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Why Do We Have Such A Shortage Of Drugs?

by on October 14, 2011

Huffington Post…

Two years into an escalating shortage of life-saving cancer drugs, regulators and lawmakers are still unable to identify why it is happening, let alone how to solve the problem. Hospitals and doctors across the country are postponing care or using second-best or more costly alternatives. The shortages have also forced delays in clinical trials for cancer, which use these drugs as a baseline to test the effectiveness of novel therapies. While work-arounds can help for a while, what is perhaps most worrying is that the officials in charge of addressing the problem are no closer to identifying the underlying causes. In the balance are hundreds of thousands of patients, and potentially millions, who may not get the full care they need. “Anybody who is sure they know the answer to this question is probably kidding themselves,” said Peter Lurie, a senior adviser in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of the Commissioner, who works on public health issues, including drug shortages. “There appear to be multiple factors that are playing in it and it’s very difficult to identify which one is most important,” Lurie told Reuters. Drug shortages have been around for years in the United States, but they were previously intermittent and largely temporary, pharmacists and doctors say. They have shot up in a very short time, with a record of over 200 scarce medicines this year alone, up from 56 in 2006, according to FDA data. Health providers say the companies who make these drugs, long sold in generic form, have a diminishing interest in ensuring a strong supply. After a wave of consolidation, only five to seven companies produce 80 percent of these medicines, and stricter reimbursement policies have cut into the profits. But a group representing companies such as Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sandoz, a division of Novartis AG, blames the FDA for introducing unnecessarily strict inspections and shutting down manufacturing facilities for minor issues. The finger pointing and lack of answers is leaving health providers and patients exasperated. “Something has to be done soon in order to try to alleviate this problem,” said Dr. Michael Link, the current president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), a non-profit group of cancer doctors and other providers.. “Right now we’re already seeing patient care suffering… I think you’re seeing a groundswell of concern.” In the meantime, distributors in the so-called “gray market” are exploiting the situation to peddle the drugs at hundred-fold mark-ups, according to lawmakers investigating the situation. Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, has called for an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. And last week, Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked five companies in the gray market to provide information on their sales and how they obtain the drugs. PATIENTS IN THE BALANCE In a July survey of 820 hospitals by the American Hospital Association, more than four-fifths of hospitals said they had to delay treatment and more than half could not provide patients with the recommended drug for their disease. Sixty-nine percent of patients had to settle for a less effective drug. The non-profit Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has reports of at least 15 patients dying from drug shortages since last September. In the most high-profile case, nine patients died from contaminated IV fluid in Alabama this past March, when the typical supply was unavailable. Of the 140,000 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, about 80,000 are expected to rely on typical treatments such as fluorouracil or leucovorin, both currently in short supply, said Nancy Roach, a board member at the patient group Fight Colorectal Cancer. The government is trying to create a better notification system for shortages, which could address some of the most immediate issues for patients. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, along with Robert Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, introduced a bill in February that would force drug companies to inform the FDA about looming shortages. The FDA said early notification helped it prevent 99 shortages so far this year. But the bill does little to prevent shortages in the long-term. “People aren’t in agreement on how to solve it in the long term, and not a lot of bills are going through Congress,” Klobuchar told Reuters. MARKET PERFECT STORM The FDA began tracking drug shortages closely in 1999. Over a decade later, they have only gotten worse. Sterile injectables such as the cancer drugs, make up the lion’s share and accounted for 132 out of 178 shortages in 2010. Most are generic and have been around for years, meaning profit margins are lower. The FDA can explain the immediate causes of the shortages — in 2010, over half of them came from product quality and “significant” manufacturing problems such as metal shavings found in vials or fungal contamination, said Sandra Kweder, deputy director of the FDA’s Office of New Drugs. But these reasons fail to address why these problems have gotten so much worse, officials and industry analysts said. Industry consolidation and lower inventory levels could exacerbate the problem, leaving less slack in the system to deal with shortages when they arise, the FDA said. The agency has also blamed an increasing number of production issues on older facilities that need to be renovated as manufacturers in the low-margin generic market avoid investments in maintenance. Makers of sterile injectables Teva, Hospira and Bedford Laboratories, part of privately-held Boehringer Ingelheim, have all had manufacturing issues in the past few years, shuttering production on multiple drug lines. The FDA also acknowledges some manufacturers may have less financial incentive to make older, cheaper generic drugs. In 2010, 11 percent of shortages were due to companies that stopped making a certain drug, usually for business reasons. Manufacturers are loathe to make a connection between the financial incentives and producing older medicines. Several, including Teva Pharmaceuticals and Hospira, say they are building new facilities as a back-up for future shortages. The industry lays part of the blame with the FDA. The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) said the agency has become more focused on enforcement in the past three years, shutting down factories for smaller problems that would have been dealt with less drastically in the past. STALLED PROPOSALS Various proposals to address the long-term problem have stalled, not least because of the disagreement over the cause. They include creating a national stockpile for emergency injectables — just like for vaccines — or offering tax incentives for manufacturers of low-cost but life-saving products. But those are unlikely to gain favor as the U.S. government is scrambling to cut costs and reduce the national debt, lawmakers and industry players said. The International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are both investigating the issue, and a Government Accountability Office report is due to come out in November, according to a congressional staffer. In the meantime, doctors like Steven Abrams, at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, work to make sure newborn infants with intestinal damage have enough calcium and phosphates. These essential minerals – manufactured by APP Pharmaceuticals, a company in the Fresenius Kabi Group, and Hospira – have been in short supply since April, Dr. Abrams said, forcing him to ration treatment to those most in need. “Our task is to continue to advocate for long-term solutions,” he said. “And the second is to manage this problem day to day. That’s just what we have to do, … to make sure the babies get the medicine they need.” Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Why Do We Have Such A Shortage Of Drugs?

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Homeowners Associations Cause Trouble In Retirement Communities

by AP on July 11, 2011

Huffington Post…

— The Inlet House condo complex in Fort Pierce, Fla., was once the kind of place the 55-and-older set aspired to. It was affordable. The pool and clubhouse were tidy, the lawns freshly snipped. Residents, push-carts in tow, walked to the beach, the bank, the beauty parlor, the cinema and the supermarket. In post-crash America, this was a dreamy little spot. Especially on a fixed income. But that was Inlet House before the rats started chewing through the toilet seats in vacant units and sewage started seeping from the ceiling. Before condos that were worth $79,000 four years ago sold for as little as $3,000. And before the homeowners’ association levied $6,000 assessments on everyone – and then foreclosed on seniors who couldn’t pay the association bill, even if they didn’t owe the bank a dime. Normally, it’s the bankers who go after delinquent homeowners. But in communities governed by the mighty homeowners’ association, as the sour economy leaves more people unable to pay their fees, it’s neighbor versus neighbor. “What the board is doing is trying to foreclose on people to force people out the door,” says Mike Silvestri, 75, who stopped paying his dues at Inlet House in protest over what he considers unnecessary and unaffordable assessments. He and others say there were cheaper ways to deal with the rat infestation and leaky sewage that led the board to order up a costly plumbing overhaul. “They are bamboozling old people. I’m old, but I’m not senile,” he says. In the past, housing associations have gained infamy for dictating everything from the weight of your dog (one mandated a diet for a hound) to whether you can kiss in your driveway (not if you don’t want a fine). Homeowners’ associations have served as the behavior police, banning lemonade stands, solar panels and hanging out in the garage. One ordered a war hero to take down his flag because of a “nonconforming” pole. Another demanded that residents with brown spots on their lawns dye their grass green. Now, past the faux regal gates, beyond the clubhouses, many property owners in associations owe more than their homes are worth. Some are struggling to pay their bills after they lose a job. Others have had their pay cut. So they’ve stopped paying their association dues. To combat the rise in delinquencies, boards are switching off utilities, garnishing income and axing cable. They are yanking pool passes and banning the billiard room. And, in the most extreme cases, they are foreclosing. “The treacherous part is that homeowners’ associations are acting like a local government without restraints, and they have this extraordinary power,” says Marjorie Murray, a lawyer and founder of the Center for California Homeowner Association Law. Today, one in five U.S. homeowners is subject to the will of the homeowners’ association, whose boards oversee 24.4 million homes. More than 80 percent of newly constructed homes in the U.S are in association communities. And of the nation’s 300,000 homeowners’ associations, more than 50 percent now face “serious financial problems,” according to a September survey by the Community Association Institute. An October survey found that 65 percent of homeowners’ associations have delinquency rates higher than 5 percent, up from 19 percent of associations in 2005. Associations set rules for their communities. They levy monthly dues, typically between $200 and $500, and cover the costs of services that a municipal government usually takes care of: road repair, streetlights, sewage systems. If an association’s budget is strained or major repairs need to be done, the board can levy a “special assessment” on top of those dues. And when one homeowner doesn’t pay those fees, all the other homeowners have to pick up the cost. The rise in delinquencies comes as banks are taking over foreclosed homes and then leaving them vacant more often than ever. Taken together, these shortfalls are resulting in higher fees for all of the other homeowners – and massive financial angst for association boards. Before now, associations rarely, if ever, foreclosed on homeowners. But today, encouraged by a new industry of lawyers and consultants, boards are increasingly foreclosing on people 60 days past due on association fees, says Evan McKenzie, a former homeowner association attorney who is now a University of Illinois political science professor and the author of the book “Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government.” The government does not keep statistics on how often homeowners’ associations initiate foreclosures. But a nonprofit research group found that association-initiated foreclosures in the Houston area jumped from 500 in 1995 to 2,200 in 2007. Most association-related foreclosures in Texas do not go through the judicial process, so the group’s analysis represented only a fraction of the foreclosures that housing associations have initiated. In exchange for adhering to the rules, homeowners got safe communities with clubhouses, pools and tennis courts. But what many didn’t realize when they bought their homes was that the fine print gave the association the right to foreclose – even over a few hundred dollars in unpaid dues. All the association board has to do is alert its attorney to place a lien on the property to start the process. The home can then be auctioned by the board until the bank eventually takes ownership. Homeowners typically have no right to a hearing. “These are banana republics,” McKenzie says. The problems in some communities are resulting in more scrutiny. In Nevada, the FBI is investigating corruption in elections of association boards. In Utah and Arizona, legislators are trying to pass bills that would root out the use of debt-collectors who are alleged to have used thug-like tactics to strong-arm residents into paying fees. State legislatures in California, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas and Florida have taken up legislation that would clamp down on foreclosures. Not everyone thinks the tactics are out of line, though. “When people are not paying their assessments, they’re not shortchanging some giant multinational corporation. They are taking money directly out of the pockets of their neighbors,” says Andrew Fortin, head of government affairs for the trade group the Community Associations Institute. So the neighborhood feuds are escalating. At Inlet House, one resident claims her fellow senior citizens have turned into vigilantes, vandalizing her car in retaliation for not paying her dues. In all, 17 of the 60 units are in various stages of delinquency. Paul Gray, a fastidious budgeter, paid off his mortgage long ago and paid all but $2,500 of the Inlet House assessment. The association initiated foreclosure proceedings. A few days after he received the foreclosure notice, Gray suffered another stroke, three friends say. Now he is in a nursing home. He has since paid off the $2,500. His home, worth $89,000 in 2006, is for sale for $18,500. In the meantime, the board, facing $172,000 in costs from nonpayers, has had no choice but to raise dues by an extra $50 a month to an average of $375. Between the assessment and increased dues, some residents complain that they pay more than they would to rent a plush oceanfront spread down the street at the posh Fontainebleau condo complex. Association manager Janice Stinnett, who is also an Inlet House resident, says she isn’t to blame, the nonpayers are. “It’s unfair that everyone is paying extra to cover these deadbeats,” she says. The board is continuing to make the plumbing repairs that made the assessments necessary to begin with. It will soon issue another special assessment to cover the costs. To homeowners who opposed the repairs on the grounds that they were too expensive, the entire picture adds up to a crime. Says Silvestri, “What these associations are doing is illegal. It’s a fraud.”

