The Oregon Biz Report - Business News from Oregon

Trade War: What Does It Mean for Business and the Economy?
By Bill Conerly,
Conerly Consulting, Businomics

With the latest GDP report I have updated my economic outlook and extended the forecast period through 2012. It maybe looks a little better, but still not wonderful.

The key to my cyclical pattern is the Fed’s quantitative easing, which I think will help the economy. Note, however, about a 12-month time lag before we see the benefit of QE2 (as the hipsters call this round of quantitative easing).

The Facts about Sen. Wyden’s State Waiver Provision
By Senator Ron Wyden

In order to empower states to create innovative new approaches for providing quality, affordable health insurance that works best for them, Senator Wyden authored a provision in the Healthy Americans Act and the PPAC Act that would make it possible for states to pursue their own health care solutions.

State Waivers: How a State Could Do Health Reform Its Own Way

Authored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Section 1332 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – the “Waiver for State Innovation” – will allow states to waive out of some of the requirements of federal health reform if they meet certain standards.

By Oregon Small Business Association

We have noticed two types of ads being used by The Oregonian and the Seattle Times that is gaining expansive use.

Seattle Times:

During the election the Seattle Times used post-it note ads where the ad is a peelable sticker pasted on the front page of the newspaper.  In this case, the sticker is a miniature fold-out brochure.

The Oregonian:

By: J.L. Wilson
Associated Oregon Industries

While AOI’s federal lawsuit against SB 519 – the “Employer Gag Bill” – ran into initial roadblocks earlier this year, the next state to pass the bill, Wisconsin, saw the law invalidated by a Stipulation for Dismissal filed in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin on Friday.

In the Stipulation, the State of Wisconsin agreed not to bring suit against employers who take action against employees who fail to attend mandatory employer meetings in which union issues are discussed. This legislation, Act 290, was passed by the Wisconsin Legislature in 2009.

From Consumer Reports on their Nice-Naughty Business List:

1 Southwest. Two pieces of checked luggage, no charge. And that includes bulky freight such as golf clubs and skis.

2 L.L.Bean. 100 percent product satisfaction guarantee. Return anything at any time for any reason.

3 Zappos.com. Free shipping and free returns, including prepaid return label.

4 Costco. Open-ended return policy for virtually everything the warehouse retailer sells minus some home electronics, which come with a still-generous 90-day return period.

5 U.S. Cellular. While the FCC is proposing that cell carriers alert consumers who are about to exceed their plans’ monthly minutes allotment, which could lead to significant overage charges, this company is already practicing due diligence and giving its customers a heads up.

Half of Employers Monitor Internet and E-mail Use of Employees
– Nearly One-Third of Workers Holiday Shop Online at Work,
By Career Builders,

CHICAGO  – As Thanksgiving weekend officially kicks off the holiday season, one tradition that is returning this year is online shopping at the office. Cyber Monday, a term coined by the National Retail Federation for the first Monday after Thanksgiving, will likely be a busy day for Internet use at work. Twenty-nine percent of workers say they have holiday shopped online at work, on par with previous years. Of those planning to shop online this year, 27 percent will spend one hour or more. More than one-in-ten (13 percent) said they will spend two hours or more. Workers should be mindful of their companies’ electronic communications policies, though, as nearly half (47 percent) of companies said that they monitor Internet and e-mail use of employees. This year’s survey included more than 2,400 employers and more than 3,100 workers.

Where Black Friday and holiday prices prices are trending
By Oregon Small Business Association,

This Black Friday and Holiday season prices have already witnessed huge drops in electronic goods and toys (as the Black Friday chart below shows). At the same time Americans will pay at the holiday dinner table with higher food prices.

Black Friday decreases in electronic prices and toys

Electronic manufacturers, especially flat screen TVs, are seeing slashing prices much more aggressively than holiday seasons past.

Oregon’s “Employer Gag Law” Revisited –Court Finds NLRA Preempts Similar Wisconsin Law
Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson
BULLARD eAlert

On November 15, 2010, a federal court in Wisconsin struck down a state law that prohibited employers from taking adverse employment action against employees who refused to attend meetings intended to communicate the employer’s opinion on “religious matters or political matters.” In Metropolitan Association of Commerce v. Doyle (E.D. Wis., Case No. 10-C-0760), the court held that Wisconsin’s law was “preempted by the National Labor Relations Act under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution,” and it permanently enjoined Wisconsin state agencies from enforcing the law where the employer’s meeting concerned the decision whether to support a labor organization. The federal NLRA generally protects the right of employers to hold mandatory meetings for the purpose of sharing the employer’s views about labor organizations and whether or not employees should join or support a particular labor organization. As reported in our May 21, 2010 Bullard Alert, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman had dismissed a lawsuit aimed at overturning a similar Oregon state law (Oregon SB 519, now codified at ORS 659.780-.785).

The Election – Regulatory Reprieve?
By John Ledger
Associated Oregon Industries
Oregon’s largest business advocate

Although this month’s election may herald a period of a slowing regulatory expansion in the Congress and legislature, it may have shifted the whole thing to the executive branch agencies. The implications for manufacturers, and working Oregonians, can be profound.

With the Oregon House tied and the Senate all but so, chances of seeing major new environmental legislation detrimental to job growth may have lessened. There is little doubt that efforts such as having Oregon join California’s Cap & Trade Program, successfully opposed by a business and labor coalition in 2009, are much less likely to pass.

Black Friday sales expected to jump 3.8%
By BDO USA, LLP

Chicago, IL,  – According to BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting organizations, chief marketing officers (CMOs) at leading U.S. retailers expect Black Friday sales to increase by 3.8 percent and Cyber Monday sales to grow by 2.5 percent this holiday season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday expectations are more bullish this year compared to 2009 when both were expected to rise by 1.8 percent.

Discount fever has subsided to some extent this year. Sixty-four percent of CMOs expect to see more discounts and promotions this holiday season, a notable decline from 2009 when 96 percent said they planned more discounts. More than one-third (36%) do not expect to see an uptick in offerings.

Trade With Asia Means Jobs For America
By U.S. Chamber of Commerce

On Election Day, the American people gave their representatives marching orders: Create jobs and grow the economy, and do it on a bipartisan basis. A good place to start is with the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) free trade agreement. President Obama has made completing the deal a top priority of his administration. After an election in which many candidates were attacked for supporting trade and foreign investment, it’s heartening to see the president say that expanding trade abroad is a recipe for creating American jobs at home. The midterm elections also ushered in more pro-trade members in Congress, making passage of KORUS easier.

Northwest Rank in GDP growth
1. Nevada – 6.4%
2. Idaho -3.1%
3. Oregon -2.4%
4. California – 2.2%
5. Washington -.07%

US Average = -2.1%

By Kenneth Odza
Stoel Rives LLP,
Oregon law firm

Note: The following is authored by guest blogger Jake Storms, from the Alcoholic Beverages Law Blog.

Amidst rising incidences of hospitalizations in college and teenage drinkers linked to consumption of alcoholic energy drinks, the Washington State Liquor Control Board banned their sale effective tomorrow, November 18, 2010. The move came on the heels of a request by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, whose office stated in a November 10 press release that they were “…particularly concerned that these drinks tend to target young people.”

The Liquor Control Board placed the ban in an emergency ruling which will last for 120 days. During that time, the Liquor Control Board will move to make the ban permanent.

The folly of the Portland Leaf Fee
By Patrick Emerson
Oregon Economics Blog

In this recessed economy municipalities are struggling with diminished revenue in the same way states are. It is becoming harder and harder for them to provide the same services in this new economic reality. So many cities are looking for new ways to impose fees for services that were once funded with general revenues. Portland is no different.

And so the mayor saw the big wad of money spent on fall leaf removal as an opportunity to raise new revenue by imposing a leaf cleanup fee for the neighborhoods where the cleanup occurs. The problem with this tactic is twofold: charging specific fees for public goods is dumb public policy, and ironically, allowing households to opt-out actually makes it dumber.

Ruling limits State’s power in punitive damages
By Ater Wynne,
Oregon Law Firm,

Oregon Supreme Court limits State’s power to share in punitive damages verdict
The Oregon Supreme Court today curtailed Oregon’s “split recovery” law, in a case in which Ater Wynne successfully represented the plaintiff

Since 1987, Oregon has had a “split recovery” statute that requires part of any punitive damage award to be paid to the State’s crime victim compensation fund. Currently, ORS 31.735 provides that the State is a “judgment creditor” as to 60 percent of a punitive damages “verdict.” Oregon Supreme Court concluded that the State can’t prevent the plaintiff and defendant from entering into a settlement that reduces or eliminates the State’s share, if that settlement occurs after the verdict and before entry of a judgment.

MBA degrees blasted as waste of money by critics and impacts of recession
By Oregon Tax News,

- Did you know that of the 50 best-performing CEOs in the world only 14 had an MBA?

Josh Kaufman, a 28-year-old entrepreneur and former assistant brand manager for Procter & Gamble (P&G), thinks business school is a waste of time and money. Instead of paying $80,000 to $100,000 to attain an MBA, Kaufman suggests self-education. In an interview with Poets & Quants, Kaufman stated that MBA programs are so expensive that students “must effectively mortgage their lives” and take on “a crippling burden of debt” to get what is “mostly a worthless piece of paper.” Kaufman believes that MBA programs “teach many worthless, outdated, even outright damaging concepts and practices.”

Adminstration may create internet privacy director

Interesting chart showing how US total employment is performing worse when compared to Europe and other major industrial nations over the past three years.

CNN Money ranks the 100 best jobs for pay, growth and quality of life.  We feature the top 25 below, see the whole list here

Job Title, Forecast growth
1. Software Architect (34%)
2. Physician Assistant (39%)
3. Management Consultant (24%)
4. Physical Therapist (30%)
5. Environmental Engineer (31%)
6. Civil Engineer (24%)
7. Database Administrator (20%)
8. Sales Director (15%)
9. Certified Public Accountant (22%)
10. Biomedical Engineer (72%)

LONDON, UK – NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) announced the official reopening of the company’s flagship Niketown store on Oxford Circus in central London, following extensive redevelopment that makes it the largest Nike store in the World.

Niketown London now covers approximately 42,000 square feet over four floors. Its reopening forms part of a series of planned new store openings across the UK designed to provide a premium experience across the company’s key sports categories: Football, Running, Basketball, Sportswear (lifestyle), Action Sports, Athletic Training and Women’s Training.