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The Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast Council was out Friday with its latest economic revue, and the news is mixed – which is better than bad.
It wasn’t a high bar, but Windows 7 made it. Consumer retail sales of Microsoft Corp.’s newest computer operating system topped those of Vista by 234 percent on a unit basis within the first few days of launching on Oct. 22, according to a report released Friday by the NPD Group.
Investors undaunted by a surprisingly weak jobs report found enough positive news to nudge stocks higher.
President Barack Obama signed a $24 billion economic stimulus bill into law Friday, giving tax incentives to prospective homebuyers and additional jobless benefits to those idled by the business slump.
McDonald’s Corp. appears to be planning to mate its popular dollar menu with its equally popular breakfast menu in a nationwide promotion – not just in Chicago and a few other markets where it currently exists, according to documents obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
Consumers borrowed less for a record eighth straight month in September amid rising unemployment and tight credit conditions. Economists worry the declines in borrowing will drag on the fledgling recovery.
More than a month after a new fiscal year began Oct. 1, the House and the Senate are still pressing to pass a group of bills to improve veterans’ benefits and health programs, rolling them together in “omnibus” legislative packets.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. started another price war Thursday, trimming the online preorder prices of some upcoming DVDs following its price cut on books last month. And, once again, competitors Amazon.com and Target scrambled to match the prices.
NEW YORK – AIG said Friday that it was profitable for the second straight quarter as its core insurance operations continue to stabilize after the company’s bailout by the government last year.
Bellevue’s Expedia.com is extending its no- booking-fee policy to phone orders, the company announced this week.
Ally Bank’s tactics have drawn in customers, but they’ve also irked rivals and gotten the attention of regulators. As the rebranded banking unit of GMAC Financial Services, Ally Bank has the backing of billions of dollars lent to GMAC by the federal government.
A Puyallup man has been charged with taking $366,000 from the state in fraudulent workers’ compensation claims.
The rides were free (but no onion burgers were included) Thursday at the Western Washington Fairgrounds as the Pierce County Construction Partnership hosted its second annual Construction Career Day. The event hoped to “expose 1,000 high school students to the diversified construction careers while showcasing the rewards of being part of the construction industry,” according to the PCCP. Above, White River High School student Mike Kruse, 16, tries his hand at operating a vibrating grade roller under the supervision of Dan Andreas, a foreman with general contractor Woodworth & Co.
Investors undaunted by a surprisingly weak jobs report found enough positive news to nudge stocks higher Friday.
Pending and closed home sales increased significantly in Pierce County last month as first-time homebuyers scrambled to take advantage of a tax credit that was set to expire this month, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service figures released Thursday.
A drop in unemployment claims and an upbeat forecast from Cisco Systems Inc. gave investors a jolt of confidence a day before a key government report on jobs.
In an unprecedented discounting move that could signal a price war that would benefit the major movie studios and cash-strapped consumers, Wal-Mart has slashed the price of upcoming DVDs of big-budget summer movies to $10 on its Web site.
Toyota Motor Corp. reported a surprise profit Thursday and cut its projected red ink for the year by half, adding to growing evidence that carmakers are starting to recover from the deepest industry downturn in years.
Two well-known companies shined in their market debuts Thursday despite what has recently been a difficult market for initial public offerings.
Companies across the economy are finding ways to do more with fewer workers, dimming hopes that hiring will take off anytime soon.
WASHINGTON – Can’t pay the mortgage? You still might be able to stay in your home. Government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae is going to give borrowers on the verge of foreclosure the option of renting their homes for a year.
Ford is introducing an inflatable seat belt for back-seat passengers that it hopes will reduce injuries in front and side crashes.
Google has unveiled its Google Dashboard service, a page where users can get a sense of the data the company stores about them in any of 23 different Google-run services.
More people are visiting Starbucks Corp. coffee shops this year than last, and they’re spending more money when they do, an executive said Thursday.
Editor’s note: The Center for Leadership & Social Responsibility at the University of Washington Tacoma Milgard School of Business has named the first week in November as Professionalism Week. To celebrate, the center is offering a series of seminars for students and the public. Joe Lawless, executive director of the Center, is engaging students in a discussion on the subject of using laptops – or cell phones – during meetings. Here’s what Lawless has to say:
The Bellingham Herald reported Thursday that its hometown Horizon Bank “continues to have significant problems meeting the demands of its cease-and-desist order, according to its latest regulatory filing.”
