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.
Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.69 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,419.38. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 98.89 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,310.66. The Nasdaq composite lost 100.53 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,146.62. Oil and gas futures notched gains Tuesday.
Benchmark U.S. crude gained 86 cents, or 2 percent, to settle at $44.24 per barrel in New York. Brent, the international standard, added 82 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $46.65 per barrel in London. In other commodities trading, wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.46 per gallon. Heating oil also added 3 cents to $1.41 per gallon. Natural gas gained a penny to $3.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.
New cyberattack wallops Europe; spreads more slowly in US — A new and highly virulent outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software appears to be causing mass disruption across the world, hitting Europe — and Ukraine — especially hard. Company and government officials reported serious intrusions at the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices. The number of companies and agencies affected was piling up fast, with the attack also confirmed in the U.S., where drugmaker Merck said its systems have been compromised. (PARIS AP)
EU hits Google with $2.7B fine for abusing weaker rivals -- European regulators fined Google a record 2.42 billion euros ($2.72 billion) for abusing its dominance of the online search market. The case could be just the opening salvo in Europe's attempt to curb the company's clout on that continent. The decision announced Tuesday by the European Commission punished Google for unfairly favoring its own online shopping recommendations in its search results. The commission is also conducting at least two other probes into the company's business practices.
Yellen: Banking reforms should avert future financial crisis — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Tuesday that she believes banking regulators have made enough improvements that the world will not experience another financial crisis "in our lifetimes." Yellen said the banking reforms put in place in recent years have made the financial system much safer with regulators doing a better job of watching for the type of systemic risks that struck the global economy in 2008. (LONDON AP)
UNESCO celebrates Tucson’s City of Gastronomy designation at Paris event - At the invitation of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), on the eve of the 2017 UNESCO Creative Cities Network annual conference in the Paris, there will be a cooking demonstration to present the distinctive cuisine that helped Tucson earn its designation as the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the United States. James Beard Award-winning Chef Janos Wilder will prepare a sampling of traditional and modern dishes that showcase the ancient ingredients of our region. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Commission to UNESCO, the event will be held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on June 28. The 200 attendees will include UNESCO officials, delegates from the five other U.S. Creative Cities, journalists from French and international media, and local dignitaries. Welcoming remarks by the U.S. chargé d’affaires in France will be followed by presentations by each of the six U.S. Creative Cities, concluding with Tucson and an introduction of Chef Wilder. During the event, a slideshow of Tucson’s food history and gastronomy will be projected. Jonathan Mabry, the City’s representative to UNESCO, observes that leveraging the designation has become an integral part of Tucson’s economic development. “It is already expanding our heritage-based economic assets and highlighting them on a global platform, linking them to tourism development and creation of new business opportunities,” Mabry said.
Some water rates and charges increase next week – Effective next Monday, July 3, certain water rates and fees will increase. The rates were set last month by the Mayor and Tucson City Council after a recommendation by the Citizens’ Water Advisory Committee. The rate adjustments under Tucson Water’s Financial Plan for fiscal years 2017-2021 will support the utility's operation. Residential usage and monthly service charges for water will increase, as will with the CAP Fee, Conservation Fee, fire sprinkler monthly service charge, and the base rate charge per CCF for multifamily, mobile home parks, commercial, industrial, and construction customers. Help is available for those with limited incomes.
