We just got a full price offer on the house. It was on the market for about a week.

Can you still buy JOLTS COLA?

Census?

BTW, don't you love when they come out and say "The Census left 330,000 people in east LA uncounted", or something of that sort. Whoever counted those extra 330K should run the census.

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

"I love the BLS."

The 'L' is silent.

:laughing-my-@$$-off:

scone wrote:

We just got a full price offer on the house. It was on the market for about a week.

Located in what general area?

NGBROI wrote:

American politics is more like the WWF.

World Wildlife Fund!? Perhaps you're thinking of the WWE

some investor guy wrote:

Located in what general area?

In Columbia County, Oregon, just NW of Portland.

(Thanks, Yagij, I'll take that as 'congratulations.' )

dr munch wrote:
Whoever counted those extra 330K should run the census.
Ah but there is then the eternal question: Who counts the counters? Can an uncounted counter count himself?

According to the JOLTS report, there were 4.08 million hires in January (SA), and 4.122 million total separations, or 42 thousand net jobs lost. . . .

So net job losses were about 1% of total turnover. I never thought of it that way before.

some investor guy wrote:

Are you going to buy? Rent? Leave town?

She's already in NH. Been there a couple of months now....

scone wrote:

We just got a full price offer on the house. It was on the market for about a week.

Congrats. Love to hear a good story on this board. It balances out the overwhelming negativity.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Whoever counted those extra 330K should run the census.
Ah but there is then the eternal question: Who counts the counters? Can an uncounted counter count himself?

Is ACORN still involved? Maybe they can set those 330k in illicit businesses?

Use to be: "Go West young man" to find a job.

Now it is: "Go offshore or die" if you want your firm to be competitive.

Are these mutually exclusive?

If at all possible involve a most unlikely young white huggy-bear type, as an investigatory pimpernel.

What prompted the move from Ore. to NH?

JP wrote:

What? You're doing it wrong: You need to price it above where you get offers.
(congrats!)

We did price it well, and offered to cover closing costs. Also, we spent money to get it into absolute mint condition. And it is a nice looking, quality building in a better neighborhood. So we had price, looks, and location. The neighbors are going to be pissed, as it was priced below the comps. But we're breaking even, more or less, so I'm o.k. with it. And it's not over until it records, so there's that.

Scone,
The story goes about why New Hampshire people are so dour. They are because they are not thinking how bad next winter is going to be - they are thinking how bad the winters are going to be for the rest of their lives.
Good Luck

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

What prompted the move from Ore. to NH?

A job transfer-- the DH is in one of the compiler groups at Intel, and the rest of his buddies were already here. And I grew up back East, so I wanted to come back. I never really grokked the West. I like NH a lot, and the total tax burden is low.

dilbert dogbert wrote:

they are thinking how bad the winters are going to be for the rest of their lives.

There's always south Georgia. The winters aren't bad, but every Fall when the gnats get horrible, you will wish you did have a bad winter.

Article in the Times this morning talking about the need to 'rebalance to manufacturing'...

Science may be sexy but its attraction is limited - Times Online

A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that politicians’ focus on exciting, high-tech industries will have limited results. There is certainly little chance that large numbers of jobs will be created by fostering green technology or bio-science clusters. “Many policymakers are pinning their hopes today on innovative new sectors such as cleantech as the answer to the challenges of competitiveness, growth and jobs. Yet such sectors are too small to make a difference to economy-wide growth,” says the report

I keep hearing about rebalancing, but like teen abstinence, more appear to be talking about it than actually doing it.

Knowledgeable folks here have linked to charts that tell the story of manufacturing in the US. In a nutshell, manufacturing has remained roughly constant at 12% of GDP, whilst employment has shrunk from 30% down to 10% through automation.

energyecon wrote:

are the myriad Census positions about to be filled among the "Job Openings"?

How far in advance would they start posting census positions? I assume they're counted just like any other opening, but I don't know for sure.

A tale of 2 real estate markets, how does the NH one seem to you?

The weird thing is, I always felt colder in Oregon-- because of the damp. That rain really gets to me. Here, the temps are colder, but it's often sunny, so you feel warm, and it's cheery. The sunshine here is intense, especially when there's snow on the ground. it makes you want to get up and do things. In Oregon, I wanted to hibernate all winter.

noob goldberg wrote:

Superseded by Red Bull. Jolt is for babies.

