Implode-Explode Heavy Industries news feed

Risk of vicious circle for gold as hedging returns

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:16 GMT

``London-listed gold producer Petropavlovsk has said it will pre-sell 55pc of its future output planned for the second quarter of 2014, at an average price of $1,408 an ounce... this may signal the return of "structural hedging" across the industry, with other companies scrambling to lock in forward contracts. "This could increase the pressure on the spot gold price over the coming years," [Broda] said. The risk is a vicious circle as hedging leads to lower prices, leading to more hedging.'' -- This could be a game-changer that could serve to suppress gold for quite a bit longer (like, years). However, since it was most likely that surreptitious central bank gold leasing was the main capper of gold in the 90s, it's unlikely mere gold producer forward-selling could have such an extensive impact this time.

The Essence of Hilsenrath | The Wall Street Examiner

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:41:54 GMT

``And now I understand what the great Yogi meant when he said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."''

Head of the IMF Christine Lagarde in court charged with embezzlement and fraud

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:15:57 GMT

``The head of the International Monetary Fund arrived in the dock of a Paris courtroom today as she braced herself to be formally charged with embezzlement and fraud. Christine Lagarde's humiliation is not only a massive personal blow which could lead to her resignation, but one which will plunge the world's banking system into further ignominy.''

Watch out. The mortgage securities market is at it again

Fri, 24 May 2013 04:21:40 GMT

``Instead of loosening standards to appease the industry, regulators should make it virtually impossible for securitizers to escape having skin in the game. The consumer bureau's lending standards are helpful, but financial accountability can be a much more powerful tool to discourage irresponsible lending. Securitization's skewed incentives transformed home ownership from the American dream to a Brothers Grimm nightmare. We need to make sure it never happens again. ''

Bank of America praised, criticized for homeowner relief

Fri, 24 May 2013 04:20:17 GMT

``The accolades were striking in light of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's allegations that Bank of America, as well as Wells Fargo, has failed to help struggling homeowners under the agreement. Schneiderman was one of 49 attorneys general to negotiate the $25 billion settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers, including JPMorgan Chase, Ally Financial and Citigroup, over foreclosure abuses last year. ''

Jack Lew: Treasury Secretary and Oblivious Bank Shill

Fri, 24 May 2013 03:47:31 GMT

``You would think that a financial rating agency would be shouting the praises of a rule that would prevent a failing bank from taking the rest of the economy down with it, but that's apparently not how things go in today's market. Particularly when those rating agencies are paid by the very people they are rating and corrupt enough to help sell garbage on the world marketplace.''

NY State Court Halts Judge Shopping in RMBS Putback Cases

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:25:44 GMT

Banks looking to judge shop in RMBS putback cases filed in New York State court are going to get shut out of the process. Apparently there are so many cases to litigate against banks, like JP Morgan and Credit Suisse selling billions of garbage mortgage securities to investors, that administrative judge Sherry Heitler has decreed all RMBS cases as of March 2013 now go to one judge. Roberta McClinton, Heitler's law clerk, confirmed this today giving the reason that similar cases need to go to one judge now because it's for ‘judicial economy'.

Hilsenrath Hits The Tape: Ignore Everything I Said Two Weeks Ago

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:47:20 GMT

``The irony here is that Hilsenrath is correct, but for another far simpler reason: the Fed simply can not shut down bond buying, at least not voluntarily, without crashing bond the stock market, and the perception that the economy is doing well (it isn't), just because the S&P hits new all time highs day after day.''

Existing-home sales highest since 2009 - Economic Report

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:32:42 GMT

Sales of existing homes in April were 9.7% higher than during the same period in the prior year. Pent-up demand is supporting sales, but tight credit standards and inventories are holding back gains, NAR said. There are also headwinds remaining from high unemployment, though the economy is adding jobs. "Unless the regular turnover increases more aggressively, existing-home-sales growth could flatten out somewhat this year," wrote Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas.''

