Simon Property Group Inc. said that the company is looking for buys. Simon Property’s Chief Executive, David Simon said, “There is still a decent bid-and-ask difference between the buyer and the seller. I think the sellers' expectations certainly have gone down from where we were at the end of 2007, early part of 2008.” He further added, “Prices may go back to the 2003-2004 period of time, somewhere in that range.” There has been speculation that Simon Property and Westfield Group are the likely buyers of any assets of General Growth Properties Inc., which is trading in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. Neither Westfield nor Simon have commented on the market rumors.

Tiffany & Co. sued its landlord at the Westfield Century City shopping center, alleging the planned H&M store under construction nearby would tarnish its image at the open-air mall, which caters to an affluent Westside clientele. H&M is one of retailing's clothing chains, but Tiffany & Co. doesn't want it for a neighbor. Tiffany said its contract with Westfield forbids retailers 'whose merchandise and/or price points are not considered to be luxury, upscale or better by conventional retail industry standards' to use or lease certain spaces within, fronting or adjacent to the Tiffany store. Although H&M is a popular, fashion-forward retailer for young adults, it is also decidedly low-price. In the lawsuit against the shopping center and parent company Westfield Group, Tiffany said H&M is not a luxury or upscale retailer. H&M is at best characterized as a 'popular-price' mass merchandise clothing retailer. The location of the H&M store will cause irreparable injury to Tiffany's business reputation as a luxury retailer.

Westfield Group reported return on equity for the half year ended June 30, 2009. For the period, the company reported negative return on equity was 2.8% compared to return on equity was 5.2% for the same period a year ago.