Marple’s Pacific Northwest Letter, published every other Wednesday since 1949, provides intelligence on the economy and companies of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

In four-page newsletter format that saves time, Marple’s Letter analyzes trends in employment, income, population, imports and exports, housing prices, and output of the states’ economies.

Subcribers get heads-up alerts to changes that affect their businesses – and the region’s most comprehensive reporting on insider trading. For investors-subscribers, Marple's strives to uncover opportunities among more than 200 public companies monitored.

Subscribers, friends, visitors: Marple's Letter has a new publisher and editor. Here's the announcement [PDF will open in new window].

December was a bad month for foreclosure filings around the Pacific Northwest. All five states we cover posted gains. Find out which state took the worst hit and why.

You don’t get many chances to invest your money alongside the revered Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett. We'll tell you about a recent initial public offering for a Northwest-based company that offers you an opportunity to do just that.

Bank earnings reports are beginning to trickle in. We dig inside the reports to get a sense of what 2009 might tell us about 2010.

Last year was a challenge for business owners and managers trying to make a profit or just stay afloat. We share some of the lessons decision-makers across the Northwest learned about running their firms during tough times.

How wealthy is your county? Our regional scorecard — PNW Snapshot — shows where the largest counties in the region stack up when measuring weekly wages.

Seattle and Tacoma are among the busiest ports in North America. But the economic winds are shifting for port managers all along the West Coast. We’ll tell you the two biggest issues facing port officials in the coming years, as well as what 2010 may bring.

It was the same story, told in two communities 600 miles apart: Paper mills closing, and taking away well-paying jobs. The closures are another byproduct of the recession and consumers’ changing buying habits. We'll lay out exactly how large the financial blow will be to their respective cities.

The first bank to fail nationwide in 2010 was based in Washington. We explain what brought it down and why the same cause will plague other banks across the region this year.

Are the jobs here? Not just yet in the Northwest. Unemployment rates for cities in our region were up sharply over the same time last year. Learn which communities are best fending off the recession when it comes to employment.

The fortunes of Alaska’s commercial salmon fishermen are susceptible to a wide range of factors, but 2009 was prosperous for them. And that is a big boost to Alaska’s overall economy. Learn just how big a role salmon play in Alaska’s economic output and how many jobs they create.

Personal income is a closely watched indicator of a state’s economic health. A recent federal report shows how states fared when measuring personal income in the third quarter. The state posting the fastest growth was right here in the Pacific Northwest. We’ll tell you what fueled this state’s big gains.

The Northwest has always been an attractive place to live. And a recent Census Bureau report continues to back up that claim. Read about how many people the region has added since the 2000 census and where they are coming from.

China is a key importer of U.S. goods, and the Pacific Northwest has been a big beneficiary of that. This issue’s PNW Snapshot illustrates each state’s top export to China and its value.

The Pacific Northwest’s wine industry’s reputation as a major player was solidified recently when a Washington wine earned the No. 1 ranking on a prestigious list. We show you how much the wine industry has grown in Washington and Oregon and why it has more economic muscle than you might think.

News coming out of state capitals from the five states we cover has been bleak this month. No matter if your state depends on personal, sales or income taxes, or taxes on oil, revenues have shrunk. We lay out the specific challenges facing the state budget makers who convene next year.

Where does your city rank in terms of economic strength? We highlight a recent report that shows which cities are outpacing their peers when it comes to jobs and other indicators.

The percentage of office space being unused around the region provides a good indicator of the economy’s health. Downtowns, suburbs, and smaller cities all are being affected differently. See which markets are holding up best in the commercial real estate market.

The next possible bubble to burst could be in commercial real estate loans. Lenders are helped by guidance from the FDIC to head off another crisis. We’ll tell you how banks are working with struggling borrowers in order to keep the economic recovery moving forward.

One in four borrowers underwater? Not in the Northwest. We take you behind the headlines and point out how the region’s homeowners are faring better than the national average when looking at how much they owe on their homes.

It isn’t a good thing to have your economy compared to California’s these days. But that’s what a recent report did with Oregon and its fiscal troubles. As legislators prepare to convene early next year, we'll show some statistics that paint a picture of the challenges they’ll face come budget time.

House prices continue to depreciate. This issue’s PNW Snapshot shows you which cities in our five states are holding their ground best, and which continue to take a beating.