The Biggest Investment In Our Life Is Now Worth Nothing
It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “What does the future hold for residential real estate, homebuyers and home sellers? Jordan Levine, senior vice president and chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, had several answers to this question. What question do you wish I really would have asked? Levine: ‘The only other thing is just how much different the fundamentals are this time. For people that think prices are too high or that we’re in bubble territory and things like that, these are not sketchy lending practices that drove this. Plus, loan delinquencies and foreclosures are still super low.’ In other words, there’s no real estate bubble on the horizon.”
“Mansion taxes—shorthand for taxes on high-end real-estate sales, usually in the form of a one-time payment at closing—are becoming more common as cash-strapped local governments look for new funding sources. Take Los Angeles, for instance. Since its new mansion tax, called Measure ULA, went into effect in April 2023. ‘In L.A., the luxury home market hit a wall,’ said California spec-home developer Simon James. ‘A lot if it had to do with ULA.’ L.A.’s high-end market is still contending with high interest rates, spiraling fire-insurance costs and a general slowdown in housing sales across the country.”
“Among all the debris still left to pick up after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, ‘For Sale’ signs are popping up across the Tampa Bay area. Owners are selling dozens of properties ‘as-is,’ wanting cash offers with no contingencies. Some are facing a short sale if they’re underwater on the mortgage. It’s happening in every county where homes flooded, from Sarasota to Pasco, sometimes at prices far below what the owner paid for it. Realtor Phil Rizzo said clients who didn’t flood are also waiting to list because neighborhoods aren’t show-ready right now. ‘Somebody’s turning around and selling now. From a financial standpoint, it’s going to be, it’ll wind up being a low [price],’ he said. Those with mortgage payments or forced by FEMA’s ‘50% rule’ to raise or rebuild may not be able to afford to wait, even if it means selling for six figures less than the previous sale price. ‘Those folks are going to be caught in a tough spot to where the mortgage that they have on it is going to be higher than what their land value is going to be,’ Rizzo said. If you are considering a short sale, Rizzo said it’s best to consult with an attorney to go over your options.”
“‘We’re not going to move back into this house, it was a very traumatic, and I don’t want to go through this again,’ said Jody Hameroff, a St. Petersburg resident. ‘We actually have a contract on a new house, we’re just not going to come back here. No joke, my husband had someone looking for us two days after [Helene].’ Right next door, her neighbor in Shore Acres said they’re also selling after they rebuild. ‘It’s more important for peace of mind for the future to move along and sell the house for what we can get for it,’ said Chris Beardslee, a Shore Acres resident.”
“Danielle Latona said when Holly Hill homes flooded in 2009, residents were told it was a 100-year storm, and they would never see anything like it again. She said it’s why so many people didn’t move then. She said many people’s homes have been badly damaged or destroyed now. ‘The biggest investment in our life is now worth nothing,’ she said. Several residents said they’re planning to move. One man grew choked up as he said he doesn’t want to leave, but he has to ‘for the safety of my family.’ Those who are staying, including some who don’t think they’d ever find a buyer, begged the city for help.”
“Soaring condominium fees due to insurance cost hikes are putting owners at risk of foreclosure, and trapping others in properties they can’t sell, according to residents struggling to keep up. Mike Elliott has owned his Aiea condo for decades. But then he and all his neighbors got walloped with a massive hike in condo fees. ‘We got this large notification of insurance increase of over 164 percent for coming year, and basically another 100 percent for the following year,’ he said. That means what used to cost him around $640 a month is now over $1,830 a month. And he says there’s no end in sight, with projected insurance quotes already just about doubling again for the following year according to a letter from their association. Selling isn’t a magic bullet either. ‘They already have their mortgage,’ Elliott said. ‘Now they have this addition that is going to have to be conveyed to a new potential buyer. And you know, who’s going to buy that? Who’s going to pay for that?'”
“‘That trickle up in rates, to right back where we were, just sucked the air out,’ said Michael Read, owner of Bridgeway Mortgage & Real Estate Services in Morristown, N.J. Lucy and Graham Schroeder tried buying a house in the suburbs of Madison, Wis., in 2023 and again this past spring, but they got outbid by other buyers. When they re-entered the market this summer, ‘it felt like something kind of shifted,’ Graham Schroeder said. ‘Houses were kind of sitting a little bit.’ The couple bought a five-bedroom home in August for $585,000, about 5% below the listing price, and sold their smaller home for $330,000.”
“An Otsego homeowners association charged residents more than $18,000 each to replace their roofs, resulting in at least one foreclosure and leading residents to question whether the decision was made in the best interest of the community. They’re especially alarmed that the HOA board steered the roofing work to a contractor that’s a subsidiary of their property manager. Tony Tran bought his home in Villas at Pheasant Ridge, an Otsego neighborhood with a mix of townhomes and single-family homes, in 2019. When he received the approximately $18,600 assessment for the roof replacement, he called his insurance company — but his policy only covered $10,000. He hasn’t been able to pay the remaining balance. Tran’s September HOA bill included more than $2,000 in legal fees for lawyers’ responses to Tran’s questions. ‘We get charged for asking questions,’ Tran said.'”
“One resident, who has more than 20 years of experience running a roofing company, checked on the status of his roof a few months before the storm and saw no issues. When he learned about the more than $18,000 assessment approved by the HOA board to cover the roof replacement, he went up on the roof again. ‘I was up there, I didn’t see any damage, and I was just beside myself that they were filing this insurance claim,’ said the resident, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation against himself and his company. The vinyl siding showed no signs of hail damage either, he added. And he didn’t hear about any hail in the immediate area from his colleagues in the roofing industry. Hail did fall in some areas of central Minnesota that day, according to weather reports, but Roxanne Williams, a resident of Villas at Pheasant Ridge and other residents say their neighborhood wasn’t hit.”
“With billions of dollars worth of commercial real estate loans coming due, landlords with struggling properties are increasingly giving the keys to lenders and walking away. The decision amounts to owners trying to wash their hands of an investment gone bad, but many have found out the hard way that it isn’t so simple. These transactions — known as deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure sales — could wind up saddling them with a large tax bill. Debt forgiveness is taxable income, and any loan amount that exceeds a building’s original value — common among CRE owners who have refinanced a property multiple times — is taxed as a capital gain if the debt is forgiven. The capital gains tax rate can reach 37%. ‘It’s tough,’ said Brian Granath, a partner with Atlanta-based OA Development. ‘When you hand your investors a total loss and then hand them a gain on their K-1, it’s a brutal situation. You hand your investors a phantom gain.'”
“It’s a dream for many Canadians, trying to save up enough money for a down payment on their very first home. That was also the dream for the Esmeralda family, a family of five with two dogs who currently live in a Scarborough apartment building. ‘It was my biggest dream to have a home for my family,’ Alma Esmeralda told CTV News Toronto. Esmeralda said she was ecstatic to find a house in Peterborough, Ont. for sale that was within her budget and had a huge backyard for the family’s dogs. A friend told Esmeralda she knew someone who could help. Though he failed to show up for the showing of the home – saying he was sick – Esmeralda said he claimed he could help close the sale and arrange a financing plan. Esmeralda said she gave him $38,000 for the deposit and they thought they would get possession of the house in May, but there were delays. ‘They kept telling us funds are not ready and the lender is backing out,’ said Esmeralda.”
“After months went by, she discovered the man she was dealing with wasn’t a real estate agent after all and was given bad news about her deposit. ‘I don’t know it’s gone. When I asked him, ‘Oh no, why is the house for sale again?’ I said, ‘Our deal is not even done yet.’ But then he is no longer answering me,’ said Esmeralda.”
“China’s local governments have long relied on Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFVs) to raise funds. These quasi-government entities borrow money to build infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and ports, but the investments often fail to generate sufficient income. The problem worsened last year when a wave of debt issued by these financing arms began to go sour. The human toll of these defaults is becoming increasingly visible. Fang, who owns a small trading company, thought she was making a prudent financial decision when she invested 15 million yuan—her entire life savings—into trust products tied to Guizhou province.”
