It has a unique combination of cheap property, low crime, loyal workers, high levels of secondary education and now, with European funds, the ability to provide immigrant entrepreneurs with cheap start-up and development capital.

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The middle class has been badly hit: perhaps 100, 000 people have lost their homes because of a combination of earlier interest-rate rises and falling property prices.

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According to The San Jose Mercury News, Milner bought the property in Los Altos Hills with a combination of cash and pre-IPO Facebook shares, from Fred Chan, the founder of ESS Technology.

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While land has historically appreciated in many markets, the combination of the two generates long-run growth in property-derived income (NOI) that does not exceed inflation in most markets.

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Double-digit house price inflation has been caused by a combination of low interest rates, relatively high disposable household income and the popularity of property as an investment when stock markets have performed poorly.

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Northern Europe has the edge, thanks to an inviting combination of less bureaucracy, a more developed legal system, better accounting systems and easier ways to transfer intellectual property, says Marco Da Rin, associate professor in finance at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

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The code they espouse is a combination of Islamic puritanism and Pashtun custom, the basic tenets of which are honour, revenge and respect for private property.

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