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I Feel The Rug Was Pulled From Under My Feet

A report from WKRN Nashville in Tennessee. “There were more newly listed homes in December 2023 compared to the previous year. That number was up by 9.1%. There also wasn’t a large drop in inventory decline, according to the data. It sat at a modest 5.5%, which is atypical. Jeff Checko, a relocation director with Remax Advantage, said many sellers and builders are now getting the memo. ‘I think your overly proud sellers and builders now have data, real data that they have to respond to, meaning look at my colleagues and my neighbors that have decided to say, ‘I’m going to be realistic and competitive in this higher-interest rate climate.’ Well clearly that’s now the playbook, so lets go ahead and do what’s necessary to move the asset.'”

Bloomberg on California. “The new villain on the seventh season of the hit reality real estate show Selling Sunset wasn’t a sassy new luxury broker not there to make friends. It was a real estate tax. ‘Makes me nauseous even thinking about it,’ real estate agent Mary Bonnet said of the so-called mansion tax in the season’s first episode, as she surveyed the living room of a $26 million eight-bedroom home in Brentwood. The tax, known as Measure ULA, was pitched in 2022 as a fix to Los Angeles’ dire housing crisis. Researchers projected it could earn the city upwards of $900 million annually, money that could start bringing people off the streets. But since Measure ULA went into effect in April, it has only raised about $142 million — far off track of reaching that estimate.”

“It’s been more than nine months, and Los Angeles Finance Department data shows that even at the peak in October, the number of transactions over $5 million was almost half of what it was in October 2022. Aaron Kirman, a luxury real estate brokerage owner in the LA area, says that’s because for high-net-worth clients buying and selling individual homes, the tax has been prohibitive. ‘I’ve had many sellers say that they simply cannot afford to or do not want to sell their home as long as this measure ULA is in place,’ said Kirman, founder and CEO of AKG at Christie’s International Real Estate. ‘And I’ve had many buyers say that they’re no longer interested in buying in LA.'”

From New Jersey.com. “A real estate investor was sentenced Wednesday in a mortgage scheme that defrauded lenders and the government of more than $1 million. Cabral Simpson, 47, of Orange, was sentenced to time already served – 20 months – and has been ordered to pay $1.29 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. Simpson and his conspirators were accused of submitting fraudulent mortgage applications, supporting documents and closing documents on behalf of buyers, officials said. As part of the scheme, they also created fake bank statements and employee verification records for the buyers and transferred money into the purchasers’ bank accounts for down payments, according to prosecutors.”

The Real Deal on Texas. “A warning is kicking off Houston’s multifamily market this year. Houston leads the nation’s largest metros for the highest percentage of criticized loans coming into 2024, according to Trepp. Criticized loans are early warnings of credit stress and potential default. About 38 percent of multifamily loans in Houston are criticized, a record high for the Bayou City, outpacing its previous record of 36 percent in the second quarter of 2017. Houston’s share is head and shoulders above second-place Phoenix, where 18 percent of loans are criticized. ‘Lenders are concerned about the pace of new construction in Houston and the impact of absorption slowing down relative to that construction. They’re all positive numbers, but construction is outpacing absorption, and occupancy rates are down,’ said Matt Anderson, Trepp’s managing director.”

“‘It’s not just the loans going into default that signals trouble or even borrowers falling behind on payments, because that’s not what’s going on,’ in Houston, Anderson said. ‘It’s more that there’s a fear about the potential for softness to hit the market.’ Commercial real estate service Berkadia found Houston hit a 10-year high in multifamily deliveries in 2023, with about 52,600 units either hitting the market or under construction by midyear. Because of that, there are discounts. About 82,000 Class A units offered rental concessions in the third quarter due to oversupply.”

Bisnow Chicago in Illinois. “High interest rates and declining property values teamed up in an unsavory alliance in 2023, making it difficult for borrowers to get new loans and for loan holders to refinance old ones. That imperfect pairing is now looming over the Chicago commercial real estate market as a wave of high-value distressed CMBS loans is set to mature in the coming months — or, in some cases, they are already delinquent. ‘It’s been a game of extensions, by and large,’ Trepp Research Director Stephen Buschbom said.”

“Nearly 1 in 4 Chicago properties tied to mortgage-backed securities are distressed, the highest rate in the country by a considerable margin, according to an analysis by Kroll Bond Rating Agency released late last year. The situation is even direr for office properties, roughly a third of which are in some form of distress, a rate that trails only Denver. In a metro that already has a fair amount of distress, borrowers may not see much hope for their situation, Buschbom said. ‘They think, ‘Gosh, if I look around, many of these other buildings are in distress. That tells me values have come down pretty substantially. If this many other borrowers have been willing to either walk away or hand back the keys or are struggling, why would my situation be much different?’ he said.”

CTV News Vancouver in Canada. “Sharan and Stephen Gordon purchased a 300-square-foot micro loft in the Janion building in downtown Victoria four years ago as a retirement investment – to rent out short term and to stay in for significant periods of time when visiting grandkids in Victoria. Sharan says the province’s new short-term rental laws – coming into force in May – have thrown the couple for a financial and emotional loop. ‘I feel the rug was pulled from under my feet. I was given short notice,’ she said Wednesday.”

“Ira Willey is a Realtor who owns a short term rental unit in a nearby building. He says approximately 90 per cent of the units in the Janion building are rented out short term. It’s one of 23 buildings in Victoria where zoning exemptions currently allow short term rentals – zoning that purchasers paid more for. ‘The premium that people paid for this Airbnb zoning – that short term zoning – it’s disappeared, and that was I’d say about 15 to 20 per cent of the property value,’ said Willey. ‘(There are) probably close to 10 listings (in the Janion building) and nothing has sold since June,’ said Willey, noting that throughout the city, out of 60 listings for units used for short-term rentals, only about five have sold.”

“Nancy Paine runs a short-term rental management business called Spacehost. She had 60 clients, most of whom owned just one rental property. Since the new legislation was passed this fall, she has lost 40 per cent of her clientele and is closing her business as of May. Only two of her clients will qualify to operate short-term rentals when the legislation takes effect. She says short-term rentals have been vilified in the news and by the provincial government. ‘Consider these as small businesses, where people paid their licence fee, they paid their taxes, they did their research to buy these properties as a small business,’ said Paine Wednesday.”

