President Obama gave a pep talk Friday to the staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — including the new director he controversially appointed this week.
"Every one of you here has a critical role to play in making sure that everybody’s playing by the same rules — to make sure the big banks on Wall Street play by the same rules as community banks on Main Street," Obama said.
The bureau is likely to face a bumpy road after the president’s recess appointment of Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, as the bureau’s first official director.
Obama’s move angered Republicans in Congress who had tried for months to prevent the president from making exactly that appointment unless he agreed to structural changes in the consumer bureau. They say the bureau — which came into existence last year as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms — is unaccountable and they deny the legitimacy of the appointment, saying Congress isn’t in recess.
The administration counters that the pro-forma sessions aimed at blocking the recess appointments aren’t legitimate, and that the president has a Constitutional obligation to appoint people to keep government running.
A House Republican panel has called Cordray to testify later this month. And business groups are talking about a legal challenge to the bureau’s authority.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an independent agency created as part of the Wall Street reforms of 2010 tasked with regulating financial products such as mortgages and credit cards bad credit payday loans.
As its new chief, Cordray has said he plans to move forward and not worry about potential lawsuits that may challenge his agency’s powers.
In his address on Friday, Obama praised the bureau for moving forward to target nonbank firms that issue financial products such as payday lenders, debt collectors and mortgage servicers — sectors that remained unregulated while the bureau lacked an official director.
"Now that Richard is your director, you can finally exercise the full powers that this agency has been given under the law," Obama said. "No longer are consumers left alone to face the risk of unfair or deceptive or abusive practices. Not any more."
Obama gave a "special shoutout" to Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard University professor who came up with the idea of the bureau. The White House bypassed Warren, a critic of the banking industry and lightning rod to Republicans, in favor of nominating Cordray to run the bureau. Warren is now running for the U.S. Senate.
The mention of Warren’s name drew big cheers from the crowd of 100 employees attending the speech at the main offices of the bureau, which now has a staff of around 800.
Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. (005380), South Korea
Corn traders are bullish for a fifth consecutive week on speculation that dry weather in South America is damaging crops, boosting demand for U.S. supplies at a time when stockpiles are predicted to shrink to a 16-year low.
Nineteen of 25 traders surveyed by Bloomberg expect corn to advance next week. Lower-than-average humidity and dry soil will curb crop development in Argentina and southern Brazil through at least Jan. 7, according to T-Storm Weather LLC, a forecaster in Chicago. Argentina is the world
Warning: This column will feature no Top 10 list recounting the year’s biggest retail and consumer stories.
Instead, I thought I’d do something that journalists don’t always do so well, which is to follow up on some of our stories. So as 2011 comes to a close, I checked in on two businesses I’ve spilled ink on in the last year.
First, I popped into La Mancha Coffeehouse, a small, gutsy undertaking in the up-and-coming but still-has-a-ways-to-go neighborhood of Old North. I first wrote about the cafe in March, when it was about to open at 2815 North 14th Street, down the street from Crown Candy Kitchen.
As you might remember, a group of ’social do-gooders” had run a nonprofit cafe — Urban Studio Cafe — in the same space for about two years, but it ended up closing when it couldn’t make ends meet.
So Victoria and David Holden, who lived nearby and didn’t want to lose what had become an important community space, decided to give it a go as a for-profit cafe.
When I stopped in around mid-morning one day this week, the shop was empty aside from Victoria Holden and her only other employee. They were tidying up behind the counter. So how were things going?
“We’re good,” Holden said. “We’re here.”
Most of her customers are regulars — teachers stopping in on their way to school or workers from a nearby Habitat for Humanity work site, for example. A chess club meets regularly at the shop. And it hosts poetry readings now and then.
But it can be pretty slow at times.
“Business is up and down,” she acknowledged. “Some months we don’t get a full salary.”
The shop had an uptick, however, around the holidays, with more catering orders coming in and people buying gift certificates as presents. And this month, the cafe expanded hours to accommodate a late afternoon and early dinner crowd.
“But it varies a lot,” she said. “I wish there was some kind of (traffic) pattern I could plan for. But some things do revolve around weather and paychecks.”
