The yield curve has been inverted for a record stretch—around 400 trading sessions or more by some measures—with no signs of a major slowdown.
Fed Longer
Federal Reserve officials concluded at their most recent meeting they would need to hold interest rates at their current level for longer than they previously anticipated after a third straight disappointing inflation reading last month.
Bank Rules
Regulators are considering making significant changes to a recent proposal that would require banks to have more capital. In bottom-line terms, regulatory agencies had previously estimated that the core capital requirement for the largest categories of banks would rise by 19%, or roughly $150 billion more capital for the eight U.S. global systemically important banks.
College Sports PE
A new business called Collegiate Athletic Solutions plans to invest $50 million to $200 million apiece in a select group of universities. The idea is to build businesses that help monetize a school’s intellectual property and provide them with advice and capital.
Drugstore Downsizing
About 3,000 fewer drugstores were open for business at the start of this year compared with the same period in 2019.
Red Lobster BK
Red Lobster, the largest seafood restaurant chain in the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to reduce debt and will sell its assets. Under a stalking-horse agreement, the company will sell its business to an entity formed and controlled by its existing term lenders.
Starwood Trust
Starwood Real Estate Investment Trust is running low on liquidity as spooked investors pull money amid rising debt costs and fears over real estate valuations. The Starwood Trust, owned by private real estate investor Starwood Capital Group, has borrowed more than $1.3 billion from its $1.55 billion unsecured credit facility since the beginning of 2023 due to high redemption demands.
Office Loans
As of April, $19.9 billion in office CMBS loans will mature by next spring. That's a marked increase over the $8.75 billion in office CMBS debt that matured in 2023. Outside of the CMBS universe, $929 billion — or 20% of the $4.7 trillion in outstanding commercial mortgages across all CRE lender types — will mature in 2024, a 28% increase from $729 billion that matured last year.
Rental Home Development
Developers are building new houses for rent at an unprecedented rate, aiming to capitalize on the steep home prices and higher mortgage rates that are forcing many Americans to keep renting. In 2023, 93,000 new single-family homes for rent were completed, 39% more rental homes than in 2022, and the most in any year ever.
Walmart Clinics
Walmart has worked to cut costs over the past year in some areas as it gives priority to spending elsewhere. Last month the company said it would shut all 51 of the health clinics it has opened over the past five years as it tried to build a bigger healthcare business.