Going From The Insane Numbers That We Had, People Think That The Market Is Really Starting To Suffer

1. You will own nothing.

   We really mean it this time!

2. ‘these locations have excellent schools and custom homes on larger lots, but the reasons for the high cost of luxury living is the same as buying a designer handbag. ‘Why are Louis Vuitton or Chanel bags so expensive?’ Barr said. ‘It’s because we decided they were. We all agreed that’s an expensive bag or area and it has always been that way’

   Holly, there’s no shame in being an expensive bag holder.

3. ‘Once a darling investment market, transaction volume in Pierce County is a ghost of its former self. As such, we expect sales volume declines of nearly 75% compared to historic averages.’ The report added that ‘due to significant oversupply of new apartments in downtown Tacoma, pricing is softening — especially for newer vintage buildings where fewer investors are in the market and stepping to the plate’

   Wa happened to my shortage Dylan?

4. ‘The builders are trying to be as thoughtful as they can and say, OK, keep the market alive, keep this going,’ said Ford. ‘It hurts everybody if it stops.’”

   Good luck delaying the inevitable.

   1. It’s already hurting. Those incentives have to come from somewhere and it ain’t all coming from the pockets of the big time home builder. All those subs who want to keep their contracts in tact are having to slash their prices. It’s gonna be a skinny Christmas for most contractors who contract with these big builders. How do those 100k work trucks look now?

5. ‘I think the buyers in general are in the driver’s seat. If I’m buying at $5-million plus, I’m going to use that as a negotiating tool’

   That’s the spirit Andre!

   ‘Even without a tax change looming, Mr. Kutyan says some homeowners with properties sitting on the market are often reluctant to cut their asking price. But holding out can be the wrong strategy, in his opinion, because a lowered price will attract new buyers who do not search above a certain level on the MLS. Some homeowners fear they will appear desperate with a reduction, he says. ‘The sellers would rather negotiate as opposed to cutting the price. They think they’re sending the wrong message to their potential buyer’

   There’s no shame in being a desperate seller Andre.

   1. “I think the buyers in general are in the driver’s seat.”

      Sniff ‘n’ The Tears – “Driver’s Seat”

      https://youtu.be/9SCzVEUlqqA?si=krrvYvMXW88bGuGk

   2. [I am in the downtown Toronto area temporarily]

      There are still a bunch of realtor games going on – Listing too high, they asking to rent, then trying a bidding war etc. What i hope will happen between now and Nov2024 is that most of these games go away – and a decent equilibirium occurs.

6. Brooklyn homeowner Margenett Moore-Roberts had been renting out the ground floor of her two-family home in Bedford-Stuyvesant for between $150 and $400 per night, but fears she won’t be able to make ends meet after Dec. 1 – when Airbnb’s grace period ends for reservations that were on the books before the law went into effect.

   Die, speculator scum.

7. FRYDAY, fish tonight,,,mmmm. interesting funny guy talking about the LA fire 9 min

   With 300,000 cars and trucks a day, the fire underneath the Interstate 10 skyway in Los Angeles is quite inconvenient. Let’s look at how quickly they can get traffic moving again, how they’ll fix the freeway, and most importantly… why is their flammable junk underneath the freeways? California only has *174 DAYS* left to FIX I-10

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEvQSq6fQUQ

   1. These disasters require field managers with experience doing “real work,” so the first order of business is getting the politicians, who are there for publicity, out of harm’s way.

8. ‘China’s direct interventions to ease a cash crunch for crisis-hit property developers are a step in the right direction, but analysts say these actions must be complemented by stronger fiscal and monetary policies to shore up demand in the sector’

   The globalist scum media are all hoping the wizard of Xitler can pull some levers and push buttons to make rocket go now. China’s dead in the water bozos.

   1. Nobody wants to own up to the Chinese ghost cities filled with dead husks of worthless, empty residential units. You can’t unbuild these monuments to the lunacy of Keynesian economic stimulus gone berserk, or wave a magic wand to make them disappear. The resulting loss of resources, opportunity, and prosperity is irreversible.

   2. The adulation with which the CA Democrats turned out to greet Emperor Xi, their ideological idol, is telling.

      https://twitter.com/liz_churchill10/status/1724676068722844012

9. The TR5 postcode area, which covers St Agnes in Cornwall, has seen prices drop by more than a fifth in the last month. </em

   Dang! FBs who levered up on debt to get up on that housing ladder must be hating life right about now.

