Money

Tribune Adopts Poison Pill To Thwart Gannett Takeover

2016-05-09T09:56:00.002-07:00

Tribune Publishing announced on Monday that its board of directors has adopted a limited duration 'Shareholder Rights Plan', commonly referred to as a 'poison pill' in the world of corporate finance, to block an unsolicited bid from Gannett, which owns USA TODAY along with other local daily newspapers.

“Based on Gannett’s approach and continued hostility, the Board is taking prudent measures to protect our shareholders’ best interests. The Rights Plan ensures shareholders receive fair treatment and protection in connection with any proposal to acquire Tribune Publishing and retain the opportunity to realize the value of their investment in the Company,” said Justin Dearborn, Chief Executive Officer of Tribune. “Our Board is unanimous that Gannett will not succeed with its current tactics and low ball price. Tribune stakeholders deserve better and we are confident that the steps we are taking will create better opportunities for future value than engaging with Gannett under the current circumstances.”

“It is unfortunate that instead of engaging with Gannett to negotiate a mutually agreeable transaction that is in the best interests of all Tribune stockholders," Gannett responded in a statement. "Tribune is putting up another roadblock to prevent its stockholders from realizing compelling, immediate and certain cash value for their investment.”

Last week, Tribune rejected Gannett's all-cash offer of $12.25 per share which translates to $815 million for the publishing company.

"If Tribune’s Board and advisors view Gannett’s $12.25 per share proposal to be undervalued, the Tribune Board should release its analysis to Tribune shareholders to justify its issuance of shares to Michael Ferro at $8.50 per share in February 2016," Gannett responded last week in a statement.

“Tribune’s assets and brands, including the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, are worth far more than Gannett’s proposal, which is a non-starter," Chairman Michael Ferro said. "We are focused now on supporting our team as they execute on our plan – we are going to support our outstanding journalists who create world class content – and we are working to create superior value for our shareholders. We recognize that we need to move quickly and we are not going to let this noise from Gannett distract us.”

Hotel Prices Increase As Florida Breaks Tourism Record

2016-02-18T11:40:00.001-08:00

At EPCOT in Walt Disney World, Florida, Governor Rick Scott announced 105 million visitors came to Florida in 2015. Credit: Florida Governor's Office.

WALT DISNEY WORLD, Florida - Florida set another record in tourism by welcoming 105 million visitors in 2015, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced today at EPCOT in Walt Disney World, Florida.

According to the State of Florida's tourism agency, VISIT FLORIDA, this is the fifth consecutive record year for visitation to Florida, exceeding the previous high of 98.5 million in 2014 by 6.6%.

Lower gas prices have fueled record-breaking domestic travel to the Sunshine State. VISIT FLORIDA estimates that 89.789 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in 2015, reflecting an 8% increase over last year. This increase in domestic visitors more than offset a .7% decline in overseas visitors and a 1.5% decline in Canadian visitors who have been impacted by a stronger U.S. dollar.

Zika Virus Now In All Major Florida Tourism Counties

Although millions of U.S. tourists visiting Florida have seen a boost to their travel budget with lower gas prices, they are paying more for lodging during their stay as demand increases. In 2015, Florida's average daily room rate rose 5.9 percent and the number of rooms sold grew by 4.5 percent compared to 2014. Florida’s average occupancy rate for 2015 was 72.0 percent, an increase of 3.2 percent over 2014. 2015 was a record year for occupancy rate, exceeding the previous high of 69.8 percent in 2014.

“I am proud to announce that Florida has surpassed our tourism goal and welcomed an historic 105 million visitors to our state in 2015," Governor Scott said. "The number of travel-related jobs also reached a record high, with 1.2 million Floridians employed in the tourism industry. Tourism plays an important role in supporting our economy, and we will continue to make strategic investments in the tourism industry to keep Florida on track to becoming first for jobs. With five consecutive record years for tourism, it is time to set our goal even higher, and I look forward to welcoming 115 million visitors to the Sunshine State this year.”

Brevard County Home Prices, Sales Up In December

2016-01-31T04:24:00.001-08:00

Florida’s housing market reported higher median prices, fewer days on the market and tightening inventory in December 2015, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors

Statewide, closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 23,056 last month, up 2.9 percent over the December 2014 figure. The median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $206,500, up 11.6 percent from the previous year.

In Florida’s townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 9,357 last month, down slightly (1.2 percent) compared to December 2014. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in December was $156,500, up 5 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

However, the closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and cash-only sales in December: Traditional sales in Florida rose 16.3 percent for single-family homes and 7.5 percent for condo-townhouse properties. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

“Florida’s housing market continues to show strength,” said 2016 Florida Realtors® President Matey H. Veissi, broker and co-owner of Veissi Associates in Miami. “December marked over four years – 49 months – of consecutive gains in statewide median sales prices, year-over-year, for both single-family homes and for townhouse-condo properties. Mortgage rates remain low, which is encouraging many buyers to make their move now to enter the housing market."

“Months’ supply of inventory likewise came in low, at 4.3 months supply for single-family homes and 5.4 months for condos and townhomes. At the state level, these figures would imply a seller’s market for single family homes and a balanced market for condos and townhomes.”

Brevard County December 2015 Real Estate Sales

Sales of townhouse-condos were down -3.2% year-over-year, and the median price of those units rose 20.8% to $145,000 on Florida's Space Coast.

Brevard County's December closed sales of existing single-family homes were up 3.5% from a year ago. The median price of those homes sold rose 17.9% to $165,000, but was still $41,500 less than the statewide average of $206,500. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

Walmart Closing 269 Stores: List Of U.S. Store Closings

2016-01-16T02:25:00.001-08:00

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT: NYSE) announced on Friday plans to close 269 stores worldwide, including 154 locations in the U.S., which will impact approximately 16,000 associates globally.

“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”

U.S. Walmart Store Closings

The retail giant will close 102 of its smallest format stores in the U.S., Walmart Express, which had been in pilot since 2011. Walmart stated in a release that it will instead will focus on strengthening Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business and expanding Pickup services for customers. Also covered in the U.S. closures are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs.

More than 95 percent of the stores closing in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart, and the company hopes that these 10,000 associates impacted in the U.S. will be placed in nearby locations. All affected Walmart U.S. associates will receive 60 days’ pay and, if eligible, severance.

Walmart also intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets in the U.S. during Fiscal Year 2017, which begins Feb. 1. In the same period, Sam’s Club plans to open in seven to 10 new locations.

Texas will have the most (29) Walmart stores closing this year, which includes 4 Supercenters, 5 Neighborhood Markets, and 20 Walmart Express stores. Only 3 stores are closing in Florida.

Walmart Store Closings Internationally

Walmart is closing 115 stores outside the United States. This includes 60 recently-closed, loss-making stores in Brazil, which represents only 5 percent of sales in that market. Walmart intends to open between 200 and 240 stores in international markets during the coming year.

List of Walmart Stores Closing In U.S.

Walmart Express	Date closed to public
#2173: 14331 Count Rd. 99, Headland, AL	1/28/2016
#2011: 18 Apple Way, Ashford, AL	1/28/2016
#2165: 952 E. Lawrence Harris Hwy, Slocomb, AL	1/28/2016
#2186: 407 West Washington St., Abbeville, AL	1/28/2016
#2235: 6361 Hwy 72 East Gurley, AL	1/28/2016
#2260: 87395 US Hwy 278, Snead, AL	1/28/2016
#3769: 3530 Cathedral Caverns Hwy, Grant, AL	1/28/2016
#3779: 10188 Hwy 431 South, New Hope, AL	1/28/2016
#2498: 720 N Hwy 71, Mansfield, AR	1/28/2016
#2578: 3500 Mulberry Hwy 64 W, Mulberry, AR	1/28/2016
#2601: 814 W. Main, Charleston, AR	1/28/2016
#2669: 1531 E Hwy 64, Coal Hill, AR	1/28/2016
#3819: 8848 N Hwy 59, Van Buren, AR	1/28/2016
#3878: 5 Hwy 124 West, Damascus, AR	1/28/2016
#4217: 154 E Roller, Decatur, AR	1/28/2016
#3032: 905 S Gentry Blvd, Gentry, AR	1/28/2016
#3033: 800 1st Ave SE, Gravette, AR	1/28/2016
#3034: 881 W Buchanan, Prairie Grove, AR	1/28/2016
#3358: 1113 S.R. 20, Interlachen, FL	1/28/2016
#4265: 1209 East Wade St., Trenton, FL	1/28/2016
#4267: 15726 SE Hwy 19 Cross City, FL	1/28/2016
#4228: 560 S. Broad St., Ellaville, GA	1/28/2016
#4229: 1041 S US Hwy 1, Alma, GA	1/28/2016
#4234: 155 West Washington Ave., Ashburn, GA	1/28/2016
#4251: 398 Barrow Ave SW, Pelham, GA	1/28/2016
#4254: 907 Marianna Hwy, Donalsonville, GA	1/28/2016
#4261: 290 Albany Ave. West, Pearson, GA	1/28/2016
#4263: 142 S. Valdosta Road, Lakeland, GA	1/28/2016
#3065: 3636 N Broadway St., Chicago, IL	1/17/2016
#3039: 225 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL	1/17/2016
#3369: 900 East Ross Ave., Clearwater, KS	1/28/2016
#4353: 505 Housatonic St., Burlington, KS	1/28/2016
#4360: 705 N High School Ave., Columbus, KS	1/28/2016
#4361: 1105 East 15th St., Ellsworth, KS	1/28/2016
#4362: 120 West Rosewood St., Rose Hill, KS	1/28/2016
#4651: 605 Orchard Drive, Hillsboro, KS	1/28/2016
#3755: 1445 Old Highway 13, Mamou, LA	1/28/2016
#4634: 1506 Main St., Colfax, LA	1/28/2016
#3753: 620 North Hwy 26, Lake Arthur, LA	1/28/2016
#3815: 501 West Hwy 90, Iowa, LA	1/28/2016
#3839: 9181 Hwy 67, Clinton, LA	1/28/2016
#3849: 920 Avenue G, Kentwood, LA	1/28/2016
#3879: 1495 Obrie St., Zwolle, LA	1/28/2016
#4647: 515 3rd St., Independence, LA	1/28/2016
#4269: 224 E Hwy 76, Anderson, MO	1/28/2016
#4270: 508 N Cliffside Dr., Noel, MO	1/28/2016
#4282: 33597 State Hwy 112, Seligman, MO	1/28/2016
#4289: 414 N Elm, Clever, MO	1/28/2016
#3856: 410 2nd St., Belmont, MS	1/28/2016
#3863: 2795 Hwy 371 N, Mantachie, MS	1/28/2016
#3865: 420 E Lee St., Sardis, MS	1/28/2016
#3866: 28191 Hwy 15, Walnut, MS	1/28/2016
#4294: 519 W Veterans Ave., Derma, MS	1/28/2016
#4296: 7104 Will Robbins Hwy, Nettleton, MS	1/28/2016
#3211: 509 Dr. Donnie H. Jones Blvd W, Princeton, NC	1/28/2016
#3249: 511 N Mckinley St., Coats, NC	1/28/2016
#5024: 6043 US Hwy 301 S, Four Oaks, NC	1/28/2016
#3257: 112 N Main St., Broadway, NC	1/28/2016
#5015: 908 E. 4th Ave., Red Springs, NC	1/28/2016
#5017: 7670 Clinton Rd., Stedman, NC	1/28/2016
#7207: 1400 B Broad St., Oriental, NC	1/28/2016
#5138: 702 S. Wall St., Benson, NC	1/28/2016
#2500: 945 Monroe St., Carthage, NC	1/28/2016
#2573: 303 S. Goldsboro St., Pikeville, NC	1/28/2016
#6997: 632 W Swannanoa Ave., Liberty, NC	1/28/2016
#3007: 139 N Hwy 49, Richfield, NC	1/17/2016
#3036: 1593 NC Hwy 86 N, Yanceyville, NC	1/28/2016
#3037: 905 SE 2nd St., Snow Hill, NC	1/28/2016
#3080: 182 NC 102 W, Ayden, NC	1/28/2016
#3121: 189 Hickory Tree Rd., Midway, NC	1/28/2016
#3756: 124 E. Columbia St., Okemah, OK	1/28/2016
#4633: 19250 E Hwy 66, Luther, OK	1/28/2016
#2456: 2310 West Main, Prague, OK	1/28/2016
#2462: 1600 West Hwy 66, Stroud, OK	1/28/2016
#3766: 2324 Seran Drive, Wewoka, OK	1/28/2016
#3767: 812 N Clarence Nash Blvd., Watonga, OK	1/28/2016
#1250: 9032 Hwy 14, Gray Court, SC	1/28/2016
#3798: 7013 S Pine St., Pacolet, SC	1/17/2016
#2375: 4718 Nashville Hwy, Chapel Hill, TN	1/28/2016
#2413: 523 N Military St., Loretto, TN	1/28/2016
#4301: 400 North Main St., Cornersville, TN	1/28/2016
#4306: 934 Hwy 79, Dover, TN	1/28/2016
#2345: 721 Dale Evans Drive, Italy, TX	1/28/2016
#2349: 221 S State Hwy 274, Kemp, TX	1/28/2016
#2363: 504 W Pine St., Edgewood, TX	1/28/2016
#2364: 301 Hwy 69 S, Whitewright, TX	1/28/2016
#2410: 122 Commercial Ave., Anson, TX	1/28/2016
#2461: 1003 Telephone Cir., Merkel, TX	1/28/2016
#2779: 5 N 14th St., Haskell, TX	1/28/2016
#2863: 1010 N Main St., Winters, TX	1/28/2016
#3820: 501 N Main, Godley, TX	1/28/2016
#3822: 416 N Third St., Grandview, TX	1/28/2016
#3832: 420 S US 69, Leonard, TX	1/28/2016
#3834: 428 N Dallas St., Palmer, TX	1/28/2016
#4312: 440 E Pine St., Frankston, TX	1/28/2016
#4316: 1787 US Hwy 259 S, Diana, TX	1/28/2016
#4320: 1005 Texas Avenue E, Waskom, TX	1/28/2016
#4327: 870 Taylor St., Hughes Springs, TX	1/28/2016
#4331: 914 North Main St., Lone Star, TX	1/28/2016
#4338: 504 WL Doc Dodson, Naples, TX	1/28/2016
#4343: 12522 Fm 1840, Dekalb, TX	1/28/2016
#4345: 114 Redwater Boulevard West, Maud, TX	1/28/2016
Wal-Mart	Date closed to public
#2524: 5502 Monterey Hwy, San Jose, CA	1/28/2016
#2949: 151 E 5th St., Long Beach, CA	1/28/2016
#5457: 8400 Edgewater Drive, Oakland, CA	1/17/2016
#2960: 4101 Crenshaw Blcd., Los Angeles, CA	1/17/2016
#3507: 2701 Port Covington Drive, Baltimore, MD	1/17/2016
#3496: 5825 W Hope Ave., Milwaukee, WI	1/28/2016

