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STORIES:
Squatting
in style: 23-year-old occupies empty $2.5 million Boca home - (www.orlandosentinel.com) Andre Barbosa is squatting in style. The
23-year-old has moved into an empty $2.5 million mansion in a posh Boca Raton neighborhood, using an obscure
Florida real estate law to stake his claim on the foreclosed waterside
property. The police can't move him. No one saw him breaking into the 5-bedroom
house, so it's a civil matter. And representatives for the real owner, Bank of
America, said they are aware of the situation and are following a legal
process. But the situation is driving his wealthy neighbors crazy. "This
is a very upsetting thing," said next door neighbor Lyn Houston.
"Last week, I went to the Bank of America and asked to see the person in
charge of mortgages. I told them, 'I am prepared to buy this house.' They
haven't even called me back." Barbosa, according to records, is a
Brazilian national who refers to himself as "Loki Boy," presumably
after the Norse god of mischief. He did not return calls. Someone with his name
has been boasting about his new home on Facebook, even calling it Templo de
Kamisamar.
France's
richest man moves to Belgium to avoid new socialist super-tax - (www.dailymail.co.uk) The richest man in France has
officially transferred his multi-billion pound fortune out of his homeland to
Belgium. Bernard Arnault, head of luxury goods group LVMH, insists he has moved
his assets for ‘family inheritance reasons’. But others are convinced that the
63-year-old has joined other tycoons and celebrities in wanting to avoid taxes
– including a 75 per cent top rate on income – introduced by Socialist
President Francois Hollande. Mr Arnault applied for a Belgian passport soon
after the Socialists won elections last year. Mr Arnault, who owns numerous
homes around the world including one in London, applied for a Belgian passport
soon after Mr Hollande’s Socialists won presidential and parliamentary
elections last year. Critics immediately attacked him for leaving the
country that is associated with all the brands which made his fortune -
including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Guerlain, Moet & Chandon champagne
and Hennessy cognac.
Fed Pushes Into ‘Uncharted Territory’ With Record Assets -
(www.bloomberg.com) Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
S. Bernanke’s unprecedented bond buying pushed the Fed’s balance
sheet to a record $3 trillion as he shows no sign of softening his effort to
bring down 7.8 percent unemployment. The Fed is purchasing $85 billion of
securities every month, using the full force of its balance sheet to stoke the
economic recovery. The central bank began $40 billion in monthly purchases of
mortgage-backed securities in September and added $45 billion in Treasury securities to that pace this month. “We’re
in uncharted territory,” said Julia
Coronado, chief economist for North
America at BNP Paribas SA in New
York, and a former Fed economist. Even as “the easy money will flow
through financial markets and into the real economy at some point and lift us
to a better growth trajectory,” the U.S. faces “a lot of risks,” she said.
Credit Bubble Seen in Davos as Cohn Warns of Repricing - (www.bloomberg.com) Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) President Gary
Cohn warned of a potential drop in fixed-income prices as
bankers and policy makers in Davos celebrated surging demand for financial
assets. Debt markets that have seen junk-bond yields drop to record lows may
face a “substantial repricing” if interest rates spike or investors begin
pulling money out of fixed income, Cohn, 52, said in an interview yesterday
with Bloomberg Television’s Erik
Schatzker at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland. The Spanish government attracted record demand for its 7
billion-euro ($9.4 billion) sale of 10-year bonds this week and Portugal sold
five-year debt for the first time in two years. TheStandard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) topped
1,500 yesterday for the first time since 2007.
Monti Says Monte Paschi Bailout Hinges on Bank of Italy - (www.bloomberg.com) Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s 3.9
billion-euro ($5.2 billion) government bailout may face a delay after Prime
Minister Mario Monti called for a further review of the bank’s accounts. Monti
said the Bank of Italy will take another look at the
bank’s books after the company disclosed this week it may face more than 700
million euros of losses related to structured finance transactions hidden from
regulators. Monte Paschi shareholders are voting on a capital increase today to
pave the way for the emergency government loans. “The subscriptions of those financial tools
hasn’t happened yet, among other reasons because the needed conditions for the
operation to be completed haven’t been met yet,” Monti, 69, said at a press
conference in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday. Monti announced the increased
oversight as he tries to limit the political fallout from Monte Paschi (BMPS) on his bid for a
second term in elections next month. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
has stepped up attacks against Monti for the state-aid plan and frontrunner
Democratic Party Leader Pier Luigi Bersani for his party’s ties to the bank.
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