Business in brief: Home sales fare better than same quarter last year

Home sales picked up in Washington state in the second quarter compared with last year – the first quarter-over-quarter improvement in sales numbers in more than two years, according to the “housing market snapshot” produced quarterly by Washington State University’s Center for Real Estate Research.

Glenn Crellin, director of the center, cautioned in a news release that “a one-quarter improvement should not be considered a trend,” and that the sales increase likely was fueled by a new federal first-time homebuyer’s tax credit.

Home sales statewide increased 11.6 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period the previous year. Sales in Spokane County were up 13.4 percent over the year-ago period.

Crellin said sales prices are another indication of market stability, and that only four counties in the state experienced higher median sales prices during the second quarter. Prices statewide declined 9.2 percent; in Spokane, the median home price was down 9.6 percent.

More results from the market snapshot are available at www.business.wsu.edu/overview/ news/Documents/Snapshot_09Q2.pdf.

Associated Press

Global Fitness closes north center temporarily

The north Spokane Global Fitness center has shut down temporarily, said gym owner Mike Lee.

Lee said he closed the gym and its indoor pool, at 110 W. Price, because of a dispute with the property managers over building conditions and rent. “We see this as only temporary,” he said Wednesday.

Lee also operates two other centers: Global Fitness Valley, at 14210 E. Sprague; and Global Fitness for Women, 409 W. Hastings Road. Members of the north Spokane facility can use either Global Fitness gym at no extra cost, Lee said.

He said members who prefer to swim will be allowed to use the Salvation Army indoor pool, at 222 E. Indiana.

Tom Sowa

China’s demand for oil drives up supply forecasts

Paris – The International Energy Agency on Wednesday raised its forecasts for global oil demand this year and next, expecting increased appetite for energy in China while demand is still expected to fall in Europe and North America.

The Paris-based agency added 70,000 barrels a day to its 2010 forecast of global oil demand. The new prediction of 85.3 million barrels a day is a 1.6 percent increase over this year.

In its closely-watched monthly survey, the IEA also increased its 2009 forecast by 190,000 barrels a day to 83.9 million barrels a day.

Associated Press

Redbox sues Fox studio for delaying new title releases

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. – DVD rental kiosk company Redbox said Wednesday it has sued 20th Century Fox over the movie studio’s attempts to delay its titles from appearing in Redbox vending machines.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., marks the latest escalation in a fight over Redbox’s service.

Last week, Fox, a unit of News Corp., joined General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures in a bid to preserve more lucrative DVD retail sales by keeping movies out of Redbox’s $1-per-night rental kiosks for some period after they go on sale.

Fox ordered its wholesale distributors to stop supplying Redbox until 30 days after movie discs are released for sale.

Associated Press