Diamond News Archives
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The guest commentary below was written by Christopher Whalen[1]. It was originally posted on The Institutional Risk Analyst[2].
Last week we posted a snippet from Rob Chrisman’s housing finance blog about former Fed Chair Janet’s Yellen being "puzzled" due to the lack of home ownership by Millennials. The ensuing reaction was an order of magnitude above our normal level of discourse, leading us to think that there is a raw nerve among Americans when it comes to home prices.
Here is the Chrisman excerpt:
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I found this note sent to me a few years ago by John Hudson by Roy DeLoach of the DC Strategies Group titled, "Hang-in there, Millennials - The New Sub-Prime Mortgage Wave Is Coming." Roy is a former CEO of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. "Hang in there, Millennials and all you other wanna-be first-time buyers still residing in Mom's basement. The Federal Reserve, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could soon be riding to your rescue. Well, not just your rescue, but perhaps more importantly, to save the economy, too. Which is the real reason they want you to take your 'rightful' place in the chain of life known far and wide as the 'Housing Ladder.' "Actually, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is perplexed 'why so many Millennials choose to rent' rather than purchase a home. There was a collective chuckle in the room when I heard her make that statement at a recent House Financial Services Committee hearing. I only pray there are some in Washington who are not only not as confused as the Fed Chair, but also are seeing the very same statistics I am looking at and coming up... |
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The Turkish lira fell around 4% against the dollar late Monday after Mr. Erdogan appointed his son-in-law as finance minister and put in place measures that could curb the independence of the country’s central bank. Investors also sold Turkish shares and debt, with yields on its dollar bond maturing in October 2028 rising from around 6.8% last week to about 7.15% recently, according to Tradeweb. Yields rise as prices fall.
“There’s a real risk that this spirals into a full-blown currency crisis,” said Paul McNamara, a portfolio manager at GAM Holding . “It’s got so many red flags that we’ve associated with economic crises…in the past.”
In such a crisis, a sharp slide in a currency threatens the government and local companies’ ability to pay foreign debt. Turkey has one of the highest levels of external debt for a developing country, at 53.4% of gross domestic product, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. Local companies have raised billions of dollars, leaving them and the wider economy vulnerable to a slide in the lira, which would make paying off that debt more expensive.
The lira has lost a fifth of its value this year as investors sold ahead of Mr. Erdogan’s June re-election, concerned he would erode the central bank’s independence and usher in looser monetary and fiscal policies. Mr. Erdogan has described high interest rates as “the mother and father of all evils,” stoking fears that his preference for lower rates could prevent the central bank from supporting the currency and tackling inflationary pressure.
Mr. Erdogan fanned those fears on Monday. After taking the oath of office for a new five-year term, the government issued a decree that stipulated that the president would appoint the central bank governor, deputies and monetary policy...
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Sorry America: Hope For Income Growth Collapses As Real Wages Stagnate For Second Month In A Row | Zero Hedge Skip to main content [1]References
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On July 15, after a full month of heart-thumping competition, the members of a single national team will emerge as champions and experience one of the ultimate thrills in professional sports — raising aloft the 18-karat gold FIFA World Cup Trophy. Four years ago in Brazil, that honor went to the soccer team from Germany. This year in Russia, 31 teams will be vying to unseat the defending champs.
The coveted trophy, which is 14.5 inches tall and depicts two human figures holding up the earth, is made of 11 pounds of 18-karat gold and features two rows of green malachite at the base. USA Today reported that the trophy is estimated to be worth $20 million, although the actual precious metal value is closer to $168,000.
For years, FIFA, the governing body of soccer, had said the trophy was made of solid gold, but that claim hasn’t held up to scrutiny and it’s very likely that it has a hollow center.
Martyn Poliakoff of the United Kingdom’s Nottingham University did the math and determined that, based on its dimensions, a FIFA trophy made of solid gold would weigh an unwieldy 154 pounds. Gold is nearly 20 times as dense as water, and to get some perspective on just how heavy that is, consider this… A standard gold bar measures just 7 x 3 5/8 x 1 3/4 inches, but weighs more than 27 pounds.
The winning team will be taking home a gold-plated replica of the actual trophy. The real one will remain in the possession of FIFA. The bottom of the base bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. The names are not visible when the cup is standing upright.
The...
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(IDEX Online) – The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has announced that the 2018 World Diamond Congress, the biannual meeting of the WFDB and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), will take place in Mumbai, India, from October 23 to 25.
WFDB President Ernie Blom said: “I am delighted to be able to confirm the dates for the World Diamond Congress. I would also like to express, on behalf of the WFDB, our gratitude to our colleagues at the Bharat Diamond Bourse who kindly agreed to host the 2018 Congress.
“This is a very important meeting where we will be discussing a wide range of issues facing the diamond industry worldwide. The Congress serves as a critical forum for WFDB Presidents and members of their delegations to take part in debates and discussions on the major subjects of the day, enabling us to receive input from the diamond trade from every corner of the world.
“I would ask industry members to leave their busy schedules free for these dates to be able to attend this important Congress, and I look forward to meeting colleagues and holding discussions on all of today’s most important diamond industry topics,” Blom added....