| Bids low for Pope's VW
SAN FRANCISCO -- While Pope Benedict celebrated his 80th birthday, the latest eBay auction for his old Volkswagen Golf ended without a winner on the weekend. Although bids for the 1999 metallic grey hatchback surpassed $204,000 US, a reserve price wasn't met. EBay spokesman Catherine Fisher said she didn't know what the seller's minimum price was. A message left with the owner, Texas-based online casino GoldenPalace.com, was not returned. Benedict celebrated his 80th birthday a day early yesterday with a Mass in his honour on the flower-bedecked steps of St. Peter's Square. Benedict was born in April 16 in Marktl Am Inn, a riverside town in the Bavaria region of Germany, and sprinkled among the crowd in the square bathed in brilliant sunlight were fellow countrymen and women in traditional dress, including feather-trimmed hats.
Dubai Muncipality Auction For Jumeira Properties Fetches Dhs15.8 ...
There were 12 villas and 12 shops up for grabs in the auction and their annual rent ranged from Dh170 per square foot to Dh230 per square foot, depending on the location and size.
According to Salah Al Qaiwani, Head of the Specialised Contracts and Investment Section, who also heads the Jumeira Auction Committee at Dubai Municipality, the auction’s results were unprecedented.
"Despite the rent being not so cheap, the key-money offered far exceeded our expectations. This proves two points: first, there is a huge demand on commercial shops in popular areas like Jumeira and second, the business community has a strong confidence in Dubai’s economy," said Al Qaiwani.
He noted that the highest sum recorded was Dhs1.75 million on a 1310 square feet shop while a 2621 square feet villa fetched a key money of Dhs850,000.
Is it time to reassess private equity
So much opprobrium has been heaped on private equity in the past few months that it would not be surprising if it were blamed for the decline of English cricket or the outcome of the French presidential elections. But far from justifying this hostility, three big recent deals suggest instead it is time for a reassessment of the buyout industry. .
Go Shopping Via Reverse Auctions
I've found myself in an interesting and illuminating loop lately. In February, I wrote an article offering some money-saving shopping tips. Good enough, right? Well, I quickly heard from some folks who offered me additional advice, especially about where to find great discounts and coupons online. So I then wrote about how to be a smart online shopper. And then -- you guessed it -- I heard from more folks. So here's my next installment, this time focused on ... (drumroll) reverse auctions. With traditional auctions, such as you'll find at eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), buyers bid on items, driving up the price until no one wants to bid anymore or the time runs out. With reverse auctions, an item's price starts out high, and then drops -- until someone buys it, ideally. This is similar to the "Dutch auction" concept, which Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) used for its IPO.
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