"Adolf Merkel": Presenting The Greek Gratitude For The 50% Debt Haircut

One would think that considering that their debt, or rather about 60% of it, was haircut over the past 2 days, the Greeks would be grateful to Germany who not only orchestrated this transaction over the vocal protests of her French vertically challenged counterpart, but effectively has pledged a substantial portion of German GDP to preserve not only the Greek welfare state but soon that of all the other European countries. One would be wrong.

The Mail reports:

Greeks angry at the fate of the euro are comparing the German government with the Nazis who occupied the country in the Second World War.

Newspaper cartoons have presented modern-day German officials dressed in Nazi uniform, and a street poster depicts Chancellor Angela Merkel dressed as an officer in Hitler’s regime accompanied with the words: ‘Public nuisance.’

She wears a swastika armband bearing the EU stars logo on the outside.

The backlash has been provoked by Germany’s role in driving through painful measures to stop Greece’s debt crisis from spiralling out of control

It gets worse:

Opposition parties blasted the landmark agreement, with conservatives warning it condemned the country to ‘nine more years of collapse and poverty’.

But it is the fury of ordinary Greeks which is raising eyebrows.

Greek government officials who agreed to the belt-tightening moves have been portrayed in cartoons giving the Nazi ‘Sieg Heil’ salute.

Greek finance minister Evangelos Venizelos is a regular target in the liberal daily Eleftherotypia and is often shown in cartoons making a Nazi salute.

One shows a German soldier watching over Venizelos as he barks at a Greek citizen to pay more taxes.

In another cartoon, a young Greek answers a German soldier asking why there were no names on a list of Greece’s newly formed labour reserve, saying: ‘They are empty as you exterminated the Communists, the Jews, the homosexuals, the gipsies and the crazies last time.’

And the most ominous sign is that we already are seeing animosity between ordinary people on both sides of the table, people who are part of the proverbial 99%, and who have nothing to do with the disgusting arrangements at the top whose only purpose is to enrich the already uber-rich.

And German visitors flocking to ancient tourist sites are being met with a hostile welcome from some Greeks.

If that last one isn't very concerning, re-read it enough times until it is.

And while geographical proximity between Greece and Germany may be a redeeming feature to what are already preambles to outright aggression, when will geography no longer matter: when the Greek "experiment" moves to Portugal? To Belgium? To France? Is it time to start plant more trees in the Ardennes forest?

Cain Cowboy Ad Goes West to Lampoon Obama Read more on Newsmax.com: Cain Cowboy Ad Recalls Old West to Lampoon Obama Important: Do You Support Pres.

click on the link and watch video

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Cain-cowboy-ad-Obama/2011/10/28/id/416055

If Herman Cain’s presidential campaign falters, the former businessman can always go Hollywood, by the looks of another campaign ad that harkens back to the Old West as it directly targets President Barack Obama’s “hope and change” mantra.

The ad has been lingering as a YouTube video since August, but The Caucus blog in The New York Times resurrected it in connection with another Cain ad this week featuring Cain chief of staff Mark Block smoking a cigarette.

The newly discovered ad, a nearly four-minute short film titled “He Carried Yellow Flowers,” is Western parody featuring actor Nick Searcy of FX’s “Justified.”

Story continues below the video.



The ad opens with Searcy, as a cowboy, using a bouquet of yellow flowers to smack down two drunken “card-carrying” liberals.

“I’ve played a lot of tough guys in movies over the years, but you know what?” Searcy says into the camera, “Looking cool and saying lines that somebody else wrote for me doesn’t make me a real tough guy — any more than looking cool and reading lines off a teleprompter that somebody else wrote makes a community organizer a real leader.”

After that slap at Obama, Searcy touts Cain as a leader, saying: “In 2012, let’s get real for a change, people. Take a real look at Herman Cain.”

Searcy told the Times that he wanted to help Cain’s campaign, but a “straight celebrity endorsement from me would be ridiculous, since nobody knows who I am.”

So instead he made a “parody of the whole idea of celebrity endorsements in the first place.”

“In between playing a flower-swinging cowboy and a self-aware political sage, Mr. Searcy lampoons himself as a diva, demanding a straw for his margarita and ordering the makeup girl not to make eye contact [not unlike the real memo ordering staff not to speak to the real Mr. Cain unless spoken to,]” the Times blog notes.

Searcy told the Times that he made on his own and later showed it to the candidate. “He watched and he thought it was funny,” Searcy said.

