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Angry Buyers Rage Like Wildfire

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Gary Ferguson first noticed large cracks along the back wall of his garage in October. Ferguson, a Persian Gulf War veteran, bought the home with his wife and two children in March 2022. Because of the competitive housing market, Ferguson said he felt pressure to waive a home inspection to make his offer more attractive. It’s a decision he’s come to regret. ‘It’s going to fall,’ Ferguson said from his backyard on Orchard Lane in Danvers. ‘[A home inspection] might have opened my eyes up a little bit more,’ Ferguson said. ‘We’re in limbo at this point. We’re afraid we’re going to lose the house.'”

“He’s said he’s contacted 83 licensed insurance companies in Massachusetts and can’t get coverage from any of them. Ferguson said force-place homeowner’s insurance from his mortgage lender is going to cost him between $5,000 and $7,000 a year, which would increase his mortgage by $500 to $600 a month. ‘I can’t afford that,’ Ferguson said. ‘I can’t sustain it.'”

“A real estate investor who bought a dilapidated home in Escambia County through a tax deed sale was ‘shocked’ when she discovered the county had demolished the house a week after she bought it. Ana Lopes purchased the home in Mayfair at a tax deed auction for $11,200, on behalf of Maison Investment LLC, a small real estate development company based in Texas. She bought it on Dec. 5, 2023, and the house was torn down on Dec. 13. ‘I found out there wasn’t a house there when my buyer, a flip company who was buying the house to flip it, went to visit the house to take pictures and inspect it and he arrived there and (there was) no house. I was shocked because I didn’t know it was being demolished,’ Lopes said. ‘I’m not able to sell the lot,’ Lopes explained. ‘I had people interested in buying the house, I was interested myself to do the renovation to flip the house if I didn’t find somebody to buy it, but I found one and now I have a lot and an expensive lien.'”

“Las Vegas hotel mogul Steve Wynn has yanked his Central Park South penthouse off the market — after slashing the price from a staggering $90 million to $65 million last year. That latter price is $5 million less than what the casino czar paid for the posh pied-à-terre back in 2012. Wynn’s residence, on the 30th and 31st floors of the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, spans nearly 11,000 square feet.”

“Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance sold his Morgan Hill home for $2.7 million on Tuesday, Lance’s real estate agent Marquise Murphy confirmed to KRON4. Lance, a former top 49ers draft pick, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in August. Lance bought the home for $2.95 million in March 2022, before he was set for his first full season as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. He suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 and never suited up for the 49ers in another regular season game.”

“A Toronto home listed for sale multiple times in the same year, and now selling way below its original price demonstrates just how much prices fluctuate in the city’s real estate market. The detached home in question, situated just between Brockton Village and Little Italy at 61 Shannon St., was originally listed for a staggering $5,398,880 in January 2023. Since January 2023, the property has been listed and re-listed several times at various price points. In April, the home knocked roughly $400,000 off its price when it was listed for $4,988,800, and saw a further reduction in June when it was listed at $4,589,999. With no takers, the home was eventually re-listed in August for $3,998,800, roughly $1.4 million below its original asking price. On Monday, the home was officially re-listed for a fourth time as a ‘power of sale’ at $3,599,900 — approximately $1.8 million below what it was originally listed for just a year earlier.”

“New-home sales through the end of November (December numbers were not yet available at the time of writing) were down 10 per cent over 2022, which itself was a year when sales fell off a cliff. At the moment, Ottawa is absorbing the supply of new homes at 48 per cent of the five-year average, while supply has jumped an average 47 per cent from 2022, says PMA Ottawa president Cheryl Rice. ‘The increase in supply coupled with diminishing demand is expected to continue exerting downward pressure on prices for the beginning of 2024.'”

“Homeowners living in an unfinished housing estate have been left frustrated after the developer went bust. This week the Glasgow Times reported liquidators were appointed to Merchant Homes which had sites in and around the city. Napier Grove, a new-build estate in Linwood, Renfrewshire, where prices started at £171,000 for a two-bedroomed terrace home and £210,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached villa, is unfinished. Most homes are occupied but residents said solar panels on the homes, a money-saving selling point, have never worked. Homeowners have been left with no one to contact and are wondering if the outstanding work will ever be done. May Whiteman moved into her three-bedroom house in July. She said: ‘The roads are not finished and we don’t know if the council will adopt them in the state they are in. I have a problem with the driveway and the solar panels. They have never worked. I feel really sorry for the people who can’t move in because their house isn’t finished.'”

“My girlfriend and I are in our mid-30s. The nature of our jobs means we must be based in or close to London, where we both own our own flats with large mortgages. We’re both well-paid, but have little in the way of savings as we used everything we had to get on the property ladder. We want to move in together, but are faced with a problem because both our flats have gone down significantly in value since we bought them. If we sell both our flats now and buy or rent somewhere together, we would make a loss which could wipe out the majority of the equity we put in. If we rent one or both of them out, the rent after taxes will not cover the mortgages so we will be losing money on two potentially depreciating assets. And besides, I’m not sure I want to be a landlord. What should we do?”

“Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: Getting on the property ladder in London is no mean feat these days, with an average home costing £516,000 according to the latest ONS statistics. You must have saved hard to get on the ladder, so I am sorry to hear that both homes now feel more like liabilities than assets. If you bought the properties in London within the last six or seven years, the fact they’ve both fallen in value is sadly not surprising. I’ve been encountering increasing numbers of people who have faced a similar dilemma with flats they own in London. Some have decided to hold on and ride it out, either by renting them out or staying put with the hope that prices rise. Others have been forced to sell at a loss.”

