Rising Price Pressures Spur World Wide Inflation Concerns

| January 27, 2011

Hey, what about us here in the USA, Uncle Sam says nope, no inflation here, you on social security get no cost of living raise….but our good buddies in Congress, well that’s another story. Inflation is one of the issues on the agenda in Davos, as the prices of food and other commodities rise, reducing […]

NBA Team Values Increase 1% From Last Year On Average, But 17 Of The 30 Teams Lost Money

| January 26, 2011

Guess the contraction (subtracting teams from the league) issue is for real…so whitch teams will get the boot?   We can start with New Orleans….being that the NBA now owns them. NEW YORK — The New York Knicks have overtaken the Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA’s most valuable franchise, and 17 of the 30 teams […]

The Parched Hot Sun Does Funny Things To You!

| January 26, 2011

Excuse us, but we could have sworn that the president said things were getting a lot better and the recession was behind us…..or was that just a mirage in the parched desert sun! The federal budget deficit will reach nearly $1.5 trillion in 2011 due to the” weak economy, higher spending and fresh tax cuts”, the CBO […]

Say What….How Much Did You Say That Nickel Was Worth?

| January 26, 2011

Yep, a nickel is worth 6.8 cents in metal value or 36% more then the $.05 it represents in spendable value! Yes, it’s true; the value of a nickel is soaring, even as the value of a dollar is slumping. That’s because every nickel that rolls out of the U.S. Mint contains about 3.75 grams of […]

Natural Gas….No Shortage Here!

| January 25, 2011

This article explains why natural gas is so cheap.  Oil companies used to just burn off the natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico  because they didn’t know what to do with it.   Who has been harking on this subject for years, yep….Oklahoma farm boy and self made billionaire T Boone Pickens.  He says we need to take advantage […]

Obama To Call For Freeze In Nonsecurity Government Spending

| January 25, 2011

Inquiring minds want to know how you can have growth with a spending freeze?   Right, you can’t! Obama will call for a five-year freeze on nonsecurity discretionary spending in his State of the Union address “as a down payment toward reducing the deficit,” a White House official said. The president will propose some new spending […]

Postal Service Looking To Close Thousands Of Post Offices

| January 23, 2011

Why not just give them all to UPS (United Parcel Service) and Fed Ex….Presto, they would get it figured out in a nanosecond!  But lets remember who we’re dealing with here….Because it’s the government, this could cost many millions of dollars, require multitudes of committees and take years based on the past history of similar decisions. The U.S. Postal Service is […]

Commercial Real Estate In A Nut Shell!

| January 23, 2011

It looks like the calm before another storm created by CRE loans in the next 3 years. We know vacancy rates remain high and we know values have not recovered. LTV ratios look to be very tight for many a bank CRE loan. As mentioned below, we crescendo in terms of CRE loan maturities between now and 2013. […]

Listen Up Everyone…This Is Important! … You Will Likely Have But One Chance To Get This Right!

| January 23, 2011

We have followed Clif Droke for a number of years, and his record with the Kress Cycles is one step ahead of most others. The Kress cycles will take on the financial markets, and by extension the economy from 2012-2014.  This will come as a shock for the most optimistic observers.  The final “hard down” phase of the […]

Ireland Throws A Wrench Into The “Euro” Works!

| January 23, 2011

Ireland is out to make things interesting, with a sledge hammer……and everyone thought Europe’s problems were going away!  Hmm! The BBC has just reported that the Irish Green party has pulled out of the ruling coalition with Fianna Fail which is “expected to bring forward the general election from 11 March.” In other words suddenly […]

This Will Become A Popular Headline Going Forward, The Time To Plan Ahead For Everyone Is Now!

| January 23, 2011

So, 5% of the New York state public work force will just go away……California should hope to be so lucky. Headline: N.Y Governor Cuomo Weighs More Than 10,000 Layoffs New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is weighing plans to lay off more than 10,000 government workers, rivaling the number of pink slips handed out by his father a […]

Who Is The Second Largest Contributor To GDP…..If You Said State And Local Governments You Get A Brownie Button!

| January 22, 2011

From John Mauldin’s “Thoughts From The Front Line” As this budget cutting works its way through the economy, and as inventories are no longer being built (they are already at adequate levels), the growth from the current stimulus (both QE2 and payroll and federal government expenditures) the economy will have to stand on its own […]

An Economic System On Steroids!

| January 20, 2011

A chart is worth a thousand words, or a couple hundred billion in real, incremental dollars.  This is why things have been getting (slightly) better of late, but when it ends…not if, look out below.  2012-2014 look to be very tough years, if we survive the end of the Mayan Calender (Dec 21,2012) that is! www.zerohedge.com

