When Housing Collapses, As It Just Did, It’s All But Impossible To Find Buyers
A report from Bankrate. “The coronavirus pandemic has blindsided the U.S. housing market, transforming the spring selling season that’s traditionally the annual peak of sales into a deep valley. ‘This industry is just doing a very slow crawl,’ says Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist at the California Association of Realtors. ‘I don’t think it’ll go to zero, but over the next couple months, you’re going to see some sharp declines – 50 percent, two-thirds, maybe in that range.'”
“Douglas Wagner, director of brokerage services at Bond New York Properties in Manhattan, says he has seen many would-be sellers renovate their apartments in anticipation of the spring selling season, only to decide not to list. ‘They hit the brakes and said, ‘Wait, I don’t want to be a victim of predatory buyers who are looking for a 20 percent discount,’ Wagner says.”
“In another sign of slowing sales, real estate companies have been cutting back. In one notable example, Seattle-based Redfin furloughed 40 percent of its 1,500 agents until September. Meanwhile, iBuyers Opendoor, Offerpad, Zillow Offers and Redfin Now have suspended their buying activity. The new breed of buyers made more than 5 percent of home purchases in such Sun Belt markets as Atlanta, Charlotte and Phoenix.”
From The Motley Fool. “The online real estate specialist stopped making offers to buy homes for sale through its Zillow Offers program and began canceling contracts it already had in place to purchase houses. The Zillow Offers program was always a risky proposition for the company because it opened up the potential for Zillow to be holding large amounts of housing inventory if and when the market soured. The risk for Zillow, though, was that it required a rising housing market. Finding buyers in a down market becomes difficult, and when housing collapses, as it just did, it’s all but impossible to find them.”
“Zillow had 2,700 houses in its inventory at the end of the last quarter, but wanted to be buying as many as 5,000 homes a month through the iBuying program. Had it been able to ramp up Zillow Offers to that level and run on it for a while before disaster struck, it would be left holding a lot of inventory that would be costly to unwind.”
The Star Tribune in Minnesota. “It’s important for homeowners to realize that the forbearance plans being announced by lenders and the federal government are ‘not a ‘get out of jail free’ card from paying your mortgage,’ said Julie Gugin, president of the Minnesota Homeownership Center. ‘Despite the relatively simplistic nature of the messages that we’re hearing from the federal government, the nuances of how these programs are implemented underlying that are far more complex.'”
“For lenders, the big question is, ‘How do I follow through and make those payments that I’m obligated to make as a lender, even when I don’t have the income coming in or mortgage payments coming in from the consumers?’ said Keenan Raverty, vice president of Bell Bank Mortgage. ‘That’s where you see just a pleading and an appeal by the Mortgage Bankers Association to help infuse liquidity into the industry so that we can continue on with making those payments even during a crisis like that.'”
From Bloomberg. “Almost 4% of mortgage borrowers have stopped making their payments as the coronavirus pandemic has put millions of U.S. homeowners out of work. Analysts from JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrote that the use of forbearance is likely to rise along with unemployment, and ‘many servicers would be unable to sustain six months of forbearance advancements on 10% to 20% of their book.'”
“Borrowers with relatively low credit scores, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are most likely to seek relief. Over the past two years, Ginnie Mae has guaranteed $583 billion of 30-year mortgages with FICO scores below 715, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.”
The Dallas Morning News. “North Texas housing starts and new home sales surged in the first quarter of the year. Dallas-Fort Worth homebuilders started 10,581 single-family homes in the first three months of 2020 — a 25% jump from the same period last year. At the end of the March, there were 17,402 houses under construction in the D-FW area, Residential Strategies found. And there were about 7,274 finished vacant houses on the market.”
“With layoffs and employee furloughs, builders are worried that some buyers who previously signed contracts to buy a house may bail out of the deals. ‘Builders are scrubbing their backlogs to detect potential cancellations,’ said Ted Wilson, principal with Residential Strategies. ‘Everybody is concerned about what later in the summer will feel like. They don’t want to have too much finished inventory on the ground.'”
From Bisnow on California. “With the city and county taking early steps to contain the coronavirus, and with plenty of investment already underway in Oakland, SPUR Oakland Director Robert Ogilvie said he still thinks the city’s long-term outlook is as strong as it has ever been. There have been some reasons for concern. Last month, Kaiser Permanente bailed out of its plan to build a new $900M HQ in the city. Likewise, Blackstone Group, citing debt-market volatility, canceled a record-breaking deal — losing $20M in the process — to buy Uptown Station earlier this month.”
“Residential rents stabilizing, as they did last month, and home prices dropping as a result of a slowdown, might be what keeps more companies interested in the Bay Area, including Oakland, Ogilvie said. ‘House prices are one of the things that have been driving Bay Area firms to start to grow jobs elsewhere,’ he said. ‘If housing becomes more affordable, that could actually lead to some job growth.'”
The Journal News in New York. “According to Brokerage firm Houlihan Lawrence, the school districts of Carmel, Mahopac and Brewster saw the highest number of single-family home sales at 76, 51 and 41, respectively. Luxury market – homes over $1 million – sales in Putnam and Dutchess counties improved on a year-over-year basis from 10 to 13 in the first quarter of 2020. The median sales price for luxury homes decreased by 47.8% on a year-over-year basis to $1.2 million.”
“‘The drop in listing inventory across the region indicated that consumers had heightened uncertainty about the housing market which will play out in the second quarter,’ said Jonathan Miller, the author of the Douglass Elliman market reports. ‘We don’t anticipate seeing a ‘spring market’ this year; with the outbreak of the coronavirus, that can is being kicked down the road.'”
The Dominion Post in Virginia. “Stephanie Williams and her boyfriend have been looking for their first home to buy. They have been looking for almost eight months and have made two offers on the same house. But, they were turned down. Stephanie said they’re still ‘cautiously” looking for a house but realize because of COVID-19, the Morgantown area residential market is stagnant. ‘Before the pandemic, it seemed the market was finally coming to life,” said Stephanie, who is employed in the financial services industry and is working with a realtor.”
“‘It was a long winter waiting on houses to list. Most of the houses we were interested in were pretty costly, overpriced honestly,’ she said. ‘However, as more houses started to list, some of the places we had our eyes on started to slightly drop in price. ‘Since the pandemic, it seems like the market has frozen. There are very few new listings, and little to no change in prices,’ Stephanie said. ‘There’s some real fear of another housing market collapse and it’s evident in the market right now.'”
From Orlando Weekly in Florida. “The findings by Attom Data Solutions shows that housing markets in ten of Florida’s 67 counties are among the 50 most vulnerable nationwide to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Most are in North and Central Florida, including Osceola, lake, Flagler, Clay and Hernando. Broward was the highest-ranking South Florida county. Homeowners dependent on rental revenue from tenants to pay their mortgages could risk their houses of cards folding, as nationally the number of renters paying rent in the first five days of April has been about 12 percent lower than in the same period in March.”
