Business

The Ford Foundation is committing $50 million in a new program designed to support 240 social justice leaders around the world over the next 10 years.

The inaugural class of 24 fellows of the Global Fellowship program, launched Monday, includes social justice leaders from the United States, Brazil, Africa, and the Middle East.

When will Coronavirus Travel Restrictions be Lifted?

Each country’s approach to travel is changing on a case-by-case basis. Generally, domestic and international travel bans are being lifted once the number of coronavirus cases have plateaued or begin to decline. Below, we list the countries that are now planning to ease lockdown measures.

Italy has announced that its borders will reopen to European countries on June 3, with travelers able to move freely to and from Italy with no quarantine requirement upon arrival. Bars, restaurants, non-essential shops, and museums in Italy already reopened on May 18.

Sicily remains closed for now like the rest of Italy but has announced that it will subsidize international and domestic travel to the region in order to encourage tourism once lockdown has lifted.

From June 1, The Maldives will begin to open its borders for international travel.

The US, Canada, and South America remain largely closed to tourists. However, Florida Keys and some areas of Mexico, including tourism hotspot Cancun, have announced plans to reopen as of June 1.

The government of Turkey has announced plans to have domestic tourism reopened by the end of May and international tourism before the end of June, but face masks will be mandatory in public areas.

From July 1, visitors to Spain will no longer have to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival. The tourism minister for the Canary Islands has announced that the islands plan to reopen to domestic visitors by August 1 and international visitors in October.

France has announced that borders between Switzerland and Germany will be reopened from June 15. At least until July, travelers will need to provide a health certificate confirming that they do not have coronavirus, or be subjected to 14 days of self-isolation upon entry.

At the earliest, Greece will open its borders to international tourists on July 1. Currently, any arrivals into the country must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival, and face masks are mandatory in shops and on public transport.

Many Caribbean and South Pacific islands remain under lockdown, but The US Virgin islands plan to reopen borders for tourists on June 1, when visitors can begin to make hotel and restaurant reservations again.

Much of Asia remains closed, and tourist hotspot Bali has suggested that it may only reopen to international travelers in October.

In the United Kingdom, those who enjoy their outdoor sports can resume golf and fishing activities in Scotland from May 28. England has announced that its pubs and restaurants will reopen from July 4 while Ireland is only scheduled to reopen eateries from August 10.

St Lucia has announced that its tourism industry will begin to cautiously reopen as of June 4. However, rigorous protocols, including social distancing, sanitisation, and health screening measures, will be in place throughout travelers’ journeys to the island.

After reopening various hotels on May 11, Croatia has also announced plans to reopen borders to travelers from European countries.

The Icelandic government has announced that it plans to start opening borders to international travelers from June 15, albeit with strict safety measures in place.

Visitors from 31 different European countries will be able to travel to Germany as of June 15.

Which Countries are Open for Travel?

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines never officially shut its borders to tourists, but all new arrivals are required to undertake a 14-day quarantine upon entry.

Sweden is another country that never went into full lockdown, so hotels, shops, bars, restaurants, and some museums are open but gatherings of over 50 are still prohibited. For now, borders are only open to nationals from the UK and EU.

Although England is open to essential travel from abroad, arrivals into the country are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon entry. If visitors cannot provide an address of where they plan to isolate, they will have to stay in accommodation arranged by the government.

The borders of South Korea are now open too, but all new arrivals are required to undergo quarantine for 14 days.

On May 15, the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced that they have reopened their borders to each other – so only tourists of these Baltic countries are welcome to visit for now.

Although closed to the majority of travelers until June 15, Iceland is allowing those from Schengen countries to arrive in the country.

On May 20, Cambodia announced that it has reopened borders to tourists from the US, France, Iran, Italy, Germany, and Spain albeit with stringent conditions: all visitors will need a test proving they are COVID-19 free within three days of their arrival in the country, plus they will need to prove that they have $50,000 worth of health insurance coverage and on top of this will still need to quarantine for 14 days upon the arrival.

As of May 25, those with a permanent residence in either Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Germany have been allowed to re-enter Denmark on certain conditions.

When Can We Fly Again?

Most countries are operating on limited flight schedules for necessary travel only, and will begin to increase flights in accordance with their border restriction protocols. Countries who have officially announced their plans for international flights are listed below.

The Maldives government has announced that airports welcoming international visitors will open in phases from July 1, with specific health and safety guidelines in place. From June 1, private jets carrying tourists can already begin to land in the country.

Greece will resume operating direct flights from international airports, including from the UK, as of June 1. Travel to Evia and Crete from mainland Greece is already permitted.

In Italy, one airport per region is open with some flights operating, however, Rome Ciampino and terminal one at Rome Fiumicino airport are closed.

As of June 4, St Lucia will allow commercial flights only from the US to land at Hewanorra International Airport. Visitors will, however, be required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of boarding their flight and will be asked to wear masks, undergo health and temperature checks and practice social-distancing during their stay.

What are Travel Bubbles?

Countries with low numbers of reported coronavirus cases are now working together to create so-called ‘travel bubbles’ or ‘travel corridors’ with one another. This means that people who live within the bubble will be allowed to cross borders without the need to go into quarantine upon arrival.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania created the first European travel bubble when they opened borders to each other on May 15, followed by Australia and New Zealand who have now agreed on creating a trans-Tasman travel bubble when flights recommence between the two countries. Various news outlets have reported that China is also considering opening a travel bubble with Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, while Israel has been discussing a potential travel bubble with Greece and Cyprus.

When Will Hotels Reopen?

Various hotels and restaurants in Croatia reopened on May 11 with social-distancing measures in place and Turkey has announced that hotels and restaurants will be reopened from May 27.

St Lucia is preparing approximately 1,500 hotel rooms in various resorts to welcome visitors from June 4.

via@Boat International

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As 2020 unfolds, every business mind is boggled by one question “Where to Invest?”. As an investor, you should care a lot about economical and political stability when choosing where to invest your money in.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused great worry for many investors. And they are right to be The Congressional Research Service claims that the pandemic could trim down global economic growth by 2%. Even JP Morgan predicted that there is a 60% chance that a recession will occur in 2020. And thus, the answer to “Where to invest?” has never been more uncertain.

The truth is that not every country will be affected if a global recession occurs. Some countries are very fortified to withstand an economic crash. They have a lot of internal growth drivers with minimal affiliation with global markets. They will be the least affected. The best countries to invest in 2020 are these fortified countries.

According to the World Bank Group, four unique factors motivate an individual or a business entity to invest in a country. These are the country’s natural resources, markets, efficiency, and strategic assets (like its technologies and brands).

Using this four categorical determinants, we have compiled The 2020 Best Countries to Invest In ranking based on a broad list of ten equally weighted attributes: corruption index, tax environment, economical stability, entrepreneurial freedom, innovativeness, skilled labor force and technological expertise, infrastructure, investor protection, red tape, and quality of life.

Here’s the ranking of the 10 best countries to invest in 2020.

1.  Croatia

Croatia is currently No.1 on the list of the best countries to invest in. The country’s growth is amazing because just last year, it was ranked 25 positions lower. The European country’s stable economy, coupled with her entrepreneurial and innovative population, has made foreign investors very optimistic about her progressive business environment. In the first quarter of 2019, Croatia had a whooping foreign direct investment of more than $389 million!

2.  Thailand

Thailand occupies the second position on the 2020 Best Countries to Invest In ranking. The country has capitalized greatly on the trade tension between the US and China. Many investors have gotten fed up with the whole drama. They have now turned their attention towards Thailand. You should too. In the first nine months of 2019, the country received a 69% increase in the total value of Foreign Direct Investment applications, as compared to 2018. 65% of these applications were led by the automotive, electronics and electrical, and digital sectors. The growth of the Thai market and her momentum indicators have remained steady and strong. Forbes listed the country as the 8th best-emerging market of 2020.

3.  The United Kingdom

The U.K. is economically stable and has a skilled labor force and technological expertise. According to the U.N., it is the sixth country that attracts the most inflow of foreign direct investment. In the first seven months of 2019, the U.S. and Asian tech firms invested $3.7 billion in tech companies in the country, thus surpassing the $2.9 billion invested in the previous year. Despite Brexit, the U.K remains the fifth largest economy in the world and has an industrialized and competitive market.

4.  Indonesia

With about 650 listed equities and a market cap exceeding $500 billion, Indonesia boasts of one of the largest Asian stock markets. Her 260 million inhabitants promise is a very strong consumer market. The Indonesian consumer market is largely undiscovered, hence its huge potentials. This country should be your number one option if you are into manufacturing or consumer products. The robust economy and heavy investment in transportation and infrastructure make this Southeastern Asian country worthy of your investment. The only downside is that non-citizens are limited to only leasehold properties.

5.  India

According to the U.N, India was one of the top 10 countries with the highest inflow of foreign direct investment. India has been in the top 5 of the best countries to invest in since 2019. The Asian giant has invested so much in research and development and, and she is among the top countries having a comparatively skilled workforce.

