In one of the year’s largest sales, Google has scored the biggest non-portfolio commercial real estate deal in the United States.

Economy Watch reporter Dees Stribling offers insights into the top economic news of the week ending Dec. 24 and what to watch out for in the coming week in this newly launched weekly feature on CPE Radio and MHN Radio.

The shopping spree continues for KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc. with the purchase of National City Tower, a 723,300-square-foot office building in downtown Louisville, Ky. KBS acquired the premier property from Meridian Realty Investments L.L.C. in a $115 million transaction that marks the REIT’s Kentucky debut.

The joint venture has plans to completely renovate, rebrand and reposition the 33-year-old property, which is located on the island’s Diamond Head end. Renovation will include all public spaces, the pool deck and the guest rooms.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and HUD said that about 30,000 homeowners received permanent mortgage modifications in November through the Making Home Affordable Program. Still, roughly 774,000 homeowners have dropped out of the program, the government’s main effort to forestall foreclosures, as of the end of the month. That’s a 54 percent dropout rate.

With plans to inch away a bit from the suburban office market and focus on industrial assets, the company has agreed to sell a 3.1 million-square-foot office portfolio to joint venture partner CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust and acquire a 4.9 million-square-foot group of predominantly industrial properties from Premier Commercial Realty.

Taking yet another step in its restructuring strategy, ProLogis has arranged to sell a portfolio of retail, mixed-use and ground lease assets located in the U.S.

Miami Tower, a 600,00-square-foot, Class A tower, was bought by I&G Miami Inc. from owner Blue Capital US East Coast Properties L.P.

U.S. GDP increased at an annualized rate of 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2010, according to a revised estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The previous estimate was 2 percent for the third quarter.