Wednesday February 15 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:            

Greek bonds sell off sharply as EU-IMF rift deepens - (www.ft.com) Greek debt sold off sharply on Thursday amid fears the country’s bailout lenders will not be able to bridge their differences in time to lend Athens the €7bn it needs to avoid bankruptcy. Yields on a two-year Greek bond due in 2019 nearly hit 10 per cent, their highest levels in eight months and a one-day jump of 100 basis points, in the clearest sign to date investors are beginning to price in the chances the two sides will not quickly reach an agreement. The move put the bond on course for its biggest weekly sell-off in a year.

Greece says bailout deal close, but will not accept 'illogical' demands - (www.reuters.com) Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday he believed the country's drawn-out bailout review would be completed positively but repeated that Athens would not accept "illogical" demands by its lenders. He warned all sides to "be more careful towards a country that has been pillaged and people who have made, and are continuing to make, so many sacrifices in the name of Europe". Greece and its international lenders made clear progress on Friday towards bridging differences over its fiscal path in coming years, moving closer to a deal that would secure new loan disbursements and save the country from default.

Market questions: will the respite for French bonds last? - (www.ft.com) After a burst of selling early last week, French debt was granted a reprieve with the 10-year benchmark yield easing back below 1.10 per cent. In turn, the divergence over 10-year Bund yields also pulled back from a four-year plus high. Traders remain nervous after they failed to predict the two biggest political shocks of 2016, the UK's Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump. In France, polls suggest the National Front leader Marine Le Pen will come second in the election in May, but investors have been pricing in the increased risk of an FN victory. The term redenomination risk has flared anew, with bond investors looking at the fine print of deals and whether euro-denominated sovereign debt could switch back into former national currencies.

Why a NYMEX Veteran is Getting Nervous about Oil - (www.wolfstreet.com) And what happens when the traders in the “crowded trade” are all looking for an exit, and suddenly the entire psychology changes? Oil markets may have reached that point, according to Dan Dicker, a 25-year veteran of the New York Mercantile Exchange where he traded crude oil, natural gas, unleaded gasoline, and heating oil futures contracts. In Oil & Energy Insider, he writes: When I was standing shoulder to shoulder with all those other oil day traders on the floor of the NYMEX, once in a while I’d get a very funny feeling. All of a sudden, I’d realize that the position I’d built up for myself was largely shared by just about everyone around the ring – and I also sensed that every other trader had had the exact same realization.

America’s Biggest Creditors Dump Treasuries in Warning to Trump - (www.bloomberg.com) In the age of Trump, America’s biggest foreign creditors are suddenly having second thoughts about financing the U.S. government. In Japan, the largest holder of Treasuries, investors culled their stakes in December by the most in almost four years, the Ministry of Finance’s most recent figures show. What’s striking is the selling has persisted at a time when going abroad has rarely been so attractive. And it’s not just the Japanese. Across the world, foreigners are pulling back from U.S. debt like never before.

OTHER STORIES:

Tsipras hits back at IMF, Germany over debt impasse - (www.yahoo.com)
'Significant uncertainty' about fiscal policy under Trump: Fed's Fischer - (www.reuters.com)
Fischer Says Fed Focused on Goals Amid Trump Policy Uncertainty - (www.bloomberg.com)
Review: Defending America against the Fed - (www.reuters.com)

A Tax Overhaul Would Be Great in Theory. Here’s Why It’s So Hard in Practice. - (www.nytimes.com)
Vanguard Reaches $4 Trillion for First Time - (www.wsj.com)
China gets an early win off Trump, but many battles remain - (www.reuters.com)