Archive for Uncategorized
CBRE Closes $14M Sale of San Diego Strip Center
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Taco Bell, San Diego, Calif.
San Diego—CBRE has announced the sale of Taco Bell and Shops, a retail strip center in San Diego, Calif. The price tag was $14 million, representing a 5 percent cap rate. Located at 2007-2025 Camino del Este, the 18,175-square-foot strip center was 100 percent leased upon closing, with tenants such as Taco Bell, El Pollo Loco, Pick Up Stix, AT&T and T-Mobile. Built in 1999, the property is situated near Westfield Mission Valley Mall, along the I-8 freeway.
AfDB Seeks Investors for Tanzania’s $7.6-Billion Railway Line
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Central corridor rail seen as profitable for ‘next 100 years’
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Railtrack to link Tanzania with Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda
The African Development Bank will hold an investors’ roadshow to attract as much as $7.6 billion in financing for a railway line linking Tanzania’s port in Dar es Salaam with neighboring landlocked countries.
The Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based lender is teaming up with the World Economic Forum to help attract investors to bankroll the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) line, according to Gabriel Negatu, AfDB’s regional director for East Africa…
AfDB Seeks Investors for Tanzania’s $7.6-Billion Railway Line
Perry Capital Closing Flagship Fund After Almost Three Decades
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Richard Perry
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‘Market headwinds against us have been strong,’ Perry wrote
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Fund lost 18.4% since end of 2013; assets drop more than half
Richard Perry, one of the biggest names in hedge funds, is calling it quits after 28 years.
Perry, 61, is winding down his New York-based flagship fund as the industry confronts one of the most tumultuous periods in its history. In a letter to investors Monday, he said his style of investing no longer worked.
Danish Payments Processor Nets Valued at $4.5 Billion in I.P.O.
Posted by: | CommentsLONDON — Nets, a Danish payments processor, said on Friday that it was valued at 30 billion Danish kroner, or about $4.5 billion, in its initial public stock offering in Copenhagen.
The offering came about two and a half years after a group of Nordic banks sold the company for 17 billion kroner to a consortium of investors that included the private equity firms Advent International, ATP Private Equity Partners and Bain Capital.
Nets priced its offering of 105 million shares on Nasdaq in Copenhagen at 150 kroner apiece, within the company’s anticipated range of 130 to 160 kroner. It announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering this month…
Internet Lender’s Bond Deal Starts to Sour a Year After Sale
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Overdue payments from LoanDepot borrowers are on the rise
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Startups draw ire of Eisman, investor who foresaw Big Short
Online consumer loans made by LoanDepot Inc. are going bad faster than underwriters expected, threatening payments to investors who bought bonds backed by those debts less than a year ago.
Lenders typically expect to write off a portion of their loans as some of the borrowers go delinquent and eventually default. But in the bond deal tied to Loan Depot loans called MPLT 2015-LD1, overdue payments are already so high that they’ve triggered a provision that diverts cash from low-ranked bondholders to protect investors with higher priority…
Wall Street Shrugs Off Facebook’s Video Views Controversy
Posted by: | CommentsThere are other things to worry about.
No need to spend much time viewing this problem.
After the market close on Thursday, Facebook Inc. disclosed that for the last two years it has been overstating to marketers and ad buyers the average time spent viewing video clips on the site, by as much as 60-to-80 percent. The company, which gets more than 90 percent of its revenue from advertising, blamed a mistake in their metrics that has since been corrected, but after the announcement was made to advertisers and the press, Facebook’s stock fell as much as two percent in off-hours trading. On Friday, it was down 1.5 percent as of 2:30 p.m. in New York…
Your Mutual Fund Has Your Proxy, Like It or Not
Posted by: | CommentsDo you think executive compensation is out of control or that a company should have to disclose its political contributions?
If so, you may also think that your mutual fund should vote on these and other issues in accordance with your beliefs. Good luck with that.
As investors, we are supposed to be able to sound off on corporate governance matters at the companies whose shares we own. We do so by voting on the issues when they arise at a company’s annual shareholders’ meeting…
Your Mutual Fund Has Your Proxy, Like It or Not
SAI Accepts A$1.01 Billion Private-Equity Bid After Stock Slump
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Baring Private Equity offers A$4.75 a share, a 32% premium
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SAI share price has fallen 31% from a June 2014 peak
SAI Global Ltd., the Australian standards and risk management company, accepted a A$1.01 billion ($769 million) takeover offer from Baring Private Equity Asia following a slump in its stock.
Shareholders in SAI Global will receive A$4.75 a share in cash, 32 percent more than the stock’s closing price on Sept. 23, the Sydney-based company said in a statement Monday.
Fed’s Rosengren Highlights Growing Tensions Inside FOMC
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Boston Fed chief among three dissenters at this week’s meeting
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Dove-turned-hawk says failing to hike could stoke imbalances
The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston took direct aim at Janet Yellen’s argument for keeping interest rates unchanged this week, shedding more light on pressures confronting the Fed chair as she tries to coax the U.S. economy through a period of slow growth and deep uncertainty.
Eric Rosengren, who dissented from the decision by the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday, said in a statement Friday the Fed’s failure to get back to a strategy of gradual rate increases may threaten the economic recovery…
HDR Expands to San Marcos
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HDR San Marcos Office
Austin, Texas—Engineering firm HDR has opened a new regional office to serve San Marcos, Kyle, Buda and Dripping Springs. The new office has been leased in the Red Oaks shopping center at 1290 Wonder World Drive, not far from the Hays County Government Center.
“Hays County is an incredibly important market to our company, and we are investing to better serve our clients in the region,” said Kelly Kaatz, HDR senior vice president and Central Texas area manager. “We’re currently involved with several transportation and water projects, and we have plans to grow this work significantly throughout the area.”…
China’s Runaway Housing Market Poses Latest Challenge for Yuan
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Photographer: Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images
Here’s the latest uncertainty facing China’s currency: sky high house prices.
A runaway boom in the largest cities will push investors to look for cheaper alternatives overseas, draining money out of China and putting downward pressure on the yuan in the process, according to analysis by Harrison Hu, Chief Greater China Economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. in Singapore.
An “enlarged differential between domestic and foreign asset prices will lead to capital outflows and depreciation, until parity is restored,” Hu wrote in a note. He said that the 30 percent year-on-year price gain in Tier 1 and leading Tier 2 cities implies a 25 percent rise in dollar terms, which far outpaces the 5 percent gain in major U.S. cities. That ratio is here in red:
Wenner to Sell 49% of Rolling Stone to Singapore’s BandLab
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Jann Wenner.
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The deal marks first time Wenner’s allowing outside investors
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BandLab is headed by scion of one of Asia’s richest families
There comes a time when even Jann Wenner needs a little help from his friends.
After a five-decade run full of interviews with pop stars and presidents, the founder of Rolling Stone is selling 49 percent of the iconic magazine to an Asian billionaire’s son. It’s the first time Wenner has admitted an outside investor, a deal that encapsulates the plight of an industry fighting to stay relevant in an online age. Wenner Media LLC also owns Us Weekly and Men’s Journal…
Grosvenor Grabs Office-Retail San Francisco Gem
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240 Stockton St., San Francisco
San Francisco—Grosvenor Americas adds to its high-street retail holdings in San Francisco with the acquisition of 240 Stockton St., a luxury retail and office property in upscale Union Square. The company purchased the 40,400-square-foot building for approximately $80 million, according to local real estate news publication The Registry.
Grosvenor took 240 Stockton off the hands of Bently Holdings, which had owned the property since snapping it up for roughly $25.9 million in 2002, as noted in documents of the San Francisco Planning Department. Commercial real estate services firm Newmark Cornish & Cary represented Grosvenor in the transaction…
The Man Who May Inherit the Mess at Wells Fargo
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President and COO Tim Sloan is longtime Wells Fargo employee
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Not someone viewed as a ‘transformational CEO,’ analyst says
As the scandal over Wells Fargo & Co.’s bogus consumer accounts was coming to a head this summer, executives concluded they had to act. It was time for a chat with Carrie Tolstedt, the manager who oversaw the retail business.
