LR real estate trust buys Texas complex
BSR Real Estate Investment Trust paid $45.2 million for the Riverhill Apartments in Grand Prairie, Texas, the Little Rock firm said Thursday.
Riverhill, built in 1995, is a 334-unit multifamily complex on about 16 acres. It includes four four-story apartment buildings and 11 three-story buildings as well as a leasing office-clubhouse, laundry facility and fitness center. The average monthly rent is about $1,067.
Riverhill Apartments are between Dallas and Fort Worth, just south of DFW International Airport.
"The Riverhill property is an outstanding addition to BSR's portfolio," said John Bailey, BSR's chief executive officer. "It increases our exposure to a highly attractive market."
Riverhill is BSR's third acquisition since completing an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in May.
BSR's portfolio now includes 50 multifamily properties comprising 10,450 units.
-- David Smith
30-year mortgage rate falls to 4.62 percent
WASHINGTON -- U.S. long-term mortgage rates slipped this week, reflecting the stock market decline and rush by investors to Treasury notes.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell slightly to 4.62 percent from to 4.63 percent last week. Rates averaged 3.94 percent a year ago.
The rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans held at 4.07 percent for the second-straight week, up from 3.38 percent a year ago.
Higher mortgage rates over the past year have caused home sales to drop. But mortgage rates have declined in recent weeks as fears about an economic slowdown have caused more investors to sell stocks and buy Treasury notes.
In the purchases, the interest on a 10-year Treasury has fallen from 3 percent to under 2.8 percent in the past month. Mortgage rates generally correspond with the interest charged on U.S. government debt.
Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said that lower rates should help to boost home sales.
"Given the further drop in rates we've seen this month, we expect to see a modest rebound in home sales as well," he said.
-- The Associated Press
Walgreens revenue up 10% in first quarter
Walgreens Boots Alliance topped Wall Street forecasts for its fiscal first quarter, helped partially by a sales boost provided by stores acquired from smaller rival Rite Aid.
The company also said Thursday that it started a cost-management program that aims to achieve at least $1 billion in annual cost savings in a few years.
Revenue for the drugstore chain jumped about 10 percent to $33.8 billion in the period that ended Nov. 30, with the Rite Aid stores accounting for much of that growth in the global company's U.S. division. Walgreens spent more than $4 billion to acquire nearly 2,000 stores from Rite Aid in a deal it closed last year.
Walgreens said Thursday that it saw its profit jump 37 percent to $1.12 billion in this year's first quarter. Earnings adjusted for one-time gains and costs totaled $1.46 per share.
Company executives said that as part of the cost-management program, it has already restructured its retail businesses in Chile and Mexico to address low margins there. It is also taking steps to improve profitability in its pharmaceutical wholesale business.
-- The Associated Press
3 ex-Pilot Flying J execs get jail time
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Three more former executives of the largest U.S. fuel retailer have been sentenced to prison in a plot to cheat trucking companies out of millions of dollars.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports former Pilot Flying J executives Arnold Ralenkotter, Jay Stinnett and John Spiewak were sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier. They received reduced sentences for admitting guilt and working with prosecutors to convict former company president Mark Hazelwood of fraud, and two others, this year.
Ralenkotter and Spiewak each received a 21-month sentence. Stinnett was sentenced to 30 months.
Judge Collier says it was probably the biggest fraud case in the trucking industry's history.
-- The Associated Press
Ex-publisher to repay defrauded clients
EL RENO, Okla. -- A father and son who ran an Oklahoma publishing company have agreed to pay back about $1 million to the thousands of writers and musicians they defrauded, according to the state's attorney general.
Richard Tate, who founded the defunct Tate Publishing Co., and his son, former chief executive Ryan Tate, pleaded no contest Wednesday to embezzlement, extortion, conspiracy and racketeering charges and received suspended 20-year sentences. They also must reimburse their victims, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter's office said. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as one for the purposes of sentencing.
The Tates were charged after authors and musicians filed complaints about their company, accusing the men of failing to pay royalties on the sale of their creative works and even refusing to return manuscripts until they were paid more money. Hunter said his office received about 2,200 complaints from around the world.
Hunter opened an investigation revealing that the father and son had been transferring money from book and music publishing deals to their personal checking accounts for dining- and entertainment-related expenses.
Tate Publishing owes scammed clients at least $826,000, but prosecutors said the total is likely higher.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 12/21/2018
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