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Buyers Were Already Catching A Falling Knife, Now They’re Catching A Falling Sword

A report from the Oregonian. “‘I’m still writing offers,’ says real estate agent Adam Elliott. ‘Motivated sellers are dropping prices and if you’re 100 percent sure you’re not losing your job, now is the right time to buy. Agents all over Oregon are quickly getting clients into escrow because there are deals to be had.'”

The Wall Street Journal. “After grappling with sluggish market for more than two years, developers of New York City’s most luxurious condo towers are now confronting the unprecedented fallout of the coronavirus epidemic, which has ground construction, and many of their sales efforts, to a standstill. The virus has compounded the struggle for developers, who already faced a decline in foreign buyers and an oversupply of new projects at the high end of the market. Previously, buyers of high-end New York City condos were already ‘catching a falling knife,’ said developer Ian Bruce Eichner. ‘Now, they’re catching a falling sword.'”

From Arlington Now in Virginia. “These are uncertain times and we’re starting to see volatility in many aspects of our lives. In our own little nook of the online world, our Just Reduced numbers have spiked big-time in the past week, more than doubling to 20-plus reduced-price homes in Arlington County alone. Could this be a sign of even more uncertain times ahead? Is it now a buyer’s market, given sellers appear more willing to budge up front and, perhaps, down the line?”

From Community Impact in Texas. “According to Ebby Halliday realtor Rosie Humphrey-Donohue, who specializes in the Richardson market, home sales in the area have plummeted. ‘It is way, way down,’ she said. ‘I think that people are worried about their jobs and the economy.’ According to Donohue, homes that are selling are in highly sought-after neighborhoods and are move-in ready. However, those properties are going for between $10,000-$15,000 less than they would be under normal circumstances, she said.”

“‘They are really having to be priced at or below market [value] to move during this time,’ Humphrey-Donohue said.”

The Associated Press. “When Rebeka McBride and her husband put their home in Washington state on the market in early March, the coronavirus outbreak was just taking hold in the United States. They managed to hold two open houses and a smattering of private viewings before accepting an offer. But with the U.S. economy now collapsing, the family is less confident about their move to a Minneapolis suburb, where McBride sees brighter job prospects in her field of medical device research. She worries that their buyer will pull out before closing.”

“And for her own new home, she’s using virtual tours but isn’t inclined to make an offer without seeing a home in person. Worse, McBride is suddenly worried about job prospects amid mass layoffs, forcing a reassessment of what she and her husband can afford. ‘I’m nervous the layoffs and change in economy will cause the bottom to fall out,’ said McBride, the mother of a 4-year-old.”

From Curbed San Francisco in California. “‘Since the shelter in place was first initiated a couple weeks ago, the market nearly overnight shifted to a buyer’s market,’ Justin Fichelson, a San Francisco-based Realtor tells Curbed SF. ‘Sellers by and large have had to decide to either remove their listing from the market or to adjust their price expectations.'”

“‘In the transactions that we have closed since the original shelter-in-place order (about ten in total), approximately a third of them were renegotiated in some form by up to a 5 percent discount,’ Nina Hatvany, a Realtor with Compass, told Curbed SF. ‘I believe we’ll see prices drop by as much as 10 percent, particularly at the level of homes priced at $4 million and up. The under $2 million market should still remain strong as inventory is so low and demand is still high. I anticipate we’ll see some price drop at that level, but more like in the 5 percent range.'”

From NBC Bay Area in California. “According to Zillow economist Jeff Tucker, home sales across the Bay Area are down about 35 percent from last year at this time. And Tucker said many buyers and sellers are waiting to see what home prices will do? Will they drop as banks like Wells Fargo cancel jumbo loans — a cornerstone of the Bay Area expensive home buying. Agents are also worried banks will tighten up lending as they did during the 2008 Recession — making it more difficult for families to qualify for funding. Tucker said the Bay Area’s tech workers typically rely on stock sales to purchase homes – and with stocks taking a beating over the last month that could also impact sales.”

From Axios. “The $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus is helping existing homeowners but also causing dislocations in the U.S. mortgage market. This, combined with the pandemic, is weakening access to and demand for mortgages even with rates at record lows. Many first time buyers and those with mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration or so-called high-balance or jumbo loans, ‘are going to see higher rates,’ Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, tells Axios. ‘And there is a point at which they’re just not going to be able to get a loan from nearly as many lenders as they would have three weeks ago.'”

The Wall Street Journal on Nevada. “Hector Padilla lost his Las Vegas house after the 2007-09 recession. It could be happening all over again. A 50-year-old former construction worker, Mr. Padilla helped build the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and Venetian casinos on the Strip, which has been a ghost town since shutting down amid the new coronavirus outbreak. He was laid off March 16 from his most recent job, as a building engineer at Meruelo Group’s Sahara casino. He spent several days on the phone, trying to find out why he hadn’t received an unemployment payment, which arrived Monday, two weeks after he filed his initial claim.”

“‘I try to make all the right decisions,’ Mr. Padilla said. ‘I earn my money honestly, and it doesn’t seem like it’s doing any good.'”

“In Nevada, where casino companies reign, an estimated one in three workers is directly or indirectly employed by the leisure and hospitality industry, according to analysts. Las Vegas’s economic downturn during the recession of 2007 to 2009 was deeper and longer than in many other U.S. metro areas, said economist Stephen Miller at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. ‘It looks like that will be the same case this time around,’ Mr. Miller said.”

“Mr. Padilla, who has a 16-year-old son at home and a 22-year-old son serving in the military, said he contacted his mortgage lender and was told his payments could be deferred for three months—but the total deferred would then be due in a lump sum. ‘Did someone forget to tell the banks we’re all in this together?’ he said.”

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This Post Has 184 Comments

  1. ‘Las Vegas’s economic downturn during the recession of 2007 to 2009 was deeper and longer than in many other U.S. metro areas, said economist Stephen Miller at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. ‘It looks like that will be the same case this time around’

    How many years have we had to listen to the REIC cajole, hype, use fear of missing out (works on the really weak minded BTW, pretty scummy tactics), anything and everything to shoe-horn people into loans?

    I’m not saying RE shouldn’t market. But this bombardment of emotional crap is not only immoral, but a danger to people financially. You know what? It didn’t use to be this way.

    1. “…You know what? It didn’t use to be this way….”

