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The Light In the Tunnel | First Friday Preview April 2010
Yet again, the global economy seems to be stepping back from the brink. A sovereign debt crisis in Greece was seemingly averted after an E.U. plan provided backstop funding for the country. To the relief of observers, Greece just successfully sold 5 billion euros worth of seven-year bonds. Read more |
Job Market Outlook Improves, Availability of Top Talent Tightens ׀ First Friday Preview June 2009
“People drive pretty fast in Alabama, they’ll go 10 or 15 miles over the limit even if it’s raining. But when they see a car crumpled on the side of the road, they pull back. It will stop raining and they’ll still be well under the limit, waiting until they know the pavement has dried out before speeding up again,” says Jim Emison, managing partner of MR Birmingham Group, an MRINetwork office in Birmingham, Alabama. “That’s where a lot of employers are right now. They’ve seen a few big companies and many small ones crumble under the recession and even though it may have stopped raining, they are still holding back.” Read more |
Living Like Every Day Isn’t the Last ׀ First Friday Preview May 2009
Over the last two months, a steady flow of new reports has pointed to improved conditions in the U.S. economy. Consumer confidence is growing, home sales are showing life, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is more than 20 percent off its bottom. Many of the banks that were banging on the door of the Federal Reserve for the last year asking for money now want to give it back. In the first quarter, Ford lost less than projected, and burned far less cash than expected too, giving a breath of hope to the auto industry. Around the world, countries are looking hopefully at the winds of change in the United States as a promising sign for their own futures. Read more |
Recession Might Be Waning; Employers Consider How to Raise Headcounts ׀ First Friday Preview April 2009
In March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up for the month for the first time since its 11,543 close on August 29, 2008. It has been six tumultuous months. Few employers set their hiring targets based on the daily movements of the stock market, yet, nothing seems to drive confidence faster than green numbers on Wall Street. Read more |
Stimulus Bill Will Give Industries Confidence Before It Will Give Cash ׀ First Friday Preview March 2009
Since the beginning of the current economic crisis, the value of the U.S. dollar has both dropped and then rebounded against most international currencies. The value of a billion dollars, however, seems to have been diminished forever. Read more |
Layoffs Lift Unemployment’s Stigma; Unlikely Industry Provides Hopeful News ׀ First Friday Preview February 2009
In January 2008, the U.S. workforce lost 76,000 jobs, its first loss in nearly five years. It was the first of what would be 12 straight negative months, shedding nearly 2 million jobs in just the last four months of the year. Read more |
A New Year Gives Rise to a Clean Slate ׀ First Friday Preview January 2009
It is official, 2008 is over. It was a bad year for homeowners, homebuilders, bankers, investors, insurers, retailers, wholesalers, carmakers, journalists and the Detroit Lions. At last it is finally over. Read more |