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Another Daily Deals Site Prepares To Go Public

July 10, 2011

— Online coupon seller Living Social has selected banks to underwrite a stock offering that will seek to raise $1 billion, CNBC reported on Friday. The Groupon competitor tapped JP Morgan, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank to lead the offering, according to the report. Living Social has not yet filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the reported size of the offering implies a valuation between $10 billion and $15 billion. The planned IPO was first reported by CNBC last week. The announcement comes a month after No. 1 daily deal site Groupon filed papers for a stock offering expected to raise at least $750 million. Deal-a-day websites like Living Social partner with small businesses to send subscribers a local offer each day. The deals are usually good for half off on restaurant meals, spa services or other goods. The offers are expected to generate $2.7 billion in revenue this year, more than double last year’s total, according to Local Offer Network, which collects and distributes deals from hundreds of sites. Washington, D.C.-based Living Social had 24 percent of daily deal revenue in major North American cities in May, according to a recent study by daily deal aggregator Yipit. Groupon’s share of the market slipped from 52 percent to 48 percent, the report found. A Living Social spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

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Global Food Prices Only Getting Higher This Decade: Report

June 17, 2011

PARIS (Gus Trompiz) – World commodity prices will keep up their relentless push higher this decade compared to previous years, supported by burgeoning demand for food and fuel as well as knock-on effects from energy costs, the FAO and OECD said. Prices of major farm commodities, however, should ease from highs seen in the past year as the recent spike spurs increased output, a report said ahead of a key summit next week where G20 agriculture ministers will grapple with volatile food prices. “Commodity prices should fall from the highs of early 2011, but in real terms are projected to average up to 20 percent higher for cereals (maize) and up to 30 percent for meats (poultry) over the 2011-20 period compared to the last decade,” the report said. World food prices hit a record high earlier this year, triggered mainly by bad weather, reviving memories of soaring prices in 2007-2008 that sparked riots in countries such as Egypt, Haiti and Cameroon. President Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the G20 leading economies, is gunning for a summit deal imposing tough new rules on speculators, whom he blames for the surge in food prices which have gained nearly 40 percent over the past 12 months. G20 agriculture ministers meet in Paris next week. Most food commodities were set to see increased average prices in real terms versus the past decade while all were expected to rise in nominal terms, the report by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said. A recovery in agricultural stocks after a drawdown that fueled high prices in 2010/11 will be limited by production constraints such as declining yield growth and rising input costs, the bodies said in their joint Agricultural Outlook 2011-2020 report published on Friday. Global agricultural output was projected to grow at 1.7 percent annually on average in the next 10 years, down from 2.6 percent in the previous decade, reflecting lower crop growth. “The global slowdown in projected yield improvements of important crops will continue to exert pressure on international prices,” the report said, adding this would be partly offset by productivity gains in emerging countries. The FAO warned in a separate report last week that a forecast rise in world grain output this year would not be enough to build up stocks and bring much lower prices, even if its world price index has eased from a record high in February. FEED, FUEL TO DRIVE MAIZE PRICES Rising costs of inputs like fertilizers and other farm chemicals sensitive to oil prices would also curb output by pressuring profitability, the joint FAO and OECD report said, estimating nominal maize prices would not increase in the period to 2020 when deflated for U.S. production costs. Like in their joint outlook last year, they pointed to growing use of grains in biofuels as contributing to price pressure by reinforcing a link with energy markets and by raising demand for foodstuffs like maize and vegetable oils. Together with other international organizations, they have called on the Group of 20 leading economies to end subsidies for biofuels in order to help rein in food costs, adding their voice to a fierce debate over biofuels that has been framed by critics as a question of “food versus fuel.” In their new report the FAO and OECD also reiterated their support for measures to improve productivity, market information, policy coordination and risk management in order to stem price volatility, themes that are set to be endorsed by G20 farm ministers at their meeting next week. Among cereals, the sharp rise in average prices for maize (corn), linked to robust demand for the crop in both ethanol fuel and animal feed, would outstrip stable wheat prices and cut the price spread between the two crops to close to 1.2 by 2020 versus 1.4 in the previous decade, the FAO and OECD report said. By 2020 biofuels were projected to absorb 13 percent of global production of coarse grains, primarily maize, 15 percent of vegetable oil and some 30 percent of sugar. Sugar prices were expected to remain higher on average to 2020 versus the previous decade, after coming off a recent 30-year peak, but will see cycles linked to government policies, notably in India, and conditions in top producer and exporter Brazil, the report said. Meat prices in real terms would also stay on a higher level, supported by growing demand in developing countries and as rising input costs limit price-driven herd expansion. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; editing by Eric Onstad and Keiron Henderson) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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theGrio: Dream of black home ownership fading

June 10, 2011

After peaking at 50 percent in 2006, the African-American homeownership rate has now fallen to 44.8 percent, Census Bureau data show. By comparison, the homeownership rate for whites in the U.S. is 74.1 percent, and the nation’s overall homeownership rate currently stands at 66.4 percent.

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Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Arranges $9.3 Million Multifamily Refinancing Loan

May 25, 2011

ANAHEIM, CA – Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (MMCC) has arranged $9,370,000 in refinancing for an 84-unit multifamily property in Anaheim. Rick Padilla (top right photo) , a senior director in the firm’s Long Beach office, arranged the financing. “Before coming to MMCC, the borrower was turned down for refinancing by half-a-dozen lenders, including his existing lender,” says Padilla. “He was told that his property’s rents were above market, that the property was not of agency quality and that his net worth, liquidity and experience were insufficient to qualify for an agency refinancing loan.” “MMCC’s longstanding relationships with agency lenders, and our ability to draw upon market data produced by Marcus & Millichap’s local investment sales agents and research department, helped overcome these hurdles and meet our client’s objectives,” concludes Padilla. The loan is for 10 years, amortized over 30 years with a fixed interest rate of 5.75 percent. The LTV is 75 percent.   Press Contact : Stacey Corso, Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation (925) 953-1716   www.mmCapCorp.com

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NYU-Poly Expands Campus in Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center

May 25, 2011

NEW YORK, NY May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In an important step to fulfill NYU’s city-wide strategic vision for expansion of its academic facilities, NYU’s engineering affiliate, the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) (top left center), will expand into neighboring space in Downtown Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center.   The move is part of NYU-Poly’s $38 million capital plan, called the i-squared-e Campus Transformation – where the “i-squared-e” stands for invention, innovation and entrepreneurship.   The expansion into MetroTech will allow NYU-Poly to accommodate faculty offices, dry computational labs, small classrooms, and administrative functions, while freeing up space in current facilities for renovation and potential redevelopment. “MetroTech Center has a great central commons area,” said NYU-Poly President Jerry Hultin (lower right photo).   “Expanding into buildings that flank the commons creates a better presence of NYU-Poly in the square, and imparts a more dynamic, vibrant feel to our campus.” NYU-Poly is entering into a 20-year lease with real estate developer Forest City Ratner Companies for a total of 120,000 rentable square feet of space at 2 MetroTech and 15 MetroTech, which also involves a 9-year sub-lease of space from Wellpoint Insurance.   For more information about NYU 2031 and a complete copy of the institution’s news release ,   please log onto www.nyu.edu/nyu-in-nyc or contact   .    Wendi Parson of Polytechnic Institute of New York University, wparson@poly.edu ,   +1-718-260-3323 Web Site: http://www.poly.edu

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Grubb & Ellis Company’s Ernest L. Brown IV Elected to CCIM Institute’s Board of Directors

May 24, 2011

  SAN ANTONIO, TX (May 24, 2011) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that Ernest L. Brown IV, CCIM (top right photo ), executive vice president and managing director of the company’s San Antonio office, has been elected to the board of directors of the CCIM Institute, a global leader in commercial and investment real estate education and services.   Brown was one of 18 Certified Commercial Investment Members elected to the board responsible for voting on policy, procedural and financial issues pertaining to the organization, its membership and educational programs.   He will serve a three-year term beginning January 2012.     Brown has more than 27 years of commercial real estate experience and as managing director, oversees roughly 30 employees.   He is the director of the Austin/San Antonio regional chapter of NAIOP, serves on the board of trustees of the Texas Military Institute and is president of the Texas Military Institute Alumni Association.   Brown holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South. Contact: Julia McCartney, Phone: 714.975.2230                                       Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com           

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HFF arranges refinancing for multi-housing community in Houston’s Galleria area

May 24, 2011

  HOUSTON, TX – HFF announced today that it has arranged refinancing for Tree Tops at Post Oak (top left photo), a 112-unit multi-housing community in Houston’s Galleria area. Working exclusively on behalf of Venterra Realty, HFF placed the seven-year, 3.90 percent adjustable-rate loan with Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation).   HFF will service the loan through its Freddie Mac Program Plus® Seller/Servicer program. Located at 4510 Briar Hollow Place inside the 610 Loop, Tree Tops at Post Oak is close to the Houston Galleria, Uptown Park and Highland Village.   The property has two three-story buildings with one- and two-bedroom units averaging 741 square feet each.   Residents have access to a swimming pool and fitness center as well as reserved and covered parking.   Tree Tops at Post Oak is 95 percent leased. The HFF team that represented Venterra Realty was led by director Cortney Cole (lower right photo). Venterra specializes in the identification, finance, acquisition and management of multi-family residential communities in the southern United States.   Venterra currently manages a portfolio of multi-family real estate assets totaling over $600 million in value that generates gross annual income in excess of $80 million.   The organization has completed in excess of $1.3 billion of real estate transactions.   Venterra has offices in both Houston and Toronto and employs over 350 people. Contacts:   Cortney R. Cole, HFF Director,   (713) 852-3500, ccole@hfflp.com   Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500 krmurphy@hfflp.com                                       ,                                                  

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HFF Washington, D.C. hires Susan Carras as senior managing director

May 24, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. – HFF announced today that Susan Carras (top right photo) has joined the firm as a senior managing director in its Washington, D.C. office. Ms. Carras will be in charge of the local debt placement team and will co-head the Washington, D.C. office alongside Stephen Conley.   She has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate. Prior to joining HFF, Ms. Carras was a senior managing director in Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman’s Capital Markets Group.   Prior to that, she worked at StonebridgeCarras, Sonnenblick-Goldman and First National Bank of Chicago.   Ms. Carras began her career at Chase Manhattan Bank where she was a lending officer in the real estate finance division.   She graduated magna cum laude from Lafayette College and is involved with Urban Land Institute, Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors and the Board of Trustees for Lafayette College and McLean School of Maryland. “HFF is honored to have an experienced professional such as Susan join our team.   As co-head, she will play an integral role in the day-to-day operations of the D.C. office and be instrumental in securing new business and closing debt and structured finance transactions,” said Stephen Conley (lower left photo) , co-head and executive managing director in HFF’s Washington, D.C. office. Contacts:       Stephen C. Conley, HFF Executive Managing Director,   (202) 533-2500                                                                                                                           sconley@hfflp.com Kristen M. Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, (713) 852-3500                      krmurphy@hfflp.com

