Pending US home sales fall to all-time low amid high interest rates
The housing market has never moved so little, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.
nypost.com
Whats going on in the World
- Thread starter cany
- Start date
nypost.com
The inevitable fall out from COVID's acceleration of Work from Home will cause tremors in the real estate banking world. Can't even begin to fathom the economic carnage for lower Manhattan...
Office landlords, hit hard by the work-from-home revolution, are resorting to a desperate measure in the real estate world: “handing back the keys.”
That means a landlord stops paying the mortgage on the office building, or declines to refinance it, and the bank or investors who made the loan repossess the building.
Some of the biggest names in commercial real estate, like Brookfield and Blackstone, have defaulted on mortgages and have started or completed the process of handing back the keys on office towers.
The tactic reveals both the depth of the problems in the office market and the ability of big property companies to push much of the financial pain onto banks and other lenders.
Since the pandemic began, office employees showed they could get their jobs done from home, and many have been reluctant to come back. At the same time, companies realized they could save a lot of money by renting less office space.
About 23 percent of office space in the United States was vacant or available for sublet at the end of November, according to Avison Young, a real estate services firm, compared with 16 percent before the pandemic.
Handing back the keys can make sense because it can limit a landlord’s losses on a building.
Rather than continue to pay interest and other expenses on the building, the landlord can decide to default on the loan, which means the lenders get the beleaguered property.
Handing back the keys is reminiscent of the term “jingle-mail,” which became notorious after the financial crisis of 2008 when homeowners abandoned their homes — and supposedly sent their keys back to their banks — because their homes were worth far less than what they owed on the mortgage.
But there’s a difference: Big property companies can keep doing business after they default, and are even considered savvy for jettisoning distressed buildings.
Homeowners who stopped paying their mortgages, though, suffered a huge hit to their credit ratings and had to find somewhere else to live.
With Offices Sitting Empty, Landlords Are ‘Handing Back the Keys’
Office landlords, hit hard by the work-from-home revolution, are resorting to a desperate measure in the real estate world: “handing back the keys.”
That means a landlord stops paying the mortgage on the office building, or declines to refinance it, and the bank or investors who made the loan repossess the building.
Some of the biggest names in commercial real estate, like Brookfield and Blackstone, have defaulted on mortgages and have started or completed the process of handing back the keys on office towers.
The tactic reveals both the depth of the problems in the office market and the ability of big property companies to push much of the financial pain onto banks and other lenders.
Since the pandemic began, office employees showed they could get their jobs done from home, and many have been reluctant to come back. At the same time, companies realized they could save a lot of money by renting less office space.
About 23 percent of office space in the United States was vacant or available for sublet at the end of November, according to Avison Young, a real estate services firm, compared with 16 percent before the pandemic.
Handing back the keys can make sense because it can limit a landlord’s losses on a building.
Rather than continue to pay interest and other expenses on the building, the landlord can decide to default on the loan, which means the lenders get the beleaguered property.
Handing back the keys is reminiscent of the term “jingle-mail,” which became notorious after the financial crisis of 2008 when homeowners abandoned their homes — and supposedly sent their keys back to their banks — because their homes were worth far less than what they owed on the mortgage.
But there’s a difference: Big property companies can keep doing business after they default, and are even considered savvy for jettisoning distressed buildings.
Homeowners who stopped paying their mortgages, though, suffered a huge hit to their credit ratings and had to find somewhere else to live.
longcast
Well-Known Angler
CRISIS IN NEW YORK: Mother recoils at safe injection site set across from school: 'Our babies are in there'
Francesca Barreiro said the East Harlem safe injection site across from her kid's school is making the neighborhood more dangerous and exposing kids to drug abuse.
www.foxnews.com
wader
Well-Known Angler
meanwhile..................
www.yahoo.com
Rocket launch will include sendoff of remains of some 'Star Trek' actors and many others
The Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch Dec. 24, carrying the remains and DNA samples of 338 people, including some 'Star Trek' actors.
Rick67
Well-Known Angler
longcast
Well-Known Angler
@Roccus7 Here is one that I just saw. Hang on!
