Archive for Uncategorized
Avison Young Makes Missouri Debut
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Mark Rose, chairman & CEO of Avison Young
St. Louis—Commercial real estate services company Avison Young has recently announced the opening of its first Missouri office. Effective immediately, five members will join the new St. Louis location.
Avison’s first St. Louis office opens at 300 Hunter Ave., Suite 102 in the Clayton submarket, making it the company’s 53rd in the U.S. Over the past seven years, the firm has grown to 79 offices in 72 markets. Its staff has increased from 300 to 2,400 in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe during that interval…
Dallas Downgraded by Fitch as Pension Fund Liabilities Swell
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Ratings retains a negative outlook from credit arbiter
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Unfunded liability rise to 40% of city’s general fund
Dallas’s rating on about $1.7 billion of general-obligation bonds was cut one level to AA from AA+ by Fitch Ratings, which cited growing pension liabilities for the police and fire department pension system.
Fitch kept a negative outlook on the rating, meaning it could be reviewed again for additional cuts. The total unfunded pension liability to the city’s general fund had risen to 40 percent, according to a Fitch statement. The amount has risen because of increasing losses on speculative real estate investments and most recently a rush of retirees making calls on deferred pay. The pension is attempting to slow the flow of payments…
Deutsche Bank Said to Weigh Capital-Raising Options With Banks
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Banks said to meet German lender to offer share sale backing
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Decision on capital increase depends on size of the DOJ fine
Deutsche Bank AG is holding informal talks with securities firms to explore options including raising capital should mounting legal bills require it, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Senior advisers at top Wall Street firms are speaking to representatives of the German lender about ideas including a share sale and asset disposals, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment…
Deutsche Bank Singled Out in I.M.F. Stability Warning
Posted by: | CommentsWASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund did not bring up Deutsche Bank’s name when it warned in its financial stability report that cash-poor banks in Europe with outdated business models posed a threat to the financial system.
But at a news conference on Wednesday to discuss the study’s findings, fund officials charged with gauging financial stability risks worldwide showed no such reluctance.
“The focus of investors has shifted from the level of capital to the business model, and that is why banks are under pressure,” said Peter Dattels, deputy director in the I.M.F.’s capital markets division…
Columbia Completes $175M Newark Office Sale
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80 Park Plaza, Newark, N.J.
Newark, N.J.—Ten years after acquiring 80 Park Plaza in Newark, N.J., Columbia Property Trust has completed the disposition of the 973,000-square-foot office complex for $174.5 million. Relying on the marketing and representation assistance of commercial real estate services firm CBRE Group, the REIT sold the asset to a joint venture between Nightingale Properties and private real estate investor Simon Glick.
Hammond Travels to New York to Reassure Banks Over Brexit
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Chancellor to meet Wall Street Leaders amid hard Brexit fears
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British-based banks stand to lose $51 billion, report says
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will tell Wall Street executives on Thursday that he’s determined to safeguard the City of London as concerns mount that leaving the European Union could prompt banks to move jobs and operations out of Britain.
On his first visit to the U.S. since replacing George Osborne in July, Hammond will meet with banks including Citigroup Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. He is set to tell them that he wants a Brexit deal that secures good access to European markets for financial-services companies…
Samsung in Cross Hairs of American Hedge Fund
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A Samsung ad for the Galaxy Note 7 in Singapore. CreditEdgar Su/Reuters
Last year, a big American hedge fund took aim at plans to revamp a part of Samsung, the South Korean giant that dominates many of its home country’s industries.
Though it lost that battle, the hedge fund now has its sights on the crown jewel of the Samsung empire.
Elliott Management proposed in a letter on Wednesday that Samsung essentially split its electronics business into two separate companies as part of a broader reshaping of the business…
Samsung in Cross Hairs of American Hedge Fund
Clarion Partners Closes on Cambridge Life Science Complex
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245 First St., Cambridge, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.—Noting that Boston has performed well post-recession in part because of the technology and healthcare companies located there, Clarion Partners has acquired 245 First St., a two-building, Class A office and life science complex in East Cambridge, Mass., for $311.3 million.
