James Rosseau Introduces LegalShield Law Index to the Conference of Western Attorneys General, as Data Show Housing Starts Should Be Stronger Than They Are
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 01, 2017 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
LegalShield, one of North America’s leading providers of affordable
legal plans and identity theft solutions for individuals, families, and
small businesses, introduced the LegalShield Law Index to members of the
Conference of Western Attorneys General at the organization’s annual
conference. The event took place in San Francisco from July 30 – August
1. The annual conference is attended by Attorneys General and their
staff from the western states and three Pacific territories, as well as
other states. The event brings together national experts and guest
speakers on the country’s most pressing topics related to state
regulation.
The LegalShield Law Index, which debuted in June with the release of
data for May, joins other leading economic indicators in providing a
forward-looking snapshot of the economic and financial status of U.S.
households and small businesses. The Index is made up of five indices,
including the LegalShield Consumer Financial Stress Index, LegalShield
Housing Activity Index, LegalShield Bankruptcy Index, LegalShield
Foreclosure Index, and the LegalShield Real Estate Index. To depict the
health of the U.S. economy, each index relies on LegalShield’s unique
and proprietary database of member demand for and usage of legal
services.
James Rosseau, the company’s chief commercial officer, participated in a
panel on August 1 about affordable housing and what regulators can do to
help increase affordable housing in their communities. The panel was
moderated by Derek Schmidt, Attorney General of Kansas.
“The LegalShield Housing Activity Index has a strong record of closely
tracking U.S. housing starts over the last 15 years – and the Index
continues to suggest that housing starts should be stronger than they
currently are,” explained Rosseau.
“The Index is consistent with the fact that U.S. consumers are employed
– as underscored by a strong June employment report – with solid credit,
manageable debt levels, and heightened confidence about the economy.
These factors, combined with historically low home inventories, point to
a revival in housing activity.”
However, Rosseau explained, regional construction labor shortages,
rising input prices, and tighter mortgage lending practices continue to
act as headwinds to a housing market revival.
Since rising above 1.3 million last October for the first time since
2007, annual housing starts have fallen back to the 1.1 – 1.2 million
range in 2017, and tumbled below 1.1 million in May. The LegalShield
Housing Activity Index, which tends to lead housing starts, foretold
this decline after falling 8 points from December 2016 through February.
Since February, however, the LegalShield Housing Activity index has been
steadily rising and is now just below where it was at the beginning of
the year. This movement suggests that housing starts should rebound back
to the 1.2 or 1.3 million range over the next few months.
The LegalShield Law Index for June, which was released on July 11,
suggests that there is likely to be an ease in consumer confidence,
which could negatively impact retail sales and other consumer activity
in the coming months. Notably, the key predictive takeaways are that
foreclosures should remain subdued in the short term, but could begin to
rise later this year, and that home sales should continue to slowly
improve in the months ahead; however, a strong sales resurgence is
unlikely to occur in the near term.
About LegalShield
A pioneer in the democratization of affordable access to legal
protection, LegalShield is one of North America’s leading providers of
legal safeguards and protection against identity theft for individuals,
families, and small businesses. The 45-year-old company protects more
than 1,652,000 individuals, families, and businesses through its legal
plans, while IDShield provides identity protection to one million
individuals. In addition, LegalShield and IDShield serve more than
141,000 businesses. Both legal and identity theft plans start as low as
$20 per month.
LegalShield’s legal plans provide access to attorneys with an average of
19 years of experience in areas such as family matters, estate planning,
financial and business issues, consumer protection, tax, real estate,
benefits disputes, and auto/driving issues. Unlike other legal plans or
do-it-yourself websites, LegalShield has dedicated law firms in 50
states and four provinces in Canada that members can call for help
without having to worry about high hourly rates.
IDShield provides identity monitoring and restoration services and is
the only identity theft protection company armed with a team of licensed
private investigators on call to restore a member’s identity.
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SOURCE: LegalShield”>