I’ve been studying the commercial retail real estate market lately and I see a few major trends that have me worried for a once booming sector. The amount of empty retail square footage on the market can either be looked at as a consequential market correction or an alarming trend, indicative of worsening economic conditions.

I’ve been amazed that the Federal Reserve (and those who run it) have seemingly had their collective heads in the sand regarding the effects of keeping the interest rates low and their systematic employment of quantitative easing to help bring our economy out of this quasi-recession.

What is the most important task that either of these candidates has to accomplish if elected on November 8, 2016? "JOBS!". Now wait a minute you say, what about unemployment only being at 5% (so says Janet Yellen).

Being aware of the trends in business and the economy can help an investor make strategic decisions to stay ahead of a trend.