Supercenter	Date closed to public
#3814 6525 Glacier Hwy, Juneau, AK	2/5/2016
#763: 7201 Aaron Aronov Drive, Fairfield, AL	1/28/2016
#4584: 10400 Highland Rd., Hartland, MI	1/28/2016
#4369: 1010 Martin Luther King Pkwy., Durham, NC	1/28/2016
#2837: 4350 N Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, NV	1/17/2016
#4342: 22209 Rockside Rd., Bedford, OH	1/28/2016
#2606: 721 US Hwy 321 BYP S Unit, Winnsboro, SC	1/28/2016
#883: 14091 FM 490, Raymondville, TX	1/28/2016
#5493: 7480 Padre Island Hwy, Brownsville, TX	1/28/2016
#5478: 8201 N FM 620, Austin, TX	1/28/2016
#597: 7075 FM 1960 Rd W, Houston, TX	1/28/2016
#3811: 61 Plaza Drive, Kimball, WV	1/28/2016

Neighborhood Market	Date closed to public
#5783: 117 Audubon Drive, Maumelle, AR	1/17/2016
#5642: 2408 Lincoln Ave., Altadena, CA	1/28/2016
#5688: 6820 Eastern Ave., Bell Gardens, CA	1/28/2016
#3086: 701 W Cesar E Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA	1/17/2016
#5690: 2045 E Highland Ave., San Bernardino, CA	1/28/2016
#4173 12120 Carson St., Hawaiian Gardens, CA	1/28/2016
#5002, 8196 West Bowles Ave., Littleton, CO	1/17/2016
#3021: 2253 S Monaco Pkwy., Denver, CO	1/28/2016
#2303: 333 N Main St., West Hartford, CT	1/28/2016
#5856: 601 N West St. STE 100, Wichita, KS	1/28/2016
#5860: 9831 E Harry St., Wichita, KS	1/28/2016
#5873: 4794 E 13th, Wichita, KS	1/28/2016
#3097: 8235 SW Apple Way, Portland, OR	1/17/2016
#5995: 17711 Jean Way, Lake Oswego, OR	1/28/2016
#3306 1220 Gallatin Ave., Nashville, TN	1/28/2016
#3171: 2218 Greenville Ave., Dallas (Greenville), TX	1/28/2016
#3451: 2740 Gessner Rd., Houston, TX	1/28/2016
#5985: 2201 West Southlake Blvd., Southlake, TX	1/28/2016
#4126: 1901 S. Texas Ave., Bryan, TX	1/28/2016
#5986: 4268 Legacy Drive, Frisco, TX	1/17/2016
#3030: 3850 N 124th St., Wauwatosa, WI	1/28/2016
#3031: N88W15559 Main St., Menomonee Falls, WI	1/28/2016
#5698: S14W22605 Coral Drive, Waukesha, WI	1/28/2016

Amigo	Date closed to public
#2343: 7B Calle Munoz Rivera, Villalba, PR	1/28/2016
#2347: Bo Salto Arriba, Utuado, PR	1/28/2016
#2342: PR 14, Parque Industrial, Coamo, PR	1/28/2016
#3667: 1 Ave Monserrate STE 1, Carolina, PR	1/28/2016
#3684: Carr 180 KM 0 HM 2, Salinas, PR	1/28/2016
#3689: Centro Com Rio Grande State, Rio Grande, PR	1/28/2016
#3697: Carr 165 KM 4.7, Toa Alta, PR	1/28/2016

Sam's Club	Date closed to public
#4903: 941 Grinnell St., Fall River, MA	1/28/2016
#6648: 1110 Fall River Ave., Seekonk, MA	1/28/2016
#6665: 495 Summit Drive, Waterford, MI	1/28/2016
#6681: 25 Pace Blvd., Warwick, RI	1/28/2016

U.S. Unemployment Rate 5%, Drops In 27 States

2015-12-20T00:57:00.001-08:00

Twenty-seven states saw unemployment rate decreases from October to November while eleven states had increases, and twelve states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases when compared to a year earlier, four states had increases, and one state had no change.

Nationwide, the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged from October at 5.0 percent and was 0.8 percentage point lower than in November 2014.

In November 2015, non-farm payroll employment increased in 35 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 14 states, and was unchanged in Montana. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Florida (+35,200), Texas (+16,300), and Virginia (+14,400).

The largest over-the-month decreases in employment occurred in Nevada (-6,700), Wisconsin (-4,800), and Pennsylvania (-3,400). The largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment occurred in Vermont (+0.9 percent), followed by Idaho (+0.7 percent) and Delaware (+0.6 percent).

Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

In November 2015, 13 states had statistically significant over-the-month changes in employment, 12 of which were positive. The largest significant job gains occurred in Florida (+35,200), Virginia (+14,400), and Arizona (+11,900). The only significant over-the-month decrease occurred in Nevada (-6,700).

Over the year, 36 states had statistically significant increases in employment, and North Dakota (-13,500) and West Virginia (-10,800) had significant decreases. The largest significant over-the-year job increase occurred in California (+417,100), followed by Florida (+239,600) and Texas (+179,300).

Governor Rick Scott: Florida Has Gained 1 Million Jobs

2015-12-19T15:33:00.001-08:00

Governor Rick Scott announced on Friday that Florida’s private sector has created more than 1 million jobs since December 2010. In November, the private sector added 35,600 jobs across Florida, resulting in 1,011,800 new private sector jobs created in the last five years.

Florida's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.0% in November 2015, down 0.7 percentage point from 5.7% a year ago, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

“I am proud to announce that Florida’s hardworking businesses have created MORE THAN 1 MILLION JOBS across Florida in just five years," said Florida Governor Rick Scott in a release. "Thanks to our focus on cutting taxes and making it easier for job creators to succeed, our businesses are creating jobs faster than we ever expected. Even though today’s news is great, we have to continue to diversify our economy by cutting $1 billion in taxes and creating the Florida Enterprise Fund so Florida can be FIRST for jobs.”

The Sunshine State’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 8,184,800 in November 2015, an increase of 35,200 jobs (+0.4 percent) over the month. Compared to November a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 239,600, an increase of 3.0%.

The industry gaining the most jobs was professional and business services (+48,000 jobs, +4.0%). Other industries gaining jobs included education and health services (+46,900 jobs, +4.0%); trade, transportation, and utilities (+45,600 jobs, +2.8%); leisure and hospitality (+42,300 jobs, +3.8%); construction (+29,300 jobs, +7.2%); other services (+13,200 jobs, +4.0%); financial activities (+12,500 jobs, +2.3%); and manufacturing (+7,700 jobs, +2.3%).

The industries that lost jobs over the year statewide were information (‐400 jobs, ‐0.3%) and government (‐5,300 jobs, ‐0.5%).

Brevard County Employment

Brevard County's unemployment rate dropped from 6.4% in November 2014 to 5.2% in November 2015, which was due to job growth (+2,471 jobs) and a shrinking labor force (there were 643 less people in Brevard's labor force when compared to a year ago).

