Mortgage rates have been falling steadily since the 10-yr touched 4.0%. It has fallen to 3.47. The stability of the 10-yr has come at the expense of the stock market.
Note: The increase in 2007 was due to the method used to construct the index: a combination of lender failures, and borrowers filing multiple applications pushed up the index in 2007, even though activity was actually declining.
Another changing of the methodology to make it appear better.
Same old accounting tricks...
OT (but it's still early)
CONsumers, please remove your belt, shoes and prepare to be felt up by a TSA agent before boarding the aircraft...
Meanwhile... Security Breaches at Federal Buildings - ABC News
Group of Eight leaders said "Once a recovery is assured, we have agreed on the need to prepare appropriate strategies to reduce the extraordinary measures taken in response to the crisis,” ....
.....said the draft, which was read to reporters by a G-8 official as the leaders gathered in L’Aquila, Italy. The exit strategies “will vary from country to country, depending on domestic economic conditions and public finances and to assure a sustainable recovery in the long term.”
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Group of Eight leaders said they will delay reversing stimulus measures until an economic recovery is assured and will decide on their own exit strategies individually, according to a draft statement.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The vacancy rate for U.S. apartments reached its highest level in more than 20 years in the second quarter and could soon exceed record highs if the recession persists, real estate research firm Reis Inc said.
The national vacancy rate rose to 7.5 percent, the highest since 1987 and an increase of 1.4 percentage points from last year, according to a report Reis released on Wednesday. The record high was 7.8 percent in 1986.
Yuan Deposes Dollar on China Border in Sign of Future
Sales using the greenback at Guangxi Jinbei Group, where Huang is vice president, dropped to 30 percent of contracts in 2008 from 87 percent in 2007. The yuan, which has gained 21 percent since it was allowed to strengthen against the dollar starting in 2005, offers greater stability, he said.
“In recent years, the dollar has gone in only one direction and that is down,” said Huang, 45, in his second- floor office in Pingxiang, a town set amongst karst limestone hills and sugar-cane fields in China’s southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from Vietnam. “Settling our orders in yuan removes a major risk.”
China expanded yuan settlement agreements last week from border zones to its largest financial centers, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The program is being rolled out across Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia, all nations seeking to reduce the dollar’s role as the linchpin of world finance and trade.
The central bank first brought up the concept of a supranational currency to replace the greenback in reserves in March. It will sponsor use of the yuan in trade by arranging export tax rebates
New renting family moved into house next door. (The home has been alternately owner-occupied and rented out for going on 20 years; have had 12 families living there during that time)
Every night, the "man of the family" (some 25 year old guy shacking up with a 40 yr old with teens) goes out in the back yard and starts building a roaring fire in the mini firepit, using various sticks he has collected from the yard. With frequent and liberal doses of lighter fluid, he manages to get that sucker blazing and toasty warm (for about 30 seconds) until he has to repeat the cycle.
I really fear for large segments of the population if they become homeless or have to exhibit any survival skills whatsoever. The general cluelessness is scary.
I wish there was a way to strip out the effects of mortgage rates from that graph to see where aggregate refi appetite is, and not see the data overwhelmed by what's happened to interest rates in the recent past.
Mal,
I'd make sure I had a fully charged fire extinguisher handy.
Sounds like the knuckle dragger next door could light up the whole neighborhood with his 'skillz'.
But not paying your mortgage and staying in your place? Now there's some sound financial advice.
Snark// well its hard enough to remove a tenant from an aprtment, if the banks are running minimum 8 months beofre kickiing out , and that is on top of say 90 days no pay then it's basically live in your mc manison first year Mortgage free... and that is some snarky sound financial advice..
Gnome:
Since December, the People’s Bank of China has provided 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) to Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea through so-called currency swaps, encouraging its use in trade and finance. Russia and China agreed to expand use of the ruble and yuan in bilateral trade on June 17. Brazil and China began studying a similar proposal in May.
We did just fine before, the state and feds screwed the pooch, jumped the shark and went off on a number of snipe hunts.
I don't doubt that there is a lot of dead weight protected by tenure and overpaid by the unions, but people not in education have a tendency to be blind to a couple of realities that heavily impact public education, and do not impact either private or charters:
Public Schools are legally required to educate (house) everyone, including some horrifically expensive special needs students that they didn't in the old days. They also got to expel poorly performing students (behavior) or allow them to simply drop out. We had sufficient work in our society for that unskilled labor. The states (to varying degrees) and the feds did make it a lot tougher on public schools that were trying to get rid of their low-performing, expensive students. Adverse selection is a bitch in this situation - private, parochial and charter schools are really quasi-for-profit cherry-picking operations - and while private and parochial schools, with more or less complete control over their enrollment, do consistently turn in much better numbers (and are able to get quality teachers to work for a lot less money, since no combat pay is involved), it's not altogether clear that the private sector "innovation" so touted in charters really is more successful - and that brings into question the whole assertion that what ails the public schools is the red tape, bureaucracy and obduracy of the unions and teaching establishment. I'm sure those latter things aren't good, but it's far from
The Public Schools function largely in loco-parentis as the first line of social outreach to intervene in some particularly nasty societal problems. It's all well and good and kind of glib to say we'll just force teachers of failed students (humans) to share the cell, but one really needs to recognize that in many respects, a lot of the public school system is institutionalization of otherwise street urchins. I'm not sure what else people think will fill that vacuum...it will be gangs and the like if anything - you are entirely fooling yourself if you think it will be parents. The reason the public schools - and they aren't happy about it - have to step in and fulfill this role in the first place is because there is a vacuum.
Remove those two missions/requirements and return the public schools to the requirements around, say, 1965-1970, and I think you'd be astonished at how much better they'd do than most private schools.
Let's posit that the schools are failed and need to go away, or that teachers should have their pay based on their students' performance (and that is a bit of broken linkage by the way, since it's really not up to just the teacher) - you will see adverse selection among teachers far more extreme than it already is (and you already cannot find science and math people willing to put up with the combat environment for the crappy current pay), and who or what will step in to fill that void? Do you propose we simply lock up all the miscreants? Set aside whether that is good or bad or anything moralistic or idealistic: how is the lock 'em up and toss out the key bit working out for California's budget today?
Really, it may be "coddling" and "pampering" the undeserving, but at the end of the day it turns out that social counselors, rehab and teachers and schools are a hell of a lot cheaper outpatient operations than incarceration and jails...they are the two faces of the same coin. Just because it's 'unfair' that we are burdened economically with this problem of someone else's irresponsibility (lack of birth control, parenting, etc.) does not mean that we can simply pretend the problem does not exist. You can opt for the Latin American walled compound model...but you still have those costs imposed on you, and a whole lot crappier society to live in. The prevalence of walled and gated developments during the bubble suggests that a lot of Americans are opting for the self-isolation segregation model.
