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Colorado - Thu. 06/12/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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MAJOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS MAKE DEAL: PETER BLANK TEAM JOINS COMPASS INC.
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Peter Blank, cofounder of Milehimodern real estate brand and a major influence in advocating for client flexibility in the marketing of residential real estate, has taken his six-member team, the Peter Blank Collective, and joined the country’s largest real estate firm, Compass Inc., which is based in New York City. Compass entered the Denver and Boulder market in 2019 and has grown to be the metro area's top brokerage by sales volume. Its top team in Denver, the 60-plus-member Be One Team, reported $433.2 million in sales in 2024. Robert Reffkin, CEO of Compass, has been making waves in the real estate world with his argument that sellers should be able to market their homes however they want, without restrictions from what he calls "organized real estate," or the National Association of Realtors, multiple listing services and home listing portals like Zillow.
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CALE MAKAR OF THE AVALANCHE WINS 2ND NORRIS TROPHY AFTER RECORD YEAR
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Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche was named the winner of the Norris Trophy by officials of the National Hockey League. It was the second time in his career that Makar won the trophy which is awarded to the best defenseman in the league. Makar led all NHL defensemen with 30 goals and 92 points this season. He became the first player at his position to hit the 30-goal plateau since Washington’s Mike Green did it in 2008-09. He’s also the first defenseman to score 90 points in back-to-back seasons since Paul Coffey and Al MacInnis did it in 1989-90 and 1990-91. Makar is now one of 14 players in league history to have won the Norris as the league’s top defenseman twice.
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CPI SHOWS ONLY 0.1% INCREASE IN MAY; ANNUAL INFLATION RATE 2.4%
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The consumer price index increased 0.1 percent in May, less than economists predicted, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, core CPI came in respectively at 0.1 percent and 2.8 percent compared with forecasts for 0.3 percent and 2.9 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report Wednesday showed no significant impact on inflation, as yet, from the tariffs that have been imposed. Continued weakness in energy prices helped offset some of the increases, and a handful of other key items expected to show tariff-related jumps, vehicle and apparel prices in particular, actually posted declines.
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OLD SNOWMASS MONASTERY DEAL IS OFF, PROPERTY BACK ON THE MARKET
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The St. Benedict’s Monastery, the Trappist monastery in Old Snowmass, was for sale for about a year before it went under contract on March 13, 2025. The property of roughly 3,700 acres was listed for $150 million by Ken and Haley Mirr of the Mirr Ranch Group in Denver and Michael Latousek of Douglas Elliman in Aspen. It was due to close Monday, June 9. On Tuesday, Latousek announced that the buyer terminated the contract. Latousek made no comment on the termination, but said the property is back on the market for the original listing price of $150 million. The Catholic Church has an extensive review process for a sale of the magnitude of St. Benedict's. That process, administered by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, considers factors such as a buyer’s reputation as well as their financial wherewithal; the dicastery does not comment on individual cases.
St. Benedict’s Monastery has operated for nearly 70 years in the Capitol Creek Valley. Monks first arrived from the “mother house” of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Massachusetts in 1956 and built a green-brick chapel and cloisters by hand. Those buildings opened in 1958 and were followed by additions like a contemporary retreat center in 1995 and an infirmary in 2000. The property spans an estimated 3,739 acres and is one of the largest contiguous properties in the region and surrounded by 7,736 acres of land that are protected by conservation easements or other land protection measures.
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PLANNING TO CAMP NEAR ASPEN: DIFFICULT REQUIRES HARD-SIDED CAMPERS
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The White River National Forest issued a public order Wednesday requiring the use of hard-sided campers or trailers by all campers at Difficult Campground east of Aspen. In addition to the hard-sided camper order at Difficult, the White River National Forest has a food-storage order in place for all its developed campgrounds and many dispersed camping areas to help prevent black bears and other wildlife from obtaining food from humans and becoming a nuisance or dangerous. Each campsite at Difficult Campground has a bear-resistant food locker and there is information about proper food storage posted throughout the campground. Proper food storage is important day and night. The black bears causing problems at Difficult have been coming into the campground at all hours, which is not unusual for food-conditioned bears.
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CANADA INTRODUCES BILL TO ELIMINATE TRADE BARRIERS BETWEEN PROVINCES
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Imagine how difficult it would be to do business in the United States if there were restrictions on trade between the states. Actually, that is the way it is to an extent in Canada. One of the most striking is that wine made in one province can’t be sold directly to customers in another and there was the famous “free the beer case” of Gerard Comeau, who was fined after he was caught bringing beer he had bought in Quebec back into his home province of New Brunswick.