“But when the products defaulted last year, Fang was left without a safety net. Faced with possible foreclosure on her apartment due to missed mortgage payments, she has made multiple trips to trust companies and government offices, pleading for repayment along with other frustrated investors. ‘My life is a total mess now,’ she lamented. ‘I was told these were safe. That was a lie.'”
“China’s 1.4 billion consumers once spent with enough abandon to help drive the global economy. Now one of the hottest topics on Chinese social media is how to save money. ‘The main thing is just not to starve to death,’ one video blogger advised in a post detailing how she subsisted on snack samples and free meals from temples and student canteens. ‘Whenever there is uncertainty about the economy, households save more,’ said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, a French investment bank. ‘Disposable income is not growing. People are losing purchasing power.'”
“It’s been said that even China’s population of 1.4 billion couldn’t fill all the empty homes. Many are high-rise apartments in gleaming new financial districts that initially failed to take off. Others are rotten-tail homes, half-built properties in developments abandoned in the middle of construction – casualties of the nation’s property crisis. The strange landscape of empty, expansive parks and sprawling high-rises was often cited as proof that China’s property bubble was a fraudulent ploy to boost its GDP. The scale of the problem today is significant. At the end of 2023, Goldman Sachs estimated that China’s saleable housing inventory stood at ¥13.5 trillion ($1.9tn/£1.5tn). This empty housing stock is a crucial factor that contributed to the start of the country’s property crisis in 2021. Experts have speculated that China may have between 65 and 80 million empty homes.”
“‘How many vacant homes are there now? Each expert gives a very different number, with the most extreme believing the current number of vacant homes are enough for three billion people…’ said He Keng, the former deputy head of China’s National Bureau of Statistics. ‘That estimate might be a bit much, but 1.4 billion people probably can’t fill them.'”
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In other words, there’s no real estate bubble on the horizon.”
Keep lying, Jordan. The data tells its own story.
Realtors are liars.
Those who are staying, including some who don’t think they’d ever find a buyer, begged the city for help.”
Why should “the city” i.e. taxpayers come to the assistance of FBs who live in a hurricane/flood zone?
You’re irrelevant, Crooked Hillary. Now take your most chaste husband and fade from the scene.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/hillary-clinton-says-everyone-who-attends-trumps-madison/
“Hillary-Clinton-says-everyone-who-attends-trumps-madison/”
And I tried to fill in the rest of that headline… and sure enough, I got it right. They really are flailing now.
There are some conspiracy theories out there that if/when DJT swamps the vote, the other side will unleash the woke riot mobs and try to pin it on DJT hoping to get another J6. Or, Raskin will play his insurrection card. Neither will work.
Considering that they forced as many people as they could to take the experimental jab, threatening them with the loss of their livelihood if they refused, they have a lot of nerve calling us Nahtzees
She’s gotta [sic] lotta [sic] gall. Bill is probably embarrassed.
Chris Stevens is probably turning in his grave.
When you hand your investors a total loss and then hand them a gain on their K-1, it’s a brutal situation. You hand your investors a phantom gain.’”
“You will own nothing” ……(and owe taxes on that nothing.)
I loves me a good “housing speculators getting schlonged” story first thing in the morning.
“these are not sketchy lending practices that drove this.”
Oh really? Then please explain how people were still buying homes at 8x income? Why can’t reporters ask the obvious?
Real Journalist can’t be allowed to alienate their REIC advertisers.
“…can’t be allowed to alienate their REIC advertisers….”
It is extremely rare to see anything but REIConplex happy talk within the pages of the MSM.
If you read any of the MSM here in the Los Angeles area, you would think that R/E is an endless, inexhaustible gold mine.
Of course, advertisers will tell you that they only want unbiased reporting.
Pardon me, while I catch up on a MSM story about a new perpetual motion machine.
Hard to believe that in October 2024, anyone is still relying on the discredited garbage legacy media for their news & information.
Deficient math backgrounds explain it.
Maff is hard, yo.
Not are they borrowing at 8x income, but it’s 8x income at 6-7% interest rates. For that kind of money you’re better of quitting your job and doing the Oil City plan.
(oil city plan — move to a small town, work a menial job, and buy a really cheap house. Financially it’s better than to to that, than to work a high pay job and struggle with a mortgage and commute.)
Bubble 2. 0 wiped out a lot of former oil cities. Sure, they aren’t as pricey as Boulder or Palo Alto, but they aren’t as cheap as they used to be.
Some are facing a short sale if they’re underwater on the mortgage. It’s happening in every county where homes flooded, from Sarasota to Pasco, sometimes at prices far below what the owner paid for it. Realtor Phil Rizzo said clients who didn’t flood are also waiting to list because neighborhoods aren’t show-ready right now. ‘Somebody’s turning around and selling now. From a financial standpoint, it’s going to be, it’ll wind up being a low [price],’ he said.
Florida is finished
Shortage.
SHORTAGE.
Short sale!
“…even if it means selling for six figures less than the previous sale price.”
People who moved to Florida are rushing to the exits after back to back hurricanes. The ones with uninsured damage will simply abandon them and leave the banks holding the bag. Good times.
Look I feel bad for these people but the writing has been on the wall since the collapse of the building in FL. The endgame is cheap as f,uck real estate because of exploding insurance costs. There is no way around it
More bad news for FL FBs.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14001989/Hurricane-issue-warning-storm-Patty-hit-Florida.html
Just my opinion but I saw nothing from NHC/NOAA or Ventusky model to indicate such a storm. Perhaps this is a bit of fear mongering for which this source is well known.
When I was younger I read a 1960’s-era fiction book in which a family moved to Florida with their two kids. The father convinced them to wait to move until after October 1, even if it meant switching schools mid-year. The reason: October 1 was after the end of hurricane season and they wanted to get used to Florida before dealing with disasters.
October 1 in the 1960s. It’s 2024 and we’re nigh on Halloween and yet there are still hurricanes. I guess we really are exiting the last glacial maximum.
October 1 in the 1960s
It was October 31 in 1960 and extended to the end of November in 1965. It had more to do with technology improving than any glacial cycle.
Seems like insurers are not much interested these days in providing insurance in disaster zones, like most of FL and CA. Why did God design disaster zones to be among the most fertile and desirable places and disaster-free zones among the least appealing for human habitation?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/california-homeowners-see-400-insurance-rate-hikes-as-companies-drop-coverage-no-relief-in-sight-for-our-community/ar-AA1sOHRS
California homeowners see 400% insurance rate hikes as companies drop coverage: ‘No relief in sight for our community’
Story by Jenny Allison
Florida’s still drawing a lot of capital because of premiums and legislative reforms. California’s legislative environment makes it very hard to draw capital from insurers to take the risk.
‘The only other thing is just how much different the fundamentals are this time. For people that think prices are too high or that we’re in bubble territory and things like that, these are not sketchy lending practices that drove this. Plus, loan delinquencies and foreclosures are still super low.’
Like Uncle Warren might note, you won’t be able to see all the naked swimmers until the tide goes out.
Affordability at worst ever levels. The lending nonsense doesn’t matter. Prices are far too high.
Housing affordability matters not when we have a candidate who offers us joy, love, and empathy.
if I ever had the misfortune of seeing naked American land-whale swimmers on an outgoing tide I’d gouge my eyes out with a left over BBQ shrimp skewer
Headlines like these don’t bode well for Always Be Closing.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/home-sales-on-track-for-worst-year-since-1995-9a2029ae
Goldman Sachs errand boy Barack Obama said that holding banksters accountable for their massive fraud & criminality that caused the 2008 GFC would’ve caused “violence to the social order.” And now his globalist handlers trot him out from lily-white The Hamptons to lecture the Brothers on why they should vote for more of the same.
https://x.com/davidsirota/status/1849573393152041018
His failure in leadership marked the decline we see till today. Gutless
failure? Leadership?
