Investors have borrowed a record $814 billion against their portfolios, up 49% from one year earlier. This marks the fastest annual increase since 2007, during the frothy period before the 2008 financial crisis. Before that, the last time investor borrowings had grown so rapidly was during the dot-com bubble in 1999.

Landlords are offering long-term office leases of four and more years at discounts up to 13% below rent rates reached in the first quarter of 2020. Companies are also seeking on average about 10% less space.

Of the travelers surveyed, 43% said they are “more likely” to travel domestically post-pandemic and 44% are “more likely” to travel internationally, while 50% are “as likely” to travel domestically post-pandemic and 41% are “as likely” to travel internationally.

Real-estate investment trusts overall rose 9% during the first quarter, beating the S&P 500’s 6% gain. Fueling the REIT rally was an 18% rise in the shares of lodging owners and a 32% gain by mall owners.

The company reported operating costs and expenses of $10.49 billion for 2020, down 45% from 2019, in part because of layoffs, furlough programs and reduced work hours. Marriott had 121,000 employees at the end of last year, compared with 174,000 the year before COVID.

About 70% of mortgages issued in 2020 went to borrowers with credit scores of at least 760, up from 61% in 2019.

Around 44% of US corporate travel managers think that travel volume will shift to virtual in 2021, up from 34% when surveyed in October. The expectations are a bit more optimistic for 2022, showing only 27% expecting the shift up from 22%.

BlackRock Inc. has raised $3 billion to invest in the private-equity secondary market. BlackRock Secondaries & Liquidity Solutions LP is among the largest debut funds ever raised to buy secondhand private equity stakes.

At the end of 2020, 137 million square feet of office space was available for sublease across the U.S., up 40% from a year earlier and the highest figure since 2003.

Women’s participation in the labor force slipped to 57%, the lowest it has been since 1988. More than 2.3 million women have dropped out of the labor force during the pandemic, compared with 1.8 million men.