Northwest Indiana Discussion

Sorry dude . . . no desire to be owned, or not own my own destiny.

The life is a planned one we have contingency funds where we can move at the drop of a hat. The lifestyle is nothing we fear. A person who is forced to learn it may go into shock. There is closeness and the same commonality as in neighborhoods of homes but there is a vast difference in the amounts disposable income and it's squandersville and the good times roll night and day.

There are many not thinking and do not have contingency funds but for the most part the pre seniors and seniors have nest eggs. They may not be very big but they do have them.

There are neighborhood watches and if something gets out of hand we speed dial each other we are filming and watching those who regularly disturb the tranquility we help each other we become family and when new people move in we scrutinize them and keep them at distance and have no problem reporting them to the proper authority.

If the landlord thinks he can move trash in we all coordinate a plan of attack with the authorities and city government and trust me they don't want to be cited for running a common nuisance.

We have people from all walks of life. Who have fallen from grace and when they meet us and get settled in they breath a sigh of relief and pour their guts out about the home they had to let go.

It's kind of funny they go nuts having a good time and we have to reign them in. They now have more freedom/money and want to party party party.

This week they had to dump the dumpster twice since Monday because of all the stuff people are buying (tax returns) fed ex and ups and other delivery services are here day and night.

There are regular scavengers making a good living dumpster diving in the dumpster one tenant retired and left everything behind my wife got a new fur and jewelry and all sorts of stuff.

When many move they go into there nest egg and just walk away and buy all new stuff they just take their pictures.

We are not owned and have the freedom to walk away and if we break the lease trust me we have documented a situation which the landlord has been of apprised of in writing many times it's called a constructive eviction and cancels the lease. All a thinking tenant has to do is send the management a certified letter return receipt requested advising them if the problem is not rectified in 30 days then in 60 days you will be moving.

Trust me a lot of tenants write letters monthly just for that reason. They keep an open escape route.

We renters are aware of more than we are given credit for.

The grocery store union employees have not stopped the heavy influx of cargo or customers pouring into the County Market in Gary.

The outpouring of products at pennies above cost has caused some major concerns of the unionized grocery concerns in Northwest Indiana.

The city of Gary has to be more careful of the things they wish for. The economic times has once loyal shoppers of expensive upscale grocery stores shopping for bargains from as far south as Indianapolis.

Yes I said Indianapolis and when the people in the know get their subsidy's or pension checks they travel in caravans coming North my sister often fills her car up going south to Indianapolis taking food to family members yes it shocking to me also !

I don't get it but I once shopped in one of those high price grocery stores and before i got to the checkout I though about it and walked out and left my cart in the isle with the food in it.

Save A Lot Food went out of business on Grant street 3 blocks away last week who had picked up the slack when the County Market had gone out of business before.

There is no customer loyalty and name brands are a thing of the past if not competitive there is a Aldi on Grant street and the other day it was manned and guarded by people who don't live in Gary the selection of food has changed.

As I have said there have been some major changes and major changes are occurring daily there will undoubtedly be some major population shifts and low income housing being built around Crown Point if all the poor relief offices are going to be relocated out there.

I will also post this in Gee Guy .

Some very disturbing things you better learn about Guy if you have spoiled your family.

Beware many will turn their backs on you the moment somebody else has the trapping that you formerly provided for them.

It's human nature make those cuts in the right places learn how to buy bootleg dvd's etc.

Save all your change quit leaving it laying around for people to pick up quit throwing your pennies out the window of the car and start picking them up of the ground.

How many pennies do you think are laying on the ground in America?

I have rode with many people who put them in the ash tray and throw them out with the ashes!

Those pennies you throw away could buy your wife a new outfit and outing with her mother occasionally.

Gee Guy I don't Feel Sorry For You

The collapse is continuing they are rioting in Egypt and can't get a handle on it!

Go to any news agency there is a story about them burning their country!!!!!!!

