Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who completed my APRA pre-conference workshop survey. Your answers will be very helpful in planning this event. (By the way, if you haven’t taken the survey yet, please do … and thank you in advance!)

Real Estate

Arabian Business posted a slide show of the 20 most expensive homes in Dubai.

Continuing a trend that began in the fourth quarter of 2011, real estate prices in China have continued to fall, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Homes of the Rich profiled four properties in London with market values or asking prices of £39.95 million (US$63 million), £37.5 million (US$58.96 million), £11.25 million (US$17.6 million), and £9 million (US$14.1 million) respectively. The website also showed a Sotheby’s listing for a 29,000 square foot home in Montreal with an asking price of C$18 million (approximately the same in US dollars).

Business and Finance

Legal changes in Switzerland will bring the country’s definitions of fraud and tax evasion into line with those of other countries, according to Bilan (in French).

The FT‘s beyondbrics blog looked at the relatively small dividend payouts by South Korea’s family-controlled businesses, which are facing pressure from minority investors over the issue.

Wealth List News

The New Zealand Herald ran an article last week about how that country “is fast becoming a favourite spot for global billionaires.”