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Tomorrow, the tantalizing and contentious dream of a 30-hour workweek will become a reality in Sweden’s second-largest city of Gothenburg. The year-long experiment will compare two factions of municipal workers -- a control group who will stick to a 40-hour workweek and a test group that will have their hours slashed. All salaries will remain the same. The aim of the experiment is to determine whether reducing work hours might lead to increased productivity and fewer sick days. Initially brought forth by the city council’s majority coalition of Social Democrat and Green parties in April, the program officially kicks off tomorrow. Related: Does a 6-Hour Workday Lead to Better Productivity? Sweden's About to Find Out. While Gothenburg’s deputy mayor, Mats Pilhem, noted that a local car factory had employed a similar model to great success, opponents in the city council have referred to the proposal as a “dishonest and populist ploy” that would bear no impact on worke...

The annual rate of house price inflation in London soared to its highest level in more than a decade in May, Land Registry figures showed on Friday, although the monthly increase was down on April's figure. The price of a home in the capital was up by 18.5% year-on-year, the biggest jump on the measure since March 2003 and far in excess of the 6.7% annual growth recorded across England and Wales. The average cost of a home in greater London stood at £439,719, more than two-and-a-half times the national average. However, the monthly figures suggest the pace of house price growth in England and Wales has started to slow. The Land Registry said prices were up by 0.4% over the month, a fall from April's figure of 1.5%, while in London the monthly changed dropped back from 4.2% to 2.5%. Many parts of the country recorded small drops, although in Ceredigion in Wales prices leaped by 5.9%. Any signs of a slowdown would come as a relief to would-be homebuyers and to policymake...

I believe you must have heard this saying before,’ if wishes were horses beggars would ride’.The essence of this proverb is not to put the acquisition of wealth beyond the reach of any man but to emphasise the fact that nothing goes for nothing. To excel in any field of endeavour requires more than dreaming. It requires hard work and persistence along with other qualities. In real estate, the principles are so basic and the wealth vehicle is so tested that you will imagine that everybody would become a real estate millionaire. Although this is desirable, it is simply not the case. To ensure that you are not part of the unfortunate statistics, you need to address factors that can prevent or limit your attainment of your goals in this area. Principal culprit in this area is a negative attitude towards real estate investment. A wise man once said that there are at least two kinds of people that cannot be helped; first, the man who does not know that he has a problem and secondly...

The expectations that business will soon commence at the New Tejuosho Market may not come through any time soon as the project financiers have intensified their legal battle that has been running for several years. The NewTejuosho Market                    The original market is located between Ojuelegba Road and Tejuosho Street in the heart of Lagos Mainland and was rated as one of the busiest markets in Lagos before it was gutted by fire twice in 2004 and 2007, when it was completely burnt down. The cause of both fire incidents remains unknown but shop owners reportedly lost goods valued at several millions of naira. The incidents prompted the state government to take over the property and subsequently gave out the first phase of the redevelopment as a concession to Stormberg Engineering Company Limited. The reconstruction project, which includes the expansion and transformation of the market to an ultra-modern fa...

Deposits that tenants have to pay landlords have jumped by 50% to £900 since 2007, even though wages are up just 13% in cash terms, according to official figures that come amid demands from campaign group Generation Rent for an overhaul of Britain's creaking private rental market. The Deposit Protection Service (DPS), a goverment-authorised body that looks after £900m in deposits on behalf of 390,000 landlords and many more tenants, said that since it began operating in 2007, the average deposit has risen from £600 to £900, with landlords typically demanding six weeks' rent rather than the traditional one-month deposit. Yet over the same period, average earnings in the UK have grown from just £457.60 to £517.50 a week, with almost no real growth once inflation is taken into account. "We have also seen the average deposit amount increase from approximately £600 in 2007 to nearly £900 in 2013. Clearly rents have risen over the years which will obviously impact...

Where to find real estate deals JUNE 17, 2014 BY ABIODUN DOHERTY Opportunities often locate those who know where to look for them and what to do with them. Real estate investment is no different. It is very rare for opportunities to fall into the hand of the unprepared but that is not impossible. However, when opportunities come to the unprepared, they are often wasted. Real estate investment is about locating the investment that is good for you and will return you a profit. It requires focus, dedication and serious hard work. In this regard, working smart is better than working hard. It is better to go to where the fishes are than to swim in unprofitable waters. To be successful in real estate investment, you need to know where to find good deals and what to do with them. One of the easiest places to find good deals is at the land bureau of the various state governments and the federal ministry dealing with land and housing matters. It’s amazing how often we miss ou...

The Land Registry has announced that it is making it easier to register a property in England and Wales. It is to become the sole registering authority for Local Land Charges (LLC) in England and Wales, leading to a standardised national fee for the first time and an end to the existing ‘postcode lottery’. It said that the changes will also lead to an improved, standardised and digital service and will result in better access to property information and a more streamlined conveyancing process. Preparatory work will begin from April 2015 for a phased migration of the LLC service to begin later that year.  The announcement was made as Land Registry unveiled the results of its consultation into extending its powers and assuming statutory responsibility for a digitised LLC register for England and Wales. ‘The proposals will provide a one stop shop digital LLC search service, which will improve and standardise the service through faster turnaround times. This is consist...

