US insurers target European commercial real estate debt

US insurers target European commercial real estate debt
Author: Louie Woodall
Source: Insurance Risk | 03 May 2013
Categories: Asset allocation, Insurance

Attractive yields and supply demand mismatch spur interest

American insurers are increasing their investment in UK and European commercial real estate (CRE) debt, as domestic insurers struggle to meet burgeoning demand.

http://www.risk.net/insurance-risk/news/2266005/us-insurers-target-european-commercial-real-estate-debt

Houston Makes Top 5 as Boom Lures Foreigners: Real Estate

Houston Makes Top 5 as Boom Lures Foreigners: Real Estate
By Dan Levy - Mar 26, 2013

International real estate investors are falling in love with Houston, a fast-expanding energy hub that’s luring buyers from Toronto to Tel Aviv seeking properties with lower costs and higher returns than buildings in the priciest U.S. cities.

Firms from outside the U.S. acquired $2.83 billion of Houston (OFCRAHOU) office buildings in the past three years, according to Real Capital Analytics Inc. They were the largest net buyers of any investor class, spending four times more than U.S. real estate investment trusts, which ranked second. Last year, Houston for the first time was among the top five global cities in an annual survey by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate that dates back to 1994.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-26/houston-makes-top-5-as-boom-lures-foreigners-real-estate.html

Bloomberg: China Soft Landing May Be Hard for Commodity Exporters

Bloomberg

China Soft Landing May Be Hard for Commodity Exporters
By Bloomberg News - 2012.03.25 06:41 PM

The good news: China’s government will engineer a soft landing. The bad news: Even a soft landing is painful for industries that have become dependent on the world’s fastest-growing major economy as their main profit engine.

Bloomberg: Fed Data Cruncher Finding No New Normal Unemployment Nationwide

Fed Data Cruncher Finding No New Normal Unemployment Nationwide
By Vivien Lou Chen - Jul 11, 2011 8:01 AM GMT+0900

Mary Daly holds up two charts containing 33 bars that all point down. They show eight industries getting hit equally hard after the 18-month recession ended in June 2009, suggesting that much of the past two years’ high unemployment is broad-based and should dissipate as the economy improves.

Bloomberg: Greece’s Creditor Banks Move Toward 70% Rollover of Debt to Avert Default

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By Aaron Kirchfeld and Sonia Sirletti - Jun 28, 2011 1:46 AM GMT+0900

Greek creditors may be headed toward a rollover agreement involving 70 percent of their bonds to prevent a default and meet politicians’ calls that they contribute to Greece’s second rescue in as many years.

Bloomberg: Chinese Mount Global Homebuying Spree as Governments Squeeze Local Markets

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Chinese Mount Global Homebuying Spree as Governments Squeeze Local Markets
By Kelvin Wong, Nichola Saminather and Hui-yong Yu - Jun 14, 2011 1:00 AM GMT+0900

On a sunny Saturday in early June, Larry Zhou strolled the floor of a property exhibition in Hong Kong, wondering whether it was time to buy another home -- not in the city, where residential prices have soared 50 percent in the past two years, but maybe in Thailand or Malaysia.

Bloomberg: Profits Seen Increasing Jobs as Earnings in U.S. Grow Fastest Since 1940s

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Profits Seen Increasing Jobs as Earnings in U.S. Grow Fastest Since 1940s
By Shobhana Chandra - Jun 13, 2011 8:01 AM GMT+0900

Profits at American companies are poised to be one of the few bright spots in the U.S., helping to steady the faltering recovery.

Bloomberg: Jobless Rate Unexpectedly Rises in Sign of Extended U.S. Economy Slowdown

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Bloomberg: Risk Rally Ending for Currencies Turns Focus to New Least Ugly-Alternative

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Risk Rally Ending for Currencies Turns Focus to New Least Ugly-Alternative
By Catarina Saraiva and Allison Bennett - May 23, 2011 1:08 PM GMT+0900

The best-performing currencies of 2011 are falling out of favor as the Federal Reserve plans its exit from record monetary stimulus just as the global economy shows signs of slowing, buffeting commodities and stocks.

Bloomberg: Banks Await Foreclosure Deal’s Financial Terms as States Split

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Bloomberg: Bill Gross Says Treasuries Have Little Value, Echoing Buffett

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Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said Treasuries “have little value” because of the growing U.S. debt burden.