W. P. Carey news: Recent Episodes
W. P. Carey School of Business
Research and Ideas is a bi-weekly online resource that offers the latest business insights, information and research from a variety of sources. These include analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders and W. P. Carey faculty, articles based on the most recent business research, book reviews, conference and seminar reports.
Employment is recovering from the severe contraction induced by the pandemic, but it is still way below levels at the start of 2020. Can it fully recover this year? What is the expected role of the stimulus legislation on growth, employment, and inflation? What are the perspectives for the Arizona economy? Top national and regional experts share their economic forecasts and advice on these issues and more.
PetSmart President and CEO J.K. Symancyk, who has more than a 25-year history in retail, was the keynote speaker at the first Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon of 2020. Listen as he shares about the privately held bricks-and-mortar pet chain and how it’s moving forward in this exciting and dynamic time in retail.
He's a research Professor of Economics in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and Director of the school’s JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center. The Center maintains the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast and Greater Phoenix Economic Forecast websites. McPheters also oversees the Job Growth USA website that tracks employment for all industries in the U.S. states and metropolitan areas. The website is frequently used by economists, financial analysts, economic development specialists, and, during election season, fact-checking organizations to evaluate claims by candidates regarding job creation statistics and policies. His writings on the Western region have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Economist, Business Week, The New York Times, and Newsweek as well as major metropolitan area newspapers throughout the nation. He has appeared nationally on Good Morning America, Fox News, Marketplace on NPR, and CNN commenting on the economic outlook. As director of the Economic Outlook Center, since 1987 McPheters has delivered a cumulative total of more than 500 speeches and presentations to various public and private audiences at business and academic conferences in Arizona and across the nation.
McPheters has published numerous articles in books and professional journals on various topics, including immigration, executive compensation, monetary policy, international business cycles, and issues in law and economics. At the federal level, his work has been supported by the United States departments of Justice, Transportation, Agriculture, and the Treasury. In Arizona, he has completed research projects for the Arizona Department of Transportation, Sky Harbor International Airport, Boeing, and many other public and corporate sponsors.
McPheters completed his undergraduate studies at San Francisco State University and received his Ph.D. in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He has been at ASU since 1976, teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in monetary and regional economics. In addition, has held various administrative positions at ASU including Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the W. P. Carey School of Business from 1991 – 2008.
Professor of Economics Bart Hobijn provided the outlook for the national and global economies at the 56th Annual ASU Economic Forecast Luncheon on Dec. 11, 2019, at the Phoenix Convention Center.
He joined the W. P. Carey Economics Department at Arizona State University in summer 2015. He is an applied macroeconomist, whose special interests are technological progress and economic growth, price measurement, and labor market dynamics. Prior to joining ASU, Hobijn worked in the Economic Research departments of the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco and New York. He has also taught classes at U.C. Berkeley, City University of New York, INSEAD, New York University, and VU University Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.
He serves as a member of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ technical advisory committee. He completed his PhD in economics at New York University and his MS in econometrics at Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands.
His research has been published in several of the leading academic journals in economics, including the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Journal of Monetary Economics. He has more than 60 publications and more than 6,000 citations on Google Scholar.
Robert J. Barro, the Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics at Harvard University, delivered the keynote address at the 56th Annual ASU Economic Forecast Luncheon on Dec. 11, 2019, at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Robert J. Barro is Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics at Harvard University, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and a B.S. in physics from Caltech.
Barro is co-editor of Harvard’s Quarterly Journal of Economics and has been President of the Western Economic Association and Vice President of the American Economic Association. He was a viewpoint columnist for Business Week from 1998 to 2006 and a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal from 1991 to 1998. He has written extensively on macroeconomics and economic growth.
Recent research involves rare macroeconomic disasters, corporate tax reform, religion & economy, empirical determinants of economic growth, and economic effects of public debt and budget deficits. Recent books include Religion and Economy (forthcoming with Rachel McCleary), Economic Growth (2nd edition, with Xavier Sala-i-Martin), Nothing Is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium, Determinants of Economic Growth, and Getting It Right: Markets and Choices in a Free Society.
State Forty Eight, the apparel line that offers gear for those proud to represent the state of Arizona, has been named the winner of the 2019 Spirit of Enterprise Award for its innovation and growth, as well as its ethics and positive impact on Arizona’s economy. State Forty Eight is known for redefining the status-quo and inspiring others to rise up and stand for what they believe in.
