December 28, 2015 Edition - Hartford Business Journal

Banking & Finance

🔒Samson: CT firms will be courted

The Hartford region and Connecticut commercial banking in general will continue to be challenged with stiff competition and lower growth.

Education

🔒Ojakian: Balancing budgets amid state budget cuts

The state's current budget difficulties are beginning to have a significant, detrimental impact on all higher education institutions in Connecticut and across the country in the form of steadily declining funding needed to operate these colleges and universities.

Banking & Finance

🔒Vitner: Economic momentum building

The U.S. economy is poised to enter 2016 with solid momentum. Real gross domestic product growth this...

Economy & Labor

🔒Gioia: 2016 – A sea of navigable risks

As we navigate a sea of growing risks, 2016 could be a positive turning point. The good news is we have several strong areas for near- and long-term growth that were not visible prior to the Great Recession of 2008.

Education

🔒Harrison: Controlling higher-education costs

I suggest we take a long look at re-imagining the guaranteed student loan program in order to make it more of a mix of grants and loans, tied in some way to tuition.

Health Care

🔒O’Connell: Care coordination will be seen as cost-control opportunity

While the majority of employers will remain engaged with their historical wellness and (typically carrier-based) disease management programs, others will follow the path of some larger plan sponsors by examining new models of care coordination that have proven highly effective.

Banking & Finance

🔒Cantele: Margin pressures remain

Persistent slow economic growth, coupled with continued pressure on net-interest margins, will again be the theme for 2016, and will challenge banks to improve earnings in any way.

Banking & Finance

🔒Perna: Time for interest rates to climb

While there's no inflation problem now, there could be one down the road.

News

🔒Steven P. Lanza’s 2016 Economic Predictions

Which industry will lose the most jobs?

News

🔒Don Klepper-Smith’s 2016 Economic Predictions

What will Connecticut's unemployment rate be at the end of 2016?

News

🔒Andy Condon’s 2016 Economic Predictions

Andy Cordon, director, Office of Research, state Department of Labor's 2016 economic outlook for Connecticut.

Real Estate & Construction

🔒Clemens: CT public-policy decisions will drive home values

Hopefully our state leaders can get their act together and balance the budget and reduce taxes concurrently.

Education

🔒Schiavino-Narvaez: Developing Hartford’s future workforce

As superintendent of schools, my goal is to provide the Greater Hartford region with a workforce ready and able to make strong contributions, meeting the talent needs of employers as Baby Boomers retire.

Health Care

🔒Joseph: Health care as an economic engine

In 2016, our state will face a decision that will affect the future of healthcare in Connecticut. If payments remain below cost, we will see services curtailed and jobs lost.

News

🔒Economic Forecast: Experts weigh in on 2016

Find out what top economists and banking, real estate, education and healthcare executives think will be the major issues facing Connecticut and their respective industries in 2016.

Real Estate & Construction

🔒Breen: Less demand for overpriced properties

Heading into 2016, we are likely to see a busy early spring beginning after the first of the year. Hopefully that activity will continue through most of the summer, similar to the way it did this year.

Education

🔒Herbst: Diversity and campus climate key issues to watch

Colleges and universities are in a unique position to facilitate frank, productive dialogue right now on the important issues of diversity and inclusion facing our nation.

Banking & Finance

🔒Hermann: State policies threaten CT’s economic parade

As president of the Connecticut Community Bankers Association, I'm often asked about my prognosis for our economy. My personal forecast: partly to mostly sunny — with a chance of rain.

News

🔒Edward Deak’s 2016 Economic Predictions

Which industry will lose the most jobs?

Real Estate & Construction

🔒Hird: Compound impact of a growing economy

While it's clear that Connecticut is lagging behind much of the country in the economic recovery, it is nonetheless recovering.

Education

🔒Roth: Higher-ed’s role in narrowing the inequality gap

Today the “college premium” is greater than ever in purely economic terms. In other words, the benefits of going to college over looking for work with only a high school diploma have never been greater.

Health Care

🔒Katz: Medical liability and defensive medicine key issues

Connecticut is consistently ranked one of the worst places to practice medicine in this country, in large part because of the unfavorable liability climate.

Health Care

🔒Andrews: Medicaid’s progress and fragility

It will be important in the year ahead to ensure that Medicaid payment reform efforts are thoughtful and build on what is working so well.

Real Estate & Construction

🔒Adams: Job stability, interest rates are housing’s ‘X’ factors

Connecticut's housing market continues to be stable, not robust. With mounting inventory, price declines are likely, however the number of sold properties should remain the same or slightly increase in 2016.

Economy & Labor

🔒Carstensen: CT’s state of uncertainty

Connecticut's economy is struggling. But this is a struggle long in the making: It has been true since 1990.

Real Estate & Construction

🔒Maier Schede: First-time buyers, investors rule

The first-time-buyer market remains strong and many Millennials have entered the market. Rental rates have risen, creating an incentive to purchase investment properties in order to rent them out.

December 28, 2015 EditionEdition

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