PhillyDeals: The 401(k) under fire in Washington

Congress is weighing whether to set up a guaranteed, forced worker-savings program to supplement Social Security.

That's after the value of worker-run personal investment plans - Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)-style programs - fell 27 percent, or $2.5 trillion, in less than two years, retired Vanguard Group founder John C. Bogle testified before the U.S. House labor committee yesterday.

"For too many Americans, 401(k) plans have become little more than a high-stakes crapshoot," committee chairman George Miller (D., Calif.) said. "Wall Street's guarantee of predictable benefits and peace of mind throughout retirement was nothing more than a hollow promise."

Why not go back to old-fashioned pension plans? Companies don't want the risk. Instead, pension scholars Alicia H. Munnell of Boston College and Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy Research suggested versions of a forced-savings plan. Bogle blasted "greedy financiers" but stopped short of radical solutions. He suggested lower fees, fewer choices, "low-cost annuities" and greater transparency for worker-run retirement accounts "for those who have the financial ability to save for retirement."

That left mutual fund lobbyist Paul Schott of the Investment Company Institute to defend the existing 401(k) system: "This isn't the time to abandon ship . . .. Participants who cash out of the market right now will lock in their losses."

Who's still building, who's buying, who's leasing as the economy slows down?

"Philly is still sheltered, but it's not immune" to the nation's woes, said retailer rep Brandon Famous of Fameco Real Estate at yesterday's RealShare conclave of brokers, lawyers, builders and investors at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

Of 98 retailers he says his firm represents, 35, including Aldi, Best Buy, Dick's, Petco, and Wal-Mart, are actively looking for space around Philadelphia, according to Famous.

But at what price? Store chains are demanding big concessions.

For instance, developer David Grasso said pet-supply retailer Petco "wants a 60,000-square-foot space at Valley Square," a Grasso shopping center in Bucks County. "I said, $35 a square foot. They said, $20, and we have to build it for them, which is like $60 a square foot cost." They're still negotiating, but "landlords don't have a lot of leverage right now."

Are office rents holding up, at $30 a square foot or more in Center City and the best suburban addresses? "Owners say they are. Tenant reps say they're getting concessions," said Steve Gartner, president of Metro Commercial Real Estate.

Builder Chris Buccini is glad he's got the government-subsidized soccer-stadium project in Chester keeping crews busy. Next door, a home-construction project, supposed to start last fall, is on hold.

He hopes to put together financing by April for the restoration of Wilmington's Queen Theater, another project dependent on public dollars.

"We've got $3 million from the city, we've got $12 million in historic and New Market tax credits from the state and federal government," $2 million from DuPont and other charitable foundations, $1 million of his firm's own money, and "a substantial investment" from World Cafe Live, a live-entertainment venue associated with WXPN-FM (88.5) radio, Buccini said.

He's looking for $4 million more. "This is a year of blocking and tackling."

Comcast Corp., TimeWarner Cable Inc. and other cable TV providers are still weighing whether it's worth it to grab some of the $7.2 billion set aside in the stimulus law for broadband Internet expansion, Bloomberg News reports.

It will cost "an enormous amount of money" to add high-speed Internet in poor and rural neighborhoods, National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow said.

Comcast cut spending, and trimmed its 100,000-worker payroll 3.3 percent last year, to keep profit margins up. Growth "will remain robust" - unless chief executive Brian Roberts embarks on "a value-destroying acquisition" of a big programming company, a special temptation now that assets are cheap, writes Dave Novosel, bond analyst for Gimme Credit.