Worst Case Scenario

As to be expected, I visited with moms this morning. Moms and I ate lunch at Zippy's in Koko Marina. Then, moms shopped for groceries at Foodland. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I then chatted with moms until 1pm.

I spent an hour in Koko Head Park. Then, I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck to Koko Marina. After finding shaded parking, I walked to the gym. I did my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) where the dreaded laundry chores awaited my arrival.

The stock market apparently had a volatile day. I have been using my Palm® TX to access the news on the Net (as opposed to the long process of powering up my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer) in the morning. I was able to track the various stock indices.

From the graph, we can plainly see that we are at the tail end of the bulk of mortgage resets. However, there will be another wave of resets for each of the next three years. No stability will return to the housing market until the year 2012 as predicted. We can most likely expect the stock market to remain volatile until that time as well.

And what of the current crisis? According to Karl Denninger, the worst case scenario:

Again, for the second day, no OMO (Open Market Operations) at The Fed. Read this report carefully. Note that there are no Agencies and no Treasuries left on The Fed's balance sheet. All gone. All that is left is $80 billion of crappy MBS. Bluntly, without printing raw money,The Fed is out of Treasuries with which to lend into the market, and thus cannot perform OMO any more; they must do "other things" (like print money.) We are now officially into the twilight zone and Fed Solvency is an issue on the table. President Bush spoke again but none one word about forcing transparency among financial institutions. Raise cash now and be prepared for potential essential good and service disruptions as the supply pipelines could begin to go dry on these as soon as early next week.

You may be inclined to read his article titled, "Potential Economic Seizure Dead Ahead," which appeared on the Market Ticker "blog."

Doom & Gloom

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... you know the drill. The routine was the same with the exception that Pseudo-professor Glenn stopped by to visit me this morning in the inner courtyard of the library. From all indications, he and Nancy are planning to move to Texas by the end of the year. Nancy is planning to sell her Fairway Villa condo. Pseudo-professor Glenn was not able to purchase the Fairway Villa unit that he's renting because most of his money is locked up in commercial paper resets. Normally, the resets are liquid. However, the financial crisis has made it all but impossible for him to sell. He and Nancy are planning to move to Texas because their son Scott has already moved there. Scott owns a small condo in the university district that is also up for sale. As to be expected, I performed my usual workout at the gym before returning to Slob Manor for another exciting evening with my Ubuntu-enabled Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer.

The stock market took another major dive today. Yet, there is still more to go before stocks are at fair market value. I am personally looking at 8,000 for the Dow Industrials index. However, over at the Daily Reckoning, about 5,000 is the anticipated rock-bottom figure. I neglected to scrutinize my investment accounts, which resulted in my shock to realize that my bond funds are tanking as well. Already past the point of no return, I can now only wait out the rout.

There is widespread panic as the so-called "mainstream media" is claiming that trillions of dollars are simply disappearing from 401(k) and pension accounts. What a crock of shit! The money isn't disappearing. It is simply being transferred from the poor to the rich Fascists. A falling stock market indicates that there is massive selling of equities. Someone is apparently buying them up, though. The sellers, especially at or near the bottom of the selling trough, are taking an actual loss. Pension funds and 401(k) accounts only realize a paper loss for account holders. In other words, the loss does not accrue until a redemption is made. However, if the equities prices do not recover before any redemption, than an actual loss will be accrued. There is also the matter of lost potential earnings while the paper losses exist.

As for the economy, there is only one way that it can go ... down. As you may recall, at least 75 percent of GDP is based on consumption, that is, materialistic greed. Consumers have done everything from engaging in multiple wage slavery, racking up credit card debt, seeking personal loans, and extracting home equity in order to attain the so-called "American Dream." Obviously, it is debt, not personal savings, that drives the consumer-based economy. Unless there is a way to present consumers with more cheap loan consolidation schemes, the consumer-based economy is doomed. Once again, since 75 percent of the economy is based on consumption, there is little to fall back upon for a rapid recovery. All in all, we must remain vigilant during the doom and gloom. The secular Apocalypse my finally be upon us.

Incidentally, I considered the option of paying off the mortgage for the "condotel" unit outright. Unfortunately, that does not free me from the monthly condo maintenance fee, property taxes, and other costs. If I pay off the mortgage and my investment accounts disappear, then I will lose everything anyway. Well, at least I know that I won't be alone.

