A belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

The next year or so will continue to be rough going, with unemployment remaining high, a further housing market collapse, coming inflation, fuel/energy price spikes, etc. But, eventually, it will get better.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, despite these troubled times. And may your New Year be better, brighter and more prosperous.

Keep the faith, and don't give up hope!

God Bless!

End-of-Year Post...

Consumer confidence down "unexpectedly" while housing prices drop:

Consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in December, while prices of single-family homes fell almost double the expected pace in October, tempering growing optimism on the economy's recovery.

Home foreclosures jumped in 3Q:

The regulators said one reason for the increase in foreclosures is that banks have "exhausted" options for keeping many delinquent borrowers in their homes through programs such as loan modifications.

Newly-initiated foreclosures increased to 382,000 in the third quarter, a 31.2 percent jump over the previous quarter and a 3.7 percent rise from the same quarter a year ago, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) said in a quarterly mortgage report.

The number of foreclosures in process increased to 1.2 million, a 4.5 percent increase from the second quarter and a 10.1 percent increase from a year ago, according to the regulators.

The blizzards kept consumers from buying:

A blizzard in the U.S. Northeast this weekend postponed about $1 billion in holiday retail sales by keeping shoppers out of stores in the days after Christmas, research firm ShopperTrak said on Wednesday.

The snowstorm shut roads and canceled flights in New York City and created havoc across the Northeast, where shopper traffic was 11.2 percent below ShopperTrak's expectations for Sunday December 26 and off 13.9 percent on Monday December 27.

Ninety-eight of the TARP'ed banks are close to failing (despite the bailout):

The total, based on an analysis of third-quarter financial results by The Wall Street Journal, is up from 86 in the second quarter, reflecting eroding capital levels, a pileup of bad loans and warnings from regulators. The 98 banks in shaky condition got more than $4.2 billion in infusions from the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

What's coming to your local hotels and malls:

The United States is stepping up security at “soft targets” like hotels and shopping malls, as well as trains and ports, as it counters the evolving Al-Qaeda threat, a top official said Sunday.

And the internet and the so-called "net neutrality" law: link 1, link 2, link 3.

National Insecurity...

A Mexican drone invaded USA airspace, but nothing to see here... look away, look away.

Meanwhile, TSA deploys scanners at bus stations. and gropes grandma while an Iranian-American gets thru with this wonderful little mistake.

*sigh*

End-of-Year Econo-mishmash...

Fuel prices are a-risin' (national average at $2.99 as of yesterday, and oil price for barrel is currently at $91), adding inflationary pressure.

Stocks are flat due to lower than expected GDP growth.

Mortgage apps fall again.

Good news, though, is that Senator Reid pulled the pork-filled spending budget. (Republican pork was $1 billion, Democrat pork was almost $52 billion.)

Good news, though, is that the GOP landslide last month forced The One to continue the Bush tax cuts for 2011.

UPDATE: Durable goods drops and November consumer spending stays flat once you factor in inflation. Stag-flation, baby!

Ewwwww... The EU Mess

Spain's about to be downgraded by Moody.

Same with Portugal.

Portugal has since been downgraded by Fitch.

Ireland drops down, too.

All this is following Greece.

We all saw this coming way back in April and June, remember?

Econo-collapse...

So... consumer confidence rose... to a 5-month high!!! WOW!!!

Umm... five months ago consumer confidence was at 54.3. June... of this year... 54.3... and it's now at 54.1. As the article states oh so elegantly:

It takes a level of 90 to indicate a healthy economy, which hasn't been approached since the recession began in December 2007.

Could it be that, even though the administration tried to make hay out of so-called rosy job-creation numbers for last month (it was the typical seasonal temp hiring), the truth is that the unemployment rate jumped to 9.8%.

In addition to that is the fact that 2 million more people have now run out of unemployment benefits... just before Christmas. These are benefits that were extended and extended to a full 99 weeks (normally, it lasts only 26 weeks). And these people are not included in the official 9.8% statistics.

Employers added a net total of only 39,000 jobs last month, a sharp decline from the 172,000 created in October, the Labor Department said Friday. The weakness was widespread. Retailers, factories, construction companies, financial firms and the government all cut jobs.

The disappointing figures caught economists off guard. They had predicted the addition of 150,000 jobs, based on a raft of positive reports that showed busier factories, rising auto sales and a good start to the holiday shopping season in November. Yet all that failed to translate into mass hiring.