There were 243,229 employed, and 13,376 unemployed, people on Florida's Space Coast in November 2015. Despite thousands of people leaving the workforce in Brevard County, the local unemployment rate of 5.2% remains significantly higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 5.0%.

Non-agricultural job gains on the Space Coast were led by trade, transportation, and utilities and education and health services (+2,100 jobs each); professional and business services (+1,200 jobs); leisure and hospitality (+800 jobs); manufacturing and other services (+300 jobs each); and financial activities (+100 jobs) gained jobs over the year.

Government (‐300 jobs) and information (‐200 jobs) lost jobs over the year.

U.S. Oil Prices Fall Below $35 a Barrel

2015-12-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

U.S. oil prices fell below $35 a barrel on Monday as world demand growth eases and oil production increases.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $34.70 a barrel, a low which hadn't been reached since 2009 during the economic slowdown following the global financial meltdown in 2008. Across the Atlantic, Brent crude sank to $36.70 a barrel which is the lowest price in seven years.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), world oil demand growth is forecast to slowdown to 1.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2016. Early indicators for the current quarter show growth easing to 1.3 mb/d from a year earlier, from a peak of 2.2 mb/d last quarter. The resulting annual growth of 1.8 mb/d for 2015 is led by China, the United States, India and Europe.

Slightly higher OPEC crude output accounted for the lion’s share of the 50,000 barrels per day (50 kb/d) increase in global oil supply in November, to inch up to a total of 96.9 mb/d, or 1.8 mb/d above a year earlier, the IEA reported on Friday.

OPEC crude output edged up to 31.73 mb/d as record production from Iraq and higher supply from Kuwait offset losses from African members. Non-OPEC supply held at 58.5 mb/d in November, and annual growth slowed to below 300 kb/d from 2.2 mb/d at the start of 2015.

Image credit: Wikimedia

Florida Housing Market Cools In October

2015-11-24T04:32:00.004-08:00

Florida’s housing market cooled in October 2015 due to fewer short sales and constrained inventory, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors.

Florida Realtors October 2015 Housing Market Report

The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales in the Sunshine State when compared to October 2014. Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 47.7% year-over-year while short sales for single-family homes dropped 33.1%.

Statewide, closed sales of existing single-family homes rose last month with a total of 22,147, an increase of 1.2% over October 2014. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $198,995, up 12.4% from the previous year. In Florida’s townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales last month totaled 9,294, down 0.9% compared to October 2014.

“The Florida real estate market is catching its breath after a frantic summer and early fall,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “One month’s numbers do not make a trend, but the October numbers are signaling a return toward a more balanced market.”

Inventory remains constrained, with a 4.4-months’ supply in October for single-family homes and a 5.3-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to Florida Realtors. Most analysts consider a 6-month supply of inventory as the benchmark for a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.80 percent in October 2015, down from the 4.04 percent average recorded during the same month a year ago.

Brevard County October 2015 Real Estate Sales

Sales of townhouse-condos were up .9% year-over-year, and the median price of those units rose 6.2% to $138,500 on Florida's Space Coast, according to a housing market report released by Florida Realtors.

Brevard County's October closed sales of existing single-family homes were down 10.3% from a year ago. The median price of those homes sold rose 15.4% to $165,000, but was still $33,500 less than the statewide average of $198,995. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

Florida Tourism Breaks Record In 3rd Quarter

2015-11-21T16:12:00.001-08:00

Florida's tourism numbers broke a record in the third quarter of 2015 (July – September). Tourism increased 6.8% when compared to the third quarter of 2014 with 25.5 million visitors coming to the the Sunshine State - the largest third quarter for visitation ever.

Lower gas prices have fueled record-breaking domestic travel to Florida. VISIT FLORIDA estimates that 22.1 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in the third quarter of 2015, reflecting an 8.2% increase over the same period last year. This increase in domestic visitors more than offset a 1.8% decline in overseas visitors and a 1.4% decline in Canadian visitors who have been impacted by a stronger U.S. dollar. Preliminary figures for the first three quarters of 2015 show 67.4 million domestic visitors, 8.3 million overseas visitors and 3.4 million Canadians have come to the Sunshine State.

Tourism and recreation taxable sales for Florida increased year-over-year for January through August 2015 (last reported month), representing an 8.2% increase over the same period in 2014. For quarter three of 2015, the average daily room rate (ADR) rose 5.1%, the occupancy rate for Florida hotels increased 3.6% and the demand in rooms sold grew 4.8% compared to quarter three of 2014.

Will Seccombe, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said, “With three record quarters and a fifth consecutive record year on the horizon, it’s clear that this continued growth does not happen by accident. It’s the direct result of a global marketing strategy focused on maximizing the economic impact of Florida tourism.”

The average number of direct travel-related jobs in quarter three was also a record high, with 1,195,400 Floridians employed in the tourism industry – up 5.2% over the same period last year.

“I am proud to announce that the Sunshine State continued our record-breaking success and welcomed the most visitors in Florida’s history over the first three quarters of the year," Governor Scott said. "Our growing tourism industry employs 1.2 million Floridians and is helping us meet our goal of becoming first for jobs. We look forward to more than 100 million tourists visiting Florida this year.”

Governor Rick Scott: Florida's Unemployment Rate Lowest In 7 Years

2015-11-21T15:28:00.003-08:00

Florida Governor Rick Scott announced on Friday that Florida businesses created 36,600 private-sector jobs across the state in October, the highest one-month total for jobs added in ten years. Since December 2010, 978,800 private-sector jobs have been created in Florida. The statewide unemployment rate is also down to 5.1% in October 2015 - the lowest in seven years.

“Today we are proud to announce that October was the highest month for job growth in ten years, with 36,600 private-sector jobs created in Florida. We look forward to cutting $1 billion in taxes so we can diversify our economy to make Florida first for job growth," Governor Rick Scott said.

Florida's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1% in October 2015, down 0.7 percentage point from 5.8% a year ago, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

The Sunshine State’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 8,150,200 in October 2015, an increase of 35,200 jobs (+0.4%) over the month. Compared to October a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 239,900, an increase of 3.0%.

The industry gaining the most jobs was professional and business services (+49,700 jobs, +4.2%). Other industries gaining jobs included leisure and hospitality (+49,100 jobs, +4.4%); education and health services (+48,400 jobs, +4.1%); trade, transportation, and utilities (+45,300 jobs, +2.8%); construction (+18,700 jobs, +4.6%); other services (+14,500 jobs, +4.4%); financial activities (+13,900 jobs, +2.6%); and manufacturing (+5,000 jobs, +1.5%).

The industries that lost jobs over the year were information (‐100 jobs, ‐0.1%) and government (‐4,300 jobs, ‐0.4%).

Brevard County Employment

Brevard County's unemployment rate dropped from 6.4% in October 2014 to 5.4% in October 2015, which was entirely due to a reduction in the labor force (-2,903 people) outpacing job losses (+129 jobs) during the same period.

There were 243,651 employed, and 13,969 unemployed, people on Florida's Space Coast in October 2015. Despite thousands of people leaving the workforce in Brevard County, the local unemployment rate of 5.4% remains significantly higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 5.1%.

In October 2015, the Palm Bay‐Melbourne‐Titusville metro area had the second‐fastest annual job growth rate in education and health services (+6.8 percent) of all Florida metro areas.

Non-agricultural job gains on the Space Coast were led by education and health services (+2,300 jobs); professional and business services (+1,200 jobs); trade, transportation, and utilities and leisure and hospitality (+900 jobs each); financial activities and other services (+200 jobs each); and manufacturing (+100 jobs) gained jobs over the year.

Government (‐600 jobs); mining, logging, and construction (‐200 jobs); and information (‐100 jobs) lost jobs over the year.

U.S. Foreclosure Starts Jump 12% in October

2015-11-12T02:17:00.002-08:00

The U.S housing market saw its biggest monthly increase in foreclosure starts since 2011 with 48,605 properties starting the foreclosure process for the first time in October, according to RealtyTrac's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for October 2015.

October foreclosure starts increased from the previous month in 34 states, including California (up 21%), Florida (up 13%), New Jersey (up 15%), Illinois (up 20%), Maryland (up 300%), Washington (up 34%), and Michigan (up 37%).

Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 115,134 U.S. properties in October, an increase of 6% from the previous month but still down 6% from a year ago. The 6% monthly increase in overall foreclosure activity was caused primarily by a 12% monthly jump in foreclosure starts. The October monthly increase was the largest month-over-month increase since August 2011, when there was a 24% month-over-month increase. Despite the month-over-month increase, foreclosure starts in October were still down 14% from a year ago.

“We’ve seen a seasonal increase in foreclosure starts in October for the past five consecutive years, so it’s not too surprising to see the monthly increase this October,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “However, the 12 percent increase this October is more than double the average 5 percent monthly increase in the past five Octobers, and the even more dramatic monthly increases in some states is certainly a concern. The upward trend in foreclosure starts in those states in some cases could be an indication of fissures in economic fundamentals driving more distress and in other cases is more likely an indication of long-term delinquencies finally entering the foreclosure pipeline.”

Florida #1 in bank repossessions which increased annually in 36 states

There were a total of 36,582 properties repossessed by lenders (REOs) in October, down 9% from the previous month but up 31% from a year ago — the eighth consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in REOs. Despite the annual increase, REOs in October are about one-third of their peak of 102,134 in September 2010. Through the first 10 months of 2015 there have been 369,920 completed foreclosures, up 33% from 277,815 REOs during the same time period in 2014.

States that saw the most completed foreclosures for the month included Florida (5,760 REOs), California (2,697 REOs), Illinois (2,624 REOs), New Jersey (1,960 REOs) and Texas (1,776 REOs).

Florida #3 in state foreclosure rates

One in every 579 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing in October, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate. Florida’s foreclosure rate has ranked in the Top 5 each month in 2015. Florida foreclosure activity increased 8% from the previous month but was still down 23% from a year ago.

Florida metros among the top 10 in the U.S. with the highest foreclosure rates

Four areas in Florida were among the top 10 cites in the U.S. with the highest foreclosure rates. Jacksonville, Florida was ranked sixth in the nation with one in every 465 housing units in foreclosure, followed by Miami, Florida at No. 7 (one in every 480 housing units); Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida (Brevard County on Florida's Space Coast) at No. 9 (one in every 514 housing units); and Tampa, Florida coming in at No. 10 (one in every 543 housing units).

Florida's Space Coast foreclosure rates

The top five cities in Brevard County on Florida's Space Coast with the highest foreclosure rates are:

Grant 1 in every 191

Palm Bay 1 in every 289

Cocoa 1 in every 388

Titusville 1 in every 413

Indialantic 1 in every 527

Cocoa Beach, Florida had the lowest foreclosure rate in Brevard County at 1 in 2,731.

Lighting Science Moves HQ From Florida To Rhode Island

2015-11-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

MELBOURNE, Florida - Executives with Lighting Science joined Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo on Monday to announce the opening of its new executive headquarters in the Providence, Rhode Island area.

