Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (07/05/23) – A Hospitality Strike in Southern California, Agencies Step in With Lenders and the Social in ESG

In our latest roundup, we see promising developments for climate change action in commercial real estate, how homeowners are reacting to new energy concerns, the fallout of the U.S. debt ceiling fight on global M&A deals, and more!

• There are new ways the commercial real estate sector can grow its commitment to climate goals and contributions to reducing its carbon footprint. (Mahesh Ramanujam, Forbes)
• Thousands of hospitality workers in Southern California went on strike to demand higher wages, access to affordable family health care benefits and stronger workplace protections. (Julianne McShane, NBC)
• While homeowners are concerned about energy prices and their ability to get power when needed, the Department of Energy recently warned that two-thirds of the U.S. is at risk of losing power this summer. (Chris Hopper, Fortune)
• One of the world’s largest nuclear power plants – the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – has become a major issue on the world stage as Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of planning attacks on the site. (Samya Kullab, AP)
• In matters concerning ESG, focus tends to shift towards the environmental aspects. However, in the commercial real estate sector it’s just as important to make sure the social components are being taken care of. (Paul Scialla, Forbes)
• With recent uncertainty over high interest rates and a stand-off over the U.S. debt ceiling, among other factors, global mergers and acquisitions fell 36% year-on-year in the second quarter. (Anirban Sen and Andres Gonzalez, Reuters)
• The continuing trend of work-from-home along with higher interest rates have some economists predicting the office values are unlikely to rebound to their peaks until 2040. (Zahra Tayeb, Business Insider)
• Lenders are being asked by the Fed, FDIC, OCC and NCUA to provide temporary leniency to “creditworthy borrowers” in the commercial real estate market as an updated guidance from 2009. (Rajashree Chakravarty, Banking Dive)

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