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We Couldn’t Sell Off Properties To Reduce Debt Quickly Enough

A report from the Post Dispatch in Missouri. “A surge in home values across St. Louis County this year has sent tax bills soaring, and nowhere more than among small homes in lower-income neighborhoods. From aging brick homes in Wellston to bungalows in Lemay, the appraised values of many small, single-family homes have jumped by double-digit percentages. Everyone agrees home sales have risen markedly across the county in recent years. And, again, the biggest boost came in North County, where the average price jumped 90% since 2020 to almost $78,000 in 2022 in 63133. ‘It is a huge problem,’ said Christy Kramlich, a Maplewood-based real estate agent who frequently represents first-time homebuyers. ‘People were paying just stupid amounts for houses, even the modest-priced homes.'”

“Pearl Hughes, 82, pays nearly 10% on her home in Wellston, tax records show, or almost $1,300. ‘It was just a shock, and I mean that for real, to see how much my real estate taxes had went up,’ said Hughes, a retired bus driver. ‘Everything is going up,’ except for my Social Security check.'”

The Record Chronicle in Texas. “Average prices in Denton County slid for a fourth consecutive month. The average price of a Denton County home was $68,000 (11%) lower than the bubble peak of last spring. Homebuilders continue to capitalize on those supply constraints by making deals to find buyers. The November closing data shows incentives by some of the larger builders ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, accounting for both the incentives to buyers and the commission bonuses to selling agents. Many existing home sellers have pulled their homes from the market when faced with the challenge of competing against builders.”

From Newsweek. “Many areas across California, one of the most expensive markets in the entire country, have experienced steeper price drops than the rest of the United States since the beginning of the nationwide cooling trend which began in late summer 2022. A home in Palm Springs, which was sold in March for $1,400,000 and put back on the market some two months later for roughly the same amount, is now going for only $635,000—a price cut of $765,000. In cities like San Francisco, one of the most overvalued urban areas in the country, home prices have dropped by over 10 percent since reaching a peak in 2022.”

The Mercury News in California. “A big office complex in Oakland has flopped into a loan default, a financing setback that provides fresh evidence of the economic maladies that still afflict the Bay Area office market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Landing, a two-building office center on Hegenberger Road, one of the gateways to the city’s airport, is in default on its mortgage, according to documents filed on Dec. 13 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office. A growing number of Bay Area office buildings have become delinquent on their loans or have even suffered foreclosures of the mortgage and seizure by the lenders.”

“Walnut Creek-based Vertical Ventures, one of the Bay Area’s savvy real estate investment and development firms, defaulted on the loan, which it obtained in 2019. Vertical Ventures paid about $40.6 million for the property in 2019. Vertical Ventures bought the building at a ‘major discount’ compared to the prior purchase price.”

The Miami Herald in Florida. “Developer Rishi Kapoor cultivated an image of impressive wealth even as his dream of a real estate empire crumbled around him. Although his completed projects were few, Kapoor talked of becoming the United States’ first trillion-dollar developer, won the trust of wealthy investors and lured politicians into his orbit. But behind that image of success and access, Kapoor’s emergent empire was in free fall. As Location Ventures’ chief executive, Kapoor shifted money from one project to another as bills came due, including funds provided by lenders, investors and condo buyers, according to claims in lawsuits and court records. His company and its development entities overpaid for land, borrowed millions from private lenders at high interest rates and failed to meet construction costs, according to records, investors and lenders.”

“His luxury condo tower near downtown Coral Gables, a monument to his jump from small-time developer to emerging star, was over budget and behind schedule. Investors were demanding he return millions sunk into a half-dozen or so upscale residential projects around South Florida. And the top financial executive at Kapoor’s development firm had confronted him about troubling business practices, including the $10,000 payments to Miami’s mayor for what he described as ‘unknown services.’ Even Location Ventures’ 299 Alhambra Cir. office is on the scrap heap, with a collection of furniture, computers and other office equipment to be auctioned off at a value of only $41,000 to help the company pay bills, according to an auctioneer’s report. ‘Politicians are always looking for someone to pick up the tab — it’s a very transactional thing,’ Dario Moreno, a Florida International University associate professor told the Herald. ‘And where we see this a lot is in Miami’s biggest industry, real estate.'”

