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 for the day will be.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 421.28 points, also 2.4%, to 17,778.15. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 48.34 points, or 2.4%, to 2,061.23. The NASDAQ Composite gained 104.08 points, or 2.2%, to 4,748.40.
The price of oil fell $2.36 to close at $54.11 a barrel. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil, fell $1.91 to close at $59.27 in London. In other futures trading, wholesale gasoline fell 3.9 cents to close at $1.527 a gallon. Heating oil fell 7 cents to close at $1.939 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to close at $3.642 per 1,000 cubic feet.
WEEKLY US JOBLESS AID APPLICATIONS DECLINE TO 289,000
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign of solid job security and growing confidence among employers. Weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 289,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That is the lowest level since late October. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined 750 to 298,750. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. The average has fallen nearly 13 per cent in the past year, evidence the job market is improving.
TEP PAYS $219 MILLION FOR GILA RIVER GAS POWERED POWER STATION IN GILA BEND
GILA BEND, AZ - (December 10, 2014) - Tucson Electric Power Co. (TEP) and UNS Electric Ins., a subsidiary of Unisource Energy Services (UES) paid $219M yesterday for the 550MW Gila River Power Station Block 3 in Gila Bend. TEP will get 413 of the 550MW with UNS controlling the remaining amount. This was a planned deal as a part of the bankruptcy reorganization of Gila River Power’s parent organization Entegra Power Group LLC, based out of Tampa, Florida. Entegra was facing a 2015 maturity of its $1.3B third-lien debt along with demand issues, so was forced to file Chapter 11. TEP lauds the purchase as a major step in their plan to diversify their generation facilities that have been heavily reliant on coal; the Gila River station is a gas powered plant.
TUCSON MAYOR AND COUNCIL CLEAR WAY FOR NEW MIXED-USE HOTEL COMPLEX NEAR UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
TUCSON - The Mayor and Tucson City Council this week approved the demolition of four historic buildings on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Fourth Street to make room for an approximately 140-room hotel with retail and an underground parking garage. The site is being developed by 7one4 Tucson LLC, which said the buildings were too dilapidated and not cost-effective to fix. Mayor and Council agenda from Tuesday: https://1.usa.gov/1uWKMb4
TUCSON POLICE OFFICERS HONORED FOR SAVING LIVES IN MACHETE ATTACK
TUCSON - Five officers from the Tucson Police Department (TPD) received commendations yesterday for their roles in saving the lives of two people attacked last week by a man with a machete. Officers Jacob Smith, Steven Boggie, Raul Navarro, Alex Ferguson and Kyle Frank responded to a residence on Dec. 11, where a female victim had run across the street and asked a neighbor to call 911, saying she had been stabbed, said Capt. Michael Gillooly, a commander of Operations Division Midtown. Two officers stayed with the woman and treated her injuries with their new trauma kits, which Gillooly said includes tourniquets designed to stop bleeding. Three others entered the residence and helped a male victim, who was in danger of losing both hands and a leg from the attack. The officers stopped the bleeding while they secured the area for paramedics. The suspect, an ex-boyfriend of the woman, was captured the same day.
Tucson Police Department: https://1.usa.gov/1s5GLSa ; TPD Operations Division Midtown: https://1.usa.gov/1AvmSrL
SONY HACKING FALLOUT PUTS ALL COMPANIES ON ALERT
ATLANTA (AP) — Companies across the globe are on high alert to tighten up network security to avoid being a target of an attack like that on Sony Pictures Entertainment. The hack, which a U.S. official has said investigators believe is linked to North Korea, culminated in the cancellation of a Sony film and ultimately could cost the movie studio hundreds of millions of dollars. The fact that the attack included terrorist threats and was focused on causing major corporate damage, rather than on stealing customer information for fraud, indicates a whole new frontier has emerged in cybersecurity. Suddenly every major company could be the target of cyberextortion.
2 MORE FORMER SONY WORKERS SUE OVER DATA BREACH
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two more former employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment are suing the company over the massive data breach in which their personal and financial information was stolen and posted online. The lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday seeks class-action status for current and former Sony employees who information was hacked from the company’s servers. The breach resulted in the release of Social Security numbers, financial, medical and other personal info for about 50,000 Sony workers. It is the third such lawsuit filed against Sony this week.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT TRAVELING TO CUBA
NEW YORK (AP) — Don’t rush to book that flight to Cuba just yet. While the U.S. plans to restore diplomatic ties with the Caribbean island nation, globe-trotting tourists won’t be able to hop on a plane to Havana anytime soon. It remains illegal for most U.S. citizens to travel to — and spend money in — Cuba. Congress would first have to lift its half-century old trade embargo. Still, travel companies are salivating at the chance to set up shop in Cuba. Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International and the Carnival Corp. all expressed interest this week.