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OliverMcMillan Rebrands 8-Acre Buckhead Development

May 24, 2011

LAS VEGAS, (May 23, 2011) – OliverMcMillan, a San Diego-based real estate firm that develops urban and mixed-use retail, entertainment and residential projects, unveiled today new renderings, a new architectural model and a new name for Buckhead Atlanta , a six-block, eight-acre luxury mixed-use urban village located in the heart of Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood. The announcement was made at he International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual RECon show in Las Vegas. Formerly known as The Streets of Buckhead (top left photo) , the project was one of the highest profile developments in the country halted by the economic downturn and financing drought. The new name signifies a departure from the concept of a single destination development and a move toward a mixed-use community that will fit seamlessly within the existing Buckhead Village. Buckhead Atlanta will provide a foundation that encourages the natural evolution of the surrounding community. “Buckhead Atlanta will be woven into the fabric of this world-class community,” said Morgan Dene Oliver , chief executive officer of OliverMcMillan. “Anyone who visits Buckhead Atlanta will know they are someplace special and they will want to return often.” Contacts : Bryan Long, 404-724-2501, blong@jacksonspalding.com

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Arizona’s Only Beachfront Resort to Mark Memorial Day Weekend with Opening of State’s Largest Infinity Pool

May 24, 2011

  LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ — Nautical Beachfront Resort (top left photo) , Arizona’s only beachfront resort hotel, will open the state’s largest infinity pool, “WET,” Friday May 27, just in time for the Memorial Day Weekend.   In honor of the occasion and to kick off the holiday weekend, members of the city’s VFW Post 9401 have been invited to be the first residents to get WET at 4 p.m. “We like to have fun at Nautical Beachfront Resort, but we’re also mindful that Memorial Day is a meaningful holiday,” said Tim Peters , general manager.   “So, we wanted to honor our local veterans by inviting them to christen our pool.   American soldiers are often the first to respond in times of crisis, this time they can be the first ones in on the fun.” WET, a free-form pool roughly the size of a stadium Jumbotron and filled with 108,000 gallons of water, is part of the first wave of property enhancements planned by the resort’s owners, RW Partners LLC of Phoenix.   A new arrival center, scheduled to open later this summer, is also under way.   Media Contact :   Lauralee Dobbins/Chris Daly, 703-435-6293, Lauralee@Dalygray.com

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Grubb & Ellis Facilitates 60,000-SF Office Lease Renewal in Clearwater, FL

May 24, 2011

  TAMPA, FL– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm,   announced that it represented Meridian Development Group in CCS Medical Inc.’s 60,000-square-foot office lease renewal at Meridian Concourse Center (top left photo) , located at 4800 140th Ave. N in Clearwater.   James Moler (middle right photo) , CCIM, and Paula Buffa (lower left photo) , RPA, CCIM, both senior vice presidents with Grubb & Ellis’ Office Group, exclusively represented the landlord in the transaction.   Brent Miller with Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant.   “CCS Medical evaluated numerous options in the market for the consolidation of their operations,” said Moler.   “Our building was looked at very favorably due to the overall quality of the asset, the responsiveness of property management and the long-standing relationship between the owner and the tenant.”   “We put a lot of resources into the development and management of our properties,” said Steven Kossoff, managing director, Meridian Development Group, “but our tenant relationships are just as important.   Flexibility and attention have been cornerstones for us since we began and have helped us make it through this tough market.”   Meridian Development Group owns and manages 1.5 million square feet of Class A and B office, flex and industrial assets located across west-central Florida.   Meridian Concourse Center is comprised of four buildings totaling 214,000 square feet.   4800 140th Avenue totals 60,000 square feet; all of which CCS Medical currently occupies.   The property’s central Tampa Bay location provides convenient access to both Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties and is adjacent to the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport.     For more information, contact   Moler at 813.830.7963 or james.moler@grubb-ellis.com   or Buffa at 813.830.7887 or   paula.buffa@grubb-ellis.com   or Rachel Andreozzi, Phone: 561.893.6296, rachel.andreozzi@grubb-ellis.com

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NAI Realvest Extends Hudson Restaurant Property Online Auction to June 8

May 24, 2011

ORLANDO, FL — Paul P. Partyka (top right photo), managing partner at NAI Realvest in Maitland, is going online to sell a 9,367 square foot restaurant building on a 2.8 acre site in Hudson to the highest bidder on June 8. Partyka said the facility, located on S.R. 52 in Hudson between U.S. 19 and County Road 1, is well located on a busy thoroughfare, posts daily traffic counts that range between 30,000 and 63,000, surrounded by residential neighborhoods. “It’s an excellent opportunity for development as a restaurant or for redevelopment with another use,” Partyka said. Buyers of mid-range commercial facilities don’t often tour Hudson looking for opportunities. “The online auction format offers us an excellent opportunity,” Partyka said. “We can present to a worldwide audience of potential bidders who are more interested in the facts—demographics, location, facility size, parking—than the general area,” he explained. NAI Realvest designed a special web site for the auction at NAIauction.com/Hudson, and bids will be accepted online from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8. For more information,   contact: Paul P. Partyka Principal, Managing Partner, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 ppartyka@realvest.com ; Patrick Mahoney, President NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com   Beth Payan or Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com NAI Realvest Negotiates New Long-Term Office Lease at Primera in Lake Mary, FL ORLANDO, FL — NAI Realvest recently negotiated a five-year lease agreement for 1,380 square feet of office space at Suite 125, Primera Court I, 725 Primera Blvd. in Lake Mary.   NAI Realvest Senior Broker Associate Mary Frances West , CCIM brokered the transaction.    The landlord at Primera Court I is Interchange-Primera II, LLC based in Daytona Beach.     The new tenant RezZiliant, which provides IT services, offsite backup, Virtual and Server colocation, recovery and security services, and also has a division that develops Healthcare software, has relocated from Waterbury, Conn. Their website is www.rezziliant.com   and contact info is 1-866-581-4678 For more information, contact: Mary Frances West CCIM, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 mwest@realvest.com Patrick Mahoney, President NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com ; Beth Payan or Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or 407-461-3780 Lvershelco@aol.com NAI Realvest Negotiates 10 Year Lease in South Daytona, FL MAITLAND, FL.   – NAI Realvest recently negotiated a ten-year lease of the 11,414 square foot former Whistle Junction facility at 1854 South Ridgewood Ave. in South Daytona. Paul P. Partyka, principal and managing partner at NAI Realvest, along with principals Matt Cichocki (lower right photo)  and Kevin O’Connor (lower left photo), negotiated the transaction representing the landlord, SBI Leasing of Titusville.   The new tenant is Fort Myers-based Ocean Buffet, Inc., who was represented by Josephine Wang of Carlino Commercial Group.   It will be the third location for Ocean Buffet when it is anticipated to open in July.   The firm also operates Ocean Buffet restaurants in Fort Myers and St. Augustine, Cichocki said. This is also the eighth transaction involving a buffet style restaurant that the NAI Realvest team has completed in the last 18 months. For more information, contact:    Paul P. Partyka, Managing Partner/Principal, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989; ppartyka@realvest.com Matt Cichocki or Kevin O’Connor, Principals, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989; mcichocki@realvest.com; koconnor@realvest.com Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142                   

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Equity Investment Services Sells Flowood Office Complex (REO)

May 23, 2011

  ORLANDO, FL— Nicholas Ledvora (top right photo)  and Christopher Savino middle  left photo) , Managing Directors with Equity Investment Services (EIS), successfully closed the sale of two bank owned office buildings totaling 29,274 square feet and located in Flowood, MS. Ledvora and Savino represented both the buyer and seller in the above referenced transaction. EIS brokered this transaction in association with Brandon Brown with TL Brown Properties of Jackson, MS.   “Like all distressed sales, this transaction was a great move for both the buyer and seller. Zions Bank was able to liquidate a non-performing asset and the buyer acquired a solid investment well below replacement value with plenty of upside.” said Ledvora on the transaction.   Mr. Ledvora and Mr. Savino are currently representing Zions First National Bank and other National lenders in a number of REO dispositions throughout the Southeastern United States.   Equity Investment Services is a full service commercial real estate investment advisory company based in Orlando, Florida. Our group was strategically created to serve the needs of its clientele.  EIS represents owners in the dispositions and acquisitions, leasing and professional management of shopping centers, office buildings, industrial properties, single tenant net leased investments and multi-family properties.   For more information, visit: www.EISRE.com .   Contact: Alana L. Champagne Operations Manager Director of Property Management Phone: 407.573.0711 ♦ Fax: 407.573.0710 Email: AChampagne@EISRE.com   or Nicholas Ledvora (o) 407/573-0711 nledvora@eisre.com Website: www.EISRE.com

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Colliers International Completes Two Industrial Sales Totaling $4.113 Million in Sylmar, CA

May 23, 2011

SYLMAR, CA, May 23, 2011. – Colliers International, the second largest global real estate services organization, recently completed two industrial deals in Sylmar, Calif. Brent Weirick , senior vice president based in Colliers International’s Encino office, handled both deals.   The first industrial sale was a 10,800-square-feet property located at 12300 Gladstone Avenue (top left photo) with the transaction value equaling $1.25M or $115.74 per square foot. This property was built in 1967 and offers high clearance, excess land component, located within the enterprise zone with dock high and grade level loading along with a fenced yard. Weirick represented the seller in this transaction. The other industrial sale was purchased by the Seller of the Gladstone property as the upleg to their 1031 exchange. This building is a 34,650-square-feet facility located at 12950 Bradley Avenue (lower right photo). The transaction valued at $2.863M or $82.63 per square foot. Built in 1970, the property offers grade level and dock high loading with a lot size of 57,765 square feet. Weirick represented the buyer. Buyer and seller information remains confidential for both transactions.   “The property at 12300 Gladstone Avenue was sold quickly within only three months of listing the property,” said Weirick. Contact: Angela S. Hwang Regional Marketing Coordinator | Greater Los Angeles Dir +1 213 532 3258 | Mob +1 310 867 4105 Main +1 213 627 1214 | Fax +1 213 327 3258 angela.hwang@colliers.com

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Cassidy Turley Chief Economist Sees Retail Sector Slowly Improving

