| Why foreign funds are selling now
Crippled in their home country—the United States--foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue to push the panic button in emerging markets. The result: global fund managers are selling in one of the most profitable markets – India-- to reduce losses caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, which is now spreading to bond insurance companies in the US. Salomon Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS are among the foreign investors that have sold big time in India, sources said. “The sharp cut in the fed rate by 75 basis points may slow down the process, but the trend may revive sooner than later as we are not out of the woods," market observers said. In the immediate future, FIIs are expected to make net investments in India after as they did after the September Fed cut, but it is difficult to hold on, given the current global scenario, they add. FIIs have sold a net amount of Rs 20,225 crore worth of shares in January.
Citing principle, Braman relishes the fight
To the power brokers of South Florida, Norman Braman is a dangerous man. He's lavishly wealthy. He's connected. He's tireless. And he's willing to spend ''whatever it takes'' to back his core beliefs -- even if it means bloodying his friends. ''Principle is the most important factor in our lives,'' Braman said, the idea underscored by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln letters hanging nearby in his downtown Miami office. ``And if you sacrifice principle, you sacrifice everything.'' For the third time in as many decades, the luxury auto dealer, renowned art collector, former NFL team owner and philanthropist is waging a personal crusade against the Miami political establishment and the way it spends public money. Braman filed a lawsuit last week aimed at dismantling the $3 billion city-county public works bonanza that would be built upon the expansion of the Overtown and Omni Community Redevelopment Area districts and help usher in a new downtown tunnel, Major League Baseball stadium and other projects.
GM Loses $39B in 3Q, Shares Fall
General Motors Corp. posted a company record $39 billion loss Wednesday for the third quarter, as a charge involving unused tax credits brought an abrupt end to a string of three profitable quarters for the nation's largest automaker. The loss was one of the biggest quarterly corporate deficits ever. GM's shares closed more than 6 percent lower. Standard & Poor's downgraded GM shares from hold to sell, and said GM's near-term outlook has worsened significantly in part due to reduced U.S. sales. GM attributed most of the third-quarter loss to a $38.6 billion noncash charge related to accumulated deferred tax credits in the U.S., Canada and Germany. Accounting rules require companies to write down the value of such credits if they have scant prospects for a return to profitability in the near term.
Expats risking it all in Bulgaria (Brits Abroad By Ben Richardson ...
Property is a key factor in the march of expat Britons around Europe. But the reality is far removed from the dream of massive returns in former Eastern bloc nations.
James Flint is a property developer in Bulgaria who does not mince his words when talking about some of the would-be UK real estate investors jetting in.
"The way many of them act, there must be a locker at Heathrow where they check their brains in before boarding a flight," he says over a drink in a worn but prettily European quarter of Sofia.
"It's not rocket science, and it's an exciting time, but get it wrong and you will lose money," explains the Birmingham-born 35-year-old who lived in Spain before moving to the Balkans.
Signed up
Bulgaria is due to join the European Union on 1 January.
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