CLibertyC

It Isn’t All About the Benjamin (Bernanke)…

"While true that markets do at times move in tandem, that doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, it leaves out the most important part — that not every stock in the world is tied to America’s every sniff and sniffle. And true diversification means owning exposure to the companies singing from a variety of hymnals. Conventional wisdom holds that the West is the be all and end all of the global economy. Economic fright in the West, this warped theory holds, means an economic nightmare everywhere else. While there is a modicum of truth in that … it’s overblown and an excessively Western view of what’s really happening in the rest of the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt Isn’t All About the Benjamin (Bernanke)…

SF Bay Area House Sales Plunge in June (Month-over-Month AND Year-over-Year)

"What’s most alarming about this is that 'June' existing sales are actually from 'contracts and price decisions' made in April and May when rates were at HISTORIC LOWS. This tells me the market — underpinned for 18 months by investors and 'distressed supply' — was already exhausted before the historic rate 'surge'. Historic, artificially low rates for so long filled so much pent-up demand, pulled so much demand forward, and caused institutional investors to buy so much blindly that years of housing market activity was shoved through the eye of a needle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSF Bay Area House Sales Plunge in June (Month-over-Month AND Year-over-Year)

Which of Bernanke’s Statements Should We Believe?

"On one hand, he's giving precise numbers like 6.5% and 7% unemployment, and on the other hand, his message seems to be, 'Don't pay attention to those numbers too much. We're just going to play it by ear.' Kind of confusing, in my opinion. Does the Fed want the market to pay attention to those metrics or not? The answer is probably somewhere in between. Not a whole lot from his statements this time around, but we do have two things to closely keep our eye on now—near 7% unemployment and faltering real estate prices—as two key trigger points." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhich of Bernanke’s Statements Should We Believe?

Bill Bonner: Should Larry Summers replace Ben Bernanke?

"What sets Summers apart is his readiness to make mistakes on a colossal scale, with other people's money. But as far as we can see that gives him all the qualifications you need to be America's top banker. A high IQ moron is just what you need for this kind of work. You have to be smart enough to talk the talk, pretending that you know what you're talking about. But you have to be stupid enough to believe it. You must think you really can improve the financial decisions of 310 million people. And you have to be arrogant enough contradict all of them...putting your own asinine plans into action even though they will almost certainly bankrupt the entire nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Should Larry Summers replace Ben Bernanke?

Detroit Jail Fail

"A couple of months ago, I wrote about Detroit’s jail blunder and the potential work stoppage on the construction of the massive facility – on prime downtown property – that was over budget on all counts. Work on this addition to incarceration nation has finally stopped, and five developers have submitted bids to develop the area for … gasp, private development and city life enrichment for the people who live here. Dan Gilbert wants to develop not only the jail fail property, but also nearby detention center properties for the purpose of building a 'mixed-use retail, entertainment, residential and office development that would serve as a gateway to downtown from the east.'" Continue reading →

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Raw sewage makes summer swimming hazardous in New York

"The researchers tested ten locations on the river and found bacteria resistant to the most common antibiotic ampicillin 84 percent of the time. Campaigners say sewage is regularly dumped in the Hudson because treatment plans cannot cope with the volumes of waste water they have to deal with at times of heavy rain. City authorities are trying to address the problem by introducing porous pavements and by planting vegetation on rooftops to reduce run-off. The spread of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, has been blamed on the drugs being over prescribed for minor infections and their widespread use in livestock production." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRaw sewage makes summer swimming hazardous in New York

FAA tells Colorado residents not to shoot at drones or risk fines, jail time

"The Federal Aviation Administration responded negatively on Friday to a proposal by the Colorado town of Deer Tail to license hunters to shoot down drones. In a statement, it warned that anyone shooting at either a manner or unmanned aircraft 'could result in criminal or civil liability,' according to the Associated Press. In the proposal, the town would issue licenses — for a fee — to shoot at drones with shotguns and anyone who turns in a shot-down drone belonging to the United States government would be eligible for a $100 bounty (parts could net successful hunters $25). The drones cost around $18 million a piece." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFAA tells Colorado residents not to shoot at drones or risk fines, jail time

New York firefighter makes fake 911 calls to rob empty firehouses

"A New York firefighter is accused of making fake 911 calls to dispatch firefighters so he can raid the unmanned firehouses in Queens and Staten Island for money left behind, according to WNBC. Joseph Keene allegedly made three false 911 calls about made-up fires and is accused of nabbing more than $1,900 in cash during May and June. Keene made two false calls in which he reported smelling gas and a third which reported a sparking transformer. Keene is also charged with stealing $50 from a colleague’s locker at the Randall’s Island facility where he worked and stealing $100 from a Queens facility he sneaked into." Continue reading →

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Cop cuffs woman having diabetic attack because he thought she was drunk

"Revina Garcia reportedly got into an accident in which she slammed into a truck while having a diabetic episode and said she couldn’t open the door of the car. 'I just didn’t know how to open the door,' she told KOAT. A sheriff’s deputy removed the woman from the car, slammed her face down down on the pavement and left her there. Police finally picked her up and took her to the back of a police car, where they determined her blood sugar level was low and called paramedics to treat her. KOAT reported that Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia commented on the incident, 'In this case there was no resistance. We are looking at that very seriously.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop cuffs woman having diabetic attack because he thought she was drunk