Saturday, 03 January, 2009 - GIANT Hollywood featuring Z-Trip
Saturday in Los Angeles… Z-Trip comes to LA for his second of two GIANT nights. Joining him at Vanguard is Tittsworth, Baltimore’s hottest new mix master. If you missed Tittsworth at Maximus, you’ll want to check him out here. Like Z-Trip, he draws from disparate musical sources to blend a rockin’ set for your aural pleasure. His new album,Twelve Steps is getting rave reviews and it’s a good taste of what you’ll hear in his live set.
GIANT at Vanguard every Saturday night featuring the Worlds Best DJ’s
• The West Coast’s Premiere
FUNKTION ONE Sound System makes for the funkiest dance floor in town,
putting the bass in your face and the beat to your feet.
•
Outside, find Nirvana in Hollywood’s Largest Outdoor Patio and Zen
Garden complete with a full service bar, multi-level seating and a
soundtrack set for grooving under the stars.
• Upstairs, overlooking the dance floor, the 1-UP Lounge is a new glass enclosed hangout to get hungover in.
• Or, maybe move to a different groove in the Lower lounge, Vanguard’s second dance room.
• All this and $$10 Valet Parking right next to the club? This is GIANT!
• Doors open PROMPTLY at 9.30pm and we don’t stop ’til 4am.
•
VIP Table Service, with express entry and only a one bottle minimum, is
available with your choice of cushy booths adjacent to the dance floor,
upstairs in the glass enclosed 1-UP Lounge, or try out one of the lush
cabanas in the outdoor garden. For reservations, dial 323.463.3331 or
email paige@vanguardla.com.
• Vanguard is located at 6021 Hollywood Boulevard, two blocks east of Vine Street.
It’s 2009 : Mortgage Loan Limits Fall As Scheduled In “High-Cost” American Cities
As part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Congress authorized a conforming loan limit increase in “high-cost” areas around the country. Versus the national conforming loan limit of $417,000, for example, a Manhattan home buyer could secure a 2008 mortgage for $725,000 and still be within “conforming” guidelines.
Effective January 1, however, those limits rolled back. Conforming mortgages in the 59 designated high-cost regions are now capped at $625,500.
In non-high-cost areas, the 2009 conforming loan limits remain unchanged from 2008.
- 1-unit properties : $417,000
- 2-unit properties : $533,850
- 3-unit properties : $645,300
- 4-unit properties : $801,950
Loans in excess of these dollar amounts are often called “jumbo”, or “super jumbo” home loans, depending on their size. Jumbo home loans tend to be more costly than their conforming-sized cousins.
Epiphany and K-LOVE
K-LOVE Christian radio station began broadcasting in Austin a few years ago and quickly displaced KNLE, the long-time home-grown Christan station. Around the same time, Austin also got “The River” Christian radio station that attempts to blend secular with Christian a bit more (e.g. John Tesh’s radio show, songs by Christian-compatible artists like Switchfoot, etc.).
I listen to K-LOVE and enjoy many contemporary Christian songs. Today I tuned in and heard a short talk segment that I wanted to share. It went something like this:
Morning announcer: With the addition of many Hispanic people to the United States in the past years, there are some new holiday traditions that are being celebrated; in particular, the day of the Three Wise Men, which Hispanics observe 12 days after Christmas and which commemorates the three Magi coming to give gifts to the baby Jesus. K-LOVE’s Belinda Perez from Puerto Rico shares her experience.
Belinda Perez: This is such a fun day that we have celebrated where we put little boxes with grass under our beds at night and then in the morning they have gifts in them from the Three Wise Men.
Then the morning announcer concludes the short segment with some mention of this new and interesting celebration.
Of course, this celebration is not new; it is the feast of the Epiphany, and Christians have been celebrating it on the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th, for at least 1600 years (to mark Christ’s baptism and then the Magi’s visit) because, for all Christians up until recent years, Christmas was not something only celebrated for one single day, but rather for eight days, an octave. The joy and majesty and wonder at the Word becoming flesh was something we Christians wanted to marvel at for an extended period of time.
