President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that negotiators from the United States and five other major world powers had sealed a history-making deal to ease crippling economic sanctions on Iran in return for safeguards to ensure that country does not develop nuclear weapons.

“This deal is not built on trust, it is built on verification” Obama said from the State Floor of the White House, with Vice President Joe Biden at his side. “Every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off and the inspection and transparency regime necessary to verify that objective will be put in place.”

The president immediately turned to the difficult work of beating back domestic critics in Congress and fierce opponents of the agreement overseas – notably staunch U.S. ally Israel and Gulf nations that have traditionally battled Iran for influence in the Middle East.

“As the American people and Congress review the deal, it will be important to consider the alternative,” Obama said. Absent an agreement, he said, Iran would face “no lasting constraints” on its nuclear program, potentially triggering an atomic arms race in the world’s most volatile region, while raising the possibility of American military action.

“Our national security interest now depends upon preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which means that without a diplomatic resolution, either I or a future U.S. president would face a decision about whether or not to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon or whether to use our military to stop it,” the president declared. “Put simply, no deal means a greater chance of more war in the Middle East.”

If successful, the agreement would arguably rank atop Obama’s list of foreign policy achievements. It would have many more far-reaching effects than the killing of Osama bin Laden and represents a more dramatic reshaping of American handling of world affairs than the looming resumption of diplomatic ties with Cuba after nearly six decades of estrangement. The ongoing military campaign against the so-called Islamic State has poured cold water on his claims to have ended the war in Iraq.

But first, the deal needs to survive through the next two months.

Starting from the time it receives all of the documents agreed to at negotiations in Vienna, Congress will have 60 days to review the agreement, and at the end of that period can vote it down or let it stand.

Under a law passed earlier this year, disapproval would restrict Obama from easing economic sanctions on Iran. But lawmakers would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override Obama’s certain veto, and White House aides say privately that enough Democrats will side with the president to prevent that from happening.

“I welcome a robust debate in Congress on this issue,” Obama said. But “now is not the time for politics or posturing.”

Some opponents of the agreement say that they view the next two months as their last best shot to derail an accord that, they charge, does not do enough to handcuff Iran’s nuclear aspirations and rewards Tehran with cash that may bankroll the country’s destabilizing activities across the Middle East. While several contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 have promised to roll back the agreement if they take office, Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed that possibility in March.

July 10 (Reuters) – Following is the latest news on Greece’s debt crisis as euro zone leaders fight to the finish to keep near-bankrupt Greece in the euro zone. All times are in GMT.

Sunday

1438 – Lithuanian president says Greece staying in euro zone or leaving will be “very, very costly for everybody”.

1417 – Merkel says most important currency has vanished with Greece, which is trust; deal not wanted at any price; principles must be upheld.

1145 – Russia intends to support an economic recovery in Greece by expanding cooperation in the energy sector, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak says.

1047 – Luxembourg’s foreign minister makes an impassioned plea for Germany to avoid a Greek exit from the euro, warning Berlin of a catastrophic schism with France if it pushes for Athens to leave the currency union.

0904 – EU’s Moscovici says institutions agree there is a basis for negotiations, Greece must do more

0854 – Slovak finance minister says Greece must front-load reforms to get deal, no agreement possible on Sunday

0835 – Italy’s Padoan says wants to see Greek parliament take measures from Monday, biggest obstacle is lack of trust

0752 – EU’s Tusk says Sunday’s planned EU summit is cancelled. Separate euro zone meeting to start at 1400 GMT

Saturday

2217 – Euro zone finance ministers’ talks on a bailout for Greece remain “very difficult” and will resume at 0900 GMT on Sunday after breaking overnight, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem tells reporters.

2210 – Euro zone finance ministers are pressing Greece to commit to more budget and reform measures before they will consider opening negotiations on a bailout, sources close to the talks say.

2116 – The German government says Greece could take a five-year “time-out” from the euro zone and have some debts written off if Athens fails to improve its proposals for a bailout.

1833 – Euro zone finance ministers demand Greece go beyond painful austerity measures accepted by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras if he wants them to open negotiations on a third bailout for his bankrupt country to keep it in the euro, sources say.

1811 – Capital controls imposed on Greece’s banks will remain in place for at least another two months, Economy Minister George Stathakis says.

1629 – Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung cites a position paper from the German Finance Ministry that suggests two alternative courses for Greece, including a “timeout” from the euro zone.

1557 – The parties in Angela Merkel’s coalition government send conflicting signals on Greece’s reform proposals, with some leading Social Democrats welcoming concessions while senior conservatives voice scepticism.

1412 – Euro zone finance ministers arrive in Brussels. Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble says he expects “exceptionally difficult negotiations”. Eurogroup Chairman and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem says: “We are still far away.”

1111 – A bailout package for Greece needs to include a reduction in the country’s debt burden, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told German daily Die Welt in an interview published on Saturday.

1001 – Euro zone finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Saturday have serious doubts about Greece’s request for a bailout and a deal to start negotiating on the basis of Athens’ proposals is far from certain, sources close to the talks say.

0707 – The European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have told euro zone governments that proposals from Greece for a bailout loan are a basis for negotiation, an EU official says.

0208 – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras claimed a strong mandate to complete negotiations with international creditors after winning the backing of parliament over a painful new package of reform measures.

0044 – The Greek parliament voted overwhelmingly on Saturday in favour of authorizing the left-wing government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to negotiate with international creditors on the basis of a reform programme unveiled this week.