He did exactly as he was told
Why do you think he was so well rewarded. (3 houses, worth 60 million+ etc).
He was completely successful. You’re just measuring by the wrong yardstick.
Don’t forget the Nobel Peace Prize. That’s gotta be worth something on the lecture circuit.
The Democrat-Bolshevik globalist quislings think Americans owe a “debt” to illegals.
https://x.com/RealMacReport/status/1849810639557910883
Build the wall, deport them ALL.
CNN informs me that the Great Replacement is a conspiracy theory, even though all globalist quisling governments are all-in on open borders and pusing 3rd World immigration.
https://x.com/USTechWorkers/status/1849678521070911545
Plus the newest narrative: We owe them a “debt”
The commies would like to bring their fundamental transformation to every municipality in ‘Murica.
https://x.com/ClownWorld_/status/1849805853744037889
A reader sent these in:
There’s this new five story office building in Mesa at the 101-202 intersection that’s been completely empty for 2 years. Taking forever to put up two high rises in Tempe too.
QC also insane with the amount of new SFH. Scottsdale prices are the dumbest thing on the planet
https://x.com/hcfountain/status/1849649571380510793
Continuing jobless claims hit its highest level since November 2021 at ~1.9 million – while initial claims fell slightly but remain up y/y by about 15,000.
https://x.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1849448112558919834
Job cuts have accelerated this month, to almost 92,000.
https://x.com/MacroEdgeRes/status/1849537182643442064
12 years of doing this, market has never been slower than it is right now.
https://x.com/RE_Ari18/status/1849495242610766284
We haven’t had this many new spec homes for sale since: Everyone say the line together now! “Not since….” September of 2009
https://x.com/MrAwsumb/status/1849532177823744415
The percentage of new home inventory that is “completed” rose to 23.4% in September.
https://x.com/EPBResearch/status/1849534615171760327
If there are a few foreclosures in a neighborhood that sell 20% below market, then comps get lowered so the next marginal buyer probably won’t pay fair value and then it becomes a spiral. Imagine checking your Zillow estimate and it keeps going down each month instead of up.
https://x.com/yowassuprj/status/1688912316744761344
Map of Airbnbs in San Diego:
https://x.com/NotoriousAirbnb/status/1849461109172076926
New data from @LendingTree shows there are FAR MORE vacant units than unhoused people in every major city across CA.
Homelessness is not a supply issue. The major cause of homelessness is the *high cost of rent*, not a lack of available units.
https://x.com/CalOrganize/status/1849210662452428842
🧐 Upwork, a Bay Area tech company that helps freelancers find and be paid for jobs, is laying off a whopping 21% of its own workers
https://x.com/dailyjobcuts/status/1849572593705124063
Trump Flirts With the Ultimate Tax Cut: No Income Taxes at All. The former president has repeatedly praised a period in American history when there was no income tax, and the country relied on tariffs to fund the government
https://x.com/dailyjobcuts/status/1849514351335702824
the biden economy is so good that this borrower who had literally not paid their mortgage since april 2007 started paying it again after being in default for 17 consecutive years. (i own the bond, thats how i know)
https://x.com/GRoditiD/status/1849555704928985438
Before / after
https://x.com/mortgagetruth/status/1849532799616774268
f you’re feeling behind, remember:
• The average consumer debt is $23,000
• Only 7% of Americans earn over $150,000
• 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck
• 70% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings
• 71% of Americans don’t have an emergency fund
• 43% of Americans expect to be in debt over the next 1 to 5 years
• 64% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement
You’re doing better than you realize.
https://x.com/FluentInFinance/status/1849491395683156236
Not considered illegal to turn apartment buildings into Airbnb hotels…
@CityofSanDiego is already aware that over 250 buildings (over 1,000 apartments) got turned into short-term rental units. It was covered by @AlexisRivasNBC
https://x.com/NotoriousAirbnb/status/1849673952727269723
Trump Flirts With the Ultimate Tax Cut: No Income Taxes at All.
That’s when you convert yout 401K/IRA into a Roth or just a plain old brokerage account.
I don’t think it will happen, but it’s nice to think about.
No Income Taxes at All
The government would have to shrink enough to fit in a bathtub.
Anyway, I wouldn’t notice a difference.
The Harrison administration (1889) ran the fedgov on tarriffs and actually ran a surplus for a short time. He had to remove the fees on imported sugar and that was enough to eat up the surplus. Of course, fedgov at the time wasn’t paying out Medicare and Social Security.
“Of course, fedgov at the time wasn’t paying out Medicare and Social Security.”
And mortality was different.
“The average consumer debt is $23,000
• Only 7% of Americans earn over $150,000
• 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck
• 70% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings
• 71% of Americans don’t have an emergency fund
• 43% of Americans expect to be in debt over the next 1 to 5 years
• 64% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement”
Paul Krugman muh best economy ever.
Scary Waymo ride in Tempe: Did driverless car pull into oncoming traffic?
A passenger in a Waymo autonomous car in Tempe recently had a scare and posted a video about it on TikTok. According to an article on Storyful, Stacy Van Horne was riding in a Waymo driverless car with her daughter. Her video appears to show the Waymo vehicle pulling out into oncoming traffic.
The video, shot by Van Horne from her spot in the passenger seat, shows the Waymo car inching into oncoming traffic as it attempts to cross multiple lanes.
While her daughter could be heard laughing from the backseat, Van Horne could be heard yelling, “Oh my God, so many cars, oh my God.” The video was location tagged for Tempe and captioned “another Waymo ride, another close call.”
A Waymo representative had this to say in the Storyful article: “The trust and safety of our riders and the community are paramount to us. Waymo’s vehicle maintained a safe distance from other vehicles at all times while driving in this case.”
The representative went on to say the company aims to ensure customers’ rides are comfortable and meet their expectations and Waymo is “continually balancing assertiveness with progress and incorporating our riders’ feedback into our driving behavior to improve the rider experience.”
This isn’t the first time Waymo has made headlines in metro Phoenix. In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation opened a preliminary evaluation of Waymo after 22 incident reports made their way to that office.
All 22 reports mentioned a Waymo car that either was the only one operating during a collision or was driving in such a way as to potentially violate traffic laws. Out of the 18 reports cited in the investigation, eight were from Arizona.
Arizona incidents included a Waymo vehicle hitting a fixed object while making a right turn, another that hit an automatic gate in a parking lot and several reports of Waymo cars hitting various objects in the road.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/scary-waymo-ride-in-tempe-did-driverless-car-pull-into-oncoming-traffic/ar-AA1sSvLJ
How long until they admit they can’t make it work?
China’s market rollercoaster claims another fund
Shanghai Power Asset Management Co has apologised to investors and shut its arbitrage strategy after heavy losses, the latest China hedge fund bruised by wild gyrations in the market since authorities vowed to support the economy and hit growth targets.
Power Asset, which trades options to bet against outsized market volatility, lost more than $10 million over the past month, the strategy’s biggest ever loss, as China’s stimulus blitz -set off a furious stock market rally.
“Due to the major changes in market environment, our options strategy was maimed,” Power Asset said in a statement, announcing a phase-out of the strategy, which manages roughly 400 million yuan ($56 million).
Its flagship fund under the strategy lost one-fifth of the value over the past month, according to its website, joining a slew of funds hurt by the markets’ sudden turn.
“We feel deeply guilty, and sorry, for the loss suffered by our investors,” Power Assets said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/china-s-market-rollercoaster-claims-another-fund/ar-AA1sTQcH
Chinese investment banks turn inward as global dreams fade from view
Exercising caution, China’s investment firms are scaling back their global ambitions and expanding through mergers instead.
The former head of investment banking at Haitong Securities, Jiang Chengjun, was in handcuffs in late August as police led him from a plane at an undisclosed airport on his return to China to face allegations of “work-related” crimes.
