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The Lucrative Boom That Looked Nearly Invincible Could Evaporate

A report from the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. “The current crisis was not caused by pre-existing economic weakness. ‘There was little evidence of an approaching downturn as recently as a month or two ago,’ said Gary Burtless, an economist at the Brookings Institution. ‘Unemployment remained low, job growth was reasonably steady, inflation was moderate, the Federal Reserve had taken no recent steps to curb U.S. economic growth to avert wage or price inflation. Consumer confidence was reasonably high, and there was little sign of financial distress either among U.S. businesses or households.'”

From The Ledger. “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis closed bars and nightclubs, shuttered public schools through April 15. We may be staring down the barrel of a massive economic and societal shutdown. How many small, local businesses will be closed? How many local residents, already just a paycheck or two away from financial disaster, will face eviction or foreclosure?”

The Los Angeles Times. “In Florida, PGA Tour golfer J.B. Holmes has unloaded his waterfront home roughly a year and a half after it first hit the market. The custom estate sold for $1.825 million — that’s a $225,000 drop from what he paid for the place six years ago, records show. The lakeside spot spans three-quarters of an acre in Bradenton.”

The Dallas Morning News in Texas. “Tens of thousands of Texans are being laid off across the state in places like the Permian Basin shale fields in West Texas as companies shut down drilling rigs, according to Ryan Sitton, a state oil regulator. ‘It’s pretty overwhelming,’ said Kendrick Trinidad, a 25-year-old frack supervisor for Recoil Oilfield Services who was put on ‘standby’ until further notice. He remembers his last dismissal, in the downturn of 2015, while still having to cover his $1,100 monthly truck payment. ‘It is uncharted territory, because you just never know.'”

“‘The reality is sobering,’ Luke Lemoine, an analyst at Capital One, wrote this week in a note to investors. ‘Even before the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia/Saudi crude price war, a number of companies were teetering on the edge of survival.’ The combined market capitalization for the world’s five biggest oilfield servicers and equipment makers today couldn’t surpass the $49 billion size in 2008 of just Transocean Ltd., the world’s biggest owner of deepwater drilling rigs. A single share in the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF ‘can now barely buy a Happy Meal,’ he added.”

The Star Telegram in Texas. “Business and government leaders often refer to DFW Airport as the economic engine that drives Dallas-Fort Worth. And right now, because of the coronavirus, that engine is sputtering. Throughout the Metroplex, hotels are empty, restaurants are shuttered and bars and music venues are quiet. Fort Worth’s massive housing boom, with the cost of single-family homes increasing 58% during the past seven years, also could experience a significant cooling off as fewer people move to the area, several economists said. Prices of newly built homes, which have increased nearly every year for a decade, could level off.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican. “Seasoned economists, local officials and key state legislators say that if prices stay at current levels, it’s only a matter of time before new drilling ceases, oil workers are laid off, and the truck traffic and other industry-related activity slow. While it’s too early to tell exactly when that might happen, they say the lucrative boom that looked nearly invincible just a few months ago could evaporate. And that would be very bad news for a state that depends on the oil and gas industry for around 45 percent of its revenue. ‘If these prices last very long, the state is in deep trouble,’ said Jim Peach, a New Mexico State University economics professor emeritus.”

The Star Tribune in Minnesota. “Until recently the real estate industry has been riding a robust economy with historically low unemployment and rock bottom mortgage rates. That was before a virus flipped the switch across the globe. Showings on properties priced at more than $350,000 fell double-digits, with a 33% decline in showings for properties priced at more than $1 million. ‘The upper markets seem to be holding their breath,’ said Kath Hammerseng a Twin Cities real estate agent.”

From Banker and Tradesman in Massachusetts. “One Boston-area developer, who asked not to be identified, said he is worried that he’ll be unable to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to complete and lease up an affordable housing project. That would enable a multinational bank to invoke a ‘downward adjuster’ reducing its equity investment. ‘The investor gives us less equity, the project is in the red and we’re on the hook for it,’ he said.”

The Review Journal in Nevada. “Las Vegas’ economy was on solid ground last year, and out in Summerlin, homebuilders were busy. But with fears of the coronavirus upending daily life in Las Vegas and across the U.S., the homebuilding market, like other industries, faces a scary stretch ahead. The turmoil comes on the heels of a strong year in Summerlin. Hughes Corp. sold around 319 acres of residential land there in 2019 at an average price of $659,000 per acre. In 2011, after the housing market had crashed, it sold 84.5 acres of residential land in Summerlin at an average price of about $366,000 per acre, securities filings show.”

“Last year, it sold several tracts of desert along the north side of Far Hills Avenue just west of the 215 Beltway. Records show builders now control around 150 acres there, with plans on the books for some 1,100 homes. Who would have thought that casinos up and down the Strip would all be closed for at least a month at the same time? If the closures persist, Las Vegas’ job losses could be unprecedented — and if they are, homebuilders will be in for an eerily quiet year.”

The Press of Atlantic City in New Jersey. “It’s not every day that a home as desirable as the one at 8301 Salem Road in Margate, just steps from the beach, has its asking price slashed by $200,000. But that’s what its owner decided to do only two days ago, resulting in this spacious residence, situated on a hidden gem of a street that’s also within easy walking distance of the stores and restaurants of the Jersey Shore’s trendiest town, to also become Absecon Island’s best buy at $1,299,99.”

From Fauquier Now in Virginia. “A 105-acre farm along Lee Highway near New Baltimore sold last week for $2.2 million. Avalon Farm went on the market in November 2017 with an asking price of $3.5 million, according to Realtor.com. Over the years, the asking price dropped twice, to $2.85 million and then to $2.55 million.”

The Mariposa Gazette in California. “Ben Goger, the housing specialist hired by the county about six months ago, outlined the vast array of issues concerning the housing crisis gripping Mariposa County and, in actuality, the entire state and nation. Goger said the housing market was ‘steady’ for many years, but when the recession hit in 2018, it ‘tanked.’ It has yet to recover. Goger called it ‘quite catastrophic’ for the county. One of the more confusing parts of the statistics is the ‘vacancy rate’ as determined by state and national organizations. According to those organizations, Mariposa County has the third-highest vacancy rate in California. It is estimated at around 25 percent.”

“Goger said ‘vacant’ can mean homes for sale, homes for rent, unoccupied homes and, the big one, second homes. Those second homes include both houses that are actually second homes for people as well as vacation rentals. According to Goger, the statistics reveal there are about 700 actual vacation rentals in the county. The other half are second homes, many belonging to people from the Bay Area or Southern California. Supervisor Merlin Jones pointed out having vacation rentals is a more lucrative market than long-term rentals. He said vacation rentals have a much higher profit margin and fewer ‘headaches’ than long-term rentals.”

From Globe St. “While the Great Recession of 2007-2009 was short-lived, its effects stretched much longer. A major contributor to the crash was a deceptively unstable mortgage market. Leading up to the financial crisis were many red flags coupled with economic growth. But, investors were convinced homes would continue to appreciate in value despite the warning signs, according to Clever Real Estate.”

“This has left many suspicious of recent growth and wondering whether another crash is unavoidable. Mortgage interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans have been steadily decreasing since the peak in 1981 when rates crept up to more than 18.6% or 5.3 times today’s rates and have lived under 5% since 2009 as a direct result of the financial crisis. The housing market has largely recovered since the 2008 financial crisis, but recent lifts on lending restrictions and low interest rates might put the industry at risk for market corrections.”

“The proportion of down payments less than 20% has increased 75% since 2008. The average debt-to-income ratio dropped 22% in the decade following the crash, but still remains high (97%). These are cause for concern, some experts warn.”

“‘Median home listing price in Seattle metro is $600,050 or about $300 per square foot,’ Francesca Ortegren, research associate/data scientist at Clever Real Estate tells GlobeSt.com. ‘That’s compared to the national median listing price of $243,560. The median listing price varies by principal city as well, Bellevue homes are about $737,000, Seattle $605,200 and Tacoma are much lower at $250,400.’ There are 5% underwater in Seattle versus 9% nationally.”

From DS News. “Unlike the Great Recession, this downturn is the result of a completely external factor, meaning that it is possible this downturn will be much shorter and shallower, according to Louise Sheiner, Economic Studies Policy Director, The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. ‘It is worth remembering that in the early days of the housing market downturn, many of us thought that the problems would be limited to the subprime mortgage market and wouldn’t be macroeconomically important. We were very wrong,’ she notes.”

“Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, said the Fed’s actions should help bolster the mortgage market and keep rates low. ‘This echoes 2008 when the Fed’s mortgage-backed securities buying spree increased demand for mortgage-backed securities at a time when investor demand was faltering. This, in turn, helped push mortgage rates down, enabling homeowners to lower monthly payments and encouraging investment in housing,’ she said.”

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This Post Has 352 Comments

  1. ‘He remembers his last dismissal, in the downturn of 2015, while still having to cover his $1,100 monthly truck payment’

    1. REALTOR, I have so much money left after “throwing money away on rent” every month that I don’t know where to throw it.

      I drive a (paid off) 2012 Subaru with 98K miles on it and have never purchased a vehicle for more than $12,000.

      1. “How many local residents, already just a paycheck or two away from financial disaster, will face eviction or foreclosure?“

        I received an update communication from an international organization I belong to that represents songwriters and musicians. The email was a notification that they were petitioning Congress for a bail out for the music industry. Everybody is in line for a slice of government cheese.

      2. High five! I drive a 2012 lesbaru with 90K on it. Bought it 1 year used for cash. 1100/mo is my rent, and I’m late 40s making good money from home just a year or two from retirement probably.

        Too many people put themselves on a hamster wheel – they need to learn how to live rather than maintain some bogus image. This virus exposes just how fragile society and its people are.

    2. Haha! There’s that thousand dollar + per month truck payment thing. How stupid are people? No sympathy at all for that nonsense. That’s almost 3x my first mortgage.

    3. I was talking with an oilfield truck driver a year ago who worked in west Texas. He said, “everybody has monster trucks.” I expect the repos have already started.

    4. while still having to cover his $1,100 monthly truck payment

      And he was just 20 years old back then.

  2. ‘Throughout the Metroplex, hotels are empty, restaurants are shuttered and bars and music venues are quiet. Fort Worth’s massive housing boom, with the cost of single-family homes increasing 58% during the past seven years, also could experience a significant cooling off as fewer people move to the area, several economists said. Prices of newly built homes, which have increased nearly every year for a decade, could level off’

    DFW new shack prices have been sinking like a turd in well for 2 years.

    ‘the cost of single-family homes increasing 58% during the past seven years’

    This should never happen, and only did because of subprime lending and artificially low interest rates. You had your boom, enjoy the bust.

    1. I don’t know about the new homes in the exurbs, but in town things are certainly stagnant, and have been for a while. There’s a new build a couple streets over that was listed for $729k, and is now at $640k. This is in a neighborhood with mostly $250k to $300k homes. Whoever built that is gonna have it for a while. Things are still moving in the $250k to $300k range, it is the higher priced stuff, which is pretty much everything now, that is sitting.

  3. ‘The current crisis was not caused by pre-existing economic weakness. ‘There was little evidence of an approaching downturn as recently as a month or two ago’

    Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition.

    1. It’s always the same. Everything was good so nothing bad could happen. Risk awareness reaches historic lows and then boom, the wake up call ‘no one could have predicted’ and the reality that everyone forgot, that the world is inherently unpredictable, sends a stark unforgiving reminder.

  4. while still having to cover his $1,100 monthly truck payment

    Jesus Christ. I can only imagine how many months, too.

    1. One of our neighbors, short guy with Napoleon Complex, has a crew cab truck with a 6-inch lift kit and an 8-ft bed. He came home while my wife and I were outside watching the ISS fly past in a clear night sky. He asked what we were looking at, and I told him. He never slowed his walk or looked up, too busy with his bromance and 4×4 trucks with “big meats.”

        1. “…It’s funny how many of those lifted truck guys are tiny men…”

          There was a cartoon in Playboy long ago.

          Drawing: A guy and a hot chick in a fancy Corvette.

