Dow Jones plummets 280 points!

[lance]

What is the Fed going to do now? Get a garden hose to put out a forest fire?
This is worrisome. Again.
http://www.dj.com/



Market Dispatches8/28/2007 6:00 PM ET
Weak confidence, Fed disappointment slam stocks

The Dow tumbles 280 points as consumer confidence weakens and traders fear the Fed may not cut interest rates. Home prices in the top 20 markets see their biggest quarterly decline in 20 years. Three financial giants get downgraded.


At the end of last week, with the Dow Jones industrials enjoying their best week since mid-April, it looked like calm was returning to the financial markets.

That idea was brutally overturned today as a big drop in consumer confidence, a report showing more housing weakness and a lack of commitment to an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve combined to send stocks sharply lower.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/070828markets.aspx

[yunowu]

Time to print more money to bail out those billionaire hedge fund managers !!!!:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

[AAD]

"What is the Fed going to do now?"

Pack up and run for the hills, this baby is going down...JK!:lmao:

[lance]

"What is the Fed going to do now?"

Pack up and run for the hills, this baby is going down...JK!:lmao:

I don't know but it is time for me to redeploy assets. Couple more nations dump their peg to the dollar and a mis-step by the Fed and we might have real problems. Wish I was just kidding. Always the alarmist, bout got kicked out of the family dinner for telling family this was coming awhile back, course that was 700 points ago. What do I know.
NADA I suppose see you when we go past 12,000 so fast it makes your eyeballs pop out.

Just found this after I posted my comment.
Persistent Fear Drives Stocks Down


Article Tools Sponsored By
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: August 29, 2007

The stock market plunged late in the afternoon yesterday, registering its biggest drop in three weeks as investors were hit by fresh worries over declining consumer confidence, falling house prices, shrinking profits on Wall Street and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve.

Stocks were down most of the day, but the biggest drop came in the last half-hour of trading as computerized trading programs, which automatically sell when stocks fall by predetermined percentages, amplified the gloomy mood that had prevailed from the start. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 280.28, or 2.1 percent, at 13,041.85. It was the steepest one-day decline in the Dow since Aug. 9, when it shed 387.18 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index and the Nasdaq composite were each down 2.4 percent, with all but 13 of the stocks in the S.& P. 500 down for the day.

Analysts said there appeared to be no specific catalyst for the decline. Rather, investors received a steady drumbeat of discouraging news about the intertwined woes of the housing industry, the mortgage market, hedge funds and a broader credit crunch that the Federal Reserve might have difficulty alleviating in the short run without creating longer-term problems for the economy.

“Concern about the credit issue is dominant across all the markets,” said John Shinn, a senior economist at Lehman Brothers. “Everything is dominated by concerns about the unknown.”

Two separate reports released yesterday showed that consumer confidence fell this month and that home prices nationwide continued their slide in June.

Later in the day, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Aug. 7 showed that policy makers were keenly aware of escalating distress in financial markets and discussed the possibility of taking action 10 days before the Fed reduced the interest rate at which banks can borrow from its discount window.

But the Fed minutes also highlighted the central bank’s reluctance to simply soothe investors in the stock market, and offered no additional clues about the likelihood of a broader, more important cut in the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate in the near future. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/29econ.html?ref=business

Fed's not going to do anything for now. Time to bail.

[Screaming Eagle]

The Dow was 10,400 Jan. 2007 and last month reached 14,000 last month. Now it has a adustment and drops to 13,000 and half the country goes nuts!!! The market is still up 2600 for the year 2007. It took almost fifty years from its inception to just to get to 2600. I supose hype makes good news.

[lance]

The Dow was 10,400 Jan. 2007 and last month reached 14,000 last month. Now it has a adustment and drops to 13,000 and half the country goes nuts!!! The market is still up 2600 for the year 2007. It took almost fifty years from its inception to just to get to 2600. I supose hype makes good news.

I sure hope you are right. Just see it different this time. Good luck.

[Midnight Tide]

Oh nooos, the sky is falling. Well hurry it up already - my knives are polished and me guns are clean - I am ready, are you?....LMFAO

[v1rotv2]

This is normal for a slow reacting Central Bank. Our CB is known for being very conservative and also does not want to be perceived as bailing out the market. They are waiting for a more visible indicator of overall economic decline before taking action that could be interpreted as saving the stock and bond markets. They will have it in Sept. Ops normal. For those that can remember Oct 87', this is a cake walk compared to that.

[RotaryRevn]

I sure hope you are right. Just see it different this time. Good luck.

Your absolutely right Lance, it is different this time, waaay different. It's just starting and it's gonna get baaaad!






