If Mortgage Pig is wearing lipstick, does that mean it's a girl pig?

i got pigged again
the only way i know to delete comment is to hit the backspace key all the way.you will have the cursor flashing. go outside the box and left click and that stops comment. if dont want to delete entire just do comment again.

make that: stops cursor.

HomeGnome, thanks for running the BFF pool. Next week I'll enter.

Well, now we know CR's take on the poll (not that I doubted it, since he posts haiku and "now it's Friday" stuff).

Yep I told a client who was current on his mtg and could remain so to walk on
a rental. He got a special assessment for 2k, and tho he could pay it once,
he couldn't do so after that.
400 units. One water bill. Underwater on the water.

That blue bar is getting mighty thick.

Deficiencies.

Once again to smack the mole on its determined head.

They are not asking for deficiencies in Fla. They are a matter
of right, but not being asked for.

There are some short sellers who are being asked to sign notes,
but I will eat my hat if any money is ever collected on those notes.

be really careful its the judasgoat computer leading to buy buy buy buy must get it all.

Basel Too - nice work on the CIT shares! - I'm assuming you closed out your position now

Geez, that is really gambling.

scone's been staring at the mortgage pig too long.

what are some cheap prices people have found in hotels? I saw a few hotels in Waikiki offering $56/night.....in the July, through weekends.

"last year it was 66.8 percent"

And as a YOY it's up against the record high for gas?

Oh, and there are a few flights from LA to Australia for $500 (United). And flights from LA to Asia for $660 (JAL)

Seriously. I started thinking about transgendered people I have known. That pig looks a lot like someone at my church.

"To all the girl-boys scone's loved, before.... who traveled in and out his/her door..."

"To all the girl-boys scone's loved, before.... who traveled in and out his/her door..." - YTL

That's interesting- where does it come from? However, full disclosure, I am a girl. A DNA girl. At least, I think so!

@lama

Which deal?

@Yearning to Learn

Wow nice find....that's a very historical hotel.

Could I see a baltic Index overlay here to show an apples to oranges relationship between travel and shipping and fuel costs?

quick lunch break, I mentioned the rat populations growing before, but if this is true, just sad...
Louisiana Infant Found Dead in Crib With 100 Small Animal Bites

Australia flights.
One thing I don't need are free hotels. My largest portfolio holding is Marriott Reward Points (which are now getting killed in exchange rates vs the USD).

Thanks,

I'm positive other thread heads must have been all over the Comex stating it will substitute GLD ETF shares in lieu of delivery of the commodity.

"Comex has asserted their right under their rules to deliver the equivalent paper interest in Exchange Traded Funds such as GLD in lieu of the delivery of physical bullion for those standing for delivery under the rules of the commodity exchange."

This is a default in my book. No one can prove GLD has any gold because it's custodians are all leasing it out.The audits are a sham. The whole ETF is a sham.

Jesse's Café Américain: Paper, Scissors, Gold 

Owning GLD Can Be Hazardous to Your Wealth | Best Way To Invest

Imagine the fallout in all the other gambling ETFs if the GLD ETF blows up.

...it's viewer's to stop sending nasty emails to them. - ms

Yes, I can see that. The Aussies have been on a roll for a while, and they are very proud of the fact. However, they do sell their stuff in other places, and they have been doing some infrastructure work domestically, eg. roads. The population is very small compared to the size of the country, and lots of places don't have much of anything, roads, sewers, internet, etc. Some of it has not been completely mapped, even. Very much a frontier feel once you get out of the coastal cities.

Hello, Kermit!

Scrooge McDuck -

nice brunch spot: "Just For You" over in dogpatch.

Or Boogaloos (sp?) on Valencia. If you can stand hipsters.

@lama

Quantas: $499 RT LAX to melbourne

Cheap International Airline Tickets, International Flights, International Flight Deals - vayama

And in other news, Portland's housing inventory (for sale) has dropped to 8.2 months.

Portland Oregon Real Estate Blog: Inventory At Lowest Level Since 2007

"Could there be other explanations, such as better teleconferencing technology?"

That's not what's happening. I have personally never seen video teleconferencing equipment anywhere except in or on the cabinets, unplugged and unused.

Why do I have a feeling that many large players wrote a ton of July puts with the objective of propping up the markets until today and recapitalizing our financial system by crushing the bears/shorts/realists??