Millennials feel 'abandoned' by parents not available to help raise grandkids: 'Too busy'
There's a growing intergenerational divide between millennial parents and their own parents, now at retirement age, over expectations of helping to raise grandkids.
www.foxnews.com
longcast
Well-Known Angler
I thought this was a good read. Take a look.
Ramaswamy calls George Santos 'insane and pathological liar,' but says expelling him from Congress was 'wrong'
Vivek Ramaswamy said former Rep. George Santos' expulsion from the House "sets an awful precedent" even though he appears to be a "pathological liar."
www.foxnews.com
OVERBORED
Well-Known Angler
Due process went out the window.I thought this was a good read. Take a look.
Ramaswamy calls George Santos 'insane and pathological liar,' but says expelling him from Congress was 'wrong'
Vivek Ramaswamy said former Rep. George Santos' expulsion from the House "sets an awful precedent" even though he appears to be a "pathological liar."
longcast
Well-Known Angler
That is EXACTLY what I wanted to be pulled from that piece.
That's why we live 1,000 miles away. Many of our friends are starting to hear that refrain...@Roccus7 Here is one that I just saw. Hang on!
Millennials feel 'abandoned' by parents not available to help raise grandkids: 'Too busy'
There's a growing intergenerational divide between millennial parents and their own parents, now at retirement age, over expectations of helping to raise grandkids.
longcast
Well-Known Angler
I thought you would appreciate.
This is F-ING INSANITY!! Yes, I wholeheartedly endorse pointing out the past, present and possibly future misuse of science, but at the Middle School Level? It's tough enough to get kids at this level to understand and comprehend the Scientific Process and the criticality of Well-Controlled Experiments. If these concepts are achieved, then the MS Science Courses have been successful. The blights of humanity caused by science can be discussed in HS, in either Social Studies and/or Freshman Biology, and not used in MS as a diversion from basic scientific concepts.
AUGUSTA — Teachers and science advocates are voicing skepticism about a Maine proposal to update standards to incorporate teaching about genocide, eugenics and the Holocaust into middle school science education. They argue that teachers need more training before introducing such subjects that are both sensitive and nuanced.
While critics of the proposed updates said they are born of good intentions – the proposal states that science has “sometimes been used by those in power to oppress and abuse others” – they also said that injecting the materials into a middle school science curriculum could distract from conventional scientific principles and could jeopardize science education.
The proposal states that science education in the state should reflect that “misinterpretation of fossil observations has led to the false idea of human hierarchies and racial inequality.” The proposal also states that “historically, some people have misused and/or applied the ideas of natural selection and artificial selection to justify genocide of various groups, such as Albinos in Africa or Jews in Europe.”
The proposed updates have drawn the attention of teachers’ groups in the state as well as national organizations that advocate for a better understanding of science. The concern in Democrat-controlled Maine contrasts conflicts over education in some more conservative states, where criticism has focused on the teaching of climate change, U.S. history and evolution in recent years.
The Maine Science Teachers Association testified before the state that adding the proposed content to education standards without providing professional training for teachers could jeopardize science education. The updates, which are geared toward middle schoolers, also could make it harder for young minds to absorb the more basic science concepts they are encountering for the first time, said Tonya Prentice, president of the Maine Science Teachers Association.
“As far as critical thinking skills, middle school students are still developing those, and that’s just putting it at a level that is fundamentally higher than we should expect them to handle,” Prentice said. “That’s a lot for adults to take in.”
Others said they felt the state is well-intentioned to try to incorporate social history into science education, but agreed Maine needs to first ensure that its teachers are equipped to do it. The contributions scientists have made to theories like eugenics belong in science class, but it needs to be done right, said Joseph Graves Jr., a professor of biology who is on the board of directors of the National Center for Science Education, which includes hundreds of teachers.
“The question is, should those things be incorporated into science class? My answer is absolutely yes,” Graves said. “But it comes down to when to do that and whether the people doing it are doing it in a way that is knowledgeable and pedagogically sound.”
The Maine Department of Education is performing the update, which is part of a review of standards that is required every five years. The proposed updates would have to ultimately be approved by a committee of the Maine Legislature.
