Thursday April 5 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

Student-Loan Debt Reaches Record $1 Trillion, Report Says - (www.bloomberg.com) U.S. student-loan debt reached the $1 trillion mark, as young borrowers struggle to keep up with soaring tuition costs, according to the initial findings of a government study. The figure, which is higher than the country’s credit-card debt, was probably reached “several months ago,” Rohit Chopra of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a postingyesterday, excerpted from a speech he made at the Consumer Bankers Association meeting in Austin, Texas. “Young consumers are shouldering much of the punishment in the form of substantial student-loan bills for doing exactly what they were told would be the key to a better life,” Chopra, the bureau’s student-loan ombudsman, said in the posting.

Financial Advisor Canned After Berating Client For Not Drinking Booze – (www.businessinsider.com) A businesswoman sacked after a night entertaining clients ended in spectacular embarrassment has had her hopes of a compensation payout boosted by a tribunal ruling. High powered financial adviser, Amanda Daughters, faces claims that she reduced a woman client to tears after demanding why she was only drinking spritzers and dragging the client's partner outside for a cigarette even though he didn't smoke. Exactly what happened at the Avalon pub, in Balham, south London, is hotly disputed by Miss Daughters who - whilst agreeing she was "a bit hazy" after having "quite a bit" to drink - swiftly apologised and denies anything she did justified her summary dismissal from her job.

How to avoid becoming Wall Street’s muppet - (www.marketwatch.com) A former executive director of Goldman Sachs caused a stir earlier this month when he spurted that some of the firm’s higher-ups deride clients as “muppets” — Wall Street slang for rubes. Is anyone really surprised? A recent Yankelovich survey found that four in 10 investors believe investment companies are unfair — joining the ranks of credit card companies, CEOs, the federal government and of course, lawyers. Goldman isn’t the only offender. There is no industry more ridden with conflicts of interest and misaligned incentives than investment management. David Swensen, who deftly oversees Yale University’s endowment writes: “Relationships with external investment managers provide a fertile breeding ground for conflicts of interests.” He noted that while investors seek high risk-adjusted returns, investment advisers “pursue substantial, stable flows of fee income.”

Spain's default risk is rising - (www.bloomberg.com) Spain has never been so close to default and Greece, Ireland and Portugal may need further bailouts, Citigroup Inc. chief economist Willem Buiter said. “Spain is the key country about which I’m most worried,” Buiter, a former Bank of England policy maker, said in a radio interview today on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt. “It’s really moved to the wrong side of the spectrum and is now at greater risk of sovereign restructuring than ever before.” Two years of debt-driven stresses in European markets have eased as Greece avoided a disorderly default, the building blocks of a new euro economic management system fell into place and the European Central Bank pumped over 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) into the banking system.

VIDEO: Did Goldman Sachs just signal a market top? - (www.youtube.com) Goldman Sachs released a report on Wednesday titled, The Long Good Buy; the Case for Equities. My gut tells me that this might just mark the top of this move in the stock market. My charts tell me that this one of the worst days in the last 10 years to release a Bullish Report on the overall stock market.

OTHER STORIES:

At the World Bank, competition for a change? - (www.washingtonpost.com)

German Bond Prices Decline, Unsettling Confidence in a Safe Haven - (www.nytimes.com)

Euro-Area Services, Manufacturing Shrink More Than Estimated - (www.bloomberg.com)

U.K. Retail Sales Decline More Than Economists Forecast - (www.bloomberg.com)

Portugal Strike Against Labor Reform Halts Metro, Ferries - (www.bloomberg.com)

China Cuts Reserve Ratios for 379 Agribank Branches - (www.bloomberg.com)

China Manufacturing Contraction May Worsen, Data Show - (www.bloomberg.com)

U.S. Home Prices Have Smallest Decline in More Than 2 Years - (www.bloomberg.com)

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall to Lowest Level in Four Years - (www.bloomberg.com)

Big Spending at Fannie, Freddie Should End, Watchdog Says - (www.bloomberg.com)

Home Builder Stocks at Highest Point in 2 Years After 6-Month Rise - (www.nytimes.com)