Category Archives: Academics

A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 4: The Federal Reserve and Interest Rates

 Comments Off on A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 4: The Federal Reserve and Interest Rates Tags: , , , , ,
CBEI Blog

Although a variety of factors influence the movement of interest rates, the Federal Reserve strongly influences the movement of interest rates through its policies. Through its “Open Market Operations” (the purchase and sale of Treasury securities), the Federal Reserve primarily controls the money supply in the U.S. The amount of money circulating in the economy […]

More...

Side Effects of Learning and Expectations

 Comments Off on Side Effects of Learning and Expectations Tags: , , , ,

It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since I sat in my first MBA course at UW-Stevens Point. There I sat wide-eyed and ready to soak up whatever information I could possibly take in from the dozens of strangers sharing a room with me; strangers I now call colleagues, mentors and friends. Although […]

More...

A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 3: Unemployment – Before and During the Crises

 Comments Off on A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 3: Unemployment – Before and During the Crises Tags: , , , , ,
CBEI Blog

The Financial Crisis The graph below shows the U.S. unemployment rate over the period 2001–2010. After reaching a peak unemployment rate of 6.3% in June 2003 during the recession following the turn of the century, the unemployment rate began a gradual decline and bottomed out at 4.4% in late 2006 and early 2007. Over a […]

More...

Couple’s gift to UW-Stevens Point funds Pointers Athletics graduate assistant positions in MBA program

 Comments Off on Couple’s gift to UW-Stevens Point funds Pointers Athletics graduate assistant positions in MBA program Tags: , , , , ,

A substantial gift from a couple with careers as executives in professional sports and arena management will help support University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Athletics through five graduate assistantships. Dan Hauser, a 1977 alumnus in business education, and his wife, Marilyn, will fund five graduate assistant positions in Pointers Athletics for two years each. The positions […]

More...

A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 2: Economic Growth–Before and During the Crises

 Comments Off on A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 2: Economic Growth–Before and During the Crises Tags: , , , , ,
CBEI Blog

First a little background on measuring economic growth. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) compiles and publishes Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics, which measures the U.S. output of goods and services and is the benchmark for measuring economic growth. Quarterly GDP growth is usually expressed as a percentage that represents the rate at which U.S. economic output […]

More...

A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 1: Causes and Cures

 Comments Off on A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 1: Causes and Cures Tags: , , , , , , ,
CBEI Blog

The Financial Crisis The United States began 2009 with arguably the worst economic landscape since the Great Depression, an economic scenario that began to unfold in late 2007. A tanking stock market, falling housing prices, increasing unemployment, and an economic recession. The root cause of the crisis – the housing market. A collage of factors […]

More...

Leah Knights: A look back at the MBA Program Fellow at CREATE Portage County

 Comments Off on Leah Knights: A look back at the MBA Program Fellow at CREATE Portage County Tags: , , , ,

Fellowship Introduction “Develop revenue-generating strategies to build, sustain and grow the viability and national impact of CREATE” was my statement of purpose upon entering my role as MBA Fellow with CREATE Portage County, an organization who’s impact on our community is rooted deeply, and with work that’s not always highly visible.   Throughout the course […]

More...

The Upside of Difficulties

 Comments Off on The Upside of Difficulties Tags: , , , ,
Kevin Ile and Prof. Lyna Matesi

In this year, this time, and this moment, it seems as if every one of us has something we’re struggling with. This isn’t to diminish pre-existing problems or concerns, but in my short life, I haven’t experienced people within a culture (or portion of a culture) witness, act and suffer the way those around me […]

More...

Capitalizing on These Shoes I Borrow

 Comments Off on Capitalizing on These Shoes I Borrow Tags: , , , , ,

Sometimes it takes generations to break the cycle of poverty and oppression. And even when the cycle is broken, it can be easy to fall back into. As a child of political refugees, my parents came to America with nothing but the shirts on their back. My parents spoke little English and did their best […]

More...

The Economic Recovery 2010-19: What Changed and What Didn’t – Part 6: Corporate Debt and Collateralized Loan Obligations

 Comments Off on The Economic Recovery 2010-19: What Changed and What Didn’t – Part 6: Corporate Debt and Collateralized Loan Obligations Tags: , , , , ,
Economic Recovery

Overview First, a quick long-term overview on trends in business debt. The blue line in Chart 1 below shows the amount of outstanding nonfinancial corporate business debt securities and loans from 1945 through the first quarter of 2020. The shaded areas of the chart indicate recession periods. From a long-term perspective, the amount of corporate […]

More...