Thursday, December 30, 2010

Loans in Foreclosure at Record Highs Into 2013

The real estate market is in a choke-hold which won't be released until 2015-2018.

Did Unions Intentionally Delay Snow Cleanup in NYC?

Did the garbage haulers hold the city hostage? The Shadow knows.

More Snow Around NYC

Walking around 7th Avenue in Manhattan.

New York City 3 Snow Plows Stuck

The snow scene from the street view. The commentary includes the line, "These mutha fuckas are stuck."

Walking in the snow NYC

A video by a huffing pedestrian who probably should stay home before he kills himself.

NYC Mayor 'Dissatisfied' With Snow Response

The emperor has no clothes.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

NYC Dept. of Sanitation Snow Plow Part 1

NYC Dept. of Sanitation Snow Plow Part 2

NYC Snow....O NOOOOO!!!

Mr. Bill needs to stop crying like a bitch.

New York 6th Largest Snow Storm in City History

It's like a ghost town.

NYC Sanitation snow plow

Three days after the storm, a snow plow rolls through a Staten Island street. Hooray.

NYC covered in snow

I like taking photographs and videos from elevated trains too.

A Slow NYC Snow Cleanup - New York Post

Last year's big snowstorm was cleaned up quickly. This year, not so much.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Cars Stuck on Snow Storm - NYC 26.12.2010

Good samaritans in NYC? No way.

Stuck in snow, 3 guys not helping out. Typical NYC

I wouldn't help either because I wouldn't want to contribute to the stupidity of driving a van on unplowed roads.

NYC SNOW STORM AFTERMATH, Boxing Day 2010

NYC immobilized by snow.

Ford Mustang Stuck in the Snow - NYC Blizzard 2010

Snow 1, Mustang 0

NYC Snow Day: Journey to Work Part 1

Real life, bitches.

Snow Plow Cleanup FAIL: NYC sanitation workers destroy a Ford Explorer

Looks like a twisting and turning insect.

NYC PARALYZED DUE TO BLIZZARD

I saw a few buses that were stuck including this guy in the following video who was stuck for 5 hours.

Post Christmas Day 2010 NYC Snow Blizzard

The entire city is a mess and the amount of taxis that were stranded in the snow was ridiculous.

Monday, December 27, 2010

US to see a double dip in housing: Meredith Whitney

How can she foresee a double dip when the first dip is still in progress? Is it because "double dip" sounds better in headlines? Just call it the big dipper because the first dip that started in 2007 is still dipping.

Snow Storm in New York City December 26 2010- December 27

No real estate deals will be done today in NYC. None.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

NYC Squirrel "Drinking" Snow in the storm

A blizzard's blowing across NYC at the moment. The snow started coming down this morning and it's been piling up ever since.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

The Best Christmas House Ever!

A Christmas House courtesy of the Valenza family.

Amazing Bayside, New York Christmas House

I think this is the same house in Bayside, NYC that has an elaborate Halloween display every year.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Mayan Prophecy Dec 21, 2012

   According to these wildcatters, the world will end in 2 years. Wonder what that'll do to real estate values? As for what will happen on December 21, 2012, life will go on as usual. I might even have an extra dessert to commemorate the Mayans as I watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special on television that day.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

illuminati Christmas illuminations in Manchester, England

From the description in the video: Manchester has never really been known for using Christian Icons in its Xmas lights. Political Correctness pandering to minority communities? Perhaps, but do a Google search for 'Common Purpose' to see who really holds sway over Manchester City Council and the decisions it makes.

However, to truly understand who really controls Manchester, and indeed the World, we only have to open our eyes to their symbolism which they are obsessed with hiding in plain sight all over the globe. Nowhere is this more evident than in this year's Christmas illuminations in Manchester, England.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Real Estate Downfall

Bernd Eichinger, producer of Downfall (interview on baader-meinhof com)
"I find those parodies tremendously amusing! Obviously, the film and this scene in particular is a real fire starter for people’s imagination. What else can you hope for as a filmmaker? This is moviemaking heaven! My favorite one is when Hitler is having his tantrum over his losses in the real estate crisis...."

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Siberian Sounds from Hell

As heard on Art Bell a few years ago. Some things on this Earth simply have to hail from hell. Have to. The pompadour. Oh, the humanity. What does this have to do with real estate? Well, hell is a piece of land too.

Deepest Hole in the World

This probably isn't the deepest hole in the world but it's a cool title nonetheless for a deep hole.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Martin Armstrong: All Economic Theories Today are Worthless

"Economics is not a science but a social gathering of opinions with the end objective of manipulating society like lab rats" -- Martin Armstrong

Will the Dow hit a record high in 2011?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Will-the-Dow-hit-a-record-apf-1968909630.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=
NEW YORK (AP) -- Could the Dow set a record high next year?
That question would have seemed crazy early last year when fear and panic enveloped the stock market and the Dow Jones industrial average plunged to 6,547 on March 9. Many investors thought it would take a decade or longer to get back to the record of 14,165, set on Oct. 9, 2007.

