Tuesday June 16 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Mortgage rates: 'Definitely in panic mode' - (www.cnbc.com) Mortgage rates, which loosely follow the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury, spiked Wednesday, after a brief reprieve last week. The move higher seems to signal that while rates rock back and forth every day, they are now on a trajectory to go up. The days of 3.5 percent on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage are over. "Definitely in panic mode," said Matt Weaver, senior mortgage loan originator with PMAC Lending Services. "A lot of refinance clients are moving to locks immediately because the Fed talk is starting to be an eye opener for everyone." Weaver said refinance clients who were happy to float rates just three weeks ago are now considerably more afraid of where rates will go. They're willing to take money off the table to lock in now. The impact is equally deep on potential homebuyers. This is the heart of the busiest season for sales, and now potential buyers, already highly sensitive to rising home prices, have something else to worry about.

Greek Banks On Verge Of Total Collapse: Bank Run Surges "Massively" As Depositors Yank €700 Million Today Alone – (www.zerohedge.com) While the Greek government believes it may have won the battle, if not the war with Europe, the reality is that every additional day in which Athens does not have a funding backstop, be it the ECB (or the BRIC bank), is a day which brings the local banking system to total collapse. And another day, or two, like today, and it may all be over:  According to banking sources, the Greek bank outflows on Friday soared to 700 million Euros from 272 million Euros on Thursday.

Miami’s Hot Condo Market Cools as Dollar Derails Buyers - (www.bloomberg.com) The sales office for condominiums at Miami’s Brickell City Centre attracted more than 100 visitors daily last year, with prospective buyers crowding in and snapping selfies beside a scale model of the $1 billion project. Now, the flow of people has trickled to about a quarter of what it once was. “Buyers are asking really good questions” instead of rushing into deals, said Stephen Owens, president of the U.S. unit of Hong Kong-based Swire Properties Ltd., the developer of the 9-acre (3.6-hectare) condo, hotel, office and shopping complex. “Two years ago, it was, ‘Where can I sign?’” Downtown Miami’s luxury-condo boom -- fueled by buyers from Latin America and Europe willing to pay half the purchase price up front -- is becoming a casualty of the year-long climb in the U.S. dollar. Diminished purchasing power and rising prices are holding back the overseas investors that make up the bulk of sales at new towers, cooling a frenzied market.

Junk Bonds Proving Haven in Global Bond Rout That’s Erased Gains - (www.bloomberg.com) Risky securities are proving a haven for corporate bond investors after the global market selloff erased all of this year’s gains in the safest notes. Junk bond returns are beating investment grade by the most since 2009, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. Investors in speculative-grade notes globally earned 4.3 percent this year, while the higher-rated bonds forfeited 0.03 percent, the first loss for the period since 2008, the data show. Investors increased selling of government bonds and top-rated corporate debt this week after signals the global economy will likely avoid mass deflation and that the euro region’s economy is improving. High-yield securities were relatively unscathed even after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi prompted another bout of selling on Wednesday by saying investors should get used to the heightened volatility in credit markets. “People saw junk bonds as quite risky even six months ago and now they look like a safe haven,” said Jens Vanbrabant, a London-based money manager at ECM Asset Management, which oversees $6.5 billion. “Investment-grade bonds are exposed to a selloff in yields, whereas high yield offers some protection.”

Ocwen Robo-Witnesses Busted In Florida – (www.mfi-miami.com) Ocwen is busted in Florida for coaching Robo-Witnesses who have no first hand knowledge of a homeowner's loan to mislead the court. The law firm representing Deutsche Bank National Trust Company in a Florida foreclosure action are demanding that the homeowner’s attorney, Thomas Ice be removed from the case because Ice accused Deutsche Bank of using Ocwen Robo-Witnesses in foreclosure cases. Ice alleges the expert witnesses from Ocwen Financial, who is servicing the loan for Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, have no first-hand knowledge of the homeowners mortgage and are told what to say in court by Ocwen executives. Three days later, Ice’s allegations of Ocwen Robo-Witnesses being used by Deutsche Bank and Ocwen appeared in the Miami Daily Business Review. Attorneys from Clarfield Okon Salomone & Pincus who are representing the former Nazi financiers, are fuming mad about the article that detailed how Deutsche Bank’s servicer on the loan, Ocwen provides scripts to its unqualified witnesses to crush homeowner defenses and allegations of improper conduct by financial services sector employees.

OTHER STORIES:

Greece cannot accept lenders' latest proposal: economy minister - (www.reuters.com)
Greece Raises Stakes in Showdown as Payment to IMF Deferred - (www.bloomberg.com)
German Bond Drop Leaves Securities Set for Worst Week Since 1998 - (www.bloomberg.com)
European Stocks Drop for Fourth Day as Greece Defers IMF Payment - (www.bloomberg.com)
Here's What to Watch for in Friday's Jobs Report - (www.bloomberg.com)
$400 Billion Reasons Why Ebbing Currency Reserves Threaten Bonds - (www.bloomberg.com)

Chinese breach data of 4 million federal workers - (www.washingtonpost.com)
China’s Hack of U.S Data Tied to Health-Care Record Thefts - (www.bloomberg.com)
Exclusive: Vietnam eyes Western warplanes, patrol aircraft to counter China - (www.reuters.com)
High Inflation Makes Ukraine’s Troubled Situation Worse - (www.blonytimesomberg.com)