they instituted the short selling ban. Many people misunderstood this to be a ban on sales thinking only purchases were allowed. No one I talked to seemed to have a problem with this.
I will pray tonight for national wisdom.
everybody is thinking bank holiday
therefore, nobody is thinking
what else might it be?
volker
Hate to think of it but an invasion of two of the Axises of evil
What might it be?
a regional nuclear event?
Who can afford to stay in an overpriced crappy hotel?
I'll stay home thanks
an unstoppable cascade event?
Recently uncovered critical documents disclosing details about AIG's CDO portfolio and collateral calls
Zero Hedge: AIG's 10(b) 5 Fraud, And Goldman's CDO Collateral Calls
CR, this is off topic for the thread but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this Matt Taibbi article Zero Hedge: Goldman Sachs: "Engineering Every Major Market Manipulation Since The Great Depression" , particularly regarding the 2008 spike in oil prices and the influence of speculators. In addition, its a great article that I'm sure may readers here will enjoy.
helicopter stuffing?
pandemic?
Sarasota Waldorf-Astoria is stopped, probably for good. The land purchase in foreclosure and developer attempting to use a force majeur defense. Claims no one foresaw economic difficulties, etc.
Well, that's 225 guestrooms which won't be competing here.
Like mortgages, we take the existence of hotels for granted.
But a couple of years from now in the New Wiemar Republic of America notions such as "discretionary income" may be things of the past replaced by things like "perisubsistence income" and "sub-subsistence income". Vacant hotels will become "cultural reassignment" centers, convents, asylums and ObamaCare facilities.
GM may be BK, but the 2010 Camaro production can't keep up with the orders. Green shoot!
Bloomberg quote about "design still sells" was funny to me - especially in light of the fact that the article also said this hot-selling model is built in the good 'ole - Canada?
Ruh Roh!
Ask only? That sounds like an interesting market.
see, you people aren't thinking, in fact most of you knuckleheads are still trying to game the system
The camaro is beyond hideous and will not age well. Can hardly wait to see how resale value on that plummets. And that will be before they finally pull the plug on GM.
kahner-
Tabbi's article is ok...not exactly earth-shattering news. Some of the names I was not aware of....but if it raises the collective awareness about what most of us (here) know than it can only be a good thing.
I'd like to think it will...however it's going to be too difficult for most people to comprehend the cap & trade bubble because it leaves off quite a bit of the other forces needed to achieve it.
Ciao
MS
way back before the end of reality
ask only = no bid
in the land of warped reality the mad man is king.
Treasury-Altered Reality Plan
GM may be BK, but the 2010 Camaro production.
I understand the new Transformers movie is one big 2 hour commercial for it.
Seriously,
How many of the non TV viewers here routinely get the gas face of incomprehension when you utilize reason. How many of us here get labeled as loony when they mention the implications of undeniable facts.
JP-
Happens in Japan periodically....we just has one earlier in the week...both Toyota and Sony opened up on (it's) Tuesday morning this way- and it also happened in May with Cannon and the aforementioned. Now that's fine when it's in some little piss-ant stocks (like the OTC) but not in big blue chips.
Just outlaw selling like they did in Pakistan last year.
Ciao
MS
dawg [Does anyone see the repudiation of markets in Obama's assertions? Carbon taxes will induce economic growth]
Obama is a total retard. He simply doesn't grasp even the most elementary concepts of business. What's left of the shell of our economy will be completely crushed if we get carbon taxed. He points to success europe only conveniently forgets that those economies are totally socialized and that distances are short there and the population lives in small dwellings/highly urbanized.
Then competing in a global economy with turd worlders has been tough with 1 hand tied behind out backs (environmental controls) and now with carbon taxes we get to fight with both hands tied. Ridiculous, unless we restrict free trade to nations that also use the same environmental and carbon controls...
@GDD - what interests me is that GM (and C) are saying that their future is oging to be built on small, fuel-efficient cars, yet the model with biggest demand to production is a V-8, 400+ hp guzzler.
If small can sell so well, then why isn't the GM firefly the number one selling car in North America (or the world)? Oh yeah, because it was a gutless, 3cyl. POS.
In regards to Taibbi's piece in Rolling Stone:
I can give you 14 trillion reasons why America is circling the drain.
How many do you need?