Another report states:

One of the big surprises was the loss of 28,100 retail jobs last month despite signs of a busy holiday shopping season.

Manufacturing and durable goods are down, too. As HotAir states:

These numbers show an economy in stagnation, with no real momentum in any direction.

Stagnant economy... higher inflation... stag-flation... like Jimmy Carter in the late-70s. Why, it's Carter 2.0. Hmm... who could've predicted this? Way back in March of 2009. Even further back in November of 2008.

I wonder......

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!

Hump Day Round-up...

Manufacturing and housing are down.

North and South Korea situation is escalating.

China and Russia dump the dollar as their bilateral currency.

The TSA peep-&-grope-fest is to be expanded to train stations and bus terminals.

NBC praises the "Ground Zero Mosque" developer.

Lots of things to be thankful for, huh?

Food, Healthcare, Heating, Housing, Free Speech... The Important Stuff

Inflation is "subdued":

Excluding food and energy costs, prices were flat for a third straight month and the increase from a year ago of 0.6 percent was the smallest since records started in 1957.

Food and energy shows inflation, but the rest of the economy... not so much. (yeah, right)

Housing starts stop:

US housing starts plunged to a near-record low in October while building permits were flat amid a depressed real-estate market, official data showed Wednesday.

Construction on new homes dropped nearly 12 percent from September, to an annual rate of 519,000 units, the Commerce Department reported.

The pace of construction was the weakest since April 2009, when a record low of 477,000 was reported in the data series that began in 1959.

The list of ObamaCare exemptions grows:

A few weeks later, McDonald's finagled its own Obamacare waiver after warning federal regulators that it could be forced to drop its affordable health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 restaurant workers unless it got a pass.

In early October, the Obama administration announced it had granted waivers not only to McDonald’s, but also to several other firms and labor unions.

Now comes word that Torquemada HHS Secretay Kathleen Sebelius has approved a whopping 111 waivers for businesses of all sizes, along with more unions and other providers of health insurance.

This doesn't include the growing list of companies that are already planning to drop healthcare coverage all together, since they figured out it's cheaper to pay Uncle Sam the per-employee fine than to continue proving health insurance.

Meanwhile, Senate Rockefeller has a bug in his brain that wants to end free speech. Arrogant idiot!

Another Bubble About to Burst?

(Via Reuters)

The new round of cash the Federal Reserve is pumping into the U.S. economy to spur job growth could create bubbles that do the very opposite, some Fed officials are warning.

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher suggested this week that a bubble is already forming in private equity, with cheap debt fueling high-priced deals in an echo of the torrid days of leveraged buyouts before the subprime credit crisis cut off financing in 2007.

Fisher, who argued against the U.S. central bank's decision earlier this month to buy $600 billion in Treasuries to boost the recovery, told a San Antonio audience on Monday he is concerned about signs of "speculative activity" in buyouts, along with stocks, bonds and commodities.

Global Trade War on the Horizon???

The G-20 refuses The One's request that they put pressure on China to adjust the value of their currency.

Wall Street responds by dropping over 1%.

Thursday News...

Michelle Malkin breaks down the beliefs of Muslims (including western muslims) on suicide bombings.

Gateway links to a story about clarifying the economic situation over the last decade.

Daily Eudemon talks about value shrinkage (in which I make a comment).

PoliPundit explains gerrymandering (very well, I might add).

And oil is currently trading at $88/barrel.

Inflation is coming... BIG TIME!

UPS will be raising their shipping rates 4.9% across the board come the beginning of 2011. Their maximum dimensional weight specs will shrink to the point that many items that would fit in a generic 1-lb box will now automatically weight 2-lbs, and thus be charged a higher rate.

FedEx, I'm sure, will follow suit. The U.S. Postal Service got denied their request for a rate increase, and they're already running in the red, which means that at some point in 2011 postage rates will increase as well.

Shipping costs increasing across the board at 5%... in this economy... umm... yeah... those added business expenses to get anything shipped from-here-to-there will be passed along to you & I.

Inflation.

It's coming.

Very soon.

11/12 Update: Well, I was right. The U.S. Postal Service just posted an $8.5 billion loss.

The U.S. Postal Service more than doubled its losses in fiscal year 2010, despite cutting billions of dollars in expenses and trimming its staff.

