According to Wikipedia, the Phillips curve is a historical inverse relationship between rates of unemployment and corresponding rates of inflation. Theoretically, reductions in the unemployment rate should cause prospective employers to offer higher wages which, under some circumstances, can have an inflationary effect. Clearly, the Fed looks at a wide range of metrics in determining […]
Read MoreThe UAW and the Detroit based auto manufacturers are currently in the process of negotiating a new four year agreement. UAW members generally resent the two tier wage system and long-time employees feel that they have been left behind as the industry recovers from the bailout/bankruptcy era. It should be noted that UAW auto workers […]
Read MoreI was recently having a conversation about the capital markets with an attorney friend (non-client) who is exceptionally risk averse. Plain and simple, he intimated that he just could not stomach the constant ups and downs of stock prices and the potential for loss of principal. He is not unusual in this respect. Many, if not […]
Read MoreHere we go again. According to Black Knight Financial Services, cash-out residential refinances jumped 68% in the second quarter from a year ago, the highest volume of this type of refinancing in five years. As home values increase, homeowners are seeing paper increases in equity, which, when combined with unusually low mortgage rates, creates an […]
Read MoreMy colleague Walter Kirchberger wrote a very compelling blog on the impact of competent leadership for an organization and cited one of the two premiere college football teams in the state of Michigan in his comments. His commingling of sports and business when speaking of leadership was not unique. In many business management books, pages […]
Read MoreWhile athletics and business are not completely synonymous, both tend to require effective leadership. Witness the University of Michigan football team. A once great power had clearly fallen on hard times and the prospects for the 2015 season were not generally considered to be much better. At this writing the team is ranked 12th or […]
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