Honestly, It’s Making Me A Little Nervous

1. ‘the buyer-induced frenzy that occurred after the COVID pandemic set the real estate market on fire across the country’

   Sure, everybody said ‘I gotta buy a shack to put all this toilet paper in!’

2. Happy Easter, HBBers.

   1. Easter message for the money changers:

      https://ibb.co/Lzq12Zc

3. ‘Eventually what happens is [the owners will] give three, four months away free and people will choose to live there and they’ll just surf from building to building’

   That’s the spirit Leo!

   1. So you want to be a landlord…..

4. You will own nothing.

5. ‘A nearby Brookfield tower at 777 S. Figueroa St. is being sold for about $145 million, roughly 50% less than the outstanding debt on the property’

   That’s some sound lending right there.

6. ‘A car was stolen every 40 minutes in Canada’s largest city last year…‘If someone’s careful about their cars, they’re probably not going to look closer to downtown,’ he said. ‘If you have three Bentleys, or something like that, you’re going to look in an uptown neighborhood. Do people make decisions based on garages? Absolutely. Some people will pass on even the nicest house if there’s no parking’

   You got a bigger problem than garages fer yer Bentleys Adam.

   1. Are u sure these aren’t repos?

   2. a garage or a paved front yard with a curb cut will save you at least $75 a week in fines if you park on the street during street sweeping time.

      1. I think the reason for a garage is to hide your car(s) from would be thieves. Even in my little burg this is becoming a big problem.

         1. And one of the reasons is because the local DA is a Soros DA.

7. ‘Without more incentives, prices need to fall even further than they already have, to ‘pennies on the dollar,’ said Arthroto President Doug Hayden. ‘Understand that there aren’t going to be 10 bidders [for these assets]. You’re gonna have to beg someone, even if the economics work, to step up and do this work’

   They are giving it away in Los Angeles Eddie.

8. [This article is long so I am only posting snips.]

   ‘I am so scared of them now’: Burned from overspending, some ‘buy now, pay later’ users warn others away.

   https://finance.yahoo.com/news/am-scared-them-now-burned-140000597.html

   Many consumers find buying now and paying later a godsend when cash is tight. Others are wishing they’d paid upfront to avoid pain later.

   Tia Whiteside, 27, knew she was spending more than she would have without buy now, pay later services — the popular loans that let borrowers split purchases into installments with little or no interest. Planning a day trip to the beach with her 2-year-old son last year, she spent $800 on Amazon purchases including a tent, new outfits and a high-end sandcastle kit with the BNPL provider Affirm.

   [A day at the beach cost her $800. Check.]

   Whiteside, a Greenville, South Carolina-based behavioral analyst who treats childhood autism, makes good money; she and her husband bring in about $110,000 per year combined. But the $6,000 in BNPL loans she’d racked up over roughly two years felt frivolous, she said, especially because they’re planning to buy their first home.

   “I was just seeing my paycheck continually eaten up,” said Whiteside, “and I was like, ‘Where’s my money going?’”

   The last straw was a $600 Dyson hair styler and dryer, which she’s used just once since purchasing it with Affirm at Neiman Marcus in early February. By mid-March, Whiteside said she’d deleted the Klarna and Afterpay apps from her phone — but held on to Affirm, because she still owes it money.

   [She bought a $600 hair styler and dryer. Check.]

   BNPL services have taken off among shoppers across income and credit levels for various reasons. Many are seeking cover from high credit card interest rates. Some, having burned through traditional credit options, are desperate for financial lifelines. Others are simply looking to better manage their cash flow.

   The fastest uptake has been among consumers 35 and younger, who represent more than half of BNPL borrowers, LexisNexis Risk Solutions found late last year. Many are increasingly using the loans for daily essentials, not just big-ticket purchases. While some already see them as a routine tool in their wallets, others, like Whiteside, are turning away in alarm.

   As BNPL usage soars, financial experts and researchers have raised alarms about risky spending on the platforms, even though they can often be used responsibly.

   “I’m sure there are people who use it well, but on average, we feel it kind of replaces the credit card,” said Ben Lourie, an accounting professor at the University of California, Irvine. “People are consuming extra. There’s just no way around it.”

   Lourie and fellow researchers at UC Irvine, Stanford and Singapore Management University analyzed the bank and credit card data of nearly 11 million consumers. They found that BNPL users racked up at least $176 more per year in overdraft fees, credit card interest and late fees after starting to use the services.

   While the transaction data they scrutinized, in a paper released March 21, ranged from 2014 to 2021, Lourie said he suspects the overspending has “gotten worse.” But that may be difficult to gauge, in part because BNPL loans aren’t uniformly reported to major credit agencies, creating “phantom debt” that lenders aren’t always able to see.

   The services have drawn attention from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which found last year that most BNPL users had higher credit card utilization rates and lower credit scores than non-BNPL borrowers. Many appeared to be leaning on the installment loans while also shouldering high rates on revolving credit card balances, the agency said.

   That report also found Black consumers were 65% more likely to borrow on BNPL than the general population, followed by Hispanic consumers (47%) and female consumers (35%).

   After about three or four years of using BNPL services for designer clothes, handbags and Apple devices, Amy Baird, 39, was staring down more than $9,000 in debt.

   Financial planners often advise compulsive shoppers to take a beat after putting something in their online carts — to consider payment strategies or wait a day and come back. But BNPL platforms can make it hard to press pause, some borrowers and financial experts said.

   Some lawmakers have called for more scrutiny of BNPL services.

   Last fall, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who heads the Senate banking committee, joined Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., in a letter urging the CFPB to ensure BNPL providers didn’t “take advantage of struggling consumers” ahead of the holiday season.

   “Aggressive advertising encourages consumers to use these plans for multiple purchases, at multiple online stores — racking up debt they cannot afford to repay,” Brown said in a statement to NBC News.

   Baird, for her part, acknowledged BNPL services can make inflation and high interest rates feel “easier” for those who can keep their shopping impulses under control. But she’s sworn them off for good and encourages others to proceed with caution.

   “I am so scared of them now,” she said. “I don’t need that in my life.”

   1. The last straw was a $600 Dyson hair styler

      The iPhone of small appliances and vacuum cleaners.

   2. nobody ever went broke underestimating the ability of poor people to do math.

9. Black Mayors Hold National Meeting On Crime – Discussion Closed To The Public.

   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/black-mayors-hold-national-meeting-rising-crime-discussion-closed-public

   [An interesting snip …]

   “In the interview below the Mayor of St. Louis, Tishaura Jones, mentions that gas stations and convenience stores attract a high rate of crime and asks how the business owners can be ‘held accountable’ for this, rather than how they can be protected from it?

   “’We have a lot of violence around convenience stores and gas stations…So how can we hold those business owners accountable and also bring down crime? Some of the things are already doing, we’re finding other mayors are doing as well.’

   “In other words, how can these mayors blame businesses for the crime rate instead of taking responsibility as elected representatives?”

   1. “In other words, how can these mayors blame businesses for the crime rate instead of taking responsibility as elected representatives?”

      Because they can? And when their cities turn into retail deserts they will blame it on corporate greed and even threaten retailers who close their doors with lawfare, which is why many are bailing out now.

      Most metro areas are quickly turning into Gothams, but with no Batman.

10. Globalists Claim Mass Immigration Helps The US Economy – Here’s Why That’s A Lie.

    https://alt-market.us/globalists-claim-mass-immigration-helps-the-us-economy-heres-why-thats-a-lie/

    By Brandon Smith

    I have said it many times in the past but I think it bears repeating once again: If you want to understand why world events happen the way they do, you must understand the goals and influence of globalist institutions. You must accept the fact that these people create most of the national and international disasters you and I have to deal with on a regular basis and oftentimes they create these disasters deliberately.

    Yes, I know, there are plenty of skeptics out there that think all geopolitics and crisis events are random or a product of bureaucratic stupidity; and those people are wrong. They have no idea what they’re talking about because they’re basing this conclusion on assumptions rather than facts and research. Make no mistake, there’s a good reason why it feels like the whole world has gone crazy all at once.

    The primary purpose of the globalists is to erase national borders and homogenize all countries and cultures under one economic and governmental system. They have openly admitted to this plan on numerous occasions. One of the most revealing quotes on the agenda comes from Clinton Administration Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot, who stated in Time magazine that:

    “In the next century, nations as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority… National sovereignty wasn’t such a great idea after all.”

    He adds in the same article a lesser known quote:

    “…The free world formed multilateral financial institutions that depend on member states’ willingness to give up a degree of sovereignty. The International Monetary Fund can virtually dictate fiscal policies, even including how much tax a government should levy on its citizens. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade regulates how much duty a nation can charge on imports. These organizations can be seen as the protoministries of trade, finance and development for a united world.”

    The people who push for this agenda are generally members of a number of globalist organizations, from the Council on Foreign Relations to the Tavistock Institute to the World Economic Forum to the IMF or World Bank, not to mention the Bank for International Settlements and the Council For Inclusive Capitalism. However, these think-tank groups are only part of the bigger picture. They are supported by some of the largest banking and investment corporations in the world, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC, Vanguard, Blackrock, etc.

    If you want to know why mass illegal immigration is a growing crisis at this time and why the current government has been actively trying to enforce an open border police in the US, simply look into the financial aspects of pro-illegal immigration lobbying groups and think tanks pushing open borders messaging into the mainstream. You will find many of these banks and investment funds connected to them in one way or another.

    For example, the list of companies backing the Governor of New York’s plan to subsidize illegal aliens entering the state is very revealing. If they’re allowed to continue offering incentives to illegals then those people will continue trying to come to the US; this isn’t complicated. The conspiracy is out in the open.

    Admitting To The Agenda, Then Painting It As A Positive

    For the first few years of Joe Biden’s presidency, he and his cohorts attempted to deny there was any mass illegal migration problem at all. However, when media coverage (mostly independent) began to expose the enormous caravans of illegals overwhelming border towns like El Paso, Texas, he was forced to acknowledge that the crisis was in fact a crisis.

    But, if you thought that forcing Biden to admit to the migrant disaster was going to force him to do something about it, you were sorely mistaken. The reason mass immigration exists right now is exactly because the Biden Administration and globalist institutions are offering free handouts to “asylum seekers.” All they have to do to stop the rising tide of illegals is to stop offering them free stuff. Clearly, the political elites have no intention of doing this.

    Instead, government officials, think-tanks and the media have decided that since they’re now pressed to admit that mass immigration and open borders are real, they’re going to spin the crisis as if it’s actually a good thing for America.

    In a narrative similar to the one used by EU officials to justify their support of the invasion of Islamic fundamentalists from 2014 onward, American elites claim that western nations are “desperate for a younger population” which can fill the “needs of the labor market.” They claim than mass migrations into the west are “good for the economy.”

    This was also the primary message of a World Economic Forum conference on migration and labor held in March. The globalist organization discussed how open borders and mass immigration could be framed as a “positive” in terms of economic advantages. And the talking points derived from WEF events always find their way into the corporate media. The main takeaway? Protectionism (of national borders) is bad and countries that engage in it will be at an economic disadvantage.

    Since last month there’s been a hailstorm of establishment media articles and news reports suggesting that mass immigration will boost GDP and make America stronger. These assertions are all built on a single line from a single report from the Congressional Budget Office which states:

    “In our projections, the deficit is also smaller than it was last year because economic output is greater, partly as a result of more people working. The labor force in 2033 (EDITOR’S NOTE: Do they mean 2023?) is larger by 5.2 million people, mostly because of higher net immigration. As a result of those changes in the labor force, we estimate that, from 2023 to 2034, GDP will be greater by about $7 trillion and revenues will be greater by about $1 trillion than they would have been otherwise. We are continuing to assess the implications of immigration for revenues and spending.”

    Bloomberg recently published an article boasting that this line from the CBO report shows that the rising fears among Americans over illegal immigration are unfounded. They question why the migrant crisis is a top issue going into the 2024 elections and cite a number of major banking institutions that have adjusted their US fiscal outlook into the positive because of the CBO’s data point and higher immigration. Bloomberg quotes the HSBC:

    “Immigration is not just a highly charged social and political issue, it is also a big macroeconomic one,” Janet Henry, global chief economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. No advanced economy is benefiting from immigration quite like the U.S., and “the impact of migration has been an important part of the U.S. growth story over the past two years.”

    Firstly, let’s clarify something in terms of the CBO’s theory – The US deficit has fallen in direct correlation to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. It’s more expensive to borrow for everyone, including the government, which makes it more expensive to spend. Because of far higher interest payments the US is now adding over $1 Trillion every 100 days to the national debt. That’s unprecedented.

    Any spending cuts can be directly attributed to higher interest rates, NOT immigration. The CBO mentions this fact very quickly in the same report, without elaborating on why they think immigrants add value. But let’s consider the GDP claim for a moment; why would the CBO expect higher immigration to add $7 trillion to the GDP in the next ten years?

    Illegal Immigrants Are A Net Negative – We Don’t Need Them

    They say it’s about more people working, but what about more people taking welfare and other subsidies? Neither the CBO (nor the media) make any distinction between legal migrants and illegal migrants when it comes to economic effects.

    Legal migrants usually have careers, business plans, skill sets and their own money coming into the US. Most illegals have nothing – Little education, no substantial skill sets, no money and no plan other than to get free handouts wherever possible. We have seen the proof of this in places like New York and Washington DC, where a tiny percentage of migrants bused into the cities have absolutely crushed their welfare infrastructure.

    It’s estimated that the net lifetime cost of each illegal immigrant for the American taxpayer is over $68,000. While some illegals do end up paying taxes, their overall cost is far higher than the amount they pay in.

