PPCC: Pisitófilos Creditófagos. Primavera 2024

[tomasjos]

Sudden, Putin ya estaría fuera si realmente las cosas funcionaran como usted plantea. De todos modos no tardaremos mucho en ver, durante el próximo año y medio o dos, quien de los dos tiene razón. Si pierdo, me comprometo a comprar una acción de GameStop 

[Hinel]

Sudden, Putin ya estaría fuera si realmente las cosas funcionaran como usted plantea. De todos modos no tardaremos mucho en ver, durante el próximo año y medio o dos, quien de los dos tiene razón. Si pierdo, me comprometo a comprar una acción de GameStop 

A 60 dólares, he vendido 500 acciones. Y porque el broker no me permitía mas. Es una oportunidad única. Sube mas, vendo en corto más. Estamos hablando de con 100k te pones en 300k, pocas bromas.

[tomasjos]

https://www.elconfidencial.com/mundo/2024-05-15/el-primer-ministro-eslovaco-robert-fico-hospitalizado-por-varios-disparos_3884022/

Fico es prorruso claramente.
Hoy Zelensky ha anulado el viaje a España. ¿Tiene que ver con la ofensiva de Jarkov o con que Budianov la ha vuelto a liar, esta vez provocando un magnicidio y hay que apagar un incendio?

[Derby]

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ecb-says-stress-home-loans-manageable-despite-high-rates-lax-checks-2024-05-15/

ECB says stress in home loans manageable despite high rates

FRANKFURT, May 15 (Reuters) - Stress in the euro zone market for home loans is "manageable" despite higher interest rates stretching borrowers and lax checks by some banks, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday.

Record high interest rates, imposed by the ECB to bring down inflation, have taken a toll on house prices, particularly in countries where there had been boom when rates were low, such as Germany.

The ECB reviewed the mortgage books of 37 euro zone banks, accounting for 40% of the sector's 3.7 trillion euros ($4.00 trillion) exposure to residential real estate (RRE).

It found deficiencies in how mortgages are originated but still came away with a reassuring message.

"While the review uncovered some challenges in the RRE sector, the overall outlook remains relatively positive," the ECB said in a newsletter. "Although RRE is under some stress, this appears manageable, and banks are actively engaged in addressing concerns."

Of the 1.4 trillion euros worth of home loans outstanding as of last June, 412 billion euros were set to have their interest rate re-set - likely much higher - by June 2025, the ECB said.

"This will entail a material risk for borrowers not able to meet higher interest rates," it added.

The ECB's review also showed that lenders were still not adequately weighing up risks before granting a mortgage - 16 years after a global financial crisis that started in that market and a decade since the ECB took over bank supervision.(...)

[Derby]

https://www.elconfidencial.com/mundo/2024-05-15/el-primer-ministro-eslovaco-robert-fico-hospitalizado-por-varios-disparos_3884022/

Fico es prorruso claramente.
Hoy Zelensky ha anulado el viaje a España. ¿Tiene que ver con la ofensiva de Jarkov o con que Budianov la ha vuelto a liar, esta vez provocando un magnicidio y hay que apagar un incendio?

[Derby]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/15/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html

Ukraine war live updates: Under heavy Russian fire, Ukraine withdraws troops from parts of besieged Kharkiv region

Ukraine’s military said it has withdrawn troops from several fighting hot spots in Kharkiv to avoid losses, as Russian forces continue to make incremental gains in their new offensive in the northeast of Ukraine.

“The situation in the areas of hostilities remains difficult,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in an update on Facebook late Tuesday, adding that as a result of Russia’s assaults and artillery bombardment, the military had moved troops from around Lukyantsi and Vovchansk “to more advantageous positions” in order to save its personnel’s lives.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy postponed all scheduled foreign visits for several days, a spokesperson announced on social media.

Zelenskyy was due to travel Spain and Portugal later this week.(...)

[Derby]

https://www.cityam.com/hsbc-and-deloitte-latest-to-pull-job-offers-from-uk-grads-due-to-new-immigration-rules/

HSBC and Deloitte latest to pull job offers from UK grads due to new immigration rules

HSBC and Deloitte have reportedly withdrawn job offers to foreign graduates of UK universities, according to reports, as the impact of new visa rules continues to disrupt recruitment across the economy.

The retractions have been driven by a significant uptick in the salary that a “skilled worker” needs to be paid – from £26,200 to £38,700 for those under 26 years of age- in order for them to stay in the country.

KPMG pulled a similar move last month.(...)

