Ohio to use settlement money to bulldoze.

Even the Chinese aren't that stupid.

They will use vacants to store apple products.

If I had to live in Sacramento, I'd probably be distressed too.

"In January 2012, 66.6% of all resales (single family homes and condos) were distressed sales." ~ CR

Of course they were. ~

Man if we can just keep oil under $100 and the DOW going up 1% daily up into the elections Obama may actually have a shot.

fried wrote:

So why did NY's Schneiderman cave? There is no big payoff there, NY gets chump change compared to Harris' California. Did he settle for a private deal...a better appointment later? This is depressing, I had some hopes for the guy.

All the good stuff happens under the covers in a kleptocracy.

As the lower economic tier around here gets ever more creative to ssstttrrrretch their meager funds supply . . .

Smokers buy the non-taxed pipe tobacco to make their own . . . or buy leaves from one state or another & shred, stuff, etc.

Guessing one action will be less & less compliance on unrealistically high tax items of interest . . .

Noticed Spain has seen a significant drop in the taxes collected from smokes . . .

Well aware that people buy off road diesel for use, ahem, in their non-tractor like farming equipment . . .

Poking around, found some very odd sites offering smokes at a deep discount . . . like CheapCigarettesWorld.com: buy cheap cigarettes online

ac wrote:

if we can just keep oil under $100 and the DOW going up 1% daily up into the elections Obama may actually have a shot.

The perpetual campaign should take a lesson from this year's Green Bay Packers, at least w/r/t the almighty DJIA.

"Don't peak too early."

Active Listing Inventory declined 49.4% from last January, and total inventory, including "short sale contingent", was off almost 30% year-over-year.

In Phx Metro listings are much lower.

1. REOs not on the market
2. Lenders not filing foreclosures, pushing back Trustee Sale dates
3. If people don't have to sell, they don't list.
4. People were waiting for the settlement to see if they can get a mod, refi, prin reduction.

Now they may put the REOs on the market or proceed with bulk sales.
The properties with Trustee sale dates will be foreclosed.
The properties in the 60+ late will get Trustee sale dates and be foreclosed.
Home owners will decide to apply for a mod or list as a short sale or walk if they don't qualify.

Norway’s credit and property markets continue to show signs of overheating five months after the regulator asked banks to tighten lending standards. Robert Shiller, the co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller (SPCS20) home-price index, said in January Norway is in the grip of a house price bubble, while the International Monetary Fund on Feb. 2 warned of real estate and credit market risks in Norway.

The golden hammer of Keynesianism strikes again...

Some corps just can't help themselves & are evil . . .

http://www.truth-out.org/benign-lucifer-privatization-water/1329057581

Three years ago, the little patch of land in the green, picturesque rolling hills of Palakkad yielded 50 sacks of rice and 1,500 coconuts a year. It provided work for dozens of labourers. Then Coke arrived and built a 4-acre bottling plant nearby. In his last harvest, Shahul Hameed, owner of the small holding, could manage only five sacks of rice and just 200 coconuts. His irrigation wells have run dry because Coke draws up to 1.5 million litres of water daily through its deep wells...

To make matters worse, the bottling plant was producing thousands of gallons of toxic sludge and, as the BBC reported, disposed of it by selling the carcinogenic material to local farmers as "fertilizer."
That’s a “leader when it comes to environmental issues”? Christ, who finished second?

Distressed sales are a little under 50% in Sonoma County. Most are short sales. The first REO's in good areas are showing up in the Sebastopol area and they are badly priced dogs for the most part. These have been lower priced homes for this area, most just outside city limits and most built before permits were required, and they have problems ranging from significant unpermitted work to questionable septic and well issues which might see them red tagged if the county inspector's show up for any reason. No disclosures are required from banks selling REO, they are truly "Caveat Emptor". There are good deals here and there, but be careful if you are considering an REO in the country.

NorthStar wrote:

very odd sites offering smokes at a deep discount

Looks like the cig are cheap, the shipping is $22.00 for a carton.

Didn't realize that Reagan was elected president in Norway also.

Grand "Ole" Party.

In the modern enlightened society retirement has become the replacement for nirvana or heaven or however you see the Great Reward. Dreams of cruise ships and lazy mornings all to yourselves...

We'll I ran into a couple of people this weekend who claimed they went into near suicidal depressions when they retired and only found relief when they went back to work (unpaid work in these cases).

