Boeing shares hit all-time high

Boeing Co.’s stock hit an all-time high Tuesday, capping a nearly three-year ascent that reflects the aerospace firm’s rebound in commercial airplane sales and continuing strength in defense contracting.

Shares reached $70.94 – a fraction higher than the previous all-time high of $70.9375 during the trading day on Dec. 8, 2000 – on the New York Stock Exchange. They ended the trading session up 40 cents at $70.59, their highest closing price ever.

The latest increase of 0.6 percent Tuesday roughly mirrored the gain registered by the Dow Jones industrial average and came a day after Boeing approved a 20 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.

Spokane County jobless rate inches up

Spokane County’s unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in November, according to preliminary calculations. The unemployment rate was up slightly from 5.1 percent in October, mostly due to seasonal fluctuations caused by a decline in construction jobs, said Jeff Zahir, a regional labor economist for the Washington state Employment Security Department.

“The numbers are pretty normal for this time of year,” he said.

The unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in November 2004. There are now 5,000 more people employed in Spokane County than there were a year ago, according to the state.

Washington state’s unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month.

AmericanWest planning Sandpoint branch

Sandpoint

AmericanWest Bank is seeking regulatory approval to open a new branch in Sandpoint.

The Spokane-based bank has leased temporary space at 710 Superior St. Contingent upon approval from state and federal regulators, the bank will construct a new building on the west side of Fifth Avenue between Fir and Larch streets.

North Idaho is an expanding market that AmericanWest is targeting for growth opportunities, said Robert Daugherty, the bank’s president and chief executive officer.

A Sandpoint branch would be AmericanWest’s 10th branch in Idaho. The bank is expanding its financial center in Hayden, which will be completed next fall. Another branch will open in Coeur d’Alene early next year.

If the Sandpoint application is approved, a temporary facility will open for business next spring, with a permanent building scheduled for completion later in the year.

DirecTV settles FTC telemarketing charges

DirecTV Inc. will pay $5.34 million to settle charges that its telemarketers called households listed on the national do-not-call registry to pitch satellite TV programming, Federal Trade Commission officials said Tuesday.

The proposed settlement, if approved by a federal judge in Los Angeles, would be the FTC’s largest civil penalty in a consumer protection case. In all 17 previously settled no-call cases, the FTC assessed just $808,500 in penalties.

The DirecTV complaint, filed by the Department of Justice at the FTC’s request, named the company and five telemarketing firms it hired, as well as six principals of those firms.

DirecTV issued a statement saying it has terminated its relationship with the telemarketing firms that made inappropriate calls and has implemented new procedures to ensure there is no repeat of the violations. The proposed settlement also requires DirecTV to operate a desk to handle complaints stemming from its marketing practices.