Empiric Student Property Share Discussion Threads

[briarberry] 06/11/2009 23:31

Detroit's Home Federal Savings 117th bank failure

[briarberry] 06/11/2009 20:05

The consumer is still deflating...

U.S. Sept. consumer credit falls $14.8 billion
U.S. 3Q credit-card debt falls record 10% annual
U.S. consumer credit down 4.7% in past year
U.S. Sept. consumer credit falls 7.2% annual rate
U.S. consumer credit falls for record 8th month

[briarberry] 05/11/2009 22:21

Fannie Mae is asking for an additional $15 billion in government aid after posting another big loss in the third quarter as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps rising.

[briarberry] 05/11/2009 19:44

so that's more money for both car + home buyers

[briarberry] 05/11/2009 19:43

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- GMAC Inc., the auto and mortgage lender negotiating a third round of government aid, reported a third-quarter loss tied to mortgage defaults.

The net loss from continuing operations was $671 million, compared with $2.5 billion a year earlier, Detroit-based GMAC said in a statement. GMAC's net loss was $767 million; the auto finance unit swung to a profit, while mortgage operations posted a smaller deficit.

GMAC relies on government-guaranteed debt. The lender sold $2.9 billion in debt last week guaranteed by the FDIC


(+ GM (Government Motors) showed a big increase in sales due to generous finance deals for customers)

[briarberry] 04/11/2009 19:19

No surprises from Fed policy statement

Fed: Economy likely to remain weak for a time
Fed more upbeat about economy
Fed trims agency debt purchases to $175 bln
Fed holds zero-rate policy
Fed expects to keep rates low for extended period
Fed makes only small changes to policy statement

[briarberry] 04/11/2009 14:02

Treasury says could hit debt ceiling mid-Dec.
Treasury reintroduces 30-yr inflation securities
Treasury to auction record $81 bln next week

[briarberry] 02/11/2009 15:01

U.S. Oct. ISM factory index 55.7% vs. 52.6% Sept.
U.S. Sept. pending home sales up 6.1%

[briarberry] 02/11/2009 14:44

CIT's filing is probably the fourth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. CIT is a major lender to small and midsize businesses

shareprice down 47% (although not sure if it's still trading)

[briarberry] 01/11/2009 23:58

some price inflation stats...


United States - Agricultural Prices - October: +7.1%
(includes crop prices and livestock & product prices, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

India - Consumer Price Index - September: +11.6%

France - Producer Price Index - September: -8.1%
Italy - Producer Price Index - September: -7.9%

[briarberry] 01/11/2009 23:18

U.S. commercial property sales are forecast to fall to the lowest in almost two decades as the industry endures its worst slump since the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s, according to property research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc. The Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Indices already have fallen almost 41 percent since October 2007, Moody's Investors Service said Oct. 19.

[briarberry] 01/11/2009 23:15

The IMF expects Japan's gross public debt to reach 218pc of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, 227pc next year, and 246pc by 2014. This has been manageable so far only because Japanese savers have been willing – or coerced – into lending for almost nothing. The yield on 10-year government bonds has been around 1.30pc this year, though they jumped to 1.42pc last week.

...
The savings rate has crashed from 15pc in 1990 to near 2pc today, half America's rate. Japan's $1.5 trillion state pension fund (the world's biggest) has become a net seller of government bonds this year, as it must to meet pay-out obligations. The demographic crunch has hit. The workforce been contracting since 2005.

...
The Great Recession has eaten up 27pc in tax revenues. Industrial output is down 19pc, even after the summer rebound; exports are down 31pc; the economy is 10pc smaller today in "nominal" terms than a year ago – and nominal is what matters for debt.

[briarberry] 01/11/2009 20:31

The Crash of 1929 (Originally aired: 1990.11.19 (possibly with some new content in 2004))

"In 1929, while the stock market was rising, seemingly without limits, there were few critics. Based on eight years of continued prosperity, presidents and economists alike confidently predicted that America would soon enter a time when there would be no more poverty, no more depressions -- a 'New Era' when everyone could be rich. 'The Crash of 1929' captures the unbounded optimism of the age and the shocking consequences when reality finally hit, exploring a fateful year through the words and experiences of the descendants of several titans of finance."

52 mins

log chart

[briarberry] 01/11/2009 19:56

CIT Group Inc. plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as Sunday afternoon, said people familiar with the matter, in a high-stakes restructuring intended to keep the doors open at one of the U.S.'s largest small-business lenders.

CIT's board was meeting about the likely filing early Sunday afternoon, these people said, and the company expected to seek Chapter 11 protection in New York in a matter of hours

[briarberry] 01/11/2009 12:25

Citigroup during the 1920s (then called National City Bank) did the same sh*t then as they are doing now-a-days...


During the 1920s, the institution then known as National City Bank opened stores around the country to encourage the burgeoning middle class to invest in stocks and bonds. With little money down - 10 percent of the cost of a trade was all an investor needed to buy shares - investors poured into the stock market. Charles E. Mitchell, C.E.O. of National City, hyped these sales throughout the period. His nickname was "Sunshine Charley."

Then came the Great Crash of 1929. Vilified as a "bankster" in the aftermath of the crash, Mr. Mitchell testified to Congress that banks "were too ready to loan, too ready to meet the competition of neighbors, too willing to cut down their margins to a point of encouraging excessive bargaining."

Before the crash, industry practice allowed National City not only to underwrite securities but also to employ a sales army to peddle them to depositors. After Congressional hearings determined that this conflict of interest was a major cause of the debacle, lawmakers passed the Glass-Steagall Act, separating activities of commercial banks (which offered plain old savings accounts and loans) from those of investment firms (which trafficked in more highflying endeavors like stock trading and underwriting).

Although thousands of smaller banks failed, government policies to prop up the banking sector helped National City and other major banks weather the Depression



Citi has nearly a $trillion of credit card debt on it's books

[briarberry] 30/10/2009 14:44

Food will never be so cheap again

Biofuel refineries in the US have set fresh records for grain use every month since May. Almost a third of the US corn harvest will be diverted into ethanol for motors this year, or 12pc of the global crop.

The world's grain stocks have dropped from four to 2.6 months cover since 2000, despite two bumper harvests in North America. China's inventories are at a 30-year low. Asian rice stocks are near danger level.

[briarberry] 29/10/2009 20:15

Las Vegas Sands Q3 net loss 19c vs 9c loss a share

[briarberry] 29/10/2009 17:54

Treasury sells $31 bln in 7-year notes at 3.141%

[briarberry] 28/10/2009 14:58

Steel giant ArcelorMittal reports 76% profit fall
ConocoPhillips profit falls 71%, production flat

[briarberry] 27/10/2009 13:42

India Orders Banks to Increase Investments in Bonds

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- India's central bank took the first step of an exit from its record monetary stimulus as inflation pressures build, ordering lenders to keep more cash in government bonds.