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No One’s Been Thinking About What Happens When Things Go Down

A report from Vice Magazine. “Brent Rogol, an agent in New York, was recently selling an apartment to a buyer who was heavily invested in tech stocks, which dropped dramatically in value over the course of negotiations. ‘It really reduced her buying power, and we were only able to get so much,’ Rogol said. ‘We ended up settling with this person because she was the only buyer, and she just couldn’t go any higher because of her portfolio.’ Rogol and his client were nervous until the day the transaction closed that a further market drop would kill the purchase, he said.”

“Joanna Rose, a San Francisco agent who primarily works with sellers, said ‘the biggest thing’ affecting the San Francisco market is the decline in share prices for tech companies.’ Talk of a potential recession has only added to the sense of fear, and Rose is starting to notice it start her business recently. ‘It’s pretty sudden,’ she said. Rose has had to speak with her clients repeatedly to help them understand the new reality, and asking prices have recently started to drop, adding that half of active listings had reduced their asking price in the seven days before she spoke with Motherboard.”

“‘The climate’s changed,’ said Danny Hertzberg, another luxury real estate agent in Miami. Declining valuations of tech companies has had a ‘significant’ psychological effect on the higher end of the market as people attempt to readjust to a less secure reality, Hertzberg said. ‘We’re seeing less bidding wars,’ he said. ‘Sellers are a little bit more flexible.'”

The New York Times. “Last year, Bolt Financial, a payments startup, began a new program for its employees. They owned stock options in the company, some worth millions of dollars on paper, but could not touch that money until Bolt sold or went public. So Bolt began providing them with loans — some reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars — against the value of their stock.”

“Ted Wang, a former startup lawyer and an investor, said he got a fresh round of calls about the loans anytime the market overheated and always felt obligated to explain the risks. ‘I’ve seen this go wrong, bad wrong,’ he wrote.”

“In May, Bolt laid off 200 workers. That set off a 90-day period for those who had taken out the loans to pay the money back. In situations like Bolt’s, the loans may be difficult to repay on short notice. ‘No one’s been thinking about what happens when things go down,’ said Rick Heitzmann, an investor at FirstMark Capital. ‘Everyone’s only thinking about the upside.'”

From Fox Business. “Bryan Jaeger, owner of Jaeger Lumber & Supply Co. in New Jersey, told FOX Business that spec builders, who often take on projects that are speculative in nature, ‘have already started to pull back and they were pulling back in March when prices were peaking.’ ‘They were starting to take on more remodeling projects because once you talk about raising the interest rates, mortgage rates going up, that just changes the market,’ he continued. ‘So out of uncertainty, they’ve pulled back into remodeling.'”

The Herald Tribune in Florida. “‘Our area, Sarasota-Bradenton, and even the Tampa Bay region really got on the national radar as more of a primary destination that had vacation qualities,’ said Laura Cole, a senior vice president at Lakewood Ranch Communities LLC. ‘During that period of time builders were selling and selling and selling. In June of last year was when sales started to turn back to pre-pandemic levels,’ Cole continued. Builders put on the brakes mid last year and said, ‘We need to deliver homes and need to do it reliably.'”

The Dallas Morning News in Texas. “Arlington-based D.R. Horton saw its sales decrease 7% year over year nationwide to 16,693 homes in its third fiscal quarter that ended June 30, the company reported Thursday. Its cancellation rate for sales orders was 24% compared with 17% a year ago, as more buyers pulled out of deals. ‘So far, builders have been able to backfill most of the cancellations,’ said Bryan Glasshagel, a senior vice president for Zonda, but he added that some are having to lower prices in some cases. Many builders, like D.R. Horton, are offering to buy down or lock in mortgage rates.”

The Dallas Business Journal. “North Texas homebuilders are seeing an alarming surge in cancellations of contracts on new homes, triggering a sharp drop in sales and pending sales last month, and a record rate of increase in new home listings in the Multiple Listing Service. The three-month moving average of active listings in the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems jumped from 933 in April to 2,915 in June – an increase of more than 200% in 90 days, according to an analysis of NTREIS data by Dallas-based HomesUSA.com.”

“DFW pending sales dropped too, another indicator of buyer cancelations. In June, pending sales were 1,593 vs. 1,663 in May.The other three major new home markets in Texas – Houston, Austin and San Antonio – also reported a drop in pending sales in June. ‘We are in the busiest month of the year,’ said Danny Perez, managing director of Rockwall-based M&D Real Estate. ‘We should be seeing increasing sales.'”

The Colorado Sun. “Putting your house up for sale is stressful enough. Now, sellers find themselves having to cut their listing price after the home is already on the market. Two to three times more sellers in Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs reconsidered their list prices and then lowered them in June compared to a year ago, according to Zillow. The share of listings with a price cut in June for Denver was 18.3%. In Colorado Springs, prices were cut on 18% of listings. In Fort Collins, they accounted for 9.5%, a threefold increase from June 2021.”

“There were even price cuts last year as the housing price growth in Colorado seemed unstoppable. The number of sellers cutting their list price in June is now in double digits in the U.S. as well at 14.5%. It’s normal because homeowners who cut their listing price often ‘overprice and don’t realize (declining) market value,’ Zillow economist Nicole Bachaud said.”

From Bloomberg on Connecticut. “The Greenwich housing market may have experienced the last gasps of its pandemic frenzy in the second quarter as record-setting sales prices gave way to signs of a slowdown. ‘Greenwich is returning to Earth,’ said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. ‘The intensity is not what it was.'”

KSBY on California. “As May turned into June, realtors say a shift in the housing market took place. Residential areas like San Luis Obispo and Templeton are still seeing a hot market, but areas where people are often looking to buy a second home, out toward the coast, are feeling the cooldown. ‘With a lot of things going on out there in the economic and political sphere, it definitely flicked a switch,’ said Jay Chiasson, Navigators Real Estate Captain and Owner. ‘The second home market is probably seeing the bigger slowdown, the bigger price reductions,’ Chiasson said.”

“There is an increase in inventory. Broker Associate Hal Sweasey says sales have decreased significantly since this time last year. ‘Sales are down about 30 percent year over year,’ he said. Since last month, some properties on the Central Coast have significantly reduced their prices. ‘There are definitely more price reductions so if somebody started a little on the high side they would have to adjust their price, so we’ve seen that month over month certainly,’ Sweasey said.”

The Globe and Mail in Canada. “85 Braeside Rd., Toronto. When listed in February at slightly under $2.4-million, this three-bedroom house languished for over a month without an offer. A new agent relisted the house in with an asking price under $2-miilion and a fresh appearance. Almost 100 visitors passed through the property over six days and two bids emerged, the better of which added $72,000 to the asking price.”

“‘Typically, houses in Lawrence Park North fly off the shelf and don’t make it to the second day on market. Now, we’re seeing them languishing after 10 to 20 days,’ Belinda Lelli said. ‘What worked was pricing it close to what we wanted, and under a certain price point, which for that area, is an affordable house.'”

From Lancs Live in the UK. “A stalled building site blighting a Lancashire town will remain untouched throughout the summer. A housing development on the site of the former Burscough FC stadium ground to a halt when contractor Crossfield Living went bust and neighbours have become frustrated over the halted development. Addressing Cllr Yvonne Gagen on behalf of the resident, he said: ‘Could the council leader please advise when something is going to be done about the now semi-derelict building site at Bobby Langton Way, Burscoug? The development company went bust last winter and the half-finished houses are now slowly decaying and becoming an eyesore.'”

The South China Morning Post. “Embattled property developer China Evergrande Group’s CEO and financial chief have been forced out amid an internal inquiry into 13.4 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) in deposits used as security guarantees for bank loans, which were later seized by creditors. Evergrande’s preliminary investigation determined that about 13.4 billion yuan in deposits from its property management unit, Evergrande Property Services, had been used as guarantees for loans taken out by third parties and the loan proceeds were then diverted back to Evergrande for general operations.”

“Evergrande, the mainland’s second-largest developer by sales, said on Friday that Xia, Chief Financial Officer Pan Darong, and an executive of its Hengda Real Estate Group subsidiary were all asked to resign after the internal inquiry uncovered their involvement in the loan arrangement. The company said a committee conducting the investigation would seek to conclude the inquiry as soon as possible and issue a report.”

“The departure of Evergrande’s top executives is the latest challenge for the company founded by Hui Ka-yan, once the wealthiest man in China. Evergrande in December failed to pay the interest on US$645 million and US$590 million of junk bonds, even after a grace period, triggering a cross-default on its other borrowings.

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  1. ‘spec builders, who often take on projects that are speculative in nature, ‘have already started to pull back and they were pulling back in March when prices were peaking.’ ‘They were starting to take on more remodeling projects because once you talk about raising the interest rates, mortgage rates going up, that just changes the market,’ he continued. ‘So out of uncertainty, they’ve pulled back into remodeling’

    This is how far along we are. These guys are back to fixin’ kitchens.

    1. “This is how far along we are. These guys are back to fixin’ kitchens.”

      And that’s all it is. And even then, they can’t make profit doing that without a whole bunch of fraud going on and really that’s where all this begins and ends. Anyone can perform construction tasks(install materials). Some can install materials correctly. Few can install materials correctly(according to manufacturers and or in compliance with prescriptive measures) and earn a profit. The guys who can’t bid fat because they’re doing work twice or are so inexperienced they take twice as long to install materials. The appraisal and mortgage fraud is the only way these guys stay working.

      In the current environment, theres a two handed iron grip around the throat of anyone doing housing stuff whether building them or repair/remodel. Without the fat numbers enabled by the appraisal fraud, they can’t earn a profit simply because most of them aren’t that good at what they do(if they were truly that good, they wouldn’t bother with houses). They’re simply not competitive. Perhaps some are efficient at installing materials correctly and on schedule but they’re losing their ass on some other work on another job. You can make a killing or lose your ass in construction. Less so with housing than big work but the same factors apply just on a smaller scale. So as this grip tightens as the appraisals sink lower, these guys start sharpening their pencils and see they’re not that good at what they do and start bidding commercial work instead. That becomes a problem because with commercial work, generally the low bidder gets the job. DavisBacon work is always low bid. If the contractor wasn’t properly qualified, the job becomes a disaster.

      Subsidized lending rates was a jobs program….. a bubble jobs program.

  2. Eat yer crowz bloomberg:

    ‘an internal inquiry into 13.4 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) in deposits used as security guarantees for bank loans, which were later seized by creditors. Evergrande’s preliminary investigation determined that about 13.4 billion yuan in deposits from its property management unit, Evergrande Property Services, had been used as guarantees for loans taken out by third parties and the loan proceeds were then diverted back to Evergrande for general operations’

    Not only weren’t they making “last minute” bond payments, they were stealing money from their customers to keep the lights on. As an accountant these situations are remarkable cuz there was no way they could get away with it. At some point it would come out, they knew it, and did it anyway. Desperation to prevent selling the goldfish?

    In a normal world these guys would get locked up.

    1. In a normal world these guys would get locked up.

      Jon Corzine, former Goldman Sachs CEO and “bundler” for Obama campaign contributions, “rehypothecated” MF Global depositors’ accounts to cover his wrong-way bets on Euro bonds. Our corrupt DoJ and FBI didn’t even pretend to investigate this blatant theft. Some animals are more equal than others….

      1. “rehypothecated”

        “Rehypothecation is a practice whereby banks and brokers use, for their own purposes, assets that have been posted as collateral by their clients.”

        Just learned something.

        1. rehypothecated

          In Spanish the word for mortgage is “hipoteca” and in French it’s “hypothèque”

    2. Pretty much all of the cryptard outfits are doing this currently. Surprisingly, “rehypothecating” is too fancy a term for the new economy, in the digital realm it is simply called a rug pull.

  3. Wall Street Journal — Ukraine’s Zelensky Says a Cease-Fire With Russia, Without Reclaiming Lost Lands, Will Only Prolong War (7/22/2022):

    “Any cease-fire that allows Russia to keep Ukrainian territories seized since the invasion in February would only encourage an even wider conflict, giving Moscow a badly-needed opportunity to replenish and rearm for the next round, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned.

    “Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest,” Mr. Zelensky said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in the heavily fortified presidential compound in Kyiv on Friday. “They will not use this pause to change their geopolitics or to renounce their claims on the former Soviet republics.”

    https://archive.ph/8cXcr

    Russia is winning.

    1. More of your taxpayer dollars flushed down the toilet.

      Russia Today — US sends more weapons to Ukraine (7/22/2022):

      “The White House on Friday announced another $270 million worth of US “security assistance” to Ukraine. The newest batch of supplies will include four HIMARS rocket artillery launchers, a large quantity of ammunition, as well as hundreds of ‘Phoenix Ghost’ suicide drones, AP reported citing National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

      In addition to four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and an unspecified number of GLMRS rockets for them, the aid package includes up to 580 drones and 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition for the M777 towed howitzers already supplied to Kiev by the Pentagon.

      President Joe Biden “has been clear that we’re going to continue to support the government of Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes,” Kirby told AP.

      https://www.rt.com/news/559485-himars-drones-ukraine-pentagon/

      Russia is winning.

      FJB

      1. President Joe Biden “has been clear that we’re going to continue to support the government of Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes,” Kirby told AP.

        Whatever Zelensky has on the Biden Crime Family, it seems to have tremendous blackmail value. Ante up, taxpayers!

      2. This money isn’t flushed but is going into the pockets of all the people Biden needs paid off. The resale market for military stuff is hopping …
        Agreed — Russia is winning.

      3. Accuracy is a game changer, but it doesn’t come cheap. Lockheed Martin share holders et al are the real winners.

        1. “гамбургер помощник”

          A Lockheed Martin recipe: “GMLRS is an all-weather rocket designed for fast deployment that delivers precision strike capability to simultaneously service multiple targets beyond the reach of most conventional weapons.”

