KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Tuesday June 29 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

Panic then silence over suspicious Chinese drywall - (www.miamiherald.com) Letters and e-mails show that builders, suppliers, contractors and others raised red flags about drywall imported from China nearly four years ago, but none of them disclosed their concerns to the public. At least two builders were ``panicking'' in late 2006 over the smell coming from drywall they had acquired from Miami-based Banner Supply, according to e-mails and letters, and the builders had isolated the problem to wallboard made by a Chinese manufacturer. Despite concerns -- one builder said it could not sell some of its homes because the smell was so potent -- none went public with their problems. It wasn't until at least two years later that homeowners began reporting the effects of hydrogen sulfide emissions from the drywall eating away at their properties, and some believe, their health. The letters and e-mails are part of court files in local and federal lawsuits against many companies in the drywall production and supply chain. The documents offer a glimpse of what some call a concerted effort to deceive consumers. ``What I can say for the consumers: They were duped,'' Miami attorney Ervin Gonzalez said.

Car dealer gets 12 years for mortgage fraud; used voodoo dolls targeting investigators - (www.latimes.com) Downey car dealer gets 12 years in house-buying fraud scheme. Ruben Hernandez allegedly used voodoo-like dolls targeting the prosecutor and investigators in the case. A Downey used-car dealer who allegedly used voodoo-like dolls targeting the prosecutor and investigators was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for a multimillion-dollar house-buying fraud scheme. Ruben Hernandez was accused in 2008 in a series of house purchases using fake Social Security numbers and fake bank statements that defrauded banks of about $4 million. The U.S. Marshals Service took Hernandez into custody in February 2009 after he became involved in a high-speed chase. A search of his Pasadena home uncovered some unexpected items, authorities said. "Investigators went into one of the bedrooms, and it was a shrine with a cross and all kinds of skeletons and stuff," said Eugene Hanrahan, an L.A. County deputy district attorney.

Mortgage, credit card, student loan, auto loan debt also $13 trillion! - (www.mybudget360.com) Every man, woman, and child would owe an average of $43,000 if we divided up mortgage, credit card, student, and auto debt in the United States. Of course, this is based on the current population of 309 million. But we know this isn’t exactly accurate since an infant really didn’t charge up a credit card or take out a HELOC. We should break this down to each individual household. If we average this figure out over all U.S. households the amount comes out to over $120,000 per household. When 1 out of 3 Americans have no savings, how do you think many will be able to pay off their debt? For decades, the model has revolved around servicing debt and not necessarily paying the initial balance off. But many American families are feeling the deep psychological strain of an economy largely built on debt.

Greece to Sell Assets to Help Pay Down Deficit - (www.nytimes.com) Greece announced Wednesday its plans for a big sale of state-owned assets, as the struggling government moved to shrink its huge budget deficit and fulfill the terms of an international rescue package. The government will sell 49 percent of the state railroad, list ports and airports on the stock market, and privatize the country’s casinos, the Finance Ministry said after a cabinet meeting in Athens. The government will also sell minority stakes in water utilities serving Athens and Thessaloniki, sell 39 percent of the post office, and combine its vast real estate assets into a holding company to be listed on the stock market. The sales are intended to help raise 3 billion euros, or about $3.7 billion, from 2011 to 2013. The government agreed to raise a billion euros a year over that time as a condition of the 110 billion euro aid program it received from the European Union. Greece has been under pressure to get its finances in order since the Socialist government announced last autumn that its center-right predecessor had greatly understated the size of the deficit, which is now running at about 13.6 percent of gross domestic product.

Builder: Buyer-bait tax credit disappointing - (www.washingtonpost.com) The CEO of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said Thursday a final push by homebuyers in April to qualify for a government tax credit didn't give the homebuilder's sales as big a boost as he'd hoped. The company's new home contracts tumbled 17 percent in the February-April quarter versus a year ago. Excluding communities that are no longer open, new contracts were flat, however. Those results exceeded the builder's internal projections, but still disappointed. "I'd be less than candid if I didn't say we were hoping for better sales due to the impact of the homebuyer tax credit," CEO Ara Hovnanian said. The tax credit - $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers - helped stoke sales for homebuilders this spring. In April, new home sales nationwide jumped 14.8 percent; in March, new home sales posted the biggest monthly increase in 47 years. The government incentive expired April 30, although homebuyers have until June 30 to close on their purchase. That had many builders anticipating they would see a spike in sales as buyers raced to qualify for the credits.

OTHER STORIES:

BP flexes muscle in D.C. - (money.cnn.com)

Quitting the day job to go hiking - (money.cnn.com)

Public Union Parasites Move To Bar California Bankruptcies - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)

Could BP walk away with a $75M fine? - (money.cnn.com)

Say goodbye to full-time jobs with benefits - (money.cnn.com)

Why does government subsidize mortgage debt? - (money.cnn.com)

Should you rent or buy? - (www.money.cnn.com)

Bay Area jobs hit harder by recession than U.S. - (www.sfgate.com)

Desperately seeking COBRA subsidy - (money.cnn.com)

China's Housing Bubbles: Quality Research Required - (www.scoop.co.nz)

Krugerrand Output Jumps to 25-Year High on European Debt Crisis - (www.bloomberg.com)