AP Builders ramped up construction of new homes in April, suggesting that the market remains solid despite sluggish economic growth at the beginning of the year. Housing starts climbed 6.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units, the Commerce Department said. The increase makes up for much of March’s 9.4 percent drop in starts, a decline ...

  Bloomberg The biotechnology industry’s growth is providing the chance to attain attractive returns on commercial property in markets from Boston to Munich to Shanghai, according to Taimur Hyat, chief strategy officer for PGIM, Prudential Financial Inc.’s $1 trillion asset-management arm. “Biotech is causing a revolutionary change in the type of real estate opportunities we are seeing,” he said in ...

  Bloomberg Ikea, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, plans to sell about €900 million ($1 billion) of European retail parks surrounding its stores, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Ikea has hired Cushman & Wakefield Inc. to help market the assets, two of the people said. Josefin Thorell, a spokeswoman for Ikea, confirmed that the company plans to ...