British retailers set to lose millions after riots - LONDON (Reuters) - British retailers face tens of millions of pounds in costs and losses following rioting, looting and arson across and beyond London, and the impact on smaller businesses could be ... [BN-Net Retail News]

Terrible news, unbelievable images, hard to understand background is being splashed around the world media.

What is going on in London and several cities around the UK?

Are this just mindless thugs, misguided teenager, criminals and gangs roaming the streets to have "fun" and free goods?

If we think like this - do we miss a point or two?

Is there a link to the recession?

• British Gas announces 18% and 16% rises to its gas and electricity prices and others are following without hesitation - see The Guardian etc.
• British Gas has revealed profits of £518m – or almost £3m per day – over the last six months - tells us The Telegraph.

Admittedly, the parent company made less profits this year - but 1.2 billion in six months is still good going. Show me someone who is ahead this year going to work everyday after paying all the bills and keeping his place warm, light up and all mouths fed.

So, while companies like British Gas are driving inflation I would think they went too far this time. What is a rise of 18% (16%) telling the general public in this depressing climate? 'We want our cake and eat it? We take your money and you can't do anything about it!?!'

A dramatic headline?

The news is full with such scores of people killed and injured in markets, public squares and high streets especially with the wars in Afganistan, Irak and the many conflicts around the world.

While we might be used to such news from these zones of conflict we should still be shocked if happens in a peaceful place with only shoppers fighting for bargains.

No one should die in a shop, department store or mall when a fire breaks out. The precautions that can be taken to prevent fires in retail spaces and if it happens to evacuate people have been well developed and can be employed in any part of the world.

Shopping mall GPS for your smart phone - -- Mobile phone apps have the GPS technology to guide people through streets. But step into a sprawling building, like a shopping mall, and you're on your own. But not for much longer. Most St. Louis... [BN-Net Retail News]

A few years ago there were three key European countries labelled the property hotspots; countries with the fasted rising house prices:

England (UK), Spain and Ireland. This was around 2005. Of course other countries from the Baltic's to the Adriatic were in the same league, but these were new, emerging markets. In those days the experienced investors made a quick calculation:

Take the rent for a property per year and relate it to the property value - what is the yield.

If the yield is below what you get in any secure investment then there is little incentive in joining the so called "buy-to-let" market. Some people pointed out - don't let it - just buy and sell it the rising market and you can make a profit just in the time it takes to do the paperwork. In Spain people were buying of plan on green sites and sold along the way as the buildings started growing into the sky making good profits - while it lasted. Slightly more restricted but along similar lines many projects shoot up like this in Ireland and the UK.

Retailers, Centre Managers and Owners will be able to discuss this subject any day and for eternity.

Service Charges will never be fair. That's it and here we can stop the chat here.

Well, why would people then not stop discussing it? It is human nature to strive for a fairer world. Others may look at it differently and put it down to the flaw in human nature to try to save.

Why do I think that?

First let's be clear - I am not discussing statistics and numbers. They will prove anything we want them to.

I am looking a what will happen and how real people will feel it. Statistics may prove my view wrong and I would be more than glad to find I was wrong in a year's or two time.

The reality we can all see, read and hear repeated up and down the high street of our governments is - we need to save. They are right - we need to save.

We are not discussing how we got here - that's another, important lesson.

This is about the need to save, to cut the deficit and there is no way we will save later by spending more now. We need to save now. All employers do that, all households do that, the local councils have to do that and regional and national governments as well.

Retailers urge government to tackle petrol prices - Retailers are urging the coalition government to urgently tackle the rising petrol prices. [Retail Week - News]

Of course this has to come up - you may say. Did you think about that 2,3, years ago?

Chanel pays record fee for Bond Street store - Luxury brand Chanel has paid a record sum to secure Bond Street premises for a UK flagship store. [Retail Week - Retail Property and Shopping Centres]

How much are they paying?

Well, if you want a quick answer you can subscribe to any of the many news agencies to read the whole story. Is it worth it for one article. No, how often do you use these subscriptions?

We got so used to getting it all free on the internet. But for the newspapers this is not a sustainable business model. Cynics will say newspapers (and magazines) only came into existence to sell advertising. Some serious publications will dispute this but when you look at the books you will find the answer: "The money is coming from the ads."

Stocks slip amid evidence economy is slowing - NEW YORK - Investors cashed in some of their recent gains Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave them more confirmation that the economic recovery is slowing. The Dow Jones industrial average fell ... [BN-Net Economy News]

The mixed news continues. The double dip recession looks very likely just as this data from the US indicates.

Look at Japan and the good news is close to the bad one. Greece is still digesting the reforms and "fires" flare up here and there. In Spain the Prime Minister cancelled his August holidays and stays in the office to boost moral and to prepare legislation that could still spark trouble when the temperatures cool for the autumn.

China's rising costs signal end of US retail era - Reuters Summit - With labour and other costs in China rising, Americans must bid adieu to a lifestyle of low prices, retail executives say. The appreciation of the Chinese currency, higher commodi... [BN-Net Property News]

.... of cheap imports not just in the US - but all around the world?

EU votes on standard food labels - Euro MPs back plans to make food labels clearer to consumers, but reject "traffic light" colour-coding. [BBC Company News]

Mercer's Quality-of-Living Survey Press Release - Highlights from the 2010 Quality-of-Living Survey. Find out how your city ranks. [Mercer Press Releases]

On a mixed, slightly cool Bank Holiday in London it is perfectly okay to dream a bit and move off ......

According to the Mercer survey I should move to Vienna, Austria as the top city in the overall category or to Calgary, Canada, in the ECO listing.

This incredible footage appeared recently in the media - Hero catches escalator fall boy in Turkey.

Obviously, there are a number of questions to be raised:

Thailand's Biggest Shopping Mall Faces Collapse After Massive Fire - Police - (AFP)--Thailand's biggest shopping mall faces collapse after it was set ablaze by enraged protesters in the wake of an army offensive to shut down an antigovernment rally, police said Thursday. [BN-Net Retail News]

One of the biggest shopping centres in  the world, the Central Word SEC in Bangkok, Thailand, has just been destroyed by fire and seems to be structurally unsound = close to collapse.

The whole affair around this disaster is highly political and complex. The injuries and death are highly regrettable and turns a once so peaceful country into a place of uncertainty.

Retail, factory sales rise steadily - WASHINGTON — Retail sales rose in April for the seventh straight month, factory production surged and businesses restocked their shelves. The trio of government reports Friday pointed to an econ... [BN-Net Retail News]

Earlier I wrote about the value of car parking spaces.

Q.: "So, if I add more and more parking spaces I can increase the turnover?"

A.: "Well, yes up to a point."

Once you reach the optimal number of parking spaces adding more would not increase your turnover and not your profit. Too many would reduce your initial profit.

But, what are the optimal number of car parking spaces?

The proper answer to this question will fill a whole page and a half of the handbook and you should look there for the full story.

Here I just want to raise a few points to consider:

Firstly in designing a car park that is easy to clean. Every curb stops the cleaner or the machine from driving around. Every curb also stops and collects rubbish. In some parts that is good - in others not. Curbs need to be there to protect walkways, green areas and to stop traffic going wildly across the car park.

The answer will probably depend on who you ask.

But if you ask some experts the answers might be surprising. A developer might like to maximise the number of car parking spaces to maximise turnover and improve rents. Green areas will reduce this ambition and their maintenance cost money.