“Providing Corporate Real Estate Services Since 1932”
Market Sound Bites
April 2014
Preserving Integrity
Caterpillar Escaped $2.4 Billion Tax With Swiss Maneuver
Yellen Says Slack in Job Market Shows Need for Support
Toys R Us Won’t Blame Disappointing Results On Declining Birth Rates
Commercial Real Estate Forecast 2014-2015
The Blau & Berg Company
@BlauBergCompany
The Blau & Berg Company
830 Morris Turnpike, 2nd Floor, Short Hills, NJ 07078 | Phone: 973-379-6644 | Fax: 973-379-1616 | www.blauberg.com
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no guarantee of its accuracy is made by this company. In addition, no representation is made respecting zoning, condition of title, dimensions, or any matters of a legal or environmental nature. Such matters should be referred to legal counsel for
determination. Subject to errors and omissions. The information contained in this document is proprietary to The Blau & Berg Company.
MARKET SOUND BITES
April 2014
“The Blau & Berg Company has been committed to its clients’
success since 1932; creating corporate real estate solutions through
professionalism, integrity, market knowledge and cutting-edge technology”
Preserving Integrity
The Blau & Berg Company
Peter J. Murano, Jr., SIOR
Senior Executive Director
Integrity, honesty, ethics. These are attributes to which all real estate brokers need to aspire. Maintaining a competitive edge
requires a commitment, willingness and dedication to outstanding service, which includes these important attributes. Integrity,
which encompasses honesty and ethics, is the component for which one is known. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or
ethical code, combined with market knowledge is a recipe for success in our field. If one is known for their consistency of
actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes, repetitive business usually results.
As the market activity heats up with increased rentals, sales, and acquisitions, our clients receive not only specialized market knowledge, but also
customer service through the qualities of integrity and consistency of values. It is an accepted standard of right and wrong, doing the right thing, in
the right way, at the right time, for the right reason, even though you know no one is looking.
In short, providing the nuts and bolts of a commercial real estate deal to the best of our ability through experience and market knowledge can define
repetitive success only if the essential value judgment of integrity is present and second nature.
830 Morris Turnpike, 2nd Floor, Short Hills, NJ 07078 | Phone: 973-379-6644 | Fax: 973-379-1616 | www.blauberg.com
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no guarantee of its accuracy is made by this company. In addition, no representation is made respecting zoning, condition of title, dimensions, or any matters of a legal or environmental nature. Such matters should be referred to legal counsel for
determination. Subject to errors and omissions. The information contained in this document is proprietary to The Blau & Berg Company.
MARKET SOUND BITES
April 2014
“The Blau & Berg Company has been committed to its clients’
success since 1932; creating corporate real estate solutions through
professionalism, integrity, market knowledge and cutting-edge technology”
Caterpillar Escaped $2.4 Billion Tax With Swiss Maneuver
Bloomberg.com
Richard Rubin
March 31, 2014
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) avoided paying $2.4 billion in U.S. taxes by shifting profits
from a parts business to a subsidiary in Switzerland, according to a report released
today by a Senate investigative committee.
The world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment made a "paper
change" starting in 1999 that made the profits of the subsidiary subject to a Swiss
tax rate as low as 4 percent, said Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who
will question company executives at a hearing tomorrow.
"Nothing changed in the real world after that except Caterpillar’s tax bill," Levin
told reporters today. "Caterpillar waved a magic wand to make billions of dollars in U.S. taxes disappear."
The report makes the point that offshore profit-shifting by U.S. corporations goes beyond the intellectual property maneuvers of technology companies
such as Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) that have been the subjects of past hearings by Levin and scrutiny from governments in Europe.
According to the report, Caterpillar was able to take a profitable U.S.-based business, change little if anything about its operations and locate it in
Switzerland for tax purposes. The tax structure saves Caterpillar, which is based in Peoria, Illinois, about $300 million a year, or 7.9 percent of 2013 net
income.
Full Story
830 Morris Turnpike, 2nd Floor, Short Hills, NJ 07078 | Phone: 973-379-6644 | Fax: 973-379-1616 | www.blauberg.com
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no guarantee of its accuracy is made by this company. In addition, no representation is made respecting zoning, condition of title, dimensions, or any matters of a legal or environmental nature. Such matters should be referred to legal counsel for
determination. Subject to errors and omissions. The information contained in this document is proprietary to The Blau & Berg Company.
MARKET SOUND BITES
April 2014
“The Blau & Berg Company has been committed to its clients’
success since 1932; creating corporate real estate solutions through
professionalism, integrity, market knowledge and cutting-edge technology”
Yellen Says Slack in Job Market Shows Need for Support
Bloomberg.com
Jeff Kearns and Craig Torres
March 31, 2014
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, easing investor concern that interest rates may
rise earlier than previously forecast, said the world’s biggest economy will need
Fed stimulus for "some time."
