Storm as predicted: A repeat of '83?
This will be a bad one. All the ingredients are present for a major East
Coast storm this weekend, and there is more than enough cold air for snow
across a broad area. As you can see, the I-95 corridor will be right on
the line between all snow to the northwest and a mix to the southeast.
When push comes to shove, it would be no surprise to see large snow
accumulations from Washington, D.C., to Boston from this thing. Certainly,
the whole area from Winchester, Virginia, to Worcester, Massachusetts, is
going to get dumped on. The storm will create very poor travel conditions
and cause numerous cancellations. In addition, strong gales will punish
the coastline from New Jersey to Maine.
Story by AccuWeather.com expert senior meteorologist John Kocet
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Chicago Merc to Trade Snowfall Futures
By DAVE CARPENTER
AP Business Writer
CHICAGO (AP) -- First came temperature futures, then frost-day futures. Now -
futures involving how much snow falls at Logan Airport in Boston or New York's
Central Park.
In the latest evidence that almost anything goes in the marketplace,
meteorologically speaking, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange said Thursday it will
begin trading snowfall futures and options contracts later this month.
The world's largest derivatives exchange said the new product, which will
trade electronically starting Feb. 26, should help cities manage risk associated
with snow accumulation. Insurance companies, retailers and other businesses with
a lot riding on the weather also can use the futures to hedge their risk.
"The impact of weather can influence regional and local markets, playing a
critical role in the overall economy," said Rick Redding, the exchange's
managing director of products and services. "CME weather futures provide the
safety and soundness investors are seeking to manage their weather-related
risk."
Here's how it will work.
Snowfall futures and options are geared to a snowfall index focusing
initially on Boston and New York. The index will change based on official daily
snowfall totals.
Investors can buy and sell contracts trading on a monthly basis from October
through April. .....
Trying to forecast the weather is ridiculous, no?
Maybe they should sell stock on heads or tails coin tosses.
If the bettors favor tails does that mean more tails will occur???
Sylvester never catches Tweedy
Here is Dirk whose house I see right now from my seat
at my computer.
Mary and I had dinner with Dirk and Marla last night.
They just completed the course to have their sailing licenses.
Aren't the British Virgin Islands beautiful?
Thought for the day:
As income tax time approaches,
did you ever notice:
When you put the two words
"The"
and "IRS" together
it spells
"THEIRS"?
I just read the book Sell Now forecasting the
coming Real Estate Housing Bubble Burst.
They neglect to account for inflation though.
They bemoan the aggressive banks lending adjustable rate mortgages to people
without enough money.
Yet the Florida Realtors praise the new 40 year mortgage products being
introduced now.
Mayor Bloomberg predicts a 10% drop in NYC housing
prices this year,
and others forecast 2% decline in New England.
Here's more info if you are interested:
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Talbott's latest effort in warning of the coming housing crash bluntly
advises owners to liquidate in a hurry. Raising the stakes from his
previous best-seller (The Coming Crash in the Housing Market), Talbott
argues housing prices will plummet by as much as 50 percent over the
next five to seven years, a hit that will be felt on an international
level and cascade into larger economic problems: more job losses and a
weaker banking infrastructure. As a guide for the average homeowner,
this book is a convincing argument broken down into laymen's terms,
albeit one fueled by bias: Talbott admits he, "allowed his anger and
bitterness," to influence his writing, making it less a studied survey
than a "creative analysis," as Talbott terms it.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.
Book Description
How Far Can Home Prices Fall?
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?
Home prices are seriously overvalued in many regions of the United
States. The question is no longer if, but rather how
far, home prices will fall and over what time frame this
bubble will deflate. Home values have been escalating in real
terms since 1981, the year nominal interest rates last peaked. And
the greatest price increases in percentage terms have been in the
wealthiest and most exclusive cities in the world.
Sell Now! analyses the evidence and offers clear
explanations of these perplexing issues. Overly aggressive
mortgage lenders have fueled this overheated market by extending
too much credit to home buyers and by offering ever-more exotic
forms of mortgages. Many home buyers have been caught in a
never-ending race to achieve status, often overpaying for homes in
the “right” neighborhoods. And people’s pursuit of easy profits
has pushed prices to unsustainable levels.
Finally, there is a reasoned analysis that not only explains how
home prices got this high, but why they are sure to fall and by
what amount. Sell Now! debunks many theories that purport
to show that home prices are either reasonable or are sustainable
at their
current high levels.
How bad can it get? Unlike previous home-price declines, this
cycle has the potential to be not only national, but international
in scope. The national economy, so dependent on the housing,
mortgage, real estate, banking, and construction industries for
growth, is at risk and the entire banking system might come under
fire.
You owe it to yourself to become better informed about the
possible impact on you, your family and your most important
asset---your home.
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http://www.investment-u.com/ppc/t2realestatebubble.cfm?kw=XVVIU980
http://wallstreetwindow.com/housing.htm
A couple of weeks ago, I
talked with a guy who lives in New Jersey. He told me that his house has more
than doubled in value in the past 5 years. He bought it for less than
$300,000. His neighbor across the street put his home up for sale - came over
to his house - and asked him to put his house up for sale for a million. He
doesn’t want to move and his neighbor knows that, but the neighbor thinks a high
asking price on one house will allow him to make more money when someone buys
his.