With unemployment rates soaring — it’s time to take a deeper look into recent job layoffs. I scoured the press releases from the past few months and while this list may not show all of the recent layoffs, it is the result of a comprehensive search. The most upsetting part about the list is that [...]

The Portland Business Journal announced on Friday January 30, 2009 that Columbia Bancorp reported huge losses for the year. Columbia Bancorp is the parent company of Columbia River Bank, which is based in The Dalles, Oregon and operates 21 bank branches throughout Oregon and Washington. Revenue in 2008 was down to $74.9 million from [...]

Recently Forbes published a list of retailers they predict will be closing stores this year. Square Feet had a post about the same story recently, however new details have come to light on a few of these retailers and their exact store closings.

Lane Bryant

150 Stores Closed

Eddie Bauer

27 Stores Closed

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A look at capitalization rates the past few months may leave you wondering where the value in your property has gone. Many property owners are sitting on properties that have lost 10 to 15 percent of their value in the past year. Chris Rodriguez of Retail Chatr stated it best in his recent article on [...]

Circuit City lost its battle with the recession early in the game and was forced into chapter 11 even after the initial closing of 155 poorly performing stores across the Midwest. With a lackluster showing of buyers to purchase existing leases and bleeding capital at the seams; no other choices were left but to close [...]

Consumer confidence is at a 40 year low of 37.7 in January of 2009 compared to 87.3 in January of 2007. A little background on consumer confidence: the index started in 1967 and was at 100 in 1985. What does this all mean for the retail industry? Consumer confidence is intrinsically tied to retail. It’s [...]