Best E-mails of the Week Feb 12, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smile!

 

I had a great January.

 

And I am trying to have an even better February.

 

Hope you are too!

 

 

(Listening to Barry Manilow's Greatest Songs of the Fifties helps.)

 

Perfect for Valentine's Day!

 

 

 

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

 

 

Pretty accurate forecast!

 

Chicago Merc to Trade Snowfall Futures


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???

 

 

Take the survival test
 

 

 

 

 

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.
 

   

 

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.

 

 


 
 
Cash in on the Coming Real Estate Crash :

 

How to Protect Yourself From Losses

 

 Now, and Turn a Profit After the Bubble Bursts (Paperback)

 


by David J. Decker, George G. Sheldon

 

 

 

Forecast house price increase or decrease for your city:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/03/real_estate/house_price_predictions_for_2006/index.htm

 

 

See what your house is worth:

 

www.Zillow.com


 

 

Fedex delivers video:

 


 

 

 

 


 
 

Space Clearing by Karen Kingston - Feng Shui website about Space Clearing & Clutter Clearing
Space Clearing by Karen Kingston - Feng Shui website about Space Clearing & Clutter Clearing
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

 
  
Have you seen the DVD Feng Shui for Dummies?

It's great. 

I also just read the book Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui

by Karen Kingston

Her site is www.SpaceClearing.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete

 (at the helm of Manfred's boat for a few minutes:)

 

And with Duel Reenactment friends at Aaron Burr's 250th BURRthday party last week.

 

 

Humor

By The Lobotomist, Section News
Posted on Sun Feb 12, 2006 at 01:37:03 PM EST

Name the last sitting VP to shoot a person.

 

No... not Aaron Burr. If you had been asked the question Saturday morning, the third Vice President -- serving under Thomas Jefferson -- WOULD have been the correct answer.

Then, at about 5:30 pm Saturday....THIS happened.

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.  Harry Whittington, 78, was "alert and doing fine" after Cheney sprayed him with shotgun pellets on Saturday while the two were hunting at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong. Armstrong said Whittington was mostly injured on his right side, with the pellets hitting his cheek, neck and chest, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.  Whittington was in stable condition Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.

Back to Aaron Burr. He was later tried (although acquitted) for treason.

Will this strange vice-presidential historical coincidence continue?

 

 

  

 

                         

 
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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