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.
Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial average rose 15.19 points, or 0.1%, to 16,737.53. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 3.64 points, or 0.2%, to 1,927.88. The NASDAQ composite index advanced 17.56 points, or 0.4%, to 4,251.64. Benchmark U.S. oil for July delivery fell 2 cents to close at $102.64 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
DOLLAR GENERAL PLANS 700 NEW STORES IN 2014
Goodlettsville, Tenn.- Dollar General Corp.’s first-quarter profit and sales missed Wall Street estimates as the retailer cited an “unfavorable’ winter, increased competition and economic challenges. The company said Tuesday its profit rose to $222.4 million, from $220.1 million year ago. The retailer also reiterated its plans to open 700 stores in fiscal 2014, and remodel, to varying degrees, another 900 existing locations. Net sales rose to $4.52 billion, from $4.23 billion. Same-store sales rose 1.5% in the quarter. Dollar General said sales trends began to improve in April and have continued to gain momentum. The discounter expects to open 214 new stores in the first quarter. The company also reiterated its plans to open 700 new stores in the 2014 fiscal year and to remodel or relocate another 500. In addition, it plans to complete approximately 400 limited scope (“lifecycle”) remodels.
FRED SEGAL TO OPEN LIFESTYLE CENTERS; NAMES RETAIL VET PAUL BLUM CEO
New York, NY - Legendary Los Angeles retailer Fred Segal is going global. The company, which was acquired by media and licensing company Sandow in 2012, plans to open up to 10 luxury retail lifestyle centers in the United States and across the world during the next five to 10 years. And leading the expansion will be its newly hired CEO, retail veteran Paul Blum, who most recently served as CEO of Juicy Couture. Prior to that, he served as CEO of David Yurman and Kenneth Cole Productions. Sandow said it has partnered with equity investor Evolution Media Partners on the new concept, which will blend shopping with innovative art, culture and entertainment experiences. Other partners include entertainment and sports agency giant CAA, which will provide expertise in the areas of licensing, branding, digital strategy, content creation and beyond; TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity investment platform of global investment firm TPG; and Participant Media, the global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
CITY OF SEATTLE RAISES MINIMUM WAGE TO $15/HOUR
SEATTLE, WA.- The Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that would give the city the highest minimum wage in the nation and more than double the federal level. Seattle activists celebrated a successful campaign to gradually increase the city’s minimum wage to $15.00/hour by calling for a national movement to close the income and opportunity gaps between rich and poor. Council Member Tom Rasmussen said, “Seattle wants to stop the race to the bottom in wages” and address the “widening gap between the rich and the poor.” The International Franchise Association, a Washington, D.C.-based business group that represents franchise owners, said it plans to sue to stop the ordinance. “The City Council’s action today is unfair, discriminatory and a deliberate attempt to achieve a political agenda at the expense of small franchise business owners,” the group said in a statement. The minimum wage in Arizona in 2014 is $7.90.
2013 POPULATION ESTIMATES FOR U.S. CITIES NOW AVAILABLE - TUCSON CONTINUES STEADY GAINS
The U.S. Census Bureau has released 2013 population estimates for cities over 50,000. The City of Tucson 2013 population estimate is 526,116. See a map of the U.S. and click on each city to see their population numbers at the link below.
From Governing Magazine: : https://bit.ly/TakLK9
OVER 60 NEW STATE LAWS WILL AFFECT ARIZONA CITIES
PHOENIX - The League of Arizona Cities and Towns has released their 2014 New Laws Report. The Report is designed to serve as a guide to those enactments of the second regular session of the 51st Arizona Legislature that have direct impacts on municipalities. During the past session, 1,205 bills and 103 memorials/resolutions were introduced in the Arizona House and Senate. Of these, 303 passed the Legislature and were sent to the Governor, and 278 were signed into law. More than one-fourth of these enactments affect cities and towns and are summarized in the Report.
The 2014 New Laws Report: https://bit.ly/1h4zLnE
CAN TECHNOLOGY BRING MORE EFFICIENCY, MARKET FORCES TO CITY PARKING?
Los Angeles and San Francisco are among U.S. cities looking to new technologies to better manage demand, improve customer service, and make it easier to find a parking space. LA Express Park, for example, a pilot program that covers a 4.5 square-mile area of downtown, uses technology to match on-street parking prices with demand. Its goal is to ensure that between 10 and 30 percent of the parking spaces on each block are open throughout the day. "Smart meters" and sensors compile occupancy and payment data. Based on that information, a pricing algorithm recommends parking rates for various times of day that are designed to ensure that meters are used but that no area is overly congested.
From Governing Magazine: https://bit.ly/1hW8YVI
WILL THAT BE A 6-BEDROOM SUITE OR JUST A COUCH?
NEW YORK (AP) — Private elevators, personal shopping assistants, six-bedroom suites with their own postal codes. Even helipads. This is what the super-rich have come to expect from hotels. For others, vacation now means renting someone’s apartment, a spare room, maybe just a couch — anything to save on the cost of a hotel. As the gap between the wealthiest travellers and everyone else has widened, so has the way people are experiencing vacations. The wealthy are looking for ever-more pampering. Many others are seeking new ways to economize. And the lodging industry is adapting — at the high and low ends — to meet the diverging needs.
