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Christopher Decker

Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska Omaha
Professor Decker received his Ph.D. in Business Economics from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in 2000 and teaches courses in Microeconomics, Business Economics, Economic Forecasting, and Natural Resource Economics at UNO. His academic work has been published in a verity of academic journals including Economic Inquiry, Journal of Law and Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics, Annals of Regional Science, Review of Regional Studies, Applied Economics, Ecological Economics, and Contemporary Economic Policy. Professor Decker has also partnered with several organizations to conduct economic assessments and forecasts of city and regional economies, including the production of a large number of economic impact studies using IMPLAN. IMPLAN-Based studies include: The Economic Impact the Aviation Industry on the State of Nebraska, and The Economic Impact of the Nebraska Business Development Center on Nebraska. Other studies have included assessing the economic impact of immigrant populations on the local economy. Before joining UNO, Professor Decker worked in the private sector for DRI/McGraw-Hill (now IHS Global Insight) from 1990 to 1993, and FW Dodge/McGraw-Hill from 1993 to 1995, producing forecasts for regional economies, of energy prices and demand, long-range macroeconomic and demographic indicators, as well as construction prices, and commercial and institutional construction activity.

Attention, jittery investors: Stop panicking … this is what a soft landing should look like

Aug 06, 2024 23:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Investing

What a difference a job report makes. Earlier in the summer, people were worried that the economy was too hot. But now in response mainly to weaker-than-expected employment data released on Aug. 2, 2024 stocks are...

Central Banking Series

Inflation is cooling, but not fast enough for the Fed

Jun 13, 2024 06:02 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Central Banks

It was a double-whammy Wednesday for economic-data enthusiasts. During the morning of June 12, 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published its latest inflation figures. The news was relatively good, showing that...

Latest inflation figures are good news

May 16, 2024 04:24 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The U.S. economy is slowing, but not crashing. In the dismal science, this is what counts as good news. Thats the message I took away from the latest inflation data, released May 15, 2024, which showed U.S. consumer...

Central Banking Series

High interest rates aren’t going away anytime soon – a business economist explains why

May 02, 2024 06:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its May 1, 2024, policy meeting, dashing the hopes of potential homebuyers and others who were hoping for a cut. Not only will rates remain at their current level a...

Jobs are up, wages less so – and lower purchasing power could still lead the US into a recession

Sep 04, 2023 05:36 am UTC| Economy

Dont be overly fooled by seemingly rosy jobs data heading into the Labor Day weekend. Yes, the U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in August 2023 faster than the revised 157,000 increase for July and above most analysts...

Central Banking Series

The Federal Reserve and the art of navigating a soft landing ... when economic data sends mixed signals

May 01, 2023 12:43 pm UTC| Economy Central Banks

With inflation easing and the U.S. economy cooling, is the Federal Reserve done raising interest rates? After all, gently bringing down the trajectory of prices without crashing the economy was the central banks objective...

Jobs report hints that Fed policy is paying off – and that a 'growth recession' awaits

Apr 10, 2023 16:13 pm UTC| Economy

The latest jobs report is in, and the good news is Federal Reserve policy on inflation appears to be working. The bad news is Fed policy on inflation appears to be working. The March 2023 jobs report reveals that the...

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Economy

Asian Currencies Slip as Dollar Holds Firm, Yen Near Four-Decade Low Ahead of Fed, Jobs Data

Asian currencies mostly weakened on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar remained resilient, while the Japanese yen hovered near its weakest level in nearly four decades, keeping traders alert for potential intervention by...

Asian Stocks Mixed as South Korea Slides on Profit-Taking, Japan and China Gain on Strong Factory Data

Asian stock markets traded mixed on Wednesday, with South Korean equities leading regional losses as investors locked in profits after an exceptional second-quarter rally. Meanwhile, stronger manufacturing data from Japan...

Oil Prices Rise as U.S.-Iran Talks Keep Geopolitical Risks in Focus

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace negotiations continued to support crude markets, even as record U.S. oil production pointed to improving global supply. Traders remained...

Gold Price Drops to Eight-Month Low as Fed Rate Hike Bets Weigh on Bullion. Source: Photo by Michael Steinberg via Pexels

Gold prices extended their losses during Asian trading on Wednesday, with bullion hovering near an eight-month low after recording its steepest quarterly decline in 13 years. Growing expectations that the Federal Reserve...

UN Chief Urges Nations to Close $100 Million UNRWA Funding Gap

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to member states to urgently fill a $100 million funding gap facing the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), warning...

Politics

JD Vance Criticizes Vatican on Immigration, Defends Trump Border Policies

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he disagrees with the Vaticans position on immigration, calling some of its recent comments troubling after Pope Leo repeatedly criticized President Donald Trumps immigration policies and...

U.S. Military Expands Venezuela Earthquake Relief Mission as Troop Presence Tops 900

The United States has significantly expanded its military presence in Venezuela to support humanitarian relief efforts following last weeks devastating earthquakes, with more than 900 U.S. personnel now operating inside...

Ukraine Preparing for Possible Russian Offensive From Bryansk, Military Chief Says

Ukraine is preparing for a possible new Russian offensive from the countrys northern border, although a direct assault on Kyiv is considered unlikely, according to Ukraines top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi....

Trump Prioritizes Iran Diplomacy Over Military Action as Nuclear Talks Continue

President Donald Trump has decided to keep diplomatic negotiations with Iran on track for now, despite recently reviewing options for renewed large-scale military action, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing...

NATO Albania Summit Faces Uncertainty as Trump, Defense Spending Concerns Loom

Plans for NATO to hold its 2027 leaders summit in Albania have been thrown into question as alliance members prepare for next weeks gathering in Turkey, according to Reuters, citing a NATO diplomat, a European official,...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Restores Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 After U.S. Lifts AI Export Controls

Anthropic announced late Tuesday that the U.S. government has lifted export restrictions on its Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 artificial intelligence models, allowing the company to begin restoring user access starting...

South Korea Alleges Google Abused Android App Store Dominance, Eyes Major Fine

South Koreas antitrust regulator has accused Alphabets Google of abusing its dominant position in the Android app marketplace, a move that could result in a significant financial penalty and new corrective measures if the...

Microsoft Reportedly Plans New Job Cuts Across Sales, Consulting, and Xbox

Microsoft is reportedly preparing another round of job cuts as the technology giant continues to reduce costs while increasing investment in artificial intelligence, according to a Business Insider report published...

Chip Stocks Rally as Samsung and SK Hynix’s $1.3 Trillion Investment Plan Boosts AI Optimism

Chip-equipment stocks surged on Tuesday after reports that South Koreas semiconductor leaders, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, plan to invest up to $1.3 trillion in new semiconductor manufacturing projects, reinforcing...

Nvidia Stock Rises as SemiAnalysis Sees AI Data Center Revenue Beating Wall Street Forecasts

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares rebounded on the final trading day of the quarter after bullish supply-chain research from independent semiconductor firm SemiAnalysis suggested the AI chipmakers data center business could...