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 34.43 points, or 0.2%, to 17,712.66. The S&P 500 index added 4.87 points, or 0.2%, to 2,061.02. The NASDAQ composite picked up 27.86 points, or 0.6%, to 4,891.22.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 5 per cent, or $2.56, Friday to close at $48.87 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $2.78 to close at $56.41 in London. Wholesale gasoline fell 8.4 cents to close at $1.798 a gallon. Heating oil fell 6 cents to close at $1.728 a gallon. Natural gas fell 8.2 cents to close at $2.590 per 1,000 cubic feet.
LUKE’S ON SPEEDWAY CLOSES LEAVING MESSAGE FOR TUCSON Luke’s Chicago Sandwiches at 2645 E Speedway Blvd closed Officially last week, for non-payment of rent but not without leaving a message on Facebook asking Tucsonans to support local businesses. To read the full letter click HERE.
U.S. REP. MCSALLY LEADS A-10 FUNDING EFFORT Washington, D.C. – In a letter request to House appropriators, Rep. McSally led a bipartisan group of 18 lawmakers to urge rejection of the Administration’s plan to divest the A-10 fleet beginning in Fiscal Year 2016. The letter shows across the aisle support in the House for keeping the A-10 funded and opposing the Administration’s plans to mothball the weapons system ahead of schedule. The letter represents the first step in officially requesting continued A-10 funding in the House. In April, the House Armed Services Committee, on which Rep. McSally serves as a member, will meet to mark up the National Defense Authorization Act, legislation to provide funding authorization for national defense operations. For a PDF of the letter, click HERE.
ALL CITY OFFICES CLOSED MONDAY TUCSON - In honor of the first César E. Chávez Holiday in the City of Tucson, all City offices will be closed Monday, March 30 (except emergency services). All trash and recycling collections will be delayed by one day next week. The Los Reales Landfill will be open. From TucsonAZ.gov: https://1.usa.gov/1BtWAVq
GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT NEW EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER TUCSON- The City of Tucson and Pima County partnered to modernize the City's 9-1-1 Communications Center. Tucson 12 recently went behind the scenes to see the benefits of the $9.2 million upgrade, made possible by a 2004 bond election. 9-1-1 Communications Center: https://1.usa.gov/1CUw6Sl
TUCSON PORCH FEST THIS WEEKEND TUCSON - Local bands will be entertaining on some of Tucson's porches this Sunday. Tucson Porch Fest will be held in the Blenman-Elm neighborhood from 4-7 p.m. In addition to the music, there will be art exhibitions, food trucks, a bike tour and bike valet parking. Admission is free, but the musicians work for tips.
Tucson Porch Fest Facebook page: https://on.fb.me/1HSNr0N
GERMAN AIRLINE COULD FACE ‘UNLIMTED DAMAGES STOCKHOLM (AP) Lufthansa could face “unlimited” compensation claims for the crash that killed 150 people in the French Alps and it would be difficult, even counterproductive, for the German carrier to try to avoid liability, experts said Friday. Under a treaty governing deaths and injuries aboard international flights, airlines are required to compensate relatives of victims for proven damages of up to a limit currently set at about $157,000 — regardless of what caused the crash. But higher compensation is possible if a carrier is held liable.
US ECONOMIC GROWTH MAY BE MILD BUT DURABLE WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. economy’s tepid performance last quarter — a 2.2% annual growth rate — was typical of the economic rebound that began in the summer of 2009. Yet the sluggish pace of the recovery has a silver lining: This growth spurt has proved to be one of the most durable since World War II. Will it last? It’ll depend on a number of factors in the months ahead, including a potential rate hike by the Fed, the strong dollar, oil prices and consumer spending.
INTERNET OUTAGES REVEAL GAPS IN US BROADBAND (AP) FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. When vandals sliced a fiber-optic cable in the Arizona desert last month, they did more than time-warp thousands of people back to an era before computers, credit cards or even phones. They exposed a glaring vulnerability in the nation’s Internet infrastructure: no backup systems in many places. Because Internet service is largely unregulated by the federal government and the states, decisions about network reliability are left to the service providers. Industry analysts say these companies generally do not build alternative routes, or redundancies, unless they believe it is worthwhile financially.
FROM NEW LOGOS TO NEW COKE NEW YORK (AP) — Mega coffee chain Starbucks wanted to spark a conversation about race when it asked baristas to write “Race Together” on customers’ cups. But many said that they didn’t want a debate with their brew and Starbucks ended the campaign Sunday, although the company said it was always meant to be brief. Corporations spend millions to make sure their products, logos, and branding and marketing are top of mind for consumers in a positive way. But that means that when corporate missteps happen or marketing campaigns are a flop, they can go viral, too.
US ISOLATED AS ALLIES LINE UP TO JOIN CHINA LED BANK WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. resistance to a Chinese-led Asian regional bank has left it isolated among its Asian and European allies and given some heft to China’s frequent complaints that Washington wants to contain its rise as a world power. South Korea, one of America’s closest friends in Asia, announced Thursday it will join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, which is intended to help finance construction of roads and other infrastructure. Beijing has pledged to put up most of the initial $50 billion in capital for the bank, which is expected to be set up by year’s end.
REVIEW: GALAZY S6 PHONES SAMSUNG’S BEST YET NEW YORK (AP) — A better design, a sharper camera and easier-to-use software make the new Galaxy S6 phones the best Samsung has yet to offer. Although Samsung has been praised for its improved hardware, much of what I like is in the software — specifically, what’s not in it. After a few years of making phones difficult to use with a slew of questionable features, Samsung continues to streamline its phones with the S6.
WITH BIG PROJECTS, ETHIOPIA SHEEDING FAMINE STEREOTYPE ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia, once known for epic famines that sparked global appeals for help, has a booming economy and big plans these days. A new airport planned on the outskirts of the capital is one of several muscular, forward-looking infrastructure projects undertaken by the government that have fueled talk of this East African country as a rising African giant.
OIL COUNCIL SHALE WON’T LAST, ARTCI DRILLING NEEDED NOW WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. should immediately begin a push to exploit its enormous trove of oil in the Arctic waters off of Alaska, or risk a renewed reliance on imported oil in the future, an Energy Department advisory council says in a study submitted Friday. The U.S. has drastically cut imports and transformed itself into the world’s biggest producer of oil and natural gas by tapping huge reserves in shale rock formations. But the government predicts that the shale boom won’t last much beyond the next decade.
SWISS BANKERS AVOID US PRISON, PROBATION FOR TAX FRAUD ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) — Two former Swiss bankers avoided jail time Friday for their roles in a tax fraud scheme that helped U.S. customers hide billions of dollars in assets. Prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Alexandria recommended probation for the two men, Andreas Bachmann and Josef Dorig. The two were among eight former employees of Zurich-based Credit Suisse and its subsidiaries who were indicted in 2011. The other six remain at large.
YELLEN: A RATE INCREASE MAY BE WARRANTED WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that continued improvement in the U.S. economy means an increase in the Fed’s key interest rate could come later this year. But Yellen stressed that any rate increases would likely be very gradual. The Fed has kept its benchmark rate at a record low near zero for more than six years. Yellen said in a speech in San Francisco that the time to start raising the rate could occur “sometime this year,” though she said that time hasn’t yet arrived.