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The Three Fs’ Of How Homeowners Typically Deal In A Crisis

A report from Loudoun Now in Virginia. “It’s anything but a typical housing market in Loudoun County. Ashley Smith, of Atlantic Coast Mortgage, has been in the industry for 18 years and just had her biggest month ever in April, closing $23 million in loans. About 60 percent of her business, she said, has been refinancing. ‘I have a pipeline of years and years of people I’ve put in homes, maybe it’s their first, second, or third time refinancing, or they’re buying another home,’ Smith said.”

The News Leader in Virginia. “Even good news can become bad news. For instance, interest rates are at historic lows. ‘The good news is that interest rates could still head down due to the coronavirus pandemic,’ said Rick Kane, owner of Westhills Realtors in Fishersville. ‘The bad news may be people are refinancing rather than trading up in housing.”

“Kevin Lacey, owner of the Lacey Real Estate Group in Fishersville, admitted that he fears a repeat of the past housing crisis could be on the horizon. In the early 2000s, as the real estate market boomed and prices soared, people were living off the supposed worth of their homes by refinancing them and pocketing the extra cash, he said. When the market went belly up, many were left owing more on their home than it was worth.”

“‘That started up short sales, and I think we’re headed towards that again, where all the unemployment and low interest rates are going to encourage people to refinance. When they refinance, then they’re going to be upside down on their houses,’ Lacey said.”

From Builder Online on New York. “As the pandemic hit New York City, many would-be home sellers avoided the market altogether. In Manhattan, only 2.1% of homes for sale had a price cut in April. However, the 2.1% of sellers that were making price cuts in April were determined to make a sale. The median price cut in Manhattan was a record high 5.9% off the asking price, or a median of $100,241. The highest median price cut previously observed in Manhattan was 5.4%, in January 2016. Manhattan prices continued to drop in April, a trend that has been occurring for the past three years.”

The Eastsider LA in California. “While the number of available homes for sale in the area is down as are the number of buyers, ‘houses are still being bought and sold,’ concurs Mark Mullin with the Tracy Do Real Estate. Fewer potential buyers means fewer bidding wars thus making the process easier in many respects. ‘A hot property these days means it could garner 5-10 offers instead of 20-30. Mullin hasn’t seen big drops in asking price (single digits if anything).”

“Crises can bring a variety of reactions/responses in the housing market, says Kurt Wisner of Courtney + Kurt. ‘In 2008, lots of folks just walked away from their homes and handed us the key,’ he says. ‘They lost any equity in their property.” Wisner describes the ‘Three Fs’ of how homeowners typically deal in a crisis: foreclosure, forbearance and fire sale. ‘Today, homeowners are turning more to forbearance if they are having trouble making mortgage payments. They will still have their homes, hopefully, at the end of the day. We really aren’t seeing any fire sales at this time.'”

The Los Angeles Times in California. “Five years after their separation, singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger have sold their marital home. Records show the Sherman Oaks mansion just traded hands for $5 million, or $400,000 less than the pair paid for it shortly before separating in 2015.”

From Moneywise. “Two big trends are making the housing market more attractive for homebuyers and are reeling them in. They’re being drawn to bargain prices for houses. The U.S. Census Bureau reported this week that new homes sold in April at a median price of $309,900, down 8.6% from a year earlier and down 5.2% from the March median selling price of $326,900. ‘A 5% monthly drop in new home prices points to builders eager to make deals,’ says Zillow economist Matthew Speakman.”

From Skift. “As part of its reorganization efforts, Expedia Group is winding down its multifamily building short-term rental business that it began with the 2018 acquisitions of Pillow and ApartmentJet, Skift has learned. An Expedia spokesperson confirmed that the company is ‘winding down’ Pillow and ApartmentJet ‘as part of our drive for simplification.'”

