Questions about where the Southern Nevada housing market is headed have become commonplace. Most recall the economic devastation caused by the Great Recession and the corresponding global financial crisis over a decade ago. During that timeframe, Las Vegas earned the moniker of the foreclosure capital of the world. In the blink of an eye, homeowners […]
2022 was a remarkable year. Southern Nevada reported record levels of population, employment, income, consumer spending, gross gaming revenue, corporate profits and airport passenger counts. Now, we head into 2023 with unprecedented state and local budget surpluses, the strongest convention and meeting calendar in a decade, a resurgence of international visitation, the planned opening of […]
A recent Wall Street Journal poll of leading economists put the probability of the United States going into recession over the next 12 months at 63 percent. Conventional wisdom is that the Federal Reserve Bank will continue raising interest rates to combat stubborn high inflation, thereby slowing the economy and causing gross domestic product to […]
In a state where nearly 86 percent of land is owned or controlled by various federal entities, the federal government plays a significant role in the destiny of our state. That is why it is essential for business and community leaders to join with our Nevada Congressional delegation to engage and advocate for the needs […]
After more than a year of steady and consistent growth from the pandemic, recent headlines portray an economy turning into rising headwinds. Inflation remains at near four-decade highs. Interest rates are climbing as the Federal Reserve moves to stem inflation. Stock markets face volatility. Supply chains remain stubbornly disrupted. Housing prices are dipping. This combination […]
If you’ve seen the dramatic “bathtub ring” around Lake Mead, the visual evidence of a megadrought impacting the Colorado River Basin is clear. With the beleaguered river providing 90 percent of Southern Nevada’s water supply, it might seem counterintuitive that our community is one of the most water secure in the Southwest. The drought and […]
We are not defined by our challenges; we are defined by our ability to overcome them. Last month, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA) hosted its 42nd annual Las Vegas Perspective event, and more than 700 business and community leaders heard about an impending recession, a drying climate depleting our water resources and the […]
As our nation has continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a new theme has emerged. The aim is not to simply achieve the steady-state experienced pre-pandemic but to instead build back better – a challenge the Southern Nevada community has taken to heart. Over the last year, representatives from every municipality and leaders from […]
On Sept. 10, 1957, Southern Nevadans marveled as UNLV (then called Nevada Southern University) launched its first classes in a single building — the 13,000-square-foot Frazier Hall — which housed classrooms, offices, science laboratories, and a library. Surrounded by acres of untilled land, the new school served about 500 students, but more importantly, it stood […]
How does Las Vegas stay on top? How do we continue to be the most exciting, dynamic, relevant, in-demand destination globally? What is our recipe? It’s innovation + imagination + daring + risk taking = reinvention. From a small gambling oasis in the desert to A-level entertainment, themed mega-resorts, the world’s No. 1 convention destination […]
Small businesses are foundational building blocks of our economy. From restaurants to corner shops and business offices to construction sites, small businesses provide all-important goods and services for consumers and other businesses while creating jobs throughout the economy. Across the nation and in Nevada, businesses with fewer than 100 employees account for nearly six in […]
As we settle into 2022, dare I say that some predictability and consistency are on the horizon. These are trends that all members of our community are craving and desperately need. And, as we collectively emerge from the fog of the pandemic, it will become evident that our business community is focused and collaborating in […]
When I was a younger man, I didn’t fully appreciate why New Year’s Day was something to be celebrated. After all, to my inexperienced brain, nothing really changed with the flipping of the calendar page, except that I’d have to retrain myself to write a new year on my checks. Sure, I enjoyed the chance […]
As I sat down to write this column on the day after the 23rd Annual 98.5 KLUC Chet Buchanan Show Toy Drive ended, I stopped to check emails that I hadn’t seen since things got busy on the 30-foot scaffold. Every year, I get emails from people who criticize Toy Drive and literally ask the […]
