More on June Same-Store Sales; Cotenancy Clauses; Military Base Retail (Weekend Roundup)

(Due to some blog maintenance, I couldn't get a roundup post up last Thursday. So here we'll play a bit of catch-up on important retail and retail real estate news from Thursday through Sunday.)

Bloomberg followed up on the commercial real estate "Time Bomb" hearings in Congress last Thursday.

For other recent videos, check the Retail Traffic VideoWire over at Clip Syndicate.

Here are some other news and notes.

• The Wall Street Journal looked at how retailers including Gap Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc. and AnnTaylor Stores Corp. are examining their leases and looking for cotenancy clauses that could trigger rent reductions or other breaks.
• Citybiz News reported that Just Born Inc., the maker of Peeps, Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales, Teenee Beanee and Peanut Chews candies is opening its first store at National Harbor in Maryland.
• Reuters looked at Wal-Mart's success with Supermercado, a chain geared toward Latino shoppers.
• In the continuing jockeying among rating agencies on CMBS bonds, Fitch said it now expects 2006 through 2008 vintages of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) to “substantially underperform” earlier vintages. HousingWire has the details.
• The Washington Post analyzed the tough time new concepts launched by established retailers have been having.
• The New York Times produced a nifty interactive chart looking at different retailer's same-store sales numbers.
• NAI Global posted the third part of a global economic outlook web featuring Peter Linneman. (You can find the links for parts 1 and 2 here.)
• Commercial Real Estate Direct reported that one-fifth of all CMBS loans are on servicer watchlists.
• The New York Times looked at the rise in the number of events being held at regional malls--a tactic many firms have adopted in order to boost traffic. I wrote a bit about this trend in a previous blog post.
• The El Paso Times has an interesting project profile up. It looks at a $100 million open-air center that will be located on a military base. We looked at retail centers tied to military bases in our October issue. But this project seems larger and more elaborate than anything that was included in our profile.
• General Growth Properties added Glenn Rufrano to its board. Rufrano, remember, was named CEO of Centro Properties Group after the Australia-based limited property trust ran into debt trouble. Rufrano was able to work a deal with creditors that have since helped stabilize the firm and enabled its U.S. division to focus on its business.