Archives

March 5, 2013 - Market Recap: Let the Spending Cuts Begin

Shawn Narancich, CFA, VP Research Ferguson Wellman, Portland Let the Spending Cuts Begin Unexpectedly mixed election results in Italy forced investors to confront the consequences of a divided government in this important southern European economy, creating turbulence in global equity markets and sending risk-averse money back to the safety of […]

March 4, 2013 - 50% of consumers shrink spending

Nearly 50% customer Spending slump from payroll tax, gas prices By Oregon Tax News The U.S. Commerce Department reported that January retail sales rose at the lowest rate in three months. That number is bolstered by a study from the National Retail Federation (NRF) indicating that 45.7 percent of consumers […]

March 3, 2013 - What to do when a business trip goes horribly wrong

How to Recover From a Business Trip Gone Wrong By NFIB Learn to minimize the damage and move on with these tips. Every frequent traveler has a horror story to share. When you’re traveling for business, the consequences can be particularly devastating. Daniel Feiman, managing director of Build It Backwards, […]

March 2, 2013 - USA shut-out of 2013 Best Cars list

Consumer Reports lists their top 10 best cars and no United States car maker made the list. See the CNN news video of who did and why.

March 1, 2013 - Biz backs E-Verify expansion, with conditions

by Sheryll Poe,, U.S. Chamber of Commerce The Chamber’s Randy Johnson explains what E-Verify is and what it means for the business community. The head of immigration policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce offered conditional support for expansion of the Internet-based system that tracks the legal status of potential […]

February 28, 2013 - Bill helps businesses in tax court

AOI Introduces Bill to Level the Playing Field for Oregon Companies in Tax Court By  J.L. Wilson Associated Oregon Industries A new bill has been introduced by AOI that will level the playing field for Oregon companies in Tax Court – a concept that is intended to result in less […]

February 27, 2013 - Economics of Portland’s paid sick leave

Marc Kilmer Guest writer for Cascade Policy Institute On March 6 the Portland City Council may vote on whether to require virtually all businesses that employ six or more people to provide them with at least five paid sick days per year. While this sounds well intentioned − who doesn’t […]

February 26, 2013 - Unification of Estate and Gift Tax

Ater Wynne LLP NW Law frim The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, continues the unification of the gift and estate tax. By unifying the gift and estate tax, Congress has kept the two exemptions the same along with the generation-skipping exemption. In 2013, due to indexing, that exemption is […]

February 25, 2013 - $29M Toyota settlement with Oregon, 28 states

By Oregon Attorney General “Unintended acceleration” product defects led to recall of 6 million vehicles Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced that Oregon has joined with 28 other states in announcing a $29 million settlement with Toyota Motor Corp. and its North America subsidiaries over allegations Toyota concealed safety issues related […]