Gasoline prices have climbed about 50% in a year, and this year’s rise is on pace to be the largest percentage increase in at least a decade.
Amazon Facilities
Amazon blanketed the country with more than 450 new facilities used to store, sort and ship items, doubling down on a logistics empire. Many of the new buildings are concentrated near big cities, putting more items for sale on the website closer to large population centers. The facilities also include more than two dozen smaller outposts stocked with bestselling items.
Residential Investors
Investors had a record quarter, buying 90,215 homes worth a combined $63.6 billion. Investors made up 18.2% of all housing sales in Q3.
Fed Chair
President Biden’s decision to reappoint Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman and elevate governor Lael Brainard signals continuity on monetary policy.
Hotel Renovations
Brands allowed owners to use their furniture, fixtures and equipment reserves for operating expenses during the pandemic and many hotels weren’t renovated before or during the pandemic. Now those hotels have experienced wear and tear from the increased leisure demand over the last 18 months and some owners do not have enough capital to invest in renovation upgrades.
Show-Business Real Estate
A venture between Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management has agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion for the historic CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles, the latest deal in the red-hot studio sector.
Frequent Flier Programs
Status matters to travelers. The usefulness of loyalty programs for many road warriors isn’t the free trips with accumulated miles or points. It’s the perks that come from qualifying for elite tiers: better seat selection, early boarding, free checked bags, upgrades, priority for rebooking and standby seats, special phone numbers and priority queues at airports.
CONE
CyrusOne, a real-estate investment trust that designs, builds and operates data centers, is selling itself to investment company KKR & Co. and Global Infrastructure Partners LLC in an all-cash transaction valued at about $15 billion.
Pipeline Leaders
The franchise companies leading the U.S. construction pipeline with the greatest number of new construction projects are Marriott International with 1,286 hotels and 166,174 rooms, Hilton with 1,223 hotels and 139,742 rooms, and IHG Hotels & Resorts with 769 hotels and 77,558 rooms. These three franchise companies comprise 68 percent of the total construction pipeline projects.
Four Seasons Napa
Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. has agreed to pay about $175 million for the 85-room Four Seasons Napa hotel. The price tag amounts to about $2.1 million per hotel room key. When the Four Seasons sale closes, it will be the second highest valued U.S. hotel deal ever,