Stock market analysts warning of a massive crash coming:
“Companies are tilting the results and the analysts are buying it….
…What if they said they’re going to pay for rent by issuing stock?”-Tom Brown, Second Curve Capital
“The analysts aren’t doing enough to get behind the numbers that management gives them to find out what’s really going on.”-Lynn Turner, former Securities and Exchange Commission accountant
“The longer the rally, the bigger the downside because of all the smoke and mirrors.”-John Del Vecchio, asset manager
“The data is more confusing than it’s been in a long time, and the reason is all the ‘junk’ they put in the numbers.”-Michael Lewitt, Credit Strategist Group
“People [investors] just want to know the number. They don’t care how the sausage is made.”-Michelle Leder, financial analyst with Footnoted.com
Also, what housing market recovery? Federal administrators have changed the real estate sales closing rules. The Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (TILA-RESPA) created new home selling rules supposedly to help buyers understand the process, and to ensure that buyers aren’t getting ripped off on their home loan. Those rules go into effect in August. However, when I looked at it, it just looks like a heck of a lot more smoke-n-mirrors fine print and it will probably delay home sales, and drive closing costs up.
Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:
Alaska: News reports warn that 16-thousand state employees will be laid off if politicians can’t agree on a new budget by 01 July.
California: Albertsons-Safeway issued yet another WARN saying eight more employees will be let go from Safeway‘s Pleasanton HQ, in August. Back in February, Southern California Edison laid off 4-hundred U.S. citizens, and then replaced then with migrant workers from other countries! What housing market recovery? Costa Mesa based 28 years old home decor chain-store Anna’s Linens on the verge of bankruptcy. Company administrators admit they are trying to sell-off the business. 3-hundred stores across the U.S. will be affected. Dating app Tinder laid off six employees. Monterey County has shutdown access to Lake San Antonio, there’s literally no more water.
Florida: Too Big to Jail Bank of America is shutting down 14 drive-thru teller windows throughout The Sunshine State. In Orlando, it’s been revealed by former U.S. employees of Disney that they were replaced with migrant workers. 250 U.S. citizens have been laid off at the Disney amusement park in Florida, since October 2014! An unnamed former employee said they were forced to train their foreign replacements: “I just couldn’t believe they could fly people in to sit at our desks and take over our jobs exactly. It was so humiliating to train somebody else to take over your job! I still can’t grasp it!”
Georgia: Yarn maker Mohawk Industries shutting down their Chatsworth factory in August, 156 jobs affected! The company is consolidating operations to newer factories.
Idaho: In Coeur d’Alene, youth outreach program Crosswalk North Idaho shutdown due to having its federal taxpayer funding canceled. Also in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Youth Ranch announced they must shutdown their Anchor House addiction treatment center for boys, it will be re-purposed as a family resource center.
Illinois: God refuses to stop ‘his’ Catholic Charities from shutting down two family shelters and two child development centers by July. The religious organization blames lack of taxpayer funding. In the U.S., religion is supposed to be separate from government!
Michigan: Injection molder Klein Plastics laid off 74 employees in a first round of layoffs. Its part of parent company’s Klein Tools’ plan to consolidate its Michigan and Illinois operations to Texas by 2016. In Ferndale, restaurant Torino suddenly shutdown. The owners claim that Health Department rules do not allow them to serve the type of food they offer where they are located: “This week we were visited by the Health Department and together we have determined that it is no longer possible to continue serving a menu of our caliber due to the current size of our facility.”
Minnesota: Minnetonka based food processor Cargill laid off 45 more IT (information technology) employees, blaming the not recovered economy.
Missouri: Chesterfield based oil pipe maker Boomerang Tube now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. Reports say creditors could be taking over the company. Boomerang Tube was started by Len Blavatnik, who (according to some news reports) is now considered the World’s richest man. Saint Louis based coal company Peabody Energy eliminating 250 jobs! Administrators say the bad economy is forcing them to cut costs by $45-million USD. In Saint Charles, the Saint Andrews second run movie theater shutdown. As with many other movie theater shutdowns they probably couldn’t afford to upgrade to digital.
