Skyscrapers have 'unhealthy' link to financial crises

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/a...54/1/.html

Posted: 11 January 2012 2007 hrs

Our Skyscraper Index continues to show an unhealthy correlation between construction of the next world's tallest building and an impending financial crisis -- New York 1930; Chicago 1974; Kuala Lumpur 1997 and Dubai 2010," Barclays Capital said in a report.

Yet often the world's tallest buildings are simply the edifice of a broader skyscraper building boom, reflecting a widespread misallocation of capital and an impending economic correction.

In London meanwhile, work on The Shard -- a 310-metre skyscraper that will become the highest tower in western Europe -- is set for completion this year.