Thursday April 13 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:            

Spain’s Most Italian Bank Still “Solvent,” Claims Finance Minister - (www.wolfstreet.com) The future continues to look bleak for Spain’s most Italian bank, Banco Popular, which ironically once bore the slogan “Our Past and Our Present Guarantee Our Future.” Things have gotten so bad that when the country’s Minister of Finance Luis de Guindos was asked by a reporter today about the bank’s state of health, he responded: “the bank is solvent.” Which is kind of like a doctor saying, “the patient is alive.” Not exactly reassuring. Popular just had its worst day of 2017 after seeing its penny stock tumble over 10%, from €0.90 to €0.82. This is a bank that was once ranked among the world’s most profitable by ratings company IBCA and which not so long ago boasted a share price of over €15. That was before its management decided to bet the farm on risky real estate investments at the height of an insane property bubble and then took too long to clean up afterward.

Payless Shoes Files For Bankruptcy  - (www.forbes.com) Payless plans to immediately close 400 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and will also "aggressively manage" the rest of its real estate portfolio. That will mean closing additional stores and seeking to modify existing lease terms. The retailer currently has 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries. Payless was founded in the 1950s as a no-frills destination for fashionable shoes at affordable prices. However, in recent years it has suffered from flat and declining sales and a staggering amount of debt, as shoppers shun malls and instead opt for online or other discount stores. In 2012, Payless was purchased by several private equity companies as part of a $2 billion buyout of its parent company.

Are Mexico’s Oil Reserves Almost Depleted? – (www.zerohedge.com) Mexico’s oil and gas regulator said last week that the country’s proved hydrocarbon reserves will drop by 10.6 percent in 2017. This forecast, coupled with the lower oil production that state company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported for yet another year in 2016, is painting a rather bleak picture of Mexico’s reserves. Without resumption in investments and more drilling, and if no significant finds occur, Mexico will be running out of reserves within 9 years, according to an official from the National Hydrocarbons Commission. However, the energy reform that ended Pemex’s monopoly and allowed foreign companies to invest in Mexico’s oil exploration and production is expected to start yielding results by the end of this decade. The deepwater bidding round last December attracted major international oil companies, and Mexico awarded blocks to consortia including Chevron, Exxon, Statoil, BP, Total, and China Offshore Oil Corporation.

Toronto Home Prices Just Jumped Another 33% - (www.bloomberg.com) Toronto’s housing market showed no signs of cooling last month, with the average sale price soaring the most in almost three decades as the cost of a detached downtown home climbed to nearly C$1.6 million ($1.2 million). Prices climbed by a third in every major housing category, including townhouses and condominiums, amid intense competition among buyers, according to figures from the Toronto Real Estate Board. More people opted to put their homes on the market in March as new listings rose 15 percent to 17,051, after a drop in February. Still, the gap between listings and sales underscores a tight market, with supply and demand out of sync, the trade group said in a statement.

Trump says planning 'haircut' for Dodd-Frank banking regulations - (www.reuters.com) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration is working on changes to Dodd-Frank banking regulations that will make it easier for banks to loan money. "We're going to be coming out with some very strong - far beyond recommendations - we're going to be doing things that are going to be very good for the banking industry so that the banks can loan money to people who need it," Trump told a meeting with a business leaders from the New York area at the White House. "We're going to do a very major haircut on Dodd-Frank. We want strong restrictions, we want strong regulation. But not regulation that makes it impossible for the banks to loan to people that are going to create jobs," Trump said.

OTHER STORIES:

Australian Regulators May Increase Lending Curbs Amid Home Boom - (www.bloomberg.com)
ETFs Are the New Bond Kings - (www.bloomberg.com)

U.S. Companies Expected to Post Strongest Quarter Since 2011 - (www.wsj.com)
The five markets charts that matter for investors - (www.ft.com)
Trump and Xi: Two Imposing Leaders With Clashing Agendas - (www.nytimes.com)