#Trd Line Service | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

southeastasianists · 4 years

Link

Protesters against the military in Myanmar have taken to social media to call for a boycott of some Singaporean F&B brands, such as Tiger Beer and Ya Kun Kaya Toast, reason being “Singapore is not supporting the voices of Myanmar people”.

Earlier on, it was reported that de facto leader and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, along with President Win Myint and other senior politicians, were detained by the military junta on 1 February due to the alleged fraud in the election held in November last year.

A state of emergency has been declared in Myanmar, while thousands of people have rallied to protest against the military takeover.

Protesters have also urged people to boycott businesses that are linked to the military.

Just recently, graphics calling for a boycott of brands from Singapore have been circulating on social media platforms.

Tiger Beer, BreadTalk, Ya Kun Kaya Toast, Beauty In The Pot, Crystal Jade Kitchen, and Ippudo were among the brands illustrated in the graphics, with the statements: “Singapore is not respecting the voices of Myanmar People, Singapore is supporting the Dictatorship”.

The graphics emerged after Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament on Tuesday (16 Feb) that it would be “crucial” for Singapore to separate politics and business, and “let businesses make commercial decisions and investment decisions on their own merits”.

The Minister, who was responding to parliamentary questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) Christopher de Souza and Gerald Giam, believes that this would be “a good time” to maintain such discipline.

“So no, I will not give specific advice to companies, but I will make, to the maximum extent possible, all information available in this House and beyond, so that people can make their own commercial and investment decisions,” he noted.

Dr Balakrishnan also acknowledged that Singapore is the largest investor in Myanmar and revealed that the country’s cumulative approved investments were at US$24.1 billion as of December last year.

However, he claimed that the major proportion of the investments have occurred in the last five years under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

In fact, the last five years saw “a ten-fold increase” in Singapore’s direct investments in Myanmar, compared to the preceding five-year period, said Dr Balakrishnan.

“I want to stress that companies made these investment decisions on commercial grounds.

“They did not do so because of political influence, or political suggestion on our part. But I believe that the commercial companies saw promising opportunities in Myanmar that was undergoing democratic transition,” he added.

Singapore’s influence on Myanmar

Apparently, Singapore’s investment in Myanmar involved 305 firms in total, according to Dr Oh Su-Ann’s report in 2019 – a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The Global New Light of Myanmar reported last October that about 20 Singapore-listed enterprises brought in US$1.85 billion into Myanmar in the past financial year 2019-2020, making it the top source of foreign investment in the country.

In fact, several Singapore-run businesses were also linked to the military in Myanmar.

Earlier on 10 February, a Burmese citizen working in Singapore Swe Sin Tha filed a police report against two companies – namely Excellence Metal Casting and STE Global Trading – for allegedly supporting the military in Myanmar.

“I have submitted a police report because the Singapore government has been known to prosecute people based on that.

“There is a Singaporean listed as a director for STE Global Trading, together with Tun Hlaing, director of the Myanmar Directorate for Defence Industries,” said the blogger in her Facebook post.

She also included a copy of the police report and two supporting documents in the post.

One of the documents was to prove the directorship – which was obtained from Singapore’s Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority – and another was an excerpt from the United Nations Security Council report linking Tun Hlaing with the two companies.

Ms Swe had also compiled a list of Singapore-run businesses which are linked to the military in her blog post on 9 February.

Citing from Burma Campaign’s last year “Dirty List”, she noted that these companies are including Grab, Coda Pay, Global Airfreight, HyalRoute, Infinity Global Solutions, Iseaco Investment, Norse Group, Pacifica International Lines and Transworld Group Singapore.

Separately, Razer’s co-founder and director Lim Kaling decided to sell his one-third stake in a joint venture that owns RMH Singapore – which in turn owns 49 per cent of Myanmar’s cigarette maker Virginia Tobacco Company (VCTL) – after a petition was launched calling for his removal from Razer’s board unless he cut ties with the military.

Another 51 per cent of VCTL is owned by the military-linked Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company (MEHL).

Additionally, in October 2019, ST Engineering announced that its electronics sector entered into a collaboration with Myanmar partner, Alliance Urban Transports (AUT) to provide cybersecurity services and training for Myanmar’s government, financial services and insurance sectors.

ST Engineering stated in a press release that it will jointly operate a security operations centre in Yangon with AUT.

It has also been suggested that anti-drone guns that the Myanmar military government is using, comes from TRD, a Singapore-based company which also has an office in Myanmar.

Singapore’s stance on Myanmar military coup

Singapore has earlier expressed its “grave concern” about the ongoing political situation in Myanmar.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and hope all parties involved will exercise restraint, maintain dialogue, and work towards a positive and peaceful outcome,” said Singapore’s representative at the UN Human Rights Council meeting on 12 Feb.

“Myanmar is a close friend of Singapore and a key member of ASEAN. We hope that the situation will return to normal as soon as possible,” she added, referring to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

However, Singaporean human rights lawyer M Ravi said Singapore’s statement was “appalling” and “highly insensitive” to the people of Myanmar, as it was the police and other authorities who had used bullets and carried out arrests of peaceful protesters without any warrant.

“What stands out in contrast to other speeches: it does not condemn the military takeover, does not call for release of prisoners (!) and does not call for return to democracy or respect for Nov. 2020 elections,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday (14 Feb).

“Some people have contacted me regarding this. I will say to our Myanmar friends that all right-thinking Singaporeans oppose the military takeover and people of Singapore condemn the serious violations of human rights and the ongoing atrocities committed by the military,” Mr Ravi assured.

#Southeast Asia #Burma #Myanmar #Singapore #Foreign Investment #Military Coup #Boycott

18 notes · View notes

jcjzx · 5 years

Video

youtube

Just sold my 1999 Toyota Chaser Tourer V JZX100 Series II 'Grand Package' in 047 Crystal White. As a momento i have made this video talking about the car, the things i learnt, the changes i made, some common issues/problems with the 1JZ-GTE and hopefully you learn something from this video. Sorry about the wind noise. Filmed on OnePlus 7 Pro.

Modifications are as follows:

Exterior - Dmax Bonnet - Ganador Mirrors - OEM Toyota Roof Spoiler - Factory Weathershields

Suspension/Braking - Cusco Front Strut Brace - Cusco Rear Strut Brace - Cusco Street Zero A Adjustable Coilovers - Cusco Front Upper Camber Arms - Cusco Front Underbracing - Cusco Front Sway Bar - Cusco Rear Sway Bar - Febest Diff bushes - Febest Sway Bar Links - Dmax rear arms - Endless Slotted and Vented Front Rotors - Endless Vented Rear Rotors - Endless Front/Rear Brake pads - Endless Swivel Braided Brake Lines

Wheels/Tyres - WedsSport SA-10R 18x9 - Yokohama Advan AD08R 255/35/18 Front & 265/35/19 Rear

Interior - Sony headunit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - Kenwood Sub under passenger floor mat - Push button start - TRD shift knob - Cusco Harness (expire 2022) - Dash mat (non gen as discontinued) - Original Mats - Fire extinguisher

Engine - 100% Completely Stock - Full custom stainless steel exhaust with decat pipe (will include blast pipes and 2 other mufflers each with different loudness as well as the stock catalytic converter) - Tourer V intake plate - always serviced with HKS oil and NGK plugs every 5000kms - always filled with BP Ultimate 98 - Clutch/Flywheel is ORC light weight

#toyota #chaser #jzx100 #1jz #youtube #jdm

5 notes · View notes

blogmargaretsummers · 3 years

Text

How Mindful Health Solutions Is Embracing New Name, Innovative Depression Treatment.

When Dr. Richard Bermudes established TMS Health Solutions in 2007; he did so because he saw how important transcranial magnetic stimulation would become in the fight against depression. Now, years down the line, Dr. Bermudes and his team are proudly unveiling their new name, tagline, and mission statement as the effectiveness of TMS therapy becomes more well-known.

Mindful Health Solutions: Growth and Change

Leaders in the realm of innovative depression treatment, Mindful Health Solutions has become the industry leader in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as well as other evidence-based treatment modalities. Formerly known as TMS Health Solutions, the company decided that rebranding was of the utmost importance to better align with its new mission statement. More than a place to enjoy the benefits of therapeutic transcranial magnetic stimulation, Mindful Health Solutions endeavors to offer a wide array of innovative services.

Headquartered out of San Francisco with 15 locations under the MHS umbrella, Dr. Bermudes announced his company’s rebranding efforts alongside a new location in Newport Beach. Several other locations are popping up closer to Los Angeles, including in Sacramento and Roseville. Individuals looking for the best psychiatrist near me will have plenty of options to choose from.

