February 11, 2012, 5:19 pm
Sales of residential property in New Zealand have soared to a four year high in January 2012, according to figures released by government owned property valuer Quotable Value (QV).
The rise comes as demand for limited city properties continues to increase from buyers in the migrant and first time buyer markets.
The Auckland area is one of the fastest growing city-centre residential markets and saw an increase of 2.1% over the past three months, and an increase of 5.1% over the past year.
The old Auckland City has claimed the place for the strongest performing area within Auckland, seeing a growth of 2.7% over the last three months and by 7.2% across the year as a whole.
North Shore also saw an increase in sales, at slightly lower figures of 4% over the year and 0.9% above peak.
The rest of Auckland also saw gains last year that varied between the 2.5% figure for Franklin and the 3.2% for Waitakere.
The picture for prices and sales in smaller residential areas remains less promising and falls short of the highs experienced in 2012, according to QV data.
As an example, Hamilton only experienced a 0.5% increase, falling 11% short of its 2007 high.
The sluggish upturn in sales was also the case for Rodney, which only saw a 1.6% improvement on the previous year’s figures.
Transfer Money to New Zealand
If you are thinking about investing in New Zealand, it is definitely a good idea to consider the logistics of transferring money abroad. F
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February 8, 2012, 3:37 am
federal aid to fill in the gaps,” Kelly said.
Even though it’s not politically popular, McCluskey said a good way to control rising tuition costs would be to cut federal aid to students, which would force colleges and universities to keep tuition low.
This isn’t the first time a politician has sought to control tuition costs. In 2003, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., proposed a plan to hold back aid to colleges and universities that raised tuition much faster than inflation. It met resistance from higher education and wasn’t passed.
February 7, 2012, 8:44 am
We could all use a little extra cash. But between working your full-time job, family time, and all your other commitments, who has time to work a traditional part-time job? Luckily, there are plenty of off-the-wall ways to make money that you can fit into your schedule. Here are some of the weirdest ways to fatten your wallet. Perhaps one of them will be the perfect second revenue stream for you:
I’m not talking about the world’s oldest profession—but legally selling body parts can net you some pretty good money quickly. For example, women (or men!) with very long hair can generally earn anywhere from $300 to $900 dollars for their tresses. Hair that is untreated is worth more, and generally the price goes up with length.
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February 3, 2012, 9:48 pm
CMC Markets has been announced as the winner of best CFD provider and best spread betting company categories by members of the Trade2Win trading community. CMC which is owned by Peter Cruddas is thought to have about 75,000 clients worldwide, who placed a total of 26 million trades in 2011.
The scope of the Trade2Win Members Choice Awards, which were launched in 2003, is to provide its 252,000 members with a voice in which to recognise the innovative and high quality service and products from companies in the world of trading.
Doug Richards, Chief Executive Officer of CMC Markets stated that since launching in 1989, CMCs ultimate goal has always been to become the global leader in the online trading business.
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January 24, 2012, 11:55 pm
ALPS, the Denver-based exchange-traded fund sponsor known as one of the first firms to actively market ETFs, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to market a new high-volatility ETF that will track an index of a hypothetical portfolio comprising exchange-traded put options.
The U.S. Equity High Volatility Put Write Index Fund will be listed on Arca, the New York Stock Exchange’s electronic trading platform under the symbol “HVPW,” and will have an annual expense ratio of 0.95 percent, according to the filing. The fund will be ALPS’s fourth ETF.
With the market’s recent upswing, HPVW might be going into registration at a propitious time. High-volatility stocks generally experience significant declines in a bear market, but when stocks are rallying, high-volatility stocks can experience greater gains.
Although low-volatility ETFs, such as the PowerShares S&P Low Volatility ETF (NYSEArca: SPLV), have been popular since they came on the scene last spring, the high-volatility ETF landscape is more limited. HVPW is
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January 18, 2012, 8:24 pm
This deal will add power to Apache’s hold in the region, though Leo Mariani of RBC Capital Markets doesn’t think the terms of the deal are top notch:
“The ultimate price is $6,000 an acre and gas prices need to go up in the next few years for them to make money on this.”
As hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has increased the supply of natural gas in the U.S., gas prices have fallen and will likely continue to do so.Cordillera’s development of the Anadarko basin includes a large number of fracking wells. Fracking has been under environmental scrutiny because of claims that it causes small earthquakes and pollution to drinking water.In the acquisition, Apache will pay $2.25 billion in cash. The additional $600 million will come from common stocks.This follows an announcement that Canadian Pembina Pipeline Corp (TSE: PPL) will purchase Provident Energy Ltd (NYSE: PVX).The consolidation of these energy companies is enabling increased domestic development, something that will decrease dependence on foreign oil, particularly from OPEC.Apache was up 0.71% on Monday to $97.49.That’s all for now,Brianna