Thursday March 15 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

Brown Budget May Overstate California Revenue by $6.5 Billion, Study Says - (www.bloomberg.com) Governor Jerry Brown’s new budget may overestimate California (STOCA1) revenue by as much as $6.5 billion through June 2013 -- even with a $2 billion gain from a Facebook Inc. share sale, the state Legislature’s policy analyst said. California will probably collect about $177.5 billion in general-fund revenue through the end of the next fiscal year, not $184 billion as Brown has forecast in a proposed budget that includes higher income and sales levies, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office said yesterday. Brown and the analyst differ on how much the state will receive from capital gains. “We can identify no strong rationale for the administration’s assumption that capital gains will grow very rapidly in 2012 and later years,” the analyst said in a report.

Workers fear more cuts in retirement benefits - (www.usatoday.com) The economic recovery has not made Americans feel more secure about their financial future. In fact, many workers fear more cuts in retirement benefits and higher out-of-pocket health care costs, according to a survey by Towers Watson, a retirement consulting firm. As a result of their worries, more than half, 55%, of workers say they are willing to give up some of their future pay increases in order to have more guaranteed income in retirement, the survey found. And 50% say they would also trade a portion of their pay to ensure health care benefits. "This may reflect their firsthand experience with financial market volatility, continuing worries about the economy and fears of future cutbacks to benefits," said Kevin Wagner, Towers Watson senior retirement consultant.

GE to 3M Pension Pain Mounts as Rates Boost Liabilities - (www.bloomberg.com) General Electric Co. (GE), Boeing Co. (BA) and 3M Co. (MMM) will join big U.S. employers in making a record $100 billion in 2012 pension contributions, 67 percent more than two years ago, as low interest rates boost companies’ liabilities. Payments may total $400 billion from 2011 through 2015 to ease underfunding at the 100 largest defined-benefit programs, according to consultant Milliman Inc., which estimated that assets in January were enough to cover less than three-fourths of projected payouts. “It’s been called the wall of contributions,” said Alan Glickstein, a senior retirement consultant at Towers Watson & Co. (TW)in New York. “All of a sudden this thing jumps up and stays there for a few years. That’s what it looks like -- a wall.”

ECB temporarily suspends Greek bonds as collateral - (www.reuters.com) The European Central Bank announced on Tuesday it would no longer allow borrowing against Greek government bonds, a temporary move that will force Greek lenders to turn to their national central bank for emergency funding. While such downgrades were expected, S&P moved before the euro zonecould activate a deal to offset the impact of the ECB's obligation to temporarily suspend the use of Greek bonds as collateral in its funding operations.

OTHER STORIES:

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Decline 4%, More Than Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)

Durable Goods Orders in U.S. Slump 4%, Most in Three Years - (www.bloomberg.com)

Gas hits $3.72 per gallon, up 30 cents in month - (finance.yahoo.com)

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Climbs Toward ’08 Levels - (www.bloomberg.com)

California gas prices jump 26 cents in a week - (www.latimes.com)

JPMorgan Clients With Under $100K Unprofitable - (www.bloomberg.com)

Analysis: New central bank cash glut risks "monetary anarchy" - (www.reuters.com)

Interview: S&P says Greece default may be short - (www.reuters.com)