| New-home builders try auctions, some online, as the market softens
Could something akin to eBay auctions be the next stop for new-home builders facing a glut of unsold properties? Inland builders in recent months have been cutting prices and throwing in extras such as free swimming pools to move their new houses in a slowing market. And recently, joining a national trend, some are finding success with public auctions, traditionally seen more as a way to sell artwork or rare antiques. Some of those builders are incorporating online elements into their auctions, giving Web shoppers a chance to bid in real time against the on-premises participants. .
Browne leads delegation bidding to save Hydro
LOCAL MP Jeremy Browne is leading a cross-party delegation to the Ministry of Defence on Thursday morning in a bid to keep the UK Hydrographic Office in Taunton. They will argue for either rebuilding the sea chart maker on its current Admiralty Way site or relocating in the town. At the 45-minute meeting they will ask Defence Minster Derek Twigg to drop a third option of transferring to offices beside the MetOffice in Exeter. .
Jazz it up for Mozart
Just when I thought I had seen every way in the book to have a dinner-auction fundraiser, along comes an affair to benefit not a hospital, school or welfare agency, but a dead man. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived more than 200 years ago, but his music refuses to die. This weekend marks the 14th annual Chef's Showcase Jazz Brunch and Auction held in Lake in the Hills as a benefit for the Woodstock Mozart Festival. In case you have never heard this band of noble musicians, you have missed out on the finest performed Mozart west of Symphony Center in Chicago. I have never heard such exciting and period Mozart performances. Salzburg, Austria may have the big Mozart Festival each summer, but we have a great mini-version right in our own backyard. At the Mozart brunch, you can enjoy the food from 21 top area restaurants and caterers, and the Chef's Showcase Jazz Brunch and Auction is worth the drive.
Bayside YMCA is bidding good-bye to 'a big kid'
BARRINGTON - Peter Duffy has been a league commissioner, a champion of women's athletics and a concert promoter. He's also been a moral advocate for young people, an event coordinator, a ticket hawk, and if your men's league basketball team is a player short, he has likely filled in at the point guard position. On Friday, however, the long-time YMCA employee who's handled numerous tasks will retire from all previously held positions and instead focus on another role: Grandfather. Pete, or "Coach," as he is known by fellow employees and Bayside YMCA members alike, said he will spend retirement playing with his six grandchildren. "It's going to be great," he said on Friday, "but I'm going to miss the kids here." Pete's retirement was anticipated by Bayside YMCA staff, but according to those who work with Pete, like operations manager Regina Raffa, his departure will leave a significant hole.
Japan's 30-Year Bonds Climb; Auction Demand Highest Since 2002
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds gained after a sale of 30-year government debt drew the highest demand since May 2002 and stocks declined. The spread between yields on two- and 30-year debt reached the widest in almost seven weeks yesterday, signaling longer- dated debt offers more value relative to shorter-term notes. Demand at the debt auction rose on speculation consumer prices excluding fresh food will drop further after falling in February for the first time in 10 months. ``Thirty-year bonds are cheap given that there's little threat of faster inflation and shorter notes aren't pricing in chances for an interest-rate increase in the months ahead,'' said Naruki Nakamura, who helps manage the equivalent of about $3.3 billion of bonds in Tokyo at Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, which is partly owned by BNP Paribas SA, France's largest bank.
|