May 23, 2011

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Net demand for retail space has been trending up since July 2010, yet the U.S. retail sector will not reach historical average vacancy before mid-2013, according to Kevin Thorpe (top right photo)   Chief Economist at Cassidy Turley, a leading commercial real estate services provider in the U.S.   According to Cassidy Turley’s May 2011 Insights: Retail Outlook, Class A centers will rebound with slight rent growth this year in most metropolitan areas, while most Class B and C centers in secondary and tertiary markets will continue to lag.   For the next two years, it will continue to be a story of haves and have-nots. “The good news is that unlike the previous three years, the positive momentum we are observing in the retail sector easily exceeds the downside risks, giving us greater confidence that the recovery will continue to strengthen,” said Thorpe. Cassidy Turley issued its May 2011 Insights: Retail Outlook at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) RECon 2011 conference, May 22-25, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.   Copies of the May 2011 Insights: Retail Outlook and other Cassidy Turley research are available at Cassidy Turley’s booth (#C187 L St) in the Central Hall. For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact: Maureen Wheeler, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Cassidy Turley, +1-202-463-1138, Maureen.Wheeler@cassidyturley.com or Dan Cherrin, Definition 6 for Cassidy Turley, +1-313-300-0932, Daniel.Cherrin@definition6.com   Web Site: http://www.cassidyturley.com

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Mighty Mississippi Moves Oil Prices

May 12, 2011

Fears that flooding along the lower Mississippi would disrupt gasoline production at the region’s refineries were eased Wednesday, but highlighted the key role the river plays in shaping the nation’s energy and commodity prices. Gasoline futures closed at just over $97 last friday, a low unseen since February, and, as a result, analysts predicted that pump prices would fall in June. Then, cable news networks filled the airwaves with images of the swollen Mississippi River and frightened people who live and work nearby. Some of the river’s major tributaries had begun flowing backwards. The Army Corps of Engineers were imploding dams and talking about opening certain spillways to distribute the water volume. Those decisions produced some flooding but also threatened to swamp refineries in the lower Mississippi River region. Crude oil costs and gasoline futures contracts are closely watched in part because both inform the price of gas at the pump. When consumers have to pay more for gas, they have less to spend on other goods and services, a scenario that could dampen the economic recovery. But what refiners have to pay for the crude oil they transform into gasoline and consumers pay at the pump is not just a function of what traders buy and sell. It is also a function of how much oil moves down the Mississippi. “I think that there were a lot of us who thought you had this perfect storm of sorts to bring prices down until we realized the magnitude of what might happen along the Mississippi,” said Phil Flynn, a PFGBest Research senior market analyst based in Chicago. A cluster of 11 lower Mississippi River region refineries have the combined capacity to process about 13 percent of the nation’s petroleum products, said Flynn. The process begins when barges and tankers stop and unload crude oil at river facilities known as docking terminals. When a river swells, it can become impossible for a barge to dock at a terminal. Tanker ships require extra tugboat assistance to remain at terminal. And, a swollen river can render a ship unable to pass beneath bridges to reach certain terminals. On Wednesday the amount of water flowing in the Ohio River, the Mississippi’s largest tributary, forced the U.S. Coast Guard to close 20 percent of its terminals, according to a Reuters report. At least one ship was also unable to clear the Interstate-10 bridge near Baton Rouge, La., because of the Mississippi’s volume. If those sorts of problems continue or spread, the volume of crude oil available to refineries will shrink and refineries will, in turn, slow down gasoline production, Flynn said. This could tighten the gasoline supply and contribute to rising prices at the pump. Wednesday’s events did mark a new twist in May’s already dramatic crude oil and gasoline futures price fluctuations. “This month has been, if you like, bipolar,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. The service tracks petroleum prices and is based in Maryland. “To call this May simply volatile is a little like calling Trump a little bit pompous or the Atlantic a little bit wet…But I do not believe that this is the apocalypse.” Crude oil prices rose in January amid political protests in Middle East. In February and March, the spread of unrest in additional oil-producing nations and a joint U.S. Nato bombing operation in Libya pushed crude oil prices even higher. But, in the last two weeks, the value of the U.S. dollar rose, an event that typically pushes crude oil prices down. Then, a combination of power outages and tornado damage in Texas and Alabama dampened refinery production. That is the type of event that might typically push gasoline futures prices up. Instead, futures prices fell Friday in what’s generally been explained as a bubble burst. This week’s logistical problems on the Mississippi are happening at a time of year when refining activity is already curtailed for scheduled maintenance and a production switch from winter to summertime gasoline, said Flynn. But so far this year, high gas prices at the pump have kept demand for gasoline low. “That’s the beauty of the market at work,” said Flynn. In fact, a weekly U.S. Energy Information Agency report released late Wednesday morning indicated that demand for gas slipped because drivers are facing an average pump bill of almost $4 per gallon. The report also indicated that last week U.S. refineries processed 14.1 million barrels of oil. That pushed gasoline inventories about 2.6 million barrels higher than had been expected. And, information emerged Wednesday that while flooding might force the Army Corps of Engineers to open spillways such as the Morganza in Louisiana, only one small refinery would be certain to close under those circumstances, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, a Houston-based consulting firm. The refinery contributes less than half a percent to in nation’s total refining capacity, Lipow said. “Even if there are some disruptions, other disruptions, we’re talking about oil that might have been processed at a refinery in Baton Rouge, having to go to Houston or Beaumont(,Texas) or Corpus Christi (,Texas),” Lipow said. Commodities markets responded. On Wednesday, Oil prices began at nearly $104 a barrel and ended the day at $98.57. While crude oil prices were dropping, so were gasoline futures contracts. Gasoline futures — agreements with large volume gasoline buyers and investors that deeply influence the price of gas at the pump –- fell from about $3.38 cents a gallon to about $3.12 around noon. The 26-cent drop triggered a five-minute halt on gasoline futures trading on the New York Mercantile exchange, according to the Wall Street Journal. By the day’s end, gasoline futures rebounded to $3.37. “It’s sometimes difficult to tell what’s going to happen,” said Lipow. “As more information gets out there … people are realizing that we are not going to have the worst case scenario — if the levees hold.” Market activity on Wednesday even sparked a new round of complaints about financial speculation — and lawmakers’ hesitancy to control the activity — in Washington, D.C. “What we have now on Wall Street is a crude oil casino, and it has been opened and is now being protected by the Republicans,” said Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) at a press conference. In late April, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he had created the Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group. The task force will explore the possibility of illegal activity in the energy market. People who think that oil prices have been particularly volatile should think back a few years, Lipow said. In July 2008, the price crude oil reached near $145 per barrel. By January 2009, crude oil was selling for about $40 per barrel.

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Public Entity Specialist Jo Ann Barnard Joins Alliant Insurance Services as Vice President

May 9, 2011

Based in Company’s Houston Office, Barnard Has Specialized in Public Sector for More Than 15 Years

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Houston Wire & Cable Company President and Chief Executive Officer Charles A. Sorrentino to Step Down at End of 2011, James L. Pokluda III, Promoted to President

May 5, 2011

HOUSTON, TX–(Marketwire – May 5, 2011) – Houston Wire & Cable Company ( NASDAQ : HWCC ) today announced that its President & Chief Executive Officer, Charles A. Sorrentino, will step down as the Company’s President effective immediately and as CEO at the end of 2011. The Company’s Board of Directors has elected James L. Pokluda III, age 46, the Company’s long time Vice President of Sales & Marketing, as the Company’s new President. Mr. Pokluda will assume the duties of President effective immediately, and will assume the additional responsibility of CEO at the end of the year. In addition, the Board of Directors has promoted Christopher R. McLeod, age 49, to Senior Vice President of Operations.

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TGS Announces New Senior Vice President

May 3, 2011

HOUSTON, TX–(Marketwire – May 3, 2011) – TGS is pleased to announce the appointment of Rod Starr as Senior VP Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. Mr. Starr has been with TGS for more than 10 years and has held a variety of leadership positions in both the Geophysical and Geological businesses. Most recently Rod held the position of General Manager, Asia Pacific and was based in Perth, Australia. Rod will begin this new role immediately and report directly to the CEO Robert Hobbs. The position will be based in Houston, Texas.

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Dylan Ratigan: How Much Longer for the "Royals"?

April 28, 2011

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. Tomorrow we will see a wedding between a Prince and a soon-to-be Princess. Polling in the US and UK shows that the public itself is largely apathetic, but we in the media can’t seem to get enough of the event. The wedding will cost over $100 million in security and ceremonial costs, and the British government is giving everyone the day off. Ordinary people will use this day ostensibly to celebrate the ceremonies of those born to privilege. But what they will probably do instead is ignore the wedding and spend time with their families. In America, we’re seeing our own version of this. According to the Business Roundtable, the confidence of American CEOs has never been higher . But 70% of the American public thinks that the country is on the wrong track. If you listen closely, you can hear a subtle creaking under the hood of the global economic system, like a car on the road that is slowly breaking down. Every day there’s a new funny noise, something that says it’s just not working right. The basic dynamic is inequality all over the world, in staggering proportions. But the interesting nugget is not the unfairness, but the increasing inability of elites to manage the increasing anger coming from the global losers. Last week, it was in China, a country with even worse inequality than our own. The largest container port in the world — Shanghai — saw a serious strike by Chinese truckers. The strike was muzzled by a combination of a media blackout, police power, and select concessions by the Chinese government to the strikers. So what does that have to do with us? Plenty. China makes what America consumes. Take, for instance, Walmart. Walmart is increasingly a Chinese company these days, orchestrating the shipping of goods made by incredibly poor Chinese workers to increasingly poor American consumers . Apple is another hybrid Chinese company, a middle-man. Steve Jobs makes billions running a design, retail, marketing, and R&D shop in the US known as Apple. His business partner Foxconn CEO Terry Guo makes his billions making iPads, iPods, and iPhones with 800,000 “iSlaves” in China. This is a system, and the strategy behind it is quite explicit. Economists have designed it, and they call it fighting inflation. Since wage gains contribute to inflation, stopping wage gains is the goal of the international trading regime. The natural end result is low wage workers in China selling to high debt consumers in America. You get an unstable system with a deeply immoral core, but hey, at least there’s no inflation. How do I know this is done on purpose? Well, the people in charge of the system say it when they think no one’s paying attention. I’m going to return to this Federal Open Market Committee transcript from 2005, which has received too little attention. Here’s Fed Dallas President Richard Fisher describing his conversations with area CEOs. Everyone I’ve talked to continues to try to figure out ways to exploit globalization. Each of them, from the IT [information technology] guys to the big box retailers to the specialty chemical firms to the service firms, wants to have offshore supply. One of the CEOs said, “We have a long way to go in exploiting China.” We’ve heard that forever. If you read the New York Times article two days ago about Shanghai’s new deep water port, you have to realize that those facilities are being built to ship goods out of China, not so much to ship goods into China… Now, this is good news on the disinflationary front. The bad news is stateside. We don’t have the capacity to absorb it. Long Beach and the Northwest harbors are constrained. Work rules, according to our interlocutors, are very slow to adjust. But there are ways to beat the bottlenecks… Wal- Mart just built a four million square foot warehouse in the Houston port, in order to shift part of the burden from Long Beach. But it is evident that the enemy is us as far as exploiting globalization, and I think that’s a long-term problem that we might want to take note of over time. Get that? Shanghai is increasingly an export-only port. Fisher’s statements were in 2005, when our country couldn’t accept enough goods because of bottlenecks at our ports. But beat the bottleneck we did, by widening the Panama Canal a few years later so China could ship to east coast ports as well. So now the American factory floor is being transferred to China at a faster and faster rate. Which brings me back to the strikes. American CEOs have exported not just our job base, but all the labor unrest that can come with it. China is running out of capacity to make our products, and commodity prices are going up for them as well. So inflation is hitting Chinese workers very hard right now — one of the causes of the trucker strike was a significant hike in fuel prices. The Chinese government quickly made concessions to the strikers, and is broadly attempting to deal with an incredible gap between the rich and the poor. But as Reuters noted , they aren’t doing this because of goodwill. Their worry is political: The Party leadership is especially jumpy about threats to its control following online calls for “Jasmine Revolution” protests inspired by anti-authoritarian uprisings across the Arab world, and has detained dozens of dissidents. Food price hikes sparked strikes in Egypt, which eventually turned into a political revolution. The Chinese government isn’t stupid, but it is trapped. Their strategy is to take American know-how by undercutting us on price, using protectionist measures that we stupidly allow. Our own corporate oligarchs are well-aware of this dynamic as well. They have been preparing for this moment for some time. Walmart (along with GE and even more surprisingly, Google) led the fight in April, 2007 to gut a new labor law proposed for Chinese workers on issues like collective bargaining, severance, etc. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai is using aggressive tactics to ensure that Chinese wages would remain low. Perhaps there is something ironic about aggressive lobbying tactics by multinationals being used effectively in both communist and capitalist legislatures to suppress worker rights. Or perhaps not. But you cannot suppress reality forever, and the strikes in Shanghai show that top-heavy gains eventually have consequences, even for those who make the rules. It’s not always as dramatic as Mubarak’s fall, but then again, Mubarak’s fall wasn’t the point when those first Egyptians began striking in 2007. It was the rising prices. It’s a very good time to be rich. The global trading system is benefiting those who manage huge capital flows. But unstable systems have a way of collapsing. And you can hear the creaking, even above the media circus of the royal wedding. Catch more from Dylan at DylanRatigan.com .

