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When my car salesperson learned I was paying with cash, they tried to change my mind. After speaking with my financial advisor and accountant, it was clear that I was looking to buy a used car outright, in cash. My car salesperson wasn't enthusiastic about it, but I knew what I wantedYou know that old saying, "cash is king?" Or so used car salespeople would have me believe. Still, it felt good to say that I was paying cash and politely decline financing options.

☆ Phoenix homeless camp to be cleared after neighbors sued. What happens to vulnerable residents remains unclear
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Gabe Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Rayann Denny lives in a tent in a homeless encampment in Phoenix. So for now, the crew of helpers has stepped up its years-old effort to try to get residents off the streets. Katie Hobbs this year vetoed one such bill, saying it only served to make homelessness “less visible.”Debbie and Joe Faillace own the Old Station Sub Shop near where a homeless encampment developed. A person walks through a homeless encampment on April 18 in Phoenix. “I think we have a lot of work to do.”Stefanie Powell, right, lives in a tent at a homeless encampment in Phoenix.

☆ Chinese property brokers need to reduce fees, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - Chinese real estate brokerage agencies need to implement reasonable reductions to fees for housing transactions and leasing services to promote healthy development of the sector, the housing regulator said on Monday. Some real estate brokers in recent years "have charged excessive, unclear and bound fees, and misused clients' personal information, which has increased the burden on parties to transactions and infringed their legal rights", the regulator said in a notice. Real estate brokers must not abuse a dominant market position to charge unfairly high prices for broking services. The industry has grown increasingly important, with large numbers of property transactions relying on real estate agencies, said analyst Zhang Dawei at property company Centaline, adding that some agents are taking advantage of their scale to increase fees. However, it is a guiding document; the specific impact on the market will depend on implementation by each city," Zhang said.

The cash-strapped airline wants the tribunal to accept its plea and is seeking an interim moratorium to save its assets, a move the lessors oppose. Go First did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lessors' bid to deregister the planes. Engine failures have cost the airline 108 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) in lost revenue and expenses, it said. Amid the dispute between the lessors and the troubled airline, banks with exposure to it are awaiting the tribunal's decision to decide their next course of action, two people involved in the talks told Reuters. The company owes financial creditors 65.21 billion rupees ($798 million), its bankruptcy filing showed, and had not defaulted on any of those dues by the end of April.

☆ Tesla's price cuts and hikes explained: Why it seems like Elon Musk can't make up his mind on pricing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The latest price hikes could mean Tesla is done lathering on the discounts for now. Elon Musk is changing his mind about Tesla pricing – again. Recent hikes are a sign to investors that Musk is likely done price-slashing for now. Even with this hike, base Model Y prices are down 24% since January and base Model 3 prices are down 14% over the same period. "When you lease, you can really bypass a lot of the problems that come with pricing," Drury said.

☆ Giant loans on 10 major US office towers are due soon, stoking fears of more defaults that could be the next crisis to hit banks — and the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About $80 billion in office loans come due this year, threatening defaults. High-profile owners like Blackstone and Brookfield have walked away from major office loans as high interest rates and tighter lending levels have made refinancing debts more costly. Some analysts have even said that commercial real estate debt is the next big danger for the stock market. The leading research firm analyzing commercial real estate debt, Trepp, has a front-row seat to the reckoning. Office landlords' leasing, and therefore revenue, has fallen significantly due to the rise of remote work.

☆ BMW cars segment sees earnings boost on higher pricing, EV sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A BMW SUV moves down the assembly line at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, U.S., October 19, 2022. Inflation and interest rates in key markets are high. The carmaker continues to expect slight growth in Europe, robust sales in the United States, and a stabilising economy in China. BMW's financing and leasing business suffered in line with that of other carmakers like Porsche under persistently high interest rates and price Increases, with the volume of new business dropping 14% and earnings down 6.2%. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Maria SheahanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Air France-KLM in talks with Apollo for $550 mln cash injection
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) said on Thursday it engaged with private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO.N) for a 500 million euro ($550.70 million) capital injection for one of its engineering and maintenance units. The new financing arrangement if complete will help strengthen Air France-KLM’s and Air France’s balance sheet, the group said in a press release. Air France-KLM and Apollo Global Management entered into a similar solution last year where the private equity firm invested 500 million euro in the company to help repay French state aid. Earlier in April, Air France KLM agreed to revolving credit facilities (RCF) worth 2.2 billion euros, adding that these are linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. Air France KLM is due to report its first quarter results on May 5.

☆ The future of the traditional office space is unclear as vacancy rate hits record high, says National Association of Realtors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The future of the traditional office space is unclear, the National Association of Realtors said. The office vacancy rate rose to a record high of 12.9% in the first quarter from 12% a year ago. The office vacancy rate rose to a record high of 12.9% in the first quarter from 12% a year ago, representing 72.9 million more square feet available to lease. Class A offices — high-value properties that often have above-average rent — had a vacancy rate of 17.9%. Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Francisco, led the office vacancy rise.

The landlord's filing was posted to the District of Columbia Superior Court docket on Monday. Crowell's lawsuit, filed in March, marked a fresh clash between a law firm and its landlord over pandemic-era rent. TREA said in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the lease's rent abatement provision is "expressly tied to specific events resulting from the loss of certain utilities." The case is Crowell & Moring v. The TREA 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue Trust, District of Columbia Superior Court, No. Read more:Law firm Crowell sues to recoup $30 mln in COVID-era rentLaw firm office leasing drops again after reboundJenner, Chicago landlord end lawsuits over unpaid rentOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ These are the 7 best large U.S. cities for starting a new business—New York and D.C. don't fare well
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Launching a small business is a challenge, especially these days. The top four cities on the ranking are all Floridian, largely due to criteria like low unemployment and relatively low corporate tax rates. Florida ranked 11th on CNBC's own list of the top U.S. states for businesses in 2022, for similar reasons. For those who don't want to move to Florida, cities like Durham and Boise offer bona fide alternatives. Join CNBC's Small Business Playbook virtually on May 4th, where entrepreneurs will share advice and tips on how to handle economic uncertainty, inflation and more so your business can succeed for the short-term and the long-term.

☆ Big apartment landlords lean in to AI and proptechs as profit squeezes loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Apartment landlords are getting squeezed by rising interest rates and insurance costs . interest rates and insurance . But some big US landlords were already waist-deep in labor-saving technologies of their own to ward off profit squeezes, like the ones many are facing today. On the supply side, the race has been on for some time to sell landlords on tech that works. In this case, landlords are adapting to today's higher interest rates from a time when borrowing costs were low and taking any pressure off operations, he said.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the law, which instructed the U.S. Circuit said the law "makes clear" that those leases are no longer subject to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires a thorough look at environmental impacts of proposed major federal actions. Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda, who represented the environmental groups, said in a statement that the decision will harm Gulf communities and ecosystems. A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute called the order a “positive step toward more certainty and clarity for energy producers.”The Interior Department, which did not appeal the lower court decision, declined to comment. v. Debra Haaland et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, case No.

☆ A San Francisco office building was worth $300 million before the pandemic. Now, it could sell for only $60 million — a perfect example of why downtowns are in trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A 22-story office tower in San Francisco that was worth $300 million in 2019 is for sale. The office tower, which sits at 350 California Street, was previously worth around $300 million during its last sale, office brokers told The Journal. The building's expected decline in value reflects the current crisis facing the real-estate industry across the US, and remote work's heavy impact on San Francisco's office buildings, in particular. Over a quarter of San Francisco's office space is empty as well, according to CBRE. Last summer, for example, Salesforce had half of its Salesforce Tower office space listed for lease as a sublet.

☆ Avolon agrees $4 bln deal with Boeing for 40 737 MAX jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBLIN, April 27 (Reuters) - Global leasing giant Avolon said on Thursday it had agreed terms for a commitment to order 40 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX aircraft in a deal worth over $4 billion at current list prices. Avolon, the world's third largest aircraft leasing firm, said the new jets are scheduled for delivery from 2027 to 2030 and will increase the overall size of its owned, managed and committed fleet to 870 aircraft. "Our commitment with Boeing reflects our confidence in the long-term outlook for the aviation sector. It will also support our airline customers who are looking to plan beyond the robust post-COVID traffic recovery and prepare for future growth, while also reducing their carbon emissions," CEO Andy Cronin said. Reporting by Padraic Halpin Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran seizes Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in Gulf, U.S. Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said, the latest in a series of several seizures of commercial vessels in Gulf waters in the past couple of years. The navy said the seizure of the Advantage Sweet by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy disrupts regional security and stability and called on Tehran to immediately release the tanker. Iranian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment by ReutersThe ship, a Suezmax oil tanker built in 2012, issued a distress call during the seizure, the navy statement said. The navy said Iran has in the past two years unlawfully seized at least five commercial vessels in the Middle East. Iran in November released two Greek-flagged tankers that it seized in the Gulf in May.

☆ Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, U.S. Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet, which, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data, is a Suezmax crude tanker which had been chartered by oil major Chevron and had last docked in Kuwait, sails at Marmara sea near Istanbul, Turkey January 10, 2023. Iran's army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state media reported. The vessel's destination was listed as the U.S. Gulf of Mexico port of Houston, ship tracking data showed. Iran last November released two Greek-flagged tankers it seized in the Gulf in May in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast. The U.S. Navy, whose Fifth Fleet is based at the Gulf island state of Bahrain, called on Iran to immediately release the tanker.