    2. Pretty sure Russia is saying “your terms are acceptable. no ceasefire it is until all of Ukraine is put back into Russia”

      Why would Russia even negotiate? they are winning, they don’t need to negotiate?

      As someone here always says “they are not sending their best”. (or maybe they are)

    3. If Russia wins Ukraine, they aren’t going to stop. Putin’s goal is to take back all the former Soviet countries as buffer states to protect Moscow. If he succeeds in Ukraine, next on his to-do list is likely a NATO country. Then the US might be sending a lot more than fire-and-forget missiles.

      1. Hey Oxide,
        Your position on Eurasian geopolitics may be as insightful as your one on WuFlu plandemic. Might wanna stick to houses. You have valued opinions/insights on architectural and economics of housing stock.
        –Geezer
        IMO, Putin is not the director in this CF, but rather NATO at the behest of the OBiden administration. I see Russia as a pressured actor.

        1. “IMO, Putin is not the director in this CF, but rather NATO at the behest of the OBiden administration.”

          NATO expansion policy was started by Dubya and his Evangelical Crusade mentality.

          1. Hi RMS,
            TY for the correction. This NATO pressure started decades earlier. Appreciate the assist. I just have such overwhelming disgust for the Obambi/Biden clowns that I let myself get carried away.

        4. The position on Eurasian geopolitics is that of well-known geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, not my own.

          And actually my insight on economics of housing stock isn’t too good either. I stupidly bought a house in early 2012. According to HBB, that was a pretty bad time to buy.

          1. Hello Oxide,
            I always appreciate your comments/insights on all things housing related, economics or architecture.
            Unlike the other regulars here at the HBB, I think that early 2012 was a supremely good time to buy a house in the U.S.
            I commend you on your excellent economic timing there.
            –Geezer

      2. “If Russia wins Ukraine, they aren’t going to stop. Putin’s goal is to take back all the former Soviet countries as buffer states to protect Moscow. If he succeeds in Ukraine, next on his to-do list is likely a NATO country. Then the US might be sending a lot more than fire-and-forget missiles.”

        Agree with everything said, and Poland would likely be next.

  4. ‘Since last month, some properties on the Central Coast have significantly reduced their prices’

    Another one bites the dust. These are double discretionary. Nobody need a second shack. No one needs a “luxury” shack.

  5. This is a urine soaked mattress article.

    Washington Post Editorial Board — This pandemic summer, open the windows, get boosted and, yes, wear a mask (7/22/2022):

    “A full-on coronavirus wave is sweeping across the United States and much of the world, driven by the BA.5 subvariant, which hardly existed in April. This does not call for panic — the president appears to have mild symptoms — but it is a reminder to be cautious, especially indoors with crowds. Your face mask is your friend, and your booster is your life jacket. It is that kind of summer.

    By now, reaching for that face mask ought to be second nature for indoor locations with a lot of people — where the virus can hang in the air and spread. Good-quality face masks are plentiful and cheap.

    Mandates are hard to enforce these days amid public fatigue and weariness, but if the government doesn’t mandate a mask, it still makes good sense to protect yourself — and everyone around you.”

    https://archive.ph/oggh5

    Mass Formation Psychosis is one hell of a drug.

    1. A full-on coronavirus wave is sweeping across the United States

      Not according to the Worldometers website. New case numbers have been flat for months.

    2. John Campbell the nurse has a new video out on Omicron. He reports on a new study from Qatar. Short version, data from Qatar is showing that anyone who has had any natural Omicron infection has about a 25% chance of showing infection from BA.5. That’s why cases are leveling off. And the next variant, BA 2.75, is *not* gaining much of a foothold. This is good news.

  6. ‘It really reduced her buying power, and we were only able to get so much,’ Rogol said. ‘We ended up settling with this person because she was the only buyer, and she just couldn’t go any higher because of her portfolio.’

    As the Fed’s Everything Bubble bursts & trillions in fictitious Yellen Bux “wealth” created by the gusher of Fed funny money over the past 14 years gets vaporized, there’s going to be a lot of “settling” going on by former greedhead sellers as shack prices plummet.

    1. There are actually now more companies listed on NASDAQ that lose money than there were in the 2001 tech bubble.

    1. Nuremburg Trials v2.0.

      Arrest, trial, conviction, execution. It’s a medical genocide, and these globalists need to die.

  9. Nearly half is that a lot?

    Washington Examiner — Nearly half of small businesses are in hiring freeze, citing inflation and costs (7/22/2022):

    “Nearly half of small business owners are not willing to hire because of labor costs and “skyrocketing inflation,” a newly released small business report shows.

    The small business network Alignable released its July Hiring report which found that “45% of small businesses (SMBs) are halting their hiring, largely because they say they can’t afford to add staff.

    “This represents a significant hiring shift, and is largely a reaction to mounting labor costs, skyrocketing inflation, fears of a recession, and rising interest rates,” the group said.

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/nearly-half-small-businesses-hiring-freeze-inflation-costs

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

    1. A month-or-so ago there were “Now Hiring” signs posted everywhere.

      Poof! Now most of them are gone. It is if as somebody threw a switch.

      1. 6% unemployment coming to US in 2024.

        Starring poor Americans. Directed by FJB. Produced by Obama.

        1. 6% unemployment coming to US in 2024.

          We will probably see 6% before the end of this year, as everything suddenly unravels.

  10. Some local news.

    “Drug issues continue to plague RTD buses, trains, stops and stations, according to a Problem Solvers analysis of recent RTD records.

    The Problem Solvers filed a public records request for two-and-a-half months of records showing “every time a bus driver or passenger reported a safety or security issue (like an assault) or any transportation-related incident in which the driver expressed a safety concern.” The request is for records between April, when RTD implemented a new security strategy, and mid-June.

    The Problem Solvers analysis found at least 75 reports of drivers and passengers complaining about people using drugs or smoking on public transportation.

    In one April incident, a passenger had a drug needle stuck in their arm when they were found unresponsive on a route 51 bus, which travels along Sheridan Boulevard.

    “The party is not breathing and has a syringe in their arm, EMS is on the scene,” the report said.

    “It’s not just an RTD problem. It’s a societal problem,” said Ron Short, the vice president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001. Short said the union is encouraging all local municipalities to make efforts that would help combat the drug issues.

    “The fentanyl situation is overreaching everywhere in the metro area,” he said.

    https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/at-least-75-rtd-complaints-about-drugs-and-smoking-in-2-5-month-span/

    A societal problem? Vote like California, become California.

