One-Third of Nonmetro Counties Had Losses — Despite Trends, Oregon is Still a Rural State By Oregon Employment Department Over our country’s history, long-term trends have driven the bulk of the population into metro areas. Two centuries ago, 93 percent of Americans lived in rural parts of America. By 2000, […]

Poll: Online shopping at work brings increased scrutiny, new rules By Career Builders Cyber Monday broke online sales records last year, and according to CareerBuilder’s latest survey, the trend may be poised to continue. Fifty percent of American workers plan to spend time holiday shopping online at work this season […]

Video of the week By Guest Opinion, I found this CNN profile of hot holiday tech items to be a pure indulgence for those with smartphones and tablets. These mobile devices are opening a whole new world of adult tech-toy accessories. See below to see if you agree:

Value of Jobs Coalition puts spotlight on short-term, long-term trends By Portland Business Alliance PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, business and civic leaders released the latest economic study of the Portland-metro area, examining how the region compares to the U.S. average, other metro areas and, most significantly, to its expected performance. […]

By Oregon Tax News, The Boeing Company has avoided another costly strike after a critical deal was struck between executives and union leaders that both are calling a “win-win.” Under an agreement forged last week and ratified by Machinist union members on Wednesday, Boeing will move ahead with a new, […]

CLU Center for Economic Research & Forecasting Oregon Economics Forecasting is always difficult. It is even more difficult when the data keep changing. This year, we’ve been plagued by very large adjustments to GDP data. Most have been downward adjustments, but a few have been upward adjustments. Productivity has been […]

Measure 66 Tax Reductions Must Occur — No Justification for Keeping Tax Rates at Highest Levels By Oregon prosperity Project, As we talked about last week, Oregon’s tax revenues continue to decline due to lackluster job creation and declining business incomes. In short, our economy is not producing enough taxpayers. […]

Supreme Court Considers Damages for Privacy Violation’s Emotional Harm By Adam H. Greene,Privacy & Security Law Davis Wright Tremaine, Oregon Law Frim On Nov. 30, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments in Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper, No. 10-1024. At issue in the case is whether the plaintiff […]

By U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a national survey that found the majority of Americans were more likely to oppose the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after they were given information about what the Bureau looks like and how it operates. The […]

Pop-up shops, like EBay, are setting up temporary shopping outposts in the middle of malls to attract holiday shoppers at their peak shopping season. The trick is that the pop-up stores sell nothing but provide a way for the customer to purchase items online instantly. CNN resports below.