The Daily Ten – Robotaxi’s take off in China, Retailers become landlords, L.A.’s new $1 billion mini city…
The Daily Ten
1. Self-driving robotaxis are taking off in China | CNN Business
Hong Kong (CNN Business)The world has been inching toward fully autonomous cars for years. In China, one company just got even closer to making it a reality.
On Thursday, AutoX, an Alibaba (BABA)-backed startup, announced it had rolled out fully driverless robotaxis on public roads in Shenzhen. The company said it had become the first player in China to do so, notching an important industry milestone.
Previously, companies operating autonomous shuttles on public roads in the country were constrained by strict caveats, which required them to have a safety driver inside.
This program is different. In Shenzhen, AutoX has completely removed the backup driver or any remote operators for its local fleet of 25 cars, it said. The government isn’t restricting where in the city AutoX operates, though the company said they are focusing on the downtown area.
2. Retailers Seize on Pandemic Fallout to Become Property Owners | WSJ
Rental opportunities for businesses also open up amid turmoil in commercial real estate
Struggling shopping malls are finding an unexpected boost from bargain-hunting retail operators.
Such was the case in Stamford, Conn., where the Stamford Town Center mall lost popular tenants like H&M , Apple Inc. and Talbots to a competing shopping center that opened last year only 8 miles away.
In October, home-furnishing company Safavieh purchased Town Center mall.
Safavieh plans to open a home-design center and relocate its nearby home furnishings store to the mall, said Arash Yaraghi, whose family runs the Port Washington, N.Y.-based company.
But, he added, “price is always the deciding factor.” Safavieh paid $20 million for a property that was appraised at $64 million last year, according to a Stamford government website.
3. Mortgage demand from homebuyers spikes 28%, and the average loan amount sets a record high | CNBC
Thanksgiving week isn’t usually a popular time for homebuying, but most economic numbers this year are incomparable, especially in the pandemic-spiked housing market.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 9% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally and holiday adjusted index. Purchase applications were a stunning 28% higher from a year ago.
“Purchase activity continued to show impressive year-over-year gains, with both the conventional and government segments of the market posting another week of growth,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “Housing demand remains strong, and despite extremely tight inventory and rising prices, home sales are running at their strongest pace in over a decade.”
4. Sports Rebates May Return $1.1 Billion to Pay-TV Customers | Bloomberg
More than $1 billion will soon start to flow back to U.S. pay-TV subscribers in the form of refunds and credits, compensating them for the year’s many pandemic-related sports cancellations.
Pay-TV providers like AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. kept collecting sports-programming fees even as the Covid-19 outbreak canceled sporting events like college basketball tournaments and disrupted pro leagues like the MLB, NBA and NHL.
Now, after months of unwinding insurance settlements, league payments and regional-sports-network fees, the total rebates from RSNs could be as much as $1.1 billion, according to an estimate by Brandon Ross, an analyst with LightShed Partners.
“The only winner is the customer,” said Ross, adding that the payback will vary by market. For example, the math says about $14 for the average Charter video subscriber, Ross said.
5. 1 Percent of P.P.P. Borrowers Got Over One-Quarter of the Loan Money | The New York Times
Newly released data gives the most detailed accounting yet of the pandemic aid provided to 5.2 million businesses that sought forgivable loans.
The Paycheck Protection Program was the centerpiece of the federal government’s relief efforts to keep millions of small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. But new data shows what many had suspected all along: The money was shared unevenly, with the biggest sums going to a sliver of the companies in need.
Detailed loan information released by the Small Business Administration late on Tuesday showed that a mere 1 percent of the program’s 5.2 million borrowers — those seeking $1.4 million and above — received more than a quarter of the $523 billion disbursed.
About 600 businesses — including powerful law firms like Boies Schiller Flexner, restaurants like the steakhouse chain started by Ted Turner, as well as the operator of New York’s biggest horse tracks — received the maximum loan amount of $10 million, according to the data. It was the first full accounting of how federal money was spent through the program. Aimed at small companies — generally those with 500 or fewer workers — the program provided forgivable loans to desperate business owners who were faced with widespread shutdowns.
6. Uber reportedly in talks to sell flying taxi division | New York Post
Uber shares spiked more than 6 percent Wednesday after reports emerged that the company was looking into selling its flying taxi business.
