Tag Archives: NABE

Clinton a Better Choice for Business Say Economists

News, , , , ,

A survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics showed that Hillary Clinton is the preferred candidate for president of the US by 55 percent to an embarrassing 14 percent for Donald Trump. As a matter of fact, Trump was not the second choice. Third party Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson had more support than Trump, with 15 percent saying they would prefer to see him as president. An additional 15 percent said they did not know or had no opinion.

The survey was conducted from July 20 to August 2 and included the views of 414 members of NABE.

Some of Trump’s policies seem to be contributing to his lack of support. Whereas Trump says he would like to nullify or severely restrict the North American Free Trade Agreement, 65 percent of business economists say US trade policy should be even more open and free versus only 9 percent who agree with Trump that trade should be more protectionist.

Trump has expressed a desire to deport illegal immigrants, but the NABE survey showed that only 8 percent agreed with that sentiment, while 64 percent said they would like to see a program to legalize undocumented immigrants who already live in the US.

NABE Survey Sees Trouble Looming in China

Economy, , , , ,
China economy boom or bust?
China economy boom or bust?

According to a new survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics, a bit beyond half of US business economists believe that China marching towards a serious debt crisis in the next few years.

When asked whether they agreed that “China will face a debt crisis within the next few years,” 52 percent said yes, 25 percent said no, and 23 percent were undecided.

“The biggest concern that has been in discussion is the housing boom and bust in China,” said Jack Kleinhenz, NABE’s president and chief economist at the National Retail Federation. “I think it’s just an overexpansion like we’ve seen in other housing bubbles that have occurred, here in the United States and elsewhere.”

Problems brewing in the Chinese economy include a weakening housing market, expanding debt on the local government level, and a squeezing of supervision of shadow-banking services.

Not all agree with US economists however. Changyong Rhee of the International Monetary Fund said in April that he does not see a full-blown financial crisis for China on the horizon. Kleinhenz added that even if there were a housing bust in China it “shouldn’t have an impact globally” like the housing crisis in the US did. That housing crash helped ignite the 2008 global financial crisis.

The NABE survey was given to 47 member of NABE and was conducted from May 8-21. The economists were also asked about European economics. The vast majority, 84 percent, said that they believe the problems facing Russia and Ukraine “will hinder the economic recovery in Europe.” Whether the crisis will impact the US, however, only 34 percent think it will.

NABE Survey Says Economy Slow, Housing Market Up and Fiscal Cliff Avoided

Economy, ,
Shawn DuBravac, Chief Economist for the Consumer Electronics Association

There is good and bad economic news. The bad news first: economists are now predicting dawdling growth during 2013, with an upswing in the unemployment rate back to over 8 percent for at least the first half of the year.

Yes, there is some good news to assuage the bad: the recovery of the housing industry is heading upwards more quickly than expected and there is a very high likelihood that the economy is not about to fall over a “fiscal cliff.”

The good and the bad and the ugly news was derived from the quarterly survey of the National Association for Business Economists. The poll questioned 44 economists about how they see the economic future of the country.

NABE is an organization composed of business economists and other professionals who use economics in the workplace.

The survey was conducted during the 12 days between September 14 and 26. The best news issuing from the survey concerns the expectation that new housing starts for single-family homes will rise by 23 percent, totaling 750,000 new units for 2012, and a continuing rise in 2013 of about 13 percent, for a total number of units of 850,000.

Home prices are also expected to rise by 1.5 percent in 2012, and 2.8 percent in 2012. This is a higher estimate then the economists gave back in the May survey.

It also seems we are not heading for a fall of a “fiscal cliff.” Despite concerns of the budget deficit and national debt and what the combined $1.2 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases will do to the economy, most economists seem to believe that a giant fiscal explosion will not take place.

‘‘The panelists’ projections for the fiscal cliff are very diverse, though survey respondents in general do not expect the potentially large negative outcomes of the fiscal cliff to materialize,’’ said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Electronics Association, who analyzed the results for the NABE.