PODCAST JOURNAL IN ENGLISH

The housing crisis contagion reached more countries. Among the 32 countries in the Global Property Guide’s survey of house prices, 27 recorded price falls during the year to the end of the first quarter of 2009, in real terms.

The Global Property Guide uses price-changes after inflation, giving a more realistic picture than the (more upbeat) nominal figures usually preferred by real estate agents.

During the year to end-Q1 2009, price falls of more than 10% occurred in 12 countries, worse than the previously worst-ever year to end of last quarter of 2008 (8 price falls above 10%).

However, only 7 countries saw price falls of above 5% during the single quarter (i.e., Q1 2009), versus 8 countries during the previous quarter (though some individual price declines were much higher during this quarter than in the previous quarter).

AMAZING PRICE DECLINES IN LATVIA, DUBAI, AND SINGAPORE

Latvia is in surprisingly deep trouble. Average apartment prices in Riga declined an astonishing 50% over a year earlier, to €747 per square metre, with a 30% drop during the quarter. Latvia is in deep recession, with its economy contracting 18% in Q1 2009.

Dubai’s house prices dropped 35% over a year earlier, and 42% over a quarter earlier. Dubai’s economy is closely tied to the global market. As uncertainties piled up, demand for properties collapsed. Many developers have delayed or postponed construction of projects. Credit has also been tight. Interest rates have increased, and loan-to-value ratio reductions have been imposed.

Among Asian countries, Singapore’s housing market suffered the most. House prices plunged 23% in real terms over a year earlier, and 13% over a quarter earlier. This is the biggest decline since 2000. Singapore is heavily dependent on exports. When the global financial crisis began, demand waned. In Q1 2009, Singapore’s economy contracted by 10.1%, mainly due to a decline in manufacturing production.

A key focus for Laureus during 2009 will now be to support the funding and activities of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. There has been tremendous growth recently in the Laureus Foundation, despite the economic downturn, and Laureus will ensure that this is not only sustained but also increases in the future.

The winners of this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards will now receive their Awards individually at a series of presentations during May and June.

With the 2009 Future Play Conference now partnered with the Game Developers Conference® (GDC Canada), there will now be even more opportunities for participants to benefit from influential speakers, thought-provoking panel discussions and valuable networking opportunities.

University of Calgary Professor Jim Parker has been a long-time participant in Future Play.

"I have a high regard for the role of Future Play in the game research and development vista in Canada," he says. "I was an early participant in Future Play, since 2004 in fact, when it was still named the Game Technology Conference, and I have been enthusiastic ever since. It has been the home of many innovations, such as the game contest in 2007 and in acting as host for the Canadian Game Studies Association in its early stages."

Continues Parker, "What I think is important is that it is a broadly-based conference, having participation from academics and industry, game studies and technology. There is nothing else like it in Canada, and I am excited to see it connect with GDC Canada this year."

CALGARY, AB (April 8, 2009) - Userful Corporation, the worldwide leader in high-performance, low-cost desktop virtualization, today announces a "PC" giveaway in celebration of the 39th anniversary of Earth Day. Userful is giving away a free 2-user version of their innovative software which turns one computer into up to ten with the goal of having 100,000 people download the software and share their computer before Earth Day. In 2008 Userful's PC-sharing software saved over 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions, and is on track to save over 200,000 tons of CO2 in 2009, the equivalent of taking more than 35,000 cars off the road, or planting 50,000 acres of trees!

Desktop computers sit idle while we check our e-mail, surf the web, or type a document. Userful's PC-sharing and desktop virtualization technology leverages this excess computing power to create an
environmentally efficient alternative to traditional desktop computing. Up to 10 users can work on a single computer by simply attaching extra monitors, mice and keyboards.

"On March 28th hundreds of millions of people turned off their lights for Earth Hour," says Timothy Griffin, President of Userful. "Events such as Earth Day and Earth Hour prove that a simple change worldwide can dramatically reduce global energy consumption and consequent CO2 emissions. For example the government of Brazil recently deployed over 350,000 Userful PC-sharing workstations into schools. This alone will save 200 million kWh annually, the equivalent of turning 3.7 billion lights* off for an hour. Now imagine if on Earth Day hundreds of millions of people decided to download Userful's free PC-sharing software to share their PC. The electricity and e-waste savings of this simple change would be incredible.”

Habana was one of the stars of the 2007 World Cup, his eight tries equalling the record set by Jonah Lomu in 1999. He was acknowledged as the player of the tournament and won the 2007 International Rugby Board Player of the Year Award.

1. We, the Leaders of the Group of Twenty, met in London on 2 April 2009.

2. We face the greatest challenge to the world economy in modern times; a crisis which has deepened since we last met, which affects the lives of women, men, and children in every country, and which all countries must join together to resolve. A global crisis requires a global solution.

3. We start from the belief that prosperity is indivisible; that growth, to be sustained, has to be shared; and that our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of hard-working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the poorest countries of the world too; and must reflect the interests, not just of today’s population, but of future generations too. We believe that the only sure foundation for sustainable globalisation and rising prosperity for all is an open world economy based on market principles, effective regulation, and strong global institutions.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Increasing female employment rates and retaining older workers in their jobs are two of the key targets of the European Employment Strategy aimed at maintaining the competitiveness and productivity growth of Europe and combating the effect of an ageing population. In many EU countries women are still a long way away from the 60 percent employment target set for 2010 by the Lisbon Strategy.

Calgary, Canada, and Brasilia, Brazil - February 17, 2009 -- Userful and ThinNetworks today announce that they have been selected to supply 356,800 virtualized desktops to schools in all of Brazil's 5,560 municipalities.

This initiative will provide computer access to millions of children and adolescents throughout the country. It is a historical achievement, being: the world’s largest ever virtual desktop deployment; the world’s largest ever desktop Linux deployment, and a new record low-cost for PCs with the PC sharing hardware and software costing less than $50 per seat. The decision to deploy Userful and ThinNetworks' low-cost and environmentally friendly desktop virtualization solution establishes the Brazilian Ministry of Education as a global leader in computer education and provides other
governments and institutions worldwide with a proven model for improving student to computer ratios while rolling out large numbers of desktops with minimal cost and environmental impact.

London residential property prices have fallen for much of 2008, while Moscow property price declines only started in the last quarter, allowing Moscow to catch up with London. Both countries have experienced strong currency declines.

Tokyo and Hong Kong come in fourth and fifth, respectively.

New York, the only US city included in the survey, is 6th, with an average price of US$15,000 per sq. m.

Completing the top ten most expensive real estate markets are two European cities (Paris at 7th and Rome at 9th) and two other Asian cities (Singapore at 8th and Mumbai at 10th). Average prices range from US$9,000 per sq. m. to US$12,000 per sq. m.

The figures are based on the average price of a 120 sq. m., good-condition high-end used apartment in the city centres of more than 110 cities around the world, typically the economic centres where most foreigners are likely to buy. Data were collected during 2008. The US dollar exchange rate used is that of January 27, 2009.