      When I grew up in the 1950’s, 60’s (in Long Beach) a VP of one of the largest banks in town lived down the street. Us kids all went to the same schools and my Mom socialized and knew all the other Moms. They were the original “block parent” and looked out (and fed lunch to) us kids.

      Our banker was very much respected and was know to be an extremely honest man who retired at same bank. That family lived out their lives well into the 1980’s in the same house on the same street.

      We were all lucky that we grew up in those times.

      Somewhere along the line, the wheels came off the bus.

    2. When I grew up in the 1950’s, 60’s (in Long Beach) a VP of one of the largest banks in town lived down the street.

      My understanding was that back then it wasn’t unusual for the boss (say a VP or director) to live in the same neighborhood as other people in the office. The big difference, IIRC, was that the boss might have a company car and a few other perks. Of course he was paid more and maybe he had the biggest house and nicest cars on the street, but the difference wasn’t extreme.

      If you did live in something very above average, you were a tycoon. This makes me remember the Pink Panther movie: A Shot in The Dark, where protagonists kept referring to Monsieur Balon as “the millionaire”, because back then being a millionaire was a big deal.

      1. “…but the difference wasn’t extreme….”

        Now what we got is a culture of greed, fraud and distrust.

        Your bank VP probably doesn’t live in the same state let alone same town. And they don’t know your name or situation and could absolutely care less about you.

        IMO, far more dangerous and destructive to a society than some frick’in corona virus.

  2. ‘he contacted his mortgage lender and was told his payments could be deferred for three months—but the total deferred would then be due in a lump sum. ‘Did someone forget to tell the banks we’re all in this together?’

    But the interest rates are low Hector!

    1. ‘Did someone forget to tell the banks we’re all in this together?’

      “We” are?

      Somebodys got a frog in his pocket. A whole bunch of sombodys.

      1. “We’re all in this together” is starting have that same connotation as “sharing economy;” that is, bunches of grasshoppers failing to prepare and then running to the ants to “share” their preps because we’re all in this together.

        That said, IMO those $2 trillion should have been sent out as unemployment, or some kind of 6-month UBI so people could at least pay the home mortgage and utilities. Not to corporations who are using COVID to cover a decade of executive partying.

        1. “We’re all in this together” is the mantra when everything is cratering. It’s “everyone for himself” when reckless gamblers are making beauceau buckaroos during euphoric bubble times.

        2. “We’re all in this together” is starting to sound downright creepy.

          I think the worst was when I heard it over the intercom at Ralphs (Kroger store) a couple days ago. After the half hour admonishment for employees to sanitize their workstations, we got a robotic chorus of “We’re all in this together” in the next announcement.

  3. Millions unemployed and the stock market goes up. Is this working ?

    Isn’t this what happened last time ?

    1. 👀 … 🎪🎡🎢 🏚🏠📈📈📈🚀 … 🌦🌫🌩🌪⚡👾⚡💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲🌊♻️ … again!

      Woe$er & woe$er … T$k, T$k.

    2. What I recall from last time was that the major cratering began in July 2007 with the collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds, escalated in September 2008 with the collapses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, followed by Lehman Brothers, and didn’t ultimately bottom out until March 2009 with the implementation of full-blown Quantitative Easing by the Fed.

      This time is different with the preemptive announcement of Unlimited QE at the onset of the crisis. Whether this reduces the duration of the financial crisis or makes things better or worse than last time remains to be seen.

      1. what could go wrong?

        Fed buying high yield bonds (i.e. junk bonds). Ya – go real estate companies, oil and gas and others

          1. The Financial Times
            Federal Reserve
            Federal Reserve enters new territory with support for risky debt
            Programme to support ‘junk’ bonds aims to soften blows from coronavirus and downgrades
            The Federal Reserve will will buy shares in exchange traded funds that own high-yield bonds
            © REUTERS
            Joe Rennison in London, Robin Wigglesworth in Oslo and Colby Smith in New York 3 hours ago

            The Federal Reserve has jolted credit markets by expanding the scope of its support measures, announcing plans to buy debt issued by riskier companies in a radical addition to its crisis-fighting toolkit.

            The Fed will not purchase high-yield bonds directly, but will buy shares in exchange traded funds that own the debt and seek to track the market. Thursday’s announcement sparked the biggest rally in the asset class since the 2008 financial crisis.

            The move adds a new dimension to the central bank’s efforts to buttress the US economy, which already include buying more highly rated corporate bonds and ETFs. But it means stepping into riskier corners of a market that most investors thought would remain off-limits to the US central bank, reflecting the scale of the coronavirus threat to markets and economies.

            “It is both shocking and almost amazing,” said Peter Tchir, chief macro strategist at Academy Securities. “I like it a lot because they are getting ahead of the curve.”

            The high-yield market, often referred to as “junk”, encompasses the debt issued by lower-rated, riskier companies that are more exposed to deteriorating economic conditions stemming from the viral outbreak and the collapse in oil prices.

            In response to the Fed’s move on Thursday, the biggest high-yield bond ETF — run by BlackRock, which is also administering the Fed’s bond purchases — jumped by more than 7 per cent, on course for its largest one-day move since 2008.
            …

          2. The Financial Times
            Markets Briefing Markets
            Federal Reserve action boosts equity and credit markets
            Global stocks trade higher and junk bond fund soars on expanded central bank role
            Measures by the central bank included a hotly anticipated move to back the $1.2tn junk bond market
            © AFP via Getty Images
            Eric Platt, Colby Smith and Matthew Rocco in New York, Philip Georgiadis in London, and Thomas Hale in Hong Kong 18 minutes ago

            Global stocks climbed and credit markets rallied into the Easter long weekend after the Federal Reserve unleashed new stimulus to prop up the economy.

            The measures by the US central bank, which said it would provide an additional $2.3tn in loans to shore up the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, included a hotly anticipated move to back the $1.2tn junk bond market where lower-rated companies secure funding.

            The S&P 500 index, which has advanced 25 per cent from its March lows, closed up 1.4 per cent, led by gains in bank and real estate stocks. The holiday-shortened week was the index’s best since 1974, having risen 12 per cent over the four sessions.

            The largest high-yield bond exchange traded fund — known by its ticker HYG — soared more than 6 per cent on Thursday, its biggest one-day gain since the financial crisis after the Fed indicated it could start buying its shares.

            The junk bond market had trailed the rebound seen across global equity bourses over the past month, as the first measures introduced by US and European policymakers centred on purchases of higher-grade debt.

