FDX-More good news on the FDA's
03-02-2008, 08:50 PM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: MD11
Posts: 315
FDX-More good news on the FDA's
Most Expensive Cities to Rent in the World
Forbes.com
10. Osaka, Japan
$2,564 a month
9. Paris, France
$2,634 a month
8. Beijing, China
$2,840 a month
7. Geneva, Switzerland
$2,840 a month
6. Seoul, South Korea
$3,425 a month
5. London, England
$3,889 a month
4. New York, N.Y.
$4,000 a month
3. Moscow, Russia
$4,000 a month
2. Tokyo, Japan
$4,102 a month
1. Hong Kong
$6,398 a month
Prices on the Peak and in central Hong Kong, home to much of the city's financial centers, are among the highest in the city. Due in large part to its friendly tax rates, Hong Kong attracts businesses from all over the world, with a large sector of its Class-A rental market catering to expatriates and corporate relocation. In 2006, rents were $4,898, according to Mercer.
More From Forbes:
Homes in Tokyo and London have always been expensive, but the dollar's recent plunge has made these and other pricey markets particularly daunting for American expatriates, businesses and anyone unlucky enough to receive a salary in greenbacks.
That's what's happening in Hong Kong. There, in dollar-adjusted terms, a two-bedroom, unfurnished apartment runs $6,398 a month. By comparison, $4,000 a month for Moscow and $4,102 for Tokyo look cheap.
To find these and other such markets, we used data from Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which based its numbers on 2007 data for rental properties in the Class-A market. Though it means different things in different places, a Class-A designation roughly equates to a unit in high-end, unfurnished building in a good part of town. The measures are taken at the median level, so as to exclude the ridiculous costs of premium apartments in neighborhoods like London's Belgravia or on Central Park in New York.
In Depth: World's Most Expensive Rental Markets
Rents were adjusted from local currencies to dollars. In 2007, the dollar hit a record low against the euro after falling 11% in 2006. Against the pound, the dollar was at a 25-year low in 2007. Against both currencies, the greenback remains in the doldrums.
Business Burden
American companies with offices in London feel an especially painful pinch. While rental prices there increased at a modest rate, when you combine subtle rate increases with the dollar's decline, you're left with a 30% jump in rent from 2006 to 2007. Given that Americans can't seem to afford 3%-6% increases in mortgage payments, many expatriates are going to have to move into slightly cheaper digs, or perhaps consider a move to Leeds.
But the mighty London market isn't even the fastest growing. Moscow rents have jumped by 33% when adjusted for the dollar. And in a market that's still relatively cheap, such as Bangalore, India, rents have increased 87% from last year. This is the result of the dollar's position against the Indian rupee and the rapid economic growth and sophistication of the Bangalore rental market, which, like the sales market, has surged along with the overall Indian economy.
This spells trouble for businesses dealing in dollars. That's because, unlike individual international buyers who are snapping up properties in New York and Los Angeles based on the cheap exchange rate, businesses don't quickly shift countries of operation based on the home currency's purchasing power. Instead, they have to absorb inflated housing costs for executives and temporarily relocate employees.
Large, multinational companies feel the pinch less than small businesses, for whom anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand a month is a lot to fret over.
Since 2006, monthly rents in Hong Kong, as measured by Mercer, grew from 4,898 to $6,398. In Moscow, they rose $1,000, and in London they jumped about $900.
What's the rental market like where you live? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Of course, American companies that pay their overseas employees in local currencies are relatively immune. This is the case with Coca-Cola's (nyse: KO - news - people ) overseas facilities, which are locally run and operated. If foreign subsidiaries are making money, the exchange rate doesn't hurt them.
"We make our money locally," says Crystal Walker, a company spokeswoman, explaining that Coke employees affected by currency swings represent "a drop in the bucket," as a small proportion of the company's 71,000 employees are based overseas.
For a company with less static international operations, like Exxon Mobil (nyse: XOM - news - people ), the problems associated with currency rates can prove difficult, whether it's the yen, the dollar or the next decade's slumping currency.
"Our business is such that foreign exchange is always an issue," says spokesman Alan Jeffers. "Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose."
I think that we LOSE...we lose bigtime!
