News & Events
market
intelligence
briefing
December 5, 2019
Commercial Banking
-
Four in five U.S. small business owners anticipate strong finish to 2019
Dec 4 -
According to the Bank of America Business Advantage Fall 2019 Small Business Owner Snapshot, entrepreneurs are confident about their business prospects, with expansion plans, revenue projections and intent to hire remaining strong and steady from last fall. While business owners also maintain a positive outlook for their local economies (52% vs. 54% in fall 2018), they are expressing a slightly more cautious view of the national economy (49%, down from 55% in fall 2018). The top five factors influencing business owners' confidence in the national economy this fall are elections (91%), U.S. political climate (90%), GDP growth rate (89%), inflation (89%) and interest rates (89%). The bank's research also reveals:- Sixty-nine percent plan to expand (up slightly from 67% in fall 2018);
- Fifty-eight percent expect their revenue to increase (level with 57% from fall 2018);
- Twenty-four percent plan to hire (down slightly from 27% in fall 2018); and
- Twelve percent intend to apply for a loan (down slightly from 15% in fall 2018).
-
Wells Fargo Investment Institute releases 2020 outlook
Dec 3 -
Wells Fargo Investment Institute's 2020 Outlook: A Call for Resilience provides an analysis of economic and market forecasts, including commentary about the global economy, equities, fixed income, real assets, alternative investments and portfolio implementation actions. The report suggests three factors that are necessary for the global economy to stay resilient:
- Consumer spending must remain solid;
- Credit spreads (fixed income) must remain well-behaved; and
- China-U.S. trade dispute needs to de-escalate.
The outlook offers five ways investors can pivot away from higher-risk asset classes:
- Cash has an important place in a portfolio;
- Focus on quality;
- Go beyond traditional fixed income for yield;
- Defense can be a good offense; and
- Focus on longer-term diversification, as shorter periods are likely to be volatile.
-
Wells Fargo names Scott Powell as COO
Dec 2 -
Powell was named COO effective Dec. 9, 2019. He will serve on the company's Operating Committee and report directly to CEO and President Charlie Scharf. Powell most recently was CEO of Santander Holdings, as well as CEO of Santander Consumer USA Holdings. Prior to Santander, Powell held a number of senior roles at JPMorgan, including head of consumer banking, lending operations and consumer risk management. He also was CEO of consumer lending at Bank One, and spent 14 years at Citi in various risk management roles.
Real Estate Finance
-
Walmart sells former Sam's Club in Lake Worth for $13M
Dec 3 -
A company tied to real estate developer and aircraft industry investor Robert G. Fessler bought the 135,000-square-foot building from Sam's Club, owned by Walmart, for $96 per foot. The property at 7109 and 7233 North Seacrest Boulevard was built in 1989 and has been vacant for the past two years.
-
$3B CMBS loan from Morgan Stanley, Citi, Chase funds Bellagio buy
Dec 3 -
Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and JPMorgan teamed up to lend $3.01 billion to fund Blackstone's acquisition of the fee interest in the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas. A $2.05 billion portion of the debt will be securitized into BX Trust 2019-OC11, an upcoming single-asset CMBS deal. As the ground-lease owner, Blackstone stands to earn lease payments starting at $245 million per annum from MGM, a sum that will increase 2% per year for the first 10 years.
-
Columbia, Normandy close on $205M purchase of 250 Church Street in NYC
Dec 3 -
Columbia Property Trust and Normandy Real Estate Partners closed on their $205.5 million purchase of 250 Church Street in Tribeca. They've also nixed plans to make it a residential building. The building is vacant. Its most recent tenant was the city's Human Resources Administration.
Commercial Bankruptcy
-
Carlyle's Acosta files for bankruptcy amid waning budgets
Dec 1 -
Acosta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Wilmington, Del., with support from creditors on a plan that would hand them ownership of a reorganized company and slash $3 billion of long-term debt. Creditors including Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Nexus Capital Management agreed to the deal. The deal provides $325 million in new capital and preserves about 30,000 jobs. Acosta said it has commitments from lenders for a $150 million loan to keep the company operating during the reorganization.
-
Steel City Pops files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Nov 25 -
Steel City Pops filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy days after closing 11 stores. The case was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division. The company said the filing is intended to help preserve value while the management team evaluates strategic options to improve the company's financial position and strengthen the business.
-
Bumble Bee Foods files for bankruptcy, plans to sell assets to Taiwan company for $925M
Nov 21 -
Bumble Bee Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware and announced it has agreed to sell the company's assets to Taiwan-based FCF Co. for $925 million. The company said it received new financing commitments from its existing lenders that will provide sufficient liquidity to fund the business through the closing of the sale, which could happen within 60 to 90 days.
