In October we wrote about how commercial lending is up for real estate projects. Now, just recently released figures show construction spending for the U.S. hotel market is way up. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, spending in the hotel industry through July was up nearly 30% to $15.2 billion. Furthermore, architecture firms are also [...]
In our blog two months ago, we covered some of the issues that are poised to potentially affect the employment practices environment, including the unconstitutionality of DOMA, an uptick in religious discrimination and age discrimination, the use of criminal background checks for employment purposes, etc. Now we have ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, once again [...]
As we approach the one-year mark when Super Storm Sandy ripped its way across entire communities on the East Coast pummeling houses and businesses, there are many lessons to be learned. Many businesses are still reeling from the effects of Sandy and are not back to their normal levels of revenue before the storm hit. [...]
Commercial real-estate loans are up 3.3% from last year according to research firm SNL Financial. In fact, banks across the country had $991.2 billion in total commercial real-estate loans as of June 30th. This includes lending developers and owners capital for properties, from office buildings to shopping centers, warehouses and apartments, thanks to rising real [...]
Whether it’s a large corporation, a government agency, or small business, news of cyber security risks today is an everyday occurrence. Recently, the New York Times website was maliciously attacked by a group known as the “Syrian Electronic Army”, and although this isn’t what most companies have to worry about, it is a new twist [...]
The number of charges filed by employees with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is near an all-time high, with lawsuits brought by employees representing one of the most common types of litigation faced by employers of all sizes. The number of charges filed with EEOC grew sharply from about 75,000 in 2005 to almost [...]
In July 2012, in our blog we discussed Wyndham Hotel Group’s cyber security breaches that took place from 2008-2010 and affected more than 500,000 customers, and the resulting lawsuit brought against the hotel giant by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC had alleged that misrepresentations were made in relation to the types of security measures the group had [...]
With so many Baby Boomers set to retire and the senior living housing landscape changing to meet the requirements of a new generation age 55+, real estate developers are looking at several areas for growth. According to an article by Senior Housing News, developers, operators and entrepreneurs have shown “strong interest” in the following five markets so far in [...]
Hurricane Sandy was the most recent example of the devastating havoc Mother Nature can wreak on coastal communities. But that isn’t stopping people from moving along the shore and building from taking place. In fact, recent estimates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Census Bureau shows that our already-crowded coast will see population grow [...]
Towers Watson, a global professional services company, recently released its latest Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS), indicating that insurance prices rose by almost 7% in aggregate during the fourth quarter of 2012. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter of price increases and the fourth showing increases across every line surveyed. Workers Compensation and Employment [...]
