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We’ve Invested In Paradise And Found That Paradise Has Got Some Problems

A report from Business Insider on Texas. “A couple of years into the COVID-19 pandemic, a California state flag appeared on a front porch near my parents’ home in suburban Austin. The flag is gone now, and so is the gold rush. Home prices and asking rents in Austin are down significantly from a year ago. Local Zillow listings are littered with price cuts. Real-estate agents who once doubled as bouncers at crowded open houses are now hiring ice-cream trucks to lure prospective buyers into properties. These days, ‘there’s no sense of urgency,’ Doreen Sidney, a local real-estate agent, told me. ‘There’s no rush. The home that you saw two weeks ago, it’ll still be there.’ Overall, Austin home prices are down more than 14% from the peak in 2022, according to Freddie Mac, and more than 18% according to Zillow. Some tech workers from places such as California, decided Austin wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and moved on. ‘Austin is where ambition goes to die,’ one disappointed founder and angel investor told Business Insider last year.”

WTKR in North Carolina. “One moment the house at 23039 GA Kohler Court was standing, the next it was scattered across the shoreline in Rodanthe on Tuesday. The house was nicknamed ‘Front Row Seats’ and that’s exactly what dozens of people had as it became the latest home to be claimed by the Atlantic Ocean. Rick Foreman and his family have owned a house on GA Kohler Court since 2021 that now sits in the water, but it hasn’t always been that way. Foreman and his family understood that their house might be in danger in the future, but the hope was that Dare County might fund a beach nourishment project for Rodanthe. ‘We weren’t completely in the dark about that, but we kind of figured well, they’re nourishing these other beaches. I mean, feet of sand have gone away versus prior to that. You lose three or four feet, now we’ve lost like eight or 10 feet. Nothing like this has really happened before,’ said Foreman.”

“Foreman shared some of the frustrations he has and how homeowners in the area feel this area is neglected. ‘Everybody’s mortgage or debt situation or financial situation is different. So I don’t think you could put a one size fits all on it by any stretch. Some people can afford to move them. Some people can’t,’ said Foreman. ‘One, the narrative kind of makes us sound like bad guys, and we really didn’t do anything wrong. Two, the way we’re treated in this area versus other parts of the Outer Banks where they get beach nourishment.’ ‘Front Row Seats’ was a foreclosed home that was expected to be demolished this week, but Mother Nature had other plans.”

11 Alive in Georgia. “It’s not a neighborhood squabble. It’s abuse of power. That’s the message from homeowners who spoke at a bipartisan Senate committee looking into the state’s laws around home and condo associations. Dave Bozone and his wife Jessica Navas reached out to State Sen. Matt Brass when they felt the board in Atlanta’s Belmont Park wasn’t operating properly. They tried to follow the covenant rules to replace the board with new members, leading to a power struggle that involved attorneys. The Bozones said their community does now have a new board and old questionable fines for community violations have been removed. So have the liens that threatened foreclosure, as the board works with homeowners to bring their accounts current. But to get to this point, they have received several threats, like a vulgar postcard in the mail calling them ‘pathetic pieces of sh*t.’ 11Alive blurred a photo of the postcard that is shared below. They will be in court on Wednesday for a hearing against a neighbor’s adult son, accused of roaming their backyard spreading a mysterious powder while holding a large knife. Bozone said his family lives in fear, all for trying to make his neighborhood better.”

7 News Miami. “Following the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, the Florida legislature passed a law, that the governor signed, which required all condominiums that were 30 years and older to undergo inspections by Dec. 31. But for the condo owners, like residents who live at Tara West in Fort Lauderdale, it’s too much money and too little time. ‘They want a special assessment,’ said condo owner Vicki LaRue. LaRue said the board suddenly doubled the monthly maintenance fee. ‘From $459 to $920,’ she said. Other residents told 7News they have had to find different ways to pay the costs. ‘OK. I have Stage 4 cancer, and so, I’m back working again in order to pay all this,’ said condo owner Jeanette Delegram.”

Observer Local News in Florida. “Desperate for relief, some Palm Coast residents have formed a coalition together to help push for better management of vacation rentals that have become their live-in nightmare. Roger Cressey said they moved to Palm Coast for paradise, like many others in their organization. ‘We’ve invested in paradise down here and found that paradise has got some problems,’ Roger Cressey said. He said he can hear the yelling and screaming of vacationers at the rental across the canal from him for hours on end in his office, even while he is in the middle of the work day. Despite the registration requirements, a search on AirBnB shows over 900 properties listed as vacation rentals in Flagler County, though some listed were from neighboring municipalities. A similar search on Vrbo turned up over 300 listings.”

The Los Angeles Times in California. “It’s quiet in Cayucos. Perhaps too quiet. In fact, on a cloudy fall day on the beach in Cayucos, you might not find any Cayucans at all. Short-term rentals and skyrocketing home prices are rattling the community’s identity, sending longtime locals packing in favor of Airbnb guests. The shift has been so severe that some residents no longer recognize the city where they’ve spent their entire lives. In a recent op-ed, resident Dell Franklin called the town a ‘lonely, empty place, a preying ground for our wealthiest investors.’ He wrote that homes sit empty for months or years, waiting for buyers or short-term renters, and the characters who once gave the place its personality have disappeared. A ghost town.”

The Palm Springs Post in California. “The Palm Springs housing market continues to cool, with declining prices and slower sales as part of a broader slowdown in the Coachella Valley region. According to the August 2024 Desert Housing Report, the median price of detached homes in Palm Springs has dropped 6.1% compared to last year, now standing at $1,198,338. This increase in inventory has resulted in a ‘months of sales’ ratio of 5.0 months, the highest in the region, indicating a market leaning toward buyers. Buyers are also seeing larger discounts, with detached homes selling at an average discount of 3.4%, up from 1.5% last year.”

Bisnow New York. “The CEO of the Related Cos. says he and his family have been the victim of a targeted harassment and intimidation campaign from investors in the largest private development in U.S. history, Hudson Yards. Jeff Blau filed a lawsuit on Friday against seven people who invested $500K each in the $25B megaproject, asking a New York County Supreme Court judge to issue an emergency injunction that would bar the individuals from continuing to protest outside his Upper East Side home. But the EB-5 investors, who have been reading headlines of Hudson Yards’ success for half a decade, have not been repaid. Blau claims they aren’t eligible to be paid out ahead of other investors, and the EB-5 program requires capital to be ‘at risk,’ meaning the payments aren’t overdue.”

“That response has frustrated the investors. Jingxu He wrote in an email to Bisnow the firm that collected the investments from immigrants on behalf of Related promised ‘risk-free’ returns and guaranteed that their capital would be returned within five years. ‘Our investment funds have not been returned, and we have lost normal contact with the immigration company,’ she wrote. ‘Through communication with other investors, I learned that there may be problems with the project, which made our $500,000 unable to be recovered.'”