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Chrysler plans to pump life into its car lineup with technology from its new Italian partner, Fiat SpA, and says it has the cash to do it as it starts to combine the two automakers.
Stock futures are holding steady as investors await the government's report on October employment.
Some 120 lots in three East Pierce County subdivisions are scheduled for foreclosure sales in the next three months after two developers have yet to repay loans totaling almost $13 million.
The Hotel Murano will host a job fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 18. The event, put on by a company called National Career Fairs, will include companies such as Salem Communications Seattle, Aflac and Univera.
A late-day slump left stocks mixed Wednesday as investors couldn’t hold on to their optimism after the Federal Reserve gave an encouraging assessment of the economy.
The early picture of October retail sales shows more signs of a spending recovery, lifting hopes for a slightly merrier holiday season and for the overall economy.
The House voted Wednesday to impose immediately tough new rules for credit card companies after voters complained of increased interest rates and steep new fees.
New York’s attorney general hit Intel Corp. with an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday, claiming the company used “illegal threats and collusion” to dominate the market for computer microprocessors.
S
tandard & Poor’s warned Wednesday that Warren Buffett’s bid for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. could sap the liquidity and capital position of the legendary investor’s insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway Inc., jeopardizing the company’s AAA rating. The ratings agency placed its ratings on Berkshire Hathaway on CreditWatch with negative implications following Berkshire’s announcement Tuesday that it will buy Burlington Northern for $26.3 billion. Standard & Poor’s said it expects a significant part of the cash portion will come from Berkshire Hathaway’s core insurance operations.
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to keep a key interest rate at a record low for an “extended period,” signaling that the weak economy remains dependent on government help to grow.
WASHINGTON – Recognizing that a weak economy still needs a government boost, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to provide the jobless with up to 20 weeks in additional unemployment benefits and expand a first-time homebuyer tax credit to include a far larger pool of people entering the dormant housing market.
Microsoft Corp. began a round of about 800 job cuts Wednesday, exceeding the 5,000 total announced this year as part of its first-ever companywide layoffs.
Nordstrom Inc., the department-store chain with more than 100 namesake locations in the U.S., expanded its Web site so that shoppers in 30 other countries can buy its merchandise online.
Microsoft Corp. says it is cutting 800 more jobs. That's in addition to the 5,000 layoffs it announced in January.
U.S. stock futures are slightly lower Thursday ahead of more data on consumer spending and jobs, two of the market's biggest concerns.
New York – White House budget director Peter Orszag said the 2010 federal deficit will be little changed from 2009’s record $1.42 trillion, and he pledged to reduce the amount of red ink without endangering the economy.
AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. phone company, has sued rival Verizon Wireless, saying its advertising about network coverage is misleading.
NEW YORK – Bernard Madoff’s longtime auditor pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges Tuesday, saying he failed to do his job to verify the disgraced money manager’s financial records but did not know Madoff was running history’s biggest Ponzi scheme.
Starbucks Corp. reports its results for the third quarter Thursday afternoon. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.
Readers of The News Tribune first met Bruce McCain a year ago when he visited Tacoma to speak with a group of selected high-net-worth clients of Key Private Bank – where McCain serves as chief investment strategist.
Stock futures are indicating a higher opening on Wall Street as investors await the Federal Reserve's latest assessment of the economy.
DEARBORN, Mich. – One of the troubled Detroit Three automakers, Ford, is making money again and looking for better times in no more than two years.
WASHINGTON – Even with the Federal Reserve widely expected to leave interest rates at a record low this week to nurture the fragile recovery, fissures are growing among policymakers about when to start boosting rates to head off inflation.
Library users can reserve a Pierce County Library computer for up to two hours at no charge.
We asked Auburn’s SuperMall last week what’s new for the holidays at the discount mall in South King County. Here are excerpts of what marketing director Renee Bocnovich had to say:
U.S. stock futures are down sharply, following selloffs in Asia and Europe, as concerns mount about the sustainability of an economic rebound.
Bill Proffitt, 55, has nothing but time on his hands. He has time to cook, clean, take care of his wife, and run for the District 1 seat on the Tumwater School Board, although he acknowledges that it was a "no-money" campaign and his chances of beating the incumbent are slim.
LONGVIEW - For retailers, the "100 percent recycled" label on a product is a badge of honor declaring their civic responsibility. For consumers, it's a status symbol showing their environmental awareness.
CENTRALIA - More bad economic news is floating around Centralia-Chehalis , but there could be an echo of hope blowing in behind.
WASHINGTON – After struggling for months to avert bankruptcy, lender CIT Group has filed for Chapter 11 protection in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of midsize and small businesses.
As though anyone needed a reminder of the economic times, mall shoppers will pass empty stores here and there as they pick out holiday presents. But mall owners are remodeling their spaces and bringing in new tenants despite the scars from the recession.
Newspaper columnists typically have in their repertoire a handful of familiar, favorite and trusted topics, a wellspring of pet causes, pet peeves, individual fascinations and recurring themes into which they can dip at timely moments.
NEW YORK — When I was a kid, my dad bought a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica. It had 32 volumes and took up 4 feet in the book case. I loved to sit on the couch and flip through it, reading articles at random.
Mikie Burger fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Boeing Co. “blew a wonderful opportunity” for a no-strike guarantee of more than 10 years when it chose South Carolina over its Washington manufacturing hub for a new Dreamliner assembly line, the lead negotiator for the Machinists union said.
Starbucks Corp. plans to combine its gift and loyalty card programs to spur consumers to visit more often with the incentive of free beverages.
Ownership of the downtown Elks Temple and the adjacent property officially changed hands Friday.
NEW YORK – For the second time in two years, lumber and wood products producer Weyerhaeuser Co. dodged a quarterly loss by selling valuable properties.
Americans are paying more for gasoline than they did last year as the holidays approached – billions of dollars that could go to books, clothes and Barbie dolls instead being spent at the pump.
Flat incomes suggest more weakness ahead in consumer spending, reinforcing concerns about a ho-hum holiday shopping season and a sluggish economic recovery.
Grim signals about consumer spending ripped through the markets Friday, sending stocks tumbling as investors raced for safe havens.
Commercial lender CIT Group Inc. said Friday that billionaire investor and bondholder Carl Icahn agreed to support the company’s restructuring plan amid reports that CIT may soon file for bankruptcy protection.
Bernard Madoff was apparently convinced that it never even occurred to Securities and Exchange Commission staff he was running a Ponzi scheme, despite the agency’s numerous investigations of his business.
Chevron said Friday that it pumped its way through a weak third quarter, producing more oil as prices recovered from a severe plunge earlier in the year.
RealNetworks Inc. is talking to record companies about providing a new music service focused on Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod Touch customers.
NEW YORK – You buy your sister a $100 general purpose gift card. It’s for her birthday, but it might be the bank that has reason to celebrate.
Grim signals about consumer spending ripped through the markets Friday, sending stocks tumbling as investors raced for safe havens.
For the second time in two years, lumber and wood products producer Weyerhaeuser Co. dodged a quarterly loss by selling valuable properties.
Next year, the Genius Bar will open at the Tacoma Mall. Next door, find all the beauty products a heart desires.
Dick’s Sporting Goods will make its initial foray into Washington at Puyallup’s South Hill Mall, the mall announced Wednesday.
Stocks logged their best day in three months as investors rushed into the market on word that the economy grew faster than expected during the summer.
Business slowed at Burger King Corp. for the second straight quarter as the recession hit even fast-food restaurants and their cheap menus.
Oil companies have begun to pump more petroleum and bring in more profits as they recover from an otherwise miserable year. None of the world’s biggest producers, however, see a quick return to boom times of last year.
The lawyer tracking down money lost in what authorities say was a massive Ponzi scheme run by R. Allen Stanford says he hopes to gain control of more than $1.5 billion.
The number of people claiming jobless benefits for the first time dropped less than expected last week, evidence that the labor market remains weak even as the economy recovers.
CHICAGO – More than 80 percent of major companies reporting third-quarter results this month have beaten Wall Street expectations. So is business that good? No. Are companies gaming the system? Yes.
Signs of an improving economy might be in your kitchen or bathroom cupboards.
Amazon.com Inc. introduced a shortcut to its checkout service so shoppers can purchase products online more quickly and set up different shipping addresses and payment methods.