The Postal Service said its net loss totaled $8.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That compares to a loss of $3.8 billion the prior year.

Tuesday Trifecta (Housing, Jobs, Economy)...

So, September pending home sales drops 1.8 percent (unexpectedly... snicker).

Fannie Mae is asking for an additional $2.5 billion in federal aid. (???)

Job openings drop for the second straight month. (makes you wonder... if jobs keep getting added to the market, but unemployment remains at 9.6%, then doesn't that mean that the real unemployment number is - and has been - much, much higher?)

(via Ace): A Wall Street Journal reporter bashes Palin for stating that inflation is working it;'s way into the economy. But, of course, Palin was only quoting a report from straight out of... wait for it... the Wall Street Journal. (hehehe)

(via Daily Eudemon): The WSJ also reports on potential dissension in the ranks of the Federal Reserve and Bernanke. (Uh-oh!)

And, finally.... NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!! Just go about your daily business.

The Tidal Wave Stops at California (ugh)

Moonbeam Retread for Gov.

Box-o-Rocks Retread for Sen.

*deep sigh*

VOTE!!!

FOR GOD'S SAKE, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!!!

Terrorism Alert!!!

(via Fox News, Hot Air & Ace of Spades)

Suspicious packages from Yemen (as many as 10-20 sought) on UPS International cargo planes from Yemen through Europe to Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, NYC.

Wires attached to toner cartridge and white powder from a Yemen flight stopped in the UK with a Chicago destination.

Suspicious package outside Maine courthouse.

Marine Corp Museum shot at... again... in D.C.

Is this all being coordinated?

"Punish your enemies" and make 'em "sit in the back"???

(both stories via Gateway Pundit here & here)

So, this is what "The One" is saying in the final week of the mid-term campaign:

“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2."

He also said this:

"We don’t mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back."

Oh, reeeeeeeeally!!!

TUESDAY... VOTE!!!

Fannie & Freddie returning to the trough...

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac now want an ADDITIONAL $215 BILLION in bailout cash from the Feds. Un-effing-believable.

NPR Waving (goodbye to) a Magic Juan...

As Bill Kristol calls 'em, "National Politically-correct Radio... unfair, unbalanced and afraid," NPR fired liberal Fox News commentator Juan Williams for making statements backing up Bill O'Reilly regarding Muslims and 9/11.

As Bernie Goldberg states:

"So Juan Williams is fired for saying something the liberals at NPR find controversial?... One more piece of evidence that liberals have forgotten how to be liberal."...

"These are the kind of people who brag about how open-minded they are -- as long as you agree with them. And here's the dirty little secret: lots and lots of liberals feel the same way Juan does when they get on an airplane. And a lot of those liberals work at NPR. Juan's 'crime' was saying it out loud."

BofA refiles, and plans to restart the FORE process...

Bank of America re-files 102,000 foreclosure applications in 23 states that require a judge/court review, and plans to restart the foreclosure process again. the other 27 states will also slowly begin again as each of those states has it's own unique process to follow. This will also open up the foreclosures of new homes that are "under water," and add to the foreclosure glut.

FORE-GONE CONCLUSION...

September foreclosures hit an all-time one-month high, going over 100k for the month:

Banks foreclosed on 102,134 properties in September, the first single month above the century mark, RealtyTrac said. There were 347,420 total foreclosure filings in September, 3 percent higher than August and 1 percent higher than a year earlier...

For the quarter, there were 930,437 foreclosure filings, an increase of 4 percent over the prior three months... The firm said foreclosures could spike after a brief lull if lenders are able to quickly resolve the paperwork questions.

"However, if the documentation issue cannot be quickly resolved and expands to more lenders we could see a chilling effect on the overall housing market as sales of pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties, which account for nearly one-third of all sales, dry up and the shadow inventory of distressed properties grows - causing more uncertainty about home prices," [James] Saccacio said.

So, we had as many foreclosures in just one month last month as we had in ALL of 2005.

Meanwhile, remember those TARP contracts to FannieMae and FreddieMac???

The Treasury Department has relied heavily on private companies and troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to manage the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, a report released on Thursday said.

The report by the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), said that the $437 million in Treasury contracts to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and private companies to manage critical aspects of the bailout program raised a number of concerns about public oversight and conflicts of interest.

