Tuesday April 5 2016 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Valeant Sinks Deeper Into Junk as Moody's Lowers Rating - (www.bloomberg.com) Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s junk debt ratings were lowered for the second time this month by Moody’s Investors Service after the company said it will replace its chief executive officer and add Bill Ackman to its board. The drug maker’s B1 rating was cut to B2, or five steps below investment grade, Moody’s said in a statement Thursday. The ratings company had reduced the ranking on Valeant’s $31 billion of debt to B1 from Ba3 on March 15. The downgrade “reflects a combination of operating headwinds, CEO and board changes occurring at a time of elevated financial leverage, and regulatory scrutiny," Michael Levesque, a senior vice president at Moody’s, said in the statement.

The Chilling Thing IPOs Just Said about the Stock Market - (www.wolfstreet.com)  A stock market that has rallied sharply to ludicrous valuations is normally accompanied by a booming IPO market. They’re like twins. The S&P 500 jumped 13.5% in seven weeks – to bring it back up to flat year-to-date, a lofty perch, though down a smidgen from its all-time high in May 2015. But year-to-date, the IPO market is in the worst shape since 2009. Something has to give. “Either the IPO market is going to pick up, or the stock market is going to pull back, but it’s hard to envision both conditions peacefully coexisting,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank told the Wall Street Journal.

Peak Drama: Valeant's Ex-Goldman CFO Responds, Refuses To Resign From Board, Accuses Valeant Of Smear Campaign - (www.zerohedge.com) As we wrote first thing this morning, while the fate of Valeant CEO Pearson was largely known (he is now out) and that Ackman will go down with the Valeant ship was largely as expected, what was a complete shock in the company's press release was that the decision to throw its former CFO, Howard Schiller who formerly ran Goldman's healthcare group, under the bus and accuse him of cooking the company's books. Moments ago Schiller responded, with an even more surprising announcement, saying he did nothing wrong (as expected) and that since he did not engage in any "improper conduct" he refuses to resign from the Valeant Board, and has essentially accused Valeant of running a smear campaign against him. This means upcoming VRX board meetings which include both Ackman and the former Goldmanite, will be particularly unpleasant.

Italy's Renzi under pressure over influence peddling scandal - (www.reuters.com) Italy's main opposition parties said on Friday they would present a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government after his industry minister quit in a scandal over allegations of influence peddling. While Renzi should be able to ride out this latest of several political storms, it comes as Italy gears up for pivotal elections in June and the economy shows signs of flagging. Federica Guidi quit on Thursday, hours after phone-tapped conversations released by police appeared to show the minister assuring her partner the government would pass legislation that helped his energy business.

Global Banks Said to Demand Dollar Guarantees on Brazil Loans - (www.bloomberg.com)  Brazil’s biggest corporations, already reeling from a growing political crisis and the worst recession in a century, face a new threat: International banks have either stopped lending to them entirely or are demanding dollar-denominated collateral, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Not a single syndicated loan has been made to a Brazilian company this year, compared with $12 billion in 2015, and none of the nation’s banks or corporations have sold bonds without dollar guarantees since July, data compiled by Bloomberg show. More creditors decided to shun Brazil in the past 60 days after the nation lost its last investment-grade rating in February, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private financing negotiations.

OTHER STORIES:

Asia Stocks Sink With Oil as Dollar Extends Drop Before Payrolls - (www.bloomberg.com)
Market volatility pummels equity deals to lowest in seven years - (www.reuters.com)
World's Biggest Money Managers Can't Agree on Dollar's Direction - (www.bloomberg.com)

PBOC Hits Gas With One Foot, Brake With Other as Cities Diverge - (www.bloomberg.com)
Rajoy Struggles for Credibility as Spanish Deficit Misses Target - (www.bloomberg.com)
Indonesia Will Defend South China Sea Territory With F-16 Fighter Jets - (www.bloomberg.com)