Charters are the only serious alternative posed by the anti-teacher's-union/public-school crowd, and now that the evidence is starting to come in, it looks like they don't actually do a whole lot better. I want to hear some serious proposals for actually fixing the problem, beyond just union-busting...and if that's the only proposal, I'd like to see that the prison guards get the same treatment as the teachers.
Don’t be misled by pundits saying the bottom may be visible in this stultifying decline. The real-estate recession will continue unless a massive brain freeze thaws. Buyers are afraid of purchasing a home at the wrong price while millions of sellers are locked into unrealistic listing prices.
Our brains are telling us it’s painful to price our homes to reflect 20 percent to 50 percent losses in market values. So buyers overprice houses and wait for something to happen.
A myopic, loss-averse view of the market, for example, means listing for $500,000 or more when comparable upscale homes are selling for $400,000 or less. I have seen it in my suburban Chicago neighborhood, where homes have been on the market and unsold for years
There are also influential cerebral centers for optimism and self-confidence. We hang on to properties, falsely believing that prices will rebound to the bubble years of 2005-2006.
Actual market conditions don’t offer much hope, however. “Real house prices have fallen by more than 30 percent from their peaks in 2006, destroying more than $6 trillion in housing wealth,” writes economist Dean Baker in his Housing Market Monitor. “They have been falling at the rate of 2 percent per month thus far in 2009. There is no evidence that this rate of price decline has slowed, much less stopped.”
"NO WAY OUT: Burst of housing bubble has many families wondering how to keep up"
"For years, home ownership has been seen as the surest path of rising into the middle class and the most significant source of savings for many families. So how could it be that buying a single-family home has made so many people in this country worse off?"
"John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics specializes in removing these questionable tweaks to the government's statistical data to better align current numbers with the methodology used to gather historical data. After reviewing the data, Williams believes that "the June jobs loss likely exceeded 700,000."
Actually, my brother lit the house on fire pretty effectively when I was just back from Naval Firefighting School by forgetting that he'd left a large pan of oil for scones on high. Everyone got out of the house, I asked my sister what kind of fire it was and put it out with the garden hose before the fire department showed up (the trick is really fine droplets when fighting a grease or oil fire). It was kinda freaky having the ceiling on fire over my head and watching the curtains melt onto my improvised headgear/smoke filter and seeing the studs in the wall glowing with that intense white orange that a really hot fire makes. My mom was happy everyone was safe but not thrilled since I put the fire out fast enough that it wasn't a total replacement.
Big Nothingburger-Let us see how many actually make it to closing......There is a HUGE % that are not making value and that is killing these deals....same with the refi's. I am an appraiser and I can tell you these stats mean SQUAT. The banks have closed the funding spigot and DON'T want to lend to even the BEST borrowers. Problem is that there are very few "quality" borrowers who want to buy in the face of this depression. Those who are stupid enough to buy are the same ones with shoddy credit history and sketchy job data.....
I wish there was a way to strip out the effects of mortgage rates from that graph to see where aggregate refi appetite is, and not see the data overwhelmed by what's happened to interest rates in the recent past.
Heh...I think you'd discover it's all interest-rate driven. Why on earth else do it - the cash out thing seems to be over.
With frequent and liberal doses of lighter fluid, he manages to get that sucker blazing and toasty warm (for about 30 seconds) until he has to repeat the cycle.
What are you complaining about? If he starts reaching for the red can, the one with the gasoline for the lawn mower, then you've got problems. Otherwise, let live.
I don't think it was home ownership that went awry; but the way in which the purchase was financed.
The problems we are currently facing is the result of a CREDIT bubble.
If we had stayed with the traditional guidelines of mortgage lending; 20% down; 30 year fixed, income/ job/ asset verification; then things would not have gotten to this degree of being FUBAR'd.
But, just about everyone wants something for nothing.
Like driving through West Virginia this last weekend and seeing a roadsign to the effect of:
YOUR tax dollars at work::
Federal Funds 3,000,000 WV funds 30,000
Nice insight into how the majority thinks.
Hey, it's Federal and It's FREE!!!
and maybe, just maybe, handing out credit cards like candy was a bad idea...
Since December, the People’s Bank of China has provided 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) to Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea through so-called currency swaps, encouraging its use in trade and finance. Russia and China agreed to expand use of the ruble and yuan in bilateral trade on June 17. Brazil and China began studying a similar proposal in May.
BILLIONS...
I don't know why folks get all jazzed about stories like this... it is solidly good news - good news if you work & live inside the USA anyway. The more international transactions done in 'native currency' the less likely the big merchantilists can distort the dollar and raise havoc here & abroad. I does suck though for those who live off the export mfg sector in those merchantilist states.
One downside is that because money trades on the forex so easily just because they clear a transaction in yuan or yen or real still doesn't mean they can't then convert the surplus back into dollars to support a de facto peg. It all depends on where those transactions clear at [exchange rates] and are the distorting [pegged].
Regardless - the fact they are moving out of all-dollars-all-the-time is probably the best thing to happen to average working Americans since indoor plumbing.
Remember the MBA index tracks applications, not completed transactions, so comparing eras is difficult.
Nonetheless, Q2 will be a big one for banks reporting refi activity, i believe Fannie and Freddie have already indicated as much. Lot of nice refi fees from that.
fried (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 9:29 am reply Ignore user OT
Nice charts comparing the G-8 countries...
\Fried, looking at the G-* countries stimulus is awesome, what the UK and France have put into stimulating (or lack there of) so far is the same as the billions China has given our asian allies in Yuan.
And it should go without saying that these asian countries dont need the Billions of yaun they got as full stimulus, so they are poised to suceed....
Also, worthy of note, it seems the higher the tax rate the higher the percentage of public debt to GDP, which paralells our own states debt to personal income tax or property taxes...
Yet somehow our leadership blue and red , are still going to successfully convince us this time it will work, this time it will be different...
Fiduciary,
Agreed. Take a good hard look at where world economies are 7 months into the Obama administration so that you can retain some perspective on just how far down the river the Republicans sold us.
Dum luk,
The Neo Cons are both Red and Blue.
Ever wonder why Reds and Blues are automatically on the ballot but 3rd parties must gather petitions just to get on the ballot?
dum luk (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 9:42 am replyIgnore userFiduciary,
Agreed. Take a good hard look at where world economies are 7 months into the Obama administration so that you can retain some perspective on just how far down the river the Republicans sold us.
DL,
I think it is beyond Republican democrat now, i think it always was but now it really is transparent. They are all selling us down for the advancement of which ever "friends" the red or blue choose to support.