Photos of his high-profile arrest were splashed across media outlets and social media platforms in mainland China, with the investment banker’s precipitous fall standing in stark contrast to the high-flying international ambitions of the country’s financial institutions.
Haitong is one of China’s top five brokerages, but the delisting of its Hong Kong unit, Haitong International, in January highlighted the challenges mainland financial institutions face as they aspire to expand overseas and take on Wall Street.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Analysts say overreliance on their mainland parents, lack of sufficient compliance and innovation in their products, relatively small scale and a tough environment – including weak deal-making activities and fierce competition in Hong Kong in recent years – have all contributed to the dimming of their dreams of becoming leading players in the global market.
Haitong International, once dubbed the “King of Hong Kong IPOs” by local media, has been weighed down by heavy losses in volatile markets in recent years.
Its profit plummeted by 84.6 per cent last year to 1.01 billion yuan (US$142.79 million), and it was delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange in January, ending a 14-year presence.
“Unfortunately, Chinese securities firms are fighting for domestic survival as the future of China’s securities markets is in doubt, so their global prospects and challenges are things of the least importance to them,” said Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong.
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/other/chinese-investment-banks-turn-inward-as-global-dreams-fade-from-view/ar-AA1sSjZ2
‘Chinese investment banks turn inward as global dreams fade from view…Exercising caution, China’s investment firms are scaling back their global ambitions’
These clowns are bubbling commie idiots. In 2010 it was conventional globalist scum media opinion that we would all learn mandarin so we could speak to our Chinese bosses. They really said that.
4 Southern California suspects accused of defrauding $3.5 million from government loan program
Four Southern California suspects were accused of defrauding the government in a multi-million dollar scheme targeting the COVID-19 pandemic relief loan program.
Vanessa M. Williams, 35, of Corona, and Denise Mata, 34, of Moreno Valley, were arrested and charged on a 23-count federal grand jury indictment Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Daryl D. Knighten Jr., 32, and Mikhail G. Hoalim, 33, were also charged in the scheme but remain at large.
According to the indictment, from March to August 2021, the suspects submitted fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for themselves, family members, close associates and people they recruited. The loan program was created by Congress in 2020 to help businesses impacted by the pandemic.
They reportedly promised to help their accomplices obtain COVID business loans in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, court documents said.
Prosecutors said they lied to banks and the U.S. Small Business Administration on loan applications by including false information that the applicants were self-employed and that the loan money would be used for authorized business purposes.
Each application also contained fake tax forms to deceive lenders into providing money, officials said. Through this method, loans for over 100 accomplices were approved which totaled around $3.5 million worth of stolen funds.
The money was disbursed into bank accounts and the co-conspirators involved would pay kickbacks to the suspects who spent the money on personal items, authorities said.
In March 2021, one suspect, Mata, allegedly used a Social Security number belonging to another person without their permission in connection with the fraud scheme.
Williams was charged with nine counts of wire fraud. Mata was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud with an additional count of aggravated identity theft.
The other two suspects, both men, remain at large as authorities continue searching for them. Knighten Jr. faces seven counts of wire fraud and Hoalim faces nine counts of wire fraud.
If convicted, each person could face up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count. Mata would face an additional mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to any other prison term if convicted of aggravated identity theft.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/4-southern-california-suspects-accused-of-defrauding-35-million-from-government-loan-program/ar-AA1sTz8a
There is so much of this out there. I read one article some time back that estimated that maybe 10% of the fraud will be recovered from COVID relief. Which makes one believe “they” knew and wanted it to happen. What good would that money do paying bills and keeping businesses afloat. Far better in the pockets of consumption junkies willing to purchase second/third/fourth homes, 100k trucks, lavish vacations and the like.
I saw a big a$$ boat on a trailer in a driveway that had a fake license plate that suggested this was where the money came from.
Man bought Tesla, Land Rover with money from cryptocurrency fraud, DOJ says
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of millions through lies and deception, prosecutors said.
Paolo Roberto Flores, 39, admitted to obtaining at least $4,781,248 from victim investors because of his false statements and fraudulent documentation, as well as attempting to commit mortgage fraud, the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of California said in a news release Wednesday.
Flores agreed to invest their funds in cryptocurrency and take 20 percent of any profitable trades, while also telling potential investors that he had effective risk mitigation measures in place to limit potential losses, according to his plea agreement.
Flores would communicate with investors with frequent text messages, pretending to document consistent profits from the cryptocurrency trading even though the investments started declining consistently, prosecutors said. With this claim, some clients decided to increase their investments.
Flores received amounts from $50,000 to $1.6 million from at least 15 people, according to court documents. He used this money to buy a 2021 Tesla Model S and a 2022 Land Rover RR.
In July 2023, Flores also made false statements about his employment status and income by submitting fabricated pay stubs to the mortgage lender to support those false claims.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-bought-tesla-land-rover-041002975.html
Bill Gates and Plizer CEO, sued by Dutch/Netherlands Court, for tort violation of Vaccine deaths and injuries.
Summons served to Defendants for indictment on these civil tort charges.
Gates assertion of no Jurisdiction was rejected by this Court.
How public officials urged judge to go easy on crooked businessman who bribed Taylor mayor
Detroit Free Press
Businessman Shady Awad, who bribed Taylor’s ex-mayor with cash, home renovations and other perks is going to prison, though he got a fraction of the sentence that his political cohort got — not to mention the support of multiple city officials who wrote character reference letters on his behalf.
A sitting mayor, a city council member, a sitting judge and two building officials all wrote letters of support for Awad, a real estate developer who admitted to giving more than $85,000 worth of bribes to ex-Taylor Mayor Richard Sollars in exchange for political favors. Awad was awarded foreclosed properties in the city and rehabbed them in return for his bribes.
On Wednesday, Awad, 44, of Allen Park, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for his crimes, compared to the nearly 6-year sentence the ex-mayor received earlier this week.
Awad was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith, the same judge who earlier this week refused to show mercy to the former mayor by rejecting his plea to serve his time in his home — the same home that was built with bribes.
Awad, meanwhile, asked for probation. And, like the ex-mayor, he also asked to serve time in his home should the judge decide to lock him up. As with Sollars, Judge Goldsmith didn’t go for that, concluding Awad also deserved time behind bars for his crime.
In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson sought a 15-19 month prison sentence for Awad, conceding that typically in such cases a higher sentence is warranted. But she recommended he get a break for his “significant cooperation.”
That break, however, did not mean he should escape prison altogether, Carlson wrote. “Shady Awad found himself between a rock and a hard place,” Carlson wrote, noting Awad ran into problems while rehabbing homes in Taylor, like getting hit with fines and violating ordinances.
“Unfortunately,” the prosecutor wrote, “Instead of addressing these obstacles through legitimate channels, Awad believed he could bribe his way through an easier path.”
That path, the prosecutor explained, involved giving into the ex-mayor’s “repeated” demands for free home renovations, gifts and cash — all of which he handed over, knowing, as his lawyer put it, “that it was wrong.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/how-public-officials-urged-judge-to-go-easy-on-crooked-businessman-who-bribed-taylor-mayor/ar-AA1sRWdD
“But Yer Honor, brown envelopes are the only way to get things done.”
Businessman Shady Awad
Names are important.
Frank Sinito’s father
“Thomas James Sinito, also known as “The Chinaman”, was a powerful Caporegime in the Cleveland crime family who was once accused of plotting the assassination of then mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Dennis J. Kucinich in 1979″
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sinito
Federal Agents Search Home Of CEO Of Large Affordable Housing Owner
The founder of one of the largest affordable housing owners in the country had his home raided by federal officers after being banned from entering federal housing contracts.
Federal agents searched the Waite Hill, Ohio, home of Millennia Cos. CEO Frank Sinito on Wednesday, News 5 Cleveland reported. Agents from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture executed the search warrant.
