GM
Extends Plant Shutdowns As Toxic Trifecta For Auto Loans Fuels Carmageddon – (www.zerohedge.com) Here
we go again... In yet another unsurprising headline, The Wall Street Journal reports that GM will extend the typical summer
shutdown at certain U.S. factories to deal with slumping sales and bloated
inventory, a sign the industry’s hot streak is grinding to a halt. The No. 1
U.S. auto maker in terms of sales will idle its Chevrolet Malibu factory near
Kansas City for five weeks starting in late June, Vicky Hale, president of
the United Auto Workers Local 31, said. Job cuts will be needed if GM is forced
to slow assembly-line speeds when those workers return. Additional downtime is
also slated in Lordstown, Ohio, a small-car factory already stung by deep
layoffs related to a pullback in demand for passenger cars. A GM spokesman
declined to comment on specific plans. GM enters the summer with a glut of
unsold inventory after running production lines at relatively high rates to
prepare for factory downtime related to plant upgrades. WardsAuto.com
estimates GM’s production increased 2.9% over the first four months of 2017,
even as the broader industry pulled back.
Used
Vehicle Trade-in Values Sink, Hit New Vehicle Sales - (www.wolfstreet.com) More
#Carmageddon data – and its impact. This is just relentless: Wholesale prices
of used vehicles up to eight years old going through auctions across the US
dropped another 1.5% in April from the prior month. It pushed the seasonally
adjusted Used Vehicle Price Index by J.D. Power Valuation Services (formerly known as NADA Used Car Guide)
down to 109.9. The 10th month in a row of declines. The index is down 7.1%
year-over-year and down over 13% from its peak in mid-2014. It’s at the lowest
level since September 2010, when prices were still spiking from the
cash-for-clunkers program which had eliminated a whole generation of often
perfectly good cars. In that sense, values are just now beginning to normalize
(chart by J.D. Power Valuation Services):
Low
income families forced to walk 'relentless financial tightrope' (UK) - (www.theguardian.com) Low-income
families are going without beds, cookers, meals, new clothes and other
essential items as they struggle to cope with huge debts run up to pay domestic
bills, according to a survey highlighting the cost-of-living crisis experienced
by the UK's poorest households. ... The pressure of coping with low income and
debt frequently triggered mental illness or exacerbated existing conditions,
with more than a third of clients reporting that they had considered suicide
and three-quarters visiting a GP for debt-related problems. More than half were
subsequently prescribed medication or therapy. ... Experts said the survey
highlighted the extreme hardship faced by the "new destitute" --
people on low incomes who might in the past have been able to rely on a welfare
safety net to help them through financial shocks but who now were forced to go
into debt to survive, leaving them struggling to afford even the basics.
Greeks
Promised Economic Boost Despair of Seeing Debt Deal - (www.bloomberg.com) Across
the country in places like Corinth, an industrial hub about 80 kilometers west
of Athens, Greeks have spent years treading water as news bulletins bombard
them daily with reports of meetings and decisions in Brussels and Frankfurt
that will determine their economic future. In the meantime, as the ECB's
stimulus measures -- including its asset-purchase program -- buoy the rest of
the euro-area economy, Greece's output has been stagnant, leaving its people
the most pessimistic in the region. Yet the ECB remains unlikely to include
Greek bonds in its QE program in the foreseeable future, according to a person
familiar with the matter. That's because a meeting on Thursday of euro-area
finance ministers, whose electorates are leery of debt relief, looks like
delivering another fudge. There may be agreement to disburse more bailout loans
but without easing repayment terms enough to satisfy the ECB and International
Monetary Fund.
Qatar
Banks to Boost Deposit Rates to Attract Dollars - (www.bloomberg.com) Some
Qatari banks are boosting interest rates on dollar deposits to shore up
liquidity as a Saudi-led campaign to isolate the gas-rich Arab state
intensifies, people familiar with the matter said. The lenders are offering a
premium of as much as 100 basis points over the London interbank offered rate
to attract dollars from regional banks, two of the people said, asking not to
be named because the matter is sensitive. That compares with rates of 20 basis
points over Libor before the feud started on June 5. Some of the banks are
dealing with regional lenders directly instead of using brokers, which allows
them to determine interest rates depending on the amount being deposited, two
of the people said. Qatar, one of the world’s richest countries and
biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, is seeking to boost dollar supplies
after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut economic and
diplomatic ties with the country last week, in an unprecedented move designed
to punish it for ties with Iran and Islamist groups in the region. Some banks
in neighboring countries are cutting their exposure to Qatar amid concerns of a
widening of the blockade, people familiar with the matter said on June 7.
U.S.
Stocks Rebound, Dollar Weakens as Fed Looms: Markets Wrap - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Treasury unveils financial reforms, critics attack - (www.reuters.com)
Fed set to raise interest rates, give more detail on balance sheet winddown - (www.reuters.com)
U.S. Treasury unveils financial reforms, critics attack - (www.reuters.com)
Fed set to raise interest rates, give more detail on balance sheet winddown - (www.reuters.com)
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