Archives

September 30, 2016 - Lawsuit filed to stop overtime law

U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, leading a broad coalition including the Texas Association of Business, National Automobile Dealers Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Wholesaler Distributors, National Federation of Independent Business, National Retail Federation, and more than 50 other national and Texas business […]


September 29, 2016 - OHSA’s new post-accident drug test rules

Barran Liebman Oregon Law Firm OSHA’s New Rule Affects Post-Accident Drug Testing Policies By Nicole Elgin and Sean Ray The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued its final rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” and to deter retaliation against workers who report injuries. Although the new […]


September 28, 2016 - Oregon economists see clouds ahead

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate Revenue Forecast Reflects Growing Economy with Clouds on Horizon National and state economic reports produced a mixed-bag of news in the past two weeks. On the positive side, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that household incomes increased 5.2% in 2015, the largest gain […]


September 27, 2016 - Fighting lodging tax creep in Beaverton

A tale of two cities: Seaside & Beaverton By Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, Tourism continues to flourish along Oregon’s coastline and with that success comes efforts by some communities to double down on tourism related investments that can further drive their local economies. The City of Seaside is a […]


September 26, 2016 - Are the dog days over?

 by Jason Norris, CFA Executive Vice President of Research Ferguson Wellman, A leading Oregon financial firm Stocks finished the week (9/18 to 9/23) up over one percent as the Fed held steady on rates but provided positive commentary on the U.S. economy. With the lack of Fed action, the 10-year […]


September 23, 2016 - Congress shouldn’t repeal debit rule

By National Retail Federation The National Retail Federation asked Congress to reject legislation that would both undermine competition and repeal the Federal Reserve’s cap on debit card swipe fees. The proposed bill would unleash new, higher, hidden swipe fees that could more than double without competitive routing options and the […]


September 22, 2016 - Measure 97: Any Pinocchios Yet?

By Fred Thompson, Oregon Economics Blog So far, my criticisms have been directed to the pro-97 camp – to claims like Gov. Brown’s that “there is a basic unfairness in our tax system that makes working families pay an increasing share for state and local services.” Not so. Oregon has […]


September 21, 2016 - Oregon: 3rd fastest growing household income

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog The big economic news last week wasn’t our office’s forecast, but the big jump in median household incomes nationwide. Two separate reports showed two different numbers: the Current Population Survey gains were 5.2% and the American Community Survey gains were 3.8%. […]


September 20, 2016 - Sen. Wyden featured in Snowden film

Sen. Wyden featured in Snowden film By Oregon Small Business Association U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has now been seen in two major motion pictures in the past two years over a single question. First it was the 2016 Oscar winning documentary on Eric Snowden entitled The Fourth Citizen. The film […]


September 19, 2016 - Reading the Fed’s Tea Leaves

by Deidra Krys-Rusoff Senior Vice President Ferguson Wellman, A leading Oregon financial firm Despite volatility, the stock market appears to heading for a slight gain of around 0.5 percent for the week [12th-16th]. Bond yields trended higher, with the benchmark 10-year trading at 1.66 percent versus last Friday’s level of […]