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.
Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 168.62 points, or 0.9%, to 18,127.65. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 18.79 points, or 0.9%, to 2,108.06 and the NASDAQ composite added 34.04 points, or 0.7%, to 5,026.42.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.76 to close at $45.72 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose 89 cents to close at $55.32 in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 2.4 cents to close at $1.798 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1.2 cents to close at $1.734 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2.7 cents to close at $2.786 per 1,000 cubic feet.
SIMON PROPERTIES RAISES BID AGAIN FOR MACERICH FRIDAY
SANTA MONICA, Calif.-- The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) confirmed Friday that it has received a revised, unsolicited proposal from Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG) to acquire the Company for $95.50 per share in cash and stock. The Macerich Board of Directors will review the Revised Proposal with its financial and legal advisors. Macerich stockholders are advised to take no action at this time. The Company noted that on March 9, 2015, Simon proposed to acquire Macerich for $91.00 per share in cash and stock. On March 17, 2015, after a comprehensive review conducted in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, the Board unanimously determined that the unsolicited proposal to acquire the Company for $91.00 per share in cash and stock substantially undervalued Macerich and was not in the best interests of Macerich and its stockholders. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and JP Morgan Securities LLC are acting as financial advisors to Macerich and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Goodwin Procter LLP and Venable LLP are acting as legal counsel. See story from Friday: https://realestatedaily-news.com/macerich-arizona-trophy-malls-reason-reject-simons-22-4-billion-bid/
OLIVE GARDEN GETS BOOST FROM DINERS SPLURGING ON EXTRAS
NEW YORK (AP) — Olive Garden is weaning diners off two-for-$25 dinners and luring them to splurge a bit on extras like drinks and desserts. Those add-ons, a sign that customers might be more willing to open their wallets, helped push sales up for a restaurant chain that limped through the recession and a shift toward “better” fast food personified by Chipotle. The struggling restaurant chain said Friday quarterly sales edged up 2.2% at established locations, marking the first back-to-back quarterly gains in five years. That’s partly because diners were ordering more extras like alcohol and desserts and Olive Garden pulled back on discounts.
POLITICS OF SPORT – MARCH MADNESS TITLE LIKELY TO BE WON BY A SCHOOL FROM A RED STATE, ACCORDING TO ODDS MAKERS
TORONTO, ON, CANADA - No matter where someone stands on the political divide, one thing is certain – people across America will be checking their March Madness brackets as action kicks off today. According to Sportsinteraction.com, the smart money is on backing a school from a Red State. Sportsinteraction.com has married the world of politics and sport to offer a range of odds and props related March Madness, with a look at how teams will fare based on whether they are from a state that voted Red or Blue in the last Presidential election. Given Kentucky's dominance, and as the overwhelming favorite to complete the first undefeated season since 1976, it is no surprise that a wager on a Red State school winning the title pays 1.36, compared to a payout of 2.90 for a Blue State school. Kentucky is far from the only power on the Red side of the aisle, with Duke and Arizona also being real threats for the championship. Betting on Red might be a smart move when it comes to the eventual champion, but history suggests that betting on Red State schools in early round games might leave you feeling blue. Since the current tournament format (a main field of 64 teams) was introduced in 1985, schools from Blue States have won 60 per cent of first round games they have played against schools from Red States, and are 79-69 overall. Schools from Blue States have also dominated in recent years, winning four championships and accounting for two-thirds of all Final Four teams since 2009. Other props available to fans include over/under wagers on how many Red State and Blue State teams will reach the Final Four and odds on the highest finishing Red State or Blue State team in the tournament.
Other interesting Red vs. Blue State facts, since 1985:
- Red State schools have won 16 titles. Blue States schools have won 14
- Blue State schools are 8-5 against Red State schools in the title game
- This year will be the sixth time Indianapolis will have hosted the Final Four since 1985. Schools from Red States have only won two of the five titles played there and account for only three of the 10 teams to make the championship game
(SOURCE Sportsinteraction.com)
REDROCK TO ACQUIRE ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL
HOUSTON, TX -- Redrock Partners, LLC has agreed to acquire Romano's Macaroni Grill® from Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc. Redrock Partners, LLC is a limited liability corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona. Three industry veterans will be taking over ownership and operations of the popular restaurant chain: John Gilbert, who is presently President and will continue to serve as CEO of Romano's Macaroni Grill; Dean Riesen, who will serve as Chairman of the organization; and investor Dick Monfort. Redrock Partners expects to complete the transaction within 30 days. Romano's Macaroni Grill is an Italian restaurant brand founded in 1988 by Phil Romano, one of the industry's leading innovators. Inspired by the Italian "country" cuisine served in Romano's grandmother's kitchen, Macaroni Grill has grown to over $300 million in US sales and another $40 million through its franchise operations.