    “They’re not sending their best”

    1. Some local news:
      ————–
      DC-area leaders look for more cooperation, funding to deal with migrant surge

      Nearly every day, buses bearing asylum-seeking migrants arrive at D.C.’s Union Station from Texas and Arizona.
      During the meeting, the council heard from volunteers who said their organizations are overwhelmed.
      The council voted on and passed a resolution supporting efforts by D.C. Del Eleanor Holmes Norton to introduce a bill to secure additional humanitarian aid for migrants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter program,
      About 5,200 migrants have been bused from Texas since April. and more than 1,100 from Arizona since May.
      ——————–

      What I find most stunning is that DC can’t handle a paltry 6300 migrants.

      https://wtop.com/dc/2022/07/regional-leaders-look-for-more-cooperation-and-funding-to-contend-with-migrant-surge/

      1. What I find most stunning is that DC can’t handle a paltry 6300 migrants.

        They weren’t expecting any. The plan is to flood mostly white flyover burgs with them, and to do it in secret, hence the charter red eye flights.

  12. As the proles get more pauperized as the Biden regime imposes its “fundamental transformation,” deflation is going to set in since disposable income will be a thing of the past. Forward!

    The inflation beating bargains that have DROPPED in price while everything else gets more expensive: Smartphones fall 20%, TVs are down 13% and sports tickets have dropped up to 50%

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11040979/You-beat-inflation-long-youre-buying-smartphone-TV-cruise-break-sports-tickets.html

  13. Globalists gonna globe.

    SF Gate — New California gun control law mimics Texas abortion measure (7/22/2022):

    “Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a controversial, first-in-the-nation gun control law patterned after a Texas anti-abortion law and urged other states to follow suit.

    “It’s time to put them on the defense. You cannot sell, you cannot manufacture, you cannot transfer these illegal weapons of war and mass destruction in the state of California. And if you do, there are 40 million people that can collect $10,000 from you, and attorney fees, for engaging in that illegal activity.”

    Newsom also placed $30,000 worth of full-page advertisements in three Texas newspapers Friday criticizing what he said is Gov. Greg Abbott’s hypocrisy on gun safety.

    “I can’t take what’s happening in this country,” Newsom said in explaining the ads. “Can’t take the assault on liberty and freedom, can’t take the rhetoric, can’t take the … bullying, the zest for demonization of these governors, not just Abbott, DeSantis, but many of these other governors.”

    https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/New-California-gun-control-law-mimics-Texas-17322165.php

    Cold dead hands, globalist sh*tbag.

    The Day Of The Rope is coming…

    1. This “soy free, GMO free, no MSG, no aspartame, no high fructose corn syrup and might cause birth defects” left coast governor is an imbecile who champions the least contributing members of society and illegal aliens to garner votes regardless of cost to taxpayers.

  14. Talk of a potential recession has only added to the sense of fear, and Rose is starting to notice it start her business recently.

    As in the run-up to the Housing Bubble 1.0 bust, UHSs are blaming “talk” about an economic downturn, rather than the indisputable fact the Biden economy is in a free-fall. UHSs have a vested financial interest in keeping their “clients” oblivious to the true state of the economy & housing market.

  15. So Bolt began providing them with loans — some reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars — against the value of their stock.”

    I see a fundamental flaw with this business model, but I’m guessing most Bolt employees were too dimwitted to understand that while stock valuations can crater, debts must be repaid.

    1. “I see a fundamental flaw with this business model, …”

      Bahahahahahaha … clearly you have not positioned yourself correctly.

      “I’m guessing most Bolt employees were too dimwitted to understand that while stock valuations can crater, debts must be repaid.”

      And there it is. Pukes work, bankers reap. God’s Plan.

      1. **” I see a fundamental flaw with this business model, but I’m guessing most Bolt employees were too dimwitted to understand that while stock valuations can crater, debts must be repaid.”

        as soon as I read that comment I thought of you, Mr. Banker. . . and then BAM!

        haha

        1. My ignorant assumption is that these stock option loans are totally unsecured. Imagine that Bolt Financial will be holding the bag here, no need to claim BK probably.

    2. Man I remember the tech bust (2000/2001) and lots of geniuses got caught in this as they had taken out loans against their 401k (which held lots of company stock cuz up up and away) and then got laid off. double boom

      1. It’s gonna be Deja Vus all over again.

        People never lean (and I am exceedingly grateful for this fact).

      2. I knew one Nortel employee who did this. Had to put his Dad in a State run nursing facility then he died early and broke in 5 years.

  16. The Guardian is globalist scum media.

    “Millions of Americans spent Thursday evening stunned, appalled and amused by the season finale of the congressional hearings into the storming of the Capitol in the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, and his part in the deadly insurrection.”

    Millions is a globalist lie. Nobody believes your globalist lies, because the 2020 election was stolen.

    “Members of the committee said the evidence showed that Trump lied, betrayed his oath of office, and summoned a mob to Washington to try to overturn the presidential election. It was, said Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, “a stain on our history”.

    Kinzinger has stains in his underoos, because he can not control his bowel movements.

    “But in the heart of Trump country, there’s a different take.

    “I looked up kangaroo court,” said Terri Burl, a Republican activist in rural northern Wisconsin, a key swing state that Trump won in 2016 but lost four years later.
    “I’m like, yes, that’s exactly what this is. What’s it supposed to prove?”

    Burl’s loyalty to the former president – she was an early member of Trump for Women – has not been shaken by Thursday’s testimony from former Trump administration officials. She watched for almost an hour before giving up because she said that while “the violence and destruction is not OK as people forced their way into the Capitol”, the hearing was a one-sided attack on the former president rather than an attempt to get at the truth.

    “There was an annoying and troubling Hollywood movie look to these theatrical hearings, as if they’re acting in a badly done B-list movie,” she said.”

    A badly done B-list movie? Clown world gonna clown.

    “Opinion polls suggest that the hearings have not produced the devastating shift in public opinion against Trump that some Democrats hoped for. Nor have they slackened the grip of Trumpism on the Republican party. Even as evidence spilled out that the then-president “commanded an armed mob to overturn the election”, few Republican politicians have turned away from Trump.

    A poll by the Wisconsin’s Marquette law school released on Thursday showed that nationally most Republican voters have heard about the January 6 hearings only “a little” or “nothing at all”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/22/donald-trump-supporters-january-6-hearings

    What about those “millions” you globalist sh*trag?

    The 2020 election was stolen.

    Trump won.

    1. The New York Times is globalist scum media.

      New York Times — The Jan. 6 Panel After 8 Hearings: Where Will the Evidence Lead? (7/22/2022):

      “Comprehensive, compellingly scripted and packed with details, the eight hearings of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack have laid out a powerful account of President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”

      The 2020 election was stolen.

      “The other goal, as the committee has been signaling for months, is to pressure the Justice Department to pursue a more urgent and aggressive investigation into whether Mr. Trump could be prosecuted for his actions.”

      The 2020 election was stolen. Trump won.

      “\“There needs to be accountability, accountability under the law, accountability to the American people, accountability at every level,” said Representative Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who is the panel’s chairman.

      “If there is no accountability for Jan. 6, for every part of this scheme, I fear that we will not overcome the ongoing threat to our democracy,” he said. “There must be stiff consequences for those responsible.”

      The 2020 election was stolen, Bennie.

