CURE FOR BLIGHT: Financial commitments commonly used in the mining, petroleum and telecom industries could, if applied to residential and commercial development, help bring an end to the scourge of abandoned buildings in Michigan, argue MSU’s Rex LaMore and Michelle LeBlanc. (Bridge archive photo)For decades, many U.S. communities have suffered from population loss and economic […]
Center for Automotive Research
Posted inBusiness Watch
State again riding auto upswing
Nearly given up for dead a few years ago, Michigan’s automakers have come roaring back and are leading one of the strongest state economic recoveries in the nation. Today, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are churning out billions of dollars in profits and are hiring thousands of workers. But we’ve seen […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Interest high in Right to Work; gains unclear
Gov. Rick Snyder has engaged in some shuttle diplomacy in recent days, talking with opponents and supporters of Right to Work, which limits requirements for participation in union activities by employees. RTW is something the governor has repeatedly said is divisive and not on his agenda, yet the idea has been the subject of much […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Forecasting a slower, pricier car industry
Cars might cost $50,000 on average by 2025. Vehicle sales in the United States may never bounce back to the levels of a decade ago. And electric vehicles aren’t likely to catch on with consumers for years, if at all. So says Sean McAlinden, executive vice president of research and chief economist at the Center […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
What's the business case for second Detroit bridge?
Editor’s note: Gov. Rick Snyder joined Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last Friday to announce a formal deal to start construction on a second bridge linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. Snyder announced his support for the span in his first weeks as governor in 2011. Michigan’s share of the construction costs — $550 million — […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Pulse quickens in Mich. manufacturing
It looked like the end of the millennium would also be the end of Michigan manufacturing. The state lost 47 percent of its manufacturing employment, nearly 423,000 jobs, between 2000 and 2010 as the U.S. auto industry went into a frightening decline. But like a patient who surprisingly wakes up from a years-long coma, manufacturing […]