CBC News in Canada. “Their house is four years old, but a Fort Erie, Ont., couple say it was so badly constructed that they have no choice but to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to tear it down. ‘I can’t stress how much our life is ruined, literally ruined, right now,’ Carolynn Mayers, 53, told CBC Hamilton. ‘Every day we have to look at how hard we worked to get nothing.’ They purchased the house in July 2021 from the original buyer, a year after it had been built as part of a 100-home subdivision by Marina Homes. They said they had no other option but to sue Marina Homes, house designer Sandy Gull Zone and the Town of Fort Erie for $3 million. The couple filed the civil lawsuit over a year ago.”

“Mayers and her husband, James Durban, 51, say they shouldn’t be living there for their own health and safety, but can’t afford to rent another place as the bills pile up and their house remains unsellable. ‘At times it’s, ‘Do we eat or pay the bills?’ Mayers said. ‘It’s embarrassing, but we are praying and hoping this will create some awareness.'”

The Scottish Sun. “A Scots couple fear their dream home will be left unfinished after the housebuilder went into liquidation. Dean and Kerry Clark, from Nairn, face huge uncertainty and have ‘no idea’ what to do following the collapse of Morlich Homes. Employees at the company have been made redundant and it is unclear what will happen to unfinished developments. Rising construction costs and ‘worsening’ market conditions have led to the developer going bust. Dean and Kerry signed a contract with Morlich Homes last year after doing a lot of research into the company following a previous bad experience with another housebuilder, The Press and Journal reports. But they claim they have not heard back from the company since making their last stage payment.”

“Dean added that all work on his plot stopped around six weeks ago and claimed the home is only 65 per cent complete despite 80 per cent of the cost being paid. ‘We’ve been left out of pocket here. Where has our money gone?'”

From Marketplace. “After years of delay, the Qifu City condo project in Zhengzhou city, in China’s central Henan province, started handing over keys to homebuyers this summer. Staff on the property attempted to create a festive mood by decorating the entrance with a red balloon banner and a flimsy red carpet held down by loose bricks. Lively Chinese music blasted from a lone speaker. This month, Chen Peng, a folksinger and songwriter, was finally called in to get his key. He had been waiting nine years. ‘I feel a mix of happiness and sadness. I am glad that I finally got my condo, but I am sad that I must resume mortgage payments. I can’t continue my mortgage boycott,’ he said.”

“At first, he felt lucky to have found the Qifu City project because he was offered a discount through a friend. The only catch was he had to put up a higher deposit. Chen used his life savings, a chunk of his parents’ money plus credit cards to make the down payment of just over 50% on a 580,000 yuan (about $82,000) condo in 2015. The developer, Zhongsheng, ran out of money and stopped construction at the Qifu City site in 2019, according to Chen. He petitioned local officials, protested and then was detained for ‘illegal gathering.'”

“‘When I was detained by police, a policeman told me that my situation is better than his,’ Chen said. The officer ‘also bought a condo in a rotten tail project.’ A ‘rotten tail’ building is a common term for abandoned construction projects. Chen released a song about the injustices homebuyers face, but his song was censored on Chinese music platforms and nothing changed. All the while, he was still paying off the mortgage, maxing out credit cards and at one point subsisting on potatoes for 72 days straight just to make the payments.”

“‘Evergrande was famous throughout the country,’ said Zhang Fenglian, who bought one of the company’s homes in Chongqing city. He bought a condo for nearly 1 million yuan, or about $140,000, in 2018, when, Zhang said, prices in the area were at their peak. He made the purchase for his son, to help him attract a wife. Evergrande’s downfall left all its condo projects in limbo, despite the fact that buyers like Zhang had paid for the property in full, or at the very least shelled out a huge down payment and were already making mortgage payments. The local government invited Evergrande to lease the Chongqing land tax-free without supervision, Zhang said. ‘The money we paid [already] was not supervised by government financial institutions.'”

“Zhang said the Chongqing government took over the abandoned project, and his unit was delivered in 2022. ‘When I bought the unit, I was told there would be a basketball court, a cinema, a soccer field and a swimming pool in the condo complex. But now there is nothing there except for a few trees,’ Zhang said.”

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This Post Has 105 Comments

  1. He wrote in an email to Bisnow the firm that collected the investments from immigrants on behalf of Related promised ‘risk-free’ returns and guaranteed that their capital would be returned within five years. ‘Our investment funds have not been returned, and we have lost normal contact with the immigration company,’ she wrote. ‘Through communication with other investors, I learned that there may be problems with the project, which made our $500,000 unable to be recovered’

    It was probably a miscommunication Jingxu. It was risk free – for Jeff and Related.

    1. Color your money gone, Jingxu. Remember, “investors,” in a time of universal fraud, aided and abetted by regulators, enforcers, and uniparty policymakers, if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it.

  2. ‘Dave Bozone and his wife Jessica Navas reached out to State Sen. Matt Brass when they felt the board in Atlanta’s Belmont Park wasn’t operating properly. They tried to follow the covenant rules to replace the board with new members, leading to a power struggle that involved attorneys. The Bozones said their community does now have a new board and old questionable fines for community violations have been removed. So have the liens that threatened foreclosure, as the board works with homeowners to bring their accounts current. But to get to this point, they have received several threats, like a vulgar postcard in the mail calling them ‘pathetic pieces of sh*t.’ 11Alive blurred a photo of the postcard that is shared below. They will be in court on Wednesday for a hearing against a neighbor’s adult son, accused of roaming their backyard spreading a mysterious powder while holding a large knife. Bozone said his family lives in fear’

    I want to thank Dave and Jessica for bringing us another HBB Pitfalls of Commie Urban Living™ matter: you hitch yerself to these neighbors and some of them are fooking lunatics! It also shows this in not just an airbox thing.

    1. “…neighbor’s adult son, accused of roaming their backyard spreading a mysterious powder while holding a large knife…”

      No worries, neighbor’s adult son is just hunting for rodents.

  4. “Home prices and asking rents in Austin are down significantly from a year ago. Local Zillow listings are littered with price cuts. Real-estate agents who once doubled as bouncers at crowded open houses are now hiring ice-cream trucks to lure prospective buyers into properties. These days, ‘there’s no sense of urgency,’ Doreen Sidney, a local real-estate agent, told me. ‘There’s no rush. The home that you saw two weeks ago, it’ll still be there.’”

    Funny thing is, the home two streets over from us in San Diego has had two weekend open houses recently and still has a For Sale sign out front.

    Perhaps this emerging buyer’s market is not just an Austin development?

    Dutch auction, anyone?

  5. Overall, Austin home prices are down more than 14% from the peak in 2022, according to Freddie Mac, and more than 18% according to Zillow.

