Reuters reported, “August retail sales jumped 2.7 percent, the sharpest rise in 3-1/2 years, indicating that consumer spending might make a bigger-than-anticipated contribution to the economy’s recovery from the worst recession in decades…”Expectations were high for the retail sales number, but the number reported exceeded even those expectations,” said Josh […]

By Oregon Tax News, States across the nation are cutting taxes to boost stagnant economies.  Texas, Arizona, and Maine are all taking steps to lower taxes.  A recent study by former U.S. Treasury economist Robert Carroll shows that states with lower corporate tax rates have higher wage gains and more […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC The data on foreign trade show both imports and exports looking up.

After nearly eight months of postponements, the new E-Verify system goes into effect today, September 8, 2009, for certain federal contractors. Barran Liebman LLP As you may remember from previous E-Alerts, current law requires that all employers complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (Form I-9) to verify a new employee’s […]

Oregon Employment Department:  Approximately 3,000 Oregonians have come to the end of their unemployment insurance benefits, as their final extensions expired this past week.  According to the Oregon Employment Department, the rate of Oregonians running out of all extension benefits will grow to about 500 per week statewide.In July, 2008 […]

Family Owned Business Blog Ater Wynne Oregon Attorneys at Law The Governor signed into a law a bill that directs the Oregon Department of Revenue to conduct a tax amnesty program. Amnesty will be available for any inheritance tax return which had an original due date prior to January 1, […]

By Tim Duy, Oregon Economic Forum Highlights of latest report, The UO Index dropped 0.4 percent in July, but the overall behavior of the Index in recent months continues to indicate that Oregon will exit recession in the second half of 2009.  Highlights include: • Initial jobless claims edged drifted […]

The Wall Street Journal Reports, “In 2007, the top 1% of U.S. families accounted for 23.5% of all personal income in the U.S., according to economists Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley and Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics. That was a level not seen […]

By Oregon Biz Report, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest attempt to save California from one of the largest budget deficits in history involves a garage sale.  The Governor promoted the sale as a way to help the state balance its budget, which has topped $20 billion in debt this year.  The […]

By Oregon Tax News In statistics compiled by AACER (Automated Access to Court Electronic Records) Oregon ranked third in the nation in percentage increase for business bankruptcies between the first and second quarters of 2008. Oregon had 214 business bankruptcies in the first quarter growing to 375 in the second […]