Renting continues to steal housing’s thunder

CNBC – Despite record low mortgage rates reported today and rising affordability in most U.S. housing markets, rent is the new reality for former home owners and new households alike.

For some it is post-traumatic stress from the housing crash, for others it is the inability to get financing to buy a home. Either way, the rental market continues on its tear.

In the last quarter of 2011, the apartment sector saw its largest quarterly increase in occupied stock of the year, according to Reis, Inc.

The vacancy rate dropped to 5.2 percent, the lowest since 2001 and lower than the last cyclical drop in 2006.

This bucks the historical seasonal weakness typical of the colder months of the year. The fourth quarter also tends to be a weaker leasing period, according to Reis, given that most households make moving decisions in the second and third quarters.

This surge in occupancy pushed asking and effective rents up 0.4 and 0.5 percent respectively, which Reis calls the only disappointing figures for the sector, missing expectations. Reis blames that on slow economic growth and still high unemployment.

“Higher quality properties in the most desirable locations posted rent gains in excess of 5-10 percent, while class B/C properties, catering to lower income tenants, found it relatively more difficult to raise rents,” notes Victor Calanog, head of research at Reis.

Funny how they spent money to fight it….smokescreen ?

Profits may stay strong, but….

New ways to get that black gold…

I’m sure if you play around with the search engine you can get a prediction for most anything.

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BI points out a miracle of sorts…indices higher while earnings come in. Perplexing indeud!

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Cash settles everything

While volume is anemic investor seem to be selling bonds and speculating in equities. Given yields in Europe and the Euro cracking key support equities have managed to claw back and go green.

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On Cordray’s first day he has begun programs to supervise pay day lenders, student loans, and mortgage lenders.

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BMW stepped up some incentive programs leading to more sales for 2011. Plus the cars are starting to look really nice lately.

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You go ahead and buy up those bank stocks. I’m still waiting for $4 on BAC….

USD/EUR

Greenback action

Down 3.33%

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.

This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists.

Industry watchers say the trend is worrisome. Half of all doctors in the nation operate a private practice. So if a cash crunch forces the death of an independent practice, it robs a community of a vital health care resource.

“A lot of independent practices are starting to see serious financial issues,” said Marc Lion, CEO of Lion & Company CPAs, LLC, which advises independent doctor practices about their finances.

Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. But some experts counter that doctors’ lack of business acumen is also to blame.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Merck & Co.’s CEO said Thursday that setbacks in drug development and other problems made his just-ended first year a tough debut.

But Kenneth Frazier expects better news in 2012 for the maker of diabetes blockbuster Januvia and Singulair for asthma and allergies.

Speaking to analysts at the Goldman Sachs’ Healthcare CEO’s Unscripted conference in New York, he said some important new drugs are on the horizon and Merck is pursuing deals for others that are in late testing. Until now, the Whitehouse Station, N.J., company has mainly pursued acquisitions of experimental drugs that are early in testing, when the deals are cheaper and there’s less chance of getting into a bidding war.

“Last year, it couldn’t possibly have started worse than it did,” Frazier said.

Nothing to see here.

Grains and fertilizer supplier Bunge Ltd. (BG) completed construction of a grain terminal near Ukraine’s Black Sea coast with the capacity to handle 4 million metric tons a year, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The project by White Plains, New York-based Bunge, in the city of Mykolaiv in the south of the country, cost about $100 million, Interfax reported, citing Alina Maksymova, the port’s press secretary.

The terminal can store 140,000 tons of grain at any one time, according to the Kiev-based newswire.

Fukushima style
Shiro-Maguro

The clam has sent a letter to congress to prescribe more policy intervention.

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