Montana: What housing market recovery? Cross-laminated lumber maker SmartLam revealed they laid off at least nine employees last week. Administrators say they are trying to diversify their customer base as they admitted they’ve been focused only on building construction in the oil industry.
Nebraska: The Nebraska Bookstore shutdown, 20 jobs lost. Reports say it’s being sold to the University of Nebraska for $4.75-million.
New Jersey: God refuses to stop the shutdown of two of ‘his’ churches. In Atlantic City, Saint Michael‘s and Saint Monica‘s will shutdown as the Catholic community will be forced by the Diocese of Camden into one parish. Catholic administrators blame massive debts and the growing exodus of people on the city’s collapsed gambling industry, and warned more bad things are coming: “The consolidations are not done. There will be more as we go forward.”
New York: Eight years old bakery Sherry Lynn’s Gluten Free shutdown. The owners blamed “struggles keeping this store open”. Euromarket Designs announced they’re shutting down their big Crate & Barrel store in NYC by August, 137 jobs lost! NYC based Time Incorporated blasted their managers for apologizing to employees who are being laid off! At least 11 of their U.S. jobs were off-shored to Philippines. Local news reports say a total of 80 IT (information tech) workers for Time will be laid off. A manual on how to fire employees was issued to Time Inc. managers, and somebody leaked it to the news media, it stated “Don’t say you’re sorry”. After ten years art venue Proteus Gowanus shutting down, but not because of lack of interest. The operators said they’ve become too successful, but it was never their intent to create a commercialized/institutionalized/corporatized arts center. Keep raging against the Machine! After 40 years the La Marmite restaurant shutdown.
North Carolina: The 20 years old High Point Pier 1 Imports store shutdown. It’s part of the Texas based company’s plan to shutdown 1-hundred stores this year!
Oregon: The Alhambra music theater shutting down, yet again. This time it’s blamed on the landlord.
Rhode Island: The Lonsdale Fire District discovered they have a grand total of $14-thousand to operate on and must layoff all full-time firefighters! Taxpayers are demanding to know what happened to the money as fire district administrators never warned of any financial problems.
Texas: What housing market recovery? Houston based real estate company PM Realty Group announced it must eliminated 52 jobs in July. The jobs were part of a contract to maintain an office building for oil company Chevron.
Virginia: The iconic Virginia Beach 66 years old Oceanfront Dairy Queen shutting down due to greedy property developers. Property developers forced, I mean convinced family owners to sell it to them. It will be torn down in September to make room for two big hotel developments. Richmond based Health Diagnostic Laboratory now chapter 11 bankrupt busted, after announcing it will layoff 42 more employees across the country. Last year the medical testing company laid off 162 people! It’s connected to a federal investigation, and subsequent $47-million fine, in which the company is accused of bribing doctors and hospitals.
Washington: What was that about legalized marijuana saving the economy? The evil ‘lawmakers’ passed a new law banning anymore new marijuana shops. Already the city of Seattle has issued shutdown notices to eight ganja shops! Three weed sellers have filed lawsuits against the city. Also in the evil city of Seattle, 38 years old Cinema Books shutdown, the owner was struggling with competing with ‘Big Box’ stores, but the final straw was construction projects that blocked customers. News media say several business in the area report crashing sales due to the fact the construction projects destroyed parking for customers. What construction industry recovery? After 75 years the Seattle-Snohomish Mill shutdown due to crashing sales. Cerberus controlled and AB Acquisition owned Albertsons-Safeway decided to shutdown another grocery store: “In Mercer Island, we are also unfortunately facing a substantial rent increase that makes it financially unfeasible to remain in the space.”
04 – 06 June 2015: “…efforts have been unsuccessful…”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”—