The healthy alternative is Water Joe.

Almost any surviving sector of the economy had lower employment over time.

Almost any surviving private sector of the economy had lower employment over time.

There sig fixed it for ya.

No need to whip a debt horse.

energyecon wrote:

Haha! That sounds like the joke about Fairbanks, AK where there are just three seasons - last winter, this winter and next winter.

Summer is two months of bad sledding.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

No need to whip a debt horse.

What is "I used to be into sadism, bestiality and bond vigilantism", Alex.

...and no allowed

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence fell in March to its lowest level in a year, as high unemployment and the ways in which the government is using taxpayer money draw mounting apprehension in households, a research group said on Tuesday.

Investor's Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence said their IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index slipped to 45.4 in March from February's reading of 46.8.

“NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010 from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence

Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27% from 20% in 2009.

Confidence in ability to save enough for a comfortable retirement hovered at 16% of respondents, the second lowest point in the 20-year history of the survey.”

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

What is "I used to be into sadism, bestiality and bond vigilantism", Alex.

"I'll take 'The Rapist' for $200, Alex."

"That's 'Therapists', Mr. Connery."

I would freeze into a popsicle if I lived there, but it seems quite reasonable price-wise in NH.

Daily Kos: Simon Johnson's Most Powerful Words Since "The Quiet Coup"

THE MEME: "We saved the economy, but we kind of lost the public doing it."

The harsh realities are that:

1.) pointing to the TARP bailout--which was only the most highly-publicized of more than 20 other taxpayer-funded Wall Street programs--belies the trillions of dollars the government has expended to bailout the fatcats across-the-board; gjohnsit had a great diary about just a handful of these other, 20+ programs, including the most expensive bailout of all (one which is still virtually ignored and/or glossed over by the MSM, even now), just the other day: "The most expensive bailout of all, and no one is talking about it"

2.) approximately half of all Americans simply do NOT have a 401(k) or a pension; the "Wall-Street-is-doing-great" meme simply doesn't resonate with much of our Party's base

3.) we're into the first leg of a crushing commercial real estate downturn

4.) the commercial real estate (CRE) bust will do more to undermine an already-struggling small business environment than most realize, simply because Main Street businesses have always relied upon the mid-sized and small community banks for the lion's share of their credit needs, and these are the same banks that are going to feel the brunt of the CRE meltdown

5.) meanwhile, the residential mortgage meltdown is nowhere near over

6.) the Congressional Budget Office doesn't project unemployment returning to to 2006/2007 levels until 2018, as...

7.) most states' balance sheets are nothing less than a fiasco, already, and they will reach levels--if they're not there already--where draconian budget cuts will become more present by the day, as early as this Summer

8.) concurrent with items #3 through #7, above, the tax base of the majority of our states and countless municipalities is being nothing less than eviscerated

9.) America is the richest nation in history, yet we now have the highest poverty rate in the industrialized world...50 million Americans currently live in poverty.

10.) 50 million people need foodstamps to eat.

there's 32 more points....

As Simon Johnson asks us What's actually been done to make sure this doesn't happen again?

And, the answer is, sadly: NOTHING.

That's your REAL hope and change ladies and gentleman from Pres.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

I would freeze into a popsicle if I lived there...

You'd be surprised. it's been getting into the 50's lately. I got sunburned over the weekend. And it's very, very beautiful.

scone wrote:

I got sunburned over the weekend. And it's very, very beautiful.

Is it the pattern of the tan line? What made your sunburn so beautiful?

Mr Slippery wrote:

Summer is two months of bad sledding.

And mosquitoes the size of starlings-

yagij wrote:

Is it in the tan line? What made your sunburn so beautiful?

Oh dear. I have mangled ze Engleesh as she is spoken. Which reminds me, there's a lot of French influence here, even a French TV channel. Not just Quebecuios, but Huguenots. Surprising geographic factoids for 500, Alex!

Question: Why Bull Moose?

Answer: The Bull Moose Movement is channeling the spirit of the 1912 Bull Moose Party. Formed 100 years ago, the Bull Moose Party, headed by Teddy Roosevelt, ran the strongest third party candidacy in history on a pro-reform, pro-worker, anti-corporate platform.

