Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Thursday June 30 2016 Housing and Economic stories


How Housing’s New Players Spiraled Into Banks’ Old Mistakes - (www.nytimes.com) When the housing crisis sent the American economy to the brink of disaster in 2008, millions of people lost their homes. The banking system had failed homeowners and their families. New investors soon swept in — mainly private equity firms — promising to do better. But some of these new investors are repeating the mistakes that banks committed throughout the housing crisis, an investigation by The New York Times has found. They are quickly foreclosing on homeowners. They are losing families’ mortgage paperwork, much as the banks did. And many of these practices were enabled by the federal government, which sold tens of thousands of discounted mortgages to private equity investors, while making few demands on how they treated struggling homeowners. The rising importance of private equity in the housing market is one of the most consequential transformations of the post-crisis American financial landscape. A home, after all, is the single largest investment most families will ever make.

Banks prepare for another day of currency mayhem - (www.ft.comBanks have called in extra staff in case more currency market violence ensues when trading begins in Asia on Monday. Shockwaves propagated through markets for sterling, yen, euros and dollars on Friday after Britons voted to leave the EU, and investors spent the weekend simply coming to terms with the questions they face amid growing political instability in the UK.  “This is not something that markets can price in one day,” said Paul Lambert, head of currency at Insight Investment in London. The pound fell by an unprecedented 12 per cent after the referendum result became clear, hitting its lowest point in three decades before ending the day down 7 per cent at $1.37. Mr Lambert sees $1.20 in prospect, a scenario echoed by Matt Cobon, head of interest rates and currency at Columbia Threadneedle. “Friday was about the fact that people did not think this would happen. Now they are thinking about what it means for the medium to long term,” he said.

Rajoy Wins as Spain Cleaves to Establishment Amid Brexit Mayhem - (www.bloomberg.com) Caretaker Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy consolidated his position in Spain’s general election as voters backed away from insurgent political forces in favor of the relative security of the People’s Party. The outcome of Sunday’s voting confounded exit polls and suggested the electorate had shied away from the anti-establishment party Podemos at the last minute. With the U.K. engulfed by political and economic uncertainty following Thursday’s unprecedented vote to quit the European Union, Spaniards bought into Rajoy’s call not to jeopardize the country’s economic recovery. Spanish bonds surged on Monday. “Without doubt, Brexit has been the black swan in these elections,” Ivan Redondo, a political consultant who advised Rajoy on his 2008 campaign, said by e-mail. “Since Thursday, we’ve seen pro-establishment voters mobilized.”

The $100 Trillion Bond Market’s Got Bigger Concerns Than Brexit – (www.bloomberg.com) In some ways, it really didn’t matter to Steven Major whether the U.K. voted to stay or to leave. Sure, as a Brit, Major followed the U.K.’s surprising decision to break with the European Union. And, of course, the 51-year-old Londoner voted (though he politely declined to say whether he was in the “Remain” or “Leave” camp). But when it comes to his long view on interest rates, bond yields and the economy, Major, who’s proven to be something of a savant as HSBC Holdings Plc’s head of fixed-income research, says Brexit is ultimately little more than a sideshow. Long after the din from the U.K. vote subsides and regardless of what happens in the U.S. presidential election, Major says issues that, at times, have been decades in the making will conspire to depress global growth and keep rates at rock-bottom levels for years to come.

European Banks Crash To Worst 2-Day Loss Ever As Default Risk Soars - (www.zerohedge.com) So much for George "Panic-Monger" Osborne's calming statement this morning, European banks have collapsed this morning to close down between 20% and 30% since the Brexity vote. The last 2 days plunge in EU banks (down 23%) is the largest in history (double the size of Lehman) and pushesEuropean bank equity market cap to its lowest (in USD terms) ever. Worst.Drop.Ever... UK and European banks have collapsed...  And bank risk is soaring...



Risk Rout Deepens as Pound Slides Further on Post-Brexit Turmoil - (www.bloomberg.com)
Emerging Assets Extend Slide on Brexit Concern as Oil Declines
- (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. Stock Futures Retreat After S&P 500 Erased 2016 Gain Friday
- (www.bloomberg.com)
Pound, Krone Lead European Currencies Lower as Yen Pares Climb
- (www.bloomberg.com)

Dollar Funding Demand Widens Basis Swap Spreads Versus Yen, Euro
- (www.bloomberg.com)
China Weakens Yuan Fixing by Most Since August as Dollar Surges
- (www.bloomberg.com)
Oil Extends Losses to Near $47 After Tumbling on Brexit Vote
- (www.bloomberg.com)
Central Banks Worry About Engaging World Markets After ‘Brexit’
- (www.nytimes.com)

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