          Caption: (Hot chick with grin) “He bought this to compensate for his shortcomings”

        1. Or you can turn them into Mad Max vehicles when the Keynesian fraudsters at the Fed drive the economy into a ditch.

  5. ‘California is experiencing the single longest economic growth period in its history. The housing values in Fallbrook have been steadily climbing since the first quarter of 2009. As a seller, the current value of your home has met or exceeded where it was in 2005-2006’

    ‘Owning real estate provides a clear safe harbor for gaining wealth. Real estate value continues to remain stable in Fallbrook’

    ‘Most sellers who contact the office are moving out of California’

    https://www.villagenews.com/story/2020/03/19/community/real-estate-round-up-its-a-great-time-to-sell/59867.html

    ‘

    1. Worth reading the whole article if your looking to ROFL. Realtors gots to hustle. Best time to BUY and SELL! Of course it is!

      “Many sellers we meet with are considering selling but believe that they can wait awhile. Waiting is always an option, but given the current market activity, with no guarantee on the future, I would recommend getting off the fence and jump in.
      There may be some who are reading this, thinking that if it is so good and with consumer confidence being so high, why not wait awhile? The thing about hoping to find the “top” of a market is you never know it is the top until it drops, and it is rolling down and you can never recapture the top.

      For many of the reasons mentioned above, it is also a great time to buy! Based on the numbers of buyers looking at our listings, this is not a secret. Home prices are gently rising, gone are the days of huge jumps from month to month.”

    2. ‘Most sellers who contact the office are moving out of California’

      Get out there and spread the beer flu, live up to that “locust” reputation!

    3. Update from San Diego CA

      The houses in my hood are suddenly sitting around on the market. Another flip just hit the market and there is a similar house a few doors down from it that has been on the market for about a month and I haven’t seen much prospective buyer activity at the address on my daily perambulation.

      The Vons is making people wait in line to get in and only admitting a limited number of people in the store at a time. The other big store has signs up that they are no longer allowing cash back at the register. On I5 north today I saw a national guard humvee identical to the ones that just rolled into NYC. The FDIC is telling people to stop taking cash out of the banks and assuring us that the banks are adequately liquid with no risk of running out of cash. Which naturally leads to the rhetorical question, then why is it a problem if people go get as much cash as they want.

  6. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-coronavirus-washington-heights-20200321-3totrgjv2be5ziawq6kakpq4xa-story.html

    ‘When the coronavirus cost Anna Melendes her job at a Washington Heights hair salon, she soon had trouble making ends meet in Manhattan — much less covering the bills for her sick mother in the Dominican Republic.’

    ‘It’s a sad and common refrain on the streets of Upper Manhattan, where many of the immigrants work hard to support their family in the city and their relatives on the island nation some 1,500 miles away. The spreading virus means their New York bank accounts are dwindling, while their hearts are aching for their needy Dominican relatives.’

    ‘His business is down 80% in the three weeks since coronavirus first appeared on the city’s radar, and on Saturday he stood outside his shop in a face mask and gloves, waiting for customers who were now nothing more than ghosts. He’s waiting on a tax rebate, but Grullon says that money is already targeted for his wife’s family back home.’

    “We are going to have to shut down starting on Monday,” said Grullon. “We are wondering if the government is going to step in. We’ve heard we will get $1,000 and many people are going to depend on that — or we’ll have to break into our savings. The only problem is many people don’t have a savings.”

    That’s pretty much the problem isn’t it?

    ‘We may be staring down the barrel of a massive economic and societal shutdown. How many small, local businesses will be closed? How many local residents, already just a paycheck or two away from financial disaster, will face eviction or foreclosure?’

    2. “their New York bank accounts are dwindling, while their hearts are aching for their needy Dominican relatives.”

      Only one thing left to do: get some boxes

      Too harsh?

    3. The only problem is many people don’t have a savings

      Which is why I fear the free cheese checks will stick around, possibly becoming a permanent fixture.

      1. “…the free cheese checks will stick around…”

        Haven’t heard anything from AOC’s red pie-hole lately.

        1. There will be plenty of opportunity for the Modern Monetary Theory types to weigh in on the aftermath of the economic disaster underway once the dust begins to settle.

        2. Take$ along time to count “thee.Orange.jesus” x4 $Trillion$ “non.$ociali$t” di$tribution$, in order to formulate a NYC $ociali$t rebuttal.

          1. IF you believe in helicopter money she is right…get it out there as fast as possible and tax it back later rather than wasting a bunch of time first trying to figure out who should and should not get it.

          2. Indeed. Those checks need to go out immediately before looting and arson happen. That said, I was wondering where AOC was holed-up. I guess she ran out of signature red lipstick. 🙁

      2. “…fear the free cheese checks will stick around, possibly becoming a permanent fixture…”

        Free cheese could become a greater *economic* threat than Covid-19 itself.

        The slippery slope has a lot of grease on it right now.

        1. The slippery slope has a lot of grease on it right now.

          Yeah, we’ve been on it for quite a while and it’s been kinda fun so far for the people who know how to steer their sled. But it just got a lot steeper and how we can see the rocks just before the cliff up ahead…

  7. He said vacation rentals have a much higher profit margin and fewer ‘headaches’ than long-term rentals.

    Maybe Not
    That monthly nut still has to be paid and ST renters (vacationers) don’t need to show up.
    By the way, fewer headaches for whom? Certainly not The person living next door getting woken up at 2AM and having trash all over his neighborhood.

    If AIRBNB blows up that would be the best thing that comes out of the Coronavirus

    1. If AIRBNB blows up that would be the best thing that comes out of the Coronavirus

      Fret not. The universal bail out will cover everyone.

      1. The Sharing Economy business model is undergoing its most severe test.

        Who wants to share when a deadly, much dreaded Chinese virus is spreading throughout the community?

        1. They’re afraid of going back home and being blamed for this virus.

          Which is why I’m concerned that the Mayor McCheese Checks will become a permanent fixture. Even after this plague blows over the jobs won’t come roaring back, so taking this entitlement away as election day approaches will become very difficult. A 20% VAT will be needed to keep it going, which means that those $35K “compact” SUVs I saw at the dealer the other day will actually cost $43K (plus whatever your local sales tax is). 10 year car loans?

      3. “The univer$al bail out …”

        Remind me, what exactly happened to the “Tea.Party.Revolutionarie$”?

        1. Weren’t he a “Tea.Party’$.Participant”?

          POLITIC$:

          Rand Paul, $taunch Opponent of Coronaviru$ Healthcare Package$, Diagno$ed with Coronaviru$

          The Root / By Brooklyn Baldwin / Today

          But as karma would have it, Rand Paul, who was the only senator to vote against an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus package last month, has tested positive for the deadly disease also known as COVID-19.

          On Sunday, the Republican senator’s diagnosis was revealed through his official Twitter account, writing that he was feeling fine and was in quarantine.

        2. Remind me, what exactly happened to the “Tea.Party.Revolutionarie$”?

          As far as I know the poor ones gave up and retreated to their basements to handload more ammo. The rich ones gave up and decided to make as much money as they could before it all blows up.

    2. higher profit margin and fewer ‘headaches’

      Fewer headaches? Furnished accommodations, higher turnover, less careful tenants, more cleaning, more wear and tear, vacancy and revenue stream uncertainty, out-of-state owners without property managers good luck. The higher profit margin offsets these. Goger is an idiot or a lion.

      1. ^^This.

        The “sweet appreciation” is what they were really after. That ship sailed. Timmmberrrrrrrrr!!

  8. Here’s an amusing 30 second video. It shows a banker in the guise of a white blood cell successfuly chasing down a deadbeat bacterium.

    Watch “White Blood Cell chasing Bacteria with Benny Hill theme and ON NOM NOM (2)” on YouTube
    https://youtu.be/KxTYyNEbVU4

  9. I have to turn my volume all the way up at the end of the 0:22 video to hear Jill Biden call “Joe” before he finally turns and walks away from the podium.

    This old man’s mind appears to have gone around the bend and what they are doing is cruel.

    Biden Finishes Speech, Stares Ahead Until Wife Jill Comes to the Rescue

    Posted at 6:16 pm on March 19, 2020
    by Elizabeth Vaughn

    Speaking in a quiet, somber tone, he ended his speech saying, “Thank you all. Thank you all for listening.” He stood there, motionless, staring ahead as if in a trance. Was he waiting for applause?

    Entering from stage right came Jill Biden to break this strange silence. Somewhat startled by her sudden appearance, he smiles, says “Thanks. Thanks.”

    https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/03/19/whats-up-joe-biden-finishes-speech-stares-ahead-until-wife-jill-comes-to-the-rescue/

    1. Oh please. There’s plenty to attack him on, but I watched the clip and that’s trying to make something out of nothing. It’s common on a televised broadcast to close with a stare and smile until the feed cuts.

      1. to make something out of nothing ??

        Yeah…Makes you wonder what kind of marbles are rolling around in Jeff’s head that he thinks thats a worthy post…

        1. Yeah, we should only discuss housing instead of how 2018 Democrat Florida gubernatorial candidate and former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum was recently found face down in a hotel room with a gay escort and bags of meth. That’s a discussion for Mr. Gillum to have with his wife, not for the HBB.

          2. I mean yea, I am on the housing bubble blog, so I come here for housing. Both sides of the isle have scandals, it reflects on the individual, not party.

    2. Trust me, the Dems don’t care. They’ll vote Biden in knowing full well the VP will be running the country. They just want the Great Orange (not racis, o no) tub of lard (not fat-shaming, o no) out of office because reasons.

      Months ago I predicted that this would be decided by the Dem VP pick and I’m sticking to that.

      1. would be decided by the Dem VP pick and I’m sticking to that ??

        I agree…I could see Biden stepping down after year one or two….Here are the choices;
        Amy
        Stacie
        Kamala

        2. Stacie is a fat tub of lard.
          Kamala slept her way up.
          Amy is probably ok.

          Are illegal immigrants going to get checks too?

          1. “Are illegal immigrants going to get checks too?”

            Think that would depend on whether or not they acquired a usable social security number

          3. Maybe Corn Pop has a daughter? Whoever it is, the running mate must pass the Biden hair-sniff test.

        3. I could see Biden stepping down after year one or two….Here are the choices

          A President elected simply on the basis of his VP pick, and not his own merits? Quite the ass-backward pipe dream. The D/R decayed body needs to come up with something alive or it will be forced upon them, again.

      2. “$ocialist$” ain’t gonna $tick on the “Fi$cal.CON$ervative$” viru$ $pending fortre$$ wall$. … $ad.

  10. Are you worried about having the exit door barred shut and getting trapped while your investing losses mount?

    2. The Financial Times
      Capital markets
      Coronavirus: Nordic high-yield bond funds block withdrawals
      ‘Very regrettable’ decision hoped to be quickly reversed
      A sign on an entrance reads Riksbank at the headquarters of the Sveriges Riksbank headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. Sweden’s central bank ended half a decade of subzero easing in a move that will provide relief to the finance industry and a test case for global counterparts experimenting with negative borrowing costs. Photographer: Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg
      The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, said that it would add corporate debt to its bond-buying programme © Bloomberg
      Richard Milne, Nordic and Baltic Correspondent
      4 hours ago

      Dozens of Nordic funds have suspended trading, blocking investors from pulling out in a reflection of the intense strain in high-yield corporate debt markets during the coronavirus crisis and the challenge to funds in meeting redemption requests.

      Danske Invest, the asset management arm of Denmark’s biggest lender, had 15 Danish funds suspended on Friday, most of them in high-yield bonds. Carnegie Fonder in Sweden gated 12 funds on Friday, mostly in corporate bonds, while Forte Kreditt, a Norwegian high-yield fund, was suspended all of last week. Other fund managers such as Spiltan, Cicero and Danske in Sweden and Jyske in Denmark all suspended funds last week.

      The moves come at a time of growing concerns that a wide range of funds around the world will struggle to operate during this period of unprecedented market pressure, trapping investors in lossmaking vehicles.

