Swedish appeals court rules space rock should stay with the owner of the property where it landed

STOCKHOLM — A Swedish land owner won a legal battle Thursday to keep a 14-kilogram (31-pound) meteorite when an appeals court ruled that such rocks should be considered “immovable property” and part of the land where they are found. The property on which the meteorite landed contains iron and the meteorite is made of iron. … Read more

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, praises ‘very valuable’ potential of Gaza’s ‘waterfront property’

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s former White House adviser and his son-in-law, praised the “very valuable” potential of Gaza’s “waterfront property,” suggesting that Israel should remove civilians while it “cleans up” the area. “Gaza’s waterfront property, it could be very valuable, if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner said in … Read more

China’s economy shows signs of improvement, but its property sector is still in the doldrums

HONG KONG — China’s manufacturing and investment improved in the first two months of the year, while weakness in the property sector weighed on the economy, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. The report said industrial output rose 7% from a year earlier in January-February, better than analysts had forecast. Spending on factories and … Read more

Property developers must go bankrupt if needed

China’s real estate sector has employed many construction workers, who typically live in temporary housing nearby. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images BEIJING — China’s struggling real estate developers won’t be getting a major bailout, Chinese authorities have indicated, warning that those who “harm the interests of the masses” will be punished. “For real estate … Read more

A Vietnamese property tycoon accused of embezzling $12.5 billion begins her trial

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan faces the death penalty in a trial that began Tuesday over alleged fraud amounting to $12.5 billion — nearly 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP and Vietnam’s largest financial fraud case on record. The 66-year-old chair of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat allegedly … Read more

China seeks ways to revive slowing economy and salvage property market as annual congress convenes

BEIJING — It’s clear that China’s efforts to build confidence in its slowing economy will top the agenda of this week’s meeting of its ceremonial national legislature. What remains unclear is how the ruling Communist Party can navigate toward stronger, sustained growth as China’s workforce is aging, relations with Washington are fraught, and housing construction … Read more

Don Henley wraps up testimony in Eagles lyric sheets case, saying they were his property

NEW YORK (AP) — The lyrics to “Hotel California” and other classic Eagles songs should never have ended up at auction, Don Henley told a court Wednesday. “I always knew those lyrics were my property. I never gifted them or gave them to anybody to keep or sell,” the Eagles co-founder said on the last … Read more

Hong Kong property stocks jump after city scraps cooling measures

An urban view of high-rise buildings at dusk as seen from Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Stocks of Hong Kong developers rose after Financial Secretary Paul Chan scrapped property cooling measures in a bid to bolster the sector, which has been weighed down by high borrowing costs and weak economic … Read more

Hong Kong lifts curbs on property market, to spend more on tourism

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s government has lifted curbs on property deals after home prices fell to a seven-year low, adding to the Chinese territory’s woes. Finance minister Paul Chan announced the move in a speech presenting the territory’s budget, which also raised spending on tourism promotion. He said all curbs, such as extra taxes, … Read more

China boosts property funding with first cut in key loan rate since June

A staff member counts Chinese Yuan at a bank’s personal finance business service area in Haian, East China’s Jiangsu province, Sept 15, 2023. CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images China’s central bank cut its benchmark five-year loan prime rate for the first time since June, extending Beijing’s efforts to revive the country’s anemic property … Read more