      “The hearings have also generated open and growing pressure on Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, who responded this week by saying that “no person” is above the law.

      In response to questions from reporters on Wednesday, Mr. Garland provided one of his fullest public statements about the direction of the investigation. While the Justice Department does its investigation out of the public’s view, he said, “every person who is criminally responsible” will be held accountable and “no person is above the law in this country.”

      Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, suggested another avenue of inquiry when he said near the end of the hearing on Thursday that the “militant, intolerant ideologies” and “the weird fantasies and disinformation” that Mr. Trump set in motion after the election remained a threat to American democracy.

      “They’re all still out there, ready to go,” Mr. Kinzinger said, suggesting that the committee could examine Mr. Trump’s continued efforts after Jan. 6 to influence the election system for his own ends.

      https://archive.ph/KkIBp

      This isn’t Facebook, this isn’t Twitter, and this isn’t Reddit.

      The 2020 election was stolen, and this isn’t over until all of these globalists who stole the 2020 election are arrested, tried, and convicted of treason, and then executed by hanging.

      1. Kinzinger is a lame duck. His Congressional seat was eliminated and he chose to “retire from the House” rather than be defeated by Trump-backed Darin LaHood. Not sure about Liz Cheney. She’s facing 4(?) primary challengers. There’s a chance that the other candidates could split the vote and she would win with a small plurality.

      2. Kinzinger is a lame duck. His Congressional seat was eliminated and he chose to “retire from the House” rather than be defeated by Trump-backed Darin LaHood. Not sure about Liz Cheney. She’s facing 4(?) primary challengers. There’s a chance that the other candidates could split the vote and she would win with a small plurality.

    2. Nothing drives globalist propaganda outlets into paroxysms of rage like GOP efforts to ensure the electoral integrity of the midterms. The unfettered ability to orchestrate election steals while Democrat-subverted institutions of governance turn a blind eye is instrumental to globalist efforts to impose their “fundamental transformation” despite opposition from Les Deplorables in flyover country.

      ‘It’s a sham’: fears over Trump loyalists’ ‘election integrity’ drive

      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/07/sham-fears-over-trump-loyalists-election-integrity-drive

      A conservative group called the America Project that boasts Donald Trump loyalists and “big lie” pushers Roger Stone and Michael Flynn as key advisers, has begun a self-styled “election integrity” drive to train activists in election canvassing and poll-watching, sparking fears from voting rights watchdogs about voter intimidation.

      Patrick Byrne, the multimillionaire co-founder of the America Project, has said he has donated almost $3m to launch the drive, dubbed “Operation Eagles Wings”, with a focus on eight states including Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which Trump lost, plus Texas and Florida, which he won.

      The drive was unveiled in late February at a press event where Byrne touted plans to educate “election reform activists” to handle election canvassing, grassroots work and fundraising “to expose shenanigans at the ballot box” in what has echoes of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, and could become a sequel to those charges.

  17. “Putting your house up for sale is stressful enough. Now, sellers find themselves having to cut their listing price after the home is already on the market.

    If these delusional greedheads priced their shacks for the prevailing market, they wouldn’t have to cut the listing price.

    1. The reno-flip house on my block has been sitting silent for over a month. No more price reductions, no pendings. It’s still priced $170K over what the flipper bought it for a year ago. But I think it’s still $25K too high, and I’m guessing it needed $100K worth of work. That is, the flipper will be lucky to clear $40K profit. He would have done better to work at Costco.

  19. “Fed can’t stop hiking interest rates even if there is a recession, former top central banker says”

    (snip)

    “Lacker said the Fed needs to get its policy rate above ‘expected inflation rate.’ That means a Fed funds rate in the neighborhood of 6%, he said.

    “Traders in the Fed funds futures market don’texpect rates to get anywhere close to 6%.”

    Stay tuned.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/fed-can-e2-80-99t-stop-hiking-interest-rates-even-if-there-is-a-recession-former-top-central-banker-says/ar-AAZRFWc?fromMaestro=true

    1. The Fed’s incessant jawboning about mythical pending “tightening” is more Kabuki theater. Yellen’s flying monkeys are continuing to expand their balance sheet, practice yield curve control, and prop up their Ponzi markets via the Fed’s trading desk and unlimited interventions into “the markets.”

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWpoxl73SL4&t=313s

  20. For Sale

    Large bag of Troll Futter

    50 pounds-bag open- missing 2 meals

    Best if used by
    7/23/2023

  21. Democrat-Bolsheviks get nervous whenever anyone shines the spotlight on their proclivity for promoting and normalizing pedophilia.

    The left is waging war on the word ‘groomer’

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/07/the_left_is_waging_war_on_the_word_groomer.html

    Next to American Thinker, the best site on the internet has got to be Libs of TikTok. Chaya Raichik, who created and curates it, brilliantly exposes the cultural extremes of the Democrat party, not by writing about those extremes, but by allowing leftists to state them in their own words. It’s largely through her efforts that Americans got a chance to see how teachers are working hard to sexualize America’s children—or in other words, to “groom” them. No wonder leftists are now cracking down on the word “groomer,” although there’s an irony in the fact that they claim the word is anti-LGBTQ++.

  22. Do globalists rape kids? Why, yes, globalists rape kids.

    The Hill — First pediatric monkeypox cases confirmed in US (7/22/2022):

    “White House health officials on Friday said at least two pediatric cases of monkeypox have been confirmed as cases continue to rise.

    Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), first shared news of the cases during a Washington Post Live interview on Friday. According to the CDC director, both cases originated from an individual within the community of men who have sex with men.

    “While both children have monkeypox symptoms, they are in good health,” Walensky said, adding that the children are receiving antiviral treatments.

    https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3571078-first-pediatric-monkeypox-cases-confirmed-in-us/

    Note that Twitter and Reddit have recently banned the term “groomer” from their platforms, which confirms what was already known: globalists rape kids.

    This is the Democrat Party. This is the Democrat Party electoral platform for 2022 and 2024: raping kids.

    Globalists gonna globe.

    1. The FBI covering up for pedos in high places? This is my shocked face.

      ‘Evil in the heart of America’: Shocking doc exposes mystery surrounding alleged 1988 prostitution ring, detailing child victims’ horrific claims of being flown across US and abused by high-powered officials – and their accusations of ‘cover up’ by the FBI

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11033217/Documentary-explores-alleged-1988-prostitution-ring-saw-children-abused-high-rank-officials.html

      A resurfaced documentary is exposing a series of horrific accusations made by alleged victims of a 1988 child sex trafficking ring in 1988, who claim they were flown around the US to abused by high-ranking officials – alleging that FBI ‘covered up’ the shocking crimes they were subjected to.

      Back in the 1980s, several alleged victims claimed that a man named Lawrence King ran an underground club in Omaha, Nebraska, through which he, along with well-known politicians, businessmen, and media moguls, are said to have forced children as young as eight years old to have sex with them.

    2. “Do globalists rape kids?”

      Will Joe Biden’s bout with Covid affect his ability to smell little girls?