Millennia owns thousands of low-income housing units across the country, as well as the tallest building in Ohio, the 1.3M SF Key Tower, and several upscale restaurants in Cleveland. It was the fifth-largest affordable housing owner in the county last year, according to Affordable Housing Finance.
Sinito is represented by Benesch Law in the matter. Marisa T. Darden, chair of the white-collar government investigations and regulatory compliance group at Benesch Law, told Bisnow that Millennia Housing Development is cooperating in the investigation.
In March, HUD banned Sinito and his company from entering into new federal contracts until late 2028, according to letters reported by Fox 8. Two letters from HUD about the ban say Sinito was accused of improper conduct, including unauthorized transfers and underfunded security deposit accounts.
The federal agency claims nearly $4.9M is missing from 19 properties that either obtained subsidies or were insured by them, according to the letters.
Millennia owns more than 30,000 housing units across 26 states, 5M SF of offices and the Cleveland Downtown Marriott, according to its website.
https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/affordable-housing/federal-agents-search-home-of-ceo-of-one-of-largest-affordable-housing-owners-in-us-126475
Even with the cheating, Trump will win the popular vote.
It sure is looking like that.
It’s very telling to look at the vote results in 2020 compared with the polls today. I don’t have the exact numbers, but here’s a sample: Biden won California by ~+32 points, Special K is polling at +22. Same numbers for the one poll taken in Maryland. Biden won NY by ~+24, Special K is polling at +13. In IL, Special K lost 8 points off Biden’s lead. In VA, she’s losing 7 points off Biden’s lead. She’ll lose some points in FL too.
You start adding up all those losses, and add in some new enthusiasm from low-propensity voters in solid red/solid blue states, and the popular vote is within reach.
Florida sues Garland for blocking state probe into Trump assassination attempt
Florida is suing the Justice Department to stop federal authorities from blocking the state’s investigation into the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, the state’s Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a complaint against Attorney General Merrick Garland after the Justice Department told Florida to temporarily halt its investigation until the federal probe concluded. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis previously said that Florida would pursue state charges against the suspect, Ryan Routh, who is already facing federal charges.
Florida officials were told to not interview witnesses and that they could only cooperate with the federal investigation, the lawsuit says. Justice Department officials cited the federal law, which says an attempted assassination of a political candidate shall be investigated by the FBI and that state jurisdiction is suspended if the federal government steps in, according to the complaint.
Florida says it’s suing to “vindicate its sovereign interest to investigate violations of state law, as delay may impact the outcome of any prosecution.”
The Justice Department declined to comment. Markenzy Lapointe, the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, noted in a letter to Moody that was filed in court that the law doesn’t prevent Florida from prosecuting once the federal case is over. And the law “in no way prevents the sharing of federal evidence with state authorities after the federal matter has ended,” he wrote.
Prosecutors have said that Routh wrote of his plans to kill Trump in a handwritten note months before his arrest. Routh’s note referred to his actions as a failed “assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and offered $150,000 for anyone who could “finish the job.” That note was in a box that Routh had apparently dropped off at the home of an unidentified witness months before his arrest.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/florida-sues-garland-for-blocking-state-probe-into-trump-assassination-attempt/ar-AA1sRtqz
HEY! state officials, BACK OFF ’cause the Feds got jurisdiction so leave it to the experts. like immigration.
we all know how THAT turned out.
Moody’s downgrades some Toronto-Dominion ratings, questioning effectiveness of bank’s governance
Moody’s Ratings downgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank late Wednesday on concerns over governance weaknesses and anti-money laundering failures that led U.S. regulators and prosecutors to impose tight restrictions on the lender’s growth in the American market.
Canada’s second-largest bank pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to commit money laundering, prompting regulators to impose an indefinite cap on asset growth in TD’s U.S. retail banking subsidiaries and require an independent review of the bank’s board of directors and management. Moody’s cut followed earlier remarks by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Ottawa is “very concerned” about the issues that led to TD’s settlement with U.S. authorities.
Ottawa is facing pressure to address the sweeping indictment of TD by U.S. officials.
“We are making sure that there is full accountability for those responsible for this wrongdoing in the United States,” Mr. Trudeau said during Question Period in the House of Commons Wednesday in response to a query from an opposition member about what the federal government is doing to address TD’s “criminal actions.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-moodys-downgrades-some-td-ratings-questioning-the-effectiveness-of-the/
Big drop in immigration targets will cut population, reduce need to build more homes, Ottawa says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that a major reduction in the number of permanent residents would pause population growth over the next two years, admitting that the government had not got the balance between addressing labour needs and maintaining population growth “quite right.”
At a press conference in Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller unveiled plans to reduce permanent resident numbers from 500,000 to 395,000 in 2025 and from 500,000 to 380,000 in 2026. They set a target of 365,000 permanent residents in 2027.
The reduction marks a policy U-turn for the government, and is the first time that Ottawa has shrunk targets for permanent residents. It froze immigration levels last year in an attempt to tackle rising numbers.
The Prime Minister hit out at businesses he said had abused the immigration system by bringing in and exploiting foreign workers while refusing to hire Canadians “for a fair wage.”
“Businesses should no longer rely on cheap foreign labour,” he said.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeau-immigration-announcement-population-targets/
LOL, ruin the country and then say lets pause for a bit and see what’s happening b/c the polls show you losing by a ton. Hell too kind a place for him
Unless Parliament votes to remove him as Prime Minister, Trudeau will hang on until the bitter end.
a major reduction in the number of permanent residents
My impression was a reduction of “new” permanent resident immigrants.
Gurkirat Singh, who lives in Sudbury, Ont. on a work permit, says he worries that policy changes from the federal government that will reduce the number of new permanent residents allowed in Canada over the next few years.
“I spent my time, my money and all that stuff just to get permanent residency in this country,” said Singh, who is from India. “So I don’t think that’s fair… what they are doing.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/permanent-residents-reduced-northern-ontario-1.7362464
Permanent immigrant status is a privilege, Mr. Singh, not a right. Perhaps they’ll be nice and refund your fees before sending you home.
Standing in a park in Toronto, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was blunt in his assessment of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pledge to fix the immigration system: Don’t believe him.
“He can’t fix the immigration system that he broke,” Poilievre said.
Earlier in the day, Trudeau had appeared at a news conference with Immigration Minister Marc Miller, promising to restore trust in Canada’s immigration system. The government now says they will drop the target for new permanent residents from 500,000 in 2025 to 395,000, that will be further reduced to 380,000 in 2026 and a target of 365,000 permanent residents in 2027.
“We didn’t get the balance quite right,” Trudeau said of his government’s massive increase in immigration over the past several years.
While the Trudeau government was upfront that that they wanted to increase the number of permanent residents accepted to 500,000 per year, they really lost control of the number of temporary residents being admitted. The number of international students and temporary foreign workers ballooned over the past several years, something Trudeau blamed on provinces and businesses.
“Far too many corporations have chosen to abuse our temporary measures by exploiting foreign workers while refusing to hire Canadians for a fair wage,” Trudeau said. “All while under the watch of provinces, some colleges and universities are bringing in more international students than communities can accommodate.”
The problem with him trying to shift blame is that the federal government is solely responsible for administering visas for entry for the students and temporary workers. If they felt things were getting out of hand, they could have shut this abuse down at any point, but they didn’t – until it became a crisis.
Even Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal took advantage of the temporary foreign workers program to get a federal ruling that his land surveying firm in Surrey, British Columbia could hire “legal administrative assistants” because none were available in Canada. It looks like the reports required by the federal government to take advantage of the program became too easy to get.
Between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, Canada’s population grew by more than 1.2 million people, almost all of that due to immigration and most of that was temporary residents. This has long been pointed to as part of the problem with the housing crisis, something Marc Miller acknowledged on Thursday.