10. “There’s never been a better time to buy in the Fagradalsfjall area.” — Iceland NAR

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12761363/The-terrifying-sounds-hint-Icelands-volcano-ready-blow-Audio-clip-reveals-exciting-scary-seismic-activity-building-Fagradalsfjall-area.html

11. “During the pandemic … you could whisper, ‘I’ve got a listing’ and you’ve got six offers ready. That was nuclear, there were no negotiations”

    Minor respiratory illness?

    Why yes, minor respiratory illness.

    Don’t ask questions, it’s one of those “we’re all in this together” kind of things.

    1. “Mistakes were made during the pandemic, but what matters now is grace, forgiveness, & moving on.” — Every lockdown totalitarian & clot shot mandate pusher

12. U.S. Army recruiters openly advertising the end of vaccine mandates as it can’t meet its recruiting quotas. Of 8,400 troops the Army kicked out because they refused to take an experimental “vaccine,” fewer than 47 have re-enlisted despite appeals to rejoin the service now that another neocon war is looming.

    https://mustreadalaska.com/army-recruiters-now-boldly-advertising-that-no-covid-vaccination-is-required-to-join-military/

    1. Be all you can be… for Israel.

13. You will eat nothing.

    Denver7 — Already-strained food banks brace for busy holiday season (11/15/2023):

    “There’s been a lot of new faces reaching out for help, according to Edmunds. The food bank is serving around 19,000 people per month — double what it served this time last year, and four times as many people pre-pandemic.”

    Four times as many is that a lot?

    “Before, they weren’t really needing this type of help. This isn’t a situation they’re used to being in,” said Edmunds. “About 70% of the folks coming in here have a full-time employed adult in the household. They have regular steady income. It’s just not enough.”

    https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/already-strained-food-banks-brace-for-busy-holiday-season

    All these people got a stimulus check for $1,400, maybe they should have budgeted that extra money better?

    1. A bs survey about dependence on food banks made headline news in Toronto this week. However, when i walk by one of them downtown, it really looks like the same regulars all the time. I think that the survey was jigged to get government funding.

       Advocates say Toronto’s food insecurity has hit “crisis levels” as a new report shows one in 10 people in the city are relying on food banks.

       The annual Who’s Hungry report reveals millions of visits to food banks in the city every year. It chronicles an ever-growing reliance on non-profits to make ends meet.

       “Food banks are at their breaking point,” Ryan Noble, of the North York Harvest Food Bank, and Neil Hetherington, from the Daily Bread Food Bank, wrote together. “Food is a human right, yet governments are failing to ensure every person living in Canada can live a life of dignity.”

       The new report is based on 79 participating food banks and 1,384 people using food banks who were surveyed. It recorded 2.5 million food bank visits between April 2022 and March 2023, an annual increase of over 50 per cent.
       

14. You will drive nothing.

    CPR — Why is Colorado off track to miss its first big climate goals? Short answer: cars (11/16/2023):

    “Light-duty vehicles like passenger cars and pickups account for more than half of the state’s transportation-related CO2 emissions, with the rest coming from heavier vehicles and aircraft.

    State law requires Colorado to cut its emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050.

    Transportation is the largest single source of emissions in the United States and Colorado. To avoid the worst consequences of climate change, the federal government and United Nations scientists agree that the sector’s carbon footprint needs to nearly disappear by 2050.”

    https://www.cpr.org/2023/11/16/colorado-could-miss-first-climate-goal/

    Nearly disappear?

    You might have a *view* of the mountains from inside the iron bars and barbed wire enclosing your 15 minute city, but you certainly won’t be travelling to those mountains.

    Keep your social credit score high enough and they might reward you with a second helping of bug gruel, stupid peasants!

    1. If the Colorado Sun writers think the cost of living in the Centennial state is high now, just wait for Net Zero! By then the masses won’t even be able to afford bug paste.

    2. “You will drive nothing.”

       “If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet” —The Beatles

15. ‘You need to fix the macro environment first; if you don’t earn enough how do you buy a property?’

    Isn’t that where subprime lending comes in?

16. Colorado Sun — Littwin: If you’re not outraged by Trump’s recent “vermin” speech, can you please explain why? (11/15/2023):

    https://coloradosun.com/2023/11/15/trump-vermin-speech-opinion-littwin/

    No article excerpt needed, it’s the same stale Orange Man Bad on infinite repeat you should expect from a washed up nobody like Mike Littwin.

    And to answer his question, it is okay to kill communists. It really is.

17. Are you worried the brain dead dips buyers may be setting up the stick market for an epic crash, rivaling the Great Crash of 1929 that ushered in the Great Depression?

    1. DOW 30 -0.02%
       S&P 500 -0.00%
       NASDAQ 100 -0.19%

       The stock market is edging toward extremes of Great Depression and dot-com eras
       Anil Varma
       Nov 17, 2023, 12:30 AM PST
       Image of a stock trader at the New York Stock Exchange.
       Equities look historically high relative to government bonds.
       Johannes Eiselle/Getty Images

       – Stock-market valuations, by one measure, have hit highs surpassed only a few times in history.

       – Equities look historically high relative to government bonds, according to PIMCO and GAM Asset Management.

       – The market’s upbeat expectations on future corporate earnings may “face disappointment,” says PIMCO.
       …
       https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-valuations-near-great-depression-dot-com-extremes-2023-11

       1. For how long can this pricing anomaly persist?

          ‘”Delving deeper into historical data, we find that in the past century there have been only a handful of instances when US equities have been more expensive relative to bonds – such as during the Great Depression and the dot-com crash,” PIMCO portfolio managers Erin Browne, Geraldine Sundstrom, and Emmanuel Sharef write in a recent research note.

          “History suggests equities likely won’t stay this expensive relative to bonds.”

          The historically low equity risk premium is a deterrent to investing in stocks, according to Julian Howard of Switzerland’s GAM Asset Management. It means stocks are offering investors little incentive to choose them over risk-free assets such as government debt – and that may turn away potential buyers.

          “The equity risk premium is very, very narrow. Now, in fact, it is actually almost negative,” Howard said in comments on the GAM website.

          “And that is a major concern because what it is saying is that actually you don’t need to invest in equities in the short to medium term, because if you invest in the six-month Treasury bill, which is giving you 5.5% completely free of risk, then that’s actually a risk-reward that is completely unbeatable,” he added.’

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

             – Alan Greenspan

    2. “…stick market…”

       Pardon my Freudian slip…

    3. November 17, 2023
       Is the American Stock Market Overvalued?
       This page reports on a daily updated valuation model of the US stock market. The model estimates the long-run equilibrium between market capitalization and cyclically adjusted corporate earnings.
       Most recent data: 11/16/2023
       Market capitalization versus the long-run equilibrium

       The plot compares logged total market capitalization to long-run equilibrium levels (estimated from cyclically adjusted corporate earnings). Click and drag to examine a particular area, and double-click to return to the original position. (On touch screens, the zoom-functionality is disabled.)

       The American stock market currently appears to be overvalued by 44%. In other words, it would take a 31% drop to bring the market back to its long-run equilibrium level. At the last all-time high, on November 8, 2021, the market was 78.7% overvalued. In comparison, at the peak of the Dot-com bubble, on March 24, 2000, the market was 89% overvalued. When the market bottomed out 2.5 years later, it had dropped 50.2% from its previous all-time high and was undervalued by 19.9%.

       These estimates are based on a model that is inspired by Shiller’s cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE). We find the CAPE measure preferable to the market cap-to-GNP ratio, as it accounts for long-term changes in the ratio of corporate profits to GNP. The model estimates the long-run equilibrium between stock market capitalization and cyclically adjusted corporate earnings.

       The fact that the market currently appears overvalued does not necessarily mean it will correct back any time soon. The forces pulling the market toward the long-run equilibrium are relatively weak and allow the market to stay over- or undervalued for extended periods of time: From 1954 to 1970, the market stayed continuously overvalued for over 15 years, and from 1973 until 1987, it stayed undervalued for about 14 years.
       …
       https://www.estimite.com/post/is-the-us-stock-market-overvalued/

       1. “The American stock market currently appears to be overvalued by 44%. In other words, it would take a 31% drop to bring the market back to its long-run equilibrium level. At the last all-time high, on November 8, 2021, the market was 78.7% overvalued. In comparison, at the peak of the Dot-com bubble, on March 24, 2000, the market was 89% overvalued. When the market bottomed out 2.5 years later, it had dropped 50.2% from its previous all-time high and was undervalued by 19.9%.”

          The stock market went from 78.7% down to 44% overvalued in 2 years? It seems like the air is leaving the balloon at a painfully slow pace this time around. I wonder whether the correction will eventually speed up at the point of capitulation.

    4. Prepare for stocks to plummet 30% and a recession to strike any day now, legendary market prophet says
       Theron Mohamed Nov 17, 2023, 3:52 AM PST
       Gary Shilling.
       Bloomberg TV

       – Stocks could plummet by as much as 30%, a legendary Wall Street forecaster has said.

       – Gary Shilling said he was expecting a recession to hit imminently if one wasn’t underway already.

       – He said he was betting on Treasury bonds and the US dollar and against stocks and commodities.

       Prepare for stocks to plunge by a third and a recession to strike imminently, a legendary market forecaster has said.

       “I’ve been of the opinion that stocks — and I came out with this forecast early last year — would decline about 30% to 40% peak to trough,” Gary Shilling, the president of A. Gary Shilling & Co., told “The Julia La Roche Show” in an interview aired this week.

       “You’d have a further decline of about 30% from here to get that 40% overall decline, peak to trough,” he said.

       Shilling’s forecast suggests the S&P 500, which hit a record high of nearly 4,800 points in January last year, could nosedive to about 2,900 points, its lowest level since May 2020. The benchmark stock index fell by 18%, including dividends, last year but has rallied 17% this year.

       The veteran economist, known for correctly calling several major market trends over the past 50 years, said he expected stocks to fall because the US economy was faltering.

       “We probably do have a recession coming shortly if we’re not already in it,” Shilling said, pointing to the inverted yield curve, weakness in leading economic indicators, and the Fed’s commitment to crushing inflation.

       “When you look at that combination of things, it’s pretty hard to escape a recession,” he said.

       Shilling served as Merrill Lynch’s first chief economist before launching his own economic-consulting and investment-advisory firm in 1978. He said the overall economy tended to soften only a little during recessions, but slash corporate profits would typically plunge by 20% to 30%, and stocks would suffer a similar drop.

       He forecast lower inflation in the years ahead as the long-term trend of globalization pushes down prices. He suggested the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates only deep into next year, once the economy has weakened significantly and it’s clear that inflation is no longer a threat.

       The market prophet — who predicted and profited from the collapse of the mid-2000s housing boom — said he was betting on Treasury bonds and the US dollar. On the other hand, he’s placed wagers against stocks via exchange-traded funds and against commodities by shorting copper.

       Shilling also disclosed the “biggest bubble” on his radar today was commercial real estate — specifically office buildings, hotels, and shopping malls — and he said he believed it was starting to burst.
       …
       https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/prepare-for-stocks-to-plummet-30-and-a-recession-to-strike-any-day-now-legendary-market-prophet-says/articleshow/105294695.cms

    5. Warren Buffett is piling up cash because he sees a storm brewing and can’t find bargains, wealth manager says
       Theron Mohamed
       Nov 17, 2023, 5:37 AM PST
       Warren Buffett.
       REUTERS/Rick Wilking

       – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway held a record $157 billion of liquid assets at the last count.

       – The cash pile signals Buffett’s not finding bargains and expects trouble next year, Lee Munson says.

       – Berkshire is betting on growth and value with Apple and Bank of America, the wealth manager says.
       …

       1. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-munson-cash-pile-stock-market-economy-2023-11

18. And on the topic of killing communists…

    Washington Post Editorial Board — Don’t just be horrified. Ban AR-15s, bump stocks and large magazines (11/16/2023):

    “About 1 in 20 U.S. adults, roughly 16 million people, own at least one AR-15. Two-thirds of these were manufactured in the past decade. Just as there is no excuse for the widespread availability of these weapons of war, there is no legitimate purpose for civilians to be able to fire so many rounds with one pull of the trigger.”

    https://archive.li/4h78e

    No legitimate purpose?

    Let’s explain that to you globalist scum media. The purpose is for the resistance to, and overthrow of, tyrannical government.

    16 million is that a lot? F* around and find out, globalist scum ☠️

    1. “there is no legitimate purpose for civilians to be able to fire so many rounds with one pull of the trigger.”

       Firing one round with one pull of the trigger is to many?

       1. too many

    2. LoL. 1 freedom pill comes out of the barrel with each trigger pull.

       Make ARs illegal and I convert everything to full auto and start killing communists mainly by reading Adams Smith and Rothbard to them until their heads explode.

19. Daily Caller — Biden Suggests Americans Unhappy With The Economy Are ‘Disconnected’ From Reality (11/16/2023):

    “Unelected occupant suggested Thursday that Americans who are unhappy with the economy are experiencing a “disconnect.”

    Biden touted a variety of economic statistics during a speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Thursday, before acknowledging that the American people feel a “disconnect” between the “numbers, and how people feel about their place in the world right now.” As Biden and his administration continue to insist “Bidenomics” is a success, 61% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck and 75% of U.S. adults think the economy is in a “fair” or “poor” state.

    Despite Biden’s repeated touting of the economy, the American people are not viewing this situation the same way. Sixteen percent of Americans believe the economy is getting better while 56% of U.S. adults say the economy is getting worse, according to a September YouGov Poll.

    https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/16/biden-americans-unhappy-economy-reality-apec/

    56% is that a lot?

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

    1. “Unelected occupant”

       So funny so true.

    2. Even leftist media like the Colorado SUn admit there is a cost of living crisis.

       Anyway, even if Joetato gets the nomination, he is likely to step down and have Gavin Gruesome take his place on the ballot.

    3. “people feel a “disconnect” between the “numbers, and how people feel about their place in the world right now.”

       Disconnect?!! What you have here is that most are waking up to the fact that the numbers and the data they’re being fed are complete BS!

       1. And once they start looking there’s a lot of truth out there….
          https://youtu.be/IFaXIHauva4?si=16OJopHP6uz8nzna

       2. most are waking up to the fact that the numbers and the data they’re being fed are complete BS!

          Per the cost of living series in the Colorado Sun, people are shell shocked at how they can’t afford anything: rent, food, heating, gas for the car, etc., even though they are working multiple jobs.

          When I go in for my periodic dental check ups I see people reading the dental work finance pamphlets. They are there because the pain has become unbearable but they can’t afford the dental work.

20. If you don’t eat yer bugs you can’t have any pudding!

    How can you have any pudding if yer don’t eat your bugs!?

    https://youtu.be/n5diMImYIIA?si=XtCq0tWmuD-uqYXx

    1. No dessert until you finish all of your bugs

       Scientists say eating bugs is nutritious and a common sense measure to fighting hunger.

       https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/no-dessert-until-you-finish-all-of-your-bugs/

       A friend of mine has cockroaches in his house as pets. As confusing as his choice of pet might be to all of his friends, he just might be on to something. Cultivating microlivestock might just be the next big food movement.

       Westerners have traditionally been squeamish about eating creepy crawlies, but perhaps it is time that has changed. The rest of the world has long since recognized and appreciated bugs for the protein source they are. Turns out, once-pesky critters can be considered a good source of vitamins and minerals too.

       The UN Food and Agriculture Organization sites more than 1,400 insect species that are eaten by humans worldwide. “The most common come from four main insect groups: beetles; ants, bees and wasps; grasshoppers and crickets; and moths and butterflies.” Patrick Durst, senior FAO forestry officer, says “Opportunities also exist for improved packaging and marketing to make edible insects more enticing to traditional buyers and to expand the market to new consumers, especially in urban areas.”

       Perhaps the Western world is ready for a shift in perception. What was once fodder for Fear Factor has now evolved into a more global understanding via shows like Bizarre Foods, which explore different types of indigenous foods throughout the world. While the host Andrew Zimmern certainly plays up the bizarre aspects of the foods he eats, the nutritional value of bugs and insects cannot be ignored.

       Personally, I’m still trying to get over a childhood “ants-in-the-cereal” incident, but I have to admit I’m open to the idea of a big juicy worm on the grill. My friend with the roaches just might to have to think twice about inviting me over for the next barbecue.

       Check here for some tasty bug-inspired recipes.

       1. “…Perhaps the Western world is ready for a shift in perception….”

          The Western world can shift it’s perception all it wants.

          I’m sticking with my backyard BBQ and will continue to eat steak.

          Message to the 8 legged bug people: Thank you but no thank you for you concerns.

21. The last two days I’ve received a flood of notices of price reductions on autos I’ve saved on car buying apps. Big reductions, especially on trucks.

22. Yesterday in Reno I walked the Meadowood Mall waiting in between doctors appointments for my wife and myself. Wanted to do a little field research because a bunch of retailers were advertising early Black Friday sales. And the sales were significant. But it was crickets! 2 o’clock in the afternoon and it was dead. People are tapped out.

23. [OMG! Yet another non-housing related article is posted on Ben Jones’ blog! When will this ever end?]

    Peak Cognitive Dissonance For The Climate Scare

    https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2023-11-15-cognitive-dissonance-in-the-climate-scare-universe

    In the realm of the climate scare, the cognitive dissonance has reached almost impossible levels. Just a few days ago I took note of ever increasing focus by environmental NGOs on promoting the climate scare even as the green energy schemes, offered as salvation from the apocalypse, experience soaring costs and pervasive financial collapse. But those are just a couple of pieces of the crazy mess. Everywhere you look, our overlords are doubling down on end-of-days climate propaganda while reality just refuses to cooperate. We have truly reached peak absurdity.

    In the category of the overlords doubling down on climate propaganda, you can’t top the new Fifth National Climate Assessment just out (November 14) from from something called the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Have you heard of the USGCRP? It’s some kind of consortium of every U.S. government agency and department that touches on the “climate” issue in any way. Here is a picture of their logo:

    [ a picture appears here …]

    It’s the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Health & Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Agency for International Development. Fourteen of them in total. All speaking with one voice.

    All to support the greatest and hugest honey pot ever devised to provide essentially infinite funding to grow the bureaucracies in completely futile efforts supposedly to change the weather, but which will never be measurable, never have any real effect, and will have no possibility of accountability.

    The text of the Assessment consists of endlessly repeated claims of impending disaster without any scientific backup to enable an intelligent reader to evaluate whether there is anything to this. Here are just a few quotes to give you a sense of what you are dealing with:

    The Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses.

    It’s “preeminent,” so I guess you must obey, peasant.

    The effects of human-caused climate change are already far-reaching and worsening across every region of the United States. Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions can limit future warming and associated increases in many risks. . . . [W]ithout deeper cuts in global net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerated adaptation efforts, severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow. . . . The more the planet warms, the greater the impacts. Without rapid and deep reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, the risks of accelerating sea level rise, intensifying extreme weather, and other harmful climate impacts will continue to grow. Each additional increment of warming is expected to lead to more damage and greater economic losses.

    But don’t worry, we can all be saved by following the dictates and mandates of our lords and masters throughout the federal bureaucracies:

    [R]apid emissions cuts are expected to have immediate health and economic benefits . . . . At the national scale, the benefits of deep emissions cuts for current and future generations are expected to far outweigh the costs.

    And on and on and on.

    Back to the real world. From an Indian source called Live Mint, November 13:

    New Delhi: The Union coal ministry on Monday announced plans to increase India’s coal production to 1.404 billion tonne by 2027, with an eye to further boost it to 1.577 billion tonne by 2030. Current domestic production hovers around one billion tonne annually. This increase in output aims to ensure ample supply of domestic coal to India’s thermal power plants, which are essential for the country’s growing energy needs.

    That would represent about a 60% increase in coal production and consumption over the next seven years. Here is a chart of trends to date and plans through 2030:

    [a chart appears here …]

    Hey, the Indians think that if we can have air conditioning, they should have it too.

    And don’t think China is any different. From Foreign Policy, November 12:

    In April 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to “strictly control coal-fired power generation projects” in China. Since then, government permits for new coal power plants have soared. According to analysis of Global Energy Monitor data, in the two years before Xi’s pledge, the government approved 127 plants, collectively capable of producing 54 gigawatts of coal power. In the two years after, that number rose to 182 plants, with 131 gigawatts of coal power. In short, China’s new coal power capacity has more than doubled.

    Is it possible for the cognitive dissonance to get any greater? I don’t see how. But then, I also thought that before this latest round of craziness.

    1. [A fun chart …]

       https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co2-emissions-per-country?fbclid=IwAR29T0kAt5k_F4ZYOxXZPZBcV8ki29SEIq5Rv5zPM-lh94xjFF1PQP9A4UA

    2. Just like a watermelon: green on the outside, red on the inside.

       It’s okay to kill communists 🤣

       1. Just like a watermelon: green on the outside, red on the inside.

          Good one!

    3. How dare you!

       This Solar cycle will be blamed on human activity as another grifting operation.

       It’s going to get weird over the next few decades.

24. “Holly Barr, a Willow Glen real estate agent, told San José Spotlight these locations have excellent schools and custom homes on larger lots, but the reasons for the high cost of luxury living is the same as buying a designer handbag.“

    Well…not so, Holly. Among the many reasons there’s no graffiti nor security guards needed at the grocery store strip malls. No pan handlers either while catching lunch at a restaurant’s patio seating.

25. first decent article in the wsj about the NAR lawsuit and buyers agents / 6% commission. read it

    
    The way we buy and sell homes in the U.S. isn’t normal—at least not compared with the rest of the world.

    The commission on a home sale here is typically around 5% to 6%, usually split between the seller’s and buyer’s agents. In most countries, the commissions are substantially smaller.

