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Tansy_Gold

(17,799 posts)
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 09:05 PM Jun 2014

STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 24 June 2014

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 24 June 2014[font color=black][/font]


SMW for 23 June 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 23 June 2014
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Dow Jones 16,937.26 -9.82 (-0.06%)
S&P 500 1,962.61 -0.26 (-0.01%)
[font color=green]Nasdaq 4,368.68 +0.64 (0.01%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.62% +0.04 (1.55%)
30 Year 3.45% +0.04 (1.17%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.








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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]


35 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 24 June 2014 (Original Post) Tansy_Gold Jun 2014 OP
Detroit Shuts Off Water To Thousands Of Broke Residents xchrom Jun 2014 #1
JAPAN APPROVES STRING OF REFORMS TO REVIVE ECONOMY xchrom Jun 2014 #2
IRAQ UPHEAVAL THREATENS OIL DEVELOPMENT PLANS xchrom Jun 2014 #3
COURT RAISES BAR FOR SECURITIES CLASS ACTION CASES xchrom Jun 2014 #4
GERMAN BUSINESS OPTIMISM SLIPS AMID UKRAINE, IRAQ xchrom Jun 2014 #5
WHAT WEALTH GAP? DANISH WELFARE NARROWS DISPARITY xchrom Jun 2014 #6
WORLD STOCKS STRUGGLE AFTER WALL ST RALLY PAUSES xchrom Jun 2014 #7
Republicans Are Trying To Kill A Bank That's Been Around For 80 Years, And Big Business Is Freaking xchrom Jun 2014 #8
Let the monkeys drive the clown car Demeter Jun 2014 #21
Export-Import Bank of the United States (From Wikipedia) Demeter Jun 2014 #30
Dubai Stock Market Crashes xchrom Jun 2014 #9
Post Bailout, Portugal’s Banks Are Still In A World Of Hurt xchrom Jun 2014 #10
US Will Lose Up To $100 Billion Worth Of Coastal Property To Climate Change In The Coming Decades xchrom Jun 2014 #11
7 Global Consequences Of Soaring Oil Prices xchrom Jun 2014 #12
It's more like a dollar jumps it a dime Demeter Jun 2014 #23
British Pound Tanks After BoE Chief Makes Dovish Noises xchrom Jun 2014 #13
It drops less than 1/10 of one cent and that's "tanking"? Tansy_Gold Jun 2014 #31
not that i'm doing it this year - but any time i hear xchrom Jun 2014 #32
Europe Stocks Fall With S&P 500 Futures as Pound Falls xchrom Jun 2014 #14
So Long Disinflation as JPMorgan Sees Global Prices Turn Higher xchrom Jun 2014 #15
Norway’s $880 Billion Wealth Fund to Target Frontier Markets xchrom Jun 2014 #16
Denmark Pledges Stimulus End as Economic Recovery Gains Pace xchrom Jun 2014 #17
NATO Commander Clark Returns to Balkans Hunting for Albanian Oil xchrom Jun 2014 #18
Fragile Five Swoon Anew as Iraq-Oil Link Gives Pause xchrom Jun 2014 #19
Lew Defends Council’s Work to Guard Against Financial Risk xchrom Jun 2014 #20
Monet’s Water Lilies Lead Sotheby’s $208 Million Auction xchrom Jun 2014 #22
A Trio of Economic Problems Haunting Europe xchrom Jun 2014 #24
Five years in, recovery still underwhelms compared with previous ones xchrom Jun 2014 #25
EU becomes world's top food exporter Demeter Jun 2014 #26
U.S. housing regaining footing as supply improves TRYING TO BEAT OUT FORECLOSURE? Demeter Jun 2014 #27
Argentina seeks U.S. court stay to avoid new debt crisis Demeter Jun 2014 #28
After port fraud, China's vast warehouse sector under scrutiny Demeter Jun 2014 #29
Consumer Confidence in U.S. Increases to Highest Since 2008 IronLionZion Jun 2014 #33
Was that 2008 BEFORE or After Lehmann Bros. went belly-up? Demeter Jun 2014 #34
Before. The reference was January 2008 before things got really bad. nt IronLionZion Jun 2014 #35

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
1. Detroit Shuts Off Water To Thousands Of Broke Residents
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 05:50 AM
Jun 2014
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/06/20/3451488/detroit-water-shutoffs-complaint/

As the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department moves to shut off water to thousands of residents who are delinquent on their bills, a coalition of activists is appealing to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights to intervene on behalf of the bankrupt city’s most vulnerable citizens.

Their report, filed Wednesday with the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, alleges that the DWSD crackdown is part of an effort “to sweeten the pot for a private investor” to take over the city’s heavily-indebted water and sewer system as part of Detroit’s broader bankruptcy proceedings.

One of the activist groups behind the report, the Detroit People’s Water Board, notes that city residents have seen water rates more than double over the past decade at the same time that the city’s poverty rate rose to nearly 40 percent, putting the cost of basic running water beyond reach for tens of thousands of households. Earlier this week, city lawmakers voted to raise water rates by a further 8.7 percent.

