The USDA announced it will provide crop insurance coverage for hemp growers in certain counties across 21 states — including Oregon and California, but not Washington and Idaho. To be eligible, producers must comply with all state and federal laws, have at least one year of history growing the crop and have a contract for sale in place.

Precision Castparts, headquartered in Portland has laid off 150 Oregon workers due the halt in production of Boeing’s 737 MAX. The company has production facilities in Central Oregon and Clackamas county. The company had 30,000 employees at the time, including 3,000 in Oregon.

A cashless economy may not be in Oregon’s future. Democrats are proposing legislation to require businesses to accept cash. The proposed legislation would exempt most public bodies and government agencies from the requirement to accept cash.

Macy’s is closing 125 stores and cutting 2,000 corporate jobs. It did not immediately indicate which stores it will close. The store closures represent about one fifth of Macy's current total. Macy’s has eight stores in Oregon, plus one furniture store.

Columbia Sportswear reported record annual sales of almost $1 billion in fourth-quarter sales. 2019 was a record year for Columbia Sportswear Co., with sales surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time in the company's history.