“Reem Ibrahimi, founder of private equity fund Capstron Capital, based in Boston, said Expedia was in the early stages of its efforts in the multifamily sector so the shutdown of that business won’t be extremely impactful. ‘City apartments are the most-impacted because they are driven by travelers coming into cities for work,’ Ibrahimi said. ‘It’s going to take a long time to revive, and that may include a pivot on the owners’s side.'”

“‘With the reset caused by Covid, a lot of these experiments are just getting shut down to focus on the core business,’ said Andrew McConnell, CEO of Rented, referring to forays into the space by large corporations. ‘In some instances this might be a forcing mechanism to exercise discipline in cutting things that really should have been cut anyway. In other instances, it might lead to cutting things that are promising, but just don’t make sense right now.'”

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This Post Has 86 Comments

  1. ‘A hot property these days means it could garner 5-10 offers instead of 20-30. Mullin hasn’t seen big drops in asking price (single digits if anything)’

    If you were getting 5-10 offers, why would prices drop at all? Mark’s a lion.

    ‘Five years after their separation, singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger have sold their marital home. Records show the Sherman Oaks mansion just traded hands for $5 million, or $400,000 less than the pair paid for it shortly before separating in 2015’

    5 years of bubble gone poof!

    2. That isn’t much of a reduction, frankly.

      To restore affordability here in Brooklyn would require a reduction of 70 percent.

      1. Oh no, 5 years of consecutive monthly double digit price increases wiped away, nothing to see here!

        BTW did you notice the record decline in NYC above? Did you see the 96% NYC discount the other day?

  2. Silver Spring, MD Housing Prices Crater 11% YOY As Northern Virginia/Washington DC Rental Rates Tank On Surging Mortgage Defaults

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

    As one Washington DC 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.”

  3. I have a question about the shutdown in CA. I was getting ready to go on the road foreclosure scouting in San Joaquin county, but their stay at home order makes it sound like it would be hard to get much done. Just how locked down is it and how much is being enforced?

    1. I haven’t gone out a lot. But when I do, I don’t see any sort of enforcement going on. To me it appears that if you “walk fast and carry a clipboard” you can do pretty much anything you want at least around here. There are lots of people out and about just enjoying themselves, so nobody sticks out on the roads or in the neighborhoods.

    2. There’s pretty much zero enforcement in North Bay Counties other than Solano County which ticketed a few kids bold enough to go to a skate park in Vallejo.

    3. “…I was getting ready to go on the road foreclosure scouting in San Joaquin county..”

      FWIW, here in SoCal, Newport Beach last Sunday was pretty much party like it’s 1999. Nearly zero face masks, little if any social distancing. Newport Beach Police had a presence, but from what I saw on a long bike ride on Balboa Island, and the beach areas, the NBPD seemed more interested in writing parking tickets. (follow the money!)

      1. the NBPD seemed more interested in writing parking tickets. (follow the money!)

        To Protect and Serve (but not you)

    4. Key is that if any one asks (especially hotels) just say you’re there on essential business and keep a mask handy if any cop wants to cause you trouble.

      I helped a friend open up his wine lounge in Palm Springs on Sunday. At hotel check in (one of the couple that were open) I was asked purpose for my travel (since tourists aren’t allowed) and “business reopening” worked fine.

      However the reality is most cops don’t really care. Where I live they put in a outdoor mask requirement NINE weeks in to this but cops just roll by and tons of people don’t wear them.

      Everyone is out and about is pretty much over it and it’s just taking time for the bureaucrats to catch up.

    6. Came back from wilderness meadows via Kernville, CA last Sunday. River Party City, USA. Estimate only 15% of mass of tourist wearing masks. ALL of food vendors wearing masks. Some dining joints had spacious seating. River campgrounds closed, but tourist plentiful due to great warm weather. Eye got takeout & sat solitary on boulders over-looking the Kern. Don’t reckon you will have any issues scoutin’ things out in the valley Mr. Ben

    7. Im in the Bay area and its not too strict, you need to wear a mask in public, many stores have long lines to maintain social distancing and some deemed non essential aren’t open at all. Im an essential healthcare worker and drive a lot, Ive never been questioned about where Im going or asked for verification. You may have a hard time with lodging but Ive heard of some friends going out of town to stay in AirBNB’s which is weird but I guess its possible. Ive seen many of the auctions being postponed to late June or July days before an in person auction is supposed to take place.. Hope tis helps and good luck!

