Word: boom
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...that's not much comfort to those who were counting on Asia's boom to continue as uneventfully as it has over the past several years. Amit Kumar, a 22-year-old New Delhi resident, started a small building-materials business two years ago when India's capital was enjoying an unprecedented construction boom. But with interest payments on his bank loans mounting and customers dwindling, he closed up shop six months ago and started driving a taxi. The job is "beneath my status," Kumar complains, "but at least it keeps a roof above my head." If Asian governments...
Still, the winters really are great! And this doom-and-glooming might sound familiar. In 1981, TIME declared crime- and drug-plagued South Florida a "Paradise Lost." The region then embarked on an epic boom. Southeast Florida - including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach - ballooned into the nation's seventh largest metro, while southwest Florida - Naples, Cape Coral, Fort Myers - became the fastest-growing metro. Last year 82.4 million visitors found their way to this lost paradise. And last month Governor Charlie Crist unveiled a $1.75 billion deal to buy the U.S. Sugar Corp. and its 187,000 acres...
...unload nonperforming real estate loans for as low as 30˘ on the dollar. Miami topped a recent list of America's worst housing markets, just ahead of Orlando, with Tampa fourth. From 20% to 40% of the speculators who waited on lines to buy preconstruction condos during the boom are expected to walk away from those investments before closing; many are turning to a new cottage industry of get-your-deposit-back lawyers. "The ambulance chasers are everywhere," says developer Jorge Pérez, the so-called Trump of the Tropics, whose Related Group faces more than 100 lawsuits by remorseful...
Still, did I mention the winters are nice? As baby boomers retire, as Hispanic markets expand, as leftist dictators harass wealthy South Americans, some people will always want to come to Florida. In anticipation of the next boom, developer Pérez has set up a $1 billion fund to buy distressed properties, and Zalewski of Condo Vultures has been besieged by foreign investors. "Eventually, Florida is going to grow again," he says...
...companies yearning to cash in on Russia's immensely lucrative energy boom, there's an obvious business lesson: choose your partners carefully. The moment a lock-in agreement blocking either side from selling out expired in December, the competing interests of BP and AAR looked set for a collision. Oil giants like BP are used to investing for the long term, knowing that patience is key in this capital-intensive business. AAR would like a faster return. Both sides might have done better, in fact, if one had taken overall control. Indeed, Putin recently recalled warning...