_Economy and Finance

Eco Analysis - Canada GDP: Energy sector lifts August growth (R. Narvas) ■ Better than expected Economic activity in August surprised to the upside rising 0.3%m/m and there was an added bonus with the previous month revised one tick higher to 0.4% m/m. GDP Y/Y rose to 2.4% from 2.3%.

Gross Says Additional Easing Programs to Push Yields Higher By Liz Capo McCormick - 2011.10.31 06:28 AM Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said the additional easing programs hinted at by Federal Reserve officials will push yields on longer-term Treasuries higher.

Home prices heading for triple-dip By Les Christie October 31, 2011: 5:37 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The besieged housing market has even further to fall before home prices really hit rock bottom.

'Lost Decades' explains what damaged the U.S. economy By Jon Rosen, Special for USA TODAY Though the panic of collapsing markets is now behind us, Americans are experiencing a weak, painful recovery compounded by mounting public and private debt.

Why zombies are taking over the economy Have you noticed that there's a slow, shuffling feeling of dread and impending doom in this economy?

Office Market Frankfurt - Q3 2011 At 316,300 sq m, the Frankfurt office space take-up in the first three quarters was 13% lower than in the previous year. Compared to the previous year, when the space take-up volume was strongly influenced by the owner-occupied take-up by the European Central Bank, this result can be seen as robust.Without the ECB take-up, the growth in take-up would in fact have been at a satisfactory 22%. The vacancy rate rose slightly compared to the previous quarter by 0.2% points to its current level of 17.3%. With 12,700 sq m office space having been completed in the third quarter, the volume of new completions is at its lowest level for three years. The achievable prime rent remained stable at €38.00/sq m/month. Author(s): several Source: CB Richard Ellis Published: 27.10.2011 http://www.immopro24.com/market-report/office-market-frankfurt-q3-2011_1080.html

Five ways the European debt crisis could affect the U.S. By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY WASHINGTON – The financial crisis that began in the United States in late 2007 swept across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. Now, U.S. political and financial leaders are hoping a tentative deal to relieve Europe's government debt crisis will prevent a similar tsunami in reverse.

Economy in U.S. Probably Expanded at the Fastest Pace in a Year By Alex Kowalski - 2011.10.26 09:01 PM The U.S. economy probably grew in the third quarter at the fastest pace this year as gains in consumer spending and business investment helped sustain a recovery on the brink of faltering, economists said before a report today.

Mongolia Delays First U.S. Dollar Bond Sale as Economy Set for 20% Growth 2011.10.26 05:58 PM Mongolia delayed plans to sell its first U.S. dollar-denominated bonds until 2012 as surging coal exports puts the economy on target to grow 20 percent this year.

What Constitutes A Sovereign Default For Standard & Poor's? (00:10:29 min) In this CreditMatters TV segment, Standard & Poor's Criteria Officer Alexandra Dimitrijevic discusses the characteristics that could constitute a sovereign default for Standard & Poor's, following the recent public attention to Greece's debt reprofiling. Besides missing a debt payment, Standard & Poor's could also consider some 'distressed' exchange offers or similar debt restructuring as equivalent to a default, if they meet certain characteristics.

Deutsche Bank’s Gad Caspy takes over European CRE Posted on October 26, 2011 7:48 pm Deutsche Bank has appointed Gad Caspy as its new European head of real estate, replacing Cyril Courbage who left the bank at the end of September, CoStar News has learned. http://costarfinance.com/2011/10/26/deutsche-banks-gad-caspy-takes-over-european-cre/ Caspy, currently a managing director in Deutsche Bank’s New York-based global structured credit division, has worked closely with the divisions’ head, Elad Shraga, with their working relationship at Deutsche Bank reportedly dating back to a stint at the bank’s Tel Aviv branch. Shraga has been integrating the European real estate team into his wider global structured credit division since the turn of the year as the bank seeks to target the much deeper US structured finance investor market for its European real estate debt. Caspy is expected to relocate to London next month and to drive through the next phase of integration with the Europe...

AMERICAN DREAM DEFERRED Top 1% are getting even richer By Jessica Dickler @CNNMoney October 26, 2011: 10:51 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- From 1979 to 2007, average household income for the nation's top 1% more than tripled, while middle-class incomes grew by less than 40%, according to a new report from a research arm of Congress.

