KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Thursday July 7 Housing and Economic stories

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Sarkozy Says Food Price Surge Is ‘Plague’ - (www.bloomberg.com) World food prices that rose 37 percent in a year, driving 44 million more people into poverty, are a “plague” that need action from world leaders now, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. Group of 20 farm ministers are in Paris for the second day of a summit. France, which holds the G-20 presidency, wants a central database on crops, limits on export bans, international market regulation, emergency stockpiles and a plan to raise global output. The proposals to limit export curbs and start a database will be “especially sensitive,” French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire said last week. Wheat as much as doubled in the past year as Russia and Ukraine curbed exports after drought decimated crops, adding to record global food prices the World Bank says put 44 million more people into poverty since June. Nations will spend $1.29 trillion on food imports this year, the most ever and 21 percent more than in 2010, the United Nations estimates.

Bailout Needs Banks' Help – (online.wsj.com) Seeking to head off a potentially destabilizing Greek default, European governments began the delicate task of convincing their major banks to voluntarily accept losses on their holdings of Greek debt. In both Germany and France, finance-ministry officials met with representatives of their respective countries' leading banks and insurers on Wednesday to discuss how banks would shoulder some of the cost of a second bailout of Greece, people familiar with the matter said. The trick will be for the private sector to take losses on Greek bonds, without Greece being declared in default. If the banks are forced to accept the losses, ratings companies likely will declare a default. Even if the banks act voluntarily, Greece could still be considered in default on its debts. Underscoring the concerns, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Wednesday that the debt crisis, and its potential spillover to the financial system, is color code "red," meaning the highest level of risk. The supervisory group European Systemic Risk Board, for which Mr. Trichet is chairman, called the interplay between debt crises in parts of Europe and the banking system "the most serious threat to financial stability" in Europe.

Vegas land that sold for $30 million fetches $4.4 million after foreclosure - (www.vegasinc.com) A 23.53-acre property at the Las Vegas Beltway and Hacienda Avenue that sold for $30.2 million in 2007 and was later foreclosed upon has been sold for $4.4 million. Lightstone Acquisitions, part of the Lightstone Group, a New York-based real estate investment company, acquired the property from City National Bank. It plans to hold the property as an investment, said Michael Stuart, a broker with Colliers International Las Vegas, who represented City National along with Scott Heaton. Icon Real Estate Services of Las Vegas sold the property for $30.2 million to Newport Beach developer Dominic Magliarditi, who planned a mixed-use development when he bought it in November 2007, Stuart said.

HighIncome, NoTax Returns Nearly Doubled in 2008 - (www.bloomberg.com) The number of people who reported incomes of at least $200,000 and paid no U.S. income taxes jumped 79.5 percent in 2008 from 2007, according to an Internal Revenue Service study. In all, 18,783 people filed U.S. tax returns with adjusted gross incomes of at least $200,000 and used legal deductions, exemptions and credits to avoid owing any U.S. income taxes. That represents 0.43 percent of high-income taxpayers, the biggest percentage of non-payers in an IRS study released yesterday that includes data going back to 1977. Even with the dollar threshold being held constant for inflation, the 2008 totals and percentages were the highest on record. The percentage of non-payers in 2008 almost doubled from the 0.23 percent of filers who reported no income tax liability in 2007, before a recession-fueled decline in tax revenue.

FBI informs family they bought stolen house - (abclocal.go.com) A family is being told the house they thought they bought in Murrieta actually belongs to someone else. The family says they can't stop making their mortgage payments. "Even though you've made your payments in full every month, you could get a knock at the door saying get out," said would-be homeowner Charlie Zahari. "If you look at it, we're renters in a house we can't move out of." That was hardly the feeling last summer where there was all the euphoria of buying their first home. They custom painted the girls' bedrooms and sodded the backyard. They stopped making improvements when they found out they're not the legal owners of the home. "We actually got a call from the FBI who said we just wanted to inform you that your house has been part of a deed fraud scheme," Zahari said. Karen Tappert is the person the Zahari's say is responsible for stealing the home and selling it to them. She's facing federal charges, but that does little to help the Zahari's with their situation. They must continue paying for the home or otherwise put their credit at risk. They can also be forced to vacate at any moment.