      “I get messages from people that are desperate. They got advice from their private banker or fund manager that these were safe and they can’t believe they’re now down 20 per cent and they still can’t get out,” said Peter Warren, a well-known Norwegian private investor and expert on the local high-yield market.
      …

      1. Keep in mind that these bonds are “high yield” bonds aka “junk bonds” …

        “I get messages from people that are desperate. They got advice from their private banker or fund manager that these were safe and they can’t believe they’re now down 20 per cent and they still can’t get out,”

        What a bunch of fools. What easy pickings for these private bankers and fund managers who no doubt got to collect some hefty fees for sticking their totally dumbed-down clients into these “safe” junk bond funds.

    3. If they shut down the stock market, then presumably nobody has access to their liquid assets, right?

      1. That would be another example of asset owners getting trapped with their losses inside the burning theater by the blocked exit door.

        It just might drive the demand for cash even higher than it was last week.

      2. liquid assets

        Just think of them a frozen assets.

        It’s always prudent to have at least six month’s living expenses in Cash.

  11. “But, investors were convinced homes would continue to appreciate in value despite the warning signs, according to Clever Real Estate.”

    2019: This time is different.

    CCPVirus: Hold my beer

  12. Went out for some vitamin D the past few days. Social distancing failures all over the place by the olds (possibly with colds) and the youngs with lungs, alike.

    Sheesh. I finally had to resort to fake coughing as they neared to give wider berth.

    1. With the nice weather lots of people headed to the Oregon coast too, where these small towns already are taxed to help the injured or sick.

      Hey dumdums, haven’t you heard? Spring Break is canceled!

      2. That’s what’s so silly about shutting all the businesses down – it’s doing nothing while people are in vacation mode and traveling all over, spreading the virus far and wide.

  13. It’$ a Miracle! … just as the “Orange.jesus” $aid!

    Coronaviru$ aid bill include$ $3,000 for families, $4 trillion$ liquidity for Fed: Mnuchin

    Reuters / (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Berkrot) / March 22, 2020

    Nearly one in four Americans, or 80 million people, were under orders to close up shop and stay home as New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey instituted statewide lockdowns to try to contain the rapid spread of the highly contagious respiratory illness.

    Mnuchin downplayed a question about a possible recession, calling it a “technical question” that was not “terribly relevant” in the current situation since the government was effectively shutting down large parts of the economy to slow the virus.”

    1. The Financial Times is trying to help figure this out.

      The Financial Times
      Coronavirus
      Real-time data show virus hit to global economic activity
      Restaurants, cinemas, shops, roads, flights and energy use illustrate sharp slowdown
      LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 20: A sign reading “We’ll Be Back” is seen on the Prince Charles cinema near Leicester Square on March 20, 2020 in London, England. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread to at least 182 countries, claiming over 10,000 lives and infecting more than 250,000 people. There have now been 3,269 diagnosed cases in the UK and 144 deaths. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
      A sign reading ‘We’ll Be Back’ is seen on a cinema near Leicester Square in London, on Friday © Getty
      Valentina Romei and John Burn-Murdoch in London
      5 hours ago

      Restaurants, cinemas and shops around the world have emptied, while flights, road traffic and energy use have fallen steeply, according to an FT analysis which gives a first glimpse of the impact of coronavirus on the global economy.

      A group of former IMF chief economists warned last weekend that a global recession had already begun, but although economic activity is slowing sharply, much official data are out of date before they are even published, given the time they take to collate.

      To make up for the lack of official information, the FT has compiled a set of alternative, high-frequency measures of economic activity for different sectors which give an early indication of what to expect when official data start to become available in the coming weeks.

      They show that vehicular traffic has at least halved in many of the world’s largest cities, spending in restaurants has halted and cinemas sales have collapsed. The effects began to be felt even before nationwide lockdowns were implemented across parts of Europe and the US.
      Leisure activity

      Jian Chang, economist at Barclays, said that in China services sectors such as entertainment, hotels and catering services “have been hit hardest” and that services activity “shows signs of a longer contraction than for manufacturing”.

      Those effects are now being seen in the US and Europe too.

      “Now that governments and businesses are responding to the virus in Europe, the retail and hospitality sectors are facing sharp falls in demand, having been closed in many countries,” said Joanna Konings, an economist at Netherlands-based bank ING. “The lost season of holidays, events and meals out — and the cost of cancellations and refunds — will be difficult for the sector to recoup once a recovery is under way.”
      …

      2. Trump lives in your head rent-free ??

        Yeah, well he lives in your head also but not rent free…And that rent you pay is with your soul…

        2. You need to get a refund from your weed dealer. You’re getting all the stupid and none of the chill – thats a bad product. Just sayin!

      3. “President Donald J. Trump lives in your head rent-free.”

        Everybody loves Trumpy….. Everybody.

  14. “In Florida, PGA Tour golfer J.B. Holmes has unloaded his waterfront home roughly a year and a half after it first hit the market. The custom estate sold for $1.825 million — that’s a $225,000 drop from what he paid for the place six years ago, records show. The lakeside spot spans three-quarters of an acre in Bradenton.”

    6 years of bubble gain wipe out but at least it was cheaper than renting.

    1. JB should be thankful he unloaded the house in the nick of time. Beer bug is about to hit Florida big time.

        1. Coronavirus, named after Corona beer. YouTube has voice recognition for videos. If a Youtuber says “coronavirus,” that video is immediately demonetized. So, Youtubers have been using the code word “beer bug” or “beer flu” to avoid recognition and demonetization.

          1. WHO knew that youtube was such a booster for the CCP?

            Our friends at ADVChina have been demonitized.

  15. Hearing whisper$ ( phone conversation$, standing.in.line$ chat$) “no work”, “lost job”, “401k de$truction$” … might knot be so hu$h, hu$h in the coming week$ / month$.

    (Eye reckon the injun’s are gonna get revisited by death.germs … again!)

    104 Coronaviru$ Cases Confirmed in Arizona, State Sees First COVID-19 Death

    Phoenix New Times / MEG O’CONNOR | MARCH 21, 2020

    On Thursday night, the Navajo Nation announced 11 new cases, bringing the Nation’s total to 14. The new cases announced by Navajo late on Thursday were not included in the case count on the DHS website on Friday morning (only the same three that had previously been announced were). Today, the DHS website indicates there are 10 cases in Navajo, indicating that 4 of the 14 cases announced by the Navajo Nation are out of state in either Utah or New Mexico.

  16. ‘unable to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to complete and lease up an affordable housing project. That would enable a multinational bank to invoke a ‘downward adjuster’ reducing its equity investment. ‘The investor gives us less equity, the project is in the red and we’re on the hook for it’

    And this is an “affordable” project, financed with tax gravy for the rich folk. How can you be in the red when you haven’t even opened your doors? There was the recent lux apartment foreclosure in Portland that hadn’t even put down a slab.

    I listened to an apartment guru on the radio yesterday. He was overjoyed by the coming bust.

  17. ‘The custom estate sold for $1.825 million — that’s a $225,000 drop from what he paid for the place six years ago’

    It was cheaper than renting JB.

  18. Meanwhile$, way over in the village know as Ru$$ia, only 147 cases out of how many National inhabitants humans?

    Putin is being protected from coronaviru$ around the clock, says Kremlin

    ReutersMarch 18, 2020

    MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is being protected from coronavirus around the clock, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, saying all Kremlin staff involved in his events schedule were undergoing mandatory testing for the virus.

    Russia has recorded 147 cases of coronavirus so far and the authorities have temporarily barred foreigners from entering the country in an effort to prevent it spreading further.

    “Everything needed to protect the president from viruses and other illnesses is being done around the clock,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

    1. There is some speculation that the virus ha some sweet spot in temperate climates, and will move north with the spring. I dunno. Hot humid countries are getting hit as well.

      1. Hot humid countries are getting hit as well.
        That is somewhat true. But the modes of transmission in those countries remains uncertain. Travelers already infected could very well have shown up and developed symptoms after arrival. Unknown as yet is the ease with which person to person contagion happens in a hot humid country vs. a cooler drier one.

    1. NY Leading Causes of Death, 2016
      1. Heart Disease 44,076
      2. Cancer 35,368
      3. Accidents 7,354
      4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 6,860

      As I said, I’ve never seen so many adults act like screaming little girls in my life.

      1. I can’t speak to the mindset of panicked toilet paper hoarders. But policy makers are bracing for a severe strain on medical resources. I don’t love the “Stay Home” executive orders, but I understand the medical reasons for them.

        Whether the ends justify the means, or if less draconian social distancing measures would have sufficed to spread the curve, are open to debate.

        1. Greedy corporations with the help of complicit politicians sold Americans down the river for a once-in-a-lifetime wealth transfer. That ultimately sealed our fate in terms of not being prepared to fight this outbreak, so they just shut everything down.

          We don’t have the necessary supplies and equipment on hand, with no good way of ramping up quick production domestically. They floated a lie that masks don’t work to try to take the demand out of the equation in order to protect what little supply there was for the healthcare industry. Now we have seamstresses hand-sewing them out of whatever materials can be found at hardware stores, fabric stores, etc.

          1. There’s a mask maker in north texas cranking out 600,000 masks a day and should soon be about 1M a day. That’s not enough to make a dent in demand though.

            Trump needs to use the defense Production Act instead of just talking about it. If you have any nurses, or first responders in your family then you know what I mean.

          2. Wassup Headless

            Are you not going to ask Ben “are you saying that you do not feel that COVID-19 is any more serious than” Heart Disease, Cancer etc,? and “Am I understanding you correctly?”

            HeadlessBankers
            March 21, 2020 at 6:46 pm

            When you talk about your “position,” are you saying that you do not feel that COVID-19 is any more serious than the Swine Flu? Am I understanding you correctly?

          4. “You seem emotionally invested in this Jeff. Why is that?”

            Headless

            To quote someone on this blog from yesterday on this blog, let me think who was that? Oh that’s right you.

            Why don’t you answer my question?

            Are you not going to ask Ben “are you saying that you do not feel that COVID-19 is any more serious than” Heart Disease, Cancer etc,? and “Am I understanding you correctly?”

          5. Jeff. I have not seen Ben copying and pasting about Swine Flu, and comparing the two ad nauseum. Hope this clears things up for you.

            I do enjoy the discourse here. Both sides. As always, you can find me in the middle. I’m a non-partisan and I can find common ground with all people (which also means I am a lightning rod for all). Cheers.

          6. “As always, you can find me in the middle. I’m a non-partisan”

            As the blog host says, grow a set.

          7. As the blog host says, grow a set.

            It takes a bigger pair to not be a partisan and go against the grain than it does to join little pow-pows. Wake up.

        2. In places where there’s a break out, sure. But some of this stuff is just silly. I can see cutting back on mass events, limiting travel, etc. And banning visitors to nursing homes makes sense because that population is at risk. But like one article I read said, nursing homes should be vigilant about the flu year round.

          I don’t mind shutting down for 15 days. Let’s keep the hospitals from getting overwhelmed. But do we want an economy when we crawl out from our rocks? Basically killing millions of small business isn’t smart and that’s what will happen if we don’t grow a pair.

          1. I completely disagree with shutting businesses down. Instead, there should have been restrictions placed on numbers of people per square foot, etc., and we should have gone to a 24 hour model with increased security on the streets to take care of the bad characters who come out after dark. Put the National Guard out there so people feel comfortable shopping at 3 am. I have no problem going out at that hour in these uncertain times. Our politicians are completely devoid of imagination and cogent thought.

          2. “Basically killing millions of small business isn’t smart and that’s what will happen if we don’t grow a pair.”

            That’s why the “Stay Home” orders seem like a step too far. Small businesses were already struggling to keep some level of operations going in the face of mass hysteria. Now even that is done, unless your industry is deemed to meet the “essential infrastructure” qualification. But the “essential” industries are highly dependent on others that are now required to close, due to central planners judging them nonessential.

          3. “…there should have been restrictions placed on numbers of people per square foot…”

            Seems like a much more reasonable solution.

            Many grocery stores are effectively doing that right now. Was over at Trader Joe’s yesterday and they metered in everyone in groups of five. Worked out really well and my net-net shopping time was essentially the same as it has always been.

            Sidebar to all of this: Does anyone work in a California semiconductor fab? Did they have to shutdown? Everyone is dressed in bunny suits anyway. If a fab had to shutdown, IMHO that would be a prime example of government over-reach triggering severe economic consequences.

