Royal Bank of Scotland reduced its non-core global commercial real estate lending by ?1.9bn over the third quarter, taking the running year-to-date total deleveraging to ?6.5bn reducing the bank?s unwanted secured property lending exposure to ?25.0bn.
The non-core real estate loan book has, which has fallen from ?31.5bn over the nine months to the end of September, now comprising: ?15.3bn in the RBS? real estate finance division; ?6.2bn in Irish real estate loans, ?2.9bn in the UK business and commercial division and; ?600m in US commercial real estate loans.
Over the three quarters to the end of September, RBS? ?6.5bn in global commercial real estate lending ? comprised of predominantly UK, then Irish, US and German lending ? includes:
?3.6bn in run-offs from maturing commercial property loans;
?1.0bn in property disposals, enforcements and restructurings;
?1.2bn in impairment charges;
?800m in adverse currency movements against sterling;
While there has been just ?100m in loan roll-overs in the first quarter.
Separately, RBS has reduced its circa ?500m nominally-valued CMBS bond portfolio by a rounded ?100m to ?400m over the third quarter.
See table at the end of the article for RBS? non-core deleveraging chart.
The ?6.5bn which RBS has so far shed over the first nine months of 2011 is ?4.6bn less than the annual non-core global commercial real estate deleveraging which the bank achieved across the entire 2011 calendar year.
Across the full 2011, RBS completed ?5.6bn in loan run-offs, ?2.4bn in property disposals, enforcements and restructurings, allocated ?3.4bn in provisions against impaired loans, extended ?700m worth of loans and took a ?400m currency hit against non-sterling denominated lending.
While ?4.6bn is a considerable total to reach over the fourth quarter, if RBS is to equal its 2011 de-leveraging rate, the final quarter tends to be the biggest three-month period for deal closures. In the fourth quarter of 2011, RBS shed ?3.8bn.
In its now one quarter shy of four years since RBS began its mammoth asset deleveraging programme at the turn of 2009. In that three years and nine month period to the end of September 2012, RBS has shed ?37.8bn in non-core global commercial real estate lending ? from ?62.8bn as at the end of 2008 to ?25.0bn at the end of this third quarter reporting period.
RBS?s total commercial real estate-related non-core book ? which also includes unsecured corporate lending to property companies, guaranteed at company level rather than with specific real estate collateral ? fell by ?3.78bn over the third quarter, and by ?7.74bn over the year, to the end of September, taking the loan book to ?30.32bn.
The 83%-government owned bank?s entire real estate loan book ? including core and non-core and unsecured corporate lending to property companies but excluding the CMBS bond portfolio ? ended September with a net ?1.57bn reduction to ?70.01bn.
But this masks significant differences between the two distinct internal operations. RBS? core commercial real estate lending rose by ?2.22bn to ?39.69bn in the third quarter, while non-core lending fell by ?3.78bn to ?30.32bn, taking the net position to ?1.57bn.
Across the three quarters to the end of September, RBS? core commercial real estate lending ? which has fluctuated during the year ? has risen by ?986m to ?39.69bn.
By contrast, RBS? quarterly non-core deleveraging has picked up pace each quarter, reducing by ?1.72bn in the first quarter, followed by ?2.24bn in the second quarter and by ?3.78bn in the third quarter ? taking the aggregate three-quarter ?7.74bn decrease to the ?30.32bn end of period level.
Over the final quarter, RBS is expected to close the disposal of the centrepiece German office buildings in the Pegasus portfolio, Berlin?s 16-storey Kurf?rstendamm Boulevard tower and the 81,600 sq m Die Welle, a glass tower in Frankfurt?s financial district.
RBS ? which took ownership of the Pegasus portfolio in April 2010 after Morgan Stanley?s P2 Value German property fund walked away from the defaulted circa 90% ?1.86bn financing package ? sold the two office blocks to new joint venture parters, AXA Real Estate Investment Management and Norges Bank Investment Management for ?784m.
The disposal will unwind the bulk of RBS? unintended ownership in direct German office real estate.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is headed for another clash in coming months with unionized teachers over whether to close dozens of schools, after a bitter teachers strike temporarily shut down the nation's third largest public school district in September.
Facing a December 1 deadline to issue a proposed list of schools to be closed, new Chicago Public Schools chief executive Barbara Byrd-Bennett on Friday asked the state legislature for a four-month delay until March 31.
