How the world sees Greece
Greece has sent 51 people, including five children, back to Turkey from Greek islands as part of the European Union-Turkey agreement to stem the flow of migrants across the Aegean Sea toward Europe's prosperous heartland. Police said 23 people were sent ...
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GREEK defence minister has said that body part, seats, luggage found have been in EgyptAir search. Egyptian military scouring the Mediteranean Sea ...
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[An existing home for sale is seen in Silver Spring, Maryland February 21, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron ] Existing home sales rose 1.7% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. Homebuying rose for a second straight month despite lofty prices and low inventory, although the biggest gains were recorded in the affordable Midwest region, according to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. In March, sales rose by an upwardly revised 5.7%, at a rate of 5.36 million. Economists had forecast that sales of existing condos, co-ops and single-family homes slowed to 1.3% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.4 million, according to Bloomberg. "Except for in the West — where supply shortages and stark price growth are hampering buyers the most — sales are meaningfully higher than a year ago in much of the country," said Yun, who expects entry-level and mid-priced homes to remain competitive through the summer. Low mortgage rates supported sales in April. But "low inventory of homes for sale continues to dampen homebuyers' ability to find properties in the face of solid job and wage growth," according to Ralph McLaughlin, Trulia's chief economist. The two biggest trends in the housing market — rising prices and low inventory — persist. The median price for an existing home in April was $232,500, up 6.3% year-on-year. That was the 50th straight month that home prices rose year-on-year. And, total housing inventory increased 9.2% to 2.14 million existing homes for sale on the market. But that's still down almost 4% from last April. SEE ALSO: JOHN DEERE IS GETTING WHACKED BY A 'GLOBAL FARMING RECESSION' Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy
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[Screen Shot 2016 05 20 at 9.35.46 AM] The Russian ruble's had a good couple of months. It's been one of the best performing currencies in the wake of the oil price rebound. Brent prices have soared by about 75% since mid-January, while the ruble has strengthened by about 20% against the dollar in the same time frame. And the FX team at Deutsche Bank thinks the ruble still has some room to go. "We recommend going long RUB vs. basket (0.55 USD + 0.45 EUR), as crude stabilization should continue to drive carry-seeking inflows and shift the focus to improving macro fundamentals," wrote a Deutsche Bank's Gautam Kalani in a recent note to clients. "Growth and activity data are improving, current account is in surplus, FX reserves are more than adequate, inflation is moderating, and the CBR remains relatively hawkish," they added. The ruble has historically tracked Brent crude prices closely. Or, in English, whenever oil has rallied, the ruble has strengthened — and vice versa. However, interestingly, Kalani argues that even if oil prices don't continue to surge, the ruble might still have some room to go. Via his note (emphasis ours): "RUB has the highest beta in EM FX to crude, and thus if crude gradually grinds higher, RUB is in prime position to benefit. Long RUB is a relatively clean, high carry way to position for a crude pickup. EVEN IF CRUDE DOES NOT PICK UP APPRECIABLY BUT REMAINS STEADY WITHIN THE CURRENT RANGE, EXPECTATIONS OF A MAJOR CRUDE DOWNTURN (A REAL WORRY IN JANUARY) WILL CONTINUE TO FALL. THIS WOULD ENCOURAGE CARRY-SEEKING INFLOWS INTO RUB, AND ALSO TURN THE FOCUS TO THE IMPROVING MACRO FUNDAMENTALS. Further, RUB has outperformed EM FX since March, as crude has grinded higher while S&P has faltered: we expect this to continue as crude has decoupled from S&P (and thus RUB has decoupled from broad EM FX)." Notably, the Deutsche Bank FX team isn't the only group of people going long the ruble. Zach Schreiber, the CEO of PointState Capital who made $1 billion betting against oil two years ago, announced at the Sohn Investment Conference that he's long the Russian currency. And, moreover, Bloomberg's Elena Popina reported that managers are various funds around the world have been buying Russian ruble assets. [Screen Shot 2016 05 20 at 9.50.10 AM] SEE ALSO: MIDDLE EASTERN OIL AND POLITICS ARE SQUEEZING THIS NEARBY STATE Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy
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[india saffron gold ceremony] Gold is off to a blistering start in 2016. Through the first five and a half months of the year, the precious metal is up an astounding 18.5% near $1260 per ounce. The strength in the precious metals has come amid both increased demand from central banks and renewed demand from everyday people. But, prices have pulled back in response to hawkish rhetoric from Fed officials and the release of the April FOMC minutes. On Tuesday, Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed president John Williams (a voting member) both suggested a June rate hike couldn't be ruled out. Then, on Thursday, Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker indicated he would be comfortable with four more rate hikes this year. The hawkish Fedspeak, coupled with Wednesday's release of the April FOMC minutes, suggesting a June rate hike is on the table if the economic data aligns, hasn't been kind to gold. The precious metal has fallen about 2% since Tuesday morning, and is back down to its lowest levels since the end of April. However, support in the $1250 area has so far managed to hold. [Gold] In a Friday note to clients, Julian Jessop, head of commodities Research at Capital Economics, reiterated his belief the Fed will hike rates twice in 2016, and that Fed rate hikes won't derail gold's rally. Here's Jessup (emphasis his): The conventional wisdom, of course, is that Fed tightening is bad for gold, mainly because higher US rates can strengthen the dollar and increase the opportunity cost of holding commodities. Prices have indeed faltered this week in the wake of the hawkish FOMC minutes. However, there is surely more to say than this; after all, GOLD AND SILVER PRICES ACTUALLY RALLIED IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS AFTER THE FED FIRST RAISED RATES LAST DECEMBER. [GOLD] Jessup says a couple of things are at work here. Initially, the resilience in gold was the result of safe-haven flows related to fears of a slowdown in the global economy. This was evident as gold prices gained as money plowed into the front-end of the US yield curve at the start of the year. Once yields stabilized, gold continued to rally. And Jessup attributes the strength to two things: persistent weakness in the dollar and renewed interest in inflation hedges. Here's Jessup again (emphasis ours): The upshot is that GOLD CAN STILL RALLY ESPECIALLY IF US WAGE AND PRICE PRESSURES CONTINUE TO BUILD. Indeed, even our forecasts assume that the Fed will continue raising rates only gradually and to a still- low level by past standards, which may fuel concerns that it is falling behind the curve on inflation. So where does Jessup see gold going from here? He thinks $1350 at the end of 2016. And Jessup isn't the only one who likes gold right now. Russ Koesterich, head of asset allocation for BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund, says, "This is exactly the type of environment that has historically been most favorable to gold." Specifically, Koestrich says conditions are favorable for the yellow metal because real rates are low and inflation inflation is on the rise. He cites Bloomberg data, which shows gold has gained in 11 of 12 years that fit that description since 1971, averaging a return of more than 35%. SEE ALSO: THE YIELD CURVE IS BASICALLY INVERTED ALREADY Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy
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There is an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 Greek-Australians living in Australia according to government statistics, and with no end in sight for the financial crisis gripping Greeks living in Greece, it is said that 10,000-15,000 Greeks have moved or ...
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By Mehreen Khan in London
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