Co-founder Michael Spangenberg accepted the 2019 Spirit of Enterprise Award on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Spirit of Enterprise is part of the Economic Club of Phoenix (ECP) luncheon series, presented by Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.
W. P. Carey's top experts answered questions about the state and nation at the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, presented by the Economic Club of Phoenix.
Hear Mark Stapp, Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate and executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program, explain the concerns over affordable housing amid the rapid growth in home prices.
W. P. Carey's top experts answered questions about the state and nation at the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, presented by the Economic Club of Phoenix.
Lee McPheters, research professor of economics and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center, offers a first look at the year ahead for Arizona and the Phoenix metro area, along with an update on year-to-date performance in 2019.
W. P. Carey's top experts answered questions about the state and nation at the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, presented by the Economic Club of Phoenix.
Listen to Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics and director of the Seidman Research Institute, who examines recent national trends and discusses the factors that will influence those trends going forward.
Doug Parker was named chairman and CEO of American Airlines Group in 2013. Previously, Parker was chairman and CEO of US Airways. Before the merger of US Airways and America West Airlines in 2005, he was chairman, president, and CEO of America West.
Under Parker’s leadership, US Airways achieved record revenue growth, operational performance, and profit margins that outpaced most industry peers. Parker has been a vocal proponent of airline industry consolidation, which provides a more stable and competitive industry for employees, customers, communities, and stockholders.
Prior to joining America West in 1995, Parker served in multiple leadership roles with Northwest Airline and American Airlines. He received a BA in economics from Albion College in 1984 and an MBA from Vanderbilt University in 1986.
Lois E. Krahn, MD was recently named interim CEO of Mayo Clinic Arizona. In addition, she's a professor of psychiatry in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology and the Division of Pulmonary Medicine.
In addition to Dr. Krahn's duties as interim CEO, she serves as the director of Mayo Clinic's Center of the Science of Healthcare Delivery. She is also a member of both the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors and Board of Trustees.
One of the most recognized and respected names in health care, Mayo Clinic has established a culture of innovation, always looking to create new sciences and technologies. As the health care sector has become more complex, Mayo Clinic is focusing on how to innovate services and delivery, shifting focus to patient-centered care.
Listen to Dr. Krahn's keynote speech as she shares her thoughts on innovation in health care — from who pays for it and the players in it to the partnerships and challenges.
Research Professor of Economics Lee McPheters, who is the director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center, shared the history of the Lawrence R. Klein Award, regarded as the best known and longest-standing achievements in the economics field.
Tomas Gorny is a Polish-born, American entrepreneur and the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of UnitedWeb, a holdings company, and Nextiva, a cloud communications provider.
He has founded several successful technology companies, including IPOWER in 2001, which was sold to Warburg and Goldman Sachs for nearly $1 billion in 2011 and later went public. He launched Nextiva in 2006, followed by SiteLock in 2008. In 2014, Nextiva was named the fastest-growing telecommunications company in North America and the fastest-growing tech company in Arizona by Deloitte. In 2015, SiteLock took Nextiva’s place as the fastest-growing tech company in Arizona, with Nextiva coming in second. In 2018, SiteLock sold to ABRY Partners LLC.
Gorny has received numerous awards for his leadership in the technology industry nationwide. He was named Arizona’s Top Tech CEO in 2017 by the Phoenix Business Journal. His latest honor is the 2018 Spirit of Enterprise Award, which was presented to him at the Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon.
Hear expert answers to audience questions from McPheters, John Cochrane, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and W. P. Carey Professor of Economics Bart Hobjin.
The first Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon of the 2018-19 season on Nov. 15, featured Jim Fish of Waste Management. Consistently named one of the world’s most ethical companies and one of the best employers for veterans, Waste Management is the largest environmental solutions provider in North America, with more than 20 million commercial, industrial, and municipal customers across the U.S. and Canada. The company is perhaps best known as America’s largest residential recycler.
Fish, who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the W. P. Carey School before receiving his MBA at the University of Chicago, has been with Waste Management since 2001.
In the first Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon of the 2018-19 season, listen to the Economic Minute from Dennis Hoffman, the director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute and professor of economics. He shares the arithmetic on whether 3 percent gross domestic product and above is sustainable and why it matters.
