RESEARCH Business 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

TOPICS: Business | Economy

BUSINESS
Clergy and laity pensions: The record $100 million-plus settlement earlier this month by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County in California to victims of sexual abuse by priests raises the question of how the church will pay for this and other claims. (12/21/04)

Pro sports stadiums: If you build it, they will come … with wallets bulging, eager to exchange greenbacks for peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs and beer, and T-shirts and ball caps with team logos. At least that’s the theory embraced – time and time again – by mayors and city council members hoping to lure professional sports teams to their cities by promising to build new arenas for the teams. But one guy who’s not buying it is sports economist Brad Humphreys, a professor of recreation, sport and tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (11/17/04)

Anti-business movies: Why do moviemakers seem to delight in raking big business over the coals, a law professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign asks. (10/20/04)

Chinese firewall: The fact that the People’s Republic of China goes to great lengths to restrict citizen access to the Internet has been known for years and is part of an official government policy that bars information promoting sex, gambling or politically sensitive material. What is less well known is how U.S. technology firms have aided in the erection of the government’s cyber barrier. (8/9/04)

Sarbanes-Oxley: Far from imposing an unreasonable burden on corporate America, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has not tackled the core accounting conflicts that led to investor losses at Enron, WorldCom and other companies, according to an expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (6/28/04)

Corporate Structure: Changes in corporate legal structures will be the focus of a conference sponsored by the University of Illinois College of Law April 23 (Friday) at the Illini Center, 200 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago. (3/31/04)

Long-term Health Care: How to pay for the long-term health-care needs of aging baby boomers will become a major crisis unless steps are taken to rationalize the current hodge-podge of federal regulations and restricted coverage, according to a health-law expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (3/30/04)

Entrepreneur academy: Developing entrepreneurial education as an academic discipline is the goal of a center being established by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (3/4/04)

ECONOMY
November Flash: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index dropped slightly last month to 102.4 from its 102.6 reading in October. (12/1/04)

September Flash: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index continued its strong performance in September, rising to 102.2 compared with 100.5 in August. This is the highest level since October 2000, a period of almost four years. (10/4/04)

July Flash: After steady increases for much of the last year, the University of Illinois Flash Economic Index fell to 100.0 in July from a 100.3 level in June. (8/2/04)

Blackouts: As the peak electricity season approaches, little has been done in Washington to prevent a recurrence of last August’s power failure that produced a huge blackout in the Northeast, an expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says. (6/4/04)

Military gambling: The four branches of the armed services operate about 8,000 slot machines located in 94 facilities overseas, and John W. Kindt, a professor of business and legal policy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wonders about the wisdom of sanctioning gambling among military personnel. (5/13/04)

May Flash: After three years, the University of Illinois Flash Economic Index has broken through the 100 level, the dividing line between a sluggish and vigorous economy. (5/3/04)

April Flash: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index continued its steady climb of recent months, reaching 99.5 in March, up from 99.0 in February and 98.5 in January. (4/1/04)

March Flash: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index increased half a point to 99.0 in February, within striking distance of the 100 level that indicates economic growth. (3/1/04)

February Flash: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index continued its recent climb in the first month of 2004, rising to 98.5 in January, up from 98.0 in December. (2/2/04)

January Flash: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index continued its rebound in December, rising to 98.0, up from 97.3 in November and 96.8 in October. (1/5/04)