But no reason why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your world is collapsing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The oligarchy has been uncovered !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy

US STOCKS-Egypt riots spark biggest drop in nearly 6 months

Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:46pm EST

* Egyptian civil unrest prompts selloff in equities

* Investors scramble for protective positions, VIX soars

* S&P 500 hit with biggest 1-day loss since mid-August

* Ford, Amazon sink after results

* Indexes down: Dow 1.4 pct, S&P 1.8 pct, Nasdaq 2.5 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
(Adds links to stories, Reuters Insider)

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Stocks suffered their biggest
one-day loss in nearly six months on Friday as anti-government
rioting in Egypt prompted investors to flee to less risky
assets to ride out the turmoil.

Increased instability in the Middle East drove up the CBOE
Volatility Index .VIX, the stock market's fear gauge, as
investors scrambled for protective positions.

"The market hates uncertainties, especially geopolitical
ones, and based on how that shapes up throughout the weekend
(in Egypt), next week's trading will be impacted," said Thomas
Nyheim, portfolio manager for Christiana Bank & Trust Co in
Greenville, Delaware.

Trading volume was the highest of the year at 9.97 billion
shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock
Exchange and Nasdaq, compared to last year's estimated daily
average of 8.47 billion shares.

The market drop ended the Dow's eight-week winning streak
and pushed the S&P 500 below its 14-day moving average for the
first time in two months. Disappointing results from Amazon.com
(AMZN.O) and Ford (F.N) further added to the gloom.

Developments in the Middle East could be a trigger for
investors to sell at a time when many expected a correction
after a market rally of about 18 percent since September.

"I think the next two to three weeks, the crisis in Egypt
and potentially across the Middle East, might be an excuse for
a big selloff of 5 to 10 percent," said Keith Wirtz, president
and chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Investors hedge risk on Egypt fallout fears [nN28134761]
World markets slump on Egypt turmoil, oil jumps [nN28175088]
Egypt unrest hits equities with Middle East ties [nN28151038]
TAKE-A-LOOK-Egypt's unprecedented protests [nLDE70O2DA]
Reuters Insider link: Volatility Soars on Egypt

link.reuters.com/kyd77r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

Nasdaq quotations for its main stock indexes suffered an
outage of nearly one hour at the open, causing confusion among
traders. Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) blamed a glitch with its
global index data service. For details see [ID:nN28114528]

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended down 166.13
points, or 1.39 percent, at 11,823.70. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index .SPX was down 23.20 points, or 1.79 percent, at
1,276.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 68.39 points,
or 2.48 percent, at 2,686.89.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.4 percent, the S&P lost 0.5
percent and the Nasdaq dipped 0.1 percent.

Amazon.com (AMZN.O) shares slipped 7.2 percent to $171.14,
a day after the online retailer recorded revenue below the
consensus view. [ID:nN27267295] [ID:nN27148561]

Ford Motor Co (F.N) slumped 13.4 percent to $16.27 after a
steep drop in quarterly profit. Rival automaker General Motors
Co (GM.N) also lost 5.4 percent to $36.60. [ID:nN28244684]

Dow component Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) also fell 3.9 percent
to $27.75 a day after its profit dipped.

In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak sent troops and armored
cars into cities in an attempt to quell street fighting and
mass protests, and medical sources said at least five
protesters had been killed and 870 wounded. [ID:nLDE70Q2OZ]
[ID:nLDE70R2B3]

The VIX settled up 24.1 percent at 20.04. The percentage
gain was the largest since May 20. U.S. Treasuries prices and
the dollar -- assets considered safe compared to stocks --
rallied.

U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 4.4 percent to $89.43 a
barrel as the protests in Egypt threatened Middle East
stability. Oil companies with operations in the region were
hit, including Apache Corp (APA.N) and Occidental Petroleum
Corp (OXY.N).

Apache shares were down 1.3 percent at $144.84 and
Occidental Petroleum fell 3.3 percent to $93.81.



Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
2,533 to 484. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by 2,221
to 413.
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Kenneth
Barry)

Egypt in flames: Ruling party’s headquarters burning in Cairo after massive protests; Update: Hillary calls for restraint; Update: U.S. to “review” foreign aid to Egypt; Update: Egyptian authorities holding talks on forming “transitional government”?

posted at 11:48 am on January 28, 2011 by Allahpundit

Things are happening fast so let’s get a thread up. A 6 p.m. curfew has been imposed and, thus far, widely ignored. Tanks are starting to roll as I write this and there are reports on Twitter of “loud explosions” and live ammo being used in downtown Cairo. The Telegraph has a screencap from Al Jazeera showing Mubarak’s party headquarters in the city on fire; other party headquarters have been ransacked in Mansoura and Suez. The State Department says it’s deeply concerned and is calling on Mubarak to enact reforms and allow peaceful protests — although I think we’re past that point by now. Mubarak was supposed to speak at around 11 a.m. but nothing from him yet.

