Business in brief: Fed chief cites rising energy cost

Surging energy prices are acting like a double whammy on the country’s economy, crimping growth even as they push up inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

“The increase in energy prices is clearly making the economy worse off both in terms of real activity and in terms of inflation. There is no question about it,” Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee.

Although Federal Reserve policymakers at their June meeting were concerned about higher energy prices and the risk of inflation spreading through the economy, they also seemed hopeful that moderating economic activity could help ease inflation pressures down the road, according to minutes of that closed-door meeting released Thursday.

Tax credits for hybrids will dip

Environmentally concerned car buyers will see some federal tax breaks for energy efficient hybrids start shrinking this fall.

Toyota Motor Corp. has hit the production limit – 60,000 – on vehicles eligible for a special tax credit designed to encourage more buyers to choose gas-electric hybrids.

Spokeswoman Martha Voss said Thursday that the automaker sold its 60,000th such vehicle in May.

That means the tax credits for Toyota and Lexus hybrids will be cut in half for drivers who purchase their vehicles beginning in October, she said. The $3,150 credit for the popular Toyota Prius, the largest hybrid tax credit available, would shrink to $1,575.

Six months later, beginning next April, the tax credits will shrink to one-quarter of their original value. They will disappear by October 2007.

Spokane

Habitat-Spokane hits milestone

The Habitat-Spokane Builders Surplus Store recently celebrated the funding of its 20th Habitat for Humanity home, the nonprofit building-supplies store announced.

The store opened six years ago in 9,000 square feet of space and has grown to 30,000 square feet of space at the southwest corner of Trent Avenue and Hamilton Street.

All of its inventory is donated and all store proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity, which provides housing for people in need.

Besides providing funding for 20 homes, the store has also diverted more than 2,000 tons of construction materials from the waste stream, store manager Jeff Howard said in a press release.

– From staff and wire reports