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A significant measure of manufacturing activity rose for the fourth straight month in April. This could mean that the sector is starting to stabilize, even though the index has been at contraction level for 15 consecutive months. According to the Tempe, AZ-based Institute for Supply Management (ISM), its manufacturing index climbed to 40.1 in April, […]

Encouraging data on home and auto sales, homebuilding and consumer spending is seen by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as “tentative signs” that the recession may be moderating.  Still, he cautions that lasting recovery depends on the government’s success in stabilizing the reeling financial markets and unfreezing credit. In remarks to faculty and students at […]

The Obama administration has proposed the most comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s financial industry since the Great Depression.  The measures, as outlined by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, will require regulation of hedge funds for the first time and give government wide-ranging powers to seize and take apart companies that are perceived as threats […]

Amidst all the depressing economic news of late, it’s like a breath of spring when a related news article elicits a hearty laugh. The rage of this week’s 2009 Toy Fair at New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center was the Smash-Me Bernie doll, a $99.95 devil-suited, pitchfork-wielding effigy of legendary swindler Bernard Madoff.  The […]

Just in time for the Oscars!

Bill Alter, founder of The Alter Group, passed away peacefully Friday, August 8, in his Winnetka, IL, home of complications from Alzheimer’s at age 78.  Named one of the most influential people of the 20th century by National Real Estate Investor magazine, Alter presided over the development of more than $1 billion of space over […]

As an avid follower of presidential politics since the age of six, this year’s protracted primary process has been interesting.  The talking heads’ endless dissection of every policy statement; speculation as to which of the all-powerful super-delegates will back whom; the endless round of debates; the questions of who made the best impression.  One of […]

Dear Friends, Welcome to Alter NOW, our company’s brand new blog. We hope you’ll find it informative as we set out to chronicle the important trends underway in our industry. We hope to keep this free from sales and marketing language and simply use it as a way to start a dialogue with the stakeholders […]