Friday June 16 2017 Housing and Economic stories

TOP STORIES:            

Gymboree files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; CFO departs retailer – (www.cnbc.com) Gymboree has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The children's clothing retailer announced the move Monday morning, only a few weeks after it partnered with a turnaround firm, AlixPartners, to assist with its operations and then missed a June 1 debt payment. A bankruptcy filing had been seen as imminent, with S&P Global lowering its corporate credit rating on the company to "D" from "CC." San Francisco-based Gymboree also announced Monday the departure of Chief Financial Officer Andrew North, who is leaving for personal reasons.

Is the Chain-Restaurant Recession Becoming Structural? - (www.wolfstreet.com) A 15-month downturn, longest since 2009, and no end in sight. There’s simply no respite for chain restaurants. Industry-wide, same-store sales fell again in May. The last time, same-store sales actually rose year-over-year was in February 2016. On that basis, the chain-restaurant recession is now in its 15th month, the longest downturn since the Financial Crisis. In May, same store sales fell 1.1% year-over-year. Same-store foot traffic fell 3.0%. Food sales were down, and alcohol sales were down, according to TDn2K’s Restaurant Industry Snapshot, tracking sales at 27,000 restaurant units from 155 brands, generating about $67 billion in annual revenue. But the average amount of the check per person increased by 2%, and not because they ordered more food and booze, but because prices rose.

Coinbase Crashes As Bitcoin, Ethereum Join FANG Stocks Meltdown - (www.zerohedge.com) Whether it is just a curious coincidence or not, cryptocurrencies are crashing along with FANG stocks this morning... Earlier statements about the Ethereum network running slow due to extremely heavy activity appear to have taken their toll on one major exchange... And Bitcoin is tracking FANG stocks lower (down around 13% this morning)... This is the biggest drop since January 2015. And Ethereum is down over 15%...after tagging $400 earlier last night

New economic woes put Theresa May under fresh pressure  - (www.telegraph.co.uk) Theresa May has been hit by a series of economic blows, with consumers tightening their belts and businesses increasingly showing fears of a sharp slowdown as she attempts to cling on to power. The crucial services sector stands on the brink of a contraction, new data shows, and credit card spending has fallen for the first time in four years. High Street footfall has also gone sharply into reverse and manufacturing and construction companies in the English regions report a widespread slowdown in activity.

 

The Biggest Tech Stocks Come Unglued - (www.wolfstreet.com) Wow, did you see that? That was quick. Friday morning between 10:15 AM and 11:15 AM, the Nasdaq gallivanted around blissfully for an entire hour in record territory of around 6,340 with not a worry in sight, and then someone must have looked at the valuations or something, and it became infectious, and the sell-orders started pouring out, and by 2:48 PM, the Nasdaq hit a low for the day of 6,160, down 3.1% from peak to trough. It closed at 6,208, down 114 points, or 1.8%, its biggest daily decline so far this year. Meanwhile, the Dow rose nearly 90 points or 0.4% to 21,272. And the S&P 500 ended down a minuscule 2 points.

OTHER STORIES:

Qatar Banks Can Survive Gulf, Foreign Funds Withdrawal, S&P Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Dollar shortages hit Qatar exchange houses as foreign banks scale back ties - (www.reuters.com)
Puerto Rico Warns It May Grab Sales-Taxes Claimed by Bondholders - (www.bloomberg.com)
China’s New Bridges: Rising High, but Buried in Debt - (www.nytimes.com)

Fed’s Effort to Guide Markets Falls Short - (www.wsj.com)
Theresa May is ‘dead woman walking’, says George Osborne - (www.ft.com)
Poor inflation readings unlikely to deter Federal Reserve - (www.ft.com)
Trump, Russia and Comey: Where it all stands - (www.thehill.com)