          5. Ben, this disease is just too unique to say “in places where’ there’s a breakout.” The virus is contagious for weeks in people with no symptoms. All you need is one person who is asymptomatic and contagious to go to a store in another area and, boom, you’ve just started a new place where’s there’s a breakout. This is how things started in Italy: Unsuspecting Chinese garment workers returning from holiday in Wuhan brought it to Milan and Bergamo. This is how things started in Spain: unsuspecting Italian tourists brought it to a popular Spanish festival.

          6. I’m not afraid of it. This is getting ridiculous, and I’d bet I’m not the only person who is sick of this bullsh$t.

          7. “The central bank also said it would begin purchasing commercial mortgage-backed securities issued by government-supported entities, which primarily consist of debt on apartment buildings.“

            Looks like tenants do not have savings to pay their rent.

      2. “As I said, I’ve never seen so many adults act like screaming little girls in my life.”

        I went with running in circles flapping their arms and screaming but but potato, potahto.

        1. “I went with running in circles flapping their arms and screaming but but potato, potahto.”

          Just like that goofy dingbat Elizabeth Warren and Butthole ORourke.

      3. Except fer “accidents” most of them “other” death.vector$ is thee results of a lifetime of collective accumulation & self indulgences. Gettin’ a death.germ on contact with a door.nob ain’t quite comparable maybee. (Imhto)

        1. What if you smoked a lifetime’s accumulation of cigarettes or have obesity from a lifetime’s accumulation of bagels and pasta?

          1. What if you smoked a lifetime’s accumulation of cigarettes or have obesity from a lifetime’s accumulation of bagels and pasta?
            One might assume that using up one’s lifetime quota for anything means one’s life is over.

      4. With the way the prices of everything is falling, you’re likely to hear a whole bunch more adults screaming in terror. 🤣

      5. Given the choice between loose money, break even, or make money on this crisis, I’m gonna go with make money.

        The only thing better than money is more money.

        2. The only thing better than money is more money.

          I’ll take being healthy.

          Steve Jobs $10B couldn’t save him from an early death

          1. Actually, it could have. He delayed visiting real doctors for a good while which gave the cancer time to expand. His holistic medicine people were supposedly begging him to go to real doctors, but he did so too late.

          2. Steve Jobs probably didn’t have much of a chance no matter where he went, considering what killed him.

      6. Suicides from job loss and stress will kill more than this overly hyped government virus.

      7. I am 97 years old and have never seen so much fear in the public before. All seems media driven, and fear from the politicians about not having to seem willing to save lives. And it seems to me that they worry too much about people get in trouble with home financing that no one wants to see them have to pay the piper. Too much spent on electronics to pay the regular bills

        1. never seen so much fear in the public before. All seems media driven

          Fear conveniently convinces a citizenry to relinquish willingly liberties in exchange for perceived security. The last time I remember this happening was after 9/11 with the Patriot Act.

          1. I don’t recall citizens every having a choice or a voice in the matter. The politicians did whatever they wanted.

        2. Too much spent on electronics to pay the regular bills You left out bubble-priced housing, cruises, trips to Disney moneysinks, gambling at casinos, jacked up overpriced pickup trucks, boob jobs, most of what the “consumer economy” requires to stay in existence.

          1. trips to Disney moneysinks

            It will be interesting to see if the hordes return after the all clear is given.

  20. Why should ANY industry get a bailout because of the shutdowns? The people affected aren’t getting bailed. They’ll still go bankrupt in large numbers. I say let everything fail, and then pick up the pieces when the dust settles. It’s the cheapest way.

    1. Millions of Americans who just got sent to the back of the unemployment line are going to need to eat over the coming months of coronavirus quarantine in order to survive. And many Americans households don’t have enough savings to survive an unexpected car repair bill, much less a two months’ quarantine without a paycheck.

      Helicopter drops are coming, like them or not.

          1. Tesla is supposedly making ventilators. They can’t guarantee that your car won’t leak or your bumper won’t fall off in the rain.

      2. “Helicopter drops are coming, like them or not.”

        Is this an “Election.Year”?

        Do politician$ attempt$ to purcha$e voter$ vote$?

          1. Since yer a number$ kinda.guy, eye’ll $uggest a percentage:
            (0%) as in: Zero

            (Eye knot certain iffin’ the tea.party is $elf.I$olated, or are prisoners M.I.A.ction$)

          4. Likely none. they should forgive all the coronialls student debt too while there at it. I dont know about you but me thinks hyperinflation is on its way after we cross this bridge…

          5. Bailouts everywhere… This is TWO MONTHS people. We just wanted you to stay home for TWO MONTHS. It seems nobody has even have ONE MONTH of cash on them, not even corporatations. This is preposterous. I was in better shape when was in grad school.

          6. I was in better shape when was in grad school.

            There must have been something in the generational memory of my grandparents that convinced them to avoid debt (like the plague) and to have some savings stashed away.

          7. My folks were born just in time for the Great Depression. I’m going to try to pull some of their memories to the surface when we talk later today.

            I love my mom’s stories about all the game they enjoyed at Sunday dinner, courtesy of Grandpa’s shot gun. And her story about growing up wearing “flour sack drawers” that Grandma fashioned from the burlap sacks in which flour was shipped is a doozy…

          8. “There must have been something in the generational memory of my grandparents that convinced them to avoid debt (like the plague) and to have some savings stashed away.”

            “Lend freely, at a penalty rate, against good collateral.” —Walter Bagehot

          9. “…And her story about growing up wearing “flour sack drawers” that Grandma fashioned from the burlap sacks in which flour was shipped is a doozy…”

            Reminds me of an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies

            Scene in front of Mansion with Elly May and Mr. Drysdale

            Mr Drysdale: “That’s a nice dress, Elly May. Did you get it from Saks?”

            Elly May: “Oh, no Mr. Drysdale. These are store bought clothes”

      3. Why not tomorrow put $1000 on everyone’s EBT card $500 for food and $500 in cash… the rest of us can wait a few days….

    2. On Oct. 15, 2019 God looked down on the Earth and thought,

      “Those crazy humans have gone nuts again, but how do I get them to see the light. I can’t do a flood again, and World War 3 is just not going to happen.

      Based on the math, if I allow a global virus, there will be less deaths in the long run than the current madness would of produced.
      The greedheads and control freaks are just doing to much damage and harm. The gouging has to stop along with anything fake like those Bubbles.

      Humans have free will, so I hope they make good choices to right what went wrong. . I got to answer the praying because it can’t be put off much longer. I know what will happen if I don’t allow this virus , which is worse. So, here goes.”

      DISCLAIMER: Please don’t take offense to the above cause I’m just trying to be helpful. Also, I’m not really knowing what the position of God is.

      1. “position of God is.”

        Is it possible to have a “position” iffin’s yer everywheres all @ once?

  21. Any thoughts on how bad the collapse of the Everything Bubble will get?

    The coronavirus outbreak is merely the pin whose prick started the process.

    1. US stock market falling faster than during the Wall Street Crash of 1929
      We simply do not know where shares will bottom out, but the pace of the sell-off is alarming
      Ben Chu
      Economics Editor
      2 days ago

      US stocks and shares stabilised on Thursday but analysis by The Independent shows that one of the main American equity market indexes over the past month has been falling even more rapidly than during the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

      The Wall Street Crash, which occurred in the autumn of 1929, marked the end of a huge speculative bubble in American shares.
      …

      1. Can confirm that alarm bells are ringing…on my limit orders, allowing me to adjust them lower.

          1. Thought it might be a good time to rewatch it but can’t find it on Amazon Prime, Netflix or Disney+ and as we’re paying for those three already I’m not renting or buying it.

    3. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/world-cannot-be-saved-von-greyerz-warns-global-financial-system-broken-bankrupt

      “The system is bankrupt… The system is broken and bankrupt. This did not start now with the Coronavirus. It didn’t start in August and September (of 2019) when central banks said we would do everything we can with the Fed QE, repos and the ECB (European Central Bank) QE…
      This started a long time ago. The system was broken at the beginning of this century. The 2007-2009 crisis was the first signal that the financial system was not functioning. They threw $25 trillion at it in financing and guarantees, etc., but I always said 2007-2009 was a rehearsal. We are now approaching, sadly, the real thing. This is the end of a two to three hundred year cycle. So, we are going to see some extremely difficult times. The Corona virus is a horrible catalyst, but that is all it is. It’s not the reason for the problem. The reason for the problem is a broken financial system… and now we are starting the final stage of the end of this financial system.”

    4. Any thoughts on how bad the collapse of the Everything Bubble will get? I think that will depend on the attempted cures which will be tried. All the cures I can think of at this moment see much worse than the disease itself.

  22. Maybee someone can ma$$ produce a “Corona.death.germ” logo flag. Start placing them on the front$ of bid.ne$$ess” & home$ that have a “tainted” occupant.

    That might bee intere$ting & informative! (No digital alerts needed!) … 👀 the “Smiths” just joined “thee.death.bug.club!)

  24. ‘There was little evidence of an approaching downturn as recently as a month or two ago,’ said Gary Burtless, an economist at the Brookings Institution. ‘Unemployment remained low, job growth was reasonably steady, inflation was moderate, the Federal Reserve had taken no recent steps to curb U.S. economic growth to avert wage or price inflation.</em

    What a crock of sh*t from this globalist think tank. Unemployment was low because of statistical fakery and 100 million people "out of the work force" but not counted as unemployed. Nobody who lived in the real world and paid rent, paid medical bills, bought groceries, paid for insurance, or had a kid in college thought inflation was "moderate." The Main Street economy was suffering, while Wall Street and the corporations binged on limitless Yellen Bux to fund their gambling habits and share buybacks. Now the whole financial house of cards is tumbling down under the weight of its own fraud.

  25. “Tens of thousands of Texans are being laid off across the state in places like the Permian Basin shale fields in West Texas as companies shut down drilling rigs, according to Ryan Sitton, a state oil regulator.

    Next up: cascading defaults on the junk bonds that have been artificially propping up all these unprofitable, money-bleeding shale plays. The bankers who lent massive sums to keep these operations going will be as nervous as a 9-year-old at the Neverland Ranch.

    1. Remember Dodd Frank. Derivative holders get paid before depositors. Smells like Cyprus

        1. Glad you asked. If the system was overwhelmed by bank failures, then maybe you get stock in your worthless bank and or take a haircut on your deposits , irrespective of the FDIC bailout limit.

  26. Fort Worth’s massive housing boom, with the cost of single-family homes increasing 58% during the past seven years, also could experience a significant cooling off as fewer people move to the area, several economists said.

    Or it could experience a full-blown collapse.

  27. ‘The upper markets seem to be holding their breath,’ said Kath Hammerseng a Twin Cities real estate agent.”

    Pretty soon they’re going to be biting a pillow, Kath.

  28. <em.‘The investor gives us less equity, the project is in the red and we’re on the hook for it,’ he said.”

    Sucks to be you, Speculator Boy.

  29. “It’s not every day that a home as desirable as the one at 8301 Salem Road in Margate, just steps from the beach, has its asking price slashed by $200,000.

    Not impressed. Start slashing like you mean it, greedhead. I’ve got plenty of time. You don’t.

    1. The only nice thing about that house is that it really is steps from the beach. Other than that, forget it. They wrote a lot of flowery language, but I bet that’s just another AirBnb party house.

  30. “A 105-acre farm along Lee Highway near New Baltimore sold last week for $2.2 million. Avalon Farm went on the market in November 2017 with an asking price of $3.5 million, according to Realtor.com. Over the years, the asking price dropped twice, to $2.85 million and then to $2.55 million.”

    Farmers struggling with debt in the heartland are killing themselves by the hundreds. Most bought into the farmland bubble and found out the hard way they’d overextended themselves financially.

    1. “Farmers $truggling with debt$ in the heartland …”

      “Thee Orange.jesus” has reque$ted that they go buy more Deere $800,000 implement$ 🚜 & low.co$t farmland$ 🌽🥓🥩🥛🍞🧀🥔🍎🍇🍉🥑… because:

      “Trade.War$.i$.ea$y!”

      Got🍿?

