Search

The Trump Organization is in talks to potentially reclaim its former Washington, D.C., hotel, which was sold in 2022 for $375 million. The family firm is considering purchasing the lease rights back, with estimated costs exceeding $300 million. The hotel, now a Waldorf Astoria, has been a subject of legal and conflict-of-interest issues in the past, and if the Trumps acquire it again, similar concerns may arise. The Trumps have not disclosed how they plan to address these potential conflicts, but have indicated that an ethics plan will be released soon. [Extracted from the article]

Wells Fargo is planning to sell its San Francisco headquarters at 420 Montgomery St. and shift its power base to the East Coast, with CEO Charlie Scharf and key executives now based in New York. The bank has hired Eastdil Secured as an adviser for the sale and will be moving to a new office at 333 Market St. in San Francisco. This move marks a shift away from San Francisco, where Wells Fargo has had a presence since the 1850s, but the city remains important to the bank. [Extracted from the article]

The investment firm CGI Merchant Group has lost control of the former Trump hotel in Washington, D.C. after defaulting on its debt. The property was sold in a foreclosure auction to BDT & MSD Partners, the merchant bank that provided the loan. CGI is still hoping to regain the rights to the property's long-term lease, but BDT & MSD has stated that they will hold on to the rights. Hilton, the owner of the Waldorf brand, will continue to operate the hotel. The Trump family had leased the property from the federal government and sold the lease rights to CGI in 2022. [Extracted from the article]

Hilton Worldwide Holdings is acquiring Graduate Hotels, a hotel operator that focuses on college towns, for $210 million. The acquisition is part of Hilton's strategy to tap into the underserved market of college towns, where existing hotels tend to be older or limited-service properties. Graduate Hotels, on the other hand, offers guests a stay that reflects the community and is closer to campuses. Hilton plans to wrap the brand into its rewards system and infrastructure to drive growth and establish early relationships with college students and parents. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. [Extracted from the article]

Entrepreneur Andrew Farkas, through his company Island Capital Group, is negotiating the acquisition of a division of Centerline Holding co., a company that specializes in restructuring troubled mortgages securitized into bonds.

Byline: JOHN HECHINGER AND CRAIG KARMIN A second investment fund offered by investment adviser Commonfund froze most withdrawals this week, posing possible financial strains for the 200 colleges and schools [...]

Byline: CRAIG KARMIN; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF Don't tell these guys that the investment banking model is finished. While the biggest U.S. players are exiting from the pure-play investment banking [...]

Byline: AMIR EFRATI, SUSAN PULLIAM, KARA SCANNELL AND CRAIG KARMIN Federal criminal prosecutors are stepping up their interest in Wall Street's mortgage-securities activities. The Justice Department's U.S. attorney's office in [...]

Byline: CRAIG KARMIN AND TOM LAURICELLA Officials in Florida are scrambling to reopen a state-run fund that's been crippled by withdrawals by local governments and school districts amid worries about [...]

Byline: CRAIG KARMIN AND KAREN RICHARDSON With its purchase this week of assets from mortgage lender E*Trade Financial Corp., Citadel Investment Group seemed to signal a rising investor appetite for [...]

Byline: CRAIG KARMIN AND IAN McDONALD Mohamed El-Erian, head of the company that manages Harvard University's $35-billion (U.S.) endowment, is resigning from that position to return to giant bond fund [...]

At this week's meeting of the Association of South East Nations, developing controls on speculative foreign investment activity in Asia will be high on the agenda.

Stock markets worldwide were down yesterday amidst fears of rising interest rates and a slowing economy. The riskier assets, the most speculative securities that have had stellar performance ratings over the last three years are down.

American investors are increasingly financing foreign securities helping to transform international businesses and promoting transparency. United States foreign investment is forecast to be a record $115 billion for 2005.

James Turk, Gold Money of the British Channel Islands is an online payment service that operates using gold. Mr. Turk argues that current United States economic conditions will cause the Dollar to significantly weaken and it will make payments in gold more profitable. The service currently has 23,000 users.