Oh well...

It sounded nice enough.

josap wrote:

very odd sites offering smokes at a deep discount
Looks like the cig are cheap, the shipping is $22.00 for a carton.

I saw what looked like $8 per for shipping but it's clearly a category of non-native english writers who are very unlikely to be paying the various taxes . . .

A couple years ago I read about what is apparently a very large black market in smokes. The get shipped to some country with loose regulation in quantities 2x-3x local demand & then rebadged, etc. & shipped throughout the world . . . Who knows what's "actually" in a box?

NorthStar wrote:

leader when it comes to environmental issues

we just sell the rope...whether you hang yourself, or us with it is entirely at your own discretion....

Europe Job Losses Accelerating With AstraZeneca-to-PepsiCo Cuts - Bloomberg

"Global companies from NEC Corp. (6701) to PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) are chopping jobs more than three times faster than in 2011 as they brace for recession in Europe and a slowdown in China.

Announced workforce reductions surged to 94,369 through Feb. 10 from 26,561 a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Employers based in Western Europe accounted for the biggest group of job-cut disclosures, threatening to add to unemployment in the euro area already running at a 13-year high."

Tom Stone wrote:

No disclosures are required from banks selling REO, they are truly "Caveat Emptor". There are good deals here and there, but be careful if you are considering an REO in the country.

Tom, A long time ago I mentioned the concept of (what was the equivalent to) "lemon titles" on cars.

Four years ago, we bought a 2002 Saturn Vue for my son that was priced substantially less because it had a "lemon title." We understood the risks, but for the difference in price--we thought it was probably worth it. (The car had been sent back to the factory and had supposedly been fixed--but a lemon title was attached to its VIN because it had had sufficient problems early on for the consumer protection laws to have kicked in and for it be factory-fixed and lemon-declared.)

But the car turned out to be a great car for us. It was totaled week before last (shhhh.....don't tell my son--we haven't broken the news to him yet) by my dear husband and a deer. We will get the figure back today--but we think the price it was totaled for will be pretty close to what we paid for it--4 years and 40,000 miles ago.

The point is, do you think some sort of nationalized "lemon title" type of solution would be useful with real property?

China tells banks to roll over local govt loans: report
| Reuters

Reuters) - China has told its banks to start a huge roll-over of loans to local governments, the Financial Times reported, aiming to give itself more time to deal with a $1.7 trillion debt hangover from the global financial crisis.

The move underscores China's determination to contain its 10.7 trillion yuan debt mess and forestall a potential loan crisis in the world's No. 2 economy, analysts say.

...Well, when you are a banker in a bear cave, you better do what the bear says...

Greece still to convince Europe after rescue deal
| Reuters

Or a revolution.

MaryAnn wrote:

NorthStar wrote:
Who knows what's "actually" in a box
Ask Bill Clinton he set it up. Three weeks after the Tobacco Settlement cigs from Pakistan flooded the US Market.

That's pretty wild, crazy . . . I keep thinking prohibition, what a great opportunity for people to make "good" money . . .

Black or grey (gray?) markets in many things . . .

Comrade Kristina wrote:

Or a revolution.

At least a few angry twitters from my iPad while I finish this $5 cup of decaf soy latte with extra foam

Is that why people shout the most startling things as they pass the local Starbux?

josap wrote:

Off to work.

How come we don't get holidays?

Comrade Kristina wrote:

I guess nobody is immune.

Breeders gotta have the opportunity to breed, yo.

no, you just paid a pittance for the transmogrifying effect of an exotic caffeine experience

don't know if you guys discussed this, i'm just reading about it. was talking to hubby about the fact that this will be the norm by the time our toddler goes to college, thanks to internet. at least at the college level. not at the graduate, professional training level at the best places though.

this is going to deliver cuts in costs that will put technology's awesome track record to shame:

MIT Begins Offering Free Online Course With Certificate - Bloomberg

Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:

Does Fivebucks take SNAP cards?

