_Economy and Finance

ASIA MARKETS|FEBRUARY 28, 2011, 1:54 A.M. ET High Oil Prices Rattle Asian Markets By SHRI NAVARATNAM And GA-WOON PHILIP VAHN SINGAPORE—Asian stock markets were mixed Monday as a surge in oil prices amid continued worries over the turmoil in the Middle East hit airline stocks and dampened sentiment. The Seoul market lost ground on fears that an ongoing military drill could provoke fresh aggression from North Korea.

Related News: U.S. · Bonds · Municipal Bonds Risk of Widespread Municipal Bond Defaults Near `Zero,' Moody's Zandi Says By Mark Niquette and William Selway - Feb 28, 2011 6:22 AM GMT+0900 Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Dire warnings about impending defaults in the municipal-bond market are overblown, an economist and analyst told a group of the nation’s governors. The risk of a major default or round of defaults is “close to zero,” Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said during a panel session at the National Governors Association’s winter meeting in Washington. “I think that the very loud hand-wringing over the prospects for major municipal-bond defaults is entirely misplaced,” Zandi said.

Insight: Is the Housing Crash Finally Over? English 한국어 Hello. Today, we are exploring the key takeaways from the Wall Street Journal's 2011 article, "Why 2011 May Be the End of the Housing Crash." This insightful piece explains why the long and painful real estate slump might finally be coming to a close. The biggest reason for optimism is that homes are incredibly affordable right now. In fact, compared to how much people earn, houses are the cheapest they have been in 35 years. In cities like Los Angeles, the cost of a home has dropped so much that buying makes a lot more financial sense than renting. Another very positive sign is that smart investors are quietly returning to the market. But they aren't borrowing heavily like people did during the bubble. Instead, they are buying up properties with cold, hard cash. In cities like Miami, over half of all home sales were cash deals. This shows that savvy buyers belie...

The Caution Flag Is Out For The Revitalized U.S. CMBS Market (00:05:57 min) The revitalized U.S. CMBS market is dealing with larger and more complex transactions. CMBS 2.0, after a very conservative start, has quickly moved toward higher leverage, lower debt service coverage ratios, and somewhat looser underwriting. In this podcast, Standard & Poor's Managing Director Howard Esaki and Senior Director James Manzi discuss overall market trends with an eye on these recent transactions. Listen

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d2828764-4105-11e0-bf62-00144feabdc0.html February 25, 2011 11:06 pm Tesco reviews property strategy By Andrea Felsted, Senior Retail Correspondent Philip Clarke, the incoming chief executive of Tesco, is examining the group’s property strategy in a move that some analysts believe could herald a further multibillion-pound disposal programme.

Ratings Agencies Criticized for Going Easy on Mortgage Servicers By Jeff Horwitz FEB 25, 2011 5:23pm EDT Investors and analysts have howled over specific mortgage servicers' handling of delinquent loans for years. The ratings industry generally has not.

February 25, 2011, 10:59 AM Frankfurt’s ‘Mainhattan’ Reaches for the Skies By Tom Fairless Frankfurt’s landmark towers are gleaming anew. This week, the last of 2,800 staff moved back into Deutsche Bank’s 155-meter towers, nicknamed “debit” and “credit,” after a three-year refurbishment. Everything bar the concrete skeleton is new. The pair will be formally launched at a party on Thursday. http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/02/25/frankfurts-mainhattan-reaches-for-the-skies/