In April O’Keefe presented the Middle Market Forum which explored economic trends impacting our businesses in 2018. Tariffs were not a significant topic at the time, only a potential idea on the horizon. Over the last 4 months, however, significant… Continue Reading  

I just got back from the Mackinac Conference. There was a lot of talk about collaboration, partnership, and working together. It didn’t matter if the topic was education, mobility, the auto industry or reviving Detroit. The problem was, it was… Continue Reading  

There are many changes in the capital industry taking place. We have seen unregulated “shadow” bankers start to take the place of financial institutions in providing lending to businesses. Some believe that private equity is a mature industry as there… Continue Reading  

President Trump recently announced a plan to push forward an increase in import tariffs on steel and aluminum. Steel will carry a 25% tariff and aluminum imports a 10% tariff. These tariffs could result in upheavals in production, pricing, and… Continue Reading  

This edition of Forefront highlights issues in the agriculture industry. Commodity prices have continued to tumble and the long term commitments to land leases and equipment when times were better has introduced an unanticipated distress in the industry. Horticulture growers… Continue Reading  

A recent survey and report issued by the International Council of Shopping Centers brought a brighter light to the much-maligned retail real estate market. Who is shopping at traditional shopping centers? Surprisingly, it is the Millennials. More than any other… Continue Reading  

This issue of Forefront addresses some concerns with the retail industry. The beginning of 2017 saw numerous bankruptcies and big box store closings. Macy’s and JCPenney are selling their company-owned real estate to provide the financial runway for rebranding and… Continue Reading  

I admit it — I am one of those people. I don’t generally take my car in to be fixed for recall notices. It takes too much time, I hate waiting at the dealership, I hate dealing with alternate transportation… Continue Reading  

With the historic come-from-behind political victory of Trump and the overreaction of the liberal media to every move our president makes, 2017 should be quite a year. I am hopeful with our 3 branches of government, change will be slow,… Continue Reading  

By Nick Tolksdorf In 1965 Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, observed that the number of transistors per square inch on an integrated circuit doubled approximately every two years. As a result, computer size decreases and processing speed increases significantly… Continue Reading