The New York City-based real estate investment management firm said it purchased the complex in the heart of the East Cambridge/Kendall Square submarket on behalf of a commingled fund that it oversees. The seller was Jamestown, an Atlanta-based real estate and investment firm that bought the two buildings in 2013 for $192.6 million, according to the Boston Business Journal…
In Housing-Dependent Canada, New Cooling Measures Send Shivers
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Mortgage stocks slump; bank earnings, growth forecast lower
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‘The feds clearly wanted to puncture the housing market’
For almost a decade Canada’s housing market has withstood just about anything that government officials have thrown at it in an attempt to restrain breakneck growth. Measures introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government on Monday may finally bring it to heel, analysts and economists say.
The fallout from the surprise announcement continued to build on Wednesday as shares of housing stocks tumbled anew, analysts forecast a hit to bank earnings and to an economy that has generated most of its meager growth from housing in recent years…
HFF Arranges Sale of Retail Center Near DC
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Dunkirk Gateway
Washington—HFF announced the sale of Dunkirk Gateway, a 133,269-square-foot shopping center in the Washington, D.C., bedroom community of Dunkirk, Md.
The HFF investment sales team, led by John Owendoff and Jordan Lex, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a combined fund managed by Clarion Partners. Dunkirk Gateway was purchased by Lehcro Corp., a D.C.-based retail development and management company…
Official Says Canada Home Sales Could Fall 8% Amid New Rules
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Sales drop would be temporary: Department of Finance spokesman
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Overall long-term impact of Finance regulations ‘positive’
Canada’s finance department projects home sales could fall as much as 8 percent in the first year after new housing regulations are implemented, before rebounding, based on an analysis using historical data.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the new rules Monday. They include a stress test for home buyers and increasing the eligibility requirements for mortgages to get insured, and they come into effect as early as Oct. 17. The announcement has already eroded mortgage finance company shares and prompted forecasts of slipping mortgage growth at the banks, as well as fewer home purchases and a price cool-down…
European Equity Markets Have Reached Macro Singularity
Posted by: | CommentsThe market is increasingly driven by larger economic forces, challenging active stock pickers.
Stock prices are displayed on a financial data board at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
European equities are all dancing to the same beat.
Stocks across the region over the past two years have increasingly moved to the ebbs and flows of macroeconomic forces — overshadowing company- or industry-specific factors — thanks to risk aversion, low dispersion in company earnings, and a rising degree of correlation between equities and bonds. That’s the conclusion from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., who note that correlations between European equities — an indication of a rising macro-driven market — are at elevated levels relative to history, though they have eased since the record highs notched in the aftermath of the Brexit vote…
Colliers International Closes Sale of Mixed-Use Property in Imperial Beach
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801-809 Seacoast Drive, Imperial Beach, San Diego
San Diego—Colliers International closed on the $3.3 million sale of 801-809 Seacoast Drive and 111-113 Daisy Ave., a retail and residential mixed-use building located in Imperial Beach, San Diego.
Joe Brady and Bill Shrader of Colliers worked on behalf of the sellers, Palmer Living Trust and Shelly Palmer. The buyer, Somo Family Revocable Trust, was represented by Mike Hanna of Lee & Associates.
Short Sellers Target Anhui Conch Amid China Property Warnings
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Short interest is highest among Hong Kong-listed stocks
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Anhui Conch has climbed this year on rising cement demand
China’s largest cement maker has become the most shorted stock in Hong Kong as debate intensifies over whether the country’s property boom is sustainable.
Short interest in Anhui Conch Cement Co. climbed to 14.5 percent of its outstanding shares on Monday, the highest since February 2015 and five times the level seen seven months ago, according to the latest data compiled by IHS Markit Ltd. and Bloomberg…
Short Sellers Target Anhui Conch Amid China Property Warnings
Deutsche Bank Brings Too-Big-to-Fail Quandary Home to Merkel
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Imposing losses on private investors could lead to contagion
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Leaders may decide to flout EU bank-failure rules, Greene says
When it comes to speculation about German government support for Deutsche Bank AG, Chancellor Angela Merkel has no good answer.
