Briefcase

Stone steps down as SRM partner

John Stone has stepped down as a partner in SRM Development, LLC, the Spokane-based real estate firm he co-founded in 2000.

Stone transferred all of his interest in the company to his partners, SRM announced in a news release. Stone, however, will remain part owner in many of the company’s projects and will continue his involvement with development of the Riverstone project in Coeur d’Alene.

Stone spent the first 27 years of his 37-year career operating John Stone Development before founding SRM with his son, Bryan Stone, Jim Rivard and Dee McGonigle.

Stone, a Gonzaga University graduate, began his real estate career with the development of mini-storage facilities in 1973, building 27 of them over a 20-year period in Washington, Idaho and California.

Alison Boggs

Housing market drags on recovery

WASHINGTON – American businesses and consumers are giving the economy a boost by spending more, but the troubled housing market remains an obstacle, new data show.

Consumers bought more from retailers for a seventh straight month in January. The gains came despite snowstorms that limited spending from workers with more money in their paychecks from a Social Security tax cut.

Businesses increased their stockpiles in every month last year, a sign that companies expect sales to remain healthy.

Still, the view of the housing market among homebuilders hasn’t changed in four months, suggesting weak home sales will drag on the economy.

Retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month to $318.6 billion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Sales have risen more than 14 percent from the recession low in December 2008.

Associated Press