Uncertainties over financial-policy issues and the impending U.S. "fiscal cliff" are causing a lag in the country's economic recovery and eroding investors' confidence, researchers at Jones Lang LaSalle said in a recent webinar. "If you're an investor in real estate, how do you make decisions with your business or with your capital until you better understand the rules of the game? ... Until those are clear, it will be relatively slow growth in 2013," said Benjamin Breslau, managing director of Americas Research for Jones Lang LaSalle. However, the group notes that improving hotel performance across several markets is helping to encourage transactions activity.