Some housing bubble (http://www.thestreet.com/s/home-prices-show-record-drop/newsanalysis/realestate/10376692.html?puc=_googlen&?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA) news from Wall Street and Washington. The Street.com, “Housing prices across the U.S. fell 3.2% in the second quarter from a year earlier — the largest decline in at least 20 years, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. The even worse news is that this data measured price activity up until June, which was before the sharp reduction in mortgage lending this summer, stemming from the broader credit crunch.”
“The worst-performing market was Detroit, where prices fell 11% in one year. San Diego, Washington D.C., and Tampa, Fla., were the next biggest duds, with housing prices falling about 7% in each market.”
From Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a6Y16dKkuGys&refer=us). “‘The pullback in the U.S. residential real-estate market is showing no signs of slowing down,’ said Robert Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC and a professor at Yale University, said in a statement.”
“Shiller and Karl Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College, created the home-price index based on research from the 1980s. Shiller’s 2000 book ‘Irrational Exuberance’ predicted the stock market would slump and a second edition, published in 2005, said housing was in the midst of the biggest speculative boom in U.S. history.’”
The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118822185089209684.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news). “U.S. sales of existing homes fell slightly in July, but a surge in inventories set the stage for a steeper slump and sharper price declines in the months ahead. Sharply rising inventories are a sign of homeowners trying to sell their homes before prices tumble more, said Joseph Brusuelas, chief U.S. economist at consulting firm IDEAglobal.”
“‘There are going to be no happy endings here,’ he added. ‘It’s the last days of the old order.’”
From MarketWatch (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/carlyle-capital-fund-gets-second/story.aspx?guid=%7B3C885A8D%2D8A86%2D4A85%2D8EE2%2 D0D6CDE651267%7D&siteid=yhoof). “Shares of a $18 billion Dutch investment fund run by a Carlyle Group affiliate dropped Tuesday after it received its second bailout in a week, prompting an apology from its chief executive, and a warning that the current round of credit-market problems are worse than the problems that brought about the demise of Long-Term Capital Management nine years ago.”
“Carlyle Capital Corp. said it’s taking a loss of $30 million to $40 million after being forced to sell $900 million in assets.”
“John Stomber, CEO of the fund and Merrill Lynch’s former treasurer, said conditions are worse than in October 1998, when the Federal Reserve intervened to compel banks to bail out Long-Term Capital Management.”
‘’Unlike 1998, the market for AAA-rated U.S. agency floating-rate capped mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac was materially affected by recent events and the market for repurchase agreements secured by high-quality, agency-issued mortgage- backed securities experienced instability,’ Stomber told investors.”
“State Street (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/state-street-corp-reportedly-has/story.aspx?guid=A98480D3-B89C-42D2-B98F-3CDA2CE47DF7&dist=SecMostMailed) Corp. has exposure to $22 billion of asset-backed commercial paper conduits, the types of assets that have caused problems at European banks, according to a report Tuesday in The Times of London newspaper.”
“Separately, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday that an institutional bond fund managed by State Street’s investment arm lost about 37% of its value during the first three weeks of August amid credit market woes. The fund may be facing losses from investments in mortgage-related securities which were heightened by leverage, according to the report.”
From Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2824224920070828?sp=true). “CIT Group Inc on Tuesday said it has closed its mortgage lending operations. CEO Jeffrey Peek on a conference call that day said the mortgage business had a ‘problematic outlook’ and CIT was not willing to spend more to add scale and boost returns.”
The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701467.html). “For months, securities backed by risky mortgage loans have been in trouble. Now, the credit-rating agencies that once blessed those securities as safe investments are in trouble, too.”
“‘This is akin to a slow-moving train wreck,’ said Sean Egan, managing director of a rating firm, who has been a vocal critic of the three rating firms that dominate the field; Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.”
“Egan noted that the major rating agencies faced similar criticism when they maintained solid, investment-grade ratings until just weeks before WorldCom collapsed in 2002. ‘We’ve seen this movie before,’ he said.”
“‘The rating agencies themselves for a year were putting out warning signs…significant reports highlighting the risks, and yet they weren’t downgrading,’ said Joshua Rosner, managing director of a financial research firm for institutional investors. He said the raters, in effect, were ‘wearing blinders.’”
“Rosner said that part of the problem is that the raters were acutely aware of their power in the capital markets and hesitated to downgrade securities backed by subprime loans. ‘They were afraid their actions themselves could roil already weak markets,’ he said.”
“The other problem, he said, is that the big three credit raters are paid by the very firms they rate.”
“Tom Warrack, managing director in the Standard & Poor’s residential mortgage group, said, ‘We believe we acted at the appropriate time.’”
“Lawrence J. White, professor of economics at the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business, is not persuaded: ‘Give me a break,’ he said. ‘What really matters is the rating…and if they’re not willing to change the rating, talk is cheap.’”
“In response to the latest vitriol from investors and Wall Street analysts, the big three raters have moved in recent weeks to restore confidence in their work even as they maintain that they acted appropriately and on time.”
The Associated Press (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/28/ap4059650.html). “Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday it is reviewing IndyMac Bancorp Inc. and its thrift subsidiary IndyMac Bank FSB for a possible downgrade because of the company’s exposure to the troubled mortgage market.”
“‘It is unclear if inventory write-downs would be limited to one quarter,’ said Sean Jones, a senior VP at Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. ‘These potential write-downs, and the significant drop in residential mortgage loan origination and sales volumes, is likely to weigh on the thrift’s profitability for a few quarters.’”
“Credit rating (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/28/ap4059453.html) agency Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday it downgraded Fremont General Corp.’s senior debt rating, due to low capital levels and increased uncertainty that Fremont can meet its obligations.”
“‘Fremont…could be subject to a positive inflow of capital, or incremental asset write-downs which would put further pressure on its low capital levels,’ Moody’s Sean Jones said.”
“Lehman Brothers (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLZ64GSCBsF0&refer=home) Holdings Inc., Bear Stearns Cos. and Citigroup Inc. were downgraded (by) Merrill Lynch & Co. stock analyst Guy Moszkowski because of looming losses on mortgage bonds and leveraged loans, as well as a slowdown in investment banking.”
“Moszkowski, the top-ranked U.S. brokerage analyst in Institutional Investor magazine’s survey of money managers, said in a note to clients that New York-based Lehman and Bear Stearns will be hurt because of their dependence on debt markets.”
“The worldwide credit crunch triggered by rising defaults on U.S. subprime home loans has undermined some of Wall Street’s biggest moneymakers, including mortgage securitization.”
“‘There has been no good place to hide during the month of August, which must surely go on record as one of the industry’s most hair-raising ever,’ Moszkowski, said in the report written with Patrick Davitt and entitled ‘Differentiation Escalates.’”
“U.S. consumer (http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-08-28T145644Z_01_N28250719_RTRIDST_0_USA-ECONOMY-WRAPUP-1.XML) sentiment took its sharpest plunge in nearly two years during August while home prices swooned in the second quarter, according to reports that show the housing crisis taking its toll.”
“‘My guess is we’re heading for a consumer-led recession beginning in a few quarters,’ said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. ‘The consumption boom is over.’”
“While not all economists are convinced a recession is inevitable, most agree that the housing downturn will put a serious damper on spending as Americans feel poorer.”
From Marketplace (http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/08/27/PM200708271.html). “With 4.5 million unsold homes sitting on the market, could we be looking at a recession? Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to economists and takes a look into the markets. Stacey Vanek-Smith: ‘There are 4.5 million unsold homes sitting on the market, according to The National Association of Realtors.”
“David Lereah: ‘This is starting to look like a typical housing recession.’”
“Housing economist David Lereah says the real problem is that people can’t get the home loans they need. Lereah: ‘Too many homes and not enough buyers is basically what’s happening right now. There may be buyers out there, but they can’t obtain a mortgage.’”
“That doesn’t worry UCLA economist Edward Leamer. He says banks will adjust quickly and the loan market will loosen up. Leamer says what concerns him is that home sellers are holding out for the high prices of a few months ago.”
“Edward Leamer: ‘There’s sort of a stand-off between buyers and sellers.’ Leamer says that stand-off could increase the risk of a recession.”

