I've decided it's time to write down stuff in the blog again. Mostly this is just for putting my own thought down at a certain moment in time and then I can go back and check it in the future when I want to know what happened in that time period.
I found checking this at different times in the past 4 years very informative.
Actually, looking back at some things are also quite distressing. It tells me how far we've sunk economically and financially in the past 4 years--starting from the beginning of 2008--and we're still sinking. Us in the USA and the whole rest of the world. There is more fear from the prophets of the 2008 crash that we're just setting ourselves up for another bigger one. when? The guesses are that it could be 6months or any number of years in the future.
when I read this kind of stuff--and I'm sure they're basically right--I just want to pound on my keyboard and shriek " WHen WHen WHen is this damn thing going to really happen?!" I don't expect an answer. I know there isn't one although I wish we could tget to the "bottom" of wherever we're going so I don't have to deal with that expectation anymore.
****************
I found extra curtains the right color for the second bedroom. At the JCpenny site; these will be the second pair of curtains to use in this bedroom. The first pair are just fine and usable but need to be washed often since my black cat like to sit in that window and rubs up against them all the time. I've been looking for a second pair to use in place when the first ones are pretty well "layered" with fur.
Waste Not: Cooked up the butternut squash and put the meat of the squash in the freezer for use when I want.
Gas Prices are up to $3.40-3.55 a regular gallon here.
Greece: More and more of Athens is being burned as the vicious bailout conditions continue. The Greeks would be so much better off without this bailout stuff; it'll be years and years of increasing grinding poverty and starvation and like no civilized human behavior if the bailout stuff goes on and one. the europeans enttities give the Greek government money and austerity orders; the Greek government hands the money right back in payment and the Greek economy tries more austerity and then there is less and less productivity and growth in the economy and more decimation of the Greek society. there must be a better way on their own!?
Shamba
Showing posts with label recession/depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recession/depression. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Abandoned neglected blog of Mine
Another neglected blog! Not neglected by all the others I used to read and have been ended for one reason or another, but another blog of MINE that just sort of ended. This is the third one! But it did have a specific purpose; to write down information about what I could do to "prepare" for major changes in the society I've lived in all my life.
I have still been cooking a lot still. I’ve added a couple of sauces to my regular repertoire of meal fixing; an easy pasta sauce and a curry sauce. I still have to look at the recipes but I’m getting better at them I also make a dozen whole wheat muffins on days, usually once a week or so, when I ‘m out of bread and don’t want to go to the store again too soon.
One reason I wanted to post is that prices of several things have been going up in the past year or so. Gasoline is going up again. We’re up to $3.48 this week for regular. We stayed between $3.00 and $3.30 for most of the past few months, since last summer.
When I started this blog, a one pound bag of lentils at my local Safeway was .70-.85 cents. Now, it is $1.89! A bag of lentils! Even beans and pnutt butter have increased in the past year or so. The peanut crop last summer was bad due to a drought in the southeast US and price for pnut butter went up around 50% around last October and November.
A loaf of bread, depending on the bread and the store, stays about $3.50 to $4.00 a loaf.
The store that was in easy walking distance of my house has closed. They didn’t go out of business; the owner didn’t want to renew the lease. A food store called Sunflowers is supposed to go in there but it won’t be up and running for a year. This is just a little inconvenient for me, but some of my neighbors really depended on the accessibility of that store.
I’m in my third year—2010, 2011 and now 2012—of having a CSA share. Our CSA can run all year round in Phoenix.
I’ve found that 3 neighbors and I are giving each other food. It’s just food that’s extra to the individual family and so they or I pass them on to someone in our small complex. It wasn’t intentional, it just developed! It started with me giving mustard greens to one neighbor and she gave me citrus and potatoes. She seems to be doing okay but I do have the feeling that one of these households could use some extra food. The person I give greens to is a pretty good cook and very often gives me part of a dish she has cooked CSA veggies with. It’s pretty good stuff. )
peace, Shamba
I have still been cooking a lot still. I’ve added a couple of sauces to my regular repertoire of meal fixing; an easy pasta sauce and a curry sauce. I still have to look at the recipes but I’m getting better at them I also make a dozen whole wheat muffins on days, usually once a week or so, when I ‘m out of bread and don’t want to go to the store again too soon.
One reason I wanted to post is that prices of several things have been going up in the past year or so. Gasoline is going up again. We’re up to $3.48 this week for regular. We stayed between $3.00 and $3.30 for most of the past few months, since last summer.
When I started this blog, a one pound bag of lentils at my local Safeway was .70-.85 cents. Now, it is $1.89! A bag of lentils! Even beans and pnutt butter have increased in the past year or so. The peanut crop last summer was bad due to a drought in the southeast US and price for pnut butter went up around 50% around last October and November.
A loaf of bread, depending on the bread and the store, stays about $3.50 to $4.00 a loaf.
The store that was in easy walking distance of my house has closed. They didn’t go out of business; the owner didn’t want to renew the lease. A food store called Sunflowers is supposed to go in there but it won’t be up and running for a year. This is just a little inconvenient for me, but some of my neighbors really depended on the accessibility of that store.
I’m in my third year—2010, 2011 and now 2012—of having a CSA share. Our CSA can run all year round in Phoenix.
I’ve found that 3 neighbors and I are giving each other food. It’s just food that’s extra to the individual family and so they or I pass them on to someone in our small complex. It wasn’t intentional, it just developed! It started with me giving mustard greens to one neighbor and she gave me citrus and potatoes. She seems to be doing okay but I do have the feeling that one of these households could use some extra food. The person I give greens to is a pretty good cook and very often gives me part of a dish she has cooked CSA veggies with. It’s pretty good stuff. )
peace, Shamba
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
the walls are moving in ... it seems
Seldom in my life have I felt so squeezed I couldn’t find money in my resources for normal/expected increases in daily life. But I feel some economic walls moving inward the past couple of weeks. It’s like I’m watching them actually move and it’s totally unnerving.
Mostly it’s because of many things, property taxes are one. They went up this year, that was expected, but more than I thought. And this is the time of year that my health insurance opens enrollment. This year there are no new plans but the same as last year although I could change plans if I wanted. I don’t want to change but the cost isn’t staying the same, it’s gone up by $40-50 (?) a month. I expected some kind of increase but that seems a lot at once!
As soon as the health care act passed this summer, I received a letter from the state retiree’s plans that warned us all that this would only increase costs including our premiums. I wasn’t really surprised but seeing the costs going up is anxiety provoking. Of course, the co pays will go up as well.
Fortunately, I don’t have lots of meds to take but I have a chunk of stainless steel in my right hip joint that I can’t go with uninsured. As temporary as it was, that year or so with a hip deteriorating saw me going more and more disabled and that’s a frightening feeling. The replaced hip was like a miracle to me postponing aging and disability for a lot more years! (Knocking on wood!) My hip is good is good but it may required revision someday, and my other hip is wearing a little more all the time and maybe I’ll need that replaced someday.
And I’m a few years away from Medicare, and what form will that take by then or not???
And there’s some increase in my taxes coming in 2011 that I have to talk to my accountant about before the end of this 2010.
What I'm personally afraid of is having to do without way beyond what I know how to do! And then doing without even more and more and more down the line.
Doing without can be relative depending on what your normal economic levels are. I've done without at times in my life, but they are nothing compared with what others have had to do without, like really no money for anything but food.
I've always been able to have the right kind of food and enough of it. I cut other things out of the budget at times but never had to worry about food. Whatever I cut out was a matter of time before things got better and I could spend on those things again. And maybe now there will be no better times for a long time or not in my lifetime?
just some serious thoughts today,
shamba
Mostly it’s because of many things, property taxes are one. They went up this year, that was expected, but more than I thought. And this is the time of year that my health insurance opens enrollment. This year there are no new plans but the same as last year although I could change plans if I wanted. I don’t want to change but the cost isn’t staying the same, it’s gone up by $40-50 (?) a month. I expected some kind of increase but that seems a lot at once!
As soon as the health care act passed this summer, I received a letter from the state retiree’s plans that warned us all that this would only increase costs including our premiums. I wasn’t really surprised but seeing the costs going up is anxiety provoking. Of course, the co pays will go up as well.