Brad Hummel is the Chief Executive Officer at Mindful Health Solutions and he was quick to take the lead on the new announcement. Hummel said of the name and tagline change, “We are very excited about the introduction of our new company name. It allows us to better represent our care and treatment philosophy.”

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Understanding the Basics

To understand the benefits of TMS therapy, we must first better understand the depression wave that has swept over the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 16 million adults had at least one MAJOR episode of depression in 2015. With COVID-19, quarantine, and the corresponding economic downturn, these numbers must be higher today by a longshot. Nearly a third of all individuals struggling with depression will experience TRD.

What Is TRD?

TRD stands for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Treatment-Resistant Depression is simply a form of depression that does not adequately respond to other therapeutic modalities. Whether a patient is engaging in talk therapy or anti-depressants, the lack of progress can be hard to handle. This is where many patients turn to TMS therapy.

What IS TMS Therapy?

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is considered a noninvasive procedure that utilizes magnetic fields in order to stimulate nerve cells in specific parts of the brain. This entire service is performed during an office visit that lasts between 30 and 60 minutes. During this visit, patients will relax in a comfortable chair while a TMS Technician begins the process.

TMS therapy involves the use of a special wand that guides the targeted magnetic pulses toward the area of our brain most responsible for depression. Before undergoing this service, clients WILL have to remove any items that might be sensitive to magnets, including jewelry.

Benefits of TMS Therapy at Mindful Health Solutions

As Dr. Bermudes and his team continue to expand Mindful Health Solutions into new communities around Los Angeles and the surrounding areas and more and more people are experiencing its benefits. There are quite a few reasons to consider getting TMS therapy, so let’s see how Mindful Health Solutions can support your efforts.

TMS Therapy For Treatment-Resistant Depression – Individuals struggling with a major depressive disorder will likely want to try new solutions. TMS therapy is a non-invasive way to complement your existing talk therapy and antidepressant regime. Just four to eight weeks of visits can yield the results that you’ve been searching for.

Address Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – While depression is one of the focal points of treatment at Mindful Health Solutions, it is far from the only plight that they seek to support. The FDA approved TMS Therapy for OCD as recently as 2018. According to the FDA, TMS therapy is suggested in conjunction with other measures for treating OCD.

TMS therapy is often covered by insurance agencies, including Medicare. Treatments require up to five days per week at the office, so patients will have to schedule their 30 to 60-minute slots based on their availability. There are no lingering downsides or side effects to TMS therapy following your visit, so returning to work is possible for lunchtime appointments.

Experience Relief With Mindful Health Solutions

Mindful Health Solutions is staffed by skilled and dedicated psychiatrists who work tirelessly to bring you the care that you need. While TMS therapy is the primary engine of work at Mindful Health Solutions, it is far from their only coverage. Each Mindful Health location in California offers services to treat clinical depression, memory disorders, chronic pain, and even obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The post How Mindful Health Solutions Is Embracing New Name, Innovative Depression Treatment. appeared first on Baltimore News Journal.

from Baltimore News Journal https://ift.tt/2UuW2W2 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Baltimore News Journal

0 notes

kaygun · 4 years

Text

ECB Data with Clojure and Vega-Lite

Description of the problem

I have been exploring ECB data through their API. I have done python, scala and common lisp before. Now, it is clojure’s turn.

The code

Let us start with the namespace and deps.edn. This is what I have for the deps.edn:

{:deps {org.clojure/data.json {:mvn/version "1.0.0"} clj-http/clj-http {:mvn/version "3.10.1"} metasoarous/oz {:mvn/version "1.6.0-alpha6"}} }

which I use in the ns

(ns ecb (:require [clojure.data.json :as json] [clj-http.client :as client] [oz.core :as oz]))

I need data.json for JSON parsing, clj-http for the http client, oz for vega-lite visualization.

The code snippet below, queries ECB data repository. The hard part is to figure out the ECB’s designation for the dataset one needs to query.

(defn request [dataset] (let [raw (-> (str "https://sdw-wsrest.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/ECB," dataset) (client/get {:accept :json}) :body json/read-str) dates (map (fn [k] (get k "name")) (-> raw (get "structure") (get "dimensions") (get "observation") first (get "values"))) values (-> raw (get "dataSets") first (get "series") vals first (get "observations"))] (->> (into [] values) (mapcat (fn [[k v]] {(nth dates (read-string k)) (first v)})) (into {}))))

#'ecb/request

The function below queries the ECB data server for European total imports and exports to a specific country to calculate the trade imbalance over time, and then plots the result via vega-lite library oz.

(defn experiment [country] (let [imports (request (str "TRD/M.I8.Y.M.TTT." country ".4.VAL")) exports (request (str "TRD/M.I8.Y.X.TTT." country ".4.VAL")) data (map (fn [k] {:date k :value (/ (get imports k) (get exports k))}) (keys imports)) plot {:data {:values data} :encoding {:x {:field :date :type "nominal" :title "Time"} :y {:field :value :type "quantitative" :title "Trade Imbalance of EU = Imports/Exports"}} :mark "line"}] (oz/view! plot :port 12345)))

#'ecb/experiment

Let us run this for Great Britain: If you run this on your machine, the visualization you will get from oz on your browser is better than the PNG I am including here.

(oz/start-server! 12345) (experiment "GB")

0 notes

samad-jdm · 5 years

Text

Blog 5: Hunt Down For Parts (Part 1)

September 2018

The spec list all written up it was now time to source the next sets of parts I could find.

Little Note: Parts I have bought were from members of Yaris Club UK (YCUK) just saves me having to write it every time.

In September I bought the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) Front Strut Brace from Gary Mohan from his Toyota Vitz RS Turbo a really rare part to get a hold of. I was quite lucky when I spoke to him as it was over a month or so speaking to him in regards to it, He sent it shipped from Ireland and came to the UK in good time safe and secure.

I heard really good reviews on this strut brace compared to other ones used so it was my turn to find out the difference it would make to Maria’s handling and overall drive.

A couple of months later I bought a Rear Kode Tow Hook from Elmz a good person as well very humble. it wasn't a bad price either and I saw his post on the group just at the right time and bought it, it came posted securely and was ready to use.

Another two keep parts I bought was the TRD/Vitz RS Front Bumper Lip (Genuine), Sparco 3 Point Harnesses. that I collected From Cam Toman in Wigan although the lip ended not being used and sold sadly due to change of direction down the line.

I bought some alloys from Luke Parnell from Yaris Club UK - (YCUK) in November 2018. Originally I was supposed to buy them from Leo Georgeau another member of Yaris Club UK - (YCUK) as I was interested in them.

However due to uni commitments the month before I ended up being busy and by time I got back to him he sold them with his car as they were from his new project that he imported from Japan that were on the Toyota Vitz RS Turbo and he switched them on his Yaris T Sport Ph2 and used his Buddy Club P1 alloy wheels for his new project instead.

Pictures of how the alloys looked on the Vitz RS, Yaris T Sport Ph2 (Prior to my ownership of the alloys.

Whether it was just pure luck or perfect timing contacting him his car that he was selling was being test driven little did I know it would be Luke who would be buying it.

I asked Leo if he could speak to whoever it was as he said the new owner wasn't keen on the wheels and would change them, as I really wanted to buy them and have them on Maria ideally as winter wheels.

Luke contacted me sometime after in November and said that he would sell me the alloy wheels, as he wasn't keen and his friend wasn't either which also perfect for me as I needed them.

On a Sunday within early November before work I met him at a service station in Derby loaded the wheels up had a quick chat and drove straight back to Leeds but not without seeing how fast his T Sport flying past me was which was motivating for me going forward in the long run.

I got back home in time dropped off the wheels and went straight to work.

But planned to get the alloys put on soon enough.

In December I got some parts from Eddy Yaris Club UK - (YCUK) Legend in Barnsley he told me he was moving to Australia and was going to be selling his Yaris T Sport Ph1. While I was there I noticed a perticular set of bucket seats in the colour way similar to the ones I wanted minus them being a fixed back.

They were the Recaro JDM EP3 seats which would work perfectly for what I wanted looks and comfort wise.

I spoke to him about them and got a price for them which was set and he saved them for me, a week before he flew to Australia I bought them.

Pictures of the seats in his Yaris T Sport Ph1

On the night I collected them he gave me some free parts which was very kind of him. He also helped me fix the harnesses within the seats as well

I dropped them home and got to work on them the next day.

