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UK’s Real Estate Market Is Radiating Optimism After Enduring a Tough Nine Months

After facing a ‘perfect storm’ for the last nine months, the UK’s real estate market is now radiating optimism again.

Improving buyer inquiries, and lower-than-anticipated interest and mortgage rates had made the real estate market see some hope to recover in the coming months after a stagnant start to the year, reported Schroders.

Correction in Prices in UK’s Real Estate Market

Britain’s real estate market has reportedly encountered a sharp correction in prices since the onset of the financial crisis of 2008. Last summer, capital values started to plunge and are now around 21% below their peak value last June.

But, how much more will the price slump before the market is stabilised and investors feel confident to place their capital again?

Increasing Cost of Borrowing – The Main Culprit

A hefty hike in interest rates affecting investor sentiment is the key factor contributing to the rapid depression in capital value. Within a year, the total cost of hedging debt on good quality assets has soared to 6% from 3.5%. The yield on 10 year bonds in the UK is now at 3.75%, which was roughly 1% at the beginning of 2022.

As a result, investors owning equity and debt-backed buyers have asked for lower prices as part of their effort to hit their return targets. 

The buyer-seller stand-off has driven up the gross real estate yield and depressed transactions. 

In January 2023, the average initial yield soared to 5.2% up from 4.2% in June 2022. The total transaction value recorded in the final quarter of 2022 slipped by 60% from 2021. On the other hand, rental values continued to rise gradually through the second half of 2022.

Inflation Is Showing Signs of Decreasing

Whether the paradigm will shift to the right largely depends on interest and inflation rates.

The UK’s inflation rate is now at 10.40%, compared to 10.10% in February and 6.20% last year—higher than the long-term average of 2.73%.

The higher inflation rate looming over the country can lead to inflated interest rates making borrowing costs spiral upward.

However, with supply bottlenecks easing and utility prices starting to stabilise, inflation is anticipated to halve and reach roughly 5% by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) is forecast not to raise interest rates any further this year after increasing it once again to 4.25%. 

Again, despite falling prices, the UK housing market is showing signs of stabilisation, as buyer inquiry and sales activities increased last month. 

A net balance of -29% of surveyors reported a rise in new buyer inquiries last month, up from -45% in January. Even though this is the 10th negative reading in a row, indicating a decline in demand, it is the smallest drop since last July, said The Guardian, citing Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) monthly survey.

That said, the demand for high-end real estate agents like Quintessentially Estates is expected to increase with the housing market rebound. A top-tier real estate company is always on hand to help clients with all property needs. 

Schroders anticipates that the plunging house prices in the UK will push the BoE to adopt monetary policies to keep interest rates low. 

Buying Interest Is Increasing

Analysts unanimously agreed that the rising yields since last year are making the real estate market affordable to investors with equity and UK pension funds. 

“The spread between the average initial yield and 10-year bonds is now back to 1.5%, close to its average of 2% over the last 30 years,” reported Schroders. “The gap is lower than in the last decade when it averaged 3%, but the spread was exaggerated by quantitative easing which artificially lowered bond yields.”

Again, with international investors snapping up properties in the UK, the country’s real estate market is getting a boost.

The UK’s real estate market has been ranked second globally amid a resilient economic recovery with Asian, North American, and Middle Eastern investors interested in European properties.

As a result, the UK has been identified by far as the largest and most liquid commercial real estate market in Europe and has been re-priced more rapidly. To some extent, the reason is the stabilising British sterling and falling political and economic risks after Rishi Sunak has been appointed as the UK prime minister in October 2022.

Real Estate Market Falling into Place

With investor demand gradually falling into place, the UK’s real estate market has started recovering. Stabilising British Pound value, faster re-pricing of the UK’s real estate market, and bond yields approaching equilibrium are all making the market radiate optimism. If the soaring inflation rate and current looming recession in the UK continue to ease, investors are expected to consider deploying capital later this year.

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Finance Financial Market U.S

Revealing the Top 10 Credit Report Platforms: Unveiling the Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Credit Scores

[New York, NY] – Top Credit Report Site is pleased to announce the launch of our comprehensive guide to understanding credit scores. Our site is dedicated to providing consumers with the tools and resources they need to take control of their finances and make informed decisions about their credit.

