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Ready or not? Mixed signals from the millennial home market
Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesThe latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows employment among 25-to-34-year-olds reaching its highest level since the end of 2008. That news set off another round of industry speculation: Are millennials finally ready to buy their first home, or are predictions of a rebound in the first-time housing market a bit premature?
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What to look out for in construction contracts
Nate Budde Construction & Building MaterialsConstruction contracts are often lengthy and complicated documents. Despite the fact that these agreements form the foundation for the relationship between the signing parties, the fact that they are so voluminous means that they are rarely thoroughly examined. Since attorneys are expensive, and not every construction industry participant has in-house counsel, construction participants can help themselves by knowing some of the key things that they may wish to look out for.
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The importance of properly reporting counterfeits
Tom Grace Facilities & GroundsThe Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) and Eaton teamed up in 2013 to determine the current state of counterfeit awareness among IEC members in a joint survey. The results of this survey showed where the industry has gotten smarter about electrical counterfeits, but it also identified areas where the industry can step up and help prevent these unsafe lookalikes from causing harm to people and property.
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Year-end momentum boosts builder confidence
Michael J. Berens Construction & Building MaterialsIndicators across the building industry report notable growth in the final quarter of 2014. Conditions began to improve midyear and gathered momentum going into the fall, with most sectors ending on a strong note in December.
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Luxury housing growth mirrors growing wealth gap
Bambi Majumdar Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesA new report from Oxfam shows that half of global wealth held is by 1 percent of the world's population. By next year, they will own more wealth than the other 99 percent combined. This uneven distribution of wealth has had its ripple effects, and even the housing industry has felt the tremors.
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Homeowners ready to tackle overdue renovations
Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesPositive economic and employment news, along with declining gas prices, have boosted consumer confidence to its highest level in the past seven years. With a bit more money in their pockets and less worry about job security, consumers are once again ready to spend.
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How a good lien strategy gets you paid
Nate Budde Construction & Building MaterialsA thorough lien policy is one of the best ways to ensure payment. However, it's important to note that filing a lien is only one step in a lien policy, and it's a step that a successful lien policy will rarely use. In fact, in the larger scheme of lien strategy — as it relates to credit management and receivables policy — if the rest of a company's credit policy is working, most projects won't ever require a lien to be filed.
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Consumers prefer practical over pizzazz in smart home technology
Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & FixturesIn the future, we will not be minding the machines; the machines will be minding us. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, manufacturers paraded a host of new smart devices designed to track our behaviors and vital signs and then respond or alert us when action needs to be taken.
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Construction payment structure and risk simplified
Nate Budde Construction & Building MaterialsConstruction projects have an interesting and unique payment structure. The credit-heavy nature and the routine, but unfortunate, lack of visibility throughout a project make payment issues of paramount importance for parties at both the top and the bottom of the payment chain.
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A look back at the best facility lighting options for 2014
Pamela Tresp Facilities & GroundsThe ladies out there will remember that the most popular episode on Oprah Winfrey's show was her annual "favorite things" episode. While I'm certainly not Oprah and not giving any product away, I do want to share some of my favorite things from this past year used in various commercial/industrial facilities. Hopefully, some of this information will be of value and maybe spark some ideas to make your life easier.
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