I think if BHO and congress were different they would not even think about new health care or any thing else including defense spending until they have a plan and start initiatiating some debt reduction.
"we" (collective) are all screwed now... to think BHO , pelosi, or reed will make a edit (positive) change or difference is out the door... along with anyone currently in DC...for that matter
The Neo Cons are both Red and Blue.
Ever wonder why Reds and Blues are automatically on the ballot but 3rd parties must gather petitions just to get on the ballot?
Almost 100% GOP. Haven't been many Dem 'neocons' since Zbignew Brzezinski had any say. 'Blues' have their own demons but that isn't one of them.
Thanks for and i respect your opinions and insight!
Homegnome,
WRT old timey mortgages, there was a tiome when all banks were local, there were no motgage loan comapnies, and banks didnt sell their loans, there was also a time when only Vet's with Honorable discharges were the only ones who could get 0 down loans.....
Dry,
I respect your opinions but how has Obummer done things much different than the Chimp?
OH, we're out of Iraq, have closed Gitmo, repealed the Patriot Act, are no longer detaining SUSPECTS without charge or trial, no longer wiretapping without warrants, etc.
I try not to judge people on their labels, but by their actions...
Doodie,
I remember having to dress in my 'sunday best' to go with the folks to get their first mortgage.
My parents were nervous and I remember them wanting to make sure they had all of their paperwork in order.
Or when if you went to court, even traffic, you dressed appropriately for the court in sunday best, now look...
were shi* to court, but leave in your E300 or range rover, and return to the mcmansion that you havent paid on , even though all your aunts and cousins now rent rooms...
Doodie,
The one and only time I"ve been in traffic court the guy called ahead of me jumped up and started yelling at the judge.
He got "guilty" in about 30 seconds.
I, on the other hand, was respectful and addressed him as "your Honor" and "sir".
Charges dismissed.
and what is up with people wearing PJs and house slippers in public?
I did the same, dress nice, speak respectfully, appologize for taking the time from the deputy on his or her day off.... always dismissed.
Maybe they dismiss us because they have so many that disresect the court, they do more not as a present for us but to add insult to injury for those clueless masses that are in their PJ's in the first few pews....
U.S. Housing Market Is Cursed by Brain Freeze: John F. Wasik
Don’t be misled by pundits saying the bottom may be visible in this stultifying decline. The real-estate recession will continue unless a massive brain freeze thaws. Buyers are afraid of purchasing a home at the wrong price while millions of sellers are locked into unrealistic listing prices.
too bad they can't ban shorting or you can't set stop losses! snark...
Best way to get rid of brain/margarita freeze is press the toungue up against roof of mouth... the sound is similar to listening to a RE agent discuss green shoots...
The one and only time I have been in traffic court, I lost. Working third shift as a computer tech at a University I parked in a reserved space (not reserved from 5pm to 8am). Got off work at 6:00am. Car would not start. Thought it might be the battery. Cop shows up at 6:30am. Can't help me jump my car because it could mess with sensitive equipment. Parks right beside me. Can't radio a tow truck for me after I figure out it is the alternator not the battery, have to go find a phone. Tow truck arrives at 7:55am. At exactly 8:00am the cop writes me a ticket. Took it to court, because I thought this was a little bit over the top. Was respectful, wore nice clothes. Judge didn't want to hear what I had to say, said people like me waste his time, and he raised my fine from 150 to 300 dollars. This was a steep learning experience for me.
Re-post from pigged thread:
@ Volcker - 5:27 am
I am a part time rural carrier - the mail volume is indeed WAAAY down. Our salaries are figured on mail volume and the volume count this March was devastating. Our routes were cut back along with our pay, and things haven't improved much since. so much for green shoots. The mail day following July 4 is usually a bear, what with two or three days of sorted mail coming to us on Monday. This year it was way down, not much more than a normal Monday. July is usually a heavy catalog month, as retailers start gearing up early for Xmas. Not so this year.
The PO has been laying off administrative personnel, there is a hiring freeze on worker bees like us and early retirement has been pushed to the max at all levels. Two years ago I would have recommended a career here, but not now.
NateTG (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 10:09 am replyIgnore userGnome, Doodie -
IMHO by the time that you're in traffic court, there's probably already been a couple of mistakes made
by me before court-yes, before me in court, goes without saying....
Yes, it was a uni-cop, and yes he was on a power trip. 6:30 in the morning, in the winter, and he had black sunglasses on. I got that part of the equation, it was the judge I wasn't prepared for, guess I caught him on a bad day.
For the past few months I've seen alot of tickets written and I believe the chances for any dismissal (going forward) is little to nil because of the revenue stream it provides. California is a great example of not really enforcing something until it becomes a problem. I got a ticket for not having a front license plate (truck was parked in my driveway) and it was written at about 3:00am on the last day of the month. Quite what an "officer" was doing in my driveway at that time (truck was facing towards the garage so he had to have gotten out and looked at it specifically) still baffles me. Meanwhile (of course) a robbery had taken place just one block away (looked at the blotter the next week).
Paid my $10 and put the plate back on.....still sucks though.
Get a doom fix. It is still early. Chase those sunbeams away.
From my CR inspired story "American Apocalypse."
I rolled out of bed and hit the bathroom. I spent a little longer than usual. "Look good - feel good" I figured it gave me a little more of an edge. I brewed up a couple cups of coffee and cleaned my guns. No vest and shotgun for this. We didn't want to present too threatening of an appearance and get their backs up right away. I skipped breakfast. Just in case. I didn't want anything in my stomach. Plus, I usually was hungry afterward. At the last minute I slipped the 1851 Navy in my belt.
MS, we have had cops going through the neighborhood at 3am too. I got a phone call from a police dispatcher at 3:30am telling me my garage door was open and that this was a warning, the next time I would be fined...fined for what? My garage door doesn't close sometimes, so I am inviting someone to come steal and I get fined for it? What next, cops going to check and see if I lock my doors at night? It is frustrating.
MS
Agreed.
There are going to be many, many tickets written for minor, petty offenses coming down the pike as tax revenues dry up.
Here in scenic South Carolina 'they' are hawking the 'move over' law about slowing down or moving over for emergency vehicles.
$300 fine.
gabyjan? said it was $500 in Georgia...
Comrade Scott @ 9:29 - +100 My husband was a school psychologist in Ky for 30 years - every point you made was on the mark. When you are in loco parentis, it's a difficult enough job; when the parents are exhibiting passive aggressive behavior or are non-functional or uncooperative, it's a nightmare. They couldn't pay ME enough to work in the system. Private schools get to cherry-pick, and now with the "vouchers" they get my tax money, too. A pox on them all.
