A Shift in Resilience Eases Credit Departments into Digital Era during Pandemic

Credit departments' shift from paper checks to digital payment platforms was underway well before COVID-19, but according to several experts, the pandemic is accelerating this transition. Diana Eagen and Frank Cook, of document automation and order management software solutions company Esker, said the current economic climate continues to ease...
Continue reading
0
  2197 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
2197 Hits
0 Comments

New Home Sales Exceed Projections in May

New single-family home sales in the U.S. are on the rise. According to the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, sales increased 16.6% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000. This is better than expected as MarketWatch reported analysts predicted a rate of 650,000, and Reuters' economists forecasted sales wo...
Continue reading
0
  1786 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1786 Hits
0 Comments

New York Companies Allegedly Threaten Customers with Legal Action, Violence to Get Loans Paid

Working hard to collect payments from customers is challenging, but credit professionals know it's important remain exactly that: professional. However, not everyone follows the rules as was the case with three companies and their owners and managers who allegedly "cheated small businesses in New York and across the country out of millions of dolla...
Continue reading
0
  2571 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
2571 Hits
0 Comments

Housing Starts See Modest Rebound in May

U.S. housing starts have started to rebound; however, they are still well below the data from a year ago. Housing starts increased 4.3% in May, according to this week's announcement from the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Yet, this is 23.2% below May 2019. Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 974,000 ...
Continue reading
0
  1984 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1984 Hits
0 Comments

ABC Economist Suggests Construction Industry Focus on 'Broader Trends' Due to 'Erratic' Input Prices

Construction input prices have yet to establish a trend over the past few months, despite a slight increase in May. Although prices rose 0.8% last month, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu said U.S. construction firms should focus their attention to "broader trends" given the current economic climate.According to...
Continue reading
0
  1528 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1528 Hits
0 Comments

Import Prices Rebound After Historic Fall

A month after their worst fall in more than five years, import prices have rebounded to their best month in over a year. U.S. imports increased 1% in May, according to a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much of the increase is due to the large jump in fuel import prices, which shot up 20.5% in May. That was the largest increase since th...
Continue reading
0
  1179 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1179 Hits
0 Comments

Construction Sees Largest Monthly Job Increase in More Than 80 Years

The construction industry featured its latest accomplishment in May, adding 464,000 net new jobs—the largest monthly increase in more than 80 years, according to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Although there were fewer jobs in May compared to the prior year, nonresidential construction employment added 237,000 net new jobs last month af...
Continue reading
0
  1817 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1817 Hits
0 Comments

April Construction Spending Slips; Better than Expected

Construction spending is still being impacted by COVID-19; however, outlays fell slightly lower than expected in April. Despite the better-than-expected fall, April's 2.9% drop was the worst since October 2018, according to Reuters. However, spending in April was 3% higher than April 2019, according to a release from the Census Bureau. Construction...
Continue reading
0
  1674 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1674 Hits
0 Comments

Google Warns of Ongoing Online Scams

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, so do online scams. Last week, Google warned the public of the ongoing battle against phishing attacks, some often involving fraudsters stealing confidential data as well as tricking those into believing they will receive financial relief.According to Google security experts, cybercriminals have been quite act...
Continue reading
0
  1617 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1617 Hits
0 Comments

Pending Home Sales Plummet in April

Pending home sales is the latest sector to see record drops from the impacts of COVID-19. The Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) declined 21.8% in April. All regions saw a month-to-month and year-over-year decline in pending home sales. "With nearly all states under stay-at-home orders in April, it is no surpri...
Continue reading
0
  1483 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1483 Hits
0 Comments

New Home Sales Rise Slightly Showing 'Potential Recovery'

Although existing home sales declined last month, new home sales held their ground in April with more than a half-percent rise. National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the increase brought the seasonally adjusted annual rate to 623,000 units.NAHB Chairman Dean Mon said in the report that the new home sales results "show the potential ...
Continue reading
0
  1532 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1532 Hits
0 Comments

Existing Home Sales Continue Decline in April

COVID-19 continues to impact existing home sales, resulting in the second-straight month of declines. The National Association of Realtors announced May 21 that sales dropped 17.8% in April from March, and sales are down roughly the same amount from April 2019. The steep fall is the largest month-over-month decline since July 2010. "The economic lo...
Continue reading
0
  1436 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1436 Hits
0 Comments

Decrease in April Construction Input Prices Spells Good News for Industry

A bit of good news made its way to the construction sector last week when Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported a dip in construction input prices in April. Overall prices declined nearly 4.5% last month, the majority of the decline seen in nonresidential construction input prices at 4.2%. ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said inflatio...
Continue reading
0
  984 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
984 Hits
0 Comments

Retail Sales Tumble in April

Retail sales in the U.S. have tumbled across the board due to the impacts of COVID-19. The Census Bureau announced May 15 that retail and food services sales declined 16.4% in April from March, and sales are down 21.6% from April 2019. Economists predicted sales to drop more than 12%, states CNBC. Much of the despair was in clothing and clothing ac...
Continue reading
0
  1006 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1006 Hits
0 Comments

Construction Unemployment Rises Nearly 15% in April

Unemployment has reached record highs since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the construction industry is feeling it. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the unemployment rate continued to rise in April with an increase of nearly 15%—a total of 20.5 million jobs lost in 30 days.NAHB reported residential construction employmen...
Continue reading
0
  855 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
855 Hits
0 Comments

COVID-19 Affects Nonresidential Building

COVID-19 continues to impact industries left and right and is now hitting the nonresidential building sector. The Dodge Momentum Index declined 6% in April, according to a release from Dodge Data & Analytics. The index measures the initial report of nonresidential projects in planning. Despite the significant drop, the full impact of COVID-19 h...
Continue reading
0
  1653 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1653 Hits
0 Comments

Nonresidential Construction Spending in March Gives 'False Sense' of What's Ahead

As the U.S. experiences this drastic economic downturn from COVID-19, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) revealed only a slight dip in nonresidential construction spending in March for a total of nearly $803 billion. Despite falling 0.1% in March, nonresidential construction spending increased 2% over the prior yearAccording to ABC, 12 of th...
Continue reading
0
  1385 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1385 Hits
0 Comments

NACM's April CMI Sinks Deeper into Contraction

To say the Credit Managers' Index (CMI) from NACM is "down in the dumps" is an understatement, yet there are still a few positives in April's CMI. While not bottoming out at the record low seen during the Great Recession, the current combined score of 40.6 is uncomfortably low. January 2009 is the CMI's all-time low with a score of 39.7. "There has...
Continue reading
0
  949 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
949 Hits
0 Comments

Few Contractors Are Confident About the Future Thanks to COVID-19

Contractors are not anticipating a bright foreseeable future, at least for the time being, thanks to COVID-19. According to a recent report from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), its Construction Confidence Index (CCI), reached an all-time low in readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels, with all three scores plummeting below...
Continue reading
0
  1156 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1156 Hits
0 Comments

New Home Sales Plummet in March

New single-family home sales have finally felt the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Sales plummeted 15.4% in March from the revised February rate, according to the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales are also 9.5% below March 2019. "Despite the sharp decline in new home sales this month, the first quarter of 2020...
Continue reading
0
  1071 Hits
  0 Comments
Tags:
nacmblog
Tweet
1071 Hits
0 Comments
       
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11