Collingwood Today in Canada. “Home sales in this part of Ontario continue to decline, prompting an area real estate agent to suggest homebuyers might be in hibernation. ‘Overall home sales continue to decline as we head into the end of the year, as buyers have moved to the sidelines and appear to be bunkering down for the winter,’ said Matthew Lidbetter, president of the Lakelands Association of Realtors. ‘Our market is very well supplied at the moment, with inventories trending about on par with their long-term averages, so there are some attractive deals out there waiting for buyers who decide to step back in.'”

“The MLS home price index shows a composite benchmark price of about $690,800 in November for a home in the Lakelands region. The median price for non-waterfront homes sold in all of 2023 so far was $676,250, or about 11 per cent lower than for the first 11 months of 2022. Collingwood is within the western portion of the Lakelands region, along with The Blue Mountains, Clearview, Grey Highlands, Meaford, and Wasaga Beach, where 86 homes sold last month, for a median price of $649,950. In November 2022, 100 homes sold in the western part of the region, contributing to a $750,000 median price.”

From Bloomberg. “In an ominous sign for Sweden’s battered real estate sector, Stockholm-based landlord Oscar Properties Holding AB had assets seized by a creditor, showing how patience is running thin as a financial crunch intensifies. Swedish property firms need to refinance or repay about $12 billion of bonds and hybrid debt in 2024, providing a fresh test for the epicenter of Europe’s real estate crisis. To cover 1.6 billion Swedish kronor ($157 million) in unpaid loans from Oscar Properties, DNB Bank ASA, Norway’s biggest lender, took control of a portfolio worth 3 billion Swedish kronor and is seeking to sell.”

“Like numerous other landlords in the largest Nordic economy, Oscar Properties — which manages warehouses, retail space and housing — stumbled when the cheap-money era ended. Loaded with debt and bond markets all but closed off, financing was hard to come by and tepid demand for real estate made selling assets a stretch. ‘The transaction market froze,’ said Carl Janglin, Oscar Properties’ chief executive officer. ‘We couldn’t sell off properties to reduce debt quickly enough.'”

From Market Place. “Germany — once seen as the bedrock of fiscal rectitude — is finding itself on the other side of the ledger. It’s facing a budget crisis amid rising energy costs, urgent calls for immigration reform and more pressing issues. So what is Europe’s largest economy to do? Marketplace’s David Brancaccio checked in with Stephan Richter, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Globalist. Richter: ‘The problems really started back in 2005, with the famous and now infamous Angela Merkel, who basically did nothing for 15 years in government other than to preserve her own power and stay popular by not taking any tough decisions. And that really has led to a major problem for Germany, because all these problems kept building up. So things are really not good. And Germany mostly lives off the fumes of its past reputation.'”

“‘The problem really has been and continues to be that there has been a large consensus to do social spending in Germany and not any infrastructure or other investment — no investment in education, no investment in housing. And it is the opposite of what — I used to live in the United States — what we always think about Germany: that it’s a country that’s planning ahead, that’s using its resources wisely and is trying to make sure that everything works smoothly, and schools and everything are in good shape. And none of the above anymore.'”

News.com.au in Australia. “A Queensland family has issued a warning about their ordeal with a local builder who they claim left their site abandoned and with expensive defects. Miriam Rojas and her husband Malcolm Hancock signed a $300,000 contract with Brisbane-based 5Rivers Engineering, a business operated under a sole trader licence by Karan Bhalla, at the start of 2021. They thought it would be a simple case of creating their dream home in the inner city suburb of Windsor but instead they have experienced lengthy delays and they also had an incident where unidentified thieves stole windows which were about to be installed.”

“‘Our site is abandoned,’ Ms Rojas, 47, told news.com.au. ‘We are having a terrible time, financially we are struggling.’ An independent building report found their build would require ‘significant demolition’ due to issues with its base and deemed it would be ‘uneconomical’ to fix. As the site languished while the family-of-four figured out what to do, Ms Rojas says someone stole the house’s windows, putting their financial situation under further strain.”

“When the builder, Mr Bhalla, received the couple’s legal letter informing him they were ending the contract, they say they received an angry response. He called their letter ‘nonsense’ and ‘rubbish’ and then accused them of never paying him – though they had made progress payments by this point totalling $120,000. ‘I did my utmost to get the house completed and the market did not work,’ Mr Bhalla told them in a text message exchange. ‘U don’t even want to payment (sic) the peanuts I asked for.’ He later texted ‘I did everything to make things work with no income from you for over 6 months. Find anyone who would do that.'”

