The Oregon Biz Report - Business News from Oregon

10 key factors in baseball coming to Portland

By Oregon Small Business Association

A group that includes a former Nike vice president and the former television voice of the Portland Trail Blazers wants to build a major league-ready ballpark. They’ve made offers on at least two pieces of land, including the current headquarters of the Portland Public Schools headquarters. Their proposal raises more questions that it answer. Here are eight things to think about before the mayor tosses the first pitch on opening day.

Oregon Forecast: Continued robust growth

Timothy A. Duy
Director, Oregon Economic Forum
Department of Economics, University of Oregon

This is the University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators for April 2018. The release date is June 7, 2018.

The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity fell in April to 0.43 from a March reading of 1.13. Highlights of this month’s report include:

– The moving average measure, which smooths out the volatility, fell to 0.72, well above average (“zero” indicates average growth over the 1990-present period). Data has cooled somewhat compared to late last year but remains indicative of a solid pace of growth.
– The manufacturing sector contributed positively; the sector currently benefits from a strong rebound from weakness in 2015-16. The household sector also made a positive contribution, but temporary employment and labor force components dragged down the gains.
– The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators edged down in April. Initial unemployment claims were flat while employment services payrolls, largely temporary help workers, fell.
– Building permits (smoothed) have been tracking at cycle highs of around 1,950 units permitted for the past three months. Consumer sentiment (smoothed) is likewise at cycle highs while new orders for core manufacturing goods continues to climb.
– The spread between long and short-term interest rates fell; the spread will likely continue to fall due to expected further tightening of monetary policy.

Together, these indicators suggest ongoing growth in Oregon at an above average pace of activity.

Note: This release incorporated revisions to new capital goods orders and the weight distance tax.

Special thanks to our sponsor, KeyBank.

Link to full report here.

Crystal skull vodka case impacts branding rules

By Julianne Henley
Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn
NW Law firm,

Almost everything about Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head vodka is unique: according to the company’s website, distilled corn and peaches are mixed with “pristine water from Newfoundland,” then the liquor is filtered through semi-precious crystals known as “Herkimer diamonds.” The unique brand story is matched by the vodka’s packaging, a memorable clear glass skull that stands out visually and on store shelves.

Congress plans Tax Reform Part 2

Speaker Paul Ryan aims to make 2017 Tax Cuts permanent.
By National Small Business Association,

On Dec. 22, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), following passage earlier that week by the Senate and House—both along party lines. The bill is now in-effect for tax years 2018 and thereafter.

While the final bill offers considerable tax relief to most small businesses, it falls short in several key areas. Specifically, as talk of a possible second round of tax cuts grows, NSBA believes that Congress should focus on fixing the national debt, simplifying the tax code for small businesses, creating stability and predictability in our tax laws, and moving toward greater parity in the tax treatment of various business forms. NSBA views this tax reform law not as an end-point but as an initial step to address a range of issues that Congress and the Administration must continue to pursue in 2018 and beyond—issues that were addressed inadequately or not at all in this bill.

Schrader on rights for Oregon immigrant detainees

Oregon Congressman Kurt Schrader
Press Release,

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with House members Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader, demanded that the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately allow individuals being held at a federal prison in Sheridan, Ore., under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance policy” to access legal services through free phone calls.

Who is defying the beer sales slump?

Josh Lehner
Oregon Office of Economic Analysis

In honor of our value-added manufacturing, declining start-up trend bucking, homegrown Oregon breweries out there, I thought I should update our numbers of Oregon beer production. These figures come from the OLCC beer reports which only cover beer made in Oregon and sold in Oregon. So beer imported into the state from other breweries, and beer made here but exported to other states or countries are not included in these numbers. It also includes all Oregon breweries, regardless of ownership or brewing techniques. The goal here is not to get bogged down into defining what craft beer is. Rather it’s to look at Oregon beer production.

Worker choice: Lower taxes or higher minimum wage?

By Kathryn Hickok
Cascade Policy Institute

What’s better for welfare recipients and low-skilled workers: a higher minimum wage, or a larger Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)? David Neumark, director of the Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine, explains in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal why the EITC benefits low-income single parents more over time than does a higher minimum wage.

Portland scores high on two start-up rankings

By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation,

This year, Portland ranks as the ninth best city in the United States for entrepreneurs and start-ups, and the eleventh best city for women to start a business.

Business.org released its rankings  after evaluating more than 300 North American cities, large and small, and comparing factors such as joblessness, home ownership, higher education, the number of young dwellers, and start-up surges.

Imports rise despite tariff talk

National Retail Federation

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to set record numbers this summer and fall even as the debate over trade and tariffs continues in Washington, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.