The man assigned to do the messy task: Tim Sloan, the bank’s 56-year-old president, chief operating officer and trusted No. 2 to Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf. As Stumpf recounted for Congress this week, Sloan told Tolstedt that the bank would “go in a different direction.” She was soon replaced…
Saudi Arabia Injects $5.3 Billion in Bank System Amid Crunch
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Funds are in the form of time deposits, central bank says
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Central bank also introducing 7-day, 28-day repo agreements
Saudi Arabia’s central bank stepped up efforts to support lenders in the Arab world’s biggest economy as they grapple with the effects of low oil prices.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, as the central bank is known, said it decided to give banks about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) in the form of time deposits “on behalf of government entities.” It’s also introducing seven-day and 28-day repurchase agreements, as part of its “supportive monetary policy.”…
Rubenstein Picks Up Atlanta Office Park for $265M
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Sanctuary Park, Atlanta
Atlanta—Rubenstein Partners LP, a private real estate investment management firm based in Philadelphia, has teamed up with a minority equity partner to acquire Sanctuary Park, a premier Class A office park in the North Fulton submarket of Atlanta, for $265 million.
Rubenstein and its partner bought the 152-acre, 1.6 million-square-foot complex from J.P. Morgan, which put it up for sale earlier this year, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The property has nine mid-rise buildings and three zoned development sites that could accommodate an additional 750,000 square feet of office space…
Yale’s 3.4% Gain Is Top Performer as Endowments See Losses
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Ivy League rival Harvard University lost 2% in fiscal year
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Some of the largest college endowments are posting declines
Yale University posted a 3.4 percent investment gain, besting rival Harvard University and most college endowments that reported annual losses.
The value of Yale’s endowment declined less than 1 percent to $25.4 billion because the targeted spending rate of 5.25 percent was higher than the fund returned in the year ended June 30, according to the New Haven, Connecticut-based university. Yale, which has the second-largest U.S. school fund behind Harvard, has the best return among school funds that have posted so far. The endowment has been led by David Swensen for three decades…
Goldman Sachs Said to Plan 25% Cut to Asia Investment Bank Jobs
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About 75 posts said to be lost in Asia region, excluding Japan
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Goldman Sachs is said to make job cutbacks later this year
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to cut about a quarter of its investment-banking jobs in Asia, excluding Japan, because of a slump in deal-making in the region, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The New York-based bank plans to make the cutback of about 75 jobs in the region later this year, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. The job reduction comes as the bank faces its worst Asia ranking in equity issuance since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg data. A Goldman Sachs spokesman said he was unable to comment…
Volkswagen Shareholders Seek $9.2 Billion Over Diesel Scandal
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Matthias Mueller, Volkswagen’s chief executive, addressed shareholders at their annual meeting in June.CreditJohn Macdougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A German court has been flooded with new lawsuits against Volkswagen from investors who say they lost billions as the value of the carmaker’s shares plunged after its diesel emissions scandal.
The surge could add to the company’s financial woes as it deals with the fallout from the revelation a year ago that it had cheated on emission tests.
Marcus & Millichap Closes Self-Storage Portfolio Sale in Missiouri
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Tri-Sons Storage PortfolioHere’s What Wall Street Is Saying About the Divided Fed
Posted by: | CommentsA hawkish hold, but a dovish trajectory.
Though the Federal Reserve elected to maintain its benchmark policy rate at a range of 25 to 50 basis points, as was almost universally expected, the September meeting was not without fireworks.
Three voting members dissented from that majority decision, preferring an increase in interest rates at this meeting, while the dot plot revealed that the same number of Fed officials don’t think it will be appropriate to raise rates in 2016 at all…
Here’s What Wall Street Is Saying About the Divided Fed
RPAI to Buy Slice of DC-Area Mixed-Use Asset
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One Loudoun Downtown, Washington, D.C.
Washington—Retail Properties of America Inc. has entered into an agreement to purchase, for roughly $163 million, One Loudoun Downtown, a retail/office development in Ashburn, Va., in metro Washington, D.C., RPAI announced Tuesday. The sellers are Miller & Smith and North America Sekisui House LLC, which will continue to be the master developers for the 360-acre One Loudoun mixed-use project.
Wells Fargo Would Owe Deceived Customers Less Than $50 Million: Goldman
Posted by: | CommentsWells Fargo & Co. faces potential damages of less than $50 million if it were to reimburse customers whose credit scores were harmed by the bank opening unauthorized accounts in their names, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts.
