April New Single-Family Home Sales Drop After March Rise

Unable to maintain March's upward trajectory, new single-family home sales dropped nearly 7% in April as experts try to pinpoint the cause behind this change in course. According to a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) report on May 23, the decline in April sales led to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 673,000 units, following March's...
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May's CMI Continues to Trend Upward

May's Credit Managers' Index (CMI) saw an uptick for the second month in a row, reaching a combined score of 55.7. This is the first month since August and September of 2018 that the CMI saw two consecutive upticks. April's reading came in at 54, meaning the combined score went up more than a point.The combined sales category in favorables&nbs...
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Don't Miss Out on Credit Congress 2019

A grand gathering of credit and financial professionals comes just once a year, and this year's Credit Congress and Expo will take place from May 19-22 in Aurora, Colorado. Featured at the conference will be a slew of educational opportunities, exhibitors and unique events outside of credit, yet still exciting to each credit professional.Kicking of...
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Brick and Mortar Retailers’ Future Uncertain Amid Tariff Hikes

Although online shopping has been a constant roadblock for brick and mortar retailers, the latest revelations in the U.S.-Chinese trade war debacle is proving to be yet another hurdle for retailers nationwide, according to financial services firm UBS.President Donald Trump announced last week that the administration will raise tariffs to 25% on $20...
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ACH Network Starts 2019 with Bang

The ACH Network is off to a strong start in 2019. The number of payments on the platform increased 5.8% in the first quarter compared to the previous year, states Nacha. The daily volume of payments also increased 7.5%."The first quarter results show that the ACH Network is poised for another year of sustained growth," said Nacha Chief Operating Of...
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‘Little Reason’ to Worry Over Construction Input Price Increases

To the dismay of contractors, construction input prices saw nearly a 1% increase in April over the prior month, with a substantial increase in pricing year over year (YOY) at 2.4%. On May 9, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported price hikes in four of 11 subcategories in April, while seven declined.According to ABC's analysis of the U....
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New Five-Year Low Reached in Goods Trade Deficit Between US and China

U.S. goods trade deficit with China hit a five-year low during the month of March, according to a recent article by Reuters. With trade tensions between the two countries and the 25% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, President Trump's actions and push for the "America First" narrative have caused harm to the global economy.With tariffs...
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Residential, Nonresidential Construction Jobs Show Signs of Improvement

The construction industry saw a modest gain in new jobs in April with a 3.5% increase in the past year. According to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33,000 new net jobs were added between March and April 2019.Since April 2018, open positions in residential building grew by nearly 5% to 39,000 addit...
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Strategic Global Intelligence Brief for May 6, 2019

Short Items of Interest—U.S. EconomyTrump Throws Wrench into China Trade Talks For the last few weeks, it has appeared there was real progress being made in terms of U.S.-China trade talks. Even those who have been negotiating for the U.S. have been sounding optimistic. It seemed there were still some tough last-minute details to be worked out, but...
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West Virginia Implementing Vendor Payment Stoppage

West Virginia is in the process of implementing a two-part payment stoppage for vendors who don't pay state taxes. The Office of the State Auditor made the announcement earlier this month that the state will stop payments to vendors who owe the state money."The number of vendors to be included in the intercept routine will gradually get larger unti...
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Construction Spending Dips in March

Construction spending is on the decline after a slight dip in March. According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, total construction spending is at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $1.28 trillion, nearly 1% below February's revised estimate. March is also nearly a percent behind the pace from March 2018. Spending for the first three mon...
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US and China on Road to Agreements in Beijing Trade Talks

China and the U.S. continued trade talks May 1, and the discussions and negotiations will continue into the next week, according to a recent article by Reuters. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called the talks "productive" as the two countries remain in a trade war.Both China and the U.S. noted progress had been made on a few contentious top...
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Strategic Global Intelligence Brief for May 1, 2019

Short Items of Interest—U.S. EconomyConsumers Upbeat AgainThose fickle consumers are at it again. As the year started, there was a sense that consumers were starting to lose their enthusiasm and the various consumer confidence polls reinforced that assumption. All of the major ones were down, although not in the doldrums as compared to where they h...
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Construction Fraud Leads to Guilty Plea in California

Construction fraud strikes again, this time in California, where two siblings admitted to fraud and embezzlement against the California State Compensation Insurance Fund between January 2012 and March 2017, with a loss of more than $500,000. According to Construction Dive, the owner and office manager—brother and sister, respectively—at Ultimate, I...
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Strategic Global Intelligence Brief for April 26, 2019

Short Items of Interest—U.S. EconomyUnexpected and Welcomed NewsAs discussed later in this issue, there had been a sense that economic growth was falling off at the end of last year and at the start of this one. The part that was not as clear was what has been happening lately. By most accounts, the beginning of the second quarter was strong, ...
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Existing-Home Sales Decline in March

Existing-home sales are on the decline across the U.S. According to the latest release from the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales dropped 4.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million. Sales are also down more than 5% from March 2018. "It is not surprising to see a retreat after a powerful surge in sales in ...
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Low Prices Attributed to Increase New Home Sales in March

While housing starts declined for the second month in a row in March, new single-family home sales reached its highest recording in nearly two years. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), new home sales climbed to an annual rate of 692,000 homes, which NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde said was related to affordable pricing.The ave...
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Strategic Global Intelligence Brief for April 24, 2019

Short Items of Interest—U.S. EconomyNot All Housing Data is BleakEarlier in the week, the data on existing home sales was not all that encouraging and it was asserted that all those housing headwinds were taking their toll. Now comes the data on new home sales and it tells a far different story, with a gain of 4.5% as compared to the expected decli...
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US Legislation Introduced to Shorten Payment Times Between Government and SMBs

Around the globe, countries are taking notice of late payments impact on business. In 2018, the U.K. introduced legislation to ensure small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) get paid on time. In early 2019, Australia introduced legislation to address late supplier payments. Now, the U.S. is joining the ranks with legislation to shorten the payment...
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Housing Starts Fall Again in March

Housing starts saw a slight fall during the month of March, falling for the second month in a row, according to Wells Fargo. Of the past seven months, six saw declines. Wells Fargo attributes some of this fall to poor weather conditions during the end of 2018, while lower mortgage rates have only seen "limited success" at breathing life back into t...
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