thehousingbubble@gmail.com
Blog

A Cascade Of Loss Upon Loss

A report from the Philadelphia Inquirer in Pennsylvania. “Economic uncertainty during the pandemic has led banks to tighten their lending standards. The supply of mortgage credit has fallen by more than 30% from February to June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s measure of how easy it is to get a home loan. Darlene Meekins, a Realtor based in Montgomery County, said the raising of minimum credit scores by 100 points — a move she’s seen some lenders make — ‘really makes a difference as far as someone in the low to moderate range qualifying. Because of the [stricter] qualifications, some people are struggling to meet those,’ said Meekins.”

“Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania, which aims to increase housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income households and communities of color, is warning clients about the tighter credit requirements. Before the pandemic, several lenders required a minimum score of 580 for Federal Housing Administration loans with down payments of 3.5%, said Kenneth Bigos, the nonprofit’s executive director. Those same lenders are now requiring a minimum of 640, he said.”

“Jeff Ruben, president of WSFS Mortgage, said lenders have to be cautious in the face of economic uncertainty, which is why outside of government-sponsored loans, ‘the loans that we’re making today are subject to a much tighter standard’ than ever before. In addition to raising minimum credit scores, WSFS and other lenders have less tolerance for debt relative to a buyer’s income.”

“‘As an industry, we just start tightening to make sure we’re only capturing the very, very best, and the most likely to succeed,’ Ruben said. Thirty years ‘is a long time to be in partnership with someone, and you’re not sure they’re going to have the same income earnings as they do today.'”

“Lenders want to reduce their risks and keep hold of their cash, which means both tightening credit standards for lower-income borrowers and restricting the lending of ‘jumbo’ loans for wealthy borrowers, said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting at the Mortgage Bankers Association.”

From KTNV in Nevada. “COVID-19 hasn’t exactly been kind to real estate agents. ‘What we found is we roughly had about 15,000 licensed realtors in Southern Nevada pre-Covid. I was hoping to have an updated accurate number for today, but I’m going to say we have right around 10,000 licensed realtors right now just a few short months later,’ said Mark Wiley a real estate broker.”

“There is a cautionary note. Wiley says the market in the valley has seen about a 30% decrease each week in homes being listed for sale. He indicates there are a number of reasons why including potential sellers who either lost their jobs or fear losing their jobs and are concerned they won’t qualify for a new mortgage after selling their existing home.”

From KSL in Utah. “After being among the hottest metro housing markets in the nation prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the Salt Lake City area became one of the areas most hurt by the pandemic. Results showed Salt Lake City as having the second worst decline in housing demand into June. ‘We found that Salt Lake City was one of the cities that kind of dropped off and then kind of had steady buyer demand throughout the initial coronavirus lockdown, and then we’ve seen a pretty sharp decrease just since May in buyer demand overall,’ according to Clever Real Estate data scientist Francesca Ortegren.”

“Ortegren said demand in many of the 50 metros has been affected by numerous factors, including the stability of property values and individual employment. ‘A lot of people’s biggest concerns are with the value of their homes. If they own a home now, they’re worried that prices are going to drop and they’re going to lose equity in their home,’ she said. ‘People who are purchasing or planning to purchase a home, they’re worried about job security and continued income.'”

The Union Tribune in California. “Mortgage interest rates have plummeted in recent days but it is an open question if many San Diegans will be able to buy a home as unemployment remains at historic highs. Q: In San Diego County, will low mortgage interest rates increase the homeownership rate? Gary London, London Moeder Advisors, NO: Not here. While trending lower, interest rates have been low for some time. The problem now is that underwriting is very restrictive. So while interest payments are low, maybe the down payment is high, and buyers mostly need a very clean credit record. Couple that with San Diego’s notoriously low delivery rate of housing, and even lower rate of delivering affordable housing to middle income families, there is likely to be no impact.”

“Reginald Jones, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, NO: The historically low mortgage rate is not likely to increase San Diego County’s homeownership rate. The uncertainty of COVID-19 is a major inhibitor. The area unemployment is hovering high — around 14 percent — hitting the middle market hard. Given an uncertain economy, families that might meet the down payment hurdle are hoarding their cash. Though the pandemic yielded some price drop, San Diego area housing prices remain high, keeping affordability an issue.”

“Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates, NO: The combination of unemployment and an unstable market due to the pandemic will prevent many from entering the home buying market. Interest rates are low but may go lower due to the economy. In San Diego, there is no new construction housing and limited inventory. Ergo, no real movement will occur. If pricing softens and interest rates go down even further, we may hit a tipping point where risk and reward is in balance.”

“Norm Miller, University of San Diego, YES: But only for a nanosecond, as underwriting will likely be harder, and as benefits and PPP funding runs out, and government layoffs kick in gear, we will see many more foreclosures which will take us in the opposite direction. Keep in mind many businesses are shut down once again, and many will not be able to hang on nor keep employees. Homeownership rates in the fourth quarter of this year will likely dip.”

The Los Angeles Times in California. “Forbearance programs, which allow borrowers to delay mortgage payments, might also be playing a role in keeping prices high and inventory low. Experts say home sales usually decline before prices do in a market downturn because sellers are reluctant to drop their price until they have to. Under the federal CARES Act, borrowers with a federally backed mortgage can delay payments for up to a year if they have a financial setback stemming from the coronavirus.”

“That means many struggling homeowners aren’t entering foreclosure or being forced to sell rapidly to stave off that credit-ruining prospect. Forbearance, however, eventually ends, and borrowers may lose their homes if they can’t afford to make up the missed payments. The resurgent coronavirus also threatens to throw more people out of work, and expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act will expire soon.”

“For her part, San Fernando Valley agent Dolle is bracing for a slowdown, believing the market is topping out. Mark Perez, a real estate agent in the Los Angeles area, agreed. ‘It can’t continue at this pace with record unemployment and small businesses going belly up,’ he said. ‘It’s just not sustainable.'”

From Realtor.com on Florida. “It’s been over a year since the estate of George Steinbrenner, the late owner of the New York Yankees, went on the market. In May 2019, the Boss’s massive, 13,500-square-foot home was listed for sale with a price of $5.75 million. The months have flown by, and the baseball mogul’s family home still hasn’t budged. This isn’t for lack of offers, according to the listing agent, Toni Everett. She told the Tampa Bay Times that offers have been coming through, but they just haven’t been quite right.”

