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Monthly Archives: March 2009

Four realistic things you can do to improve your chances in the new economy

25 Mar

There are plenty of self-help talkers now; most with overly simplistic or utterly vague advice about how to build your business or your skills during a time of economic change. So I was pleased to find this Forbes article by Saj-nicole Joni. She provides some common sense advice that is imminently doable. Here are key points, but the short article is worth your time.

  1. Add the skills that are missing from your leadership portfolio. She suggests areas like finance, technology, or operations.
  2. Watch how people around you -  your peers, subordinates, boss – succeed or fail in dealing with change. Then adjust
  3. Improve your ability to engage in debate and conflict
  4. Don’t go it alone. Find an appropriate confidant who will tell you the truth

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2009 in Business, Business leadership, Business management, Economy

 

But can they sell soap – video game time approaches network TV viewing levels

25 Mar

We’ve been watching the growth of video game consumption for several years. Huge consumer expenditures and huge chunks of leisure time have moved to video games, online and offline. Nielsen measured the consumption of games connected to the user’s television and found in December alone that time was 64 billion minutes. The time consumption is approaching that of major television network status, according to MediaWeek. The survey found heavy gamers were also heavy consumers of television, switching back and forth between their games and television programming.

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2009 in advertising, Business, Business management, Consumer research, Media

 

Measuring the economy: unemployment rates and the Dow Index

25 Mar

Douglas County once again received the unwelcome news that the local unemployment rate increased again, this time to a level not seen in decades. Here’s the link to the Douglas County unemployment page from the Oregon Labor Market Information System, a very user friendly page with easy to understand  charts and breakdowns by employment sector.

The unemployment rate is a percentage of the workforce that is unemployed. That simple statement, however, requires a bit of explanation. The workforce is defined as the total of:  all people who are currently working, plus Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2009 in Business, Business management, Consumer research, Economy

 

Same store growth projected for several retailers

24 Mar

COLUMBUS, OH – (MARKET WIRE) – 3/20/2009 – The forecast for same store sales growth is looking better for several retailers this month, according to the latest ForecastIQTM analysis (a service from Prosper Technologies, LLC). In addition to Aeropostale, Buckle and Hot Topic (retailers who have maintained a positive outlook), there are more retailers to add to the list of those expected to see growth over the next two months.

Fred’s and Sam’s Club improved from retailers likely to see an increase to almost certain to see Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2009 in advertising, Business, Business management, Economy, Marketing, retail

 

Economy does not make hiring “A” players easier, more “C” players on the market

24 Mar

Ran across this interesting blog about the difficulty of hiring “A” players even when the economy goes south.  Ahren Huffman in Summation makes the case that while anyone can laid off during a downturn a disproportionate share of layoffs are what he calls “C” players. He also includes some very interesting material about the difference in productivity between A and C level players. An interesting read for anyone who does hiring – or will do hiring.

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2009 in Business, Business management, Economy

 

Douglas County unemployment rises to 18% in February – highest in 25 years

24 Mar

Douglas County’s unemployment rate jumped to 18 percent in February, a level that hasn’t been seen since January 1983, according to statistics released Monday by the Oregon Employment Department.

The rate is almost twice what it was a year ago.

The county’s unemployment rate rose 1.7 percent from January’s rate of 16.3 percent. The February 2009 rate is 8.5 percentage points higher than the 9.5 percent rate recorded in February 2008.

Overall, 8,709 Douglas County residents were unemployed Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2009 in Business, Economy, The News-Review

 

Your nrmarketwatch publisher would like this car – Bentley Extreme. Turn sound up LOUD!

23 Mar

To give this posting a business angle, consider this an emerging trend in quality viral marketing. Great video.

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2009 in advertising, Business, Media, Uncategorized

 

Rick Sohn March timber industry report

23 Mar

Shown below are the most recent prices for stud lumber and logs, housing starts and permits, and unsold home inventories.  Past prices are provided for comparison.

____Prices in Dollars per Thousand Board Feet____

Mar.’09 Feb. ’09 Jan. ’09 Feb. ’08 Feb. ’06
Southern Oregon Studs ¹ $142 $145 $137 $215 $335
Southern Oregon Logs² $380 $403 $504 $709

______ Thousands of  Housing units_____

Feb. ’09 Jan. ’09 Feb. ’08 Feb. ’06
US Private Housing Starts3 583 477 1,107 2,119
US Private Building Permits3 547 531 981 2,141

____ Months of  Inventory of Unsold Homes_

Feb. ’09 Jan. ’09 Feb. ’08 Feb. ’06
Portland OR Unsold Home Inventory4 16.6 19.2 10.4 2.7

What the numbers mean.

The prices mills will pay for logs, continues a serious slide that started at $500 per Thousand Board Feet (MBF) in October of 2008, reaching $380/MBF this month.  Lumber, prices have been bouncing around a bottom, at or below $145 since December, 2008.  Lumber prices have to improve before log prices will respond.

Housing starts and building permits have both shown one month of improvement, which will be a good sign if the trend continues for a few months.  One factor that may be contributing is the mortgage interest rate, commonly reported to be about  4.75%.  The slight decline in unsold inventories is also good news if the trend continues.  Real Estate agents I have spoken to in Portland and Roseburg indicate that activity is up –  more people are looking at homes, many for deals.  According to the Portland Metro RMLS report for the February reporting period, the number of closed Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2009 in Business, Economy, Timber Industry

 

Small business owners beware – the IRS is looking for you

18 Mar

So, you have thought for years that the IRS seems to devote an inordinate amount of time to auditing small businesses. You’re right. In 2006, 41% of their enforcement budget went to auditing small business tax returns. Here is the story in Businessweek.

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2009 in Business, Business management, Marketing

 

Hello shoppers. It’s back … yup, layaways are a hit at Kmart

18 Mar

Here is a link to a video of Kmart CMO Mark Snyder talking about how repackaging layaway programs has helped his company. See it on Ad Age.

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2009 in Uncategorized

 
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