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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog I have been asked by a couple of readers for my take on the governors plan to temporarily employ 12,000 people who are currently unemployed. The short answer is (Grinch that I am): I am not sure I get it. Presumably many/most of the […]

By Oregon Tax News, At a time when ticket sales and attendance at sporting venues across the country seem to be plunging, the city of Portland is relying on its own counter projections of increased attendance and ticket sales in order to finance its new baseball stadium.   As you may […]