MARKET MOVERS
- Blackstone Group is buying 12,600 multifamily units, in 42 garden-style apartment communities of Resource REIT's portfolio. Blackstone's non-traded Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust agreed to pay $14.75 a share for Resource REIT Inc. in a deal that values the suburban apartment community owner at $3.7 billion. Read more here.
- Lithium hits record in EV boom, spurring a ‘land grab’ among miners. Prices for the metal, which is known as “white gold,” shot up nearly 300% last year to record highs as demand exceeded supply, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Experts say prices are likely to keep on climbing as supply struggles to keep pace with demand.
- Saudi Aramco says Oil demand’s nearing pre-pandemic levels. Oil prices have surged 13% this year to more than $85 a barrel as demand continues to recover and the omicron variant of the virus proves less damaging economically than many traders first feared. At the same time, spare supply capacity is dwindling as several major producers struggle to boost output.
- Rent tallies biggest uptick in 2 years as potential buyers shift to rentals. Rents in December rose 14% year over year in the United States which is their biggest increase in 2 years since the first cases of coronavirus were recorded, according to new data from Redfin. Rising mortgage costs push more potential homebuyers into renting instead. Read more here.
- Volatility of lumber prices hits a high not seen since the end of World War II. The overall increase in building materials was driven largely by the rising cost of lumber. Over the course of the pandemic, lumber prices have fluctuated dramatically. In 2019, the monthly change in price averaged 0.3%. Since January 2020, it has averaged 12%. That volatility is producing ripple effects to record-low inventory of homes for sale.
WHAT TO WATCH
- Boeing enters the self-flying air taxi market. Air taxi company Wisk Aero announced Monday it has secured a $450 million investment from commercial aerospace giant Boeing. Wisk is a player in electric vertical takeoff and landing or EVTOL technology. Wisk also is investing in software and technology to make its air taxis capable of flying themselves. Read more here.
- More than 4 Fed rate hikes might happen in 2022. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a weekend note that persistently high inflation is raising the risk that the Federal Reserve will move to tighten monetary policy more aggressively, with a growing possibility of more than four interest rate hikes this year. They see a risk that the FOMC will want to take some tightening action at every meeting until the inflation picture changes.
- 36% more housing is on the way. Publicly traded homebuilders control 36% more land than they did 1 year ago. Due to supply constraints & development timelines, most of this won't appear until 2023.
- Activist hedge fund Trian builds stake in Unilever. Trian is led by the fearsome activist investor Nelson Peltz. He’s known for buying a huge stake in Unilever’s rival, Procter & Gamble, and pushing changes at that company. His stake in Unilever comes at a critical moment, the company’s in crisis. Investors are divided over the company’s direction. Source(1:38)
- Apple is developing an interchangeable lens system for its AR headset, says Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. When you buy the glasses, you're gonna have to input your prescription numbers. This will help those with poor vision be able to wear Apple's AR headset. Source(23:37)
- FTX readies Visa debit cards for users to spend crypto balances. The crypto exchange told customers they can join the waitlist for an FTX Visa debit card. But one geography is not supported: the United States. FTX says its card won't have fees (aside from third-party ones) and crypto balances will be automatically exchanged at the point of sale, where users can spend their crypto anywhere that Visa is accepted globally.