4.4 + 4.8 + ? = ...

From the AP:

More people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the first rise in three weeks and evidence that companies are reluctant to hire in a slow economy.

Initial claims for unemployment aid rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 462,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was only the second rise in two months.

Jobless claims have been stuck near 450,000 all year. Few employers see much reason to create many jobs, and some are still laying off workers.

Seems the AP can't add:

The number of people continuing to receive benefits fell by 112,000 to just under 4.4 million, the department said. But that doesn't include several million people who are receiving benefits under extended programs approved by Congress.

The number of people on extended benefits dropped by about 340,000 to about 4.8 million in the week ending Sept. 25, the latest data available. All told, about 8.6 million people received unemployment aid that week.

Ummm... 4.4 + 4.8 = 9.2 million, not 8.6.

So, add the 9.2 million to the many more people who are no longer receiving benefits, yet are still unemployed. Add to that those who are under-employed (part-timers who would much prefer to be working full-time but can't, and those who have received cuts in pay that diminish their income and savings/buying power). And what do you get?

Via Hot Air, this article/analysis will give you a clue:

...the U6 unemployment rate, which includes the unemployed, those marginally attached to the labor force (discouraged), and those working part time for economic reasons, at 17.1%. That is the highest point over the past year, and probably since the Great Depression...

...the average recession since World War II has been 10 months, with the longest previously being 16 months. The recession began in December, 2007, 34 months ago by now...

Based on the long standing history and rhythms of the American economy, we should have had a booming recovery by now. Even more so, since the deeper the recession the stronger the recovery. Real economic growth in the first 4 quarters of Reagan's recovery from the deep 1981-82 recession was a whopping 7.7%. Even the recovery under President Ford from the deep 1973-74 recession sported real economic growth of 6.2%.

But under President Obama we are already in another downward spiral, with real growth falling from 5% in the fourth quarter of 2009, to 3.7% in the first quarter of this year, to 1.7% in the second quarter.

Thomas Sowell, in the article, is quoted as stating:

No president of the United States can create either a budget deficit or a budget surplus. All spending bills originate in the House of Representatives, and all taxes are voted into law by Congress. Democrats controlled both houses of Congress before Barack Obama became President. The deficit he inherited was created by the Congressional Democrats, including Sen. Barack Obama, who did absolutely nothing to oppose the runaway spending. He was one of the biggest spenders.

*sigh*

Remember, mid-term elections are less than 3 weeks away.

FORE!!!

Even though BofA and other banks are temporarily halting foreclosures while they double-check their paperwork for "mistakes", foreclosures are up. And they're gonna get worse.

If you think the U.S. housing market is in bad shape now, prepare yourself for the "tsunami" that's coming. That's what at least one financial expert is saying.

Charles Brown of CB3 Financial says that instead of selling foreclosed homes, banks have been hanging onto them, waiting for the economy to improve. "These banks that have all this pent-up inventory will unleash it on the market, as soon as they see a minor uptick in real estate prices," Brown said, which will, in turn, reduce housing prices even further.

Experts agree that we have not hit rock bottom yet. People are still losing their jobs. Homes are going into foreclosure at a rate of 120,000 a month. Many who feared foreclosure in their future say they tried to work with the banks for "loan modification" -- but they "were denied or given the runaround," Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said. The banks weren't working with people so they made the problem worse. "Servicers are famous for delay tactics...like claiming the fax machine was out of paper," he said.

I kept telling you people about this.

Bankruptcies are also up, as well.

And so is unemployment (via Gallup).

Meanwhile, "The One" is mulling over another stealth bailout bill.

End of Month Wrap-up...

(The first two stories via The Daily Eudemon)

Thomas Sowell speaks on Gold and Governments.

Barron's reports on world governments and currency devaluations. (with an eerie look back at the Great Depression...)

Hot Air reports that 2Q GDP was "re-adjusted" down significantly. (hmmm...)

California's unemployment now up to 12.4%.

And home foreclosures are up 25% for the year. (tick-tick-tick...)

Nine Years Later (9/11)...

Michele Malkin on the "Monumental Shame" nine years after the worst attack on American soil.

Gateway posts about another dry-run in Amsterdam.

The One takes AZ to the woodshed at the United Nations. (WTF?)

