Research Publications	Published
Weekly Economic Insights - November 3-7, 2008 (223 KB) Global central banks continue with their widespread interest rate cuts in an ongoing effort to address both the prolonged credit crisis and increasing risk of global recession.	Nov 03 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - October 20, 2008 (271 KB) Initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 in the week ended October 11 to 461,000, down from the most recent cyclical peak two weeks earlier. The result was better than expected, but not surprising since claims are still recovering from recent hurricane-related losses.	Oct 20 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - October 20-24, 2008 (220 KB) Confidence in financial markets is everything. Think back to much of 2008, filled with dwindling confidence, rumours, uncertainty and a lack of transparency that is similiar to the bank run in the movie "Mary Poppins."	Oct 20 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - October 13-17, 2008 (222 KB) Note to politicians and journalists: would you please use the word “crisis” in your interviews and headlines a few more times? We don’t think everyone’s heard about the crisis yet.	Oct 13 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - October 6, 2008 (277 KB) After years of over borrowing and irresponsible lending, global financial institutions find themselves with deteriorating balance sheets, and hence a need for capital. Banks’ concerns regarding the quality of other bank’s balance sheets, and indeed a shoring up of their own balance sheets, resulted in a reduced lending.	Oct 06 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - October 6-10, 2008 (335 KB) Despite the increasing frequency, variety and magnitude of government interventions into the global capital markets and coordinated global central bank monetary, both aimed at sparking some restorative element of market stability, global stock markets crashed during the week.	Oct 06 2008
Quarterly Economic Insights - 3Q 2008 (365 KB) What a month! Not a week has passed without a momentous event. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are put in a government conservatorship. The venerable investment bank, Lehman, files for bankruptcy and the government takes over the world’s largest insurer, AIG. But that’s not enough.	Sep 30 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - September 22, 2008 (278 KB) On Monday the U.S. House of Representatives voted down the proposed $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA”) by a vote of 205 to 228, despite support from PresidentBush, Senator Obama, Senator McCain and other Congressional leaders. Approximately 60% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans in the House voted in favor of the bill, needing 12 changed votes topass. A motion to reconsider was tabled, making it possible for the House to reconsider the bill after further discussions.	Sep 29 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - September 29 - October 3, 2008 (237 KB) After years of over borrowing and irresponsible lending, global financial institutions have found themselves with deteriorating balance sheets, and hence a need for capital.	Sep 29 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - September 22, 2008 (280 KB) At the time of the last publication of Capital Markets Insights it was suggested that there were more questions than answers surrounding the volatility in the financial markets.	Sep 22 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - September 15, 2008 (278 KB) While news of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, Bank of America’s planned acquisition of Merrill Lynch and AIG’s deepening trials and tribulations are dominating the headlines at the start of the week, these stories currently offer more questions than answers.	Sep 15 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - September 15-19, 2008 (336 KB) It began with another busy weekend for Tonto and the Loan Arranger. Just a few days after learning the two had essentially nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we all awoke Monday to find a few things different and two less investment banks.	Sep 15 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - September 8, 2008 (272 KB) Following weeks of continued pressure on the stock price and, more recently, on the debt issuance costs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the U.S. federal government took over the companies September 7. According to statements made over the weekend by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, Director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), both entities have been placed into the conservatorship of their regulator, the FHFA.	Sep 08 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - September 8-12, 2008 (221 KB) The past weekend's historic events, including the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America and AIG's appeal to the Federal Reserve for a bridge loan (to buy them time to raise private equity and sell assets to avoid a damaging credit downgrade), have collectively rocked the financial markets.	Sep 08 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - September 1-5, 2008 (274 KB) Following weeks of continued pressure on the stock price and, more recently, on the debt issuance costs ofFannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the companies were taken over by the U.S. federal government on September 7.	Sep 01 2008
Monthly Economic Insights - August 2008 (294 KB) Second quarter economic growth was revised wildly higher from 1.9% in the advance estimate to 3.3% in this week's preliminary report.	Aug 31 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - August 25, 2008 (277 KB) U.S. homebuilders broke ground on the fewest homes (on an annualized basis) in 17 years during July. The Commerce Department reported an annualized level of 965,000 new starts in July, the lowest level since March of 1991.	Aug 25 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - August 18 2008 (281 KB) The week ending August 9th, U.S. initial unemployment insurance claims declined by 10,000 to 450,000, which was in line with expectations. Claim levels remain elevated largely due to an extensionof unemployment insurance benefits.	Aug 18 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - August 18-22, 2008 (215 KB) The U.S. stock market lost 3.0% early in the week after a report in Barron's suggested Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed to be re-capiltalized, which might wipe out current stockholders and even some owners of preferred stock or bonds.	Aug 18 2008