She said time was needed for a "rigorous, transparent and open dialogue" with school parents, teachers and other.
Feelings are still raw after the first Chicago teachers strike in 25 years drew national attention to the city's dispute over education reform.
Chicago teachers and some parents complain that Emanuel's administration has ignored their concerns.
Chicago has seen a 20 percent surge in the number of murders this year, and people in crime ravaged neighborhoods worry that closing schools might force students to cross gang boundaries and increase urban violence.
More than 200 people, including teachers union members, parents of Chicago school students and other activists, rallied against school closings at Emanuel's office on Friday, and some staged a sit-in nearby.
Urban school districts around the country are grappling with the same issue of closing schools, including Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Washington, according to a study last year on school closings by the Pew Charitable Trust.
In a statement on Friday, Byrd-Bennett acknowledged the delay was requested to repair a rift with some in the community.
"Our goal is to give the community the respect they deserve in this process, rebuild trust with CPS (Chicago Public Schools) and create a path for right-sizing our district," she said.
But the union said it wants a halt to school closing rather than extending the deadline.
"We have called for a moratorium on all school actions until we have an analysis of the devastating impact these actions have on our students and neighborhoods," said Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis in a statement.
Emanuel said that, in the wake of the strike settlement, the district needs to have a more effective education plan.
"We have more buildings, chairs, tables and desks than we have students in our district," he said in a statement.
ENROLLMENT DOWN
The Chicago Tribune has reported that school district officials are considering closing up to 120 schools next year, or about 17 percent of schools in the 400,0000-student district. The district said there is no list of targeted schools.
Enrollment in Chicago Public Schools has fallen nearly 20 percent in the last decade, mainly because of population declines in poor neighborhoods.
Some 140 schools are half-empty, according to the district. The union said 86 Chicago public schools have closed in the past decade, but the district could not confirm that number.
At the heart of the dispute is the expansion of charter schools, which are publicly funded but most are non-union.
The teachers union has complained they undermine public education and force more community schools to close. Their academic performance record compared with community schools is mixed, according to national studies.
Chicago now has 103 charter or "contract" schools, some run by philanthropists, which account for 12 percent of students. There are plans by supporters for 60 more charter schools over the next five years, according to the district and the union.
A powerful U.S. education movement is pushing charter schools. Emanuel and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former Chicago schools chief, argue that schools performing poorly in academics should either be closed permanently, reopened with new principals and teachers, or converted to charter schools run by non-union personnel.
Teachers say they want more resources put into neighborhood public schools to help them succeed.
One Chicago school that has already been marked for a gradual closing is Dyett High School on the city's South Side. The school's academic standing is low, with a graduation rate of 33.7 percent in 2011 compared with 57.5 percent for Chicago public schools on average and a national rate of 75 percent.
But Kitesha Reggs, whose daughter attends Dyett, said the school lacks needed resources such as up-to-date books or enough computers. Reggs said that once Dyett closes, students may have to travel far for an alternative.
"It's just a safety issue," Reggs said. "They should be in their own neighborhood."
School district spokeswoman Becky Carroll said that for this year, academic criteria would not be used to determine school closings.
(Reporting By Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Greg McCune and Todd Eastham)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks and crude oil slipped on Friday even after a U.S. employment report for October surpassed expectations, as investors looked beyond next week's presidential election to the looming "fiscal cliff."
The dollar climbed to a more-than-six-month peak against the yen and a three-week high versus the euro after U.S. employers stepped up hiring and the unemployment rate ticked higher as more workers renewed job hunts, a hopeful sign for the economy.
But other data highlighted a mixed picture. Demand for U.S. factory goods rose in September by the most in over a year, but a gauge of business investment plans showed lackluster momentum in the recovery despite a slight upward revision.
"The (jobs) report itself was good but just not good enough, especially after the pre-rally we had yesterday," said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal at the BlackBay Group in New York, referring to the 1.1 percent surge in the broad-based S&P 500 index on Thursday, its best gain since September 13.
The employment data was the last major report card on the U.S. economy before Tuesday's presidential election. Polls show President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney locked in a dead heat in a race that may hinge on the nation's feeble jobs market.
"With the election next week and the outcome of that still so uncertain, some modest downward pressure is to be expected for the rest of the day," Schoenberger said.