I do not want to denigrate K-LOVE, a radio station doing good work to spread Christ’s Kingdom, yet this episode demonstrates the gulf that divides Catholics (and other more traditional Christian communities) and Evangelical Protestants: The celebration of Epiphany seems like a novelty brought into our country by Mexicans with their curious traditions and involves getting little gifts like on St. Nicholas’ day, rather than as a beautiful final flourish for the last week of the Christmas liturgical season.
May Christ’s Kingdom come and may He unite all Christians in the fullness of the truth! God bless you this Christmas season and during the coming celebration of the Epiphany.
Happy New Year
“It’s 1990! Forget about the past–look to the future…”
–Bono (frontman for U2), at a live concert in Mexico City (oops at the Point Depot, Gerardo corrected me!)
Happy New Year, friends and family! This new year has found us with two sons–something we never would have expected this time last year. Our decision to foster with hopes of adopting began in earnest in late summer, and though it seemed like it took a long time to receive these two boys, in truth it was only a few months of waiting.
Katie and I realized this morning that we had room in our hearts, in our lives, in our home, for these boys. “What would we be doing right now without them,” Katie asked me this morning while I was playing with them and she made breakfast. “I would be surfing the blogs,” I replied, but instead, we are a family with children, and surfing the blogs is done less and mainly when they are napping (like now), and while they are awake, we are holding them, feeding them, giving them “tummy time” to help them learn to crawl and explore, directing their “work” with toys so they can develop their minds and bodies.
For Catholics, today is the feast day of Mary, Mother of God. I know that we have Protestant and even non-Christian readers, and especially as a Protestant, this title would have bothered me. I won’t go into deep apologetics about it other than to say that if it does bother you to hear this title, please read about when it was proclaimed by the Church at the council of Ephesus in only 431 AD, not too far from the time when the canon of Scripture was determined. It is also worth reading to understand what the Church means by this title and what she does not mean:
3. Now, the difficulties and objections raised by Nestorius offer us the opportunity to make several useful reflections for correctly understanding and interpreting this title. The expression Theotókos, which literally means, “she who has begotten God”, can at first sight seem surprising; in fact it raises the question as to how it is possible for a human creature to give birth to God. The answer of the Church’s faith is clear: Mary’s divine motherhood refers only to the human begetting of the Son of God but not, however, to his divine birth. The Son of God was eternally begotten of God the Father, and is consubstantial with him. Mary, of course, has no part in this eternal birth. However, the Son of God assumed our human nature 2,000 years ago and was conceived by and born of Mary.
In proclaiming Mary “Mother of God”, the Church thus intends to affirm that she is the “Mother of the Incarnate Word, who is God”. Her motherhood does not, therefore, extend to all the Trinity, but only to the Second Person, the Son, who, in becoming incarnate, took his human nature from her.
Motherhood is a relationship of person to person: a mother is not only mother of the body or of the physical creature born of her womb, but of the person she begets. Thus having given birth, according to his human nature, to the person of Jesus, who is a divine person, Mary is the Mother of God.
Have a blessed new year!
Deliberate Deception
by Dr. William Pierce.
“Hello!
In our weekly discussions here I sometimes use careless language which leads to misunderstanding, and when I do I’m sorry for it. The problem is that I really have a great deal of work to do, and I usually don’t have time to refine and polish my remarks before I go on the air, and so sometimes I don’t make myself as clear as I might. One listener criticized last week’s broadcast because I referred to Ayn Rand as a “Soviet Jewess” who preached a religion of selfishness. He wrote to me that that was like saying that Ayn Rand was a believer in both communism and in self-reliance and individualism at the same time, and that didn’t make sense.