Anyway, they can't keep this pig floating much longer. Collapse within 3 months.

"That's interesting- where does it come from?"

One of the most famous country songs ever.
YouTube -

"That's not what's happening. I have personally never seen video teleconferencing equipment anywhere except in or on the cabinets, unplugged and unused."

My workplace has a fancy full-wall system that we use to telecon w/ the london office. We use it maybe 2-3x a week.

Still didn't prevent me from doing a 4 month stint in London

Thanks, MS. If you want any recommendations for LA/Honolulu, let me know.

One of the most famous country songs ever. - NTG

Willie Nelson used to play at the Goble Tavern, in my county, back when he was getting started and the Goble was a very rough road house.

Scrooge,

yelp.com is handy for finding decent eats in SF near where ever you are. Some of the reviews are suspect, but mostly it is useful. Good luck!

oh, they have a nice iphone version too.

@BURN

Thanks! Actually, I use chowhound.com (because yelp reviews are sometimes suspect)

A little bit of table porn and chart porn for BFF....from the FDIC.

Insurance Fund Balances and Selected Indicators:

FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile 

DIF Reserve Ratios:

FDIC: Quarterly Banking Profile

This data is as of March 31, 2009....

yelp is great is you think that the world is populated by 18-25 year old "hotties" that do nothing but review things all day....

Ciao
MS

Burn,
Sure, there are many companies that use it, but as a percentage, not many. Both parties have to use it as well, so it's probably used more for inter-office instead of inter-company. Also, the migration over to it has been methodical and slow.
Is yours used between different companies?

Good points. Ours is inter-office. I don't think I've ever seen or heard of inter-company teleconferencing other than webex crap.

Pasta Paradiso at the corner Spear and Howard right near the waterfront is very good quality/value for the price point down there. $10 gets you a very nice dish. Can't beat it for the prices down there. Try to get there by around 11:30am to beat the rush.

There's also a Taylor's burger joint in the Ferry Building. I've never been to that one but the one up in St. Helena is very good.
Slanted Door has moved into the Ferry Building. Not as good as before it moved but their Shaking Beef is very good. Really put Vietnamese high-end cuisine on the map.

BTW If you are interested in Chinese food you will really get the best dim-sum restaurants in the suburbs. Santa Clara, Milpitas, Fremont etc..

Re: NASA does use teleconferencing all the time.

Why send people on trips to hotels to eat and drink and party when virtually everything can be done on-line? It's a waste of revenue to burn cash on travel trips!

I wrote a time line of the events of the past couple of years for a story I am writing.It is amazing actually. A lot of bad stuff has happened in a short period of time. I don't step back very often to view the damage already done. Anyone who thinks there is going to be recovery soon is delusional.

Intel and some of the other tech companies have almost eliminated business travel, going to laptop meetings. My husband sometimes takes meetings from home, talking to people in Russia, New Hampshire, CA, etc. You almost have to do it because of the time differences in the various teams posted around the world.

Sometimes you do have to go there.

But sometimes not.

"One last thought, why send a jet load of people 300 miles away to watch a powerpoint presentation in a room that needs rented, then lunch, dinner, and what, what the friggn hell gets done at a hotel that can't be done from a home?"

what fun is that? employees have come to expect trips overseas with meals at frighteningly expensive City of London sushi joints and carousing at overpriced pubs. Even lowly programmers like myself.

We switched to online meetings for a lot of our project discussions. It was ok. I surfed CR during them. Then they became a lot more often and started lasting 3 hours. I ignore the meeting notices now most of the time. No one seems to have noticed. That could be bad or it could be good. I am not sure.

I don't know about everyone else but I wouldn't travel at all if it weren't for business trips. I simply can't afford it.

Got to go San Diego this year. It was great.

I'm getting impatient waiting for this big 2nd crash. Will it happen? I've got cash to deploy if/when it does. But I'm afraid tons of other people do too, and the crash will never materialize. Just a long, slow slog downward while people's capital gets slowly eroded away.

But I'm afraid tons of other people do too, and the crash will never materialize. Just a long, slow slog downward while people's capital gets slowly eroded away. - B

Bingo! "Give that man a cigar or coconut, according to choice." - P.G. Wodehouse

Ok, so somebody ask for their gold & see.

rapunzel (profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 10:53 am

The 3star of the Comfort, Hampton, Fairfield Inn type not coming down in price yet.

