patrick.net

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.

so whats an ‘anti-market behavior’? is that like anti-matter? do anti-markets create a high energy explosion when they comes in contact with markets? what does a pure market look like?

If you need to ask this question in the context of today's Fed rate cut, you either need to go back to your econ 101 textbook, or you are trolling.

Sign of the times:

1980's: Reagan says, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

2007: Jim Cramer says, "Mr. Bernanke, lower those rates!"

LunarPark Predicted:

"I think the Fed will cut, stocks will rally, Bay Area housing will get a boost - in the short term. I would love to be wrong."

So far, it seems that LunarPark's crystal ball payments are caught up.

With so much depressing news today, thought I would try to cheer people up. Time for another espisode of Flippers on the Loose (or is that Lose?).

This property has been featured before (2649 Russell St):
http://www.teamfeusier.com/Featured_20_Listings.html
While walking by I noticed it is now occupied. Renters perhaps, or maybe Team Feusier has taken refuge. At any rate, a mortgage broker/real estate agent is always a winning combination. I am a bit puzzled by the entry on Property Shark (near the bottom of the page). What's that.. Old Trustee's Sale, Auction Date: 7/23/2007, Unpaid Balance $1,405,449. Since the property is still listed on Team Feusier's web page, I am guessing they held the lender at bay?

Everybody knows I like the value a TIC can provide in today's market. I remember spotting this listing (1732 Virginia St.) last year and thinking it would be good for owner occupancy. Evidently some else thought it would make a good flip. Polish the hardwood floors and get me a slab of granite! Sold on 12/14/2006 to the flippers for $794,000. Two separate TIC units now for sale at $515,000 and $550,000. Around 1000sq.ft. each, but "1600sq.ft. of warranted and unwarranted space" -- bonus! Private enterprise is alive and well in the East Bay!

For our final entry, we picked a "reduced" listing at 1716 Dwight Way. This property was sold to the flipper on 12/22/2006 for $480,000. I hate to say it, but these guys may have "over-upgraded" -- from new insulation to a stainless Thermador "repair-me" refrigerator. A bargain now as it has been reduced from $799k to $759k. How low can it go?

In the long run, sushi is far more valuable than children. In 2050, there will be 10 billion people on earth and close to zero blue fin tuna.