      1. The right combination of meds and talk therapy might help you manage your Trump Derangement Syndrome, brah.

    2. The problem is with farms costing millions of dollars. You have to be an oligarch to be a farmer anymore. Bad business model.

      1. The problem is with farms costing millions of dollars ??

        Take away the “all” subsidies and lets see what happens to those valuations…

  31. According to those organizations, Mariposa County has the third-highest vacancy rate in California. It is estimated at around 25 percent.”

    Start slapping punitive taxes and liens on those SOBs.

  32. ‘This echoes 2008 when the Fed’s mortgage-backed securities buying spree increased demand for mortgage-backed securities at a time when investor demand was faltering.

    Yes, the Keynesian fraudsters took $2.3 trillion in toxic-waste MBSs off the banksters’ ledgers at par, and transferred them to the public ledger. F**k you, Ben and Janet. You too, Powell. You’d think after the 3rd Great Muppet Reaping since 1999 that the sheeple would start to figure out the source of their rectal bleeding, but evidently not, judging by the support for Crooked Hilary and Biden.

    1. a pretext to further erode our Constitutional rights

      The irony of the CCP virus eroding our constitutional rights.

  35. Got this email “IMPORTANT NOTICE” from the Town of Jupiter today

    Boat Ramps Closed to Recreational Use
    Jupiter Sandbars Closed

    Area boat ramps have been closed to recreational use and only commercially-licensed vessels may launch. In addition, Jupiter sandbars are closed in order to prevent people from congregating in large groups on sandbars, beaches and waterways, and to practice social distancing. Large groups of people gathering on our waterways will contribute to the spread of COVID-19. The Town of Jupiter and the Jupiter Police Department urge residents and visitors to be responsible, stay off sandbars and beaches, and practice social distancing.

    1. I hope this special kind of stupidity doesn’t become widespread, although we seem to be in lemming mode. A morning out on our local lake in a fishing boat is about as socially distanced as one can get. Besides, getting food is supposed to be “essential”.

      1. “…A morning out on our local lake in a fishing boat is about as socially distanced as one can get…”

        Governments should encourage the *opposite*. After all, if you own a boat and choose to set out on a lake or the ocean, you are actually doing society a favor by staying out of the way. In addition, for those who enjoy fishing, your catch will lessen the load and traffic in currently poorly stocked supermarkets.

        Does anyone in Government actually completely think through a problem these days?

      2. “A morning out on our local lake in a fishing boat is about as socially distanced as one can get.”

        Plus there exists the benifit of an abundant amount of sunlight …

        “‘Ultraviolet light can be a really powerful disinfectant and we get a lot of UVA light from the sun,’ says Daniel Kuritzkes an infectious disease expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. ‘Direct sunlight can help rapidly diminish infectivity of viruses on surfaces,’ he says. He was not involved in the new research.”

        How Long Can The Coronavirus Live On Surfaces? : Shots – Health News : NPR
        https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/14/811609026/the-new-coronavirus-can-live-on-surfaces-for-2-3-days-heres-how-to-clean-them

  36. So if nobody will be buying and homeowners can defer their payment and not lose risking their house what happens to the market? My guess is that new homes will fall first as not many will qualify to purchase and then when existing homes come back online they’ll plummet overnight in value to be more in line with new inventory. Any other guesses?

      2. Well… After all…. it’s the Housing Bubble Blog.

        San Ramon, CA Housing Prices Crater 10% YOY As Appraisal Fraud Investigations Ramp Up

        https://www.movoto.com/san-ramon-ca/market-trends/

        As a noted economist said, “I can ask $50k for my run down 10 year old Chevy truck but where is the buyer at that price? So it is with all depreciating asset like houses and cars.”

    2. The permanent damage to many people’s finances will cause them to need to sell, regardless of deferred payments. And, when this is all over, there will be a lot less buyers on the demand side due to layoffs, fear, and stock value losses.

        1. Of all the things that take time, resources or talent to manufacture, credit is not in one. It will be the only thing we can quickly make after the virus has had its way with us and like cigarettes, will take years for the “scientists” to find out how bad it is for you.

  37. “It’$ thee Viru$ $tupid”! … by James Carville, maybee.

    Economic$

    U.S. Joble$$ Rate May $oar to 30%, Fed’s Bullard Says

    By Steve Matthews / March 22, 2020

    St. Louis Fed chief calls for maximum support for economy
    ‘Everything is on the table’ for Fed to provide support

    Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard predicted the U.S. unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter because of shutdowns to combat the coronaviru$, with an unprecedented 50% drop in gro$$ domestic product$.

    Ma$$ive Aid:

    Bullard’s grave assessment of the world’s largest economy underscores the critical need for Congress and the White House to quickly find agreement on a massive aid program. The Fed last week restarted financial crisis-era programs to help the commercial paper and money markets, after cutting interest rates to near zero and pledging to boost its holdings of Treasuries by at least $500 billion and of mortgage securities by at least $200 billion.

    “This is a planned, organized partial $hutdown of the U.$. economy in the $econd quarter,” Bullard said. “The overall goal is to keep everyone, household$ and busine$$es, whole” with government $upport. “It is a huge shock and we are trying to cope with it and keep it under control.”

    The U.S. central bank bought $272 billion of government debt last week, of the more than $500 billion authorized, which Bullard emphasized should not be seen as a limit.

    1. The health care system wasn’t set up for a pandamic outbreak of a flu virus. They will be discussing for years why not

      They are trying to respond to this deficiency. One wonders why the other flu deaths of recent decade wasn’t a red flag as to what was to come.

      Again, one needs to learn to protect yourself. Big nanny government will fail you every time, and a healthy lifestyle will help you avoid the medical Cartel.

      1. “The health care system wasn’t set up for a pandamic outbreak of a flu virus. They will be discussing for years why not”

        Because readiness on that scale is expensive. And states like California have been having fun spending their excess funds on Sanctuary cities and the problems that come with them.

      2. One wonders why the other flu deaths of recent decade wasn’t a red flag as to what was to come. The SARS outbreak was a red flag. The USA piled up a great many units of PPE in warehouses back then. Over the years about 50% of the stockpile was distributed to users. The stockpile was not replenished. I wish I had links & exact stats for all this. Apparently South Korea took lessons learned from the same SARS outbreak to heart & their leaders jumped into action very quickly.

  38. Inconceivable! … ? … “unrecognizable”! … matter$ knot.

    ‘Unrecognizable’: Expert$ warn of hi$toric collap$e in economic activity

    By Sam Ro / Yahoo Finance / March 22, 2020

    Economist$ at Goldman $achs warn GDP will collap$e at a 24% rate, a far cry from the “4, 5, and even 6%” growth $cenario presented by President Trump just over two years ago.

    “We are in a global rece$$ion,” Allianz’s Mohamed El-Erian said on Yahoo Finance’s On The Move. “We’re in a global recession because of what economic $udden $tops do.”

    “[Sudden stops] are normally experienced by fragile states or by a community hit by a natural disaster, where everything comes to a stop,” El-Erian added. “They’ve never been felt at a level of a country as systemically important as China or the U.S., or Europe. And they’ve certainly never been felt at the level of global economy. So this is unprecedented.”

    Because of the unprecedented nature and scale of what the world is facing, economists have struggled to model how badly things are getting.

    “There is no blueprint for the current shock, and uncertainty about the extent of contagion and the economic consequences is overwhelming,” Credit Suisse economist James Sweeney said.

    1. hy·per·bo·le
      /hīˈpərbəlē/
      noun
      noun: hyperbole; plural noun: hyperboles

      exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

      1. Carnage / Contagion$ / Con$equences / Collap$ing / Calamitie$ / Cootie$ ..

        Noun$ / Adjectives / Verb$ …

        It’$ all there, like.the.note$.on.a piano: Songwriters: Billy Joel

        Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
        South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
        Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
        North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
        Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
        Brando, “The King and I” and “The Catcher in the Rye”
        Eisenhower,
        vaccine,
        England’s got a new queen
        Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

        We didn’t start the fire
        It was always burning
        Since the world’s been turning
        We didn’t start the fire
        No we didn’t light it
        But we tried to fight it

        Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
        Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
        Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
        Dien Bien Phu falls, “Rock Around the Clock”
        Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team
        Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
        Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
        Princess Grace, “Peyton Place”,
        trouble in the Suez

        (The you.tube video is fun, but eye can’t make a short link to it.)

    2. Remember my good friend…. As a noted economist said so eloquently, “Nothing accelerates the economy and creates jobs like falling prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels. Nothing.”

      He’s right.

      Silver Spring, MD Housing Prices Tank 14% YOY As Northern VA/Washington DC Rental Rates And Housing Prices Crater

      https://www.movoto.com/silver-spring-md/market-trends/

      As one homebuilder advised, “Never pay more than $50 a square foot for a house. Ever.”

  39. No percentage maths are necessary to demonstrate that a 40% one-day increase is a very bad sign.

    1. The Financial Times
      US
      Coronavirus cases soar in US with New York worst hit
      Rand Paul becomes first senator to test positive for Covid-19
      People walk around Washington square park as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in New York, U.S., March 22, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
      People walk around Washington square park as the number of coronavirus cases rises in New York ©
      Alistair Gray in New York 2 hours ago

      The scale of the coronavirus crisis facing the US was laid bare on Sunday when confirmed cases across the country surged to almost 30,000 and New York emerged as an international hotspot.

      New York state governor Andrew Cuomo warned that he expected between 40 and 80 per cent of the state’s population to ultimately contract the virus, and told residents to prepare for serious disruption for between four and nine months.

      Figures presented by Mr Cuomo showed that the number of confirmed US cases had increased by about 8,000, or almost 40 per cent, from Saturday.
      …

      1. They’re testing NYers now in large numbers. It will be hard to figure how the infection rate is increasing with that variable going up. I still don’t hear any of these talking heads mention the possibility even of false positives. Cuomo is now doing Fireside Chats. Says he is getting cranky at his dog.

        1. They’re testing NYers now in large numbers. How close are they to the same percentage of South Koreans their government tested at the same stage of the outbreak? I hate to think what the comparison would look like.

    2. Another 10% discount on gasoline. Guau!

      Fed’s Bullard says U.S. unemployment could hit 30%

      U.S. stock futures plunge, hit limit down
      Published: March 22, 2020 at 6:22 p.m. ET
      By Mike Murphy

      U.S. stock futures plunged at the open late Sunday, hitting a 5% limit down almost immediately after the session began, following Wall Street’s worst week since the financial crisis in 2008. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00, -5.011%) were last down more than 900 points, or 5%, while S&P 500 futures (ES00, -5.003%) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00, -4.882%) sank around 5%. Meanwhile, the Senate was set to take a preliminary vote on a massive coronavirus stimulus package Sunday evening.
      …

      1. Senate coronavirus stimulus measure fails first test-vote
        Published: March 22, 2020 at 6:50 p.m. ET
        By Greg Robb

        Legislation to soften the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic failed its first test vote in the Senate on Sunday. The vote was 47 to 47. The measure needed 60 votes to proceed. Senate Democrats voted against starting a 30-hour clock towards a vote. The measure. largely written by Republicans, would send checks to every American and increase unemployment insurance. Democrats argued the details of the bill were geared to helping Wall Street more than Main Street.
        …

      2. The great profitable enterprises of Amerikka can’t even survive a month of 2 of downturn. What a fookin’ joke these people are!

    2. I sure hope the folks who negotiate the GATT deals have a better understanding of the risks of globalism.

  43. The Financial Times
    Opinion Coronavirus
    This time, small guys should get the bailouts
    Many run tight margins as it is and would not be able to survive additional debt burden
    Rana Foroohar
    8 hours ago

    In the previous crisis, Washington bailed out banks. Today, it’s about to bail out big business.

    The corporate sector looks a lot like the financial sector did pre-2008: debt-laden, with some sectors highly leveraged, and most of them reliant on financial engineering to create the illusion of growth and innovation.

    American companies used to reinvest their earnings to boost productive capacity. Now, they mostly generate “value” by downsizing and distributing money to the richest in the US.

    The question, now that the entire economy is collapsing at once, is who will be first in line to get bailed out?

    Will it be the airlines, who spent the majority of their copious free cash in recent years on buybacks?
    …
    Bailouts will again be needed now, given a market downturn that mirrors 1929 and an economic contraction likely to be sharper than during the previous financial crisis. But if we want capitalism and liberal democracy to survive Covid-19, we cannot afford to repeat the mistaken “socialise the losses, privatise the gains” approach used a decade ago.

    We have to start by protecting individual citizens and consumers. Coronavirus has exposed how vulnerable much of the American population is.

    My children attend the New York City public school system, along with 1m others. One reason the schools waited a while to shut down for virus mitigation is that three-quarters of its students live at or below the poverty line.

    One in 10 are homeless. Many get the majority of their calories every day from free school breakfasts and lunches. (Schools are still operating a grab-and-go meal operation).

    This is one of the many reasons why I am for the immediate cash payouts to individuals that have been suggested by many economists. In an ideal world, we would do that by means testing. But there is no time. We can recapture unnecessary payments the other side of the crisis, via the tax code. Meanwhile, I would encourage those who don’t need their cheques to give them to those who do: workers such as my cleaning lady, who cannot work from home.

    I would also love to see a federally underwritten three-month moratorium on all rent, mortgage payments and student debt payments, as well as government reimbursement for all healthcare costs associated with the virus.

    “The most important step right now is debt forbearance,” says credit expert Richard Vague, who has studied the fallout of past financial crises. “I don’t believe this will be detrimental to the economy long-term.”

    When it comes to corporate bailouts, small and midsized businesses should come first. Over 96 per cent of them say that they are already feeling the pain of Covid-19, and over half claim they won’t be able to stay in business for more than three months in the current situation, according to a Goldman Sachs survey.

    They should be given grants, not loans. Many run tight margins as it is, and would not be able to survive any additional debt burden. These small and midsized businesses, which make up 83 per cent of US payrolls, should come first. Unlike large companies, their capital expenditure has also risen in recent years. These are the businesses that we need to save now.
    …

    1. “In the previous crisis, Washington bailed out banks. Today, it’s about to bail out big business.”

      What do call a Demoncrapt that favor$ $pending: “$ociali$t”

      What do you call a Repubican that favor$ “Fiscal.CON$ervativi$m”: “knot a Demoncrapt”

    2. Small guys who lived within their means will get couple of hundred of bucks.
      FOB’s get thousand of dollars.
      Millionaires get millions.

      To each according to his need

      And
      They say bernie is the socialist.

    3. You know Bear Ive said this over the years they bailed out AIG when they should have bailed out CIT, which provided loans to small business advances on their A/R and letters of credit to shipping companies which al froze… remember Dryships?

  44. aq.dannyboy, prolotized that dtRumpsis would only be re$ponsible for the “deficit$” # ‘$ on the day he leaves thee throne.

    One might wonder$ what that # might$ bee?

    ECONOMY

    The government budget deficit$ is about to explode to fight the coronaviru$

    CNBC / PUBLISHED SUN, MAR 22 20202 / By Jeff Cox

    KEY POINT$:

    Congre$$ and the White Hou$e are working on an economic $timulus bill likely to approach $2 trillion$.

    The $pending comes with the government already expected to run a budget deficit exceeding $1 trillion$ this year.

    Economist Paul McCulley said aggre$$ive $pending to combat the coronaviru$’ economic impact will be “a bridge to the other side of an act of God.”

    In addition to the spending, a Treasury backstop of Federal Reserve programs could provide another $4 trillion$ in liquidity.

    Administration officials say the spending will pave the way for greater growth later in the year.

    Estimate$ of just how big the final bill would be vary, but it’s assured that it will be a hi$toric moment for sheer fi$cal force being exerted at a time of economic dure$$.

    $ad:

    Already, the national debt stands at more than $23.5 trillion and will be on track to eclipse $25 trillion. Taxpayers shelled out $574.6 billion in fiscal 2019 on interest payments for the debt and another $229.1 billion in fiscal 2020.

    In short, the shock from the COVID-19 spread will blow a fiscal hole through Washington, D.C., that could take years if not decades to patch.

    Good.gawd:

    “It’s truly a bridge to the other side of an act of God,” economist Paul McCulley told CNBC.com. “We’ll deal down the road with the impacts on so many fronts of society with the whole thing. Right now, worrying about fiscal incontinence is the exact opposite of where we should be. We should have fiscal robustness implemented through effectively a joint venture between fiscal and monetary policy.”

  45. What are the chances that oil prices will drop to negative levels before coming back, given that supply is surging when demand is vaporizing?

    1. What Happens If Oil Prices Go Negative?
      By Stuart Burns – Mar 21, 2020, 12:00 PM CDT
      Oil Price War

      Various reports hit the news feeds today quoting a deliberately headline-grabbing statement by Paul Sankey, managing director at Mizuho Securities, in which he is reported as saying, “Oil prices can go negative.” That is, they could as a combination of Saudi Arabia (and Russia) flooding the market with increased oil and the market running headlong into COVID-19-induced curtailment of activity that is suppressing consumption, which combined will create the perfect storm of excess supply.

      In reality, inventory levels are already rising.

      CNN quotes Sankey, who said global oil demand is only around 100 million barrels per day.

      However, the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could crash demand by up to 20 percent.

      This would create a 20 million barrel-per-day surplus of oil in the market that would rapidly exceed storage capacity, forcing oil producers to pay customers to buy the commodity – hence, in effect, negative oil prices.
      …

    2. I found an explanation of the Baltic Dry Index the other day, and why they would actually “pay” for loads. They pay to transport goods to another port where they have the best shot of actually getting a paying load. Kind of like Uhaul wanting their trucks in certain locations, hence the wild pricing.

    3. Rumor has it that $torage is quite profitable these day$, terra.firma & floating on sea$ @ $afe.harbor$!
      (Knot off the $hore$ of (-$omalia)

      1. $torage is quite profitable

        Hard to imagine paying to offload the oil as hazardous waste to get out of the storage rental contract.

        1. Rumor ha$ it that Mexican cartel “front.companie$” is makin’ non.drug$ profit$ monie$ acting as middle.women trader$ on black.gold deal$!

          Use any search engine.

  46. The people in charge seem to be enjoying their Martial Law powers.

    “If you’re there and in violation and you’re told to get off, you need to get off. If you don’t, you’re going to suffer the consequences.”

    Town parks and beaches are closed

    By Ken Borsuk Published 2:30 pm EDT, Sunday, March 22, 2020

    GREENWICH — First Selectman Fred Camillo has announced that town beaches and parks will close to the public effective Sunday at 8 p.m., lasting until further notice.

    Camillo had warned last week that if people did not practice social distancing it would force him to take the additional step. Those violating the order could be subject to penalty.

    According to Camillo, the parks and beaches will now be monitored by the police, Parks and Recreation staff and members of the town’s volunteer fire companies. Those found violating the closure order may be cited for trespassing or given “more severe criminal sanctions.”

    “We’re not looking to give tickets and throw people in jail,” Camillo said. “We’re not looking to make people’s lives more frustrating than they are now. But we’re very, very, very serious about this. If we close the parks, that means they’re closed. If we close the beaches, that means they’re closed. If you’re there and in violation and you’re told to get off, you need to get off. If you don’t, you’re going to suffer the consequences. There’s no fooling around when it comes to this.”

    Town streets and sidewalks will still be open for people looking to get outdoors for a respite.

    https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/coronavirus/article/Town-parks-and-beaches-are-closed-15149346.php

  47. Three more coronavirus deaths brings total to 8 in CT

    By Ken Dixon and Robert Marchant Updated 7:33 pm EDT, Sunday, March 22, 2020

    Gov. Ned Lamont said Sunday night that three more people have died from the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the state’s total to eight.

    The victims were described as a man in his 80s who was a resident of a nursing home in Stafford Springs and had been exposed to another infected man who had recently died; a woman in her 80s who was in a private residence in Rocky Hill; and a New Canaan woman in her 80s who had been living in a private residence and died in Norwalk Hospital.

    https://www.greenwichtime.com/

    1. Norwalk Hospital

      Don’t put me in a place with a name like that! Too close to Nere Walk Again.

  48. Berkshire County man among three new COVID-19 deaths in Massachusetts

    by: Johan Sheridan
    Posted: Mar 22, 2020 / 05:26 PM EDT

    BOSTON (NEWS10) — The Massachusetts Public Health Department reporting three more deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the total in the state to five. Two men in their 70s—one from Berkshire County and one from Hampden County—and a third in his 90s—from Suffolk County—have died since Saturday.

    The Berkshire County man reportedly had an underlying health condition, but all three men were of an age that more vulnerable to COVID-19 complications despite prior health status. All three men died in the hospital.

    The state’s first two deaths were also confirmed this weekend: a Suffolk County man in his 80s and a Middlesex County woman in her 50s, both with pre-existing conditions.

    https://www.news10.com/news/breaking-news/berkshire-county-man-among-three-new-covid-19-deaths-in-massachusetts/

  49. I am racking my brain trying to remember the last time I saw someone in their 80s with pre-existing conditions take someones order in a restaurant, standing on a sandbar with a drink in their hand, launch a boat at a public ramp or play volleyball in a park or at the beach.

    “The statistics aren’t frightening enough to warrant what we’re doing.”

    1. “The statistics aren’t frightening enough to warrant what we’re doing.”

      After the banks/corps/fob’s are bailed out, they will drop this like hot potato.

    2. standing on a sandbar with a drink in their hand, launch a boat at a public ramp

      That would be my dad, in his day. He did like help launching the boat though, and to get it lined back up on the trailer. Last I was with him, he was toting his 32 Special stalking deer on the PA High Plateau.

        1. He doesn’t smoke. And I shouldn’t have said cancer survivor, he’s still undergoing treatment. And he’s my friend, so back the F off on this one.

          1. Understood and after thinking about it I wish I had not said that.

            Believe it or not I wouldn’t have ill wishes for your friend or anyone else for that matter. You know my point, I just think the panic (hoarding TP, business closings, quarantines etc.) that has been created and the measures taken are over the top.

            I know, hell I’m sure most people know healthy people in their 70s and 80s. Thing is they, along with sick people staying home and everyone washing their hands etc. falls under common sense things to do. As you know, I think the Martial Law conditions have gone way past common sense.

  50. Wasn’t TARP (“Troubled Assets Relief Program”) mainly about making rich guys whole on their devalued asset portfolios?

    Live
    Coronavirus latest: Asia-Pacific equities show strain as US futures tumble
    ASX 200 and Kospi fall at open after governments placed further controls on the movement of people. Futures for the S&P 500 hit limit down, falling 5 per cent before easing slightly to be 3.8 lower.
    – Real-time data show virus hit to global economic activity
    – Coronavirus cases soar in US with New York worst hit
    – How Singapore waged war on coronavirus
    Emma Boyde
    22 minutes ago

    Australian stocks fall sharply as shutdown takes hold
    Jamie Smyth reports from Sydney

    Australia’s share market dived 8 per cent in early trading on Monday, as state governments began shutting down large parts of the national economy and US lawmakers failed to agree coronavirus stimulus measures.

    Banks, commodities, retailers and leisure stocks all fell sharply as the New South Wales and Victorian governments ordered pubs, clubs, casinos, gyms and other leisure facilities to close from noon on Monday.

    The partial shutdown of non-essential services came as the number of coronavirus cases in Australia hit 1,316, continuing to double every three to four days.

    The stock market rout occurred as large queues began forming outside welfare offices, as laid off workers sought to make claims for emergency payments made available by Australia’s government.

    Lawmakers today began a one day parliamentary sitting in Canberra to legislate a A$189bn stimulus package aimed at helping businesses and workers survive months of disruption caused by the spread of the virus.

    Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone group, a financial broker, said the Australian market was being driven down by a combination of the partial shutdown at home and a failure by the US Congress to pass emergency stimulus measures.

    “It was already troubled, but market confidence has been dealt a further blow by the sheer inability for Congress to learn from TARP and get things passed with the urgency this absolutely needs,” he said.
    …

      1. “the $hutdown of Australia’$ economy”

        Blah, blah, blah, + nix, nix, nix =
        Kangaroo$ land ha$ knot had a Rece$$ion in like … 300 year$ or month$?

