Macao has released their most recent visitor expenditure statistics.
Contact Ruth for further info --- on any Macao stats you might be interested in.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
NY museum doing well
from Crain's New York Business (2/4):
New museum exceeds expectations
By Miriam Kreinin Souccar
Published: February 4, 2009 - 2:37 pm
"The Museum of Arts and Design has proven its critics wrong.
Since opening its $95 million remake of the late architect Edward Durell Stone’s “lollipop” building on Columbus Circle about four months ago, the museum has received more than 160,000 visitors." ...
for the complete story
New museum exceeds expectations
By Miriam Kreinin Souccar
Published: February 4, 2009 - 2:37 pm
"The Museum of Arts and Design has proven its critics wrong.
Since opening its $95 million remake of the late architect Edward Durell Stone’s “lollipop” building on Columbus Circle about four months ago, the museum has received more than 160,000 visitors." ...
for the complete story
Corp travel budgets cut
from USA Today (2/10):
Surprising number of companies cut travel spending
By Dan Reed, USA TODAY
"Twice as many U.S. companies as previously expected are cutting their travel spending this year in response to economic weakness and uncertainty.
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives says 71% of its member companies now plan to spend less on travel this year than in 2008. That's a huge and unprecedented shift in corporate travel managers' plans from just five months ago, says Susan Gurley, the association's executive director." ...
for the complete story
Surprising number of companies cut travel spending
By Dan Reed, USA TODAY
"Twice as many U.S. companies as previously expected are cutting their travel spending this year in response to economic weakness and uncertainty.
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives says 71% of its member companies now plan to spend less on travel this year than in 2008. That's a huge and unprecedented shift in corporate travel managers' plans from just five months ago, says Susan Gurley, the association's executive director." ...
for the complete story
Arts economic impact questioned
from the Boston Globe (2/5):
Stimulus funding for arts hits nerve
Some doubt it would create jobs
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | February 5, 2009
"WASHINGTON - The massive economic stimulus bill moving through Congress is being watched closely by arts groups across the country, including the Massachusetts Cultural Council. If the House version becomes law, the National Endowment for the Arts would get $50 million - and the council's federal funding would soar by nearly 50 percent.
While the NEA money is a minuscule portion of the $819 billion House bill, it has become a lightning rod for some critics, who question whether the dollars for the arts will create many jobs - and who see the money as a symbol of House Democrats trying to lard up the plan with spending wish lists that have been pent up for years.
The criticism has reached such a crescendo that some arts advocates are concerned that the push for the $50 million could backfire, reigniting a debate over the value of taxpayers funding everything from "poetry out loud" events to community theater." ...
for the complete story
Stimulus funding for arts hits nerve
Some doubt it would create jobs
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | February 5, 2009
"WASHINGTON - The massive economic stimulus bill moving through Congress is being watched closely by arts groups across the country, including the Massachusetts Cultural Council. If the House version becomes law, the National Endowment for the Arts would get $50 million - and the council's federal funding would soar by nearly 50 percent.
While the NEA money is a minuscule portion of the $819 billion House bill, it has become a lightning rod for some critics, who question whether the dollars for the arts will create many jobs - and who see the money as a symbol of House Democrats trying to lard up the plan with spending wish lists that have been pent up for years.
The criticism has reached such a crescendo that some arts advocates are concerned that the push for the $50 million could backfire, reigniting a debate over the value of taxpayers funding everything from "poetry out loud" events to community theater." ...
for the complete story
NY museums face the economy
from Crain's New York Business (2/1):
Picture darkens for city's museums
By Miriam Kreinin Souccar
Published: February 1, 2009 - 5:59 am
"As a way to save money, the Queens Museum of Art will no longer provide visitors with exhibition brochures. The American Museum of Natural History has canceled its popular Friday night jazz concerts. And the Brooklyn Museum is planning more exhibits around its own collections." ...
"Hit with steep cuts in public funding, as well as declines in earned income and corporate and foundation grants, museums throughout the city are slashing budgets, laying off staff and doing everything else they can to operate with dwindling resources. For New York culture hounds, that will mean their favorite museums will have fewer—and less ambitious—shows and special programs, as well as shorter hours." ...
for the complete story
Picture darkens for city's museums
By Miriam Kreinin Souccar
Published: February 1, 2009 - 5:59 am
"As a way to save money, the Queens Museum of Art will no longer provide visitors with exhibition brochures. The American Museum of Natural History has canceled its popular Friday night jazz concerts. And the Brooklyn Museum is planning more exhibits around its own collections." ...
