Briefcase

More collecting jobless benefits

Unemployment claims in Washington set new records this year, with more than 500,000 jobless workers collecting almost $4.7 billion in benefits.

The Employment Security Department on Wednesday compared the results with 2009, when 475,000 claimants collected $4 billion in benefits. In 2008, 290,000 collected $1.2 billion.

The federal government, which recently extended long-term benefits, paid 58 percent of this year’s claims.

Unemployed workers drew benefits for an average 41 weeks, up from 28 weeks in 2009.

Washington’s unemployment rate has held above 9 percent all year. The 9.5 percent peak in March was the highest since the early 1980s.

In Spokane County, about 15,000 claims have been active each month, the department said. Almost 1,600 people in the county had exhausted the full 99 weeks of benefits available as of Oct. 31.

Bert Caldwell

Insurance agent must repay investors

A state District Court judge in Boise has ordered an Idaho insurance agent who illegally sold securities to repay investors $89,000 and cover $55,000 in state penalties and fees.

Jerry Ward did not contest Idaho Department of Finance allegations he was selling “insured certificates of deposit” that were not protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or issued by an insured bank, said Patricia Highley, a department senior securities analyst.

Nor did he challenge a 2009 cease-and-desist order issued by the department for related fundraising efforts on behalf of an unnamed and never-built senior housing complex, Highley said.

Med-Life, Ward’s investment company, is also fictitious, she said.

Highley said Ward probably has no assets the state can file a lien against.

Besides the restitution and penalties, Ward was also enjoined from selling securities in Idaho.

Bert Caldwell

Moderate growth over summer

WASHINGTON – The economy grew at a moderate pace last summer, reflecting stronger spending by businesses to replenish stockpiles.

Gross domestic product increased at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

That’s up from the 2.5 percent pace estimated a month ago.

Many analysts predict the economy strengthened in the October-December quarter.

Associated Press

Homes sales up but dismal overall

WASHINGTON – More people bought previously owned homes in November, the third increase in four months after the worst summer season in more than a decade.

Buyers bought homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Even with the rise, this year is shaping up to be the worst for home sales since 1997.

Associated Press