Latest Detroit News: Economic Development/Economy 
05/19/13
When a career fair turned into a disappointment, Jonathan DeWys could have whined that the lack of skilled workers was hampering his company's growth. Instead, he channeled the lessons into developing a better solution: a new, in-house educational program.
05/16/13
The supplier has submitted plans to build a 125,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in the city.
05/15/13
As lawmakers push to complete the state budget in the next two weeks, they will have $482.6 million more than they expected to use as they see fit, following Wednesday morning's consensus revenue estimating conference.
05/13/13
Normalcy in the North American automotive market has turned to complacency in the automaker-supplier relationship, according to a new study by Birmingham-based Planning Perspectives Inc. An average of 43 percent of the anonymous 441 tier-one suppliers surveyed say they have a "poor-to-very-poor" working relationship with the six automakers. Chrysler scored the worst, with 50 percent indicating a poor relationship, while Toyota did the best, with 34 percent claiming a poor relationship.
05/12/13
Wine snobs, move over – the beer snobs have arrived. That's a good thing for Michigan because the craft beer industry grew 20 percent in 2012, with an economic impact tallied at $133 million. Seventeen breweries opened last year in the state, which now ranks fifth in the number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs. That kind of impact and growth has garnered attention in Lansing, writes Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer.
05/12/13
They say admitting you have a problem is the first step. My problem isn't finding work, it's finding qualified workers.
05/12/13
Visitors to downtown Detroit, around
Wayne State University,
Henry Ford Hospital and other spots, have been getting a spring gift: a pay-station holiday.
05/12/13
As Guy Goodmonson scaled the 150-foot-tall water tower to reach the top platform that had no handrails, he questioned his sanity more than once.
05/12/13
Organizers of the M1 Rail streetcar system plan to award the primary contract to design and build the $137 million transit line in less than two weeks.
05/12/13
Apparently, those hordes of leaf-peepers have started taking a toll on some officials up north. Last month, the
Leelanau County Board of Commissioners nixed a partnership with the
Traverse Bay Economic Development Corp. to create a new jobs strategy, the
Traverse City Record-Eagle reported recently. Commissioners also shut down the county's economic development board.
05/11/13
Warren-based Crown Group was announced as being acquired by a group of investors; Ford will take over as title sponsor of the annual fireworks in downtown Detroit; the Lions signed "Ziggy" Ansah and eight other draft picks; and a cargo container intended to be a demonstration of a hotel lobby was dropped at Eastern Market.
05/09/13
The first of two containers intended to be a demonstration for a cargo shipping container hotel planned for Detroit landed Thursday at Eastern Market. The second container for the preview, which is expected to serve as pop-up retail for market vendors, is expected to arrive at the historic market in June.
05/09/13
Emeryville, Calif.-based TubeMogul Inc., a brand marketing company, has officially opened its new three-person office at the 50,000-square-foot Madison Building at 1555 Broadway St.
05/06/13
Oakland County's Emerging Sectors program had a second straight slow month in April and was on pace for a middling year of economic development among high-growth industries.
05/06/13
Plans are in the works to demolish a former retirement home in Detroit where officials said two people seeking scrap materials died in 2011.
05/05/13
Tackling the state's gap between employer talent needs and the skills of the workforce is bubbling to the top as a priority for discussion at this month's
Mackinac Policy Conference.
05/05/13
Ask Rick DeVos about failing as an entrepreneur, and he'll tell you he has done it in myriad ways. But while reflecting on the first year of his $15 million seed venture fund
Start Garden, DeVos said those lessons from failure have helped shape his ideas and have made him a better entrepreneur.
05/05/13
Entrepreneurial Initiative of Southeast Michigan Entrepreneur's Forum. 8-11:30 a.m. Automation Alley. Watch up-and-coming entrepreneurs present their business plans, then join in the discussion. Automation Alley headquarters, Troy. Free. Contact: (800) 427-5100; email: info@automationalley.com; website: www.automationalley.com.
05/05/13
In late March, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a package of bills and allocated $21 million for emergency dredging projects because of historically low water levels in Michigan lakes. The goal? Help bolster the state's economy for shipping and give its recreational boating industry a life preserver after years of below-normal rain and snowfall.
05/01/13
The local economy continued to improve in April, but at a more modest pace than in March, according to April's Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index.
04/30/13
04/29/13
The state is considering a revamp of I-375 that would raise a portion of the road to grade level and create a pedestrian-friendly boulevard designed to attract development.
04/29/13
Executives at midsized companies are relatively optimistic about economic prospects for their own companies, but cautious about the U.S. as a whole and concerned about federal policies, according to a report the consulting firm of Deloitte LLP will release on Wednesday.
04/28/13
Nancy Schlichting has been invited to the White House on Tuesday to meet with the Obama administration's top two health care leaders to discuss the impact of health care reform and federal budget cuts on safety net organizations.
04/28/13
The Michigan Legislature isn't taking a hands-off approach to the testing of autonomous vehicles, but it isn't looking to be a backseat driver either, experts say. The Senate is expected to vote on S.B. 169 this week, which will regulate the testing of driverless vehicles on Michigan's roads.