“Once called the powerhouse of the Chinese economy, the real estate sector accounted for 30% of the country’s GDP but was turned down by the reforms introduced by the Chinese government. Property sellers caught themselves in a vicious cycle of selling properties before project completion to fund ongoing projects. This created a huge bubble, more like a Ponzi scheme, prompting empty apartments and plunging prices. The fallout, thus, resulted in a financial crunch for the highly leveraged property companies. According to S&P, an estimated 2 million homes remain unfinished, and citizens who had paid for a house were unable to move into it. A country where protests are rare has seen angry buyers rage like wildfire towards the property holders.”

“‘It’s important to recognize that there is a longer-term challenge here, and that is we essentially have too large a construction sector in China, we have too large a real estate sector because underlying demand for apartments is declining,’ said Frederic Neumann, HSBC chief Asia economist. ‘We have slowing urbanization. We have declining demographics.’ Bryan Gorrita, a real estate broker, says the escalating youth unemployment rate, currently hovering around 21%, is further compounding China’s economic woes. ‘The government’s reluctance to disclose these alarming figures only fuels concerns about the nation’s economic trajectory.'”

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This Post Has 124 Comments

  1. ‘I found out there wasn’t a house there when my buyer, a flip company who was buying the house to flip it, went to visit the house to take pictures and inspect it and he arrived there and (there was) no house. I was shocked because I didn’t know it was being demolished,’ Lopes said. ‘I’m not able to sell the lot,’ Lopes explained. ‘I had people interested in buying the house, I was interested myself to do the renovation to flip the house if I didn’t find somebody to buy it, but I found one and now I have a lot and an expensive lien’

    Ana:

    via GIPHY

  2. ‘If we sell both our flats now and buy or rent somewhere together, we would make a loss which could wipe out the majority of the equity we put in. If we rent one or both of them out, the rent after taxes will not cover the mortgages so we will be losing money on two potentially depreciating assets. And besides, I’m not sure I want to be a landlord. What should we do?’

    ‘Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: Getting on the property ladder in London is no mean feat these days, with an average home costing £516,000 according to the latest ONS statistics. You must have saved hard to get on the ladder, so I am sorry to hear that both homes now feel more like liabilities than assets’

    You gotta be in it to win it Ed.

    1. “You gotta be in it to win it Ed.”

      \\

      https://www.hussmanfunds.com/comment/mc240101/
      The Return of Buy-Low Sell-High
      John P. Hussman, Ph.D., President, Hussman Investment Trust
      January 2024

      “There’s no question that the Fed encouraged a decade of reckless speculation, driven by the frantic, futile attempt of investors to get rid of 16-36% of GDP in zero-interest liquidity.”

      “But be careful to understand that the impact of “liquidity” on the financial markets relies entirely on the willingness of investors to speculate (which we infer from the uniformity of market internals). To talk about “liquidity” as if it is some sort of magical pixie dust is not analysis but superstition.”

      “What created this bubble is the same thing that created every other bubble in history: the psychological rationalization of speculation as “investment.””

      \\

      – Formerly conservative “investors” have been conditioned to speculate on houses, stonks, and everything in between. This is our economy. Trading houses back and forth like poker chips or something. 🎰 🎲 . Speculation vs. investment, vs. actual production. A nation of gamblers. Only Canada is more screwed, and that’s because their bubble is bigger and badder, plus that have a worser globalist cuck than Biden in Trudeau. Australia is a close second. Biden is no slouch in that dept.; a solid third.
      – Bedford Falls or Pottersville? It happened so slowly, no one seemed to notice. United States of Las Vegas. From bubble to bubble.
      – Think State lotteries. “You can’t lose if you don’t play.” 🫤
      – Winning! And yet we’re all the poorer as the 1%ers own all of the assets. It’s a mystery.

      \\

      “Nations, like individuals, cannot become desperate gamblers with impunity. Punishment is sure to overtake them sooner or later.” – Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

      “No warning can save people determined to grow suddenly rich” – Lord Overstone

      “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.” – Benjamin Graham

      “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” – Benjamin Graham

  3. ‘Steve Wynn has yanked his Central Park South penthouse off the market — after slashing the price from a staggering $90 million to $65 million last year. That latter price is $5 million less than what the casino czar paid for the posh pied-à-terre back in 2012’

    Hold yer ground Steve, don’t even think of giving it away!

  4. ‘Trey Lance sold his Morgan Hill home for $2.7 million on Tuesday, Lance’s real estate agent Marquise Murphy confirmed to KRON4. Lance, a former top 49ers draft pick, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in August. Lance bought the home for $2.95 million in March 2022’

    The market needs knife catchers Trey. Spreads out the a$$ poundings.

    1. CPR — Migrant students in Denver and Aurora becoming a statewide issue to solve (1/12/2024):

      “State education officials said they’re exploring ways to get more state funding for districts that have seen an unprecedented influx of thousands of new migrant arrivals – and they’ve convened a working group of school districts to figure it out.

      The discussion around migrant students was after a presentation Wednesday to state education board members by the state’s demographer about what to expect for school enrollment in the coming years. A survey of about a dozen districts by CPR shows more than 6,000 new migrants in schools since the summer.

      https://www.cpr.org/2024/01/12/migrant-students-in-denver-aurora-becoming-statewide-issue-to-solve/

      Get more state funding? Sounds about right.

      1. Sounds like Gov. Polis will be shaving budget from other departments to fund this.

        THe thought of $4B in TABOR refunds must be driving all these people batty.

      2. Migrant children are very expensive. Free lunches, ESL teachers, over crowded schools, remedial classes, buses, supplies, you name it, they expect it, heck demand it, for free.

        1. they expect it, heck demand it, for free

          You think they might be grateful for all they receive, but they mostly are not. I’ve never seen a news clip where they express their gratitude.

