Five dollar Spring projects!

Hope your weekend was GREAT! It snowed here today. Ugh. So it was fitting that I worked on Spring projects, eh?

I'm joining Lindsay over at Living with Lindsay for her Five Dollar Challenge -- check out her site, so much fun!

Money doesn't grow on trees?? No one sent me that memo. I should clarify -- one of these projects was FREE and one was only two bucks.

Just sayin'.

Let's start with one of the cutie moss bunnies at Pier One. I've picked these up about four times in the past month or so, but couldn't figure out what to do with them. Last week, it hit me:

A pot I already had, along with foam and moss I already had. Add in a $2 mossy bunny:
ACK! Adorable! Stuff the foam in, stuff the moss on top, stuff in the bunny. You are DONE.

My other project was one I'm really excited about -- because I know you already have half of it in your cabinet:

If you are the ONE person on earth who does not have the generic glass vase that comes with all flowers, then just get your booty over to Goodwill -- they've got about 25 waiting for you.

I used my jute twine (correction from this post -- I thought it was sisal but turns out jute has a slightly darker look that I like better than the sisal) and wrapped it around and glued it like I did the bottles.

I. love. it. It screams Spring to me. I threw in the "faux" flowers till I splurge on some white tulips. (When did tulips get so expensive??):

And I have to show my under $5 projects from last week as well -- you can find them here. My son's art caddy:
Little container for little toys:
Four custom tags for under $2:
Fun little magnets:
Head over to Lindsay's to see more fun projects! And keep linking up your spray painting projects here -- so much inspiration!

GM CEO Wagoner, a Visionless Dinosaur, Forced Out

Far too late to matter for GM's viability, CEO Rick Wagoner Said to Step Down.

General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will step down after more than eight years running the largest U.S. automaker, people familiar with the situation said.

The Obama administration asked Wagoner, 56, to leave the company and he agreed, an administration official said. Wagoner said March 19 that he didn�t plan to resign. The likely replacement, unless the government hires from outside the company, would be Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson, said John Casesa, managing partner at New York-based consulting firm Casesa Shapiro Group.

�If they go to someone inside, Fritz is the obvious choice,� Casesa said. �He�s run every region, he�s been number two and he knows where all the bodies are buried.�

The departure of Wagoner comes as President Barack Obama prepares an address tomorrow morning on his plans for the future of the U.S. auto industry. GM is surviving on $13.4 billion in U.S. loans and is asking for as much as $16.6 billion in additional aid to survive. Wagoner was asked to step down as part of the company�s restructuring, the official said.

�It�s very hard for the government to write a big check without giving some evidence of change,� Casesa said. �This will also give the government moral authority with the other stakeholders to make them sacrifice.�

Wagoner has repeatedly argued he knows the company better than most who could take his job. He joined GM in 1977, as U.S. automakers were fending off Japanese competitors who recognized the need a decade earlier to build fuel-efficient vehicles.

As CEO, the former Duke University freshman basketball player and Harvard University MBA early on bet against gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, focusing research on hydrogen technology. GM offered its first full-scale hybrids in 2007, a decade after Toyota introduced the Prius.

Wagoner kept GM focused on trucks and sport-utility vehicles, only to press for development of the Volt plug-in electric car when gasoline prices soared.

Wagoner a Visionless Dinosaur

Wagoner is an aging dinosaur with no vision. He made bad bets on the wrong technology. He bet on Hummer, an ugly gas-guzzling behemoth right as gas prices were poised to soar. He failed to sell Hummer and all of GMAC when he easily could have unloaded them for good prices. He backed hydrogen technology rather than hybrids. He clung to too many brands.

Ironically Wagoner argues he knows the company better than most who could take his job. Unfortunately, someone who knew nothing about the company or the industry would likely have done a far better job.

Incompetence Rewarded

Incompetence is often richly rewarded. Please consider GM CEO Rick Wagner's 2007 compensation.

General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner's compensation package for last year is valued at $15.7 million.

That's 64 percent more than 2006 when the package was worth $9.57 million.

On the assumption he made a mere $5 million a year before that, Wagoner made over $50 million during his tenure of running GM into the ground.

61% Oppose More Auto Loans

According to US News and World Report Obama Auto Task Force Working Against Deadline, Public Anger.

The Wall Street Journal explains, "Industry observers have been anticipating March 31 as a sort of D-Day for the industry, with the government releasing its findings on GM and Chrysler, including whether the companies should receive more aid or be pushed into bankruptcy court." However, "A task force member, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity this week because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record, attempted to tamp down the expectation of a wholesale, one-shot bailout, instead suggesting a longer, more drawn-out process."