[AAD]

I sure hope you are right. Just see it different this time. Good luck.

Ditto......

[lance]

Oh nooos, the sky is falling. Well hurry it up already - my knives are polished and me guns are clean - I am ready, are you?....LMFAO

Actually I am ready dumped all my stock after the family dinner and am sitting on 100% cash and looking at options. Who are you asking if their guns are clean? My guns are always clean! Could stand to pick up more ammo.

Cutting to the chase, as of September 15, 2003, here are the 10 most heavily shorted stocks when measured against their average daily volume. Today, we're considering those on Nasdaq with average daily volume topping 500,000 (we'll study lighter traded stocks another day).

10 Most Heavily Shorted Stocks
American Capital Strategies (Nasdaq: ACAS)
Identix Incorporated (Nasdaq: IDNX)
Greater Bay Bancorp (Nasdaq: GBBK)
Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE)
United GlobalCom (Nasdaq: UCOMA)
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND)
CheckFree Corp (Nasdaq: CKFR)
aaiPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: AAII)
Molex Corp (Nasdaq: MOLX)
Antigenics (Nasdaq: AGEN)
*All charts as of 9/15/03 and measure Nasdaq shares with daily trading volume topping 500,000.
Source: www.viwes.com

Never shorted a stock in my life, hummmm.

[williambedloe]

Looking for a link on this, but September historically has always been the worst month...usually the train picks back up in October through till April...my gut is that this will be a rough September...the wild card here to me is the housing market, which I think has not yet seen a full shakeout...this area has seen a boom in new housing communities going up, and now these properties are being left unsold - and others that have bought into these communities and are trying to sell are now competing with builders who can lower prices much farther than the homeowners can. Three years ago, any empty lot with trees was torn down and suddenly had three hundred housing units crammed in - with no local services to boot - just houses. It is going to get much worse before it gets better...

Hate to say it, but a successful terrorist attack now in the US might send us way south

[Screaming Eagle]

Market up 198 today.

[richsoon]

Market up 198 today.


Time to short the market, take your profits, and move on to bigger and better things. (The Bolsa looks very lucrative these days, esp against a losing dollar)

[RotaryRevn]

Time to short the market, take your profits, and move on to bigger and better things. (The Bolsa looks very lucrative these days, esp against a losing dollar)


Yup, it won't last long. This is a suckers market. We are headed for a recession.

[richsoon]

Yup, it won't last long. This is a suckers market. We are headed for a recession.


Go dinars, so I can invest in more "worldly" things, and not just currency.

[RotaryRevn]

