Microsoft has fewer patents than IBM but the software giant’s patents are the most valuable in the nation. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted for Bloomberg Business Week by Ocean Tomo, a Chicago intellectual property consulting firm. The firm measured the value of the patents based on such criteria as how often they were…

Boeing handed out 60-day layoff notices at the end of October to approximately 500 employees companywide, including nearly 60 in Washington. Boeing announced in January it would cut 10,000 positions from its baseline employment.

In devastating news to local Boeing Co. employees, the aerospace giant announced that it will put its second line for building the 787 in North Charleston, S.C.-not Everett. The decision was a culmination of years of discussing how Boeing would expand its production of the 787 to meet demand for the plane.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Scott Carson has stepped down after finishing work on the 787 Dreamliner’s new schedule. Jim Albaugh, former president and chief executive of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, was appointed to Carson’s position. According to Boeing Chairman, Chief Executive and President Jim McNerney, the choice to retire after 38 years…

The value of the dollar is plunging. That’s going to reduce our quality of life in the longterm since it means we have to pay more to import all the goods we consume.But it represents an important boost to manufacturers in Washington state, which account for about a quarter of our economic activity. The cheap…

Boeing has continued to cut jobs as part of its continuing efforts to trim 10,000 positions in 2009. Most recently, the company cut 1,168 positions during the summer months, 375 of them in the Puget Sound region, and 275 of those at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Boeing’s defense division has also been working toward a goal…

A former engineer at Boeings California offices., Chinese-born Dongfan Greg Chung, was found guilty of economic espionage for stealing 300,000 pages of documents on the United States space shuttle and a booster rocket. He could face more than 90 years in prison.

The Washington Technology Center has provided $376,454 in state funds to five researchers who are working with companies to advance commercial technology. One-hundred-seventy-five jobs are expected to emerge as a result of this technologys application during the next five years. The company partners include Data Data, of Vancouver, Wash.; Healionics of Redmond; Modumetal of Seattle;…

The Boeing Co. has purchased a Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. plant and operations for $580 million. The Vought facility constructs fuselage sections for 787s in North Charleston, S.C., and could provide a location for Boeing to open a second 787 production line. Though no solid plans to build another line have been announced by Boeing,…

Mom-and-pop canvas shops are a common feature of midsize western cities. Such shops typically have been part of a community for decades, and Spokanes F.O. Berg is no exception. Started by Frederick Oliver Berg in 1883, the company built the tent city that housed much of Spokane after the devastating fire of 1889. According to…

The Boeing Co. is threatening to leave its home in Seattle, fed up with costly demands from its workforce and an unresponsive local government. Executives are looking south to warmer climates, where cheaper land is available and workers seem more willing to provide the flexibility the managers say they need to compete in the cutthroat…