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Must of been used for Trump's third leg in another one. lol
Here's the story on it.
Fake AI images of ‘Trump arrest’ hit internet
BY LAUREN SFORZA - 03/22/23 1:47 PM ET
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3912427-fake-ai-images-of-trump-arrest-hit-internet/
The guy who created and creating it.
https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins
Shows on my screen, not sure what's up. Just a pic, no video.
If all else fails;
How Some People Pump Stocks pic.twitter.com/Y8ls7En3FI
— Lion Vest (@LionVestGroup) March 20, 2023
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 22, 2023
Zelensky travelled to the Bakhmut area today to issue state awards to some of Ukraine’s bravest soldiers holding the line against the Russian invaders.
Putin will never have the guts to go this close to the frontlines… pic.twitter.com/qV2ubZaB80
Trump called for protests but outside Trump Tower right now are demonstrators calling for his arrest lol pic.twitter.com/M40nSGAV1t
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 21, 2023
If it moves any more cautiously, it will come to a complete stop. lol While the wait, time to catch up on all of our debt.
This really is a good explanation of banking. pic.twitter.com/EUx3LFYiuc
— Jim Bianco (@biancoresearch) March 21, 2023
Blueish areas will likely have better healthcare in general in the future and may make more healthcare professionals vote left. Things of this nature are spreading. Probably the same will go for teachers and librarians.
Idaho hospital to stop delivering babies. One reason? ‘Bills that criminalize physicians’
https://www.idahostatesman.com/living/health-fitness/article273303190.html#storylink=sectionheadlines
BY KELCIE MOSELEY-MORRIS IDAHO CAPITAL SUN MARCH 17, 2023 7:35 PM
Bonner General Health, the only hospital in Sandpoint, announced Friday that it will no longer provide obstetrical services to the city of more than 9,000 people, meaning patients will have to drive 46 miles for labor and delivery care.
The hospital’s board of directors and senior leadership called the decision emotional and difficult, and cited a loss of pediatricians, changing demographics and Idaho’s legal and political climate around health care as the reasons.
“We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services,” said Ford Elsaesser, the hospital’s board president, in a news release. “We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”
“Without pediatrician coverage to manage neonatal resuscitations and perinatal care, it is unsafe and unethical to offer routine labor and delivery services,” said the news release, which citing months of negotiations that sought to avoid the outcome. “BGH has reached out to other active and retired providers in the community requesting assistance with pediatric call coverage with no long-term sustainable solutions.”
The hospital said it would make every attempt to continue deliveries through May 19, but said it will depend on staffing. It will continue to provide women’s health services at Sandpoint Women’s Health and collaborate with Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, which is about an hour from Sandpoint, to provide obstetrical care.
Bonner General Health delivered 265 babies in 2022 and admitted fewer than 10 pediatric patients, according to the news release. That is a decrease from prior years that reflects a nationwide decrease in births and an older population moving to Bonner County.
PHYSICIANS COULD FACE FELONY CHARGES, LOSE LICENSES
The release also said highly respected, talented physicians are leaving the state, and recruiting replacements will be “extraordinarily difficult.”
Idaho has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, with affirmative defenses in court only for documented instances of rape, incest or to save the pregnant person’s life. Physicians are subject to felony charges and the revocation of their medical licenses for violating the statute, which the Idaho Supreme Court in January determined is constitutional.
“The Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care,” the hospital’s news release said. “Consequences for Idaho physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”
LONGTIME OB-GYN SAYS SHE’S LEAVING IDAHO
Dr. Amelia Huntsberger, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Bonner General Health, said in an email to States Newsroom, a national nonprofit whose newsrooms include the Idaho Capital Sun in Boise, that she will soon leave the hospital and the state because of the abortion laws and the Legislature’s decision not to continue the state’s maternal mortality review committee.
“What a sad, sad state of affairs for our community,” Huntsberger wrote.
Linda Larson, who has lived in Sandpoint for 36 years and delivered her first child at Bonner General Health, said the community relies on the hospital for much of its health care services, including physical therapy and routine blood work.
“It’s just breaking my heart to see what’s happening,” Larson said. “It’s a wonderful hospital; they have excellent care. I just can’t say enough good things about it.”
WHERE TO GET OB-GYN CARE IN FAR NORTH IDAHO
Sandpoint Women’s Health will not accept new obstetrics patients effective immediately and offered a referral list for patients to use for their care. Other hospitals that can still take labor and delivery patients are: Cabinet Peaks OB/GYN in Libby, Montana Coeur OBGYN in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Health Care for Women in Coeur d’Alene Kootenai Clinic OB-GYN in Coeur d’Alene Kootenai Clinic OB-GYN in Post Falls, Idaho Newport Hospital in Newport, Washington
READ NEXT GUEST OPINIONS
St. Luke’s official: Change is needed in Idaho’s abortion laws before it is too late | Opinion MARCH 14, 2023 11:51 AM
READ NEXT GUEST OPINIONS
I’m a maternal-health doctor, and I’m leaving Idaho because of restrictive abortion ban | Opinion FEBRUARY 16, 2023 4:00 AM
READ NEXT STATE POLITICS
‘Art is being censored.’ Parts of exhibit at Idaho college removed for abortion messaging MARCH 07, 2023 7:11 PM
READ NEXT BOISE & GARDEN CITY
A mobile billboard promoted abortion pills in Boise. It was asked to leave, nonprofit says MARCH 07, 2023 1:29 PM
Federal prosecutors warn court of potential deluge of January 6 charges – report
US attorney in Washington DC sends letter to court officials estimating another 700 to 1,200 defendants could face charges
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/16/january-6-capitol-attack-deluge-charges
Victoria Bekiempis in New York
Thu 16 Mar 2023 09.50 EDT
Federal prosecutors in Washington have reportedly told court officials a thousand more people could be charged in relation to the deadly January 6 Capitol attack.