New figures from Sea-Tac Airport show September passenger traffic was down just 0.2 percent from the record levels of September 2008.
Bellevue’s Expedia Inc.’s third-quarter profits rose 23 percent despite the recession that has depressed airline fares and hotel rates, the company reported Thursday.
Politicians and Boeing’s unions reacted strongly – sometimes bitterly – late Wednesday to Boeing’s mid-afternoon announcement that the company had picked South Carolina over Everett for a second production line for the 787 Dreamliner.
Stocks are headed for a moderate decline Friday, erasing some of the big gains racked up a day earlier after the government said the economy grew more than expected in the third quarter.
The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. It's the strongest signal yet that the economy has entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.
The price of shares in Rainier Pacific Financial Group has fallen below the Nasdaq Stock Market threshold, and the stock is in danger of being delisted, the company said in a news release Wednesday.
Sears took “Christmas creep” one step further Wednesday, pitching its weekly sales as “Black Friday doorbuster” deals before Halloween.
MILWAUKEE – The world’s largest retailer wants to keep its customers even after they die.
Verizon Wireless’ answer to the iPhone – the Droid – will go on sale for $200 next week as the company taps into the growing appetite for smart phones that go far beyond making calls.
Bernard Madoff’s victims have so far received $530 million in compensation – a record for a securities industry group providing the money, but only a fraction of what they lost in the disgraced financier’s epic swindle.
Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.
Chuckals Office Products of Tacoma recently earned the Best of Show honor at Business Expo 2009, the annual trade show event sponsored by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. The company won the award for its pink-themed booth that highlighted the dealership’s support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and featured the company’s range of office products, programs and services.
The Great Recession may be over, but the recovery is just beginning.
Competition between Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts has gone beyond mochas and lattes to high-level executives.
WASHINGTON – General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson was in Washington on Wednesday visiting with the company’s major shareholder: the U.S. government.
WASHINGTON – The Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles have prompted the Obama administration to broaden its look at distracted driving to include distracted flying, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday.
Signs of a weaker housing market and a gloomier outlook on the economy pushed down stocks.
Northrop Grumman Corp. says a disputed $35 billion Air Force contract competition prioritizes cheaper tankers over vital needs like refueling planes in flight, which could end up favoring rival Boeing Co.
Competition between Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts has gone beyond mochas and lattes to high-level executives.
WALLA WALLA – Six years ago, Precept Brands chose not to compete with companies making big-bucks wines, instead seeing opportunity in the under-$10-a-bottle market.
Stock futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening Thursday as investors await a key reading on the nation's economic health.
Construction jobs fell by nearly 17,000 between September last year and September this year in the Seattle-Tacoma area, according to a study released Tuesday by Associated General Contractors of America.
Stocks mostly fell Tuesday as mixed reports on home prices and consumer confidence gave investors little incentive to step into the market.
Continental Airlines has changed teams in the battle among three large alliances of global airlines.
Asian automakers are still building the most reliable cars and trucks, with eight of the top 10 brands from Japanese and Korean companies, according to an annual survey by Consumer Reports.
Consumers’ confidence about the U.S. economy fell unexpectedly in October as job prospects remained bleak, a private research group said Tuesday, fueling speculation that an already gloomy holiday shopping forecast could worsen.
Costco Wholesale plans to accept food stamps at its warehouse stores nationwide, a major shift for a company that earlier this year said it doubted there would be enough demand among customers to warrant accepting food stamps in even one market, New York City.
Bank reports: Olympia company says dividends, bad-loan reserve caused red ink OLYMPIA – Heritage Financial Corp., owner of Heritage Bank, reported a small net loss in the third quarter because of stock dividends paid to the federal government and a slight increase in funds needed to cover potentially bad loans.
Lawmakers from Washington and Alabama are raising serious concerns over a troubled $35 billion tanker competition between rivals The Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.
U.S. home prices appear have to scraped bottom, with a leading national index showing three consecutive months of gains this summer.
Looking to fill seats in the low-demand weeks between and after the holidays, Southwest Airlines offered new fares Tuesday as low as $25 each way.
MILWAUKEE – How low can beer makers go? Having conquered the beer-belly set, some big brewers are trying to win over the six-pack-ab crowd with ultra-low-calorie suds.
