I'm somewhat competent in banking and finance, large scale computer technology, product development and marketing. ASMEL, IFR, RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore.
House price appreciation was a consequence of the decline in interest rates. In the case of the 10-year Treasury, closely tied to mortgage rates, from 15% in 1981 to 1% in 2021. Done as a bond trade in zeros, that was a 40-bagger. Look at the chart on FRED, it was a no-brainer.
Now we go the other way. A house is always a liability. It costs money. Taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, updating... and to top it off values will decline in line with increasing interest rates.
@dampedspring Well yes, it hasn't topped. The weakness in Bitcoin is a little concerning, though. Even if it is just a rotation into stocks, it still has an air of decay.
@charlesmurray An unfortunate corollary is applicants who claim degrees that they did not earn. HR's background check discovers the lies. The sad thing was that they were unnecessary - I did not hire on the basis of degrees - these were not entry level positions. So we were both unhappy.
I read that an option being considered for the terrorists' enriched uranium is destruction. How would that be accomplished? Thanks in advance to anyone who knows the answer. Grok agreed that it cannot be destroyed, although it could be mixed with depleted uranium and rendered usable as reactor fuel.
At 52 I was stressed out so I quit working. I was a basket case for a couple of years. Found my feet and a community. Now we are in late 70s, living in an airport community thatβs handy to sailing. Kids and their partners are highly paid professionals so no worries there. My wife is still teaching college tech courses online. I guess I did have a midlife crisis but I think I would be dead by now if I hadnβt.
@htsfhickey I'm sure ego is part of it, but there's FOMO. Maybe the horse will sing. If so, then these businesses have to be in the chorus or face oblivion.
@charlesmurray It's American heritage. A general lack of ability to laugh at themselves. Even the French and Germans have a better sense of humor, while the British used to be far better but recently appear to have lost the knack. Lefties have no sense of humor, none whatsoever.
Quite a few years ago we and a couple of long-standing friends went cruising in the Caribbean, in their yacht. For reasons that were never clear, they decided to stop drinking coffee and used a substitute. This loving and charming couple immediately started yelling at one another for the most trivial of reasons or none at all.. After a couple of weeks of this we sat them down for a little chat. Fortunately they were persuaded to resume drinking coffee. Peace was also resumed. Sadly the husband passed last year, but they were still happily married.
@dampedspring It is 1988. I came home from work and went upstairs. There was a wire running down the hall between the kids' bedrooms (boys, 3, 6). Explanation given "we needed a LAN for the game". Conclusion: these kids are different. The world is changing.