By Daniel Geiger 1/10 1:16pm

Lease of the Week

149 Fifth Avenue. (Courtesy Property Shark)

Risk Analyst Eurasia Group Calculates the Odds at 149 Fifth Avenue

When in 2006 the real estate investor Joseph Moinian bought the office building 475 Fifth Avenue in partnership with the firm Westbrook Partners, the Eurasia Group—a tenant in the building—saw it as an opportunity. The company had years left on its lease, but word quickly spread among tenants that Mr. Moinian was going to offer handsome buyouts to empty the building so he could gut renovate the skyscraper and re-lease it at sky-high rents.

Mr. Moinian’s strategy hardly seemed audacious at the time. The economy was hot, Manhattan rents were rising by the month and prime office space was in strong demand. Read More

By Mike Taylor 8/30/10 7:09pm

Surprises

Lehman Derivatives Bookkeeping Was 'A Mess.'

As one might expect from the company that suffered the biggest U.S. bankruptcy ever, Lehman Brothers conducted less-than optimal oversight of its businesses. Our suspicions to that effect were confirmed today at a U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceeding in Manhattan. Barclays futures director Elizabeth James, who was involved when Barclays bought Lehman out of bankruptcy in September 2008, said, “Lehman’s Read More