The Housing Market

The housing "spring season" ended into a worsening depression: existing home sales collapsing, cancellations surging, prices falling faster. - in Nouriel`s Twitter

Related: Lennar (LEN), KB Home (KBH), Toll Brothers (TOL), DR Horton (DHI)

The Eurozone Needs Policies To Restart Economic To Restart Economic Growth On Its Periphery.

"Finally, the eurozone needs policies to restart economic growth on its periphery. Without growth, any austerity and reform will deliver only social unrest and the constant threat of a political backlash, without restoring debt sustainability. To revive growth, the ECB needs to stop raising interest rates and reverse course. The eurozone should also pursue a policy – partially via looser monetary policy – that weakens the value of the euro significantly and restores the periphery’s competitiveness. And Germany should delay its austerity plan, as the last thing that the eurozone needs is a massive fiscal drag." - in Project Syndicate

The Eurozone Crisis Is Reaching Its Climax

The eurozone crisis is reaching its climax. Greece is insolvent. Portugal and Ireland have recently seen their bonds downgraded to junk status. Spain could still lose market access as political uncertainty adds to its fiscal and financial woes. Financial pressure on Italy is now mounting. - in The Eurozone's last stand

Greece: A Maturity Extension Would Still Provide Massive Debt Relief

Even if the face value of the Greek debt were not reduced, a maturity extension would still provide massive debt relief - on a present-value basis - to Greece as a euro of debt owed 30 years from now is worth much less today than the same euro owed a year from now. Moreover, a maturity extension resolves rollover risk for the coming decades. - in "The Eurozone's last stand"

Related Tickers: Related Tickers: National Bank Of Greece (NBG), Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB), UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS), Societe Generale SA (EPA:GLE), BNP Paribas SA (Public, EPA:BNP), Credit Agricole SA (EPA:ACA) Deutsche Bank AG (ETR:DBK), Banco Comercial Portugues SA (ELI:BCP)

The advantage of a par bond is that Greece's creditors - banks, insurance companies, and pension funds - would be able and allowed to continue valuing their Greek bonds at 100 cents on the euro, thereby avoiding massive losses on their balance sheets. That, in turn, would sharply contain the risk of financial contagion.

Roubini Says Italy Needs a New Government, Repubblica Reports

Roubini Says Italy Needs a New Government, Repubblica Reports: LINK

Greece: There Is No Likely Scenario In Which Public Debt Sustainability Can Be Restored Without A Restructuring

Even if Greece were to fully implement the draconian 10 percent of GDP fiscal adjustment program imposed by the IMF and the European Union, there is no likely scenario in which public debt sustainability could be restored without a restructuring. - in Roubini.com

Related Tickers: National bank Of Greece (NBG), Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB), UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS), Societe Generale SA (EPA:GLE), BNP Paribas SA (Public, EPA:BNP), Credit Agricole SA (Public, EPA:ACA) Deutsche Bank AG (ETR:DBK), Banco Comercial Portugues SA (ELI:BCP)

CNBC Video Interview: July

Topics: Nouriel Roubini, Roubini Global Economics chairman & co-founder, explains why there's a need for more fiscal stimulus, and the "perfect storm" of threats that could slam the economy by 2013.

I See Every Economy In The World Trying To Push Their Problems To The Future

I see every economy in the world trying to push their problems to the future. We start with private debt, public debt, supra-national debt—we're kicking the can down the road and eventually this is going to come to a head in 2013. - in CNBC

Related Tickers: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (IWM), ProShares UltraShort QQQ (ETF) (QID), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:VXX), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (EEM)

The Second Half Recovery Is Going To Disappoint On The Downside

If we don't have enough job creation there's not enough labor income. Therefore, there's not enough consumption and consumer companies are going to be depressed. Therefore, the recovery is going to remain weak. The markets are expecting now a robust recovery in the second half of the year. I think the recovery is going to disappoint on the downside. - in CNBC

Related tickers: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (IWM), ProShares UltraShort QQQ (ETF) (QID), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:VXX), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (EEM)

The Perfect Storm

My prediction for the perfect storm is not this year or next year but 2013, because everybody is kicking the can down the road. We now have a problem in the US after the election if we don't resolve our fiscal problems. China is overheating...eventually it's going to have a hard landing. - in CNBC

Related tickers: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (IWM), ProShares UltraShort QQQ (ETF) (QID), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:VXX), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (EEM)

One In Three Chance Of A "Perfect Storm"

There is a one in three chance a "perfect storm" of fiscal woe in the United States, a slowdown in China, European debt restructuring, and stagnation in Japan will converge to stunt global economic growth beginning in 2013. - in Boston.com

Tickers: Tickers: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (IWM), ProShares UltraShort QQQ (ETF) (QID), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:VXX), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (EEM), iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (ETF) (NYSE:FXI), iShares MSCI Japan Index (ETF) (NYSE:EWJ)

The Muddle-Through Approach To The Eurozone Crisis Has Failed To Resolve The Fundamental Problems Of Economic And Competitiveness Divergence Within The Union

The muddle-through approach to the eurozone crisis has failed to resolve the fundamental problems of economic and competitiveness divergence within the Union.

If this continues the euro will move toward disorderly debt workouts and eventually a break-up of the monetary union itself as some of the weaker members crash out. - in Mindful Money

Tickers: iShares MSCI Spain Index (ETF) (Public, NYSE:EWP), iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (ETF) (Public, NYSE:EWG), iShares MSCI Italy Index (ETF) (Public, NYSE:EWI), iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index (ETF) (Public, NYSE:EWU), iShares MSCI Netherlands Investable(ETF) (Public, NYSE:EWN)

Economic Outlook

Optimists argue that the global economy has merely hit a “soft patch". Firms and consumers reacted to this year’s shocks by “temporarily” slowing consumption, capital spending, and job creation. As long as the shocks don’t worsen (and as some become less acute), confidence and growth will recover in the second half of the year, and stock markets will rally again.

But there are good reasons to believe that we are experiencing a more persistent slump. First, the problems of the eurozone periphery are in some cases problems of actual insolvency, not illiquidity: large and rising public and private deficits and debt; damaged financial systems that need to be cleaned up and recapitalized; massive loss of competitiveness; lack of economic growth; and rising unemployment… - in WSJ

Tickers: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) (SDS), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (IWM), ProShares UltraShort QQQ (ETF) (QID), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSE:VXX), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (EEM), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Second, the factors slowing U.S. growth are chronic... Third, economic growth has been flat on average in the U.K. over the last couple of quarters, with front-loaded fiscal austerity coming at a time when rising inflation is preventing the Bank of England from easing monetary policy.

Debt In Greece, Ireland & Portugal Will Need To Be Restructed

“It is no longer possible to deny that public and/or private debts in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal will need to be restructured.” - in Barron`s

Tickers: National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE:NBG), Bank of Ireland (ADR) (NYSE:IRE)