KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Thursday July 28 Housing and Economic stories

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Amazon sales tax battle centers on jobs - (www.latimes.com) Amazon says California's sales tax law has caused it to sever ties with local affiliates, hurting the state. Chain stores say they provide local jobs that the Internet retailer does not. A looming California electoral battle pitting powerful Internet retailer Amazon.com against the nation's largest chain stores is expected to be fought on the issue of jobs — with each side saying its position is better for the state's struggling economy. Officially, the fight is over the sales tax and Amazon's refusal to collect it under a new California law that requires the Seattle company and other Internet-only retailers to do so as long as they have operations in the state. The company said Monday that it would seek to qualify a referendum for the state ballot that would allow voters to overturn the new law. But beneath the sales tax dispute is an escalating rivalry between Amazon and bricks-and-mortar retailers, which have seen an increasing portion of their sales go to the Internet. Those conventional retailers say they are at a disadvantage because consumers perceive that they don't have to pay sales taxes on Internet purchases, in effect giving buyers a discount of nearly 10%. The stores also point out that they provide jobs — to salespeople, clerks, cashiers and more — and that California can ill afford to give a tax amnesty to Internet retailers that operate elsewhere.

French Banks Face Greatest Italian Risk - (www.bloomberg.com) French banks, including BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA (ACA), have the most at risk from the euro- region’s debt crisis infecting Europe’s largest borrower, Italy. At the end of 2010, French banks carried $392.6 billion in Italian government and private debt, according to data from Basel, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements. That’s the most for financial institutions from any foreign country and more than double held by German lenders. “They’re on the frontline,” said Julian Chillingworth, who helps manage about 16 billion pounds ($25 billion) at Rathbone Brothers Plc in London. “French banks like BNP Paribas have taken substantial positions in Italy when the market opened up to foreign players and now they face the downside.” Italian stocks and bonds have been roiled on concerns about the country’s ability to trim debt after warnings by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s and infighting in Silvio Berlusconi’s government over a budget-cutting plan. Italy’s woes may overshadow efforts to fix Greece’s finances, which have left European policy makers struggling to find a strategy that won’t spark a region-wide debt panic.

Italy’s Etruria, Santander Pull Asset-Backed Bonds Amid Crisis - (www.bloomberg.com) Banco Santander SA (SAN)’s German consumer-finance unit and Italy’s Banca Popolare dell’Etruria e del Lazio (PEL) pulled asset-backed bond sales as the euro-region crisis roiled markets. Santander Consumer Bank AG delayed an issue of 573 million euros ($802 million) of top-rated bonds backed by German car loans because of volatile markets, according to a banker involved in the deal. Arrezo, Italy-based Banca Etruria said it pulled a sale of bonds backed by 466 million euros of residential mortgages and that it’s keeping the notes itself. A Madrid-based spokeswoman at Santander, who declined to be identified citing bank policy, wouldn’t comment. Santander and Banca Etruria halted the deals as the sovereign debt crisis spread beyond Greece to infect Italy and Spain, sending yields on the nations’ 10-year bonds to euro-era highs earlier today. European Union finance ministers resumed meetings in an attempt to concoct a response to the bank stress tests due to be published later this week.

Everyone's Buzzing About Bernanke's Controversial Comments About Gold – (www.businessinsider.com) A line from Bernanke's testimony this morning is getting some folks all atwitter. First he was asked by Ron Paul whether he thinks gold is money: He said "no." Then he Ron Paul asked him why Central Banks hold so much: He answered "tradition." Now this is the classic gold bug argument: Because gold has been used as a store of wealth for eons, it still should have value. And yet Bernanke is taking flack for this comment. But if not tradition, what exactly is the argument for gold having value?

R. Kelly Hasn't Made Payments On His Multimillion Dollar Mansion In Over A Year - (www.businessinsider.com) R. Kelly is an incredible R&B Grammy award-winning artist known for everything from “I Believe I Can Fly,” which was featured in the hit movie Space Jam, to ”Ignition (Remix).” However, as he faces foreclosure on his Chicago mansion he himself may be rehearsing the lyrics “If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time.” Kelly has reportedly avoided payments on this multimillion dollar mansion for over a year—a decision that may be catching up to him now. However, something just does not seem right about Kelly’s foreclosure—he is financially stable and just completed a very successful tour last year. R. Kelly’s situation seems to mimic that of other celebrity situation. The news and popular real estate blogs are filled with information on celebrity foreclosures. However, these foreclosures even include the successful celebrities that continue to bring in a surplus of income due to high-profile tours and lead roles in popular films. Clearly, they are receiving enough income to pay their mortgage payments—aren’t they? Why, exactly, are these hot celebrities refusing to pay their mortgage? Simple: Because they can.