Fascist Smoothie

I was on my way to Kahala Mall by 7:30am this morning. I found shaded parking in the parking structure. Then, I made the long walk to the dentist office. I only had two teeth drilled this morning, both on the right side. The cost? A whopping $319 and some change. I opted for the more expensive composite filling for the lower right rear molar. I did not want to run risk of screwing up the tooth. My left rear molar will be a source of permanent pain for the rest of my life.

After the dental appointment, I purchased a smoothie for brunch at Jamba Juice® in order to maintain a soft diet while my filling sets. I spent some time at Barnes & Noble®. I also walked around the new Whole Foods Market® store. The place was packed with money-spending fools. I perused the exorbitantly high prices. How can those fools afford to buy that crap?

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai at noon. As I approached Kuli'ou'ou, I noticed that all of the traffic signals were not functioning. When I arrived at Safeway® in Kuapa Kai, I discovered that there was a major power outage in the area. The emergency lights were on in the store and several checkout stations were still operational. I purchased a muffin for a snack. I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck to Koko Head Park. I ate the muffin and decided that I would drive to Koko Marina immediately in the case that I would need to ride the bus to town in order to go to the gym. Because of the power outage, I was able to find shaded parking quickly.

I walked to the gym only to discover that it was closed. I then made my way to the bus stop. As I was standing there, I observed that the traffic lights were once again functional. The power was restored. I walked back to the gym and performed my usual workout. After a nice hot shower, I dropped my gym bag off in my truck. I ended up at Taco Bell® for dinner. Two Cheesy Bean and Rice Burritos and one Cheesy Double Beef Burrito. I made one last stop at Foodland to purchase my groceries. While walking around, I felt my stomach cramp up. I had to make an emergency run to the restroom. I suspected food poisoning from Taco Bell®, obviously not a first occurrence. While I was putting the groceries in the truck, I had another stomach cramp. I had run back to Foodland to use the restroom again. I am now fairly certain that I will no longer eat at Taco Bell®. I finally made it back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 5pm.

Well, the Fed made an "emergency" rate cut. The short-term interest rate is now at 1.5 percent. By the end of the month, it should be at one percent. And, zero percent by the end of the year! Heck, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Fascists are robbing us blind using the idiotic presidential (s)election as a diversion. What really gets to me is that the masses are so absorbed by partisan politics while the rug is literally being pulled out from under them. Neither the Fed or the Treasury is interested in relief for the masses. Both Fascist organs desperately want to rekindle asset price inflation in order to lock the masses into debt slavery. Low interest loans do not constitute any form of relief. Will the masses fall for the same ol' shit again? You be the judge.

Dry Scalp Economy

"You desire to discover new frontiers." -- from Panda Express® fortune cookie

An urban nomad kind-of-a-day remained stable amidst a tanking stock market. The only diversion from the usual routine was a trek to the new location of the Institute of Hair Design. I restored my monk haircut. The guy that cut my hair did an excellent job. He also warned me that my scalp is extremely dry. Thus, I must begin using some kind of medicated shampoo. Incidentally, the new location is quite an improvement over the old one.

Did you change your 401(k) or pension plan to a more conservative (i.e., non-stock) option as the ol' lavahead suggested? The stock market tanked again, yet it still has a long way to go before it represents fair market value. The same goes for home prices. Mind you, once the stock market and housing markets reach that point of fair market value, both will be ripe for another "bubble" re-inflation. In other words, nothing can curb the greed inherent in the "system." The Fed is also planning to drop short-term interest rates aggressively, once again just as the ol' lavahead predicted.

I happened to watch the "empty suit" presidential debate on the Net this evening. What a waste of time! Can so many words be spoken with nothing said? Apparently so. More evidence that we are now a Fascist state.

Rhythm of Deflation

Moms and I made the usual rounds around Hawai'i Kai ... Longs® in Kuapa Kai and Foodland in Koko Marina. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. Later, moms served up Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I chatted with moms until 1pm. I then spent an hour at Koko Head Park. I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck to Koko Marina at 2pm. After finding shaded parking, I walked to the gym to perform my usual cardio workout. I shopped at Foodland before returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). After completing the dreaded laundry chores, I settled into the same benign end-of-the-day routine.

