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The $625 million sale of the 49-story Hyatt Center at 71 South Wacker Drive is proof that the market is still strong for high-credit trophy buildings; the price represents a 6.1 percent cap rate.  The purchaser is Southern California-based Irvine Companies, which plans to close the deal as quickly as possible. The $419 PSF sales […]

With the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 9.8 percent in November,  the Department of Labor is concerned that economic recovery isn’t progressing as quickly as it would prefer.  For the 19th consecutive month, unemployment has stayed above nine percent — the longest streak on record, beating out previous highs in the 1980s.   Despite optimistic predictions […]

The current ultra-low interest rates are hurting profit margins at banks that depend on the gap between what they charge borrowers and pay depositors to make money.   Pension funds also are hurting, because they are under growing pressure to meet their retirees’ obligations.  Meanwhile, some types of insurance are more costly as firms attempt to […]

The Obama administration is leaning on mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down underwater loans and make life easier for homeowners who are at risk of default and may see their personal finances deteriorate.  The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants Fannie and Freddie to join a Federal Housing Authority (FHA) program […]

The last residents of Cabrini Green have left the infamous Chicago Housing Authority residential project, long a symbol of the failure of public housing in American cities.   Since the Chicago Housing Authority unveiled its “Plan for Transformation” in 2000, more than 1,700 families have been relocated from Cabrini Green to other housing.  Approximately 50 percent […]

The estimated cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) keeps falling, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).   The latest estimate is that TARP will cost the taxpayers just $25 billion – significantly less than the $700 billion allocated for the financial bailout in the fall of 2008.  The CBO’s last estimate – […]

The annual ritual of heading to the local Christmas tree lot or cut-it-down-yourself farm is giving way to the age of the internet and online buying.   Even Rick Dungey, a spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association, has joined the trend, saying “I point and click and it shows up on my front door.  For […]

The Pontiac – renowned for its muscle cars in the 1960s and 1970s – recently ended its 84-year run when General Motors (GM) pulled the plug on the once-iconic brand.  Pontiacs – which peaked at nearly one million sales a year in 1968 – came to an end due to a combination of bad corporate […]

Celebrity architect Helmut Jahn has created a vision for redeveloping Chicago’s Navy Pier, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016.  Writing in the Chicago Tribune about Jahn’s plan, architecture critic Blair Kamin says “Yes, it’s over the top and, in all likelihood, ridiculously expensive.  But it’s full of creative sparks — precisely what was missing […]

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 […]