• The "Top Ten" represent 45% of the Statewide market.
• The "Top Twenty-Five" represent 2/3rds of all retail sales.
• The "Top 20%" gainers include:
• Orem holds #2!
• Sandy slides up to #3 from #4!
• West Jordan jumps back up to #8 from slipping to #11, and stays in the "$100 million Club"!
  1. South Jordan +46.8%
  2. North Salt Lake +28.3%%
  3. Draper +26.0%
  4. Centerville +22.7
  5. Vernal +20.3
• The "Biggest Losers" include:
  1. Cedar City - 5.8%
  2. Murray -3.2%
  3. Lindon -1.5%

• The "Top 5" Major Sectors represent 50% of the market.
• The "Top 5" gainers include:
  1. Hotel & Lodging +33.1%
  2. Construction +29.2%
  3. Health Services +27.8%
  4. Mining +27.6%
  5. Business Services +27.5%
• Categories with declining sales were led by:
  1. Agri, Forestry & Fishing -29.4%
  2. Occasional Retail Sales -21.0%
  3. Retail Building & Garden -8.7%

Decline in the U.S. Dollar (USD)

Less than six years ago, as Euro notes and coins were launched - the Euro was worth less than 90 US cents.

This week, as the Euro heads towards $1.50.

• What does it mean to the US?
• What does it mean to Utah?
• Housing prices are falling
• Commodity prices are rising
• Most Fed watchers expect Bernanke will lower interest rates again
• Thus putting increased downward pressure on the dollar.

Part II - Dave Wilcox, ERA

• As losers, the commoner US citizens are going to take much deeper personal savings and retirement funds hits, even if the Fed steps in to salvage only the banks.
• On the other hand, our dollar lower value might have some surprising results (too early to verify):
  1. We may attract more college/university students from abroad (?)
  2. Overseas investors may partner more heavily with US based technology products firms, even if the production cycle in the US lasts only a short time until moving quickly legally or illegally overseas.
  3. Frankly, tech transfer may blossom more and more for US firms, given the cheaper dollar, than we may imagine.
  4. Ultimately, we might secure some manufacturing opportunities ourselves, as the costs of overseas goods rise, coupled with ongoing quality of delivered goods issues.
  5. We are partially ahead of the game in pursuing cleaner, greener, less destructive environmental impacts. I think I see some major US envirotech firms moving to overseas business opportunities, while still remaining mostly US based.
  6. The US public is clearly moving toward favoring goods produced anywhere but Asia. I think we will focus more on lable reading and toward "North American goods. This can also mean that the Toyota business model will work best for other companies who decide to land in the US.
  7. The US is being drawn more rapidly into globalization than we generally accept. It's time we re- invented ourselves and stopped depending on our somewhat fraudulent banks as the only nexus with the world.
  8. We are still "the idea machine" of the world, even if we've lost manufacturing specialty and commodity production leaderships. Now is the launch point for a primary reinvention strategy - and I think our combined university research institutes and major R & D ventures have a potentially clearer track to the future than our currently lame Federal government political "leadership" and our financial institutions wish to acknowledge or invest in.
  9. U of U has attained some remarkable research leaderships in several specialties. It's more than cherry picking; it's about sustaining evolving specialties.
  10. I recall the Navy civilian scientists at China Lake in Ridgecrest, Calif. commenting constantly on the lack of evolving software specialties, given the enormous capacities of the next generations of affordable computers.
  11. I've also been surprised at the fantastic success of several Australian universities in launching and sustaining wildly successful "distance learning" programs from their campuses, now reaching virtually everywhere in Asia. at USC.

Source: Dave Wilcox, VP ERA, USC Economic Development Instructor, December 2007

This Weeks Leads

• Speedee Oil Change & Tune-Up
• Speedee Oil Change & Tune-Up operates 170 locations throughout CA, CT, LA, MA, ME, NC, NH, RI, SC, TX, VT and Mexico.
• The automotive service centers occupy spaces of 3,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and pad sites.
• Growth opportunities are sought nationwide during the coming 18 months.
• Typical leases run 15 to 20 year with three to four, five-year options.
• Specific improvements are required.
• Preferred demographics include a population of 25,000 within five miles earning $50,000 as the average household income.
• Major competitors include Econo Lube, Jiffy Lube and Precision Tune.
• A land area of 14,000 sq.ft. to 16,000 sq.ft. is required.
• For more information, contact
  • John L. Williams,
  • Speedee Oil Change & Tune Up,
  • 1320 Willow Pass Road,
  • Concord, CA 94521;
  • 925-686-9411,
  • Fax 925-686-9415;
  • Email: jwilliams@speedeecorp.com; Web site: www.speedeeoil.com.