Many rural Oregon small businesses see cell towers as critical to their business By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon A lack of cell phone towers and reliable Internet service is hurting business in rural Oregon. “We use our cell phones on the farm because we need them to communicate with each […]

by Ralph Cole, CFA Executive Vice President of Research Ferguson Wellman, Portland Never Can Say Goodbye Market volatility has historically increased before and around Fed tightenings and 2015 is apparently no exception. The Federal Reserve has now held short-term interest rates at essentially 0 percent for nearly 7 years. This […]

Comcast press release, Comcast announced the launch of a new 250 Mbps Internet speed tier, Extreme 250, immediately available for purchase. “We’re delighted to offer this new speed option for customers in Oregon & SW Washington.” “Our new Extreme 250 speed provides a superfast connection for online activities such as […]

Oregon at the center of multiple film pirating suit By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation Oregon has become a target state for pirated films. The copyright holders for the Adam Sandler film “The Cobbler” have filed a lawsuit against 11 Oregon internet users for illegally watching the pirated film using […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate by Betsy Earls The Obama administration, through the U.S. Department of Labor, is on the verge of nearly doubling the salary threshold below which employers would be required to pay overtime. And it doesn’t need Congress’s permission to do so. The proposed changes […]

by Petrich, Kathleen Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn LLP NW Law Firm Jared Fogle and Subway. The two names went together—Jared became, if not famous, at least well known by his many years as the face (and body) of Subway sandwich shops. And Subway’s famous SUBWAY brand was integrally tied […]

by Jason Norris, CFA,Executive Vice President of Research Ferguson Wellman, Portland A Light in the Black What a week! With concerns about growth in China, continued deterioration of the Chinese equity market and U.S. investors rushed to the sidelines by redeeming over $17 billion in equity mutual funds and ETFs. […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce submitted comments sharply criticizing the administration’s proposed Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) regulation and proposed Department of Labor guidance that would implement Executive Order 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces.” “This rulemaking steps well outside the bounds of any constitutional […]

Dave’s Killer Bread Being Sold By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation Dave’s Killer Bread, the best-selling organic bread in the nation, is being sold to Flower Foods, Inc. for $275 million. The company, founded by the Dahl family as Nature Bake in 1955, assumed the name of its best-selling variety […]

Oregon Employment Department, Recently, we posted about the recovery of Oregon’s jobs to pre-recession levels across higher-, lower-, and mid-wage industries alike in the fourth quarter of 2014. We also mentioned that Oregon’s total nonfarm employment also returned to (and exceeded) pre-recession levels in the fourth quarter.