Friday February 17 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

REPORT: Prepare For A Giant New Wave Of US Bank Failures - (www.businessinsider.com) Forget Europe — the weak U.S. recovery puts more than 750 domestic banks at risk of failure, according to a report from Invictus Consulting Group (via Business Wire). Invictus, which stress tested all FDIC-insured banks, says 758 lenders could collapse in the next three years, forecasting a new wave of borrower defaults in the absence of a strong economic up-tick. A disaster in Europe would probably make things much worse. Invictus says the at-risk lenders — mostly regional banks or subsidiaries of the majors — won't be able to sustain themselves on current earnings, and will likely fail if they don't merge or raise "significant" amounts of new capital.

Fed Bank Presidents Reveal Assets From Ranchland to Inflation-Linked Bonds - (www.bloomberg.com) Federal Reserve regional bank presidents revealed unprecedented details about their personal wealth, disclosing Citigroup Inc. (C) shares bought by accident and ownership of a Missouri farm and Texas ranchland. The regional bank chiefs, who manage Fed operations across the country ranging from bank supervision to emergency lending, disclosed the documents yesterday in response to requests from Bloomberg News under the Freedom of Information Act. The Fed banks said they weren’t subject to the terms of the act, even as they responded to the requests. The 12 regional banks and their presidents aren’t held to the same level of public scrutiny as the Washington-based Federal Reserve Board and its governors. While Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Fed governors disclose information about their finances and are subject to the FOIA, the regional banks don’t routinely make personal financial information public.

Eurozone crisis triggers credit squeeze - (www.ft.com) All is not lost for small, struggling companies around Milan. The local chamber of commerce’s “Fondo Sbloccacrediti Milano” – literally, “Milan’s fund to Free up Credit” – is a sign of the gloomy times across parts of Italy’s business community. Set up by UniCredit, the country’s largest bank, and the local business lobby, the credit line offers a last ditch chance for small viable businesses with nowhere else to turn. With just €15m available, however, the fund may quickly prove inadequate. A European Central Bank survey on Wednesday showed the eurozone debt crisis has triggered a severe credit squeeze across the region with banks imposing significantly harsher loan terms on businesses and consumers. Demand for mortgages and loans to fund corporate investment was also falling sharply, the survey showed.

House prices hit post-bubble low - (www.washingtonpost.com) When it comes to the value of what many Americans consider their biggest financial asset, no such return appears in sight. Data released Tuesday showed that seasonally adjusted housing prices have reached a post-bubble low, as the minor surge that began in 2009 fizzled, to be followed by the almost continuous slide of the past 18 months. The housing bust, in other words, appears to be even worse than it was at the nadir of the recession. For millions of homeowners, that’s an unsettling reality, and potentially an issue in the presidential campaign. But the damage may be far more widespread. By making people feel less wealthy, according to economists, the decline in home values inhibits consumer spending and hampers the nation’s stop-and-start economic recovery.

We’re on the brink, warns Greece - (www.telegraph.co.uk) Lucas Papademos said that unless the country’s international backers agreed to a new bail-out, Greece would be unable to pay off its loans and be forced out of the eurozone. EU leaders will meet in Brussels tonight amid growing concern that Greece will fail to implement the austerity measures its international backers are demanding as a condition of the latest package of financial support. Without that bail-out, Greece will be unable to repay €15 billion of loans due in March. Amid doubts about Greek willingness to cut spending and raise taxes, Germany has suggested that a European commissioner should take effective control of Greek fiscal policy to ensure the country accepts austerity. Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek finance minister, rejected that plan, saying it would undermine Greece’s “national identity and dignity”

OTHER STORIES:

U.S. Companies Added 170,000 Workers: ADP - (www.bloomberg.com)

Mortgage applications dipped last week: MBA - (www.reuters.com)

U.S. deficit to top $1 trillion, smallest since ’09 - (www.washingtonpost.com)

Employment Rising as Health Care Eclipses Factories With Aging Americans - (www.bloomberg.com)

MF Global's missing money traced: report - (www.reuters.com)

Facebook Said to Hire Morgan Stanley for IPO - (www.bloomberg.com)

Portuguese storm gathers as EU leaders fight over Greece - (www.telegraph.co.uk)

Short China: its commodities bubble is set to pop - (www.marketwatch.com)

Consumer Spending in U.S. Stalls - (www.bloomberg.com)

Home prices drop, and consumers turn gloomy - (www.reuters.com)