Archery tag? 3-D art complex? This is not your mother’s mall
To replace retailers, Boulevard focusing on entertainment
Aliens on the Strip. King Kong by Mandalay Bay. Donald Trump kicking his way out of a picture frame. And that’s just the mural room. Boulevard Mall is making good on a promise to bring more attractions and experiences to fill a void left by traditional retailers with a 41,000-square-foot entertainment complex.
Called Headz Up, the complex is expected to open this month, said Chad Dillow, one of the owners.
He plans to hire at least 20 staffers before opening.
The mural room will have about 60 pieces of 3-D art by around six artists. Viewing the photos from the right angle makes them pop out.
The Monte Carlo introduced a similar exhibit last year. The Trick Eye art exhibit left in October as Park MGM construction advanced, MGM Resorts International spokeswoman Stacy Hamilton said.
Dillow has plans for a virtual re- ality attraction and multiple escape rooms developed by Irvine, California-based Brainy Actz. The rooms
HEADZ UP
an economy overall that is doing quite well and has strong fundamentals,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “The economy remains on track to expand at a fairly solid pace, and along with that comes inflation.”
Here are some key reasons why the economy remains robust despite the jitters on Wall Street:
Jobs, wages picking up
The job market is in its best shape in a decade or more. Businesses continue to hire at a pace that could drive the unemployment rate, already at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, even lower. Some economists think the jobless rate by year’s end could reach 3.5 percent, which would be the lowest level in a half-century.
With relatively few job seekers, many businesses are struggling to fill open positions. To attract and keep workers, many are finally offering higher pay, which helps explain why the January jobs report showed such a sharp pickup in wages. A separate measure of wages and salaries rose in the final three months of 2017 by the most in nearly three years.
More spending
With more solid job security and rising pay in some industries, Americans as a whole are growing more optimistic about the economy’s direction. And their confidence has jolted consumer spending, the primary fuel of the U.S economy. In the final three months of 2017, consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in a year-and-a-half.
Consumers’ willingness to spend has led many to make big purchases, too. Sales of existing homes in 2017 reached their highest level in
11 years. The demand for housing helped accelerate home construction last year to its fastest annual pace in a decade.
Household finances in decent shape
Americans generally haven’t been running up heavy debts. U.S. household debt — everything from mortgages and credit card debt to student and auto loans — equaled 95 percent of disposable income in the July-september quarter, according to data from the Fed. That compares with about 120 percent right before the recession.
Still, their willingness to spend has raised one concern: Savings have fallen. In December, the nation’s savings rate fell to its lowest level since 2005. Over the long run, a low savings rate can diminish the ability of households to withstand a financial shock.
Global economy
The U.S. economy now has something supporting it that it hasn’t had for nearly a decade: solid growth around the world. Roughly 120 countries experienced faster growth in 2017 than they did in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund. That’s the most since 2010.
The 19 European nations that share the euro expanded 2.5 percent in 2017, the most in 10 years and faster than the United States, which grew 2.3 percent. Japan’s economy has expanded for seven straight quarters, the longest such stretch since 2001. All that global growth tends to benefit the U.S. economy, the world’s largest.
So what’s not to like?
Even good economic news can prompt some troubling concerns. As companies raise pay, they typically increase prices to help
cover their extra costs. That cycle can speed inflation. The Fed is then likely to raise the key shortterm rate it controls to help reduce borrowing and spending and hold inflation in check.
Fed officials have indicated that they expect to raise rates three times this year. But after Friday’s robust report on jobs and wages, some economists think the Fed might accelerate its rate hikes. Economists at BNP Paribas and Macroeconomic Advisers now forecast four rate increases this year.