Friday

2231 – The European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have given a positive assessment of the Greek government’s request to start negotiations on a new bailout, a person close to the matter said.

2224 – Greece’s third largest political force, the far-right Golden Dawn party, said it will not back government proposals submitted to the country’s creditors in a race to reach a cash-for-reforms deal and avert bankruptcy.

2206 – The leader of Greece’s main opposition party, New Democracy, said it would back attempts by the government to seal a deal with international creditors to stave off financial meltdown.

2154 – Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defended the painful bailout proposals his leftwing government presented to parliament, saying they were difficult measures but would help keep Greece in the euro zone.

2126 – Greece’s finance minister pledged to strive for maximum gains for Greeks in aid talks with lenders, saying a referendum in which voters rejected creditors’ demands had strengthened their standing in negotiations.

1746 – The White House said it welcomed the latest proposal by Greece to resolve its debt crisis and that it was something for Athens’ creditors to weigh.

1556 – A Metron Analysis poll shows 84 percent of Greeks favour keeping the euro, 12 percent would prefer a return to the drachma, and 45.6 percent would vote for PM Tsipras’s Syriza party if there were parliamentary elections.

1537 – Greece will succeed in transferring bonds currently held by the ECB to the European Stability Mechanism, a long-standing demand by Athens, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos tells parliament.

This would allow Athens to avoid paying the central bank almost 7 billion euros from maturing bonds due over the next few weeks. However, it remained unclear how such a transfer would be possible.

1514 – Greece’s banks will need 10-14 billion euros of fresh capital to keep them afloat and more time before they reopen, even if a deal is reached with European creditors on Sunday, a senior Greek banker tells Reuters.

1359 – Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite says Greek reform proposals submitted to the euro zone appear insufficient: “It is probably too early to evaluate them because they are based on old information and it seems those proposals will really not be enough.”

1319 – Greece’s main opposition conservatives say they will back the leftist government of Alexis Tsipras to secure a cash-for reforms deal with the country’s international creditors that will keep the country within the euro zone.

1315 – Fitch rating agency says an eventual exit from the euro zone is now the probable outcome for Greece.

1310 – Russian President Vladimir Putin says Greece has not asked Moscow for aid to overcome its debt problems but says he hopes the crisis can be resolved soon.

1305 – The European Central Bank’s governing council will likely hold a telephone conference on Monday to discuss emergency liquidity assistance to Greek banks, a person familiar with the matter says.

1242 – U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says Greece and its creditors appear to be closer to a deal, adding it is critical that the debt-stricken country make difficult structural reforms and adjustments to its cash flow.

1236 – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeals to his leftist Syriza party’s lawmakers to back a tough reforms package after abruptly offering last-minute concessions to try to save the country from financial meltdown.

1223 – Greece’s latest reform proposals are no basis for further negotiations on a third bailout programme, a senior German conservative lawmaker tells Reuters, adding that Greece would do better to aim for a new start with its own currency.

1214 – Five hardliners in Greece’s ruling Syriza party say dropping out of the euro zone and returning to the drachma is preferable to a deal with international creditors laced with austerity and without any provision for debt relief.

1144 – Greek centrist party To Potami says it will back fiscal reforms submitted in parliament by the leftist government to secure desperately needed aid from international lenders to stave off bankruptcy.

1136 – Greece has made some progress in its proposal to creditors but it is not clear whether that will suffice, says Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir.

1057 – The chances Greece will leave the euro zone this year have fallen, according to bookmakers’ odds, with one firm saying the likelihood is now lower than at any time this year.

1045 – Italian, Spanish and Portuguese bond yields fall 10-15 basis points after Greece sends a package of reform proposals to its euro zone creditors in a last-ditch attempt to get new funds and avoid bankruptcy.

1035 – Significant progress is being made towards an aid-for-reforms deal between Greece and its creditors, Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan says.

1013 – The International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank are analysing proposals submitted by Greece on economic reforms and will deliver their views by the end of Friday, a European Commission spokesman says.

0947 – Greece’s latest reform proposals show the Athens government is serious about making efforts to shape up its economy, a senior lawmaker in Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) tells Reuters.

0937 – A German government spokesman declines to comment on the content of Greece’s latest reform proposals, and a finance ministry spokesman says Berlin will not accept any form of debt reduction for Greece that would lower its real value.

0936 – Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Saturday will discuss Greece’s debt burden and whether it needs some relief as part of broader talks on whether to grant Athens’ request to negotiate a bailout loan, a senior EU official says.

0929 – A senior EU official says he would be amazed if European Union leaders overturned any clear decision taken by a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Saturday. The EU leaders are due to meet on Sunday.

0916 – Euro zone finance ministers will only discuss bridging finance for Greece to tide it over until a bailout loan is ready after they have agreed to negotiate such a medium-term loan, a senior EU official says.

0905 – Greece’s latest reform proposals are a good basis for negotiation and mark an important step forward, Axel Schaefer, a senior lawmaker in Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), says.

0900 – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says he is optimistic an aid-for-reforms deal will be reached between Greece and its creditors and he hopes a quick accord will mean a meeting of EU leaders planned for Sunday will no longer be needed.

0900 – Greek industrial output tumbled 4 percent from the same period a year earlier after a three-month rise, statistics service ELSTAT says, as political upheaval and deadlocked talks with creditors hit economic activity.