          2. We’re importing hard core socialism.

            Venezuela is a case study. Back in the 1950’s the rising stars in LatAm were Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina. I saw an animated chart that showed GDP’s from then to the present. Venezuela hung in the top 4 until the late 70’s, when the socialism took grip. It sank fast and turned into the basket case it is today. In the present Mexico and Brazil have left all the others in the dust. Mexico’s GDP is 20x Venezuela’s

        2. The ESL teacher I know says that the Venezuelan kids are demanding school provided iPads that they can take home.

  7. Vaughan, Richmond Hill & Markham Real Estate Update – Seller Loses Small Fortune – (Jan 3, 2024)
    Team Sessa Real Estate
    14 hours ago

    In this episode we take a look at the current Vaughan Home Prices, Richmond Hill Home Prices & Markham Home Prices and market trends for week ending Jan 3, 2024. We discuss a story of a seller who recently purchased a home and had to sell at a substantial loss.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWyDia1wt9Q

    14:50.

  8. Angry German Farmers Win a Street Fight Over Climate

    European farmers have been staging peasants’ revolts for centuries, so you’d think politicians would have learned by now to avoid annoying them. Apparently not, with tractors blocking highways and town squares across Germany this week.

    The proximate cause of the unrest in Europe’s largest economy is net-zero climate policy. Berlin is in the grip of a budget crisis after the federal constitutional court in November ruled that politicians’ favorite gimmick for funding the country’s ruinously expensive energy transition violates Germany’s constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Which means Berlin will have to pay out in the open all the net-zero bills it had hoped to hide off the government’s balance sheet. Ouch.

    Observant readers will have noticed that those sums are nowhere near the total amount Berlin needed to eke out. For all their complaining, farmers were far from the biggest losers in the budget deal. That title could go to the aviation industry, facing €580 million in additional climate-linked taxation. Or to the industries and consumers losing a subsidy worth €1.4 billion annually that protected them from a European Union plastics levy.

    Environmentalists wanted to settle in the streets the policy debates that hadn’t gone their way in parliaments and legislatures. Well, if that’s how we’re going to do politics now, it helps to own a tractor. Before there was unrest in Germany, there was unrest in the Netherlands, where an agricultural rebellion against environmental policies produced a new political party and laid the groundwork for Geert Wilders’s startling victory in November’s election.

    One irony, which Britain’s Just Stop Oil or Germany’s Fridays for Future lefties will be too dim to note, is that if everyone who is negatively affected by the costs of net zero starts taking to the streets, the net-zero fantasy will end in a flash. The eco-left gets closer to its goals when it conducts climate policy debates in the relative obscurity of the parliamentary committee room.

    But the step toward universality ticked off farmers who hadn’t expected to have to pay for net zero and would rather not start now. So they won’t start paying. The dispiriting conclusion is that a carbon tax might eventually win support from a critical mass of politicians, but probably won’t survive contact with the broader public.

    Which means instead governments will only do more of what they already are doing. With no real climate benefit, they’ll tax some and subsidize others and boost cronies and punish rivals in the name of net zero, while the rest of us pay ever higher bills for, well, everything. Our politics apparently can’t tolerate an honest climate policy, which means we’ll get a dishonest climate policy until the moment arrives when we decide we don’t want any climate policy at all.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/angry-german-farmers-win-a-street-fight-over-climate/ar-AA1mP2aR

    2. “Angry German Farmers Win a Street Fight Over Climate”

      It was never about “climate,” but rather about “control.”

      “The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries, but between authoritarians and libertarians.” – George Orwell

      “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.” ~ Aldous Huxley

      “Liberties are not given, they are taken.” ~ Aldous Huxley

      “Never have so many been manipulated so much by so few.” ~ Aldous Huxley

      \\

      – BTW, it’s friggin’ cold here in Colorado right now, with negative temperatures on the way. I blame Trudeau, since the arctic air is coming from Canada. Where’s my Anthropogenic Global Warming? I’m thinking palm trees and Piña Coladas or something with a tiny umbrella stuck in it down by the pool by now. Where’s my palm tree? Where’s my Piña Colada? Paging Al Gore… 😂

      1. “BTW, it’s friggin’ cold here in Colorado right now, with negative temperatures on the way.”

        Yep, our wind chill is -20 degrees F today. The K12 schools cancelled classes because too many students would have to stand out in the cold waiting for the school bus.

      3. We’re doing ok atm but we’re going to get the artic blast starting on Monday. Well… it’s winter and we’ve been through this before.

  9. Because of the competitive housing market, Ferguson said he felt pressure to waive a home inspection to make his offer more attractive. It’s a decision he’s come to regret.

    Zero pity for FOMO idiots like this. They made housing unaffordable for the prudent & responsible, and now let them end up being cautionary tales. Any guy who “felt pressure” to waive such a crucial step is a milquetoast moron who should just hand in his man-card.

    1. How can you get an appraisal without an inspection? Oh right, computers do it. Sound lending!

      And where were the UHS while people were sealing their financial fate? But they’ll wonder why most people don’t care if they get sued into oblivion.

  10. ‘I can’t afford that,’ Ferguson said. ‘I can’t sustain it.’”

    If stupid didn’t hurt, fools would never learn.

  11. ‘I had people interested in buying the house, I was interested myself to do the renovation to flip the house if I didn’t find somebody to buy it, but I found one and now I have a lot and an expensive lien.’”

    Must.not.laugh.

  12. On Monday, the home was officially re-listed for a fourth time as a ‘power of sale’ at $3,599,900 — approximately $1.8 million below what it was originally listed for just a year earlier.”

    Greedheads chasing the market down is schadenfreude at its most sublime.

    1. Exactly what is a ‘power of sale’

      Is a ‘power of sale’ like a ‘power wash’, where someone comes in with a high pressure hose and cleans out your gutters?

      (Asking for a friend)

      3. Power of sale is a mortgage clause that permits the lender to foreclose on and sell a property in default in order to recover the remainder of the loan. This clause, which is legal in many U.S. states, allows for a foreclosure process that circumvents the courts for speedier outcomes.

        Power of Sale: What it is and how it Works – Investopedia

  13. We’re both well-paid, but have little in the way of savings as we used everything we had to get on the property ladder.

    Brits who levered up on debt to get up on that property ladder to effortless generational wealth seem to have no inkling of how schlonged they are.

  15. ‘Ana Lopes purchased the home in Mayfair at a tax deed auction for $11,200’ – I grew up within walking distance of that neighborhood. These days, Ana could make lemonade from lemons on that lot if she put up a shed and sold liquor, cigarettes, crack, meth, and lottery tickets.

  16. Bidenomics strikes again — Another wave of layoffs has hit tech and media this week, with new announcements coming daily. Just this week word came of the following cuts:

    Google parent Alphabet will cut another 10,000 workers
    Discord is laying off 17% of its staff.
    Thoma Bravo–backed MeridianLink cut 9% of its staff.
    Meta’s Instagram is cutting its staff
    Amazon’s is cutting 5% of its staff.
    NBCNews is cutting its staff, according to Deadline.

    Those are on top of the hundreds of employees Amazon cut on Wednesday from its Hollywood and Twitch divisions. On Tuesday, Rent the Runway cut 10% of its staff, while AI Pin maker Humane laid off numerous staffers, even though its first product hasn’t shipped yet. And On Monday, Unity Software said it would cut a MASSIVE 25% of its ENTIRE COMPANY/

    Gosh, I hope none of those pink-slipped employees have mortgages to pay.

    Hold on for the ride as it is going to get bumpy.

    1. Pixar – up to 20%
      Cloud Software Group (Owner of Citrix) – around 1,000 employees (12%)

      Follow @MacroEdgeRes.

      1. Pixar – up to 20%

        That’s what happens when you make woke movies no one wants to watch. It’s getting hard to distinguish their real movie titles from the ones on the spoofed posters.

    2. Via Financial Times, Citigroup plans 20,000 job cuts as it reports worst quarter in 15 years

          1. Our betters keep telling us that Bidenomics is working, the economy is firing on all cylinders and is the envy of the world. And inflation is contained, doncha know?

      2. Finally! This is what we’ve been waiting for, big bank extinction events!! Is it enough? You can bet 20k is way more than they wanted to do and probably way less than they need to do. This is a shot across the bow. How long until JPM owns them? Who is next?? Should we start a dead pool?

        1. Let’s put Wells Fargo and Bank of America in the pool. An interesting phenomenon is occurring in places like San Francisco. These two banks used to dominate various intersections and now their buildings are empty just like the drug stores. No more neighborhood loan officers and no more local business services. Loan volume is in sharp decline and there are far less local businesses that need banking services in many of the cities they operate in. Do people even go to banks anymore? When will they finally announce something serious? My guess is soon.

    3. https://nitter.poast.org/ GameofTrades_/ status/ 1745830494531367265#m (w/ chart of Chapter 11 commercial bankruptcy filings):

      Bankruptcy filings are aggressively trending higher

      At this rate, something is bound to break

    4. “Bidenomics strikes again”

      https://twitter.com/dlacalle_IA/status/1745634492373414355
      Daniel Lacalle @dlacalle_IA

      Only half a trillion in a quarter…

      The deficit has continued to pile up despite the Biden administration’s assurances that the Inflation Reduction Act, in addition to reducing prices, would shave “hundreds of billions” off the deficit.
      From cnbc.com
      https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/11/us-deficit-tops-half-a-trillion-dollars-in-the-first-quarter-of-fiscal-year.html
      7:31 PM · Jan 11, 2024 · 4,849 Views

      \\

      https://twitter.com/dlacalle_IA/status/1745802248934859054
      Daniel Lacalle @dlacalle_IA
      Fact

      zerohedge @zerohedge · 8h

      Jamie Dimon warns government spending risks “stickier” inflation

      6:37 AM · Jan 12, 2024 · 4,944 Views

      \\

      – It’s an election year. The current administration wants to spend as much as possible, and would do more if not for the interest payments and that pesky inflation thingy. Think fiscal “wealth effect.” Republicans control the house (barely), so why is all of this (deficit) spending being approved? Also, If the eCONomy is so great, why the need for record fiscal spending? It’s almost as if they’re trying to counteract the Fed’s tightening or something in an election year.

      – Bidenomics: Globalist agenda, including bigger government and deficits. More tyrannical power and control. More interventions in the real economy. Think inflation, extreme regulations: gas stoves, washing machines, dish washers, EVs, “green” energy. Translation: How Obama 3.0 can best destroy the USA, and particularly the middle class. Open borders, uncontrolled immigration. It’s almost as if they hate us or something. Owning nothing and eating bugs as a national policy. Not sure how this is going to win votes for Brandon, but I’m sure they’ll try to fix that again as in 2020. I am the banana republican.

      1. Biden administration’s assurances that the Inflation Reduction Act, in addition to reducing…

        It should be an automatic conclusion that we will always get the opposite of what these weasels promise.

      2. Open borders

        An arsonist has been on the loose in Fort Collins for a while an was just arrested. At first the police seemed powerless to catch him, until they did. In the news article I saw this tidbit:

        A family that emigrated from Honduras in search of a better and safer life was targeted by the arsonist in the TimberVine neighborhood, where they lost two vehicles and received damage to their home.

        So, I wonder, if that was the event that got law enforcement into the game? Maybe some helpful feds showed up?

      3. “It’s almost as if they hate us or something”

        They do.

