Grumpy Editor

EXISTING HOME PRICES POST BIGGEST DROP IN MORE THAN DECADE

 

Existing home prices in the U.S. p0sted the biggest year-over-year decline in more than 11 years in May as rising interest rates continued to weigh on the housing market, Grumpy Editor noted in The Wall Street Journal.

 

National median existing home prices fell 3.1 percent to $396,100 in May vs. the same month last year. It was the largest drop since December 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors.

 

Mortgage rates have fluctuated since hitting 20-year-highs above 7 percent in October and November.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

NATIONAL GUARD STRUGGLES TO YIELD RECRUITS.  National Guard continues to  find it difficult to attract recruits.  However, it hopes to get closer to recruiting goals this year while battling private companies such as FedEx, Micosoft and Wendy’s.

 

CHARITY DONATIONS DECLINE.  Americans gave the lowest percentage of disposable income to charity last year since 1995, per a new Giving USA report, adding total amount of charitable giving fell 3.4 percent last year to $499.3 billion — a 10.5 percent decrease when adjusted for inflation.

 

SEARCH ON FOR ‘HERO’ DOG.  Colombia is searching for a dog named Wilson that aided in finding missing children in the Amazon.  The Belgian Shepherd became a national hero in that country when he helped the military find four children who survived a plane crash and were lost in the jungle for 40 days. Wilson went missing during the search and is the target of a rescue operation.

 

MORE BARRIERS PLANNED FOR COCKPITS.  A new FAA rule will make it more difficult to break into airplane cockpits.  Planes built after mid-2025 will have seconday barriers when the main cockpit door is open.

 

SHALLOWER WATER AFFECTS PANAMA CANAL.  Because of the drought and shallower water, container ships in the Panama Canal will be limited to a depth of 43.5 feet. Largest ships that go through the canal are Panamax container ships that require at least 43 feet to pass through.

 

BEAR TRIES TO ENTER SECOND STORY WINDOW.  In Colorado, a bear tried to climb through a second story window, then got stuck dangling from it. Colorado Fish and Wildlife was called to rescue it.

 

NEW ASSAULT VEHICLE SET FOR ARMY.  The Army unveils a new assault vehicle with firepower of giant tanks but is a fraction of the size. It is seen as rewriting the battlefield understanding of how tanks are used in combat.

 

 

Sears CEO Lampert also gives bad marks to media

President Donald Trump isn’t the only top official complaining about treatment by the media, notes Grumpy Editor.

Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings Corp., declares the media for years have "unfairly singled out" Sears' struggles in the retail industry.

At the company’s annual shareholders meeting at its Hoffman Estates headquarters near Chicago, Lampert blasts the media at length, pointing out negative headlines from years ago forecasting the end of the retail giant (that includes Sears and Kmart stores) and mentioning how other retailers, like J.C. Penney, Target and Macy's, also are struggling.

"I felt we were unfairly singled out," Lampert tells shareholders and employees. “There's been a lot of headlines, including those on social media. And people want their stories to stand out, I understand that. Everyone wants people to read what they write. ... These have been extreme headlines written about us for the past 10 years. But we're still here."

The problem with the negative press, Lampert complains, is the effect it has had on the company’s workforce and executives as well as how vendors do business with the company.

"The biggest impact has been on our associates and how we recruit talent," says Lampert. "And vendors. They want our business, but they'll use those negative headlines to negotiate better terms for themselves."

He reveals to those at the meeting that shoppers should expect smaller stores in the future as the company looks at ways to improve business.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

