Hot Real Estate Markets

Get the scoop on hot real estate markets, or at least some insights from the three hottest metro markets out there. Click here to read the article.

Target Industry: The World's Billionaires

You want economic development? Click here and find out who the Forbes' Billionaires are this year. These are folks who have a lot of money and power. Go talk to them.

Top Ten

1. William Gates III
2. Warren Buffett
3. Karl Albrecht
4. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
5. Paul Allen
6. Alice Walton
7. Helen Walton
8. Jim Walton
9. John Walton
10. S Robson Walton

NY Empire Zones, More From Inc. Magazine

You may want to read this short article about NY State's much debated Empire Zone Program in Inc. Magazine. Go here for more.

Fast Company on the Support Economy

In the next week or so, we'll formally launch a new online discussion group focusing on the work of Shoshana Zuboff, a Fast Company columnist.

"The Support Economy: Voices for Change" will address distributed capitalism and a new commerce that honors the complexity and uniqueness of our lives today. Shoshana will help facilitate the discussion, and we're also offering a related series of Meetup events that will enable participants to meet up where they live and plan physical events. The first event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24.

Here to read more.

Free Trade Area of the Americas

There are free houses in Panama City, the pick of downtown real estate in Atlanta, a new convention-center complex in San Juan and a convenient spot near the airport in Colorado Springs. When -- and if -- the Free Trade Area of the Americas looks for a home, it will have plenty of choices.

Miami has offered two prime bayfront spots for the FTAA headquarters and put its international reputation on the line in pursuit of the facility. But its competitors have submitted their own packages of perks and giveaways in the hope of luring the FTAA secretariat and landing the international cachet and spinoff jobs that backers expect will follow.

Panama City -- widely mentioned as Miami's top rival in the contest -- has offered to convert a large chunk of its main convention center for the secretariat and give away 20 homes, located on a former U.S. military base near the Panama Canal, for use as FTAA staff residences.

Here to read more.

Detroit Waterfront Development Proposed

A 1.5-mile stretch of the Detroit River, running from Joe Louis Arena to the Ambassador Bridge, would include a riverside park, two marinas, condominiums and retail stores, according to a proposed development plan for the area.

The makeover is part of an effort by city leaders to lure people and businesses to the city's west riverfront -- an area scarred for decades by heavy industry. The nonprofit Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Inc. is spearheading the project.

Here to read more.

Tales of Two Cities

The world is full of "tale of two cities" stories. Click here to read about a tale of two cities in the Mississippi Delta.

Incentives

We can't seem to live with them or without them. That is what I find as I work with communities, regions, and states across the country. Now it seems that companies are placing even more value on economic development incentives as they locate and relocate facilities nationally and globally.

What is your forecast for incentives over the next five years, as the pace of globalization hastens everywhere? My overall forecast is that incentives will grow in importance, at a time when state and local governments are least able to provide these funds. Eventually, I look for globalization to spark some fundamental changes in tax policies, not only in the US, but worldwide. Watch.

The Sramble for Capital

This article is a must read for any area that wants to encourage future business investment.

For the past three years, Corporate America has been nothing if not stingy. Stalled by sluggish demand, companies have slashed spending on new factories and equipment, salaries and bonuses, technology, benefits, and travel. They have exited unprofitable businesses and sold off nonstrategic assets. They have downsized, outsourced, and offshored.

Now, as the economy finally springs back to life, CEOs are ready to start spending again. But for many companies, investments in growth will produce disappointing results, predict a handful of prominent management consultants. The main reason: traditional sources of revenue growth—such as product enhancements, grabbing market share, or acquiring competitors—have been largely tapped out.

Here to read more.

Tax Policy and Globalization

The IRS wants to crack down on multinational corporations that transfer U.S. intellectual property to tax havens.

Go here to read more.

This article points to the many ways in which tax policies and globalization are currently at odds. Look for major tax policy changes in the future, as we take globalization to let the next level.

U.S. GDP Over-Estimated, Says New Study

This news release was just received.

To: National Desk, Political and Business Reporter

Contact: Melissa Haynes of Redefining Progress, 510-444-3041 ext. 305 or haynes@rprogress.org

OAKLAND, Calif., March 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A new analysis of the nation's economic activity shows that the GDP has overestimated the health of our economy by $7 trillion. Ironically, one of the key factors contributing to this over- counting is the expenditure that have resulted from the accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson and others.