        1. In the fist 0:50 of that video you can see the creepy old bastards eyes checking out that little girl right to the end. That spineless bald father should be ashamed of himself for not bi#ch slapping Biden for violating his daughter.

          2. WTH is this Biden Pinching little girl’s NIPPLE

            It’s their way of saying “we’ll do as we please, and you can’t stop us.”

            Civil discourse, protests and strikes won’t have any effect. The event horizon is approaching.

          3. bald father

            Senator Christopher Coons (D – Delaware), elected successor to Joe Biden. Did Biden help him get that seat? Is Coons spineless or complicit?

        2. “12 minutes 16 seconds.”

          Wow just wow.

          I wonder how those parents feel about the groping I mean photo session after the inappropriate showers with his daughter diary news came out recently.

          1. Six-year-old Ashley Biden, daughter of Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), gets a taste of campaigning with her dad, Aug. 1, 1987 in Des Moines, Iowa. Here, she waits for her dad to speak before a conference on health care policy sponsored by the Iowa Democratic Party. (AP Photo)
            https://ibb.co/F4wQpvB

          2. At least one of Biden’s granddaugthers has been photographed with Biden similarly lifting up skirt.

      2. I am wondering if this is going to be a subtle way for the Dems to get rid of him: Joe’s “covid” takes a turn for the worse and he “tragically” passes away.

    3. Corrupt W.H.O. , just declared monkey pox a matter of international concern. . That is code word for they are ready to declare a global Panademic over the monkey pox.

      So no doubt it will be the combo of BA 5 Covid and the monkey pox. Add to that contrived climate change emergencies , fuel and food shortages, and the kitchen sink will be thrown to lock down with round 2 of the big takeover.
      Round one was to loot trillions, destroy small business, kill targeted groups of people, set up medical tyranny, and usher in a One World Order dictorship of Corporate Governance that have already captured Governments , regulatory agencies and administrative agencies of the gov.
      No doubt they want to rig the mid term elections, and they plan to unleash a new vaccine .
      Fake news with censorship to promote the fraudulent narratives being used as weapons of mass destruction to all operational systems, so they can take over and murder millions in the process.
      People ought to go after the real culprits of this insurrection by psychopaths, rather than a revolution against each other. Part of their tactic is to divide and conquer, while they take the lives from the populations of the earth distracted by all their pre planned contrived emergencies.
      This has got to be one of the most ambitious attempts to take over the world , by a cult of private party rich entities and Corporations , Big Pharmacy, and the money changers, and Goverment being a pawn to their takeover and mass murder.

      1. This has got to be one of the most ambitious attempts to take over the world , by a cult of private party rich entities and Corporations , Big Pharmacy, and the money changers, and Goverment being a pawn to their takeover and mass murder.

        It sounds like the script for a 007 movie. Except this time Bond works for the bad guys.

        1. And, the Pres Biden gets Covid, after defrauding the public that they won’t get Covid if they take the jab.
          And the Jan 6 Congress hearings are a kangaroo Court designed to go after Trump, who was deprived of winning the 2020 election, so a traitor puppet could be installed in the White House.
          And Biden and Son are walking free, as the evidence mounts of numerous crimes and perversions, and treason to US .
          And Dr Fauci, who funded the weapon of Covid with a foreign Country is still the face of Policy on Covid, which has basically been a mass slaughter of the people , and he has no accountability. Dr Brix admits they knew jabs wouldn’t stop infections , in Congress hearings, and this is acceptable.

          Houston , I think we have a problem .

          1. after defrauding the public that they won’t get Covid if they take the jab.

            My sister, who is fully jabbed, tested positive. She is feeling lousy. I told her she’ll be fine a few days.

  23. Albert Edwards: Everything bubble about to burst

    https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2022/07/albert-edwards-everything-bubble-about-to-burst/

    Albert Edwards of Society General returns to slam the Fed. I will only add that, for much of the world, pandemic inflation has proven temporary and is about to implode spectacularly. What has embedded inflation now is the Ukraine war…

    Let us imagine for a moment the US and global economy slides into recession for all the well-versed reasons. Let us imagine too that the “Everything Bubble” in financial and property assets that the Fed and other central banks have created with their ultra-loose policies, bursts with unpredictable and dislocative results. What then?

  24. I see Mike Pence is in the news this week for endorsing a different candidate than Donald Trump in the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary.

    Which reminded me…

    FMP, FNP and FJB

    Pelosi and Pence elbow bump after Biden’s victory confirmation

    https://youtu.be/9R-PxLeKJmA?t=18

        1. Mike Pence

          A lot of Fundies and Evangs had high hopes for him. Meanwhile, it was Trump, who they didn’t really like, who appointed the Justices that helped overturn Roe.

        2. Pence is the weirdo who can’t be alone with a woman who isn’t his wife, for any reason.

  25. I see Mike Pence is in the news this week for endorsing a different candidate than Donald Trump in the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary.

    Which reminded me…

    FMP, FNP and FJB

    Pelosi and Pence elbow bump after Biden’s victory confirmation

    https://youtu.be/9R-PxLeKJmA?t=18

    1. FMP

      Pelosi and Pence elbow bump after Biden’s victory confirmation

      comments

      1 year ago
      They edited out the part where pence gets a medal and puts it in his pocket right before Nancy elbows him

      LATAM FOR TRUMP🇺🇸
      @LATAMforTRUMP

      Mike Pence receives the Masonic salute and the silver coin, sealed treason? The world is watching because the United States can change forever.

      9:24 AM · Jan 7, 2021
      https://twitter.com/LATAMforTRUMP/status/1347187284077146115?s=20&t=DRSzQ8zucLue5Gvh3yh9eg

      1. Masonic salute and the silver coin

        This ties into the documentary referenced above.

  27. Jul 22, 2022 The Phoenix real estate market is rapidly moving towards a more “Balanced Market” – Oh how quickly the tables have turned. Not too long ago anything that hit the market was a sure sale and now, not so much! The proverbial “Dump Your Junk” season is over! Sellers: Get ready to clean up and prepare your home for the market and depending on where and what price point, expect longer marketing times, multiple price reductions, broker tours, price opinions, staging, repairs, seller-paid closing costs and price negotiations.

    Not only certain price points but certain cities are becoming Buyer’s Markets or Balanced Market faster than others. Find out which ones!

    The extreme seller market is over and this is a new era.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq5yzl9fRo4

    5 minutes.

  29. Demand Remains Solid, But It’s Spread Out Over More Supply! | Boise

    Jul 22, 2022 If you are planning on buying or selling a home this Summer, NOW is the time to meet with your local trusted agent if you haven’t already. It is so crucial to get your home preparations, home search, and/or financing underway now in order to make your timeline a reality.