After years spent leading the push for new European Union rules to contain banking crises without putting taxpayers on the hook, you might expect Merkel to rule out state aid for Deutsche Bank. She hasn’t, even though that would be politically expedient with an election looming next year…
Deutsche Bank Brings Too-Big-to-Fail Quandary Home to Merkel
Dominion Realty Buys a Bundle in Richmond
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Boulders II, Richmond, Va.
Richmond, Va.—Dominion Realty Partners has expanded its Richmond portfolio with the acquisition of three buildings within Boulders Office Park, a complex located close to the intersection of Chippenham Parkway and Midlothian Turnpike.
According to Chesterfield County records, the assets traded for roughly $25.7 million. Seller LSOP VA LLC of South Norwalk, Conn., was represented by Eric Robinson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. County records also show that the portfolio last changed hands in April 2012 for a little over $21.6 million…
As Canada Alternative Lenders Drop, RBC Sees Bank Earnings Hit
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Mihelic trims earnings, price targets for largest lenders
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Canadian residential mortgage growth to be cut in half
Canada’s largest banks face declining earnings in the coming years as mortgage volumes shrink under new rules introduced by the federal government this week to tame the country’s housing market, according to analysts at Royal Bank of Canada.
Darko Mihelic, an analyst at Royal Bank’s Capital Markets unit, slashed his projection for annual Canadian residential mortgage growth to 2.3 percent, about half the previous average assumed for Canadian banks. He also cut his earnings per share estimates for most of the nation’s largest lenders for 2017 and 2018, including Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia…
The Best New Luxury Hotel Swag Costs Only $35
Posted by: | CommentsWho says a fancy souvenir has to break the bank?
Photographer: Evan Ortiz/Bloomberg
If only hotel amenities had been around in the Renaissance era, imagine the rich trinkets we could find in museums and bid on at auction. There might be lavish water bowls for pet monkeys and original Mona Lisa postcards via da Vinci.
The Limits of Deutsche’s Troubles Show Reform Is Working
Posted by: | CommentsDeutsche Bank’s jitters have revived memories of 2008.
As in that turbulent autumn eight years ago, investor confidence in one of the world’s largest lenders has been shaken. Deutsche’s share price has dropped, and hedge funds are reported to be withdrawing spare cash. The assurances of the chief executive, John Cryan, that the bank has “strong fundamentals” echo the illusory reassurances issued by the bosses of Lehman Brothers and Royal Bank of Scotland before those institutions failed.
Yet despite its many problems, Deutsche is far better equipped to absorb a shock than it was eight years ago. So is the financial system as a whole. This is because of the efforts of bank regulators…
FBI HQ Relocation to Be Announced by Year-End
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Image courtesy of the FBI
Washington— The final decision on the location for the new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters will be announced in December, it was reported late last week by CNS Maryland.
In July 2014, the site selection options for the new $2.5 billion, 2.1 million-square-foot building were narrowed down to locations in Greenbelt, Md.; Landover, Md. (the largest of the three); and Springfield, Va. (currently the site of General Services Administration–owned warehouse)…
Team Health Jumps on Report of Private Equity Firm Talks
Posted by: | CommentsTeam Health Holdings Inc. gained the most in more than seven months after a report in the Wall Street Journal that the health-care staffing company has discussed selling itself to a private equity firm.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Team Health is in talks with Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital, citing people familiar with the matter, and that it could reach a deal to go private this month. The shares spiked 16 percent to $38.20 on Tuesday, the biggest one-day gain since Feb. 25…
Team Health Jumps on Report of Private Equity Firm Talks
Hedge Fund Targets Companies’ Weakness: The Gender Gap
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Dianne McKeever of Ides Capital in Manhattan says diversification is a missing part of the typical activist investing strategy. Credit Edwin Tse for The New York Times
The chief executive at a plastics company was playing golf. A lot of golf.
The activist hedge fund the Barington Capital Group, through a website that tracked golfers’ handicaps, found that the chief executive was routinely playing 18 holes or more on weekdays, even as the company’s stock price was lagging.
