Sunday, June 29, 2014

Monday June 30 Housing and Economic stories


Stunned unions cry foul after tenure rules struck down - (www.latimes.com) Teacher unions are criticizing a judge's decision to overturn a California law that has long protected the state's public educators -- even ineffective ones -- through tenure and seniority. In his ruling Tuesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu said the laws governing job security were unconstitutional because they harmed predominantly low-income, minority students by allowing incompetent instructors to remain in the classroom. The protections "impose a real and appreciable impact on students' fundamental right to equality of education," he wrote. "The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience." State and local teachers’ unions reacted swiftly, saying the ruling was misguided and that poor management was to blame for districts that fail to root out incompetent instructors.

London's Taxi Driver Protests Are Giving Uber The Best Advertising It Could Ever Have Hoped For - (www.businessinsider.com)  Uber is seeing a massive uptick in sign-ups following thousands of black cab drivers staging protests in the streets of London. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 black cabs participated in the protest today, according to London's transportation agency. That's because they're convinced Uber is operating illegally in the city. But despite their efforts, people are actually flocking to Uber. The car company says it's seen an 850% increase in new riders. “Londoners are voting with their fingers, tapping the app in support of new and innovative services as we see our biggest day of sign-ups in London today since launch two years ago,” Uber UK & Ireland General Manager Jo Bertram told The Next Web.

Qingdao Port Probe Said to Focus on Loans to Decheng - (www.bloomberg.com) China’s investigation of whether metals stockpiled at Qingdao Port fall short of collateral obligations used to secure loans is focused on Decheng Mining, said two bankers assisting with the probe. Decheng’s owner, Chen Jihong, has been detained as public security officials look into the case at the northeastern port and continue a separate inquiry in northwestern Gansu province, said the bankers, who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. Singapore’s foreign ministry said it is providing consular assistance to Chen. Foreign and local banks are examining lending linked to metals at Qingdao amid concern that risks are more widespread in China, where traders use commodities from iron ore to rubber to get funding. China’s customs agency issued rules to help prevent goods being pledged multiple times as collateral for loans at Qingdao Port, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Analysts at Barclays Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the probe may weigh down the price of copper, already the worst performer among the six main materials traded on the London Metal Exchange this year.

Many Seek New Homes Near Cities but are Priced Out  - (www.finance.yahoo.com)  The average price of a newly built home nationwide has reached $320,100 — a 20.5 percent jump since 2012 began. That puts a typical new home out of reach for two-thirds of Americans, according to government data. Yet many builders have made a calculated bet: Better to sell fewer new homes at higher prices than build more and charge less. Their calculation is partly a consequence of the growing wealth gap in the United States. Average inflation-adjusted income has declined 9 percent for the bottom 40 percent of households since 2007, while incomes for the top 5 percent exceed where they were when the recession began that year, according to the Census Bureau. Buyers have historically paid about 15 percent more for a new home than for an existing one, a premium that's reached 40 percent today, according to the real estate data firm Zillow. An average new home costs about six times the median U.S. household income. Historically, Americans have bought homes worth about three times their income.

Spanish 10-Year Bond Yield Lowest Since at Least 1789; Reflections on Absurd Risk Assumptions - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) Those searching for absurdity in government bonds can find it in a multitude of places. For example, and via translation from Libre Mercado (courtesy of my friend Bran who lives in Spain) please note Spanish 10-Year Bond Yield is Lowest Since at Least 1789.   The interest rate offered on the secondary market for Spanish bonds maturing in ten years is at historic lows, below equivalent yield in U.S. treasuries, which has not happened since April 2010. The evolution of Spanish debt is even more striking when viewed from a broader temporal perspective. Today the Spanish 10-year bond is the lowest since at least 1789, the year of the French Revolution, as noted in the graph above. This is something unprecedented.





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