Oh, Canada

Lots of coverage late last week on a bankruptcy court ruling that leaves Canadian real estate investor Brookfield Asset Management first in line to buy General Growth Properties.

Under the latest reorganization plan GGP would be split in two with its extensive collection of malls in one bucket (including own own) and other real estate, like, er, um, its downtown Columbia holdings in another. Brookfield would control the first, and may wind up with the second pending the outcome of a stock sale.

Rival mall owner Simon Group made a lot of noise after the decision suggesting it was done bidding for GGP, but there's some chatter on Wall Street that it might try one more time. The GGP board so far has spurned Simon's offer, citing among other things concerns a deal would be blocked on antitrust grounds because Simon would end up controlling half the malls in America.

Simon has dismissed that argument, saying there's plenty of competition to malls from other forms of retail.