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If You’re A Buyer, Why Would You Jump In When The Meteor Hits The Earth?

A report from National Mortgage Professional. “Nearly 56,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in June, equal to 14.9% of homes that went under contract that month — the highest percentage of any June on record, according to Redfin. ‘They’re backing out due to minor issues,’ said Julie Zubiate, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in the San Francisco Bay Area, ‘because the monthly costs associated with buying a home today are just too high to rationalize not getting everything on their must-have list.’ ‘Buyers often back out during the inspection period because they find something they don’t like, but affordability is really the underlying issue,’ said Rafael Corrales, a Redfin Premier agent in Miami, where roughly 2,500 home purchases were canceled in June — equal to 17.6% of homes that went under contract.”

“Three Florida metros led the nation in home-purchase cancellations in June. Roughly 900 home-purchase agreements were canceled in Orlando, equal to 20.8% of homes that went under contract that month, followed by Jacksonville (20.5%) and Tampa (20.5%). Las Vegas and San Antonio also experienced an elevated rate of canceled contracts in June, at 20.2% and 19.9%, respectively.”

From Lexington 18. “Although June might have been a slump, Kentucky real estate agent Cynthia Trgo says, July is the month to buy. ‘Right now it’s a little bit more a buyer’s market. We’ve got a lot more inventory that’s sitting and not as much competition for those buyers. So the buyers sitting on the sidelines wanting to make a move, now’s a great time to do that,’ explains Trgo.”

Yahoo Finance. “Southwest Florida was one of the hottest housing markets during the pandemic. Now, it boasts relatively high levels of unsold properties, according to PulteGroup. ‘Probably the one market that’s higher than what we’d ideally like to see would be Southwest Florida,’ CEO Ryan Marshall told investors and analysts on the company’s second quarter earnings call. The number of months it would take for the current inventory of homes on the market to sell is roughly nine, he said, ‘with the benchmark or the kind of equilibrium rate being six months.’ he added, ‘We’re a tad elevated.'”

The Miami Herald in Florida. “Condo sellers in Miami-Dade County may feel like they’re riding down Walt Disney’s Tower of Terror these days with prices steadily dropping, a result of dwindling buyers and rising inventory. It’s the third month in a row of declining condo prices. ‘The patient,’ said condo expert Peter Zalewski, referring to the health of Miami-Dade’s condos, ‘needs open heart surgery. When you assess a condo you need to look at when it was built. Everything before 2000 is in a doom loop. Anything between 2000 and 2010 has standing power. They have high cholesterol. They’re overweight. But it’s manageable. Anything after 2010 is healthy.’ Miami-Dade has 8.9 months of condo inventory. People now are buying condos when they absolutely need to purchase a home, Zalewski said. ‘If you’re a buyer, why would you jump in when the meteor hits the earth?’ he said, ‘Watch for prices to pull back.'”

“The month-to-month drops in condo prices are just the beginning. Expect year-over-year drops in pricing, said Jack McCabe, owner of the Deerfield Beach-based real estate and economic research firm Jack McCabe Expert Services. ‘A year from now you and I are going to be talking about prices dropping,’ McCabe said.”

KSBY in California. “The June Zillow report shows that 24.5 percent of national listings received a price cut, the highest rate since 2018, a fact that Harley Group realtor Summer Ramos says coincides with San Luis Obispo County trends. ‘Not at all surprised to see that there’s so many different factors that affect buyers and sellers today with interest rates, insurance, also the economy as a whole,’ Ramos said. The report also explained that there were 23 percent more active listings last month compared to June of last year. Ashlea Boyer with Keller Williams Central Coast Realty says the county has seen 2/3 more listings since April. ‘We’re in a bubble here. People who can live here come here regardless of any other issues they may be experiencing. So that said, right at this current time, we are mimicking that national average,’ she said.”

The Orange County Register. “It’s not a stretch to say that much of California’s economic slowdown can be tied to technology’s tumble. In the last six months, the information sector shrank at a $3 billion annual rate. Zero surprise. We’ve seen headline-grabbing layoffs at California’s tech giants. Nor has Hollywood production rebounded from labor unrest. The ‘professional, scientific, and technical’ work – high-paying, white-collar jobs – increased at a $21 billion annual pace in the boom, one-fifth of the total. But growth decelerated to $8 billion a year in this recent cooling. And growth of the ‘real estate and rental and leasing’ segment – folks who facilitate property transactions – shrank by three quarters to $3 billion in the cooldown.”

The Arizona Republic. “Question: When we sold our Phoenix-area home two years ago, the buyer assumed our mortgage, which had a low 3% interest rate. The buyer is now in default on this mortgage, and we are receiving default notices from our lender. If the buyer doesn’t make the payments on this 3% mortgage, will we have to make the payments? Answer: Probably not. When the buyer assumed the loan, the buyer became primarily liable for the payments on the loan. You became secondarily liable (i.e., guaranteeing payment of the loan). If neither you nor the buyer makes the payments on the loan, however, under the Arizona anti-deficiency law, A.R.S. § 33-814, the lender’s only recourse will be to foreclose on the home.”

Bisnow on Georgia. “Yakov Stein has spent the past few years acquiring apartments across the Southeast, including more than 1,000 units in Metro Atlanta. But the Lakewood, New Jersey-based investor, who has been backed by his insurance mogul father, is facing a possible foreclosure at a 224-unit Atlanta apartment building near Northlake Mall and hasn’t made a mortgage payment since April at a 508-unit apartment complex. At 3500 The Vine, declining occupancy has contributed to Stein’s inability to make payments. At the time of the 2022 mortgage, the property was 89% full and comfortably covering its debt service. Occupancy has since fallen to 77%, according to Morningstar Credit, and the property is only generating enough income to cover about half of its monthly mortgage payments.”

“The CLO piece of the debt was transferred to special servicing last month ‘for imminent monetary default,’ according to special servicer commentary via Morningstar Credit. The CRE CLO market has been flagged as ‘the first shoe to drop’ in times of real estate stress because it has been used to largely finance loans seen as too speculative for a traditional CMBS loan, Bloomberg reported. The share of troubled CRE CLO loans quadrupled this spring, according to CRED iQ.”

The Real Deal on New York. “Yet another rent-stabilized apartment building sold for such a bargain that it raises the question: How low can prices go? Held since the 1950s by a family firm, 610 West 204th Street in Manhattan traded to an Albanian couple for $3.8 million — just $79,000 per unit, according to Marco Lala, the broker on the deal. The Inwood property was ‘not even distressed,’ Lala said, pointing to a low level of violations for the 48-unit building. The low-ball price instead reflects the market’s perception of rent-stabilized properties and the high mortgage rates being offered. ‘There’s so much bad news and negativity,’ Lala said. ‘All buyers are trying to use that to get a fair price.'”

The Vancouver Sun in Canada. “They were three friends who attended the prestigious St. George’s private school in Vancouver in the early 1990s and then went on to prominent careers: the CEO of a real estate development firm, the head of medicine at a major hospital, and a provincial court judge. But now the judge and the doctor allege in a lawsuit that they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after investing in the developer’s real estate projects, accusing the CEO and his companies of fraud and misappropriation of funds. Meanwhile, the developer, according to court filings, is hiding in an attempt to avoid being served with the lawsuit.”

