Market Beats | Bezos Mystery Neighbor Lists Empty Lot at $200mn; Bank of America Buys $990mn of Multifamily Loans; Dollar Posts Strongest Gains in Nearly a Decade; OpenAI Plans to Create For-Profit Business; Azeri Airline Suspends Most Flights to Russia; Nissan Shares Tanks by Most in 26 Years; Chicago Loses Another Finance Firm

—— Bezos Mystery Neighbor Lists Empty Lot at $200mn; Bank of America Buys $990mn of Multifamily Loans; Dollar Posts Strongest Gains in Nearly a Decade; OpenAI Plans to Create For-Profit Business; Azeri Airline Suspends Most Flights to Russia; Nissan Shares Tanks by Most in 26 Years; Chicago Loses Another Finance Firm

1. Bezos Mystery Neighbor Lists Empty Lot at $200mn

An anonymous seller has listed an undeveloped waterfront plot next to Jeff Bezos’ recent acquisitions in South Florida for $200 million.

This 1.84-acre property is on Indian Creek, a man-made island often referred to as “Billionaire Bunker.” Ilya Reznik, the broker handling the sale, has not disclosed the seller’s identity but mentioned that they are open to price negotiations. “We’ve had a few showings already, and it’s clear that the prospective buyer will be a billionaire,” Reznik stated.

Even if the land does not sell at the asking price, Reznik believes it will break regional price records, partially influenced by the presence of Amazon.com Inc.’s founder, who has bought three nearby properties since 2023. Bezos plans to demolish two of those properties to build custom homes.

The lot, located at 9 Indian Creek Island Road, was acquired by SMM Sunny Holding LLC for $27.5 million in 2018, according to public records. The current owner has prepared preliminary designs for a 25,000 square-foot estate, which will be offered to the buyer.

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2. Bank of America Buys $990mn of Multifamily Loans

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to purchase approximately $990 million worth of multifamily commercial real estate loans from HomeStreet Inc. This deal, according to HomeStreet, is expected to restore the company’s profitability.

The funds from this sale will be utilized by HomeStreet to reduce debts with the Federal Home Loan Bank and pay off brokered deposits, which have higher interest rates compared to the company’s primary deposits. The sale price represents nearly 92% of the unpaid principal on these loans.

HomeStreet, which had previously indicated plans to sell some loans, aims to recover from four consecutive quarterly losses and an unsuccessful acquisition attempt by FirstSun Capital Bancorp. The company has struggled with higher deposit costs and lower returns on investments.

Mark Mason, CEO of HomeStreet, stated that this sale marks the beginning of a new strategic plan aimed at returning the bank to profitability by early next year. This announcement comes after the bank reported a net loss of $7.28 million in the third quarter.

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3. Dollar Posts Strongest Gains in Nearly a Decade

The U.S. dollar is on track for its strongest performance in nearly a decade, bolstered by the robust U.S. economy and heightened expectations around the Federal Reserve’s approach to interest rate cuts. Additionally, President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to impose severe tariffs have spurred bullish sentiments towards the currency.

So far this year, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has climbed over 7%, marking its best performance since 2015. This rise has led to all developed-world currencies weakening against the dollar as other central banks continue to prop up their local economies.

“The primary driver of the dollar’s strength this year has been the robust U.S. economy,” noted Skylar Montgomery Koning, a foreign-exchange strategist at Barclays. “This economic vigor suggests a limited and shallow rate-cutting cycle by the Fed, maintaining higher interest rates in the U.S. compared to other regions, and supporting historically high dollar valuations.”

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4. OpenAI Plans to Create For-Profit Business

OpenAI, initially established as a research organization a decade ago, is contemplating a structural transformation that would see it operate a profit-driven corporation alongside its existing nonprofit arm.

According to a recent blog post, the board is considering converting OpenAI’s business operations into a public benefit corporation (PBC), which would allow it to generate revenue while also focusing on societal benefits. Meanwhile, the nonprofit side would continue to operate and would hold equity in this new profit-oriented entity.

Currently, OpenAI’s for-profit branch is governed by its nonprofit organization. With the proposed changes, the business would transition to a Delaware Public Benefit Corp., thereby enabling a clear delineation between its profit-making activities and its nonprofit objectives.

The nonprofit would remain one of the “best-resourced nonprofits in history,” retaining a significant stake in the for-profit arm, with shares valued fairly by independent financial advisers, as per the board’s announcement.

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5. Azeri Airline Suspends Most Flights to Russia

Azerbaijan Airlines attributed the crash of its passenger plane in Kazakhstan, which resulted in 38 fatalities, to “external interference.” Following this incident, the airline has halted flights to 10 Russian cities, adhering to recommendations from the Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Authority. This decision was influenced by preliminary findings from the crash investigation in Aktau, Kazakhstan, which indicated “physical and technical external interference,” according to a statement released by the airline on Friday.

The Transportation Minister of Azerbaijan supported these findings during an interview with a local TV station, mentioning that the investigation would focus on identifying the type of weapon involved. Further reports from the Caliber news website, supported by the Azerbaijan government, suggest that the aircraft suffered damage from Russian air defense systems near Grozny prior to making an emergency landing attempt in Kazakhstan.

The report also noted that Russian electronic warfare systems had completely disabled the aircraft’s communication systems, as stated by unnamed government officials.

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6. Nissan Shares Tanks by Most in 26 Years

Nissan Motor Co. experienced its most significant share decline since last August, dropping as much as 15% in a single day amidst market volatility and shifting investor focus towards the specifics of its proposed deal with Honda Motor Co.

The stock’s sharp intraday fall marked its steepest decline in 26 years, although it later recovered somewhat to close 7.8% lower. This made it the most actively traded stock on Japan’s Topix index for the day.

The drop in Nissan’s shares comes amid plans, announced on December 23, for a joint holding company with Honda, set to be established and listed by August 2026. While the details of the deal are still under negotiation, the share transfer ratio will consider the current stock prices of both companies. According to a recent Nikkei report and a Citigroup Inc. analysis by Arifumi Yoshida, the initial share ratio for the Honda-Nissan partnership is projected at 5:1, reflecting their respective market capitalizations.

Meanwhile, Honda’s shares rose 2.1%, extending their gains to 19% since December 17, just before news of the potential partnership was revealed. Over the same period, Nissan’s shares have surged 51%, pushing them into technically overbought territory.

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7. Chicago Loses Another Finance Firm

Nike Inc. announced sales that exceeded analysts’ forecasts, providing a strong start for new Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill during his inaugural earnings call.

The company reported revenue of $12.35 billion, which surpassed the expectations set by analysts. Following this announcement, Nike’s shares increased by 11% at 4:18 p.m. during extended trading in New York.

Despite this positive news, the company’s stock has seen a 29% decline over the course of the year, up to the close of trading on Thursday.

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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。