by Jason D. Norris, CFA Executive Vice President of Research Ferguson Wellman Capital Management, NW based investment advisory firm It was a busy week in Washington with a highly anticipated midterm election followed by the Federal Reserve meeting. The results of both came in as expected although it seems the […]

By Bullard Law NW Law firm Life After Janus v. AFSCME: A Field Report on Union Security in the Public Sector Join Chris Duckworth and Dan Rowan for a brief review of the changes to union security provisions required by Janus and a summary of developments since the decision was […]

Josh Lehner Oregon Economic Analysis A friend of the office recently noted that we haven’t been discussing beer nearly enough lately. And it turns out she was right. After our office’s first, real recreational marijuana forecast last year and the Oregon Vice research and presentation I did, our office has […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Measure 103 Groceries – Measure 103 which would have banned taxes on groceries was defeated. 57% opposed the tax ban. The measure was in response to growing pressure for sales taxes like 2016’s Measure 97 and 2018’s local sales tax measure proposal in Hood River […]

By Justus Armstrong, Cascade Policy Institute Last June, former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick was hired by the Oregon Department of Justice as a Special Assistant Attorney General (SAAG). What many Oregonians may not know is that his entire salary is being paid by an out-of-state private source.

By Brad Houle, CFA Ferguson Wellman, Oregon Capital Management firm As we expected at the beginning of the year, S&P 500 valuations have contracted year-to-date. Typically during an economic expansion, we see stocks move higher with earnings. Investors are willing to pay more for those earnings with the assumption that […]

Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, Press Release, The Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC), representing Oregon’s small businesses, nonprofits, community organizations and citizens strongly urges a “YES” vote on Measure 104. OSCC members believe that a healthy business climate and the jobs that such a business climate creates, is the […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, One of the biggest business measures on the ballot is a business tax measure in Portland and it is almost overlooked and overshadowed by the other ballot measures and Governor’s race. Both the State’s largest newspaper Editorial Board and the City’s big weekly newspaper the […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Nine out of 10 private-sector firms in Oregon had fewer than 20 employees in March 2018. Six out of 10 employed fewer than five. Despite their quantity, smaller firms collectively account for a much smaller share of overall employment than their larger counterparts. For example, the […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, The Bend Bulletin recently discovered that people buying gas and diesel at the pumps in Oregon have paid more than $17 million extra since 2016 to subsidize companies that produce low-carbon fuels. But the state Department of Environmental Quality has refused to release the names […]