FIG Topics of Interest

05/22/17

Large Paper Positions in Eurodollar Options

05/22/17

Over the weekend while President Donald Trump was in Saudi Arabia, Blackstone and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of launching a new infrastructure investment vehicle. PIF will anchor the fund with a $20 billion investment. 

05/19/17

With memories still fresh from the 2007 financial meltdown precipitated by unrestrained real estate borrowing, US bank lending officers are showing a reduced tolerance for risk and reporting tightened CRE lending policies - most notably on multifamily lending.

The reaction is in response to numerous factors, including ongoing concerns from federal regulators about an overheated CRE lending environment, a more uncertain outlook for CRE property prices, and the impact from rising vacancy rates in certain property types. 

05/18/17

At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, a congressionally-mandated advisory panel looking into Pentagon acquisition reform presented an interim report calling for a shake-up in the Department of Defense's outmoded acquisition system. It said the reforms would save money and help the military stay on the cutting edge of technology.

05/17/17

TRADE OF THE DAY:  Flattener

05/17/17

Another teen specialty apparel retailer, rue21 Inc., has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. 

05/16/17

Ford Motor Co. plans to cut about 10 percent of staff worldwide as Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields faces escalating pressure to boost profit and a lagging stock price, the Wall Street Journal reported.

05/15/17

CME Group Rates Recap- May 2017

05/12/17

The U.S. and China reached agreement to promote shipments of American natural gas and beef that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said was part of a broader effort to begin reshaping the trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies.

05/11/17

CRE-focused equity funds completed 136 major property investments in the first quarter of 2017 totaling $6.1 billion, according to CoStar Group COMPs data. That total is well off the nearly $15 billion in purchases the same set of investors made in the first quarter of 2016. 
 Equity funds were net sellers of CRE property in the first quarter of this year, completing 171 dispositions totaling $7.9 billion - about in line with the same quarter a year ago. 
 PE buyers showed a preference for office property investments completing 26 buys totaling $2.167 billion. Multifamily was the second biggest property type category with 47 transactions totaling $1.607 billion. Retail was third with 29 deals totaling $1.547 billion, and industrial was fourth with 28 deals totaling $811 million.