Sad to say, your best bet at the moment is by clicking the image below and watching the live stream from Al Jazeera English. Its agenda is no secret — Hezbollah and Hamas are particular favorites — but they’re on the top of the minute-by-minute news here like no one else. So much so, in fact, that their feed may go down at any moment: Word earlier was that Egyptian police were banging on the door of their Cairo bureau headquarters.

Stand by for updates, needless to say.

Update: ElBaradei is a potential compromise choice between secular dissidents and Islamists to lead Egypt if Mubarak falls since the fundies might not want to be too aggressive with their agenda at first. Better to keep that U.S. aid flowing, no? So naturally he’s under house arrest.

Update: Egyptian police reportedly grabbed CNN’s camera and beat the hell out of a BBC reporter. In Iran, however, the media is as pleased as can be by what’s happening. The end of Mubarak means the end of the cold peace between Egypt and Israel in all likelihood, plus lots of new arms smuggled to Iran’s proxy in Gaza. What’s not to like?

And speaking of cold peace, there are now reports of small protests breaking out … in Jordan.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/01/28/e ... -protests/

Gee Guy you have always complained about being screwed but have not said anything about this !

UPDATE 1-Paulson's $5 bln payout shocks, raises questions


Hefty payouts could raise new questions on pay

* Hedge funds still look like industry's goldmines (Adds details about industry investor concerns)

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, whose bet against the overheated housing market made him one of the world's wealthiest people, became a lot richer last year.

By earning an estimated $5 billion in 2010 thanks mainly to bets the economy would recover, Paulson likely set a record for the $1.9 trillion hedge fund industry's biggest-ever year's earnings. He beat his own record, which he set in 2007 with a $4 billion haul made off the subprime bet.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Paulson's payout in its Friday edition, and investors familiar with Paulson's portfolios said the number is likely correct given the manager's asset size and his recent profitable bets on Citigroup (C.N) and gold.

More generally, Paulson's eye-popping payday confirms that hedge funds are still Wall Street's gold mine, where hefty fees make hundreds of managers extremely rich. But it also underscores concerns among investors that they may not always be getting their money's worth, especially when hedge fund returns lag behind the broader markets.

For Paulson, who now ranks among the likes of Warren Buffett and Pimco's Bill Gross as the world's most closely watched investors, the payday comes after he reversed deep losses in his funds halfway through the year. And it may finally put to rest speculation that his investing prowess was limited to one lucky bet during the subprime era.

"He did it on the short side and on the long side," said Brad Alford, founder of Alpha Capital Management, which invests with hedge funds. "He proved that he can really do it all."

Other prominent managers like Appaloosa Management's David Tepper and Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio likely also earned 10-figure paychecks, the Journal reported.

EYEBROWS RAISED

Thanks to a spurt in December, John Paulson's $7.7 billion Advantage Plus Fund ended the year up 17 percent. That is not much more than the Standard & Poor's 500 index' 15 percent gain but it surely returned more in fees to Paulson & Co than to a mutual fund manager overseeing a portfolio tracking the index.

Now the payouts for Paulson and his fellow top hedge fund managers at firms managing over $20 billion are sure to raise new questions about managers' high pay even for low returns.

Overall, the average hedge fund gained 10.5 percent last year, lagging the S&P and falling short of the industry's own 19 percent return in 2009, data from Hedge Fund Research showed. But managers will still collect 2 percent management fees and about a 20 percent cut of their gains.

In Paulson's case, the fact that his 17-year-old firm Paulson & Co oversees about $35 billion fattened up his payout. To be fair, Paulson also invests his entire fortune in his funds and since his gold fund gained 35 percent, his investment gains added billions to his payout.





Gee Guy How Dumb Are You He Creates Nothing !

Give Me Your Money He Said And I will Turn A Profit!

If you Believe In Him So Much Why Is He Not President?

