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Financial Market Update-Mon., Oct. 27

Friday didn’t see the stock-market collapse that had been predicted, so investors are going have another go at it again today, after seeing Asian and European stocks decline, and spending the weekend mulling the best ways to continue the panic. Sell! Everything! Now! (and then Buy Yen!) was supposed to be the order of the day. But so far, as of early afternoon, the DJIA is about even, after a morning of mild rises. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are both down a little. What are banks doing with their recapitalization windfalls? The subject bubbled to the surface over…

AMB Leases 362,000 SF in Allentown

AMB Property Corp. has leased 362,000 square feet at a development project in eastern Pennsylvania to Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.  “We’re pleased to welcome Cooper Tire to AMB I-78 Distribution Center,” Jay Cornforth, managing director of AMB’s East Region said in a release. “Cooper Tire’s decision to locate here underscores the importance of the Allentown/Lehigh Valley submarket, which is a natural extension of northern New Jersey’s industrial marketplace.” The warehouse is currently 700,000 square feet and expected to total approximately 1.2 million square feet across two buildings upon completion. The property is located at 8000 Quarry Road in Lower…

KKE Completes Trio of SoCal Shopping Centers for Hopkins

KKE Architects Inc. has completed three shopping centers located in Southern California on behalf of Hopkins Real Estate Group. The properties are: Imperial Promenade in La Habra; 47th Street Pavilion in Palmdale; and Talega Village Center in San Clemente. For all three projects, KKE provided the conceptual and schematic designs, design development, city entitlements, construction drawings and construction administration.Imperial Promenade, a joint venture between HREG and Arnel Capital Partners L.L.C. of Costa Mesa, Calif., is a 215,000-square-foot shopping center located on 17 acres at Imperial Highway and Idaho Street. The new retail center, which was recently completed, is anchored by…

Developers Diversified Strikes $890M Deal to Sell Stake in 13 Centers

In an $890 million deal, Developers Diversified Realty Corp. is selling an 80 percent interest in a 5.9 million-square-foot portfolio to an institutional investor, the Cleveland-based retail REIT disclosed this morning. Developers Diversified expects to reap $260 million in proceeds from the deal, which is scheduled to close in mid-December, the company said in a statement today. Of that total, $170 million will be available at closing. Developers Diversified anticipates receiving the balance of the proceeds during the first half of 2009. “The principal use of the proceeds will be to de-leverage (the company’s) balance sheet,” noted Sean Pattap, lead…

IMF Broadens Efforts to Contain Global Credit Crisis

Even as former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan stepped down yesterday from an unhappy experience testifying before Congress, the International Monetary Fund was stepping up to help a growing circle of nations that are being hurt by the worldwide credit crisis. “For Europe, this crisis provides a catalyst for improved cross-border coordination, and we encourage European leaders to follow up with bold steps on their recent commitment to concerted and coordinated action, to resolve this crisis swiftly,” said Alessandro Leipold, acting director of the IMF’s European Department, in a statement earlier this week. In an announcement on Tuesday, the IMF…

Delaware North Off and Running on Aqueduct Gaming Expansion

Delaware North, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based hospitality and food services company, has won a three-way race to build and operate a gaming and entertainment “racino” at Aqueduct Raceway in Queens, N.Y. The company will pay the state of New York $370 million upfront as a licensing fee for the project, expected to cost at least $420 million. The plan calls for the installation of about 4,500 video lottery terminals (VLTs) in a 328,000-square-foot facility that will also include restaurants, a 60,000-square-foot center and about 300 hotel rooms. Delaware North President William Bissett said the company and its partners, Aqueduct Gaming L.L.C.,…

Financial Market Update-Fri., Oct. 24

Can we call it Black Friday yet? Not yet. As soon as trading opened this morning, stocks fell sharply, but then started bouncing around like a rubber ball. So predictions of a 1,000-point DJIA meltdown haven’t come to pass–yet. As of mid-day, the index had lost a mere 380 points, or about 4.3 percent. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were similarly off (3.8 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively). Stay tuned. Today, by the way, is the 79th anniversary of Black Thursday, the first day of panic selling on the stock market back in 1929, which turned out to be an…

ProLogis Fund Grabs 392,000 SF in Korea

ProLogis Korea Property Fund has acquired a $44.2 million distribution center in Icheon City, South Korea, it has reported. The 392,000-square-foot (36,400-square-meter), three-story facility is fully leased to a leading clothing designer and retailer that is the licensed distributor of such brands as Converse and Kappa throughout Korea. This is ProLogis’ first lease agreement with the company. “This is a key acquisition that adds to our position in South Korea’s largest distribution market, the Gyoenggi Province,” Thomas Nam, head of South Korea operations for ProLogis, said in a statement.The distribution facility is located in Icheon City, Gyoenggi Province. The province…

Meruelo Maddux Tops Off Downtown Los Angeles Project

Meruelo Maddux Properties Inc. has topped off its 35-story residential tower located at 717 W. 9th St. in downtown Los Angeles, it has announced. When completed, it will be downtown’s tallest residential building.Despite turbulent credit markets, Meruelo Maddux successfully completed an $84 million construction loan for the 717 West 9th St. project in August 2008. No additional borrowing should be need to finish the project. The financing came from an affiliate of Canyon Capital Realty Advisor L.L.C.The Euro-Asian inspired tower, located at the corner of Flower and Ninth St., near the Staples Center, LA Live, and adjacent to the financial…

Libor Stiffens, Overnight Markets Weaken, Greenspan to Speak

Is that canary getting choked up in the coal mine again? Sure Mr. Market tanked yesterday, but wipe those tears away and check the Libor. The three-month Libor is holding at 3.54 percent, says the British Bankers’ Association. And the overnight rate drifted up 9 basis point to 1.21 point, the first upward move in 10 days, reports Bloomberg News.Overnight and early so far, third day is a charm–if you are shorting the world. European stocks are drifting downward: The FTSE is negative about 2.4 percent and the DAX about 4 percent. In Asia, the Nikkei was down 2.5 percent;…