Still, she’s been heartened by the community support, including regulars who have urged her to raise prices if she needs to.
“They say, ‘We just want you to stay in business. We just want you to be here,’” she said. “So that’s really encouraging.”
By the way, she does plan to raise prices next year to keep up with the rising cost of food and supplies.
A VINTAGE NEW NAME
In May, I wrote about Vintage Stock, a chain of new and used music, movie and video game stores that was moving into some of the shuttered Borders bookstores around town.
The Joplin-based company opened these multimedia superstores, which are larger than most of its other stores, under the banner of “Bam!” Two stores opened over the summer — one at Chesterfield Mall and another at Mid Rivers Mall.
But when a third store opened right before Thanksgiving in the former Borders space in South County Center, it went by a different name: “V-Stock.” Then earlier this month, the other two stores switched to that name, too.
Rodney Spriggs, the company’s chief executive, was a bit vague about the change when I asked if it was because the giant bookstore chain Books-A-Million had objected to him using that name. He said he couldn’t comment but did note that Books-A-Million has been using the “BAM!” name more prominently recently.
“All I can really say is that generally V-Stock ties in closer to Vintage Stock,” he said. “We chose to change it.”
How have the new stores been doing?
“They’ve been great,” he said. “We’re very happy with the sales numbers that have come out so far. It seems like the St. Louis customer base has taken to the concept very well.”
The newest store in South County has actually outperformed the other two by about 10 percent so far, he said. He thinks some of that may be because of demographics.
“South County is a little more blue collar, and I think they really like the idea of the value of buying previously viewed products,” he said.
Spriggs also has been a bit surprised by the popularity of the stores’ movie-rental business. After all, in the age of Netflix and on-demand cable services, who would go all the way to the mall to rent movies?
But Spriggs thinks he knows who: mall employees.
+%3Cp%3EChina%92s+home+prices+posted+their+worst+performance+this+year+with+more+than+half+of+the+70+biggest+cities+monitored+in+November+recording+declines+after+the+government+reiterated+plans+to+maintain+property+curbs.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ENew+home+prices+dropped+from+the+previous+month+in+49+of+the+cities+monitored+by+the+government%2C+compared+with+33+posting+decreases+in+October%2C+the+national+statistics+bureau+said+in+a+statement+on+its+website+yesterday.+Only+five+cities+had+gains+in+home+prices%2C+according+to+the+statement.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93Home+prices+will+fall+further+as+the+government%92s+tightening+continues%2C%94+said+Jinsong+Du%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+property+analyst+for+Credit+Suisse+Group+AG.+%93We%92ll+see+more+small+developers+file+for+bankruptcy+or+sell+off+their+assets+next+year.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+government+said+last+week+it+won%92t+back+away+from+real-+estate+industry+curbs+that+are+damping+home+sales+and+pulling+down+prices.+China+intensified+measures+this+year+by+raising+down+payment+and+mortgage+requirements+and+also+imposed+home+purchase+restrictions+in+40+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ENew+home+prices+in+China%92s+four+major+cities+of+Shanghai%2C+Beijing%2C+Shenzhen+and+Guangzhou+each+retreated+0.3+percent+from+October%2C+the+biggest+monthly+falls+for+these+metropolitan+areas+this+year%2C+according+to+data+from+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+eastern+port+city+of+Ningbo+and+Shenyang+in+the+north+close+to+the+North+Korean+border+posted+the+biggest+month-on-+month+declines+of+0.6+percent%2C+while+Guiyang+in+the+southwest+rose+0.2+percent%2C+the+most+among+the+70+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%91Critical+Stage%92++%3Cp%3EThe+gauge+tracking+property+stocks+on+the+%3Ca+topic_url%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.bloomberg.com%2Fshanghai-se-composite%2F%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fquote%3Fticker%3DSHCOMP%3AIND%22+density%3D%22full%22+title%3D%22Get+Quote%22+ticker%3D%22SHCOMP%3AIND%22+class%3D%22web_ticker%22%3EShanghai+Composite+Index+%28SHCOMP%29+rose+0.3+percent+at+the+close%2C+the+only+industry+group+that+posted+a+gain+on+the+benchmark+measure.