"You've seen his face all over TV for years, now won't you please go see the man's house? Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall and his wife, Kasi Lemmons, just dropped the price on their Hollywood Hills home by 21 percent - from $2,899,000 to $2,295,000. Previously, they...
" (2009-2-8)
February 10, 2009
Hollywood Hills home looks like a bargain
Statewatch: Nevada: Wheel of fortune
"We begin an occasional series on how America’s states are faring in the downturn with Nevada, the ultimate in boom and bustFOR a glimpse of the old, confident Las Vegas, visit its newest hotel. Steve Wynn’s vaguely Chinese-themed Encore, which opened in December, is packed with heavy draperies and well-drilled staff. It has thousands of indoor flowers, flat-screen televisions in the bathrooms and a restaurant where the decor changes every half-hour or so. One of its boutiques sells a bejewelled object adorned with a butterfly for $269. Closer inspection reveals it to be a toothbrush-holder. No doubt it seemed like a good idea two-and-a-half years ago, when work began on the hotel. Today it seems delusional. Nevada’s most distinctive industry is slumping as Americans fasten their wallets. Despite the opening of several big casinos, total gambling revenues have declined by 15% in a year. Developers are frantically scaling back projects, or even mothballing them. Still, two huge casino-hotels will open this year, boosting supply at the worst possible moment. ..." (2009-2-5)
Charlemagne: Single-market blues
"Recession is bringing fresh threats to Europe’s single marketIN FRANCE railway crossings are adorned with a small lesson for a life of gnomic brevity. “One train can conceal another,” is the message printed on warning signs. It is a motto that supporters of free trade should remember as they scan the horizon for threats to the European Union’s greatest achievement: the borderless single market. Those watching out for protectionism have plenty to alarm them, right before their eyes. But the biggest threats to the single market are those hidden from view.Start with the visibly alarming. France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, an express train in human form, has hinted that billions of euros in aid for the French car industry should be made conditional on keeping production in France (and perhaps on buying French-made components, unnamed aides have briefed). There has been no less furious tooting and whistling from politicians in such places as Spain, Britain and Greece as they nag bailed-out bankers to lend first to domestic businesses and households. The Greeks publicly “advised” banks to be “more prudent” about transferring bail-out funds to Balkan subsidiaries. A nasty industrial dispute, sparked when Italian and Portuguese workers were posted to an English oil refinery, led one British minister to urge changes to EU law to stop foreigners undercutting Brits. ..." (2009-2-5)
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