patrick.net

sbh says

AverageBear says

why do they keep raising their dividends?

Because, as with most publicly traded companies, the only thing that matters is the stock ownership. Wealth in America doesn't come from labor, it comes from ownership. That's been the case for a long time, so nobody is surprised. The hard part is watching the whole economy re-balance and retool around an impoverished population of mainstay consumers. We all know that a large component of their fate is their own responsibility, but it's like watching a slow moving train wreck as these new crap jobs flesh out the new crap business model of crap American wages.

SBH,

Sooooo, your argument has mutated into a broad rant about the macro economy, that has nothing to do w/ my original comment about Walmart being a in a downward spiral and its overall fiscal heath.

But you are correct in one aspect: as with most (ie, ALL) publicly traded companies, the only thing that matters (or more correctly, the first or most important thing) is making money. It's why they exist, and it's called self preservation.

Blaming one company (and its success) on our nation's 'crap' business model/wages/etc, is a pretty narrow view of things.

Walmart is one of the elite dividend payers in a sea of American companies. It helps retired folks (rich and poor, and every one inbetween) live better off the fixed income stream (dividends) that Walmart provides. Do you have a problem with this aspect of Walmart as well?

your turban too tight bg? craving those 72 virgins?

there is only one way Isreal becomes a threat to a country: When that country is infected by islamuslamists who try to harm Isreal. If the crazy arabs would just concentrate on murdering eachother and leave all non-arabs out of their target list, the world would be a much saferand happier place.

A world full of Jews is a calm and quiet world. A world full of islamuslamists is a constant war.

SBH, OK, I wasn't sure were you were going on the topic: economy vs WMT vs capitalism. I see what you are saying about those that work and shop in Walmart, or really any retail chain for that matter.

Not to sound depressing, but working in retail is supposed to suck. It requires no skill, and pays the least. It should be a 'negative reinforcement' experience to get the hell outta there, and find better work, or work on improving your skillset to get that better job. And depressing as it is to go into a store (walmart or otherwise) and experience the lowered standards as time marches on, it is what it is. I'd like to think that there were the same zombie-like, unattentive,people in the 60s/70s/80s that worked in retail. Maybe we just put those bad retail experiences out of our minds over time? Maybe the retail experience is different by location?

Not to get too political, but our welfare 'goodie quotient' has expanded big time the last 20+ years (under BOTH parties), so the pool of hungry, motivated workers has shrunk or disappeared.

I'm going to teach my kids to attack each menial/shit job like his life depended on it. Make it a game to see how fast they can get out of it (via promotion or a bounce to a better job), within that company or somewhere else. I want them to experience that work as I did, and appreciate and use your skills to improve yourself, so that retail/shit work will be a faint memory in the rearview mirror.... Kinda goes against the grain of those fast-food workers that went on strike last week, eh?

One final note (and story)... I took my kids to McDonalds last Friday night (I know, unhealthy, blablabla; it's a treat I give them about 5-6 times a year)... Anyway, I had a tray of garbage I was trying to throw out, into the tiny-slotted garbage can. I spilled everything on the floor, even a good amount of milk left in a bottle. I cleaned it up, and got napkins to clean up the spilled milk. The cashier was nice, and told me that they'd clean it up, but i did it anyway, feeling bad about them cleaning my mess. I checked on my kids (5 and 8), then went back to get shakes. The cashier didn't charge me for mine (1 of the 3) because she saw that I cleaned my mess myself. She was pleasant when i picked up my food before my spaz event, and she was pleasant during, and after. I thought that was a cool move that I didn't even expect. Moral of story? Sometimes you'll find people that really care, or are nice in places you'd never expect (retail)....

yep, mccain is junk.

The Jews are DEFENDING themselves from crazy arabs that whack-off with thoughts of chopping off Jew heads. The arabs are just tanned NAZI.

I've come to believe bgamall is the son of Kommadant Klink, or Sargent Shultz...one of the two...

APOCALYPSEFUCK is Comptroller says

Fibbing? Really? In international politics?

once again, pow-zoom-right to the moon, Alice!

bgamall4 says

I suppose, Softshell and Bap that you forgot the images of people falling to their deaths out of the towers. I haven't forgotten and I know who to blame, oil men, neocons, and militant Zionists.

