Thursday, October 13, 2016

Friday October 14 20916 Housing and Economic stories


Italy Wags Finger at Germany Over Deutsche’s Woes - (www.wsj.com) When shares in Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s largest lender, tanked last month, sparking rumors of a state-funded bailout, Italian politicians couldn’t help indulging in a bit of schadenfreude. Scolded by Berlin for years for his apparent failure to sort out Italy’s endemic bank problems, Premier Matteo Renzi showed evident pleasure in wagging the finger back at Germany. “I am sure German authorities will do everything needed to prevent Deutsche Bank’s crisis from worsening,” he told Italian state television late last month. “We have always said that as far as the issue of credit is concerned, Europe has to do everything needed to fix the situation of banks and that the main concern comes from German banks.”

Reek of Desperation Surrounds EU Banks, Regulators Prepare for “Derivatives Clearing Crisis” - (www.wolfstreet.com) The past week’s events in Europe were dominated by the pound sterling’s spectacular flash crash to its lowest point in 31 years. As is often the case with flash crashes, we will probably never know what exactly triggered the currency to free-fall by 6% during Asian trading hours, though the most cited cause, apart from a “fat finger,” is the gathering realization that a so-called “hard” Brexit is a very real possibility. But it’s an eventuality that can be expected to play out in roughly two and a half years’ time, at the earliest, and in light of the powerful forces arrayed against it, it may never occur at all. In the meantime, something far more dangerous is happening on the other side of the English Channel: the slow-motion meltdown of the Eurozone’s banking system.

This Was the Week the World Got Really Anxious About Globalization's Future - (www.bloomberg.com) Weak global trade, fears that the U.K. is marching towards a hard Brexit, and polls indicating that the U.S. election remains a tighter call than markets are pricing in have led a bevy of analysts to redouble their warnings that a backlash over globalization is poised to roil global financial markets—with profound consequences for the real economy and investment strategies.  From the economists and politicians at the annual IMF meeting in Washington to strategists on Wall Street trying to advise clients, everyone seems to be pondering a future in which cooperation and global trade may look much different than they do now.

Illusion of Liquidity Burns Traders Blindsided by Pound’s Crash – (www.bloomberg.com) The inexplicable volatility that roiled the British pound last week came as no surprise to Bank of America Corp., which just days earlier warned that liquidity in the $5.1 trillion-per-day global currency market was far worse than anyone imagined. Sterling sank 6.1 percent in a span of minutes in early Asian trading Oct. 7, following at least three other bouts of puzzling foreign-exchange turbulence in the past two years. The latest episode involved the fourth-most-traded currency, serving up a stark reminder of the pitfalls that investors face in the world’s biggest financial market as banks -- the traditional middlemen -- step back amid post-crisis regulations. 

 

Carl Icahn Shuts Trump Taj Mahal After 26 Years Of Operation; 3,000 Union Workers Lose Their Jobs – (www.zerohedge.com) The Trump Taj Mahal, which Donald Trump opened 26 years ago calling it "the eighth wonder of the world", officially closed today. To be sure, the now defunct structure had no trace of ownership to Trump, and instead was until yesterday owned by Trump's friend and fellow billionaire Carl Icahn, who closed the casino on Monday morning, making it the fifth casualty of Atlantic City's casino crisis. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs, bringing the total jobs lost by Atlantic City casino closings to 11,000 since 2014.



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