- Fed to Stop Shrinking Portfolio This Year, Powell Says “The Federal Reserve will stop shrinking its $4 trillion balance sheet later this year, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday, ending a process that investors say works at cross-purposes with the Fed’s current pause on interest-rate hikes. ‘We’ve worked out, I think, the framework of a plan that we hope to be able to announce soon that will light the way all the way to the end of balance sheet normalization,’ Powell told members of the House Financial Services Committee in what were his most detailed remarks to date on the subject.” (Reuters)
- U.S. Economy Cooled as G.D.P. Grew at 2.6% Rate in Fourth Quarter “The American economy slowed at the end of 2018 — and there could be a further slowdown to come. Gross domestic product — the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the United States — grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That marks a significant slowdown from the middle of the year, when a sugar high fueled by tax cuts and government spending increases briefly pushed growth above 4 percent.” (The New York Times)
- J.C. Penney to Close 18 Department Stores This Year as Sales Fall “J.C. Penney Co. said it would close 18 department stores and nine home and furniture stores this year, as the retailer struggles to stabilize its sales. The company said Thursday that net sales fell 10% to $3.67 billion in the three months ended Feb. 2. Sales at stores open at least a year declined 6% in the holiday quarter, when retailers make up a significant percentage of sales. Excluding an extra week in the latest period, comparable sales fell 4% from a year ago.” (Wall Street Journal)
- ‘Total Scam’ or “Fabulous’? Why Airbnb Deeply Divides Us “The Times story revealing the inner-workings of a group’s multimillion-dollar Airbnb scheme — unlawfully using the site to convert scores of Manhattan apartments into makeshift hotels — reverberated with readers around the world. We heard from hosts who share their homes to make ends meet, families who live next door to apartments rented out on Airbnb and travelers who use Airbnb — as well as those who prefer not to.” (The New York Times)
- L Brands to Close 53 Victoria’s Secret Stores, Says ‘Everything Is on the Table’ for Lingerie Brand “’Everything is on the table’ for L Brands' struggling Victoria's Secret brand, company executives said Thursday morning, as the company plans to close roughly 53 of its stores in 2019. The company has pulled back on investing in new and remodeled Victoria's Secret stores, and is speeding up its store closure plans up from its previous average of roughly 15 store closures a year, executives said during a conference call Thursday.” (CNBC)
- California Cities Graded on Housing Creation, But Process Is Flawed “Figuring out which California cities and counties are doing the best — or worst — job of creating housing is no easy task, but a report issued Thursday by Beacon Economics makes an attempt. The report grades each of California’s 539 cities and counties based on their progress toward meeting goals set out in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. This is a statewide program that determines how much housing a local jurisdiction should create at four different income levels over a five- or eight-year cycle.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Real Estate Giants Try to be More Like WeWork, Before it Overtakes Them “In the fight for the future of the real estate industry, legacy firms are trying to figure out how to contend with WeWork. The beer-loving co-working startup that landlords once welcomed has grown into something much more complicated and powerful, in part through technology. The company has developed both consumer facing tech, like an app for booking conference rooms and checking out events in its co-working spaces, as well as operational analytics that makes its offices and overall business more efficient.” (Fast Company)
- People, Get Ready for Extended Slowdown in CRE Demand “A who’s who of the commercial property cognoscenti gather each December in New York for ULI’s McCoy Symposium. Late cycle risks were a prominent topic of discussion. Risk pricing, for instance, was seen as ripe for adjustment with cap rates rated as ‘too low’ given prospects for income growth and capital appreciation. One participant suggested that a downward price correction of about 10 percent could actually be healthy for the industry.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- Woodstock Generation Changes the World of Senior Living “As the silver tsunami of baby boomers rushes in at record speed toward retirement, senior-livin specialists are doing what they can to cater retirement communities toward their needs. The problem is, the kids who grew up during the time of free love, free choice and rebellion are not going into their platinum years without a fight.” (Commercial Observer)
- The Changing Face of the Construction Site “The construction industry is slowly entering a new era, where innovative technologies are at the foundation of alternative delivery methods. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and augmented reality are already part of modern construction projects. Commercial Property Executive talked with San Jose-based Rosendin’s Division Manager Brandon Stephens and Project Manager Mark Stone to gain some insights on how the construction industry is adapting to the changing workforce landscape and what’s expected going forward.” (Commercial Property Executive)
0 comments
Hide comments