By Heritage Ray
FDIC leases almost 151,000 square feet in Schaumburg
Liquidity moves markets!
Follow the money. Find the profits!(Now here’s a growth business)
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has signed a short-term office lease for almost 151,000 square feet (more than half the building) in Schaumburg, Illinois to handle receiverships and asset sales for its growing roster of failed Midwestern banks.
The FDIC took the space in a direct lease for three years with an option to renew for two more years.
The FDIC lease is good news in a northwest suburban office market that has been buffeted by tenant defections and space reductions. Most recently, Career Education Corp. announced Tuesday that it will cut its space about 30% in consolidating several locations into a long-vacant building of about 317,200 square feet in Schaumburg.
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-…ews.pl?id=36807
Airlines Suffered Largest Revenue Drop Ever In 2009
Total passenger revenue for the major U.S. airlines plunged 18 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, CNNMoney reports. It was the largest drop in the industry’s history, surpassing the 14 percent decline in 2001.
http://www.businessinsider.com/airlines-su…-in-2009-2010-1
Unemployment Rose In 43 States Last Month, Still No Job Growth
43 out of 50 states saw unemployment rise last month, with New Jersey alone hitting a 33-year high of 10.1%.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-calj…0,3131833.story
California employers cut more workers from their staffs in December, capping a dismal year in which the state lost more than half a million jobs, making it the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, after Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
http://www.businessinsider.com/unemploymen…b-growth-2010-1
Gasoline Demand dropping
Gasoline demand, according to the Energy Department, now averages 8.8 million barrels per day, down 0.2 percent from a year ago. Distillate fuel demand, at 3.7 million barrels per day, is down 6.8 percent. Volatilitywise, March crude is slightly oversold, but other technical indicators point to the likelihood of lower prices. If support at $77.03 is taken out, the psychologically important $75 level becomes a target, under which the $72.45 pivot point could be challenged.
And demand for autos autos probably headed same direction as gasoline, despite what Edmunds has to say. Forecasted for 2010 (by Edmunds) is annual sales of 11.5 million units.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twi…ine.html#demand
Two Dozen States’ Unemployment Funds in the Red, Nine More Within Six Months
The record 20 million Americans who collected unemployment insurance benefits last year landed on a safety net that was already deeply frayed.
A historical compromise has left responsibility for unemployment benefits largely in the hands of states, and they have fulfilled this charge with varying degrees of effectiveness.
In a series last summer with public radio’s Marketplace, we reported that only a handful of states had built up reserves sufficient to weather the Great Recession – and forecast a spate of borrowing by states where reserves ran out.
Half a year later, the direst predictions seem to be coming true: So far 25 states have borrowed more than $25 billion to keep benefits flowing after their trust funds ran dry. In many other states the situation is deteriorating fast.
http://milwaukee.wisgop.info/2010/01/22/tw…hin-six-months/
