Property prices in Bulgaria continue to fall. On the first quarter of 2011, the average cost per square meter equal to 923.7 BGN. 1 euro = 1.95583 BGN.
Bulgarian real estate prices, BGN
Prices for apartments in Burgas (one of the Black Sea resorts) started to grow.
Property prices in Burgas region and Varna region
German Health Minister Daniel Bahr said 26 people have now died since the start of May — 25 in Germany and one in Sweden.
Germany’s national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, reported 300 more E. coli cases Wednesday, raising the total to 2,648. Almost 700 of these people are hospitalized with a serious complication that can cause kidney failure. Another 100 E. coli cases are in other European countries and the United States.
German consumers are avoiding fruit and vegetables - supermarkets have reported losses between 30 per cent and 40 per cent in fresh produce.
In China, authorities have ordered stricter health inspections for travellers arriving from Germany to prevent the super-toxic strain from getting into the country.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Investigation and Quarantine said that authorities should strengthen temperature and medical checks of travellers from Germany.
The agency added that those experiencing nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea or fever should declare themselves to authorities or if already in China, seek medical attention immediately.
Russia banned the import of fresh vegetables from EU.
House prices up 0.9% in March.
The society’s monthly snapshot of the market showed the average price of a property in the UK increased to £150,946.
The rise follows 16 months of falls, and reverses some of the 1.9% drop recorded in February, but the society said it was a “surprise bounce” and it was too early to talk of house price recovery.
Rival lender the Halifax surprised commentators when it reported a 1.9% increase in prices in January, but this was more than offset by a fall in February. However, this week the Bank of England said the number of loans taken out by homebuyers had risen by 19% in February, with 37,937 loans approved during the month, leading to suggestions that activity in the market may have bottomed out.
Nationwide’s regional breakdown of house prices, also published today, showed a continued fall in all parts of the UK in the first quarter of the year.
Northern Ireland continued to see the biggest drop, with prices down by almost a third (29%) on the same period last year, while in Scotland prices dropped by just 12.6%.
However, the quarterly rate of falls halved in Northern Ireland, from 8% in the last three months of 2008 to 4.1%, and for the first time it did not record the largest quarterly fall in the UK – this was in Wales where prices fell 8.3%.
GDP of EU (27 countries)
data, 2008 year (for some countries predicted values)
The German economy is largest in EU. 19.4 % of EU’s GDP accounts for Germany. 15.2 % of the GDP of EU gives France, 14.1 % - United Kingdom, 12.3 % - Italy, 8.5 % - Spain.
U.K. mortgage approvals fell to the lowest in 14 years in November as the contracting economy discouraged buyers and financial institutions declined to pass on the central bank’s interest-rate cuts, the British Bankers’ Association said.
Banks granted 17,773 loans for house purchase, down 61 percent from the same month in 2007, the London-based BBA, which represents the U.K.’s biggest banks, said today in a statement. The number of home loans was 20,767 in October.
The British economy shrank 0.6 percent in the third quarter, more than previously estimated, the statistics office said today. While the Bank of England has reduced the benchmark interest rate to the lowest since 1951, banks that have been stung by the global financial crisis are reluctant to lend against houses as their value declines, and potential buyers are concerned about losing their jobs in the slump.
The automobile industry is in great crisis. Sales of cars are falling almost everywhere. Car dealers invent different discounts and gifts to somehow revive demand. Discounts on different cars and different dealers in different times. Buy a car now without rebates are not reasonable, because you can find interesting suggestion from one of the dealers.
In our opinion, the prices of cars will continue to decline. The largest U.S. automakers are in a dire situation. The financial sector is in a difficult position, too. As a result, receive all kinds of loans more difficult now.