Matthew Graves, the US attorney in Washington DC, sent a one-page letter to the chief judge of Washington DC federal court, apprising her of the potential deluge of defendants, Bloomberg News reported.
More than a quarter of Republicans approve of Capitol attack, poll shows
Read more
The correspondence provides details on what the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, has described as “one of the largest, most complex and most resource-intensive investigations in our history”.
Graves said in the letter that justice department officials estimated that another 700 to 1,200 defendants could face charges. That would nearly double the number of criminal cases relating to January 6, Bloomberg noted.
More than a thousand people have faced charges for alleged involvement in the Capitol riot. Those who attacked Congress did so at the urging of Donald Trump, seeking to thwart certification of Joe Biden’s election win.
Graves said knowing how many cases would unfold was “incredibly difficult” due to the “nature and the complexity of the investigation”. The prosecutor also said he did not know the exact proportion of misdemeanor and felony cases to come but thought there would be a larger proportion of felonies, Bloomberg said.
“We expect the pace of bringing new cases will increase, in an orderly fashion, over the course of the next few months,” Graves wrote. He concluded by saying prosecutors’ estimates might shift as the justice department continues to “evaluate changing resources and circumstances”.
Federal charges against participants in the Capitol riot have ranged from physical violence and property destruction to seditious conspiracy.
The justice department has said 326 people have faced charges for “assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 106 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer”.
Some 140 police officers were assaulted. About 55 people have been charged with conspiracy, the justice department said.
Of approximately 1,000 people arrested to date, 518 have pleaded guilty, with many facing jail or prison. Fifty-three people were found guilty at trial, justice department data showed.
The DC federal judge, Beryl Howell, told Bloomberg the court “continues to manage its caseload and trial calendar efficiently, notwithstanding the delays occasioned by the pandemic”.
“So far, the court has been able to manage the increased criminal caseload well,” said Howell, whose term concludes this week. “Should a ‘surge’ of filings occur at a later date, the court would assess what additional steps, if any, it should take.”
Criminal investigations into Trump’s attempts to undermine the 2020 election continue. Trump also faces a hush money investigation in Manhattan, a criminal investigation relating to his alleged retention of classified documents, a New York civil suit over his financial dealings and a defamation trial arising from a rape allegation he denies.
Only thing positive here is the more of those "best people" who get arrested/indicted/jailed, the more likely some actual consequences will happen to Trump.
The investigation is true, unknown if anything will be applied, but the political money laundering has been rampant with that fraud. Then there is this, only the best people;
DOJ charges Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, associate of Steve Bannon, in $1 billion fraud
PUBLISHED WED, MAR 15 202310:58 AM EDTUPDATED 17 MIN AGO
Dan Mangan
@_DANMANGAN
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/15/doj-charges-guo-wengui-steve-bannon-associate-in-1-billion-fraud.html
KEY POINTS
-The controversial Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, an associate of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon, was arrested in New York for orchestrating what federal prosecutors called a more than $1 billion fraud conspiracy.
-A Manhattan federal court grand jury indictment charges Guo with duping online followers with promises of “outsized” investment returns.
-Prosecutors said they have seized more than $650 million in alleged fraud proceeds from 21 different bank accounts as part of the case.
-The Securities and Exchange Commission separately filed a civil complaint against Guo, who is known by multiple different names, including Miles Guo and Miles Kwok.
more............
And this;
Former NATO chief: Trump nomination would be ‘geopolitical catastrophe’
BY JARED GANS - 03/15/23 8:44 AM ET
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3900921-former-nato-chief-trump-nomination-would-be-geopolitical-catastrophe/
Reminds me of Gail Davis on the Andy Griffith show (ok so I'm showing some age here, but it's still good comedy).
Barney and Thelma Lou decide to play matchmaker for Andy and her visiting cousin Karen Moore. They don't have much trouble as Andy and Karen soon hit it off. In fact, they have a lot in common including shooting, music, and singing. Barney puts his foot in it as usual when he tells Thelma Lou that Andy has checked Karen out and makes it sound like she's a commodity to be purchased. Thinking that Andy is as crude as Barney makes him out to be, she decides to teach him a lesson at the annual skeet shooting competition. Karen is a champion skeet shooter, a fact that Andy nor Barney know about. Karen ends up winning the competition; putting Andy in his place.
Gail Davis, the actress who played Karen, previously starred as the title character in Annie Oakley (1954), who was, among other things, a skilled shooter.
This was the last acting credit for Gail Davis.
Interesting to note that they have filed this under the Entertainment section of the news. I wonder how entertained the market sentiment will be tomorrow.
First Republic says its liquidity remains 'very strong' in bid to calm nerves following Silicon Valley Bank's collapse
Ryan Hogg
Sun, March 12, 2023 at 10:00 AM EDT·4 min read
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/first-republic-says-liquidity-remains-140000472.html
-First Republic sought to reassure customers after its share price crashed following SVB's collapse.
-The bank said its average customer deposit amount was well below the maximum $250,000 insured limit.
-However, about 68% of the bank's deposits, or almost $120 billion, are not insured.