    But…but…muh generational wealth!

  6. “‘Austin is where ambition goes to die,’ one disappointed founder and angel investor told Business Insider last year.”

    Are we about to relive the early 2000s tech stock crash? It is hard to overstate the level of euphoria in 2000, just before the bust that ensued, which nobody could have seen coming.

    1. “…nobody could have seen coming….”

      After all, ‘everyone knew’ the Pets.com sock puppet was unstoppable.

  7. ‘Austin is where ambition goes to die,’ one disappointed founder and angel investor told Business Insider last year.”

    Start-ups, “incubators,” and “industry disruptors” that were only possible in a world awash with Yellen Bux liquidity are dying like flies. The wipeout of fake wealth created by fake money is going to be epic. Got popcorn?

  8. The right to overthrow tyrannical, unaccountable government is enshrined in the Constitution – specifically in the 2nd Amendment. As the Democrat-Bolsheviks become more overtly Marxist-Leninist totalitarian, they are going to escalate their efforts to prohibit patriots & nationalists from forming armed self-defense groups to defend their homes, families, neighborhoods, and communities from globalist-sponsored societal collapse and the mass influx of criminal migrant supergangs. Forward, Soviet!

    https://www.vice.com/en/article/democrats-propose-bill-to-neuter-militias/

  9. Foreman and his family understood that their house might be in danger in the future, but the hope was that Dare County might fund a beach nourishment project for Rodanthe.

    Hope was the last and most dangerous thing in Pandora’s Box, Foreman. Doesn’t anyone read Greek mythology anymore?

    1. “READ Greek mythology?”

      wassup man, you gotta git wit IT, dog! noam sayin ?
      I saw dat flick “300” while eating Oikos yogurt. (mah shorty made me)

      ain’t got time for no “reading”. takes me enough time to read this here blog waitin’ for the countdown to Desk Clearing Friday.

      noam sayin?!

    2. They should look on the bright side, this is one neighborhood where holding costs are actually decreasing for some owners.

      Here is a link to a channel that films a lot of the collapses there. The latest one was disassembled faster than a truckload of illegal laborers could do it and the best part is it was free. If you look closely you can see that it knocked a big hole in the house next to it when it fell. (first video in the list)

      https://www.youtube.com/@EpicShutterPhotography

  10. ‘One, the narrative kind of makes us sound like bad guys, and we really didn’t do anything wrong.

    You’re not bad, Foreman. You’re just stupid.

  11. ‘From $459 to $920,’ she said. Other residents told 7News they have had to find different ways to pay the costs. ‘OK. I have Stage 4 cancer, and so, I’m back working again in order to pay all this,’ said condo owner Jeanette Delegram.”

    It’s not stage 9. Get out there and hustle baby

  12. I live in Abbeville Co. SC,backed up to the huge Greenville Spartensburg -atlanta corridor ….Yanks are moving in in droves ,building new houses ….If you’re up to it , existing businesses here are up for sale , at very very reasonable prices ….it’s frustrating to be just one county away from a booming area ,but not part of it.
    The very historic Belmont inn ,right on the town square of Abbeville SC ,is for sale ,loc,stock & barrel ,for 950K, theyre selling houses for more then that, even in our county, and if you’re in the funeral business , a beautiful funeral home and set-up is for sale ,just down the street , for less then that …..It’s the No.2 funeral home for this town,and the director and owner passed away some months ago …am surprised someone dosen’t buy it and go private home on it……it’s in a historic old area ,too..So there’s bargins out there , if you go just a bit off the beaten path, though the City is Business unfriendly ,maybe that’a part of the equation .

    2. ** ” . . .It’s the No.2 funeral home for this town,and the director and owner passed away some months ago …am surprised someone dosen’t buy it and go private home on it”

      been watching “The Connor’s” , eh?

  13. ‘I can’t stress how much our life is ruined, literally ruined, right now,’ Carolynn Mayers, 53, told CBC Hamilton. ‘Every day we have to look at how hard we worked to get nothing.’

    All together now: “But it was cheaper than renting.”

  14. ‘At times it’s, ‘Do we eat or pay the bills?’ Mayers said. ‘It’s embarrassing, but we are praying and hoping this will create some awareness.’”

    To join the winnahs’ circle, you have to forego those non-essential meals. Pray all you want, but the Bible is pretty clear on the subject of fools and their money being parted.

  15. Paul Krugman muh best economy ever.

    New York Post (9/24/2024):

    “US consumer confidence plunged in September by the most in three years as Americans continue to grapple with high prices and a shaky labor market.

    The Consumer Confidence Index plummeted 6.9 points in September to 98.7 – the steepest drop since August 2021, according to data released Tuesday. The data came in well below economists’ expectations, according to a Bloomberg survey.

    Consumers most often mentioned high prices and inflation as factors influencing their view of the economy, The Conference Board said.

    A measure of consumer expectations for the next sixth months dropped by 4.6 points to 81.7 – hovering just above a reading less than 80, which typically indicates a recession, The Conference Board said.”

    https://nypost.com/2024/09/24/business/consumer-confidence-plummets-in-september-by-most-in-3-years/

    Are you any better off now than you were four years ago?

    1. Citizen! The absence of joy in your posts flags you as ideologically suspect. You can offset this hit to your social credit score by becoming an enthusiastic member of White Dudes for Harris.

  16. Paul Krugman muh best economy ever.

    New York Post (9/24/2024):

    “Budget deficits are set to exceed $2 trillion this year — despite relative peace and prosperity — and then surge to $4 trillion within a decade under current policies.

    For the first time since the end of World War II, the federal debt will top 100% of the gross domestic product.

    The impending completion of the Biden-Harris administration brings an opportunity to assess their role in these rising deficits.

    Joe Biden and Kamala Harris surely inherited an economic and fiscal mess. President Trump had already signed legislation and executive orders adding $4 trillion to 10-year deficits before the bipartisan pandemic response added $4 trillion more.

    That said, as Biden-Harris entered office, the pandemic-ravaged economy was finally reopening and Americans were returning to work. Thus, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast that budget deficits — which had temporarily leaped to $3 trillion — would drop back to the pre-pandemic $1 trillion levels as the pandemic aid expired.

    Instead, the administration immediately disregarded the advice of even liberal economists and pushed through his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

    Because CBO had calculated that the recovering economy was only $420 billion short of its operating capacity, this $1.9 trillion bazooka wildly overshot its economic stimulus purpose.

    Consequently, just as economists warned, the excessive stimulus overheated the economy and contributed three more percentage points to an inflation rate that was already rising due to past pandemic stimulus and supply constraints.”

    https://nypost.com/2024/09/24/opinion/biden-harris-irresponsible-legacy-debt-is-100-of-gdp-highest-since-wwii/

    The phony pandemic didn’t ravage the economy. Government ravaged the economy.