0852 – Eurogroup chief Jeroen Djisselbloem says a “major decision” on Greece could be made at the planned meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Saturday.

0817 – French President Francois Hollande says negotiations between Greece and its international creditors must resume with the aim of reaching a deal after the country came up with “serious and credible” proposals.

0801 – French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron says he is reasonably optimistic that Greece will reach an aid-for-reforms deal with its creditors.

0739 – Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says new Greek proposals setting out economic reforms Athens will undertake in the next three years appear to provide a basis for discussing a new bailout loan.

0717 – A senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party says he has trouble trusting Greece’s latest proposals to its euro zone creditors as the country last week decisively rejected the austerity measures in a referendum.

0647 – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has appealed to his Syriza lawmakers to back a fiscal plan in return for aid from creditors, a government official says.

0626 – Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma tells German radio she would not agree to a proposal for Greece that included a debt writedown.

0534 – Greek Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis says he is optimistic the country can clinch a “good agreement” on terms of a bailout package submitted to creditors on Thursday night.

0505 – The Greek parliament will give the government a mandate to negotiate with creditors for a cash-for-reforms deal, the parliamentary spokesman of the ruling Syriza party says.

 

 

ATHENS — Optimism rose on Friday over the prospects of an accord between Greece and its international creditors, as the two sides weighed the latest measures from Athens aimed at overhauling its economy and securing its place in the euro currency bloc.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government on Thursday agreed to meet most of the terms demanded by the creditors with a mix of tax increases and spending cuts, and it requested a three-year, 53.5 billion euro, or $59 billion, bailout as a starting point for talks about possible debt relief.

How lawmakers in Greece and the country’s creditors — the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the other eurozone countries, including a skeptical Germany — will receive the government’s latest proposal will determine whether the nation will be able to halt its economic tailspin and avoid a potentially chaotic exit from the eurozone.

Investors seemed increasingly optimistic in Friday trading. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chips rose 2.6 percent at midday, picking up where it left off on Thursday after signs of a thaw in the Greek negotiations began to emerge. The FTSE 100 in London gained 1.1 percent, and trading in Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures indicated that New York was heading for a rally at the opening. The markets were also buoyed by a continued rebound in Shanghai shares after Beijing introduced measures to support cratering Chinese stocks.

While the Athens stock market remains closed, Greek bond yields plummeted, a sign of confidence that lenders will be repaid. Two-year Greek government debt soared in price, while the yield, which moves in the opposite direction, plunged 15 percentage points to 36.5 percent.

The Greek government’s latest batch of policy overhauls received a positive welcome from President François Hollande of France, though some officials in Germany, the biggest eurozone creditor, expressed doubts.

“The Greek program is serious, credible and shows a determination to remain in the eurozone,” Mr. Hollande said. “Nothing is done, yet everything can be done.”

A European Union official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans were evolving, suggested that an agreement could, in theory, be reached on Saturday at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers. If so, the official said, a summit meeting of the 19 leaders of eurozone nations planned for Sunday would probably be called off.

In its proposal, the Greek government is basically conceding to things that it had said it did not want, and which the nation voted no to in the referendum on Sunday.

The offer included a proposal to raise certain value-added taxes and eliminate parts of a politically charged tax break that has long applied to the Greek islands, in a bid to pull in billions of euros in tax revenue. In addition, Athens proposed raising the corporate tax rate, broadening the tax base to include lower-income earners and eventually raising the retirement age to 67.

OPEN MULTIMEDIA FEATURE

The proposal also contained pledges that Greece has made in years past, but which have made little progress, including a vow to speed up the privatization of state assets to raise cash and to crack down on corruption and an inefficient judicial system.

Critically, though, Athens proposed targeting a low so-called primary surplus of 1 percent this year with gradual increases in subsequent moves; the term refers to the amount of cash in its treasury after expenses and interest payments. Athens has argued that being allowed to keep more money on hand rather than spending it on debt payments will allow for some spending stimulus that is needed to stoke the moribund economy.

Hans-Peter Friedrich, a member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, which is part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc, expressed skepticism about the program, noting that many of its points were part of the deal rejected by Greeks in the referendum last weekend.

“That means there are two possibilities: either the Greek government is tricking its own people, or us yet again,” Mr. Friedrich told Deutschlandfunk radio early Friday, noting that he had not yet seen the full proposal.

Photo

 

