Monday October 20 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

At 78, Former Executive Still Flips Burgers for $7.98 - (www.bloomberg.com) “Inactivity drives me crazy,” said Tom Palome, a 78-year-old former marketing executive who works as a short-order cook and bartender to make ends meet. A year ago, Bloomberg News profiled Palome’s odyssey through the working world of older Americans who haven’t saved enough to retire comfortably. When the story hit, “I had 15 hours of fame” that included paid speaking and consulting gigs, Palome said. Then the thrill wore off and Palome was back to his regular work life and the financial pressure of limited savings. For a time, it looked like Palome was on his way to becoming a guru for the over-70 set on living, working, and financial planning for those without enough to retire, a large and growing segment of aging Americans.

Euro Disney Shares Plunge on $1.25 Billion Refinancing Plan - (www.bloomberg.com) Walt Disney Co. (DIS) is injecting money into Disneyland Paris in a bid to revive the 22-year-old theme park that’s struggling with waning attendance and mounting losses. Euro Disney SCA (EDL), the resort’s operator, said it plans a 1 billion-euro ($1.25 billion) refinancing backed by its U.S. parent. Walt Disney, which owns about 40 percent of the French company, is required to make an offer for all Euro Disney shares as a result of the recapitalization. Disney continues to support Disneyland Paris after years of losses at the theme park, hurt as Europe’s faltering economy weighs on consumer spending. The resort, created in 1992 in a suburb south-east of the French capital, is forecasting attendance to drop by as many as 800,000 visitors this year.

Plunging Ruble Pummels Foreign Company Earnings in Russia - (www.bloomberg.com) Russia’s falling ruble is hitting Western European corporate giants such as PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG), Henkel AG and Carlsberg A/S (CARLB) on its way down, further undermining operations under strain because of the country’s stagnant economy. With the currency now at a record low against the euro and dollar, companies that have bet heavily on Russia are finding that the plunge makes it costlier for local factories to import supplies and parts, increases prices for customers, and reduces the foreign-currency value of any profits they manage to generate. “The weakening of the ruble is a problem,” Peugeot Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares said at the Paris Motor Show last week. He blamed his company’s Russia woes on “the lack of visibility for the customer, and the price increase due” to the ruble’s fall.

How Venezuela Got No Dollars From $65 Billion Bond Sales - (www.bloomberg.com) In the past decade, Venezuela and the nation’s oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA have sold $65 billion of dollar-denominated bonds without ever seeing a dime. Sure, they got money, but took in no dollars. To preserve foreign reserves while injecting some much-needed hard currency into the economy, the government, PDVSA and the central bank sold the debt to local investors in return for bolivars. Buyers then sold the notes abroad to obtain U.S. currency, which has become scarce as Venezuela tries to limit capital flight. With $4.5 billion of debt coming due this month and reserves at an 11-year low, Venezuela is realizing the bond sales didn’t actually buy it much time and are instead exacerbating a cash crunch that’s fueling concern the country will default. The nation’s bonds have plummeted 9.5 percent in the past month, the most in emerging markets.

LIBYA: Goldman Took Us For 'A Complete Ride' - (www.bloomberg.com)  The Libyan Investment Authority, a government-managed sovereign wealth fund, is suing Goldman Sachs for $1 billion and claims that the bank "took them for a complete ride," according to a report by the Financial Times. In the lawsuit, LIA claims that Goldman exploited the fund and "encouraged" it to pursue 9 extremely risky and ultimately unsuccessful investments worth over $1 billion in 2008, according to the FT's report. But by 2011, these trades were "worthless." The LIA claims that Goldman took advantage of the LIA's (allegedly) financially illiterate staff in order to make money, and that Goldman seduced its staff with fancy gifts and — for lack of a more politically correct term — bribes.

OTHER STORIES:

Silicon Valley giant Hewlett-Packard to split in two: WSJ  - (www.reuters.com)
States probe JPMorgan Chase as hack seen fueling fraud - (www.bloomberg.com)

Samsung Profit Plunge Seen Prompting New Businesses - (www.bloomberg.com)

Job Openings Signal Hiring in U.S. to Be Sustained: Economy - (www.bloomberg.com)

Paulson Discussed U.S. Financial Bailout With China - (www.bloomberg.com)
Russia Spends $980 Million Reserves in One Day to Buoy Ruble - (www.bloomberg.com)

Oil Plunge Magnifies Russia’s Sanctions Pain: Chart of the Day - (www.bloomberg.com)

U.S. Aids Ukraine on Heat Plan as EU Warns on Winter - (www.bloomberg.com)