The task force also faces an enormous political hurdle - public opinion. In a separate story, the Detroit Free Press reports, "More than three in five Americans -- 61% -- oppose more government loans to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, according to a R.L. Polk survey released Monday that is consistent with other recent opinion research." Further aid isn't even popular in areas heavily dependent on auto industry jobs

Public opinion aside, smart money is betting Obama will throw more money down the auto bailout sinkhole.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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Watercolour

Having seen some of the wonderful art work on blogs such as Christine's Arts I thought I'd try my hand at a watercolour.




Not brilliant I'm sure you will agree, maybe I should stick to the photography.

Saying What Needs To Be Said

I commend Daniel Hannan who had the courage to blast Prime Minister Gordon Brown on his handing of the economic crisis. The Mail Online picks up the story in the Tory who told Brown to his face that he's a disaster.

Here are a few snips from his speech:

'Prime Minister, I see you've already mastered the essential craft of the European politician: namely the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate.

Perhaps you would have more moral authority in this House if your actions matched your words, and perhaps more legitimacy in the councils of the world if the United Kingdom were not sailing into this recession in the worst condition of any G20 country.

We are now running a deficit that touches 10 per cent of GDP, an almost unbelievable figure - more than Pakistan, more than Hungary; countries where the IMF has already been called in.

You cannot spend your way out of a recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we are well placed to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev era apparatchik giving the party line.

You know and we know and you know that we know that it's nonsense. Everyone knows that Britain is worse off than any other country as we go into these hard times.

The IMF has said so. The European Commission has said so. The markets say so, which is why the pound has lost a third of its value.

In a few months, the voters will have their chance to say so, too.

They can see what the markets have seen: that you are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued Government.'

Please play the video. It's well worth a listen.

Moreover, that is exactly what someone in Congress needs to say to Geithner, Bernanke, and to Obama for their fiscal recklessness and bank bailouts at taxpayer expense.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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California Association of Realtors (CAR) March 2009 Analysis

The following chart is from my friend "TC" who has been monitoring California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) and DQNews data. C.A.R. data contains resale single family residences and new homes. DQNews data contains resale single family residences and new homes.

click on chart for sharper image

Median nominal prices in CA are now down 59% according to CAR and 54% according to DQNews - and those declines are in 21-22 months!

"TC" writes:

The Feb 2009 CAR data continues to show increasing price declines. I want to once again remind your readers that this data does not use the Repeated Sales Methodology (as Case-Shiller does) and consequently can be biased based upon the sales pool. Also of note, the DQNews data includes the sale of new homes and resales; whereas the CAR data only includes resales. Lastly, readers should keep in mind that Feb 2009 data reflects Feb 2009 closings and consequently many of these sales entered into escrow in Dec '08 and Jan '09 (some 90 days ago).

Taking these factors into mind, the statewide median price declines of resold homes per CAR is now over $350,000 or 55.6% in less than 2 years! These lower prices came despite mid-month data that indicated that Feb 2009 would maybe show slight price increases compared to Jan 2009 (which would be typical due to seasonality), however, instead we moved even lower. One bit of good news to report is that CA price declines are at least half way through their decline (mathematical humor as prices can't move down by more than 100%). Of note, Santa Barbara South Coast is now probably just 1 month away from experiencing a $1 million median price decline from peak to trough - AMAZING!

Also of minor note, CA home prices in most cities have now experienced real price declines within 10% of my forecasted bottom three years ago. However, those three year old Bubble Buster Housing Forecasts were based upon higher median incomes than is now actually the case. On the bright side, they also assumed a higher mortgage rate than today's current record lows.

TC

Thanks "TC"

My take remains the same. Unemployment is going to soar in 2009 along with foreclosures, credit card writeoffs, and bankruptcies. That will add to the inventory problems. Thus it is extremely unlikely that housing bottoms soon. I am still looking for housing prices to bottom in 2012.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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Cameras To Catch Speeders Cause Road Rage And Accidents

Cameras to catch speeders and scofflaws are spreading. If you Get the Feeling You're Being Watched you probably are.

The village of Schaumburg, Ill., installed a camera at Woodfield Mall last November to film cars that were running red lights, then used the footage to issue citations. Results were astonishing. The town issued $1 million in fines in just three months.

