Man, we've been at war so long that I had forgotten how fun it was to fire missiles at people.
I swear, every time I get to thinking that macro-economics are all poised to drive interest rates higher (which FYI they totally are) then some ridiculous, couldn’t-have-possibly-seen-it-coming thing happens to counter the obvious forces of nature at work.
Libya. Wonderful. I haven’t the foggiest idea as to why we suddenly decided to intervene on THIS particular country’s political uprising (definitely not the first case of human rights violations that the US or the UN has come across in recent history), but we did. So, despite the fact that a dozen other adjacent countries are going borderline bedlam, this one deserved about a cool billion in cruise missiles and No-Fly zone patrol. But what’s a billion in already-stressed military dollars between buddies, eh? The Iraq/Afghanistan troops can wear garbage bags over themselves instead of Kevlar vests. I hear it all works the same.
Take a second to really drink in how profoundly awful that last statement was.
And it’s extra sad when you consider that Al-Qaeda openly supports the Libyan rebels.
I literally got on a treadmill the day of the aforementioned be-missiling while CNN’s breaking news said that we’d fired 118 cruise missiles at last count. By the time I got off the treadmill, Fox News had breaking news that we’d fired 124 missiles to date. If I had run a full 10K, they probably would have blown Libya clear off the map. Thank God I am a terrible runner.
But you know what? I said “Okay, Middle Everywhere. Declare freedom and go nuts. At least I GET that.” Back to business as usual, right? Until GREAT GOOGLEY MOOGLEY Japan has gone from zero to Defcon 5 in record time. Earthquake + Tsunami + Radioactive Cataclysm = :-( <— Frowny face.
But seriously, if I had come at you a month ago and said that Mother Nature herself was going to per-sonally wreak unholy retribution on Japan and THAT is why mortgage rates would stay below 5%, you would probably have Baker Acted me for insanity. Unfortunately, I would have been dead-on.
And just for fun, Let’s check if is life slightly more sane within our borders. Is it? Noooooope.
AIG is offering to buy back the mortgage-backed securities it sold to the Federal Reserve during panic times at a profit to the taxpayers in a bold move since the 2008 meltdown. This is funny, because tax-payers already own 92% of AIG (remember that bailout thingy?) So congrats! You’re selling some-thing to yourself at a profit! Party! Let’s all get wasted!
Seriously though, I’m going to release a newsletter focused on housing statistics here shortly (as in the next couple of days) but there was simply too much dumbness happening out there for me not to bathe in it one good time. Thanks for indulging me. You’re good people. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Everyone cool is going to be at the Wekiva Paint Out and now YOU CAN BE THERE TOO!!!
We’ll kick this one off with a blatant plug for the
Wekiva Paint Out!!!!!!
Yes, the next event I am working on is less than two weeks from now. It is on Friday 3/11/2011 from 6 to 9 PM over at the Wekiva Island (the same place I held the BBQ Battle last year). This Patron’s Gala will be showcasing local artists’ work in a fundraiser for the Wekiva Wilderness Trust whose purpose is the preservation and revitalization of the Wekiva River Basin.
Let me put it in simpler terms: $25.00 for all you can eat and all you can drink wine and beer. And it’s all going to help the environment. And EVERYONE loves the environment.
But seriously, I am counting on all of you coming out and joining me for this. A lot of people (myself included) have busted their tails in making this a premier event. There will be terrific networking and a good time had by all. Go to www.WekivaPaintOut.com and click in the top-right corner to buy tickets. Do it now. I am watching you.
Aaaaaaaand back to ranting about other stuff.
Anyone remember all that hullabaloo surrounding Egypt? Yeah, I don’t either. But LIBYA. That’s a story that’s got some pizzazz to it. Some crazy dictator waging war with hired mercenaries against his own people in a desperate attempt to maintain some shred of control over a revolting population?
I say we drop Arnold Schwarzenegger in the midst of it with a couple of chain guns and a camera crew and use the proceeds from the forthcoming movie to pay off our debt to China. Hasta la vista, Gaddafi.