"Hit with steep cuts in public funding, as well as declines in earned income and corporate and foundation grants, museums throughout the city are slashing budgets, laying off staff and doing everything else they can to operate with dwindling resources. For New York culture hounds, that will mean their favorite museums will have fewer—and less ambitious—shows and special programs, as well as shorter hours." ...
for the complete story
Hard Rock Park to be bought by MB Entertainment
from PR Newswire (2/11):
FPI MB Entertainment LLC Enters Into Contract With Bankruptcy Court Trustee to Purchase Assets of Hard Rock Park
"MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- FPI MB Entertainment LLC (FPI MBE) announced today it has entered into a contract to purchase substantially all the assets of Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The group's contract is with the appointed Chapter 7 Trustee in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The group has a fully-financed contract for the purchase price of $25 million, as well as, additional committed capital to open the park for the 2009 season." ...
for the complete story
FPI MB Entertainment LLC Enters Into Contract With Bankruptcy Court Trustee to Purchase Assets of Hard Rock Park
"MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- FPI MB Entertainment LLC (FPI MBE) announced today it has entered into a contract to purchase substantially all the assets of Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The group's contract is with the appointed Chapter 7 Trustee in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The group has a fully-financed contract for the purchase price of $25 million, as well as, additional committed capital to open the park for the 2009 season." ...
for the complete story
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Stadiums in this economy
from the L.A. Times (2/10):
Sports stadiums face economic fault line
A flurry of ballparks and arenas are being built across the country, but the price tags that amount to a cumulative total of about $10 billion may result in a disconnect for fans.
By Greg Johnson
February 10, 2009
"At the Dallas Cowboys stadium that will open for the next NFL season, what catches your eye -- no, what makes your jaw drop -- might be the 60-yard-long video screen that hangs from the translucent, movable roof.
At the New York Mets ballpark that will open April 13, it might be the soaring open-air rotunda that honors Jackie Robinson.
Yet for sports fans caught in the grip of an increasingly ugly recession, the most stunning feature of the newest generation of sports venues might be the price tag." ...
for the complete story
Sports stadiums face economic fault line
A flurry of ballparks and arenas are being built across the country, but the price tags that amount to a cumulative total of about $10 billion may result in a disconnect for fans.
By Greg Johnson
February 10, 2009
"At the Dallas Cowboys stadium that will open for the next NFL season, what catches your eye -- no, what makes your jaw drop -- might be the 60-yard-long video screen that hangs from the translucent, movable roof.
At the New York Mets ballpark that will open April 13, it might be the soaring open-air rotunda that honors Jackie Robinson.
Yet for sports fans caught in the grip of an increasingly ugly recession, the most stunning feature of the newest generation of sports venues might be the price tag." ...
for the complete story
Great Park, Irvine (CA)
from the L.A. Times (2/10):
Design completed for Great Park in Irvine
Building it is another matter: Budget and construction timelines are up in the air. Park officials wait for a new agreement with Lennar Corp., which plans to develop space around the park.
By Paloma Esquivel
February 10, 2009
"The housing boom may be bust and the economy may be circling the drain, but that hasn't stopped the design of Orange County's Great Park from being completed." ...
for the complete story
Design completed for Great Park in Irvine
Building it is another matter: Budget and construction timelines are up in the air. Park officials wait for a new agreement with Lennar Corp., which plans to develop space around the park.
By Paloma Esquivel
February 10, 2009
"The housing boom may be bust and the economy may be circling the drain, but that hasn't stopped the design of Orange County's Great Park from being completed." ...
for the complete story
Aecom up 39%
from the Los Angeles Business Journal (2/10):
Posted date: 2/10/2009
Aecom Posts Higher Profit in Quarter
By DEBORAH CROWE
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
"Aecom Technology Corp on Tuesday reported a 39 percent increased in fiscal first quarter net income, helped by strong growth across its businesses.
The Los Angeles Engineering and design firm reported net income of $40.9 million (38 cents per share) compared with $29.5 million (29 cents) a year ago Revenue rose 35 percent to $1.45 billion." ...
for the complete story
Posted date: 2/10/2009
Aecom Posts Higher Profit in Quarter
By DEBORAH CROWE
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
"Aecom Technology Corp on Tuesday reported a 39 percent increased in fiscal first quarter net income, helped by strong growth across its businesses.
The Los Angeles Engineering and design firm reported net income of $40.9 million (38 cents per share) compared with $29.5 million (29 cents) a year ago Revenue rose 35 percent to $1.45 billion." ...
for the complete story
Monday, February 9, 2009
Timeshares to fall out?
from Reuters (2/6):
Time bomb?
Fri Feb 6, 2009 7:39pm EST
"Vacation time-shares must rank near the bottom of anyone's must-have list these days, not far from designer water, animal shrinks and personal spa consultants. That the high-pressure industry is reeling comes as no surprise. What's less obvious is why the business didn't fall apart sooner, especially since it is caught in the same securitization collapse that buried subprime mortgages and other asset-backed securities.
Banish any thoughts that time-share developers are immune from the economic downdraft. Marketing of new time-shares is being drastically cut. Time-share financing is extremely tough. Securitization is nonexistent." ...
for the complete story
Time bomb?
Fri Feb 6, 2009 7:39pm EST
"Vacation time-shares must rank near the bottom of anyone's must-have list these days, not far from designer water, animal shrinks and personal spa consultants. That the high-pressure industry is reeling comes as no surprise. What's less obvious is why the business didn't fall apart sooner, especially since it is caught in the same securitization collapse that buried subprime mortgages and other asset-backed securities.