Peter Schiff: Gold Fools Shouldn't Be Selling

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:20:56 GMT

``Schiff: [The Fed] could unwind it and watch the economy implode--which is what it should do. But I'm saying it can't do so and have the recovery. People say it's just a hard trick: It's like pulling a tablecloth out from under the dishes, and the dishes don't fall. They say it is possible to do that--if you do it just right. I'm saying that that's not the trick. What they have to do is pull the table out from under the cloth.''

Report: 'Rogue' IRS Agent Claim Unraveling

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:53:40 GMT

``So who in the chain of command would have received all these flags? The answer, according to the IRS directory, one woman in Cincinnati, Cindy Thomas, the Program Manager of the Tax Exempt Division. Because all six of our IRS workers have different individual and territory managers, Cindy Thomas is one manager they all have common.''

BoJ Ignores Worst April Trade Deficit Ever

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:01:18 GMT

``For the 28th month in a row Japan trade deficit has dropped YoY and its 12-month average is now at its worst ever.''

Robin Hood in reverse -- gold being taken down to make the rich richer

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:54:38 GMT

``At some stage all this will turn around and perhaps we'll see paper gold and silver purchases in similarly strong amounts designed to drive prices up again and make huge profits foir the big money again. That's how the major financial players with virtually unlimited resources can make squillions of dollars at the expense of people's investment savings and pension funds. It's all part of the great capitalistic rich-get-hugely-richer game and the legislators seem powerless to stop it -- if indeed they want to as they themselves are often an integral part of the process. ''

Hedge Funds In Record Gold Short Position

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:43:36 GMT

``As the following chart of the day from Bloomberg shows, as of this week, hedge funds have made "the biggest bet ever" against gold by taking Comex gold shorts to all time highs.''

Japan's Nikkei dives 7.3% in spectacular U-turn

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:38:48 GMT

Japanese shares suffered their worst losses in more than two years on Thursday after data showing an unexpected contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity added to worries the Federal Reserve could downscale its bond purchases.
...
The slump came after a surge in Japanese government bond yields, which forced the Bank of Japan to offer 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) in funds to calm investor nerves. The central bank announced the fund-supplying operation after 10-year JGB yields soared to their highest level in more than a year, citing "the unreasonable increase" in volatility.

Too-Big-To-Jail Dogs Obama's Justice Department As Government Documents Raise Questions

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:42:43 GMT

``It also may put further pressure on the Justice Department to strengthen future prosecutions. Recently, instead of filing criminal charges against large financial groups, federal prosecutors have begun to file criminal cases against subsidiaries. Observers including lawyers at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, a top defense firm, have warned that Justice may expand its limited use of criminal indictments in part due to public pressure.''

Foreclosure Victims Protesting Wall Street Impunity Outside DOJ Arrested, Tasered

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:40:46 GMT

``Protesters scolded Holder's remarks as they marched from Freedom Plaza to the main entrance of the Justice Department, which was barricaded by DC police and officers from DHS. After a handful of impassioned speeches, several struggling homeowners jumped the barricade. Officers quickly retreated into the building and shut the door. Before long, the barricade was torn down and hundreds of protesters flooded the exterior around the main entrance where they banged on the door and shouted, "Eric Holder, come on out!"''

BofA, JPMorgan Chase Say They've Fulfilled National Mortgage Settlement Obligations: Report

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:09:39 GMT

``BofA and JPMorgan's assertions that they've fulfilled their obligations under the settlement aren't official, as Joseph Smith, the monitor for the deal, hasn't reviewed them yet, according to the LA Times. Wells Fargo also claims to be 90 percent of the way done fulfilling its obligations.
The banks' claims that they've met their end of the bargain may not be enough for struggling homeowners as countless criticisms have arose in the wake of the settlement. ''

Latest Housing Starts Disappoint While Permits Show Hope

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:23:41 GMT

The latest Housing Starts data, released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was disappointing and showed a 17% decrease for the month of April. However, Housing Permits show hope for the future with an increase of 14.3% for the same month. Permits were 35.8% higher than a year ago at the same time. Single family housing permits represented 3% of the total amount.

