Lower Michigan, west of Detroit, looks fetching from one mile up, and I've read good things about it: Lansing, Grand Rapids, Muskegon--an economic region on the rise.

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The company has 142 banking offices spread over 32 counties in the lower peninsula of Michigan.

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Indeed, it was the Michigan lower court ruling handed down a week ago that came as the greater surprise.

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While rising food and energy costs are forcing consumer sentiment metrics lower, with the University of Michigan consumer confidence index hitting a 16-month low in March and probably heading lower, according to Capital Economics, consumers have managed to weather the storm and keep spending going.

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The other four members of the Fab Five sat in the lower rows of a fan section behind Michigan's bench.

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But Stefan Szymanski, an expert in sports economics from the University of Michigan, told the BBC that even with the lower share price, Manchester United is still "the most valuable sports franchise in the world, and the American investors are looking at this as a franchise".

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