Actually, my reference to Ayn Rand as a “Soviet Jewess” was intended to mean only that she was a Jewess from the Soviet Union, not that she was an apostle of communism. Unlike many of her fellow Jews at the time, she did not preach communism. She was, however, an apostle not only of selfishness but also of other destructive ideas preached by nearly all of her fellow Jews, such as the idea that race doesn’t matter. In her book The Virtue of Selfishness, after railing vehemently and at length against what she called “collectivism,” she wrote, and I quote, “Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.” — end quote — Furthermore, Ayn Rand’s brand of selfishness was a far cry from the sort of self-reliance and individual responsibility in which I believe. The atomistic sort of selfishness she preached was intended — again I say intended — to sever a person from his racial roots, to kill his feeling for his race, to lead him to put his personal interests above his responsibilities to his race as a whole, and, in fact, to abjure his racial responsibilities altogether. And this was deliberate.”
The rest is [Here]. (For the audio version, go [Here] and scroll down to 12-18-1999).
How To Shop For Mortgages In A “Vacation Week”
Mortgage markets are like any other market — in order for goods to change hands, a buyer and a seller must first reach an agreement to “trade” at a specific price point.
In general, the more buyers and sellers there are for a particular item, the easier it is to find that “fair value” and make the deal.
An abundant number of buyers and sellers often creates a liquid market in which assets — in this case, mortgage bonds — can be sold rapidly with minimal loss.
This week, though — with so many traders on vacation — the “liquid market” has gone illiquid. The treasury market posted just 41 percent of its normal, daily volume Monday, leading to erratic pricing in the mortgage bond market which, in turn, caused mortgage rates to follow.
For example, mortgage rates started the day lower yesterday before sprinting higher over a 30-minute, early-afternoon span. Markets were largely unprovoked by economic data, geopolitical developments, or technical factors. It just, kind of, “happened” and the move left mortgage rate shoppers in the dust.
That could happen a lot this week. So, if you’re in the market for a mortgage, be ready to lock quickly. With low liquidity, rates rarely sit still for long.
(Image courtesy: Purdue BCM)
Mortgage Markets In Review : December 29, 2008
In a week defined by low volume and lack of conviction, mortgage markets idled ahead of the holiday last week. Friday’s post-holiday action was even slower.
After falling for two consecutive weeks, mortgage rates held flat last week.
It’s somewhat surprising that mortgage rates didn’t rise considering the flow of negative economic news last week:
- Joblessness appears to be worsening
- Consumer spending sputtered
- The U.S. dollar is showing weakness
Lately, each of these elements has played a role in mortgage rate movement but it’s the last bullet point that could throw home buyers and refinancing Americans for fits.
It’s because of the relationship between mortgage rates and the strength of the U.S. Dollar.
All things equal, a strong dollar pressures mortgage rates lower whereas a weak dollar pressures mortgage rates up. And, because the dollar’s recent beat-down has been swift, it wouldn’t be unexpected to see similar mortgage market movement at any time.
This week, like last, is interrupted for the holiday. Regardless, there’s much going on. Aside from two economic reports, there is nothing else for markets to digest and no planned speeches by members of the Fed.
Expect just a small number of traders to show up for work this week. This means volume will be especially light. But don’t be lulled into taking your eyes off the market — low volume on Wall Street is sometimes accompanied by high levels of volatility.
For now, mortgage rates are hovering near their 2008-lows. Given the path of the dollar and low-volume trading, that could all change in a flash.
(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)
A Great Combination : Too Many Homes For Sale And Low Mortgage Rates
For the first time in over a year, the sales of “used homes” fell below the 5-million unit trendline, helping to push the total home inventory higher by 0.1 percent nationwide.
Based on the rate at which homes are selling nationwide, it would take 11.2 months for the existing housing supply to be exhausted.
For home buyers, this is an opportune time for negative news on housing.
First, sellers know that between now and the Super Bowl, housing activity will be light. The general scarcity of buyers may force a seller to accept a bid he wouldn’t have accepted otherwise.
Second, the economy is showing weakness and that, too, can concern a home seller. Buyers are less likely to extend themselves during times of economic uncertainty, further reducing the buyer pool and, again, putting pressure on the seller to “make a deal”.
And lastly, because the government has been trying to force mortgage rates down as a way to stimulate the economy, the weak housing data is actually making it cheaper to finance a home. This means that a well-qualified home buyer can better stay within budget.