While media are focused on talk that Donald Trump, in his pre-president days in his Trump Tower office, used telephone taping devices (as many news folks have done in the past), North Korea on Sunday launched its latest ballistic missile, this one soaring 435 miles --- with the goal of eventually reaching San Francisco…An economic study finds journalism jobs around the country drop 22 percent in the past decade, but jump 38 percent in the nation's capital, reports Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist. What's more, salaries for Washington journalists rose seven percent while diving nationally. As of 2015, there were 3,030 reporters in the D.C. metro area, compared with 2,190 a decade prior, he notes, adding some smaller metros are left with as few as 40 journalists…Will drought talk end? Only about five percent of the country is experiencing drought conditions now --- following record rain and snowfall over much of the country --- lowest level since government scientific agencies began updating the U.S. Drought Monitor on a weekly basis in 2000…In California, up to 300,000 baby salmon die in temporary holding ponds they’d been staying in since the Oroville Dam crisis in early February. Problem stems from a faulty wire for switching off a pump at the Thermalito hatchery…Anybody see coverage of this?   Last week marked the 75^th anniversary of World War II’s Battle of the Coral Sea, in which U.S. and Australian forces faced off against Japan from May 4-8, 1942. It marked the first time aircraft carriers engaged each other in a battle that resulted in 656 Allied and 966 Japanese deaths. Damage inflicted on two Japanese carriers forced them to avoid the pivotal Battle of Midway a month later…Also with scant coverage: Former President Barack Obama, for a speech on climate change, flew via private jet to Italy then went to his Milan destination in a 14-car convoy, plus a helicopter and use of 300 police officers...Time, Inc. is cutting its quarterly dividend to four cents a share from 19.

 

Seeking a few good --- women.

The Marine Corps releases a TV commercial aimed at recruiting women.

‘Victory lap’ becomes very contagious term for media

Grumpy Editor notes newspaper readers/radio and TV listeners were bombarded last week with the much overused term “victory lap,” after the president trumpeted from the White House Rose Garden that 7.1 million people signed up by the deadline for the first round of ObamaCare.

Victory lap stems from motorsports to describe the extra lap around the racetrack after the end of a race.  It’s much like "hitting a home run,” as heard in baseball parks, to describe something such as a nifty presentation at the office. 

A sampling of headlines or leads from the many print/broadcast/Internet websites going for “victory lap” (emphasized in bold face, below) --- 

ABC News:  President Obama Takes Victory Lap After

Health Care Sign-Ups Top 7 Million

 

Washington Post:  7.1 million reasons for ObamaCare victory lap

 

NBC News:  Victory Lap: Obama Says Health

Care Law Is 'Here to Stay'

 

PBS News Hour: President Obama takes health care victory lap

 

Fox News:  White House runs 'victory lap' after 7M ObamaCare sign-ups, Republicans renew repeal fight

 

Roll call:  Obama, Democrats Have 7 Million Reasons for a Victory Lap

 

U.S. News & World Report:  Obama Runs Victory Lap on ObamaCare Sign-Up Success, Chastises Republicans

 

New York Post:  While ‘victory lap’ was not in the headline, it was in the lead of its story ---

WASHINGTON — President Obama took a victory lap at the close of the enrollment period for ObamaCare…

 

WebMD:  First paragraph under the headline, ObamaCare Hits Goal of 7 Million Enrolled --- 

The Obama administration took a victory lap Tuesday as enrollment through the health law’s exchanges topped 7 million... 

 

Meanwhile, in the Far East, English-language Japan Times picked up an Associated Press story, adding its own headline:

Obama takes victory lap after health care sign-ups top 7 million

 

Memo to media:  Did anyone check to see if there was an uptick in business at Victory Lap Auto Sales in Newnan, Ga.?

 

In case you missed these…

 

CBS ADDS COMBUSTION ENGINE SOUND TO QUIET TESLA MODEL S FOOTAGE.  Drivers of Tesla Motors, Inc.’s Model S electric car are still buzzing following CBS’s 60 Minutes report of March 30 that included several shots of the normally silent-running luxury car on the road --- but with dubbed-in sound of a traditional gasoline engine.  Seems strange that Scott Pelley, who reported the story (and whose wife, according to Fox News, drives a Tesla Model S), says he wasn't aware of the added audio ahead of time.  He didn’t comment on it after the segment with the false noisy engines aired. 

 

NEW JERSEY’S TOP DAILY, CUTS STAFF.  Advance Publications’ Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, is cutting jobs, including one-fourth of its newsroom staff (leaving 156 on the editorial payroll), as it moves to consolidate operations and cut costs.

 

SUNDAYS WITH NEWS VIA NEW YORK.  The New York Times, seeking to bolster subscribers, is pitching its Sunday edition far from Gotham.  Folks in the far West are getting mailed pitches for subscriptions at $2 a week, with smaller print refining that to “for four weeks, plus free all digital access.”  Then fine print explains that after the introductory period “delivery will continue at the regular rate, which is $8.60 per week for Sunday delivery, unless you notify us.”  That’s $447.20 for a year of Sunday deliveries.

  

PATRIOTIC MARINE FLIES FLAGS, IS THREATENED WITH EVICTION.  Salem Run Apartment Homes in Fredericksburg, Va. threatens to evict a Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq because he is displaying the U.S. flag and a Marine Corps flag on his balcony.  Ex-sergeant Manuel E. Vega, who spent eight years in the Marines, told Examiner.com he has been flying the flags since October and apartment managers recently decided to take action via a warning tacked to his front door.  The notice reminds Vega that “you cannot have anything attached to the railing or any part of the building.”  Vega --- who received the Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal, combat action ribbon, presidential unit citation, Navy unit citation and good conduct medal --- says he will not back down.

 

SEND THAT MAGIFYING GLASS PRONTO.  One Reverse Mortgage, a Quicken Loans company, in pitching seniors with TV commercials, offers an illuminated magnifying glass as an inducement to seek more information.

For many, the magnifying item can be put to good use to enlarge the many lines of fine print that appear briefly on the TV screen.

 

 

Christmas shopping season figures create confusion

A clue as to why Wall Street is confused over latest economic data --- figures and headlines are all over the place, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Among headlines from Friday’s newspapers: 

Retail buoys economic outlook

Retailers singing ‘Blue Christmas’ as sales fall

Spending jumps in November

The first headline, above, reflects information from the Commerce Department.  It reports retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in November from the prior month, marking the biggest gain in five months. 

The second headline is based on a report from the National Retail Federation.  It estimates the four-day Thanksgiving Day weekend (including Black Friday) dropped 2.9 percent from last year. 

The third headline also stems from the Commerce Department report with an Associated Press story adding, “Two straight months of healthy sales suggest steady hiring is encouraging Americans to spend more this holiday season, particularly on big-ticket items.”

The AP piece also quotes an economist who points out the Commerce Department report “suggests that the holiday shopping season began on a strong note.” 

The Wall Street Journal, in citing the Commerce Department report, also adds input from an economist who says, “the numbers certainly suggest a stronger trajectory of consumer spending than we had thought." 

 

In case you missed these… 

 

NEW JOURNALISM JOBS LOOM AS LOS ANGELES SOON GETS A NEW DAILY.  Aaron Kushner, co-owner and publisher of the Orange County Register says his operation will move into the City of Angels early next year with a new, seven-days-a-week newspaper, the Los Angeles Register, staffed by journalists working in Los Angeles covering local news.  Kushner points out more than 200 people were added to his news staff in the past year, more than the size of most newsrooms in the country. 

 

NOT A VERY NICE CHRISTMAS PRESENT.  Martha Stewart Living magazine is hit especially hard as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia lays off between 75 and 100 staffers --- about 25 percent of the company’s work force --- 13 days before Christmas. 

 

JOURNALISM MAJOR RETURNS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY.  The College Station school in the Lone Star State is bringing back its journalism major next fall.  But it will be "a small, rigorous program limited to 25 entering freshmen per year,” says the university. 

 

LOCAL VS. FOREIGN THINKING BY SAME-CITY EDITORS.  A few days after the Las Vegas Review-Journal runs a photo of Santa Claus cavorting with fish in a far-off South Korea tank, the Las Vegas Sun features a full page with five photos of a Sin City Santa swimming with sharks and other fish in the aquarium at nearby Silverton, a Las Vegas casino.

 

AT LEAST BALLPARK HOT DOGS REMAIN UNCHANGED --- FOR NOW.  Taking some of the sport out of the game, baseball’s rules committee votes to outlaw home-plate collisions by 2015.  Under the rules, runners would have to (politely?) slide home while catchers, giving runners a clear path, will not be allowed to block home plate.

 

“HURRY UP AND WAIT” ROUTINE CONTINUES FOR VETERANS.  Not widely heralded in national broadcast or print news from Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s home state, is that Nevada veterans shockingly wait an average 433 days to have disability benefits claims completed by the Veterans Administration, according to Dean Heller, the Silver State’s other U.S. senator, a Republican. 

 

NOW IT'S SANTA’S TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE THAT IS THREATENED.  While polar bears used to be the great concern of global warming folks, now it’s the Arctic’s alleged reduced number of reindeer that worries them --- and obviously making it tough for Santa. 

 

ONE AWARD THE WHITE HOUSE SNUBS.  PolitiFact gives President Obama its “lie of the year” prize for his claim that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. Period.”