0 notes

marugujaratonline · 5 years

Text

East Coast Railway Recruitment

East Coast Railway Recruitment: East Coast Railway has Published Latest Jobs. This is Great Opportunity for Candidates Who Want to Make Their Future in East Coast Railway. Candidates Should Be find More Details about East Coast Railway Vacancies 2019. For More Details About Vacancies or Post Recruitment Check Official Website or Visit MaruGujarat Online. East Coast Railway Recruitment 2019 Other Details Like Age Limit, Educational Qualification, Salary Scale, Selection Process, Application Fee and How to Apply in This Job. All Details Are Given in Below Post Read Full Notification and Apply for It.

East Coast Railway Recruitment 2019 for 310 Goods Guard, JE & Other Posts Last Date 14/05/19

Posts: Jr.Clerk-cum-Typist: 12 Posts Technician-III: 65 Posts Commercial Cum Ticket Clerk: 48 Posts Goods Guard: 93 Posts JE/Civil: 63 Posts JE/Mech: 13 Posts JE/Elect: 11 Posts JE/S&T: 5 Posts Total No. of Posts: 310 Educational Qualification: Jr.Clerk-Cum-Typist: 12th (+2 Stage) or its equivalent with not less than 50% marks in the aggregate. 50% marks are not to be insisted upon in case of SC / ST / Persons with Benchmark Disability / Ex-servicemen and candidates who possess qualifications higher than 12th (+2 stage). Typing proficient in English/Hindi on Computer is essential. Technician -III (Carpenter): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Carpenter/Furniture and Cabinet Maker. Technician –III (Welder): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Welder/Welder(Gas and Electric)/Gas Cutter/Structural Welder/Welder (Pipe)/Welder (TIG/MIG). Technician –III (Fitter): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Fitter. Technician –III (Electrical Power / Electrical TRD): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Electrician/Wireman/Mechanical HT, LT Equipment and cable Jointing/Electronics Mechanic Technician –III (Electrical TRS): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Electrician/Wireman/Electronics Mechanic/Mechanic Power Electronics/Mechanic HT, LT Equipments and Cable Jointing/Fitter/Welder/Painter General/Machinist/Carpenter. Technician –III (Track Machine): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Fitter/Electrician/Electronics Mechanic/Instrument Mechanic/ Mechanic Mechatronics/Mechanic Diesel/Mechanic Motor Vehicle/Welder/Machinist. Technician –III (Painter): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Painter General/Domestic Painter/Industrial Painter. Technician –III (Signal): (i) Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trades of Electrician/Wireman/Electronic Mechanic OR (ii) 10+2 with Physics and Maths. Technician –III (Diesel Mechanical): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Fitter/Mechanic Diesel/Mechanic (Repair and Maintenance of Heavy Vehicles)/Mechanic Automobile (Advanced Diesel Engine)/Mechanic Motor Vehicle/Tractor Mechanic/Welder/Painter. Technician –III (Refrigeration & AC): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic / Electrician / Wireman / Electronics Mechanic. Technician –III (Blacksmith): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Forger and Heat Treater. Technician –III (Mason): Matriculation with either National Trade Certificate (NTC) or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) in the trade of Mason (Building Constructor). Commercial Cum Ticket Clerk: 12th (+2 Stage) or it's equivalent with not less than 50% marks in the aggregate. 50% marks are not to be insisted upon in case of SC / ST / Persons with Benchmark Disability / Ex-servicemen and candidates who possess qualifications higher than 12th (+2 stage). Goods Guard: Degree from recognized University and its equivalent. JE/Civil (Design Drawing and Estimation / P.Way / Works): (a) Three years Diploma in Civil Engineering or B.Sc. in Civil Engineering of three years duration or (b) a combination of any sub-stream of basic streams of Civil Engineering from a recognized University/ Institute. JE/Civil (Track Machine): Three years Diploma in (a) Mechanical/ Production/ Automobile / Electrical / Electronics/ Instrumentation and Control Engineering OR (b) a combination of any sub stream of basic streams of Mechanical/ Production/ Automobile/ Electrical/ Electronics/ Instrumentation and Control Engineering from a recognized University/ Institute. JE/Mechanical (Workshop / C&W / Diesel): Three years Diploma in (a) Mechanical/ Electrical/ Electronics/ Manufacturing/ Mechatronics/ Industrial/ Machining/ Instrumentation and Control/ Tools and Machining/ Tools and Die Making/ Automobile/ Production Engineering OR (b) a combination of any sub stream of basic streams of Mechanical /Electrical/ Electronics/ Manufacturing/ Mechatronics/ Industrial/ Machining/ Instrumentation and Control/ Tools and Machining/ Tools and Die Making/ Automobile/ Production Engineering from a recognized University/Institute JE/Elect (Design Drawing & Estimation / General Services / TRS / TRD): Three years Diploma in (a) Mechanical/ Electrical/ Electronics Engineering OR (b) a combination of any sub stream of basic streams of Mechanical/ Electrical/ Electronics Engineering from a recognized University/ Institute. JE/S&T (Signal / Tele): Three years Diploma in (a) Electrical/ Electronics/ Information Technology/ Communication Engineering/ Computer Science and Engineering/ Computer Science/ Computer Engineering OR (b) a combination of any sub stream of basic streams of Electrical/ Electronics/ Information Technology/ Communication Engineering/ Computer Science and Engineering/ Computer Science/ Computer Engineering from a recognized University/Institute. Age Limit: The maximum age limit for appearing in the GDCE will be 42 years for General candidates, 45 years for OBC candidates and 47 for SC/ST candidates reckoned as on the date of notification. Medical Fitness: The candidates should be FIT in the prescribed medical standard as mentioned in para-5 above. Application Fees: NIL Selection Process: Candidates will be selected based on CBT. How to Apply East Coast Railway Recruitment 2019 for 310 Goods Guard, JE & Other Posts: Interested Candidates may Apply Online Through official Website. Advertisement: Click Here Apply Online: Click Here Important Dates: Starting Date of Online Application: 15-04-2019 Last Date to Apply Online: 14-05-2019 About Indian Railways The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats inclines first occurred to Mr. George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843. The formal inauguration ceremony was performed on 16th April 1853, when 14 railway carriages carrying about 400 guests left Bori Bunder at 3.30 pm "amidst the loud applause of a vast multitude and to the salute of 21 guns." The first passenger train steamed out of Howrah station destined for Hooghly, a distance of 24 miles, on 15th August, 1854. Thus the first section of the East Indian Railway was opened to public traffic, inaugurating the beginning of railway transport on the Eastern side of the subcontinent. In south the first line was opened on Ist July, 1856 by the Madras Railway Company. It ran between Vyasarpadi Jeeva Nilayam (Veyasarpandy) and Walajah Road (Arcot), a distance of 63 miles. In the North a length of 119 miles of line was laid from Allahabad to Kanpur on 3rd March 1859. The first section from Hathras Road to Mathura Cantonment was opened to traffic on 19th October, 1875. These were the small’s beginnings which is due course developed into a network of railway lines all over the country. By 1880 the Indian Railway system had a route mileage of about 9000 miles. INDIAN RAILWAYS, the premier transport organization of the country is the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest under one management. Indian Railways is a multi-gauge, multi-traction system covering the following: Track Kilometers Broad Gauge (1676 mm) Meter Gauge (1000 mm) Narrow Gauge (762/610 mm) Total 86,526 18,529 3,651 108,706 Route Kilometers Electrified Total 16,001 63,028 Other Interesting facts of Indian Railways Indian Railways runs aroun d 11,000 trains everyday, of which 7,000 are passenger trains 7566 - locomotives 37,840 - Coaching vehicles 222,147 - Freight wagons 6853 - Stations 300 - Yards 2300 - Good sheds 700 - Repair shops 1.54 million - Work force Territorial Readjustment of Zones and In-House Reforms In order to bring about greater efficiency in administration, speedy implementation of on-going projects, better customer care, reduction of workload on General Managers etc., Indian Railways have decided to create seven new zones by territorial re-adjustment of existing zones. The new zones, having limited financial burden on Railways, will have thin and lean, efficient and modern administrative set up. Two of the new zones have already started functioning. National Rail Vikas Yojana With a view to complete strategically important projects within a stipulated period of time, a non-budgetary investment initiative for the development of Railways has been launched.. Under the scheme all the capacity bottlenecks in the criticalsections of the railway network will be removed at an investment of Rs.15,000 crore over the next five years. These projects would include: 1.Strengthening of the golden Quadrilateral to run more long-distance mail/express and freight trains at a higher speed of 100 kmph. 2.Strengthening of rail connectivity to ports and development of multi-modal corridors to hinterland. 