The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the ruling in 2018 before all provinces agreed this year to remove the archaic obstacle as a result of efforts by the Canadian government to remove all internal trade barriers as it addresses the impact of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. That movement continued last week with the introduction of legislation to remove internal trade barriers and expedite approval of major projects covering infrastructure, energy and other commodities. It marks the boldest move yet by the federal government to get the country’s 10 provinces and three territories to mutually recognize their rules and regulations.
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ANOTHER LOW-COST CARRIER ENDS SERVICE: QANTAS ENDS JETSTAR ASIA
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Australia’s Qantas Airways Wednesday announced it will shut down its Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia next month. Qantas officials cited rising supplier costs, high airport fees and strong regional competition as the reasons for the end of service. Jetstar was 20 years old. The end of service results in the loss of 500 jobs, and the 13 Airbus A320 aircraft will be redeployed to Australia and New Zealand. Jetstar Asia, which operated 16 intra-Asia routes from Singapore's Changi Airport, has faced growing challenges in recent years and has been unable to deliver returns comparable to stronger-performing core markets within the Qantas group. Airlines across Asia, including budget rivals like Singapore Airlines' Scoot, Malaysia-headquartered AirAsia, and Vietnam's VietJet Aviation, have restored and grown their capacity post-pandemic, intensifying competition between carriers and driving airfares down.
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AS THE WORLD TURNS, NOW JAPANESE BANKS ARE BOOMING, NEED EMPLOYEES
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For the first time in decades, there is great interest in the Japanese financial industry. The return of inflation, relatively low borrowing costs and a weaker yen have led to a surge in trading Japanese stocks and bonds, along with an upswell in foreign investment. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. increased its stakes in five Japanese trading houses and signaled it may buy more. Mega deals are surging, as companies become more open to going private, selling off subsidiaries, or buying rivals. The Japanese government is urging households to shift more of their $8 trillion in cash and deposits into equities, boosting demand for financial advisers. Private equity funds are pivoting from China, drawn by Japan’s easy lending and a large pool of companies willing to sell. Demand for traders at securities firms is soaring. The result is recruiting, hiring and retaining bankers and other financial personnel is becoming an all-encompassing task.
Some Japanese lenders are refusing to let staffers resign, and banks are holding parties for former employees to lure them back. “It’s incredibly competitive,” said Jeff Acton, a Tokyo partner at BDA Partners Inc., an investment bank. “There’s a super spotlight on Japan right now and everyone’s trying to scale up to take advantage of the market trends.” The hiring push is driving up wages, which are typically lower than in other finance hubs but are rising at a faster pace. Payouts climbed 15 percent on average for fixed-income traders in 2024. For investment bankers, salary offers have gone up about 10 percent annually in the past three years. In some cases, international financial services firms have been offering top traders guarantees worth $1 million to $1.5 million.
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THE TEQUILA EXPRESS IS BACK: TEQUILA TOURISM
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Tequila, Mexico is the epicenter of the tequila industry and home to some 25 distilleries. In 1997, the Tequila Express, a train running from Guadalajara to Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico began operating. The service was abandoned in 2015 after failing to compete with two other branded tequila trains, the Jose Cuervo Express and the Herradura Express. However, a US$9 million investment by local government, tourism and railroad companies, revived the Tequila Express in September 2024, with Friday to Sunday service, continuing rail service from Guadalajara to Tequila, across the Jalisco cactus and agave-filled countryside which along with Tequila, is a UNESCO Heritage site. There are many tour options and activities that can be booked with the train ride. One of the most famous is the La Capilla, Tequila's oldest cantina and the location of the creation of the batanga cocktail, which is lime, blanco tequila and Coca-Cola. More information: tequilaexpress.mx
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ONLY A YEAR AWAY FROM FIFA WORLD CUP IN THE U.S.
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It has been a significant week for international travel and tourism to the United States with the imposition of travel restrictions to visitors from 19 countries on June 9 by President Donald Trump. Also, this week the president sent Marines to quell disturbances in Los Angeles. Those restrictions and disturbances in Los Angeles come as 11 U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, along with Toronto and Vancouver in Canada and Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey in Mexico will be the host cities for the FIFA World Cup, just a year from now: June 11 - 19, 2026. There will be 48 countries represented and 104 games.
The U.S. host cities:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Dallas
- Houston
- Kansas City
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York/New Jersey
- Philadelphia
- San Francisco
- Seattle
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MARKET UPDATE - 06/11/2025 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 06/12/2025)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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