Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz of the day will be.
Monday, the Dow fell 117.12 points, or 0.7%, to close at 17,730.51. The S&P 500 fell 14.62 points, or 0.7%, to 2,077.07. The NASDAQ composite dropped 40.46 points, or 0.8%, to 5,101.81.
U.S. crude fell $2.32, or 5.8%, to close at $37.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $2.27, or 5.3%, to $40.73 a barrel in London. In other energy trading in New York, wholesale gasoline fell 6.1 cents, or 4.8%, to close at $1.209 a gallon, heating oil lost 6.3 cents, or 4.7%, to close at $1.280 a gallon and natural gas fell 11.9 cents, or 5.4%, to $2.067 per 1,000 cubic feet.
US consumer credit rises $16 billion in October — U.S. consumers borrowed more heavily for auto and student loans in October, taking out debt that helps them find jobs and commute to work. The Federal Reserve said Monday that consumer borrowing rose $16 billion in October to $3.5 trillion. But the pace of borrowing decelerated sharply from the $28.5 billion increase in September. Nearly all of the October gain came from the category that covers auto and student loans, while credit card borrowing edged up a mere $200 million. The increase suggests that more Americans are borrowing to improve their educational skills and upgrade their cars and trucks, instead of relying on debt to fund their daily shopping and emergency expenses.
New York REIT seeks buyer “Commercial real estate owner New York REIT, which owns 23 Big Apple properties with 3.4 million square feet of rentable space, is seeking a buyer, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The New York Post.” (New York Post)
Rouse CEO Says REIT Generating Value from Renovations “Rouse has undertaken an effort to reposition its portfolio of retail properties. Since 2012, the company has completed major renovations and capital projects on 10 of its 30 properties. Rouse is targeting $350 million in renovation projects across its portfolio. Rouse is projecting that the projects will generate upwards of $750 million in value creation.” (REIT.com)
Workplace Trust Buys Horsham Portfolio from Liberty “Workspace Property Trust, a new real estate investment firm led by longtime successful industry veterans Thomas Rizk, Roger Thomas and Howard Sipzner, purchased 41 office and flex buildings in Horsham, PA from Liberty Property Trust for approximately $245.3 million.” (GlobeSt.com)
Don't Lose Faith in Real Estate Because of Looming Rate Hike -- TIAA-CREF Strategist “Real estate investors worried that a December rate hike in the wake of the better-than-expected November jobs report will drag down property values need not be so fearful, said Phil McAndrews, global real estate CIO at TIAA-CREF Financial Services.” (TheStreet.com)
Manhattan Real Estate: Retail Rent Dip Nothing to Worry About “REBNY pointed out that the decreases, especially the notable sx- percent dip in the Madison Avenue 57th to 72nd corridor, is not to be taken as a sign of weakness or loss of interest. The decrease was only a result of the combination of supply available in the said area. Because of the high supply, landlords found it wise to set lower asking rents to attract tenant interest.” (Realty Today)
SL Green Buys Canadian Pension Plan's Stake in 600 Lexington Ave “SL Green Realty Corp., New York city’s largest commercial property owner, is buying a 45 percent indirect stake in 600 Lexington Avenue for $284 million.” (Bloomberg)
Lawmakers Set to Introduce Fiduciary Legislation Before Holiday Break “What took the Department of Labor five years to accomplish will take lawmakers just over a month. A group of bipartisan lawmakers said Friday they plan to introduce a legislative proposal to ensure advisors act in their clients' best interests before Congress breaks for the holidays.” (WealthManagement.com)
American Apparel Founder Hires Investment Bank to Pursue Bid “American Apparel Inc. founder Dov Charney is working with a small investment bank on a potential bid to buy the clothing retailer out of bankruptcy.” (Bloomberg)
Trump tapped Mafia-linked felon to do business development work in 2010 “Trump had worked with Felix Sater previously during the man's stint as an executive at Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate development firm that partnered with Trump on numerous projects after renting office space from the Trump Organization. But Sater's past was not widely known at the time because he was working as a government cooperator on mob cases and the judge overseeing Sater's own case kept the proceedings secret. After Sater's criminal history and past ties to organized crime came to light in 2007, Trump distanced himself from Sater.” (The Associated Press)