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Non-Tech : Bill Wexler's Trading Cabana -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Wexler who wrote (3287)	1/28/2008 3:45:02 AM
From: Bear Down	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

A lot has been said about SHLD being a real estate play as well as a retail play and how the commercial RE market has remained strong. I think that opinion will be changing as large commercial projects fail, lose funding and get shelved. For just a small example here in Las Vegas we have the once touted 1.8 billion dollar Cosmopolitan (now about 3.5 bill) recently defaulting on 760 mill to deusche bank with 1.4 bill still left on construction contract. We also have $4.5 B Echelon Place being built by BYD that my local souces tell me is having some financing issues as well. Then there is the Tropicana owned by Columbia Sussex that lost their 2.5 billion in financing for remodeling and redevelopment. MGM also sold 50% of its interest in the $ 7.9 B city center project to Dubai World as well as 5% of the company. RIV with its 26 acres at recent comparable sales of 33 mill/acre would be worth north of $50/share based solely on their RE. It trades at 18 now after a buyout offer at $34 was rejected by management last summer. The buyers intended on redeveloping the property and my understanding is funding for their plans is now on hold as well. I have been bearish on SHLD since the 140's and continue to feel that way. As I said in the past, there are more employees than customers in the Sears and Kmarts in this area and their parking lots remain relatively empty. So my opinion is the stock sucks both as a retail play and as a RE play, at least in the near term, no matter how hard Cramer humps.