“Clearly the volume of immigration has affected affordability when we consider housing,” Miller said.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/poilievre-says-trudeau-cant-fix-immigration-system-he-broke
“We didn’t get the balance quite right,” Trudeau said of his government’s massive increase in immigration over the past several years.
Yeah, the “balance” was slightly off. Right, because it wasn’t a torrent of people flocking to Canada.
‘Reckless and irresponsible’: Alberta government says feds must do more to reduce immigration
In a joint statement from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and provincial Immigration Minister Muhammad Yaseen, the province called for Ottawa to go further in limiting the number of newcomers to Canada.
“The federal government’s reckless and irresponsible open-border immigration policies, permitting almost two million newcomers to enter Canada last year alone, have led to unsustainable financial pressures on all provinces,” reads the statement sent Thursday afternoon.
“As a province, we need a reprieve from this explosive population growth so we can catch up with these pressures. So do all provinces. The federal government’s plan to cut a mere 105,000 new permanent residents will not solve these pressures when they are bringing in almost two million additional people annually.”
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/reckless-and-irresponsible-alberta-government-says-feds-must-do-more-to-reduce-immigration/ar-AA1sSQi8
Good news: Canada’s immigration consensus is back. Better news: It’s being restored by the people who broke it.
That means immigration is not going to become a divisive, polarizing and potentially explosive issue in the next federal election. Unlike our peers in Europe and the United States, we’re not going to have a radical left versus radical right brawl over the issue.
Why not? Because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has come to its senses on this issue. It’s been moving in that direction for the last year and a half, and as of this week, it’s close to fully there.
Not every detail of the new, three-year immigration-reduction plan is perfect. I have criticisms, and in future columns I’ll lay them out. But today, let’s focus on the big picture. Liberal policy has finally U-turned, as has Liberal rhetoric.
My fear has long been that the Liberals massively and abruptly increased immigration not only because they were in the thrall of lobbyists such as the Century Initiative, and not only because they failed to grasp the difference between gross domestic product and GDP per capita, but because they saw a potential wedge issue.
Until Mr. Trudeau’s team got caught lost in their own enthusiasms, Canada was a happy outlier on immigration. Public support was high – unlike the U.S. and Europe, there were no anti-immigrant parties or impulses of consequence – even though our immigration rate had long been among the highest in the developed world.
The secret sauce was public confidence that our borders were secure; that people only arrived because Canada had chosen them; and that they’d been chosen with care, to benefit Canada and Canadians. We had a bigger door than other countries, but also had higher walls and higher standards. Canadians didn’t feel like they were being scammed. They thought immigration was a win-win for them and for immigrants. It mostly was.
The Trudeau government ignored that when it encouraged an unprecedented run-up in the number of visa workers and visa students. It failed to notice or care that a high percentage of the temporary foreign workers were low-wage and low-skill, or that a high percentage of the students were only forking over tuition to No-Name Strip Mall College because it bought the legal right to enter Canada to work a low-wage, low-skill job.
Canada’s selective, best-and-brightest immigration system went out the window. And in lockstep, public confidence collapsed.
In contrast, even after the Liberals rejected the wisdom of the Chrétien and Harper governments and nearly doubled permanent immigration levels, that still left three million temporary residents chasing fewer than 500,000 permanent residency spots, with many of those reserved for family reunifications, immigrants from overseas and refugees.
It meant that it was arithmetically impossible for all those temporary residents to get permanent residency. That’s even more true now that the Trudeau government has lowered the permanent immigration quota. In future, about 40 per cent of permanent spots will go to those already in Canada, but with new crops of temporary workers and students arriving each year, a lot of people already here will need to go home.
That truth is inescapable. The math is the math. Thursday’s press release notes that temporary residents not selected for permanent immigration will be asked to “leave Canada.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-the-trudeau-government-wants-to-restore-the-immigration-consensus-that/
‘It’s getting worse’: Algoma opioid crisis not letting up, APH says
Access to employment, housing, health care, all prime factors, says Dr. John Tuinema, Algoma Public Health’s acting medical officer of health and CEO
Don’t bank on a break any time soon from hearing more dire news about the region’s opioid dilemma. That was the message delivered Wednesday by Dr. John Tuinema, Algoma Public Health acting medical officer of health and CEO, to the Algoma Board of Health.
“As far as getting better or worse, it’s getting worse … We do know that,” Tuinema told Wednesday’s October board meeting.
And particularly in Sault Ste. Marie and area. The city jumped to the top of the province’s list for the rate of opioid-related deaths reported during the first three months of 2024, Office of the Chief Coroner data show. There were 13 opioid deaths confirmed between January and March. Two deaths were reported during the same period in Elliot Lake.
The data, which includes Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma, list the opioid mortality rate at about 14 deaths per 100,000 people for the first quarter, up from the previous three months, which indicated eight deaths per 100,000. Ergo, the region’s opioid deaths are well above the provincial average of four deaths per 100,000.
Board member Jody Wildman asked to what degree the opioid supply comes from prescribed drugs and other means. “And when doctors prescribe it, what sort of follow through do they have with their patients to try to keep monitoring them and things like that?” Wildman asked.
Tuinema said many more opioids were being prescribed a decade ago. “It looked like this drug was going to be very, very helpful for a lot of people, but it led to a lot of misery and to a lot of where we are now,” he added.
https://www.saultstar.com/news/its-getting-worse-algoma-opioid-crisis-not-letting-up-aph-says
The COVID-19 quarantine pods that Metro bought for $1.2 million and never used have cleared a key hurdle to being repurposed.
A memo to the Metro Department of Codes and Building Safety from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (which houses the State Fire Marshal’s office) approved Metro’s use of the pods. The approval comes on two conditions: The structures must be placed 12 feet apart, and the city must produce a thermal barrier. (A 2023 inspection found that material with which Pallet Shelter makes the pods is too flammable to comply with Tennessee’s manufactured homes regulation.
The 108 quarantine housing pods purchased with $1.2 million of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding were never used. Twenty-five of them sat empty in the parking lot of the Nashville Rescue Mission for seven months — October 2021 to May 2022 — and have been stored in an undisclosed location since.
The Metro Department of Codes and Building Safety and the State Fire Marshal’s office have been at odds on the matter since 2021, while efforts to repurpose them stalled.
https://www.nashvillepost.com/politics/metro/never-used-covid-quarantine-pods-soon-to-be-repurposed/article_84faeff2-9247-11ef-95a8-afcf6ae91bd2.html
The Denver Convention Center was converted into an overflow hospital for Covid patients. It was never used, even though “doctors” would appear on the local nightly news, screaming that hospitals were bursting with patients, and imploring everyone to get jabbed. I took someone to the ER (for an injury) during that timeframe and the ER was as quiet as a Church on Tuesday morning.
“108 quarantine housing pods purchased with $1.2 million”
In other words, $100K each.
A better photo of the pods can be seen here: https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/nashville-unused-covid-pods/article_72a7178a-360f-11ee-bd9f-83b86970321f.html
My god, they’re storage sheds. $100K for a storage shed, and a small one at that.
More: “As described in a 2021 press release, each pod can hold two people and can connect to electricity, heat and air conditioning. At the time, the CDC funding paid for a certified nursing assistant and 24-hour security, and those using the pods would have had access to restrooms, meals and recreation areas at the Nashville Rescue Mission.”
So wait, how were they going to handle plumbing during COVID? With a central restroom? Kinda defeats the purpose of a quarantine pod. 🙄
Either way, $100K for a pod is ridiculous. I can see Elon salivating over this now.
“My god, they’re storage sheds. $100K for a storage shed, and a small one at that.”
Those employed by the Homeless Industrial Complex earn handsome salaries.
Opinion: Why are the Democrats losing? Hubris.
The Democratic political class cannot believe they might lose again to Donald Trump. “How could anyone vote for that man?” they complain. “He is just so gauche!”