    All for a phony virus that for the young and healthy, has an infection fatality rate of statistical zero.

  17. ‘When I bought the unit, I was told there would be a basketball court, a cinema, a soccer field and a swimming pool in the condo complex. But now there is nothing there except for a few trees,’ Zhang said.”

    Zhang, this is what we in ‘Murica refer to as a “Flounder moment.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYQCb3qrBpo

  19. **”Real-estate agents who once doubled as bouncers at crowded open houses are now hiring ice-cream trucks to lure prospective buyers into properties.”

    after laughing for a moment, I realized . . . this sounds like the plot of many horror films.

  20. “One moment the house at 23039 GA Kohler Court was standing, the next it was scattered across the shoreline in Rodanthe on Tuesday.”

    following Rahm’s advice on “Not to waste a crisis”, I’d have told OAC, Pointing-Finger-Kamala, the View Crew, Lie-a-watha, and my ex that doomed beach house had:
    A) helpless illegals/kids
    B) Trump
    C) needs redecorating
    D) Trump

    (did I mention Trump? just checking)

    1. 23039 GA Kohler Court

      Spectacular stupidity. Not only built on a sandbar, but out past where even the dune grass grows.

      1. When those homes were built they were far away from the beach and well behind the dunes. The rate of erosion was not something that was well understood. Even now, they are still underestimating it as some homes are moved but not far enough.

        1. When you look at those homes, try to visualize them sitting only a foot or two off the ground. That is how they started out.

  22. A reader sent these in:

    The Abysmal Track Record of Moody’s Mark Zandi

    https://x.com/RudyHavenstein/status/656479055856861184

    Denver’s housing market is flashing red in our latest analysis

    Our algo just flagged Denver as one of the 17 most at-risk housing markets in the US. Here’s why:

    https://x.com/ParclLabs/status/1838361208782753879

    Public pension debt has driven property taxes in Illinois the 2nd-highest in the U.S.

    But it’s not the only tax burden crushing Illinoisans.

    Illinois’ outmigration crisis is fueling its population decline.

    Taxes are the No. 1 reason residents cite for wanting to leave.

    https://x.com/illinoispolicy/status/1837109957218505018

    One drink every time you hear “the 50-day”…

    https://x.com/RudyHavenstein/status/1308059907933962240

    Maybe the real reason for the Fed’s jumbo-sized rate cut was not the weakening labor market, slower inflation, or even trying to influence the election – maybe it’s a silent bailout of banks who have never gotten out from being under the wrong side of the interest rate trade…

    https://x.com/RealEJAntoni/status/1838227411688689960

    the real estate bubble got so big in china that young people could no longer afford to buy homes and start families, no they have a demographics bust.

    so ya great, you lowered the mortgage rate but if there are no new young people who will buy?

    https://x.com/MacroOunce/status/1838403167559864493

    So far the only “solution” some countries are trying is importing millions of immigrants and hoping they will magically buy up all the multi million dollar homes, its working great in places like Canada

    https://x.com/MacroOunce/status/1838403821393055797

    from a Berkeley professor noting that many of his students aren’t getting a single offer (they used to get multiple).

    https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1838731882906697821

    Our idiotic policies continue to reward asset holders and poor decision making at the expense of everyone else

    https://x.com/DonMiami3/status/1838732240685093119

    Houston-based Vertex Energy has filed for bankruptcy protection with up to $1bn in liabilities, will transition its renewable diesel facility back to conventional fuel

    https://x.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1838740305811525755

    Nashville-based Asurion to reportedly cut 20% or more of its workforce, impacting around 4,000 employees

    https://x.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1838725606139208003

    Stellantis is planning indefinite mass layoffs of union-represented workers “across its footprint” and is cutting seasonal supplemental employees as well.

    “This affects many of our U.S. manufacturing facilities, but we are not providing specific details,”

    https://x.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1838720703111061796

    1. from a Berkeley professor noting that many of his students aren’t getting a single offer (they used to get multiple).

      Berkeley is a hotbed of Marxist indoctrination and activism. The Red Guard special snowflakes will be in for a rude awakening when they venture out into the #Biden-Harris economy and try to find living-wage jobs or pay off their massive student debts.

    2. “Our algo just flagged Denver as one of the 17 most at-risk housing markets in the US”

      Denver loanowners are the most arrogant, entitled, self-congratulatory @sses I’ve had the misfortune of knowing.

      I hope these people lose everything. Bankruptcy, divorce, homelessness, you’re all on the road to ruin.

    4. from a Berkeley professor noting that many of his students aren’t getting a single offer (they used to get multiple).

      If he thinks it’s bad now, just wait until Harris is installed as prez.

    5. Stellantis is not providing details because sales have dropped off a cliff and they don’t know what to do about it. Word is out that their products are garbage and they are so massively overpriced that only fools are still buying them. Problem is they are rapidly running out of fools. Sad!

      1. Franco-Italian automaker Stellantis and French nuclear fuels firm Orano have dropped their planned joint venture to recycle electric car batteries, both companies said on Wednesday.

        The two companies had signed a memorandum of understanding last year. The JV was to help recycle used electric vehicle batteries and scrap materials from Stellantis gigafactories in Europe and North America, with production set to start in the first part of 2026.

        “Stellantis and Orano will not finalize the intended joint venture for recycling end-of-life electric vehicle batteries and scrap,” the companies said, adding they are exploring other potential commercial relationships.

        https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/stellantis-and-orano-drop-planned-jv-to-recycle-electric-car-batteries/ar-AA1rcPQn

  23. DJIA 41953.51 -0.60%
    S&P 500 5724.54 -0.15%
    Nasdaq 18089.08 0.08%
    Lawrence G. McMillan
    Opinion: Stocks need to hold any gains after the Fed rate cut or the S&P 500 is at risk
    Market giving mixed signals; new trading positions include Airbnb
    By Lawrence G. McMillan
    Published: Sept. 19, 2024 at 9:24 a.m. ET
    Can stock buyers overpower bearish market signals?
    Photo: AFP/Getty Images
    …
    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-need-to-hold-any-gains-after-the-fed-rate-cut-or-the-s-p-500-is-at-risk-3a22c960

  24. Video shows B.C. man’s surprise encounter with bear in his garage

    A man from B.C.’s Lower Mainland is being praised for his cool-headed response to a charging bear – after video of the tense encounter went viral online, with tens of millions of views.

    Coquitlam resident Alex Gold said he was unloading groceries when the animal wandered into his open garage last Wednesday, which led to the startling confrontation.

    “I came back to my car and I bumped into the bear,” Gold said. “She was kind of hissing.”

    Security video Gold posted on Instagram(opens in a new tab) shows the animal charging at him multiple times, as Gold claps his hands and slowly backs away, pinned between the bear and his parked SUV.

