Today’s News Synopsis:

Aaron Norris of the Norris Group gives this week’s Norris Group real estate headline roundup.  Profits for several large banks were lower in the third quarter according to the latest Q3 2016 earnings reports.  Very surprisingly, the bank that actually exceeded expectations was Wells Fargo, even after their scandal.  The real estate market is continuing to see a huge influx of Chinese buyers.

In The News:

The Washington Post – “Wealthy Chinese buyers are a growing force in U.S. real estate markets” (10-14-16)

“After a long and painful slide following the real estate collapse in 2008, Seattle’s property market is enjoying one of the sharpest rises anywhere in the United States.”

Bloomberg – “Yellen Sees ‘Plausible Ways’ Hot Economy Could Heal Growth” (10-14-16)

“Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said there are “plausible ways” that running the U.S. economy hot could fix damage caused by the Great Recession, laying out the argument for keeping monetary policy easy without taking an interest-rate hike off the table this year.”

DS News – “Banks See Profits Take a Downward Turn” (10-14-16)

“JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and PNC Financial Group all experienced year-over-year declines in net income in their Q3 2016 earnings reports released Friday.”

Housing Wire – “Despite accounts scandal investigation, Wells Fargo beats revenue expectations” (10-14-16)

“Despite its ongoing investigation into its massive fake account scandal, Wells Fargo still managed to beat earnings expectations in the third quarter of 2016 as mortgage originations helped boost the bank’s results.”

Bloomberg – “U.S. Deficit Up for First Time Since 2009 on Spending Surge” (10-14-16)

“The U.S. budget deficit as a share of the economy widened for the first time in seven years, marking a turning point in the nation’s fiscal outlook as an aging population boosts government spending and debt.”

Fox News – “Thai monarchy’s billions come from real estate, companies” (10-14-16)

“Thailand’s king, who died Thursday, was reputed to be the world’s richest royal and one of the wealthiest people on the planet.  It was a status that clashed with the carefully managed image of a monarch intensely concerned for his people’s welfare and one that Thai authorities were always anxious to correct.”

Bloomberg – “Wells Fargo: The Customers Strike Back” (10-14-16)

“How bad has the fallout from the fake-account scandal been for Wells Fargo’s business so far?  Well, there wasn’t exactly a run on the bank. Average deposits in the retail part of the bank for the third quarter actually inched up 0.6 percent from the second quarter to $708 billion.”