“In an attempt to coax out an acceptable offer, a hefty $1.3 million was slashed from the price in mid-July, and the mansion is now listed at $4.4 million.”

The New York Times. “Editors and account managers at the Time & Life Building in Midtown Manhattan could once walk out through the modernist lobby and into a thriving ecosystem that existed in support of the offices above. To approach this block today is like visiting a relative in the hospital. The building, rebranded a few years ago and renovated to fit 8,000 workers, now has just 500 a day showing up. The steakhouse dining rooms are dark.”

“On a sidewalk once lined with food carts, a lone hot-dog vendor stood one recent Friday on a corner below the building. His name is Ahmed Ahmed, and he said he used to sell 400 hot dogs a day. How many now? ‘Maybe 10.'”

“Midtown Manhattan, the muscular power center of New York City for a century, faces an economic catastrophe, a cascade of loss upon loss that threatens to alter the very identity of the city’s corporate base. The coronavirus’s toll of lost professions, lost professionals and untold billions of lost income and tax revenue may take years to understand and resolve.”

“Midtown remains stuck in a purgatorial Phase Zero, its very purpose — to bring as many human beings together as possible — strangling most hope of a convincing comeback in the foreseeable future and offering a sign of what may lie in store for business districts across the country. Upstairs, floors are mostly empty, as companies reassess their need for office space, raising serious questions about the future of the city’s commercial real estate market.”

“Downstairs, streets were lined with the creature comforts that made working in Midtown not only bearable, but even fun. They are vanishing, and with them, the men and women who fed, clothed, poured drinks for and drove the people in those tall buildings. The Men’s Wearhouse below the former Time & Life Building, now named 1271 Avenue of the Americas (its address), remained boarded up for months. The store reopened early this month, its role in offering and tailoring custom business and formal attire perhaps never less relevant.”

“The staffs of the steakhouses were furloughed months ago. Mr. Ahmed, the hot dog vendor, looking over what should be prime real estate outside Radio City Music Hall at West 50th Street, said he was thinking of cutting back to every other day. Last year on June 24, a Monday, there were 62,312 MetroCard turnstile swipes as riders entered the station. On the comparable Monday this year, June 22, the number of swipes was 8,032, a staggering 87 percent decrease.”

“Daniel A. Biederman, executive director of the Bryant Park Business Improvement District, said that for the sake of the neighborhood’s very identity, Midtown executives who fled the city to work remotely should feel a moral purpose to come back as soon as safely possible. ‘They’ve almost made the unpatriotic decision for Midtown Manhattan,’ he said. ‘We need them back.'”

Related Posts
This Post Has 141 Comments

  1. ‘The supply of mortgage credit has fallen by more than 30% from February to June’

    UHS is a lion.

  2. ‘as underwriting will likely be harder, and as benefits and PPP funding runs out, and government layoffs kick in gear, we will see many more foreclosures which will take us in the opposite direction. Keep in mind many businesses are shut down once again, and many will not be able to hang on nor keep employees’

    Anybody who knows even a little about how the economy works recognizes the fall out has not even really started.

    1. “…PPP funding runs out…”

      What is it about Unlimited Quarantinive Easing that people don’t comprehend?

      Lawsuit alleges Wendy’s franchisee spent $1 million of PPP funding to finance home
      Published Wed, Jul 8 2020 2:24 PM EDT
      Updated Wed, Jul 8 2020 2:38 PM EDT
      Amelia Lucas
      Key Points
      – A lawsuit alleges that the chief executive of Starboard Group, a large Wendy’s operator, diverted $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans to finance his home in Montana.
      – Starboard received about $9 million in PPP loans, according to the complaint from the company’s former vice president of legal affairs and human resources.
      – Starboard says it operates 101 Wendy’s locations across seven states and has 3,200 employees.
      …

      1. We have never seen so much fraud as is going on right now. The entire country is being looted from all sides. Just despicable.

        1. No problem, I’m gonna get a $1200 check! It’s all good. /sarc

          Sadly, few will know they’ve been had until a loaf of bread costs $20.

          1. Most ‘Muricans are completely ignorant of the Fed’s malign role in systematically destroying their standard of living and the purchasing power of their earnings and savings. The most effective antidote to these gold collar criminals is to buy and hold physical precious metals, a store of wealth that rises inversely to the Fed’s deranged money printing.

            https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-26/gold-futures-touch-record-as-haven-demand-builds-contract-rolls?sref=5CqwjcI3

          3. Oops, a bag of flour will be $20 too. Better buy a field and plant some wheat. And learn about sourdough starter. During the lockdowns in March/April, yeast disappeared almost as fast as TP.

          4. Precious metals are starting to look a bit toppy to me. As Ben has illustrated, QE is deflationary, and precious metals do poorly in such scenario. I’ll be selling all of mine shortly. They probably have another 6 months or so to run.

  4. ‘strangling most hope of a convincing comeback in the foreseeable future and offering a sign of what may lie in store for business districts across the country. Upstairs, floors are mostly empty, as companies reassess their need for office space, raising serious questions about the future of the city’s commercial real estate market’

    So this would be a problem in any case. But we have this:

    Jul 24, 2017

    Is the real estate double bubble back?

    ‘Average U.S. commercial real estate prices are now far over their 2007 bubble peak, about 22 percent higher than they were in the excesses of a decade ago, just before their last big crash. In inflation-adjusted terms, they are also well over their bubble peak, by about 6 percent.’

    ‘In the wake of the bubble, the Federal Reserve set out to create renewed asset-price inflation. It certainly succeeded with commercial real estate – a sector often at the center of financial booms and busts.’

    ‘Commercial real estate prices dropped like a rock after 2007, far more than did house prices, falling on average 40 percent to their trough in 2010. Since then, the asset price inflation has been dramatic: up more than 100 percent from the bottom. In inflation-adjusted terms, they are up 83 percent.’

    ‘This remarkable price history is shown in Graph 1.’