The issue of reimbursement came up during Tuesday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing, when lawmakers including Jon Tester grilled Wells Fargo Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf about the possible ripple effects of unauthorized accounts that bank employees set up to help meet sales goals. About 565,000 of the 2 million potentially bogus accounts were for credit cards, and would have been reported to credit-rating companies…
Want to Change Banking Culture? Stop Talking About Cross-Selling
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Wells Fargo employees opened roughly 1.5 million bank accounts and applied for 565,000 credit cards that may not have been authorized by their customers, regulators said. CreditEric Thayer/Bloomberg
Bankers love the phrase “cross-sell.” I don’t.
As a matter of fact, I propose a moratorium on using the phrase as a way to stop future abuses like the creation of 1.5 million accounts at Wells Fargo that may or may not have been authorized by customers.
I feel so strongly about this that I never once used it during my decade-long career as the head of a major wealth management business…
Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Unexpectedly Declined in August
Posted by: | CommentsSales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly declined to a six-month low in August, signaling buyers are getting discouraged by a limited selection of properties that’s kept prices high, National Association of Realtors data showed Thursday.
Key Points
- Contract closings fell 0.9 percent to a 5.33 million annual rate (forecast was 5.45 million)
- Sales rose 7.3 percent from August 2015 before seasonal adjustment
- Median price of an existing home increased 5.1 percent from August 2015 to $240,200
- Inventory of available properties fell 10.1 percent from a year earlier to 2.04 million, the fewest homes since March…
This Year, Mutual Funds Should Have Bought the Stocks They Hated
Posted by: | CommentsStocks favored by mutual funds have gone nowhere this year.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Mutual-fund hotels have roaches.
In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief U.S. Equity Strategist David Kostin chronicles the “challenged” performance of a group of mutual funds that have a cumulative $1.5 trillion in assets under management.
While the S&P 500 is up almost 6 percent in 2016, Goldman’s index of the stocks most favored by mutual funds is flat year-to-date. Basket constituents include three of the ‘FANG’ stocks — Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., and Alphabet Inc. (Google) — as well as companies like Visa Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Salesforce.com Inc…
Wilson Sporting Goods to Relocate HQ
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Prudential Plaza Building, Chicago
Chicago—Sports equipment company Wilson Sporting Goods has announced the relocation of its headquarters from the Far Northwest Side to a more visible location in downtown Chicago. The company will occupy the iconic Prudential Plaza building at 130 East Randolph St. in late 2017.
Paul Buckingham and Joe Zona of NGKF represented Wilson in its real estate search, securing a 12-year lease for the fifth and sixth floors of the building, according to the Chicago Tribune. The relocation will bring approximately 400 team members to the new office. Prudential Plaza has recently received a major upgrade, which included a fitness center, club house and a rooftop park with great views of the famous Millennium Park…
Airbnb Raises $555 Million in Funding
Posted by: | CommentsTechnology Crossover Ventures is said to be among lead investors in the round, expected to total $850 million.
Airbnb Inc. said it has raised $555.5 million in new funds as the company, which lets people rent out their homes to travelers, expands around the world.
This funding round, which values the San Francisco-based company at $30 billion, could eventually reach $850 million, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because talks are ongoing. Bloomberg reported last month that Airbnb was seeking up to $850 million in new funding at a $30 billion valuation. The company disclosed that it has raised $555.5 million in a regulatory filing on Thursday…
New York Residence Takes the Top at 1501 Broadway
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1501 Broadway, New York
New York—Residential and commercial real estate firm New York Residence Inc. has signed a long-term lease for several thousand square feet of office space at 1501 Broadway in Manhattan, President & Founder Thomas Guss announced this week.
One of the ten largest real estate brokerages in the city, the company will occupy the building’s top floor. Financial terms of the lease deal have not been disclosed.
For the First Time in Years, Incomes Are Rising Faster Than Home Values
Posted by: | CommentsHas wage growth finally arrived?
The view from the master bedroom balcony of a house listed in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.
A trend that’s helped force U.S. home ownership to a 50-year low may finally be running out of steam.
According to a new report from Zillow, a real estate and rental marketplace, incomes are now rising faster than home values for the first time since 2011. The data shows that home values have been growing at a 5 percent annual rate since the beginning of the year, outstripped by 2015’s income growth of 5.3 and 5.4 percent for family and non-family households respectively…
A $13 Million, NYC Townhouse From 1844 With Mid-Century Flair
Posted by: | CommentsPlus some serious artistic roots
Helen Mumford Sole and her husband Peter Sole were moving from Greenwich, CT to New York and wanted to buy a house with a past. “Something interesting, with a bit of history,” Mumford Sole, an executive coach, said. “Something a little bit unique.”
