malach hamovess

Foreign Real Estate ETFs Present a Better Risk-Reward Scenario

really, now? when you buy a foreign reit you have even fewer benchmarks for control over your investment.

1. they may be investing in countries with a lack of transparency which in real estate can be devastating - imagine how a "legal" nationalization or "taking" can effect the value of your investment when all that's needed to effect such a "taking" is for a locality to connive with the central gov to raise real estate taxes.
2. the currency risk - if you need returns in dollars (to buy corn flakes at the 7-11 or to pay the Mexican girl who comes in at 2:00 pm for your "massage"), you'll find that local returns might be wonderful, but when translated they may provide a rude surprise. Bear in mind that it's a lot easier to effect an inflationary spiral in the real estate markets than in companies involved in international trade.

so, before you pay a 1 percent annual fee for someone to invest in foreign reits which have their own rich management comp structures, figure if that illusory return is really worth the risks, and don't make the 2004-2007 mistakes again.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts: Only for Long Term Investors

we still feel that the preferred is the way to go; however, now that it's over $7, it's got to prove that it can ultimately return to dividend payment;. otherwise, the preferred can be as dead as the common with a management that hangs on just to keep paying itself a salary.

Kroger Gains Back Market Share from Wal-Mart

pretty faulty logic when you consider that Kroger is almost all food, while Walmart includes both food and a large component of discretionary non-food consumer durables.

A drop in sales of air conditioners by Walmart doesn't mean it's still not taking food business from the grocers.

The Rally Really Was Sustainable

said the Zenmaster

The Rally Really Was Sustainable

we'll see

Writing CDS on U.S. Government Debt: What's the Point?

It's like speculating what wines you'd serve at the Pope's son's Bar Mitzvah

Strategic Hotels & Resorts: Only for Long Term Investors

the common is highly speculative and any additions to equity would dilute heavily

the preferred, at 4.50 including over $1 in accrued dividends, could quadruple on any sign of stability and a resumption of the div.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts: Only for Long Term Investors

a much better play is the preferred

it can increase 6x on a recovery even if the company sells a lot of common.

also Felco & its preferred

Broad Equity Market Refuses to Break Down

something will happen; just not while everyone is on "staycation" in their backyards grilling cheap burgers, swilling Bud Lite, and trying to figure a way to pay the kids' tuition.

After Labor Day the market will pop - it's just that no one knows which way.

Judge Strikes a Blow to SPE Game

the misleading nature of this article derives from a lack of understanding of the initial transactions; there was no SPE used to keep assets off of the balance sheet. the sole purpose of the SPE was to supposedly protect a lender on a specific property isolated in the SPE from being subject to the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy courts were the parent to file.

however, the court has upset that scheme which was not presented to screw the public or mislead anyone; rather it was presented to facilitate a more natural loan on the property which could be made without regard to the creditworthiness of the parent company, GGP

this practice had been challenged in other bankruptcy proceedings; but it wasn't until the GGP case, by far the largest real estate failure of the current meltdown, that a major decision effectively challenged the entire system

lenders had been deluding themselves into thinking that they could insulate their loans from the overall liquidity issues of a multi-property reit. they were just given a very rude wake up call which will reverberate throughout real estate finance for years to come

The Upside Case for Family Dollar Stores

closeout operations like FDS require a constant supply of overstock merchandise which can then be turned quickly.

Last year, when the retail economy suddenly collapsed, FDS and its counterparts in soft goods - Ross Stores, TJX, were able to capitalize on the mass of surplus goods and move a lot of merchandise at bargain prices.

As retailers and suppliers acclimate to the new, low-spend economy, they're not as likely to get stuck with the mass of seasonal goods which must then be unloaded to discounters and close-out kings.

How this will affect FDS in not certain, but it probably won't help.

Developers Diversified's Results Contradict Retail Assumptions

DDR will be able to ride out the storm - but barely; there are other owners - not necessarily REITs but rather private equity groups and non-public ltd partnerships - that were more heavily leveraged and have no hope whatsoever of refinancing out of their CREs unless they can raise a lot more capital.

Why China's Stimulus Is Better than Ours

and china's stimulus comes with an egg roll

Chrome OS Will Strengthen ARM’s Assault in the Netbook Market

Ultimately, it's about cost to manufacture. The difference in power of the 2 chips will shift with each innovation, but the costs to produce for Intel will stay lower as it has the massive economics of scale and a research operation that spends its time quite productively.

How About Sears Holdings as a REIT?

sears as a reit would have sears and kmart stores as the primary tenants. these stores have been doing horribly and are probably losing money now. thus, a reit based on the sears real estate might be worth a lot less than presented above.

a top retailer - target - was evaluated for splitting off the r/e; even with great leases, the parts are not going to be greater than the whole, particularly when as in sears' case, the retail segment is pure drek