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This Post Has 78 Comments

  1. ‘Walnut Creek-based Vertical Ventures, one of the Bay Area’s savvy real estate investment and development firms, defaulted on the loan, which it obtained in 2019. Vertical Ventures paid about $40.6 million for the property in 2019. Vertical Ventures bought the building at a ‘major discount’ compared to the prior purchase price’

    We have a knife catcher!

    1. The satellite view shows their block has one side that is packed with broken down RV’s and trash. The street has around 20 shanty RVs on it and a collection of other vehicles. When scouting for expensive office space, this is probably not what people want to see. On the bright side, Ookland had a diverse female mayor! I’m sure it will be fine. Just don’t call 911, average wait times are around 20 minutes if you can get through at all.

      1. Speaking of diverse female mayors, if you haven’t heard about Tiffany Henyard of Dolton IL yet you are really missing out on an amazing story of courage and leadership. Recently she dressed up as a character from Jew Jack City and had her DJ play Rihanna’s ‘b*tch better have my money’ at the council meeting while demanding that people pay her what they owe her. If you’re bored later just plug her into youtube and enjoy, she is a gift that keeps on giving. Here she is with the towns collapsed water tank explaining how she is going to fix it. I’m sure it will be fine. Don’t look away too soon or you will miss the great shot of the collapsed tank! 🙂

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHGMf4aAZhk

  3. ‘‘The problems really started back in 2005, with the famous and now infamous Angela Merkel, who basically did nothing for 15 years in government other than to preserve her own power and stay popular by not taking any tough decisions. And that really has led to a major problem for Germany, because all these problems kept building up. So things are really not good. And Germany mostly lives off the fumes of its past reputation’

    ‘The problem really has been and continues to be that there has been a large consensus to do social spending in Germany and not any infrastructure or other investment — no investment in education, no investment in housing. And it is the opposite of what — I used to live in the United States — what we always think about Germany: that it’s a country that’s planning ahead, that’s using its resources wisely and is trying to make sure that everything works smoothly, and schools and everything are in good shape. And none of the above anymore’

    Another great big sh$thole hits the rocks. Enjoy yer muslims and virtue signaling in the cold dark.

  4. ‘Politicians are always looking for someone to pick up the tab — it’s a very transactional thing,’ Dario Moreno, a Florida International University associate professor told the Herald. ‘And where we see this a lot is in Miami’s biggest industry, real estate’

    This article is worth reading in full.

  5. AMTE Power, a high-performance battery developer, has called in administrators in a fresh blow to Britain’s net zero industry. The company warned in the summer that it was in financial trouble and had days to find a new backer or help from existing shareholders. An investor pulled the plug on fresh funding after plans to build a new plant in Dundee were scrapped.

    AMTE said in a stock market notice: “The board has no other options to secure finance in the time available and has therefore concluded that the company has insufficient funds to continue trading.”

    It said it appointed FRP Advisory as administrator to find a buyer and trading of its shares are suspended. The company, which is based in Oxfordshire but has its main operations in Thurso, planned a 0.5GWh half-gigafactory in Dundee to make batteries for potential clients such as BMW and Cosworth.

    AMTE had a long history in developing lithium cells, making some of the first examples in the 1990s. Recently, AMTE said it tested cells that can be charged fully in six minutes in a breakthrough for charging technology.

    However, it has been making a loss. It did not get the firm orders it needed from carmakers and other potential customers, or a patient investor that could fuel an expansion in production.

    AMTE’s fate mirrors that of Britishvolt, another would-be independent UK gigafactory. Britishvolt was the brainchild of former investment banker Orral Nadjari, who saw the looming demand for batteries from carmakers in the UK and a gap in the market for an independent producer, planning a £3.8bn factory in Blyth, Northumberland.

    But it ran out of funding after borrowing became more expensive. At the time of its demise in January, the company had signed initial deals with carmakers such as Aston Martin, but it had secured no firm orders.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/scottish-battery-factory-goes-bust-in-fresh-blow-to-britain-s-net-zero-industry/ar-AA1lKO5y

    1. We had a small firm in my little burg that converted delivery vans into EV’s. They went out of business a few months ago. The reason given was that it could not secure batteries as its supplier went out of business. I’m sure there was more to it than that. Anyway, about 300 jobs were lost. The firm, Lightning Motors, was touted as a local success story, until they suddenly closed their doors.

      1. Allegedly, Amazon is quietly converting all of their electric sprinter vans back to internal combustion because the electric vans were too unreliable. Sad!

