The eye of the storm

Emil Górecki, Gergo Racz, Matei Roman Although the financial tempest is still raging, investors in Central and Eastern Europe feel more at ease than in other regions. So welcome to the investment oasisThe collapse of the financial market has for a year now been the main factor influencing conditions for real estate. Stock exchanges in New York, Moscow, Warsaw, Prague and Budapest have been hugely unstable. The Lehman Brothers investment bank in the USA folded. Merrill Lynch, the third largest American investment bank was sold for USD 50 bln to the state-owned Bank of America. American International Group, the giant insurance syndicate has also experienced no end of problems. Analysts are now scared that there is more turmoil still to come. But for the moment, despite these institutions being active all over the world, the CEE region seems to be providing some kind of shelter from the storm.Crystal-ball gazingEvery