Users Also ReadAnalysts list potential bank targets - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 5:27 PMPark Sterling paying $77.8M for Citizens South Banking - Monday, May 14, 2012 8:22 AMData Dispatch: Tom Brown's Second Curve Capital outpaces financial sector in Q1 - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 12:06 PMQ&A: Veteran i-banker says enhanced stock prices will follow M&A pickup - Thursday, May 17, 2012 11:12 AMThe Pipeline: 2012 is starting to look like 2011 - Monday, May 21, 2012 11:00 AM Bank of America Corp. said May 25 that it and Barclays Bank Plc entered an agreement with Equity Residential and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., pursuant to which BofA and Barclays will sell their remaining interest in Archstone to Lehman. Lehman said it exercised its right of first ... Continue reading →

Users Also ReadSimon shareholders reject CEO compensation plan - Monday, May 21, 2012 6:59 PMReport: David Lerner hit with fines in Apple REIT case - Thursday, May 24, 2012 12:19 PMGlimcher introduces outlet center brand - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 4:23 PMHudson Pacific to buy 2 office assets, kicks off common offering - Monday, May 14, 2012 5:10 PMQ&A: At RECon, Federal Realty CFO talks social media, Santana Row - Thursday, May 24, 2012 9:43 AM The National Association of Realtors said May 24 that all of the major commercial real estate sectors are seeing a gradual improvement in fundamentals, while the multifamily sector is showing particular strength and has "fully recovered." In the association's quarterly commercial real estate forecast, chief economist Lawrence Yun said ... Continue reading →

SEC Staff Said to End Lehman Probe Without Recommending Action By Joshua Gallu - 2012-05-24T19:23:00Z U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators have concluded their probe of possible financial fraud at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and determined that they will probably not recommend any enforcement action against the firm or its former executives, according to an excerpt of an internal agency memo. The agency has been grappling with the case for more than three years amid questions from lawmakers and investors as to whether Lehman misrepresented its financial health before filing the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September 2008. Under a heading reading “Activity in the Last Four Weeks,” the undated document reads, “The staff has concluded its investigation and determined that charges will likely ... Continue reading →

That, anyway, is the story according to the business press. The news comes from dogged reporters at Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and other well-known chroniclers of the financial world. But if you can’t follow all of these guys—if you have neither the time nor the patience to wade through each new bulletin on the IPO’s disastrous path—there’s really only one place you need to check. Just visit Business Insider, Henry Blodget’s invaluable business news aggregation site. Not only does Blodget keep breaking news about the IPO himself, but he’s also rounding up everyone else’s scoops, rumors, and theories, and he’s wrapping it all up into intelligent, coherent analysis. Continue reading →

By Craig KarminAn arbitrator has ordered a well-known Long Island investment advisor to pay damages related to its sale of a real estate investment product that�s come under increasing scrutiny. The arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ruled that David Lerner Associates has to pay compensatory damages. The fund was one of the many so-called non-traded real estate investment trusts that have been marketed over the past decade. Two investors in the fund known as Apple REIT 9 asserted that David Lerner had misrepresented the product when it was marketed, and that the broker was in breach of contract and fiduciary duty, among other charges. Numerous other claims against David Lerner have been filed with Finra making similar charges. In a decision made public ... Continue reading →

HSBC Buys 4 New York Plaza Tower With Edge Fund Advisors By David M. Levitt and Prashant Gopal - 2012-05-23T16:10:51Z A partnership of HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd. and Edge Fund Advisors bought 4 New York Plaza, a lower Manhattan office tower that houses offices of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and the New York Daily News. The partners paid $270 million for the 1.1 million-square- foot (102,000-square-meter) property, said a person with knowledge of the deal, who declined to be identified because the terms were private. That was more than double what the seller, Harbor Group International, paid to acquire the building two years ago. The 22-story tower was purchased on behalf of a London- based entity called HSBC Club Programme, which also owns 1540 ... Continue reading →