Yellen said today the Fed hasn’t done enough to combat unemployment even
after holding interest rates near zero for more than five years and pumping up its
balance sheet to $4.23 trillion with bond purchases.
"This extraordinary commitment is still needed and will be for some time, and I
believe that view is widely shared by my fellow policy makers," Yellen said at a community development conference in Chicago. "The scars from the
Great Recession remain, and reaching our goals will take time."
Yellen spotlighted as evidence "real people behind the statistics," describing how one person, Vicki Lira, lost two jobs, endured homelessness and
now serves food samples part-time at a grocery store.
Stocks rose as Yellen underscored the Fed’s commitment to spur the economy and put 10.5 million unemployed Americans back to work. Share prices
fell on March 19, when she said in a press conference that the Fed might start raising the benchmark interest rate above zero about six months after
ending its bond purchase program. Yellen didn’t mention a timetable today.
Full Story
830 Morris Turnpike, 2nd Floor, Short Hills, NJ 07078 | Phone: 973-379-6644 | Fax: 973-379-1616 | www.blauberg.com
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no guarantee of its accuracy is made by this company. In addition, no representation is made respecting zoning, condition of title, dimensions, or any matters of a legal or environmental nature. Such matters should be referred to legal counsel for
determination. Subject to errors and omissions. The information contained in this document is proprietary to The Blau & Berg Company.
MARKET SOUND BITES
April 2014
“The Blau & Berg Company has been committed to its clients’
success since 1932; creating corporate real estate solutions through
professionalism, integrity, market knowledge and cutting-edge technology”
Future Availabilities Report: Toys R Us Won’t Blame
Disappointing Results On Declining Birth Rates
CoStar Staff
March 31, 2014
Struggling toy retailer Toys R Us Inc. outlined a new strategy last week to address what it termed "foundational
issues" by implementing several new operational processes. The plan focuses on improving customer experience
in-store and online, simplifying promotions and developing a clear pricing strategy.
As for its real estate impact, the strategy will also include some "right-sizing" of its cost structure.
After acknowledging that its 2013 performance was disappointing, Antonio Urcelay, chairman and CEO of
Wayne, NJ-based Toys R Us went on to say, "While this was partly driven by macro conditions, such as the
decline in birth rates since 2007 which has contributed to stagnating overall toy and baby industry sales, and the
rapid growth of online shopping, we cannot blame these factors."
Rather, Urcelay added, "Several execution issues also impacted these results."
For 2014, the retailer will implement its "transformation strategy" to slow the sales decline, stabilize cash flow
and improve EBITDA.
In addition, Urcelay said the company is in the middle of a "renewed assessment of its operations" and business
structure to determine where greater efficiencies can be created and where additional resources can be allocated to
help best serve customers.
Full Story
830 Morris Turnpike, 2nd Floor, Short Hills, NJ 07078 | Phone: 973-379-6644 | Fax: 973-379-1616 | www.blauberg.com
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no guarantee of its accuracy is made by this company. In addition, no representation is made respecting zoning, condition of title, dimensions, or any matters of a legal or environmental nature. Such matters should be referred to legal counsel for
determination. Subject to errors and omissions. The information contained in this document is proprietary to The Blau & Berg Company.
MARKET SOUND BITES
April 2014
“The Blau & Berg Company has been committed to its clients’
success since 1932; creating corporate real estate solutions through
professionalism, integrity, market knowledge and cutting-edge technology”
Commercial Real Estate Forecast 2014-2015
Forbes
Bill Conerly
March 27, 2014
Non-residential real estate values should rise at a modest-to-moderate pace in the
coming two years, with stronger operating earnings partially offset by rising
interest rates.
Commercial Real Estate Review
Private non-residential construction is growing at a fairly strong pace, except in
comparison to its past peak. Total dollars spent have increased by nearly ten
percent in the past 12 months. Nationally, office vacancy is edging down,
though 16 percent vacancy doesn’t seem to justify the 17 percent increase in
office construction. However, remember that the gain in construction is from a
very low base.
Industrial vacancy has dropped by almost a percentage point in the past year.
Manufacturing construction has increased by nearly eight percent in the past year.
Retail also enjoys slowly declining vacancy and more construction—but again f
rom a low base. Industry insiders say that retail is sharply divided between successful properties and others, the others frequently being dated and in the
wrong locations.
Full Story
830 Morris Turnpike, 2nd Floor, Short Hills, NJ 07078 | Phone: 973-379-6644 | Fax: 973-379-1616 | www.blauberg.com
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no guarantee of its accuracy is made by this company. In addition, no representation is made respecting zoning, condition of title, dimensions, or any matters of a legal or environmental nature. Such matters should be referred to legal counsel for
determination. Subject to errors and omissions. The information contained in this document is proprietary to The Blau & Berg Company.