emii.com: PGGM Launches HF Platform

PGGM Launches HF Platform
10-28-2010 | Source: emii.com

PGGM is looking to invest directly in selected hedge funds to raise transparency and reduce costs, IPE reports. The €100 billion asset manager will invest through segregated managed accounts rather than pooled funds.

MarketView Office Market Frankfurt

MarketView Office Market Frankfurt

Q3 2010

In the first nine months of the year, office space take-up of 371,000 sq m was 25% higher than the figure reported for the same period last year; 35% of the take-up figure is accounted for by owner-occupiers. The positive take-up trend reflects the improving outline economic conditions in the city on the River Main.

Author(s): several
Source: CB Richard Ellis
Published: 19.10.2010

http://www.immopro24.com/market-report/marketview-office-market-frankfurt_966.html

Alternative Investing: Fine Art - CNBC

Alternative Investing: Fine Art - CNBC

Investing In Fine Art Can Mean Pretty Profits

By: Shelly K. Schwartz,
Special to CNBC.com

If you’d added a few paintings to your portfolio over the last few years, instead of all those bank stocks, your retirement nest egg might be looking a little different right now.

Indeed, for the ten-years ended July 2010, the price index of all fine art work sold more than once worldwide has produced a nearly 11 percent annualized return, outperforming the Standard & Poor’s 500 index of large cap stocks and most other asset classes, including bonds and commodities—though gold was the clear frontrunner during those years, according to artprice.com in France, which tracks the market. ...

emii.com: BarCap Launches Beta Commodity Fund

BarCap Launches Beta Commodity Fund
10-14-2010 | Source: emii.com

Barclays Capital is launching the Barclays Pure Beta Commodity fund to offshore life bond investors, Financial Times reports. The vehicle aims to invest in mid to long-term commodity prices.

Frankfurt's Office Market Revives on Improved Rental Prospects

Frankfurt's Office Market Revives on Improved Rental Prospects
By Peter Woodifield - Oct 7, 2010

Frankfurt’s office property market will probably attract the most investment this year since 2007 as the strengthening economy fuels demand for space, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-06/frankfurt-s-office-property-market-revives-on-improved-prospects-for-rents.html

Quarterly report on the euro area

Quarterly report on the euro area

(Quarterly report on the euro area. 3. October 2010. Brussels. PDF. 40pp. Tab. Graph. Free.)
pdf: KC-AK-10-002-EN-N ISSN: 1830-6403

The October issue of the Quarterly Report focuses on the process of corporate balance sheet adjustment in the euro area, and on its implications for the economic recovery in the medium term. Based on an analysis of previous instances of such rebalancing processes, it finds that these tend to be associated with lasting adverse macroeconomic consequences such as low output growth. From a policy perspective this suggests that the adjustment of corporate balance sheets currently underway in the euro are should ideally be accompanied by measures to strengthen the banking sector and to front-load growth-enhancing economic reforms.

EU Debt Crisis - Moody's Warns It May Downgrade Ireland Again - CNBC

EU Debt Crisis - Moody's Warns It May Downgrade Ireland Again - CNBC

Moody's warned on Tuesday that it may cut Ireland's credit rating again, pointing to the huge bill for cleaning up its banks announced last week, a weak economic recovery and rising borrowing costs.

As well as the bank bill, Moody's said poor recent data shoed a cloudy outlook for the recovery of domestic demand and pointed to the sharp rise in Irish bond yields since its last rating action in July.

"Ireland's ability to preserve government financial strength faces increased uncertainty as a result of (these) three main drivers, which together would further increase its debt and aggravate its debt affordability," Dietmar Hornung, Moody's lead sovereign analyst for Ireland, said in a statement. ...

Eurozone retail sales unexpectedly fall in August - CNBC

Eurozone retail sales unexpectedly fall in August - CNBC

LONDON - Retail sales in the 16 countries that use the euro unexpectedly fell during August, official figures showed Tuesday, in another sign that consumer confidence remains fragile despite a stronger than anticipated economic recovery.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said eurozone retail sales dropped by 0.4 percent in August from the previous month, in contrast to market expectations for a 0.2 percent increase. August's decline was the first since April, though the monthly increases since then have been small. ...

Moody’s in thumbs-up to Europe’s corporates

Moody’s in thumbs-up to Europe’s corporates

By Anousha Sakoui
Published: October 4 2010 19:56 | Last updated: October 4 2010 19:56

European companies’ financial resources have returned to pre-financial crisis levels, as bond markets across the continent continue to set records.

According to analysts at Moody’s, the rating agency, the majority of European corporates have solid liquidity although a minority are presenting weaknesses.

With strong bond markets and “reasonable availability” of bank financing, the analysts did not expect liquidity to deteriorate in the near term. “The non-financial corporate sector has rarely, if ever, been in such good shape to take advantage of investors’ hunt for yield,” said Suki Mann, credit strategist. ...

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Moody’s in thumbs-up to Europe’s corporates

Growth Fears Hit European Markets

Growth Fears Hit European Markets http://on.wsj.com/bruhOd

By MICHELE MAATOUK

European stocks and the euro fell Monday, with worries over the economic growth prospects for the region heavy on investors minds.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was 0.5% lower at 258.29. London's FTSE 100 Index lost 0.3% to 5578.62, Frankfurt's DAX was 0.9% lower at 6159.29, and Paris's CAC-40 fell 0.9% to 3661.03. ...