The Leader - November/December 2008 - (Page 10)

R EAL E S T A T E I N T H E NE W S Global Economies: LENDERS CAUTIOUS ABOUT INVESTING Training Holistically Benefits Productivity As modern living becomes increasingly stressful, more and more companies are looking to increase work-life benefits and set up subsidized leisure and health center memberships, reports Training Zone UK. An alternative, holistic solution espoused by some industry trainers is addressing a worker’s physical health, emotional and mental condition, and poor nutrition within the workplace. Such holistic approaches hold benefits for both the organization and the employee, with the company experiencing greater worker morale and productivity. Toronto Globe & Mail. Researchers from Duke University and Harvard Business School examined how around 600 U.S. companies reacted to corporate environmental ratings delivered by KLD Research & Analytics, a well-known independent social rating agency. They steered clear of bias in their sample by concentrating on what happened after the agency broadened the range of its ratings. They discovered that companies given poor ratings at first later boosted their environmental performance. Qatar Buys Stake in UK Property Firm The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has acquired a 20 percent ownership interest in Chelsfield Partners LLP, a British property company, reports Peninsula Qatar. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The purchase boosts Qatar’s interest in commercial real estate abroad. Chelsfield, which owns such high-profile properties as London’s Camden market, was established by Elliott Bernerd and Stuart Lipton. Post AIG, Insurers Ponder CRE Investment It will take some time to determine whether insurance firms will scale back their commercial property investments in the wake of the federal government bailing out American Insurance Group with a $85-billion secured revolving credit loan, reports GlobeSt.com. Insurers are keeping a close eye on AIG’s troubles, especially those firms whose own portfolio investments mimic AIG’s. Clearly, AIG’s portfolio investments in real estate assets and securities have played a major role in its woes. Long term, the fear is that commercial property asset investments will be shunned by insurance companies even after the market rebounds. That would deliver a major blow to the capital markets as this institutional investor class has invested billions in commercial mortgage-backed securities and other securities during the past few years. Asia Financial Centers Face Property Market Fall-Out As banks scale back hiring and investments in the global financial turmoil, analysts report that commercial property prices and rents in Asia’s financial centers of Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo are poised to fall, reports the Philippine Daily Inquirer. While banks lay off tens of thousands in the United States, in Asia they are more likely to scale back their ambitious expansion plans, resulting in property markets slipping instead of sliding. To date, no major bank has announced big redundancies specifically for Asia. Looking at recent deals, Nomura Holdings has been among the most active in snapping up Lehman’s Asia operations. The Japanese bank is expected to keep most of the space, considering its own Hong Kong office is in the same building. Future of Commercial Real Estate Lending Remains Unclear An already difficult financing market for commercial real estate has gotten progressively worse amid recent economic developments. This is especially true in markets like the Dallas-Fort Worth area, reports the Dallas Morning News. Loans currently in the pipeline are safe, but new loans are quite scarce. Those most acutely affected have been buyers unable to lock in an interest rate or for whom the loan amount was above new lender limits. Social Responsibility: Do Outside Ratings Affect Companies? A new study implies that when an outside group rates a company on corporate social responsibility, that firm is more likely to improve its corporate behavior, reports 2 0 0 8 TH E LE ADE R 10 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER http://www.GlobeSt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - November/December 2008

The Leader - November/December 2008 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Leveraging Business Geography My Work @ Bank of America Blending the Old with the New A Tool for Growth Creating Real Estate Value Nokia-Siemens Networks’ Peter Doran DTZ’s James Maddock Annual Economic Development Directory The Georgia Report Location Profile: Magdeburg, Germany Linking Corporate Real Estate to the Enterprise 3rd Quarter 2008 Adding Value in Challenging Times Australia and New York Shell’s Paul Huston Economic Development in the News A Look Ahead In our Next Issue Calendar of Seminars Index of Advertisers Chapter Learning: The Global Perspective

The Leader - November/December 2008

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