    ‘The Federal Reserve also succeeded in promoting asset-price inflation in houses. U.S. average house prices are also back over their bubble peak—by about 2 percent, in this case. They have rebounded 41 percent from their 2012 trough. In inflation-adjusted terms, house prices a have climbed back to the level of 2004, when we were about two-thirds of the way into the bubble. See Graph 2.’

    ‘House prices and commercial real estate prices are closely related. As shown in Graph 3, they made an obvious double bubble, a double collapse and a double big rebound. The statistical correlation between the two since 2001 is 86 percent.’

    https://www.rstreet.org/2017/07/24/is-the-real-estate-double-bubble-back/

  5. “Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania, which aims to increase housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income households and communities of color, is warning clients about the tighter credit requirements.

    Every “affordable housing” organization is a front for Democrat patronage and graft rackets. The sooner they are all defunded and shut down, the better for taxpayers.

    1. Since when did the U.S. housing law authorize special advantages in the housing market on the basis of race?

      That’s racis’!

  6. A lot of people’s biggest concerns are with the value of their homes. If they own a home now, they’re worried that prices are going to drop and they’re going to lose equity in their home,’ she said.

    As a renter reposing serenely in my lawn chair, celebratory adult beverage in hand, watching shack prices crater as the Fed’s Everything Bubble implodes is going to be a thing of terrible beauty.

    1. Yeah, I kind of feel for my landlord and others in his situation. Real estate has been such a perennial gold mine for him and his ilk, it is going to come as a major shock when the tide goes out. Luckily he doesn’t have issues with leverage that face so many of his peers, as he’s a long-term owner who probably has paid off his mortgage.

  7. This isn’t for lack of offers, according to the listing agent, Toni Everett. She told the Tampa Bay Times that offers have been coming through, but they just haven’t been quite right.”

    You stick to yer guns, Greedhead Toni. Go ahead and ride the market all the way down while you wait for that elusive, and mythical, “right” offer.

  8. “Editors and account managers at the Time & Life Building in Midtown Manhattan could once walk out through the modernist lobby and into a thriving ecosystem that existed in support of the offices above.

    Nothing warms the heart like seeing these globalist Narrative-purveyors bleeding money as they go into a death spiral.

  9. Midtown Manhattan, the muscular power center of New York City for a century, faces an economic catastrophe, a cascade of loss upon loss that threatens to alter the very identity of the city’s corporate base.

    The globalist oligarchs in Midtown Manhattan have been using their control of the Fed to systematically pillage the productive economy and bilk the proles out of their earnings and pensions. Now that the parasites have all but killed off the productive host, it won’t bother me one bit to see the “economic catastrophe” consume its authors and architects.

  10. ‘They’ve almost made the unpatriotic decision for Midtown Manhattan,’ he said. ‘We need them back.’

    OK. But what if they never wanted to be there in the first place but the decisions of people above them forced them to be there if they wanted a career? Why should they feel under any pressure to come back now that they can finally toss that ball and chain into the trash? I remember as a much younger person being told that we were going to become a service economy. What happens when you try to go the opposite direction and produce stuff again instead of opening Pirate shops? I’ve got facemasks now, I don’t need any more eye patches and fake wooden legs. Leave Manhattan and go make something…

  11. While Real Journalists and globalist media outlets maintain their journalistic omertà when it comes to any mention of the Fed’s role in creating unsustainable asset bubbles, the foreign press seems to have more latitude to print real news and real truth.

    https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093311/how-us-federal-reserve-created-financial-opioid-crisis-west

    All these tech billionaires are really the children of Fed chair Jerome Powell. Alan Greenspan’s dotcom babies were worth merely billions briefly; Powell’s children are worth tens of billions and hanging on and on.

  12. I heard some guy on some podcast in summary said that Globalism insured continued growth.

    Yes, I have always said that the Globalist wanted to captalize on the emerging markets in other Countries.
    Wall Street wanted to expand on wealth creation by messing with real estate.

    When profit margins were going to be more limited verses the huge growth periods in USA between 1945 and 1975, they wanted more opportunity.
    This expansion was at the price of gutting the working class in the USA.

    All those people that got degrees didn’t get the jobs they thought while left in absurd debt.
    It’s just the whole system of the Country you lived in providing a means for survival and upward mobility was false. And at the same time education, medical care, real estate was looting and gouging at the expense of the Citizens.

    I say “So What”, if the growth had been slower in the USA after a certain point. At least it wouldn’t of been a total betrayal , looting and dewealthing as played out.

    1. I heard some guy on some podcast in summary said that Globalism insured continued growth.

      Globalism is all about a corrupt and venal .1% in the financial sector concentrating all wealth and power in their own hands. Imagine a system run by and for the Jeffrey Epsteins of the world.

      2. Boo Randy,

        I was screaming against Globalism 20 years ago for the reasons in your post above. I was screaming against it when it wasn’t even in fashion to rail against it.

        And if you took everything to it’s logical conclusion , Globalism would result in the nightmare we have today. It’s always been obivious to me.

  13. “‘As an industry, we just start tightening to make sure we’re only capturing the very, very best, and the most likely to succeed,’ Ruben said. Thirty years ‘is a long time to be in partnership with someone, and you’re not sure they’re going to have the same income earnings as they do today.’”

    What a bunch of horsesh!t. If this asshat really believed this, they would never have been doling out the subprime garbage.

    1. They doled out subprime mortgages because they knew the Fed and our corrupt political class had their backs.

    2. Are the gubmint and its government sponsored enterprise Frankenstein monstruosities pretty much the only remaining source of subprime mortgage loans?

    3. make sure we’re only capturing the very, very best,

      This sounds like it would have a disparate impact against certain demographics.

  14. Some kind of new political party need to be formed that isn’t Commie like Sanders but expands beyond Trump in that the Republicans alter to be more for the regular citizens and a restoring of America.
    At this point, how do you get the money out of Politics?

    I was wondering would a Great Depression be the exact condition needed for the restructuring of our Government, or a reset.?

      1. I think he or someone like him might have succeeded this year. Too many negatives on both sides of the traditional parties. But in many ways Trump is already that guy if he just communicated differently. Even though they won’t admit it what the average American wants is mostly the policies of non-globalist Trump set to the soothing sounds of globalist Obama’s voice.