Question: Is the Bull Moose Movement a third party or a wing of an existing party?

Answer: The Bull Moose Movement is NOT a political party, nor does it intend to be. Our focus is empowering communities through civic education, not getting sucked into the perpetual campaign.

Question: What does getting involved entail?

Answer: Once you join our email list you’ll find about actions and events we are doing across the country and be connected to like-minded folks in your local area?

Question: But what if I live in a cave in the middle of nowhere and think actions are pointless?

Answer: This is 21st century, friend, and there are a lot of ways you can help us online, like leading a policy team. And if you think standing outside a building waving a banner is ineffectual, don’t worry, we are working on fun, creative ways to raise awareness and challenge the powerful institutions that impede progress.

Question: Do you support Barack Obama?

Answer: You mean that socialist, communist, fascist terrorist trying to destroy American values?

Just kidding! We like President Obama just fine, but we will oppose the Obama administration when its policies are dictated by corporate interests, which is, unfortunately, quite often the case.

FAQs « The Bull Moose Movement

adornosghost wrote:

But you can fillet them and fry them up!

Never squashed a mosquito, huh?

43% of American adults have less than $10k for their retirement, how's that gonna work?

They are on the verge of having noting left to lose...

scone wrote:

I got sunburned over the weekend. And it's very, very beautiful.

Do you have a red splotch in the shape of the Virgin Mary?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

43% of American adults have less than $10k for their retirement, how's that gonna work?
They are on the verge of having noting left to lose...

Shouldn't have counted on their home equity to fund their retirement, especially while they were using it as an ATM.....

BTW, closing is 45 days over there. My realtor says it's very busy because of the deadline on the tax credit. So I'd expect there's borrowed demand at work.

Barley wrote:

Use to be: "Go West young man" to find a job.

It is now "Go to Asia young man" to find a job.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

43% of American adults have less than $10k for their retirement, how's that gonna work?

Is this accurate? linky? I thought the median was in the $40k range, not that there is much difference between $10k and $40k when talking about retirement.

Mr Slippery wrote:

Do you have a red splotch in the shape of the Virgin Mary?

Just doing my bit to conserve, during this dreadful noun shortage.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Shouldn't have counted on their home equity to fund their retirement, especially while they were using it as an ATM.....
While you're saying that, they are eying you hungrily, and you note with some degree of trepidation they greatly outnumber you.

And now they're going to want one of these:
Samsung, Panasonic start selling 3-D TVs this week - Yahoo! Finance
As for "trepidation" , I don't think it means what you think it means...

Go back to 8:57

Here's another shocker...

Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27% from 20% in 2009.

Cinco-X wrote:
As for "trepidation" , I don't think it means what you think it means...
You must have no assets or retirement funds, then... A people with nothing to lose has everything to gain from the political process it dominates demographically.

Which is worse - bankers or terrorists wrote:

It is now "Go to Asia young man" to find a job.

Unfortunately, with Asian wages rates, they'd never be able to afford to return. The conventional paradigm for Asians in the past has been to to come here, work hard and save, and then retire to SE Asia in style with USD's in pocket....That too might run into obstacles with upcoming revaluations.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Go back to 8:57

Thanks. I don't normally like time travel, but it worked out this time.

scone wrote:

IIRC, you have to be in contract by April 30. That's the augmented $8000 or $6500 credit thingie. I can't remember the acronym.

I'm looking at a house on Friday. If we do the purchase & sale agreement before April 1st, would we still qualify? Is that "In contract", even if not all of the conditions of the purchase & sale agreement have been met?

yagij wrote:

Which is worse - bankers or terrorists wrote:
It is now "Go to Asia young man" to find a job.
I'm definitely bearish on that sentiment. Granted, my experiences are Japanese in nature, and I wouldn't want to be in that job market at the moment.

They are pumping oil out of the ground where I am...that helps.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

You must have no assets or retirement funds, then..

Apparently I have limited reading comprehension; I read your comment as them looking at me with trepidation, not me noting with trepidation. I stand corrected.

Dryfly,
I sent you a the other day.

Cinco-X wrote:

I sent you a the other day.

