Financial Times (February 1)
“Mounting losses from banks in the US, Asia and Europe have rekindled concerns about weakness in the US commercial property market, a sector that has been under pressure from lower occupancy levels and higher interest rates.” This week New York Community Bancorp, Aozora Bank and Deutsche Bank each warned of related risks or recognized losses, which “mark the latest fallout from the… dual problems of fewer people working in offices since the pandemic and more expensive borrowing costs.”
Tags: Aozora Bank, Asia, Banks, Commercial property, Concerns, Deutsche Bank, Europe, Fallout, Interest rates, Losses, Occupancy, Offices, Pandemic, Pressure, Risks, U.S., Weakness
Seattle Times (August 4)
“In a sign of growing momentum for vaccine mandates, Microsoft has reversed course and will now require employees to be fully vaccinated to enter the company’s U.S. offices and other worksites.” The revised policy “follows similar moves last week by other employers including tech rivals Google and Facebook, along with Disney and Walmart.”
Tags: Disney, Employees, Employers, Facebook, Google, Mandates, Microsoft, Momentum, Offices, Policy, U.S., Vaccine, Walmart, Worksites
Chicago Tribune (July 26)
“As companies across the Chicago area welcome workers back to offices, they’re often labeling them as either vaccinated or unvaccinated, with different treatment for each group.” Vaccinated workers may not be “required to wear masks or social distance” while unvaccinated workers may be “told to undergo weekly on-site COVID-19 testing, wear maks and social distance.”
Tags: Chicago, Companies, COVID-19, Masks, Offices, Social distance, Testing, Unvaccinated, Vaccinated, Workers
Atlanta Journal Constitution (June 23)
“American leisure air travel is bouncing back quickly after plunging last year. But it could take months or years for business travel to return to normal—if ever—even as more companies prepare to bring workers back to offices.” For metro Atlanta’s economy and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, “that spells uncertainty.”
Tags: Air travel, Atlanta, Bouncing back, Business travel, Companies, Economy, Leisure, Normal, Offices, Plunging, U.S., Workers
Boston Globe (February 2)
“More than 10 months into a pandemic that has all but emptied downtown towers, the long-term future of offices in Boston remains unclear. Vacancy rates downtown are the highest they’ve been in a decade. There’s more than 3.5 million square feet available for sublease from companies holding long-term leases on space they’ve decided they no longer need. Rents, after climbing steadily for years, are starting to fall.”
Tags: Boston, Companies, Downtown, Emptied, Future, Leases, Long term, Offices, Pandemic, Rents, Sublease, Towers, Vacancy
