KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Wednesday January 15 Housing and Economic stories

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California judge bars voter-approved pension cuts for city workers - (www.reuters.com) A state court judge has barred the city of San Jose, California, from imposing voter-approved pension cuts on current municipal workers in a ruling with implications for cash-strapped local governments across the United States. As public employee unions and many U.S. cities lock horns over cuts in retirement costs blamed for municipal budget crises, Superior Court Judge Patricia Lucas ruled that a ballot initiative forcing workers to contribute more to their pensions was invalid. In her "tentative" ruling, dated from last week but publicly released on Monday, Lucas said the city was entitled under the ballot measure to cut workers' pay to save money, but she held that vested pension benefits were protected by state law and thus off limits. The court fight in San Jose over pensions has been closely watched because other cities in California, and across the country, are targeting cuts in existing retirement plans as a way to reduce budget deficits.

Corn Set for Worst Drop Since ’60 as Crop Prices Slump on Output - (www.bloomberg.com) Corn fell, capping the biggest annual drop since at least 1960, and wheat tumbled the most in five years as grain production climbs to records worldwide and outpaces demand for food, livestock feed and use in biofuels. Corn plunged 40 percent in 2013, the most among 24 commodities in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index, as the U.S. harvest rose to a record, recovering from the prior season when crops were hurt by the worst drought since the 1930s. Farmers worldwide are producing record amounts of everything from soybeans to wheat, leaving food costs tracked by the United Nations 13 percent below an all-time high reached in 2011 and spurring banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to predict further declines in crop prices in 2014.

FBI Offers Reward For Mortgage Fraudster Ronnie Duke - (www.mfi-miami.com) The FBI is offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest of former Michigan mortgage fraudster Ronnie Duke. Duke a habitual criminal who rose to become the kingpin of a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud operation had failed to report to federal prison in West Virginia back in June. Duke was convicted and sentenced in April to 13 years in prison for using a scheme that used fake documents to secure hundreds of loans on homes throughout Metro Detroit from 2003 to 2007. In 2007, Duke suddenly turned himself in and ratted out 15 others as part of a massive case. They all pleaded guilty, and all of them are now serving 10-15 years apiece in federal prison except for Duke. Duke, who had been in trouble with the law numerous times since he was a teenager for credit card fraud, embezzlement and receiving stolen property, operated a scheme that triggered nearly $100 million in losses for financial institutions while Duke bankrolled a lavish lifestyle that would make even Robin Leech blush. FBI Special Agents say Duke ran the one of largest mortgage fraud schemes in the country. The scheme involved more than 450 bad loans, over 100 straw buyers, and about 180 different properties in Southeast Michigan.

Baby Boomers' retirement 1st wave of global crisis - (www.sfgate.com) Living standards will fall, and poverty rates will rise for the elderly in wealthy countries that built safety nets for seniors after... A global retirement crisis is bearing down on workers of all ages. Spawned years before the Great Recession and the financial meltdown in 2008, the crisis was significantly worsened by those twin traumas. It will play out for decades, and its consequences will be far-reaching. Many people will be forced to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65 - to 70 or even longer. Living standards will fall, and poverty rates will rise for the elderly in wealthy countries that built safety nets for seniors after World War II. In developing countries, people's rising expectations will be frustrated if governments can't afford retirement systems to replace the tradition of children caring for aging parents. The problems are emerging as the generation born after World War II moves into retirement.

Revlon to End China Operations - (online.wsj.com) Revlon Inc. unveiled plans to exit its operations in China and cut 22% of its workforce, moves that come as the beauty-products company has posted declining sales in its Asia Pacific market. Revlon has reported weak demand since 2012 in China, which accounts for about 2% of its total net sales. Overall, sales in Asia Pacific have dropped each quarter this year as weak results in the Hong Kong market, as well as foreign currency fluctuations, offset strong demand for Revlon color cosmetics in the rest of the region. Revlon decided to exit the China market after it "made a holistic assessment" of its cost of operations in the country versus its opportunities, a company spokeswoman said. Of the roughly 1,100 jobs Revlon will eliminate, 940 are "beauty advisors" retained through a third-party firm, the company added. At the end of 2012, Revlon had about 5,100 employees.

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