WASHINGTON >> Sales of new U.S. homes fell in January for the second straight month, possibly dragged down again by bad weather.
The Commerce Department reported Monday that last month’s sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, the lowest level since August and down 7.8 percent from a revised 643,000 in December.
Economists had expected new-home sales to bounce back after tumbling amid harsh winter weather in December. But they may have underestimated how bad January’s weather turned out to be.
Sales skidded 33.3 percent in the Northeast in January from December and 14.2 percent in the South. But they rose 15.4 percent in the Midwest and 1 percent in the West.
The median price of a new home dropped to $323,000, down 4.1 percent from $336,700 in December.
Judge rules against Shkreli on investor losses
NEW YORK >> “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli was responsible for nearly $10.5 million in losses in a securities fraud scheme, a judge ruled Monday, a blow to the defense that could result in a harsher sentence for the eccentric former pharmaceutical company CEO.
U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto rejected arguments by Shkreli’s lawyers that investors in two failed hedge funds didn’t suffer actual losses because he compensated them with drug company stock that, in the end, more than covered their initial investments.
In a written decision in federal court in Brooklyn, the judge found Shkreli should be penalized for the losses because he made risky transactions with investors’ millions without their permission.
After dipping into investor money from one of the hedge funds to keep his drug company startup afloat, Shkreli “used some of the funds to satisfy both personal and unrelated professional obligations,” including a $900,000 debt for a bad stock market trade, she wrote.
Shkreli was convicted at trial last year, remains in jail and faces up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing March 9.
Shkreli, 34, is perhaps best known for boosting the price of a lifesaving drug by 5,000 percent and for trolling his critics on social media, where he became known as “Pharma Bro.” His bail was revoked last year after he posted a veiled threat against Hillary Clinton.
Toilet paper hoarding in Taiwan draws rebuke
Taiwan’s premier is urging the public to avoid hoarding toilet paper after a reported spike in prices by manufacturers spurred a run on supermarket supplies.
The island’s government is monitoring distributors and retailers for signs of price manipulation after local media said major toilet-paper brands would boost prices by as much as 30 percent from next month, spurring anxious shoppers to stock up on the product and strip store shelves over the weekend.
More than half of the varieties of toilet paper listed on Yahoo’s Taiwan shopping website were out of stock today in Taiwan.
The Fair Trade Commission says it will investigate whether the major brands have been colluding over prices, warning that the offense is punishable by fines of as much as $3.4 million.
Paper stocks surged on the Taiwan exchange on Monday, with YFY Inc., Taiwan’s biggest toilet paper maker by market value, jumping 7 percent before pulling back today.
ON THE MOVE
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Paris Fernandez is a new independent agent for the firm’s Leeward office. Fernandez has six years of experience in the business industry.
The County of Hawaii’s Merit Appeals Board has appointed William V. Brilhante Jr. as the new director of Human Resources for the county, as of March 1. He previously served as the acting director and deputy director of Human Resources. Prior to Nov. 16, 2016, he was the county’s deputy corporation counsel.
Avalon Development Co. has announced that Duane Shimogawa has joined the firm as a real estate analyst. He previously was a reporter for Pacific Business News. Prior to PBN, he was a reporter and sports anchor for KHNL/Hawaii News Now.
