Archive for September 22nd, 2008

Daily Archive

Mon

Market woes continue, consolation possible

Posted by Marlow Harris under Real Estate
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Wall Street was shaken to its foundations in the most harrowing and volatile week in modern history, as a widening crisis of confidence led to the demise of the 158-year-old Lehman Brothers, a government takeover of American International Group , a shotgun marriage of Merrill Lynch with Bank of America , and the merging of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley into banks.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Watch closely how Wall Street insiders console each other.

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Mon

Buy an Italian villa for 2 dollars

Posted by Marlow Harris under Real Estate
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An earthquake devastated the Sicilian village of Salemi in 1968, killing 200 people and reducing thousands of buildings to rubble. Down the hill, a modern city sprung up in the village’s place, but the historical center has been a ghost town ever since. Except for a few dozen habitable villas, the ruins are frozen in time: tattered curtains hang on broken windows and rusty table legs protrude from heaps of rubble.

Now Salemi is taking an unusual step to reincarnate the old town: it is giving the dilapidated villas away. The city’s new mayor is offering 3,000 of the villas for the bargain-basement price of €1 a piece. The catch? The new owners have two years to renovate, staying true to each building’s original characteristics and, when possible, using the area’s local artisans, masons and builders.

Villa For Sale: Two Bucks

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