The Maine Department of Education took public comments about the proposal until the middle of November and the next step is for the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee to determine the standards, said Marcus Mrowka, a spokesperson for the education department.
The updates are the result of new requirements from the Legislature to include certain kinds of education into the curriculum, Mrowka said. Schools are now required to include content about Native American and African American histories as well as the history of genocide, including the Holocaust, Mrowka said. The update doesn’t constitute a change to the standards but rather represents the inclusion of a further explanation section to provide educators with additional contexts and opportunities to encourage critical thinking, Mrowka said.
The recommended updates that are up for adoption were made by teachers, and the education department opened up the revision process to any science teachers who wanted to be involved, Mrowka said. A group of two dozen Maine science educators met several times over the summer to lead the review of the science standards, Mrowka said.
The teachers also worked with scholars and experts to include the additional content areas that the Legislature required, Mrowka said.
“The teachers included a further explanation section to provide educators with additional contexts and opportunities to encourage critical thinking that incorporate the additional content required by the Legislature,” Mrowka said.
The state sought public comments about the current science standards earlier in the year and received numerous comments from educators about the importance of challenging students. Middle schoolers can grapple with “rigorous and relevant learning for the world that we live in,” testified Robert Ripley, a sixth grade teacher in the Oxford Hills School District.
“We want our students to be the builders of tomorrow, and they need the skills to create that unknown future world,” Ripley testified.
Alison Miller, an associate professor at Bowdoin College who served on the state steering committee for science standards, called the revisions “misguided.” Miller said the heavy subjects of genocide and scientific racism seemed to be shoehorned into the standards.
“This is not a shoehorn-able subject,” Miller said. “This is about context and nuance, and asking teachers to do it without the context and nuance that it takes to take on a subject so large and so important is asking them to do it superficially or not at all.”
Plan to add teaching of Holocaust, genocide to science education draws questions from Maine teachers
A science teachers organization testified before the state that adding the proposed content to education standards without providing professional training for teachers could jeopardize science education.AUGUSTA — Teachers and science advocates are voicing skepticism about a Maine proposal to update standards to incorporate teaching about genocide, eugenics and the Holocaust into middle school science education. They argue that teachers need more training before introducing such subjects that are both sensitive and nuanced.
While critics of the proposed updates said they are born of good intentions – the proposal states that science has “sometimes been used by those in power to oppress and abuse others” – they also said that injecting the materials into a middle school science curriculum could distract from conventional scientific principles and could jeopardize science education.
The proposal states that science education in the state should reflect that “misinterpretation of fossil observations has led to the false idea of human hierarchies and racial inequality.” The proposal also states that “historically, some people have misused and/or applied the ideas of natural selection and artificial selection to justify genocide of various groups, such as Albinos in Africa or Jews in Europe.”
The proposed updates have drawn the attention of teachers’ groups in the state as well as national organizations that advocate for a better understanding of science. The concern in Democrat-controlled Maine contrasts conflicts over education in some more conservative states, where criticism has focused on the teaching of climate change, U.S. history and evolution in recent years.
The Maine Science Teachers Association testified before the state that adding the proposed content to education standards without providing professional training for teachers could jeopardize science education. The updates, which are geared toward middle schoolers, also could make it harder for young minds to absorb the more basic science concepts they are encountering for the first time, said Tonya Prentice, president of the Maine Science Teachers Association.
“As far as critical thinking skills, middle school students are still developing those, and that’s just putting it at a level that is fundamentally higher than we should expect them to handle,” Prentice said. “That’s a lot for adults to take in.”
Others said they felt the state is well-intentioned to try to incorporate social history into science education, but agreed Maine needs to first ensure that its teachers are equipped to do it. The contributions scientists have made to theories like eugenics belong in science class, but it needs to be done right, said Joseph Graves Jr., a professor of biology who is on the board of directors of the National Center for Science Education, which includes hundreds of teachers.
“The question is, should those things be incorporated into science class? My answer is absolutely yes,” Graves said. “But it comes down to when to do that and whether the people doing it are doing it in a way that is knowledgeable and pedagogically sound.”
