Federal Reserve policymakers held divergent views on the timing of future interest-rate increases, minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting show. One group expressed growing concern about a decline in inflation, while others warned of the dangers of further delaying rate increases.
The division on raising interest rates noted in the Federal Reserve's latest minutes increased market expectations that rates will remain unchanged for the remainder of the year, driving the Dow Jones industrial average back above 22,000. The Fed, however, cautioned that federal policy uncertainty could limit corporate spending and hiring.
REIT executive compensation increased by 5% in 2016, compared to 3% in 2015, according to FTI Consulting's 2017 REIT Executive Compensation Trends. It also reported that the trend of using performance-based shares as part of compensation has increased, with 84% of respondents reporting they now use performance-based equity, not including stock options, up from 82% in 2015.
Researchers are finding warning signs in the latest drop in volatility, citing past incidents of a "lull before the storm" preceding market crashes. "Our main finding is that volatility is neither a reliable indicator of the maturation of a bubble nor of its impeding ending in a crash," the Swiss Finance Institute's Didier Sornette said, citing research of past crashes that did not encompass current market conditions.
Confidence in the senior-housing space is high, according to respondents to the fourth annual NREI/NIC Seniors Housing Market Study, who reported strengthening fundamentals, more access to capital and a growing pipeline. "As active as the market is with the product that we have today, we are looking at the tip of the iceberg in terms of boomers hitting retirement age," said Scott Stewart of Capitol Seniors Housing.
Washington Real Estate Investment Trust plans to add 401 units to an apartment complex in Arlington, Va., in its first ground-up development in a decade. The project, without the addition, is already Washington REIT's largest apartment complex, at 842,000 square feet.
Sixty-nine percent of US consumers have ordered food online in the past year, per eMarketer, and restaurants such as Papa John's, TGI Fridays and McDonald's are serving up their own online and mobile features. Using payment options through Amazon and allowing ordering through Facebook are just a few ways restaurants are maximizing the popularity of online options for food.
Financial firms are putting off changes they had planned to comply with the Labor Department's fiduciary rule now that they are confident enforcement will be postponed a significant period. The extra time is particularly welcomed by broker-dealers, who might have to coordinate with hundreds of asset managers to comply with restrictions on commission.