        You are the “carbon footprint” they want to reduce. And yes, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti Defamation League are the greatest advocates of white genocide ever known. They want you replaced, starving, freezing, homeless, or better yet, dead.

        Keep on naming ’em. They will be #Noticed and they will be #Named.

      4. Only half a trillion in a quarter…

        The deficit has continued to pile up despite the Biden administration’s assurances that the Inflation Reduction Act, in addition to reducing prices, would shave “hundreds of billions” off the deficit.

        The deficit has gone parabolic, we have crossed the event horizon and are being sucked into the black hole.

    1. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says Bitcoin “Is An Asset Class That Protects You”
      NEWS
      BLACKROCK CEO LARRY FINK SAYS BITCOIN “IS AN ASSET CLASS THAT PROTECTS YOU”
      NIK HOFFMAN1 HOUR AGO
      The worlds largest asset manager CEO says Bitcoin is no different that what gold represented for thousands of years.

      In a notable statement, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has expressed a positive perspective on Bitcoin during an interview today with CNBC, affirming that it “is an asset that protects you.”
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-6-trillion-money-market-funds-bullish-propaganda-2024-1

      1. Ciaran Lyons
        8 hours ago
        BlackRock CEO doubts Bitcoin will ever become a currency

        BlackRock CEO Larry Fink suggests that Bitcoin may not become the go-to currency for everyday spending and asserts that he hasn’t contemplated the potential price trajectory of Bitcoin.

        BlackRock CEO doubts Bitcoin will ever become a currency

        BlackRock CEO Larry Fink doubts the practicality of using Bitcoin for everyday transactions, reiterating it should be publicly perceived as purely an asset class.

        In an interview with CNBC on Jan. 11, Fink stated his belief in Bitcoin, viewing it as an alternative form of wealth storage rather than a contender to replace national currencies.

        “I don’t believe it’s ever going to be a currency. I believe it’s an asset class.”
        …
        https://cointelegraph.com/news/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-bitcoin-currency

    2. ‘Bullish propaganda’ — why you shouldn’t expect $6 trillion in money market funds to boost the stock market
      Matthew Fox
      Jan 12, 2024, 7:38 AM PST
      Read in app
      Cash dollars and stock market indicators (inflation, economy, crisis, finance)
      Getty Images

      – The record $6 trillion in money market funds is not going to flow into the stock market, according to Ned Davis Research.

      – The investment firm called the idea “bullish propaganda” because interest rates and equity valuations are elevated.

      – “There is no historical evidence to support a shift from money funds to risk assets,” it said.
      …
      https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-6-trillion-money-market-funds-bullish-propaganda-2024-1

    4. Bloomberg
      Opinion
      Lionel Laurent, Columnist
      Bitcoin ETF Hype Is More Memestock Than Gold 2.0
      The SEC’s approval is a boon to speculators, but what comes next is anyone’s guess.
      January 10, 2024 at 1:42 PM PST
      By Lionel Laurent
      Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist writing about the future of money and the future of Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for Reuters and Forbes.
      All that glitters…
      Photographer: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

      The regulatory approval of an exchange-traded fund isn’t supposed to be a mass-media event worthy of Wrestlemania. Yet here we are. The hype around US spot Bitcoin ETFs has reached meme levels akin to pandemic-era laser eyes: Crypto prices are soaring, hackers are mobilizing and Redditors are pumping. But the promise of game-changing, gold-like adoption looks like a meme too far.

      The speculative build-up to US Securities and Exchange Commission approval of the product has been music to the ears of Wall Streeters scrambling to flog ETFs at low, low prices — with fees set at around 0.2% to 0.4% and the prospect of as much as $4 billion being gathered on the first day alone for some 11 funds in the pipeline, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Crypto bros should feel free to gloat as ETF leader BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink flips from calling Bitcoin an “index of money laundering” to saying it’s “digitalizing gold.”

      Yet cooler heads might wonder what happens next. The optimistic thesis from those who have been pushing for this kind of ETF for years, such as the Winklevoss twins, is that this is indeed Gold 2.0. If Bitcoin is increasingly held as a digital store of value, more a shiny object to hoard than a fintech killer app, analysts reckon there’s much more upside to the current price. The twins’ crypto exchange, Gemini, reckons an ETF is key to making Bitcoin look like a legitimate home for a chunk of $36.7 trillion of savings and retirement cash — similar to the adoption of gold after its first ETF 20 years ago.

      But the road to Gold 2.0 for Bitcoin looks neither straight nor shiny. The approval of a spot ETF in 2024 comes fairly late: Bitcoin isn’t an unknown quantity and there are already many ways to get exposure, from stocks to ETF-like products. The fact these products have tended to start off with a bang before fizzling out, underperforming or even shutting down — similar to the crypto market’s hype cycles — means financial advisers may find it easier to preach to the converted than drum up support from nervous neophytes.

      So, yes, new spot ETFs may do well, but that may have a lot to do with money that’s already inside the crypto system looking for a cheaper or more efficient home than what’s currently available, says Jonathan Bier, chief investment officer at Farside Investors.
      …
      https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-01-10/sec-approves-bitcoin-etf-crypto-hype-is-more-memestock-than-gold-2-0

    5. One big similarity between Bitcoin and gold comes to mind: The middlemen in the crypto gold rush will make out like bandits as the speculators go broke, just like in the California gold rush of 1849.

    6. One place you won’t find a bitcoin ETF: Jack Bogle’s Vanguard
      Published Thu, Jan 11 2024 3:02 PM EST
      Updated Thu, Jan 11 2024 3:29 PM EST
      Jesse Pound

      WATCH LIVE
      Key Points

      – A Vanguard spokeswoman told CNBC that the asset management giant has no plans to create a bitcoin ETF of its own, or to even offer funds from other issuers on its trading platform.

