Friday January 13 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Boeing: Three More Waves of Layoffs in 2017, as Orders Collapse to 7-Year Low. Shares Near All-Time High - (www.wolfstreet.com) “As we enter 2017, our plan calls for us to reduce our Engineering staff. I realize some of this news is unpleasant. But I wanted to respect your right to know what is occurring this year.” But that’s what happened on Tuesday at Boeing. Hammered by slowing aircraft sales and a declining order book, Boeing warned on Tuesday in an internal memo that it would conduct involuntary and voluntary layoffs of engineers in Washington state, southern California, and South Carolina, according to The Seattle Times. The memo did not mention the size of the staff cuts.

S&P Downgrades City Of Dallas On "Continued Deterioration" Of Police Pension - (www.zerohedge.com)  “S&P’s actions today are not a surprise," Dallas Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Reich said in a statement. "The more the rating agencies learn about the crisis facing Dallas as a result of the police and fire pension, the more they understand what the City has been saying for some time – the pension is a significant risk to the fiscal health of the City." As we noted last week, this most recent downgrade for Dallas comes after the City Council floated a proposal to inject $1 billion of incremental taxpayer funding into the DPFP, over the course of 30 years, if retirees would agree to a $1 billion "clawback" of what city officials referred to a ill-gotten interest guarantees (see "City Of Dallas Looks To "Clawback" Ill-Gotten Pension Gains From Police").

Mexico's peso hits record low on Trump talk of wall, auto tax - (www.reuters.com) The Mexican peso MXN= weakened to a historic low of 22.04 per dollar and the country's stock index fell on Wednesday, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned U.S. auto companies would face a high tax for products made south of the border. Speaking at a news conference in New York, Trump also reiterated that the United States would start building a southern border wall after he took office next week. He said Mexico would reimburse the cost either through a tax or a payment. The Mexican currency regained some ground after passing the psychological 22 peso barrier to trade at 21.77 per dollar at 13:09 a.m. eastern (1709 GMT).

Suddenly, Home Sale Agreements Are Falling Apart Across the U.S. - (www.bloomberg.com) Spending months to find the perfect home in your price range, only to have your mortgage application rejected, or a home inspection turn up expensive repairs, is a nightmare—one that is coming true with increasing frequency, according to a new report from real estate listings website Trulia. A Trulia analysis of U.S. listings shows that 3.9 percent of homes that moved from for-sale to pending moved back to for-sale again, nearly double the rate in 2015. Such “failed sales” increased in 96 of the 100 biggest U.S. metros, with big swings in areas large and small, rich and poor. That includes Los Angeles and Charleston, S.C., as well as San Jose and Akron, Ohio.

China's S$5.5 trillion wealth products reel as bond binge unwinds - (www.bloomberg.com) China's bond market is facing more turbulence as banks scramble to avoid losses on wealth management products that raised US$3.8 trillion (S$5.46 trillion) from the nation's savers. The investment plans typically use leverage to boost returns on the 56 per cent of their holdings parked in fixed-income securities. That model is under threat after Chinese corporate notes plunged the most in nine years in the fourth quarter. Banks may have to use their own money to repay holders of maturing WMPs because it will be hard to sell bond holdings during an extended rout or to raise cash by issuing new products, Citigroup wrote in a Dec 21 note.

  

OTHER STORIES:

Asia Stocks Tip Mixed Open, Dollar Drops on Trump: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Stocks Rise With Crude as Dollar Rally Fades: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
Drug Stocks Plunge as Trump Threatens to Force Price Bidding - (www.bloomberg.com)

Brazil Slashes Key Rate in Bid to Revive Flatlining Economy - (www.bloomberg.com)
China’s Great Ball of Money Has More Bubbles in Sight for 2017 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Long-Short Hedge Funds Are Ditching the Shorts to Focus on Longs - (www.bloomberg.com)
The Three Worst Currencies of 2017 Show That Politics, Not Economics, Are Driving Markets - (www.bloomberg.com)

‘Fang’ stocks add $83bn to their market value over 7 days - (www.ft.com)
Trump nominee says China should be denied access to South China sea islands - (www.reuters.com)