It was that finding a decade ago that helped shape the career of Dianne McKeever, then a partner at Barington…
Vancouver Home Sales Fall 33% in September, Most in Six Years
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Provincial government introduced 15% foreign buyer tax in July
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Sales are 9.6% below ten-year average for the month: realtors
Vancouver home sales fell 33 percent in September, the most since 2010, adding to evidence measures taken by the provincial government to curb price gains are working.
Sales in the Pacific coast city dropped to 2,253 in the month, from 3,345 a year earlier, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said Tuesday. It was the largest decrease since 2010, and comes after British Columbia imposed a 15 percent tax, which took effect in August, on purchases by foreigners…
Italy’s $5.6 Billion Sale of 50-Year Bonds Beats Peers’ in 2016
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Country taps ultra-long end of debt curve for first time
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Timing of securities sale ‘is almost perfect’: DZ Bank’s Lenz
Investors looked past Italy’s pending constitutional referendum and whether it threatens Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s political future to buy 50-year government bonds, the nation’s longest-term debt ever.
Italy sold five billion euros ($5.6 billion) of the securities, exceeding deals by Spain and France this year for similar-maturity bonds, according to a person familiar with the matter, who’s not authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. That contrasted with two- to three-billion-euro estimates analysts made before the sale began…
CBRE Arranges Sale of 54KSF Mixed-Use Asset in Florida
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David Donnellan, SVP, CBRE
West Palm Beach, Fla.—CBRE recently arranged the sale of a mixed-use shopping center located in the West Palm Beach MSA, on behalf of the seller AMCO Properties. The 54,707-square-foot Woodbridge Plaza changed hands for $5.4 million and was acquired by an affiliate of Southern Management & Development. The asset includes a retail component and 16,182 square feet of office space.
Canada Housing Stocks Fall on New Government Mortgage Rules
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Genworth, First National, Equitable Group lead declines
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Canada housing measures aimed at cooling red-hot market
Canada’s mortgage lenders and the largest private insurer plunged amid concerns that new measures by the federal government to cool the housing market will hurt their businesses.
Genworth MI Canada Inc. led the declines, with an 8.7 percent drop at the close in Toronto on Tuesday, its biggest drop since July 2009. The Toronto-based mortgage insurer said more than a third of insured mortgage borrowers would struggle to meet the new standards introduced Monday…
Canada Housing Stocks Fall on New Government Mortgage Rules
Pimco Quants Say Too Many Investors Are Getting Hedges Wrong
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Important to take ‘currency-by-currency’ approach: Pimco says
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Aussie moves in line with riskier assets, yen moves inversely
Pacific Investment Management Co. says one-size-fits-all hedging tactics are undermining pension returns.
Many institutional investors choose uniform currency protection for each asset class, and that means they miss out on the opportunity to benefit from the way some exchange rates are correlated with moves in riskier assets, says Pimco, which oversees $1.5 trillion of assets. So Australian-based investors fail to reap the full benefits from their dollar’s tendency to strengthen when stock markets rise and their Japanese counterparts aren’t getting the most from the yen’s habit of climbing when equities fall…
Marcum Unveils Atypical Open-Plan Office Design
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Rendering of Marcum’s Boston Office
Boston—Marcum LLP has revealed its Boston office plan, as part of the accounting company’s national campaign of workplace renovations and expansions. The 50,000-square-foot space, occupying the 17th and 18th floors of the building at 53 State St., will be an “organized, yet abstract” open-plan designed by Spector Group.
Yen Rallying to Record 75 Seen in Charts by Hedge Fund Analyst
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BOJ failure to boost stimulus, end deflation to spur yen gains
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Dollar ending year below 107 yen will push it lower: GCI Asset
The yen’s first annual rally in five years is on course to push it to a record versus the dollar in a few years as the Bank of Japan refrains from adding monetary stimulus and fails to end deflation, according to hedge fund GCI Asset Management Inc.