Forbes.com
10. Osaka, Japan
$2,564 a month
9. Paris, France
$2,634 a month
8. Beijing, China
$2,840 a month
7. Geneva, Switzerland
$2,840 a month
6. Seoul, South Korea
$3,425 a month
5. London, England
$3,889 a month
4. New York, N.Y.
$4,000 a month
3. Moscow, Russia
$4,000 a month
2. Tokyo, Japan
$4,102 a month
1. Hong Kong
$6,398 a month
Prices on the Peak and in central Hong Kong, home to much of the city's financial centers, are among the highest in the city. Due in large part to its friendly tax rates, Hong Kong attracts businesses from all over the world, with a large sector of its Class-A rental market catering to expatriates and corporate relocation. In 2006, rents were $4,898, according to Mercer.
More From Forbes:
Homes in Tokyo and London have always been expensive, but the dollar's recent plunge has made these and other pricey markets particularly daunting for American expatriates, businesses and anyone unlucky enough to receive a salary in greenbacks.
That's what's happening in Hong Kong. There, in dollar-adjusted terms, a two-bedroom, unfurnished apartment runs $6,398 a month. By comparison, $4,000 a month for Moscow and $4,102 for Tokyo look cheap.
To find these and other such markets, we used data from Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which based its numbers on 2007 data for rental properties in the Class-A market. Though it means different things in different places, a Class-A designation roughly equates to a unit in high-end, unfurnished building in a good part of town. The measures are taken at the median level, so as to exclude the ridiculous costs of premium apartments in neighborhoods like London's Belgravia or on Central Park in New York.
In Depth: World's Most Expensive Rental Markets
Rents were adjusted from local currencies to dollars. In 2007, the dollar hit a record low against the euro after falling 11% in 2006. Against the pound, the dollar was at a 25-year low in 2007. Against both currencies, the greenback remains in the doldrums.
Business Burden
American companies with offices in London feel an especially painful pinch. While rental prices there increased at a modest rate, when you combine subtle rate increases with the dollar's decline, you're left with a 30% jump in rent from 2006 to 2007. Given that Americans can't seem to afford 3%-6% increases in mortgage payments, many expatriates are going to have to move into slightly cheaper digs, or perhaps consider a move to Leeds.
But the mighty London market isn't even the fastest growing. Moscow rents have jumped by 33% when adjusted for the dollar. And in a market that's still relatively cheap, such as Bangalore, India, rents have increased 87% from last year. This is the result of the dollar's position against the Indian rupee and the rapid economic growth and sophistication of the Bangalore rental market, which, like the sales market, has surged along with the overall Indian economy.
This spells trouble for businesses dealing in dollars. That's because, unlike individual international buyers who are snapping up properties in New York and Los Angeles based on the cheap exchange rate, businesses don't quickly shift countries of operation based on the home currency's purchasing power. Instead, they have to absorb inflated housing costs for executives and temporarily relocate employees.
Large, multinational companies feel the pinch less than small businesses, for whom anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand a month is a lot to fret over.
Since 2006, monthly rents in Hong Kong, as measured by Mercer, grew from 4,898 to $6,398. In Moscow, they rose $1,000, and in London they jumped about $900.
What's the rental market like where you live? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Of course, American companies that pay their overseas employees in local currencies are relatively immune. This is the case with Coca-Cola's (nyse: KO - news - people ) overseas facilities, which are locally run and operated. If foreign subsidiaries are making money, the exchange rate doesn't hurt them.
"We make our money locally," says Crystal Walker, a company spokeswoman, explaining that Coke employees affected by currency swings represent "a drop in the bucket," as a small proportion of the company's 71,000 employees are based overseas.
For a company with less static international operations, like Exxon Mobil (nyse: XOM - news - people ), the problems associated with currency rates can prove difficult, whether it's the yen, the dollar or the next decade's slumping currency.
"Our business is such that foreign exchange is always an issue," says spokesman Alan Jeffers. "Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose."
I think that we LOSE...we lose bigtime!
03-02-2008, 10:49 PM
#2
Gets Off
Joined APC: Jan 2007
Position: Nordskog Industries Field Technician
Posts: 688
No one listened. What do I (we 32%) know?
Last edited by md11phlyer; 03-03-2008 at 11:44 AM. Reason: typo
03-03-2008, 05:39 AM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Position: Gear Monkey
Posts: 3,201
It still boggles my mind that we negogiated and accepted an LOA without a mechanism in place for the housing allowance (and an additional COLA - Cost of Living Allowance) to adjust with the fluctuation in the exchange rates.
HKG and CDG are not the Philippines.
The folks who don't realize how big of a mistake this was simply cannot have lived overseas on the local economy in a non-third world country.
It's sad that folks are funding the costs of the FDAs thru their "upgrade allowances".