...of course mail delivery is WAY down. The "bulk" of mail delivery is that which pays the bills at the Postal Service; the "Bulk Rate" advertisements and circulars. Bulk rate advertising is one of the first avenues of advertising that is subject to company overhead cuts - especially in today's internet age. As with other parts of the economy, this avenue of business is dying or dead. It would behoove the Postal Service to re-evaluate routes, service levels, delivery days, etc., because that "golden ring" has been stolen - never to be returned.
Not to mention, who writes letters and delivers by "snail-mail" - or sends a check anymore other than the "floaters"?
Shelby County had already laid off 225+ workers (some where reassigned to other areas I think) from its Juvenile Court alone.
When a city lays off 200 people, it catches my eye. When it comes from a single department or "entity" such as the Juv. Court, I'm almost left wondering how far away from the bone some public gov't are.
For the past few months I've seen alot of tickets written and I believe the chances for any dismissal (going forward) is little to nil because of the revenue stream it provides. California is a great example of not really enforcing something until it becomes a problem. I got a ticket for not having a front license plate (truck was parked in my driveway) and it was written at about 3:00am on the last day of the month. Quite what an "officer" was doing in my driveway at that time (truck was facing towards the garage so he had to have gotten out and looked at it specifically) still baffles me. Meanwhile (of course) a robbery had taken place just one block away (looked at the blotter the next week).
Paid my $10 and put the plate back on.....still sucks though.
In my world MS, I would have considered this trespassing on my personal property, $10 or not...if I had my LTC firearms on my person and I noticed someone around my vehicle at 3am I probably would have made a stand.....LEO or not....NO TRESPASSING IS NO TRESPASSING!....your the law....not GOD'S!
Here in CA I expect to see more 'vigilance' as well.
Honestly, the whole enforcement thing is idiotic. A couple of years ago there was a thing where cops were writing tickets for driving through a crosswalk while there was a pedestrian in it. (Which is illegal in theory, but common practice.) Meanwhile I've seen several people crash making illegitimate left turns in front of the coffee shop I frequent, and no non-crash tickets.
On some level, I'd like to see a bunch of people get tickets for doing stuff that slows down traffic - like blocking intersections - but it's not clear to me that it would help traffic.
BSR, there is a home down the street by the entrance to our sub-division that had a "Trespassers will be shot, and if not dead, shot again" sign in the front yard. Police paid a visit about three weeks ago, and the sign is gone now. I tried to ask the guy what happened, but he didn't want to talk about it.
I also got a speeding ticket a few months ago on the 101 right in front of the countrywide building....I was doing 72. He wrote it for 70.......I fought it and won. Anyone who has ever driven any LA freeway knows that is the minimum speed unless you want to get run over.
I guess when it had to be his money on the line he decided against the venture. I'm sure the falling price and demand for oil didn't help, but the thought that he now has to flip 600+ wind turbines in this market is rather funny to me. Amazing how a bad recession can make people look rather... human.
25 year firearms owner, with several certifications...I can more that handle myself.
None the less PERSONAL PROPERTY...is ABOVE anyone laws as far as I am concerend...we have come to a very strange mentality in this country....that the LAW is untouchable and the badge says they can do what ever they want, the LEO is to up hold the laws, not do what them what they want...and entering someones drive way to give them a ticket is taking the law in ones own hands as far as I am concerned, and not what a LEO is paid to do, they are paid to uphold the law...nothing more.
We are borrowing the stimulus money. More stimulus is equivalent to throwing gasoline on the fire. We can't possible pay the debt back... legitimately. The government will use inflation to cheapen the debt. Unfortunately, this will hurt the poor, the working class, and the elderly on fixed income. Reckless government spending is not an American value. Interesting Finance & Economic articles
Stimulus is a joke of a concept; it doesn't end up with real economic growth in the long term. Even the New Deal failed to increase private investment. It wasn't until 1941 that domestic private investment reached 1929 levels. The fact that the first stimulus has failed to stop the bleeding yet isn't surprising. Our government deficit for the year which is over 20% of GDP (when the omnibus bill, first stimulus, bailouts, and on-budget deficit are summed) is unsustainable and something's gotta give, whether it be the lenders or the interest rates.
nemo?
marco....
Mortgage rates have been falling steadily since the 10-yr touched 4.0%. It has fallen to 3.47. The stability of the 10-yr has come at the expense of the stock market.
Note: The increase in 2007 was due to the method used to construct the index: a combination of lender failures, and borrowers filing multiple applications pushed up the index in 2007, even though activity was actually declining.
Another changing of the methodology to make it appear better.
Same old accounting tricks...
OT (but it's still early)
CONsumers, please remove your belt, shoes and prepare to be felt up by a TSA agent before boarding the aircraft...
Meanwhile...
Security Breaches at Federal Buildings - ABC News
Homeland Security is a F*king joke!
Methinks the refis are the cash cow for the big banks, and once everyone who can has refied, they're back to fees and penalties for earnings.
no shit , you don't say statement of the day...
Group of Eight leaders said "Once a recovery is assured, we have agreed on the need to prepare appropriate strategies to reduce the extraordinary measures taken in response to the crisis,” ....
.....said the draft, which was read to reporters by a G-8 official as the leaders gathered in L’Aquila, Italy. The exit strategies “will vary from country to country, depending on domestic economic conditions and public finances and to assure a sustainable recovery in the long term.”
July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Group of Eight leaders said they will delay reversing stimulus measures until an economic recovery is assured and will decide on their own exit strategies individually, according to a draft statement.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The vacancy rate for U.S. apartments reached its highest level in more than 20 years in the second quarter and could soon exceed record highs if the recession persists, real estate research firm Reis Inc said.
The national vacancy rate rose to 7.5 percent, the highest since 1987 and an increase of 1.4 percentage points from last year, according to a report Reis released on Wednesday. The record high was 7.8 percent in 1986.
Renting is just throwing your money away...
Renting is just throwing your money away...
apparently so is paying your mortgage...lol
CR, any chance of getting a simalar graph for the Refi index, would be interesting to compaire side by side with the Purchase index
OT,
Yuan Deposes Dollar on China Border in Sign of Future
Sales using the greenback at Guangxi Jinbei Group, where Huang is vice president, dropped to 30 percent of contracts in 2008 from 87 percent in 2007. The yuan, which has gained 21 percent since it was allowed to strengthen against the dollar starting in 2005, offers greater stability, he said.
“In recent years, the dollar has gone in only one direction and that is down,” said Huang, 45, in his second- floor office in Pingxiang, a town set amongst karst limestone hills and sugar-cane fields in China’s southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from Vietnam. “Settling our orders in yuan removes a major risk.”
