Malls, hotels may be next victims in meltdown

Friday, November 28, 2008 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black Friday’s retail shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won’t be enough to stave off what’s likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market.
Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, S.C., also are about to default on their mortgages.
That pace is expected to quicken. The number of late payments and defaults will double, if not triple, by the end of next year, according to analysts from Fitch Ratings Ltd., which evaluates companies’ credit.
That’s bad news for more than just property owners.
When businesses go dark, employees lose jobs. Towns lose tax revenue. School budgets and social services feel the pinch.
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