I saw it - didn't have a lot to add.

Edit - other than goat cheese is the bomb.

Cinco-X wrote:
Apparently I have limited reading comprehension; I read that as them looking at me with trepidation, not me noting with trepidation. I stand corrected
LOL... misunderstanding understood. Tragedy of the commons ahead, and hungry oldsters with no savings, assets or income have a lot of incentive to make sure they get their entitlements.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Tragedy of the commons ahead, and hungry oldsters with no savings, assets or income have a lot of incentive to make sure they get their entitlements.

Good thing we "oldsters" vote en masse.....

Cinco-X wrote:

Okay; just note that Libertarians do start businesses from time to time......

Extremely few - as many as 'socialists' who start communes. They both would rather talk about it.

Cinco-X wrote:

I hope it's a good problem to have....

Ya its good. I'm trying to schedule the rest of my week now [phone calls in - waiting for call backs] else I'd be out of here again.

dryfly wrote:

Extremely few - as many as 'socialists' who start communes. They both would rather talk about it.

Point taken; my Dad is quite Libertarian, but spent a large portion of his working life as a teacher of state administrator. Maybe that made him highly qualified to b!tch?

scone wrote:

I don't even know who's administering it. Sorry!

No problemo; I'll ask our account if we really get serious...

Mr Slippery wrote:

not that there is much difference between $10k and $40k when talking about retirement.

Yup, which is why I'm not in a large hurry for a job.

I wrote off the idea of retirement several years ago.

I am getting tired of the geekness of the job market, though. When I was in Miami, the hiring morons couldn't ever make a hiring decision, they were too paranoid of making a mistake because they didn't know their job. We interviewed at least forty people of which five or six could easily do the job but nobody had the balls to make a decision.

I see it repeated every month now.

Rob Dawg wrote:

They prefer to be called Millennials.

Not El Grande Baggo Joldoleros?

Cinco-X wrote:

quite Libertarian, but spent a large portion of his working life as a teacher of state administrator

Libertarians can only survive in a protected environment.

Once they're exposed to a free market, they die or evolve.

Witness Mish.

Actually, CR must know all about the tax credit. I'll bet he's analyzed it 6 ways from Sunday. Maybe search the CR archives, or ask him?

broward wrote:

Once they're exposed to a free market, they die or evolve.
Witness Mish.

Is he dying, evolving, or living in a protected environment?

Rob Dawg wrote:

They prefer to be called Millennials.

I prefer "cannon fodder", as does most of the gov't.

About 5 years ago about 10 of us had camped overnight @ Valley of Fire state park after a kayak trip on the Colorado and we woke up to snow on the foothills there. We thought it was interesting until we got to around Jean, and traffic was snarled because of all the snow, so we got off and got a motel room at the casino there. A pretty novel excuse for those that missed work on that Monday was "Sorry, can't make it to work-got snowed in coming back from Vegas".

The desert the next day was magnificent with joshua trees full of snow...

Cinco-X wrote:

Point taken; my Dad is quite Libertarian, but spent a large portion of his working life as a teacher of state administrator. Maybe that made him highly qualified to b!tch?

I've had my phases of both - been a 'socialist' and a 'libertarian' at different times in my past.. all of that back when in college. When I got a full time job & later went into business for myself I became a 'pragmatist' - do what works at the time. One of my biggest revelations was seeing the inside operation of a local 'co-op' run by self-described 'socialists' - it was basically identical in structure & operational practices to a multi-person 'proprietorship' - that is what they would have called it had they been 'capitalists' instead. That was when I came to the conclusion 'if it works - go with it'. I don't have a lot of time for purist libertarians OR socialists anymore - unless they can show me they can do something besides talk. Few have.

Cinco-X wrote:

Is he dying, evolving, or living in a protected environment?

Is he focused on markets or politics now?

noob goldberg wrote:

OTC derivatives at a reasonable price and without the burden of margin requirements.

A time bomb masquerading as an oxymoron.

Cinco-X wrote:
Good thing we "oldsters" vote en masse....
No, I suspect those with assets will vote a lot differently, it just won't matter since you are in the minority too. Everyone will be fair game.

Cinco-X wrote:

57% Predict Health Care Plan Will Hurt The Economy - Rasmussen Reports™

43% Unqualified to Answer.

scone wrote:

There's a search function on the upper right side of the page-- CR, not HCN. It's a google search, so it should return all the references.

Thanx-
xxxxx

OT: Sign of the times?

L.A. Man Stabbed for Asking Woman to Turn Off Phone in Cinema

Rob Dawg wrote:

57% Predict Health Care Plan Will Hurt The Economy - Rasmussen Reports™

43% Unqualified to Answer.

Underlying this concern is a lack of trust in the government numbers. Eighty-one percent (81%) believe it is at least somewhat likely that the health care reform plan will cost more than official estimates. That number includes 66% who say it is very likely that the official projections understate the true cost of the plan.

Just 10% have confidence in the official estimates and say the actual costs are unlikely to be higher.

broward wrote:

Wow. I've never interviewed for a CTO position before.

Broward will be in a position to implement his 35 work wk?

Bulldozed - Elvis, a theme photo for you.

...did he have 3G coverage all over him?

broward wrote:

Son of a bitch.
I just got my physical interview request for a CTO position.
Wow. I've never interviewed for a CTO position before.

First thing. You are interviewing them for the position of CTO employer. Make sure they are qualified.

sm_landlord wrote:

OT: Sign of the times?
L.A. Man Stabbed for Asking Woman to Turn Off Phone in Cinema

Stabbed in the neck with a meat thermometer...typical moviegoer accoutrements...

broward wrote:

Wow. I've never interviewed for a CTO position before.

Cool! Let's all do that baseball thing where they high-five to spread the luck around!

broward wrote:

Son of a bitch.
I just got my physical interview request for a CTO position.
Wow. I've never interviewed for a CTO position before.

Yep, go broward!

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

"I got mine, FU you!"

Real life Survivor makes eating bugs and voting against your fellow man seem enjoyable and leisurely...

yagij wrote:
Real life Survivor makes eating bugs seem enjoyable and leisurely...
Till the hordes decide they deserve your bugs...

The Silver Lining to the Debt Crisis - Up and Down Wall Street Daily - R. Forsyth - Barrons.com

43% Unqualified to Answer.

Hmmm, the same percentage with less than 10K in retirement savings. Coincidence?

Cinco-X wrote:
I thought the 'Greatest Generation" fostered the "narcissist rock-star generation",um..... I mean the Baby Boomer generation.
LOL.. I was slandering my own here, but maybe that works. I just don't see the GG as entitlement generation, to me that's BB to a tee, and X and Y are the narcissist rockstars But to each his own stereotypes, I guess...

yagij wrote:

Real life Survivor makes eating bugs and voting against your fellow man seem enjoyable and leisurely...

Too much .

Antidote toujours:

http://trinixy.ru/pics4/20100309/podborka_80.jpg

poic wrote:
Broward good luck. I would recommend not wearing your leather chaps to the interview though.
Unless it's CTO for an internet pr0n operation, in which case it may get you the advantage.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

LOL.. I was slandering my own here, but maybe that works. I just don't see the GG as entitlement generation, to me that's BB to a tee, and X and Y are the narcissist rockstars

Your point is well taken. I thought the GG was the Entitlement Generation since many if not most were passed between 1930 and 1980 when those folks ran the USG. And the BB was the rock-and-roll generation. Your proposal works as well, perhaps better, since we don't have to slander the GG...

scone did you give marigolds i read that they are a favorite and whats the fish angel? mermaid lady?

broward good luck to you if you want the job.

There's always some hard-up lawyer that will take him on, using his defense of being plied with a 64 oz cup of soda and a lobster pot full of popcorn by the management of the theater, being the reason for the meating of the minds.

Abby Joseph Cohen on CNBS right now. Gotta give GS credit for something - they are loyal. With all the horrible calls she has made over the years, it is a miracle she still keeps her job.

broward wrote:

Son of a bitch.
I just got my physical interview request for a CTO position.
Wow. I've never interviewed for a CTO position before.

Tell them you want a pool table in your office or no deal. That it's where you do your 'best work'...

Broward good luck with the interview.

Remember picture him or her in Underwear and you will do just fine.

...they said the same thing about Roy Cohn

& =

flaminia wrote:

"We're Spending Our Children's Inheritance" bumperstickers.