The securities market of China is experiencing renewed interest with the revaluation of the Yuan. The increased value of the Yuan will lead to stronger currencies, increase the buying power of Asian consumers and enhance the return on investment for United States investors. Mutual funds in China have increased four percent.

Baidu.com Inc., 'the Google search engine of China' posted stellar initial public offering results. Baidu.com has the best United States stock market offering in over five years, closing at $122.54 on Friday, up 354 percent on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange from its initial offering price.

Investment in global currency markets has become a trend after the downturn in the stock market in 2000. There is flexibility as the markets operate around the clock with the usage of the internet. However, as well as the possibility of great gains there is possibility of great losses.

The effect of China's decision to revalue the yuan as it relates to the value of other Asian currencies, the euro, and the U.S. dollar, is discussed. The timing of China's change in policy as well as the monetary policies in other Asian countries are also examined.

The economies of the United Kingdom and Europe may weaken more so in the wake of the London terrorist bombings of the Tube on Thursday morning, curbing an impressive stock market rally of this year. The United States stock market is forecast to rally after the bombings as the United States economy is growing.

Unocal Corp. and Maytag Corp. have both received acquisition bids from Chinese companies, reflecting the growing economic ties between China and the United States. There are growing trade tensions also and some Washington leaders are threatening tariffs on imports from China unless Chinese authorities revalue the Yuan, however, economists and investors are warning that the economic/financial balance is at risk and their could be far reaching consequences on the United States and global markets.

Emerging-market bonds in local currency compensate investors with higher yields than those of Dollar amounts. The government securities issue in local currency are improving emerging-market economies as better economic policies decrease deficits and add surfeit leading to higher credit ratings.

The fate of the Euro, the heart of the European Union may face populist frustration. Akin to a large dysfunctional family Europe and the No vote on the constitutional referendums of both France and the Netherlands has created a pall over Europe. When the Euro was introduced both the government bond market and the bond market blossomed, however current high unemployment and slow economic growth have painted a landscape of gray.

With the U.S. dollar posting an increase in value against the British pound, the euro, and the Canadian dollar, it is thought that currency traders may be regaining confidence in the American currency. The fledgling strength of the dollar is being attributed in part to encouraging economic data in the U.S. and a slowing economy in Europe.

Foreign-exchange trading performance has been the worst in 20 years in 2004 and has been even worse this year. Global trends in currency exchange, once hotly debated have lost conviction for currency managers, as the criterion for valuing currencies comes into question.

China is expected to change the regulations governing the rate of the Yuan so that the currency may trade freely. This economic policy could effect the way world currencies trade against the dollar and would ease foreign trade relations with the West. Currently, the rate of the Yuan is set at 8.28 against the Dollar (United States).

Pension funds of the United States have recently started to invest in the currency market to boost their returns. Traditionally, pension funds have invested in stocks and bonds and are the biggest investors in the securities market. Currency market investment by pension funds is a new trend.

The European Union is creating a new constitution. A possible 'non' vote by the French public could cause the Euro to fall.

United States and Hong Kong gambling interests are opening shop in Macao, China and shares are up. The Las Vegas Sands Corp. casino in Macao has seen stock prices increase by 64 percent on the New York Stock Exchange since the Las Vegas Sands Corp. initial public offering in December. Wynn Resorts Ltd. is planning to open a casino in Macau in 2006 and investment has increased the company stock price by 105 percent over the past year.

Global financial markets were rocked by a selloff of the Dollar yesterday, influenced by persistent concerns with the currency's weakness. The Dollar registered at 1.4 percent against both the Yen and the Euro, its worst daily decline in two months with the major Western stock markets retreating. Oil and gold prices rose sharply.

Global securities investors over the past 2 years seem to have invested in higher-yielding but riskier securities. However, in the new year investors are not heeding risks in emerging markets and are wary of the crashing dollar.

Currency strategists are predicting that the Japanese yen will rise along with other Asian currencies this year, because their expanding economies are attracting foreign investment.