U.S. Federal Reserve
Wednesday: Impulsive Times Square Hotels, and Impulsive (Drunk) Home Investment
- Some good West Side news to start your day! The City has agreed to rezone the 13-acre Hudson Yards for highrise development, which is a departure from their earlier, sillier offer. And instead of paying general taxes, wealthy developers will be contributing money for the $2.15 billion subway extension of the No. 7 Line. That has to please MTA, the railyards' owner. (New York Times)
- CNN, a reasonable voice of sheer alarmist panic, says: "Economists, investors and even Federal Reserve policymakers express concern that the slumping real estate market will hurt the economy." But look on the bright side: the funds that are taken out of homes are getting pumped into the needy hands of stock brokers. (CNN/Money)
- The century-old Portland Square Hotel at West 47th has been hijacked by developer Hank Freid, the head of the Impulsive Group. Is it a bad thing? Mr. Freid will spend $7.5 million on turning the rustic Square into "Sanctuary," a 115-room luxury hotel. How much for a night at Sanctuary? $265 to $1,800. (The Real Deal)
- The new LES development that has been wisely called "that big blue thing [with] obvious aesthetic misfortune" has been selling some apartments. What's BLUE's secret? The obvious marketing misfortune of pricechopping. (Curbed)
- The helpful folks at Forbes inform that there's more to buying real estate abroad "than a charming escape and bragging rights to your villa in the south of France." What's their advice for global home hunting? "Don't buy on impulse, when you're buoyed by tropical cocktails." True. (Forbes) - Max Abelson
A Puzzling Inflation Fight- The Worst of Both Worlds
A fortnight ago, the Federal Reserve raised its base rate for the 17th time in two years, to 5.25 pe read more »
A Puzzling Inflation Fight— The Worst of Both Worlds
Peter Thompson/Getty Images
Will Mr. Bernanke please explain?
A fortnight ago, the Federal Reserve raised its base rate for the 17th time in two years, to 5.25 pe read more »
Wednesday: Confirmed: Brooklyn is Popular
- The Real Estate Board of New York released the first Brooklyn housing market report , which reports that the average price per square foot for apartments has increased each consecutive quarter since 2004. (The Real Deal)
- The City Planning Commission voted to change zoning regulations in northern Tribeca, making way for Jack Parker Corporation's plan for a residential building. (The New York Post)
- Puff away on cigarettes with brandy in hand at these Manhattan bars that have bypassed the ban. (NewYorkology)
- Governor Pataki promises that the women's museum will go up--just not this decade. (The Tribeca Trib)
- Barnard's new Nexus building in Morningside Heights, scheduled for completion in 2009, is big, modern and ugly. (Gothamist)
- The Related Companies seem to have a close relationship with the city. Perhaps with their new Second Avenue project, The Veneto, East Siders will finally get a long-awaited subway line. (Curbed)
Watch the Housing Market, And Fear for Your Country!
The news that Manhattan real-estate prices took a plunge last quarter may not be the loud crack in t read more »
Interest-Rate Manipulation Won't Bring Us Prosperity
It's the new economy, stupid. read more »
The Smart Money Ignores The Times ' Puffy Op-Ed Page
In Hollywood, the screenwriter William Goldman has notoriously remarked, nobody knows anything.Anoth read more »
Greenspan's Shocking Secret: Vast Bureaucratic Strengths
Maestro: Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom , by Bob Woodward. Simon & Schuster, 270 pages, $25. read more »
Attention, All Boomers: Do You Have a Plan B?
City, state and nation, we have slipped our moorings and are rising up into the sky. read more »
Greenspan Gobbledygook and Some Holiday Tips
The current systemic mess in Asia's financial markets, by some seen perhaps to be moving ominously e read more »
