17/12/08-The United States Federal Reserve Bank cut interest rates to between 0 and .25 percent, a record low. The previous rate was 1.0 percent, and the bank indicated that it was willing to keep rates low for an extended period of time to battle the ongoing recession. In a statement released at the time of the cuts, the Fed said: “The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the...
With the worldwide economic crisis hitting everywhere, the Bank of New Zealand is predicting that the country will lose 32,000 jobs in the tourism sector alone in 2009. The finance sector has already lost 4,600 jobs and the tourism industry has lost over 10,000 this year so far. Additionally, real estate agents have taken a large hit, and expect to see more losses in the coming year. New Zealand’s...
The northern French city of Lille is using a creative public initiative to help reinvigorate previously downcast neighborhoods. The initiative is called Maisons de Mode, and it is helping the country’s fourth largest metro area to bring new life to older areas of the city with fashion and clothing designers. One of the new garment districts is along the Rue du Fauborg des Postes. This district runs...
With press speculation that Sterling – Euro exchange rates might reach parity (£1 = €1), what is driving sterling down against the single currency at the moment? One of the main drivers is interest rates. The Bank of England have cut rates from 5.75% last December, to 2% now. This means that international investors (pension funds, hedge funds and other investments) get a lower rate of return on...
The National Council of Forest Research and Development (Ireland) recently announced in their Forestry and Wood December update 2008 that a chemical released by trees can help to cool the planet. Scientists from the UK (Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science at Leeds University) and Germany have discovered that trees release a chemical that thickens clouds above them, thereby reflecting more...
With lots of early snow, the ski season looks to be a good long one in France. This is also sign for property sales in the region, according to one developer.“The first falls in the French Alps in October prompted potential buyers to get in the mood for skiing and think about having a place of their own on the slopes,” says Nathalie Turchet, UK sales manager of MGM French Properties. “The result is...
Over the past year, the French city of Nice has seen the biggest increase in property values across the country. This Mediterranean city has had even larger increases, percentage wise, than Paris. Experts have been shouting about the French market picking up for a while now. Trisha Mason from French properties specialist firm VEF said the number of Britons buying French property had dipped during the...
The International Monetary Fund recently reduced its 2009 growth forecast for Bulgaria to 2 percent. That’s a significant reduction from an earlier prediction of 6.3 percent growth for the country’s economy and is a result of the global economic crisis. “The world economy is slowing and this will have two effects on Bulgaria: lower foreign demand and a drop in capital inflows, which have been an...
The world’s first refrigerated beach is set to be built in Dubai, so now the Emirate can add that to its many architectural wonders. The cooled beach will allow visitors to enjoy the waters off Dubai without having to worry about the hot sand. It is to be constructed next to the Palazzo Versace hotel, which is set to open in late 2009 or early 2010. Soheil Abedian, president of Palazzo Versace, said:...