Fortunately, I don’t have lots of meds to take but I have a chunk of stainless steel in my right hip joint that I can’t go with uninsured. As temporary as it was, that year or so with a hip deteriorating saw me going more and more disabled and that’s a frightening feeling. The replaced hip was like a miracle to me postponing aging and disability for a lot more years! (Knocking on wood!) My hip is good is good but it may required revision someday, and my other hip is wearing a little more all the time and maybe I’ll need that replaced someday.
And I’m a few years away from Medicare, and what form will that take by then or not???
And there’s some increase in my taxes coming in 2011 that I have to talk to my accountant about before the end of this 2010.
What I'm personally afraid of is having to do without way beyond what I know how to do! And then doing without even more and more and more down the line.
Doing without can be relative depending on what your normal economic levels are. I've done without at times in my life, but they are nothing compared with what others have had to do without, like really no money for anything but food.
I've always been able to have the right kind of food and enough of it. I cut other things out of the budget at times but never had to worry about food. Whatever I cut out was a matter of time before things got better and I could spend on those things again. And maybe now there will be no better times for a long time or not in my lifetime?
just some serious thoughts today,
shamba
Friday, March 26, 2010
Catching up this week.
March 26,
We had our association HOA board meeting last night. It’s been very quiet around the place. We’ve had no major repairs to make since we replaced the damaged rafter holding up the front porch roofs. We have a substantial amount in our bank accounts! The increase in fees is helping us by us putting the increase away to take care of property insurance, which is what it was intended to do. For the foreseeable future, we’ll have a positive cash flow. We have some HOA dues delinquencies but not too many. Here hoping we don’t have any really big unexpected things come up like we did the whole new water line thing about two years ago. :0 We made major broken line repairs over and over and then finally had to redo the fresh water lines, those old pipes just wouldn’t hold together anymore.
Our units are generally worth about $50,000-55,000 these days. That’s just about the 50% decline in prices for the Phoenix area during the last two-three years. A couple of units have sold in the past two years. Our property managers said they’re beginning to see some properties move a little more than they did 6 months ago. They’re hopeful it will get better and one of our board members said we have to wait another couple of years for things to get better. He’s hopeful too, that things will increase in value. I think he’d like to get out of being a landlord himself here although he is a good landlord and good for us to have on the board.
I didn’t mention anything about the further deterioration of housing and any other market. We didn’t have time for those kinds of discussions and needed to get a lot of business done in our time allotted. One member had worked 12 days in a row and looked really kind of tired. He works for an airline, counter agent. Our property managers are good but they work regular hours and attend some board meetings during the week so they were ready to go home and forget work.
March 22,
Interesting, to say the least, point from Jim Puplava at www.financialsense.com this past Saturday, March 20, 2010. He has a weekly show that is available to listening on the website in a variety of formats. The topics and guests for each hour are listed at the website. I don’t listen to everything every week, but this past week I listened to the MP3 version of Hour 2 on the topic: “Turning Point: Change Ahead for Markets and Economy.” This part of the program was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. About 35-40 minutes into the program at the end of this Turning Point Segment Puplava says and I paraphrase I’m not direct quoting. As matter of fact I think he’s quoting a guest from the hour 1 of this date.
Everybody known a major financial crisis bigger than we’ve ever seen before is coming. What nobody knows, what nobody is smart enough to know, whether it’s 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or 2 years. Big money is preparing for this because everyone knows it is coming.
: (
Cheers,
We had our association HOA board meeting last night. It’s been very quiet around the place. We’ve had no major repairs to make since we replaced the damaged rafter holding up the front porch roofs. We have a substantial amount in our bank accounts! The increase in fees is helping us by us putting the increase away to take care of property insurance, which is what it was intended to do. For the foreseeable future, we’ll have a positive cash flow. We have some HOA dues delinquencies but not too many. Here hoping we don’t have any really big unexpected things come up like we did the whole new water line thing about two years ago. :0 We made major broken line repairs over and over and then finally had to redo the fresh water lines, those old pipes just wouldn’t hold together anymore.
Our units are generally worth about $50,000-55,000 these days. That’s just about the 50% decline in prices for the Phoenix area during the last two-three years. A couple of units have sold in the past two years. Our property managers said they’re beginning to see some properties move a little more than they did 6 months ago. They’re hopeful it will get better and one of our board members said we have to wait another couple of years for things to get better. He’s hopeful too, that things will increase in value. I think he’d like to get out of being a landlord himself here although he is a good landlord and good for us to have on the board.
I didn’t mention anything about the further deterioration of housing and any other market. We didn’t have time for those kinds of discussions and needed to get a lot of business done in our time allotted. One member had worked 12 days in a row and looked really kind of tired. He works for an airline, counter agent. Our property managers are good but they work regular hours and attend some board meetings during the week so they were ready to go home and forget work.
March 22,
Interesting, to say the least, point from Jim Puplava at www.financialsense.com this past Saturday, March 20, 2010. He has a weekly show that is available to listening on the website in a variety of formats. The topics and guests for each hour are listed at the website. I don’t listen to everything every week, but this past week I listened to the MP3 version of Hour 2 on the topic: “Turning Point: Change Ahead for Markets and Economy.” This part of the program was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. About 35-40 minutes into the program at the end of this Turning Point Segment Puplava says and I paraphrase I’m not direct quoting. As matter of fact I think he’s quoting a guest from the hour 1 of this date.
Everybody known a major financial crisis bigger than we’ve ever seen before is coming. What nobody knows, what nobody is smart enough to know, whether it’s 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or 2 years. Big money is preparing for this because everyone knows it is coming.
: (
Cheers,
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I wonder these things ....
I wonder … but I don’t expect anyone to really have the answers, I just wonder these things from time to time and they’ve been piling up in my head so here they are.
I wonder when or if we’ll start hearing the “D”epression word instead of the “R”ecession word or the “G”reater “R”ecession words …?
I wonder when we’ll have to watch all the local gas stations for which ones have gas to buy rather than watching which one has the best prices …
When will car dealerships, or any auto repair place, not have regular deliveries of the parts and stuff they need to repair cars?
Will they just say, “Come back tomorrow or a few days, we might/may have it then?”
I wonder when nail polish and nail polish remover won’t be so easily available …. I like polish and use it but I don’t have a clue what it’s made of, but something in it must be related to petroleum …
What about the elements of hair coloring and highlights that I get done by a good friend who has a local business …
When will there be fewer ball point pens—surely, their plastic and ink related to petroleum?
Will there ever be fewer kinds of cell phones to choose from?
Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes of Mega Pixels? When will we see fewer of those available in stores?
And how long will film keep existing and will they stop developing/processing it? There are still people using film out there and I’m one of them although I have a small digital camera as well.
What about flatscreens used for tvs and computer display screens?
When do all the elements that go into electronics start becoming scarcer? Recycling of electronic parts, that’ll be a bigger business than it is now . ..
Will the city of Phoenix ever tell residents they’ll HAVE to conserve water?
Not just “encouraging” conservation but really having to learn to handle water differently to conserve it …
When or will local governments in the USA encourage residents to use rain water and rain barrels to help provide water for themselves? This assumes that governments/utilities will still have a part in delivering water to communities … .
How long will professional sports teams keep traveling around the US when there’s a crunch on gasoline/jet fuel? (I’m thinking of the US here but other countries have the professional sports, too.)
Will the PGA, WPGA, NFL, NHL and NBA (I’m probably leaving some sport league out of this that I don’t know about) just have smaller geographic groupings of competing teams? Maybe individual sport franchises in certain cities will just fold and not exist?
University and college sports teams and their various tiers of competition? Will they just wither away over time?
Will all kinds of tv get less over time, whether it’s cable/satellite/broadcast? Time and energy will be too expensive or available for these to exist the way they do now? Just paid tv/internet for those who can afford it?
Will grocery stores or farmer's markets have signs in places where certain foods used to be like "Bananas/Certain meats sold out and no more expected for a month or so." Or "No more Pomegranates/Apples/Pears/Almonds/Walnuts, etc. until next year." Meaning, next year's harvest, our allotment of seasonal food is gone for the year.
it's hard to push thoughts like these away anymore in the last couple of years, on this blustery, squally day with bursts of moderate rains. Another storm!