CTV News Toronto in Canada. “A Brampton house that just sold at a $640,000 loss – after it was listed a handful of times – speaks to the state of the market in the outskirts of Toronto, real estate experts say. The detached two-storey house, located at 27 Jacksonville Drive, sold for $1.7 million on Jan. 5. The house sold for $2.3 million two years earlier in January 2022. At the time, prices were ‘completely out of control’ and in many cases ‘highly artificial,’ Toronto real estate agent Desmond Brown said, describing the super low rates available in the first years of the pandemic.”

“‘We always knew that when prices were going crazy during COVID and post COVID that the outlying area of Toronto would suffer the most when things settled down or when there was a turnaround,’ Brown said. While the Jacksonville property sold at a major loss, Brown said the drop wasn’t as steep as the overall market in Brampton. The average price of a detached home in Brampton dropped 30 per cent between January 2022 and December 2023, Brown said. By comparison, the Jacksonville house decreased in value by 25 per cent in the same time period. ‘In Brampton, they actually did better than what was expected, even though it was a huge loss,’ Brown said.”

“Murtaza Haider, Director of Research at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Urban Analytics Institute, pointed to another house that tells a similar story. A detached home, located at 1099 Caldwell Avenue in Mississauga, sold for a $800,000 loss last month after selling for $400,000 over asking at $2.6 million in the spring of 2021. A year later, in March 2022, it was listed for the first of a dozen times at $3.4 million. Over time, the price was reduced until it sold for $1.8 million in December. ‘I compared the average price in 2022 to the average in 2023 and I see that Brampton is no different from Mississauga,’ Haider said, referring to the decline in prices that began to tumble down as early as May/ June 2022.”

“The average price of a home across all property types in the Greater Toronto Area peaked at $1,334,062 in February 2022, prior to the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate hike. Average prices eventually dropped to a low of $1,037,542 before rebounding in the spring amid temporary declines in fixed-mortgage rates. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the average home price at the end of the year was $1,084,692.”

The Daily Record in Scotland. “An Ayrshire gran claims Stewart Milne’s shoddy workmanship left more than 200 major faults – including a terrifying gas leak – at her ‘dream’ £360,000 family home. Linda Campbell and her husband Steven moved into the now bust construction firm’s development in Symington, North Ayrshire in December 2019. The family have faced a catalogue of disasters ever since with Linda describing their home as the ‘house from hell’. The 68-year-old said she has spent years of her life attempting to rectify major problems at the ‘house that Jack built’, including dealing with a major gas leak, a cracked roof, burst pipes, flood damage in her kitchen and bathroom and said they have a snagging list with over 200 faults, that are now likely to never to be fixed. The complaints came in the wake of The Stewart Milne Group collapsing into administration on Monday.”

“Volunteer counsellor Linda said she had hoped to be enjoying her retirement in her beautiful new five-bedroom home, but has instead said she feels like she’s been living in hell. Linda said she is not surprised the company have gone into liquidation, given the way they dealt with their issues. She added: ‘The company couldn’t run a raffle. They were terrible to deal with. In my opinion they wasted a lot of money. They would send multiple staff out to deal with small issues and seemed to always be cutting corners that would end up needing repaired. Customers deserved better.'”

Edinburgh Live in Scotland. “A Midlothian homeowner has told of an 18-month ‘living hell’ living in a Stewart Milne property. Paul Smith, 49, moved into the new-build property in Shawfair, Danderhall, with his family in May 2022 from their previous home in Musselburgh. He told how of the ‘ongoing battle’ to get work done ever since. Paul told of driving 50 miles to the firm’s HQ to speak to someone face-to-face to get work done. He added: ‘As an owner of a Stewart Milne home, I am not surprised they have gone into administration. They have been an absolutely awful company to deal with and it has been a horrendous experience from the get-go. I am just so unhappy with the service that they have provided through this time, something needs to be done and unfortunately I think my neighbours and I will have to carry out work ourselves which is unacceptable.'”

Nottinghamshire Live in England. “A deal could be reached to continue building hundreds of homes in a Nottinghamshire village after the previous housebuilder fell into administration. Property developer Sherwood Oak Homes was constructing 313 homes off Clipstone Road East in the village of Clipstone, near Mansfield, when it went bust in October last year. Work started on the first phase of the £100 million housing development, named The Oaks, in late 2021, with 30 homes completed before the firm’s collapse two years later.”

“Councillor Sidney Walker, who represents the Newlands Forest Town ward for Mansfield Independents on Mansfield District Council, hoped construction work could resume as soon as possible if the property was sold. ‘The whole thing has been a bit of a mess up really, the quicker it is sorted out the better. I am surprised they have not been squatted in yet, but it is only a matter of time,’ Mr Walker said.”

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  1. ‘Simpson and his conspirators were accused of submitting fraudulent mortgage applications, supporting documents and closing documents on behalf of buyers, officials said. As part of the scheme, they also created fake bank statements and employee verification records for the buyers and transferred money into the purchasers’ bank accounts for down payments, according to prosecutors’

    Senator running deer is heap angry Cabral.

  2. ‘It’s not just the loans going into default that signals trouble or even borrowers falling behind on payments, because that’s not what’s going on,’ in Houston, Anderson said. ‘It’s more that there’s a fear about the potential for softness to hit the market.’ Commercial real estate service Berkadia found Houston hit a 10-year high in multifamily deliveries in 2023, with about 52,600 units either hitting the market or under construction by midyear. Because of that, there are discounts. About 82,000 Class A units offered rental concessions in the third quarter due to oversupply’

    Wa happened to my shortage Matt?

  3. ‘He says approximately 90 per cent of the units in the Janion building are rented out short term. It’s one of 23 buildings in Victoria where zoning exemptions currently allow short term rentals – zoning that purchasers paid more for. ‘The premium that people paid for this Airbnb zoning – that short term zoning – it’s disappeared, and that was I’d say about 15 to 20 per cent of the property value’

    You mean they paid extra Ira? I’m sure airbnb is gonna help out – NOT!

    ‘Sharan says the province’s new short-term rental laws – coming into force in May – have thrown the couple for a financial and emotional loop. ‘I feel the rug was pulled from under my feet. I was given short notice’

    They gave you 6 months Sharan. That’s plenty of time to put yer head between yer knees and kiss yer a$$ goodbye!

  4. There are no “flavor” options for your bug paste.

    The only variance is in its texture. You can get smooth, creamy bug paste, similar to lukewarm refried beans. Or a more coarse paste, like you made it yourself with a mortar and pestle, this may contain fragments of wings, legs, antennae.