        1. I am losing faith in this administration. Kudlow just came out today and said they’re extending the eviction moratorium, they’re sending another $1,200 stimulus check, and they’re going to spend more on all sorts of “financial aid.” This is just disgusting. The damage they are doing to the economy and the free market is irreversible at this point. They’re paying people over $50,000 per year to sit around and smoke weed, stiff the landlord and just suck off the government teat.

          2. Is it the administration, or Congress?

            The administration has to sign off on it, and Kudlow is the one doing the talking about it today, so they’re obviously on board.

          3. Unfortunately, this is an election year. The Demonrats and Repugnicans are tripping over each other seeing who can buy the most votes.

      2. FTBFX

        Maybe another choice would be better. It has large holdings of the FED HOME LOAN MTG CORP. 45% is invested in corporate debt.

    2. “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.” – George Best

    3. Do you have any big plans for your next $1200 plug of Powell bux?

      I never got the last one. Not sure why…I thought I qualified for part of it but the married filing separately may have done me in. Or I threw away the card…

    4. Are they capping it at $40,000 income level? If I get it I’ll just spend it on groceries. I’m not going to buy anything I wouldn’t buy if I didn’t get it.

    5. I was “fortunate” and “privileged” enough to spend 10 years in college, 10 years working my up (including a year of unemployment) and another 10 years working my up again, so no check for me. But if I did get a check, it would likely go to GLD or SLV.

      1. 10 years in college

        Wow.

        If I get one of those checks, I’ll save it for the tax increases.

        I bought all the gold I want at $350 or less. I bought all the silver I want at $5 or less. OK, I bought some at $12 from my son when he needed the cash. It’s an insurance policy that could feed me for the rest of my life. That is enough. I’m not going to speculate, and if I were to, I wouldn’t be buying anything at it’s all time high price!

        1. Blue, you have 15+ years on me. You’re set. I don’t feel myself to be set yet. Better late than never I suppose. I didn’t have the easy advantages of the baby boomers but at least I’m not as screwed as the millenials.
          Redpill, you’re probably right. There’s too much money flowing into all assets atm. Physical silver is probably still ok but for everything else it’s probably better to sit tight.

  18. The cashier at the grocery store told me that it was hard wearing her mask for a entire shift and it was hard breathing. She went on to vent about how mean people were being and how stressed out they were.

    I’m just wondering how much more people can take of current conditions.
    So, be nice to the cashier’s who are getting misdirected anger thrown at them. The women was about ready to cry when she was telling me about how horrible her shift was.

    1. Absolutely Wizard, it’s an especially important time to show kindness and respect to those working the front lines of hourly wages everywhere. Wearing a mask is the most simple start. There is a constant stream of roulette games with germs happening for everyone with the retail service people having the game of chance delivered to them one customer after another. I think about that every time I make the choice to go out & get groceries or to the fabric store to buy materials to make masks! I may leave the house without the Covid germs and from there on counting on myself & the other humans to be interested enough to do their parts of the equation in minimizing chances of being infected. I am grateful for not being in a retail position with the confusion of messages or conspiracy theories leaving tunnel size opportunities for more Covid spread. It’s a great time to study history: WWII rationing coupons, Victory Gardens and how Anne Frank stayed in an attic for 2 years. Teaching moments for the kids too.

      1. You could also get the .pdf of this book free online and read it, for a fictional account of a plague that has many parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic situation (albeit a black death outbreak is worse than COVID-19):

        Albert Camus. THE PLAGUE. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH

    3. I had a hard time breathing through the KN95, now that my workplace requires one, I got a black nylon and made one out of that. It is easy to breathe. I save the real mask for when I go out in public.

  19. Here’s today’s don’t buy real estate in urban America post.

    The New York Times website as of now has a link, second from the top, titled “A man who joined a protest in Austin, Texas, was fatally shot by a motorist who threatened the protesters with his car.”

    A man who joined a protest. Real Journalists, seriously, what is this horsesh*t? Here, a video screenshot as provided by the autists of 4chan showing Garrett Foster pointing a loaded AK-47 at the driver, just prior to getting got:

    https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1595782764800.png

    Real Journalists’ narrative, from archive dot is link below:

    “The man who was killed may have approached a vehicle with a rifle before he was shot and killed, Officer Katrina Ratcliff said. Ms. Ratcliff said the person who shot and killed the man had fired from inside the vehicle. That person was detained and is cooperating with officers, she said. No one else was injured.

    “All I know is that someone dying while protesting is horrible,” Mayor Steve Adler of Austin said in a statement. “Our city is shaken and, like so many in our community, I’m heartbroken and stunned.”

    http://archive.is/klIpB

    Mayor Adler, I’m heartbroken and stunned to inform you I will never be buying a house in and paying property taxes to your city.

    Mayor Hancock, I’m heartbroken and stunned to inform you I will never be buying a house in and paying property taxes to Denver.

    Copy/paste and insert your Mayor/City name as applicable. I am a rich renter (redundant, I know), and none of my money will ever generate property tax or sales tax revenue for any of your cities.

    “This sucker could go down” — George W. Bush

        1. SJWs are going to go crazy over that “travesty of justice”. Luckily it’s Texas…so this time I predict he stays released compared to those other places where they are taken back into custody a few days later to calm the mob.

  20. Another peaceful protester story. I’m surprised it hasn’t been sent to the memory hole yet.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/suv-attempted-to-drive-through-rally-in-eaton-police-said/ar-BB17ddjd

    A suspect was arrested after an SUV attempted to drive through a crowd of people participating in a Blue Lives Matter rally on Saturday in Eaton, according to police.

    A man driving a maroon-colored SUV had left the road and driven through the park on the grass, heading toward the crowd at the rally, police said in a press release.

    The SUV then left the park at a high rate of speed, police said. The suspect was taken into custody two minutes later in the 1100 block of 2nd Street, which was about a mile away from the park.

    The suspect was arrested on suspicion of seven counts each of attempted first-degree assault and felony menacing, and one count of reckless driving. Police did not identify the suspect.

    A second suspect received a municipal citation for throwing objects, police said.

