The Media Line Staff
United Arab Emirates David Rosenberg (The Medi – Calling the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the world’s “least friendly” place for expatriates-well, those are fighting words. Certainly, they are in a place where non-citizens make up close to 90 percent of the population and are responsible for everything from running the national airline to cleaning up at construction sites. But a fight is what Forbes magazine and one of its contributing writers, Beth Greenfield, got when they ran a piece putting the Gulf confederation of seven mini-states at the bottom of a list using criteria that hone in on social factors – the ability to befriend natives, fitting into local culture, learning the language and integrating into the community. The article sparked a furious reaction, a dedicated Twitter hashtag #UAEFriendly and finally, according to local media spin, Forbes “took back” its words and conceded that [...] Continue Reading…
‘Expat Unfriendly’: Fighting words for the UAE
January 23rd, 2012 
davidguide Atlanta’s tallest building heading for foreclosure
January 17th, 2012 davidguide Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – Oh how the tall and mighty have fallen. Atlanta’s tallest building, Bank of America Plaza, a tower bought at the market peak, has been struggling with rising vacancy rates and a heavy debt load. A foreclosure date has been set for the storied tower. According to a public notice, the building will go up for auction on Feb. 7. The foreclosure auction comes three months after owner BentleyForbes Group LLC, a Los Angeles real estate firm, defaulted on its $363 million mortgage. Since then, the company has been in negotiations to restructure its debt. According to a statement from BentleyForbes, the company “remains committed to work with its financial partners” to stabilize the capital structure of the 55-story, 1,024-foot tower.
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Mortgage rates fall to new lows
January 13th, 2012 davidguide Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – If it sounds like you have heard this before you are right. Mortgage rates have fallen once again to a record low. On Thursday, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported the average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to 3.89 percent in the current week. That is below the previous record low set three weeks ago of 3.91 percent. The average on 15-year fixed mortgages inched down to an average 3.16 percent from a record low of 3.21 percent, also set three weeks ago. Average fixed mortgage rates remained around 4 percent for most of 2011, but the record low rates did little to help the ailing housing market. Banks have been extremely tight with credit, few qualify for the record low rates and other don’t have the money to refinance. And while foreclosure [...] Continue Reading…
U.S. consumer borrowing rises in November
January 11th, 2012 davidguide Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Consumer borrowing in the United States rose in November by more than analysts had expected, fueled by purchases of cars and other items. Spending rose by $20.4 billion to $2.48 trillion, which was the largest monthly increase since November 2001, according to the Federal Reserve. That exceeded economists’ median estimate of $7 billion. The data suggests that consumers are borrowing again, which could signal a recovery in the economy. Consumers had saved more and borrowed and spent less since 2007.
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Dow ended final trading day of 2011 down, closed up for the year
January 3rd, 2012 davidguide Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Last year was turbulent, trying and tumultuous for global stocks and commodities, And for many investors and traders, 2011 couldn’t end soon enough. In the final trading day of 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 69 points, but managed to eck out a 5.5 percent gain for the year. The closely tracked Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed virtually flat, ending 2011 down 0.43 percent, while the tech heavy NASDAQ said good-bye to 2011 off 1.80 percent. Commodities fared much better. Oil gained 8.15 percent in 2011, and gold was the sole double digit finisher bidding the year adieu with a stellar 10.23 percent gain. The top three performers in the Dow were McDonalds, IBM and Pfizer. Laggards included Bank of American, Alcoa and Hewlett-Packard. Leading gainers in the S&P [...] Continue Reading…
Italy’s government finds borrowing costs remain high
December 30th, 2011 davidguide Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Rome, Italy (AHN) – Italy’s borrowing rate came down slightly at its latest bond auction, but still remained high with investors worried over the eurozone debt crisis. Interest rates on 10-year bonds dropped by only 0.5 percentage points from the yield prices on debt auctioned in November. However, economists said that the important thing was that there were still buyers willing to invest in Italy’s government bonds. The Italian government auctioned off $8.96 billion worth of medium and long-term debt on Thursday with interest rates of 6.98 percent on 10-year bonds. There was better news for the costs of short and medium-term borrowing with interest on new three-year debt falling to 5.62 percent from 7.89 percent paid last month. It auctioned $11.8 billion of short-term debt on Wednesday. It will have to auction more bonds to raise enough money within [...] Continue Reading…
U.S. stocks little changed early after durable goods report
December 24th, 2011 davidguide Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. stocks opened higher Friday after a mixed November durable goods orders report that showed a 3.8 percent increase, the most in four months. In light trading, just after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 15 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up about 2 points and the NASDAQ was up 5 points. The Commerce Department reported Friday that bookings for equipment meant to last three years rose 3.8 percent in November after no change in October. However, demand for business equipment, excluding military hardware and aircraft, dropped 1.2 percent in November, the biggest decline since January. The decrease in demand for capital goods signals manufacturers are still slow to boost investment in light of the political gridlock in the U.S. and the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis. [...] Continue Reading…
New home sales jump in November to 7-month high
December 24th, 2011 davidguide Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – New home sales jumped in November from October. But, 2011 is still on track to end the year as the worst year for home sales in history. On Friday, the Commerce Department said new home sales rose 1.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000. The scant rise is less than half the 700,000 new homes that economists say should be sold to sustain a healthy housing market. The number is also below the 323,000 homes sold in 2010, the worst year for sales on records dating back to 1963. While new home sales account for just a fraction of the housing market, they do have a big impact on the economy. According to the National Association of Home Builders, each new home built creates about three jobs for a [...] Continue Reading…
Treasury sells 30-year bonds at record lows
December 18th, 2011 davidguide Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Treasury Department sold $13 billion in 30-year bonds Wednesday at a record low yield of 2.925 percent. Despite the debt security having the lowest yield on record, investors in the U.S. and around the world still have a hearty appetite for the long bond. Bidders offered to buy 3.05 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 2.81 times at the last four comparable auctions. Indirect bidders, those that include global central banks, bought 32.5 percent of the sale, compared to 36.1 percent on average. Direct bidders–domestic money managers–purchased another 21.2 percent, versus an average of 19.5 percent. Following the oversubscribed and highly successful auction, the broader bond market continued the rally. Yields on 10-year notes, which move in the opposite direction to prices, fell 5 [...] Continue Reading…
Israel faces housing bubble – or bust, OECD warns
December 14th, 2011 davidguide The Media Line Staff
Jerusalem, Israel David Rosenberg (The Medi – Home prices – an anxious subject for both Israeli consumers and policy makers as they first raced higher and then suddenly started to sink – remain a threat to the economy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned on Monday. Although the price rises have eased as the government has clamped down on mortgage lending, Israel is by no means out of the hole yet, the Paris-based organization said in a report. Israel faces a twin risk of prices spiraling upward to bubble levels, if current measures don’t bring about long-term stability, or conversely dropping sharply. “There is still a risk that a soft landing may not be achieved and house prices (and loan repayments) in relation to rents and incomes may reach ‘bubble’ proportions, heightening the risk of a sharp and damaging correction,” the [...] Continue Reading…