CONSTANTLY CHANGING ONLINE PRICES STUMP SHOPPERS
NEW YORK (AP) — Online shopping has become as volatile as stock market trading. Wild, minute-by-minute price swings on everything from clothes to TVs have made it difficult for holiday shoppers to “buy low”. A growing number of retailers are using software that changes online prices based on demand, competition, inventory and other factors. The main goal is to undercut rivals when necessary, and raise prices when demand is high and there’s no competitive pressure. But the new online tools can change the price on a single item — say, a sweater — dozens of times throughout the day. And that can leave shoppers confused about when they can get the best deal.
GAUGE OF US ECONOMY RISES 0.6% IN NOVEMBER
WASHINGTON (AP) — An index designed to predict the future health of the economy posted a third straight solid gain in November. The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.6% last month, matching the revised October gain. The October reading had originally been reported as a 0.9% increase. The index rose 0.8% in September after being unchanged in August. Conference Board economists say the widespread gains in the leading index are pointing to strong underlying conditions in the U.S. economy that should propel growth through the winter.
FORD EXPANDS DRIVERS AIR BAG RECALL NATIONWIDE
DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. has agreed to government demands to expand a driver’s side air bag inflator recall to the entire U.S. The move announced Thursday adds 447,000 Ford vehicles to the list of those recalled due to driver’s inflators made by Japan’s Takata Corp. The inflators can explode with too much force, spewing shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Ford’s action puts pressure on BMW and Chrysler, the only two automakers that haven’t agreed to national recalls. Honda and Mazda already took their recalls national. Previously the recalls were limited to high-humidity states mainly along the Gulf Coast.
IRS HEAD SAYS BUDGET CUTS COULD DELAY TAX REFUNDS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Budget cuts at the IRS could delay tax refunds, reduce taxpayer services and hurt enforcement efforts, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday. About half the people who call the IRS for assistance this filing season won’t be able to get through to a person, Koskinen said. And once returns are filed, there will be fewer agents to audit them. In recent years, the IRS was able to issue most tax refunds within 21 days if the returns were filed electronically. Koskinen wouldn’t estimate how long they might be delayed in the upcoming filing season, which is just a few weeks away.
PUTIN: WEST WANTS TO DEFANG, DECLAW RUSSIAN BEAR
MOSCOW (AP) — Sternly warning the West it cannot defang the metaphorical Russian bear, President Vladimir Putin promised Thursday to shore up the plummeting ruble and revive the economy within two years. Putin accepted responsibility for the economic crisis in his first public appearance since the crash of the ruble’s value this week. He said Western sanctions accounted for at least 25 per cent of the ruble’s fall, but said the main reason was Russia’s failure to ease its overwhelming dependence on oil and gas exports. Putin also appeared eager to negotiate a face-saving solution to the Ukrainian crisis, but showed no intention of conceding defeat in his standoff with the West.
EUROPEAN COURT RULES OBESITY CAN BE A DISABILITY
LONDON (AP) — Obesity can be a disability, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday — a decision that could have widespread consequences across the 28-nation bloc for the way in which employers deal with severely overweight staff. The ruling, which is binding across the EU, has such profound implications for employment law that experts expect EU nations to challenge it. The court ruled in the case of a Danish childcare worker Karsten Kaltoft, who weighed 159 kilograms (350 pounds) and said he was unfairly fired for being fat. The ruling said if obesity hinders a “full and effective participation in professional life,” it could count as a disability.
DOWNTOWN PARADE OF LIGHTS THIS WEEKEND
TUCSON - The 20th annual Downtown Parade of Lights & Holiday Festival, presented by the Downtown Tucson Partnership, will be held this Saturday. More than 20,000 spectators are expected to attend. The day's festivities start at Armory Park at 4 p.m. with a marching band, followed by other entertainment. At 6 p.m., Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will light the Christmas Tree in front of the Main Library. The parade begins at 6:30 at 17th Street and Stone Avenue. From Downtown Tucson Partnership: https://bit.ly/1z15MzF
SANTA'S COMING TO TUCSON THIS WEEKEND
TUCSON - Santa Claus will be visiting children Saturday at the Historic Train Depot downtown, 414 N. Toole Ave. From 1:30-4 p.m., Santa will greet kids in front of the historic locomotive. Following the visit, there will be a holiday movie. The annual visit with Santa is free, but donations are accepted for the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum. Southern Arizona Transportation Museum: https://bit.ly/1z18Mfr
STAY SAFE WHILE DRIVING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
TUCSON - While we do a lot of communicating with family this time of year, please heed the message: Do not text while driving. In the video linked below, Tucson 12 shows you how easy it is for a moment of distraction to turn tragic. Texting while driving also is illegal in city limits. In addition to risking your own life, and the lives of others, motorists caught texting while driving are subject to a $100 fine, which increases to $250, if involved in an accident. Watch the video: https://bit.ly/1lIk7gj