In a way, they have a point. Trump is gauche. His recent perambulations about Arnold Palmer are the latest in a long line of baffling utterances and improvisations. But mixed in with the weirdness is some smart campaigning.
Trump’s McDonald’s stunt was a very sharp move (not genius, but pretty good for a standard political stunt). And of course, it sent Democrats on tilt at how undignified and cheap Trump was (again).
The Democratic elites are so appalled by Trump they cannot bring themselves to give him any credit for anything. But the fact is, the former president has good instincts at self-promotion, unlike Kamala Harris or Joe Biden. Trump’s delay, delay, delay legal strategy worked. Trump has the issue environment on his side. And Trump is currently the favorite to win.
At heart, Democrats’ biggest problem is that their insularity is much worse than that of their Republican counterparts. Yes, both parties are living in their own ideological media bubbles. But it’s worse for the Democrats. Within their bubble, denial has reigned supreme as they have pursued their own hobbyhorses.
Instead of addressing voters’ concerns, the Democratic political class and their friends in the establishment media continue to focus on Trump’s threat to democracy, his odd behavior and their own supposed victim status. In short, the Democrats are running on issues they care about, not issues that voters care about. The Harris campaign has become comfort food for an anxious, bewildered political class.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-why-are-the-democrats-losing-hubris/ar-AA1sQz7e
At heart, Democrats’ biggest problem is that their insularity
Uh huh, I’m sure it has nothing to do with their hatred of the white working and middle classes.
” “How could anyone vote for that man?” they complain. “He is just so gauche!”
I’m pretty sure they’re labeling him things more serious than “gauche.” I think their only tactic left is to incite someone else to try to Butler him again.
gauche
Isn’t that like picking up the wrong fork at the dinner table?
The Washington Post will not make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential race, the paper’s publisher said on Oct. 25.
“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” William Lewis, the publisher and CEO, said in an opinion article.
The Washington Post did not offer endorsements for presidential candidates until 1976. Since then, the paper has endorsed Democrats in each election. The only exception was 1988, when the paper did not endorse any of the candidates.
Lewis said the paper would refrain from endorsing presidential candidates this year, and moving forward.
“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility. That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects,” he wrote.
“We also see it as a statement in support of our readers’ ability to make up their own minds on this, the most consequential of American decisions—whom to vote for as the next president,” he added.
Lewis indicated that stepping away from endorsements would help the Washington Post be an independent paper in the nation’s capital. He said he sees the paper as providing nonpartisan news for all Americans.
Lewis, formerly the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and an editor at the UK’s Daily Telegraph, joined the Washington Post in January. The paper is owned by Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos.
The Washington Post declining to endorse a presidential candidate came after the Los Angeles Times did not issue an endorsement.
Top editors at the paper said they planned to endorse Harris, but were blocked by its owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong. One editor resigned over the move.
Soon-Shiong wrote on the social media platform X that the paper’s editorial board was asked to analyze the positions of Trump and Harris.
“In addition, the Board was asked to provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years. In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being President for the next four years,” he said. “Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision.”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/washington-post-not-endorsing-a-presidential-candidate-in-2024-post-5747898
Some local news:
“Aurora police were aware of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) operating in the city since at least last November, an email exchange made public on social media by an Aurora city councilwoman appears to show.
Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky shared photos of what appear to be internal emails within the Aurora Police Department on the social media site X, claiming they prove the situation in Aurora has been worse than city officials have let on.
One of the emails, dated Nov. 16, 2023 — nine months before claims of Venezuelan gang influence in Aurora began to surface — makes mention of a “Tren de Aragua bulletin” that was to be shared department-wide and details an alleged exchange between an officer in APD’s gang intervention unit and an unnamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
“I also spoke with an ICE agent today who reached out to his intel guy, the guy got back rather quickly, and stated TdA has decided to make Denver their headquarters due to sanctuary policies and location,” the purported email reads.
https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/aurora/aurora-police-were-aware-of-tren-de-aragua-operations-in-the-city-last-fall-emails-appear-to-show
Real Journalists?
“TdA has decided to make Denver their headquarters due to sanctuary policies and location”
Not to mention access to a pretty big customer base for “pharmaceuticals.” I’m sure TdA has a direct line to the suppliers.
Wonder if this was even lived in? $100k profit in less than 2 weeks? Good luck with that.
Oct 17, 2024 Price decreased $562,000
Oct 3, 2024 $563,000
Aug 22, 2024 $564,000
Aug 14, 2024 $579,000
Jul 18, 2024 $589,000
Jul 4, 2024 $614,000
Jun 20, 2024 $617,000
Jun 13, 2024 Listed $630,000
May 30, 2024 Sold $532,300
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10086-Henman-Ter_Peyton_CO_80831_M95335-92609?from=srp-map-list
Holland man wins a million dollars from Elon Musk political PAC
FOX 17 WXMI
1 hour ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q62f4GXPRo
2:31.
Behind the Curtain: Democrats fear they’re blowing it
A growing number of top Democrats tell us privately they feel Vice President Harris will lose — even though polls show a coin-toss finish 11 days from now.
Why it matters: Democrats admit they tend to be hand-wringing, bed-wetting, doomsdayers. But what’s striking is how our private conversations with Democrats inside and outside her campaign reveal broad concern that little she does, says — or tries — seems to move the needle.
Between the lines: We’re not saying Harris is losing or will lose. An earlier “Behind the Curtain” column spelled out why this is toss-up America.
Our reporting simply reflects scores of conversations with people close to Harris and intimately involved in swing-state races, including officials inside her campaign and top Biden administration officials.
What we’re hearing: In a troubling sign for the campaign, top Democrats are already starting to point fingers at who’d be more responsible for a Harris loss — President Biden for dragging his feet, or Harris herself. “Going down?” a top Democratic official texted.
Democrats fear she has made too many different cases against Trump, and still hasn’t fully revealed herself to voters, who crave to know more. “She is who she is,” one longtime Democratic strategist said. “Let’s hope it’s enough.”
Top Republicans, in private conversations, seem shockingly confident, given the consistent 50-50 polls. They talk in granular detail about White House jobs, and discuss policy playbooks for ’25.
Reflecting the bravado, Dan Scavino, Trump’s longtime close aide and ghost tweeter, refers to the 45th president as “45–47,” and wrote last week on Trump’s Truth Social Platform: “I have ZERO interest in working with anyone who is a former colleague that disappeared upon our departure from the White House—and was no where to be found when DJT announced his candidacy on 11/15/22, or was silent throughout 2023. STOP CALLING. STOP EMAILING. STOP TEXTING——YOU’RE NOT HEARING BACK FROM ME.”
The big picture: A common gripe among high-level Dems is that Harris does a nice job explaining why people shouldn’t vote for Trump — but struggles to crisply explain why they should vote for her. In other words, she’s a strong prosecutor — but struggles as a public defender.
Democratic insiders loved a line Harris used in the CNN town hall on Wednesday night, and sharpened Thursday night outside Atlanta in Clarkston, Georgia: “Just imagine the Oval Office in three months. … It’s either Donald Trump in there stewing — stewing! — over his enemies list, or me, working for you, checking off my to-do list.” The campaign even socialized a 15-point “Kamala Harris’ to-do list.”
“Better late than never,” a top Democrat told us. Another leading Democrat said: “It’s good. We’re not dead yet.”
Zoom in: Democrats once felt very good about Nevada, a state Biden won in 2020. But early voting has them panicked. Jon Ralston, the top Nevada election expert, writes that the surge in early rural Republican voting — a “rural tsunami” — is ominous for Harris: “There is no good news in these numbers for Dems.”
Pennsylvania continues to worry Harris, despite Biden winning there in 2020. Among the seven swing states, it’s the one campaign insiders think she absolutely has to win, with signs of GOP momentum in the state’s Senate race.
Reality check: Harris inherited a very tough hand. Establishing and executing a campaign for president starting just 3½ months before an election is unprecedented in modern politics.