by Bill FariesMichelle Kaske
June 28, 2015 — 11:25 PM EDT Updated on June 29, 2015 — 11:48 AM EDT
Prices on Puerto Rico’s newest general obligations sank to record lows after Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said investors should be prepared to sacrifice if they want the cash-strapped island’s economy to grow.
General obligations maturing in July 2035 traded Monday as low as 68.5 cents on the dollar, down from an average of 77.3 cents Friday and the weakest since they were first issued at 93 cents in March 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The governor is talking about restructuring general obligations, a change from his earlier stance to protect Puerto Rico’s direct debt, said Gary Pollack, who manages $6 billion of munis as head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank AG’s Private Wealth Management unit in New York.
Garcia Padilla “referenced all Puerto Rico debt and that’s a scary thing,” Pollack said.
With two days left in Puerto Rico’s fiscal year, the commonwealth is struggling to pass a budget that would allow it to make payments on a $72 billion debt load. Investors should work with the commonwealth to reduce its obligations, Garcia Padilla told the New York Times in an interview.
“The debt is not payable,” the governor said. “There is no other option.”
Swap Call
A report commissioned by the island and released Monday suggests that Puerto Rico swap current debt to delay maturities.
The U.S. territory of 3.5 million people is grappling with a jobless rate double the national average and a debt load bigger than every U.S. state except California and New York. The governor’s remarks land in a jittery global debt market, as investors weigh the possibility of a Greek default and exit from the euro zone.
The governor and his chief of staff were unable to comment, Jesus Manuel Ortiz, a spokesman in San Juan for Garcia Padilla, said in a text message. Betsy Nazario at the Government Development Bank, which handles the island’s debt transactions and lends to the commonwealth and its agencies, didn’t respond to an e-mail, text and phone message.
The governor plans a televised address at 5 p.m. local time after meeting with lawmakers.
The territory’s House of Representatives and Senate last week passed differing budget bills for the fiscal year starting July 1, with negotiations between the two chambers continuing. Under the proposals, about 15 percent of the $9.8 billion budget would go to debt service. Both plans cut spending by more than $600 million.
Crunch Times
The governor “ran out of options,” said Robert Donahue, managing director at Municipal Market Analytics Inc., a Concord, Massachusetts-based research firm. “Further borrowing would have only compounded unsustainable debt and worsened economic deterioration.”
Bond insurers, including Assured Guaranty Ltd. and MBIA Inc., insure about $14 billion of Puerto Rico debt. Shares of Assured fell about 12 percent Monday to $24.14 as of 10:50 a.m. in New York. MBIA traded at $6.96, down 16 percent.
Puerto Rico’s cash crunch is intensifying. The GDB had $778 million of net liquidity as of May 31, down from $2 billion in October. Officials last week were considering offering to exchange GDB bonds due in the next three years for new debt with longer maturities, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions.
No Precedent
A group of former International Monetary Fund officials, in the report released Monday, recommend that approach across Puerto Rico debt.
Puerto Rico should voluntarily exchange old bonds for new ones with later maturities and lower debt payments, Anne O. Krueger, Ranjit Teja and Andrew Wolfe wrote in the report, which is dated June 29.
“There is no U.S. precedent for anything of this scale and scope, and there is the added complication of extensive pledging of specific revenue streams to specific debts,” they wrote. “But difficult or not, the projections are clear that the issue can no longer be avoided.”
The U.S. Congress should allow Puerto Rico entities to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, and an independent oversight board could help improve the island’s finances, the authors wrote.
Puerto Rico may confront budget deficits reaching $3.5 billion when factoring in rising health-care costs and the loss of the island’s excise tax in 2017 unless lawmakers continue the levy, the economists wrote.
As lawmakers debate the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the island’s main electricity provider is also hitting a wall. The utility, known as Prepa, has a July 1 bond payment that it may not make, and is negotiating with creditors over restructuring $9 billion of debt. Creditors say the power provider has the money for the payment.
Hedge funds and distressed-debt buyers have been purchasing Puerto Rico securities as traditional muni holders reduce holdings. About half of U.S. muni mutual funds hold debt from Puerto Rico, down from 77 percent in October 2013, according to Morningstar Inc. The island’s securities are tax-exempt nationwide.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande signaled they’ve reached the limits of their ability to safeguard Greece, offering the government no further concessions to step back from the brink.

The leaders of Europe’s two biggest economies gave little reason for hope to Greeks who awoke Monday to find their banks shut and capital controls imposed as the government took steps to avert the collapse of its financial system. Global stocks and Greek bonds tumbled as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s decision to hold a July 5 referendum on the terms attached to rescue aid increased the risk that Greece will exit the euro.

Merkel and Hollande, who have repeatedly said they want to hold the euro together, gave the Greek premier no leeway after he broke off negotiations over future bailout aid. Hollande suggested the referendum would determine whether Greece could stay in the 19-nation euro area, while Merkel said Europe’s credibility was at stake with its response.

“If the euro fails, Europe will fail,” Merkel said in a speech in Berlin. “That’s why we have to fight for these principles. We could maybe set them aside in the short term. We could maybe say we’ll just give in. But I say: in the medium and long term, we will suffer damage that way.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 2.5 percent by 6:57 a.m. in New York and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 1.1 percent. The yield on Greece’s 10-year bonds jumped the most on record, as the euro dropped 0.5 percent to $1.1111.

ATM Lines

Tsipras, who promised to return “dignity” to the people and reject budget cuts imposed by creditors, appealed for “calm” after weekend-long queues at ATMs and gas stations.

The bank controls followed a weekend of turmoil that started with Tsipras’s shock announcement late Friday of a July 5 referendum on austerity. People rushed to line up at ATMs and gas stations after the breakdown of aid talks late Friday and a European Central Bank decision to freeze its lifeline to Greek banks. Greece is the second euro-area country to impose capital controls after Cyprus in 2013.

“In the coming days, what’s needed is patience and composure,” Tsipras said on television. “The bank deposits of the Greek people are fully secure. The same applies to the payment of wages and pensions — they are also guaranteed.”

---

Greek Capital Controls

• Banks closed up to and including July 6
• Wages and pensions will be paid
• Daily ATM withdrawal limit of 60 euros ($67; £42)
• No restriction on foreign tourists using ATMs
• Electronic transactions unaffected: Greek debit/credit cards can be used
• History shows capital controls usually don’t work
• But government insists deposits are safe

---

Merkel spoke to President Barack Obama on Sunday, agreeing on the importance of keeping Greece in the euro.

