Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Pearl used to be the red-headed stepchild of the Jackson area. It had a stretch of Highway 80 littered with half-empty strip malls and fast food restaurants. In many cases, the neighborhoods were old and rundown.

We laughed when the town was mentioned. Puuhhrrrl? We always stretched out the one syllable and put on our best redneck accent when we said the name. When it came to the competition among the outlying towns, Pearl always seemed to be the one in last place.

No longer.

Pearl got a world-class baseball park a few years ago. They got a state-of-the-art movie theater. Now, they are breaking ground on an outlet mall. By Christmas, we’ll all be driving to Pearl to buy upscale Coach handbags.

Pearl is a lesson in the “turnaround.” A turnaround happens when a down and out contender beats expectations. It happens when someone with the will and the managerial skill steps in and makes something new out of the old sow’s ear. It happens when someone ignores popular opinion and just keeps turning around and going in another direction.

In business, turnarounds make great stories. A couple years ago, Netflix botched it with their customers and were threatened with extinction. This year, they are the darlings of Wall Street. Now, J.C. Penney is the dog. Will they die a slow death or will they turn it around? Stay tuned. Turnarounds are contrarian plays. They are lessons in the danger of allowing old ideas and perceptions to turn into cement in our psyche.

Pearl has turned a corner, and we have stopped laughing. At the groundbreaking for the outlet mall, the mayor said, “Y’all see this smile? It’s hard for me to wipe it off my face.”

Puuhl. I’m practicing my best British accent when I say that now. The name has taken on a whole new meaning.

Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is President of New Perspectives, Inc., in Ridgeland, 601-991-3158. She is also an Assistant Professor of Finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

I know Mississippi Rep. Andy Gipson. He’s a really nice guy, has a nice family, very sweet people. You’ve heard the phrase, “He’s a renaissance man?” Doesn’t apply to Andy. Instead, I’d call him a solid nineteenth century man, as in “His feet are solidly planted in the 1800s.”

When I knew Andy, he lived on family land in rural Mississippi. He built a cabin on the property. It had no electricity or running water, just a good pioneer abode for a pioneer kind of guy. Andy needed a wife to make his life complete. While Andy is a fine-looking specimen of a man, you could imagine the response of prospective brides upon seeing the cabin. They ran as fast as they could!

So it’s no big surprise that Andy supports a gun law that allows folks to carry weapons in public without so much as a permit, because in Andy’s nineteenth century world, there are still Indians and bandits and wild game to be encountered with every trip into town.

Now I have no problem with anyone who wants to stay stuck in the nineteenth century. After all, this is America! We can each choose to live exactly as we please—as long as it doesn’t encroach upon our neighbors. And that’s where I part ways with Andy.

Allowing anyone and everyone to walk around with guns exposes ME to risk. If you want to walk around your house and your property with your gun on your hip, have at it! But when you enter the public square, you enter the twenty-first century. We have police and highway patrol and a solid set of laws for protection. We also have unstable people who can get their hands on weapons that could clear the OK Corral in a matter of seconds. Fast Draw McGraw would be no match.

So, Mr. Gipson, with all due respect, check your calendar. And stop trying to impose your way of life and viewpoint on the modern citizens of Mississippi. Oh, and say “hello” to the Missus.

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is President of New Perspectives, Inc., in Ridgeland, 601-991-3158. She is also an Assistant Professor of Finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Saturday morning. Not a cloud in the sky. It had been a cool start to the morning. We pull our chairs into the sunshine. A sigh of relief.

This was a scary and tragic week from terrorism to mushroom clouds to the insanity of an Elvis impersonator. And we thought we were completely safe in little Mississippi!

The world has changed. How do I sort out the good from the bad? How do I remain open to new people and cautious about them at the same time?

As a professor, you shouldn’t have favorites, but I do. Ulanbek came to Mississippi College a few years ago. He was from Kyrgyzstan. He was Muslim. And he was one of the dearest young men who ever walked through my door. When he first started in my class, his English was atrocious. He struggled, but he worked hard.

I attended a dinner at The Raindrop Turkish House. This is a local interfaith group started after 9/11 to create dialogue among people of various religions. Ulanbek was there. We had the opportunity to have a long conversation about his life, his experiences and his thoughts on America. He came from a poor village, but his entire family saved and supported him so he could attend school in the United States.

