Commentary
Microsoft Lays Off Another 800
A quick follow-up from a sub-paragraph deep down in my earlier post, Microsoft today is confirming another 800 layoffs, 200 in the Seattle area, pushing the total of jobs cut since the January announcement of 5,000 jobs cut to … 5,800. But that’s the last of it, a Microsoft spokesman tells seattlepi.com. Maybe until next…
Burlington Northern: Another Prosaic but Lucrative Investment
Warren Buffett is famous for avoiding investments in technology, which is among the many reasons why he’s still rich and a lot of the one-time tech stars are not. His investing tastes have tended to much more prosaic investments like insurance (Geico, and a stake in the Bellevue-based Safeco spinoff Symetra) and jewelry stores (including…
Boeing’s Challenges Are Just Beginning
By putting its second 787 assembly line in South Carolina, Boeing will save itself some money on labor costs (and perhaps win a little more political support for its defense contracts from that part of the country.) It has also sent its labor union a clear signal: There is no future in militant unionism. Long…
Gunning for Green Energy
There’s a growing consensus that clean energy will emerge as a massive business opportunity worldwide. Washington state already has hundreds of companies in the industry and is a leading contender. (check out the Washington State Energy Marketplace Directory). But lots of other regions and countries in the world are moving a lot more quickly to…
September Employment Numbers Stable
Unemployment was up again in September. But as with the August numbers, the headlines can be deceiving. Although unemployment jumped to 9.3 percent in September from 9 percent in August, the majority of that increase was a result of the growing size of the labor force, which grew by 8,000. Employment did shrink, but only…
Local Magazines have a Strong Future
About Seattle Business Magazine When I tell people what I do, sometimes I see a sad look in their eyes as if I had just told them I had cancer. It doesn’t surprise me. After all, there’s a lot of death in our industry. Every day some dear old friend succumbs. The Seattle PI stopped…
Massive UW Research Project to Monitor the Next Frontier: The Ocean
Although three quarters of our planet is covered by ocean, we know less about it than we know about the surface of Mars. A better understanding of oceans, says John Delaney, UW professor of oceanography, will “revolutionize our perception of the planet” and result greater insight into everything from the health of a $4 billion…
Microsoft’s Dance
You’ll find me among those who really really wishes Microsoft well in its new endeavors. It’s making all the right noises about transforming its products; trying to get Office more cloud-friendly, putting out Windows 7 to atone for Vista, even engaging in that ultimate exercise in branding, opening a retail store. And yet… this all…
Forgotten Stars
After timber, fishing, the Klondike Gold Rush and airplanes, the Next Big Thing for Seattle’s economy was supposed to be computer software. What we got out of that was Microsoft and a nice little community of tech companies. Next came biotechnology, and we’re still waiting to see what we get out of that. That was…
Memorandum
To: All Staff From: Bill M. Wallhead, CEO Subject: Update for 2009-2010 It’s been a tough year for us at Cellular Accessories Limited, but I’m taking this opportunity to announce the good news early. By now, as you may be aware, the economy is well on the way to recovery. Thanks to the diligent cost-control…
Harnessing the Green Dragon
Green business. Alternative energy. Recycling. These mantras of sustainability have become key policy goals in China. As part of its broader efforts to move the Chinese economy toward sustainable practices, earlier this year the Chinese government introduced a new law promoting sustainability. Considering Washington state’s relative proximity to China and the strong bonds our state…
Fueling the Flame of Innovation
When I first met Jeff Bezos 13 years ago, he had recently left Wall Street to launch Amazon.com, his online bookstore, and was operating it out of a Pioneer Square warehouse. Sitting in his tiny office at a desk made from an unfinished door placed on two sawhorses, he explained the simple logic of his…
Global Partnerships
Global Partnerships, a Seattle-based organization that partners with Latin American micro-credit lenders, showed the power of commerce in the developing world when it featured two retailers from opposite poles. Dolores Maritza of El Salvador spoke of how a micro-credit loan for $500 helped her build a store that changed her life. Jim Sinegal, CEO of…