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Blackstone to buy Excel Trust for about $2 billion

(Reuters) – Real estate investment trust Excel Trust Inc said it would be bought by Blackstone Property Partners LP, part of Blackstone Group LP , for about $2 billion in cash. Blackstone Property will pay $15.85 per share, a premium of about 15 percent to Excel’s closing price on April 9. (Reporting by Avik Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)

3 Things You Didn't Know About Government-Backed Loans

Filed under: Buying, Financing, Selling Shutterstock Conventional loans are the foundation of the mortgage industry. In a recent week, only about one in four prospective borrowers applied for a government-backed loan, according to survey data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs basically insure home loans made by participating lenders. These loans tend to have more lenient credit and underwriting requirements compared

GE to sell real estate holdings, sets $50 billion share buyback

(Reuters) – General Electric Co said it would sell nearly all of its real estate portfolio to investors including Blackstone Group and Wells Fargo & Co for $26.5 billion. The company also said its board had authorized a share repurchase program of up to $50 billion. The deal is the biggest commercial real estate deal since Blackstone’s acquisition of office landlord Equity Office Properties Trust in 2007 for $39 billion,

Friday, April 10: Today in Gold and Silver

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — The gold price got sold down back below $1,200 the ounce in two smallish bouts of selling during the Thursday trading session in the Far East, with the Hong Kong low coming shortly before 2 p.m. local time.  The subsequent rally back above $1,200 spot got capped at the 8:20 a.m. EDT COMEX open—and by the London p.m. gold fix, the price was back in the

Kenya's Home Afrika says 2014 profit to fall by a quarter

Kenyan property developer Home Afrika Ltd said on Friday its 2014 profit would be at least 25 percent lower than the previous year, hurt by a delay in developing its infrastructure projects during the year. The firm however said it expected improved performance in the second half of this year, buoyed by revenues from new roads and development of its flagship commercial and residential real estate project in Kiambu County,