First Republic Bank sought to reassure customers that their deposits were safe as regional lenders scramble to dampen contagion fears sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank..............................................................more
Then there is this video which has already being shown around the world from the UK to Russia with people that are entertaining different views.
https://twitter.com/UpwardNewsHQ/status/1634708020251721728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March
This week the Oversight Committee held 8 hearings — none of which addressed the derailment in East Palestine. Meanwhile, people from East Palestine are roaming the halls of Congress trying to find any Member to hear their concerns. Oversight needs to hold a hearing on this issue. pic.twitter.com/3CsqaTQmtZ
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) March 9, 2023
FuelCell Energy: Strong Q1 Headline Numbers Don't Hold Up To Scrutiny
Mar. 09, 2023 11:26 PM ETFuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCEL), FCELB5 Comments
Hydrogen-Powered Fuel Cell Unveiled in L.A.
David McNew
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4586316-fuelcell-energy-strong-q1-earnings-dont-hold-up-to-scrutiny?mailingid=30790211&messageid=2850&serial=30790211.13223&utm_campaign=rta-author-article&utm_medium=email&utm_source=seeking_alpha&utm_term=30790211.13223
Note: I have covered FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL, OTCPK:FCELB) previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company.
On Thursday, FuelCell Energy's common shares rallied more than 20% in early trading following the release of perceived strong first quarter results with revenues will above consensus expectations and the highest gross margin reported in several years:
Key Financial Metrics
Company Press Releases and SEC-Filings
Unfortunately, both revenues and margins were boosted by a $9.1 million one-time benefit which was actually the result of a rather negative development as disclosed in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q (emphasis added by author):
Our December 2021 Settlement Agreement with POSCO Energy Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Korea Fuel Cell Co., Ltd. (“KFC”), included an option to purchase an additional 14 modules (in addition to the 20 modules that were purchased by KFC during fiscal year 2022). This option included a material right related to an extended warranty obligation for the modules. The option was not exercised by KFC as of the expiration date of December 31, 2022 and, as a result, the Company recognized $9.1 million of product revenues, which represents the consideration allocated to the material right if the option had been exercised.
Adjusted for the windfall profit, revenues would have been roughly in line with analyst expectations while consolidated gross margin would have been negative 13.8% rather than the positive 14.1% number reported.
Even worse, quarterly cash burn of $63.3 million reached a new all-time high and resulted in unrestricted cash and short-term investments declining by approximately 15% quarter-over-quarter to $390.8 million.
For the first time in many quarters, the company abstained from offsetting elevated cash burn by selling large amounts of new common shares into the open market.
With close to $400 million in unrestricted cash and short-term investments and 76.5 million shares still available for issuance under the company's most recent open market sale agreement, liquidity remains sufficient to fund the company's ambitious growth investment plans in FY2023:
2023 CapEx
Company Presentation
That said, with up to $225 million in projected capital expenditures and research and development ("R&D") expenses as well as an estimated up to $150 million in negative cash flow from operations not related to R&D, investors will likely have to prepare for additional dilution this year.
Please note that FuelCell Energy is looking to double the amount of authorized common shares from 500 million to 1 billion on the upcoming annual meeting next month.
In Q1, the company recorded $9.9 million in capital expenditures and $12.7 in R&D thus leaving up to $202.4 million for the remainder of the year.
Looking at the company's core generation business, segment performance rebounded from depressed fourth quarter levels and after adjusting for depreciation, amortization and certain charges related to the Toyota Tri-Generation project in Long Beach, gross margin was roughly stable on a year-over-year basis:
Generation Segment
Company SEC-Filings
During the quarter, the heavily-delayed Groton Submarine Base project finally became operational albeit at a reduced output of approximately 6 MW as compared to the plant's nameplate capacity of 7.4 MW. The ongoing technical issues have also resulted in the company incurring substantial amendment and performance guarantee fees related to the existing offtake agreement:
As previously disclosed, the Groton Project achieved commercial operations on December 16, 2022. On December 16, 2022, the Company entered into an amended and restated power purchase agreement (“Amended and Restated PPA”) which modified and replaced the existing power purchase agreement with Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (“CMEEC”) to allow the Groton Project to operate at a reduced output of approximately 6 MW while a Technical Improvement Plan (“TIP”) is implemented with the goal of bringing the platform to its rated capacity of 7.4 MW by December 31, 2023. (...)
The Company is incurring and will continue to incur performance guarantee fees under the Amended and Restated PPA as a result of operating at an output below 7.4 MW during implementation of the TIP. Although the Company believes it will successfully implement the TIP and bring the plant up to its design rated output of 7.4 MW by December 31, 2023, no assurance can be provided that such work will be successful. In the event that the plants do not reach an output of 7.4 MW by December 31, 2023, the Amended and Restated PPA will continue in effect, and the Company will be subject to ongoing performance guarantee fees.
As a result, the rated capacity of the company's operating Generation portfolio has increased from 36.3 MW to 43.7 MW sequentially:
Generation Portfolio
Company Presentation
Management currently expects the Toyota Tri-Generation project in Long Beach to become operational in Q3/FY2023 while the large-scale plant in Derby, Connecticut is projected to commence commercial operations in the company's fiscal fourth quarter.
Backlog continues to go down as FuelCell Energy recognizes revenue from existing service contracts and under the joint development agreement with a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil (XOM) related to the company's carbon capture technology:
Backlog
Company Presentation
On the conference call, management again touted potential benefits from last year's Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA"):
IRA
Company Presentation
That said, investors should not expect any near-term revenue impact from potential IRA incentives as market participants are still waiting for additional guidance from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service.
In addition, product sales are likely to remain limited this fiscal year due to Korea Fuel Cell having abstained from ordering additional modules and the company still being in the process of rebuilding its Korean sales channel.
Bottom Line
Adjusted for a sizeable one-time benefit related to the non-exercise of a significant module purchase option by Korea Fuel Cell, FuelCell Energy reported another less-than-stellar quarter with cash burn reaching new all-time highs.
