What I like about this chart, is that it shows the National GDP of the country the year that construction was completed, and the previous 5 years before the project was completed. It shows how usually “unthinkable” development projects are made during periods of economic expansion and how these accomplishments often peak at the same time as the relative economy peaks.
I received the following Member e-mail from the CFA Institute. It discusses the state of the current financial reform regulations being pushed through Congress and stresses the areas that need further attention.
This is a great article from the Economist. It really highlights why the recent recovery is facing significant dangers ahead. The shift from government funded recovery to privately managed recovery is a process that will be extremely difficult to manage.
I think this is a very timely article regarding gold prices and investment returns over the last several decades:
It will be interesting to see if other banks follow suit. The pay czar’s restrictions on compensation, seems to be the biggest motivator for BofA to find ways to exit its TARP obligations, seeing as it has been unsuccessful at find a new CEO to lead the bank, under the current restrictions.
The current Dubai crisis regarding Dubai World’s inability to pay its debt obligation in a timely manner:
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates dropped to an average of 4.78% this week. 15-year mortgage rates averaged 4.29%. If you have the equity in your house and can refinance, the window of opportunity is still open.