“The claim is one of more than 100 files in the B.C. Supreme Court civil registry naming Macario (Tobi) Reyes or his company, Port Capital Development, including other lawsuits and foreclosure actions involving various properties, most filed in the last few years. Port Capital’s financial troubles became public in mid-2020 , when the company’s highest-profile project — a glitzy downtown Vancouver condo tower called Terrace House that was heralded as one of the world’s tallest hybrid timber buildings — entered bankruptcy protection partway through construction. ‘The process-servers believe that Mr. Reyes is aware of the documents and is evading service,’ according to an application filed in court earlier this month by the plaintiffs’ lawyers.”

The Telegraph in the UK. “They are calling it the death of buy-to-let. Despite rental yields rising to a record high across much of the country, investors are abandoning the sector, with purchases falling to a record low. The biggest decline has been in London. This comes despite rents in London reaching a record high. Jilly Bland, lettings manager at Robert Holmes, an estate agency in Wimbledon, London, says: ‘There’s been a very definite slump since last October. Since then, month on month, there are either landlords moving back into their properties, coming home from abroad, or selling up. The buy-to-let market has really died, it’s not just falling away, it has died.'”

“Stan Shaw, head of the estate agency Mervyn Smith, in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, says: ‘At one time buy-to-let might have been up to 25pc of all our buyers but they’re only an isolated few now. As soon as interest rates increased, the yield evaporated completely for a lot of landlords.’ ‘It’s just so much harder to make the sums stack up. If you’ve got a 75pc loan-to-value mortgage, then it’s really difficult to make money on that when you’re paying a rate of 6pc and your yield is 7pc,’ adds Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons. ‘Once you factor in your tax bill and other costs, you’re probably not making money on a monthly basis. So even though rents and yields have risen, it doesn’t work when you’re taking out big mortgages.'”

The Kronen Zeitung. “Lower Austria is traditionally regarded as the land of house builders. But at the moment the cranes are mostly standing still. This is because the domestic construction industry is not getting off the ground. ‘Even after the second quarter of this year, it has to be said that the construction industry is still in a downward spiral,’ says Wolfgang Ecker, President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, drawing a bitter half-year conclusion. One benchmark is building permits. Across Austria, their number fell to 60 percent of the long-term average last year. ‘In Lower Austria, it even fell to just 38 percent,’ says Ecker, analyzing the seriousness of the situation. Another alarm signal: While overall unemployment in Lower Austria increased by 10.5 percent in June, it rose by more than 20 percent in the construction industry.”

The Hong Kong Free Press. “A tender for real estate developers to build subsidised homes has received just one bid under a pilot scheme that will see the government partnering with the private sector to alleviate Hong Kong’s housing shortage. Chairperson of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors Francis Lam said on Monday that developers faced substantial risk as flats under it will be sold at just 65 per cent of the market price. Lam told RTHK on Monday that the prices of the flats could fluctuate depending on the market value, adding that the ‘uncertainty’ around the developers’ potential income would affect their willingness to bid for the project. ‘If the market is going up, you won’t be so worried, but now that the market isn’t doing well, it’s hard to know what would happen,’ Lam said in Cantonese. Under the new pilot scheme, the government will not buy back unsold units, meaning developers would have to absorb the risks associated with poor sales, Lam said.”

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This Post Has 122 Comments

  1. ‘growth of the ‘real estate and rental and leasing’ segment – folks who facilitate property transactions – shrank by three quarters to $3 billion in the cooldown’

    Oh dear…

  2. ‘Even after the second quarter of this year, it has to be said that the construction industry is still in a downward spiral’…Another alarm signal: While overall unemployment in Lower Austria increased by 10.5 percent in June, it rose by more than 20 percent in the construction industry’

    Wa happened to my worker shortage Wolfgang”

  3. “Nearly 56,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in June, equal to 14.9% of homes that went under contract that month — the highest percentage of any June on record, according to Redfin.

    And just like that, FOMO turned to FOGS (Fear of Getting Schlonged).

    1. “…were canceled in June…”

      Historically, isn’t June supposed to be the ‘hot month’ for home purchases?

      1. “Historically, isn’t June supposed to be the ‘hot month’ for home purchases?”

        – Yes, June is typically peak sales for the year, which then (typically) decline until early in the next year.
        – 2024: Oops!
        – Affordability is in the crapper.
        – Most buy with a mortgage.
        – Houses are still priced at ~3% rates, but rates now close to 7%.
        – All other carrying costs have commensurately increased with inflation, or beyond inflation in some cases.
        – In my view, now is a terrible time to buy a shack, but best of luck to the knife-catchers out there…
        – Listen to that hissing sound; it’s the sound of air coming out of Housing Bubble 2.0, but now it’s “The Everything Bubble,” aka “The Central Bank Bubble.” I’m sure this is fine though, and it’s always a good time to buy… /s

        1. “– Houses are still priced at ~3% rates, but rates now close to 7%.”

          It seems odd that sellers don’t get the math.

          Crazy high Zestimates based on 2022 prices don’t help matters.

  4. “Although June might have been a slump, Kentucky real estate agent Cynthia Trgo says, July is the month to buy.

    Three things:

    1. Realtors are liars
    2. “Always be closing” means realtors must try to convince marks that right now is the best time to buy, regardless of what the data says
    3. Buying into a bursting housing bubble will be financially ruinous for FBs stupid enough to take “advice” from REIC touts & shills

  5. “The month-to-month drops in condo prices are just the beginning. Expect year-over-year drops in pricing, said Jack McCabe, owner of the Deerfield Beach-based real estate and economic research firm Jack McCabe Expert Services.

    Such inconvenient truths could create fear and uncertainly in the minds of prospective buyers, making them more resistant to Always Be Closing pitches from lying realtors (redundant).

  6. We’ve seen headline-grabbing layoffs at California’s tech giants. Nor has Hollywood production rebounded from labor unrest.

    Tech Bubble 2.0 was only possible in a world awash with Yellen Bux stimulus, while the increasingly pauperized 99% aren’t going to be shelling out good money to see globalist propaganda packaged as “entertainment.” The wipeout of fake wealth created by fake money is going to be a thing of terrible beauty to the sideline-sitters serenely munching their popcorn.

  7. ‘There’s so much bad news and negativity,’ Lala said. ‘All buyers are trying to use that to get a fair price.’”

    Be afraid, CRE bag holders. Be very afraid.

  8. ‘It’s just so much harder to make the sums stack up. If you’ve got a 75pc loan-to-value mortgage, then it’s really difficult to make money on that when you’re paying a rate of 6pc and your yield is 7pc,’ adds Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons.

    I love the smell of burning housing speculators in the morning.

  11. SMUD and PG&E here in N. Cal must be making a fortune with everyone’s increased A/C usage during this prolonged heat wave.
    I’m usually able to open the doors & windows to take advantage of the evening’s Delta breeze at sundown: not so much lately.

    In fact, this scorching weather reminds me of FL, where you pretty much had to run the A/C around the clock during the worst of the humid months.

    As such, I’d imagine a much more important item for home buyers is checking is the quality of the prospective residence’s climate system.

    Granite counter tops? Stainless Steel appliances? Not so much.

    1. As such, I’d imagine a much more important item for home buyers is checking is the quality of the prospective residence’s climate system.

      From what I have heard, replacement costs have skyrocketed.

      1. “…replacement costs have skyrocketed…”

        Sidebar story:

        My fridge is starting to go south, so I have been doing some preliminary research as to purchasing an equivalent.

        Informal numbers indicate a 400% increase in purchase cost for an equivalent fridge of same size/quality.

          1. Also check the ice maker in every way possible. Also take along a thermometer and make SURE the inside temp is below 40 degrees.

      2. “From what I have heard, replacement costs have skyrocketed.”

        Very inexpensive actually. Watch the movie 99 homes 🙂

  13. They were three friends who attended the prestigious St. George’s private school in Vancouver in the early 1990s and then went on to prominent careers: the CEO of a real estate development firm, the head of medicine at a major hospital, and a provincial court judge. But now the judge and the doctor allege in a lawsuit that they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after investing in the developer’s real estate projects,

    In BC even old friends swindle each other.

    2. For those keeping score at home, the T-B debate was less than a month ago. Dang, things are happening fast.

      1. When this financial bubble finally pops things will likely fall apart just as fast. It’s going to be an epic story of loss. The Biden episode shows just how fast confidence can erode. One of these days there is going to be a rush for the exits. Got cash?

  15. “…because the monthly costs associated with buying a home today are just too high to rationalize not getting everything on their must-have list….”

    Holding costs. The 24×7 elephant in the room.

    Given the incredible upsurge in property/fire insurance, property taxes, HOA dues and general maintenance costs in many areas, it can’t be long until typical monthly holding costs for a typical property exceed cost of the actual mortgage.

    1. In places like Florida with high property taxes and insurance costs I’ll bet that it’s either already very close or already there.

  16. —
    “The buyer assumed our mortgage… The buyer is now in default on this mortgage, …will we have to make the payments?
    …Answer: Probably not. When the buyer assumed the loan, the buyer became primarily liable for the payments on the loan. You became secondarily liable (i.e., guaranteeing payment of the loan). ”
    —

    Er, what? The seller doesn’t have to make payments, but they are still responsible for paying the loan? Can someone explain how this works?

    btw, Investopediea has a good primer on assumable mortgages, but doesn’t explain the defaults.

    1. Yeah, I wondered about that too. I’m thinking it’s some sort of Arizona-specific non-recourse thing. I don’t know why any “secondary guarantor” would make any payments in that situation. I wonder if the lender knew about it when they allowed the mortgage to be assumed.

  17. From the Colorado Sun:

    EPA grants $328 million for Colorado programs designed to slash greenhouse gas emissions

    I’m sure this will fund quite a few six figure administrative jobs. Will greenhouse emissions actually decrease? Magic 8 Ball says no.

    1. “…Will greenhouse emissions actually decrease?…”

      And even if [emissions] will decrease, will it make any statistical difference?

      1. Nope, but a lot of people, who majored in victim’s studies and would otherwise be unemployable, will have good paying jobs that create nothing of value. Guess who they will be voting for?

        1. “…who majored in victim’s studies and would otherwise be unemployable, will have good paying jobs that create nothing of value…”

          ‘Business Model’ (using that term loosely) seems so similar to the ‘End Homelessness’ initiatives/scams (using Los Angeles County as an example).

          Literally Billions of dollars have been sunk down various make work ‘non-profit’ sink holes whose only goal is to pay execs 6-figure salaries.

          According to reports I have heard about, auditing is so lax that no-one knows how all those billions were spent. (or stolen)

          Yet, at this moment homelessness in LA county continues to climb.

          Yet another example of be careful what you vote for, you might actually get it.

        2. My guess is they will vote for millions more illegal invaders which will magically drive up emissions far beyond anything they ever did to curtail them. Are leftists just dumb or are they truly evil?

          1. “just dumb or are they truly evil?”

            The Deep State are truly evil.

            The voters who get all of their information from cable TeeVee “news” shows are dumber than a box of rocks.

  18. I’m outside of Chicago and things seem to be really hot. Sure, volume is down, way down, but anything reasonably priced is selling quickly. I feel we are way beyond the insanity of 2007 in to uncharted territory now. Also, it seems that there’s a lot of hispanics buying these days especially on the low end. My theory is that the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are driving up the cost of low end housing, and living among fresh of the boat illegals must be horrible, so anyone who can rub two nickels together is getting a co-signer to buy property no matter the cost or location. Some of these properties I’m seeing are in more suburban and exurban areas too. The hispanics with any $$ just want to get as away as they can from the riff-raff and don’t mind living among suburban normies.

    1. Sure, volume is down, way down, but anything reasonably priced is selling quickly.

      Seeing the same in my neighborhood. Very few for sale, and they sell fast. If you bring up price drops people here will give you a weird “what are you talking about?” look.

      1. It’s a long story and I don’t want to get too into the personal details but there’s family home of distant relative of mine, the home has been in the family since the 60’s in a Chicago suburb, went into foreclosure several years back as relatives of mine who ‘occupied’ the house let it go to crap and stopped paying the mortgage (which should have been paid off decades ago, but that’s a different story). The house sold at auction a while back and was flipped. It sold for $350 a sq foot which is insane, completely insane for a 1,000 sq foot 1 bathroom home with no basement in a working class suburb. It went under contract immediately and sold fast, probably to two hispanic families, given the current trends in the local area. I’ll have to follow up on that someday, just to see who lives there now. It’s still really hot out there in my area, although it is crashing elsewhere around the country. But I’m not worried, I lived through the last crash firsthand, and we’ve seen this all before.

    2. “The hispanics with any $$ just want to get as away as they can from the riff-raff and don’t mind living among suburban normies.”

      Seeing the same here, but it’s highly location dependent. In neighborhoods of SFH, almost every fixer-upper flophouse has been fixed up and is now lived in mostly by a family of a tradie hubby, housecleaner wife. That is, Bush-era illegal immigrants, back when there were jobs for them. Well, their citizen kids are now age 18-24. The boys are going to trade school and the girls are going into medical tech. They have jobs and cookouts and keep the lawn mowed and the neighborhood relatively safe. In fact one could argue that these Hispanics ARE the new suburban normies, working class.

      The areas with apartment complexes aren’t doing as well. That’s where the young single male newcomers are landing. The low-skill jobs are already saturated with immigrants and there are few available women, so newcomers have no hope of job or family. And IIUC what Colorado tells us, the Central Americans already here aren’t taking them in. I guess these are the ones that T would deport first?

      1. You’re absolutely correct, there aren’t enough women for them to have stable family relationships. Single illegal immigrant men will be a trouble demographic for decades to come.

        I had something across my desk the other day, interesting enough, along this same topic . Apparently the Mexican restaurant market is completely oversaturated right now. I don’t really travel to other areas as much as I used to – I live in what is basically a mid-sized UMC suburb of Chicago – because everything I need is pretty much within a 10 minute drive of where I live, and I don’t have to travel to other surrounding towns full of migrants. What came across my desk is that every unemployed Jose, Pepe and Kevin are opening Mexican restaurants – in their own name or in the names of relatives – apparently in every strip mall they can find, from every concept they can do, from street food $3 tacos to fancy sit down joints with $18 poblano mac and chesse and $33 carne asada. And now the complete oversaturation, at the same time that food costs and rents are record high, is causing a complete collapse. Rents for restaurant spaces in nice dining area destinations in the suburbs are upwards of $8,000 to $10,000 a month, and an owner has got to sell a hella lot of burritos at $14 each to pay the costs to operate a restaurant with $10k a month rent. The competition for space is driving up rents, and now with 20,000,000 new illegals, the cost of ingredients for Mexican food has jumped sky high. On another forum I frequently visit, I mentioned that part of the ridiculous food inflation is 20,000,000 new immigrants. I was scoffed at for making a suggestion. But it takes months and years to update and reconfigure supply chains to make more food for 20,000,000 people in a three year period. Cows for meat and milk don’t appear overnight, and corn growing season in the midwest open happens once a year. Food that would otherwise be sent overseas is now consumed in the domestic market, at higher prices, and schools and other institutions are increasing their bulk buying to pay for all the illegals sitting in classrooms or prisons every day.

