Latch Inc., a maker of smart locks and building-management software, plans to go public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company. The merger will unite Latch with a SPAC sponsored by New York commercial real-estate firm Tishman Speyer Properties. The deal values Latch at $1.56 billion.
Finance Chiefs
Thirty-seven CFOs stepped down from S&P 500 companies, up 27.6% from 2019. The figure for 2020 is higher than the average number of resignations over the past decade, which totaled about 25 a year.
Eviction Moratorium
The federal eviction moratorium will be extended to March 31, 2021. Mr. Biden is also asking the Department of Housing and Urban Development to consider extending the foreclosure moratorium and continuing forbearance applications for federally guaranteed mortgages. As of early January, an estimated 2.7 million mortgages are in forbearance according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Vaccination Sites
In a letter to the incoming administration, the American Hotel & Lodging Association wrote that hoteliers across the U.S. are offering up their properties as possible COVID-19 vaccination sites.
NYC Rents
New York City renters owe more than $1 billion in unpaid rent.
Inauguration Reservations
Airbnb announced that it will cancel reservations in the Washington, D.C., metro area during the week of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration and will also prevent any new reservations from being booked during that time.
Restaurant and Bar Jobs
Employers cut 140,000 jobs in December, the first decline since the pandemic hit the country last spring. Job cuts at restaurants and bars drove the drop, as many were forced to close or scale back operations during a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases.
Remote Work
A group of real-estate startups is aiming to cash in on the remote-work phenomenon. That situation is creating fresh demand for furnished housing on a short-term basis, a fast-growing niche that many property startups and their venture-capital backers are rushing to fill.
Marriott Politics
Marriott International said they would pause donations to Republican lawmakers who objected to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.
LIBOR
Global regulators and other authorities have consistently reiterated that USD LIBOR would no longer be available after December 31, 2021, but recently the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), signaled to the market that USD LIBOR for the most liquid maturities is now likely to continue to be published until June 30, 2023.