[Derby]

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Putin-to-Visit-China-to-Discuss-Energy-Ties.html

Putin to Visit China to Discuss Energy Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit China on May 16-17 for discussions with President Xi Jinping, in part to discuss expanding energy and trade partnerships.

The state visit, initiated by Xi, will cover topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative as well as the situation in the Middle East and Asia, and Ukraine.

Putin will be accompanied by key officials including Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, and executives from major Russian companies such as Sberbank, VTB, Rosneft, and Novatek. They will engage in informal meetings and discussions, highlighting the strategic partnership between the two nations.

The visit also includes a gala evening commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union recognizing the People's Republic of China. This relationship, now more critical than ever, sees China challenging U.S. dominance across various sectors, including quantum computing, synthetic biology, and military power.

A key focus of Putin's visit will be discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on trade and economic cooperation. Putin will also visit Harbin, a city with historical ties to Russia, further strengthening regional connections.

Trade between China and Russia reached a record $240 billion in 2023, a 26.3% increase from the previous year, according to Chinese customs data.

China has bolstered its trade and military relations with Russia amid Western sanctions. Russia has become China's top crude oil supplier, with exports to China increasing by over 24% in 2023, despite the sanctions imposed by the West.

In March, China was expecting to import record-high volumes of crude oil from Russia as multiple cargo of India-bound Russia’s Sokol crude were stranded due to Western sanctions, before finding a new destination in oil-hungry China.

[Derby]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-report-cpi-federal-reserve-rate-decision-housing-shelter/

MONEYWATCH
The Fed is struggling to break the back of inflation. Here's why.

The Federal Reserve's two-year battle to tame inflation is turning into a drawn-out war, with the central bank grappling with prices that have run surprisingly hot this year. A major reason: stubbornly high housing and rent costs that have sapped household budgets across the U.S.

The Fed will be scrutinizing the latest Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday morning for signs that its campaign to finally extinguish runaway inflation by pushing up interest rates is working. Wall Street expects a slight improvement, with economists forecasting that the CPI in April rose 3.4% from a year ago, a tick lower from March's 3.5% increase, according to financial data company FactSet.

Still, 3.4% remains far higher than the Fed's target of 2% inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday acknowledged that his confidence that inflation is set to ease "is not as high as it was."

One major driver of inflation is housing, which contributes about one-third of the CPI and which economists predict could remain a thorn in the Fed's side throughout 2024. That's creating something of a catch-22, given that the Fed is holding off on cutting interest rates until it sees more progress on inflation; that, in turn, is keeping borrowing costs elevated, including mortgage rates, which are now near a 20-year high.

The so-called shelter portion of the CPI is capturing the price shock of people who are moving into new apartments after remaining in place for years. Such renters are more likely to experience a sharp increase in their housing costs as they jump from lower-cost apartments to market-rate rents, Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen told CBS MoneyWatch.

"The big 'a-ha' is that the full CPI is capturing the people that haven't moved in a while," Olsen said. "The fact we keep having people move who haven't moved in six to eight years, that will keep that growth up."

But aren't rents cooling?

It could take years for such data to cycle through the housing portion of the CPI because some renters continue to move from their long-term — and cheaper — housing into market-priced apartments, Olsen noted.

But as many apartment hunters may know, rents are actually cooling now, thanks in part to new rental units built in recent years to meet growing housing demand. In some cities, rents are actually falling — but don't expect that to show up in the CPI data for a while longer, economists said.

As of April, the monthly rent for a typical 1-bedroom apartment around the U.S. was $1,486, down 0.6% from a year ago, according to listing service Zumper, while 2-bedrooms hovered around $1,843.

At a May 1 press conference, Powell hinted at this dynamic, noting that the Fed has been surprised by the length of time it's taking for the CPI's data to reflect the cooler rental market. He added that while he's confident the CPI's housing data will eventually reflect that decline, he's "not so confident in the timing of it."

"Those market rents take years, actually, to get all the way into rents for tenants who are rolling over their leases," Powell said. "It's complicated, but the story is it just takes some time for that to get in."

Homeownership and affordability

The CPI has another quirk when it comes to tracking housing costs: It doesn't actually track home prices, because it considers housing values to be an asset, similar to stock prices, which also aren't tracked by the inflation index, noted Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

Instead, the CPI measures homeownership costs by tracking what it calls owners' equivalent rent, or the hypothetical amount that a homeowner would pay to rent their house in the current market.

But that's also sparked debate among some economists, given that most homeowners are locked into 15- or 30-year mortgages at fixed interest rates and thus aren't subject to the pricing whims of the housing market.

