Research

On May 20, the Economic Club of Phoenix presented its annual Economic Outlook Luncheon.

Phoenix metro real estate prices declined 37 percent in February compared to February 2008, but preliminary data for March and April show that the rate of decline may be slowing.

All but three states reported losses in nonfarm employment in March 2009 compared to 12 months earlier, according to figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, the economy lost 4.8 million jobs over-the-year in March, and payroll employment fell by 3.6 percent.

This spring's crop of college graduates are venturing forth into one of the most challenging job markets in decades.

Doing business in China different than doing business anywhere else.

Candidate Barack Obama took grassroots networking into the digital age in his successful quest for the White House. Gerry Keim, associate dean for the W. P. Carey MBA, looks at whether President Obama can now convert his grassroots network to support his policy agenda.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently came out with new rules governing "mark-to-market accounting." Entities employing mark-to-market adjust the value of financial assets up or down, according to fair market value.

Arizona real estate markets tend to swing wildly. During boom periods, home prices accelerate precipitously, but when the bubble bursts, residential values sometimes slink all the way back to the price level at the start of cyclical upturn.

Current economic reports are grim, with indicators such as capacity utilization and housing starts at levels consistent with a deep contraction. Yet, there is a widespread view among analysts that the official end date of this recession is not that far off, sometime in late 2009.

Economy-watchers anticipated poor performance from the economy in the first quarter of 2009, and they got what they expected when the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the advance report on Gross Domestic Product (GDP).