Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Executes Leases With IBM and National Student Clearinghouse at Dulles Station West, Phase I

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust announced today that it has executed two leases totaling 154,000 square feet at Dulles Station West, Phase I. The 180,000 square foot, Class A office building located in Herndon, Virginia was delivered in the third quarter of 2007. IBM (NYSE: IBM – News) will occupy 123,000 square feet and National Student Clearinghouse will occupy 31,000 square feet, resulting in an 86% occupancy rate. National Student... 

PPG to Acquire BASF North American Coil, Extrusion Coatings Business

PPG Industries announced it has reached an agreement with BASF Corp. to acquire that company’s North American coil and extrusion coatings (COEX) business. The agreement does not include the COEX businesses of BASF SE in Europe, South America and Asia. Terms were not disclosed. BASF’s North American COEX business serves the construction; appliance; transportation; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); lighting fixture; and extrusion... 

General Growth Obtains Additional Mortgage Facility Funding

General Growth Properties, Inc. announced another closing today as part of the staged funding of its $1.75 billion secured portfolio facility. This brings the total amount outstanding under the facility to $1.51 billion, thereby exceeding the funding level necessary to eliminate the reserve requirement and terminate any possibility that the Company would be obligated to make partial prepayments under the facility. The Company increased the initial... 

Omega Healthcare Announces Public Offering of 6,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. announced an underwritten public offering of 6,000,000 shares of its common stock. The last reported sale of Omega’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on September 15, 2008 was $17.23. Omega expects to use the proceeds to repay indebtedness outstanding under its senior credit facility, for working capital and general corporate purposes. Completion of the offering is subject to customary closing conditions.... 

Dramatic Drop in Housing Values Could Delay Retirement for Homeowners

For those approaching retirement age, the value of their homes accounts for a majority of total net worth1. A new research paper from Principal Funds geared for financial professionals explores how the dramatic and historic decrease in housing values – approximately $400 billion between 2007 to mid-2008 – has significantly altered the retirement plans of many Americans. The Impact of Diminishing Wealth on Future Consumption: How Housing Wealth... 

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Acquires The Kenmore for $58.3 Million

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has acquired The Kenmore, a 374-unit, 270,000 square foot apartment building located in Washington, DC for $58.3 million. The property is located at 5415 Connecticut Avenue, proximate to the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Military Road, a half mile south of Chevy Chase Circle in the established, affluent Upper Northwest submarket in close proximity to Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase. The property... 

General Growth Repays $391 Million of Mortgage Loans

General Growth Properties, Inc. announced that it repaid $391 million of near term maturity mortgage loans, following another closing with respect to the staged funding of its $1.75 billion secured loan facility today. This brings the total loan facility amount currently outstanding to $1.41 billion. All remaining seven properties were added to the collateral pool which now completes the 24 property collection of assets. The company plans to add additional... 

Coachmen Housing Group Announces New Mortgage Program

All American Homes® and Mod-U-Kraf Homes®, both subsidiaries of the Coachmen Housing Group, today announced the launch of a new initiative to help provide prospective home buyers with more options for the financing of the company’s new homes. All American Choice Mortgage™ will offer most types of home mortgages including construction-to-permanent loans to buyers purchasing new All American or Mod-U-Kraf homes through the company’s network... 

Caterpillar 4Q Profit Rises As High Costs Offset Strong Sales

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. said Friday that higher operating costs trimmed fourth-quarter profit growth to 4 percent, but predicted strong results for 2007 despite an expected slowdown in U.S. machine and engine sales. The forecast sent the company’s shares up more than 2 percent in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, even though it mirrored a revised outlook issued three months ago that predicted Caterpillar’s four-year... 

Concrete Flooring Resurfacer withstands heat to 210° F.

Valspar Flooring, a division of Valspar, Inc. (NYSE: VAL), announced today a major upgrade to its Flowfresh® SR chemical resistant cementitious urethane floor resurfacer with built-in antimicrobial. Utilizing a proprietary new aggregate, this next generation of Flowfresh® SR offers improved thermal shock resistance, withstanding temperatures to 210° F. SR also provides superior protection against impact and abrasions that would scratch, stain or...