      – Vanguard is one of two dominant players in the U.S. ETF market.

      – Its chief rival BlackRock has entered the bitcoin space, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) launching Thursday.
      …
      https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/11/one-place-you-wont-find-a-bitcoin-etf-jack-bogles-vanguard.html

      1. Bitcoin ETFs surpass $4B in trade volume while BTC’s price falters
        Bitcoin ETFs are here, and, so far, bitcoin is not winning
        by Casey Wagner /
        January 11, 2024 04:16 pm
        article-image

        Spot bitcoin ETFs made their public market debut in the US Thursday, raking in more than $4 billion in trading volume and sending cryptocurrency prices and related stocks all over the map.

        Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $46,400 at the close, down about 5% from its Thursday high where it briefly topped $49,000 just after the new 11 ETFs hit the market.

        The largest cryptocurrency remains up 10% since the start of the year.

        BlackRock’s IBIT emerged as the winner in terms of day-one trading volume, surpassing $1 billion just before the close Thursday. Shares ended the day around 5% lower, at $26.63, but were trading flat in after-hours.

        Read more: Spot bitcoin ETFs surpass $1B in trade volumes after first 30 minutes

        Coinbase, which serves as the custodian for 9 of the 11 new products that launched Thursday, saw its shares dip on the debut. COIN lost close to 7%, closing at $141 and putting its year-to-date returns at negative 19%.

        Ether (ETH) emerged as an early winner in the bitcoin ETF saga, gaining as much as 8% Thursday and putting its weekly gains at 13% higher. It’s a sign, analysts say, that traders may be betting on the US Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighting ether ETFs soon, but commission comments and historical precedent do not bode well.

        Read more: Spot bitcoin ETF trading volumes surpass $2.6B

        Ether futures ETFs hit the market in October 2023, two years after bitcoin futures products were cleared by the SEC. The securities regulator already has received spot ether ETF filings and could issue responses as early as May, but commissioners are likely to extend the review period.

        SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s Wednesday statement makes it clear that while he did vote in favor of the approval, he is in no way supportive of cryptocurrencies as a whole.

        “Though we’re merit neutral, I’d note that the underlying assets in the metals ETPs have consumer and industrial uses, while in contrast bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing,” Gensler wrote.
        …
        https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-etfs-exceed-4b-trade-volume

    8. Financial Times
      Opinion Cryptocurrencies
      Bitcoin ETFs are a siren song, not proof of concept
      Well-established financial institutions might want to be wary of speculation without a broader transactional use for crypto
      Richard Bernstein
      ‘The Tulip Folly’, an 1882 painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme
      ‘The Tulip Folly’, an 1882 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, illustrates the 17th-century Dutch tulip bubble, an event that could provide a lesson for bitcoin traders
      Richard Bernstein 4 hours ago
      The writer is chief executive and chief investment officer of Richard Bernstein Advisors

      Proof of concept typically means evidence that a design idea is feasible. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have suggested that the approval of bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week is substantial proof of concept that cryptocurrencies are viable and marks a big step towards their integration into the financial system. The question, however, is viable and feasible as what?

      The primary purpose of currencies throughout economic history has been to facilitate consumption, business dealings and capital investment. Trading, speculating and hedging happen after a currency begins to be widely used and its transactional economic purpose is well established.

      No one actively traded or speculated in the dollar, the pound, the yen or other major global currencies before they were used for economic transactions. The required proof of concept is their economic use. Of course, not all currencies achieve this. Some emerging countries’ inflation rates are so high that locals prefer to use established currencies, such as the US dollar, in day-to-day transactions. Cryptocurrency boosters have suggested that bitcoin might be a preferable option.

      El Salvador is famous for trying to make the connection between bitcoin speculation and economic reality but, so far, the results are questionable. Despite claims that the flow of funds into El Salvador using bitcoin would be cheaper and easier than those using the US dollar, the El Salvadoran central bank estimates that only about 1 per cent of received remittances in the first six months of 2023 were in bitcoin.

      If cryptocurrencies are indeed currencies, and not speculative collectible fads like baseball cards or Beanie Babies, then they would be the world’s first traded currency with no economic purpose. Outside of relatively small constructive uses in some emerging economies, one might be able to pay for fentanyl or arms shipments covertly, hide wealth or fund terrorists, but they are of little value for day-to-day transactions like buying groceries or paying most bills.

      And despite the enthusiasm surrounding issuance of bitcoin ETFs this week, this does not facilitate the broader transactional use of cryptocurrencies in the US or global economies. It will still be hard to buy a cup of coffee with it.
      …

      1. “‘The Tulip Folly’, an 1882 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, illustrates the 17th-century Dutch tulip bubble, an event that could provide a lesson for bitcoin traders‘The Tulip Folly’, an 1882 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, illustrates the 17th-century Dutch tulip bubble, an event that could provide a lesson for bitcoin traders”

        Pray tell, what kind of lesson could the 17th-century Dutch tulip bubble have to offer crypto HODLers?

        For the record, I have regularly offered lessons here for a decade or so already. But HODLers gonna HODL until the value of Bitcoin goes to $0.

    9. Bitcoin Plunges on Day Two of ETF Mania as Liquidations Soar
      The Bitcoin ETF buzz calmed Friday as the leading cryptocurrency dipped down near $43,000. Are traders selling the news after the frenzy?
      By Andrew Hayward
      2 min read
      Jan 12, 2024

      Bitcoin buzz cooled on Friday, one day after the first spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading in the United States, as crypto traders appeared to sell the news—sending the price of the leading cryptocurrency tumbling after days of recent gains.

