Business in Portland

NBA Power Rankings Race to the Playoffs: Fan’s Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Yahoo! Sports - NBA - Portland Trail Blazers News — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:52:00 +0000

As the NBA heads into the final two and a half weeks of this shortened 66-game season, the Chicago Bulls hold a one-and-a-half-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder for the top overall seed in the 2012 NBA Playoffs and the top spot in this fan’s NBA Power Rankings. As the season closes in on its final days, the playoff race will continue to heat up.

PremierWest Bank announces layoffs

Matthew Kish — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:57:57 +0000

PremierWest Bank on Monday said it will lay off some workers and not fill some empty jobs in order to cut costs. CEO Jim Ford said it’s too early to say how many workers will lose their jobs.

In January, the bank announced a plan to close 11 of its 44 branches. It subsequently said it would sell two of the branches to Pacific Crest Federal Credit Union.

Between the layoffs and the branch closures, the bank expects to save $4.4 million annually.

Parent company PremierWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PRWT)…

Sales of the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone start strong

Emily Parkhurst — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:16:31 +0000

he Nokia Lumia 900 hit shelves Easter Sunday, a rather odd day for a smartphone launch, as AT&T stores across the country were closed for the holiday.

Microsoft is banking on the new Lumia, which carries the Windows Phone operating system. The company has invested millions of dollars in marketing in an attempt to convince consumers its OS outperforms the more successful systems, such as Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Microsoft even announced the newest version of Windows at the Mobile World…

Regional stocks: Market tumbles on jobs report

Suzanne Stevens — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:09:41 +0000

The weekend didn’t ease investor concern over a disappointing jobs report issued Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 130.55 points to 12,929, the NASDAQ closed down 33.42 points to 3,047 and the S&P 500 closed down 15.88 points to 1,382.

The Davidson 99, which measures stocks in seven western states, including 19 in Oregon, closed down 2.26 points to 177.36.

Most regional stocks followed the market lower, including the Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX), which, despite reporting…

Oregon boosts minority, women business contracting

Andy Giegerich — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:57:19 +0000

Oregon’s track record of awarding contracts to women- and minority-owned businesses is improving, but could stand to get a lot better.

So says a report issued Monday by Gov. John Kitzhaber’s Office of Business and Economic Equity. The report revealed that the value of contracts awarded by nine Department of Administrative Services agencies in 2009 was $4.8 million. That jumped to $33 million in contracts awarded by 12 agencies in 2011.

The agencies studied were selected because they have “aspirational…

Wyden pitches ‘Carfax-’style reports for higher-ed costs

Matthew Kish — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:40:05 +0000

U.S. Sen Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Monday pitched his idea for “Carfax-”style reports on the cost of a college degree and how much students can expect to earn after graduation.

“We all understand that higher education is the ticket to success,” he said at a press conference at Portland State University. “It’s not clear how much it will cost or where it’s going to take you.”

The proposal calls for colleges and universities to provide user-friendly information such as graduation rates, the debt level…

Venture capital fundraising down 35 percent

Suzanne Stevens — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:30:01 +0000

Venture capital fundraising took a dive in the first quarter.

Forty-two VC funds raised $4.9 billion in the first three months of 2012, compared to 46 VC funds raising $7.6 billion in the same period in 2011. That’s a 35 percent drop in dollars raised and a 9 percent decrease int eh umber of funds, according to a report released Monday by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association .

While the first quarter fundraising numbers represent a slower start than last year, venture firms…

Alaska Airlines, Banfield Pet Hospital offer pet promotions

Robert Goldfield — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:37:38 +0000

Alaska Airlines passengers planning to bring Fido on board a flight can now get a little help from Banfield Pet Hospital.

Under an agreement announced Monday, Portland-based Banfield, which operates more than 800 pet hospitals in 43 states, will offer free veterinary office visits and travel consultations to Alaska Airlines passengers who are new Banfield clients. A Banfield office visit typically costs one-time clients $35 to $49.

Banfield will also offer such clients $10 discounts on the health…

Kurt Thomas won’t be making a star out of Hasheem Thabeet anytime soon (Ball Don’t Lie)

Yahoo! Sports - NBA - Portland Trail Blazers News — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:20:01 +0000

During the offseason, veteran big man Kurt Thomas signed with the Portland Trail Blazers to offer the same sort of fantastic defense and steady locker room guidance that he’s given eight other teams during his 16-year NBA career. Once written off as a too-early victim of crippling and potentially career-ending leg injuries after just his third NBA season, Thomas remains a steady contributor at age 39, with his talents somewhat wasted on a Trail Blazers team that is attempting to rebuild (while still working at .500, during that rebuilding process ). As a mentor, during that rebuilding process, Thomas is asked to lord over former lottery pick Hasheem Thabeet, now struggling on his third team. And, as Hoopsworld’s Bill Ingram pointed out the other day, Thomas isn’t exactly enthused with Thabeet’s advancement :

Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Milwaukee Bucks – 04.09.12: A Fan’s Preview (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Yahoo! Sports - NBA - Portland Trail Blazers News — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:58:00 +0000

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors to end their season-high three-game losing streak and now hope to continue winning to try to keep up with, and possibly surpass, the Western Conference leading San Antonio Spurs. In order to accomplish this, Oklahoma City has to get past the Milwaukee Bucks.