    The U.S. is home to as many as three million agents. By most estimates, no other country is even a close second.
    …
    One reason commissions here remain high is the use of buyer agents, said Ryan Tomasello, managing director at investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Home sellers pay the commission—typically between 5% and 6% of a home’s selling price—which is usually split between the seller’s and buyer’s agent. Buyer agents aren’t nearly as common in other parts of the world, said Tomasello.

    Lawyers for the home sellers in the case argued the current model suppresses competition by making it difficult for buyers and sellers to negotiate lower rates.

    Mantill Williams, a National Association of Realtors spokesman, said commission offers are negotiable and are determined by the market and the value that real-estate agents bring to consumers.

    “A comparison of rates around the world is very misleading because it often doesn’t give accurate comparisons of value and the numerous other costs consumers have to pay as part of transactions abroad, just cost,” said Williams.

    https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/real-estate-buying-home-charts-6dc40caa?mod=hp_lead_pos8
    

    1. “…The U.S. is home to as many as three million agents…”

       3 million? Is that a lot?

       Welcome to the REIConplex

       How many non-productive individuals can the US economy support before it just sinks in the mud, never to be seen again?

       1. Then throw in mortgage brokers and the title insurance and escrow people, and now you’re talking real numbers.

          People who add no value and are just there for their “cut”.

       2. 2 million of whom haven’t made any commission for six months at least. Not showing up in job loss data yet. With 5 quick flips that are all under water.

26. https://www.cp24.com/news/a-toronto-realtor-says-the-rental-market-is-unhinged-after-someone-lists-the-other-half-of-a-bed-1.6649562

    A realtor says that a recent Facebook Marketplace listing for a shared bedroom is yet another sign of how “unhinged” Toronto’s rental market has become.

    “Looking for an easy going FEMALE to share the master bedroom and the ONE QUEEN SIZE BED,” the listing read.

    1. What could possibly go wrong?

       1. What if you identify as female?

          1. Use the restroom of your choice.

    2. “Looking for an easy going FEMALE to share the master bedroom and the ONE QUEEN SIZE BED,” the listing read.

       This is exactly how I found my wife.

27. In case this news got drowned out by the bulls cheerleading their meager stock market gains, bear steeepening of the Treasury yield curve has given way to inversion reversion.

    Not sure what it means, othert than that long-term Treasuries are currently rising much faster than housing or stocks.

    1. Yahoo
       Reuters
       TREASURIES-10-year Treasury yield briefly hits 2-month low; curve inversion deepens
       David Randall
       Fri, November 17, 2023 at 8:47 AM PST·3 min read
       (Adds portfolio manager comments in paragraphs 3 and 9, updates market activity)
       By David Randall NEW YORK, Nov 16

       (Reuters) – The steep decline in U.S. Treasury yields since the start of November continued on Friday with those on the benchmark 10-year note briefly falling to the lowest level in two months before inching higher. Yields have nosedived since touching 16-year highs in late October following a string of economic data that suggests inflation is cooling, boosting market expectations that the Federal Reserve is done with its rate hiking cycle. “The markets are jittery and any movements in inflation numbers are going to have an outsized reaction,” said Sweta Singh, a portfolio manager at City Different Investments. The 10-year Treasury yield, which moves inversely to its price, is down around 60 basis points from its October peak.
       …
       https://finance.yahoo.com/news/treasuries-10-treasury-yield-briefly-164754127.html

       1. Recession on the way. Does Neil have any popcorn?

28. Spotted in Denver, license plate frame that says “happiness is being a realtor”

    https://ibb.co/g9szjLC

    If I followed them they were probably on their way to the food bank, LOLZ.

    1. A Nissan Rogue. The CVT should blow up any day now.

       1. JATCO

29. ‘In September, Linda Kerkorian Kemper, the daughter of late billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, allegedly defaulted on $867,932 in debt in relation to a mansion in the affluent enclave of Malibu Colony’

    Linda has 900k lost in her couch.

    1. 867k in Malibu is a steal. There is more to this story that’s not being said.

30. ‘But holding out can be the wrong strategy, in his opinion, because a lowered price will attract new buyers who do not search above a certain level on the MLS’

    Outside the box strategy like that is why you make the big bucks Andre.

