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.
Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 140.10 points, or 0.8%, to 16,739.95. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 17.22 points, or 0.9%, to 1,995.31. The NASDAQ composite added 28.72 points, or 0.6%, to 4,889.24.
U.S. benchmark crude jumped $2.56 to $47.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for many international types of oil imported into the U.S., gained $2, or 4.2 per cent, to $49.75 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline gained 4.92 cents to $1.382 a gallon. Heating oil rose 4.14 cents to $1.541 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6.8 cents to $2.66 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The Doomsayer's Guide to the Fed, Rates and What Could Go Wrong “It’s the most closely dissected and highly anticipated decision on U.S. interest rates in recent memory. Traders and analysts alike have had years to prepare. So if the Federal Reserve finally does raise rates this week, what could possibly go wrong?” (Bloomberg)
4.4 Million U.S. Properties Remain in Negative Equity “According to Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic, 759,000 U.S. properties regained equity in the second quarter of 2015, bringing the total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity at the end of Q2 2015 to approximately 45.9 million, or 91 percent of all mortgaged properties.” (World Property Journal)
Big Retailers, Delivery Firms Face Struggle to Find Holiday Workers “For the past two years, Amazon.com Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and other big retailers have been flinging up warehouses and distribution centers across the country to get their online orders to customers faster.” (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. Grocery Chain Albertsons to Press Ahead with IPO: Sources “U.S. supermarket chain Albertsons Companies Inc is moving ahead with plans for an initial public offering in late September or early October that could value it as much as $24 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.” (Business Insider)
Steve Madden, Kate Spade Top the Fastest Growing Retailers in 2015 “Despite sluggish retail growth earlier this year, consumer spending is gradually picking up in part thanks to low gas prices.” (Forbes)
Is It Too Late for American Apparel to Overcome Its Legal and Financial Problems? “Finally, a bit of good news for American Apparel Inc.: The troubled retailer is not on the hook for legal fees rung up by its former chief executive, Dov Charney, dismissed in December amid wide-ranging questions about his behavior and suitability for the job.” (Market Watch)
After 100 Years in New York, Cushman & Wakefield Relocates Global HQ to Chicago “Now that Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ have completed their $2 billion merger, change is coming to Chicago, both in name and in practice.” (Crain’s New York Business)
Fred DeLuca, Co-Founder of Subway Sandwich Chain, Dies at 67 “Fred DeLuca, who in 1965, at 17, borrowed $1,000 to open a sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Conn., to help pay college expenses and parlayed that experience into building Subway, the world’s largest chain of fast-food franchises, died on Monday night. He was 67.” (New York Times)
Pelosi's HBO Documentary Takes on S.F. Developers (Video) “Nancy Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra, has made a documentary with HBO exploring the thorny issue of gentrification and income inequality sweeping San Francisco.” (San Francisco Business Times)
Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Acquires Three Properties Totaling 607,000 sq. ft. “Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc. announced the acquisition of three properties, located in Florida, California and Colorado, purchased in August on behalf of an Inland affiliate. The acquisitions collectively total more than $104 million for approximately 607,000 sq. ft. of commercial real estate.” (Chain Store Age)
US homebuilder sentiment hits highest level since Oct. 2005 feeling slightly more optimistic about the housing market, nudging their confidence this month to a level not seen since the high-flying days of the housing boom nearly 10 years ago. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday rose this month to 62, up from 61 in August. The last time the reading was higher was October 2005 at 68. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. The index has been consistently above 50 since July last year, reflecting a gradual rebound in sales of new homes.
Foreign holdings of US Treasury securities drop in July — Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities fell again in July as China, the biggest foreign owner of U.S. government debt, cut back its holdings. The Treasury Department said Wednesday in its monthly report that total holdings dropped 1.6% to $6.08 trillion, down from $6.18 trillion in June. The July decline marked the third drop in the past four months.
US Census: Income, poverty numbers stay just about the same — The wallets of America’s middle class and poorest aren’t seeing any extra money, the U.S. Census reported Wednesday, a financial stagnation experts say may be fueling political dissent this campaign season. The Census Bureau, in its annual look at poverty and income in the United States, said both the country’s median income and poverty rate were statistically unchanged in 2014 from the previous year. Median income — the point where half of the households have income below it and half have income above it — showed no statistically significant change, despite the small drop to $53,700 in 2014 from 2013’s $54,500. Median income is a broad measure of the economic health of the middle class.