Our team of experts has analyzed and reviewed the top credit report sites on the market, and we’ve compiled our findings into a comprehensive guide. Our guide includes detailed reviews of the top 10 credit report sites, as well as a wealth of information about credit scores, credit reports, and credit monitoring.

At [Top 10 Credit Report Site], we understand that your credit score can have a major impact on your financial well-being. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions about their credit. Whether you’re looking to improve your credit score, monitor your credit report for fraud, or just learn more about how credit works, we’ve got you covered.

Our site features easy-to-understand articles, guides, and tutorials that are designed to help consumers navigate the complex world of credit. We’ve also included a variety of tools and resources, such as credit score calculators and credit monitoring services, to help consumers stay on top of their credit.

“We’re excited to launch Top 10 Credit Report Site and provide consumers with the resources they need to take control of their credit,” said Mario, CEO of Top Credit Report Site. “With our comprehensive guide and easy-to-use tools, consumers can feel confident about their credit and make informed decisions about their financial future.”

Visit Top 10 Credit Report Site today to access our comprehensive guide to understanding credit scores and start taking control of your credit.

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Finance Financial Market Services Technology World

PerkinElmer Completes Divestiture of its Applied, Food and Enterprise Services Businesses; Aims to Accelerate Scientific Innovation

Right on schedule, PerkinElmer has successfully divested its applied science, food, and enterprise services units to American private equity firm New Mountain Capital, and merged the remaining life sciences and diagnostics entities into a standalone business.

“Today marks the culmination of the hard work and dedication from PerkinElmer teams around the world to ensure that both new companies are in a position to succeed on day one,” said Prahlad Singh, president, and CEO of the PerkinElmer Life Sciences and Diagnostics company. “As we look ahead, our new Life Sciences and Diagnostics organisation has an immense opportunity to continue to lead with science to redefine human health.”

Fleshing Out the Spin-Off

Under the terms and conditions of the spin-off drafted in August 2022, New Mountain Capital—a private equity firm—offered USD 2.3B in cash as part of its effort to acquire the trio of PerkinElmer businesses, according to Yahoo Finance.

According to PerkinElmer’s annual earnings report, in 2022, the divested equities generated just under $1.3B ROI and constituted one-third of the company’s total workforce. Altogether, the firm represented roughly 5% year-on-year/YOY growth last year. 

On the other hand, PerkinElmer’s core businesses generated over $3.3B in revenue in 2022—a slip of around 13% from $3.8B in 2021. The plunge in revenue has an obvious reason: as COVID-19 responses are winding down, the demand for diagnostics worldwide has plummeted. 

However, the company expects the completed spin-off to boost its revenue by 10% each year.

PerkinElmer underscored this spin-off as part of its long-term effort to slim down its focus solely on its two core businesses—life sciences and diagnostics research.

The company expects the influx of cash from the transaction to help it evolve into a high-margin, high-growth company with a unique scale.

“Today’s announcement is a pivotal step in the significant portfolio transformation we have been executing over the last several years,” stated Singh while announcing the divestment last August, and added that the funding will help support “accelerated investment into attractive end markets across science and disease.”

The entities taken over by New Mountain Capital will work on producing novel scientific breakthroughs. The plan is to retain PerkinElmer’s name with the applied, food, and enterprise services businesses until a new appellation, logo, and stock ticker is finalised. PerkinElmer announced at the execution of the sell-off that the newly formed business expects to receive a new moniker by the second quarter of the year, which is yet to be approved by the shareholders.

A Successful Divestiture Needs an Effort in Coordination

The strategic process of selling an asset or a business unit, a divestment is a highly intricate transaction in the M&A industry that needs a coordinated effort to be successful. 

For future-focus companies looking to ensure successful spin-off or carve-out of their business entities, leveraging a high-end M&A and IT service provider like Fission Consulting is a sensible business investment. 

Industry-leading IT transformation services help private equity firms and enterprise-level clients navigate complex transactions while ensuring minimal business disruption. 