    Either way, you will like it. Because you won’t have any other options…

  5. ‘It’s been a game of extensions, by and large,’ Trepp Research Director Stephen Buschbom said.”

    Gosh, what happens in these Doom Loop cities when extend and pretend is no longer possible?

  6. ‘(There are) probably close to 10 listings (in the Janion building) and nothing has sold since June,’ said Willey, noting that throughout the city, out of 60 listings for units used for short-term rentals, only about five have sold.”

    Right about now Ira Willey and his fellow STR FBs must be feeling a bit like Wile E. Coyote when he realizes he’s running on air and it’s a long, long way down.

  7. Sarasota ,Fl ,has a 30 day rule on short term rentals, if you rent for less then 30 days ,it needs to set empty for the rest of the 30 day period….But the local government does not enforce it at all,unless too many neighbors complain too much….then they may,or may not sniff around a bit…That’s why the agents handling the listings are so insistant that you, the paying guest, stay very quiet, and have no guests at all, but still charge an arm and or a leg in price, because ,you see ,it’s Florida in Feb. which is the high season….

  8. Ponzi finance is a real joy ride when the eazy money is raining down from the Fed’s helicopters, and a bitch when the liquidity dries up.

    1. Adam Neumann’s Flow faces cash crunch in Nashville
      Two YieldStreet funds opened to stem bleeding

      Adam Neumann Faces Cash Shortfalls on Flow Property in Nashville
      Adam Neumann and 535 Main Street (Getty, Google Maps)
      By Isabella FarrSuzannah Cavanaugh
      JAN 12, 2024, 5:00 PM

      The website of Adam Neumann’s apartment startup Flow still reads “coming soon.” Yet, two of the venture’s earliest acquisitions are already facing cash flow problems.

      The fix: find fresh investors to bridge the gap.
      …
      https://therealdeal.com/national/nashville/2024/01/12/adam-neumann-faces-shortfalls-on-flow-property-in-nashville/

  9. ‘Consider these as small businesses, where people paid their licence fee, they paid their taxes, they did their research to buy these properties as a small business,’ said Paine Wednesday.”

    Consider these as speculator scum who operated unlicensed hotels in residential neighborhoods, while making shelter unaffordable for locals in modest-paying jobs.

  10. The 2024 Election Year Variant.

    The US is starting 2024 in its second-largest COVID surge ever, experts say (1/5/2024):

    “The United States is in the middle of a wintertime COVID wave, driven by holiday gatherings, people spending more time inside, waning immunity from low uptake of the new COVID vaccine and a new highly infectious COVID variant, JN.1.”

    Waning immunity from low uptake of the new COVID vaccine? COVID vaccines are poison, deadly poison.

    “A viral social media post based on data from the CDC is calling this surge the second-biggest COVID wave in the history of the U.S. — after the omicron surge from late 2021 to early 2022, which infected more people than even the early days of the pandemic.

    Lucky Tran, Ph.D., science communicator at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, compiled the CDC data into a graph, which has been shared widely on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter.

    Tran also said in his post that projections show as many as 1 in 3 people in the U.S. could be infected with COVID during the peak months of the current wave and up to 2 million people could be infected in a single day — data he attributed to Michael Hoerger, Ph.D., assistant professor at Tulane University School of Medicine who leads the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative’s data tracker.”

    Infected. “Cases” we’ve heard all this BS before.

    “Tran tells TODAY.com he was motivated to share the data on the current levels of virus circulating because “many people underestimate just how much virus is around,” and that research shows once people are aware of the real levels, “they (are) more willing to wear a mask, social distance when required, to stay home and get vaccinated and take all of those measures. That’s why it’s so important to do this.”

    https://www.today.com/health/news/covid-wave-2024-rcna132529

    The 2024 election was stolen.

    1. The 2024 election was stolen.

      Stolen, you say?!! But who would attempt such a dastardly deed, knowing the hard-boiled investigative journalists at the globalist scum media, and our dedicated public servants at the FBI, would turn over every stone to uncover evidence of fraud and bring the perpetrators to justice? Shirley the Establishment GOP would never acquiesce in rubber-stamping such systemic electoral fraud, as that would undermine “Our Democracy”! Last but not least, the enthusiastic overflow crowds that greeted Biden at all his numerous campaign events is proof positive that he was indeed our “Most Popular President Ever with 81 million votes.” Even now, stadiums full of college football fans chant his praises in public displays of adulation. Last but not least, the ADL, the sole arbiter of truth, as ordained that allegations of an election steal are a “Big Lie.” So there you have it, citizen – hoist your Victory Gin to our Dear Leader!

    2. The Hill — Everyone seems to be getting COVID (1/12/2024):

      “With COVID-19 cases on the rise once again, everyone seems to either be getting infected or know someone who is. Without the robust data tracking that was available during the public health emergency, a clear picture is harder to discern, but some trends can still be observed.”

      Cases? Oh no, it’s those “cases” you were warned about.

      “Hospital admissions jumped by 20 percent in the most recent week, having been on the rise since the start of November. That trend is reflected across the country, apart from the Western U.S., with roughly 10 percent of U.S. counties now considered to have high hospital admission rates.

      According to Schaffner, the cause of the increasing cases can be attributed to the winter weather and associated travel and gatherings. The current respiratory viral season “certainly wasn’t helped” by lax viral mitigation practices either.”

      Respiratory viral season? Is that part of the Associated Press Style Guide now?

      “The most recent estimates from the CDC indicate that the omicron JN.1 subvariant is causing 61.6 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. The updated COVID-19 vaccines are believed to still be effective against this strain, despite the mutations it carries — but vaccines don’t have any effect if they stay on shelves instead of being administered to people.”

      https://thehill.com/homenews/4406283-everyone-seems-to-be-getting-covid/

      Go ahead and get that 10th booster, enjoy your turbo cancer.

      1. Go ahead and get that 10th booster, enjoy your turbo cancer.

        I happened to be in the local WallyMArt the other day. There was a banner reminding shoppers to get their booster.

        There was no one in the line. The only face diapers I saw were on an employee or two.

        Not even the relatives who implored me to get the jab are getting a booster this time. Curiously, they are the ones who keep getting sick with just about any virus.

        1. “Curiously, they are the ones who keep getting sick with just about any virus.”

          I have a former co-worker friend who seems to get sick with anything and everything. He’s not fat either, but his LDL cholesterol level is way over the limit too. We are not created equal.

  11. Sharan says the province’s new short-term rental laws – coming into force in May – have thrown the couple for a financial and emotional loop. ‘I feel the rug was pulled from under my feet. I was given short notice,’ she said Wednesday.”

    Boo f*cking hoo, speculator scum. STRs were an inherently fraudulent business model, and speculators who piled in to this racket directly contributed to making housing unaffordable for locals.

  12. “‘We always knew that when prices were going crazy during COVID and post COVID that the outlying area of Toronto would suffer the most when things settled down or when there was a turnaround,’ Brown said.

    I bet Brown & his fellow UHSs get lots of thank you cards from grateful “clients” who dodged a bullet thanks to their concerned realtors whose fiduciary duty and moral compass compelled them to warn prospective FBs not to make a disastrous financial mistake by buying into the scamdemic-era housing bubble mania.

    Oh, wait….Always Be Closing meant those soon-to-be insolvent FBs got led down the primrose path to the slaughterhouse.

    1. Always Be Closing

      It’s the nature of being in sales. Of course, there is the old joke:

      Q: How do you know that a salesman is lying?
      A: His lips are moving.

  13. Dumb question for the legal experts who read here: What is the difference between crypto tokenization and introducing a rival currency to the dollar? And is it legal? (Maybe that is for the SEC to decide…)

      1. “What is tokenization?”

        Chuck-E-Cheese game tokens have more value than the paper or digital fiat token joke that is the United States Dollar.

      1. I’m far more interested in the prospect of Trump revoking the executive order removing us from the gold standard and taking on the Federal Reserve. BTW, there’s speculation Ben Carson will be Trump VP pick. Excellent choice IMO.

        2. This choice was bantered between myself and a co-worker a few weeks ago and we could not come up with a better choice!

  14. Federal income taxes.

    Russia Today — Trump Jr. condemns Zelensky for US journalist’s ‘murder’ (1/13/2024):

    “The death of journalist and filmmaker Gonzalo Lira is a “murder,” and the blame for it lies with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the son of former US President Donald Trump stated on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

    Gonzalo Lira, a national of the US and Chile, has died while in jail in Ukraine. Lira passed away on January 11, with his family reporting his death the following day. The US Department of State then confirmed it.

    “So we are now allowing our foreign welfare recipients, such as Zelinski [Zelensky], to kill our citizens and our journalists?” Donald Trump Jr. wrote.

    Trump Jr. also denounced the likely lack of reaction to this tragedy in the US media. “I would have waited for the outrage of our media, but I know that it will not happen,” he lamented.

    https://www.rt.com/news/590580-trump-junior-comdemns-lira-murder/

    Foreign welfare recipients?

    Zelensky is a parasite.

  17. “…look at my colleagues and my neighbors that have decided to say, ‘I’m going to be realistic and competitive in this higher-interest rate climate.’ Well clearly that’s now the playbook, so lets go ahead and do what’s necessary to move the asset.’”

    Homes priced competitively below last year’s price, sell. Homes priced to last year’s market, sit forever. So goes the gradual progression of slow motion bubble collapse.

  18. Now that Wall Street and US financial regulators have a large footprint in Bitcoin, will the cryptosphere still be where cryptobois go to escape the realm of traditional finance?

    1. Financial Times
      Exchange traded funds
      Bitcoin’s Wall Street takeover frustrates crypto’s true believers
      Approval of first bitcoin ETFs undermines libertarian vision of alternative to mainstream finance
      Pedestrians walk past a Sakura Bitcoin Exchange Inc. store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo
      Bitcoin has travelled a long way since its invention by Satoshi Nakamoto — whose true identity has never been revealed — in 2008
      Nikou Asgari and Scott Chipolina in London yesterday

      The price of bitcoin soared to its highest level in more than two years this week, as speculators bet that the first approved stock market funds for cryptocurrencies would open the door to a wave of new investors.

      But some enthusiasts say the Wall Street takeover betrays their vision of crypto as an alternative financial system away from the prying eyes of government and mainstream finance, and cements bitcoin’s status as merely a vehicle for speculation.

      “The founding principles of bitcoin and decentralised currency is really this cypherpunk, going against the grain, going against the big institutions,” said Xavier Nukajam, a crypto start-up founder from the UK. “If you create this alternative and have to submit to what already exists . . . you’ve failed.”
      …

      1. “…cements bitcoin’s status as merely a vehicle for speculation.”

        It’s merely been a vehicle for speculation from day 1. What Wall Street has done is to add the cement.

    2. I keep wondering whether the Fed might favor popping the crypto bubble as an alternative over further rate hikes to contain inflation. It seems like they could drain liquidity from the financial system by removing money that was purely speculative in purpose and hence freely expendable, rather than needed to pay for someone’s groceries or rent. They wouldn’t have to do much…just starting a rumor might do the trick to bring down the straw house of crypto.

      1. Forbes
        Forbes Digital Assets
        Cardano
        $100 Billion Bitcoin And Crypto ETF Price Crash Suddenly Accelerates After Serious Fed Warning—Hitting Ethereum, XRP And Solana
        Billy Bambrough
        Senior Contributor
        I write about how bitcoin, crypto and blockchain can change the world.
        Jan 12, 2024,06:28pm EST

        Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies—including top ten coins ethereum, and solana—have fallen sharply despite a huge $10 trillion bitcoin price bet.

        The bitcoin price has dropped almost 10% over the last 24 hours, weighing on the price of ethereum, XRP, solana and other top ten cryptocurrencies, wiping around $100 billion from the combined crypto market following its bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) surge.

        Ahead of the bitcoin price crash, legendary bitcoin and crypto trader Arthur Hayes had warned the Federal Reserve could be about to trigger a 30% bitcoin price crash—predicting “a vicious washout” in coming months.
        …
        https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/01/12/100-billion-bitcoin-and-crypto-etf-price-crash-suddenly-accelerates-after-serious-fed-warning-hitting-ethereum-xrp-and-solana/?sh=300f0fc634d5

      2. Arthur Hayes Foresees 30% Bitcoin Crash Amid ‘Vicious Washout.’ Here’s Why
        CoinDesk
        Jan. 5, 2024, 01:04 PM

        – Depletion of the Fed’s reverse repo program and expiry of a crucial funding facility for troubled banks may trigger a market crash in March and force the Fed to cut interest rates, Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes said.

        – Bitcoin could plunge 20%-30% in the rout but would quickly rebound, Hayes predicted.

        While crypto investors are fixated on an imminent spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) decision that could propel BTC’s price even higher, Arthur Hayes, the chief investment officer of family office Maelstrom and the ex-CEO of BitMex, warned about a potential 20-30% plunge in the next few months.

        In a Friday blog post, Hayes outlined looming risks for U.S. banks and markets potentially colliding in March and triggering a “liquidity rug pull” event akin to the banking crisis last March.

        “I am preparing for a vicious washout of all the crypto tourists in March of this year,” he wrote. “I loaded up on crypto in the second half of 2023, and I believe now until April is a no-trade zone in terms of the addition of risk.”
        Crypto liquidity rug pull

        The drawdown of the Federal Reserve’s reverse repo program (RRP), where qualified banks and investment firms may park cash and earn interest on it, served as a tailwind for risky assets through last year, injecting capital into markets as participants took out cash from the facility and invested.

        However, the RRP balance is quickly declining, dropping to $700 billion from a record high of $2.5 trillion at the end of 2022, and Hayes is projecting it to reach its historical average of $200 billion by around March.

        “When this number gets close to zero…, the market will wonder what is next,” he said. “Without any other new sources of dollar liquidity, bonds, stocks, and I believe crypto will also get the stick.”
        …
        https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/arthur-hayes-foresees-30-bitcoin-crash-amid-vicious-washout-heres-why-1032946958

      3. drain liquidity from the financial system by removing money

        There isn’t actually money sitting there. All you can get is money transfers from one person to another. It doesn’t just fall out of the bitcoin wallet.

        1. Dollars that go to crypto money heaven can’t drive up the prices of houses and cars in the real economy.

          I realize the pool of geater fools buying crypto may be small. But these obviously are people who have no qualms about blowing copious sums of money on stuff they don’t need, suggesting they may disproportionately impact inflation.

          1. Dollars traded for things or non-things has no impact on inflation. Dollars borrowed or printed into existence is inflation itself. The FedGov is still hard at it.

      4. Bitcoin (BTC) Crash Explained: Anthony Scaramucci Hints Major Catalyst for Fall
        Tomiwabold Olajide
        BTC plunged as much as 10% to as low as $41,444
        News
        Sat, 01/13/2024 – 12:37
        Read U.TODAY on
        Google News

        Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continued its plunge from a two-year high as traders evaluated the results of the much-hyped first day of trading for exchange-traded funds that track the cryptocurrency.

        In Friday’s trade, BTC plunged as much as 10% to as low as $41,444. After almost a dozen ETFs began trading on Thursday, Bitcoin momentarily surpassed $49,000 for the first time since December 2021.

        The losses were sustained in early Saturday trading, with BTC down 7.47% in the previous 24 hours to $42,715.
        …
        https://u.today/bitcoin-btc-crash-explained-anthony-scaramucci-hints-major-catalyst-for-fall

        1. From $49,000 down to $41,444 in just 24 hours, before dips buyers jumped in…is that alot?

          I thought bitcoin spot ETF approval was supposed to make bitcoin more valuable and increase its price astronomically?

          1. PS True currencies don’t fluctuate this violently within a 24 hour period, unless a currency collapse is underway.

  19. Property taxes, sales taxes, and state income taxes.

    Westword — Denver Reaches a New High With 5,000 Migrants in Shelters (1/12/2024):

    “As a result of the cold weather, Denver reached its largest migrant shelter population ever on the afternoon of January 12, says Jon Ewing, spokesperson for the Department of Human Services, which handles the city’s migrant response.

    Denver first declared a state of emergency regarding the flood of migrants from south of the border in December 2022. The number in city shelters has been steadily climbing since mid-November, when around 2,000 migrants were staying in the city. This week started with about 4,600 migrants in Denver’s ten shelters.

    The city now has 5,000 migrants in shelters, spread across ten facilities, including more than a half-dozen motels and hotels converted into non-congregate shelters and two locations being used as congregate shelters.

    https://www.westword.com/news/denver-shelters-full-migrants-during-cold-snap-18837737

    5,000 is that a lot?

    1. Denver Gazette — Denver City councilmembers ‘desperate’ amid homelessness, immigration crises (1/11/2024):

      “The tens of thousands of immigrants who crossed America’s southern border illegally and ended up in Denver have amplified the city’s rampant homelessness, resulting in an unprecedented crisis that has already cost a combined $83 million and left councilmembers “desperate” for a solution.

      The councilmembers echoed Mayor Mike Johnston’s warning that the city faces a breaking point. Some worry that the mayor’s cost projection will ultimately be insufficient. One local official acknowledged that Denver’s image as a “welcoming city” has “consequences” — but that the city cannot stop the influx of immigrants has translated into a “feeling of powerlessness.”

      “We are desperate for federal help,” District 5 Councilmember Amanda Sawyer told The Denver Gazette. “I’m concerned about having to come to a financial point where we might have to reduce services that we’re providing to our tax-paying residents.”

      What Sawyer fears is Denver’s spending on the immigration crisis will likely exceed Johnston’s $180 million estimate.

      “This political game that is being played by the governor of Texas, and that we see being played out in Congress, is trickling down to the residents and the government of the City and County of Denver,” Sawyer said. “We had no idea that we were going to start receiving, you know, thousands of migrants more than we had been receiving.”

      “We don’t have the money to pay to house them indefinitely,” the councilmember said.

      https://denvergazette.com/news/denver-city-council-immigration-help/article_0d26163a-b0cc-11ee-bac7-13011a111203.html

      Will likely exceed?

      Amanda better get ready for these illegals to cost 50% of the City budget, then 100%, then 150%, and growing, forever.

      At least there’s no more mean tweets now.

      1. The only political game being played was declaring to be a sanctuary city and then calling everyone else racists. You invited these people, now you get to pay for them. Stop lying about it Amanda, it just makes you look even worse than you already do.

      2. This political game that is being played by the governor of Texas

        The ones playing the political game are the globalists in DC, who allow the invaders to enter the country, but then refuse to provide for them.

        Therefore, Denver’s anger is misplaced. Of course they cannot ask the WEF controlled Brandon regime to close the border, as that would be the end of their political careers. Any hopes of a cabinet position, governorship or a federal office would go up in smoke if they did that, or even worse as NYC’s Adams learned the hard way.

        1. “has already cost a combined $83 million”

          That’s a newer, much higher, number than anything I’ve seen recently. This article published two days ago.

