Conventional wisdom and experience taught us that the stock market pretty much reflects the health of the economy. Back in the halcyon days before globalization, it was the US economy that held sway. Now it is something of an uneasy blend of US, China, Japan, Brazil and Euroland. But this is all old news. It appears as though the tables have turned. (more…)

As far as decades go… I can not wait for this one to.

What started out as a time of incredible promise, ended as a 10 year epoch of loss- lost lives, security, trust and wealth. It all went very bad, very quickly. I say good riddance. (more…)

We have heard for months that recovery in the employment market will lag the economic rebound. This position is well grounded historically, as we have seen this phenomenon time and again. Until recently, I believed that the current recovery would follow the same pattern. But now I am forced to utter those four words that we so often regret- it’s different this time. (more…)

I remember first hearing it as a freshman in my macroeconomics 100 level class in 1977. It was every bit as true in 1777 as it will be 100 years from now. Guns and butter. The economic trade off that every society faces. (more…)

So what will they blame next? If the 3rd quarter proves out the highly anticipated  2-3% GDP growth in our economy, many a public company CEO and CFO will need to turn elsewhere to explain their companies’ lackluster performance. The go-to excuse of the last four quarters will begin to fade away and the distinction between high performing companies and also-rans will come into crystal clear focus. (more…)