Description: This is article covers a session from the Annual Meeting about financial analysis and corporate strategy. It discusses: evaluation of external factors that affect the long-run outlook for the company, assessment of strategic opportunities and development of long-range action plans. 1975 Record Vol.1 No. 4

Description: This article discusses how unemployment and underemployment information can help improve economic forecasts, insurance assumption setting and risk management. It summarizes the current modeling practices of unemployment which shows a deficiency of using unemployment/ underemployment information in actuarial works. It also gives three examples of using unemployment/underemployment information for economic assumption setting, new business growth prediction and stress scenarios related to the labor market.

Description: Results and discussion of a survey of FAS 87 Assumptions employed for non- USA defined benefit plans as of 12/31/1996

Description: Chronically low interest rates are a reflection of macroeconomic trends. Care must be exercised in making assumptions regarding mean reversion.

Description: Table featured in the Futures Research Project Provides Insight into Tomorrow's Economic Environment article in The Actuary. Please see the SOA Website research section for the full report on the Delphi Study of Economic Variables. These variables are 1. Change in CPI, 2. 10 Year T-Bill rates, 3. S&P500 rate of return and 4. Corporate Baa Bond Yields.

Description: What Makes the Yield Curve Move?

Description: In this article, the authors describe the flaws in our current determination of the Consumer Price Index CPI and other economic indicators, and propose a series of refinements for improving the CPI calculations. The article emphasizes the importance of accuracy, given the significant influence on business and investment policies, psychological effect on the marketplace, as well as on consumer confidence, and the direct impact on Social Security increases and other benefit plans.

Description: The Committee on Economic Statistics of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries has recommended that the Institute sponsor an Economic Forecasting Board composed of actuaries and economists. Its role would be to develop formal projections of interest rates, inflation rates, productivity and wages. This article discusses the role of such a board, the purposes for the projections, and the potential roadblocks to accomplishing this.

Description: Book review : Derek Bok's The Cost of Talent: How Executives and Professionals Are Compensated and How It Affects America. 'An intriguing, very well researched and documented, yet biased, book.'