“Realtors are feeling the pinch as well. With home sales ‘back to levels last seen during the depths of the Great Recession,’ the Orlando Business Journal reports Orlando-area Realtors are losing an estimated $689,961 in commission per day from the dip.”
The St. Louis Business Journal in Missouri. “A Business Journals analysis of pricing and supply data provided by Zillow Group Inc. makes clear the COVID-19 crisis has reversed what was shaping up to be a banner year for the residential real estate sector. In St. Louis, new daily listings are down 30.4%, leaving the industry continuing to confront pesky, low housing inventory that has persisted for multiple years. However, a pair of local agents said that the slim stock is helping keep prices steady amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
“‘We have not seen a correlated pricing decrease yet, which I think is important to note. It’s not like people are going to come in and steal homes right now. The reason is, it goes back to our inventory. There is just limited inventory,’ said Mark Gellman of the Gellman Team at Coldwell Banker Premier.”
“The fallout has immediate implications for the hundreds of thousands of real estate professionals who earn much of their annual compensation during the busy spring selling season. Nationally, the Business Journals estimated the drop in home listings could equate to as much as $81 million in lost sale commissions per day for real estate brokers, with major metros such as New York ($14 million per day), Los Angeles ($4.8 million) and Chicago ($3.8 million) topping the list with the most at stake. St. Louis brokers are facing $594,740 in lost sale commissions per day.”
The Bend Source on Oregon. “While the real estate market is slow, all three agents I talked to for this article said prices for mid-range houses will stay high in Central Oregon for the foreseeable future. Even in the worst of times, real estate agents can be counted on for a positive spin. ‘I know several people in this town who had clients who were laid off or furloughed and their mortgage loans fell through in the last few weeks,’ said Christin Hunter, a top producing agent for Windermere Real Estate – Central Oregon. ‘It’s such a volatile market in the lending world; the banks have to protect themselves. But when the buyers come back, once they get their job back, it’s likely they’ll be able to access a loan again, because the banks will see they didn’t lose their job due to performance.'”
“‘The best way I would describe it is hitting the pause button,’ Hunter said. ‘It’s too soon for prices to come down. We’ll see some downward pressure on higher-end listings, but a massive downward cycle, no way.'”
“Comparing the pandemic housing market to the deflated housing bubble of the Great Recession is apples to oranges, Hunter said. ‘We’ve had a scarcity of inventory for the last several years,’ Hunter said. ‘There’s no way you can make up for that inventory crunch in three weeks.'”
The Wall Street Journal. “Thousands of individuals who poured money into real-estate funds aimed at small investors are now trying to pull cash out during this period of economic turmoil. Many are being told they can’t have it. These individuals invested in a type of fund known as a nontraded real-estate investment trust. Since 2013, more than $70 billion has flowed into these funds, according to Robert A. Stanger & Co. Last year alone, firms raised $11.8 billion, more than twice the volume of 2018, Stanger said.”
“Since these funds don’t trade publicly, they can become highly illiquid during bad economic times, which means investors may not be able to get their money out if too many requests come at the same time. That’s what is happening now. For many small investors, their inability to cash out their shares couldn’t come at a worse time, with the economy reeling and millions joining the ranks of the unemployed. Many are only realizing now that fund managers are allowed to gate redemptions if requests hit a high-enough level.”
“‘That’s coming as a shock to some. They feel: ‘I gave you cash. Now I want it back,’ said Matthew Werner, a portfolio manager of Chilton Capital Management LLC, who follows the market. ‘That’s what hurts.'”
“Some financial advisers say the current crisis has revealed the fault lines in the new breed of funds, which were marketed by many firms as vehicles that paid high returns but had lower fees, less risk and more liquidity than the old nontraded REITs. ‘We fool ourselves and we keep making these mistakes over and over,’ said Allan Roth, founder of Wealth Logic LLC, a financial-planning firm based in Colorado Springs, Colo.”
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‘there were about 7,274 finished vacant houses on the market’
Remember when interest rates went up and in cities all over builders found themselves stuck with thousands of finished unsold shacks? This same paper reported greater DFW had something like 6,200. Now they’ve got a thousand more.
Maybe they can just build their way out of it?
The same way that oil producers are drilling their way out of the downturn?
Sometimes you’re the driller, and other times you’re the drillee.
This from Housing Wire today – oh my – what will the realtor do when inventory is in decline???
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/heres-what-unemployed-realtors-should-do-next/
Real estates new reality in Colorado: virtual showings, fewer listings and an industry on the edge:
“Last week, the state of Colorado fined a realtor with RE/MAX Colorado for asking the sellers to leave their home in order to do a virtual showing.
Adding insult to injury, Grund also believes it’s unfair that builders are allowed to show new build construction in-person when realtors are prevented from doing the same.
We’re selling a product that’s not allowed to be sold,” Grund said. “Would you buy a home for $600,000 without seeing it?”
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/coronavirus/real-estates-new-reality-in-colorado-virtual-showings-fewer-listings-and-an-industry-on-the-edge
Let’s re-phrase that.
“Would you buy a home for $600,000?”
No.
I remember before these bubbles, a $300,000 house was reserved for doctors and lawyers and such. Now you have 30-thousandaires buying them.
I refuse to accept the normalization of debt.
The howmuchamonth topic has been beaten to death on this blog, but just the idea of “buying” a house and still having a $240,000 liability is abhorrent, let alone a $480,000 liability.
It’s not about the payment, it’s about the debt.
A husband and wife of my good friend growing up (I can’t call them friends because they have severe TDS and I don’t care for them) are broke as a joke with a new house, two car payments and credit card debt up the wazoo. They hardly ever leave their house because they are in financial prison. They can’t go snowboarding, out to eat – anything. Pretty lame if you ask me.
Oh, I forgot to mention the two kids they have.
“Would you buy a home for $600,000 without seeing it?”
Don’t underestimate people’s emotional attachment to house pictures. And stupidity. Had a friend who moved to Hawaii several years ago bought dump for 725K sight unseen. Another coworker move to Hawaii 18 months ago bought a place for 650K without seeing it.
Current coworker got divorced, girlfriend within 6 months new house for 675K in Colorado Springs. I always wondered who bought those houses, now I know.
Another coworker just dropped 545K on house here in the fall. We are pretty good friends and I tried my hardest to talk him out of it. 59, divorced, broke but had a pension kicking in at 60. An otherwise very smart man.
They are all very house poor.
