By U.S. Chamber of Commerce UPDATE: Politico reports that Sen. Reid removed the death tax portion from his bill: “Senate Democratic leaders are eliminating a provision to tax wealthy estates in order to shore up support within their ranks for President Barack Obama’s election-year tax plan, senators and aides said […]

JCPenny CEO Ron Johnson sits down for an interview and spells out why the online retail boom will flatten soon and also his vision of retail stores without cash reps as the stores move to eliminate checkout counters in favor of self-checkouts. See video below.

Boeing’s Dreamliner Woos PDX, But turbulence Ahead By Oregon Small Business Association The 787 Dreamliner, an all-new airplane design with advanced features increasing efficiency and improving air travel experience, stopped in Portland for two days at Boeing’s Paint Hangar at Portland International Airport. The Dreamliner is uses 20% less fuel […]

Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon Economic indicators gain in May, suggesting accelerating economic activity in Oregon. Highlights of the report include: – The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity rose to 0.20 from an upwardly revised -0.05 in April (“zero” for this measure indicates the average growth rate […]

By Patrick Sheehan Oregon State Representative Multnomah County has some funny ideas about what constitutes economic development. Our state constitution allocates lottery profits to fund public education (59 percent), economic development (25 percent), parks and salmon habitat (15 percent), and problem gambling treatment (1 percent). In the 2011 legislative session, […]

Report showcases connection between big and small businesses By Portland Business Alliance The Portland Business Alliance, in partnership with the Value of Jobs Coalition, released its latest study: Portland-Metro’s Traded Sector: A source of good jobs, higher wages and small business growth. This report explains how traded-sector employers pay higher […]

by John Ledger Associated Oregon Industries The Draft Oregon Statewide Transportation Strategy (STS), A 2050 Vision for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction, is out for public comment until July 20. You can see the Report here. It was presented to the Oregon Transportation Commission, who OK’d it for being sent out […]

by Sean Hackbarth U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Innovation runs amok when trial lawyers find new ways to attack businesses. In Investors Business Daily, U.S. Chamber President and CEO, Tom Donohue lets us know about “tort tourism,” lawyers traveling the globe in search of sympathetic courts where they can sue companies […]

A long standing funeral home is partnering with Starbucks to serve coffee and food to their clients. Watch the video to see it for yourself. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Bill Conerly, Oregon Economist Conerly Consulting, Businomics Fortune Magazine published this great chart. You can read the commentary, but like all great charts, this one speaks for itself.