The wrongdoings at Enron alone will contribute up to $1 billion to the US economy, in the form of legal fees, jail time, media frenzy and associated payouts.

The 2002 Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) update, released today, draws a stark comparison with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to the GPI, which considers both the quality and distribution of economic growth -- the value of the nation's economic activity grew by less than 1 percent. The GPI also considers the value of housework, caring for children and the elderly, volunteerism and the hours spent on free time or family and community activities -- all of which can be viewed as "good for the economy", despite no money changing hands.

"The GPI highlights a significant problem with the GDP and its use by politicians: the quality of economic development is at least as important as the quantity of economic activity measured by GDP," said Jason Venetoulis, Ph.D, author of the report. "Admittedly, the GPI cannot accurately reflect everything of value in an economy, or life, for that matter. However, economic policy might be more effective if it included more discerning information about what is really occurring in the economy and its effect on all Americans. Instead it relies on the GDP which makes no distinction between expenditures that can be considered "good" for the economy such as net capital investment, and spending that results from crime or the cost of health care for those who fall ill as a result of increased air pollution."

The GDP shows that in the period from January 2000, -- the year before George W. Bush became president -- to January 2003, the economy grew approximately 2.64 percent --about $272 billion or $180 per American. Without reference to quality and distribution, this economic growth may look good on the surface. Using GPI analysis, however, the value of economic activity grew by less than one percent (0.12 percent) during the same period. On a per capita basis, from 2000 to 2003 there was actually a $212 decline in GPI, with the biggest reductions coming from the degradation of natural resources and increased national debt. On the other -- positive -- side of the ledger, GPI shows a $600 billion increase in the value of housework and volunteer work from 2000 to 2003, which is not counted in the GDP.

The GDP is not without value as an economic tool, particularly for investment planning in business or services in a single index where gains in one area are offset by losses in another. Overall, however, the GPI aims to measure the quality of our economic health as opposed to the quantity of final transactions measured by the GDP.

The full report can be found at http://www.redefiningprogress.org.

Here to read more.

New Book on Community Indicators

A new book has been released by the American Planning Association (APA). It was written by Rhonda Phillips from University of Florida. As many of you know, Rhonda has a strong ED background.

Here to learn more.

China's Spillover Growth Troubling Tibet

Here is a portion of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama's recent statement about China-Tibet relations.

"The current situation in Tibet benefits neither the Tibetans nor the government of the People’s Republic of China. The development projects that the Chinese Government has launched in Tibet – purportedly to benefit the Tibetan people – are however, having negative effects on the Tibetan people’s distinct cultural, religious and linguistic identity. More Chinese settlers are coming to Tibet resulting in the economic marginalization of the Tibetan people and the sinicization of their culture. Tibetans need to see an improvement in the quality of their life, the restoration of Tibet’s pristine environment and the freedom to decide an appropriate model of development."

Here to read more.

Economic Development Part of Iowa Universities' Mission

Iowa's three public universities made the case to Iowa lawmakers that they are turning the research on their campuses into economic development projects around the state.

Legislators last year allocated $25 million from the state’s Grow Iowa Values Fund, a massive economic development fund, to the state’s Regents universities for business creation efforts.

Representatives from the universities detailed their accomplishments for members of the House Economic Growth Committee. Rep. Willard Jenkins, R-Waterloo, said he is pleased that the universities are accepting economic development efforts as one of their key missions.

This is not easy in most states. I'm glad to see there are some universities that are altering their mission statements to include economic development.

Here to read more.

Indy and Louisville in Line for New Regional Airline Jobs

Indianapolis-based Chautauqua Airlines and sister carrier Republic Airlines have landed a deal to fly 32 regional jets for United Airlines that could create "hundreds and hundreds" of new jobs.

But it is not clear how many of those new jobs may land in Indianapolis, which though it is gaining some other work for the airlines, has lost out to Louisville as home of a new Chautauqua aircraft maintenance and crew center

Here to read more.

