An Oregon business legend has passed. Benjamin Whiteley was 87. He died on May 4th.  He was the former CEO of The Standard insurance company and chairman of Greenbrier Companies.  He also served on the boards of Northwest Natural Gas and Willamette Industries. (PBJ)

The Volatility Index, also known as the VIX (VIX) closed at 9.77 Monday for the lowest close on the "fear gauge" since December 1993. Going back to 1990, this is only the 10th close beneath 10 and the first since January 2007. (LPL Research)

Total mortgage application volume increased 2.4% last week. Volume is still nearly 14% below a year-ago. Mortgage applications to purchase a home gained 2% for the week and are 6% higher than a year ago. Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan rose 3% for the week but are 32% below last year. The average interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgage remained unchanged at 4.23%. (Mortgage Bankers Association)

Proctor & Gamble's Gillette revamped its subscription-based shaving razor service to include a text-to-order feature, the latest move in its battle with Unilever's Dollar Shave Club. (CNBC)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Troy Reinhart.