6.  Italy

Italy is one of the top countries attracting investors in 2020. It has been on the list since 2002. This level of economical stability, its robust manufacturing sector, and the country’s stable political environment make it a good choice to invest in.

7.  Australia

Australia boasts of more than 25 years of continued economic growth. It is the 9th country with the most FDI attraction in 2020. Intact, she has been in the top 10 for ten years now. The country remains a very stable investment destination.

8.  Vietnam

Like Thailand, Vietnam has capitalized on the trade tension between China and the United States. Since the past years, the Chinese southern neighbor has gradually risen to become a formidable manufacturing hub. This growth became even more evident when multinational corporations like Samsung began relocating are from China into Vietnam.

We think you should consider this too. The availability of numerous seaports, coupled with the cheap cost of production and tariff breaks, makes Vietnam very business-friendly. Vietnam’s economy is very stable. The country has never had a single recession I’m the last 20 years! But, like Thailand, non-foreigners can only own property in Vietnam on a leasehold agreement. If you want to learn more about real estate for investors, move to Asia has different guides to advise you through.

via@London Post

When last we checked in with Kanye West, the mercurial hip-hop superstar-turned-footwear magnate, I was tiptoeing through a parking lot crop circle composed of hundreds of pairs of his Yeezy sneakers. “I’m not a numbers guy,” he explained ten months ago. “To ask me to somehow translate this to numbers is to ask your grandmother exactly what the recipe of the cake was.”

There’s only one number that West cares about. A billion, as in dollars. And he cares a lot.

When we featured West on the cover of Forbes last summer, delving into his incredible success with Yeezy, he seemed pleased at first. His world-famous wife, Kim Kardashian West, even tweeted her congratulations, to the positive affirmations of 32,300 of their closest Twitter friends. But without sufficient documentation on his unusual stake, versus just his word and industry guesstimates, we didn’t call him a billionaire. And that grated on him. As the year wore on, he protested publicly. (“I showed them a $890 million receipt, and they still didn’t say ‘billionaire,’” he told an industry panel, about something that no one at Forbes remembers.) In private, he was more biting. (A “disrespectful article,” he texted this week, that was “purposely snubbing me.”)

When our annual billionaires list appeared earlier this month, again with West absent—still no documentation, and now a pandemic to boot—West again reacted with hurt and venom. “You know what you’re doing,” he texted. “You’re toying with me and I’m not finna lye [sic] down and take it anymore in Jesus name.” At one point, he texted that Forbes was “part of a group of media” that was trying to suppress his self-made narrative because of his race. That sister-in-law Kylie Jenner did make the list also clearly stuck in his craw.

Then, yesterday, a breakthrough: West directed his team to provide what we feel is an authentic numeric look into Kanye, Inc.

Three things became clear from this exercise. First, it reinforces why we put him on the cover in the first place—West, in just a few years, has created a brand that’s challenging Nike’s Air Jordan for sneaker world supremacy. It’s one of the great retail stories of the century.

Second, it reinforced that West, who claims both in words and in this paperwork that he’s worth more than $3 billion, is as overly boastful as his political idol, President Donald Trump. Not a numbers guy? We agree.

Finally—and perhaps most critically to West—it does confirm, based on our estimates, that his stake in Yeezy indeed makes him a billionaire. A bit over $1 billion, actually.

In the process, we can now share more details about Yeezy than ever before revealed—as well as some insight into what drives this extremely creative, extremely enigmatic ten-digit artist.

Yeezy is a complicated asset. West owns 100% of it. But it’s functionally tied—at least for five-plus years based on the documents we saw—to Adidas, which produces, markets and distributes the shoes. There’s also a separate apparel division that we don’t believe makes money. Last year, our sources projected the shoes would finish 2019 with revenue north of $1.5 billion (Adidas would not comment then, or now). Per recent conversations and internal documents, we believe the final revenue number ended up closer to $1.3 billion.

Our sources told us last year that West’s agreement calls for him to receive a royalty around 15% of Yeezy revenue from Adidas. Upon closer inspection, it appears some expenses are carved out of that slice, bringing his actual cut closer to 11%. At that rate, he would have received royalties of over $140 million from Yeezy sales last year.

West’s aggressive $3 billion self-appraisal is clearly based on the idea that the business is infinitely portable. It’s not. Taking Yeezy away from Adidas seems almost prohibitively cumbersome, if not contractually impossible. A safer way to value it: as a royalty stream, like music publishing or film residuals. Multiples, based data from services like Royalty Exchange and reports of large private transactions, can range from as low as three for something faddish like Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” to 17 for an evergreen asset like the Eddie Murphy film Trading Places.