Gee Guy here is what many of them are doing no need to keep wondering .


Leasing versus Buying That New Car

To Buy or Not To Buy, That Is the Question

With all the advertisements for snazzy new cars and low monthly payments, it is becoming increasingly difficult to resist the siren call beckoning us to our local dealership. Without exploring the compulsions that underlie the American need for constant renewal, it is nonetheless apparent that we are a society that likes to drive newer cars. The average American trades cars every three to four years. Now that competition among manufacturers has intensified, many are offering a new enticement: the short-term lease.

Since many Americans grew up with their parents telling them to “buy when you can pay for it” and “a car is an asset,” it is hard to understand why leasing, which involves monthly payments for something you do not own, has caught on. The answer is twofold. For many drivers, leasing allows them to drive a nicer car than they may otherwise be able to afford. Plus, in some cases, it just makes good economic sense.

Most of us finance our triennial trades with a loan, contrary to Dad's advice, which means we're already in the habit of making monthly payments. To keep those payments as low as possible, we tend to take out a five-year loan to pay for our new purchases. The result? At the end of the five-year period we may well own the car, but chances are we really wanted to trade it in a year ago. One other point: our parents neglected to tell us that a car is a depreciating asset, that is, it loses value over time with some makes and models depreciating faster than others. So, the car we now own and don't really want isn't worth very much when we try to trade it in.

To Lease, Perchance To Dream . . .

The leasing alternative addresses all these desires. Because the term of the average lease is shorter than that of the average loan, it allows us to move onto the next car more quickly, and payments tend to be more affordable than loan payments. Let's look at a concrete example.

A 1997 Honda Accord retails for about $19,500, but you could probably haggle the price down to $18,500. The average interest rate on a five-year loan for a new car is approximately 8.9%, and the monthly payments will be $345 if we pay 10% of the purchase price up front. As soon as we drive the car off the lot, it becomes a used car whose value is significantly lower than the amount we have just agreed to pay back over the next sixty months. The payments made in the early part of the loan mostly cover the interest, while those in the later stages cover more principal, so it takes some time for the value we could get for the car as a trade-in to be the same as the amount we have left to pay on the loan.

If we choose to lease this car instead, we would pay $259 per month for 36 months, and at the end of that time we would have three options. First, we could buy the car at a wholesale price determined when we signed the lease and guaranteed by the terms of the lease, in this case about $13,054. Second, we could trade it in to the dealer at a (higher) average trade-in price and buy or lease another car, trade-in value being about $14,200. Third, we could decide to buy the car at the wholesale price then sell it privately (without a dealer) at a presumably still higher price, about $15,900. We could also simply choose to conclude our payments and then walk away (literally, since we would not have traded the car for a newer one or bought the one we had been leasing).

It is important to understand that the cost of the lease is really the difference in the purchase price at signing and the purchase price available to you at the end of the lease, plus some finance charges, divided by the number of months in the lease. Here's why this matters: if you plan to buy the car at the end of the lease, you want the buyout price to be as low as possible, so that when you buy it you have a lower purchase price. If, however, you plan to just lease another car, you want the buyout price to be as high as possible because the cost of the lease (i.e., the difference between the purchase prices at the beginning and end of the lease) will be smaller. Also, cars that retain their value will be cheaper to lease for the same reason: there is less depreciation between the initial value and the residual value.

Apart from the obvious benefit of leasing (instant gratification of an affordable new car every three years), leasing also offers some unique benefits that purchasing does not. For example, leasing allows you to pay for the sales tax over the period of the lease, rather than all at once when you register the car, as is required in some states when you buy a car. Leasing also provides added insurance against unexpected losses. Let's say that you drive a new car off the lot and get hit by a Mack truck, totaling the car. You consider yourself lucky to have survived the accident until you realize that you still owe the bank the full amount of the loan, but that the insurance company is going to treat the value of the car as its replacement value, which would be that for a used car. You would need to pay out of pocket the difference between the amount of the insurance check (for a depreciated used car) and the amount of the loan. If you had leased the car, the bank fee you would have paid goes to purchase “gap insurance,” which guarantees that the leasing company will absorb any deficiency between the insurance reimbursement for a totaled or stolen car and the remaining payments on the lease.

