Here are the news stories you might find interesting today:
To view the SRP/Phoenix Business Journal September 10, 2009 business meetings, click here. One of the most interesting slides is #31. Phoenix has always bounced back faster to the #2 or #1 spot for employment growth rate and ranking since 1972. From the information, it could be deduced that when it is bad here, it can take 24-36 months before we are back up to #2 or #1. So, as we turn the corner, get ready!
Opus West’s sister company is sold
The sister company that handled property-management services for now-bankrupt Opus West Corp. has been sold to a large commercial real-estate management firm, which company officials said would affect about 2 million square feet of Valley office space.
Arizona jobless forecast worsens
| Arizona’s job outlook is getting worse. The Department of Commerce is forecasting the state will lose a record 178,500 jobs this year, 32,000 more than it was projecting in April. And a top economist says that, although the rate of job losses will slow next year, it will be at least another 12 months before the state sees any employment growth. |
Report: Hiring to improve in October
| Modest hiring this month is expected to bring more jobs than layoffs in manufacturing and services, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s latest employment report. |
New rules increase real estate’s impact on balance sheets (This is really going to impact the STNL Market)
Proposed new accounting rules would dramatically impact balance sheets and earnings for owners of commercial real estate, CB Richard Ellis said in a report. The financial consequences of proposed new lease rules easily could total more than $1 trillion for companies in the U.S., the firm said. The implications of writing down the value of real estate owned by a corporation under mark-to-market rules are particularly complicated, said Todd P. Anderson, a senior managing director with CB Richard Ellis and co-author of the report.
Mortgage delinquencies still rising
| A quarterly report from the agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shows delinquencies on mortgages backed by the two rose 21 percent in the second quarter. |
Navajos, Hopis shun environmentalists
| The Navajo and Hopi tribes are upset with environmentalists over coal mining and energy production on tribal lands in northeastern Arizona. |
Valley firm to provide electric-car chargers
| A subsidiary of Scottsdale-based ECOtality Inc. signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy for a grant of $99.8 million to deploy what the company said is the largest charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in history. |
Jobless rate reaches 9.8 percent in September
| WASHINGTON – The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected. |
Bach: Weak Jobs Report Is Unwelcome News for Leasing Markets
Hopes for a brisk return to health in the U.S. labor market and commercial real estate were dealt a setback Friday morning when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that non-farm payrolls fell by a worse than expected 263,000 in September. The consensus among economists prior to release of the jobs report had been for non-farm payrolls to drop by approximately 175,000.
Online fashion site blooms into Mesa store
| Cherry Frequency sells designer clothing and art, and works with local artists and fashion designers to sell their creations. |
Valley losing at least six Game Crazy stores
| Nerdvana: Game Crazy, the video game retailer and reseller owned by Movie Gallery, is closing 200 stores and this weekend began liquidating at least six Valley locations. |
Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.