    2. ‘Recently, AMTE said it tested cells that can be charged fully in six minutes in a breakthrough for charging technology. However, it has been making a loss. It did not get the firm orders it needed from carmakers and other potential customers, or a patient investor that could fuel an expansion in production.’

      ‘AMTE’s fate mirrors that of Britishvolt, another would-be independent UK gigafactory. Britishvolt was the brainchild of former investment banker Orral Nadjari, who saw the looming demand for batteries from carmakers in the UK and a gap in the market for an independent producer, planning a £3.8bn factory in Blyth, Northumberland.’

      ‘But it ran out of funding after borrowing became more expensive. At the time of its demise in January, the company had signed initial deals with carmakers such as Aston Martin, but it had secured no firm orders’

      IMO Ev’s are starting to look like the biggest flame out in recent history.

    1. Zillow, like others, has scrubbed the prior sales data on properties so you don’t know how much of a failed flip this is. And the linked county assessor site for this Pensacola property doesn’t list sale prices either — you have to call the county.

      Well isn’t that slick. Pre-Zillow, info on your neighbors’ houses was public but tedious to obtain. Zillow made for free and easy snooping, but it also tipped off buyers to all the Realtor shenanigans. Zillow didn’t like us common folk having such information, so I guess we’re back to calling the county.

      As for the property itself, I see at least $70K to make this livable, another $30K to make it nice, and another $10K just to clean up the yard. This price would be perfect for flippers on some high price state like CA, but not this po’ nabe.

  7. A home in Palm Springs, which was sold in March for $1,400,000 and put back on the market some two months later for roughly the same amount, is now going for only $635,000—a price cut of $765,000.

    But…but…muh generational wealth-building!

    1. generational wealth-building

      @GRomePow makes the excellent point that there is no wealth creation here. It’s the transfer of wealth from the young to the old enabled by debt.

  8. Vertical Ventures paid about $40.6 million for the property in 2019. Vertical Ventures bought the building at a ‘major discount’ compared to the prior purchase price.”

    Knife-catchers getting schlonged bigly – check.

      1. On Fox News. California Lt. Gov. calls for state to ‘explore every legal option’ to remove Trump from ‘24 ballot

          2. What are they SO AFRAID of?? Who’s anti-democratic? Whose government is authoritarian? Projection anyone??

  10. “Germany — once seen as the bedrock of fiscal rectitude — is finding itself on the other side of the ledger. It’s facing a budget crisis amid rising energy costs, urgent calls for immigration reform and more pressing issues.

    How’s voting for globalist Quislings working out for ya, Fritz & Helga?

    1. Fritz & Helga are very obedient and they do as the government says. If the Ministry of Transportation says your car needs new

      struts
      radiator
      alternator
      other suspension parts
      clutch
      muffler
      etc.
      you will replace them all, even though your car runs just fine.

      I can only imagine the look of horror Fritz and Helga would have were I to tell them that the only repair I’ve ever done to my 10 year old car was a brake job, or two if you count replacing the battery.

  11. So, NY is looking at reparations for all descendents of slaves ,again ? Wonder if that also includes a house ,they can trash good…..or a whole row of houses , that would do the trick, evening things in someone’s mind , don’t know why they didn’t do the “40 acres and a mule” thing, Like Honest Abe wanted to do ,it would have solved it all back then …….Maybe not,, no amount of Free is ever enough ….

    1. “reparations”

      100 years from now they’ll be digging with sticks for bugs to eat and telling each other stories about how when Whitey left he took all the running water and electricity with him.

      “They’re not sending their best”

      1. Gotta love it. A state that is being bankrupted by the various divisions of the Free Sh!t Army, which is growing dramatically with the arrival of invaders, is now promising even more free sh!t. You can’t make this up.

  12. California Home Sales Crash to Lowest Level in 15 Years
    Dec 19, 2023 at 11:00 AM EST
    By Giulia Carbonaro
    US News Reporter

    Home sales in California plunged to the lowest level in 15 years in November, according to the latest data shared by the California Association of Realtors (CAR).

    According to a report released on Tuesday, existing single-family home sales were down 7.4 percent last month compared to October and down 5.8 percent from November 2022, totaling 223,940. It was the biggest monthly decline in the past year, which plunged existing home sales in California to the lowest level since the Great Recession of 2008-2009.

