Allison Landa
Economy Watch: Employment Up, Other Data Mixed
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that employment increased by 216,000 in March, which wasn’t a bad showing considering how nervous businesses are these days over international events and commodity inflation, but it wasn’t enough to reduce overall unemployment much.
Forest City Has Busy Week
Not only did the national real estate company close a new $425 million credit facility, it completed an $851.5 million joint venture and announced that its 2010 earnings before depreciation, interest, taxes and amortization marked a record for the firm.
Health Care REIT, Benchmark Close $890M JV
The group of assets involved–including independent living, assisted living, memory impaired and respite stay communities–are sited in highly coveted markets in six New England states.
Forest City, Madison International Join Forces
As the $851.5 million partnership was struck, the company had another announcement: president & chief operating officer Joanne Minieri will resign her position to form her own consulting firm. However, she will not entirely separate from her longtime employer, but rather take on the role of consultant on major Forest City projects.
Economy Watch: More Jobs, Fewer Homes
The unofficial jobs report duo of Challenger, Gray & Christmas and ADP (a duo only in timing, since the two companies aren’t affiliated) came out with their numbers, as usual ahead of the official jobs report. On the whole, the two reports were generally positive, with some exceptions.
First Potomac Snaps Up D.C. Office Building
The firm picked up 840 First St., a 248,600-square-foot fully occupied property, from the Stephen A. Goldberg Co. for $90 million.
$65M Refinance for Miracle Mile Office Building
The 452,800-square-foot property at 5900 Wilshire Blvd. is widely known as the Variety Building for its lead tenant, entertainment publication Variety.
Economy Watch: Home Prices, Confidence Sink
Housing prices continued their downward trend, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index for 20 major U.S. metro areas. Single-family prices were down 1 percent in the 20 markets from December to January, and 3.1 percent year-over-year, the index noted.