Is the building boom over? Building contractors are seeing more projects canceled than new ones started, and industry employment has fallen during the past 12 months, the General Contractors of America trade group reported in a 28 October press announcement. Three-quarters of contractors have had at least one scheduled project postponed or canceled in October,...
Tag: nov 03 2020
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HOUSING BOOM MAY FADE WITH PANDEMIC
Although September housing sales were 20.5 percent more than those a year earlier and U.S. median home prices are at record levels, the housing boom may disappear as COVID cases diminish, the Wall Street Journal reported in a 23 October analysis. The boom is the result of three factors. First, as we had forecast when...
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HOME-BUYING FRENZY EASES
The number of signed contracts to buy existing homes dropped 2 percent in September from August, the National Association of Realtors reported. It was the first month-on-month decline since May, although the number of signed contracts remained 20.5 percent greater than a year earlier. Analysts blamed high prices, driven up by the shortage of houses...
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STATES FACE CASH CRUNCH
Across the U.S., states could see a cumulative $424-billion deficit through 2022, according to Moody’s Analytics. The figure assumes there is no federal aid to states, that some degree of economic restrictions remain in force, and Medicaid expenses rise to cover the medical costs of people without jobs. Connecticut’s quick, drastic economic shutdown this spring...
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EPA’S APPROVAL OF CONTROVERSIAL WEED KILLER PROMPTS BLOWBACK
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency faced criticism last Wednesday after approving a weed killer for another five years despite it being blamed for damaging millions of U.S. crops. The Wall Street Journal reported the dicamba herbicides have been embraced by some farmers as being an effective tool that kills weeds which have developed resistance to...
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TRUMP CRACKS DOWN ON CUBA REMITTANCE FLOW
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last Thursday that the U.S. would impose new financial restrictions on Cuba because its military has been dipping into remittances and using the funds to “oppress the Cuban people” and fund its “interference in Venezuela,” The New York Times reported. The paper reported the Trump administration wants to end...
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THAILAND RESCINDS EMERGENCY DECREE AS GESTURE TO PROTESTERS
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha last week called off the country’s emergency decree that was in place due to the months-long, student-led protests which have engulfed the country. Prayuth said in a nationally televised address that he hoped to de-escalate the situation in the country. The Wall Street Journal reported Prayuth has also put some...
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CHINA’S SURGE IN NATIONALISM RAISES CONCERN
The rise of China has fostered national pride among its citizens. Some see a disturbing trend that any public criticism is met with a fierce rebuke, which could result in online harassment and the loss of a job, a report said. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that political researchers say the surge in...
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LEBANON: BLOWING UP, GETTING OUT
As we have been reporting when demonstrations broke out across Lebanon last October, it was a one of many nations erupting in the “New World Disorder.” From France to South Africa, from India to Chile, tens of millions across the globe were taking to the streets, protesting the lack of basic living standards, government corruption,...
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ARMENIA APPEALS TO RUSSIA IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashninian appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide security assistance while fighting continues over Nagorno-Karabakh, which would be seen as a major development in the conflict and could result in a showdown with Turkey. The Associated Press reported last Saturday that the Kremlin was yet to respond to Pashninian’s request....