The Lede

Bloomberg, Mar. 21, 2016--Yu, Hui-Yong; Perlberg, Heather Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. accepted an improved takeover offer from Marriott International Inc. valued at $13.6 billion, proceeding with plans to form the world's largest hotel operator as investors led by China's Anbang Insurance Group Co. seek to thwart the deal.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 18, 2016--Hufford, Austen MGM Resorts International and Dubai World's Infinity World Development Corp. will sell a Las Vegas luxury shopping center to mall operator Simon Property Group Inc. and Invesco Ltd. for about $1.1 billion, the latest payoff on a bet to remake the Las Vegas Strip.

Bloomberg, Mar. 18, 2016--Willmer, Sabrina Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock Inc., said some securitized debt, including commercial mortgages, is among the most attractive opportunities in an environment of moderating growth.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 22, 2016--Jamerson, Joshua Macy's Inc. said Tuesday that it has tapped William Lenehan, an expert in real-estate investment trusts, to become a board member as the company continues to face pressure to spin off its real estate despite ruling out the move last year.

VEGAS Inc., Mar. 22, 2016--Morris, J.D. MGM Resorts International's new real estate subsidiary, which will own 10 of the company's properties, filed a registration statement for an initial public offering.

Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., commissioned an online survey of renters showing nearly three-fourths of respondents believe renting is a more affordable choice than homeownership, with more than half plan to continue renting in the next three years.

The Federal Reserve's decision to hold benchmark interest rates between 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent should improve commercial real estate borrowing conditions, said CBRE, Los Angeles.

Market volatility in the broader capital markets has increased the spreads investors demand for commercial mortgage-backed securities in recent months, leading many Wall Street analysts to reduce their expectations for 2016 CMBS issuance by 25 percent and more.

The Mortgage Bankers Association submitted a comment letter yesterday to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, conveying its views from both a residential real estate finance and multifamily real estate finance perspective on a proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed rule to implement Duty to Serve requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Commercial real estate's traditional focus on big cities and large employers is shifting as small businesses emerge as a growth engine and secondary markets move into view, reported the Urban Land Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Apartment market performance moderated in February as the annual effective rent growth rate fell to 4.1 percent, a full percentage point lower than January, reported Axiometrics, Dallas.