The St Petersburg (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/26/news_pf/Business/Down__but_not_out___I.shtml) Times reports from Florida. “Liz Seither deftly juggles the two phones that never stop ringing in her kitchen. The Clearwater Realtor’s eyes are puffy below unkempt flaming orange hair. Seither invested in expensive Clearwater waterfront property at the peak of the recent boom. Lenders are after her for millions of dollars in debts.”
“After juggling 15 calls from debtors, creditors and clients, Seither lays the phones aside and delivers a pep talk to herself. ‘I’m not a real estate bum,’ the president of Executive Preferred Properties announces. ‘I wear diamonds, Rolexes and necklaces. I’m a classy Realtor.’”
“Clearwater Realtor Anthony Marottoli entered the real estate roulette game a bit late. Despite asking almost $700,000 less than his neighbor, Marottoli hasn’t found a buyer for his Mandalay condo. Doubling down, he’s on the hook for another pricey condo at the adjacent Sandpearl Resort for $1.38-million.”
“His real estate business is down to a dribble of employees, from a peak of 20. ‘I’ve been waiting a year and a half, waiting for something to happen. And it’s not happening,’ Marottoli says.”
“These days the waterfront runs red. Properties linger three times as long on the market as they did two years ago. Brokers like Seither and Marottoli have taken it doubly hard: They didn’t just represent buyers and sellers, they dabbled in the investment arena themselves.”
“The housing slump has left the market oversupplied with million-dollar homes relative to demand. Listings on Clearwater area beaches approach 1,000. Sales in July numbered 30. As new condo towers open, the glut grows.”
“Says Virgil Sweet, a 24-year Realtor in Belleair Bluffs: ‘People don’t know you have too many until you have too many.’”
The Tampa Tribune (http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBDTOV8X5F.html) from Florida. “Two years ago, when SkyPoint condominium was just a pile of dirt and a sophisticated plastic concept model, Ann Blank stood in line for hours to buy a one-bedroom unit for $241,000.”
“Blank made the decision based on what city planners and developers said downtown would become. By the time SkyPoint was finished, the city was supposed to be filling up with entertainment and services that haven’t materialized. Blank thought it would make a fine rental apartment for a few years, then she’d sell for a profit.”
“‘It was going to be great,’ said Blank, who is a real estate agent.”
“SkyPoint’s developers forged ahead and already plan two more developments, one of which is under construction. But the market tanked, and now Blank, who is asking $1,500 a month in rent for her approximately 800-square-foot condo, can’t find any takers. She blames the lack of services downtown.”
“Part of the reason for Blank’s trouble may be that many buyers had the same idea. There are 286 condominiums in 15 buildings in downtown Tampa listed for sale on the MLS. An additional 127 downtown condos are advertised for rent on craigslist.”
“Of three projects that are substantially complete, plus Trump Tower Tampa, which hasn’t broken ground, 180 of 1,046 units, or 17 percent, are listed for sale or rent.”
“Some buyers are bailing because they no longer can afford their investments. Blank said another agent in her office represented a buyer who walked away from two downtown condominiums he had contracts to purchase. He lost about $100,000 in down payments rather than risk foreclosure or bankruptcy, she said.”
“‘People are losing big money,’ she said. ‘It’s almost like a crash.’”
From WALB.com (http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=6990665) in Georgia. “As the housing market slumps, foreclosures are way up. Georgia has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation and some real estate agents are having a hard time getting people into homes.”
“For the past 18 years, people looking for a new home simply called real estate agent Edgar McConnell for help. Nowadays, things are different. ‘I have not had a good year,’ said McConnell.”
“It’s been a slow change. Calls have been reduced and fewer homes have been sold. ‘We have a lot of houses on the market,’ said McConnell.”
“On one street in Albany, we found three For Sale signs within a few feet of the other. They’ve all been up for a while. ‘It’s been slow. You don’t get calls. It just seems like there isn’t any interest in houses like it used to be,’ said McConnell.”
From the Sun News (http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/business/story/171510.html) in South Carolina. “Construction has slowed way down on the Grand Strand since last year, and slowed slightly since last quarter.”
‘”The building permit data certainly show that builders around the Grand Strand remain cautious - and with what seems to be a growing sense of uncertainty nationwide about the housing market - this caution is probably well-placed,’ said Don Schunk, research economist at Coastal Carolina University.”
“Permits in Horry County dropped to 167 for condos from 724 in the second quarter, according to a real estate research firm. Single family home permits are down to 891 from 1,533 and townhomes are down to 162 from 341.”
“Lot prices are dropping, a sign that the market is correcting itself and finding the bottom, analysts say. The median price of single-family lots in Horry County dropped 25 percent over last year’s second quarter. Lot prices went to $52,000 from $69,000 last year.”
“‘Lot [price] reduction is a good sign,’ said real estate analyst Carl Van Horn. The fact that land prices are now being affected means that the market is at least closer to the bottom, he said.”
“Craig Dierksheide, who sells land for Coldwell Banker Chicora, said he’s seeing price drops on land now, a reaction that took a while to happen after home prices dropped. ‘A lot of people I know wish they would have sold at the peak. A lot of people wish they hadn’t bought at the peak. That’s just the cycle,’ he said.”
“Large builders have dropped out of many of their major projects and put them on hold, Dierksheide said. ‘That’s created a lot of inventory for land,’ he said.”

[richsoon]

