Recently in Mike Phillips Category

It's not just surveyors partying you know.

Michiel Rang, chief executive of ING's real estate finance division, began a panel discussion this afternoon by comparing today's financial meltdown to the Roman banking crisis of 33AD.

As I'm sure I don't need to tell you, this crisis saw bad fiscal policies lead to an excess of credit and dearth of capital, with resultant plunging land values.

Many aristocratic Roman families fell to ruin and shame, according to the historian Tacitus.

Rang's argument was that this proves that crises are perennial, and that what we are going through is not particularly exceptional.

I'd love to know what all you Latin economics scholars out there think.

 

NB: other events to occur in 33AD included the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, leading to the founding of Christianity. Slow news year, then.

At MPIM this year, in keeping with the air of austerity (if drinking beer on the Riviera instead of champagne can be called austerity), there are no floating gin palaces out in the bay groaning under the weight of inebriated delegates.

However, one huge boat is dominating the seascape - a French warship.

A perfect metaphor for an industry with a gun pointed at its head ? Or a warning to delegates not to let things get too rowdy ?

Spotted: David Pearl, disembarking at Cannes station at 5.30pm UK time.

 

Rugby shirt, shorts, rucksack on back, striding purposefully towards the Croisette. He'll have a deal done by dinner time, no doubt.

Last year, confidence in a quick recovery for property was destroyed when, the weekend before MIPIM, Bear Stearns collapsed. The conference took on a gloomy outlook, in spite of the sunshine.

This year, the weekend before the conference starts, the government took action to try to cure the ills of the banking sector through its asset protection scheme. This follows a period of gloom, with REIT share prices in the gutter and banks pulling back from property. Will we see a reverse in this year's conference, with people finally starting to believe it when they say now is a buying opportunity? The weather in Lille on the train down is grey skies and cold. Let's hope the sun is out in Cannes.