Rather than the people who actually flew the planes into the towers...

yea .... that one little fact slipped past

It doesn't matter.
It shouldn't matter.
That's your problem. You look at ethnicity, not individual people.

but...if you must know....

bgamall4 says

SoftShell says

I've come to believe bgamall is the son of Kommadant Klink, or Sargent Shultz...one of the two...

And who are you the son of softshell, a crab or a lobster? Tell us what your ethnic background is. I would like to know.

yeah yeah yeah blah blah blah...
u sound like a broken record....

bgamall4 says

I suppose, Softshell and Bap that you forgot the images of people falling to their deaths out of the towers. I haven't forgotten and I know who to blame, oil men, neocons, and militant Zionists

Sounds like the time honored tradition of black marketing government goods.

Yossarian's Milo, anyone?

When you are trained by education and temperament to be a parasitic entity with no long term moral horizon, you just do what comes naturally.

National Association of Rodents

Shostakovich visited U.S.; Comptroller traveled to other cities

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19590717&id=OeQeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ySUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4810,3639589

http://www.youtube.com/embed/U7o_3aBIeyU

Weep no more
http://www.youtube.com/embed/0FF4HyB77hQ

Schoenberg was a REALTOR!

JustInTime says

I wanted to buy the dip but didn't have the cash. It was back above $1300 before I made my purchase - three Kangaroos. So far so good though.

If you believe the Elliot Wave Theory, this is the fourth wave. There will be another downside move to $900 - $1,000 on the 5th wave. The time to buy gold will likely be summer 2014.

Of course, we will have to wait and see. Good luck.

E-man says

JustInTime says

I wanted to buy the dip but didn't have the cash. It was back above $1300 before I made my purchase - three Kangaroos. So far so good though.

If you believe the Elliot Wave Theory, this is the fourth wave. There will be another downside move to $900 - $1,000 on the 5th wave. The time to buy gold will likely be summer 2014.

Of course, we will have to wait and see. Good luck.

I try to time my entries / exits somewhat intelligently but for the most part I don't really sweat it.

RentingForHalfTheCost says

unlike many of your houses. Taxes, maintenance, upkeep, etc. etc.

You forgot to mention deadbeat tenants, evictions, vacancy, etc. Let the losers own houses. Winners rent and can move anytime they want to. Yes, renters occasionally have to move on the landlord's terms, but the trade-off is so worth it. Why buy when you can rent and have a much better qualify of life. Let the losers service the mortgage for the next 30 years.

Welcome to Renter Nation.

E-man says

RentingForHalfTheCost says

unlike many of your houses. Taxes, maintenance, upkeep, etc. etc.

You forgot to mention deadbeat tenants, evictions, vacancy, etc. Let the losers own houses. Winners rent and can move anytime they want to. Yes, renters occasionally have to move on the landlord's terms, but the trade-off is so worth it. Why buy when you can rent and have a much better qualify of life. Let the losers service the mortgage for the next 30 years.

Welcome to Renter Nation.

Yes, it also is a step out of the black hole of debt that this country attempts to suck as many people as possible into. Let's see credit cards left right and center, auto loans, student loans, HELOC, loans available at any major store, the opportunities for debt are endless.

Those numbers look about right. I just pulled up the numbers ended in July 2013 comparing to July 2013. Didn't pull up the "to date numbers" like you did. :)

Yep, the rate of decline in inventory is pretty steep. I still believe the rate of housing appreciation will moderate a bit in 2014. :)

I've seen a lot of people go full out for broke via credit binge. Between home loans, business loans, credit cards, store credit cards, autoloans...some people are just really savvy at convincing the world to let them borrow money and they pull it off for a good 15 years while living like kings. Hell, some of them are still living in their homes for free because the bank refuses to foreclose on them.

Again fuel within planes create black smoke when ignited.
Again plaster of paris creates white smoke when building infrastructure collapses.

