THIS WEEK’S LEAD
Citrus Belt Review: Lendistry's eight approvals averaged $160K against a quarter average of $557K — small-dollar lending in a quarter where small loans fell 39%.
SUPPORTING FEATURES
REAL ESTATE
A Temecula foodservice distributor is paying $40.5 million for a Menifee warehouse and another $25 million to turn part of it into refrigerated space — a move that reads the IE's dry-box glut as a buying opportunity, not a warning.
MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS
NOAA has declared El Niño officially here, with a strong event now the most likely outcome — and a strong one means drought in Panama. For most of the country that's a supply-chain threat. For the IE, it would push cargo back toward the lane this region feeds.
CAPITAL MARKETS
California was first in the country to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's central housing-credit change — and its fall bond round was the largest on record. For IE developers, the constraint was never finding takers. The question is whether the deals still pencil at IE rents.