Category: News

  • Google Nexus One, Google Nexus One Review 2010

    The device, a Snapdragon-powered, HTC-built phone looks — on paper, at least — like the ultimate Android handset, combining a newly tweaked and tightened user interface with killer industrial design. A sleek, streamlined phone that can easily go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 3GSs, Pres, and Droids of the world, powered by the latest version of Android (2.1 “Flan,” if you’re counting), and hand-retooled by Google. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Can the Nexus One possibly live up to the hype ascribed to it? And more importantly, is the appearance of the phone the death knell for the OHA and a sign of the coming Android autocracy? In our exclusive review of the Nexus One, we’ll answer all those pressing questions and more… so read on for the full scoop!
    Google Nexus One unboxing and hands-on

    Note: The unit we have in hand is — by all appearances — a production model, save for the QR code imprint on the back, which is likely an employee-only Easter egg. However, Google is making its official announcement tomorrow, and there could always be differences. If anything changes with the device, or there are revelations about the marketing or sale of the phone, we’ll be sure to update the review with new info.
    This normally would be the place where I’d embed the relevant YouTube video. But this is one video Google doesn’t want on its video site, and the company is pulling the footage down as quickly as it can. (This is where I imagine the Viacom guys chortling and rubbing their hands).
    If Google’s strategy is successful at getting other carriers to “unlock” popular handsets, it would move the U.S. closer to aligning with European and Asian markets, where consumers typically buy cellphones directly from manufacturers and then connect to any network they choose. This could put pressure on carriers to increasingly improve their network speeds and capacities, since they will no longer be able to lure customers only with the hottest handsets.

    Google’s “open” strategy began with its multi-billion-dollar bid for wireless spectrum in an FCC auction two years ago. The company bid enough to get open-access rules attached to some of the airwaves, but stopped short of actually purchasing any. Two years ago, the prevailing thought in the industry was that Google wasn’t interested in getting into the cellphone business.

    Then it introduced its Android operating system. And now the Nexus One handset. It seems Google is looking to make a splash in the cellphone business after all.

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  • What We Can Learn From Europe’s $40 Billion Renewable Energy Super Grid

    windEurope is making moves on its first electricity super-grid dedicated to renewable energy this month, as nine countries will draw up plans to link up a grid of powerful clean energy projects all around the North Sea, CleanTechnica reports.

    The plan would connect Scottish off-shore wind turbines with German solar energy, Norwegian hydro power and wave power off the coast of Belgium and Denmark.

    The Nine North Sea nations - Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the UK - will eventually link the super grid to the equally large in scale Desertec grid, bringing solar power from Africa to Spain and Portugal.

    The network of super efficient undersea transmission cables would cost about $43 billion.

    The U.S. has enough wind potential to supply 25% of the entire country's needs in North Dakota alone, but no transmission lines to connect a statewide line of turbines that would balance out the power and send it to more populated areas. If the U.S. follows Europe's lead, we could harness enough off-shore wind potential along the Atlantic Seaboard to meet the electricity needs of a quarter of the U.S. population.

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  • CGI: 2010 BMW 5 Series Estate

    Following the official introduction of the 5 Series sedan in November, the automotive world has already began turning its attention to the estate version (or touring) of the new 5er, expected to hit the market sometime this year.

    The CGIs you can see here are an exercise combining the already revealed front end of the "perfect symbiosis of aesthetic design and performance," as BMW calls the 5er, and some imaginative speculation on how the rear of the estate would look l… (read more)

  • Google New Phone, Google New Phone Nexus One Review 2010

    The device, a Snapdragon-powered, HTC-built phone looks — on paper, at least — like the ultimate Android handset, combining a newly tweaked and tightened user interface with killer industrial design. A sleek, streamlined phone that can easily go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 3GSs, Pres, and Droids of the world, powered by the latest version of Android (2.1 “Flan,” if you’re counting), and hand-retooled by Google. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Can the Nexus One possibly live up to the hype ascribed to it? And more importantly, is the appearance of the phone the death knell for the OHA and a sign of the coming Android autocracy? In our exclusive review of the Nexus One, we’ll answer all those pressing questions and more… so read on for the full scoop!
    Google Nexus One unboxing and hands-on

