Tuesday December 2 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

OPEC Gusher to Hit Weakest Players, From Wildcatters to Iran - (www.bloomberg.com) Oil patch executives including billionaire Harold Hamm have vowed to drill on, asserting they can profit well below $70 a barrel, with output unlikely to fall for at least a year. Marginal producers in less profitable U.S. shale areas, as well as countries from Iran to Russia and operations from Canada to Norway will see the knife sooner, according to analyses by Wells Fargo & Co., IHS Inc. and ITG Investment Research. “We’re in a very nerve-wracking environment right now and will be for probably the next couple of years,” Jamie Webster, senior director for global crude markets at IHS, said yesterday in a phone interview. “This is a different game. This isn’t just about additional barrels, this is about barrels that are going to keep coming and keep coming.”

The Yellow Cab Bubble Pops: Taxi Medallion Prices Tumble 17% From Last Year's Record Highs - (www.zerohedge.com)  A little over a year ago, we presented a "Yellow" asset, which was "the best performer of the past year." It wasn't gold: it was yellow cab medallions.  As we wrote then, "the best returning asset class traded in the NY Metro area is yellow but doesn't change hands on Wall Street.... over the last 12 months New York City taxi medallions have risen 49% in price, besting the relatively humdrum returns of the S&P 500 (up 21%), the NASDAQ (22%) and the Dow (18%). Medallions – essentially the right to operate a for-hail taxi in New York City – now trade for as much as $1.3 million, an all-time record."  In retrospect it was also the perfect time to cash out on the "yellow" euphoria. According to the NYT, "the average price of an individual New York City taxi medallion fell to $872,000 in October, down 17 percent from a peak reached in the spring of 2013, according to an analysis of sales data. Previous figures published by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission — showing flat prices — appear to have been incorrect, and the commission removed them from its website after an inquiry from The New York Times."

U.S. Black Friday shopping marked by thinner crowds, protests - (www.reuters.com) Mall crowds were relatively thin on Black Friday in a sign of what has become the new normal in U.S. holiday shopping: the mad rush is happening the night of Thanksgiving and more consumers are picking up deals online. Across the United States, shoppers were greeted by protesters at hundreds of stores - some calling for higher wages at Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), others protesting the decision of a grand jury not to indict a white police officer in the August shooting of an 18-year-old unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri. Most major retailers now open Thursday evening and are extending holiday deals rather than limiting them to one day. The result is a quieter experience on a day that has traditionally kicked off the holiday shopping season, and often drawn chaotic crowds.

Russia’s Oil Giant Battles Debt After $55 Billion Deal - (www.bloomberg.com) Igor Sechin spent $55 billion in 2013 to buy competitor TNK-BP and create a Russian oil colossus, pumping about 5 percent of the world’s crude. Almost two years later and investors have written off the deal. Battered by sanctions and oil’s accelerating price crash, OAO Rosneft (ROSN) has lost 38 percent of its market value this year in dollar terms and today the whole company, TNK-BP and all, is worth $50 billion. And buying TNK-BP has left Sechin, Rosneft’s chief executive officer and a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with a lot of debt to repay. State-controlled Rosneft owes about $60 billion to banks and bondholders, making it more indebted relative to earnings than any large oil producer apart from Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA. “Their aggressive expansion and debt accumulation made them more vulnerable to the falling oil price and the effect of sanctions,” Oleg Popov, who helps oversee $1 billion at Allianz Investments in Moscow, said by phone.

POLL: A New Low For Obamacare - (www.businessinsider.com)  More Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform than ever before, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday. The survey found 56% of Americans said they disapproved of the law, the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare, while just 37% said they approved. That's a seven-point shift from October, when Gallup found 53% of the US public disapproved of the law and 41% approved. The latest numbers come as the new healthcare system begins its second enrollment period, which began Saturday. The first enrollment period last year was marred by widespread technical glitches with the government's main healthcare website.

OTHER STORIES:

Russian warships enter English Channel for drills: RIA - (www.reuters.com)

Russian troops giving 'backbone' to Ukraine rebels: NATO commander - (www.reuters.com)

Merkel hits diplomatic dead-end with Putin - (www.reuters.com)

Ukraine reports new arrivals of Russian supplies for eastern rebels - (www.bloomberg.com)
Turkey's Erdogan Lashes Out at U.S. After Biden Meeting Shows Split on Syria - (www.bloomberg.com)

Oil Seen in New Era as OPEC Won’t Yield to U.S. Shale - (www.bloomberg.com)

Uber Disciplines N.Y. Manager Who Tracked Reporter's Travel Data - (www.bloomberg.com)

Egyptians Protest After Charges Dropped Against Ousted President - (www.bloomberg.com)