By Tim Duy, Oregon Economic Forum sponsor, KeyBank. The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ fell 2 percent to 86.4 (1997=100) from a revised June figure of 88.1. Compared to six months ago, the UO Index declined 4.7 percent (annualized), and more than half the components have declined over […]

Congress has passed 27 tax increases so far By Oregon Tax News, Congress has raised taxes by $670.341 billion since the new President Obama administration took office in January of 2009.  The list below outlines the major new and extended taxes passed by the federal government: 1. Individual Mandate Excise […]

Does the FCC need to rescue the internet? By Tom Gurr, Pacific Technology Alliance Is the Internet broken?  It appears the FCC would like you to believe that it is.  They are in the midst of pursuing an aggressive regulatory overhaul to “fix” the Internet that we all use and […]

Wyden Defects on ObamaCare Wall Street Journal Editorial 9/3/10 Most Democrats have come to understand that they can’t run on ObamaCare, but few have the temerity of Ron Wyden. The Oregon Senator is the first to break with the policy underpinnings of the bill he voted for.  Last week Mr. […]

Government Drops Jobs in July, While Construction Grows By Oregon Employment Department Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in July, essentially unchanged from 10.5 percent in June. The rate has been between 10.5 and 10.7 percent for the most recent nine months. Oregon’s unemployment rate was 11.4 percent […]

U.S. Chamber Calls on Gov. Schwarzenegger to Veto Card Check Bill — Urges Whitman and Brown to help protect workers’ private vote By U.S. Chamber of Commerce WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a bill that would open the door for […]

Study examines link between executive pay and company performance at 10 top American cities – Surprisingly some execs at high performing companies see pay decreases, while their poor performing counterparts receive increases – Study By BDO leading professional services firm Chicago, IL – August 3, 2010 – Research released by […]

What happens when a city defaults?  The answer may impact your investments By Albert Gallatin, This week Harrisburg, Pennsylvania announced it would miss its quarterly scheduled bond payment.  Although holders of the bonds would still get paid, thanks to bond insurance which most investors demand from municipal issuers, the default […]

Rise in Hours Portends Job Gains by David Cooke Oregon Employment Dept. Oregon average weekly hours data indicate that in some respects businesses are poised for economic recovery. For the state as a whole, the average workweek for manufacturing production workers is back to normal. In June, this average was […]

Economic Volatility: What I Told the Governor By Bill Conerly, Conerly Consulting, Businomics Governor Kulongoski met with his Council of Economic Advisers last week. Here’s what I told him: 1. The economy is becoming more volatile. The period 1983-2007 was the calmest ever in American history, in terms of macroeconomic […]