Retail sales are expected to slow a bit next year from their rapid pace of the past few years, largely in response to a cooling housing market and rising food and gas prices, industry observers here say.Spokane County and the cities of Spokane

High-technology manufacturers in the Spokane area are optimistic about the industrys outlook for the coming year, citing rapidly rising revenues and increases in business from customers from outside the country and the region.Lee Tate, of

Residential real estate sales here are expected to ebb again in 2008, though the market likely will post respectable numbers given that the declines would be from a very solid 2007, industry observers say. The outlook for the commercial market next

Contractors and industry observers here say theyre optimistic about the construction market in 2008, despite having seen building permit volumes fall sharply this year overall.Values for permits issued during the first 10 months of 2007 in of

Job growth in Spokane County is expected to soften a bit as the regional economy starts to echo the national economic slowdown, but experts here say they dont anticipate the easing to be as dramatic here as in other regions of the U.S.I see

Expect a softening next year in several of the Inland Northwests key industry sectors, but remember that any ebbing we see will be from the cresting tides of what has been a robust economy here. Gone, for now, are the record years in construction

Michael Miner and Kathryn Hapke-Miner are changing the idea of re-gifting from a social taboo to an environmentally friendly cause. To this Spokane couple, however, re-gifting is all about the wrapping, not whats inside the their company, the

ARC Manufacturing, a growing company here that manufactures welding units for the automotive collision-repair industry, has expanded into larger quarters and plans to hire more employees in the coming year. The company has moved most of its to

Wheatland Bank, of Spokane, has taken initial steps to enter the Yakima, Wash., market as part of its expansion in Central Washington, where it already has branches in Quincy, Moses Lake, and, as of Dec. 10, Wenatchee.The bank has hired a team

Washington Trust Bank expects to open three branch offices within the next year in Coeur dAlene and Boise, and the Spokane-based institution is continuing to look aggressively for other new branch locations in its system, President and Chief Jack