Sunday, May 11, 2014

Monday May 12 Housing and Economic stories


Russia’s Bond Market Return Aborted as Yields Surpass 9% - (www.bloomberg.com) Russia tested appetite for ruble bonds for the second time in eight weeks yesterday, only to scrap the auction after seeing how much it would pay to borrow as the crisis over neighboring Ukraine escalates. The Finance Ministry said in a statement that investor bids for the 20 billion rubles ($560 million) in five-year and nine-year OFZ notes on offer didn’t “adequately represent” Russia’s “credit quality.” Government bonds fell for a fourth day, with the yield on 2027 notes rising five basis points to 9.22 percent. The ruble was little changed and the Micex index fell. The aborted attempt to return to the market confirms there’s “no demand” for government securities as the U.S. and the European Union consider further sanctions for what they see as President Vladimir Putin’s destabilizing role in Ukraine, according to Raiffeisen Capital. Russia may forgo foreign-currency debt sales this year and cut domestic borrowing as the weaker ruble boosts taxes from oil and gas exports and helps the budget, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last month.

Russian Brokers Gain From Crisis, Profits So Rich They're Trading From the Beach - (www.bloomberg.com) It was a vacation that Russian stock broker Alexander Antipov said he dreamt about for two decades: a tropical getaway from the harsh Moscow winter to the white-sand beaches of AcapulcoMexico. Yet as Antipov, the head of sales at Moscow-based Veles Capital LLC, settled into the Park Royal hotel with his family last month, his mobile phone kept ringing. Clients were unnerved by President Vladimir Putin’s push into Ukraine and wanted to know if they should sell as stocks sank. Antipov fell into an odd schedule -- trading by night from the hotel balcony to avoid waking his kids as markets opened about 7,000 miles away in Moscow and napping during the day. “It felt surreal,” Antipov, 40, said in an April 15 phone interview from Veles, a brokerage firm founded in 1995. “Most of my clients were selling. Some had the courage to buy.”

United loses $609M in 1Q; fares don't cover costs - (www.huffingtonpost.com) United Airlines is the one U.S. carrier that can't seem to get its act together. While all the other major airlines made money in the first quarter, United lost $609 million during the first three months of this year. United attributed $200 million of its loss to the "historic severe" winter weather that impacted much of the U.S. this past winter. But by comparison, Delta Air Lines made $213 million in the same quarter while dealing with the same ice and snow storms. Chicago-based United is still struggling to combine systems and see financial benefits following its 2010 merger with Continental Airlines. In the first quarter, its cost for each mile passengers flew rose 1 percent but its related revenue fell 2 percent. It simply isn't able to charge high enough airfares. United lost $1.66 per share, worse than the $1.26 per share it lost during the same period last year. Excluding special items, the loss was $1.33 per share, barely beating the $1.35 loss expected by Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet. United's revenue slipped 0.3 percent to $8.7 billion, just short of the $8.71 billion Wall Street analysts had expected.

US inciting civil war in Venezuela to get its oil– Bolivia's ... - (www.rt.com) Washington is pushing Venezuela towards a “civil war” because it wants access to the country’s rich oil reserves, Bolivian President Evo Morales has warned. The Venezuelan government has also accused the US of fomenting a coup d’état. Addressing over 3,000 young people at a Latin American Youth Summit in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, Morales branded the US an “empire” with its eye on Venezuelan oil wealth. Morales said that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was blameless in the recent wave of unrest in the country and accused Washington of orchestrating a civil war.  “I believe [the US] are trying to incite if not a coup d’état then a civil war from their empire,” Morales said. “They are always going to sponsor internal conflict so that they can interfere and invade us to take control of our oil reserves.”

Abe Revives Dying Shipyards as JBIC Loans Jump 30%: Japan Credit - (www.bloomberg.com) For a sign of success for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic stimulus policies look no further than Japan’s once-stricken shipbuilding industry. Japan Marine United Corp. has work scheduled for more than two years and is building two types of large bulk carriers at its Ariake shipyard that are about 20 percent more fuel efficient, spokeswoman Shoko Aoyama said. Japanese shipbuilders’ orders reached the highest level since 2007 last fiscal year, industry data show. Japan Bank for International Cooperation boosted ship loans to foreign customers by 30 percent in the period, Katsuya Mogaki, director at the bank’s marine and aerospace finance division, said in an April 16 interview. “Overseas shippers and ship owners are coming to Japan, betting now’s the chance to buy Japanese vessels,” Mogaki said.





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