Word: banking
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...Turkish banks have been particularly attractive to outside investors. Citigroup last year bought a 20% stake in Akbank (for $3 billion). "The foreign appetite for Turkish companies and stocks is high," said Hakan Avci, director of asset management at the Istanbul office of Raymond James Securities, a U.S. company, before the recent political blowup. In the past 18 months, Lehman Bros., Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse bought local brokerages in the country. Avci has since lowered his projections because of the political turmoil but says he is "optimistic that this crisis will be overcome and a solution found." The Turkish...
...businessmen like Serdar Bilgili remain upbeat. The Istanbul entrepreneur just invested in a $75 million project to build a new W Hotel in the trendiest part of Istanbul. "We are very positive in the long term," he says. "The outlook might seem unclear now, but financial markets and bank reserves are strong, and we are confident in the potential of Turkey to grow." The fact that he is not alone in that view is, ultimately, Turkey's real headline news...
...real estate agents' attempts to move their ever increasing inventory fast, as the mortgage crisis forces more and more homeowners into foreclosure. The idea originated in nearby Stockton last year and has migrated to other cities in California, Michigan, Florida and Massachusetts. Elk Grove alone has about 2,120 bank-owned houses for sale and 1,280 in pre-foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac, a real-estate-data website. The places we see vary from spotless to foul-smelling. One house, which appears to have been vacated in a hurry, has enormous stuffed animals on the windowsills and children's artwork...
...started to come back. Over the past six months, investors and first-time home buyers have moved in, snapping up homes now priced at less than $250,000. Residents are working to make sure the neighborhoods they traded up to remain desirable, getting together to mow lawns of bank-owned homes, partner with the police and draft ordinances to hold landlords accountable for disheveled properties. "We've just changed our mind-set," says resident Phillip Stark. "It's no longer what can the city do for me, but what can I do for the city...
Weil helpfully points out the lipstick-on-the-collar warning signs of trouble: maxed-out credit cards, bank accounts with cash missing or unaccounted for, a refusal to discuss finances or unopened bills and general secrecy about money. And watch out for a pattern of revenge shopping binges following fights...