Sycamore View Econo Lodge Sells for $2.7 Million

     A two-story, 96-room Econo Lodge & Suites motel on Sycamore View near Interstate 40 has sold for $2.7 million.
     Shree Jala LLC of Memphis bought the 53,700-square-foot motel at 1541 Sycamore View Road from Bhikha Lodging LLC. The new owners filed a $2.2 million loan through Shantilal Patel and Pragna Patel.
     The Econo Lodge sits on 5.28 acres on the west side of Sycamore View between Shelby Oaks Drive to the north and Interstate 40 to the south. It has two identical buildings with 48 rooms each, as well as meeting rooms and an outdoor pool. The Shelby County Assessor's 2007 appraisal was $2 million.
     The seller, Bhikha Lodging, bought the property in September 1998 for $2 million.
     No changes are planned for the Econo Lodge right now, said Que Patel, a member of the Shree Jala ownership group. Patel, who took over as manager of the Econo Lodge last week, said the owners plan to wait six months then consider room upgrades. The ownership group has three or four hotels in Arkansas, including Comfort Suites and Econo Lodge branded properties, Patel said.
     

Lawsuit Alleges UPS Violated Employee's Religious Beliefs

     The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges in a lawsuit it filed Friday that United Parcel Service violated federal law by not accommodating the religious beliefs of a UPS employee in the course of his job duties. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee.
     Joe Koslowski, a 17-year employee at UPS' Bartlett facility and a member of the United Church of God, according to the suit, has beliefs that include not working on the Sabbath - from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement, according to a statement issued about the litigation.
     

Not Much Change Expected For Accounting/Finance Hires

     A net 6 percent of chief financial officers (CFO) in the Memphis area expect to hire accounting and finance professionals during the fourth quarter, according to the most recent Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index.
     Eight percent of executives surveyed plan to add staff during the quarter and 2 percent anticipate reductions in personnel. The net 6 percent increase is down two points from the area's third quarter forecast. The majority of respondents, 90 percent, foresee no change in hiring in the fourth quarter.
     The local results reflect a two-quarter rolling average based on the responses of 200 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies in the Memphis area with 20 or more employees; 1,400 CFOs were queried for the national data.
     The surveys were conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Robert Half International, the world's first staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance.
     Robert Half has been tracking financial hiring activity in the United States since 1992.
     

U of M Law School Named Best Value

     The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law recently was named a Best Value Law School by PreLaw magazine.
     Schools from around the country were selected for the competition from the Law School Admissions Council's "Official Guide to Law Schools." To be considered for the award, a public university had to have a tuition lower than $25,000, a bar passage rate higher than the state average, and an employment rate of 85 percent or better.
     The University of Memphis ranked fifth among the 62 schools throughout the country that were named a Best Value Law School.
     

Realtors Group Sees Drop In Existing Home Sales

     A trade group for real estate agents on Tuesday lowered its forecast 2007 existing home sales for the seventh straight month, predicting a drop of 8.6 percent from last year.
     The National Association of Realtors' revised monthly prediction calls for U.S. existing home sales of 5.9 million in 2007, down from 6.5 million last year. The forecast was below last month's prediction of a 6.8 percent drop.
     This year's sales would be the lowest since 2002, when sales hit 5.6 million. Home sale prices this year are forecast to drop 1.7 percent to a median of $218,200.
     Next year, the trade group expects existing home sales to climb to 6.3 million. It forecasts new home sales will fall 24 percent to 801,000 this year and 741,000 next year.
     The forecast comes as delinquencies among borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit have risen dramatically over the past year, and other loans are showing weakness as well.
     Lawrence Yun, NAR's senior economist, said lower sales are related to the ongoing problems in the mortgage market for people with weak credit and a lack of funding for jumbo home loans above $417,000.
     Those loans can't be packaged into securities sold to investors by government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders have been charging higher rates for these loans because they are not backed by Fannie or Freddie.
     The real estate trade group described a big cutback in the construction of new homes as a "healthy trend" that will reduce inventory. The group projected construction of new homes will fall to 1.4 million this year from 1.8 million last year.
     Last week, NAR said pending sales of existing homes fell in July to the lowest level in nearly six years as borrowers struggled to finalize home purchases, particularly in expensive areas.
     Investors around the world have been spooked by the U.S. mortgage market's problems, amid uncertainty about how much they will grow. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimates that 2.5 million mortgages given to borrowers with weak credit will reset at higher rates and sometimes dramatically higher monthly payments by the end of next year.
     The number of homeowners receiving foreclosure notices hit a record high in the spring, driven up by problems with subprime mortgages and heavy job losses in Ohio and other Midwest states.
     

Federal Reserve Bank Searches for New President

     The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is beginning the search for a new president to replace current president and CEO William Poole.
     Poole will retire from the position in March.
     Federal Reserve System policy states that a president who begins service after the age of 55 must retire upon reaching 10 years of service. Poole, 70, assumed the presidency in March 1998.
     Irl F. Engelhardt, chairman of the St. Louis Fed's board of directors, will head a search committee to identify candidates to succeed Poole.
     The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis serves the Eighth Federal Reserve District and has branches in Memphis, Little Rock and Louisville, Ky.
     The St. Louis Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, comprise the Federal Reserve System.