Monday March 31 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

The scary factors behind copper's price plunge - (www.cnbc.com) Cascading copper prices have multiple root causes that lead to one conclusion: The anticipated global economic recovery may not be all it's cracked up to be. Consequently, analysts are in virtual unison that the extended-term trajectory is lower for the metal often used as a growth barometer. Copper futures are off more than 12 percent in 2014 and 7 percent over just the past three days, though they rose less than 1 percent in Wednesday trading. A slowdown in the global economy, forced selling by Chinese banks and technical factors have converged in multiple calls for more weakness in a commodity known by traders and economists as "Dr. Copper" for its ability to accurate make economic prognoses.

Herbalife says FTC opens inquiry; shares slump - (www.cnbc.com) The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal investigation into Herbalife's operations Wednesday, pushing shares of the nutrition and weight loss company sharply lower. Shares of Herbalife plunged as much as 15 percent after being temporarily halted but gradually recovered from lows. Shares were up more than 4 percent prior to the halt. A circuit breaker also briefly halted trading in shares of rival Nu Skin due to volatility. Herbalife said it will fully cooperate with the FTC, saying it "welcomes the inquiry given the tremendous amount of misinformation in the marketplace." On Wednesday, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman accused Herbalife of breaking direct-selling laws in China, its fastest-growing market. Representatives of the FTC declined to comment. Ackman and Pershing Square also declined to comment.

CHART OF THE DAY: Gundlach Warns NYSE Margin Debt Is In 'The Scary Zone' - (www.businessinsider.com) Traders are borrowing more than ever to leverage up their bets on the stock market. Some fear that this is a sign of a bubbly stock market that's doomed to crash. Others argue it's a more benign coincident indicator and at least partially reflective of the increasing presence of hedge funds. "It is in the scary zone," said DoubleLine Funds' Jeffrey Gundlach during a webcast on Tuesday. "If and when it hooks over, that’s when you’re likely to see a double-digit decline in market indexes." While he's not predicting imminent doom for stocks, he encourages us to be on the look-out for a reversal. Gundlach has previously characterized margin debt as both a cause and effect of the market rally. Margin debt could very well continue to rise with the stock market. But it has a nasty way of adding to the downward momentum when stocks sell.

Obama wants to expand overtime pay - (money.cnn.com) President Obama will ask the Labor Department on Thursday to issue tougher rules on overtime, which could lead to extra pay for millions of workers who aren't currently paid for extra hours of work. The administration will point out that some convenience store managers, fast food shift supervisors and office workers may be expected to work 50 or 60 hours a week without overtime, and that their hourly pay rate may actually be less than the $7.25 an hour minimum wage. Currently, most hourly workers must be paid time-and-a-half if they work more than 40 hours a week. Most salaried workers do not need to be paid overtime, unless they earn less than $455 a week. But that works out to $23,660 a year, which is less than the federal poverty level for a family of four. The $455 threshold for overtime hasn't been raised in 10 years, since President Bush upped it from $250 a week. It would be $553 today if it had gone up in line with inflation.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Shares Fall on Wind-Down Measure - (www.bloomberg.com)  Leaders of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee announced long-awaited plans to dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, pushing the companies’ common shares to their biggest intraday drop in 10 months. Fannie Mae shares tumbled as much as 44 percent, paring the losses to 31 percent to close in New York at $4.03, after Edwin Groshans, a managing director at Washington-based equity research firm Height Analytics LLC, described the proposal as holder-negative. Freddie Mac fell 27 percent to close at $4.04. Preferred shares also dropped, some by as much as 12 percent. The bipartisan measure, drafted with input from President Barack Obama’s administration, would replace the U.S.-owned mortgage financiers with government bond insurance that would kick in only after private capital suffered losses of at least 10 percent, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson and Senator Mike Crapo said in a statement yesterday. The bill would require most borrowers to make down payments of at least 5 percent.

OTHER STORIES:

Working In Retail Left Me Broke, Depressed, And Living On Food Stamps - (www.businessinsider.com)

Thousands flock to Turkish boy's funeral after night of protest - (www.reuters.com)
Ukraine appeals to the West as Crimea turns to Russia - (www.reuters.com)

Time running out for EU bid to engage Russia, Germany warns - (www.reuters.com)
Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas at Protesters in Ankara - (www.bloomberg.com)

Bank of Japan Sticks to Easing Plan as Sales-Tax Bump Looms - (www.bloomberg.com)  

Global Debt Exceeds $100 Trillion as Governments Binge - (www.bloomberg.com)  

EU tells Italy, France to up reforms, trim deficit - (finance.yahoo.com)  

Kerry Makes Push to Ease Ukraine Tension in Lavrov Talks - (www.bloomberg.com)