Sunday, October 4, 2015

Monday October 5 Housing and Economic stories


Clerk Indicted For Filing Back-Dated Deed For Cash - (www.mfi-miami.com) Regina Taylor, former clerk for the Cook County Recorder of Deeds accepted a $200 cash bribe in exchange for preparing and agreeing to record a back-dated deed on an Oak Park home, according to a federal indictment announced today. Regina Tayor accepted the bribe from an individual who purportedly wanted to add a relative’s name to a back-dated deed of a residence in Oak Park according to the indictment. Unbeknownst to Taylor, the individual she sold the back-dated deed to was actually an undercover law enforcement agent, the indictment states. The indictment was returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. It charges Taylor, 59, of Chicago, with one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.  Taylor will be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis on Sept. 24, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.

Surge in U.S. Stock Buybacks Gains Support From Idle Factories – (www.ft.com)  Glencore led a global sell-off in mining shares on Tuesday amid investor concerns that a Chinese slowdown could spark a wider emerging markets crisis and send demand for commodities tumbling. Shares in Glencore fell as much as 15 per cent to a fresh record low below 100p, with shares in some other large miners falling to multiyear lows. Commodity markets are facing their sharpest downturn since the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 interrupted a “supercycle” of strong demand. Investors and analysts say this downturn could be more prolonged, with few alternative sources of demand growth if the economic slowdown in China — by far the most important commodities consumer — persists.

Australia’s Mega LNG Projects are in Serious Trouble - (www.wolfstreet.com) In the US, natural gas is dirt cheap. The price peaked in 2008 and has since collapsed. It remains below the cost of production, even today. Two natural gas drillers have recently buckled and declared bankruptcy. In the international markets, natural gas is traded as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). There was a time, after Japan shut down its nuclear power plants in the wake of Fukushima, when prices, particularly for delivery in Japan and Korea, soared. And during this environment, a number of countries invested heavily into building LNG export terminals that convert natural gas into LNG. In the US, this has been the story of Cheniere Energy, a company that has barely any sales. It’s mostly famous for always losing a lot of money and then raising even more money. It’s stock has soared from less than $2 a share in 2009 to over $80 a share late last year and earlier this year, giving it a ludicrous market capitalization of nearly $20 billion. And it has a breath-taking $18 billion in debt. But the dream is deflating, and it closed at $52.40 today.

 

Obama Admin. Tries To Hide Land Grab From Western States – (www.dailycaller.com) The Obama administration has opted not to list the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), instead using land use plans which basically amount to an underhanded land grab, according to critics. “The 15 amended federal land use plans the Interior Department is using to substitute for listing the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act perpetuate a top-down, penalty-based approach that ultimately harms sage grouse conservation efforts,” Brian Seasholes, director of the libertarian Reason Foundation’s endangered species project, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Do not be fooled,” echoed Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop. “The announcement not to list the sage grouse is a cynical ploy. With the stroke of a pen, the Obama Administration’s oppressive land management plan is the same as a listing.”

Pacific E&P Bonds Plummet to Record Low as Oil Prices Decline - (www.bloomberg.com) Bonds from Pacific Exploration & Production Corp., the Colombian oil driller set to lose its biggest field next year, tumbled to record lows as oil declined and investors turned increasingly bearish on emerging-market assets. The company’s $1.3 billion of bonds due 2019 dropped 8 cents to 35 cents on the dollar as of 1:37 p.m. in New York, reaching the lowest price since they were issued in 2013. Crude sank 3.2 percent to $45.21 a barrel amid speculation that slowing global growth will dent demand for fuel, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index of stocks dropped to the lowest in a week. Pacific’s credit rating was cut three steps by Moody’s Investors Service last week to B3, or six levels below investment grade. The ratings company cited concern the producer has waited too long to sell assets and bolster its cash holdings. Moody’s said the outlook was negative given the possibility that a liquidity crunch would increase the risk of breaching financial covenants as the company’s contract to operate its biggest oil field expires next year.



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