Sunday, February 21, 2016

Monday February 22 2016 Housing and Economic stories


Junk Energy-Bond Costs Soar as Crude Drags Global Economy Down - (www.bloomberg.com) The cost for U.S. junk-rated energy companies to borrow in the bond market exceeded 20 percent for the first time ever after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said oil may drop below $20 a barrel. The difference between the price of holding high-yield debt sold by energy companies and ultra-safe Treasuries widened to record levels, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. The move was part of a global rout that has seen stocks tumble toward a bear market and volatility rise amid fears of a worldwide economic slowdown. Crude could drop “into the teens,” from about $30 on Tuesday, before supply and demand are brought back into balance, according to Goldman Sachs.

Europe's 'doom-loop' returns as credit markets seize up  - (www.telegraph.co.uk) Marc Ostwald, a credit expert at ADM, said the ominous new development is that bank stress has suddenly begun to drive up yields in the former crisis states of southern Europe. "The doom-loop is rearing its ugly head again," he said, referring to the vicious cycle in 2011 and 2012 when eurozone banks and states engulfed in each other in a destructive vortex.'' ... [The ECB] cannot usefully cut interest rates any deeper into negative territory since the current level of -0.3pc is already burning up the "net interest margin' of lenders and eroding bank profits. "How much further can the ECB go before it becomes outright harmful?" he asked.

US investors getting burned on Greek bank bets - (www.cnbc.com) Renowned fund managers who invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the troubled Greek banks are trapped in uncertainty caused by the political developments in Greece and global financial turmoil. John Paulson, Prem Watsa, Wilbur L. Ross and other funds, such as Brookfield Capital Partners, Capital Research & Management, Mackenzie Cundill, Schroder Investment Management and Wellington Management are among those who invested more than 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion) of capital in the Greek banking system over the past couple of years.

It’s Official: Cash is Now Public Enemy Number One - (www.wolfstreet.com)  Terrorists are no longer public enemy number one. Nor are drug lords, people traffickers, arms dealers, cyber terrorists, or any other unsavory do-badder. Today, the biggest threat to global peace and security is physical cash, a means of exchange that has flourished for over 4,000 years but which now stands accused of being the world’s biggest enabler of criminality. The latest person to publicly highlight the deadly threat posed by cash is Peter Sands, the former CEO of the British bank Standard Chartered, who just published a report for Harvard Kennedy School of Government imploring central banks around the world to stop issuing high-denomination notes and bills. They include the €500 note, the $100 bill, the CHF1,000 note and the £50 note.

Treasury Yield Curve Plunges To Flattest Since 2007, Financials Follow – (www.zerohedge.com) For the first time since 2007, the spread between 2Y and 10Y US treasury yields has to 100bps. While not inverted, which the status quo maintains means there cannot be a recession, the bond market is flashing ominous signs for both the economy and the US financial system...



No comments: