Author: Aaron
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Expatriate Workers and Us!
“You don’t know how it feels to be a foreigner in this country, unless you live like one. It is unbearable!” said my Arab scuba diving trainer. I was shocked and since then, I have become more sensitive and observant. Sad to say, he was right. I tell you why. Before the oil boom of…
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Property trusts a winner
LISTED property trusts are to investment what Lance Armstrong is to cycling. Everyone loves a winner and over the past six years other asset classes have been struggling to stay the distance with listed property trusts. Australian shares may have won the sprint for the best returns for the year ended June 30 but when…
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Time to invest offshore?
Cape Town – South African investors should put some of their savings in offshore markets in order to take advantage of the opportunities not available in South Africa, as well as for diversification and risk reasons, it emerged at Stanlib’s 2nd International Investment Conference in Cape Town on Monday. This was particularly true now, when…
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China’s stealth war on the U.S.
by Max Boot – Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army caused quite a stir last week when he threatened to nuke “hundreds” of American cities if the U.S. dared to interfere with a Chinese attempt to conquer Taiwan. This saber-rattling comes while China is building a lot of sabers. Although its…
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Credit Suisse Asset Management launches Fund
Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) is to launch a limited issue fund of funds that invests in new launches, offshore vehicles and unregulated funds. As a limited issue portfolio the fund launches at the end of July with 75 million units. It can potentially charge more in management fees than the 4% initial and 1.5%…
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Sitting pretty on plentiful gas
BEIRUT: With a population of little more than 850,000 and oil and gas money pouring in, the tiny state of Qatar is oozing with confidence about the future. And like it’s larger Gulf neighbors, Qatar is busily attempting to use its petrodollars to diversify into tourism and financial services. Leaving aside the question of whether…
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Are These New ETFs a Good Idea?
By Dan Culloton – StreetTracks Gold Shares (GLD) , the first exchange-traded fund tracking a commodity, was one of the most successful ETF launches in history. Within weeks of its November 2004 launch it amassed more than $1.5 billion in assets. Is it any wonder that other financial firms are scrambling to introduce their own…
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Rules spur REITs offshore
Regulatory changes are set to spur Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs offshore) to acquire overseas properties even as asset prices in the city state rise. Singapore, which has surpassed its traditional rival Hong Kong in developing listed property trusts as popular investment vehicles, is looking to change the rules to make it easier for…