KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Monday November 9 Housing and Economic stories

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Monday November 9 Housing and Economic stories

Puerto Rican Govt Could Run Out of Cash Nov. 15, Report Says - (www.bloomberg.com) The Puerto Rican government could run out of cash as soon as Nov. 15, forcing it to order a partial shutdown or reduce working hours for public employees, the island’s budget director told a local newspaper. Luis Cruz Batista, executive director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the government is monitoring cash flow and has $150 million in reserves to fund essential services, including schools, police and health care, even if other agencies are reduced or temporarily shuttered. While the government has repeatedly said it may face a cash flow shortage, Cruz’s comments were the first time the administration of Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla put a date on a possible partial shutdown.

Obama Unveils Roadmap To 'Bailout' Puerto Rico: "New" Bankruptcy Rules & Federal Fiscal Oversight - (www.zerohedge.com) America is not Greece, but judging from the Obama administration's just-unveiled plans to bailout Puerto Rico's disastrous debt situation, the American territory may have to sacrifice a little more sovereignty to get some relief. Obama is pressing for Congress to give Puerto Rico (PR) sweeping powers to reduce its $73 billion debt burden through a form of bankruptcy protection not now available to American territories and will also ask lawmakers to establish an independent body to monitor the island’s fiscal affairs (a la Troika). While the proposals likely face an uphill battle in Congress, as NYTimes reports, both Democrats and Republicans are under pressure to respond because Puerto Ricans are flooding the US, particularly in central Florida, and are becoming an increasingly important voting block in the 2016 presidential race. Puerto Rico is teetering under debt amassed from years of borrowing as the economy failed to grow and residents left for the U.S. mainland. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla is seeking to persuade investors to accept less than they’re owed, saying tax increases and spending cuts alone won’t be sufficient to eliminate the government’s budget shortfalls.

Dubai Stocks Fall to 2-Month Low as Saudi Downgrade Jolts Gulf - (www.bloomberg.com) Dubai’s stocks sank to the lowest level in more than two months, leading most Middle Eastern markets lower, on concern that Saudi Arabia’s debt downgrade will drive up borrowing costs across the region. The DFM General Index dropped 2.1 percent to close at 3,430.93, the lowest level since Aug. 24. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index lost 1.1 percent after Standard & Poor’s cut the country’s credit rating, citing an increase in the kingdom’s budget deficit after the slump in oil prices. “The downgrade will have implications for banks and financial services sector across the region,” said Muhammad Shabbir, the head of regional equities at Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. in Dubai. “Banks’ credit ratings could come under pressure, not just for Dubai but for all across the Gulf Cooperation Council. This has implications for the costs of borrowing.”

German Village of 102 Braces for 750 Asylum Seekers - (www.nytimes.com) This bucolic, one-street settlement of handsome redbrick farmhouses may for the moment have many more cows than people, but next week it will become one of the fastest growing places in Europe. Not that anyone in Sumte is very excited about it. In early October, the district government informed Sumte’s mayor, Christian Fabel, by email that his village of 102 people just over the border in what was once Communist East Germany would take in 1,000 asylum seekers. His wife, the mayor said, assured him it must be a hoax. “It certainly can’t be true” that such a small, isolated place would be asked to accommodate nearly 10 times as many migrants as it had residents, she told him. “She thought it was a joke,” he said.

Exclusive: Beyond Valeant, U.S. payers scrutinize other drugmaker ties to pharmacies - (www.reuters.com) Express Scripts Holding Co, the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager, is reviewing pharmacy programs run by AbbVie Inc and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd after finding questionable practices at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc's partner pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services. Express Scripts and other big managers of prescription medicine benefits for health plans said on Thursday they would no longer work with Philidor as concerns mount that Philidor was improperly directing drugs made by Valeant to patients. Valeant, which has headquarters in Quebec, has since said it was cutting ties with Pennsylvania-based Philidor, and that the pharmacy was suspending operations. A handful of other drugmakers operate their own pharmacies and ship drugs directly to patients. Many of the rest employ independent specialty pharmacies that can haggle with insurers and link patients to programs under which drugmakers cover their out-of-pocket costs.

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