    “I’d have handled it a lot better. I’d have scared him off with the smell of my soiled pants,” one Instagram commenter joked.

    https://bc.ctvnews.ca/video-shows-black-bear-chasing-b-c-man-out-of-his-garage-1.7050031

    1. Not gonna lie: in that scenario, I’d have emitted a piercing girlish squeal, followed by an involuntary bowel movement.

  25. Germany’s business outlook worsened again – reinforcing fears that Europe’s biggest economy is in a recession with no quick rebound imminent.

    The Ifo institute’s expectations gauge dipped to 86.3 in September from 86.8 the previous month. That’s still the lowest since February and slightly below what analysts in a Bloomberg poll had seen. A barometer of current conditions declined more strongly.

    “The key weakness is really manufacturing, which is so important,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “We see this weakness across the board really — machinery, the chemical industry, electrical equipment and the car industry. Companies are telling us we are lacking orders. Now, on top of that, we have weaknesses in the service sector.”

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/german-business-confidence-dips-latest-080832320.html

    1. “The key weakness is really manufacturing, which is so important,”

      They can say “Auf Wiedersehen” to those jobs, as they won’t be coming back, not with stratospheric energy costs and crippling regulations.

  26. Tearful Caroline Ellison gets 2 years in prison over her role in FTX fraud

    Caroline Ellison, a former top executive in Sam Bankman-Fried ’s fallen FTX cryptocurrency empire, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday after she apologized to everyone hurt by a fraud that stole billions of dollars from investors, lenders and customers.

    Ellison, 29, could have faced a much tougher sentence, but both the judge and prosecutors said she deserved credit for talking extensively with federal investigators, pleading guilty and ultimately testifying against Bankman-Fried for three days at his trial last November.

    U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said Ellison’s cooperation was “very, very substantial” and “remarkable.”

    But he said a prison sentence was necessary because she had participated in what might be the “greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country and probably anywhere else” or at least close to it.

    Ellison was ordered to report to prison Nov. 7.

    https://www.sootoday.com/national-business/tearful-caroline-ellison-gets-2-years-in-prison-over-her-role-in-ftx-fraud-9566983

        1. Now imagine a whole room full of them, imagine the smell 🤮

          “It turns out that Bankman-Fried, his on-and-off girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who served as CEO of FTX subsidiary Alameda, and others involved in the company have dabbled in polyamory. Polyamorous relationships are a form consensual non-monogamy in which partners seek out multiple romantic or sexual relationships.

          The Guardian noted that many of the people in the crypto empire’s inner circle, who were sharing a luxury penthouse in the Bahamas, are thought to have been in a “polycule,” meaning a network of interconnected romantic relationships. According to Coindesk, “All 10 are, or used to be, paired up in romantic relationships with each other.”

          In hierarchical polycules, which Ellison refers to in her blog post, there is a central relationship usually referred to as the “primary” relationship. Other people outside the central relationship are often called “secondary” or “tertiary” partners.

          https://www.yahoo.com/news/whats-polycule-expert-polyamory-explains-133805848.html

          1. “According to Coindesk, “All 10 are, or used to be, paired up in romantic relationships with each other.”

            Trying to imagine the country’s future.

        1. Diddy should do the same before someone gets to him. It’s funny that he’s been housed with SBF in the MDC.

  27. If Canada forgets oil and gas, we must accept a lower standard of living

    It is hard to overstate the importance of energy to Canada’s trade balance. In its latest “scorecard” report, the Coalition for a Better Future observes that “over the past decade, Canada recorded a cumulative trade deficit of $130-billion. Had it not been for energy, our trade deficit would have been about $1-trillion.”

    But one rarely hears federal government policy makers acknowledge that energy production and exports play a disproportionate role in “paying the bills” in Canada. In recent weeks we did some light research to see if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or any of his ministers had ever talked up Canada’s global comparative advantage in energy (hydrocarbons) and were unable to find a single example.

    Generally, Ottawa doesn’t like to talk about the industry – except in the context of reducing its emissions. Fair enough.

    But Mr. Trudeau has gone further, ludicrously telling the German Chancellor and the Japanese Prime Minister – when they came asking for Canadian liquefied natural gas in 2022 and 2023 – that there is no business case for it (even though Ottawa greenlighted the LNG Canada project, as well as the Cedar LNG and Woodfibre projects in B.C.) The German and Japanese leaders went home puzzled.

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-if-canada-forgets-oil-and-gas-we-must-accept-a-lower-standard-of/

    1. If Canada forgets oil and gas, we must accept a lower standard of living

      And by that they mean crippling poverty. And as much as Trudeau tries to gaslight his subjects, telling them that everything is great, they know better.

  28. Quebec premier taking heat over $7-billion Northvolt battery plant

    Quebec Premier François Legault is under pressure over his government’s investment in a planned battery factory near Montreal, as Swedish manufacturer Northvolt cuts costs following a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles.

    Opposition leaders at the Quebec legislature on Tuesday called on the Coalition Avenir Québec government to be more transparent about its agreement with Northvolt for the $7-billion project. They want to know what conditions are attached to the $710 million in public funds the province has already committed.

    Legault, who touted the plant as the “greenest electric battery factory in the world” when he announced it one year ago, used more muted language on Tuesday. “When you want to develop, you have to take calculated risks. Otherwise, you don’t advance,” he said in the national assembly. “We think this is a special opportunity for Quebec.”

    Normand Mousseau, scientific director of the Trottier energy institute at Polytechnique Montréal, said the Quebec government failed to communicate to the public that the Northvolt deal was inherently uncertain.

    “I think the main issue was the fact that the government didn’t present this as what it is, which is a risky investment,” he said. “It was presented as a done deal.”

    https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-premier-taking-heat-over-7-billion-northvolt-battery-plant-1.7050198

  29. Trudeau’s grip on Montreal cracks as Bloc, Conservatives gain ground

    The federal Liberals are facing mounting pressure as dissatisfaction with the prime minister’s leadership spreads.

    Support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has sharply declined in Montreal, one of his party’s last political strongholds, marking a dramatic shift in a city long considered a Liberal bastion, according to new polling.

    As public dissatisfaction grows, even Trudeau’s once-secure base — home to his House of Commons seat — now appears vulnerable.

    Trudeau’s “unpopularity, along with broader discontent with the Liberal party, has eroded support even in areas that previously seemed unassailable,” the Angus Reid Institute reported on Tuesday.

    The polling firm said its surveys indicate that support for the Liberals has fallen by 22 percentage points since early 2022.

    In January of that year, 51 per cent of voters in Greater Montreal supported the Liberals. By mid-September, that figure had fallen to just 29 per cent.