He plans to retire and move within 3-5 years. He insisted it was great investment and houses “return” 10-12%. I pointed out that was in the sub 400K market bubble. He then looked at the 500K + plus market and realized his “return” would be 3-5% if he was lucky. he then saw those prices are the first to tank.
Of course he did this after he closed. At least he went and saw the house first.
Seems nobody else is interested either.
Denver, CO Housing Prices Crater 17% YOY As On Broker Concedes, “Housing Is Becoming More Worthless With Each Passing Day”
https://www.zillow.com/denver-co-80202/home-values/
*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart
As one Denver broker conceded, “If you’re a buyer, the broker is lying to you. I know a liar when I hear one. I’ve been lying my entire life.”
‘It’s important for homeowners to realize that the forbearance plans being announced by lenders and the federal government are ‘not a ‘get out of jail free’ card from paying your mortgage…Despite the relatively simplistic nature of the messages that we’re hearing from the federal government, the nuances of how these programs are implemented underlying that are far more complex’
I’ve been thinking about this. One reason we are seeing forbearance tacked on as a lump sum is – it’s in the freaking contract! It’s the same with rental evictions, etc. This is common law, and I’ve seen discussions saying nobody can just make a law and change millions of contracts without any parties involved getting a say. None of this has been challenged in court, but it will.
‘For lenders, the big question is, ‘How do I follow through and make those payments that I’m obligated to make as a lender, even when I don’t have the income coming in or mortgage payments coming in from the consumers?…That’s where you see just a pleading and an appeal by the Mortgage Bankers Association to help infuse liquidity into the industry so that we can continue on with making those payments even during a crisis like that’
Take a big bite of the sh$t sandwich Keenan.
“None of this has been challenged in court, but it will.”
Lawyer$, Court$, Term$& ondition$, = Bottle.neck$
Collection$ delayed, i$ Collection$ timely denied.
No liaryer$ or courtrooms for ol’ Hwy50, eye$ gonna be: “gone.fishin’ …”
Busine$$:
Bankruptcy Court$ Gear Up, Dress Down With Filing$ $urge to Come
Bloomberg / By Steven Church April 14, 2020
Judges turn to video calls, delay non-urgent matters
U.S. Trustee cancels in-person meetings, adds lawyers
Dispensing with formalities is just one of many coping mechanisms deployed by the U.S. bankruptcy system during the coronavirus pandemic.
Judges across the country have pushed off non-urgent cases and big law firms are gearing up for a wave of multibillion-dollar cases. The U.S. Trustee, which oversees the bankruptcy system, has canceled tens of thousands of in-person meetings between debtors and creditors, installed 1,200 new conference lines and added 250 attorneys to specialize in small-business cases.
The new law lets smaller companies use bankruptcy to clear their debts and reorganize faster and more cheaply than previously. Last month, Congress boosted the number of businesses eligible for the program by making it available to any company with less than $7.5 million in debt$.
The new lawyers aren’t government employees, but instead will be appointed to act as mediators and advisers in small-business cases. White pre-selected them from among 3,000 applicants, picking those with some accounting and general business backgrounds to give courts a pool of experts to draw from.
Consumers and small business owners have seen the most dramatic change in the bankruptcy system so far. That’s because in normal times, U.S. Trustee attorneys preside over thousands of meetings a month between debtors and creditors. These so-called 341 meetings, named after a section of the bankruptcy code, are the only time a creditor can directly ask a debtor questions under oath. The answers are key evidence in every consumer and small business case.
Because of social-distancing requirements, 60,000 such meetings were canceled, White said. Future meetings will be held by telephone, which is why U.S. Trustee offices have added 1,200 new conference lines
Retail cases like, Pier 1 Imports and Modell’s Sporting Goods, were put on hold because they involved liquidation sales that can’t be held when stores are under orders to stay closed.
Oil patch ca$e$:
In Houston, which will soon be $wamped with in$olvent oil indu$try companie$, Judge David R. Jones and Judge Marvin Isgur have been holding training sessions for lawyers on how to use the court’s videoconferencing software to smooth out proceedings.
Corporate bankruptcy lawyers, who often charge more than $1,000 an hour, have been busier than ever preparing cases. Still, they are holding back on filing them because the system is under so much strain.
With assistance by Jeremy Hill, Katherine Doherty, and Allison McNeely
nobody can just make a law and change millions of contracts without any parties involved getting a say
The extent to which the rule of law and our constitution have been ignored in the last month is frightening.
I’ve seen discussions saying nobody can just make a law and change millions of contracts without any parties involved getting a say. FDR and his emergency policies starting in his first term included the invalidation of “gold clauses” in private contracts. The “involved” parties had their say, all the way to the US Supreme Court, in 1935. the Gold Clause Cases decision was controversial in its day, rightly regarded as a dangerous deviation from the existing constitutional order. So infuriated was Justice McReynolds, among the four dissenters, that he threw his papers to the floor and declared the opinion of the Court tantamount to the Constitution’s death. The actions of the government, he famously said, embodied “Nero in his worst form.” Source. They had their say, but they couldn’t eat it.
‘About two million homeowners are skipping their monthly mortgage payments, according to industry data released on Monday, a number that is forecast to rise further as more Americans lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.’
‘Approximately 3.74% of home loans are in forbearance as of April 5, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data, up from about 2.73% the prior week.’
‘The industry group represents nonbank companies such as Quicken Loans Inc. and Freedom Mortgage Corp. that act as middlemen between borrowers who make monthly payments and investors who ultimately receive them. Its survey reflects a sample size of roughly 27 million loans, or slightly more than half of the overall number of “first mortgages” used to purchase homes.’
‘When a homeowner misses a payment, the mortgage servicers are still on the hook to pay investors. Although they are ultimately reimbursed, the process can take months. The firms originate about 60% of U.S. mortgages and service the majority of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which caters to lower-income and first-time home buyers.’
‘The stimulus bill provided no assistance to mortgage servicers, and the companies say they might have to come up with tens of billions of dollars to meet their obligations to investors if enough homeowners stop making payments.’
‘Mark Calabria, a top federal housing regulator, has indicated that the companies are unlikely to get help from government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee nearly half of mortgages.’
https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-pandemic-fuels-rapid-increase-in-missed-mortgage-payments-11586815235
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
Nobody knows but He knows my sorrow…
I recall some years ago somebody saying Farner ought to call his lawyer.
“Mark Calabria, a top federal housing regulator, has indicated that the companies are unlikely to get help from government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee nearly half of mortgages.”
I suppose Fannie and Freddie only come into play when the mortgages have been declared “non-performing,” which is probably 4 – 6 months in-arrears. Looks like the mortgage servicers need one of the fed’s special lending windows.
