by Pierre G. Villere As I approach five decades of practicing in the investment banking world, one truism that has been consistent is that housing always leads us out of recessions. As a matter of fact, the housing industry serves as a source of strength during an economic recovery, as has been the case in nearly every recession over the…
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By: Pierre G Villere
The immigration debate continues to rage in Washington, D.C., with some in the Republican party now parting ways with President Trump on the issue of the 5 percent tariff on goods manufactured in Mexico. The move has roiled much of American industry because we are so reliant on Mexican imports, and likewise our own domestic manufacturers are so reliant on exports to Mexico’s burgeoning middle class. The dispute is just another example that points to how important prudent immigration policy is for our nation, as legal immigrants have been the mainstay of America’s population growth, and corresponding economic expansion, for almost 250 years.
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By Pierre Villere
If you flip to my column this month in Rock Products, the sister publication to this magazine, you will read the same opening paragraph, more or less, so I thought I would repeat a brief background on how I wound up on the pages of these fine publications from SEMCO Publishing.
Read MoreSources: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; CP staff
Weighing market data and conservative baseline estimates for infrastructure spending and tax reform, PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan projects U.S. cement shipments increasing at 3.5 percent rates for 2017 and 2018. “While fiscal stimulus will boost consumption, other economic indicators will temper growth,” he told attendees of the IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference in Calgary. “Infrastructure policies also take time to implement, so you could be looking at 11 to 22 months before new projects truly get underway.”
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