Hollande said that while it is the sovereign right of Greece to hold the referendum, “what’s at stake is serious,” he told reporters in Paris on Monday after an emergency session of ministers to discuss Greece.

“It’s about knowing if the Greek people want to stay in the euro zone,” he said. “That is their place, in my eyes, but it’s up to them to decide. Or they take the risk of leaving.”

Both Hollande and Merkel, in their public responses to the developments, stressed the joint efforts made since Greece first called for international aid in 2010 to halt the threat of contagion.

“Europe can cope with such crises much, much better today because it has taken precautions,” Merkel said.

 

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities sold a Midtown development site at 520 Fifth Avenue to Ceruzzi Properties and an unidentified Chinese partner for $275 million, after purchasing it for $150 million in 2011. Ceruzzi, a Fairfield, Conn.-based real estate investor, plans to follow through with Sitt’s plans for a 71-story residential, hotel and retail tower on the site, according to Bloomberg. The plot, which has approximately 300,000 buildable square feet, sits between 43rd and 44th streets and has been vacant since Sitt demolished two prewar buildings that were there when he purchased the site. In December, Sitt filed a permit application for the residential-hotel tower. He put the site up for sale earlier this year and was initially seeking $350 million. A team of HFF brokers represented Sitt in the deal. [Bloomberg] — Tess Hofmann – See more at:

June 25, 2015 — 8:30 AM EDT
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Germany Says Greece Breakthrough Far Off as Terms Rejected

Greece Handed New Terms as Tsipras Approaches Decision Time

Greeks Hand Finance Ministers Revised Plan to Stave Off Default

Inside Greece’s Remaining Bailout Hurdles

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Household spending climbed in May by the most in almost six years, buoyed by gains in incomes as the U.S. job market strengthened.
Purchases increased 0.9 percent, the biggest gain since August 2009, after rising 0.1 percent in April, Commerce Department figures showed Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 75 economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.7 percent advance. Incomes rose 0.5 percent for a second month.
Consumers may finally be putting savings from lower gas prices to work after holding back earlier this year. Higher stock and home prices that are lifting household wealth, in addition to increases in employment, may help Americans feel secure enough to boost spending.
“You have all these indicators pointing to stronger labor market dynamics, and at the same time you have stronger wage growth,” Gregory Daco, head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics USA Inc. in New York, said before the report. “We are expecting consumer spending to accelerate quite sharply in the coming quarters.”
Another report showed the number of applications for unemployment insurance benefits held below 300,000, a level typically consistent with a strong labor market, for a 16th consecutive week. Jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 271,000 in the week ended June 20, according to figures from the Labor Department.
Projections for consumer spending in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of 0.3 percent to 1 percent. The previous month’s reading was revised up after being initially reported as little changed.
Survey Results
The Bloomberg survey median called for incomes to rise 0.5 percent. April’s income reading was revised up from a previously reported 0.4 percent increase.
The report showed the price index tied to consumer spending increased 0.3 percent in May from the prior month. It rose 0.2 percent from May 2014. This inflation measure is preferred by Fed policy makers and hasn’t met their 2 percent target since April 2012.
Stripping out the volatile food and energy components, the price measure increased 0.1 percent from the month before and climbed 1.2 percent in the 12 months ended May.
Inflation will “move gradually back” toward the Fed’s goal as the impact of lower prices of energy and imported goods fades, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference last week at the end of a two-day policy meeting. “The committee continues to judge that the first increase in the federal funds rate will be appropriate when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2 percent objective over the medium-term.”
Spending Jumps
Thursday’s report also showed that after adjusting for inflation, which generates the figures used to calculate GDP, purchases climbed 0.6 percent last month, the biggest gain since August, after being little changed in April.
That increase may provide a needed lift to growth, especially after a poor showing in the first three months of the year. Commerce Department data Wednesday showed the economy shrank 0.2 percent at an annualized rate in the first quarter. Consumer spending climbed at a 2.1 percent pace after jumping 4.4 percent at the end of 2014.
Spending on durable goods, including automobiles, increased 2.3 percent in May after adjusting for inflation, following a 0.1 percent drop in April, Thursday’s data showed. Purchases of non-durable goods, which include gasoline, rose 0.9 percent, while outlays on services climbed 0.2 percent.
Auto Sales
Auto sales have been boosting the spending figures, with cheap financing helping fuel Americans’ appetites for vehicles. Industry data from Ward’s Automotive Group issued earlier this month showed cars and light trucks sold at a 17.7 million annualized rate in May, the strongest pace since July 2005.
Fuel savings may also be benefitting retailers such as restaurants, even if indirectly.
While business at steakhouse operator Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. may not be heavily influenced by gas prices due to its customer base, there could be knock-on effects, Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Donnell said at a June 9 industry conference. “What does affect them is if their businesses are doing better because gas prices are down. Then, they’re more likely to spend money.”
Disposable income, or money left over after taxes, increased 0.2 percent in May from the prior month after adjusting for inflation. It was up 3.5 percent over the past year. The saving rate decreased to 5.1 percent from 5.4 percent in May.

Donald Trump wants everyone to know just how really, really rich he really, really is. At a Trump Tower press conference last week to proclaim that he is a Republican presidential candidate, the real estate developer and reality-TV star waved around a piece of paper that he said demonstrated his net worth is $8.7 billion.

