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Lynn Taylor – Luxury Knightsbridge, London, Property – Estate Agent
Lynn Taylor takes you on a tour of a 5 million pound property in Kinghtsbridge, London, England. Continue reading
Global Trade Likely To Remain Sluggish For Years, Says UN Report
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3465b06-1bbe-11e3-94a3-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2f3WohxhE By Shawn Donnan in London Global trade is likely to remain sluggish for many years, and emerging economies that have depended on exports to fuel their transformation will have to find new sources of growth, says a UN report. The report, released on Thursday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, makes clear that the effects of the 2007-8 financial crisis and the “great recession” that followed are still being felt in both the developed and developing world. The way the crisis has affected global trade patterns also calls into question the future value of the export-oriented growth model that fuelled the economic emergence of China and other developing world champions over the past three decades, Unctad’s economists wrote in their annual report. Unctad joins the debate at a time when many emerging economies – including Brazil, China and India – are facing slowing growth, and some, such as China, are working hard to rebalance their models towards more domestic sources of expansion. International trade has yet to return to the rapid growth rates seen before 2008, said Unctad economists, adding that growth is likely to remain subdued for years to come. Roberto Azevêdo, the World Trade Organisation’s new director-general, said this week that it would downgrade its 2013 growth forecast for global trade from 3.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent. Among rich countries, only the US had recorded a positive growth rate in its international trade in 2012, said Unctad. “Imports by all developed regions remain below their pre-crisis level,” its economists wrote, “and only the United States has managed to increase its exports to a higher level than their previous peak of August 2008.” Trade by developing economies had also “decelerated considerably” in recent years. Between 2002 and 2007, export volumes from those economies grew at an annual rate of 11.3 per cent. But that growth fell to 3.5 per cent between January 2011 and April 2013. The downward trend “highlights the vulnerabilities developing countries continue to face at a time of lacklustre growth in developed countries. It is also indicative of a probably less favourable external trade environment over the next few years,” Unctad economists wrote. While the pre-crisis rapid growth of exports from emerging economies to satisfy buoyant consumer demand in the rich world had been favourable for many developing countries, it “was built on unsustainable global demand and financing patterns”. “Reverting to pre-crisis growth strategies cannot be an option,” they wrote. “Rather, in order to adjust to what now appears to be a structural shift in the world economy many developing . . . economies are obliged to review their development strategies that have been overly dependent on exports for growth.” Encouraging greater domestic consumption and investment could come alongside the continuing development of exports. Bolstering domestic demand in emerging economies could also encourage the future development of “South-South” trade between developing countries, the report added. The share of South-South movements in international trade had increased from slightly less than 30 per cent in 1995 to slightly more than 40 per cent last year. The report also called for reform at the national and global levels to encourage more efficient financing of productive parts of the real sector such as industry, agriculture, services and infrastructure. Central and development banks needed to do more to finance productive investments, Unctad economists wrote. In the years since the financial crisis, credit had too often been directed to consumption rather than to investment. The result was that it was fuelling asset bubbles in sectors such as real estate “rather than innovation and production”. Continue reading
UAE hopes to build capacity for Somalia
UAE hopes to build capacity for Somalia Allan Jacob / 11 September 2013 While the international community and navies have succeeded in bringing down Somali maritime piracy, problems on land remain. Al Shabab militants are striking at will as shown by their attempt on the life of the president of that country last week and the killing of 15 innocents recently. The fledgling government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud requires long-term support to rebuild the nation still struggling to find its feet after decades of civil war. A good start was made at last year’s conference where, led by the efforts of the UAE, the leaders of Somalia and breakaway Somaliland agreed to begin stalled negotiations after 20 years. At the third counter-piracy conference starting in Dubai today, the UAE and other regional countries hope to build capacity and foster long-term development in the Horn of Africa. “Central to the UAE’s counter-piracy strategy is the recognition that the capability and capacity of countries in the region to combat piracy are varied and at different stages of development. Determining specific gaps thus allows the UAE to target assistance where it can have the greatest impact, thereby advancing regional partners’ security and stability,” said Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a statement. The plan is to help countries like Somalia which are affected by civil strife to develop their own counter-piracy capability, strengthen their rule of law, and protect their sovereignty and territory against the scourge of maritime piracy, said the minister. He said the UAE had strengthened its military’s maritime security capability, engaged and trained private industry on best practices in areas such as port security, and used the legal system as a tool for prosecuting and deterring piracy-related offences. “The recent reduction in piracy in the Indian Ocean region is the result of exactly these kind of strategic, focused and multi-disciplinary approaches that include security operations, investments in economic and social development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity building for local security forces and legal systems,” Shaikh Abdullah said. Credit is due to international naval patrols: Eunavfor, Nato Operation Ocean Shield, and CTF-151, as well as efforts by China, India, Japan and South Korea, which curbed the phenomenon, but Oceans Beyond Piracy, a think-thank, said their mandates would expire in 2014 and gains could be reversed if the global community dropped the ball on Somalia. “It is vital that the international community continues to engage with the government in Mogadishu to provide them assistance and support. It is only when the conditions ashore become stable and there is commerce and employment, that piracy will cease to be a threat to ships at sea,’’ Pottengal Mukundan of the International Maritime Bureau said from London. Maritime forces like the Eunavfor continue to engage with the Somalis. Last week, it hosted the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, onboard the Dutch Eunavfor flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt. The Somali officials met the EU’s Special Envoy to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso; the EU Naval Force Operation Commander, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant; and the Head of Mission of EU Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP) Nestor, Etienne de Poncins. The Dubai counter-piracy conference will be followed by the ‘New Deal for Somalia’ summit in Brussels on September 16 where countries will endorse a ‘Compact’ between Somalia and the international community that identifies the key political, security and socio-economic priorities. “Somalia welcomes cooperation with the EU to improve maritime security as part of the broader engagement of the EU in Somalia. Maritime cooperation will have important effect on the stabilisation and development of coastal areas in my country,’’ said President Mohamud in a statement. Public-private partnership The two-day conference in Dubai is jointly convened by the UAE Ministry Foreign Affairs, global ports operator DP World and Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC). The organisers said 500 participants comprising foreign ministers, senior government officials, military officers, executives of global maritime-sector companies, and leading experts are expected to attend. DP World called on the private sector to identify mechanisms to further create an environment for sustainable development of Somalia’s emerging economy and address the root causes of maritime piracy. allan@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