            A barometer of higher quality investment-grade corporate bonds in the US, the ETF called LQD, rose more than 4 per cent on Thursday.
            …

      2. Seems like allot of small landlords are in trouble if renters don’t pay rent. If you don’t pay rent for 6 months then owe all at once you’re going to bail , where too IDK ?

        What else ??

  5. New day new problems…so how are payday lenders gonna git deer moneee is nobody has a job?

    At least title loan companies can reposess the car

    1. “At least title loan companies can reposess the car”

      Hehehe, & “they$” will do it on Easter Sunday, in the church parking lot$, whil$t yer kneeling.

  6. Ben, thank you for this blog. I am a long time lurker, I used to read the blog every day before, during and after the previous crash. Years ago, I discovered this blog after searching on the internet about a housing bubble long before the bubble even burst. I was instantly hooked. The information on your blog helped me time my 2011 home purchase about as close to the bottom of the market as one could get. Equity, of course, is just a figure on paper, and doesn’t matter to me today, because my low monthly mortgage payment makes it easier to ride out the highs and lows of the economic cycle.

    In the past, I rarely posted here, just lurked, and even if I did post a few times, I don’t even remember my username. I came back a few weeks ago, and despite the adage, you CAN come home again. I feel like I’m back home now reading all the comments and news articles. All the memories of FB’s, strawberry pickers, the 2006ish ‘researched this’ realtor commercial, it all came flooding back. I also see you’ve honed your snarkiness and expanded the voluminous number of obscure and niche publications you link to for the readers. Thank you for all your good work. Because of you, and your posters here, I’m living a fiscally conservative lifestyle with plenty of savings to ride out this financial crisis. Because of you, I knew better than to believe the hype the world was selling. Thank you again, and my spouse and family thank you too.

    1. Very $weet! … welcome back $en$ical.🐇

      (Now, back$.to.thee.👾📌🎈🎈🎈🎈on.going debacle$)

  7. Farmers Dump Milk, Break Eggs as Coronavirus Restaurant Closings Destroy Demand

    ‘Mississippi-based Sanderson Farms Inc., which last week said demand from its restaurant customers was down 60% to 65%, has begun breaking eggs rather than hatch them and raise the chicks for slaughter. Other poultry companies are taking similar steps, meat-industry officials said.’

    “When you have panic in the marketplace, weird things happen,” said Tanner Ehmke, who researches agricultural markets for farm lender CoBank.’

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/farmers-deal-with-glut-of-food-as-coronavirus-closes-restaurants-11586439722

    1. “Farmers Dump Milk, Break Eggs as Coronavirus Restaurant Closings Destroy Demand”

      While the Fed’s helicopter drops buoy share prices and line the pockets of corporate chieftains who bought the crater, farmers are destroying food because of a fear they won’t be able to sell it for what it costs to bring it to market, due to the sudden supply glut. Is there any chance that some of those trillions in stimulus that are currently raining down on Wall Street could be diverted out to the provinces to buy food that is going to otherwise go to waste? Millions of newly unemployed people still need to eat.

      1. The “Government” is always ready to “help”:

        During the early years of the Depression, livestock prices dropped disastrously. Officials with the New Deal believed prices were down because farmers were still producing too many commodities like hogs and cotton. The solution proposed in the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was to reduce the supply.

        So, in the late spring of 1933, the federal government carried out “emergency livestock reductions.” In Nebraska, the government bought about 470,000 cattle and 438,000 pigs. Nationwide, six million hogs were purchased from desperate farmers. In the South, one million farmers were paid to plow under 10.4 million acres of cotton.

        The hogs and cattle were simply killed. In Nebraska, thousands were shot and buried in deep pits. Farmers hated to sell their herds, but they had no choice. The federal buy-out saved many farmers from bankruptcy, and AAA payments became the chief source of income for many that year.

        https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/crops_17.html

        1. “The hog$ and cattle$ were simply killed.”

          They$ coulda just give$ ’em away$ … or “trade.$hips them oversea$, like thee Engli$h.Iri$h “bidne$$men” did with “Irish.starving” tater.$puds.

          Wait, that sound$ awful “$ocialist” kinda/$orta.

          Just, shoot ’em, burn ’em! & bury ’em … much better $olution!

          1. Yepper$, & there were me’s Kansas Grandpa, with his favorite x2 mules, Sallie & Sadie … dry farmin’ on river.bottom soil, dodging torn.nados.

            Farmers is still farmin’!

          2. Ok, we’re gonna have to take a HBB census of posters with Kansas roots.

            So far:

            BlueSkye
            Hwy
            PB
            Dorothy
            …

            Others?

          3. Dust bowel and the incorrect idea that by planting in a semi arid desert you could change weather patterns forever .

            Now you can just pump water at least for awhile.

      2. Yep, this really kills me when food is dumped.

        In California they are now pushing the don’t go grocery shopping tight now if you can avoid it. Now you know why people over bought.

        The food stores are gouging now for most part. They should have enough extra profit to provide hazard pay for the employee .

        I have been going to fast food places lately so my food supply will last longer.

        Being at the whim of Government mandates is unnerving. Some of those fines in California are pretty high for a infraction.. In the meantime they are letting a bunch of criminals out.

        1. “…don’t go grocery shopping tight now if you can avoid it…”

          Dumb and dumber are driving the real economy into the dust, even as the Fed makes us all rich as Croesus with Unlimited helicopter drops of liquidity.

    3. Break Eggs

      Word from Canada is neighbors on both sides have built chicken coops and bought laying hens.

    4. One thing I have noticed during the past few weeks is that eggs and milk are usually in short supply at the store, sometimes completely gone if you go later in the afternoon. So I don’t get why farmers wouldn’t be able to sell their stock.

      1. And regarding eggs, often the only ones at the store are the boutique cage free organic ones. The plane Jane white, made in an egg factory ones seem to always be sold out.

        1. Same. Eggs hard to come by. It seems to be more of a logistics problem than an actual supply shortage, per Ben’s article.

          1. a logistics problem

            The chickens refused to work overtime.

            People buying two instead of one because they will keep. We’re ahead of the curve here, eggs are plentiful again and on sale.

          2. Eggs and milk are local to your region. It’s too expensive to ship cross country and still extract margin.

      2. I read something like this. Farmers dumping milk had it set up for free lunch school programs and cant switch to other containers for store delivery.