Wrapping Up

Regardless of the reason behind the divestment, PerkinElmer expects this transaction project to act as a step-change in helping the company accelerate diagnostic and life sciences research.

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Finance Financial Market Living Real Estate World

Dubai’s Luxury Home Sale Booming; Ranked Fourth Globally

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Dubai’s prime residential market has been ranked fourth globally as sales of ultra-luxury residences continue to soar amid a resilient economic recovery. 

Citing a 2023 Wealth Report, Middle East Eye reported that this year, Dubai is poised to lead the world’s luxury property market, with prices rising by a whopping 13.5%.

Dubai’s Luxury Property

With the meteoric increase in ultra-luxury home sales, Dubai has landed just behind New York with 244 home sales, Los Angeles with 225, and London with 223 (in terms of the $10M-home sales).

For $25M-home sales, Dubai ranked fifth, just behind London with the highest number of 43 sales, New York with 43, Los Angeles with 39, and Hong Kong with 28.

In 2022, Dubai racked up around 219 sales worth roughly $10 million or above, compared to 93 in 2021—a jump of a staggering 135%. 

The collective transaction is predicted to be over $3.8B. 

The sale of luxury properties—more specifically, villas and “trophy” apartments—has witnessed a massive boom in Dubai, with the city’s upmarket neighbourhoods recording the best performance.

For example, despite the price for opulent residences spiralling upward, the uber-luxury neighbourhood of Palm Jumeirah is cementing its iconic status in the luxury residential market, chalking up the highest home sale in 2022.

The price of a villa in the city’s exclusive enclaves has soared by almost 80% on average since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emirates Hills, Palm Jumeirah, and Jumeirah Bay Island are marked as the prime residential neighbourhoods of Dubai.

With the Dubai luxury market seeing a massive influx of elites preferring contemporary interior designs, the demand for high-end interior design studios like Accouter is getting a push in Dubai. 

By bringing out the best of both worlds—interior architecture and design—a high-end interior design company can turn a space into a unique, timeless environment. 

Reasons Behind Dubai’s Luxury Home Sale Boom

Even though the increasing inflation rate and tough economic headwinds have caused a massive downturn in the residential market in the West, the Emirate’s luxury market is poised to see substantial growth this year.

Awash with luxury villas, penthouses, and exclusive hotels combined with excellent safety, climate, and unparalleled sun-sea-sand lifestyle—Dubai has now become the preference of ultra-high-net-worth buyers.

The city has long been synonymous with opulence, thus making a reputation for itself as the stomping ground of the ultrarich.

Additionally, the city has been marked as one of the world’s most ‘affordable’ luxury residential markets, with most prime homes transacting for only $870/sq. ft on an average.

UAE’s affordable mortgage plans, a tax-free regime, and ease-of-doing business are the key incentives for wealthy buyers around the globe to snap up properties in Dubai.

Additionally, the country’s excellent management of the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a tremendous comeback making luxury property sales skyrocket.

More recently, the city’s prime residential market is witnessing wealthy buyers from Russia flocking to Emirates as sanctions drive oligarchs out of Europe. 

Property agents predict at least 100,000 Russians have settled down in the UAE since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has almost doubled the size of the community there. 

Wrapping Up

Dubai’s luxury property market is witnessing substantial growth, buoyed by a large number of ultrarich snapping up properties in the prime neighbourhoods.

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Energy & Environment Financial Market Technology World

Offshore Oil and Gas Sector Set for a Tremendous Comeback; $214B of New Project Investments Lined Up

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With project investment worth $214B or above lined up, the global offshore oil and gas (O&G) industry is poised to get a massive boost in the next two years.

The annual greenfield investment is predicted to hit a decade-high record in 2023 and 2024, said OILPRICE.com citing Rystad Energy research.

The Comeback Is Happening Now

Offshore production projects are forecasted to comprise roughly 68% of all approved traditional hydrocarbon-based projects during the projection period 2023-24—up from 40% during 2015-2018. 

This expected activity increase is buoyed by strong oil prices and rig demand. As of March 07, 2023, WTI crude oil values $77.76 per barrel, which is high enough to prompt operators to boost production activities, and that should continue into next year. 