Almost exactly 50 percent of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s 323,900 total accounts were delinquent as of March, according to the Detroit News (via Nexis), with a combined $175 million in unpaid water bills outstanding. The department announced at that time that it would begin an aggressive campaign of water shutoffs, and a DWSD spokesman said that it has shut off water to nearly 7,000 separate clients since the beginning of April. DWSD mailed warnings about the shutoffs in March, but the People’s Water Board report says that some residents it interviewed either never received a warning notice or had their water shut off before the payment deadline printed in the notices had passed.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
2. JAPAN APPROVES STRING OF REFORMS TO REVIVE ECONOMY
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:04 AM
Jun 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-24-05-50-45

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has formally announced an outline of his long-awaited growth strategy, a slew of reforms meant to revitalize the economy and restore its waning competitiveness.

The Cabinet approved the plan earlier Tuesday.

The plan includes dozens of proposed changes to labor regulations, government pension fund investments, corporate governance and tax policies that Abe says are needed to spur corporate investment and innovation.

Economists have questioned whether the more than 200 measures proposed will actually take effect, or have the desired impact, given resistance to change in Japan's business world and bureaucracy.

Among the most important measures are a cut to the corporate tax promised for next year and looser restrictions on white-collar overtime.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
3. IRAQ UPHEAVAL THREATENS OIL DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:06 AM
Jun 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ_THE_OIL_QUESTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-23-14-13-29

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The turmoil in Iraq has thrown the OPEC member's ambitious plans to boost oil production into doubt, threatening to crimp its most vital economic lifeline.

Northern oil fields imperiled by the militants' advance have been shut down, and companies have begun evacuating workers elsewhere in the country. Iraq's Kurdish minority has moved to solidify control over the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas, weakening Baghdad's claims to the energy riches buried beneath while bolstering the Kurds' aspirations of greater autonomy.

The heart of Iraq's oil industry is in the mainly Shiite south, which so far has been spared this month's advance by militants led by the al-Qaida spin-off group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The insurgents quickly took over Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul, Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and smaller communities in the Sunni heartland as government forces melted away. As they disappeared, Kurdish security forces pushed deeper into contested territories abutting their self-ruled northern enclave.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
4. COURT RAISES BAR FOR SECURITIES CLASS ACTION CASES
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:07 AM
Jun 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_SECURITIES_FRAUD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-23-16-35-00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Monday made it tougher for investors to join together to sue corporations for securities fraud, a decision that could curb the number of multimillion-dollar legal settlements companies pay out each year.

But the unanimous ruling was only a modest step. It stopped short of tossing out a quarter-century-old legal theory that might have ended securities class action lawsuits altogether. Only three of the nine justices said they would have gone that far.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts said companies should have a chance in the early stages of a lawsuit to show that any alleged fraud was not responsible for a drop in the company's stock price.

The change could make it more expensive and time consuming for plaintiffs at the early stages of litigation. That gives corporations a better chance to mount a defense and could discourage lawyers from bringing weaker securities cases.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
5. GERMAN BUSINESS OPTIMISM SLIPS AMID UKRAINE, IRAQ
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:14 AM
Jun 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-24-04-34-01

BERLIN (AP) -- A closely-watched survey shows German business confidence slipped for the second month in a row amid growing concerns about the economic impact of the crises in Ukraine and Iraq.

The Ifo index released Tuesday slipped to 109.7 points in June from 110.4 in May and 111.2 in April.

Businesses' assessment of their current situation remained unchanged at 114.8 points. But companies seemed less optimistic about the future, with the measure of their expectations dropping to 104.8 from 106.2 in May.

The Ifo's survey is based on monthly responses from about 7,000 companies.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
6. WHAT WEALTH GAP? DANISH WELFARE NARROWS DISPARITY
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:16 AM
Jun 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_WEALTH_GAP_DENMARK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-24-06-09-22

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- This is what it's like to live in Denmark, a nation with a narrower wealth gap than almost anywhere else: You've been jobless for more than a year. You have no university degree, no advanced skills. You have to pay a mortgage. And your husband is nearing retirement.

You aren't worried.

If you're 51-year-old Lotte Geleff, who lost her job as an office clerk in January 2013, you know you'll receive an unemployment benefit of 10,500 kroner ($1,902) a month after taxes for up to two years. You're part of a national system of free health care and education for everyone, job training, subsidized child care, a generous pension system and fuel subsidies and rent allowances for the elderly.

And high taxes.

Denmark's sturdy social safety net helps explain why its wealth gap - the disparity between the richest citizens and everyone else - is second-smallest among the world's 34 most developed economies, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, surpassed only by the much smaller economy of Slovenia.

Behind its slender wealth gap are factors ranging from the highest tax burden in the European Union to a system that helps laid-off workers find new jobs and re-training.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
7. WORLD STOCKS STRUGGLE AFTER WALL ST RALLY PAUSES
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:18 AM
Jun 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS_?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-24-05-36-16

HONG KONG (AP) -- World stock markets struggled for direction Tuesday after Wall Street fell for the first time in seven days, in a possible sign that investors were pausing to re-evaluate the market's recent highs.

Asian markets rose modestly with Japan's benchmark lagging as auto stocks were weighed down by news of a massive airbag recall.

In early European trading, France's CAC 40 was flat at 4,515.41 and Germany's DAX slipped less than 0.1 percent to 9.913.06. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies slipped 0.3 percent to 6,780.77.

U.S. stocks were poised to edge lower, with Dow futures down 0.1 percent to 16,824.00 and broader S&P 500 futures down 0.1 percent to 1,950.40. A day before, the two U.S. benchmarks ended lower by a fraction, a possible sign of a summer lull after a record-setting run.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
8. Republicans Are Trying To Kill A Bank That's Been Around For 80 Years, And Big Business Is Freaking
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:25 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/export-import-bank-reauthorization-fight-2014-6

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's stunning loss in his Republican primary introduced a number of potential unpredictable macroeconomic events into the 2014 calendar. But perhaps nothing stands to lose more than a bank that first came into existence in the New Deal era of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.

The movement toward the death of the Export-Import Bank, first targeted by conservative grassroots as a priority in 2012, has finally appeared to hit its stride. The bank provides direct loans, guarantees, and credit insurance to aid foreign purchasers in buying American-made goods. Its charter expires at the end of September, unless Congress acts to renew it.

Cantor was largely responsible in 2012 for brokering a deal to extend the Bank's charter and raise its lending authority to $140 billion. But on Sunday, incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy signaled a major shift when he called for the closure of the bank.

"One of the biggest problems with government is they go and take hard-earned money so others do things the private sector can do," McCarthy, who voted for the Bank's reauthorization in 2012, told Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/export-import-bank-reauthorization-fight-2014-6#ixzz35YE8iQKB
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
21. Let the monkeys drive the clown car
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:42 AM
Jun 2014

Last edited Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:21 AM - Edit history (2)

It should be a spectacular crash.

I don't know enough about the EXIM to know if it's a good bank or a bad bank. If other nations want to buy our goods (read weapons and grains), maybe they should come up with the money themselves...instead of the taxpayer directly subsidizing the war machine.

ANOTHER REPORT:

McCarthy Calls for Letting U.S. Export-Import Bank Expire

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/mccarthy-calls-for-letting-u-s-export-import-bank-expire.html

Representative Kevin McCarthy, the incoming House majority leader, gave momentum to conservatives hoping to eliminate the U.S. Export-Import Bank by saying he supports allowing its authority and charter to expire. McCarthy said in an interview yesterday that the private sector can fill the void of the 80-year-old agency. Its lending authority is set to expire Sept. 30. In 2012, McCarthy voted in favor of the bank’s reauthorization.

“One of the problems with government is it’s going to take hard earned money so others do things that the private sector can do,” McCarthy, a Republican from California, said on the Fox News Sunday program. “That’s what Ex-Im Bank does.”


The biggest beneficiaries of the bank, which backed $38 billion in exports last year, are major manufacturers including Boeing Co. (BA), General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. opposes reauthorization of the bank and says taxpayers shouldn’t make it easier for foreign competitors to buy jets.

“Ex-Im Bank is one that government does not have to be involved in,” McCarthy said. “The private sector can do it.”


Republicans have clashed over reauthorizing the lending authority of the bank. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling has called the institution “the face of cronyism” and said it should be abolished. The panel, which has jurisdiction over the bank, holds a hearing on its reauthorization on June 25.

Bipartisan Support

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer has said that Hensarling’s opposition to renewing Ex-Im Bank shouldn’t prevent the majority of Republicans and Democrats who support the bank from acting to extend its charter and lending authority.

Shares of Boeing fell 2.3 percent -- the most in two months -- the day after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary election earlier this month and resigned his No. 2 spot, effective July 31. Cantor had been an Ex-Im champion, having helped broker a deal to reauthorize the bank in 2012. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers are supporters of the export credit agency. National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons said on June 17 that Hensarling is “just completely wrong” on opposing the bank’s renewal.

President Barack Obama has proposed a five-year renewal and a gradual increase in its lending cap, to $160 billion, from the current $140 billion.
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
30. Export-Import Bank of the United States (From Wikipedia)
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:34 AM
Jun 2014

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring foreign purchases of United States goods for customers unable or unwilling to accept credit risk. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the principal government agency responsible for aiding the export of American goods and services through a variety of loan, guarantee, and insurance products. Its current chairman and president is Fred P. Hochberg.


The mission of the Bank is to create and sustain U.S. jobs by financing sales of U.S. exports to international buyers. The Bank is chartered as a government corporation by the Congress of the United States; it was last chartered for a three-year term in 2012 which will expire in September 2014. Its Charter spells out the Bank's authorities and limitations. Among them is the principle that Ex-Im Bank does not compete with private sector lenders, but rather provides financing for transactions that would otherwise not take place because commercial lenders are either unable or unwilling to accept the political or commercial risks inherent in the deal.

Ex-Im Bank's Charter provides that Ex-Im Bank makes available "not less than 20%" of its lending authority to small businesses" although they have often fallen short of the 20% threshold. Generally, its products are available to support export sales for any American export firm regardless of size. In fiscal year 2013 however, 76% of the value of loans and guarantees went to the top 10 recipients.

Similar banks, or export credit agencies (ECAs), are operated by 60 foreign countries.
Many ECAs agree to conduct their activities by following a set of common rules and principles through their membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); these ECAs are generally in the so-called "developed" countries. The goal is to permit exporters in various countries to compete on the basis of the quality of their goods and services, not on preferential financing terms. Other ECAs, such as the China Exim Bank (in the People's Republic of China), Ex-Im Bank of Russia, Brazil, and India, do not abide by the OECD rules.

... The Bank's first transaction was a $3.8 million loan to Cuba in 1935 for the purchase of U.S. silver ingots...