    The jobs market has been inflated by trillions in Federal Reserve stimulus and most of the jobs created are low wage retail and service positions that will disappear in a couple years anyway. The CBO notes in the same report that unemployment is set to increase in 2024, but the media overlooked that little tidbit of information.

    Migrants are not needed to keep the labor market going. In fact, as jobs numbers inevitably plummet due to higher interest rates illegals will only add to jobless levels and poverty levels in the US, further dragging the economy down.

    Not to mention, the American housing market has suffered an oppressive spike in prices, with home costs and rents in many places doubling. This is caused in part by the millions of migrants entering the country each year looking for housing and getting help from US government programs to secure that housing. Get rid of the illegals and I guarantee rent costs will go down quickly.

    Almost all of the projected GDP gain from illegal immigrants comes from their wages which go into their pockets (the same wages they send back to their families in their home countries). There is no direct GDP gain from illegals in terms of benefits to the overall economy. That said, the CBO may also be accounting for another factor which many Americans are unaware of – Government spending being added to GDP.

    As I’ve noted in the past, a large portion of GDP calculated by state governments and the federal government comes from spending. The more the government spends the higher GDP climbs. It doesn’t matter if that money was wasted, it is still counted as rising economic activity.

    So, if the US is adding 2-3 million illegals per year to the population and the government is spending thousands in tax dollars per year on each illegal through various subsidies, that will amount to billions per year in extra GDP. And the more they allow illegals to enter the country unchecked the more GDP can grow exponentially. Is that good for the economy? No. It’s going to destroy the economy and we are already seeing the effects, but the government and the media can spin it to look like it’s a positive.

    The head of the CBO is a Republican but he’s also a former member of the IMF, so it’s not surprising he would paint mass immigration as a positive. The globalists want to end national sovereignty and the fastest way to do that is to create open border conditions, kill domestic economies, erase western culture and then swoop in with a “global solution” after the dust settles. This is the plan; to destabilize the US economic system, not save it. And, illegal immigrants are a useful tool for that end game.

    1. “The primary purpose of the globalists is to erase national borders and homogenize all countries and cultures under one economic and governmental system”

       Translation: communism.

    2. The primary purpose of the globalists is to erase national borders and homogenize all countries and cultures under one economic and governmental system.

       The July Mexican elections are a great example. The MORENA candidate is leading her opponent by a 2 to 1 margin. What is especially astounding about this election is:

       1) Both candidates support globalist issues such as green energy, even though the private sector is ringing the alarm bells that such a move will destroy the now growing Mexican economy.
       2) Both candidates are women. Mexico’s culture is notoriously misogynist. All parties, bothon the right and the left have been been fielding a 50/50 mix of male and female candidates., and it reflects in the congress.
       3) The shoo in to win the Presidency is Claudia Sheinbaum, who is a member of the tribe. Mexico is very anti-semitic so the fact that she is guaranteed to win is astounding. That Mexicans would vote for a globalist tribe member over a fellow mestizo is mind boggling.

       Anyway, what I’m getting at is that the globalists have already completely taken over Mexico.

11. Has China finally turned the page on its real estate woes?

    1. China’s bleak outlook
       Japan’s economic agony lasted for 30 years. China’s is just getting started.
       Linette Lopez
       Mar 31, 2024, 2:57 AM PDT

       Japan’s long-comatose economy is finally showing proof of life.

       After a catastrophic real-estate implosion in the early 1990s, the country’s economy spent the next three decades shrinking. Households and businesses had to spend their money paying off debt, which prevented them from investing or starting new ventures. Wages were stagnant. And the economy slid from the world’s second largest to its fourth. Animal spirits were neutered.
       …
       Like Japan in the 1990s, China is now staring down a property-market collapse. Real estate once accounted for 20% to 30% of the country’s GDP, and all aspects of China’s economy — local governments, households, the banking system — depend on money from the property market to survive. After decades of overbuilding and speculation, this massive debt pile is coming due. This is what we now recognize as a “balance-sheet recession,” a term the Nomura economist Richard Koo coined in 1997 to describe Japan’s economic sluggishness as society paid down debt from its property-market collapse. Now, Koo says, Chinese academics and policymakers are flocking to Japan to glean some kind of wisdom from the country’s experience.

       “I tell them there’s a big difference between Japan 30 years ago and China now. When we got into this balance-sheet recession, no one knew what kind of disease we contracted,” Koo told me. “We were all lost for a long time.”
       …
       https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-china-real-estate-stock-market-crash-recession-xi-jinping-2024-3

    2. Economics
       Indicators
       China Home Sales Drought Persists With Little Hint of Turnaround
       – Sales from top real estate companies falls about 46% in March
       – Nation’s property crisis has weighed on big builders, banks
       Buildings under construction at a residential project in Shanghai.
       Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
       By Bloomberg News
       March 31, 2024 at 5:34 AM PDT

       China’s home sales slump dragged on in March, signaling a much-hoped turnaround for the sector isn’t in sight yet.

       The value of new home sales from the 100 biggest real estate companies slid about 46% from a year earlier to 358 billion yuan ($49.6 billion), following a 60% decline in February, according to preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp.
       …

       1. CR8R

12. Financial Times
    Artificial intelligence
    Huge AI funding leads to hype and ‘grifting’, warns DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis
    British AI pioneer says the billions of dollars being poured into start-ups is obscuring scientific progress in the field
    Demis Hassabis at the AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park last year
    Demis Hassabis: ‘In a way, AI’s not hyped enough but in some senses it’s too hyped. We’re talking about all sorts of things that are just not real’
    John Thornhill in London 2 hours ago

    The surge of money flooding into artificial intelligence has resulted in some crypto-like hype that is obscuring the incredible scientific progress in the field, according to Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind.

    The chief executive of Google’s AI research division told the Financial Times that the billions of dollars being poured into generative AI start-ups and products “brings with it a whole attendant bunch of hype and maybe some grifting and some other things that you see in other hyped-up areas, crypto or whatever.

    “Some of that has now spilled over into AI, which I think is a bit unfortunate. And it clouds the science and the research, which is phenomenal,” he added. “In a way, AI’s not hyped enough but in some senses it’s too hyped. We’re talking about all sorts of things that are just not real.”
    …

    1. ChatGPT 3.5

       User
       True or false? ‘In a way, AI’s not hyped enough but in some senses it’s too hyped. We’re talking about all sorts of things that are just not real’

       ChatGPT
       True. This statement reflects a common sentiment in discussions about artificial intelligence. While AI holds immense potential and is making significant advancements, there is also a tendency to overhype its capabilities, leading to unrealistic expectations and perceptions.

       User
       What is the implication for share prices of AI companies?

       ChatGPT
       The implication for share prices of AI companies can vary depending on how accurately the market perceives the potential of AI technologies. If companies are able to deliver on the promises of AI and meet or exceed expectations, share prices may increase. However, if the hype surrounding AI leads to inflated expectations that companies cannot fulfill, it could result in disappointment and potentially lower share prices. It’s important for investors to critically assess the actual capabilities and achievements of AI companies rather than solely relying on hype.