      Late Friday morning, Bitcoin plunged about 6% to hit a low of $43,413 per data from CoinGecko, though it is ticking upward again at a current price of $43,547 as of this writing.
      …
      https://decrypt.co/212671/bitcoin-plunges-day-two-etf-mania-liquidations-soar

      1. I bought about $1K (winnah?) of FBTC today, just for the LOLZ.

        You can’t be a winnah if you don’t play

        1. The same statement applies to investing in stonks, bonds, real estate, metals, commodities, collectibles, lottery tickets, education, and life.

          I have invested heavily in several of the above, but no crypto for this permabear. I’ve seen the movie before, and the ending is unhappy, with lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth.

    1. Earnings Results
      JPMorgan Chase’s net income drops but beats analyst estimates as the U.S. economy ‘remains resilient’
      Last Updated: Jan. 12, 2024 at 9:59 a.m. ET
      First Published: Jan. 12, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. ET
      By Steve Gelsi
      comments
      Bank’s $2.9 billion special assessment for the FDIC’s bailout of failed banks in 2023 takes a bite out of its profits
      JPMorgan Chase’s adjusted fourth-quarter profit beat analyst estimates as the U.S. economy remains “resilient.” Agence France-Presse/Getty Image
      …
      https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jpmorgan-chase-net-income-drops-but-beats-analyst-estimates-2af8878b

    2. Financial Times
      Citigroup Inc
      Citigroup plans 20,000 job cuts as it reports worst quarter in 15 years
      Bank reports $1.8bn fourth-quarter loss after taking $4bn in one-off charges
      Citibank building in London
      Citi’s revenues from corporate lending dropped 26% as higher interest rates dented demand for borrowing
      Stephen Gandel in New York
      an hour ago

      Citigroup said it expected to cut at least 20,000 jobs over the next three years, as it reported its worst quarter in 15 years.

      The cuts, which are part of a sweeping overhaul of the bank announced in September and amount to about 10 per cent of its workforce, could cost as much as $1.8bn, said Citi on Friday. They are expected to save the lender as much as $2.5bn a year when complete.

      Costs from the restructuring helped drag Citi to a $1.8bn loss in the fourth quarter.
      …

    3. Financial Times
      Opinion The FT View
      The 2024 financial market rollercoaster
      Increased volatility will test last year’s bullish prognostications
      The editorial board
      Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
      Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Many have positioned themselves for rosy outcomes, but the economic outlook is fogged by uncertainty
      The editorial board 2 hours ago

      Investors were in a rather bullish mood last year. The buzz over generative AI and high expectations for company earnings helped stock prices soar. The belief in a “soft landing” scenario for the global economy, where inflation falls without triggering a significant slowdown, entered the mainstream. Traders also started to price in more interest rate cuts than central bankers were signalling, which meant that even bonds made a comeback. This year, all the optimism will be put to the test.

      After nine consecutive weeks of gains, America’s leading stock index, the S&P 500, has started the new year oscillating somewhat sideways. Solid jobs data and a sturdier than expected December inflation reading dimmed hopes for sooner and steeper rate cuts. But then weak producer price data on Friday reversed the mood again. Global equities and bonds have been treading water for the past two weeks too.

      Twists and turns will be a feature of financial markets in 2024. Traders have positioned themselves for rosy outcomes, but the economic outlook is fogged by uncertainty and several pivotal geopolitical events. As the reality unfolds, investors will have to constantly recalibrate.
      …

      1. 3 Popular Stocks to Avoid Like the Plague in 2024
        High volume stocks to avoid or drop
        By Noah Bolton, InvestorPlace Contributor Jan 3, 2024, 2:50 pm EST

        These companies are stocks to avoid that investors still flock to.

        – Lucid Group (LCID): a luxury electric vehicle producer that has seen some recent leadership changes.

        – AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) is a movie theatre company with a volatile share price.

        – Medical Properties Trust (MPW): a medical REIT that lost half its value last year.
        …
        https://investorplace.com/2024/01/3-popular-stocks-to-avoid-like-the-plague-in-2024/

  19. At 7:40 a.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, residents inside a home on S. Mobile St. in Centennial heard their smoke alarms activate and found their house filling smoke. They dialed 911 and quickly discovered an electric vehicle in the garage was engulfed. 7 MIN

    fire blanket and explanation

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itGeAq9rBeY

    1. That was in a Dumver suburb. A hybrid and an EV in the garage.

      I hope they have good insurance. I suspect the house will need to be gutted to “detox” it.

      1. And it crosses my mind that the charbroiled car can’t simply be chucked into a junkyard. What is left of the batteries will need to be removed and $afely disposed of.

  20. Note to readers:

    Speculative ferver among US investors is currently at a feverpitch. Enjoy the Fed-sponsored wild drunkfest while it lasts.

