Of 266 economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics: – 70% Say Fed’s monetary policy is “about right” – 49% Say Fed should leave monetary policy alone – 45% Favor more restrictive policies – 15% Say cap-and-trade would significantly cut emissions – 75%+ Say no second stimulus needed

Downtown Portland sees decline in jobs, Continued positive feelings on safety, cleanliness By Portland Business Alliance, Business Census and Survey also shows spike in mass transit commuting Portland, Ore. – Signs of the country’s economic downturn are evident throughout the Central City, according to the results of the Portland Business […]

Despite Tough Economy, Most Americans Happy on the Job, National Survey Finds But national survey finds job-satisfaction level sees sharp decline from 2008 RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 27, 2009 – Americans are happy at work, just not as happy as they used to be. According to a just-released national survey – […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting Oil prices rose as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered positive thoughts about the economy.  Does a strengthening world economy mean higher oil prices in 2010?  Not so fast, Bucky.

From Federal Housing Financing Agency,

Oregon’s Workweek Partially Rebounds by David Cooke Oregon Employment Department A closely watched measure of state economic activity is average weekly hours for manufacturing production workers. This monthly indicator has been available for Oregon for many years. The measure was close to 40 hours per week in early 2008 but […]

GOOD NEWS: New jobless shrinks, building permits up,  and Tourism is up (lodging and Air travel) BAD NEWS: Payroll declines, Home sales drop, By Timothy Duy Director, Oregon Economic Forum University of Oregon The LCBI declined 1.7% in the second quarter of 2009, the eighth consecutive quarter of deterioration.  The […]

By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog I came across an interesting post on the Portland Architecture Blog (where I indulge my fantasy life as an architect) which muses whether Portland has grown beyond the minor leagues. The idea, in essence, is that Portlanders are no longer in minor league sports […]

White House economists see increasing unemployment for the next 12 months By Dr. Eric Fruits, Oregon Economist EconInternational, The White House budget office has released its latest economic and fiscal projections. It predicts the largest deficits since World War II and increasing unemployment. The White House unemployment prediction highlights the […]

New York Times reports, “Eighteen of the 20 cities tracked by Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed improvement in June, up from eight in May, four in April and only one in March…For all the improvement reflected in the new Case-Shiller report, housing prices are still down sharply […]