Should I buy or rent? By Walter Updegrave October 26, 2011: 7:33 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- For the last three years, my husband and I have been renting a house. But I would rather buy than throw my money away on rent. Still, even though we have about $120,000 in savings, great credit and no debt, my husband is reluctant. The job he's had the past two years took 15 months to find, and it pays a lot less than his previous job. He's afraid buying now isn't a good idea because of the shaky economy. What do you think: Should we buy or continue renting? -- Jean J.

Sales of New U.S. Homes Hits Five-Month High By Bob Willis - 2011.10.26 07:11 AM Purchases of new U.S. houses rose more than forecast in September as discounted prices lured buyers in some parts of the country.

New-home sales jump in September as builders cut prices WASHINGTON (AP) – Sales of new homes rose in September after four straight monthly declines, largely because builders cut their prices.

■ Home prices moved lower in 20 US cities during August (B. Jones) S&P/Case-Shiller (SPCS) reported that home prices in the 20 US cities that they track fell by 0.05% in August, after a downward revised 0.15% decline in July. The August print marked the fourth consecutive monthly slide and was weaker than the median Street expectation for a 0.1% rise. Since April, home prices have fallen by 0.3%, erasing three quarters of the rise posted in that month. The reported August dip left the index 3.8% below its year-to-year level the smallest 12-month decline since April.

U.S. throws lifeline to underwater homeowners By Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:53pm EDT (Reuters) - U.S. homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth got new help on Monday with the government's expansion of a refinancing program in a step that could help up to 1 million borrowers.

Fed Focus: Fed activists loudly signal low bar to easing By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:11pm EDT (Reuters) - Pro-growth activists at the Federal Reserve have gotten noisier, a sign the central bank won't back off aggressive efforts to spur a stronger recovery despite the objections of critics.

RECOVERY AT RISK GDP forecast: Growing faster, but not for long By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney October 24, 2011: 4:18 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Economists are a little more optimistic about the nation's economic health, but they don't think the sputtering U.S. recovery is out of the woods.

Fed Wants to Ensure Housing Affordability, Dudley Says By Caroline Salas Gage - 2011.10.24 12:26 PM Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said the central bank wants to keep mortgage interest rates from rising too much and may do more to hold down borrowing costs.

What's Behind The Recent Rating Actions On The Five Largest French Banks? (00:06:48 min) In light of more challenging economic and funding market conditions, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services took various rating actions on the five largest banks in France. Additionally, Standard & Poor's has also revised the Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) on France to Group 2 from the lower-risk Group 1. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Elisabeth Grandin, one of our senior analysts for European Banks, discusses the report related to these rating actions, which was published Oct. 14, 2011.

Shedding Light On The Global Power Industry (00:09:51 min) Low natural gas prices and weak power demand have driven down electricity prices, stressing ratings on generators at a time when environmental compliance costs continue to rise. Utilities in rate-regulated markets to a large extent have maintained credit quality as regulators have generally allowed cost pass-through for everything from smokestack scrubbers to nuclear plant upgrades. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Lead Analytical Managers Steve Dreyer (Utilities & Infrastructure, U.S.), Peter Tuving (Utilities & Infrastructure, Europe/Middle East/Africa), and Andrew Palmer (Utilities & Infrastructure, Asia-Pacific) examine the trends shaping the global power industry. Topics include the impact of Europe’s struggling economies on utility ratings and how the Fukushima earthquake and Tokyo Electric Power have affected Asia-Pacific's utility sector.

EYES ON THE FED Fed's Dudley calls for housing aid By Annalyn Censky @CNNMoney October 24, 2011: 9:44 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A top Federal Reserve official is pushing for an "urgent effort" to prop up the housing market, and support the overall U.S. economy.

Jobs Outlook in U.S. Worst Since 2010: Survey By Shobhana Chandra - 2011.10.23 09:01 PM U.S. companies’ hiring plans reflect the worst employment outlook since January 2010 as demand slows in the world’s largest economy, a private survey showed.

