I rarely take a full day off, but when my computer goes out on Memorial Day weekend, I take that as a sign. [Yes I have a spare, but it has issues.] I’m going to just hang with the family for a couple of days.
Consider this an open thread, and have a great weekend!
Twist
(Hope you and your family are having a good time, Twist!)
..Is anybody else out there tired of the MSM and NAR head Yun harping on about how the U.S. is not yet in a recession, only because the hard-and-fast definition of recession is supposed to be two straight quarters of negative growth?
As per usual, the MSM (and Yun) does not entirely know what they are talking about, or at the very least are consistently leaving out some very important facts.
Did you know, for example, that the last OFFICIAL recession, of 2001, did NOT have two straight quarters of decline?
You’d think that such a recent memory would make it obvious to the MSM that it IS VERY POSSIBLE that the U.S. is already in a recession!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession
“a recession is generally associated with a decline in a country’s real gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year. However, this rule doesn’t always hold true. The National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER) Business Cycle Dating Committee ultimately decides whether the economy has fallen into a recession. The NBER …looks at a variety of economic indicators over various time periods and determines whether to declare that the economy is in a recession based on those data.”
…
“the 2001 recession did not involve two consecutive quarters of decline, it was preceded by two quarters of alternating decline and weak growth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession
Ah, but if you don’t want to believe Wikipedia, perhaps you want to believe a little guy by the name of Warren Buffet?
“I believe that we are already in a recession,” Buffet was quoted as saying…”people are already feeling the effects of a recession.”
…
“It will be deeper and longer than what many think,” he added.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hV7SnUSh6F7Z-beL9bu6vmK8tk_AD90T9Q4G0
I also ran into an interesting comment on another message board…
“If you adjust the Real GDP number (which is I think around 1%) for the devalued dollar in just the past 1 year, you’ll see that the GDP has had about a 14% decline in the past year. That’s called a recession.”
Now, I can’t verify if the 14% decline figure in this comment is correct or not (can anybody else out there?), but if it is then according to the wikipedia page’s definition, is the U.S. not in fact already in a DEPRESSION?
From the wikipedia link above:
“Although the distinction between a recession and a depression is not clearly defined, it is often said that a decline in GDP of more than 10% constitutes a depression.”
OOPS! Leave it to the MSM and Yun to deny the U.S. is in a recession when it may already be a depression. Classic!
I saw video footage of Yun for the first time the other day…if anybody believes he is an academic, or objective, or anything but a hired Yun, er, I mean gun, well, um, I guess there are plenty of bargains available in Chandler and Maricopa for you.
twist -
My 7 year old beast went down, too last week (go figure). After a few days of blessed quietness I’m back and just looking around. F&F look nasty today
OP ED! OP ED!
Major development today; could mean the end of the 6% commission:
Realtors Agree to Stop Blocking Web Listings
Realtors Agree to Stop Blocking Web Listings
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 28, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department gave online real estate brokers — and potentially their clients — a lift on Tuesday by forcing a new industry policy opening access to home listings the agents were previously denied.
In a court settlement, government lawyers said the National Association of Realtors could no longer discriminate against Internet-based agents by blocking them from the group’s multiple listing service, a database of for-sale properties.
Online real estate agents often charge discounted commission fees and allow buyers to review listings at their own pace.
For years, however, Internet-based brokers were blocked from accessing more than 800 multiple listing services nationwide affiliated with the National Association of Realtors. An MLS is a database of properties for sale.
…
John-
Supposedly the parts are in to fix my laptop, and the technician should be out tomorrow. In the meantime I’m on my Eee PC, which is a little laptop about half the size of a regular one. It’s handy for traveling, but with a half-size keyboard, I find typing a challenge.
I especially appreciated catching all the news on the sidebar- I’d missed some stories, and I sure appreciated fewer keystrokes!