13 October 2018
Question: According to MSN: Money, what should you do immediately if your wallet is stolen?
Torrid week puts markets in reverse – Pg. 1
– Shares in the biggest US bank were down more than 1.6% in afternoon trading after rising 2.5% at the opening of the bell. European stocks were equally unable to cling on to early gains
– ….two-day rout on Wednesday and Thursday that sliced more than $1tn off the S&P 500, the benchmark index struggled to hold onto gains yesterday ….
– The global sell-off, which gathered speed this week but began at the start of the month, has been blamed on a recent jump in yields on benchmark US Treasuries, which investors fear will lead to a rise in borrowing costs for a wide range of heavily indebted companies
New York tower blocks undergo millennial makeover – Pg. 6
– For decades, corporate real estate decisions were dictated by the wants and needs of chief executives, with proximity to their homes a particular consideration. That is changing now as companies fight to attract young talent with different ideas about how and where they work
– For companies, that means catering to workers who favour public transport and bike sheds over black cars; who require built-in shopping, cafes and fitness centres, as their work and leisure time tend to blend; who revere natural light, delivered by floor-to-ceiling windows, and informal spaces, with must-have features like rooftop terraces …..
Junk bonds dumped as US rates jump sparks largest outflow since February – Pg. 13
– US stocks and other risk assets have sold off after yields on benchmark government bonds rose to a seven-year high, prompting a reassessment of valuations
Bad news for housebuilding recovery as America loses its free lunch from world – Pg. 14
– …September 27 and 28. That Thursday and Friday, just before the end of the third quarter, the interbank market’s cross-currency “basis swap” for euros to US dollars rose to 30bps and the cost of yen-dollar basis swaps went up by 46bp
– That was the end of foreigners paying for the US economic expansion. It also probably marked the end of the housing recovery
– The effect of those changes in the basis swap rates was to make it uneconomic for European or Japanese investors to buy US Treasury bonds and hedge away the currency risk
– Someone other than currency-hedged foreigners will have to buy those bonds, along with the trillions more to be generated by the growing US deficit
– It seems likely those new buyers, probably US commercial banks, will need higher rates to be tempted to bid at a time the Fed is unwinding its own positions
– …US homebuilders…they needed years more of low interest rates to meet the demand from millennials
– NAHB…”Affordability is at a 10-year low”
– Housing starts in August reached an annual rate of only 1.282m, far below the pre-crash peak of 2.273m in 2006
Answer: (1) Secure emergency funds; (2) Call the police; (3) Call your bank; (4) Put a freeze on your bank account if needed; (5) Call your creditors; (6) Report your missing government-issued ID cards; (7) Place a fraud alert on your credit file; (8) Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission; (9) Contact the IRS; (10) Monitor your credit report; (11) Monitor your bank, Credit Card and Health Insurance Statements; (12) Update recurring payments; (13) Make a copy of everything in your wallet (Prof Note: Memorize all important numbers to lock yourself down financially)