        1. Jose, Pepe

          A little trivia: in Spanish, many names have a standard nickname associated with it:

          Francisco: Paco, Pancho
          Ignacio: Nacho
          Salvador: Chava
          Alfonso: Pomcho
          Manuel: Manolo
          Alberto, Roberto: Beto
          Jesus: Chucho
          Ramon: Moncho
          Socorro: Coco
          Concepcion: Concha
          Rosario: Chayo
          Jose Maria: Chema
          Mercedes: Mecha
          and … Jose: Pepe

  19. CCRE Crash Carolina real estate. Crash baby crash!!!! I hope we get hit so hard here!!

    1. Given the amount of growth experienced in the Carolinas, especially in places like Charlotte and Raleigh, I expect the crash will be very noticeable. Suddenly unemployed newcomers who overpaid will be foreclosed and will maybe even jingle mail as they prepare to move to another metro in hopes of finding work.

  20. A reader sent these in:

    The condo market is getting pretty loose

    https://x.com/EPBResearch/status/1815777824734618106

    Florida’s home insurance is the highest in the country at an average of $6,000 per year, versus the US average of $1,700, per the Insurance Information Institute study.

    https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1815719006726164669

    Target is unrolling a new feature allowing customers to make a single purchase using multiple credit cards

    This is a credit card version of searching for spare change in your sofa cushions

    For all the strong consumers?

    https://x.com/texasrunnerDFW/status/1815820743571374122

    39% of Americans are worried they can’t pay their bills, which is higher than during the Global Financial Crisis when it was 37%.

    https://x.com/Barchart/status/1815844320584339494

    Let’s check in to see what all the “professional housing analysts” are up to after completely missing the largest sales volume collapse in history.

    https://x.com/VladTheInflator/status/1815849267615154256

    Its official, highest national housing inventory since the pandemic

    https://x.com/VladTheInflator/status/1815817548992242114

    Y’all seeing the year over year property tax hikes across the land? And this is just the beginning.

    You really think 10-11K a year property tax bills now aren’t taking a bite out of families?!? But yo … rate cuts!!!!!! 🫣

    https://x.com/ManyBeenRinsed/status/1815738674090287143

    1. Target is unrolling a new feature allowing customers to make a single purchase using multiple credit cards

      I recall that this was done during the previous crash.

  21. Sell, baby, sell. In 2015, two Oklahoma con artists baked a towering layer cake of tilapia, quail, penny stocks, Arabian sheikhs, cruise ships, diamonds, oil wells, copper mines, and Costco, and then stole the savings of farmers across Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri.

    The flimflam duo reeled in $1 million and hoped to stack the Ponzi far higher—until the scheme collapsed under a flood of fish. Welcome to one of the most outrageous scams in agriculture and business history.

    https://www.drovers.com/news/crop-gangsters-million-dollar-farm-ponzi-collapses-under-flood-fish

  22. Why no one wants to host Olympic Games anymore

    As he follows the Paris 2024 Olympics from afar, Eric Sheehan is trying to prevent the Olympic flame from coming to his home city in four years’ time.

    Sheehan is a leading member of NOlympics LA, a group striving to get Los Angeles to pull out of hosting the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. NOlympics LA embodies the increasing grass-roots opposition to hosting the Olympics.

    On Friday, the 2024 Games will begin with the opening ceremony on the Seine. To Sheehan and other campaigners around him, the more spectacular the spectacle, the more grotesque the waste. Since April 2023, over 12,000 homeless people have been removed from Paris, according to campaign group Le Revers de la Médaille. The Games have caused months of transport chaos and road closures as the city prepares; bus and metro fares will double for the six weeks until the end of the Paralympics. Tickets for locals to attend events have been far more expensive than hoped.

    The greatest complaint is that the Paris Games will cost far too much: over £7.5 billion, it is now estimated. The government’s auditors say that, because of money from private companies, ticket sales and sales of broadcasting rights, the total cost to taxpayers will still be a cool £2.5 to four billion. A poll last year found that 44 per cent of Parisians thought of hosting the Games as a “bad thing”.

    To Sheehan, Paris’s experience illustrates why Los Angeles should not spend an estimated $7 billion [£5.5 billion] to host the 2028 Games.

    “It could be going to things like public housing, permanent supportive housing, services for homeless folks,” Sheehan says. “These Games should be cancelled.”

    Sheehan’s mission will probably fail. But, the world over, the public are falling out of love with staging the Olympic Games. Paris is hosting this year, and Los Angeles in 2028, because no one else was left. After three other cities withdrew from bidding to host the 2024 Games, Los Angeles then agreed to bid for 2028 instead — so the Californian city and Paris were both left unopposed.

    It is not only the Olympic Games that are embattled. The 2026 Commonwealth Games currently have no host. These were awarded to the Australian state of Victoria, but the state government withdrew last year. Now, the Commonwealth Games are at risk of being postponed by a year — or even cancelled, if no alternative host can be found.

    The case against the Olympics has strengthened as public awareness of the costs involved has increased. There is an iron law of Olympic spending: whatever the estimated costs, they will end up many times more.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/why-no-one-wants-to-host-olympic-games-anymore/ar-BB1quvEf

    1. The same is happening with the FIFA world cup, it has become costly to host. To counter this FIFA is allowing multiple countries to host the cup. In 2026 the US, Canada and Mexico will jointly host the cup, and six countries are hosting it in 2030.

      1. Most of the 2026 matches will be held in the US, which has plenty of Taj Mahal stadiums that won’t need pricey updates to host matches.

  23. Porsche has admitted that the transition to electric power in the car market is taking much longer than it had predicted. The German automaker had previously suggested that EVs could account for 80 percent of its sales by 2030 and altered its product plans to meet a level of demand that hasn’t materialized.

    “The transition to electric cars is taking longer than we thought five years ago,” Porsche said in a statement, echoing the thoughts of other European luxury auto brands, including Mercedes. So while Porsche has the products and production capability to meet that planned-for 80 percent figures, it says it won’t push for it and will let customers lead the way.

    “Our product strategy is set up such that we could deliver over 80 percent of our vehicles as all electric in 2030 — dependent on customer demand and the development of electromobility,” Reuters reports Porsche saying.

    But if that demand isn’t there, surely that leaves Porsche in a bit of a pickle? It launched an electric version of its Macan EV earlier this year, but is about to kill off the combustion version, which was previously its best-selling product line, and still comes a close second behind the Cayenne, accounting for 27 percent of sales in 2023.

