Scott Heritage Archives - Pinnacle Finance

Pinnacle Finance Blog

February 26, 2018

Economic Update – January/February 2018

Since our last update in December data points related to the economy remain positive overall. Employment and GDP Gains Continue Momentum… In January the economy added 200,000 new jobs following up the 148,000 jobs added in December. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% for the fourth consecutive month. The first estimate of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 2.6%, down from 3.2% in the third quarter, a mild disappointment as expectations in December were for growth of over 3.0%. However, within the fourth quarter GDP figure consumer spending grew at 3.8% which was the fastest rate of growth […]

October 17, 2018

Economic Update – September/October 2018

GDP Growth Shows Strong Upturn… Since our last update in the spring the US economy has shown strong growth over the past several months. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the second quarter indicate the economy grew 4.2%, an increase from 2.2% in the first quarter and 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2017.Growth in the second quarter was driven in part by strong consumer spending. On Friday the first estimate for the third quarter GDP was reported at 3.5%. …While Jobs Remain Plentiful… With strong GDP growth job creation has remained solid with an average of 189,000 jobs added […]

March 5, 2019

Economic Update February/March 2019

Continued Strong Job Growth Should Help Drive Home Improvement Industry… In what should be quite beneficial for the home improvement industry job growth in the United States has remained strong. January nonfarm payrolls grew 304,000, higher than the consensus expectation of 165,000, with December adding 222,000. The average monthly gain in 2018 was 223,000. An additional positive is that average hourly earnings for employees increased to 3.2% in January compared to January 2018 reflecting rising pay for employees after many years of stagnant earnings growth. …With Consumer Confidence Bouncing Back… The Conference Board reported that its’ consumer confidence index rose […]

March 6, 2019

Do You Have a Plan for Marketing Your Home Improvement Company

When owners start a home improvement business they typically plan and budget for things like lead generation, computers, office supplies, employee salaries, rent, equipment, electricity and phone costs. You need these things to have a viable business. However, there is often no plan for marketing. This translates to – there is no budget for marketing, particularly when it’s a smaller company. Marketing should also be in that category of “must-haves” for both short and long term success of the business. The problem is often a resources issue. Can a business afford a full-time or part-time employee to do […]