With the ushering in of the new era of Fascism, I was inspired to include a timeless photo of General Noriega as part of the celebration. Who better to represent a failed state? The stock market too another dive today, which caused pandemonium. However, we must be realistic. Stock prices are terribly overvalued. The Dow Industrials index needs to shave off another 2,000 points before some kind of parity is attained. Could we be witnessing the onslaught of deflation, I wonder. Petrol prices have decreased drastically in the past few weeks (along with home prices). Of course, the petrol prices could have been affected by recessionary demand destruction and the recent gains made by the dollar (actually the fall of other currencies). When food prices begin to fall, then I would assume that deflation has cursed the empire. Deflation, in itself, is not bad. Only for an empire living on extreme debt is it an anathema. Frankly, I look forward to deflation. So does General Noriega. Our life-styles are in tune to the rhythm of deflation.

Nothing New Redux

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday has "flown the coop," so to speak. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I have been monitoring the Feedjit® Live Feed to observe reader traffic to the "blog." Apparently, the "blog" is down to one legitimate reader per day. The rest of the traffic are the result of Web searches for babe pictures. With that in mind, I plan to cut down the content of the "blog" even further. I have also jettisoned the message boards. Since ForumCo would not honor my request to eliminate the message boards, I took it upon myself to lock it up and throw away the key. I had to do the same thing for Sitemeter.

I heard from an old friend, Stan, whom I lost touch with over 30 years ago. I also heard from Pseudo-professor Glenn. He is planning to meet me at the library in town on Thursday. Aside from that, absolutely nothing new has transpired.

Goosestep to a Fascist Beat

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini

Last night, I transferred $1,700 from my investment accounts to my local bank in order to cover last month's expenses. During the transaction, I pondered whether I should transfer the entire balance. All in all, I attempted to remain objective about the unfolding financial crisis. Yet, I had to wonder what the bailout nightmare will have in store for us very soon. The bailout is law now. And, "Big Bank Hank" Paulson is the equivalent to a typical urinal flush mechanism. He will control the amount of funds that get flushed down the drain.

I must mention that I have read quite a few articles and commentaries about the idiotic bailout plan. Why is it referred to as "socialism"? Socialism is applicable to an entire society, not just one segment. What has effectively happened, as I stated for the past few days, is that the empire has become a Fascist state ... the United Fascist States of Empire (UFSE). Please refer to the definition of Fascism as posted a few days ago in the "blog." If only Benito Mussolini were here to see this débâcle for himself.

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day has been goosestepped into Fascism. I spent 4.5 hours in the inner courtyard of the library. A record, by the way. Then, I performed my usual workout at the gym. I finally made it back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at 5:30pm. Obviously, I endured a long day of essentially doing nothing. That's why I am an urban nomad. I'm just goosestepping to the Fascist beat. Sheesh!

Financial Apocalypse Now!

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai at 8:30am this morning. Moms was home when I arrived. We only made a trip to Foodland in Koko Marina. For lunch, moms served salmon steak and lamp-baked chicken, tofu, and fresh vegetables. After lunch, I chatted with moms briefly. There's something strange going on. Moms mentioned that I can sell my Nissan® Frontier truck if I want to, as moms can always ride the bus. There were other curious tidbits. I am beginning to sense that I am no longer welcome there, no doubt due to some pressure from my bro's family. Given the state of affairs, I am not certain if I care one way or another.

I drove to Koko Head park at 12:30pm. I spent 1.5 hours there. I pondered the idea of finally jettisoning my family ties. Perhaps that would be best. I thought about my options, particularly the prospect of becoming a full-fledged homeless person. I drove to Koko Marina at 2pm. Finding shaded parking immediately, I was off to the gym. After completing my usual workout, I shopped for groceries at Foodland. I was back in Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 4:30pm, just in time to perform the dreaded laundry chores.

Well, we are officially a Fascist state as of this morning. The House couldn't pass the bailout quick enough. The corporate lobbyists were hard at work for past two days, no doubt. There's no sense discussing the matter much further. It's a done deal. What worries me is that there appears to be a major run on the banks, although there is little news coverage about the latter. Why else would be Fed be loaning $44 billion to the banks every day for the last few weeks? The big question, of course, is: where does one put the money after withdrawing all of it from the bank?