LOL, "Fivebucks"... I hope this meme has traction

volker the viking wrote:

no, you just paid a pittance for the transmogrifying effect of an exotic caffeine experience

without the caffeine, even, which makes it even amazinger

Finance_Fan wrote:

this is going to deliver cuts in costs that will put technology's awesome track record to shame:
MIT Begins Offering Free Online Course With Certificate - Bloomberg

This:

10K Degree - excelsior.edu

and of course this: Khan Academy 

will help to create a "Freemium" model of education . . .

energyecon wrote:

The one I am pitching for is "Fakebook"

You have my vote!

energyecon wrote:

The one I am pitching for is "Fakebook"

You got a winner there.

energyecon wrote:

The one I am pitching for is "Fakebook"

That's already happening, corporate bandwagon as gradually every money-extracting entity in the world will have its own facebook page. Once again see Gresham's Law.

The United States Is Getting More Conservative, Here's Why

Comrade Kristina wrote:

my birthday was in December so too late for the birthday party idea.

Happy Severely Belated Birthday, CK!

We'll getcha later this year!

Finance_Fan wrote:

NorthStar wrote:
and of course this: Khan Academy 
we went through the most basic addition video with my 3 year old, he calls it "counting"

I really applaud the site's creator . . . incredible amount of work & on-going & increasing support . . . he just got $5M in funding . . . it's very cool . . .

MicePace

YouTube - Khaaan!!!

burnside wrote:

I notice Khan is very thin gruel in the humanities.

That's what "Burnside Academy" is for......

Sign me up!

Elementary my dear Watson. The more $$$$$$$ Ben & Barry cram into circulation, the less overpriced equities look.

Finance_Fan wrote:

the use of technology should make attending classes more flexible expensive.

u r not doin' it rite. The use of technology allows departments in my college to collect an extra 300 USD per student per course. You get to work the non-tenured professors harder; you make more money for the department; you give yourself new PCs, new iPad2s, and new office future. That is how we will win the future!

FF, it was done here for secondary curriculum in 1990. And perhaps too effective. Defunded and closed.

Comrade Kristina wrote:

"Instead the demonstrators insult their German helpers and liken our government to Nazis, which is intolerable," it said.

pull the plug on them then if it's intolerable.

Comrade Kristina wrote:

Instead the demonstrators insult their German helpers and liken our government to Nazis

Socialists just aren't very smart. They can't grasp the most simple concepts, like cause & effect for instance.

My only hope is they can be allowed to learn.

Comrade Kristina wrote:

Hahahaha, yes. Do it.

Only in my dreams. My children--if I can afford to have them--will ask me, "When will Greece default on its debts?"

btw, Mr greenchutes

The Baga, Landouma, Tanda, and Diallonké seem not to have resisted the early Foula immigrants, who settled in Fouta-Diallon as cultivators and cattle raisers. During the seventeenth century, however, the small bands of Foula increased to sizable communities and att racted the attention of the militant Muslim Foula of Masina, where Islam was making a bid for political as well as religious recognition. Some of these Muslim Foula began arriving in Fouta-Diallon in large numbers near the end of the seventeenth century. These newcomers were militant proselytizers who were joined by Muslim Foula residents of Fouta. The latter had been practicing the faith in small family groups and had refrained from missionizing because they feared for their minority position among the Baga, Landouma, Tanda, and Diallonki. But there were some pious Muslims in Fouta as evidenced in Labe, where it is still recalled by local inhabitants that Tierno Mamadou was a devoted convert long before Islam was commonly accepted [33].

[2.] Fouta-Diallon [place name, Guinee] ranks second only to Northern Nigeria in Foula inhabitants. See George Murdock, Africa: Its People and Their Culture History (New York: 1959), p. 413.

and so too with and

Yeah, I gave up on the Socialists as well. All that peaceful marching is for the birds. Anarchy is where it's at now, bearly. Try and keep up, mmkay?

NorthStar linked:

The United States Is Getting More Conservative, Here's Why

There's actually no "Why" at all in the piece, but lots of associations:

" . . . conservative states are considerably more religious than liberal-leaning states."

"Conservative states are also less educated than liberal ones."

"States with more conservatives are less diverse. "

"Conservative political affiliation is strongly positively correlated with the percentage of a state's workforce in blue-collar occupations (.73), and highly negatively correlated with the proportion of the workforce engaged in knowledge-based professional and creative work (-.61)."

"States with more conservatives are considerably less affluent than those with more liberals."

"That said, conservatives across America appear to be split along class and income lines when it comes to the issue of whether government should provide help for the poor."

