>>7652251

Equatorial Guinea Leader Says French-Backed Currency Is Outdated

Equatorial Guinea’s leader said the union of Central African states should consider changes to its French-backed currency after eight West African states last week agreed to reforms to their long-standing agreement with France.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, speaking at a joint press conference with Ivorian leader Alassane Ouattara, said that the current agreement between the Central Economic and Monetary Union and France on the CFA franc had become “obsolete.” “Today we’re capable of managing our own currency without the interference of France,” Obiang told reporters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, on Saturday.

The West African Economic and Monetary Union last week agreed with France to keep the currency’s euro-peg while moving its currency reserve from France, the former colonial power. France will no longer have a representative on the union’s board and the CFA franc will be renamed the “eco.” “Now that we know West Africa’s decision, maybe we will move to do the same with our French partner,” Obiang said.

The CFA franc is used in two monetary unions: eight West African states and six countries in Central Africa. The member states of the Economic Community of West African States, with countries from both monetary unions, said earlier this year that they would gradually start adopting a single currency in 2020.

https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2019-12-28/equatorial-guinea-leader-says-french-backed-currency-is-outdated

>>7652364

400,000 Commodity Railcars Sit Idle Amid Industrial Recession

Wells Fargo, Citigroup, PNC Financial Service Group, and CIT Group accumulated hundreds of thousands of commodity hauling railcars in North America over the last decade. These banks believed railcars carrying coal, grain, and other commodities were going to be highly profitable but have recently turned out to be a major headache as many cars are now in storage because of new regulations and demand woes brought on by fluctuating commodity markets.

David Nahass, president of Railroad Financial Corp., which provides advisory services to railroad firms, told The Wall Street Journal that "the industry is suffering, there are no two ways about it. Lease rates are down, and there's not a source of hope about when it will start to improve."

The Journal, citing the Association of American Railroads (AAR), said about 400,000 railcars currently sit in storage with no use at all, and many are bank-owned. CIT estimated railcar lease rates fell 10% to 15% in 2019 over the prior year. GATX Corp., a nonbank lessor, said specific car lease rates crashed 20% in 3Q Y/Y as an industrial recession worsened.

Wells Fargo is the largest railcar lessor in the US, with 175,000 total cars under management. The Journal provided no details on how many railcars from the bank were sitting idle.

The railroad crisis has hit certain types of railcars the hardest. For instance, coal shipments have plunged since 2011, which diminished the demand for coal hopper cars.

"It's the worst market I've seen in my 30-plus years in the industry," railcar appraiser Patrick Mazzanti told the Journal.

Mazzanti said new regulations have also been the reasoning behind many oil cars sitting idle, as these cars must be retrofitted with modern technology to meet new federal requirements.

Rail-leasing units at major banks are a tiny fraction of their overall balance sheets and won't make or break the banks. AAR's report last month of plunging rail traffic and inter-modal container usage could be a sign that the slowing industrial economy will continue to weigh on the rail industry and force banks to idle more cars in 2020.

Transportation is a barometer of how well the real economy is doing. And it just keeps getting worse as investors hope for "green shoots" next quarter.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/worst-market-30-years-400000-commodity-railcars-sit-idle-amid-industrial-recession

>>7652634

don't just give it up. Too many people have left with that attitude. Not leaving and will NEVER give up.

Totally understand that people need to leave for various reasons and respect it. Not a choice for me.

>>7652702

it was nice until the mid-90's when the tech co's started tightening grip.