Thursday June 25 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Euro slips, mood darkens as Greece fails to reach deal - (www.reuters.com) The euro slipped in early Asian trade on Monday, after Greece's talks with lenders to avert a default ended with no agreement and a downbeat day on Wall Street was also likely to pressure Asian shares. U.S. stock futures were down about 0.4 percent ESc1. European Union officials blamed the collapse of the talks on Athens, which it said had failed to offer any new concessions to secure funding it needs to repay 1.6 billion euros ($1.79 billion) to the International Monetary Fund by the end of this month. The euro skidded 0.4 percent on the day to $1.1215 EUR=, and was down 0.5 percent against the yen at 138.28 EURJPY=. The Japanese edged up against the dollar, with the U.S> unit falling about 0.1 percent on the day to 123.30 yen.

Geneva Whodunit Has Chinese Up in Arms Over $1.2 Billion Currency Scam - (www.bloomberg.com) Street protests in Beijing and Hong Kong. Chinese investors flying 5,000 miles to show up on doorsteps in Geneva and demand their money back. It’s the fallout so far from an alleged scam that its victims say robbed 29,000 Chinese investors of $1.2 billion. They were promised returns of as much as 10 percent a month from currency trading byAPI Premiere Swiss Trust AG and associated companies, according to interviews with six victims and documents they shared over the past three months. The money disappeared from their accounts in January, the investors said. “We wanted to know the truth,” said Chen Biya, 43, an advertising agency owner in Beijing who flew to Geneva in late March with two dozen fellow investors to try to recover their missing millions. They sought redress at API’s locked former offices, the public prosecutor and in meetings with lawyers, then went to Bern and Zurich to appeal to the Chinese embassy and Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, known as Finma, he said. 

Greece says it will never accept wage, pension cuts - (finance.yahoo.com) Greece will never accept cuts in pensions and wages or extra taxes on necessities such as electricity, a government official says. The official says representatives of the International Monetary Fund insist on pension and wage savings worth about 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) and an equal amount of extra revenue from Value Added Tax. "These measures concern the popular classes and employees," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing talks in Brussels between Greece and its creditors. He added that Greece will no longer accept measures that undermine growth and has submitted proposals that cover creditors' demands for a primary budget surplus without doing so.

Pentagon poised to store heavy weapons in Baltic and Eastern Europe - NYT - (www.reuters.com) The Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, to deter any possible further Russian aggression in Europe, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Citing U.S. and allied officials, the newspaper said that if approved the proposal would mark the first time since the Cold War that Washington has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member states in Eastern Europe that were once part of the Soviet sphere of influence. The proposal, which seeks to reassure European allies in the wake of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014, is expected to be approved by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the White House before a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels this month, the paper said, quoting senior officials. Asked about the article, a Pentagon spokesman said no decision had been made about the equipment.

Auto sales plummet in Brazil - (finance.yahoo.com)    Plummeting auto sales in Brazil have battered an industry that is a key part of the nation's economy and has led tens of thousands of workers to be laid off or forced to take mandatory leave. At least 6,000 workers in auto factories have been laid off since January, officials say, and another 20,000 have put on furlough. The auto industry accounts for one-fourth of the nation's industrial gross domestic product. An association of auto dealers known as Fenabrave says that 250 of the country's 8,000 dealerships have gone out of business this year, resulting in 12,000 lost jobs.

OTHER STORIES:

Greece and creditors fail in 'last attempt' to reach deal - (www.reuters.com)
Greece Talks Crumble After 45 Minutes Setting Up Decisive Week - (www.bloomberg.com)
Greek default fears rise as ‘11th-hour’ talks collapse - (www.ft.com)

All ears tuned to Fed language, Greek debt talks - (www.reuters.com)
China Company Insiders Skim the Cream Off Frothy Stock Market - (www.nytimes.com)
Britain pulls out spies as Russia, China crack Snowden files: report - (www.reuters.com)
KKR’s Petraeus Calls Cyberattacks ‘Enormous’ Security Threat - (www.bloomberg.com)