Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Hugs and Handshakes: What It’s Like To Get And Recover From Covid-19

I spent the ensuing months washing my hands so much they chapped. I tried to be a good human and do everything they told us to do. But somehow, someway, COVID slipped through a crack somewhere and grabbed me around the neck like a thief trying to rob me. Or maybe worse.

I woke up on the morning of December 21, 2020, hoping against hope that what I felt was not in fact the virus. I had body aches, chest congestion and symptoms pretty consistent with what people had been saying who have had the virus. I laid in bed wondering if this was the beginning of end. What would the next two weeks of my life bring? I felt a level of fear but not panic. We would take this one day at a time.

I went to get tested a day later. December 23, I got one of the scariest emails of my life. It was the from one of those “no reply” and very sterile email handles, but it had a very non- sterile answer. “Mr. Ashley,” it said, “We regret to inform you that your test results for COVID-19 are…positive.” Ugh, and Merry Christmas to you too.

2. LVMH Tells Tiffany Staff to Return to Office Two Days a Week

After taking control of Tiffany & Co., LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is telling the U.S. jeweler’s employees to come back to the office.

The French luxury-goods giant instructed Tiffany’s corporate staff to return to the office two days a week beginning March 1, according to people familiar with the situation. “It’s critical at this time of change that we adopt a hybrid approach to onsite-remote working,” LVMH told employees in a memo this week.

Tiffany will join a small list of large New York companies that have required employees to return to the office, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. In Houston, Shell Oil Co. and some other energy companies brought back workers as early as May or June, only to send them home again amid coronavirus outbreaks.

3. Google Plans To Restart Ground-Up Construction, Office Investments

Google, one of the country's largest corporate investors in real estate, is preparing to resume spending on offices as it tries to keep up with workforce growth.

The Silicon Valley search engine giant told investors Tuesday it plans to open its pockets for new developments and expansions, one of the strongest signals so far of corporate tenants gearing up for life beyond the pandemic.

"Looking ahead, we expect to return to a more normalized pace of ground-up construction and the fit-out of office facilities," Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., said on a conference call to discuss the company's 2020 earnings. "That translates into a sizable increase in [capital expenditures] in 2021."

4. Hedge-Fund Manager Ackman Raises Bet on Housing in Texas, Hawaii, Las Vegas

Billionaire hedge-fund manager William Ackman is raising his bet that the migration of Americans to warmer, lower-tax cities is here to stay.

His Pershing Square Capital Management LP recently increased its stake in Howard Hughes Corp. to nearly 25%. The Houston-based developer is ramping up construction of multifamily housing in Texas, Maryland, Hawaii and Las Vegas.

“It’s not a Wall Street bet. It’s a generational bet,” said Mr. Ackman, who is also chairman of Howard Hughes’s board. The fund manager is widely known for his shareholder-activism campaigns and his bets on large companies such as Starbucks Corp. and J.C. Penney Co.

Pershing Square increased its stake in Howard Hughes by about 4.7% between June and January, according to public filings. The firm bought common stock, and some of its counterparties exercised options that compelled Pershing Square to buy additional shares, filings show.

5. Kia Seeks Partners to Build Apple Car in Georgia

Kia Corp. has approached potential partners about a plan to assemble Apple Inc.’s long-awaited electric car in Georgia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The proposal would involve a multibillion-dollar investment, according to people familiar with the matter, who stress that a deal hasn’t been completed. If successful, it would thrust the iPhone maker into the car business after several years of secretive work in which its engineers plotted to upend the 100-plus-year-old automotive industry.

The likelihood of a final agreement was thrown into question when Kia’s parent company, Hyundai Motor Group , said last month, then sought to play down, that it was in negotiations with Apple to cooperate on an electric driverless car. Apple has never confirmed those talks, and its dalliances with other auto makers in the past have fizzled.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great a hugely impactful week!

Ken Ashley