The company, which has been based on Florida's Space Coast in Melbourne, Florida for the past 8 years, is relocating its executive team after what the company called "an exhaustive search for a new home that offers access to a highly-educated, tech-savvy work force with close proximity to large regional markets."

The company said in a release that "...Rhode Island, under the direction of Governor Raimondo, has proven to be a highly progressive environment for technology companies, offering a network of passionate business leaders, world-class institutions, and supportive state politicians to assist in growing a dynamic company."

“Lighting Science has found a new home, one where it can leverage local talent and infrastructure to significantly expand its business and take advantage of the progressive CEOs and decision makers who are looking for forward-leaning solutions to create healthier, safer and more productive environments for their customers and constituents,” said Lighting Science Chief Executive Officer Ed Bednarcik.

But not all of the approximately 250 employees will leave Brevard County, Florida for the Ocean State. That's because only the company’s executive leadership will join Bednarcik in West Warwick, RI. The company’s Research & Development team, headed up by Founder and Chief Technology Officer Fred Maxik, along with several other administrative and back office functions, will remain in Florida close to its technology roots at NASA. The company expects to significantly increase its Rhode Island team in 2016, and continue to expand rapidly into 2017 as the market for its innovative lighting solutions grows.

“Rhode Island has a talented pipeline of workers from our outstanding colleges and universities, a great location between New York and Boston, and an Administration laser-focused on making easier and less expensive to do business,” said Raimondo. “I am thrilled to see Lighting Science Group recognizing all our state has to offer, moving here, innovating here, and creating jobs. We will continue to build upon our economic development strategy to encourage even more businesses to join them in expanding and growing in the Ocean State.”

U.S. Air Force Awards Bomber Contract To Northrop Grumman

2015-10-28T05:45:00.003-07:00

The LRS-B will replace the B-2 Spirit Bomber pictured above. Credit: Northrop Grumman

MELBOURNE, Florida - The U.S. Air Force announced on Tuesday the contract award of the nation's new Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) to Northrop Grumman Corporation which will bring a much needed boost to the local economy on Florida's Space Coast.

“The LRS-B is critical to national defense and is a top priority for the Air Force,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. “We face a complex security environment. It’s imperative our Air Force invests in the right people, technology, capability and training to defend the nation and its interests – at an affordable cost.”

According to the Air Force, future threats will evolve through the introduction of advanced air defense systems and development of more capable surface to air missile systems. The LRS-B is designed to replace the Air Force’s aging fleets of bombers – ranging in age from 50+ years for the B-52 to 17+ years for the B-2 – with a long range, highly survivable bomber capable of penetrating and operating in tomorrow’s anti-access, area denial environment. The LRS-B provides the strategic agility to launch from the United States and strike any target, any time around the globe.

The Long Range Strike Bomber contract is composed of two parts. The contract for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development, or EMD, phase is a cost-reimbursable type contract with cost and performance incentives. The incentives minimize the contractor’s profit if they do not control cost and schedule appropriately. The independent estimate for the EMD phase is $21.4 billion in 2010 dollars.

The second part of the contract is composed of options for the first 5 production lots, comprising 21 aircraft out of the total fleet of 100. They are fixed price options with incentives for cost. Based on approved requirements, the Average Procurement Unit Cost (APUC) per aircraft is required to be equal to or less than $550 million per aircraft in 2010 dollars when procuring 100 LRS-B aircraft. The APUC from the independent estimate supporting today’s award is $511 million per aircraft, again in 2010 dollars.

"The Air Force has made the right decision for our nation's security," said Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president, Northrop Grumman. "As the company that developed and delivered the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, we look forward to providing the Air Force with a highly-capable and affordable next-generation Long-Range Strike Bomber.

Based on current LRS-B independent cost estimates, the Air Force projects the APUC for the program will be approximately a third of the previous B-2 stealth aircraft.

Impact On Brevard County's Local Economy

In 2013, Northrop Grumman announced that it would restructure some of its operations into Centers of Excellence, with the largest move being from its Bethpage, N.Y. facility to Melbourne, Florida.

In exchange for bringing 1,000 jobs to Florida, the defense company received an economic development incentives package which included an exemption from Brevard County school property taxes, a $1.15 million grant over five years from the City of Melbourne, $2 million from Brevard County, and $16 million from the State of Florida. However, Northrop Grumman did make a $135,000 donation to Brevard County Public Schools on the same day that the contract award was announced.

According to the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, Northrop Grumman plans to invest approximately $500 million in new capital investments which includes the construction of an additional approximately 500,000 square foot facility at the Melbourne International Airport.

“This is great news for the Space Coast and Central Florida," Senator Bill Nelson said. "It will mean an additional 1,000 high-paying engineering jobs over and above Northrop Grumman’s 2,600 Melbourne employees.”

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter introduces Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, during a press briefing to announce the award of the long range strike bomber contract in the Pentagon, Oct. 27, 2015. Credit: U.S. Air Force / Scott M. Ash

Florida Homes Severely Underwater Tighten Inventory, Prices Rise

2015-10-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Of the top ten markets with a population greater than 500,000 that had the highest percentage of seriously underwater properties, Florida markets took up six spots in the Third Quarter of 2015, according to RealtyTrac's Q3 2015 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. RealtyTrac defines a property as "seriously underwater" when the combined loan amount secured by the property is at least 25% higher than the property’s estimated market value.

Topping the list was Lakeland, Florida at 28.0%, followed by Las Vegas, Nevada (27.3%), Cleveland, Ohio (27.2%), Deltona-Daytona Beach, Florida (26.7%), Orlando, Florida (25.6%), Tampa, Florida (24.3%), Toledo, Ohio (24.1%), Chicago, Illinois (24.0%), Brevard County, Florida (24.0%) and Jacksonville, Florida (23.8%).

Five Florida markets were also among the top eight markets where the share of distressed properties (those in some stage of foreclosure) were seriously underwater. The Deltona-Daytona Beach, Florida market was the highest with 58.5%, followed by Las Vegas, Nevada (56.5%), Lakeland, Florida (55.8%), Brevard County, Florida (54.1%), Cleveland, Ohio (53.4%), Chicago, Illinois (52.6%), Tampa, Florida (52.3% ), and Orlando, Florida (51.7%).

Nationwide, the percentage of seriously underwater homes has fallen to 12.7% of all homes with a mortgage. That percentage peaked in the second quarter of 2012 at 28.6%.

Underwater Properties Tighten Inventory

"While it’s undoubtedly great news that the level of negative equity is falling, the depth of negative equity remains incredibly worrisome," writes Zillow Chief Economist, Svenja Gudell. "Millions of Americans are so far underwater, it’s likely they may not regain equity for up to a decade or more at this pace. And because negative equity is concentrated so heavily at the lower end, it gums up the works for the rest of the market."

"Potential first-time buyers will have difficulty finding affordable homes for sale because those homes are stuck in negative equity. And owners of those homes can’t move up the chain because they’re stuck underwater in the entry-level home they bought years ago. The logjam at the bottom is having ripple effects throughout the market, and as home value growth slows, it will be years before it gets cleared up."

"In the meantime, we’ll be left with volatile prices, limited inventory, tepid demand, elevated foreclosures and a whole lot of frustration."

Prices Rise As Inventory Tightens

Inventory continues to tighten across the Sunshine State with a 4.4-months’ supply in September for single-family homes and a 5.2-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Most analysts consider a 6-month supply of inventory as the benchmark for a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

“We’re seeing increases in both sales and prices in virtually every metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and in both single-family homes and townhouses and condos. Inventory continues to decline and those declines have now reached homes at the $250,000 level," said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “However, with pending sales down, mortgage accessibility increasing and interest rates due to rise, we think the market will even out as we go forward into 2016.”

Statewide, the median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $199,900, up 11.1% from the previous year. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in August was $150,000, up 5.1% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Brevard County September Real Estate Sales

Brevard County's May closed sales of existing single-family homes were up 11.8% from a year ago. The median price of those homes sold rose 32.6% to $172,500, but was still $27,400 less than the statewide average of $199,900.

Sales of townhouse-condos were up 23.0% year-over-year, and the median price of those units rose 1.2% to $119,900, on Florida's Space Coast.

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

Florida Unemployment Rate 5.2%, Brevard County 5.6%

2015-10-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Florida's unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in September 2015, down 0.6 percentage point from 5.8% a year ago, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

"By working to diversify our economy, we want to make Florida first for job creation so families have more opportunities in Florida than in any other state to live their dreams," Governor Rick Scott said.

The Sunshine State’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment number was 8,113,900 in September 2015, an increase of 2,100 jobs (less than +0.1 percent) over the month. Compared to September a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 235,700, an increase of 3.0%.

The industry gaining the most jobs was leisure and hospitality (+58,100 jobs, +5.3 percent). Other industries gaining jobs included education and health services (+50,200 jobs, +4.3 percent); trade, transportation, and utilities (+44,500 jobs, +2.7 percent); construction (+26,700 jobs, +6.6 percent); professional and business services (+26,300 jobs, +2.2 percent); financial activities (+15,000 jobs, +2.9 percent); other services (+12,200 jobs, +3.7 percent); manufacturing (+3,500 jobs, +1.1 percent); and government (+1,300 jobs, +0.1 percent).

The only major industry that lost jobs over the year was information (-1,900 jobs, -1.4 percent).

Brevard County

Brevard County's unemployment rate dropped from 6.7% in September 2014 to 5.6% in September 2015, which was entirely due to a reduction in the labor force (-3,144 people) outpacing job gains (+295 jobs) during the same period.

There were 244,781 employed, and 14,635 unemployed, people on Florida's Space Coast in September 2015. Despite thousands of people leaving the workforce in Brevard County, the local unemployment rate of 5.6% remains significantly higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 5.2%.

Non-agricultural job gains on the Space Coast were led by Education and health services (+1,600 jobs), followed by professional and business services and leisure and hospitality (+1,100 jobs each); trade, transportation, and utilities and other services (+400 jobs each); and manufacturing (+100 jobs) gained jobs over the year.

Government (‐500 jobs); information (‐200 jobs); and mining, logging, and construction (‐100 jobs) lost jobs over the year. Financial activities remained unchanged over the year.

Survey: Floridians Divided On Economic Development

2015-10-14T13:44:00.003-07:00

Governor Rick Scott's website touts that nearly a million jobs have been created in Florida since 2010. Credit: EOG

More than 70% of Floridian households are experiencing some financial stress, indicating Floridians are not convinced that the Great Recession is over, according to the USF-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey.

"What this portion of the survey shows is that Floridians are still stressed economically,'' University of South Florida Professor Susan MacManus said. "They are very much still looking somewhat judgmentally, and in a negative fashion, toward state and local leadership. And they are hopeful for attention to transportation and infrastructure."

The USF-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey asked respondents to identify the single biggest threat to Florida’s economy. While the answers were diverse, MacManus said nearly half identified loss of jobs, government waste and inefficiency, and undocumented residents and workers as the biggest threats to the economy.