        But with such sh$t reporting who knows the real story

      3. Supply chain issues. It takes an investment of time and money to rejigger supply chains. If you where marketing to, packaging for, and transporting to the restaurant and school lunch market you can’t pivot on a dime to sell to retailers. The local grocery store doesn’t want semi-trailers full of milk packaged in little 250 ml containers.

        1. Does the farmer package the milk himself? Or does he wholesale it to someone who does? Granted, the guy who packages it in 1 gallon jugs might not be able to or even want to purchase his sudden surplus.

          1. Farmers have contracts and other relationships with packers and processors who in turn have their own contracts and relationships with vendors, shippers, and buyers. There’s a lot of inertia and thin margins. Few players are willing to reinvent the wheel when no one knows how long present conditions will last.

    5. “demand from its restaurant customers was down 60% to 65%, has begun breaking eggs rather than hatch them and raise the chicks for slaughter. Other poultry companies are taking similar steps, meat-industry officials said.’”

      If restaurant demand goes down, then shouldn’t home demand be going up? What is the difference between shipping chicken to Safeway instead of to McD’s? And for matter of that, those eggs won’t reach slaughter weight for, what, three months? There’s something they’re not telling us. My guess is the just-in-time food supply chain can’t handle even the slight re-tooling it would take to shift from restaurant products to consumer products.

      1. “If restaurant demand goes down, then shouldn’t home demand be going up?”

        It’s not automatic. For example, households that just lost part or all of their income are going to rely more on food in their pantries and less on the grocery store. Folks who cleaned out the local stores of canned food and toilet paper may be eating food purchased weeks ago, rather than braving the lines outside their local grocery store. Suggestions from authorities to avoid grocery shopping is another buzzkill for grocery store demand. Many who can afford groceries may be too frightened of COVID-19 infection risk to shop.
        The overall shopping experience when surrounded by coronapanicked people is another possible reason that grocery demand doesn’t necessarily go up when restaurants close. We all need to eat, but many will opt for storage drawdown, home delivery or carry-out in lieu of shopping.

      2. food supply chain

        The US produces 20,000,000 metric tons of chicken a year and exports about 20% of that. If the crystal ball tilts one way or the other, some eggs will get broken as a means of inventory control. For example; Cuba was a big customer, until they ran out of credit.

          1. Further tip: Show up early for special senior shopping hours and wait in the longest Costco line you have ever seen.

      4. Safeways supply chain is very different than McDonald’s supply chain. If the current situation was a new normal there would be rapid adjustment. However, no one wants to disrupt things if we’re going to get back to “normal” in a few months.

  10. Inve$ting:

    Only 9 of the world’$ top 100 billionaire$ have gotten richer during the coronaviru$ pandemic — and all of them are Chine$e

    Published: April 6, 2020
    MarketWatch / By Tanner Brown

    In two months, the ma$ters of the economic univer$e have lo$t more than $400 billion$

    The world’s ultrarich are probably not the fir$t financial victim$ your thoughts go out to as the coronaviru$ wreak$ havoc on the global economy. People have lost jobs, or had wages docked, and gig-economy workers have realized just how vulnerable their digital-era income streams are.

    But over the past two months, more than $400 billion has vanished from the pocketbooks of the world’s richest 100 billionaires. That means all their gains over the last 2½ years have evaporated during this crisis, according to a new report by wealth-list compiler Hurun Research.

    Nearly all of the 100 tycoons lost money during this period, from Jan. 31 to March 31 — lots of money. Only nine didn’t — and, most striking, all nine are Chinese.

  11. Press Release
    Los Angeles Bankruptcy Attorney Sees the Need for Massive Debt Relief

    Los Angeles, CA — 04/09/2020 — – ‘Individuals turn to Los Angeles bankruptcy attorneys for relief as COVID-19 pandemic leaves behind a trail of unemployment and debt.’

    ‘Los Angeles bankruptcy attorneys are fielding calls from individuals devastated by the health and financial effects of the virus. According to Matt Faler, a bankruptcy attorney in Los Angeles with Consumer Action Law Group, “We are talking to people every day that have been financially wiped out by the virus. People had a lot of debt before the pandemic, now they are in a hole too deep and they need a way out.”

    http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4647444#ixzz6J8Xio7vc

      1. Agree. We aren’t even one month in and already people are wiped out. At least in the 2008 recession people tried to hang on for a few months.

        A friend of mine reported from the grocery store that the ramen noodles were wiped out. I bet they’re literally being eaten off the granite countertops as we speak.

        2. Dang… The neighborhood squirrels are getting nervous. They know they’re next on the menu.

    2. “People had a lot of debt before the pandemic, now they are in a hole too deep and they need a way out.”

      Can they vote their way out?

    3. “…massive debt relief…”

      I imagine this really means “everybody gets to stop paying, yet keep all the stuff.”

          1. But look on the bright side, he won’t have to make student loan payments for 6 months!

    4. I thought bankruptcy was the way out.

      Perhaps he is speaking on behalf of lenders, and older and richer asset holders? We aren’t going to bail THEM out again, are we?

    5. People had a lot of debt before the pandemic, now they are in a hole too deep and they need a way out.”

      Maybe they shouldn’t have taken on so much debt. Maybe they were living beyond their means.

  12. From a RE thread…

    Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac not approving less than 20% down?

    Hi, I got pre-approved for closing on a house at 5% down, got a good rate and price on it, feel really good. Well, I just got a call from my broker that there’s rumors that less than 20% loans will not be approved in underwriting? Can someone confirm or deny? Thanks

    *** REPLY ***

    Here is a Correspondent lender that has reached out to investors (‘Lender Underwriters’) who has the following investors in our portfolio: Mr. Cooper, Freedom Mortgage, Flagstar Bank, Loan Depot, Caliber Lending, United Wholesale, Penny Mac, FGMC, Quicken, US Bank, Suntrust, Chase….

    Here is what is really happening

    Loans that are deemed high risk include but are not limited to: Low down payments, Grants, Low credit scores (below680), investment properties, High Debt to income and more… have overlays, and the rates on these programs are getting killed.

    Government loans (FHA/VA) are shot especially if your scores are below 680. Investors are adding overlays restricting DTI limits from a max of 57% backend ratio to 50% and some cases 43%. If you are below 680 credit amount, you will likely pay anywhere from 1-5% Origination for the rate. If you are able 680 you will still pay origination points. Here is a Forbes article discussing it.

    Jumbo loans are non existent, we currently have one investor that is willing to lend on them, and that’s because they hold that loan and it is kept in their portfolio. Here is a Bankrate article about it.

