Rising vacancies in office buildings may imperil lenders (Dallas Morning News)
Vacancy rates in office buildings exceed 10 percent in virtually every major U.S. city and are rising rapidly, a sign of economic distress that could lead to yet another wave of problems for troubled lenders.

Dick Hogan - Commercial Property (The News-Press)
- Larry and Lorinda Close purchased a 1,584-square-foot commercial building on 0.62 acre at 19059 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, for $410,000. Michael Frye, CCIM, and Steve Spinosa of the Frye Commercial Group at RE/MAX Realty Group Commercial Division, negotiated the transaction.

Commercial real estate's 2008 ride was bumpy (Daily Press)
After a year of "examining," the local market is projected to take a hit from the slow economy in 2009. The region's commercial real estate market had some ups and downs in 2008.

Sell versus lease stalls DeSoto Police Jury land deals (The Shreveport Times)
Police jurors had agreed to sell land at the west industrial park for $6,000 an acre. The verbal agreements were moving forward until District Attorney Don Burkett advised the Police Jury in December that it must first get an appraisal, advertise the land for sale and have a public hearing to allow comments.

SHARE PRICES END FIRMER, CI UP THREE PCT - 2 (Bernama via Yahoo! Malaysia News)
Dealers said tension between Israel and Palestine has resulted in higher crude oil prices, which have also caused crude palm oil prices to shoot up.