    And Porsche is already too far down the road of replacing its ICE-powered 718 Boxster and Cayman sports cars with EVs to change its plans now. The all-electric Boxster will be revealed before the end of 2024, and although the departing combustion versions didn’t sell in huge numbers, there must be some nervous suits at Stuttgart wondering if turning them into electric sports cars was the right move.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/porsche-admits-buyers-aren-t-ready-for-evs-yet-so-where-does-that-leave-2025-electric-boxster/ar-BB1qv88s

    2. I can see why luxury brands like Porche would push for full replacement EVs. Surely all of their wealthy customers have garages with chargers, and no rich person would need to drive their trophy more than, say, a hundred miles in a day. So they wouldn’t have to fight the plebs for a charger or bother with range anxiety.

      Meanwhile, the Camry class will swear off EVs until the car has a 400-mile range and a 10-minute charge, standard. Good luck.

  24. As Elon Musk throws his weight behind Donald Trump, people who own Teslas are starting to feel some buyer’s remorse.

    In a new report based on findings from an analytics firm called CivicService, Yahoo Finance reports that Tesla’s favorability among registered Democrats — who are far more likely to purchase electric vehicles than their oil-loving Republican counterparts — has dropped precipitously from 39 percent in January to 16 percent in July.

    Ross Gerber, a partner at the Gerber Kawasaki investment firm and a longtime Tesla investor, told the site that Musk’s values are now so misaligned from his own that he’s considering selling his car.

    “This final stance of Elon has put me in a really difficult moral position,” the investor elucidated. “I’m driving a Cybertruck and now it’s like a MAGA truck.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/tesla-buyers-disgusted-by-elon-musk-s-endorsement-of-donald-trump/ar-BB1qvBEZ

    1. Who cares? Does the vehicle suit your needs and meet your value expectations? Or did you just buy one to virtue signal?

  25. It wasn’t really a surprise that President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he will no longer be a candidate for a second term. After all, Biden was under crushing pressure from some of the most powerful forces in the Democratic Party — congressional leaders, fundraisers, former President Barack Obama, and especially former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the time-honored Washington way, once Biden relented and stepped aside, people who just hours earlier had their boot on his neck raced to express their heartfelt respect and admiration for his judgment, selflessness, and patriotism.

    What was a surprise was the speed with which the party apparatus ran to embrace Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic nominee for president. Before Biden’s decision, there was a lot of talk about possible replacements at the top of the ticket — not just Harris but Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and others. But once Biden withdrew, there was a stampede to Harris. By Monday, a majority of House Democrats, a majority of Senate Democrats, a majority of Democratic governors, all of the state party chairs and, most important, a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates to the Democratic National Convention had committed to support Harris.

    That is consistent with what this column has said all along — that it would be very unlikely that Democrats, obsessed with identity, and especially with race and gender, would dump the first woman vice president of color in favor of someone else who polls better. So, in that way, the move to Harris makes perfect sense. But viewed another way, the race to crown Harris makes less sense, because she is a provably terrible candidate, possibly the worst candidate Democrats could field in their current situation.

    https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2024/07/24/columnistsbyronyork20240723biden-gone-democrats-rally-around-worst-possible-candidate-n2642420

    1. I wonder if FJB will resign tonight so she can run as the incumbent and show us how presidentish she is.

      1. That’s why I question the judgment of Republicans calling for Biden to step down. Wouldn’t Harris be harder to beat as an incumbent?

        1. Perhaps as the latest anti-president she might have more opportunities to stick her foot in her mouth.

        2. My guess is no. There is likely not much difference between Harris the VP and Harris the P in the general election, especially given that Biden is being memory-holed as we speak. However, Harris as incumbent would be much harder to replace as the nominee. But since she has the delegates locked up, it doesn’t really matter what Joe does at this point.

        3. Wouldn’t Harris be harder to beat as an incumbent?

          I fail to see how or why that’s relevant.

  26. Like many before him, Elon Musk came to California to make his name and fortune.

    He hit Silicon Valley during the 1990s and the first internet boom, and began building his fortune with startups like the information network Zip2 and the payments site Paypal.

    Then it was on to new frontiers — space and electric cars. His Tesla electric cars benefited from California’s consumer subsidies, while SpaceX thrived in the growing space technology hub in Southern California.

    But in recent years, Musk’s California dreaming has been clouded with his dark view of a state that he accuses of “overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation.”

    “The final straw,” the billionaire said, came in the form of a law that prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to notify families about their children’s gender identity changes.

    Emphasizing his disdain, Musk announced this month that he planned to move the headquarters of two of his companies — SpaceX and the social media hub previously known as Twitter — from California to Texas.

    Musk revealed his plans for the two companies on his social media platform, X, a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law meant to protect transgender student rights — a policy that some parents argue diminishes the authority of families.

    Musk said that in approving the law and others before it, California was “attacking both families and companies,” spurring him to move the headquarters of SpaceX to the company’s launch test site in Texas.

    After the announcement, the governor shared a screenshot of a 2022 post by former President Trump, who claimed that Musk so craved federal subsidies for Tesla and SpaceX that “I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it.”

    Newsom republished the comment on X, adding: : “You bent the knee.” Musk fired back: “You never get off your knees.” In another X posting, the SpaceX boss added: “Gavin’s career is over.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/elon-musks-messy-divorce-with-california-leaves-ugly-grievances-all-around/ar-BB1qtg27

    1. The mainstream media conveniently leaves out one huge piece of this story whenever they report on it. Musk has firsthand experience with a child being lost to woke gender bending and he is very unhappy about it. All of his X’s might now live in Texas but his woke gender bent kid wont even talk to him.

  27. Right now the Democrates are proceeding with 1/2 of their plan to install Harris ,which was suppose to be inserted under the mayhem of a Trump murder.
    Haley would of been installed as candidate, beatable by even someone like Harris if you add election fraud.
    In the meantime the set up for transfer of Power to UN and WHO is being set up, as well as another Panademic , probably Bird flu based on PCR test fraud.
    Worldwide vaccine manufacturing plants being built as well as camps for some kind of prisoners.
    Pre purchase by governments of billions of dollars of stockpiles of MRNA Bird flu vaccines.
    Cover up of millions of deaths and injury by Covid killer vaccines, with Governments not taking the killer MRNA technology off market, but putting failed technology in more products.
    Government partnership with Monopolies in control of Media, supply lines, and withdraw of energy and food for unsustainable deprivation of world resources which would create mass deaths.
    Invasion of US Borders and other global governments borders as warfare attack on Countries.
    Transgender attack on minors. Attack on family, religion and small business. Wars, and more wars .
    Climate Change fraudulent narrative as grounds to take control of earth’s resources and ultimate enslavement and control of humanity .
    Even a cyber attack thrown in for good measure.
    Now making out like Biden was the greatest leader of all times , with the biggest vote count of all times, that is stepping down for the sake of the Country.
    Biden’s policies were great for the One World Order , that Biden said “The US should lead in One World Order. ”
    Biden is Party of ,
    One world Order Dictorship.
    Border Invasion of US
    Wars, and more wars.
    Party of mandated killer vaccines.
    Party of collusion with Media to take the first amendment
    Transgender attack on minors.
    Biden transfer by Treaty power to UN and WHO to override all Countries and Constitutions for a Dictorship based on fraudulent global emergencies.
    Biden divide and conquer by racism, and attack on over 1/2 on US Citizens being Enemy of State and a threat to democracy.
    Inflation destruction of functional economy after years of looting and rigging economy.
    How do you like the One World Order now?