    Note: The unit we have in hand is — by all appearances — a production model, save for the QR code imprint on the back, which is likely an employee-only Easter egg. However, Google is making its official announcement tomorrow, and there could always be differences. If anything changes with the device, or there are revelations about the marketing or sale of the phone, we’ll be sure to update the review with new info.
    This normally would be the place where I’d embed the relevant YouTube video. But this is one video Google doesn’t want on its video site, and the company is pulling the footage down as quickly as it can. (This is where I imagine the Viacom guys chortling and rubbing their hands).
    If Google’s strategy is successful at getting other carriers to “unlock” popular handsets, it would move the U.S. closer to aligning with European and Asian markets, where consumers typically buy cellphones directly from manufacturers and then connect to any network they choose. This could put pressure on carriers to increasingly improve their network speeds and capacities, since they will no longer be able to lure customers only with the hottest handsets.

    Google’s “open” strategy began with its multi-billion-dollar bid for wireless spectrum in an FCC auction two years ago. The company bid enough to get open-access rules attached to some of the airwaves, but stopped short of actually purchasing any. Two years ago, the prevailing thought in the industry was that Google wasn’t interested in getting into the cellphone business.

    Then it introduced its Android operating system. And now the Nexus One handset. It seems Google is looking to make a splash in the cellphone business after all.

    Share/Save/Bookmark

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  • Google Tries Redialing “Click to Call” Again [MediaMemo]

    Here’s an interesting side note to Googlephone (aka “Nexus One”) day — Google is still experimenting with its “click-to-call” program for advertisers on “high-end mobile devices”. Coincidence?

    From Search Engine Land:

    Google sent out notification to its AdWords advertisers that this month “your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices. Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website. You’ll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website.”

    Note that this offer doesn’t appear to be specific to phones running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system. And it appears to be running in addition to Google’s practice of providing phone numbers in organic search results, which also essentially provide “click to call” options for smartphone users.

    In Greg Sterling’s words: “This is a version, effectively, of “pay-per-phone call” but the cost per call is the same as a click — a bargain (generally speaking) for the advertisers to receive a “warm lead.””

    Google first started playing around with “click to call” programs for conventional Web search 4 years ago — in that scenario, you gave Google your phone number (this was designed for landline use, really) and it connected calls to advertisers on your behalf.

    Google eventually moved on, since no one seemed to use it (though you can still see traces of the program here). But connecting mobile users with advertisers ought to be a very lucrative proposition, so no surprise that Google is still chasing after this.

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  • Sanus’ ELM410 HDMI Cables Give You 180 Degrees of Freedom [Cables]

    Now this makes sense—an HDMI cable with a connector that can be positioned within a 180 degree radius. That will be a big space saver if you are trying to run cords in tight spaces.

    Of course, the cables would have been more effective if both ends pivoted. For the life of me I can’t understand why they chose to leave one end straight. At any rate, the Sanus cables will support HDMI 1.3b, 1080p and up to 16-bit color. They will also be available in 5 and 10-foot lengths. Pricing and availability information has not been released, but they should be available at major retailers like Best Buy in the near future. [Sanus via Slashgear]







  • Acini to Ziti: Check Out This Pasta Glossary!

    2010-01-06-NationalPastaAssociation.jpgDo you know which pasta is best for a casserole? Or where frilly campanelle noodles got their name? The National Pasta Association (who knew there was one?!) has put together this handy reference guide to all our most beloved noodles, spaghettis, and pastas. Take a look!

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  • Dennis Gartman’s First Prediction For 2010: The US Will Grow Like Gangbusters And Surprise Everyone

    dennisgartmancnbc.png

    Analyst Dennis Gartman says he’ll be laying out some predictions for the new decade/year in the coming weeks.

    Today, he shared his first in The Gartman Letter. Turns out he’s bullish on American growth.

    The Gartman Letter: Over the coming days and weeks we’ll put forth our few “predictions” for what may happen in ’10. Others have put their ideas forth at the previous year’s end, and yesterday, and we figured that our clients have been blasted by that sort of thing, so we’ll dribble our predictions out piecemeal. Thus, firstly we’ll suggest that one of the surprising events of this year shall be just how strong shall be the US and the global economy as we move along through the year. The consensus amongst the economic cognoscenti is that growth here in the US shall be tepid at best, with GDP figures barely higher by mid-year and perhaps only 1.5-2.25% GDP growth at best by mid-year. We suggest that it shall be quite a good seal stronger than that, and we’d not be surprised to see GDP growth of 3-4% by mid-year.