Finance_Fan wrote:

yep, it comes with a final chapter on how to interview well at starbucks and mc donald's

. . . why we do things like constructing military installations over archaeological sites. If you're made uncomfortable by the likes of Halliburton and its ilk, you include humanities in curriculum. MIT does, and for this very reason.

Former Idealist wrote:

Corzine is laughing at you little people right now.

Corzine's life is its own punishment.

Comrade Janošik wrote:

With each breath that society takes towards a virtuous cycle, the expanding umbrella of debt and voodoo financialization cannibalizes the vig.

saw marc faber saying exactly that. within few years, interest payments for this last 1Trillion/year deficits will not allow for growth once rates normalize.

burnside wrote:

Finance_Fan wrote:
yep, it comes with a final chapter on how to interview well at starbucks and mc donald's
. . . why we do things like constructing military installations over archaeological sites. If you're made uncomfortable by the likes of Halliburton and its ilk, you include humanities in curriculum. MIT does, and for this very reason.

wow, lucky i didn't go to MIT! i'd be working at starbucks now with a truck load full of student debt (but with health care!)

Finance_Fan wrote:

wait, before the cloud and youtube-type of video sharing existed?

Workstation/server. Comprehensive, proceed at your own pace. Progress shocked, amazed and then panicked the Bradenton school district.

bearly wrote:

Socialists just aren't very smart

In what alternate use of the word would anything about Greece be associated with Socialism. The foundation principle of the Greek people is that NOBODY should ever have to pay taxes. Greece apparently leads the modern world in % of self-employed.

In Michael Lewis' Boomerang:

"They tell Lewis that a vast majority of Greece’s self-employed persons, who make up a large percentage of the work force, cheat on their taxes by claiming much lower wages. Doctors, newspaper sellers, hotel owners, etc. – they all cheat by insisting on being paid in cash. The cheating means that about 30 to 40 percent of Greece’s economic activity that should be subject to income tax goes unreported. The cheating is widespread because no one is punished. Punishment is futile since it can take Greek courts up to 15 years to finish a case."

Greece is an example of completely unfettered capitalism gone wild - where the entire populace, (government and otherwise), has long ago cashed out on the entire concept that there is any 'social contract' whatsoever.

Former Idealist wrote:

Corzine is laughing at you little people right now.

Now was he taught by Sir Allen or did Corzine go to the Madoff School of How to Teach your Young to eat their Friends and Relatives.

Participating? Of course. I'm helping to organize it as well.

Bartenders on strike? TEOTWAWKI

I read BI 'cuz . . . okay, I actually don't know why I read BI, it's some random synapse thing . . . I guess it's more interesting & fun than Faux or Rush or w/e but really it's a bunch of probably unpaid or very poorly paid writers just making up the best stuff they can . . .

burnside wrote:

Too lean and far too effective, one might say.

Teachers and administrators saw in their future?

If they burn your house down that's OK?

Finance_Fan wrote:

you end up wondering: what do they do all day long!

I've taught before and I can answer that--

Crowd Control.

Pearl wrote:

Maybe a bit too early for a three year old, but if you can scrounge up an old "Read, Write, Type" (probably by Davidson) CD--it was great for phonemic awareness.

Read Write & Type :: What's In the Box : Home Edition

you got the whole system?

Obama unveils $3.8 trillion budget - The Hill's On The Money

The White House claims the plan for fiscal 2013 would create jobs in the short-term through billions in stimulus spending while dealing with the deficit down the road.

Didn't we hear that in 2009 ?

Wash
Rinse
Repeat
2.0

NorthStar wrote:

I guess it's more interesting & fun . . . .

Oh, I found it interesting that someone took what I believed were my personal biases and found statistical correlations.

also 2.0

sportsfan wrote:

It's not easy for anyone to come to the realization that one's livelihood is based on an anachronism.

It's a good thing these anachronisms will be obsolete soon, so we can concentrate even more capital into ever fewer hands. Eventually, with modern technology and education, it may only take a few dozen people to manage the entire global economy.

Mary wrote:

(visual aid)

"Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Battuta. He was born Berber in Tangier, 1304. He passed the greater part of his adult life exploring West Africa, China, and India until he died in 1377."

The maps would be more useful if they included some topographic information, rivers, ports, resources & trade routes, or some of the factors contributing to the growth/development of the kingdoms (or complex societies) et al., in the locations they did and why rulers from other areas were interested in expanding into areas like the Maghrib & was the man mentioned above traveling just for pleasure/adventure, to check out out trading opportunities for someone else?

