MarketWatch: A pall at the mall

[marmar]

Commercial real estate stocks plunge
Mall, industrial REITs hit by retail-spending fears; ProLogis CEO resigns
By John Spence, MarketWatch


BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- The latest meltdown in shares of mall and industrial real estate investment trusts underscores growing fears of a sharp, global economic slowdown in the wake of more dismal news from the retail sector.

REITs suffered more selling pressure Wednesday after another company slashed its dividend to save capital and one of the nation's largest mall operators was dropped from the S&P 500 Index after the stock lost virtually all its value.

Financial stocks fall, led southward by real estate investment trusts. MarketWatch's Greg Morcroft reports. (Nov. 12)"There are headwinds in every direction for REITs," said Joel Bloomer, an analyst at investment researcher Morningstar Inc., in an interview.

Best Buy Co. sent more chills through the retail sector after the electronics giant slashed its profit outlook and said its same-store sales fell nearly 8% in October.

Earlier this week, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection as nervous consumers continue to roll back discretionary spending in expectations of tough times ahead.

"Consumer spending is falling off a cliff," Bloomer said. "It's bad across the entire retail space. If retail tenants are going through pain, the landlords will too, and falling rents put pressure on REIT cash flows." .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Industrial-retail-REITs-plunge-economic/story.aspx?guid=%7B0C8C0FA1%2D7998%2D4F7B%2DB5B5%2D878619DC9E6B%7D