When I asked him, “Why America?”, he explained it this way. He said that there is no British dream or French dream or Canadian dream, but there is, still, the American Dream. And when he said, “American Dream,” his eyes lit up. And I saw through his eyes the desire of every immigrant who comes here — the desire for a chance at success, the desire for a free society, the desire for something better.

But he also expressed confusion and dismay about his American peers. After all, he was a devout Muslim with a strict moral code. And I saw our failings through his eyes.

Ulanbek finished his time with us. I was quite sad to see him go. He never appeared on an FBI wanted poster. He didn’t leave behind death and destruction. He didn’t even leave with ill feelings toward America or Americans. Instead, he left me a better person.

Saturday morning. Not a cloud in the sky. As we sit in the sun by our little pond, a new family of geese swims by. Our new neighbors. A totally different species, but what joy to behold!

And I’m left to ask, “How do I sort out the good from the bad?”

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Communication with clients has drastically changed over the last decade. While we still send out quarterly reports in the old U.S. mail packet with a formal letter, other mailings are rare. E-mail is the favored method these days, and it surprises me that my older clients are well-versed in this area.

We even text clients now. Need a reminder on an appointment? We’ll send out a text message. Clients text us when their deposits show up in their accounts. And that paper check? Forget about it. Money gets moved with the click of a mouse.

So it’s no surprise that the U.S. Postal Service is struggling. While other businesses have struggled through a difficult and long recession, this is different. This is a business going through a structural change. Mail, as we have known it, is becoming obsolete.

Along the way, we have lost the fine art of letter writing. Messages are autocompleted or are abbreviated in strange shorthand with emoticons attached. This less formal way of communicating has become accepted practice.

Now social media is stepping into the spotlight. We “Facebook” clients and “tweet” information to them. Public companies are even using social sites to release important information about their business. It’s a new age.

And delivery to my door has taken on a new meaning. While bills and notices show up in my inbox, clothing and household goods show up on my doorstep. Online retailing is growing by leaps and bounds, so the transportation business for those packages has grown, as well. The problem is that the U.S. Postal Service has been slow to see and respond to the transition. FedEx and UPS are far ahead in this game.

With deep enough pockets, any business can survive a recession, but no business can survive a structural change. Facing the inevitable is never pleasant.

Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

This past week, I was able to combine that with my other love — travel. I took three students to a financial conference in New York City. None of the three had been to the Big Apple, so it was a double whammy.

This conference is designed for students but offers me the chance to sit at the feet of economic and market experts. I lapped up every word, and I marveled at the attentiveness of students.

They came from schools across the country, so it was a big surprise to find ourselves seated directly in front of the group from Mississippi State. These young people, who often show up for class in their PJs, were dressed to the nines for a business conference. They showed up at eight in the morning and listened carefully to words of wisdom from the Wall Street gurus. And they asked great questions.

It occurred to me that we often underestimate young people. When asked, they will clean up. When prompted, they will show up at eight in the morning. When pushed, they will think critically and ask important questions. It’s up to the adults in the room to keep raising the bar.

The conference was very educational for me and for my students, but the education continued when we took to the streets of Manhattan. From street vendors to skyscrapers, we experienced a different world. And we dipped into history with our view of the Statue of Liberty and our trek through the World Trade Center Memorial. The entire experience broadened horizons and was just plain fun.

Along the way, our little group bonded. I think this may have happened about the time I got us lost in the subway! Regardless, they were troopers.

Education doesn’t just happen in the classroom, and it doesn’t just happen from professor to student. It happens when experiences bring concepts to life. It happens when strangers express new thoughts, and it happens when groups share ideas.

And it can only happen when educational institutions commit to a broader definition of the classroom by putting their money where their mouths are. Thank you, Mississippi College, for the opportunity for this old dog to learn a few new tricks.

Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

In 1975, about 8 percent of the U.S. population was on food stamps. Currently, that number is 15 percent. Much of the growth in usage can be attributed to the recent recession. In fact, since 2008, the food stamp program has ballooned 70 percent. No surprise there. The bigger surprise is the “stickiness” of these numbers. While unemployment claims have declined, the number of people receiving food stamps remains high.

Mississippi has 23 percent of its citizens on the food stamp roll, almost a quarter of the population. That is the highest rate in the country. We always seem to end up at the top of the worst lists! Of course, we are a small state, so our 672,000 citizens receiving food stamps pales in comparison to Louisiana with 986,000, Alabama with 919,000, Tennessee with 1,326,541, and Florida with 3,562,000. Lest you think the problem is only a Southern one, note that Oregon has 815,000 people on food stamps.

I have been fortunate. I’ve never had to depend on food stamps, and I don’t begrudge folks a helping hand when times are tough, but I have to wonder about the root causes of this condition. In Mississippi, we have entire sections of the state with extremely high unemployment rates and high poverty rates. We have a hit or miss educational system that seems to be leaving behind an entire section of our population, and we have limited job opportunities that pay a decent wage to support a family.

At an average monthly rate of $133, food stamps don’t represent a pot of gold, but they are still a handout. I have never had to resort to this to feed my family, but I would if my back were against the wall. Regardless, it would be difficult for me to take them. I prefer to stand on my own. Thankfully, I have the skills and education to do so, but I am left to wonder about entire communities with high food stamp usage. After years of drought, is it now just accepted to take whatever is available?

Mississippi has a lot of work to do to provide citizens with the skills and opportunity to provide for themselves, but we also need to take a hard look at ourselves. Can we change attitudes about assistance without demonizing those most in need of help? Being the winner of the food stamp lottery is a losing proposition.

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Ask any accountant, “How do you increase the bottom line?” The answer will always be one of two things. You either increase revenue or you decrease expenses. To increase your bottom line without one of those options is to defy the laws of bookkeeping. It can’t be done.

As legislators pore over the State budget, they have opted for the latter option — decrease expenses — so much so that there are cries from agencies far and wide about their tightening belts and the loss of services to citizens and loss of competitiveness to outside entities.

So, it was a surprise to see that the legislature is now attacking the budget from the other side, through revenue. No, they don’t plan to increase revenue by raising taxes or levying fees. Instead, they plan to CUT revenue by reducing taxes on a multitude of businesses.

Gov. Bryant says, “I think when you cut taxes, you actually make money.” He THINKS!

There are plenty of examples out there of states and municipalities offering business all kinds of tax breaks and subsidies to attract economic activity. The results are mixed. As more and more states rush to portray themselves as “pro-business” by cutting the bill to conduct operations, businesses find themselves in the happy spot of a rush to the bottom line — theirs that is.

If Mississippi cuts business tax, then won’t Alabama and Louisiana follow suit? And if business can easily move across state borders to the lowest point, won’t they? And what happens when breaks disappear through a sunset clause? Won’t they just shut their doors and move to the next location? And aren’t we just shooting ourselves in the foot with all this “business friendly” tax policy?

Louisiana created a tax break to encourage gas production. In 2007, that cost to the state was $285,000. In 2010, that cost ballooned to $239 million. Did the accompanying economic boost offset these costs? No one seems to know.

With states around us jumping on the tax break wagon for business, shouldn’t we be studying the effects of such activity? Before we rush to enact policy, shouldn’t we have our facts straight about what really works and what we just THINK might work?

Lt. Gov. Reeves supports breaks “when long-term benefits outweigh costs.” So how about being smart about our business friendly policies? We have plenty of examples from which we can learn. Let’s be business friendly without giving away the farm.

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Every generation of women has found it easier to step into a man’s world and compete. During my early years as a business owner, one potential client decided against signing up because I might get married and quit. As a woman, credibility was hard to come by. I knew I had to have more letters behind my name to get the same consideration, so I pursued every educational opportunity I could get.

In earlier generations, women had to dress like men in order to be taken seriously. I never felt that way, but I was always cautious to present a professional image. I am a woman. I want to look nice. I want to appear feminine, but I know I must tread carefully. Even as a young woman, I always wanted to be valued for what was in my head, not for what I looked like.

Sheryl Sandberg has created a fuss with her new book, “Lean In”. I haven’t read it, but I have listened to her talk about the need for women to pursue top positions in the business world. Sandberg is no slouch when it comes to appearance. She is a beautiful woman who dresses like a woman.

But make no mistake about it. She’s the COO of one of the biggest businesses in the world. She speaks carefully and seriously about women in business. She is no slouch when it comes to running a business.

The truth is that women in business must still be guarded. Yes, we can be women, but we must avoid the stereotypes. The most important number in our resume should be our IQ, not our bra size.

