Karen Consumer

Now Is the Time to Consider Investing in Multi-Family Housing

Only a fool would buy multi-family housing that's been forclosed upon. Based on my knowledge of my city of 200,000, if the owner/management company has let it go, they stopped making repairs at least a decade before and simply don't want to deal with local Code Enforcement officials anymore. They've let the water get turned off more than once, only paying the bill when the local news crew shows up to talk to tenants. The city has threatened to condemn the property unless repairs are made and bills are paid. The owner collects rent and even encourages workers to have tenants sign new leases, then gets their phone disconnected so they don't have to talk to anyone once the property is forclosed on. The bank comes in and either pays through the nose trying to get the property ready for sale or lets the city condemn it. The news crews follow-up talking to tenants who now have 3 days to move to another location, and no money for a new place.

You want substandard housing and got money to burn, go for it. You want a real investment property, hold your cash for a quality property, its less money in the long run.

The Final Hours of GM?

"Remember, it is the bondholders who are supposed to be paid first during a bankruptcy, they should have the right to protect their property given the fifth amendment right to due process under the law."

You remember that, I remember that, but the administration doesn't care about that. But whom they do care about seems to be in doubt.

Will Mileage Standards Get People to Drive Less?

Steve: Europe does it successfully because 1) they're smaller than the US. 2) they mandated it, and 3) small cars are the norm in Europe because they don't have the room/infrastructure for big cars (Ever try driving in France? Ever try parking?). Good for them. American's are driving less now, because without jobs to go to, they've no place to go. Make any kind of car you want, no job means no car replacement.

But Europe also accepts that Nuclear energy is necessary and better for the environment than coal. And Europe doesn't have the political aversion to 'cluttering up the skyline with green projects' that American politicians due (the Kennedys opposing wind farms 6 miles off shore of their homes, Fienstein opposing solar panels in the desert, Nevada opposing Yucca Flats, everybody opposing nuclear because of 3 Mile Island, completely disregarding the fact that France and Japan have more nuclear than you can swing a cat at (and they're not running around with extra limbs or ears).

Americans have ingenuity to spare and can create a limitless supply of energy saving devices. But we have too many politicians (and sure, some other folks too) who have a solid NIMBY personality and the political muscle to back it up. When I see the politicians and celebrities driving Fiats and Smart Cars on Capital Hill and in Beverly Hills, then I'll know the government is serious about CAFE standards.

Apple Could Benefit from Selling Macs at Wal-Mart

I agree with Nomad. Fry's Electronics already sell Macs (with lacluster sales help) and Apple stores aren't that far off the beaten path and have true sales help. Selling at Walmart doesn't make any kind of financial sense. A Mac is not an Ipod or an accessory, nor can a Mac be marked down to Walmart's liking; and if it could, a customer at a Walmart would have no one to turn to in store to ask questions of. Additionally, Walmart doesn't have the floor space to truly feature Macs for sale.

Disclosure: I own a beautiful Mac and an Ipod touch (my son bought it for me online at Apple). When we go shopping for accessories, we go to the Apple store or Fry's, because while Walmart "carries" some accessories, they are rarely in stock because of "shrinkage".

Sorry, Rupert: Micropayments Mean Microprofits

Paying for content only makes sense if you're providing relevent, invigorating, investigative content that absolutely no one else is. Todays newspapers are failing because they went to simply regurgitating AP and UPI stories, printing syndicated columnists and cartoons, and selling ad space. I can get all that on the net and not have to wait about getting my paper in the rain (or out of the machine). They saw the local investigative reporter as their achilles heel and to a point were right, upon cutting said reporter they crippled their abillity to compete. If my local paper (Dallas Morning News) were to stop printing altogether, the independant contractors would be hurt, and there'd be a whole lot of metal recycled from the newspaper boxes being taken off the street, but everything DMN supplies is already on the local news channels or on the national websites. We get more local news reporting from unpaid bloggers and crime watchers than we do from Belo Corp. Facts is facts, and that's that.

Oil Now Up 70% Since February

Yesterday (wednesday) I filled up at $1.95 a gallong. This morning same station $2.02.

The heads keep saying the economy is showing signs, but there are fewer cars on the street. When GM's factories shut down for 10 weeks, that means no shipping of cars; when the dealerships start closing that means fewer cars to sell / fewer dealerships to visit and haggle with.

Where is all of this "pent up demand" coming from? What part of the planet is not experiencing a downturn? Come on, quit keeping it a secret.

Want a Pension Over $100,000? Be a Government Worker in California

Ok TraderMark, I put my foot down and disagree with you on this. You got a cop working 20-30 years and he retires with a pension of $100k. Sounds like alot, unless he has to pay his own health insurance upon retirement (anywhere from $500 to $1,500). Guessing he has to still pay taxes on that pension (CA state income tax, federal income tax, any municipal tax, I'm gonna be stingy and say $15,000 a year). Suddenly that $100k a year living in an expensive state like CA doesn't seem so much.

You don't want cops, fire fighters, or prison guards getting $100k a year pensions upon retirement, fine, pay them a higher wage up front instead of promises of a good retirement (assuming they live to retirement age and don't die in the line of duty), ok?

