How well do CEOs forecast the economy?
Results from the Business Roundtable’s first quarter 2014 CEO Economic Outlook Survey show a moderate uptick in CEO expectations for hiring, sales and capital expenditures and some improvement in the Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index. The first graph in the press release shows the CEO Economic Outlook Index and changes to US GDP plotted as a […]
Uptick in housing permits driven by multifamily construction
Housing starts came in much as expected for February but permits topped a consensus forecast. At 1.018 million units, overall permits are up 7 percent from a year ago. Much of the increase was from a 24.3 percent spike in multifamily units. At the same time, single-family permits eased 1.8 percent in both February and […]
Industrial production stronger than expected, but could be a soft Spring
Industrial production was unexpectedly strong in February, rebounding 0.6 percent after dipping 0.2 percent in January. Market expectations were for a 0.3 percent gain. Capacity utilization improved to 78.8 percent from 78.5 percent in January. Expectations were for 78.6 percent. Looking ahead, the manufacturing component may be soft based on production worker hours in manufacturing […]
Raising the minimum wage: Is it worth the fight?
Oregon’s minimum wage workers rang in the New Year with a raise. At $9.10 an hour, the state now has the second highest minimum wage in the country. Add in payroll taxes and benefits, such as paid time off, and the typical minimum wage worker in Oregon costs an employer about $12.75 an hour. People […]
Lessons learned from Oregon’s state and local technology failures
Cover Oregon’s fizzled launch has been a high profile disaster for the state. After spending $160 million, Oregon’s health insurance exchange had exactly zero people sign up for private insurance in the first two months. Now Cover Oregon claims to have enrolled 7,300 people. However, the fine print from the Cover Oregon press release reveals […]
Right-to-work: A spark to light Oregon’s employment engine
A little less than a year ago, Michigan became the 24th state to enact right-to-work legislation, a development that has been closely associated with the temperature of Hades dropping. Since then, right-to-work supporters have sought to enact similar legislation throughout the United States. Even here in the Northwest. In Oregon, the Public Employee Choice Act […]
Income inquality: Is it such a big deal?
Comedian Louis C. K. famously noted that “everything is amazing right now and nobody is happy.” We live in a world of unprecedented prosperity and are much better off then our parents and grandparents were. Since 1950, the average house size has doubled, while the average family size shrunk. We’ve gone from kids sharing a […]
Antitrust: Concert promotion services and radio adverting and promotion
Antitrust dispute alleging monopolization and attempted monopolization of concert promotion business via ownership of commercial radio station. Evaluated relevant product and geographic markets; whether a monopoly exists in the relevant markets; and whether Defendants monopolized or attempted to monopolize the relevant markets. Evaluated Plaintiff’s claim of lost profit damages. LMG Concerts, LLC v. Salem Communications […]
Report: Alleged market manipulation and securities fraud
Evaluated allegations of market manipulation associated with the issuance of press releases and buying activities by third parties. Performed statistical analysis to evaluate whether Plaintiffs’ actions were material to a reasonable investor. Confidential, United States District Court for the District of Idaho Southern Division. Report.
Testimony: Valuation of intellectual property
Contract dispute involving alleged misappropriation of intellectual property regarding bow design. Performed reasonable royalty calculation. Calculations included statistical analysis of actual bow sales and forecast of future sales. Claude Hadley v. Extreme Technologies, Inc., Circuit Court for the State of Oregon for the County of Lane. Testimony.