    Yes, there are problems with housing, and yes the consumer is “strapped,” but inventories of everything are low; capital expenditures for everything have been low for years; the nation’s auto fleet is old and must be replace… and above all, monetary stimulus remains intact. The surprise: GDP growth will surprise us all… bullishly.

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • Despite Two Lost Decades, The Japanese Have Plenty Of Money

    japan bond chart

    One reason for Japan’s inability to reverse the Nikkei’s two-decade slump could be a lack of motivation.

    Most Japanese moved heavily into fixed income following their market crash, and have since enjoyed a huge rally in ten-year government bonds, according to The Economist.

    Until this gravy train runs out — which could be soon — Japan is getting by fine.

    The Economist: Remarkably, retail investors were among the first to get out of the stockmarket and were net sellers of equities from 1991 to 2007, says Kathy Matsui, chief strategist for Goldman Sachs in Japan. Though there have been four bear-market share-price rallies since 1989, they have all been driven by foreigners.

    The Japanese parked their money instead in government-backed shelters such as the post office, which in turn invested in safe bonds. The result has been a 78% rally in ten-year government bonds since their trough in 1990 (see chart). “Fixed income has been one of the longest-duration bull markets in the world,” Ms Matsui notes.

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • Las Vegas Casino Model?

    Has anyone done a model of a Las Vegas Casino? I very much would like to see it!
  • Vince Vaughn Married

    The wedding took place in front of 65 family and friends at Aratmour House at Lake Forest Academy, Illinois, Saturday 2 January 2010. Wedding guests stayed at the neighboring Knickerbocker Hotel and took buses to the wedding site. According to Gossip Cop, the ceremony came at the end of a three-day-long celebration, which began with a New Year’s Eve party in Vaughn’s apartment.
    Vince, 39, proposed to the 31-year-old Calgary native last Valentine’s Day. The actor — best known for his comedy features like Swingers and Couple’s Retreat – has kept his relationship with Kayla under the radar, following hishigh-profile romance with his The Break-Up co-star Jennifer Aniston.
    “It’s the first time that I really want to have kids. I’ve been very fortunate in my career, and my life has been about that for so long that you get bored of it. You’re ready for your life to be about other people and other things.”

    Insert a Jennifer Aniston crying into pint of Ben and Jerry’s joke here. Nah, I am kidding. She is way over that shiz. She went right back to stalking Brad after Vince hit CLT+ALT+IQUITTHISBITCH on their relationship.

    Quoteables:

    Celebrity Smack – “It was a small ceremony with only a few family members and friends. None of that fancy schmancy, huge celebrity wedding crap for ol’ Vinny.”

    Hecklerspray – “it’s fair to assume that Vince Vaughn didn’t write his own vows for the service – because if he did, he’d still be there now, babbling and ad-libbing and riffing in the same monotonous yakkety-yak way hour after hour because, even though it’ll all get edited down to a couple of seconds in the wedding video, it’ll bulk out the DVD release a bit more if it’s included as an extra.”

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  • Penske appoints Jill Lajdziak to run Smart USA hoping to stem sales collapse

    Filed under: ,

    Just a few weeks ago, former Saturn general manager Jill Lajdziak was hired by Penske Automotive to head sales and marketing for its Smart USA operations. Now, Smart has announced that Lajdziak will take over the entire operation as the new president of Smart USA, replacing Dave Schembri who has held the post since its inception.

    In the past several months, sales of the Smart Fortwo have collapsed in the States, with November down 65 percent. From where we sit, Lajdziak has a tough job ahead of her, trying to find a way to convince buyers that a tiny but not inexpensive car with disappointing fuel economy and a horrible transmission is a good idea. To be fair, tilting at windmills is nothing new for Lajdziak, who worked at Saturn throughout its entire nearly twenty year run. Revamping the sales network will apparently be a big part of her job, since a revamped version of the Fortwo is not on the immediate horizon. You can check out the official press release after the jump.