In October of 2011, then-president of Nevada State Bank, Dallas Haun, asked me if I would consider writing a monthly article that would be sponsored by the bank and published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. At the time, our community was still reeling in the wake of the Great Recession, and Dallas’ only ask was […]
Any news about jobs coming to Southern Nevada is always welcome, and that’s no truer than today as our economy continues to regain its footing amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. With that in mind, I couldn’t be happier at the latest economic development news involving more than a dozen companies bringing thousands of new jobs […]
For months, we’ve been feeling the momentum grow. Bolstered by falling COVID-19 cases and rising vaccination rates as the summer arrived, the American public showed that it was more than ready to visit Las Vegas once again to enjoy the unique experiences only our city can offer. On the Strip, visitors crowded sidewalks, packed casino […]
It’s hard not to feel a little bit of déjà vu with today’s Southern Nevada housing market. Prices are leaping higher by the day, with median closing prices setting record highs month after month. New listings are being flooded with offers, with homes selling almost as fast as they get listed. Potential buyers are being […]
One night. Two venues. About 90,000 fans. Inside a packed T-Mobile Arena, a capacity crowd watched Connor McGregor take to the octagon at UFC 264 in pursuit of old glories. Meanwhile, across Interstate 15 inside Allegiant Stadium, 68,000 fans sang with country music legend Garth Brooks as he kicked off his stadium tour after nearly […]
“Help Wanted” signs are everywhere you look. From the neighborhood restaurant to the corner store, it’s hard to miss them these days. You also can’t turn on the news or read the paper without seeing another story about business owners talking about having positions to fill but nobody to fill them with. For many industries, […]
Everywhere I turn, I see a world that looks more and more like one we left behind 14 months ago. Cars are bumper to bumper on Las Vegas Boulevard. Pedestrians are crowding sidewalks along the Las Vegas Strip. World-class artists are returning to the stage. Fans are cheering the Golden Knights to the playoffs in […]
I need a vacation. I want to plant myself on a white sand beach and watch the sun set slowly over the Pacific Ocean. I want to sit right behind the first base dugout when the Padres beat the Dodgers at Petco Park. I want to shut down Disneyland after setting a personal best for […]
When I was a kid, the notion of communicating with someone anywhere in the world through a computer seemed like a pretty cool idea. But after conducting so much of my business via a computer screen over the past year, I can say that the futuristic virtual communication utopias of old Hollywood movies aren’t all […]
How low can they go? That’s been the question about interest rates for much of the past year as rates reached all-time lows and then went lower still. As a result, the cost of borrowing to buy homes, cars or business equipment is as affordable as ever. This has been a boon for many households […]
If your only window into the economy was the stock market, you might not know that the world was in the middle of a pandemic. The three major U.S. stock indexes – the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ – are all at record levels, continuing the upward trend that started […]
After months of social distancing, masking and waiting, 2020 is finally ending, but not before it delivers the much anticipated and most welcome news in a year dominated by COVID-19. The vaccine is here. Millions of doses have already made their way to communities across the nation, and frontline healthcare workers are receiving the first […]
As the novel coronavirus raged across the globe earlier this year, our state was in trouble. With its heavy reliance on the travel and tourism industry, the Nevada economy was arguably hit harder than anywhere else in the nation. As unemployment rolls grew and economic activity slowed, Nevada was in need of a rescue. That […]
I was told once that no one ever writes about the plane that lands safely. That’s the nature of our world and certainly the news cycle. But for every negative story that makes headlines, there are abundant lesser-publicized positives on the other side of the coin. Take the monthly reporting on jobs. Nevada’s labor market […]
Every generation does it. As we get our feet under us, advance our careers, raise our families and start to leave our imprint on the world, we look at the younger generation behind us and shake our heads. How will the smartphone-obsessed, non-TV-watching, short-attention-span youth of today tackle the world problems of tomorrow? We might […]
As we grapple with challenges, fears and frustrations sourced to COVID-19, it is easy to overlook the tireless efforts and countless acts of selflessness that are keeping our community off the mat. Despite obstacles and uncertainty, so many have stepped up during this unsettling time. I believe we owe them a debt of gratitude. To […]
