Fragile Global Economy and China

Risks Still Exist

First Published Date: August 18, 2015

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently stated that although the global economy is recovering, it is still fragile and there are risks on the horizon.

The US is a strong performer and although China has had some recent stock market turmoil, its economy is still resilient.

The Eurozone economy is expected to grow 1.5 percent in 2015 and 1.7 percent in 2017. These figures are a lot better than 0.8 percent growth in 2014.

A downward trend in commodity prices will hurt emerging economies. And then there is the possibility of a US rate increase – which will likely to have impact on economies around the globe.

After a 0.1 percent slump in 2014, Japan will likely grow 0.8 percent in 2015.

China’s economy is strong enough to withhold volatility and is expected to grow 6.8 percent in 2015. Although this rate is the slowest since 1990, it’s still not bad compared to other global economies. Even with the recent stock market selloff in China, stocks are 80 percent higher than one year ago.

Burj Khalifa — The Tallest Building in the World

World’s Tallest SkyScraper

First Published Date: Feb 6, 2010

In September 2004, the Burj Dubai project started, intending to build what was expected to become the world’s tallest building. In officially opening the building, this January of 2010 – some two years after the originally intended completion date in 2008, the opening ceremony is a testament to the spirit of co-operative human endeavour, overcoming all obstacles, including the global recession, to achieve an outcome which is recognized as being second to none – the achievement of having built the tallest building in  the world.

Despite good progress until late 2008, the fate of the Burj Dubai was left somewhat in the balance when the exposure of the emirate of Dubai to the financial havoc caused by global recession became apparent, with Burj Dubai looking likely to become one of many fire sale items that might need to be sold off to get the emirate out of the red. However, in the pomp and ceremony of the opening day was included a re-naming ceremony for the Burj Dubai – and it was formally opened as the Burj Khalifa – by way of tribute to the leader of Abu Dhabi – Sheik Khalifia bin Zayed Al Nahayan  who recently provided financial assistance to the neighboring Dubai to the tune of  CAD 11 ($10) billion securing the financial future of Dubai and ensuring completion of the Burg Khalifa, enabling it to take its place as the fully accredited tallest building in the world. It can be seen from 95 kilometers away. The Khalifa Tower is around half a mile high and overlooks the entire city, including existing tall buildings, it is expected to be a tourist magnet, not only for its unique height, but its location from which can be accessed all of the wonders of Dubai – the world’s largest arch bridge, the twirling tower, a refrigerated beach and some artificial islands shaped like a map of the world – for a vacation or a stopover, this new centre for tourism in Dubai promises an experience in the grandest style and well worth including in your travel plans, particularly for those who enjoy fine dining and those who love to shop.

There are over 160 levels in the Burj Khalifa – including the area given over to the Armani Hotel. The elevator has the longest travel distance in the world and there are double deck elevators which travel at 10 meters per second-the highest speeds to take you up to the highest level observation deck, where breath taking panoramic views can be enjoyed by night and day. Most of the lower levels of the Burj Khalifa are taken up by the luxurious Armani Hotel with 160 guest rooms, suites and nine hundred one or two room living accommodation units. There are 37 floors of office space all fitted out with the very latest in design and e-technology – the Burj Khalifa is a new hub for both business and social interaction and will bring some much needed new tourism and trade into the economy of Dubai.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Feb 6, 2010

Singapore Economy Expected to Slow In

Singapore Economy Growth

First Published Date: August 31, 2015

As Singapore reaches 50, it rises from a poor state to the 5th highest GDP per capita in the world. The average income for Singaporeans is now $56,000, which is far than the $600 figure from just 50 years ago.

Singapore is now one of the world’s top financial centres, holding 40 percent of the Asia-Pacific headquarters (319 out of 500 global fortune 500 companies).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Singapore’s economy will grow 2.9 percent in 2015, supported by external demand, macroeconomic policies, and lower energy costs. The Asian Development Bank predicts the growth to be 2.8 percent, Bank of America predicts the growth to be 2 percent, and the Singapore government predicts between 2 and 4 percent.

For 2016, Bank of America predicts GDP growth will be 2.2 percent. The new growth outlook for Singapore appears to be closer to 2 percent than the old growth rate of 4+ percent. Global weaker economic growth – especially weaker growth in Singapore’s neighboring countries such as China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia – will contribute to slowing down Singapore’s economy.

Singapore ranks very well in international competitive rankings. For example:

2014 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness – Ranks 2 out of 144 countries
2015 World Bank Ease of Doing Business – Ranks 1
Transparency International Corruption Perception Index – Ranks 7 out of 175 countries

Canada – The First Nation To Step Out Of The Recession

Good News – Growth Is Here!

First Published Date: July 26, 2009

It is slightly too early to say that the recession is in its final throes, and those of us who wish to avoid tempting fate would never dream of creating such a hostage to fortune, but the announcement by Finance minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday that stability and recovery have arrived must at least be a positive sign for those of us who had begun to wonder if the positive forecasts blowing around were part of some mirage. Of course, until we see two consecutive periods of stability and growth it will be hard to say for sure that the recession is receding. At the present time, however, it is good to hear the central bank issuing positive news on growth.

The projections by the Bank of Canada are that after three consecutive quarters of contraction in the national economy, this quarter will see growth of 1.3%. The figures may not be earth-shattering, but it is what they represent that means good news for the country. After a sustained period of contraction, any quarterly growth can be seen as a sign that things are warming up. With better growth, the opportunity for new jobs to be created will be higher, and Canadians left unemployed by the effects of the recession can begin to look ore hopefully for jobs.

This means a welcome vote of confidence for the reading which argued that due to Canada’s more reserved economic approach, the nation would be among the first to step out of the recession and do it in a stronger way. It does not, however, mean that the global recession is over or that a domino effect will see growth kick off in the United States, Europe or Japan. Indeed, some of the financial systems in the world’s other countries may cause more ripples in the global economy for a while yet – meaning that international trade may be stymied somewhat.

The central bank has been keen to point out that the recovery in Canada is, as yet, in its infancy and not something to be taken for granted. This may not yet be the time to take even a calculated financial risk. The financial recovery is at the moment still reliant on stimulus spending from the government – the equivalent of a sportsman whose knee injury has healed but still requires crutches.

The US, meanwhile, is believed by its bankers to be on its way to recovery, with the pace of decline slowing and growth predicted to begin by the end of the year. As Canada’s nearest neighbour this will undoubtedly affect the recovery here, so it is worth keeping an eye on the financial news from south of the border. Although the economy is still vulnerable it is looking in much better shape than a year ago. The global recovery may yet be painfully slow, but the good news is that it is at least set to happen, and that the contraction is beginning to die down. Given the doom and gloom in the immediate aftermath of the credit crunch in 2008, that we may be out of recession by the end of 2010 is positive news.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on July 26, 2009.

Can All Skyscrapers Be Tasteful Modern Architecture?

The Dos and Don’ts of Tasteful Architecture

First Published Date: Oct 03, 2009

In the present day, so much of building seems to be obsessed with size. There was a time when you could build the world’s tallest building – assuming you had a spare few hundred million dollars, anyway – and sit back and relax for a decade or so, knowing that if anyone asked about the world’s largest building, your name would come up. Now, the moment someone builds a dizzyingly tall skyscraper which surpasses all that has gone before, you can be sure that there is someone sitting, taking notes and saying “Right – I want it about ten meters taller than that one, OK?”

The upshot of this is, increasingly, a dislike among many for such grandiose statements of intent. People are uncomfortable with massive buildings – mostly not out of a sense of vertigo, but simply from personal taste. The Ryugong Hotel in Pyongyang, as well as being about a half of the way to completion, is enormous – and at the present time, grotesque. Although the Burj al-Arab is to many people’s tastes – including the tennis legend Roger Federer, who spends time there – to others it is a statement of pointless size, a standing monument to dimension rather than architecture. If we keep building them taller than the last one, sooner or later we will have revolving restaurants in lower earth orbit. The food will be terrible, but the waiting lists will still be epic.

This is not to say that large buildings cannot be aesthetically impressive, and anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, it has to be said that there could be a lot more concentration on other aspects of what makes a building impressive. Invention and subtlety can go a long way, so why do we always insist on a building which breaks the clouds and keeps on going?

There are other mistakes made by architects who simply hear the bit where the person commissioning the building says “.and I want people to talk about it!”. Building something that will be memorable can just be about complementing your surroundings in the most attractive way, but all too often architects – through their brief or through their overarching ambition – will look to assault the senses. If they can’t build it taller than the others, they will use more lights. If they cannot do that, then they’ll try and shape it like something no-one else has thought of. Ambition does not have to equal grandiosity.

Then again, there are probably many of us who will admit to having a keenness for a particular building which conforms to all of the lazy standards and that may well be the reason they keep getting built. However much we may wince at what we see most of the time, we look at – for example – Dubai’s Rose Rotana and think “I should be appalled, I should be feeling sick, but for some reason it works”. Well, some of us do, anyway. And that is the point – there are so many ways in which a building can offend, but if enough of us say “Hmm, I like that!”, then they will continue to be built.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Oct 3, 2009.