Meanwhile, back at the Ground Zero mosque... we have the imam saying it's not hallowed ground. And we have his biz partner being a 9/11 "truther".

And here's a list of the 10 worst terrorist attacks since 9/11.

8/28 D.C. Rally...

Via Gateway Pundit, the 8/28 Rally in Washington D.C. gathered between 300,000-500,000 people.

Next up? The 9/12 Rally in St Louis.

Comparing 8/28/10 Rally to the 1/20/08 inauguration.

Q2 Economy Re-adjusted Downward From 2.4 to 1.6 percent

It just gets better and better, doesn't it?

The economy turns out to be weaker than we thought, and the outlook for the rest of the year is now looking dimmer.

New figures issued Friday show the economy struggled this spring, growing at a meager 1.6 percent annual pace. The initial estimate was 2.4 percent, and even that was anemic. Analysts say the summer should be disappointing, too.

Shortly after the government's revision, Federal reserve chief Ben Bernanke said the Fed was ready to take additional steps to prevent a second recession, if the economy deteriorates further. But he stopped short of promising any action.

The Fed "will do all that it can to ensure continuation of the economic recovery," he said.

Umm.... okay... what?!... another "stimulus" bailout?... print more paper money?... drop interest rates close to zero like Japan did in the late 80s?... *sigh*

Dow Jones back under 10k...

The Dow Jows closed under 10,000 today.

More importantly as an indicator, the S&P 500 is inching towards going under 1,000. It's come close several times. And, if it does so and remains there, THAT could be a sign of bad things to come.

Three Biggies Leave the Golden State...

EBay (the on-line auction giant), EA Games (possibly the biggest PC computer game software company) and Adobe (makers of Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat PDF software) are all leaving California for a better business climate. Kinko's left in 2001 for Texas before being sold to Tennessee-based FedEx..

Housing Crash 2.0

I hate to say it, but... I told you so.

Per the AP today:

"Sales of previously occupied homes plunged last month to the lowest level in 15 years, despite the lowest mortgage rates in decades and bargain prices in many areas.

July's sales fell by more than 27 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. It was the largest monthly drop on records dating back to 1968, and sharp declines were recorded in all regions of the country.

The plunge in home sales also magnified fears about the broader economy.

"The housing market is undermining the already faltering wider economic recovery," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics. "With the increasingly inevitable double-dip in prices yet to come, things could yet get a lot worse."

Sales were particularly weak among homes in the lower- to mid-priced ranges. For example, in the Midwest, homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000 tumbled nearly 47 percent.

The weakness follows a strong spring, when now-expired government tax credits sparked sales, especially among first-time buyers of lower-priced homes.

The tax credits caused many of those buyers to speed up their home purchases. Sales have weakened since the credits expired on April 30.

As sales have slowed, the inventory of unsold homes on the market grew to nearly 4 million in July. That's a 12.5 month supply at the current sales pace, the highest level in more than a decade. It compares with a healthy level of about six months.

One reason the market is hurting is that buyers and sellers are in a standoff over prices. Many sellers are reluctant to lower their prices. And buyers are hesitating because they think home prices haven't bottomed out." [bold emphasis mine]

Thursday Headlines...

Obama bans the sale of collectable guns.

Soros bails out of the stock market.

Unemployment benefits rise "unexpectedly" to 11/09 levels.

The market's getting hammered again.

Families of the 9/11 victims think Pelosi has lost her marbles.

GWB is more popular than "The One" in democratic swing districts... by 6%.

The NRSC has a greatly effective ad.

"The One" Pi**es Off L.A. ... now THAT takes talent!

Ace reports.

As does Gateway.

Even Ray Bradbury (one of my all-time favorite writers) is not too keen on the current administration and big government.

Economy Update (surprise, surprise)...

Jobs market goes south as unemployment rises.

Mortgage rates hit another new low. But that doesn't do much for potential buyers.

U.S. trade gap is at a 20-year high.

U.S. dollar falls to a 15-year low against the yen.

The Fed tries to "fix" the economy by using cash from maturing mortgage bonds to buy more debt. (???)

Stock market (Dow & S&P) drops 3-4% over the last few days, and oil (which has been volatile) dropped from approx. $83 to $76 in a week.

UPDATE: Summer sales numbers are slumping compared to last year (which had a false boost with the "Cash For Clunkers" gimmick).

Ground Zero Mosque Updates...