The St Petersburg (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/26/news_pf/Business/Down__but_not_out___I.shtml) Times reports from Florida. “Liz Seither deftly juggles the two phones that never stop ringing in her kitchen. The Clearwater Realtor’s eyes are puffy below unkempt flaming orange hair. Seither invested in expensive Clearwater waterfront property at the peak of the recent boom. Lenders are after her for millions of dollars in debts.”
“After juggling 15 calls from debtors, creditors and clients, Seither lays the phones aside and delivers a pep talk to herself. ‘I’m not a real estate bum,’ the president of Executive Preferred Properties announces. ‘I wear diamonds, Rolexes and necklaces. I’m a classy Realtor.’”
“Clearwater Realtor Anthony Marottoli entered the real estate roulette game a bit late. Despite asking almost $700,000 less than his neighbor, Marottoli hasn’t found a buyer for his Mandalay condo. Doubling down, he’s on the hook for another pricey condo at the adjacent Sandpearl Resort for $1.38-million.”
“His real estate business is down to a dribble of employees, from a peak of 20. ‘I’ve been waiting a year and a half, waiting for something to happen. And it’s not happening,’ Marottoli says.”
“These days the waterfront runs red. Properties linger three times as long on the market as they did two years ago. Brokers like Seither and Marottoli have taken it doubly hard: They didn’t just represent buyers and sellers, they dabbled in the investment arena themselves.”
“The housing slump has left the market oversupplied with million-dollar homes relative to demand. Listings on Clearwater area beaches approach 1,000. Sales in July numbered 30. As new condo towers open, the glut grows.”
“Says Virgil Sweet, a 24-year Realtor in Belleair Bluffs: ‘People don’t know you have too many until you have too many.’”
The Tampa Tribune (http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBDTOV8X5F.html) from Florida. “Two years ago, when SkyPoint condominium was just a pile of dirt and a sophisticated plastic concept model, Ann Blank stood in line for hours to buy a one-bedroom unit for $241,000.”
“Blank made the decision based on what city planners and developers said downtown would become. By the time SkyPoint was finished, the city was supposed to be filling up with entertainment and services that haven’t materialized. Blank thought it would make a fine rental apartment for a few years, then she’d sell for a profit.”
“‘It was going to be great,’ said Blank, who is a real estate agent.”
“SkyPoint’s developers forged ahead and already plan two more developments, one of which is under construction. But the market tanked, and now Blank, who is asking $1,500 a month in rent for her approximately 800-square-foot condo, can’t find any takers. She blames the lack of services downtown.”
“Part of the reason for Blank’s trouble may be that many buyers had the same idea. There are 286 condominiums in 15 buildings in downtown Tampa listed for sale on the MLS. An additional 127 downtown condos are advertised for rent on craigslist.”
“Of three projects that are substantially complete, plus Trump Tower Tampa, which hasn’t broken ground, 180 of 1,046 units, or 17 percent, are listed for sale or rent.”
“Some buyers are bailing because they no longer can afford their investments. Blank said another agent in her office represented a buyer who walked away from two downtown condominiums he had contracts to purchase. He lost about $100,000 in down payments rather than risk foreclosure or bankruptcy, she said.”
“‘People are losing big money,’ she said. ‘It’s almost like a crash.’”
From WALB.com (http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=6990665) in Georgia. “As the housing market slumps, foreclosures are way up. Georgia has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation and some real estate agents are having a hard time getting people into homes.”
“For the past 18 years, people looking for a new home simply called real estate agent Edgar McConnell for help. Nowadays, things are different. ‘I have not had a good year,’ said McConnell.”
“It’s been a slow change. Calls have been reduced and fewer homes have been sold. ‘We have a lot of houses on the market,’ said McConnell.”
“On one street in Albany, we found three For Sale signs within a few feet of the other. They’ve all been up for a while. ‘It’s been slow. You don’t get calls. It just seems like there isn’t any interest in houses like it used to be,’ said McConnell.”
From the Sun News (http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/business/story/171510.html) in South Carolina. “Construction has slowed way down on the Grand Strand since last year, and slowed slightly since last quarter.”
‘”The building permit data certainly show that builders around the Grand Strand remain cautious - and with what seems to be a growing sense of uncertainty nationwide about the housing market - this caution is probably well-placed,’ said Don Schunk, research economist at Coastal Carolina University.”
“Permits in Horry County dropped to 167 for condos from 724 in the second quarter, according to a real estate research firm. Single family home permits are down to 891 from 1,533 and townhomes are down to 162 from 341.”
“Lot prices are dropping, a sign that the market is correcting itself and finding the bottom, analysts say. The median price of single-family lots in Horry County dropped 25 percent over last year’s second quarter. Lot prices went to $52,000 from $69,000 last year.”
“‘Lot [price] reduction is a good sign,’ said real estate analyst Carl Van Horn. The fact that land prices are now being affected means that the market is at least closer to the bottom, he said.”
“Craig Dierksheide, who sells land for Coldwell Banker Chicora, said he’s seeing price drops on land now, a reaction that took a while to happen after home prices dropped. ‘A lot of people I know wish they would have sold at the peak. A lot of people wish they hadn’t bought at the peak. That’s just the cycle,’ he said.”
“Large builders have dropped out of many of their major projects and put them on hold, Dierksheide said. ‘That’s created a lot of inventory for land,’ he said.”


Clearly these are left-wing commie slanted liberal media lies!!! Where did you get this garbage?? CNN or something?? To prove this article wrong Im going to buy 3 of those condos in Tampa and Ill show you all that I can resell them in a month for a hugh profit. Can you believe this drivel??

Whoa? did you see those trails?? Check out my hand.. trippy huh?

[RotaryRevn]