Nine Lives of the Bailout

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... exactly the same as it was on Tuesday. Once the redundant crap is eliminated, there is very little content for the "blog." I have been experiencing extreme fits of agitation, most likely due to a combination of sleep deprivation and Fascist apprehension. From all reports, the House is scheduled to embrace the "new" bailout package and pass it before going on vacation. Our collective nightmare will begin shortly afterward.

With no inclusion to assist current troubled homeowners, I am even more certain that the bailout is designed to re-inflate the so-called "housing bubble" with a fresh set of suckers and saps. Home prices still have about 20 percent to lose before bottoming out. In the meantime, the Fed is planning to drop short-term interest rates even further, regardless of whether the bailout passes or not. To kickstart the "housing bubble," the Fed will have to lower short-term interest rates to zero percent. Then, history will repeat itself, perhaps for the last time. Expect the same kind of shady mortgage options to be made available to the new suckers. Watch home prices rise because the Fed's low interest rate policy will fuel asset appreciation (i.e., hyperinflation). The masses care little about the effects of inflation when its primary source of wealth (i.e., houses) is appreciating in value. The "wealth effect" will drive rabid consumption and, hence, economic recovery.

Once the "toxic" debt is purchased by taxpayers (through more loans), the banks will be free to engage in the business of more loans. Banks will not be happy with one-time loans to long-term homeowners who buy in at the bottom. Banks need to make more and more money by turning over loans, which can only be accomplished by yet another "housing bubble." Banks do not want homeowners in affordable housing. Profitable loans come from financial overstretch, the essence of debt slavery. Banks do not want the rank-and-file peons to ever pay down any loans. Don't think that a bailout will change that fact.

The exodus may be coming soon. Given the final opportunity to divest myself of everything and breaking even, I will leap at the chance. The bottom line is that the bailout will buy time before the collapse comes. I do not think that the empire's economy can sustain another "bubble" after the next one collapses. The bailout will probably end up costing well over $1.5 trillion when all is said and done. The empire is bankrupt. It can only "print" more money or borrow it (from China, Japan, Russia, and the Middle Eastern sheikdoms). And, the empire is probably at the end of its credit line. My suggestion is to get out of Babylon. The secular Apocalypse is coming.

At the least, get out of debt. Pay off loans and mortgages expediently. Sell investment property once the "bubble" begins inflating again. Do not refinance or seek equity-line loans. Eliminate all credit cards. Divest from the stock market or stock mutual funds. Convert all 401(k) accounts to conservative (i.e., non-stock) investments. Save money regularly. Be prepared for the collapse. Welcome to the Fascist state!

Welcome to the Fascist State!

Welcome to United Fascist States of Empire (UFSE)! To celebrate this momentous occasion, I have included an image (not available) of the father of Fascism himself, Benito Mussolini (Il Duce). Denying the will of the rank-and-file peons, the Senate voted in favor of the same ridiculous bailout proposal defeated just a day earlier in the House. Mind you, both organs of government have now become dictatorial powers. And, yes, both are controlled by the despicable Democratic party, the laughable "party of the people." It boggles my mind to see the idiots in the rank-and-file peonage who are still fully supportive of the party's traitorous presidential candidate. Well, anyone who's been waiting for the "October Surprise," welcome to the UFSE!

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck at 8:15am. Moms was home when I arrived. We left immediately for Ala Moana Center. Once there, I found shaded parking. Moms shopped at Longs®. While I dropped the stuff off in the truck, moms shopped for shoes. At 10am, moms walked to the dentist office. I decided to meander around the mall. I ended up at Barnes & Noble®. Moms met me near the Center Stage area afterward. We walked to Shirokiya to enjoy the usual bento-style lunch. We made a last stop at Foodland before returning to Hawai'i Kai. Moms served up Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. The time was past one o'clock, which is moms nap time.

I drove to Koko Head Park and spent 1.5 hours there. I might as well enjoy the freedom that I have before the Fascist infrastructure gels. In the future, I may spending my time goosestepping around in an internment camp. I drove to Koko Marina at 2:30pm. I walked to the gym and performed my usual workout. Afterward, I shopped at Foodland. Then, I immediately returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing).

Well, the House vote on the bailout will occur tomorrow. Can we expect to see a repeat of Monday's vote? I doubt it. Most likely, there will be a lot of coordinated goosestepping as the ruling elite (i.e., the moneychangers and powers-that-be) lay down the gauntlet. Once again, my friends, welcome to the United Fascist States of Empire!