If you want to get an investment professional’s heart to skip a beat, refer to the investment choices they make as “bets.” Advisers and money managers are fastidious about making clear they are absolutely, positively not gambling with people’s precious, hard-earned money. But why? Let’s think about this rationally. Nobody entrusts their investable assets with a wealth adviser without knowing there is some risk of some monetary loss, and virtually zero risk of losing the full sum of their investment. By contrast, there are millions of Americas who wager billions of dollars per year at casinos, online gambling sites, and legal and illegal sports-betting syndicates, all of whom know financial losses are virtually a given. H2 Gambling Capital, a market data firm, estimates that U.S. citizens lost $117 billion on gambling in 2016, and that results in an additional annual cost of $17 billion in gambling-associated problems such as crime, addiction and bankruptcy. Yes, addiction. Compulsive gambling is a form of addiction that becomes worse over time, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.

The thriving neighborhood next to Atlanta’s SunTrust Park, dubbed The Battery, is reaping rewards for investors and the community alike. Since opening in March 2017, the ballpark and mixed-use development have brought in $19 million of tax revenue, according to a study by the Georgia Tech Center for Economic Development Research.

The Brookings Institution originally published this article. Not a week goes by without news of digital disruption in traditional industries and sectors. We’ve already seen long-standing business models from taxis to hotels upended, and we’ve got to wonder where this will take the world’s oldest industry — agriculture. We urgently need to rethink public policy interventions to help countries navigate opportunities and challenges linked to digital advances in the food economy.

The world is undergoing a deep structural shift in how it powers industry, homes and transportation. Although this shift is vast — crossing both different types of energy and different parts of the supply chain — the main thrust is the shift from coal and nuclear energy to cleaner sources, notably natural gas and renewables. At the same time, the proliferation of electronics, including electric cars, is resulting in steady power demand growth even as economic and population growth decelerate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in August it planned to distribute $4.7 billion to farmers as part of the initial wave of a $12 billion aid package. Farmers themselves seem less than thrilled with the bailout, with the prevailing sentiment that those dollars are flowing to larger agricultural conglomerates. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) may have summed up the general sentiment now swirling throughout many farming communities when he told CBS News that farmers and ranchers in his state don’t want more bailouts, but the ability to sell overseas.

The world’s nuclear reactors performed excellently in 2017. Global nuclear electricity output was 2,506 terawatt hours, an increase of 29 TWh compared with 2016. This marked the fifth successive year nuclear output has increased, with generation 160 TWh higher than in 2012.

Over the past decade, investors have sought higher returns, resulting in a move toward core-plus and value-added strategies among closed-end funds, and away from core strategies, according to the Infrastructure Investor Trends: 2018 Survey Results, an annual survey by Probitas Partners. On an annual basis, Probitas Partners surveys institutional investors globally to determine how their interests in and perspectives on infrastructure have developed.

Investment dollars are flowing into privately managed debt funds at historic levels, seeking both yield and stability at a time when many believe we are in the later stages of a very long upward trend in the commercial real estate cycle.

Amit Dogra wants to put investments back into everyday conversations. He is convinced people do not talk about stocks anymore because most are invested in funds containing thousands of stocks or other assets, and do not even know what the fund contains, killing any excitement or conversation on the topic. Too many portfolios are devoid of the direct private-equity investments in companies and alternative assets that excite investors and make the financial commitments they have worthy of cocktail party or golf course chatter. What’s more, investments in alternative and hard assets are a portfolio’s opportunity to generate alpha.

Although crude oil prices above $100 a barrel will pinch consumer pockets, investor anxiety on this topic is both premature and exaggerated.