    – FOR BUYERS – Our local market will remain competitive for buyers, especially on entry-level homes.
    ***Make sure you have your ducks in a row & hire an agent that knows how to WIN!
    ***With less competition out there, and lots of Buyer’s throwing in the towel. NOW might be just the right time to jump into the market!
    ***Rates are set to continue to rise, and Buyers will continue to lose purchasing power as they do. Home prices may not be appreciating at the same rate they have been over the past two years, but the market is still appreciating as a whole. Don’t delay or you’ll end up PAYING MORE for the same home you could’ve bought now.

    – FOR SELLERS – We will continue to experience a seller’s market, similar to what we saw prior to the pandemic.
    ***Have some work to do to get your house ready for market? This is where we specialize! Find an agent who can help you navigate the process. Don’t give away your equity to investors, when you can put that money in your pocket!
    ***Don’t overprice your house!! The biggest mistake I’m seeing sellers make right now, is asking too much for their property and then it sits on the market making people wonder “what’s wrong with it?”. Make sure you have an agent that understands how to interpret the market to price your home correctly in order to be one of the few homes that actually sells within the first week!
    ***In addition to price, buyers are getting pickier than ever when it comes to the home they choose, so investing a little money upfront to make your home more “move-in ready”, will attract a larger pool of buyers.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpz0IYUIIU

    12 minutes.

  30. Looks like the music stopped and they’re scrambling for chairs, a bunch of New Listings in my FL. zip code today.

    It’s going to take a few more people getting pushed in front of NYC subway trains, a couple of more assassins of New York Republican gubernatorial candidates being released on their own recognizance, another dozen San Francisco school children stepping on needles and tripping over homeless junkies when they exit their school bus and passage of Gavin Newsom’s $12,250 per Household Tax Increase for the California Single-Payer Undocumented Healthcare System to get this Region IV inventory cleared out.

  31. I know this is a free & easy to use blog site, but whats with the recent push to watch videos?
    are they more lucrative than moderating all us raging armchair warriors?!

    I personally don’t like to follow video links because of of:
    * most of them have overblown intro’s.
    * most have windbags yammering on & on
    * I come here to AVOID MSM-type endless talking heads.

    Here I can scroll/skip to relevant parts of a story, including comments or avoid it altogether. being urged to watch a long video is PTSD for anyone forced to sit in a desk, a la public education, and endure “teachers” blathering on & on & ON when the main points can be summed-up in a few minutes.

    I further posit that there are quite a few autodidacts here that do not need, and will not tolerate, being led by the nose thru cattle chute corridors of video narration.

    if this site is evolving towards video feeds then my take is “it’s been a blast but ‘time to say goodbye’. ”

    sarah brightman / andrea bocelli

    1. the recent push to watch videos

      I don’t see it as a push. Collectively, they’re demonstrating a contagion we didn’t have last time. There’s no need to watch unless you’re interested in a particular area.

    2. I don’t make any money on any part of this blog and haven’t for a long time. I don’t try to either. I create this blog to learn. These videos are aiding in that. These videos are going around the gate keepers/media/REIC.

      I don’t know if I will continue. I don’t know if REIC will clamp down. Maybe it will take too much time. I have been refining how I search and I’ve got it down to about one and a half hours a day just on videos. I also try not to waste anyone’s time and have become more discerning. I am interested in the economics of manias and find some of them fascinating.

      1. “I am interested in the economics of manias and find some of them fascinating.”

        That makes two of us.

        1. I’m also still interested since joining the bubble watchers here almost two decades ago, especially since we may finally be nearing the end of the real estate mania.

    3. “I know this is a free & easy to use blog site”

      There is no less admission of crime and fraud in these videos then there are in the written word in the articles that Ben posts. The fate of these people… The conspirators, the co-conspirators, the perpetrators has a strong relationship to where and when the housing market bottoms out. And as always, when the money dries up, the pressure intensifies immensely. Recent events have only exhibited a vague glimpse of what’s coming.

    4. It’s a free site friend. Watch/read what you want and skip the rest.

      Do you expect someone else to watch the video for you and re-cap it? 😒

      1. When I first realized these videos were out there, I thought the best method would be to download good ones and edit. Make a compilation that would highlight the most relevant parts. I got about 20 minutes into that and figured out the file size, storage, mixing would not be practical. So taking advantage of wordpress embedding tools made sense. That means you gotta watch to see and hear. It’s the most practical option.

        Sometimes I’ll give a heads up about a key stat or statement. I’m not lampooning UHS. It’s not hurting anybody and is a fairly good data source. For instance the Scottsdale new shack slashin I post earlier, I found in a video this morning.

        All the carnage that’s going on in Ontario we may not know much about from the traditional media. Now Toronto Star and Globe have been forced to acknowledge it somewhat. But the spectacular rise and fall of that insanity has been captured completely by these videos I’ve posted in the past several weeks. That alone tells me this is very valuable information to those who will work to find it.

    1. “Lacker said the Fed needs to get its policy rate above ‘expected inflation rate.’ That means a Fed funds rate in the neighborhood of 6%, he said.”

      Feel free to check my math, but monthly CPI-U inflation was over 10% at an annual rate the last time I checked. If it continues at similar levels, the official annual rate of inflation will soon exceed 10%.

      “Traders in the Fed funds futures market don’texpect rates to get anywhere close to 6%.”

      If they are correct, then it seems like inflation may be headed much higher, thanks to a negative real rate of inflation.

      1. I ran across this. IMO these people are delusional:

        “Inflation Rate in the United States is expected to be 8.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United States Inflation Rate is projected to trend around 1.90 percent in 2023, according to our econometric models.”

        United States Inflation Rate – June 2022 Data – July Forecast

        https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi

        1. Here is a chart that shows the change in M2 money supply. The Fed stopped tracking it a year or so ago.

          Look at the chart and decide for yourself if the inflation rate for 2023 will be anything close to 1.90 percent.

          https://www.google.com/search?q=change+m2+money+supply&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjt_J24zo_5AhW7HTQIHV9pAI8Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=change+m2+money+supply&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIGCAAQHhAHOgQIIxAnOgUIABCABDoICAAQHhAHEAU6CAgAEB4QCBAHUJgOWN0cYPQuaABwAHgAgAFiiAHEBZIBATiYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=MjrcYu2bKLu70PEP39KB-Ag&bih=504&biw=1088#imgrc=kHO372zVmJ3S1M

          1. F__k the bullsh!t.

            “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.”

            — Milton Friedman

    2. The Financial Times
      US Inflation
      Rising rents mean no shelter for Americans from inflation storm
      Double-digit cost boosts for housing are hampering the Fed’s efforts to contain consumer price increases
      A ‘For Rent’ sign is posted near a home on February 7 2022 in Houston, Texas
      Rents are up nearly 40 per cent since January 2021.
      Alexandra White in New York, Colby Smith in Washington and Caitlin Gilbert in London 13 hours ago

      In Eric Farmelant’s nearly decade-long career as a real estate broker in Miami, he had never witnessed renters engage in bidding wars over rental properties until the coronavirus pandemic fuelled scorching demand for beachfront housing in Florida. He can no longer show four or five listings to clients because many of the properties are being rented sight unseen.

