Published on Saturday, November 14, 2009 by admin The news about U.S. commercial real estate is grim ("Deep Trouble," Nov. 16, 2009). But distress can lead to opportunity. Michael Winer, manager of Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund (NASDAQ:TAREX - News) since its 1998 inception, has proved particularly adept at navigating chaotic environments and profiting from messy restructurings or bankruptcies. Associate Editor...

Published on Saturday, November 14, 2009 by admin Seven hundred billion dollars. That's a ballpark estimate of how much money is wasted in the U.S. medical system every single year, according to a new Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - News) report. A sum equal to roughly one-third of the nation's total health-care spending is flushed away on unnecessary treatments, redundant tests, fraud, errors, and myriad other mon...

Published on Monday, November 2, 2009 by admin Every Friday morning, James J. Murren heads to the Las Vegas Strip in his chauffeur-driven SUV to check on the status of his dream project. "Look at that," says the chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM - News), pausing inside the Aria Resort & Casino. "The marble, the vaulted ceiling -- it looks like the Vatican." Not everyone shares Murren's enthus...

Published on Saturday, October 31, 2009 by admin The Oct. 28 report by the government that the rate of new-home sales posted a surprising 3.6% drop in September from August is likely to give a boost to advocates of extending a federal first-time home-buyer tax credit that is due to expire at the end of November. The Commerce Dept. reported that sales of new one-family houses in September were at the seasonally ad...