Business coverage for Spokane and the Inland Northwest

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Rising sales point to better year for housing

February 22, 2012 The housing market is flashing signs of health ahead of the spring-buying season. Sales of previously occupied homes are at their highest level since May 2010. More first-time buyers are …
Spokane drugmaker announces contracts

February 22, 2012 on Page A10 North Spokane contract pharmaceutical manufacturer Jubilant HollisterStier has won about $90 million in new projects stretching over five years, the firm’s parent company announced. The contracts involve production of sterile …
Dow touches 13,000 but loses its grip later

February 22, 2012 on Page A10 NEW YORK – The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008, when the Lehman Brothers investment bank was solvent, unemployment a healthy …
Sterling reduces workforce

February 22, 2012 on Page A10 Sterling Financial Corp. has laid off 6 percent of its employees this winter. The Spokane-based holding company of Sterling Savings Bank anticipates saving $12 million in payroll and will charge …
Sterling Financial to cut 6 percent of workforce

February 21, 2012 Sterling Financial Corp. is laying off 6 percent of its employees this winter. 9
Dow breaks 13,000 for first time since ’08 crisis

February 21, 2012 The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 today for the first time since May 2008, when the Lehman Brothers investment bank was solvent, unemployment a healthy 5.4 percent and the … 25
Sony upping ante with mobile gaming console

February 21, 2012 on Page A8 NEW YORK – Sony is intensifying its push in handheld gaming with a gadget aimed at hardcore players looking for something with a bit more punch than “Angry Birds,” “Words …
Japan’s trade deficit soars after disaster

February 21, 2012 on Page A8 TOKYO – Japan posted a record high trade deficit in January after its nuclear crisis shut down nearly all the nation’s reactors for tougher checks, sending fuel imports surging. Exports …
Chinese court rules shops should pull iPads

February 21, 2012 on Page A8 SHANGHAI – Apple’s dispute over the iPad trademark deepened Monday after the Chinese company that claims ownership of the name said it won a court ruling against sales of the … 2
Today, it’s hard to buy a lemon

February 21, 2012 on Page A8 DETROIT – Car shoppers today are less likely to end up with a lemon. In the past five years, global competition has forced automakers to improve the quality and reliability …
Oil rises to highest price in 9 months

February 21, 2012 on Page A8 Oil prices jumped to a nine-month high above $105 a barrel on Monday after Iran said it halted crude exports to Britain and France in an escalation of a dispute …
The whole package

February 19, 2012 on Page E1 Sonderen Packaging was launched in the basement of a downtown print shop 49 years ago. Today it fills a sprawling 130,000-square-foot facility at 2906 N. Crestline St. Earlier this month, …
Make rite of spring training a walk in the park

February 19, 2012 on Page E1 Nothing stirs the blood of baseball fans quite like “pitchers and catchers report.” A harbinger of the coming season, the words mean players are reporting for duty in Florida and …
The Dirt

February 19, 2012 on Page E1 Hobby Lobby plans second Spokane store Nationwide craft retailer Hobby Lobby will open a second Spokane store later this year, the company announced.
Motley Fool: Pentagon’s new focus good news for defense industry

February 19, 2012 on Page E2 The Pentagon recently began cutting billions of dollars from its 2013 budget. Planned cuts range from delaying orders for a new aircraft carrier from Huntington Ingalls, to shrinking the Army …
BBB: Ambitious job seekers offer valuable lessons

February 19, 2012 on Page E2 Email rescues me from multiple phone calls every day. Texting saves even more time: “I’m running late” or “Can you talk?” are quick updates that eliminate the need to go … 1
Week Ahead

February 19, 2012 on Page E2 Wednesday Small Business Financial Recordkeeping – SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, is presenting this workshop. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Spokane Regional Business Center, 801 W. Riverside Ave., second …
Business Beat

February 19, 2012 on Page E2 Have an item for Business Beat? Send it to businessbeat@ spokesman.com. Accounting
In brief: WaMu wins approval for reorganization plan

February 18, 2012 on Page A10 WILMINGTON, Del. – After a long legal battle and more than three years in bankruptcy, Washington Mutual Inc. has won court approval of a reorganization plan. A Delaware judge who … 1
France bids adieu to franc

February 18, 2012 on Page A10 PARIS – Six centuries after the first one was minted and a decade after they went out of circulation, the last French francs are being exchanged for euros, severing France’s …
Nevada OKs guidelines for driverless cars

February 18, 2012 on Page A10 CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada is envisioning a day when taxicabs might shuttle fares without a driver, or people with medical conditions that make them ineligible for a license could … 1
Medicine maker IPO faces protest

February 18, 2012 on Page A10 SHANGHAI – A storm of criticism in China over share listing plans by a company that sells tonics made with bear bile is highlighting the increasingly affluent country’s changing attitudes …
Stock indexes end week on rise

February 18, 2012 on Page F1 NEW YORK – U.S. stocks on Friday closed higher for the week, with bullish sentiment curbed a bit ahead of a long weekend that’s expected to include resolution on another …
Congress moves toward ending payroll tax cut fight

February 17, 2012 The House kicked off debate today on extending a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for people out of work the longest, a showdown that many … 21
In brief: WaMu inches closer to reaching bankruptcy reorganization plan

February 17, 2012 on Page A8 WILMINGTON, Del. – Washington Mutual Inc. cleared a significant obstacle to approval of its latest bankruptcy reorganization plan after reaching an agreement Thursday with dissident creditors who had voted against …
Buyer plans to improve Bing Crosby Theater

February 17, 2012 on Page A8 Spokane’s historic Bing Crosby Theater, a downtown entertainment landmark, has been purchased by area business developer Gerald V. Dicker. Dicker’s GVD Commercial Properties Inc. paid $920,000 to the previous owner, … 1
Economy starting to rev up

February 17, 2012 on Page A8 WASHINGTON – The healthier job market that’s lifted the economy in recent months shows no signs of slowing. Applications for unemployment aid are near a four-year low, raising expectations of … 1
Mortgage rates steady

February 17, 2012 on Page A8 Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year home loan was unchanged at 3.87 percent, the lowest level since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. The …
Delinquent home loans

February 17, 2012 on Page A8 A Mortgage Bankers Association report Thursday said 7.58 percent of all residential mortgages were delinquent by at least one payment as of the fourth quarter of 2011. That was down … 1
GM posts record $7.6 billion profit in 2011

February 17, 2012 on Page A8 DETROIT – Just two years after it was rescued and reconstituted through bankruptcy and a government bailout, General Motors Co. cruised through 2011 to post the biggest profit in its …