As steady flows of management fees and profits interest start to attenuate, liquidity becomes more important to prevent the family office’s operations from slipping. As the economy slows and uncertainties linger, family offices that provide investment management services need to move beyond the Paycheck Protection Program and focus on the new Main Street Lending Program. … READ MORE >
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As demand for commercial loans rises, so do underwriting standards
The increase in demand is consistent with the latest results from the RSM Middle Market Business Index, which indicate that an increasing number of respondents either sought special financing during the survey period or are planning to seek special financing over the next six months. … READ MORE >
Is brick and mortar dead? This time, we’re talking about office buildings.
As many middle market companies have shown that they can shift from a traditional brick-and-mortar setting to a virtual one, office building tenants, and landlords, are rethinking the need for offices in the future — and the related fixed costs they bring. … READ MORE >
U.S. manufacturing sector hit hard by COVID-19, new RSM data shows
The recession in the U.S. manufacturing sector that began in the second half of 2019 has been sharply exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, new proprietary data from RSM shows. Significantly more middle market manufacturers reported losses to U.S. revenue and greater disruptions to operations and their supply chains than the … … READ MORE >
Modeling the spread of the coronavirus: Another difficult milestone
Our projections for the spread of the disease are for total U.S. cases to approach 1.5 million by the end of the week. Based on those projections, and given the current mortality rate of 6.0%, we expect the U.S. death toll to approach 90,000 by the end of the week. … READ MORE >
Retail lessons from the RSM US Middle Market Business Index
While it’s no surprise that middle market retailers were hard hit by fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, proprietary RSM data underscores this vulnerability. One key data point highlighted a potential opportunity for retailers related to business continuity planning, however, as the initial outbreak slows. … READ MORE >
COVID-19 pandemic drives largest drop in U.S. factory production on record
Total industrial production in the United States fell 11.2% in April from a month earlier, according to numbers released Friday by the Federal Reserve. That decline is the largest monthly drop in the 101-year history of the industrial production index, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many factories … … READ MORE >
U.S. retail sales: April really was the cruelest month
Americans continued to shelter in place during April, resulting in a 16.4% decline in top-line retail sales. While April will most likely prove to be the nadir in U.S. retail sales, we are not expecting a meaningful near-term rebound because of the significant dislocation in the labor market and clearly diminished income horizons. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims, state by state: 11 now have a million or more claims since coronavirus outbreak
Expect the trend in cumulative claims to remain high as several states continue to work through the backlog of claims and as declining household income and consumer spending prompt more businesses to reduce staff. … READ MORE >
Elevated first-time and continuing jobless claims show mounting stress in the labor market
Stress in the domestic labor market continued to intensify as 2.98 million individuals filed first-time jobless claims for the week ending May 9, bringing the total to 36 million during the coronavirus pandemic. Those filing continuing claims for the week ending May 2 jumped to 22.83 million. … READ MORE >