China expanded yuan settlement agreements last week from border zones to its largest financial centers, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The program is being rolled out across Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia, all nations seeking to reduce the dollar’s role as the linchpin of world finance and trade.
The central bank first brought up the concept of a supranational currency to replace the greenback in reserves in March. It will sponsor use of the yuan in trade by arranging export tax rebates
Renting is just throwing your money away...
apparently so is paying your mortgage...lol
But not paying your mortgage and staying in your place? Now there's some sound financial advice.
New renting family moved into house next door. (The home has been alternately owner-occupied and rented out for going on 20 years; have had 12 families living there during that time)
Every night, the "man of the family" (some 25 year old guy shacking up with a 40 yr old with teens) goes out in the back yard and starts building a roaring fire in the mini firepit, using various sticks he has collected from the yard. With frequent and liberal doses of lighter fluid, he manages to get that sucker blazing and toasty warm (for about 30 seconds) until he has to repeat the cycle.
I really fear for large segments of the population if they become homeless or have to exhibit any survival skills whatsoever. The general cluelessness is scary.
Doodie,
The USD is too big to fail; don'tcha know?
//snark off//
I wish there was a way to strip out the effects of mortgage rates from that graph to see where aggregate refi appetite is, and not see the data overwhelmed by what's happened to interest rates in the recent past.
Mal,
I'd make sure I had a fully charged fire extinguisher handy.
Sounds like the knuckle dragger next door could light up the whole neighborhood with his 'skillz'.
Jerry,
But not paying your mortgage and staying in your place? Now there's some sound financial advice.
Snark// well its hard enough to remove a tenant from an aprtment, if the banks are running minimum 8 months beofre kickiing out , and that is on top of say 90 days no pay then it's basically live in your mc manison first year Mortgage free... and that is some snarky sound financial advice..
Gnome:
Since December, the People’s Bank of China has provided 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) to Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea through so-called currency swaps, encouraging its use in trade and finance. Russia and China agreed to expand use of the ruble and yuan in bilateral trade on June 17. Brazil and China began studying a similar proposal in May.
BILLIONS...
No way, do a video cam inventory of your valuables and wait for insurance replacement of your burned down neighborhood at last years valuations.
Brigade,
Never had an out of control fire before, eh?
Good luck on replacing a life...
Paper Economy - A US Real Estate Bubble Blog
Weekly graphs of refi and purchase and overall indices.
OT
Nice charts comparing the G-8 countries...
The G8 in numbers |
News |
guardian.co.uk
Pigged from the last thread and Waaay OT:
@Volker
We did just fine before, the state and feds screwed the pooch, jumped the shark and went off on a number of snipe hunts.
I don't doubt that there is a lot of dead weight protected by tenure and overpaid by the unions, but people not in education have a tendency to be blind to a couple of realities that heavily impact public education, and do not impact either private or charters:
Remove those two missions/requirements and return the public schools to the requirements around, say, 1965-1970, and I think you'd be astonished at how much better they'd do than most private schools.
Let's posit that the schools are failed and need to go away, or that teachers should have their pay based on their students' performance (and that is a bit of broken linkage by the way, since it's really not up to just the teacher) - you will see adverse selection among teachers far more extreme than it already is (and you already cannot find science and math people willing to put up with the combat environment for the crappy current pay), and who or what will step in to fill that void? Do you propose we simply lock up all the miscreants? Set aside whether that is good or bad or anything moralistic or idealistic: how is the lock 'em up and toss out the key bit working out for California's budget today?
Really, it may be "coddling" and "pampering" the undeserving, but at the end of the day it turns out that social counselors, rehab and teachers and schools are a hell of a lot cheaper outpatient operations than incarceration and jails...they are the two faces of the same coin. Just because it's 'unfair' that we are burdened economically with this problem of someone else's irresponsibility (lack of birth control, parenting, etc.) does not mean that we can simply pretend the problem does not exist. You can opt for the Latin American walled compound model...but you still have those costs imposed on you, and a whole lot crappier society to live in. The prevalence of walled and gated developments during the bubble suggests that a lot of Americans are opting for the self-isolation segregation model.
Charters are the only serious alternative posed by the anti-teacher's-union/public-school crowd, and now that the evidence is starting to come in, it looks like they don't actually do a whole lot better. I want to hear some serious proposals for actually fixing the problem, beyond just union-busting...and if that's the only proposal, I'd like to see that the prison guards get the same treatment as the teachers.
U.S. Housing Market Is Cursed by Brain Freeze: John F. Wasik
U.S. Housing Market Is Cursed by Brain Freeze: John F. Wasik - Bloomberg.com
Don’t be misled by pundits saying the bottom may be visible in this stultifying decline. The real-estate recession will continue unless a massive brain freeze thaws. Buyers are afraid of purchasing a home at the wrong price while millions of sellers are locked into unrealistic listing prices.
Our brains are telling us it’s painful to price our homes to reflect 20 percent to 50 percent losses in market values. So buyers overprice houses and wait for something to happen.
A myopic, loss-averse view of the market, for example, means listing for $500,000 or more when comparable upscale homes are selling for $400,000 or less. I have seen it in my suburban Chicago neighborhood, where homes have been on the market and unsold for years
There are also influential cerebral centers for optimism and self-confidence. We hang on to properties, falsely believing that prices will rebound to the bubble years of 2005-2006.
Actual market conditions don’t offer much hope, however. “Real house prices have fallen by more than 30 percent from their peaks in 2006, destroying more than $6 trillion in housing wealth,” writes economist Dean Baker in his Housing Market Monitor. “They have been falling at the rate of 2 percent per month thus far in 2009. There is no evidence that this rate of price decline has slowed, much less stopped.”
"NO WAY OUT: Burst of housing bubble has many families wondering how to keep up"
"For years, home ownership has been seen as the surest path of rising into the middle class and the most significant source of savings for many families. So how could it be that buying a single-family home has made so many people in this country worse off?"
NO WAY OUT: Burst of housing bubble has many families wondering how to keep up
True unemployment rate already at 20%
Top Stocks- MSN Money
"John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics specializes in removing these questionable tweaks to the government's statistical data to better align current numbers with the methodology used to gather historical data. After reviewing the data, Williams believes that "the June jobs loss likely exceeded 700,000."
Actually, my brother lit the house on fire pretty effectively when I was just back from Naval Firefighting School by forgetting that he'd left a large pan of oil for scones on high. Everyone got out of the house, I asked my sister what kind of fire it was and put it out with the garden hose before the fire department showed up (the trick is really fine droplets when fighting a grease or oil fire). It was kinda freaky having the ceiling on fire over my head and watching the curtains melt onto my improvised headgear/smoke filter and seeing the studs in the wall glowing with that intense white orange that a really hot fire makes. My mom was happy everyone was safe but not thrilled since I put the fire out fast enough that it wasn't a total replacement.
