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30 Comments
- uptown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Rates are unchanged.
- JosephTHogan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7No, its because conservatives don't want to pay for things they don't directly benefit from. People should use their own money to send their kids to school instead of being taxed to send other kids through school. I don't really care if you think this is selfish and wrong, the point is that it is stupid to point to something like "keeping people uneducated" as a motive when there is a much simpler explanation.
- doctorcaligari, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6In much of the country, the bubble is bursting. Many people in former hotspots are taking losses. If you are looking for a house, 2007 will be a good year for you.
However, if you are trying to sell in 2007, have a few beers before getting your house appraised. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7The federal reserve are bunch of theive bankers
- hodyoaten, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6I haven't noticed any inflation.... except for housing costs which are getting so absurd they're a joke. Come on, bubble.
- manicdvln, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"thieve bankers?" Isn't that redundant?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Eh, people have been claiming the burst is right around the corner for 3 years now. Something tells me it's not going to be quite as dramatic a price-shift as everyone is suggesting.
- Ragtime333, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This article is about beating expectations not about great levels of inflation
"Additionally, the core index -- excluding food and energy -- fell 0.4 percent, despite expectations for a 0.2 percent rise." That's great news for those of us you don't eat or drive!
For those of us in the real world:
"Last week, the Labor Department said the consumer price index (CPI) rose a modest 0.2 percent in August, with core prices also up 0.2 percent."
That means the stuff you buy everyday is 3.8 percent higher than in August 2005.
Source:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf - CurtHowland, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Inflation is an increase in the money supply.
The US mints and Federal Reserve are still printing money faster than it is retired through wear and tear, and the Fed.Gov continues to "borrow" vast sums of money, pumping it into circulation by mortgaging the future.
Inflation is still occurring. The "housing bubble" sucked up quite a bit of the inflated currency, but must burst as all such things do (see 1929). The dumping of dollars into China, Saudi Arabia and other trading partners continues, but the fact that the US is paying its bills with worthless paper will eventually occur to them.
I saw an article about what could happen if one of the oil producing countries decided to accept only silver and gold for their oil, no paper dollars. Wow! What an amazing bunch of waves a rock like that thrown into the monetary pool would be! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Yeah, i agree people are fickle. The fact that people change their minds about the leader of their country based on some minor fluxuations in the price of gas doesn't leave me with much faith in humanity, either; even when that change aligns them more closely with my own ideals.
There seem to be very few people who actually think long term. Everyone's either on one extreme or the other. - gmillerd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Iran on September 22nd may just keep him in the Whitehouse, state of emergency and all that stuff.
- spect3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3We aren't seeing any signs of a burst in Canada.
In fact, in Alberta, currently one of the strongest economies in the world, experienced an average 49% increase in home values in 12 months.
It seems a lot of people around here seem to WANT a housing "bubble burst", and salivate at notion of higher interest rates so that people loose their homes and have to walk away for cheap.
I don't understand this logic, the people that are buying houses now need the homes just as much as you do. If we need to blame someone, perhaps it's the real estate agents who make a killing off of persuading sellers to sell for more. - RubeusEsclair, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3So we pay for school ourselves, or become a socialist country...
- doctorcaligari, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@ Monolith2
You can't have a dramatic price shift. It's not like a $200k house will suddenly sell for $100k. Owners aren't going to take a bath like that (they probably would rent out that property rather than risk losing so much money).
The bubble is bursting gradually. People aren't getting close to asking price. For example, if a house sells at a loss in a neighborhood, then the selling price of the next house will come down. Then that house sells for lower, and so on and so forth. - Dextrose, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Don't worry -- that housing bubble BURST is a coming -- for sure!! The only people you'll hear claiming otherwise are the people who -- for now -- are on the up side of it, and anyone else with a monetary "interest" in housing/real estate.
Housing on both coasts at the moment -- is like you said -- a complete and utter joke!
I just moved to TX from SoCal and am closing on a brand new 2500+ sqft. house in a nice neighborhood next week. Cost in TX? Just over $200k. Cost for equivalent house in CA? $1mil+
Absurd is an understatement... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -11/+12Dropping oil prices, a booming economy, and bush's latest speaking tour have pretty much guaranteed a republican victory in the midterm elections, for better or worse.
- Dextrose, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@ doctorcaligari:
You're right -- in many "regular" scenarios -- it's not like a $200k house is suddenly going to be worth $100k.
But, there aren't many places left on either coast where you can find fairly priced houses -- whatever those prices may be.
