What I’m Reading
In the Money: Long-underfunded state and local pension funds are reaping a historic windfall thanks to billions of dollars in record market gains and surplus tax revenues. Now they need to decide what to do with the money in an environment where assets are richly priced and cash has steep negative real yields. Wall Street Journal
Help Wanted: The Home Builders Institute is out with a new report showing how the labor shortage will impact multifamily development. The report estimates that the number of new workers needed yearly to keep up with demand is estimated to be 740,000 each over the next three years. A continued shortfall will result in more cost inflation, making development more challenging and benefitting owners of existing buildings. Multi Housing News
Rise of the Machines: Labor shortages and rising wages are pushing U.S. businesses to invest in automation. A recent Federal Reserve survey of chief financial officers found that at firms with difficulty hiring, one-third are implementing or exploring automation to replace workers. MSN Money
Piggy Bank: The red-hot housing market has spurred homeowners to tap their home equity, with drawdowns at their highest level since 2007. However, the amount of money being extracted is still far below its bubble peak, both in percentage of value and dollar terms. Bloomberg
Mixed Use: Coworking spaces are increasingly showing up in malls as operators and retail landlords look ways to offer differentiated workspace that drives foot traffic to amenities. Globe Street
Chart of the Day
Looking closely at this chart, you can see the exact moment when all hell broke loose in the supply-chain.
Source: The Daily Shot
WTF
Burning Man: An intoxicated man in Upstate NY walked into a police station, stripped off his clothing and doused himself with hand sanitizer while confronting officers. The officers Tasered him and the hand sanitizer caused him to ignite into flames. He is now in intensive care. CBS 6 Albany
Give it Back: A Kentucky woman stabbed her cousin during a dispute that began when he asked her to return a borrowed sex toy. IMO, the real crime here was that he wanted the sex toy that his cousin “borrowed” back in the first place. The Smoking Gun
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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