Global Banks Fight Back on Brexit, Warning $51 Billion at Stake
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TheCityUK lobby group’s report says 70,000 jobs are at risk
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As much as 10 billion pounds in lost taxes on the line
Britain crashing out of the European single market could cost banks and associated businesses in the U.K. almost 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) in lost revenue, undermining a key sector of the economy, an industry report warned on Tuesday.
Finance firms are making a fresh bid for special status in upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU after U.K. government officials this week indicated banks will get no favors. The report, prepared by Oliver Wyman on behalf of TheCityUK lobby group, warns that almost 70,000 jobs and 10 billion pounds of tax revenue are at risk from a so-called hard Brexit…
HFF Facilitates Sale of High-End Office Asset in Silicon Beach
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233 WilshireOnline Lender Prosper to Halt Note Trading, Citing Low Volume
Posted by: | CommentsThe online consumer lender Prosper Marketplace Inc. is shutting its loan trading platform this month, a move that will effectively close a key liquidity outlet for retail investors.
“Very few investors” were using the trading system, Prosper said in a letter to stakeholders last week. The firm instead is focusing on making and selling new loans, and on ensuring their quality, according to the letter. San Francisco-based Prosper will begin phasing out the system after Oct. 19, with the shutdown complete on Oct. 27, it said…
Online Lender Prosper to Halt Note Trading, Citing Low Volume
Manhattan Apartment Sales Plunge 20%
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Owners seeking to profit put condos, co-ops on market
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‘Buyers are more wary’ amid surge in listings, appraiser says
There are a lot more apartments available for purchase these days in Manhattan. And fewer people are buying.
Sales of previously owned condominiums and co-ops fell 20 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier as potential buyers grew cautious amid more choices, according to a report Tuesday from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. There were 5,290 resale apartments on the market at the end of September, 53 percent more than the number available in late 2013, the lowest point for listings…
Scrutiny of Commercial Real Estate Loans Chills Small Lenders
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Joseph J. Lebel III, chief lending officer of OceanFirst Bank in Toms River, N.Y., which has become more selective about its lending. CreditMark Makela for The New York Times
Financing commercial property has been local banks’ bread-and-butter business for years, but a postcrisis push for loan growth prompted regulatory warnings about lax lending standards, and small banks are now shying away from the market.
A shakeout in commercial real estate is under way as some banks unwind or sell off the loans that are under regulators’ microscopes, and bankers say they are wary of making new loans…
HFF Hires New Director in Seattle Office
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David Otis, HFF
Seattle—David Otis has joined HFF as the company’s new Seattle area director. His activity will focus on investment sales in the Pacific Northwest market, particularly on office, land, retail and industrial properties.
Prior to HFF, Otis most recently served as vice president for JLL’s capital markets team in Seattle. Additional work experience includes two years as senior financial analyst in the acquisition and asset management division of Voit Real Estate Services in Newport Beach, Calif., and positions with Investcorp International and DTZ, before the company merged with Cushman & Wakefield…
Reactions to Canada’s Latest Round of Tougher Mortgage Rules
Posted by: | CommentsCanada is taking another crack at curbing risks from a housing boom, enacting measures that will ripple from young families struggling to buy their first home in Vancouver to executives at the nation’s largest banks, which may have to start bearing more risk of losses on loans.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau also plans to remove a tax break that foreign homebuyers claimed when they later sold the property, and to increase mortgage insurance eligibility requirements even for borrowers with large down payments…
Reactions to Canada’s Latest Round of Tougher Mortgage Rules
Nutanix I.P.O. Creates Opening for Others
Posted by: | CommentsNutanix, the cloud data-storage firm that made its market debut last week, has jammed open the window for initial public offerings.
The firm’s stock popped a whopping 131 percent on its debut on Friday, for a market capitalization above $5 billion. The warm welcome that was extended to new companies in September, combined with decreased venture-capital funding, may lead others to pull the trigger. The coming presidential election means they had better hurry…
Nutanix I.P.O. Creates Opening for Others
Office Building Sells in the Heart of Boston
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101 Tremont, Boston
Boston—NGKF Capital Markets has completed the sale of 101 Tremont, a 77,245-square-foot office property located in downtown Boston.
