By Alyssa Williams, Biz Reporter The impacts of the Obama Administration’s pledged support for universal broadband in the U.S. may be questionable in Oregon due to existing increases of high-speed lines and the competition of wireless providers in the state. High-speed lines from competitive broadband companies in Oregon rose from […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC New GDP data came out today, and they were not as bad as we expected.  There was bad news, notably that inventories rose last quarter.  There will certainly be an inventory reversal this quarter (probably) or next quarter (less likely), which will pull […]

By Oregon Society of Certified Professional Accountants News Alert 1/29/08 H&R Block is running a national advertising campaign designed to make consumers question the credibility and value of CPA services. On behalf of the profession, the AICPA is taking the lead in addressing the issue with the CEO of H&R […]

By Dr. Eric Fruits, Econinternational According to a report by consulting firm McKinsey & Co., the world can keep global warming in check if nations spend trillions of dollars on energy efficiency, clean power and forestry projects over the next 20+ years.  In addition to typical annual capital investments, the […]

By John Marshall Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business association Even though the 2009 Legislative Session convened less than two weeks ago, already two bills proposing to increase the $10 corporate minimum tax have been introduced.   HB 2119, introduced at Governor Kulongoski’s request, imposes the new minimum tax on C-corporations […]

Barran Liebman LLP Electronic Alerts Attorneys practice labor and employment law Electronic AlertSM, 1/27/09 A Reminder to Be Careful About Potential Retaliation Claims The United States Supreme Court held yesterday that an employee’s statement about sexual harassment made during a company’s internal investigation warrants protection against retaliation. Crawford v. Metropolitan […]

McDonald’s announced on Monday their net profit rose 80% in 2008 and daily average customers hit 56 million.  Link.

By Ken Niezgoda, BIZ Reporter Oregon’s plan to tax drivers based on road use contains the fundamental flaw it attempts to remove: Tax collection that is linked to gas consumption.   As more fuel efficient vehicles hit the road, Oregon’s ability to collect taxes to maintain its multi-billion dollar transportation infrastructure […]

The National Association of Home Builders reported in their confidence survey that new multi-family and single home construction fell 15.5% in December from November, and residential construction permits fell over 10%.

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting Non-residential construction has been a bright spot in the economy.  It dipped last summer, but recovered in the past few months.  The bad news, though, is that architectural activity suggests another round of declines for construction.  After all, the architect works before the contractor […]