Thursday, December 2, 2010

Short Sales Helpful, But Read the Fine Print

While the economy seems to be improving, though modestly, one area of concern remains the shattered real estate market, where home prices have tumbled, homeowners owe more than their house is worth - a condition known as being "upside down" - and the recent foreclosure moratoriums by mortgage servicers like Bank of America, Ally Bank and JP Morgan Chase have slowed the pace of residential real estate sales.

With unemployment close to 10%, many homeowners are facing foreclosure and looking for ways to get out from under a financial burden they did not anticipate. One such method is a real estate short sale, which is a process by which the homeowner sells the property back to the bank at a reduced price. This often results in a win for both sides, as the bank does not have to engage in the time-consuming and costly process of foreclosure and the homeowner walks away from the home and mortgage debt, usually without any residual amount owed, known in the industry as a "deficiency," that being the difference between the original amount owed and the amount of the short sale.

Most states provide for deficiency claims, and banks routinely take judgments against short sale sellers, so this is an area which needs to be negotiated with the lender beforehand, and the services of a lawyer, representing the short seller, are strongly advised. Banks don't like to take losses and will normally try to slip in a deficiency clause into a short sale agreement.

For further information, you can can click here to check for all kinds of sales - including short sales - in your area, or for sales nationwide and more information on all kinds of real estate transactions, click here.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ponzinomics, Feudalism and Fascism of the Highest Order




The following is my response to the video above, and to the wild upswing in the markets today. Just follow the bouncing ball, people, and the sequence of events. Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, releases a boatload of data and internal memorandum from the State Department which is embarrassing to some of the highest-ranking officials in the world. Assange makes the mistake of telling, in an interview, that he is planning to release data concerning a very large US bank in January of 2011.

By nightfall on the East coast, Assange is wanted by Interpol in relation to rape and "sex crimes." As the day opens in the Far East, markets are pumped higher on positive economic data, and then to Europe, and finally, to the United States, where the Dow rallies for 255 points.

All of mainstream media is suddenly talking about recovery and how Spain won't need a bailout, and how jobs are being created in the US, and how the Christmas season is looking very robust for retailers.

At noon, the Fed, under order of law, courtesy the Dodd-Frank bill, releases the names and amounts of money lent to institutions during the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The list is vast, as are the numbers. It is a mind-boggling declaration of widespread, rampant, credit inflation.

The media continues to excite us with details of how Europe will not suffer any debt contagion, that the crisis is contained. Little time is spent reporting the Fed's release. we are all too busy watching stocks rise, secure in the knowledge that our economy is on the mend.

My contention is that the "rally" is a chimera. It will fade before making new highs, maybe a little bit after, perhaps. But the crony capitalism continues. And Julian Assange will not be a free man for long. He will not be allowed to release any information damaging to any bank, anywhere, at any time.

The banks own most of the world. The ECB and the Fed are only the most visible manifestations of the banking elite. The buy the debt of sovereign nations. They own them. Most are well hidden, or hiding in plain view.

Any questions?

Sure, but first, my reaction to the video. It was a bit over the top. All Americans don't act that way, only the slowest, dumbest, fattest and most ignorant. Unfortunately, their numbers are growing and their progeny will become more cheap, slave labor and credit card users for the rich to fondle and manipulate. That is the elitist game. It's what they do. So, yeah, there are a lot of fat, ignorant slobs out there who have lost nearly any dignity they might have had.

My question is this: What should those of us who believe ourselves to be above that level of wantonness and ignorance do about it? Should we counsel those who are too hypnotized by materialism, television and welfare statism to make better of themselves, to deny materialism and embrace a more wholesome existence?

I'll answer that one myself: Of course we should.

Now comes another antecedent question. After we've counseled our downtrodden brothers and sistahs and they go about their usual wanton ways as though they've heard nothing we've said, suppose one of them comes to us in their miserable way and tries to sell us a laptop that they bought for $198, for $20, for drugs, or food, or gas, or whatever moronic desire they might have at that time. What should we do then?