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CoStar’s People of Note (April 17-23)

April 22, 2011

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, South Florida, New York City, and Washington, DC. WASHINGTON, DC Avison Young Taps Almquist as a Principal Twenty-four-year industry veteran Marty Almquist joined Avison Young in Tysons Corner, VA, as a principal. The broker will focus on agency leasing and tenant representation in Northern Virginia. She will collaborate with top leasing…

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Experts Fear Another Oil Disaster

April 14, 2011

NEW ORLEANS — With everything Big Oil and the government have learned in the year since the Gulf of Mexico disaster, could it happen again? Absolutely, according to an Associated Press examination of the industry and interviews with experts on the perils of deep-sea drilling. The government has given the OK for oil exploration in treacherously deep waters to resume, saying it is confident such drilling can be done safely. The industry has given similar assurances. But there are still serious questions in some quarters about whether the lessons of the BP oil spill have been applied. The industry “is ill-prepared at the least,” said Charles Perrow, a Yale University professor specializing in accidents involving high-risk technologies. “I have seen no evidence that they have marshaled containment efforts that are sufficient to deal with another major spill. I don’t think they have found ways to change the corporate culture sufficiently to prevent future accidents.” He added: “There are so many opportunities for things to go wrong that major spills are unavoidable.” The worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history began with an explosion April 20, 2010, that killed 11 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig. More than 200 million gallons of crude spewed from the well a mile beneath the sea. Since then, new drilling rules have been imposed, a high-tech system for capping a blown-out well and containing the oil has been built, and regulators have taken steps to ramp up oversight of the industry. But deep-sea drilling remains highly risky. The effectiveness of the much-touted containment system is being questioned because it hasn’t been tested on the sea floor. A design flaw in the blowout preventers widely used across the industry has been identified but not corrected. And regulators are allowing companies to obtain drilling permits before approving their updated oil-spill response plans. After a monthslong moratorium, the Obama administration resumed issuing drilling permits earlier this year amid great pressure from the industry and lawmakers seeking to protect communities and workers whose livelihoods depend on drilling. A petroleum industry group is creating a center for offshore safety in Houston to address management practices and improve industry communication. And the agency that oversees offshore drilling now bars inspectors from regulating a company that employs a family member or friend. Also, inspectors who join the agency from the oil industry cannot perform inspections of their former employers for two years. BP says it is poised to become a much safer company. It ousted several key figures during the disaster – including CEO Tony Hayward – and created a powerful unit to police company safety. BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said that because of advances made during the crisis, “the capability exists to respond to a deep-water well blowout.” Similarly, Chevron spokesman Russell A. Johnson said his company is “confident of our ability to prevent an incident similar” to the Gulf oil spill. Whether any of that translates into better protection remains to be seen. “I’m not an oddsmaker, but I would say in the next five years we should have at least one major blowout,” Perrow said. “Even if everybody tries very hard, there is going to be an accident caused by cost-cutting and pressure on workers. These are moneymaking machines and they make money by pushing things to the limit.” After the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil producers including BP were criticized for errors in their federally required oil-spill response plans, such as severely underestimating the time it takes oil to reach shore. Several of the biggest oil producers told the AP they have updated their response plans but are still waiting for them to be approved. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said it is operating under a 2002 federal regulation that allows two years to approve such plans. In the meantime, companies are allowed to proceed with their drilling applications and obtain permits as long as they certify in writing that they can handle a spill, said agency spokeswoman Eileen Angelico. The agency “is taking the oil companies’ word for it that they can handle a spill,” said David Pettit, a senior attorney for the National Resources Defense Council, one of the nation’s leading environmental groups. “This is the same kind of deference to claimed oil company expertise that led directly to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.” Regulators, however, point out that operators have to provide significant supplemental data before permits are approved. To bolster their case for safer drilling, the companies can point to a new system developed by industry titans including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips to contain oil spills. The system includes a cap and a series of undersea devices – including cables, a riser and a piece of equipment that would pump dispersant. Lines would be hooked up to vessels on the surface. Oil companies say the system is capable of quickly containing a blowout 8,000 feet under water and capturing as much as 60,000 barrels of oil per day. By comparison, at the height of the Gulf spill in mid-June, BP’s well was spewing some 57,000 barrels a day at a depth of 5,000 feet. Michael Bromwich, director of the U.S. agency that regulates offshore drilling, recently acknowledged that the system was not tested in a dynamic situation – meaning in the ocean or during blowout conditions. He said such testing would be ideal, but he was still confident the system would work. Martin W. Massey, CEO of the Marine Well Containment Co., the consortium of companies that built the system, told the AP that components of the system were tested on land in Houston in a controlled environment, with government officials monitoring and approving it. He suggested that ocean testing was not necessary. “We’re quite confident,” he said. “We’re ready to respond. The system is ready to go.” The consortium has said an expanded network capable of plugging a well at more than 10,000 feet below the surface and collecting 100,000 barrels of oil per day won’t be ready until early 2012. Another piece of equipment that has come under new scrutiny is the blowout preventer. In a report last month, a firm hired by the government to test the 300-ton device made by Houston-based Cameron and used with BP’s ill-fated well said the device failed to pinch the well shut in part because of a design flaw that prevented it from cutting through a drill pipe that had been knocked off center. Cameron is one of the biggest manufacturers of blowout preventers, so the finding has raised concerns that the devices may have to be overhauled across the board. No design changes have been announced since the finding, and a Cameron vice president defended the integrity of the blowout preventers at a federal hearing this month. If oil reaches the surface and threatens land, response companies today would still rely on the same equipment and technology that failed to quickly protect land during the BP spill. Floating booms, for example, would still be put in place around sensitive marshes and beaches. Bromwich said recently that some oil and gas companies continue to tell him they believe the Deepwater Horizon was an aberration belonging to one party – BP – and it could not happen to them. “In my judgment, this is as disappointing as it is shortsighted,” Bromwich said. “Our view is this was a broad problem.” ___ Mohr reported from Jackson, Miss. Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman in New Orleans and Dina Cappiello in Washington contributed to this report.

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Gaddafi’s Son Had Internship In U.S. Just Before Libyan Conflict

March 26, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — A son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi toured U.S. ports and military facilities just weeks before he helped lead deadly attacks on rebels protesting his father’s authoritarian regime. Khamis Gaddafi, 27, spent four weeks in the U.S. as part of an internship with AECOM, a global infrastructure company with deep business interests in Libya, according to Paul Gennaro, AECOM’s Senior Vice President for Global Communications. The trip was to include visits to the Port of Houston, Air Force Academy, National War College and West Point, Gennaro said. The West Point visit was canceled on Feb. 17, when the trip was cut short and Gaddafi returned to Libya, Gennaro said. The uprising there began with a series of protests on Feb. 15. By late February, forces controlled by Khamis Gaddafi were leading the brutal assault to retake Zawiya, a city near Tripoli that rebels captured soon after the uprising began. Gennaro said the U.S. State Department approved of the trip, and considered Gaddafi a reformer. He said the government signed off on the itinerary, at times offering advice that affected the company’s plans for Gaddafi. State department officials denied any role in planning, advising or paying for the trip. “We did greet him at the airport. That is standard courtesy for the son of the leader of a country,” said State Department spokesman Mark Toner. Toner said the government was aware of Gaddafi’s itinerary, but “did not sign off on it.” AECOM was not paid to arrange the trip, and did not pay for related expenses, Gennaro said. He said the trip was arranged at the request of a Libyan, whom he declined to name. Gennaro was one of the AECOM executives who met with Gaddafi during the trip, to educate him on U.S. corporate practices. He said Gaddafi was “very, very interested in the planning, design, how do you advance large infrastructure projects.” “That was the nature and the tenor of this internship,” he said. Khamis Gaddafi was killed earlier this week after a disaffected Libyan air force pilot who crash-landed his jet in the ruling family’s headquarters, according to unconfirmed reports cited by ABC News and Al-Arabiya television. He died from burn injuries after the crash, the reports said. Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi’s youngest son, was pursuing an MBA at the IE Business School, in Madrid, Spain, until earlier this month. The school expelled him because of his role in attacks on Libyan protestors. Khamis Gaddafi led the Khamis Brigade, one of several professional military units that are loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi. U.S. diplomats in leaked memos have called it “the most well-trained and well-equipped force in the Libyan military.” In one brutal attack, his forces surrounded Zawiya while rebels in the city celebrated their victory and cared for the injured. The Khamis Brigade then unleashed an all-out assault from three sides, unloading their weapons and artillery as they stormed the city. The city sank into darkness at night due to power outages and the main hospital became too dangerous for patients because it was under the control of government forces. ____ Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

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Video: Ciccarone Says Majority of Muni Bond Market `Healthy’

March 22, 2011

March 22 (Bloomberg) — Richard Ciccarone, managing director and chief research officer at McDonnell Investment Management LLC, and Ronald Green, controller for the city of Houston, talk about the outlook for the municipal finance. They speak with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Philip C. Berg Joins Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen

March 21, 2011

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire – March 21, 2011) – Philip C. Berg has joined the corporate practice of Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, P.C., as Of Counsel. Berg was formerly a partner at Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP in New York where he was a member of the corporate and transactional, banking and financial institutions and public finance groups. Berg has represented major corporations in numerous mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions, including private placements of debt and equity, securities offerings, and commercial secured financings. Berg was the head of a group that represented a major credit card company, responsible for negotiating and drafting financially complex agreements with banks, merchants and retail brands. 

