Travel Roundup: Deutsche Bank Sues Trump, NASCAR Hurts Tourism, Unemployment Hits BART and More

Deutsche Bank sues Trump over defaulted loan – Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas claims Donald Trump owes it $40 million after he defaulted on a $640 million loan for his Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that Trump signed a personal payment guarantee in 2005. And since the bank claims Trump didn’t pay the $330 million due Nov. 7,  he owes the money. Last month, Trump also decided to sue Deutsche Bank to excuse the $330 million payment and extend the loan because of the “once-in-lifetime credit tsunami,” and sought $3 billion in damages.  Despite the lawsuits, Trump said the hotel will be completed within five months. [Source: Chicago Tribune]

NASCAR testing ban may cost Florida tourism — NASCAR’s testing ban may be costing Florida hundreds of thousands of tourism dollars, Brevard and Volusia county officials and businessowners said. Car-testing takes place before NASCAR’s racing season and is considered the sport’s “spring training,” which takes place in January. The testing also provides a boost in tourism, but with the new ban, it means those Florida businesses relying on that boost will be out of luck. The NASCAR ban was created to keep costs down for already struggling racing teams. [Source: Florida Today]

Unemployment taking toll on BART ridership – Ridership is slowing on Bay Area Rapid Transit, or the Bay Area’s train system, and BART officials say it’s because of rising unemployment and not dropping gas prices.  Although ridership is increasing, the increase has gone from more than five percent in July to 2.9 percent in October, year-over-year. BART ridership skyrocketted around 2000, in the middle of the dot-com boom and huge job growth, then it plummeted during the dot-com crash. California’s unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent in October, up 2.7 percent year-over-year – its highest unemployment rate since 1994. [Source: Contra Costa Times]

Ryanair launches takeover bid for Aer Lingus — Ryanair, a budget airline based out of Dublin, announced it would try to take over Aer Lingus by buying 70 percent of shares. Currently, the air carrier is Aer Lingus’s biggest shareholder at 30 percent.  The other two major shareholders, its employees and the Irish government, made no comment. Ryanair attempted a hostile takeover of the company in 2006. Previously European Union officials ruled that a Ryanair-Aer Lingus merger would be too close to a monopoly. [Source: Associated Press]