Historically Significant Transactions

Pan-American Highway

Burma Road

Post-WWII Reconstruction and the Marshall Plan


Ex-Im Bank played a critical role in the years between the end of Lend-Lease (September 1945) and the beginning of the Marshall Plan and the World Bank’s first authorizations (May 1947 – 1948).

At the end of WWII, it was recognized that the U.S. did not have a credit facility capable of handling the demand that would result from the cessation of hostilities. One of the major rationales behind the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, the basis of Ex-Im’s current charter document, was the necessity to dramatically increase Ex-Im’s lending capacity to adequately respond to Europe’s post-war reconstruction needs.

The 1945 Ex-Im Annual Report predicated Ex-Im’s role in the immediate post-WWII period: “the Export-Import Bank was to be the principle source of long-term dollar loans for an extended period of time.” This assertion was based on the lack of interest by private capital in lending to foreign government buyers and delays in ratification of the Articles of Agreement for the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 increased lending authority from $750 million to $3.5 billion, almost a fourfold increase to help address these shortfalls.

In 1945 and 1946 credit was offered to France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Italy, Ethiopia, Greece, Poland and Austria to purchase equipment, facilities, and services from the United States. The financing was designed to aid reconstruction of the nations and to repair their import and export capability through the purchase of new machinery, currency exchange, and improvements and repairs to infrastructure and transportation systems.

When the Marshall Plan was put into place in 1948, Ex-Im Bank focused its lending on non-Economic Recovery Act nations in North and South America.

First Credits to Post-Soviet Nations

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, U.S. companies were able to freely conduct business with Eastern Europe for the first time since the end of WWII. Ex-Im Bank was one of the first financial institutions to provide financing for exports to the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the newly independent nations that emerged after 1991. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush waived the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which had officially closed off trade with communist countries since 1975. This waiver opened all Ex-Im Bank guarantee and insurance programs to U.S. companies wanting to do business with the Soviet Union and many other former communist countries.

Ex-Im Bank reopened for business in Czechoslovakia in March 1990. On January 25, 1991, Ex-Im Bank approved the first transaction to Czechoslovakia since 1947. Financed by First Interstate Bank of Los Angeles, CA, the guarantee allowed Tonak Hat Company to purchase computers from a small U.S. company, Digital Equipment Corporation of Massachusetts. Since 1991, Ex-Im Bank has supported exports to 25 of the nations that emerged after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
9. Dubai Stock Market Crashes
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:28 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-stock-market-crashes-2014-6



The Dubai stock market crashed today, with the main index falling over 6.5%, after being down 8% at one point.

The market has been in a bear market even before today, having fallen about 20% over the last month.

One big negative driver has been Arabtec, a big construction company, whose shares have been plunging amid layoff rumors. The stock is down 50% this month.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-stock-market-crashes-2014-6#ixzz35YEvrjqo

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
10. Post Bailout, Portugal’s Banks Are Still In A World Of Hurt
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:31 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-post-bailout-portugals-banks-must-prove-the-worst-is-over---2014-24

LISBON (Reuters) - A month after Portugal emerged from its international bailout, its lenders are far from the promised land they might have hoped for.
Most predict losses for 2014 due to a weak economy, low credit demand and a resulting price war that depressed loan rates to levels the chief executive of second-largest listed bank, Millennium BCP's <BCP.LS> Nuno Amado, says are too low.

Yet while ratings agencies continue to hold the sector among Europe's weakest, several of the country's most senior bankers told Reuters they believe the worst is over.

"They (rating agencies) were late in understanding the situation of many banks (before the crisis) and now I think they are late again in recognizing the major improvements that are taking place in Portuguese banking," said Fernando Ulrich, chief executive of Portugal's third-largest listed bank BPI <BBPI.LS>.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-post-bailout-portugals-banks-must-prove-the-worst-is-over---2014-24#ixzz35YFWPF9f

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
11. US Will Lose Up To $100 Billion Worth Of Coastal Property To Climate Change In The Coming Decades
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:36 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-to-face-multibillion-dollar-bill-from-climate-change-report-2014-24

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Annual property losses from hurricanes and other coastal storms of $35 billion; a decline in crop yields of 14 percent, costing corn and wheat farmers tens of billions of dollars; heat wave-driven demand for electricity costing utility customers up to $12 billion per year.

These are among the economic costs that climate change is expected to exact in the United States over the next 25 years, according to a bipartisan report released on Tuesday. And that's just for starters: The price tag could soar to hundreds of billions by 2100.

Commissioned by a group chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Secretary of the Treasury and Goldman Sachs alum Henry Paulson, and environmentalist and financier Tom Steyer, the analysis "is the most detailed ever of the potential economic effects of climate change on the U.S.," said climatologist Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University.

The report lands three weeks after President Barack Obama ordered U.S. regulators to take their strongest steps ever to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including requiring power plants to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-to-face-multibillion-dollar-bill-from-climate-change-report-2014-24#ixzz35YGxc7KT

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
12. 7 Global Consequences Of Soaring Oil Prices
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:38 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/consequences-soaring-oil-prices-2014-6

1. Growth in the euro zone, dragged down by France and Germany, is grinding to its slowest pace in six months, according to a June survey released Monday. About 5,000 companies across the currency area and in the manufacturing and services sectors reported higher input prices and specifically higher oil prices as “a key cause of rising costs,” according to survey compiler Markit. Apparently, oil prices are not yet high enough to weigh down manufacturing and service sectors in the U.S. and China, where Markit surveys found conditions are reviving despite fears of a slowdown.

