The good life and the bad
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Fazal M. Kamal
Two contrasting news items which can obviously be the subject of an intriguing study.
One tells us that the luxury market is aglow again. The reason: after the hefty bonuses are back in the financial sector, despite an outraged reaction from most people including President Obama, interest in high-priced real estate and such vehicles as Bentleys and Lamborghinis has displayed a definite increase. A similar rise has been noticed in chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces that are hired at $450 an hour.
As reported earlier, the banking industry is set to fork over a record-setting $145 billion in bonuses and similar compensation to their employees for 2009. The average payout is expected to be $500,000 per employee. Consequently the urge to splurge is overtaking every other sentiment. One owner of a real estate brokerage declared, "They like to live large and are a little understated these days, but at the end of the day, if you get access to living well, why wouldn't you?"
Another agent said that she has been contacted by finance executives who are willing to spend more than two and a half million dollars to buy what grabs their fancy. In an exclusive area of New York home sales spiked 59 per cent at the end of last year, according to a report, while twenty-three Manhattan apartments sold for more than $10 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
However, with the unemployment rate holding steady at around ten per cent and the economy having lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession started, some are warning of more difficult times to come. "In the short term," said a real estate broker who has added two new agents to his workforce recently, "it makes things seem more rosy than it really is." He nevertheless fears that a "dark cloud" maybe coming in the second half of the year if the interest rate moves northward.
The other story is of an increasing number of people seeking opportunities in China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as "New York City's finance sector comes to terms with a shrinking workforce." Wall Street has seen 50,000 jobs going away while the United States financial sector has cut 500,000 jobs.
Consequently some bank executives are learning Chinese with one of them saying, "Anything over there is more vibrant than the U.S. market right now. There's more activity (there)." On the other hand institutions like the Columbia Business School has witnessed an increase in Chinese companies looking to hire their new MBA graduates.
One executive who opted to move to Hong Kong stated, "I'm now responsible for 12 regions across Asia and Australia. Six months before, I was just another junior staffer in the New York office." Among other points of attraction he noted, "In NYC I had zero custom-made clothing. Six months into Hong Kong I wore only custom-made suits and shirts."
Other aspects of the good life in Asia as enumerated by those who have made the move included the option of going "island hopping" in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia; and in addition most companies provide substantial housing allowances, pay for Blackberry service and flights back to the United States. As Metro New York noted, "Ah, the life of a finance worker in Asia. It's not just the jobs."
Clearly, on Wall Street the story seems to be that those who stayed or were retained are getting mind-blowing compensation packages, but those who have thought it better to make radical moves out of the U.S. and into Asian markets are getting much more than bonuses. The catastrophic downturn in the U.S., after all, has not been sheer dreadfulness for everyone. Life goes on---and in better fashion than before for some.
Obama's woes continue
Like many politicians in office Brack Obama finds himself, after being in office for only a year, in an unenviable position. Particularly after the Senate election defeat in Massachusetts he's been assailed from all sides including those who had supported him most assiduously in his election to the highest office in the land. Certainly, the upcoming midterm elections in November are on every politician's mind, which in turn makes them see all things in their own light---and become edgy.
But for the President, now with many of his goals in jeopardy, especially his healthcare reform, he has had to move on but is finding the Republicans and the allied extreme right more intransigent than ever before while many in his own party are also voicing skepticism about some of his proposals. Nothing that he now tries to do escapes criticism almost from all sides. And there's no respite as he goes from place to place speaking to people and trying to explain his case to them.
A recent opinion poll gives him a mixed review with 41 per cent saying that he tried to do too much, 35 per cent concluding that he did about the right amount and 19 per cent saying that he didn't do enough. Of those who think he did too much, 57 per cent singled out healthcare as the main area in which he over-reached. Of those who said he did too little, 42 per cent cited the economy and jobs as the areas where he most under-performed.
Still, according to the McClatchy-Ipsos poll, Obama's approval rating dipped slightly, to 50 per cent from 52 per cent 18 days earlier, while significantly Congress' approval rating plummeted to 21 per cent, down from 29 per cent. In addition, the proportion of Americans who think that the country is headed down the wrong track went to 57 per cent from 55 per cent. Broken down by party, 67 per cent of Republicans, 45 per cent of Democrats and 41 per cent of independent voters said that the President had tried to do too much on healthcare. More people oppose the healthcare plans that are before Congress---51 per cent---than favor them---37 per cent.
Since the time Barack Obama took office there's been a debate over whether he's trying to do too much too soon. But the President makes no apologies for his ambitious agenda. He rebutted that in his State of the Union address by declaring, "I've been told that our political system is too gridlocked, and that we should just put things on hold for a while… For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?"
A vicious blight
The inability or unwillingness---whichever maybe the case---of the ruling party to rein in their youth and student fronts cannot by any measure be good for it and most definitely not good for the nation. Members of these fronts have been engaged in various mischiefs all across the country over the last one year or more.
From what is popularly known as "tender manipulation" to creating unrest in educational institutions to being accused of being involved in rapes to making outrageous demands like asking for "political quotas" in admissions, they have done it all and are still continuing to rampage without much serious efforts being made to restrict their actions. This certainly is most disconcerting as well as exceedingly tragic.
Any sensible citizen of Bangladesh would without a doubt expect that the mentors of the deviant youths would see their activities as a disservice to the party and the government and consequently initiate appropriate moves to rectify this aberration. But alas, that's not been happening till now. It's therefore not without reason to hope that sooner instead of later the leaders would realise the magnitude of the situation and act conscientiously.
The writer can be reached at
e-mail: fmk222@gmail.com
Two contrasting news items which can obviously be the subject of an intriguing study.
One tells us that the luxury market is aglow again. The reason: after the hefty bonuses are back in the financial sector, despite an outraged reaction from most people including President Obama, interest in high-priced real estate and such vehicles as Bentleys and Lamborghinis has displayed a definite increase. A similar rise has been noticed in chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces that are hired at $450 an hour.
As reported earlier, the banking industry is set to fork over a record-setting $145 billion in bonuses and similar compensation to their employees for 2009. The average payout is expected to be $500,000 per employee. Consequently the urge to splurge is overtaking every other sentiment. One owner of a real estate brokerage declared, "They like to live large and are a little understated these days, but at the end of the day, if you get access to living well, why wouldn't you?"
Another agent said that she has been contacted by finance executives who are willing to spend more than two and a half million dollars to buy what grabs their fancy. In an exclusive area of New York home sales spiked 59 per cent at the end of last year, according to a report, while twenty-three Manhattan apartments sold for more than $10 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
However, with the unemployment rate holding steady at around ten per cent and the economy having lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession started, some are warning of more difficult times to come. "In the short term," said a real estate broker who has added two new agents to his workforce recently, "it makes things seem more rosy than it really is." He nevertheless fears that a "dark cloud" maybe coming in the second half of the year if the interest rate moves northward.
The other story is of an increasing number of people seeking opportunities in China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as "New York City's finance sector comes to terms with a shrinking workforce." Wall Street has seen 50,000 jobs going away while the United States financial sector has cut 500,000 jobs.
Consequently some bank executives are learning Chinese with one of them saying, "Anything over there is more vibrant than the U.S. market right now. There's more activity (there)." On the other hand institutions like the Columbia Business School has witnessed an increase in Chinese companies looking to hire their new MBA graduates.
One executive who opted to move to Hong Kong stated, "I'm now responsible for 12 regions across Asia and Australia. Six months before, I was just another junior staffer in the New York office." Among other points of attraction he noted, "In NYC I had zero custom-made clothing. Six months into Hong Kong I wore only custom-made suits and shirts."
Other aspects of the good life in Asia as enumerated by those who have made the move included the option of going "island hopping" in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia; and in addition most companies provide substantial housing allowances, pay for Blackberry service and flights back to the United States. As Metro New York noted, "Ah, the life of a finance worker in Asia. It's not just the jobs."
Clearly, on Wall Street the story seems to be that those who stayed or were retained are getting mind-blowing compensation packages, but those who have thought it better to make radical moves out of the U.S. and into Asian markets are getting much more than bonuses. The catastrophic downturn in the U.S., after all, has not been sheer dreadfulness for everyone. Life goes on---and in better fashion than before for some.
Obama's woes continue
Like many politicians in office Brack Obama finds himself, after being in office for only a year, in an unenviable position. Particularly after the Senate election defeat in Massachusetts he's been assailed from all sides including those who had supported him most assiduously in his election to the highest office in the land. Certainly, the upcoming midterm elections in November are on every politician's mind, which in turn makes them see all things in their own light---and become edgy.
But for the President, now with many of his goals in jeopardy, especially his healthcare reform, he has had to move on but is finding the Republicans and the allied extreme right more intransigent than ever before while many in his own party are also voicing skepticism about some of his proposals. Nothing that he now tries to do escapes criticism almost from all sides. And there's no respite as he goes from place to place speaking to people and trying to explain his case to them.
A recent opinion poll gives him a mixed review with 41 per cent saying that he tried to do too much, 35 per cent concluding that he did about the right amount and 19 per cent saying that he didn't do enough. Of those who think he did too much, 57 per cent singled out healthcare as the main area in which he over-reached. Of those who said he did too little, 42 per cent cited the economy and jobs as the areas where he most under-performed.
Still, according to the McClatchy-Ipsos poll, Obama's approval rating dipped slightly, to 50 per cent from 52 per cent 18 days earlier, while significantly Congress' approval rating plummeted to 21 per cent, down from 29 per cent. In addition, the proportion of Americans who think that the country is headed down the wrong track went to 57 per cent from 55 per cent. Broken down by party, 67 per cent of Republicans, 45 per cent of Democrats and 41 per cent of independent voters said that the President had tried to do too much on healthcare. More people oppose the healthcare plans that are before Congress---51 per cent---than favor them---37 per cent.
Since the time Barack Obama took office there's been a debate over whether he's trying to do too much too soon. But the President makes no apologies for his ambitious agenda. He rebutted that in his State of the Union address by declaring, "I've been told that our political system is too gridlocked, and that we should just put things on hold for a while… For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?"
A vicious blight
The inability or unwillingness---whichever maybe the case---of the ruling party to rein in their youth and student fronts cannot by any measure be good for it and most definitely not good for the nation. Members of these fronts have been engaged in various mischiefs all across the country over the last one year or more.
From what is popularly known as "tender manipulation" to creating unrest in educational institutions to being accused of being involved in rapes to making outrageous demands like asking for "political quotas" in admissions, they have done it all and are still continuing to rampage without much serious efforts being made to restrict their actions. This certainly is most disconcerting as well as exceedingly tragic.
Any sensible citizen of Bangladesh would without a doubt expect that the mentors of the deviant youths would see their activities as a disservice to the party and the government and consequently initiate appropriate moves to rectify this aberration. But alas, that's not been happening till now. It's therefore not without reason to hope that sooner instead of later the leaders would realise the magnitude of the situation and act conscientiously.
The writer can be reached at
e-mail: fmk222@gmail.com