This figure is more than double other credible estimates of his wealth and raises the question of how seriously should we take Mr. Trump’s latest claim. The short answer: Not at all.

For starters, Mr. Trump’s financial “statement” said his real estate licensing deals, brand and branded developments are worth $3.3 billion—his greatest source of wealth. But there’s no information documenting the income or cash flows generated from lending out Mr. Trump’s name to casinos, condos or whatever. So you’ll just have to take his word for it.

Mr. Trump also said he holds $302 million in cash and marketable securities. But there are some unusual qualifiers. For instance, Mr. Trump said he’s counting cash “before the collection of significant receivables.” Sounds like someone owes The Donald big-time. Who? Can he collect? After all, just because someone wrote an IOU doesn’t mean they can pay.

One last point: Mr. Trump claimed that his financial statement has been audited by a “big accounting firm—one of the most highly respected.” It would bolster the credibility of his statement if he would name it. Or perhaps not: Former Crain’s Publisher Alair Townsend said it best back when she was a deputy mayor for Ed Koch and tartly observed that she wouldn’t believe Donald Trump “if his tongue were notarized.”

GOLDMAN TO LEND TO CONSUMERS

Goldman Sachs is preparing to launch an online consumer-lending unit. The new venture would rival Main Street banks and other online lenders in offering $15,000-to-$20,000 loans that carry low interest rates. The investment bank expects to issue its first loans next year.

AREA’S A&P STORES ON THE BLOCK

A&P, the owner of its namesake supermarkets as well as Pathmark, Food Emporium and Waldbaums, is unloading 137 of its stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Dozens of stores in the city—encompassing poorly performing and lucrative locations—are on the block, including 10 Manhattan Food Emporiums. A&P, with 301 stores and partly owned by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos., has been struggling to turn a profit.

MARTHA STEWART NEARS SALE

Sequential Brands Group, which owns Linens ‘n Things and Ellen Tracy, is close to buying Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. If the deal closes, it would mark the end of an independent publishing and housewares conglomerate built by Ms. Stewart. Terms of the deal are being hashed out. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia had a market value of $370 million last week, a fraction of what it was worth in 1999. Sequential buys brands and licenses them to retailers and manufacturers.

UNITED DEPARTS JFK

United Airlines will stop operating at JFK airport in October and move its overseas flights to Newark airport. The switch will let the airline increase the number of round-trip flights between Newark and the West Coast, as well as boost its premium-seating service for business travelers at Newark.

ARIANNA TO STAY AT HUFFPOST

Arianna Huffington has renewed her contract as chairwoman, president and editor in chief of her namesake online publication, ending rumors that she would exit the company she founded, given that Verizon now owns The Huffington Post.

CAR-FREE PARKS

More of Central and Prospect parks will soon be off-limits to cars. The city will permanently close to traffic a portion of the northern end of Central Park and the West Drive of Prospect Park.

IN MEMORIAM

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Vice Chairman Jimmy Lee died of a heart attack at the age of 62. Lee, who oversaw the bank’s investment arm, was known for his work in the syndicated loan market and as a dealmaker advising major conglomerates like General Electric.

$100m Cornell Tech gift

Michael Bloomberg is donating $100 million to Cornell Tech. The money will endow the first phase of construction of the $2 billion Roosevelt Island campus, which includes the Bloomberg Center, an energy-efficient academic building that will be named after his daughters, Emma and Georgina. His gift was announced in advance of the groundbreaking ceremony, where Mr. Bloomberg shared the stage with his successor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who credited his predecessor with spearheading the graduate school’s creation.

Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, reality television star and hair icon, today announced he is taking his first run at the White House.

From the iconic Trump Tower in New York City, the Donald told his supporters he is “officially running for president of the United States.”

“We are going to make our country great again,” Trump, who turned 69 on Saturday, declared.

He added, “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.”

In 2012, Trump launched a Presidential exploratory committee and visited key battleground states before bowing out in May 2011. This time though, Trump says he’s in it for the long haul; he plans to step away from the day to day management of The Trump Organization, and hand the reigns over to his children: Ivanka, Donald Jr, and Eric. He has also chosen to step aside from his hit reality show, “The Apprentice.”

“They all said, a lot of the pundits on television, well, Donald will never run, and one of the main reasons is he’s private and he’s probably not as successful as everybody thinks,” said Trump, who has never held public office before. “So I said to myself, you know, nobody is ever going to know unless I run because I’m really proud of my success.”

“Sadly the American dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back, bigger, and better, and stronger than ever before,” Trump said today to a packed room of supporters.

Last month, Trump told ABC’s Rick Klein, “Politicians are all talk, no action. They do a terrible job; a tremendous disservice to the country. And I know them better than anybody, and I love them – I think they’re great. It’s easy to make money with politicians. But, the fact is that it’s all talk and no action…and the country’s going to hell.”

Trump entered the real estate business started by his father, the late Fred C. Trump. Today, the kid from Queens is worth just over $9 billion, he claims. The name Trump can be found on countless Manhattan buildings along with hotels and golf courses across the globe.

“I’m really rich,” Trump said after declaring his candidacy today.

Trump made many promises throughout his speech: “I would do various things very quickly. I would repeal and replace the big lie, Obamacare.”

“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”

“Nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump, nobody.”

“I will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” said Trump, who also said that he wouldn’t allow Secretary Kerry to spearhead the negotiations.

