No thank you. dayum!
Pentagon defends space force amid skepticism
The Associated Press COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Sharpening his argument for a space force, the acting Pentagon chief on Tuesday called it a “low cost, low bureaucracy” way to stay ahead of China, Russia and other nations seeking to erase American military advantages in space.
The Pentagon and Congress have discussed for years the possibility of establishing a military service for space, but some key lawmakers remain skeptical of the need and wary of the cost. The debate enters a new phase this week with the Senate Armed Services Committee holding its first hearing Thursday on the administration’s proposal to phase in a space force over five years and establish a space war-fighting command this year.
Patrick Shanahan, whose own future as the acting secretary of defense may be tied to the success of his push for a space force, is trying to persuade lawmakers that it is urgently needed to preserve U.S. dominance in space. The proposal also is a favorite of U.S. President Donald Trump, who often touts the idea at political rallies and whose first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, was initially skeptical of the need for a separate military service for space.
Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who had been Mattis’ top deputy and took over for him on Jan. 1, has yet to be nominated as his replacement.
In a speech at a space symposium crowded with industry officials hungry for Pentagon business, Shanahan cast China and Russia as threats, suggesting the United States has little choice but to match their efforts to weaponized space.
He repeated an assertion made in January by the Defense Intelligence Agency that by next year the Chinese military is likely to field a ground-based laser system aimed at low-orbit sensors in space. He said the Chinese also are prepared to use cyberattacks against U.S. space systems, and he said Russia is doing the same.
“Because of their actions, space is no longer a sanctuary,” Shanahan said. “It is now a warfighting domain. This is not a future or theoretical threat. This is today’s threat.”
His speech kicked off what his staff has dubbed “space week” — a series of space-related events, including Shanahan’s Senate testimony Thursday with Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Shanahan also taped an interview Monday with Fox News from the Colorado Springs luxury resort that is hosting a week-long space symposium. While in Colorado Springs, Shanahan also met with Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the U.S. Strategic Command leader whose responsibilities include overseeing military space operations.
In addition to establishing a space force, initially setting up just a headquarters in 2020 at a cost of $72 million, the administration is proposing to reestablish the U.S. Space Command, which would manage all military space forces, much like Hyten’s Strategic Command manages all nuclear forces. The military had a space command for many years, but it was eliminated in 2002 when U.S. Northern Command was set up as a response to the 9/11 attacks.
Although many in Congress favor the administration’s proposal, doubts persist, particularly about the space force, which requires congressional approval and would be the first new military service since the Air Force was established in 1947.
“Is an entirely new and separate military branch needed?” Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked last week.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005665654
similar experience anon. Just got tired of being 'crazy' iykwim
back again
Don't Worry, It's Different This Time: Home Flipping Frenzy Matches Pre-Crisis Highs
For our latest installment of "it's different this time", where we examine the revival of financial products or market trends that contributed to the crises of yesteryear, we bring you a report from the Wall Street Journal about how house flipping - the practice of buying a home for speculative purposes, with the hope of turning a short-term profit - is officially back in vogue, thanks to mortgage rates that have been mired near cycle lows (and, thanks to Trump's lobbying for a rate cut, could move lower in the not-too-distant future).
Those who were around during the run-up to the great financial crisis (or have at least seen the movie/read the book "The Big Short") should recall that a flipping frenzy helped fuel the destabilizing speculative bubble in the American housing market, as cocktail waitresses, strippers and gardeners all rushed to take out 'liar loan' mortgages to buy homes in Nevada, Florida and other particularly hard-hit markets, with the hope of turning around and selling them at a profit because housing prices could only rise.
That turned out to be a terrible miscalculation with serious consequences not just for the borrowers who succumbed to their adjustable-rate mortgages, but for the global economy that suffered the consequences of the gold rush to securitize them.
(was not a mistake by the securitization industry that's for sure-they knew this would habben)
Google searches for 'how to flip a house' have soared in recent years.
cap 2
But according to CoreLogic, the analytics firm that provided the data for the WSJ story, the odds of another crash are slim, even as speculative transactions presently comprise the largest share of the market since 2006, just as US home sales have become mired in a serious slump.
But a new analysis from CoreLogic Inc. suggests most of the current flips are less risky than the ones more than a decade ago, making today’s flippers less likely to cause market volatility if prices decline in the next few years.
Some 10.6% of homes sold in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2018 were flips, defined as having been owned for less than two years, according to CoreLogic. That is near the level of the first quarter of 2006, when 11.3% of homes sold were flips, and the highest fourth-quarter level in the two decades since CoreLogic started tracking the data.
(ooooo been in the 'resurch' business for a whole 13 year's)
The study, however, shows that flippers today have much larger profit margins than flippers at the peak of the previous housing cycle(fucking DERP!-values are way higher). By one measure, the trades are more than twice as profitable as the flips made in 2006. That offers current flippers more of a cushion if home prices begin to flatten or fall.
And it's also dominated by professionals who have a better understanding of the market, are mostly looking to buy older homes in need of renovation. Also, companies like Redfin have started business lines where they buy homes from people who don't want to wait for a private buyer to come along, hoping to flip them later.
This time, the market is dominated by professionals who are purchasing older homes that likely need work, appealing to buyers’ desire for a move-in ready home rather than one needing months of renovations. At 39 years old, the median age of a home flipped is the oldest it has been since CoreLogic has been tracking. Flipped homes today are about a decade older than they were in 2006.
"Flippers are very different today than they were in the past," said CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin. "Even though we see hype and hysteria in popular culture, this isn’t necessarily something to worry about.”
But the caveat is that a serious drop in home prices would likely leave flippers in a difficult position, possibly even at risk of default, since most need the recoup their capital in the short term to pay off bridge loans.
(the real estate agent's don't mention this because most only care about the transaction closing)
Plus, buying older homes often comes with unforseeable risks.
Rachel Street, a real-estate agent with a home-flipping company, said there are significant financial risks to buying older properties.
And the business is getting more difficult, as deals in urban markets like New York City and Philadelphia (one of the hottest markets for the latest wave of flippers) become harder to find.
But we're sure WSJ is right and there's nothing to worry about. After all, there's a whole new crop of millennials who are getting ready to settle down and start families. They'll all want homes, right?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-10/dont-worry-its-different-time-home-flipping-frenzy-matches-pre-crisis-highs
Wow