Friday March 6 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

17,000 Federal Employees Earned More Than $200K Last Year - (www.govexec.com)  More than 16,900 federal employees took home in excess of $200,000 in base salary in 2014, according to a partial database of federal salary data. The information, compiled by FedSmith.com using data from the Office of Personnel Management and other agencies, shows the annual compensation for every civilian federal worker, save those at the Defense Department.  The number of workers earning more than $200,000 represented about 1.6 percent of employees on the list, and is up from about 15,000 who cleared that salary in 2013. It also makes up a slightly higher percentage of the employees on this list. The high earners worked overwhelmingly as medical officers at the Veterans Affairs Department. Other agencies that require a highly specialized workforce paid several employees at least $200,000, including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. More than 1,600 federal employees cleared $300,000 in base salary last year. Just two feds -- VA doctors in Palo Alto, Calif., and Pittsburgh, Pa. -- took in more than $400,000.

VA secretary admits he lied about Army service - (www.nypost.com) President Obama’s secretary of veterans affairs lied about his military career when he claimed he served in the Army’s Special Forces. Robert McDon­ald — who took charge of the agency amid a scandal over veterans dying while awaiting treatment at VA facilities — made the comment in a conversation with a homeless vet in LA. “Special Forces? What years? I was in Special Forces!” McDonald, 61, tells the man. The conversation was recorded by a CBS News crew. McDonald graduated from West Point, completed Army Ranger training and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, the Huffington Post said. But he never served in the Special Forces. After his fabrication was revealed, McDonald released an apology Monday in which he admitted the lie.

Lumber Liquidators sinks, says bad press coming - (www.cnbc.com) Shares of Lumber Liquidators fell more than 17 percent Wednesday morning after the company reported a big earnings miss and hinted at more negative news in the future. During the firm's earnings conference call, management warned investors that an upcoming "60 Minutes" episode will be negative for the company. "We now believe the news program '60 Minutes' will feature our company in an unfavorable light with regard to our sourcing and product quality, specifically relating to laminates," Rob Lynch, the company's president and CEO said on the call. Lumber Liquidators missed on both the top and bottom lines, reporting earnings per share of 64 cents on revenue of $272 million. Wall Street had expected earnings of about 76 cents per share on $280 million in revenue.

Ukraine's economic 'meltdown' just got worse - (www.cnbc.com)  Ukraine's currency plunged to new record lows on Monday morning, as a failed peace plan and continued violence piled more pressure on a country that has seen a year of political and economic turmoil. The country's central bank said the official rate for the hryvnia had dropped 7 percent on Monday, to close to 30 against the U.S. dollar, according to Reuters.  It came as the bank also announced currency controls for the country's importers to try to limit the hryvnia's fall. Ukrainian sovereign bonds also fell to record lows during the morning session. "Let's not beat around the bush - Ukraine is facing economic/financial meltdown," Timothy Ash, head of emerging markets at Standard Bank, said in a morning note. Over the weekend, the country marked the anniversary of the protests that sparked a change of power in Kiev. Tensions on the streets of the capital in 2014 soon turned into military conflicts on the eastern border, however, with Moscow accused of aiding pro-Kremlin rebels in the region. Moscow continues to deny the involvement of Russian troops in the conflict.

US Espionage Blowback: China Drops Apple, Cisco From State Purchase Lists - (www.zerohedge.com) Another quarter of leaks of ubiquitous US espionage in every corner of the world, and sure enough we get another quarter of China just saying no to spending any more money on companies which are, as far as Beijing is concerned, a natural extension of the NSA. According to Reuters, China has just dropped some of America's leading technology brands from its approved state purchase lists, chief among them Cisco (which already was hammered a year ago due to the Snowden revelations), and everyone's favorite $1 trillion market cap or bust cell phone maker, Apple. At the same time China shifted production focus away from foreign production approved thousands more locally made products. The reason according to Reuters, and pretty much anyone else: a response to revelations of widespread Western cyber-surveillance.

OTHER STORIES:

World stocks near all-time highs after Fed signals - (www.reuters.com)
Germany's Schaeuble: credibility of new Greek plan still in doubt - (www.reuters.com)
Ukraine Prime Minister Denounces Central Bank Ban on Currency Trade - (www.reuters.com)

Investors brace for more 'Wal-Mart raises' - (www.cnbc.com)

Kickstarter's down: Is Pebble to blame? - (www.cnbc.com)

Macy's needs to be 'extremely careful' about this - (www.cnbc.com)

Ukraine Bans Banks From Purchasing Foreign Currency for Clients - (www.bloomberg.com)
Oil Bust Empties Out Private-Jet Parking Lot in Texas - (www.bloomberg.com)
The 0-for-27 Tally on Debt Ratings Seen Worsening: Brazil Credit - (www.bloomberg.com)
Radioactive Water at Fukushima Site Leaks Into Ocean, Tepco Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Yemen Slides Toward Breakup as Hadi Rallies Support in South - (www.bloomberg.com)