The NGKF team worked on behalf of the seller, a joint venture between Paradigm Properties and Alcion Ventures. The 11-story asset was acquired by GLL Real Estate Partners. According to Suffolk County records, the property changed hands Sept. 22 for a little over $50.1 million. County records also show that 101 Tremont last traded in 2013 for a price tag of $9.7 million…
Canada Mortgage-Backed Securities Market May Cool on New Rules
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Housing measures from Morneau may curb origination of bonds
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MBS sales have grown alongside Canada’s hot housing market
Efforts to cool Canadian home prices could trickle down to the C$440 billion ($335 billion) market for debt backed by insured residential mortgages.
Stricter rules for banks lending to home buyers and higher requirements for mortgage insurance could reduce mortgage origination in Canada and in turn lower sales of mortgage-backed securities, according to investors and analysts.
Och-Ziff May Face Consequences Beyond Fine in Bribery Case
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Daniel S. Och, the chief executive of of Och-Ziff Capital Management, agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a record-keeping violation with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CreditRick Maiman/Bloomberg
Defendants often point to the collateral consequences of a prosecution and civil enforcement action when arguing that they should not be punished too severely. The settlement by the hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management and its founder, Daniel S. Och, for paying bribes to obtain natural resource deals in Africa tests how much they will endure beyond the settlement’s fines and disgorged profits.
SunCal Plans $2B LA Mixed-Use Project
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This artist’s rendering depicts SunCal’s proposed 6AM mixed-use development in the Los Angeles Arts District. The City’s downtown skyline appears in the background. (PRNewsFoto/SunCal)
Los Angeles—Downtown Los Angeles’s blossoming Arts District is about to get one show-stopper of a piece. SunCal has announced plans for 6AM, a 15-acre mixed-use project with a development cost of, according to Los Angeles Downtown News, a whopping $2 billion.
Here’s How to Gauge Bank-Funding Stress in Europe
Posted by: | CommentsAs European banks confront signs of a dollar shortage, here’s how to track the health of European bank-funding markets.
TSCG Closes Sale of Two Atlanta Retail Centers
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Midway Family Festival, Cumming, Ga.
Atlanta—The Shopping Center Group has brokered the sale of two family lifestyle and sports-centric retail centers in north metro Atlanta. The assets offer a total of approximately 107,000 square feet of leasable space. Vishal Dacula LLC purchased Dacula Family Festival for $5.9 million and Midway Family Festival for $3.5 million. TSCG’s Neal Pringle and Mark Cooley represented seller Watkins Retail Group in both transactions.
Canada Stocks Fall Second Day as Lenders, Gold Producers Drop
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Aritzia surges as much as 19 percent in Toronto trading debut
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Financials retreat as European banks brace for job cuts
Canadian stocks slipped for a second day as financial-services shares retreated after the group capped the best quarterly performance since 2013, while Aritzia Inc. surged in its trading debut.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 14,689.04 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, in the first day of trading in the fourth quarter. The index rose 4.7 percent for the three months since the end of June on Friday for a third quarterly gain, its longest streak in two years. The S&P/TSX is up 13 percent this year, making it the the second-best performing developed market equity index in the world behind New Zealand…
Chicago to Pull $25 Million From Wells Fargo After Scandal
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Kurt Summers plans to unwind assets as soon as possible
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Summers manages Chicago’s $7 billion investment portfolio
Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers plans to divest $25 million the city has invested with Wells Fargo & Co. after the company admitted to opening potentially millions of bogus client accounts, joining state officials who have pulled business from the bank because of the scandal.
Summers, whose office manages the city’s $7 billion investment portfolio, plans to “unwind these assets as expeditious as possible in a fashion that is prudent and will protect taxpayer money,’’ according to a statement from his office sent to Bloomberg News…
JV Spends $30M on Long Island Retail Center
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ShopRite at Bay Shore, N.Y.
Bay Shore, N.Y.—HFF recently closed the sale of ShopRite at Bay Shore in Long Island. The 60,000-square-foot retail property was sold by G&S Investors of New York City for $30 million.