    Existing home sales were also down 25.9 percent since the beginning of the year, as homebuyers struggle with the high cost of borrowing and homes that have remained expensive despite a cooling of prices nationwide. It was also the third consecutive month that existing single-family home sales remained below the 250,000-unit mark in the state.

    “Elevated mortgage interest rates and a persistent shortage of homes for sale hindered home sales in November,” 2024 CAR President Melanie Barker said in a news release shared with Newsweek, adding that the future could look a bit more rosy for California homebuyers now that the Federal Reserve has announced it will soon shift toward cutting rates.
    …
    https://www.newsweek.com/california-home-sales-crash-lowest-level-16-years-1853707

  13. The 2024 Election Year Variant.

    Washington Post (via Archive) — New coronavirus variant JN.1 is spreading fast. Here’s what to know (12/20/2023):

    “The World Health Organization on Tuesday declared coronavirus subvariant JN.1 a variant of interest “due to its rapidly increasing spread.”

    It comprised about 3 percent of all coronavirus cases in early November, but 27.1 percent one month later globally, the WHO said. It anticipates that JN.1′s emergence may cause an increase in cases, especially in countries experiencing winter.

    The WHO designation came after emergency room visits in the United States for covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus collectively reached their highest levels since February, The Washington Post reported last week, ahead of the holiday period.”

    https://archive.is/YthNm

    1. covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus collectively reached their highest levels since February

      Which are still low, low, low.

      They have been trying to scare us for two years with “the next variant”, but none of them seem to have any teeth.

  14. Mississauga Real Estate Market Just Got Worse
    Honest real estate talk 🇨🇦
    21 hours ago

    Mississauga real estate market has been slowing down since June and now being the winter time (real estate is usually slow anyways) it is getting slower by the day.
    Detached homes in Mississauga are taking the biggest hit. Prices have dropped more than $200,000 in some areas of Mississauga for detached homes as well as townhomes.
    Condos in Mississauga (especially the Square One area) are doing a lot better and have been hovering around the $600,000 price for a few months now.
    Mississauga’s spring real estate market saw a sharp spike but ever since the summer it has been on a fast decline.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zTzJZMhjdw

    6:13.

  15. Brampton Home Prices Struggling
    Honest real estate talk 🇨🇦
    1 day ago

    Brampton real estate market continues to decline each month. Brampton detached home prices have dropped more than $450,000 in less than 24 months. Brampton condos are doing a bit better and have been around the $550,000 range for a few months.
    Brampton is a very active market but in November there were only 302 homes sold altogether. That’s a more than 50% drop from the spring real estate market of Brampton in April and May.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx6BuHWDHCE

    5:25.

  16. WFAA-TV Dallas-Ft. Worth
    Crews battle overnight fire at Rowlett apartment complex that was under construction

    Fire crews in Rowlett contained a fire on Saturday that had been burning since Friday night at an apartment complex under construction.

    According to the Rowlett Fire Department and Rowlett Mayor Blake Margolis, the 3-alarm fire happened at a building in the Sapphire Bay area.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crews-battle-overnight-fire-at-rowlett-apartment-complex-that-was-under-construction/ar-AA1lBtBX

    1. Fed’s Goolsbee cautions against market euphoria on rate cuts
      ActionForex.com
      Dec 20 23, 02:27 GMT

      Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, in an interview with Fox News overnight, said that investors might be “a little ahead of themselves” with their “euphoria” as stock markets surged to record highs following Fed’s announcement last week.

      Goolsbee did acknowledge that if inflation continues its downward trend towards target, Fed might reassess its restrictive stance. “If inflation continues to come down to target, then the Fed can reconsider how restrictive it wants to be,” he stated.

      However, Goolsbee was clear in emphasizing Fed’s independence, asserting that the central bank will not be “bullied” by market pressures.
      …
      https://www.actionforex.com/live-comments/532500-feds-goolsbee-cautions-against-market-euphoria-on-rate-cuts/

  18. I sold my rural off grid lots, wire hit the bank yesterday.

    And yes at a loss, not an incalculable loss, but a loss nevertheless.

        1. Oh. I was a bit confused on how you had bought some undeveloped land…. with a half-demolished building on it. Makes more sense now.

  20. How is the EV market looking these days? About to overtake the internal combustion engine-powered car market any day now?

