Thought Leadership

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & The Queen

Last Wednesday, August 31st, I officially joined the pandemic club by testing positive for COVID-19 for the first time. I had hoped to never become a member of this particular group. However, the virus had other…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & One Week Later

In March 2020, my wife, Margaret, and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and we had planned to celebrate with a vacation to Italy. Needless to say, that trip was postponed – several times. The trip finally…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & Johnny Vegas

This past Saturday, I made a presentation at a convention in Las Vegas. There were probably 300 people in the room, which was a little surprising. I said to the group, “Take a look to your…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & Know Your Enemy

This week, I made a presentation with my friend Anoop Mishra, the regional executive of the Birmingham branch of the Federal Reserve. Miller Girvin at the EDPA had asked us to speak for 20-25 minutes about…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & The Mean Grocery

This past week, the government reported just about every measure of inflation was lower in July than it had been in June. Even so, the trailing 12-month numbers are still near levels the U.S. economy hasn’t…

Economic State of Affairs

In this presentation, Chief Economist John Norris discusses the current state of affairs in relation to the economy and potential future moved by the Fed that may impact business operations and success.  This presentation is hosted…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & Weird Data

There you have it. Another week of weird economic data and head-scratching headlines is in the books. For the past couple of years, people have talked about the “New Normal.” If what we are living through…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & A Recession?

This week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced the US economy (GDP) contracted 0.6% during the second quarter of 2022 (2Q). 2Q GDP. This was the second consecutive quarter of economic contraction, as least as…

Common Cents Blog

Common Cents & Football Season

In Alabama, the college football season officially starts September 3rd. On that Saturday, Auburn takes on Mercer, and Alabama squares off against Utah State. I can hardly wait. Hey, don’t get me wrong — I am…