The HFF investment team representing the seller was led by Managing Director Jeffrey Julien and Senior Managing Director Jose Cruz. The buyer, a joint venture partnership between Mattone Group LLC and Gartenstein Properties, acquired the asset free and clear of existing debt…
How Canada Has Tried to Cool Down Its Housing Market: Chronology
Posted by: | CommentsFinance Minister Bill Morneau’s decision Monday to tighten mortgage insurance eligibility is part of a long list of measures over the past decade to cool Canada’s housing market. Here’s a timeline of some of the major steps taken by policy makers.
October 2016
The federal government announces rules to tighten access to mortgage insurance for commercial banks and make it more difficult for foreign homeowners to claim a capital gains exemption after any home sale. Morneau also says he will start talks on whether banks should carry more risk in the housing market…
How Canada Has Tried to Cool Down Its Housing Market: Chronology
India’s Biggest Urban Makeover Means Free Homes for 20,000
Posted by: | CommentsBhendi Bazaar becomes model for modernizing crumbling housing.
Shabbir Arsiwala’s family has lived for 100 years in a prime area of Mumbai in a noisy, two-room apartment he calls “foul-smelling and claustrophobic,” where a bucket placed along the peeling-paint-flecked walls collects dripping water and blue plastic sheeting keeps out rain. Soon, the 69-year-old former owner of a glass shop and his family will get a new, bigger home for free in one of 17 gleaming residential towers in India’s largest-ever urban redevelopment project.
Deutsche Bank Has Problems, but Not With Liquidity
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The stock exchange in Frankfurt this week as shares in Deutsche Bank dropped.CreditDaniel Roland/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Deutsche Bank has credible liquidity shock absorbers.
The German lender reassured its own employees on Friday, not for the first time, after reports that some hedge funds were withdrawing cash. It clearly has big problems, but a 2008-style liquidity implosion need not be one of them.
County Approves $105M Revitalization Plan for Houston’s Astrodome
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Houston Astrodome
Houston—Harris County Commissioners have given the green light on a major renovation project that could save one former eighth wonder of the world from demolition—the Houston Astrodome.
Officials approved a $10.5 million renovation plan for the mixed-use development. This represents the first phase of the latest $105 million proposal, estimated to take between three to five years to complete. The revitalization consists of raising the floor two levels and creating a 1,400-spot parking garage underneath, which is believed to make the former sports venue a suitable location for conferences and festivals…
Takata Bidders Said to Offer at Least $1 Billion Investments
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Bids by Daicel-Bain, KKR, Flex-N-Gate said to be favored
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Autoliv, Key Safety Systems said to insist on bankruptcy
Takata Corp. received offers for initial investment of $1 billion to $2 billion from each of the five suitors seeking to buy the troubled air bag maker, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The Japanese company behind the auto industry’s biggest recall ever may be leaning toward three bids: one by air-bag inflator maker Daicel Corp. and Bain Capital, and the others by buyout firm KKR & Co. and bumper supplier Flex-N-Gate Corp., said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential…
Texas Businessman Agrees to Pay $198.1 Million in Fraud Case
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Sam Wyly, a Texas businessman, leaving federal court in Manhattan in 2014. CreditLucas Jackson/Reuters
A Texas businessman, Sam Wyly, has agreed to pay $198.1 million to resolve claims by federal securities regulators that he engaged in a long-running securities fraud to hide trades in companies he controlled using offshore trusts, according to a court filing.
Mr. Wyly is also in talks to resolve tax claims by the Internal Revenue Service after he was ordered to pay $1.11 billion, the papers filed on Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission in federal court in Manhattan show…
NC Industrial Asset Changes Hands for $28M
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Whilden Industrial CentreWall Street Guru’s Spiritual Guide to Hitting Your Number Faster
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Khemaridh Hy left the fast-track to meditate, dole out advice
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One recommendation: cold showers for mental resilience
Khemaridh Hy, late of Wall Street, starts at 5:15 a.m. with a Snapchat selfie and a caption that says, “Time for daily practice. Be present in the now!” After 20 minutes of meditation, he heads for the elevator and posts a quote on Twitter by the philosopher Lao Tzu, the one that begins: “Stop leaving and you will arrive.” He strolls to a coffee shop and blogs about “the number” — the amount of money you need to amass to quit the business.