2. India is dependent on oil imports for more than three-fourths of its needs, and about 13 percent of its imports come from Iraq. That means Asia’s third-largest economy, whose stock market has performed among the best in the world this year, could see an economic crisis unfold if oil prices don’t fall again. Since India subsidizes many fuels like diesel and kerosene, aiming to shield the poor from price fluctuations, the government must compensate losses to fuel retailers. Every dollar increase in the oil price raises the subsidy burden by about $997 million, an Indian oil official told the Wall Street Journal.

3. The price of gasoline in the U.S. is closely pegged to the international price of oil. In general, a $10 increase in the oil price will cause a 25 cent rise in gas prices. (This is known as the Hamilton-to-a-Quarter Rule, a $10 bill with Alexander Hamilton’s face to a quarter.) This rule only roughly estimates the national average price of gasoline, and prices always vary by region. For example, gas prices soared past $4 a gallon in California on Sunday, but are around $3.80 in Michigan.

4. Another handy rule: a 1 penny shift in U.S. gas prices generally leads to a $1 billion increase in American household energy consumption. If gas prices rise by a dime, that’s a $10 billion increase in household energy consumption. Analysts have said gas prices could rise 5 cents to 10 cents this summer if the turmoil in Iraq continues.



Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/7-global-consequences-soaring-oil-prices-1608966#ixzz35YHRFrxA

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
13. British Pound Tanks After BoE Chief Makes Dovish Noises
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 06:46 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/pound-tanks-on-carney-comments-2014-6



A couple weeks ago, Bank of England chief Mark Carney sent a chill down the spine of global markets when he said rate hikes might come sooner than expected.

Now it sounds like we're getting a little walkback.

In comments today, he's emphasizing that wage growth has been surprisingly muted and that the system still has slack, meaning inflation isn't a big risk.

So now it sounds like there's no rush for the Bank of England to raise rates.

As such, the pound is tanking



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/pound-tanks-on-carney-comments-2014-6#ixzz35YJFQXE7

Tansy_Gold

(17,799 posts)
31. It drops less than 1/10 of one cent and that's "tanking"?
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 09:08 AM
Jun 2014

Graph is visually deceptive, imho.

Scare tactics! Scare tactics! Oh noes!!!111!!!!1!!

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
32. not that i'm doing it this year - but any time i hear
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 10:36 AM
Jun 2014

the pound goes down -- it makes me wanna plan a trip to london.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
14. Europe Stocks Fall With S&P 500 Futures as Pound Falls
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:01 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/nikkei-futures-fall-as-dollar-holds-drop-copper-advances.html

European stocks fell with U.S. equity-index futures after German business confidence declined to the lowest level this year. Dubai shares fell the most since 2008, Treasuries gained and the pound weakened.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.3 percent at 6:11 a.m. in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures also lost 0.3 percent. Dubai benchmark gauge tumbled 7.7 percent after entering a bear market yesterday. Treasury 10-year yields fell three basis points to 2.60 percent. Gold climbed as much as 0.7 percent to $1,325.86 an ounce. The pound depreciated against 14 of its 16 major peers.

German business confidence dropped more than estimated in June amid signs of slower growth in Europe’s largest economy, the Ifo institute reported, before data on U.S. consumer confidence and housing. Sterling fell after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said wage data had been softer than expected. The ruble extended gains as Russian President Vladimir Putin asked lawmakers to cancel the right to use force in Ukraine.

“The fall in the Ifo is a signal that the eurozone’s growth engine is slowing down,” said Witold Bahrke, who helps oversee $55 billion as a senior strategist at PFA Asset Management in Copenhagen. “German businesses as of now are quite unimpressed by measures taken by the European Central Bank.”

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
15. So Long Disinflation as JPMorgan Sees Global Prices Turn Higher
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:03 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-24/so-long-disinflation-as-jpmorgan-sees-global-prices-turn-higher.html

The era of slowing global inflation looks to be over.

Three years of worldwide disinflation is ending, in the eyes of economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Their estimates show global consumer prices accelerated 2.65 percent in May.

That’s the fastest pace since April 2012 and the level they’d targeted for the end of 2014. It marks a 0.6 percentage point jump since February, when the 2 percent rate was the lowest since November 2009.

It’s not just food and energy costs. Inflation excluding those more volatile measures was still 2.1 percent in May. The hunch at the biggest U.S. bank is that companies are regaining pricing power as manufacturing strengthens, said David Hensley, an international economist at JPMorgan in New York.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
16. Norway’s $880 Billion Wealth Fund to Target Frontier Markets
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:04 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-24/norway-s-880-billion-wealth-fund-to-target-frontier-markets.html

Norway’s $880 billion wealth fund, the world’s largest, will expand its scope of investments to target “frontier markets” and add more currencies to generate higher returns.

The fund will broaden its “exposure to different sources of return and seek to exploit time-varying investment opportunities,” Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund, said in a strategy report published today. NBIM expects to invest 1 percent of the fund in private real estate in each of the next three years, it said.

“New frontier markets will be added to our equity investments, and the scope of our fixed-income investments will be widened to include additional currencies,” NBIM said in the report, which sets its strategy through 2016.