Much of Thursday's rally was rooted in the belief that significant East Coast storm damage will force capital spending, rebuilding and help boost employment far more quickly than was thought a week ago, Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co, told clients.
But Wilkinson said the so-called fiscal cliff -- when higher tax rates and cuts in government spending are scheduled to kick in early next year if Congress fails to act -- has made investors reluctant to buy further into the equity rally.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 27.20 points, or 0.21 percent, at 13,205.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 1.06 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,426.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 6.35 points, or 0.21 percent, at 3,013.71.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares <.fteu3> closed up a provisional 0.35 percent at 1,113.85.
The MSCI all-country equity index of world shares <.miwd00000pus> slipped 0.04 percent to 331.68.
Oil fell as weak European data reinforced a gloomy picture for the demand outlook. Euro zone manufacturing shrank for the 15th month running in October as output and new orders fell, a survey showed.
Weak growth, high prices and better vehicle fuel efficiency pushed down fuel consumption in most of Western Europe over the summer, official statistics showed.
Also, the auto market in western European maintained a sharp descent toward levels last seen nearly 20 years ago as consumers worried about unemployment and euro zone austerity affected car dealerships in October.
Brent crude for December fell $1.75 to $106.42 a barrel, while U.S. crude for December was down $1.86 at $85.23.
The U.S. dollar index <.dxy> was up 0.65 percent at 80.567, and the euro was down 0.80 percent at $1.2838.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 1/32 in price to yield 1.7313 percent.
(Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London; Doris Frankel in Chicago; Ryan Vlastelica, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Ellen Freilich in New York; Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Dan Grebler)
On his show, Comedian Rodney Perry covers arts and entertainment, everything from comedy and politics to music and acting, with his signature comedic slant.
MashUp Radio is a 30-minute podcast that discusses the fusion of technology, life, culture and science. Host Peter Biddle, engineer and executive for Intel?s Atom Software, dishes up a thought-provoking discussion.
Deepak Chopra Radio provides an online forum for compelling and thought provoking conversations on success, love, sexuality and relationships, well-being and spirituality.
The Bottom Line Sports Show is hosted by former NBA stars Penny Hardaway, Charles Oakley, Mateen Cleaves. Tune in to get the inside scoop on what's happening in sports today.
Joy Keys provides her listeners with insight to improve their lives mentally, physically, monetarily and emotionally. Past guests on the show have included Meshell Nedegeocello, Blair Underwood, in addition to an impressive list of CEOs, humanitarians and authors.
Hits Radio covers basketball, sports culture and entertainment with past guests including Jason Kidd, Robin Lundberg and Chris Herren.
Listeners get an earful on The Halli Casser-Jayne Show, Talk Radio for Fine Minds. Whether it?s the current political cocktail or the latest must-read award-winning book, Halli tackles all topics and likes to stir ? and sometimes shakes ? things up.
Award-winning World Footprints is a leading voice in socially responsible travel and lifestyle. Hosts Ian & Tonya celebrate culture and heritage and bring a unique voice to the world of travel.
Football Reporters Online is a group of veteran football experts in the fields of coaching, scouting, talent evaluation, and writing/broadcasting/media placement. Combined, the group brings well over 100 years of expertise in sports.
Host John Martin interviews the nation's leading entrepreneurs and small biz experts to educate small business owners on how to be successful. Past guests have included Emeril Lagasse and Guy Kawasaki.
The Movie Geeks share their passion for the art through interviews with the stars of and creative minds behind your favorite flicks and pay tribute to big-screen legends. From James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola to Ellen Burstyn and Robert Duvall, The Geeks have got'em all.
Sylvia Global presents global conversations pertaining to women, wealth, business, faith and philanthropy. Sylvia has interviewed an eclectic mix from CEOs and musicians to fashion designers and philanthropists including Randolph Duke and Ne-Yo.
Seasoned entertainment reporter Robin Milling gets up close and personal with the world's most compelling celebs. From Michael Douglas to Katie Holmes to Kevin Kline to Ashley Judd to America Ferrera, she sits down in person each week with each and every A-lister.
Mr. Media host Bob Andelman goes one-on-one with the hottest, most influential minds from the worlds of film, TV, music, comedy, journalism and literature. That means A-listers like Kirk Douglas, Christian Slater, Kathy Ireland, Rick Fox, Chris Hansen and Jackie Collins.