I'll answer that, too, for myself. I'm sure others might see this differently. My answer, I'd offer them $10, maybe $5. If they're too stupid to see, let them be blind. If you or I don't separate them from their possessions for less than market value, who will? Of course, the elitists, gladly, mind you.

I say it is the duty of all Americans to buy for less than market value and sell for as much as possible, even going so far as to sell to elitists at inflated prices. It is up to the entrepreneurial among us to seize the opportunity the elitists have created for those of us wise enough to make money to do so. I say it is easy if the system plans to endlessly create more money through debt. We should all be pawn-brokers, sharks and sharp deal-makers, for if we are not, surely it will be ourselves at the short end of the next deal and the one after that and so on, until we are slaves ourselves.

Stand up and take from the poor. They have been given our wealth by the rich. Take from the rich, too, if you can. If the economy is going to burgeon upon a sea of debt, then we must open our eyes and aour hands to take what is rightfully ours. we must fortify our own foundations, and to hell from whence it comes, as long as we make it OURS.

Now, if you have any questions, ask somebody else. I've already told you my plan. Acquire.

Dow 11,255.78, +249.76 (2.27%)
NASDAQ 2,549.43, +51.20 (2.05%)
S&P 500 1,206.07, +19.47 (1.64%)
NYSE Composite 7,603.73, +172.79 (2.33%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,136,493,000
NYSE Volume 5,358,660,500


Advances: 4944
Declines: 1632
New Highs: 500
New Lows: 51

Oil: $86.75, +2.64
Gold: $1,388.30, +2.20
Silver: $28.41, +0.20

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dow Down 400+ Points Since QE2

Since the inception of the Fed's QE2 program, throwing billions of dollars at Primary Dealers in exchange for Treasuries - essentially monetizing the government's debt - stocks have suffered mightily, posting losses in 11 of the past 16 sessions and dropping a whopping 445 points since November 7.

Currently, the scapegoat is the dastardly Irish, who chose a most inopportune time for their banks to become wholly insolvent and in needs of rescue by the European Union. With debt contagion spreading across to the continent in rapid fashion, the Euro has declined against the greenback, taking the fun of a weak currency trade along with it. As the dollar has strengthened, US stocks have nose-dived, and the rout is clearly underway, whether Ben Bernanke wishes to admit it or not.

Action on the markets today was entirely below the 50-day moving average on the Dow, and ended, after a midday respite, to the downside for the third session in a row. Blaming the Irish may be good sport for Fed bankers, but problems in the Eurozone certainly don't bode well for the ailing US economy. The slow-motion train wreck of Western economies which began in 2007 with the sub--prime mortgage unwind, is, after a $20 trillion reprieve from 2008 to the present, set to gather momentum and careen off the tracks again.

What will eventually prove to be the US economic undoing is still debatable. An expose of Bank of America's immoral and despicable practices in the mortgage arena has been put on the table by Wikileaks' founder Julien Assange. Shares of the Charlotte, NC-based bank fell to a 2-year low, closing at 10.95, on fears of such an event.

Perhaps Ireland's Parliament will just say no to the bank bailout being shoved down their throats by the equally-corrupt European Union, which itself may be a forgotten relic of a failed experiment in a few year's time.

Closer to home, it appears that the lame-duck congress has its hands full in the dwindling time before they decide to do what they do best - go home and do nothing - tackling issues such as the Bush tax cuts and jobless benefits have seen little movement. Congress must also pass a continuing resolution to keep the government operating by December 4, which just happens to be this Friday.

Tomorrow, ADP releases its normal private sector employment report, this one for the month of November, as a precursor to the BLS non-farm payroll data on Friday, which could also sway markets. Consensus seems to be calling for the nation to have created 130-150,000 new jobs in the month. Any number less robust than that could set off investor alarms again.

For today, another $6 billion pumped from the Fed to Primary dealers did little to stem the tide of selling. Stocks rebounded off their morning lows, but suffered a setback in the final hour, all major indices finishing deep in red ink.