A handful of experts surveyed felt West’s interest would fetch a multiple somewhere in the middle of that range, were it ever made available to outside investors. The convenience of the Adidas setup trumps publishing catalogs, where owners must actively collect payments from a complex web of sources—or outsource that labor to someone else in exchange for an administration fee. “His place in the capital stack is a preferred place to be,” says Royalty Exchange chief Matt Smith, who pegged the multiple at between 10 and 12.

Conservatively—as we typically are with such figures—a 10x multiple, applied to West’s Yeezy cut of $140 million, makes his stake worth about $1.4 billion. But it’s a private, highly illiquid $1.4 billion; our rule-of-thumb for private assets like that is to lop off at least 10%. That’s $1.26 billion.

via@Forbes

Marbella’s luxury hotels are considering price drops of around 30 percent to entice holidaymakers back when Spain’s lockdown ends.

IN a bid to ensure that the Costa del Sol remains a competitive and attractive destination, Marbella’s hotel association Marbella All Stars is considering adjusting its prices and service offering to reactivate tourism once the State of Alarm ends.

Several luxury hotels, high-end restaurateurs and gastronomers, participated in a virtual conference meeting yesterday to discuss the future of tourism in Marbella. Hoteliers and tourism companies concluded that return to normal is going to be slow, and will require caution as the restrictions are slowly lifted.

As well as a price drop, they agreed that vital changes would be needed to ensure that both health and safety measures were being met, particularly at hotels offering food and buffet services. The association said it was also considering partnerships with food delivery services in the short term, and planning to experiment with locally grown quality produce and food. It added that there would be a strong focus on “environmentally friendly” initiatives to reactivate the tourism sector in Marbella.

via@Euro Weekly

The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee has made a surprise decision today to cut the policy interest rate amid pressure to avert an economic slowdown and hedge the heightened trade war between the US and China.

The MPC cut the interest rate by only 25 basis points to 1.5 %. But the cut is significant. Of the seven-member committee, five voted for the cut while two voted to maintain the rate at 1.75%.

The Thai baht has been one of the strongest currencies in the region while the Chinese yuan has been weakening. The baht and Thai government bonds are considered by foreign investors as a safe-haven. The baht ranks 18th among the world’s strongest currencies.

via@thethaigernews

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The longer I work as a real estate broker, the more I am convinced that my profession should do a better job of educating the public about real estate agents and brokers. Few home buyers and sellers seem to really understand how real estate agents work, or how to follow protocol, who pays us and why we do the things that we do. Ask what the public does know, and you’ll hear all kinds of myths.

Because real estate agents can make or break your deal, you owe it yourself and to your financial future to understand how agents work. Do you know the difference between REALTORS® and real estate agents? Do you need an agent or would you be better off doing it all yourself? Which type of real estate agency might be best for you, dual or single? Should you sign with a buyer’s broker? Can you go to open houses and call other agents if an agent is e-mailing you listings? How are real estate agents paid and who pays them?

What are the different types of listing agreements? Find out the answers before you start looking for an agent to represent you.

About Finding and Hiring Real Estate Agents

I hate to admit this but I was once hired to sell a half-million dollar house simply because I was standing in the street, wearing my name badge and yakking on my cell. The seller spied me from her front porch and said, “Hey, you look like a real estate agent. I wanna sell my house!”

Speaks volumes about agents, doesn’t it? She was lucky. I knew how to price her home. But I could have been Joe Blow from Kokomo (no offense to those from Indiana). Or, some newbie agent. Agents are like any other profession, you’ve got good and bad and in-between.

What few agents will acknowledge is the fact that more than half of the deals they get are because the agents are in the right place at the right time. Not because (cough, cough) they are competent. Just watch enough HGTV and BRAVO TV shows and that point will become crystal clear to you. Want a pro? Here’s how to find a competent agent and make sure you get the services you truly deserve:

• Why You Should Hire a Real Estate Agent
• How to Find a Real Estate Agent
• How to Interview Your Agent
• The Differences Between Real Estate Agents and REALTORS®
• Do You Need Two Agents to Buy & Sell?

About Working With Real Estate Agents

Can you call your agent at 9:00 at night? How about 6 AM? Can you work with more than one agent at a time? How much trouble can you get into if you sign multiple purchase agreements through multiple agents? If a listing agent shows you a home, can you call your brother-in-law to write the offer and represent you? What if you’re unhappy or your agent doesn’t live up to your expectations? Can you get rid of the agent? How do you cancel a listing contract? If you’ve ever thought about these questions, these articles are for you.

• What an Agent Can and Cannot Do For You
• What is Procuring Cause?
• Understanding Agent Protocol
• Why Agents Take Overpriced Listings
• How to Fire Your Agent

About Real Estate Commissions

How agents get paid and whether it’s insulting to try to negotiate a commission are the two most often asked questions from buyers and sellers. It’s not that complicated but it sure seems that way on the surface, doesn’t it? After all, what makes agents worth all that money? What do they do to deserve six-figure incomes anyway? Does the amount of the commission depend on whether it’s a hot or cold market? Is it possible to get maximum exposure for your home with a minimum-service agent? The answers might surprise you.

• Full-Service Real Estate Agents
• Who Pays the Commission?
• How to Negotiate Real Estate Commissions

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With so much information readily available online, clients sometimes ask, “Why should we hire a real estate agent?” They wonder (and rightfully so) if they couldn’t buy or sell a home through the Internet or regular marketing and advertising channels without representation, without a real estate agent. Some do fine on their own, but many don’t. Here are 10 reasons why you might want to consider hiring a professional real estate agent.

01  Education and Experience

You don’t need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional who does. Henry Ford once said that when you hire people who are smarter than you are, it proves you are smarter than they are. The trick is to find the right person. For the most part, they all cost roughly the same, so why not hire a person with more education and experience than you? We’re all looking for more precious time in our lives, and hiring pros gives us that time.

02 Buffering Help

Agents take the spam out of your property showings and visits. If you’re a buyer of new homes, your agent will whip out her sword and keep the builder’s agents at bay, preventing them from biting or nipping at your heels. If you’re a seller, your agent will filter all those phone calls that lead to nowhere from lookie-loos and try to induce serious buyers to write an offer immediately.

03 Neighborhood Knowledge

Agents either possess intimate knowledge or they know where to find the industry buzz about your neighborhood. They can identify comparable sales and hand these facts to you, in addition to pointing you in the direction where you can find more data on schools, crime or demographics. For example, you may know that a home down the street was on the market for $350,000, but an agent will know it had upgrades and sold at $285,000 after 65 days on the market and after twice falling out of escrow.

04 Price Guidance

Contrary to what some people believe, agents do not select prices for sellers or buyers. However, an agent will help to guide clients to make the right choices for themselves. If a listing is at 7%, for example, an agent has a 7% vested interest in the sale, but the client has a 93% interest. Selling agents will ask buyers to weigh all the data supplied to them and to choose a price. Then based on market supply, demand and the conditions, the agent will devise a negotiation strategy.

05 Market Conditions Information

Real estate agents can disclose market conditions, which will govern your selling or buying process. Many factors determine how you will proceed. Data such as the average per square foot cost of similar homes, median and average sales prices, average days on market and ratios of list-to-sold prices, among other criteria, will have a huge bearing on what you ultimately decide to do.

06 Professional Networking

Real estate agents network with other professionals, many of whom provide services that you will need to buy or sell. Due to legal liability, many agents will hesitate to recommend a certain individual or company over another, but they do know which vendors have a reputation for efficiency, competency, and competitive pricing. Agents can, however, give you a list of references with whom they have worked and provide background information to help you make a wise selection.

07 Negotiation Skills and Confidentiality

Top producing agents negotiate well because, unlike most buyers and sellers, they can remove themselves from the emotional aspects of the transaction and because they are skilled. It’s part of their job description. Good agents are not messengers, delivering buyer’s offers to sellers and vice versa. They are professionals who are trained to present their client’s case in the best light and agree to hold client information confidential from competing interests.

08 Handling Volumes of Paperwork

One-page deposit receipts were prevalent in the early 1970s. Today’s purchase agreements run ten pages or more. That does not include the federal- and state-mandated disclosures nor disclosures dictated by local custom. Most real estate files average thicknesses from one to three inches of paper. One tiny mistake or omission could land you in court or cost you thousands. In some states, lawyers handle the disclosures—thank goodness!

09 Answer Questions After Closing

Even the smoothest transactions that close without complications can come back to haunt. For example, taxing authorities that collect property tax assessments, doc stamps or transfer tax can fall months behind and mix up invoices, but one call to your agent can straighten out the confusion. Many questions can pop up that were overlooked in the excitement of closing. Good agents stand by ready to assist. Worthy and honest agents don’t leave you in the dust to fend for yourself.

10 Develop Relationships for Future Business

The basis for an agent’s success and continued career in real estate is referrals. Few agents would survive if their livelihood was dependent on consistently drumming up a new business. This emphasis gives agents strong incentives to make certain clients are happy and satisfied. It also means that an agent who stays in the business will be there for you when you need to hire an agent again. Many will periodically mail market updates to you to keep you informed and to stay in touch.

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