KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Thursday March 26 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Currency swings cost U.S. corporates $18.66 bln in Q4 - study - (www.reuters.com) Foreign exchange swings cost North American corporates $18.66 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, according to a report by currency risk management consulting firm FiREapps. Total negative currency impact rose more than four-fold in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, and was the biggest since the height of the euro crisis, according to the report. FiREapps analyzes currency effects on quarterly earnings of 846 North American companies, a subset of the Fortune 2000 companies that generate at least 15 percent of international revenue in two or more currencies. (bit.ly/1O1vOgS) Earnings per share of North American corporates were hurt by $0.06 on an average, nearly double the 2013-2014 average and the highest since FiREapps began measuring the impact of currency swings.

[Gilbert] Greece's Euro Exit Seems Inevitable - (www.bloomberg.com) Greece's money troubles resemble a game of pass the parcel, where each successive participant rips another sheet of wrapping paper off the box -- which turns out to be empty when the final recipient reaches the core. With time and money running out, a successful endgame seems even less likely than it did a week or a month ago. It's increasingly obvious that the government's election promises are incompatible with the economic demands of its euro partners. Something's got to give. The current money-go-round is unsustainable. Euro-region taxpayers fund their governments, which in turn bankroll the European Central Bank. Cash from the ECB's Emergency Liquidity Scheme flows to the Greek banks; they buy treasury bills from their government, which uses the proceeds to … repay its International Monetary Fund debts! No wonder a recent poll by German broadcaster ZDF shows 52 percent ofGermans say they want Greece out of the euro, up from 41 percent last month.

Wall Street Lobby: White House Fudged Report On Retirement Savings - (www.dailycaller.com) The White House altered a report to justify a new Obama administration rule regulating investment advisers, according to a major lobbying organization for the securities industry. The White House Council on Economic Advisers issued a recent report alleging that consumers spend an unnecessary $17 billion on counsel from retirement investment advisers because there are no rules in place to guard against hidden fees. The White House is trying to roll out a new regulation through the Department of Labor to correct that perceived problem. But the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) said that the new rule would actually create higher costs for consumers by forcing retirees to switch from paying their advisers on a case-by-case basis to arrangements that would pay them in regular intervals.

America's biggest European allies just dealt a blow to US foreign policy - (www.businessinsider.com) Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they had agreed to join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank. The concerted move to participate in Beijing's flagship economic outreach project was a diplomatic blow for the United States, reflecting European eagerness to partner with China's fast-growing economy, the second largest in the world. It comes amid prickly trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington, and at a time when EU and Asian governments are frustrated that the U.S. Congress has held up a reform of voting rights in the International Monetary Fund due to give China and other emerging economies more say in global economic governance. A map highlighting members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe's biggest economy, a major trade partner with Beijing, would be a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Wall Street Poised For Another Revenue Bloodbath After Harbinger Jefferies Reports 56% Fixed Income Plunge - (www.zerohedge.com) What Jefferies is best known for among Wall Street shareholders is that, by still reporting a Nov. 30 fiscal year end, 1 month ahead of everyone else, it provides an invaluable glimpse into the fortunes of its Wall Street peers with a 4 week advance notice, especially when it comes to its bread and butter: fixed income trading (recall that CEO Rich Handler was a Drexel bond trader when the firm blew up). The result, just like last quarter, was a disaster and indicative of nothing short of a trading bloodbath on Wall Street in the past three months of trading. The bottom line, and what everyone who is awaiting the latest FICC numbers from the balance of the banks will be focusing on, is the 56% drop in Q1 revenue from fixed-income trading, down to $126 million from $286 million a year ago.

OTHER STORIES: