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Rescue workers are seen at a scene where, according to media reports, nine people have been stabbed and four others hurt by a car driven by the suspected attacker in Seongnam, South Korea, August 3, 2023. The unexplained rampage came days after another rare stabbing attack in Seoul which killed one person and wounded three others. "I've been telling my families and friends to stay home," a 31-year-old Seoul resident said. Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun on Thursday warned South Koreans to be on guard for such attacks and told officials to be vigilant. Experts said there was a risk similar crimes could follow, and urged authorities to swiftly analyse patterns in recent rampage crimes to come up with countermeasures.

Persons: I've, Lee Young, Choi Jun, Choi, Yoon Suk, Yoon Hee, Kim, Soo, hyang Choi, Ed Davies, Lincoln Organizations: Yonhap, REUTERS, Reuters, Police, South, Kyungnam University, Thomson Locations: Seongnam, South Korea, REUTERS SEONGNAM, Seoul, Minwoo

[1/3] A policeman stands next to a scene where, according to media reports, nine people have been stabbed and four others hurt by a car driven by the suspected attacker in Seongnam, South Korea, August 3, 2023. Yonhap via REUTERSSEOUL, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A man in a South Korean commuter town rammed his car into passers-by on Thursday then got out and stabbed some, wounding 14 people in the incident near the capital Seoul, police said. The unexplained attack in Seongnam came days after another rare stabbing attack in South Korea which killed one person and wounded three others. Media reports described him as a man in his 20s with a delivery job and suffering from some mental health issues. Police and firefighting officials said by telephone on Friday that 14 people had been hurt in the incident - nine stabbed and five hit by the car.

Persons: Yoon Hee, Hyonhee Shin, Choi, Andrwe Cawthorne, Ed Davies Organizations: Yonhap, REUTERS, Police, Media, Reuters, South, Thomson Locations: Seongnam, South Korea, REUTERS SEOUL, Korean, Seoul, Seohyeon

☆ Empty offices, abandoned malls, concerns over crime: Why San Francisco, the Golden City, is losing its luster
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Days later, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and coowner Brookfield gave the San Francisco City Centre back to their lenders after the exit of retailers left the mall just over half occupied. Whatever is going on in San Francisco, we are not interested in being part of that any longer." Fear of crime taints the cityCrime, or the fear of it, often creeps into conversations about San Francisco, too. "I ask, what's the driver" of the San Francisco office vacancies, Scavone told Insider. He continued: "Is it because downtown San Francisco is somewhat of a difficult commute from suburbs in Marin County or the East Bay?"

Persons: Manus Clancy, Trepp, —, Brookfield, Clancy, Salesforce, Jeff Burg, he's, Burg, we're, Thomas Baltimore, hasn't, Elon Musk, Bob Lee, Frank Scavone, Scavone Organizations: Service, San Francisco, California, Hilton San Francisco, Square, Parc, San Francisco City Centre, San, Krea, Union, Census, LinkedIn, Park Hotels, Resorts, Westfield, ABC, San Francisco Travel Association, Elon, Foods, The New York Times, McKinsey & Co, downtown Locations: San Francisco, San, San Francisco Chronicle, Westfield, Real, Francisco, New York, cubicles, Boston , Chicago, Houston, Miami, San Francisco's Hayes Valley, Manhattan, Tenderloin, —, downtown San Francisco, Marin County

☆ The top places for digital nomads are miles from the hottest Zoomtowns. Cities in the Midwest and West have an advantage on rents, restaurants, and transportation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Midwestern cities were prominent in Zumper's list of best places for digital nomads. Zumper also took transportation, restaurant, and entertainment offerings into account. In 2021, the number of these digital nomads rose 42%, topping 10 million, MBO partners, a self-employment tech provider, found. It based its findings on myriad factors including short-term rental prices, ease of access to airports and other transportation, restaurant and entertainment offerings, air and WiFi quality. The cost of a short-term rental held the most weight in the ranking.

Persons: —, Zumper, It's Organizations: Service, Nomads Locations: Placer.ai, Austin , Texas, Florida, Columbus , Ohio, Kansas City , Missouri, Chicago, Detroit , Michigan

☆ Adam Neumann, the ousted CEO of WeWork, toyed with a rescue package for the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adam Neumann made motions in October to invest in WeWork, The New York Times reported. Options for the company have been whittled down, and now include bankruptcy, The New York Times reported on Monday. One opportunity batted away by Mathrani came from Adam Neumann, who was pushed out as WeWork's CEO in 2019, the Times reported. The meeting, which was potentially to discuss an investment with other investors of as much as $1 billion and a debt buyback, didn't happen, the Times reported. More recently, IWG, a company that also offers work spaces for remote and hybrid workers, made an offer to operate WeWork's spaces, according to the Times.

