Conference Board Update on the Global Economy
This is the latest assessment on the global economy from Bart van Ark, SVP and Chief Economist for the Conference Board
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Friday August 19, 2011 at 9:39 AM

Digging Our Way to Oblivion
Some staggering numbers to consider during the slow summer months.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Monday August 15, 2011 at 10:57 AM

Any Given Sunday
A calculator for figuring out Easter Sunday for any year.
» Posted by Joel Kress on Thursday April 7, 2011 at 9:30 AM

Healthcare Reform and Workers' Compensation: Potential Impacts
Today's Work Comp Wire has an interesting article regarding the impact of President Obama’s “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” on workers comp.
» Posted by Bridget Rogier on Thursday March 24, 2011 at 10:09 AM

Japanese Earthqauke Wild Card
The wild card in the effect of the Japanese earthquake on the insurance and reinsurance markets is the size of business interruption and contingent business interruption losses.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Monday March 21, 2011 at 9:19 AM

Trends to Watch - Beyond the Funding Crisis
The Pew Center on the States as part of its web site publishes a series called "Trends to Watch." The object of the analysis is to identify and dissect a number of major trends that will impact states and determine where each state is relative to its peers. Over the next several blogs we'll take a look at some of the trends that the Pew Center is following.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday March 8, 2011 at 9:53 AM

The Municipal Debt Enigma
How solvent are state and municipal governments and what are the implications for public entity pools. A new white paper from Genesis explores this question.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday February 22, 2011 at 2:20 PM

IS SOONER BETTER THAN LATER?
Effective Persuasion Techniques
» Posted by Bridget Rogier on Tuesday February 15, 2011 at 9:36 AM

Monday Afternoon Humor...
Insurance Humor with a Zinger at the end...
» Posted by Joel Kress on Monday February 14, 2011 at 4:45 PM

New Year's Resolutions
A new book offers some insights into our inability to maintain our New Year's resolutions.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Wednesday January 5, 2011 at 1:35 PM

A Thought for Christmas
This came across my desk the other day and I think it contains an important lesson about governance and management.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Monday December 20, 2010 at 9:57 AM

Divining the Future
When trying to forecast what future economic conditions are likely to be what indicators can provide some guidance?
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Thursday December 16, 2010 at 9:41 AM

The Confidence Yo-Yo
CEO confidence, as measured by the Conference Board declined in the third quarter of 2010, while consumer confidence climbed.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Friday December 3, 2010 at 9:52 AM

Happy Thanksgiving
A brief comment on all of the things that we have to be grateful for.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday November 23, 2010 at 10:56 AM

Needs versus Wants - a Basic Economic Disconnect
The Pew Center on the States has released a very interesting report on the "Public Attitudes and Fiscal Realities in Five Stressed States." The report does an excellent job of highlighting the basic economic disconnect between what the public wants from its state governments and what it is willing to pay for.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday November 9, 2010 at 11:00 AM

The Pooling Conundrum
The continued presence of soft commercial market conditions, coupled with municipal revenue constraints, is causing public entities to forget that pools were formed to provide "stable" insurance costs. The following link to an article from the Hutchinson News in Kansas helps to illustrate this point.
» Posted by GEM Staff on Thursday October 28, 2010 at 3:03 PM

Remember That 70's Show
No, not the long running TV show on Fox but the rampant inflation during the late seventies.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday October 26, 2010 at 9:17 AM

The End of Mudslinging Season
Can we reintroduce the idea of civil debates on critical issues?
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Friday October 15, 2010 at 11:49 AM

Unemployment & Alphabet Soup Redux
With the release of the September unemployment numbers the debate about the shape of the economic recovery is coming rapidly into focus.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday October 12, 2010 at 3:33 PM

The Public Entity Market
An updated Towers Watson study continues to suggest that public entities have a better risk profile than the overall market.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Friday October 1, 2010 at 8:59 AM

The Enduring Words of Abraham Lincoln or Not
The following quote, while often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, is actually from a 1942 pamphlet entitled "Lincoln on Limitations" which included the maxims written by the Rev. William J.H. Boetcker in 1916 without attribution to the minister.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday September 7, 2010 at 10:07 AM

Soft Markets and Investment Yields
While the soft commercial insurance environment continues to roll along a reversal in investment yields may bring some sanity back to the market.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Monday August 30, 2010 at 9:20 AM

Information Overload & The End of Management
Several new books to consider adding to your reading list
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Monday August 23, 2010 at 11:17 AM

Generation Exceed
Public entity pooling is facing a crisis of future employment that will not be unique and will affect the general American economy. Since their birth into the world, the Baby Boom generation has distorted demographics and expanded the American landscape from schools to manufacturers to housing; surely continuing that trend for retirement communities and healthcare needs.
» Posted by Joel Kress on Monday July 12, 2010 at 9:59 AM

Will the Markets Ever Learn
Commentary from Rendez-Vous held annually in Monte Carlo.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 8:31 AM

Bill Gross Commentary "The New Normal"
For those of you who have never read Bill Gross's monthly musings on capital markets, its well worth the time.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday September 1, 2009 at 10:55 AM

Heath Care Reform
Maybe we should let the engineers solve the problem.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Wednesday August 26, 2009 at 1:02 PM

NAIC Reinsurance Regulatory Modernization Framework
The NAIC continues to push forward with adoption of its Reinsurance Regulatory Modernization Framework.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Tuesday August 25, 2009 at 9:40 AM

Alphabet Soup
The pending recovery, when it occurs, will take the shape of U, V or W. The actual shape determines whether the recovery will be fast, slow or fade away.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Wednesday August 19, 2009 at 9:04 AM

Consumer Confidence
A surprising decline in the consumer confidence index for August does not bode well for the economic recovery.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Monday August 17, 2009 at 9:45 AM

Board Identity
Armtech Conference Governance Presentation by Michelle Murphy
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Wednesday August 12, 2009 at 3:33 PM

2nd Quarter Commercial Market Rates
The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers released their second quarter 2009 Commercial P/C Market Survey. Survey results indicated that rates tread water during the second quarter with no sign of significant market hardening.
» Posted by John M. Foehl, Jr. on Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 12:53 PM

Peer Interaction with GEM
The GEM staff are thrilled to introduce our members to our new blog! Our goal is to have members use this as a resource.
» Posted by Member Services on Wednesday July 15, 2009 at 1:59 PM