Wednesday November 30 2016 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:

Hit by Global Turmoil, Banks in Spain Get Jittery (Again) - (www.wolfstreet.com) Banking stocks in Europe continue to benefit from the gravitational pull exerted by the so-called Trump effect. But the effects have not been felt universally. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which is at the center of Italy’s banking crisis, has been reduced to a penny stock. The shares of Italy’s other large banks continue to trend downwards. And the problems in other national banking sectors have not gone away; they’ve just been consigned to the background. Such is the case in Spain, where the risks and challenges in the country’s banking system continue to bloom.

Will Italy's failing banks trigger financial collapse across Europe? - (www.theguardian.com) Established 125 years before Shakespeare penned Romeo and Juliet, the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded in 1472 to help finance the city state of Siena, as well as its artistic renaissance. For more than 500 years the world’s oldest bank has operated successfully, through wars, revolutions and other political upheavals. In the 1990s it was Europe’s most profitable bank. How things change. This week the European Central Bank agreed the financial details of (another) bailout package for the banca, which was previously rescued in 2013. Its financial prospects, along with those of the Italian banking system, appear to be deteriorating. One of the main credit rating agencies just put the country on negative outlook – a warning of worsening economic prospects.

The Hyperinflationary Endgame: Venezuela Currency Crashes 15% In One Day - (www.zerohedge.com) Just last week we were amazed to report that the Venezuela currency, the Bolivar, had crashed below 2,000 for the first time ever, losing 50% of its value in just two months as the Venezuela hyperinflation had entered its terminal phase. As of this morning, the DolarToday.com website, maintained by a person the WSJ dubbed "Public Enemy No. 1 of Venezuela’s revolutionary government, Gustavo Díaz, a Home Depot Inc. employee in central Alabama" reports that having crossed the psychological 2,000 level just one week ago, the Bolivar has just plunged to a new all-time low of 3,480.22 on the black market, dropping by 15% from its latest print of 2,972 reported on Friday of last week, and has lost 60% in its value just in the past month. So for anyone still curious what hyperinflation in real time looks like, here is the visual answer.

When Having Insurance Still Leaves You Dangerously Uncovered – (www.nytimes.com) Plans on the Obamacare exchanges are all subject to an out-of-pocket maximum. In 2016, for a family, it was $13,700, and for an individual it was $6,850. Even the bronzest of bronze plans can't ask you to pay any more, but they are more likely to let you hit the maximum. That's a lot of money. This is true even in the employer-based insurance market. In 2016, almost 30 percent of workers were enrolled in a high-deductible health care plan. More than half of employees with individual plans had deductibles of at least $1,000. Two-thirds of covered workers had co-pays, and 25 percent had co-insurance for primary care. Almost 20 percent of workers were in plans with an out-of-pocket maximum of $6,000 or more.

Portugal Bond Yields Hover Near Brexit Highs As Bank Bosses Quit Ahead Of Bailout - (www.zerohedge.com) Portuguese bank bonds (Novo Banco and Caixa Geral de Depositos) are sliding today with sovereign yields hovering near Brexit highs as AP reports that the new president of the country's biggest bank (and six board members) have quit less than three months after starting work, angry a government demands that senior officials make public their income and personal assets.

OTHER STORIES:

Oil Slump Sinks Asian Stocks Before OPEC as Yen Takes on Dollar - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dollar Pulls Back Amid Yen Gains as Stocks Diverge; Crude Sinks - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.S. shoppers spend less over holiday weekend amid discounting - (www.reuters.com)

Fillon scores huge win in French conservative presidential primaries - (www.reuters.com)
Modi's Rural Supporters May Not Hang On Much Longer - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fears mount of multiple bank failures if Renzi loses referendum - (www.ft.com)