Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

I’m not surprised that Congressman Weiner is stepping down. The criticism was mounting. I knew his fate was sealed when celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred made her debut in the Weiner drama yesterday. Allred, you recall, also represented the housekeeper who spoke out against Meg Whitman, sealing her fate in the California’s governor’s race. Her website is here.

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Our Sierra College Trustee President Aaron Klein is a geek who likes PCs, not Macs. In fact, he’s had some harsh words for Apple.

But Aaron’s blog points to an “awakening.”

“I wrote a few days ago about my big technology transition into a Mac + Gmail + Android world. I’m still absolutely loving it, and I had to write a post about the best computer I’ve ever owned, bar none,” he writes.

“I’ve had Toshiba, Dell, HP, Compaq and Sony VAIO laptops before. Nothing comes even close to the MacBook Air. It’s just amazing.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to choose the Air at first. Once my VAIO started dying for the third time, I was assuming I’d get a MacBook Pro. But the more I looked at both choices, the more I realized the Air was the right option.”

“I can’t believe it took me this long to switch. I suppose I could go back to Windows 7 any time I needed to, but you can pry the elegant power of the MacBook Air out of my cold, dead fingers.”

PC habits die hard with certain people, even young ones. We can’t believe it took so long either.

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“Representative Anthony D. Weiner has told friends that he plans to resign his seat after coming under growing pressure from his Democratic colleagues to leave the House, said a person told of Mr. Weiner’s plans,” according to the New York Times.

“His decision follows of revelations of his lewd online exchanges with women, said a person told of Mr. Weiner’s plans.

“The news comes as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old Congressman of his committee assignments, a blow which would severely damage his effectiveness.”

The rest of the article is here.

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“Not even the blistering summer heat has thawed the housing market, which has been kept frozen for two years by underwater homeowners and tight credit,” according to USNews and World Report.

“According to experts, a variety of factors could be key to dragging the housing market out of the doldrums: improved economic fortunes, greater assistance to indebted homeowners, and simple patience may be necessary to remove this heavy weight on the economic recovery. Here are six ways to help speed the recovery of the U.S. housing market.

It’s the Economy, Stupid
Fixing the rest of the economy first is admittedly more easily said than done. But the key point is that housing will most likely follow, not lead, the rest of the economy out of a slump.

Trim the Fat
Shrinking the oversized supply of housing will also better allow housing prices to increase, so current owners will be more able and willing to sell their homes.

Depend on Uncle Sam
Governmental intervention options are limited given the current political and budgetary constraints. But one low-cost option would be to maintain the current limits on conforming loans.

Don’t HAMP-er the Recovery
The Home Affordable Modification Program, better known as HAMP, was established a part of the larger Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Some are proponent of ending HAMP. They advocate a program combining unemployment insurance and a temporary housing voucher program.

Keep Bailing
Bailouts are not an ideal solution. However, some believe the continued housing crisis is deep enough to warrant such action.

Look to the Future
Creating a lasting recovery means learning from the mistakes of the housing collapse so that the country can avoid future crises.

The complete article is here.

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Despite current bearishness about the world’s economy, Boeing — which needs to know — came out with an upbeat long-term growth forecast. It’s a reminder not to let the you-know-who’s get you down and not let too much politics cloud our thinking:

“Demand for passenger and freight aircraft will outpace global growth over the next two decades, according to a long-term forecast of the aerospace market by Boeing, the world’s second-biggest aircraft-maker by revenue,” according to the Financial Times.

“Boeing estimates that growth will translate into a market for 33,500 new aircraft by 2030, with a market value of $4,000bn. Last year the company forecast demand for 30,900 aircraft by 2029 worth some $3,600bn.

“The aircraft-maker anticipates that the biggest business opportunity will be in narrow-body jets, which it expects to account for 70 per cent of all new deliveries, worth nearly $2,000bn. The next largest sector of the market will be smaller wide-bodied jets, with 7,330 deliveries worth $1,770bn.”

The rest of the article is here.

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