Posted on January 14th, 2014 Google is coming to your home ……Google has just acquired NEST, the maker of those super-sleek thermostats and smoke detectors, for $3,2billion. This isn’t Google’s first attempt at helping homeowners understand their energy use. A few years ago Google had an energy monitoring tool called “PowerMeter” designed to help consumers visualize their… [Read More]
BRILLIANT DE BLASIO CHOICE FOR NEW YORK POLICE COMMISIONER
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 5th, 2013 Mayor Elect Bill de Blasio has appointed Bill Bratton as police commissioner for New York…..this is a brilliant choice and a very encouraging insight into our next mayor’s actions regardng crime. Bill Bratton is largely credited for the jaw-dropping turnaround in crime under the Giuliani administration. A… [Read More]
THE AMENITY NEXT DOOR
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 3rd, 2013 Many buildings being developed in the luxury Manhattan real estate market these days would not be complete without a host of very impressive amenities, including swimming pools, gyms, garages, playrooms, etc, etc. This makes it difficult sometimes for smaller buildings to compete. While many of these amenities… [Read More]
LESSONS FROM THE MIAMI MARKET
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 2nd, 2013 This week heralds the beginning of ART BASEL in Miami, that eponymous art fair that revolutionized the perception of Miami from an average American coastal resort City to a world-class cultural center. Of course along with this culture comes a large swath of horrendous wannabe’s entirely focused… [Read More]
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: WHERE IS A THIRD PARTY WHEN WE NEED ONE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 1st, 2013 Its official: our beloved government has failed again to reach a compromise in their negotiations mostly focused on Obamacare and a shutdown has resulted. Could this be avoided if we had a viable third party in government? Here are some facts to ponder: 1) The US deficit… [Read More]
IS JANET YELLEN THE FED CHAIRMAN CANDIDATE OF CONTINUITY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 15th, 2013 Is the important question of who the next Fed chief will be on the ‘unknowns’ checklist item about to be answered? It appears so: Stock index futures soared this morning as investors bet that Larry Summers withdrawal as a candidate for the chairman of the Federal Reserve could mean… [Read More]
IS MONACO REAL ESTATE CHEAP FOR THE SUPER-RICH?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 5th, 2013 I recently visited Monte Carlo, the wealthiest country/principality in the world with ZERO unemployment and per capita income of around $183,150.00, to tour TOUR ODEON the brand new ultra-luxurious, amenity and services laden 49-storey residential tower being built at the border of Monaco and France. My initial impression… [Read More]
SOME THOUGHTS ON OBAMA'S NEW MORTGAGE PLAN
Posted on August 9th, 2013 Obama is finally addressing the need to reform the mortgage world, a lead cause of our current financial woes. In my opinion there should be a mortgage lending requirement that all borrowers must have full health insurance to protect the mortgage lender. Being lent money is not a right, it’s… [Read More]
URBANIZATION: BIG CITIES CONTINUE TO GROW BUT HOW LIVABLE ARE THEY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 17th, 2013 The UN projected that half of the world’s population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008. By 2050 it is predicted that 64.1% and 85.9% of the developing and developed world respectively will be urbanized. What does that say about cities like New York, Los Angeles,… [Read More]
JOBS AND THOSE PESKY TWO TRILLION DOLLAR OFFSHORE CORPORATE PROFITS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 7th, 2012 Peggy Noonan penned a telling article about the US economy in the Wall Street Journal: she says the focus should be on jobs, because the country needs jobs more than it needs class warfare and threats of doom and gloom from President Obama…..even though 236,000 jobs were… [Read More]