Shamba
I wonder when or if we’ll start hearing the “D”epression word instead of the “R”ecession word or the “G”reater “R”ecession words …?
I wonder when we’ll have to watch all the local gas stations for which ones have gas to buy rather than watching which one has the best prices …
When will car dealerships, or any auto repair place, not have regular deliveries of the parts and stuff they need to repair cars?
Will they just say, “Come back tomorrow or a few days, we might/may have it then?”
I wonder when nail polish and nail polish remover won’t be so easily available …. I like polish and use it but I don’t have a clue what it’s made of, but something in it must be related to petroleum …
What about the elements of hair coloring and highlights that I get done by a good friend who has a local business …
When will there be fewer ball point pens—surely, their plastic and ink related to petroleum?
Will there ever be fewer kinds of cell phones to choose from?
Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes of Mega Pixels? When will we see fewer of those available in stores?
And how long will film keep existing and will they stop developing/processing it? There are still people using film out there and I’m one of them although I have a small digital camera as well.
What about flatscreens used for tvs and computer display screens?
When do all the elements that go into electronics start becoming scarcer? Recycling of electronic parts, that’ll be a bigger business than it is now . ..
Will the city of Phoenix ever tell residents they’ll HAVE to conserve water?
Not just “encouraging” conservation but really having to learn to handle water differently to conserve it …
When or will local governments in the USA encourage residents to use rain water and rain barrels to help provide water for themselves? This assumes that governments/utilities will still have a part in delivering water to communities … .
How long will professional sports teams keep traveling around the US when there’s a crunch on gasoline/jet fuel? (I’m thinking of the US here but other countries have the professional sports, too.)
Will the PGA, WPGA, NFL, NHL and NBA (I’m probably leaving some sport league out of this that I don’t know about) just have smaller geographic groupings of competing teams? Maybe individual sport franchises in certain cities will just fold and not exist?
University and college sports teams and their various tiers of competition? Will they just wither away over time?
Will all kinds of tv get less over time, whether it’s cable/satellite/broadcast? Time and energy will be too expensive or available for these to exist the way they do now? Just paid tv/internet for those who can afford it?
Will grocery stores or farmer's markets have signs in places where certain foods used to be like "Bananas/Certain meats sold out and no more expected for a month or so." Or "No more Pomegranates/Apples/Pears/Almonds/Walnuts, etc. until next year." Meaning, next year's harvest, our allotment of seasonal food is gone for the year.
it's hard to push thoughts like these away anymore in the last couple of years, on this blustery, squally day with bursts of moderate rains. Another storm!
Shamba
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Happy GroundHog Day!
This is pretty meaningless in southern Arizona where six more weeks will bring spring, actually about 2-3 more weeks will bring spring.
Anyway, thoughts on the continuing drama of the times: one thought from the Arizona state budget struggles and one from my own observations.
1)On Horizon, http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/index.php , KAET Arizona PBS station, show to discuss Arizona public affairs issues. It’s how to keep track of state government. This show was from the midddle of the last week of January.
They discussed the current Governors proposal to do away with the state supported statutes for mentally, including severely mentally ill persons, as a way of cutting into the budget deficit. There was discussion of how these laws came into being around 1980; the number of people affected, how communities will be affected by the cuts, if they take place. Because of lack of any other support for the mentally ill, they also discussed how much more money it will cost in crisis management for those mentally ill who have no meds or structured support. The cost in police calls, emergency room management and other public costs would be then charged to a different jurisdiction than the state in many cases, county or city budgets. This of course does not begin to calculate the intangible human suffering and grief involved.
They finally came to the point that the result of this would be going backwards, not just in monetary terms, but human/humane terms. The host of the show seemed genuinely shocked by the logical progression that this budget proposal would lead to, if it happens. The two other panel members involved in services to the mentally ill community, of course, were well aware of the implications of the situation.
So far, most discussions I have seem on PBS or other media like this have been so theoretical and not yet “real” for the program participants. At least, I haven’t seen it so starkly like I saw it on the faces of these people. It was really quite horrible and I almost didn’t watch it but I had the feeling of being a Cassandra watching the great wave of things coming in the future and no one is seeing the same stuff yet—BUT it’s getting closer to more people seeing it all the time in front of them as it happens.
For myself, I think the Arizona legislature will be no closer to finding a budget solution at the end of June, traditional end of the session, than they are now. I think it will be such an ugly political election year.
2)Notes from the current recession/depression are coming closer to me and the people I know. It seems like I'm aware of more people who lately have slipped a notch downward in the ecnonmic ladder.
Someone I know in the MidWest seems to be in bad straights. She made a remark on the phone the other day about eating a lot of spaghetti, I don't know if with meat or not, and not affording veggies and fruits as they were too expensive. And her husband, who's been out of work a while, makes all their bread.
I've never heard that out of her before. I wanted to say something about lentils and rice that I have a couple times a week but I actually had a roast in the crock pot and so that information came out instead.
I feel bad for her but didn't want to ask too much. She's still working, their kids are grown and they have a house. They've always wanted to move to Florida when the kids were grown enough.
A neighbor learned that she can't sell her townhouse/condo because no one wants to finance them in the Phoenix area. she'a have to sell to someone who'd pay with cash. I think that dismayed and surprised her.
There are days when things are going along fine and then some bit of news or something i hear from someone reminds me of the direction we're really going in.
On the other hand, contractors and people who fix things want work and are doing pretty well at it. I took two lamps in to see if they could be fixed to the old established, Phoenix Lamps, and I'm going to get my excellent brass, floor lamp back like new for not much money!!! I don't know how much yet but lamp is totally useless the way it is. Hooray! I love that lamp and I use it to read by sitting on the couch.
They said they were very busy and they have a wonderful store full of all kinds of lamps, from all time periods, and other furniture that they also sell. It's a wonderful old store to look at.
I'm looking at the rest of my "work on the house" list I've been getting done the past 2 years and it's time to start doing the rest of it: insulation, getting rid of old carpeting, maybe some other things as well.
That's enough commentary for now. I'm progressing eating/cooking my multitude of greens from the CSA. I passed some on to a friend so they wouldn't go to waste. next time we have mustard greens I'm going to ask to trade!
Peace to all,
Shamba
Anyway, thoughts on the continuing drama of the times: one thought from the Arizona state budget struggles and one from my own observations.
1)On Horizon, http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/index.php , KAET Arizona PBS station, show to discuss Arizona public affairs issues. It’s how to keep track of state government. This show was from the midddle of the last week of January.
They discussed the current Governors proposal to do away with the state supported statutes for mentally, including severely mentally ill persons, as a way of cutting into the budget deficit. There was discussion of how these laws came into being around 1980; the number of people affected, how communities will be affected by the cuts, if they take place. Because of lack of any other support for the mentally ill, they also discussed how much more money it will cost in crisis management for those mentally ill who have no meds or structured support. The cost in police calls, emergency room management and other public costs would be then charged to a different jurisdiction than the state in many cases, county or city budgets. This of course does not begin to calculate the intangible human suffering and grief involved.
They finally came to the point that the result of this would be going backwards, not just in monetary terms, but human/humane terms. The host of the show seemed genuinely shocked by the logical progression that this budget proposal would lead to, if it happens. The two other panel members involved in services to the mentally ill community, of course, were well aware of the implications of the situation.
So far, most discussions I have seem on PBS or other media like this have been so theoretical and not yet “real” for the program participants. At least, I haven’t seen it so starkly like I saw it on the faces of these people. It was really quite horrible and I almost didn’t watch it but I had the feeling of being a Cassandra watching the great wave of things coming in the future and no one is seeing the same stuff yet—BUT it’s getting closer to more people seeing it all the time in front of them as it happens.
For myself, I think the Arizona legislature will be no closer to finding a budget solution at the end of June, traditional end of the session, than they are now. I think it will be such an ugly political election year.
2)Notes from the current recession/depression are coming closer to me and the people I know. It seems like I'm aware of more people who lately have slipped a notch downward in the ecnonmic ladder.
Someone I know in the MidWest seems to be in bad straights. She made a remark on the phone the other day about eating a lot of spaghetti, I don't know if with meat or not, and not affording veggies and fruits as they were too expensive. And her husband, who's been out of work a while, makes all their bread.
I've never heard that out of her before. I wanted to say something about lentils and rice that I have a couple times a week but I actually had a roast in the crock pot and so that information came out instead.
I feel bad for her but didn't want to ask too much. She's still working, their kids are grown and they have a house. They've always wanted to move to Florida when the kids were grown enough.
A neighbor learned that she can't sell her townhouse/condo because no one wants to finance them in the Phoenix area. she'a have to sell to someone who'd pay with cash. I think that dismayed and surprised her.
There are days when things are going along fine and then some bit of news or something i hear from someone reminds me of the direction we're really going in.
On the other hand, contractors and people who fix things want work and are doing pretty well at it. I took two lamps in to see if they could be fixed to the old established, Phoenix Lamps, and I'm going to get my excellent brass, floor lamp back like new for not much money!!! I don't know how much yet but lamp is totally useless the way it is. Hooray! I love that lamp and I use it to read by sitting on the couch.
They said they were very busy and they have a wonderful store full of all kinds of lamps, from all time periods, and other furniture that they also sell. It's a wonderful old store to look at.
I'm looking at the rest of my "work on the house" list I've been getting done the past 2 years and it's time to start doing the rest of it: insulation, getting rid of old carpeting, maybe some other things as well.
That's enough commentary for now. I'm progressing eating/cooking my multitude of greens from the CSA. I passed some on to a friend so they wouldn't go to waste. next time we have mustard greens I'm going to ask to trade!
Peace to all,
Shamba
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Now, It's Christmas Eve and I'm not going anywhere today. I was out to get a couple of specific things at a store but ended up in 2 shopping center parking lots and two grocery parking lots driving around looking for parking places. Dangerous these lot on the week before christmas! I picked up one thing at Safeway to make my sald for donna's house on christmas Day.
I always feel like the world takes a Time Out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for a couple of days of peace and safety.
Merry Christmas and S and I are off to Donna and Steve's for christmas dinner. :)
Peaxce to All, shamba
Dec 17th Notes:
Well, what a wonderful day for effective government news! NOT!
The whole health care reform bill in its present form might as well be thrown out and started over again. That’s the Feds.
The AZ state legislature had its 4th—4TH!—special session to fix the 2010 budget and nothun’ absolutely nothing happened today.
By the time they get in session in January and go to July, or longer, they will have twice as much budget deficit to fix for the 2011 budget and whatever is leftover from the 2010 budget.
My point in mentioning this at this blog is not to keep to keep track of what the feds and stat leg are doing in detail and how they’re ineffective at the moment. It’s only to provide a fell for the times we’re living in.
I feel so much cognitive dissonance, or head splitting, from looking at reality two ways. The way it has been, the way it’s going and what I see and sense coming round the bend. The past two years have brought the two sides closer and closer, perhaps this is the year they somehow connect? We’re just right at the edge of finding ourselves in worse circumstances than any of us, Americans, I mean, thought we’d ever “devolve” to in post-World war II America.
shamba.
I always feel like the world takes a Time Out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for a couple of days of peace and safety.
Merry Christmas and S and I are off to Donna and Steve's for christmas dinner. :)
Peaxce to All, shamba
Dec 17th Notes:
Well, what a wonderful day for effective government news! NOT!
The whole health care reform bill in its present form might as well be thrown out and started over again. That’s the Feds.
The AZ state legislature had its 4th—4TH!—special session to fix the 2010 budget and nothun’ absolutely nothing happened today.
By the time they get in session in January and go to July, or longer, they will have twice as much budget deficit to fix for the 2011 budget and whatever is leftover from the 2010 budget.
My point in mentioning this at this blog is not to keep to keep track of what the feds and stat leg are doing in detail and how they’re ineffective at the moment. It’s only to provide a fell for the times we’re living in.
I feel so much cognitive dissonance, or head splitting, from looking at reality two ways. The way it has been, the way it’s going and what I see and sense coming round the bend. The past two years have brought the two sides closer and closer, perhaps this is the year they somehow connect? We’re just right at the edge of finding ourselves in worse circumstances than any of us, Americans, I mean, thought we’d ever “devolve” to in post-World war II America.
shamba.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
December 6
Alas! My neighbor Sue is moving out by the end of the month. She hopes to purchase a house on her own since prices are so good these days. She will keep her condo as a rental—many crossed fingers there! She says she couldn’t sell it as lenders aren’t lending to sell condos! I didn’t’ realize that.
Our complex has two units for sale, no. 11 (149,000) and no. 35 (125,000) are both asking for over 100,000! No. 35 has been for sale since nov. 2008 and they have not changed their price at all in the past year. Our units are about 800 square feet on ground level with good sized bedrooms and back and front patios. Even at the height of the real estate boom here they might not have sold for that much.
She hopes to purchase a house on her own since prices are so good these days. She's in her late 30s and wants more room. She will keep her condo as a rental—many crossed fingers there! She says she couldn’t sell it as lenders aren’t lending to sell condos at all. I didn’t realize that was happening.
All I could think of was, I hope it works for her but I wonder given how things are going to be in the next few years.
:(
Peace to me today, Shamba
Our complex has two units for sale, no. 11 (149,000) and no. 35 (125,000) are both asking for over 100,000! No. 35 has been for sale since nov. 2008 and they have not changed their price at all in the past year. Our units are about 800 square feet on ground level with good sized bedrooms and back and front patios. Even at the height of the real estate boom here they might not have sold for that much.
She hopes to purchase a house on her own since prices are so good these days. She's in her late 30s and wants more room. She will keep her condo as a rental—many crossed fingers there! She says she couldn’t sell it as lenders aren’t lending to sell condos at all. I didn’t realize that was happening.
All I could think of was, I hope it works for her but I wonder given how things are going to be in the next few years.
:(
Peace to me today, Shamba
Thursday, December 3, 2009
December 3
I wanted to post this for my own record of how things are going here and also I may look back at this from a later perspective. I did that with some of the days of the stock market crash in 2008. This is one article with the proper link to give credit for it and a link or two more.
Annual economic forecast in Phornix –State economy in worst shape in like since my whole lifetime (!) 59 years. We won't reach pre-recession employment levels anyway, levels until 2014. Like the guy on Channel 12 news said, It’s a long climb back up.
Its important to note that this is economic/financial. Peak Oil/Peak Energy/Peak Everything is NOT figured into this situation.
http://asunews.asu.edu/20091202_business_economicforecastluncheon
2010 forecasts revealed at annual Economic Forecast Luncheon
Arizona is slowly moving down a long road to economic recovery, according to experts today at the 46th Annual Economic Forecast Luncheon co-sponsored by Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business and JPMorgan Chase. More than 1,000 people crowded into the Phoenix Convention Center to hear whether tough times will soon be over, and the 2010 forecast news was not pleasant.
"Arizona consumers and businesses are in the state's worst economic downturn, by far, in modern times," said Professor Lee McPheters, director of the W. P. Carey School of Business' JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center. "In fact, 2009 saw the first personal income decline for Arizonans since records have been kept. Personal income for the year may be down as much as 2 percent."
McPheters says Arizona lost more than 240,000 jobs over the past two years. He expects the state to lose another 24,300 jobs next year. Arizona was officially the worst state in the nation for job growth between October 2008 and October 2009, with an unemployment rate reaching 9.3 percent this October. McPheters, who is also editor of the Arizona and Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast publications, does not expect to see the state return to 2007 job levels until 2013.
He adds the holidays won't bring much economic cheer. Retail sales for the year in Arizona are expected to be 10 to 15 percent lower in 2009 than 2008. In addition, McPheters says state budget problems will persist because of less tax revenue coming in, less population growth than previous downturns, and mandatory spending dedicated to designated programs through legally protected formulas.
On the national front, Anthony Chan, managing director and chief economist for JPMorgan Chase Private Client Services, had similar negative news. He explained that since 1954, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth has averaged about 5.8 percent in the first four quarters of economic recovery, but a number of factors indicate we won't see a boost like that after this recession.
