Monday April 18 2016 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Hillary Clinton Promise: ‘We’re Going to Put a Lot of Coal Miners and Coal Companies Out of Business’ - (www.breitbart.com) Appearing at a CNN town hall in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton promised that in her administration, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Clinton’s stark statement was not only an acknowledgement that she plans to continue waging President Obama’s “war on coal,” it was a clear sign she intends to accelerate the destruction of one of the country’s leading energy sector industries. It may also have an undesirable political effect in Ohio, which was the ninth largest coal producing state in 2013. Ohio is one of five states holding primaries tomorrow. A week ago, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) % defeated Clinton in the Democratic primary held in neighboring Michigan.

 

Hedge Funds Slammed: Tudor Hit With $1BN In Redemptions; NYC Pensions To Pull $1.5BN From Key Names - (www.zerohedge.com)  In a world in which the average hedge fund has failed to outperform the stock market for 8 years running, many have asked themselves what is the point of paying 2 and (not so much 20) to consistently underperform a global asset class which is now actively micromanaged by central banks themselves. And while redemptions from hedge funds have been growing in recent months, coupled with the first year since the crisis in which more hedge funds shut down than were created, it all culminated moments ago when Bloomberg reported that clients of none other than hedge fund legend Paul Tudor Jones have asked to pull more than $1 billion after three years of lackluster returns.

NYC Pension Weighs Liquidating $1.5 Billion Hedge Fund Portfolio - (www.bloomberg.com)  New York City’s pension fund for civil employees is weighing exiting its $1.5 billion portfolio of hedge fund investments because of lagging performance, high fees and the riskiness of the asset class. A vote to terminate the funds, which include D.E. Shaw & Co., Brevan Howard Asset Management, and Perry Capital, will come as soon as Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hedge funds make up 3 percent of the civil employees’ fund’s$51 billion portfolio.  “Hedge funds are charging exorbitant fees for high-risk and opaque investments” said New York City Public Advocate Tish James. ”Our public employees work hard for their money, and they deserve to know their investments are secure. We can and must invest responsibly and also honor our fiduciary responsibility.”

SunEdison Misses Payment on Convertible Bonds, Facing Default - (www.bloomberg.com) SunEdison Inc., the renewable-energy company already teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, missed a bond payment this month. The company was supposed to pay $2.6 million April 1 on its 2 percent convertible bonds, which are due in 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. SunEdison has a grace period through May 1. The trustee, Wilmington Trust Corp., confirmed April 11 that the payment was missed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Not making the payment “means SunEdison is likely in technical default,” Greg Jones, an analyst at CreditSights, said in an e-mail Wednesday. Failure to cure by May 1 “could potentially trigger cross-default provisions in other debt obligations.”

Coal Slump Sends Mining Giant Peabody Energy Into Bankruptcy - (www.bloomberg.com) Peabody Energy Corp. filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, the most powerful convulsion yet in an industry that’s still waiting for the coal market to bottom out. The company is seeking to reorganize U.S. operations in federal court in its hometown of St. Louis, reducing an estimated $10.1 billion in debt, according to court filings. It’s the biggest U.S. corporate bankruptcy this year by liabilities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.  The outcome of the case may turn on what trajectory coal prices take over the course of the reorganization, with battles over environmental obligations and non-bankrupt Australian operations complicating matters, according to analysts and environmental activists.

OTHER STORIES:

Hedge funds post best gains in 4 years in March - (www.cnbc.com)
Brazil’s Economy Tanks as Political Upheaval Looms - (online.wsj.com)
Japan Inc. Profits Head for Biggest Abe-Era Drop on Stronger Yen - (www.bloomberg.com)
China and India Have Different Answers for Their Debt Messes - (www.bloomberg.com)

Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall as U.S. Consumers Scrimp - (www.bloomberg.com)
JPMorgan Sets Aside More Cash to Cover Souring Oil and Gas Loans - (www.bloomberg.com)
IMF Warns of Possible ‘Spiral’ of Waning Growth, Escalating Debt - (www.bloomberg.com)