What's next for Arizona's economy? Will the stock market continue its record climb, and what impact can national trends and policies have here at home?
Director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute Dennis Hoffman, Director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center Lee McPheters, and Director of the Master of Real Estate Development program Mark Stapp, who is the Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate, examine where the economy is headed, share about the state’s population growth, and give a first glance at the Arizona outlook for the upcoming year.
W. L. Gore & Associates President and CEO Terri Kelly, who has worked for the global materials science company perhaps best known for its GORE-TEX fabrics products, was awarded the 2018 Executive of the Year Award by Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business. The W. P. Carey Dean's Council honored her at a luncheon on April 12. In her speech, Kelly shares about Gore's distinct culture and leadership model.
The owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and host of ABC’s “Shark Tank" gave a spur-of-the-moment presentation at Arizona State University on Oct. 11, thanks to the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity.
Research Professor of Economics Lee McPheters, who is the director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business, expects Arizona to continue attracting people from other states but said additional population could put a strain on the Valley's resources. “We expect steady, sustainable but not spectacular growth — certainly better than most places. We’re close to a top 10 growth state but not in the top five.” Listen to McPheter's entire 2018 outlook for Arizona at the 54th Annual Economic Forecast Luncheon on Nov. 29, 2017.
Research Professor of Economics Lee McPheters, who is the director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center, says Arizona is one of the top five states that is a destination place for people who are relocating. He explains Maricopa County adds 220 new residents a day — that's first in the nation. Who are the majority of these new residents? McPheters explains that while baby boomers declined by 4 percent across the nation, they grew 3.3 percent in Arizona. On the other side of the age spectrum, millennials grew by 5 percent. This tells us that the Valley of the Sun is an attractive destination for millennial migrants and baby boomers.
At long last, Arizona’s economy has officially recovered from the Great Recession. According to economist Lee McPheters, who spoke at the 53rd Annual ASU/JPMorgan Chase Economic Forecast Luncheon, strong job growth and population growth will continue in 2017. But longer-term measures of economic security “bear watching.”
Dennis Hoffman, Lee McPheters, and Mark Stapp from ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business addressed all the big issues and provided the first look at the local and national economy in 2018 at the Annual Economic Luncheon sponsored by the Economic Club of Phoenix.
The convenience store has been ranked one of the best places to work for its diversity, giving back, managers, and more. Its President and CEO Chet Cadieux shares why at the Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon on Feb. 22, 2018.
Matthews is helping the company with heart bring essential, ready-to-use, plant-based nutrition to those with medical needs.
He discusses how technology is both supporting and becoming business, and why companies must embrace technology and innovation to manage and transform.
The men’s college basketball Final Four this weekend in Glendale, Ariz., brings a visit from the association’s president, who related athletics’ relevant records and statistics are important for the way in which they can affect societies surrounding them.
Mark Emmert spoke at the Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon on March 29. While he’s in town for the March Madness finale, his close connection with ASU President Michael Crow surely made his visit all the sweeter. It’s also the first time it has come to the Valley of the Sun, and it’s the first time in the West since Seattle hosted it in 1995. Emmert shared how sports transcend differences, bringing people together. He focused on the NCAA’s priorities and economics. And most importantly, Emmert stressed communities, universities, and students benefit from sports despite the cost of college athletics.
Joe Shoen’s parents founded U-Haul in 1945. He has worked at the company for 40 of the 50 years that U-Haul International has been headquartered in Central Phoenix. In 1987, Joe was chosen as the chairman of the board of directors for AMERCO, the parent company of U-Haul. Joe and his brother Mark have devoted most of their adult life to managing U-Haul as a family business.
Under three decades of Joe’s leadership, U-Haul has significantly increased choices available to consumers in the do-it-yourself moving and self-storage industry. In 1987, there were 4,600 U-Haul rental outlets. Today, U-Haul has more than 21,000 locations; 285,000 trucks, trailers, or towing devices and over 50 million square feet of rentable self-storage space in North America.
With 1,100 locations providing propane, U-Haul has one of the largest propane refilling networks in North America and is the biggest seller and installer of aftermarket hitches.