States Looking For A Way Out To Escape Debt Burdens

| January 20, 2011

Hmm…They’re really getting serious about this.  These pensions will never survive in the current form.  Only a matter of time! Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers. […]

Zillow Says Home Price Drop (26%) Exceeds The Great Depression

| January 20, 2011

By Al Yoon NEW YORK (Reuters) – Home prices fell for the 53’rd consecutive month in November, taking the decline past that of the Great Depression for the first time in the prolonged housing slump, according to Zillow. Home prices have fallen 26 percent since their peak in 2006, exceeding the 25.9 percent drop registered […]

Stratfor’s Annual Forecast For 2011

| January 20, 2011

Stratfor’s Annual Forecast ….Here are some examples of this year’s themes: – The U.S. is unlikely to withdraw from Iraq as promised in 2011. – The U.S. economy will grow. – In Europe, more countries will need bailouts. – Russian-German relations will strengthen. – Japan will rot, but it will rot in seclusion. Here are […]

What’s Hidden In The Obama Healthcare Bill….You Won’t Believe Some Of The Things

| January 20, 2011

Bad seats, hey buddy!   Buried in the thousands of pages of the new health bill is this little gem….. “I can make a firm pledge.  Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.  Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains […]

What’s That Old Saying…Records Are Made To Be Broken!

| January 19, 2011

This is a key story: There were a record low number of housing completions in 2010, breaking the record set in 2009.   In 2010, 1 to 4 unit completions were at a record low 506 thousand. This was just below the 534 thousand units completed in 2009. This is far below the previous record […]

Domestic Equity Funds Showed Large Inflow In Latest Period

| January 19, 2011

ICI data for the week ended January 12 showed domestic equity fund  inflows of $3,765 million following last week’s outflow of $4,229. This is the largest inflow going back to 2009. Bond fund flows in everything but Munis were positive. Non-taxables saw another whopper of an outflow, this time for a total of $2.4 billion. […]

From Dr Joe Duarte….Pensions, Budgets, Municipal Bonds, And Property Taxes Are The Key Combination For Municipalities

| January 18, 2011

Dr Joe Duarte has a good feel for this…..With states cutting budgets across the board, where is the growth going to come from? In San Diego an interesting fight between the city and its unions is developing that could set the stage for how things work out in other places with similar problems. According to […]

Three Steps To Fix The Mortgage Mess

| January 17, 2011

This read actually makes a lot of sense, and it takes the government out of the picture.  We would add one more thing….. that is for most mortgages to be assumable like they used to be.  The negative short term draw back is that like everything the government gets involved with, once they leave, there will […]

Look At Who Is Number 2 Here! Yep, State And Local Government, The Federal Government Comes In At Number 4

| January 16, 2011

From AARP…..Ten Worst States For Retirement

| January 14, 2011

TopRetirements.com gave the most weight to three criteria: taxes, fiscal health and climate. Each of these factors is important, generally speaking, to retirees. On the financial front, high taxes can eat away at limited incomes, while poor fiscal health can force state governments to raise revenue or cut services. A warm climate is a natural […]

Jeremy Grantham On Ignoring Eisenhower’s Warnings

| January 14, 2011

Wow!  How is it possible that we collectively seem to have forgotten this clear warning? It appears that Eisenhower’s worst fears have been realized and his remarkable and unique warnings given for naught.   “As we peer into society’s future, we – you and I, and our government – must avoid the impulse to live […]

California’s ‘Big One’ Could Be A Flood….Says USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)

| January 14, 2011

This may happen, but one would think it is more likely to be the by product of a devastating earthquake.  California has more risk of catastrophic storms than any other region in the country – even the Southern hurricane states, according to a new study released Thursday. The two-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey is the most […]

Uncle Sam Says Read My Lips, This Doesn’t Count Toward Inflation

| January 14, 2011

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations) said its food price index jumped 32 percent in the second half of 2010, soaring past the previous record set in 2008. Strained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and […]

Banks Start To Loan To Consumers Again

| January 14, 2011

This can only go so far as the consumer is still over indebted and over taxed, while being hit with inflation (the government says no inflation) and flat earning power!  Debt (other than homes) still has to be payed back at some point and time.  U.S. banks are expanding their loans to consumers for the first […]

Washington Doesn’t Get It!

| January 14, 2011

This from Art Cashin on the floor of The New York Stock Exchange……..Basically the government doesn’t get it!   Last Friday, speaking in Germany, [European Central Bank President] Jean-Claude Trichet said it best: “Monetary policy responsibility cannot substitute for government irresponsibility.” Fiery Fedspeak –There were some interesting comments from several Fed presidents yesterday.  One eye-opener came […]

House Set To Vote On Repeal Of Healthcare Plan

| January 13, 2011

This will be interesting to say the least!  Even if repeal were to pass the Congress, Obama has said he would veto it.

