Must Reads

Bank of America has agreed to pay $315 million to settle claims by investors that they were misled about mortgage-backed investments sold by its Merrill Lynch unit.

Web giants like Google and Amazon are notoriously secretive about what goes on inside of their data centers. Meanwhile, Facebook “open sourced” the designs for its Prineville data center and its custom-built servers. So just what does go on inside of those mysterious computing facilities?

The number crunchers in the research division at the state’s employment department have come up with a very interesting snapshot of the growing Hispanic population in the Salem metro area, and its economic impact. Read more by Editor Robin Doussard.

Portland’s downtown retail core is getting a new name: Pioneer District. Can simple rebranding help Portland’s retail outlook?

The state Board of Higher Education voted unanimously to dismiss UO president Richard Lariviere in 30 days, six months before his contract expires. Now, says the Register-Guard, it’s time to repair the damage.

Occupy Wall Street protesters plan demonstrations nationwide on Black Friday. Some want shoppers to spend their money locally, while some don’t want people to shop at all.

A broader market downturn has hit tech stocks this week, but newly public startups like Groupon were hit especially hard. Some economists say this could indicate renewed dot-com bubble concerns.

Occupy Portland demonstrators joined other Occupy movements across the nation in N17 protests. They plan to occupy banks and other financial institutions.

The leader of Oregon’s prison system is stepping down at the end of the year to become president of the nonprofit Oregon Community Foundation, prompting Gov. John Kitzhaber to conduct a fast-track search for a new corrections chief.

The Airport Authority in Jackson, Tenn., supports Portland-based SeaPort Airlines in its bid to provide commercial passenger flights at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport.