Uncut diamonds from southern Africa and Canada are seen at De Beers headquarters in London, January 17, 2011. Art used to be known as an "investment of passion"; today for those who can pay, it's a haven with the added benefit of serving as collateral for loans. With credit tight and markets volatile, more of the world's super rich are borrowing against such alternative assets -- including financial professionals. Martin Rapaport, chairman of diamond services company Rapaport Group, says owners of top-quality precious stones have also started to use these as collateral in financial transactions, repeating a trend he saw in the first days of the crisis in 2008. Picture taken January 17, 2011.
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