U.S. rating likely to be downgraded again: Merrill By Walter Brandimarte NEW YORK | Sun Oct 23, 2011 3:20pm EDT (Reuters) - The United States will likely suffer the loss of its triple-A credit rating from another major rating agency by the end of this year due to concerns over the deficit, Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecasts.

Big banks under new pressure in Europe crisis 2011.10.22 10:56 PM BRUSSELS (AP) – Big banks found themselves under pressure in Europe's debt crisis Saturday, with finance chiefs pushing them to raise billions of euros in capital and accept huge losses on Greek bonds they hold.

Ariz. regulators seize PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. PHOENIX (AP) – Insurance regulators in Arizona have seized the main subsidiary of private mortgage insurer PMI Group, which will begin paying claims at just 50%.

Condo nation: Why so few Americans are buying homes By John Melloy, CNBC.com 2011.10.22 07:52 AM The housing market is rebounding — at least one piece of it.

Unemployment rates fall in half of U.S. states By Christopher S. Rugaber, Associated Press 2011.10.21 07:53 AM WASHINGTON – Unemployment rates fell in half of U.S. states last month, a sign that September's pickup in hiring was felt around the country.

Foreign buyers scooping up U.S. homes By Les Christie October 21, 2011: 5:23 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hey, wealthy foreigners! Want to live in the U.S.? Buy a home here.

Starwood Capital brings in European real estate debt ‘point man’ Posted on October 20, 2011 1:21 pm Starwood Capital, the global private equity real estate firm, is moving Adam Shah over to London next month from its US headquarters to act as point man for real estate loan debt opportunities. http://costarfinance.com/2011/10/20/starwood-capital-brings-in-european-real-estate-debt-point-man/

Fed Should Resume Mortgage Purchases: Tarullo By Scott Lanman and Caroline Salas Gage - 2011.10.20 09:05 PM Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo’s call for resuming large-scale purchases of mortgage bonds may boost chances the central bank will start a third round of asset buying aimed at reviving U.S. growth.

Factories Help to Support U.S. Economy as Labor, Housing Markets Struggle By Alex Kowalski - 2011.10.20 01:20 PM Manufacturing in the Philadelphia area unexpectedly expanded in October at the fastest pace in six months, signaling factories are helping support a U.S. economy weighed down by weakness in the housing and labor markets.

US LEI Increases 20 October, 2011 The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.2 percent in September to 116.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in August, and a 0.6 percent increase in July.

Unemployment claims drop, economic indicators point higher 2011.10.19 11:14 PM WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people applying for unemployment benefits declined slightly last week, but applications are still above levels consistent with a healthy economy.

Brooklyn Home Sales Jump as Buyers Seek Deals on New Condo Developments By Prashant Gopal and Katie Spencer - 2011.10.19 09:01 PM Home sales in Brooklyn, New York’s most populous borough, climbed 18 percent in the third quarter as rising apartment rents and low mortgage rates drove demand for condominiums in new developments.

Commercial Real Estate Deals Decline in Cooling of U.S. Property Rebound By David M. Levitt, Hui-yong Yu and Dan Levy - 2011.10.19 09:01 PM The U.S. commercial real estate market has slowed in the past three months as the sputtering economy and a pullback in debt financing limited deals, cooling a recovery from Washington to California.

Bloomberg: Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Probably Fell as Lack of Jobs Hurt Confidence By Bob Willis - 2011.10.19 09:00 PM Sales of existing U.S. homes probably fell in September, extending a pattern of gains and losses that shows the industry is being buffeted by a lack of jobs and confidence, economists said before a report today.

EUROPE NEWS OCTOBER 20, 2011 Euro-Zone Deal Still in Doubt By LAURENCE NORMAN, COSTAS PARIS and MATTHEW DALTON BRUSSELS—Euro-zone leaders have narrowed their differences but remain well short of a deal to try to bring the debt crisis to a close, according to people familiar with the situation.

Sept. Housing Starts Up More Than Forecast By Bob Willis and Alex Kowalski - 2011.10.19 02:00 PM Builders began work on more U.S. homes than forecast in September and consumer prices climbed at the slowest pace in three months, supporting Federal Reserve forecasts for a pickup in growth and a moderation in inflation.

