Industry

Data Round-Up: Mfg Trend Still Firming, Utilization at Cycle High

written by Michael Lewis on January 17, 2018

FMI’s analysis of this morning’s December Industrial Production report (also attached as a PDF) plus our reviews of this morning's January NY Fed’s Business Leaders Survey, a regional services measure, and the January NAHB Housing Index.

Sales Finish Strong in December, But 2017 Fell Short of Record

written by Michael Lewis on January 04, 2018

FMI's look at December Vehicle Sales.

Minimum Wages Rose in 18 States in January, Modest Impact on Average Wages

written by Michael Lewis on January 02, 2018

FMI’s commentary on higher minimum wages in many states starting in January.

Data Round-Up: PMI Ends 2017 on a Robust Note; Construction Picks Up

written by Michael Lewis on January 03, 2018

FMI’s analysis of today’s December PMI and November Construction reports.

Obama Speaks: A Presidential Assessment of Obamacare

written by David W. Johnson on July 19, 2016

Earlier this month, President Obama took the unprecedented step of authoring an academic research article in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to document the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) accomplishments and suggest improvements.

Market vs Medicine: America’s Epic Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare

written by David W. Johnson on June 16, 2016

Market vs. Medicine goes beyond diagnosis to consider how sustaining and disruptive innovation will make U.S. healthcare better at diagnosing and treating illness while developing care management capabilities that promote prevention, behavioral health and chronic disease management. In the epic battle underway, market-driven reform, more than regulatory change, will transform and improve America’s broken healthcare system.

Great Consumer Expectations: Data-Enabled Healthcare Outcomes and Service

written by David W. Johnson on June 02, 2016

Many believe Big Data’s capabilities will transform healthcare and they’re probably right. Big Data’s ability to remake industries is awe-inspiring. Big Data’s enthusiasts, however, often lose sight of this basic truth: data analytics are nothing more than a performance improvement tool. All data has noise. Big Data generates sonic booms. Big Data cannot transform healthcare until health companies get “Little Data” right.

Affordable Care Act Falling Short on Most Fronts

written by Michael Lewis on May 06, 2016

FMI’s Commentary on what is known -- and what is not known -- about the economic impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to date

TOE Alert: Court Injunction Probably Just Delays, Not Prevents, Nuke Restarts

written by Richard Katz on March 10, 2016

Key points: - Court decision ordering shutdown of two nuclear reactors will likely just delay, rather than prevent, restarting many of Japan’s reactors - High courts will likely maintain their past rulings that lower courts must defer to the expertise of the nuclear regulators - Still, the decision could lead to other court cases causing further delays and more costs for the utilities - If the courts make the utilities add additional safety measures, that could lead the utilities to lessen the number of reactors they find financially viable - Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of the march 2011 Fukushima disaster, and only two nuclear reactors are back in operation, far less than any pro-nuclear policymaker to whom we spoke expected by this time - The Abe administration policy is to have nuclear power supply 20-22% of all electricity in Japan by 2030; this goal is unlikely to be met