KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Thursday March 11 Housing and Economic stories

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TOP STORIES:

A different kind of Olympic drama: Foreclosure - (sports.yahoo.com) The Whistler-Blackcombe resort, where the Alpine events such as snowboarding and ski-jumping are being held, could go into foreclosure this week, smack dab in the middle of the Olympics, and be owned in part by the now defunct Lehman Brothers, one of its creditors. Whistler Blackcombe is one of several ski resort properties owned by Intrawest. Others include Steamboat and Stratton. The company is in deep financial straits and missed a debt payment of more than $500 million in December. The lenders have given Intrawest a deadline of this Friday to come up with the money, or they say they will foreclose. Intrawest is owned by Fortress Investments, a well known, private equity firm and hedge fund, which bought Intrawest in a leveraged buyout in 2006 for $2.8 billion. The rationale for the investment was that condo sales slopeside would provide cash to pay back the $1.7 billion in debt they took on as a result of the deal. Then the real estate market collapsed. The CEO of Fortress, Dan Mudd, was on CNBC and acknowledged Intrawest is having a tough time with the real estate sales, but that the on-slope operations of the business – lift tickets, etc. – are doing better. He says they want to manage their way through the crisis and realize the full value of the investment. He said negotiations are ongoing right now with the creditors. Resort investments have been particularly hard hit in the economic downturn. On Tuesday, East West Resort Development, owner of various luxury ski resorts and a Jack Nicklaus golf course near Lake Tahoe, filed for bankruptcy.

Austin's suicide note cites corruption of government by business interests - (www.statesman.com) My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done. The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country. That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

LA's credit outlook downgraded to 'negative' - (www.latimes.com) Moody's Investors Service warns Los Angeles leaders that their delay in addressing a $212-million budget deficit -- projected to more than double by 2011 -- could lead to a lower credit rating. One of the nation's top financial credit services Wednesday issued a negative outlook for Los Angeles, which is struggling with a $212-million deficit. The move could lead to a lower credit rating for the city and ultimately increase its cost for borrowing money. Moody's Investors Service reduced its opinion of L.A.'s finances from "stable" to "negative" because city officials delayed addressing the budget shortfall -- expected to grow to $485 million in 2010-2011 -- and have proposed tapping reserves to balance the books. Moody's also expressed concerns about some City Council members' opposition to a plan to cut 1,000 city jobs before July. "It is, unfortunately, one of the plan's few immediate, tangible cost-saving elements, and delaying its implementation will, while preserving jobs, potentially weaken the city's long-term credit quality," the rating agency said in a statement. The city's top financial analyst, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, said the message being sent by Moody's is clear: "They are concerned about the state of affairs, and they clearly indicated they want action."

EU Exec Denies $27 Billion Aid Plan for Greece - (www.cnbc.com) The European Commission denied on Monday there was any European Union plan for 20-25 billion euros aid for Greece, and Germany's finance ministry said it had made no decision on aid for Athens. They were reacting to a report in German weekly Der Spiegel on Saturday that Germany's finance ministry had sketched out a plan in which countries using the euro currency would provide aid worth 20-25 billion euros ($27-$33.7 billion). "There is no such plan because Greece has not requested a single euro in financial aid," European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a news conference in Brussels In Berlin, a finance ministry spokesman told a news conference Germany had not made a decision on aid for Greece but expected the debt-ridden country to be able to refinance in April. Greece's central bank governor meanwhile said the country was prepared to take extra fiscal steps to make sure it meets its deficit-cutting targets though he said financial markets were over-reacting to the country's financial woes.

Illegal to evict tenants from foreclosed houses - (money.cnn.com) Renting a home that is going through foreclosure? If so, don't be fooled: Lenders can't kick you out; they have to honor the terms of your lease. Of course, that doesn't mean that some lenders' representatives aren't trying to scare people away. Sandra Pearson has lived in her rented townhouse in Santa Maria, Calif., since July 2007. But last October, the single mom -- whose 17-year-old son suffers from epilepsy and autism -- was served with a vacate notice. The owner of the home had lost it to foreclosure and the servicer, First Federal Bank, wanted Pearson out. She showed them her lease, which runs through June 2010, and proof of on-time payments and thought everything was cleared up. But in December, First Federal failed, and OneWest Bank took over its assets -- including the Santa Maria townhouse. When Pearson went to pay her rent, the agency managing the property for OneWest refused to accept the check. They threatened her with court action and claimed her lease was not legitimate. "They scare the wits out of you," Pearson said. OneWest eventually agreed to allow her to finish her lease; however, a bank spokeswoman said they still believe there were problems with the documents.

OTHER STORIES:

Ex-US Treasury Secretaries Back Volcker Rule - (money.cnn.com)

More US Generations Living Under Same Roof - (money.cnn.com)

Asking prices for Las Vegas houses fall 16 percent - (www.lvrj.com)

Lowe's Profit Beats Estimates; Sees Sales Rising - (money.cnn.com)

US Business Economists Boost 2010 Growth Outlook - (money.cnn.com)

CA's Central Valley cities among the worst for mortgage fraud - (www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com)

US bank lending falls at fastest rate in history - (www.telegraph.co.uk)

Money As Debt II: Promises Unleashed - (www.topdocumentaryfilms.com)

One Star's Still Out Of Alignment: Unemployment - (markettalk.newswires-americas.com)

Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs - (money.cnn.com)

Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose Last Week to 473,000 - (www.bloomberg.com)