Liberty Property Renews Leases in Charlotte – Analyst Blog

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Liberty Property Trust ( LPT ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), disclosed its lease renewal deals for a total of 195,800 square feet of space in Crosspoint Center and Perimeter West industrial parks in Charlotte. The move strengthened the company's relationship with existing tenants and ensured steady occupancy of 99% at its Charlotte portfolio.

In particular, at Crosspoint Center industrial park, Liberty Property renewed three lease deals with Rooms to Go, Clark Tire & Auto Inc. and Novitex Enterprise Solutions, Inc. for 117,400 square feet, 38,400 square feet and 16,000 square feet of space, respectively. On the other hand, at Perimeter West industrial park, Liberty Property penned a renewal deal with Wheel Pros for 24,000 square feet of space. For Liberty Property, the above-mentioned transactions will help to secure steady rental revenues.

Notably, the company has of late, been executing a repositioning program to enhance its portfolio base. Last month, Liberty Property declared having started constructing a Class A office building at its development project - Legacy at Fallbrook - at 10720 West Sam Houston Parkway, to expand its Houston portfolio. Going forward, we believe that such repositioning efforts by Liberty Property will help it to ride on the growth trajectory.

In February, Liberty Property reported fourth-quarter 2013 funds from operations (FFO) of 63 cents per share, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate as well as the prior-year quarter figure. The results benefited from year-over-year revenue gains, strong leasing and portfolio restructuring activity.

Liberty Property currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other stocks worth considering in the REIT sector include Cousins Properties Inc. ( CUZ ), Public Storage ( PSA ) and Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. ( OHI ). All of these have the same Zacks Rank as Liberty Property.

Note: Funds from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, are obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

COUSIN PROP INC (CUZ): Free Stock Analysis Report

LIBERTY PPTY TR (LPT): Free Stock Analysis Report

OMEGA HLTHCARE (OHI): Free Stock Analysis Report

PUBLIC STORAGE (PSA): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Liberty Property Renews Leases in Charlotte - Analyst Blog

Mail bag # 2: Talking to friends about libertarianism, Stalkers, Challenges with show, Suggestions – Video

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Mail bag # 2: Talking to friends about libertarianism, Stalkers, Challenges with show, Suggestions
Mail bag # 2: Talking to friends about libertarianism, Stalkers, Challenges with show, Suggestions Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthRevolt FaceBook: https:/...

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Mail bag # 2: Talking to friends about libertarianism, Stalkers, Challenges with show, Suggestions - Video

David Harsanyi Social conservatives would benefit by embracing libertarianism

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These days, to even suggest the possibility that a fiscally conservative economic outlook is compatible with faith is a matter of hypocrisy.

"I am afraid that (Rep. Paul) Ryan's budget reflects the values of his favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ," the Rev. Thomas Reese of Georgetown University told The Huffington Post not so long ago. "Survival of the fittest may be OK for social Darwinists, but not for followers of the gospel of compassion and love."

Surely, you recall this Bible passage: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Smite the supply-sider. I will utterly blot out the memory of all who back block grants from under heaven.'"

So it's refreshing, then, to hear would-be fusionist Rand Paul point out the distinction libertarian critics will not. At Robert P. George's American Principles Project recently, Paul argued that a dose of libertarianism not only would help the GOP broaden its base but also would be philosophically compatible with socially conservative values.

"Libertarian and liberty doesn't mean libertine," he explained. Paul might have added that libertarianism isn't synonymous with "being uncharitable" or "selfishness" or "social Darwinism," either. He might have argued that libertarianism would do a lot more than just help orthodox Christians politically. It may even be the most conducive political philosophy for their thriving.

Obviously, for those who measure the nation's virtue by the size of the Department of Health and Human Services budget, Rand's proposition must seem absurd. Take Elizabeth Stoker, who believes that "Rand Paul's audacious new sham" is "a phony religious epiphany." She wrote in Salon:

"If what Paul intends to say here is that Christianity and libertarianism are amenable to one another because Christianity provides the moral compass libertarianism doesn't have ... the question is: Why would someone with such a commitment to Christianity ever commit themselves to a political philosophy without a similar commitment?"

Why? Because these are two distinct and often nonconflicting ideas. Though votes are often informed by a person's faith, for many Americans, a political philosophy isn't a religion. I'm no theological scholar, but I tend to believe that one can do good works without supporting a top marginal tax rate increase. Christians commit themselves to God, which, as far as I can tell, doesn't prohibit them from supporting a political philosophy that emphasizes free will over a state-ordained "morality." No doubt, most Christians appreciate that our collective national political decisions and their personal moral compasses will not always be synchronized. That's where the religious freedom comes into play.

