Banking Blues


Blimey, what a few days it’s been. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry of a financial expert has been jumping on the bandwagon using the word ‘crisis’ to describe the current banking chaos enveloping the United States and beyond. And they’re not wrong. The astonishing collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank (the fourth largest in the US) and the even more astonishing bail out of insurance giant AIG has left financial analysts and institutions rooted in the headlights of pure panic, horror, and disbelief.

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Cyprus is flying high


Skydiving is a cool (if somewhat mad) activity, and I’m told that the island of Cyprus is now a trendy place to do it. It basically entails jumping out of an aircraft at about 10,000 feet, enjoying the exhilaration of freefall, before opening your parachute for a (hopefully) soft landing.

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On the crest of a wave


And so there we were, messing around in a catamaran in the Mediterranean, taking in the view of the harbour and watching the sun glistening on the sea. There was a cool breeze wafting in across the waves and the sound of the water lapping against the hull...

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Marvellous Morocco


I have just returned from a weekend trip to Morocco. I went partly out of curiousity and partly out of pure shame – after all, here I am living on mainland Spain, almost literally a stone’s throw from another continent, and yet it was to be only my first trip. What was my excuse?

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Deposit Bonds aim to attract new buyers


A new product has been launched aiming to provide a substitute for cash down payments or deposits, when purchasing off-plan property abroad, particularly in Australia.

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Brazil is Primed and Ready to Go!


I’ve just come back from an interesting trip to Brazil.  As the writer for propertyshowrooms.com and IPIN’s latest promotions in this awe-inspiringly vast country, it was with great excitement that I could at last ‘put a face to Natal.’ So, donned as a typical package holidaymaker to Natal, I was intrigued to get a first-hand view on just what this growing tourism region of Brazil has in store.

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Frozen Turkey but Christmas has been postponed


A shocking statement by one of Turkey’s newspapers Hurriyet reads:

“Turkish property sales to foreigners are to be temporarily halted from Wednesday, declared a Ministry of Public Works and Settlement inline with a Constitutional Court ruling three months ago. A new regulation was delivered to the Board of Ministers for approval.”

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Dubai Home Loans at 5%!


In my last blog I wrote how mortgage rates in Dubai are expected to become more competitive.  Just a few days later, I read that The Commercial Bank of Dubai has firmly laid down the gauntlet to rivals offering home loans from just 5%.  This is a huge step, especially when you consider that the previous lowest market rate was around 7.5%.

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America Still Number 1!


I have found myself in a state of turmoil. A quagmire of confusion surrounds my every thought.  I find myself wondering if I have lost the power of rational reasoning or are these thoughts just a difference of opinion? What is causing this mental debate? Well, in general I tend to agree with all I hear from the hallowed halls of investment bankers, Morgan Stanley, but if I’m now to believe all I hear from this trusted institute, America has officially gone into recession!

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Brazil Grows From Strength to Strength


Once again, my views on the Brazilian economy have been backed up by some of the leading financial institutes in the world. I have, for a long time been a huge fan of this South American powerhouse as, in my opinion, it has probably the greatest potential for growth out of all the emerging markets, without the reliance on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) like many other of the emerging countries. I think the reason why so many people are so interested in Brazil is the fact that as a commodity exporter, the country in far less likely to be affected by a global slowdown.

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