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STORIES:
Bond
Bubble Dismissed as Low Yields Echo Pimco’s New Normal - (www.bloomberg.com) Mohamed El-Erian knows why bond markets from
the U.S. to Germany to Brazil, where yields have
dropped to record lows even though debt has ballooned to more than $40 trillion
worldwide, aren’t a bubble waiting to burst. “We may be in a synchronized
slowdown” in global economic growth, El-Erian, who as chief executive officer
of Pacific Investment Management Co. oversees $1.77 trillion, said in a June 6
telephone interview. “We could stay here for a while.” The average yield on
bonds issued by the Group of Seven nations has fallen to 1.120 percent from 3
percent in 2007, Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data show. Germany’s
two-year note yield fell below zero for the first time on June 1, while Switzerland’s
has been negative since April 24, meaning investors are paying for the right to
lend the nation money.
23%
of Small Business Owners (Approximately 6.21 million) Report No Pay for Yr -
(globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
Citing a new survey by
Citigroup, CNBC Reports All Work, No Pay for Some Small Business Owners.
Here are some interesting highlights.
Here are some interesting highlights.
·
Over
the past few years, business owners report that they have, at one time or
another, taken less profit (78 percent), worked more hours than usual (70
percent), and used their own money to help the business survive (69 percent).
·
54
percent of respondents say they have gone without a paycheck in order to keep
the business running.
·
23
percent of owners have gone without pay for one year or more.
·
More
than one-third of owners (38 percent) said their employees worked overtime
without pay
·
18
percent of owners said employees either missed paychecks or had paychecks
delayed.
·
Access
to financing doesn’t come up in the top five most important issues among small
businesses. Instead, business owners cite lack of sales and consumer
confidence.
Games Realtors Play - (www.patrick.net) Realtors play many games,
depending on the area you live in. The real estate "profession" is
supposedly self regulating, but this also depends on where you live. I once
dealt with a local Realtor who was on the local ethics board--she managed some
houses for me, and was often months late with her payments to me, rent she had
collected months before. I also sold her some houses, and she actually never
paid the property taxes--when I found out, I paid the taxes, and promptly sold
the mortgages to Associates Finance, who doesn't put up with things like that
(I was carrying the mortgage paper). Other games: if you are a seller, you
should to some extent assume that your realtor is working against you.
Typically the realtor will suck up to the buyer behind your back. If you are a
buyer, typically the realtor will "omit" things that may reflect
badly on the house, especially to first time buyers, who are often clueless. I
once sold a house that had been flooded (years before I owned it, but I did
know about it). I wrote out a statement for the buyer to sign, and asked the
realtor to get the buyer to sign, acknowledging that I had disclosed the prior
flooding. The realtor refused to cooperate until I threatened call the real
estate commission. And he was president of the state association of realtors at
the time! If you must use a realtor, cover your ass at all times, never let
your guard down, double check everything, and do not assume, for one second,
that the realtor actually knows the law.
We
Have Too Many Empty Houses - (www.bloomberg.com)
Video - Warren Buffett tells MSNBC's 'Morning
Joe' that while signs of domestic economic recovery are underway, a recovery in
the housing market will be key to robust growth. Video courtesy MSNBC. (Source:
Bloomberg)
Fannie
and Freddie Mistakes - (www.realtor.org)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
the mere mention of them arouses passionate anger in many people. Rightly
so. These two entities, which had taxpayer guarantees, ran their
businesses as if they were privately owned. Fannie and Freddie made huge
bets on the housing market. If it had been their money and their loss,
then there would be no problem. But their mistakes took taxpayers down as
well. What went wrong and what needs to happen? Fannie Mae was born from
the Great Depression in the 1930s to help bring mortgages to the ailing housing
market of the time. Fannie was a government corporation (not a private
corporation) with the single mission of increasing liquidity by buying up
soundly underwritten mortgages. Because of Fannie and its government
status, 30-year fixed rate mortgages became widely available. Canada and
Britain, for example, do not have long-term mortgages, or least not at low
cost, because they do not have a Fannie equivalent with government guarantees.
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