As for the other guys (DA's, Judges, City Managers), we do agree there. They get it on the front end and the back end and usually off the top even when there are layoffs. They need a pension haircut. Funny though, polititians don't like to rock the boat against the people who could put their behinds behind bars.

The State of the Consumer

Andy, I wish you were on TV instead of the big 4. My jaw hit the floor when I heard about the jump in consumer confidence. News orgs must have the same group of people on speed dial when they do these stories and polls. Everybody I know has tightened their belt and is in it for the long haul, no unnecessary spending, and have even taken to offering to buy/trade each others autos rather than have to go to a dealership. And we're supposed to be in one of the "better off" states (Texas).

Americans Name Their Necessities

I have to have the car to work, I can't afford to live near my job.

I have to have a landline phone in order to have DSL. Cable and Satelite internet are not an option for me on this. I would assume that since my friends and many of my co-workers still have landline phones, that would be a strong possiblity as to why.

I can live without a TV of either kind. I don't live in an area where I can hang my clothes to dry, so I have to have a dryer (wonder how you can live without a washer but not a dryer).

In Texas air conditioning is practically the law, so I WILL give up DSL and the phone (and possibly even sell the TV) when electricity goes through the roof with the carbon tax.

Steak 'n Shake Shareholders' Meeting - Turnaround in Progress

"Dennis Roberts spoke of improving not only the cleanliness of the restaurants, but also about the establishment of an Operational Excellence Team. There have been 16 repositioned operators that are now 'Quality Service Control Auditors' who aid in the improvement of restaurants in their areas."

They need to do more than just talk about cleanliness. I still haven't seen any changes in the SNS's in Texas.

Housing Affordability Falls for Second Straight Month Due to Rising Home Prices

ok, I'll bite, where are housing prices rising?

Another Indicator: Consumer Confidence

I am a consumer and I do see inflation. I see myself paying for the carbon offsets that now are a sure thing instead of a maybe. I see myself paying $3.00+ gas this summer while oil stays flat and volume stays flat or goes lower. I see my food prices rise because it takes diesel to get to market, animals produce methane so they must be capped, and the farmers have a new incentive to not plant (keeping that carbon dioxide safely tucked in the ground). I see my electric bill rising because most of the power in Texas is coal fired power plants and they are the 'evil d'jour' and must be regulated, consumer affordability (or human life currently in existence) be damned. I see my water/sewer prices rising, because we humans produce methane and that's got to be capped. I see my trash prices going up (landfills produce methane, no matter how much recycling goes on).

I'm just wondering exactly how far government will go before consumers revolt or business go belly up never to return. CO2 is used in fire extinguishers, are we going to go to all chemical extinguishers now?. CO2 is released when water is used to put out fires, are we going to let them burn or pour chemicals on them. CO2 is released when the snow and ice melts in the northern states and hits the rivers. Is Colorado going to get double taxed for spring snow storms. How are New Yorkers and Chicagoans going to justify pushing all that snow around, putting salt in it to make it melt, releasing CO2?

Somebody, tell me something good.

Auto Industry: Regulation as Stimulus

you say "A new carbon regulatory regime could basically act to accelerate obsolescence of dirty technologies. Consumers and businesses would be encouraged to scrap less efficient machines and invest in cleaner automobiles or homes or appliances sooner. Given the slack in the economy at the moment, it would be all to the good if everyone decided that now was a good time to start preparing for a world in which carbon costs money. It's regulation as stimulus."

Consumers who are unemployed will not be able to buy new cleaner cars, homes, or appliances. Businesses who scrap less efficient machines will also have to "scrap" employees (consumers) to pay for them. The first immediate hit that consumers (among them the unemployed) is going to be in gasoline and electric & natural gas prices going up. And, since methane has been included among the environmental dangers, their water/sewer rates will have to go up as well.

Every dime I have to pay in increased electricity and gasoline in the Summer of 2008 was money I couldn't spend out eating, watching movies, or buying clothes. I made it through the summer just fine, but the businesses who depend on my spending didn't (Linen's & Things, Blockbuster, Simon Properties (my local mall).

Regulation as stimulus, you're a riot.

Clayton Homes Offers Payment Protection Plan: Sign of Strength or Red Flag?

I have lived in a Fleetwood Home since 2002. The mobile home community I live in has approximately 450 home sites with 400 homes currently owner occupied (no rental homes are allowed). The community is managed by Hometown America, which rents the lots and sells homes. They continue to sell homes (albeit at a slower pace than before). The community is well maintained. Although I am not happy that my lot rent is increased annually, no one leaves our community short of retirement or death. Compared to the brick home communities that surround us, we are an oasis of home ownership in a desert of houses.

I only wish my mortgage was with Clayton homes, but unfortunately the servicing platform was sold to Green Tree Financial May 2008.

What Unemployment Claims Portend and When

Cetin, your statement: "We're in a new era of labor transition form inefficient manufacturing jobs to more efficient service and high tech ones." Where have you been? I'm looking and the jobs that have been lost are primarily in service and high tech, not manufacturing. my family and friends aren't being laid off from construction or manufacturing, they're from technical support and finances. This isn't the 80's recession I grew up in, its the Dec 2007-? recession.