How are those production cuts in the face of collapsed demand working out for OPEC+ countries? It seems like reduced output coupled with no change in prices would result in decreased revenues, but I am not an energy expert.
Energy Commodities
Oil drops 6% as producer cuts fail to banish demand fears
Published Tue, Apr 14 20207:04 AM EDTUpdated an hour ago
Reuters
GP: Russian oil field 200401 ASIA
Oil pumping jacks, also known as “nodding donkeys,” operate in an oilfield near Almetyevsk, Tatarstan, Russia, on Wednesday, March 11, 2020.
Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices shed more than 6% on Tuesday, with investors apparently unconvinced that record supply cuts could soon balance markets pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, though a predicted plunge in U.S. shale output provided some support.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.37, or 6.1%, to trade at $21.03 per barrel, having dropped 1.5% in the previous session. Brent futures fell $1.90, or 6%, to $39.85 per barrel after settling up 0.8% on Monday.
…
‘I don’t think it’ll go to zero, but over the next couple months, you’re going to see some sharp declines – 50 percent, two-thirds, maybe in that range.’
Wow! Leslie outdid herself with that price cut forecast. She must have heard the news that 20% downpayment requirements are coming back.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/real-estate/story/2020-04-09/san-diego-home-demand-slips-inventory-up
She’s talking deal volume, not prices.
Oh no, I am pretty sure she meant prices.
Do you have any idea of what Californians will be able to afford after down payment requirements increase from 3% to 20%? I do.
(Turns on brain, enters maths mode:
3% × P2019 = 20% × P2020
P2020 ÷ P2019 = 3% ÷ 20% = 15% )
It looks like the crater could approach 85% below the 3% downpayment requirement price. And that’s assuming the folks buying with 3% down would even bother going into the market if required to put down 20%.
I thought Underwater was an absolute term.
She was talking about foot-traffic, not prices. Prices are a bit sticky of course.
On the last go around Simpleton Young said it would level like a soufflés.
It crashed 50_75%
And let me guess – when she was asked about it after the fact she replied – “nobody could have seen it coming.” And when it was pointed out that blogs like this were talking about it for years she was “unavailable for comment.”
“…This industry is just doing a very slow crawl,’ says Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist at the California Association of Realtors. ‘I don’t think it’ll go to zero, but over the next couple months, you’re going to see some sharp declines – 50 percent, two-thirds, maybe in that range…’
Is this the same Leslie Appleton-Young who claimed even 6 months ago that ‘any signficant decline in the R/E markets’ was unpossible?
While on the subject whatever happend to our favorite REIConplex foghorn Lawrence Yun of the NaR? Haven’t heard any ‘its unpossible’ nonsense from Lawrence in quite a while.
‘Wait, I don’t want to be a victim of predatory buyers who are looking for a 20 percent discount,’ Wagner says.
That’s funny. I didn’t know you could be victimized by somebody offering you cash that you don’t have to give back or pay interest on.
“victim”
“predatory buyers”
How would you characterize our roles if I’m waiting for 50% off?
The sense of entitlement expressed in that quote is disgusting.
Douglas Wagner, director of brokerage services at Bond New York Properties in Manhattan:
‘Wait, I don’t want to be a victim of predatory buyers who are looking for a 20 percent discount,’ Wagner says.”
“The sense of entitlement expressed in that quote is disgusting.”
– Agreed, but I think there’s more to that statement than meets the eye. We’re really talking about commissions here…
The 5 stages of grief and loss are:
Mr. Wagner is here, IMHO –> 1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
‘It’s too soon for prices to come down. We’ll see some downward pressure on higher-end listings, but a massive downward cycle, no way’
Is it entitlement or fear? Unless he needs to sell, no one is forcing him to list let alone accept an offer.
Douglas Wagner, director of brokerage services at Bond New York Properties in Manhattan, has the debtor’s limp, and the “flush with cash” Lion has spotted it.
Indian Shores, FL Housing Prices Crater 18% YOY As Gulf Coast Housing Market Shrinks On Rampant Mortgage And Appraisal Fraud
https://www.movoto.com/indian-shores-fl/market-trends/
As one Tampa area broker conceded, “If you’re a buyer, the broker is lying to you. I know a liar when I hear one. I’ve been lying my entire life.”
Really cool! Watch the interview: https://www.cnet.com/news/pill-packs-and-home-furnaces-inspired-this-new-health-mask/
Somewhere’$, thee “evil” “feel.the.burn$” $ocialist $anders is just.a.$milin’
Politic$
Kudlow Says $mall Busine$$ Loan Fund$ to Run Out This Week
Bloomberg / By Josh Wingrove / April 14, 2020
The Trump administration’s $349 billion program to help small businesses reeling from the Covid-19 outbreak will run out of money as early as Thursday, top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said.
At the present run-rate, we’re going to be out of money,” Kudlow said Tuesday on Fox Business Network. The Small Business Administration launched the program April 3, a week after President Donald Trump signed a $2.2 trillion rescue package that included the program.
As of 11:45 a.m. New York time on Tuesday, almost 1.1 million applications had been approved totaling more than $253 billion, with more than 4,700 lending institutions participating, the SBA said.
With assistance by Saleha Mohsin
Really, Hwy?! What about this is political or about the SBA loan program?
“Hays said Orbis will provide tools, dies and manufacturing instructions to interested thermoforming companies who engage in a ‘nominal’ license royalty program. ‘The royalty on our end is just to keep our operation going to support a chain of products we can follow with,’ like the next version of BioAid that he said will have a user-replaceable filter.”
Based on your comment below, I chalk this one up to improper nesting.
Talking to yourself today? 🙂
Rescinding my “Really, Hwy?!” comment.
Thoughts eye posted it … but, yes wrong placement, sorry Redhead.
Reposting so people don’t miss this gorgeous graphic.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-what-covid-19-does-to-your-body/
“Douglas Wagner, director of brokerage services at Bond New York Properties in Manhattan, says he has seen many would-be sellers renovate their apartments in anticipation of the spring selling season, only to decide not to list. ‘They hit the brakes and said, ‘Wait, I don’t want to be a victim of predatory buyers who are looking for a 20 percent discount,’ Wagner says.”
Much better to wait and offer that 50% discount.
” offer that 50% discount”
Bahaha. Just said the same above!
“According to Brokerage firm Houlihan Lawrence, the school districts of Carmel, Mahopac and Brewster saw the highest number of single-family home sales at 76, 51 and 41, respectively. Luxury market – homes over $1 million – sales in Putnam and Dutchess counties improved on a year-over-year basis from 10 to 13 in the first quarter of 2020. The median sales price for luxury homes decreased by 47.8% on a year-over-year basis to $1.2 million.”
It’s a mix problem
Cool visual$, yet … Yikes!
