patrick.net

“my mom will be there with a beer in each hand.”

Only the beer will be much more expensive!

We GAVE you your much awaited rate cut, and it didn't help. Will you please crawl back under your rock.

DinOR, that idea occurred to me. Then I dismissed it as rationalizing. Then you posted, and I feel a bit better. Am I grasping at straws?

To those who are depressed/saddened/angered by the rate cut.

This was as expected. Look up the history of fed funds futures. It's predictive precision is impressive. The downplaying of inflation fears was signaled in the last Fed meeting. The discount window was cut recently. Barry Ritholtz puts it very eloquently - The Fed has become Wall Street's b1tch.

There was enough time - almost a year to adjust to the eventual rate cut. Buying commodity stocks, international stocks and foreign currency bonds or even SP500 index fund was always an option.

There was never a doubt that the policymakers don't give a sh1t about savers. I wish it could be different. But it ain't. And it won't be. So protect yourself. They are at least clear about their intentions. Heed to those warnings.

Bruce,

I don't happen to think so. NAHB survey shows a 22 year low in builder sentiment, the delinquent payments (and subsequent defaults) are just starting, there's more unsold inventory than you can shake a stick at and lenders are STILL going under.

I don't think a half a point is going to fix all that, and the Fed knows it. This is appeasement at best. BB is still straddling the issue (believe it or not) and we'll reach a point where saving our currency becomes the #1 priority. Then it'll be; "I'd do something for you REIC guys if I could, really I would but I dropped a half point and it didn't help. Right now I've got other fires to put out".

"This was as expected." Indeed.

I'm only talking about my down payment savings, not my entire portfolio.

eburbed,

Get thee to inflation hedges. Being in manufacturing I can say that from the perspective of main street, currency valuations respond quicker than demand for commodities. i.e. A purchasing manager needs to experience a heart attack over the price of aluminum required to fulfill current orders before corporate really starts thinking about the problem. And so it goes on down the line with a 2 to 8 week latency at each step.

Also, move that cash into something other than dollars. That is, unless you want to play the short game here in town. Wall street liked the look of todays fresh band-aid from Dr. Ben but that doesn't do anything for the ulcer underneath.

Bernanke: I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your currency down!

Late summer brought no relief from soaring foreclosures. The number of homes in some stage of default jumped 36 percent month-over-month in August, according to a regular monthly survey.
Delinquencies and defaults more than doubled year over year to 243,947, according to August figures released Tuesday by RealtyTrac, a marketer of foreclosed properties. RealtyTrac's forecast is for total foreclosure filings to exceed 2 million this year.

with this kind of stuff going on, it's no surprise what the fed did. that too when ARM's reset is in initial stage. what i didn't like was the drama Ben & Co put up about inflation and suddenly took a 180 turn. should do a lot of good to his reputation.

Actually, the rate cut today doesn't me squat in the long term. The long term supply/demand fundamentals have been, and will continue to be f#@ked for a while to come.

ColoradoBear,

You bring up some good points. Perhaps it's time we revisit some of the "bunker" strategies we had discussed in the past but were premature. It's not that we were wrong, just early.

If men realize that it’s not necessary that they leave offsprings behind, there will be fewer conflicts on this planet. That one must leave his genes behind is part biological and part social conditioning. After all, most people’s lives aren’t that great. To bring children to this world without giving them sufficient privileges and wise guidance is in my opinion utterly pointless.

GC, well said!

1 Canadian dollar = 0.972006 U.S. dollars

Sheesh, just when I was planning a foliage viewing trip to Canada...I'm cursed.

Sheesh, just when I was planning a foliage viewing trip to Canada…I’m cursed.

You can praise our fine Fed chairman.

Bernake is this generations FDR.

Bernake is this generations FDR.

That would be Hilary Clinton.

"It is a fuel bomb with an force equivalent of 44kt, like the 11kt MOAB but bigger. The US announced we have ‘a bigger bomb’ (not kidding, that is what the US military said) that goes to 14kt."

