US retail sales rose 0.3% in February. That is better than expected and stops a two month slide. (Bloomberg)
Inflation on imported goods was up 0.9%. That is about twice as much as expected and does show a little bit of possible inflation pressure. (Associated Press)
New unemployment claims were down 5000 to 315,000 a good number. (Department of Labor)
US consumer inflation has risen at an average annual rate of 1.62% over the last five years. But how you feel it all depends on what you buy. During the same time period cigarettes and long distance phone calls were up 10% annually, peanut butter was up over 7% and bacon was up 6%. Falling prices included TV’s down over 13% and computers down 8%.(Wall Street Journal)
As Oregon’s largest employer, Intel, struggles with flat sales in a growing market they are cutting jobs. The company says they will shed 400 more jobs in April on their way to shedding 5% of their workforce. How many of the 400 jobs being cut will be from the 17,000 in Oregon was not released. (Oregon Live)
Northwest headquartered pizza maker Papa Murphy’s has filed paperwork to become a publically traded company. The IPO looks to raise about $70 million. Papa Murphy’s is the nation’s 5th largest pizza chain with 1418 locations. (Reuters)
