Thursday November 17 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

SEC probes MF Global's statements on European bets: report - (www.reuters.com) As usual, the SEC comes in after the collapse has occurred!!

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a broad review into the collapse of the futures brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said on Thursday. "We will look at every aspect of how the firm conducted business," Schapiro told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on financial fraud held by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The SEC and FINRA are among MF Global's regulators. MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, after risky trades on European debt triggered its collapse. Regulators are attempting to account for a roughly $600 million shortfall in funds from customers' futures accounts. Schapiro declined to discuss any potential action that the SEC's enforcement division may take against MF Global, but said that SEC examiners have been on the ground there since last week and have worked on a "24-hours-a-day basis" to sort through the issues.

Freddie Mac Has Wider Loss, Seeks $6 Billion From Treasury - (www.bloomberg.com) Freddie Mac, one of two mortgage- finance companies under U.S. conservatorship, reported a $4.4 billion loss for the third quarter and said it will seek $6 billion from the U.S. Treasury Department. The company, confronted with a weak housing market and losses on derivatives, will draw on its Treasury cash lifeline to eliminate a net-worth deficit of $6 billion for the three- month period ending Sept. 30, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today. Today’s request brings Freddie Mac’s total Treasury draw to $72.2 billion. The company has returned $14.9 billion of that money to taxpayers in the form of dividend payments to the government. Freddie Mac’s $1.6 billion dividend payment in the third quarter contributed to its net-worth deficit, the company reported.

The Protesters Tried To Do WHAT?! To Jamie Dimon Last Night? – (www.businessinsider.com) Last night, Occupy movements across the country took to the streets for a General Strike. In Oakland, things got totally out of control, multiple banks and businesses were targeted, and the port of Oakland was shut down. In Seattle, there was one main target — JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. According to Daily Kos, starting around 6:30 p.m., 500 protesters surrounded the Sheraton hotel where he was giving a speech. Police in full riot gear had to use pepper spay to disperse the crowd after hours of demonstrators "occupying" the perimeter of the building. They said they wanted to chase Dimon out. "Whose streets?" they chanted, "Our streets." On one hand, we understand the protesters' ire with the CEO of JPM. Dimon is a well-known critic of regulation and the demonization of bankers.

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Athens in turmoil as cabinet splits - (www.ft.com) George Papandreou, Greek prime minister, has scrapped a controversial plan to hold a referendum on the heavily indebted country’s membership of the European Union and eurozone. The U-turn by the embattled premier was announced during an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday and followed a high-pressure meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, and Angela Merkel, German chancellor in which the offer of a €8bn loan from the EU was temporarily withdrawn. Defending his decision, Mr Papandreou said: “We had a dilemma: consensus or a referendum ... Failure to back the package would mean the beginning of our departure from the euro. But if we have consensus, then we don’t need a referendum.” Mr Papandreou had been preparing to resign at a cabinet meeting earlier in the day, but the offer was withdrawn after he secured the backing of the opposition party for last week’s €130bn EU bail-out, which would result in a 50 per cent loss for holders of Greek sovereign debt.

Greek government on brink of collapse - (www.reuters.com) Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Thursday he would scrap a referendum on Greece's bailout lifeline if the conservative opposition agreed to back the package in parliament. Events in Athens gathered speed a day after Papandreou held a bruising meeting in France with German and French leaders, who told him Athens would not receive a cent more in aid until it voted to meet its commitments under the bailout deal. "I will be glad even if we don't go to a referendum, which was never a purpose in itself. I'm glad that all this discussion has at least brought a lot of people back to their senses," he said in the text of a speech to his cabinet released to media. "If the opposition comes to the table to back the bailout, a referendum is not needed.

OTHER STORIES:

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall to One-Month Low - (www.bloomberg.com)

Productivity in U.S. Climbed at a 3.1% Pace - (www.bloomberg.com)

Bernanke Gives Impetus to New Stimulus - (www.bloomberg.com)

Fed downgrades growth forecasts, sees high unemployment for years ahead - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Bernanke and Banks Tested by Latest Market Strains - (online.wsj.com)

Analysis: Beijing risks public backlash if rescues Europe - (www.reuters.com)

Euro’s Leaders Question Greek Membership - (www.bloomberg.com)

Euro zone contemplates future without Greece - (www.reuters.com)

Venizelos Defies Papandreou Over Euro Referendum as Confidence Vote Looms - (www.bloomberg.com)

China Non-Manufacturing Industries Expand at Slower Pace as Property Cools - (www.bloomberg.com)

India Food Inflation Quickens to Nine-Month High on Vegetables, Milk, Meat - (www.bloomberg.com)

Berlusconi fails to overcome divisions on reform - (www.ft.com)