    The police department in Eaton, a town north of Greeley in Weld County, said the case is still under investigation.

    Crazy people are dangerous.

    1. I think we are only days away from a July 14, 2016 Nice, France type mass casualty event from happening in the U.S.

      HBB, you heard it here first.

      1. I think we are only days away from a July 14, 2016

        At first I misread that as June 28, 1914.

        1. Don’t feel bad. I saw “France” and “July” and misread read the date as 1789. 🔪

      2. I think we are only days away from a July 14, 2016 Nice, France type mass casualty event from happening in the U.S.

        Wouldn’t a leftist terrorist attack guarantee a GOP landslide in November?

  21. If I was writing this headline it would have said…

    Black conservative stabbed by spoiled white college student who fears no reparation for his actions.

    VIDEO: BLACK CONSERVATIVE STABBED BY ANTIFA DURING PORTLAND BLACK LIVES MATTER RIOTS

    A black conservative was stabbed during the ongoing Black Lives Matter riots in Portland, Oregon

    National File – JULY 26, 2020

    Drew Duncomb, a self described “black conservative” who live streams using the handle Black Rebel on social media, was stabbed on Friday night in Portland, Oregon during the ongoing Black Lives Matter riots while recording video of the riots.

    In videos live streamed to his Facebook profile, Duncomb is seen walking around the streets of Portland, revealing dramatic scenes of rioters clashing with police and starting fires. At some point, Duncomb comes across a nude man standing in the street, and ends his live stream, fearing he will be banned from Facebook for live streaming nudity.

    Less than an hour later, Duncomb reported that he was stabbed during the Black Lives Matter riots and was then on his way to the hospital.

    In a video Duncomb posted to Twitter, apparently recorded in an ambulance, he explains in a shaky voice that he is on his way to the hospital, unaware how badly he has been stabbed.

    “Alright you guys, I got stabbed, I’m on my way to the hospital.” “I don’t know how bad it is.” “I got stabbed by some Antifa dude that was following us around for awhile, so for everyone asking what happened: he stabbed me.”

    Duncomb posted a photo to Instagram, apparently showing him being stabbed by the Antifa member.

    “This is the Antifa punk that stabbed me,” wrote Duncomb.

    https://www.infowars.com/video-black-conservative-stabbed-by-antifa-during-portland-black-lives-matter-riots/

    1. Jeff, I was on the fence for a while about overpaying for a used house in Portland. I didn’t, and while a bit sad panda boo hoo I think I’ll just keep “throwing money away on rent” every month in the South Denver suburbs.

      Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, NO GIBS FOR YOU!

      2. I have a nephew who lives in the burbs of Portland in the Pacific Northworst. He seems to like it although I haven’t talked to him since the “peaceful protests” started. I know nothing bad has happened to him or his family because my sister would have told me. Bad news travels fast plus he has a brain so I’m sure he’s fine.

        As far as overpaying for a used house in Portland there are better people here than myself to get that information from although I can say this, in my hood (Jupiter Fl.) which is just about as far away from Portland as you can get and still be in the lower 48, the shack prices have shot past 2006 peaks with a bullet and have reached into the stratosphere of stupidity. Once these foreclosure and non paying renter eviction moratoriums are lifted I don’t see how house prices don’t crash and burn.

        Once again there are much smarter people than me here to advise you on this matter but for the the foreseeable future “throwing money away on rent” in the South Denver suburbs sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

        1. “I have a nephew who lives in the burbs of Portland…I’m sure he’s fine.”

          Drove past the Hatfield federal building last Thursday morning after a routine dropoff of my son to school. Two blocks away from the graffiti tagged and boarded up (first floor) building, 2 people sat and sipped coffee at a completely unmolested SBUX. (I lol’d)

          1. Your TV is largely lying to you.
          2. Unless he’s heading down to the 2^2 blocks where this is happening at 11PM each night, I assure you your nephew is fine, Jeff.

          1. “1. Your TV is largely lying to you.”

            I know that.

            It didn’t say anything about that AK-47 wielding Portland “protester” who shot at the motorist, missed and then got shot and killed himself the other night.

            However, to your point you are correct. After spending fifteen minutes of her half hours a night on…

            https://youtu.be/mfhBM_Yay6w

            coronnnavirus new world Norah O’donnell of the CBS Evening News and her fellow real journalist army would like me to believe cities all across the country are completely shut down with tens of thousands of “peaceful protesters” and not just 2 square city blocks where this happens at 11PM every night.

          2. federal building
            graffiti tagged and boarded up
            11PM each night
            Protest or riot? 🤔

          3. “Protest or riot?”

            I suppose it depends on the narrative being pushed. If these are the only choices, I’d say:

            7ish to 10ish = protest
            10ish to 2ish = riot

          4. …the narrative that needs squashed, which was my original point, is the one suggesting “the whole city is boarded up” as I heard one supposedly downtown worker say. No, not even close. Heck, even Portland city hall across the park separating it from the Fed building is business as usual, ie no barricades, no plywood.

          5. For the one in Richmond, our local radio station (WTOP) used the term “raucous protest.” They didn’t want to lie outright, but they didn’t dare deviate from the narrative.

          7. shot in the head by Trump’s storm troopers

            Those clearly weren’t genuine storm troopers.

            But that pic from the hospital is just awful. How did she survive? And really, why is Trump doing this? Shouldn’t he just pull back and let it happen?

          8. First comment:
            Shows up in battle gear…
            Is surprised when engaged in battle…

            Perhaps engaging in unlawful activity (i.e., rioting) is a bad idea. Anyone who thinks that these are constitutionally-protected protests is delusional.

          10. “Shows up in battle gear…”

            A bike helmet and what look like chemistry goggles? I mean, I’m going camping this weekend, likely with bear spray or perhaps something stronger. That doesn’t mean I have a goal of incapacitating a bear. Just saying, sometimes you gotta play defense just in case. (ok, maybe not great defense in her case). If I felt the urge to simply go yell at people down there I might gear up if I thought someone might get twitchy and gas me. I don’t and I won’t, mind you, but maybe not a good judge of intent there?