Persons: Adam Neumann, Sandeep Mathrani, IWG, —, Mathrani, Neumann, JLL, WeWork, Trepp Organizations: The New York Times, Service, Times, WeWork Locations: WeWork, The

☆ Third Point Real Estate's managing partner said it's 'a foolish debate' to say the office market will fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Frank Scavone, managing partner of Third Point Real Estate Strategies, said offices aren't dead. Frank Scavone, the managing partner of Third Point Real Estate Strategies, told Insider he's up for the challenge. But are there opportunities now for investors like Third Point Real Estate Strategies? What's going to happen with all the commercial real estate debt coming due in this higher interest rate environment? And let's not forget about the more than $300 billion in dry powder aimed at North American commercial real estate investment.

Persons: Frank Scavone, Scavone, Daniel Loeb's, —, Trepp, CBRE, That's, San Francisco — Organizations: Service, Third Point, Hedge, CBRE, downtown, Employers, North Locations: San Francisco, downtown San Francisco, Marin County, York, multifamily, New York City

☆ All-cash homebuyers are becoming 'disruptive' to the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As for the cash buyers who can pay in full without taking out a mortgage, their power has only increased. In April, cash buyers represented 33.4% of transactions, far above levels hovering around 25% for most of the past decade. The data is the latest sign that cash buyers are clashing with borrowers more than ever. "Cash offers used to be an occasional nuisance and now they're becoming disruptive" to the market, said Debra Shultz, a vice president of mortgage lending at CrossCountry Mortgage. At each turn, he lost them either because he'd been outbid, or because the seller went with a cash offer, she said.

Persons: Redfin, Cash, —, homebuyers begrudgingly, Debra Shultz, Shultz, he'd, Deanna Kory, Kory, she's Organizations: Service, CrossCountry Mortgage, Corcoran Group Locations: New York City, Manhattan, In New York City

☆ Home flippers are still booking nice profits, if they can find the right house
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Home flips are generating more profit but on fewer properties, according to Toorak Capital Partners. The investors, Beacham said, just have to be pickier. Investors are far more discriminating of the limited inventory because they see their own costs rising, Beacham said. Flippers have to be more mindful of the slowdown in home price appreciation, or home price declines, too. To be sure, some of the risks for flippers have eased, according to Beacham.

Persons: —, John Beacham, Beacham, Aria Khosravi, who's, Alan Blue, Insider's Kathleen Elkins, Topping, Khosravi Organizations: Toorak Capital Partners, Service, Toorak, KKR, Investors, US Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: Toorak

☆ Flagship hotels are becoming collateral damage in San Francisco's office mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Park Hotels & Resorts, an investment company, defaulted on a $725 million San Francisco hotel loan. The company's CEO plans to give up the properties, blaming remote work and "street conditions." This week, Park Hotels & Resorts, one of the largest publicly-traded hospitality investment companies with more than 29,000 rooms, chose to default on a $725 million loan secured by two flagship San Francisco hotels, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and its Parc 55, about a block away. The "burden" of the properties was just too great, and it's not only because workers are abandoning the area, Thomas Baltimore, the Park Hotels CEO, said in a statement. San Francisco has been one of the large urban metros hit hardest due to remote work and the outright exits of large technology companies.

Persons: —, it's, Thomas Baltimore, –, Salesforce Organizations: Resorts, San, Service, Hotels, Hilton San Francisco, Square, Park Hotels, metros Locations: San Francisco, Francisco, Baltimore

☆ Commercial real estate has taken a beating. But recovery may be slow for one big reason.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investment volume in commercial real estate fell off a cliff last quarter. But with few transactions on which to peg market values, is the market truly down? Last week, Alfred Brooks, the head of JPMorgan's commercial real estate group, said he's seen distressed buyers already raising money to pick up the pieces, once prices get low enough. Indeed, commercial real estate values are down, by other measures. April was the first month since 2010 that prices of all types of commercial property fell on an annual basis, according to MSCI.

Persons: haven't, —, dealmaking, It's, Alfred Brooks, he's, Richard Rubin, Insider's Alex Nicoll, Rubin, Blackstone, MSCI Organizations: Bank of America, Service, BofA Global Research, RCA, BofA Global

☆ Blackstone will help prevent an office market 'catastrophe', says JPMorgan's commercial real estate chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Reports on the death of offices are "just wrong," JPMorgan's commercial real estate chief said. Office buildings are losing value as more people opt to work from home and companies need less space. No 'catastrophe' for the office market"You get the headline written that the office market is a catastrophe," Brooks said during a JPMorgan outlook webinar on June 1. In April, Blackstone announced the final close of its Blackstone Real Estate Partners X, the largest real estate fund ever raised, with $30.4 billion in capital commitments. Through its real estate investment trust, Blackstone has maintained some exposure to office buildings.

Persons: Blackstone, delinquencies, Alfred Brooks, Brooks, JLL, Manus Clancy, JPMorgan —, hasn't, They're Organizations: JPMorgan, Blackstone, Blackstone Real Estate Partners Locations: Brookfield, Blackstone, Los Angeles

☆ JPMorgan's commercial real estate chief lays out how Blackstone will help prevent an office market 'catastrophe'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ NYC's subway is testing platform gates in a few stations to prevent people from being pushed onto tracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The New York City MTA is installing barriers to stop commuters from being pushed onto tracks. Some riders have been on edge about subway pushings since the death of a woman in January 2022. The new barriers, part of a test, will be at just three stations and cost $100 million. The city will start installing barriers on three platforms in the months ahead, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority told The New York Post. "While platform screen doors might have prevented [Go's] killing in the way that it happened, It happened on the same subway platform where there were police officers," Pearlstein told the Post.

Persons: Michelle Go, Eric Adams, Kathy Hochul, Pearlstein, Janno Lieber Organizations: New, New York City MTA, Morning, New York City's, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York Post, Times, New York City, Riders Alliance, Post Locations: New York City, New York, Yorkers

☆ Banks aren't the only ones that hold risky commercial-real-estate debt. Pension funds are about to feel the pain, too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pension funds, REITs, and insurers hold more than $1.2 trillion in commercial-real-estate debt. CalSTRS, a California pension fund, told the FT it will be writing down its real-estate portfolio. Among them are the large pension funds, REITs, and insurance companies, together accounting for more than $1.2 trillion — or 22% — of the $5.62 trillion in total commercial-real-estate debt outstanding, according to BofA Global Research. Some pension funds were already planning to reduce their exposures to commercial real estate even before the recent bank failures magnified the risks. In September, fund managers at Artemis Real Estate Partners and PGIM Real Estate said at a Bisnow conference that their investors indicated they'd be reducing allocations to real estate, just because the assets had been outperforming others.

☆ South Korean police seek manslaughter charges over deadly Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Police in South Korea are seeking charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials, including law enforcement officers, for a lack of safety measures they said were responsible for a crowd surge last year that killed nearly 160 people. Despite anticipating a Halloween weekend crowd of more than 100,000, Seoul police had assigned 137 officers to the capital’s nightlife district Itaewon on the day of the crush. Those officers were focused on monitoring narcotics use and violent crimes, which experts say left few resources for pedestrian safety. Son Je-han, who headed the National Police Agency’s special investigation into the incident, said Friday his team will now send the case to prosecutors. However, Son said the special investigation team will close its investigations of the Interior and Safety Ministry, the National Police Agency, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, saying it was difficult to establish their direct responsibility.

Ye-jin was among 158 people who died in the disaster on narrow lane in Seoul on Oct. 29. "Children who lost their parents are orphans, but there's no word for parents who lost their children. Dressed as Princess Jasmine from the Disney animated film "Aladdin", Ye-jin had gone for the night out in the capital Seoul with two friends. Last week, some relatives of victims held a news conference demanding a government apology and a thorough investigation. Lee Ju-hee, from a collective of human rights lawyers called Minbyun, said nearly 60 families have joined a campaign for justice.

☆ South Korea police official found dead amid scrutiny over Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A South Korean police official being investigated over the deadly Halloween crush was found dead at his home in Seoul on Friday, the Yonhap news agency reported. Telephone calls by Reuters to the Yongsan station were unanswered. Jeong, 55, faced accusations that he had deleted intelligence reports warning of a serious accident, after an investigation began into police responses to the crush. Lawmakers slammed the suspected removal of the documents at a parliamentary session on Monday, and urged the arrest and punishment of those in charge. National Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun told lawmakers that the intelligence chief at the Yongsan station had ordered the records to be deleted and would be investigated.

☆ South Korea steps up monitoring in crowded subways after Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A police officer stands guard at the exit of a subway station as people gather to pay their respects following a crowd crush that happened during Halloween festivities, in Seoul, South Korea, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo/File PhotoSEOUL, Nov 4 (Reuters) - South Korea is beefing up monitoring at crowded subway stations following a deadly Halloween crush that killed more than 150 people in Seoul, officials said on Friday. It was the first Halloween event in three years virtually free of COVID-19 restrictions. Starting on Friday, police will be deployed to subway stations in the capital to join metro officials in crowd control activities, the prime minister said. Proper crowd and traffic control by the authorities could have prevented or at least reduced the surge of Halloween partygoers in alleys, experts said.

☆ South Korea vows tough action, moving to quell anger over Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol walks at the scene where many people died and were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. The death toll from the crush at a crowded Halloween street party on Saturday climbed to 156 with 151 injured, 29 of whom were in serious condition. The country's chief security officer, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, had said deploying more police would not have prevented the disaster. President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a week of national mourning, saying the country had too many safety disasters. On social media, some Koreans said precautions were inadequate for an event that had been expected to draw large crowds.

☆ Emergency calls reveal growing desperation before South Korea Halloween crush
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A police officer stands guard near floral tributes at the scene of a crowd crush that happened during Halloween festivities, in Seoul, South Korea, November 1, 2022. The transcripts of emergency calls released by the police showed the first warning of a possible deadly surge was made at 6:34 p.m. on Saturday, roughly four hours before the crush turned deadly. The transcripts, released to media, give a chilling prediction of how the tragedy would unfold. Police received 10 other similar calls before the chaos was known to have turned fatal - and released all those transcripts on Tuesday. "The police will speedily and rigorously conduct intensive inspections and investigation on all aspects without exception to explain the truth of this accident," police commissioner Yoon told a news conference earlier.

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