The construction industry in the United States does a lot more than build buildings. It undergirds the prosperity of the country’s economy as a whole in multiple ways. How are contractors, the industry’s key players, feeling these days? Overall, they are optimistic, as survey results show—and economic data supports their buoyancy—but not without reservations about future uncertainties, especially in three main areas: trade, labor and interest rates.
Relations are growing frostier globally, as political leaders become more nationalistic. And this change in climate is impacting economies, rendering them less cooperative. Two significant changes affecting the global business cycle include the US Fed’s tighter monetary policy, the impacts of which have rippled throughout the world, as well as the geographical shift of the centre of manufacturing production to the East, to the dismay of some Western leaders.
At the end of August, leading ratings agency Moody’s downgraded 18 banks and two finance companies in Turkey. According to the agency, the downgrades “primarily reflect a substantial increase in the risk of a downside scenario, where a further negative shift in investor sentiment could lead to a curtailing of wholesale funding”.
As April turned to May, the ongoing economic expansion being experienced by the United States officially became the country’s second longest on record. The period, which began in June 2009 when the world’s biggest economy began to emerge from the Great Recession
No one enjoys paying taxes, so news of tax cuts is warmly welcomed. In December, the US government passed a tax act that sharply reduces rates across the board, most significantly for businesses. It would seem to represent a boon to the US economy—but with the economy already charging ahead at full steam, will it in the long run be a blessing or a bane?
US President Donald Trump recently announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 200,000 Salvadorans residing in the United States.
While 2018 may still be in its infancy, the risks hanging over the year’s foreign-exchange (forex) markets have been brewing for some time. An assortment of global hotspots are positioned to affect major currencies and their viability on forex markets.
The global financial crisis of 2007-08 left many marks behind, not the least of which has been increasingly complex financial regulation that has not been easy to uniformly enforce; meanwhile, digital technology is looming ever larger but has been relatively ignored by regulators, who are still coping with the decade-old crisis. The international regulatory debate should move towards a more forward-looking approach.
The US dollar is the world’s reserve currency, the representation of US economic might on the global stage and the de facto currency unit for the overwhelming majority of financial assets.
The fears that caused a downturn in Mexican stocks are beginning to lift, revealing resilient and buoyant performance as the country’s main stock index, Mexbol, hits record highs. The run-up to the US presidential election stoked fears amongst international markets as the Republican candidate