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1. Seibu Prince acquires Ace Hotels brand
Tokyo-based Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide has acquired Ace Group International, the parent company of U.S.-based hotel brand Ace Hotels, for $90 million. CoStar News' Bryan Wroten reports the deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the month.
"By leveraging the strengths [of each side], we will expand into more regions to accelerate our global expansion," Seibu Holdings Chairman Takashi Goto said at a press conference in Tokyo, Nippon.com reports.
There are currently eight Ace Hotels around the world, with one located in Kyoto. Following the acquisition, Seibu's hotel portfolio in and outside of Japan will grow to 94.
2. Fed weighs cutting rates ahead of meeting
When the U.S. Federal Reserve meets, there's usually a decent idea of what the group will do in regard to cutting or not cutting interest rates. Ahead of meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, however, it's unknown what decision Fed leaders will make, the Associated Press reports.
A big reason for this is uncertainty in the U.S. economy itself. Hiring has slowed and inflation remains high. Investors expect the Fed will lower its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 4.1%, but it's not certain.
“It would be a tough time, even if the politics and the whole thing weren’t going on the way they are, it would be a tough time. Some people would want to cut, some people would not want to cut,” said Ellen Meade, an economics professor at Duke University and former senior economist at the Fed.
3. Hoteliers stay proactive to reduce insurance risk
The insurance market remains difficult to navigate for hoteliers, as rates are relatively high and climate issues persist. But staying proactive can help avoid major setbacks when the market fluctuates or a storm hits, CoStar News Hotels Sean McCracken reports from the 2025 fall meeting of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association.
"The best thing that we can do is prevent the loss, whether the property market is going up or down or whether the liability market is going up or down," said Marsha Bonner, executive vice president of risk management for Highgate Hotels.
4. How China is handling trade war with US
The back-and-forth trade war between China and the United States continues to persist, as the two countries have met four times now with little progress in resolving the dispute, the New York Times reports.
China's exports to the United States are down 15% this year, but it is picking up its exports elsewhere, the Times reports. Through August, China's trade surplus increased to $785.8 billion from $612.6 billion last year, with Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe as the main contributors.
A real estate downturn in China has been an issue on its own economy, though, as consumers are spending less and joblessness poses a problem among young people.
5. UK jobless rate stays steady
The United Kingdom's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.7% in the three months to July, the same three-month average to both May and June, the Wall Street Journal reports. This could be an indicator that the Bank of England will keep interest rates unchanged as well at this month's meeting.
“An interest-rate cut on Thursday remains a nonstarter as the speed at which the labor market is loosening at present won’t be enough to trigger another policy loosening, given growing anxiety over increasing inflation,” Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, wrote in a note to clients.
This could change in the near future, though, as early estimates show that payrolls fell by 8,000 between July and August, a 2,000 increase from the previous month.