Should social conservatives "commit themselves" to a political philosophy that not only strives for gay equality but also seeks to impel others to participate in these new norms despite religious objections? Should they commit to a philosophy that impels them to fund contraception coverage and abortions through either direct funding or fungible dollars? A philosophy that continues to force them to send their kids to crappy public schools that often undermine their faith-based beliefs? A philosophy that attacks parents who seek alternative means of education, such as home schooling? Or should they be more interested in wedding themselves to a political philosophy that downgrades the importance of politics in everyday life and allows citizens to work together to structure their communities without interference?

The growing state, after all, not the atheist, is religion's biggest rival. And intentionally or not, government is crowding out parts of community life that have traditionally been taken care of by civil society. It's draining resources once used by communities to implement services and take care of their own. And even more destructive, perhaps, is that government is becoming a source of moral authority for so many.

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David Harsanyi Social conservatives would benefit by embracing libertarianism

Ohio Democrats helping Libertarian Party

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Protests filed against the candidacy of Charlie Earl, the Libertarian Party's candidate for governor, claim that he got onto the ballot because his campaign was got help from Ohio Democrats.

Secretary of State Jon Husted's office will be holding public hearings starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the PUCO building in Columbus on protests that were filed challenging the candidacy of Earl and the Libertarian Party's candidate for attorney general, Steven Linnabary.

A passage from one of the protests, filed by the Zeigger, Tigges and Little law firm on behalf of Gregory Felsoci, described as a Libertarian who lives in Rocky River, claims that Earl's efforts to get on the ballot were "propped up" by Democrats. Here is a relevant passage:

" ... the Democratic law firm of choice, McTigue & McGinnis, LLC, and the Democratic go-to consulting firm, Strategy Network, propped up the otherwise failing efforts of the Libertarian candidates to obtain the 500 valid signatures needed to get them on the ballot. Four separate employees of Strategy Network - Eileen Vorhees, Samuel Runta, Emily Baker, and Andrew Goldsmith - collected and submitted more than fifty of the part-petition signatures on behalf of the Libertarian candidates. But Mr. Runta, for example, has interned with the Ohio Democratic Party and has also worked for Ohio Democratic and Minority Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives Armand Budish. And the Form 14s reflect that the efforts of these four solicitors (and perhaps others that are undisclosed) were supervised, managed or otherwise organized by James Winnett, the LGBT Outreach Director of the Ohio Democratic Party, and Ian James, a long-time and well-respected leader of the Democratic Party in Ohio.

"Moreover, the Form 14s publicly filed with your office reflect that the entity paying for the efforts of Strategy Network and McTigue & McGinnis to supervise, manage or otherwise organize the collection of signatures on behalf of the Libertarian candidates is an entity titled

Ohioans for Liberty. Earlier filings with your office reflect that the Ohio Democratic Party has funded Ohioans for Liberty in an amount of $828,000 or more."

If Ohio Democrats are helping the Libertarian Party's candidate for governor, I see at least two possibilities: (1) The Democrats are sorry about all of that big government "tax and spend" stuff and want to make amends or (2) Democrats think Earl would take away more votes from incumbent Republican Gov. John Kasich than the Democrats' presumptive nominee, Ed FitzGerald. We report, you decide!

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Ohio Democrats helping Libertarian Party

Minecraft – Chainlink Islands Adventure Map – Chapter 1 – Episode 4 – Finale! – Video

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Minecraft - Chainlink Islands Adventure Map - Chapter 1 - Episode 4 - Finale!
We #39;re back with the final Episode of this Minecraft Adventure Map ~ This Adventure Map has had some nice twists and turns and levers that change things or op...

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Adventure-Map The Chainlink Islands I [Deutsch/HD] #006 Lets Play Minecraft Adventure-Map – Video

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Adventure-Map The Chainlink Islands I [Deutsch/HD] #006 Lets Play Minecraft Adventure-Map
Minecraft 1.7.2| Offizielle Internetseite: https://minecraft.net/ Map-Download:http://www.mediafire.com/download/rsyokedh4d85fkm/Sky+Park+v1.4.zip Mit Dabei...

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Escape to Paradise in British Virgin Islands, Caribbean

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I first fell in love with the British Virgin Islands, BVI for short, more than 15 years ago and even though my Travel Therapy goal is to continue to discover new unique places theres something about the spirit and soul of this part of the Caribbean, known as a sailors paradise, that keeps beckoning me back.

When you see the pictures Ive taken here from my latest trip I think youll understand why this is the perfect Travel Therapy vacation escape when youre looking for an authentic Caribbean experience thats quiet and peaceful but still a lot of fun!

I started this journey at a new beautiful private island resort called Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina, where my lovely one-bedroom suite, with a fully loaded kitchen, designer living room and posh bathroom, overlooked the Caribbean and Scrub Islands impressive 55 slip Marina.