HKG and CDG are not the Philippines.
The folks who don't realize how big of a mistake this was simply cannot have lived overseas on the local economy in a non-third world country.
It's sad that folks are funding the costs of the FDAs thru their "upgrade allowances".
03-03-2008, 05:46 AM
#5
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 318
We had no leverage
Is this all part of JL's "financial windfall" for the pilots? After the huge guilt trip placed on all of us about voting NO and how that would hose the guys who wanted to bid this---it's just amazing. People who whine about this and then bid it are part of the problem. We will never have any leverage until we exercise it in the form of some unity on issues like this.
One the the 32%
One the the 32%
03-03-2008, 06:00 AM
#6
Bourgeoisie
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Position: 787 SO
Posts: 618
It still boggles my mind that we negogiated and accepted an LOA without a mechanism in place for the housing allowance (and an additional COLA - Cost of Living Allowance) to adjust with the fluctuation in the exchange rates.
HKG and CDG are not the Philippines.
The folks who don't realize how big of a mistake this was simply cannot have lived overseas on the local economy in a non-third world country.
It's sad that folks are funding the costs of the FDAs thru their "upgrade allowances".
HKG and CDG are not the Philippines.
The folks who don't realize how big of a mistake this was simply cannot have lived overseas on the local economy in a non-third world country.
It's sad that folks are funding the costs of the FDAs thru their "upgrade allowances".
An upgrade is NOT a raise!
03-03-2008, 06:30 AM
#7
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,931
Emotions aside....
This is great information for poolies who might be offered and are considering going to Hong Kong. 6300-2700 (housing allowance) = 3600 (after american taxes) out of pocket for an apartment in Hong Kong. 1800 if you have a roommate.
For a newhire making 3600 gross in a 4 week month or 4500 gross in a 5 week month, that is not an easy check to write.
Don't forget you have to furnish the apartment and pay "deposits" that you will likely never see again but still have to pay back to the company.
This is great information for poolies who might be offered and are considering going to Hong Kong. 6300-2700 (housing allowance) = 3600 (after american taxes) out of pocket for an apartment in Hong Kong. 1800 if you have a roommate.
For a newhire making 3600 gross in a 4 week month or 4500 gross in a 5 week month, that is not an easy check to write.
Don't forget you have to furnish the apartment and pay "deposits" that you will likely never see again but still have to pay back to the company.
03-03-2008, 06:46 AM
#8
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,931
Guys that voted yes did so for their own self interest. They want the company to thrive and grow. We all want the company to thrive, so it makes sense in that sort of way. That is the first step in selling, BTW. Get the customer to agree to some sort of idea.
But these guys who inspire a guilt trip are also like the DP flyers. They come up with the darndest reasoning to justify an action that is, in fact, selfish. Comments like they don't want to hurt the guys who want to go actually mean they want someone to go (not them) but they don't want to spend any of the money that might be taken out of THEIR future contract raises.
DP flyers employ the same tactic. "I can't find anything in open time and I need the money" But they don't mention they don't even look, or care. They don't care that most of us leave those international DPs in open time while we fly less and get only domestic trips. It's as if they think we are leaving those tirps in open time just for them. Right......
But these guys who inspire a guilt trip are also like the DP flyers. They come up with the darndest reasoning to justify an action that is, in fact, selfish. Comments like they don't want to hurt the guys who want to go actually mean they want someone to go (not them) but they don't want to spend any of the money that might be taken out of THEIR future contract raises.
DP flyers employ the same tactic. "I can't find anything in open time and I need the money" But they don't mention they don't even look, or care. They don't care that most of us leave those international DPs in open time while we fly less and get only domestic trips. It's as if they think we are leaving those tirps in open time just for them. Right......
03-03-2008, 10:11 AM
#9
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2007
Posts: 334
I don't believe that was the case at all. From my conversations I had with individuals that voted yes on this thing, it was purely apathy. They weren't going to bid it, so who cares? Once again we are our own worst enemy.
03-03-2008, 10:19 AM
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: Chemtrailing since 1981
Posts: 181
Surprise, surprise, surprise (said in his best Gomer Pyle voice). Not really actually, this kind of info was available during LOA negotiations without ever leaving MEM...if anyone had cared to look. It's only going to get worse....
JD
32%'er
P.S. Skypine, where did you get your bag tags? More importantly, how can I get a few?
JD
32%'er
P.S. Skypine, where did you get your bag tags? More importantly, how can I get a few?
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