Cain’s campaign obviously also gave it a thumbs up, posting the ad on its website.

© Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Cain Cowboy Ad Recalls Old West to Lampoon Obama
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World Running Out of Water

The world is low on water, from the standpoint of supply needed for human use, and the problem has grown rapidly. Worse still, the problem has no ready solution — and probably has no solution at all.

The World Resources Institute predicts that “By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in water-scarce countries or regions, with alarming implications for human wellbeing and global security.” Much of this water will be needed to irrigate crops. That makes the problem a dual one — water for drinking and water for food.

The institute blames developed nations for the overuse of water. That may be true, but a solution assumes that water is portable. It is not, at least not from continent to continent. Water in the U.S. cannot be transported in any significant amount to Africa.

This lack of transportability, along with droughts that already ravaged some parts of the most populated nations, creates a problem that cannot be made better. It is tempting to say that all problems of poverty and famine can be solved, but that is not true from any practical standpoint. Parts of Africa and Asia will be nearly barren of crops in a decade and a half. The trend has already begun. China’s wheat crop failed last year because of drought. The southeastern U.S. has become close to a dust bowl. The portions of north African and impoverished central Africa are in the midst of water shortages that almost certainly will not improve.

The World Resources Institute has raised a point, but it has not offered a solution to the problem. That is because there is no solution.

Read more: World Running Out of Water - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/10/28/world-running-out-of-water/#ixzz1c4ZxOp7p

Trump: Chinese Seeking Foothold in European Economy

Donald Trump says the Chinese are “cozying up” to the Europeans in order to help with their debt crisis and gain a foothold in the continent’s economy — much as the Asian communist giant did in the United States. The real estate mogul also told Fox News’ Neal Cavuto America’s “stupid policies” have given the Chinese a European opportunity.

“They have plenty of money thanks to us and our stupid policies and our terrible negotiators, so China is sitting there with trillions and trillions of dollars,” Trump said. “It’s peanuts for them, as you know. It’s peanuts — it’s irrelevant to them.

“And they are doing it to try and get into the European situation and obviously do what they are doing to us — to Europe — and they will probably be successful,” he said about China considering buying European debt. “Very smart — very good negotiators. They have their smartest people negotiating and we don’t — it’s a big difference.”

Trump noted, however, the Chinese “cozying up” to the Europeans and helping deal with the Greece crisis — where overwhelming debt has caused worries of the nation’s default — could be to America’s benefit.

“They cozied up to the Germans and I frankly as far as that is concerned, I am very happy about it — I am glad they worked out a deal,” Trump said. “I don’t know how long-lasting it’s going to be — I think at some point the Germans will get a little bit tired of taking care of the Greek problems. But right now it is good for us and whatever is good for us, I am happy about.

“I think it is very hard for the Germans to really do this and to take this, but they seem to be and they want to keep the euro — don’t forget the euro was established in order to take advantage of the United States, and in order to hurt us,” he said. “So all these countries get together and they thought this would be a power play against the United States. Now, maybe it is a power play against others like maybe the Chinese, but they really did this not for our benefit, so, when I watch what is happening it is sort of interesting.

“And some of the countries — like, as an example, I watched England where the prime minister was saying, how lucky they were that they didn’t get interest that mess,” Trump continued.” It is true — they gave up their currencies — they went into the euro. And if Greece had its own currency, it probably could have been worked its way out a lot better than this. It’s a very interesting situation to watch — but it wasn`t done for our advantage.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: Chinese Seeking Foothold in European Economy, Trump Says
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Kosher food goes mainstream at Berlin supermarket

Supermarket stock is a small sign that takes on deeper meaning; kosher food was once available only at specialty shops.

BERLIN - When shoppers in New York, London or Paris come across kosher food in their neighborhood supermarkets, it's just one specialty product among many. When the same thing happens in Berlin, it's a statement.

Berlin's Jewish community, decimated by the Holocaust, has been steadily growing since Germany reunited in 1990. Thousands of Jews have moved in, synagogues, schools and shops have opened and some young rabbis have been trained and ordained.

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But presence isn't the same as acceptance. In a city weighed down by memories of its Nazi past, even small signs that Jews are a part of normal daily life again take on deeper meaning.

One such sign appeared last month when a local supermarket began selling kosher food. Stocked on shelves and in freezers next to other German and imported goods, the food prepared according to ancient Jewish dietary laws is presented like any other product.

