Construction revival will stimulate equities

ON THE US

Looking beyond the unusually highly-charged political climate and our excessive levels of debt, the data that crosses my desk here in Boston gives good reason to be optimistic about US economic growth.

Crucially, the number of people in employment is rising, with the all-important non-farms payroll figure having now registered an increase for 21 consecutive months. An improving labour market will have a number of positive effects for the economy, one of which is an increase in consumer spending. This could have a significant impact on the depressed housing sector. Before the housing bubble burst, economists estimated that we needed to build between 1.2 million and 1.5 million new homes each year to keep pace with demand. For the past four years we have been building far fewer than...