By Tim Duy, Oregon Economic Forum The LCBI declined just 0.4% in the third quarter of 2009, a significant improvement in the pace of decline that signals a greatly diminished level of economic stress in the region.  Highlights of the LCBI include: •    Labor markets were mixed. Continuing declines in […]

Several polls capture the widespread public dissatisfaction with the economy, consumer prices and Wall Street bankers and brokers. – Wall Street Anger: 2/3rds of consumers say they have an unfavorable view of financial executives. – Shopping Pull-Back: 95.1% of shoppers say that they are waiting as long as December 24th […]

By Oregon Tax News, On December 8th, U.S. Senator Tom Coburn and Senator John McCain released their Stimulus Checkup Report.  The report lists 100 projects as part of the $700 billion stimulus program targeted as waste.  Four Oregon projects made the list are listed below; Recovering Crab Pots Lost At […]

José Pinomesa, Chairman Oregon Independent Auto Dealers Association I am sure you have heard about Craigslist.com and you may have visited it many times but are you safe buying a vehicle that you found advertised there?  This is often the question asked by many and sometimes it is too late.  […]

By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog I was working at the OSU Portland Center offices yesterday and decided to lunch at the nearby Kenny & Zukes. When my credit card receipt came I encountered something new: a handy-dandy guide to help me calculate an appropriate tip. (Blurry photo provided above) […]

By Kylene Fickenscher Oregon Entrepreneurs Network The founders of Dynamic Drain Solutions, Uro Concepts and Big ‘I’ Group understand the challenges of educating the market on innovative products that utilize a unique concept design.  More importantly, however, each of these entrepreneurs has developed valuable products that are working to improve […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 11.3 percent in October from the revised September figure of 11.3 percent. This was the lowest rate since the 10.7 percent rate in February, and was below the high of 12.2 percent in May. Oregon’s unemployment rate was […]

Black Friday & Cyber Monday: Some Quick Facts •    Black Friday spending rose 0.5%, ($54 million), to $10.7 billion, this year from last year. •    Online sales up 17% (Thurs. to  Sun.)  over the same period last year. •    Cyber Monday up 11%, more than they did a year ago. […]

By Tim Duy, Oregon Economic Forum The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators rose 0.6 percent in October to 85.0 from a revised September figure of 84.5.  The behavior of the UO Index suggests that the recession has ended in Oregon; the measure of recession probability developed by University […]

9th Circuit: Independent Contractor Can Assert Disability Claim Under Rehabilitation Act Stoel Rives LLP, Attorneys at Law by Dennis Westlind The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that an independent contractor may assert a disability claim against an employer under the Rehabilitation Act.  Click the link to read the […]