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

It's a good thing these anachronisms will be obsolete soon, so we can concentrate even more capital into ever fewer hands. Eventually, with modern technology and education, it may only take a few dozen people to manage the entire global economy.

It is a serious problem. Technological development is not conducive to mass employment.

Eventually the machine will realize that humans are just a drain on its sources of energy and begin to eliminate us.

NorthStar wrote:

His generosity & global access offers a learning opportunity to almost anyone interested in learning.

yep, he's a sweetheart. he started it to help his niece with math, while living far away from her. it's beyond efficient, it has all the elements of what internet is all about. it democratizes access. if you go to the university section of iTunes, there are amazing courses given by the best (shiller at yale giving introductory capital markets, for ex) absolutely for free, no matter who you are, where you live, how much you have in your pocket. there's a new series called "great courses" that's also amazing. the best guys giving the best courses, sometime on sale for as little as $20.

what i was telling my husband is that once there's a way to evaluate, a super cheap certificate could be granted. it's online college degree done right, as supposed to Phoenix University.

those of us with inclination to learn on our own, really won the lottery with internet/silicon valley.

Hope ya'll are ready for ANOTHER year of Tax the Rich vs Don't Tax Job Creators.

Another year.

Insane.

burnside wrote:

Finance_Fan wrote:
wait, before the cloud and youtube-type of video sharing existed?
Workstation/server. Comprehensive, proceed at your own pace. Progress shocked, amazed and then panicked the Bradenton school district.

panicked !? yes, there's nothing like having immediate feedback on what you are doing wrong, or like Khan, being able to go back exactly to the point in which you got stuck.

with the current system, students sometimes don't even have a real incentive to ask themselves "where exactly did i get stuck?" in a huge classroom.

Finance_Fan wrote:

the best guys giving the best courses, sometime on sale for as little as $20.

by pruning the educational system of excess employment, we'll free up far more minds for finance and other noble human enterprises!

Firemane wrote:

In Michael Lewis' Boomerang:

LOVE LOVE LOVE him! know he's being working on Greece for a new book. watch his Moneyball yesterday, highly recommend it. what a guy!

burnside wrote:

Implication of certain inherent efficiencies. Too lean and far too effective, one might say.

around here, the teachers union threatens to strike for much less. i now imagine what an upheaval would it be, if we as parents can set it up super efficiently using a fraction of the time, and yet, getting better results.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

burnside wrote:
Implication of certain inherent efficiencies. Too lean and far too effective, one might say.
Not enuff teats on that

the ideal will be for us not to have to go all the way to home-schooling to use this efficiencies, but something in between. guess only hope is charter schools gaining the ground from the teachers union.

Comrade Kristina wrote:

Meanwhile, Rome...errrrr Athens is burning.

Makes me want to fiddle.

Tom Stone wrote:

It seems sensible to me. Which means it won't fly.

Sheesh, they won't follow the rules we already have . . . creating something really sensible like "disclosure" would probably land in "exercise of futility" . . . Laughing out loud imagining a banker snorting with "How could we possibly know that?" . . .

sportsfan wrote:

It's not easy for anyone to come to the realization that one's livelihood is based on an anachronism.

as explained in ... Moneyball! we get very threaten, react incoherently. what an interesting animal we are.

Finance_Fan wrote:

is this one? do they have kinder level?

That's the one! Awwwww....it's just like seeing an old friend!

My son is a sophomore in college now, so it has been a long time, but that CD was billed almost more of a typing CD, whereas what I liked about it was that it did a good job of showing the correspondence of the /buh/ sound to the written representation of the /buh/ sound--the letter "b." That is a really difficult concept, and a lot of children never master the skill of reading just due to their lack of mastery of that one (fairly abstract) underlying concept. (In general terms that's considered "phonemic awareness.")

So, I think you could pop that sucker in and see how your three year old likes it. If he/she seems frustrated by it--you could just try it again a few months later. (The game probably does require fine motor skills that a 3 or 4 year old might not have--because it is attempting to teach the skill of typing. Like I said I liked it for its "side dish" of the one-to-one sound-letter correspondence.) I wonder if there are any online versions of that game. Might be worth a visit to the Davidson website if there still is one.

And, IIRC, Leapfrog was pretty good about some of the foundational pre-reading concepts. I wonder what they have these days.