Joe lives in Phoenix with his wife Sylvia and sons Carty and Joseph. While most of his spare time is consumed with his children and their activities, Joe’s interests also include Amercian history aviation. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Harvard Business School, and Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
Listen to his from-the-heart presentation at the Executive of the Year Award on Wednesday, April 19, at the JW Marriot Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa after being introduced by Dean Amy Hillman.
‘Tis the season for many companies to have accurate projections for the future. That’s why we present annually the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Accuracy. Hear Professor of Economics Lee McPheters announce the 2016 recipient, Dean Maki, the chief economist at Point72 Asset Management and second-time winner of the award. McPheters also shares Maki's 2017 predictions.
Tony Sarsam, CEO of Ready Pac Foods Inc., is a highly respected leader known for building a high-performance culture. Hear his lessons on the importance of focusing on people to improve the bottom line.
Professor Dennis Hoffman, speaking at the first monthly Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon of the 2016-2017 season, said the headwinds for the next president: Aging baby boomers are one cause for the declining labor force participation rates.
For the first monthly Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon of the 2016-2017 season, the keynote speaker was Jason Clemens, executive vice president of the Fraser Institute. He shared about Canada's pre-reform days and its 1990s era of restructuring, as well as the country's reform results. Could these examples be useful for the United States as it goes through similar problems?
Mark Stapp from ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business addresses all the big real estate issues and provides a first look at metro Phoenix commercial real estate in 2018.
How will the Trump economy affect Arizona? At the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, you'll find out the impact of the new minimum wage law on Arizona job creation, learn where unemployment is lowest around the Valley, and take a look at the industries driving Arizona economic growth at mid-year 2017. Lee McPheters from ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business addresses all the big issues and provides your first look at the local economy in 2018.
The Phoenix-based practice continues to celebrate success in driving physician, hospital, and payer alignment to deliver patient outcomes, thanks to its proprietary IT platform.
At the first monthly luncheon of the Economic Club of Phoenix 2017 season, Chairman and CEO of The CORE Institute Dr. David Jacofsky shared how creativity and innovation are taking health care to new heights.
Tony Sarsam, CEO of Ready Pac Foods Inc., is a highly respected leader known for building a high-performance culture. Hear his lessons on the importance of focusing on people to improve the bottom line.
Professor Dennis Hoffman said the headwinds for the next president: Aging baby boomers are one cause for the declining labor force participation rates.
For the first monthly Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon of the 2016-2017 season, the keynote speaker was Jason Clemens, executive vice president of the Fraser Institute. He shared about Canada's pre-reform days and its 1990s era of restructuring, as well as the country's reform results. Could these examples be useful for the United States as it goes through similar problems?
You may not recognize it based on previous recoveries, but this is the boom, said economist Elliott Pollack, CEO of Elliott D. Pollack & Company at the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, hosted by the Economic Club of Phoenix. We are midway through a significant recovery characterized by slow growth. With fewer people moving nationally, and fewer moving to Arizona, job creation in the state has been lower than previous recoveries and it has taken longer to absorb excess inventory in single family, office and other kinds of real estate. But the future looks better, Pollack said, although for some sectors the up-tick could be a couple years away.
The Arizona economy will improve in 2016, but don’t expect a boom, said Lee McPheters, professor of economics and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Speaking at the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, hosted by the Economic Club of Phoenix, McPheters said that Arizona leads the nation in the rate of growth in private sector jobs and benefits from a pro-growth environment, affordable space and labor and relatively new infrastructure. The state has work to do to improve its brand, however.
The national economy is experiencing the slowest recovery in recent memory, and the pace is not expected to pick up in the coming year, said Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics and director of the L. William Seidman research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Speaking at the Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, hosted by the Economic Club of Phoenix, Hoffman said that the somewhat fragile U.S. economy could be susceptible to any kind of shock, however the picture in Arizona is brighter.
Under the leadership of president and CEO John Hammergren, McKesson Corporation grew to become the leading provider of health care services and information technology solutions that help health care organizations improve business performance and deliver better care to patients. . On April 21, the W. P. Carey School of Business named Hammergren the Dean’s Council Executive of the Year for 2016.
The numbers are in, and the real estate market finished 2015 on a high point, especially for new home sales, according to Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. According to his latest report, December was the strongest month for new home sales since 2008, with nearly 1,500 newly built homes recorded. That’s up 45 percent from November and 58 percent from December 2014.
