Circle Aug. 31, 2016, on the calendar, REIT enthusiasts, because what many consider the biggest development to hit the sector in 15 years is quickly approaching. After the market closes, stock exchange-listed Equity REITs and other listed real estate companies will be elevated to a new Real Estate Sector in the closely watched Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), making it the 11th Headline-level sector under GICS.

For most people, the terms “dumpster” and “home” are not often used in the same sentence. For Jeff Wilson, aka Professor Dumpster, this combination led him to something that could breathe new life into the ever-growing trends of multifamily housing, tiny homes and the Internet of Things.

No one is actually making money from coal-fired power plants in the United States right now, according to David Crane, former CEO of NRG Energy, one of America’s biggest power companies. That may seem a strange sentiment coming from a man who led a Fortune 200 company owning more than a dozen coal-fired power plants. But then again, Crane is far from your typical energy executive.

Infrastructure fundraising during the past few years has been difficult to characterize. The asset class closed on $55.5 billion in capital during 2013, saw only $48.7 billion raised in 2014, then bounced back to $55.4 billion by the end of 2015. During that time, the number of funds closed per year fell steadily, with 35 funds closed in 2013, 34 in 2014 and 29 in 2015.

Real assets of all stripes are getting noticed by investors these days; with returns under pressure across all asset classes, the appeal of investments that can provide steady cash yields is growing. One of the real assets getting attention more recently from institutional investors is agriculture.

When I talk governance with the family office clients or companies I advise, I know that they might be thinking that while governance is important, it isn’t critical. That’s a common reaction, as many family offices, business owners and investors discount governance. The truth is, poor governance doesn’t hurt until it kills you.

Many individual investors’ portfolios don’t include any real estate investments. Usually this is not by design. Rather, it reflects the lack of attractive options for investing in real estate, as well as a bias toward stocks and bonds because they are readily available and easier to research. New, online real estate fund investment platforms and real estate crowdfunding sites are changing this and creating new opportunities for individual investors, family offices and their advisers.

As of mid-July 2016, six central banks in Europe and Asia have adopted negative interest rates in an effort to stimulate their national economies. The experiment began in Denmark in 2012, but the big step came in June 2014, when the European Central Bank dropped its benchmark rate below zero. Sweden and Switzerland soon followed, and Japan and Hungary went negative in early 2016. Taken together, these economies represent about one-fourth of global economic output.

Nuclear energy is by far the largest source of electric power that does not emit any air pollution — and the only one that can produce large amounts of electricity 24/7. Nuclear plants have a major role in making electricity available in the United States and in protecting America’s air quality.

With perhaps less fanfare than it deserves, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB, which regulates accounting within the United States) earlier this year issued a new accounting standard for the treatment of leases under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB, which regulates accounting outside the United States) did the same for International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS. The upshot is, when the change takes effect, every single lease will need to be recorded on balance sheets.

The changing global economy, tighter debt markets and widespread demographic shifts are expected to have the most significant impact on real estate in the near- and long-term, according to an annual report published by the Counselors of Real Estate. The report says the issues represent both risks and opportunities for the business.

Entrepreneurs keep getting more ambitious, especially those in the technology space. It seems there is a pending technological solution for all that ails humanity and the environment the surrounds us.

Now a pair of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs is aiming to tackle the most essential component of a functional society — the city, the very locus of economic activity and job and wealth creation. They are the places where real estate, infrastructure, energy and other investment opportunities are concentrated.