SHOPPING CENTER INDUSTRY APPLAUDS PROGRESS BY HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
House Moves One Step Closer to Passage of eFairness Legislation

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) today commended House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) for moving towards leveling the playing field between online-only sellers and brick-and-mortar retailers with regards to sales tax collection. Recognizing that this is a problem that needs to be addressed, this week Goodlatte will formally release principles he believes must be embodied in the legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the near future. ICSC supports Chairman Goodlatte’s effort and has pledged to work with him towards enactment of legislation aimed at the ongoing issue.

“We are very optimistic about this latest development,” said Jennifer Platt, Vice President of Federal Operations for ICSC. “Chairman Goodlatte has taken a thoughtful approach to the issue and it is clear that he is prepared to move the process forward.”

In May of this year the United States Senate passed its version of The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 69-27. Since that vote, momentum for creating a fair, competitive marketplace has steadily been building. “The principles are an important step forward and we will continue to work with the Chairman on this journey. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that many brick-and-mortar retailers continue to suffer from as much as a 10% price disadvantage and they would like to see the decades-old loophole for online-only sellers closed sooner rather than later,” added Platt.

ICSC has promoted sales tax fairness for over a decade, advocating that a “sale is a sale” regardless of whether the purchase takes place on Main Street, at shopping centers, over the Internet or with a smart phone. For more information about sakes tax fairness and the current sales tax system, please visit www.21stcenturyretail.org.

ICSC Western Conference (Sept 18-20, 2013) – San Diego, CA Founded in 1957, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 60,000 members in over 90 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world. This year, the Western Division Conference which kicked off Wednesday in San Diego.

We’ll cover all of the official retail announcements from the conference each day for anyone not able to be there.

Announcements from the ICSC Conference on Sept. 19, 2013 DAY TWO: To see announcements from Day One click here.

Arizona released job numbers Thursday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Arizona increased three-tenth of a percentage point, from 8.0% in July to 8.3% in August. This compares to the U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate that decreased slightly by one-tenth of a percentage point from 7.4% (July) to 7.3% (August). To read our Sept 12 article “A Few Bright Spots in August U.S. Employment Report” click here.

A year ago in August 2012, the Arizona seasonally adjusted rate was 8.3% compared to a U.S. rate of 8.1%.

This August saw 39,800 nonfarm jobs (1.6%) added to Arizona payrolls, coincidentally, the same number as the ten year monthly average job creation for the state. However, the August gain is less than the previous two years, that of 55,000 (Aug. 2011) and 59,000 (Aug. 2012).

The majority of jobs were added to the Government Sector, with a gain of 32,000, or 80% of the jobs created for the month, a gain higher than the ten year average of 28,600, but less than the previous two years.

Statewide, Government recorded job gains of 41,000 (Aug. 2011) and 40,700 (Aug. 2012). The Arizona Department of Administration reports that gains in August are typical as schools resumes with new staffing levels for the start of the academic year.

Statewide, the Private Sector added 7,800 jobs, or 20% of the job growth, less than the ten-year-average gain of 11,400 jobs. Of these new jobs, 6,700 (or 86%) were in Maricopa County where Government sector jobs totaled 23,200 (or 77.6%) of the total 29,900 jobs and private sector jobs were 6,700 (22.4%) of the jobs added in Maricopa.

In Pima County, the ratio for Government to Private Sector jobs is more significant, with 4,200 (87.5%) of the total 4,800 jobs gains in the government, all in State and Local Government with Federal unchanged, and 600 jobs in the Private Sector.

So where are these 600 new private sector jobs? The Private Service Sector in Pima gained 400 (or 66.6%), while the state gained 11,600 total in this sector. Goods Producing (i.e. mining, manufacturing and construction) added 200 jobs in Pima (or 33.3%) while the state decreased in this sector by 3,800.

Over the year statewide, the Private Sector added 48,700 jobs over the year (2.4%), while Government lost 600 jobs (-0.2%). Eight of the eleven major sectors reported gains with three reporting losses. Educational and Health Services reported the largest over-the-year gain of 11,000 jobs (3.0%), followed by Leisure and Hospitality (10,900 jobs) and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (10,000 jobs) sectors. Other major sectors reporting gains include: Financial Activities (7,300 jobs); Construction (5,600 jobs); Professional and Business Services (4,400 jobs); Information (1,500 jobs); and Natural Resource and Mining (300 jobs).

Manufacturing (-1,200 jobs), Other Services (-1,100 jobs) and Government (-600 jobs) all lost jobs over the year.

Over the month statewide, six of the eleven major sectors had gains while five recorded losses. Government reported the largest gain of 32,000 jobs (8.8%) in August. Government gains in August are typical as schools resume after summer break. Local Government added the majority of jobs with 28,600 jobs. Gains in Local Education (29,800 jobs) were offset slightly by losses in non-education related sectors (-1,200 jobs). State Government added 3,100 jobs all from State Education (3,100 jobs). The Federal Government added 300 jobs.

Education and Health Services added 8,000 jobs (2.2%). Most of the gains occurred in Educational Services which gained 4,400 jobs. This gain was slightly higher than the ten-year-average (’03-’12) gain (3,900 jobs), but lower than the August gain in the previous three years (’10-’12). Health Care added 2,000 jobs from Ambulatory Health Care Services (800 jobs), Hospitals (700 jobs), and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities (500 jobs). Social Assistance added 1,600 jobs, the highest over-the-month gain since 1990.

Get detailed information, graphs and charts on Arizona data at www.azstats.gov or click here  for .pdf file of report.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 40.39 points, or 0.3%, to 15,636.55. Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.18 points, or 0.2%, to 1,722.34. The NASDAQ composite index rose 5.74 points, or 0.2%, to 3,789.38.

The rebound in the U.S. Dollar knocked the Canadian Loonie out, the $1 Canadian coin, fell 0.4 percentage point to $1.0265 CDN per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto on Thursday, after earlier touching $1.0182 CDN, the strongest since June 19. In other words, one loonie buys 97.41 U.S. cents. The currency’s 200-day moving average was $1.0212 CDN.

US 30-year mortgage rate dipped to 4.50%
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week amid signs the economic recovery slowing. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.50% from 4.57% last week. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.54% from 3.59% last week.

Measure of US economy’s health up 0.7%
The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.7% in August from July. That followed a 0.5% gain in July from June. The index is designed to signal economic conditions over the next three to six months. A gauge of the U.S. economy’s future health posted a solid gain in August, signaling stronger growth in coming months. Factories also grew busier in the Mid-Atlantic region this month, underscoring recent signs of gathering economic momentum that’s likely to keep traders speculating about the timing of the Fed taper and all of us debating it.

US home sales hit 6 1/2-year high although apprehensively
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that U.S. home resales surged in August to a 6-1/2-year high. U.S. home sales rose last month to the highest level since February 2007, as buyers rushed to close deals before mortgage rates rose. Yet the gain could represent a temporary peak warns N.A.R., if higher rates slow sales in coming months. Sales of previously occupied homes rose 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million in August, a level consistent with a healthy market.

US unemployment benefit applications rose to 309,000 maybe
The US Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 309,000. But the data was distorted for the second straight week by reporting delays. The Labor Department says the less volatile four-week average fell 7,000 to 314,750, the lowest in six years. Applications plummeted two weeks ago when California and Nevada were unable to report all their data because of computer upgrades being done in both states.

Whale of a deal for JPMorgan to admit fault and pay $920 million in trading loss
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will pay $920 million total fine for trading losses of $6 billion that shook the financial world last year. But perhaps the bigger shock is a few words rarely uttered in settlements with U.S. regulators: The nation’s largest bank admitted “wrongdoing” revolving around failure of oversight to more than $6 billion. Last month two traders were charged with covering up the losses. The U.K. trader who placed the bad bets, became known as the “London Whale” because of his large “whale-size” trades.

US current account deficit drops to $98.9 billion
The US Commerce Department reported Thursday that the U.S. current account trade deficit narrowed in the April-June quarter to the lowest level in nearly three years. The imbalance fell to $98.9 billion in the second quarter, a drop of 5.7% from the first quarter deficit of $104.9 billion. The spring deficit was the lowest since a $93.8 billion imbalance in the third quarter of 2009, a period when the Great Recession had cut into demand for foreign goods.

Last but not least, Here’s the truth: The government won’t really shut down
Here’s the truth about a government “shutdown” ask anyone, I’ve checked with many sources. The government doesn’t just shut down. So the world won’t end if a dysfunctional Washington can’t find a way to pass a funding bill before the new budget year begins on Oct. 1. Social Security checks will still go out. Troops will remain at their posts. Doctors and hospitals will get their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. In fact, virtually every essential government agency, like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, will remain open. Furloughed federal workers probably would get paid, eventually. TSA officers would continue to man airport checkpoints. But lurking around the corner is far bigger danger: Sometime in late October or early November the government could run out of cash. The U.S. government would be unable to pay all of its bills in full and on time for the first time in history, if it couldn’t borrow more money.