Business

"It is a sunny day, with some clouds," says Dick Conway, a Puget Sound Economic Forecaster. "The more I study the Puget Sound economy, the more I am struck by the fact that the more it changes, the more it stays the same."

NEW YORK — Within days of new European rules on carbon emissions produced by passenger jets, two major airlines say they will raise fares.

WICHITA, Kan. — The Boeing Co. has told its employees that it plans to close its massive defense plant in Wichita before the end of 2013 in a bid to cut costs in a tight market for defense spending.

Police in eastern Washington are trying to figure out who has been intentionally torching haystacks near the tiny town of Mattawa.

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones says in the last two weeks two fires burned three major haystacks to the ground. Jones says he doubts local kids have been setting the fires.

NORMANDY, France – Boeing rival Airbus is set to finish 2011 with a record number of aircraft orders, beating out Boeing for the ninth year in a row.

But analysts say Boeing is poised to gain ground against its European competitor in 2012. That's because of a new product that will be built in Puget Sound.

Spokane, Wash. – Thursday’s Washington Supreme Court holding that large livestock operations need not have permits for the water they pump could spell ruin for small farmers.

Depleting water levels could mean the death of family farms in Eastern Washington.

HELENA, Mont. — An Indian reservation in Montana may seem an unlikely place to borrow a quick $600.

But the Chippewa Cree tribe says its new online lending company has already given out more than 121,000 loans this year at interest rates that can reach a whopping 360 percent.

Oregon's timber dependent counties are still hoping for a federal rescue. But they're creating contingency plans in case Congress doesn't come through with a replacement for historic timber revenue.

Officials from eight counties met with Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber Monday to discuss their options. Some counties say they could become insolvent in the next year without additional funding.

AT&T ends its $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom amid antitrust concerns, The Associated Press reports.

When the Clearwater Paper sawmill announced it was selling its Lewiston mill to the Idaho Forest Group back in October, the fate of 250 mill jobs was unclear. For many, it still is, even as the mill gets ready to re-open next week. For one of those laid-off workers, the upcoming holidays are just a reminder of that uncertainty.

This year, December 25th has taken on a new meaning for Allen Brown. It’s the day he’ll receive his final severance-pay-check from the former Clearwater Paper sawmill in Lewiston. “So, Merry Christmas," Brown says. "I’ll be trying to live on unemployment and raise three kids and myself.”

Crews have rescued seven miners after a collapse at the Lucky Friday Mine in north Idaho. It’s the third major accident there this year. The Lucky Friday’s owner says the silver mine has been evacuated until further notice.

A rockburst occurred Wednesday evening nearly 6,000 feet underground near Mullan in Idaho’s Silver Valley. Local law enforcement and the mine’s rescue crew were called in. Twenty-five people were working in the vicinity at the time.