📣🎙: “it’s the common.cold folks! 👾
Lung.tissue chewin’ varmints 👾 don’t care$ none ’bout$ you$ two legged’$ eCONomie$!
“Predatory buyers”?
Wow, sense of entitlement much?
Got a note from my credit union yesterday. They said I could have a deferral on mortgage payments for 3 months. They did expect a lump sump payment at the end of 3 months for captured expenses (taxes, insurance) so they could make those current. I’m not sure most people have enough savings to make a $2k payment at the end of three months. Especially if they lost more than 20% of their income.
Luckily I don’t have a mortgage.
Is there any fee associated?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-seeds-americans-grow-food/
Unless, of course, you’re in MI and under the rule of General Half-Wit.
General Half-Wit
Is she making a play for the VP nom? “Look how I use my pen!”
https://spectator.org/the-worst-governor-in-america/
I hope so. It would be the gift that keeps on giving for the GOP. And we’d at least have a shot at getting a competent replacement otherwise.
That’s been debunked… (ditto for child car seats)
What has?
“What has?”
Besides Car seats which came from “The View” none of it has. American flags are a stretch, but I guess if they are sold in the part of the store you were ordered to cordon off you won’t be selling American flags.
Executive Order 2020-42 (COVID-19)
For stores of more than 50,000 square feet:
Limit the number of customers in the store at one time (excluding employees) to 4 people per 1,000 square feet of customer floor space. The amount of customer floor space must be calculated to exclude store areas that are closed under subprovision (2) of this subsection.
Close areas of the store—by cordoning them off, placing signs in aisles, posting prominent signs, removing goods from shelves, or other appropriate means—that are dedicated to the following classes of goods:
Carpet or flooring.
Furniture.
Garden centers and plant nurseries.
Paint.
https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/0,9309,7-387-90499_90705-525182–,00.html
But I like this
Michigan Bans ‘All Public and Private Gatherings,’ Will Still Allow Lottery Sales
BILLY BINION | 4.13.2020 5:05 PM
https://reason.com/2020/04/13/michigan-gretchen-whitmer-bans-all-public-and-private-gatherings-will-still-allow-lottery-sales/
zillows big predictamatic machine hasn’t adjusted predictions by a dime
Mornin’ Rip.
Fairfax, VA Housing Prices Crater 10% YOY As Northern Virginia/Washington DC Emerges As Ground Zero For Mortgage Fraud Epidemic
https://www.zillow.com/fairfax-va-22031/home-values/
*Select price from dropdown menu on first chart
A distinguished economist quipped, “Why buy a house when you can rent one for half the monthly cost. Buy it later after prices crater for 70% less.”
DC Metro is ground zero for mortgage fraud?? Wouldn’t doubt it, but where did you get that info?
It’s everywhere.
I suppose that until there are new, lower comps that those zEstimates won’t change.
Patience, grasshopper, it will come to pass.
“Charity” and goodwill as a PR stunt:
Sacramento Bee: Elon Musk’s ventilator fiasco shows need for more oversight of Gavin Newsom’s mask deal
Niagara Reporter: Elon Musk and the Missing Ventilators
The SEIU, one of the most corrupt of the Democrat-aligned unions, nearly pulled off one of the biggest N95 mask scams yet.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhiprakash/seiu-uhw-masks-coronavirus-ppe
There’s a big difference between being a target of a scam and pulling off a scam.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1333-Webster-St-Birmingham-MI-48009/24532836_zpid/
Apparently not many people want basement windows in their living room. Maybe they should have provided egress.
And whatever possessed anyone to think that those ridiculous interior doors would ever be a thing, anywhere?
ridiculous interior doors
I hate interior barn doors.
That whole rustic/shabby chic look will be out of style in time. Then you’re left with “what’s this stupid barn door doing in the living room?”
Also, I’m not a fan of the light wood floors with no shine that are all the rage right now. I only like 3/4″ solid classic hardwood with at least a semi-gloss polyurethane.
Is it commonly agreed that preventing the stock market from adjusting valuations to reflect current news announcements is a desirable policy objective?
The Financial Times
Global Economy
Coronavirus poses ‘serious threat’ to financial system, IMF warns
Deep recession could expose or worsen faultlines despite radical easing measures, says fund
The Bank of England in London. Companies have entered the coronavirus crisis with more debt than at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis
© Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA/Shutterstock
Robin Wigglesworth, global finance correspondent 3 hours ago
The severe global recession triggered by coronavirus could expose “cracks” in the financial system, despite the unprecedented action taken by central banks led by the US Federal Reserve, the IMF has warned.
Central banks have rolled out radical monetary easing policies as governments launched substantial stimulus packages in an attempt to tackle what the IMF forecasts will be a lingering blow to global economic growth. But the deepest contraction since the Great Depression may still exacerbate or expose faultlines in the global financial system, the IMF said in a report published on Tuesday.
“This crisis presents a very serious threat to the stability of the global financial system,” the fund said. “Decisive monetary and fiscal policy actions, aimed at containing the fallout from the pandemic, have stabilised investor sentiment. Nevertheless, there is still a risk of a further tightening in financial conditions that could expose financial vulnerabilities.”
…
“Companies have entered the coronavirus crisis with more debt than at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis”
Interesting! I wonder how this could have happened after all the intervening years of prosperity?
🤔 $eem$ like some sort of a viral irrational exuberant conundrum$!
Interesting! I wonder how this could have happened after all the intervening years of prosperity?
Stock buy backs?
Coronavirus Crisis Exposes a Devastating Consequence of Fed Policy: Americans Have No Savings
Over 100 years, the Federal Reserve has destroyed more than 97 percent of our currency’s purchasing power.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
…
“American busine$$es and individual$ are so overleveraged that once their income$ goes away, even briefly, they are too often left with nothing$.”
💪💰🏠🏧🍼💳💲🎉
(like taking candie$ from a banker.)
When I hear that half the population (or whatever the percentage was) can’t come up with $500 for an emergency, I don’t think of those people driving $35,000 cars; but there you have it.
How about all the households paying 50% of their incomes to afford $500,000 starter homes?
A $35,000 car is cheap these days. A Toyota Tacoma Pro is running $49,000. Unreal.
$500,000 starter homes?
$500,000 and starter home are mutually exclusive.
The Financial Times
Opinion Global economic growth
The world economy is now collapsing
A microbe has overthrown our arrogance and sent global output into a tailspin
Martin Wolf
Earth in Chains
© James Ferguson
Martin Wolf 4 hours ago
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF calls what is now happening, the “Great Lockdown”. I prefer the “Great Shutdown”: this phrase captures the reality that the global economy would be collapsing even if policymakers were not imposing lockdowns and might stay in collapse after lockdowns end. Yet, whatever we call it, this is clear: it is much the biggest crisis the world has confronted since the second world war and the biggest economic disaster since the Depression of the 1930s. The world has come into this moment with divisions among its great powers and incompetence at the highest levels of government of terrifying proportions. We will pass through this, but into what?