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CoStar’s People of Note (Feb. 27-March 5)

March 4, 2011

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Inland Empire, Long Island, Minneapolis, Nashville, Orange County, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and St. Louis. ATLANTA Grubb Boosts Office, Retail Groups With New Hires Grubb & Ellis Co. added two top real estate professionals to its Atlanta office. Sean Moynihan joined the office group as senior vice president and Michael…

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Three Deals that Capture the Current State of Distressed Investing

March 3, 2011

While much of the recent headlines have focused on the run-up in values of trophy properties in the most desirable submarkets of handful of primary world class cities, distressed investors continue to plumb markets and properties left for dead in the last few years. As a way of exploring the current state of distressed investing, we’ll take a look here at recent deals from experienced distressed investors: Boxer Property in Houston; Mountain Real…

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Younan Sells Houston Office Tower to KBS REIT

February 28, 2011

Younan Properties Inc. sold Two WestLake Park, a 388,142-square-foot office structure in west Houston, TX, to KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II. The price was undisclosed. Two WestLake Park is a 29-year-old, 17-story building with a five-level, 1,189-space parking garage at 580 Westlake Park Blvd. The property is part of Westlake Office Park, a 58-acre, master-planned development in the Katy Freeway/Energy Corridor submarket. In September…

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Unilev Buys Offices at Houston Galleria for $176M

February 25, 2011

Unilev Capital Corp., a real estate investment firm based in Beverly Hills, CA, completed its purchase of 1.09 million square feet in Class A office space in the Uptown/Galleria area of Houston, TX. After 11 years of ownership, an entity of Chicago-based Walton Street Capital LLC sold the three-building portfolio for $176 million or $161.50 per square foot. Unilev secured a $130 million, 10-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan through JP Morgan Chase…

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CoStar’s People of Note (Feb. 20-26)

February 25, 2011

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Austin, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Inland Empire, National, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Washington, DC and Westchester/South Connecticut. NATIONAL Colliers Appoints Dahlstrom Head of Investment Services Group Twenty-five year commercial real estate industry veteran Warren Dahlstrom joined Colliers International’s Investment Services Group as president. Dahlstrom…

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CoStar’s People of Note (Feb. 20-26)

February 25, 2011

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Austin, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Inland Empire, National, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Washington, DC and Westchester/South Connecticut. NATIONAL Colliers Appoints Dahlstrom Head of Investment Services Group Twenty-five year commercial real estate industry veteran Warren Dahlstrom joined Colliers International’s Investment Services Group as president. Dahlstrom…

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Scott Gamm: Credit CARD Act One Year Later: Was it a Success?

February 21, 2011

One year ago on February 22, 2010, the epic Credit CARD Act took effect, which aimed to reform the entire credit card industry and help young people under age 21 steer clear of credit card dangers. Now one year later, was the CARD Act a success? The simple answer: yes and no. Studies published last week show how the CARD Act has benefited consumers, despite opponents who claimed the laws would only prompt banks to think of new ways to make money. Among the specifics of the CARD Act included clear and easy to understand disclosures on credit card statements. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, “an estimated $12.1 billion in previously obscure yearly charges are now stated more clearly in credit card offers.” Another component of the CARD Act dealt with minimum payments. Credit card companies must now disclose exactly how much money in interest it will cost and how long it will take consumers to get out of debt if they only pay the minimum payment. According to a survey conducted by Consumer Reports in July 2010, 23% of those of participated in the survey are now making payments greater than the minimum as a result of the warnings on the credit card bill. Interest rates on credit cards have increased. According to the Federal Reserve, interest rates on credit cards towards the end of 2010 on average were 13.44%, compared to about 12.08% in 2008. The credit card industry would argue that the increase in interest rates was due to the CARD Act and more rules and regulation. However, according to a study released last week from CardHub.com, the rise in interest rates was due to the unstable economy and not the CARD Act. CARD Act Fails to Help Students The CARD Act aimed to protect students from credit card dangers by requiring those under age 21 to have a cosigner on the account and prohibiting credit card companies from sending pre-approved credit card offers to those under age 21 via mail. According to a study released last month from the University of Houston, 76% of undergraduate students received credit card offers in the mail over the past year. While it’s still legal for companies to send credit card offers in the mail (pre-approved offers, however, are illegal and against the CARD Act), this study shows how willing credit card companies are to find any and all loopholes. Here’s a tip: if you’re a student and receive any type of credit card offer in the mail, rip it up and throw it away! Credit cards offers sent via mail are usually littered with high fees and high interest rates. Instead, apply for a secured credit card or visit CreditCardConnection.org to search for credit unions in your area. While the CARD Act was a win in terms of more transparency and disclosures, it’s up to the consumer to ensure that they are not getting ripped off by credit card companies. Best option: use cash – you won’t have to worry about what credit card companies do and you’ll never accrue credit card debt. Scott Gamm is the founder of the personal finance website HelpSaveMyDollars.com . He has appeared on NBC’s TODAY, MSNBC, Fox Business Network, Fox News, ABC News and CBS.

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CoStar’s People of Note (Feb. 13-19)

February 18, 2011

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland/Northern Ohio, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, National, New York City, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Richmond and San Antonio. AUSTIN, DALLAS/FORT WORTH, HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO Veteran Investors Form State of TX Real Estate Fund Veteran commercial real estate investors Mark Jordan and Kevin White formed the State of Texas…

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Veteran Investors Form State of TX Real Estate Fund

February 15, 2011

Veteran commercial real estate investors Mark Jordan and Kevin White formed the State of Texas Real Estate Fund LP. Their goal is to raise $150 million to acquire distressed office, industrial and raw land in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Jordan and White will serve as managing directors of the Dallas-based fund. The senior executives said they chose to focus on the Lone Star State because the local economy is growing faster than for…

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Veteran Investors Form State of TX Real Estate Fund

February 15, 2011

Veteran commercial real estate investors Mark Jordan and Kevin White formed the State of Texas Real Estate Fund LP. Their goal is to raise $150 million to acquire distressed office, industrial and raw land in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Jordan and White will serve as managing directors of the Dallas-based fund. The senior executives said they chose to focus on the Lone Star State because the local economy is growing faster than for…

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Last Week’s Bad Weather Cost Roughly $150 Million

February 9, 2011

DALLAS — An ice and snow storm that moved through Texas on Wednesday caused the cancellation of about 500 departing and arriving flights in Dallas and more in other central U.S. states. Nationwide, the total of canceled flights passed 1,200 by mid-afternoon, according to tracking service FlightAware.com. Besides cancelations at Dallas-Fort Worth International, a hub for American Airlines, Houston and Memphis were each hit by about 150 canceled flights. Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport is a hub for Continental. Smaller numbers of cancelations stretched from Denver to Atlanta. With the Texas focus of Wednesday’s bad weather, it was no surprise that American Airlines and its regional affiliate, American Eagle, absorbed nearly half the cancelations. It’s been a severe winter for airlines. Last week, ice and frigid temperatures led to more than 20,000 cancelations, and that followed big storms in December and January that wiped out thousands of flights each. Vaughn Cordle of AirlineForecasts, who advises institutional investors, estimates last week’s storm cost U.S. airlines between $120 million and $150 million in lost profit. Cordle’s estimates include lost revenue offset by money saved because the airlines don’t burn fuel on canceled flights.

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CFPB May Crowdsource Payday Lender Crackdown

February 3, 2011

WASHINGTON — The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rolled out a preliminary version of its website on Thursday, and with it a few indications about the agency’s plans to crowdsource prospective regulations that may soon target shady payday lenders. The CFPB hopes to use its website at consumerfinance.gov to collect data not just from banks, but from consumers, in order to monitor trends in various lending markets. While they’re still devising specific plans, the agency hopes to have an active public presence, with a simple, closely-watched platform for borrowers to submit complaints. Elizabeth Warren, an adviser to President Barack Obama who is charged with setting up the bureau, told HuffPost in October that she hopes to use crowdsourcing to enhance the regulator’s impact. One of the agency’s crowdsourcing initiatives may involve payday lenders and check-cashing shops. Because these businesses are often small operations, they can be difficult for federal officials to track, appearing in a neighborhood only to disappear a few weeks later. Citizens could organize to take photos of new payday lending or check cashing products, and upload those photos to the CFPB website. That could help notify other members of the neighborhood about potentially-troublesome local companies, as well as helping the regulator build a list of shops to investigate. As Warren said in a speech at the University of California at Berkeley in October, “Through crowd-sourcing technology, consumers can deal collectively with those who would take advantage of them–and can reward those who provide excellent products and services.” Payday lenders provide short-term, high-interest loans to consumers that critics say are designed to be difficult to repay, often encouraging consumers to repay one payday loan with another. This can lead to a vicious — and expensive — cycle of debt. Members of the U.S. military are a particular target for high-interest lenders. A 2006 Department of Defense report concluded that payday lending was having a negative effect on military readiness and troop morale. The CFPB is yet to formally detail any specific programs, but the bureau hopes to submit new consumer-protection ideas to the public on its website and allow borrowers to voice approval or disapproval through an online voting system. The bureau’s website stresses the struggles facing borrowers. A “Protecting You” page features three stories from borrowers who have had problems with their bank, emphasizing that the CFPB hopes to respond to similar cases. The new website’s design represents a considerable change of tone from the consumer-complaint resources available from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, previously the ostensible go-to for borrowers. The OCC’s consumer call center, based in Houston, has long been criticized by state banking regulators and public-interest groups for being inattentive to consumer complaints. In December 2007 testimony before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Affairs Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, noted that some state regulators referred to the call center as “OCC’s black hole in Houston.” The OCC, which declined to comment for this story, rolled out its helpwithmybank.gov website in 2007 in response to criticism that its call center is clunky, but many consumer advocates say the regulator remains clunky and unhelpful. The banking horror stories on the CFPB’s site are reproduced below: Karen, 32, is an airport security supervisor from Pennsylvania. When she refinanced her mortgage, her broker promised her a low fixed-rate loan but instead gave her two more expensive loans. Why? She didn’t know it at the time, but giving her both a large adjustable-rate first loan and a second smaller loan increased the fees she paid to the broker. Karen told the lender what she had in savings and her income, but the broker changed the numbers on her form. (Some brokers changed numbers in order to make borrowers eligible for higher loan amounts than they could otherwise qualify for–and to close a deal for a bigger mortgage that will give the broker bigger fees.) The broker scheduled Karen for a late-night closing and did not give her the closing documents at the time of closing, so she was not aware of these changes. The consumer bureau will work to prevent similar abuses, in part by enforcing the requirement in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that mortgage lenders document and verify a borrower’s income or assets before making a loan to ensure that the borrower can afford to repay it. Robin, 55, is a seventh-grade science teacher from Georgia. Her credit card company increased the rate on her existing credit card balance from 10.90% to 17.90%, even though she paid her account on time every month. The increase has been particularly difficult for her family because her husband’s landscaping business has been hard hit recently by the financial crisis. The consumer bureau will enforce the Credit CARD Act, which President Obama signed in 2009 to ban credit card issuers from arbitrarily raising rates on existing balances and other unfair practices. The CFPB will also be responsible for updating the credit card rules moving forward. Andrew, 62, is a retired Baltimore police officer and Vietnam veteran who manages a fitness center for seniors. Andrew had both a primary checking account and a separate “veteran’s account” in which he received $123 in benefits each month. In 2009, his bank made a mistake that caused confusion about a replacement debit card for one of his accounts. The bank had also automatically enrolled Andrew’s veteran’s account, including transactions using the debit card, in “overdraft” protection that he never asked for–a practice that has since been prohibited. When Andrew used the replacement card–expecting it to withdraw from his primary checking account–he was hit with hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees on his veteran’s account. Andrew discovered the bank’s error and explained the situation, but the bank was willing to refund only part of the fees. The consumer bureau will examine big banks to ensure that they are following the rules that now require banks to give consumers a real choice of whether to join overdraft protection programs for ATM and debit card transactions. The CFPB will update those rules to respond to changes in the marketplace over time.

