December 2009

Articles

Extreme Return Clusters

Anh Phuong Nguyen (Finance Department, NMSU); Harikumar Sankaran (Finance Department, NMSU); Jayashree Harikumar (PSL, NMSU)

Global financial markets are highly integrated. Even the hint of a recession in the United States reverberates in European and Asian markets. More recently, the sub-prime crisis started in the United States but propagated globally. Markets around the world also react to positive information. Actions by U.S. regulators to ensure the stability of the U.S. financial system resulted in recovers in financial markets around the world. The ability to identify events that will affect markets globally obviously could provide investors with a tool for identifying opportunities for high returns.
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Workers' Compensation for NM Farms and Ranches an Unsettled Issue

Al Berryman and Tim Query

Whether or not to mandate workers' compensation coverage for farm and ranch workers has been an issue that has been brought to the attention of the New Mexico state legislature by various stakeholders. Recently, the issue made its way into the legal system in New Mexico, as two injured farm workers, along with two worker organizations, are suing to make the farm and ranch workers exclusion declared unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the state constitution. The plaintiffs decided to sue the Workers Compensation administrator and its director. These agricultural workers are demanding farm and ranch workers be included in workers compensation coverage.
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Talking Points

Christopher A. Erickson and James Libbin

State budget woes continue, but if it is darkest before the dawn, then dawn may not be too far off. Several indicators-a surging stock market, raising prices, and a better than expected Xmas sales-point to a national recovery. The national economy should result in a recovery in New Mexico. And indeed, employment growth has bottomed out and for the second month running is showing some improvement. The New Mexico economy seems to be in the process of transforming from hideously awful to "only" pretty darn bad. Tax revenues are down and pressure is growing for a tax increase when the legislature meets next month.
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