MADELEINE BRAND, host:
NPR's business news starts with cheaper rent.
(Soundbite of music)
BRAND: Across the country, office rents fell an average of nine percent last year. They are now roughly equal in the two most expensive cities, New York and Washington.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
And prices have been falling much faster in New York than in Washington, D.C., which is why the research firm Reis Incorporated is predicting that the nation's capital is poised to overtake New York City as the most expensive place for office space. Part of the reason is that New York's financial sector has been bleeding jobs for years and part of the reason, of course, is that the government here in Washington is one of the few sectors that's been adding jobs.
MADELEINE BRAND, host:
And companies are still relocating to the D.C. area. Northrop Grumman, it receives many large Defense contracts, said this week, it's leaving sunny California for Washington, D.C.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Where it is snowy this morning and gorgeous outside.