In addition, the company has committed to aggressive growth investments which in combination with anticipated losses from operations might result in negative free cash flow of up to $350 million this year.
As a result, investors better prepare for further, aggressive utilization of open market share sales as a means to replenish the company's cash reserves.
Given ongoing execution issues and elevated risk of further dilution, investors should continue to avoid the common shares.
Investors looking for a somewhat less risky investment in FuelCell Energy should consider taking a position in the company's Series B Preferred Shares (OTCPK:FCELB) which trade around 51% of face value despite ranking senior to common stock and paying a rather juicy 9.8% cash dividend on an annual basis.
Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
When you sell a piece of property for profit of $100k due to rising value of that property you pay x amount of capitol gains to the gov. If you rent that piece of property for $1000 profit from expenses you pay x amount to the gov. If the property went up in value to the point of making a million on the sale, you pay multiple times tax amount on capitol gains on that same piece of property. You raise the rent due to market appreciation (and rising expenses) and you somehow make $1500 profit a month and you pay more taxes to the gov on that income. The reverse applies if you make less profit and will lessen the gov income. Of course that's if you're not someone very rich and special and get the gov in control making some rules or policies or purposely lack enforcement that give you a bigger break. That definitely happens.
That's just one tiny example of how more income to the gov happens with rising home prices and the control over how that money comes to them. And then of course you have housing costs in the Fed's interest decisions playing a part in that control overview. Then we would have to include social economics under gov control and policy decisions. We would also have to include the political power and manipulation in the discussion too.
Not really any conspiracy, whether it's nefarious or just normal administrative processes, the control is there, just reality of the real world. Sure there's things they can't control, that just human nature and also unknown or thought of at the time things from consequences that the gov actions bring (a big part in the political realm) and they lose some of that control in some areas and that effects. Chicken or the egg thing. Which control over what comes first?
But hey, everyone has to make their money with their own belief systems, but just remember reality can bite you in the anus depending on how you look at things.
Now I really got to go, I just got my new pair of RTX 4090 24GB GDDR delivered to put in my rig that I built about 4 months ago. All my kids and grandkids have gotten more updated rigs built for them and I was still using my old Z97 board with a i7-4790K cpu and an old pair of RTX 960Ti's 4GB GDDR which I have been using in my new build until now. Yippee. I was starting to get some erroring and conflicts as I switched all my monitors to 2 & 4k and Win11. Still have to get my gpu blocks for my liquid cooled system, but I'm like a kid at xmas to get these bad boys in. I'll just use software for the gpu cooling for now.
Where do you live now where you find the government so thoroughly controlling of your local economy and homes?
I think you're kind of looking at some pieces to a puzzle and not looking at the whole picture. A lot of time would be spent on all the pieces, way too much for a post. I like to summarize looking at the whole picture and of course the bottom line.
I was meaning government in general, federal, state, county, city, all included. They are all connected and feds lending rate has a lot of connection to money lent out to the public. Higher property values = increased money flow and money lent out = increased gov income. The direct and a lot of indirect lists are long. I've had property in many states, still have a few, including California. Every local I've dealt with pays the bills with a big percentage coming from property owners. I'd say more than 20% sometimes out of all the other taxes taken in to pay those bills for that area and beyond. It can be listed in fees, bonds, etc., but all that is just a little itemization, doesn't change the amount of the check we have to write out to the system. My point was more that the country's bill payments are coming from a big percentage property owners.
I'm not sure where property market value doesn't have effect on the appraised value that we get taxed on and pay or the income tax paid when rented or sold, but I do know I've spent the time and money to fight the amount of assessment attached a few times, and even appealing to the state to finally get the amount I write the check out for reduced.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but the fact that the value of our property is such a big part of our assets and a big part of the money flow of our economy and capitalistic society as a whole, that the Fed gov is not taking that into account and developing processes (some unknown to the general public) that manipulate the big picture, the least of which manipulating how they list the data and use the numbers or having connection to the RE value or market.
The point of the article was that they are again reaching that brick wall or top of the bell and going over the other side of the bell curve. This bell curve has the amount of gov income directly or indirectly connected to that big part of money flow involved with property values on the y axis and the value of that property on the x axis. Two points on the bell graph are known. First point, the curve goes from 0x0y where gov doesn't get any income if that big part of money flow is worthless (no flow). Gov income goes up the more the value of property increases on the x axis and the amount we pay out to where it reaches some point Rmax and then goes back down to zero income for the gov for the second point. Where x or property values go so high that nobody can or will pay and we have total system breakdown and anarchy (again not a good money flow or income to the gov). So all the attention is put at staying at the top of the bell.
Given that the rate charged can vary or different itemizations can occur but gov tries to maintain that overall flow constant.
Example bell curve.
Remember that higher property values equal higher rents and higher property payments and can change the money flow with risks of creating less gov income. Also remember that our elected government part depends on a big portion of that money flow in the political field.
For sure the "system" is willing to take some collateral damage, a certain amount of bankruptcies, increasing homelessness, more renters instead of home ownership, etc., which is another point the article makes. The ever growing wealth and economic gap and who his going to take and are taking the brunt of the damage caused by too high of price for having a roof over ones head. Too much of that, and systems break to far.
I believe a big factor on the control of housing pricing is the government 17-18% of income from property taxes (depending on what sources you listen to). Not the thing most think about when talking about the housing market, but the gov really took a hit in the last housing crisis and things were put in place to deal with it from happening again. Sort of a silent force at play. They are always trying to keep on top of the tax bell curve, but economics of the everyday Joe/Jane is another kind of "fighting the fed".
