What is the ISM® Manufacturing PMI®?
The service sector is what most Americans envision as the primary driver of the U.S. economy. Machinery, manufacturing, and heavy equipment, while still present, seem to be relics of a…
How Do We Measure Inflation?
In this article, we explain inflation, which is the most widely watched and used measure of the U.S. inflation rate and what the Federal Reserve can do about these numbers.
How Does the Fed Fight Inflation?
In 1997, Time magazine profiled central banker Alan Greenspan, along with Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and then Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, under the title “The Committee To…
Road Signs
Anyone who has driven through our home state knows the phrase “miles and miles of Texas” is an understatement. To travel between our major cities is to spend at least…
Under The Hood
At the end of each year Americans learn the magnitude of their national economy's growth over the previous twelve months. This number, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), functions like…
Eyes on Us
I always feel like somebody's watchin' meAnd I have no privacyI always feel like somebody's watchin' meIs it just a dream?"Somebody's Watching Me" - Rockwell (1984) The 1984 hit “Somebody’s…
The Price
In nearly every purchase of a capital asset there exists a metric to judge what value has been received at the time of purchase. In the commercial real estate market,…
Rosie the Telecommuter
World War II was a transformative event for our nation in many different ways. Some of the societal norms that existed before the war never returned. The national transition from…
Evaluating the Bear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7EJMyL6htw There is a bear in the woods.For some people the bear is easy to see.Others don’t see it at all.Some people say the bear is tame. Others say it…
Come Fly With Me
Frank Sinatra’s 1958 hit personifies how the public romanticized airline travel in the late 1950s. The 1950s are considered to be the golden age of air travel. However, the cost…