Via Ace, NYC panel cleared the way for the 15-story mosque at Ground Zero.

Via HotAir, a muslim columnist says "yes" it is a provocation to have it built there.

A Canadian muslim wonders aloud why it would be built there (funny, but Mayor Bloomberg and The One don't question it at all).

Even muslim victims of 9/11 say it should be built somewhere else.

So, in the name of dialogue and tolerance, someone decided that a muslim gay bar should also be opened up right next door to the mosque. (Hah!)

Apparently, the mosque builders aren't too happy about that. (hehehe)

UPDATE: Gateway Pundit had this tidbit in June about the mosque's links to the Gaza flotilla.

Additional questionable funding here.

Also, guess what?! WE also are paying for it with our tax dollars! Niiiiiiiice.

My take on the whole thing... when a Jewish synagogue and a Catholic cathedral are built, protected and respected in Mecca... THEN we can have a mosque built at Ground Zero. (I ain't holdin' my breath for that to happen, though.)

Meanwhile............ the Obomination Administration removes the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations.

Hmmm... the November election's gonna be verrrrrrry interesting.

ObamaCare Made Easy in Graphics!

Yeah, right!

(via Polipundit)

Tea Party 2.0 update...

Via Gateway Pundit guest blogger John Burns (who previously posted a 3-part series) has a new post on the Tea Party movement.

The Mainstream Media’s Complicity & Lack of Objectivity

The JournoList Plot (via Ace & Hot Air).

In the first of a series on Journolist, Daily Caller reporter Jonathan Strong lays out a strategy plotted by Journolist members to kill the Jeremiah Wright story during the 2008 primaries — and to smear Barack Obama’s critics as racists.

Post 1.

Post 2.

"Presidential Assassination Program"???... it's NOT what you think!

Via Glenn Beck (and the NY Times, Salon, and MSNBC):

If I told you that the president had a list of people that he could assassinate and it was a list of people that were on the battlefield and off the battlefield, your friends wouldn't believe me. If I told you that these were American citizens, that the president who campaigned against scooping Arabs off the street without due process had a list of people that he deemed a danger and a terrorist threat, American citizens that without due process would be assassinated, your friends wouldn't believe me.

The two transcripts are here and here. Read them!!!

Housing Hits...

Housing continues to take a hit as AP announces that foreclosures will hit the 1 million mark before the end of the year.

More than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year, as lenders work their way through a huge backlog of borrowers who have fallen behind on their loans.

Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year, a rate that is on track to eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service.

"That would be unprecedented," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

By comparison, lenders have historically taken over about 100,000 homes a year, Sharga said.

Hot Air also links to the story that mortgage applications are now at a 13-year low.

Hump Day Hit Parade...

Retail Sales dropped 0.5% in June.

The Fed Reserve catches the "unexpectedly" disease. The Feds also have a weaker view of growth and employment.

CBS & NBC refuse to air an ad opposing the 13-story Ground Zero mosque being built (scheduled to open on 9/11/11)!!!

But NASA has a new mission... yes, a new reason for existing! Krauthammer goes berserk about it.

Supposed myths of home ownership.

UPDATED:

A great article on razor blades:

New razors have been fodder for parody for more than a quarter century. In 1975, the inaugural episode of "Saturday Night Live" included a mock commercial for a three-blade razor with the slogan, "Because you'll believe anything."

The introduction of Gillette's Fusion razor, kept secret until its debut in 2005, was eerily predicted the year before by the satirical Onion newspaper, which ran a fake memo from a shaving executive bragging about besting a competitor's four-blade razor by making one with five...

The companies know they're pushing the bounds of credulity. "When we talk to guys, we hear them say, 'It's all a bunch of hype,'" says Gillette spokesman Damon Jones. "Our strategy was to tackle the skeptics head on," giving away hundreds of thousands of free ProGlide razors around the launch last month.

"As we enter into any innovation, obviously there's a level of skepticism," says Dan Kinton, senior brand manager for Schick's Hydro...

Brian Crowell says he has driven up to 20 miles to find a store that stocks two-bladed Gillette Good News disposable razors, introduced in 1976.

"If these disappear one day, I will be devastated," says Mr. Crowell, a 44-year-old professional golfer in Bedford Hills, N.Y.