31. ‘Greg Bolin, the mayor of Paradise, California, said in the five years since his town was ravaged by a massive wildfire many of his residents are still paying the price in their homeowner’s insurance. In addition, seven of the 12 top home insurers in the state have paused or placed harsh restrictions on policyholders and in some cases raised premiums by nearly 10 times. ‘They say it’s like another mortgage payment’

    It’s still a sellers market Greg.

32. ‘significant oversupply of new apartments in downtown Tacoma, pricing is softening — especially for newer vintage buildings where fewer investors are in the market’

    You know what’s really remarkable Dylan. It always works out this way. We gotta shortage, now we’re oversupplied, and at the same dam time, investors disappear. It’s almost like some conspiracy theorist market functions came into play and chopped the knees off the shortage BS.

33. ‘[Real estate agents] are noticing more investors and first home buyers looking to secure properties sharing the market with vendors who are showing a willingness to be realistic with their price expectations…We can see signs of that in the median prices this month’

    It’s been going on over two years now Jen.

34. Next current thing changing in real time – NYC billboard

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/X2FBn3rzq5Hz/

    14 seconds.

35. The U.S. Army is ‘Begging’ Unvaccinated Soldiers to Return
    Army forced to reverse course, as people refuse to enlist

    https://www.igor-chudov.com/p/the-army-is-begging-unvaccinated

    Oh, how much the times have changed!

    The United States Army is now begging COVID unvaccinated soldiers, who underwent involuntary discharge for their refusal to take the vaccine, to return to service and also permits them to correct their military records!

    [Exhibit A appears here …]

    Just two years ago, in a shameful campaign, the Pentagon was gleefully discharging soldiers who refused to take Covid vaccines:

    [Exhibit B appears here …]

    We were assured that these discharges would “not affect military readiness.”

    “I can tell you there are no operational impacts across the force for readiness,” Marine Corps Lt. Gen. David Ottignon told lawmakers. “There’s no one community that has signaled an instance where a [leader], an NCO or another enlisted Marine is not present because of that.”

    The Marine Corps has, by far, kicked out the most service members: 1,968 total, 20% of whom received an honorable discharge. That amounts to just under 1% of the total force, which stands at about 215,000.

    However, the readiness suffered: thousands of service members were dismissed, and potential recruits declined to enlist in the Armed Services, because, guess what, young healthy men loath COVID vaccines.

    More than 17,000 service members balked at taking the shots, citing safety fears linked to the vaccine’s speedy development and spurred by misinformation about messenger ribonucleic acid technology, as well as concern over fetal cell lines used in formulation and testing. The more the controversy raged in the news, the more troops asked to skip the shots, Military Times reporting found.

    [Exhibit C appears here …]

    The COVID vaccine mandate removed three times as many servicemembers (8,339, see above) compared to the 2,402 soldiers tragically killed in Afghanistan. The involuntarily terminated soldiers were, of course, the best, the brightest, the healthiest, and most conscientious, who cared the most about their health.

    Thousands were given career-destroying reprimands:

    Lt. Col. Terry Kelley, a spokesman for the Army, said that 2,767 soldiers have received “general officer written reprimands” — killing their opportunities for promotions or transfers within the military — and that two battalion commanders as well as four other officers have been relieved of their duties but remain enlisted in the military.

    The leadership, sadly, stayed silent. (pictured here is Lloyd Austin)

    [Exhibit D …]

    As a result, the military is missing its recruitment goals by 25%:

    [Exhibit E …]

    COVID vaccinations and other reasons “caused [the army’s] end strength to fall from an original level of 485,000 in late 2021 to around 452,000 active duty soldiers today”.

    Now, COVID vaccinations are all but forgotten, but the bitterness, nastiness, and senselessness of the mandates should be remembered. Remember how those dismissals were cheered by the media, such as the LA Times:

    [Exhibit F …]

    I am sorry about the destroyed careers of the best servicemembers. They kept their health — they will get military discharge papers corrected — but they will always remember the unfairness, the trauma, and the helplessness they felt as their commanders dismissed them for not taking experimental and non-working COVID vaccines.

    Life is not fair; the soldiers have not been compensated, but they at least remained healthy and true to their principles.

    Please appreciate how hard it was for those brave souls to stick to their principles: their entire lives and careers were being wrecked by the illegal COVID orders. These are courageous people – and the military needs stoic and strong heroes, of which 8,331 were dismissed due to insane orders of the Biden administration.

36. Paradise, CA may never recover from the fire if insurance companies are going to gouge people who try to rebuild. I feel so sorry for that community.

    1. Does gouging occur when an insurance company correctly assesses the risk of loss?

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