Business, News, Politics

Washington State Economy’s Upside and Downside Risks Grow

The Grand Hyatt conference room was packed with Puget Sound Business Journal readers who, if they sympathized with Ray Davis’s optimism, also have had their expectations tempered by the experiences of the past several years. Yet the takeaway was that while double-dip recession risks have risen, at the same time, so have recovery “risks,” due to the length of time people have cut back on spending. At some indefinable point, the dam is going to break. Continue reading Washington State Economy’s Upside and Downside Risks Grow

News, Politics, Transportation

Sen. Cantwell vs. the Speculator Gang in an FTC Shoot-Out

The FTC’s Jon Leibowitz wrote in a letter to Cantwell: “The Energy Information Administration reported that as of early May, U.S. refiners’ refining margins had increased more than 90 percent since the beginning of 2011, and U.S. refiners at that time were using only 81.7 percent of their capacity, representing a seven percent reduction from the same period in 2010.”

“In Washington state,” says Cantwell’s office in a release, “gas prices have gone up 74 cents-per-gallon over the last three months, and 93 cents-per-gallon over the last year.” Continue reading Sen. Cantwell vs. the Speculator Gang in an FTC Shoot-Out