Newcastle Investment Corp. (NCT) reported earnings of $29 million, or 35 cents a share, down from $162 million, or $2.61 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Earnings included a $21 million noncash mark-to-market loss on loans held for sale and impairment recorded on securities. On Sept. 27, Newcastle completed the sale of 25.9 million shares of its common stock, at $4.55 per share for net proceeds of $112.3 million. The real estate investment trust is managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG). Newcastle’s $3.8 billion investment portfolio (with a basis of $2.9 billion) consists of commercial, residential and corporate debt. At Sept. 30, nearly 64% of Newcastle’s investments were in the commercial sector with about 26% in residential assets and about 10% in corporate assets. Of its residential assets, 7.7% were in Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac securities. During the quarter, the weighted average carrying value on the Sept. 30 portfolio changed from 78.3% to 75.1%, a decrease of $121 million. The face amount of the portfolio increased by $15 million. The REIT has $190 million of unrestricted cash available to invest. Write to Kerry Curry. Follow her on Twitter @communicatorKLC.