Each 0.500 percent rate reduction saves $33 per $100,000 borrowed.
It is important to remember, though, that the U.S. housing market is not national — it’s highly localized. This is one reason why national real estate reports can be misleading. Just as figures from Phoenix have little to do with statistics from St. Paul, even data from neighboring ZIP codes can vary.
The universal truth, however, is that a home that is priced fairly will sell more quickly than a home that is not. And, until the Super Bowl passes in 45 days, expect fewer buyers to be out there competing for them.
(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal Online)
Brooklyn, NY: another jew gets popped for investment fraud
note: Only one news source on google news picked up this news worthy story despite it’s NY origins. Website appears to be located in the UK. Story appears here
Brooklyn, NY - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed and settled charges of fraud, filing false documents, and misappropriation of customer funds against a registered commodity pool operator, Innovative Capital Management, LLC (Innovative), and its principal and sole owner, Yehuda Belsky (Belsky), both of Brooklyn, New York. The CFTC order requires Belsky and Innovative to pay, jointly and severally, a total of $1,250,000 in restitution to five pool participants and a $100,000 civil monetary penalty. The order also imposes permanent trading bans on Belsky and Innovative and permanently prohibits them from applying for registration with the CFTC.
The CFTC order, issued on December 19, 2008, finds that from approximately September 2006 through February 2008, Belsky and Innovative fraudulently obtained funds totaling $1,250,000 from five commodity pool participants. Instead of using the solicited funds to purchase commodity futures and/or options contracts—as represented in solicitation materials—Belsky and Innovative misappropriated at least $385,000 of those funds, created false commodity pool account statements misstating the net asset value and monthly rates of return of the pool and then delivered these fraudulent statements to pool participants.
The order also finds that, during a routine audit by the National Futures Association (NFA), Belsky and Innovative provided NFA with (1) fraudulent account statements purportedly prepared by the futures commission merchant where the pool’s account was maintained and (2) fraudulent bank statements that falsely inflated the amount of pool funds on deposit at that bank.
The CFTC would like to thank the NFA for its assistance with this matter.
The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff were responsible for this case: Philip Rix, Joseph Rosenberg, Elizabeth Brennan, Steven Ringer, Lenel Hickson, and Vincent A. McGonagle.
complaint against belsky can be viewed here:
Mortgage Markets In Review : December 22, 2008
Mortgage markets improved last week for the second week in row. After the Federal Reserve said it would use “all available tools” to stimulate the economy, traders responded by driving mortgage rates to 50-year lows.
It didn’t last long, however.
After bottoming out early-Wednesday morning, mortgage rates trended higher all the way into Friday’s closing. It was the third time in 2008 that a sharp mortgage rate drop lasted less than one full day of trading.
Many Americans took advantage of the historically-low mortgage rates, locking in new home loans below 5 percent. And, in general, these homeowners shared 4 characteristics:
- Credit scores of at least 720
- At least 20 percent equity
- Relatively low debt versus household income
- Ongoing relationship with a loan officer
Now, the first 3 bullet points are easy-to-understand but it’s the fourth one that really mattered — it’s the trait that got people “real-time access” to low rates the moment they published.
After all, it wasn’t until Thursday morning that the press ran its stories about “4.5 percent mortgage rates” and, by that time, mortgage rates had already retreated — by as much as a full percentage point in some cases. Thursday morning’s news was a half-day too late.
Still, mortgage rates do remain low.
This week is trade-shortened and thick with data. In addition to two pieces of housing news and a consumer sentiment survey, we’ll get a look at the Federal Reserve’s preferred Cost of Living index. All four data points are expected to validate the recession, so don’t expect mortgage rates to move much.
Instead, the biggest threat to mortgage rates this week is momentum. If mortgage rates tick higher Monday and Tuesday, expect that to continue Wednesday into the 2:00 P.M. market close and then to resume again Friday.
Markets are closed Thursday for the federal holiday.
(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal Online)