EYES ON THE FED Fed: Economy weakening but no sign of recession By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney October 19, 2011: 2:46 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The economy is losing steam across much of the nation, but is still growing and not in recession, according to the latest outlook from the Federal Reserve.

Hedge funds suffer worst quarter since 2008 By Hibah Yousuf October 19, 2011: 2:12 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Feeling blue about the hit your portfolio took last quarter? You're not alone. Hedge funds also had a lousy third quarter, delivering one of the worst performances on record.

Eco Analysis - US Housing Activity: Multifamily mayhem (B. Jones) ■ Powered by a surge in multifamily activity, housing starts jumped to 17-month high The number of new housing units started jumped by 15.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 658,000 in September, following upward-revised tallies of 615,000 in July and 572,000 in August. The reported figure exceeded the consensus expectation (590,000) by a country mile and represented the strongest activity since April 2010 (687,000). Reflecting solid demand for rental dwellings, multifamily starts soared by 51.3% to 233,000, accounting for all but a fraction of last month's rise. Single-family starts, climbed by a comparatively modest 1.7% to 425,000, essentially matching the July-August average.

Student loans outstanding will exceed $1 trillion this year By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY 2011.10.19 12:15 AM Students and workers seeking retraining are borrowing extraordinary amounts of money through federal loan programs, potentially putting a huge burden on the backs of young people looking for jobs and trying to start careers.

French credit review threatens euro zone rescues By Paul Taylor and Nicholas Vinocur PARIS | Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:38am EDT (Reuters) - Moody's decision to review France's triple-A credit rating cast new doubt on Tuesday on Europe's hopes of drawing a line under its sovereign debt crisis, five days before a crucial EU summit.

Home Short Sales Rise in ‘Dramatic Shift’ That May Boost Prices By Kathleen M. Howley - 2011.10.17 09:01 PM U.S. home prices may get a boost from an unlikely source: a pickup in sales of properties in default before they reach the stage where they are repossessed by the bank and sold.

THE APPRAISAL In an Earlier Time of Boom and Bust, Rentals Also Gained Favor By DIANE CARDWELL Published: October 17, 2011 During the boom years in Manhattan real estate, credit was easy, speculators developed building after building to meet rising demand for apartments, and values kept climbing, fed by a flurry of resales. But then Wall Street plummeted and the housing market followed suit, as values deflated and apartment sales came to a standstill.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/235619/scitech/algae-eyed-as-biofuel-animal-feed Algae eyed as biofuel, animal feed October 17, 2011 9:59am The lowly algae may soon be a useful biofuel and a source of animal feeds but only if the agricultural and energy sectors focus their efforts on tapping it.

Hedge Funds Add to Raw-Material Bets in Biggest Rally of 2011: Commodities By Whitney McFerron - 2011.10.16 06:19 PM Speculators boosted their wagers on higher commodity prices for the first time in five weeks as increasing confidence that the global economy will avoid another recession spurred the biggest rally of the year.

USA Today: Low mortgage rates are nice if you can get 'em By Diana Olick, CNBC.com 2011.10.15 08:07 AM For weeks now we've been touting new record-low rates on 15- and 30-year fixed mortgages.

Pimco's Bill Gross is betting with the Fed By Hibah Yousuf October 15, 2011: 10:08 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Pimco's Bill Gross has already admitted that his bearish call on U.S. Treasuries earlier this year was a bad bet. Now it seems that the bond guru is taking his lead from the Federal Reserve.

Pimco’s Gross Tells Clients 2011 a ‘Stinker’ By Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam - 2011.10.15 05:01 AM Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest mutual fund, sought to reassure clients that he hasn’t lost his touch after he misjudged the extent of the economic slowdown, causing his Pimco Total Return Fund to trail rivals this year.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/10/pikebiofuels-20111013.html Pike Research forecasts global biofuels market value to double to $185B by 2021 13 October 2011 According to a new report from Pike Research, the increased production and consumption of biofuels will more than double the industry’s market value in the next decade. Pike forecasts that the global market for biofuels will increase from $82.7 billion in 2011 to $185.3 billion by 2021.

