Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 21st, 2012 This week reminded us all about contracts when the architect of THE CONTRACT WITH AMERICA, Newt Gingrich, was exposed for allegedly attempting to re-negotiate his marriage contract with one of his ex-wives. Has the meaning of a contract changed over the years? A contract is defined as an agreement between two… [Read More]
PREVIOUSLY OWNED HOME SALES RISE TO 11-MONTH HIGH IN DECEMBER
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 20th, 2012 To-day’s headlines (besides Newt’s disgust at being asked about his moral standards when he and his party have never considered that to be an issue in selecting a president) is the news that sales of previously owned US homes rose to an 11-month high in December 2011… [Read More]
THE FIFTEEN PERCENTERS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 19th, 2011 So Mitt Romney has revealed (shockingly!) that he pays about 15% in federal income taxes: Is this not common amongst a small country club of the very wealthy? Surely this item reveals to all that in the ONE PERCENT there are very different classes too. And will… [Read More]
NEW YORK HOLIDAY RETAIL FOOT TRAFFIC GROWS BY 4.7% IN 2011
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 16th, 2012 Holiday retail foot traffic in New York grew at an impressive rate of 4,7% in 2011 compared to the rest of the USA that saw foot traffic drop off by 3,1%. This is mostly attributed to strong tourist activity……regardless, this is very good news indeed and impacts… [Read More]
UNDERSTANDING THE ONE PERCENT – YES, AVERAGES ARE MISLEADING HERE TOO.
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 15th, 2012 To-day’s New York Times examines ‘the one percent’ a bit closer than it has in the past. Just like the Times is guilty of espousing averages when it comes to real estate statistics (All media is guilty of that!) it has been guilty in the past of… [Read More]
ARE THINGS GETTING TOO BIG? IS SATURDAY THE 14th THE NEW FRIDAY THE 13th?
the cruise-ship Costa Concordia going down almost Titanic-style in Italy
MORE GOOD NEWS FOR REAL ESTATE FROM THE MAN WHO BET AGAINST IT
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 13th, 2012 Friday the 13th delivered bad news for Europe as France, Austria, Portugal and 4 other countries were down-graded by Standards + Poor the same agency that downgraded the USA late last year. On the good news front, hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson, who made $15 billion in 2007… [Read More]
THE NEW YORK "BRIC BUYER": IS BRIC THE NEW EURO?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 12th, 2012 To-day revealed that a single Chinese buyer has gone to contract on FOUR apartments at One 57, the Extell developed tower rising on 57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues with average pricing starting in the $ 5,000/sf range. Another Russian buyer was also identified. These BRIC… [Read More]
MORE GOOD NEWS FOR REAL ESTATE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 11th, 2012 In a recent Wall Street Journal article a survey of those with investable assets of $ 30m+ revealed that the rich prefer commodities, real-estate, private companies in 2012 to place their investable dollars. 48% plan to increase their allocation to commodities in 2012, and 45% of respondents are looking to… [Read More]
JUNIOR BANKER PAY FREEZE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 10th, 2012 Bloomberg reported to-day that large banks are considering freezing the pay of junior bankers in light of diminished profitability of their institutions. What this really equates to is that the more senior bankers will do whatever it takes to maintain the quality of their incomes: Banks face… [Read More]