3.Construction of four mega bridges - two over River Ganga, one over River Brahmaputra, and one over River Kosi. 4.Accelerated completion of those projects nearing completion and other important projects. New Steps towards Safety and Security : Safety of 13 million passengers that Indian Railways serve every day is of paramount importance to the system. Over the years, apart from the regular safety norms followed, the network has taken a number of steps through innovative use of technology and stepped up training to its manpower to enhance safety standards. Constitution of Rs.17,000 crore non-lapsable Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF) to replace the arrears of aging assets of Railways over the next six years has been a historical move in this direction. A number of distressed bridges, old tracks, signalling system and other safety enhancement devices will be replaced during this period. As far as budget allocation for safety is concerned, Rs.1,400 crore was allocated in the revised estimate for the year 2001-02 and Rs.2,210 crore for the year 2002-2003. Extensive field trials of the Anti-Collision Device (ACD), indigenously developed by Konkan Railway, is going on and once deployed across the Zonal Railways, this innovative technology will help railways reduce accidents due to collision between trains. Security of railway passengers is at present a shared responsibility of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Reserve Police (GRP). Efforts are on to amend the Railway Act to give more powers to the RPF in ensuring security of passengers on trains and within Railway premises. Deployment of women police Force has been made for security and assistance of women passengers. Improving Financial Health : The financial position of Indian Railways has been slowly but steadily improving. Some of the highlights of the financial performance during 2001-02 include: improved operating ratio from 98.8 per cent to 96.6 per cent, savings in ordinary working expenses of Rs.1,487 crore, Depreciation Reserve Fund (DRF) balance goes up from Rs. 78.04 crore during March last year to Rs.632.99 crore during same time this year. Railways have established a new milestone in incremental freight loading during July this year by carrying 5.70 million tonnes of goods. Freight loading for the last financial year crossed the target and attained 492.31 million tonnes. New Trends in Passenger Amenities : To take care of the unreserved segment of the passengers, a new pilot project on computer based unreserved ticketing has been launched this year. Of the 13 million passengers served by the network everyday, nearly 12 million are unreserved passengers. To cater to this huge segment, computer based ticketing systems has been launched for all stations in Delhi area and in due course throughout the country. With this, unreserved tickets can be issued even from locations other than the boarding station and will reduce crowds at booking offices and stations. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation with the assistance of Centre for Railway Information Systems has launched On-line ticketing facility which can be accessed through website irctc.co.in. Computerized reservation facilities were added at 245 new locations. At present these facilities are available at 758 locations in the country covering about 96 per cent of the total workload of passenger reservation. Computerized Reservation related enquiries about accommodation availability, passenger status, train schedule, train between pair of stations etc. have been made web enabled. A pilot project for issuing monthly and quarterly season tickets through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) has been launched in Mumbai this year and has been found very successful. Another pilot project for purchasing tickets including monthly and quarterly season tickets through Smart Card has also been launched. "National Train Enquiry System" has been started in order to provide upgraded passenger information and enquiries. This system provides the train running position on a current basis through various output devices such as terminals in the station enquiries and Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) at important railway stations. So far the project has been implemented at 98 stations. Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) Computerisation of freight operations by Railways has been achieved by implementing Rake Management System (RMS). Such FOIS terminals are available at 235 locations Railways have established their own intra-net ’Railnet’ It provides networking between Railway Board, Zonal Headquarters, Divisional headquarters, Production Units, Training Centers etc. Sterling Performance by PSUs The public sector undertakings of the Railways, especially IRCON and RITES, scored commendable achievements during the last three years. IRCON International has achieved a record turnover of Rs.900 crore during 2001-02 and the foreign exchange earnings of this prestigious organization has increased six fold over the years. At the international level, IRCON is at present executing different projects in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The PSU has registered a strong presence in the international scenario by its sterling track record. RITES, another prestigious PSU under the Ministry has scaled new heights in performance, profit and dividend to the shareholders during the last three years. Its turn over increased from Rs.172 crore in 1999 to Rs.283 crore in 2002. RITES for its sterling performance secured the prestigious ISO-9001 Certification this year. The company has also entered into export/leasing of locomotives in different countries in Asia and Africa. RITES is operating all over the world including Columbia, UK, Iran, Malayasia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Indian Railways Finance Corporation Limited secured excellent rating for fourth year in succession by the Department of Public enterprises on the basis of the performance targets. Besides, Standards and Poor’s, the international credit rating agency, also reaffirmed the sovereign ratings to IRFC. The Corporation has been making profits and paying dividends. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation ( IRCTC ) Internet based ticket booking has been launched by IRCTC in Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Calcutta this year. Hygienic and air-conditioned food plazas having consumer-friendly ambience opened at Pune and Chennai and license for similar plazas awarded for 17 more locations. In all, 50 such plazas will be opened by the end of this financial year across the zonal Railways. Railneer - packaged drinking water is to be made available from December this year. More than half a lakh tourists have availed the value added tour package programme launched by the Corporation this year. Innovative Technologies by Konkan Railway : Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC), the technological marvel of Indian Railways, has invented quite a few new technologies. Anti Collision Device (ACD), state-of-art indigenous technology of KRC is currently under-going intensive field trials and is capable of avoiding collision between trains. Sky bus metro is another innovative, economic and eco-friendly mass rapid transportation solution devised by Konkan Railway. Self Stablising Track (SST) devised by KRC, which is undergoing trials at present, will help Railways run the fastest train in the near future and will make tracks much more safe and sustainable. Private Sector Participation : The participation of both private and public sectors in developing rail infrastructure has gone up. A joint venture company was formed with Pipava Port authorities to provide broad gauge connectivity to Pipava Port. MoUs have been signed between Ministry of Railways and the State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand in developing rail infrastructure in these States. Telecommunication - New Trends : To give improved telecommunication systems on Railways, Optical Fibre based communication systems has been adopted and laying OFC has increased to 7,700 route kilometer this year. Rail Tel Corporation has been created to make a nationwide broadband multimedia network by laying optical fibre cable along the railway tracks. This system will provide better operational and passenger amenities and additional revenue to Railways. New Technologies : India became the first developing country and the 5th country in the world to roll out the first indigenously built "state-of-the-art" high horse power three phase electric locomotive when the first such loco was flagged off from Chittranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). CLW has been achieving progressive indigenisation and the cost of locomotives has come down to the level of Rs.13.65 crore. Diesel Locomotives Works, Varanasi has produced state-of-the-art 4000 HP AC/AC diesel locomotive in April this year. These locos are capable of hauling 4,800 tonne freight trains at a speed of 100 KMPH and can run continuously up to 90 days in one stretch without any major maintenance. Honours and Awards Indian Railways achieved a number of recognitions and awards in sports, tourism sector and for excellence in operational matters. In the Common Wealth Games in Manchester, the Indian teams record performance has been mainly due to Railway team’s excellence in sports. Except one member the entire women’s Hockey team which bagged the gold medal belonged to Railways. Mohd Ali Qamar of Indian Railways has bagged gold medal for boxing and other participants from Railways helped India win medals in many a team events. A number of sportspersons from Railways were conferred with the coveted Arjuna Awards and other major sports awards. Darjeeling Himalayan Railways attained the World Heritage Status from UNESCO. Fairy Queen, the oldest functioning steam engine in the world, which finds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, got Heritage Award at the International Tourist Bureau, Berlin in March, 2000. On operational front, Delhi Main station entered the Guinness Book for having the world’s largest route relay interlocking system. Social obligations and care for weaker sections Senior citizens, students, disabled persons etc. enjoy concessional benefits from Railways. New initiatives in this area during the last three years include reduction of age limits for special concession to senior women citizen from 65 to 60 years, blind and mentally challenged persons can now travel in AC classes on confessional rates. Free second class Monthly Season Tickets (MSTs) for school going children upto tenth standard for travel between home and school was also introduced. Tie-Up with Foreign Railways Indian Railways is in constant touch with Railways across the world to bring in state-of-art facilities in its system. Towards this, a Memorandum of Understanding was singed during the Eighth Session of the Indo-Austria Joint Economic Commission held in Vienna. This seeks to promote and deepen long-term infrastructure-specific cooperation between Indian and Austrian Railways to their mutual benefit.A three-day International Conference of Union of Railways was organised by Indian Railways in New Delhi in which hundreds of delegates from various industries and Railways around the world participated. Source : Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) CMS Team Last Reviewed on: 01-01-2019

