Thursday, November 20, 2014

Friday November 21 Housing and Economic stories


Market fears Venezuela's socialist regime could default - (www.ft.com)  Several years ago, Venezuela ran a tourism campaign under the slogan “a country to love”. Promoters had in mind the country’s delicious climate, beautiful beaches, traditions of good cuisine and affable people. Recently, however, the socialist country dropped the slogan, a change perhaps reflecting how Venezuela – with its accelerating inflation, shortages of basic goods, and escalating crime rates – is no longer a place visitors would obviously love, but rather one they struggle increasingly to understand. One of the hardest questions foreign investors have to get their heads round is the following: Is Venezuela about to default? On the face of it, the question is absurd. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, according to BP, and its debt metrics do not suggest financial distress. For example, gross debt is less than half the country’s $209bn annual economic output.

Illinois Pension Debt Soars To $111 Billion - (www.zerohedge.com) Pension debt in the Land of Lincoln is a big problem. So big, in fact, that it would take three years of a complete government shutdown, during which the entire general fund went toward pensions, just to break even. No funding for schools, no money for public safety and nothing for health care and human services. Illinois’ unfunded pension liability grew to more than $111 billion this year, according to official estimates. That’s a $48 billion increase just since 2009. That $111 billion pension shortfall means the state now has only 39 cents of every dollar it should have in the bank today to pay for future benefits. In the private sector, these funds would be deemed bankrupt.

State Department E-Mail System Shut in Suspected Hacking - (www.bloomberg.com) The State Department detected suspected hacking of its unclassified e-mail system and shut it down for security improvements, a department official said. The incident coincided with a similar attack that affected White House networks late last month, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the incident is still under review. Several government agencies and private businesses have been hit in recent weeks with attacks that have been blamed on Russian or Chinese hackers. The cases remain unresolved. A coalition of technology companies last month said it had disrupted a hacking campaign linked to Chinese intelligence. In the State Department incident, none of the classified systems were compromised, the official said.

Shale Drillers Keep Output High Despite Oil Price Decline - (www.bloomberg.com) Shale drillers are planning on production growth with fewer rigsdespite a worldwide glut that has sent crude prices to a four-year low. Companies including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN),Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) and EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) said they expect to pump more from their prime properties while cutting back in their least productive prospects. That puts the onus on OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, to cut output if they want to stem the slide in global oil prices. “There’s a lot more production coming online this year and in the first half of 2015,” said Jason Wangler, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Inc. in Houston. “This isn’t a machine that you can turn on and off with a switch. It’s going to take months, if not quarters, to turn it around.”

Thousands of Greeks march against austerity to mark 1973 uprising  - (www.reuters.com) Tens of thousands of Greeks poured into the streets to march against austerity on Monday in one of the biggest anniversary protests in recent years to mark a bloody 1973 student revolt against the then-ruling military junta. About 40,000 students, workers and pensioners waving red flags and chanting "EU, IMF out!" marched near parliament to the embassy of the United States, which protesters accuse of backing the 1967-74 military dictatorship. Clashes broke out as the march ended, and police fired teargas at groups of youths who hurled stones and plastic bottles. The annual protest is a focal point for Greeks protesting against government policies and in recent years has directed anger at wage and pension cuts imposed under a 240-billion euro bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.




No comments: