Archives

December 19, 2013 - The good & bad of digital receipts

By Oregon Better Business Bureau With the probable demise of physical cash in the near future, many retailers—large and small—are adopting point-of-sale solutions to accommodate the increasing use of debit and credit. The ease of implementation, gentle learning curve and competitive fees are making smartphone and tablet-based POS options extremely […]


December 18, 2013 - The strings behind Phil Knight’s $500M gift

By Steve Buckstein Cascade Policy Institute It was wonderful to hear that Phil and Penny Knight recently offered a $500 million cancer challenge to OHSU if the public would match their donation. But now OHSU wants taxpayers to come up with $200 million of the match through a building bond. […]


December 17, 2013 - What the recovery is looking like

Patrick Emerson PhD , OSU Economist Oregon Economics Blog Yes, a very good jobs report and, yes, still some way to go.  The US Unemployment rate dropped to 7% on the back of 203,000 new jobs created.  There is not much to dislike about this report, only hope that we […]


December 16, 2013 - Wiretap Act Claims Against Google in California’s N. District

Davis Dwight & Tremaine LLP Oregon business law firm By Bob Scott The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a class action claim that Google’s modifications to its customer privacy policies and subsequent sharing of customer data across Google products violate the Wiretap Act and other […]


December 13, 2013 - How Verizon sells customer data

CNN Money takes a look at the sophisticated way Verizon uses cell-phone data on its customers to sell to other vendors.


December 13, 2013 - Will Bitcoin replace Paypal?

Michael Hendrix Director, Research & Emerging Issues U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Bitcoin isn’t real money. It isn’t a unit of account, doesn’t store value, and is a poor medium of exchange. Bitcoin is simply a payment technology—in the midst of what looks like the biggest bubble in recent memory. […]


December 12, 2013 - Oregon wage growth dominated by higher income

First Quarter 2013: Higher Wage Workers Saw Faster Wage Growth Over the Past Decade by Barbara E Peniston Oregon Employment Department Have your wages been keeping up with inflation? An inspection of year-to-year changes in median quintile wages might lead you to believe that this is not the case – […]


December 11, 2013 - New Oregon tax cut rule dissappears in 20 days

by J.L. Wilson Associated Oregon industries A little-known provision of the “Grand Bargain” supported by AOI and passed by the Oregon Legislature in October gives Oregon export companies a limited window to qualify for significant Oregon tax savings. One of the provisions of HB 3601, which was passed by the […]


December 10, 2013 - What to make of Kitzhaber’s tax plans

By Steve Buckstein Cascade Policy Institute Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, fresh off his early October special legislative session “Grand Bargain” success, says he will now turn his attention to tax reform. He has plenty of company in Oregon’s recent history. Governor Barbara Roberts, concerned that property tax limitation Measure 5 […]


December 9, 2013 - Oregon economic indicators shows small slip

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon The Oregon economy continues to experience moderate growth. Highlights of the report include: The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity stood at -0.20 in October, effectively unchanged from the previous month. The three-month moving average, which […]