       ChatGPT can make mistakes. Consider checking important information.

       ChatGPT

    2. Stock market bubble warnings are everywhere. These are the 10 most richly valued stocks right now.
       Matthew Fox
       Mar 31, 2024, 3:38 AM PDT
       Stock Market Bubble
       Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

       – As the stock market hits record highs, some investors are concerned about a bubble.

       – High valuations and an AI-hype cycle are the top concerns for bearish investors.

       – From AI to chicken wings, listed below are the 10 most richly valued stocks in the market right now.
       …
       https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-bubble-warnings-the-10-most-richly-valued-stocks-2024-3

13. New York Times — Angry Farmers Are Reshaping Europe (3/31/2024):

    “Down on the European farm, revolt has stirred. The discontent, leading farmers to quit and demonstrate, threatens to do more than change how Europe produces its food. Angry farmers are blunting climate goals. They are reshaping politics ahead of elections for the European Parliament in June. They are shaking European unity against Russia as the war in Ukraine increases their costs.

    The turmoil has emboldened a far right that thrives on grievances and rattled a European establishment forced to make concessions. In recent weeks, farmers have blocked highways and descended on the streets of European capitals in a disruptive, if disjointed, outburst against what they call “existential challenges.”

    Ascendant far-right parties across the continent have seized on such anger three months before European Parliament elections. They portray it as another illustration of the confrontation between arrogant elites and the people, urban globalists and rooted farmers.

    Their message is that the countryside is the custodian of national traditions under assault from modernity, political correctness and immigration, in addition to a thicket of environmental rules that, in their view, defies common sense. Such messages resonate with voters who feel forgotten.

    Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s anti-immigrant National Rally party, argues that true exile “is not to be banished from your country, but to live in it and no longer recognize it.”

    https://archive.is/ERVmA

    1. Related article.

       The Guardian — Election of Donald Trump ‘could put world’s climate goals at risk’ (3/31/2024):

       “Victory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election this year could put the world’s climate goals at risk, a former UN climate chief has said.

       The chances of limiting global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels are already slim, and Trump’s antipathy to climate action would have a major impact on the US, which is the world’s second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and biggest oil and gas exporter, said Patricia Espinosa, who served as the UN’s top official on the climate from 2016 to 2022.

       She is also concerned that too much of the focus of climate finance and efforts to reduce emissions so far has been on shifting from a reliance on fossil fuels to renewables.

       “We are now realising that nature will make or break net zero – decarbonising the energy sector will not be enough,” Espinosa said, calling for more emphasis on the role of nature, to halt deforestation and transform food production, which accounts for about a third of global emissions. “The 1.5C economy can only be achieved by ending deforestation and accelerating the transition to sustainable agriculture and food systems this decade.”

       https://archive.ph/xxXzX

       “Sustainable agriculture and food systems”

       Because that worked so well in Stalin’s USSR. And when Chairman Mao implemented the Great Leap Forward, millions starved and died.

       1. And when Chairman Mao implemented the Great Leap Forward, millions starved and died.”

          Could be this is the plan ?

          1. It’s more than clear it’s the plan. Raise global food prices 100-200% and they can sit back and watch as billions starve.

             The “elite” will pontificate from Davos, while they dine on the finest foods, that while unfortunate, it’s for the best.

    2. Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s anti-immigrant National Rally party, argues that true exile “is not to be banished from your country, but to live in it and no longer recognize it.”

       This!

14. They want to employ AI to tackle the ” Vaccine hesitant,” The studies so far concluded that vaccine safety was the cause of people rejecting vaccines.
    They also want to use AI to speed up vaccines being ready for deployment within a month instead of the warp speed of one year with the Covid Panademic.
    So if you concerned about “safety” of vaccines, you will be singled out by AI as having a psychological disorder or not government compliant.
    And the safety concerns will be addressed by vaccines created at even greater speeds, so much for clinical trials.
    This is what they want to use AI for .
    “Whoever controls technology controls the World “, is the famous statement by Klaus Schwab, leader of the biggest Monopoly Corporations on earth.

15. – Happy Easter Sunday! He is risen!

    \\

    – Asset bubbles: RRE, CRE, stonks, HY/IG corp. bonds, etc. In 2024 these can be aggregated into “The Everything Bubble”, aka “The Central Bank Bubble.”

    – A friendly reminder that human behavior is a a relative constant throughout history; asset bubbles expand, and then burst. Unfortunately, financialization has now established bubble-nomics as a core tenet of the U.S. economy. Booms and, however inconvenient, but inevitable busts, are “The Economy.” The boom and bust cycle, like inflation, is policy. On the downside now. And in an election year too! Bummer Jerome.

    \\

    https://financeandcareer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/psychology-of-asset-bubbles.jpg

    \\

    “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

    “It’s déjà vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra

    “Those who want to understand clearly the events which happened in the past and which (human nature being what it is) will at some time or other and in much the same ways be repeated in the future.” – Thucydides, Peloponnesian Wars, 431 BCE, Translation by Rex Warner

    “One of the most important reasons for studying history is that virtually every stupid idea that is in vogue today has been tried before and proved disastrous before, time and again.” –Thomas Sowell

    “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” – Mark Twain

    “As a dog returns to its vomit,
        so fools repeat their folly.” – Proverbs 26:11

    1. Bubble maintenance has been stealthily added to the Fed’s mandate.

       1. ChatGPT 3.5

          User
          Bubble maintenance has been stealthily added to the Fed’s mandate.

          ChatGPT
          It’s not accurate to say that bubble maintenance has been officially added to the Federal Reserve’s mandate. The Fed’s dual mandate is to promote maximum employment and stable prices. However, the Fed does monitor financial markets for signs of bubbles and may take actions to address financial stability risks as part of its broader responsibilities.

          User
          What is the difference between addressing financial stability risks and bubble maintenance?

          ChatGPT
          Addressing financial stability risks involves identifying and mitigating threats to the overall stability of the financial system. This can include monitoring for excessive leverage, asset price volatility, or vulnerabilities in specific sectors of the economy. The goal is to prevent disruptions that could lead to broader economic downturns or systemic crises.

          Bubble maintenance, on the other hand, implies actively trying to sustain or prop up asset bubbles in financial markets. This could involve taking actions to inflate asset prices beyond their intrinsic value, potentially leading to unsustainable market conditions and eventual crashes. While some may argue that certain Fed policies inadvertently contribute to asset bubbles, the Fed’s official mandate is focused on broader economic goals like employment and price stability rather than intentionally maintaining bubbles in financial markets.

          ChatGPT can make mistakes. Consider checking important information.

          ChatGPT

16. Visegrád 24
    @visegrad24

    “I won’t vote for Biden. At this point voting Trump is on the table (…) I won’t support anyone anti-Israel or anti making USA safe,”

    Visegrad24 spoke with @MichaelRapaport about his how his political views have changed since Oct. 7th.

    https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1773521354412724465?s=20

    1. I won’t support anyone anti-Israel or anti making USA safe

       Interesting choice of order, I would think that making the USA safe would be the top priority.