  5. Pending Home Sales (PHS) is a leading indicator for U.S. housing market.

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-saw-biggest-decline-on-record-in-april-because-of-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-05-28?mod=bnbh_mwarticle

    Economic Report
    Pending home sales saw biggest decline on record in April because of coronavirus pandemic
    Published: May 28, 2020 at 10:31 a.m. ET
    By Jacob Passy

    “The numbers: The index of pending home sales dropped 21.8% in April compared to March [MoM] as the coronavirus pandemic kept prospective home-buyers out of the market, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.”

    “Compared with a year ago, pending home sales were down 33.8%. Overall [YoY], it was the largest decline since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this data in 2001.”

    Year-over-Year (YoY) is a less volatile indicator vs. Month-Over-Month (MoM), since it averages out the MoM changes.

    These are big numbers. Let’s see how the U.S. housing market progresses in 2020 with extreme unemployment, much tighter lending standards, Airbnb/STR implosion, already historically low rates, historically high prices, and millennials in no financial position to jump in. I’m sure this is fine. /s

  6. Protest police brutality by burning down affordable housing:

    “The under construction affordable housing development that burned in the widespread violence in south Minneapolis late Wednesday and early Thursday was to be a six-story rental building with 189 apartments for low-income renters, including more than three dozen for very low-income tenants.

    Construction began last fall on Midtown Corner, and was expected to completed and ready for occupancy this year. Late Wednesday the wood-framed upper floors of the building were fully engulfed in flames, with thick plumes of smoke that figured prominently in widely viewed photos of the riots. By Thursday morning, what had been an active construction site, was reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes atop what was left of the concrete first-floor commercial space.”

    https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-vandalism-targets-include-189-unit-affordable-housing-development/570836742/

    1. Well if that’s what they want, no affordable housing , then its the communities choice. Same with grocery stores, CVS, sneakers, just dont waste the money to rebuild.

    1. “And when considering a major purchase like real-estate or a car, some may be waiting for prices to fall even more.”

      But but but what’s this “garner 5-10 offers instead of 20-30” talk about??? Looks like some folks will be starving soon.

    1. As i have stated many years ago Biden was Ohbahmas bodyguard, that was his job because no one on earth wanted him to become president.

    2. You should read any of the comments at the Washington Post. To hear them tell it, if Trump is voted out of office, then COVID will disappear without a trace the next day.

  9. A nice propaganda piece on renewable energy:

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/business/coal-renewable-energy-solar-wind/index.html

    Major milestone: Coal consumption falls behind renewable energy in the United States

    You have to wade deep into the article to find the admission that coal is being replaced by natgas and not by renewables.

    The new normal of WFH has a far bigger impact than renewables. I figured out that commuting to my office expends more energy than my house consumes, and I drive an efficient car and not a gas guzzling pickup or SUV. Denver’s brown cloud is noticeably absent these days.

    2. Energy waste is a problem, too. People turn on anything and everything and let it run all day long. Personal responsibility goes a long way towards bettering this planet. I don’t cry easily, but the video of them pulling that orangutan out of the mud brought tears to my eyes.

      1. Falling housing prices brings tears to the eyes of many.

        Sonoma, CA Housing Prices Crater 19% YOY As Fraud And Economic Rot Saturate Northern California

        https://www.movoto.com/sonoma-ca/market-trends/

        As one Sonoma 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.”

  10. Carl Icahn lost $2 billion betting on Hertz

    How many California mansions could he have bought with $2B? Or to put it more aptly, how many would he have had to buy to lose $2B when he dumped them?

  11. “Three Fs’ of how homeowners typically deal in a crisis: foreclosure, forbearance and fire sale.”

