Week in Review
Kaiser Aluminum said it will invest $75 million in new equipment at its Trentwood rolling mill due to dramatically increasing demand from the aerospace industry. Installation of the new equipment already has begun and is scheduled to be completed by 2008. Kaiser employs 600 people at the plant; no staffing changes have been announced as a result of the new investment.
Tuesday
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against former Metropolitan Mortgage executives includes allegations against Thomas Masters, a whistleblower who’s now running a real estate development business in Spokane.
“ Spokane-based Next IT Corp. has signed a multimillion-dollar contract allowing the U.S. Army to add the company’s interactive question-and-answer tool to the heavily visited GoArmy Web site.
“ AmeriTel Inns, of Boise, announced it will build a Hampton Inn & Suites in the Riverstone development in Coeur d’Alene. Construction will start in March on the 100-room hotel, with a targeted opening date of March 2007.
Wednesday
Federal Reserve officials raised the benchmark short-term interest rate and indicated they likely will keep nudging it higher to keep inflation under control. The Fed raised the federal funds rate to 4 percent from 3.75 percent, the 12th consecutive hike since June 2004.
“ U.S. Auto sales fell sharply in October, with General Motors, Ford and Nissan reporting big declines, while Toyota’s sales edged up slightly, Honda’s sales rose and DaimlerChrysler’s sales were flat. Sales of sport utility vehicles were down 50 percent or more.
Thursday
IT-Lifeline, a Liberty Lake company that provides data backup and security services, said it raised an undisclosed amount of money from two venture-capital firms. It will use the funds to expand its sales force in Western Washington and in Portland.
“ Northwest Airlines said it has finished hiring permanent replacement workers for striking mechanics, bringing the strike to an end in all but name.
Friday
The outlook for the holiday shopping season brightened Thursday as many of the nation’s retailers reported that their sales improved in October with the arrival of colder weather. Wal-Mart, Costco, J.C. Penney and Nordstrom beat Wall Street expectations. While the Gap and Limited reported disappointing sales, analysts were nonetheless more upbeat about the holidays for the industry overall.
“ Merck & Co. won a major victory when a New Jersey state jury found that the drugmaker properly warned consumers about the risks of its Vioxx painkiller. The finding means Merck won’t be held liable for the 2001 heart attack suffered by an Idaho man taking Vioxx. Merck lost another Vioxx-related trial in August.