Housing affordability hits historic low
BY ADAM BARNES - 03/03/23 8:00 AM ET
https://thehill.com/business/3881539-housing-affordability-hits-historic-low/
Fewer than a quarter of homes listed for sale nationwide qualified as affordable for the typical U.S. household, according to a new report shared exclusively with The Hill.
The report, released Friday by real estate brokerage Redfin, found that the number of affordable listings in 2022 fell by more than half from the previous year — the largest annual drop on the company’s record dating back to 2013.
Redfin analyzed home listings in the nation’s 100 most populous metros, marking a listing as affordable if its estimated monthly mortgage payment did not exceed 30 percent of the local county’s median income.
“Housing affordability is at the lowest level in history, which is widening the wealth gap—especially between generations,” said Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr.
“Many millennials were able to buy homes before or during the pandemic homebuying boom, but many others were priced out of homeownership and forced to keep renting,” Marr added.
This was due largely to a combination of persistently high prices and surging mortgage rates, which peaked late last year.
Yelena Maleyev, an economist with KPMG, told The Hill the duo of high prices and high mortgage rates have drastically eroded affordability even though prices have come down from the pandemic peak.
“That kind of double whammy, that double pain that folks are feeling, [is] keeping them essentially sidelined for longer … especially those who are maybe at the lower income level or the first-time buyer that can’t sell an existing home and use that money to buy that move-up home,” she said.
Yet it’s not only mortgage rates and high prices impacting buyers.
Ken Ralph, a consultant in Boston, told The Hill prices were a big deal in his home search in the last year but so were poor listing descriptions.
“The descriptions of the available properties are misleading and confusing. You have to actually go see the thing to tell if it is what they say it is,” Ralph said in an interview.
Affordable homes accounted for slightly less than 9 percent of listings in Boston last year, according to the Redfin report.
The growing racial homeownership gap
Redfin’s analysis also found that for the typical white household, around 28 percent of homes were considered affordable. But for the typical Black household, availability plummeted to just nine percent.
“Housing has become incredibly unaffordable for a lot of Americans, but Black families have been hit especially hard because they’re often less wealthy to begin with,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said.
“On average, Black Americans earn less money, have less generational wealth, and have lower credit scores (and sometimes no credit score at all) than white Americans. That makes it tougher to afford a down payment and qualify for a low mortgage rate. They also frequently face racial bias during the homebuying process.”
One way to improve the growing disparity is new construction, Fairweather told The Hill.
“The Black-White Income gap needs to shrink and, in order to do so, more affordable, multifamily homes need to be built for first-generation homeowners looking for a starter home,” Fairweather said.
A separate report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that the homeownership gap between Black and white buyers increased in 2022 to its widest level in a decade. The Black homeownership rate in 2021 was 44 percent, while the white homeownership rate was 72.7 percent, NAR’s report found.
“Unfortunately, the incredible affordability challenges of the last year have hit minority home buyers more than White buyers,” Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement.
“Black buyers are more likely to be first-time buyers, who are more sensitive to changes in mortgage interest rates, while White buyers are more likely to have housing equity to rely on as they make a housing trade.”
Why the Fed is making homes less affordable
The Federal Reserve’s ongoing battle to stifle inflation has pushed up mortgage rates following a series of jumbo interest rate hikes. After reaching record lows of under 3 percent earlier in 2021, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage jumped to more than 7 percent before dipping back down at the beginning of the new year.
The average rate last year was 5.34 percent, up from 2.96 percent in 2021.
Here are the college majors that earned the most in 2022
Biden urges Congress to approve $1.6B to fight COVID aid fraud
The central bank is expected to raise its interest rates several more times this year, putting more pressure on the housing market and raising mortgage rates. And this could lead to price declines, Maleyev said.
“So obviously, that would allow for some of that affordability reprieve in the regions that would see the higher declines,” she said.
“But again, these types of declines, when you think about how high they’ve come up, we’re not thinking about prices coming back down to, let’s say, February 2020 levels. They are still going to be elevated compared to that period, and mortgage rates will still remain high.”
I've done pretty good with KOLD until about a week ago. Stopped KOLD and went into BOIL and some other ng and playing that one. It looks like ng has bottomed around here, and started in BOIL about $5.50 and it reached about $7 today and looking like starting the upward trend. Not so good for inflation, but it's been a pretty good daily trader.
In that way, at least, I'm glad I'm old. I won't have to see the worst of it.
I see, ok thanks.
I don't see 2023 in members posts search or individual board search. When I try to do a search in those areas all I can get is 2022 results. Is there an issue or is it me?
Very true, why I posted the upgrades and did have pause yesterday for selling. But for me for now NVDA a bit high and probabilities for a market lowering with the headwinds and Fed, etc. are greater in my view for my money. I did keep a core and waiting for things to play out. I definitely could be wrong and it goes another $15-20 up in the next week but I already was $100 up a share and weighed the risk/reward and other factors and played it the way I did.
The whole thing could of gone the other way, the market so reactive to the smallest thing and the newest trend market attitudes can change with the wind in such a short time these days.
Well, that's what I ended up doing. I became sure I wanted to sell some at the time about 234-35, but I went ahead and put a $3 drop on it and it promptly went up about $3 and came back down to about the same spot for the sell. lol Still doesn't negate the theory though, a good thought for the circumstance. Now I'm underweight in NVDA. I wouldn't be a buyer here at this level, but;
Barclays Adjusts Price Target on NVIDIA to $275 From $250, Keeps Overweight Rating
According to Goldman Sachs, the prior rating for NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) was changed from Neutral to Buy. For the fourth quarter, NVIDIA had an EPS of $0.88, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $1.32. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of $289.46 and a 52-week-low of $108.13. NVIDIA closed at $207.54 at the end of the last trading period.
