In brief: Boards approve merger of Horizon, United Health Services credit unions
Two Spokane credit unions are merging in a move to bolster mobile account options and expand branch locations.
The boards of United Health Services Credit Union and Horizon Credit Union have voted to approve the merger to create an $800 million credit union with 250 employees.
United didn’t have the resources to offer its members the latest online and mobile technologies sought by its members, said CEO Chuck Zeller.
The merger is expected to go forward during the first half of this year, according to a news release.
Horizon CEO Jeff Adams said his credit union members will have the added convenience of more branches in the Spokane market.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Property business buys Red Lion hotel
Red Lion Hotels is selling its Bellevue hotel for $35.4 million to a property development company.
The hotel will continue to operate as the Red Lion Hotel Bellevue. It was built 46 years ago on 6 acres along the Interstate 405 corridor.
Spokane-based Red Lion listed the sprawling two-story hotel with 181 rooms and 5,700 square feet of meeting space for sale last summer. The buyer is an affiliate of Wig Properties, a Bellevue-based real estate development company.
Red Lion said it will use the sale proceeds to pay down debt and fund expansion plans elsewhere.
Job advertisements hit 14-year high
WASHINGTON – The rapid hiring that made 2014 a stellar year for job gains is showing no sign of slowing down.
U.S. employers advertised the most job openings in nearly 14 years in November, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That suggests businesses are determined to keep adding staff because they are confident strong economic growth will create more demand for their goods and services.
Job openings rose 2.9 percent to 4.97 million in November, the most since January 2001. More job vacancies generally lead to more hiring. Employers have been slow to fill their openings for most of the recovery, but that started to change last year as companies ramped up their overall hiring.
World Bank lowers economic forecast
WASHINGTON – The World Bank, citing stagnation in Europe and Japan and a slowdown in China, downgraded its forecast for the global economy this year. It also reported that world economic growth came in below expectations in 2014.
The bank predicts the world economy will expand 3 percent this year, up from 2.6 percent in 2014.
Last June, World Bank economists had forecast 3.4 percent global economic growth this year and 2.8 percent last year.
Facebook to send missing child alerts
NEW YORK – Facebook users in the U.S. will soon receive Amber Alerts to help find missing children who may be located near them.
Facebook Inc. is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to send the alerts to users’ mobile phones if they are in a search area where a child has been abducted. Facebook said people are already using its site to encourage their friends and family to help find missing children, and that several children have been reunited with their families as a result of information shared on the site.