Greece's new currency would
be 'rubbish': Citi's Buiter - (www.cnbc.com) There
would be "havoc" if Greece left the euro zone and adopted an
alternative currency, Willem Buiter, global chief economist at Citi, told CNBC.
"I really think the notion that Greece exits with or without a shadow
currency or a proper currency (is ridiculous). Greece has not, historically,
been good at managing an independent currency. This time, if they were to move
towards that from a situation of extreme weakness it would be havoc for Greece
so I wouldn't recommend that." Asked whether Greece could exit the
19-country single currency group with some kind of alternative currency tied to
the euro, Buiter rebuffed the notion, saying "that would be rubbish."
The comments by Buiter – a Citi economist believed to have been the first to
have coined the now well-known phrase "Grexit" (alluding to a Greek
exit from the euro zone) -- come as negotiations between Greece and its
international lenders and euro zone partners over reforms, aid and the future
of the country's international bailout program, drag on.
Greece's 'endgame' in sight; bond yields soar - (www.cnbc.com) As Greece enters a new week with no imminent
signs of securing a deal with creditors to unlock much-needed aid, talk that a
debt default is "inevitable" has grown. News emerged on Monday
that Greece came so close to defaulting on a 750-million-euro ($855-million)
repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week that Greek Prime
Minister, Alexis Tsipras, warned that the repayment could not be made
without help from the European Union. Concerns that IMF debt will not be repaid
sparked a sell-off in Greek bonds, with the yield on two-year bonds surged more
than 250 basis points to 23.68 percent. "A default event by Greece is
inevitable," Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency
Economics, wrote in a note published Monday. Euro zone governments are willing
to lend Athens cash but only in return for strict reforms such as pension cuts,
which the anti-austerity government says is a "red-line" that cannot
be crossed. The stalemate has dragged on for weeks, hurting the country's
economy, business sentiment and raising the prospect of a debt default and
Greece's possible withdrawal from the single currency club.
High
Ranking Connecticut Fraud Investigator Busted For Giving Lender Fake Paystubs - (www.mfi-miami.com) Lynwood
Patrick, Jr., 39, East Hartford, Connecticut, was arrested on a federal
criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud in connection with his
submission of a fraudulent application for a personal mortgage modification. Patrick was
arrested at his residence. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F.
Martinez in Hartford and was released on a $150,000 bond. According to the
criminal complaint, Patrick is employed as the Director of
Investigations for the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services,
Office of Quality Assurance. The complaint alleges that, from approximately
November 2012 through May 2013, Patrick applied for a mortgage
modification under the Making Home Affordable program, a federal initiative
designed to assist homeowners who have experienced a decline in income access
secure loans at lower rates. When applying for mortgage relief through JP
Morgan Chase, Patrick fabricated State of Connecticut paystubs and lied
about his assets in order qualify for the program. Specifically, Patrick claimed
total assets of $500 in one checking account to show that he had experienced a
loss of income causing a hardship when, in fact, he had thousands of dollars
spread out over multiple accounts at several institutions and his rate of pay
had not diminished.
Our $58 trillion love affair
with debt, in one crazy chart - (www.cnbc.com) Those
having a hard time finding growth in the U.S. economy are looking in the wrong
places. Forget about real estate, technology or manufacturing: The real
American growth industry is debt. While gross
domestic product has
lingered in the 2 to 2.5 percent growth range for years, the level of debt as
measured through credit market instruments has exploded. As the nation entered
the 1980s, there was comparatively little debt—just about $4.3 trillion. That
was only about 1.5 times the size of gross GDP. Then a funny thing happened. The
gap began to widen during the decade, and then became basically parabolic
through the '90s and into the early part of the 21st century. Though debt took
a brief decline in 2009 as the country limped its way out of the financial
crisis, it has climbed again and is now, at $58.7 trillion (Tweet this), 3.3 times the size of GDP and about 13 times
what it was in 1980, according to data from the Federal
Reserve's
St. Louis branch. (The total debt measure is not to be confused with the $18.2
trillion national debt, which is 102 percent of GDP and is a subset of the
total figure.)
Once
a sure bet, taxi medallions becoming unsellable - (www.usatoday.com) Until recently in America's big cities,
purchasing a taxi medallion—the city-issued license to operate cabs —was about
as sound of an investment as they come. But with the rise of Uber and other
ridesharing services, the value of taxi medallions are plummeting, leading
cabbies and fleet owners throughout the USA worried that their industry will be
decimated if local and state government doesn't intervene. "I have had a
pretty successful thing," said Gary Karczewski, 65, a Chicago cabbie who
inherited his medallion from his father 28 years ago and earned enough to
purchase two homes and help send his two daughters to college by driving the
equivalent of 80 times around the world. "My hope was to wind down soon
and give whatever I could sell the medallion for to my mother. But I am not
confident there's a market now." In Chicago, which has the country's
second biggest fleet with roughly 7,000 taxis, the median sale price for a
medallion hovered around $70,000 in 2007 before reaching a median sales peak of
$357,000 in late 2013. Since reaching that high point more than a year ago, the
value of medallions in the Windy City have sharply declined and sales have
ground to a near halt—with the city recording only seven medallion transfers in
the first quarter of 2015—as the median sale price fell to about $270,000.
Merkel Stamps Out Optimism on Greece After Tsipras Talks - (www.bloomberg.com)
Bundesbank chief says ball in Athens' court over bailout - (www.reuters.com)
Greece Submerges as Crisis Fallout Worse Than Emerging Markets - (www.bloomberg.com)
Draghi Urges Reforms as Low Growth Forces Unconventional Policy - (www.bloomberg.com)
Wall Street Flouts Fed Standards to Fund High-Risk Loans - (www.bloomberg.com)
Weak Chinese Demand Is Pummeling Mining Stocks Everywhere, Except in China - (www.bloomberg.com)
China infrastructure push runs up against project delays - (www.reuters.com)
China says U.S. actions in South China Sea 'irresponsible, dangerous' - (www.reuters.com)
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