The Cities Creating the Most High-Wage Jobs “We decided to take a look at which metropolitan areas are gaining the most professional and business services jobs and the trends that are driving some to pull ahead while others fade. Our rankings look at employment in the sector over time— assessing short, medium and long-term job trends and adding in variables for persistence and momentum as well.” (Forbes)
A New Skyscraper for Los Angeles: Wilshire Grand Makes its Debut “Eight years ago, architect David Martin's vision for Wilshire Grand Center was little more than a daydream in a sketchbook. Over time, that dream gave way to a 73-story skyscraper, the tallest building west of the Mississippi, and an impressive new addition to the Los Angeles skyline. Expectations for the building are high. Undoubtedly a new downtown landmark, the tower must find its place within the architecture of the city.” (Los Angeles Times)
High-Profile Deals Disguising Commercial Real Estate Market’s Anxiety “Manhattan’s office market could be headed for trouble despite today’s solid-seeming condition and euphoria over big chunks of space being gobbled up by marquee tenants at glamorous new towers. Commercial brokers with the jitters didn’t want their names used, but one we spoke to worried about a ‘lack of depth’ to the market beyond a handful of large-scale negotiations now going on.” (New York Post)
A New Real Estate Play for Income Investors “Risk-averse investors looking for income will soon have a new option to consider: ground leases. iStar Inc., a New York-based real-estate investment, financing and development firm, has spun off some of its ground leases into a separate real-estate investment trust called Safety, Income and Growth Inc. that is expected to raise $250 million from an initial public offering and concurrent private placement.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
Feds Looking into Bernie Sanders’ Wife Over Real Estate Deal “Federal investigators are looking into the finances behind a real estate deal for a now-defunct college put together by the wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, and she has hired a lawyer to look after her interests, a family spokesman confirmed on Monday. The complaint against Jane Sanders was filed in early 2016 by attorney Brady Toensing, who served as the Vermont campaign chairman for Donald Trump during his run for president as a Republican. In a separate complaint, Toensing alleged that Bernie Sanders’ senatorial office pressured a bank to approve the loan.” (Associated Press)
Here’s When and Where Lidl’s Next U.S. Grocery Stores Will Open “On July 13, Lidl will open new stores in Chesapeake, Virginia; Culpeper, Virginia; Havelock, North Carolina, and Wake Forest, North Carolina. The grocer also announced on Monday plans to open its fourth regional headquarters and distribution center, in Cartersville, Georgia. Lidl operates more than 10,000 grocery stores in 28 countries. The chain now poses a threat to U.S.-based grocers such as Kroger, Ingles and even Target, as well as a discount chain such as Aldi, because of Lidl's ‘lowest possible prices’ promise.” (CNBC)
Downtown Dallas Landmark Projects Asking for More Time to Finish Construction “Developers of downtown Dallas' two largest building redos are asking for more time to get the projects done. The companies renovating the historic Statler Hotel on Commerce Street and the former First National Bank tower on Elm Street are asking downtown's tax increment finance district for another year to finish all construction on the projects. Work on the 61-year-old Statler Hotel was supposed to be complete by October under original terms of the tax increment financing grant agreement with the city that was approved in 2014.” (Dallas News)
Claire’s is a ‘Complete Train Wreck’ “After nearly six decades in American malls, Claire’s is facing an uphill battle to stay afloat. The retailer — which says it has pierced 94 million ears, more than any other company — has reported 11 consecutive quarters of declining sales and racked up more than $2 billion in debt, prompting speculation among analysts that it could be among the next to face big trouble.” (Washington Post)
Real Estate Firms Calls Houston Valuations ‘Spotty and Uneven’ in 2016 “The commercial real estate market is boosting some property values while deflating others. Houston-based real estate valuation firm Deal Sikes and Associates reported Monday that varying conditions across the city's submarkets and property types have created uneven changes in commercial property value over the last year. The firm said 57 percent of commercial properties recently received notifications of value increases, 18 percent received decreases and 25 percent were unchanged.” (Chron)
Amazon Could Easily Own Whole Foods, Rite Aid and Express Scripts, This Top Analyst Says “Amazon.com Inc. may be plenty busy working to complete, and then digest, its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market, but anyone who has followed the company knows that it has ambitions to enter all facets of retail, and frankly all facets of people's lives. With recent reports that the company its looking to break into the pharmacy space and uncertainty swirling around the merger of Walgreens Boot Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp., one Wall Street firm suggests that Rite Aid, or even a pharmacy benefit manager could be next in the company's crosshairs.” (The Street)