RALEIGH, NC-The state's economy will decline by 2% this year but lower interest rates will improve conditions later, a North Carolina State University economist tells GlobeSt.com.

SAN FRANCISCO-The economy may be slowing, but the real estate law firm Steefel, Levitt & Weiss is accelerating. The locally based firm has hired eight new attorneys to handle its growing business.

BOSTON-President George W. Bush stands by the executive order he issued to ban project labor agreements. This could dissolve the agreement on the Big Dig, which has managed to avoid labor disputes and work stoppages.

WASHINGTON, DC-Edens & Avant, parent company of Necessity Retail which owns a dozen grocery-anchored shopping centers in Delaware, Virginia and Maryland, adds a new local representative to its Mid-Atlantic office.