THE GLOBE INVEST

Investing in real estate is one of the oldest forms of investing, having been around since the early days of human civilization.  Predating modern stock markets, real estate is one of  the five basic asset classes  that every investor should seriously consider adding to his or her portfolio for the unique cash flow, liquidity, profitability, tax, and  diversification  benefits it offers. In this introductory guide, we'll walk you through the basics of real estate investing, and discuss the different ways you might acquire or take ownership in real estate investments. First, let's start with the basics: What is real estate investing? What Is Real Estate Investing? Real estate investing is a broad category of operating, investing, and financial activities centered around making money from tangible property or cash flows somehow tied to a tangible property. The purest, simplest form of real estate investing is all about cash flow from  rents rather than  appre

TWENTY years ago next month, the British government gave the Bank of England the freedom to set interest rates. That decision was part of a trend that made central bankers the most powerful financial actors on the planet, not only setting rates but also buying trillions of dollars’ worth of assets, targeting exchange rates and managing the economic cycle. Although central banks have great independence now, the tide could turn again. Central bankers across the world have been criticised for overstepping their brief, having opined about broader issues (the Reserve Bank of India’s Raghuram Rajan on religious tolerance, the Bank of England’s Mark Carney on climate change). In some countries the fundamentals of monetary policy are under attack: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has berated his central bank because of his belief that higher interest rates cause inflation. And central banks have been widely slated for propping up the financial sector, and denting sa