landscape prism from George Toledo on Vimeo.
Bond Yield: closed @ 3.38% today.
Bond Yield: Down to 3.41% @ 9:07 am
Still negotiating on the extension of the homebuyer’s tax credit:
What’s on the table now:
There appears to be a compromise deal that falls between the most and least generous proposals that have been put forth so far.
“There is bipartisan compromise to extend the credit through spring and expand it to existing homeowners who are stepping up to a different home,” financial policy analyst Jaret Seiberg wrote in a research note for Concept Capital’s Research Group. Read on…
Time from Paul Michna on Vimeo.
Week 5, October 2009
In the article in the link below the current debate over how to deal with the current “too big to fail” challenge in banking is discussed with competing arguments between FDIC Chairperson, Sheila Bair, and Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geitner. Ms. Bair supports creating a “resolution fund” that is dedicated to handling the potential crash and burn hazards of firms with assets totaling over $10 billion. The fund would be fed by assessments on those large firms up front, where if a firm does go down there has already been some contribution by that firm to handle its own demise— rather than leaving the clean-up costs to the remaining solvent firms to pay. Geitner counters that the “moral hazard” is that such a fund ostensibly creates an insurance fund that may encourage more risky behavior by these big firms who are perpetually trying to please their shareholders. He believes if shareholders believe the government will step in to save them when a firm collapses it causes another problem of its own. It’s definitely an interesting debate, and one that is described in a post earlier this week from The Baseline Scenario as commensurate with “…natural monopolies, to be treated as public utilities.” Currently we have four mega-banks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Citi who are the poster children for this “too big to fail” situation. The consolidation of banks into these four has lead to serious calls to break them up— ‘cause none of us likes to lose at Monopoly.
See here to learn more about these debates in the world of finance.
To contact me about financing your dream-home click here.
Weekend Wanderer’s Events
…finding the treasures in your town and beyond.
Two for This Weekend:
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein at The Paramount Theatre in Oakland: Friday night at this acclaimed art-deco theatre in downtown Oakland you can see this classic comedy to get your Halloween weekend started off right! Classic films are a regular favorite at the Paramount, as are many awesome concerts and other shows. I’ve been to some great ones there myself including recently a showing of the classic film Casablanca and a concert with Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal. Great place, great time! Click the link above for more info.
Haunted Halloween Ball at City Hall in San Francisco: With a probable continued absence of the Bay Bridge, the Civic Center BART would be your station exit for this Halloween night costume party at the beautifully restored City Hall Building in San Francisco. Multiple DJ’s and other performances including a dance number by the ladies of Desired Temptations will be on tap for the night. If you’re ready to get out and bust out, here’s a great one for you. Click the link for preparty discounted tickets.
Help Your Fellow Living Beings:
Out of the Closet Thrift Stores: Owned and operated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (“a global organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 100,000 people in 22 countries.”) this chain of thrift stores has locations in both southern and northern California and the support of The Magic Johnson Foundation. With locations in Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley these folks are sending 95% of every dollar you spend there towards their AIDS/HIV healthcare services. Click the link to check ‘em out.
Two Weekends from Now:
100 Year Anniversary of The Cliff House in San Francisco: High up on the cliffs above Ocean Beach in San Francisco you’ll find the latest iteration of The Cliff House, a San Francisco landmark for dining and entertainment now for 100 years. It’s current configuration has multiple levels and ranges in venues from café-style to well-heeled formal dining. Sweeping views of the ocean and the craggy shoreline are shared by all the dining spots, and it’s really something to see. Next Wednesday, they celebrate their 100 year anniversary. Click above for more info.
Pic of the Week… from my phone camera.
BB goofin’ in the studio…
Bond Yield: Up to 3.48% @ 8:28 am
Bond Yield: closed @ 3.41% today.
Market Watch is reporting that a deal has been hashed out on extending the first-time home buyer tax credit. Read on…
An $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers is set to expire at the end of November. Under a compromise reached by senators, the credit would be expanded to those who have lived in their home for five consecutive years, a Reid spokeswoman said.
Bay Bridge Alternatives, Ferry and BART schedules:
BART Schedule
East Bay Ferry Schedule
Bond Yield: Down to 3.41% @ 8:55 am
New home sales up, then down. September ends the trend. Read more…
U.S. sales of new homes unexpectedly fell in September for the first time since March, clouding what had been a sunny period for the beleaguered housing sector.
Hopefully we’ll be seeing some movement on the extension of this tax credit pretty soon. Continue to article…
A measure to extend the soon-to-expire $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers enjoys widespread support in the U.S. Senate, the chamber’s top Democrat and top Republican both said on Wednesday.
Bond Yield: closed at 3.45% today.
Bond Yield: Down to 3.51% @ 8:36 am
George Soros to invest $50M in a new think tank to study why greed, selfishness, and avarice are not reasonable pillars of an economic foundation? Read more…
The group, to be called the Institute of New Economic Thinking, will gather luminaries in the field of economics to reflect on the ideas that allowed the latest economic crisis to transpire and to bring new ideas to a profession that some argue has become too deeply entrenched in free-market ideology.
Home prices continue to climb. If you want to buy, better get to it soon. See article…
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in August for a third consecutive month, bolstering the case that an economic recovery is at hand.
Commenting to CNBC, this economist thinks the stock market is overvalued by 20%. See article here…
“It is overvalued by at least 20 percent,” Rosenberg, formerly chief economist at Merrill Lynch and now with Gluskin Sheff, said in a live interview. “But it comes down to what your view in corporate earnings (is) going to be. By the time you’re up 60 percent from any egregiously oversold low, you’ve already got the earnings recovery.”
Another admirable post in The Baseline Scenario. Read post…
“…if real market pressures aren’t ever going to apply—then it may be time to start thinking of large banks as natural monopolies, to be treated like regulated utilities.”
Bond Yield: closed @ 3.55% today.
Bond Yield: Up to 3.51% @ 9:31 am
We could see the first-time home buyer’s tax credit extended as early as by the end of this week. Continue reading…
Senate leaders are negotiating to extend and gradually reduce an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers through 2010, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said.
How about a seasoned economist who declares the stock market is 40% over-valued? Read on…
The U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is about 40 percent overvalued and headed for a drop as central banks pull back on securities purchases that pushed up asset prices, according to economist Andrew Smithers.
Record auction for U.S. Treasuries this week sends bond yield up and up. Continue to article…
Treasurys fell Monday as the U.S. government readies to sell a record $123 billion worth of debt this week.
The U.S. is selling $7 billion worth of 5-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS Monday. The government will also offer 2-, 5- and 7-year notes later this week.