          1. I suspect that we aren’t being told anything close to the true cost. And as you mentioned above, the cost is only going to increase. These people have no skills, no work ethic and want us to hand everything over to them, because we are “rich”. They are communists who want to join the Fre Sh!t Army.

      1. Do our leaders have any idea how insulting this is to millions of American citizens?

        They know, and they don’t care one bit.

        It’s called living under a tyranny.

    3. The city now has 5,000 migrants in shelters

      And that doesn’t include those staying at places like the Denver Rescue Mission

  20. Propaganda and lies from The Atlantic:

    “For years now, health experts have been warning that COVID-era politics and the spread of anti-vaxxer lies have brought us to the brink of public-health catastrophe—that a Great Collapse of Vaccination Rates is nigh. This hasn’t come to pass. In spite of deep concerns about a generation of young parents who might soon give up on immunizations altogether—not simply for COVID, but perhaps for all disease—many of the stats we have are looking good.

    One might blame the toxic political battles around vaccines, and rampant misinformation about their ill effects. “Something terrible has happened to broaden and intensify public rejection of vaccines and other biomedical innovations in the United States,” the vaccine expert Peter Hotez wrote in his recent book, The Deadly Rise of Anti-science. Certainly toxic politics and rampant misinformation exist, but the turn against the experts that Hotez and others have decried doesn’t really fit the emergency described above.”

    LMFAO@ ascribing any sense of credibility to this phony doctor.

    “Echoing Hotez in an opinion piece for JAMA that came out last week, the FDA commissioner, Robert Califf, and a senior FDA official named Peter Marks cited the abysmal uptake of COVID shots by senior citizens as one of several signs that the country is nearing “a dangerous tipping point” on vaccination, driven by an oceanic online tide of vaccine misinformation.”

    https://archive.is/7aUH7

  21. The New World Order Cartel wants humanity to have all the bad stuff. Reject it.
    Bugs> not good for humans
    Vaccines> VERY bad
    GMO foods> bad for humans and animals.
    Fake foods> chemicals not good.
    Fluorine in water>bad, lowers IQ, etc.
    PHARMACY Drugs>Third cause death.
    Some of the good things One World Order doesn’t want you to have that’s good,
    Meat> proven to be good
    EGGS>proven to be good
    Fish that’s not contaminated > good
    Fats> good except some seed fats and fake fats
    Going way back to ancient Greece the Elites wanted to deny the masses meat for grains/vegetables.
    The current Medical Cartel tried to say that meat /fats were bad and caused heart disease and pushed statins on masses.
    Now, they are demonizing co2 emissions from plants, animals, humans, fossil fuels, and claiming it creates DOOMSDAY Climate Change.
    Reject the extorted, bribed, blackmailed,brainwashed, job threatened and corrupted fake media and fake science.

    2. It might not seem as bad if central banks didn’t maintain a pro-inflationary bias as an operating principle. Small wonder most financially astute individuals are constantly strategizing how and when to invest in all flavors of risk assets as an inflation hedge. The extraordinary accommodation needed to pursue inflation targets is an excellent catalyst for bubbles and busts.

      1. Part of the policy is to use Quantitative Easing to prop up stocks and housing prices in case of a selloff. It seems like a great recipe for chroonic overvaluation of these Fed-insured asset classes.

    3. Squeeze the Bug Paste tube and push those carbon neutral calories into your body, Comrade, Never mind the stories about the Party bosses eating steak and drinking champagne, that’s all just a distraction.

      Your pod is you. You are the pod…

  23. “TRUMP ATE OUR HOMEWORK!” Senator Kennedy (Republican) challenges Federal Reserve
    David Shipper on Banking
    14 hours ago

    n a recent Senate hearing, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana raised concerns about the state of banking in America and the accountability of federal agencies overseeing the industry. The senator expressed his gratitude to the chairman for organizing the hearing but highlighted the pressing issue that some American banks under the regulatory purview are facing financial troubles and even failure.

    With only five minutes allocated for the conversation with the six witnesses, Senator Kennedy emphasized the need for more hearings to provide adequate time for a comprehensive discussion. He also noted that when federal government officials make mistakes, there is often a lack of accountability, with no one being held responsible for failures.

    Senator Kennedy drew an analogy with Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced former CEO of Theranos, suggesting that if she had worked for one of the regulatory agencies, she might have received a bonus instead of facing consequences for wrongdoing.

    Addressing Chairman Bar, Senator Kennedy summarized his understanding of the situation, stating that it seems like the federal agencies responsible for banking supervision are admitting to their failures but seeking more funding and authority from Congress as a solution. Chairman Bar clarified that they are not requesting additional resources but are committed to improving the supervision and regulation system to prevent future crises.

    Senator Kennedy further questioned the chairman’s acceptance of responsibility in light of the report’s mention of Trump-era changes that impacted supervision negatively. He accused the chairman of deflecting blame onto these changes, which he likened to claiming that “Trump ate our homework.” Chairman Bar rejected this characterization, stating that he takes full responsibility for their supervision and regulation and that the report is clear about it.

    In conclusion, the Senate hearing shed light on concerns regarding the state of banking in America and the accountability of regulatory agencies. Senator Kennedy questioned the agencies’ accountability and their commitment to addressing issues without seeking more resources, while Chairman Bar emphasized their dedication to improving the system. The discussion highlighted the need for further oversight and transparency in the banking sector.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA64Z4eKUo8

    5 minutes.

  24. Are you concerned a deluge of new bond issuance from Megabank Inc and the US Treasury may blow up the recent bond rally and drive up mortgage rates higher for longer?

    1. Yahoo
      Bloomberg
      Wall Street’s Biggest Banks Are Set to Stampede US Bond Market
      Allison Nicole Smith
      Fri, January 12, 2024 at 6:35 AM PST·3 min read
      In this article:
      Wall Street’s Biggest Banks Are Set to Stampede US Bond Market

      (Bloomberg) — Wall Street’s largest banks are poised to barrel into the US corporate bond market as earning season kicks off, spurred to sell new debt by looming maturities and tougher regulatory requirements.
      …
      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-biggest-banks-set-143516140.html

    2. Financial Times
      US Treasury bonds
      US Treasury to slow pace of longer-dated debt issuance
      Borrowing plans announced over summer helped push government bond yields to multiyear highs
      The US Treasury building
      The US Treasury will increase issuance of shorter-dated notes at the pace it set three months ago, but slow the pace of 10- and 30-year bond issues
      Kate Duguid in New York and Mary McDougall in London
      November 1 2023

      The US Treasury department is slowing the pace at which it issues longer-dated debt, following a surge in borrowing costs that has roiled global markets.