WASHINGTON – Wayne Ryan is sleeping on a futon on the floor of his empty mobile home. He hocked his DVDs and CDs for food money. The unemployed carpenter from Bonney Lake hasn’t had a job in 14 months. His unemployment ran out weeks ago. He says he’s just about hit rock bottom.
It's about to become official: The recession is over - but not the pain.
INDIANAPOLIS – There are some life experiences few will ever have. And as the oldest of nine children and CEO of a Fortune 500 company, John Lechleiter has a couple under his belt.
Stocks mostly fell Tuesday as mixed reports on home prices and consumer confidence gave investors little incentive to step into the market.
Rising Tacoma gas prices matched a nationwide trend with more than a 10-cent-a-gallon gain in the last week.
The News Tribune’s total readership grew by nearly 8 percent in the last year according to new statistics released Monday.
The holidays will be here before you know it, and if you haven’t made arrangements to fly home for Grandma’s pumpkin pie, do so as soon as possible.
Muriel “Mickey” Siebert is used to fighting for what she wants.
Verizon Communications Inc. reported a 30 percent drop in third-quarter earnings Monday as it couldn’t sign up enough new subscribers to offset higher costs from laying off workers and absorbing an acquisition.
NEW YORK – Ahead of the holidays, Toys R Us is opening FAO Schwarz boutiques in some of its stores and relaunching the iconic toy store’s Web site.
PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix to their TVs using the gaming console, just as Xbox 360 owners have been able to do for a year.
A strengthening dollar and worries about an overheated market pounded stocks.
The Treasury Department and a senior House Democrat have decided against making financial firms pay upfront the costs of dismantling them if regulators decide they have grown “too big to fail,” according to a House aide familiar with the plan.
Top Democrats in the Senate are pressing a plan that would extend a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers but gradually phase it out over the course of next year.
In port today
HIRES/PROMOTIONS
Hudson News at Sea-Tac Airport is now selling DVDs for in-flight use for just $5.99.
Though Sea-Tac Airport’s elevation makes it almost impossible to experience Green River flooding, the airport is already taking measures to ensure it’s unaffected by any overflows in the nearby river valley.
Circulation at newspapers shrank at an accelerated pace in the past six months, driven in part by stiff price increases imposed by publishers scrambling to offset rapidly eroding advertising sales.
PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jeffry Picower, a philanthropist accused of profiting more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of his longtime friend Bernard Madoff, was found at the bottom of the pool at his oceanside mansion and died Sunday, police said. He was 67.
A strengthening dollar and worries about an overheated market pounded stocks.
After a summer of outreach and brainstorming, the first draft of a Brewery District revitalization plan envisions a place that focuses on the arts, creativity and light industrial uses.
The striking feature of last week’s news release announcing the planned departure of Executive Director Timothy Farrell from the Port of Tacoma wasn’t the news itself, or the explanations the involved parties did or didn’t offer.
Since its creation more than a decade ago, the Roth IRA has been one of the best tax breaks around, but it’s been closed off to higher-earning taxpayers.
Web sites run by clothing retailers might prop up retail sales this holiday season as discounts and online improvements drive more shoppers to their computers.
Ask The Fool: If you sell a stock that you hold in a Roth IRA for a loss, can you deduct the loss when you take money out of the Roth? You can deduct investing losses in regular accounts, but what about Roths? – F.T.M., online
CHICAGO – It’s 5 p.m. at Tony’s Finer Foods supermarket on the Northwest Side and there are lines at the store’s two Redboxes, where, for a buck a day, customers can rent DVDs from a vending machine.
Consumers might be shopping for computers again, but Microsoft Corp. still needs businesses to start doing the same.
Activist investor Carl Icahn is resigning from Yahoo’s board of directors because he no longer has enough time to devote to the Internet company.
WASHINGTON – A cascade of bank failures has magnified the role of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which guarantees around $4 trillion in deposits in U.S. banks and thrifts.
Investors dumped stocks and locked in profits Friday after the glow of a week full of strong earnings reports faded.
Shares of Dole Food Co. edged below their starting point Friday after the fruit and vegetable producer’s initial public offering priced below what it had previously expected.
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© Copyright 2009 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company
1950 South State Street, Tacoma, Washington 98405 253-597-8742
© Copyright 2009 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company