By Pierre G. Villere I can tell you that of all the things I have aspired to in life, being a lumber dealer has never been one of them. Goodness, the fluctuations in prices is far worse than dispensing gasoline at a convenience store, and now thousands of lumber dealers have seen their standing inventory significantly devalued because of the…
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The Latest on Construction Industry Employment
by Pierre G. Villere Among the most frustrating aspects of life as we went through the pandemic, and which haunts us still today, is the employment picture. There is no minimizing the magnitude of the human tragedy, with an official tally of over 5.2 million hospital admissions and a stunning 1.04 million deaths; the sheer human loss is unspeakable. But…
Read MoreThe Sentiment Conundrum
Okay, class, what have you learned from my years of teaching and lecturing around our industry about sentiment? That’s right: sentiment is self-fulfilling. It is remarkably interesting to watch what has occurred since March, when inflation continued to be reported as being stubbornly persistent, and the Fed, like me, changed their view that the rise in prices was not transient…
Read MoreConcrete Prices Demonstrate Stability
The sticker shock Americans are exhibiting in supermarkets, gas stations, and retail establishments is resounding throughout our economy, at a pace faster than I would have expected. The rampant inflation caused by the global supply/demand imbalance and related supply chain issues has ignited inflation from near zero to levels not seen since the 1980s. So with few options, the Fed…
Read MoreEconomic Trends That Signal a Strong Construction Economy Ahead
by Pierre G. Villere I want to expand on my thinking in last month’s column, and start by dispelling what I am being asked about often these days: Will the construction economy stay strong? The answer is a resounding yes, and it will not experience a slowdown anytime soon. So there. There are too many positive indicators that signal a…
Read MoreMaking a Case for Reduced Inflation
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 MoreA 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…
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