The good news is the price of gold is $100 per troy ounce higher than it was at this time last year. The bad news is the price of gold is $200 per troy ounce lower than it was five months ago. The current per-ounce price is $1,180, which is up from $1,07

Record stockpiles of wheat globally likely will mean lower wheat prices for Eastern Washington farmers in 2017, says Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, based in Spokane. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates world wheat producti

The CEO of a nonprofit business technology incubator here says he sees an opportunity next year to help small businesses begin partnerships with Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd School of Medicine as it prepares to host its first medical sch

As has been the case for a couple of years now, retailers here are again predicting sales growth for 2017. However, some of industry representatives and observers interviewed are skeptical as to how long this period of gains will continue. Grant Forsyth

Despite regional tourism being strong here again this year, local experts in the industry say a lighter convention event schedule could mean visitor traffic will soften slightly in 2017. Visit Spokane President and CEO Cheryl Kilday says demand for overn

Construction momentum in the Spokane area will continue upward next year, industry observers here say. Andrea Frye, business development manager at Spokane-based Vandervert Construction Inc., says current positive economic indicators, such as continued j

Bank, credit union, and investment market executives here are mostly bullish about the coming year, despite potentially growth-dampening effects of anticipated Federal Reserve rate hikes and uncertainties stemming from the recent presidential election. T

Health care industry executives here are gazing into a murky crystal ball as they try to plan and budget for changes in the coming year, amid new major players entering the market and the possibility of the federal Affordable Care Act being abolished or d