business Archives | Northwest Public Broadcasting

Do Kids Have A Right To Sell Lemonade? Washington Lawmakers Want To Guarantee It

By Austin Jenkins January 23, 2020

File photo. Bills in the Washington Legislature would prohibit local governments from regulating kid-run lemonade stands. CREDIT: EvinDC/Flickr tinyurl.com/EvanDCLemonade

Washington lawmakers are tackling a variety of weighty issues this year from homelessness to prescription drug pricing to transportation funding to …. the legality of kids’ lemonade stands. That’s right, lemonade stands are on the agenda for the 2020 legislative session in Olympia. Read More

The Cost Of Free: Casper Pays A Price For Generous Mattress Returns

By NPR News January 17, 2020

Casper changed mattress shopping with the promise of a 100-night "risk-free" trial and easy returns. Now the cost of those returns is being scrutinized as the online company prepares to go public. Continue Reading The Cost Of Free: Casper Read More

Unemployment Pushes More Men Into Jobs Fields Dominated By Women

By NWPB News January 7, 2020

Men make more money in women-dominated fields, such as teaching. CREDIT: Getty Images/File

In the last few decades, many high-paying jobs that are mostly done by men – like manufacturing – have contracted or disappeared. At the same time, many jobs in fields dominated by women – like education and health care – have significantly increased. Read More

3 Unusual Gifts From Northwest Businesses For The Person Who Has Everything Else

By Tom Banse December 9, 2019

Find the locally-grown spice online and at farmers markets in Seattle and Portland. CREDIT: Cyrus Saffron

In this season of holiday shopping, now is about the time when many of us get stuck and don't know what to get for someone on our gift list. There are at least three Pacific Northwest companies who may come to your rescue with ideas for unconventional presents. A hint: they involve used dolls, a precious, exotic spice and a different kind of gift card. Read More

Shopping Cart Economics: How Prices Changed At A Walmart In 1 Year

By NPR News September 16, 2019

Products that have changed in price from August 2018 to August 2019.

Since August 2018, NPR has been tracking about 80 items sold at a Georgia Walmart with an eye toward products caught in the trade war. On average, prices rose 3%. Tariffs are one of many factors. Continue Reading Shopping Cart Economics: How Read More

Stock Markets Take Another Hit As The Trade War With China Heats Up

By NPR News August 5, 2019

U.S. stocks nosedived Monday as China's currency fell sharply and raised fears that the U.S.-China trade war would keep escalating. CREDIT: Richard Drew/AP

World stock markets saw sharp sell-offs after China let its currency slide, the latest move in its trade war with the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 767 points, or 2.9%. Continue Reading Stock Markets Take Read More

Boeing May Temporarily Halt 737 Max Production In Wake Of Fleet’s Grounding

By NWPB News July 24, 2019

Boeing 737 Max jets are now being flown to the spacious airport in Moses Lake, Washington, for storage. PAUL WEATHERMAN / BOEING

Boeing's CEO says the company will consider temporarily shutting down production of the 737 Max if the plane's return is significantly delayed beyond the company's October forecast. Continue Reading Boeing May Temporarily Halt 737 Max Read More

What Washington Can’t Tax, Oregon Might

By NWPB News July 6, 2019

Dan’s Tractor Inc. owner Skip Ogden stands at the counter of his southwestern Washington store. CREDIT: Kate Davidson/OPB

On July 1, Washington stopped letting Oregon shoppers skip paying sales tax at the register, with a few exceptions. Some businesses in southwestern Washington fear the change will drive away Oregon customers who won’t want to cross the river to shop when there is no sales tax at home. Read More

Washington May Extends Overtime Rules To Thousands Of Previously Exempt Workers

By Paige Browning June 6, 2019

Isaiah McDaniel bags groceries into a customer's cloth bags at PCC Natural Market Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, in Seattle. CREDIT: ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

A sweeping proposal by the state Department of Labor and Industries could grant overtime pay to thousands more workers in Washington. Currently, workers are guaranteed overtime pay if their salary is under $24,000 a year. The proposal would gradually raise that threshold to about $80,000 by 2026. Read More

U.S. Prepares Tariffs On Additional $300B Of Imported Chinese Goods

By NPR News May 14, 2019

The new U.S. tariffs list includes staples such as rice, along with clocks, watches and other items that weren't previously under threat of new duties. Here, farmers plant rice seeds at a seedlings pool in China's Jiangsu province. Xu Jingbai/VCG via Getty Images

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a list of Chinese goods that would be hit with new duties, from artists' brushes to watches. Continue Reading U.S. Prepares Tariffs On Additional $300B Of Imported Chinese GoodsRead More

‘On The Tipping Point’ Of The Spear: U.S. Asparagus Farmers Worry As Import Competition Grows

By Anna King April 24, 2019

Washington asparagus is just starting to be cut, but farmers worry if their industry will hold on for the long haul. Cheaper imports from Mexico and Peru are putting pressure on Washington, California and Michigan farmers. ANNA KING / NW NEWS NETWORK

Growers in Washington, California and Michigan raise the majority of the nation’s domestic asparagus -- and Washington’s season is on. But business in U.S. spears is noticeably dwindling due to cheaper competition from foreign markets.That’s because there’s increasing amounts of cheaper asparagus from Peru and Mexico coming in: fresh, canned and frozen. And that’s Read More

Be the Entrepreneur Boot Camp

By Murrow News - Lindsey Jensen April 8, 2019

Business idea boot camps around the Palouse help entrepreneurs build their businesses from the ground up. Continue Reading Be the Entrepreneur Boot CampRead More

Pullman’s Plans For Business Vacancies

By Murrow News - Nathan Senff April 6, 2019

Pullman has two different ways of dealing with business vacancies, but both are to help invite new business ideas into the community. Continue Reading Pullman’s Plans For Business VacanciesRead More

Your Word Of The Day Is ‘Torrefaction.’ First-Of-Its Kind Plant To Open In Eastern Oregon

By Tom Banse October 7, 2018

Biomass Operations Specialist John Rowell stands next to a boiler that awaits installation pending permits. TOM BANSE / NW NEWS NETWORK

Construction begins soon in eastern Oregon for the first commercial-scale "torrefaction" facility in the country. If you don't know what that word means, you're in good company. But the process itself isn't all that exotic. Think of how your coffee beans get crispy. Read More

The ‘Beerification’ Of Northwest Wine: Putting It In Less-Fussy Cans

By Anna King September 18, 2018

Stores like this busy Whole Foods in Portland, Ore., have started shuffling bottles around on shelves and in coolers to make room for wine in cans. CREDIT: ANNA KING/N3

Some winemakers are calling it the “beerification” of wine. Many Northwest winemakers are trying to make wine a little less fussy by putting it in aluminum cans. Continue Reading The ‘Beerification’ Of Northwest Wine: Putting It In Less-Fussy Read More

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said they served audit notices Wednesday at nearly 100 7-Eleven convenience stores nationwide, including stores in Oregon, Washington and California. Continue Reading Northwest 7-Eleven Stores Read More