Dow 11,006.02, -46.47 (0.42%)
NASDAQ 2,498.23, -26.99 (1.07%)
S&P 500 1,180.55, -7.21 (0.61%)
NYSE Composite 7,430.94, -52.40 (0.70%)


Losses were widespread as losers outnumbered gainers, 4290-2137. New highs numbered 156, while new lows closed to gap, at 103. In an obvious sign of weakness, volume ramped up to numbers not seen since election day.

NASDAQ Volume 2,429,697,750
NYSE Volume 5,643,896,500


Oil took a solid hit, losing $1.62, to $84.11, though it remains at elevated levels. Gold was a star, shooting up $19.20, to $1,386.70 per ounce. Silver also posted a strong gain of 89 cents, to finish at $28.09 on the COMEX.

FUD (Fear, uncertainty and doubt) are on the rise again and the Fed seems powerless to do anything but print more money.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Day-Traders Paradise

Forget fundamentals.

There is no reason to even bother examining a stock's recent performance, p/e ratio, cash flow, balance sheet or any other metric which might have some impact on earnings or performance because the stock market in the USA is now run by computers, and computers don't care about stocks, they only care about momentum, price and volume.

Add to that the fact that these computers are programmed by PhD's who don't know squat about markets, and even less about individual stocks. After that, add in near-infinite liquidity (free money) courtesy of the Federal Reserve's QE2 program and you have the makings for one very dysfunctional investment landscape.

Therefore, mere humans, especially those trading from the comforts of home, are at a distinct disadvantage. Only the major brokerages and banks are allowed to reap huge profits, not mere mortals who suffer from emotion and are terribly slow compared to the market-busting super-computers employed by the big firms and the HFTs.

Today was a perfect example of the dysfunction prevalent throughout the securities complex. In the morning, amid fears of growing problems in Europe on the back of the Ireland bank-bailout, stocks suffered enormous losses, with the Dow dipping by as many as 162 points shortly after 10:00 am. Of course, that was before the Fed floated some $9 billion to their pals on Wall Street to stage a comeback.

The day-trading slobs, like Lloyd Blanfien, CEO of Goldman Sachs, surely made a killing, as they do every day, manipulating the markets to their own delight and profit, all the while hammering the small investor and mutual fund managers at the margins.

Dow 11,052.49, -39.51 (0.36%)
NASDAQ 2,525.22, -9.34 (0.37%)
S&P 500 1,187.76, -1.64 (0.14%)
NYSE Composite 7,483.34, -17.20 (0.23%)


By the final bell, things were still in the red, though only slightly. Losers beat winners by a margin of 3645-2787; 155 issues made new highs, 85 recorded new lows. Volume was as usual: pathetic, but that's what you get when only computers are playing. Someday - and we can only hope it is soon - the computers will be forced to prey upon each other.

NASDAQ Volume 1,693,482,250
NYSE Volume 4,207,444,500


Oil priced itself another $1.87 higher, to $85.73 a barrel. Gold bounded all over the place, last showing a gain of $3.20, at $1367.40. Silver added 43 cents, to $27.13.

Just for those who think they've got it rough, here's a touching story about a family who blew $14 million in ten years. A great read, if you dislike people with money who are simply morons.

And, in the latest pandering PR move from the White House, President Obama called for a two-year wage freeze for civilian federal employees. The timing of this is particularly amusing, since federal wages reached an all-time high in 2010. The proposal needs congressional approval, so we'll see if the Tea Partiers recently elected to congress have any bite. It should be noted that some of them ran on platforms that called for cutting federal pay by 7-10%.

Good luck with that.

The final piece of sobering news is how governments will readily use public trust money to ensure than wealthy bondholders don't suffer any losses. The case in point is Ireland's 85 billion Euro aid package, which will be funded in part from government pension reserves, to the tune of 17.5 billion Euros.

