Natural gas prices set to go down By Oregon Small Business Association Some consumers are set to benefit from a poor economy, as all three Oregon natural gas providers requested reduced rates in filings sent to the Oregon Public Utilities Commission.  The companies, Northwest Natural Gas, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista Utilities asked for rate […]

Weyerhaeuser sells Oregon timberland Weyerhaeuser Company announced recently that it has agreed to sell approximately 140,000 acres of timberland in Oregon to an entity affiliated with the Campbell Group LLC for around $300 million. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009.  The transaction is expected to contribute approximately $100 million […]

Bush pollution rules overturned A federal appeals court recently over turned rules established by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush administration that allowed power plants and factories to emit pollution over established limits if those entities bought pollution credits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the EPA rules were […]

Media Suffers from Recession By Oregon Small Business Association As the nation faces one of the worst recessions in its history, media groups feel the affects of lowered spending.  The owner of Portland’s channel 6 KOIN TV station entered chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware, under a financial restructuring plan with debt holders.  In addition, […]

Oregon Small Business Association, 7-11-09, Oregon dairy farmers are in a bind.  The cost of producing a gallon of milk is higher than what farmers can sell it for.  This has forced dairy famers to live on credit and hope milk prices increase soon to stave off potential bankruptcies. A number of factors have contributed […]

Struggling economy puts the brakes on PC sales growth BY Oregon Small Business Association PC sales growth in the U.S. continues to take a beating at the hands of the economic recession.  Yet, one glimmer of hope remains:  laptop computers. Dell Computer recently announced declining quarterly profit and revenue results.  Hewlett-Packard also announced similar weak […]

Acccording to the New York Times, the European Commission’s recent antitrust ruling and record $1.45 billion fine of the chip maker was misguided and mistaken and anti-competition. “By any reasonable application of a consumer-harm test, the antitrust claim that Intel is driving down prices—and so making computers less expensive—would be laughed out of U.S. court. […]

The push for digital medical records, fueled by $19 billion from the federal stimulus package, would completely change the way doctors prescribe and practice medicine—by digitizing the entire medical record-keeping process.  Backers say such technology will cut costs and save lives.  But a growing body of research suggests potential challenges According to The Portland Business […]

During a recession, everybody is affected to some degree.  Corporations, manufacturers, schools, and non-profits are all cutting their losses. College graduates fear not being able to pay off expensive student loans because they can’t find a job with their new degree. People nearing retirement age have to worry about being laid off and not having […]

Small Business Testimony from a Sutherlin store onwer, Paul Rankin. Why do most politicians feel that raising taxes and doubling fees think this is helping everyone involved. Im now a very small business owner in Sutherlin, Oregon. I use to have 2 video store centers, one in Roseburg and now I only have the Sutherlin […]