Yehuda Teichtal, a Brooklyn-born Hasidic rabbi who advised the Nah und Gut ("Near and Good") supermarket on its selections, is thrilled to see this in Berlin.

"This was the center of darkness and evil, where the Nazis planned the extermination of Europe's Jews, and now you can go into a normal supermarket and there's a sign that says kosher," he said.

"The Nazis failed. Where do you find Hitler and Eichmann now -- on Wikipedia. Where do you see Jewish life in an open way -- on the streets of Berlin!"

Immigrants boost Jewish ranks

Of the 160,000 Jews living in Berlin before the Second World War, 90,000 fled abroad, 55,000 died in concentration camps and 7,000 committed suicide to escape Nazi terror, according to the Jewish Community of Berlin. Only 8,000 were left in 1945.

Starting in 1989, Jews from the former Soviet Union began flocking to Berlin. Young Israelis started settling here in the mid-1990s. Now there are an estimated 30,000 Jews in the city, but nobody knows for sure because not all of them are registered with the established communities.

"Many Russian Jews are not registered because, if you do, you have to pay the religious tax," Teichtal said, referring to the tax that members of recognized religions in Germany must pay.

Those who keep kosher had a handful of restaurants and small specialty shops around the city where they could find religiously permitted food.

But Teichtal, who runs the Berlin center of the worldwide Chabad Hasidic movement, thought more Jews would eat kosher food if they didn't have to get to those small shops with their limited opening hours to buy it.

"If you have to go to one shop to buy wine, another to get fruit and veg and a third to buy a piece of gefilte fish, that's one thing," he said. "If a person goes to one supermarket and does all their shopping, it's a completely different ballgame."

So he scouted around for a supermarket ready to try a new line of products and found Nah und Gut, an upscale establishment in the affluent Wilmersdorf section of western Berlin. Many Jews live in the area and several of the city's synagogues are nearby.

"A bit multicultural, a bit exotic"

"We always try to have different products from around the world," explained store manager Stefan Voelker, who is not Jewish and describes kosher food as "a bit multicultural, a bit exotic."

The kosher products -- everything from wine, beer and cheese to chocolate-covered matzo bread and frozen steaks and chicken nuggets -- have interested curious non-Jewish shoppers and brought in several hundred new Jewish customers, he said.

Voelker's biggest problem is not customer acceptance or rejection, but logistics. Almost all his kosher products come from other countries, mostly Israel, Poland, France, Belgium and Britain, and ordering small shipments can be expensive and unreliable.

Teichtal, who stressed his interest in the sale of kosher food is strictly religious and not financial, said he was searching around Europe for large wholesalers who could offer more regular supplies.

About 3 km (2 miles) away at Kosher Deli, Maurice Elmaleh has different concerns. He's worried the new competition could hurt the small specialty kosher shops like his.

"The shops that already exist have problems to stay open," he said in his sparse shop as a customer picked up a fresh loaf of braided challah.

"There are more Jews eating kosher, but the number is small compared to the number of Jews in Berlin," he said. "Only about 10-15 percent of them keep kosher."

'Once you've tried kosher, you'll ask for more'

Rabbi Reuven Yaacobov, the community's kosher expert who moved here from Uzbekistan 11 years ago, estimated that up to 6,000 of Berlin's Jews kept kosher and demand was steadily rising. "When I came here, there were only three shops selling kosher food. Now there are seven," he said.

People buy kosher food for various reasons.

"There's no single trend," he said. "Some say it is healthier, others say they tried it and it tasted good, others say they want to be closer to God."

He disagreed with Elmaleh about the supermarket.

"More competition is good because prices will fall," he said. "Many Jews say kosher food here is too expensive.

"Also, if I wanted to get new customers for a kosher shop, I'd have to do a lot of advertising. But Jewish shoppers go to supermarkets anyway. Then it's like the sweets at the check-out counter -- you see them and buy them.

"Once you've tried kosher, you'll ask for more," he said.

The British Riots: An Object Lesson

I happened to be in England shortly before the riots, which erupted in copycat fashion all over the country. No one saw them coming. There have been many references to the "feral underclass," a name for creatures formerly tamed but now wild. The welfare state, which has reached absurd levels in England, instructs the underclass that they are not responsible for anything that happens to them. Nothing is their fault and no one can tell them to do anything.

