Years ago, from a back-row press seat at a Microsoft financial analyst meeting, I heard CEO Steve Balmer bellow that Microsoft would make software that “just works.” If memory serves, the much unloved Windows Vista was then the flavor of the month. In time it was succeeded by Windows 7, [continue reading . . . ]
For those of a certain age, the billboard remains etched in memory. It was April 1971. Boeing employment over the course of about three years had collapsed from more than 100,000 to fewer than 40,000 following cancellation of government funding for a supersonic transport and commercial orders for the then-shiny-new [continue reading . . . ]
The late Lady Margaret Thatcher had a four-word response to those who questioned her commitment to free and competitive markets: “There is no alternative.” The response earned her, so the Wall Street Journal reports, the nickname TINA, an obvious acronym. It occurs to me that the phrase is an appropriate [continue reading . . . ]
How anemic has been the recovery from the Great Recession? Here’s one way of looking at it. Until the Great Recession (December 2007-June 2009), the lengthiest recessions of the post-World War II era were 1973-1975 and 1981-1982, both at 16 months. The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau [continue reading . . . ]
A correspondent who heard my comments on Cyprus on KUOW’s Weekday program today asks: I am puzzled by some of your comments this morning. As I understand it, when a bank in the U.S. fails, the FDIC moves in and closes it. The accounts are protected by insurance up to [continue reading . . . ]
Marple’s Letter, which analyzed the Pacific Northwest economy for generations of business leaders, has succumbed. The final issue was dated March 6. The newsletter’s passing, a few weeks shy of its 64th anniversary, was due to declining circulation. Editor Jim Murez and Publisher Jon Anderson wrote that despite their best [continue reading . . . ]
I was asked to say a few words about Oregon’s economy at the PEMCO management forum that I addressed on President’s Day. In preparation, I worked up a few Oregon charts comparable to those I use for Washington’s economy. The contrasts are dramatic. The Great Recession and its aftermath cost [continue reading . . . ]
Amazon.com and Boeing dominated the business headlines in the Seattle area in 2012. Looks like we are in for more of the same in 2013. Eric Pryne of the Seattle Times, the go-to guy for news about Amazon’s gargantuan appetite for office space in the Seattle area, reported last week [continue reading . . . ]
Do Malthusian nightmares about the population explosion keep you up nights? Relax. Chill. We Americans (numbering 315 million) are having too few babies. Middle-class fertility has fallen to about 1.6, far below the replacement rate of 2.1. That means fewer workers to support your Social Security benefits. And the problem [continue reading . . . ]
I told a nephew the other day that I think the New York Times Science Section every Tuesday is reason enough to pay the newspaper’s monthly subscription price. The nephew had blogged movingly about his daily habit of reading newspaper obituaries. In our e-mail exchange, the nephew, Hank Greer, wrote, [continue reading . . . ]
I have four topics lined up for my stint on KUOW‘s Weekday program tomorrow. Sometimes the host sticks to the topics I suggest, some times not. Here are my bullet points: Dreamliner Blues: The grounding of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is obviously at the top of everyone’s radar screen. I’m not [continue reading . . . ]
My friend James McCusker, tongue planted firmly in cheek, suggests that rather than just one trillion-dollar platinum coin as a solution to our debt-deficit-fiscal mess, we mint one worth $50,000 for each of us. That’s roughly 315 million shiny tokens. Poof! Our debt problem goes away. How do you plan [continue reading . . . ]