I've been out of that arena for several years now, but I designed an entire pre-reading curriculum many moons ago. It was my "thing."

I love three year olds......<sniff, pout>

Enjoy every minute of it!

adornosghost wrote:

fried wrote:
So why did NY's Schneiderman cave? There is no big payoff there, NY gets chump change compared to Harris' California. Did he settle for a private deal...a better appointment later? This is depressing, I had some hopes for the guy.
Bond Fund Pimco Criticizes Foreclosure Fraud Settlement | FDL News Desk

so basically Pimco is against the banks doing principal cuts on mortgages the banks service but don't own. cannot the owners of the mortgages switch servicers away from those big banks that sign the settlement to protect their ownership?

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Eventually, with modern technology and education, it may only take a few dozen people to manage the entire global economy.

i thought that had happened and is happening even without internet.

The bubble of junk bonds has been fully reinflated. Now what?

burnside wrote:

Seriously, yagij, they saw dropouts completing grades eight through twelve in about fourteen months on average. Dropouts.

Sounds like the curriculum was too easy to me.

Finance_Fan wrote:

cannot the owners of the mortgages switch servicers away from those big banks that sign the settlement to protect their ownership?

Not really to the degree they are tied up in some RMBS where the trustee gets to appoint the servicers.

National Mortgage Settlement: Some States Using Mortgage Deal Funds To Close Budget Gaps

Another fast one by the banks....shafted again Americon.

Former Idealist wrote:

Now what?

they write CDS on their new positions based on their now larger value, thus adding to the dog pile of other empty boxes

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Finance_Fan wrote:
the best guys giving the best courses, sometime on sale for as little as $20.
by pruning the educational system of excess employment, we'll free up far more minds for finance and other noble human enterprises!

landscape design.

Finance_Fan wrote:

landscape design.

Good point - those villas, beach houses and mansions don't landscape themselves!

Elvis wrote:

On page 473 line item 14, Obama's budget includes $123 for tube socks for Dick Cheney. I don't get it.

Look up Ben Bernanke, Dick Cheney and the socks incident. It's all in there.

Edit: Because I know is too lazy for even google: Ben Bernanke is hilarious « Boondoggle

Govt. Cheese wrote:

Why do we need a FAKE budget when we have a money tree?

It was never intended as anything but a gimmick and a stall tactic. Same as Simpson-Bowles.

Finance_Fan wrote:

amazing pic! how did you find it?

It was on a culture and science site I frequent.

sportsfan wrote:

US seeks to mine social media to predict future - The Boston Globe

The singularity is near...

ac wrote:

The singularity is near...

The singularity is getting further away as complexity makes everything more unstable and dangerous.

Pearl wrote:

Finance_Fan wrote:
is this one? do they have kinder level?
That's the one! Awwwww....it's just like seeing an old friend!
So, I think you could pop that sucker in and see how your three year old likes it. The game probably does require fine motor skills that a 3 or 4 year old might not have-

just got it! looking forward for my son's reaction. he has his own laptop (an old laptop i didn't get rid off, but nobody was using) and handles the ipod better than we do. my gut feeling is that he'll love it. he likes typing.

Leapfrog continues with the LeapPad, but instead of paper based, now is touch-screen based. a friend passed me her son's old version of the LeapPad, need to buy the books/cartridges still.
leap frog leap pad | eBay

THANKS AGAIN!!!

Rob Dawg wrote:

"In January 2012, 66.6% of all resales (single family homes and condos) were distressed sales." ~ CR

Of course they were. ~ Evil

Some really distressed housing (and distressed people) A year on, only brief home visits for Japan nuclear evacuees
| Reuters

sportsfan wrote:

Finance_Fan wrote:
cannot the owners of the mortgages switch servicers away from those big banks that sign the settlement to protect their ownership?
Not really to the degree they are tied up in some RMBS where the trustee gets to appoint the servicers.

so the Trustees should do their job of Trustees and switch servicing rights to a proper servicer. the cuts in principal at the end of the day imho, will be for mortgages the banks have on their books if MBS owners don't agree with the settlement. that's in exchange for avoiding prosecution for robo-signing.

The problem with mining data is, instead of the canary, personal freedoms keep dying.

