I am sometimes asked how the Journal of Business got its start. The answer is the kind you can’t exactly provide in an elevator speech. But I was there, so if you have a few minutes, let me tell you the story.
It’s a yarn I’ve written in various ways for past anniversaries of this cherished newspaper, so my apologies if you’ve heard the punchlines before. It’s also a story of how a new publication beat the odds to survive in a difficult industry, and one that became even more challenging years later.

I think economist Steve Scranton summed it up best this year: “If times are good for you, keep doing what you are doing, but remain alert and prepared.” 
My reading of a collection of articles for this supplement, written by local economists, cemented what most of us are already thinking, that the questions we had going into 2023 remain unanswered for 2024. But here’s the punchline: Fears of a full recession seem to have minimized, meaning a soft landing in 2024 is still very possible.