Besides Biden being unpopular, inflation has been the incumbent killer globally. Polls and election results in Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Japan and South Korea all show this anti-incumbent tide.
The bottom line: We can’t ignore the reality that no matter what Harris says or does, this country has never elected a woman president and only once elected a Black president. It’s never elected a Black woman. Toss in broad concerns about immigration and inflation, and it’s a lot to overcome, her advisers say.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/behind-the-curtain-democrats-fear-they-re-blowing-it/ar-AA1sUulc
Is Harris slinging epithets around her election workers yet?
‘The only other thing is just how much different the fundamentals are this time. For people that think prices are too high or that we’re in bubble territory and things like that, these are not sketchy lending practices that drove this. Plus, loan delinquencies and foreclosures are still super low’
Yer right Jordan, it is different this time. Prices are way higher. You got dozens on bums sh$ting on the sidewalk 100 feet from yer shacks. And apparently the Can’t Do State™ hasn’t figured out controlled burning, which has been around for centuries. So yer insurance is increasing a deal killer.
‘Somebody’s turning around and selling now. From a financial standpoint, it’s going to be, it’ll wind up being a low [price],’ he said. Those with mortgage payments or forced by FEMA’s ‘50% rule’ to raise or rebuild may not be able to afford to wait, even if it means selling for six figures less than the previous sale price. ‘Those folks are going to be caught in a tough spot to where the mortgage that they have on it is going to be higher than what their land value is going to be’
They’ll get some boxes and get over it eventually Phil. It’s just a schlonging and they had to move. But they will walk away and fudge the comps.
‘We actually have a contract on a new house, we’re just not going to come back here. No joke, my husband had someone looking for us two days after [Helene]…It’s more important for peace of mind for the future to move along and sell the house for what we can get for it’
The first hint of adversity and yer giving it away Chris.
‘Elliott has owned his Aiea condo for decades. But then he and all his neighbors got walloped with a massive hike in condo fees. ‘We got this large notification of insurance increase of over 164 percent for coming year, and basically another 100 percent for the following year,’ he said. That means what used to cost him around $640 a month is now over $1,830 a month. And he says there’s no end in sight, with projected insurance quotes already just about doubling again for the following year according to a letter from their association. Selling isn’t a magic bullet either. ‘They already have their mortgage,’ Elliott said. ‘Now they have this addition that is going to have to be conveyed to a new potential buyer. And you know, who’s going to buy that? Who’s going to pay for that?’
Nobody Mike, but this whole time it has been cheaper than renting, you’ve had pride of ownership, and you can paint the walls any color you want. You are the winnah!
“That means what used to cost him around $640 a month is now over $1,830 a month.”
I’m predicting lots of Christmas Tree fires this year.
‘An Otsego homeowners association charged residents more than $18,000 each to replace their roofs, resulting in at least one foreclosure and leading residents to question whether the decision was made in the best interest of the community. They’re especially alarmed that the HOA board steered the roofing work to a contractor that’s a subsidiary of their property manager. Tony Tran bought his home in Villas at Pheasant Ridge, an Otsego neighborhood with a mix of townhomes and single-family homes, in 2019. When he received the approximately $18,600 assessment for the roof replacement, he called his insurance company — but his policy only covered $10,000. He hasn’t been able to pay the remaining balance. Tran’s September HOA bill included more than $2,000 in legal fees for lawyers’ responses to Tran’s questions. ‘We get charged for asking questions’
‘One resident, who has more than 20 years of experience running a roofing company, checked on the status of his roof a few months before the storm and saw no issues. When he learned about the more than $18,000 assessment approved by the HOA board to cover the roof replacement, he went up on the roof again. ‘I was up there, I didn’t see any damage, and I was just beside myself that they were filing this insurance claim,’ said the resident, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation against himself and his company. The vinyl siding showed no signs of hail damage either, he added. And he didn’t hear about any hail in the immediate area from his colleagues in the roofing industry. Hail did fall in some areas of central Minnesota that day, according to weather reports, but Roxanne Williams, a resident of Villas at Pheasant Ridge and other residents say their neighborhood wasn’t hit’
Tony, Roxanne and all the other residents of Villas at Pheasant Ridge, thank you for today’s contribution to HBB Pitfalls of Commie Urban Living™.
‘These transactions — known as deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure sales — could wind up saddling them with a large tax bill. Debt forgiveness is taxable income, and any loan amount that exceeds a building’s original value — common among CRE owners who have refinanced a property multiple times — is taxed as a capital gain if the debt is forgiven. The capital gains tax rate can reach 37%. ‘It’s tough,’ said Brian Granath, a partner with Atlanta-based OA Development. ‘When you hand your investors a total loss and then hand them a gain on their K-1, it’s a brutal situation. You hand your investors a phantom gain’
How do you like those 5% cap rates now Brian?
Traffic — Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOaewwSOS0
Rolling Stones — Flight 505:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMFSjBWR5gM
Derek & The Dominos — Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFeYVTPv0t8
Beatles — The Night Before:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tD40D7jk-Q
Jimi Hendrix — Up From The Skies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wagVqW_cD5c
‘Fang, who owns a small trading company, thought she was making a prudent financial decision when she invested 15 million yuan—her entire life savings—into trust products tied to Guizhou province…But when the products defaulted last year, Fang was left without a safety net. Faced with possible foreclosure on her apartment due to missed mortgage payments, she has made multiple trips to trust companies and government offices, pleading for repayment along with other frustrated investors. ‘My life is a total mess now,’ she lamented. ‘I was told these were safe. That was a lie’
When this crap rolled out the globalist scum media sang praises as usual to any Chinese funny money operation. They ran cover for this commie disaster and I find that interesting.
‘the strange landscape of empty, expansive parks and sprawling high-rises was often cited as proof that China’s property bubble was a fraudulent ploy to boost its GDP. The scale of the problem today is significant. At the end of 2023, Goldman Sachs estimated that China’s saleable housing inventory stood at ¥13.5 trillion ($1.9tn/£1.5tn). This empty housing stock is a crucial factor that contributed to the start of the country’s property crisis in 2021. Experts have speculated that China may have between 65 and 80 million empty homes…‘How many vacant homes are there now? Each expert gives a very different number, with the most extreme believing the current number of vacant homes are enough for three billion people…That estimate might be a bit much, but 1.4 billion people probably can’t fill them’
They have had a 90% shack ownership rate since the 1990s.
These Houses Have Been Destroyed (Peel Region Real Estate Market Update)
Team Sessa Real Estate
1 hour ago MISSISSAUGA
This episode shows the current Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax, Whitby, and Pickering Real Estate home prices and market trends for the week ending Oct 16, 2024. We also discuss how some people are losing big when it comes specifically to student rentals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VKpsJBLeAk
14 minutes.
Real Estate Listings Explode WHY Is BUYER Demand So Low.
Mark Turcotte BARRIE REAL ESTATE
2 hours ago
Are you wondering why buyer demand is so low despite an explosion of real estate listings? In this video, we dive into the surprising reasons behind this phenomenon. From shifting market trends to changing buyer behaviors, we’ll explore the factors contributing to this unexpected mismatch between supply and demand. If you’re a real estate agent, investor, or simply looking to buy or sell a property, you won’t want to miss this insightful analysis. So, what’s driving this trend, and what does it mean for the future of the real estate market? Watch to find out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7M38Rh0Wyg
18:23. At 2:40, ‘you have to realize, nobody came out of a pandemic before.’
At 8 minutes, ‘obviously the rental market is just sh$ting.’ 10:40, ‘what were you thinking?’
At 17:40 ‘the opposite has happened. it sparked sellers, not buyers.’
Fang, who owns a small trading company, thought she was making a prudent financial decision when she invested 15 million yuan—her entire life savings—into trust products tied to Guizhou province.”
Guizhou is one of China’s poorest provinces. It is the definition of a junk bond.
Great food and fun place for tourism though.