    What do lenders want? Vanilla Loans…..High credit score, high down payment loans. They are NOT required because you can easily pay points and still get the loan. However, no one likes paying points.

    Here is why

    The CARES ACT recently passed allows individuals to apply for forbearance/deferment on their mortgage payments. Great right? Good for individuals, but bad for investors (Mortgage Servicers). Mortgage servicers are put in a liquidity issue, why? Well most mortgage servicers group and sell their mortgages on the secondary market via Mortgage backed securities. These mortgage backed securities typically give a payment to their shareholder. Mortgage servicers are REQUIRED to make a payment to the stock/shareholders. Now, what happens when you are required to make a payment, even though you do not have the full income coming in? You go in the your assets. This causes liquidity issues, and the MBS you have was just devalued and must be sold at a discount because you NEED that money to pay investors. Here is the FEDs saying it will continue to buy the MBS to help with the liquidity.

    Edit: Liquidity issues cause investors (mortgage servicers) to take less risk ie not approve the higher risk loans listed above and add their overlays and/or make it so expensive to obtain that loan that is not wanted by the a consumer.

    So are they requiring 20% down with reserves right now? No. Are FHA/VA loan rate shit right now? Yes. Are Fannie/Freddie loans shit right now? No, but they may follow FHA/VA loans.

    Possible solutions? LOCK IN YOUR RATE, but even then it may not be guaranteed. An investor can say “Nope I’m not taking this loan on,” and you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Go conventional and put a larger down payment if possible. If not, hunker down and wait this through.

    Hope this helps!

    1. “What do lenders want? Vanilla Loans…..High credit score, high down payment loans.”

      Well, here I sit, waiting for price relief. Come at me with offers.

      Pro tip: In addition to low prices, I like foot rubs so thoughtful seller offer letters would be wise to include one per week, but probably more, through loan duration. (disclaimer: Might pay cash, might pay over 30 years, so bid accordingly) I’ll be reviewing offers until this Sunday.

    2. In 2012 I bought my house with 20% down maybe that’s why it was 200K less than the last guy who bought it ( 2006) and then walked away when it didn’t go his way. Pharmaceutical rep young guy lots of toys and left plenty for me to toss.

      Back then it was 20% down or no loan IIRC ? Maybe certain favored groups were exempt from that requirement like veterans IDK ? It was nice buying in a uncrowded situation where I didn’t have to compete with every other brain dead borrower running prices up.

  13. This morning on CNBC, they had someone on there for quite a while who was actually talking sense. Pointing out how most of what the government is doing is bailing out zombie companies and trying to prop up asset bubbles. If they really wanted to help people they would simply be cutting larger checks to individuals. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch his name.

    The gist was that this is basically the end of capitalism. Which is my view, we’ve now abandoned any pretense of having a free market economy, let alone capitalism.

    1. Americans do not want socialism (The Hill, 3/5/19).

      “President Trump talked about the issue of socialism during his 2019 State of the Union address. He said, “In the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. AMERICA WAS FOUNDED ON LIBERTY AND INDEPENDENCE, NOT GOVERNMENT COERCION, DOMINATION AND CONTROL. WE ARE BORN FREE, AND WE WILL STAY FREE. Tonight, we renew our resolve that AMERICA WILL NEVER BE A SOCIALIST COUNTRY.” He is right”.

      “The United States will never be a socialist country because Americans do not want socialism and will never let this happen. Looking forward to the 2020 election, it is obvious that Americans are not looking for a socialist in the White House. When asked about the most desirable characteristics for a candidate for president, 72 percent of Americans say that they have total reservations or are very uncomfortable with a socialist candidate”.

      https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/432734-americans-do-not-want-socialism

      Living in America has become so very tiresome.

      1. Sorry, I didn’t notice that it’s a “CNBC Pro” article so you can only see a preview of the text.

  14. What is the water-cooler version of the sacking of the Intelligence guy who was to monitor the feds’ trillions of Unlimited QE?

    1. Here’$ thee.$hort.ver$ion:

      💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲=

      🙈🙉🙊

    2. I guess the goal is to make sure the fat cats get even fatter, without any oversight whatsoever.

    3. What is the water-cooler version of the sacking of the Intelligence guy who was to monitor the feds’ trillions of Unlimited QE?

      “It’s yours, Jared?”

  15. Is handshaking about to be outlawed? What next…no hugging, kissing, or traditional means of human reproduction?

      1. “Napoleon Complex” is a theorized inferiority complex normally attributed to people of short stature. It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, such as lying about earnings, and carries the implication that such behavior is compensatory for the subject’s physical or social shortcomings.’

        1. “It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, such as lying about earning$, and carries the implication that such behavior is compensatory for the subject’s physical or social shortcomings.’

          Eye reckon “obe$e” “Denni$”.🍊.$kins just have a tendency to hide.their.”audited”.taxe$.

          $ad.

        2. Fauci is definitely a clown that needs to be tossed off a cliff, just for that statement of ending hand shaking. But he might be far more sinister that people realize

          https://patriotssoapbox.com/politics/breaking-shocking-image-surfaces-of-dr-fauci-with-george-soros-bill-gates-sr-david-rockefeller-more/

          He really liked the use of hydroxychloroquine for the swine flu years ago, now he considers its use unproven and unsafe. Him, Birx and all the bogus models need to get deep sixed.

          1. Swine flu and Covid-19 are different diseases. It’s possible that a given medicine might not work equally well for different diseases, no?

          2. It was unproven – by his current standards – back then when he was talking it up, now not so much. If it was because there are significant side effects discovered since then, he should have mentioned that to support his stance. The reality is that hes likely just a doddering old fool at this point, a globalist puppet not unlike your other hero and kiddie sniffer, Biden.

            But by all means, don’t take it if you get sick from forced handshaking. Based on the side effects of long term use – blindness, deafness, diarrhea and psychotic thoughts and behavior, I have to assume many on the left have been using this drug for decades – its explains A LOT 😉

          4. the side effects

            We’ve been using this drug for a very long time.

            Everything is being hyped. Everything. It’s an industry.

        1. “Perfectly clear…perfectly clear…perfectly clear…”

          Looks awesome, but I won’t be watching it with the missus on Netflix during the COVID-19 outbreak.

