KCnomics, LLC

The growing threat from monster cars BBQ-SAUCE The Economist earns a BBQ-SAUCE award over this story asserting what most divides America and US is "Monster Cars:" What one drives is what we in America call a free market. And this piece by the Economist chastising America for larger vehicles is disingenuous when Europe gave us the Range Rover, Bentley, Mercedes Benz sedans, BMW X5 SUV, etc. Europe doesn't have smaller vehicles because they care more about carbon emissions or ESG; rather they have smaller roads, expensive energy, and live more in densely populated urban centers without highways, parking, etc. America also builds, manufactures, and grows more than Europe, and we need Ford 150 and GMC Sierra trucks to send all to the rest of the world and Europe. We also have a larger country with places to go and see that Europe loves to come visit and be chauffeured or UberX to in something comfortable.America invented "Biggie Size It," is energy independent, and doing just fine regarding ESG. This piece by The Economist gets a BBQ-SAUCE award from me. And the audacity to suggest what most divides America and Europe is "Monster Cars" is nuts. KC From the Economist: "What is the greatest division between America and Europe? You might think it is over attitudes to food or sport, policy towards China or something about the guardrails needed for capitalism. Not a bit of it. The biggest split is over cars. Americans expect to drive huge ones, ideally something that has the heft and noise of an elephant. Europeans are far likelier to opt for smaller beasts. #cre #ccim #sior #uli #naiop #esg #theeconomist #kcnomicsllc https://lnkd.in/ghG9ZS3Y

CCIM Institute loses one of its best. Stephen was a most gracious person and loved our CRE industry. He gave much more than he ever received. He will be missed by many. Keep him and his family in your prayers. They endured a lot the past few years. God speed my friend! #cre #ccim #sior #naiop #uli https://lnkd.in/ewziibmz

Canadian rail strike starts this week with big implications for the US. We need the materials they provide to our industry, and the timing couldn't be worse for the AG industry here at harvest time. You would think this type labor issue would make it into discussions at the DNC in Chicago this week given the significance of Chicago to Rail and Canadian rail, but I doubt it will. It's not like this item has anything to do with labor or inflation and Grocery prices - lol. #cre #ccim #naiop #uli #sior #railroads https://lnkd.in/gENQMRqg

Congratulations to UMH and Sam Landy for induction tonight into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. Sam's dad Eugene is a Hall of Famer too, and now there are two Landy's in the RV/MH Hall of Fame. #cre #ccim #naiop #sior #uli #affordablehousing #umh

Happy National Potato Day today Aug 19th to all my Irish friends and fans of French fries, potato soup, and potato side dishes. #cre #ccim #naiop #sior #uli #commercialrealestate #potato https://lnkd.in/ggFziYfP

Debt - It's not just a US problem. Global Debt hits a new high of $315 Trillion. Fiat currencies like the US Dollar are in unchartered territory, and yes they do collapse (Germany after WW I). #cre #ccim #naiop #sior #uli https://lnkd.in/g6PVN7Eh

