Oct 22, 2019

Real estate firm Howard Hughes to sell $2 billion in non-core assets

Bill Ackman in 2017. Photo: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Howard Hughes, a real estate development firm with a market cap of $5.5 billion, said it will sell around $2 billion of non-core assets following a strategic review that also resulted in a CEO change and planned headquarters move from Dallas to Houston.

Why it matters: There had been widespread expectation that the Bill Ackman-chaired company would seek a buyer for the entire company, possibly as a take-private.

The bottom line: "Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management is one of the largest holders in Howard Hughes, which was spun out of mall owner General Growth Properties in 2010. The company’s portfolio of 59 properties has retail, office, multifamily and hotel assets throughout the U.S., [and] is known for its six master-planned communities, including Summerlin in Las Vegas, via Bloomberg.

Go deeper

Barak Ravid

20 mins ago - World

U.S. threatens to veto UN peacekeeping in Lebanon over Hezbollah concerns

Peacekeepers with Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty

The Trump administration is threatening to veto a resolution to extend the UN's long-standing peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if its mandate isn't changed, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the main funder of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has an annual budget of $250 million. The veto threat is a tactical move, and part of a broader effort to put pressure on Iran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Go deeper (2 min. read)

Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 a.m. ET: 20,388,408 — Total deaths: 743,599— Total recoveries: 12,616,973 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 a.m. ET: 5,150,590 — Total deaths: 164,681 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits — U.S. producer prices rose last month by the most since October 2018.
Public health: America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)

Fadel Allassan

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump congratulates QAnon conspiracy theorist on GOP runoff win

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump on Wednesday tweeted congratulations to Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal QAnon conspiracy theorist who won the Republican nomination in Georgia's deep-red 14th Congressional District runoff.

Why it matters: The president's approval illustrates how the once-fringe conspiracy theory has gained ground within the GOP. Greene is among the at least 11 GOP candidates for Congress who have openly supported or defended the QAnon movement or some of its tenets, per Axios' Jacob Knutson.