 | Qatar top sovereign wealth buyer of Europe properties QATAR was the top sovereign wealth buyer of European property in the last 12 months, spending 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion) on eight deals including the London Olympic athlete's village and a mall on Paris' Champs Elysees, data from a research firm showed.
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| | US consumer sentiment at 3-month high | CONSUMER sentiment improved in early August to its highest level in three months as sales at retailers and low mortgage rates spurred Americans to boost their buying plans, a survey released on Friday showed.
But concerns about rising food prices caused a jump in both short- and long-term inflation expectations, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey showed.
The preliminary reading on the index on consumer sentiment rose to its highest level since May at 73.6 from 72.3 last month, topping economists' forecasts for a slight uptick to 72.4
"Although the growth rate in personal consumption expenditures can be expected to rebound from the second quarter lull, growth can be expected to remain just under two percent to the end of the first quarter of 2013," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.
Buying plans were bolstered by cheap prices and the measure of buying conditions for household durables rose to 140 from 130.
... | | | Oil falls to $114 as US plans to release stocks | | BRENT crude oil fell to around $114 on Friday after the United States said it was considering the possible release of oil reserves to dampen prices and the Israeli president spoke out against any lone Israeli attack on Iran. News the White House was 'dusting off old plans' for a potential release of strategic oil stocks helped knock more than $1 per barrel off Brent, which hit a three-month high on Thursday. The global benchmark has risen more than a third in less than two months on worries that conflict over Iran's disputed nuclear programme could lead to war, disrupting oil supplies from the Middle East. But the oil price rally has come at a time when world economic growth is slowing, dampening demand for fuel, and oil supplies have been ample, helping restock inventories, and many investors feel the recent price rises have been overdone. Brent crude fell $1.88 to a low of $113.39 a barrel before recovering to around $114.00 by 1335 GMT.... | | | Power problem, tax snags keep investors away from India | | NEW DELHI A COMBINATION of power blackouts, uncertain tax rules and contracts that are not honoured make India a difficult place to do business, a senior Dell Inc executive said on Friday in unusually blunt comments by a foreign investor.
India's economy is growing at its slowest pace in nearly a decade, with stubborn inflationary pressures and high interest rates.
But what global firms often find hardest is the red tape and the policy paralysis that has stalled major reforms.
"Doing business in India is difficult because the problem is there are too many decision makers," Amit Midha, president of Asia Pacific and Japan for Dell, told Reuters in an interview.
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