Additionally, the cost of imported fossil fuels has spiralled upward since 2022 as supply chain challenges have been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The Ukraine conflict is anticipated to propel the development of relatively high-CAPEX offshore (both platform and subsea-based) O&G projects, with a range of regions like Europe shunning Russian fossil fuels and seeking ways to ramp up energy production from alternative sources.

The result: offshore schemes will constitute almost 50% of the total projects expected to get sanctioned globally between 2023 and 2024, which was only 29% during 2015-18.

Experts expect these new projects to be the key factor in driving the expansion of the offshore system market, with supply chain investment to witness an upturn of 16% between 2023 and 2024, a record-high year-on-year increase of around USD 21B in the last ten years. 

Other Key Players Stimulating Subsea Production Activities

As global demand for fossil fuel continues to pick up, casting about carbon-free energy sources has now become a major concern. The world is set to undergo an energy transition as it slides away from fossil fuels to less carbon-intensive energy sources.

As one of the least carbon-intensive hydrocarbon extraction techniques, offshore O&G production offers the industry a solid footing for significantly decoupling carbon dioxide emissions from the production process.

“Offshore oil and gas production isn’t going anywhere, and the sector matters now, possibly more than ever. As one of the lower carbon-intensive methods of extracting hydrocarbons, offshore operators and service companies should expect a windfall in the coming years as global superpowers try to reduce their carbon footprint while advancing the energy transition,” stated Audun Martinsen, head of supply chain research with Rystad Energy.

Citing Rystad Energy, Offshore predicts the subsea production sector to reign in the offshore industry, with a substantial number of subsea trees up for grabs in the upcoming years.

With subsea oil production boosting, ensuring high-end reservoir monitoring has become the key concern today. 

For subsea production operators looking to increase production while minimising OPEX across a subsea well lifecycle, investing in a permanent reservoir monitoring system like Silixa is a sensible decision. 

By enabling intervention-free operations and delivering a high-seismic signal-to-noise ratio for seismic surveys with fewer shots, a high-end reservoir monitoring system significantly saves on operation time and cost. 

Offshore Sector Comeback: The Global Outlook

An uptick in high-impact drilling activity in offshore Namibia, the Gulf of Mexico, South America, and the Eastern Mediterranean is the key player in accelerating the development of the subsea oil production sector.

Case in point: The highly stable high-impact drilling has helped resource discovery soar to 9.2B barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2022—up from 7.4B boe in 2021, according to Westwood.

On the other hand, the proportion of discovered wells with the potential to turn into commercial development rose to 36% in 2022 from 29% in 2021.

Again, with 47 production licences awarded to a total of 25 oil companies by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in January 2023, the country is heading for an oil production surge. 

While Norway is fast becoming the key player in helping Europe reduce its reliance on Russian energy imports, uncertainties spurred by the Energy Profits Levy are still looming over the UK.

However, offshore development spending in the UK is predicted to increase 30% in 2023 to a total of $7 billion.

The Middle Eastern offshore sector will steadily expand, if not booms, while South American spending is projected to plunge in 2025.

Wrapping Up

With the world trying to deal with the current energy crisis, more emphasis is placed on capitalising on the subsea reservoirs as affordable and safe energy sources. 

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Business Computers & Software Finance Financial Market Technology

Managing API Security Is Essential For the Banking Sector

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I recently saw a headline that reported multiple branch closures by Lloyds, Halifax, and TSB. Personally, it didn’t affect me so I didn’t read the article. 

Why would it? I do my banking on my phone.

And, that’s mainly the reason why banks are closing their seldom used branches—people are banking online and not physically walking into banks.

As someone who prefers living online, I am not here to debate the benefits of high streets and banks. What I do want to talk about is the role of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in modern banking.

According to Express Computer, an Indian IT publication, APIs are spearheading the banking sector’s evolution.

These software programs allow banks to share their data and services with third parties. Third parties, as a result, can improve their services and customer experience.

APIs in Banking

According to the article, banks use APIs both as consumers and publishers.

