Greater Vancouver home sales fall way below average in March

Home sales in March plunged below the 10-year average in the Lower Mainland, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Figures released today (April 3) by the association also show that March sales were the second lowest for the month of March since 2002. More houses are on sale than what’s expected for a typical March. The Straight asked Tsur Somerville, director of UBC’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate, whether there’s reason for worry about these figures. “It Read more [...]

Wolfson economics prize: the short-listed plans

The shortlisted candidates for the Wolfson prize are:Roger Bootle and his team from the consultancy Capital EconomicsBootle's theme is that the weaker eurozone countries are deeply uncompetitive. The alternative to years of painful austerity is departure from monetary union, which would result in a weaker currency and cheaper exports, and the Bootle paper is a practical guide for how that could be achieved. The transition would happen amid great secrecy over a weekend, with temporary capital Read more [...]

Rent scam targets vacant houses

"Anyone who has a vacant house could be victimized," Dulberg said.No one knows how pervasive the rental hoax has become in a state beleaguered by a shadow inventory of foreclosed-and-vacant houses. Utilities report an increase in sham accounts for getting water turned on, and law enforcement has made numerous arrests in other parts of the state.There are different variations of the scam, but here's basically how it works: Someone sees a vacant-looking house listed for sale. Using the listing information, Read more [...]

The Options Industry Council Announces ‘Road to Wall Street’ Event With …

CHICAGO, IL, Apr 03, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that the next event in its university outreach program, The Road to Wall Street: Analyze Your Options, will be at Rutgers Business School in Newark, NJ on Friday, April 13. Launched in 2010, OIC's Road to Wall Street program partners with a university to educate students about Read more [...]

Countdown to sell, lease back sites

JAZIAL CROSSLEY Supermarket chain Progressive Enterprises has put four of its North Island properties up for sale under arrangements to lease them back for up to 55 years. The subsidiary of listed Australian company Woolworths will lease back the freehold properties at Te Awamutu, New Plymouth, Tokoroa and Pukekohe on 15-year terms, with rights of renewal. Progressive national communications manager Luke Schepen said its business Read more [...]

Sebi allows bourses to get listed

Tweet Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday issued fresh guidelines on ownership, governance and listing of stock exchanges that will allow domestic stock bourses to list , but with conditions.Sebi issues rules for algorithmic tradingIt also capped individual holding at 5 per cent and fixed their minimum networth of bourses at Rs 100 crore. Besides, restrictions have also been placed on Read more [...]

A house that time forgot

LOS ANGELES - Crossing the threshold into the grand entry hall of the Mediterranean-style house in Beverly Hills is like stepping into a time capsule./pp Up for sale for the first time since it was built in 1925 for its original owners, the elegantly understated house - listed at $5.5 million - doesn't ooze wealth so much as good taste and a 1920s practicality./pp "There was a mind-set among the rich back then," said listing agent Bret Parsons, the founder and managing director Read more [...]

Special Report – A Greek banker’s secret property deals

By Stephen Grey ATHENS | Tue Apr 3, 2012 11:50am BST ATHENS (Reuters) - He is the former economics professor behind an upstart bank that rode the Greek boom to become a publicly listed heavyweight with a loan book of over 35 billion euros (29.14 billion pounds). She is his devoted wife, who oversees the bank's sponsorship of museums and the arts, and advised it on corporate social responsibility. Michalis Sallas, executive chairman of Piraeus Bank, Read more [...]

Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks expected to gain 26%

Hong Kong: Morgan Stanley is forecasting gains of about 26 per cent for Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong amid low valuations and expectations for improving company earnings and economic growth this year. The brokerage expects the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of so-called H shares to rise to 13,400 by the end of the year, analysts including Jonathan Garner wrote in a report yesterday, compared with the gauge's previous close of 10,640.16. Read more [...]