Floridians are divided on the single best way for the state to attract new economic development. Twenty-three percent said that "better transportation" was the single best way to spark economic development. Another 23% said "offering tax breaks or cash payments tied to job creation promises" is the single best way. In close third place was "investing more in education and training" at 22%.

“The public in Florida comes down strongly with the conclusion that these tactics are indeed job creators and tax enhancers,” MacManus said. “In fact, 60 percent see these incentives for businesses to encourage them to expand or relocate as job creators, rather than corporate welfare, which is cited by just 31 percent.”

“The key here is ‘tied to job creation promises,’ not just tax breaks, but tax breaks tied to job creation promises,” MacManus said.

Opinions about whether the state should focus on keeping existing businesses and jobs or attracting new businesses and jobs are almost evenly divided. Forty-five percent favor giving a higher priority to keeping existing businesses and forty-three percent prefer more efforts to attract new businesses and jobs into the state.

While a majority (59%) say the Sunshine State's taxes are “about right” relative to the overall quality of state services provided and 55% feel the same toward local taxes, Floridians overall find state and local spending to be “relatively wasteful.”

“The reason why most people find government wasteful at the moment is so many still feel stressed in their own personal household finances,” MacManus said. “It’s long been a pattern in government finance that when people feel anxiety in their own personal finances and they’re having to make tough choices, people regard anything that involves any discussion of taxes or services by a government as very wasteful because there’s always something in the news about local governments wanting to increase sales taxes for this or wanting to spend more on that.”

Gov. Scott Signs All American Flag Act, Spent Millions Creating Jobs For Foreign Workers

Florida's Unemployment Rate Dips To 5.4%

2015-08-21T08:47:00.002-07:00

Florida's unemployment rate fell to 5.4% in July 2015, down 0.2 percentage point from the June 2015 rate of 5.6%, and down 0.6 percentage point from 6.0% a year ago, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

“I am excited to announce that more than 917,400 private-sector jobs have been created in our state since December 2010," Governor Rick Scott said. "Thousands of Floridians are finding new opportunities to find a great job, provide for their loved ones, and achieve their dreams in our great state. We are working hard to continue cutting taxes and reducing regulations so more businesses will grow and expand here.”

The Sunshine State’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment number was 8,105,000 in July 2015, an increase of 30,500 jobs (+0.4 percent) over the month. Compared to July a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 271,500, an increase of 3.5%.

The industry gaining the most jobs was trade, transportation, and utilities (+57,400 jobs, +3.5%). Other industries gaining jobs included leisure and hospitality (+52,300 jobs, +4.8%); private education and health services (+48,400 jobs, +4.2%); professional and business services (+40,200 jobs, +3.4%); construction (+26,500 jobs, +6.6%); financial activities (+13,300 jobs, +2.5%); other services (+12,500 jobs, +3.9%); manufacturing (+6,000 jobs, +1.8%); and government (+15,200, +1.4%).

The only major industry that lost jobs over the year was information (-100 jobs, -0.1 percent).

Brevard County

Brevard County's unemployment rate dropped from 7.3% in July 2014 to 6.1% in July 2015, which was entirely due to a reduction in the labor force (-5,241 people) outpacing job gains (+1,672 jobs) during the same period.

There were 243,020 employed, and 15,674 unemployed, people on Florida's Space Coast in July 2015. Despite thousands of people leaving the workforce in Brevard County, the local unemployment rate of 6.1% remains significantly higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 5.7%.

Non-agricultural job gains on the Space Coast were led by professional and business services (+1,900 jobs); education & health services (+1,700 jobs), leisure & hospitality (+1,000 jobs); and trade, transportation, and utilities (+400 jobs). Other industries that gained jobs over the year included manufacturing (+200 jobs) and other services (+300 jobs). Government (-600 jobs) and Information (-200) were the industries within the non-agricultural job category to lose jobs. Mining, logging, and construction and financial services remained unchanged over the year.

Sales Up In Abnormal Brevard County Real Estate Market

2015-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

BREVARD COUNTY, Florida -- Residential real estate sales are up on the Space Coast and across Florida. But certain aspects of Brevard County's real estate market remain statistical outliers when compared to the rest of the U.S.

Highest Sales Volume in 10 Years, High Percentage of Bank-Owned Properties

The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area (Brevard County, Florida) was among 23 real estate markets across the U.S. where sales volume in the first four months of 2015 was at 10-year high, according to RealtyTrac.

However, Brevard County also had the fourth-highest percentage of bank-owned sales in the nation in May 2015. Bank-owned properties accounted for 11.9% of all residential sales on the Space Coast in May. The only other real estate markets to have higher bank-owned sales were Flint, Michigan (16.0%), Mobile, Alabama (13.1%), and Tallahassee, Florida (12.6%).

Underwater Homeowners

1 out of every 4 properties (24.5%) in Brevard County were seriously underwater during the first quarter of 2015 - nearly double the national rate of 13.2%, according to RealtyTrac. Properties are considered "seriously underwater" by RealtyTrac when the combined loan amount secured by the property is at least 25% higher than the property’s estimated market value.

Brevard County June Real Estate Sales

Sales of townhouse-condos were up 25.8% year-over-year, and the median price of those units rose 8.5% to $134,500 on Florida's Space Coast, according to a housing market report released by Florida Realtors.

Brevard County's May closed sales of existing single-family homes were up 10% from a year ago. The median price of those homes sold rose 21.4% to $170,000, but was still $33,500 less than the statewide average of $203,500. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Florida's Housing Market

Florida's housing market reported more closed sales, higher median prices and tightening inventory in June, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors

Statewide, closed sales of single-family homes totaled 27,729 last month, up 19.6% over June 2014. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $200,000, up 11.1% from the previous year.

In Florida’s townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 10,991, up 14.6% compared to June of last year. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in June was $152,076, up 7.9% over the year-ago figure.

The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales in the Sunshine State when compared to June 2014. Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 36.1% while short sales for single-family homes dropped 30.4%.

Market Overheating?

Inventory continues to tighten in Florida, with a 4.6-months' supply in June for single-family homes and a 5.5-months' supply for townhouse-condo properties. Most analysts consider a 6-month supply of inventory as the benchmark for a balanced market between buyers and sellers, according to Florida Realtors.

"With the continued growth in both sales and prices in Florida, it raises the question of whether the market is starting to overheat," says Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. "The decline in inventories to seller-market levels, and the decline in days on market, tend to suggest that possibility as well. But there are mitigating factors here. First of all, the real inventory pressure is in the lowest price tiers, which has been the case for several months. Secondly, going forward, the rise in condo sales and prices will be mitigated by increased supply in the form of condo towers now under construction.

"And finally, the Federal Reserve will soon be raising interest rates, which will have a dampening effect on demand."

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

FOLLOW BREVARD TIMES

Brevard County Loses 6,000 Jobs In One Year

2015-07-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

BREVARD COUNTY, Florida -- Brevard County has lost over 6,000 jobs within the last year, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) on Friday.

Brevard County's unemployment rate dropped from 7.0% in June 2014 to 5.9% in June 2015, which was entirely due to a labor force shrinking faster (-8,645 people) than job losses (-6,002 jobs) during the same period.

There were 242,298 people employed in Brevard County in June 2015. That's the lowest number of employed people since 2011 when Florida's Space Coast suffered job losses from both the global recession and the winding down of the space shuttle program.

Despite thousands of people leaving the workforce in Brevard County, the unemployment rate of 5.9% on Florida's Space Coast still remains significantly higher than that of the statewide Florida unemployment rate of 5.5%.

Brevard County Sector Job Losses and Gains

Job gains in non-farm payrolls (+5,200) were unable to fully offset job losses in farm payrolls (-11,200) from June 2014 to June 2015, which resulted in a net loss of six thousand jobs for the year.

Non-agricultural job gains on the Space Coast were led by professional and business services (+1,800 jobs); education & health services (+1,600 jobs), leisure & hospitality (+1,100 jobs); and trade, transportation, and utilities (+500 jobs). Other industries that gained jobs over the year included manufacturing (+100 jobs) and financial activities and other services (+300 jobs each). Government (-400 jobs) and Information (-100) were the only industries within the non-agricultural job category to lose jobs. Mining, logging, and construction remained unchanged over the year.

Statewide Employment

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.5% in June 2015, down 0.2 percentage point from the May 2015 rate of 5.7%, and down 0.6 percentage point from 6.1% a year ago. There were 529,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 9,552,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 5.3% in June.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment number was 8,070,800 in June 2015, an increase of 7,000 jobs (+0.1 percent) over the month. Compared to June a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 266,200, an increase of 3.4%.

The industry gaining the most jobs was trade, transportation, and utilities (+60,400 jobs, +3.7%). Other industries gaining jobs included leisure and hospitality (+53,600 jobs, +4.9%); private education and health services (+53,300 jobs, +4.6%); professional and business services (+40,200 jobs, +3.5%); construction (+25,200 jobs, +6.4%); financial activities (+14,400 jobs, +2.8%); other services (+12,400 jobs, +3.8%); manufacturing (+6,700 jobs, +2.0%); and government (+1,000 jobs, +0.1%).

The only major industry that lost jobs over the year was information (-900 jobs, -0.7 percent).

Precious Metals Extend Losing Streak As Global Risks Abate

2015-07-17T17:43:00.001-07:00

QUICK READ: The major, immediate risks for the global economy seemed to reach “risk off” status this week: China’s main stock index recovered 6.2% while Greece and its creditors agreed to a $7 billion bridge loan. These developments helped plunge the precious metals into the red each trading day this week.

Stocks opened higher all across the global exchanges on Monday after Greece reached an agreement in principle with its European creditors. Discussions carried on for 17 hours before a last-minute deal was struck. Capital controls will remain in place, and Greek banks will still stay closed, for some time. In fact, most experts rated the austerity-for-bailout agreement as worse than the deal on the table prior to the referendum that yielded a “No” vote from the Greek electorate.

Elsewhere on Monday, Saudi oil production hit an alltime high of 10.6 million barrels per day. This helped push Brent crude down 0.5% while WTI opened lower before returning to unchanged. The dollar’s main competitors were largely idle: the sterling sat at $1.55, the euro held at $1.10, and the yen stuck near 123/$. 10-year Treasuries rose 2 basis points to 2.43% while the metals fell. According to trade data, however, silver imports to the U.S. have increased year-over-year every month this year, expanding by 33% thus far in 2015. Even so, the budget deficit remained near 7-year lows.

Following Greece’s capitulation to start the week, negotiations between Iran and a group of world powers surprisingly yielded a deal intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. Crude dropped modestly on the news, while U.S. indices closed about 0.5% higher. After opening in the red, European shares advanced into positive territory, while the euro traded flat. Data showed that retail sales in the U.S. fell by 0.3% in June, while inflation is still virtually zero in the U.K.; meantime, the pound sterling moved to $1.56 as the dollar fell 0.4% to 96.45 on the DXY index. The 10-year T-note yielded 2.40% on a day where the precious metals slid slightly lower across the board. In Asia, Shanghai lost another 1% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.4%.

