Spending on durable and non-durable goods rose domestically during the fourth quarter of 2012. Greece and its creditors continued to haggle over interest-rate cuts. And, according to Reuters, U.S. consumers at least feel better about the economy.

Some good news, some less-than-good-news this week — and the beginnings of full-blown, election-year arguments over economic policy. CPE’s economic analyst, Dees Stribling, gives his podcast for the week ending Jan. 27, 2012.

Following the signing of a 358,100-square-foot lease, LydondellBasell, a longtime tenant of 1 Houston Center, will see the building renamed the LydondellBasell Tower.

The results to our 2012 survey of Equity Providers provides us with $11.8 billion to examine. Our feature looks at how and where equity providers are investing.

The Morgan Group, a company focused on development, construction and property management of luxury multi-family properties, has arranged financing of $146 million on behalf of its affiliated investment partnerships.

Capitalizing on the increased need for both office and retail space, Hines has partnered with DLF Ltd. to begin construction on One Horizon Center, which will be located southwest of New Delhi in Gurgaon.

New home sales took an unexpected 2.2 percent dive in December compared with the previous month, and the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index increased 0.4 percent during the same period. U.S. GDP rose 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Acting on behalf of AIG, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler has obtained a $56 million loan for Sterling Collwood, a premier student-housing property near San Diego State University.

In a deal that took six months to finalize, C-III Capital Partners L.L.C. has completed its acquisition of NAI Global, the largest network of independent commercial real estate firms worldwide.

Jones Lang LaSalle has acquired Sydney-based tenant advisory firm MPS Properties, adding approximately 43 million square feet of Australian office space to the company’s management rolls.