When do you suppose the last time the word “enthusiasm” was used to describe the economic outlook? No doubt well before the onset of the Great Recession and the painfully slow recovery that’s ensued. Nonetheless, Richard Wobbekind was practically gushing about the latest results of a quarterly index tracking confidence among business leaders in Colorado. […]
Not too many years ago, the staff here at the Business Times came to a very difficult decision. It was difficult because we were worried it would be seen as a step backward for the paper, particularly as others in print media were doing the same thing at the time. Regardless, we made the decision […]
There’s no mystery about what nearly all business owners and managers, especially those in retail, want for Christmas: more sales. But second on the list for most owners and managers likely is more certainty. They’d like to know with more assurance that slow, but steady, economic growth really will continue in 2012. They’d also like […]
The search for a silver lining in dark economic clouds goes on, particularly at a time of year when retailers gear up for the holiday shopping season and what they desperately hope really will be the most wonderful time of the year. Fortunately, the news isn’t all bad. For some trends, in fact, the news […]
Actor Alan Alda once offered a memorable observation of human behavior. In a commence address at Connecticut College, where his daughter was graduating, Alda said: “Deep in our hearts we know the best things said come last. People will talk for hours saying nothing much and then linger at the door with words that come […]
Everyone tired of the well-worn phrase “challenging economic times” probably won’t like much better the latest description of growth in business revenues and hiring that’s, in a word, “slow.” But that’s the adjective that keeps coming up when economists and business owners talk about the economy. It’s little wonder the recovery doesn’t feel like much […]
In the media business, the old saying “don’t shoot the messenger” applies in cases in which outlets report news people might not want to hear. But in several recent instances in the Grand Valley, much of the media didn’t have the chance to decide whether or not to pass along the messages because they never […]
Informed people can disagree over whether or not to change the Colorado National Monument to a national park. But it’s difficult to argue the monument doesn’t deserve national park designation — or at least a serious consideration of that possibility. Regardless of how familiar the experience, a trip over Rim Rock Drive as it snakes […]
Economic forecasts are lot like … well, opinions, in that it seems everyone has one. Nonetheless, there’s a growing consensus economic conditions are improving in the Grand Valley and that light at the end of the tunnel might not be a train after all. As usual, though, there are caveats. And still more patience likely […]
Economic development is in one sense an evolutionary process. The business of attracting new businesses and jobs constantly changes, in large part because of changing markets and economic circumstances. The situation has been no different for the Grand Junction Economic Partnership and its predecessor organization. Formed in 1980s in the aftermath of the oil shale […]