What does the trough of a real estate slump look like? Phoenix metro area property owners will have time to take a close look at this unpleasant and hazardous landscape as the real estate market slides to the bottom over the next several months — and settles in for a slow, volatile recovery.

The Economic Minute is a new feature of Knowledge@W. P. Carey. These brief recaps by W. P. Carey economists, first presented at Economic Club of Phoenix luncheons, are designed to bring you up to date on current conditions nationally and in the West.

Real estate expert and finance Professor Karl Guntermann has been predicting for a long time that the decline in Phoenix area home prices would probably bottom out by the end of 2008.

When executed correctly, strategic sourcing — a multi-faceted approach to purchasing contingent on types of goods and services — yields many benefits for both buying companies and their suppliers.

Privacy once meant drawing the drapes. Now that we depend on technology to do the world's business, privacy means securing data, protecting personal information and keeping hackers at bay.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the Obama administration's plan to rescue financial markets yesterday. The plan was long on promise and short on details, however, which sent markets spinning.

The story sounds just like a John Grisham novel: The CEO of a West Virginia energy company spent more than $3 million to help a relative unknown unseat the incumbent and become a judge on the state's Supreme Court.

When times are good, expansion plans, future investments and revenue growth are the focus points in most industries. But during down times, organizations scrutinize spending. The current economic crisis is hitting the health care sector as hard as other industries.

"Victory is contagious, and food always tastes better when you win," says Ray Artigue, the former senior vice president of the Phoenix Suns, who is now a professor of practice in the marketing department at the W. P. Carey School of Business and director of the W. P. Carey MBA

The extreme appreciation that thrilled Phoenix area residents who bought their homes in the period just before the run up is gone — all gone. But the downward slide isn't over yet.