Yep. That's what I thought it was but I didn't see where you stated that.
I think maybe Wall Street discovered the 3+% jump in GDP was all government spending related and therefore of minimum help to the economy. Consumers are still holding back since they are worried about no jobs being created.
Gonna get uglier.
Gonna get uglier.
how does this work? theyre paying taxes on the gains and not the full price of the stock, right?
it's the difference between the purchase price and the sale price
thats what I thought. so how do you pay so much taxes on the gains that you lose money overall? I could see in extreme long term investments where the price of the stock goes from $2 to $50 over the course of decades, but 401(k)s have tax deferments for that, right?
oh, and Moonpie, your mother's dentures are broken and sharp and leaving scars. I dont have the heart... you tell her, k?
Keep in mind, 401(k)s/qualified money arent the only investment vehicles out there, and most older and sophisticated (see Rich) investors have a large sum of Non-qualified money as well.
And yes, more people than you think have had stocks for decades that have increase 40-50 more dollars per share.
Scenario:
Investor buys 5,000 shares ABC stock at $1 per share in 1950.
ABC stock price today is $45.00.
(5,000 * $45) - (5,000 * $1) = $220,000
$220,000 * 15% = $33,000 tax bill
Would you want to send the federal government $33,000? Most people would rather hold on to it and let the estate or their kids handle it. Sad but true.
And yes, more people than you think have had stocks for decades that have increase 40-50 more dollars per share.
Scenario:
Investor buys 5,000 shares ABC stock at $1 per share in 1950.
ABC stock price today is $45.00.
(5,000 * $45) - (5,000 * $1) = $220,000
$220,000 * 15% = $33,000 tax bill
Would you want to send the federal government $33,000? Most people would rather hold on to it and let the estate or their kids handle it. Sad but true.
Would you want to send the federal government $33,000? Most people would rather hold on to it and let the estate or their kids handle it. Sad but true.
I know, but if they retire and set up their accounts to cash out investments gradually, then it would be like paying normal income tax, which if retired is basically what it is. It would help if, say, gains were indexed for inflation (what is $5K in 1950 dollars today? tax based on that), but I dont think that oversight makes the system unfair. The returns are still far higher than holding cash or opening some low-yield, zero-risk account like a savings acct or CD.
Or you can gift the stock and eliminate the tax bill.
If you own $50,000 worth of Coke stock that you purchased for $5 - $10 a share and have had for 30 years. and you want to eliminate the tax bill but still keep the stock you give it to your Church or a charity and buy it back at the current price.
Example: You want to give $5,000 to your Church. Coke is trading at $50 a share. You give 100 shares to your Church to equal the $5,000 and you designate that the oldest shares you own are the ones you are giving. You get a $5000 tax deduction and the Church has no tax bill.
Then you take the $5,000 and buy the 100 shares back. The new basis for the stock is $50 a share.
If you own $50,000 worth of Coke stock that you purchased for $5 - $10 a share and have had for 30 years. and you want to eliminate the tax bill but still keep the stock you give it to your Church or a charity and buy it back at the current price.
Example: You want to give $5,000 to your Church. Coke is trading at $50 a share. You give 100 shares to your Church to equal the $5,000 and you designate that the oldest shares you own are the ones you are giving. You get a $5000 tax deduction and the Church has no tax bill.
Then you take the $5,000 and buy the 100 shares back. The new basis for the stock is $50 a share.
Caz1982 said:
oh, and Moonpie, your mother's dentures are broken and sharp and leaving scars. I dont have the heart... you tell her, k?
oh, and Moonpie, your mother's dentures are broken and sharp and leaving scars. I dont have the heart... you tell her, k?
You're a cute kid. What are you going out as this Halloween? Might I suggest you tuck some toilet paper in your collar and go as a dingle berry.
Moonpie, tell us what it was like when you saw your first horseless carriage!
and how long did it take you to get used to the electric lightbulb?
and how long did it take you to get used to the electric lightbulb?
you still have to give the pastor a cut, and probably some hush money for the old widow parishioner who hasnt been laid since the Carter administration and just wants to fuck up your life.
Which brings the conversation back to your mom, of course...
Which brings the conversation back to your mom, of course...
