Baby alpacas launched a business, built family ties

American Express is sponsoring Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30, so I thought it was only fitting to tell you the story about how our small business Alpaca Direct was started.

Business Briefly August 25, 2011

Google settles pharmacy ad probe

Family's life is upside down

Life turned upside down for this family four years ago when the father lost his job of 20 years. His wife told Press Christmas for All that he was unable to find work that would provide for their family, so he started his own small company.

Alcohol deregulation, the wine industry

I have been asked many times now by customers and readers about my feelings on proposition 1183 in Washington state and its effect on the wine industry and the prospects of a similar law here in Idaho.

Still relying on procrastinators?

Sales for holiday shopping season down to the wire

NEW YORK (AP)- Despite an early start, sales data provided to The Associated Press show that stores may once again have to rely on procrastinators to save the holiday shopping season.

Online voters miss mark - by a bunch

Readers of cdapress.com were challenged to see how their vote for mayor of Coeur d'Alene would stack up against official election results. Result? Not even close.

Government issues historic restrictions amid virus outbreak

The United States implemented dramatic new restrictions on Americans going out in public and 7 million people in the San Francisco area were put on a near-total lockdown to control the coronavirus emergency that has walloped the global economy.

In tiny Wyoming town, Bill Gates bets big on nuclear power

Wyoming has the biggest coal industry in the U.S. by far

Housing ups and downs

Mortgage rates going down, but so is confidence of buyers worried about employment

COVID: Choose science, not fear

Stephanie Wolf, rallying outside Kootenai Health, states that the COVID vaccine is “experimental” and a mandate should not be enforced.

Idaho Republicans push anti Washington, D.C., bills

Measures would sue federal government over guns, land control

BOISE - Idaho Republicans lobbed more legislative spitballs at Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, with measures calling to sue the federal government over gun rights and control of federal land and to replace standard American currency with gold and silver.

Time really is money

You must have seen the news last week as headlines screamed, "Rising Homes Sales Point to a Recovery." It seems that the economy is so slow that any news is good news, although the discriminating reader is bound to suspect any improvement, given that real estate prices continue their decline.

Mid-year market report

The first half of 2023 is in the books. This week in many ways is the turning point in the year for housing. Home purchases start to decelerate and price reductions increase in the second half of the year.

Today's Ghastly Groaner

My wife told me, "Buy a gallon of milk and if they have eggs, buy me a dozen."

Common wine misconceptions

This time of year when folks are buying wine as gifts for friends and family we get many questions about wine - from grapes to packaging - that in many cases are simple misconceptions regarding the manufacture, flavors and origins of fermented grape juice so here are answers to some of the more common ones.

Fancy ATM skips the folding cash, spits out gold

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Shoppers who are looking for something sparkly to put under the Christmas tree can skip the jewelry and go straight to the source: an ATM that dispenses shiny 24-carat gold bars and coins.

A good faith issue: New form confuses borrowers

By ADRIAN SAINZ/AP real estate writer

For anyone buying a home this spring, beware: There could be some kinks with the paperwork.

UK's Prudential buys AIG's Asian unit for $35.5B

LONDON - British insurer Prudential PLC said Monday it will buy the Asian unit of bailed out American International Group Inc. in a deal worth $35.5 billion that will allow AIG to pay back some of the money it owes U.S. taxpayers.

Real estate outlook bright

Apartment owners can expect healthy market conditions

Force Friday seems forced

Like most everyone else, I'm excited to see the new "Star Wars" movie. We're still about three months away from the release date, but Disney began its merchandising blitz last week with "Force Friday."