  29. Now the psychological liars are trying to say that Harris was never “Border Czar” assigned by Biden.
    She was also assigned the task of being AI Czar under Biden, which I commented on numerous times .
    But with both urgent issues, Harris did nothing, didn’t even bother visiting the Border .
    So, today you have some Republicans filing Impeachment against Harris on Border Invasion, and cover up of Biden not being fit under the 25th amendment.
    We never mandated vaccines, we never had a Border or AI Czar under Biden by the name of Harris.

      1. I admit I’m very close to panic mode with all the Harris love, but this was predicted. There is till time, so I’ll try to stay optimistic for the moment.

        None of this Harris love is *new;* it’s just the 50 million strong Biden voters who would vote for Harris no matter what.

        Right now IMO, the most important bin of voters are the weak Bidens: moderate Dems and/or independents. These are the voters who were trending Biden but saw him go south at the debate. Question is, what do they do now? Shift to Harris? Run to T? Vote Kennedy out of protest? or stay home?

        Also important is, how many weak Bidens were there? And *where* are they? The Harris love is coming from deep blue states where they won’t make a difference. If the weak Bidens are in the Rust Belt and they stay home or take a liking to Vance, Harris has much less of a chance.

    2. “She was also assigned the task of being AI Czar…”

      Probably can’t write code either. Hello World??

    1. So long as real estate keeps going up at double digit rates of inflation, it makes perfect sense to bid over asking.

  31. “When the buyer assumed the loan, the buyer became primarily liable for the payments on the loan. You became secondarily liable (i.e., guaranteeing payment of the loan).”

    Gulp!

    1. This is the first one I’ve come across. It wasn’t that long ago this became a thing. It was similar to rate dating: pushed as a way to get around higher rates by UHS/mortgage guys. Serprize!

  32. Real Estate
    Soaring rents have sent evictions spiking 35% in pandemic boom towns
    Jennifer Sor
    Jul 22, 2024, 3:07 PM ET
    house for rent
    Shutterstock

    – Evictions are rising in housing markets that saw big demand during the pandemic, according to data from the Eviction Lab.

    – Eviction filings have climbed 35% year-over-year in cities in America’s Sun Belt.

    – That’s partly due to high rent prices in the region, which are burdening renters, researchers said.
    …
    https://www.businessinsider.com/rents-prices-evictions-florida-texas-sun-belt-falling-rent-locations-2024-7

  33. Dumb question of the day: Is the endless high rate of US housing price inflation merely the the flip side of steady, stealthy dollar destruction?

    1. Will home prices drop in 2024?
      Written by Molly Grace; edited by Laura Grace Tarpley
      Jul 22, 2024, 1:19 PM PDT
      Aerial view of a residential neighborhood
      Nazar Abbas Photography/Getty Images

      – Even as buyer demand has slowed, extremely low supply has kept home prices from falling.

      – Prices increased a bit in 2023, and they’ll probably go up in 2024, as well.

      – Most major forecasts predict that home prices will end 2024 between 2% and 4.8% higher than the year before.

      The unprecedented, dizzying home price growth we saw throughout the pandemic left many would-be buyers priced out of the market, wondering if they’ll ever get priced back in.

      Though there are plenty of would-be homebuyers eager to take advantage of a full housing market bubble burst, even incrementally lower home prices are unlikely to materialize in 2024.

      Will home prices drop in 2024?
      …
      https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mortgages/home-prices-drop

    2. Luckily what is happening with China’s housing prices could never happen here in the US.

      1. Markets
        China Home Prices Fall at Faster Pace Despite Revival Efforts

        – Month-on-month declines in April were steepest in a decade

        – Government is seeking to address excess housing inventories

        From a year earlier, new-home prices fell 3.51% in April, steeper than March’s 2.7% drop, the statistics bureau said.
        Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
        By Bloomberg News
        May 16, 2024 at 6:52 PM PDT
        …
        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-17/china-home-prices-fall-at-faster-pace-despite-revival-efforts

    3. Certainly a case can be made for that, however, a better case can be made for fraud. Another strong case can be made for immigration driving up demand. Realistically it is all of the above. The trick is determining what the mix is. While dollar debasement is somewhat easy to quantify, the other two are harder to estimate. Bubbles pop when enough of the fraud blows up and population/demand begins to decline. The debasement will fill the hole over time but in the meantime there will be a significant buying opportunity as the mess needs to be cleaned up. Any reasonable person should conclude that there is no way to avoid a big mess after what we have been seeing. It’s just a matter of timing at this point.

      1. It seems like whenever governments meddle in the housing market, a mess ensues. It doesn’t seem to matter what the underlying system of governance is: Housing + government intervention = Clusterfork

  34. ‘ ‘The patient..needs open heart surgery. When you assess a condo you need to look at when it was built. Everything before 2000 is in a doom loop’

    What I’ve read is that’s 90% plus of yer airboxes Peter.

  35. ‘The June Zillow report shows that 24.5 percent of national listings received a price cut, the highest rate since 2018, a fact that Harley Group realtor Summer Ramos says coincides with San Luis Obispo County trends. ‘Not at all surprised to see that there’s so many different factors that affect buyers and sellers today with interest rates, insurance, also the economy as a whole,’ Ramos said. The report also explained that there were 23 percent more active listings last month compared to June of last year. Ashlea Boyer with Keller Williams Central Coast Realty says the county has seen 2/3 more listings since April. ‘We’re in a bubble here. People who can live here come here regardless of any other issues they may be experiencing. So that said, right at this current time, we are mimicking that national average’

    We’re special, and we’re sinking like a turd in a well like everybody else.

  36. ‘Yakov Stein has spent the past few years acquiring apartments across the Southeast, including more than 1,000 units in Metro Atlanta. But the Lakewood, New Jersey-based investor, who has been backed by his insurance mogul father, is facing a possible foreclosure at a 224-unit Atlanta apartment building near Northlake Mall and hasn’t made a mortgage payment since April at a 508-unit apartment complex. At 3500 The Vine, declining occupancy has contributed to Stein’s inability to make payments’

    Oh no, Yakov and his daddy have plenty of ability to make payments. They are selectively walking away, like every body else big and small.

    ‘At the time of the 2022 mortgage, the property was 89% full and comfortably covering its debt service. Occupancy has since fallen to 77%, according to Morningstar Credit, and the property is only generating enough income to cover about half of its monthly mortgage payments’

    That’s some sound lending right there. They don’t mention and probably don’t know when renewal is due, but that is likely what’s at play here. They refi and they bleed cash every day. So they say OK we’ve negative cash right now with this dip in occupancy, that’s our excuse, here’s the keys. How do you like those non-recourse loans now?

    ‘The CLO piece of the debt was transferred to special servicing last month ‘for imminent monetary default,’ according to special servicer commentary via Morningstar Credit. The CRE CLO market has been flagged as ‘the first shoe to drop’ in times of real estate stress because it has been used to largely finance loans seen as too speculative for a traditional CMBS loan, Bloomberg reported. The share of troubled CRE CLO loans quadrupled this spring’

    For a brief time after the housing bubble went from conspiracy theory to consensus, there was a focus on securitization of shack loans as being at the root of the problem. It wrapped everything up into a chance for reform. We had wall street, GSE’s, rating agencies all using the guberment loan guarantee securitization market as the endess well of cash. It still is, sliced and diced as ever as we can see here.

