LOS ANGELES, CA-Occupancy and room rates remain depressed, with some exceptions in a couple of submarkets, following a 2001 in which the county's hospitality industry endured its toughest year since the mid-1990s.

ORLANDO-The statute, effective this month, eliminates insurance payment exemptions for corporate officers, partners, sole proprietors and independent contractors but doesn't affect residential homebuilders, argues the Central Florida chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.

LONDON-The Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor has capitalised on the strong demand for retail investments with the sale of two shopping centres in Bolton, Manchester and Perth, Scotland for a combined Pounds 91 million ($144 million).

PHILADELPHIA-With 7 million sf and a 15% vacancy rate, Lehigh Valley office owners are luring New Jersey businesses and others with rates below the asking average of from $17 to $18 per sf, according to a report by Garibaldi's Michael Bartolacci.