"To be, or not to be, that is the question." Shakespeare's line from Hamlet keeps coming to mind whenever there is talk of recession. In February, Global Insight called for a short and shallow downturn for the nation, while the Blue Chip panel predicted a narrow escape.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 16 - Number: 1
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Michigan Recession
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Even forecasters on occasion hit the nail on the head. A year ago, despite concern over a sputtering U.S. economy, we said that it was "not the time to lose our good cheer."
Download the NewsletterVolume: 15 - Number: 4
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Gross Domestic Product
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Fed chair Ben Bernanke may not like it, but Alan Greenspan has still got it. The day after the former chief uttered the "R"word, the stock market turned south, causing a case of the jitters.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 15 - Number: 1
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Sports and the Economy
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Typically, it takes more than one thing to lift an economy up or drag it down. In 1997, boosted by strong national growth, a cyclical upturn at Boeing, and the dot-com boom, Puget Sound employment jumped 5.1 percent.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 13 - Number: 4
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Entrepreneurs
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It did not exactly sneak up on us. Last quarter, after the fifth straight drop in our index of leading economic indicators and a virtual halt to the growth of taxable retail sales, we put the Puget Sound economy on watch.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 9 - Number: 4
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Impact Analysis
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If you are wondering what is up, the answer is not much. Led by another decline in help-wanted ads, the Puget Sound leading index continues to plunge.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 9 - Number: 3
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Measurement Error
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Suppose we had a recession and nobody noticed. Something like this may be in the offing. We tend to view recessions with dread, like a serious illness: "recession may kill 19-year expansion." In fact, most recessions are just minor interruptions in the upward march of the economy.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 9 - Number: 1
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Productivity
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Recessions come in all shapes and sizes. The Boeing Recession of 1970-71, the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression, wiped out one-ninth of the jobs in King and Snohomish counties.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 6 - Number: 4
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: The Boeing Recession
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Looking down the track, the Puget Sound economy has some hurdles to jump, not the least of which is an impending slowdown in the national economy.
Download the NewsletterVolume: 6 - Number: 3
Leading Index Title:
Special Topic Title: Two Washingtons
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