The Lede

HousingWire, Mar. 29, 2016--Swanson, Brena All eyes were on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen during her speech to the Economic Club of New York to see if she would give any insight on when the Fed would raise interest rates.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 28, 2016--Jamerson, Joshua The battle for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. continued Monday as the group led by China's Anbang Insurance Group Co. increased its bid for the hotelier to $14 billion, raising the stakes in the high-profile bidding war with Marriott International Inc.

Bloomberg, Mar. 28, 2016--Yu, Hui-Yong Next month's auction for the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan was canceled after the holders of the mortgage reached a deal to give the borrowers more time to sell the property and pay back the loan.

CNBC, Mar. 28, 2016--Insana, Ron The StreetEasy Blog, which tracks New York real estate markets, notes that expensive apartments are sitting idle for roughly 90 days before being sold, the longest "time on market" since January 2013.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 29, 2016--Kusisto, Laura Miami is facing a condo bust-again. Developers have started canceling projects, slashing prices and offering incentives such as private-jet access to spur sales, an ominous echo of the housing crash that pounded South Florida especially hard.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 30, 2016--Tracy, Ryan A federal judge overturned U.S. regulators' determination that MetLife Inc. poses a threat to the financial system, granting the insurer a victory in its quest to avoid stricter rules and potentially undermining a central part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 30, 2016--Brown, Ken Banks are probably safer than people believe, and real estate, the sector investors are rushing to, has become riskier.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 23, 2016--Light, Joe A group including some of the chief architects of the Obama administration's housing policy released a paper Wednesday outlining a new proposal for how to deal with mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

NEW YORK--The Mortgage Bankers Association Opens Doors Foundation was named an Official Charity Partner of the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon.

Commercial valuations increased 19 basis points in March--the slowest annual increase since the end of 2014--reported Ten-X, Irvine, Calif.

Falling oil prices represent a moderate credit negative for commercial mortgage-backed securities collateral and will cause performance to deteriorate in some metros, said Moody's Investors Service, New York.

Tech-oriented U.S. commercial real estate market fundamentals have cooled but are unlikely to collapse, said Fitch Ratings, New York.

Commercial real estate markets should fare well at least through December, withstanding global economic headwinds and recent volatility in equity markets, said CBRE Group, Los Angeles.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its fourth quarter 2015 Commercial/Multifamily DataBook today.