☆ Used Teslas are holding their value better than other cars despite Elon Musk's price cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Nora Naughton | Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Used Tesla Model 3 and Model Ys aren't depreciating substantially, a new study says. Elon Musk's price-cutting frenzy at Tesla doesn't appear to be impacting the company's impressive resale values, according to new data released this week. Slightly more used EVs are being priced just below $25,000 in recent months in order for customers to get the used credit. In September of last year, Tesla made up for roughly two-thirds of the used EV market. This prevents Teslas from flooding the used car market and gives the company more control over its own resale market.

In May 2019, the trio bought the abandoned school, Bowtie High, for $100,000 and converted it into a 31-unit apartment building. Wig, Colucci, and Spanovich found a different bank and secured a $2 million mortgage, which they pay down at $12,129/month. In total, renovating the old school cost $3.3 million, an amount that the partners are still shocked by. Leasing started in October 2021 before renovations were even completedLeasing at Bowtie High started in October 2021, and within six months, the former high school had reached 100% occupancy. Bedrooms have a lot of natural light thanks to the old high school's large windows.

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Floating wind is viewed as the final frontier for offshore wind as turbines can be installed in deeper waters than fixed-bottom foundations, harnessing stronger and more continuous wind to generate more power. There are two main types of tender for traditional and floating wind projects. ITALYItaly is expected to hold an auction for up to 1 GW of offshore wind power, including floating technology, in 2023 or 2024. NORWAYNorway opened its first tenders to build offshore wind farms, including one area for floating wind, in a step to meet growing electricity demand at home and to build a new industry. TAIWANTaiwan is set to hold an auction for site licences and power offtake agreements for 3 GW, including offshore wind this year.

☆ Where Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon takes the corporate jet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

"The Board fully supports the use of the Goldman Sachs planes for travel, just as it supported the use of private aircraft by previous Goldman Sachs executives," said Tony Fratto, a company spokesman. "Executives at Goldman Sachs have been flying on private aircrafts for decades as it is proven to be the most secure, effective, and cost-efficient solution to meet the extensive travel obligations for CEOs of firms like Goldman Sachs — which is why all of our peer institutions also extensively use private aircraft." John Waldron, president of Goldman Sachs Reuters/Brendan McDermidOccasionally, Solomon and Waldron switch planes, particularly when Waldron flies overseas. Goldman Sachs has a sponsorship deal with pro golfer Patrick Cantlay. "These estimates wildly overstate the cost of such flights to Goldman Sachs and are not an accurate representation," he said.

At $517 billion, Tesla's market capitalization ended Thursday below Meta Platforms' (META.O) for the first time since 2021. Tesla's automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits and leasing, stood at 18.3%, missing an 'above 20%' target provided in January by Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn. At least 15 analysts cut their Tesla price targets following Tesla's report, pulling the median target of 42 analysts from $210 down to $200, or about 23% above the stock's current level, according to Refinitiv data. Investors dumped automaker shares from Europe to the United States on fears that they too will sacrifice margins to maintain market share. Tesla remains up 32% year to date, far outperforming the S&P 500's (.SPX) 8% rise.

☆ Fewer cars qualify for $7,500 EV tax credit. Here are 2 alternatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A $4,000 tax credit for used EVswatch nowThe Inflation Reduction Act also created a tax credit for consumers who buy used electric or fuel-cell vehicles. The tax break for used cars, which took effect this year, is worth $4,000 or 30% of the sale price, whichever is less. Those income limits are "much lower" than the one that applies to the $7,500 tax credit for new vehicles, said Katherine Breaks, a managing director in KPMG's tax credit and energy advisory services group. "If I don't have $4,000 of tax liability, what's the tax credit worth to me? A tax break for leased EVsAlternatively, consumers also appear poised to get a tax break worth up to $7,500 for leasing new electric passenger vehicles.

☆ Exclusive: Airbus delays some 2024 deliveries, keeps output goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Airbus confirmed unspecified delays for 2024 in a statement to Reuters but said they did not reflect any worsening of supply chain problems since it revised production plans earlier this year. The delays particularly affect the larger and in-demand A321neo variant, which now represents over half of Airbus deliveries, the sources said. Airlines and leasing companies have protested in recent months over a trickle of short-term delay notices amid ongoing supply chain problems. Airbus is currently the world's largest planemaker as Boeing slowly recovers from the 737 MAX safety crisis and production delays on the 787. The delays for 2024 extend the impact of supply chain problems stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak into a fifth year.

☆ VW, Rivian, Nissan, BMW lose access to US EV tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoApril 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan, Rivian, Hyundai and Volvo electric vehicles will lose access to a $7,500 tax credit under new rules for battery sourcing. VW said it was "fairly optimistic" the ID.4 SUV will qualify for the tax credit. Treasury also disclosed General Motors Co (GM.N) electric Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV will qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit. GM said earlier it expected at least some of its EVs would qualify for the $7,500 tax credit under the new rules, including the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq and forthcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV SUV and Blazer EV SUV. Treasury in December said EVs ineligible for the $7,500 consumer tax credit could qualify for a commercial leasing $7,500 credit.

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