Fox 4 News, “Falling Stock Market,” 03/12/20
Dean Stansel, research associate professor at the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom, discusses the 2,000-point loss in the Dow Jones Industrial Average of the previous day, the worst drop in the Dow since 1987. The drop comes just before the pandemic shutdown, but Stansel explains, “What you are seeing here is a market correction, in the sense that over time, if you look back just 12 years to the last recession, we’re up about 12% on average. That’s an unprecedented rate of return. So a correction here and there, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. It’s not time to put your money under your mattress.”

CNBC, “JCPenny,” 04/09/20
Ed Fox, W.R. & Judy Howell Director, JCPenney Center for Retail Excellence, is interviewed for a feature on the history of department store chain JCPenney. Fox provides background on company founder James Cash Penney, who established his first store in Wyoming in 1902. Customers were not allowed to use credit until 1958. “He didn’t offer credit because he’d seen merchants go under before by offering credit and then having people fail to pay,” Fox says. “He felt like if he treated people fairly and honorably and offered quality goods at a fair price … that’s how he would stay in business.”

The Detroit News, “Forget the Defense Production Act,” 04/10/20
Mike Davis, senior lecturer in economics and business strategy, writes in an opinion piece that both the president and the press have made a political football out of the option for the president to use the Defense Production Act (DPA), which gives the president extraordinary powers in times of crisis. Davis writes, “But the yelling creates an atmosphere of sullen resentment. That doesn’t just make us feel worse, it makes it harder to get things done. The politicians should put the DPA back in its cage now.”

NBC DFW, “Self-Employed Hit Barriers Applying for SBA Loan,” 04/13/20
John Terry, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship, explains why, during the coronavirus shutdown, many business owners are unable to get the emergency loans the government created for small-business owners. According to Terry, banks have the discretion to prioritize who gets a loan first, and people and businesses with existing commercial relationships are likely to be first in line. Complicating matters, the volume of loan applications overwhelmed many banks. “Everyone is learning how to process these loans and push them through.”

Austin American-Statesman, “With the Right Focus, Telemedicine Can Improve Continuity of Care,” 05/06/20
Vishal Ahuja, assistant professor of information technology and operations management, writes in an opinion piece that private and government healthcare providers should do more to embrace telemedicine options. “The COVID-19 crisis has painfully highlighted the shortcomings of an almost absolute reliance on face-to-face medicine. … Policymakers can seize this moment to reform the way primary care is delivered and elevate the telemedicine option. They can start by removing barriers to adoption, such as, in the case of Medicare, abolishing certain eligibility requirements for reimbursement for telemedicine visits, especially those for rural patients.”

Dallas Business Journal, “Economists: DFW, State Positioned to Rebound After COVID-19 Crash,” 05/20/20
Michael Cox, executive-in-residence at the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom, is part of a virtual panel, with other economists from the Institute, on the potential of North Texas to recover from the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Since 1850, the U.S. has had 34 recessions, each for a different reason, and 34 recoveries,” Cox says. “Texas being for the last 20 years or so among one of the five most economically free states in the nation positions us well.”

Poets & Quants, “This School Is the Latest to Create an Undergrad-to-MBA Pipeline,” 06/09/20
Shane Goodwin, associate dean of graduate programs and executive education, explains the Cox School’s new MBA Direct program, launched in June for recent college graduates with fewer than two years of post-degree experience, including Class of 2020 graduates who just completed their undergraduate degrees. “During this unprecedented period of uncertainty, we at Cox recognize the need to exercise bold, agile leadership,” Goodwin says. “It’s time to throw out yesterday’s playbook — encourage experimentation, embrace action and adapt quickly to get ahead of the changing circumstances.”

Yahoo Finance, “SMU Cox School of Business Launches NextGen Cox Curriculum,” 08/04/20
Bill Dillon, senior associate dean, explains the benefits of the Cox School’s new MBA curriculum, launched at the start of the fall semester and grounded on three pillars: leadership, analytics and experiential learning. “The faculty has worked hard in identifying skills and content areas that will set our graduates apart,” Dillon says. “Expanded and enriched, the NextGen Cox Curriculum is designed to ensure that Cox MBA graduates are both ‘job-ready’ when they enter the job market and ‘future-prepared’ as 21st-century leaders for jobs to come later in an ever-changing world.”

One America News Network, “Trump Admin. Rescinds Obama-Era Methane Rules,” 08/21/20
Bernard Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute, explains the White House implementing its pre-virus plan to roll back Obama-era regulations on methane gas emissions. “The reality is the rule changes are designed primarily to avoid and reduce overlapping, expensive regulations on oil and gas production,” Weinstein says. “So, it’s not a rollback; it’s more of a rationalization. The emission of methane is still regulated, both by the federal government and state governments.”