NY Empire Zones Still Under Fire

In a scathing report on the state's Empire Zone economic development program, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi said Tuesday 47 percent of the businesses getting tax breaks created fewer jobs than they promised. Hevesi said his auditors found 23 percent of the businesses analyzed actually lost jobs while just 30 percent met or exceeded their job-creation pledges.

The comptroller's report said state auditors found the zones "are poorly administered, keep inadequate records and do not hold firms that receive tax breaks accountable for actually producing jobs." "Giving companies tax breaks is giving away real money," Hevesi said. "Empire Zone officials must ensure that the tax breaks actually create jobs and healthy companies."

Here to read more.

With government revenues tight everywhere, you can expect more evaluation of costly incentive programs.

IBM Invests in Tucson

IBM just made another $5 million commitment to Tucson. The past couple years of economic recession made big businesses stingy with capital investments and put communities on pins and needles about the possibilities of those businesses packing up and leaving town. But IBM bucked both trends with the build-out of a new high-tech customer briefing center at the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park, where the multi-national computer giant develops long-term storage systems technology.

“What it really showcases for Tucson is that we’re a center for technology. This gives us another selling point as to what Tucson is doing to advance its capacity for technology,” said Steve Weathers, president of the Greater Tucson Economic Council.

Here to read more.

Great Business Reference Book

Every organization should have a business library that is readily available to staff members. A top recommendation for that library would be Business: The Ultimate Resource. I also highly recommend this volume to professionals as a reference source that will be consulted on a daily basis for information to complete all types of tasks.

More than fifty business experts selected, organized, edited and (in some cases) created the abundance of material this volume contains. This is a 2,136 page volume with section titles that indicate the nature and extent of coverage: Best Practices, Management Checklists, Action Lists, Management Library, Business Thinkers, Dictionary World Business Almanac, and Business Information Sources.

In the Introduction, Daniel Goleman acknowledges that “business intelligence, literacy, or wisdom are themselves useless unless we can translate them into action -- in short, having an answer to the question of what to do come Monday morning. When all is said and done, it is only in the day-to-day demonstration of wise efforts that business intelligence proves its worth.”

In assessing most executives’ business intelligence, literacy, or wisdom, how well prepared are they for the next major crisis...or for the next major opportunity? Goleman recommends that they regularly pause to do an audit of what they know, “looking for the gaps that signal where we might want to build more strengths...[to] reflect on what we know, what we don’t know -- and where we would go to find out.” Where indeed? In most instances, the choice should be this “ultimate resource.”

Here to buy the book.

The Big Economic Picture

The weak February employment report caused the U.S. dollar to fall this past week. After strengthening against major currencies such as the euro and yen over the past couple of weeks, the greenback may give back more of those recent gains. That's because this week's economic data focus on America's "twin deficits": the current account and the federal deficit.

The current account, a measure of trade and financial transactions with the rest of the world, probably posted a deficit of $136.5 billion in the fourth quarter. That would put the total current-account gap for 2003 at $550 billion, or 5% of U.S. gross domestic product. The increase was most likely led by a widening in foreign trade. Over the fourth quarter, the trade deficit totaled $122.4 billion, compared with $121.3 billion in the third quarter.

Going forward, the large decline in the U.S. dollar should help boost exports. Over the past year, the dollar has fallen 13% against a trade-weighted basket of major foreign currencies. This makes U.S. goods and services more attractive abroad because they're cheaper when prices are converted into euros or Canadian dollars.

Here for more.

Latest Employment Update: Not So Good

The employment report signals that hiring won't pick up as rapidly as hoped -- and allows the Fed to bide its time on hiking rates. The current economic recovery is looking increasingly "jobless," if judged by the February employment report released on Mar. 5. The data for February were terrible, with nonfarm payrolls inching up just 21,000, vs. economists' forecasts for gains of 110,000 to 130,000. The jobless rate came in at 5.6%, near expectations. January job growth was revised downward to 97,000, from 112,000.

The good news from the report is that factories lost only 3,000 jobs. Other than that, there were few redeeming details. The average workweek was 33.8, unchanged from January. Retail employment was up 13,000, while average hourly earnings grew 0.2%. Service jobs (excluding retail) gained just 33,000, with 32,000 of those temporary positions. Construction shed 24,000 jobs.

Here for more.