Jeff Thredgold

Source: www.speakersbureau.com

Jeff Thredgold has a gift for concisely communicating economic insights. In the March 5 edition of his newsletter "Tea Leaf," he lists over 40 good-news items of things going right with the U.S. economy and culture. He writes, "The ‘dismal science’ of economics typically focuses on bad news. However, there are many favorable developments taking place within the U.S. economy.  We do face major challenges…no question.  Recessionary pressures are intense…no argument here.  This is our semi-annual update of ‘Happy Talk.’ This Tea Leaf focuses ONLY on the ‘good’ news…."

ISM Manufacturing Index

Sources: ISM and Bloomberg

March data from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) on manufacturing activity indicate that the sector contracted during the month but at a lesser rate than in February. ISM’s report says, "Manufacturing failed to grow in March as the PMI registered 48.6 percent, which is an increase of 0.3 percentage point when compared to February's seasonally adjusted reading of 48.3 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting." A Bloomberg assessment of the ISM data says, "Manufacturing in the U.S. contracted less than forecast in March, easing concern that less consumer spending and business investment will cause a deeper economic slump. … Exports are helping sustain factories as domestic demand falters, the ISM report showed."

Forbes Small Business (FSB) has compiled a list of places that balance quality of life with a strong infrastructure and support for small businesses. CNN Money says, "FSB scoured the country for towns that combine a great business environment with alluring leisure offerings. We looked at economic conditions such as local tax rates alongside natural beauty - and easy access to museums, hungry game fish, and more." The list features such small places as Buford, GA; Fargo, ND; and Blacksburg, VA. The middling sized towns include Raleigh, NC; Denver, CO; and Scottsdale, AZ. San Antonio is one of the larger cities on the list.

Many of America’s cities are growing fast enough to place heavy strains on their infrastructure and public services. For instance, a just-released Census Bureau report found that Dallas, TX, gained 162,250 new residents from July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007. That number is enough to constitute a small city. The report says, "The 50 fastest-growing metro areas were concentrated in two regions — 27 in the South and 20 in the West. One metro area, Fayetteville, Ark.-Mo., straddled both the South and Midwest regions. Sioux Falls, S.D., and Springfield, Mo., were the two metro areas among the 50 fastest-growing located completely in the Midwest. None of the 50 was in the Northeast. That region’s fastest-growing metro area was York, Pa., which ranked 107th."

AsiaBIZ Strategy has taken a hard look at hundreds of Asian cities and selected the 10 best in nine categories: cities of the future, best economic potential, most cost effective, best human resources, best quality of life, best infrastructure, most business friendly, best development and promotion, and smaller cities of the future. China has the most cities listed – no surprise there. But Melbourne makes it onto five of the lists. And Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, ranks ninth on the list of most cost effective Asian cities. According to AsiaBIZ Strategy, "The awards were based on the results of [a] survey among businessmen, who were asked to rate over 200 Asian ‘big’ and ‘small’ cities according to their standing in terms of business and investments opportunities."

MOST BUSINESS FRIENDLY

1, Singapore, Singapore

2, Hong Kong, China

3, Macau, China

4, Melbourne, Australia

5, Shijiazhuang, China

6, Nanjing, China

7, Colombo, Sri Lanka

8, Brisbane, Australia

9, Taipei City, Taiwan (Republic of China)

10, Tokyo, Japan

Source: AsiaBIZ Strategy Pte. Ltd.

Site Selection magazine annually compiles information to identify the top 100 U.S. small towns ranked according to the number of corporate new and expanded facilities in their borders. This year’s report entitled "Newcomer Claims Checkered Flag" says, "In 2007, these [the local] economic developers did their job so well that they propelled the Thomasville-Lexington Micropolitan Area to the No. 1 spot in Site Selection's annual ranking of small towns. By capturing 30 corporate real estate projects that meet the criteria for inclusion in the Conway New Plant Database, the Thomasville-Lexington micro area beat out every other small town in the nation to claim the checkered flag."

2007 Top Micropolitans by Number of Projects

Source: Site Selection magazine

Here we have a compendium of sources for business taxes of the 50 U.S. states maintained and updated by the Federation of Tax Administrators. The Web site includes an article on the Internet Tax Freedom Act, information on state tax holidays, amnesty programs, tax burdens, collections, tax tables, a "Survey of Rounding on State Tax Returns," and much more. If you ever need state tax rates, peruse this site now so that you will remember to return there when you are next looking for this kind of information.

Here’s another study, this one of scientists, confirming what most already believe about the value of telework – it can work well for many knowledge workers. The National Science Foundation recently released the report "Telework under the Microscope — A Report on the National Science Foundation's Telework Program." This says, "Based on survey responses from 87 percent of NSF's employees, the study shows that telework is a win-win-win for managers, employees and the environment." Regarding telework’s advantages to the NSF, the report says, "Eighty-seven percent of these managers report that employees' productivity increases or remains the same while teleworking. The majority of those who manage teleworkers do not find it difficult to evaluate teleworkers and find that telework requires minimal or no change to how work is done." And telework has tangible benefits for individual employees: "By not commuting, each NSF teleworker reclaims an average of 62 hours of their lives back and saves $1,201 a year."

Source: National Science Foundation and the Telework Exchange

The process by which companies select overseas locations for their facilities has become more important lately because, with trade and investment barriers falling, corporations have more location choices than ever before. The report "Foreign Location Choices by U.S. Multinational Companies" by Raymond J. Mataloni, Jr., says, "A surprising result of the study is that MNCs are attracted to high-wage locations, even after adjusting for location attributes generally thought to be associated with high-wage levels." The study has interesting findings regarding the location selection process. It says, "MNCs appear to engage in a sequential choice process in which they first select a country based on national attributes and then a region within that country based on regional attributes." The report concludes, "Productivity-enhancing attributes (such as proximity to suppliers, the availability of highly skilled workers, and the presence of an extensive transportation infrastructure) are more important determinants of location than attributes related to production costs (such as the availability of low-wage labor)."

U.S company investments in Europe from 1989-2003

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Here’s a method for evaluating how a megatrend, such as the aging of European country populations, will change the demand for a specific product or service, such as real estate. In "Dissecting global trends: An example from Italy," the authors suggest looking at the trend’s impacts on the market at the very finest level of detail possible. The report says, "Our experience, backed by recent research, suggests that companies should navigate important trends by first studying their impact on sub-industries, segments, categories, and micro-markets. That kind of analysis breaks down megatrends into microtrends that companies can invest in with confidence."

U.S company investments in Europe from 1989-2003

Source: www.horx.com/English/Futurism.aspx