Author: Tom Silva

he nation’s financial system needs significantly more regulation than exists now.  The lack of tough regulatory powers strongly impacted the recent financial crash and the Great Recession that ensued.  The good news is that the Obama administration is moving firmly in this direction with financial reform legislation a critical item on its agenda.  This is […]

London remains the most expensive place to park a car, according to the 2010 Global Parking Rate Survey by Colliers International.   The City and West End scored number one and two in terms of monthly parking rates with The City topping out at $933 USD per month (£643), followed by the West End at […]

Sales of luxury goods are doing quite well, according to a recent report from LVMH, the manufacturer of Louis Vuitton bags and accessories and Dom Perignon champagne.  The world’s largest luxury goods purveyor, LVMH reported a 53 percent increase in net profits to €1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) on sales of €6.9 billion in the 1st […]

One company that is holding its own despite the shaky economy is Peoria, IL-based Caterpillar, Inc., which reported an enviable quarterly profit thanks to growth in emerging markets.  The world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment is benefiting from growing mining and energy operations with orders outpacing shipments to dealers.  Additionally, Caterpillar plans to […]

Legendary newscaster and elder statesman of political commentary Daniel Schorr died recently at age 93 following a brief illness.  Schorr, who spent the last 25 years of his long career as a senior news analyst with National Public Radio (NPR), aired his final broadcast on Saturday, July 10.  A journalist for more than 60 years, […]

The next item on President Barack Obama’s ambitious agenda is likely to be overhauling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage firms that so far have cost American taxpayers $145 billion to keep afloat.  The two firms, which own more than half of the nation’s $11 trillion in home mortgages, collapsed along with the […]

It’s ironic that — even in the depths of the Great Recession — the number of millionaires around the world grew by 17 percent to 10 million.  Their collective wealth surged 19 percent to $39 trillion, according to the latest world wealth report from Merrill Lynch-Capgemini. “We are already seeing distinct signs of recovery and, […]

Commercial real estate is currently experiencing a perfect storm, one that will utterly change the way corporations utilize their office space in the future.  This is the opinion of John Vivadelli, CEO and founder of AgilQuest Corporation and a well respected industry expert in the fields of alternative office environments; real estate metrics and cost […]

Jones Lang LaSalle and LaSalle Investment Management have noted reasonable improvement in global market transparency, according to their recently released 2010 Commercial Real Estate Transparency Index. According to the Index, Australia ranks as 2010’s most transparent market.  Canada is next in line, and improving markets include China, India, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Greece and Hungary.  Market […]

As global financial disparities start to wind down, China is likely to end up a winner because emerging-market economies have a definite advantage rooted in the way the global economy functions. Writing in the McKinsey Quarterly, Lowell Bryan, a director with McKinsey & Company, notes that “Saber-rattling Western trade negotiators frequently focus their attention on […]