Weekly Economic Insights- Aug 4-8, 2008 (218 KB) Almost lost in the last-minute preparations for the incomparably breathtaking and brilliantly choreographed opening ceremony of the $40 billion Beijing Olympics were significant changes in China’s economic policy.	Aug 12 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - August 11 2008 (280 KB) As expected, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) maintained its federal funds rate target at 2.0% following last Tuesday’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The Fed remains somewhat handcuffed given continued sluggishness in the economy and ongoing worries with regard to inflation.	Aug 11 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - August 11-15, 2008 (220 KB) Central banks followed former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous status quo dictum over the last few weeks, with no change in interest rates at the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of England (BoE) and the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed).	Aug 11 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - August 4, 2008 (272 KB) Are we in a recession? Payroll jobs have been vanishing for months; unemployment’s up more than apercent; stock prices hit bear market territory; housing is a mess and home prices still plunging; oil justwas $147; autos are a disaster…hardly going to sell 13 million. But is it a recession?	Aug 04 2008
Monthly Economic Insights - July 2008 (246 KB) Is it a recession? Well, it is surely worse than any past U.S. mid-cycle slowdown; but so far it's been milder than any past U.S. recession.	Jul 31 2008
Going Green Brag Sheet (July 2008) (169 KB) Principal Real Estate Investors recently brought home the "Green Giant of the Year" award on June 5, 2008. Principal Real Estate Investors was selected by peers within the real estate industry based on their pipeline of more than $1 billion of green properties.	Jul 31 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - July 28, 2008 (270 KB) The Labor Department reported last week that initial jobless claims rose to a four-month high of406,000 in the week ending July 19th. A Bloomberg survey of 44 economists estimated the numberwould be 380,000.	Jul 28 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - July 21, 2008 (274 KB) Initial unemployment insurance claims increased by 18,000 in the week ending July 12 to 366,000.Continuing claims, which are a better gauge for hiring, decreased based on the prior week’s largedecline. We may see some increase over the coming few weeks due to seasonal hiring issues.	Jul 21 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - July 21-25, 2008 (197 KB) For those who have felt that the U.S. economy has been in recession for several months, your time may be coming.	Jul 21 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights - July 14, 2008 (269 KB) The most recent Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment indicates that consumer confidence remainsclose to its lowest level since 1980. The latest reading of 56.6 is slightly above the 56.4 from last month and exceededeconomists’ projected 55.5.	Jul 14 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - July 14-18, 2008 (261 KB) It was another roller coaster week, although this one wilder than most. It started with market sentiment dropping to levels that felt eerily similar to the days just prior to the Bear Stearns rescue (but substituting the names Fannie, Freddie and IndyMac in place of Bear Stearns).	Jul 14 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights July 7, 2008 (271 KB) Analysis of U.S. quarterly equity performance may focus on the tremendous return of energy stocks, up almost 17% forthe sector during the second quarter. Utilities may also get a mention coming in second with a 7% gain. The materialsand technology sectors will be noticed as the only other sectors with a gain for the quarter of almost 4% and a bit over2% respectively.	Jul 07 2008
Weekly Economic Insights - July 7-11, 2008 (250 KB) After being buffeted by war, hurricanes, a wrenching plunge in house prices, deteriorating employment conditions and agonizing volatility in the stock market, the U.S. economy continues to plow ahead.	Jul 07 2008
Weekly Economic Insights (June 30 - July 4) (249 KB) We believe the stock market may be concluding that the only way for oil prices to come off the boil is for global growth to slow.	Jun 30 2008
2Q08 Global Property Securities Quarterly (250 KB) Global property stocks declined in the second quarter as the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Index returned -8.6%.	Jun 30 2008
2Q08 REIT Quarterly (275 KB) During the second quarter real estate stocks tracked the performance of the broader equities market experiencing a late quarter selloff.	Jun 30 2008
2Q08 REIT Quarterly (275 KB) During the second quarter real estate stocks tracked the performance of the broader equities market experiencing a late quarter selloff.	Jun 30 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights June 23, 2008 (271 KB) It doesn’t seem that the housing market has hit bottom. The Commerce Department reported last week that buildersbroke ground on fewer homes in May than in April. Builders started 975,000 homes in May (on an annualized basis),down from 1.008 million on that same basis in April. Building permits fell 1.3 percent in May to an annual rate of969,000 new homes.	Jun 23 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights June 16, 2008 (268 KB) Retail sales excluding automobiles rose by +1.2% in May, nearly twice the rate expected, following +1.0% growth in April.The gain signals that Americans who have received their tax rebate checks are spending a larger-than-expected share ofthose rebates (rather than saving), a trend likely to continue as other Americans receive their checks over the next fewmonths. Year-over-year retail sales growth now stands at +4.9%.	Jun 16 2008
Weekly Economic Insights (June 9-13) (319 KB) The relative financial health of government (and quasi-government) entities and its impact on their resultant investment or divestment strategies could have a far reaching impact as well, and with it additional protectionist sentiment overtones.	Jun 09 2008
Real Estate Capital Markets Insights June 2, 2008 (271 KB) On Thursday, May 29, the price of crude oil futures traded from a high of $133.12 to a low of $124.67 in night tradingbefore