  16. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 Drop Sharply in New York
    April 9, 2020 Updated: April 9, 2020

    ‘New York saw a net increase of just 200 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, officials announced Thursday, another day of figures suggesting the state has reached its peak in the pandemic. “The hospitalization rate does suggest that’s it’s coming down,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters in Albany.’

    ‘Only 84 patients were admitted to intensive care units in the last 24 hours, the lower number seen since the middle of last month. If New York did reach the peak of hospitalizations and new cases, the plateau is significantly lower than nearly every model predicted. One projection officials were aware of, from Columbia University, said New York City alone could need 136,000 hospital beds on the most serious day while other models estimated as many as 110,000 beds would be required across the state.’

    ‘Instead, New York has about 18,000 patients in hospital beds and saw the lowest daily increase of hospitalizations since March 18. The number of ventilators needed—once projected to be as high as 40,000—has also reached nowhere near the upper estimate. Cuomo’s office has not answered multiple queries about how many ventilators the state now needs’

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/hospitalizations-for-covid-19-drop-sharply-in-new-york_3305376.html

    1. ANOTHER ‘Editing Mistake’? CBS News Again Airs Italy Hospital Footage in U.S. Coronavirus Segment

      BY TYLER O’NEIL APRIL 8, 2020

      It’s not just your imagination: left-leaning outlets seem to be exaggerating the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. On Saturday, CBS News appeared to run footage from an Italian hospital in a segment about an outbreak in Pennsylvania. This came exactly two weeks after CBS News ran the same footage in a segment about the outbreak in New York on March 25.

      CBS News acknowledged the March 25 “mistake” in a statement to the Daily Caller on March 30. “It was an editing mistake. We took immediate steps to remove it from all platforms and shows,” a spokesperson told the Daily Caller. The network did not say whether or not it would issue an on-air correction or retraction.

      On Saturday, the misleading footage appeared on CBSN, the network’s streaming video news channel.

      “In Pennsylvania, cases are skyrocketing at the rate of 1,000 a day,” a reporter narrates as the notorious footage from the Italian hospital appears on-screen. “Governor Tom Wolf is appealing to citizens to help.”

      The misleading footage first appeared in a March 22 segment on Sky News discussing the outbreak in Italy. COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, spread quickly through northern Italy, overwhelming hospitals. While the pandemic is spreading rapidly in the U.S., it has not yet overwhelmed American hospitals to the same degree.

      https://pjmedia.com/trending/another-editing-mistake-cbs-news-again-airs-italy-hospital-footage-in-u-s-coronavirus-segment/

      1. You’re not going to see any cameras which show patients in US hospitals because of HIPAA.

        1. “You’re not going to see any cameras which show patients in US hospitals because of HIPAA.”

          “CBS News acknowledged the March 25 “mistake” in a statement to the Daily Caller on March 30. “It was an editing mistake. We took immediate steps to remove it from all platforms and shows,” a spokesperson told the Daily Caller.”

          “On Saturday, the misleading footage appeared on CBSN, the network’s streaming video news channel.”

          1. Notice how they have to blur everything out? Again, you are not going to SEE the patients.

          2. https://www.hipaajournal.com/common-hipaa-violations/

            Impermissible Disclosures of Protected Health Information

            Any disclosure of protected health information that is not permitted under the HIPAA Privacy Rule can attract a financial penalty. This violation category includes disclosing PHI to a patient’s employer, potential disclosures following the theft or loss of unencrypted laptop computers, careless handling of PHI, disclosing PHI unnecessarily, not adhering to the ‘minimum necessary’ standard, and disclosures of PHI after patient authorizations have expired.

            Settlements for impermissible disclosures of PHI include:

            Memorial Hermann Health System – $2.4 million settlement for disclosing a patient’s PHI in a press release.
            New York Presbyterian Hospital – $2,200,000 penalty for filming patients without consent.
            Massachusetts General Hospital– $515,000 penalty for filming patients without consent.
            Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center – $387,000 settlement for careless handling of PHI/Disclosure of a patient’s HIV status to their employer.
            Brigham and Women’s Hospital– $384,000 penalty for filming patients without consent.
            Boston Medical Center – $100,000 penalty for filming patients without consent.

          3. Can health care providers invite or arrange for members of the media, including film crews, to enter treatment areas of their facilities without prior written authorization?

            Answer:

            Health care providers cannot invite or allow media personnel, including film crews, into treatment or other areas of their facilities where patients’ PHI will be accessible in written, electronic, oral, or other visual or audio form, or otherwise make PHI accessible to the media, without prior written authorization from each individual who is or will be in the area             or whose PHI otherwise will be accessible to the media. Only in very limited circumstances, as set forth below, does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit health care providers to disclose protected health information to members of the media without a prior authorization signed by the individual.

            https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2023/film-and-media/index.html

          4. As Redpilled Redhead has shown, these companies are breaking the law. I’d venture to guess that CNN video broke the law, too.

          5. “Again, you are not going to SEE the patients.”

            I could clearly SEE the patients.

            The blurred faces of the people lying in the ER beds with feet and harms hanging out and doctors and nurses walking around did not fool me into thinking I was not looking at patients in an ER.

          6. In other words, health care providers may not allow members of the media, including film crews, into treatment areas of their facilities or other areas where PHI will be accessible in written, electronic, oral or other visual or audio form, without prior authorization from the patients who are or will be in the area or whose PHI will be accessible to the media. It is not sufficient for a health care provider to request or require media personnel to mask the identities of patients (using techniques such as blurring, pixelation, or voice alteration software) for whom an authorization was not obtained, because the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not allow media access to the patients’ PHI, absent an authorization, in the first place.

          7. The links that HB reposted weren’t that difficult for me to find how may ever Blursdays ago. These networks should have legal departments and know this. “Editing mistake” my a$$.

          8. “Notice how they have to blur everything out? Again, you are not going to SEE the patients.”

            Watched it again, 0:12 in your looking at a patient or two holding a water bottle and grabbing the hospital bed arm rail.

            0:58 that doesn’t appear to be a manikin they are doing that sonogram on and so on through the whole thing.

            You want to say you can’t see their faces or their identity is concealed, fine. But you can clearly see that those people are patients in a hospital.

          9. Jeff- I don’t disagree with you on the fact that those are living, breathing people. However, that does not change my original point. What I think you’ve uncovered in that video is a likely violation of HIPAA. Here’s why: All of those patients in the hospital that are blurred out would have had to have signed an authorization prior to being filmed, not after the fact. Neither the hospital nor the news network are allowed to film until that authorization is in place. Do you really think that somebody who’s entering the ICU to go on life support is going to be able to do that for them? The answer is of course not.

          11. Notice how they have to blur everything out? Again, you are not going to SEE the patients.

            Correct. They aren’t doing that to be “nice”. HIPAA has some nasty teeth.

          1. Although this horse stopped breathing a couple of posts ago, I am afraid I feel the need to kick it one more time.

            “Jeff- I don’t disagree with you on the fact that those are living, breathing people. However, that does not change my original point. What I think you’ve uncovered in that video is a likely violation of HIPAA.”

            Your original point was.

            “You’re not going to see any cameras which show patients in US hospitals because of HIPAA.”

          2. “You’re not going to see any cameras which show patients in US hospitals because of HIPAA.”

            Well, the patients were blurred out, so you couldn’t see them.

          3. Although this horse stopped breathing a couple of posts ago, I am afraid I feel the need to kick it one more time.

            You posted a video with a bunch of blurred out images, bolstering my point. Your point again?

          4. “You posted a video with a bunch of blurred out images, bolstering my point. Your point again?”

            You’re right, people lying in hospital beds getting a sonogram (not blurred out) when you can’t see their face are usually car shopping not in a hospital.

        4. Digital image and motion-tracking video redaction of faces can be achieved in real-time, but it is noteworthy to witness the morbid obesity since it is no longer considered a pre-existing condition. An audio track of respiratory distress might also help convince the barbarians to shelter in place and wear a mask while grocery shopping.

          1. “Well, the patients were blurred out, so you couldn’t see them.”

            I could see the patients, just not their blurred out faces. Just like a masked Antifa thug, I can’t see their face but I still know it;s a thug.

          2. I could see the patients

            The media doesn’t often use actual pictures of what they are reporting on. It has been so for decades. Too much work. Honesty doesn’t pay enough.

          3. I could see the patients

            Could you identify them if shown pictures of them? If not, you didn’t see them. But as has been already pointed out, it is highly likely that HIPAA rules were violated.

  17. If this isn’t a lesson on how bad socialism and big Government would be , i don’t know what else could be.

    Note that rationing is the hallmark of to much government. Government is saying what is essential and what isn’t.

    It wasn’t enough that people were forced to purchase health insurance based on income, but you can see that rationing was built in.

    I remember when health care was based on free market more so. Those were such good times because people didn’t revolve their whole life around health care. The employer usually provided cheap health insurance because working people were less likely to make a claim.
    Now the health care industry has shut down the World. WEIRD.

    1. $ad … & also $hameful:

      (Below that $ad.$helter.$hack.photo):

      Use My Military Home Loan Benefit$!

      “Together, Veteran$ United and Realtor.com are educating Veteran$ about $0 DOWN VA Loan$ and other benefit$ earned through their $ervice.”

      Ju$t.$ad.

  19. “‘I’m still writing offers,’ says real estate agent Adam Elliott. ‘Motivated sellers are dropping prices and if you’re 100 percent sure you’re not losing your job, now is the right time to buy.

    Sure you are, Adam. The only people who are 100% sure they’re not losing their jobs are FedGov employees. For now.

  21. Previously, buyers of high-end New York City condos were already ‘catching a falling knife,’ said developer Ian Bruce Eichner. ‘Now, they’re catching a falling sword.’”

    Gosh, I sure hope no one gets impaled.

  22. “These are uncertain times and we’re starting to see volatility in many aspects of our lives.

    Yes, but one constant remains: realtors are liars.

  23. According to Donohue, homes that are selling are in highly sought-after neighborhoods and are move-in ready. However, those properties are going for between $10,000-$15,000 less than they would be under normal circumstances, she said.”

    I see we have a different definition of “way, way down,” Rosie. The real cratering hasn’t even begun yet, but it’s coming on with a vengeance.

  24. ‘I believe we’ll see prices drop by as much as 10 percent, particularly at the level of homes priced at $4 million and up. The under $2 million market should still remain strong as inventory is so low and demand is still high. I anticipate we’ll see some price drop at that level, but more like in the 5 percent range.’”

    You really suck at damage control, Nina.

  25. “Hector Padilla lost his Las Vegas house after the 2007-09 recession. It could be happening all over again.

    Hector didn’t lose his house. The bank reclaimed its house. Big difference.

    2. One would think that after getting burned last time that Padilla would have left Vegas for someplace a bit more stable, or would have at least steered clear of the casinos and maybe got a building engineer’s job at say a hospital.

  27. “‘I try to make all the right decisions,’ Mr. Padilla said. ‘I earn my money honestly, and it doesn’t seem like it’s doing any good.’”

    There are millions of Hectors out there, basically good people who are at the mercy of a predatory financier oligarchy and its Fed accomplices, with a captured media serving as its border collies to herd the sheeple to their fleecing. This poor guy earned a living and created wealth through honest labor, and now at age 50, he can’t afford to be screwed over by the system again. And yet that’s exactly what’s going to happen to Hector and millions like him.

    1. he can’t afford to be screwed over

      Hector made a mistake. He bought a house he couldn’t afford and financed it until he would be 75. So much for honesty.

      1. He probably fell for the “you can sell it when you retire and use the equity to buy something cheaper” line. And that line is easy to believe during boom times, and when it booms in Vegas, it booms. He probably thought that the previous crash was a fluke (after all, isn’t that what Suzanne told him?).

        Anyway, probably more of a sucker than a dishonest man.

    2. …A predatory financier oligarchy and its Fed accomplices, with a captured media serving as its border collies to herd the sheeple to their fleecing.

      Nailed it.

  28. ‘Did someone forget to tell the banks we’re all in this together?’ he said.”

    We were never “all in this together.” Since the 1913 founding of the Fed, it’s been the banks vs. the people. Pick a side, Hector.

    2. Amazing San Diego drone footage, many at locations I instantly recognize from many visits. It would be cool if he could do a follow-up comparison once everyone comes out of hiding.

  31. Jack.bee.nimble$, Jill.bee.quick$!

    (It’$ only $6+ Trillion$ + “UNLIMITED” … Ea$y.Pea$y!)

    “We don’t need$ no $tinkin’ “Over.$ight$!” … mi$.u$e axoh!”

    Exclu$ive: Wall $treet firm dangled up to 175% return$ to inve$tors using U.$. aid program$

    Reuters / By Lawrence Delevingne

    BOSTON (Reuters) – A New York investment firm pitched wealthy investor$ in recent days on a way to make return$ of 22% to 175% u$ing U.$. government program$ de$igned to help Americans keep their jobs and boo$t the coronaviru$-%tricken economy.

