KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Thursday November 6 Housing and Economic stories

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Thursday November 6 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

ICBC Posts Biggest Jump in Bad Loans Since ’06 on Economy - (www.bloomberg.com) Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s largest lender by assets, reported its biggest jump in bad loans since at least 2006 as the property market slumped and the economy cooled. Nonperforming loans rose 9 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, the Beijing-based bank said in an exchange filing yesterday. Net income gained 7.7 percent from a year earlier to 72.4 billion yuan ($11.8 billion), matching the median analyst estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

Greece’s Euro Dilemma Is Back as Minister Sees Volatility - (www.bloomberg.com) Greek bond investors face a rollercoaster ride for the next four months as the government tries to contain the risk of snap elections, Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has until February to pull together a supermajority in the national parliament to elect a new president or the anti-bailout opposition party Syriza will force a snap election. That would return Greek voters to their 2012 dilemma when the country’s membership of the single currency hung by a thread, Mitsotakis said in an interview. “The reality is that there will be a climate of uncertainty until February,” Mitsotakis, 46, said in his Athens office overlooking the Acropolis. “Volatility is caused by the fear of snap elections and the possibility that these will be won by a party which is not normal.”

Ex-Red Sox pitcher, trustee reach bankruptcy deal - (www.cnbc.com) Court documents show the federal bankruptcy trustee has agreed to settle claims against Schilling and three former 38 Studios officials for $300,000. The agreement, entered last week, doesn't affect the ongoing suit filed by Rhode Island's economic development agency, which also names Schilling. The agency claims its board was duped into approving a $75 million loan guarantee for the video game company. The bankruptcy agreement says the parties deny wrongdoing and that they entered into it to avoid further litigation. The settlement money would come from an insurance policy also being used to pay legal bills in the Rhode Island lawsuit.

Yen Anxiety Rises as Tumble Sparks Bankruptcy Surge: Currencies - (www.bloomberg.com) After seeing the yen weaken 26 percent since mid-November 2012, companies and consumers squeezed by higher costs for energy and other imports would welcome some relief. Bankruptcies due to the weak yen more than doubled to 214 in the first nine months of 2014 compared with the same period a year ago, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said this month.

Hussman: I Think The Stock Market Is Crashing - (www.businessinsider.com) Fund manager John Hussman of the Hussman Funds has been one of the most vocal bears on Wall Street for the past few years. The market has continued to rise strongly in the face of these warnings, which has clobbered Hussman's reputation and performance. But those who are loud and early/wrong on Wall Street are always ridiculed ... unless/until the trend changes. At that point, they become one of the heralded few who were "right." For the past six months or so, Hussman has been increasing the volume of his warnings about a potential market crash. In this week's note, Hussman shares his view that the market's sharp rally over the past seven trading days is not likely the resumption of a rocketship bull market that began in 2009, but a standard bear-market rally.

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