Foreclosure notices rise in 3Q, but down from a year ago By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press 2011.10.13 03:18 AM LOS ANGELES – More U.S. homes are entering the foreclosure process, but they're taking longer to be sold or repossessed by lenders.

Foreclosures continue to plague housing market By Aaron Smith October 13, 2011: 5:41 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Foreclosures continued to plague the U.S. housing market last quarter, while a a growing backlog has caused the length of the foreclosure process to drag on and on.

EUROPE NEWS OCTOBER 12, 2011 ECB Chief: Europe Is 'Epicenter' of Crisis By WILLIAM LAUNDER And TOM FAIRLESS FRANKFURT—European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet warned Tuesday that the euro-zone crisis has "reached a systemic dimension" and said governments must swiftly push through fiscal reforms and coordinate a recapitalization of banks.

Market's biggest risk? Duh. It's Europe. By Hibah Yousuf October 12, 2011: 7:56 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's been on and off the back burner for a year and a half, but the European debt crisis is finally nearing a boiling point.

Wall Street Sees ‘No Exit’ From Financial Decline as Bankers Fret Future By Max Abelson - 2011.10.11 09:00 PM Wall Street executives, facing demonstrators camped for a fourth week in New York’s financial district, say they’re anxious and angry for other reasons.

Europe warned of systemic crisis over debt By Sakari Suoninen and Martin Santa FRANKFURT/BRATISLAVA | Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:46am EDT (Reuters) - Europe's top financial watchdog warned on Tuesday that the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and threatens global economic stability unless decisive action is taken urgently.

No U.S. Recession as Forecasts Improve By Rich Miller and Vivien Lou Chen - 2011-10-10 03:34 AM The U.S. has likely dodged a recession for now, even though it’s too early to sound the all- clear for the economy.

THE BUZZ Not a recession. But who cares? By Paul R. La Monica @CNNMoney October 7, 2011: 12:51 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Summer may be over but it's still time to fire up the grill.

Mortgage Rates, Mortgage Demand and Home Prices All Fall Published: Thursday, 6 Oct 2011 | 11:45 AM ET By: Diana Olick CNBC Real Estate Reporter When mortgage rates first fell below five percent in 2009, we called it an emotional landmark, a level that, while not significantly different from the previous week or month, would send up a flag to borrowers that it was time to buy or at least to refinance.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/06/idUS133098+06-Oct-2011+RNS20111006 REG - RIT Cap. Partners - Investment in Renshaw Bay Thu Oct 6, 2011 1:59pm BST * Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release. RNS Number : 7116P RIT Capital Partners PLC 06 October 2011 RIT Capital Partners plc Investment in Renshaw Bay Ltd In February 2011, RIT Capital Partners plc ("RIT") announced its intention to participate in the launch of Renshaw Bay in partnership with Bill Winters and Reinet Fund S.C.A. Mr Winters, formerly the Co-Chief Executive of JP Morgan Investment Bank, has established Renshaw Bay as a new asset management and advisory group focusing on capital markets based investment strategies.

Six Pac(k)in’ - Long-term profits cannot ultimately grow unless they are partnered with near equal benefits for labor. - There is only a New Normal economy at best and a global recession at worst to look forward to in future years. - If global policymakers could focus on structural as opposed to cyclical financial solutions, New Normal growth as opposed to recession might be possible.

EUROPE'S DEBT CRISIS Greek default is just a matter of time By Ben Rooney @CNNMoney October 5, 2011: 5:39 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It was once unthinkable but is now widely expected: Greece is headed toward default.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 05, 2011 PHILIPPINES Jatropha as alternative fuel a bust BY JOHN LOURENZE POQUIZ The government is set to abandon its program of promoting jatropha as an alternative fuel source, an official said.

Wall Street protesters say they 'want a voice' By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY NEW YORK – Don't ask the protesters sleeping out in a downtown plaza for the list of demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which enters its 19th day today. There isn't one, and with labor unions set to join the group today and with groups in other cities from Los Angeles to Louisville starting their own camp-out protests, their specific proposals for change aren't likely to get any clearer soon.

Starbucks steps up to the jobs challenge By Catherine Clifford October 3, 2011: 2:18 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Starbucks Corp. unveiled a program Monday to help raise money to spur hiring among small businesses.