Couldn't have happened to a nice bunch of people.
Couldn't have happened to a nice bunch of people.
NYTimes:
General Growth Properties Files for Bankruptcy
Update | 6:50 a.m. General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall operators in the nation, filed for bankruptcy early Thursday morning in one of the biggest commercial real estate collapses in United States history.
Despite bargaining for months with its creditors, General Growth faced increasing pressure to handle its more than $25 billion in debt, largely in the form of short-term mortgages that will come due by next year. The company has been severely wounded by the recession, which has wreaked havoc upon the retailers who inhabit its more than 200 malls in 44 states. Many stores have shuttered, depriving mall operators like General Growth of revenue.
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It's all about the debt.
We're mall subprime now.
With this and foreclosures being up 24%, I would bet that SRS ends down today.
But a major bank declared a profit on massive taxpayer wealth transfer! The system is saved! The men on TV told me, then the woman with them had an orgasm on camera, so I know it's true.
E. J. DeBartolo, a mall developer/operator of the '70s, was fond of saying that had he delayed his plans until economic conditions were favorable, few if any of his malls would have been built. It's evident he recognized the existence of unfavorable conditions, but arranged his affairs in order to continue working through them.
So it can be done, or could be in the recent past. Why so many large, fragile ventures now?
Byz, less talking more sticking barrels in their nostrils.
That took long enough! Who will save the bondholders?
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sacrealstats
I'm glad citi acquired a bunch of it's shares a short time ago... More tax dollars hard at work
But SPG was upgraded yesterday. I doubt SRS will ever move opposite the financials, so we'll see what happens. A reorganized, less indebted GGP will be able to lowball rents, sell properties on the cheap, and pound the competition.
It's a good thing we suspended mark-to-market accounting. The future comps are going to be awful!
Ventures were a good deal less complicated in the '70s. The complexity of complexes in the '70s was not as complex as the complexity of complexes in the '00s.
(got that?)
Thomas Friedman is a dingbat. He can't even effectively interpret the past, let alone provide reasonable foresight into the future.
His entire thesis was "it's different this time. " Unbelievable.
......When what remains of American free enterprise starts locking up the doors for the final time, a last segment of hope, optimistic energy and mind-set has disappeared.
......When Americans nationwide finally decide to get off the couch and start to demonstrate, changes in the thought-processes have occurred. (The nationwide "tea-bagging exercise)
......When America's "18-49yo's" start wanting actual news instead of Dr. Phil and other mind-numbing "no-think" Hollywood programs - there is change in the air.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aPY4sRZ7ygCQ&refer=home
"......station's late- night news is attracting 65 percent more viewers ages 18 to 49, those most sought by marketers, according to Nielsen Co. data. The morning newscast is up 33 percent [vs. Seinfeld and Access Hollywood]"
.............the now watched pot is finally starting to boil over.....
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Black
Ranch
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Black Star Ranch,
Change will not occur until the public recognizes that almost all news today is propaganda.
Anyone that relies on the MSM or Right Wing(nut) Radio for their information is clueless.
We all forgot the "unexpectedly."
GGP "unexpectedly" files for bankruptcy.
What with the recovery well-underway and all, who saw this coming?
Now, let's talk about that wacky Scottish singer some more. Isn't she great?
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However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. -Churchill
mal:
You may be right.
However, saw the contractual records and reader files for development and operation of the Altamonte mall near Winter Park, and I can tell you they represent real complexity. Feasibility studies, environmental impact, city/county negotiations, bidding and a host of other parameters all indistinguishable from the same processes now.
So maybe not.
Chicago Dude (member) wrote on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 8:27am.
With this and foreclosures being up 24%, I would bet that SRS ends down today.
Of course it will. This is bullish for REITS - there will be lot's of cheap CRE hitting the market due to GGP bk so SPG and others will be able to scoop em up cheap!
I really think it's a question of competency, and not 'modern' complexity.
OT. Which of the commentariat has been talking to the Dilbert guy Scott Adams?
Look at todays strip - pretty funny
"Anyone that relies on the MSM or Right Wing(nut) Radio for their information is clueless."
Absolutely, AngrySaver........THE DIFFERENCE is, they are now starting to realize there is a problem.......
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Black
Ranch
AngrySaver,
Just had one of those Dilbert moments over dessert last night. Bright young fellow suggests WSJ as a reliable (relatively) source for information on world economy.
I said not necessarily - a single issue may well contain an informed article along with a few with obvious oversights or errors. An uninformed reader isn't prepared to differentiate. And if he is prepared, he got his information elsewhere or is an independent thinker. Either way, WSJ doesn't help.
Subject changed to weather forecast. Am I a beast?
sell into the rally on JPM...
All of their Chicago properties have been around for a while and are in very good condition. After 30 or 40 years they should all have been paid for by now. Why the debt?
Looks like very poor management to me.
But a major bank declared a profit on massive taxpayer wealth transfer! The system is saved! The men on TV told me, then the woman with them had an orgasm on camera, so I know it's true.
CNBC? Or Fox News?
I've written before that unlike other industries, commercial real estate bankruptcies should really be just about the assets. That's where all of the value is. In the airline industry, you might have a brand that is worth something, you might have a loyal customer base, you might even have management that is worth keeping around. The same thing goes for car manufacturers. But in CRE, it's really just assets. GGP is no more a logical owner for the assets than any other CRE owner. When you go into a mall, you have no idea whether it is a GGP mall, so there is no issue with losing potential customers if the assets are auctioned.
So this will come down to whether GGP is the best owner to make the bondholders whole again (or close to it), at some point in the future.
John Reeder
http://realpropertyalpha.com
Whatever happened to the sleazy Little Eddie DeBartola, former owner of the Forty Whiners.
Meh.
They'll be fine.
"The next six months" are critical, though.
Because Debartolo wasn't excessively leveraged to the extent that developers are today.
If anyone is interested, I did a running log of GGP's call with the media that just concluded. It's available here.
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