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.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended 239.11 points, or 1.5%, lower at 16,253.57. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 27.37 points, or 0.8%, to 1,942.04. The NASDAQ composite fell 55.40 points, or 1.2%, to 4,756.53.
U.S. crude fell $1.79 to close at $44.15 a barrel in New York. Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.94 to close at $47.58 in London, reversing Monday’s steep decline. Wholesale gasoline fell 4.2 cents to close at $1.360 a gallon. Heating oil fell 5.5 cent to close at $1.539 a gallon. Natural gas fell 5.9 cents to close at $2.651 per 1,000 cubic feet.
City of Tucson tax amnesty program in full swing - The City of Tucson is offering the business community a Tax Amnesty Program. This rare opportunity allows Tucson business owners to submit delinquent sales tax or license fees without penalty and reduced interest on delinquent balances. This is also an opportunity for unlicensed Tucson businesses to get licensed without penalty. The amnesty period began last Tuesday and will run through the end of next month. During the last Tax Amnesty Program in 2009, 598 businesses participated. Please visit the link below to learn more about the eligibility requirements for this year's program. (NewsNet)
Voter approved road work resumes on portion of East 22nd Street - Work began today on asphalt repairs on 22nd Street, from Pantano Road to Sarnoff Drive, in preparation for the final paving on 22nd Street. The repairs are scheduled to be finished by this Friday. Crews from Southern Arizona Paving, under contract with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation, will work from 6 a.m.-4 p.m. each day, and there will be 24-hour lane restrictions. At least one lane in each direction will be maintained during the work. Preparation work for the final paving will begin next Monday, and the project is expected to be finished by Sept. 17. The project is part of the voter-approved, $100 million, five-year Road Recovery street bond program. (Press Release)
Haggen files for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, blaming its takeover of 146 stores from rival supermarket chain Albertsons, and plans to reorganize around its profitable locations. Haggen, based in Washington state, sued Albertsons last week for damages that it said could exceed $1 billion, alleging its rival had failed to adhere to the terms of a $300 million purchase agreement for the stores it bought last year. (Yahoo Finance)
Investors Cool Off on REIT Sector “Investors aren’t treating real-estate investment trusts like hot properties anymore. An index of REIT stocks is on track for its worst year since 2008 after a six-year rally pushed it up 348%, including dividends, from its financial-crisis-era low, as of Friday’s close.” (Wall Street Journal)
Citigroup Sees 55% Risk of Global Recession Made in China “Citigroup Inc. is sounding the alarm bells for the world economy. In an analysis published late on Tuesday, the New York-based bank’s chief economist, Willem Buiter, said there is a 55 percent chance of some form of global recession in the next couple of years, most likely one of moderate depth and length.” (Bloomberg)
How Bank of China Helps Keep New York City’s Commercial Real Estate Market Afloat “As US banks reduced their average loan size and exposure to the market after the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of China stepped in. The Chinese group lent increasingly more money until this year, when lending abruptly slowed down, according to data from CrediFi, which tracks commercial real estate lending in the US.” (Quartz)
Tight Housing Market North of L.A. to Get 1,500 New Homes “Limoneira Co., a citrus and avocado-farming company, is developing a $1 billion project for 1,500 homes in a supply-constrained area north of Los Angeles. The Santa Paula Gateway project is expected over 10 years to provide at least 25 percent of the new homes in Ventura County, where new non-agricultural developments require voter approval, according to Limoneira Chief Executive Officer Harold Edwards.” (Bloomberg)
Macy’s to Add Best Buy-Run Electronics Department in Some Stores “The nation’s last-standing, national consumer electronics chain is joining forces with Macy’s. Best Buy has inked an agreement with the department store to test licensed consumer electronics departments in 10 Macy M +1.30% stores, slated to open in November 2015. Best Buy licensed shops will occupy about 300 square feet in Macy’s stores across various markets throughout the U.S.” (Forbes)
Credit Suisse Ordered to Pay Hedge Fund Over Real Estate Deal “A judge on Friday said Credit Suisse must pay a unit of Highland Capital Management $287.5 million over a soured real-estate loan, a win for James Dondero’s hedge-fund firm in its multipronged fight against the Swiss bank over luxury developments, The Wall Street Journal reports.” (Wall Street Journal)
Manocherians Buy Times Square Hotel Parcel for $81M “Real estate investor Jed Manocherian acquired a Times Square property housing a 300-room Hampton Inn for $80.9 million from South Carolina-based OTO Development, according to property records filed with the city Tuesday. Manocherian bought the property at 220-226 West 41st Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, through BMS Management — a Houston-based company part of the Manocherian family’s portfolio of real estate holdings.” (The Real Deal)
Kenneth Thompson is Making Real Estate an Important Issue for the Brooklyn DA’s Office “There are times when justice needs to put aside the talk and deliver a clean, swift blow to a crook—and in April, Kenneth P. Thompson, the Brooklyn District Attorney, found what he believed to be two worthy malefactors. He doled out indictments to Aaron and Joel Israel, two brothers who had been hounding their rent-stabilized tenants at four of their buildings in Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.” (Commercial Observer)
Foreclosures Down 28%, Lowest Level Since 2007 “And in another round of good news for the housing market, July saw only 38,000 foreclosures nationwide, the lowest foreclosure rate since 2007. The foreclosure figures are down 24.4% from last July, representing an overall 67.9% decrease from the peak month of September 2010's 117,225 homes.” (Bisnow)