As consumers, APIs help banks:

  • Automate the customer onboarding process, making it smoother
  • Get real-time information on customer credit-worthiness
  • Make better decisions for loan applications
  • Add value to their core business with investment and financial planning advice
  • Integrate with other services, such as e-commerce stores, and make online payments easier
  • Add other financial products into their range of offerings

As publishers, banks use APIs to reach more customers and diversify their services.

So, yes, the banking sector can thank APIs for a great deal.

However, that brings me to my next point. Since APIs are now an integral part of the banking sector, API security also becomes a larger issue.

I’ve discussed how re-evaluating your cybersecurity stack could help stop API breaches earlier. Then, I came across this post that discusses how identity distribution is essential for modern API security.

What Is Identity Distribution?

APIs enable a network of services that users can access. Once a user is inside that network, from any access point, they can get to any and all information within that network.

Identity distribution is the process of ensuring that the user is authorised to access information, at every point instead of just when they enter.

If you want to think of it in terms of your home security, once a person has entered your house—whether through the front door, back door, or window—they can go through the contents of all your rooms.

Identity distribution is the process of vetting their access and authorization in each room. If they are only allowed to enter the living room, they can’t be let into the master bedroom.

Identity Distribution For API Security in Banking

Identity distribution shouldn’t just take into account who is asking for access. It should also consider the origin of the request, the external application through which the request was sent, and an allow-list of callers.

Unfortunately, this brings up two other issues. 

One, sharing the credentials across the network means everyone who receives those credentials could use them to get the same level of access.

Two, It means distributing the user’s credentials across the network when some of the information might be sensitive. 

In effect, you’re sharing the user’s authorisation credentials (thereby making them available to other services on the network), which also means you’re sharing their information (which could be sensitive).

To mitigate this issue, you’d need proper identity distribution techniques. The technology you use will play a role in how secure the implementation is—that means having a detailed understanding of how your services interact with others and the pathways your users will have to take.

That, in turn, would help determine which services would need what identity data to complete the request.

Additionally, you’d also need to determine what piece of data these services would need to take the authorisation decisions.

Identity Distribution Techniques

Once you know the data that needs to be delivered to other services and who needs it, you can choose from a selection of identity distribution solutions. These can be:

  • Using Transport Layer Security (TLS) end-to-end, even with services within your network, instead of only at the perimeter
  • A locked-down infrastructure, where you control all communications within the network through encrypted connections, and using mutual TLS (mTLS) and frameworks (SPIFFE, Kubernetes) to manage service calls
  • Using established standards like OAuth and JSON web tokens (JWTs) instead of developing your own solutions
  • Using claim-based authorisation instead of using API keys or scopes (because, remember broken authorisation is listed as OWASP’s no.1 API vulnerability, and discussed in an article on API Security Solution by Gravitee.io, the leading API management platform)
  • Using opaque tokens instead of JWTs (which can reveal information to the frontend application or threat actors)
  • Using token-sharing techniques, such as token embedding or token exchanging

As you can see, API security is important across the board, but the banking sector is a bit more high-stakes than others. Whilst a security breach can be devastating regardless, banks are responsible for people’s money and savings. 

Investing in better cybersecurity is not just for them but also for their customers. And, API security is going to be a huge part of it.

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Business Finance Financial Market Technology U.S

Kroger and Albertsons Zero in on Store Divestitures Amid Deal Review

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The Kroger Co. and Albertsons Companies Inc are still on track to divest 250 to 300 stores as part of their effort to dispel antitrust issues regarding their proposed merger plan.

The stores slated for sale are valued at USD 1B or above, and are located all across different regions of the US—such as Chicago, Phoenix, Southern California, and the Pacific Northwest—reported Reuters, citing unnamed sources.

Kroger-Albertsons Cos. Merger Deal

In a move to reshape the U.S. supermarket landscape, Kroger and Albertsons Cos.—The US’s two biggest grocery store chains—announced plans to join forces in mid-October.

The retailers hope that this merger, if approved by regulators, would help create a corporate behemoth generating around $200 billion in sales per year.

Combined, Kroger and Albertsons Cos. would operate around 5,000 stores across the country.

Reasons Behind the Divestiture

The retailers have decided to prepare for the store divestiture as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reassessing Kroger’s proposed USD $24.6B investment in Albertsons Cos. 

