Research

Although the number of Valley home resales for June has improved over May, there's no doubt the market remains on shaky ground.

Chaos in clinics" was what one TV news broadcast called 2009's shortage of H1N1 vaccine. Once vaccine did start trickling into the supply chain, it was up to county officials to decide which healthcare providers would get the few doses available, and those decisions had to be made on the fly.

Recessions are especially hard on small businesses. Few small firms have the resources to stay the course and wait out the bad times. Credit is scarce, and budget cutting difficult. In a small operation, there are not that many places to cut.

As the calendar approaches the mid-year mark, the economy through the first half appears on track to exceed earlier expectations, thanks to increased spending by consumers and the willingness of businesses to build inventories and invest in new equipment and software.

Big picture, the Phoenix housing market showed gradual improvement overall through May, but zooming in on the various segments the picture changes, as some are still declining while others are improving — but only slowly.

The Phoenix resale market slowed a bit in May when compared to April, possibly because activity spiked last month as the federal first-time home buyer program came to a close, according to Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate and author of the monthly Realty Studies Report from the W.&n

For government and business, providers and patients, the U.S. health reform legislation promises a new world of costs and care. Most individuals without insurance will be able to get it. Those who have insurance already will probably have to pay more for it.

Last month the world was rocked by the news of a series of workplace suicides at Foxconn Technology in Shenzhen, China.

The Phoenix housing market appears to be stabilizing as preliminary data for April shows a 1 percent year-over-year price increase for the first time in almost three years, according to the ASU-RSI (Repeat Sales Index).

With four months of figures for 2010 now available, analysts are beginning to grow (slightly) more optimistic about the employment picture for the nation and the Western states this year.