Nobody gave anything to me; I feel no pity for your children.

The next step down appears to be marked by realization that Argentina has flipped from being worst-case, to not the worst-case anymore.

Auerback/Parenteau: Coming to a Country Near You: Let a dozen Latvias bloom? « naked capitalism

That, dear readers, is the real deal, and it is not being reported or openly discussed. We have seen this movie before in Argentina almost a decade ago. They eventually got out with a massive “external” currency devaluation of 300% and an equally massive swing in the trade balance. But the costs of delay were enormous: from 1998-2001, Argentina suffered its worst recession ever and pushed 42% of its households into poverty.
And not every country can do what Argentina has done. Again, the whole world cannot run trade surpluses, the first mover has an advantage until the second mover moves, etc. Plus, Argentina had an explicit debt repudiation and a 300% “external” devaluation that was timed right with global recovery, hardly the sort of conditions that pertain today

I never thought I'd hear anyone say that 'Argentina timed it right'.

"We're Spending Our Children's Inheritance" bumperstickers.

Saw one of those on the back of a 20 foot 5th wheel that was being towed by a 36 foot long RV, and I think they meant it.

Rob Dawg wrote:

You are interviewing them for the position of CTO employer.

This is so 2005.

Broward, before you answer any question at the interview ask yourself "How would I answer that question on CR"

Just answer the complete opposite and you should be fine.

rb wrote:

This is so 2005.

Maybe, but the Dawg has a point. Many of these positions could be better characterized as "Fall Guy paid with worthless stock".

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:
"We're Spending Our Children's Inheritance" bumperstickers.
Saw one of those on the back of a 20 foot 5th wheel that was being towed by a 36 foot long RV, and I think they meant it.
The new bumpersticker will read "We're Spending Your Childrens' Inheritance" and be driven by government employees.

Does anybody know how common paper money was in circulation in Argentina 10 years ago?

Rob Dawg wrote:
Perhaps he should show up with a squid on his shoulder.
Alive, for bonus points.

poic wrote:

Just answer the complete opposite and you should be fine.

That's kinda how I apply the investment advice here.

scone wrote:

That's kinda how I apply the investment advice here.

Closet bull, huh?

Cinco-X wrote:

Lemme know when Michelle Caruso-Cabrera is on....

Oh come on. For M C-C you can do better .

We caught a little Fox news on tv, and they have this knockout beauty queen reporter and I just want to agree with whatever fair and balanced objectivity she's peddling.

Rob Dawg wrote:

Oh come on. For M C-C you can do better

LOL; You mean I've done better

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:
Our poll found that 35 per cent of younger Canadians, between the ages of 18 and 24, are intending to buy a home due to good real estate prices," Marcia Moffat, RBC's head of home equity financing in Toronto, said Monday.
The national average price for a home was $328,537 in January, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association."
Young, dumb, and full of conundrum..

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

We caught a little Fox news on tv, and they have this knockout beauty queen reporter and I just want to agree with whatever it is she's peddling.

Very talented, isn't she?

I want you all to never forget that when they were first doing the bailout and liquidity programs, they raised giant, mechanical screens in front of the white house, so that the American people couldn't see which bankers were going in or coming out. I want you to tell your children.

OT, small businesses turn to microlenders because of freeze in bank lending With credit still tight, more mom-and-pop businesses turn to microlending - The Boston Globe

energyecon wrote:

Stabbed in the neck with a meat thermometer...typical moviegoer accoutrements...

She just wanted to know what his temperature was. Sometimes it's the only way to know if your meat is rare or not.

sorry, no link.

KBW: GSE Revamp Bill Could Be Impossible

March 8, 2010

Restructuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-and the political compromises that must occur to make it happen-could render the passage of such legislation next to impossible, according to a new report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Commenting on remarks made late last week by Rep. Barney Frank that investors in Fannie/Freddie securities should not assume that their holdings are guaranteed by the Treasury Department, KBW noted that the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee "had a busy day." Treasury quickly issued a statement, reiterating its financial commitment to the two. But in its report, KBW predicts that Democrats will lose more seats in the fall election, forcing Rep. Frank to compromise on GSE legislation next year. Several weeks ago the committee chairman said he wants to start from scratch on revamping the nation's housing finance system. KBW analyst Bruce Gardner notes that the undertaking is "monumental when one considers that such an effort would affect Fannie and Freddie, the capital markets, the banking system, mortgage bankers, mortgage insurers, Realtors, homebuilders and others."

this is for CK.

