The Economy

This would be welcome news in Clark County to many if it is the case.   Bill Connerly an esteemed economist with his roots across the river in Portland wrote in his March blog  about an upcoming Mini-Boom in Commercial Real Estate.  He lays out a good case that gradually the economy is expanding and will eventually absorb our current vacancies, and that because of the lack of lending by banks, minimal...

Here are a couple of articles from the headlines of last week  highlighting  that in 2010 we did experience growth all across the country, and that Oregon is leading the charge here in the West.  In fact their growth rate was almost double Washington's.   Let's hope some of that rising tide flows  across the newly deepened Columbia River channel  and into Clark County.     48 of 50 states enjoy...

 Growing up a baseball fan I became familiar with the term June swoon, which occurred for a team  after they had a great first two opening months of the season, but then began to struggle.  Clearly economic reports from May have shown we've had some struggles.  This article "Economists React: ' Consider me worried' " has some good insights as to currently prevailing views on what comes next. Other...

Aren't low-interest rates a wonderful boon for our economy?   Touted by the Fed as a way to spur lending these historic, low levels of interest, generate plenty of press coverage as a great opportunity for residential mortgage  refinancing.  There is a secondary effect that garners little attention.  This artificially low-interest rate policy (ALIRP)  create a horrendous squeeze on savers,...

I found this couple of paragraphs in the 2010 Berkshire Hathaway annual report. It was taken from the letter that Warren Buffett annually writes to his shareholders. It expresses a theme that I have incorporated into my blogs, website and workshops over the past several years, but is much more direct and comes from a source who is placing huge bets on the future.   "Last year – in the face of widespread...

After the Crash 2009 and Beyond Greetings! The lesson I learned in 2008 is how vulnerable investments in our own stock market can be.  For the third time in less than a decade, we have seen a major    (30 % or greater) loss in value.  In 1999 it was the bursting of the dotcom bubble, 2001 & 2002 the reaction to the 9/11 attacks, and 2008, the culmination of a series of poorly conceived...