In the world of commercial real estate office leasing, the sublease market offers a less transparent subset of supply and demand that is difficult to track at best, and frustratingly illogical at worst. Because sublessors are in cost recovery mode, it is challenging to bring parties to the table and walk away with a win-win. […]
Near-zero yields are making it difficult for pensions and endowments to hit the targets they need to meet their future obligations. It’s pushing disciples of the classic investing strategy of 60% stocks/40% bonds to get more creative. As an example, the $400bn California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which provides benefits for 2 million current […]
This article was originally published in October 2020. As we adjust to what may be a permanent shift from 95% to 80% capacity in the economy, we face penalties in terms of price, choice and quality. Announcements of store closures and job losses are coming thick and fast. Mulberry, the luxury fashion retailer, is to […]
So, just as one is beginning to adjust to the reality that there will be no Christmas trip home to Britain this year, no family gathering under the exuberantly giant tree culled from a neighbour’s plantation, no bleary eyed brisk Downland ramble to the sea and back for a late lunch and a glass of […]
Along with air miles and an agenda, a passport was probably the least useful accessory of 2020. For those of us as familiar with business lounges as we were with sun loungers, this has been an unusual year. But the signs, for passports at least, are that they are back in popularity, and covid-19 is […]
Biographers of John Maynard Keynes have a peculiar habit of treading very lightly around their subject matter’s involvement in the eugenics movement. The oversight is not for want of evidence. In one of his last public appearances before his death in 1946, the famed British economist described eugenics as the “most important, significant, and I […]
Kicking off a three-part series on proptech, in its very widest sense, let’s look back first of all to the Stone Age. Urbanisation has been a key driver for technological breakthroughs. But what was the catalyst for urbanisation and the rise of megacities, such as ancient Rome? Geography? Ruthless emperors? Good wine and fabulous food? […]
The consensus is that we are in a K-shaped recovery – that means winners and losers. We are not all in this together. The unique shape of the covid-19 crisis and accompanying recession has meant some industries have thrived whilst others have dived. In caricature, everyone now uses Zoom and Peloton, while offices and gyms […]
Last week we looked at historical lessons derived from prior pandemics. Today we will expand into determining the likely economic fallout of covid-19, consider the capital market feedback and map the way forward. How do we value the covid-19 impact? My review of relevant academic literature finds a scenario outlined in a paper published by […]
Many people concerned about the possibility of inflation caused by the debasement of currencies, such as myself, were strongly influenced by the 2009 book by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, This Time is Different, which catalogues the causes and effects of past economic crises. While in the short term, debt-financed deficit spending by governments can […]