Wednesday was dominated by Janet Yellen’s twoday tour of Capitol Hill, where the Fed Chair gave testimony before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. While the members of Congress played their semiannual role of questioning the central bank’s lack of oversight and transparency, Yellen reiterated (for the umpteenth time) that measures of inflation and labor market slack are progressing toward Fed targets, leaving a rate hike from the central bank on the table before the year ends.

Stocks moved sideways following the seemingly hawkish Fed statement, up a meager 0.1%, before sinking into the red in response to violent protests in Athens. Investor focus had clearly shifted from Greece to the Fed by this point, however, as the Aussie dollar and the New Zealand kiwi each fell on Yellen’s rate hike comments. Murmurs began about how soon after the Fed the Bank of England will wait to raise its own benchmark rates.

Meanwhile, factory output was flat in the U.S. during June. Yet, the producer price index (PPI) rose 0.4% during the month after advancing 0.5% in May, all in spite of falling oil prices. Another rout in the crude market sent WTI ($51.55/bbl) 2.8% lower, while Brent ($57.20/bbl) lost 2.25%. This was helped by the dollar moving 0.5% higher, pushing the euro and yen down to $1.095 and 124/$, respectively.

Both German Bunds and U.S. Treasuries with 10-year maturities saw demand: the yield on the former fell 4 bp to 0.87% while the latter was 7 bp lower at 2.35%, where it would end the week. The precious metals tumbled, as gold slipped below the $1,150/oz mark and silver lost 30¢, or almost 2%.

Wednesday was also Amazon’s highly promoted “Prime Day,” where preferred members of the retail site received an assortment of deals and special offers. (Walmart countered with its own sale.) Though the reaction from Amazon users seemed to indicate disappointment, Amazon reported higher sales than Black Friday and set a new single-day record for Amazon Prime registration.

The stock markets were relatively exuberant on Thursday, as the Dow Industrials rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, and the Nasdaq advanced 1.25% to a 3-week high. The rally for equities in the U.S. comes amid a fairly robust quarterly earnings report for U.S. corporations, especially the financial institutions. Shares of Citi hit a 6-year high while JPMorgan beat expectations with a 5% increase in profits during Q2. Bank of America, the country’s 2ndlargest bank by assets, posted its lowest quarterly expenses since 2008, helping more than double its profits from Q1 to 2.31%. Despite Goldman Sachs provisionally setting aside $1.45 billion for upcoming mortgage-related litigation, bringing its all-important Earnings Per Share (EPS) metric 52% lower, the rest of the investment bank’s business operations were robust, helping shares gain 10% year-to-date and 30% over the last 12 months. Wealth management firm Blackstone was less versatile, disappointing with a 62% drop in Q2 profits. Strong investment in exercise gadget maker FitBit has helped shares surged more than 100% since the company’s IPO earlier this year. Similarly, shares of Netflix have continued to run ahead of the pack.

Thursday saw both the dollar and the pound gain against the euro, boosting the latter to a 7year high against the eurozone’s common currency. With the dollar advancing to 97.5 on the DXY, the euro traded just below $1.09. The crude benchmarks rose in the morning before diverging, as Brent crude gained 1.5% while WTI closed 0.25% lower. All of the precious metals spent the day in the red again. Weekly jobless claims fell for the first time in 4 weeks, coming in at 281,000 new applications. The homebuilder confidence gauge hit its highest level in 9 and1⁄2 years, and June housing starts gained 9.8% annualized (predominantly in apartment buildings) according to a report Friday; both new home construction and new building permits rose to 8-year highs. The Philly Fed manufacturing survey fell to 5.7 in July from a reading of 15.2 in June, far below expectations (12.0). A value above zero, however, does at least indicate an expansion. A rise in the consumer price index (CPI) for the 5th straight month was fueled largely by higher rent costs.

The trend of strong corporate earnings during Q2 carried over into Friday, with General Electric reporting an increase in its industrial profits and Google beating its earnings expectations. This lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to an alltime high above 5,210 while the S&P traded flat and the Dow Jones trickled slightly into the negative.

One interesting development to keep in mind is the surge of the VIX volatility index—as well as the higher volatility of the gauge itself. ETFs that track the VIX have grown increasingly popular among investors, and there were a record number of VIX calls on Monday. The VIX jumped 34% the day Greece declared a bank holiday, and rose another 22% after China’s stock market began to crater. It subsequently fell 30% over the next two days as risk factors in Greece, China, and Iran seemed to settle down. Speaking of volatility, the turbid Shanghai index gained 3.5% on Friday, though likely on the strength of direct, top-heavy government intervention.

After getting battered all week, the precious metals slumped further, staggering into Friday’s close at multi-year lows: gold notched a 5-year low of just $1,135/oz; silver sank to a 6-year low after breaching the $15/oz level; platinum fell to just $1,000/oz for the first time in over 6 years; and palladium’s close below $620/oz was its worst since November 2012. The dollar ended the week at its strongest since mid-April, closing above 97.95 on the DXY and pushing the euro to a 6-week low of $1.08.

M&A News

• Jarden plans to buy disposable tableware maker Waddington for $1.35 billion.

• Refiner Marathon Petroleum is set to acquire MarkWest Energy for $15.8 billion.

• A pair of billionaires offer to buy chemical maker Alent for $2.1 billion.

• Goldman Sachs agrees to acquire Imprint Capital, an asset management firm.

• Chinese tech firm Unigroup’s $23billion deal for chipmaker Micron is likely to be blocked by the U.S. Congress.

• Twitter stock jumps 8.5% on a bogus report that the social media company received a $31 billion buyout offer.

• The hedge fund run by Paulson & Co. may acquire a large stake in Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta in order to facilitate a takeover by agricultural conglomerate Monsanto. Syngenta rejected an earlier $45billion bid as inadequate, simplistic, and unlikely to clear antitrust regulators.

• Biotech company Celgene plans to acquire rival Receptos for $7.2 billion ($232/share).

• Merger arrangements between Dish and TMobile stall on disputes over company valuations and a new corporate structure.

A LOOK AHEAD:

German PPI will be announced on Monday, while the minutes from the most recent meetings of the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia will also be released. The rest of the week is fairly slow until Friday, when an array of other European countries announce their own PPI data.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Everett Millman, head content writer at Gainesville Coins, a leading gold and silver distributor.

Greece, China Weigh On Markets Despite Strong U.S. Data

2015-07-03T11:00:00.001-07:00

QUICK READ: Given Greece’s debt quagmire and China’s equity bubble seemingly popping, the global markets tried to negotiate through a wave of negative momentum this week. U.S. markets were buoyed by encouraging employment and housing data, while the precious metals diverged, with platinum and silver advancing while gold and palladium slipped lower.

The fallout from the deteriorating negotiations between Greece and its creditors led global equities significantly lower to open the week on Monday. Wall Street closed down more than 2% to cap the worst trading day of the year for U.S. indices. This left both the S&P 500 and the DJIA in the negative for the calendar year, though the former remained right at its 200-day moving average, heading for its 10th consecutive winning quarter—the best such streak for the S&P since 1998. The slump for U.S. shares may have been worse if not for pending home sales hitting a 9-year high during May, marking the fifth straight month of gains.

Global stock indices were hit even harder on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 losing 2.9%, the DAX sliding 3.6%, and the EURO STOXX 50 giving up more than 4%. Meantime, global bonds rose, with sinking yields for Treasuries, Bunds, and Gilts. Conversely, in the preceding year, Greece's 10-year bond yield had nearly doubled to 10.8%; on Monday, it jumped a staggering 390 basis points to 14.74% before trading was suspended. The yen strengthened below 123 per dollar while euro volatility reached its highest levels since 2008. The common currency initially fell to $1.10 in a panic before regaining its footing around $1.125 by mid-day. Both crude oil benchmarks lost more than 1%, sinking to 3-week lows. Spot gold added $5 to $1,180/oz while silver lost 5¢ to fall to $15.80/oz. Palladium lagged behind, $12 lower at $670/oz, while platinum was unchanged at $1,185/oz.

Though Tuesday marked the quarterly options expiry, markets were more subdued Tuesday while the Greek situation continued to worsen. U.S. indices rose early in the day after the S&P Case-Shiller home price index gained 0.3% in April. The HPI is up 4.9% year-over-year, though this comes in below analysts expectations. Moreover, 20 of the country's biggest cities actually saw slower home price growth during April. Wall St ended up trickling back throughout the day to close barely positive, with the Nasdaq outperforming the other two major indices of late.

European markets were mostly in the red as Greek PM Alexis Tsipras oddly requested a new 2-year bailout from the European Commission, which was summarily rejected. The euro settled around $1.115, while the DXY dollar spot index moved back up to 95.5. Shanghai bounced back to gain more than 5%, likely with the aid and support of the Chinese government. The precious metals crept lower as 10-year Treasuries continued to yield 2.33%.

European markets opened as much as 2% in the green on Wednesday with Athens leading the way, as (for a fleeting moment) hopes improved that a deal on Greece's debt may be reached soon. European Commission VP Valdis Dombrovskis even expressed optimism over the chances of a deal. Wall St traded between 0.5% and 0.8% higher thanks to June posting the biggest gains in private sector employment in 6 months; small businesses accounted for roughly half of the 237,000 jobs added. Construction spending rose 0.8% during May, and factory activity picked up, with the ISM manufacturing index beating estimates in June. The dollar gained 0.8% against its major peers to 96.25 on the DXY, dropping the euro below $1.11 and the sterling to just above $1.56. 10-year T-note yields jumped to 2.42% as Shanghai promptly lost more than 5%. Nearby in Australia, business investment plunged 4.4% during Q1, the largest quarterly drop in 6 years.

With shaky signs around the global economy, it's little surprise the U.S. Mint announced that sales of its flagship American Gold Eagle coins were the highest in June since the seasonally strong showing in January. Many investors and collectors are also greatly anticipating the debut of the mint's new$100 Liberty gold coin, the country's first-ever $100 gold coin, which is due for release at the end of this month. More evidence of gold's safe haven status came with Gold Sovereign sales through Greek banks doubling in June. The precious metals were mixed again Wednesday, as gold slipped near a 4-week low at $1,169/oz and silver lost 12¢; meantime, platinum added $4 and palladium surged some $22 (+3.2%) to close at $700/oz.

U.S. stocks again opened higher, saw some volatility, and returned to about unchanged during Thursday's trading. This was despite jobless claims holding under 300,000 for the 17th straight week, non-farm payrolls coming in above 200,000 jobs added for the 15th month out of 16, and U3 unemployment dropping to 5.3%. The last two months' payrolls, however, were revised lower, and the “gains” in unemployment actually pushed the labor participation rate to its lowest level since 1977. After opening about 1.5% higher, each of the crude oil benchmarks tumbled into the red by the day's end. WTI crude sat at $56.50/bbl and Brent crude closed at $61.80/bbl, suffering even amid the seasonally high energy demand that accompanies the summer months (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Thursday saw mixed results for European equities, as some markets made modest gains while two of the continent's largest indices, the EURO STOXX 50 and France's CAC 40, both lost nearly 1%. The DXY dropped to 96.0, helping silver and palladium gain at gold's expense. 10-year Treasuries absorbed some demand, sending yields back lower to 2.38%, though some analysts expect 10-year yields to spike as high as 3% when the Fed finally lifts rates.