Highlights:
- Redrock Partners, LLC has agreed to acquire Romano's Macaroni Grill from Ignite Restaurants Group (IRG)
- Redrock LLC expects to close this transaction within 30 days.
- Romano's Macaroni Grill currently operates 146 locations across 33 states with a total annualized revenue of roughly $300 million
- Romano's Macaroni Grill franchises 25 locations in the US and in 8 other countries
- Romano's Macaroni Grill currently operates 136 Romano's Kitchen Counter fast-casual service locations and is likely one of the top two or three Italian fast-casual concepts in the US
- Romano's Kitchen Counter is currently in domestic restaurants only with plans to expand to international franchisees in the coming months
- Romano's Macaroni Grill will continue to be based in Houston, Texas
- Romano's Macaroni Grill's talented team of employees are expected to join the new enterprise under John Gilbert, who served as president of Macaroni Grill under IRG and will be CEO going forward
- Dean Riesen and Dick Monfort will constitute, along with Gilbert, the new board of directors, in which Riesen will act as chairman.
Completion of this transaction is subject to certain conditions and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
THE CONTAINER STORE OPENING AT TUCSON MALL in may
The Container Store plans to open for the end of May in the Tucson Mall. The 21,000-square-foot store will be located at Tucson Mall at the northeast corner of Oracle and Wetmore Road, in the former Toby Keith’s I Love that Bar & Grill space. The Grand Opening Weekend will be Saturday, May 30, 2015 and Sunday, May 31, 2015. As part of the Grand Opening celebration, Tucson Symphony Orchestra will receive 10% of all Grand Opening Weekend sales. In addition to the nonprofit partnership, they’ll be giving away prizes every hour, on the hour, including a $1,000 elfa® Space Makeover with Installation. The company is accepting job applications for full and part time staff for more information click here.
CAN’T REMEMBER PASSWORD? HERE ARE 2 NEW WAYS TO LOG IN
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tired of trying to remember a different password for each of your online accounts? Or worried about re-using the same password too many times? You’re not alone. Tech experts agree that traditional passwords are annoying, outmoded and too easily hacked. This week, Yahoo and Microsoft offered up some alternatives: Yahoo says it can text temporary passwords to users’ phones each time they want to sign into their Yahoo accounts. Microsoft says it is building facial-recognition and fingerprint-identification technology into Windows 10, the new computer operating system coming this summer, so users can log on with their fingertip or face. The two approaches drew different reviews.
AFTER COMMUNIST-ERA PAIN, SALL CZECH BREWERS ENJOY REVIVAL
CVIKOV, Czech Republic (AP) — After shutting down in droves during the decades of Communist rule, the Czech Republic’s small brewers are staging a comeback. Dilapidated beer-making facilities dotted across this patch of Central Europe, which is better known for a clutch of global brands like Pilsner Urquell, are being reopened to revive local brewing traditions that date back to the 10th century. You’ll have to visit the Czech Republic to taste any of it, though — production is still too small for export and many beers are not available outside the towns and villages where they are brewed.
TERROR ATTACK IN TUNISIA A FRESH BLOW TO TOURISM INDUSTRY
The terror attack in Tunisia that killed 21 people is a fresh blow to the North African nation’s tourism industry, which has been struggling since the country’s revolution of 2011. Cruise companies cancelled stops in the country as 17 of the victims at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis were passengers on shore excursions from two cruise ships in port that day.