They are for short stays in the higher end rooms. This is where I store my family. [Too many rugrats fer a simple room, too much independence for two rooms.]
Anyway, The last Hampton I stayed in (mid Jun) was every other room just north of Boston. The extended stay in Montreal had similar occupancy. The pricing on the margin is indeed deteriorating.

Ok, so somebody ask for their gold & see.

I don't do Comex trades for this very reason. If you can't hold it, you don't own it.

lawyer-

people have been and there is a big deal about how they are not getting the bars with the correct serial number's (that Comex has stated they own in storage for them) At some point when enough people do request delivery then they will have a big problem. Has not happened yet.....

Ciao
MS

Well then, blackjack.

Really, I suspect that outside of SO concerns, one is more inclined to participate in risky behavior when far from home.

Comments from our Vice President:

Vice President Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’

We are back into subprime!

Hookers and blow.

you can do that at home

No, the wife gets really mad. - nova

That's very naughty. You should share your toys.

Hey, Gnome, I came late to the party.

May I have 8, please.

wrote a time line of the events of the past couple of years for a story I am writing.It is amazing actually. A lot of bad stuff has happened in a short period of time. I don't step back very often to view the damage already done. Anyone who thinks there is going to be recovery soon is delusional.

Kind of like the frog-in-water thing. You don't realize how much trauma there has been until you step back and see the bigger picture.

At one point in my life, I took some quiz evaluating stress factors in one's life. It was shocking to see on paper that I had been through 5 or so of the most stressful events a human can, all in a year or so. I felt like I was coping fine, but it was a wake up call.

The only kind of physical gold that makes any kind of sense is small denomination gold coins. When the time comes and you you need your gold what exactly are you going to purchase with a 100oz gold bar?

"When the time comes and you you need your gold what exactly are you going to purchase with a 100oz gold bar? "

California.

bearly
i might be wrong but wasnt gs and jpm present at both bs and leh?

"what exactly are you going to purchase with a 100oz gold bar?"

Kalifornia?

100 oz of anything is impractical. Either do 1oz or 10 oz bars.....coins are ok I suppose but when you buy them you are paying a premium for whatever is stamped on it....and face it, if you need them for barter no one is going care about that damn maple leaf or panda that's on it..IMO

Ciao
MS

"How do you get a reacharound to the treasury if they say no at first ? EASY! Get GS & JPM on board first!!"

Seems the best plan would be to go to the boss in the first place.

"If you are at all interested in gxxd, why would you buy paper?
so people are starting to want to take delivery, hunh?"

I have no idea what is going to go down. Something will or it won't. Meanwhile we have collapse. I think there was a major catharsis among the first viewers of the collapse, namely economics blog readers, that the whole country is due to experience. My denial lasted for months. Our way of life is not sustainable and we have a culture of denial. Big changes are coming because we have pump failure in our inflated economy.

The implications of important things get lost when diffused by an infinite soup of other things. Then big changes appear "all of a sudden". No, the realization occurs all of a sudden. The changes were already there.

Marshall McCluhan said understand the future by looking around you right now. You are in the future. This is so because perception lags reality.

My brain says substituting paper GLD garbage shares for the actual metal, for which they sold contracts, is a default no matter how many ways you rename, legalize or formalize it.

Imagine if this was done with cars.

But boo! who cares. In the larger scheme of things we are facing currency default in some form or another. The particulars will unfold in strange and unpredictable directions but the story ends in the same place. Th major drop in wealth coming will catch many people totally in denial. They aren't going to care about this conspiracy of that one afterward.

The only thing that keeps the ETF close to the underlying value is that shares can be exchanged for the underlying basket (in GLD case, gold). To keep admin costs down, they make you exchange big numbers (like 50000 shares.) You can also create shares the same way.

So if comex delivers GLD, the right thing to do is exchange GLD for gold. Doesn't help the bit players tho.

full disclosure: I haven't read GLD prospectus, so I don't know what restrictions they put on the exchange for metal.

RockyR (profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 11:17 am replyIgnore userwhy is cit rallying?

Just a guess... CNBC?
Or a blind gamble on a weekend bailout because it's just so darn cheap. Like when when BAC was under $3.
Or perhaps the gamble isn't so blind...
Or what JP said.