But this tumult has gone a long way towards increasing the cost of oil, which is just super considering we are in the early stages of what is at best a tenuous economic recovery. Hopefully this aberration in fuel costs won’t last, but it has some economists worried about the inevitable negative effect on American consumers.
Treasury secretary Tim Geithner and his posse have proposed three strategies for winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the gargantuan governmentally sponsored version of Terri Schiavo if she was a mortgage securitization giant. I can’t say I blame them, as our banking system exploited the poor GSEs to near-death. The downside of this is that regardless of the choice they make, higher loan costs and larger down payments are unavoidable. So, if you’d like to get yourself into a home before rates AND loan costs go up, I would suggest you get the ol’ lead out.
Housing data lately has been like dating a drama queen. Terrific highs followed by terrific lows with no real semblance of logic connecting them. This is why I don’t beat you over the head with every positive headline that comes out. That would be one-sided and disingenuous of me to do so. It is the nature of a badly battered market in recovery. Aggregately speaking, home values are leveling out and rates are beginning to move upwards. You wanna talk about the nitty-gritty details? Give me a call and let’s schedule coffee. Chances are that it’s been too long since we’ve hung out anyway.
And seriously, go buy tickets to the Wekiva Paint Out. For every ticket you buy, an orphan gets an iPad and a puppy. Don’t ask how. Just go do it. For the orphans. And the environment.
Wekiva Paint Out!!!!!!
Yes, the next event I am working on is less than two weeks from now. It is on Friday 3/11/2011 from 6 to 9 PM over at the Wekiva Island (the same place I held the BBQ Battle last year). This Patron’s Gala will be showcasing local artists’ work in a fundraiser for the Wekiva Wilderness Trust whose purpose is the preservation and revitalization of the Wekiva River Basin.
Let me put it in simpler terms: $25.00 for all you can eat and all you can drink wine and beer. And it’s all going to help the environment. And EVERYONE loves the environment.
But seriously, I am counting on all of you coming out and joining me for this. A lot of people (myself included) have busted their tails in making this a premier event. There will be terrific networking and a good time had by all. Go to www.WekivaPaintOut.com and click in the top-right corner to buy tickets. Do it now. I am watching you.
Aaaaaaaand back to ranting about other stuff.
Anyone remember all that hullabaloo surrounding Egypt? Yeah, I don’t either. But LIBYA. That’s a story that’s got some pizzazz to it. Some crazy dictator waging war with hired mercenaries against his own people in a desperate attempt to maintain some shred of control over a revolting population?
I say we drop Arnold Schwarzenegger in the midst of it with a couple of chain guns and a camera crew and use the proceeds from the forthcoming movie to pay off our debt to China. Hasta la vista, Gaddafi.
But this tumult has gone a long way towards increasing the cost of oil, which is just super considering we are in the early stages of what is at best a tenuous economic recovery. Hopefully this aberration in fuel costs won’t last, but it has some economists worried about the inevitable negative effect on American consumers.
Treasury secretary Tim Geithner and his posse have proposed three strategies for winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the gargantuan governmentally sponsored version of Terri Schiavo if she was a mortgage securitization giant. I can’t say I blame them, as our banking system exploited the poor GSEs to near-death. The downside of this is that regardless of the choice they make, higher loan costs and larger down payments are unavoidable. So, if you’d like to get yourself into a home before rates AND loan costs go up, I would suggest you get the ol’ lead out.
Housing data lately has been like dating a drama queen. Terrific highs followed by terrific lows with no real semblance of logic connecting them. This is why I don’t beat you over the head with every positive headline that comes out. That would be one-sided and disingenuous of me to do so. It is the nature of a badly battered market in recovery. Aggregately speaking, home values are leveling out and rates are beginning to move upwards. You wanna talk about the nitty-gritty details? Give me a call and let’s schedule coffee. Chances are that it’s been too long since we’ve hung out anyway.
And seriously, go buy tickets to the Wekiva Paint Out. For every ticket you buy, an orphan gets an iPad and a puppy. Don’t ask how. Just go do it. For the orphans. And the environment.
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