Philman

'First-Time Homebuyer' Credit May Cost Government up to $96,000 Per Home

Where did you learn math, Paul168? The math here is not fuzzy. It is perfectly in accord with the principles of arithmetic. You, apparently, cannot add, multiply or divide. I wonder how bad you are at algebra?

The real question posed by this article is the efficient vs. inefficient spending of money by the government. Obviously, the people's taxes, past, present and future, should not be spend in the interest of helping particular lobbies, like that of banks, real estate brokers, and home builders. The People's money ought not to find its way, preferentially, into their greedy pockets, and out of the pockets of the rest of us, just because they have managed to hoodwink or control our politicians.

This nation has a crumbling infrastructure - roads, bridges, tunnels, etc., that all need to be fixed. The education system is very poor quality compared to other countries also. We should be spending our money on things like that, if on anything, to help everyone, not just the selfish interests of narrow minded people like you, Paul, and others who I strongly suspect work in either the banking, brokerage, or home building industries.

Why didn't the realtors and home builders save up money for bad times, while they were making money hand over fist, during the boom? Why didn't the banks do the same? They didn't, because the economically incompetent people in those industries didn't think about tomorrow, only about today, and, now, with their lobbyists hard at work, in Washington, stealing money from the rest of us, they are going to transfer the suffering that comes from such incompetence away from themselves, and onto the rest of us.

Let those who deserve to go bankrupt, go bankrupt, and be done with it! That is the best way to recover, according to Jim Rogers. These bad debts need to be written off, not as a result of the bankruptcy of the United States of America, as a nation, 3 years from now, but by the bankruptcy of all the incompetents who caused this Crisis, and the banks, brokerage houses, real estate firms, and home builders that they work for. Don't steal from good people and give the money to bad people. That is what this article is really all about!

Lowe’s Weathers a Tough Retail Market

I don't see why anyone should even consider buying Lowes or Home Depot at this point. Seems obvious that their year-ahead forecasts are overly rosy, leading to overvaluation of the stock. I'd wait until the housing downturn's effect on their earnings cannot be ignored any longer. For example, Lowes seems to have been stupid enough to have plans to open 120 new stores (!) right in the midst of a severe downturn in their business. That is financial suicide. So far, they seem to be amortizing the expense of doing that, so it isn't showing up yet, as a big charge to earnings, but it will. The downturn in housing isn't going to let up until at least 2011, so, if you want to buy Lowes or Home Depot, you should be able to pick it up in the low teens, in a few months. I am so sure the stock is heading down that I've shorted Lowes.