Sp, are you confusing kiloTONS with kiloPOUNDS?

You are saying that a MOAB that ways less than 10 tons packs the wallop of 14,000 tons of TNT. What explosive is 1,400 times stonger than TNT?

What's this generation's polio? (Yes, I know that FDR probably did not have polio but...)

Any insights into the Walnut Creek market?

Claire,

Overpriced.

Finis!

@ Claire,
What Ive noticed in my area is a slightly receding median price with an absolute pounding of the price per sq/ft. In some cases, it can be up to 30 to 35%.

There was never a doubt that the policymakers don’t give a sh1t about savers. I wish it could be different. But it ain’t. And it won’t be. So protect yourself. They are at least clear about their intentions. Heed to those warnings.

Gold is starting to move!

Well whether it's KiloTONS or Kilo POUNDS the nice thing is that they're environmentally friendly (unless of course you happen to be within the immediate "environment".

At first I thought, what a joke, but after looking at the aftermath of Chernobyl (sp?) there may... be applications where this "might" make sense. After the military objective is attained there's no need to leave the area a radioactive mess for years.

What’s this generation’s polio?

Erectile Dysfunction?

//obvious

Our polio is Crippling Debt Addiction.

Peter P,

In todays news several US based retailers have announced plans for a major expansion in the northernmost US states. Sources indicate that the new stores are likely to be located in norther rural areas where they can take advantage of lower wages and strong "north south" traffic. Industry analysts are also expecting mini boom in the second-hand consumer goods market surrounding these operations. Due to a complex combination of currency valuations and import levies placed on goods purchased by affluent foreigners the second-hand industry is expected to capitalize on a local surplus of unwanted items. These goods will be shipped south to fill the racks of charity stores whose stocks are being quickly depleted.

Also there seems to be new clandestine businesses dubbed "Rent-A-Coats". These operations ship select high value items with justifiably low valuations to private individuals north of the border. These items are then claimed by southbound Canadians and swapped for new or replacement items on the return trip. A spokeswomen for Canadian customs said they are looking into the matter.

If the US dollar drops in half from here -

USA real estate is half off to the rest of the world. This is probably what Bernanke has in mind!

ColoradoBear, thanks for the story.

Our neighbors up there are probably laughing at us.

But Canadians are nice people, they will not laugh at their friends.

USA real estate is half off to the rest of the world. This is probably what Bernanke has in mind!

Are you suggesting that someone is part of an international real estate conspiracy?

Will we see CAD-USD parity this year? We are awfully close to that.

Peter, we'll see it tommorrow!

For all practical purposes we already HAVE reached parity with CAD. I had sold calls against my position in EWC. It will be called away now.

O Canada! Our home and native land!

"Will we see CAD-USD parity this year? We are awfully close to that."

I think we will. I like the EWC (Canadian market ETF) as a triple-play on rising stock markets, falling dollar, and strong demand for commodities they produce. I'd like to buy more but it hasn't given me a good enough pull back. Speaking of which how about that Aussie dollar?

I'm absolutely livid with the Fed.

My friend is thinking of offering 10% for a Walnut Creek property, I didn't know what to advise her, I don't know that area well, so I was wondering if anyone lived closer to there and could give me an idea.

I'm damned if I tell her to wait and damned if I don't!

That shoudl be 10% less than asking

I’m damned if I tell her to wait and damned if I don’t!

It is best if you don't advise.

On the other hand, there is no such thing as asking too little. If you ask $1 for the house, you will just have a mega bidding war. The market is always fair.

if the market is always fair, what the hell are you doing complaining about real estate prices on this blog?

I do not complain about real estate price. We are merely projecting that the bubble will burst.

I do complain about anti-market behaviors. Bending over for banksters is particularly detestable.

I don't feel like answering your questions. I want sushi.