Optimism prevails in the Phoenix real estate market, according to Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School. Overall supply, which has been low, is now 77 percent of normal and rising fast, he said. But demand is 99 percent normal, which means prices are rising, too. Orr presented his data during the Economic Minute, a regular feature of the W. P. Carey School’s Economic Club of Phoenix luncheons.
Hilary Schneider becomes CEO of Tempe, Arizona-based Lifelock Inc. March. As president since 2012, she has been in charge of business strategy, operations and growth of the company, which is a leading provider of proactive identity theft protection services for consumers and identity risk and credit worthiness assessment for enterprises. At the Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon on February 16, she commented on the growing mass of data collected by firms, and the implications for privacy and security.
Harvey Kanter is the chief executive officer of Blue Nile, the largest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry. He addressed the Economic Club of Phoenix on January 28, 2016. The W. P. Carey School’s Economic Club of Phoenix connects business leaders with top executives and thought leaders at its monthly luncheons.
Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute, shows that increasing the number college graduates in the workforce will improve the economy, resulting in higher wages for all – including those without a bachelor’s degree – and more revue in the state treasury.
Speaking at the monthly luncheon of the Economic Club of Phoenix, Hoffman said “In some we conducted over the last year at W. P. Carey, we pursued some academic work from Enrico Moretti of University of California, Berkeley, who studied hundreds of metropolitan areas over decades. He found that if you attain higher labor force shares of college-degreed people, not only did you get the benefits of those higher wages and the social outcomes, everybody’s wages went up.” Hid team used Moretti’s simulation to calculate the impact in Arizona.
The latest Greater Phoenix Housing Market Report shows low interest in high end homes and the building cache of new houses.
There has been little change in the Greater Phoenix real estate market for the last year, and the October numbers show a continuation of the trend, according to Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. The median single-family-home sales price went up just 4 percent from last October to this October – from $200,000 to $208,000. Demand remains lower than last year, with sales of single-family homes down 5 percent from last October. With the New Year just days away, we asked Orr what it would take to give the market a strong start in 2015.
In the fourth quarter each year, businesses look to economic forecasts to guide planning for the next year. In the November Economic Minute, W. P. Carey economist Lee McPheters talked about forecasts for 2016 and how they might be interpreted. Although they differ, all point to the 11th consecutive year of anemic GDP growth. The Economic Minute is a feature of the monthly Economic Club of Phoenix luncheons.
Starbucks is a worldwide brand, but its success rests on more than a cup of coffee. Cliff Burrows is group president of U.S., Americas, and Teavana. He addressed the October luncheon meeting of the Economic Club of Phoenix about the company’s commitment to its employees and society – including the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, an education partnership with ASU.
Even though the Phoenix real estate market was sluggish in August, optimism prevails this fall. But the W. P. Carey School’s expert has questions about whether there will be significant upward momentum in the near future. Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice, delivered an overview of the market, including new numbers for September, at the October luncheon meeting of the Economic Club of Phoenix.
While August temperatures spiked, the real estate market was cooling down, according to the monthly report from the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Sales were up 12 percent compared to August 2014, but compared to a sizzling July, they dropped 11 percent. And as you would expect, the ho-hum sales were accompanied by lackluster pricing. Here’s Michael Orr, director of the center and author of the report.
Most years, the desert heat holds back buyers in the Phoenix real estate market, but not this year. Sales of single family homes were up 20 percent over July of last year, and townhouses rose even more: 32 percent year-over-year. Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School, noted in his monthly report that this July sales were higher than March, April or May – very unusual.
Experts and policymakers say that a workforce educated in the STEM fields is essential to the innovation and know-how that will build and keep the economy strong, yet the STEM fields have not always been associated with business schools. That’s no longer the case, as Michael Goul, associate dean for research at the W. P. Carey School of Business, explains.
The real estate market fluctuates with the seasons, and the lead up to summer – a popular time to move -- is usually busy. This year June was the prize-winner with exceptionally strong sales. Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice in the W. P. Carey School of Business, reports that single family sales in June rose 9 percent over May, and were 22 percent higher than a year ago.
Shrinking supply has been the story in the Phoenix real estate market for months, but relief could be here in the second half of the year — at least for some buyers. In the past two months the number of building permits issued in the $200,000 to $500,000 range has increased to a level not seen since 2007.