Since the retailers declared the merger strategy, there has been a flurry of movements from American consumer advocates and lawmakers against it. 

They are pressuring the FTC to hit the brakes on the deal, or at least hold it for some time, over concerns that this merger, if executed, could cause significant hikes in grocery prices amid the current spiralling inflation rates.

While declaring their merger, the retailers stated that the plan was to sell around 100 to 375 stores to win regulatory approval faster. However, Kroger mentioned that up to 650 stores could be divested.

As per the agreement, if the deal falls apart over antitrust issues, Kroger would be required to pay Albertsons Cos. $600M as a breakup fee to walk away from the contract.

The retailers are trying to sound out long-sought buyers for their stores and address the antitrust issue of FTC over their merging. 

Both Kroger and Albertsons Cos. expect these stores to be spun off into a subsidiary dubbed SpinCo by Albertsons Cos. or directly acquired by competitor supermarkets trying to extend their footprint in the USA. 

FTC to Monitor the Financial Viability of the Stores Divested

FTC will closely monitor any sale of the stores coming from this divestment, reported Reuters, citing antitrust experts at FTC. 

The current FTC chair Lina Khan marked the failed AlbertsonsCos./Safeway settlement behind FTC’s scepticism about the Kroger-Albertsons deal. 

The result: The agency is strictly scrutinising the potential impact of the Kroger–Albertsons merger deal.

Navigating Divestiture Challenges to Success

Brian Concklin, an antitrust expert and partner at global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Kroger and Albertsons Cos. to ensure that the stores they have decided to divest can act as formidable players in the industry. Thus the retailers can keep the FTC from blocking their merger deal.

“The Albertsons-Safeway deal will loom large over how these assets are viewed and how the FTC evaluates whether these divestiture packages being offered are viable,” commented Brian Concklin.

As a complex process, divestiture requires a coordinated effort to be successful.

For any dynamic enterprise looking to maximise the transaction value while divesting its business, investing in a consulting service like Fission Consulting is a sensible decision.

Such a high-end service streamlines the process while significantly reducing business disruptions.

Wrapping up

Kroger and Albertsons Cos. hope their plan to spin off the stores as part of the merger deal will help overcome challenges while paving the way to get FTC approval. 

“We believe we have a clear path to achieve regulatory approval with divestitures,” said Gary Millerchip, Chief Financial Officer at Kroger in a Bloomberg news.

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Financial Market Living Professional Services Real Estate U.K

London’s Luxury Residential Market Booms Defying UK’s Home Sales Slowdown

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Even though the UK is now seeing the steepest slump in property prices since the 2008 financial crisis, London’s luxury residences are managing to defy Britain’s housing market downturn, reported The Business Times.

Fifteen homes in Central London valued at £5 million or higher were registered as sold in the fourth quarter of 2022—which is 63% higher than the pre-pandemic average, according to researcher LonRes. “It’s not surprising, therefore, that it tempted would-be sellers to put their homes onto the market,” said Anthony Payne, managing director at LonRes.

UK Housing Market Poised for Disruption

The UK’s housing market is facing a ‘perfect’ storm as it tries to eke out growth while coping with the surging cost of living, hiking mortgage and inflation rates, and the risk of recession. 

The result: rapid cooling in property demand and sales activities leading to a selloff in the UK’s housing market.

Let’s look at how much the British housing market and buyer demand have been impacted by current economic setbacks:

  • British home prices slid in December 2022 by the most in 13 years and are predicted to slip by a whopping 20% in 2023 if the UK’s base rate continues to hike, according to The Guardian.
  • The Bank of England has been raising the base since the beginning of 2022 as part of its effort to return inflation to its 2% target level. The bank rate has gone up to an annual rate of 4.0% in February 2023—a jump of 0.5% from 3.5% in December 2022. 
  • On the other hand, surveyors registered a net balance of -47% for new buyer inquiries in January 2023, plunging from -40% in December 2022.

In such a circumstance, analysts have unanimously agreed that the UK’s property market is facing more turbulence this year.

