North America In the U.S.: January nonfarm payrolls of 225K beat consensus for 161.5K gain. The unemployment rate ticked up 0.1pp to 3.6%. The strong reading is not expected to have much of a Fed decision impact. As expected, the Senate voted along party lines to acquit President Trump and end the impeachment trial. The days following the verdict saw both parties displaying their animosity toward the other, which continues to anchor the country in political turmoil. In earnings, 320 companies in the S&P 500 Index have reported, 76.0% beat, 1.0% were in-line, and 23.0% missed estimates. REIT Focus: Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ) announced a joint venture with Hines to develop a 287K sq. ft. class A office tower in

North America In the U.S.: As expected, the Fed held the benchmark rate at 1.50% to 1.75%. The policy statement was nearly unchanged, reiterating that job gains have been solid, and that inflation is still near target. REIT Focus: The FTC has granted Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) antitrust clearance of its proposed purchase of Packet. Equinix can now focus on integrating Packet’s platforms to accelerate the development and delivery of its interconnected edge services. ASIA In China: The number of coronavirus cases now exceeds the SARS 02-03 epidemic at near 10,000 cases internationally. The WHO declared the virus a “public health emergency of international concern” as quarantine measures increased across the globe to try and curb the spread of the virus.

North America In the U.S.: January flash manufacturing PMI was 51.7 versus December’s 52.4 reading, marking the softest reading since October. New orders were marginal as domestic and foreign demand weakened.The Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump kicked off this week with the Democratic managers laying out the details of their case. The republican majority will offer their rebuttal over the weekend as well as Q&A early next week. REIT Focus: W. P. Carey (WPC) announced the acquisition of a 67,500 square-meter UK Class-A logistics facility for £85M ($112M). The facility is triple-net leased for a period of 13.5 years with fixed rent increases. ASIA In China: The city of Wuhan has been locked down and officials have imposed

North America In the U.S.: Articles of Impeachment were finally sent to the Senate this week to start the third impeachment trial of a US President in US history. The main contentious issue is if the Republican led Senate will allow witnesses to testify in the trial or seek to bury the issue all together to protect President Donald Trump. REIT Focus: Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) announced the acquisition of Packet for an undisclosed amount. Equinix disclosed that the acquisition will accelerate the company’s strategy to help enterprises more seamlessly deploy hybrid multicloud architectures on Platform Equinix and extract greater value from the platform’s rich ecosystems and global interconnection fabric. ASIA In China: Q4 GDP growth was steady at 6.0% y/y.

North America In the U.S.: Tensions between Iran and the US reached a critical level as the US assassinated Iran’s top general, Soleimani, via drone strike. There was relief mid-week after Iran’s retaliatory strike yielded no casualties and helped ratchet down the war rhetoric. The US unleashed additional economic sanctions on Friday and is in the process of trying to repair the relationship with Iraq, whose parliament has requested that all US military personnel leave the country. REIT Focus: Office Properties Income Trust (OPI) announced that it has sold seven properties for an aggregate sales price of $205.4M. Office Properties plans to use the proceeds from the announced sales for general business purposes, including the repayment of debt. ASIA In