US commercial property seen falling by 20%
But office properties should fare relatively well over the near term, say JPMorgan analysts The US commercial real estate market could decline by as much as 20 per cent over the next five to eight years as tighter credit squeezes business property but with less ferocity than it choked the housing market. ‘We believe commercial … Read more
Autodesk rides Asian boom
For FY08, revenue from Asia grew 18% to US$493m, 23% of the firm’s total sales BESIDES lifting the construction and manufacturing sectors, Asia’s sizzling property market and growing production prowess are giving Autodesk Inc a much-needed boost to counter slowing sales in the United States. San Rafael, California-based Autodesk is the world’s largest maker of … Read more
Punj Lloyd Singapore unit sees orders triple
Sembawang Engineers & Constructors, a unit of India’s Punj Lloyd, said yesterday its orderbook has tripled from a year ago on a construction boom in Singapore. The strong demand helped Singapore’s largest construction firm by sales raise its orderbook to $2.1 billion and boosted gross profit margins to 7-8 per cent from 1-1.5 per cent … Read more
Greenspan says credit recovery hinges on US housing
A recovery in global credit markets will depend on stabilisation in US home prices and a massive reduction in housing inventory, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Deutsche Bank AG clients on Wednesday, according to sources. Mr Greenspan, the US Fed chairman from 1987 until 2006, also blamed the credit crisis on a ‘general … Read more
US housing woes: It’s the affordability, stupid!
GLOOM. Doom. Calamity. Home prices are tumbling. We’re bombarded by sombre reports. But wait. This is actually good news, because lower home prices are the only real solution to the housing collapse. The sooner prices fall, the better. The longer the adjustment takes, the longer the housing slump (weak sales, low construction, high numbers of … Read more
The slow unwinding of the US housing crisis
IT is becoming increasingly evident that the US housing crisis – the root cause of the US economic slowdown and the turmoil in the financial markets – is getting worse by the day. Any hopes for an economic recovery and a restoration of market stability will turn on how this crisis unfolds, and how it … Read more
Jim Rogers is downbeat on investment banks
Also says he’s not buying S’pore property for now for several reasons Commodities bull Jim Rogers says he is taking long positions on commodities and going short on investment banks, which are likely to lose more money. ‘It grieves me to see what Singapore is doing,’ he said, referring to the investments that the Government … Read more
Singapore ranked top Reit market in Asia-Pacific
Survey cites support from regulators to the industry as advantageous. SINGAPORE has been rated as the best location in Asia-Pacific for overall realestate investment trust (Reit) potential – for a second year. According to the second annual Asia-Pacific Reit Survey – undertaken for financial services provider Trust Company and law firm Allens Arthur Robinson – … Read more
S-Reit climate fertile for M&A activities: Goldman Sachs
MacarthurCook, Cambridge and Allco seen as potential takeover targets CAMBRIDGE Industrial Trust, MacarthurCook Industrial Reit and Allco Commercial Reit are among potential takeover targets among Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-Reits), says Goldman Sachs in a report this week. ‘We believe that Reits with relatively smaller market caps, fragmented shareholdings or larger shareholders which may … Read more
More excitement as Tans firm up stakes in Wearnes, UEL?
WITH Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation’s founding Lee family capitulating to the family of the late Tan Chin Tuan (the bank’s longest-serving chief executive) in the fight for control of Straits Trading Company (STC), it would have appeared that things would take a quiet turn now. By Tuesday, the Tans had gained control of nearly 75 per … Read more
