_Economy and Finance

Worldwide Plaza for sale May 27, 2009 09:00 AM Worldwide Plaza, the last piece of Macklowe Properties’ portfolio, is for sale. The lender in control of the 1.7 million-square-foot building, Deutsche Bank, wants to retain an ownership stake, but is also prepared to write down the current $1.02 billion in outstanding principal to an $800 million mortgage. The buyer of the building at 825 Eighth Avenue, at 50th Street, is expected to contribute $200 million in equity, and the deal would be valued between $300 and $350 per foot. The leading potential buyer, according to the Post, is George Comfort & Sons. According to CoStar Group, 639,540 square feet is available in the building. http://therealdeal.com/blog/2009/05/27/worldwide-plaza-for-sale-macklowe-deutsche-bank/

IGD Siiq opens new mall in Catania Date: 4 May 2009 Category: City Watch Italy's IGD Siiq said on Monday that its Katanè shopping centre will open its doors on Tuesday in the Sicilian city of Gravina, near Catania. The mall, with a total of 15,000 m2, houses 70 stores and six larger shops and an 8,000 m2 hypermarket owned by Ipercoop Sicilia. IGD invested a total of EUR 59 mln in the project. The mall is fully rented. http://www.propertyeu.info/index-newsletter/igd-siiq-opens-new-mall-in-catania/

http://www.dividendgrowthinvestor.com/2009/03/master-limited-partnerships-mlps-island.html Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) – an island of stability for dividend investors Master Limited Partnerships are limited by US Code to only apply to enterprises that engage in certain businesses, mostly pertaining to the use of natural resources, such as petroleum and natural gas extraction and transportation. They combine the tax advantages of a partnership and higher dividend yields with the day to day tradability of common stocks.

RCG Longview Remains Positive, Closes Fourth Debt Fund at $602M Posted by CREOPoint Managing Editor on February 10, 2009 at 12:27 pm Commercial Property News Feb 10, 2009 By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor The list of real estate debt investors daunted by the frosty lending climate is a long one, but New York City-based RCG Longview is not one of them. The real estate opportunity manager has closed RCG Longview Debt Fund IV L.P., having raised $602.5 million in equity. Like the previous three investment vehicles, Fund IV will target a variety of real estate transactions ranging from bridge loans and mezzanine loans to bridge mortgages and preferred equity opportunities across the country. http://www.creopoint.com/forum/topics/rcg-longview-remains-positive

Purely financial capitalism has perverted the logic of capitalism, Financial capitalism is a system of irresponsibility and ... is amoral. It is a system where the logic of the market excuses everything. - Nicolas Sarkozy , French President, At the Symposium "New World, New Capitalism," Paris, Jan. 9, 2009

Deutsche Bank slashes price tag for two Macklowe buildings December 09, 2008 05:12 PM By David Jones As pressure mounts to close the books on the Harry Macklowe foreclosure saga, Deutsche Bank has lowered the price tag for 1540 Broadway and Worldwide Plaza to $800 million, according to financial and legal sources familiar with the discussions. http://therealdeal.com/blog/2008/12/09/deutsche-slashes-price-tag-for-two-macklowe-buildings-2/

Frankfurt office market: A safe stopover landing despite turbulence 2 Oct, 2008, Frankfurt In the third quarter, the Frankfurt office market looked to be virtually unshaken by the turbulence in the global financial markets. In the first nine months of the year, a total of 385,000m² of office space was leased, almost a third of this (120,000m²) in the third quarter – an excellent result in view of the current situation. However, it is still clear that lease activities in the Frankfurt market have fallen by 9.4% in relation to the first three quarters of 2007 (first to third quarter of 2007: 425,000m²). http://www.cushwake.com/