Strong job growth and a steady housing market are helping Spokane County buck a national trend of rising foreclosures.The Spokane County Auditors Office says the number of foreclosures on deeds of trust here plummeted by 43 percent last year,

Just two years after a period of hemorrhaging red ink, job losses, and rumors of its possible demise or sale, Empire Health Services, Spokanes second largest hospital network, is now posting modest profit margins and healthy gains in patient says

Spokanes manufacturing industry, which took a nosedive near the start of this decade, is storming back. Experts say they expect this year will bring more strong growth in the sector, despite a number of challenges employers are facing.In the

Inland Empire Trades Credit Union, of Spokane, like many other small credit unions across the nation, is working hard to stay afloat in a competitive marketplace filled with banks and larger credit unions that provide similar services.What is a

Spokane-based AmericanWest Bank is seeking to decertify the class-action status granted to a lawsuit filed by a former loan officer who claims the bank breached an employment agreement when it discontinued an incentive-based compensation class are

Washington Trust Bank, which has been posting robust growth numbers in recent years, says its strategy for the next two years is to keep pace with the fast-growing markets it serves while weighing how extensively to fill in its branch networks in a

Legislation aimed at providing guardianship protection and protection from unqualified individuals selling living trusts, as well as the biennial battle to procure more money for health-care providers, top the retirement-related agenda at the 2007

With competition intensifying in the retirement center market here, Waterford on South Hill says its pursuing a strategy of offering a broad variety of living arrangements and a focus on luxury to keep it above the fray. Located at the corner

Mark Freeman started Kuma Stoves Inc. in the back of his pickup. A quarter-century later, Freeman says he expects the Hayden, Idaho-based wood- and oil-stove manufacturing company to continue to grow at a slow, but comfortable pace, with a

Three major retailersTarget Corp., Lowes Cos., and The Home Depot Inc.are rumored to be considering opening stores at the planned Pointe at Post Falls retail development where a Cabelas Inc. outlet will be built, says Post Falls Mayor Clay