    1. Business
      Electric Vehicle Start-Ups Are Running Out Of Juice
      White House Officials Tour Chevy Volt Plant
      (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
      Daily Caller News Foundation logo
      Will Kessler
      Contributor
      December 19, 2023 10:41 AM ET

      The trendy electric vehicle (EV) market could be in trouble as at least 18 EV and battery start-ups that went public in the last few years are running out of funds to operate, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.

      The trouble in the industry follows rising costs and manufacturing issues as the companies fail to compete with top EV maker Tesla and traditional automakers, with the median stock of the 43 companies reviewed dropping 80% from its peak, losing tens of billions in collective value since the companies relatively recent inception, according to the WSJ. Of those 43 EV start-ups reviewed, five have already gone bankrupt or been acquired, including Lordstown Motors, Proterra and Electric Last Mile Solutions. (RELATED: ‘Big Trouble’: Here’s How Newsom’s California Is Killing The American Auto Industry)
      …
      https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/19/electric-vehicle-start-ups-out-juice/

      1. Looks like they ran out of virtue signalers. Everyone else took one look at the range and said drill baby drill.


  21. Pearl Hughes, 82, pays nearly 10% on her home in Wellston, tax records show, or almost $1,300. ‘It was just a shock, and I mean that for real, to see how much my real estate taxes had went up,’ said Hughes, a retired bus driver. ‘Everything is going up,’ except for my Social Security check.’

    Another lying greedy WWII person.

    Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments

    2021: 5.9%
    2022: 8.7%
    2023: 3.2%

    1. If you challenge them on that, they will say that the increase was offset by higher medicare premiums.

      1. One thing has nothing to do with the other. And they never seem to mind when SS tax rates are raised for working people.

          1. I rather doubt that she was an unborn or infant participant in WWII. She probably spent most of her life resenting the compulsive taxation for the old age pension same as you and me.

            Would you care to share how many years are left until you are a beneficiary of the program and become a Socialist yourself? I myself, after over five decades of government forced “retirement savings”, did not have the strength of character to refuse the payments.

            BTW, the COLA adjustments do not even come close to meeting the actual cost of things. I hope you have a robust savings strategy, and a life simplification plan to go with it. You’ll need it I expect. Anger won’t feed you well.

  22. JN1-“A varient of interest.”

    Well, is the WHO going to arrest the ” varient of interest.” What defines interest by the WHO?
    The articles say go get your booster for the mutation of interest, that they only tested on 10 rats.
    And the only solution to the
    CLIMATE Change Emergency is ZERO Co2 by 2050, which is just as fraudulent as their fake vaccines.
    It’s all one big con job to take over the World by this fraudster Cult, by their pre planned Grest Narratives and the build back better Great Reset enslavement of human populations.

    1. “CLIMATE Change Emergency is ZERO Co2 by 2050, which is just as fraudulent as their fake vaccines.”

      [Here is an article that touches on that Climate Change emergency claim:]

      Reason is Right, There is No ‘Climate Cliff’

      https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/12/20/reason-is-right-there-is-no-climate-cliff/

      Reason magazine recently posted an article on its website titled “There Is No 1.5°C Climate Cliff,” arguing that the 1.5°C threshold touted by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, world governments, and activists, is not based on any scientific investigation, but is rather arbitrary. This is true. The threshold value was first developed by a panel of advisors who had no data to show that 1.5° warming would be catastrophic, and the language used by the media has only become more extreme since then.

      In the post, writer Ronald Bailey explains that the 1.5°C threshold was developed in the 1990s by the German Advisory Council on Global Change.

      Bailey writes:

      The advisors adopted two principles to guide their work. The first was the “preservation of Creation in its present form” achieved chiefly by staying within their guess of what would be “a tolerable ‘temperature window.’’’ The second was the “prevention of excessive costs.” Their analysis of what would constitute a tolerable temperature window occupies a single paragraph. There they reckoned that the mean maximum temperature during the last interglacial period was 16.1 C to which they arbitrarily added a further 0.5 C to establish tolerable maximum temperature of 16.6 C. They then assumed that in 1995 the current global mean temperature was around 15.3 C which would be only 1.3 C below their tolerable maximum. Finally, they presupposed the 1995 average was 0.7 C above the preindustrial average which yields an overall 2.0 C threshold.

      This was clearly not a rigorous scientific investigation. Climate Realism has explained this fact in past posts as well, such as, here, here, and here, where we point out that there is also no evidence to suggest passing that arbitrary warming threshold would cause “climate chaos” or positive-feedback type cascading events. Climate at a Glance: Tipping Points concurs, showing that there is no evidence that irreversible tipping points exist at all. Since the conception of the threshold, only computer models with faulty assumptions built in have driven the alarmist claims and associated headlines tied to the 1.5C figure.