FRACKING: US TIGHTENS RULES FOR CHEMICAL DISCLOSURES
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration said Friday it is requiring companies that drill for oil and natural gas on federal lands to disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, the first major federal regulation of the controversial drilling technique that has sparked an ongoing boom in natural gas production but raised widespread concerns about possible groundwater contamination. A rule to take effect in June also updates requirements for well construction and disposal of water and other fluids used in fracking, as the drilling method is more commonly known.
MAGAZINE PUBLISHER MEREDITH FINDS SUCCESS FOCUSING ON WOMEN
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The nation’s top publisher of magazines and websites for women has its origins in a journal sold door-to-door featuring tips to help farmers get ahead in the early 1900s. From there, Meredith Corp. grew and evolved, surviving depression, recession, the Internet and an increasingly crowded field of magazine competitors to now reach more than 200 million people a month. It has done it by developing a keen understanding of its readers, using its huge database to hone in on how women seek and use information in the areas of food, home, parenthood and health.
NAPA WINEMAKER WAS UNRAVELING BEFORE HE SHOT INVESTO, SELF
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Robert Dahl came West from Minnesota with a powerful desire to make his fortune in Napa Valley’s famed wine country. And it looked like he had succeeded — for a while. The burly, charismatic businessman had convinced friends old and new to invest millions in wine and beer ventures. He lived the high life: fancy dinners and frequent travel, a hillside home and expensive vehicles. He once bought a $42,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle rather than delay a road trip while another nearly new bike got fixed. But behind all that seeming success, a bubbling feud with his biggest investor was coming to a head.
FDA APPROVES GENETICALLY ENGINEERED POTATOES, APPLES AS SAFE
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Potatoes that won’t bruise and apples that won’t brown are a step closer to grocery store aisles, but some food suppliers say they don’t want any part of it and others are staying silent. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the genetically engineered foods, saying they are “as safe and nutritious as their conventional counterparts.” The approval covers six varieties of potatoes by Boise, Idaho-based J. R. Simplot Co. and two varieties of apples from the Canadian company Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.
STATES TO TEST WAYS TO SEND FOOD STAMP RECEIPIENTS TO WORK
WASHINGTON (AP) — New federal grants will help 10 states test programs to help food stamp recipients find jobs, from using career coaches to quicker training courses to mental health assistance. The grants, announced Friday in Georgia by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, come as the Republican Congress is exploring ways to cut the program, which cost $74 billion last year — twice its cost in 2008. Some in the GOP have proposed stricter work requirements as a way to do that. But the Obama administration sees better worker training as an alternative to cuts or stricter work requirements.
CHILDREN OF COMEDIAN KILLED IN JNJ CRASH AWARDED $10 MILLION
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — The children of comedian James McNair, who was killed in the car crash that injured Tracy Morgan, are getting a $10 million settlement from Wal-Mart, court papers show. The documents also show that the children, Jamel McNair, 26, and Denita McNair, 19, are putting part of the payment toward annuities that will pay them ever-increasing monthly amounts, starting at $3,000, for the rest of their lives.
LUFTHANSA STRIKES ENTER THIRD DAY, MANY LFIGHTS CANCELLED
BERLIN (AP) — Lufthansa cancelled hundreds more flights Friday as pilots at Germany’s largest airline went on strike for the third consecutive day and announced they would continue the walk-out over the weekend. In what is becoming an increasingly acrimonious labour dispute, nearly 800 short- and medium-haul Lufthansa flights were cancelled Friday, including 90 related to an Italian air traffic controllers’ strike. Lufthansa said it would also have to cancel 74 long-haul flights Saturday and multiple cargo flights. Since the strikes began Wednesday, some 180,000 passengers have been affected, the airline said.
GASTRONOMIC DIPLOCMACY: 5 CONTINENTS, 1,300 CHEFS COOK FRENCH
VERSAILLES, France (AP) — A symphony of popping Champagne corks echoed across the Versailles Palace, as chefs from around the world celebrated the delights of French gastronomy in the first worldwide “Good France” event. From Beijing to Rio de Janeiro and in the French terroir itself — over a thousand chefs across five continents minced their steak tartars, salted their foie gras and flamed their creme brulee's simultaneously for the Thursday night event launched by the French Foreign Ministry and master chef Alain Ducasse. Organizers estimated that 100,000 diners took part, making it one of the biggest food events in history.