After a year of searching, they found what they were looking for in a 20-foot-wide, 4,250 square-foot townhouse at 110 West 13th Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Built in 1844, it had been occupied for the last half-century by the family of Howard Wise, a pioneering gallerist and patron who helped introduce kinetic and light art to America…
Q&A with Norman Nichols, KeyBank
Posted by: | CommentsAn inside look at the KeyBank-First Niagara Bank merger and the latest challenges facing real estate financing.
Norman Nichols, Head of Income Property and Community Development Lending for KeyBank
Cleveland—KeyBank’s acquisition of First Niagara Bank made headlines this summer, as the $4.1 billion merger created one of the largest banks in the U.S. With the Federal Reserve’s seal of approval this past July, the new company is now determining how it can benefit from each team’s unique experience and geographic diversity, as well as efficiently leverage the firm’s extended product base.
Howard S. Wright Tapped to Build Portland’s Broadway Tower
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Rendering of Portland’s Broadway Tower
Portland—Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company, has been named the contractor for BPM Real Estate Group’s Broadway Tower office and hotel project in downtown Portland.
The two companies previously teamed up on another Portland project—Pearl West, a nine-story, 230,000-square-foot office building in the city’s Pearl District that was the first downtown office building constructed after the recession. That project, which was built as speculative office space, was completed earlier this year…
Loans of $430 at 23% Spur Record Profit for Thailand’s Muangthai
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The company plans to almost double its branch network
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Shares have fallen this year after surging 75% in 2015
Small loans are adding up to a record profit for Thailand’s Muangthai Leasing Pcl.
The nation’s second-biggest consumer lender by market value expects unprecedented net income over the next two years, driven by a near-doubling of branches to 2,200 by the end of 2017 and forecast annual credit growth of at least 60 percent, according to Chief Executive Officer Chuchat Petaumpai…
Loans of $430 at 23% Spur Record Profit for Thailand’s Muangthai
I.P.O. for Postal Savings Bank of China Gets Help From Beijing
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A man leaving a Postal Savings Bank of China branch in Beijing. The bank’s initial public offering is highlighting the practice of cornerstone investing, where big investors are invited to buy up shares ahead of a company going public. CreditKim Kyung Hoon/Reuters
HONG KONG — China’s biggest banks are struggling with a slowing economy, rising bad debts and shrinking profits.
So to raise more than $7 billion in the world’s largest new share sale in two years, a stodgy Chinese bank has sought a little help from its friends.
Luxury London Home Values to Fall Most Since 2008 on Brexit
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Savills says buyers will wait to see outcome of negotiations
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Broker cuts five-year value growth estimate to 3.2 percent
London’s luxury homes will slump the most since 2008 this year after Britain voted to leave the European Union, according to Savills Plc.
Prices will drop 9 percent, the broker said Wednesday. It estimated in October that values would be unchanged this year. Uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the U.K.’s negotiations to leave the EU will accelerate declines that began when higher sales taxes were introduced last year, Savills said…
Popular Quant Hedge Fund Strategy Is Suddenly Doing Terribly
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Commodity trading advisers are down in August and September
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Mistimed bets on rates and commodities are to blame, CS says
For once, the trend was nobody’s friend.
Commodity trading advisers, the catch-all phrase for a breed of quantitative investorswho use trends in asset prices and volatility as trading signals, posted some of the hedge fund industry’s worst losses in August — and it isn’t getting better. The group is down between 1 percent to 1.5 percent this month, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.
Cush & Wake Facilitates Lease for TSA in Florida
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Rendering of Doral Concourse, Doral, Florida
Miami—Cushman & Wakefield secured a long-term lease renewal with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Doral Concourse, a Class A office building located in central Doral, Fla.
Managing Director Gordon Messinger negotiated for 30,000 square feet of space at 8400 Doral Blvd. on behalf of the owner, DRA Advisors LLC.
“Doral Concourse remains an ideal fit for the TSA’s South Florida operations,” said Messinger in prepared remarks. “The building’s proximity to Miami International Airport, accessibility and updated finishes drove the agency’s decision to secure this large block of space on a long-term basis.”…
‘Joe Schmo’ Lenders Double Stake in Canada’s Mortgage Market
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Shadow lending booms as banks step back from riskier loans
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Business owner with spare C$300,000 attracted by big returns
Alternative lenders in Canada have doubled their share of the residential mortgage market in the past decade, increasing risks in the housing sector where they operate with limited federal government oversight.
These mortgage providers, which fall outside the responsibility of Canada’s main banking regulator, increased their share of the C$1.4 trillion ($1.06 trillion) mortgage market to about 13 percent last year from 6.7 percent in 2007, according to the finance department. The lenders, also known as the shadow or private market, cater to the self-employed, new immigrants and those turned down by regular banks. They include publicly listed companies, investor groups and retirees who borrow against their homes to provide funding…
Warren Says Wells Fargo’s Stumpf Should Resign, Face Criminal Investigation
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Warren urges criminal probe of Stumpf, urges him to return pay
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CEO says he will respect any decision by board of directors
John Stumpf arrived at Tuesday’s Senate Banking Committee hearings with one hand in a bandage. He left even more battered and bruised.
The Wells Fargo & Co. chief executive officer took fire from Democrats and Republicans alike, who blasted the executive’s handling of a scandal over the opening of more than 2 million accounts without customers’ authorization, as employees sought to meet cross-selling targets…
Warren Says Wells Fargo’s Stumpf Should Resign, Face Criminal Investigation
RealtyShares Reaches $200M in Raised Capital
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Nav Athwal, RealtyShares
San Francisco—Just under three years after its launch, RealtyShares has exceeded the $200 million mark in capital raising. The online marketplace for real estate investing, which focuses on both the commercial and residential sectors, raised the big bucks from its vast network of investors.
RealtyShares provides a platform for accredited investors—from individuals to hedge funds—to invest with professional real estate developers and borrowers. To date, the company has linked approximately 25,000 such investors with pre-vetted real estate companies seeking debt or equity through crowdfunding…
Sunshine State Offers Ray of Hope for U.S. House Hunters Squeezed by Low Supply
Posted by: | CommentsFlorida was home to half of the top 10 communities with rising home inventory
U.S. house hunters frustrated by a shortage of listings should consider the Sunshine State.
While overall U.S. home inventory continued to decline in July on a year-over-year basis, a fifth of the nation’s 100 largest markets saw increases in supply, according to a report Wednesday from real estate search engine Trulia. Half of the top 10 gainers were communities in Florida…
Sunshine State Offers Ray of Hope for U.S. House Hunters Squeezed by Low Supply
House-Flippers Turn to the Crowd for Quick Cash. What Could Go Wrong?
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Marketplace lenders for real estate provide speed, flexibility
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But speed and property loans may not mix — remember 2008?
Alex Sifakis never raised this much money this fast.
The house flipper from Jacksonville, Florida, crowdfunded nine deals totaling more than $9 million through RealtyShares over the last two and a half years. A July deal for $1 million took him just 12 hours.
“Generally, raising money takes so much time,’’ said Sifakis, 33. “This offers so much flexibility and time savings. It’s so much better than going to family offices, banks or Wall Street firms.’’…
Pacific Retail Capital Partners Nabs 2.8 MSF Portfolio
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The Galleria at White Plains, N.Y.
Los Angeles—Pacific Retail Capital Partners has acquired a portfolio of three regional malls totaling approximately 2.8 million square feet, in a joint venture with an investment partner. The venture was represented by Orrick in the transaction.
The properties consist of The Galleria at White Plains in N.Y.; Northpark Mall, in Ridgeland, Miss.; and The Esplanade in Kenner, La. Combined, the properties’ value is in excess of $200 million…
Swiss Pension Fight Pits Gourmet Pigs Against Dwindling Payouts
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Swiss to vote Sept. 25 on proposal to boost pensions by 10%
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Government opposes initiative as it plans own pension reform
Swiss voters decide this week whether to support a 10 percent increase in the basic state pension amid an opposition campaign that likened the proposal to feeding gourmet food to pigs.
The labor unions and Socialist and Green parties backing the initiative to boost the maximum monthly AHV pension to 2,585 francs ($2,645) have called on the young to show solidarity with retirees facing the prospect of shrinking incomes. The Christian Democrat party showed its opposition to a plan it says an aging population can’t afford by serving a three-course lunch of salad, stuffed zucchinis and berries to pigs outside the Swiss parliament in Bern…
Hedge-Fund Son Thought Hedge-Fund Dad’s Trades Were Pretty Fishy
Posted by: | CommentsIt turns out that having Leon Cooperman for a grandpa is pretty much exactly like you’d expect:
On July 28, 2010, at approximately 6:59 a.m. EDT, APL publicly announced for the first time that it was selling Elk City for $682 million. As a result, on that day, APL’ s stock price increased approximately 31% and other APL-related securities greatly increased in value.
After this announcement, Cooperman emailed a family member stating that: “[minor family member] will be pleased to know that the bond I bought [for minor family member] the other day has risen 7% in price as the company just sold some assets that resulted in an improvement of their credit standing.”
Carl Icahn Won’t Need Buybacks During The Trump Economic Miracle
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Lots of people think that a President Trump would more or less instantaneously wipe out about half of the stock market’s value. Not Carl Icahn. As Carl sees it, the only thing preventing CEOs from reinvesting in their businesses isn’t the fact that the Carl Icahns of the world are always demanding share buybacks and mergers and the like. No: It’s that they are afraid of “irrational” government regulations. And what could be more rational than a Trump administration?
“If you look ahead three years, this economy will be a lot better if Trump gets elected” rather than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Icahn said, speaking at the CNBC “Delivering Alpha” event in New York….
Consolidated-Tomoka Lands $15M Retail Portfolio
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Outback Steakhouse in Charlotte, N.C.
Daytona Beach, Fla.—Florida-based Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. has recently announced the purchase of four single-tenant, triple-net lease properties in a leaseback transaction with Bloomin’ Brands Inc. The assets traded for a total of approximately $15 million.
The portfolio consists of three Outback Steakhouse restaurants located in Austin, Texas, Charlotte, N.C., and Charlottesville, Va., as well as another property in Austin, called Carabba’s Italian Grill…
Housing Starts in U.S. Declined in August on Plunge in South
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Permits, proxy for future construction, show unexpected drop
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Mortgage rates, job gains still likely to support housing
New U.S. home construction fell more than projected in August as a plunge in the South, the biggest region for building, more than offset gains in the rest of the country.
Residential starts declined 5.8 percent to a 1.14 million annualized rate, from the prior month’s revised 1.21 million pace, a Commerce Department report showed Tuesday in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 1.19 million. Permits, a proxy for future construction, unexpectedly slipped on fewer applications for apartment projects…
The last decade has added 10 million renter households. This has happened at the same time that the homeownership rate has fallen to a generational low. Since builders realize that broke Millennials are not going to save the housing market certain markets went into housing mania 2.0. Many people are unable to buy given prices and in many markets home prices are above their pre-market bubble peaks. So with investors and foreigners crowding out the market, we are now left with the current predicament. High home prices and high rents. Rents in many markets seem to be softening. This might be a summer lull or a slight turning point. It is amazing to hear people talk about “stability” but look at this election year! Would you call this predictable? So let us take a look at some rental data…
Albuquerque Company Relocates Distribution Center
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5851 Edith Blvd., Albuquerque, N.M.
Albuquerque, N.M.—Guardian Building Products, a company headquartered in South Carolina, moved its distribution center to 5851 Edith Blvd. in Albuquerque. According to Bernalillo County records, the latest assessment evaluates the property at approximately $1.7 million. The company’s Albuquerque branch relocated its warehouse facility from 4300 2nd St., where it had operated for 40 years.
Bain Cedes Control of Retailer Edcon in Debt-for-Equity Deal
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South Africa’s largest clothing retailer owned by creditors
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Conversion of bonds to equity cuts debt to 6 billion rand
U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital will cede control of Edcon Holdings Ltd. in a debt-for-equity swap, handing ownership of South Africa’s largest clothing retailer to creditors including Franklin Templeton after almost a decade of ownership.
The move will reduce Johannesburg-based Edcon’s debt to 6 billion rand ($433 million) from 26.7 billion rand, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Brookes said in a presentation in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Edcon will also sell the Legit chain to Metier Private Equity for 637 million rand, he said…
S.E.C. Is Latest to Look Into Exxon Mobil’s Workings
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An Exxon gas station in Manassas, Va. The S.E.C. requested information in August on the company’s policy of not writing down the value its oil reserves. CreditKaren Bleier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
HOUSTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission has requested information from Exxon Mobil on the company’s longstanding policy of not writing down the value of oil reserves, as other energy companies have done in the recent past, Exxon Mobil confirmed on Tuesday.
The inquiry mirrors an investigation by the New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, into how the company has valued its assets in light of future climate change regulations that may force fossil fuel companies to keep oil, natural gas and coal in the ground…
C&W Affiliate Brokers Retail Portfolio Sale in San Antonio
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San Antonio—San Antonio Commercial Advisors, an independently owned and operated member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance, announced its sale of two grocery-anchored shopping centers in San Antonio.
One of the properties is located at 3614 Pleasanton Road, near the intersection of Pleasanton Road and E. Formosa Boulevard. It totals 30,675 rentable square feet on 2.9 acres. The second property is located at 340 Enrique Barrera Parkway, with access and visibility at the intersection of Enrique Barrera Parkway and SW 34th Street. It consists of 50,240 rentable square feet on almost 4.3 acres. Both properties are anchored by Arlan’s Market and Family Dollar…
Lennar Leads Declines for Homebuilders After U.S. Starts Drop
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Construction fell 5.8% in August, led by a plunge in the South
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Lennar says home deliveries fell in Houston, hurt by oil slump
Lennar Corp. led a decline in U.S. homebuilder shares after the company reported fiscal third-quarter results and the Commerce Department said nationwide construction of houses declined.
Lennar delivered 6,779 homes in the three months through August, up 7 percent from a year earlier, the Miami-based company said in a statement Tuesday. In Houston, hurt by the oil slump, deliveries declined, primarily because of a drop in demand at higher-priced communities. New orders rose 8 percent to 7,018 homes. Net income rose to $235.8 million, or $1.01 a share, compared with $223.3 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier…
In Wells Fargo Case, Watchdogs Didn’t Play Team Ball
Posted by: | CommentsThe Wells Fargo case has exposed something besides bad bank practices: gaps in United States regulatory teamwork.
The Justice Department was kept in the dark until the last minute about the widespread problem of unauthorized accounts at the bank and the $185 million fine it would be paying, according to people familiar with the situation. That is why prosecutors are only just now beginning an investigation.
The United States has a sprawling financial oversight regime. Four federal agencies watch over banks, while two more regulate markets and thus the financial institutions involved. Those entities do not have criminal authority, however, and do not include state and local officials who also have supervisory duties…
Biotech Park Planned for Historic Boston Site
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Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announcing plans for the new development
Boston—Plans for the redevelopment of the former Worcester State Hospital Campus in Worcester, Mass., take a big leap forward with the State of Massachusetts’ selection of the Worcester Business Development Corp. to spearhead the project. A total of 44 acres of land located in the Greater Boston area will now be transformed into a 500,000-square-foot biomanufacturing property.
Buffett’s Investing Deputy Combs Named to JPMorgan’s Board
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Combs has been adding duties, got credit for Precision deal
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JPMorgan CEO Dimon credits Combs for wisdom, judgment
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Todd Combs has been named to the board of JPMorgan Chase & Co., helping him build expertise beyond investment management and expanding the ties of Warren Buffett’s conglomerate to the banking industry.
Combs’s appointment was effective Monday, New York-based JPMorgan said in a statement Tuesday. Buffett’s Berkshire is one of the top investors in JPMorgan competitors such as American Express Co. and Bank of America Corp., and U.S. regulators are weighing whether his 10 percent stake in Wells Fargo & Co. violates rules meant to limit the power of insiders…
Harsch Expands SoCal Footprint with San Diego Acquisition
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Scenic View Business Park, Poway, Calif.Boston’s South End to Get $80M Office Expansion
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321 Harrison Ave. rendering
Boston—The Boston Redevelopment Authority last Friday approved an $80 million expansion of an existing office project in the city’s South End. The expansion, at 321 Harrison Ave., entails building 218,500 square feet of office space across eight stories, on top of an existing three-story parking structure that serves an adjacent office building at 1000 Washington St. The 1.9-acre site overlooks the I-90.
1000 Washington St. totals roughly 260,000 gross square feet of office space on 11 stories. Its lobby will be reconstructed to serve as the shared lobby area for both office buildings…