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☆ Security Gets Blended With Corporate Networks in New Cloud Platforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

As everything moves to the cloud, a new generation of cybersecurity platforms has emerged, combining corporate networks with security tools such as malware protection into a single system that tech leaders can manage centrally. Older technology can be upgraded to lay the groundwork for implementing a new platform, Mr. Franch said, but it needs to happen without disrupting the existing corporate network. PREVIEWAt Carriage Services, Mr. Franch wants to undertake a network modernization similar to one he oversaw as chief technology officer of commercial real-estate services company Cushman & Wakefield. Modernization tends to reduce complexity and increase visibility of what’s on the network, which can benefit security, according to Mr. Franch. Goya Foods Inc. CIO Suvajit Basu said the Jersey City, N.J.-based company uses cybersecurity services from about seven vendors and a total of about 12 cybersecurity tools, many purchased and implemented over time.

☆ Slowing Warehouse Construction Could Extend Squeeze on Space, Experts Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Construction of new warehouses is slowing as developers grapple with rising interest rates and declining leasing activity, potentially prolonging an ongoing shortfall in logistics space. Developers began building about 137 million square feet of new warehouse space, the lowest amount of new space to start construction in a quarter since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company is planning development starts for the year to range between $2.5 billion and $3 billion, down from $4.7 billion in construction starts last year. Even with construction starts slowing, the pipeline of industrial projects being built remained elevated at 682.6 million square feet as of the fourth quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Developers completed 143.6 million square feet of new space to finish the year, the company said, down from the record-high 148.2 million square feet delivered in the third quarter.

☆ A Portland woman said a gas station employee told her 'I don't serve Black people.' 3 years later, a jury awarded her $1 million in damages.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Taylor Ardrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Portland, Oregon, woman was awarded $1 million following a racist incident in 2020, KGW reported. Rose Wakefield said a gas station employee told her, "I don't serve Black people." While there, she said a gas station employee on site, identified as Nigel Powers, ignored her multiple times, KGW reported citing court documents. Before Wakefield left, she said the gas attendant scoffed at her saying, "I don't serve Black people," the outlet reported. "I went to a gas station to get gas and service, and I wasn't served," Wakefield, 63, told KGW.

☆ Jury awards $1M to Oregon woman who was told ‘I don’t serve Black people’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

PORTLAND, Ore. — A jury has awarded an Oregon woman $1 million in damages after finding she was discriminated against by a gas station employee who told her, “I don’t serve Black people.”The Multnomah County jury’s award this week to Portland resident Rose Wakefield, 63, included punitive damages of $550,000. When she tried to ask for assistance, he said, “I’ll get to you when I feel like it,” according to Kafoury. Kafoury said as she was leaving, Wakefield asked Powers why he refused to help her and that he said, “I don’t serve Black people.”Rose Wakefield. KGW“I was like, ‘What world am I living in?’ ” Wakefield told KGW. It was a terrible, terrible confrontation between me and this guy.”During the following week, Wakefield complained twice to managers, but her phone calls were largely disregarded, Kafoury said.

☆ Mass Shootings in the U.S.: A Symptom of Despair - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jillian Peterson | James Densley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Seven killed and 46 injured in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022He suffered from severe back pain. Eight killed and seven injured in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021He was known for being paranoid with a short temper. Five killed and seven injured in Aurora, Ill., on Feb. 15, 2019He had expressed violent thoughts. Nine killed and seven injured in Red Lake, Minn., on March 21, 2005He had been noticeably depressed and angry at church. Seven killed and seven injured in Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 1999He killed his daughter’s cat because he was upset.

☆ Prologis Says Warehouse Demand Remains Strong in Slowing Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Prologis Inc., the world’s largest developer of logistics properties, is bullish about warehouse demand this year despite signs of an economic slowdown. Executives at San Francisco-based Prologis said Wednesday they remain cautious about building new facilities as the economy wavers. But they said vacancy rates remain near record lows and that much of the leasing activity for this year is already secured or underway. Warehouse demand peaked last year, as average national vacancy rates plummeted to near 3% and reached close to 1% in Southern California. Average occupancy in Prologis’s owned and managed portfolio ticked up to 98% in the fourth quarter from 97.7% in the prior quarter.

☆ Let the consolidation begin: With venture markets frozen and profitability tenuous, proptechs turn to one another
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The co-living operators Common and Habyt merged; Pagaya brought the property manager Darwin Homes. The proptech companies that sprang up by the dozens in the past few years are now looking to one another for help. A massive consolidation among companies that seek to make real-estate transactions and services more efficient and profitable is underway. Cushman & Wakefield reported 90% occupancy rates for co-living companies at the end of the third quarter of 2022, and traditional real-estate firms like Cushman and Greystar are now offering their own co-living brands. In property management, the consolidation phase is already well underway, said Paul Stanton, the other founding partner at Proptech Bankers.

☆ Analysis: Move over TINA, it's time for TARA
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Reuters GraphicsIdanna Appio, a portfolio manager at First Eagle Investments, said that TINA was good for passive investors as it meant that equity prices went up because bond yields went down. "The risk free rate," he added, referring to core government bond yields, "actually gives you something." Bond funds recorded net inflows for six straight weeks until early January, BofA said, based on its analysis of EPFR data. "The end of TINA is very important," said Francesco Sandrini, head of multi-asset strategies at Amundi, Europe's largest fund manager. "You don’t need a bond bull market, you now have income," said Jeffrey Sherman, deputy chief investment officer at U.S. money manager DoubleLine.

☆ Warehouse Leasing Tumbled at the End of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Newsletter Sign-up The Logistics Report Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. PREVIEWFor the full year, companies leased a net total of 756.8 million square feet of industrial space in 2022, down 18% from the year before. The leasing slowdown raises the potential for a glut of new warehouse space in the coming months, with 682.6 million square feet of new development in the construction pipeline, Ms. Salzer said. Developers are paring back their plans for new projects as financing becomes increasingly difficult to secure, Ms. Salzer said. The amount of new space under construction was down 4.3% compared with the previous quarter, according to the report.

☆ Hong Kong November home prices ease to more than 5-yr low
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Hong Kong private home prices dropped 3.3% in November to the lowest since August 2017, official data showed on Wednesday, as its housing market - one of the most unaffordable in the world - is set to post the first annual drop since 2008. November's fall in home prices came after a revised 2.7% drop in October. Home prices in Hong Kong have fallen 13.8% in the first 110 months of the year. For 2023, real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield expects home prices to be 0-5% lower than this year, with prices stabilizing in the second half after an expected peak of interest rates. Another consultancy, JLL, expects prices to fall another 10% next year for the mass market.

From almost nothing five years ago, the institutional residential property market has grown to the point where investors say housing is starting to challenge office buildings as a focus for their cash. And higher yields and scope for growth are spurring new projects, market players say. "We are currently surprised ourselves by the speed of the change and how the market is changing," he told Reuters. "Many institutional investors are looking to gain the first mover advantage and moving in," Wysokińska-Kuzdra told Reuters. The war in Ukraine has also created uncertainty, so that some investors are focused only on finishing current projects.

☆ New San Francisco clubhouse represents a milestone moment for executive women in tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Executive women platform Chief opened a new clubhouse in San Francisco this week. ‘Sense that this is a first'On the opposite coast, a counterpart executive clubhouse just opened in San Francisco and it holds great meaning beyond its four walls. Chief's San Francisco clubhouse includes a full-service bar. A month after the San Francisco Chief club's opening, women say they already see it as a milestone moment that represents more than just a new building. “It’s interesting coming full-circle and it feels long overdue.”Executive women platform Chief opened a new clubhouse in San Francisco this week.

