Author: Dee Shore

Aug 25, 2011

Project fuels interest in canola

When leaders of a project designed to provide homegrown, renewable fuels for the military and to strengthen Eastern North Carolina agriculture needed help finding the right source crop and testing it locally, they turned to N.C. State University and its N.C. Cooperative Extension Service for help. 

Aug 25, 2011

Take steps to avoid mosquito bites

Given recent diagnoses of mosquito-borne diseases in a child and a horse in North Carolina – coupled with possible heavy rains from Hurricane Irene –an N.C. Cooperative Extension specialist advises people to take precautions when outdoors. 

Aug 25, 2011

Tracking home prices

Changes in home prices have become a very important part of today’s economic situation. On the surface, a person might think that following home prices is really quite simple -- you just take an average of the prices of homes sold and compare those numbers over time. But, as N.C. State University economist Mike Walden explains, it's not that easy. 

Aug 24, 2011

Job opportunities

There are three big issues in today’s economy -- jobs, jobs, and jobs. People without work are really desperate for jobs. When we look past the recession and down the road a couple of years, where will the jobs be and what will they pay? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden shares the latest projections. 

Aug 23, 2011

Extension offers disaster recovery expertise

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, news media looking for information on a variety of hurricane topics can turn to North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s disaster page at ncdisaster.com or they can directly contact key Extension experts. 

Aug 23, 2011

Comparable crashes

Most recent recessions are gauged against the biggest economic downturn of them all, the 1930s Great Depression. Of course, when we looked at the current recession, the decline in the housing market is one of the key factors. How does the current situation in the housing market match up against what happened in the 1930s? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden weighs in. 

Aug 22, 2011

A government jobs recession

We had a very disappointing June employment report for North Carolina. The unemployment rose from 9.7 percent in May to 9.9 percent in June. And over 10,000 jobs were lost. What happened? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden explains. 

Aug 19, 2011

Plunging consumer spending

The recession that we’ve experienced has set records on so many levels. But consumer spending is really dominant in our economy. And, says N.C. State University economist Mike Walden, there have been some unfortunate records set regarding consumer spending during the recession. 

Aug 18, 2011

Origins of the deficit

The federal deficit as a percent of the economy was 1.1 percent just a few years ago. In 2009, it increased to 10.1 percent of the economy. What happened? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden explains. 

Aug 17, 2011

Selling in China

China is a fast-growing country. With this growth comes an enormous opportunity for selling to Chinese consumers, even for companies here in the United States. What will companies need to know about Chinese buyers to be successful? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden responds.