EUOBSERVER / ANTWERP - Diamond trading, certification and polishing businesses in the Belgian city of Antwerp have reduced activities and temporarily laid off staff due to the economic crisis, as the industry is dependant on the cash-strapped banks to finance it. A handful of old men with typical black hats and long grey beards sit scattered across an immense hall, some playing chess, others simply chatting with each other. The impression is of a social centre or a retirement home. Only the bigger and more valuable diamonds are cut in Antwerp, the rest are processed in India and China In fact, it is the trading floor of one of the world's most prestigious diamond bourses, established in 1904 by the local Jewish community. Once an exclusive club of the black-clad orthodox Jews, the bourse now also serves vegan food along with traditional kosher menus to accommodate the growing Indian community in the trading business.
EUOBSERVER / ANTWERP - Diamond trading, certification and polishing businesses in the Belgian city of Antwerp have reduced activities and temporarily laid off staff due to the economic crisis, as the industry is dependant on the cash-strapped banks to finance it.
A handful of old men with typical black hats and long grey beards sit scattered across an immense hall, some playing chess, others simply chatting with each other. The impression is of a social centre or a retirement home.
Only the bigger and more valuable diamonds are cut in Antwerp, the rest are processed in India and China
In fact, it is the trading floor of one of the world's most prestigious diamond bourses, established in 1904 by the local Jewish community.
Once an exclusive club of the black-clad orthodox Jews, the bourse now also serves vegan food along with traditional kosher menus to accommodate the growing Indian community in the trading business.
After last month's Digital Britain report Lord Carter and Viviane Reding explain why Europe's hopes for economic recovery lie in its digital industries and infrastructure. The communications sector today underpins everything we do. Every school, every hospital, every workplace and even every home depends in one way or another on digital technology to function. It is both the critical sector for our modern knowledge economies and an important sector for future growth in its own right.
The communications sector today underpins everything we do. Every school, every hospital, every workplace and even every home depends in one way or another on digital technology to function.
It is both the critical sector for our modern knowledge economies and an important sector for future growth in its own right.
For the first time in 13 years, the assessed value of all property in Los Angeles County has declined, according to a report released Thursday by the county assessor's office. County property rolls lost about $1 billion in value last fiscal year -- losses driven largely by downward reassessments of homes as the housing market has slumped. Property in the county is now valued at $1.1 trillion, a 0.09% decrease compared with the year before, according to the assessor's annual report. Setting aside tax-exempt property such as churches and nonprofit hospitals, the loss of value increases to half a percentage point. The drop marks a step back for the county, which had seen the value of property increase an average of 7% each year since 1996. Even so, officials said L.A. County has fared better than other Southern California counties. "Home values have declined and foreclosures are up," said L.A. County Assessor Rick Auerbach. "But not to the same extent as in neighboring counties. The real estate market is still a vital part of Los Angeles County's economy." Orange County announced earlier this week that its taxable property value dropped 1.2% last year, the first drop since 1994. Property value decreased 2.3% in Ventura County; 6% in San Bernardino County and 10.5% in Riverside County, according to assessors' reports.
Property in the county is now valued at $1.1 trillion, a 0.09% decrease compared with the year before, according to the assessor's annual report. Setting aside tax-exempt property such as churches and nonprofit hospitals, the loss of value increases to half a percentage point.
The drop marks a step back for the county, which had seen the value of property increase an average of 7% each year since 1996. Even so, officials said L.A. County has fared better than other Southern California counties.
"Home values have declined and foreclosures are up," said L.A. County Assessor Rick Auerbach. "But not to the same extent as in neighboring counties. The real estate market is still a vital part of Los Angeles County's economy."
Orange County announced earlier this week that its taxable property value dropped 1.2% last year, the first drop since 1994. Property value decreased 2.3% in Ventura County; 6% in San Bernardino County and 10.5% in Riverside County, according to assessors' reports.
You see? It's an outlier! A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
There, fixed. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
While nearly every other Wall Street firm had AIG's Financial Products group in Wilton, Connecticut on speed dial, Citigroup reportedly avoided doing business with them. Instead of off-loading risk onto the insurance giant by taking out credit default swap contracts, Citigroup prefered to keep one-hundred percent of the risk themselves, an AIG trader tells Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair. -Skip- So why was Citi hungrier for risk than other firms? Why wasn't it a buyer of credit default swaps from AIG? Our best guess is that Citi believed it had discovered a cheaper alternative to credit default swaps--the structured investment vehicles. You remember those right? The SIVs were off-balance sheet entities that owned long term debt and were funded with short-term debt. Citi managed at least seven of them holding a total of $100 billion worth of assets at their height. When these began to meltdown, the government attempted to organize a bailout ominously called the M-LEC (and nicknamed by bloggers as "The Entity") that faltered because other Wall Street banks saw it as a gift to Citi. It's very possible that instead of buying credit default swaps on its mortgage backed securities, Citi was just selling them to the SIVs it managed. Since these were off-balance sheet, Citi wouldn't have faced the capital requirement constraints that often prompted other banks to buy credit default swaps. Citi could lend and securitize, then sell off any extra inventory into its own SIVs, freeing up the capital it got from the SIV to make more loans. Lather, rinse, repeat. If we're right about this, the SIVs provided Citi with credit protection the same way AIG did for the rest of Wall Street. Except, of course, that when the government made AIG's counter-parties whole, Citi found it had come up short. When the SIVs collapsed, it wound up having to fund their bailout itself. The enormously expensive SIV bailout helped contribute to the pitiful financial condition that has made Citi more or less a ward of the federal government.
So why was Citi hungrier for risk than other firms? Why wasn't it a buyer of credit default swaps from AIG? Our best guess is that Citi believed it had discovered a cheaper alternative to credit default swaps--the structured investment vehicles. You remember those right? The SIVs were off-balance sheet entities that owned long term debt and were funded with short-term debt. Citi managed at least seven of them holding a total of $100 billion worth of assets at their height. When these began to meltdown, the government attempted to organize a bailout ominously called the M-LEC (and nicknamed by bloggers as "The Entity") that faltered because other Wall Street banks saw it as a gift to Citi.
It's very possible that instead of buying credit default swaps on its mortgage backed securities, Citi was just selling them to the SIVs it managed. Since these were off-balance sheet, Citi wouldn't have faced the capital requirement constraints that often prompted other banks to buy credit default swaps. Citi could lend and securitize, then sell off any extra inventory into its own SIVs, freeing up the capital it got from the SIV to make more loans. Lather, rinse, repeat.
If we're right about this, the SIVs provided Citi with credit protection the same way AIG did for the rest of Wall Street. Except, of course, that when the government made AIG's counter-parties whole, Citi found it had come up short. When the SIVs collapsed, it wound up having to fund their bailout itself. The enormously expensive SIV bailout helped contribute to the pitiful financial condition that has made Citi more or less a ward of the federal government.
The Michael Lewis link is to his famous Vanity Fair article, now available on-line. Enjoy. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
So, year-on-year inflation is down for the 4th consecutive month, but we can use the month-on-month rate to say there's no deflation. Right. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