BofA Securities Increases Price Target on NVIDIA to $275 From $255, Keeps Buy Rating
Wells Fargo Adjusts Price Target on NVIDIA to $275 From $250, Maintains Overweight Rating
Deutsche Bank Adjusts NVIDIA's Price Target to $200 From $170, Maintains Hold Rating
Jefferies Maintains Buy on NVIDIA, Raises Price Target to $300
Biggest reason I've kept it is that the newest hot market topic is the AI awareness trend and Nvidia is really well positioned for that sector. I sold half last week thinking it was just stretching a bit far and the signals were saying top and down and then almost pulled the trigger with half left before earnings came out AH at about 208, but held. Now it's up to about 234, over what I sold last week for. Might pull a trigger now, but thinking about how much I want to keep for long term years. Pretty expensive stock, really wish they had some decent dividends, and it is still due for lower price, but who knows with this wonky market.
Any input on NVDA? Been a little ebb and flow with this and hold right now at about $134 cost. Earnings tonight.
This is great comedy.
Interesting, maybe if the young men would stop listening to the wannabe macho man Tucker, they would do a little better. I hear that MTG is available, maybe she and any friends she has can help these guys out. lol Jokes aside, it seems it goes a lot deeper. One of the perks I guess being older and with one lady for decades.
Most young men are single. Most young women are not.
BY DANIEL DE VISÉ - 02/22/23 6:00 AM ET
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3868557-most-young-men-are-single-most-young-women-are-not/
Associated Press/David Goldman
More than 60 percent of young men are single, nearly twice the rate of unattached young women, signaling a larger breakdown in the social, romantic and sexual life of the American male.
Men in their 20s are more likely than women in their 20s to be romantically uninvolved, sexually dormant, friendless and lonely. They stand at the vanguard of an epidemic of declining marriage, sexuality and relationships that afflicts all of young America.
“We’re in a crisis of connection,” said Niobe Way, a psychology professor and founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity at New York University. “Disconnection from ourselves and disconnection from each other. And it’s getting worse.”
In the worst-case scenario, the young American man’s social disconnect can have tragic consequences. Young men commit suicide at four times the rate of young women. Younger men are largely responsible for rising rates of mass shootings, a trend some researchers link to their growing social isolation.
Societal changes that began in the Eisenhower years have eroded the patriarchy that once ruled the American home, classroom and workplace. Women now collect nearly 60 percent of bachelor’s degrees. Men still earn more, but among the youngest adults, the income gap has narrowed to $43 a week.
Scholars say the new era of gender parity has reshaped relationship dynamics, empowering young women and, in many cases, removing young men from the equation.
“Women don’t need to be in long-term relationships. They don’t need to be married. They’d rather go to brunch with friends than have a horrible date,” said Greg Matos, a couple and family psychologist in Los Angeles, who recently penned a viral article titled “What’s Behind the Rise of Lonely, Single Men.”
Recent years have seen a historic rise in “unpartnered” Americans, particularly among the young. The pandemic made things worse.
As of 2022, Pew Research Center found, 30 percent of U.S. adults are neither married, living with a partner nor engaged in a committed relationship. Nearly half of all young adults are single: 34 percent of women, and a whopping 63 percent of men.
Not surprisingly, the decline in relationships marches astride with a decline in sex. The share of sexually active Americans stands at a 30-year low. Around 30 percent of young men reported in 2019 that they had no sex in the past year, compared to about 20 percent of young women.
Only half of single men are actively seeking relationships or even casual dates, according to Pew. That figure is declining.
“You have to think that the pandemic had an impact on some of those numbers,” said Fred Rabinowitz, a psychologist and professor at the University of Redlands who studies masculinity.
Young men “are watching a lot of social media, they’re watching a lot of porn, and I think they’re getting a lot of their needs met without having to go out. And I think that’s starting to be a habit.”
Even seasoned researchers struggle to fully account for the relationship gap between young women and men: If single young men outnumber single young women nearly two to one, then who are all the young women dating?
Some of them are dating each other. One-fifth of Generation Z identifies as queer, and research suggests bisexual women make up a large share of the young-adult queer community.
Young women are also dating and marrying slightly older men, carrying on a tradition that stretches back more than a century. The average age at first marriage is around 30 for men, 28 for women, according to census figures.
Heterosexual women are getting more choosy. Women “don’t want to marry down,” to form a long-term relationship to a man with less education and earnings than herself, said Ronald Levant, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Akron and author of several books on masculinity.
In previous generations, young women entered adulthood in a society that expected them to find a financially stable man who would support them through decades of marriage and motherhood. Over the 1950s and 1960s, that pattern gradually broke down, and today it is all but gone.
Women are tiring of their stereotypical role as full-time therapist for emotionally distant men. They want a partner who is emotionally open and empathetic, the opposite of the age-old masculine ideal.
“Today in America, women expect more from men,” Levant said, “and unfortunately, so many men don’t have more to give.”
The same emotional deficits that hurt men in the dating pool also hamper them in forming meaningful friendships. Fifteen percent of men report having no close friendships, a fivefold increase from 1990, according to research by the Survey Center on American Life.
“Men are less naturally relational than women,” said Richard Reeves, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution whose new book, “Of Boys and Men,” has drawn wide praise.
Reeves points to a recent Saturday Night Live sketch that reimagined the neighborhood dog park as a “man park,” poking fun at “this reliance of men on women to do the emotional lifting for them.”
Social circles have been shrinking for men and women, especially since the pandemic, but men struggle more. Thirty years ago, 55 percent of men reported having six or more close friends. By 2021, that share had slipped to 27 percent.