  21. One World Order has socially engineered the following:
    WAR between male and female.
    WAR against family structure.
    WAR between race
    WAR between Countries
    WAR on religion
    WAR by endless wars
    WAR on animals, plants, fossil fuels, co2 emissions
    WAR on Climate Change
    WAR on Panademics, viruses
    WAR on Whites
    WAR on thinking
    WAR on Capitalism, Constitution protections, free speech, gun rights etc.
    WAR on self interest for communism, fascism, equity and social justice
    WAR on rule of law for out of control crime.
    WAR on minors by taking parents rights.
    WAR on borders by invasion.
    WAR on cultures
    WAR by transgenger assaults
    WAR by drugs, food etc
    WAR by fake news disinformation , false advertising, censorship, and attack on free speech
    WAR by AI, robots, replacement populations
    WAR by genocide by Big Pharma and medical system by killer vaccines and medical Mal practice.
    WAR by environmental poisons. WAR by plastics, toxins etc. 5 G, and other high tech threats
    WAR by bio weapons
    WAR by inflation
    WAR by lockdowns, masks, destruction of small business, looting by monopolies.
    WAR by extortion, bribery, blackmail, threat of job loss.
    WAR by gaslighting
    WAR AGAINST farmers, food production, energy needs.
    WAR by dumbing down schools, and indoctrination to overthrow US
    WaR against property rights
    WAR by taxes, fines, reparations etc
    WAR BY RIGGED ELECTIONS.
    WAR by scapegoating
    WAR by lack of accountability by government agencies.
    WAR on democracy and respresentive government
    WAR on privacy
    WAR by geoengineering, chemicals, etc
    WAR by deep state and FBI, CiA, DoJ against rights of US Citizens
    WAR on US jobs, and manufacturing base on transfer to foreign countries
    WAR on travel, gas cars, mobility, etc.
    WAR on small business for Giant Monopolies.
    WAR by Goverments colluding with ONE WORLD ORDER.
    WAR by massive corruption and dysfunction of systems
    WAR of mass indoctrination into victimhood, doomsday,
    Insanity and compliance with suicide.
    And WAR by false arrests, persecution, and unequal justice toward political enemies.
    Might be a lot more forms of attack on us.

  22. Just saying that all attacks in combination is designed to overwhelm the targeted group, throw them into fear so they will comply with surrender to the enemy.

    1. “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.”

      – H.L. Mencken, In Defense of Women

  27. Trump trolls Biden with ‘White House senior living’ ad: ‘Where residents feel like presidents’
    The Independent
    11 hours ago

    Donald Trump has trolled Joe Biden with a bizarre advert, labelling the White House as a “senior living” facility where “residents feel like presidents”.

    The 30-second clip features unflattering shots of Mr Biden, with a soft voiceover in the style of retirement living TV commercials.

    “Our vibrant facility offers delightful activities and outings, around-the-clock professional care and exquisite housemade meals,” the narrator says.

    It concludes: “White House senior living, where residents feel like presidents.”

    The video has been viewed 2.7 million times in just five hours since Mr Trump shared it on his Instagram page.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMWN0lEEpJs

    40 seconds.

        1. Or to put it another way, it’s amazing that a financial bubble that started when I was a young man has been sustained into my senior years through the magical action of the electronic printing press. I had assumed we would have run out of fresh amazement over the housing mania by now and moved on to a retrospective tone in our discussions. Who could have seen it coming that the Fed would do so much Quantitative Easing to fight a pandemic that US housing prices would inflate by 50% over a couple of years time?

          And now the US real estate market is up Schitt’s Creek without a paddle, a fact of life that nobody on high is prepared to acknowledge. Denial is not a sustainable strategy.

    1. Per some youtubers auto repossessions have been high since last year and that some people just stop paying once they are well underwater.

  29. ‘On Monday, the home was officially re-listed for a fourth time as a ‘power of sale’ at $3,599,900 — approximately $1.8 million below what it was originally listed for just a year earlier’

    The asset managers are pushing the sell button in Toronto.

    1. Biden administration asks Supreme Court to tell Texas to stop blocking US border agents from patrols
      NewsNation
      1 hour ago

      The Justice Department on Friday asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border where large numbers of migrants have crossed in recent months, setting up another showdown between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over immigration enforcement.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_X-ZJAKrLM

      3 minutes.

    2. That border is back OPEN the Feds will do *ANYTHING* to keep that border open.

      Laws, and taxes, only apply to the Cattle Tax Slave class.

    1. Via Wikipedia, the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973 requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States.

      1. president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action

        To be fair to Biden, he is so senile he probably doesn’t know what is going on

  33. ‘At the moment, Ottawa is absorbing the supply of new homes at 48 per cent of the five-year average, while supply has jumped an average 47 per cent from 2022’

    Those shortages can disappear fast Cheryl.

  34. Brampton, Mississauga & Durham Real Estate Update – Are Power Of Sales Good Deals? (Jan 3, 2024)
    Team Sessa Real Estate
    4 minutes ago

    In this episode we take a look at the current Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax, Whitby, Pickering Real Estate home prices and market trends for week ending Jan 3, 2024. We also discuss if power of sales are actually good deals or do you get what you pay for?

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

    20:38.

    1. At 6 minutes: ‘there are bad things that have happened to this house.’ You’ve been to my world Santo.

  35. ‘The roads are not finished and we don’t know if the council will adopt them in the state they are in. I have a problem with the driveway and the solar panels. They have never worked. I feel really sorry for the people who can’t move in because their house isn’t finished’

    Yer right May, they are throwing their money away on rent right now!

  37. “My girlfriend and I are in our mid-30s. The nature of our jobs means we must be based in or close to London, where we both own our own flats with large mortgages. We’re both well-paid, but have little in the way of savings as we used everything we had to get on the property ladder.”

    Is it a smart investing move to leverage yourself to the hilt and put all your borrowed sheckles into overpriced residential real estate?

    No, but it is the American way to get rich. Never mind that you live in London…you are acting like American rubes.

    “We want to move in together, but are faced with a problem because both our flats have gone down significantly in value since we bought them. If we sell both our flats now and buy or rent somewhere together, we would make a loss which could wipe out the majority of the equity we put in.”

    Your equity is gone and you are underwater, whether or not you realize your losses by selling.

    “If we rent one or both of them out, the rent after taxes will not cover the mortgages so we will be losing money on two potentially depreciating assets. And besides, I’m not sure I want to be a landlord. What should we do?”

    Sounds like you should move in together and pay a property manager to rent out the flat for you until the market recovers. Problem solved…

    2. “We want to move in together, but are faced with a problem because both our flats have gone down significantly in value since we bought them.”

      Moving in together isn’t going to address your dead bedroom, and when the music stops you two will owe, not own.

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