The high volatility that electrified the Phoenix real estate market over the past few years has been replaced by something more like normality. Change is more gradual. The real news is tied to long term trends, which have been shifting, according to Mike Orr, who is director of the center housed at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
Dennis Hoffman is professor of economics and director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His analysis of the economic issues confront Arizona and the nation was delivered on May 6, 2015, at the annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, hosted by the Economic Club of Phoenix, an affiliate of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Michael Orr is the director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His monthly housing reports, which track the real estate market in central Arizona, are closely followed by the professional community and the national media. He presented a forecast for the Phoenix market on May 6, 2015, at the annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, hosted by the Economic Club of Phoenix, an affiliate of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Lee McPheters is a research professor of economics and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center. He presented his forecast for Arizona and the nation on May 6, 2015, at the annual Economic Outlook Luncheon, hosted by the Economic Club of Phoenix, an affiliate of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The Phoenix real estate market surged in February, delivering the beginning of what is hoped to be a recovery in 2015. Mike Orr, director of the Center for real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business, follows the market closely and issues a monthly report. Single family sales rose 19 percent in February compared to January, vacancy rates in the rental sector were the lowest in 15 years and new home sales increased 8 percent over last year.
Christopher L. Mapes, chairman, president and CEO of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. is the 2014-2015 Dean’s Council Executive of the Year, presented by the W. P. Carey School of Business. Lincoln Electric is known to business school graduates because it is the subject of one of the most widely-used business cases. The firm is famed for its organizational culture, which is based on lifelong employment relationships and excellent performance. The company has not had a layoff since the late 1940s, emerging from economic downturns strong in part because it holds onto its talent. Mapes, who came to Lincoln Electric in 2010 after serving in numerous leadership and board positions, accepted the award at a luncheon on April 8.
The January numbers are out for the Phoenix real estate market and they’re not spectacular. But even when the market is normal, January is slow, says real estate expert Mike Orr. Activity during February and March is signaling growing strength in the market at last.
A recent study asserted that immigrants scooped up all of the nation’s net job growth since 2007. Using labor data and his characteristic humor, Economist Lee McPheters, director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center, uncovered the fallacy of this statement at the March 5th Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon.
Corporate recruiters have come up with a new, tough question for students: what do you know about business data analytics? The reason they ask is virtually every business needs employees who can interpret data. The W. P. Carey School has a certificate for that.
December produced the first good news for sellers in the Phoenix real estate market since June 2013 as the townhouse/condominium market heated up. According to Mike Orr, author of the Monthly Housing Report from the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice, more attached homes were sold in December than anticipated, and for higher prices. Orr said that a trend may be forming shifting demand away from single family homes.
State Farm Insurance is building a $600 million regional hub in Tempe, and it’s beefing up its local workforce. Michael Tipsord, vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of State Farm Insurance Companies, addressed the Economic Club of Phoenix, sharing information about the company’s growth and how it will benefit customers, employees and the Phoenix area.
Long-time residents remember the 1990s for robust employment growth, but that decade began with several years of very slow growth – about 2 percent per year. That’s very similar to slow rate of growth Arizona has experienced since 2010. Economist Dennis Hoffman, director of the Seidman Research Institute, shows that both periods of time have at least one factor in common: Arizona was suffering from image problems.
The website for Whole Foods Market declares that “we seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture.” At the January Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, club president and Professor of Practice Jeffrey Cunningham interviewed co-CEO Walter Robb IV about Whole Foods, the grocery industry and his
After slumbering for more than a year, the Phoenix real estate market is finally producing some cause for optimism. Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business, described the landscape for residential housing, both single family and apartments. Orr was delivering the Economic Minute, a talk that is a regular feature of the Economic Club of Phoenix monthly lunches. The club is affiliated with the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
There has been little change in the Greater Phoenix real estate market for the last year, and the October numbers show a continuation of the trend, according to Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. The median single-family-home sales price went up just 4 percent from last October to this October – from $200,000 to $208,000. Demand remains lower than last year, with sales of single-family homes down 5 percent from last October. With the New Year just days away, we asked Orr what it would take to give the market a strong start in 2015.
Ray Anderson is Arizona State University’s athletic director and university vice president. Before accepting the position in January 2014, Anderson was managing football operations for the NFL and had served as vice president of the Atlanta Falcons. A Los Angeles native, Anderson holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School. He discussed ASU’s challenge to boost athletic revenues and fundraising and lower university subsidies at the Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon on October 9, 2014.