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State Takes Control Over Nassau County’s Finances

January 26, 2011

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — One of the nation’s wealthiest counties was placed Wednesday under a state fiscal watchdog that determined it was headed for financial trouble, opening the possibility of a wage freeze for thousands of workers. The unanimous vote by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority came after auditors found Nassau County’s 2011 budget gap could be as much as $176 million. The authority is required to take control of the county’s finances any time it finds the risk of a 1 percent deficit, or $26 million. The decision places short-term borrowing for operating expenses on hold and means the authority must approve any county contracts, from purchasing new shovels to agreements with labor unions, before any money is spent. The duration of the takeover will be determined by how soon the budget gap can be closed, authority chairman Ronald Stack said. The authority instructed county officials to revise their $2.6 billion budget by Feb. 15. “These are the real world consequences of the worst recession in 70 years, and the federal and state response to it,” said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. “Unlike presidents and congressional leaders, mayors and county executives live with the consequences.” Stack said taxpayers in the county just outside New York City – where last year’s average property tax bill was $11,500, nearly the highest in the country – will not notice any difference government operations. He said the authority’s purpose is to advise county officials, not to make policy decisions. County Executive Edward Mangano, who lobbied hard to prevent the takeover, decried it as unnecessary and premature. He said county attorneys would review the decision before proceeding with any legal challenges. Mangano insisted the budget, ratified by the county legislature and comptroller, is balanced. “If they wanted to run Nassau County, there is a process, get elected,” Mangano said at press briefing later Wednesday. Stack disputed assertions that the vote was politically inspired. “On this board are three registered Democrats, a registered conservative, a registered Republican and an independent,” Stack said. “And it voted unanimously. It is not partisan, it is not political.” The county is hardly alone in its struggles. A June 2010 survey by the National Association of Counties found 65 percent of responding counties reported between $100,000 and $50 million in budget shortfalls. “Things are pretty dim,” said Jacqueline Byers, association’s director of research and outreach. “We’re waiting with bated breath to see how much worse it gets in 2011.” In the past month, officials in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, began notifying 14 employees of layoffs in an effort to trim its $1.3 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins March 1. In Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, including Cleveland, workers are facing a third straight year of being forced to take five unpaid days off to help balance the budget. In Boyd County, Ky., 17 county employees were laid off earlier this month. The finance authority overseeing Nassau County is a state watchdog created in 2000 when the county first had fiscal difficulties requiring a $100 million state bailout after years of little or no tax hikes. The six-member board (there is currently one vacancy) is appointed by the governor, state comptroller and the two leaders of the state legislature. Mangano, a Republican who ran as a “tax revolt” candidate in 2009, said he inherited a $133 million deficit when he took office, and kept a campaign promise to eliminate a $40 million home energy tax, but argues the county now has a $5 million surplus obtained through staff cuts and other savings. He complained that recent chatter over Nassau’s finances led Moody’s late last year to downgrade the county’s credit rating, making it more expensive to borrow money. “When you create doubt where none exists, it costs dollars,” Mangano said. Nassau has had to contend with shortfalls in sales tax revenue, increases in employee health care and social services costs, police overtime and other issues. But E.J. McMahon, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and expert on New York state issues, also noted that for decades after World War II, as Long Island evolved into quintessential suburbia with a current population of 3 million, county politicians made spending decisions their successors have come to regret. The average police salary approaches six figures, and 400 retired county officers currently receive pensions of more than $100,000, he said. Mangano also has tried to overhaul the county’s convoluted tax assessment system. Nearly 65 percent of a county property owner’s tax bill is dedicated to school taxes, although the county has no say over school district spending. Despite that, in an arrangement created decades ago, the county pays refunds to property owners who claim their school tax assessments are too high. Nearly a decade ago, the county legislature voted to revamp the system, spurred in part by the threat of a lawsuit claiming it was racially discriminatory because homes increased in value much faster in white neighborhoods than in minority areas. That left minority homeowners paying a higher percentage of home value in taxes. While changes were made, Hofstra’s Levy and others note the county still owes tens of millions in refunds for overassessments. Brian Nevin, a senior adviser to Mangano, said the county has passed additional assessment reforms, but they don’t kick in until 2013. According to Levy, the system is so flawed that virtually every business or homeowner that challenges their assessment rate wins. That forces Nassau to borrow $100 million annually to refund homeowners. The county portion of a homeowner’s tax bill is only 16.4 percent of the total, but the Manhattan Institute’s McMahon points out that is an average of over $1,800 a year. “There are people in other parts of the country whose entire tax bills are not that much,” he said.

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Northwest Pipe Company’s Tubular Products Group Names Les Boswell, Vice President Sales & Marketing

January 18, 2011

VANCOUVER, WA–(Marketwire – January 18, 2011) – Northwest Pipe Company ( NASDAQ : NWPX ), an industry leader of engineered welded steel pipe and tube products, recently announced the appointment of Les Boswell as Vice President, Sales & Marketing for the Tubular Products Group. Based in Houston, Texas, Les has the responsibility of leading the Tubular Products Group sales and marketing efforts, specifically overseeing all tubular sales activities in the U.S. and Canada.

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CoStar’s People of Note (Jan. 9-15)

January 14, 2011

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, National, Retail, South Florida and Tampa. DALLAS NAI Global Names Buss SVP of Special Asset Solutions Timothy P. Buss, CCIM (pictured, right) joined NAI Global’s Special Asset Solutions group in Dallas as senior vice president. Buss, a lender solutions specialist, will work with banks and special servicers with distressed…

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Cassidy Turley Adds Capstar To Expand In Dallas and Houston

January 13, 2011

Cassidy Turley added privately held Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services to its expanding market coverage. With more than 100 employees and offices in Dallas and Houston, Capstar will be formally rebranded as Cassidy Turley and will transition to the new name by February 15, 2011. “This addition is a key component of our strategic growth plan and allows us to offer our full spectrum of services in two significant markets – Dallas and Houston…

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BP Survives? Oil Spill Won’t Impact ‘Ability To Do Business’

December 29, 2010

NEW YORK — As the Gulf oil spill gushed out of control, BP’s financial liabilities seemed big enough to sink the company. No more. Cleanup, government fines, lawsuits, legal fees and damage claims will likely exceed the $40 billion that BP has publicly estimated, according to an Associated Press analysis. But they’ll be far below the highest estimates made over the summer by legal experts and prominent Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs, which said costs could near $200 billion. BP will survive the worst oil spill in U.S. history for several key reasons: it has little debt; its global businesses are forecast to generate $26 billion next year in cash flow from operations; the environmental impact of the spill isn’t as bad as feared; and the government seems unlikely to ban BP from Gulf drilling. To bolster its finances, BP has cut its dividend, issued debt and sold more than $21 billion in assets. “It could have been a lot worse,” says Tyler Priest, a University of Houston petroleum historian who serves on President Obama’s oil spill investigation committee. “BP is going to come back from this.” Many influential investors appear to agree. According to Thomson Reuters, 23 firms with $1 billion or more invested in the stock market, including BlackRock Investment Management, Managed Account Advisors and Rydex Security Global Investors, more than doubled their holdings of BP stock from July through September. At $44.11, BP’s stock price has risen 63 percent from its low of $27.02 on June 25. It’s still down 27 percent from its close of $60.48 on April 20, the day of the spill. The well was capped on July 15. The AP analysis shows the company is likely to face $38 billion to $60 billion in spill-related costs. A settlement with the federal government could reduce that amount, while a successful class-action lawsuit could add billions more. The analysis includes: _The $10.7 billion that BP already has paid to plug its well, clean up the spilled oil and pay damage claims and other costs. _A $20 billion fund that BP set up in August for individuals and private businesses that were affected by the spill. The fund, known as the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, pays for environmental damage, personal injury, cleanup and lost earnings. The fund so far has paid $2.7 billion to address nearly 168,000 claims. Nearly half a million individuals and businesses have filed claims, and those that settle with the fund give up their right to sue the company. If any of the $20 billion is left over, it goes back to BP. _Fines: The Justice Department is suing BP for violating the Clean Water Act. Fines are based on how much oil was spilled. The government’s estimate of 4.9 million barrels means BP faces between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion in fines. The upper limit applies if investigators conclude BP acted with gross negligence. The government has a history of settling with companies for as little as 50 cents on the dollar in order to avoid lengthy disputes, says Eric Schaeffer, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement division. _Legal fees: BP has hired lawyers, engineers and geologists to defend the company. These experts could cost as much as $2 billion, according to Mitratech Inc., a consulting firm that handles legal and trial logistics for Fortune 500 companies. _Lawsuits: The toughest costs to estimate are future settlements and judgments from the hundreds of lawsuits filed against BP, including any class actions. Shrimpers, oystermen, charter-boat operators, restaurant workers and real-estate developers are suing BP for lost business. Oil rig workers and cleanup crews are making personal injury claims. And Gulf states and local governments are expected to sue for lost tax revenue and environmental damages. Alabama is seeking an initial $148 million from BP. Analysts at Citigroup say settlements, judgments and punitive damages from these suits will total as much as $6 billion. Legal experts caution that the unpredictability of juries makes it difficult to estimate the cost of losing a class-action lawsuit. A successful class-action could easily double the Citigroup estimate for total legal liabilities, says Alexandra Lahav, a University of Connecticut professor who studies such lawsuits. BP may be able to spread the spill’s costs around. Minority partners Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and MOEX 2007 LLC own 35 percent of the operation, and rig owner Transocean Ltd. also may be asked to pay. “Companies have the incentive to settle with BP to put the matter behind them,” FBR analyst Robert MacKenzie says. He expects BP to get as much as $2 billion from Transocean and as much as $4 billion from Anadarko. “We’ve set aside what we think is the right amount to pay for the relevant costs” from the spill, BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams says. Since the spill, BP has moved aggressively to shore up its finances. The company suspended its quarterly dividend of 84 cents a share, which cost it $10.5 billion last year. It also raised $21 billion in asset sales that include: $7 billion for its stake in Pan American Energy; $7 billion for oil fields in the U.S., Canada and Egypt; $1.9 billion for its Colombian exploration business; and $1.8 billion for assets in Vietnam and Venezuela. BP also raised $3.5 billion in an Oct. 1. bond sale. From April through June, when BP’s stock was tanking, Fred Fromm, who manages a natural resources fund for Franklin Templeton Investments, scooped up 170,000 shares. Their value climbed by more than $2 million in the third quarter. A few weeks after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, scientists worried the oil slick would reach the Gulf’s Loop Current, which sweeps around Florida and up the East Coast. Beaches would be damaged along the way. But BP got lucky. Gulf winds kept shifting, which kept the oil concentrated in the waters south of Louisiana, said David Hollander, a University of South Florida chemical oceanographer. And hurricanes mostly avoided the region. Scientists disagree about how much oil remains in the Gulf, but already the streaky sheens of oil on the surface are mostly gone. The more oil that remains, the greater the potential for environmental lawsuits. Whatever remains, “it won’t impact their long-term ability to do business,” says Citigroup oil analyst Mark Fletcher. Exxon dealt with lawsuits for decades after its Valdez supertanker ran aground and spilled 11 million gallons of crude into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. The spill cost Exxon $4.5 billion – nearly half of which went to clean up the oil. The rest was spent on payments to residents and businesses, punitive damages and settlements with the government. Exxon never lost its perch among industry leaders, and BP won’t either, says Citigroup’s Fletcher. BP remains among the top oil drillers in a world that runs on petroleum, and that may be the best way to judge the company’s lasting power. “Did (Valdez) stop anyone from buying Exxon gasoline? No. Exxon’s results are better than anyone’s on a multiyear basis,” Fletcher said.