      “You’re seeing renters putting down a year’s worth of rent up front to get their offer accepted,” said Farmelant, who works for Ibis Realty Group.

      Rents, in turn, are up nearly 40 per cent since January 2021, according to Apartment List, indicative of a broader trend that has gripped the country.

      For realtors, double-digit rent increases have been a boon for business. For the Federal Reserve, they serve as yet another hurdle in the central bank’s quest to get the worst inflation problem in decades under control.

      With little relief expected in the near term, economists warn elevated rents will act as an accelerant, maintaining upward pressure on inflation even as consumer price growth stalls for other categories. It makes the US central bank’s job of tackling soaring prices all the more difficult.

      “It’s going to be hard to say ‘we’ve got inflation under control’ if you still have shelter costs continuing to march higher,” said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo. She expects lofty rental inflation to persist until at least the end of the year, and despite some offsetting moderation in other goods and services, “that will complicate the task ahead for the Fed”.
      …

      1. Economy
        Pet surrenders increase as inflation ups the price of ownership
        July 23, 2022 8:03 AM ET
        Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday
        Scott Simon
        4-Minute Listen

        Scott Simon speaks with Jessica Petalas, director of Humane Indiana, about an increase of owners surrendering their pets at animal shelters in her region.

        SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

        You might not see where inflation affects pets. According to Shelter Count, a national organization that collects data on animal shelters, thousands of people are surrendering their pets. At one shelter in northern Indiana, this is partly due to increased housing costs.

        Jessica Petalas is shelter director at Humane Indiana in Munster and joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us.

        JESSICA PETALAS: Thanks for having me.

        SIMON: Are there a lot of pets being – I guess the term is – surrendered at your shelter these days?

        PETALAS: Yeah, we have seen a huge influx of owner surrender requests. I’d say in the last eight years, this is the most I’ve ever seen. It’s at least doubled, and sometimes it’s triple the amount that we’re normally used to. A lot of people, the cost of housing has put them in a position where they have to move in with family or friends, and they can’t take their animals with them. We do have some people that are still feeling some of the effects from COVID and being out of work, and they’ve been evicted. And there’s really a lack of pet-friendly housing available in our area.
        …
        https://www.npr.org/2022/07/23/1113166758/pet-surrenders-increase-as-inflation-ups-the-price-of-ownership

    4. Europe Economy
      UK inflation hits new 40-year high of 9.4% as cost-of-living crisis deepens
      Published Wed, Jul 20 2022 2:04 AM EDT
      Updated Wed, Jul 20 2022 2:26 AM EDT
      Elliot Smith
      Key Points
      – The consumer price index rose 9.3% annually, in line with a consensus forecast among economists polled by Reuters and up slightly from 9.1% in May.
      – Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey suggested on Tuesday that policymakers could consider a 50 basis point hike at its August policy meeting in order to reel in inflation.

      LONDON — U.K. inflation hit yet another new 40-year high in June as food and energy prices continued to soar, escalating the country’s historic cost-of-living crisis.

      The consumer price index rose 9.4% annually, according to estimates out Wednesday, slightly above a consensus forecast among economists polled by Reuters and up from 9.1% in May.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/20/uk-inflation-hits-new-40-year-high-of-9point4percent-as-cost-of-living-crisis-deepens.html

      1. The Financial Times
        European Central Bank
        ‘We are not offering forward guidance’: ECB ditches policy that blocked earlier rate rise
        Central bank hopes to regain credibility by removing protocol that was dictating decisions
        ECB president Christine Lagarde: ‘From now on we will make our monetary policy decisions on a data-dependent basis, [we] will operate month by month and step by step’
        Martin Arnold in Frankfurt
        July 22 2022

        The European Central Bank was unable to react to soaring inflation by raising rates as early as many policymakers wanted because of a commitment to forward guidance that it has now ditched after nine years, according to people involved in the decision.

        The ECB surprised many economists by raising interest rates for the first time in over a decade by half a percentage point on Thursday, despite having guided until recently that it intended a move of only half that size.

        Two of the bank’s governing council members told the Financial Times they believed it would have raised rates at least a month earlier if they had not been bound by guidance that rates would not rise until it stopped buying more bonds in early July.

        “A reasonable number of people on the council wanted to do 25 basis points in June,” said one ECB rate-setter. “Locking ourselves into forward guidance was unhelpful in that respect.” A second council member said the benefit of a June increase was outweighed by “the loss of credibility” that would have resulted from breaking its guidance on the timing of when asset purchases would end, adding: “It tied our hands.”

        The insights underline how central banks are struggling to provide reliable guidance on their monetary policy plans after being caught out by the rapid surge in inflation to 40-year highs. In addition, the ECB is grappling with a European energy crisis and political instability in Italy.

        “Forward guidance has definitely overstayed its welcome,” said Spyros Andreopoulos, senior Europe economist at French bank BNP Paribas. “They kept being surprised by the data, which affected their credibility.”

        An ECB spokesperson said the council’s June meeting in Amsterdam gave “unanimous” support to leaving rates unchanged and saying it intended to do a 25 basis point rise in July, with a bigger move likely in September.

        ECB president Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that it had ditched its previous guidance on the size of future rate rises after “front-loading” its exit from negative rates and was now shifting to a “meeting-by-meeting” approach to setting borrowing costs.

        “We are much more flexible; in that we are not offering forward guidance of any kind,” she said. “From now on we will make our monetary policy decisions on a data-dependent basis, [we] will operate month by month and step by step.”
        …

        1. So what they are really saying is that they have no idea what they are doing and will be making it up as they go. Got it. I had not seen this admission yet.

    6. The golden age of low inflation and gently sinking bond yields made many debt-funded real estate investors look like geniuses.

      Now that the golden age is over, they look more like naked swimmers on the beach with nowhere to hide.

    1. Afghan refugee Hasibullah Hasrat said: “My wife is alone there,..”

      She may not be virtue signaling with a Hermes Black Crocodile Birkin Bag purse, Hasibullah, but she is not alone.

      1. Remember when we were told there was a women’s soccer team “trapped” over there. Happened in Vietnam all the time!

        How didya lose yer arm?

        I was at a tennis camp in Vietnam and our position was overrun.

  35. Oh dear…Aussie cucks might not be so keen on their globalist Quisling overlords once their shack valuations start cratering.

    Property prices falling across more than half of Australia

    https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/property-prices-falling-across-more-than-half-of-australia/news-story/afac23344db11a171b4bef3e6246e62e

    More than 50 per cent of Australia is now experiencing property value declines and as interest rates rise it’s expected to get worse.

    1. “Prices are part of the problem, but as Barron’s points out, many buyers are defaulting on loans purchased those vehicles in 2020 or 2021, when they received stimulus money or temporary bumps in pay due to the pandemic. As those benefits recede, some are left holding the bag with a monthly auto loan payment that eats up a significant portion of their monthly incomes.”

      Borrower’s childlike optimism repeatedly leads to trouble.

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