A subdued Phoenix real estate market crept through September in low gear, with demand continuing weaker than normal, supply fairly limited and sales transaction volume well below normal. In contrast, the rental market is busy and many construction projects are in the works to increase supply. And, demand at the very top of the market -- for properties priced at $2 million and above -- remains stronger than usual. That’s the overview of the September Greater Phoenix Housing Market Study, released in November. Transaction volumes tell the story.
Economist Dennis Hoffman was in the stands when No. 2 Michigan State played No. 1 Notre Dame for the national championship in 1966 – 30 years before collegiate football initiated overtime play. In the closing minutes of the game with the score tied, Notre Dame Coach Ara Parseghian ran out the clock rather than risk a turnover. Since then, “playing it Parseghian” has come to mean taking the risk-free way out of a challenging situation. Arizona has been a champion of job creation in the past, Hoffman says, but right now the state is doing just ok. The question is whether the state can afford to do nothing -- to play it Parseghian – or to take a more activist approach to job growth.
A year ago the recovering Phoenix real estate market suddenly shifted to weak, and the market has remained down ever since. We asked Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business, what one word he would use to describe the market this fall. The word he chose was “subdued.”
Sidnee Peck, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the W. P. Carey School, talks with Ken Morgan of KFNN MoneyRadio 1510, about the companies that are finalists for the 18th Annual Spirit of Enterprise Awards, to be presented November 21, 2014.
The U. S. Census Bureau’s household formation report offers hope that the market is regain momentum again, says Mike Orr, director of the Center for real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
Clinical Assistant Professor Altaf Ahmad is anybody’s definition of a team leader. He has shouldered leadership positions within the department and has been instrumental in the redesign of several courses as well as the creation of the new B.S. in business data analytics. But ask his students, and they will tell you that he shines in the classroom. For all this he was awarded the Huizingh Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher Award this spring.
Raghu Santanam is known internationally for his research, particularly in the area of health care information and delivery systems. This spring he was named the Outstanding Doctoral Professor for his work teaching, mentoring and collaborating with information systems Ph.D. students.
The housing data for April paints a picture of a quiet market, in sharp contrast to April of a year ago when buyers outnumbered sellers. According to the monthly housing report from the W. P. Carey School of Business, single family house prices went up in March, but the pattern did not hold for April, when prices were virtually stable. And demand remained weak, especially among first-time homebuyers. Think of it as a holding pattern until those who are recovering from foreclosures and short sales can qualify for mortgages again. Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice and author of the report, explains that although quiet, the market is showing signs of health.
Uday Kulkarni was honored with the W. P. Carey School’s Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. He was one of the first professors to adapt classes from the Master of Science in Information Management program to online delivery — recording his lectures and creating new types of discussion boards. The next time he taught in the classroom, he found that the experience had changed the way he handles his in-person classes as well.
According to March data, the median sales price of a single family home in Phoenix returned to the December level after a two-month long dip. Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice and author of the W. P. Carey School’s monthly housing report, had predicted the March price increase. But don’t read too much into it, he says. It’s a seasonal effect.
Economist Dennis Hoffman has done General Fund revenue forecasting for Arizona governors since the early 1980s. At the annual Executive of the Year luncheon sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business on April 17, 2014, Hoffman showed that taxpayers are paying less as a percentage of their incomes to support K-12 education, universities, public safety, health and welfare, etc., than they did 30 years ago. A relatively small number of high income individuals, meantime, contribute 40.8 percent of total income tax.
Jim Davidson, co-founder, managing partner and managing director of Silver Lake, has played a key role in some of the biggest deals in the technology industry. That includes investments in Dell, Skype, Go Daddy, Alibaba, Avago, Seagate and Sabre Holdings - which operates Travelocity. For his impressive work in the investment arena, the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University has honored Davidson with the school’s annual Executive of the Year Award.
January usually claims the dubious distinction as the slowest month of the year, according to Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School, but this year February isn’t much better. In a normal February, people are out shopping — and buying — homes, but this year that early spring burst of energy hasn’t materialized. The lack of activity is a shocking contrast to last spring.