      The announcement on Wednesday follows the Treasury’s decision in August to dramatically increase its borrowing across the board, a move that in subsequent months sent yields on 10- and 30-year US government bonds to their highest levels in 16 years.

      The Treasury said on Wednesday that it would continue to increase issuance of shorter-dated notes at the pace it set three months ago, while slowing the pace of 10- and 30-year bond issues.
      …

    3. Average long-term mortgage rates rise again, reaching their highest level in 4 weeks
      The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the second time in as many weeks, climbing to its highest level in four weeks
      By ALEX VEIGA AP business writer
      January 11, 2024, 9:11 AM
      FILE – A sold sign hangs in front of a Brighton, New York house on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.66% from 6.62% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
      FILE – A sold sign hangs in front of a Brighton, New York house on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. Th…
      The Associated Press

      LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the second time in as many weeks, climbing to its highest level in four weeks.

      The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.66% from 6.62% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.33%.
      …
      https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/average-long-term-mortgage-rates-rise-reaching-highest-106296598

  25. Having owned nothing, and poised to own even less in the near future, you will own even less.

    You will own nothing, and you will make payments to never own it, or anything, from now to all eternity.

    This is your path, this is the way…

    1. This seems like a historically excellent time to carry no household debt. I have been helping financially solvent freinds and relatives move their substantial savings out of banks paying near 0% interest on savings deposits into Treasury bills yielding over 5%. I enjoy doing God’s work.

        1. Financial Times
          Masayoshi Son
          SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son piles debt on to Silicon Valley mansion
          Japanese billionaire secured $92mn loan on California estate at centre of local planning controversy
          An aerial photograph of Masayoshi Son’s Silicon Valley mansion
          Masayoshi Son’s Silicon Valley mansion
          Ryan McMorrow in Woodside
          2 hours ago

          SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has piled debt on the Silicon Valley mansion he acquired for a record sum, using the showpiece house as security for a multimillion-dollar loan.

          The technology investor tapped his sprawling nine-acre estate in Woodside, California, for cash in December 2019, at a time when his company’s fortunes were cracking under the weight of a failed WeWork IPO and Son was struggling to raise billions for a second Vision Fund.

          Public records show that the Delaware-registered entity Son used to buy the property, SV Projects LLC, mortgaged the house to secure a ¥10bn loan — worth $92mn at the time — from Japanese bank Mizuho to another Delaware entity called SV America Inc. Details of the loan have not previously been reported.

          Son bought the Woodside estate 11 years ago, paying $117.5mn — then the most for a US residential property — to acquire the property from Tully Friedman, co-founder of private equity giant Hellman & Friedman.

          The new owner was originally cloaked by his limited liability company, but Son was revealed to be the buyer a few months after the purchase by the Los Angeles Times.

          While not necessarily indicative of the market value, the price Son paid was nearly six times the home’s assessed value for property taxes at the time, according to public records. Even today, after a real estate boom in the area and a remade mansion, it is perhaps worth even less than the debt on the property.

          Property site Redfin estimates the home is worth $23mn, though top real estate agents in the area said recent comparable sales would probably put its value in the range of $75mn to $90mn.

          In recent years, the SoftBank chief has prodigiously tapped the Japanese group’s assets for cash, at one time or another encumbering everything from its shares in UK chip designer Arm to a chunk of its Alibaba stake.

          Son also began to borrow personally from SoftBank to foot the bill for his investments in the group’s second Vision Fund, Latin America fund and shortlived hedge fund unit, SB Northstar. By the end of September, his personal debt to the tech group topped $5bn.
          …

          1. “Even today, after a real estate boom in the area and a remade mansion, it is perhaps worth even less than the debt on the property.”

            CR8R

        2. Yahoo
          Business Insider
          Warren Buffett is piling up cash because he sees a storm brewing and can’t find bargains, wealth manager says
          Theron Mohamed
          November 17, 2023·3 min read
          In this article:
          Warren Buffett.
          REUTERS/Rick Wilking

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

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

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

          Warren Buffett’s stack of cash is bigger than ever because he spies problems on the horizon and he’s struggling to find bargains, one wealth manager says.
          …
          https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-piling-cash-because-213726575.html

  26. Falling stocks, recession, and historic debt: Here’s the bear case for markets and the economy in 2024
    Phil Rosen
    Jan 13, 2024, 5:16 AM PST

    – Wall Street is largely upbeat about the coming year, but there’s still a bear case for markets and the economy.

    – Downside risks include a recession surprise and a wobbling stock market as earnings disappoint.

    – Stubborn inflation, geopolitical risks, rising US debt, and a weakening consumer are also on the radar.

    Record-high S&P 500 year-end targets and soft-landing calls for 2024 suggest Wall Street is optimistic for what’s to come.

    But market veterans caution the bear case is still alive.

    There’s a chance the effects of the Federal Reserve’s restrictive policy haven’t fully materialized yet, and experts say there are still plenty of hazards that could arise even as the central bank starts to consider cutting rates.

    Stubborn inflation, rising US debt, and a fatigued US consumer, among other factors, could tip the economy into a recession — and hurt the stock market along the way.

    The latest inflation data, for starters, showed consumer prices unexpectedly moved higher in December to 3.4% year-over-year, above the prior month’s 3.1%. That’s muddled the outlook for Fed policy and tempered expectations for rate cuts as soon as March.

    “What’s most important is that it’s now very clear that a recession is not needed to bring inflation down to 2%, so any recession that occurs would be a mistake committed by the Fed,” Morningstar chief economist Preston Caldwell told Business Insider.

    “And it would be a mistake that would be corrected quickly by rapid and deep rate cuts,” he added.
    …
    https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-recession-outlook-economy-bear-investors-consumer-finance-credit-2024-1

  27. Here is an interesting scenario I heard from a friend:

    1) Trump wins the election, and the Great Ballot Box Stuffing Machine fails to stop him.
    2) After waging lawfare against him, the Deep State. in particular the three letter agencies and possibly the military, refuses to recognize him as president, possibly even impeding his inauguration.
    3) Civil war ensues

    My thoughts:
    1 & 2 are possible.
    3? That is the question. Will people who have jobs, a home, can still feed their families, take up arms? It is possible that enough people will finally snap and not care that they still have something left to lose, or believe that they will soon lose it anyway if they don’t do something.

