Final Word from Wednesday, July 4, 2018
In business, everything is for sale if the price is right. If something isn't for sale, it isn't business; other factors are at play. It's tempting to see politics or a get-out-of-Dodge tactic behind Zdeněk Bakala's sale of Forum Karlín, but his spokesman stated convincingly that there are several attractive offers on the table. Investors with OPM (other people's money) are chasing returns and will like Forum Karlín, but wise individuals who are putting their own money at risk will want to note the major changes occurring on the market. The CNB's competitive-revaluation policy isn't working, which could lead to a quicker rise in interest rates than expected. This, in turn, could depress the market for new housing and ultimately lower the value of existing properties. Those who are able to look at this from a business viewpoint and don't allow personal factors to blur their vision might very well come to their own conclusion that Bakala has again chosen the perfect time to sell. [Czech Republic Great Devaluation of the Czech Crown Czech National Bank]
Glossary of difficult words
nose - an instinctive talent for detecting something;
to get (the hell) out of Dodge - to leave or depart from a place, esp. quickly or with marked urgency. A reference to Dodge City, Kansas, the clichéd setting of cowboy and western films from the early to mid-1900s;
to chase (investment) returns - the practice of switching from an underperforming or average investment into one with a better rate of return;
revaluation - opposite of devaluation; a calculated upward adjustment to a country's official exchange rate;
competitive devaluation/revaluation - a series of sudden currency depreciations/appreciations used to gain/lose an edge in international trade;
to depress - to reduce the level or strength of activity in something, esp. an economic or biological system;
to blur - to make or become unclear or less distinct.