House prices in Britain are around 30pc too high, according to a study published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development.
The figures, included in a wider report on economic prospects, offer a signal as to where buyers might be able to find a property bargain – and the nations where they may be overpaying.
Commonwealth countries, in particular, were found to have the most wildly overvalued property markets among the OECD countries. They include New Zealand, Australia and Canada; prices continued to power ahead in all three last year.
Closer to home, prices in France and Norway remain too high, the report indicated. In contrast, property markets in Ireland, Portugal and Germany are undervalued.
Japan, where prices have been in an on-off 25-year decline, remains the cheapest market within the OECD. Despite an unprecedented stimulus programme deployed last year by Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, prices fell in real terms by nearly 2pc in 2013. The wonders that so-called “Abenomics” worked in creating inflation and sending Tokyo shares soaring failed to work on bricks and mortar.(source telegraph.uk)
2 comments:
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller (centre) and CNPC Chairman Zhou Jiping shake hands as Russian President Putin looks on during the signing ceremony in Shanghai Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China. The deal between Russia's Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has been 10 years in the making. Russia has been keen to find an alternative energy market for its gas as it faces the possibility of European sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.
No official price has been given but it is estimated to be worth over $400bn.
President Putin said in a statement to the Russian news channel Rossiya: "The price is satisfactory for both sides.
"It is tied, like it is envisaged in all our international contracts with Western partners, specifically our partners in Western Europe, to the market price on oil and oil products. It is an absolutely calibrated, general formula for pricing."
Gazprom shares rose 2% on the news.
Italy is effectively bankrupt and this is why:
1) Italy needs to roll-over 200BN to 250BN in debt next year (fornreuters)
2) its GDP is about 1.5Trillion Euros (from wikipedia)
3) so from 1 and 2 one gets that italy needs to refinance or repay debts equal to 13.5 to 165 of GDP
4) if they can't borrow it, and at almost 8% they really can't, then to not defalt they would have to somehow reduce spendign by at least 13% of GDP - that is a lot. Even more if we see as a percentage of govnmt spending. I have not been able to determne how bug italy's govnmt is as % of GDP, but say it was 50% that means they need to cut govnmnt spending by at least 25% (and much more if the gov is smaller)
5)I do not believe that a democratic government can do that (syria or Iran may do it since their armies do not mond kiling their own citizens)
6) the EU economy is 12 trillion euros or so, ther is no wa they can substitute the market to fund italy (as italy owes 2.2 trillion, that is 20% of EU economy
7) So if italy can't fund itself at sustainable rates, the EU can't substitute the market, their government can't afford to pay maturing debt, then they will have to default
I admit there is another option, if they can cut enouigh from govnment to go to a surplus and people believe that will be permanent thenmaybe tey can fund themselves since the surpklue canbe used to paying the debt, however that will require agreement between mopst parties, and all sector of society, and given teir history is not likely
Post a Comment