But drivers caught by the unforgiving enforcement -- which mainly snared those who didn't come to a full stop before turning right on red -- exploded in anger. Many vowed to stop shopping at the mall unless the camera was turned off. The village stopped monitoring right turns at the intersection in January.

Once a rarity, traffic cameras are filming away across the country. And they're not just focusing their sights on red-light runners. The latest technology includes cameras that keep tabs on highways to catch speeders in the act and infrared license-plate readers that nab ticket and tax scofflaws.

Drivers -- many accusing law enforcement of using spy tactics to trap unsuspecting citizens -- are fighting back with everything from pick axes to camera-blocking Santa Clauses. They're moving beyond radar detectors and CB radios to wage their own tech war against detection, using sprays that promise to blur license numbers and Web sites that plot the cameras' locations and offer tips to beat them.

Cities and states say the devices can improve safety. They also have the added bonus of bringing in revenue in tight times. But critics point to research showing cameras can actually lead to more rear-end accidents because drivers often slam their brakes when they see signs warning them of cameras in the area. Others are angry that the cameras are operated by for-profit companies that typically make around $5,000 per camera each month.

State police started placing the cameras on highways around Phoenix in November. In December, a trooper arrested a man in Glendale while he was attacking a camera with a pick ax. In another incident, a troupe of men dressed as Santa Claus toured around the city of Tempe in December and placed gaily wrapped boxes over several traffic cameras, blocking their views. Their exploits have been viewed more than 222,000 times on YouTube.

Republican state representative Sam Crump has introduced a bill in the legislature to remove the cameras, which he says were approved "in the dead of night...as a budget gimmick."

Some entrepreneurs are trying to help camera opponents fight back. Phantom Plate Inc., a Harrisburg, Pa., company, sells Photoblocker spray at $29.99 a can and Photoshield, a plastic skin for a license plate. Both promise to reflect a traffic-camera flash, making the license plate unreadable. California passed a law banning use of the spray and the plate covers, which became effective at the beginning of this year.

A free iPhone application available on Trapster.com lets drivers use their cellphones to mark a traffic cam or speed trap on a Google map. The information on new locales is sent to Trapster's central computer, and then added to the map.

Studies are mixed on whether traffic cameras improve safety. Some research indicates they may increase rear-end collisions as drivers slam on their brakes when they see posted camera notices. A 2005 Federal Highway Administration study of six cities' red-light cameras concluded there was a "modest" economic benefit because a reduction in side crashes due to less red-light running offset the higher costs of more rear-end crashes.

About a week ago, right after a coworker told my wife that more of these devices being installed in our area, my wife decided not to run a yellow light. The result was a rear-end experience and $3000 damage to her car.

I have been without a car all week (she has mine), and will be without one until April 1. There was more damage done to the other car than ours.

There is no economic benefit to these devices. Cities are using these devices to rob taxpayers to pay for needless projects. If this was about safety they would be installing these devices only where there is a high incidents of traffic accidents (or better yet figuring out the root cause of the accidents and correcting that problem rather than hoping big brother to fix it).

Schaumburg, Illinois collecting $1 million in fines in just three months, mainly snaring those who didn't come to a full stop before turning right on red is simply ridiculous. Traffic laws ought to help the flow of traffic not impede it. If no pedestrians are present there is no need for a full stop. Can we have a little common sense please?

When it comes to speeding on highways, a common sense rule would be to go with the speed of traffic plus of minus 5-10MPH. Someone driving 55 when traffic is flowing at 75 is far more likely to cause an accident than the pack at 75. Traffic in Chicago often flows at 75-80 in 55MPH zones. This is an indication that speed limits are set ridiculously low.

Consider this Eyes In The Sky image of Phoenix from the article.



Anyone who think this is about safety as opposed to revenue collection, is not thinking clearly.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Samsung PL65 - Black

Samsung PL65 - Black:

High picture quality is obtained by employing an 12.2 mega pixel 1/2.33" high resolution CCD sensor. Clear picture quality can be enough resolution for printing up to poster size. A robust mounted image processor allows for rich gradation, fast and high quality picture processing.

5x Optical Zoom Lens,The 5x zoom will let you get close to the action without letting the bulkiness of the camera get in the way. This usually versatile camera surpasses the competition with its enhanced usability so you won�t miss another shot. The outstanding picture quality of the camera is achieved by the multi-coating on both sides of the lenses to reduce chromatic aberration and distortion so your photos come out picture.

[Pink Samsung PL6] [Grey Samsung PL6]