       1. “I would think that making the USA safe would be the top priority.”

          +1

          1. He means safe for fellow Tribe members.

17. Do you ever see in Bible text talk about sitting down to a nice big bowl of bugs. No, pestilence was considered a disaster to crops.
    Bird and reptile food was not touted as a blessing from God to humans, but rather a plague of disaster.
    Where are the long term studies on bugs being a viable replacement and mainstay for human consumption.
    Tyson Chicken is hiring 42 thousand US Border invaders to work a new bug food production plant.
    Boycott this Company now , or eat bugs later.
    When they told you would eat bugs, they weren’t kidding. They are already mixing bugs with flour, etc in Europe.
    And what is the elimination of co2 emissions on earth going to do to bugs, since bugs eat a lot of green things.
    The balance of nature is not considered in this fraud that zero policy co2 emissions by 2050 isn’t anything but a hoax theory .

    1. AFAIK eating bugs was never considered kosher.

18. Happy Easter!

    or

    Happy “Transgender Awareness Day”

    Just in case you’re not up on some other “themed holidays” here is a list that may be helpful.

    ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’ Is Just One of 50+ LGBTQIA2S+ Celebrations

    JOEL B. POLLAK
    30 Mar 2024

    The following list was copied almost verbatim from calendars provided by GLAAD, Emporia State University, Michigan State University,

    January

    National Mentoring Month
    January 16 – 22: No Name-Calling Week
    January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day
    February

    February 7: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
    Week after Valentine’s Day: Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week
    February 28: HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day

    March
    Bisexual Health Awareness Month

    Week varies in March: National LGBT Health Awareness Week
    March 1: Zero Discrimination Day
    March 10: National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
    March 20: National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
    March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility

    April

    April 6: International Asexuality Day
    April 10: National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
    Third Friday of April: Day of Silence
    April 18: National Transgender HIV Testing Day
    April 18: Nonbinary Parents Day
    April 26: Lesbian Visibility Day (also International Lesbian Visibility Week, through May 2)

    May

    First Sunday In May: International Family Equality Day
    May 17: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia
    May 19: National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (alternatively, Agender Pride Day)
    May 22: Harvey Milk Day
    May 24: Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day

    June
    LGBTQ Pride Month

    June 1: LGBTQ Families Day
    June 5: HIV Long-term Survivors Awareness Day
    June 12: Pulse Remembrance
    June 15: Anniversary of U.S. Supreme Court Bostock decision expanding protections to LGBTQ employees
    June 26: Anniversary of U.S. Supreme Court legalizing marriage equality
    June 27: National HIV Testing Day
    June 28: Stonewall Day
    June 30: Queer Youth of Faith Day

    July

    July 6: Omnisexual Visibility Day
    Week of July 14: Nonbinary Awareness Week, culminates in International Nonbinary People’s Day on July 14
    July 16: International Drag Day

    August

    August 14: Gay Uncles Day
    August 20: Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

    September

    September 18: National HIV/AIDS & Aging Awareness Day
    Week of September 23: Bisexual+ Awareness Week, culminates in Celebrate Bisexuality Day on September 23
    September 27: National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Aw

    October

    LGBTQ History Month

    October 8: International Lesbian Day
    October 11: National Coming Out Day
    October 15: National Latinx HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
    October 19: National LGBT Center Awareness Day
    Third Wednesday in October: International Pronouns Day
    Third Thursday in October: Spirit Day
    Last week in October: Asexual Awareness Week
    October 26: Intersex Awareness Day

    November

    Trans Awareness Month

    First Sunday of November: Transgender Parent Day
    November 8: Intersex Day of Remembrance (or Solidarity)
    November 13 – 19: Transgender Awareness Week
    November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance

    December

    December 1: World AIDS Day
    December 8: Pansexual/Panromantic Pride Day
    December 10: Human Rights Day
    December 14: HIV Cure Research Day

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/30/lgbtqia2s/

    PS

    Only one Holiday mentioned in this post is recognized by jeff the Denier, and that is what I wish you all…

    Happy Easter!

    1. And some people don’t believe the Devil is real.

       1. I don’t doubt that most senior Democrats have altars to Moloch in their homes.

    2. It’s Satanic in nature, which is precisely why they did it. It’s pure blasphemy.

19. America’s most serious problem in 2024 is too many officials in the nation’s capital covering up deeply entrenched corruption in many corners of the government.

    That’s according to Sen. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin lawmaker who had planned on leaving Congress in 2022 after his second term, but changed his mind because “our country is in peril.”

    “I couldn’t turn my back on it. But in particular, nobody else was advocating for the vaccine injured,” he told The Epoch Times.

    He is referring to the individuals who suffered serious maladies after being vaccinated against COVID-19, including myocarditis and blood clotting.

    Mr. Johnson pointed to “the sabotage of early treatments” for COVID-19 and “the vilification of doctors who had the courage and compassion to treat COVID-19 patients.”

    He spoke of the “cover-up of vaccine injuries” and the harm to the reputations of credible doctors who dissented from the government’s official narrative about the virus that originated in China.

    He lays a lot of blame on federal agencies. “We have a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that is thoroughly captured by Big Pharma, by Big Agriculture,” Mr. Johnson said. “And we have the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] that is also captured by them and … It’s just astounding how much they’re covering up.”

    The Wisconsin lawmaker believes “we actually need federal health agencies to guarantee food and drug safety.”

    “We need a CDC that gathers data on health and then transparently provides that information,” he said. “We don’t have that right now.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/former-manufacturing-entrepreneur-is-now-senates-toughest-foe-of-government-coverups-5610368

    1. Gallup — American Public Opinion and Vaccination Requirements 9/3/2021):

       “The variation across these party/vaccination status groups is extreme. For example, 96% of vaccinated Democrats favor the requirement for proof of vaccination before flying on an airplane, compared with 12% of unvaccinated Republicans. Ninety-four percent of vaccinated Democrats favor the requirement for attendance at events, compared with 9% of unvaccinated Republicans.”

       https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-opinion-vaccination-requirements.aspx

       96% 94% is that a lot?

       Your alleged fellow citizens elected the politicians who wanted you excluded from public life, and fired from your job for not getting injected with the deadly mRNA poison.

       1. The Atlantic — Let’s Declare A Pandemic Amnesty (10/31/2022):

          https://archive.is/7rInV

          There will be no forgiveness, not on Easter, or on any other day. There will be no turning the other cheek, there will be no amnesty.

          1. I don’t even know why the atlantic bothered with that op-ed. It’s not like there has been a single repercussion. Absolutely no one has been held accountable and incriminating evidence keeps getting sent to the memory hole.

20. A reader sent these in:

    Embarrassing comments from Powell at peak policy rates. No where near recession? Full time payrolls down millions from the peak. No one should ever take Fed’s comments seriously.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1773739866452263143

    One-third (34%) of Americans would like to live in another country if they were free to do so, the highest percentage since the survey began in 1948.

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1774208323111309444

    Ford prices are collapsing.

    “Freedom discount”

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1774130222419300677

    EV prices continue their collapse. No one wants to buy these paperweights!

    I’ll stick with my V8s. EVs have failed time and time & time again.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1774135760150827081

    The Brooklyn tower, a 93-story, 1,066-foot tower in Downtown Brooklyn is about to be foreclosed on with nearly $700 million in debt across three tranches that have all defaulted.

    https://twitter.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1774133765427658789

    Lots of comments asking “where people are going?” and of course the usual low-IQ garbage of “life is just so easy now”. I have frequent discussions around why American happiness (& family formation) is dissipating & why I think this trend is here to stay.

    Many are searching for somewhere to raise their family but as Reagan did note in the 60s if we lost the US the option to find somewhere else would disappear.

    As I’ve discussed in previous posts – I don’t describe an ‘easy society’ simply as one that has three Starbucks on every corner & the ability to order piles of food via an app before hitting your GLP-3 that one is likely purchasing on a credit card.

    We can start with 2020 (really began post 2008 monetary regime change) – which set in motion the permanent dismantling of the strength of the individual & any sort of concept surrounding ‘America’ as Americans showed themselves willing to sell their individual freedoms for a few bucks that they could spend at the Louis Vuitton store. It has been a very slow & gradual dismantling, but it’s right inline with the wealth gap expanding to what you would find in any run of the mill third world country. Americans elected politicians that knew that such Americans could bear to experience less and less ‘hardship’ in the present so instead they chose policies that pushed much greater hardship down the road for what will be an eventually smaller cohort of people.

    Things like DEI have been weaponized against everyday people in places like corporate America to near-hysteria levels & it is appeasement & silence from those who are being targeted that will only make it worse. (I look forward to doing a ‘tell-all’ from the pinnacle of the dinosaur corporate world).

    The deliberate deconstruction of our population makeup (especially over the last 2.5 years) has a multifaceted effect of fraying everything from our culture, to our wage structures designed to support Americans, to identity, to political policies, etc. A lot of people will really be in for a wake up call when these problems show up on their doorstep & one can no longer just ‘pack up and move’ as the number of states permitting things like the basic pathway to prosperity are dwindling.

    A huge cohort young people (<30 - I would say 50% or greater) will not be forming families & millions of prime-age males have simply chosen to check out from a society that views them as valueless altogether. If I did life differently myself I wouldn’t have sold out to ‘big corporate America’ that is willing to sell me out faster than a gambling addict at a casino that has a paycheck hit.

    The government is on track to employ 20% of our total workforce - when you have such a massive % of the population that will vote in the interest of government for their own self-preservation, you get a perpetual ‘doom loop’ of failed policies that support a growing government that does very little for its people. Lots of people, no results = our government.

    We can talk about all of these issues - deliberate asset inflation policies, permanent bailouts, a transition away from things like public safety, merit based success, high-quality education - as core reasons why people are seeing a greener pasture elsewhere today…

    We can also talk about how frequently we are gaslighted & lied to, or told to outsource our thoughts and opinions to a small cohort of intellectual sociopaths that sit atop their Ivory Towers. These people *despise!* the hardworking everyday individual, especially if they question anything they say.

    Why are people wanting to leave? It’s complicated. The problems are only growing, but this doesn’t mean we continue to on our same path of self-destruction (even though with a country of our size, can take decades or 100s of years) -

    These are just a problems that are difficult to solve at scale, but nevertheless they are not going away & running away from problems never works long term. *excuse typos

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1774063994002616383

    If I were Fed chair we are keeping rates at 25% until the cowards in Congress balance the budget, OnlyFans goes bankrupt, and inflation is returned to .01%.

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1762623760182456573

    The state of the US… Jeo Boden is backing a… wait for it… shrinkflation prevention act…

    Bodenomics though…

    https://twitter.com/INArteCarloDoss/status/1774019810273181716

    ZELENSKIY TELLS US HOUSE SPEAKER: QUICK PASSAGE OF MILITARY AID IS VITAL

    https://twitter.com/DeItaone/status/1773462239346819252

    $RDDT -15%

    https://twitter.com/DeItaone/status/1773437364121080105

    U.S. Navy overspent $400 million in aid to Ukraine, then manually changed records to fix the appearance of misappropriated funds, according to new IG report.

    https://twitter.com/RealPatrickWebb/status/1774187675538362704

    Higher costs for energy and other key inputs has caused 58% inflation for highway construction since the end of 2020.

    The badly timed 2021 infrastructure bill is compounding the problem, and the Biden administration is adding wasteful red tape that will inflate costs further.

    https://twitter.com/DavidADitch/status/1773400638975570013

    30% of small banks’ balance sheets is still the hazardous waste known as CRE – no one knows how much of it was handled properly vs. how much is ready to spontaneously combust and kill whoever is holding it..

    https://twitter.com/RealEJAntoni/status/1773888530965557584

    1. millions of prime-age males have simply chosen to check out from a society that views them as valueless altogether.

       https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1773745093968629821

    2. Why are people wanting to leave? It’s complicated.

       There is nowhere to go. To begin with, few other countries will grant you an immigrant visa. Wages and standards of living in other countries are much lower than here. There’s a reason for the tsunami washing across our border.

       1. “One-third (34%) of Americans would like to live in another country if they were free to do so, the highest percentage since the survey began in 1948.”

          Whether or not there’s anywhere to go, the fact remains that this place is no longer unicorns and rainbows. I know I’m looking to get out.

    3. – What we have: “Ford prices are collapsing.”
       – What we need: “Food prices are collapsing.”
       – When the guberment chooses winners and losers, most everyone looses. Free markets would easily sort this out, but there are too few opportunities for graft and corruption.
       – EVs offer modest CO2 reduction vs. ICEVs when the full life cycle is considered, but score very high on virtue signaling. “Science.”

       \\

       “The deliberate deconstruction of our population makeup (especially over the last 2.5 years) has a multifaceted effect of fraying everything from our culture, to our wage structures designed to support Americans, to identity, to political policies, etc. A lot of people will really be in for a wake up call when these problems show up on their doorstep & one can no longer just ‘pack up and move’ as the number of states permitting things like the basic pathway to prosperity are dwindling.”

       “We can also talk about how frequently we are gaslighted & lied to, or told to outsource our thoughts and opinions to a small cohort of intellectual sociopaths that sit atop their Ivory Towers. These people *despise!* the hardworking everyday individual, especially if they question anything they say.”

       – Maybe “replacement theory” isn’t just a “tin foil hat” conspiracy theory after all. 🤔 Funny that there are a lot of “conspiracy theories” lately that have been shown to be fact, and all to the detriment of the Middle Class. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence…

       – In my view, there are only two outcomes: Drain the swamp, and allow a peaceful regime change via fair and honest elections, and a functioning political process. Otherwise a “mostly peaceful” regime change as per the BLM 2020 “summer of love” outcome is highly likely. 🔥 Think French Revolution. 🔥 Needless to say, there’s a lot riding on the November 5th election. An Argentine, Javier Milei style populist leader is required in any case. Another term for Brandon (Obama 4.0) would be the final nail in the coffin for the U.S., and would result in a dystopian (read Socialist) Venezulan style “utopia.”