Duke of Con Dao wrote:

looks like poor Whitney was dead before she ever hit the water of her bathtub. combo of xanax, booze, sleeping pills... (Heath Ledger concoction.)...

what? somebody put her dead in the bathtub?

sportsfan wrote:

I have always been looking over my shoulder for the 'thought police.' Don't ask what that says about my thoughts.

That's what the is for. Deflects those mind scanners and blocks the mind control rays (the ones that aren't coming from the teevee, anyway).

Cobradriver wrote:

In Whitney's 911 call before she lost consciousness she said, "This is Houston. I have a problem."

Chris

Finance_Fan wrote:

looks like poor Whitney was dead before she ever hit the water of her bathtub. combo of xanax, booze, sleeping pills... (Heath Ledger concoction.)...

Isn't this kind of how Judy Garland went out?

NorthStar wrote:

That’s a “leader when it comes to environmental issues”? Christ, who finished second?

In many ways "Coke" is just a franchiser in the 3rd world. Not sure how much control they can exercise or even want to.

Finance_Fan wrote:

terminator!

Algotocracy

Finance_Fan wrote:

the ideal will be for us not to have to go all the way to home-schooling to use this efficiencies, but something in between. guess only hope is charter schools gaining the ground from the teachers union.

For more affluent children--absolutely. But a huge percentage of children who live in poverty have parents who do not read well, and, therefore tend to avoid anything academic.

So, educating those kids, to me, is the most important thing we could do for society.

As far as charter schools are concerned--my son went to a very good one for middle school. But, to a great extent, I'm very skeptical about the "charter school movement."

My daughter was involved in the "Teach For America" program for a while--and the charter school at which she taught was a place that only Dante could have thought up. (Inner city Philadelphia.) The charter schools work in tandem--a good one moves in and pulls away all of the kids who are most likely to succeed (skewing their "performance") and leaving the kids with the biggest obstacles to learning in the public schools and in the lower-rung charter schools. And the lower-rung charter schools are utter disasters.

My daughter ended up going to the Philadelphia Teachers Union for help (her school was a non-union charter school) because the folks at her charter school didn't give a flying (ahem) about the students--or the teachers. It was such a nightmare that I have never even written about it here. She and I are still traumatized by the experience.Literally traumatized. I was there--I saw it.

So, I'm pro teacher's unions. They were amazing--and they didn't have to be. Teacher's unions are one of the few things that I hope remains in-tact when we re-invent our schools.

I'm sorry. You're probably really wishing you hadn't gotten me started on this!

Might be another record low for volume today.

Cbsmarketwatch is pushing FiveBucks hard today...

Pearl wrote:

As far as charter schools are concerned--my son went to a very good one for middle school. But, to a great extent, I'm very skeptical about the "charter school movement."

I'd send my kids to cartography school. Much better direction there. And pretty colors.

"No Gifted Child or Child of Well Connected Parents Left Behind"

Duke of Con Dao wrote:

they need a set of gams sheathed in a little black dress like that at the Fed

Back to his Busom Buddy ways, huh? What was Ms. Miller wearing?

Pearl wrote:

So, I'm pro teacher's unions.

I am too, but it seems to be an unpopular position. Technology will solve all problems re: costs, etc., robots will teach better & for less . . .

CLNE is on fire.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., CLNE Stock Quote - (NASDAQ) CLNE, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. Stock Price

shill wrote:

CLNE is on fire.

So is Diebold!

sportsfan wrote:

Huh? When did Sonoma County finally start requiring permits in unincorporated areas?

A contractor I have used said that in Eldorado Co. records of permits and construction dwgs don't exist beyond 1970 or so. My crazy tenant that sicced code enforcement on my old 1950's rental, ex county now city, has caused me to bring the property up to code. Money Money Money. I do this because some day I may sell and might just as well get it passed through the jaws of the beast now instead of later.

ac wrote:

Isn't this kind of how Judy Garland went out?

Thousands go out this way everday in US. Prescription drugs are up 90% since '99.

MaryAnn wrote:

Prescription drugs are up 90% since '99.

If it's good for the profits of the drug companies and the health care system owners, it's good for us all!

azurite wrote:

Pearl wrote:

So, I'm pro teacher's unions.

I am too, but it seems to be an unpopular position.

Some people are just fond of saying that anything involving government and unions is the pinnacle of evil in this country.