U.S. markets were closed on Friday ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday on Saturday. Amid lower volumes, shares were down about 0.4% in Europe, the euro settled near $1.11, crude oil traded 1% lower, and the metals moved slightly higher. Meantime, the Shanghai Composite slumped another 5.8% on Friday after losing 3.5% on Thursday, marking the worst 3-week stretch the index has seen since 1992.

M&A News

• Sysco drops plans to merge with U.S. Foods over concerns from the FTC.

• Aetna confirms its acquisition of rival Humana for $37 billion, creating the country's second-largest health insurer.

• Centene buys Health Net for $6.3 billion in cash and stocks to become the biggest private provider of Medicaid.

• Drug developer Celgene buys Juno Therapeutics for $1 billion in cash and stock, sending shares of the latter 19% higher.

• Willis Group and Towers Watson merge in an $8.7billion deal.

• ACE Insurance buys Chubb for $28.3 billion to diversify its portfolio in a cash and stock deal.

• The DoJ sues to block Electrolux from acquiring GE’s line of appliances for $3.3 billion, fearing that the merged firm would dominate huge segments of the home appliances market.

• International entertainment company MTG purchases ESL, the largest eSports organization in the world, for €78 million ($86.4 million) for a majority stake (74%) in ESL's holding company, Turtle Entertainment GmbH.

• K+S, the German potash supplier, rejects an $8.6billion takeover bid from Canada’s Potash Corp. Before the bid, K+S shares were up 27% on the year, beating the DAX index (+17% YTD).

A LOOK AHEAD:

Monday is a rather full day of economic indicators: abroad, new manufacturing numbers in Germany, Swiss CPI, and Canadian PMI come out; in the U.S., the ISM non- manufacturing index, the services PMI index, and labor market conditions index will be released, as well as global PMI data from JPMorgan and the latest consumer spending measure from Gallup. The FOMC June meeting minutes come out on Wednesday at 2 pm. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will speak in Cleveland on Friday afternoon to close out the week.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Everett Millman, head content writer at Gainesville Coins, a leading gold and silver distributor.

Markets Await Outcome Of Greek Debt Crisis

2015-06-27T16:35:00.003-07:00

QUICK READ: Undulating sentiment regarding the chances of a Greek default or a new bailout deal dominated the headlines yet again this week, swinging from optimism to despair and back again in the course of just a few days. Aside from volatility in Greece and a sharp correction in the Chinese markets, stocks, bonds, and commodities around the world mostly moved sideways awaiting something definitive on the debt crisis in the euro area.

The volley back-and-forth between Greece and its creditors, oscillating between fresh optimism and demur, sent global markets down, up, and back where they started this week. Expect still more delays and drama, considering that public perception weighs heavily on the decisions of both sides. In the same way that the Fed ought to normalize rates in due time but instead stresses patience to keep the markets swimming along, Greece’s economy ought to go through a default and subsequent devaluation in order to set itself on a path toward recovery and becoming competitive. There is only so long that these proverbial cans can be kicked down the road before something gives, but political agendas will likely encourage both the Greek government and its European creditors to simply extend the issue with more debt.

European stocks and bonds rallied on Monday morning before later erasing their gains. Crude oil followed the same pattern, reversing to slightly negative to close the day at $59.25/bbl (WTI) and $62.50/bbl (Brent). Gains for oil have been capped by the accumulation of huge crude inventories held offshore. The U.S. has also been pumping about 10 million barrels per day, the highest output levels since the 1970s. At the same time, the drop in oil prices caused spending on mines, shafts, and wells to tumble 49% during the first quarter.

The 10-year Treasury note opened the week with a 2.30% yield before stumbling, with yields jumping 7 basis points Monday. Gold, silver, and platinum each lost double-digit dollar amounts on Greek optimism while silver diverged, adding 15 cents to $16.30/oz. U.S. indices advanced while shares were up nearly 4% across Europe. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng index (Hong Kong) both added 1.2%.

Several economic indicators signaled improvement in the housing market. Existing home sales rose 5.1% in May to a 6-year high, largely driven by firsttime buyers. Meanwhile, the median price of existing homes for sale increased 8% year-over-year to more than $228,000, with this growth fueled by lower borrowing costs from government mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. New home sales posted an annualized gain of 2.2% in May, the highest in 7 years, with an 87.5% increase in the northeast. This lifted the NAHB/Wells Fargo home builder sentiment gauge to its strongest levels since September.

Shares in Europe and Asia rallied again on Tuesday while U.S. indices ended mostly flat thanks to a 1.8% drop in durable goods orders in May. Capitals goods orders did rise, however, for just the second time this year. Even as the S&P 500 nears record highs, the index has not seen a 2% move in either direction in 130 trading days, revealing the idle trend of the stock market lately. (By comparison, the S&P moved 2% or more on 10 different trading days over the last two years.)

Gold fell about $5 on Tuesday as the dollar jumped to 95.4 on the DXY index. Spot silver plunged through support at $16/oz after losing 35 cents on the day, while palladium was unchanged at $700/oz. Platinum’s spread below the gold price narrowed to $110/oz. This spread was only $90/oz by week's end. Both of the crude oil benchmarks actually advanced about 1.5% after opening in the red, each closing above $61/bbl.

Wednesday saw U.S. equities fall 0.7%, with the Dow leading the way 180 points lower (1%). Despite the souring of Greek talks, Asian markets were modestly in positive territory, as Japanese shares celebrated their highest close since 1996 and the beleaguered Shanghai Composite index briefly bounced back 2.5%. The metals opened lower before recovering throughout the trading day back near unchanged, as did Treasury yields. The corporate outlook in the U.S. caught an unexpected boost when the economic contraction during the first quarter was revised to only 0.2%.

Despite the gold options expiry falling on Thursday, which usually leads to higher trading volumes and volatility, the yellow metal trickled just $2 lower to $1,175/oz, where it would close the week. Silver similarly resisted budging from $15.95/oz, losing just 4 cents. Platinum (+$10) and palladium ($17) were far more active, though data released this week showed gold and silver did see an uptick in trading volumes during May. The DXY held at 95.3 by week’s end while the euro slid to about $1.12. Barclay's is forecasting a weak Q3 for the gold price followed by a modest recovery, and predicts that the euro and the dollar could come into close parity by 2016.

Stock indices in the U.S. and Europe traded sideways on Thursday with no breaking developments in the Greek situation. Jobless claims came in below 300,000 for the 16th consecutive week, taken as a sign of momentum in the labor market. Consumer spending accelerated by the most in 6 years during May, while consumer sentiment registered at a 5-month high in June. WTI crude fell by 1% to $59.65/bbl, although Brent crude was only 0.25% lower at $63.35/bbl.

Shares in Asia were deeper in the red Thursday, as Chinese stocks continue to reel from their recent highs. China’s CSI 300 IT index of tech shares had been trading at a staggering 74 times total earnings before dropping by more than 6% on Thursday. The Hang Seng fell nearly 1.8% the next trading day, while Shanghai closed out the week with a 7.4% massacre. Last week’s 13% correction for the Shanghai index erased a whopping $1.3 trillion in value from mainland equities. Since reaching a 6-year high in mid-June, the bellwether Chinese stock index has lost 19% in just two weeks. Even Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.3% on Friday.

The precious metals were almost perfectly flat on Friday, as was the S&P 500. Markets appeared hesitant with the uncertain outcome of Greece’s debt conundrum still to be decided over the weekend. The Dow Industrials added 0.3% while the Nasdaq sank 0.6% lower. Europe was down nearly across the board, though the EURO STOXX 50 (ESTX 50) and France’s CAC 40 both advanced about 0.5%. After opening about 1% lower, the crude oil benchmarks each returned to their previous levels: WTI crude was just below $60/bbl on Friday and Brent crude sat slightly above $63/bbl. Treasuries fell again, with the 10-year yield settling at 2.47%.

M&A News

• Verizon finalizes a $4.4billion acquisition of AOL after months of speculation that Yahoo! would do so.

• Cigna rejects a $47billion takeover bid from Anthem, possibly emboldening competitors within the health insurance market to make their own bids.

• Also in health insurance, Aetna is close to finishing a deal to acquire rival Humana. Overall, there has been strong M&A momentum in healthcare of late.

• French cable and mobile services provider Altice bids €10 billion ($11 billion) to acquire telecom rival Bouygues, prompting the French economic minister to look into the matter.

• Bouygues shares fall more than 8% after rejecting the bid, while Altice also slips by 6%.

• Siding with the FTC, a judge issues an injunction to halt Sysco’s $3.5billion takeover of U.S. Foods.

• Shares of pipeline builder Grant Williams jump 26% after the company rejects an offer of $64 per share ($48 billion total) from Energy Transfer.

• 3M, the maker of PostIts and Scotch tape, is expected to buy Capital Safety for $2.5 billion from KKR & Co. 3M also recently acquired Ivera Medical Corp., and has a pending $1billion deal from February for Polypore International Inc.’s filtration business.

• Dutch grocer Royal Ahold approves a merger deal worth €26 billion ($29.5 billion) with Belgian rival Delhaize Group. The move creates one of the biggest food retailers in both the United States and across the Atlantic in Europe. Delhaize shares slide about 7.5% after the all- share takeover was agreed to.

• Generic drug maker Mylan will hold a shareholder vote on its proposed hostile bid for Irish rival Perrigo. This comes shortly after Mylan rejected a $40billion takeover offer from Teva in April.

• Sequential Brands buys Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for $353 million.

• Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer acquires meningitis vaccines from Britain's GlaxoSmithKline for $130 million.

• Italy’s Ferrero, the world’s largest producer of chocolate, bids €112 million ($125.5 million) for confectionery company Thorntons.

M&As are likely to reach a new record high this year, besting the previous marks set in 2007; many analysts see this development as aiding otherwise modest hedge fund returns.

A LOOK AHEAD:

Retail sales and industrial production numbers from Japan will be announced on Sunday; Monday sees the release of economic sentiment data from the European Commission and the latest German CPI, as well as the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey and the pending home sales index in the States. A host of PMI data comes out across the developed world throughout the week.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Everett Millman, head content writer at Gainesville Coins, a leading gold and silver distributor.

Florida and U.S. Home Prices Up In May

2015-06-22T15:43:00.005-07:00

U.S. existing-home sales increased in May to their highest pace in nearly six years and existing-home prices for all housing types increased 7.9% over the the year to $228,700, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Total housing inventory at the end of May increased 3.2% to 2.29 million existing homes available for sale, and is 1.8% higher than a year ago (2.25 million). Unsold inventory is at a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 5.2 months in April.

The percent share of first-time buyers rose to 32% in May, up from 30% in April and matching the highest share since September 2012. A year ago, first-time buyers represented 27% of all buyers.

"The return of first-time buyers in May is an encouraging sign and is the result of multiple factors, including strong job gains among young adults, less expensive mortgage insurance and lenders offering low downpayment programs," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "More first-time buyers are expected to enter the market in coming months, but the overall share climbing higher will depend on how fast rates and prices rise."

All-cash sales were 24% of transactions in May for the third straight month and are down considerably from a year ago (32%). Distressed sales — foreclosures and short sales — remained at 10% for the third consecutive month in May and are below the 11% share a year ago. Seven percent of May sales were foreclosures and 3% were short sales.

Looming Mortgage Rate Increase

The average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage climbed in May to 3.84% from 3.67% in April but remained below 4.00% for the sixth straight month. However, many economists believe that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September, according to a Bloomberg Survey.

Florida

Tightening inventory continued to impact Florida’s housing market in May, according to Florida Realtors.

Statewide, closed sales of single-family homes totaled 24,789 last month, up 7.7 % over May 2014. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $200,000, up 11.1% from the previous year.

In Florida’s townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 10,549, down 0.1% compared to May 2014. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in May was $159,000, up 9.7% over the year-ago figure.

The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales in May. Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 36.9% while short sales for single-family homes dropped 30.5%. Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 45.1% while short sales for single-family homes dropped 37.7%.

Shadow Inventory and Foreclosures

Florida's shadow inventory of homes that are in foreclosure or carry delinquent or defaulted mortgages may contain a significant number of "ghost homes" that are distressed beyond realistic use, in that they have not been physically maintained or are located in distressed pockets that will not come back in a reasonable timeframe, according to a report released last week by The Florida Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research. This means that Florida's real estate market supply has become two-tiered – viable homes and seriously distressed homes, the report concludes.

Florida’s underwater homes declined from a high of 50% of all residential mortgages to less than 14% in the most recent data.

Brevard County

On Florida's Space Coast, sales of townhouse-condos were up 3.5% year-over-year, and the median price rose 22.9% to $145,000.

Brevard County's May closed sales of existing single-family homes were up 9.4% from a year ago. The median price of those homes sold rose 23.0% to $166,000, but was still $34,000 less than the statewide average of $200,000. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

FOLLOW BREVARD TIMES

It's The U.S. Dollar, Not The Economy, Stupid

2015-06-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

QUICK READ: After opening the week in negative territory, U.S. stock indices and the precious metals recovered together as the U.S. Dollar softened against its major peers. Conversely, Chinese equities on the Shanghai index sank into a sudden though nonetheless unsurprising correction. Volatile swings have returned to the world markets as the Greek debt situation remains fluid.

Between the potentially disruptive influences of default in Greece, the approaching normalization of Fed policy, and the overheating of the Chinese stock market, there was increased volatility on the global markets this week. Where funds flow over the course of the summer months could have a great deal to do with how these risk factors play themselves out.

Although U.S. stock indices opened nearly 1% lower on Monday, the array of economic data released on the day was mixed. Mining and drilling activity fell for the fifth straight month, with oil drilling down 8%, and it was the third straight month of declining consumer energy production. The NY Fed Manufacturing index fell to its weakest levels in 2 years during June, while industrial production and overall factory output were dragged down in May by the strong dollar and weak oil prices. Meantime, housing indicators were strong: U.S. homebuilder confidence hit a 9 month high, while U.S. building permits rose to an 8-year high. Although housing starts fell 11% in May, this was still a signal of strength, as April’s numbers were practically off the charts. Automakers also gained on fresh demand for new cars.

The precious metals were mixed on Monday while the U.S. Dollar held at 95.0 on the DXY index. The 10-year Treasury note rose, with yields down 4 basis points to 2.35%. After recently approaching an exchange rate of $1.50, the pound sterling recovered to $1.55 before strengthening further to $1.59 by week's end. The pound also saw its best gains against the euro in three months.

The metals slid further on Tuesday, with platinum leading the fall by closing $8 lower. It maintained its $100 spread below spot gold, with the two metals at $1,083/oz and $1,183/oz, respectively. The dollar was only marginally lower, and 10-year Treasuries continued to see demand. Thanks to disruptions due to severe weather and flooding in Texas, WTI crude actually gained 0.4% to about $59.75/bbl while Brent crude fell 0.2% to $63.80/bbl. Ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC announcement, U.S. shares were 0.5% higher. Asian stocks were deeply in the red, with Shanghai down 3.5%, while European indices were slightly in the green.

As is often the case, the markets waited to swing until Fed Chair Yellen had wrapped up comments at her scheduled post-meeting press conference. Citing a dot plot of the various Fed governors’ expectations for the timing and pace of future rate increases, Yellen reassured the markets that the economy remains on track for a rate hike before the calendar year ends, but that subsequent rate increases will be shallow.

Both equities and the precious metals rallied on these ambiguously hawkish yet dovish conclusions, although palladium sank 1.5% to $725/oz and platinum hovered above a six-year lows. Silver closed 0.75% higher at $16.25/oz. The dollar and Treasuries were mostly flat.

With the FOMC no longer entering its monthly policy meetings with the express understanding that rates will not move, the month-by-month and data-dependent nature of the committee’s forward guidance promises to keep investors busy as they attempt to position themselves ahead of the rest of the pack leading up to the first rate hike. U.S. indices turned back positive from a 0.25% morning dip following Yellen’s comments, while European indices slumped into the red. Besides Japan, Asian shares all broke into positive ground. After a roller coaster day of trading, the crude oil benchmarks closed essentially flat on Wednesday.

Thursday again saw the metals and U.S. equities advance in tandem. Gold gained more than 1% to settle back at the $1,200/oz mark, while silver and platinum returned to their previous levels from Monday. Palladium lagged behind, even with the dollar softer at just above 94.0 on the DXY. As a result, crude prices and U.S. stocks both rose for the third straight trading session, helping the Nasdaq close at a 15-year high. Excluding Shanghai, shares were up across Asia and Europe.

The employment outlook in the States firmed up, with the most jobs added in May (280,000) in five months and a drop of 12,000 in weekly jobless claims. The Philly Fed Business survey registered far above expectations, signaling some momentum in manufacturing, and the current account deficit fell within the lower range of analysts' predictions. Inflation remained muted, as CPI rose a modest 0.4%, with only 0.1% price growth for core items.

China’s Shanghai Composite index lost a staggering 6.4% on Thursday, making it a fullfledged 13% correction on the week for the index. Many shares hit the lower bounds of their daily trading limits, seemingly bringing an end to the index’s bull run that spanned nearly three years - far longer than past rallies for Chinese shares. Despite most analysts making calls for an imminent Chinese correction of late, analysts at JPMorgan suggested that this may represent a buying opportunity, because the government is likely to step in and keep stocks propped up if the correction becomes too painful. Though U.S. shares spent most of Friday about 0.25% lower, some greater volatility and higher trading volumes occurred due to the quadruple witching, when stock options and futures, as well as stock index options and futures, all expire simultaneously and investors must decide how to close out their positions. The next gold options expiry will fall on Thursday of next week, June 25th. Though the dollar remained below 94.2 on the DXY on Friday, the crude oil benchmarks each slipped more than 2%. Treasuries continued to rise, with yields on the 10-year note sinking back to 2.27%. Both the euro and yen closed the week up against the dollar.

M&A News ~Health insurer Anthem competes with Aetna and UnitedHealth for a takeover of rival Cigna, helping Anthem’s shares surge.

~CVS is slated buy Target’s pharmacy and clinic division for $1.9 billion.

~Cox Automotive absorbs the related digital marketing services company Dealertrack for $4 billion.

~The European Commission is still impeding General Electric’s takeover of French firm Alstom’s power turbines.

~The 180-year-old gunmaker Colt Defense files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy, and is ripe for acquisition. ~More mergers and acquisitions are expected in retail going forward.

A LOOK AHEAD: Although GDP and PMI data (mainly from Europe) fills the middle of the week, Monday is a rather light day for market indicators, led by existing home sales in the U.S. and Flash Manufacturing PMI in Japan.

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

By Everett Millman, head content writer at Gainesville Coins, a leading gold and silver distributor.

Lockheed Martin To Expand In Cape Canaveral

2015-06-15T08:18:00.001-07:00

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Florida Governor Rick Scott announced today that Lockheed Martin will expand its workforce in Brevard County, Florida; bringing 130 new jobs by 2017 to support the US Navy’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile program in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The announcement was made in the state’s pavilion at the Paris Air Show in France. During his announcement, Governor Scott said, “We are thrilled to be at the Paris Air Show to announce new jobs at Lockheed Martin. These 130 new jobs mean Florida families will have even more opportunity to get a great job. More than 865,000 new private-sector jobs have been added statewide in the last 4 ½ years and we’re here in Paris to make sure aerospace and defense companies from around the world know Florida is the best state in the U.S. for job creation.”

Gov. Rick Scott

As the Navy’s strategic missile prime contractor, Lockheed Martin currently employs more than 500 people at Cape Canaveral to support the nation’s submarine-based strategic deterrent.

“Governor Scott, the State of Florida and the Space Coast Economic Development Commission have provided tremendous support for bringing these jobs to Brevard County,” said Mathew Joyce, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missile programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems. “Ramping up our operations at Cape Canaveral maintains cost effective support of the program and further improves our responsiveness to the missile testing and deployment needs of U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs.”

Florida is home to one of the nation’s largest defense and homeland security industries, and few states can match the scale and scope of its network of major contractors and suppliers. From simulation and training to encryption technologies, Florida companies are at the leading edge of all major military and government markets.

“Lockheed Martin employs more than 12,000 Floridians throughout the state and we thank them for their continued commitment to the state,” said Bill Johnson, president & CEO of Enterprise Florida. “Florida has one of the most highly skilled defense and homeland security workforces in the nation, as well as a top-ranked infrastructure and pro-business climate. We will continue sharing Florida’s business story with industry leaders from around the world at this year’s Paris Air Show.”

“A leader in the global security and aerospace industry, Lockheed Martin’s ongoing expansion in Florida is a testament to the strength of our workforce and business climate,” said CareerSource Florida President and CEO Chris Hart IV. “These 130 new high-skill, high-wage positions will significantly impact the community as well as benefit the Floridians who will embark on a career with Lockheed Martin.”

The defense contractor currently employs more than 500 people at Cape Canaveral to support the nation’s submarine-based strategic deterrent. Engineers and technicians at the Eastern Range facility at Cape Canaveral aid the Navy in missile sustainment and supporting test launches of unarmed missiles in the Atlantic Ocean. The Eastern Range is one of four principal Fleet Ballistic Missile sites in the U.S. where Lockheed Martin employees work side-by-side with Navy personnel. The other major sites are Lockheed Martin’s program office in Sunnyvale, California, and the Navy’s strategic weapons facilities in Kings Bay, Georgia, and Silverdale, Washington.

Lockheed Martin is the U.S. Navy’s prime contractor for the Trident II D5 missile, which is deployed aboard U.S. Navy Ohio-class and U.K. Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines to deter nuclear aggression. With 155 successful test flights since design completion in 1989, the D5 is the world’s most reliable large ballistic missile.