Frontier markets, also called pre-emerging markets, have equity markets that are less established than in emerging markets. These include countries such as Argentina, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, according to MSCI Inc. The MSCI Frontier Market Index is up 16 percent this year compared with a 5 percent gain for the MSCI World Index of developed market shares.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
17. Denmark Pledges Stimulus End as Economic Recovery Gains Pace
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:07 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/denmark-pledges-end-to-stimulus-as-economic-expansion-gains-pace.html

Danish Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon is preparing to scale back stimulus as consumer optimism stokes an expansion in Scandinavia’s weakest economy.

“We can slowly take the foot off the accelerator,” Corydon said last week in an interview in Copenhagen. “The economy is approaching being self-sustaining.”

Reports last week showed retail sales are at the highest in two years and consumers the most optimistic since before the financial crisis erupted in 2008. The central bank last week raised growth estimates for the $340 billion economy, home to toymaker Lego A/S, and warned it’s monitoring declining unemployment that for some professions is at the same level as when the economy was “overheating” in 2006.

The Social Democratic-led government, which faces an election before September 2015, has raised spending to the limit to drag the country out of a slump triggered by a 2007-2008 housing crash. The deficit will reach 3 percent of gross domestic product next year, testing the limit under European Union rules, the Finance Ministry said last month.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
18. NATO Commander Clark Returns to Balkans Hunting for Albanian Oil
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:10 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-24/nato-commander-clark-returns-to-balkans-hunting-for-albanian-oil.html

Fifteen years after Wesley Clark led NATO’s bombing campaign against Serbia, the retired U.S. general is back in the Balkans -- looking for oil.

Clark, who was also a presidential candidate in 2004, is a director of two Canadian explorers working in Albania, Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (BNK) and Petromanas Energy Inc. (PMI) They’re using modern drilling techniques to revive production in one of Europe’s poorest countries, where oil was first produced in the 1920s.

“Albania has an enormous economic significance for Europe as it has a robust supply of oil, and it should be a strong component of European energy policy,” Clark said in a telephone interview.

Oil exploration is part of Albania’s strategy to repair the damage of four decades of economic isolation under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, who built more than 700,000 concrete military bunkers before he died in 1985. Albania’s economy, where per capita income remains the lowest in Europe after Bosnia, Ukraine and Moldova, has almost doubled in size in the last decade, according to the World Bank.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
19. Fragile Five Swoon Anew as Iraq-Oil Link Gives Pause
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:12 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-24/fragile-five-swoon-anew-as-iraq-oil-link-gives-pause.html

After months spent working to erase their image as emerging markets to avoid, the Iraq crisis and its influence on oil prices are putting the fragile five currencies back on investors’ sell lists.

Indonesia’s rupiah, South Africa’s rand, the Indian rupee and Turkey’s lira are the four worst performers of the 31 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg over the past month, while the Brazilian real is little changed after three months of gains. Societe Generale SA and BNP Paribas SA recommend selling the lira, while Citigroup Inc. identifies the rupee and rupiah as the riskiest Asian currencies.

“We’re growing concerned about the situation in Iraq, which has the potential of undermining the performance of EM assets,” Benoit Anne, the head of emerging-market strategy at SocGen in London, said in a June 19 report. Oil “has become the main risk indicator for emerging markets.”

Morgan Stanley coined the term “fragile five” in August 2013 to describe currencies that are particularly vulnerable because of their dependence on foreign investment to fund current-account deficits. With most of their trade shortfalls made up of oil imports, the surge in Brent crude to a nine-month high would tend to affect these countries more than others and is causing the value of their exchange rates to tumble.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
20. Lew Defends Council’s Work to Guard Against Financial Risk
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:20 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/lew-defends-council-s-work-to-guard-against-financial-risk-2-.html

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew pushed back against Republican efforts to curtail the work of a council of regulators charged with preventing another financial crisis and said a failure to examine potential risks could lead to “large-scale problems.”

“If we avoid or are discouraged from asking questions” altogether, “our financial system will be more exposed to unseen risks, potentially leading to large-scale problems,” Lew said in testimony prepared for a hearing tomorrow before the House Committee on Financial Services.

Lew also said regulators should take further action to reduce vulnerabilities in wholesale funding markets, including money market-mutual funds and triparty repurchase agreements, “that can lead to destabilizing fire sales” of assets.

He said cybersecurity threats “remain a top priority” for the risk council, and that U.S. regulators should continue to work with overseas counterparts to address concerns about benchmark reference rates such as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
22. Monet’s Water Lilies Lead Sotheby’s $208 Million Auction
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:43 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/monet-s-water-lilies-sells-for-54-million-in-london.html

An iconic painting of water lilies by Claude Monet helped Sotheby’s (BID) sell 122 million pounds ($208 million) of Impressionist and modern art in London.

Yesterday evening’s tally represented a 15 percent increase from a year ago and was Sotheby’s third highest result for the category in London. Of the 46 lots offered only four failed to find buyers as Russian, Asian and American collectors competed for works by Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky. The sale also benefited from the presence of several estates, including that of Jan Krugier, a prominent art dealer who died in 2008.

Monet’s 1906 “Nympheas” fetched 31.7 million pounds ($54 million), becoming the top lot of the sale. Inspired by the lily pond in his garden at Giverny in France, the work was also the second-highest price for a Monet at auction. It was estimated at 20 million to 30 million pounds. The prices include buyer’s premium; the estimates don’t.

