Other Factors Moderate Foreclosure Impacts on Home Prices
Rising foreclosure rates will not cause U.S. home values to plunge, despite widespread concerns to the contrary. According a recently released study by researchers the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the effects of foreclosure shocks on housing prices are much smaller than originally feared.

Insourcing Jobs Benefit the U.S. Economy
No doubt, outsourcing of US jobs has dominated headlines in many regions impacted by foreign competition. While many U.S. manufacturing jobs have been relocated to overseas, many economic developers have noted an emerging economic force that is propelling foreign-owned companies to invest in U.S. subsidiaries. The Organization for International Investment (OFII) recently released a study, “Insourcing Mergers & Acquisitions,” that documents how U.S. firms and workers are benefiting from foreign mergers with or acquisition of U.S. businesses.

Charlotte Benchmarks 2008 Released, Example for Other Metro Comparisons
Professors Harry Campbell and Al Stuart at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte recently completed the first edition of Benchmark Charlotte. The study is designed to provide public and private decision makers with a simple tool for monitoring five broad policy areas: (1) employment and labor force; (2) income & productivity; (3) livability and connectivity; (4) new economy; and (5) equity and diversity.

Census and NSF to Test Revamped R&D Survey
The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau will pilot test a significantly revamped survey of industry research and development in early 2009. The new Business Research and Development Survey (BRDS) will replace the Survey of Industrial Research and Development (SIRD), which has been the official federal source of data on R&D in the business sector since the 1950s. The goal of the survey is to collect a variety of data on the R&D activities from companies operating in the United States.

Census Releases 2006 Nonemployer Statistics; Receipts Near $1 Trillion
The annual data on businesses without employees indicate that this part of the economy generated $970 billion in revenue, representing nearly 1/12th of the entire US economy in 2006. Non-employers include about 18.2 million sole proprietorships, 1.4 million corporations without employees, and an additional 1.2 million partnerships. The contributors to this sector of the economy include businesses involved in real estate, construction, and professional, technical and business services. For many regions, these have been among the fastest growing job creators during the first part of this decade.