Anna Spiewak
Economy Watch: Construction Spending Up; American Households Making Less Money; Manufacturing Sector Still Expanding
U.S. construction spending increased 1.2 percent in February compared with January, and 7.9 compared to last year. Median U.S. household income fell month over month in February. And the U.S. manufacturing sector is still expanding, but not as quickly as in previous months.
Economy Watch: State Unemployment Declining; Consumer Sentiment Edges Up
Twenty-two states had unemployment rate decreases in February. And the consumer sentiment index for March was up month over month.
Economy Watch: U.S. GDP Saw Small Growth in 4Q; ‘Zombie’ Houses Dot Land; Unemployment Claims Up
The nation’s GDP grew slightly for the fourth quarter of 2012. There are 301,800 “zombie”properties nationwide left over from the housing crash, most of them in Florida. And unemployment claims saw an uptick week to week.
Chetrit Buys Historic Miami Beach Hotel for $117M
MBR Waterview has purchased the 18-story, 424-room Miami Beach Resort and Spa for $117 million. The seller was Blackstone Group, on whose behalf Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels & Hospitality Group arranged the sale.
Economy Watch: Pending Home Sales, Freddie Mac Delinquencies Down; U.S. Net Investment Position $4.4T Negative
The Pending Home Sales Index dropped in February. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as of the fourth quarter of 2012, foreigners held about $4.4 trillion more in U.S. assets than U.S. interests owned overseas. And Freddie Mac delinquencies declined in February as well.
Another Country
Foreign banks ramp up in U.S., competing aggressively against domestic counterparts.
Economy Watch: Case-Shiller: Home Price Increase Healthy; New Home Sales Dip; Durable Goods Sales Rise
Average home prices were up in the 12 months ending in January 2013. New home starts were down month to month in February. And new orders for durable goods were up 5.7 percent in February compared with January.
Economy Watch Weekly: Strange Days for Eurozone, but U.S. Housing Market Has Legs
CPE’s economic analyst, Dees Stribling, gives his update for the week ending March 22.
Economy Watch: Chicago Fed: Economy Sees Uptick; Bernanke Defends Fed Easy-Money Policies; Crisis in Mediterranean Possibly Over
The Federal Reserve of Chicago reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) increased to +0.44 in February, from 0.49 in January. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke defended monetary policies of the central bank before Congress, and again in a speech at the London School of Economics. And the Cypriot crisis seemed to be over by Monday, but as in the case of many eurozone crises, it might not really be over.
Alliance Picks Up Chicago’s Burnham Center for $95M
Alliance Partners has acquired downtown Chicago’s 580,000-square-foot Burnham Center office building from Harbor Group International for $94.6 million.
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