In case anyone doesn't comprehend the above, this is for you:

http://www.cesarsway.com/training/socialization/How-Daddy-Chose-Junior

bgamall4 says

Again, the planes created black smoke. Demolition and the white smoke took over as the buildings imploded. That is fact

Say hey! This was in the Wall Street Journal on March 30, 1999:

Holy cow/interesting/compelling ...!

And where is it up to date??? Right here ... see the first chart shown in this thread.
Recent Dow day is Tuesday, September 3, 2013 __ Level is 94.8

WOW! It is hideous that this is hidden! Is there any such "Homes, Inflation Adjusted"? Yes indeed, go here:
http://patrick.net/?p=1219038&c=999083#comment-999083

E-man says

Yep, the rate of decline in inventory is pretty steep. I still believe the rate of housing appreciation will moderate a bit in 2014. :)

"moderate".. don't think so...

kmo722 says

E-man says

Yep, the rate of decline in inventory is pretty steep. I still believe the rate of housing appreciation will moderate a bit in 2014. :)

"moderate".. don't think so...

You haven't been thinking so in the recent years so there's no surprise

Say hey! This was in the Wall Street Journal on March 30, 1999:

Holy cow/interesting/compelling ...!

And where is it up to date??? Right here ... see the first chart shown in this thread.
Recent Dow day is Wednesday, September 4, 2013 __ Level is 95.4

WOW! It is hideous that this is hidden! Is there any such "Homes, Inflation Adjusted"? Yes indeed, go here:
http://patrick.net/?p=1219038&c=999083#comment-999083

Never forget that HUD spelled backwards is "DUH".

If she registered as a bank, she'd be in the clear.

not the golden turkey report again! dude you should your icon to a turkey.

Goran_K says

Yet prices rise for 4-5 months, and they care calling a recovery. It simply doesn't make any logical sense.

I somehow have to pay for this new BMW dammit! Let's get excited! I need some optimism because if I think about how much money I owe I'm going to cry!(or worse)

TMAC54 says

BoomAndBustCycle says

Goran_K says

Yet prices rise for 4-5 months, and they care calling a recovery.

That's because if they were all doom and gloom like you bloggers.. It would be a self-fulfilling prophecy of no home sales.

BUYERS MAKE VALUE ! Not Gubmint.

Intersting chart, but those debt bars must include QE, the effect of which is not so easy to understand. Bond sold by the government to the government and on the books of the fed.

Don't get me wrong. THere will be an effect but it's not clear at present what it will be.

OR maybe the pars represent just the government debt per person ? National Debt ?

Just keep in mind that past performance is no indicator of future performance. We're in uniquely chaotic financial times right now, and nothing of the sort has happened before, so we can't really predict where it's going short term.

What about rising interest rates? That will make mortgages less affordable.

It won't affect the ultra-high end market though. The rich keep getting even richer.

dunnross says

You will never learn anything.

lol-I'd say he's learned much better than you. His predictions have been correct. Yours have been incorrect.

He's right. You're wrong.

Own it.

Call it Crazy says

History might, but reality doesn't..

http://patrick.net/?p=1229005

You make me laugh. Seriously.

I've posted on here before the actual correlation (or lack thereof) between housing prices and interest rates. It's actually slightly postive indicating that prices move in tandem with interest rates.

You counter that with a survey that reports that people say higher rates make it more difficult for them to buy a house. Holy crap--stop the presses. A majority of people also probably think aliens landed at Roswell. Or that Obama is a Muslim.

It could be that interest rates tend to go up once the economy gets better. If the economy is better, people can spend more on houses. Maybe that helps counteract the higher mortgage payments from the higher interest rates.

It's just an educated guess on my part.

freak80 says

It could be that interest rates tend to go up once the economy gets better. If the economy is better, people can spend more on houses. Maybe that helps counteract the higher mortgage payments from the higher interest rates.

Unfortunately, mortgage rate is going up because Fed is tapering and not because of increased demand for money from improved economy.

hanera says

Unfortunately, mortgage rate is going up because Fed is tapering and not because of increased demand for money from improved economy.

Except that's not really the case. More likely, it is because traders expect that the Fed wouldn't begin tapering until the economy was improving. So they take the Fed's warnings about tapering as an indication that the economy is improving.