Tag Archives: green
Should We Be Looking At The Latin American Property Market?
by MARK BENSON on AUGUST 18, 2013 Should we be looking at the Latin American property market? For many years the Latin American economy was seen as something of a basket case with the likes of Brazil, Argentina and an array of other economies struggling to survive. Indeed just prior to the turn-of-the-century Brazil was on the verge of collapse and required an IMF emergency loan to survive although incidentally this loan was repaid early as the Brazilian economy bounced quicker than many had expected. There is therefore an interesting opportunity in Latin America where property is now in great demand especially amongst the growing middle classes. If you take a look at Latin America through clear glasses with no stigma and no predetermined views, the economy in the region is exceptionally strong compared to the likes of Europe, the Far East and North America. Indeed while economic growth was recently downgraded slightly by HSBC it is still far and away above that expected in other areas of the world. So, should we be looking towards Latin America for property investment? The growing middle classes It is interesting to see that countries such as Brazil and Mexico tend to grab the lion’s share of the economic headlines relating to Latin America. While there is no doubt these two particular economies are very influential it is worth noting that Costa Rica, for one, is attracting more than its fair share of interest with a recent $10 million partnership announced to develop a range of middle income residential units. Quote from PropertyForum.com : “Can a foreigner own property in Costa Rica? The answer to the question is Yes. Anybody can own property in Costa Rica. You have the same right as a Costa Rican!” The investment by Paladin Realty Partners is just one of many in the region which have caught the eye of international investors. Indeed this particular investor now has exposure to 3 similar joint ventures to build in excess of 1700 housing units. These particular developments are focused upon the growing middle class of Costa Rica and the fact they now have more disposable income than ever before due to ongoing economic growth. Long-term economic growth Historically inflation has eaten away at much of the long-term economic growth we have seen in Latin America although inflation is now under control, the vast majority of economies are far outperforming their North American, European Far East and counterparts and the financial situation is more stable than it ever has been. If we also take a look at the political arena we will see that while there have been instances of unrest, most notably in Brazil over the last few weeks, on the whole the political situation across Latin America has improved. While it will be foolish to suggest that the political arena could not suddenly become more volatile the fact is that with overseas investment at record levels, unemployment falling and more disposable income for many in the region, there would be no benefit in rocking the economic boat. Conclusion Very often we tend to focus upon North America, Europe and the Far East with regards to long-term property investments when in fact the situation in Latin America certainly demands some attention. The region we see today is very different to that of 20 years ago and while often seen as something of a “financial basket case” in years gone by, we are now in a whole new era. You will still need to be selective about the countries, the areas and the type of properties you consider, many experts believe that this region of the world is set for sustained economic growth for some time to come. Continue reading
UK Biofuel Plant Ensus To Reopen In Autumn -Owner CropEnergies
HAMBURG | Tue Jul 30, 2013 (Reuters) – Production should resume at British biofuel producer Ensus in the autumn, CropEnergies ( CE2G.DE ), its new German owner, said on Tuesday. CropEnergies announced the purchase of Ensus on July 19. Ensus had closed its plant in Yarm in northeast England in April due to adverse market conditions. Ensus operates one of Europe’s largest bio-refineries with an annual production capacity of about 400 million to 450 million litres of bioethanol and about 1 million tonnes of feed wheat. The plant can also produce up to 350,000 tonnes of animal feed. “The production plant in northeast England should be put into operation in autumn 2013,” CropEnergies said. Ensus started operating the plant in February 2010 but then shut it for 15 months from May 2011 until August 2012, also due to a poor market. CropEnergies has said it will invest more than 50 million pounds to improve the plant’s competitiveness. The Germany company said on Tuesday the takeover would cut its expected operating profit in the 2013/14 financial year to between 40 million and 50 million euros from its earlier expectation of 50 million to 60 million. But Ensus is expected to make a positive contribution to CropEnergies’ earnings in two years, it said. “The acquisition of Ensus in Britain is a unique opportunity to rapidly improve our position against our competitors,” CropEnergies Chief Operating Officer Marten Keil said. (Reporting by Michael Hogan, additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; editing by Jane Baird) Continue reading
Genetically Engineering Jatropha Plants for Large Scale Production
By Futurity | Thu, 18 July 2013 Benefit From the Latest Energy Trends and Investment Opportunities before the mainstream media and investing public are aware they even exist. The Free Oilprice.com Energy Intelligence Report gives you this and much more. Scientists have identified the first step toward engineering a more drought-resistant variety of Jatropha, a potential biofuel plant. Jatropha has seeds with high oil content. But the oil’s potential as a biofuel is limited because, for large-scale production, this shrub-like plant needs the same amount of care and resources as crop plants. “It is thought that Jatropha‘s future lies in further improvement of Jatropha for large-scale production on marginal, non-food croplands through breeding and/or biotechnology,” says John E. Carlson, professor of molecular genetics at Penn State. “The more that is known about the genetic basis of Jatropha‘s key attributes such as drought tolerance, the more readily Jatropha improvement will progress.” According to Carlson, Jatropha currently grows best in tropical countries and is already being cultivated as a biofuel on a small scale in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Breeding a strain that could do well in arid, barren conditions could enable mass cultivation, but large-scale production may still be decades away. Researchers looked at a little known gene—JcPIP1—because a similar gene in the model plant Arabidopsis is known to play a role in drought response. They also examined JcPIP2, a potential drought response gene in Jatropha identified in 2007 by researchers at Sichuan University. They reported their findings today in the Journal of Plant Physiology. The JcPIP genes code for membrane channels called aquaporins, which are responsible for transporting and balancing water throughout the plant, though exactly how each gene affects aquaporin behavior under environmental stress remains unclear. However, researchers have found that JcPIP1 and JcPIP2 are expressed at different times during a stressful situation, which hints at what roles they play in response and recovery. By growing unmodified Jatropha samples in conditions simulating high soil salinity and low water availability, the researchers showed that Jatropha was normally more vulnerable and slower to recover from high salinity than from drought conditions. Using a tobacco mosaic virus to transiently transform Jatropha, the researchers created plants in which JcPIP2 or JcPIP1 was temporarily disabled. They subjected the modified samples to six days of stress and six days of recovery. To gauge the plants’ stress responses, they noted physical changes and measured root damage, leaf growth, electrolyte leakage in the leaves, and sap flow and volume. The researchers found that these stress responses were about the same between the two variants under drought conditions. However, plants with JcPIP1 disabled were slower to recover from salt damage. Analysis of plant parts during the stress and recovery stages showed that JcPIP2 was mostly active in the early stages of stress while JcPIP1 exp ression was greater during recovery. The timing indicates that JcPIP1 may be crucial in helping Jatropha recover from damage while JcPIP2 may play a role in prevention. How the two genes affect other plant functions remains unknown, and how large a part they play in the entire network of drought resistance relies on further study. “Plants have complex genetic and biochemical pathways for environmental stress resistance, that includes (multiple) genes and pathways,” says Carlson. “This inherent redundancy in stress responses ensures survival under varying environmental conditions, and provides many possible approaches to improving resistance.” According to the research team, the next step is to find how the JcPIP genes work at the cellular level, which can provide more detailed profiles of each gene’s exact function. Other researchers on this project contributed from Chonnam National University in Korea, University of Copenhagen, and Wonkwang University in Korea. The Korea Rural Development Agency, National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology funded this study. By. A’ndrea Elyse Messer Continue reading
