Monday April 24 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:            

Meltdown of Houston Auto Sales Has Eerie Financial Crisis Look - (www.wolfstreet.com) New car and truck sales by franchised dealers in the Houston area plunged 22.6% in March from a year ago, to 20,934 new vehicles, with sales of cars down 30.7% and sales of trucks and SUVs down 17.7%. This is the type of plunge Houston went through during the Financial Crisis. By comparison, in the US overall, new vehicle sales declined 1.6% in March, despite record incentives that desperate automakers threw at the market. There are no green shoots. The first quarter, with 69,936 new vehicles sold, was the worst quarter since Q1 2011, according to TexAuto Facts, published by InfoNation, and cited today by Greater Houston Partnership. It was the 15th month in a row of year-over-year declines.

State pension funds are getting whacked by billions in hidden fees…and you could be on the hook - (www.cnbc.com) When it comes to investment advice, you don't always get what you pay for. And when it comes to state pensions, it's not even clear how much those funds' advisors are getting paid. That's the takeaway from a recent analysis of more than 70 large pension funds in all 50 states for fiscal 2014 by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Unreported investment fees in 2014 were estimated at more than $4 billion, mostly payments to private equity managers, in addition to the $10 billion in reported investment expenses that year, the report shows.

Martin Shkreli Harvard Talk Interrupted by Fire Alarm and Protesters ...  - (www.forbes.com)  Martin Shkreli's speech at Harvard University didn't exactly go off without a hitch. The notorious hedge fund manager-turned price hiking biotech executive was met with protests and general name-calling during the event, which was hosted by the Harvard Financial Analysts Club on Wednesday evening. In fact, the talk started late because somebody pulled the fire alarm and police had to evacuate the building where it was taking place, according to CNBC. For his part, Shkreli discussed his experience in managing hedge funds and health care specifically. He is currently under indictment for alleged securities fraud and out on $5 million bail. That trial is set to start this summer. But Shkreli's hit back hard recently. He launched a website tracking pharma company "skeletons" on drug price hikes in an effort to show that many drug makers share his methodology without eliciting the same kind of outrage. He even credited the latest drug price hike villain, Marathon Pharmaceuticals, with "teaching" him how to take advantage of existing regulations to increase prices.

44% Of Americans Won't Pay Any Federal Income Tax – (www.zerohedge.com) Yesterday, April 18th, was the deadline for filing your taxes... Many Americans discovered they don’t owe the government a dime. More than four in 10 American households (44.3%) — or upwards of 76 million — didn’t pay any income tax to the federal government last year, according to data for 2016 from the Tax Policy Center. This year that number is expected to be roughly the same, at 43.9%. Most of these people aren’t paying income taxes because they either don’t have any income that is taxable (many fall below the poverty line), or because they get enough tax breaks and don’t owe the government money. Common tax breaks include the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit (EITC), and the exclusion of some or all Social Security income, explains Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center.

Canada Puts Housing Speculators on Notice as Toronto Prices Soar - (www.bloomberg.com) Canadian officials across all three levels of government vowed to be vigilant in monitoring the Toronto region’s rapidly accelerating housing market, including possibly taking formal steps aimed at curbing speculative activity. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Toronto Mayor John Tory met Tuesday to discuss the thorny question of how to cool the city’s residential real estate market, though they stopped short of providing details on specific measures. Possible steps include taxing homes left empty for speculative purposes, Tory said. “We are looking at a vacant home tax and whether that could ensure real estate in Toronto is first and foremost as it should be, a place to live, and as an investment second,” the mayor said said at a joint press conference with Morneau and Sousa. “I hope today’s meeting sends a message that we are concerned, we are preparing for intervention if needed and we’re committed to keeping Toronto as affordable as possible.”

OTHER STORIES:

Japan 10-Year Yield Hits Zero for First Time in Five Months - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Stocks Fall as Goldman Earnings Disappoint: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasuries Rise; Yields Fall to Lowest Levels of 2017 - (www.bloomberg.com)

Industrial Metals Are Diving - (www.bloomberg.com) - (www.bloomberg.com)
Pound Surges to 4-Month High After Snap Call for U.K. Election - (www.bloomberg.com)
Follow $17 Trillion of Fund Money to See Cracks in Trump Trade - (www.bloomberg.com)