            “Rioter”

            That sounds serious. Was she charged with a crime? Any video? (I can’t seem to open the FB page)

  23. This is the second supposedly disabled leftist loon I have seen on video today.

    Mask Nazi: Woman Maces Couple For Not Wearing Masks While Eating

    By Jamie White
    Sunday, July 26, 2020

    Ash O’Brien and husband Jarett Kelley had stopped for lunch with their pug at the Dusty Rhodes dog park in San Diego on Thursday when a “random old lady” confronted them and called them “idiots” for not wearing masks while eating.

    When O’Brien told the woman to leave the park and stop harassing her, the woman whipped out a can of pepper spray and unleashed it on the couple.

    A bystander’s video footage shows the aftermath of Kelley trying to wrestle the can away from the lunatic woman before catching a dose of spray in his face.

    “Are you kidding me? You just maced him and their food because you disagree!” the bystander yelled at the assailant. “What’s wrong with you, lady?”

    “Then she started saying more stuff and I told her to leave the park and stop harassing us. She then came right up to our table wear we were eating, pointed the mace at me first and got a little on me, and then my husband stepped in and took the entire can. Thank god for the bystander that took this video because we are going to the police now to press charges. I am sharing this because people need to watch out for this lady in San Diego. Please share to spread awareness. That is me crying hysterically in the background because my innocent husband just got maced for no reason. We want justice.”

    California’s coronavirus guidelines on masks specifically mention eating and drinking as being one of the few instances where not wearing masks is acceptable. Otherwise, it’s punishable by up to $1000 fine.

    https://www.newswars.com/mask-nazi-woman-maces-couple-for-not-wearing-masks-while-eating/

  24. Talked to my brother tonight, he works at the NBCI sports complex in Stamford HVAC 450 people in his area they were all given laptops to work from home, 2 weeks ago they were allowed to come in to work and almost nobody came in, he said the most was 10 people a day..

  26. More good news for stock HODLers: The dollar is cratering on China tensions.

    Buy stocks: the stock market always goes up!

    1. The Financial Times
      Alice Woodhouse an hour ago
      Gold hits record high as dollar weakens amid US-China tensions
      Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong

      Gold rose to its highest level on record and the dollar weakened as concerns over the US economic outlook and deteriorating relations between Beijing and Washington weighed on investor sentiment.

      The price of the precious metal, often viewed by investors as a haven in times of uncertainty, gained as much as 1.1 per cent to a record $1,923 per troy ounce in Asian trading on Monday.

      The gains for the yellow metal came as doubts mounted about the prospects for a smooth economic recovery in the US after states including Florida, Tennessee and Arizona recorded a total of 62,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday.

      Tensions between the US and China also continued to ratchet up with the arrest of a Chinese researcher US authorities said had been hiding in the country’s San Francisco consulate.

      The jump for gold came as the dollar lost ground to a broad swath of global currencies. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of peers, was down 0.3 per cent on the day.

      Japan’s yen, also viewed as a haven in periods of uncertainty, touched a four-month high against the dollar, rising 0.5 per cent to ¥105.60. The pound and euro both rose 0.5 per cent to $1.2847 and $1.1706, respectively.
      …

    1. The Financial Times
      Alice Woodhouse 4 hours ago
      China reports 57 new local Covid-19 cases

      Health officials in China reported 57 new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 as outbreaks in Xinjiang and Liaoning continued to grow.

      The western region of Xinjiang reported 41 new cases, its highest one-day tally since an outbreak was discovered in mid-July. The new infections take its total over an 11-day period to 178.

      Liaoning province reported a further 14 cases of Covid-19 in Dalian on Sunday, taking the total since the outbreak was first discovered to 39.

      Twelve people also tested positive for the virus but showed no symptoms. China does not include asymptomatic cases in its official tally.
      …

      2. As Chris at Peak Prosperity says: “Case case cluster cluster BOOM.” That’s the nature of an exponential function. Looks like the more contagious European strain of the virus has finally made it to China. We’ll have to wait and see.

        Why is China allowed to not count asymptomatic cases? Especially since asymptomatic cases cause just as much spread. Shouldn’t the WHO get down on their butts for inaccurate reporting? (yeah right, like they did last time)

  29. For some reason, I suspect a financial situation described as “desperate” may not have a happy outcome.

    Desperate hunt for yield forces investors to take ‘extreme risk’
    July 26, 2020, 5:00 PM

    The hunt for yield is getting harder than ever for fixed-income investors. Roughly 86 per cent of the $60tn global bond market tracked by ICE Data Services traded with yields no higher than 2 per cent — a record proportion — with more than 60 per cent of the market yielding less than 1 per cent as of June 30.

    This has pushed investors into riskier segments in search of income, compelling them to lend to lower-quality companies and countries. Just 3 per cent of the investable bond world today yields more than 5 per cent — a share that is close to an all-time low, and represents a precipitous drop from levels seen roughly two decades ago.

    “Yield-chasing behaviour has become much more pronounced,” said Matt King, global head of credit products strategy at Citigroup. “If you are a pension fund or an insurance company, you are forced to go down in quality and take extreme risk.”
    …

    1. History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.

      — Alan Greenspan

    2. In One Chart
      His fund is up 60% this year after he called the March bottom — now, he sees potential for a ‘severe collapse’
      Published: July 27, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. ET
      By Shawn Langlois
      Is a collapse on the way?
      iStockphoto

      Michael Gayed says he’s not trying to scare anyone, but you wouldn’t know it from his latest take.

      Back in May, the fund manager warned of the possibility of two crashes: first bonds, then stocks. With his ATAC Rotation Fund US:ATACX continuing to deliver the goods — it’s up almost 60% so far this year to rank among the best in its category — he’s still waving the yellow flag.

      “It is a wild time in the markets,” said Gayed, who also runs the Lead-Lag Report. “Despite a crippling global pandemic, where the U.S. is failing miserably at a response with daily record after daily record cases being broken, and a U.S. economy that seems to be teetering on the edge of yet another Fed Monetary Policy response, stock markets have not seemed to blink when recovering.”
      …

  30. No “pent-up demand” for $500,000 starter homes happening here:

    “The job market recovery from the coronavirus recession is faltering as the U.S. braces for a steep decline in fiscal support from Congress despite the burgeoning pandemic.

    As the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus smothers economic activity across the U.S., two months of stellar job gains have begun to slip and lawmakers remain far apart on a new round of federal aid.

    New weekly applications for unemployment insurance increased last week for the first time since March, according to the Labor Department, and the number of employed Americans declined by 4.1 million between the first and second weeks of this month, according to weekly Census Bureau data released Thursday.

    Those dire signs of deepening economic damage could spell trouble for the July jobs report, which some economists fear will show the first net decline in U.S. employment since April.”

    https://thehill.com/policy/finance/508974-slip-in-job-growth-raises-fear-of-broader-relapse

  32. ‘VIJAYAWADA: The months from April to June is the harvesting season for fish and prawn in the State as the temperatures are conducive for processing, packing and export. But unfortunately, with the COVID-19 crisis, the aquaculture sector was badly hit and the damage is yet to be assessed, but experts say that significant losses could not be ruled out.’

    ‘Aqua farmers say though they are producing enough, there is a lack of market for their produce due to COVID-19 crisis and subsequent worker shortage. Further, market transactions across the country have slowed down, which has resulted in price drop.’

    ‘Shrimp and fish farming is extensively taken up in twin-Godavari districts (East and West), Krishna, Prakasam, Nellore and to an extent in Guntur districts. Situation is not so good in any of the districts and all the aqua farmers are doing now is to pray for the return of normalcy.’

    https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2020/jul/27/aquaculture-farmers-of-the-state-stare-at-heavy-losses-despite-rise-in-production-2175320.html

    1. ‘State-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) III has recorded a decline in ship traffic in this year’s first half as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts global trade and decimates the sea freight and logistics industry. Pelindo III president director Saefudin Noer said Wednesday that the company’s ports had seen an 8 percent year-on-year (yoy) decline in overall ship traffic and 10 percent annual slump in freight ship traffic in the first half of 2020.’

      ‘The company manages 43 seaports in seven provinces, including the logistics hub of Tanjung Perak seaport in Surabaya, East Java, and the Semarang container terminal in Central Java, which is used for shipping routes to China, South Korea and Singapore, among other countries.’

      ‘The Indonesian National Shipowners Association (INSA) reported that container shipping revenue had fallen by 10 to 25 percent from normal levels. Revenue from bulk carriers, such as tankers, tugs and barges, had dropped by 25 to 50 percent. Statistics Indonesia’s (BPS) data show that Indonesia’s exports plunged 28.95 percent yoy in May to US$10.53 billion, the lowest since July 2016, due to falling exports of coal, coffee and palm oil as well as oil and gas.’

      ‘To spur demand for transshipment services, Pelindo III is offering a 35 percent discount on the loading and unloading fees. The company is also offering a 50 percent discount on the seaport service charge and 85 percent stevedoring charges discount for freighters that are part of the government’s maritime highway program. “We are trying to rebuild optimism by supporting our exporters, which effort will eventually stimulate economic growth” Saefudin said.’

      ‘Meanwhile, imports fell even faster, dropping by 42.2 percent to $8.44 billion, the lowest since 2009, due to weak domestic demand for consumer goods, raw materials and capital goods.’

      https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/27/port-operator-pelindo-iii-records-decline-in-ship-traffic.html

  35. The Wages of Woke
    How Robin DiAngelo got rich peddling ‘white fragility’

    (snip)

    DiAngelo’s wealth is jarring in part because of her criticisms of white privilege. It is also surprising given that available evidence suggests the anti-bias training she peddles does not work.

    A review of nearly 1,000 studies of anti-bias tools found little evidence that they have any impact. In fact, recent studies suggest anti-bias training’s primary effect may be to encourage discrimination: Firms with diversity training end up with fewer minorities in management, and field research finds that training both reinforces stereotypes and increases animosity against minority groups.

    But DiAngelo’s concept of “white fragility” offers an answer to that academic evidence: The negative responses whites express when told they’re racist are simply evidence that they lack “racial stamina”—and indicate that more $40,000 anti-bias sessions are necessary.

    Her advice to white people looking to “shift their thinking and alter their actions” is to engage in more self-education, particularly of the sort she sells. Doing so, she told NPR, “will be lifelong”—an effective way for an already wealthy woman to keep her clientele.

    This sales pitch is working. White Fragility tops reading lists from corporations and prestigious universities. Reading groups from Washington, D.C., to South Euclid, Ohio, are discussing it. And the proceeds all flow to a woman who has made a career arguing that white people like her are inescapably, intolerably privileged—an injustice you can only remedy by buying her book.

    https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-wages-of-woke-2/

    3. “And the proceeds all flow to a woman who has made a career arguing that white people like her are inescapably, intolerably privileged—an injustice you can only remedy by buying her book.”

      Perhaps she should donate all proceeds of her book sales to the BLM movement, as keeping them may only serve to exacerbate the problem she wants to remedy.

      1. “Perhaps she should donate all proceeds of her book sales to the BLM movement, as keeping them may only serve to exacerbate the problem she wants to remedy.”

        From the link …

        Dr. Robin DiAngelo, the bestselling author of White Fragility, claims to believe in accountability. DiAngelo used to list the “racial justice” organizations she donates to as part of her extensive “accountability statement,” including a monthly “land rent” paid to the Native American tribe that used to occupy Seattle.

        But when the Washington Free Beacon began contacting the organizations she listed as recipients of her largesse, DiAngelo scrubbed the site, removing their names and the dates of her giving from the public domain—a version of the page remains available through the Internet Archive after briefly being unavailable due to what the site said were technical issues. The page was edited again as recently as Friday, when DiAngelo wrote she would begin donating 15 percent of her after-tax income, “in cash and in-kind donations,” starting next month—suggesting she had not previously, as the page exhorts, given a percentage of her income large enough that she could “feel it.”

        This about-face is odd for a woman who has made her career demanding white people not respond defensively in hard conversations. DiAngelo vaulted to superstardom upon the 2018 publication of her book, White Fragility, which argues that all whites are racist and any rejection of that fact is only further evidence of it. To address racism, DiAngelo argues, requires the sort of anti-bias instruction she is selling.