Saxon Hires Customer Relationship Chief

March 5, 2010

Picture of Stephen Staid Stephen Staid has joined Saxon Mortgage Services Inc., Irving, Texas, as executive vice president of customer relationship management. The Morgan Stanley-owned Saxon is repositioning itself into the residential subservicing space, specializing in distressed asset servicing. In this role, Mr. Staid will be responsible for financial transaction management, early stage delinquency, modification fulfillment, command center, call monitoring and customer service. He also will serve as a member of the Saxon executive committee, reporting directly to chief executive Anthony Meola. Mr. Staid has more than 15 years of mortgage servicing management experience. He specializes in customer service operations and has a deep knowledge of servicing technology.

Scone, haven't been following your cross-country movements; good luck in NH. It is the prettiest place I've ever been. And the sheer small scale of everything is refreshing. I found that all those cliches about small town New England life -- everybody knowing everybody else's business, multi-generational feuds, long contentious selectmen meetings, lots of "characters" -- weren't so far off.

In many ways, those are good things. Hope you enjoy it. The only thing I couldn't wrap my brain around was candle-pin bowling. That's just wrong.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Our poll found that 35 per cent of younger Canadians, between the ages of 18 and 24, are intending to buy a home due to good real estate prices,"

There's never been a better time to be a debt slave.

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

The 'L' is silent.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Why California Is Doomed

That one's a classic.

Bob Dobbs wrote:

The only thing I couldn't wrap my brain around was candle-pin bowling.

Candle-pin is great when you have kids, the little ones often get intimidated by the big ten-pin ball. I miss the candle-pin lanes underneath Fenway Park.

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:

Why California Is Doomed

He makes a great deal of sense to me, he must be wrong.

Chevron restructures refining, cutting 2,000 jobs - MarketWatch

picosec wrote:
I worked on the 2000 census and found it a great experience. Just checked out jobs for this one (not planning to work, just curiosity) and found an interesting metric...the hourly wage variation by region.
LOL... Wow, damn the forces of supply and demand for adjusting to local costs of living anyway. Can't we do something about this?

Bob Dobbs wrote:

Scone, haven't been following your cross-country movements; good luck in NH.

Thanks, I'm really enjoying it here. I grew up partly in Connecticut and Rhode Island, so NH seems familiar. The DH is a Brit, so we just slotted right in. In contrast to Oregon, where we just could not come to grips with the local culture. The West coast and East coast are like different countries.

scone - I'm so happy about your full price offer! That's great! Plus, since the price is below comps, you are not adding to the housing bubble. You are helping someone buy at a more realistic price. Doing your part.

Now. About the NH Chamber of Commerce stuff, shhhh. We don't want those west coast issues resettling here.

ot Solar Industry Learns Lessons in Spanish Sun - NY Times

Outsider wrote:

Now. About the NH Chamber of Commerce stuff, shhhh. We don't want those west coast issues resettling here.

Not a problem, they're afraid of snow. Cold weather filters out "issues."

Congratulations Scone. I am sure that was a relief. A little closure is always good.

Jonathan wrote:

Auerback/Parenteau: Coming to a Country Near You: Let a dozen Latvias bloom? « naked capitalism

I thought this was a great post. There's a lot of "out of sight, out of mind" going on these days. There's a real possibility that one of the countries we've stopped worrying about will pop up to bite us in the ass again.

Jonathan wrote:

I never thought I'd hear anyone say that 'Argentina timed it right'.

Just wow...but can you argue with that observation?!

This will not end well.

Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk to Raise Returns
*But states and other bodies of government are seeking higher returns for their pension funds, to make up for ground lost in the last couple of years and to pay all the benefits promised to present and future retirees. Higher returns come with more risk.

“In effect, they’re going to Las Vegas,” said Frederick E. Rowe, a Dallas investor and the former chairman of the Texas Pension Review Board, which oversees public plans in that state. “Double up to catch up.”*
Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk to Raise Returns - NY Times

scone, don't make the mistake my secretary did. If they try to back out of the contract, don't just let it slide; you need to pursue them like a rabid wolverine, sue sue sue.