Read the full article

#EastCoastRailwayApplyOnline #EastCoastRailwayCareer #EastCoastRailwayJOBS2019-20 #EastCoastRailwayLatestJob2019 #EastCoastRailwayRecruitment2019 #EastCoastRailwayVacancies2019 #job #Marugujarat

0 notes

vividracing · 7 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://www.vividracing.com/blog/vividracing-client-cars/magnuson-toyota-tundra-supercharger-installed-at-hg-motorsport/

Magnuson Toyota Tundra Supercharger Installed at HG Motorsport

The Magnuson supercharger kit for the Toyota Tundra is the best thing to ever happen to the 5.7L V8 engine. The supercharger takes your Tundra to 550hp & 550lbs-ft. Magnuson offers 2 different supercharger kits for the Tundra. One kit is for the Flex Fuel vehicles and one is for the Non Flex Fuel usually found in California. Flex Fuel allows for the use of E85 gasoline. We call it poor mans race gas! But when it comes time for your supercharger kit, its 91 octane or better. One of the big differences between the 2 supercharger kits is the installation. The Non FFV vehicle requires the fuel tank to be dropped so you can change out the fuel pump. Magnuson provides all the necessary components including the BullyDog tuner for the kit to work. The Non FFV kit takes about 20 hours for installation where the FFV kit is only 10 hours as you dont need to change the fuel pump. View installation instructions here.

Up from the stock 381hp and 401ft/lbs of torque, the bolt on supercharger kit is night and day different from the TRD branded kit that was once offered. This is because of the custom calibration Magnuson has developed with BullyDog. Having personally driven both vehicles, the truck now has no issue getting out of it’s own way and ripping up to redline. Turn off traction control and expect to light those rear tires up! But beyond having more performance than the new Ford Raptor, the supercharger kit can help in towing with the additional torque. Because the kit is belt driven, you are always into boost. This keeps the power instantaneous and modular unlike a centrifugal supercharger or turbo kit. If you are not towing, no worries, the truck with control of your foot can drive like normal and is very reliable. With the change in calibration, some have even reported seeing an improvement in gas mileage. This is usually do to the fuel trims being changed to be more leaner. For those of you in California, have no fear, this is totally legit! Each Magnuson kit includes a CARB certified sticker that is mated to your VIN.

Magnuson also offers an extended warranty for only $475 that covers your full powertrain for 5 years or 60,000 miles. They already give you a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty which is better than any other system for any vehicle out there. Vivid Racing is a certified retailer of all Magnuson Supercharger Kits. Our friends and partners, HG Motorsport in San Diego, are a great installation choice for those located in California. Having had the experience of installing the Magnuson Tundra Kit, Vivid Racing highly recommends contacting them for installation services. Photos are courtesy of one of their recent installations.

Got questions, comments, concerns? Drop us a line or post here!

Order Your Magnuson Supercharger Tundra Kit Here

#HG Motorsports #magnuson #Magnuson Supercharger #Toyota #Toyota Tundra #TRD #tundra supercharger

1 note · View note

walterfrodriguez · 4 years

Text

Record-breaking surge in Covid cases spells trouble for South Florida’s hotel market

From left: The Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Shore Club and Clevelander South Beach

Jeffrey Soffer’s iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach was among the first of the city’s hotels to reopen on June 1, after the majority were shut down for the entire month of May.

The sponsors of the 1,500-room oceanfront resort — whose hallways have been graced by Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, and more recently, Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian West — spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the reopening.

Jeffrey Soffer, CEO of Fontainebleau Development

Preparations included the purchase of electrostatic sprayers, thermometers and hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the property, as well as training employees in the latest health and safety protocols. And as it prepared to reopen its doors, the luxury hotel planned to hire 500 employees back in the first couple weeks, adding more as occupancy returned.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that people are making reservations,” Philip Goldfarb, president and CEO of the hospitality division of Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development, said at the time.

But of the more than 2,000 employees who were temporarily laid off due to the pandemic, the Fontainebleau ended up bringing back just 774 by July. About 1,300 workers were recently provided with a separation notice, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification that cited the effects of ongoing restrictions on travel and large gatherings, as well as the hotel’s low occupancy.

At the same time, a $975 million CMBS loan backing the resort is stuck in special servicing, a situation the hotel’s owners say occured because they are seeking modifications to the loan.

The Fontainebleau is not alone.

“No hotel can operate on less than 20 percent occupancy. The numbers don’t work.”

Suzanne Amaducci-Adams, Bilzin Sumberg

After Florida began to lift its stay-at-home orders, positive cases of Covid-19 skyrocketed. As of July 13, following a daily record for the U.S. with 15,300 cases reported in 24 hours, there have been more than 282,000 cases and 4,277 deaths documented in the state.

That, coupled with closures of the beaches and countywide curfews, led to already low occupancy rates taking another hit. Many hotels — banking on being sold out for the 4th of July weekend — ended up with significant cancellations.

The start-and-stop of the market spells trouble for South Florida’s hotels, with distressed sales expected to occur later this year. That’s reflective of an even bigger problem for the state’s business activity and real estate markets. Since the pandemic began, close to 3 million people in Florida have reportedly filed for unemployment, with the accommodation and food services industry seeing the highest number of jobless claims.

Suzanne Amaducci-Adams, Bilzin Sumberg

“Until we have a steady stream of income from travelers, the hotels are not going to be able to function properly and not be able to meet their obligations,” said Suzanne Amaducci-Adams, a partner and head of real estate at Bilzin Sumberg, a major commercial law firm based in Miami.

“No hotel can operate on less than 20 percent occupancy,” she added. “The numbers don’t work.”

Survival tactics

Dozens of hotels are in a similar situation as the Fontainebleau and tens of thousands of hospitality workers have lost their jobs in South Florida alone.

The Trump Organization, for example, laid off nearly 800 employees in March, including many at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort and club in Palm Beach. Alan Lieberman’s South Beach Hotel Group and the Loews Hotel each laid off more than 700 employees.

And with air travel, occupancy and room rates still low, the layoffs will likely last longer than originally anticipated.

Occupancy among South Florida’s hotels that haven’t shut down completely exceeded 30 percent during the week of July 4, according to data from the hotel research firm STR. But while that’s an increase from earlier in the pandemic, it marks a 54 percent annual decline.

The average daily rate was $124, a 24 percent drop from the same week last year, and revenue per available room was $42, down 65 percent year over year, per STR.

A majority of hotels secured loan deferments or concessions that were set to expire by July, and a good chunk of the high season was lost to coronavirus. Like most commercial real estate, any hotel sales that were in the pipeline were either canceled or indefinitely placed on hold.

Before the pandemic, 2020 was supposed to be a banner year for South Florida’s hotels — after the market faced setbacks from the Zika outbreak in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Super Bowl LIV (Getty)

Super Bowl LIV, which Miami hosted in early February, was a boon for local hotels. That weekend, the average daily rate increased almost 150 percent year-over-year, with occupancy rising above 90 percent. Following that, hotels had other events to look forward to: 2020’s Ultra Music Festival in March, the Miami Open in April, and weeks of Spring Break.

“Most hotels were having sort of the best year in five or six years,” said Max Comess, managing director of Hodges Ward Elliott’s Miami office. But all of the big events lined up for the spring were eventually canceled.

Hotel owners and operators typically budget a loss for the slow season, Comess noted, but with the high season cut short, it’s almost impossible to say which hotels will make it through the rest of the year.

“No one knows when the market will really start to bounce back without a vaccine for Covid-19 and a return of consumer confidence in travel,” he added. “Business travel is non-existent, and most Americans are now vacationing in areas they can drive to.”

After being shut down on March 23, Florida’s hotels were allowed to reopen beginning June 1. But many owners are waiting until August or September to start welcoming guests, while others continue to delay their opening dates due to increased restrictions and low demand.

Among those that are still closed are the Standard Spa Miami Beach, the JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Four Seasons Hotel Miami, the Shore Club, the Gale South Beach, and Novotel Miami Brickell, according to their websites.

The Clevelander South Beach (Getty)

The Clevelander South Beach, a popular party hotel on Ocean Drive, voluntarily closed its doors in July. A notice posted on its website said it was closed until further notice “due to public health concerns” caused by Covid-19.

“Some hotel owners are opting to stay closed,” Amaducci-Adams said. “Hotel owners have never really been faced with that horrible decision before.”

