Despite a few jitters in late 2021 with the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, U.S. REITs performed very well in the past year, with a total return of 43 percent in 2021, according to the Nareit Equity REITs Index. And listed real estate performed well across property types, led by regional malls and self-storage, up 92 percent and 79 percent, respectively.

Tampa is predicted to be the hottest U.S. housing market during the current year, with Jacksonville, Raleigh, San Antonio and Charlotte rounding out the top five — each buoyed by a combination of strong forecasted home value growth, high job growth, fast-moving inventory and plentiful likely buyers, according to Zillow’s annual ranking. Additionally, these markets have historically not been particularly sensitive to rising mortgage interest rates or a slowing stock market, two risk factors for housing.

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic redefined how businesses operate. Today, they continue to grapple with the ongoing effects of shutdowns, rent crises, supply chain issues and inflation. Many have rightfully turned toward re-evaluating their commercial real estate portfolios to ensure they still support their business needs.

The climate crisis has shown that it is imperative to move away from carbon-emitting sources of energy, including coal. Now, areas across the United States are facing the closure of coal plants that have economically sustained the surrounding communities. Nuclear energy, which has zero operating emissions, can play a key role in giving these communities a second, carbon-free life.

To understand Mexico’s emergence in the global economy, one must consider the country’s economic relationship with the United States, which has blossomed over the past three decades. In 1994, the United States, Canada and Mexico enacted the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Lawmakers pursued this deal in an effort to reduce trading costs and increase business investment among the three countries, creating an environment in which their products can be more competitive against export-driven nations (e.g., the European Union and China). NAFTA was instrumental in solidifying and growing commercial relations between the United States and Mexico, and the relationship has been further enhanced with the implementation of the USMCA as of July 1, 2020. The USMCA provides improved ground rules surrounding intellectual property protections, free market guarantees, and lower costs for trade between the two countries.

Within global private markets, infrastructure assets under management are estimated to be $726 billion, or about 7 percent of the $10 trillion in private markets and 14 percent of the market size for private equity. There is positive momentum in fundraising, with more than $300 billion raised for the period 2018-2020, keeping pace with private equity and debt as the fastest growing asset classes among private markets.

As tensions mount between Russia and the West over Ukraine, the threat of Russian cyberattacks against the United States increases. The Department of Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin on Jan. 23 warning that Russia has the capability to carry out a range of attacks, including disrupting critical infrastructure like power grids.

The idea of achieving impact through real estate investments has taken many iterations or “flavors” over the years, from public-policy aligned opportunity zone investing to green real estate and more, all touting sustainability and community and economic development. However, “impact real estate” only accounts for about 10 percent to 15 percent ($27 billion to $40 billion) of total reported impact investing assets under management despite the progress in this sector. Many investors remain unaware of its full potential.

As scientists, government officials, multinational corporations, Wall Street investors and environmental activists scramble to foster a viable “energy transition” and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, it seems fitting to look back at some key events that got us where we are today.

Big Oil used to run the table in the United States and around the world, but recent government, shareholder and environmental policies have saddled the super-majors with a host of problems, according to a recent report from Goehring & Rozencwajg Associates, a firm that invests in commodities and natural resources.

A day in the life of Altruist founder and CEO Jason Wenk is a study in lifestyle management and efficiency. He calculated long ago that a daily morning shave can add up to 40 lost hours per year, so he chooses instead to use a beard trimmer only once per week. Similarly, he gets just two haircuts per year, choosing to allow his hair to grow long and gathering it into a man-bun, not as a fashion statement but to ensure he doesn’t waste time with hair product and styling.

The $21 trillion infrastructure bill enacted in November 2021 will bring money to cities for much-needed investments in roads, bridges, public transit networks, water infrastructure, electric power grids, broadband networks and traffic safety.

The revolution in commuting is only beginning to take flight — as in drones that takeoff and land vertically. AutoFlight, a Chinese firm, is working on getting its electrically powered air taxi approved by Europe’s air-safety regulators. That is but one of 200 such projects around the world that attracted $5.1 billion in investment during 2021. The idea: drones capable of vertical takeoffs and landing will be well suited to operate passenger services across large urban areas, such as flying people between airports and city centers. Airbus and Boeing have joined the fray with investment dollars, as has Google co-founder Larry Page.

While the overall dining business took a beating from COVID-19, leading coffee brands have proven resilient in the face of the pandemic. Indeed, foot traffic data for the coffee space shows that visits returned to pre-COVID levels in April 2021, and have consistently outpaced 2019 numbers since May 2021, according to a new white paper from Placer Labs.

Malcolm McLean may be the most important person you’ve never heard of. His claim to fame? Inventing a box. But not just any box. McLean — a high school educated truck driver from North Carolina — came up with the idea of creating a series of standardized, intermodal steel containers that could neatly be stacked on ships as well as trains and trucks. That was in 1937. It would be another two decades before the first container ship voyage occurred, from Newark to Houston. Ten years after that, in 1966, container shipping expanded to international routes.