James O'Brien

My favorite read in 2024 Robert Kagan created headlines of his own before the US election, by resigning from the Washington Post when its owner, Jeff Bezos, declined to offer an endorsement. Kagan should make headlines after the election for his prescience in Rebellion, which was published in February 2024 and outlined precisely the forces that then promised to push Donald Trump back towards the White House. Spoiler alert: Trump won. Read Kagan to understand why.

The REIT industry is a major force in real estate, with public REITs holding approximately $2.5 trillion in assets and more than 170 million Americans invested in REITs. Despite difficult headwinds coming out of 2023, REITs have been on the rise in 2024, showing resilience in diverse sectors, including surprisingly positive performance in the office sector. REITs provide key insights into market trends and are an attractive option for investors seeking diversified portfolios.

My favorite read in 2024 This is an opportunity to revisit Middle-Earth. Like many science fiction and fantasy fans, I grew up on Tolkien and devoured everything I could of his writing. The later collections of notes and fragments compiled by Christopher Tolkien have always been somewhat impenetrable for me, teasing a recapture of the magic from those early days. However, not until these new compiled works have been released have they spoken to me in the same way.