BETHESDA, MD—The hotelier said Friday that it continues to believe that a combination with Starwood Hotels "is the best course for both companies and offers the best value to Starwood shareholders."

STAMFORD, CT—The "binding and fully financed" Anbang proposal has been sweetened to $78 per share from the unsolicited $76/share proposal that Starwood Hotels received last week.

HELSINKI, FINLAND—The Nordic countries' increasingly urbanized and affluent population is just one of the factors bringing investors to a region whose small size is belied by its high levels of liquidity.

NEW YORK CITY—The first acquisition in New York by China Oceanwide Holdings, the parcel adjacent to the Historic District at the Seaport can support nearly 820,000 square feet of development.

NEW YORK CITY—"Recent market conditions have made raising capital more difficult for REITs," says EY, which predicts a further uptick in real estate trusts' joint-venture volume as the year goes on

CALABASAS, CA—Although San Francisco once again tops Marcus & Millichap's National Retail Index, metro areas across the country excel in more specialized indices for investment potential.

SANTA BARBARA, CA—A new report from Yardi notes that as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increase their loan spreads on multifamily deals, "other major lender types all have issues."

PORTLAND, OR—Rally Ventures was attracted to commercial real estate, and to leading a Series A funding round for CrowdStreet, because the sector has yet to be as disrupted by technology as other industries, CrowdStreet's Darren Powderly tells GlobeSt.com.