Property values in the United Kingdom have fallen by 36 percent since the peak of the market in June 2007 and are set to fall further this year. Across Europe the picture is more mixed, reflecting the national differences, but those prime, formerly lowest yielding locations have, by some measures, seen prices fall by 25 percent or more. Should this trajectory continue for the rest of the year, investment yields and capital values will have risen and fallen respectively by unprecedented levels. It is little wonder that the clever money is beginning to smell the roses, not withstanding the acrid perfume of fear.

ECOMONY

During the past 12 months prospects for the global economy have weakened considerably as financial market turmoil has destabilized corporate and consumer confidence and taken much of the developed world to the brink of recession. During 2008 concerted and at times coordinated action by authorities around the world appears to have av