New COVID-19 Data Tracking Page
“Standard economic data like the monthly employment reports, quarterly GDP, and the like remain the best way to track what is happening in the U.S. and Oregon economies.”
Reading Today
One type of art can help you see the bigger picture in life – study
“Staring into the soothing lines of an image that you can’t quite describe is one of the joys of looking at abstract art. It turns out that it’s also one of the style’s major benefits.”
Reading Today
COVID-19 and Oregon’s Housing Outlook
“This morning I am presenting a mid-year forecast for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland. A summary of my thoughts and a copy of my slides are below.”
Open jaws at the surface (B&W) by George Probst
Found via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/qvxGQr
Reading Today
May 2020 Employment: A Happy Surprise
“This week we got the May 2020 employment report for Oregon. Like the U.S., it was a happy surprise in that jobs grew and unemployment declined. Today I just wanted to highlight the data, update our charts, and introduce a new piece of research.”
Reading Today
Economic Disparities, an Ongoing Discussion
“The world is data rich these days. One of our office’s roles is to bring to life this data to better understand, and better explain what is happening.”
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COVID-19 Regional Outlook
“Last week our office released the latest economic and revenue forecast for the state. The outlook isn’t pretty as we face years of high unemployment and reduced revenues for public services.”
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Recessions in Oregon (Graph of the Week)
“This morning the April employment report for Oregon was released. As expected it was catastrophic. Between the revisions to March and the preliminary data for April, Oregon has lost 267,000 jobs (-14%) in the past two months. The unemployment rate spiked to a record 14.2%.”
Reading Today
French Defence
“This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending …c5 at a later stage, attacking White’s centre and gaining space on the queenside. White has extra space in the centre and on the kingside and often plays for a breakthrough with f4–f5.”
Reading Today
COVID-19: Staying Home and Driving Less
“Our friends over at the Oregon Department of Transportation have been busy. They are crunching numbers and writing reports on how COVID-19 is impacting traffic patterns, driving behavior, associated tax revenues, and the like.”
Reading Today
COVID-19: Working Parents and Educators
““Everyone’s a Keynesian in a foxhole” is a popular economics phrase describing how public policy is important, especially in recessions. Riffing off of that I think we need to add “every parent’s an educator in a quarantine” to the list as well.”
Reading Today
The Coronavirus Could Reshape Global Order
“With hundreds of millions of people now isolating themselves around the world, the novel coronavirus pandemic has become a truly global event.”
Reading Today
Human virome
“The human virome is the total collection of viruses in and on the human body.[3][4][5] Viruses in the human body may infect both human cells and other microbes such as bacteria (as with bacteriophages).[6] Some viruses cause disease, while others may be asymptomatic.”
Reading Today
Coronavirus will linger after the pandemic ends. But it won’t be as bad.
“SARS-CoV-2, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, is officially a global pandemic. Multiple chains of transmission are underway in dozens of countries.”
Reading Today
The ‘Hidden Talent’ That Determines Success
“In our era of globalisation, your job performance may depend on your “CQ”. So what is it? Imagine meeting someone for the first time who comes from a distant country but is fluent in your language.”
Reading Today
Coronavirus, the Economy, and Oregon
“Our office continues to get asked about the potential impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy. Long story short is that it is still too early to tell how much economic fallout will occur given the ongoing public health developments as the virus spreads.”
Reading Today
In world’s first, atomic force microscope sees chemical bonds in individual molecules (w/ video)
“A nanographene molecule exhibiting carbon-carbon bonds of different length and bond order imaged by noncontact atomic force microscopy using a carbon monoxide functionalized tip. This molecule was synthesized at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Toulouse. Credit: IBM (Phys.”
Reading Today
Food for Thought: Shifting Drivers of Growth?
“Like the nation overall, Oregon is transitioning down to more sustainable rates of growth. Job gains are roughly in-line with what underlying demographics suggest the state needs to hold the unemployment rate steady.”
Reading Today
Oregon Office of Economic Analysis
“This morning the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis released the latest quarterly economic and revenue forecast. For the full document, slides and forecast data please see our main website. Below is the forecast’s Executive Summary.”
Reading Today
What Drives Cost of Living Differences? (Graph of the Week)
“We know the cost of living varies considerably across the country. It can even vary significantly just across town. But what really drives these differences? In a word, housing.”