☆ Office space is tougher than ever to rent out. See the pitch deck that raised $15 million to help landlords compete for demanding tenants.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

WiredScore certifies buildings' tech capabilities, like LEED does with environmental ratings. WiredScore CEO Arie Barendrecht walked Insider through the pitch deck he used to raise $15 million. In a world of remote work, potential office tenants have become pickier about their spaces. Generally speaking, prospective office tenants have little insight into what their office WiFi will look like. The company now also certifies technology in apartment buildings, the office of the remote worker.

☆ Reality ends some Qatari dreams of World Cup rental bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We were in contact with half of the city, all the big real estate companies ... A week before the World Cup began on Nov. 20, the rate was $250 a night, the broker said. Eleven days before kick-off, organisers had said there were at least 25,000 rooms available for every night of the World Cup. "Never ever, at no World Cup, have I heard anything like this," said Bauer of the last-minute charges. His Khaya agency has block-booked accommodation and sold rooms to fans, FIFA sponsors and other officials at three previous World Cups.

☆ Superyacht rentals, private jets and a soccer-themed hotel: Dubai is cashing in on the Qatar World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A yacht that can be rented to watch the World Cup while sailing around Dubai is docked in Dubai harbor on November 1, 2022, ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup football tournament. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, in August called Dubai "the major gateway" to the World Cup and predicted it would see more tourists than Qatar itself. Getty Images | A general view of the West Bay area ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at on November 18, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. "Its tourism infrastructure and straightforward entry requirements make it a convenient base for World Cup fans." Dubai, meanwhile, as a city has more than 140,000 hotel rooms, according to hotel data firm STR.

☆ KKR is canceling its plans for a big new Manhattan office. It joins Meta, Netflix, and other big firms pulling back on office space.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Two senior leasing executives in Los Angeles told Insider that Meta just canceled its plans to expand by 300,000 square feet in the city. KKR's decision comes as New York City's office market flagsTenants who are on the fence about taking space have little incentive to rush to commit to deals as the city's office market continues to soften. Leasing activity in Manhattan totaled 20.27 million square feet through October, according to CBRE, 38% more than the same period last year. Leasing is on track to finish the year well below prepandemic activity in 2018 and 2019, when 32.4 million and 31.6 million square feet were leased respectively in total. Cushman & Wakefield data showed there was over 21 million square feet of sublease space available in Manhattan in September.

☆ Car companies want to make billions by charging monthly fees for features like heated seats, but buyers won't pay up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Car companies expect to make billions charging customers recurring fees for vehicle features. As vehicles become increasingly connected to the internet, car companies aim to rake in billions by having customers pay monthly or annual subscriptions to access certain features. But car companies still haven't figured out exactly what customers are willing to pay for, and what feels like a frustrating upcharge. An April study by Cox Automotive found that 75% of consumers are not willing to subscribe to most vehicle features. Hackers have helped car owners upgrade their vehicles for years, and subscription features could be their next target, Vice reported.

☆ These 15 people are shaping the office of the future, designing meeting pods, hologram calls, and buildings that actually make workers healthier
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

These 15 power players are just a handful of the people designing workplaces to balance productivity, interaction, and employee well-being through indoor-air-quality monitoring systems, building amenities, holographic meeting spaces, and more. AftershipCities like Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina, began offering business-relocation incentives during the pandemic to boost their workforces and help increase occupancy in office buildings. Room's office suite includes a phone booth, a meeting room, an open meeting room, and a focus room. Room also makes a soundproof meeting room that fits two people, a more open meeting booth, and a focus room designed for quiet concentration. "The future of office work needs to be guided by a new, genuine form of flexibility in which the work, not the workers themselves, become even more malleable," Petersen writes.

