Business & Economy
Business & Economy
Pandemic Hits Spending Hard; 79% Dive In Clothing Sales Leads A Record Plunge
Retail sales saw record drops for the second month in a row. Other categories with huge declines included a 59% dive in furniture sales and 29% decreases in department stores and gas stations.
Idaho Soon Moves To Next Reopening Phase; Washington Denies Spokane County’s Phase 2 Request
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says the Gem State will move to the second phase of state’s four-part coronavirus recovery plan on Saturday. That means businesses such as gyms and hair salons will be able to reopen with the appropriate precautions. Little made his announcement Thursday and threw in a surprise as well.
Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants
As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the meat industry, hog farmers anticipate they’ll soon be forced to euthanize millions of pigs unable to be sent for processing.
Richard Burr To Step Down As Senate Intelligence Chairman During Probe Of Stock Sell-Off
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., is stepping aside during the Justice Department’s investigation, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Thursday.
We’re Eating More At Home, And It’s Costing Us More
The latest inflation data offers a snapshot of Americans’ new pandemic spending habits. Prices are down for most goods and services but up sharply for groceries.
UPDATE: At Least 34 COVID-19 Cases At Ellensburg Food Plant Pauses Kittitas County’s Reopening Plan
Health officials in Kittitas County have found at least one new positive case of COVID-19: a worker at a Twin City Foods processing plant in Ellensburg. The news came Friday after more than three weeks of no new confirmed cases. That plus the county’s low population made Kittitas County eligible to lift social distancing measures earlier than other parts of the state.
Here’s Who’s Being Hit Hardest By The Economic Downturn
The current estimated unemployment rate far exceeds the 10 percent peak reached in the Great Recession in 2009. It is the most devastating loss of jobs since the Great Depression, when economists estimate the unemployment rate reached 25 percent in 1933.
‘Let My People Go’: Opponents Of Coronavirus Measures Again Freely Gather To Protest In Olympia
For the second time in a month, opponents of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s extended “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order – many of them openly carrying firearms – rallied at the state Capitol Saturday in an event that brought together sign-waving citizens, conservative state legislators, Republican and Libertarian candidates for public office and members of far-right groups.
For The History Books: 14.7% Unemployment, 20.5 Million Jobs Wiped Away, At Least Temporarily
U.S. employers shed a record number of jobs in April, as the unemployment rate climbed to the highest since the Great Depression. The coronavirus crisis has locked down much of the economy.
Can George Washington Buy Wooden Teeth With This Washington Town’s New Wooden Money?
Tenino, a small town in Thurston County, Washington, has approved a plan to print its own money on strips of wood. Again. It’s a response to the COVID-19 crisis that’s modeled after how the town responded to a prior crisis — the Great Depression.
How The Small Business Loan Program Went Wrong In Just 4 Weeks
Not-so-small companies like Shake Shack and organizations like the LA Lakers were able to get loans that were meant for suffering small businesses. What happened?
I Said Hay, What’s Going On? Supply Chain Breakdown Hurting Big Northwest Ag Exports
An unprecedented number of ships have canceled their calls to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. So far this year, there have been 32 canceled international sailings since January 1. That has created the shortage of shipping containers at those Northwest ports.
