Daily News October 17, 2008

Here are the news stories you might find interesting today:

Arizona has lost 65,600 private sector jobs over the last year with 47,900 of them in the Phoenix area, according to September state employment figures.
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Government-backed assets helped MidFirst Bank turn in strong earnings in the third quarter, while many of its Arizona competitors wrangled with real estate portfolios bloated with bad loans.
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A new automatic parking system using plastic coins embedded with microchips was introduced at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport this week. The coins replace the traditional paper receipts issued from parking gates and carried in the pockets or suitcases of air travellers.
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Arizona’s jobless rate took another jump last month and now hovers close to 6 percent.
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True Food, the new Fox Restaurant Concepts brand co-developed by Scottsdale-based eatery industry giant Sam Fox and health and wellness guru Dr. Andrew Weil, has settled on an opening date of Oct. 27 at Biltmore Fashion Park, 24th Street and Camelback Road in east Phoenix.
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Payless ShoeSource has announced plans to begin selling environmentally friendly purses and shoes.
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MC COMPANIES ACQUIRES 182-UNIT APARTMENT COMMUNITYSUN CITY, ARIZ. — MC Companies has partnered with an investment group to acquire The Fountains at Sun City, a 182-unit apartment community located in Sun City. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This transaction is MC Companies’ third apartment acquisition within the last 150 days. Most recently, the company acquired Bay Harbour in Houston and Cooper’s Hill in Austin, Texas.
Brown & Brown Renews at 2800 Tower
Phoenix Ins. Co. Extends 20,200-SF Lease for 7 Years
Insurance brokerage Brown & Brown Insurance of Arizona has renewed its 20,200 square foot lease with Gaedeke Group for seven years at Phoenix's 2800 Tower. The 20-story, 364,533-square-foot office building at 2800 N. Central Ave. was constructed in 1988 in the Downtown North submarket. Brown & Brown occupies the building’s entire 16th floor.




Chandler Industrial Fetches $1.1M
DWP Developers Sells Bldg. 1 of Technology Ctr. West
DWP Developers sold Building 1 of the Technology Center West in Chandler, AZ, to locally based Pure Air Systems for $1.14 million, or $114 per square foot. The 10,000-square-foot industrial building at 2115 N. Nevada St. was built in 2007. Features include heavy power, two drive-in bays and 16-foot clear height. • Libor at 1.67 Percent, a 4-Year LowFirst the good news: the global bailout appears to be loosening banks' purse-strings, to each other at least. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, is at a four-year low of 1.67 percent, says the British Bankers' Association. That's all for the good. Housing? The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence fell to a record low of 14, down three from September, reports Bloomberg News. Ahead of today's Commerce Department report on starts, a Bloomberg survey of economists put the range from 840,000 to 935,000 units and a building-permit pace down 2 percent to 840,0000. Then Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary estimate of October consumer sentiment, ahead of its release this morning, puts it at 65 vs. end-September's 70. These are "steep declines," according to an AP report. To boost volatility today: almost 80 million options are due to expire. To cover these, expect much hedging. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are now at 8918. Adding to the economic zeitgeist President Bush is slated to explain the details of government efforts so far at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce D.C. headquarters.

40,000-SQUARE-FOOT INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY FETCHES $1.99 MILLIONPHOENIX — MMS Phoenix LLC has acquired a 40,000-square-foot industrial property, which is located at 2229 E. Magnolia in Phoenix. CAL/AZ Portfolio No. 1 LLC sold the property for $1.99 million. Built in 1977, the property was 100 percent occupied at the time of acquisition.

If you have any questions about any of the above articles or would like a FREE market evaluation of your property, please do not hesitate to give me a call.