For the third month in a row homebuilders indicated to the NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index survey that they were losing confidence in the housing market. As you can see on the chart below, after peaking in December and January at 47—still a recessionary number—homebuilder confidence as measured by the index has fallen in February, March and April. [expand title="Click here to read more."] While homebuilders are seeing demand for their homes, banks are—perhaps rightly so—worried about lending into the housing market today. NAHB Chairman Rick Judson said “Many builders are … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2013
What We’re Reading 4-12-13
A rundown of what we've been reading over the last week. Spanish Home Prices Plunge Most On Record, Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge Manhattan Apartment Rents Near Peak as Gains Accelerate, Oshrat Carmiel, Bloomberg Helmut Kohl: I acted like a dictator to bring in the euro, Jeevan Vasagar, The Telegraph Trust in Gold Not Bernanke as U.S. States Promote Bullion, Amanda J. Crawford, Bloomberg Housing Prices Are on a Tear, Thanks to the Fed, Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal Beware the Monthly Jobs-Report Chatter, Edward P. Lazear, The Wall Street Journal[/expand] … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Sam Zell: Stock Market Feels Like Housing in 2006
[expand title="Click here to read more."] [/expand] … [Read more...]
Stocks Hit New Highs: Bear Market on the Way?
Today stocks hit new all-time highs on the S&P 500. Happy days, right? Not so fast. Here’s what’s scary about the stock market’s recent climb to new highs and how it could all fall apart. [expand title="Click here to read more."] Take a look at the chart below. On it you’ll see the monthly growth rates for stock prices (the S&P 500 index) and margin debt (on the NYSE). Normally the two track one another pretty closely. But look what happened just before the last two recessions. Margin debt growth spiked, while price growth for stocks decelerated. Today we’re seeing a … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Disability Keeps Unemployment Rate Artificially Low
[expand title="Click here to read more."] April 10 (Bloomberg) -- In today's "Single Best Chart," Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu displays how the growing amount of disabled workers impacts the percentage of working age population not in the workforce. She speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance."[/expand] … [Read more...]
The Great Money Grab
You don’t want to partner with states. Your hard-earned money is too valuable. When states get in trouble, you—the investing class—are the ones they go to first with palms outstretched. That’s exactly what’s playing out in Stockton, California, as creditors (investors) are getting scalped while the pensions go untouched. [expand title="Click here to read more."] Pensions combine the two most destructive forces—money and politicians. Digging through the minutiae of a pension gives you a front-row seat to observe the destructive forces at work. Take Rhode Island, for example. It has … [Read more...]
Printing the Path to Prosperity
The Fed is engaged in an unbounded money-printing campaign at a rate of $85 billion per month, but they aren't the only money-printing bank in town. The European Central Bank has agreed to print an unlimited amount of money to buy any and all bonds from whichever euro-area country needs a bailout. The United Kingdom doesn't have a money printing campaign underway today, but it is on the verge of announcing one. And then there is the Bank of Japan, which recently doubled its inflation target and doubled the amount of money it is printing each month. [expand title="Click here to read more."] … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Are We Walking Into a Housing Bear Trap?
[expand title="Click here to read more."] April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Graham Fisher's Josh Rosner and Barclays' Barry Knapp discuss U.S. housing. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)[/expand] … [Read more...]
What We’re Reading 4-5-13
A rundown of what we’ve been reading over the last week. J.P. Morgan Strategist David Kelly Not a Big Fan of Fed Policy, Charlie Henneman, CFA Institute Surging Student-Loan Debt Is Crushing the System, Scott Cohn, CNBC Corporate-Tax Reform Without Tears, Robert Pozen, Wall Street Journal State-Wrecked: The Corruption of Capitalism in America, David A. Stockman, New York Times How the Fed fueled an explosion in subprime auto loans, Carrick Mollenkamp, Reuters Obama administration pushes banks to make home loans to people with weaker credit, Zachary A. Goldfarb, Washington … [Read more...]
Spectacular Stock Market Performance
You may have heard about the spectacular performance of our Retirement Compounder’s common stock program. The concept of investing in dividend paying stocks is simple. Yet execution is far from simple. If you want the power of compounding working for you, then it’s time you got on board. You don’t want to miss the boat. … [Read more...]