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+figures+came+after+private+data+also+showed+further+signs+of+cooling.+China%92s+home+prices+fell+for+a+third+month+in+November%2C+%3Ca+topic_url%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.bloomberg.com%2Fsoufun-holdings-ltd%2F%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fquote%3Fticker%3DSFUN%3AUS%22+density%3D%22sparse%22+title%3D%22Get+Quote%22+ticker%3D%22SFUN%3AUS%22+class%3D%22web_ticker%22%3ESouFun+Holdings+Ltd.+%28SFUN%29%2C+the+country%92s+biggest+real+estate+website%2C+said+earlier+this+month+based+on+its+survey+of+100+cities.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93It%92s+more+and+more+clear+that+home+prices+are+falling+around+the+country%2C%94+said+Shen+Jian-guang%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+economist+at+Mizuho+Securities+Asia+Ltd.+%93It%92s+still+the+critical+stage+of+China%92s+property+curbs%2C+so+the+government+doesn%92t+want+to+send+any+signals+of+easing+of+those+policies+too+early+as+it+may+reverse+the+trend.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChinese+developers+will+face+challenges+over+the+next+12+to+18+months+including+slowing+sales%2C+tight+bank+credit+and+downward+pressure+on+prices+and+profit+margins%2C+Moody%92s+Investors+Services+said+in+a+Dec.+15+report.+%3C%2Fp%3E+Vanke%2C+Poly++%3Cp%3ENovember+contract+sales+of+China+Vanke+Co.%2C+the+country%92s+biggest+developer%2C+dropped+36+percent+from+last+year%2C+while+those+by+Poly+Real+Estate+Group+Co.%2C+the+second+largest%2C+fell+28+percent.+Developers+typically+sell+homes+before+they+are+built.+Vanke+shares+were+unchanged+in+Shenzhen%2C+after+falling+as+much+as+2.6+percent%2C+while+Poly+climbed+0.9+percent%2C+reversing+a+1.5+percent+decline.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EExisting+home+prices+in+Beijing+slid+0.7+percent+from+October%2C+while+those+in+Shanghai+retreated+0.5+percent%2C+according+to+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChina+faces+slower+growth+in+home+sales+and+construction+next+year%2C+Fitch+Ratings+said+in+a+report+on+Dec.+13%2C+adding+that+smaller+builders+will+be+%93more+vulnerable%94+as+the+government+maintains+its+property+curbs.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EEasing+Measures%3F+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+government+may+ease+its+measures+in+the+second+half+of+next+year+if+home+prices+in+major+cities+include+Beijing+and+Shanghai+fall+20+percent+from+their+2011+peaks%2C+according+to+Mizuho%92s+Shen.+Shanghai%92s+new+home+prices+gained+2.4+percent+from+a+year+earlier+in+November%2C+and+those+in+the+capital+city+added+1.3+percent%2C+according+to+the+statistics+bureau.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EResidential+property+investments+accounted+for+6.1+percent+of+the+country%92s+gross+domestic+product+last+year%2C+according+to+Citigroup+Inc.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EFalling+home+prices+helped+drive+sales+last+month.+Housing+transactions+rose+12+percent+in+November+to+416.4+billion+yuan+%28%2465.7+billion%29%2C+rebounding+from+a+decline+the+previous+month%2C+the+statistics+bureau+said+earlier+this+month.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EChina%92s+home+prices+may+fall+between+5+percent+and+10+percent+next+year%2C+Kenny+Wu%2C+a+Hong+Kong-based+analyst+at+JI-+Asia+Research+Ltd.%2C+said+before+the+release+of+yesterday%92s+data.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E–Bonnie+Cao.+Editors%3A+Linus+Chua%2C+Jim+McDonald+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3ETo+contact+Bloomberg+News+staff+for+this+story%3A+Bonnie+Cao+in+Shanghai+at+bcao4%40bloomberg.net+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2F2011-12-18%2Fchina-s-november-home-prices-post-worse-performance-this-year-amid-curbs.html%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+
NAI DESCO, a commercial real estate firm, today said it will buy Coldwell Banker Commercial’s St. Louis brokerage operation.
The move will increase DESCO’s local property inventory and agents by 50 percent. The price was not revealed.
