Despite higher prices, inflation and safety concerns, more Christmas shoppers are browsing online but making in-store purchases.The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported this year an estimated 166.3 million people visited stores from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, 8 million more than last year and the highest level since NRF began...
Washington is fortunate to be a state filled with strong, resilient and innovative employers.We were reminded of that last month during the annual Association of Washington Business awards ceremony in Tacoma.AWB handed out a record 13 awards at the Nov. 17 Evening of Excellence gala in categories ranging from Employer...
One of my fondest childhood memories of this time of year was listening to the deep baritone of English actor Basil Rathbone as he narrated Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on my parents’ record player. (Yes, I know that dates me.)It made a toys-under-the-tree obsessed kid actually think about people...
2022 is the year that the Tri-Cities bounced back brighter, bigger and bolder for tourism-related businesses and renewed visitor spending in the Tri-Cities.Visit Tri-Cities kicked off the year by producing a strategic plan for the Tri-Cities Rivershore Enhancement Council, setting priorities and affirming overarching goals for the council to focus...
I had a toy as a child that seemed super-cool at the time.It was a remote-controlled car that had the capacity to make three-point turns when it bumped into something. I set it loose in the kitchen. It rolled along until it hit the oven, then promptly backed up at...
By Karina EliasSpokane Journal of BusinessSmall employers in Washington state face double-digit increases in health-care insurance rates for 2023, in some cases.In most instances, those small employers, which the state defines as those with 50 employees or fewer, are sustaining the largest increases in premiums in years.Seattle-based Premera Blue Cross,...
Periodically checking and updating beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance is prudent.The next time you navigate the online portal or the old school paper form to write in your updated beneficiary selection, look a little harder at some options you may have previously overlooked.Often, the beneficiary selection is...
Some of the most amazing companies in the world are hiding in plain sight, right here in Washington.They’re located inside industrial buildings and office parks that we drive by every day, often without a second look. They’re in the heart of our metro areas, the outskirts of suburban communities and...
To “build back America” key workers must return to job sites.It is not good enough for President Joe Biden to lean back on low unemployment numbers claiming success when employers cannot find workers.Inflation is a huge deterrent. It has been running at over 8%.Last April, the New York Post reported:...
In 2019, CISI Capital Markets and Corporate Finance estimated the U.S. equity markets had a value of $30 trillion and the U.S. bond markets had a value of $40 trillion.More than half of all the money that goes into Wall Street investments goes into bonds. Yet many individual investors don’t understand...
