May 29, 2009 - Consumer Confidence: A Very Positive Economic Sign
By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC, Today’s report on consumer confidence lends credence to economic forecasts that call for a recovery soon.
May 28, 2009 - A second look at new credit card laws
Credit Cards, Asymmetric Information and the Role of Government in Preventing Bad Choices By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog The new credit card (and guns) bill is about to be signed into law and it begs the question: what is the market failure that this government intervention is suppose to […]
May 27, 2009 - Obama oversea tax plan would hit Intel, Nike.
Taxation Update: In an effort to pay for its increased spending the Obama Administration is going after corporate overseas earnings. This could mean diminished competitiveness for U.S. companies operating overseas. Companies like Intel and Nike would suffer under new rules proposed by the Administration. “The bottom line is they have […]
May 27, 2009 - Income tax revenue to IRS drops 44%
May 26, 2009 - Economic optimism…in the long term
By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC, Take 20 minutes and watch this wonderful Ted Talk by Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University. He’s a professor but he speaks English. Much of what he says will be familiar to those of you who have heard my presentation, Freedom and Prosperity: […]
May 25, 2009 - What Portland business owners learned from China trip
By Alyssa Williams, The Portland Business Alliance (PBA) traveled to China on a trade mission last month in part to hear from Oregon companies in China, investigate sustainability practices and tour the Port of Shanghai, one of the Port of Portland’s important trade partners.Over the nine-day mission, 29 individuals from […]
May 24, 2009 - Small Biz Index: Future Expectations Show Optimism
Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, See Chart here: According to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, surveyed April 1-14, small business owners’ optimism for the future rose for the first time since 2007. The “future expectations” (next 12 months) score rose nine points (to 10) while the “present situation” score […]
May 24, 2009 - Stimulus Bill Revisited — Oregon Continuation Coverage
Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson BULLARD eAlert 2/26: Readers of our February 16 and April 6 Bullard Alerts know that the federal stimulus bill, titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (and now known as ARRA), provides a subsidy for continuation coverage in certain cases and opened a window […]
May 23, 2009 - DOL Provides Guidance on Employee Notice for FMLA Leave
The Department of Labor recently released an Opinion Letter regarding how much advance notice an employee must provide for FMLA leave when 30 days notice is not practicable. The Opinion Letter clarified that employers may enforce internal call-in policies so long as the procedural requirements for requesting leave are consistent […]
May 22, 2009 - Inventory Swings: Watch Your Ultimate Customer
By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting An excellent Wall Street Journal article, “Clarity is Missing Link in Supply Chain,” accentuates a point made in my favorite economics book, that inventory swings are tremendously destabilizing. Here’s a stunning macroeconomic impact: “In March, Best Buy Co. said it could have sold more […]