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Shipping activity has plunged as much as one-third at U.S. ports most heavily invested in the once red-hot but now declining Asia trade. Freight rates from South China to Europe have slid as much as 42 percent from some ports since November, leading shipping industry authority Drewry Container Freight Rate Insight Report to speculate that […]

The Obama administration has proposed the most comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s financial industry since the Great Depression.  The measures, as outlined by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, will require regulation of hedge funds for the first time and give government wide-ranging powers to seize and take apart companies that are perceived as threats […]

To sweeten the pot after luring brewing giant MillerCoors LLC to the Windy City, the City of Chicago has agreed to create a $6 million tax-increment financing deal for the firm’s new corporate headquarters at 250 South Wacker Drive.  Even with a budget shortfall nudging $500 million, the City is kicking in significant funds to bring […]

The Wells Fargo wagon delivered good news to Wall Street when the San Francisco-based bank announced a record first-quarter profit of approximately $3 billion, or 55 percent per common share.  Contrast these numbers with the fourth quarter of 2008, when Wells Fargo reported a $2.6 billion loss. The news sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average […]

Cornerstone’s  impact on Grayslake and Lake County goes far beyond the jobs, residences, shopping and entertainment opportunities it creates.  We specifically designed the project to create positive financial benefits for the schools that will serve the 650-acre mixed-use community. Cornerstone will benefit local school districts’ financial health at a time when the tax revenues that […]

Cornerstone’s launch fulfills William A. Alter’s 30-year vision that began when the legendary real estate titan acquired the first of what now comprises 650 acres in central Lake County. As a mixed-use development pioneer, Bill Alter understood that differing residential products could- and would — flourish, complete with nearby stores.  Cornerstone is taking Bill’s vision […]

The CMBS market is anything but rotten in the state of Denmark. While the American mortgage securitization system crumbles, the Danes are successfully securitizing commercial and residential loans exactly as they have since 1797.  That’s when Nykredit Realkredit – Denmark’s largest mortgage bank – was established.  And, there hasn’t been a single Danish mortgage bond […]

The renaming of Sears Tower points up one of the fundamental aspects of marketing – that of brand equity. By virtue of marketing and 25 years of public relations, the name Sears Tower has enormous cachet around the world and has brought the city the kind of exposure that can’t be quantified. While the Sears […]

The successful auction of 45 condominiums at the Vetro project in the South Loop raked in sales of more than $12.1 million – though sharply discounted at $258 PSF.  That’s 73 percent of the original $353 PSF asking price, but far better than the 61 percent the auctioneers expected. This isn’t the first time that […]

One of Chicago’s most visited real estate icons — and the Western Hemisphere’s tallest building — is getting a new name.  And Chicagoans are not thrilled. Under the terms of a significant lease signed by global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, Ltd., the 110-story, 1,450-foot-tall Sears Tower will change its name to the Willis Tower. […]