In brief: Two magazines gain new owner

A Spokane Valley publisher has purchased two area magazines focusing on senior lifestyles and business innovation.

Vince Bozzi, president of Northwest Best Direct Inc., said he concluded the purchase of the magazines Inland Business Catalyst and Prime in the final week of December.

His company already publishes Washington Magazine and Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living.

Prime, which is targeted to readers 50 years and older, will be published six times a year.

Inland Business Catalyst, a technology and business-focused publication, will also publish six times a year. Bozzi said the two magazines will publish on alternating months.

WASHINGTON

Nonhousing starts offset dismal drop

Construction spending fell less than expected in November as record activity on nonresidential projects helped offset another steep decline in housing. But the outlook remains bleak as credit is tight for builders trying to stay afloat amid a recession entering its second year.

Construction spending fell 0.6 percent in November, the Commerce Department reported Monday, less than half of the 1.3 percent decline economists had expected.

While housing took another sharp tumble, dropping 4.2 percent, this was partially offset by a surprisingly strong 0.7 percent rise in nonresidential activity.

But the pickup in nonresidential construction – which includes office buildings, shopping centers and hotels – was seen as a temporary blip.

New York

Borders Group names CEO

Borders Group Inc., which has struggled along with other booksellers as people buy more books online and from discounters, announced a new CEO and other top managers Monday as it also reported weak holiday sales.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company also warned that its stock is in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have lost nearly all of their value in recent months amid larger-than-expected losses and financing trouble.

Borders named Ron Marshall, 54, the founder of private equity firm Wildridge Capital Management, to replace George Jones as CEO and to serve as president and a director.