    BUSINE$$ NEW$: APRIL 9, 2020 /

    Had Arcadia proceeded with its plan, its investors would have profited handsomely from a virtually risk-free investment. Arcadia typically generates returns to investors of between 8% and 12%, depending on the type of investment, according to a March regulatory filing. The potential returns would also be far above other options available to investors. The U.S. 10-year Treasury note, for example, currently yields around 0.77%.

    Lucian Bebchuk, a corporate governance expert at Harvard Law School who reviewed key assumptions of Arcadia’s pitch for Reuters, said that the potential returns, assuming they are estimated correctly, “$uggests a de$ign flaw on the part of the government’$ program$.”

    The small business lending program has had a chaotic start, with banks and companies saying more crucial details need to be worked out. Under Arcadia’s plan, the actual loans would have been made by online lending platforms. Some such lenders said they are yet to be approved by the government to make the loans.

  32. The bears haven’t abandoned their faith just yet, despite the Shock and Awe of Unlimited Quantitative Easing so far drowning out the endless stream of gloomy economic news.

    1. For reference: As I mentioned earlier today, the 2007-2009 stock market cratering process played out from roughly July 2007 through March 2009 (20 months). GD1’s major stock market tumble happened between 1929 and 1933, though I believe it took another decade and a world war before the U.S. market fully recovered. Then there’s the case of Japan; cratering began in 1989, and 30+ years later, their market is still deeply underwater.

      But not to worry…this time is different!

  33. Precious metals are surging as the Fed’s latest insanity – buying junk bonds with funny money Powell Bux – is only going to spur a flight out of the doomed dollar and into safe haven assets.

  34. The Financial Times
    Oil
    Opec and Russia reach deal to cut oil production by 10m barrels a day
    Prices fall as traders fear reductions will fail to offset biggest demand collapse in history
    Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed between them to cut about 5m barrels a day in production
    © Bloomberg
    David Sheppard, Anjli Raval and Derek Brower in London and Henry Foy in Moscow 4 minutes ago

    Opec and Russia agreed on Thursday to make deep cuts to oil production, ending a weeks-long market-share war that put further pressure on prices already reeling from the biggest demand collapse in history.

    But the market reaction was punishing after details of the proposal — which by 9pm in Vienna had not yet been formally agreed by Opec ministers — emerged.

    Global benchmark Brent reversed a near 11 per cent rally to close down 4 per cent at $31.48 a barrel. Traders doubted the cuts would make up for the fall in demand resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and questioned whether non-Opec producers would contribute.
    …

      1. They at least bought themselves a little time before the remaining available storage capacity is exhausted.

        1. My fuel consumption has just gone from one tank a month to one tank a year. There’s really nowhere to go but the grocery store, and I’m doing that as little as possible.

    1. Everybody called Bernie a socialist kook, then turned around and did exactly what they derided.

        1. Couldn’t have been the Fed’s announcement of another $2.3 trillion in Quarantinive Easing?

  37. >“‘They are really having to be priced at or below market [value] to move during this time,’ Humphrey-Donohue said.”

    Duh. Houses ALWAYS need to be priced at or below “market value” in order to sell. By definition, that’s market value – the price that the market will bear! Market value is simply the price that a seller is willing to sell at and a buyer is willing to sell at! Anything else is just a “wishing price” from fantasy land.

  39. Moral hazard diaster.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2020-04-06/california-court-leaders-suspend-evictions-amid-pandemic

    California judicial leaders on Monday adopted a statewide emergency order suspending evictions to help deal with the COVID-19 crisis that has crippled the court system.

    It was one of eleven temporary rules adopted by the state’s Judicial Council during a second emergency meeting since the coronavirus pandemic started.

    The order delays all eviction cases from moving forward, not just those related to people not being able to pay rent due to the virus. It follows an executive order last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom banning the enforcement of eviction orders that advocates said didn’t go far enough. (emphasis added)

    Listen to discussion beginning at 36:00: https://youtu.be/AVvacK2HoOs

    1. I’m told this applies to commercial real estate as well but could use confirmation on that.

    2. Same video @42:45, why pay your rent if everybody else is not going to pay their rent? Reminds me of a similar moral dilemma regarding foreclosures, e.g., why continue to pay on a house worth less than the mortgage balance due? The fed understands this argument, and the savings of the responsible get another devaluation thanks to QE.
      https://youtu.be/AVvacK2HoOs?t=2565

    1. Essential? By Cuomo of course. According to Homeland Security 16 essential categories they’re not.

      More Cuomo making up his own bullshit.

  41. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/line-for-food-stretches-for-miles-in-central-las-vegas-2002856/

    “Line for food stretches for miles in central Las Vegas”

    “Food distribution for Las Vegans in need prompted a line of cars to form for miles Thursday morning in central Las Vegas.

    Cars stretched from Rancho Drive, where food was being handed out at Palace Station, all the way past Valley View Boulevard.

    Last week there was a line of cars at least 4 miles long for food distribution sponsored by Three Square food bank with the help of Palace Station and a cadre of volunteers.”

    1. And from what I saw in the video clip, every single car was late model, not a beater in sight, which is interesting as the average US car is 11 years old. I wonder how many are paid for?

    1. So long as helicopter drops are raining down on Wall Street, why not give young student debtors a break and announce a debt jubilee? Think of how much risk asset prices would go up on the announcement of the mass unshackling from a life of debt slavery? And with Unlimited Quarantinive Easing, it could be facilitated by Fed purchases of the loans, alongside of the junk bonds they are snapping up.

  43. Hospitals are also feeling the financial pinch and are having layoffs, as they have cancelled all elective surgery, and that’s what pays the bills. When I had my knees replaced, the hospital portion of the bill was almost $40K, each time, and I only spent one night in the hospital each time. I do think the hospital bill included the hardware.

    1. “…the hospital portion of the bill was almost $40K, each time, and I only spent one night in the hospital each time.”

      What’s 10-days of 24/7 critical care on a ventilator cost in a “pandemic-sterilized” ICU ward?

      1. Probably enough to induce a cardiac event. But hey, what other choice did you have?!

  44. “if you’re 100 percent” Old saying only death and taxes are 100%, run like like a deer from agent like this, I don’t believe anything he wrote in this report?

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