If you are in the market for a house, the news is good: Sellers will answer your calls and consider your offer. Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice told the Economic Club of Phoenix on March 18, 2010 that the current lull in home price increases will continue this year. With investors moving to cheaper markets and young people lukewarm about home ownership, the market is a welcoming place for those few in the mood to buy.
Dan Hesse was named CEO of Sprint since December 2007. A recognized leader in the mobile technology sector, Hesse recently added the lifetime achievement award from Corporate Responsibility Magazine to his list of accolades. On March 18, 2014, Hesse briefed members of the Economic Club of Phoenix on the advances in wireless technology that are launching the Internet of things.
January – usually the slowest month of the year for home sales – turned out to be the second quietest in 14 years. According to Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice, the number of homes sold in the Phoenix area real estate market in January was 18 percent lower than December and 22 percent lower than January a year ago. Prices also declined, with the median sales price for a single family home slipping 4 percent between December and January.
More than two years of rising prices in the Phoenix real estate market appear to be coming to an end, says Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and practice and author of the monthly housing report. The December data shows that although the median single-family-home price rose 25 percent compared to December 2012, sales during that period dropped 16 percent, reflecting what Orr says is a cooling market.
The plummet in labor force participation is a hot news topic, but despite loud political and pundit proclamations about discouraged workers exiting the job market, demographics is playing a large role. The baby boomers, whose numbers and consumption habits pushed economic growth in the past, are moving into their retirement years when they will work and spend less, according to economist Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute. Here is his presentation, from the Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon.
Punit Renjen is chairman of Deloitte LLP. Named CEO of Deloitte’s consulting business in 2009, Renjen helped lead the firm’s exceptional performance through one of the worst recessions in recent history. In this speech before the Economic Club of Phoenix, Renjen described what differentiates the firm: its culture. Renjen said Deloitte’s 200,000 practitioners across the world can articulate the reasons the firm exists: to serve its audit clients with integrity and distinction while creating trust in the marketplace; to create impact for consulting clients; to develop accomplished practitioners through mentorship; and to uphold the standards of the profession so that others will follow.
Growing income disparity is a troubling trend, says U-Haul CEO Joe Shoen, and the most dramatic evidence is sky-rocketing CEO compensation packages. At a recent Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, Shoen examined the forces driving CEO pay. At fault could be the primacy of the shareholder, he said, and a regulatory environment that imposes criminal sanctions on top executives. This model pits ownership, directors and management against each other, trapped in defensive behaviors, when those parties should be united by common purpose. The Economic Club of Phoenix, affiliated with the W. P. Carey School of Business, facilitates discussion of business and economic issues.
The numbers are in for real estate activity in the Greater Phoenix area in November 2013, and they show that the cooling that began this summer continued through the first of December. Michael Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School and author of the monthly market report said that the median sales price for a single family home was unchanged between October and November.
The Phoenix real estate market, known in recent years for its volatility, is ending the year on a quiet note. According to Mike Orr, author of the W. P. Carey School’s monthly housing report, a trend that started in July continued through October, as supply increased primarily because of a drop in demand.
Home prices in Phoenix started to rise from the summer doldrums in September and supply is also increasing, according to the latest Greater Phoenix Housing report from the W. P. Carey School’s Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice. But demand has slumped, says Michael Orr, author of the report. Softening consumer confidence is probably one of many reasons.
The Phoenix-area housing market – hit especially hard during the recession – began a slow march back to normal in July, according to Mike Orr, author of the Greater Phoenix Housing Market Report and director of the W. P. Carey School’s Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice. Report -- July 2013 data
Supply in the Phoenix real estate market is not yet back to normal, but it is clearly getting much stronger. Demand, meantime, has cooled because investor interest has decreased and ordinary homebuyers have not taken up the slack. If this shift continues, the market could be in balance by year’s end, according to Mike Orr, author of the Greater Phoenix Housing Market Report and director of the W. P. Carey School’s Center for real Estate Theory and Practice. August 2013 data
Historically, the heat of summer wilts the Phoenix housing market, a phenomenon reflected in the June housing report from the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Mike Orr, director of the center, says that prices tend to stay put or even drift downward during the summer doldrums. This year, however, prices may be sliding sideward, but pay little attention, he advises. The rise in interest rates that has so captured the attention of Wall Street will also be a blip on the graph, he said. The long term trend will hinge on the major factors, which are population growth versus housing supply. Orr begins by talking about supply.