The automatic receipt of "benefit" tells them that nothing depends on their own effort or good behavior. Parents are severely restricted in how they can discipline their own children. If you want to read about England, keep an eye on Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday. Here is something recent from his blog. Those who want to blame parents for the misdeeds of their children "should heed the cry of one such parent this week, a respected TV cameraman," Hitchens wrote.

"I am heartbroken and totally ashamed," he said of his daughter's criminal actions. "This is the end product of a society that tells you that you can't discipline your children."

Those who do, he said, risk being reported to police or social services. He concluded: "Children now have the power over their parents, rather than the other way round."

I think all modern parents will recognize the truth in this. Except for David Cameron and Ed Miliband.

Cameron is the prime minister, nominally conservative, and Miliband the leader of the Labour Party. He is so far to the left that he acts as a kind of insurance policy for Cameron. No matter how low Cameron falls in the public esteem, Miliband is not an enticing prospect to replace him.

My brother Richard, a minor officeholder (councilman) in the Conservative Party (he lives in an unaffected part of the country, near Gatwick), warned me even before the rioting began that the prospects for David Cameron are not good. He doesn't have a conservative bone in his body. He launched his career as a PR man and that is what he remains. In fact, he has already achieved his life's ambition, which was to become prime minister. 10 Downing Street is his address. So his inclination will be to rest on his laurels. Tony Blair is his hero.

I can think of no better way of alerting American Spectator readers to the Cameron problem than to say that he is a compassionate conservative. Acutely conscious of his own privileged background -- Eton and Oxford -- his guilt feelings are easily stirred. A quick reminder that budget cuts hurt the poor will suffice to whip him into line. His post-riot comments about the "slow motion moral collapse that has taken place in parts of our country," were seen as more PR.

The alleged budget cuts in England have yet to take effect. "Only in today's bizarre, economically illiterate political climate could such an extraordinarily large overdraft be confused for draconian belt-tightening," wrote a commentator for the (English) Spectator. One department that does face cuts is the police force. It was noted at the time that the police response to the initial rioting was tardy or nonexistent. Post-riots, you can be sure that those reductions in force will not happen. Thus do bureaucracies take care of their own. My brother showed me a chart with planned government spending increasing every year until 2016. Optimistically, revenues also projected to rise sharply in the same time. Reason: Under the Labour
government the top income tax rate was increased to 50 percent (from 40 percent) and Cameron has kept that in place.

It's assumed by all right-thinking people, including the BBC, that this substantial increase in the cost of doing business in Britain will have no effect on behavior. Richard Branson of Virgin Air, who has moved part of his operation from London to Switzerland, has already shown this assumption to be wrong. One of several errors behind the plan to raise taxes on the rich (on both sides of the Atlantic) is that the rich are exactly the ones who are the least likely to be played for suckers and can most easily move.

Few Americans realize that in forming his government, Cameron teamed up with the (leftist) Liberal Democrats who were given major cabinet posts and a great deal of influence. Cameron's Business Secretary, Vincent Cable, is anti-business, and would fit comfortably into the Obama administration. The Lib-Dems are "the yellow tail wagging the Tory dog, veto-ing or diluting mainstream Conservative policies." (Spectator again.) No real welfare reform will occur: well-advertised future cuts have been offset by immediate (and unannounced) increases. The National Health Service, regarded for some reason as a national treasure, will remain intact (there are still no charges for making an appointment to see a doctor, as there are now in Sweden and France); foreign aid goes onward and upward (giving away other people's money convinces liberals that they are morally superior people); carbon taxes have been increased to counter the global warming that humans allegedly cause (this will sharply increase the cost of energy and keep the BBC happy); and of course there will be no retreat on the new 50 percent top income tax rate.

The betting is that Cameron will also retreat from a promised reform of munificent civil service pensions, which are based on final salaries. Cameron faces "industrial action," or strikes, over his insistence that government workers make extra payments for pensions in excess of 100,000 pounds a year (about $160,000). In addition, a raft of EU measures will give temporary workers full employee rights after just 12 weeks on the job. Given that Britain employs eight million such workers, this could have a severe impact on labor market flexibility. Prudence will dictate that few such employees will be hired in the first place.

All of which means that the British economy will continue to do poorly. The main economic problem in England at the moment (as in America) is that the progressives who continue to advocate egalitarian policies have no conception that they don't work-- don't create jobs. The supposed morality of such policies blinds their advocates to their destructiveness.