"Homeowners aren't feeling any impact of the housing rents, because their monthly payment is absolutely fixed," Yun noted. "Their mortgage costs aren't rising according to the inflation number, but it's not part of the CPI."

Home prices, of course, are very important for first-time buyers who want to make their first home purchase, although that's not a figure that is reflected by the CPI, Yun added.

The Fed's decision to delay cutting rates may be contributing to stubborn housing inflation, said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist of Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive advocacy group that is urging the central bank to start cutting rates.

"When the Fed raises interest rates, mortgage rates rise too," Mabud said in a social media post. "That means that many prospective homebuyers are priced out of the decision to buy a home. Where do these potential buyers go? Back into the rental market, increasing demand among renters and pushing up rent costs."

[sudden and sharp]

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Putin-to-Visit-China-to-Discuss-Energy-Ties.html

Putin to Visit China to Discuss Energy Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit China on May 16-17 for discussions with President Xi Jinping, in part to discuss expanding energy and trade partnerships.

The state visit, initiated by Xi, will cover topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative as well as the situation in the Middle East and Asia, and Ukraine.

Putin will be accompanied by key officials including Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, and executives from major Russian companies such as Sberbank, VTB, Rosneft, and Novatek. They will engage in informal meetings and discussions, highlighting the strategic partnership between the two nations.

The visit also includes a gala evening commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union recognizing the People's Republic of China. This relationship, now more critical than ever, sees China challenging U.S. dominance across various sectors, including quantum computing, synthetic biology, and military power.

A key focus of Putin's visit will be discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on trade and economic cooperation. Putin will also visit Harbin, a city with historical ties to Russia, further strengthening regional connections.

Trade between China and Russia reached a record $240 billion in 2023, a 26.3% increase from the previous year, according to Chinese customs data.

China has bolstered its trade and military relations with Russia amid Western sanctions. Russia has become China's top crude oil supplier, with exports to China increasing by over 24% in 2023, despite the sanctions imposed by the West.

In March, China was expecting to import record-high volumes of crude oil from Russia as multiple cargo of India-bound Russia’s Sokol crude were stranded due to Western sanctions, before finding a new destination in oil-hungry China.

Putin's trip to China today is a beggar mission.





Putin's trip to China today is a beggar mission.
https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1790626440477638927

[Derby]

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-macro-a30286dd-87d7-431c-ba60-1682910714cb.html

1 big thing: The inflation cooldown is (maybe) back on

After a series of too-hot-for-comfort inflation readings to start 2024, the April Consumer Price Index finally brought some relief.

Why it matters: In a sense, the best news is in what the report didn't say. The April cooldown helps reduce fears that inflation may be reaccelerating.

But it is not definitive evidence that price pressures have resumed the downward trend seen in 2023, and Federal Reserve officials will want to see more evidence of disinflation before cutting interest rates.

What they're saying: "The first downside surprise in inflation since the turn of the year will be a relief to the niggling concerns that inflation was starting to trend upwards again," Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, wrote in a note.

By the numbers: In the 12 months through April, CPI rose 3.4%, a smaller gain than the 3.5% the prior month.

Core CPI, which excludes energy and food costs, rose 3.6% compared to 3.8% in March.

Over the last three months, core CPI rose at an annualized rate of 4.1%. That's down from 4.5% in March but still higher than that seen throughout the latter half of 2023 and far above the levels consistent with the Fed's 2% inflation target.

The intrigue: Housing is the wildcard that might keep inflation from returning to a more palatable level. It was the largest factor in core CPI's 0.3% monthly increase.

Rent prices rose 0.4% for the third straight month — a still-rapid pace that does not reflect the disinflation trends seen in private sector data.

Fed chair Jerome Powell told reporters earlier this month that he was confident housing disinflation would eventually show up in the government data, "but not so confident in the timing of it."

Other service sector price increases look sticky, too. Auto insurance costs, for instance, rose 1.8% alone last month. Hospital service costs, too, are still rising sharply.

Between the lines: The April data alone will likely not convince Federal Reserve officials that inflation is decisively falling in a way that makes them comfortable lowering interest rates this summer.

But the numbers are finally moving in a direction that — if sustained — put September rate cuts squarely on the table.

