Friday April 21 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:            

What the Heck’s Going On with Classic Cars? - (www.wolfstreet.com) Prices of collector cars fell again, according to the April report by Hagerty, which specializes in insuring vintage automobiles. After a tremendous price surge that peaked in 2015, they’ve been ratcheting their way down ever so slowly. But it adds up after a while. The “Hagerty Market Rating Index” – which tracks the “heat” of the market – fell 0.33 points to 66.65 in April. The index, which is adjusted for inflation, is now down 7.4% from its all-time high of 71.99 in May 2015. Here are more clues from Hagerty’s report: The number of owners expressing the belief that the values of their vehicles are rising continues to fall. The number is at its lowest since November 2013 for owners of mainstream vehicles and at its lowest since May 2012 for owners of high-end vehicles.

Warren Buffett Now Selling US Houses To Chinese Oligarchs - (www.zerohedge.com) While extolling the virtues of American consumers and praising the US economy, Warren Buffett has started seeking the help - and funds - of Chinese oligarchs to sell houses from his real estate brokerage HomeServices. According to Bloomberg's Berkshire's real estate brokerage, HomeServices - currently the second-largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage - acquired as part of Buffett acquisition of an energy business, "is expanding its global reach with a push to attract wealthy Chinese citizens to purchase homes in the U.S", in the process diverting "hot" Chinese money to the US (see Vancouver and Toronto for the outcome). As Bloomberg reports, HomeServices has been expanding under Buffett by opening new locations, forming a 2012 venture to expand licensing operations and then working to capitalize on demand from non-U.S. buyers. The unit hired Realogy’s Peter Turtzo in 2015 to push into international markets and recruited Mitchell Lewis from Christie’s International Real Estate in September to build operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. brokerage, "is expanding its global reach with a push to attract wealthy Chinese citizens to purchase homes in the U.S", in the process diverting "hot" Chinese money to the US.

Why Canada’s Housing Bubble Could Soon Become Your Problem - (www.caseyresearch.com) What kind of house would you buy with $1 million? A beachfront property…a mansion on a large estate…maybe a luxury condo? Any of these would be possible in most cities. But you might want to temper your expectations if you live in Toronto. That’s because $1 million won’t buy you much there. Just look at this house. It recently sold for C$1,050,000. That’s 63% more than the property was appraised for in January 2016. As if that weren’t crazy enough, this property sold for C$370,000 above list price after only being on the market for ten days.

Iron Ore Ignores China Data, Index as Decline Accelerates: Chart - (www.bloomberg.com) Iron ore futures have fallen more than seven percent in the past two days despite encouraging data showing the economy in China, a major consumer of the steel-making material, grew more than expected in the first quarter. The 14-day relative strength index is also at its lowest since December 2015, when it hit a record bottom on data going back to 2008. It is now at a level that suggests the commodity has been oversold.

A seismic shift is happening, and billions are pouring into these index funds and ETFs - (www.cnbc.com) In the past decade, there's been a seismic shift from active to passive management, i.e., from mutual funds run by ersatz Peter Lynches to index funds and ETFs that track the market. The fiduciary rule, which President Obama first advocated for in February of 2015 and the DOL formally proposed on April 14, 2016, accelerated that trend. If implemented, it would impose "impartial conduct" standards on financial advisors requiring they always act in their clients' best interests. That means finding the best investment fund possible, while the older, "suitability standard" required only finding an acceptable option for an investor's given risk tolerance. The best option, reams of academic studies have confirmed, is generally the low-cost one. And the lowest-cost funds are index ones.

OTHER STORIES:

Wall Street rallies in low volume led by banks, tech - (www.reuters.com)
Mnuchin warns of tax reform delay following healthcare setback: FT - (www.reuters.com)
North Korea 'will test missiles weekly', senior official tells BBC - (www.bbc.com)

US admits Trump tax reforms will be hit by healthcare setback - (www.ft.com)
Mélenchon barges way into tight French race in final straight - (www.ft.com)
Investors Pile Into Risky Chinese Debt - (www.wsj.com)