YOU MAY WELL WONDER why we in the U.S. should care about Britain's pathologies. If you feel that way you have a point. The ruling class in Britain is rotten to the core. Now that they no longer rule the waves it might be better for all concerned if they were submerged beneath them. If a more fundamental rebellion in Britain were to rid us of the whole sorry lot I would quietly rejoice. But they are an object lesson.

Every time I return to the U.S. I sense that the same destructive forces are at work here as in Britain--

with the important difference that the forces of sanity are still alive and politically effective on this side of the Atlantic. They see the shoals and the hazards, and are eager to avoid them. To get an idea of politics in Britain you have to imagine a nightmare: the Democratic Party of Obama and Dick Durbin of Illinois opposed by a Republican Party led by Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine. There is no equivalent to the Tea Party.

The British establishment lives in constant fear of an uprising by a party of racially aggrieved whites. But blacks in England, because (as in America) their out-of-wedlock childbearing is routine and not even discouraged, suffer more than anything from poor "elite" leadership. As for the Muslims in Britain: their families are relatively intact and their businesses are one of the few welcome sights on the nation's high streets. More often than not, they were targets for the lawless mobs. They were the victims, not the instigators of the recent rioting.

The American Cities Sunk by Underwater Mortgages

Earlier this week, President Obama announced he would extend the mortgage refinancing program in an effort to provide relief to homeowners whose mortgages are worth more than the value of their homes. Nationwide, one in four homeowners with a mortgage — 11 million households — has an underwater mortgage. The problem is even worse in some areas of the country. 24/7 Wall St. has identified the ten cities with the most underwater mortgages.

Most of the cities on our list are in regions worst hit by the housing crash. These areas are all in California, Florida or the Southwest — all of which were booming housing markets before the recession hit. In the U.S., just fewer than 15% of homes were built in the last ten years. But in some of the cities on our list of highest underwater mortgages, that number is 25% and higher.

The high supply may have contributed to the sinking home values in those cities. In the case of Las Vegas, house prices have dropped by roughly 60% from peak prerecession values, and they continue to drop to this day. In the cities with the most underwater mortgages, home prices have dropped by an average of 8.42%, and as much as 14% in the past 12 months.

To make matters worse, the employment situation in these metropolitan areas is in worse shape than in most of the country. This is partially the result of a once-booming construction industry that has since collapsed. Of the ten regions on this list, nine have an unemployment rate that is higher than the national average of 9.1%. Many of the regions have unemployment rates that are some of the worst in the country, such as Modesto and Stockton, California.

Using data obtained from housing data and analytics firm CoreLogic, 24/7 Wall identified the ten regions built around an urban center — core-based statistical areas — with housing markets that had the highest percent of homes with underwater mortgages. This data was compared to the number of sales of homes that had been repossessed, known as REO sales, and distressed sales (sales by homeowners who could not continue to make mortgage payments) for the same regions. Unemployment data was obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data on homes built since 2000 was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.

These are the American cites sunk by underwater mortgages:

10. Bakersfield-Delano, California
> Pct. homes underwater: 48.75%
> 12-month home price change: -9.58%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 21.1%
> Unemployment: 14.4% (tied for 11th highest)

Nearly 50% of the homes in the Bakersfield-Delano metropolitan area are currently underwater. In the past 12 months, homes have lost nearly 10% of their value, much more since the housing market first collapsed. Distressed sales have accounted for more than half of total sales in the past year, likely because of the difficult economic conditions in the region. To make matters that much more difficult, the area has an unemployment rate of 14.4%, the 11th highest in the country.

9. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida
> Pct. homes underwater: 50.33%
> 12-month home price change: -4.59%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 25.2%
> Unemployment: 12.1% (30th highest)

The metropolitan area of Lakeland-Winter Haven is located in central Florida. Due in part to the development of retirement communities across the state, more than one in four standing homes have been built since 2000, compared to a national average of just 14.9%. Like most of the rest of the state, the region has been hit hard by the recession. To date, more than half the area’s mortgages are underwater, over 21% of housing units are vacant, and a total of 35.06% of home sales in the past year have been distressed.

8. Port St. Lucie, Florida
> Pct. homes underwater: 50.89%
> 12-month home price change: -4.68%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 25.2%
> Unemployment: 12.8% (22nd highest)

Nearly 18% of the homes sold in the Port St. Lucie region in the past 12 months have been properties that were originally foreclosed upon. Just about 35% of home sales in the past year have been distressed sales. The region has an unemployment rate of 12.8%, the 22nd highest in the country, and a median household income of $41,346, nearly $9,000 lower than the national average.

