Author: Dee Shore

Mar 8, 2013

Banking on manufacturing

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama called for a return to manufacturing and factory jobs as a way to economic recovery. The same recommendation has been made here in North Carolina. N.C. State University economist Mike Walden considers whether manufacturing can really lead an economic revival. 

Mar 7, 2013

Another positive sign for the job market

There’s a little more optimism about the employment situation today as we are seeing businesses adding positions and jobless rates trending down. However, one of the scary statistics for the job market has been the length of time folks have been out of work. Are we seeing any progress here? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden answers. 

Mar 6, 2013

Pilot program focuses on food safety in cantaloupes

Fresh produce safety is the focus of a pilot cantaloupe program being offered by North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 

Mar 6, 2013

Christmas sales

There’s always much speculation leading into the Christmas season about the strength of sales. Unfortunately, we don’t receive the final numbers for Christmas sales until well after the season. The good news is we now have those figures, and N.C. State University economist Mike Walden explains whether Christmas was naughty or nice to retailers. 

Mar 5, 2013

Housing deals

There’s been good news about the housing market in recent months, as both sales and prices have been gaining. But, as N.C. State University economist Mike Walden explains, the improvement hasn’t been similar across the country. 

Mar 4, 2013

Comparing government spending

Often it’s useful to look at where we’ve been to get some insight into where we might be going. N.C. State University economist Mike Walden gives a brief historical view on government spending. 

Mar 2, 2013

Interns learn valuable life lessons while studying tropical plant pathology in Costa Rica

Mary Lewis spent six weeks traveling around Costa Rica working on research designed to shed light on one of the most important diseases affecting bananas. While her focus was the fungal disease black sigatoka, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student says the experience taught her just as much – or more – about what it takes to work in a foreign country and to interact with people from other cultures. 

Mar 1, 2013

Futuristics

Many of us like to think about the future and what kinds of gadgets and technology might exist. When we look at what some of the experts are saying, how do they see our future world being different? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden answers. 

Feb 28, 2013

Global re-balancing

In the discussion about where the world economy is headed, the term global re-balancing is often used. What does this mean? Does it suggest something is out of balance in world finances and, therefore, must be brought back in balance? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden responds. 

Feb 27, 2013

Metro rankings

There are many rankings released every year for states and metropolitan areas on their economic performance, and one recently released ranking puts a couple of North Carolina metropolitan areas in a good light. N.C. State University economist Mike Walden explains.