Big Nothingburger-Let us see how many actually make it to closing......There is a HUGE % that are not making value and that is killing these deals....same with the refi's. I am an appraiser and I can tell you these stats mean SQUAT. The banks have closed the funding spigot and DON'T want to lend to even the BEST borrowers. Problem is that there are very few "quality" borrowers who want to buy in the face of this depression. Those who are stupid enough to buy are the same ones with shoddy credit history and sketchy job data.....
I wish there was a way to strip out the effects of mortgage rates from that graph to see where aggregate refi appetite is, and not see the data overwhelmed by what's happened to interest rates in the recent past.
Heh...I think you'd discover it's all interest-rate driven. Why on earth else do it - the cash out thing seems to be over.
What are you complaining about? If he starts reaching for the red can, the one with the gasoline for the lawn mower, then you've got problems. Otherwise, let live.
I don't think it was home ownership that went awry; but the way in which the purchase was financed.
The problems we are currently facing is the result of a CREDIT bubble.
If we had stayed with the traditional guidelines of mortgage lending; 20% down; 30 year fixed, income/ job/ asset verification; then things would not have gotten to this degree of being FUBAR'd.
But, just about everyone wants something for nothing.
Like driving through West Virginia this last weekend and seeing a roadsign to the effect of:
YOUR tax dollars at work::
Federal Funds 3,000,000 WV funds 30,000
Nice insight into how the majority thinks.
Hey, it's Federal and It's FREE!!!
and maybe, just maybe, handing out credit cards like candy was a bad idea...
Since December, the People’s Bank of China has provided 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) to Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea through so-called currency swaps, encouraging its use in trade and finance. Russia and China agreed to expand use of the ruble and yuan in bilateral trade on June 17. Brazil and China began studying a similar proposal in May.
BILLIONS...
I don't know why folks get all jazzed about stories like this... it is solidly good news - good news if you work & live inside the USA anyway. The more international transactions done in 'native currency' the less likely the big merchantilists can distort the dollar and raise havoc here & abroad. I does suck though for those who live off the export mfg sector in those merchantilist states.
One downside is that because money trades on the forex so easily just because they clear a transaction in yuan or yen or real still doesn't mean they can't then convert the surplus back into dollars to support a de facto peg. It all depends on where those transactions clear at [exchange rates] and are the distorting [pegged].
Regardless - the fact they are moving out of all-dollars-all-the-time is probably the best thing to happen to average working Americans since indoor plumbing.
Remember the MBA index tracks applications, not completed transactions, so comparing eras is difficult.
Nonetheless, Q2 will be a big one for banks reporting refi activity, i believe Fannie and Freddie have already indicated as much. Lot of nice refi fees from that.
fried (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 9:29 am reply Ignore user OT
Nice charts comparing the G-8 countries...
\Fried, looking at the G-* countries stimulus is awesome, what the UK and France have put into stimulating (or lack there of) so far is the same as the billions China has given our asian allies in Yuan.
And it should go without saying that these asian countries dont need the Billions of yaun they got as full stimulus, so they are poised to suceed....
Also, worthy of note, it seems the higher the tax rate the higher the percentage of public debt to GDP, which paralells our own states debt to personal income tax or property taxes...
Yet somehow our leadership blue and red , are still going to successfully convince us this time it will work, this time it will be different...
Stock Building Supply -81
City of Adams, MA -6
Additional layoffs looming for Rockford, IL
Job losses drive consumer delinquencies to record highs
State of Illinois -2,600
Polk County, FL -76
McCoy Corp. (Canada) -10
Motorola -74
State of Pennsylvania -800
Additional layoffs looming at Comair
Bay State Banner -12
City of Tallahassee offering 1,500 workers $13K buyouts
Massive layoffs coming to Air India
Albany Times-Union -35
Layoffs rumored underway at Google
Correct Craft -100
Parker Hannifin Corp. -50
Layoffs loom for Hawaii State employees
Walker Manufacturing temp layoffs -148
Consumer Reports -21
Racemark -36
Mansfield, OH Fire Dept. -20
Sunoco -50
Meridian Automotive -122
Providence Health Care -44
Medtronic -56
DeCrane Aerospace -90
TowerTech -25
IDT -100
World Vision -50
Tellabs -150
ProHealth Care -50
Grand Rapids, MI area schools -45
Bristol Meyers-Squibb -50
VML Co. -28
Shelby County, TN -21
ABB -69
Wyle -80
Layoffs rumored at startup Slide
Untitled Document
-And the July numbers so far look to be ticking up...July will be a big layoff month.
Layoff Tracker:
Layoff Tracker - Forbes.com
Fiduciary,
Agreed. Take a good hard look at where world economies are 7 months into the Obama administration so that you can retain some perspective on just how far down the river the Republicans sold us.
Not only that but you helped to heat-treat the wall mold.
Dum luk,
The Neo Cons are both Red and Blue.
Ever wonder why Reds and Blues are automatically on the ballot but 3rd parties must gather petitions just to get on the ballot?
Does it matter who steals from you, Red or Blue?
dum luk (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 9:42 am replyIgnore userFiduciary,
Agreed. Take a good hard look at where world economies are 7 months into the Obama administration so that you can retain some perspective on just how far down the river the Republicans sold us.
DL,
I think it is beyond Republican democrat now, i think it always was but now it really is transparent. They are all selling us down for the advancement of which ever "friends" the red or blue choose to support.
I think if BHO and congress were different they would not even think about new health care or any thing else including defense spending until they have a plan and start initiatiating some debt reduction.
"we" (collective) are all screwed now... to think BHO , pelosi, or reed will make a edit (positive) change or difference is out the door... along with anyone currently in DC...for that matter
The Neo Cons are both Red and Blue.
Ever wonder why Reds and Blues are automatically on the ballot but 3rd parties must gather petitions just to get on the ballot?
Almost 100% GOP. Haven't been many Dem 'neocons' since Zbignew Brzezinski had any say. 'Blues' have their own demons but that isn't one of them.
dryfly (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 9:37 am
Thanks for and i respect your opinions and insight!
Homegnome,
WRT old timey mortgages, there was a tiome when all banks were local, there were no motgage loan comapnies, and banks didnt sell their loans, there was also a time when only Vet's with Honorable discharges were the only ones who could get 0 down loans.....
It looks like Baltic Dry started drying up again.
Dry,
I respect your opinions but how has Obummer done things much different than the Chimp?