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U.S. Federal Court Orders Two Real Estate Companies to Pay CoStar Group $1.1 Million in Damages for Illegal Password-Sharing

December 23, 2010

Think illegally sharing passwords to online services is worth the risk? A landmark verdict handed down this week by a federal court that awarded more than $1.1 million in damages for illegally sharing passwords may convince you otherwise. CoStar Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSGP) announced a significant legal victory in breaking up a multi-state, multi-defendant password-sharing network that involved companies in Orange County, California, Houston, Texas…

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Lease Down: Insteel Industries Closing Facilities in Delaware, Texas

December 20, 2010

Insteel Industries Inc. will be closing its 150,000-square-foot leased facility at 12800 Aldine Westfield Road in Houston, TX, and moving the manufacturing to its owned Dayton, TX, plant. The production equipment at the Houston facility was acquired in connection with Insteel’s recent purchase of certain of the assets of Ivy Steel & Wire Inc. The consolidation of the plants is expected to result in the elimination of 67 positions at the Houston…

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CoStar’s People of Note (Nov. 14-20)

November 19, 2010

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Greenville/Spartanburg, Houston, Long Island, National, Philadelphia and Seattle. NATIONAL Underhill Named CEO of the Americas for Cushman & Wakefield Cushman & Wakefield appointed…

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CoStar’s People of Note (Nov. 7-13)

November 12, 2010

This week’s People of Note includes the following markets: Boston, East Bay, Houston, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and South Bay. HOUSTON Transwestern, Page Partners Form Retail Mgmt. Joint Venture Transwestern formed a strategic…

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David Isenberg: KBR to Contractors: Yours Is Not Question Why, Yours is But to Do or Die

November 11, 2010

It is once again time to look at KBR’s legal battles. Today we take a look at the case of Reggie Lane in the Fisher, Lane v. Halliburton, KBR litigation . You can find relevant documents at the website of Fibich, Hampton & Leebron, L.L.P, which is one of the law firms representing Mr. Lane. See here . This is a case which has been cited in many other law suits, mainly because the courts have seen fit not to dismiss the suit, thus weakening the traditional contractor defense, i.e., the “political questions” doctrine. That doctrine excludes from judicial review those controversies which revolve around policy choices and value determinations constitutionally committed for resolution to the halls of Congress or the confines of the executive branch.” That has traditionally been taken to mean that issues stemming from the battlefield are supposedly outside the court’s jurisdiction. But in recent times courts have decided it is within their mandate. KBR lost several pretrial attempts to dispose of the Fisher, Lane v. Halliburton case (the most recent in March 2010). Rather than go to trial, KBR has appealed all of its rejected defenses to the Fifth Circuit. According to Joe Melugin, an attorney at Fibich, Hampton & Leebron, who has worked closely with lead counsel T. Scott Allen, Jr., of Houston, Texas, the brief was filed with the Fifth Circuit on Oct. 27, 2010. On November 9 the Court made its redacted version publicly available. What follows are some excerpts from the brief. According to Melugin, “The attached brief and record excerpts bring together (perhaps better than any previously filed publicly available documents) the facts, evidence and testimony which clearly show that KBR and its managers were fully aware that they were sending our clients to their deaths and they did it anyway.” As this is a pretrial appeal, many facts are in dispute. However, two vital facts are no longer disputed: (1) KBR had the unilateral authority to stop its drivers from participating in convoys and was not subject to the once-alleged “plenary control” of the military, 1 and (2) KBR managers unanimously expected April 9, 2004 to be the single worst day of attacks on civilian convoy drivers. KBR claimed to be subject to the Army’s plenary control. However, Judge Miller determined the evidence proves otherwise. R 2185 (“[KBR] argue[s] that they were under the plenary control of the Army, that the convoys went out according to strict protocols, and that they did not have the authority to refuse to send a convoy. However, this argument finds support in neither the terms of the LOGCAP contract itself, nor the practice of the parties at the time.”). KBR even conceded this fact in the final hearing prior to Judge Miller’s February 8, 2010 order. R 2161. This concession marked a departure from KBR’s previous claims to this Court. Lane v. Halliburton, 529 F.3d 548, 561 n.5 (5th Cir. 2008). Given the following material it is understandable why KBR tried so hard to keep this brief under seal. Reading it one can only think of the phrase “depraved indifference” when reading how KBR exposed its drivers to fatal danger. Once upon a time it appears that KBR actually took seriously keeping its contractors safe. KBR assembles a team of Security Professionals In 2003, George Seagle became KBR’s top Security person in the mideast. Seagle led KBR’s _____ All Security personnel would report to Seagle, who reported to Chief Operating Officer Tom Crum. Seagle and his Security Department warned the company of the deadly consequences of sending the truck drivers out on the road the day they died. LOGCAP Operations came under the authority of KBR’s Program General Manager (“PGM”). The 2003 PGM, John Downey, took safety seriously. He authorized every employee in the company to call a halt to any activity that the employee believed to be unsafe: The LOGCAP Safety Philosophy is simple . . . There is not one thing that we do that is worth injury to an employee. Each of you has my personal authority to stop any activity, which you believe to be unsafe. This memo became company dogma. KBR provided copies and read it to all orientation attendees. However, in February 2004, KBR replaced John Downey as Program General Manager with recently retired Army General Craig Peterson. Although Peterson paid lip service to the safety philosophy ,under his authority KBR practiced an irreconcilably different philosophy: “if the military pushes we push.” Indeed, KBR pushed very hard. Early April 2004 saw the worst fighting since the invasion. On April 1, KBR’s COO ordered Craig Peterson to heed the views of the Security Department: But Peterson and his subordinate Keith Richard had different ideas. On April 2, Security’s Rex Williams issued a “Threat Update Document.” It noted more sophisticated attacks on convoys and an expected surge of violence for the coming weekend: Good Friday (April 9) through Easter Sunday. It included a map and two KBR security calendars. One calendar highlighted (in red) that April 9, 2004 marked the first anniversary of the American liberation/occupation of Baghdad and warned of for April 9. The other calendar highlighted Easter weekend as coinciding with Arabeen, a Shia holy period. On April 4, Security’s Ray Simpson wrote to Peterson’s underling Keith Richard (and others) to propose “holding back on moving convoys,” while passing along the concerns of another security coordinator, who described coordinated attacks in Baghdad. Richard copied Peterson to the discussion and sought advice from security manager John Stewart. Stewart replied to all, “Right now our vehicles don’t need to be out there.” Meanwhile, Rex Williams reported that attacks in the Baghdad area for the week ending April 3 had climbed by 50% over the previous week. On April 5, Security tried to stop all drivers from going out. Security’s Ray Simpson ordered that there would be “no convoy movement,” based on the direction of KBR TTM Security Director Joe Brown. But Keith Richard vetoed Security’s order: “This is not a decision Joe or I can make. Only Craig Peterson or Ray Rodon can make this decision.” Brown (with added support from the LOGCAP Security Manager) re-urged his warning, “It is not safe enough for us to move.” But Richard spat back that he – not Security – was in charge: Additionally, Iraq Security Manager John Jones highlighted earlier warnings to Peterson and Richard regarding April 9 before advising, “On the 9th and 10th there will be no travel.” By Wednesday, April 7, it seemed Security was being completely ignored. Regardless, Security’s Joe Brown continued to reiterate the warnings about April 9 and 10. Meanwhile, Keith Richard exchanged emails with a friend back home. Responding to a question about his location, and showing his state of mind, Richard wrote: In the damn war zone. One of my convoy’s was hit with 14 mortars, 6 RPG’s, 5 IED’s and small arms fire. It was a basic ambush. Amazingly no one was injured or killed. Richard announced he was having a hard time “consciously sending [drivers] out in the line of fire.” But Richard followed instructions and “[he had] been given instructions to keep pushing.” Meanwhile, Peterson prepared his superiors: “The rest of this week and next week will be very difficult as there is a national holiday and a regional pilgrimage combined.” Skipping ahead to April 9, 2004, after numerous attacks against KBR convoys had occurred, we have this: By 10:05 a.m., word spread about the attack on Reedel’s convoy. Joe Daniel reported to Keith Richard that Reedel would secure at BIAP and KBR’s 10:00 a.m. Situation Report shows Hamill convoy _________ A 10:28 email reports three convoys under attack near the Tampa/Sword junction. Twelve minutes later, KBR announced that the military has designated Tampa as “red” status. Attached to this announcement is KBR’s 10:30 Situation Report. The Report shows three convoys (Teddy, Tomaszewski, and Watson) currently under attack in the BIAP area with a fourth (Reedel) having driven through the same combat only minutes earlier, while a fifth (Larvenz) was diverted from Sword to BIAP ____. This report shows the Hamill convoy at Anaconda, still staging, i.e., preparing to leave. Satellite images verify KBR’s situation reports. The Hamill convoy began the day at 7:00 a.m., staging within Anaconda. Between 7:38 and 9:51 a.m., Hamill moved no more than 200 meters, all within Anaconda. By the time Hamill reported his departure at 10:45 a.m., KBR knew at least this: (1) Henderson convoy was attacked between Anaconda and BIAP. (2) Reedel convoy was attacked in the BIAP area. (3) Reedel lost his truck, along with at least six others, in the attack. (4) At least eight drivers were missing from the Reedel convoy. (5) Drivers were injured in the Reedel attack. (6) Teddy, Watson, and Tomaszewski convoys are currently under attack in the BIAP area. (7) Larvenz convoy was attacked on Sword and diverted into BIAP for safety. (8) Daryl Watson convoy was attacked leaving BIAP. (9) Reed convoy reported heavy fire between Abu Ghraib prison and BIAP. (10) The military has designated Tampa as “red.” Despite this knowledge KBR directed Hamill to lead a convoy of unarmed American civilians–men not allowed to wear camouflage–driving Army green camouflaged fuel tankers into combat. Moreover, as Hamill testified, for all he knew: It was just a normal day like any other day … No one from KBR or Halliburton had told me anything that would make me think it wasn’t a normal day like any other.

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