Isn't it close to your bedtime Caz?
Run along now.
And Beestinga..............you know.
Run along now.
And Beestinga..............you know.
an hour and a half, just for that?
Hey, I'm home now son.
Get off my lawn.
Get off my lawn.
/goes to fetch a paper sack of dogshit and a lighter...
CIT Group Files for Bankruptcy Protection
(AP) After struggling for months to avert bankruptcy, lender CIT Group has filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of mid-sized and small businesses.
CIT made the filing in New York bankruptcy court Sunday, after a debt-exchange offer to bondholders failed. CIT said in a statement that its bondholders overwhelmingly opted for a prepackaged reorganization plan which will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to continue to do business.
The bankrupcty protection filing is one of the biggest in U.S. corporate history, following Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, WorldCom and General Motors. CIT's bankruptcy filing shows $71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of $64.9 billion.
...
CIT's move will wipe out current holders of its common and preferred stock. That means the U.S. government will likely lose the $2.3 billion it sunk into CIT last year in return for preferred shares to prop up the ailing company. The government could have lost billions more, however, had it not declined to hand over more aid to the company earlier this year.
...
Top 10 bankruptcies in U.S. history
CIT Group's filing for Chapter 11 protection is the fifth-largest in U.S. history. Here are the top 10 U.S. bankruptcy filings, based on the companies' most recent annual report before filing for bankruptcy protection, according to BankruptcyData.com.
(Company, Bankruptcy Date, Assets)
-Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Sept. 15, 2008, $691.06 billion
-Washington Mutual Inc., Sept. 26, 2008, $327.91 billion
-WorldCom Inc., July 21, 2002, $103.91 billion
-General Motors Corp., June 1, 2009, $91.05 billion-x
-CIT Group Inc., Nov. 1, 2009, $71 billion
-Enron Corp., Dec. 2, 2001, $65.50 billion
-Conseco Inc., Dec. 17, 2002, $61.39 billion
-Chrysler LLC, April 30, 2009, $39.30 billion
-Thornburg Mortgage Inc., May 1, 2009, $36.52 billion
-Pacific Gas and Electric Co., April 6, 2001, $36.15 billion
x-GM listed $91.05 billion in assets in its annual report as of Dec. 31, 2008, but listed $82.29 billion in assets as of March 31, 2009, in its bankruptcy petition.
(AP) After struggling for months to avert bankruptcy, lender CIT Group has filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of mid-sized and small businesses.
CIT made the filing in New York bankruptcy court Sunday, after a debt-exchange offer to bondholders failed. CIT said in a statement that its bondholders overwhelmingly opted for a prepackaged reorganization plan which will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to continue to do business.
The bankrupcty protection filing is one of the biggest in U.S. corporate history, following Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, WorldCom and General Motors. CIT's bankruptcy filing shows $71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of $64.9 billion.
...
CIT's move will wipe out current holders of its common and preferred stock. That means the U.S. government will likely lose the $2.3 billion it sunk into CIT last year in return for preferred shares to prop up the ailing company. The government could have lost billions more, however, had it not declined to hand over more aid to the company earlier this year.
...
Top 10 bankruptcies in U.S. history
CIT Group's filing for Chapter 11 protection is the fifth-largest in U.S. history. Here are the top 10 U.S. bankruptcy filings, based on the companies' most recent annual report before filing for bankruptcy protection, according to BankruptcyData.com.
(Company, Bankruptcy Date, Assets)
-Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Sept. 15, 2008, $691.06 billion
-Washington Mutual Inc., Sept. 26, 2008, $327.91 billion
-WorldCom Inc., July 21, 2002, $103.91 billion
-General Motors Corp., June 1, 2009, $91.05 billion-x
-CIT Group Inc., Nov. 1, 2009, $71 billion
-Enron Corp., Dec. 2, 2001, $65.50 billion
-Conseco Inc., Dec. 17, 2002, $61.39 billion
-Chrysler LLC, April 30, 2009, $39.30 billion
-Thornburg Mortgage Inc., May 1, 2009, $36.52 billion
-Pacific Gas and Electric Co., April 6, 2001, $36.15 billion
x-GM listed $91.05 billion in assets in its annual report as of Dec. 31, 2008, but listed $82.29 billion in assets as of March 31, 2009, in its bankruptcy petition.
wow, bear sterns didnt even make the list?
nvm, forgot JPM bought em out.
-Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fiscal crimes
-Washington Mutual Inc., greenspan housing bubble
-WorldCom Inc., fiscal crimes
-General Motors Corp., suv crimes and expensive healthcare insurance
-CIT Group Inc., Nov. 1, 2009 greenspan housing bubble maybe
-Enron Corp., Dec. 2, 2001,fiscal crimes, take the money andrun
-Conseco Inc., have no idea
-Chrysler LLC, bad car crimes and expensive healthcare insurance
-Thornburg Mortgage Inc., greenspan housing bubble
-Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Enron crimes
-Washington Mutual Inc., greenspan housing bubble
-WorldCom Inc., fiscal crimes
-General Motors Corp., suv crimes and expensive healthcare insurance
-CIT Group Inc., Nov. 1, 2009 greenspan housing bubble maybe
-Enron Corp., Dec. 2, 2001,fiscal crimes, take the money andrun
-Conseco Inc., have no idea
-Chrysler LLC, bad car crimes and expensive healthcare insurance
-Thornburg Mortgage Inc., greenspan housing bubble
-Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Enron crimes
wtf does Chrysler have to do with healthcare insurance?
lots of those companies, they were just stupid. I wouldnt call building SUV's a "crime". They wouldnt have been built without a market for them, so Id say the crime was "catering to soccer mom cunts who were too full of themselves for a minivan, and catering further to men with small cocks".
lots of those companies, they were just stupid. I wouldnt call building SUV's a "crime". They wouldnt have been built without a market for them, so Id say the crime was "catering to soccer mom cunts who were too full of themselves for a minivan, and catering further to men with small cocks".
I wouldnt call building SUV's a "crime".
ever heard that if a vehicle weights 6000 lbs you can write off the depreciation
on your taxes at a much faster rate than a car
for any kind of business
including those run out of private houses
many suvs weigh just over 6 kips
suvs give US car manufacturers the best profit margin
congress did this so American companies would sell a lot more suvs
it is corporate communism
it is a crime against capitalism
The vast majority of SUV buyers werent running businesses out of their homes. You couldve made a point about the different CAFE standards for trucks vs cars, but noooooo you had to make it a conspiracy, complete with corporate communism.
SUV werent a crime against capitalism. They were an excellent example of what happens when unregulated capitalism joins forces with stupid populace to form a consumerist nirvana of waste.
buy a Honda and take yer blood pressure meds, brosef. its gonna be fine.
SUV werent a crime against capitalism. They were an excellent example of what happens when unregulated capitalism joins forces with stupid populace to form a consumerist nirvana of waste.
buy a Honda and take yer blood pressure meds, brosef. its gonna be fine.
wtf does Chrysler have to do with healthcare insurance?
In dollars-and-cents terms, there was another reason the American car companies fell behind the rest of the world in their investments in technology and quality control: health care costs. All through the period of its decline, the U.S. auto industry was forced to spend sums on worker health insurance that were unmatched anywhere else in the industrialized world, because the United States was the only one without a government-sponsored health care system.
UV werent a crime against capitalism.
For the US to get cheap gas, we spend on the Military ($600 billion a year) to keep our access to oil (often against the locals wishes)
We spend on the order of $8/gallon to have gas cheap enough so people can drive SUVs and run our industrial production.
That is corporate communism
That is a crime against capitalism
Oh, come on. We invaded Iraq because we drive SUVs?
That seems like something that's even too insane for you to say!
That seems like something that's even too insane for you to say!
Thats why you had to.
For the US to get cheap gas, we spend on the Military ($600 billion a year) to keep our access to oil (often against the locals wishes)
We spend on the order of $8/gallon to have gas cheap enough so people can drive SUVs and run our industrial production.
That is corporate communism
That is a crime against capitalism
... and this has nothing to do with the American consumer, of course. Our complete lack of consideration for the rest of the world, our desire to one-up our neighbors by driving bigger and more powerful gas guzzlers, and our complete unwillingness to politically tolerate higher taxes on gas to prevent those problems have nothing to do with it.
