What I’m Reading
Here We Go Again: After being thwarted last year, the Biden administration is going after 1031 exchanges again in its proposed fiscal budget for 2023 once again. That said, the proposal will meet strong opposition (again) and I sort of doubt that there is appetite for this in a midterm election. Bisnow
Bloodletting: Ultra-fast delivery companies claim that they can strategically plant warehouses within a city, allowing both short delivery times for customers and efficiency for couriers. However, no one has pulled it off yet and profitability hinges on dense volumes of clustered orders with high-enough basket sizes. Axios
Throwing in the Towel: Westfield’s European owner faces potentially steep losses as it aims to unlead its American mall portfolio by the end of 2023. Not a great sign that the company’s executives have concluded that even high-quality US malls aren’t worth holding onto after entering the market just four years ago. Wall Street Journal OTOH, perhaps its a contrarian signal or something….
Warning Signs: Dallas Fed economists see housing prices out of step with fundamentals such as the price-to-rent and the price-to-income ratios. However, they also noted that a housing correction would likely not compare to that of the Global Financial Crisis, since household balance sheets are in better shape than during the last recession. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Signs of Cooling: The US housing market continues to be characterized by low inventory, soaring prices and a competitive bidding environment. However, there are some signs of cooling. “Fewer people are starting online home searches and applying for mortgages than this time last year, and year-to-date growth in home tours remains far below 2021 levels. An increasing share of sellers are also reducing their prices after putting their homes on the market,” according to a recent Redfin report. Redfin
Chart of the Day
The number of ships waiting to load or discharge at the Shanghai port broke required a new Y-Axis. Typically this would be front page financial news but barely makes the second page given all of the crazy shit in the world right now.
Source: @MacroAlf
WTF
The Heist: A group of men used a homemade device to steal $60k in gasoline from two Circle K’s, then re-sell it for $3/gallon at empty lots around town because Florida. The Tampa Bay Times
Down the Drain: A man is behind bars after investigators served a search warrant for narcotics and he began eating and flushing the evidence because Florida. The Tampa Free Press
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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