The painting resulted in a protracted bidding war between telephone clients of Kevin Ching, Sotheby’s chief executive officer in Asia, and David Norman, chairman of the company’s Impressionist and modern art department. Norman’s client won.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
24. A Trio of Economic Problems Haunting Europe
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:47 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-06-24/a-trio-of-economic-problems-haunting-europe

There is a specter haunting Europe: a trio of economic problems that threaten the continent’s prosperity and social stability, all of which revolve around the notion of the “One Percent.”

Similar to many other parts of the world, Europe’s first One Percent challenge involves the relative and absolute enrichment of an already fortunate class – the one percent who are Europe’s wealthiest citizens. The One Percent problems are the possibility of too many years of anemic economic growth of about one percent and “lowflation” -- or an inflation rate that hovers around one percent.

Combined, this One Percent Troika translates into the persistence of excessively high unemployment and a damaging debt burden, accentuating what the European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi, has already described as a fragile and uneven recovery. And the longer this persists, the greater the damage to Europe's political and social well-being.

All of this is the result of both history and current policies. With the notable exception of Germany, most countries have dragged their feet in implementing reforms to spark economic growth and create jobs. The situation has been further aggravated by an unbalanced economic and financial policy stance that favors those who already control substantial financial assets over the needs of average workers.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
25. Five years in, recovery still underwhelms compared with previous ones
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 07:53 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/23/five-years-in-recovery-still-underwhelms-compared-with-previous-ones/



As of this month, the U.S. economy’s recovery from the Great Recession is five years old. But given how most Americans rate it, they can be forgiven for not feeling much in the mood for cake and ice cream.

In a Pew Research Center survey from April, only 6% of Americans said the economy was recovering strongly. Two-thirds (66%) said the economy was recovering, but not very strongly; about a quarter (26%) said it wasn’t recovering at all. The same survey found that Americans’ financial self-assessment had barely budged since June 2009, when the recession officially ended: 37% rated their financial situation “excellent” or “good,” 39% “only fair,” and 23% “poor.”



That persistent economic pessimism is warranted. By several measures — gross domestic product, personal income, job growth and employment ratio — the current recovery is among the weakest on record, particularly given its duration. Unless the economy’s official scorekeepers change their minds, the recovery already has lasted 60 months — the fifth-longest expansion since the end of World War II. (Economists divide economic cycles into two phases: expansion (or recovery) and recession. The current recovery is considered to have begun in June 2009, the trough of the recession that started when the economy peaked in December 2007.)

 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
26. EU becomes world's top food exporter
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:04 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.dw.de/eu-becomes-worlds-top-food-exporter/a-17730965



The European Union has dethroned the United States as the world's top agri-food products exporter. In 2013, the 28-nation club sold food and agricultural products worth some 120 billion euros....AND I'LL BET YOU THEY WEREN'T GMO, EITHER... The EU's export growth was boosted by demand for certain commodities in China as well as in other emerging economies, according to a European Commission report on the global farming market.

Exports of cereals such as wheat and barley to Middle East and North African countries alone accounted for over two thirds of the total export gain. China continued to be one of the fastest-growing exports markets for the EU, which saw its exports share to the Asian country jump to 9.1 percent in 2013, supported mainly by the sales of malt extract for beer brewing, and pork. At the same time, EU sales to the US, its top trade partner, witnessed only slight growth, although imports from the US increased sharply.

Trade surplus in focus

After becoming a net exporter of agri-products in 2010, the EU's trade surplus in the sector has increased steadily ever since. The rise in exports comes despite a strong euro which has hurt results across several economic sectors in Europe. Exports to Japan, however, have notably taken a hit because of the high value of the euro against the depreciating yen.

Furthermore, the bloc retained its position as the world's biggest importer of farming and food products, buying commodities worth about 101.5 billion euros ($137 billion). However, imports in 2013 remained virtually unchanged year-on-year, thus widening the EU agricultural trade surplus to 18.6 billion euros. Agriculture is becoming a key battleground in the ongoing free trade talks between the EU and the US and losing the top exporter status might become an added point of discord for Washington.

I JUST HOPE THEY AREN'T STARVING THE EUROPEANS TO FEED THE GREED FOR EXPORTS...
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
27. U.S. housing regaining footing as supply improves TRYING TO BEAT OUT FORECLOSURE?
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:10 AM
Jun 2014
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/06/23/usa-economy-idINL2N0P40IP20140623

U.S. home resales rose more than expected in May and the stock of properties for sale was the highest in more than 1-1/2 years, suggesting the housing sector was pulling out of a recent slump. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales increased 4.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.89 million units. May's increase was the largest since August 2011.

"The housing market has quite some ways to go to recover from its recent sluggishness, but positive momentum ... suggests that housing has begun to show signs of life," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities in New York.


Economists had forecast sales rising only 2.2 percent to a 4.73 million-unit pace. Sales, which rose in all four regions, were driven by the single-family home segment, the largest portion of the market.

