Week in review
TUESDAY
The credit crisis has raised the question of whether Wall Street’s troubles could spread to commercial banks and ordinary depositors. The short answer is this: Deposits in commercial banks are considered safe, barring catastrophe, and they are protected by federal insurance if a bank fails.
•Providence Health Care has hired Dr. Andrew Agwunobi as chief executive officer to oversee its Eastern Washington operations, which include Sacred Heart Medical Center.
WEDNESDAY
The Fed slashed a key interest rate by three-quarters of a point, wrapping up its most aggressive two months of rate cuts in a quarter-century. The strong action boosted spirits on Wall Street, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average up 420.41 points in its biggest one-day point gain in five years.
•Coeur d’Alene’s last sawmill will process its final log in May, a casualty of the nation’s mortgage lending crisis and rising values for waterfront property. Stimson Lumber Co. gave its 60 hourly employees at the DeArmond mill a two-month notice.
•Delta Air Lines, faced with a weak economy, dimmer hopes of a combination with Northwest Airlines and record fuel prices that are eating up profits, said it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees.
THURSDAY
In 1999, a national magazine ranked Spokane 161st out of 162 cities in terms of business climate. Now the city has something to brag about, as Forbes Magazine placed Spokane ninth on its annual ranking of best places to do business.
•The Transportation Security Administration has chosen Spokane to take part in a new program to reduce the wait and frustration caused by lines of travelers at security checkpoints. Under the program, the TSA sometimes will have three security lines: expert, casual and family/special assistance lanes.
FRIDAY
Mortgage insurers, whose backing is required for borrowers who can’t afford the traditional 20 percent down payment on a home, have already flagged nearly a quarter of the nation’s ZIP codes where they refuse to insure some loans.
•Nonprofit Spokane Mental Health will break ground this week on two East Central neighborhood buildings to house people with chronic mental illnesses.
Keystone Corners, to be built at 2021 and 2218 E. First Ave., will offer federally subsidized, one-bedroom apartments to people who have documented disabilities and make less than 50 percent of the area median income.