Wealthy Buyers Are Snapping Up London’s Luxury Property

Despite the present economic upset throughout Britain, luxury sales in London are skyrocketing, outshining the UK’s housing market. 

But why?

First off, even though the interest rate and mortgage rate have hit an all-time high this year, millionaires and elites are less likely to get affected by the impacts of the increase, as they’re less dependent on borrowing. 

Secondly, Britain’s pound continues to tumble sharply against the US dollar, dropping a full cent to around $1.20.

Part of the weakness of the pound sterling is the increase in power of the US dollar which is attracting more international investors and wealthy buyers to flock to London’s priciest homes.

Case in point: In the first half of 2022, overseas buyers purchased 48% of the total luxury home purchases in Prime London—a jump from 13% from 2021.

That said, the demand for luxury property management services offered by agencies like The London Management Company is getting a push, with ultra-high-net-worth buyers investing in upscale properties in Central London.

Offering bespoke services—from maintenance to upkeep and housekeeping—a class-leading agency ensures a client’s luxury property is well-managed, squeaky clean, and always ready for their arrival.

However, in the final quarter of last year, home sale activities decreased in Greater London due to climbing mortgage rates, soaring inflation, and high base rates.

“The final quarter of the year saw a change of direction,” stated the managing director at LonRes. “We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the market unfolds in the months ahead.”

Wrapping Up

Outperforming Britain’s housing market, London’s luxury houses are seeing substantial growth this year.

Categories
Financial Market Lifestyle Real Estate U.K U.S

Dubai Remains One of the Most ‘Affordable’ Luxury Home Destinations in the World

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According to the Financial Express, Dubai continues to remain one of the world’s most ‘affordable’ luxury residential markets, with most prime residences transacting for an average $870/sq. ft. USD.

The ‘affordable’ price per square foot in most prime residential neighbourhoods—combined with Dubai’s safety, excellent climate, and unrivalled sun-sea-sand lifestyle—is helping the city cement its iconic status in the luxury property market, thus fuelling the demand.

How Dubai Is Considered an ‘Affordable’ Luxury Home Destination

According to the Dubai Residential Market Review Winter 2022-23, a report published by Knight Frank, the majority of submarkets in Dubai exhibit a house-price-to-income ratio of less than six times yearly income. 

Whereas, as a rule of thumb, a house is considered affordable when its price is around six times the gross income of a household.

The quarterly report, which analyses Dubai’s real estate market and sheds light on key trends and forecasts, also published average house prices vs. average annual income by neighbourhood to help readers understand how accessible the mainstream residential market is.

Based on this report and other factors, the Financial Express has determined that the majority of Dubai real estate is relatively affordable.

The only outliers are three exclusive areas—Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, and Jumeirah Bay Island—with house prices costing more than 20 times the average yearly income.

What’s Driving Demand for Dubai’s Luxury Homes?

Dubai’s luxury home sale boom continues as millionaires flock to the Emirates in search of second addresses in the city’s most exclusive enclaves. 

“The meteoric rise of Dubai’s multi-million-dollar homes market over the course of the last two years has been phenomenal. The performance at the top of the market clearly demonstrates the arrival of Dubai as a luxury hub to rival long-established markets elsewhere, with no sign to suggest a slowdown in the seemingly relentless demand from global ultra-high-net-worth-individuals zeroing in on the emirate in search of second homes,” explained Faisal Durrani, Partner, the Head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank.

A study by Henley & Partners predicted that 2023 would see a massive influx of elites and millionaires settling down in the Emirates, with more and more countries now easing travel and quarantine restrictions. 

Case in point: The number of millionaires migrating to the UAE in 2022 was over 4000, which was more than the number of millionaires settling down in the UK, the USA, Australia, Switzerland, etc.

The result: 219 sales of homes worth over $10 million were recorded in 2022, compared to 93 in 2021—a jump of a staggering 135%.

High-net-worth individuals and the richest international buyers are vying for luxury properties in the three neighbourhoods of Dubai, despite the soaring prices. 

However, the demand for properties has slumped in other cities.

Despite a surge of 49.4% in property price in 2022, Palm Jumeirah remains Dubai’s star performer, making record-high sales of villas and luxury apartments.