☆ Prologis Signals Caution in Industrial-Property Development
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Liz Young | Sabela Ojea | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Warehouse supply remains tight compared with demand, but Prologis will make decisions on new sites on a “deal by deal” basis, he added. Prologis trimmed its plans for new development starts for this year to a range of $4.2 billion to $4.6 billion, from a projected range of $4.2 billion to $5 billion the prior quarter. Companies signed new leases for about 920 million square feet of warehouse space in 2021 compared with 619 million square feet in 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Mr. Moghadam said Amazon hasn’t pulled out of any of its Prologis buildings or projects and the e-commerce company is taking on new space. He said e-commerce companies overall have been leasing new space to compete with Amazon’s sprawling network.

☆ America’s Red-Hot Warehouse Market Shows Signs of Cooling
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Warehouse space remains tight, with some companies still storing goods on trailers outside distribution centers, but the broader figures suggest the pressure on one supply chain choke point is easing. Newsletter Sign-up The Logistics Report Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. The firm said companies across the sector signed new leases for 163.1 million square feet of warehouse space in the third quarter compared with 207.4 million square feet the quarter before. “Maybe the froth comes off the top, but you still have a very stable and strong leasing market for industrial. Real-estate experts say part of the decline could be because companies aren’t finding enough empty warehouse space after nearly two years of frenetic construction and leasing.

☆ Small Businesses Getting Squeezed Out in Push for Warehouse Space
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Liz Young | Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

A warehouse crush across the U.S. is squeezing out smaller companies as big retailers fill industrial storage sites with their growing stockpiles of inventory. Karen Galena, president of First Logistics, which has four warehouses in the Chicago area that provide space for retailers and manufacturers, said bigger customers are willing to pay higher prices for increasingly scarce storage space. “It’s tough for the small guy,” Ms. Galena said, noting labor and other costs are rising for warehouse operators. The challenges small businesses face finding warehouse space mirrors difficulties many had securing room on container ships earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, when ocean carriers drove up rates and bumped smaller shippers to make way for larger clients. He said some companies are even generating revenue from unconventional storage space.

☆ Retail Real Estate Is Enjoying Its Biggest Revival in Years
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Kate King | Photographs Timothy Mulcare For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bricks-and-mortar store owners are emerging from the pandemic with surprising strength, posting some of their best numbers in years and plotting expansions as more Americans venture out to buy things again. U.S. retail vacancy fell to 6.1% in the second quarter, the lowest level in at least 15 years, while asking rents for U.S. shopping centers in the quarter were 16% higher than five years ago, according to real-estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield .

Share this -Link copiedThe full order of service for the funeral at Westminster Abbey The funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II is underway at Westminster Abbey. Police officers patrol outside Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, ahead of the state funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves Westminster Hall for her funeral service in Westminster Abbey. Around 2,300 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle and 1,000 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. Share this -Link copiedBuckingham Palace releases previously unseen portrait of queen Queen Elizabeth II, photographed at Windsor Castle in May 2022.

☆ Housing might be struggling in China but there are green shoots in commercial property
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Commercial property is a bright spot in Chinese real estate, in contrast with the doom and gloom of the residential housing market. Likewise, property group CIFI Holdings posted a 23% year-on-year drop in home sales in China for the first half, but reported a 69.5% lift in its property investment revenue. While some investors sold assets to stay liquid, Spiro said the commercial sector generally has more supportive government and fiscal policies. All in all, the Chinese commercial property sector's resilience lies in its ability to rebound faster than its residential counterpart. Down but not outBut unlike housing, the commercial sector is rebounding particularly after lockdowns ended and government incentives kicked in, CBRE said.

The Bilt Rewards program allows tenants to earn valuable points on rent payments without fees. That's about to change with the launch of the new Bilt Rewards program and Bilt Mastercard. If you're worried about using up your credit line or getting into debt, the Bilt credit card also offers a feature called Bilt Protect. Use Bilt points for fitness classesIn partnership with Soul Cycle, Rumble, and Y7, Bilt Rewards members can redeem points for group classes or subscriptions, starting at 2,500 points. If you're renting from a landlord included in the Bilt Rewards alliance, signing up for Bilt Rewards is a no-brainer.

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