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Because Chicago is home to approximately 80 wind companies, including corporate headquarters and turbine factories, the city is seen as a hub for the wind industry.   With plenty of farmland suited to wind turbines, Illinois has a law mandating that the state gets at least 18 percent of its electricity from wind by 2025.  Unfortunately, […]

With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act now the law of the land, commercial real estate executives are waiting to see what impact the legislation will have on their business.   Consensus is that the new healthcare law changes crucial demand drivers for real estate by introducing alternative models to deliver medical services.  The potential […]

The Federal Reserve – in a highly unusual action – is defending its recent purchase of Treasury bonds in an effort to get the U.S. economy moving. Critics of the decision to purchase additional assets, led by former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, conservative economists and writers, representatives of foreign governments – not to mention Sarah […]

The white pages are heading into retirement, as regulators in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida have approved Verizon Communications Inc.’s wish to no longer distribute residential phone books. According to phone companies, the majority of people now look up numbers on the internet instead of consulting the bulky book.  “Anyone who doesn’t have access to […]

The newly empowered Republicans in the House of Representatives will attempt to rein in regulators who are in the process of implementing the comprehensive reform of financial rules and advocate for a smaller government role in the mortgage market.  By taking control of the House in the recent mid-term elections, the GOP will have more […]

Although millions of Americans are paying their under water mortgages on time – sometimes with difficulty — it still could prove to be a source of trouble.  Because home prices are stagnant, many owners are using their hard-earned dollars to pay the mortgage and less on consumer spending.  In the long term, that is not […]

The Department of Justice has opened an investigation to determine whether banks and other financial institutions broke federal law by using deceptive court documents to foreclose on homes.  Although the investigation is just underway, it will probe whether companies deceived federal housing agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which currently insure a large percentage […]

A recent Washington Post poll found that 53 percent of all Americans are concerned that they will not be able to pay their mortgage or rent, despite the fact that they believe the economy has shown some improvement since the dark days of 2008.  The worry is driven by slow job creation, said Karen Dynan, […]

The ultimate cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $154 billion unless the economy improves, according to a government report.  The mortgage giants rescue – which has kept the housing market on life supports – already has cost $135 billion to cover losses on home loans in default.  […]

A total of $1.4 trillion worth of commercial real estate loans are coming due between now and 2014, with the majority on small- and medium-sized buildings that are either under water or very nearly there.  Writing for the Huffington Post, Daphne Wysham says that “crisis breeds opportunity. It turns out that buildings are responsible for […]