Tag Archives: Property/Assets/Rights

Art Basel takes art world by storm

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“With private jets filling the air and lines of luxury limousines on the ready, deep-pocketed collectors from around the world have flocked to Switzerland this week for Art Basel, the biggest contemporary art fair on the planet. An estimated 110 private jets landed and took off from the Basel-Mulhouse airport, after 83 flew through there on Tuesday despite a strike that reduced the airport’s capacity and forced some wealthy patrons of the arts to change their travel plans. The art world appears to have bucked the global economic crisis, with income from global auction sales more than doubling since it hit bottom in 2009, passing eight billion euros last year.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/13/art-basel-takes-art-world-by-storm/

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Official: Cannes diamond heist actually nets $136M

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“It even happened at a hotel that was featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s jewel-encrusted thriller ‘To Catch a Thief.’  On Monday, a state prosecutor provided new details about the brazen heist a day earlier at the Carlton Intercontinental hotel – not least that the loot was actually worth more than twice the (EURO)40 million ($53 million) estimate that police had first announced.  In 2008, thieves – some dressed as women – stole $118 million in rings, necklaces and luxury watches from the Harry Winston store in Paris. A robbery five years earlier at Belgium’s Antwerp Diamond Center netted an estimated $100 million.”

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_JEWELRY_HEIST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-07-29-01-44-07

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US Rents Hit Record Highs As Homeownership Plunges To 18 Year Lows

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“The raw homeownership rate of 65.0% was unchanged from last quarter and 0.4% lower than a year ago. And on a seasonally adjusted basis, the percentage of Americans who have a house declined from 65.2% to 65.1%: the lowest since 1995.  Obviously the flipside to most ‘children’ in their mid-30s still living in their parents’ basements is that those wishing to brave the New Normal world will have to spend a lot for rent.  A record lot in fact: the median asking rent for US vacant housing units just hit an all time high of $735 per month.  The pain is most acute for those renting in the Northeast, where the median rent soared by $65 to a record high of $961.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-30/us-rents-hit-record-highs-homeownership-plunges-18-year-lows

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New York offers latest luxury: Five-star ‘outdoor bedroom’ atop skyscraper

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“In the concrete jungle of New York City, where open sky can be hard to find, the latest luxury offering is a night under the stars — or, under twinkling city lights, at least. For the not-so-insignificant price of $1,995 (1,500 euros) a night, the AKA Central Park promises a five star ‘outdoor bedroom,’ 17 floors up, complete with a queen-size bed, candle-lit dinner, fireplace, romantic snacks, and a giant telescope to admire the stars in the city that never sleeps. To the strains of live jazz guitar, Brazilians, Australians, Emiratis, and even New Yorkers spend the night doing what travel agents call urban ‘glamping’ — short for ‘glamorous camping.'”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/29/new-york-offers-latest-luxury-five-star-outdoor-bedroom-atop-skyscraper/

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Girl Scouts auction off plantation amid financial troubles

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“The camp in South Carolina is one of dozens of Girl Scout camps in 28 states that have closed, been sold or are for sale as chapters across the United States face financial struggles.  The realignment that took full effect in 2009 consolidated local councils. It reduced their number by two-thirds, eliminated staff jobs and set new Girl Scout priorities for building leadership skills. Girls Scouts has about 2.3 million youth and about 800,000 adult members nationwide. The organization is struggling with plummeting membership, a dearth of adult volunteers, declining cookie sales and a pension fund that is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/26/girl-scouts-auction-off-plantation-amid-financial-troubles/

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Malta: new residency scheme for foreign buyers & renters

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“The new residence scheme, referred to as Global Residence Programme, will allow people who buy or rent a property in Malta and direct their income to Malta to benefit from a residence permit (and thus income tax at 15 per cent). In order to qualify for residency, under the new Global Residence Programme, a non-EU foreigner will need to buy a property of €220,000 or over. Foreign nationals who are interested in renting a property, can also do so and they are eligible for residency given that the annual rental value is of €9,600 (or €800 monthly). The new Residence Scheme for Foreigners replaces the High Net Worth Individuals Scheme.”

http://www.aplaceinthesun.com/news/feature/tabid/131/EntryId/2339/Default.aspx

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TARP Audit: Housing Recipients Re-Defaulting in Alarming Numbers

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“Nearly one-third of the homeowners who got help through the government’s main foreclosure prevention program are defaulting again on their mortgages, according to a government watchdog’s report. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has worked on 1.2 million mortgage modifications since it started four years ago. Of those, more than 306,000 borrowers have defaulted again on their loans, and another 88,000 are at risk as well.  The Special Inspector for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), which conducted the review, said homeowners are also more likely to default again on the modified loans the longer they stay in the program.”

http://www.moneynews.com/US/tarp-home-defaults-mortgages/2013/07/24/id/516799

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Americans Gambling on Rates With Most ARMs Since 2008

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“In the second year of the U.S. housing recovery, the loans that helped trigger the housing bust are making a comeback. Applications in late June rose to the highest level since 2008 after the Federal Reserve sent fixed rates surging by signaling it may curtail bond buying credited with pushing borrowing costs to the cheapest on record. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped 1.2 percentage points in mid-July from May to the highest level in two years, adding about $200 a month to payments on a $300,000 mortgage. ARMs, loans with interest rates that adjust after initial fixed periods, usually of five, seven or 10 years, contributed to soaring defaults in 2008.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-24/americans-gambling-on-rates-with-most-arms-since-2008.html

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Eminent Domain and the Decline of Detroit

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“Detroit’s sixty year decline, culminating in its recent bankruptcy, has many causes. But one that should not be ignored is the city’s extensive use of eminent domain to transfer property to politically influential private interests. For many years, Detroit aggressively used eminent domain to promote ‘economic development’ and ‘urban renewal.’ The most notorious example was the 1981 Poletown case, in which some 4000 people lost their homes, and numerous businesses were forced to move in order to make way for a General Motors factory. The Poletown takings ended up destroying far more development than they ever created.”

http://www.volokh.com/2013/07/22/eminent-domain-and-the-decline-of-detroit/

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No Free Sun for You! Why Arizona Wants to ‘Tax’ Solar Power

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“On July 12, Arizona’s largest electric utility announced a plan to drastically change net-metering, the way in which homeowners and businesses with solar rooftops sell excess power back to the grid. Net-metering is the foundation for all solar leasing; without it, solar companies can’t entice homeowners with the promise of ‘cut your electric bill, no money down’ but instead would rely on sales of expensive systems. The proposal would slap existing solar-paneled homeowners with a fee of up to $100 per month for the privilege of selling excess power back to APS. If you don’t already have solar panels, you can never share in net-metering as we know it.”

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/19/solar-energy-arizona-net-metering

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