| U of T to divest $10-million in tobacco stock
The University of Toronto has become the first university in Canada to eliminate tobacco company investments on ethical grounds. The decision, bowing to an appeal launched by a group of students, appears to be an unusual step for any Canadian university. Most of the postsecondary institutions contacted yesterday do not have a formal mechanism for considering ethical concerns when making investment decisions. The March, 2006, petition that prompted the U of T decision was delivered by a group calling itself Education-Bringing Youth Tobacco Truths (E-BUTT). The group requested the institution divest itself of all of its tobacco and tobacco-related stocks and bonds. Third-year political science and ethics student Tyler Ward, 20, founded E-BUTT in January, 2006, and the group now has 35 members.
Langtons Property Plus - Our Privilege, Your Rewards: Investing in ...
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(CCNMatthews - April 3, 2007) - Residential investment property specialist, Langtons Property Plus (www.langtonspp.com) is launching its unique property rewards programme, The Privilege Club, at the Invest in Property exhibition in London's Earls Court.
Complementing Langtons Property Plus' (LPP) traditional estate agency, the Privilege Club recognises that many purchasers are looking for advice and assistance when buying in the UK and overseas - for instance how to find a reputable UK based solicitor, navigate local bureaucracy, savings on furnishing and insurance - when they are building and managing a property portfolio. It brings all this together in a comprehensive package designed to remove the hassle and complexity from property investment.
And with more than 70 new build developments and self-build plots in emerging UK and global hotspots including the 2012 London Olympic catchment area, Bulgaria, Turkey, Morocco, France and the Caribbean, potential property purchasers can view and purchase through LPP in exactly the same way that they could buy a property through a high street estate agency.
Aftermarket Movers: Alcoa Climbs
Alcoa Inc., the first Dow Jones Industrial Average component to report first-quarter results, rose in late trading Tuesday after posting a higher profit. The Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer's first-quarter profit rose 9 percent as favorable metal prices and strong sales lifted results. Shares of the company gained 61 cents, or 2 percent, to $35.51 in aftermarket electronic trading, from their close at $34.90 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Array BioPharma Inc. also rose after the Boulder, Colo.-based biopharmaceutical company said it will move forward with a Phase I clinical trial of experimental drug ARRY-797 in cancer patients. Array said it plans to start clinical studies with the compound in patients with advanced hematological cancers later this year.
Stock Market Hiccups No Cause for Worry
SINGAPORE: Recent ructions in Asian financial markets and deepening US anxiety over its ballooning trade and budget deficits have raised concerns about global economic health. However, economists are hopeful that, while in the short term, economic growth in Asia may slow as a result of global economic deceleration and protectionist measures, it will not detract from the long-term prospects. The great engines of growth, China and India, will continue to expand with positive implications for the global economy. For sure, a cyclical slowdown in the US is adding to the short-term difficulties in countries such as China and India where ultra-strong growth has created either some degree of overheating or imbalances which require policies to be tightened. .
Investment pays off in Carbondale
Tasker, a ski instructor on Aspen Mountain from 1973 to 1996, made what appears to be one of the most shrewd real estate deals of 2006, even in a valley where savvy maneuvers are as common as groupies at a rock concert.
Tasker Investments LLC searched for property from Aspen to Rifle in March 2006 and decided to purchase 23 undeveloped lots at River Valley Ranch, the golf course and residential community developed by Gerald Hines in Carbondale.
One month later the Hines organization put another 41 lots on the market, which Tasker's group gobbled up.
In the two transactions, Tasker Investments acquired the last 64 lots available among the 415 developed by Hines at River Valley Ranch. (Some lots are still available through resales.)
Tasker paid $13.82 million to acquire the property from Crystal River Limited Partnership, according to deeds recorded with the Garfield County Clerk's Office.
Blackstone to sell $1B worth of Austin real estate
Thomas Properties Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TPGI) of Los Angeles is leading a joint venture to buy 3.5 million square feet of Class A offices in the local market for $1.15 billion in what may be the largest real estate transaction in Texas history. The deal expected to close within two months would also make Thomas Properties, which has thus far played a relatively small role in local real estate, the largest office landlord in town. .
CNBC's Cohn: South Florida Property Comes Down to Earth
The overall downturn in the housing market, coupled with a couple of bad hurricane seasons, has “knocked a little bit of sense in a real estate market that badly needed it," reported CNBC's Scott Cohn. Now, inventories are on the rise, investment speculators are gone and pricing has become more rational. "If you liked this area before could not get into it, there may be some places now you can afford that you couldn't afford a year ago," Cohn said. "That may make it worth another look." “It's a lot more fun," adds Julie Daniels, a realtor in South Florida. “You have a lot more property to show a buyer, you aren't limited to a just a few things and sellers tend to be a little more negotiable, a little more flexible on their pricing." .
Morgan Stanley connection surfaces in Sunrise battle
The unconventional battle for control of Sunrise Senior Living Real Estate Investment Trust has taken another twist with investment bank Morgan Stanley announcing that it holds almost 13 per cent of the company but has failed to declare it for close to one year. The revelation comes just as the Toronto-based seniors housing company prepares for a shareholder vote Wednesday on a $1.1-billion offer from Ventas Inc. It positions the Wall Street firm as a major player in any efforts by Ventas to ensure its offer gets the support it needs in the face of mounting investor pressure to sweeten its bid. Morgan Stanley Investment Management said it has held the interest in Sunrise REIT since May of last year, but "inadvertently failed to make the necessary filings" under Canadian law.
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