   That's an AP article from this morning. J-Sonoma's timetable is more towards 2012-2013 for record highs but it seems like the mass media is catching on. J-Sonoma is on vacation for the rest of 2010.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Foreclosure House in Tampa

A homeowner loses his house to foreclosure and trashes the entire place before leaving. Wonder if they also took a dump in the basement?

Amazing Bugs You Probably Didn't Know Exist!

This is an older video but it's interesting nonetheless.

GRITtv: The F Word: Harry Potter and the Bailed-Out Banks

The world is doomed.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Study: No Housing Recovery Until 2015

The numbers referenced in this study jibe with my opinion but that worries me. The crowd is never right when it comes to things like this so I might have to push my recovery date further out into the future.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Stocks at 2-Year High Amid Encouraging Economic Data

^^ That's an AP headline from today. And I quote:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-edge-higher-on-apf-2601339914.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=
NEW YORK (AP) -- An encouraging trade report and signs that a tax cut package would pass the Senate sent stocks to their highest levels in two years Friday. Bond prices fell for another day as investors expected the tax deal to lead to economic growth and higher budget deficits.

  
It's not apparent now but stocks are headed to all-time highs and beyond. Corporations are raking in profits like never before but you're not supposed to know that. Those record profits aren't being blared across the newswires because it's not supposed to be that way amidst a recession. Understand me? Good news is bad news and bad news is good news. As I've mentioned many times before, BUY and HOLD. That strategy's been out of style in the lost decade for stocks but it's coming back. Feel me.

The Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis

You'd think with the leaps and bounds that technology has made since the 80s, there'd be some better voice synthesizer software out there. The voices in the following video sound like "Poker Sam," an Atari and Commodore 64 computer game from back in the day.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

American homes are worth $1.7 trillion less

^ That's a headline from CNN Money this morning which points to the loss in value of American houses since last year. From the article:


   American homes are expected to be worth $1.7 trillion less in 2010 than they were worth last year, according to a report released Thursday by real estate website Zillow.
   This year's drop in home values is 63% bigger than the $1 trillion dip in 2009, and brings the total value lost since the housing market's peak in 2006 to a whopping $9 trillion.

   Instead of leveling off from the $1.0 trillion loss in home values in 2009, the value destruction is accelerating again and the carnage will continue for a few more years. My timetable remains 2018 before any recovery in real estate is evident and prices begin appreciating again. Will real estate values eventually recover entirely to their highs in 2006-2007? Yes, I think so. The market has a short memory and when the good times are rolling again, old manias will reappear. It wouldn't be natural if booms and busts didn't cycle like the seasons.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Gold Drops Below $1,400/oz

Gold hit a record high of US$1,416.10/oz on Monday of this week but it's dropping today, losing $25 and waffling around $1,384 this afternoon. The price ranged between $1405.40 and $1372.10. I think gold is dead but it won't drop straight down. It'll drop and rally in alternating waves before the death knell is rung and the rug is pulled out from underneath. I think 2011 will prove that the bull market in gold was a fool's errand in capital preservation futility.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Homosassa Foreclosure for $11K

I'm not in the market but if I were, I'd buy the following Florida property just for the hell of it. I'd never live in the house but I'd probably rent it out and attain the status of landlord.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Foreclosure Bullies

Bullies... they're everywhere. Must be the new reality we're living in.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Stocks recover ground after weak employment report

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks staged a late afternoon rally after spending most of the day weighed down by an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate. Indexes wound up closing higher for the third straight day.

   YAWwWnn. Why wouldn't stocks go up and continue going up? We're in a bull market. Even though the masses are still scared of the market, it'll continue to go up and as it skies ever higher, Joe Sixpack will bite his lip and stomp his feet as the DOW roars towards 18,000 in the next few years. I've addressed this before but it bears repeating because memories are short and I'm right on this. Could there be a chance that we're not in a bull market? Nah, erase that thought from your mind. The bear is slovenly because he's eaten well and a fatted animal is lazy and apathetic.

   My advice is simple, buy the dips but don't sell the rips. In fact, keep buying the dips and hold the line. Hold on like you've never held before because there's gold in them thar hills and the adage of "buy and hold" is swinging back into fashion.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Home loan modifications lead to foreclosure



From the producer
   This was an in-depth news story I did about three families who found themselves in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure after applying for a home loan modification through their lenders. The families believe that it's in the lender's best interest to have a home go into foreclosure than give a homeowner a modification. This is a practice that's called "parallel foreclosure".
(Side note: I also edited this piece)

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Jim Cramer: Shortselling the Truth

When Jim Cramer isn't being a clown on television, he has his moments.