Category: Editorial

Fortune 500 Day

Posted on by Sarah

The Fortune 500 — Fortune’s annual list of the largest U.S. corporations ranked by total revenue — is out today. And here’s a fun fact: Just 500 companies produced enough revenue last year to equal two-thirds of the entire economic output of the United States. These American businesses sold an astounding $13.7 trillion worth of goods and services, a record sum whether you measure it in nominal dollars or adjusted for inflation. A few interesting facts from this year’s 500:
• Walmart earned the top spot on the Fortune 500 list for the seventh straight year.
• Apple (No. 3) was the 500’s most profitable company for the fifth straight year ($59.5 billion in profits). The company debuted on the list at No. 411 in 1983.
• Amazon.com joined the top five of the Fortune 500 for the first time, with a 31% jump in revenue. And its cloud-software empire helped it notch an annual profit of $10 billion for the first time.
Click to read more at www.fortune.com.

JLL Income Property Trust CEO Sees New Model for PNLR Investing

Posted on by Sarah

Allan Swaringen, president and CEO of public non-listed REIT (PNLR) JLL Income Property Trust and chairman of Nareit’s PNLR Council, believes a whole new model of PNLRs—the 2.0 version—is emerging to better protect investors’ wealth and generate good income while providing valuable solutions for today’s retirement world. When Swaringen looks out 10 years from now, he can see the eight or 10 PNLRs out there today, with a combined value of $25 billion, expanding to 30 to 40 companies with a value of $300 billion to $400 billion. “The PNLR market, not having shares listed on the exchange and not having our shares traded daily, allows investors a smoother journey and yet still have that good, quality, durable income.” Swaringen added that listed REITs continue to offer far greater liquidity than PNLRs. Swaringen describes the PNLR industry as having undergone some seismic changes over the last five years. JLL Income Property Trust, advised by LaSalle Investment Management, Inc., pioneered the daily-NAV/perpetual life REIT structure six-and-a-half years ago, and was one of the first programs to gain access through a wirehouse distribution platform through a partnership with Merrill Lynch. Click to read more at www.mrej.com.

Ray’s Buzz | May 2019

Posted on by Sarah

HOUSTON 2036
A BICENTENNIAL CITY REDEVELOPED BY MILLENNIALS

Takeaway: Graduate students presented what their generation wants in their city, and seasoned developers present three mega-projects currently in planning which will deliver to the Millennials what they want.

HEALTH & WELLNESS
● Active lifestyle
● Walking and public transport, life less dependent on the automobile; more protection for pedestrians and cyclists
● Public places for human interaction such as shops and restaurants
● Healthy food
● Safe neighborhoods
● Quality healthcare availability at reasonable cost
DAILY WORKING CONDITIONS
● Office space designed to please users; more work from home
● Workspace customized for productivity and comfort, fewer private offices
● Flex time; more open space; consideration of tending to family needs during the week
● Rethinking how people use space; dedicated office space will shrink going forward
Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Ray’s Buzz | April 2019

Posted on by Sarah

CCIM Luncheon
Speaker: Ed Emmett, Former County Judge-Harris County

Takeaway: Governance in Harris County has evolved in a way that is unique to any city of our size in the world: Houston, 32 other municipalities, and a population living in the unincorporated areas, which, if it were one city, would be the fifth largest in the U.S. This creates governmental / administrative challenges for us, moving forward.

● To ensure its growth would not be choked by a ring of smaller cities, Houston years ago annexed the highways leading into the city throughout the county, and created an Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) which froze all existing small municipalities and prevented them from expanding ● Many citizens in the Houston area prefer to live in the suburbs for the schools and for larger, more affordable homes
● Expansion of subdivisions in the ETJ is done by forming legal taxing entities – not cities- called Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) which build utilities and roads which are to the specifications of Houston but which remain ‘in the county’, not in Houston.
Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Ray’s Buzz – March 2019

Posted on by Sarah

No indications of recessions this year or next
● Houston & Texas economies much stronger than
national economy by many indicators
● Turn off TV and read books the rest of your life-TV and
especially cable news are nothing but propaganda designed
to upset you and sell advertising
● Above all don’t make business decisions based on what you
hear on TV
● Top one-third of home market experiencing slow sales,
while bottom third is booming
● Wages are averaging 3% growth
● There is high consumer confidence, and the current
expansion is in 116th month, the second longest in history
Click here to read more at www.rednews.com.

Ray’s Buzz – February 2019

Posted on by Sarah

CCIM January Luncheon
Speaker: Patrick Jankowski, Sr. V.P. Research-Greater Houston Partnership

Takeaway: No recession in sight for the Houston or for the national economy.

• Oil prices need to find their ‘sweet spot’ for both the Houston and
the national economies
• ‘Recession’ is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative
growth-in spite of the negative things in the news these days, a
recession does not appear to be indicated any time soon
• In fact, the economy is still expanding locally and nationwide as
measured by all indicators
• The US economy expanded by creating 312,000 jobs last month,
which is strong, and more jobs = more consumer buying power
• The US economy last month showed 3.9% unemployment, which is
tantamount to full employment
• Consumer confidence is still rising; consumer debt is at a low point, so
if a recession were to come we would be in good shape to handle it
Click to read more at www.rednews.com.