Tuesday April 25 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:            

What, Bid-Rigging at Foreclosure-Crisis Auctions? - (www.wolfstreet.com) The Foreclosure Crisis, spawned by the Financial Crisis and the Housing Bust, became a veritable money machine for some folks. And it just keeps on giving. This one is still happening in the Bay Area of California where home prices have shot through the roof since the Foreclosure Crisis. The folks who could buy homes cheaply at auction during the Foreclosure Crisis have made a killing. And buying them cheaply was apparently very important for some folks… Yesterday, after a week-long trial, a federal jury in Oakland, California, convicted real estate investor Glenn Guillory for “his role in a conspiracy to rig bids at public foreclosure auctions held in Contra Costa County,” according to the California Department of Justice.

Tesla Tumbles After Recalling Over 50,000 Vehicles; Faces "Demonstrably Dangerous" Autopilot Lawsuit - (www.zerohedge.com) Tesla just issued a voluntary recall for approximately 53,000 examples of the Model S hatchback and the Model crossover vehicles, sending the stock back down to $300... And additionally, Tesla owners filed a class-action lawsuit against the automaker for allegedly mischaracterizing the capabilities of its Autopilot 2 feature to consumers. As CNET reports, the problem lies with the electric parking brakes that help secure the vehicles when placed in Park. The parking brakes contain a small gear that might fracture, which would prevent the parking brake from releasing. Thus, a car that enters Park may not be able to move again. This has no bearing on the vehicles' regular brakes, and Tesla has received no reports of the parking brake system failing to hold a car in place. Tesla estimates that about 2 percent of the vehicles recalled contain the improperly manufactured gear. It should be noted that the parking brake assembly is from a third-party supplier, as well.

Oil suffers suffer largest one-day loss in six weeks - (www.marketwatch.com) Oil prices suffered their largest one-day loss in six weeks as a steep drop ahead Wednesday’s settlement pushed prices to their lowest finish in 2½ weeks. An unexpected weekly climb in U.S. gasoline supplies—the first in about two months—had fueled earlier losses, which worsened amid volatile trading tied to Thursday’s expiration of the May West Texas Intermediate crude contract. WTI prices dropped below $51 after the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. There was “generally nothing in the Beige Book that would stop the Fed from raising rates in June, so the dollar rallied and added to oil’s expiration lows,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group.

Ocwen Crashes Over 50% After N.C. Bank Commissioner Issues Cease And Desist Letter - (www.zerohedge.com) Former hedge fund hotel-darling and mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial plunged over 50% after the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks and state mortgage regulators from over 20 states issued a Cease and Desist order to subsidiaries of Ocwen to address mishandling of consumer escrow accounts and a deficient financial condition. Specifically, the order prohibits the acquisition of new mortgage servicing rights and the origination of mortgage loans by Ocwen Loan Servicing.

The summary findings from the C&D (link): The Commissioner of Banks (“Commissioner”) having determined that Ocwen Financial Corporation has engaged in, or is engaging in, or is about to engage in, acts or practices constituting violations of state and federal law and applicable regulations, hereby issues the following FINDINGS OF FACT and ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST.

Markets Start to Ponder the $13 Trillion Gorilla in the Room - (www.bloomberg.com) After heading into the uncharted territory of quantitative easing, the world’s central banks are starting to plan their course through the uncharted waters of quantitative tightening. How the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and -- eventually -- the Bank of Japan handle the transition could make the difference between a global rerun of the 2013 "taper tantrum," or the near undetectable market response to China’s run-down of U.S. Treasuries in recent years. Combined, the balance sheets of the three now total about $13 trillion, equating to greater than either China’s or the euro region’s economy. Former Fed Chair Ben S. Bernanke -- who triggered the 2013 sell-off in risk assets with his quip on tapering asset purchases -- has argued for a pre-set strategy to shrink the balance sheet. 

OTHER STORIES:

Stocks Slide as Oil Tumbles, Dollar Strengthens: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
ETFs Create Stock Markets That Are Both Mindless and Too Expensive, Study Says - (www.bloomberg.com)

Minsheng Bank says branch chief suspected of illegal conduct - (www.reuters.com)
IMF says debt binge leaves US corporate assets exposed - (www.ft.com)

Fed June Hike Odds Below 50% After Inflation Expectations Tumble - (www.bloomberg.com)
Ryan's Best Hope to Avoid a Shutdown: Making Friends With Pelosi - (www.bloomberg.com)