By: Sarah Chaney and Sharon Nunn Step into a Sport Clips Inc. franchise and you can expect to see hairdressers washing, cutting and styling hair. Behind these daily hair-salon operations, a key economic theory is playing out: the Phillips curve. Multiple franchise owners are jacking up or plan to raise wages to attract scarce hairdressing […]

By: Nicole Lyn Pesce If you want to start your own business, but you’re not sure where to begin, many women find that becoming a franchise owner is the perfect way in. Maria Icaza spent a decade making partner at her Panama law firm — and when she and her husband moved to the U.S. […]

WASHINGTON—U.S. industrial output rose in March and a measure of industry slack diminished, signs of underlying strength in the economy as factories increased production of business equipment and autos. Industrial production—including output at factories, mines and utilities—rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in March from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. That exceeded economists’ […]