Robots are pouring drinks in Vegas. As AI grows, the city's workers brace for change September 4, 20235:00 AM ET Heard on All Things Considered Deepa Shivaram Walk any direction in Las Vegas and it's easy to find machines doing human work. Check-in kiosks have replaced people at the front desk of hotels. Text-bots now make restaurant recommendations instead of a concierge. Robots can serve food, and behind the bar, machines are pouring out drinks. Automation and technology replacing jobs has long been a conversation in Nevada's most populated city. Studies show that between 38% to 65% of jobs there could be automated by 2035. With the use of artificial intelligence on the rise, the economy of this city --which relies on tourism and hospitality — is at an inflection point, as companies look to technology to reduce labor costs. "Wherever the resort industry can replace their workers and not affect productivity, profits or the customer experience — wherever they can do that with artificial intelligence... they will," said John Restrepo, principal at RCG Economics in Las Vegas. "The question is, how do you factor in and how do you adapt your [...]

Industry Focus Economic Development September 1, 2023 By Nevada Business Magazine Relatively speaking, Nevada’s economy is in its infancy. And despite success in gaming, tourism and entertainment, the Silver State’s economic development faces numerous challenges. Recently, economic specialists met at a roundtable sponsored by City National Bank and held in Las Vegas to discuss the current and future economy of Nevada including its lack of funding, a missing workforce, water scarcity and success in attracting professional sports teams. Connie Brennan, publisher and CEO of Nevada Business Magazine, served as moderator for the event. These monthly roundtables bring together different industries to discuss issues and solutions. What Steps Is Nevada Taking to Develop Its Economy? Tina Quigley: We are not a state that talks about where we need to be [economically] or strategizes [for the future]. We are a state and a community that has been prosperous almost in spite of ourselves, not because of ourselves. For a long time we were the only state that had gaming. As a result of that, hospitality and entertainment [became core industries in Nevada] and we grew. [Our growth is] not because we were out [...]

By: Bloomberg Finance L.P. and Wells Fargo Economics Bloomberg Finance and Wells Fargo Economists have updated their Weekly Economic Indicator Forecasts. The most significant changes in expectations came from: Personal Spending increasing by 0.2% Nonfarm Payrolls declining by 14% from 187K to 160K turning negative from 4.6% to -4.4% Total Vehicle Sales declining  by 0.8% from 15.74M to 15.6M These changes in expectations come following this weeks Durable Goods report (-5.2% MoM and +3.8% YoY) and New Single-Family Home Sales increasing 4.4%, up 31.5% YoY. READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

By: Bloomberg Finance L.P. and Wells Fargo Economics Bloomberg Finance and Wells Fargo Economists have updated their Weekly Economic Indicator Forecasts. The most significant changes in expectations came from: New Home Sales increasing by 1.0% Durable Goods Orders (MoM) turning negative from 4.6% to -4.4% These changes in expectations come following this weeks Housing Starts report (+3.9% MoM and 5.9% YoY) and Industrial Production increasing 1.0% being lead by Utilities output (+5.4%). READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

By: Bloomberg Finance L.P. and Wells Fargo Economics Bloomberg Finance and Wells Fargo Economists have updated their Weekly Economic Indicator Forecasts. The most significant changes in expectations came from: Import Price Index decreasing from -6.1%  to -4.6% Housing Starts increasing from 1,434K to 1,455K (+1.4%) Industrial Production turning positive from -0.5% to 0.2% These changes in expectations come following this weeks Consumer Price Index (CPI) report (+0.2% MoM and +3.2% YoY) and Producer Price Index (PPI) report (+0.3% MoM and +0.8% YoY). READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

By: Bloomberg Finance L.P. and Wells Fargo Economics Bloomberg Finance and Wells Fargo Economists have updated their Weekly Economic Indicator Forecasts. The most significant changes in expectations came from: Trade Balance decreasing from -$69.0B  to -$67.0B PPI Final Demand increasing from 0.1% to 0.7% Unit Labor Costs dropping from 4.2% to 2.1% These changes in expectations come on the heels of labor market reports showing a cooling labor market (187k new jobs vs 200k expected). However, while the labor market is cooling, average hourly earnings are up 4.4%. READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

By: Bloomberg Finance L.P. and Wells Fargo Economics Bloomberg Finance and Wells Fargo Economists have updated their Weekly Economic Indicator Forecasts. The most significant changes in expectations came from: Factory Orders increasing from 0.3% to 2.6% Nonfarm Productivity changing direction from -2.1% to 2.2% Unit Labor Costs dropping from 4.2% to 2.1% These changes in expectations come following the positive Q2 GDP growth report from this week. GDP in Q2 grew by a 2.4% annual rate surpassing consensus expectations of 1.8%. Much of this growth came from personal consumption and business fixed investment. READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Diversifying the Las Vegas economy post pandemic By: Joe Moeller Posted at 8:10 PM, Jul 07, 2023 and last updated 8:10 PM, Jul 07, 2023 LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With the economy on everyone's mind... there's encouraging news if you're looking for a job. But while new jobs are being created here and across the country... experts say interest rates are likely to rise again costing all of us more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 209,000 jobs were added in June. That is slightly lower than what some expected. Meanwhile, payroll company ADP reports 497,000 jobs were added last month. That is much higher than expected. While job growth in Las Vegas has rebounded since the pandemic, economists continue to warn about the need for us to diversify away from leisure and hospitality. We spoke to one man who says moving his business from New York to Las Vegas was a gamble that paid off. Paolo Tiramani is the CEO of Boxabl. The company makes small homes that can be packaged up and sent around the world. "We are two years old, we have built 200 homes we are building [...]

Why inflation runs hottest in the Mountain West Savannah MaherMay 9, 2023 Heard on: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the latest consumer price index Wednesday, a monthly read on inflation. But that headline number will only tell part of the story, because how much more people are spending on food, housing, energy and everything else depends on where they live. One region where inflation’s been running extra hot? The Mountain West. That includes the upper Rocky Mountain states of Montana and Wyoming, all the way down into Arizona and New Mexico. Annual inflation peaked at over 10% last year in that part of the country. It was running at an annual rate of 6% in March, a whole percentage point higher than the national average. The cost of housing accounts for a third of the CPI. So, it adds up that the index is running hottest in the Mountain West. “It’s cuckoo here,” said Megan Lawson, an economist with Headwaters Economics who lives in Bozeman, Montana. “Unaffordable housing touches every aspect of the economy and life in these communities.” Lawson said a lot of people have used the newfound flexibility of [...]

Lombardo’s desire for public land sales could boost warehouse economy BY: DANA GENTRY - FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2023 5:00 AM Gov. Joe Lombardo’s support for the sale of federal lands to developers would increase the state’s economic resilience and decrease its reliance on tourism, say proponents. It would also likely cement Southern Nevada’s place in the warehouse boom. “I would like to see us, in coordination with our congressional delegation, promote a more predictable approach to the timely release of federal lands,” Lombardo said in his State of the State address last month. “The disposition of federally managed lands within, and adjacent to, city and county boundaries is a critical component to economic development and affordable housing.” But with mortgage interest rates depressing new home sales, demand for residential land is down. “Prices have gone up so dramatically. So there’s a little bit of hesitancy with builders,” says land consultant John Restrepo. “The strongest demand is for industrial.” Restrepo says the hoopla that accompanied once-raucous federal land auctions has dissipated, in part because parcels are often subpar in terms of location, size, access, and infrastructure. In 2020, Restrepo identified 19,088 acres in [...]