That rapping sound of hammers pounding nails and the buzz of saws ripping through lumber may have begun to slow. Tuesday’s report on housing starts for July may provide further evidence that construction is losing momentum. Economist Tony Riley says the housing industry peaked in December “and appears to be weakening.” Riley, of A. Gary Shilling & Co. in Springfield, N.J., says home construction “is really the first sector to see the effects of Federal Reserve tightening” of interest rates. He sees a warning sign for the overall housing market in the fact that, in recent months, refinancing of home mortgages has collapsed.
SMALL, BUT GETTING BIGGER
Being smallest doesn’t mean you can’t be No. 1 in the steel industry, or so says Acme Metals Inc., which Monday will unveil plans for a major expansion. The Riverdale-based company, which describes itself as North America’s smallest integrated steel producer, will tell of plans for a $370 million plant. As part of its announcement, Acme says it will provide details of a ground-breaking agreement with the unionized employees of its Acme Steel subsidiary.
$66 MILLION BOOST
For those who may have overlooked it, this is Hardware Industry Week. In Chicago, that means about 70,000 visitors are on hand for the National Hardware Show, which runs through Wednesday at McCormick Place. Convention organizers say the show pours about $66 million into the area’s coffers during its four-day run. It also has an impact on the local hardware industry, which is measured at $5.2 billion annually.
PULLING THE TRIGGER?
Never mind the calendar, which says summer is fading. As far as Wall Street is concerned, this is high noon for interest rates. The moment of truth occurs Tuesday, when the Federal Reserve’s key policymaking committee is widely expected to boost short-term rates, perhaps by as much as half a percentage point. It would be the fifth rate increase by the Fed this year and could cause a bit of indigestion among investors.
SMALL-BUSINESS GATHERING
Small-business owners and employees are being urged to attend Tuesday’s Illinois White House Conference on Small Business in Springfield. The all-day session is the first of two preliminary warmups for a national gathering that will be conducted in Washington in 1995. Delegates to the 1995 conference will be selected at this meeting, at which an agenda of issues to be addressed nationally also will be drafted. The conference takes place at the Springfield Hilton.
TRADE DEFICIT
Watch for the dollar to feel renewed pressure Thursday, when the Commerce Department reports the merchandise trade deficit for June. In May the trade gap widened to $9.17 billion from April’s $8.53 billion. For the first five months of this year, it grew to about $42 billion from about $26 billion a year earlier.
JOBS IN BREAKDOWN LANE
The sometimes rocky road to the information superhighway may encounter another serious pothole Tuesday, when Bell Atlantic Corp. plans to announce aggressive cost reductions, the closing of offices and the elimination of jobs. A memo describing a round of cutbacks was obtained late last week by the Baltimore Sun. Also due to get bad news: as many as a third of R.H. Macy & Co.’s 300 corporate staffers at the company’s landmark building in New York, whose jobs could be cut.
