2008 September | MHN Blog

THE ESSENTIAL KITCHEN by Kevin M Henry

Sep 102008

Among the great chefs of the world, it is widely believed that the success of a meal depends on the color of its ingredients. I have always believed, as well, that color is the essential ingredient to create the ideal kitchen, a playground to experiment with your tastes, your senses and your personal style without restriction.

Color provides sensation, mood and personality. The colors we choose for our kitchen reflects the way we look at life. From the passionate feelings created by a ruby-red to the soothing qualities of powder-blue, from the crispness of an acid-green to the exhilaration of corn-yellow. Color gives life to space and allows form and function to take shape. With its expressive quality and its striking appeal, I feel that space is inseparable from color.

Approaching the kitchen as a fashion statement, I am always on the watch for color trends and influences. From the runways of Paris to the auto salons of Milan…Color is everywhere and that includes the kitchen. Dark somber wood finishes of the past are now giving way to bright, bold and edgy color combinations.

We are on the leading edge of this color renaissance. Returning to the center-stage after a long hiatus, color is back with a vengeance. Evoking multi-sensory impressions, color is reaching, once again, to new heights of popularity. From the streets of New York, London, Paris, and Milan…It is safe to say that “Color is the new Black”.

Kevin Henry is a writer, speaker and industry leader as well as the Executive VP of NYLOFT. Kevin can be reached at kevin@nyloft.net

Eye on the Economy with Adam Perrotta

Miscellaneous 1 Response »

Sep 092008

While the economy has continued to show signs of weakness as of late, the federal government’s bailout of beleaguered mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac came as a welcome relief to many, although it is unclear at this point just how much of an effect the plan will have on the housing market and the economy overall.

After weeks of speculation, the government took over the struggling agencies on Sunday. The rescue plan will extend as much as $200 billon in support to Fannie and Freddie and places the agencies under a conservatorship to be overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The government will run the firms until they get back on solid ground economically, replacing both companies’ CEOs with federal appointees: Herb Allison, former CEO of TIAA-CREF, will head Fannie Mae, while David Moffett, former vice chairman of US Bancorp, will take over Freddie Mac.

The agencies—which together back some 5 trillion in single-family home loans—have been stung by the subprime mortgage crisis, with shares of both Fannie and Freddie dropping more than 80 percent thus far this year. Congress passed legislation in July to allow the government to step in with a capital infusion should it be deemed necessary.

Stock markets jumped across the globe in the wake of the news, but the housing market is by no means out of the woods yet, with a large glut of unsold homes still on the market, as well as continued foreclosures driving down prices.

The nation’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, spiked to a nearly five year high in August, rising to 6.1 percent for the month. That’s up from 5.7 percent in July and 4.7 percent from August of last year. The losses were widespread across industries, in an indication that the economy is in a recession. Overall, the U.S. labor market has lost 605,000 jobs so far this year.

On Friday, federal regulators shut down Nevada’s Silver State Bank, which failed due to losses on loan defaults, mainly in commercial real estate. The bank—which has some $2 billion in assets—was the 11th federally insured institution to fail this year.

Gas prices, meanwhile, continued to ease, even as several tropical storms threatened the Southeast. Crude oil ended last week at $106.23 a barrel, down more than $9 for the week, as demand continued to decline. The cost relief has extended to the pump, where the average price of retail gas has fallen 44 cents from it record high in mid July.

“CAPITAL INSIGHTS” with Jack Kern

"The Accidental Economist" with Jack Kern No Responses »

Sep 052008

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime…

The unemployment numbers came out today and the magic number finally hit above 6 percent for the first time in about 5 years. Over 600,000 jobs have been lost since the start of this year, when subject to a lot of fanfare, pundits said the early part of 2008 was going to be slow, with a recovery in the last half of the year. I think the pundits are all hiding right now. The villagers have taken their torches and are rushing through the forest trying to find the lost jobs. You’ll likely find the bottle thick glassed, lab coat wearing forecasters hiding in their data caves nearby.

As long as the unemployment numbers were hovering around 5.5 percent, the workforce seemed to remain stable. Sure we had job losses, but the rate was actually comforting, compared to the size of the workforce. (Please – no hate mail on this point.) What is important about this news release is that the real impact of job layoffs and closed plants finally made its way into the cash economy. Slowing retail sales and difficult conditions in the car business and housing are all showing strains. We’re in for the last dip of the recession.

The dreaded "R" word.

So what’s a pundit to do, besides hide?

Unemployment is a good indicator of how the changing size of the workforce reacts to economic pressures. If we look at the unemployment rate from around the early part of 2001, we were at an unsustainable rate near 4 percent. Wage inflation was taking over and the inflationary pressures were building. When the unemployment rate hit 6 percent in 2003, the economy had cooled in many sectors. Now we’re at the upside of the curve and we can comfortably forecast it will get a bit worse and then gradually start to improve into 2009. There actually isn’t a lot of difference in the numbers between 5.5 percent and 6 percent since no one agrees on the size of the workforce. Remember, this measure is brought to you by those jocular folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Household Survey.

So, the next time you see a pundit, buy them a cup of joe. For all we know, they’re the ones on the street corners these days.

“CAPITAL INSIGHTS” with Jack Kern

"The Accidental Economist" with Jack Kern No Responses »

Sep 032008

Now is the best time to – well, wait.

You’ve probably seen the ads from the realtors talking about how now is a fabulous time to invest in real estate and it never rains on a real estate investment and gosh golly, buying a home is a great experience. Maybe they see something I don’t because according to recently released data from their own research department at the National Association of Realtors, through July, 2008, on a year over year basis, the median price of a single family home declined 7.7%, and the median price of a condo/co-op declined 2.7%.

I’m not sure that following the trendline here will impress prospective buyers of homes. Actual changes in the median price of single family homes, according to NAR data show that single family homes have gone from $219,000 in 2005 to $210,900 as of July, 2008. Not exactly an investment you’d recommend. Condo/co-op data show the median in 2005, at $223,900 end up at $223,400 in July, 2008. Investing in, well almost anything else would have done better over that time frame.

It gets really interesting when you look at the average prices. For single family homes, in 2005 the average was $267,400, while the reported average home price in July, 2008 was $252,900. I have to admit, I just smile when I see the ads for buying homes. While rents have been up and down all over the place, depending on markets, this great American Home Ownership debacle has been pretty much a loss leader just about everyplace. The best that we can hope for is that the rest of the way to bottom won’t get much worse.