Though an interest rate cut had been widely anticipated, the Fed made a more extreme move than many had expected today, knocking down its benchmark interest rate to between 0 and .25 percent, its lowest ever level. The markets rallied in the wake of announcement, with the Dow Jones rising about 370 points by late afternoon.The Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index dropped 1.7 percent last month, a new record amount that came on top of October’s record 1 percent drop. It isn’t necessarily a sign of impending deflationary doom, however. Chalk it up to the falling price of energy…

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has closed three new deals, securing a total of $173 million in new financing. Part of the proceeds have been used to repay the $93 million mortgage on Exton Square Mall in Pennsylvania, and another portion will go toward paying off outstanding debts under the company’s credit facility.   The three loans are secured by three separate properties, all of which are malls: Exton Square and Viewmont Malls, both in Pennsylvania, and Francis Scott Key in Maryland. The Exton Square Mall, in Exton Pa., is secured for $70 million. The non-recourse 5-year mortgage loan that…

The labor market will likely continue to struggle in 2009, and as a result, tenant demand for commercial real estate may not “firm up” until 2010, according to Bob Bach, senior vice president & chief economist for Grubb & Ellis Co.The Labor Department said on Thursday that the number of initial job claims soared 58,000 in the week ended Dec. 6, to 573,000, a 26-year high, as companies slash jobs as part of their efforts to survive the economic turmoil. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of jobless claims rose from 526,250 to 540,500.Job creation is a direct driver of demand…

Although the steady stream of retail bankruptcies spells trouble for the economy and retail real estate, some national chains are making moves that may help soften the blows.  A striking example emerged late last week. On Friday, Kohl’s Corp. and Forever 21 Inc. disclosed that their joint-venture $6.25 million bid had won an auction for 46 Mervyns leases in California and the Southwest. Macerich, the shopping center REIT, said in a related announcement on Friday that it owns 22 of the leases acquired by the Kohl’s and Forever 21 joint venture. The two retailers intend to use those sites as…

A two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve begins today with expectations that it will cut the fed funds rate by a half-percentage point to 0.5 percent, according to CNNMoney.com. The U.S. automakers bailout still tops the news as top government officials said over the weekend that they might use taxpayer dollars set aside to bail out banks and Wall Street firms to keep troubled U.S. automakers out of bankruptcy, according to the CNNMoney report. GMAC, which is 49 percent owned by General Motors and 51 percent owned by Cerberus Capital Management, extended an offer to holders of $38 billion of…

MGM Mirage has agreed, through its wholly owned subsidiary The Mirage Casino-Hotel, to sell the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas strip to Wichita-based Ruffin Acquisition L.L.C. for $775 million. The reclusive billionaire Phil Ruffin owns Ruffin Acquisition. According to Alan Feldman, a spokesperson for MGM Mirage, a casino owner typically evaluates four criteria when considering an offer. First, is it a fair value offer? While declining to disclose a dollar figure, Feldman told CPN that the company expects to report a substantial gain on the sale. A second criterion is the purchaser’s ability to get licensed….

According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. industrial production decreased 0.6 percent in November compared with October, with a number of sectors’ output declining, but especially cars. Manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts fell 2.8 percent in November compared with October, when it was down 3.6 percent from. Year-to-date, auto production is down 21.4 percent. The markets apparently didn’t care much for those numbers, with the Dow dropping 0.67 percent, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq down 1.23 percent and 2.07 percent, respectively. Fannie Mae has decided to sign new leases with renters occupying houses that the company now owns…

Place/BV Student Housing Fund L.L.C., a joint venture of Place Properties and Blue Vista Capital Management, has put a total $64 million investment in two more student housing developments, one in Arkansas and one in Nevada. Both communities will open next summer. Hill Place, just across Sixth Street from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus, is in a desirable location, closer to campus than the parking lots for football and basketball games. The garden-style development will house 840 students in 288 one-, two- and four-bedroom furnished apartments, each of which includes a full kitchen and washer and dryer. In…