        1. To address racism, DiAngelo argues, requires the sort of anti-bias instruction she is selling.

          Welcome to the Grifter and Shakedown Nation

    4. The negative responses whites express when told they’re racist are simply evidence that they lack “racial stamina”—and indicate that more $40,000 anti-bias sessions are necessary.

      BLM, meet MLM.

      1. Especially since the administration just said yesterday that they are extending the moratorium.

  37. I was thinking would the rioters pull down a Statue of Elvis Presley because he had a black cook.

    Elvis was a American creation. Are they going to get rid of all that came out of the freedom in America that created the unbelievable decades of music ?

    They say all that was American was bad ,so what is exempt from the cancel culture.

    1. There is a thread of thinking in the pop music world that big name stars like Elvis used their white privilege to make a fortune off the pioneering work of relatively obscure black rock-and-roll stars who proceeded them.

      1. PP,

        I knew your were going to say what you said about the history of that music.

        But, doesn’t everybody borrow from something and transform it into something new. A lot of BRITISH INVASION bands were inspired by the Beach Boys.

        1. I was restating what others say, not agreeing with them. The history of music is a history of borrowing from predecessors.

          1. The history of music is a history of borrowing from predecessors.

            It’s inevitable. Every competent musician first learns their instrument by playing the standards of the day. Anything they innovate after that can’t help but be influenced by it even if it’s in opposition to it.

      1. Indeed, just ask J.K.Rowling.

        All of the children got their acting careers stated and became wealthy thanks to her are now condemning her for her stance that men cannot be women. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) even stated that while he was grateful for what she did for him that he had no choice but to condemn her. Probably because he’s afraid of being cancelled himself.

        1. This White Privilege/Racism narrative is driving me nuts.

          In the 1950’s the black population was about 8.9 % in the USA. The White population in Africa was about 8.5% in 1989.

          So, are you saying that the Africans had BLACK PRIVILEGE, as the dominate race in that Country, so all Black culture should be demolished because Whites were the minority.
          In China it’s China Privilege because they have a higher population of Chinese.

          Do the French have French Privilege because there are more French in France.
          The point is of course in terms of population the culture that has more numbers is dominate .

          Also the notion that minorities didnt like anything about American culture or didn’t contribute to it is absurd. We had freedom concepts and prosperity concepts that attracted minorities from all over the World who have been successful.

          The idea that a White culture or values that evolved ,with a blemished history that became more perfected, should be abolished, is nonsense.
          And what do the race baters want to replace it with but evil Communism that promises is Social Justice.

          It’s a Communist ploy using race as it’s weapon. They got into the educational system and started this brainwashing decades ago.
          Joe Biden talking like a Commie pig, it’s obnoxious.

  41. The falling dollar doesn’t seem to be hurting Treasurys.

    Bond Report
    10-year Treasury yield lingers below 0.60% as investors eye extension of fiscal support
    Published: July 27, 2020 at 8:48 a.m. ET
    By Sunny Oh

    U.S. Treasury yields retreated early Monday amid worries that Congressional infighting could endanger the prospect of additional fiscal stimulus measures after the expiration of jobs benefits this week.
    What are Treasurys doing?

    The 10-year Treasury note yield (TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.587%) edged 0.8 basis point down to 0.581%, near the floor of its trading range established since April, while the 30-year bond yield (TMUBMUSD30Y, 1.228%) fell 2 basis points to 1.219%. The 2-year note rate (TMUBMUSD02Y, 0.145%) ticked 0.4 basis point lower to 0.145%.

    What’s driving Treasurys?

    The White House and Republicans are set to unveil a $1 trillion fiscal stimulus package on Monday, intended to support the economy after extended unemployment benefits expire later this week. Without additional fiscal support, investors worry a sudden drop in jobless benefits could halt the U.S.’s tentative recovery, already imperiled by the ever-increasing tally of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
    …

    1. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus business update 30 days complimentary
      Markets Briefing Equities
      Dollar sinks to two-year low on US economic concerns
      Euro jumps as surge in US coronavirus cases prompts fresh worries over the world’s biggest economy
      © Olivia Obineme/Bloomberg
      Harry Dempsey in London, Colby Smith in New York and Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong an hour ago

      The dollar weakened to a two-year low on Monday as sharp increases in US coronavirus cases and flare-ups around the world weighed on investor confidence.

      The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of peers, slipped 0.6 per cent to its lowest level since June 2018, as fears mount that the continuing spread of Covid-19 in the US will dampen the economic recovery.

      The poor performance of the US currency, which is on track for its worst month since April 2011, has supported a rally in gold prices to an all-time high, rising as much as 2.4 per cent to $1,944.73 per troy ounce.
      …

    2. Maybe it’s time to cast aside your FUD, embrace your FOMO, and buy stocks. Every economic development whatsoever merely strengthens the case to buy stocks!

      Market Extra
      Here’s what a falling U.S. dollar means for the stock market
      Published: July 27, 2020 at 8:25 a.m. ET
      By William Watts

      The U.S. dollar is looking shaky. Barring some sort of currency meltdown, a weaker dollar should be a positive for equities, though foreign stocks will likely benefit more, analysts said.
      …

  42. I think if you give your jobs and manufacturing to Communist China , you committed treason. China has 11/2 billion people to produce for, so why did they need to take USA jobs?

    It’s one thing to have trade with Countries and it’s another to transfer the manufacturing and job base to a Communist Country that became a monopoliy of cheap labor.

    The Globàlist and their slave labor are no different than the slaveholders of history. It’s all about cheap labor and looting by the lack of balance of power.
    You are basically destroying capitalism by having a Communist Country like China being your monopoly.

    The. Guilded Age in USA between about 1870-1910 was a Monopoly period that the wage. earner here was. worse than a slave.
    So , just because you transport your monopoly overseas doesn’t mean thAt it’s any different. And you transfer this monopoly to a Communist Country who would like to take over the World.

    And people wonder why the Globalist News protect China and Nancy Pelosi calls
    Covid-19 the Trump Virus, and Biden channels Commie nonsense.

    Trump needs to win to at least stop the resistance for a while .

    I’m sick of this screw America and tear down America as if we were just a outpost for China.

Comments are closed.