AS HOUSING MARKET “COOLS”, HOME BUILDERS ARE DUMPING THEIR OWN COMPANIES’ STOCKS. Insiders (executives) at the nation’s largest home building companies are selling their stock in their own companies, apparently getting out while the getting is still good. So far this year, nearly $1 billion worth of stocks in the 10 largest home building companies has been cashed in by industry executives. Perhaps they’ve noticed what people trying to sell their grossly over-priced houses have noticed.
Previous “hot spots” of the bloated housing market are now seeing houses go on sale and stay unsold for months, until the price is lowered. In Manhattan, sales prices fell 13%; in Fairfax County, VA, the number of homes on the market in August rose by 50%, as people tried to off-load their white elephants; in the Boston suburb of Brookline, the inventory of homes for sale has also increased. The Times wonders whether this is a temporary “cooling off,” or a more “pronounced downturn.” [mgf]
source: Washington Post, wire reports, Oct. 4]
UNHINGED D ICK CHENEY SAYS CHARLES RANGEL IS “LOSING IT.” In the latest incidence of the pot calling the kettle black, so to speak, in a scripted, “spontaneous” call in an appearance on the psychotic Rush Limbaugh radio show, President of Vice Di ck Cheney was asked on Oct. 3rd about Rep. Charles Rangel’s statement last week that he would like to believe that Cheney is “sick rather than just mean and evil.” Cheney replied yesterday, that the commments were “so out of line, it almost struck me there was some -- Charlie was having some problem.... Charlie is losing it, I guess.” A few hours later, Cheney repeated his {non compos mentis} allegation, the Post reports, with “conservative” commentator Sean Hannity. [mgf]
