Market Insights

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) condemned the new “ambush election” union rule issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which creates unprecedented and sweeping changes to union election rules in the workplace at the expense of small business owners. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, of which NLBMDA is a member, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce immediately filed suit in federal court to stop the rule’s implementation.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose two points to 21 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for December. This marks the third consecutive month in which builder confidence has improved, and brings the index to its highest point since May 2010. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports this morning that the unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.3%, compared to 8.2% in June. 

Neither the number of unemployed persons – now 12.8 million – nor the unemployment rate has changed much in 2012. 

"War talk,” wrote Mark Twain, “by men who have been in a war is always...

The kitchen is becoming more than just a place to cook and eat.

Industry uncertainty and market pressures conspired to make economists the rock stars of the recovery...

No question about it: rising fore dosures and falling home prices combine to pose a...

A South Dakota ruling on online sales tax collections sparks a new effort.