Thursday January 12 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Hundreds of Colleges Saddling Students With Unaffordable Debt, Feds Say – (www.bloomberg.com) About one in four career-training programs at U.S. colleges is at risk of losing federal funding, the lifeblood for most schools, the Department of Education said on Monday. In a news statement, the department disclosed for the first time the number of recent graduates saddled with potentially unmanageable debt. The figures are part of the package of rules known as the gainful employment regulations, which attempt to measure whether graduates of career-training programs end up earning enough to afford their student debt. The Obama administration defined affordability as annual loan payments of no more than 20 percent of discretionary income, or 8 percent of total earnings.

Credit card, auto loan delinquencies rise - (www.cnbc.com) With increased job opportunities and fatter paychecks, Americans may be better off then they have been in years, yet they are doing worse when it comes to paying off their loans every month. Delinquencies rose in last year's third quarter, according to the American Bankers Association. The ABA's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin tracks 11 loan categories, including home equity lines of credit, auto loans and credit cards. The report defines a delinquency as a payment that's 30 days or more overdue. “There have been a lot of new jobs created, wages have increased, and that has improved the financial position of consumers," said James Chessen, ABA's chief economist. Still, "it's important for consumers to remain cautious and maintain their discipline in keeping debt at levels they can comfortably manage."

What 1 Million US Jobs? Dreading a Trade War, China Sends Alibaba’s Jack Ma to Trump for some Fence Mending - (www.wolfstreet.com) Carrot and Stick. That’s how China is approaching a pending trade war and all kinds of disagreements proffered by President-Elect Donald Trump. Here’s the carrot, as tweeted by CNBC: NEW: Alibaba’s Jack Ma is meeting with Trump today about Alibaba’s latest US expansion plans, including creating 1M US jobs over next 5 yrs. A limp carrot? Jack Ma isn’t going to “create” jobs in the US; he will merely allow small US companies to get on Alibaba’s platform and sell directly to Chinese consumers, in competition with Chinese vendors and knock-offs that find their way on the site, which might, should, or could add maybe 1 million jobs in the US over the next five years.

Paul Krugman Flip-Flops...Again – (www.zerohedge.com) In other words, 5 months after telling the world "it's time to borrow," ... ..investing more in infrastructure would clearly make us richer. Meanwhile, the federal government can borrow at incredibly low interest rates: 10-year, inflation-protected bonds yielded just 0.09 percent on Friday.  Put these two facts together — big needs for public investment, and very low interest rates — and it suggests not just that we should be borrowing to invest, but that this investment might well pay for itself even in purely fiscal terms. How so? Spending more now would mean a bigger economy later, which would mean more tax revenue. This additional revenue would probably be larger than any rise in future interest payments. Suddenly the esteemed 'economist' says - after Trump's election - 'this time is different'...

Report: Elizabeth Warren Did Not Disclose $1.3 Million Credit Line From Bank Of America - (www.dailycaller.com) Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the populist Democrat and foe of big banks, has not listed a $1.3 million credit line against her home with Bank of America on annual financial disclosure documents because of a loophole in federal law, according to a new report. The Boston Herald reported Wednesday that Warren, who is required to disclose financial assets and liabilities, avoided listing it in 2014 because it’s a line of credit — not a mortgage — and the Democrat doesn’t actually owe enough money yet. Here’s how the Democrat’s office explained the situation to the Boston Herald: “An aide for Warren said the amount represents a home equity line of credit, not a mortgage. According to the aide, a line of credit does not trigger reporting requirements if the borrower has not borrowed on it, or if the amount owed is less than $10,000. Warren’s account had a zero balance, the aide said.”

OTHER STORIES:

Asian Shares Track U.S. Retreat While Bonds Climb: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasuries Climb With Gold While U.S. Stocks Drop: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
Oil down four percent on concerns over rising Iraqi exports, U.S. output - (www.reuters.com)

Investment-Grade Bonds Blast Into 2017 Despite Long-Term Fears - (www.bloomberg.com)
With recovery 'largely done,' Lockhart says Fed should step aside

Markets looking for more clues on Trumponomics - (www.cnbc.com)
China’s latest moves to manage the yuan add fuel to Trump’s threats - (www.cnbc.com)
Morgan Stanley Says Investors Are Thinking About U.S. Corporate Credit All Wrong - (www.bloomberg.com)