    They are called F’d buyers for a reason!

  12. Search for “Minneapolis live stream” on youtube and enjoy the show. Every city in the U.S. will be on fire this weekend.

    And nothing of value will be lost 🙁

    1. Every city in the U.S. will be on fire this weekend.

      The “vibrant ones” most certainly will be.

    2. In 1980 NYC cops beat a good friend of mines face so badly you actually couldn’t tell who he was. He got caught trying to buy some weed before a concert at the Garden, they didn’t arrest him just walked away and left him on the pavement. Oh, he was white.

      Couldn’t find strangled

      Number of people shot to death by the police in the United States from 2017 to 2020, by race

      https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/

      1. and 98-99% of them had a criminal record or in the process of committing a felony. It is exceptionally rare for police to shoot a law abiding citizen of any color or race.

        1. Number of people shot to death by the police in the United States in 2019

          White 370

          Black 235

          Hispanic 158

          1. Now don’t get me wrong, unless there is something completely unseen or unsaid I think that cop kneeling on that dudes neck should go down for murder and the cops who stood there and watched for a somewhat lesser charge.

            The guy was being arrested for forgery not a child molester caught in the act (a crime for which I would have gladly looked the other way at a good neck kneeling I can’t breath death).

            I am saying I know of cops, police chiefs and police departments that have used their positions and power to ruin (white) peoples lives and cops who have beaten white dudes for no reason not to mention it would be hard to believe that at least 1 or 2 of those 370 white people shot to death by police in 2019 didn’t (deserve) their own riot if it received the same attention from the MSM as Eric Garner or George Floyd.

          2. jeff remember they hid the fact eric garner had 30 arrests and was out on bail. and rumor had it was going to have pat of his foot amputated from his obesity and severe diabetes….(but hippa privacy)

          3. Sounds about right. George Floyd was murdered for trying to pass a fake $20 bill.

            Antifa coming in on buses provided by the DNC are not helping the situation.

          4. Antifa coming in on buses provided by the DNC are not helping the situation.

            All by design, so they can declare martial law in their states.

          5. Whenever these “resisting arrest” cases escalate into a violent confrontation I always make clear to my son what happens to the suspect on the receiving end.

    3. Be damn ironic if some of the gimmedats out looting were the unacknowledged bastard children of the deceased. Even more delicious if they are high on whatever he was on when he got keeeeeled.

      13/87, know it, live it.

    1. Tomorrow should offer a great opportunity for dips to buy.

      Stock futures fall ahead of Trump’s announcement on China
      Published: May 28, 2020 at 8:13 p.m. ET
      By Mike Murphy

      U.S. stock index futures fell late Thursday, ahead of an expected announcement by President Donald Trump on China on Friday. As of 8 p.m. Eastern, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00, -0.55%) were down more than 100 points, or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures (ES00, -0.47%) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00, -0.41%) fell about the same percentage. Stocks closed lower Thursday, falling sharply in the final hour of trading, after Trump said he would hold a news conference on China on Friday, rattling investors who had been enjoying a three-day rally on optimism about an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow (DJIA, -0.57%) closed down 147.63 points, or 0.6%, at 25,400.64, while the S&P 500 (SPX, -0.21%) lost 6.40 points, or 0.2%, to end at 3,029.73 and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP, -0.46%) closed 43.37 points, or 0.5%, lower at 9,368.99.
      …

      1. Well I guess you’re right. Dipping protocol engaged. But I’m not buying stocks, that’s for sure.

    2. We haven’t run out of wealthy gloomsters just yet!

      Home Investing
      Stocks
      The Tell
      Millionaires are hesitant to buy stocks amid gloomy market outlook
      Published: May 28, 2020 at 3:36 p.m. ET
      By Shawn Langlois
      The wealthy are feeling rather cautious these days.
      Everett

      A million bucks ain’t what it used to be, but the seven-figure set still reportedly own about 85% of all individually held stocks — so it may be worth paying attention to the yellow flags when millionaires say they’re bearish enough to commit only a third of their cash to equities.

      On that note, a majority of millionaires are looking for the S&P 500 (SPX, -0.21%) to finish the volatile year stuck in the red, according to the latest CNBC Millionaire Survey. They also expect new market highs won’t be reached until at least a year from now.

      Hence, they plan on committing a smaller chunk of change to the stock market.

      In other words, no V-shaped recovery, despite the recent strength in the major indexes. In fact, more than a third predict that the S&P will be down by at least double-digits by year-end, while 10% believe it will take two years or more for stocks to revisit their February highs.

      “They’re more cautious,” said Catherine McBreen, managing director of Spectrem Group, which joined CNBC in conducting the poll. “It’s not just the recession they’re looking at but also the election in November, which is also looming out there and hard to project.”

      She explained that they plan to take some risk off the table by putting 19% of their assets into cash or cash equivalents. This on top of their already lofty piles of cash.

      Those opting to go the equity rout will be focusing on health care, tech and financials, while fewer than 10% plan to put their money to work in energy, materials or industrials.

      The semiannual survey polls 750 investors with $1 million or more in investible assets.

      Cash wasn’t the worst place to be Thursday’s session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA, -0.57%), S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite (COMP, -0.46%) all turning lower.
      …

    3. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus business update 30 days complimentary
      Markets Briefing Currencies
      Global stocks weaken with Trump expected to hit back at China
      Shares fall as investors brace for US to retaliate over Hong Kong law
      The sell-off in Asian trading followed a sharp reversal on Wall Street
      © AP
      Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong and Philip Georgiadis in London 50 minutes ago

      Geopolitical tensions dented global stocks on Friday as investors braced for potential retaliation from Washington after Beijing approved a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong.

      European stocks opened lower, as the FTSE 100 slipped 0.7 per cent, and Germany’s trade-sensitive Dax fell 1.4 per cent.

      In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.5 per cent and Japan’s Topix index shed 0.9 per cent.

      Investor optimism over the easing of economic lockdowns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic is at risk of being overshadowed by simmering tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
      …

        1. There apparently is no Unlimited Quarantinive Easing in a Fibonacci retracement analyst’s world view.

          2. What are ‘equity contributions’?

            “The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet rose marginally to $7.1 trillion as of Wednesday, up from $7.04 trillion last week. A large chunk of that growth came from a $33 billion increase in the central bank’s emergency lending programs aimed at buying corporate bonds. But that increase in the lending facilities reflects the Treasury Department’s equity contributions. Taking that into account, the facilities only saw a $1.2 billion increase in buying of corporate debt exchange-traded funds.”

          3. Go Munchin! Print More$!, More$!, More$! & even More$!

            Don’t.$top! Don’t … $top! … Don’t!
            🌊🙏💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵💰💲💵 …

    1. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus business update 30 days complimentary
      Investing in funds
      US money-market funds waive fees to stave off negative returns
      Asset managers act after short-term debt rates plunge
      Asset manager Fidelity has already waived fees on several products
      © REUTERS
      Joe Rennison in London, Robert Armstrong and Colby Smith in New York
      3 hours ago

      US asset managers are cutting the fees they charge for money market funds after the dramatic decline in yields on the short-term debt they rely on threatened to leave clients with negative returns.

      Federated Hermes, Fidelity and TIAA-CREF, which manage some of the largest money market funds, have already waived fees on several products. Vanguard, another large manager, said that it has not yet needed to waive fees but remains committed to keeping investors’ returns positive.

      Peter Crane, who runs information provider Crane Data, said other managers were likely to follow suit, adding: “The last time rates went to zero we saw most funds cut expenses in half.”

      The Federal Reserve slashed its target for short-term interest rates by 1.5 percentage points to between zero and 0.25 per cent when coronavirus ripped through global markets. That has dragged the three-month Treasury yield down to just 0.14 per cent.

      Despite those meagre returns, spooked investors have poured cash into money-market funds. Industry assets have risen by more than $1tn since the beginning of March to $4.8tn, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. The flows have pushed the funds to buy debt that is yielding close to zero, dragging down overall returns.
      …

      1. Let’s take a look at this …

        Even though the returns are near zero the risk of the loss of capital is also near zero. If you do not have anyone to answer to then you could probably stomach a return near zero but at the same time you wouldn’t have to worry about loss of capital; You may not like this situation but you could do it because you wouldn’t have anyone breathing down your neck.

        But if you are a money manager for somebody else’s money (and this “somebody else’s money” situation is key in that the risk of loss capital is borne by somebody else) then you are under constant pressure to generate a return for the owner of the money you are managing. You get a fee, the owner of the money gets a return (minus your fee, of course). If the return you generate sucks then the owner of the money takes his money (and your fees) to somebody else, somebody who promises to generate a return that does not suck.

        But in a low return environment this is not easy to do without encountering enormous risks (oh, did I mention that the risks are borne by the owners of the money and not the managers of the money?) so the incentive for the money manager is to take enormous risks; If he does not choose to do so and the guy down the street does choose to do so then to this guy down the street is where your money will be moved to, hence he prospers and you starve.

        Yeah, but (“yeah, but” should be one word) eventually reality will catch up and the owner the money will end up suffering a huge dent to his capital, HOWEVER this will happen THEN and the timing of this “THEN” thingy belongs to the realm of the Great Unknown. Meanwhile the money manger gets to extract some hefty money managing fees.

        Bottom line: When one manages his own money then he has an incentive to keep his risks in line with the anticipated return because he is the owner of the money. When one manages somebody else’s money then the incentive is not to keep the risks in line with the anticipated return but instead it is to keep the money in house so it can be managed and hefty fees can be extracted.

        1. When risks are enormous then cash is where you need to go. A money manager does not have the option of going to cash (who needs a money manager that puts your money into cash, something you can do without it costing you a fee?).

          1. KingDollar my good friend…. KingDollar.

            Coeur d’Alene, ID Housing Prices Crater 16% YOY As Sellers Flood Market And Slash Prices Double Digits

            http://www.zillow.com/coeur-dalene-id-83814/home-values/

            *Select price from dropdown menu on first chart

            As a noted economist said so eloquently, “liquidate whatever you’ve got to eliminate all debt and hold onto every dollar you’ve got…. You’re going to need every last one of them.”

        2. It’s sure a lucky thing for the money management industry that the stock market almost always goes up when Unlimited Quarantinive Easing is underway. Otherwise, I’m not sure how money managers could hope to generate positive returns for their clients, when real economic results suggest a globally contagious recession is rapidly spreading like a pandemic.

  15. That’s racis’

    The Financial Times
    Sarah Provan 21 minutes ago
    Norway opens its doors to Danes but not Swedes
    Richard Milne in Oslo

    Norway and Denmark have agreed to let each other’s tourists visit their countries from mid-June but excluded Sweden from their initial opening amid fierce debate about its coronavirus strategy.

    Denmark is also opening up to tourists from Germany and Iceland from June 15 but not neighbouring Sweden, according to Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen.

    Norway will enter talks with Sweden as well as Finland and Iceland and will look closely at the infection rate, Erna Solberg, the prime minister, said on Friday.

    Sweden has a death rate per capita almost 10 times that in Norway and four times that in Denmark after pursuing looser restrictions and keeping its borders and schools open.

    Finnish health authorities have expressed scepticism about opening their borders to Sweden because of the high infection rate there, instead looking towards the so-called Baltic travel bubble set up between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
    …

  16. Is deflation basically central banker kryptonite? Methinks they overworry it, overlooking the consumer benefits of the resulting affordability improvements.

    1. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus business update 30 days complimentary
      Eurozone economy
      Deflation fears as eurozone price growth falls to four-year low
      Economists highlight dangers of an accompanying drop in demand
      Martin Arnold in Frankfurt and Valentina Romei in London 13 minutes ago

      The eurozone is on the brink of sliding into deflation after the economic disruption of the coronavirus pandemic dragged price growth in the bloc down to 0.1 per cent in May, its lowest level for four years.

      The fall in inflation — which turned negative in 12 of 19 eurozone countries in May — has added to investors’ expectations that the European Central Bank will inject more monetary stimulus into the economy when its governing council meets virtually next week.

      Economists worry that a prolonged period of deflation would be painful for the eurozone as it would make high corporate and government debt levels even harder to manage as interest payments stay fixed but wages, prices and tax payments all fall in cash terms.

      Ignazio Visco, governor of the Italian central bank and ECB council member, said on Friday: “Steps must be taken to counter the significant risk of low inflation and the marked fall in economic activity from translating into a permanent reduction in expected inflation or into the possible resurfacing of the threat of deflation.”
      …

    2. Fed’s Chicago-region purchasing gauge falls in May

      Home Economy & Politics
      Consumer spending drops 13.6% in April, incomes rise 10.5%
      Published: May 29, 2020 at 9:37 a.m. ET
      By Greg Robb
      Corrects drop in core PCE in April

      Consumer spending in the U.S. fell 13.6% in April, the government reported Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 13% decrease, compared with an original estimate of 7.5% decline in March. On Friday the Commerce Department revised consumer spending in March to an decrease of 6.9%. Meanwhile, personal income rose 10.5% in April, boosted by government payments. Economists had expected an decrease of 2.1%, compared with an originally reported decline of 2% in March. On Friday, the government revised March’s decline for personal income to 2.2%. Inflation, as measured by an index for personal consumption expenditures, fell 0.5% last month. The core inflation index, which excludes food and energy, was down 0.4%. Over the past 12 months, the broad PCE index rose 0.5%, down from 1.3% in March, while the core gauge grew 1%, down from 1.7% in the prior month.
      …

    3. overlooking the consumer benefits

      I think the consumer is pretty low priority compared to who might be hurt.

  17. To bad you don’t see Leaders like Martin L King conducting peaceful protest.

    That tape of that cop killing that man is disgusting , but these protestors are looking like a bunch of destructive thugs.
    There are bad white cops in the system, but you don’t indict the whole white race for the act of one bad one.

    When are we going to get to the point in this Society where each person is judged for their acts, rather than entire race. That was a big message from MLK.

    1. Antifa is getting paid for all of this.

      All of the violence and destruction of property is directly attributable to the Democrat Party and their Antifa employees.

      1. And people whose property is destroyed will dutifully pull the D lever come November.

      2. I hear you 401.

        The protests in the 60s just seemed so real and warranted. There is something very different and maybe contrived about these protests as you suggest in your post.

      3. It looks like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey needs an easel for support because he doesn’t appear to have much backbone.

        1. I heard they had a lot of
          prior complaints on those cops , which no doubt has to be answered to.

          2. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there is something very strange going on like a revisit to the 60s.

            You got Bob Dylan coming out revisiting the JFK murder in song You have the protests. You have a umaskng of a deep State. You have a cold war evolving, again with the Communist, this time China.

            It’s really very weird ,so is it groundhog day to get it right this time?

            What is the message? Who are the real evildoers that have messed up this World.

          3. A co-ordinated attempt to make people nostalgic for the days of peace and love. So when the phone tracking and social credit score come along, people will be more willing to accept it in the name of peace and love.

    2. “going to get to the point in this Society where each person is judged for their acts”

      Was’nt Mr. Martin assassinated in public?

      1. Hwy, been wondering were you have been. Hey look above and answer my questions about a revisit to the 60s.

        1. Self.isolated meself chasing trout & other “critters” is the Sierra mountain meadows east of Hwy 395 … zero internet access.

        2. “What is the me$$age?”

          “lack of monie$ is thee root of all evil$! … G.B Shaw

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