That's how it's going to play out here in America, too, folks. All you people thinking you're going to get a nice pension check every month better start learning the new math. Cut that check in half by 2015, if you're lucky. As for Social Security, the Ponzi scheme of the past century, one would be well-advised to not count on that at all.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Main Street's Black Friday Turns Blood Red on Wall Street

Mmmm, that's going to leave a mark...

In the continuing control fraud series of gap up/down opens, stocks took the predictable nosedive version today - predictable in that Wednesday's close was greatly to the upside.

With the Dow opening at around 11,100, about 85 points below the previous close, we have the now-well-known condition of trapped longs, who bought and held during Wednesday's uptick rally. In general terms, if you bought on Wednesday and sold on Friday, unhedged, you lost and are now puking up the remnants of your Thanksgiving dinner.

A wiser course of action might have been avoiding the stock markets altogether and making some illegal wagers on football games via the internet. At least you might have won, with the added bonus of the winnings being tax-free. Even had you lost your bets, you could mentally write off the sour investment as entertainment value.

Stocks skidded pretty badly, and, devoid of volume, had no inclination of reversing course, especially since it was a half-day and trading was even more scarce than normal. The run rate was even worse than some of the slowest days - and there have been many since the 2008 collapse - making Black Friday look like a blood-drip from the arteries of the Wall Street Scam money machinery.

Dow 11,092.00, -95.28 (0.85%)
NASDAQ 2,534.56, -8.56 (0.34%)
S&P 500 1,189.40, -8.95 (0.75%)
NYSE Composite 7,500.54, -78.72 (1.04%)


Declining issues dominated winners, 4054-2064. New highs:185; New lows: 51. Volume: fagetaboutit.

NASDAQ Volume 623,831,125
NYSE Volume 1,778,664,375


Oil finished unchanged, at $83.86 per barrel, keeping the price just high enough to extend the prices at the gas pumps for the remainder of the holiday weekend. Gold last printed at $1364.20, down $10.90 on the day, while silver kicked 89 cents lower, to $26.70. Those awaiting a reversion in silver may be seeing the beginning of a 50% pullback of the recent rally, which would put the lustrous metal at $23 and change. A 67% retracement would send it to about $21, at which point one would be highly inclined to begin accumulation for the next leg up, to $35 in the first half of 2011. Of course, a global deflation may take all technical data off the table, rendering all asset classes subject to major price reversals.

Speculation in land may be a viable alternative in the first half of 2011, though another round of descending prices should occur with a massive number of defaults and possible widespread bank failures.

Bank of America continues to be the stock to watch as far as real estate is concerned, as they have - through their 2007 purchase of Countrywide - the largest exposure in residential real estate of any of the major players. The stock hit all cherries today, closing at 11.11, remaining in the bottom of its recent range, and lower than the October 25 close, at the tail end of the "foreclosure crisis." Bank of American (BAC) is signaling what's ahead for homeowners, with already more than 25% of homes with mortgages "underwater," more pain to come, resulting in slower sales at lower prices for the truly most distressed of a growing mountain of distressed sellers.

2011 may turn out to be the year everything finally goes over the edge. Congress and the president haven't yet address the mortgage/banking fraud in any meaningful way, except to hand the banks more money with which to shore up their aching balance sheets and kick the fraud further down the road. Without a workable solution that includes 30-40% principal forgiveness - anathema to any blue-blooded banker - expect real estate prices to decline another 20-25% overall and the US economy to continue floundering like a beached whale.

While many believe we've avoided the dreaded "double-dip" recession scenario for this year, the next one may prove to be even more severe than the first, though even a minor recession leaves the Fed, White House and congress without any useful policy tools. The likely outcome would be to print more money, unless Tea Partiers in congress force the Fed's hand by denying any raise of the debt ceiling in early 2011. An unlikely outcome, but still potentially the best - though painful to the extreme - medicine.

2010 continues to grind towards its conclusion, with optimism bolstered by millions of shoppers on the busiest day of the year. If Christmas saves the retailers and wider stock market, there may be a significant overhang heading into the new year which could collapse stocks as earnings peak out with nowhere to go but down.

Lovely, isn't it?