The housing recovery stalled in the second half of 2013 as interest rates increased and prices surged against the backdrop of a dwindling supply of properties available for sale. Mortgage rates have leveled off after their climb, however, and a rise in inventory is now providing potential buyers with more choices. Even though May marked a second straight month in which sales rose, they were still off 5.0 percent from a year ago and 9.1 percent from a peak of 5.38 million units hit in July. The increase in sales will be welcomed by the Federal Reserve, which is watching housing closely as it contemplates the future course of monetary policy. Fed Chair Janet Yellen had warned a prolonged slump could undermine the economy. The relatively bullish report offered further evidence the economy has regained strength after a weak first quarter. Rising sales and a steady pace of groundbreaking should lead to a modest rebound in residential investment after two straight quarters of decline.



FIRST-TIME BUYERS ABSENT

First-time buyers, a necessary ingredient for a strong housing market, continue to hug the sidelines. Last month, first-time buyers accounted for only 27 percent of transactions, near the lowest level since the Realtors group started tracking the series. A market share of 40 percent to 45 percent is considered by economists and real estate professionals as ideal. Investors, who had propped up the market are retreating fast, and accounted for only 16 percent of transactions in May.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market increased 6.0 percent from a year-ago to 2.28 million in May, the highest level since August 2012. The improving supply is helping to temper price increases. The median home price increased 5.1 percent from a year ago, the smallest gain since March 2012...Even so, at May's sales pace, the month's supply of existing homes decreased to 5.6 months from 5.7 months in April. Six months' supply is normally considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
28. Argentina seeks U.S. court stay to avoid new debt crisis
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:13 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/24/us-argentina-debt-idUSKBN0EY2FM20140624

Argentina asked a U.S. judge on Monday to issue a stay of his ruling against the country in its case against "holdout" creditors, as it sought to avoid a new default that would further punish an economy already slipping into recession. The move is the latest twist in a 12-year-old battle with investors who refused to take part in bond restructurings after Argentina failed to pay about $100 billion of debt in 2002. Without a stay on a ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa, Argentina would be legally barred from making a June 30 coupon payment on its restructured bonds unless it pays $1.33 billion to holdouts seeking full payment of the debt they hold.

"We consider it essential that Judge Griesa issue a stay so that the republic of Argentina can continue paying the holders of restructured bonds," Economy Minister Axel Kicillof told reporters in Buenos Aires.


Lawyers for the ministry asked Griesa for the stay to "allow the Republic to engage in a dialogue with the plaintiffs in a reasonable time frame for these kinds of negotiations."


If the government does not make the June 30 payment, it has a 30-day grace period before falling into technical default.

A framework for talks between the holdouts and Argentina started taking shape when Griesa appointed New York financial trial lawyer Daniel Pollack as a special master to assist in the negotiations. Pollack told Reuters he plans on "moving as quickly? as possible given the time constraints."


...More than 90 percent of bondholders have accepted the restructurings, which left them with less than one-third of the original value of their bonds...

 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
29. After port fraud, China's vast warehouse sector under scrutiny
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:16 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/22/us-china-qingdao-warehouses-idUSKBN0EX15P20140622

Shaken by a fraud investigation into metal financing in the world's seventh-busiest port, banks and trading houses have been made painfully aware of the risks they face storing commodities in China's sprawling warehouse sector. The probe at Qingdao port centers around a private metals trading firm suspected of duplicating warehouse certificates in order to use a metal cargo multiple times to raise financing.

Some banks have asked clients to shift metal, used as collateral for loans, to more regulated London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses outside China or those owned and operated by a single warehouse firm to limit their exposure...At the heart of the issue is China's roaring commodity financing business, which has helped drive up stockpiles of commodities at ports to record levels, stored in warehouses not always regulated to the same extent as elsewhere. Though many global firms are involved in the warehouse industry in China, there has been outsourcing to local firms to cut overheads and avoid dealing with complex local regulations. Using commodities as collateral in financing in China is common practice and not illegal, but issuing receipts to repeatedly mortgage an asset is fraud and could leave more than one creditor holding claims to the same collateral.

Illustrating how difficult it may be to unravel competing claims, China's CITIC Resources Holding Ltd said that a court had been unable to secure more than 100,000 tonnes of alumina stored at Qingdao port. Traders said there was a risk the metal could have been already claimed before part of Qingdao Port was sealed off, adding that at least two trading houses had moved metal out as soon as news of the scandal broke.

MORE

IronLionZion

(45,163 posts)
33. Consumer Confidence in U.S. Increases to Highest Since 2008
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 11:24 AM
Jun 2014

Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in June to the highest level in more than six years as an improving job market bolsters households.

The Conference Board’s index climbed to 85.2, the strongest reading since January 2008, from 82.2 in May, the New York-based private research group said today. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 83.5 in June.

Fewer firings, gains in employment and record stock prices are underpinning attitudes, brightening the outlook for consumer spending, which accounts for almost 70 percent of the economy. A strengthening labor market also helps brace Americans against rising costs for food and fuel that are pinching household finances.

“More and more consumers seem to recognize that there’s some improvement under way in the labor markets,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, who projected an 84.4 reading for sentiment. “The job market has been slow to improve and now that things are finally picking up, we’re beginning to see that in the consumer confidence numbers.”

Estimates by 70 economists in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 81 to 86 after a previously reported 83 in May. The index averaged 53.7 in the recession that ended in June 2009.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-24/consumer-confidence-index-in-u-s-increased-to-85-2-in-june.html

 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
34. Was that 2008 BEFORE or After Lehmann Bros. went belly-up?
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 05:00 PM
Jun 2014

In either case, that ain't saying much.

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