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US Economy Outlook

The U.S. economic outlook is healthy according to the key  economic indicators . The most critical indicator is the  gross domestic product , which measures the nation's production output. The  GDP growth rate  is expected to remain between the 2% and 3%  ideal range . Unemployment is forecast to continue at the  natural rate . There isn't too much  inflation or deflation . That's a  Goldilocks economy . https://www.thebalance.com/us-economic-outlook-3305669

Understanding the Sub Prime Mortgage Crisis

https://www.thebalance.com/subprime-mortgage-crisis-effect-and-timeline-3305745 The  subprime mortgage   crisis occurred when banks sold too many mortgages to feed the demand for  mortgage-backed securities  sold through the  secondary market . When home prices fell in 2006, it triggered  defaults . The risk spread into  mutual funds , pension funds, and corporations who owned these  derivatives . The ensuing  2007 banking crisis  and the  2008 financial crisis  produced the worst  recession  since the  Great Depression . June 2004-June 2006: Fed Raised Interest Rates By June 2004, housing prices were skyrocketing. The  Federal Reserve  Chairman Alan Greenspan started raising interest rates to cool off the overheated market. The Fed raised the  fed funds rate  six times, reaching 2.25 percent by D...

Valuation of a Business

 https://www.valuadder.com/valuationguide/business-valuation-three-approaches.html  Assumptions drive your business valuation results To make things interesting, there are a number of ways to measure business value. Why such complexity? Because business value is seen differently by different people. For example, a business owner may believe that the business value is defined by its contribution to the local community it serves. On the other hand, a financially minded investor may gauge a business solely based on its ability to generate desired returns. Business value does not stand still. Market conditions change all the time and business people may see greater value in companies as their fortunes shift. It is common knowledge that competition for private businesses increases when jobs are scarce as more people enter the business buying market in search of income. This tends to drive up the business selling prices. Supply and demand, anyone? What ...

Seven Steps to the Top - Brian Tracy

Here are the seven steps in the 1,000 percent formula:   Step 1: Arise Two Hours Before Your First Appointment, or before you have to be at work. Invest the first hour in yourself by reading something educational, motivational, or spiritual. As Henry Ward Beecher once said, “The first hour is the rudder of the day.” When you get up and invest the first hour in yourself, you set yourself up mentally to have an excellent day. You will be more positive, alert, creative, and productive all day long when you start your day by investing the first hour in yourself. If you read in your field one hour per day, that will translate into about one book per week. One book per week will translate into about fifty books per year. Since the average adult reads less than one nonfiction book per year, if you were to read fifty books in your field each year, do you think that would give you an edge in your profession? Do you think that it would move you ahead of virtually everyone else in your b...

How to Be Productive, According to Ancient Philosophy

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-be-productive-according-to-ancient-philosophy Improving productivity has been a pursuit of the modern human being from the start of civilization. Somehow, we believe that productivity is something that became important after the industrial revolution. We assume that, because we live busy lives, we need to optimize our time—especially in the 21st century. That’s not true. Productivity has been a topic of discussion ever since ancient eastern and western philosophy started. It’s a universal theme. I believe it’s in our nature to make better use of our time. Because that’s what productivity means. On a deeper level, we all realize we have limited time. You and I both know that we’re not getting younger. Time is ticking. It stops for no one. We need to use it. Etcetera, etcetera—we get the idea. And yet, without a clear productivity strategy, we squander our time li...