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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Briefcase

GE to expand into solar market

NEW YORK – GE is taking aim at the world’s biggest solar company in a bid to expand into a fast-growing renewable energy market.

General Electric Co. announced Thursday that it would spend $600 million to build the nation’s biggest solar panel factory. It would build the same type of so-called thin film solar panels manufactured by First Solar Inc.

GE also announced Thursday that testing by a government laboratory showed that its panels set an efficiency record for this type of thin film panel, made from the elements cadmium and tellurium.

Associated Press

JPMorgan CEO earns $20.77 million

NEW YORK – Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., saw his 2010 compensation rise to $20.77 million from $12.65 million in 2009, according to an Associated Press analysis of data filed with regulators on Thursday.

In 2010, JPMorgan was the best performing among the four largest banks in the country. Its net income totaled $17.37 billion, up 48 percent from $11.73 billion in the previous year.

As part of his compensation package, Dimon received a salary of $1 million, a cash bonus of $5 million, stock awards of $7.95 million, and stock options worth $6.24 million for the year. Dimon also received other perks.

Associated Press

Low-income families get energy assistance

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is releasing $311 million to states to help poor families struggling to pay high home energy bills.

Officials said Thursday that the latest money for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program brings the total to $4.2 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Home heating aid advocates say that many poor families have been hard hit this year by rising fuel prices, particularly in the Northeast, where people depend more on heating oil.

Associated Press

Rite Aide narrows quarterly loss

NEW YORK – Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter loss was slightly smaller than a year earlier as its revenue stabilized after more than two years of declines.

Rite Aid reported a net loss of $208.1 million, or 24 cents per share, for the three months that ended Feb. 26 compared with a loss of $210.6 million, also 24 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue held steady at $6.46 billion after declining for 10 consecutive quarters. Revenue at stores fell slightly.

Analysts expected a loss of 24 cents per share and $6.41 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Associated Press