Infrastructure – The News Desk

BOE Money Printing to Cost UK as Much as HS2, Ex-Official Says

20Dec

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Money

BOE Money Printing to Cost UK as Much as HS2, Ex-Official Says

The Bank of England’s quantitative easing program is on track to cost the UK taxpayer as much as the entire HS2 high-speed rail link that the government has scaled back on value-for-money grounds, according to a former BOE rate setter.Michael Saunders, who was on the Monetary Policy Committee between 2016 and 2022, said the £126 billion ($161 billion) “lifetime cost” to the taxpayer of central bank money printing, calculated using the government’s own official forecasts, is “similar to the full HS2 scheme adjusted to 2023 prices.” In October, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scrapped the rail link’s northern leg as costs spiralled.

New York Needs to Get Spongier—or Get Used to More Floods

29Sep

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Technology

New York Needs to Get Spongier—or Get Used to More Floods

Two years after the remnants of Hurricane Ian dumped up to 10 inches of rain on New York City in just two hours, the metropolis is once again inundated today by extreme rainfall. It is one of the many cities worldwide grappling with a counterintuitive effect of climate change: Sometimes, it will get wetter, not drier. On a warming planet, it’ll rain more and individual storms will get more intense. This pain will be especially acute in urban areas, which are built on stormwater infrastructure designed to handle the rainfall of yesteryear. Think back to what the builders of the last century wanted: sewers and canals that funneled rainwater as quickly as possible into a river, lake, or ocean, before it had a chance to accumulate. That worked fine, most of the time. But over the intervening ...

SBI successfully raises Rs 10,000 crores via infrastructure bonds

22Sep

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Business

SBI successfully raises Rs 10,000 crores via infrastructure bonds

MUMBAI: The State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, achieved a milestone by raising Rs 10,000 crores through its fourth infrastructure bond issuance, garnering an enthusiastic response from investors.The bonds were issued at a coupon rate of 7.49 per cent, further establishing SBI's strong position in the market, the SBI said in a release.The offering attracted a substantial response from investors, with total bids amounting to Rs 21,045.10 crores, significantly oversubscribing the base issue size of Rs 4,000 crores.The response showcased the diversity of investors, including provident funds, pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and corporates, among others.The funds raised through this issuance will be directed towards bolstering long-term resources for fund...

The U.A.W. Strike Threat Poses a Tricky Political Challenge for Biden

12Sep

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Entertainment

The U.A.W. Strike Threat Poses a Tricky Political Challenge for Biden

With just three days until their current contract expires, nearly a hundred and fifty thousand members of the United Auto Workers (U.A.W.) union are preparing to walk out from their jobs at the Big Three automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (the parent company of Chrysler). Negotiations are ongoing, but in recent days Shawn Fain, the U.A.W. president, dismissed the companies’ initial contract offers as grossly inadequate. “If we don’t get our justice, I can guarantee you one thing—come this Thursday at midnight, there will be action,” Fain said.Recent years have seen a resurgence of labor activism, with strike threats from railway workers, UPS drivers, and other groups seeking to raise their wages and improve their employment conditions. The auto workers have asked for a four-...

Biden Condemns Trump’s Inability To Build Anything

4Sep

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Politics

Biden Condemns Trump’s Inability To Build Anything

President Joe Biden slammed former President Donald Trump for not building “a damn thing” during his presidency.Biden’s handling of the economy is one concern many voters have as they consider whom to pick on the ballot next year. In a Labor Day speech on Monday to Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 19 in his native state of Pennsylvania, Biden sought to address that concern as he compared his presidency to Trump’s, referring to him multiple times as the “last guy.” “Guess what? The great real estate builder, the last guy, he didn’t build a damn thing. Under my predecessor, infrastructure week became a punchline. On my watch, infrastructure has been a decade, and it’s a headline.”(In November 2021, Biden signed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal into law that funds projects for years to...

PE investments in real estate down 5% YoY at 1.9 bn in Q1 FY24: Report

10Jul

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Business

PE investments in real estate down 5% YoY at 1.9 bn in Q1 FY24: Report

The share of foreign PE money had a dominant share (94 per cent) in Q1 FY24, up from 90 per cent in April-June 2022 (Q1 FY23). Private equity (PE) investments in Indian real estate declined five per cent year on year (YoY) to $ 1.9 billion in April-June 2023 (Q1 FY24) as interest rates increased. Investments worth $2 billion were made in Q1 FY23, according to real estate advisory firm Anarock. Investments have crossed the pre-pandemic level when PE flows were about $ 1.7 billion in April-June 2019 (Q1 FY20), according to 'FLUX', the company’s market monitor for capital flows. The share of foreign PE money had a dominant share (94 per cent) in Q1 FY24, up from 90 per cent in April-June 2022 (Q1 FY23). Overall activity remained muted with headline numbers boosted ...