If you think your energy costs are high now, the situation may be about to get a whole lot worse. With traffic in the Strait of Hormuz – normally the primary route for oil leaving the Middle East – hovering below 15% of prewar levels, oil prices have increased from US$65 a barrel before the Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana State Board of Land Commissioners has approved an oil and gas lease sale expected to generate more than $2.1 million for state trust lands, with the proceeds benefiting public education. The sale included 12 tracts in Musselshell, Sheridan and Toole counties. A single tract in Sheridan County generated a $2.14 Read More…
Bloom Energy Corp. is scheduled to join the S&P 500 before Monday’s market open as part of the index’s quarterly rebalance, a shift that could trigger substantial buying from the passive funds that track the benchmark. Inclusion in the S&P 500 typically forces index funds and exchange-traded funds that mirror the benchmark to purchase shares Read More…
Most North Dakotans will never set foot on a drilling rig or analyze rocks from thousands of feet beneath the surface of the Bakken Formation, but nearly everyone in the state has benefited from what lies below. For more than two decades, the Bakken Formation in western North Dakota has helped fuel North Dakota’s economy, generating more than $35 billion in tax revenue Read More…
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has permanently eliminated beneficial ownership reporting requirements for U.S. companies and individuals, cementing a major rollback of the Corporate Transparency Act that the Trump administration says will reduce regulatory costs for millions of businesses. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued a final rule Friday removing U.S. companies and Read More…
Kevin McHugh built a career as a physical therapist in Missoula, working in the intensive care unit at St. Patrick’s Hospital during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and then opening his own private practice. All the while McHugh – who earned a degree in exercise science from the University of Montana in 2015 and Read More…
Business owners’ outlook on the environment for starting and running a company has soured even as ownership continues to correlate with stronger financial and personal wellbeing, according to the third installment of Gallup’s Pathways to Wealth study, released with support from JPMorganChase and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In fall 2025, just 17% of business Read More…
Small businesses and nonprofit organizations in parts of Wyoming are now eligible for low-interest federal disaster loans following a drought declaration issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The assistance is available to businesses in Goshen County, Laramie County, and Niobrara County, which were included in a multi-state disaster declaration covering drought conditions that began Read More…
HELENA, Mont.—The Montana Department of Labor and Industry has secured $4.8 million in federal funding to expand workforce training programs led by employers in high-demand industries, including advanced manufacturing, technology and construction. The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund. Montana is one of seven states receiving a share of Read More…
GREAT FALLS—Janicki Industries has named retired Air Force Col. Daniel J. Voorhies senior director of operations for its new Great Falls manufacturing campus as the aerospace and defense company prepares to expand production in Montana. Voorhies retired earlier this year after 25 years in the U.S. Air Force. He most recently commanded the 341st Missile Read More…
COLUMBUS, Mont.—A strike involving hundreds of workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Stillwater Mine and Columbus metallurgical facilities has ended after union employees approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The strike began Sept. 3 and lasted more than a month. Employees are expected to return to work Oct. 9. The agreement provides a 4.5% wage increase in Read More…
BOZEMAN—Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Chamber of Commerce will host the third annual Big Sky, Bright Future Economic Summit on Oct. 15 in Bozeman, with this year’s event focused on technology and innovation in Montana. The summit will bring together business leaders, policymakers and technology executives to discuss artificial intelligence, national security, precision agriculture, Read More…
(The Center Square) – Twenty-two financial officers from across the U.S. wrote to the nation’s top rating agencies – Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P – asking them to explain the influence ESG policies have had on states’ credit ratings, with the officers detailing what they consider the harm using such “political assumptions” causes to states and Read More…
CHICAGO—Cboe Global Markets has named Catherine Grover executive vice president and chief human resources officer, effective Nov. 16, 2026, as the global exchange operator continues to expand its operations and workforce. Grover will oversee Cboe’s worldwide human resources operations, including talent recruitment, employee development and organizational planning. She will be based in Chicago and report Read More…
WASHINGTON—Union Pacific is seeking to keep video footage of remarks by Chief Executive Jim Vena out of the public record as the railroad and Norfolk Southern press ahead with their proposed merger before the Surface Transportation Board. The dispute centers on comments Vena made in March at a Southwest Association of Rail Shippers conference. Merger Read More…
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Treasury Department announced enforcement actions against Bank of America for violations of federal anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, including failures to report more than $5 billion in suspicious financial transactions. The actions involve three federal regulators and include the third-largest penalty in Treasury history and the largest penalty ever assessed by the Office Read More…