Along with this, The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Building Confidence Index increased to 44 during the month of May for the first time in five months. The future outlook amongst builders for home sales during the next six months rose to the highest level in over six years. However, it was noted that builders face many challenges. "While builders today are considerably more optimistic than they have been at earlier stages of the housing recovery, numerous challenges are slowing their ability to get new projects underway," said Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. "In particular, limited access to construction credit, tough qualification standards for mortgage borrowers and rising costs for building materials, developable lots and labor are impacting the pace of construction activity."

The National Association of Realtors reported that Existing Home Sales increased in April 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.97 million in April. Resale activity for the month is 9.7% higher than April 2012. According to the NAR report, sales remain below demand due to limited inventory and tight credit.

Lending restrictions continue to be an issue. According to The Federal Reserve Board April 2013 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, "Modest to moderate net fractions of banks indicated that they were currently less likely to approve such loan applications with a FICO score of 620, depending on the down payment, though most of those were smaller banks. Willingness to approve applications for most of the other FICO score-down payment categories was reportedly about unchanged from a year ago. However, a modest net fraction of banks were more likely to approve an application with a FICO score of 720 and a 20 percent down payment. Banks were also asked to compare their bank's current likelihood of approving an application for an FHA-insured home-purchase loan with a given FICO score and the FHA minimum down payment of 3.5 percent with their likelihood a year ago. About one-third of respondents indicated that they were less likely to approve such home-purchase loan applications with FICO scores of 580 or 620."

With this in mind, it is no wonder that mortgage refinances continue to drive the market at this time even though mortgage rates are low and should be attracting home buyers. Special refinance programs have made it easier to refinance for those whose credit is not up to lender requirements. In particular, homeowners who are eligible (loans that were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to June 1, 2009) for HARP loans have the added benefit of reduced documentation and no need for an appraisal. Now that the HARP refinance program has been extended to the end of 2015, many more homeowners have the chance to get their mortgage payments up to date to meet the guidelines.

FHA mortgages have always been a way for low to middle income consumers to obtaining financing to purchase a home. Changes to the FHA loan program has made guidelines stricter, although still not as strict as conventional loans. In addition, those who already have FHA loans can also refinance through the FHA streamline program which does not require any documentation, no credit history, as well as, no appraisal as long as there is no cash taken. The FHA streamline also has reduced upfront and annual insurance fees for loans that were endorsed prior to June 1, 2009.

Although housing may be doing well, there are many challenges that lay ahead. Employment remains rocky with many consumers still unable to obtain work. The latest weekly report from the Labor Department shows that unemployment claims rose by 32,000 for the week ending May 10th to a seasonally adjusted 360,000 which was the most since late March. While housing may be heading into a seller's market and mortgage rates remain low, rising home prices may become too high for consumers who are not seeing their incomes increase to meet stricter debt to income guidelines.

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Mortgage Settlement Yields $50B of "Aid"; But Not All Aid Dollars Equal

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:41:10 GMT

The latest figures shifted that equation, with the banks more often giving homeowners principal or interest reductions on their loans or refinancing them into new loans, enabling them to stay in their homes. Those benefits totaled $29.2 billion to 387,420 homeowners since the program began in March 2012, according to Smith's tally of the bank reports.
By comparison, aid in the form of short sales totaled $20.1 billion to about 175,000 borrowers.

One prominent critic, Kevin Stein of the California Reinvestment Coalition, said the assistance still involved too little reduction of first-mortgage balances -- the action, he said, that was "meant to be the heart of the agreement."

In California, Stein said, relief skewed too heavily toward short sales and writing off second liens -- delinquent credit lines and second mortgages that would be worth little or nothing if an underwater home went through foreclosure.

Stein gave Bank of America, which is required to deliver by far the most assistance to borrowers, good marks during the latest quarter, saying its assistance was delivered almost entirely by reducing principal on first mortgages.

Wells Fargo, by contrast, continued to use short sales heavily, Stein said. It dispensed aid about equally through short sales and principal reductions, he said.