As recently as January, the IMF had no idea of what was about to hit, partly because Chinese officials had failed to inform one another, let alone the rest of the world. Now we are in the middle of a pandemic with vast consequences. But much remains unclear. One important uncertainty is how myopic leaders will respond to this global threat.
Chart of credit spreads on US corporate debt showing that rising spreads show flight from risky assets in developed countries
For what any forecast is worth, the IMF now suggests that global output per head will contract by 4.2 per cent this year, vastly more than the 1.6 per cent recorded in 2009, during the global financial crisis. Ninety per cent of all countries will experience negative growth in real gross domestic product per head this year, against 62 per cent in 2009, when China’s robust expansion helped cushion the blow.
…
Hwy50 vote$: “aye!”
Earth to Christin,
I live in Bend and I have been watching daily as STR/Airbnb houses and units flood the market looking for long term renters…oh wait…there aren’t any as this entire inflated economy is made up of hospitality and tourism…oh wait…that’s over too. Good thing the other supply we have here is 3200 real estate licenses in a town of 90,000…oh wait…that’s over too! These fools here had the biggest downturn on 2008 and yet they have no memory at all! I’m glad I just have rented and watched……It’s gonna get ugly!
One way to spot bubble and bust is look at the NAR membership number
https://www.nar.realtor/membership/historic-report
You see peak in the number of members right before the number collapsed. I know it’s not adjusted for population but look at 1929 – 1935. Went from around 20K to 10K …
Also, look at 1980 and 1990. In 1990, there were 810K members and it took roughly 12 years to reach that number again. Of course, that was the beginning of another housing bubble. I don’t see why we need realtors at all. With all the technology, can’t they be replaced????
If I had to nominate one town to suffer the worst real estate losses in the country, Bend would be in my top 3.
“It’s gonna get ugly!”
Doe$n’t Bend have a $isters nearby?
General comment on all of this –
1) Consumer spending is supposed to be at least 70% of economic activity. And yet, “consumers” are getting all of $1200 (income-based) per person, as a one-time “stimulus”, plus any unemployment payments.
2) Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driver of job creation and growth. Yet, these businesses received very little of the stimulus largess, with some of that actually going to PE firms due to heavy lobbying.
3) Banks, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, are all receiving $Ts, including Fed purchasing HY (junk) bonds, which were used to finance stock buybacks, for example.
4) Needless to say, government debt and deficits are now “out the wazoo.”
– In a “normal” CCP virus-less recession, how is any of this going to restore the economy when, further enriching the 1% does nothing for the consumer demand and a measly $1.2K bucks (+ unemployment) isn’t going to go much past necessities? Where’s the discretionary consumer spending going to come from (ex food, shelter, fuel, etc.)?
– In this case of an “not-normal” recession, with the CCP virus, consumers are locked down in their homes, many/most businesses are shut or extremely limited in operations. Where’s the demand coming from? Where does bailing out the financial sector (again) actually get the economy back on track? I don’t see it. The only thing I see is where the 1% are again protected, while the 99% get something else (look behind you).
– This was sort of a “follow the money” straw man, but if the goal was to get the economy going again, I think that “something is rotten in Denmark”, so to speak (apologies to all Danes reading this!).
No worrie$, what.ever i$$ues yous afear$, … Jared with fix it.
Strange that nobody voted for Jared, Dr. FrankFauci or Reichsmarschall Birx. Speaking of which Birx’s daughter Laura has been working at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. No conflict of interest here. Move along…
Laura Birx may be related but isn’t one of her daughters.
https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/04/225218.htm
“We are privileged to have the Secretary of State, the Honorable John Kerry, officiating our ceremony this morning and we are so pleased to welcome Ambassador Birx’s family here today, including her parents Donald and Adele and her daughters Danielle and Devynn.”
Danielle and Devynn may have been the only daughters attending based on syntax there.
the only daughters attending
She has two children, both daughters. I was providing an authoritative source for their names. There’s a lot of misinformation swirling online about this.
Robert Reich: ‘I’m Very Concerned’ for Small Businesses: Fmr. Secretary of Labor
I pulled the quote from Marketwatch today – it is a youtube of Reich…..
So……Maybe he should have thought about this while Clinton, Graham and Rudman were blowing up Glass Steagle back in the day. These people are just shameless.
‘This industry is just doing a very slow crawl,’ says Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist at the California Association of Realtors.
It’s dead, Jim.
‘They hit the brakes and said, ‘Wait, I don’t want to be a victim of predatory buyers who are looking for a 20 percent discount,’ Wagner says.”
Those are knife catchers, Wagner. The real “predators” as you call them aren’t even stirring in their dens yet. We’ve got plenty of time, and strategic patience. For greedhead sellers, though, this is as good as it’s going to get.
Be a victim of your own greed and stupidity instead.
I’m not buying your overpriced shack.
#LaughsInRenter
That’s ok. Be a victim of your own stupidity and sell it later for 70% less.
Right now, the Fed is plotting to defraud you.
Van Halen – Right Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMV-fenGP1g
“In another sign of slowing sales, real estate companies have been cutting back. In one notable example, Seattle-based Redfin furloughed 40 percent of its 1,500 agents until September.
Because things are going to be so much better in September.
“Almost 4% of mortgage borrowers have stopped making their payments as the coronavirus pandemic has put millions of U.S. homeowners out of work.
So just like that, “homeowners” became “mortgage borrowers.” Gosh, it’s almost like they never owned those shacks in the first place.
“It’s ClownWorld, Jake. Forget about it”
‘That’s where you see just a pleading and an appeal by the Mortgage Bankers Association to help infuse liquidity into the industry so that we can continue on with making those payments even during a crisis like that.’”
Suffer, bitchez.
‘House prices are one of the things that have been driving Bay Area firms to start to grow jobs elsewhere,’ he said. ‘If housing becomes more affordable, that could actually lead to some job growth.’”
You’ve still got needles on the playgrounds, feces on the sidewalk, the mentally ill homeless roaming zombie-like, and progressive lunacy as public policy. Good luck with that job growth, Pollyanna.
By this logic, if prices crash 50%+ job growth will be booming. Whos idea was it that housing bubble was good for jobs? Maybe for realturds or mortgage brokers but it’s bad for everyone else.
There are very few new listings, and little to no change in prices,’ Stephanie said. ‘There’s some real fear of another housing market collapse and it’s evident in the market right now.’”
Real fear? Only for speculators and FBs. I’m waiting in gleeful anticipation. Stephanie much be a special kind of stupid to be house-shopping when the housing market is getting ready to fall off a cliff.
