The U.S. Federal Reserve System has what is perhaps the most complicated structure of any central bank in the world. The degree to which informed, intelligent citizens are confused by this complexity showed up in responses to a recent column…
Compensation has complications
New York Attorney General Eliot Sptizer’s lawsuit against former NYSE chief Richard Grasso is making business headlines nationally. Spitzer wants to force Grasso to return much of the $187 million compensation package Grasso engineered for himself. In Minnesota, much attention…
Remittance is no mere pittance
The very word “remittance” has a musty sound. People who experienced mail orders before credit cards may remember a note from Sears or Montgomery Ward asking us to “please remit an additional $2.79.” Or we may think of “remittance men,”…
Pulling apart job data
Tuesday’s news on Minnesota’s unemployment rate and job gains was welcome. Our state’s economy clearly continues to strengthen. The dramatic drop in the state unemployment rate and record increases in some job numbers need to be taken in context, however.…