Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Wednesday September 17 Housing and Economic stories


Postal Service paid $287K for trucks it can’t find - (www.cnbc.com) The sum of $287,000 may seem like a tiny drop in the bucket when it comes to Washington's astronomical spending totals. But at a time when the United States Postal Service has been bleeding literally billions of dollars, spending even that amount on a fleet of vehicles it now cannot locate, and never actually could, is worth a bit of a pause. A report in Government Executive this morning notes that while USPS spends about $39 million a year to rent 10,000 trailers—the cargo bodies of its trucks—it also leased 35 trailers in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 to a distribution center in New Jersey. "There was one problem with these particular trailers, however: The Postal Service had no idea where they were, according to the agency's inspector general, or if it ever even received them from the leasing company," explained Government Executive. It continued: The Postal Service identified the problem during a 2011 initiative to reduce its trailer fleet by 35 percent. While conducting a leased trailer inventory, the New Jersey plant realized it had a problem. "Unfortunately," the IG wrote, "they could not account for the 35 leased trailers. They were initially determined to be missing and after an extensive search for these trailers, they were subsequently classified as lost."

[Reuters] Special Report: The billion-dollar fall of the house of Espirito Santo - (www.reuters.com) U.S. stocks were poised for the biggest monthly gain since February amid improving economic data and speculation central banks will continue to spur growth. Benchmark indexes were little changed today. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has added 3.6 percent in this month, poised for its best August performance since 2000. The benchmark gauge rose less than 0.2 percent to 2,000.26 as of 1:37 p.m. in New York today. Volume was 38 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day. Economic reports showed consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in August, while consumer spending dropped in July for the first time in six months. Euro-area inflation slowed this month to the weakest rate since 2009, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to add stimulus. American equity markets will be closed on Sept. 1 for the Labor Day holiday. In Ukraine, insurgents made more gains as Russia dismissed NATO allegations of its involvement.

Yellen Assets Grow With Fed Colleagues as Financial Markets Rise - (www.bloomberg.com) Federal Reserve officials benefited from gains in asset prices that have boosted the wealth of millions of other Americans, financial disclosure reports show. Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s assets were valued at $5.3 million to $14.1 million last year compared with a range of $4.8 million to $13.2 million in 2012, according to financial disclosure documents released today. The assets are listed in ranges, so determining a precise valuation isn’t possible from the documents. The Fed is winding down the most aggressive U.S. monetary stimulus in history, which has benefited stock and bond markets over the past several years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose about 30 percent in 2013 and is up 8 percent so far this year. The $42.8 trillion global bond market lost 0.3 percent last year, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market Index.

LA mayor plans one of the highest minimum wage rates - (www.cnbc.com) Los Angeles may soon be implementing one of the highest minimum wages in the country, at least if the city's mayor has his way. The Los Angeles Times reports that Mayor Eric Garcetti is expected to announce on Labor Day a three-year plan to implement a $13.25 minimum hourly wage. That dollar figure would receive annual inflation-based increases, the paper reported, citing businesses and local government officials briefed on the proposal. The plan has faced a "cool reception" from many major business groups worried about costs, according to the Times. Some union leaders, meanwhile, are reportedly unhappy because the plan does not start at a previously stated labor goal of $15 per hour. A spokesman for the mayor would not confirm the plan, the L.A. Times reported, but acknowledged that Garcetti had met with leaders across the city to "discuss ways to help L.A. families and our economy thrive."

JPMorgan Sees ‘Lehman Moment’ for Russia If Ukraine Deteriorates - (www.bloomberg.com) Russia’s equity markets may face a “Lehman moment” if the Ukraine conflict deteriorates further, according to Alexander Kantarovich, head of research for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Moscow. “With the significant deterioration in the Ukrainian situation, markets may treat this as a Lehman-style shock,” Kantarovich wrote in an e-mailed report today. “Revisiting the post-Lehman lows would imply downside of 50 percent from an index perspective.” Russia’s ruble-denominated Micex Index has fallen 6.6 percent this year. The stock gauge posted the worst monthly drop in July since 2012 as the U.S. and the European Union escalated sanctions targeting Russia’s $2 trillion economy after the downing of a passenger jet on July 17 over Ukrainian territory controlled by pro-Russian insurgents.





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