       \\

       “If I were Fed chair we are keeping rates at 25% until the cowards in Congress balance the budget, OnlyFans goes bankrupt, and inflation is returned to .01%.”

       – Sounds about right in a normal world, but it’s an election year, Brandon is in serious trouble, and the Fed is not apolitical. 🤡 🌏 . (They think we don’t notice.)
       – I would make this change: Reduce 25% to 7-9%. The rest is fine with me. The U.S. public and private debt are the highest ever. The economy of a highly indebted nation is EXTREMELY sensitive to interest rates. 25% would certainly cause a depression. 7-9% would be the Paul Volcker approach in the current high debt regime. The current FFR of 5.25-5.50% is the Arthur Burns strategy; it’s still not above the real inflation rate, which is what’s needed to stop inflation, along with fiscal restraint in Congress.
       – Again, it’s an election year. The Fed supports the D party and their Leftist/Globalist agenda. Jerome Powell is channeling Arthur Burns, which means inflation is “higher for longer,” and not “transitory,” at least until after November 5th. Sooner or later the Potemkin village economy façade falls away, exposing the real economy and the SHTF. The current administration, including the Fed are hoping for after November 5th.

       \\

       – Just my thoughts and opinions here.
       – Thanks Ben for allowing diverse views and comments here on the HBB.

21. I just read that a side effect of anti depression meds is a major decrease of sex drive. Another way to depopulation is to take away sex drive.

22. Is Frankenfood production legal in your state?

    1. Financial Times
       Food & Beverage
       Moves to ban lab-grown meat intensify in Republican US states
       Party spearheads legislation as one lawmaker vows not to ‘eat bugs with Bill Gates’
       A cooked piece of lab-grown chicken breast
       The first lab-grown meat product, cultivated chicken, won US federal approval last year as safe for humans to eat
       Patrick Temple-West in New York and Susannah Savage in London
       8 hours ago

       Lawmakers in US state capitals are seeking to stifle development of “lab-grown” tuna, pork and other animal proteins, taking a stand against a novel food technology backed by investors such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

       Republicans in at least seven states have introduced legislation since the beginning of the year to ban sales or distribution of lab-grown meat, a form of edible protein cultivated from animal cells.

       The first product — cultivated chicken — won federal approval last year as safe for humans to eat, and has only been available to diners at a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco and an eatery in Washington owned by chef José Andrés.
       …

23. No tulips, no daffodils for you!

    Denver diverts flower bed funds to flow to migrants (3/29/2024):

    “Denver parks will be less colorful this spring and summer as the bright blossoms typically planted around the city this time of year won’t be a radiant reality.

    Mayor Mike Johnston’s plan to cut back the city budget to leave more money for immigrant support means the city is foregoing planting annual flowers like tulips at public, taxpayer-funded parks.

    Roughly 4.2 acres of beds across more than 80 public parks will be without flowers (which the city grows in City Park greenhouses), according to data provided to Axios Denver.

    What’s next: More city budget cuts to help support people arriving from the southern U.S. border are in the works and expected to be presented to the Denver City Council in April.”

    https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2024/03/29/flower-beds-migrants-budget-cuts

    1. Small wonder they are telling the latest arrivals to go elsewhere.

    2. “Denver diverts flower bed funds to flow to migrants (3/29/2024):”

       Who needs flowers when you have illegals convicted of raping a children, 1st Degree murder, battery, stalking, and probation violations.

24. In today’s edition of…

    I love me some open borders.

    Border Patrol Catches Previously-Deported Murderer Back In US

    by Dan Lyman
    March 31st 2024, 11:53 am

    An illegal alien who was convicted of first-degree murder was caught by U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) after reentering the United States, authorities say.

    USBP Chief Jason Owens announced the arrest of a Mexican male with a long list of felony convictions near the southern border in El Paso Sector last week.

    “USBP agents in Deming, NM arrested a Mexican national w/ prior convictions for 1st Degree Murder, Battery, Stalking, & Probation Violations,” Chief Owens explained on social media on Thursday.

    “This is what’s known as an aggravated felon. He does not belong in the U.S., let alone in your communities.”

    No other information was shared about the dangerous invader other than a photograph which depicts a heavily-inked man with a face tattoo who appears to approximately be in his 20s.

    He was just one of multiple dangerous criminals caught in El Paso Sector last week.

    A previously-deported member of the “Paisas” gang was arrested at a stash house in Las Cruces, New Mexico, along with two smugglers running the operation and 10 illegal aliens.

    Additionally, a Mexican illegal convicted of raping a child in Kansas was apprehended in New Mexico.

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/border-patrol-catches-previously-deported-murderer-back-in-us

25. A Happy Easter shout out to a former great HBB poster using a heterosexual drum cover on “Transgender Awareness Day”.

    Lola (The Kinks) • Drum Cover

    https://youtu.be/qHoiQEosHd8?si=J6_IPiLoy7pCuFoU

26. Not a marriageable prospect at 39

    After about three or four years of using BNPL services for designer clothes, handbags and Apple devices, Amy Baird, 39, was staring down more than $9,000 in debt.

27. We used to listen to this 3 song medley after passing a bong around a Stop sign table in dorm room several times in the late 70s and early 80s but it would be just as relaxing as a listening experience on a back porch after a nice Easter dinner all these years later.

    Robert Palmer – Sailing Shoes – Hey, Julia – Sneaking Sally

    https://youtu.be/_srk5Wc3Dhc?si=KrD897oyJzOgUgEo

28. Heckova job, “Zimbabwe Ben” Bernanke, Yellen the Felon, & BlackRock Jay.

    https://twitter.com/DeItaone/status/1773398158292263291

    1. “The wealth of the 1% just hit a record $44 trillion”

       Come on let’s give em a cheer.

       2 – 4 – 6 -8 who do we appreciate

       Bernanke, Yellen Yeaahh!

       https://youtu.be/R1-zBIIvl5g?si=kyMRvTcgm9mAriKU&t=80

29. ‘There will be bank failures, but not the big banks’

    That sounds like one of those quotes to remember for future reference Jerry.

    1. ChatGPT 3.5

       User
       Did Ben Bernanke say that subprime would be contained?

       ChatGPT
       Yes, Ben Bernanke, who was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve at the time, did express confidence that the subprime mortgage crisis would be contained. In remarks made on March 28, 2007, he stated, “At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained.” However, the crisis ended up spreading far beyond what was initially anticipated, leading to the global financial crisis of 2008.

       User
       Did he state a dollar figure?

       ChatGPT
       No, Ben Bernanke did not state a specific dollar figure when he made the remark about the subprime mortgage crisis being contained. He expressed a general sentiment that the impact would be limited, but did not provide any specific financial figures.