[Derby]

https://www.resiclubanalytics.com/p/us-housing-market-falls-short-18-million-fewer-people-projected-census-2008

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://twitter.com/abc_es/status/1790683551643607327

Gallardo: «Sin casas para los jóvenes, no hay matrimonios, no hay natalidad, no hay familias, no hay pensiones»
El vicepresidente de la Junta de Castilla y León acusa a la «derecha aburguesada y la izquierda posmoderna» de haber «traicionado a mi generación»

M.G. 2024.05.15

Imagen de archivo de Juan García Gallardo | ICAL

«Sin casas para los jóvenes, no hay matrimonios, no hay natalidad, no hay familias, no hay pensiones». Es el mensaje que con motivo del Día Internacional de las Familias ha lanzado en sus redes sociales el vicepresidente de la Junta de Castilla y León, Juan García-Gallardo, en reacción al informe del Banco de España que ayer apuntaba a que sólo un 32% de los menores de 35 años tienen casa en propiedad.

En esta línea, el dirigente de Vox ha señalado en su perfil de X (antes Twitter) que «no hay familias sin un hogar estable y que eso es imposible si no se facilita el acceso de los jóvenes a una vivienda».

Su mensaje llega tras un hilo ya compartido en esta red social el día anterior al respecto de la Encuesta Financiera de las Familias del Banco de España correspondiente a 2022 en la que se reflejaba que el porcentaje de jóvenes con casa en propiedad se ha reducido a menos de la mitad en diez años. En 2012 eran un 69,3 por ciento los menores de 35 años que habían firmado una compra de vivienda.

«¿Son libres los jóvenes si todo lo que producen trabajando lo tienen que destinar a pagar impuestos, alquileres en pisos compartidos y productos básicos sin apenas margen para el ahorro? Sin posibilidad de acceso a la propiedad privada no hay verdadera libertad», reflexionaba este martes al respecto Gallardo, que urgía a «un cambio de rumbo» y apostaba por «una distribución equitativa y lo más amplia posible de la propiedad».

Sus soluciones: liberalización del suelo, rebaja de impuestos y cargas en el proceso edificatorio, construcción de vivienda social y protección frente a la okupación, según recogía el vicepresidente en su mensaje de ayer en el que culpaba a la «derecha aburguesada y la izquierda posmoderna» de haber «traicionado a mi generación».

Saludos.

[tomasjos]

https://twitter.com/abc_es/status/1790683551643607327

Gallardo: «Sin casas para los jóvenes, no hay matrimonios, no hay natalidad, no hay familias, no hay pensiones»
El vicepresidente de la Junta de Castilla y León acusa a la «derecha aburguesada y la izquierda posmoderna» de haber «traicionado a mi generación»

M.G. 2024.05.15

Imagen de archivo de Juan García Gallardo | ICAL

«Sin casas para los jóvenes, no hay matrimonios, no hay natalidad, no hay familias, no hay pensiones». Es el mensaje que con motivo del Día Internacional de las Familias ha lanzado en sus redes sociales el vicepresidente de la Junta de Castilla y León, Juan García-Gallardo, en reacción al informe del Banco de España que ayer apuntaba a que sólo un 32% de los menores de 35 años tienen casa en propiedad.

En esta línea, el dirigente de Vox ha señalado en su perfil de X (antes Twitter) que «no hay familias sin un hogar estable y que eso es imposible si no se facilita el acceso de los jóvenes a una vivienda».

Su mensaje llega tras un hilo ya compartido en esta red social el día anterior al respecto de la Encuesta Financiera de las Familias del Banco de España correspondiente a 2022 en la que se reflejaba que el porcentaje de jóvenes con casa en propiedad se ha reducido a menos de la mitad en diez años. En 2012 eran un 69,3 por ciento los menores de 35 años que habían firmado una compra de vivienda.

«¿Son libres los jóvenes si todo lo que producen trabajando lo tienen que destinar a pagar impuestos, alquileres en pisos compartidos y productos básicos sin apenas margen para el ahorro? Sin posibilidad de acceso a la propiedad privada no hay verdadera libertad», reflexionaba este martes al respecto Gallardo, que urgía a «un cambio de rumbo» y apostaba por «una distribución equitativa y lo más amplia posible de la propiedad».

Sus soluciones: liberalización del suelo, rebaja de impuestos y cargas en el proceso edificatorio, construcción de vivienda social y protección frente a la okupación, según recogía el vicepresidente en su mensaje de ayer en el que culpaba a la «derecha aburguesada y la izquierda posmoderna»[/color] de haber «traicionado a mi generación».

Saludos.

El siguiente paso es que descubra que para conseguir propiedad hay que tener capital y eso se consigue a través de la plusvalía que genera el trabajo, y resulta que la burguesía se queda con la plusvalía que generan los trabajadores. Teniendo en cuenta que habla de que los culpables son la derecha aburguesada y la izquierda posmoderna está a nada de dejar VOX y unirse a Izquierda Española 

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1790402866147950855

Saludos.