By Bill Watkins, Oregon Economic Forecast
California Lutheran University
Full Report here

Oregon is in for at least a couple of more years of economic challenge, and there is little that can be done in the short run. The United States economy will be very soft, and Oregon has the assets and liabilities it has. To paraphrase a former Secretary of Defense, you fight the recession with the economy you have. Unfortunately, Oregon’s economy, while certainly diversified from, say, 20 years ago, is still very tied to building materials and California’s economy. Giv

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British Airways said today that cabin crew strikes and Iceland’s volcanic ash cloud had sent the beleaguered airline £164 million into the red for the three months to June 30.

The combination of the bitter industrial dispute with the Unite union and the closure of most of European airspace for almost a week in April cost the airline around £250 million over the quarter.

Cabin crew have taken 22 days of strike action since March and further walkouts could take place from September as the unrest lingers on.

But chief executive Willie Walsh said the airline had seen an improved operating performance despite the disruptions and BA still expects to break even this year after two years of losses.

Mr Walsh played down fears of a “double-dip” recession, saying the airline was seeing a “steady recovery” and positive underlying trends in both cargo and passenger traffic.

At the operating level, losses of £72 million were less than half the £148 million posted a year earlier, the chief executive added.

The impact of the disruption saw the airline’s overall first-quarter revenues fall 2.3% to £1.94 billion. Passenge

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Whether you want to market a service or invent a product, you have to have an idea first. But coming up with a small business idea can be a real stumbling block.

Starting a Business: Finding Business Ideas will help you discover the small business idea that’s perfect for your new venture. Learn the best ways for coming up with your own original small business idea or browse through collections of ideas and see what tweaks your fancy.

The next step: Choose a Winning Name for Your New Business – Once you’ve decided on a small business idea, what are you going to name your new venture?

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The coldest winter for 30 years helped the UK’s biggest energy firm almost double first-half profits today.

Centrica said its British Gas residential arm posted a surplus of £585 million – 98% ahead of last year – as shivering households cranked up the heating and gas usage rose 8%.

British Gas was also helped by the addition of 223,000 new customers this year after it cut gas bills in February. Centrica pushed up overall operating profits 65% to £1.56 billion.

Centrica said its price cuts – plus increased energy efficiency measures – meant average bills for its 16 million customers were slightly lower last winter despite the fierce cold.

The firm also stressed British Gas profits would be mostly booked in the first half of the year as rising wholesale gas prices squeeze margins through the rest of 2010. Press

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Oregon News Note:

NetApplications reports that Microsoft is losing key ground in the browser war as it watches it key browser, Explorer, drop 14% in market share.   At the same time Firefox share grew 5%, Google’s Chrome grew 6%, Apple’s Safari grew 2% and Opera by 1%.   These are not good numbers for Microsoft.  Security and new options have driven many users to leave Explorer for the new rising browsers.