U.S. Export growth? Dramatic!
A recent NY Times article highlighted the extraordinary growth of U.S. exports - almost 20% higher than last year. It may not hold but the combination of a weak dollar…
Another view . . . on the Economy
I don't know about you but I'm pretty tired of the one-sided, "the sky is falling approach of journalists" filling the front pages with dastardly economic news. Since we all…
Gas Expense used to be Larger?
The NY Times recently carried an article that defines conventional wisdom - and illustrates how gas, fuel and other energy costs have been much higher as a share of personal…
The lack of visibility
It’s the lack of visibility that’s got us tripped up about the economy. Just look at today’s SF Chronicle. On one hand, there’s an article on page C5 entitled “Fragile Economy improves a bit“, which sounds like good news . . . but it’s juxtaposed with a continuing article from page C1 entitled “Dow plunges 358 points, hits lowest level in 2 years“. It’s almost funny that the continuing headline on page C5 right before the “Fragile Economy improves” is the tagline about “a slew of troubling signs”.
In my daily conversations with executives, (more…)
Do the analysis – and, yes, Cash is still King!
In my column appearing in the North Bay Business Journal June 30 edition, I continue the series exploring the financial challenges of accelerated growth. This particular column illustrates the value of financial analysis, but more broadly, should encourage you to make sure you have strong financial leadership in your organization. My experience is that many middle market businesses consider that investment as “indirect overhead” and not as a productive source of profitability. Nothing could be farther from the truth and for evidence, (more…)