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Lenders said not likely to fill student-loan funding gap

Private loan origination is expected to stay below pre-crisis level, Fitch says

February 28, 2013

Fitch Ratings, of New York, says it expects the gap between rising U.S. college costs and available financing to continue expanding in future years as a result of static federal loan limits and ongoing congressional debate over fiscal spending will

Intermountain Community Bancorp reports upswing

Company posts earnings of $1.9 million for 2012 after ending '11 with loss

February 28, 2013

Kim Crompton

Sandpoint-based Intermountain Community Bancorp, which operates Panhandle State Bank and Intermountain Community Bank, has reported fourth-quarter net income applicable to common shareholders of $910,000, or 14 cents a share, compared with or $1.08

Commercial delinquency rates decline

January numbers were lowest since early 2012; other positives emerge

February 28, 2013

PR Newswire

The delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities fell 14 basis points in January to 9.57 percent, says a report issued late last month by Washington, D.C.-based finance research company at

Axia Home Loans grows here

Mortgage lender expects ongoing refinancing work, rise in home purchases

February 28, 2013

Treva Lind

Bellevue, Wash.-based Axia Financial LLC, which does business as Axia Home Loans, has grown its Inland Northwest operations since May, both in employee numbers and offices to meet demand for mortgage lending and refinancing services. This past a

Equity borrowing stages comeback as home prices rise

Lenders say value gains lift consumer confidence to tap collateral

February 28, 2013

Mike McLean

Home-equity lending is on the rebound in the Spokane market following several years of declines that coincided with the protracted slip in real estate values, lenders here say.Last year marked the first sustained improvement in median home sales

Recycling records might not provide enough security

Some business sectors face hefty fines for not disposing of materials as required

February 14, 2013

Patrick DeVries and Robert Johnson

While recycling office paper and discarded computer equipment is a noble cause, increasing liabilities and dangers make the secure destruction of information an imperative that deserves the same importance as recycling.Up until a few years ago,

Three in 10 said not ready for hackers

More than a quarter of those surveyed reported security breach last year

February 14, 2013

PR Newswire

Thirty percent of corporate general counsel surveyed indicate that the companies they represent aren't prepared to defend against cyber-attacks, according to recently released findings from the Consero 2012 General Counsel Survey. Consero Group,

More security going mobile

Half of new users said to want systems providing access with phone, tablet

February 14, 2013

Jessica Valencia

Security companies here are vying for the attention of customers who increasingly want to monitor security systems at homes and businesses through a mobile device with a quick flick of the finger on a smartphone or tablet.Until mobile control of

Contractor grows with shift to facility protection focus

Perimeter Security Group also acquires Cd'A fence company

February 14, 2013

Mike McLean

As the residential construction market collapsed in the Inland Northwest in 2008, Brenda Blood decided she had to steer MAC Industries Inc., a North Idaho automated gate company she had just bought, in a different direction.So she created a new

Successful sustainability planning has five key elements

Data tracking, engaged employees are among such an effort's keystones

January 31, 2013

Jeff Heggedahl

It's my belief that today's leading businesses can both do well and do good; sustainability is both a smart business decision and a risk-mitigation activity. The fact is, companies can save money, save resources, and improve corporate reputation at