A deal drought

Some big deals that were in the works prior to the pandemic are also on ice.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels — an offshoot of the billionaire entrepreneur’s Virgin Group — had prepared a 46-page offering package for the Shore Club in South Beach, a self-described “Art Deco labyrinth of gardens and alcoves” on Collins Avenue.

Richard Branson

The hotel group had been searching for a flagship property in Miami Beach for years, and seemed to have found it in the 309-room Shore Club owned by Ziel Feldman’s HFZ Capital Group.

Then the pandemic hit.

“Once institutional lenders start saying no, they’re all going to start saying no.”

Luis Flores, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Virgin was seeking to acquire and redevelop the Shore Club for roughly $335 million. The proposal, obtained by The Real Deal, included a purchase price of $235 million and upgrades that would cost an additional $100 million.

HFZ acquired the hotel in late 2013, with plans to redevelop the historic property into luxury condominiums, but canceled plans three years ago and returned buyers’ deposits due to the slow condo market.

Virgin was aiming to close on the property in the first quarter of 2020, break ground a year later, and open as early as August 2022. But the deal has been tabled indefinitely, as the market overall remains on hold.

Barry Sternlicht, Starwood Capital Group

What happened with the Shore Club is telling for other significant hotel deals in the works prior to the pandemic, in major cities across the country. Some investors, including Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group, are on the hunt for deeply discounted hotels.

“We have a pretty deep background in hotels, and I’m willing to buy cheap real estate in the hotel space because I believe in the asset class,” Sternlihct told TRD in a May interview. “I think I know what we can do with them.”

But Miguel Pinto, president and broker of Apex Capital Realty, said for investors who need access to bank financing, even buying distressed hotel assets could be a challenge.

“Banks, for the most part, don’t want to touch hotels today,” he said. “It’s a big risk for them to have hotels in their portfolio — especially at high loan-to-value ratios.

“Without the lending from banks, hotel transactions tend to be very difficult,” he added.

“Completely frozen”

Lenders are unsure of when the market will return and how to value properties.

International and business travel are non-existent, domestic travel is limited, and the cruise line industry, which feeds hotels, is still shut down.

As a result, hotels are “not exactly the most attractive lending asset class right now,” said J.C. de Ona, president of Centennial Bank’s Southeast Florida division. “How do you underwrite a hotel not knowing when they’re going to get profitable right now?”

And the timeline for a recovery is to be determined. The weekend of July 4th was expected to be a “turning point,” Ona said, but once the beaches were closed, hotel owners saw cancellations left and right.

“Are they going to get back to normal? Yes, but it could take a couple of years,” he noted. “At what point do banks get comfortable that the environment is getting better? That’s the unknown.”

Centennial isn’t actively looking to lend on any hotel deals in South Florida, though de Ona said the bank wouldn’t rule it out entirely — depending on the borrower.

Boaz Ashbel, Aztec Group

Boaz Ashbel, managing director of the Miami-based debt brokerage Aztec Group, said the lending market is “completely frozen.”

“Most lenders right now are evaluating every single hotel loan they have, trying to determine what kind of risk they have and how to eliminate it,” he said.

Just a small handful of non-traditional lenders will offer “very high-priced loans” that are designed to be more like bridge and short-term loans “to buy enough time to allow a borrower to get over the pandemic,” Ashbel added.

Most loan agreements include a measuring point to ensure hotels are producing enough income to cover the debt service, said attorney Luis Flores of the law firm Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr.

If properties are barely covering their mortgage payments, it could trigger a higher interest rate. Lenders could start to foreclose if the hotel isn’t generating enough money.

“At some point, that breathing room is going to expire and the water is going to boil over,” Flores added. “Once institutional lenders start saying no, they’re all going to start saying no. It will be like a brush fire, it will start to spread very quickly.”

Desperate times

Borrowers with securitized commercial mortgages will likely be the first to default, according to several industry sources.

CMBS loans are typically hardest to renegotiate and hotels dependent on large groups and conventions could take the largest time to recover, Ashbel said.

That could be especially true for Soffer’s Fontainebleau, the largest hotel in Miami-Dade, known for hosting conventions and star-studded concerts.

Typically, about 50 percent of the Fontainebleau’s business comes from group bookings and conventions; leisure travelers take up the other half.

And the hotel’s nearly $1 billion CMBS loan is the largest to go into special servicing in South Florida. Though special servicing is usually triggered by two missed payments, the hotel is on up to speed on its debt service, according to Trepp.

“We’re still working through [loan] modifications,” Brett Mufson, president of Fontainebleau Development, told TRD in July. “We remain in compliance and are not in default.”

The Fontainebleau Miami Beach

There’s a big gap between Fontainebleau’s loan and the next CMBS loan on a South Florida hotel to go into special servicing: the nearly $114 million mortgage backing the Grand Beach Hotel.

The top five CMBS hotel loans in special servicing, per Trepp, are for a variety of properties throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and no hotel owner is immune, industry sources say.

Real estate investment banking firm Lotus Capital Partners, led by founder and CEO Faisal Ashraf, is working on behalf of lenders on debt restructurings with several hotel owners. That includes reallocating furniture, fixtures, and equipment reserves to make their debt payments and arranging forbearance agreements, Ashraf said.

“Large hotels will be very slow to come out of the gate or be fundamentally changed forever,” Ashraf said. “I think the second round of forbearances is when the claws come out and it could coincide with the lifting of all of these moratoriums.”

Once lender concessions run out, many hotel owners will be forced to spend more of their own capital, sell their debt, or sell their properties.

Most owners aren’t yet desperate, but some “will be forced to make decisions based on their liquidity situation,” said Scott Berman, a principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers, who leads the hospitality and leisure practice for the firm.

“Cash is king and liquidity is essential,” Berman added.

Publicly, many owners have been holding firm, expressing confidence that the market will bounce back in a matter of time. But, behind closed doors, some are also sizing up their options should that take longer than they hope.

“We have knowledge of many hotels [where] the owners want out,” said Pinto of Apex Capital. “You won’t see them hit the market for now, but we are getting calls from the owners to bring them offers. They want out.”

The post Record-breaking surge in Covid cases spells trouble for South Florida’s hotel market appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

from The Real Deal Miami & Miami Florida Real Estate & Housing News | & Curbed Miami - All https://therealdeal.com/miami/2020/07/20/record-breaking-surge-in-covid-cases-spells-trouble-for-south-floridas-hotel-market/ via IFTTT

#The Real Deal Miami & Miami Florida Real Estate & Housing News | & Curbed Miami - All

0 notes

alfredrserrano · 5 years

Text

Here are the top-ranked commercial brokers in South Florida

(Illustration by Thomas Pullin)

For the South Florida commercial broker community, 2019 was a banner year. Yet three months into 2020, an alarming existential threat to the bullish momentum has emerged. As the first global crisis since the Great Recession, the coronavirus pandemic seems more than likely to short-circuit deal flow over the next two quarters, maybe more, according to recent reports from two top brokerages.

On March 4, JLL released a report stating that prolonged disruptions such as quarantines, cancellations of public events and closures of schools and businesses would create a pronounced impact on the economy. As of press time, we’ve seen President Donald Trump ban European nationals from flying into the U.S. City, county and state elected officials have virtually shut down all leisure activities such as dining out, going to the gym and drinking beers at a bar.

“At this juncture, it is far too early to make a specific call on this,” the JLL report stated. “But the risks clearly line up on the downside.”

If the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic is short, then the negative impact should only last a couple of quarters, the report predicted. But “if the impact persists, and the response becomes more pronounced, then the probability of our more prolonged, severe downside scenarios will increase,” the firm concluded.

Avison Young forecasted on March 3 that leasing activity across most sectors and markets would experience a decline in transaction volume, and some deals already in the works will get delayed.

“A heightened sense of uncertainty over the economic and business outlook will cause some deals to be withdrawn,” a report from the firm stated. “Fewer new transactions will be initiated, and some expansion plans will be put on hold.”

In South Florida, some institutional investor groups are hitting the pause button in order to figure out how to behave in this new environment, said Robert Given of Cushman & Wakefield.

Despite that, “we are seeing heightened activity the last two weeks,” Given said on March 13. “Investors would rather be in hard assets over the stock market. Overall, the debt rates are fueling CRE activity.”

Given leads a team that landed in second place on The Real Deal’s ranking of South Florida’s best-performing commercial brokers. To compile the ranking, researchers analyzed the 25 most expensive on-market, fee simple commercial sales in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties in 2019. If more than one agent from the same firm represented the same party in a deal, the sale price was divided by the number of brokers and the quotient was credited evenly to each broker.