Paula Begoun, best-selling author of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, separates fact from fiction on achieving a radiant, youthful complexion at any age. She?s regularly joined by health and beauty experts who offer the latest on keeping your skin in tip-top shape.
It?s time to deck the halls with boughs of holly. If you are looking for holiday inspiration, then take a tour of four stunning homes at the 20th Annual GFWC Brandon Service League Holiday Home Tour on Saturday, December 1 from 10 a.m. ? 2 p.m.
?For our 20th year, Brandon Service League will feature four beautifully decorated homes including the Koren family home located in Hickory Creek which was a part of our 2011 tour,? said Bradlee Swanson, Membership Chair.
?In addition to the Koren home, we have a lovely two-story Victorian owned by the Hovan family (owners of the White Rabbit Antique store). In River Hills, the Maguire family has a lovely home on the 18th green. Over in FishHawk Trails, the DeCort home features murals in several of the rooms as well as an outdoor fire pit,? added Swanson.
Tickets to the Holiday Home Tour are $15 and are available on first-come, first-serve basis. Tickets can be purchased from any Brandon Service League member or at the Green Boutique, 1031 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico; The Law Offices of B. Lee Elam, 101 E. Lumsden Rd. in Brandon; Sumatra Bistro Cafe and Bakery, 1602 Oakfield Dr. in Brandon; and Greg?s Hallmark, 863 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico
This year?s tour will include a gourmet bake sale, several opportunity baskets and refreshments.
The Brandon Service League is a proud member of the GFWC (Greater Federation of Women?s Clubs) and has served the Brandon area for more than 50 years. The Brandon Service League currently supports numerous community based organizations including, but not limited to, A Kid?s Place, Boys & Girls Club of Brandon, Brandon area High School Art Departments, Brandon Outreach Clinic, Brandon Women?s Resource Center and ECHO.
The Brandon Service League is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit whose mission is to enhance the lives of the people in the greater Brandon community through volunteer service.
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By Kathy CollinsArts and Entertainment, Bloomingdale, Events, FishHawk, Holiday StoryTags: A Kid?s Place, Boys & Girls Club of Brandon, Bradlee Swanson, Brandon area High School Art Departments, Brandon Holiday event, Brandon Outreach Clinic, Brandon Service League, Brandon Women's Resource Center, GFWC Brandon Service League Holiday Home Tour, Koren Family, White Rabbit Antique store
UNH space scientists to develop state-of-the-art radiation detectorPublic release date: 1-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Sims david.sims@unh.edu 603-862-5369 University of New Hampshire
DURHAM, N.H. Scientists from the Space Science Center (SSC) at the University of New Hampshire have been selected by NASA to develop a space radiation detector that possesses unprecedented performance capabilities despite a design requiring only minimal resources with respect to mass, volume, power, and cost.
The successful UNH proposal, titled "Small active readout device for dose spectra from energetic particles and neutrons (DoSEN)," will develop the concept and demonstrate the proof-of-principle of the instrument that measures and calculates the absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to indirect and direct ionizing radiation.
Lead scientist for the project is SSC associate professor Nathan Schwadron of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space and department of physics.
"DoSEN is an innovative concept that will likely lead to a new generation of radiation detectors, or dosimeters, to aid in understanding the hazards posed by the radiation environment of space," says Schwadron. "The ability to accurately understand these hazards will be critical to protect astronauts sent beyond low-Earth orbit on extended space missions."
UNH's dosimeter combines two advanced, complementary radiation detection concepts that present fundamental advantages over traditional dosimetry, but will require proof-of-concept work to increase the tool's technology readiness level. DoSEN measures both the energy and the charge distribution of energetic particles that affect human and robotic health in a way not presently possible with current technology.
"Understanding how different particles such as neutrons and heavy ions pose hazards will be extremely important in completely characterizing the types of environments we will operate in," Schwadron says. "For example, on the moon, there are additional hazards from neutrons that are created by high-energy radiation interacting in the lunar soil and radiating outward from the surface."
The UNH project is one of ten university-led proposals selected by NASA to study innovative, early-stage space technologies designed to improve shielding from space radiation, spacecraft thermal management and optical systems. The one-year grants are for approximately $250,000 and provide for the possibility of an additional year of research and funding.
