From the desk of the Executive Director Portland Neighborhood Business Associations August Newsletter There are a couple of interesting projects going on that might be of interest to you while you stay out of the heat wave we’re experiencing.  One is called “the 3/50 project” and it is aimed at […]

Oregon Media Suffers from Recession By Oregon Small Business Association, As the nation faces one of the worst recessions in its history, media groups feel the affects of lowered spending.  The owner of Portland’s channel 6 KOIN TV station entered chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware, under a financial restructuring […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting, Bank loans to businesses for commercial and industrial (C&I) purposes continue to decline.  That by itself does not prove that we are in a credit crunch.

A report by the American Wind Energy Association, ranked new wind generation capacity.

By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog Portland home values, according to the Case-Shiller index, ticked up slightly in May compared to April (a 0.1% gain). This is not unusual, as the seasonal pattern of home values has, for the last two years and in the midst of the general erosion […]

Oregon Legislature Broadens Religious Freedoms for Employees Barran Liebman LLP July 23, 2009 The Oregon legislature recently passed the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, clarifying an employer’s responsibility to reasonably accommodate the scheduling of leave time for the observance of religious holy days and the wearing of religious clothing in the […]

According to Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group, “Sales of new homes jumped 11.0 percent to an annual pace of 384,000 units, the biggest monthly jump since 2000 and the fastest annual pace of sales since late last year. Inventory levels continued to improve.  Sales rose at their fastest pace in […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting, I’ll be updating my economic forecast in early August, taking a little longer than usual because of a major revision in the GDP statistics and their underlying components.  (Data wonks read this.)  However, it’s never too soon to think about the strengths and weaknesses […]

by Jim Lee, 7/20/09 Oregon Employment Department, “This is the worst thing I have ever seen.” (Herbert Morrison broadcasting on WLS radio from Lakehurst Naval Air Station NJ, site of the crash of the German airship Hindenburg on May 6, 1937)

By Better Business Bureau, Lake Oswego, OR – July 14, 2009 – Most companies are eager to help a stranded consumer in need, but a new scam targeting Oregon’s automotive repair industry reminds businesses to dole out kindness with caution.  It starts with a phone call to the body shop […]