PPI Inflation data today below +0.2% expectation at +0.1% with a Year-Over-Year in 2% range should solidify a Fed Rate cut in September. That said, there were some interesting things to think about in this report: 1. This PPI report atypically preceeded CPI coming tomorrow. 2. Service inflation went down which has been the problem over the Summer and is the harder type of inflation to tame - this flip may be the best news in today's PPI. 3. Production inflation reversed course and went up. Energy was the culprit. The big takeaway is this was a PPI report needed for a Fed Rate cut in September. #cre #ccim #uli #naiop #sior #inflation #commercialrealestate PPI Report: "The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.1 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices rose 0.2 percent in June and were unchanged in May. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand advanced 2.2 percent for the 12 months ended in July. The July rise in the index for final demand can be attributed to prices for final demand goods, which moved up 0.6 percent. In contrast, the index for final demand services fell 0.2 percent. Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services advanced 0.3 percent in July after increasing 0.1 percent in June. For the 12 months ended in July, the index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 3.3 percent. Final Demand Final demand goods: Prices for final demand goods rose 0.6 percent in July, the largest advance since a 1.1-percent jump in February. Nearly 60 percent of the broad-based increase in July can be traced to the index for final demand energy, which moved up 1.9 percent. Prices for final demand goods less foods and energy and for final demand foods also rose, 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Product detail: A quarter of the July rise in the index for final demand goods is attributable to a 2.8- percent advance in prices for gasoline. The indexes for diesel fuel, meats, jet fuel, fresh fruits and melons, and basic organic chemicals also increased. Conversely, prices for electric power decreased 1.1 percent. The indexes for fresh and dry vegetables and for steel mill products also moved down. (See table 2.) PPI Report: "Final demand services: Prices for final demand services fell 0.2 percent in July, the largest decrease since moving down 0.2 percent in March 2023. The July decline can be traced to the index for final demand trade services, which dropped 1.3 percent. (Trade indexes measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers.) In contrast, prices for final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing and for final demand transportation and warehousing services rose 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. https://lnkd.in/gxZVmXyt

Retail challenges spread to gymns. What will backfill their space? Blink Fitness joins the 25% of gymns that met with BK or closure since the Pandemic. Like drugstores and discount retail, the retail apocalypse has not run its full course. "The pandemic hit many businesses hard, but few were impacted as much as gyms. They first had to close during the lockdowns and when they were finally able to open again, they were limited in how many people could be inside. In addition, unlike restaurants and bars, health clubs did not have any industry-specific federal aid to help them. Because of all those issues facing them, the National Health and Fitness Alliance says 25% of health clubs permanently closed since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, a huge national gym chain has filed for bankruptcy. According to Bloomberg, Blink Fitness, which is owned by Equinox, just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. " #cre #ccim #naiop #sior #retailproperty #commercialrealestate #uli https://lnkd.in/gW4YNq8v

Denver economy takes another hit as TIAA says it's moving to TX. #cre #ccim #naiop #uli #irem #sior #Denver #commercialrealestate Note the following about this latest blow to downtown Denver and it's economy: "The news comes as downtown Denver continues to recover from the pandemic and a surge of office vacancies as corporations downsized or left downtown altogether when their leases were up. More than a third of downtown Denver’s office were empty in the second quarter and had the lowest office absorption in the metro region (-74,000 square feet), according to real estate firm CBRE. TIAA’s decision to relocate more than 1,000 jobs to Texas should be a reminder for the state to do what it can to be competitive in keeping major companies, Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown said in a statement. https://lnkd.in/gqDAfmm8

College grads renege on job offers at double the rate of that pre-Covid. There is blame that goes beyond the college grad. Bad behavior by big tech has cultivated this defensive survival response by college students. What I find most interesting about this article is that it closes on how it's all about the impact on Universities. Now universities focus on their "renege rate." Maybe universities need to teach more business ethics classes and overhaul their recruiting practices and publish some metrics of their own on how their new alumni succeed when recruited by tech or other corporate entities. Loyalty and commitment are a 2-way street, and the tech industry has failed college grads on both fronts. To the tech industry and universities complaining about rising renege rates, recall the adage "You reap what you sew." Quote from the end of this feature: "The problem is, when students renege, their universities pay the price. Leading employers, who don't like being jilted, track renege rates by school — and then use those rates to decide whether to continue recruiting at those schools. If a senior reneges on an offer, a sophomore may wind up having fewer employers to choose from. "Honor your commitment," Garcia pleads with students at Georgia Tech, "so other people don't get punished." PS - This article should also speak to CRE industry associations with declining membership. Ask why are members not renewing or going elsewhere for their CRE needs? Dues keep rising and the value proposition declining. ConEd is stale. And NAR, like big Tech to college grads, betrayed us all. Leadership in a number of our key associations is less and less member concentric. Always ask "What is your value proposition to membership? It's the members that pay the way and why leadership and staff are employed. #cre #ccim #sior #naiop #uli #irem #appraisal #appraisalinstitute https://lnkd.in/gHFmgZFv