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.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10.01 points, or 0.6%, to close at 1,754.67. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.46 points, or 0.5%, to 15,467.66. The NASDAQ composite was up 9.52 points, or 0.2%, at 3,929.57.
Benchmark U.S. crude for November delivery dropped $1.42. or 1.4%, to close at $97.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
SLUGGISH HIRING SHOWS EFFECTS OF BUDGET IMPASSE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A dim view of the U.S. job market emerged Tuesday with a report that employers cut back on hiring in September just before a partial government shutdown began. Just 148,000 jobs were added last month, a steep drop from August’s gain, though they were enough to lower unemployment to 7.2% from 7.3% in August. The report bolsters expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain its pace of bond purchases for the rest of 2013 to try to keep long-term loan rates low.The government’s release of the September jobs report had been delayed 2 1/2 weeks by the shutdown. Temporary layoffs during the 16-day shutdown will probably depress October’s job gain. That means a clear picture of the job market won’t emerge before November jobs figures are issued in December.
MORE CITIES USING BONDS TO SHORE UP PENSIONS, BUT EXPERTS WARN AGAINST THE PRACTICE
Despite what finance experts say is a significant risk, cities across the nation are borrowing money to bolster their employee retirement accounts. Nashville was the latest to consider such a move, but Mayor Karl Dean's administration withdrew the proposal last week after intense criticism. The city had considered borrowing $200 million to help reduce nearly $400 million of unfunded liability in its pension plan. Elsewhere this year, the Connecticut towns of Hamden and Stratford agreed this year to borrow up to $125 million and $220 million, respectively, via pension obligation bonds. Fort Lauderdale issued $337 million in bonds last year to cover $400 million of unfunded liability in two separate retirement funds. Oakland, the city believed to have issued the first pension obligation bond in 1985, again used them last year to pump more than $200 million into the city's retirement account for police and firefighters. from USA Today
TSA BEGINS EXPEDITED CHECK-IN SERVICE AT TUCSON IINTERNATIONAL
TUCSON - Airline passengers can now take advantage of expedited "PreCheck" screening lanes at Tucson International Airport that don't require them to take off their shoes and belts or open their laptop cases. The TSA this week opened a PreCheck lane on the B Concourse at the airport during peak morning hours. A second PreCheck, on the A Concourse, should be open by the end of October.
HUD THREATENS TO PULL ARIZONA HOUSING AID
TEMPE - The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is threatening to pull all federal housing aid to Arizona unless it limits the number of hearing-impaired residents to 18 people at an apartment complex built specifically for the deaf, Fox News reports. HUD, which approved and helped fund the project in 2008, now says Apache ASL Trails in Tempe violates civil rights law — because it shows a preference for the hearing-impaired. The agency said it won’t forcibly remove current residents, but wants many of the 74 units to be blocked off to deaf residents in the future once they leave. For the full story, click here.
AV HOMES EXPANDIN INTO CAROLINAS MARKET
PHOENIX - AV Homes Inc. is expanding into the Carolinas market with a new division office led by Bill Kiselick. This announcement coincides with AV Homes' first land purchase in North Carolina, reports website Building Online. AV Homes purchased a 650-unit active adult community in the planned 357-acre mixed-use development of Bethpage in Durham. In addition, the Scottsdale homebuilder announced the purchase of 86 home sites in the Cortessa master-planned community in metropolitan Phoenix. The new community will be marketed under the name "Mountain Trails at Cortessa." The community will offer single and two-story homes ranging in size from 1,560 to 3,600 square feet with an estimated starting price in the $160s. Home sales are expected to begin in December.
HAWAIIAN COMPANY AWARDED $7.8 M DAVIS MONTHAN CONTRACT
TUCSON - The Hawaii-based health care staffing company Kuhana Associates, LLC was awarded a contract modification worth a maximum of $7.8 million for providing health care workers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base southeast of downtown Tucson. Pacific Business News reports that the work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30.
JOHNSON BANK CLOSING FOUR OF NINE BRANCHES IN ARISONA
PHOENIX - Johnson Bank said Thursday it plans to close four of its nine branches in Arizona in a cost-cutting move. The announcement that the bank will close branches in Phoenix, Mesa, Peoria and Rio Verde on Jan. 8 comes about two weeks after Racine-based Johnson Bank said it planned to shut down three branches in Wisconsin. Branches in Lake Geneva, Sheboygan and Racine are set to close Dec. 17. The closings and consolidations will affect about 12 employees in Arizona and 12 in Wisconsin, the bank said.
CHAIN STORE SALES RISE 4% IN SEPTEMBER
Stronger than expected consumer demand in September spurred a 4 percent year over year rise in chain store sales, according to projections from the International Council of Shopping Centers. Drug store sales catapulted to the top of the chain store market, rising 6 percent. “The drug store segment posted its strongest monthly showing since April 2007,” says Michael P. Niemira, vice president of research and chief economist at ICSC. “This seemingly heralds the full recovery of this segment after an extended period of weakness.” Comparable store sales are predicted to jump another 3 percent to 4 percent in October. However, the now diverted government shutdown that loomed over consumers the first half of this month may contribute to a weaker sales forecast going forward. from ICSC newsletter
APPLE UNVEILS NEW MACS, iPAD AHEAD OF HOLIDAYS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple Inc. is refreshing its iPad lineup and slashing the price of its Mac computers ahead of the holiday shopping season, as it faces an eroding tablet market share and growing competition from rival gadget makers. The company unveiled a new, thinner, lighter tablet called the “iPad Air” along with a slew of new Macs Tuesday at an event in San Francisco.The product reveal comes as iPad’s market share has been eroding, compared with cheaper rivals running Google Inc.’s Android operating system. Research firm Gartner Inc. estimates that Android tablets will end 2013 with a 50% share of the worldwide market versus 49 per cent for the iPad. Just two years ago, the iPad commanded a 65% market share compared to 30% for Android tablets.
NY COMPTROLLER: WALL STREET PROFITS MAY SLOW
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Though Wall Street recorded $10.1 billion in profits for the first half of 2013, New York’s comptroller said Tuesday that federal budget dithering, higher interest rates and litigation may slow earnings for the last half in a securities industry that’s kept trimming jobs. In a report, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli projected that overall earnings will be limited to $15 billion this year, compared with $23.9 billion last year, but still part of the rebound from the 2008 crash of the financial markets and the national recession.