Blythe McGarvie · Global Economy Expert

In my last book and in subsequent speeches and essays, I have addressed some of the challenges of incorporating today’s young people into established businesses. With unemployment rates among America’s youth currently around 20%, and many recent college graduates working at low-end jobs, it seems appropriate to revisit the issue. The trigger for today’s newsletter appeared in the Chicago Tribune, in which a front page story, “Are students, parents too connected?” (August 5), asserts that many parents may well be hindering the independence of their teen-aged or young adult offspring.

Today…

Last Thursday, the government released the updated first quarter 2010 GDP figures. (Gross Domestic Product reports the total market value of goods and services produced within a country.) GDP results showed a 3% increase over a year ago. Is this good news or bad news? In order to put the GDP in perspective, it’s important to understand what is driving the GDP. Researching information from the BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) and the Treasury Department provided parts of the answer, but did not provide analysis on how to interpret the data. Obviously, in the last year the U.S. governmen…

When I watched the film Pirate Radio, I laughed, learned and was transported back to the rock and roll rebellion of the sixties in the U.K. I had no idea that the U.K.’s only licensed radio station for broadcast prior to 1964 was the government-owned and operated BBC. The government feared that commercial radio, even ad jingles, threatened society. But, in 1964, a handful of entrepreneurs started Radio Caroline, broadcasting rock and roll from a ship three miles off the coast of England in international waters so that their operations would not be illegal. The government resented its lack …