Swine Flu May Be Human Error; WHO Probes Scientist’s Claim - Bloomberg.com
"Swine Flu May Be Human Error; WHO Probes Scientist’s Claim "
You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts...
Treasury-Altered Reality Plan -
yet the model with biggest demand to production is a V-8, 400+ hp guzzler.
Is there any decent American car that is a good value that gets good mileage?
Everyone I have seen is a POS, or way over priced as a half breed hybrid.
I need a new car and I'm starting to think I have to buy non-US companies just to not be overpaying for a POS.
Kahuna,
Buy a honda civic. It's made in an America. Good mileage (great). Good resale (great).
--bh
MS, I confess I don't get it. Why doesn't somebody put in a low-ball bid (say, 1 penny or yen), which then causes the other side to work upwards?
Just like housing right?
Market opens in T-minus 7 minutes......I can already hear the Hissing sound.
BH -
That was why I defined it as a non-US company, many are assembled in the US. But I agree, the Honda Accord is a nice car, it's also the most broken into and the most stolen here.
"I need a new car and I'm starting to think I have to buy..."
Let's parse this:
1) "I need", see right away you place yourself in a position of submission. Says who you need? For what? To what net positive benefit?
2) 'a new car" - why new? why not repair refit the one you have? recycle, reuse, and so on.
3) "I'm starting to think" - well, no not quite yet, maybe after some sober reflection you might be able to rouse yourself from stupor imposed by a commercialized upbringing
4) "I have to buy" - stop, look both ways, take a deep breath, smoke a joint, have a beer, but for chrissakes don't make any decision based on what you have typed.
ECB Lends Record $622 Billion in Bid to Ease Crisis
ECB Lends Record $622 Billion in Bid to Ease Crisis - WSJ.com
JP-
exactly like housing except we're talking about a bigger disconnect between reality and perception.
Like trillions not billions.
Ciao
MS
Just installed a Sanyo inverter air conditioning system. The technology is fabulous. Demand-throttled compressor, remote controlled units. Almost plug and play. You can't hear the compressor running unless you're standing right next to it.
American air conditioning technology has been outdone in a quantum leap.
Ruud and the rest may as well turn off the lights and go home. They're not taking care of business.
Americans are not taking care of business.
mp
I have seen one of those before. Check the power ratings I bet you it is at least 30% more efficient too.
[Camaro production can't keep up with the orders]
I like it.
Ok this post will most likely get flamed beyond comprehension...none the less a great and very disturbing read....do enjoy, and keep an open mind.
9/11 FEMA videographer at Ground Zero goes public
9/11 FEMA videographer at Ground Zero goes public [Voltaire]
@Tim
Installed one in my home, finished it last night, as I got fed up with the central air blowing dust everywhere. It's really something.
And, for a new installation, it's less expensive because you have no duct work.
@Kauai - I guess your choice on car depends on what you want to spend and what you like. I'm not really a big fan of buying new, preferring to let someone else eat the first big depreciation, though I have bought new old model in the past when dealers get desperate.
The dealers for most companies are getting desperate, but I still think there will be better deals ahead, so it might be in your interest to wait until this fall, or even next year, as the demand being pulled forward now, and with the upcoming clunker spike, make things worse for auto in 2010/11.
Used cars are prob. getting seriously devalued too, as leases are defaulted, so you might want to keep an eye out for that too.
volker the viking -
Believe me, the more it cost me, the longer I tear it apart.
I need a new car because my current POS is starting to cost more to maintain than buying a new car. And I really need reliable transportation. I work crazy shifts and public transportation does not work for me, and I live too far away from work to ride a bike.
I'm always open to buying a used car, but the prices here is stupid high for the expected value of the car. I have been stalking cragslist, etc and am ready to jump if I see a good deal, but once again it just is not happening.
For all the talk about great deals right now, I am not seeing them here. Or maybe I just have a different view on value.
Kauai
Car prices are insane on the islands. There must be some good deals on a new car now.
It's refreshing to see that the P.O.S. terminology is widely accepted here. I had nicknamed a pontiac grand prix that very three letter acronym way back when....and in all the years of driving GM product here and there, it never changed. P.O.S. then, P.O.S. now. There are a couple of cars they can churn out that aren't P.s O. S., but the price on them means they will never be mass production. There business model is so incredibly broken, as to be laughable. We'd have to get back to at least a 14 mil sales pace to make that company have a chance, and even then, my money would be on Failure.