    [Source: Smart USA | Image: Stan Honda/Getty]

    Continue reading Penske appoints Jill Lajdziak to run Smart USA hoping to stem sales collapse

    Penske appoints Jill Lajdziak to run Smart USA hoping to stem sales collapse originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • San Martin de Los Andes – Argentina

    —-

    San Martin de Los Andes – Argentina

  • IEMA, ALA-IL Launch Teen Video Contest; High School Students Encouraged to Create YouTube Video Promoting Awareness of Radon Health Hazards

    Seeking an innovative way to spread the message about radon’s health hazards, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the American Lung Association in Illinois (ALA-IL) today launched the “2010 Illinois High School Radon Video Contest.”

    The agencies are encouraging high school students throughout the state to create 60-second YouTube videos about radon, a radioactive gas that causes an estimated 1,100 lung cancer deaths in Illinois each year.

    The video contest highlights activities in Illinois during Radon Action Month in January.

    Other organizations supporting the video contest include the University of Illinois Extension Office, Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region 5.

    “For nearly two decades, we’ve been working to get the radon message out to the public, and those efforts have paid off as we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of people who have tested their homes,” said IEMA Director Andrew Velasquez III.

    “This video contest provides us with a new, creative method for reaching even more people with that important message, particularly young people.”

    Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that comes from the radioactive decay of naturally-occurring uranium in the soil.  It can enter homes and buildings through small cracks in the foundation, sump pumps or soil in crawlspaces.

    The USEPA has determined that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking.  However, among non-smokers, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer.

    Studies conducted by IEMA show that more than 40 percent of homes tested in Illinois had excess levels of radon.

    Videos entered in the contest can be created by an individual student, group of students or classroom.

    The winning entrants’ school will receive a $2,000 prize to be used for curricular activities, and the winning student or students will receive a $1,000 prize.  The winning video will also be featured on the IEMA and ALA-IL Web sites.

    Video entries in the “2010 Illinois High School Radon Video Contest” must be submitted by March 12.  The one-minute videos will be judged by members of the sponsoring organizations.

    In addition, the videos will be posted to proprofs.com/polls (keyword: Radon), where the public can view and vote for their favorite entry from March 17-31.  The winning entry will be announced in April.

    “Our main goal of this video contest is to increase radon awareness within school communities,” said Harold Wimmer, ALA-IL President and CEO.

    “Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and the only way to know if your home has radon is to test.”

    For full details about the contest, including entry and release forms, visit the ALA-IL website at lungil.org.

    Questions regarding the contest can be directed to Melinda Lewis of the ALA-IL at (217) 787-5864 ext. 262.

    Information about radon, including testing results by county and lists of IEMA-licensed radon measurement and mitigation contractors, is available at radon.illinois.gov.


  • Alex e-Reader Gains a Million Books Thanks to Google

    Lawsuits aside, quite a few folks are interested in the Alex Reader from Spring Design. The device uses a 6″ eInk display for content, but also has a 3.5″ secondary color display that runs Google Android. (Yes, that sounds familiar.) Aside from the innovative hardware, the device is only as good as its content, right? Up to now I hadn’t heard of any specific content deals worked out, but CES is upon us and that changes things. Spring Design today announced a deal with Google that puts over 1 million titles in Google Books on the Alex.

    “Our agreement and strategic alliance with Google opens the doors to more readers around the world,” said Dr. Priscilla Lu, CEO of Spring Design.  “We are excited to be part of Google’s initiative to digitize and deliver the world’s books and look forward to the markets and opportunities these efforts will open up for readers as well as independent authors.”

    While this might not be the content provider some would hope for, it’s a definite start. And the device does support the EPUB format, so many more doors could open very soon for the Alex. How about it — does this news generate any more excitement for the Alex, or are you content to read Google Books on other devices?

  • The terrible beauty of chaotic starbirth | Bad Astronomy

    Orbiting our Milky Way galaxy like two bickering siblings are the Magellanic Clouds, galaxies in their own right, though far smaller than ours. The smaller of the two — named, shockingly, the Small Magellanic Cloud — is also the farther of the two, about 200,000 light years to the Larger cloud’s 180,000 or so. The SMC is loaded with gas and dust, and is actively churning out stars.