      It is also possible that the 1.5°C threshold has already been passed. Meteorologist Anthony Watts explains in “Media Regurgitates IPCC’s ‘Final Warning’ on Climate Change – Without Realizing We’ve Already Passed 1.5°C,” Berkeley Earth global surface temperature data show that the planet may have warmed a full 4°C since 1750. Despite this, no catastrophes have occurred, and extreme weather has not become worse since that period.

      Bailey writes “it is good, although not surprising, news that when the world passes through the 1.5 C target, it will not be plunging to its death over a climate cliff.” He is absolutely correct, and what’s more, some climate scientists and media have been cautioning against making claims that make 1.5°C sound like an existential threat. The fact is, if it has not been passed already as discussed above, the threshold is going to be passed soon, even if immense fossil fuel cuts are made. When disasters don’t materialize, climate scientists who previously hyped the 1.5 C threshold as an catastrophic tipping points will, or at least should, lose credibility.

      Reason and Ronald Bailey should be applauded for publishing such a detailed and thorough investigation of the origin and lack of scientific basis for the popular global warming threshold. There is no evidence that supports the idea that 1.5°C warming will be a dangerous “climate cliff” that will cause more chaotic weather.

  23. CNBC (12/20/2023):

    “Since the closure of these key Texas border crossings earlier this week in a battle over illegal immigration and a surge of migrants, almost half a billion dollars in trade has been halted.

    Union Pacific says $200 million worth of trade moves in and out of these crossings a day. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced rail operations would be halted at El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas beginning Monday in light of the surge of migrants crossing the border. Collectively both railroads operate 24 trains daily at these crossings.”

    https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/20/over-a-half-billion-dollars-in-rail-freight-stuck-at-texas-border.html

    Open borders is TREASON.

    2. in light of the surge of migrants crossing the border

      And keep in mind that the agents aren’t being redeployed to arrest and deport the invaders. They are going to welcome them to the US.

      Meanwhile, sanctuary city mayors are losing their minds as busload after busload of “refugees” are dumped on their cities.

      People who thought that the invaders were “not my problem” are going to get a wake up call when they start camping in their neighborhoods and banging on their doors making demands to be fed. It’s already happening in central Dumver and is only going to get worse.

  24. ‘behind that image of success and access, Kapoor’s emergent empire was in free fall. As Location Ventures’ chief executive, Kapoor shifted money from one project to another as bills came due, including funds provided by lenders, investors and condo buyers, according to claims in lawsuits and court records’

    When it hits the fan fraud shows up too.

  25. ‘Our market is very well supplied at the moment, with inventories trending about on par with their long-term averages, so there are some attractive deals out there waiting for buyers who decide to step back in’

    Yer a true salesman Matt.

    1. Bonds
      10-year Treasury yield hits lowest since July
      Published Wed, Dec 20 2023 3:35 AM EST
      Updated 4 Hours Ago
      Sarah Min
      Elliot Smith

      The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield on Wednesday hit its lowest level since July as traders assessed the path of future rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

      The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 7 basis points to 3.849%. On July 27, the 10-year yielded as low as 3.839%.

      The 2-year yield slipped 9 basis points to 4.344%. Meanwhile, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 5 basis points at 3.985%.

      Yields move inversely to prices. One basis point equals 0.01%.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/20/treasury-yields-dip-slightly-as-fed-trajectory-remains-in-focus.html

    2. DOW 37,082.00 -1.27%
      S&P 500 4,698.35 -1.47%
      NASDAQ 14,777.94 -1.50%

      Business / Investing
      Why the Dow just tumbled about 500 points after nearly hitting a record
      By David Goldman, CNN
      2 minute read
      Published 4:08 PM EST, Wed December 20, 2023
      Stocks took a tumble Wednesday as traders literally and figuratively headed for the exit.
      Lucas Jackson/Reuters/FILE

      Washington CNN —

      What. Just. Happened?

      The S&P 500, the broadest measure of the stock market, tumbled Wednesday afternoon, starting just after 2 pm ET. It was on pace to hit a record — its first in nearly two years.

      Then, the bottom fell out. Within minutes, the index was down a half a percentage point. Within an hour, it had fallen more than 1%, and it ended the day down nearly 1.5%. The Dow, which had been up nearly 100 points, ended the day almost 500 points lower.