       User
       Did Ben Bernake say that subprime would be contained to between $50 and $100 billion?

       ChatGPT
       Yes, Ben Bernanke did mention a specific range in which he believed the subprime mortgage losses would be contained. He stated that he expected losses to fall within the range of $50 to $100 billion. However, these estimates turned out to be significantly underestimated as the crisis unfolded, with losses far surpassing this range.

       User
       What were the ultimate losses due to the subprime crisis, in dollar terms?

       ChatGPT
       The ultimate losses due to the subprime crisis were much higher than initially anticipated. Estimates vary, but total losses from the subprime mortgage crisis are commonly cited to be in the hundreds of billions to over a trillion dollars. Some estimates even surpass $1.5 trillion, encompassing various financial instruments and the broader impact on the global economy.

       User
       Weren’t the amount of bailouts in the $4 trillion range?

       ChatGPT
       The total amount of bailouts and other forms of financial assistance provided during the 2008 financial crisis did indeed amount to several trillion dollars. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which was a major component of the U.S. government’s response to the crisis, authorized up to $700 billion to stabilize the financial system by purchasing troubled assets and injecting capital into financial institutions. However, when considering other forms of assistance, such as loans, guarantees, and interventions by central banks, the total amount of financial support provided globally did exceed $4 trillion.

       ChatGPT can make mistakes. Consider checking important information.

       ChatGPT

    2. Economics
       Peter Schiff Warns of Severe Economic Repercussions, Highlights Inflation and Money Supply Concerns
       Peter Schiff Warns of Severe Economic Repercussions, Highlights Inflation and Money Supply Concerns
       By Jamie Redman
       Sat Mar 30 15:22:4 EST 2024

       In a recent analysis, economist Peter Schiff draws stark comparisons between the current U.S. economic optimism and the prelude to the 2008 financial crisis. Schiff, leveraging his expertise, warns of impending financial turmoil, emphasizing the critical role of money supply in understanding economic health.
       …
       https://news.bitcoin.com/peter-schiff-warns-of-severe-economic-repercussions-highlights-inflation-and-money-supply-concerns/

       1. Speaking of money supply, is it fairly typical for M1 to go up by a factor of five in just four years?

          Magic eight ball says this is historically unprecedented.

          https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL

30. Real estate guy:

    ‘Rent growth is negative, so why would you want to build another apartment in San Antonio?

    UHS:

    ‘Houston has been undergoing a major surge in housing and apartment construction, meaning supply is copious’

31. ‘B.C. wants a ­co-founder of the failed cryptocurrency firm QuadrigaCX to explain the source of funds used to obtain cash, gold bars, jewelry and luxury watches. In its third unexplained-wealth order case, the province is targeting more than $600,000 in assets of Michael Patryn, which were seized by the RCMP in 2021 from a safety deposit box in a CIBC branch in Vancouver. The province alleges the cash, gold, jewelry and watches, including Rolexes, are linked to fraud involving QuadrigaCX. Thousands of people who held cryptocurrency are estimated to have lost a total of at least $169 million. The B.C. NDP government introduced measures last year to combat money ­laundering’

    A 600k K-dn peso bust, one of 3 in a year. They mean business in British Columbia. There’s probably 600k laundered per hour up there.

32. Bitcoin never sleeps, not even on religious holidays. Hit $71,227 today, now in the $70,800 range.

    1. It’s soon headed to $1 million per imaginary coin…or so my sources tell me.

       1. Could Bitcoin climb to more than $1 million before 2030? Cathie Wood says yes.
          Known for her innovative investment approach, Cathie Wood predicts Bitcoin will surpass $1 million sooner than her previous estimate of 2030.
          RJ Fulton
          The Motley Fool
          …
          https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/investing/2024/03/15/bitcoin-could-soar-to-more-than-1-million-before-2030-says-cathie-wood/72941530007/

33. ‘He has taken every penny that we own from us. We had been saving for five years to help pay for the work to be done. We have had to scrimp and scrape and missed out on holidays to help pay for this. We managed to save £15,000 and then remortgaged the house for the remainder’

    Let me guess Danielle, you borrowed a lot more than £15,000. And it’s all gone.

34. ‘The dilapidated infrastructure, lack of basic amenities, and poor civic services are also attributed to be other reasons behind the lack of investment trend and downward in the prices. The imposition of taxes on the sale and purchase of the property further affected property transactions across the country, including Karachi even in posh localities’

    Until I got to the end I thought he was talking about California.

35. ‘The reality is that the cost of the loans was much smaller, because house prices were much lower, but also relative to what they were earning, it was much lower’

    We can end this insanity anytime, as it’s an inorganic guberment/central bank bubble scheme. We have no need of it.

36. Is inflation contained?

    1. Yahoo Finance
       Bloomberg
       Gold Jumps to Record as Favored Fed Inflation Gauge Stokes Rally
       Jake Lloyd-Smith and Eddie Spence
       Sun, Mar 31, 2024, 9:46 PM PDT
       3 min read

       (Bloomberg) — Gold rose to a record as indications the Federal Reserve is getting closer to cutting interest rates added impetus to a rally that’s also been driven by geopolitical tensions and robust Chinese demand.

       Bullion jumped to as much as $2,265.73 an ounce on Monday, up 1.6% from Thursday’s close, after setting a series of peaks in recent sessions.

       The Fed’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation — the core personal consumption expenditures index — cooled in February, data showed Friday, when many markets were closed. That adds to the case for a reduction in borrowing costs, although the central bank has been striking a cautious tone.

       A host of positive drivers have pushed up bullion by around 14% since the middle of February. The prospect of monetary easing by major central banks, and elevated tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine have underpinned the rally. There’s also been strong buying by central banks, particularly in China, while consumers there have been loading up on bullion amid ongoing problems in Asia’s largest economy.
       …
       https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-rises-record-cooling-us-005321679.html

    2. Business / Success
       In these 22 states, you need a six-figure income to afford a typical home, analysis finds
       By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN
       Published 12:01 AM EDT, Mon April 1, 2024
       Grace Cary/Moment RF/Getty Images
       Priced out of a home? US home buyers in many areas need a lot more income today than they did in 2020 just to buy a median-priced home where they live.

       New York CNN —

       Buying an affordable home in the United States has gotten a lot harder for many people since 2020.

       A new analysis from Bankrate.com finds that in 22 states and Washington, DC, buyers need a six-figure household income to comfortably afford a typical median-priced home.

       That’s a lot more than in January 2020, when Bankrate found buyers needed a six-figure income in just six states and the District of Columbia.

       “Homes have become less affordable because home price appreciation has so far outpaced wage growth,” said Jeff Ostrowski, a Bankrate analyst. “Why have home prices gone up so quickly? Blame supply and demand.”
       …
       https://cnn.com/cnn/2024/03/31/success/home-affordability-median-price-income

       1. Better link:

          https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/31/success/home-affordability-median-price-income/index.html

Comments are closed.