The ride-hail giant is in advanced talks to sell Uber Elevate to aerospace firm Job Aviation, Axios reported, with news of the talks coming as Uber is already looking to cut back on cash burn as the COVID-19 pandemic has pummeled its core business.
Uber Elevate is the San Francisco-based company’s division dedicated to aerial pursuits, and has been developing a flying taxi prototype.
Uber did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear if the sale would impact Uber Copter, the company’s helicopter service from lower Manhattan to JFK.
Shares of Uber were up 6.3 percent Wednesday afternoon, trading at $52.77.
7. Developer Aims to Raise $1 Billion for Investing in Minority Communities| WSJ
Martin Muoto’s new Black Impact Fund to focus on opportunity zones and nearby areas
A California developer is trying to raise $1 billion to invest in Black and Latino communities. If successful, it would be one of the largest commercial real-estate funds ever to focus on minority neighborhoods.
Martin Muoto, chief executive of the real-estate firm SoLa Impact LLC, already runs three funds totaling $180 million. They focus on affordable housing and some commercial real estate in minority neighborhoods around South Los Angeles. The funds, which raised money from individual partners in large investors like the private-equity firm General Atlantic, have recorded double-digit average annual returns since the first fund launched in 2014.
Now, Mr. Muoto is trying to use a similar approach in cities across the U.S. that suffer from a shortage of affordable housing and from what he said are regulatory barriers that make it tougher to build. His new Black Impact Fund is focusing on large metropolises like Philadelphia and Atlanta, as well as midsize cities like Fresno, Calif.
SoLa has been investing in opportunity zones, a program created by the 2017 federal tax overhaul that allows investors to defer and reduce taxes if they reinvest capital gains in designated low-income communities.
8. Family offices are gearing up to pounce on distressed real estate | The Real Deal
Having learned from missed opportunities a decade ago, many ultra-high-net-worth players are looking for a fresh chance to buy discounted properties
The world was still feeling the aftershocks of America’s subprime mortgage crisis when Julien Haccoun landed his MBA and became a principal of his family office in South Florida. The country’s unemployment rate was stuck at about 9 percent, and the housing market had yet to recoup.
Rather than returning to his native France after graduating in 2011, Haccoun moved into his family’s second home in Miami, where he witnessed hundreds of properties being sold off in foreclosure auctions on a weekly basis.
Seeing an investment opportunity, he and his brother, Adrien, raised money from their family, developed software to analyze potential deals and spent about $30 million buying up distressed condos in South Florida. Those assets turned into rental properties, which they still manage today.
9. Big Short’ investor Michael Burry reveals he’s short Tesla, tells Elon Musk to issue more stock at its ‘ridiculous price’ | Business Insider
Having learned from missed opportunities a decade ago, many ultra-high-net-worth players are looking for a fresh chance to buy discounted properties
The world was still feeling the aftershocks of America’s subprime mortgage crisis when Julien Haccoun landed his MBA and became a principal of his family office in South Florida. The country’s unemployment rate was stuck at about 9 percent, and the housing market had yet to recoup.
Rather than returning to his native France after graduating in 2011, Haccoun moved into his family’s second home in Miami, where he witnessed hundreds of properties being sold off in foreclosure auctions on a weekly basis.
Seeing an investment opportunity, he and his brother, Adrien, raised money from their family, developed software to analyze potential deals and spent about $30 million buying up distressed condos in South Florida. Those assets turned into rental properties, which they still manage today.
10. L.A. signs off on $1-billion ‘mini-city’ in the west San Fernando Valley | Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles City Council cleared the way Wednesday for a sprawling development planned for the west San Fernando Valley, signing off on a new sports arena, two hotels, a 28-story office tower and more than 1,400 new apartments.
On a 14-0 vote, the council approved Promenade 2035, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion, replacing a closed shopping mall in Warner Center with a new “downtown district” featuring a supermarket, public plazas, high-density housing and a 10,000-seat entertainment and sports venue.
Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the area, said the project’s combination of restaurants, stores, homes and workspaces makes it “the future of green planning.”
Promenade 2035 will offer a “mini-city … within this larger city,” he said, “where you can get your culture and entertainment and jobs and work — all in a smaller area for less of a carbon footprint.”