He, too, keeps a stash at home. But he keeps it secret, lest his wife or daughters snag one. "I'm uncomfortable revealing my hiding spot," he says...

Mr. Myers says it best:

Mr. Meyers is considering investing in a supply of Gillette's two-blade Sensor Excel, introduced in the U.S. in 1994, which he used years ago. "Frankly, that gives a beautiful shave," he says.

It's the only blade I've used these last 16 years, and the price you have to pay for them is ridiculous.

Movin' on up... to the east-... uhh, southwest side...

Been out of commission internet-wise for the past week as my fiance and I were in the process of moving to a new condo rental (approx. 8 miles from my previous residence). Brought back memories of 16 years ago when I moved from Philly to the west coast. Also reminded me how much of a pain in the a** it is to move. Would prefer to move only one more time... when Cindy and I are finally able to buy our own place. That's it! No more! My brain and body can't take it. LOL :-)

Tea Party Update (Part III)

Gateway Pundit finally posted the final part in their 3-part series on the Tea Party Movement.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

And Part 3 is here.

Unexpectedly...

AP news story here:

Stocks began the third quarter with more selling after disappointing reports on jobs, housing and manufacturing deepened concerns about the economy... The government said initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 13,000 last week to 472,000. Economists had forecast a drop. The report comes a day after payroll company ADP said private employers didn't ramp up hiring as much as expected last month.

Jobs & Market...

Via HotAir, the June jobs report shows only 17,000 jobs created in the private sector. All those other jobs were mostly temporary government jobs for the census.

Meanwhile, how's that stock market doing after today???

Mmm-hmm...

Kagan Update...

So, Kagan pushed for partial-birth abortion here and here.

Her controversial stance on the Commerce Clause here.

Her position on the 9/11 case here.

And, of course, yesterday's info re: her book-banning support here.

*sigh*

Tuesday Roundup...

Consumer confidence takes a tumble...

U.S. consumer confidence was rocked in June as Americans fretted about the weak jobs picture and more turbulence in the financial markets, a new report showed on Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped to 52.9 in June, sharply below a reading of 62.7 in May and not even close to the 62.8 reading economists had forecasted. The 9.8 point drop in June marked the steepest decline since February.

Which makes the entire market tumble (early this morning all 30 Dow stocks and all but one S&P stock was down)...

Interest rates fall... again...

A darkening view of the economy sent bond market interest rates to their lowest level in 14 months and kept many investors out of the stock market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, considered a benchmark because it's used to set rates on consumer loans including mortgages, fell to 3.03 percent Monday, its lowest point since late April 2009.

Santelli goes off again...

"... government needs to, “Stop spending! Stop spending! Stop spending!”

The AP tries to put lipstick on the housing market pig...

Home prices in April rose for the first time in seven months as government tax credits bolstered the housing market. But the rebound may be short-lived now that the incentives have expired [ummm, yeah, 'cause it expired on April 30].

Kinda tough to do when this info is out there, too.

And how's ol' Obama doing with that oil spill mess in the Gulf of Mexico, anyways???...

Meanwhile, as of just last year Kagan seems to have had no problem having a law banning books. Yeah, I'd love to have someone like that on the U.S. Supreme Court.

*sigh*

Ventura County Income Requirements...

From today's Ventura County Star:

A family of four in Ventura County that includes two young children and two working adults needs an income of $82,231 just “to achieve a modest standard of living without assistance from public programs,” a report released Thursday concludes.

That amount exceeds the countywide median household income of $76,190, which means more than half of county families make less than that.

The study, called “Making Ends Meet,” was prepared by the nonpartisan California Budget Project, a group that advocates for government policies that assist low- and middle-income workers.

The minimum amount needed for a single adult in the county to live modestly was pegged at $34,764, which translates to an hourly wage of $16.71 for a full-time worker...

“It’s a reality check on what it costs to support a family in California, allowing only for the basics,” said researcher Alissa Anderson. “They need well into the range of what’s considered middle-income to make ends meet.”

The amounts, broken down for each county in California, were calculated using government and private industry data that detail median rents, child-care rates, health insurance premiums, taxes and costs for food and transportation.

After all those expenses are met, the hypothetical family of four with an $82,231 income would have $479 per month left over for “miscellaneous” items, including saving for retirement or college expenses.

Uhh... hmm... oooookay... that doesn't make me feel to good (not that I didn't already intuitively know this).