TUCSON, ARIZONA – Tucson Holdings, LLC of Fort Lauderdale, Florida purchased the retail center at 5961-5971 N Oracle Road in Tucson for $900,000 ($158 PSF).

Built in 1978, the 5,708-square-foot building sits on 29,674-square-feet of land at the southwest corner of Rudasill and Oracle Road in the Northwest submarket of Tucson.

The property was fully leased to two tenants at time of sale, Leslie’s Pools and Om Yoga. Both tenants had recently extended their leases showing their commitment to the property. Leslie’s Pools has been at this location since 1989.

The transaction closed February 25, 2022.

Jeramy Price with VOLK Company represented the buyer and Greg Furrier of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR represented the seller, The Palant Family Trust, Gary and Sandra Palant of Tucson.

For more information, Price can be reached at 520.441.4771 and Furrier is at 520.546.2735.

To learn more, see RED Comp #9688.

By: Jordan Grice RIS Media

Fed officials announced Wednesday that they would raise their benchmark federal-funds rate by a quarter percentage point to a range between 0.25% and 0.5% from near zero. The hike, which will take effect on March 17, is the first increase in rates since 2018.

It also kicks off a series of hikes that pundits and analysts forecasted for months. In a statement following its two-day meeting, the Fed said it “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate.”

“In addition, the Committee expects to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at a coming meeting,” read the statement.

Despite recent economic improvements in job gains and unemployment, the Fed acknowledged that pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions coupled with “higher energy prices, and broader price pressures,” have elevated inflation.

The latter factors have also been tied to the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, which the Fed statement also noted in its claim is “causing tremendous human and economic hardship.”

The impacts of the geopolitical situation have already started to weigh on inflation, which hit a 40-year high year-over-year increase in February at 7.9%, with core inflation at 6.4%.

In a press conference after the meeting, Fed chair Jerome Powell addressed the impacts of the persisting invasion in Ukraine.

“The surge in prices for crude oil and other commodities that resulted from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will put additional upward pressure on near-term inflation here at home,” Powell said.

While he admitted that the Ukraine situation represents “a downside risk for economic activity,” Powell indicated that the Fed still expects the economy to see “solid growth.”

“The economy is very strong, and against the backdrop of an extremely tight labor market and high inflation, the committee anticipates that an ongoing increase in the target range of the federal funds rate will be appropriate,” Powell said.

According to Powell, the median projection for real GDP growth stands at 2.8% this year and is expected to hit 2.2% and 2% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Powell also said “appropriate firming” in the Fed’s monetary policy will play a significant role in getting inflation back to 2% without dealing a crippling blow to the progress in the labor market.

“That said, inflation is likely to take longer to return to our price stability goal than previously expected,” Powell said, adding that the median inflation projection is 4.3% for 2022 and is expected to fall to 2.7% and 2.3% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

“This trajectory is notably higher than projections in December, and participants continue to see risks as weighted to the upside,” Powell added.

Powell also indicated that the Fed would start reducing the size of its balance sheet in a future FOMC meeting.

With the first interest rate hike coming, experts pondered the possible impacts to mortgage rates.

Experts from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) say they are hopeful that Fed’s actions can help subdue some of the uncertainty in the market that has contributed to recent shifts in the mortgage rate environment.

“With the unemployment rate below 4%, inflation nearing 8%, and the war in Ukraine likely to put even more upward pressure on prices, this is what the Fed needs to do to bring inflation under control,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA SVP, and chief economist.

Fratantoni went on to say, “MBA forecasts that mortgage rates will rise further over the next year to around 4.5%. Mortgage rates have been exceptionally volatile in recent weeks, given the profound uncertainties both with respect to the geopolitical situation and monetary policy.”

Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com®, said she expects mortgage rates to continue climbing as the market digests the Fed’s updated economic projections.

According to Hale, she doesn’t anticipate any spikes in mortgage rates following Wednesday’s announcement.

“I anticipate a continued increase in mortgage rates over the next several months consistent with today’s statement that indicated an ‘appropriate firming in the stance of monetary policy,’ and that ‘the Committee expects to begin reducing its holdings of at a coming meeting,’” she says.

Barbara Borgonovi has been named Raytheon Technologies’ (NYSE: RTX) senior vice president of Corporate Strategy & Development, effective April 1, 2022.

Borgonovi will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Hayes and serve as a member of the executive leadership team and will be responsible for developing corporate strategies that enhance profitability and performance, and for assessing merger and acquisition opportunities to drive overall company growth.

“Barbara brings to this critical role two decades of leadership in our defense, intelligence and space businesses, combined with a career’s worth of expertise in engineering and program management,” said Hayes. “With a deep understanding of our portfolio’s core capabilities, Barbara is well positioned to further the strategic optimization and development of our business.”

Joining the corporate leadership team from Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Borgonovi is currently president of its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems unit. During her time with the company, she has previously served as vice president of the Integrated Communication Systems mission area, the lead operations executive in the Space and Airborne Systems business, and as director of Program Operations for the Electronic Warfare Systems mission area.

Borgonovi takes on the new role at the same time Michael Dumais, as part of a planned transition, moves from chief transformation officer to become an outside strategic advisor to Raytheon Technologies. Dumais, who joined the company in 1998, previously led strategy and development in conjunction with his responsibility as chief transformation officer.

“I am incredibly grateful to Mike for his many contributions to our business and his key leadership role in shaping our industry. He has established the transformation roadmap that will drive performance and alignment across our enterprise well into the future,” continued Hayes. “Mike has been a trusted advisor to me and to our Board of Directors, ensuring that Raytheon Technologies will remain a leader in aerospace and defense.”