BFF = 0, they will grade on a curve.

"no one is going care about that damn maple leaf or panda that's on it..IMO"

Well that stamp signifies a recognizable quantity and quality. And I agree with Otis, the only reason to go PM is the hedge against TEOWAWKI/Mad Max. Otherewise, a nice mix of commodities is a better inflation hedge and not as subject to manipulation.

" scone (profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 1:27 pm

"To all the girl-boys scone's loved, before.... who traveled in and out his/her door..." - YTL

That's interesting- where does it come from? However, full disclosure, I am a girl. A DNA girl. At least, I think so! Smile"

Take the test:
SparkLife

BTW, it's from a Willie Nelson song

@JP,

You can't convert GLD shares to physical. It is clear in the prospectus. There is also no guarantee that GLD holds enough physical to match the shares sold.

They supposedly buy/sell as needed to resolve changes, but in no case can you convert GLD to the real thing.

I took that test before. I am a transgender panda.

1. Sell glod shares.
2. Get money.
3. Buy glod.

There.

"sort of tells you what they were used for......"

Business meetings?

Joanna--ken has graciously provided a icon.

Oh yeah! Wine tonight for sure.

I'm still getting used to the "new" comments regime, and haven't explored the smileys yet.

My co-workers call me Stormcrow....how cute of them

Little blip on the COMEX deal by Jesse at Jesse's Cafe Americain

Jesse's Café Américain: Paper, Scissors, Gold

Is GLD really the same as physical bullion?

"...it appears that a lot of investors believe and trust that investing in GLD is the same thing as buying physical gold bullion. A close reading and analysis of the GLD Prospectus, however, reveals that investing in GLD is drastically different from owning gold. This analysis will show why GLD is nothing more than another form of a derivative security which is loaded with counter-party default risk."
Owning GLD Can Be Hazardous to Your Wealth

Here is a recent statement from Dennis Gartman who most often derides those he calls 'goldbugs.'
"To finish, we do agree that recent decisions to allow for the "delivery" of ETF shares in the stead of actual physical gold against a futures position does cause us some concern. Indeed, it causes us some very real concern, for if we stand for delivery of wheat we expect to receive wheat, not paper. The same holds true for delivery processes on the COMEX, and if GATA and the "Bugs" have a complaint it is this new decision by the COMEX. On this, we’ll grant that the "Bugs" have something to complain about." Dennis Gartman in The Gartman Letter

Good thing A-Rod is making $25M per year...

New York Yankee Alexander Rodriguez cuts the price of his mansion in Coral Gables, Fla., to $9.9 million from $14.9 million. If a buyer doesn’t surface, Mr. Rodriguez is willing to rent out the home for $25,000 a month. He and his estranged wife, Cynthia, paid $12 million for the home in 2004.

Out of curiousity...anyone here use Eurostat data? That site has managed to give me possibly the worst headache Ive ever had.

" scone (profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 2:11 pm

Hookers and blow.

you can do that at home

No, the wife gets really mad. - nova

That's very naughty. You should share your toys."

Nova doesn't want THAT kind of three-some

Hey Scone!
Critters are doing great. We're honing the farm down to the best return for lowest input. I love it!

I made it through a major shakeup at the Uni, so a bit more time to peek at CR, especially on BFF.

" nova (homepage, profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 2:25 pm

I took that test before. I am a transgender panda."

Well.....then maybe you DO want that kind of three-some

[bearly
i might be wrong but wasnt gs and jpm present at both bs and leh? ]

Of course! That's how the treasury got on board. Works like a charm.

" scone (profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 2:28 pm

@ cinco - it won't let me unless I register"

Make up a dummy address at rocketmail.com, register, and take the test. Piece of cake. I'll bet you'd a dude. Strong independent women often score that way.

Coinz, I'm not sure you're correct. Creation and redemption of shares is covered starting on pg 25 here. Indeed, without some exchange with the underlying security, all ETFs are worthless.

BTW: It looks like shares can only be created and redeemed in 100,000 share quantities, and you have to have a "Bullion Account". So like I said, bit players not welcome.

From FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile

Number of FDIC reporting banks has dropped from 8790 in 2006 to 8256 in 2008. Where did all of those 734 banks go? They didn't all fail. Is there that much M&A activity?