Rattletraps, sofas on wheels, broken down junkers...they excel in making all sorts of different types of truly awful cars. ANd even at a price point thousands of dollars below (and double digit + % below) the Japanese brands they cant compete. And now with Kia/Hyundai picking up in quality, the price comp is going. And the demographics of the buyers is totally against them.
And then there's China...
Chrysler shoudl have been sacrificed at the altar of GM/Ford. But Chrysler had political connections.
And GM has economy connections/linkages.
And Ford just goes back to the teat... I mean, why not?
A truly hopeless industry.
" volker the viking (profile) wrote on Thu, 6/25/2009 - 2:29 pm
otis: I meant that in the best of all possible ways Cool"
Not the BEAST of all possible ways?
" volker the viking (profile) wrote on Thu, 6/25/2009 - 2:40 pm
pandemic?"
Have you been reading Denniger again?
Tim waiting for 2012 -
Car prices are insane on the islands. There must be some good deals on a new car now.
Right now I'm seeing around 1K under MSP, it might get better as the year ends and the older models are still stockpiled. I'm just not sure my current car will last that long. And the gamble is getting larger and larger.
My current car is 12 years old, going on 13 and I think I got my value out of it, and it will make a great second car for getting muddy.
I think I'm still amazed that there are no good deals out there on US cars that I like. The real problem is there are few cars I like.
"The real problem is there are few cars I like."
Well, why not do some Level 3 maintenance on the car you own?
If folks took care of their cars the way airplanes are maintained, we'd all be driving '57 Chevys.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Paging MP.. The car Czar needs to talk to you in his office...doing your own car repairs are not to be mentioned on blogs....
Trying to tie this lack of good deals back into the main topic.
I am trying to go home next month for a get together, and the prices for rooms and rental cars is still stupid high, but:
Hawaii hotels 64% full in April - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
Hawaii hotels 64% full in April:
Hawaii hotel occupancy in April fell 5.1 percentage points to 64.1 percent.
As compared with April 2008, room rates fell as well, down 9.3 percent to average $179 a night.
Combined, the lower occupancy and room rates led to a 16.1 percent decrease in revenue per available room (revpar) to $114.
Maybe it's the Thailand answer, profits down; raise your prices.
" mp (profile) wrote on Thu, 6/25/2009 - 3:00 pm
Just installed a Sanyo inverter air conditioning system"
How much, and how many tons (or equivalent) of cooling capability?
Thanks-
"The car Czar needs to talk to you in his office"
Sorry.
I just don't get it. People obligate themselves for tens of thousands of dollars, when what they have should be sufficient.
That is, of course, if it's taken care of.
MP -
I can't even change the oil on my car in my condo parking lot.
Access to facilities and tools would be great, but as a contractor I can't use the military shops. (Man do I miss those).
MP- I agree...and actually make my living with software that pushed people to dealer service centers..I'm a repair pusher....
"How much, and how many tons (or equivalent) of cooling capability?"
Cinco, I don't remember the numbers, but they're available from Sanyo's website.
I can tell you that I bought two inverters, which talk to each other via computer, six remote units (meaning six cooling zones), and all of the necessary materials to hook it up for less than $7,000.
So, for under $7,000 and our own labor, we have a six zone central air system.
Nice link, shill. Interesting information...there's a number of different scenarios that could account for this person's experience. Not necessarily a grand unified conspiracy. Thanks,
Pigged Again! Twice in a day! oink oink!
Kuai_Kahuna:
Since the thread is dead . . . Don't know if my experience will be useful, but worth a moment's read?
Located a 2006 BMW offered on EBay by a dealership. An off-lease car with 5,850 mi. on it and warranty good through Sept. 2010. Your market may be different, but here there's a glut of cars coming off lease. Some of them, like this one, are awfully nice cars. The buy-it-now price was excellent, so I just bought it. Ran the usual checks first of course, and still had some qualms about hidden faults not covered by factory warranty, so a bit of a gamble.
The car's actually perfect. Price was about 35% discount from Black Book at the time (January '09).
Cinco-X caught the pun +1
In Commodities:
Washington State grade#1 bud let a rally in pot on rumors that it would be available through the prescription drug plan.
Hog Bellies were soft