      1. The 3 letter agencies ignored him last term. Minus the woke generals, the military loves him. Assassination is much more probable. I’m frankly surprised he’s survived this long.

        2. Minus the woke generals, the military loves him.

          Isn’t the military undergoing a “fundamental transformation”, where it’s out with white guys and in with everyone else?

  28. ‘They think, ‘Gosh, if I look around, many of these other buildings are in distress. That tells me values have come down pretty substantially. If this many other borrowers have been willing to either walk away or hand back the keys or are struggling, why would my situation be much different?’

    Fear is the mind killer Steve. Do not give it away.

  29. ‘I think your overly proud sellers and builders now have data, real data that they have to respond to, meaning look at my colleagues and my neighbors that have decided to say, ‘I’m going to be realistic and competitive in this higher-interest rate climate.’ Well clearly that’s now the playbook, so lets go ahead and do what’s necessary to move the asset’

    Jeebus Jeff that’s the extra spirit right there!

  30. ‘Since the new legislation was passed this fall, she has lost 40 per cent of her clientele and is closing her business as of May. Only two of her clients will qualify to operate short-term rentals when the legislation takes effect. She says short-term rentals have been vilified in the news and by the provincial government. ‘Consider these as small businesses, where people paid their licence fee, they paid thier taxes, they did their research to buy these properties as a small business’

    It always ends the same with STR.

    1. U.S. Markets
      Fed reports record loss for 2023 amid surge in interest expenses
      By Michael S. Derby
      January 12, 202412:46 PM PSTUpdated a day ago
      The Federal Reserve building is seen in Washington, DC
      The Federal Reserve building is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

      NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Rising income expenses pushed the Federal Reserve system deep into a record loss last year, the central bank said in preliminary figures released on Friday.

      Fed income after expenses came in at a negative $114.3 billion last year, versus $58.8 billion in positive income the year before. The loss was tied to a jump in interest expenses faced by the central bank amid a rate hike campaign aimed at cooling inflation.
      The Dow dipped a third of a percent,

      The Fed paid a mix of financial institutions $281.1 billion last year, versus $102.4 billion in 2022. Meanwhile, interest it earned from bonds the central bank owns totaled $163.8 billion last year, versus $170 billion in 2022. The Fed said operating expenses at the 12 regional banks, which are quasi private institutions overseen by the Fed Board of Governors, stood at $5.5 billion in 2023.

      The Fed pays banks, financial firms and other eligible money managers interest to park cash on the central bank’s books as part of how it implements monetary policy and controls short-term rates. Aggressive Fed rate increases, starting in the spring of 2022 when the central bank’s rate target was at near-zero levels, pushed that rate range to between 5.25% and 5.5% as of the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting, with the collective impact of those action ending the Fed’s streak of strong profitability.
      …
      https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fed-reports-steep-paper-loss-2023-amid-surge-interest-expenses-2024-01-12/

    2. One thought: Perhaps the Fed’s record loss rate would make it more challenging to bail out stocks or housing, in case they CR8R again.

      Unless operating losses truly don’t matter to the Fed…

      1. Yahoo
        Bloomberg
        More Stocks and Bonds Are Moving In Tandem, Worrying Some on Wall Street
        Denitsa Tsekova
        Fri, January 12, 2024 at 1:26 PM PST·4 min read
        In this article:

        (Bloomberg) — Behind the scenes of a rebounding equity market are stubborn signals that anything short of a quick death for inflation spells big trouble for traders.

        It’s visible in the growing sensitivity of large swaths of the market to bonds, with two thirds of the S&P 500 moving in unison with yields – doing better when rates fall and vice versa. That’s the most since 2001, according to Societe Generale SA data.

        After a wobbly start to 2024, investors remain steadfast in their bullish conviction, with the US benchmark closing out a 1.8% weekly gain. Yet mixed takeaways from the oil market and consumer prices this week raise the obvious question of whether bond yields will prove a friend or foe to traders across rate-sensitive strategies. The continued vigor of the business cycle arguably provides limited cover for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to go all-in on dovish monetary policies, the warning goes.
        …
        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/more-stocks-bonds-moving-tandem-212622188.html

        1. “More Stocks and Bonds Are Moving In Tandem”

          It’s a sign that fundamentals are completely dominated by heavy-handed monetary policy. Watch out below if the Fed follows through on plans for removing the punch bowl. Otherwise, prepare for higher inflation and much higher-for-longer, ever rising rates (historic reference: late 1970s through early 1980s).

    3. The Federal Reserve is neither federal nor a reserve. It’s a private banking cartel whose goal is to transfer wealth from the lower 99.9% to the 0.1% via boom/bust cycles.

      1. “Give me control over a nation’s currency, and I care not who makes its laws. Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743–1812)”

        1. Rothschild

          The Creature From Jekyll Island

          HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

          Thick books can be intimidating. We tend to put off reading them until we have a suitably large block of time— which is to say, often they are never read. That is the reason a preview has been placed at the beginning and a summary at the end of each chapter. All of these together can be read in about one hour. Although they will not contain details nor documentation, they will cover the major points and will provide an overview of the complete story. The best way to read this book, therefore, is to begin with the previews of each section, followed by the chapter previews and summaries. Even if the reader is not in a hurry, this is still an excellent approach. A look at the map before the journey makes it easier to grapple with a topic such as this which spans so much history.

      2. “…goal is to transfer wealth from the lower 99.9% to the 0.1% via boom/bust cycles.”

        Judging from the ever shrinking middle class, the growing army of unhoused citizens, and housing prices too high for all but the top ranks of the upper class, they have been wildly successful in recent years.

  33. ‘Consider these as small businesses, where people paid their licence fee, they paid their taxes, they did their research to buy these properties as a small business,’ said Paine Wednesday.”

    Something like taxi medallions Nancy?

    I bet Nancy Ubers.

  34. ‘The detached two-storey house, located at 27 Jacksonville Drive, sold for $1.7 million on Jan. 5. The house sold for $2.3 million two years earlier in January 2022. At the time, prices were ‘completely out of control’ and in many cases ‘highly artificial,’ Toronto real estate agent Desmond Brown said, describing the super low rates available in the first years of the pandemic’

    ‘‘We always knew that when prices were going crazy during COVID and post COVID that the outlying area of Toronto would suffer the most when things settled down or when there was a turnaround’

    Lot’s of payback coming for the minor respiratory illness Desmond.

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