TOP
STORIES:
Housing
crisis deepens for New Yorkers - (www.ft.com)
As big investors face bankruptcy or walk away from failed real estate
deals, renters are joining the many thousands of homeowners in New York City
confronting the impact of the foreclosure crisis. Thousands of tenants in large
multi-dwelling buildings face deteriorating conditions and an uncertain future
as their landlords are unable to meet debt payments. The massive Stuyvesant
Town-Peter Cooper Village complex in lower Manhattan along the East River,
consisting of 110 buildings and more than 11,000 apartments, is the largest and
most-publicized case, but it is far from the only development affected by the crisis.
Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village have seen the recent collapse of the
$5.4 billion deal that brought in new owners only three years ago. According to
the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, however, there
are more than 100,000 apartments in the city, housing as many as 300,000 people
and perhaps more, that are in buildings that are “underwater,” with their
landlords owing more than their current worth.
The Rise of Part-Time Work - (www.nytimes.com) One of the more unsettling trends in this recovery has been the rise of
part-time work. We are nowhere near recovering the jobs lost in the recession,
and the track record looks even worse when you consider that so many of the
jobs lost were full time, whereas so many of those gained have been part time. Compared
with December 2007, when the recession officially began, there are 5.8 million
fewer Americans working full time. In that same period, there has been an
increase of 2.8 million working part time. Part-time workers — defined as
people who usually work fewer than 35 hours a week — are still a minority of
the work force, but their share is growing.
On the Brink in Italy - (www.nytimes.com)
- (www.bloomberg.com) Emanuele Tedeschi wiped sawdust from his hands and gestured around
the cavernous woodworking factory that has been in his family for two
generations. The big machines, which used to run overtime carving
custom furnishings for private homes, Roman palazzi and even the
Vatican, sat idle on a shop floor nearly devoid of workers. '‘A
year and a half ago, the noise from production was so loud that you had
to shout to be heard,’' said Mr. Tedeschi, walking amid pallets of cherry
and other fine woods stacked up and waiting for a purpose. Since a government
austerity plan designed to shield Italy from Europe’s debt crisis took
hold last year, the economy has tumbled into one of worst recessions of
any euro zone country, and Mr. Tedeschi’s orders have all but dried
up. His company, Temeca, is still in business. For now.
Analysis: EU sweats over how to bring Hungary into line - (www.reuters.com) Hungary's decision to change its constitution and limit the power of its
top court is a forthright challenge to the European Union, and the
uncomfortable truth in Brussels is that little can be done to rein Budapest in
quickly. The Hungarian parliament, dominated by supporters of Prime Minister
Viktor Orban, has voted overwhelmingly for a set of constitutional amendments
that opponents, including the EU, the U.S. government and human rights groups,
fear will undermine the country's 24-year-old democracy. The concern is that
the enlargement of the EU since 2004 has brought into the bloc central and east
European countries that do not fully share the same norms of democracy, human
rights and the rule of law as Germany, France, Britain or other
powers.
Greece Faces 150,000 Job-Cut Hurdle to Aid Payment: Euro Credit
- (www.bloomberg.com) Greece is locked in talks with international creditors in Athens about shrinking the government workforce by
enough to keep bailout payments flowing. Identifying redundant positions and
putting in place a system that will lead to mandatory exits for about 150,000
civil servants by 2015 is a so-called milestone that will determine whether the
country gets a 2.8 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) aid instalment due this month.
More than a week of talks on that has so far failed to clinch an agreement. “Public
sector job cuts are a major part of the program and they are one of the most
politically difficult parts to achieve,” said Holger Schmieding, chief
economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “And for the Greek
government, which has two left-of-center parties, it is extremely difficult to
really implement those job cuts. I’m afraid this will likely stay a point of
contention, review after review after review.”
