The average announced SPAC merger value has fallen to about $200 million so far in January, down from more than $2 billion for much of 2021 during the sector’s peak.
Hedge Fund Performance
For the first time since 2018, larger hedge funds outperformed smaller hedge funds. HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index, which gives equal weight to funds of all sizes, fell -4.25% in 2022, while the HFRI Asset Weighted Composite Index, which gives more weighting to the larger funds, rose: 0.97%.
Super Prime Discount
The average discount for “super-prime” luxury apartment units in Manhattan, defined as properties selling for $10 million or more, during the seconed half of last year was 12%.
Interest Rate Caps
The cost of insuring commercial real-estate loans against a rise in interest rates has exploded over the past year, raising the prospect of a market selloff since many property owners will no longer be able to afford these hedges. Property owners are paying 10 times as much to insure loans against rising interest rates as a year ago.
60/40 Portfolio
The classic way of building a portfolio—60% stocks and 40% bonds—had the worst return in nominal terms for a 60/40 portfolio since the financial crisis of 2008-9 and the worst in real terms in a calendar year since the Great Depression.
Home Foreclosures
Foreclosure filings soared 115% in 2022 compared to the prior year as the last of the federal moratoriums expired, but they were still 34% lower than 2019 levels.
Hotel Demand Forecast
While GDP is expected to dip, STR’s latest forecast for 2023 has U.S. hotel demand increasing 2.8% and RevPAR, increasing 3.4%. RevPAR growth is expected to be evenly split between higher occupancy and an increase in ADR, each growing at the same rate of 1.7%.
Office Vacancy
The U.S. office vacancy rate was 12.3% at the end of the third quarter, about where it was at its peak during the global financial crisis. The rates in some major metro areas—including New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco—are at the highest levels recorded.
Bank Profit
The major banks are expected to post some $28 billion in profits in the fourth quarter, down 15% from a year earlier.
Fontainebleau Vegas
Developers of the long-delayed Fontainebleau resort and casino have obtained $2.2 billion in construction financing. The 67-story resort is under construction on 25 acres on the northern end of the Strip near the Las Vegas Convention Center. Plans include 3,700 hotel rooms, 550,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, and several gambling, dining and retail venues.