    The Spitzer Space Telescope, which observes infrared light from astronomical sources, took this incredibly beautiful image of the SMC:

    [Click to embiggen, including getting access to a huge 7800 x 7000 40Mb version.]

    Remember, this is not a visible light image! In the picture, blue represents light at a wavelength of 3.6 microns, about 5 times longer than what the human eye can see. Green is 8 microns, and red 24. So what you see here as blue is really what we would think of as red stars if we saw them with our eyes. Green shows light from big organic molecules called PAHs, for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Red is light from stars deeply embedded in dust, and is where stars are busily being born.

    All together, this image shows starbirth on a vast scale, thousands of light years across. And this may be a new phenomenon for the SMC: measurements of the elements in the stars there show that they have far fewer heavy elements (like oxygen, iron, and so on) than stars in the Milky Way, as little as 1/5th as abundant. Since these elements are created inside of stars over time, this indicates that stars in the SMC are on the whole younger than in the Milky Way.

    Even though the two Clouds are the closest galaxies we can see — and you can spot them easily with the unaided eye in the southern hemisphere — there’s still a lot we don’t know about them. In fact, we’re not even sure if they are orbiting the Milky Way, or just passing by! Even over decades, measuring their actual motion across the sky is very difficult; their mind-numbing distance of quintillions of kilometers away shrinks any real motion into apparently microscopic amounts. It may be quite some time before this question is finally resolved.

    Another image from Spitzer also shows a tail of gas streaming away from the SMC, material ripped out of the body of the galaxy itself by the gravity of the Milky Way. It’s possible that interactions with the Milky Way and the other Magellanic Cloud are what triggered the star formation in the SMC, too.

    It’s rather convenient to have such a nice laboratory for dwarf galaxies and starbirth so close to us. That makes it easier to study, giving us access to really high resolution images like this one. And the bonus? They’re pretty, too.


  • It’s here again! Vote for your favourite hack of 2009

    After the last 2 years of listing 20 favourite hacks, I’ve noticed that votes concentrated on around 10 hacks while the rest received minimal votes. So with much reluctance I decided to trim my fat list down to 10, again. A shorter list was much harder to do than I thought. It was a delight going through all the entries in 2009 but agonising in having to omit some really good hacks. Probably, your favourite is missing in the list too. Do drop a comment if your favourite is unlisted. I’d like to know your pick.

    And with that, here goes my 10 personal favourites (in no particular order). You guys vote to decide who takes the cake as the Ikea Hack of 2009. 

    Crafty pod with sewing machine 
    Two Billy bookcases makes one great craft pod. Closes to hide the full shebang of crafty things. Opens up to reveal loads of storage and even space of a sewing machine.

    See Liz’s craft pod.

    Philip and Cat’s shoe room 
    The ladies (and some lads, me think) went wild oogling Cat’s shoe room. While not in the league of the likes of Imelda but for us hackers, it’s plenty of storage.

    See more of Philip and Cat’s shoe room.

    iMac computer desk
    Combine Apple coolness with Ikea hacking and what do you get? Ta-dah.

    See more of Gerard’s iMac computer desk.

    Besta Makeup Armoire
    I think this is amazing. No clutter, no mess and it actually adds big pluses to the place.

    See more of Scott’s makeup armoire.

    Hamster haven 
    Expedit makes great hamster homes. Lots of space to run, dig and be merry.

    See more of Martina’s hamster home.

    Expedit room divider
    The Expedit also makes an impressive room divider. What’s most fantastic about this room divider is its flow. Yeah, we’re talking chi, baby. John added just the right curves to the Expedit and turned it from square to sexy. 

    See more of John’s room divider.

    The heated Poang
    I like the concept of seatheating in an Ikea armchair. Definitely one of the freshest Ikea hacks I’ve seen this year. The idea of heated seats may not be new but as far as hacks go, it’s new ground. 

    See more of Nico’s hot seat.

    One flew over the chicken coop
    This is one hack that totally took me by surprise. Never have I imagined Ikea being used as homes for chicken. Turns out the stuff from Sweden is not just good for us humans but pretty swanky for chicks too.

    See more of Aaron and Corrine’s home for chicks.

    Rocking Emmabo
    I loved this the moment I saw it. I looks way, way better than the plasticky-what-have-you cover that comes with it. Ikea should come up with this for 2010 Summer. Seriously.