OH, we're out of Iraq, have closed Gitmo, repealed the Patriot Act, are no longer detaining SUSPECTS without charge or trial, no longer wiretapping without warrants, etc.
I try not to judge people on their labels, but by their actions...
and when are you going to brew that beer?
The IMF says things are going to be green and rosy next year. That should be good for incumbents in the 2010 elections:
Lipsky Says ‘Possible’ IMF May Raise Global Economy Forecast - Bloomberg.com
Doodie,
I remember having to dress in my 'sunday best' to go with the folks to get their first mortgage.
My parents were nervous and I remember them wanting to make sure they had all of their paperwork in order.
Hey Doodie....Thnx for the link to Dr. Anne Wortham.......the media would never report on such a person.
Gnome,
Or when if you went to court, even traffic, you dressed appropriately for the court in sunday best, now look...
were shi* to court, but leave in your E300 or range rover, and return to the mcmansion that you havent paid on , even though all your aunts and cousins now rent rooms...
inconceivable....
my pleasure BSR... though its sinful to speak such words or a Waxman says "you" want America to fail....
Doodie,
The one and only time I"ve been in traffic court the guy called ahead of me jumped up and started yelling at the judge.
He got "guilty" in about 30 seconds.
I, on the other hand, was respectful and addressed him as "your Honor" and "sir".
Charges dismissed.
and what is up with people wearing PJs and house slippers in public?
Gnome,
I did the same, dress nice, speak respectfully, appologize for taking the time from the deputy on his or her day off.... always dismissed.
Maybe they dismiss us because they have so many that disresect the court, they do more not as a present for us but to add insult to injury for those clueless masses that are in their PJ's in the first few pews....
U.S. Housing Market Is Cursed by Brain Freeze: John F. Wasik
Don’t be misled by pundits saying the bottom may be visible in this stultifying decline. The real-estate recession will continue unless a massive brain freeze thaws. Buyers are afraid of purchasing a home at the wrong price while millions of sellers are locked into unrealistic listing prices.
too bad they can't ban shorting or you can't set stop losses! snark...
Best way to get rid of brain/margarita freeze is press the toungue up against roof of mouth... the sound is similar to listening to a RE agent discuss green shoots...
Gnome, Doodie -
IMHO by the time that you're in traffic court, there's probably already been a couple of mistakes made.
The one and only time I have been in traffic court, I lost. Working third shift as a computer tech at a University I parked in a reserved space (not reserved from 5pm to 8am). Got off work at 6:00am. Car would not start. Thought it might be the battery. Cop shows up at 6:30am. Can't help me jump my car because it could mess with sensitive equipment. Parks right beside me. Can't radio a tow truck for me after I figure out it is the alternator not the battery, have to go find a phone. Tow truck arrives at 7:55am. At exactly 8:00am the cop writes me a ticket. Took it to court, because I thought this was a little bit over the top. Was respectful, wore nice clothes. Judge didn't want to hear what I had to say, said people like me waste his time, and he raised my fine from 150 to 300 dollars. This was a steep learning experience for me.
Was it a Uni-Cop?
Those are some of the worse PowerTrippers...
Re-post from pigged thread:
@ Volcker - 5:27 am
I am a part time rural carrier - the mail volume is indeed WAAAY down. Our salaries are figured on mail volume and the volume count this March was devastating. Our routes were cut back along with our pay, and things haven't improved much since. so much for green shoots. The mail day following July 4 is usually a bear, what with two or three days of sorted mail coming to us on Monday. This year it was way down, not much more than a normal Monday. July is usually a heavy catalog month, as retailers start gearing up early for Xmas. Not so this year.
The PO has been laying off administrative personnel, there is a hiring freeze on worker bees like us and early retirement has been pushed to the max at all levels. Two years ago I would have recommended a career here, but not now.
Vonbek, judge with an attitude....
Dressing up works...3 dismissals...
evodevo,
Thanks for the front line reporting.
NateTG (profile) wrote on Wed, 7/8/2009 - 10:09 am replyIgnore userGnome, Doodie -
IMHO by the time that you're in traffic court, there's probably already been a couple of mistakes made
by me before court-yes, before me in court, goes without saying....
Yes, it was a uni-cop, and yes he was on a power trip. 6:30 in the morning, in the winter, and he had black sunglasses on. I got that part of the equation, it was the judge I wasn't prepared for, guess I caught him on a bad day.
For the past few months I've seen alot of tickets written and I believe the chances for any dismissal (going forward) is little to nil because of the revenue stream it provides. California is a great example of not really enforcing something until it becomes a problem. I got a ticket for not having a front license plate (truck was parked in my driveway) and it was written at about 3:00am on the last day of the month. Quite what an "officer" was doing in my driveway at that time (truck was facing towards the garage so he had to have gotten out and looked at it specifically) still baffles me. Meanwhile (of course) a robbery had taken place just one block away (looked at the blotter the next week).
Paid my $10 and put the plate back on.....still sucks though.
Ciao
MS
Get a doom fix. It is still early. Chase those sunbeams away.
From my CR inspired story "American Apocalypse."
I rolled out of bed and hit the bathroom. I spent a little longer than usual. "Look good - feel good" I figured it gave me a little more of an edge. I brewed up a couple cups of coffee and cleaned my guns. No vest and shotgun for this. We didn't want to present too threatening of an appearance and get their backs up right away. I skipped breakfast. Just in case. I didn't want anything in my stomach. Plus, I usually was hungry afterward. At the last minute I slipped the 1851 Navy in my belt.
American Apocalypse
MS, we have had cops going through the neighborhood at 3am too. I got a phone call from a police dispatcher at 3:30am telling me my garage door was open and that this was a warning, the next time I would be fined...fined for what? My garage door doesn't close sometimes, so I am inviting someone to come steal and I get fined for it? What next, cops going to check and see if I lock my doors at night? It is frustrating.
MS
Agreed.
There are going to be many, many tickets written for minor, petty offenses coming down the pike as tax revenues dry up.
Here in scenic South Carolina 'they' are hawking the 'move over' law about slowing down or moving over for emergency vehicles.
$300 fine.
gabyjan? said it was $500 in Georgia...
I believe the chances for any dismissal (going forward) is little to nil because of the revenue stream it provides
There's a point where "dressing up" and "being nice" are enabling behaviors.
Comrade Scott @ 9:29 - +100 My husband was a school psychologist in Ky for 30 years - every point you made was on the mark. When you are in loco parentis, it's a difficult enough job; when the parents are exhibiting passive aggressive behavior or are non-functional or uncooperative, it's a nightmare. They couldn't pay ME enough to work in the system. Private schools get to cherry-pick, and now with the "vouchers" they get my tax money, too. A pox on them all.