“Women form friendships with each other that are emotionally intimate, whereas men do not,” Levant said. Young women “may not be dating, but they have girlfriends they spend time with and gain emotional support from.”
Aaron Karo and Matt Ritter, both in their early 40s, study the male “friendship recession” in their “Man of the Year” podcast. It arose out of an annual tradition of gathering at a steakhouse with several male friends, all close since elementary school.
“Guys are taught to prioritize career,” Karo said. “Also romantic relationships, although it doesn’t seem like they’re doing a very good job at that. Making friends and keeping friends seems to be a lower priority. And once guys get older, they suddenly realize they have no friends.”
The podcasters and their friends created the annual gathering as a way to keep their friendship alive. It spawned a year-round group chat and a “Man of the Year” trophy, awarded to the most deserving friend at the annual dinner.
“We treat friendship as a luxury, especially men,” Ritter said. “It’s a necessity.”
They need helmets because???
I wasn't expected to be comforted. LOL Also, I definitely understand the impossibilities of vaccinating our wild birds, just as impossible as hermetically sealing our commercial poultry. That's not a reality or economically feasible.
I'm also not sure where you mixed up me with someone else when you stated;
Cattle have been vaccinate for quite some time, which is probably why you refuse to eat beef:
Somehow that doesn't comfort me at all. We have a flu vaccine, yet 30,000 plus people die from that every year. Covid vaccine, the deaths and sickness from that will be 8-10 times that. Mostly in the older age bracket, Covid virus mostly older also, but the age groups have expanded, plus is managing to be in a process of "rewiring" our biological defense systems causing greater effects from things like the common cold. What's the next virus or political culture war on it going to do? Nothing good I'm presuming.
How can we vaccinate our entire wild bird population? I guess we can just kill off that part of bio diversity, like we are doing to so many species, including us.
On a note of China (where Covid started either naturally or lab created and zero covid is impossible), a few years ago remember their swine flue that knocked out 30% of their pig population, a population that was half of the worlds pig population. Problems that may be rearing it's ugly head here in states. How about wild quarter ton "super pigs" to fancy.
A pig is a “mixing vessel”, capable of carrying viruses, such as flu, which are transmittable to humans. National Geographic reported that pigs have the potential to “create a novel influenza virus”, which could spread to humankind.
Same here with my family being pro vacs/mask and covid free (and other viruses, knock on wood). My sister was a RN in the middle of the Covid and Mitigation Wars with patients and coworkers dropping like flies around her and all the magots yelling at her for trying to save them. Retired now with over 50 yrs in the business starting as a volunteer candy stripe girl as a teen to assisting surgeons with pretty much everything from births to gang shootings, mass accidents, and major transplants. She never had to deal with anything like the political Covid War thrust upon her, her crew, and our health industry in general. Nothing even close.
Fighting global warming can make a difference, a difference that may be difficult to measure, at this point all we can do is minimize and mitigate the damage we are doing and have done, something we should have been doing 50-100 yrs ago or even longer. Sure everything pollutes and our natural resources are not infinite, but there are methods and usage that leave an overall smaller footprint and lessen the global warming, birth defects and viruses, polluting of our air, water, land, the essence of life itself.
It goes way beyond just switching to solar, wind, or electric vehicles. A big part of our problem is the waste that humans are doing (which does seem infinite). Everything is so disposable for profit. Nothing lasts like it should, from $3000 appliance that is built to only last a year or just past the warranty to tires that are wearing out so fast to the tune of polluting just as much or more than the ICE vehicle burning fossil fuel is doing. All for guarantied profit of continued purchases and guarantied expense to our climate and health. Gas and oil spewing out into our air, land, and water from leaking wells and pipelines and the violations of the few requirements we have for the industry, and all the byproducts of fossil fuels disposed of. I could go on and on, the education of all these things is being denied the public by 100's of millions of dollars from the fossil fuel and other industry paying our politicians (overwhelmingly the GOP) to hide that education and to work for them and protect them and their profits.
No matter what we do now, there is going to be higher costs coming our way. Drastic change is required though (changes and sacrifices that won't "feel so good"), but if we continue the path that we are doing, those costs will be exponentially greater.
Things like this are not going to help the average Joe/Jane's economy and accumulation of these changing environmental costs will expand to other economical sections of our society. The increasing rate of viruses, diseases, birth defects, national disasters and the costs associated with all of it can only increase as long as our culture continues paying more attention to the political culture and misinformation wars than the science related to spewing all of our junk into the air, land, and water.
Bird flu costs pile up as outbreak enters second year
U.S.
JOSH FUNK, Associated Press
Posted: FEB 19, 2023 / 11:24 AM CST | Updated: FEB 19, 2023 / 11:24 AM CST
FILE – Red Star chickens feed in their coop, Jan. 10, 2023, at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, Ill. The ongoing bird flu outbreak has cost the U.S. government roughly $661 million and added to consumers’ pain at the grocery store after more than 58 million birds were slaughtered to limit the spread of the virus. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The ongoing bird flu outbreak has cost the government roughly $661 million and added to consumers’ pain at the grocery store after more than 58 million birds were slaughtered to limit the spread of the virus.
In addition to the cost of the government response that the USDA tallied up and rising prices for eggs, chicken and turkey, farmers who raise those animals have easily lost more than $1 billion, said an agricultural economist, though no one has calculated the total cost to the industry yet.
The bad news is that with the outbreak entering its second year and the spring migratory season looming, there is no end in sight. And there is little farmers can do beyond the steps they have already taken to try to keep the virus out.
Unlike past years, the virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza found a way to survive through the heat of last summer, leading to a rise in cases reported in the fall.