Highlights here include 52 guest accommodations in addition to luxurious two, three and four bedroom villas, pools with waterfalls and swim up bars, three pristine private beaches and several top-rated restaurants where some of my favorite dishes included the Conch Ceviche, Grilled Island Shrimp and Chocolate themed breakfast. For signature Caribbean cocktails try the Passion of Scrub or a refreshing Cucumber Gimlet or ask bartender Everson to create something special for you.

Scrub Islands intimate Ixora Spa is another highlight offering inspired treatments, like the Eterno Massage that I loved and even more inspiring views from the spas private pool.

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Escape to Paradise in British Virgin Islands, Caribbean

Protective mutations for type 2 diabetes pinpointed

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An international team led by researchers at the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has identified mutations in a gene that can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even in people who have risk factors such as obesity and old age. The results focus the search for developing novel therapeutic strategies for type 2 diabetes; if a drug can be developed that mimics the protective effect of these mutations, it could open up new ways of preventing this devastating disease.

Type 2 diabetes affects over 300 million people worldwide and is rising rapidly in prevalence. Lifestyle changes and existing medicines slow the progression of the disease, but many patients are inadequately served by current treatments. The first step to developing a new therapy is discovering and validating a "drug target" -- a human protein that, if activated or inhibited, results in prevention and treatment of the disease.

The current study breaks new ground in type 2 diabetes research and guides future therapeutic development in this disease. In the new study, researchers describe the genetic analysis of 150,000 patients showing that rare mutations in a gene called SLC30A8 reduce risk of type 2 diabetes by 65 percent. The results were seen in patients from multiple ethnic groups, suggesting that a drug that mimics the effect of these mutations might have broad utility around the globe. The protein encoded by SLC30A8 had previously been shown to play an important role in the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas, and a common variant in that gene was known to slightly influence the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, it was previously unclear whether inhibiting or activating the protein would be the best strategy for reducing disease risk -- and how large an effect could be expected.

"This work underscores that human genetics is not just a tool for understanding biology: it can also powerfully inform drug discovery by addressing one of the most challenging and important questions -- knowing which targets to go after," said co-senior author David Altshuler, deputy director and chief academic officer at the Broad Institute and a Harvard Medical School professor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The use of human genetics to identify protective mutations holds great potential. Mutations in a gene called CCR5 were found to protect against infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; drugs have been developed that block the CCR5 protein. A similar protective association for heart disease set off a race to discover new cholesterol-lowering drugs when mutations in the gene PCSK9 were found to lower cholesterol levels and heart disease risk. The new type 2 diabetes study, which appears this week in Nature Genetics, suggests that CCR5 and PCSK9 are likely just the beginning but that it will take large numbers of samples and careful sleuthing to find additional genes with similar protective properties.

The Nature Genetics study grew out of a research partnership that started in 2009 involving the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Pfizer Inc., and Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden, which set out to find mutations that reduce a person's risk of type 2 diabetes. The research team selected people with severe risk factors for diabetes, such as advanced age and obesity, who never developed the disease and in fact had normal blood sugar levels. They focused on a set of genes previously identified as playing a role in type 2 diabetes and used next-generation sequencing (then a new technology) to search for rare mutations.

The team identified a genetic mutation that appeared to abolish function of the SLC30A8 gene and that was enriched in non-diabetic individuals studied in Sweden and Finland. The protection was surprising, because studies in mice had suggested that mutations in SLC30A8 might have the opposite effect -- increasing rather than decreasing risk of type 2 diabetes. However, because this particular genetic variation was exceedingly rare outside of Finland, it proved difficult to obtain additional evidence to corroborate the initial discovery by the Broad/MGH/Pfizer Inc./Lund team.

Then, in 2012, these unpublished results were shared with deCODE genetics, who uncovered a second mutation in an Icelandic population that also appeared to abolish function of the gene SLC30A8. That mutation independently reduced risk for type 2 diabetes and also lowered blood sugar in non-diabetics without any evident negative consequences.

"This discovery underscores what can be accomplished when human genetics experts on both sides of the Atlantic come together to apply their craft to founder populations, enabling us to find rare mutations with large effects on disease risk," said Kari Stefannson, CEO of deCODE genetics.

Finally, the team set out to ask if the effects of SLC30A8 protective mutations were limited to the two mutations found in populations in Finland and Iceland. As part of the NIH-funded T2D-GENES Project, chaired by Mike Boehnke at the University of Michigan, the Broad Institute had performed sequencing of 13,000 samples drawn from multiple ethnicities. The T2D-GENES Project joined the collaboration, found ten more mutations in the same gene, and again saw a protective effect. Combining all the results confirmed that inheriting one copy of a defective version of SLC30A8 led to a 65 percent reduction in risk of diabetes.

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Protective mutations for type 2 diabetes pinpointed