- U.S. Economy: Consumer Confidence Slides as Home Values Decline
- HSBC's U.S. Mortgage Business May Incur More Losses
- Elton John Pianos May Fetch 80,000 Pounds at Bonhams in London
U.S. Economy: Consumer Confidence Slides as Home Values Decline - Bloomberg
Confidence among American consumers fell in May to the lowest level since 1992 as the two-year housing slump showed no sign of bottoming.
The Conference Board's confidence index declined more than forecast to 57.2, the New York-based research group said today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 14.4 percent in March from a year earlier, the most since the figures were first published in 2001. Separate figures from the Commerce Department showed sales of new homes were the second-lowest since 1991 in April.
The slide in home values, along with gasoline near $4 a gallon and rising unemployment, threatens to hobble the consumer spending that accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.
``When confidence is as bad as it is on the consumer side, it's hard to believe we're going to be buying a lot of homes in the near term,'' said Scott Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ``The drag from home-price declines, the credit crunch and oil prices will probably be more severe than some had forecast earlier in the year.''
HSBC's U.S. Mortgage Business May Incur More Losses - Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank by market value, may post more losses at its home-loan business in the U.S., Chief Executive Officer Michael Geoghegan told shareholders in Hong Kong today.
``I believe we have further losses to make,'' Geoghegan said. ``We are not convinced yet the worst is over.''
The bank set aside a less-than-estimated $3.2 billion to cover bad loans in the U.S. in the first quarter. The bank has set aside enough provisions, Geoghegan said.
HSBC, which became one of the largest U.S. lenders to subprime borrowers with the acquisition of Household International Inc. in 2003, has posted $19.5 billion in writedowns and losses since the beginning of last year. UBS AG, the European bank hit hardest by the U.S. subprime contagion said last week, it may face more losses from mortgage securities.
Worldwide banks have posted $382.8 billion in writedowns and credit losses related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, according to Bloomberg data. UBS is planning to replenish capital with a rights offer after about $38 billion in writedowns.....
Elton John Pianos May Fetch 80,000 Pounds at Bonhams in London - Bloomberg
Elton John is selling two of his pianos, and they could fetch 80,000 pounds ($158,000) at a London sale in June, auction house Bonhams said in an e-mailed statement.
A Steinway burr-maplewood piano that John used to rehearse ``Don't Go Breaking My Heart'' with Kiki Dee at his Windsor home in 1976 is expected to fetch up to 45,000 pounds, said Bonhams. The duet was Elton John's first U.K. No. 1 and his sixth chart topper in the U.S.
John, 61, is also selling a similar grand piano made in black in 1972 for his Beverly Hills residence and with an estimate of 25,000 pounds to 35,000 pounds, said Bonhams.
Comments