Markedly fewer home foreclosures are being filed in 2011, according to the latest figures released by Eugene-based Gorilla Capital, the state’s largest purchaser of homes sold at foreclosure auction.

Job cuts in Oregon government, primarily at school districts, have helped keep the state's unemployment rate high. Oregon's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in August, up slightly from 9.5 percent in July.

Customer’s expectations are at an all-time high and for a lot of people and a lot of companies, it is frightening.  For years businesses have been able to get by treating people mediocre and still making the deal.  They were able to hold a high gross profit all while having a low customer satisfaction number.  Well not anymore.

Politicians are going to great lengths to avoid talking about the real effect of structural unemployment that we are now facing. This oblivious attitude, this constant pointing to the sliver of sunlight on dark and dreary days, is not only wishful thinking but destructive.

OSU economist Patrick Emerson bemoans the "children's crusade" at the Oregonian newspaper, and the failing newspaper economy that has pushed the state's largest daily into hiring cheaper, younger reporters while letting veterans go.

Oregon economist Bill Conerly gives his revised economic forecast, now going through 2013, predicting moderate growth in most of the forecast horizon and an acceleration to somewhat stronger growth near the end of this year and the beginning of next.

Nobody, not even Steve Jobs, can say for sure whether Apple can still be Apple without him at the helm. There are three reasons that it might — and one big reason that it might not —according to David Pogue, the New York Times' technology writer.

In the tale of two stadiums in New Jersey — a $34 million dollar stadium built for minor league baseball 13 years ago that is a complete flop, and the new Red Bulls Arena that's a big success — Oregon economist Patrick Emerson says there is evidence that Portland, in its own struggle with the baseball vs. soccer question, got it right.

Portland economist Bill Conerly says that the money supply is finally growing and this money supply has been accompanied by loan growth, believe it or not. Double-dip recession? Looking less likely now.

When I interviewed Blount International CEO Josh Collins a year ago, he offered a clear strategy for growing sales from $487 million in 2009 to approximately $920 million in 2014. He may hit his goals sooner than planned after Blount's purchase Wednesday of Illinois-based farm equipment manufacturer Woods Equipment for $185 million.

What it really boils down to for rural Oregon is the need to adapt from an economy largely based in timber and agriculture to an economy with a robust balance of commercial, industrial and retail development. Does this mean that rural areas should “settle” for opportunities that don’t perfectly match up with economic development strategies? Does it mean that desperate times call for desperate measures? Maybe, maybe not.

Meetings can waste a lot of time. How to get them under control? As Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem.”

With gold prices up around $1,800 per ounce, a Canadian mining company has commenced drilling on Grassy Mountain in Malheur County.

Oregon economist Patrick Emerson says Standard & Poor's downgrade was essentially a non-action. And he doesn't think you can take the markets' downturn as any evidence of an impending return to recession.

Portland economist Bill Conerly says his best forecast right now is that growth will accelerate enough to avoid a recession; not enough for us to feel good about the economy this year or next, but enough to avoid a recession.

Oregon Business magazine has been named one of the top three small business-to-business publications in the nation by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

Oregon State University and Economic Development for Central Oregon have signed an agreement to collaborate on research and commercialization in the fast-growing unmanned aerial vehicles industry.

If you weren’t convinced already, the negotiations over the debt ceiling ought to have cleared up any doubt that Congress is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. But the debt negotiations are simply the latest and most extreme example of a trend on Capitol Hill toward the use of unbending rules, triggers, ticking bombs, and other devices to compensate for dysfunction and the inability to make progress on important issues.