The Shreveport Times (http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS01/708270318/1002/NEWS) reports on Virginia. “What some analysts are calling the worst housing sales slump in decades prompted U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery to hold onto his Washington, D.C.-area home until at least the spring. McCrery said Wednesday that he put the family’s house in McLean, Va., on the market in April but took down the for-sale sign two weeks ago.”
“‘We just had no idea the house wouldn’t sell,’ he said. ‘We lowered our price $50,000. That didn’t help. In Washington, it’s a little soft right now.’”
The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601083.html?hpid=sec-business). “Washington’s real estate industry, already pinched by a slowdown in residential construction, is bracing for further retrenchment after last week’s meltdown in the mortgage market.”
“In recent months, companies have begun cutting back in big ways and small. Collectively they are beginning to add up across the region. Economists estimate that the real estate industry accounts for 12 to 15 percent of the jobs in the Washington area.”
“At Key Title’s Arlington office, the number of closing documents it processes each month has dropped from 100 three years ago to 35, according to Jay Eskovitz, a settlement agent.”
“The title searching company that Eskovitz uses to research whether a property has liens against it went from two employees to one. The title surveyor, who draws dimensions of the property and home for settlement documents, has pulled out of residential property closings.”
“‘It doesn’t just stop with us but affects so many more people,’ Eskovitz said.”
“Gerardo Avila comes each morning to a site in south Arlington where day laborers gather. He has long seen a decline in the number of contractors and remodelers who come by to find workers. Two years ago, summer days were busy, and he was almost guaranteed a job. But at noon on a recent day, the site was teeming with day laborers unable to find work.”
“‘It’s been like this many days,’ Avila said.”
“‘I see the next year as being very slow, so I’m conserving cash for the future,’ said Roy Kilby, co-owner of K&P Builders in Bowie, (a) Prince George’s firm that reduced its staff.”
“Kilby has cut prices on his homes in subdivisions of Prince George’s and Charles counties. The new homes are built with luxury finishes, the kinds of bells and whistles people were demanding when credit was easy to come by and his sales offices were full of prospective buyers. Now that it’s become harder for home buyers to obtain loans, he’s stuck with expensive houses on expensive lots that he is struggling to sell.”
“‘We’re doing just about anything we can do to get people into a house, said Kilby, a 50-year veteran of the home-building business. ‘And these are people we would have told to take a hike last year or the year before last.’”
“The credit crunch (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801568_pf.html) has turned $417,000 into the magic number for home buyers shopping for mortgages. Caught in the middle are potential home buyers who are getting walloped by higher rates or shut out of the market.”
“Tammy Arbogast and her husband, Derrick Fouts, own a townhouse in Germantown. Now that they have two young children, they want a larger home and were planning to buy one nearby until jumbo rates shot up and pushed them to reconsider their options.”
“Instead of buying the home and then selling the townhouse, they hope to do the reverse. But even if they get the asking price for their townhouse, they may need a jumbo loan. To lessen the borrowing costs, they could make a larger down payment by dipping into their kids’ college savings, but they prefer not to.”
“‘We can just stay put in our townhouse,’ said Arbogast. ‘We’ll just wait it out.’”
“Doing so might mean passing up the house they’ve been eyeing, but that’s okay, said Fouts. ‘You can’t get attached to a house in this climate. It’s so easy to lose a house because of variables out of your control.’”
“The question now is how long the jumbo rates will stay this high, said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Core Logic. “If this lasts much longer, then people will begin to reevaluate what they can afford.”
The Gazette (http://www.gazette.net/stories/082907/busimlo205249_32356.shtml) from Maryland. “CBRE Realty Finance plans to revive the Monterey condo conversion at the former Pavilion apartments in Rockville. The conversion has been stalled since the company foreclosed on the project in May when the developer defaulted on its loan.”
“CBRE’s struggles with the Monterey and a second conversion project in Towson are a sign of how the condo collapse locally and nationally has begun to hurt lenders.”
“In May, the company foreclosed on the Monterey, a 434-unit condominium conversion project, and Rodgers Forge, a 508-unit condominium conversion project in Towson, after Triton Real Estate Partners, the Annapolis developer, defaulted on its debt payments.”
“Triton’s collapse was part of the popping of the region’s condo development bubble, which has seen almost 20,000 condominium units removed from the pipeline during the past 12 months, either by canceled conversions or shifts in new construction to rental units, according to an analysis of area condo trends by Delta Associates.”
The News Journal (http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/BUSINESS/708290332/1003) from Delaware. “After years of double-digit growth, the rise in farmland values in Delaware slowed last year in part due to a cooling-off of the housing market.”
“‘There are not a lot of deals getting done, and if you want to sell your land today you have to be prepared to be reasonable with the price,’ said Preston Schell, president of Ocean Atlantic Companies, a developer and builder based in Rehoboth Beach.”
“Schell said there still is a lot of interest in farmland for development, but some prices have dropped significantly, more than 50 percent. ‘Land that would have cost $45,000 to $50,000 an acre now we can buy for $15,000 to $20,000 an acre,’ Schell added.”
“‘When we see really good deals we are still out there buying,’ said Schell. ‘There are tons of buyers out there; the activity is stronger but the buyer is trigger-shy right now because prices may go down more.’”
The Daily Times (http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/DW09/70828064/-1/DW) from Delaware. “As in most parts of the country, the local real estate market has slowed down substantially in the last year, according to local realtors. ‘Depending on who you talk to or what paper you read, some people say we’re in for this for another year, some say five,’ said Rick Allamong, broker for Coldwell Banker in Bethany Beach.”
“‘The market has slowed dramatically from the pace we experienced two years ago,’ added Rick Meehan, a realtor and the mayor of Ocean City. Meehan, like most local realtors, says Americans are experiencing a buyer’s market. There’s a wealth of attractive properties to choose from and the sellers are willing to negotiate.”
“‘There’s never been a better time to buy,’ said Kathy Panco, another realtor. ‘Concessions are being made to make the transaction happen.’”
“It might be a buyer’s market, but that doesn’t mean that buyers are actually purchasing homes. There are currently 5,461 units on the market in Sussex County and 2,000 in Ocean City.”
“‘I think the jury is still out on what’s going to happen there,’ he said. ‘But we have a two-year supply of inventory and only about 30 percent of that will sell between now and next summer.’”
“In addition, many real estate agents say that vacation areas are usually the first to be hit by slowing sales, because they are not primary housing markets. ‘Resort areas are usually hit first,’ said realtor Ted Smith. ‘People don’t have to buy vacation homes.’”
“Most realtors remain optimistic in spite of the slow market. ‘Pretty soon people are going to be saying shoulda, coulda, woulda,’ Panco said.”
Business Week reports from (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8RA5EIO0.htm) New Jersey. “About 60 people huddle on the front lawn of the white bungalow with green shutters in Ocean Township, N.J. Many of them clutch bright yellow paper signs showing a bidder number. They hope to walk away with a house, winning a good deal at an auction.”
“Already, states that never hosted many housing auctions are seeing demand jump as home prices plunge and more borrowers find themselves trapped in unmanageable mortgages.”
“‘Until six months ago, we were only selling assets in California periodically, now we’re selling dozens and it could get into the hundreds,’ said Dean Williams, chief executive of (an) auction firm. ‘Same thing in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Virginia. Places where volume has been light has probably doubled since last year.’”
“Tricia Kelly, a local living with her parents, is hoping for a bargain. Even though the housing slump has stopped the sharp acceleration of home prices, Kelly still finds prices are too high for her in this town. ‘I’ve never been to one. If it’s going where I want, I might jump in,’ she says.”
“Lingering on the sidewalk, Tim Lane is curious to see what his old house will go for. He sold the house two-and-a-half years ago for $255,000 to the investor who lost it in foreclosure. ‘The guy tried to flip it for $379,000 a month later. Obviously, it didn’t work out,’ the electrician says with a chuckle.”
“The condo is first and Green rattles off the bids without a breath. The offers start to stall on the condo after its opening bid of $25,000, so Green tries to entice the crowd. ‘The last listing prices for this condo was $160,000,’ he says.”
“Hands shoot up and Tony Nardini, a mortgage broker, finally wins the condo for $75,000.”
“‘Now, here’s the one you have all come for,’ Green says, pointing to the quiet bungalow. Opening at $50,000, the bidding surges above $200,000. Kelly shakes her head as the price soars beyond her budget.”
“Finally, Antonio Pragosa’s offer of $283,000 ends the battle for the bungalow, and the West Long Branch, N.J., resident slips away shortly after signing the auction papers.”
“Nardini, who grabbed the condo for his parents, says: ‘That guy paid way too much. He let emotion take over as opposed to reality. At $200,000, it would have made sense.’”

[RotaryRevn]

The County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_6736910) reports from California. “Real-estate professionals know the drill: If the house won’t sell, slap a fresh coat of paint on the walls and plant fresh grass in the front yard. But with the housing market hitting the skids over the past few months, that’s just not good enough. ‘It doesn’t seem the buyers care about granite countertops,’ said (realtor) Tim Adams of. ‘The buyers are looking for deals.’”
“Agents throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties are making deals that just a couple of years ago, when the market was booming, would have been laughable.”
“Some of the home sellers Adams has worked with during the past year wound up dropping their asking prices as much as $30,000 to $100,000 before finding buyers.”
“San Bernardino-area Realtor Cheryl Ross thought $15,000 in upgrades would do the trick on a house she is trying to sell. But six months have passed since the property went on the market, and only one offer, for $70,000 less than the asking price, has been made on the home.”
“‘Why am I having a hard time selling it? Because the market is awful,’ she said. ‘Two or three years ago, I could’ve sold it in a couple of days.’”
“Josee Maclaughlin, a Realtor in Upland remembers when houses ‘were flying off the shelves’ a few years ago in places like San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont, Upland and Rancho Cucamonga. She said buyers are offering what seems like ridiculously low prices.”
“‘We just kind of laugh, because (buyers) really low-ball it,’ Maclaughlin said. ‘We’re talking about 30 to 40 grand below asking price.’”
The Daily Bulletin (http://www.dailybulletin.com/business/ci_6736152). “The news was worse for homeowners in the High Desert and the Inland Empire than anywhere else in California on Monday when the California Association of Realtors released its sales and price numbers for July 2007.”
“The median price of a home in the High Desert in July was $296,220, 11.1 percent less than a year ago. In addition, sales were off 50.1 percent from July 2006.”
“‘A lot of it is affordability and the subprime market,’ said economist Eduardo Martinez. ‘There is a big allotment of oversupply in those areas, and until demand increases, it’s not going to come down.’”
“‘The problem isn’t just that people who didn’t have 20 percent down payments financed 100 percent,’ he said. ‘Some of them borrowed more than they could afford to buy bigger houses. This situation has to sort itself out, and it could take quite a few months - if not years.’”
The Ventura County (http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/aug/28/skies-are-gloomy-for-housing-market/) Star. “Ventura County’s sales fell 17.8 percent in July from the same month a year ago, CAR reported Monday.”
“While inventory remains high, the pool of buyers is shrinking, said Tony Deleo, a real estate broker in Ventura. Most people who have contacted Deleo haven’t qualified for loans.”
“Many sellers are still unrealistic, believing that their homes can fetch the same prices the could two or three years ago, Deleo said. He estimates most of the houses on the market are 10 percent to 20 percent overpriced.”
“Naiveté among sellers is a real obstacle, he says. ‘You’re the messenger, and you’re the one getting shot,’ Deleo said.”
“‘This is a terrible time to sell,’ said Bill Watkins, executive director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project.”
“Still, Rose Vicente says she isn’t worried. She and her husband, Manny, put their Simi Valley home on the market about two months ago, with plans to move to Texas by the end of the year.”
“The Vicentes recently reduced the price of their five-bedroom, 1,834-square-foot house by $50,000 to $599,900. They’ve since had plenty of calls, but mostly from investors offering much less than the asking price. ‘We’re not about to give it away,’ Manny said. ‘The house is almost paid for.’”
The News Press (http://www.sanluisobispo.com/breakingnews/story/127192.html). “Home sales in Santa Barbara County contained both good news and bad news last month. Condos on the South Coast posted a median of $590,000 in July, which is 10 percent below a year ago. Lower prices for units on the market likely helped to boost sales.”
“‘The lowest (priced) segments of the market still have not reached their bottom. Although interest rates are remaining relatively stable, foreclosures are increasing, which will continue to have a negative effect on the entry-level housing market,’ said Dan Encell, director of the estates division for Prudential California Realty in Montecito.”
‘”July’s sales and prices did not show much change,’ said Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast. ‘We expect to see more of a reaction to the credit crunch when we get all of the August numbers.’”
“Up in the North County, home sales and prices were mostly in negative territory. Santa Maria and Lompoc also report the majority of foreclosures that have spiked steeply for the county this year.”
“The Lompoc Valley took the biggest hit last month, with sales dropping by 47 percent. Lompoc’s median price of $350,000 was down 13 percent from a year ago. For the year-to-date, Lompoc home sales were off by 19 percent, but the median was only about 6 percent lower, to $395,000.”
“In Santa Maria, sales dipped by 33 percent in July and the median was down by 12 percent to $389,000. For the year so far, Santa Maria’s sales were 21 percent lower and the median was $400,000, or 11 percent below a year ago.”
The San Francisco (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/27/MNGERN9IJ.DTL) Chronicle. “Celine Damonte and Warren Ganda are in contract to buy a five-bedroom house being built in Oakley, big enough to accommodate their entire brood. It will be ready in late October.”
“But before they can afford a new house, Damonte and Ganda need to sell their existing homes. Each already owns a three-bedroom home in Antioch, where there are 1,374 homes on the market, or 1 out of every 22 residences. At the current rate, it would take 21 months to sell all the homes in Antioch now on the market.”
“Her Realtor, Janice Spencer in Antioch, has marketed the house aggressively. Its $475,500 price (down from $495,500) is moderate for the area, especially considering that it has a pool. In seven weeks on the market, the house has been viewed by just one prospective buyer.”
“‘How can there be no buyers? None?’ Damonte asked. ‘It’s not even a buyer’s market; it’s a nobody market. We’re not flipping houses or trying to cash in. We just want to move on with our lives. We’re in a tough spot.’”
“Ganda, who lives a couple of miles away, said there are dozens of ‘For Sale’ signs in his immediate neighborhood, so he isn’t optimistic about the prospects for selling his house.”
“Earlier this year when they signed papers for their new, unbuilt home they assumed each of their homes would sell for about $510,000. That meant they could readily afford the $742,000 house. So far, they’ve put down $7,000 to hold it. But like most people, the rest of their money is tied up in their respective houses.”
“Pulte Homes, the developer, has been very understanding. ‘I called and asked, ‘Is it hopeless?’ Damonte said. ‘They said, ‘Oh, no, no, no, don’t run away.’”
“Pulte said it would accept a 15 percent down payment instead of 20 percent and is open to renegotiating once they get an offer on one of their houses, according to Damonte.”
The Press Democrat (http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070827/NEWS/708270330/1033/NEWS01). “About 400 people jammed into a Rohnert Park hotel ballroom Sunday for an auction of 22 Santa Rosa condominiums, and all had buyers in about one hour.”
“It was the first time in more than 10 years new homes had gone on the auction block in Sonoma County. This effort, by builder Centennial Homes of Novato, was an attempt to get something out of the current home sales slump.”
“All of the Chanate Village condos went well above their minimum bid, which was about 40 percent below the original asking price. But the successful buyers got them at about 15 to 20 percent lower than the asking price.”
“Dan Morgan, Centennial’s CEO, called the sale bittersweet. ‘I’m happy that all the units are sold,’ Morgan said. ‘I’m happy to see some people got some really good deals.’ But the project still lost money, he said.”
“Auctioneer Dean Cullum worked up a sweat by the end of the hour, started with $5,000 bid raises. ‘I got within a thousand dollars,’ said Kathleen Pozzi, who admitted she went beyond her maximum price. ‘I don’t know whether I’m depressed or relieved,’ she said afterward.”
“Buyers were escorted out of the ballroom to a nearby side room where they opened escrow. But most of the crowd, like the Reineckes, left via the front door. But Michael Reinecke and his wife weren’t deterred.”
“‘We’ll just wait for the market to get crappier,’ Reinecke said.”
The Record Searchlight (http://www.redding.com/news/2007/aug/28/housing-slump-continues/). “July home sales in Shasta County reached their lowest level in 12 years. DataQuick reported Monday that 169 homes closed escrow last month, the fewest since July 1995, when 165 homes sold, and down from 231 sales a year ago.”
“July was the fifth consecutive month the median sale price for all homes dropped on a year-over-year basis, DataQuick said.”
“Realtors and builders blame a glut of homes on the market and tighter loan underwriting requirements which has shrunk the pool of eligible buyers.”
“‘There’s still money available, but what it (stricter loan rules) will do is weed out some of the people with less-than-stellar credit,’ said Brad Garbutt, past president of the Shasta Association of Realtors, adding that even prime borrowers are getting scrutinized more.”
“The Shasta Association of Realtors reported 2,127 homes on the market Monday. The group reported 180 homes sold in July.”
“Greg Lloyd, incoming president of the Shasta Association of Realtors, said borrowers need to bring more income documentation to the table than they did a year ago.”
“‘During that refi and subprime craze, you could be a dead dog for four days and still get a loan,’ Lloyd said. ‘Now it’s coming back to where lenders want full or partially full documents before they make a loan.’”
“Michael Chord, regional vice president of Eagle Home Mortgage in Redding, said his industry has to re-educate the public on how to obtain a home loan. ‘For four or five years the industry did a great job of educating the public that you don’t need any money down, you don’t have to document your income,’ Chord said.”
“Rick Goates, a Redding real estate agent, said sellers need to realize they have competition. ‘The days are long gone of throwing a high number up on a home and hoping it sells,’ he noted.”
“Meanwhile, buyers can wait for prices to drop, but if they find the home they like, don’t be afraid to make an offer, Goates said. ‘What have you got to lose?’ Goates said. ‘It would be a shame to miss out… just to save a couple of thousand.’”

[yunowu]

Actually I am ready dumped all my stock after the family dinner and am sitting on 100% cash and looking at options. Who are you asking if their guns are clean? My guns are always clean! Could stand to pick up more ammo.

Cutting to the chase, as of September 15, 2003, here are the 10 most heavily shorted stocks when measured against their average daily volume. Today, we're considering those on Nasdaq with average daily volume topping 500,000 (we'll study lighter traded stocks another day).

10 Most Heavily Shorted Stocks
American Capital Strategies (Nasdaq: ACAS)
Identix Incorporated (Nasdaq: IDNX)
Greater Bay Bancorp (Nasdaq: GBBK)
Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE)
United GlobalCom (Nasdaq: UCOMA)
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND)
CheckFree Corp (Nasdaq: CKFR)
aaiPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: AAII)
Molex Corp (Nasdaq: MOLX)
Antigenics (Nasdaq: AGEN)
*All charts as of 9/15/03 and measure Nasdaq shares with daily trading volume topping 500,000.
Source: www.viwes.com (http://www.viwes.com)

Never shorted a stock in my life, hummmm.

Last time I shorted a stock was the time that Yahoo went to $ 450 about ten years ago !! Needless to say I lost a bundle !! I'll never do that again !! :wave: :wave: :wave:

[lance]

Nice rebound 13289.29

[onenomad]

Nice rebound 13289.29

I still think we are going to see a Hugh drop over Sept and Oct. I have a gut feeling we are going to hear from a major bank with problems over this sub prime fear. Added on top of the post I seen the other day about new regs that are going to hit the hedge funds hard its not a mix that is looking good (But man I cant wait to get in once it hits bottom as the markets over time always recover from these things:lmao: )