The move doesn’t affect Coldwell Banker Gundaker, which is a separate residential real estate company.
Carl Conceller, a founding member of Coldwell Banker Commercial, will join NAI DESCO as a principal.
DESCO, based in Clayton, lists about 200 commercial properties and Coldwell about 100. DESCO’s listings include the Chrysler plant in Fenton, Northwest Plaza in St. Ann and the Merrill Lynch and Regions Bank buildings in Clayton.
DESCO was originally an acronym standing for Don and Ed Schnuck company. It’s sister firm, the DESCO Group develops real estate, including projects for the Schnuck supermarket chain.
Today’s news was the second ownership switch in the local real estate business in the past week. Last Tuesday, Brookfield Residential Property Services of Canada bought Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, franchisor for the Prudential Alliance real estate operation in St. Louis.
Andrea Lawrence, president of Prudential Alliance Realtors, said she expects little change in the St. Louis operation. The realtors will continue to use the Prudential brand under the terms of the sale.
Brazil’s second largest airline says it has agreed to sell a minority stake in the company to Delta Air Lines.
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA says in a regulatory filing with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that Delta Air Lines Inc. will pay $100 million for a “strategic minority interest” of GOL’s preferred shares.
Gol says the investment will be in the form of American Depositary Shares.
In February, Atlanta-based Delta and Gol entered into a code-sharing agreement that enable Delta to sell seats on 56 GOL flights between Rio de Janeiro or Brasilia and 15 Brazilian destinations.
(This version CORRECTS airline as Delta Air Lines)
Globalization and technology are intensifying the growing income gap between the rich and poor in Canada, economists say.
And government policies aren
Police used batons to disperse opposition activists taking part in a general strike in Bangladesh’s capital on Sunday. A party official said eight people were injured.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is protesting a government decision to divide Dhaka into two administrative zones, a plan they say is aimed at removing the opposition-backed mayor.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Zia’s archrival, says the split is needed to provide better services to residents. Dhaka is a teeming city of 10 million people with poor infrastructure.
Amid an opposition boycott, the government passed a law in Parliament on Tuesday to appoint administrators for the two zones.
Schools and businesses were shut during the daylong general strike Sunday. A few vehicles were moving in the usually clogged streets.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a senior opposition party official, said at least eight demonstrators were injured in the dispersal, which took place in front of the party’s headquarters.
He said at least 85 opposition supporters were arrested Saturday, the eve of the strike.
“The government has unleashed a reign of terror to frighten opposition activists,” Alamgir told reporters Sunday. “Police are out to halt our peaceful protests.”
Police say their goal is to maintain order, with some 10,000 security officials deployed in the city.
“It is our duty to protect the people and their property,” said Mehedy Hasan, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police official.
Opposition and government supporters clashed briefly in a separate incident Sunday in which several people were hurt, said APTN cameraman Al Emrun Gorjon, who suffered a head injury.
He said the clash broke out after opposition demonstrators hurled stones at a passing bus. Nearby government supporters then clashed with the demonstrators before police arrived, he said.
Plans are afoot to redevelop another of downtown’s biggest empty buildings.
A group of real estate investors from New York and Indiana want to buy the Chemical Building, at Eighth and Olive streets, and turn it into street-level retail and 120 apartments, according to Alderman Phyllis Young.
LandWhite Developers LLC is behind the $34 million project, said Young. They’re seeking $4.2 million in tax increment financing to help fund the deal, and would like to start work next year. An aldermanic committee approved the TIF on Wednesday; it will now go on to the full board.
Jay Landesman, a principal at LandWhite, declined to comment until more details are ironed out.
While the building was nearly half-occupied as recently as 2006, it has sat empty since as redevelopment efforts stalled paperless payday loans. In that year, a Los Angeles-based investment group bought it for $6 million, re-christened it the Alexa, and envisioned luxury condominiums. They filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010, and Centrue Bank foreclosed on the building in March. It is listed for sale at $3.9 million.
Developers are also moving forward with plans to redevelop two other major empty buildings downtown: The Jefferson Arms, on Tucker Boulevard, and one of the Cupples Station warehouse buildings.
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