Daily Business Report: Monday, August 11, 2025
Tariff Uncertainty and Rising Costs are Stalling Over a Third of California CRE Projects
By Allen Matkins | UCLA Anderson
With tariff uncertainty reshaping global trade, the Summer 2025 Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey reveals ripple effects cascading throughout California’s commercial real estate (CRE) landscape. According to the latest survey results, more than a third (36%) of developers are delaying or canceling CRE projects, citing increased construction costs and global trade tensions as key concerns.
Additionally, 85% of respondents now hold a more cautious outlook on new California developments due to tariffs and supply chain disruptions and 44% of developers expect distress levels in CRE capital markets to rise over the next year. These findings underscore how developers, investors, and tenants are recalibrating in the face of escalating costs, geopolitical uncertainty, and evolving demand patterns.
“Tariffs and lack of clarity on trade policies are certainly top of mind for real estate investors and developers as we head into the second half of the year,” said Spencer B. Kallick, partner at Allen Matkins. “This uncertainty is leading real estate developers and investors to think long-term about their development plans and shift their focus to opportunities and sectors that show resilience, particularly those aligned with e-commerce, logistics, and residential.”
Social Security Insolvency Projected 6 Months Sooner, Chief Actuary Says
By Tom Ozimek| The Epoch Times
The Social Security trust funds are projected to run out about six months earlier than previously estimated, according to a new analysis from the program’s chief actuary.
Letters sent on Aug. 5 to Sen. Ron Wyden (D‑Ore.) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D‑Nev.) say the combined Old‑Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) funds are now expected to be depleted in the first quarter of 2034, rather than the third quarter of that year as in the most recent trustees’ report.
The 2025 trustees’ report, released in June, had already moved up the combined depletion date by one year—from 2035 in the prior report to 2034—reflecting worsening demographics and legislative changes. Under the new analysis carried out in response to requests from Wyden and Horsford, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act accelerates that timeline further by about six months.
Government Has Frozen $584 Million in UCLA Funding, the University Says
By Naveen Athrappully | The Epoch Times
The federal government suspended $584 million worth of grants to the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA), the university’s Chancellor, Julio Frenk, said in an Aug. 6 statement to community members.
“If these funds remain suspended, it will be devastating for UCLA,” he said.
The funding cancellation affects UCLA departments that rely on grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy.
“The suspension of these funds is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants,“ he said. ”It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on our groundbreaking research and scholarship.”
