Lastest Stories by Michael B. Sauter

ThinkstockNext year, U.S. wages will increase by about 1.5% after adjusting for inflation, according to ECA International estimates. In some parts of the world, wages will grow at double this rate,...
Thinkstock How well run is your state? It can be difficult to objectively assess the quality of a state’s management. The economy and standard of living can be affected by decisions made decades...
courtesy Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, looms, and once again retailers are offering holiday deals in an attempt to get more shoppers into their stores....
courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.This summer, thousands of fast-food workers in the United States went on strike in cities across the country, demanding their wages be increased to $15 an hour and the...
ThinkstockAs the NFL season moves past the halfway point, most teams have already established themselves as either a playoff contender or an also-ran. Those teams that are winning games are...
ThinkstockGasoline prices are close to their lowest levels in nearly three years. They have plummeted from more than $3.60 per gallon at the end of the summer to just $3.22 per gallon. The cost of a...
The residents of Switzerland are the most satisfied with their lives, according to the latest Better Life Index report, released this week by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and...
ThinkstockThe gender wage gap has narrowed over the years. In 1979, women made an estimated 62% of what men earned. In 2012, the wage of a full-time female employee was roughly 81% of her male...
ThinkstockThe national housing market is by most measures recovering at a healthy clip. Home prices in some of the hardest-hit markets — places like Reno, Nev., and Phoenix, Ariz. — were up by...
The American middle class is shrinking. According to a report released earlier this year, an estimated 51% of the population was in the middle class at the start of the decade, down from 61% forty...
ThinkstockBy many measures, the United States is the wealthiest economy in the world. However, according to a recent survey, women do not benefit nearly as much as men. The U.S. ranked 23rd in the...
ThinkstockAmericans will spend as much as $2.6 billion on their Halloween costumes this year, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation. The NRF reports that $1.2 billion of that...
ThinkstockAverage in-state tuition at public four-year universities rose by just 2.9% this year, the smallest increase in more than three decades, according to data released last week by College...
ThinkstockMedian household income in the United States remained relatively unchanged between 2011 and 2012, after falling 7% from the start of the recession. While the nation continues to recover...
ThinkstockEveryone talks about how expensive it is to advertise during the Super Bowl, but regular old prime time television isn’t exactly cheap. According to a recent report, many of the top shows...