    “The Bloc Québécois have largely been the beneficiary of this Liberal decline, though support for the Conservatives has also risen from 10 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to 17 per cent now,” Angus Reid said.

    Liberal support was also found to be crumbling in Toronto and Vancouver.

    “Perhaps at issue for urban voters is the lack of progress by the federal Liberals on key issues such as housing affordability and public safety,” Angus Reid said.

    “Canadians living in urban areas (33 per cent) are much more concerned about the cost of housing than those living outside of them (22 per cent).”

    In Montreal, the Bloc’s growing strength and rising dissatisfaction with Trudeau were evident last week in a byelection in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, once a Liberal fortress.

    The Bloc won the seat, beating the second-place Liberals, with the New Democratic Party coming a close third.

    https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/trudeaus-grip-on-montreal-cracks-as-bloc-conservatives-gain-ground

    1. The federal Liberals are facing mounting pressure as dissatisfaction with the prime minister’s leadership spreads.

      After 9 long years. Better late than never, I suppose.

  30. John Rustad was in the midst of a political comeback for the ages, one that saw him kicked out of his old party, take over as leader of a new one and ride the popularity of Pierre Poilievre’s anti-carbon tax message to the top of the polls. He even made the leader who kicked him out of BC United, Kevin Falcon, bend the knee and surrender to him in one of the most public political humiliations in Canadian history.

    Then Rustad opened his mouth.

    I’m not talking about the comments unearthed by the NDP from July where Rustad, in talking with an anti-vaccine group suing BC public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, claimed that she was using “the so-called vaccine” for “control on the population.” I’m not talking about the remarks he made during a recent appearance on the Dr. Jordan B. Peterson podcast about climate change, where he said “it’s a sad reality, but how is it that we’ve convinced carbon-based beings that carbon is a problem?” And I’m certainly not talking about his Facebook comment from 2022 where he suggested “the masses have bought into a lie” and “the CO2 theory does not hold water.”

    In a province like British Columbia, where housing affordability remains an existential threat for far too many people, this should be disqualifying. Yes, it’s bad enough when a political leader plays footsie with anti-vaccine activists and denies both the underlying science of climate change and the need to meet it with action. But actively trying to make housing more expensive, and enriching existing homeowners in the process, might be even worse.

    https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/09/25/opinion/john-rustad-gasoline-bc-housing-fire

    1. “it’s bad enough when a political leader plays footsie with anti-vaccine activists and denies both the underlying science of climate change”

      Covid vaccines are poison.

      Climate change is communism.

      2. “it’s bad enough when a political leader plays footsie with anti-vaccine activists and denies both the underlying science of climate change”

        The globalist scum media propagandists fail to understand how many millions of former sheeple no longer regard the garbage legacy media as arbiters of what political discourse is “acceptable,” and are more likely to view political leaders’ embrace of activists who are challenging globalist dogma as a net positive.

  31. Used Tesla Model 3 Prices Have Biggest One Year Drop

    The used car market is reversing fast. The era of used cars surpassing the pricing of new ones during COVID is over. This isn’t just me chatting or pulling facts out of my rear end. We’ve got data from iSeeCars that shows that used cars are getting more affordable. The selection of used cars under $20,000 has increased dramatically. One car leads the charge, though: the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla Model 3 has lost the most value of any used vehicle on the market.

    Of course, every vehicle is subject to the law of depreciation; we’ve covered this before here at InsideEVs. But iSeeCars has noticed that the Model 3 has had the biggest drops percentage-wise in a year, regardless of propulsion type. From 2023 to 2024, the average price of a Tesla Model 3 went from $37,548 to $29,045, a dramatic 22.6% reduction in price. The next worst single-year depreciating vehicle was the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which went from an average price of $34,107 in 2023 to a price of $30,956 in 2024, or a reduction of 9.2% in average pricing.

    There are two ways to interpret this. On one hand, this is not great news for current Tesla Model 3 owners, especially those who purchased during peak COVID pricing. Those buyers will likely see severely depressed trade-in or private-party sale prices on cars that aren’t that old or used.

    On the other hand, this is a boon for used car bargain hunters. iSeeCars says that the stock of used cars on the market is cheaper and less used than in years past. The average mileage of a used car is down 2.8%, which iSeeCars says suggests that people are paying less money for cars that aren’t as well used.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/used-tesla-model-3-prices-have-biggest-one-year-drop/ar-AA1r8I7p

  32. Q. I purchased a new 2018 Tesla Model 3. My only regret was not dumping it during the pandemic when prices were high. The recharging infrastructure has nothing to do with this (I have a road trip vehicle, a 2015 BMW X3 diesel). I find the inaccuracy of the available battery life most disconcerting. I worked approximately 28 miles from home. In the winter, I would drive out of my (unheated) garage in the morning with a range of 150 miles and arrive at work with a range of only 90 miles (not 132). Then, when leaving work, after the battery would cool during the winter day, I would have a predicted range of only seven miles. This was, as you can imagine, very unsettling, as well as a recurring event. I would then have to charge the car before returning home. Fortunately, there was a Tesla supercharger nearby. Add to that the lack of an AM radio, CD, and a completely non-intuitive interface, and I am done with EVs (or at least Tesla) for the present.

    A. You might do better in cold weather by slow charging. Using a slow, level 1 120 volts charging cord may get a bit more range and precondition the car for cold weather. I recently evaluated the Genesis GV60 and found for limited driving I was easily able to get by on 120-volt charging. I found the same experience a few years ago with the Ford Mach-E even in winter. EVs work great for some people but we found similar to you that many buyers are not happy. A recent AAA survey shows that only 18 percent of U.S. adults reported they would be “very likely” or “likely” to buy a new or used EV, down from 23 percent last year. Perhaps more compelling, 63 percent said they were “unlikely or very unlikely” to select an EV for their next car purchase.

    https://www.boston.com/cars/how-to/2024/09/24/was-my-truck-damaged-in-production-and-sold-to-me-as-new/

  33. Co Springs councilman wants to sue state and call on Gov. to repeal laws that create ‘sanctuary state’

    As the Colorado Springs City Council plans to re-affirm its status as a “non-sanctuary city” on Tuesday, one city councilman is urging a much stronger approach.

    Councilman Dave Donelson tells KRDO13 in light of a second reading of a resolution that he originally wrote back in February, which declares Colorado Springs a “non-sanctuary city”, he wants to see more action instead of just talk.

    Donelson says one of the reasons the re-affirmation of that resolution, comes in light of the ongoing debate and discussion over the alleged takeover of a Venezuelan Gang at an apartment complex in Aurora, CO.

    Donelson says he plans to propose at city council meeting on Tuesday, that the city’s attorney and Mayor Yemi Mobolade should look into joining an active lawsuit against the State, and that the council should also call on the Governor to repeal laws that he believes have enabled Colorado to become a “sanctuary state.”

