Friday, May 03, 2013

Fire Pic


posted by Rob Dawg @ 9:44 AM 4 Astute Observations

Monday, April 29, 2013

Pending Home Sales Index


The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 1.7 percent to 106.4 in November from a downwardly revised 104.6 in October

 The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, fell 4.3 percent to 101.7 in December from 106.3 in November

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 4.5 percent to 105.9 in January from a downwardly revised 101.3 in December

 The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, slipped 0.4 percent to 104.8 in February from a downwardly revised 105.2 in January

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 1.5 percent to 105.7 in March from a downwardly revised 104.1 in February

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How to lie with statistics as only the NAR can.  

posted by Rob Dawg @ 7:24 AM 4 Astute Observations

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Short Currencies Game

Sorry for the ugly post. Waiting on breakfast in Anaheim of all places.  iPod posts don't lend to clever tables or alluring graphics.

Anyway I was reviewing the state of Europe and wondered about ETF sector performance and more importantly relative performance.  Here's a table of currency ETFs:
http://etfdb.com/index/double-short-euro-index/

A couple things pop out when you pair them. 
YTD: double short Euro, Euro, double long Euro.
+1.63%,  -3.50%,  -3.00%

Currency exchange ETFs are obviously run by would be mortgage brokers who couldn't pass the ethics test.  

posted by Rob Dawg @ 7:28 AM 2 Astute Observations

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Preservation of Principle


UNITED STATES TREAS BDS

7.50000% 11/15/2024

 

 
Pay Frequency SEMI-ANNUALLY
Coupon 7.500
Maturity Date 11/15/2024
Moody's Rating AAA
S&P Rating --
Call Protection YES
Bond Type Treasury
Interest Accrual Date 08/15/1994

Original Issuance






 

 

Issue Date 08/11/1994
Dated Date 08/15/1994
First Coupon Date 11/15/1994
Next Coupon --
Last Coupon 05/15/2024
Workout Date 11/15/2024
Issue Price --

Coupon Features

Coupon Type FIXED
Current Rate Effective Date 08/11/1994






















Wow.  1994 wasn't all that long ago.  This 30 year bond would have cost you 100 then.  Now, with only 11 years left in the term you would have to pay 158.  So you'll get 11 payments of 7.5 and then 100 back in the year 2024.  No thanks.

 Anyway, the lesson?  What goes up can come down.  USTs are not preservation of principal.  

 Yes, the correct usage is principal and the title of this post uses principle.  Think about the principles of any investment advisor recommending "safe as treasuries." 

posted by Rob Dawg @ 8:00 PM 1 Astute Observations

Fourteen Year Old Tease

Okay now that I have your attention,  ;)

The "tease" is indeed 14 years old having been built in 1999 and the acreage is indeed rolling terrain but the price... oh my, the price.  

 The house in question is 5471 Locarno in Wrightwood. 

And why the "tease?"  Because it isn't an honest listing and the agent is completely lacking in ethics.  Here's the listing history:

Apr 24, 2013    Price Changed $299,900   
 
Mar 07, 2013    Price Changed $285,000   
 
Nov 15, 2012    Listed (Active) $299,999   

Jun 07, 2007    Sold (Public Records) $402,500
It should be noted that for the market it is nicely staged.  Homey and settled in.  The house is asking 50% more per square foot than the market supports.  For some reason they increased the price despite claiming it is a regular listing.  They spent 4 months at the original price, 4 weeks at the lower price and now are almost back to the price that sat for four months. 

posted by Rob Dawg @ 1:00 PM 1 Astute Observations

Rent Is Too Damn High



Too funny not to link. 

posted by Rob Dawg @ 6:20 AM 1 Astute Observations