by Pierre G. Villere We like to read the in-depth research on a wide range of topics that can affect the economic health of our industry, since it is our firm’s primary specialty. In the years I have been at the helm, I find the reports published by the global banks to be informative, and usually spot-on. They have large…
Read MoreCategory: The Strategist
A Look at the Pressures on Our Booming Economy
As a firm, we bristle with optimism. Yes, sometimes it gets tempered when things aren’t going so well in our industry or the economy as a whole, but those setbacks tend to be short-lived. Of course, we missed the timing on what turned out to be a painfully long Great Recession, which will go down in the history books as…
Read MoreAnother Look at the Pandemic: How the Fed Stepped in to Save the Economy
by Pierre G. Villere It is always interesting to see how quickly our attention and focus can turn from one crisis to the next, with the former being forgotten and seen only in the rear-view mirror. Of course, the media gives us no choice, as it is their focus on the story of the moment that gets the ink. With…
Read MoreHow Increasing Wages Are Affecting Our Economy
It’s February, so some of the year-end economic metrics for 2021 are starting to be reported, and it is no surprise to see that wages took a big jump last year. Wage increases were fueled by the unexpected supply chain morass that the Covid-19 lockdown precipitated, and were further compounded by the amount of stimulus cash that was injected into…
Read MoreThe Private Equity Juggernaut Will Plow Forward in 2022
All we have to do is look at our retirement accounts to know that a rising tide floats all boats, and 2021 was no exception. U.S. stocks finished a third consecutive year of big gains, with major indexes nearing performance records in 2021. Even with the recent turbulence from the Omicron coronavirus variant, the S&P 500 saw a 27 percent…
Read MoreWe Have Our Infrastructure Bill – But Remember the Cautionary Tales
Finally. After months of wrangling and tortuous back-and forth, Congress finally passed our big infrastructure bill, and the President signed it. Thank goodness. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the IIJA, holds much promise for a nation that had been woefully short on maintaining its transportation, environmental and utility infrastructure. But there is a long history of…
Read MoreThe Billionaires Tax Proposal
In theory, by the time you read this, we should have passed our infrastructure bill, which has been held hostage now for months by the four parties in Congress who are fighting each other to advance their respective agendas. Four parties? And you thought there were two? Try the Progressive Democrats, the Moderate Democrats, the Populist Republicans, and the Conservative…
Read MoreThe Direction Of Interest Rates: I Stand Corrected
Last month, I wrote about how the Fed may start tapering the stimulus it has injected into the economy, drastically increasing liquidity against the eruption of the pandemic and the sudden recession it thrust upon the global economy, and the U.S. in particular. While the general tapering of the Fed stimulus won’t have any real impact on our daily business…
Read MoreThe Fed May Scale Back Stimulus
by Pierre G. Villere The Federal Reserve Bank may very well have a more direct influence on our business lives than any other federal agency, and it is does so quietly in the background while wielding an enormous economic stick. It has a number of tools and mechanisms at its disposal to manage inflation and promote employment, the most well-known…
Read MoreThe Economic Fun Is Here – Will Delta Derail It?
Various reports from our industry press mark a jump in ready mixed concrete production in April, which is just a thumbnail indicator of the health of the overall economy. Production was estimated at 35.6 million cubic yards, an astonishing 20 percent higher than in April 2020. Moreover, the estimated production nationally through April is 114.3 million cubic yards, approximately 6.8…
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