According to NASA, each of the technology areas selected requires dramatic improvements over existing capabilities for future science and human exploration missions. But these early stage, or low-technology readiness level, concepts could mature into tools that solve the difficult challenges facing future NASA missions. The selected areas address the high-priority technical needs as identified by the National Research Council in its recent report "NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities: Restoring NASA's Technological Edge and Paving the Way for a New Era in Space."
"NASA's Space Technology Program is moving out on solving the cross-cutting technology challenges we face as we move beyond low-Earth orbit and head to an asteroid, Mars and beyond," says Michael Gazarik, the program's director at NASA headquarters in Washington. "Our science and human deep space missions need advancements in these technology areas to enable exploration of space. We're excited and proud to partner with the best minds from American universities to take on these tough technical challenges."
###
Second-year funding for the grants will be contingent on technical progress and the availability of appropriated funds. The selections are part of NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program. The program is designed to accelerate the development of technologies originating from academia that support the future science and exploration needs of NASA, other government agencies and American industry.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
UNH space scientists to develop state-of-the-art radiation detectorPublic release date: 1-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Sims david.sims@unh.edu 603-862-5369 University of New Hampshire
DURHAM, N.H. Scientists from the Space Science Center (SSC) at the University of New Hampshire have been selected by NASA to develop a space radiation detector that possesses unprecedented performance capabilities despite a design requiring only minimal resources with respect to mass, volume, power, and cost.
The successful UNH proposal, titled "Small active readout device for dose spectra from energetic particles and neutrons (DoSEN)," will develop the concept and demonstrate the proof-of-principle of the instrument that measures and calculates the absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to indirect and direct ionizing radiation.
Lead scientist for the project is SSC associate professor Nathan Schwadron of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space and department of physics.
"DoSEN is an innovative concept that will likely lead to a new generation of radiation detectors, or dosimeters, to aid in understanding the hazards posed by the radiation environment of space," says Schwadron. "The ability to accurately understand these hazards will be critical to protect astronauts sent beyond low-Earth orbit on extended space missions."
UNH's dosimeter combines two advanced, complementary radiation detection concepts that present fundamental advantages over traditional dosimetry, but will require proof-of-concept work to increase the tool's technology readiness level. DoSEN measures both the energy and the charge distribution of energetic particles that affect human and robotic health in a way not presently possible with current technology.
"Understanding how different particles such as neutrons and heavy ions pose hazards will be extremely important in completely characterizing the types of environments we will operate in," Schwadron says. "For example, on the moon, there are additional hazards from neutrons that are created by high-energy radiation interacting in the lunar soil and radiating outward from the surface."
The UNH project is one of ten university-led proposals selected by NASA to study innovative, early-stage space technologies designed to improve shielding from space radiation, spacecraft thermal management and optical systems. The one-year grants are for approximately $250,000 and provide for the possibility of an additional year of research and funding.
According to NASA, each of the technology areas selected requires dramatic improvements over existing capabilities for future science and human exploration missions. But these early stage, or low-technology readiness level, concepts could mature into tools that solve the difficult challenges facing future NASA missions. The selected areas address the high-priority technical needs as identified by the National Research Council in its recent report "NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities: Restoring NASA's Technological Edge and Paving the Way for a New Era in Space."
"NASA's Space Technology Program is moving out on solving the cross-cutting technology challenges we face as we move beyond low-Earth orbit and head to an asteroid, Mars and beyond," says Michael Gazarik, the program's director at NASA headquarters in Washington. "Our science and human deep space missions need advancements in these technology areas to enable exploration of space. We're excited and proud to partner with the best minds from American universities to take on these tough technical challenges."
###
Second-year funding for the grants will be contingent on technical progress and the availability of appropriated funds. The selections are part of NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program. The program is designed to accelerate the development of technologies originating from academia that support the future science and exploration needs of NASA, other government agencies and American industry.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The non-core real estate loan book has, which has fallen from ?31.5bn over the nine months to the end of September, now comprising: ?15.3bn in the RBS? real estate finance division; ?6.2bn in Irish real estate loans, ?2.9bn in the UK business and commercial division and; ?600m in US commercial real estate loans.
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Public release date: 1-Nov-2012
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