Commercial real estate

* The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust CEO Joe Coradino's efforts to lease spaces at the REIT's Philadelphia area malls that will be vacated by Macy's. Right after Christmas, the store chain is expected to announce the closure of 100 stores in early 2017, including stores at the REIT's Plymouth Meeting Mall and Moorestown Mall, the report said.

Coradino, who met with representatives of several prospective tenants at the New York International Council of Shopping Centers Deal Making Conference, said demand for the spaces "is pretty robust," according to the report.

* Cove Property Group landed $220 million in financing from Deutsche Bank for the acquisition of the 441 Ninth Ave. office building on Manhattan, N.Y.'s Far West Side, The Real Deal reported, citing property records filed with the city.

Cove Property and hedge fund Baupost Group partnered to acquire the 423,000-square-foot asset for $330 million in August from insurance firm EmblemHealth, the report said. Cove Property plans to expand the building by 150,000 square feet while the seller, which is also the tenant, is set to move out in the coming months, the report noted.

The report also pointed out that the property is situated across the street from Brookfield Property Partners LP's One Manhattan West project and one block away from the Hudson Yards.

* The Durst Organization is shelling out $110 million to revamp its 790,000-square-foot 1155 Sixth Ave. tower in Manhattan, as law firm White & Case is set to vacate its space at the property in 2017, the New York Post reported.

The law firm's departure will bring "just over" 300,000 square feet of space back to the market, according to the report.

* Digital music company Spotify is "focused" on taking up around 400,000 square feet at Silverstein Properties' 4 World Trade Center in Manhattan, Crain's New York Business reported, citing "two sources familiar with the company's decision-making." If the deal is successful, Spotify would occupy most of the 2.3 million-square-foot building's remaining available space, the report said.

It was reported earlier that the Sweden-based company was in talks for office space at One World Trade Center and Four World Trade Center for its new headquarters in New York City ahead of a planned IPO in 2017.

* The New York City Economic Development Corp. is set to release a request Dec. 14 to seek developers to transform a city-owned site in the Staten Island borough of New York City into a mixed-use development focused on healthy living, The Wall Street Journal reported. The 80-acre former Seaview Hospital campus, which closed in 1961, houses 26 empty buildings, according to the publication.

* Bloomberg News featured a report on a group of traders in JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s investment bank that is underwriting loans for big construction projects that JPMorgan's commercial bank may not fund.

The JPMorgan trading desk has helped fund developments including condos in Manhattan, a hotel in Times Square and the American Dream mega-mall in New Jersey, the news outlet reported, citing "people with knowledge of the matter."

* The Denver Business Journal reported on the Denver Broncos' "very preliminary" plans for a $351 million entertainment district in the north part of Denver's Sun Valley area. The plans were mentioned in a summary of cities receiving Choice Neighborhoods grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The summary said the project would include retail, commercial and residential elements.

* Security Properties snapped up The Artessa luxury project in Franklin, Tenn., for $57.5 million, the Nashville Business Journal reported, citing public records. The $230,000-per-apartment deal for the 250-unit apartment complex reflects the second highest amount on record in Williamson County, the report said.

* LDG Development submitted a revised plan with the Louisville Metro Government for a 552-unit apartment complex at a vacant 52.7-acre site near the Jefferson Mall in Louisville, Ky., the Louisville Business First reported.

After the bell

* Donald Trump has picked Rex Tillerson to be the next U.S. secretary of state, according to The New York Times.

* Gazit-Globe Ltd. is gearing up for its first public offering in Canada of up to C$90.0 million of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures, at a price of C$1,000 apiece.

* Communications Sales & Leasing Inc. and co-issuer CSL Capital LLC priced their $400 million offering of 7.125% senior notes due 2024.

* National Storage Affiliates Trust's public offering of 4.5 million common shares of beneficial interest priced for estimated gross proceeds of roughly $94.5 million.

* The underwritten secondary offering of 12.5 million paired shares in Extended Stay America Inc. and ESH Hospitality Inc. was priced and is expected to yield the sellers approximately $206.3 million in gross proceeds.

Certain affiliates of Blackstone Group LP, Centerbridge Partners LP and Paulson & Co. Inc. are selling the shares, in which each paired share comprises an Extended Stay common share and an ESH Hospitality class B common share.

Housing

* Home sales in the Baltimore area jumped 20.6% year over year in November to reach the highest level for the month in a decade, the Baltimore Business Journal reported, citing ShowingTime RBI. The median sale price increased 4.3% on the year to $240,000, marking the highest November level since 2007.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.06% to 22,446.70, while the Nikkei 225 lifted 0.50% to 19,250.52.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.35% to 6,914.51, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.75% to 920.13.

On the macro front

The NFIB small business optimism index, the import and export prices report and the Redbook are due out today.

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