

Sweating equity
Yep, it’s that time of year again. Everyone is working overtime to shoehorn 2020 into neat lists that make sense


A flashmob recession
A week ago Monday, the umpire finally called the pitch. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared that “the U.S.


Housing bounces back
Technically speaking, that’s exactly what happened. The housing market really did bounce back in April. To 2012. Two weeks ago,


Remotely plausible
Millions are working at home during the pandemic. If they stay there afterwards, the construction industry will change dramatically.
Discussions
Hotels whistle past the graveyard
LBM dealers are still pinching themselves. There are exceptions, but construction activity in many U.S. markets is up—sometimes by a
Cliff notes
“They all had jobs and they had economically viable jobs, but we told them they couldn’t work—to protect us. Now
Cash out without selling out
There are exceptions, but they’re rare enough that they prove the rule: If you sell your business to an equity-backed
Coronavirus nibbles back
COVID-19 sprang a surprise on everyone last week. But not the surprise you’ve been seeing in the headlines. Two weeks
When COVID is long gone, this won’t be
Coronavirus forced employers into a grand experiment, and it has turned out to be one of the few positive developments
Economists place their bets
Obviously nobody knows how the coronavirus pandemic will play out. But if you’re in business, you have no choice: You’ve