Futures & Commodities
The ‘wind is very likely in gold’s sails’ as it hits a seven-year high
Published Tue, Apr 14 2020 10:28 AM EDT
Elliot Smith
Key Points
– The precious metal has now recaptured all of the ground it lost during the market meltdown last month.
– Gold tends to benefit from stimulus measures by central banks, which have been abundant in recent weeks.
…
The reason is, it goes back to our inventory. There is just limited inventory,’ said Mark Gellman of the Gellman Team at Coldwell Banker Premier.”
You go to hell for lying, Mark.
“‘The best way I would describe it is hitting the pause button,’ Hunter said. ‘It’s too soon for prices to come down. We’ll see some downward pressure on higher-end listings, but a massive downward cycle, no way.’”
That’s the panic button, Hunter. And the cratering was underway long before a chinaman bit into an infected bat in a Wuhan wet market.
Since 2013, more than $70 billion has flowed into these funds, according to Robert A. Stanger & Co. Last year alone, firms raised $11.8 billion, more than twice the volume of 2018, Stanger said.”
Welcome to the Hotel California, bagholders.
Let me guess, no one could have seen it coming
Not sure how wise it is for a landlord to give blanket exemptions from paying rent, but this is probably a decent human being.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7kzyj9/this-hero-landlord-canceled-rent-for-3-months-tells-tenants-to-go-spend-at-local-businesses
$mells like an “evil” $ociali$t. Free $tuff. American Quazi.Capitali$m v.ll dete$t such a$piration$.
Fed gawds sake, burn it, plow it under, de$troy it, but never just give$.it.away!
(Is Wall $treet getting ANY of the (0%) a$ in Zero%?, ANY of thee x$6+ Trillion$, ANY of thee “UNLIMITED!” 👀👾🆘 🌊💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💰💲💉📈↗📈↗📈↗📈↗📈↗📈⬆📈🎉🎡🎪🃏♻
U.S.APRIL 14, 2020
Trump admini$tration faces pre$$ure to buy food for the needy, avoid wa$te.
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Trump administration is facing mounting pressure to buy more meat, dairy and produce for food banks as farmers destroy agricultural goods due to reduced restaurant demand during the coronavirus outbreak.
The National Pork Producers Council, which represents U.S. hog farmers, on Tuesday called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase more than $1 billion in pork. The agency should buy products like hams and bacon that are packaged for restaurants and use it to supplement food bank programs facing increased demand due to rising unemployment, according to the industry group.
About 16.8 million people filed for U.S. unemployment benefits in the last three weeks as the country shut down to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
Supplies of meat, cheese and vegetables have backed up and dairy farmers have been dumping milk as restaurant dining rooms have closed. Rabobank estimates overall North American meat demand is down some 30% in the past month.
Increased food purchases by USDA can “help ensure that the production that no longer has a foodservice market can be made available to help our nation’s food banks,” said Representative Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Peterson, in a letter on Tuesday, urged USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to use $9.5 billion in funding through the CARES Act relief bill, as well as the Commodity Credit Corporation funding authority, to ease food demand disruptions from the outbreak.
Perdue said on Twitter last week USDA is developing a program that will include direct payments to farmers and “procurement methods to help solidify the supply chain from producers to consumers.” The agency said on Tuesday that details will be released soon.
Hog farmers will euthanize dramatically more pigs without immediate federal aid, according to A.V. Roth, president of the pork council. It estimates producers will lose about $5 billion this year or $37 per hog.
Feeding America, which says it is the largest U.S. hunger-relief organization, and the American Farm Bureau Federation said in a letter last week that USDA should implement a voucher program that would allow farmers and food banks to work directly with one another.
“We are seeing literally tons of agricultural goods being discarded because of the shutdown of so much of the economy,” the letter said. “Paradoxically, we are seeing a simultaneous surge in demand at a moment when many farmers are being told there is an oversupply of their product.”
Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/04/14/coronavirus-newsom-re-opening-california/
That sounds like a boss promising an indeterminate raise at an unknown time in the future.
A whole lot of words signifying nothing. “The ability to” is not doing. And, WTH is developing therapeutics doing in there?
Speaking of…
“Their numbers. The ones that we acted on the first time, but that turned out to be completely wrong.”
All Californians ordered to shelter in place as governor estimates more than 25m will get virus
Governor’s letter to Trump says roughly 56% of state’s residents likely to contract disease over eight weeks
Mar 19, 2020
The order, which will go into force on Thursday evening, requires the state’s nearly 40 million residents to remain indoors and limit outdoor movement to what is “absolutely essential”.
The move came as Newsom on Thursday estimated that 25.5 million people – roughly 56% of California’s population – were likely to become infected with the coronavirus, an alarming projection offered by the governor in a letter to Donald Trump. Newsom called on the president to deploy a navy hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, and station it in the port of Los Angeles to help the giant metro area deal with a fast-moving health crisis.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/coronavirus-california-more-than-half-gavin-newsom
The outbreak in China started in late November/early December and travel from China wasn’t banned until late January at which point people were still coming in from across our southern border. That means we had two months for the CCP virus to seed here in CA. I’m thinking a good share of us have already been exposed.
“travel from China wasn’t banned until late January”
No. I attended a tradeshow called Photonics West in San Francisco the first week in February. While attendance from China was down, it was not non-existent. I don’t know where this idea that travel was banned from China is coming from. At about that time American and Delta had banned flights TO China, but I was wondering at the time why we weren’t banning flights FROM China.
There were a few flights from China after February 1. And apparently a lot from European countries with coronavirus hotspots (e.g. Italy) into early March.
Nuances!
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/31/21117403/trump-coronavirus-ban-travel-non-us-citizens-china
Pelosi: Virus fears shouldn’t stop Chinatown trips
(24 Feb 2020) U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a walking tour of San Francisco’s Chinatown Monday to let the public know the neighborhood is safe and open for business.
Pelosi, a Democrat who represents the heavily Chinese American city, visited the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, whose owner Kevin Chan, says his business and others are down 70% since the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
“You should come to Chinatown,” Pelosi said before stopping to lunch at Dim Sum Corner.
“Precautions have been taken by our city, we know that there’s concern about tourism, traveling all throughout the world, but we think it’s very safe to be in Chinatown and hope that others will come,” she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZBFUA0JjFk
Feb. 24: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
~ Donald Trump
“Nuances!”
Agreed. But the narrative is currently being peddled in absolutes. Currently. We’ll see what today brings.
We’ll see what today brings.
Continued flying by the seat of our collective pants while trying to avoid panic and chaos in the streets.