“And I promise I will never be in a bicycle race,” said Trump, referring to Sec. Kerry’s biking accident in May.

Trump has been married three times, his longest marriage to Ivana Zelnícková ended in divorce in 1992, he married actress Marla Maples a year later until they called it quits in 1999. His current wife, Melania Knauss married the Donald in 2005. Trump has three children from his first marriage – Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric, a daughter Tiffany from his second marriage, and a son Barron with wife Melania. Ivanka had the pleasure of introducing her father, whose grand entrance to his announcement event was a ride down an escalator.

“Our country needs a truly great leader,” Trump said Tuesday. “And we need a truly great leader now. We need a leader that wrote the art of the deal, we need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military, and take care of our vets.”

The Democrat National Committee responded to Trump’s announcement with a statement: “Today, Donald Trump became the second major Republican candidate to announce for president in two days. He adds some much-needed seriousness that has previously been lacking from the GOP field, and we look forward hearing more about his ideas for the nation.“

 

Jeff Gural, the New York real estate tycoon, had cleaned up well.

The shaggy, steel-gray beard was gone. The customary khakis had given way to a blue suit. As he sat on a dais on Thursday at the Meadowlands Racetrack he has operated in East Rutherford, N.J., for over two years, a smile spread across his face.

A dozen elected officials were in the room to endorse putting a referendum before voters this fall to expand gambling to northern New Jersey and to support Mr. Gural’s vision for a $1 billion casino at the racetrack. In a surprise, Vincent Prieto, a Democrat who is the State Assembly speaker, also showed up to express his support.

Though he was not at the event, Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who had once been cool to the idea, has also become a proponent of a casino in the northern part of the state.

Continue reading the main story
RELATED COVERAGE

As Casinos Close in Atlantic City, a Push for More, Closer to New YorkAUG. 18, 2014
Building allies among elected officials and capitalizing on a growing momentum to expand gambling in New Jersey, Mr. Gural is seeking to edge closer to what has long been a tantalizing goal: a gambling site just a few miles from New York City.

Photo

A rendering of the Hard Rock International, a casino proposed for the Meadowlands Racetrack. Credit Zimmerman Architects
His pitch: With over 14 million adults within 50 miles of the racetrack, Mr. Gural and his partner, the Hard Rock, estimate that their proposed Hard Rock Casino could generate $400 million a year in tax revenues; half of that would go toward reviving Atlantic City, where four casinos closed last year.

“It’s a spectacular project,” Mr. Gural said.

It must still overcome opposition from Atlantic City and lawmakers in South Jersey and win a statewide referendum. But the battle over the future of gambling in New Jersey has placed Mr. Gural, 73, at the nexus of a fierce tristate gambling war in which Pennsylvania casinos have sucked the life out of Atlantic City; the only casino in New York City is a runaway success; and a $1 billion casino resort in the Catskills is being built to grab patrons from North Jersey as well as New York and Pennsylvania.

Mr. Gural has essentially sat down at the regional blackjack table to play three simultaneous hands. Not only is he bidding for a casino at the Meadowlands Racetrack, seven miles west of Manhattan, but he will also soon submit a bid for a full-scale casino in Nichols, N.Y., near the northern border of Pennsylvania.

Then there is his pat hand: Mr. Gural and his partners own the land underneath the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, one of Pennsylvania’s most successful casinos.

And he does not even like casino gambling.

It is really all about his lifelong love of horses, he said.

“Saving the horse industry is just as important as saving Atlantic City,” said Mr. Gural, who owns farms in Stanfordville, N.Y., and Litchfield, Pa., where he raises as many as 80 Standardbred horses. “There was no way that horse racing could succeed in New York, or ultimately New Jersey, without it being subsidized by another form of gambling.”

Until recently, Mr. Gural’s day job was running a major commercial real estate company, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, and overseeing a family portfolio of about 40 buildings.

A few years ago, he sold the family firm, although he remains at Newmark as chairman.

His love of horses and horse racing began in high school, growing up in Woodmere, on Long Island, about a half-mile from Roosevelt Raceway, a now defunct harness track. “We’d go for the last race at night — it was free,” he said. “We’d bet one race and go home.”
Jeff Gural, the New York real estate tycoon, had cleaned up well.

The shaggy, steel-gray beard was gone. The customary khakis had given way to a blue suit. As he sat on a dais on Thursday at the Meadowlands Racetrack he has operated in East Rutherford, N.J., for over two years, a smile spread across his face.

A dozen elected officials were in the room to endorse putting a referendum before voters this fall to expand gambling to northern New Jersey and to support Mr. Gural’s vision for a $1 billion casino at the racetrack. In a surprise, Vincent Prieto, a Democrat who is the State Assembly speaker, also showed up to express his support.

Though he was not at the event, Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who had once been cool to the idea, has also become a proponent of a casino in the northern part of the state.

RELATED COVERAGE

As Casinos Close in Atlantic City, a Push for More, Closer to New YorkAUG. 18, 2014
Building allies among elected officials and capitalizing on a growing momentum to expand gambling in New Jersey, Mr. Gural is seeking to edge closer to what has long been a tantalizing goal: a gambling site just a few miles from New York City.

Photo

A rendering of the Hard Rock International, a casino proposed for the Meadowlands Racetrack. Credit Zimmerman Architects
His pitch: With over 14 million adults within 50 miles of the racetrack, Mr. Gural and his partner, the Hard Rock, estimate that their proposed Hard Rock Casino could generate $400 million a year in tax revenues; half of that would go toward reviving Atlantic City, where four casinos closed last year.