If agents were members of official teams or worked on at least five deals with another broker or group of brokers, their deal volume was pro-rated and credited to the team. Portfolio deals that exclusively included properties in the aforementioned counties were counted; deals with properties outside these counties weren’t included in the analysis.

Most of the usual firms showed up, including CBRE, Cushman, JLL, Walker & Dunlop and Eastdil Secured. In the local market, brokerages seem to compete for sellers, while buyers largely do their research and market analysis in-house. Only Eastdil Secured, Darryl R. Kaplan Company and Casal Group represented buyers in the deals included in the ranking.

It’s not easy to go it alone in this business. The top two entries in our ranking were teams, from CBRE (with six members) and Cushman & Wakefield (with five teammates). The individual broker who brought in the highest volume in the ranking was Chris Conklin of Walker & Dunlop, who represented sellers in two multifamily deals, each priced over $100 million. Another individual top performer is Ernesto Casal, who runs his own local brokerage, Miami-based Casal Group, which represents major buyers like Brookfield in huge industrial deals.

Multifamily properties dominated the top 25 investment sales analyzed for the ranking. Cushman’s South Florida Multifamily Team reached the No. 2 spot by selling a few huge multifamily properties with a combined 1,720 units. The CBRE Capital Markets Institutional Properties Team, which took the top spot, exclusively sold office and industrial properties in the $70 million-to-$200 million range.

Kind of a big deal

CBRE South Florida’s Christian Lee and José Lobón led the top ranking team, which closed seven transactions totaling $773.8 million, according to TRD’s analysis. Among those deals, Lee and Lobón’s team marketed and sold two Class B office buildings in Fort Lauderdale and Miami for a combined $242.5 million. They also sold a Hialeah warehouse complex for $178 million, the largest industrial transaction in Miami-Dade last year.

Lee, Lobón and their partner Amy Julian have been working together for 10 years. The team is very close. “We eat together most days,” Lee said. “We gather outside of the office together often. We take great pride in what we do and strive to get better on every deal.”

Other CBRE brokers pulling their weight are Dennis Carson and Casey Rosen, co-leaders of the firm’s National Retail Partners Team, which placed eighth in the ranking. In 2019, the duo represented the Blackstone Group in selling a Costco-anchored shopping center in Royal Palm Beach. An affiliate of InvenTrust Properties paid $96.75 million for Southern Palm Crossing.

According to Lee and other brokers interviewed for this article, sales were largely driven by healthy economic conditions in the industrial, office and retail categories.

“Office is definitely in demand, and so is industrial,” said Hermen Rodriguez, a senior managing director in JLL’s Miami office.

Rodriguez, senior director Ike Ojala and director Matthew McCormack, who together placed ninth in the ranking, listed and sold a nearly 349,000-square-foot portfolio at Sawgrass International Corporate Park in Broward County. Brookdale Group paid $80.27 million for the site.

Rodriguez said he is not worried about the coronavirus crisis, but is monitoring new developments regularly. “You have to keep your eyes on things,” he said. “But debt pricing and loans are much more favorable in times of general unrest.”

Multifamily’s hot streak

In 2019, Cushman & Wakefield closed 60 multifamily deals between South and Central Florida involving roughly 13,000 units that sold for a total of $3.1 billion, Given said.

Two multifamily deals totaling $303 million snagged second place for his Cushman & Wakefield team. In one of those transactions, Given and his colleagues Troy Ballard, Zachary Sackley and Neal Victor handled the $208.75 million sale of two apartment complexes in Doral. The Blackstone Group bought the garden-style communities from the Related Group and Rockpoint Group, both of which were represented by the Cushman & Wakefield team.

Given told TRD that Cushman & Wakefield also did four separate deals between $140 million and $250 million involving buyers he could not name due to nondisclosure agreements.

Given explained that multifamily institutional investors are searching for Florida assets to buy as they move out of states that have enacted rent control laws.

“It was private capital out of New York, which we are seeing a lot of,” Given said. “Last year and this year we are getting a lot of movement from the Northeast U.S. and California.”

Hospitality’s biggest sale

Institutional investor demand for Florida’s five-star resorts propelled a pair of JLL executives to third place in the TRD analysis with a single marquee deal. Gregory Rumpel and Jeffrey Davis marketed and sold the 1,047-room Boca Raton Resort & Club on behalf of Blackstone Group. Billionaire Michael Dell paid $461.6 million, representing nearly $441,000 per room, for the 337-acre resort at 501 East Camino Real.

“Obviously the Boca Raton Resort & Club was the big headline transaction,” Rumpel said. “That was a deal with a fairly lengthy time frame. But we had a patient seller and a patient buyer.”

In 2019, JLL’s hotel capital markets team expanded its market share in Florida even though overall transaction volume was down a little compared to the previous year, Rumpel said. “This is a market that ebbs and flows,” he said. “We are pretty active in Tampa and Orlando right now.”

While he and Davis lead their own teams at JLL, brokers in the Miami office collaborate on just about every deal they get, Rumpel said. “Jeffrey Davis and I have been working deals together for 15 years,” Rumpel said. “There has always been strong respect and support between our respective offices.”

Office-ial deal

Another broker who cracked the top 10 with a single transaction is Darryl Kaplan, who ranked seventh in the TRD analysis. He represented Gatsby Enterprises and Master Mind LLC, entities controlled by New York-based real estate investors Nader Shalom and Babak Ebrahimzadeh, respectively. Together they purchased 800 Brickell — a 209,122-square-foot office building and an adjacent nine-story parking garage. Gatsby and Master Mind paid $125.5 million to the seller, Deutsche Bank’s RREEF, which was represented by CBRE’s Lee and LobÓn.

Kaplan told TRD that the buyers wanted to acquire a premier office property in South Florida. “We were made aware 800 Brickell was on the market and made it a high priority to acquire it,” Kaplan said. “We looked at two others that we passed on. For us, 800 Brickell was the prize.”

He said his clients began looking at 800 Brickell in February of last year and went through several rounds of bidding and negotiations. He said Gatsby and Master Mind plan on renovating 800 Brickell from a Class B to a Class A office building that will have a 12,000-square-foot fine dining restaurant and new space for a bank tenant.

Since 1989, Kaplan has headed his own brokerage, representing property owners on the buy and leasing side. He also provides retail real estate services to upscale retailers and restaurants looking to expand throughout the U.S.

Kaplan said the coronavirus crisis has not deterred any of his New York clients from making deals in South Florida yet, but there is a heightened sense of awareness. “People are being cautious,” he said. “Everybody is holding their breath.”

The post Here are the top-ranked commercial brokers in South Florida appeared first on The Real Deal Miami.

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2020/03/24/here-are-the-top-ranked-commercial-brokers-in-south-florida/ via IFTTT

#The Real Deal Miami

0 notes

juditmiltz · 6 years

Text

National Cheat Sheet: Real estate’s top billionaires revealed, retail apocalypse continues… & more

Clockwise from top left: Dollar Tree to shutter or rebrand hundreds of Family Dollar stores, the richest real estate billionaires on an annual Forbes ranking hail from China and Hong Kong, dozens of Gap and Victoria’s Secret stores prepare to close amid low sales and real estate investment trusts are benefiting from the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates where they are.

China, Hong Kong real estate billionaires top Forbes richest ranking Forbes has released its annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, and the real estate moguls who placed highest on its list are all from either China or Hong Kong. Evergrande Group’s Hui Ka Yan took the 22nd spot with a net worth exceeding $36 billion, while Dalian Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin placed 36th with a net worth of $22.6 billion, according to Forbes. Irvine Company chairman Donald Bren was the highest-ranked American property mogul, placing 68th on the list. Related Companies’ Stephen Ross took the 191st spot on the ranking with a net worth of $7.6 billion. Ross, the developer behind New York’s Hudson Yards, was the only major Manhattan real estate billionaire in the top 200. [TRD]

Hundreds of Gap, Family Dollar, Victoria’s Secret stores to close Around 230 Gap stores and 53 Victoria’s Secret stores will be closing, their respective parent companies have said. Dollar Tree, which owns the Family Dollar chain, also plans to close up to 390 stores and convert another 200 Family Dollar stores into Dollar Tree shops, the Wall Street Journal reported. (Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar for around $9 billion in 2015.) As for Gap, it plans to split off its Old Navy brand into a separate company, as the chain’s “business model and customers have increasingly diverged from our specialty brands over time,” said a statement from board chairman Robert Fisher. Old Navy has been doing better than its sister companies, Gap and Banana Republic, according to USA Today. Meanwhile, Victoria’s Secret, a flagship of retail giant L Brands, has experienced a drop in sales amid an increased desire among shoppers for so-called “comfort lingerie,” according to CNBC. [TRD]

Amazon pulls plug on 87 pop-up stores, plans new grocery store chain Fresh off ditching Long Island City for its so-called H2Q, Amazon is now preparing to shutter 87 pop-up retail stores throughout the country, according to the Wall Street Journal. The e-commerce giant, which launched the small store concept in 2014, is reportedly reevaluating its physical retail plans. The purported move comes as Amazon prepares to launch a new grocery store line, one whose first outpost will open in Los Angeles, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Los Angeles store could open before the end of the year, and two other stores are expected to open at the beginning of 2020, according to the outlet. Amazon’s new chain isn’t being billed as a competitor to Whole Foods, which the company acquired in 2017 and reportedly has plans to expand, but will instead offer a broader range of products. The new stores will be about 35,000 square feet, although its plans aren’t set in stone, as Amazon could back out of its existing contracts, the outlet reported. [TRD]

We Company sheds 300 staffers, or 3 percent of its workforce The co-working giant formerly known as WeWork, most recently valued at $47 billion ahead of a January rebranding as the We Company, let go of 300 employees last week, according to The Real Deal‘s exclusive reporting. The layoffs, which sources said took place globally in its WeWork, WeLive and WeGrow divisions, are the largest by the company since its formation in 2010. A We Company spokesperson said the company has plans to hire 6,000 employees this year, or about 500 per month, to bolster its current head count of roughly 10,000. The SoftBank Group-backed firm, whose CEO Adam Neumann has come under scrutiny for personal investments that mirror those made by the We Company, last made major cutbacks in 2016. Sources told TRD that the latest force reductions have been positioned as being for performance-related reasons. [TRD]

Keller Williams credits tech expansion for 2018 deal surge A week after Douglas Elliman and Realogy disclosed less-than-stellar financials for 2018, franchise brokerage rival Keller Williams has unveiled some key financial metrics that it hit last year. The Austin-based real estate company said that its agents in the U.S. and Canada closed $332.4 billion in sales volume during its most recent fiscal year, up 5.7 percent from 2017, as contract volume jumped 5.5 percent year-over-year, to $365 billion. Keller Williams declined, however, to disclose its net income or address a decline in franchisee profits. The company, whose CEO Gary Keller returned to its leadership ranks earlier this year, claimed that key investments in technology were paying off. Official agent count remained steady at 159,447, although Keller Williams is in the midst of purging potentially thousands of inactive agents. [TRD]

REITs benefit from Fed’s decision to keep interest rates steady The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to keep interest rates where they are has been good for real estate investment trusts. Real estate stocks on the S&P 500 fell 5.6 percent in 2018, but have jumped by 12 percent since the beginning of this year as investors set their sights on REIT shares, the Wall Street Journal reported. “The surprising drop in yields and the drop in mortgage rates could potentially be another positive for housing and housing-related stocks going forward,” LPL Financial senior market strategist Ryan Detrick told the outlet. The Fed raised interest rates four times in 2018, but held off on another rate hike in January. [TRD]

MAJOR MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

New York’s Chrysler Building nears potential $100M sale Aby Rosen, principal and co-founder of Manhattan-based real estate firm RFR Holding, is nearing a deal to acquire the iconic Chrysler Building, according to The Real Deal‘s exclusive reporting. A source with knowledge of the negotiations told TRD that the purchase price is “not much higher” than the $100 million estimate that the Commercial Observer reported the building could trade for, in part due to a ground lease on the landmarked property. The Chrysler Building’s current owners, an Abu Dhabi government fund and the developer Tishman Speyer, put the Art Deco-style office tower up for sale in January. CBRE Group is marketing the building, which saw the Abu Dhabi Investment Council cough up $800 million in 2008 for what would become a 90 percent stake in the tower. [TRD]

Silverstein Properties, Cantor Fitzgerald to raise nearly $2B OZ fund In one of the largest funds so far to target the Trump administration’s increasingly popular Opportunity Zone program, financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and real estate developer Silverstein Properties announced on March 7 that they had joined forces on a fund that they hope will raise $2 billion. The duo, which are both based in Manhattan, said they will target ground-up developments in primary metropolitan markets with a focus on industrial, hospitality, office and retail projects. The partnership between Silverstein and Cantor Fitzgerald is the latest in a series of moves by real estate firms and other investors seeking to capitalize on the OZ program. Earlier this week, Greenwich, Connecticut-based Belpointe Capital announced its plans for an OZ-focused real estate investment trust that it hopes will raise $3 billion within eight years. [TRD]

Michael Cohen sues Trump Org over $2M in unpaid legal fees President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, fresh off testifying on Capitol Hill and suing two Chicago-based taxi medallion moguls over a $6 million condo loan in Miami, is back in court again. Michael Cohen has sued the Trump Organization for breach of contract over its alleged nonpayment on roughly $1.9 million in legal fees. Cohen claims the president’s namesake real estate company must reimburse him for legal costs he incurred as a result of investigations into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen’s lawsuit, filed in Manhattan by lawyers from Binder & Schwartz and Gilbert LLP, states that at various times he has been represented by the Blakely Law Group, Davis Goldberg & Galper, McDermott Will & Emery, Monico & Spevack and Petrillo Klein & Boxer. Cohen, who was disbarred in New York State last month, claims that the Trump Organization cut him off after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors. [TRD]

Top Miami broker teams merge at Coldwell Banker, rebrand One of Miami’s top broker teams has left its home of 16 years to merge with another top team. Judy Zeder’s team has parted ways with Coral Gables-based EWM Realty International and is teaming up with Jill Herzberg and Jill Eber’s group at Coldwell Banker. The new group will be called The Jills Zeder Group with Coldwell Banker. The families that comprise the two groups are longtime friends, Zeder said. “It’s a very unusual situation to have three families get along and like each other,” said Zeder, adding that they would be “working together for the benefit of the clients.” The two teams have closed a combined $5 billion in real estate sales since 2006. Eber and Herzberg, known as “The Jills” in South Florida’s real estate market, saw a former Miami realtor who tried to extort them receive a jail sentence in February. [TRD]

Nashville-based office REIT mulling potential IPO Priam Properties is thinking about going public in a move that would make the Nashville-based outfit the first real estate investment trust in the U.S. to pursue an initial public offering this year, Bloomberg reported. The office landlord “has held discussions with investment banks about selling shares as soon as this year,” the outlet reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Priam generally focuses on “high-growth markets” in states such as Florida, Ohio and Tennessee. Its representatives didn’t return requests for comment about the reported IPO. Dallas-based Fathom Realty, a cloud-based brokerage founded in 2010 that operates on a 100 percent commission model, is another real estate firm reportedly considering an IPO this year. [TRD]

Chicago gets priciest resi sale this year as condo trades for $11.3M Despite some areas along the southern shore of Lake Michigan sinking due to climate change, Chicago had its priciest residential sale of 2019, the Chicago Tribune reported. A 31st floor unit at No. 9 Walton, a luxury condo tower along the Windy City’s Gold Coast that has attracted business magnates and celebrities, sold for $11.3 million to an as-yet-unidentified buyer. Nancy Tassone of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing for the four-bedroom, 7,100-square-foot condo unit, while Natasha Motev of Jameson Sotheby’s is advising the buyer. Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who made headlines earlier this year for a record-setting penthouse purchase in New York, paid $59 million in late 2017 to buy the top four floors of No. 9 Walton. That deal remains the most expensive residential transaction ever in the Chicagoland area. [TRD]

Compass’ Bay Area growth continues with Alain Pinel Realtors acquisition A week after picking up customer relationship manager Contractually, Compass is expanding again. The New York-based brokerage announced on March 4 that it bolted on Saratoga, California-based Alain Pinel Realtors, which has 1,300 agents in 33 offices across Northern California, Inman first reported. Compass’ expansion in the Bay Area continues an acquisition spree it began in 2017 when the SoftBank Group-backed firm snapped up San Francisco-based Pacific Union International, which reported $14 billion in sales in 2017. The acquisition of Alain Pinel brings Compass’ agent count in the Golden State up to around 4,500. Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said in January that the firm doesn’t plan to expand into any new markets this year. [TRD]

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/08/national-cheat-sheet-real-estates-top-billionaires-revealed-retail-apocalypse-continues-we-company-sheds-staffers-more/#new_tab via IFTTT

#The Real Deal Miami

0 notes