2011 Starts With $4.2 Billion In OUTFLOWS From Domestic Equity Funds

| January 13, 2011

ICI just revised the last two data points of 2010 which were originally inflows, to one outflow and one minimal inflow.   Looking at last week’s flows, the first of the new year 2011 starts with an equity outflow of $4.2 billion and was the largest one week outflow since early October!

The Newest WikiLeak Threats….Here We Go!

| January 12, 2011

In this week’s New Statesman, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange talks to John Pilger about his “insurance” files on Rupert Murdoch and Newscorp – and which country is the real enemy of WikiLeaks. To read the entire feature, pick up a copy of this week’s New Statesman available on newsstands from tomorrow. Some highlights of the […]

Commodity Food Grain Prices Roaring On Grain Crop Outlook Data

| January 12, 2011

We’ve been talking about this, it’s called food inflation and it’s about to get out of hand over the next year because of adverse weather……Grain prices soared after the USDA made a deep cut in its outlook for global supplies. 

Well…This Is A Deep Subject, No Pun Intended!

| January 11, 2011

Rising food inflation sparked violence across the Middle East and South Asia over the weekend.  Why?…. Demonstrators were protesting the high cost of staple commodities like sugar, rice and milk.   The outbursts have triggered fears that the world is due for a revisit of the 2008 food protests that rocked many countries. Food prices are now […]

Say What…..The Current Tax Code Has 60,000 Pages Of Stuff Nobody Can Figure Out

| January 11, 2011

Are they kidding….No!   There are 60,000 pages in the current tax code…..Tax reform anybody?  How many college educated people do you know that do their own taxes, let’s rephrase that…how many have a tax professional do the job, go ahead…raise your hands….anybody out there without a hand up? How about that!

Virginia Creates Subcommittee To Study Monetary Alternatives In Case Of Terminal Fed “Breakdown”, Considers Gold As Option

| January 10, 2011

If this is plan B, inquiring minds wonder what plan C would look like! In what may one day be heralded as the formal proposal that proverbially started it all, the Commonwealth of Virginia introduced House Resolution No. 557 to establish a joint subcommittee to “to study whether the Commonwealth should adopt a currency to […]

Newt Gingrich Pushing Bill To Allow States To File Bankruptcy Allowing Them To Renegotiate Pension And Benefit Obligations

| January 10, 2011

Push will turn into a shove…..Turn out the lights, the party is over!   Meredith Whitney’s prediction, which everyone was quick to mock and ridicule, is about to come back with a vengeance.  State and Local finances are at risk.  This idea is likely to pick up steam along the way. Some unpleasant news for pensioned […]

Brazil Warns Of Luming World Trade War

| January 9, 2011

This is why Gold and Silver has been sought by the smart money! Brazil has warned that the world is on course for a full-blown “trade war” as it stepped up its rhetoric against exchange rate manipulation. Guido Mantega, finance minister, told the Financial Times that Brazil was preparing new measures to prevent further appreciation of […]

Say It Isn’t So….Illinois Proposes To Raise State Income Taxes 75 Percent, From 3% To 5.25% For The Next Four Years

| January 9, 2011

Next up, California……Illinois just kicked the can down the road, there is no chance this tax will ever go back to where it was.  None, Not’a, Zippo, Zero……You get the point. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) – Gov. Pat Quinn and the leaders of both houses of the Illinois General Assembly have agreed on raising the state income […]

Rock And Roll….Can Anyone Hear The Economic Music

| January 8, 2011

Economy on a roll, then a again maybe not…..Dave Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff  discussed with Barron’s three key current takeaways that prompt current concern. They are: 1. The fact that the workweek remains stuck at 34.3 hours for the third week in a row, and history tells us that hours are a forward-looking barometer of labor demand. 2. State and […]

The Top 10 Most Affordable Cities In America

| January 7, 2011

The Top 10 Most Affordable Cities In America  Forbes.com   Cost-of-Living Rank Unemployment Rank Housing Costs Rank 1. Oklahoma City, Okla. 12 4 2 2. Pittsburgh, Pa. 6 15 1 3. Buffalo, N.Y. 16 9 3 4. Rochester, N.Y. 25 1 8 5. Nashville, Tenn. 3 23 11 6. San Antonio, Texas 19 9 10 […]

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