Tag Archives: education
Surf Dubai: First surf school out in the cold
Surf Dubai: First surf school out in the cold Amanda Fisher and Sajila Saseendran / 10 May 2013 After saving in excess of about 100 people, staging monthly beach clean-ups and teaching thousands to surf, Daniel Van Dooren and Scott Chambers’ livelihood is hanging in the balance. And supporters say drownings could occur if the duo behind Surf Dubai are not allowed to operate. Surf Dubai, which employs four people, have been shut down by the Dubai Municipality since the beginning of April, co-owner Van Dooren said. “They’ve said no private companies can operate on public beaches … but they haven’t actually explained (why).” The business, which had been operating for the past eight years from Umm Suqeim’s Sunset Beach, had “kind of exploded” over the past few years, with a tightknit community who were devastated at the decision, Van Dooren said. The company, which taught both surfing and paddle-boarding, was earning less than half their income at the moment, as a result of the ban — a situation which could not last indefinitely, he said. “Most companies would have packed up and left Dubai, but seeing as this is where we were born and bred, we want to keep trying.” Surf Dubai had tried to continue a school programme they were running, but the municipality warned they would be slapped with a Dh20,000 fine if they persisted, he said. Van Dooren, 27, said Surf Dubai was the first surf school in Dubai and all of their instructors were fully trained, while the company had a rental and teaching licence to operate, which cost in excess of Dh30,000 each year. “We try and go the right way and get all these licences and it seems like there’s no point in having them.” Van Dooren said surfers were the “unofficial lifeguards” on Sunset Beach. About 50 members of the surf community patrolled the beach when rip currents were about, and regularly plucked people from the water — saving at least 100 victims over the past few years. While the ban ostensibly related to all private companies, Van Dooren said Surf Dubai was probably a victim of its success as he was aware smaller companies were still operating. While the company understood the need to regulate the beaches, it was frustrating there was no clear municipality law on licences, he said. “The only place we can surf is the public beach because of offshore construction blocking the rest of the coastline, so we want clear set rules over what licences we (need).” The owners had had a “fair bit of communication” with the municipality, but there was not yet any solutions about how to keep operational. Despite this, Van Dooren was hopeful the municipality would see the benefit of the school. “We’re promoting healthy lifestyles, we’re doing educational programmes in schools, the list goes on.” Municipality comment Any commercial business operating out of Dubai’s beaches and coastal areas will be stopped if it doesn’t get prior approval from the Dubai Municipality. A senior official from the Environment Department of the municipality confirmed to Khaleej Times that all commercial activities on the beach and coastal areas in Dubai have to seek an NOC (No Objection Certificate) and approval from the Municipality. When asked about Surf Dubai being asked to shut down, the official refrained from singling out any particular business. “I am talking about the law in general. If anybody wants to operate or exercise any commercial activities, let him approach us. If our officials have taken any action, it would not be anything against the law,” said the official who did not want to be named. “The beach is there for the leisure and comfort of all the people. (It’s) not for just a few groups of people to occupy it for commercial activities. Whether it is dancing on the beach, or a festival or yoga sessions, either for a short time or for a longer period, you need to get an NOC and approval for it. This is as per the law.” Van Dooren said the company had never been asked to obtain a No Objection Certificate, but having the teaching and rental licences from the municipality was tantamount to that. He said they had never been asked for money by the municipality, either. The official said the concern was mainly in Jumeirah. Anyone gaining monetary benefit operating from a public beach must approach the Coastal Management and Waterways Section of the Environment Department for approval, he said. Beach parks needed similar approval. — sajila@khaleejtimes.com The school was speaking with local hotels, which could grant permission to operate on stretches of private beaches, however that would force costs up, with hotels seeking a 70-30 per cent split. “We’d have to put that 30 per cent on top of the price now.” It would also mean customers would be largely tourists, as opposed to the local market, he said. Interior and Craft Designer Nikki Vass, 34, from Australia, said ‘a big chunk’ of her life was missing since the ban forced an end to her four mornings a week paddle boarding. “It’s drastically altered my lifestyle and it’s taken away some of the joy of living.” The surf instructors, who had started teaching her to paddle board about 18 months ago and had even got her up on a surf board, were like an extended family, she said. “For me to start surfing … I was on Sunset Beach and I literally cried … I never thought I would stand up on a board, especially at 34.” Vass had become such an ambassador for paddle boarding, which she said was an unrivalled workout, that when she and a friend discovered Leonard DiCaprio’s mother at the beach, they got her up on a paddle board. “She said she’d always wanted to but had never had the courage … she was thrilled.” Vass said she understood the municipality had a job to do, but she was hopeful they would see reason. Another resident Lori Tusa, a stay-at-home mum originally from America, said Surf Dubai had had a big impact on the life of her family, after her son began surfing almost four years ago, with her husband following soon after and then her youngest son. “Then mum saw the children taking the lessons and thought ‘That looks fun, I should do it as well’.” Tusa said she had taken up paddle boarding, and was now racing in competitions. “(Surf Dubai are) doing such a good thing for Dubai and the sport of surfing … and (it’s not for just) teenage kids, there’s executives and owners of big companies out there riding waves.” But it was the school’s commitment to keeping people safe in Dubai waters which was one of its greatest contributions. amanda@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Fed Council Warned of Credit Risk, Asset Price Bubble
