Don't like your agent? Fire them!

Each month, the Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors hosts "Finally Home', a class about all things to consider when preparing to buy a home. We have had over 150 people benefit from this class and often they are enlightened, having had the serious side of home buying exposed to them. Often, someone in the class will asks, "What if you don't feel like your real estate agent cares about you?"

Amazon vs. everyone else

Battle for holiday shoppers heats up

NEW YORK - This holiday shopping season, it's Amazon vs. everyone else.

Stocks drift mostly lower

Ironman week busy for local bike shops

COEUR d'ALENE - With Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene rapidly approaching on Sunday, local bike shops are prepared for a busy week.

Unified Land Use Code comments sought

Kootenai County Planning Commission is accepting public comments on the final draft of the Unified Land Use Code that was released to the public on Tuesday.

Mortgage rates drop to lowest level this year

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level of the year, as rates fell on U.S. government securities. Fixed mortgage rates closely track interest rates paid on long-term Treasury bonds.

Eating with our eyes

Blame the external cues for making us overeat! Brian Wansink, economics and marketing professor at Cornell University has conducted research demonstrating that we are way out of touch with our internal hunger and fullness signals. In fact it is all the external cues that contribute to overeating.

Time to start enjoying those fall colors

Can you believe it's September already? The signs are everywhere. You drive down the street and there they are. Trees and shrubs beginning to sport their autumn colors of red, yellow, orange and rust. They are pretty, no doubt about it, but wouldn't they be just as pretty if they'd waited a while?

Gear up to Think Big

Festival will be here Aug. 20-22

COEUR d'ALENE - Big names and big minds in robotics, artificial intelligence and technology will visit Coeur d'Alene next month when the Think Big Festival comes to town.

Really BIG Raffle tickets on sale

Regional outlets are now selling tickets for North Idaho College’s Really BIG Raffle drawing for a chance to win a brand new $250,000 Coeur d’Alene home; $20,000 car; $10,000 boat; $3,500 vacation package and $2,000 shopping spree. This year marks the 19th year of NIC’s largest annual fundraiser, which is a collaboration between volunteers, sponsors, community supporters and the NIC Carpentry program.

No blues on Black Friday

By CRAIG NORTHRUP

Stocks drift as European gloom returns

U.S. stocks meandered sideways Monday as fears about Europe overshadowed recent excitement about central banks' efforts to boost the market.

Global economy in worst shape since 2009

WASHINGTON - Mounting fears about Spain's financial health help illustrate why the global economy is in its worst shape since 2009.

How to help the family

COEUR d'ALENE - Friends and family of Veronica "Roni" Rutledge, who was accidentally killed at Walmart in Hayden Tuesday, have established an online memorial fund to help her husband with funeral expenses.

Dispose of unwanted drugs Saturday

Blue Cross of Idaho and the Panhandle Health District are partnering for the first time for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

A life-changing jump

Hayden's Cody Piscitelli paralyzed from the chest down after accident

Gas price may drop as oil joins commodities plunge

NEW YORK - Investors finally hit the brakes on oil, gold, silver and food prices. This week's sharp sell-off doesn't mean commodity prices' stunning rise over the last several months is over, but it is good news for anyone planning a road trip this summer.

Health law off to a slow start Problems prompt low Obamacare sign-ups

WASHINGTON (AP) - Planting a paltry number on a national disappointment, the Obama administration revealed Wednesday that just 26,794 people enrolled for health insurance during the first, flawed month of operations for the federal "Obamacare" website.

Direct hit, near miss show danger of meteors

Conditions right for market, for now

They did it again. Last week mortgage rates set a new record for the lowest rate since 30-year fixed rate mortgages came into existence. That's good news for those who want to borrow money and can qualify. We all know that banks have been remarkably critical when reviewing borrowers' qualifications - a sharp turn from the mirror fog testing that preceded the real estate feeding frenzy of last decade.