    See more of Alex’s Emmabo deck chair.


    Hidden wall cabinet
    If Anthony didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have guessed that a medicine cabinet is cleverly hidden behind the wooden frame hacked from a Nexus cabinet door. Simply gorgeous and so simple.

    See more of Anthony’s Nexus wall cabinet.

    So here are the finalists on parade. What’s your pick?


  • What ‘What countries’ cities do you know by name?’ threads in this forum do you know by name?

    Seeing this whole forum is now inundated by ‘what cities can you name?’ threads, here’s a whole thread for people to try and name what ‘What countries’ cities do you know by name?’ threads in this forum….you’ll get the idea. If I remember rightly we have –

    American cities
    German " " "
    Burkino Faso
    Monaco
    China
    Australia
    UK
    France
    South Africa
    Brazil
    Egypt
    Poland
    Singapore
    Thailand…errr

    and thats all I can remember….If this current craze continues I’m sure someone will start a thread based on how many "What ‘What countries’ cities do you know by name?’ threads in this forum do you know by name" threads they can name. :nuts:

    If any mods are reading, please feel free to delete this thread, I was just making a point.

  • Why Pending Home Sales Are A Bigger Disaster Than You Realize

    Pending Sales for November were just released and despite the market blowing it off, it was a significant print. The consensus was for Pendings to be down 2%…instead they were down a big daddy whopper 16%. Now that’s a miss. It goes to show how twisted housing analysts have become…slaves to stimulus. This release just gave you a glimpse of the new normal (ex-stimulus) in housing. Last month when new home sales came out far below expectations, several analysts said “it’s a blip because the stimulus was going away”. No, that was not a blip — that was the real market showing itself just like it did this morning in the Pending release.
     
    Already the analysts are trying to compare this morning’s release to last Nov 2008 but you can’t do that. This is because last Nov the QE was not in effect yet, rates were sky-high (about 6% to 6.5%), lending guidelines were all over the map, and prices were still in free fall along with the global financial markets. There was not a soul going pending – comparing Nov 09 with 08 is apples to oranges. Despite the $8k going away for buyers who went pending in Nov 2009, buyers still had a much more stable environment this year than last with rates 100bps lower.  This is why comparing Oct 2009 with Nov 2009 is a much better comp that Nov 2008.
     
    But in Dec 2008 everything changed with massive gov’t intervention and a crash in rates. The Fed QE forcing rates down sharply in Dec and spurring serious buying is why going forward — beginning with December Existing Home Sales due out in a couple of weeks — YoY comps will get much tighter, with many misses on tap in the near to mid term. In fact, my early CA survey shows sales down YoY about 20%. Last Dec, there was a robust 37,836 sales. In Nov 2009, there were only 35,860. I expect Dec CA sales to be roughly 30k. That is a big MoM and YoY miss and the theme for 2010 house sales because of the lack of inventory due to foreclosure moratoriums, mortgage mod initiaves, and epidemic negative equity preventing 10s of millions from selling and re-buying. Remember, negative equity does not start at 100% for most…it starts at the point where they can’t sell their house for enough to pay the loan, the Realtor and put a down payment on the new vintage loan…perhaps 75% on Jumbos and 85%-90% on conforming loans. On a national basis, Existing Sales will fall sharply in Dec but I think they will still beat Dec 2008’s 361k…but not by much.
     
    To sell remotely the same number of houses in 2010 as in 2009 many things have to go right. The most important is more foreclosures. They made up just under 40% of all sales in 2009 and are what is in the most demand. There are enough foreclosures hung up in the pipeline right now to satisfy demand for a long time. If foreclosures and short sales surge early in the year, sales counts have a shot at down 10% from 2009. If not, expect down 20% at least. The second most important is rates – they have to stay very low. We know refi and purchase activity dry up in the mid 5%’s. In July and August 2009 when rates ticked up to the high 5%’s sales began to wane fast. Then when rates plunged 100bps, housing picked back up sharply going into the original Nov 30th ex-stimulus date.
     
    But with increased foreclosures and short sales, come all the house price and write down challenges we experienced when foreclosures were coming without interference. Having their cake and eating it too will be a difficult task in the housing sector for the gov’t in 2010. 

    See more housing market analysis at the author’s blog — >

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