A house left hanging over Lake Whitney in Texas by subsidence is deliberately burned to bring about its final collapse. The charred remnants of a luxury cliff-side home fell 75 feet into a lake below on Friday after Texas fire crews set the US$700,000 retreat ablaze rather than wait for it to crumble into the water as the land collapsed around it. It took less than an hour for the fire to level the home above Lake Whitney, about 60 miles south of Fort Worth. Flames consumed exterior walls after crews spread bales of hay and fuel inside, then set it all on fire. The ground had cracked and become unstable in recent months, and then a few days ago part of the land gave way beneath the 4,000 square foot home, leaving pieces dangling over the edge. Authorities condemned the home and the owners, Robert and Denise Webb, consented to it being burned down. Authorities said destroying the house, part of a gated resort community, was better than waiting for it to topple into Lake...

Households are bracing themselves for the first rise in borrowing costs since the Bank of England cut interest rates to a record low more than five years ago. Thursday's warning from Mark Carney, the Bank's governor, that rates would rise earlier than expected will take time to feed through to prices of loans and savings. But industry commentators said it could mark a change in expectations with borrowing costs already drifting higher. The Bank slashed interest rates to an all-time low of 0.5% in March 2009 with Britain in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Rates have remained unchanged as the Bank has tried to support households and businesses while the economy claws its way back to growth. But in a hardening of his position, Carney told the City that rates could now rise sooner than expected. Economists are pencilling in the first increase before the end of this year. David Hollingworth at mortgage broker London & Country said: "Fixed-ra...

Youths in Makoko community, Yaba, Lagos, on Thursday barricaded the Yaba area of the Third Mainland Bridge when they heard that the police had stormed the area. The youths claimed that the policemen were sent to carry out a demolition order. PUNCH Metro learnt that about 100 policemen arrived at the area around 7.30am with an armoured tank, which immediately created tension among residents of the area. The policemen were further said to have camped at the Adekunle Police Division in Yaba. Our correspondent gathered that at about 10am, the policemen began to move into the area. Despite the rainfall in most parts of Lagos, including Yaba, on Thursday morning, the youths went on the street to resist the alleged invasion, which forced the policemen to fire teargas canisters at them. The policemen also shot into the air to scare away the rampaging youths. During the unrest, which lasted for several hours, it was gathered that two of the youths were arrested by the police and were ...

Traders at the Ogba Retail Market, aka Sunday Market, in the Ojodu Local Council Development Area, Lagos, have called on the government to reverse its proposed plan to demolish the market. The traders, who spoke with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, said they were worried over the local government’s demolition plan and the relocation of the traders. It was learnt that the LCDA authorities had summoned the market leaders in September 2013, and intimated them about the plan to demolish the market, and to rebuild a modern structure. However, protests by the traders to higher authorities, including the state House of Assembly, led to the setting up of a committee to look into the matter. Our correspondent learnt that the Assembly’s committee on transport, commerce and industry, headed by Mr. Bisi Yusuf, had invited the two parties concerned to resolve the issue amicably. However, the traders said they sensed that despite the ongoing process, the council had plans to embark on ...

The number of homes completed and delivered through the programme in the year to March 2014 was up 17% on the previous 12 months while approvals were up by 43%. The latest figures also show that in the final quarter of 2013, some 3,046 private sector new builds were completed. This is the first time in four years the quarterly figure has been above 3,000. ‘These statistics show that our commitment to increasing the supply of affordable homes in Scotland is paying off and I am delighted to say we are well on track to deliver our target of 30,000 affordable homes during the lifetime of this Parliament,’ said Housing Minister Margaret Burgess. ‘But we cannot rest on our laurels. The supply of affordable housing continues to be a high priority for us and we are working with the entire housing sector to increase the supply of affordable homes and deliver vital support for construction and house building companies throughout Scotland. And to back this up we are investing over £1...

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved a sovereign warranty for two separate loans totaling $242.2m (about N40bn) from the International Development Association for Lagos State. The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Muhammed and the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan. Maku said while a loan of $200m was approved to support infrastructure in the state, additional loan of $42.2m would be in support of secondary education. He said the loans were the second phase of a $600m facility approved for the state by the IDA in 2010. The state had in 2011 benefited from $200m loans under the first phase. The minister said, “The Minister of Finance brought a memorandum seeking approval to obtain additional credit facility from the International Development Association in support of the ...

The first passengers have arrived in Heathrow's £2.5bn new Terminal 2, landing from Chicago shortly after 5.55am on Wednesday. Only 17 flights, all from the US carrier United Airlines, were due in on Wednesday morning as Heathrow planned a slow, smooth opening to banish memories of the debacle of the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008. Arriving passengers were swiftly ushered through immigration and reunited with their bags as Heathrow declared a successful start, but with the real tests to come. John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive-in-waiting of Heathrow who has overseen the development of T2, said: "It's a very sensible thing to do to start with a phased rollout. They're big airlines. These are the lessons we took from T5." Holland-Kaye said he had been up in the small hours to see the first departing passenger, who had arrived more than 10 hours early at 1am for a flight to Los Angeles to claim the historic spot. "Most of us were too excited ...

Said Brahimi should be in his footballing prime when the World Cup kicks off  in Qatar in 2022. He plays on the right wing for the national under-19s side and will be 26 when the tournament starts – the same age as Adam Lallana, the England attacker who is about to get his first chance at World Cup glory in Brazil. But , as he pulled on his boots to train with the national side on a full-sized air-conditioned pitch, the 18-year-old had to face up to calls for his country to be stripped of the event, amid the growing furore over claims of bribery during the bidding process by a top Qatari football official. "[To prevent us] from getting the World Cup, which is the biggest event in the world, would be really upsetting," he said. "I don't think that's fair because everyone worked so hard. They planned everything and now it has just gone because of some people trying to get the whole country down." What he may not comprehend, partly because the al...