Businesses 'abandon' occupation in Manhattan
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Fazle Rashid
Corporate America prides itself on the fact being a part and parcel of Manhattan. Vacant places for offices equivalent to 920 football fields are now available for rent in the fashionable district of New York city Depressed business has led to many entrepreneurs to abandon their occupation in Manhattan.
More than 180 major buildings totalling $12.5 billion in value are in deep distress, meaning in many cases they face foreclosure, or bankruptcy or have the problems of making mortgage payments. Rents for commercial office space fell fastest over the past two years than in any such period in the last half century, said New York Times (NYT) in a front page news the other day. Things have not been so dire since at least the early 90s, NYT quoted an expert of commercial real estate market as saying.
The value of New York metropolitan area office buildings will decline by 58 per cent from its peak in 2007. The economic woes in the world's largest and most robust economy continue to deteriorate. The average flight delays at the JFK (Kennedy airport) in New York lasts more than an hour. Things will become more dour from March when its biggest of four runways will close for repairs and expansion. This particular runway handles a third of the airport's total air traffic.
James Chanos, who forewarned the closure of Enron and other highflying companies, has added consternation predicting similar collapse of the Chinese economy. China's hyper-stimulated economy is headed for a crash, Chanos claims saying that Beijing is cooking its books, faking its eye-popping growth rate of over 8.0 per cent. Bubbles are best identified by its credit excesses, not valuation excesses. And there are no bigger credit excesses than in China, James Chanos warned.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of China the other day raised the interest rate in what economists interpreted as the beginning of tightening monetary policy to forestall inflation. The Chinese economy resumed galloping growth from the summer. The rising interest rate will discourage speculative investments and may prompt overseas investors seeking higher returns. Asia's export to China has soared suggesting that Chinese demand is emerging as a stronger than expected engine of economic recovery in the region, an analyst said. South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia all reported robust export growth to China.
Corporate America prides itself on the fact being a part and parcel of Manhattan. Vacant places for offices equivalent to 920 football fields are now available for rent in the fashionable district of New York city Depressed business has led to many entrepreneurs to abandon their occupation in Manhattan.
More than 180 major buildings totalling $12.5 billion in value are in deep distress, meaning in many cases they face foreclosure, or bankruptcy or have the problems of making mortgage payments. Rents for commercial office space fell fastest over the past two years than in any such period in the last half century, said New York Times (NYT) in a front page news the other day. Things have not been so dire since at least the early 90s, NYT quoted an expert of commercial real estate market as saying.
The value of New York metropolitan area office buildings will decline by 58 per cent from its peak in 2007. The economic woes in the world's largest and most robust economy continue to deteriorate. The average flight delays at the JFK (Kennedy airport) in New York lasts more than an hour. Things will become more dour from March when its biggest of four runways will close for repairs and expansion. This particular runway handles a third of the airport's total air traffic.
James Chanos, who forewarned the closure of Enron and other highflying companies, has added consternation predicting similar collapse of the Chinese economy. China's hyper-stimulated economy is headed for a crash, Chanos claims saying that Beijing is cooking its books, faking its eye-popping growth rate of over 8.0 per cent. Bubbles are best identified by its credit excesses, not valuation excesses. And there are no bigger credit excesses than in China, James Chanos warned.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of China the other day raised the interest rate in what economists interpreted as the beginning of tightening monetary policy to forestall inflation. The Chinese economy resumed galloping growth from the summer. The rising interest rate will discourage speculative investments and may prompt overseas investors seeking higher returns. Asia's export to China has soared suggesting that Chinese demand is emerging as a stronger than expected engine of economic recovery in the region, an analyst said. South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia all reported robust export growth to China.