Cardiff, Wales
Lloyds TSB Group (carselect.co.uk)
discount to 32 %
Ford Fiesta 1.4
new price - £ 9995 (€ 11759)
old price - £ 11453 (€ 13474)
discount - £ 1458 (13 %)
Peugeot 207 1.4
new price - £ 8995 (€ 10582)
old price - £ 10578 (€ 12445)
discount - £ 1583 (15 %)
Renault Scenic 1.5 dCi 106
new price - £ 12430 (€ 14624)
old price - £ 18188 (€ 21398)
discount - £ 5758 (32 %)
London, UK.
Evans Helshaw
discounts to 31 %
Chevrolet Matiz 1.0 SE
new price - £ 5995 (€ 7053)
old price - £ 8280 (€ 9741)
discount - £ 2285 (28 %)
Ford Focus CC-2 Diesel
new price - £ 15995 (€ 18818)
old price - £ 20995 (€ 24700)
discount - £ 5000 (24 %)
Ford Ranger Thunder 4×4 2.5
new price - £ 13700 (€ 16118)
old price - £ 18176 (€ 21384)
discount - £ 4476 (25 %)
Renault Scenic dCi 85
new price - £ 10995 (€ 12935)
old price - £ 15905 (€ 18712)
discount - £ 4910 (31 %)
UK GDP in the third quarter of 2008 decreased compared to the previous quarter at 0.5%, reported Bloomberg News, referring to preliminary data from the National Statistical Office. This is the first decline in GDP since 1992.
Experts had expected the reduction of the rate at 0.2%.
The increase in GDP of Great Britain on the third quarter of 2007 was 0.3%. The experts predicted increasing that figure to 0.5%.
Economic activity in the service of Great Britain, which accounts for 75% of GDP, declined in the last quarter to 0.4% in the manufacturing sector - by 1%.
The financial crisis spread to all areas of the British economy - from banking to construction, and reducing the rate of GDP shows that the country is on the eve of the first recession since 1991.
This week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the first time acknowledged the likelihood of a recession in the economy. The package of government assistance to banks in the amount of 500 billion pounds ($ 805 billion) as well as lowering the base interest rate the Bank of England to 0.5 percentage point, perhaps it was too late to stem further decline in the economy.
UK house prices fell for a 12th month running in September to stand 6.2 % lower than they were a year ago.
The drop of 1.0 % on the month to 165,300 pounds (decline in August was 0.9 percent).
In August, prices were 5.3 percent lower than a year ago.
On Sept 2, the government raised the threshold above which tax is paid on a home purchase to 175,000 pounds and announced measures to help first-time buyers and those struggling to make mortgage repayments.
Since then, strains in the banking sector have intensified, dealing a further blow to confidence and prompting a number of lenders to raise their mortgage rates.
The survey showed there was a decline both in the number of buyers registering with estate agents and the number of new properties coming onto the market.
Properties in September typically took more than 11 weeks to sell — almost twice as long as last year — and the percentage of the asking price being achieved fell to 90, the lowest level since the survey began.
P.S. If real estate prices in the UK are falling, the real estate prices in Bulgaria are continuing to grow.
Rescuers have told of a ’scene from Hell’ after 153 people were killed when a tourist plane crashed and burst into flames at Madrid airport.
The Spanair jet with 164 passengers and nine crew on board split in two as it smashed back on to the runway just seconds after lifting off. Of the passengers, 20 were children and two were babies.
There were reports of an explosion and a fire breaking out in an engine. The plane, an MD-82, had earlier been delayed from take-off for an hour for checks on a reported mechanical fault.
An unconfirmed report said the crash happened on the pilot’s second attempt at a take-off.
The pilot had returned to the stand after his original attempt because he realised there was a problem with the left engine, Javier Fernandez Garcia, the flight coordinator at Madrid airport, told Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
There were several children on board, including two babies. It was not immediately known if the babies were among the dead.
The Foreign Office said it was not aware of any British nationals involved in the crash.
Around 27 survivors were pulled alive from the wreckage and 23 of them were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
At least one is thought to have died on the way to hospital.
