| Those who piled into commercial property risk a shock
Last week I commented on the state of the residential property market here compared with the travails of its equivalent in America. This week I turn to the other side of that market - the commercial. And here I have no need of transatlantic comparisons. The key question can be simply put: is the UK commercial property market a bubble waiting to burst? .
RODAMCO AND UNIBAIL TO CREATE THE LEADING PAN-EUROPEAN COMMERCIAL ...
This is a joint press release of Rodamco Europe N.V and Unibail Holding. Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. This announcement and related materials do not constitute an offer for ordinary shares in Rodamco Europe N.V., but the expectation is justified that an offer will be made in due course as set out in this press release.
Paris, France and Rotterdam, the Netherlands - 10 April 2007 - Rodamco Europe N.V. ("Rodamco") and Unibail Holding S.A. ("Unibail"), in a joint communiqué, announce they intend to combine both companies to create the leading pan-European commercial property company. The combination will be a merger of equals which will offer investors a unique investment platform with the following characteristics:
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McCain: Baghdad Market Was Safe
John McCain said Monday he would have taken his tour of an Iraqi market last week even if he hadn't been accompanied by heavily armed U.S. soldiers. The Republican presidential hopeful said he would have walked through the Bab al-Sharqi market in Baghdad without the military protection, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, had recommended the armed escort. "I'm not notorious for being nervous about going anywhere," said McCain, R-Ariz. "I'll gladly go almost anywhere in the world, under any circumstances, but I did respond and do what General Petraeus asked me to do." McCain and other members of a congressional delegation toured the market last week, traveling in armored military vehicles and wearing body armor during their hourlong excursion.
How should Manatee pay for new schools?
The problem with bidding out contracts is that you pay for what you get, the advocates say, citing horror stories of schools built with substandard material that had to be fixed within a few years of being constructed. "You're forced to use the lowest bidder that you might not have used," said Stan Stephens, a former Manatee County commissioner and president of Manasota Commercial Construction. "It's either you save money on the front end, or pay for it later." State law allows districts to set up their own guidelines regarding these firms, Blanton said. In Manatee, the district has the discretion of selecting which firms it wants to consider. The district pays these firms a fixed fee for preconstruction services at the beginning of the project, Dowling said.
AFX TOP STORIES Global 0805 BST
LONDON (AFX) - Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation said it has sent a letter to DaimlerChryslerAG offering to buy the troubled Chrysler Group for 4.5 bln usd in cash. Tracinda said it would build and strengthen Chrysler as an independent entity by partnering with the United Auto Workers and senior management of Chrysler, and would offer the UAW and Chrysler management the opportunity to participate as equity partners in the transaction. US weekly jobless claims up 11,000 to 321,000, highest in four weeks WASHINGTON (AFX) - The number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose in the latest week to the highest level in a month, the Labor Department said today. First time claims rose 11,000 to 321,000 in the week ended March 31, slightly more than economists had expected.
GOLD, SILVER FUTURES CLIMB
Gold rose, heading for the fifth straight weekly gain, as a decline in the U.S. dollar boosted the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver also rose. Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the dollar, which traded at the lowest in two years against the euro on speculation that U.S. economic growth will slow this year. Before today, gold had climbed 16 percent in the past year, while the dollar had fallen 8.3 percent against the euro. -Bloomberg
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Private sector requires more support
A group of Ghanaian private sector experts has ca1led for the prevention of a situation where all the country's major investments will be taken over by foreign investors.
The group said the government should support local investors to move ahead, as was being done in other countries such as China.
This came up at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Accra on Thursday to collate views for the drafting of a bill on a proposed Ghana Investment Corporation (GIC).
The meeting was attended by economic and financial experts from the private sector, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and an official from the Attorney-General's Department.
In his remarks, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, said the decision to establish the GIC was announced as a policy initiative in the 2007 budget.
Day Trading
Day trading-- it seems to be one of the biggest topics of contraversy on this site. Many people strongly believe that day trading is stupid and there is no point to it. How ever others are on this site suying and selling the same stock five or six times in the same day. I want to look at the positives and negitives of both sides and see which mades more sence. The Market: I'm sure that most people would agree that if this were the real stock market then the majority of the day trading that goes on would not be a wise move however, this isn't the real stock market. In the real stock market stocks go up and down slowly and the prices are based on events that take place over periods of time such as months or years. This Protrade market is influenced by events that can take place in a matter of minutes.
MICC Investments Announces 2006 Year-End Results
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 10, 2007 -- MICC Investments Limited (the "Company") reported consolidated net income of $40.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared with consolidated net income of $7.6 million for 2005. The results for 2006 included gains on the sales of investments of $30.2 million compared to $5.1 million in 2005. These gains together with higher interest yields on the company's portfolio and an increase in the size of the investment portfolio, contributed to an increase in revenue levels by $34.1 million. Expenses for 2006 were $0.7 million, compared to $3.0 million in 2005. The prior year's expenses included foreign currency translation losses of $1.1 million.
SOURCE: MICC Investments Limited .
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