By Craig Torres & Joshua Zumbrun – May 8, 2013 A Federal Reserve (TREFTOTL) panel of bankers warned policy makers in February that record stimulus was pushing financial institutions to take on more credit risk and creating a “bubble” in the price of U.S. farmland. “The margin pressures that the low-rate environment has put on financial institutions, coupled with dramatically increased compliance and other infrastructure costs, have caused many to seek higher returns by accepting greater interest-rate or credit risk,” the bankers said on Feb. 8, following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Jan. 29-30. Enlarge image Data compiled by the regional Fed banks have documented a rapid run-up in farmland prices, particularly across the Midwest’s Corn Belt. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg The minutes of the meeting by the Federal Advisory Council trace how the 12 bankers’ views evolved from opposition to the Fed’s announcement of new bond buying in September to support for Fed efforts in February to boost an economic expansion beset by a “drag” from fiscal tightening. Bloomberg News obtained the minutes in a Freedom of Information Act request. The council includes Joseph Hooley, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Corp. (STT) in Boston ; James Gorman , chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley in New York ; Kelly King, chairman and CEO of BB&T Corp. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina ; and D. Bryan Jordan, chairman and CEO of First Horizon National Corp. (FHN) in Memphis , according to the Fed’s website. Policy makers are debating how long to press on with unprecedented easing, including plans to keep buying $85 billion in bonds each month. The central bank has held the main interest rate at zero since December 2008 and pumped up its total assets to $3.32 trillion to spur growth and combat 7.5 percent unemployment. Flagging Risks The panel of bankers in February supported continued Fed easing even while flagging its risks. “Believing the economy to be improving but still vulnerable, and recognizing the high quality of the Federal Reserve ’s information-gathering and analytical resources,” the panel “continues to support the FOMC’s current accommodative monetary policy ,” the council said in its quarterly meeting. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note climbed yesterday two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 1.78 percent in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The Fed’s advisory council in February saw “exceptional strength” in the balance sheets of both borrowers and financial institutions, leaving room for “considerable potential for credit expansion as headwinds subside,” according to the minutes. The declining interest-rate spreads in some consumer finance categories “suggest that monetary actions are being transmitted more directly to the economy,” the minutes said. ‘Mounting’ Debt Still, several bankers warned Fed officials in February that “uncertainty over health-care costs, tax policy , and the mounting U.S. debt” were among the reasons commercial and industrial loan growth remained “tepid” and credit lines were “chronically undrawn,” according to the minutes. The panel also said in February that farmland valuations posed an asset-price bubble caused by unusually low interest rates, echoing concerns expressed by Kansas City Fed President Esther George. “Agricultural land prices are veering further from what makes sense,” according to minutes of the council’s Feb. 8 gathering. “Members believe the run-up in agriculture land prices is a bubble resulting from persistently low interest rates.” The Fed pledged to hold the benchmark interest rate at zero until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent, as long as inflation expectations don’t exceed 2.5 percent. The U.S. central bank has also engaged in three rounds of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing. Rapid Run-Up Data compiled by the regional Fed banks have documented a rapid run-up in farmland prices, particularly across the Midwest’s Corn Belt. The Kansas City Fed said irrigated cropland in its district rose 30 percent during 2012, while the Chicago Fed reported a 16 percent increase. The panel of bankers is appointed by regional Fed banks and dates to the founding of the central bank in 1913. Bloomberg obtained minutes from the quarterly meetings from May 2011 until February. At a meeting in February 2012, the council said “growth in student-loan debt, to nearly $1 trillion, now exceeds credit-card outstandings and has parallels to the housing crisis.” Student lending shares features of the housing crisis including “significant growth of subsidized lending in pursuit of a social good,” in this case higher education instead of expanded home ownership, the council said. Fed Accommodation The advisory council opposed continued Fed accommodation on Sept. 14, a day after the conclusion of the FOMC’s two-day meeting Sept. 12-13. The Fed after that gathering announced a third round of bond buying with purchases of $40 billion per month of mortgage-backed securities. “Further accommodation is not warranted,” the bankers said, according to the minutes. The advisory council warned of distorted bond prices resulting from the Fed’s purchases, limited impact on the economy, and “uncertain effects” from an eventual unwinding of the balance sheet, including “risks to price and financial stability.” As early as Dec. 2, 2011, the bankers warned that financial institutions were relaxing underwriting standards while facing limited loan opportunities. “The combination of a sluggish economy and muted credit demand, very low interest rates, abundant bank capital and liquidity, reduced fee income and dramatically increased regulatory and compliance costs is causing some aggressive banks to lead a broader relaxation of risk/reward tolerances,” the council said. ‘Looser Underwriting’ “Aggressive pricing and looser underwriting, including extended terms and weaker transaction structures, are likely to persist and even get worse,” the bankers said in December 2011. “These accumulating risks, including interest rate risk mismatches, will ultimately result in higher loan losses.” President Woodrow Wilson , who signed the Federal Reserve Act into law in 1913, pushed for the creation of a politically-appointed oversight board in Washington to monitor the 12 reserve banks. He set up the advisory council to ensure the Fed Board in Washington was informed of banking and business conditions nationwide. Council members typically serve for three years. To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Torres in Washington at ctorres3@bloomberg.net . To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net Continue reading
Property Investment: Investing in Real Estate
John Edwards, CEO of Residex, discusses the ins and outs of investing in property in these turbulent times. Continue reading