EUROPE’S CENTRAL BANK WEIGHS ANTI-DEFLATION STEPS
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank is all but certain Thursday to unveil extraordinary steps to try to boost ultra-low inflation and quicken the limp economy of the 18 countries that use the euro. The ECB has been under pressure to act, especially after a report this week showed that inflation in the eurozone dropped more than expected last month to 0.5 per cent — further evidence of a wobbly recovery. Excessively low inflation, if it persists, could become a serious economic threat. It could cause businesses and individuals to delay spending indefinitely as they await ever-lower prices. It could also make it harder for companies and countries to pare their heavy debt loads left over from the eurozone’s financial crisis.
SKIP THE WEBSITE? SOME SMALL BUSINESSES STILL DO
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s cheap. It’s easy to do. And it can take less than 20 minutes to set up. Yet more than half of all small businesses still don’t have a website. Small businesses that don’t have one say they don’t have the time, think it will cost too much or don’t want the rush of orders that comes with being online. But entrepreneurs that have jumped to the digital side say their websites have boosted sales, cut down on time-consuming phone calls and brought more people into their stores. But not everyone wants that. Steve Love has never had a website for the handmade sausage and meat business he’s owned since 1988. He says a website for LoveLand Farms would boost sales and he doesn’t have any more farmland to raise hogs and Black Angus cattle.
KENTUCKY PLANT EMBLEMATIC OF MOVE FROM COAL TO GAS
DRAKESBORO, Kentucky (AP) — In the shadow of Paradise Fossil Plant’s aging smokestacks, where white steam and carbon dioxide rises into the sky, outdated coal-fired generators are being replaced with one that runs on natural gas. The change in Muhlenberg County, once the United States’ top producer of coal, is emblematic of what’s been happening across the country as natural gas becomes cheaper and electric utilities try to meet stiffer carbon emissions rules the Obama administration announced this week. When the $1 billion natural gas facility is finished in 2017, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, will shut down two coal-burning units at Paradise that date to the 1960s.
CO-FOUNDER OF BURT’S BEES SAYS HE WAS OUSTED
PARKMAN, Maine (AP) — Conventional wisdom suggests the Burt behind Burt’s Bees left the company after he became disillusioned with the corporate world in North Carolina and wanted to return to his solitary life in Maine. The reality, Burt Shavitz says, is that he was forced out by co-founder Roxanne Quimby after he had an affair with an employee. So the man on the Burt’s Bees logo that promises “Earth-friendly natural personal care products” ended up with 37 acres in Maine, and an undisclosed sum of money. And he’s not complaining.
US STOCKS EDGE HIGHER; PROTECTIVE LIFE SOARS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose modestly Wednesday, erasing an early decline, as investors waited to hear from the European Central Bank on Thursday. Insurer Protective Life soared on news that it was being acquired by a Japanese company. The Nasdaq got a boost from Apple, its biggest component. Apple’s 7-for-1 stock split will happen after the close of business Friday.
US SERVICE FIRMS GROW AT FASTEST PACE SINCE AUGUST
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. service firms grew more quickly last month as production, hiring and new orders increased, adding to signs that the economy is accelerating after dipping at the start of the year. The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its service-sector index rose to 56.3 in May, the best reading since August 2013. The figure is an improvement from the 55.2 posted in April. Any figure above 50 indicates expansion. The report points to solid growth after a brutal winter caused the economy to shrink 1 per cent during the January-March quarter. The gains in new orders and the backlog of existing orders suggest a faster rate of hiring in the months ahead as businesses rush to meet the demand.
US TRADE DEFICIT AT 2-YEAR HIGH IN APRIL
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit jumped to a two-year high in April, as exports declined and imports surged to a record high. The deficit rose to $47.2 billion in April, up 6.9 per cent from an upwardly revised March deficit of $44.2 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Exports dropped for the fourth month out of the past five, falling 0.2 per cent to $195.4 billion. Meanwhile, imports climbed 1.2 per cent to an all-time high of $240.6 billion, reflecting record shipment levels of foreign-made cars, food, computers and other goods. A wider trade deficit can act as a drag on growth because it means U.S. companies are earning less from their overseas markets. But it could also indicate rising U.S. demand as the country shakes off the effects of a harsh winter.
US PRODUCTIVITY FALLS AT 3.2% RATE IN Q1
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity fell even more than previously thought in the January-March period while labor costs rose at a faster pace. Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, declined at an annual rate of 3.2% in the first quarter, the weakest showing since the beginning months of the recession in 2008, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Unit labor costs rose at a 5.7% rate, the fastest pace in more than a year. Rising labor costs and falling productivity can be a cause for concern if they are an indication that inflation is worsening. But the first-quarter performance was seen as a temporary bump caused by an unusually harsh winter which caused the economy to go into reverse. A strong rebound is expected in the current quarter.