7. Vallejo-Fairfield, California
> Pct. homes underwater: 53.29%
> 12-month home price change: -10.5%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 14.1%
> Unemployment: 11.6% (40th highest)

Despite the area’s exceptionally high median household income, the Vallejo-Fairfield metropolitan area’s housing market is suffering on all fronts. Home prices have dropped 10.5% in just 12 months. Just over 14% of homes in the area were built in 2000 or later. Additionally, 60.57% of total sales in the past 12 months have been distressed sales, the second greatest rate among metro areas on this list.

6. Modesto, California
> Pct. homes underwater: 53.30%
> 12-month home price change: -9.22%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 18.3%
> Unemployment: 16% (6th highest)

In the past 12 months, home prices in Modesto have dropped more than 9%, one of the contributing causes of the 53.3% of the region’s mortgages to be underwater. As proof of the high level of foreclosures that has occurred in recent years, more than 40% of last year’s home sales were properties that had been foreclosed upon by a lender and resold. Of the 372 areas considered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Modesto has the 6th highest unemployment rate in the country. At 16%, it is nearly double the national average.

5. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
> Pct. homes underwater: 53.42%
> 12-month home price change: -3.14%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 27.7%
> Unemployment: 10.3% (83rd highest)

More than one in four houses in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metropolitan area in Florida was built in 2000 or later. Now, 20.7% of all housing units are vacant. Nearly three-quarters of occupied homes have a mortgage on them, far above the national average of 67%. At 10.3%, Orlando’s unemployment rate is significantly higher than the national average, and its median household income is about $3,500 less than the national average. These figures will make recovery even more difficult for the region.

4. Reno-Sparks, Nevada
> Pct. homes underwater: 53.74%
> 12-month home price change: -14.19%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 21.8%
> Unemployment: 13% (20th highest)

Home prices in the Reno-Sparks area have declined 14.19% in the past 12 months alone, one of the highest rates of decline in the country. To date, more than 53% of mortgages in the region are underwater, and nearly one out of every five homes sold in the past year have been a short sale, meaning homeowners still owe money to lenders even after selling their property. The unemployment rate in the region is 13%, the 20th highest rate among all metropolitan areas in the country.

3. Stockton, California
> Pct. homes underwater: 53.89%
> 12-month home price change: -6.46%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 19.9%
> Unemployment: 16.1% (5th highest)

The Stockton area is located in central California. Many of the jobs in this area are on farms. These positions are rarely permanent and employment in the region has dropped dramatically since the recession began. Currently, the metro area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country — 16.1%. The percentage of home sales in the past 12 months that have been distressed sales is one of the higher rates in the country — 53.45% — and the rate of short sales is nearly 20%. Nearly one in every five homes in the metropolitan area was built in 2000 or later.

2. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona
> Pct. homes underwater: 53.96%
> 12-month home price change: -9.81%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 28%
> Unemployment: 8.4% (202nd highest)

Compared to most of the other regions on our list, residents of the Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale metro area are actually doing relatively well. The unemployment rate of 8.4% is historically high for the region but well below the national average. The region also has a higher median income than the U.S. median. Nevertheless, nearly 54% of all mortgages are underwater, owing in part to a nearly 10% decline in home values in the past 12 months. Half of all home sales have been distressed sales, and more than 30% of sales have been of homes that were recently repossessed.

1. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada
> Pct. homes underwater: 63.96%
> 12-month home price change: -12.07%
> Homes built 2000 or later: 35%
> Unemployment: 14.2% (tied for 11th highest)

Almost two out of every three homes with a mortgage in the Las Vegas-Paradise metropolitan area is underwater. This is, by far, the highest rate in the country, and it is ten percentage points greater than the metro area with the second highest rate. The past decade brought an exceptional amount of growth to the region’s housing market, with 35% of homes being built in 2000 or later. Currently, 16.9% of housing units are vacant, while 79% of occupied homes have a mortgage. In the past 12 months alone, home prices have dropped over 12% in Las Vegas-Paradise.

Michael B. Sauter, Charles B. Stockdale

Read more: The American Cities Sunk by Underwater Mortgages - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/10/28/the-american-cities-sunk-by-underwater-mortgages/#ixzz1c4QK5vFz