Lyft shares soared over 60% in after-hours trading Tuesday after its earnings release accidentally added an extra zero to a key profitability metric. Lyft’s release said one of its profit margins was expected to expand by 500 basis points—or 5 percentage points—in 2024. That margin was only expected to expand by 50 basis points, the company’s chief financial officer later clarified on a call with analysts.
In one of the largest distressed deals, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreed to sell $17 billion worth of loans seized from the failed Signature Bank to a venture including Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust in a deal that valued the portfolio at about $12 billion.
Overall, global real-estate funds operated by private-equity firms were sitting on $544 billion in cash as of the second quarter of last year—a record level and up from $457 billion at the end of 2022. The largest increase was in so-called opportunistic funds, which often search for distressed opportunities.
Silicon Valley investors, executives and CEOs are banding together to host fundraising events for local candidates, pouring money into city ballot initiatives and using their influence to try to sway public opinion.
Hilton announced a new partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World. The SLH partnership will let Hilton customers book stays at participating properties in the SLH portfolio of 560 luxury boutique hotels in 90 counties.
Luxury retailers, flush with cash, are spending big on real estate in the world’s most expensive and exclusive shopping corridors. In New York City, Prada recently agreed to buy the building that houses its Fifth Avenue store as well as the building next door for more than $800 million. Gucci’s is also paying nearly $1 billion for a 115,000-square-foot retail space a few blocks south.
The central bank held its benchmark federal-funds rate steady last week in a range between 5.25% and 5.5%, the highest level in more than two decades.
In the first half of 2023, international banks represented 25% of loan originations to U.S. central business district offices, compared with 17% for regional and local banks. By contrast, regional and local banks did 54% of lending in that period for medical offices and 45% for suburban offices—versus 2% and 6% at international banks, respectively.
Americans quit 6.1 million fewer jobs last year than in 2022—a decline of 12%. In December alone, quits fell to the lowest monthly level in nearly three years.
