By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog Portland home values, according to the Case-Shiller index, ticked up slightly in May compared to April (a 0.1% gain). This is not unusual, as the seasonal pattern of home values has, for the last two years and in the midst of the general erosion […]

Oregon Legislature Broadens Religious Freedoms for Employees Barran Liebman LLP July 23, 2009 The Oregon legislature recently passed the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, clarifying an employer’s responsibility to reasonably accommodate the scheduling of leave time for the observance of religious holy days and the wearing of religious clothing in the […]

According to Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group, “Sales of new homes jumped 11.0 percent to an annual pace of 384,000 units, the biggest monthly jump since 2000 and the fastest annual pace of sales since late last year. Inventory levels continued to improve.  Sales rose at their fastest pace in […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting, I’ll be updating my economic forecast in early August, taking a little longer than usual because of a major revision in the GDP statistics and their underlying components.  (Data wonks read this.)  However, it’s never too soon to think about the strengths and weaknesses […]

by Jim Lee, 7/20/09 Oregon Employment Department, “This is the worst thing I have ever seen.” (Herbert Morrison broadcasting on WLS radio from Lakehurst Naval Air Station NJ, site of the crash of the German airship Hindenburg on May 6, 1937)

By Better Business Bureau, Lake Oswego, OR – July 14, 2009 – Most companies are eager to help a stranded consumer in need, but a new scam targeting Oregon’s automotive repair industry reminds businesses to dole out kindness with caution.  It starts with a phone call to the body shop […]

Family Owned Business Blog Ater Wynne Oregon Attorneys at Law Stay on top of your wage and hour obligations One of the many frustrating aspects of owning a business is keeping up with all of the laws relating to employees.  If the deluge of class action litigation over the last […]

Cash-strapped states are attempting to draw businesses with tax incentives to revive local economies.  Despite the tax increases placed on small businesses during the 2009 Legislative Session, Oregon is following the trend with its own tax break to Intel. This year, states across the nation are offering business tax incentives […]

Here are the states with 10% unemployment; Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.  Read article here.

The Anti-Stimulus That’s Bigger Than the Stimulus By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog James Surowiecki of the New Yorker…makes the point I have made many times – without block grants to the states to counter their collapsing revenues, the federal stimulus is simply a weak swimmer against a strong tide. […]