Pearl wrote:

So, I'm pro teacher's unions. They were amazing--and they didn't have to be. Teacher's unions are one of the few things that I hope remains in-tact when we re-invent our schools.
I'm sorry. You're probably really wishing you hadn't gotten me started on this!

to the contrary! there's no more worthy discussion to have imho.

over here, the unionized teachers as a group are failing, and unwilling to recognize it. my interest is in math and science, they are failing big time, the scores cannot be uglier. the turn over for math is less than a year in many of this poor schools. yet all they care about is to continue the status quo and they fight for real estate of the school! now that bloomberg shuts them down if they keep on failing, finally they have an incentive to improve performance. it shouldn't have come to that!

one of the problems is job security no matter what and emphasis on seniority that punishes the newcomers. in NYC great young teachers need to be hired and retained. it's not gonna happen if they are the ones getting the short stick. imho they made the same mistake as in Spain, bifurcating the market, punishing the younger ones. that comes back to hurt everybody.

Pearl wrote:

.Literally traumatized

WTF happened?

shill wrote:

Netanyahu blames Iran, Hezbollah for bomb targeting Israeli diplomats - The Washington Post

Gee, what a shock... you kill some Iranians, and they want a piece of you back.

HCN?

MaryAnn wrote:

Thousands go out this way everday in US. Prescription drugs are up 90% since '99.

Like half the people I work with have prescriptions for amphetamines. I don't know if people just are more open about that kind of thing now or if the entire world has been diagnosed with ADD, but I didn't know anybody on those kind of drugs 10 years ago.

Finance_Fan wrote:

one of the problems is job security no matter what and emphasis on seniority that punishes the newcomers

The combination of unionization + tenure is like a shotgun blast to the head for education. Neither is necessarily bad on its own.

sum luk wrote:

... careful, that's almost antisemantic

the Irany, it almost burns!

Good morning.

Finance_Fan wrote:

how low the limit amount for principal cuts is. doesn't seem to make a dent on most people underwater.

it was the "least" they could do?

dilbert dogbert wrote:

Not sure it is possible to have a small government and a huge powerful war dept and social enforcement agencies.

Don't tell the that!!

Cat cafes 

Cat cafés are huge in Japan right now. As the name suggests, these are coffee shops where cat lovers go to sip overpriced lattes and hang out with an adorable smoosh pile of kitties. In the past five years, exactly 79 such cafés have popped up all over Japan.

EDIT: Wow... HCN is like a year ahead of Reddit.

sportsfan wrote:

Some people are just fond of saying that anything involving government and unions is the pinnacle of evil in this country.

when there's widespread failure and the incentives of the union are for the status quo, new incentives have to be imposed from outside the current system. the teacher unions shouldn't set the rules so that only by shutting a school appropriate long-term incentives are provided.

one i was in a coffee shop, a math teacher from the neighborhood, one that fails horribly when it comes to math... asked for a sandwich. the waiter brings it, but there's something wrong with it. she shouts to him saying "this is unacceptable".

i almost tell her that that's exactly what i think of her school's math performance. i don't need to guess it, she will hide behind all the excuses known already "poor kids, parents are not involved". is the teacher involved during class? when even the bright kids fail, the teachers are failing imho.

ac wrote:

Cat cafés are huge in Japan right now.

Hmm... I'll have the 'Tubby tomcat' special, medium-well.

Comrade Kristina wrote:

"No Gifted Child or Child of Well Connected Parents Left Behind"

Of course it makes much more sense to concentrate on throwing gobs of money at the academic performance of gang-member drug addicted kids that don't bother with going to school. Because it's likely the extra money would really help. Maybe buy 'em MacBooks ?

Right ?

Finance_Fan wrote:

the teacher unions shouldn't set the rules so that only by shutting a school appropriate long-term incentives are provided.

The teacher's unions are part of an educational system that is 99% broken. I agree that we need a new system. But when we get it--I want it to be unionized.

I'm no longer in the mood to entertain the idea of entrusting our children's education to corporations.

Grrrrrrr........

Nice chat, though, Finance Fan. Very worthwhile--I agree.

Bye CRowd!

NO! I was thinking more along the lines of the Chinese one child rule. We could have forced abortions for those that make less than 50K per year unless someone in the ruling class wanted to buy the child as house help of course. We could have priests perform the abortions when they aren't too busy diddling little boys. #Winning! Oh, Protip for bearly...don't ever try to be more hard ass than me, you will lose little man. I promise you that