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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

 » Economic Forecast breakfast

 »  Jobs: Slower job growth predicted
Most observers expect the U.S. economy to slow in 2008, with an outside chance of a recession, as the housing market decline continues. Fewer housing starts and growing numbers of foreclosures will impact the construction, finance and retail i ...more.

 »  Residential real estate: Housing likely to stay grounded
Ten-plus years of a robust housing economy began to subside in 2007 in what we described as a smooth landing from an overheated market. Now it looks as though this big plane needs to stop and refuel before it can take off again. The Clark Cou ...more.

 »  Commercial real estate: No subprime hit here, yet
The credit crunch from the subprime residential lending markets so far has not had much of an impact on the commercial real estate markets in Clark County. Short-term construction financing rates have increased slightly due to the subprime and ti ...more.

 »  Semiconductors: It looks like the chips are up
In 1947, Nobel Prize winners John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain created the first crude transistor at Bell Labs as they attempted to find a replacement for the bulky, expensive, power hungry and limited lifetime vacuum tube. Their ...more.

 »  Energy: Powering up
Oil prices dominated energy news in 2007, and consumers have seen the effects at their local gasoline stations. Quoted world oil prices are commodity prices. These prices are similar to stock prices; they are volatile and respond to both fundamen ...more.

 »  Retail: Say hi to places to go buy, buy
Clark County shoppers have shown their approval of new and expanding retailers in this market by increasing the amount of retail spending they do at home, and retailers are responding with even more new stores and shopping centers. During 200 ...more.

 »  Economic development: Fear county's biggest obstacle
"The further backward you look the further forward you can see." - Winston Churchill There are two trends driving regional economic development in the short and near term: Slowing business investment and job growth due to a ...more.

 »  Transportation: Big decisions await in '08 for future I-5 bridge
In 1917, 40,000 people jammed the single span of what is now known as the Interstate 5 Bridge to witness the ribbon-cutting that opened the road to traffic. Excerpts from the headline story read: "Dreams do come true. Men who yesterday dream ...more.

 »  Health care: Check-up for medical system
In the world of economic forecasting there are very few sure things, however predicting increasing demand for health care services may well be a sure thing. Growth of overall population is of course the main reason. Population characteristics ...more.

 »  Mortgage banking: Building on housing woes
The single-family residential mortgage industry took a severe hit in 2007 and it isn't over yet. Nationally the housing market slowed from a spectacular bubble level to something that is simply OK. Housing sales and starts for 2007 have been abo ...more.

 »  Hospitality: Well-traveled
The tourism industry in Clark County continued growing in 2007, and all indicators are that we will see steady growth through 2008. This important segment of our economy is a $13.9 billion industry statewide and ranks among the leading service ...more.