It really doesnt have anything to do with industrial production, since only a small fraction of our electricity is produced using petroleum. We can supply our own coal.
blah blah corporate crime against communism blah blah the procardia is on your nightstand.
you don't get out of main stream thinking much do you?
sure I do. I just came to the conclusion that the assholes in charge were a lot like the people they were in charge of, meaning short-sighted, selfish jackasses who maintain their egos with illusions of control. They are far to disorganized, competitive and emotionally volatile to conspire anything. Most of what I see out of this country, tragically, makes sense in that context.
Those corporate communist criminals you refer to, Im quite sure that they think theyre doing the right thing for everyone involved, that the people whove died constitute an unavoidable tragedy but the rewards will be worth it, etc... I'll even give Bush the benefit of the doubt, and say that he thought he was doing the Iraqis a hell of a favor from a humanitarian standpoint.
Those corporate communist criminals you refer to, Im quite sure that they think theyre doing the right thing for everyone involved, that the people whove died constitute an unavoidable tragedy but the rewards will be worth it, etc... I'll even give Bush the benefit of the doubt, and say that he thought he was doing the Iraqis a hell of a favor from a humanitarian standpoint.
Moonpie said:
I bought my wife a new car last year and have been thinking about paying it off early. It is at 2.9% simple interest and I have been making double payments. I've been thinking about taking a loan against my 401k to pay off the balance and just be done with it. What is holding me back is I'm worried about missing a run up.
Any thoughts?
I bought my wife a new car last year and have been thinking about paying it off early. It is at 2.9% simple interest and I have been making double payments. I've been thinking about taking a loan against my 401k to pay off the balance and just be done with it. What is holding me back is I'm worried about missing a run up.
Any thoughts?
Elite sticks his nose into just everything that comes up but toss a softball up into his wheelhouse and he ignores it completely. Care to chime in on whether you think this is a wise move?
2.9% is cheap money, and if you can afford to make double payments, I see no point in paying off the car loan with a loan from your 401(k) just so you don't have to make the payments anymore.
Stick with your regular car payments IMO. At 2.9% you're way ahead of 99.9% of people with car loans.
Stick with your regular car payments IMO. At 2.9% you're way ahead of 99.9% of people with car loans.
i.e. "The Joneses"
Or.... any normal family with a car.
eff you. i'm normal, and i got my monies at 2.9%, biatch.
i got my car monies at 2.9%, my house monies at 4.75%, and my wife's college monies at (and i'm embarrassed not to know this, but) somewhere about 4%
I'm not normal, and mines at 0%.
eff you!
eff you!
I've been thinking about taking a loan against my 401k to pay off the balance and just be done with it.
If you borrow against your 401k and lose your job(Allah forbid) you have a short amount of time to pay it back
Borrowing hurts your 401k returns
2.9% is a very good loan rate, you can get 5% in treasuries
I'll even give Bush the benefit of the doubt, and say that he thought he was doing the Iraqis a hell of a favor from a humanitarian standpoint.
Even though we had the largest anti-war in history protests before war started.
With friends like that Iraq doesn't need any enemies
With leaders like that we don't need any dictators
Ford reports surprise $1 billion profit
Automaker now expects to be ‘solidly profitable’ in 2011
DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011.
The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 68 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $7.68 in morning trading.
The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments.
Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich., reported third-quarter net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Its profit forecast for 2011 was a step above previous guidance of break-even or better for the year.
Ford's key North American car and truck division posted a pretax profit of $357 million, the division's first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs and increased market share for the improvement.
Excluding one-time items, Ford earned 26 cents per share, blowing away analysts' expectations of a loss of 12 cents.
The earnings came despite an $800 million revenue drop. But Ford said it cut costs by $1 billion during the quarter, accomplished through layoffs in North America and Europe, reduced pension and retiree health care costs and improvements in productivity and product development.
Chief financial officer Lewis Booth said the company took in $1.3 billion more than it spent in the quarter, an improvement over its $1 billion cash burn in the second quarter.
"That's a huge deal," Booth said.
Ford's plan to create demand and get better prices for its products, coupled with cost cuts, gave the company confidence that it will make money in 2011, Booth said.
But Ford still faces obstacles in its turnaround. Last week,............(MORE)
Automaker now expects to be ‘solidly profitable’ in 2011
DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011.
The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 68 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $7.68 in morning trading.
The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments.
Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich., reported third-quarter net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Its profit forecast for 2011 was a step above previous guidance of break-even or better for the year.
Ford's key North American car and truck division posted a pretax profit of $357 million, the division's first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs and increased market share for the improvement.
Excluding one-time items, Ford earned 26 cents per share, blowing away analysts' expectations of a loss of 12 cents.
The earnings came despite an $800 million revenue drop. But Ford said it cut costs by $1 billion during the quarter, accomplished through layoffs in North America and Europe, reduced pension and retiree health care costs and improvements in productivity and product development.
Chief financial officer Lewis Booth said the company took in $1.3 billion more than it spent in the quarter, an improvement over its $1 billion cash burn in the second quarter.
"That's a huge deal," Booth said.
Ford's plan to create demand and get better prices for its products, coupled with cost cuts, gave the company confidence that it will make money in 2011, Booth said.
But Ford still faces obstacles in its turnaround. Last week,............(MORE)
we got bailout money
EY
we got bailout money
EY
we got bailout money
Space hotel says it's on schedule to open in 2012
The cost of a three-night stay at ‘Galactic’ resort estimated at $4.4 million
By Stuart McDill
updated 8:20 p.m. MT, Sun., Nov . 1, 2009
BARCELONA, Spain - A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.
The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost $4.4 million for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island.
During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They would wear Velcro suits so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.
Galactic Suite Ltd's CEO Xavier Claramunt, a former aerospace engineer, said the project will put his company at the forefront of an infant industry with a huge future ahead of it, and forecast space travel will become common in the future.
"It's very normal to think that your children, possibly within 15 years, could spend a weekend in space," he told Reuters Television.
A nascent space tourism industry is beginning to take shape with construction underway in New Mexico of Spaceport America, the world's first facility built specifically for space-bound commercial customers and fee-paying passengers.
British tycoon Richard Branson's space tours firm, Virgin Galactic, will use the facility to propel tourists into suborbital space at a cost of $200,000 a ride.
Galactic Suite Ltd, set up in 2007, hopes to start its project with a single pod in orbit 280 miles above the earth, with the capacity to hold four guests and two astronaut-pilots.
It will take a day and a half to reach the pod — which Claramunt compared to a mountain retreat, with no staff to greet the traveler.
"When the passengers arrive in the rocket, they will join it for three days, rocket and capsule. With this we create in the tourist a confidence that he hasn't been abandoned. After three days the passenger returns to the transport rocket and returns to earth," he said.
More than 200 people have expressed an interest in traveling to the space hotel and at least 43 people have already reserved.
The numbers are similar for Virgin Galactic with 300 people already paid or signed up for the trip but unlike Branson, Galactic Suite say they will use Russian rockets to transport their guests into space from a spaceport to be build on an island in the Caribbean.
But critics have questioned the project, saying the time frame is unreasonable and also where the money is coming from to finance the project.
Claramunt said an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast has granted $3 billion to finance the project.
The cost of a three-night stay at ‘Galactic’ resort estimated at $4.4 million
By Stuart McDill
updated 8:20 p.m. MT, Sun., Nov . 1, 2009
BARCELONA, Spain - A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.
The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost $4.4 million for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island.
During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They would wear Velcro suits so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.
Galactic Suite Ltd's CEO Xavier Claramunt, a former aerospace engineer, said the project will put his company at the forefront of an infant industry with a huge future ahead of it, and forecast space travel will become common in the future.
"It's very normal to think that your children, possibly within 15 years, could spend a weekend in space," he told Reuters Television.
A nascent space tourism industry is beginning to take shape with construction underway in New Mexico of Spaceport America, the world's first facility built specifically for space-bound commercial customers and fee-paying passengers.
British tycoon Richard Branson's space tours firm, Virgin Galactic, will use the facility to propel tourists into suborbital space at a cost of $200,000 a ride.
Galactic Suite Ltd, set up in 2007, hopes to start its project with a single pod in orbit 280 miles above the earth, with the capacity to hold four guests and two astronaut-pilots.
It will take a day and a half to reach the pod — which Claramunt compared to a mountain retreat, with no staff to greet the traveler.
"When the passengers arrive in the rocket, they will join it for three days, rocket and capsule. With this we create in the tourist a confidence that he hasn't been abandoned. After three days the passenger returns to the transport rocket and returns to earth," he said.
More than 200 people have expressed an interest in traveling to the space hotel and at least 43 people have already reserved.
The numbers are similar for Virgin Galactic with 300 people already paid or signed up for the trip but unlike Branson, Galactic Suite say they will use Russian rockets to transport their guests into space from a spaceport to be build on an island in the Caribbean.
But critics have questioned the project, saying the time frame is unreasonable and also where the money is coming from to finance the project.
Claramunt said an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast has granted $3 billion to finance the project.
screwbacca said:
we got bailout money
EY
we got bailout money
we got bailout money
EY
we got bailout money
Actually Ford took DOE Loans not bailout money.
debbie downer
Boom and Gloom
Investors are bidding up stocks, gold, and oil to dizzying heights. It's déja vu all over again.
The Dow, shown climbing toward the 10,000 mark on Oct. 14, 2009
By Rana Foroohar | NEWSWEEK
Published Oct 30, 2009
For the past several months, investors have been acting like it's 1999, the first year when the Dow crossed 10,000, and stocks took off in complete disregard for reality. Yet the atmosphere then and now couldn't be more different. Back then, stocks were frothier than real businesses, no doubt. But today, American job prospects are the worst in a generation, many state governments are near bankruptcy, consumer credit has all but dried up in the developed world--and global investors see all this as a good sign? It's tough to find an asset class that isn't up, often way up: since the March lows, the S&P has risen by 58 percent; the NASDAQ is up 67 percent. Emerging markets (as measured by the MSCI index) have soared 95 percent. Commodities of all kinds are rising, with crude oil up 132 percent from its February lows and gold hovering around record highs. Although rumblings over banking regulation in Washington last week triggered a dip in financial stocks, the very firms that caused the financial crisis are still leading the industry league standings, up an eye-popping 126 percent since March.
Where is Robert Shiller (the bestselling author of Irrational Exuberance) when you need him? In fact, the Yale professor, who accurately foretold the crash of 2001, has just finished tallying the latest Case-Shiller index of top U.S. housing markets, which shows that home prices fell 7.2 percent between December and April, before rising 5 percent between April and August. While historical gaps in data make it tough to track perfectly, Shiller believes we have just seen the sharpest turnaround in American house prices in a century. British and Australian markets are starting to swing up, too, and in many Asian cities, real estate is positively buoyant. How is it possible that home prices are going up again even as employment is going down in most parts of the world, wage growth is nonexistent, and public debt levels are reaching record highs? "We've just gotten very speculative in our behavior, and it's a change that will likely last. I'm inclined to say that we're seeing a new bubble," says Shiller.
Or, more accurately, an echo bubble. It's a term economists use to describe the smaller bubbles that follow on the heels of major ones, usually after the authorities helicopter in loads of cash to patch up the first round of damage, setting the stage for a second round of easy-money-driven speculation. The phenomenon has been observed throughout history, from the British railway bubble of 1830 to the Saudi stock bubble of 2005. Edward Chancellor, author of Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation, says, "Echo bubbles tend to be.........(MORE)
Investors are bidding up stocks, gold, and oil to dizzying heights. It's déja vu all over again.
The Dow, shown climbing toward the 10,000 mark on Oct. 14, 2009
By Rana Foroohar | NEWSWEEK
Published Oct 30, 2009
For the past several months, investors have been acting like it's 1999, the first year when the Dow crossed 10,000, and stocks took off in complete disregard for reality. Yet the atmosphere then and now couldn't be more different. Back then, stocks were frothier than real businesses, no doubt. But today, American job prospects are the worst in a generation, many state governments are near bankruptcy, consumer credit has all but dried up in the developed world--and global investors see all this as a good sign? It's tough to find an asset class that isn't up, often way up: since the March lows, the S&P has risen by 58 percent; the NASDAQ is up 67 percent. Emerging markets (as measured by the MSCI index) have soared 95 percent. Commodities of all kinds are rising, with crude oil up 132 percent from its February lows and gold hovering around record highs. Although rumblings over banking regulation in Washington last week triggered a dip in financial stocks, the very firms that caused the financial crisis are still leading the industry league standings, up an eye-popping 126 percent since March.
Where is Robert Shiller (the bestselling author of Irrational Exuberance) when you need him? In fact, the Yale professor, who accurately foretold the crash of 2001, has just finished tallying the latest Case-Shiller index of top U.S. housing markets, which shows that home prices fell 7.2 percent between December and April, before rising 5 percent between April and August. While historical gaps in data make it tough to track perfectly, Shiller believes we have just seen the sharpest turnaround in American house prices in a century. British and Australian markets are starting to swing up, too, and in many Asian cities, real estate is positively buoyant. How is it possible that home prices are going up again even as employment is going down in most parts of the world, wage growth is nonexistent, and public debt levels are reaching record highs? "We've just gotten very speculative in our behavior, and it's a change that will likely last. I'm inclined to say that we're seeing a new bubble," says Shiller.
Or, more accurately, an echo bubble. It's a term economists use to describe the smaller bubbles that follow on the heels of major ones, usually after the authorities helicopter in loads of cash to patch up the first round of damage, setting the stage for a second round of easy-money-driven speculation. The phenomenon has been observed throughout history, from the British railway bubble of 1830 to the Saudi stock bubble of 2005. Edward Chancellor, author of Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation, says, "Echo bubbles tend to be.........(MORE)
Do space ships burn fossil fuel?
My local water company just announced that they are applying for a 21% rate hike to go on top of the 25% rate hike that they got last year to pay for the EPA's declaration that the Missouri River had to be clean enough to swim in. The latest hike is for "on-going upgrades not reflected in current billing." By that, they mean water meters, lines, and hydrants. That shit pisses me off to no end. You know that shit's gonna need replacing. You know the cost of business will go up every year. Why do we wait 10 years with no price hike and then suddenly spike the price through the roof in one year?
It's just like the crap that happens with minimum wage. Why don't we just index it to inflation and be done with it? Save us the asinine political wrangling every decade.
It's just like the crap that happens with minimum wage. Why don't we just index it to inflation and be done with it? Save us the asinine political wrangling every decade.
The person on the other end of the phone informed me, "due to the changes made by [the Card Act], Capital One would have to deny any charges that goes over your credit limit starting in February of 2010. However if you want to maintain the ability to go over your credit limit you could opt to have your account stay the same as it is now. Your fee for going over your credit limit would be dropped to $29 (from $39) if you chose to do this." I find it interesting that I can waive federal law applying to my credit card account for a potential savings of ten dollars. Comparing that to everything I'd lose out on, I decided to "opt in" for the law to apply to me.
I was also told I could "change my mind at any point, and give Capital One a call to let them know."
I was also told I could "change my mind at any point, and give Capital One a call to let them know."
Today's quote:
More change coming for the average American. The most I can find about his trying to do something about it is to say that his administration is open to ideas on how to grow jobs. Open to ideas? What was that 1.7 trillion for? This guy is out of his league and we're paying the price.
Gonna be an ugly Christmas for a bunch of folks.
"We anticipate that we are going to continue to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come," Obama said.
More change coming for the average American. The most I can find about his trying to do something about it is to say that his administration is open to ideas on how to grow jobs. Open to ideas? What was that 1.7 trillion for? This guy is out of his league and we're paying the price.
Gonna be an ugly Christmas for a bunch of folks.
The latest hike is for "on-going upgrades not reflected in current billing." By that, they mean water meters, lines, and hydrants. That shit pisses me off to no end. You know that shit's gonna need replacing. You know the cost of business will go up every year. Why do we wait 10 years with no price hike and then suddenly spike the price through the roof in one year?
this
From: screwbacca is gonna take you to the bank, the blood bank
Date: 11/2/09 @ 12:31 PM
(more) 10,150
they did this to a local condo development and everyone got hit with like a 17k bill
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