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.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.09 points, or 0.01%, to 17,685.73. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 3.08 points, or 0.2%, to close at 2,048.72. The NASDAQ composite shed 26.73 points, or 0.6% per cent, to 4,675.71.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 3 cents to close at $74.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 37 cents to close at $78.10 on the ICE Futures exchange in London. In other trading, Wholesale gasoline rose 0.1 cent to close at $2.044 a gallon. Heating oil fell 2.2 cents to close at $2.359 a gallon. Natural gas rose 12.7 cents to close at $4.371 per 1,000 cubic feet.
SIMON MAY SEEK TO UP ITS 3.6% STAKE IN MACERICH
Simon Property Group announced it has accumulated a 3.6 percent ownership stake in Macerich Co., and wants the Santa Monica, Calif.–based REIT to let it buy even more. Macerich currently has an excess share provision that prevents any one firm from owning more than 5 percent of its outstanding shares. But Macerich recently waived that provision to allow for its recently announced deal to sell a 10.9 percent stake to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. And Simon says it may ask for a similar waiver, setting the stage for potential further consolidation in the U.S. mall sector. Simon owns or has an interest in 228 retail real estate properties comprising 189 million square feet in North America, Europe and Asia. Simon also owns a 28.9 percent ownership interest in Klépierre, a Paris-based landlord with retail centers in 13 European countries. Macerich, meanwhile, owns 56 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 52 U.S. regional shopping centers. The two firms’ portfolios overlap in a few major markets including New York City, where Macerich owns Elmhurst, N.Y.’s Queens Center and Simon owns Garden City, N.Y.’s Roosevelt Field.
SHOWDOWN LOOMS BETWEEN US GOV’T, AIR BAG MAKER
DETROIT (AP) — A showdown is looming between U.S. safety regulators and a Japanese company that makes air bags linked to multiple deaths and injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants Takata Corp. to recall millions of potentially faulty driver’s side air bag inflators. The air bags can explode with too much force, sending metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment. But Takata is holding to its stance that current recalls, issued only in high-humidity areas mainly in the South, are enough. The company says a broader recall isn’t supported by the evidence. The NHTSA said that unless Takata and the car companies agree to the national recall quickly, it will use the full extent of its power to get the recall done.
FED SEES SOLID US ECONOMY, DESPITE NEW THREATS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policy-makers discussed a variety of economic threats at their October meeting — from turbulent financial markets to overseas weakness — but decided to move forward with plans to end their landmark bond buying program. Minutes of the Fed’s Oct. 28-29 meeting released on Thursday showed that Fed officials grappled with a number of developments, from sharp moves in U.S. stock prices to increased signs of weakness in such key regions as Europe and Asia. Private economists do not expect the Fed to begin raising interest rates until mid-2015.
ARE WOMEN OVERCHARGED? FRANCE PROBES PRICE OF PINK
PARIS (AP) — Hair salons do it, dry cleaners do it, and so do department stores. Now France wants to know why women seem to be paying more than men for some goods and services. The question was first taken up by a group of French activists inspired by a study that found American women overpay hundreds of dollars a year for the same products. The activists persuaded the Economy Ministry this month to launch an in-depth study to determine what price differences exist in France, the reasons behind them and which sectors are most affected. Findings are expected early next year.
UBER INVESTIGATING IF EXEC BROKE PRIVACY RULES
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber Technologies is investigating whether one of its general managers violated the popular car-booking service’s privacy policies by snooping on a reporter’s whereabouts. The probe, confirmed Wednesday, stems from allegations that the general manager of Uber’s New York office used a company tracking tool to monitor the location of a BuzzFeed reporter earlier this month. Uber said access to the personal data of anyone using its car service is limited to “legitimate business purposes” and employees that violated the rules may be fired. News of the investigation followed a separate BuzzFeed story reporting that another Uber executive recently threatened to look into the personal lives of journalists who have criticized Uber.
JET BLUE TO ADD BAG FEES ON CHEAPEST TICKETS
NEW YORK (AP) — JetBlue will add bag fees and squeeze seats a bit closer together as it tries to boost profit. The airline said Wednesday that it will create three ticket classes beginning in the first half of 2015, and only the top two include at least one free checked bag. Other big airlines have added fees on checked bags since 2008, when they needed money to cover rising fuel costs. JetBlue’s decision will leave Southwest as the only major U.S. airline to let all passengers check a bag free.
TARGET REBOUNDS IN THIRD QUARTER ON SOLID SALES
NEW YORK (AP) — Target reported a 3.2% rise in its third-quarter profit and beat Wall Street expectations as shoppers spent more on beauty products, toys and back-to-school items. The results, which marked its first increase in a key revenue measure in a year, shows how the company is successfully moving beyond a massive data breach disclosed a week before last Christmas. That sent customers fleeing for months and hurt sales and profits.
VW RECALLS 442,000 CARS TO FIX SUSPENSION PROBLEM
DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen is recalling 442,000 Jettas and Beetles to fix a problem that can cause rear suspension failure if the cars aren’t fixed properly after a crash. The recall covers 2011 through 2013 Jettas and 2012 through 2013 Beetles. VW said in documents posted by U.S. safety regulators on Wednesday that if rear trailing arms are damaged in a crash and not repaired correctly, they can fracture suddenly. That can cause loss of control and possibly a crash. Trailing arms connect the axle to the frame.
US EXCHANGES WILL HAVE TO TEST TRADING SYSTEMS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. stock exchanges will have to keep a closer eye on their electronic trading systems under rules adopted by federal regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday to require routine testing of exchanges’ trading systems. The exchanges also will be required to notify the SEC about problems, including any systems that are compromised by hacking. Any problems must be quickly corrected. The SEC action follows a series of technical disruptions in recent years — notably the “flash crash” of May 2010 — that regulators say shook investors’ confidence in the markets.
TIMBERLAKE BECOMES CO-OWNER OF AUDIO TECH COMPANY
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Timberlake is now a co-owner of the audio technology company AfterMaster Audio Labs Inc. AfterMaster, a subsidiary of Studio One Media Inc., announced Wednesday that the Grammy-winning pop star will join the company, which focuses on enhancing and re-mastering audio. The 33-year-old Timberlake joins the company’s founders, CEO Larry Ryckman and chief engineer Shelly Yakus. AfterMaster’s technology will be offered in a chip that could be embedded in products such as mobile devices, headphones and televisions. It will also be available in software form for computers and streaming services.