Hoopajoops LTD wrote:

If they try to back out of the contract, don't just let it slide; you need to pursue them like a rabid wolverine, sue sue sue.

O.K. But what do I do if they are really nice people who are courteous, diligent, honest, and cooperative?

Rob Dawg wrote:

OT: Insolvent Citigroup stock is again crushing the shorts. hoocoodanode?

Insolvency is good. Exposure to insolvency is even better.

"the bank's debt and equity should benefit from its...international consumer exposure"

Citigroup is 'back in business,' CreditSights says - MarketWatch

"even the bank's bad assets now return over 5%"

Berkowitz: The Worst Is Over For Citi - Yahoo! Finance

scone wrote:

Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
If they try to back out of the contract, don't just let it slide; you need to pursue them like a rabid wolverine, sue sue sue.
O.K. But what do I do if they are really nice people who are courteous, diligent, honest, and cooperative?

Nice people who are courteous, diligent, honest, and cooperative don't enter contracts and then try to back out.

Outsider wrote:

Now. About the NH Chamber of Commerce stuff, shhhh. We don't want those west coast issues resettling here.

Seriously! Inxay!

Tell us about the great redoubling pumpkin again...

dryfly wrote:

Report them at once - they'll promptly be sent to re-education camp.

Just remember WWGSD?
.
If they are still diligent, honest, and cooperative, monetize that expensive position before someone else does!
.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:

If you pass up this opportunity, then someone else will take it, and they'll use the economic strength they get from cannibalizing these people to gain the market leverage needed to destroy your family.

What Hoops said.

They have no choice unless asset holders are willing to accept lowered expectations.

you mean current and future beneficiaries. so far, i've seen four distinct approaches by governments to solve the public fund insolvency issue.

1. cutting current expenses to pay for the shortfall
2. creating tier compensation structures. current employees bind future employees to lower benefits, higher contributions.
3. without cutting current expenses or future benefits, run to other government entities for more funds (e.g. CalPERS)
4. invest in riskier investments, creating higher current returns, but simply kicking the insolvency can down the road when everyone exits their positions (e.g. Yale endowment strategy)

energyecon wrote:

Jonathan wrote:
I never thought I'd hear anyone say that 'Argentina timed it right'.
Just wow...but can you argue with that observation?!

No, it reads like perfect sense. We have the greatest economics laboratory in the world right now. Small countries tied by pegs or common currencies are implementing wage deflation and internal devaluations to become competitive, but instead destroying their living standards and economies.
Our own attempts to devalue the currency and reflate and retool are thwarted by China's peg and firehose of imports.
With bank lending contracting, jobs contracting, wages contracting, tax revenues contracting, we will be forced to cut borrowing, as the rest of the world runs out of money to buy our debt, and perhaps forced to default or at least restructure our debts.

I'd love to be able to say I see a way out of becoming Argentina.

It takes too big to fail to tango...

Anybody want to help pay for this transplant?

"I'll just tell you this," Limbaugh said. "If this passes and it's five years from now and all that stuff [health insurance reform] gets implemented -- I am leaving the country. I'll go to Costa Rica."

Steve Benen replies: The national health care system in Costa Rica is socialized and generally considered the best in Latin America.
Indeed, the World Health Organization ranks Costa Rica's system as slightly better than ours.

fudge_hend wrote:

Things must be turnign around some as that seems fairly high range for Columbia County. I hope you loaded up on the Hopium your neighbor is obviously growing in the back yard.

Well, it's above the median, but that includes places like Vernonia that were hit hard in the flood. The Corp of Engineers re-drew the flood map, and instantly a lot of property in the Nehalem Valley went down. My area is Warren, the next ridge over, and we're on a low plateau, so we didn't flood. It's a pocket of hobby farms and "dog and horse" people. It's nice, actually. I do have a pang of missing it now and then.

I can't understand why my neighbor set his price so high. There's just no way that house it worth nearly half a million. OTOH he doesn't really have to sell, he's just fishing. IMO a lot of the inventory in Warren is like that-- sellers who aren't serious.