Saturday November 29 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

The following is a list of store closings after Christmas 2008 - Probably best to avoid gift certificates for any of these stores:
- Circuit City - already closed some stores (filed Chapter 11)
- Ann Taylor- closing 117 stores nationwide
- Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's - closing 150 stores nationwide
- Eddie Bauer - closing 27 stores, more after January
- Cache - closing all stores
- Talbots - closing all specialty stores
- J. Jill - closing all stores (owned by Talbots)
- Pacific Sunwear - closing all stores (also owned by Talbots)
- GAP - closing 85 stores Footlocker - closing 140 stores, more after January
- Wickes Furniture - closing all stores
- Levitz - closing all remaining stores
- Bombay - closing all remaining stores
- Zales - closing 82 stores, 105 more after January
- Whitehall - closing all stores
- Piercing Pagoda - closing all stores
- Disney - closing 98 stores, more after January.
- Home Depot - closing 15 stores (1 in New Brunswick, NJ )
- Macys - closing 9 stores after January
- Linens and Things - closing all stores
- Movie Galley - closing all stores
- Pep Boys - closing 33 stores
- Sprint/Nextel - closing 133 stores
- JC Penney closing undetermined number of stores after January
- Ethan Allen - closing 12 stores.
- Wilson Leather - closing all stores
- Sharper Image - closing all stores
- K B Toys - closing 356 stores
- Loews - closing some stores
- Dillard's - closing some stores

Where Was Geithner in Turmoil? - (www.nypost.com) Yes, good question. As usual, the guy who was supposed to be watching the crooks in NYC is the punk getting rewarded. But Mr. Geithner’s involvement in several ultimately ill-fated efforts to buttress the American financial system is the very reason some Wall Street C.E.O.’s — a number of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of piquing the man who regulates them — question whether he’s up to the challenge. “We have only two things to say about Tim Geithner, who we do not know: A.I.G. and Lehman Brothers,” said Christopher Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics. “Throw in the Bear Stearns/Maiden Lane fiasco for good measure,” he said. “All of these ‘rescues’ are a disaster for the taxpayer, for the financial markets and also for the Federal Reserve System as an organization. Geithner, in our view, deserves retirement, not promotion.” Ouch. “He was in the room at every turn of the crisis,” said another executive who participated in several such confidential meetings with Mr. Geithner. “You can look at that both ways.”

Britain to lift top income tax rate to 45 percent, cut sales tax temporarily to boost growth - (www.chicagotribune.com) The British government cut the basic sales tax Monday to help boost consumer spending as the economy slides into recession, and proposed a higher rate of income tax for the biggest earners if it is re-elected. In his pre-budget report to legislators, Treasury chief Alistair Darling said the Value Added Tax (VAT) will be reduced to 15 percent — the lowest level allowed under European Union laws — from the current 17.5 percent until the end of 2009 in an attempt to kick-start the economy ahead of the crucial Christmas trading period. The cut will be effective on Monday.

Perot’s Parkcentral Fund Closes as Credit Freezes - (www.bloomberg.com) Parkcentral Capital Management LP, an investment firm that manages money for the family of former U.S. presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, is liquidating a fixed-income hedge fund because it’s “no longer viable.” Parkcentral Global Hub Ltd.’s assets fell as much as 40 percent to $1.5 billion this year through October. The fund is selling remaining holdings to pay creditors, Eddie Reeves, a spokesman for the Plano, Texas-based firm, said in an e-mailed statement today. Perot, 78, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. president in 1992, and members of his family are the fund’s biggest investors. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September triggered a selloff in corporate bonds as investors fled any holding with a hint of risk. Fixed-income hedge funds lost 17 percent this year through October, according to data compiled by Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. “The worst isn’t over,” said Michael Dubin, New York- based president at The LongChamp Group Inc., which invests in hedge funds. “Credit just isn’t flowing. I wouldn’t be too surprised if we see further funds go bust.”

IMF Loans Total $41.8 Billion in November, ‘Busiest’ Month Ever - (www.bloomberg.com) The International Monetary Fund this month lent more money to cash-strapped governments than it has in the past five years combined. The IMF agreed this month to $41.8 billion in loans, approving $16.4 billion for Ukraine, $15.7 billion for Hungary, $2.1 billion for Iceland and $7.6 billion for Pakistan. Financing is in the works for Serbia, Turkey, Belarus and Latvia, turning eastern Europe into a regional ward of the IMF the way Southeast Asia was a decade ago.

Goldman, Morgan Stanley Lead Banks Selling FDIC-Guaranteed Debt - (www.bloomberg.com) Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to sell $5 billion of notes backed by the government, while Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are preparing offerings, as banks take advantage of a new U.S. program to guarantee debt. The three New York-based banks are the first to start offerings since the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last week completed rules to strengthen its guarantee. The backing gives the banks the ability to sell AAA rated debt, attracting investors after being unable to sell bonds since September.

Mortgage approvals halved since 2007 - (www.ft.com) Mortgage approvals fell by more than half from a year earlier in October, according to data from the British Bankers' Association, which underlined the extreme pressure on the housing market. Compared with the month of September, the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases fell slightly from 23,383 to 21,584 in October. The number of approvals for other purposes was similar to September. Consumer credit was subdued, rising by just £0.3bn, and personal deposits were flat.

Universities retrench as endowments suffer from financial crisis - (www.iht.com) Some universities in the United States are trying to sell chunks of their portfolios privately as their endowments swoon with the markets. Among institutional investors, school endowments aggressively embraced private equity, real estate partnerships, venture capital, commodities, hedge funds and other so-called alternative investments during the past few years. Endowments with more than $1 billion in assets reported 35 percent of their holdings in these types of investments last year, a much greater portion than big public pension funds, for example. Now they are balking. The value of some of these investments has fallen, and they are not easily shed because there is no public market, as there is for stocks. Worse, private equity and venture capital funds often require investors to put up additional capital over time. Cash may now be in short supply at schools facing budget pressures and investment losses. The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, which has a $4.2 billion endowment, posted a letter on its Web site saying that it might explore the sale of some of its private equity holdings and will sell some other assets.




OTHER STORIES:

Rogers Says Dollar to Be `Devalued,' Buys Commodities - (www.bloomberg.com)
Emerging-Market Debt Trading Tumbles to Lowest in 5 1/2 Years - (www.bloomberg.com)
BHP Abandons $66 Billion Rio Tinto Bid as Commodities Collapse - (www.bloomberg.com)
More companies cut back on their dividends - (www.usatoday.com)
UK to suffer 'severe' recession - (news.bbc.co.uk)
King Says British Banks May Still Need More Capital - (www.bloomberg.com)
Brazilian Farm Credit Dries Up, Forces Growers to Reduce Crops - (www.bloomberg.com)
China Needs to ‘Rebalance’ Economy, World Bank Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed to Buy $600 Billion of GSE Debt, Set Up ABS Loan Program - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Unveils New Programs to Ease Credit - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Economy Shrank 0.5% in 3rd Qtr, Most Since ’01 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Citigroup Bailout Charts New Course for U.S. Government Rescues - (www.bloomberg.com)
Outlook Grows More Dire for Housing Market - (www.nytimes.com)
U.S. Economy: Home-Price Drop Accelerates, GDP Falls - (www.bloomberg.com)
Treasury, Fed Said to Unveil Plan to Bolster Consumer Financing - (www.bloomberg.com)

It's cash for maxed-out customers - (www.chicagotribune.com)
Citi's Relentless Quest for Growth - (www.washingtonpost.com)
For Retailers, 'Tis the Season To Be Nervous - (www.time.com)
Saving Citi May Create More Fear - (www.nytimes.com)
Buffett to offer details on derivatives - (www.iht.com)
Freddie Mac Increases Home Loan Support - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Citigroup's Uneasy Victory - (www.businessweek.com)
Steelmaker warns up to 2,444 layoffs at Ind. plant - (www.chicagotribune.com)
A Rough Ride in Collectible Cars - (online.wsj.com)
Another Crisis, Another Guarantee - (www.nytimes.com)