Palm’s world-class amenities, private beach access, glittering waterfront views, and tranquil settings has made it top the ultra-high-net-worth customers’ list.

Luxury Interior Design in Dubai

With contemporary designs dominating the Dubai luxury market now, high-end interior design studios are introducing new design styles and ideas to transform exclusive spaces into exquisite residences.

Bringing out the best of both worlds—interior design and architecture—a class-leading interior design studio like Accouter aims to embody the true spirit of design excellence.

Wrapping up

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NYSE Disaster Recovery Blunder Triggered Major Trading Glitch

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The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) is beleaguered by criticism after an unexpected outage and IT error caused drastic price fluctuations in blue-chip stocks and billions worth of trades to be called off.

The NYSE blamed the ‘technical’ glitch on a manual error with its disaster recovery (DR) system, according to The Register. 

Let’s Flesh out the Reasons Behind the “Mayhem”

The exchange’s secondary Chicago data centre is supposed to protect US stock markets in the event of an outage or when a natural disaster strikes the venue.

As part of regular maintenance activities, the DR system should be tested daily and shut down manually after the closing bell.

However, on Monday, January 23rd, after the market was closed, an NYSE staffer failed to turn off the disaster recovery system correctly.

The result: the backup system, which is meant to be turned on in the event of a disaster incident only, was left operating overnight. 

It means that the exchange’s trading acted as if Tuesday’s trades were being carried on with the prices of Monday’s trade. 

The consequence: at 9:30 am on Tuesday, as trading started, the NYSE software malfunctioned, and skipped the day’s opening auctions which set prices incorrectly and unfortunately, led to a debacle.

The NYSE, in a statement, said, “The root cause was determined to be a manual error involving the exchange’s disaster recovery configuration at system start of day.“

What Was the Consequence?

The technical error triggered a string of events with catastrophic repercussions.

What NYSE addressed as a “system error” caused shares in over 250 firms to go haywire, with some firms encountering fluctuations in their stock prices by around 25%. 

As reported, a total of 84 stocks saw their valuations drastically plunge or surge until they had reached the limits set to thwart securities from trading at extreme prices.

According to a statement released on Wednesday morning, due to the system disruption, 81 stocks had short-sale restrictions (SSR) implemented “erroneously,” with Snap and Morgan Stanley being badly affected. 

While Morgan’s share price dropped by 13%, Walmart saw an increase of 12% in its share price due to the error.

Soon after NYSE halted the most egregious transactions, it stated: “Approximately 4,341 trades in 251 symbols should be busted (canceled).”

NYSE Fielding Claims

NYSE officials spent hours hunting down the reason behind the turmoil until it was confirmed that no such trading chaos would occur again.

“The issues around our market open on Tuesday are our collective responsibility, and we have moved swiftly and decisively to resolve them as a team,” explained a spokesperson from NYSE to Bloomberg. “A core value of ICE (Intercontinental Exchange, NYSE’s parent company) and the NYSE is our commitment to collaboration.”

NYSE is evaluating the financial losses stemming from this “wreck” and is fielding claims from the affected businesses as per exchange regulations.

Automated DR Systems Can Decrease System Failure Risks

Analysts unanimously agreed that automation could help avoid such system errors entirely.

“Automation eliminates human error,” according to Dennis Hahn, an analyst at Omdia. “If this [DR system] required to be manually shutdown, this is ridiculous and asking for trouble.”

In short, when it comes to disaster planning for data centres, one of the key elements is deploying an automated DR framework. 

Future-focused DR solutions like Protera enable customisable and automated backup scheduling. Plus, it frees users from manually configuring each device while also allowing them to back up their business-critical data in multiple locations. 

The result: significantly minimised human intervention, ensuring business continuity.

With customisable RPO and RTO objectives, users can set their systems for backup—every day, every hour, or even every few minutes—based on their backup policies.

Wrapping Up

Unfortunately, the NYSE backup blunder is not the only high-profile operation disruption occurring in January due to manual errors. The recent massive system crash in NYSE raises concern among US retail investors. The occurrence indicates that NYSE should “come up with something better” and implement automation and best practices for disaster recovery management.