      The VIX volatility index spiked more than 7% Wednesday, peaking at about 3 pm ET before falling back somewhat. CNN’s Fear and Greed Index, which was firmly in “Extreme Greed” territory to start the day, fell back into “Greed” territory to end the day.

      Don’t panic.
      …
      https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/20/investing/why-dow-down/index.html

    3. Financial Times
      2 hours ago
      S&P 500 posts biggest drop in 3 months after late sell-off
      Jaren Kerr and Harriet Clarfelt in New York

      The S&P 500 registered its biggest one-day drop in three months, and the Nasdaq Composite ended a nine-day winning streak, after an afternoon sell-off that delayed Wall Street’s attempt at a record high.

      Big Tech stocks, which have an outsized influence on index direction, led the market turnaround, which ultimately left about 96 per cent of S&P 500 members lower at the closing bell, according to LSEG data.

      The S&P 500 closed 1.5 per cent lower for its biggest fall since September 21, while the Nasdaq sank by the same amount.

      Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co, said the S&P “had reached a very overbought condition”.

    1. Financial Times
      21 minutes ago
      Asia stocks follow Wall Street lower as Toyota shares fall in safety scandal
      FT reporters

      Asia-Pacific stocks dipped on Thursday after Wall Street recorded its biggest fall in three months.

      Japan’s Topix fell 0.8 per cent, with Toyota Motor shares shedding as much as 5.6 per cent in early trading. The carmaker faces a scandal over rigged safety tests at its Daihatsu subsidiary.

      The Hang Seng Index shed 0.8 per cent in early trading, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4 per cent.

      China’s CSI 300 edged up 0.1 per cent but Chinese tech stocks fell, led by Meituan’s 2.6 per cent drop.

      On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed 1.5 per cent lower in its biggest fall since September 21, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by the same amount.

    2. TheHill.com
      Business
      Fed officials question stock market surge after rate cut projections
      by Julia Shapero – 12/20/23 9:29 AM ET
      Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during morning trading on December 14, 2023, in New York City.
      (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

      Several Federal Reserve officials are urging caution as the financial markets continue to surge over the prospect that the central bank could begin cutting interest rates next year.

      The Fed held interest rates steady for a third consecutive meeting last week and signaled it may have reached an end to its aggressive rate hike campaign.

      “We are likely at or near the peak rate for this cycle,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference following the announcement.

      While Powell and other Fed officials have said little about the central bank’s plan for next year, all but three members of the Fed panel responsible for setting monetary policy noted in economic projections released Wednesday that they expect at least two rate cuts next year, with the largest share projecting three cuts.

      The markets surged on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing 37,000 for the first time Wednesday. The Dow has continued to climb since, adding 0.68 percent or about 252 points on Tuesday to close at a record high for the fifth day in a row.

      The other two major indices also remained up nearly one week later, with the S&P 500 adding 0.59 percent and the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.66 percent Tuesday.

      However, some Fed officials suggested the market is being overly enthusiastic. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who currently sits on the Fed’s rate-setting panel, said Monday that he was “confused” by the market reaction.

      “It’s not what you say, or what the chair says. It’s what did they hear, and what did they want to hear,” Goolsbee told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I was confused a bit with the, was the market just imputing, here’s what we want them to be saying?”

      “I thought there seemed to be some confusion about how the [Federal Open Market Committee] even works,” he added. “We don’t debate specific policies, speculatively, about the future. We vote on that meeting. And we voted at that meeting not to raise rates.”
      …
      https://thehill.com/business/4368720-fed-officials-question-stock-market-surge-after-rate-cut-projections/

      1. DOW FUTURES +0.32%
        S&P 500 FUTURES +0.38%
        NASDAQ 100 FUTURES +0.46%

        JPMorgan’s top strategist says cash looks better than stocks in 2024 because the Fed won’t cut rates rapidly
        Matthew Fox
        Dec 20, 2023, 10:21 AM PST
        A woman holds a $20 bill.
        Artur Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

        – JPMorgan’s top strategist is sticking with his bearish view on stocks for 2024.

        – Marko Kolanovic said investors should favor cash over stocks next year as the Fed is unlikely to rapidly cut interest rates.

        – “Even in an optimistic scenario, we believe upside is limited for risky assets,” he said.
        …
        https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-cash-better-than-stocks-2024-jpmorgan-bearish-2023-12

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