"Americans' household wealth has plunged by an average of about $5,000, and people are also saving more, so we are not likely to experience the level of consumer spending that usually helps to lead us out of recession," Chan says.
However, he added there are a few good signs on the horizon. He says companies are contributing to fixed investments to improve their productivity and profits as the economy recovers. During the third quarter of 2009, the preliminary real GDP was up 0.9 percent, and inventories are likely to grow from there. He also says the government is determined to avoid a double-dip recession, so it will probably contribute 0.2 to 0.3 percent toward real GDP growth next year.
"We can still come out with a real GDP growth rate that lies within 2 to 2.5 percent," says Chan. "While such growth is unlikely to close the current negative output gap, it is likely we will continue to build momentum over the next several calendar quarters."
The real estate and construction forecast included some positive news only from the single-family home market. Elliott D. Pollack, chief executive officer of the well-known Scottsdale firm Elliott D. Pollack and Company, says local housing prices have finally flattened out, and multiple listing prices are up 11.7 percent since they hit bottom in April. However, there are more than 50,000 units now in the foreclosure process in Maricopa County, with more foreclosures on the way. Pollack believes there were 80,000 excess single-family homes and condo units in the market as of 2009's second quarter.
"Unfortunately, it appears a high percentage of resales have been purchased by investors," says Pollack. "Up to 40 percent of homes purchased in August, for example, were bought by ‘absentee owners,' meaning many of them are likely to go back on the market in the next two years. While I do believe Phoenix will grow again, we could easily have to wait until 2013 or 2014."
Things are even worse in the commercial market, according to Pollack. He says apartment vacancies could exceed 13 to 14 percent at the peak. Office vacancies will reach their highest level ever next year, exceeding 27 percent. Industrial vacancy rates could reach or equal the all-time-high vacancy seen in the Valley in 1986.
"Overall, based on history, it could take a decade before prices get back to the 2008 peaks," says Pollack. "What this suggests is that the overall level of commercial building, which is already down significantly, will come to a screeching halt next year. From an economic development standpoint, the situation could be a positive because a large amount of inexpensive space will be available for companies that want to expand or move here."
More details and analysis, including slides from the luncheon presentations, are available at http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu.
And, second thing I wanted to post. I liked this idea from a blog I read regularly. It was a few months ago and it was called Time for a Consumption Strike. Looks like Denninger’s (market-ticker.denninger.net) consumption strike will be a permanent way to live:
"....Until then the position of those who wish to join is simple: No non-essential purchases of anything are made. Period.
What's an essential purchase? Here's the list:
Enough food to eat at home. No more eating out.
Rent and utilities.
Essential medical services.
Enough fuel to get to and from work.
In addition any "excess withholding" is stopped; if you are getting a big fat refund from the IRS every year you are loaning the government your money at zero interest until April. Stop that; it’s stupid. Change your W4 so you get exactly nothing back or owe a tiny amount; if you pay estimates pay only that which you must and not one dime more.
Note that it is unlawful to use your W4 to intentionally under-withhold, but you are in fact not obligated to pay one more dime in tax than you actually owe. There is nothing wrong with adjusting withholding to match (as close as you reasonably can) your actual tax obligation.
Put the money you save (it will be a lot!) into a non-TARP Credit Union if you have one available to you, or a non-TARP local bank if you do not. Spend none of it."
Peace to all, Shamba
Annual economic forecast in Phornix –State economy in worst shape in like since my whole lifetime (!) 59 years. We won't reach pre-recession employment levels anyway, levels until 2014. Like the guy on Channel 12 news said, It’s a long climb back up.
Its important to note that this is economic/financial. Peak Oil/Peak Energy/Peak Everything is NOT figured into this situation.
http://asunews.asu.edu/20091202_business_economicforecastluncheon
2010 forecasts revealed at annual Economic Forecast Luncheon
Arizona is slowly moving down a long road to economic recovery, according to experts today at the 46th Annual Economic Forecast Luncheon co-sponsored by Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business and JPMorgan Chase. More than 1,000 people crowded into the Phoenix Convention Center to hear whether tough times will soon be over, and the 2010 forecast news was not pleasant.
"Arizona consumers and businesses are in the state's worst economic downturn, by far, in modern times," said Professor Lee McPheters, director of the W. P. Carey School of Business' JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center. "In fact, 2009 saw the first personal income decline for Arizonans since records have been kept. Personal income for the year may be down as much as 2 percent."
McPheters says Arizona lost more than 240,000 jobs over the past two years. He expects the state to lose another 24,300 jobs next year. Arizona was officially the worst state in the nation for job growth between October 2008 and October 2009, with an unemployment rate reaching 9.3 percent this October. McPheters, who is also editor of the Arizona and Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast publications, does not expect to see the state return to 2007 job levels until 2013.
He adds the holidays won't bring much economic cheer. Retail sales for the year in Arizona are expected to be 10 to 15 percent lower in 2009 than 2008. In addition, McPheters says state budget problems will persist because of less tax revenue coming in, less population growth than previous downturns, and mandatory spending dedicated to designated programs through legally protected formulas.
On the national front, Anthony Chan, managing director and chief economist for JPMorgan Chase Private Client Services, had similar negative news. He explained that since 1954, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth has averaged about 5.8 percent in the first four quarters of economic recovery, but a number of factors indicate we won't see a boost like that after this recession.
"Americans' household wealth has plunged by an average of about $5,000, and people are also saving more, so we are not likely to experience the level of consumer spending that usually helps to lead us out of recession," Chan says.
However, he added there are a few good signs on the horizon. He says companies are contributing to fixed investments to improve their productivity and profits as the economy recovers. During the third quarter of 2009, the preliminary real GDP was up 0.9 percent, and inventories are likely to grow from there. He also says the government is determined to avoid a double-dip recession, so it will probably contribute 0.2 to 0.3 percent toward real GDP growth next year.
"We can still come out with a real GDP growth rate that lies within 2 to 2.5 percent," says Chan. "While such growth is unlikely to close the current negative output gap, it is likely we will continue to build momentum over the next several calendar quarters."
The real estate and construction forecast included some positive news only from the single-family home market. Elliott D. Pollack, chief executive officer of the well-known Scottsdale firm Elliott D. Pollack and Company, says local housing prices have finally flattened out, and multiple listing prices are up 11.7 percent since they hit bottom in April. However, there are more than 50,000 units now in the foreclosure process in Maricopa County, with more foreclosures on the way. Pollack believes there were 80,000 excess single-family homes and condo units in the market as of 2009's second quarter.
"Unfortunately, it appears a high percentage of resales have been purchased by investors," says Pollack. "Up to 40 percent of homes purchased in August, for example, were bought by ‘absentee owners,' meaning many of them are likely to go back on the market in the next two years. While I do believe Phoenix will grow again, we could easily have to wait until 2013 or 2014."
Things are even worse in the commercial market, according to Pollack. He says apartment vacancies could exceed 13 to 14 percent at the peak. Office vacancies will reach their highest level ever next year, exceeding 27 percent. Industrial vacancy rates could reach or equal the all-time-high vacancy seen in the Valley in 1986.
"Overall, based on history, it could take a decade before prices get back to the 2008 peaks," says Pollack. "What this suggests is that the overall level of commercial building, which is already down significantly, will come to a screeching halt next year. From an economic development standpoint, the situation could be a positive because a large amount of inexpensive space will be available for companies that want to expand or move here."
More details and analysis, including slides from the luncheon presentations, are available at http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu.
And, second thing I wanted to post. I liked this idea from a blog I read regularly. It was a few months ago and it was called Time for a Consumption Strike. Looks like Denninger’s (market-ticker.denninger.net) consumption strike will be a permanent way to live:
"....Until then the position of those who wish to join is simple: No non-essential purchases of anything are made. Period.
What's an essential purchase? Here's the list:
Enough food to eat at home. No more eating out.
Rent and utilities.
Essential medical services.
Enough fuel to get to and from work.
In addition any "excess withholding" is stopped; if you are getting a big fat refund from the IRS every year you are loaning the government your money at zero interest until April. Stop that; it’s stupid. Change your W4 so you get exactly nothing back or owe a tiny amount; if you pay estimates pay only that which you must and not one dime more.