Deutsche Bank Troubles Raise Fear of Global Shock
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Deutsche Bank is a classic example of the species of financial animal known as Too Big To Fail.CreditKrisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
LONDON — Germany’s largest bank appears in danger, sending stock markets worldwide on a wild ride. Yet the biggest source of worry is less about its finances than a vast tangle of unknowns — not least, whether Europe can muster the will to mount a rescue in the event of an emergency.
In short, fears that Europe lacks the cohesion to avoid a financial crisis may be enhancing the threat of one.
HFF Secures $47M Financing for Austin Shopping Center
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4006 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas—HFF has arranged $47.7 million in post-acquisition financing for Broadie Oaks, a grocery-anchored shopping center and office building in Austin, Texas.
The 322,599-square-foot building situated on 30.34 acres at 4006 S. Lamar Blvd. was 92 percent leased at the time of the deal. The property comprises 285,044 square feet of retail and a 37,546-square-foot office building known as Broadie Oaks Professional Plaza…
Deutsche Bank Jumps on Report of $5.4 Billion DOJ Settlement
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Bank’s shares dropped to record low in earlier trading
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DOJ earlier this month requested $14 billion in settlement
Deutsche Bank AG jumped the most in almost six months after a media report that the lender is nearing a $5.4 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, less than half the amount initially requested.
The shares closed at 11.57 euros, up 6.4 percent, the biggest gain since April. Agence France-Presse reported that the lender is nearing a settlement with the DOJ in a probe tied to residential mortgage-backed securities, citing an unidentified person familiar. Spokesmen for the Frankfurt-based lender and the DOJ declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News…
The economy and stock market definitely go in cycles. Real estate was largely immune to this up until the late 1990s when creative financing was introduced into this largely boring sector. Aside from pocket bubbles and localized frenzies, real estate was a fairly drab and reliable asset class. That of course has dramatically changed. People forget about cycles and I am consistently reminded of Black Swan events. Over 7,000,000 people lost their homes to foreclosures over the past decade. 1,000,000 of these were in California yet somehow, the nonsensical drumbeat that buying a home is always a good deal is being echoed by house humpers. Back in the last cycle there were investors from Nevada and Arizona and they were simply adamant that no bubble was possible. “These places rent out and cover the loan!” Until local economies got hit. Or they were able to flip in a short period and make a good amount of money. Until prices went down. Some seem to think banking is fantastic again and fail to look at what just happened with Wells Fargo. Yeah, everything is Kosher. That time was different. Yet this time, it is a stable market even when magnificent crap shacks in the Bay Area are going for way above one million dollars. Cycles in real estate are now a thing thanks to the massive debt fueling this machine…
Deutsche Bank’s Appetite for Risk Throws Off Its Balance
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Brokers at the stock exchange in Frankfurt last week after Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest lender, hit a record low. CreditDaniel Roland/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The global banking giants — think of JPMorgan Chase or HSBC — make a nice return by capturing their share of the trillions of dollars that course through financial markets each day.
But few are as reliant on this business — be it swapping currencies, selling bonds or structuring derivatives — as Deutsche Bank, the giant lender that has made its name not as a home for German savers but as a place for hedge funds and other risk-loving investors to put on some of their boldest financial bets…
HFF Secures Refi for 2 NoVa Office Assets
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1400 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Va.
Washington—HFF has arranged refinancing for 1400 Crystal Drive, a newly renovated, 308,898-square-foot trophy office building, and Jefferson Plaza, a 270,286-square-foot office building, both in the Crystal City submarket of Arlington, Va.
For the Crystal Drive property, HFF worked on behalf of an affiliate of Lowe Enterprises Investors to place the floating-rate loan with KKR Financial. Proceeds will be utilized to retire existing financing that HFF secured in 2013, and provide good news funding for lease-up.