" Blackhalo (homepage, profile) wrote on Fri, 7/17/2009 - 2:34 pm

"if we'd let the S&L fail during or right after the Carter administration"

Carter? Had the S&Ls even been deregulated at that time?"

Their economic problems started then. Reagan "solved" the problem by deregulating them so that they could "grow their way" out of it. In hindsight, a really bad idea, even from a free market perspective.

BTW, their problems were essentially cause by holding mortgages at 6% funded with money borrowed (from their members) at 18% under Volker.

Some of the ETF's I've seen are nothing more than a very few sector based shares and the rest is tied to T-notes. There was one technology one (can't recall the symbol) that had 10% in one stock-and it was supposed to be sector based and the rest in medium term T-notes. But you wouldn't know that unless you read the prospectus.

Ciao
MS

CR what does BFF stand for. Thank you.

Nincompoop, you could mouse over for the glossary.

"Some of the ETF's I've seen are nothing more than a very few sector based shares and the rest is tied to T-notes. There was one technology one (can't recall the symbol) that had 10% in one stock-and it was supposed to be sector based and the rest in medium term T-notes. But you wouldn't know that unless you read the prospectus.
Ciao
MS"

Which is exactly why my safe money is in CDs and short-term Treasuries via treasurydirect.

You would be amazed what sort of dreck is in many "safe" etfs/mutual funds if you look at the prospectus.

"Ha...EVERYTHING is manipulated."

But everything at once, seems harder to achieve. For PM's, the physical in hand, is the way to go IMHO. Otherwise, I doubt it outperforms a basket of commodities. Still, as others have posted in TEOWAWKI/Mad Max, I doubt it outperforms lead and cold blue steel.

Still, as others have posted in TEOWAWKI/Mad Max, I doubt it outperforms lead and cold blue steel.

WHich is why diversification is important, even in metals....

Otishertz,

which one?

You know, I bet CIT does not fail. I think GS and the last big Ibanks have successfully transitioned to the new prebailout strategy.

First, Pick a financial institution that is in trouble. Short stock and bonds big time to create an aura of failure.

Second, start selling massive amounts of CDS insurance and puts that are very low.

Third, quietly cover the stock and bond shorts. Sell more CDS to the hedge funds looking for easy money.

Fourth, white knight time providing capital (already skinned out of the buyers of CDS and puts) to the target company.

Fifth, laugh all the way to the payout counter, having skinned the smart money again, and doing the Fed's bidding by propping up companies that are almost TBTF.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

GS's new profit model.

Someday this war's gonna end...

blackhalo
limits extended to dec 2013 then drop back to 100k

homegnome
bet he didnt have any trouble with disclaimer tho why with that 666 on the end told everyone that wasnt gs

The irony is killing me!!
Right now I am checking in archive copies of congressional hearings re: market risk, regulation, monetary policy, etc. from '08 Awful! All the hot air and nonsense, and here we are.....

Indeed, it causes us some very real concern, for if we stand for delivery of wheat we expect to receive wheat, not paper.

I know exactly what he means.

One of our local pizza places brings broken pieces of baked pizza dough to the table as a free appetizer. (Sounds silly, but with a bit of garlic and some oil it's not bad.) One day I bit into my piece of dough and found myself chewing on a brown paper napkin that had somehow been baked into the pizza crust. It was exactly the same color as the toasted dough--I could see why they didn't notice it once it had fallen in.

But as the man says, I expected to receive wheat, not paper.

"If true there's no saving the world economy. The knee jerk reaction is to think gold skyrockets but I'm thinking the opposite. There would be people looking for their gold and 200x people who would see their entire net worth wiped out plus. Calvinomics will prevail."

That was my thought initially. That a collapse in GLD would be mistaken, or programmed into the media feed, as signaling investor sentiment in the metal when really it was fraud or excessive supply of "shares".

The destruction of GLD investors could turn sentiment against the metal. The wild card is what happens if currency default triggers the comex run that triggers substitution of GLD raffle tickets.

Report: CIT in Talks for DIP Financing

"will it cause

a) GLD to crater, as people get afraid and bail, or

b) GLD to sky, as it becomes scarce, and therefore (even more) decoupled from the metal?"

GLD and SLV sell at a discount to their NAV.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2DePAZe2gA/SldgC1gAXRI/AAAAAAAAJX8/H2R8MDYfJcY/s1600-h/nav.PNG