  37. ‘The Inwood property was ‘not even distressed,’ Lala said, pointing to a low level of violations for the 48-unit building. The low-ball price instead reflects the market’s perception of rent-stabilized properties and the high mortgage rates being offered. ‘There’s so much bad news and negativity,’ Lala said. ‘All buyers are trying to use that to get a fair price’

    That’s the spirit! Go vultures!

  38. ‘The claim is one of more than 100 files in the B.C. Supreme Court civil registry naming Macario (Tobi) Reyes or his company, Port Capital Development, including other lawsuits and foreclosure actions involving various properties, most filed in the last few years. Port Capital’s financial troubles became public in mid-2020 , when the company’s highest-profile project — a glitzy downtown Vancouver condo tower called Terrace House that was heralded as one of the world’s tallest hybrid timber buildings — entered bankruptcy protection partway through construction. ‘The process-servers believe that Mr. Reyes is aware of the documents and is evading service’

    You got a real mickey mouse operation going there K-da.

  39. ‘investors are abandoning the sector, with purchases falling to a record low. The biggest decline has been in London’

    Most expensive, always leads the way.

    ‘This comes despite rents in London reaching a record high. Jilly Bland, lettings manager at Robert Holmes, an estate agency in Wimbledon, London, says: ‘There’s been a very definite slump since last October. Since then, month on month, there are either landlords moving back into their properties, coming home from abroad, or selling up. The buy-to-let market has really died, it’s not just falling away, it has died’

    Died in the arse Jilly. All yer commie guberment central planning did was steal future demand at low interest rates that are now fooking you.

    1. Markets
      Stock market has worst day since 2022 as Tesla, Google parent Alphabet sink
      Shares in the parent company of Facebook, as well as Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon, all fell significantly.
      Image: Markets Open Monday Morning After Volatile Week
      Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
      Spencer Platt / Getty Images
      July 24, 2024, 1:32 PM PDT / Updated July 24, 2024, 2:20 PM PDT
      By Rob Wile

      U.S. stocks had their worst day since 2022 on Wednesday amid a broad pullback in tech companies as Wall Street traders sought to reduce their exposure to firms that have made big bets on artificial intelligence.

      The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 3.6%, while the broader S&P 500 index closed down 2.3% — both their worst performances in more than 18 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.25%.

      The rout was led by Tesla, whose shares fell 12.3% for its worst day since 2020, and Google parent Alphabet, which fell more than 5% for its worst day since January.

      Tesla reported Tuesday afternoon that its auto revenues fell 7% compared with the previous quarter, and CEO Elon Musk said in a follow-up earnings call that the company’s planned robotaxi rollout would be pushed back.

      Although Alphabet reported earnings Tuesday that were in line with analysts’ expectations, traders appeared to seize on remarks CEO Sundar Pichai made on the company’s earnings call that signaled the tech world’s booming investments in artificial intelligence were not going to pay off in a short time frame.

      “I think we are in this phase where we have to deeply work and make sure on these use cases [for AI products], on these workflows, we are driving deeper progress on unlocking value, which I’m very bullish will happen,” Pichai said. “But these things take time.”
      …
      https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/stock-market-sees-worst-day-2022-tesla-google-parent-alphabet-sink-rcna163513

    2. Market Valuation: Is the Market Still Overvalued?
      by Jennifer Nash, 7/1/24

      Market valuation indicators are used by investors and analysts to gauge whether markets are overvalued, undervalued, or fairly valued relative to historical norms. Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators we update monthly.

      – The Crestmont Research P/E ratio (more)

      – The cyclical P/E ratio using the trailing 10-year earnings as the divisor (more)

      – The Q ratio, which is the total price of the market divided by its replacement cost (more)

      – The relationship of the S&P composite price to a regression trendline (more)

      To facilitate comparisons, we’ve adjusted the two P/E ratios and Q ratio to their arithmetic means and the inflation-adjusted S&P composite to its exponential regression. Additionally, we’ve plotted the S&P regression data as an area chart type rather than a line to make the comparisons a bit easier to read. It also reinforces the difference between the line charts — which are simple ratios — and the regression series, which measures the distance from an exponential regression on a log chart. Thus the percentages on the vertical axis show the over/undervaluation as a percent above mean value, which we’re using as a surrogate for fair value.

      Based on the latest S&P 500 monthly data, the market is OVERVALUED somewhere in the range of 98% to 163%, depending on the indicator, up from last month’s 92% to 154% range.
      …
      https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2024/07/01/market-valuation-is-the-market-still-overvalued

    4. Was there something special about 2007 in US stock market history?

      My recollection is vague, but it seems like that was the year the wheels fell off the subprime mortgage lending industry bus.

      1. Market Extra
        Stocks see worst wipeout since 2022. Here’s what might happen next.
        Investors say pullback isn’t over yet, but will ultimately present a buying opportunity
        By Joseph Adinolfi
        Published: July 24, 2024 at 6:10 p.m. ET
        Stocks just suffered their biggest wipeout since 2022.
        Photo: Getty Images
        Referenced Symbols
        SPX -2.31%
        COMP -3.64%
        DJIA -1.25%
        VIX 22.55%

        It was wipeout Wednesday on Wall Street, as a long-anticipated summer squall finally arrived to buffet stocks.

        By the time the dust had settled after the closing bell, the S&P 500 (SPX
        -2.31%) had shed 2.3% — its first pullback of 2% or more in 356 trading days. That ended the index’s longest such stretch since 2007, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
        …
        https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-see-worst-wipeout-since-2022-heres-what-might-happen-next-ba149f76

  42. How do you get the most radical liberal Senator Harris in as the President of United States. You have Biden appoint her as the VP, and than Biden resigns in first 6 months of second term, …..unless.
    Unless its apparent that Trump will win, than what do you do.
    Harris in terms of policies is left of Bernie Sanders even . Open Borders, defund the police, let criminal go, reparations for every black that resides in US, abortion rights, transgender rights, overthrow of 9 Judges in High Court, no rules for AI, what will be not burdened by what as been.
    Harris had Commie Parents, the mother was Indian, the father Jamaican. They are not exactly the profile of a US black that descended from plantation slavery. More like commie immigrants seeking opportunity in USA.
    Harris , a One World Order shill placed there to destroy the USA , and only there because of a 2020 rigged election placing her in that spot.

    1. Recorded for sure. Strangely enough, no jump cuts. I guess they found another effective cocktail for him.

  44. Help! I Can’t Close On My Unit (GTA Condo Real Estate Market Update)

    Team Sessa Real Estate

    1 hour ago TORONTO

    In this episode we take a look at the current GTA Condo Markets – Toronto, York Region & Peel Region for week ending July 17, 2024. We also discuss the problem that happens when you don’t address problems early.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSoB4KS0OsI

    12 minutes.

  45. Finance
    Blackstone’s battered mortgage fund slumps as empty offices intensify pressure
    By Michelle Conlin and Matt Tracy
    July 24, 202411:16 AM PDT
    Updated 12 hours ago
    Signage is seen at the Blackstone Group headquarters in New York City
    U.S., January 18, 2023.
    REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

    NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) – Shares of commercial real estate finance company Blackstone Mortgage Trust fell 10% on Wednesday as the firm cut its dividend 24%, facing continued strains from vacant offices.
    It is the latest sign of mounting woes in commercial real estate. Analysts are predicting more weakness for lenders and owners in the sector as American workers maintain their pandemic-era remote work habits.

    The shift has left broad swaths of office space empty, while elevated interest rates have left many borrowers struggling to make timely payments on their loans.

    “For Blackstone to have to come out and cut dividends, I have to imagine that’s going to weigh on some people’s minds,” said Stephen Buschbom, research director at Trepp, an industry data provider. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see ripple effects throughout the industry when the biggest player is having to cut.”

    Blackstone Mortgage Trust set aside an additional $140 million in reserves for expected credit losses. Of its holdings in U.S. office space, 55% is “watch-listed or impaired,” according to an earnings presentation.

    Still, borrowers for higher-quality offices are keeping up repayments, it said.

    Industry participants remain concerned about a sharp downturn for commercial office space as nearly $1 trillion of the $4.7 trillion of outstanding commercial mortgages come due in 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
    The looming maturity comes against a backdrop of declining property values and lower rent rolls.
    …
    https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/blackstones-battered-mortgage-fund-slumps-empty-offices-intensify-pressure-2024-07-24/

    1. Trade
      Why Magnificent Seven Stocks Just Had Their Worst Day on Record
      By Colin Laidley
      Updated July 24, 2024
      04:52 PM EDT
      Magnificent 7 illustration
      Alice Morgan / Investopedia
      Key Takeaways

      – The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF suffered its largest daily decline on record on Wednesday.

      – Investors fled America’s tech giants after earnings reports from Tesla and Alphabet raised concerns about the cost of artificial intelligence investments and the sustainability of the Mag Seven’s blistering earnings growth.

      – Still, the group is expected to report that aggregate second-quarter earnings grew three times faster than the S&P 500 as a whole (30% vs. 10%).

      The Magnificent Seven tumbled on Wednesday after earnings reports from Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL) raised concerns about slowing earnings growth at America’s tech titans.

      Shares of the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) fell 6.1% Wednesday, their largest daily decline since the ETF launched in April 2023. Wednesday’s rout plunged the index into correction territory.

      The tech giants, which were cumulatively worth about $16 trillion as of Tuesday’s close, weighed heavily on the major indexes. The S&P 500 slumped 128 points, its biggest drop since September 2022; the Mag Seven accounted for approximately 85 of those points.

      Tesla and Alphabet Earnings Disappoint

      Earnings season got off to a rough start for the group Tuesday afternoon when Tesla missed quarterly earnings estimates. The electric vehicle maker reported a 45% decline in profit as artificial intelligence (AI) development costs increased and average vehicle sales prices declined. Tesla shares tumbled more than 12% Wednesday as Wall Street parsed the earnings and digested a delayed rollout of its robotaxi.

      Spending on AI also sank Google-parent Alphabet’s stock on Wednesday despite it beating earnings estimates for the quarter. The company reported spending $13.2 billion on property and equipment in the quarter, nearly double the same period a year ago. CFO Ruth Porat warned on a call with analysts that capital expenditures would remain near that level for the remainder of the year. Alphabet shares fell 5%.

      More Mega-Cap Earnings Coming Next Week

      Microsoft (MSFT) is the next of the seven to report earnings, with its report slated for Tuesday afternoon. Meta (META), Apple (AAPL), and Amazon (AMZN) are also scheduled to report next week.

      The Magnificent Seven is, as a group, expected to report earnings grew 30% in the second quarter, according to Bank of America analysts. That’s well ahead of the 10% rate forecast for the entire S&P 500, but it would make the group’s second consecutive quarter of slowing growth.

      Even before Wednesday’s slide, mega-cap tech names, which had powered broader market gains all year, had started to fall out of favor as investors rotated into shares of smaller companies that stand to benefit most from widely anticipated rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

      Despite the steep declines recently, all but one of the Magnificent Seven stocks are in positive territory for the year, with Tesla being the outlier.
      …
      https://www.investopedia.com/why-magnificent-seven-stocks-are-having-their-worst-day-on-record-8683011

    2. Nvidia stock price falls in a not-so-magnificent week for AI-forward tech giants

      Although the week is not over yet, shares in Tesla, Alphabet, Meta, and other power players were all trending downward as of Thursday morning.
      Nvidia stock price falls in a not-so-magnificent week for AI-forward tech giants
      BY Christopher Zara
      2 minute read

      Shares of Nvidia Corporation led a broader sell-off of AI-forward tech giants this week after two of the so-called Magnificent Seven companies reported earnings news that rattled investors.

      The chip designer, whose products are powering vital infrastructure in the artificial intelligence revolution, saw its stock fall almost 7% on Wednesday after starting the week with a slight gain. Here’s what to know:

      What’s happening?

      Big Tech’s closely watched earnings season is in full swing. Two companies—Tesla and Google parent Alphabet—reported financial results on Tuesday, and both saw their shares fall the following day.

      In Tesla’s case, the reaction was relatively straightforward: The electric vehicle maker reported a 45% drop in net income compared to the same quarter last year. Whatever your thoughts on Tesla’s brand during this politically charged moment, investors typically do not like to see profits plummet.

      Interestingly, though, Alphabet actually beat profit expectations, reporting EPS of $1.89 compared to a consensus estimate of $1.84. It saw its shares rise after hours immediately following the earnings release.

      However, investors pulled back once they dug into the details. Notably, YouTube advertising revenue did not grow as much as expected and—perhaps more crucially—Alphabet said its quarterly capital spending jumped to $13.2 billion, in part due to investments as it refocuses its efforts on AI. As Bloomberg reported, analysts were expecting about a billion less than that.

      A big question about AI right now is whether or not the costs of building and running new tools will ever come down enough to make the technology’s gains worth the expense, as highlighted in an AI-skeptical report from Goldman Sachs in June. Companies lately have been spending like there’s no tomorrow, but no one really knows how much AI will boost profits in the long run.

      In addition to Nvidia, Tesla, and Alphabet all seeing their stocks drop on Wednesday, other Magnificent Seven companies followed. Facebook parent Meta Platforms fell by almost 6% on Wednesday; Microsoft by 3.59%; and Apple and Amazon by almost 3%.

      What is the Magnificent Seven?

      It’s a name given to the stock market’s seven biggest performers across industries such as tech, retail, and automotive. One thing all of these companies have in common right now is their focus on artificial intelligence. As Investopedia points out, these power players have been outperforming the market this year.

      What happens next?

      It’s important to point out that the week is not over. As of premarket trading on Thursday morning, most of the Magnificent Seven were flat. Nvidia shares were down by another 1%, but sentiment could change once markets open and investors have had a moment or two to breathe.

      Either way, most of the Magnificent Seven have yet to report their quarterly results, so there are still plenty of chances to turn things around. Next week is the big week on that front: Microsoft reports on Tuesday. Meta reports on Wednesday. Amazon and Apple report on Thursday.

      As for Nvidia, we won’t truly know how the company fared until it reports its results at the end of August. What we can say for sure is that, whatever happens, it could shape the direction of the entire market in the weeks and months that follow.
      …
      https://www.fastcompany.com/91162773/nvidia-stock-price-down-today-ai-selloff-magnificent-7-reason

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