The Eurozone unemployment in increase to its highest level 11.7% in October as per figures published by Eurostat. While the Eurozone’s unemployment rate has been increasing since June 2011, the unemployment in the U.S. has fallen to below 8%.
About 18.7 million people were unemployed across the Eurozone, up 173,000 from the previous month. Spain and Greece are most affected with over 25%, with 60% of jobless youth; such numbers can have a negative impact in the long run. Non-euro countries, like Britain and Poland, reported unemployment rate of 10.7% in October and a 25.9 million jobless workers. Continue reading →
Tony Blair, the former prime minister, warned regarding Britain’s future in the European Union, that the country will face a risk if it edged toward leaving its regional alliance while power shifts to emerging economies. Speaking in London, Tony Blair argued about his country’s place in the bloc saying that the European Union was important because it helped Britain leverage its influence within a changed geopolitical landscape. Britons have not been enthusiastic about European integration but, lately, talks over Britain’s relationship with the European Union have geared up. Tony Blair was questioned by critics, telling his reliability at home had been dented by his interest in the Iraq attack, and because he had been active for euro membership, which has gone through a debt crisis.
London, Dec 6, 2012: BP sells its stakes in its North Sea oil and gas fields for $1.06bn (£663m) to an Abu Dhabi’s energy group. Prime Minister David Cameron said agreement positioned the North Sea as a global energy hub and the takings from the deal will help cover huge amounts from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Abu Dhabi National Energy (Taqa) will get hold of stakes in the BP-operated Harding, Maclure and Devenick fields. He said that the deal would show that changes to the North Sea tax regime are will help to generate jobs in Scotland and UK, making sure we do well in the global race. Chief executive of Taqa, Carl Sheldon, said the deal would add 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day to its output. Peter Hutton, energy analyst at RBC Capital Markets says the disposed assets produce 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Continue reading →
REIT is the acronym for Real Estate Investment Trust. According to the National Institute of Real Estate Investment Trusts 190 Re Its are currently registered with the SEC and trade on one or more of the New York Stock Exchanges. There are over 900 REITS that are privately held companies.
The advantage to investors in the REIT is the source of income it provides. Specifically, due to the structure of the REIT it does not accrue corporate tax, instead it returns all of the taxable income to investors. The investor receives a 1099 form for tax purposes and it is therefore taxed like additional income.
The REIT can be designed to fit almost any scenario available in the real property world. It can play the upside and the downside and provide hybrid type coverage. Primarily the REIT is composed of commercial property including shopping malls, apartment complexes and income producing property. It also is packaged with residential real estate of a particular type. Continue reading →
The term real estate is used to refer to any property, which is permanently attached to land such as buildings and houses. Most people refer to it as real property but there are situations wherein the term real estate is used for the land and the building together while real property refers to the ownership rights of the land itself. On the other hand, the word real is used to categorize these properties as things as opposed to people. Records show that the idea of real estate can be traced as far back as 1666. With the idea of personal property becoming more widespread, real estate has become a major area of business in the United States. In fact, economists claim that the reason for the recent economic slump is due to the lower revenue generated by this industry. Most people land and buildings as an investment. Our investment experience shows land in the ultimate investment, while buildings tend to depreciate after 10-20 years. Continue reading →