        (Whatever, they i$ clo$e proximitie$ to their China.$aviours anywho’$)

        1. I sent some monies over there to Kangaroo Island a while back, to help tend to the burnt critters.

          Some of my people were convict settlers.

          1. Awe$ome! Very good of you!

            (No commentary about dtRumpsis $olution of using rake$ as a mean$ to $olve prevention of destruction)

          2. No commentary about dtRumpsis $olution of using rake$ as a mean$ to $olve prevention of destruction

            That is too obscure for me to get it, and it’s too early for coffee.

    2. ‘It was already troubled, but market confidence has been dealt a further blow by the sheer inability for Congress to learn from TARP and get things passed with the urgency this absolutely needs’

      ‘Sir, this is a Wendy’s’

  51. Boeing worker at Everett plant dies from coronavirus infection
    March 22, 2020 at 5:13 pm Updated March 22, 2020 at 6:20 pm
    A Boeing inspector who worked on the 787 Dreamliner in Everett and came down with the COVID-19 respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus has died Boeing’s Everett factory produces the 747, 767, 777, and the 787 airplanes. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)
    By Dominic Gates
    Seattle Times aerospace reporter

    A Boeing worker who came down with the COVID-19 respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus has died, the first death among the infected employees.

    Co-workers and a union official who confirmed his death said the man was an inspector who worked on the 787 Dreamliner in Everett.

    The Seattle Times is not naming him until his family is informed. Boeing said in a statement it is “taking the right steps to confirm the information while respecting the individual’s and the family’s privacy.”
    …

  54. CNBC TV
    Business News
    Data Visualizations
    These charts show how fast coronavirus cases are spreading — and what it takes to flatten the curve
    Published Sun, Mar 22 2020 3:20 PM EDT
    Nate Rattner
    John W. Schoen
    Key Points
    – U.S. public officials, health-care workers and epidemiologists are being hampered by a dearth of data on exactly how far and how fast the coronavirus is spreading.
    – That lack of data in the U.S. is largely the result of delays in rolling out widespread testing in the early stages of the outbreak.
    – To better track the speed of pandemic’s spread, CNBC analyzed two months of data on the pace of growth of new cases in U.S. states and in countries around the world.
    …

    1. Nancy Pelosi is trying to block the Senate Bill saying 10 thousand in student debt per student should be paid down as part of the emergency measures.

      Does anybody think this would qualify for emergency relief?

      Giving Corporations that have strong asset positions bail outs over C-19 would be uncalled for.

      Regular people will need to take from their assets or savings to weather this Storm, so why shouldn’t the rich corporations.

      One thing I would like the greedheads to see is they are nothing without employees , and they are nothing without consumers.

      1. “Does anybody think this would qualify for emergency relief?”

        Well, this [is] an election season, so ladle the gravy!

  55. Are prominent politicians especially prone to COVID-19, or is it so ubiquitous that nobody can avoid exposure?

    The Coronavirus Crisis
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel Goes Into Self-Isolation
    March 22, 20205:13 PM ET
    Rob Schmitz 2016 square
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to the media to announce further measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 on March 22, 2020 in Berlin.
    Pool/Getty Images

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put herself under self-quarantine after learning that her doctor who had vaccinated her against pneumonia on Friday has tested positive for COVID-19.

    Merkel will be tested regularly in the coming days as she plans to carry out her duties from home, and Germany’s government will continue to operate as planned, with Merkel’s cabinet set to meet Monday to discuss a stimulus package of roughly $160 billion to help keep Germany afloat as it suffers from the pandemic.

    As of Sunday, Germany had nearly 24,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with more than 90 deaths, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. The news of Merkel’s quarantine came soon after her government imposed new social-distancing rules that limit public gatherings to two people, not including families. Under the new restrictions, restaurants will be allowed to stay open, but provide only takeout and delivery services. People will still be allowed to go to work and to leave home to care for relatives, shop and visit doctors.
    …

      1. Professor,

        I bet a lot of the Hollywood crowd might get it cause they kiss each other a lot as a greeting gesture.

        1. Geez, it’$ on account$ they have huge mansion$ with double door entrance’$ & $uper gigantic door.knob$!

  56. The Financial Times
    Coronavirus
    India goes into lockdown as coronavirus spreads
    Restrictions applied to most of the country after one-day voluntary curfew
    The emergence of at least three Indian coronavirus patients with no known link to travellers has fanned fears that the virus is circulating freely
    © Jaipal Singh/EPA
    Stephanie Findlay and Amy Kazmin in New Delhi
    12 hours ago

    India is locking down large swaths of the country until at least the end of the month, as it seeks to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus following a surge in cases over the last two days.

    The curbs will prohibit all but essential services from operating and will take effect from Monday morning. All inter-city and long distance trains — which normally carry 23m people per day — have also been suspended, as have the local trains in Mumbai and Kolkata. The Delhi Metro and other public transportation networks are also being halted.

    The restrictions and closures — which will vary slightly from state to state but affect most major cities — were announced on Sunday evening, as the number of cases in India surged to over 350, with 7 deaths.
    …

  57. Odd, eye only $mell panic$ & carnage, sorta repul$ive actually.

    HEALTH:

    Sudden Loss of Smell Could Indicate ‘Hidden Carriers’ of Coronaviru$, Say UK Experts

    By ADAM BIENKOV, BUSINESS INSIDER / 23 MARCH 2020

    Anyone experiencing a sudden loss of smell could be a “hidden carrier” of the coronavirus, even if they have no other symptoms, according to evidence compiled by leading rhinologists in the UK.

    In South Korea, China, and Italy, about a third of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 have also reported a loss of smell – known as anosmia or hyposmia – leading ear, nose, and throat experts in the UK have reported.

    The professors said that many patients around the world who have tested positive for COVID-19 are presenting only the symptoms of loss of smell and taste – without the more commonly recognised symptoms of high fever and coughing.
    “There have been a rapidly growing number of reports of a significant increase in the number of patients presenting with anosmia in the absence of other symptoms,” the statement says.

    “Iran has reported a sudden increase in cases of isolated anosmia, and many colleagues from the US, France, and Northern Italy have the same experience.”

    The lack of other recognised symptoms in these cases may mean they are unlikely to be tested and isolated, meaning they could be contributing to the rapid spread of the disease worldwide.
    “These patients may be some of the hitherto hidden carriers that have facilitated the rapid spread of COVID-19,” they added.

    1. Coronavirus: NZ market falls more than 10 per cent for first time ever
      updated 19 minutes ago
      23 Mar, 2020 3:23pm
      3 minutes to read
      The Reserve bank has moved on quantitative easing buying up to $30 billion in government bonds in order to try and push interest rates down.
      NZ Herald

      New Zealand shares slumped more than 10 per cent today for the first time ever after the Government announced a series of stricter restrictions to counter the spread of Covid-19.

      The S&P NZX-50 Index opened down 4.9 per cent this morning before falling further to be down 943.79 points, or 10.3 per cent, to 8,252.48 at 3pm.

      Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced this afternoon that the country would be in coronavirus lockdown for the next four weeks.

      Schools and non-essential services across New Zealand will be closed for that time as the Government to tries to stop the spread of coronavirus.
      …

    1. Can someone please remind me of what a subprime mortgage is? I’ve kind of forgotten…

      The Financial Times
      Bonds
      Mutual fund seeks offers on $1bn of mortgage bonds
      AlphaCentric suffers heavy losses on exposure to subprime mortgages
      (FILES) In this file photo taken on March 18, 2020 Traders work during the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at Wall Street in New York City. – Beaten-down European and US stocks rose on March 19, 2020, as markets weighed massive government stimulus efforts against early indicators of what is expected to be a deep and painful economic downturn.
      (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
      The mortgage market has come under pressure as investors began to doubt homeowners’ ability to repay their loans.
      © AFP via Getty Images
      Joe Rennison and Robert Smith in London and Eric Platt in New York
      2 hours ago

      A $2.3bn mutual fund sought offers on more than $1bn of mortgage bonds on Sunday to cover investor withdrawals after booking heavy losses in the market turmoil.

      The AlphaCentric Income Opportunities fund lost more than 30 per cent of its value last week owing to its heavy exposure to home loans to borrowers with lower credit scores. The fund’s public filings show that at the end of 2019 — when it still had $4bn in assets — it had invested two-thirds of its portfolio in bonds backed by subprime mortgages.

      The mortgage market has come under broad pressure as some investors began to doubt homeowners’ ability to repay their loans. Two traders said that the fund’s portfolio managers sought offers from potential buyers on a list of more than $1bn of securities to raise cash.

      The mutual fund, which carries the highest, five-star rating by influential investment research firm Morningstar, offers its investors the chance to withdraw their money on a daily basis.

      A statement from the fund’s management team said coronavirus had caused “severe market dislocations and liquidity issues” across the bond market and that they were “moving expeditiously to address the unprecedented market conditions”.

      The statement noted that it was not necessarily trying to sell all the bonds it put up for offer. However, because of the “lack of liquidity in the marketplace” it had put a larger pool of assets up for grabs to see which drew “the most favourable prices”.

      “We can most likely expect a continuation of price volatility across the bond market spectrum until the panic selling and market uncertainty subsides or government agencies intervene to support the broader fixed income market,” the statement continued.

      The Federal Reserve accelerated its purchases of agency mortgaged-backed securities on Friday, after earlier interventions failed to calm the market.
      …

    2. What do investors suddenly have against bonds?

      Not sure about govt bonds. But regarding corporations I’m thinking that people have long memories about what happened to the GM bond holders a few years back…

  65. Generations of young men have gone off to war for our country. We’re being asked to stay home for 3 weeks. Whether or not you think that’s a false equivalency, it’s something to think about.

    1. “We’re being asked to stay home for 3 weeks.”

      Cuomo: Coronavirus pandemic could last up to 9 months

      By Aaron FeisMarch 22, 2020 | 3:34pm

      The deadly coronavirus pandemic could persist into 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday.

      “It is going to be four months, six months, nine months,” said Cuomo during an Albany press conference, as the number of confirmed state cases surged past 15,000. “We’re in that range.”

      https://nypost.com/2020/03/22/cuomo-coronavirus-pandemic-could-last-up-to-9-months/

      2. I don’t understand why Gov. Cuomo is busy braying 24/7 for federal help in getting medical protective gear. Dealing direct with the source(s) would be faster since GSA has all sorts of rules to abide by such as CEO gender and race.

        2. FEMA used to be an effective agency until they sacked its leadership when it was forced under Homeland Security.

    2. Personal sacrifice for the greater good isn’t something you would expect a lot of today’s narcissistic spoiled brats to be able to relate to.

      1. today’s narcissistic spoiled brats

        It’s not just narcissistic spoiled brats. My husband’s two business associates aren’t taking this seriously. People with young children are still moving despite a stay at home order. If the point is “blunt the curve,” I don’t see how this is going to be effective.

  66. Moh “scare the kiddies”…

    COVID ACT NOW

    Why you must act now

    Public leaders & health officials:

    The only thing that matters right now is the speed of your response

    This model is intended to help make fast decisions, not predict the future
    …

  69. Nice.try

    There is no comparison between those who sacrifice @ the risk of Blood & those who sacrifice for trea$ure$.

    $hall we now discu$$ folk$ who grope for military deferment$?

  70. At what point does the debt bomb become too big to bail? Never?

    The Financial Times
    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus threatens $32tn of Asia corporate debt
    Outbreak sparks cash crunch across region and fears of widespread bankruptcies
    People wear protective face masks, following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, at Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China
    © Reuters
    Jamie Smyth in Sydney, Don Weinland in Beijing, John Reed in Bangkok and Primrose Riordan in Hong Kong 3 hours ago

    The coronavirus outbreak is threatening to force companies across the Asia-Pacific region to default after years of low interest rates prompted many to gorge on trillions of dollars of debt.

    In the years following the global financial crisis to 2019, the volume of outstanding corporate debt issued by companies in the region doubled to $32tn, according to Moody’s, the rating agency.

    The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a cash crunch that investors fear will cause a wave of bankruptcies in industries from airlines to retail.

    “It’s a little bit crazy out there and there are very few sectors that are protected from this,” said John Park, a Brisbane-based managing director at restructuring firm FTI Consulting. “We are seeing an immediate uptick in inquiries from firms seeking advice on how to prevent a potential insolvency event.”
    A graphic with no description

    Among the areas causing particular concern is China’s property market. As of February, the industry owed a total of $647bn in bonds denominated in local and hard currencies, according to Dealogic data.

    Sales and construction starts both fell more than 20 per cent in the first two months compared to a year ago, according to Plenum China.

    Evergrande, one of the country’s largest developers, owes more than $100bn. The company has issued bonds at coupons of up to 13 per cent, a level analysts say indicates anxiety over its creditworthiness.

    Beijing may need to bail out such companies, analysts added, with many considering Evergrande too big to fail.
    …

  71. Too much leverage to bail?

    If there is a risk to what I’m saying, the risk is that it will be worse, not better.
    — Scott Minerd, CIO of Guggenheim Partners

    Sounds like something I might say!

    The Tell
    Wall Street money manager says the stock market won’t hit bottom until investors throw in the towel — and we’re not there yet
    Published: March 22, 2020 at 11:26 p.m. ET
    By Mark DeCambre

    The turmoil we are seeing right now is the result of the unwinding of this leverage.

    — Scott Minerd, center, chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners

    AFP/Getty Images

    It’s going to get worse before it gets better — a lot worse, according to Scott Minerd.

    The global chief investment officer at Guggenheim Partners says that investors are still holding out hope in many sectors, and that may be a sign that the worst isn’t over for a market that has taken a beating over the past month.

    ‘Since we haven’t seen capitulation yet, it would be premature to step in and buy aggressively at current levels, whether it is stocks or credit asset.’

    Minerd offered some grim insights for his clients in a Sunday research report, published around the time the Republican-controlled Senate failed to pass a rescue package to help struggling businesses and individuals navigate the global pandemic that has brought economies across the globe to a screeching halt.

    “Since we haven’t seen capitulation yet, it would be premature to step in and buy aggressively at current levels, whether it is stocks or credit asset,” said Minerd.

    Minerd said the turmoil that markets are facing now is a combination of the viral outbreak exacerbated by companies and investors that have been unwinding debt at a rapid clip to readjust to the new reality brought about by the onset of the deadly pathogen, which has infected more 335,000 people and claimed nearly 15,000 lives globally, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

    “The turmoil we are seeing right now is the result of the unwinding of this leverage,” Minerd wrote.
    …

  72. Is everyone running out of dollars, tanks to the coronahoarders?

    Currencies
    Dollar surges on funding crunch as virus roils global equities
    Published Sun, Mar 22 2020 9:02 PM EDT
    Reuters
    Key Points
    – The dollar rose 0.96% against the pound to $1.1559, approaching the strongest since at least 1985.
    – Against the yen, the currency rose 0.11% to 110.92.
    GP: US Dollar Notes 200319
    U.S. dollar banknotes.
    Liu Jie | Xinhua via Getty

    The dollar rose against major currencies on Monday as fresh declines in global stocks and worries about tightening liquidity amid the worsening coronavirus crisis accelerated the flight to cash.

    The dollar rose against sterling toward its strongest since at least 1985.

    Against the antipodeans, the greenback rose toward a 17-year high against the Australian dollar and approached an 11-year peak against the New Zealand dollar as investors dumped riskier assets.

    U.S. stock futures and oil prices came under further pressure early in Asian trading, which pushed the dollar higher as more people are placed under lockdown in an effort to contain the virus, traders said.
    …

  73. A nation of broke-assed losers …

    Coronavirus reveals financial irresponsibility of Americans | TheHill
    https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/488906-coronavirus-reveals-financial-irresponsibility-of-americans

    (snip)

    “How long could you sustain your household if you were to stop earning income? If you are like most Americans, the answer is not for long. Only 40 percent of Americans can afford an unexpected $1,000 expense with their savings. In fact, nearly 80 percent of workers are living paycheck to paycheck. It is no surprise that the probability of an economic recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic caused many to worry.”

    2. You mean selfish, greedy winners. They cashed in the future of the United States, and are determined to defer the cost until they are not around to pay it.

      “A combination of stimulus checks, a potential recession, and new bureaucracies to oversee a recovery will further accelerate our rendezvous with financial default in the next generation. The money will eventually come due in the form of taxes, deferred payments for benefit programs, or outright inflation.”

      I expect later born generations to spend their last years in poverty and ill health, and die at least five years earlier than Generation Greed on average. This will represent success, not failure.

  74. “Holding your breath and drinking cow urine? Reality Check’s Chris Morris busts more health myths about Covid-19 being shared online.”

    Mr. Banker says: Don’t believe this guy; Everyone who reads this message board should drink lots of cow urine. Plus they should visit their local bank branch and do a HELOC.

    BBC News – Coronavirus: More myths to ignore
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/51979410

    1. “Plus they should visit their local bank branch and do a HELOC.”

      (Do you $hake yer client$ hands before or after the “dotted.line$” $ignatures? $terilized pen$? )

  75. “Fed announces unlimited bond purchases in unprecedented move“

    This week alone the Fed plans to purchase $375 billion worth of Treasury securities ($75 billion a day) and $250 billon worth of mortgage-backed securities ($50 billion a day).
    “This is Jay Powell’s ‘whatever it takes’ moment,” said David Wessel, head of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, referring to Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
    In addition to buying more bonds, as policy known as “quantitative easing,” or QE, the Fed is re-launching programs to support corporate and household debt. The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility helps the market for student loans, auto loans, credit card loans and loans backed by the Small Business Administration.
    The Fed also said Monday that it will support the commercial lending market by purchasing commercial mortgage-backed securities in addition to mortgage-backed securities made up of home loans.

        1. “UNLIMITED”!
          Now there’s a word that wa$n’t u$ed in the HBB 1 debacle$ of 2008.

      2. Now all the fighting over who the winners and losers will be with the bailouts.

        I still think we can’t shut down for very long except for maybe some hot spots.

        1. We’re lucky to have the Fed’s free monies available in unlimited amounts. There should be enough to ho around for everyone.

        2. Now all the fighting over who the winners and losers will be with the bailouts.

          Let me guess:

          United, Delta, American, Southwest: Winners
          All other airlines: Losers

    2. “…the Fed is re-launching programs to support corporate and household debt.”

      Rescue the consumer credit lenders such as the Chrysler Credit, Ford Motor Credit, General Motors Acceptance Corp, and Honda and Toyota credit departments not to mention the Credit Card issuers. Ford’s $50k half-ton pickup is the new normal!

  76. Bothell, WA Housing Prices Crater 11% YOY As Vancouver, BC And Seattle Housing Markets Post Double Digit Price Declines In 2018 And 2019

    https://www.zillow.com/bothell-wa/home-values/

    *Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

    As one broker conceded, “Everyone in our business is lawyering up due to all the mortgage and appraisal fraud.”

  77. Bonds
    10-year Treasury yield dives below 0.7% after Fed announces unlimited asset purchases
    Published Mon, Mar 23 2020 3:21 AM EDT
    Updated an hour ago
    Yun Li
    Elliot Smith

    Treasury yields plunged on Monday after the Federal Reserve pledged asset purchases with no limit to support the markets amid the coronavirus pandemic.

    The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped 25 basis points to 0.692% following the Fed announcement. The rate last traded at 0.82%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 20 basis points to 1.34%. Bond yields fall as prices rise.

    The Fed said Monday it will continue its asset purchasing program including Treasurys and commercial mortgage-back securities “in the amounts needed to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.”

    “Today’s announcement will go a long way to reassuring investors the Fed has their backs and will stop the growing credit crisis in its tracks,” Chris Rupkey, MUFG’s chief financial economist, said in a note. “Yield spreads should narrow and the stock market should rest easier now that the Federal Reserve is giving it all it’s got.”
    …

    1. Would it be best to HODL stocks, bonds, or cash during QE Unlimited?

      Bond Report
      Treasurys rally on Fed’s unlimited QE effort
      Published: March 23, 2020 at 9:54 a.m. ET
      By Sunny Oh
      The Fed on Monday said it could purchase an unlimited amount of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities to help stabilize the financial markets
      …

      1. What is it about “unlimited” that the HODLers don’t grasp?

        The Financial Times
        Markets Briefing Equities
        US equities fall despite Fed’s unlimited bond-buying promise
        Central bank pledge sparks Treasury rally but it fails to hold
        Colby Smith in New York, Tommy Stubbington and Adam Samson in London and Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong an hour ago

        US stocks dropped on Monday despite the Federal Reserve unleashing its most forceful effort to date to contain the financial fallout of the coronavirus, including a pledge to buy US government bonds in unlimited amounts.

        The S&P 500 fell more than 2 per cent at the open, alongside similar declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as efforts from the US central bank to quell investor nerves failed to take hold. A rally in US Treasuries shortly after the Fed announcement also failed to hold.
        …

      2. mortgage-backed securities

        They wouldn’t be interested if they didn’t see a tsunami of defaults coming. All they’re doing is flattening the curve. The mortgages themselves will still get infected.

    2. $hoveling more coal$ into the firebox of the $team.engine isn’t going to help $olve the i$$ue of cro$$ing over the deep canyon river bridge, iffin’ 2/3rd$ of the tre$$els are still mi$$ing.

      2. $peaking of coal, aqdanny.boy must bee out counting all the loaded.full freight car$ passing by the bee.ute.tea.full New.Mexico landscape vistas. $ad.

        Bloomberg / By Dan Murtaugh
        March 22, 2020

        Coal, the dirtie$t and usually the cheape$t option for energy, is now the world’$ most expen$ive fo$$il fuel.

        Oil’$ epic collap$e over the past month means the global crude benchmark is now priced below the most widely traded coal contract on an energy-equivalent basis, according to Bloomberg calculations. Australia’s Newcastle coal on ICE Futures Europe settled at $66.85 a metric ton on Friday, the equivalent of $27.36 a barrel of oil. Brent futures ended at $26.98 a barrel.

  78. More skeer the kiddies…

    Coronavirus update: 350,536 diagnosed COVID-19 cases, 15,328 dead; N.Y. in focus

    This is how long coronavirus survives on cardboard, plastic and steel — and airborne, says CDC, UCLA and Princeton joint study
    Published: March 23, 2020 at 8:31 a.m. ET
    By Quentin Fottrell
    COVID-19 is most similar to the SARS virus, but that doesn’t explain why it has become a much larger outbreak, the New England Journal of Medicine study concluded
    The New England Journal of Medicine study suggests that people may acquire the virus through the air and after touching contaminated objects, MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto

    COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, is “stable for several hours to days” in aerosols and on surfaces, including plastic and stainless steel, according to a study published this week in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine.

    The study was coauthored by scientists at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, UCLA and Princeton University. It was made available in print form on Monday, and aims to provide more clarity on the virus’s contagiousness.
    …

    1. I can’t make much of this report without a comparison to the durability of the influenza virus, common cold viruses, measles & Ebola virus in the same situations.

  79. Another thing,

    Wouldn’t the health insurance Companies be the liable parties for paying for health care . They collect all this money yearly from people. What kind of bail outs are they expecting?

    In theory, if you collect insurance for emergency health care aren’t you the party that has to pay?

  80. Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Demand Destruction, Rising Production Could Push WTI Prices to $15
    Goldman Sachs estimated demand loss could total 8 million bpd, brought about by countries slowing economic activity to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
    James Hyerczyk
    James Hyerczyk
    2 hours ago (Mar 23, 2020 1:01 PM GMT)

    U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil are trading mixed shortly after the regular session opening on Monday, while posting an impressive intraday rebound rally. Earlier in the session, both markets gapped lower on the opening as lockdowns and travel curbs designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic weighed on demand.

    Additionally, traders continued to brace for the dumping of about 4 million barrels per day of crude oil on the market after April 1 as Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to follow-through on their threat of a price war.

    At 12:28 GMT, May WTI crude oil is trading $22.93, up $0.30 or +1.33% and June Brent crude oil is at $28.59, down $0.41 or -1.41%.

    “Markets are beginning to price in recession scenarios as aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus misfire,” analysts at ING said in a note.
    …

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