The outbreak is already more widespread than the last major bird flu outbreak in 2015, but it hasn’t proven as costly yet partly because the government and industry applied lessons learned eight years ago.
“The past year has been devastating for the turkey industry as we experience, unequivocally, the worst HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) outbreak in the industry’s history,” National Turkey Federation spokeswoman Shelby Newman said.
In the current outbreak, 58.4 million birds have been slaughtered on more than 300 commercial farms in 47 states. That is because any time the virus is detected, the entire flock on that farm — which can number in the millions — must be killed to limit the spread of the disease. Only Hawaii, Louisiana and West Virginia have yet to report a case of bird flu. Iowa — the nation’s biggest egg producer — leads the nation with nearly 16 million birds slaughtered.
In 2015, about 50 million chickens and turkeys were slaughtered on more than 200 farms in 15 states.
That previous outbreak remains the most expensive animal health disaster in U.S. history. The federal government spent nearly $1 billion to deal with infected birds, clean up barns and compensate farmers. It cost the industry roughly $3 billion as farmers incurred additional costs and lost money when they didn’t have any birds on their farms.
This bills continue to pile up this year as cases spread, and that includes the cost to consumers.
Egg prices shot up to $4.82 a dozen in January from $1.93 a year earlier, according to the latest government figures. That spike prompted calls for a price-gouging investigation although the industry maintains that the combination of bird flu and significantly higher feed, fuel and labor costs is what’s driving prices so high.
The price for a pound of chicken breast was $4.32 in January. That’s down slightly from last fall when the price peaked at $4.75, but it is up significantly from the year before when chicken breasts were selling for $3.73 per pound.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t track retail turkey prices the same way as part of its inflation data, but the Agriculture Department says the wholesale price of turkey went from $1.29 per pound last January just before the bird flu outbreak began to $1.72 per pound last month.
The number of birds slaughtered peaked last spring at almost 21 million in March, leaving farmers leery of what they must face in the months ahead. University of Georgia virus researcher David Stallknecht said there is some hope that this spring might not be quite as bad because turkeys and chickens may have developed some immunity to the virus.
The key problem with bird flu is that the highly contagious virus is spread easily by wild birds through their droppings and nasal discharges. Despite the best efforts of farmers, it is hard to keep the virus out.
Farmers have gone to great lengths by requiring workers to shower and change clothes before entering barns, sanitizing trucks that enter a farm and investing in separate sets of tools for every barn. Some farms have even upgraded barn ventilation and installed laser systems to discourage wild birds from congregating.
“We recommend all producers redouble their efforts to protect their birds through good biosecurity practices,” said Lyndsay Cole, a spokeswoman for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that’s leading the government’s response.
Farmers began following those steps after the 2015 outbreak, and this outbreak has only reinforced the need to tighten biosecurity.
“America’s egg farmers continue to double-down on biosecurity protocols to protect our flocks and maintain a stable egg supply. We are grateful that there has been little to no farm-to-farm spread in this current outbreak,” said Oscar Garrison, senior vice president of food safety and regulatory affairs at the United Egg Producers trade group.
Poultry and egg producers, partnering with the government, are parsing this outbreak for new lessons in keeping birds healthy.
“That’s really the key – early detection. It’s kind of like a forest fire – the earlier you detect it, the easier it is to contain and eradicate,” National Chicken Council spokesman Tom Super said.
Officials say bird flu doesn’t represent a significant threat to human health. Human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the nation’s food supply. And properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses.
There has only been one human case of bird flu confirmed during this outbreak and that was a man who had been helping slaughter and remove infected birds from a Colorado farm. He recovered from the illness after a few days.
On another note, I won't be investing in NSC anytime soon.
Residents break out in rashes after Ohio train derailment
https://www.newsnationnow.com/prime/residents-break-out-in-rashes-after-ohio-train-derailment/
'Hundreds' of Dead Fish Found After Ohio Train Releases Toxic Chemicals
https://www.newsweek.com/hundreds-dead-fish-ohio-train-crash-toxic-chemicals-1780908#:.
GOP political operative sentenced to 18 months over illegal Russian contributions to Trump campaign
BY JARED GANS - 02/18/23 7:33 AM ET
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3864434-gop-political-operative-sentenced-to-18-months-over-illegal-russian-contributions-to-trump-campaign/
A GOP political operative was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday for his involvement in transferring illegal campaign contributions from a Russian national to former President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
A Justice Department release states that Jesse Benton planned with another political adviser to send political contributions from the Russian national, who wanted to meet with and take a picture with Trump, to the campaign. Benton then arranged for the individual to meet with and take a picture with Trump without revealing their nationality to the campaign or Trump, court documents state.
The release states Benton had the individual send $100,000 to Benton’s political consulting firm to make the contribution so they could meet with Trump. Benton created a fake invoice to claim the funds were payment for consulting work.
He contributed $25,000 to the campaign and kept the remaining $75,000 for himself, according to the release.
Benton presented himself as the contributor, according to the department, which it said caused Trump campaign entities to state in their reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that Benton was the source of the contribution instead of the Russian individual.
Benton was convicted for funneling the illegal contributions to the campaign in November.
He has previously worked for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). He was convicted in May 2016 of campaign finance crimes for paying an Iowa state senator to support Ron Paul in the 2012 presidential election and was sentenced to two years of probation and six months of home confinement. Trump pardoned him in December 2020.
Had the honor of being (lower right) at the White House dinner, November 2000, where Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter both publicly insisted that, despite the antagonisms of the 1976 campaign, theirs was the closest friendship between any ex-Presidents in history: pic.twitter.com/r4pVsCYyVG
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 19, 2023