    He claims that two bills, passed in 2019 and 2023, have hindered law enforcement in being able to detain or track the influx of tens of thousands of migrants who have come to Colorado, specifically Denver, in recent years, and its why he wants to take action with the second reading happening on Tuesday.

    Donelson is now saying that the city should join a lawsuit that El Paso County and other counties in the state are currently a part of, which claims that those laws are hurting the safety and well-being of the public, by not being able to work with federal agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

    “Doesn’t that seem preposterous to you that we don’t know who’s committing crimes in our city? We don’t know their status. Are they Americans? Are they people here illegally, or on some undocumented status? If they are, I mean, they need to be gone immediately.” said Donelson.

    https://krdo.com/news/2024/09/23/co-springs-councilman-wants-to-sue-state-and-call-on-gov-to-repeal-laws-that-create-sanctuary-state/

  34. Flooding, health concerns regarding Manatee County development proposal

    Manatee County residents are urging commissioners to think twice before approving a new development at the corner of Prospect Road and 63rd Avenue East in Bradenton.

    “Once they concrete over something, it does not soak in. Right now the ground is saturated, so the water isn’t going anywhere, but it has to go somewhere,” says John Inhulsen, who lives near the proposed development.

    Inhulsen is worried the proposed 312 multifamily units on the 18-acre site would make the areas flooding concerns even greater.

    “Why do you want to build more places when you are going to raise up property and flood us out more?” he asks.

    This is something David Douglas, who moved to the Suncoast from Chicago in recent years, has already become much too familiar with.

    “The canal backed up. It wiped everything out in our shed. It wiped everything out in our lanai. And it’s like ‘Yo, whoa, we didn’t sign up for this,’” says Douglas.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/flooding-health-concerns-regarding-manatee-county-development-proposal/ar-AA1qRGVJ

    1. “Yo’, woah”.

      yeah yeah, I know: you got yours. stop building now.
      NO MORE PEOPLE fer krys sake!

      you’s Yankee Floridians just can’t catch a break, can you’s?
      flooded on the ground.
      crumbling in the condo’s.

      too bad. . . now you’s can’t leave.

  35. Making Sure That Our Kids Are Safe

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    4 hours ago

    These companies have been allowed through the profit motive to destroy everything that we value in America. We have now become the worst country in the world from the key metric by which every success of a nation can be measured, which is, are we giving our children a chance to live better lives than we do.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg5RHRNcPm8

    7:46.

    1. +1 Let Bobby speak.

      Real Journalists take all your urine soaked mattresses, and go home. Big Pharma and Big Ag, you’ve been put on notice

    1. Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Sells Almost $1M Worth of Visa Stock Before DOJ Files Antitrust Lawsuit

      Wendell Husebø
      25 Sep 2024

      Paul Pelosi, the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), sold between $500,000 and $1 million worth of Visa stock, according to public records, just weeks before the Justice Department launched a lawsuit against the credit card company on Tuesday.

      The finding raises concerns that many members of Congress trade stocks based on information unavailable to the public.

      Seventy-six percent of voters believe congressional members and their spouses have an “unfair advantage” in trading stocks.

      1. Meanwhile, every other year, I have to take an online class which covers insider trading. Now, as a code monkey I have zero access to confidential financial information, yet I have to take the class every two years.

        And they repeatedly warn you in the class that you could face jail time if say you overhear a conversation in a hotel bar where confidential financial information is revealed and you buy/sell stocks based on what you overheard. But the ruling class engages in insider training with impunity. The rules do not apply to them.

  38. Big case in Fed Court in California where EPA has been sued for health risks of fluoride in water.

    Going back history wise, they discovered in Colorado Springs that people had brown stains on teeth, but they didn’t have tooth decay. There was a lot of natural fluoride in that location.
    This lead to program to put fluoride in water systems in most states.
    The evidence shows that they put a different kind of fluoride in water systems than what was discovered in Colorado Springs.

    The evidence shows numerous neg side effects from fluoride in water.
    Fed Judge allowing case to proceed against Environmental Protection Agency regarding risks of the fluoridation of water.

    If they say it prevents tooth decay, that would in theory be a medical treatment, with possible side effects.

    But , lets face it, the government has been allowing all kinds of toxins and pesticides on or in the food supply.
    Industry doesn’t even think it has to reveal what they put in products and vaccines because of their Patents.
    But, the end game of the Powers that Be is that you will eat bugs, and fake chemical food etc.
    The massive brainwashing that chemical pharmaceuticals created health is disputed by the Med system being the third cause of death, as well as the unacceptable state of health for the US as a whole.
    Under any kind of analysis , this is not a sustainable health system if it produces death, injury and ill health to a high % of the population.
    Seriously, people were not sick like this in my youth, and I basically have been watching for years a Nation getting sicker and sicker.

  39. Canada’s “Bold” Mortgage Changes Update: Good for ALL Canadians?

    Mark Mitchell – Mortgage Broker London Ontario

    2 hours ago

    The Canadian Government has released the technical details on what it calls the “…boldest mortgage reforms in decades” while the Mortgage Industry thanks Ottawa for measures that it calls good “…for all Canadians.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xywhxepinP4

    10:16. At 5:25. “Every guide you’ll ever read on negotiating with a car salesman will tell you, to focus on the price…rather than the monthly payment.”

  41. ‘Overall, Austin home prices are down more than 14% from the peak in 2022, according to Freddie Mac, and more than 18% according to Zillow’

    As I’ve mentioned there’s a cat and game UHS deal with ‘metro Austin’ stats and the five big counties they throw in there is deliberately misleading. But my running guess at Austin SF shack crater from peak is more like 25%, and it sounds like the a$$ poundings continue.

  42. ‘We’ve invested in paradise down here and found that paradise has got some problems,’ Roger Cressey said. He said he can hear the yelling and screaming of vacationers at the rental across the canal from him for hours on end in his office, even while he is in the middle of the work day’

    Questioning yer investment in shacks is a slippery slope Roger. It will bug you mentally. All that sweet equity, could I lose it? No, it’s times like this that winnahs! are made. So no matter what you do, don’t give it away!

  43. ‘According to the August 2024 Desert Housing Report, the median price of detached homes in Palm Springs has dropped 6.1% compared to last year, now standing at $1,198,338. This increase in inventory has resulted in a ‘months of sales’ ratio of 5.0 months, the highest in the region, indicating a market leaning toward buyers. Buyers are also seeing larger discounts’

    All Time High Larry.

  44. ‘Mayers and her husband, James Durban, 51, say they shouldn’t be living there for their own health and safety, but can’t afford to rent another place as the bills pile up and their house remains unsellable. ‘At times it’s, ‘Do we eat or pay the bills?’ Mayers said. ‘It’s embarrassing, but we are praying and hoping this will create some awareness’

    The eating will turn you into a loser every time Carol.