The Maine Department of Education is performing the update, which is part of a review of standards that is required every five years. The proposed updates would have to ultimately be approved by a committee of the Maine Legislature.
The Maine Department of Education took public comments about the proposal until the middle of November and the next step is for the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee to determine the standards, said Marcus Mrowka, a spokesperson for the education department.
The updates are the result of new requirements from the Legislature to include certain kinds of education into the curriculum, Mrowka said. Schools are now required to include content about Native American and African American histories as well as the history of genocide, including the Holocaust, Mrowka said. The update doesn’t constitute a change to the standards but rather represents the inclusion of a further explanation section to provide educators with additional contexts and opportunities to encourage critical thinking, Mrowka said.
The recommended updates that are up for adoption were made by teachers, and the education department opened up the revision process to any science teachers who wanted to be involved, Mrowka said. A group of two dozen Maine science educators met several times over the summer to lead the review of the science standards, Mrowka said.
The teachers also worked with scholars and experts to include the additional content areas that the Legislature required, Mrowka said.
“The teachers included a further explanation section to provide educators with additional contexts and opportunities to encourage critical thinking that incorporate the additional content required by the Legislature,” Mrowka said.
The state sought public comments about the current science standards earlier in the year and received numerous comments from educators about the importance of challenging students. Middle schoolers can grapple with “rigorous and relevant learning for the world that we live in,” testified Robert Ripley, a sixth grade teacher in the Oxford Hills School District.
“We want our students to be the builders of tomorrow, and they need the skills to create that unknown future world,” Ripley testified.
Alison Miller, an associate professor at Bowdoin College who served on the state steering committee for science standards, called the revisions “misguided.” Miller said the heavy subjects of genocide and scientific racism seemed to be shoehorned into the standards.
“This is not a shoehorn-able subject,” Miller said. “This is about context and nuance, and asking teachers to do it without the context and nuance that it takes to take on a subject so large and so important is asking them to do it superficially or not at all.”
Price of gold surges to all-time high on the back of falling US dollar
The price of gold struck an all-time high on Monday, surging as much as 3% to trade at $2,135 per troy ounce as the US dollar fell. Though gold futures have since dipped slightly — to roughly…
nypost.com
longcast
Well-Known Angler
Interesting situation to watch.
Gold bars stashed in Dem senator's home recovered after 2013 violent robbery
Multiple gold bars found in Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's residence can be linked to a violent gunpoint New Jersey robbery that occurred in 2013.
www.foxnews.com
dsedy
Well-Known Angler
For those that may be interested, the Relic of St. Jude the Apostle is on display today at St. Patricks Church in Huntington Village
apostleoftheimpossible.com
Home - Saint Jude
apostleoftheimpossible.com
SAINT JUDE
The Relic
The most reliable ancient records identify the place of Saint Jude’s martyrdom and burial to be the city of Beirut. Sometime later, his body was transferred to Rome and placed in a crypt within the original Saint Peter’s Basilica, completed by the Emperor Constantine (in 333 AD). Today, his remains are in the left transept of the current Basilica (completed in 1626), below the main altar of Saint Joseph, within a tomb also holding the remains of the Apostle Simon. This resting place has become a popular destination for pilgrims who have a devotion to the Apostle of the Impossible.
longcast
Well-Known Angler
FBI director says terror threats elevated to all-time high since Oct. 7: 'Blinking lights everywhere'
FBI Director Christopher Wray told Senate lawmakers the terror threat against the U.S. has reached an unprecedented high level since the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel.
www.foxnews.com
longcast
Well-Known Angler
Stunning images show Arizona border overrun by massive surge of adult male migrants from across globe
A remote part of the Arizona border has seen thousands of migrants hit the area in recent days, leaving Border Patrol agents overwhelmed across the sector.
www.foxnews.com
longcast
Well-Known Angler
Another interesting read
www.foxbusiness.com
The death of woke capitalism
Americans have rocked the woke. Disney recently admitted what reasonable observer has long known: Its activist strategy has negatively impacted its financial situation.
www.foxbusiness.com
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