It’s been a long, hard 20 years for me, as I have bucked those old winds and built my business. Whenever I see a woman judged for her outfit in a serious situation, I respond, “REALLY??” Whenever I see a woman getting more credit than she deserves because she’s “hot,” I say, “REALLY??” And when I see or hear a woman playing into the stereotypes, I just cringe.

So when I heard one of the lines from Sarah Palin’s speech at CPAC referencing her “rack,” I was incredulous. The second female candidate for national office just set us back decades. Sarah, “REALLY??”

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Good news is always welcome. Just days from the pronouncement of the expert panel at the annual CFA Forecast Dinner, the market performed as predicted and hit an all-time high.

Kathleen Hays of Bloomberg Radio moderated again this year, much to the delight of the audience. Food and atmosphere at Jackson Country Club met our usual high expectations. While we dined, we listened to a panel of experts address the economic and financial concerns of the day. On the panel were Bill Fries, equity expert; Jeff Tanguis, fixed-income expert; and Tony Crescenzi, economic expert from PIMCO. Repeat audience members agreed this was the most optimistic forecast since 2008.

Takeaways?

The housing market is recovering. The improvements are here to stay as we see vacancy rates declining while new buyers enter the market. Immigration reform could add to the growth as immigrants add to the pool of first-time home buyers. Any investment with connections to the housing market should do well this year.

Sequestration was a given on that night. The cuts to government spending are expected to reduce GDP by ½ percent this year should they stay in place. Some panelists think the event will be short-lived, though, as Congress comes to grips with the effects. Regardless, the market has assumed some eventual compromise and is, basically, ignoring the D.C. drama.

The real problem in our budget is the $86.5 trillion in promises made to senior citizens. If this is not addressed, this will hurt economic growth in the U.S. and the developed world.

Europe is still a concern. EU citizens don’t like austerity. The cultural differences across various countries are hampering a proper political union.

Hyperinflation in the U.S. is not a concern. The Federal Reserve can “change its mind” and ratchet down their printing business.

Energy independence in the U.S. is a “real possibility.” Between new technology and new discoveries, we could be independent within six years. Tanguis, a Louisiana resident, pointed out the low unemployment in his state due to the energy business.

Ultimately, all agreed investors must be more selective, looking for opportunities within certain businesses expected to benefit from the next wave of good news.

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.

Nancy Anderson, MBJ contributing columnist

Show me somebody with money trouble, and I’ll show you a crook in the making!

While not everyone who finds themselves in a financial bind ends up breaking the law, many are tempted to cross the line when their wallets get squeezed. People with money troubles are desperate. They take chances. They make questionable choices. They rationalize. And many end up behind bars.

And so goes the tale of another Mississippi politician caught with his hand in the till. Paul Winfield, Mayor of Vicksburg, is yet another in a long line of local public servants who has ended up on the wrong side of the law. Was Winfield a born thief or did circumstance turn his integrity to jello?

Maybe he just had everyone fooled into thinking he was one of the good guys, the savior Vicksburg had been looking for. Or maybe he just got in over his head financially. Faced with the slippery slope, Winfield dove headlong down the hill to ruin.

But he’s not alone. From the hills of Northeast Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi has more than its share of politicians who have ended up as convicted felons. Sad to say, it’s not just a Mississippi problem. Politicians at all levels have been showing up on the front pages for their dastardly deeds. I’m beginning to feel like Diogenes, searching for that one honest man (or woman) out there who is willing to serve.

The standard requirement has been for politicians to release their tax returns. I think a better choice would be to require them to release their credit reports. Politicians who scream about deficits lose their credibility when I see them with a truckload of credit card bills. Politicians with a stream of creditors behind them can forget about my vote. And the politician who is behind on child support? I’m thinking tar and feathers.

Forget winning smiles and snappy slogans. Forget glossy pictures of your perfect family with the label “Deacon of the Church” below your name. Forget press conferences in front of a bunch of flags.

Just show me a candidate with a 750 credit score!

» Nancy Lottridge Anderson, Ph.D., CFA, is president of New Perspectives Inc. in Ridgeland — (601) 991-3158. She is also an assistant professor of finance at Mississippi College. Her e-mail address is nanderson@newper.com, and her website is www.newper.com.