The Potential Unintended Consequences of a Blanket 12-Month Moratorium (Forbearance) on Mortgage Payments, Due to Economic Hardship Caused by Coronavirus! There is no question that a great many Americans are being economically damaged, in a big way, by the government mandated shutdown of the U.S. economy due to pandemic. And yet, we can observe […]
Update September 10, 2020: A New York judge temporarily blocked a new state rule barring brokers from charging tenants. For now, tenants will once again be paying fees to brokers! The new state of the apartment rental real estate industry in New York City (as of Tuesday), reminds one of the Abbott and Costello routine ‘Who’s […]
Regardless of the side of the political spectrum that you fall on, if you are a retailer located in or around Trump Tower the timing of the presidential election could not have been worse! With Thanksgiving officially kicking-off the Christmas shopping season, the imposing security that now surrounds Trump Tower, a building that sports some of the highest […]
A government mandated jump in the minimum wage to $15 per hour sounds like a boon for low-wage workers! But the reality is that it’s likely there will be unintended negative consequences resulting from a government-mandated regulation that imposes a dramatic increase to the cost structure of businesses. First, consider that the politicians who impose […]
ZIRP AND NIRP! For potential property buyers and current owners of property who are thinking of refinancing a mortgage, ZIRP has been, and NIRP may someday be, fantasticmonetary policies! ZIRP? NIRP? For those unfamiliar these acronyms are not the sounds an infant might make but instead are deadly serious policies that are being used by central bankers around the world in […]
Summary: State pension funds have a serious underfunding issue! It’s ZIRP but it’s more! The potential time bomb of underfunded state pension funds lurks quietly in the background, unseen and unknown by most! But like most issues that are ignored and that grow in size anyway, they don’t go away but become known only when they reach […]
A survey conducted by Sallie Mae found that less than half (48%) of parents with one or more child under 18 are saving for college! This compares to 62% of parents who were saving in 2009 and 51% as recently as last year and, is the first time a reading below 50% has been recorded (survey […]
In other words is the competition from Uber decreasing the demand for taxi medallions causing the price of the medallions to drop thereby damaging the collateral of taxi medallion lenders? In a word…yes! For those who may be unfamiliar, in cities like New York City medallions are required for a yellow taxi to operate. The […]
In New York City the competition from yellow cab alternatives like Uber has eroded the value of taxi medallions! And, as with most ‘revolutionary’ ideas, the sudden change in the way the taxi industry does business has led to unintended consequences, this time in the investment arena. Using a loose analogy to the hand-held phone […]
As an estimated 90% of eligible Scottish voters head to the polls today to decide on independence from Britain, these are some key issues to follow if the result is YES! In the article ‘Q&A on the September 18th referendum over Scottish independence!‘, the basics surrounding what was going to take place today as the […]