To Buy—Aye, There's the Rub

But buying has its benefits, too. First, if you drive more than 15,000 miles per year, a lease can become quite costly. The lease agreement generally provides an allowance of 12,000 miles per year, and you must pay for every mile above the allotment, usually $0.15 per mile. If you know up-front that you will put on more than the allotted miles, you may choose to pay for the projected excess miles ahead of time, usually at a reduced rate ($0.08 to $0.10 per mile). Also, if you tend to keep cars for more than five years, or are able to finance for shorter periods (if at all), then buying a car may be cheaper than leasing. Ultimately, you will need to balance your desire to drive a newer car with your tolerance for monthly payments to determine whether leasing is right for you. Here are a few points to keep in mind as you weigh your decision:

* Leasing is best when you plan to put less than 15,000 miles per year on the car, and when you plan to replace the car every three to four years.

* You may be able to negotiate a more favorable interest rate on a loan to purchase a car by going through a credit union, but they will require 10–20% of the purchase price as a down-payment.

* Interest rates for used cars tend to be higher than those for new cars. In general, the new car rate for which you qualify will increase by 0.5% times the age of the car (e.g., 1% more for a car that is two years old).

* Insurance payments for a financed new car should be about the same as those for leasing a new car.

* The terms of a lease for any given car are set by the leasing company, not the dealer or the manufacturer, so the same car could be leased under different terms. It is worthwhile to ask your dealer whether other leasing companies offer more favorable rates, but be sure you understand what you give up for that lower monthly payment. For example, a leasing company associated with the manufacturer (e.g., American Honda Finance Co.) may be more likely to refund the security deposit without a hassle, or may offer more favorable rates to repeat customers.

* A “zero money down” lease is a misnomer: it will usually cost at least $1,000 to drive away in your leased vehicle: first month's payment, $259; security deposit, $284 (monthly payment plus $25); “bank fee,” $450–$500; “documentation/prep” fee, $75 (this is the same regardless of whether you buy or lease the car).

* You still must pay to register a leased car, and the car must be registered in the name of the leasing company with you as the co-owner. You may therefore incur added costs to register the leased car than you would to register a car you own yourself because you cannot transfer the registration from your current vehicle.

Whether you lease or buy, it is always better, economically speaking, to choose a car that retains its value over time. If you need to trade it in early, you are more likely to get back at least what you owe.—TMV

Read more: Leasing versus Buying That New Car — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0193143. ... z1COkYShiU

At the end of the day most of us choose cremation and we still have our nest egg.

I have had my urn for over 10 years.


http://www.costco.com/Common/Search.asp ... lang=en-US

Life is for the living it's about how much living you do while living its not about buying brick and mortar and being tied to the land living in your parents house on the same block in the house you were born in paying off their debts and making new ones and hoping your children will walk in your footsteps leaving them sacked with a tremendous debt to fight over who is going to control your debt ridden estate instead of you leaving them cash.

That raggedy home is not going to repair itself nor is that bread winner who pays the bills who is several years older than you going to live forever with the biggest income no matter what you think nor is that old clunker going to last a lifetime.

That 401K at best is now a 101F pretty much your dream has been dashed and one day when the empty nest syndrome kicks in you may go move in with your children paying them rent.

Chances are you will wind up in a nursing home with nothing and (dead) broke.

Of course we don't live in the square footage you live in Mr. Big Stuff!

That's why we have money to squander !

Who are you talking to?

Who am I talking to you ask. This topic is directed at the many home owners and real estate brokers who have over the years lambasted the renter. Mr Big Stuff is just a term used to describe the many pompous overblown conceited people who justify there decision to attempt to own a home on a 30 year lease scheme which clearly states in the contract if you fall behind 3 months you forfeit the right to said premises and must vacate or be forcibly evicted upon the street and it also states they do not want partial payments until you get on your feet in the balloon clause of the 30 year lease with the right to own.

There is no job security anymore the probability of 2 working class people with a family succeeding and meeting those term over a term of 30 years is Zero, zilch, nada, nothing, trifle, naught, void, empty, nonentity and cipher.

I'm not talking about your school teachers lawyers doctors I'm talking about the vast majority of people working from pay check to pay check.