Month: January 2015

If 2014 was the year that the commercial real estate market woke up from a long period of dormancy, then 2015 will be the year it rubbed its eyes, had its morning cup of coffee and started the day off with a buzz. That's at least how experts described the outlook for 2015 at a recent commercial brokerage forecasting event, according to a January 6 Las Vegas Review-Journal article. Across all sectors, from retail to industrial, commercial real estate will continue to make gains on the advances it made in 2014. This is especially true in the investment sector, which will see steady gains in land prices and rising confidence among property buyers. According to UrbanLand, a continued increase in the amount of investment capital entering the commercial real estate market can be expected throu...

The Affordable Care Act has long been a divisive topic among politicians, with many feeling that the reform attempt best exemplifies a system of government that has become extremely partisan over the years. However, one element of the ACA's legislation has ironically become one of the few issues to unite both Democrats and Republicans: a medical device tax, enacted in January 2013, has drawn the ire of politicians and lobbyists on either side of aisle for over two years. Somehow, the controversy over the bill, which places a 2.3% levy on everything from IV bags to artificial hip joints, has continued unabated, with a number of proponents and opponents publishing their arguments in the first few days of 2015. This raises an important question: is the medical device tax hurting or helping t...

2015 is expected to be the year of solar power, with lower costs and technology improvements bringing solar energy to new areas all over the country. As of 2014, 10 states have residential solar power available that costs the same or less than local electricity. Hawaii was not included in this count, as solar energy has been cost-competitive there for a long time. By 2017, that number is expected to jump to 28 states -- over half the nation! One of the keys to expanding the solar energy market is competitive pricing, and companies are striving to fulfill that goal. Solar energy makes up just 1% of electricity generation worldwide, so the market is wide open for new firms to enter. To compete with newcomers, existing firms are improving technology, and adding storage options and expanding...

After poor performance in the first half of the fiscal year, General Mills has shifted its focus to three areas of the business in hopes of improving sales. The company's focus over the next six months will be on cereal, yogurt and healthy snacks. Altogether, the first half of the fiscal year brought a 3.5% decrease in sales for General Mills due to poor demand for its products, according to Food Business News. The company is hoping that through a combination of new products, improvements to its current products and strong marketing and advertising efforts they will be able to improve performance. Although General Mills's cereal brands have grown in the market over the last six years, the first half of the fiscal year did not reflect this trend and resulted in a decrease in retail sa...

With the holidays still in full swing, the last thing on most people's minds is shopping for a new home, much less selling one. Many people are deterred by cold weather and poor driving conditions, or distracted by holiday vacation plans. But according to data released this week by online realty brokerage firm Redfin, winter is when the housing market really comes alive. Redfin compiled home listing data, sales prices and time-on-the-market data from Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2014 and came up with some surprising results. Not only is winter the best time to sell a home for more than the asking price, it's also the best time to list a home and sell it fast. Redfin determined that homes listed in December, January, February and March have a higher chance at selling above the asking price than home...