“Dr. Fauci offers sobering assessment about return to normal, saying it will only happen “when you can completely protect the population” with a vaccine and treatment. Otherwise: “If you want to get to pre-coronavirus, that might not ever happen, since the threat is there.”
Tucker Carlson discussing Dr. Fauci and others opinions on when and if we can “return to normal”
“These are smart people. We should hear them out. But these are also big decisions — history-changing decisions, with consequences we can’t even begin to anticipate this far out. Before we go ahead and alter our lives and our country forever, it’s fair to ask about the numbers. Their numbers. The ones that we acted on the first time, but that turned out to be completely wrong. How’d they screw that up so completely? That’s a fair question.”
How soon do you want the second wave to hit?
The next 2 million?
Pick your poison:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/
https://www.foxnews.com/world/state-department-cables-coronavirus-origin-chinese-lab-bats
Here is Stanley riding around on his tractor in 2011.
youtube.com/watch?v=r0HX4a5P8eE
“One reason we are seeing forbearance tacked on as a lump sum is – it’s in the freaking contract! It’s the same with rental evictions, etc. This is common law, and I’ve seen discussions saying nobody can just make a law and change millions of contracts without any parties involved getting a say.”
I pretty much wrote about this. This is going to be a legal mess than leaves everyone worse off than they would have been if nothing got paid for a few months, with the $ tacked on to the end of the loan. Lawyers will do OK, however.
https://larrylittlefield.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/mass-bankruptcy-and-the-contracts-clause-of-the-constitution/
Trumpy was hilarious once again at this evenings news conference.🤣
Watch it…. He’s a beauty…. 🤣🤣🤣
God Bless President Donald J. Trump and God Bless America!
The Who — 5:15 (1973):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA1l-2jrVCY
No worries about futures going down. Any drop in the futures can be corrected after the market opens by the miracle of Unlimited Quarintinive Easing.
Markets
Stock futures slip as investors digest signs coronavirus pandemic is easing
Published Tue, Apr 14 2020
6:05 PM EDT
Updated 26 min ago
Maggie Fitzgerald
Stock futures were lower in overnight trading following a big rally in the previous session fueled by optimism that the coronavirus outbreak is improving in the U.S.
Dow futures fell, indicating a loss of about 85 points at the open on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also slated to open in the red.
CH 20200326 Stock market wild swings 10am.png
Signs that the coronavirus pandemic is easing drove stocks higher on Tuesday, even as the first batch of quarterly earnings showed the outbreak is taking a toll on corporate profits. The Dow climbed about 560 points, helped by Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Apple which rose 4.5%, 4.9% and 5%, respectively. The S&P 500 also registered a significant gain, rising more than 3%.
The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 4%, led by Amazon, which notched an all-time high as investors bet on increased demand amid the nationwide shutdown. The Nasdaq is less than 14% from its 52- week high on February 19.
“The bending of the virus curve simultaneously across this country and around the globe has brought widespread and serious national conversations about restarting the economy,” Leuthold Group’s chief investment strategist Jim Paulsen told CNBC. “For a crisis whose primary tagline for investors was ‘that is completely unknown,’ this is perhaps the first time there is some semblance of clarity as to a timeline for the end of this sad situation.”
The market rallied on the idea that “maybe the worst of the economic freefall is over” and talk about reopening the economy, Charles Schwab’s Jeffrey Kleintop told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday morning Singapore time.
But Kleintop, who is chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, warned that “the stock market may have a tougher time from here.” He said one unknown is the possibility of a second wave of infections as lockdown measures lift.
…
GYNECOLOGIST COUPLE CAUGHT STEALING TRUMP FLAG FROM ELDERLY NEIGHBOR
Trump Derangement Syndrome strikes again!
Kelen McBreen | Infowars.com – APRIL 14, 2020
SHOCKING VIDEO!
Geoffrey Michael Fraiche, 41, Laura Ann Webb-Fraiche, 38, both gynecologists by trade, drove up to the man’s house via golf cart accompanied by two children and used a ladder to reach the flag.
The pair was charged with criminal mischief, trespassing, larceny and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The homeowner, who is pressing charges, said the act caused about $500 in damage to the flagpole’s base and that the flag itself cost $200.
In security footage of the robbery, a young child can be heard begging the adults not to steal the flag, repeating, “You’re gonna go to jail!”
Sadly, the adolescent boy was correct and apparently more intelligent than the pair of doctors.
https://www.infowars.com/gynecologist-couple-caught-stealing-trump-flag-from-elderly-neighbor/
“GYNECOLOGIST COUPLE”
What where they gonna do, grope it?
“‘Wait, I don’t want to be a victim of predatory buyers who are looking for a 20 percent discount,’ Wagner says.”
Predatory buyers? LOL!
My favorite word was “victim”. He must be really vulnerable if someone with nothing but money can victimize him.
I took an 800 mile drive today, round tripping through NY, CT, NJ, MD and across PA. “Essential” business includes helping family members in distress, like my grandson. No contact with actual other humans. Mission accomplished, now I guess it’s quarantine for me.
MD had a sign at the border instructing visitors to self quarantine for 14 days. Upstate NY had flashing signs every 30 miles “STAY HOME”. Some service areas had no gas. Traffic was very light, about 1/2 transports. I saw Highway Patrol parked just about everywhere, but no pulled to the curb nabs. I got passed a couple times an hour by people going 80-90 mph. Teslaratis were popular in this group.
On the radio, NPR bashing the Pres, Governors who screamed for FedGov help now feeling superior so as to unleash the Cracken themselves, Stock Market is going back to something/something up. Evil Pres… Everyone endorses a Zombie candidate.
Quite the day. I guess I’m quarantined now. Some of my womenfolk are very angry with me. The Black Cherry trees and others are all in bloom.
Sounds like it was quite a day.
Hope your grandson is doing well.
You didn’t see any bad car accidents where the driver or the passengers were killed by COVID19 on impact did you?
The Black Cherry trees and others are all in bloom.
Pretty! Our macadamia trees are in bloom and buzzing with bees. Beautiful Spring day yesterday. Today’s expected to be warmer. Quarantine sucks.
“I took an 800 mile drive today…” —snip— “No contact with actual other humans.
Astronaut underwear? 🙂
No contact with actual other humans.
If there are so few travelers on the road, rest room facilities may be empty most of the time. Then there are woods along the roads.
There were all the truckers, but I never pulled into a technical rest stop. Always places to pull over. I had a pail in the back of the truck with plastic bags were that necessary. Just like boondocking in the RV. I met my daughter at Cabelas in a huge mall in Newark DE. Strange feeling to see that mega mall deserted.
No wrecks, no zombies. No toll takers either. Everything was EZpass, or in PA “Don’t worry, we’ll send you a bill”. “Click”
Road crews were out working.