“Mann International”– International Economics-(US Housing Still Mired)

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 25, 2009 – “Mann International” the Asian-based investment broker is reportedly voicing its amazement at the market’s interpretation of “positive” US housing starts and permits data.
The Commerce Department said that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 3.6 percent last month to an adjusted annual rate of 582,000 units, from an upwardly revised rate of 562,000 in May.
Unnamed sources at “Mann International”, said that this was not cause for celebration seeing as vast quantities of foreclosed inventory remain unsold. The housing market faces further turmoil as more and more mortgages fall behind with payments.
One of the sources suggested that the US housing market is unlikely to begin a sustainable recovery before mid-2010 at the earliest thanks to the relative shortage of credit and the very real prospect of mortgage rates climbing as bond yields creep higher as a result of the US’s monetary and fiscal profligacy.
“Mann International” is warning clients to remain cautious of “false dawns” as vested interests pursue what it calls “the biggest pump and dump exercise in history”. The firm believes that the US bank stress tests failed to accurately evaluate the banks’ ability to withstand economic pressures and that investors who bought their shares stand to suffer significant losses as US unemployment rises.
The “Mann International” source added that the housing market may have to face additional headwinds as mortgage rates are forced higher by investors keen to get better returns on their purchases of US Treasury bonds.