“It’s a spectacular project,” Mr. Gural said.

It must still overcome opposition from Atlantic City and lawmakers in South Jersey and win a statewide referendum. But the battle over the future of gambling in New Jersey has placed Mr. Gural, 73, at the nexus of a fierce tristate gambling war in which Pennsylvania casinos have sucked the life out of Atlantic City; the only casino in New York City is a runaway success; and a $1 billion casino resort in the Catskills is being built to grab patrons from North Jersey as well as New York and Pennsylvania.

Mr. Gural has essentially sat down at the regional blackjack table to play three simultaneous hands. Not only is he bidding for a casino at the Meadowlands Racetrack, seven miles west of Manhattan, but he will also soon submit a bid for a full-scale casino in Nichols, N.Y., near the northern border of Pennsylvania.

Then there is his pat hand: Mr. Gural and his partners own the land underneath the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, one of Pennsylvania’s most successful casinos.

And he does not even like casino gambling.

It is really all about his lifelong love of horses, he said.

“Saving the horse industry is just as important as saving Atlantic City,” said Mr. Gural, who owns farms in Stanfordville, N.Y., and Litchfield, Pa., where he raises as many as 80 Standardbred horses. “There was no way that horse racing could succeed in New York, or ultimately New Jersey, without it being subsidized by another form of gambling.”

Until recently, Mr. Gural’s day job was running a major commercial real estate company, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, and overseeing a family portfolio of about 40 buildings.

A few years ago, he sold the family firm, although he remains at Newmark as chairman.

His love of horses and horse racing began in high school, growing up in Woodmere, on Long Island, about a half-mile from Roosevelt Raceway, a now defunct harness track. “We’d go for the last race at night — it was free,” he said. “We’d bet one race and go home.”

Mr. Gural worked with his father, Aaron, in the real estate business. In 1978, he and his friend Barry M. Gosin, Newmark’s chief executive, bought out Mr. Gural’s father.

Mr. Gural, who lives in the El Dorado on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, earned a reputation as a rare liberal Democrat in the real estate industry and as a “soft touch” for charities.

“He’s a mark for any charity, if it’s a worthwhile cause,” Mr. Gosin said. “He likes money to pay the bills, but he’s never been motivated by money.”

After New York State started allowing racetracks to install electronic slot machines, Mr. Gural bought and reopened two bankrupt harness tracks — Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs in central New York, both of which have slot machines. Mr. Gural said the tracks employed hundreds of people in one of the most depressed parts of the state and had generated over $300 million for public education.

In 2012, Mr. Gural signed a deal with Governor Christie to operate the Meadowlands Racetrack, after the state decided to cease subsidizing the state-owned complex, a victim of the decline in the popularity of horse racing.

He lined up partners — Hard Rock owns a one-sixth stake — and built a $120 million grandstand.

Judging from a recent Saturday night, the Meadowlands, which features a large sports bar and several restaurants, attracts younger patrons than can be found at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, whose slot-machine parlor has been hugely successful.

But if Mr. Gural is not motivated by money, he also does not want to preside over failing tracks in New York and New Jersey. The betting was that the slot parlors at New York tracks and the Meadowlands would eventually house full-scale casinos.

“I would not have done the Meadowlands if I didn’t think — it’s common sense — that there’d be a casino,” he said.

But until recently, Governor Christie preferred to focus on reviving Atlantic City, where gambling revenues have fallen by half from their $5.2 billion peak in 2006. Alex Bumazhny, a casino analyst at Fitch Ratings, predicts at least two more of the eight remaining casinos there will close.

The problem for the gambling industry is that there are too many casinos chasing too few gamblers — the Northeast, in particular, is considered saturated, with more casinos on the way.

Still, Mr. Bumazhny is far more optimistic about the prospects for a casino in the Meadowlands, or in Jersey City, where a businessman, Paul Fireman, has proposed a $4 billion casino resort with a 95-story tower and 14 restaurants next to a golf course he owns.

“It’s probably one of the better locations in the United States,” he said.

In an attempt to woo support from Atlantic City and South Jersey, Mr. Gural has proposed a 55 percent tax rate on gambling revenues from the proposed Meadowlands project, half of which would be funneled to noncasino projects in Atlantic City. Governor Christie now favors casinos in North Jersey as long as new tax revenues are used to help Atlantic City.

Mr. Gural, Mr. Fireman, the governor and many North Jersey politicians and business leaders are pressing for a referendum on gambling in North Jersey this November. To make that happen, the Legislature must vote on scheduling a referendum before Aug. 3.

But that prospect faces a difficult hurdle: Stephen M. Sweeney, the president of the State Senate who is from South Jersey. Senator Sweeney, a Democrat and a probable candidate for governor, has tried to walk a fine line, saying a casino question should be put off until 2016 when there would be higher voter turnout.

That, however, would put it in the middle of a presidential campaign, when it would be harder and far more expensive to promote an expanded gambling message to voters, Mr. Gural said. He added that he and James Allen, the chairman of Hard Rock, were ready to spend as much as $20 million on an advertising campaign.

“This is not a fight between North Jersey and South Jersey,” Mr. Gural said. “This is about what’s good for the state of New Jersey.”

A version of this article appears in print on June 6, 2015, on page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Real Estate Magnate Pushes for a Casino in North Jersey. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe