1 EU, Britain prepare for divorce (BBC) EU leaders
are to meet to discuss the UK's "divorce" from the organisation after
a historic referendum result. The UK voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. Prime
Minister David Cameron has said he will step down by October.
The first meeting of EU leaders with no British
representation will be held on Wednesday. The EU has urged the UK to start
negotiations to leave quickly. European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker
stressed the "Union of the remaining 27 members will continue".
Global stock markets fell heavily on the news of the
so-called "Brexit". The value of the pound has also fallen
dramatically. The UK must now invoke Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty, which
then allows for two years for withdrawal to be negotiated. Mr Cameron said he
preferred to leave negotiations to his successor.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz said the
EU "as a whole was taken as a hostage" by infighting among Mr
Cameron's Conservative party.
2 Dubai rents to see 8% decline (Cleofe Maceda in
Gulf News) Jesse Downs, managing director of Phidar Advisory, argued that
softening demand will continue to put pressure on residential rents in Dubai to
drop to more affordable levels this year, giving some relief to tenants who are
still spending too much of their income on housing.
Downs said they expect average rents to fall by
approximately 8 per cent to 10 per cent over the next three months, with some
areas forecast to post “even higher declines.” Downs said “these rent declines
are caused by softening demand, especially in mid-high to high income bracket,
a consequence of the current economic situation which has increased job losses
and slowed new job creation”.
Downs’ forecast runs contrary to recent analysis by
other experts that the market is at the trough stage and nearing recovery.
Consultancy firm ValuStrat said that based on their price index for the month
of May, there is now a “clear trend of a plateau” in residential prices.
Downs said that Dubai’s property market is a reflection
of global and regional trends. With employment levels also slowing down in
other parts of the globe, it is normal to expect the same for the domestic
market.
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services had earlier
said that the UAE real estate market in general is not showing any signs of
market improvement yet. It said that the market will continue to face pressure
from declining oil prices and softening of hiring and business activities
3 After exit, Brits Google ‘what is EU?’ (Amy Graff
in The Guardian) Hours after Britons voted for the United Kingdom to leave the
European Union, they started Googling "What is the EU?" according to
Google Trends.
"What is the EU?" is the second top UK
question on the EU since the #EURefResults were officially announced. In a
tweet, the tech company claimed this was the second top search term in the UK
since the vote on the decision for a British Exit, or Brexit, was officially
announced.
Some are saying a sharp uptick in searches posing
basic questions about the European Union and Brexit suggests that many Britons
weren't clear on the details of what they were voting on. Other common
questions on Google search in recent hours include: "How many countries
are in the EU?" "Which countries are in the EU" and "What
does it mean to leave the EU?"
The Washington Post noted that a British woman named
Mandy, who voted in favor of an exit, told ITV that since the reality of the
vote has hit her, she has realized that she would choose to stay with the EU if
she were given the chance to vote again.
No comments:
Post a Comment