Let's take for example a house in CA that is currently on the market for $800k and was ONLY worth a mere $350k 4 years ago -- these types of houses CAN and in some situations WILL -- be worth $600k, $500k, etc, overnight -- due to the speculative nature in which the prices were run up.
We ALL know these types of houses are not worth the $800k asking prices -- and to my knowledge -- there aren't too many _smart_ people out there buying those types of houses anymore. :)
It's only a matter of time. - Dextrose, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2The same was said pre-dot-bomb as well. These things take time to play out. Funny thing is though -- people NEVER learn!
The Fed preempted the recession that would occured post dot-bomb -- with rediculously low interest rates. Hence the current disaster -- the housing situation. He essentially shifted the credit bubble from one place to another.
Excpet this time -- with the current state of the economy -- there is no more room to hide. When housing comes crashing down -- there's not a thing the Fed will be able to do to help out this time (a la dot-bomb era). - serpentor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"It seems a lot of people around here seem to WANT a housing "bubble burst", and salivate at notion of higher interest rates so that people loose their homes and have to walk away for cheap."
You hit the nail on the head. There's a word for those types of people, RENTERS! hahaha, keep throwing all that money away in rent waiting for the bubble to burst :) - rdotson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Contrary to popular belief the Fed doesn't set interest rates, it merely responds to market pressures. The government finances a portion of its debts through borrowing (issuing bonds) and must consequently pay whatever the lowest bidder offers or default on its debts. See: "How Treasury Auctions Work" at:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/auctfund/work/work.htm - EdwardPrise, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@Monolith2
"a booming economy"
I think you must be confused; you probably meant "stagnant economy".
Look at the S&P 500 for the last couple of years:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5EGSPC&t=my
Return on stocks have been poor for all of the 2000s; that's hardly an indication for a booming economy. - spect3r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2In addition It's not the homeowners who can fix the problem, its the cities and the employers. Cities should be creating affordable housing schemes, and employers needs to ante up to start paying higher wages.
- nybble41, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You're partially correct, in that the interest rate on government bonds is independent of the average interest rate on e.g. home mortgages or corporate bonds, and the Fed can't arbitrarily dictate interest rates throughout the economy. However, the decision of whether to inflate or deflate the FRN currency is made with a particular interest rate target in mind: inflation to lower the rate below its natural level, deflation to raise it. In practice the Fed has most often worked to lower the interest rate by "printing money" (so to speak -- it's mostly electronic accounts at this point) to purchase government bonds. Thus, indirectly, the Fed can influence the general rate of interest through inflation; the only limit to its effectiveness in determining the interest rate is the risk of sparking hyperinflation by inflating too much for too long at once and thus exposing the scam for what it is.
- halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -11/+11@Monolith2
It's sad that a war based on false pretenses and rationalized a dozen different ways after the fact, a sovereign nation destroyed and a death toll higher than the 9/11 attacks is swept under the carpet because it costs $10 less to fill a tank of gas.
I'm on the verge of giving up on humanity. At the rate this nation is going, I might as well give up my ideals, give lip service to the Ultra Conservative agenda and start making a living pimping for the oil industry and national defense contractors.
Screw the planet, humanity is too damn dumb to get it's act together, so I might as well help cause the destruction. - halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7Well of COURSE rates aren't going to change for the next couple of months. If the rates say the same, it can be used by the Republicans to claim the economy is doing better.
It's all about politics people. Remember, most people are easily manipulated sheep, and the politicians are dong their best to keep it that way. Why do you think Conservatives often demonize "Higher Education"? It's not because of an overabundance of "liberal" professors. There are plenty of Conservative Colleges and Universities. It's because an educated populace is harder to manipulate through fear and irrational arguments. - dahat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Sadly yes... I’m not a religious person myself but please God, Allah, Buddha, Elohim, Yawh, Ben Bernanke... bring down the interest rates so that I’m paying slightly less of a hideous amount of interest on my student loans, see http://www.brendansstudentloans.com for more info.
Grrr, Digg is fubaring the href link. - CurtHowland, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"or become a socialist country..."
Too late. - manicdvln, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2higher wages means higher company costs which in turn creates higher retail prices. Hence, inflation risks.
- heyy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5i have a vault full of monopoly money saved up. an old man with a grey beard told me back in 88 that one day monopoly money will replace the dollar as our standard currency. i'm not worried
- doctorcaligari, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Well, if inflation keeps running rampant and the dollar falls any lower, our real dollars will probably be worth as much as Monopoly money.
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