Note that it is unlawful to use your W4 to intentionally under-withhold, but you are in fact not obligated to pay one more dime in tax than you actually owe. There is nothing wrong with adjusting withholding to match (as close as you reasonably can) your actual tax obligation.
Put the money you save (it will be a lot!) into a non-TARP Credit Union if you have one available to you, or a non-TARP local bank if you do not. Spend none of it."
Peace to all, Shamba
Saturday, November 14, 2009
November Days Catchup
Nice, cooler weather after a couple of 90 days the past week of so. I've been doing okay with my challenge but I haven’t written anything at all my blog for several days.
Also, when measuring something in my back patio a weekend ago--wall height in one place--I slipped and banged my right shoulder and elbow against the wall. Nothing broken! I was really afraid of some serious injury beyond strain or sprain. I went to urgent Care to have it checked out. They gave me some "nice' pain pills to take to help me sleep since the first 3-4 days were pretty painful and brused all over, er, I was bruised all over the right side. But my arm and shoulder have been improving every day. I used Arnica montana all over where anything hurt and also had some Arnica montana to take for internal use. The moist heat packs they suggested have also been very helpful-3 times a day for 20 minutes.
I've been careful with the right arm but I think it's going to be okay now.
Crooked Sky Farms provides a CSA locally and I think I'm signing up right after the holidays.
I'll have to get a copy of their contract.
My container herbs are growing like hotcakes.
For challenge about 10 days ago:
I pulled all the leftover veggies out of the fridge, onions, sweet potatoes, two red potatoes, 1 russet potato, 3 parsnips, 1 acorn squash, a forlorn turnip and tomato.
The last of fresh cilantro which wasn't going to make it at all.
The cilantro went to garbage, I had used most of it and I want to get a cilantro plant.
One russet potato, 1 red potato, the small sweet potatoes, the turnip, one parsnip and two onions went into a roasting pan with olive oil & thyme and oregano and all got roasted.
I haven't baked sweet potatoes before but not been fond of the whole thing but roasted they are really good!
Anyway all those roasted veggies were extremely tasty and got eaten up in a day.
The other potatoes and parsnips and one large onion got put in a savory Indian spices dish with some canned peas (didn't have any frozen) cumin, turmeric, coriander and chili powder. I'm trying to use more of these spices but I really wasn't sure about this recipe at all but when it was finished cooking it was pretty good over rice. This recipe used up some rice I need to be using up, too.
Peace to all,
Shamba
November 2,
Had lunch with B. today. She thinks that we’ll just scrape by in the economy for at least 3-4 years. She’s quite disgusted the way the whole thing has gone and the government saying these chipper things when there is nothing to be chipper about. She did say no to a depression but looked glum in talking about the whole thing altogether.
I actually went through all my emails in my two accounts, with various personas, and cleaned them all out. whatta job! I get a lot less junk mail than I used to but still there's plenty. I need to unsubscribe from some more lists.
Other outside world news in the past month:
In 2-3 years no more oil from Mexico …
Depletion rate in oil producing countries are faster than anticipated, too
Great recession has cut down on demand, oil prices 147 in July 2008 and then went down to $30 a barrel within 6-8 months and now has come up since summer 2009 now is at around $80 a barrel.
Gas prices are creeping up but are still about mid $2-$3 range after coming way down in fall 2008 as the price of oil fell.
If the economy starts to grow a bit, the price of crude will probably go up! Catch-22!
peace, shamba
Also, when measuring something in my back patio a weekend ago--wall height in one place--I slipped and banged my right shoulder and elbow against the wall. Nothing broken! I was really afraid of some serious injury beyond strain or sprain. I went to urgent Care to have it checked out. They gave me some "nice' pain pills to take to help me sleep since the first 3-4 days were pretty painful and brused all over, er, I was bruised all over the right side. But my arm and shoulder have been improving every day. I used Arnica montana all over where anything hurt and also had some Arnica montana to take for internal use. The moist heat packs they suggested have also been very helpful-3 times a day for 20 minutes.
I've been careful with the right arm but I think it's going to be okay now.
Crooked Sky Farms provides a CSA locally and I think I'm signing up right after the holidays.
I'll have to get a copy of their contract.
My container herbs are growing like hotcakes.
For challenge about 10 days ago:
I pulled all the leftover veggies out of the fridge, onions, sweet potatoes, two red potatoes, 1 russet potato, 3 parsnips, 1 acorn squash, a forlorn turnip and tomato.
The last of fresh cilantro which wasn't going to make it at all.
The cilantro went to garbage, I had used most of it and I want to get a cilantro plant.
One russet potato, 1 red potato, the small sweet potatoes, the turnip, one parsnip and two onions went into a roasting pan with olive oil & thyme and oregano and all got roasted.
I haven't baked sweet potatoes before but not been fond of the whole thing but roasted they are really good!
Anyway all those roasted veggies were extremely tasty and got eaten up in a day.
The other potatoes and parsnips and one large onion got put in a savory Indian spices dish with some canned peas (didn't have any frozen) cumin, turmeric, coriander and chili powder. I'm trying to use more of these spices but I really wasn't sure about this recipe at all but when it was finished cooking it was pretty good over rice. This recipe used up some rice I need to be using up, too.
Peace to all,
Shamba
November 2,
Had lunch with B. today. She thinks that we’ll just scrape by in the economy for at least 3-4 years. She’s quite disgusted the way the whole thing has gone and the government saying these chipper things when there is nothing to be chipper about. She did say no to a depression but looked glum in talking about the whole thing altogether.
I actually went through all my emails in my two accounts, with various personas, and cleaned them all out. whatta job! I get a lot less junk mail than I used to but still there's plenty. I need to unsubscribe from some more lists.
Other outside world news in the past month:
In 2-3 years no more oil from Mexico …
Depletion rate in oil producing countries are faster than anticipated, too
Great recession has cut down on demand, oil prices 147 in July 2008 and then went down to $30 a barrel within 6-8 months and now has come up since summer 2009 now is at around $80 a barrel.
Gas prices are creeping up but are still about mid $2-$3 range after coming way down in fall 2008 as the price of oil fell.
If the economy starts to grow a bit, the price of crude will probably go up! Catch-22!
peace, shamba
Friday, October 23, 2009
Heads Up, Oct. 23, 2009
Financial Economic News Below:
Here's a Big Heads Up by Karl Denninger at His Market ticker web site:
Friday, October 23. 2009
Posted by Karl Denninger in Musings at 11:55
Possible Credit Dislocation: Be Warned
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/authors/2-Karl-Denninger
I hope that's the right link to the article.
He uses some language that is very similar to the data Cliff High reports: “money lock up”
“Note that the indications above are far stronger than what we saw going into last fall before the wheels came off. As a consequence if these actions are those of people with real knowledge (and this is not a guess on their part) I would expect the outcome to be worse than what we saw last fall in terms of economic impact.”
Another vip link, I haven't read this webssite before: :
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/10/is-fed-governor-hinting-at-stock-market.html
''Is a Fed Governor Hinting at a Stock Market Crash Just Ahead?
Sounds like it to me.
These are truly remarkable words coming from inside the Federal Reserve. Reuters has the details:
U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh on Tuesday called gains in Asian and U.S. stocks noteworthy and wondered whether those increases signal a return to financial normality after a wrenching crisis or raise the prospects for asset bubbles.
Stock markets in a number of Asian economies have posted hefty gains in recent months, Warsh said while moderating a panel at an Asia economic policy conference hosted by the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
"This is a remarkable move, certainly the U.S. has also seen a remarkable increase in asset values," he said
This is as close to a warning as you are ever going to get from a Fed governor ''
Worse than last fall Denninger implies.
I wish I could just go take my money out of the CU and put it somewhere else, except that there isn't somewhere else? I'd wonder about treasuries at this point.
*sigh* shamba
Here's a Big Heads Up by Karl Denninger at His Market ticker web site:
Friday, October 23. 2009
Posted by Karl Denninger in Musings at 11:55
Possible Credit Dislocation: Be Warned
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/authors/2-Karl-Denninger
I hope that's the right link to the article.
He uses some language that is very similar to the data Cliff High reports: “money lock up”
“Note that the indications above are far stronger than what we saw going into last fall before the wheels came off. As a consequence if these actions are those of people with real knowledge (and this is not a guess on their part) I would expect the outcome to be worse than what we saw last fall in terms of economic impact.”
Another vip link, I haven't read this webssite before: :
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/10/is-fed-governor-hinting-at-stock-market.html
''Is a Fed Governor Hinting at a Stock Market Crash Just Ahead?
Sounds like it to me.
These are truly remarkable words coming from inside the Federal Reserve. Reuters has the details:
U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh on Tuesday called gains in Asian and U.S. stocks noteworthy and wondered whether those increases signal a return to financial normality after a wrenching crisis or raise the prospects for asset bubbles.
Stock markets in a number of Asian economies have posted hefty gains in recent months, Warsh said while moderating a panel at an Asia economic policy conference hosted by the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
"This is a remarkable move, certainly the U.S. has also seen a remarkable increase in asset values," he said
This is as close to a warning as you are ever going to get from a Fed governor ''
Worse than last fall Denninger implies.
I wish I could just go take my money out of the CU and put it somewhere else, except that there isn't somewhere else? I'd wonder about treasuries at this point.
*sigh* shamba
Friday, September 4, 2009
September 4th
Sept. 4th, 2009:
Wahoo, September! The worst heat is behind us and the worst power bill probably, too. No, I can’t turn off the AC altogether—that’s too much to ask—but it’s definitely running less. And in a few weeks, the reason I live here will be evident and the good weather will continue until about mid-April. J J so, I have lots of good things to anticipate even though we’ll have some moderate heat for next 4-6 weeks.
I need to tell the tai chi teacher at my studio about my solar ovens he was very interested. I also got to visit with a couple of others at the yoga studio. The workshop I wanted to attend has been postponed another month or two. I have to go back to classes more regularly. I’m not doing well with that. But I’ve kept up with the cooking intention pretty well this summer although I broke down and ordered 4 pizzas for delivery over the past month or so. A great splurge they are but they do feed me for about 2 days with salad and other side dishes.
Today, I’m making the curried lentils with raisins, carrots, sweet pepper and some onion in the Tulsi oven. It’s a stovetop recipe but I’m doing it solar today.
The Global oven has a pot with ingredients to make vegetable stock. I used too much water the last time I tried to make this, on the stove top, so I’ll see how it comes out this time.
I have to coordinate solar cooking more everyday since the sun angles are moving fast these days. Less sun in morning and the late afternoon. That means in about a month (?) there won't be any sun at any time of day to cook with on the back patio. But of course, there will be plenty in the front of the house. That's closer to the kitchen, too.
Oh, and yes, the unemployement is up for Aug, 9.7% and the flatlined and maybe tipping over economy is still out there. but today it doesn't matter much. :)
Cheers,
shamba
Wahoo, September! The worst heat is behind us and the worst power bill probably, too. No, I can’t turn off the AC altogether—that’s too much to ask—but it’s definitely running less. And in a few weeks, the reason I live here will be evident and the good weather will continue until about mid-April. J J so, I have lots of good things to anticipate even though we’ll have some moderate heat for next 4-6 weeks.
I need to tell the tai chi teacher at my studio about my solar ovens he was very interested. I also got to visit with a couple of others at the yoga studio. The workshop I wanted to attend has been postponed another month or two. I have to go back to classes more regularly. I’m not doing well with that. But I’ve kept up with the cooking intention pretty well this summer although I broke down and ordered 4 pizzas for delivery over the past month or so. A great splurge they are but they do feed me for about 2 days with salad and other side dishes.
Today, I’m making the curried lentils with raisins, carrots, sweet pepper and some onion in the Tulsi oven. It’s a stovetop recipe but I’m doing it solar today.
The Global oven has a pot with ingredients to make vegetable stock. I used too much water the last time I tried to make this, on the stove top, so I’ll see how it comes out this time.
I have to coordinate solar cooking more everyday since the sun angles are moving fast these days. Less sun in morning and the late afternoon. That means in about a month (?) there won't be any sun at any time of day to cook with on the back patio. But of course, there will be plenty in the front of the house. That's closer to the kitchen, too.
Oh, and yes, the unemployement is up for Aug, 9.7% and the flatlined and maybe tipping over economy is still out there. but today it doesn't matter much. :)
Cheers,
shamba
Sunday, July 19, 2009
July 12th:
July 12: Sunday:
These are my organization of thoughts on a lot of comments at blogs, etc. I read during the week.
1. permanently smaller economy; Not an V or U or W recovery but X! the X idea is from Robert Reich. as in impasse?? No way through go back? No, I know there’ll be no going back to what we had 2000-2006!
2. Permanent job losses after this down cycle. People have some money for unemployment, extensions, maybe savings maybe assets or things to sell. When they all run out? And when any work they find doesn’t pay for what they have been used to? Lose their houses, too?
3. Permanent smaller revenue for state and local govs. Every year, less and less available due to less spending due to people with no income to spend except for absolute necessities.
4. Permanent lessening of government services: education, police and security, infrastructure, social services, helpe to hospitals and various other organizations.
5. Permanent reduction in medical services available for those who depend on government for programs, elderly assistance like nursing homes available, other nonprofits don’t get any govet help and private help is dwindling: food banks, shelters, animals shelters, etc.
6. Healthservice, public and private permanent reduced. No meds available for chronic disease or various conditions, no insurance available, people sicken and die from various diseases. Emergency rooms can’t treat someone if they are so far gone with chronic conditions: diabetes, heart condition, etc. 7. Pensions and government mandated services are reduced to lack of funding. Service to
These are my organization of thoughts on a lot of comments at blogs, etc. I read during the week.
1. permanently smaller economy; Not an V or U or W recovery but X! the X idea is from Robert Reich. as in impasse?? No way through go back? No, I know there’ll be no going back to what we had 2000-2006!
2. Permanent job losses after this down cycle. People have some money for unemployment, extensions, maybe savings maybe assets or things to sell. When they all run out? And when any work they find doesn’t pay for what they have been used to? Lose their houses, too?
3. Permanent smaller revenue for state and local govs. Every year, less and less available due to less spending due to people with no income to spend except for absolute necessities.
4. Permanent lessening of government services: education, police and security, infrastructure, social services, helpe to hospitals and various other organizations.
5. Permanent reduction in medical services available for those who depend on government for programs, elderly assistance like nursing homes available, other nonprofits don’t get any govet help and private help is dwindling: food banks, shelters, animals shelters, etc.
6. Healthservice, public and private permanent reduced. No meds available for chronic disease or various conditions, no insurance available, people sicken and die from various diseases. Emergency rooms can’t treat someone if they are so far gone with chronic conditions: diabetes, heart condition, etc. 7. Pensions and government mandated services are reduced to lack of funding. Service to
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 27 Saturday
I felt like this June is some kind of turning point in our economic future because June’s unemployment rate will tell us how we’re going, along with other indiciators. The stock markets had a rally since it’s low point in march and a lot of all kinds of people see what they think are green shoots. But green shoots of what plants? Some others are seeing green shoots turning into yellow weeds. So if they were weeds, they weren’t what we’d like to see growing anyway, I guess they mean.
And people have felt more hopeful the last couple of months, April and May, some polls say anyway. Some people I know have felt that way. Some days I even felt that way, more days, I haven’t. I’m interested in how the general perception will get more pessimistic from here . If this sounds sick, I’m sorry! I hope it doesn’t go that way, but if reality goes that way more and more general perceptions will go that way , too.
I’d like to deal with one day at a time, REALLY, one day at a time instead of having to think ahead all the times about everything! This means whatever preparedness stuff I want to achieve but mostly it’s had to do with my mom’s estate money and my own money. It’s very intimidating knowing what to do about these things normally but the atmosphere of fear and uncertainly for money these last few months has been incredible.
I haven’t put things in mattresses or strong boxes under the bed. I moved some money out of the stock market last week. I have a couple thousand left in another def comp fund I want to move.
The estate has 3 stock amounts that have some last paperwork (I hope it’s the last) to do to transfer everything and get it sold.
I’m sooo weary of dealing with money and really feeling it has to get out of the market as soon as possible. I’ve felt it every hour of every day since last October and it’s now getting better. At least the greatest amount of it is done. I can understand why people have been overwhelmed with fear and’/or inertia or denial in trying to do anything something with their money whatever form it’s in—stocks, treasuries, savings, CDS or whatever. Then there’s always the fear that wherever you put it, it will fail! Even owning gold has been a worry since gold bugs are worried about the amount of “real gold” coins or bullion is really available, really exists (!) Or are the dealers just selling paper shares that will never be back by the real thing.
Got some clouds on the horizons all around and it’s almost the 4th of July. This always cheers me up because we begin to turn towards the part of the year I like the most even if it’s two months away.
Peace to myself,
Shamba
And people have felt more hopeful the last couple of months, April and May, some polls say anyway. Some people I know have felt that way. Some days I even felt that way, more days, I haven’t. I’m interested in how the general perception will get more pessimistic from here . If this sounds sick, I’m sorry! I hope it doesn’t go that way, but if reality goes that way more and more general perceptions will go that way , too.
I’d like to deal with one day at a time, REALLY, one day at a time instead of having to think ahead all the times about everything! This means whatever preparedness stuff I want to achieve but mostly it’s had to do with my mom’s estate money and my own money. It’s very intimidating knowing what to do about these things normally but the atmosphere of fear and uncertainly for money these last few months has been incredible.
I haven’t put things in mattresses or strong boxes under the bed. I moved some money out of the stock market last week. I have a couple thousand left in another def comp fund I want to move.
The estate has 3 stock amounts that have some last paperwork (I hope it’s the last) to do to transfer everything and get it sold.
I’m sooo weary of dealing with money and really feeling it has to get out of the market as soon as possible. I’ve felt it every hour of every day since last October and it’s now getting better. At least the greatest amount of it is done. I can understand why people have been overwhelmed with fear and’/or inertia or denial in trying to do anything something with their money whatever form it’s in—stocks, treasuries, savings, CDS or whatever. Then there’s always the fear that wherever you put it, it will fail! Even owning gold has been a worry since gold bugs are worried about the amount of “real gold” coins or bullion is really available, really exists (!) Or are the dealers just selling paper shares that will never be back by the real thing.
Got some clouds on the horizons all around and it’s almost the 4th of July. This always cheers me up because we begin to turn towards the part of the year I like the most even if it’s two months away.
Peace to myself,
Shamba
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
When will it happen? I think it's here NOW!
Regular gas: 3.97, 4.07, 4.17.
I have decided that all of the signs of the Big Day of Reckconing/downfall of fossifuel society/modern society/The Shit Hitting the Fan--is NOW! My readings in Doom have become main stream current events!
So, many things that I’ve been reading about for the past 3 ½ years were still “over the horizon.” Now, they are easily visible on the horizon and they’ve got us pretty well surrounded! Food prices, energy prices, gas prices, still bad drought in the US West, bees still in low supply this spring, no salmon fishing AT ALL on the west coast because of too small salmon populations—this is commercial fishing, too. Then there’s the daily business world in my state which probably applies to most other states these days: contracting economy, local governments budgets cut this year and facing more severe ones in the next year after that, property taxes revenue falling because of the shrinking housing market ….. which still shows no sign of bottoming out yet. Too much inventory and it’s growing because of foreclosures, new constructions finishing, etc.
In the NBC broadcast news this evening:
Airlines are cutting back severely on scheduled flights for the rest of the year; or after summer vacations. It’s just too expensive to keep flying the current schedules with the price of oil and their fuel needs. Major airports will have cutbacks in carriers and some smaller places will end up with very few carriers, even if they have been regional jets. Two years ago on The Oildrum.com I read some comment about an airline worker(?) at a conference remarking that in 10 years no planes will be flying at all, at least no commercial airlines.
GM is closing 4 plants that make SUV stuff; and they may discontinue the Hummer model! Hummers’ were quite the thing to have the past few years. Truck and SUV sales have not been good since the first of the year.
Quote from: Truck Sales Sink, Shaking Up Auto Market
Big Three Walloped By the Rush to Cars; Honda on the Rise
By JOSÉE VALCOURT and MATTHEW DOLANJune 4, 2008; Page B5 from WSJ
"Ford Motor Co.'s F-150 pickup truck has been the No. 1 seller almost every month over the past three decades. But in May, as consumers flocked to fuel-sipping models, two cars from Toyota and two from Honda Motor Co. outsold the F-150, pushing it down to the No. 5 spot in sales."
Electric cars are in the news again; or they seem to be more in the news to me.
There is some market in electricity prices—forward market?—that shows the fluctuations in electricity supply and prices. These fluctuations don’t appear on customer’s energy bills but it can predict the rise or fall of prices. There was a spike in this prices/supply in Mar/April and it showed a “75%” possible increase in electricity prices this summer. I don’t know if this applies to the whole US or what. It was in the WSJ on June 3 or 4th. I’ll try to find the link to it.
At least the **** Democratic primaries are over! Senator Obama looks like a definite for the Demo nominee; but I wouldn’t rule out senator Clinton trying something eve at the last minute to try again to get the position herself.
It seems quite a turnaround from the way things stood in public discourse and the national outlook and the economy just a year ago.
cheers,
shamba
I have decided that all of the signs of the Big Day of Reckconing/downfall of fossifuel society/modern society/The Shit Hitting the Fan--is NOW! My readings in Doom have become main stream current events!
So, many things that I’ve been reading about for the past 3 ½ years were still “over the horizon.” Now, they are easily visible on the horizon and they’ve got us pretty well surrounded! Food prices, energy prices, gas prices, still bad drought in the US West, bees still in low supply this spring, no salmon fishing AT ALL on the west coast because of too small salmon populations—this is commercial fishing, too. Then there’s the daily business world in my state which probably applies to most other states these days: contracting economy, local governments budgets cut this year and facing more severe ones in the next year after that, property taxes revenue falling because of the shrinking housing market ….. which still shows no sign of bottoming out yet. Too much inventory and it’s growing because of foreclosures, new constructions finishing, etc.
In the NBC broadcast news this evening:
Airlines are cutting back severely on scheduled flights for the rest of the year; or after summer vacations. It’s just too expensive to keep flying the current schedules with the price of oil and their fuel needs. Major airports will have cutbacks in carriers and some smaller places will end up with very few carriers, even if they have been regional jets. Two years ago on The Oildrum.com I read some comment about an airline worker(?) at a conference remarking that in 10 years no planes will be flying at all, at least no commercial airlines.
GM is closing 4 plants that make SUV stuff; and they may discontinue the Hummer model! Hummers’ were quite the thing to have the past few years. Truck and SUV sales have not been good since the first of the year.
Quote from: Truck Sales Sink, Shaking Up Auto Market
Big Three Walloped By the Rush to Cars; Honda on the Rise
By JOSÉE VALCOURT and MATTHEW DOLANJune 4, 2008; Page B5 from WSJ
"Ford Motor Co.'s F-150 pickup truck has been the No. 1 seller almost every month over the past three decades. But in May, as consumers flocked to fuel-sipping models, two cars from Toyota and two from Honda Motor Co. outsold the F-150, pushing it down to the No. 5 spot in sales."
Electric cars are in the news again; or they seem to be more in the news to me.
There is some market in electricity prices—forward market?—that shows the fluctuations in electricity supply and prices. These fluctuations don’t appear on customer’s energy bills but it can predict the rise or fall of prices. There was a spike in this prices/supply in Mar/April and it showed a “75%” possible increase in electricity prices this summer. I don’t know if this applies to the whole US or what. It was in the WSJ on June 3 or 4th. I’ll try to find the link to it.
At least the **** Democratic primaries are over! Senator Obama looks like a definite for the Demo nominee; but I wouldn’t rule out senator Clinton trying something eve at the last minute to try again to get the position herself.
It seems quite a turnaround from the way things stood in public discourse and the national outlook and the economy just a year ago.
cheers,
shamba
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