...of course mail delivery is WAY down. The "bulk" of mail delivery is that which pays the bills at the Postal Service; the "Bulk Rate" advertisements and circulars. Bulk rate advertising is one of the first avenues of advertising that is subject to company overhead cuts - especially in today's internet age. As with other parts of the economy, this avenue of business is dying or dead. It would behoove the Postal Service to re-evaluate routes, service levels, delivery days, etc., because that "golden ring" has been stolen - never to be returned.
Not to mention, who writes letters and delivers by "snail-mail" - or sends a check anymore other than the "floaters"?
Quite what an "officer" was doing in my driveway at that time still baffles me. Meanwhile a robbery had taken place just one block away .
Probably looking for the robber.
Vonbek,
Where do you live?
State?
Right outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Yes, Texas.
Shelby County, TN -21
Shelby County had already laid off 225+ workers (some where reassigned to other areas I think) from its Juvenile Court alone.
When a city lays off 200 people, it catches my eye. When it comes from a single department or "entity" such as the Juv. Court, I'm almost left wondering how far away from the bone some public gov't are.
OT Mail Delivery:
I got a catalog from Cabellas a few days ago.
1400 pages and hardcover.
How much does it cost to ship that SOB?
For the past few months I've seen alot of tickets written and I believe the chances for any dismissal (going forward) is little to nil because of the revenue stream it provides. California is a great example of not really enforcing something until it becomes a problem. I got a ticket for not having a front license plate (truck was parked in my driveway) and it was written at about 3:00am on the last day of the month. Quite what an "officer" was doing in my driveway at that time (truck was facing towards the garage so he had to have gotten out and looked at it specifically) still baffles me. Meanwhile (of course) a robbery had taken place just one block away (looked at the blotter the next week).
Paid my $10 and put the plate back on.....still sucks though.
In my world MS, I would have considered this trespassing on my personal property, $10 or not...if I had my LTC firearms on my person and I noticed someone around my vehicle at 3am I probably would have made a stand.....LEO or not....NO TRESPASSING IS NO TRESPASSING!....your the law....not GOD'S!
Here in CA I expect to see more 'vigilance' as well.
Honestly, the whole enforcement thing is idiotic. A couple of years ago there was a thing where cops were writing tickets for driving through a crosswalk while there was a pedestrian in it. (Which is illegal in theory, but common practice.) Meanwhile I've seen several people crash making illegitimate left turns in front of the coffee shop I frequent, and no non-crash tickets.
On some level, I'd like to see a bunch of people get tickets for doing stuff that slows down traffic - like blocking intersections - but it's not clear to me that it would help traffic.
Beauford T. Justice write that parking ticket?
"Trespassers Found On My Property at Night, Will Be Here In The Morning"
No, the parking ticket was from Huntsville, outside of Houston, decade ago. And it was more like Barney Fife.
shill,
You can be right and dead.
--bh
"Trespassers Found On My Property at Night, Will Be Here In The Morning"
You ever do that for real. You better be on the phone to 911 seconds later.
When they come the only words you better say is "I believed my life, and family were in deadly danger."
DO not talk. They are not your friends.
There's a point where "dressing up" and "being nice" are enabling behaviors
if it "enables" the judge to throw my case out, all the better....
I wore a low cut shirt. To bad I have small pecs.
BSR, there is a home down the street by the entrance to our sub-division that had a "Trespassers will be shot, and if not dead, shot again" sign in the front yard. Police paid a visit about three weeks ago, and the sign is gone now. I tried to ask the guy what happened, but he didn't want to talk about it.
This year, retailers will wait as late as possible to start gearing up their Christmas promotions. I'd say...Labor Day.
I also got a speeding ticket a few months ago on the 101 right in front of the countrywide building....I was doing 72. He wrote it for 70.......I fought it and won. Anyone who has ever driven any LA freeway knows that is the minimum speed unless you want to get run over.
Ciao
MS
yep, 500 dollars. sort of suprised sc is so low got to see if i can find out nc fine.
okay i have decided that from now on there will no more Red or Blue. it will purple. they should like that , the color of royalty.
Hey mal,
Are these folks living next door to you?
Oh dear lord! Bees! - The Something Awful Forums
Purple, I like it, and so true.
"Pickens calls off massive wind farm in Texas"
I guess when it had to be his money on the line he decided against the venture. I'm sure the falling price and demand for oil didn't help, but the thought that he now has to flip 600+ wind turbines in this market is rather funny to me. Amazing how a bad recession can make people look rather... human.
You only get that deluxe catalogue if you are on the list of people who skin their own animals.
Price is no object.
They took away his bee-bee gun.
You only get that deluxe catalogue if you are on the list of people who skin their own animals
I was wondering why I never got one like that. I guess buying squirrel calls keeps me in the 4 page flyer group
All I've ever purchased from Cabellas was a nice $200 Beeman Pellet Rifle and some pellets.
Maybe $300 total.
FBI: U.S. Mortgage Fraud "Rampant" and "Escalating"
Hey I posted that story last night
Guide to beserko pyro neighbors
red can = gasoline
blue can = kerosine
yellow can = paint thinner
shill,
You can be right and dead.
25 year firearms owner, with several certifications...I can more that handle myself.
None the less PERSONAL PROPERTY...is ABOVE anyone laws as far as I am concerend...we have come to a very strange mentality in this country....that the LAW is untouchable and the badge says they can do what ever they want, the LEO is to up hold the laws, not do what them what they want...and entering someones drive way to give them a ticket is taking the law in ones own hands as far as I am concerned, and not what a LEO is paid to do, they are paid to uphold the law...nothing more.
Pull a gun on a cop(even if he's in your bedroom screwing your wife) and you'll be dead or facing jail time within a year.
and what is up with people wearing PJs and house slippers in public?
this co called 'recovery' is artificial
We are borrowing the stimulus money. More stimulus is equivalent to throwing gasoline on the fire. We can't possible pay the debt back... legitimately. The government will use inflation to cheapen the debt. Unfortunately, this will hurt the poor, the working class, and the elderly on fixed income. Reckless government spending is not an American value. Interesting Finance & Economic articles
Stimulus is a joke of a concept; it doesn't end up with real economic growth in the long term. Even the New Deal failed to increase private investment. It wasn't until 1941 that domestic private investment reached 1929 levels. The fact that the first stimulus has failed to stop the bleeding yet isn't surprising. Our government deficit for the year which is over 20% of GDP (when the omnibus bill, first stimulus, bailouts, and on-budget deficit are summed) is unsustainable and something's gotta give, whether it be the lenders or the interest rates.
hat tip to Interesting Finance & Economic articles