Archives

December 30, 2016 - Chamber decries last minute energy ban

U.S. Chamber of Commerce In response to President Obama’s action withdrawing large sections of the outer continental shelf for oil and gas exploration, Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, issued the following statement: “This administration’s seeming focus on appeasing special interests at […]


December 29, 2016 - Law makes youth jobless even worse

By Cascade Policy Institute President-elect Donald Trump has nominated the CEO of one of the nation’s largest fast food chains to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor. The food preparation and serving industry employs almost half of all minimum wage workers. It is thus widely assumed that the nominee would […]


December 28, 2016 - Oregon Paid Sick Leave Law changes

Barran Liebman Oregon Law Firm On December 8, 2016, Linn County Circuit Judge Daniel Murphy ruled that Oregon’s new law requiring Oregon counties to provide paid sick leave to their county employees is an unfunded mandate. The nine counties that filed the lawsuit therefore do not have to follow the […]


December 28, 2016 - How tech is changing retail

National Retail Federation News Release, In today’s competitive retail environment, mobile and data analytics are indispensable tools for reaching prospective customers and building brand loyalty. Executives from Branding Brand, Neiman Marcus and Touch of Modern share insights on how they are using marketing, mobile and data analytics to grow revenues, […]


December 27, 2016 - Will Oregon have enough jobs?

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog A common question that comes up regularly during presentations is something along the lines of, “Will there be enough jobs in the future?” There’s not doubt that artificial intelligence and software are and will continue to impact the economy and employment. […]


December 23, 2016 - Bill voids IRS penalty on business health option

By NFIB, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)  applauded Senate passage of a measure eliminating a controversial IRS penalty on businesses that reimburse workers for the cost of health insurance. Last week, the House passed an identical version of the bill. “Both the Senate and the House have now […]


December 23, 2016 - New I-9 Form for all employees

Barran Liebman Oregon Law Firm Employers are Now Required to Complete an Updated Form I-9 for New Employees By Samuel Hernandez On November 14, 2016, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. All employers are required to begin using the […]


December 21, 2016 - Three NW billionaires in top 25

Oregon Small Business Association, According to Forbes which ranks the world’s billionaires, of the top 100, Phil Knight at #24 is the only Oregonian to make the list. Recently Knight made a donation of $500 million to his alma mater, the University of Oregon. The gift is the largest ever […]


December 19, 2016 - Oregon outlook: Legislature, Budget, Trump, Trade

By Oregon Prosperity Project As Oregon legislators gathered for Legislative Days, a key preparatory step toward the 2017 Legislative Session, one word worked its way into virtually every hearing: revenue. Talking about money in advance of a Legislative Session is far from unusual, but the urgency to have a serious […]


December 19, 2016 - Dow & S&P near all-time highs

by Brad Houle, CFA Executive Vice President Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Market Summary The stock market was slightly positive on last week up around .20 percent taking a break from the strong move upwards following the election in November. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are […]