Day: September 11, 2019

BOSTON — Business confidence continued to seesaw during August as employers warily eyed a possible economic slowdown and the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Business Confidence Index fell 3.3 points to 58.7 last month after surging 4.4 points during July. The Index has lost 4.5 points since August 2018 but remains within optimistic territory.

The August decline was driven by growing concern about the U.S. economy and the outlook among manufacturers — both elements driven by trade concerns.

Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the month-to-month gyrations of the Business Confidence Index, but noted that every measure of confidence now sits below its level of a year ago.

“The imposition of 15% tariffs on $112 billion worth of Chinese goods on September 1 underscores the uncertainty facing employers, particularly manufacturers, who do business in overseas markets,” said Raymond Torto, chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. “At the same time, employers are beginning to see evidence from both customers and suppliers of a slowdown in the U.S. economy. That caution is reflected in the 7.4-point confidence drop in the national outlook.”

The nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic health — grew at a moderate 2.0% annual rate in the April-June quarter, down from a 3.1% growth rate in the first quarter.

The AIM Index, based on a survey of more than 100 Massachusetts employers, has appeared monthly since July 1991. It is calculated on a 100-point scale, with 50 as neutral; a reading above 50 is positive, while below 50 is negative.

The constituent indicators that make up the Index all decreased during August. The Massachusetts Index assessing business conditions within the commonwealth fell 4.3 points to 63.9, while the U.S. Index dropped to 55.2. The Massachusetts reading has decreased 0.8 points and the U.S. reading 9.5 points during the past 12 months.

The Future Index, measuring expectations for six months out, declined 3.9 points to 56.9, leaving it 3.3 points lower than a year ago. The Current Index, which assesses overall business conditions at the time of the survey, lost 2.7 points to 60.5, 5.6 points lower than its reading from August 2018.

The Employment Index slipped 1.5 points for the month and 3.8 points for the year even as the state unemployment rate fell to 2.9%. Employers continue to struggle to find qualified workers in a full-employment state economy.

Non-manufacturers (60.3) were more confident than manufacturers (57.1). Small companies (61.5) remained more confident than large companies (58.7) or medium-sized companies (56.3). Companies in Eastern Mass. (60.7) continue to be more optimistic than those in Western Mass. (56.0).

Katherine Kiel, professor of Economics at the College of the Holy Cross and a BEA member, said business confidence reflects the same volatility that has shaken global financial markets in recent months. “Economic growth in Massachusetts slowed from 2.7% during the first quarter to 1.4% in the second. Employers remain optimistic overall, but see growing downside risks ranging from demographic constraints on the labor force to international uncertainty caused by factors such as tariffs and Brexit.”

CHICOPEE — Elms College ranks in the top half of schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 list of Best Regional Universities (North).

Elms College improved significantly in the 2020 rankings, moving to 86th among regional universities in the northern U.S. region, up from 99th in 2019.

Elms College also was named in the top 20% (37th) among Regional Universities (North) in a new category, Top Performers on Social Mobility, which ranks schools for enrolling and graduating large proportions of students who have received federal Pell Grants.

Elms College President Harry Dumay said the rankings demonstrate the quality of an Elms education. “We are especially proud of our high ranking in this new category, as it is strong evidence of the Elms commitment to supporting an economically diverse student population every step of the way as they earn their degrees.”

U.S. News ranks Elms College as a university because of changes to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s basic classification system and the number of graduate programs Elms offers. The Carnegie categories are the accepted standard in U.S. higher education.

NORTHAMPTON — Berkshire Design Group (BDG), a landscape-architecture, civil-engineering, and survey firm, recently welcomed Tim Armstrong, PLS in the role of survey manager.

Armstrong comes to BDG with more than 20 years of land-survey experience, and has experience managing staff and data on small and large projects from local boundary surveys to interstate energy-transmission projects. Prior to joining BDG, he was the chief land surveyor at Hill Engineers, Architects, Planners in Dalton.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Lexington Group will host an Aeron chair hockey tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at its showroom located at 380 Union St., West Springfield.

For this first-of-its-kind event in New England, Lexington Group has invited players, and their administrative staff, from elite area hockey teams — American International College and UMass Amherst — to battle it out in a friendly competition on the ‘ice.’ The winning team from the first round will play against members of the Springfield Thunderbirds. The tournament will be incorporated into an After 5 networking event, with about 300 business and community professionals expected to attend.

The event will help raise funds and awareness for the Foundation for TJO Animals. Founded in 2007, the Foundation for TJO Animals is dedicated to raising much-needed funds to help the local, homeless animals at the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center, which serves the cities of Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee. With a focus on providing financial assistance and grants for veterinary care, the foundation has had a direct impact on saving the lives of animals at the shelter.

“We hope you will join us as a spectator or as a sponsor to ensure that we raise much-needed funds for Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center,” said Mark Proshan, president of Lexington Group.

Admission to the event is complimentary, but registration is required and can be made at lexington-aeronhockey.eventbrite.com. Donations to the Foundation for TJO Animals are appreciated and can be made in advance directly through the foundation’s website, www.tjofoundation.org, or may be made at the event.

The event is currently sponsored by MP CPAs, St. Germain Investments, Sitterly Movers, and Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel (cup sponsors); bankESB, Behavioral Health Network, Complete Payroll Solutions, Dietz & Co. Architects, Fire Service Group, HUB International New England, Massachusetts Fire Technologies, Mercier Carpet, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and New England Promotional Marketing (chair sponsors); AIS, Baystate Ob/Gyn, Contract Sources, Excel Dryer, KI, Lexington Group, Paragus IT, People’s United Bank, the Republican, and Westfield Bank (rink sponsors); Go Graphix and Herman Miller (goods sponsors); BusinessWest, ERC5, and West of the River Chamber of Commerce (event partners). Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.