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Washington, D.C. office leasing is on the upswing for the first time in a year.  Not surprisingly for the District, the rise in leasing activity is driven primarily by expanding federal agencies. A study by CB Richard Ellis of fourth quarter leasing activity showed that the private sector is again leasing space they had subleased […]

India is expected to grow at 7.5 percent this year, up from 6 percent in 2008 — a rate that is the envy of most of the world.  To buoy its economic prospects, the Indian Government has raised more than $100 billion over the last four quarters to finance a stimulus package, pushing the country’s […]

David Tepper’s shrewd bet that the nation would avoid a second Great Depression inspired him to buy bank shares at rock-bottom rates, a move that has earned his Appaloosa Management hedge fund an estimated $7 billion worth of profit during 2009.  Last winter, Tepper invested heavily in Bank of America stocks selling for $3 a […]

London has overtaken Washington, D.C., as the preferred city for commercial real estate investment,  primarily because investors believe that prices have bottomed out and the time to get into that market is now. The British capital has overtaken the previous favorites of Washington, D.C., and New York, according to a survey conducted by the Association […]

President Barack Obama is angry with the big Wall Street banks that took TARP dollars and plans to do something about it.  “We want our money back and we’re going to get it,” Obama said in a White House speech when he proposed the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee.  “If these companies are in good enough […]

Apartment vacancies in the United States hit a 30-year high during the fourth quarter of 2009 as many would-be renters moved in with family or roommates to save money.  According to Reis, Inc., a New York research firm that tracks vacancies and rents in 79 markets across the country, the apartment vacancy rate was eight […]

The long-time bible of the shrinking newspaper industry, Editor & Publisher, has announced that it will cease publication both in print and online at the end of 2009. Announcement of the end of the venerable publication, whose roots extend back to 1884, was met by surprise and outpourings of strong support.  Ironically for a publication […]

A Federal Reserve official predicts that 2010 will see a continuing moderate economic recovery with interest rates kept “exceptionally low” to encourage job creation.  Elizabeth Duke, a Fed governor, said “In the current environment, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) continues to anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal […]

Foreign banks, American private equity firms and a leading Chinese sovereign wealth fund have been investing in commercial real estate in the United States in the hope that interest rates stay low. This increasing interest from investors could be a sign that the market is experiencing some stabilization.  According to Bob Steers, co-chairman of Cohen […]

By 2015, green buildings could constitute approximately half of all commercial space, according to a study by Good Energies, Inc., a New York venture capital firm.  Although sustainable initiatives were perceived as a niche market just 10 years ago, developers now realize that going green in new and renovation projects is not as expensive as […]