Banish any thoughts that time-share developers are immune from the economic downdraft. Marketing of new time-shares is being drastically cut. Time-share financing is extremely tough. Securitization is nonexistent." ...
for the complete story
Equity Office Properties/Blackstone deal continues to ripple through the market
from the New York Times (2/7):
Sam Zell’s Empire, Underwater in a Big Way
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
"It was, for a brief shining moment, the real estate deal of the century.
In 2007, Sam Zell, the billionaire Chicago investor, sold a portfolio of 573 properties he had assembled over three decades, Equity Office Properties Trust, to the Blackstone Group for $39 billion. It was the largest private equity deal in history, but Blackstone did not stop there: it immediately flipped hundreds of the buildings for $27 billion.
Today, the wreckage of those purchases is strewn across the country, from Southern California to Austin, Tex., to Chicago to New York. Many of the 16 companies that bought Equity Office buildings are now stuck with punishing debt, properties whose values are plummeting and millions of feet of office space they cannot fill." ...
for the complete story
Sam Zell’s Empire, Underwater in a Big Way
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
"It was, for a brief shining moment, the real estate deal of the century.
In 2007, Sam Zell, the billionaire Chicago investor, sold a portfolio of 573 properties he had assembled over three decades, Equity Office Properties Trust, to the Blackstone Group for $39 billion. It was the largest private equity deal in history, but Blackstone did not stop there: it immediately flipped hundreds of the buildings for $27 billion.
Today, the wreckage of those purchases is strewn across the country, from Southern California to Austin, Tex., to Chicago to New York. Many of the 16 companies that bought Equity Office buildings are now stuck with punishing debt, properties whose values are plummeting and millions of feet of office space they cannot fill." ...
for the complete story
Thursday, February 5, 2009
University museum to be shuttered
from the Wall Street Journal (2/3):
FEBRUARY 3, 2009, 11:40 P.M. ET
The Brandeis Bombshell
Is the University's Museum Just a Rose to Be Plucked?
By DANIEL GRANT
"For the trustees at Brandeis University, the easy part is over. Without an apparent word of dissent, all 50 or so trustees approved a plan on Jan. 26 to close the university's 48-year-old Rose Art Museum and sell its entire 7,180-piece art collection, which was last appraised in 2006 at about $350 million.
Brandeis's endowment had plunged to $540 million at the end of 2008 from $712 million as of June 30 of that year, and it was earning significantly less than the 8%-plus annual return on investment it had posted on June 30. Some of Brandeis's trustees are believed to have lost money from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, limiting their ability to make up the difference. The school, which by law spends only its gains and not the principal of the endowment, reduced expenditures by $10 million and instituted various budget-freezing measures," ....
for the complete story
FEBRUARY 3, 2009, 11:40 P.M. ET
The Brandeis Bombshell
Is the University's Museum Just a Rose to Be Plucked?
By DANIEL GRANT
"For the trustees at Brandeis University, the easy part is over. Without an apparent word of dissent, all 50 or so trustees approved a plan on Jan. 26 to close the university's 48-year-old Rose Art Museum and sell its entire 7,180-piece art collection, which was last appraised in 2006 at about $350 million.
Brandeis's endowment had plunged to $540 million at the end of 2008 from $712 million as of June 30 of that year, and it was earning significantly less than the 8%-plus annual return on investment it had posted on June 30. Some of Brandeis's trustees are believed to have lost money from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, limiting their ability to make up the difference. The school, which by law spends only its gains and not the principal of the endowment, reduced expenditures by $10 million and instituted various budget-freezing measures," ....
for the complete story
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Bahrain buying up Dubai
from Trade Arabia (2/4):
Bahrainis pump $167m into Dubai property
Dubai: Wed, 4 Feb 2009
"Bahraini investments into the Dubai real estate sector have topped Dh615 million ($167.4 million) in 2008, says a recent study by REIDIN.com.
This underlines the pull of the emirate among Bahrain-based investors and the strong capacity of this affluent group to undertake sizeable ventures in the property development front." ...
for the complete story
Bahrainis pump $167m into Dubai property
Dubai: Wed, 4 Feb 2009
"Bahraini investments into the Dubai real estate sector have topped Dh615 million ($167.4 million) in 2008, says a recent study by REIDIN.com.
This underlines the pull of the emirate among Bahrain-based investors and the strong capacity of this affluent group to undertake sizeable ventures in the property development front." ...
for the complete story
UAE expenditure survey results announced
from Trade Arabia (2/4):
UAE unveils expenditure survey figures Dubai: Wed, 4 Feb 2009
"The average monthly household income of UAE residents is Dh18,248.60 ($4,969) and expenditure is Dh11,241.20." ...
for the complete story
UAE unveils expenditure survey figures Dubai: Wed, 4 Feb 2009
"The average monthly household income of UAE residents is Dh18,248.60 ($4,969) and expenditure is Dh11,241.20." ...
for the complete story
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