  45. ‘they claim they have not heard back from the company since making their last stage payment’

    And then:

    ‘Dean added that all work on his plot stopped around six weeks ago and claimed the home is only 65 per cent complete despite 80 per cent of the cost being paid. ‘We’ve been left out of pocket here. Where has our money gone?’

    One of two favorites of mine is when they ask where the money went. But the better one is when they find out it was wasted on lavish vacations and gluttony.

  46. ‘a folksinger and songwriter, was finally called in to get his key. He had been waiting nine years. ‘I feel a mix of happiness and sadness. I am glad that I finally got my condo, but I am sad that I must resume mortgage payments. I can’t continue my mortgage boycott.. Chen used his life savings, a chunk of his parents’ money plus credit cards to make the down payment of just over 50% on a 580,000 yuan (about $82,000) condo in 2015. The developer, Zhongsheng, ran out of money and stopped construction.’

    You got schlonged Chen.

    ‘When I was detained by police, a policeman told me that my situation is better than his,’ Chen said. The officer ‘also bought a condo in a rotten tail project.’ A ‘rotten tail’ building is a common term for abandoned construction projects. Chen released a song about the injustices homebuyers face, but his song was censored on Chinese music platforms and nothing changed. All the while, he was still paying off the mortgage, maxing out credit cards and at one point subsisting on potatoes for 72 days straight just to make the payments’

    I’d love to hear that song! O woe is meee.

    ‘Evergrande was famous throughout the country,’ said Zhang Fenglian, who bought one of the company’s homes in Chongqing city. He bought a condo for nearly 1 million yuan, or about $140,000, in 2018, when, Zhang said, prices in the area were at their peak’

    You can see estimations of ‘peaks’ vary.

    ‘He made the purchase for his son, to help him attract a wife. Evergrande’s downfall left all its condo projects in limbo, despite the fact that buyers like Zhang had paid for the property in full, or at the very least shelled out a huge down payment and were already making mortgage payments. The local government invited Evergrande to lease the Chongqing land tax-free without supervision, Zhang said. ‘The money we paid [already] was not supervised by government financial institutions’

    You got schlonged too Zhang. You guys are all over the blog today.

    ‘Zhang said the Chongqing government took over the abandoned project, and his unit was delivered in 2022. ‘When I bought the unit, I was told there would be a basketball court, a cinema, a soccer field and a swimming pool in the condo complex. But now there is nothing there except for a few trees’

  47. Condos Are Taking A Beating Right Now (GTA Condo Real Estate Market Update)

    Team Sessa Real Estate

    47 minutes ago TORONTO

    In this episode, we look at the current GTA Condo Markets – Toronto, York Region & Peel Region for the week ending Sept 18, 2024. We also clear the air regarding our views towards the condo lifestyle as our recent videos may make it seem like we dislike condos as a whole.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE7YwbuQtp8

    12:39.

  49. Adam Taggart’s interview with Nick Gerli that was posted yesterday was very interesting. Lots of financial pain around the country.

    1. Financial Times
      OpenAI
      Where have OpenAI’s founders gone?
      Only two of 11 co-founders of ChatGPT maker are still active at the $86bn company after a series of exits this year
      OpenAI had more founders than most start-ups because Sam Altman and Greg Brockman wanted to build an AI supergroup of top researchers
      © FT montgae/Getty
      George Hammond in San Francisco August 10 2024

      Just two of OpenAI’s 11-strong founding team are still active at the ChatGPT maker, after an exodus following November’s attempted boardroom coup against chief executive Sam Altman.

      Three co-founders have departed so far this year, including John Schulman, who defected to its artificial intelligence rival Anthropic this week. Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president, also said on Monday he would be taking extended leave from the company.

      A high rate of turnover is not unusual at a start-up. However, attrition of senior figures at OpenAI has stepped up in recent months following November’s leadership crisis, when Altman was fired by his board only to be reinstated days later.

      Since then, the loss of executives and staffers working on AI safety and research has raised questions about the direction of the $86bn company, which is in a fierce battle to stay ahead of rivals including Google and Anthropic.
      …

    2. AI: Ticking time bomb? Can artificial intelligence stocks avoid a dot-com style crash?
      The U.S. stock market rally this year so far, has been predominantly driven by a sharp increase in tech stocks, fueled by speculation that big tech companies will benefit from breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.
      A Ksheerasagar
      Published5 Aug 2024, 11:24 AM IST
      Trade Now
      …
      https://www.livemint.com/market/stock-market-news/ai-ticking-time-bomb-can-artificial-intelligence-stocks-avoid-a-dot-com-style-crash-stock-market-11722777285972.html

    1. ABC News
      Unemployment is low but rising quickly. Is it reason to worry?
      An interest rate cut last week aimed to maintain job growth, experts said.
      By Max Zahn
      September 23, 2024, 11:00 AM

      Inflation bedeviled the U.S. economy for years, but a cooldown in price increases has shifted concern toward a different foe: Unemployment.

      Hiring remains solid but has slowed dramatically from a peak achieved during the nation’s rebound from the pandemic. The unemployment rate still hovers near historic lows but has climbed markedly this year.

      A jumbo-sized interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve last week was viewed by some economists as an effort to fend off rising joblessness, even as Fed Chair Jerome Powell offered up reassurance. “The U.S. economy is in good shape,” Powell said.

      Mixed signals sent by the nation’s labor market pose a high-stakes question for tens of millions of jobholders as well as millions of people seeking work: Where are conditions headed from here?

      Economists who spoke to ABC News disagreed sharply about the outlook.
      …
      https://abcnews.go.com/Business/unemployment-low-rising-quickly-reason-worry/story?id=113868600

  52. Real-time Sahm Rule Recession Indicator (SAHMREALTIME)
    Aug 2024: 0.57 | Percentage Points | Monthly | Updated: Sep 6, 2024 7:58 AM CDT
    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SAHMREALTIME

    NOTES

    Source: Sahm, Claudia

    Release:
    Sahm Rule Recession Indicator

    Units: Percentage Points, Seasonally Adjusted

    Frequency: Monthly

    Sahm Recession Indicator signals the start of a recession when the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate (U3) rises by 0.50 percentage points or more relative to the minimum of the three-month averages from the previous 12 months.

    This indicator is based on “real-time” data, that is, the unemployment rate (and the recent history of unemployment rates) that were available in a given month. The BLS revises the unemployment rate each year at the beginning of January, when the December unemployment rate for the prior year is published. Revisions to the seasonal factors can affect estimates in recent years. Otherwise the unemployment rate does not revise.

    Suggested Citation:

    Sahm, Claudia, Real-time Sahm Rule Recession Indicator [SAHMREALTIME], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SAHMREALTIME, September 26, 2024.

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