{"id":1004069221,"date":"2013-03-21T06:01:58","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T14:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004069221"},"modified":"2020-05-11T23:35:35","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T07:35:35","slug":"economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/","title":{"rendered":"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

The Federal Open Market Committee offered its thoughts about the U.S. economy once again on Wednesday, and \u2013 in cautious, Fed-speak terms \u2013 came out more optimistic than it\u2019s been in a few months. The current state of the economy, the FOMC said in its statement, \u201csuggests a return to moderate economic growth following a pause late last year. Labor market conditions have shown signs of improvement in recent months but the unemployment rate remains elevated.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of its statement, the Fed also asserted that the economy isn\u2019t quite strong enough for the central bank to back away from QE3, which is journalists\u2019 shorthand for the ongoing Fed program of buying agency mortgage-backed securities to the tune of $40 billion per month and longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion each month. Not quite all the members of the committee were on board with continuing QE3: Esther George, president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve, voted nay on the policy, citing the risks of future \u201ceconomic and financial imbalances,\u201d and long-term inflation.<\/p>\n

Interest rates will remain low, too, despite the improvement in the economy. As Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke pointed out during the press conference after the FOMC statement was released, there have been false dawns after the recession before, notably the springs of 2010 and \u201911. The central bank wants to make sure the recovery this time around isn\u2019t another one of those. <\/span><\/p>\n

Architects Busier Than Before <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The American Institute of Architecture reported on Wednesday that its Architecture Billings Index, which is a leading indicator for the economy and for real estate development, is still strengthening. The index was 54.9 in February, up slightly from a mark of 54.2 in January, and the highest level since 2007, before the recession.<\/p>\n

The score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services, since any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings. It also points to the not-too-distant future in construction spending — in about nine to 12 months, since architectural billing tends to proceed construction spending by that span.<\/p>\n

\u201cConditions have been strengthening in all regions and construction sectors for the last several months,\u201d AIA chief economist Kermit Baker said in a statement, though he was a bit cautious as well. \u201cWe also continue to hear a mix of business conditions in the marketplace as this hesitant recovery continues to unfold,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Government Shutdown Looks Less Likely <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Senate, after a fair amount of debate in recent days, passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government until September, in lieu of a standard budget. Most of the amendments offered to the bill dealt with ameliorating the worst effects of sequestration, such as keeping all of the government\u2019s meat inspectors on the job. Only a handful of the amendments passed, including the one about meat.<\/p>\n

Now the measure goes on to the House, where it\u2019s expected to pass. For all the recent bluster about the budget, and competing versions of what the federal budget should be, neither chamber seems to have the stomach for a full-fledged federal government shutdown, as happened in 1995.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wall Street started back on its upward track again on Wednesday after a few days of stall, perhaps inspired by the as-yet unresolved Cyprus crisis in the euro zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 55.91 points, or 0.39 percent, while the S&P 500 was up 0.67 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 0.78 percent.<\/p>\n

Like us on facebook:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Commercial-Property-Executive\/258033884191<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to the Fed, the current state of the economy suggests a return to moderate economic growth. The Architecture Billings Index is strengthening, reflecting a demand in design services and eventual construction spending. And despite the recent bluster about the budget, neither the House nor the Senate has the stomach for a federal government shutdown, as in 1995.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1269,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004069221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEconomy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to the Fed, the current state of the economy suggests a return to moderate economic growth. The Architecture Billings Index is strengthening, reflecting a demand in design services and eventual construction spending. And despite the recent bluster about the budget, neither the House nor the Senate has the stomach for a federal government shutdown, as in 1995.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-03-21T14:01:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-12T07:35:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb\"},\"headline\":\"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-21T14:01:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-12T07:35:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":593,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/\",\"name\":\"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-21T14:01:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-12T07:35:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Commercial Property Executive\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb\",\"name\":\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.commercialsearch.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/theeditorsofcommercialpropertyexecutive\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely - Commercial Property Executive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely","og_description":"According to the Fed, the current state of the economy suggests a return to moderate economic growth. The Architecture Billings Index is strengthening, reflecting a demand in design services and eventual construction spending. And despite the recent bluster about the budget, neither the House nor the Senate has the stomach for a federal government shutdown, as in 1995.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/","og_site_name":"Commercial Property Executive","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive","article_published_time":"2013-03-21T14:01:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-05-12T07:35:35+00:00","author":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cpexecutive","twitter_site":"@cpexecutive","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/"},"author":{"name":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb"},"headline":"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely","datePublished":"2013-03-21T14:01:58+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-12T07:35:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/"},"wordCount":593,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/","name":"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely - Commercial Property Executive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-03-21T14:01:58+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-12T07:35:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/economy-watch-homebuilding-sees-healthy-uptick-in-february-architects-busier-government-shutdown-less-likely\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Economy Watch: U.S. Economy Better Off; Architects Busier; Government Shutdown Less Likely"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/","name":"Commercial Property Executive","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb","name":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive"},"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/theeditorsofcommercialpropertyexecutive\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004069221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1269"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004069221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004069221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004435683,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004069221\/revisions\/1004435683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004069221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004069221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004069221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}