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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Return to Sender who wrote (53844)	9/22/2011 6:24:12 PM
From: Gottfried	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95530

RtS, you ask >How much money have you spent lately?< I've cut almost all discretionary spending, except a $2.99/month magazine subscription and cigars. If I'm forced to cut out cigars it will be a depression :) Even my dog gets a bone every 3 days instead of every other day.

To: Return to Sender who wrote (53844)	9/22/2011 10:51:18 PM
From: The Ox	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95530

The banking system has been turned upside down. I know of at least 2 businesses that never missed a payment on their loans for over 20 years. This year, they were both told by their bankers that they were now too risky to their renew loans. Similarly, people who need to refi and could under "normal" circumstances, are now being told they don't qualify. Likewise, these people have never missed a payment yet the bank now considers them a risk. Banking regulators have lost their way and have created a surreal environment, imo. I suppose when you can get a loan from the Fed at 0% or 0.25% and invest in treasuries and get 1.7% from a 10 year bond - with basically no risk, why loan out money at all? ....please don't answer that!! LOL

To: Return to Sender who wrote (53844)	9/23/2011 3:30:13 PM
From: Donald Wennerstrom	2 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95530

RtS, Thanks for the insight on how the situation is in your world. Even though I am retired now for over 10 years, I live in an environment that in general is very similar to yours. I expect that most of us who read and write on these boards also live in an environment very similar to what we experience. You asked the question: <<How much money have you spent lately?>> The answer is - not any more than I have to, and there are items that I would like to have such as a new computer, new car, etc, but I have put off these purchases to some future time. In the meantime I make do with what I have. It's lucky that I am not a cigar smoker like Gottfried, at least I do not have to worry about that expense.<VBG> A few years after I retired, I moved to a new location and bought a new home(2003) in a tract community paying cash so I own the home. Today, 8 years later, the home is worth(if I could sell it) 30 percent less than I paid for it. There are many people here in this area still walking away from their mortgages since they continue to be "under water". My next door neighbor bought his home at the height of the housing bubble in 2005 and now it is down about 60 percent in value. He was in construction and hasn't worked for 3 years - only picking up odd jobs here and there. He is walking away from his home. When I moved here in 2003, I went to a barber in a "strip mall" with 10 businesses located there. Today, only the barber and 1 other business are open there, all other locations are empty with for rent signs. I have another friend who bought a home in a new cu-de-sac development in the early 2000's. Today he is the only inhabitant in the cul-de-sac, all the other owners couldn't make the payments so all have been foreclosed, and now there are only weeds growing in the yards. You can imagine how depressing this cul-de-sac looks now. There is a golf course nearby that was developed in the early 2000s. The price for a round of golf was $105 on the weekends. The original owner went bankrupt - we now have another new owner who lowered the prices considerably, and now this summer lowered the price for UNLIMITED GOLF to $100 a month. This gets enough players on the course to pay the water bill. I could go on and on, but you get the "picture". Maybe things are reasonable on Wall Street, but not out here in the hinterlands. At the moment there is no turn around in sight for the housing or job market in this area. Don Good smoking Gottfried!LOL