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Consumer spending cooled a bit in May nationally, but I don’t hear much talk about a recession anymore. Markets have been buoyant this year, even in the face of rising interest rates.
In fact, economic growth in the first half of 2023 has been generally stronger than expected.
The first story in today’s newsletter looks at the upside — and the downside — of strong consumer spending.
Consumers are “supercharging” the economy
Dayton Daily News investigative reporter Lynn Hulsey on Sunday dug deep into the subject of how consumers saved their pennies early in the pandemic before going on a “spending spree, often on borrowed money, driving up debt and credit card delinquency.”
Supercharged demand: “Consumer spending is above the path it was on before COVID. So it did kind of supercharge demand and we still haven’t gone back to normal spending,” said Henry Willmore, an economics lecturer in the University of Dayton School of Business Administration.
New residential development coming to South Park
The Greater Dayton Construction Group proposes 63 new flats units, 15 townhomes and 10 single-family homes.
Where? The project site is just east of the Flats at South Park, a pair of apartment buildings constructed in the past nearly six years along Warren Street, north of Miami Valley Hospital.
The new housing is at the former site of the Cliburn Manor public housing development, which was demolished years ago.
Headed to the Rose? Here’s where to get a bite and a drink
If you’re headed to the Rose Music Center at The Heights to see the latest concert, here’s a list of restaurants, bars and breweries that are worth checking out nearby.
Options? You have plenty of those: From craft beer and pizza to Mexican food and wings, Huber Heights has plenty of establishments to satisfy any pre- or post-concert craving.
Relatively low costs protect Dayton-area intelligence billets, one observer believes
After the Jack Teixeira saga, it may be a new era when it comes to how the Department of Defense protects classified information.
Stronger controls: The DOD will try to better track who has access to classified documents and where that information is held, while making sure those who have access also have up-to-date nondisclosure agreements, among other changes.
One federal employment attorney believes fewer federal employees with clearances are one possibility. But not necessarily in Dayton.
Cost-effective: “Those have actually been pretty cost-effective,” said attorney Dan Meyer a Washington, D.C. partner with the firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, referring to Dayton-area billets (jobs with clearances). “And manpower-wise, they are really effective. Think about it: Time was, a lot of those positions would have been on the two coasts, either in Washington or Los Angeles. A lot of the reasons why the centers were placed in the Dayton area … is that the cost of maintaining an employee is cheaper than in Washington, D.C.”
New business park gets NorthPoint-driven spec investment
Given NorthPoint Development’s consistent track record in Dayton, I’m not sure anything they do is truly “spec” — built without an end-user identified. The company has developed more than 5 million square feet in the area in more than five years. When this company builds, users and tenants come out of the woodwork.
NorthPoint will build a 264,000-square-foot speculative industrial building in Miami Twp., the Dayton Development Coalition said last week.
The latest project: The coalition expects the new building to “catalyze future development” of business park First Flight Commerce Center and create more than 600 jobs.
Business moves
» Dianne Trentman (above left) was promoted to chief operating officer at Joyce/Dayton Corp. Trentman joined Joyce/Dayton, a manufacturer for OEMs, in 2015 as the company’s chief financial officer. In 2019, she was promoted to vice president of finance and operations. In her new role, Trentman will focus on overseeing all internal projects and operations of the company.
» Jessica Rowden (above right) was promoted to chief financial officer at Joyce/Dayton Corp. Rowden began her career at Joyce/Dayton as the assistant controller and most recently controller before being promoted to CFO.
Quick hits
» Kettering to break ground on new Gentile Park, near Kettering Business Park
» You have questions about Issue1? We have answers
» Looking for a county fair? Read this first
» New Latin grocery opens in Springfield
» Public forums on electric aggregation open to residents, businesses
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